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Post by Nigel Lees on Nov 6, 2005 20:34:08 GMT
Hi folks, does anyone know if any of the 'First Timers' shows still exist in the Granada TV archives, or anywhere else for that matter?
Cheers!
Nigel :
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John Stewart Miller
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Post by John Stewart Miller on Nov 9, 2005 22:24:05 GMT
Hi folks, does anyone know if any of the 'First Timers' shows still exist in the Granada TV archives, or anywhere else for that matter? Cheers! Nigel : Try doing a search on google under 'ITN archive' then the title on their search box. |
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Post by markdixon on Nov 13, 2016 13:34:20 GMT
I thought I’d resurrect this old thread to share the information I have about “Firstimers”. In answer to the original question, no footage survives from the series.
“Firstimers” was a talent show produced by Johnny Hamp which ran from 22 May 1967 to 04 April 1968. It was broadcast each weekday in the Granada region as a segment in the 10-minute news/magazine programme “On Air” (which started at 4.50 pm). However, there were several extended Wednesday night editions of “Firstimers” which featured a round-up of some of the best performers.
The programme is of interest to me for two reasons. Firstly, a few of the performers went on to be successful after making their debuts on the show e.g. Amen Corner and the John Evan Smash (who became better known as Jethro Tull). Apparently, Elton John and Gilbert O’Sullivan also appeared on the show.
Secondly, “Firstimers” seems to have been one of the few British TV programmes that featured obscure psychedelic pop. The severely underrated Kaleidoscope appeared on the show as did a number of bands whose names I recognise from psych-pop compilations: the Rush (aka Tinkerbell’s Fairydust), the Klubs, Cuppa T and A New Generation. There may have been more.
There were over 200 editions of the show and over 180 performers appeared on it. I’ve managed to compile a partial list of performers. Many of these seem to be folk and cabaret musicians. I realise a lot of this information is quite meaningless to most people because a high percentage of the names are very obscure. However, it's possible that some of the lesser-known performers made audio recordings of their appearances on the extended editions of “Firstimers”. Therefore, they may have also captured performances by some of the musicians who later achieved fame or cult status.
22 May 1967: Kathy Jones - “This Is My Song” / 23 May 1967: Foggy Dew-O - "Reflections” / 24 May 1967: The John Evan Smash - “Take The Easy Way” / 25 May 1967: Bill Brennan - “Tender Ladies” / 26 May 1967: The Cumbrian Folk - "The New York Girls” / 5 Jun 1967: The Pennine Folk / 6 Jun 1967: The Scrunnge Duo / 7 Jun 1967: Michael Terry / 8 Jun 1967: Viki Paul / 9 Jun 1967: The Stone Brothers / 19 Jun 1967: The Celebrated Gentleman / 20 Jun 1967: Bill Kenwright and the Runaways / 21 Jun 1967: Phil + Froo / 22 Jun 1967: Tony Darrell / 23 Jun 1967: The Classical Trio / 26 Jun 1967: The Tin Folk / 27 Jun 1967: John Rotherham Trio / 28 Jun 1967: John Rotherham Trio with Michael Allen / 29 Jun 1967: Lisa Jones / 30 Jun 1967: The Utopians / Jul 1967: The Petits / Jul 1967: Hal Davies / c. Jul 1967: The Grumbleweeds / c. Jul 1967: Paul Weldon and the Tennessee Sound / c. Jul 1967: Helen Del / c. Jul 1967: Shmoes Corps Revised / c. Jul 1967: Wendy King / c. Jul 1967: Owen Wood - "Weary Welcome" / c. Jul 1967: The Kirkby Town Three / c. Jul 1967: Gilbert O’Sullivan / c. Jul 1967: The Buffalo Band / c. Jul 1967: The Klubs - "Only John Tring" / c. Jul 1967: Amen Corner - "Gin House" / c. Jul 1967: A New Generation / c. Jul 1967: John Paul Joans / 12 Jul 1967: Tom O'Connor / c. Aug 1967: Skip Bifferty / 11 Aug 1967: The Crabtrees - "Birmingham" / 16 Aug 1967: Peter Law / 24 Aug 1967: Jim James and Raphael Callaghan - "Steam Train" / 25 Aug 1967: Johnny Young / c. Aug 1967: The Beggarmen / c. Aug 1967: The Rush - "Happy” and “Make Mine Music” / c. Aug 1967: Elton John / Sep 1967: Sandra Bryant / 4 Sep 1967: Paula Darrell and the Eddie Robinson Quintet / 12 Sep 1967: Ronnie Cheevers /14 Sep 1967: Hubert Pattison - "My Home's In My Pocket" / 22 Sep 1967: The Quintons / 13 Oct 1967: The Wreckers / 17 Oct 1967: Kaleidoscope / 13 Nov 1967: Michael Garvey - "Nanaimo Legend" / 29 Nov 1967: The Summers - "Study in X”/ c. Dec 1967: Susan Wilson / c. Dec 1967: The Buddies / 1967: The Fairytale / 1967: Linda Russell - "Sunny" / 1967: The Moonshiners - "McAlpine's Fusiliers" / c. Jan 1968: Keith Swift /3 Jan 1968: The Love Affair / 12 Jan 1968: Lorna Hilton - "Ordinary Girl" / 1968: Ged Hone Ragtime Band / c. Jan 1968: Timon - "Something New Every Day" / c. 1968: The Brownsville Jug Band / c. 1968: Blue Horizon / 1968: Edison Bell Spasm Band - "On The Road Again” (audio of this performance is on YouTube) / 1968: Tommy Bishop / 1968: The Idle Hours
There were also three award shows to mark the end of each series:
23 August 1967: Amen Corner, Foggy Dew-O, Kathy Jones, John Paul Joans, Bob Stewart, John Taylor and one other. Prizes were presented by Engelbert Humperdinck.
26 Dec 1967: The Summers, Mike Styan, Donna-Jo, The Kentuckians, Tom and Smