“Uh, I don’t know the words to that one, man....”
Jul 20, 2016 6:58:46 GMT
ajsmith, Alan Turrell, and 1 more like this
Post by Tony Walshaw on Jul 20, 2016 6:58:46 GMT
The missing-episodes forum seeks and provides accurate information on lost TV, with original transmission dates, surviving editions etc. It can then hit upon the eclecticness of entertainment shows of the 1960s, and into the 1970s. Acts from Pinky & Perky to Jimi Hendrix could appear for all the family - your little brother and great grandmother could watch and pass judgement.
This is a subject very relevant to the missing episodes cause. The sad fact that so much TV is missing means that history may be air-brushed or re-written altogether. We can see film footage of the Monterey and Isle of Wight festivals showing Jimi Hendrix as he is best remembered. But from UK TV we are less well-served, with the Lulu show appearance (Jan 1969) probably being the most potent. And the edition of TOTP where Jimi was cued up to sing a live vocal of ‘Burning Of The Midnight Lamp’, but the Alan Price Set record was played can only be related anecdotally other than verification by old newspaper articles.
Meanwhile in July 2016 we have seen the first of John Peel’s regular appearances as a TOTP presenter during the 1980s. He had appeared once before, but this was quietly forgotten. The way he introduced Amen Corner’s ‘Bend Me Shape Me’ was considered wrong and he was told to the effect that “he wouldn’t work on the show again”. But what exactly did he say? We do not know, and cannot judge, because the footage is absent.
Most of the UK populace did not go to music festivals. But they did watch TV. For every thousand ‘hippies’ on an Isle of Wight hillside, there was thousands more ‘straight’ people watching Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich on Blue Peter or The Who on Crackerjack. This was a main source for these acts to be seen by the audience, and was not at all unusual at the time. Yet it is forgotten because there is often no footage to verify it.
In spring 2014 in a new writing project was mentioned on the ‘Pop on Crackerjack’ thread. It touched upon the subject of TV bookings during the psychedelic period:
Some forum members expressed interest in this project at the time, and it has since been published as the book ‘Psychedelia and Other Colours’ by Rob Chapman (2015).
The book ties together various aspects of the Psychedelic period into a whole. In this respect it leads us into the amount of music and TV that we don't know from that time. It is a fascinating period where the local town hall staged Fleetwood Mac, and family TV shows had guest spots from Janis Joplin. Showbusiness was changing into the music industry.
I don’t think the people were quite ready for such change. E.g. ‘The Magical Mystery Tour’ alienated them, but has worn better over the years, and is now great to watch. What was an off-beat social commentary of the time, now reminds us about the coach trips in that era, with their rituals and camaraderie. Although if you want to know about The Beatles themselves, it is best to look elsewhere (if the footage is available
).
The main point is that the survival of MMT allows us to make these judgements. If much more TV had survived from the 60s, we would be able to re-appraise the period much differently, and more accurately, and I think that the book among many other things hints upon this.
This is a subject very relevant to the missing episodes cause. The sad fact that so much TV is missing means that history may be air-brushed or re-written altogether. We can see film footage of the Monterey and Isle of Wight festivals showing Jimi Hendrix as he is best remembered. But from UK TV we are less well-served, with the Lulu show appearance (Jan 1969) probably being the most potent. And the edition of TOTP where Jimi was cued up to sing a live vocal of ‘Burning Of The Midnight Lamp’, but the Alan Price Set record was played can only be related anecdotally other than verification by old newspaper articles.
Meanwhile in July 2016 we have seen the first of John Peel’s regular appearances as a TOTP presenter during the 1980s. He had appeared once before, but this was quietly forgotten. The way he introduced Amen Corner’s ‘Bend Me Shape Me’ was considered wrong and he was told to the effect that “he wouldn’t work on the show again”. But what exactly did he say? We do not know, and cannot judge, because the footage is absent.
Most of the UK populace did not go to music festivals. But they did watch TV. For every thousand ‘hippies’ on an Isle of Wight hillside, there was thousands more ‘straight’ people watching Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich on Blue Peter or The Who on Crackerjack. This was a main source for these acts to be seen by the audience, and was not at all unusual at the time. Yet it is forgotten because there is often no footage to verify it.
In spring 2014 in a new writing project was mentioned on the ‘Pop on Crackerjack’ thread. It touched upon the subject of TV bookings during the psychedelic period:
Apr 29, 2014 20:20:12 GMT 1 robchapman said:
I’ll tell you part of the reason I wanted this information and maybe it will lead to a whole other interesting thread if anyone wants to respond – something along the lines of bizarre bookings/incongruous billings, or whatever. I’m writing a piece at the moment about what sixties pop/light entertainment tv was actually like rather than all these little fairly tales you often read from people who weren’t there about a sixties they think existed (one that rarely accounts for the fact that The Who appeared on Crackerjack midway between doing Monterey and Woodstock!)
For example there’s a very good Scott Walker anthology edited by Rob Young that contains a piece by the writer Ian Penman who seems to think it bizarre that Scott appeared both on the Billy Cotton Band Show and on the Frankie Howerd Show. I argue that this was the norm and not incongruous at all, all part of light entertainment tv’s rich tapestry in the 1960s. In defence I’ve cited a few examples, for instance in the space of three weeks in May 1968 Grapefruit, The Herd and Eric Burdon and The Animals (in their psychedelic incarnation no less) appeared on the The Golden Shot with Bob Monkhouse. I’ve also mentioned an appearance by Howling Wolf on Juke Box Jury in 1964 when Smokestack Lighting was voted a miss and he was the studio guest. I believe that appearance is mention on a thread on here somewhere but I haven’t been able to find it. Does anyone know the studio guests on that particular edition of JBJ?
Anyway I’ve rambled on long enough. You get the idea. Any other examples of great incongruous/bizarre bookings that were par for the course back in the day?
I’ll tell you part of the reason I wanted this information and maybe it will lead to a whole other interesting thread if anyone wants to respond – something along the lines of bizarre bookings/incongruous billings, or whatever. I’m writing a piece at the moment about what sixties pop/light entertainment tv was actually like rather than all these little fairly tales you often read from people who weren’t there about a sixties they think existed (one that rarely accounts for the fact that The Who appeared on Crackerjack midway between doing Monterey and Woodstock!)
For example there’s a very good Scott Walker anthology edited by Rob Young that contains a piece by the writer Ian Penman who seems to think it bizarre that Scott appeared both on the Billy Cotton Band Show and on the Frankie Howerd Show. I argue that this was the norm and not incongruous at all, all part of light entertainment tv’s rich tapestry in the 1960s. In defence I’ve cited a few examples, for instance in the space of three weeks in May 1968 Grapefruit, The Herd and Eric Burdon and The Animals (in their psychedelic incarnation no less) appeared on the The Golden Shot with Bob Monkhouse. I’ve also mentioned an appearance by Howling Wolf on Juke Box Jury in 1964 when Smokestack Lighting was voted a miss and he was the studio guest. I believe that appearance is mention on a thread on here somewhere but I haven’t been able to find it. Does anyone know the studio guests on that particular edition of JBJ?
Anyway I’ve rambled on long enough. You get the idea. Any other examples of great incongruous/bizarre bookings that were par for the course back in the day?
Some forum members expressed interest in this project at the time, and it has since been published as the book ‘Psychedelia and Other Colours’ by Rob Chapman (2015).
The book ties together various aspects of the Psychedelic period into a whole. In this respect it leads us into the amount of music and TV that we don't know from that time. It is a fascinating period where the local town hall staged Fleetwood Mac, and family TV shows had guest spots from Janis Joplin. Showbusiness was changing into the music industry.
I don’t think the people were quite ready for such change. E.g. ‘The Magical Mystery Tour’ alienated them, but has worn better over the years, and is now great to watch. What was an off-beat social commentary of the time, now reminds us about the coach trips in that era, with their rituals and camaraderie. Although if you want to know about The Beatles themselves, it is best to look elsewhere (if the footage is available
).The main point is that the survival of MMT allows us to make these judgements. If much more TV had survived from the 60s, we would be able to re-appraise the period much differently, and more accurately, and I think that the book among many other things hints upon this.
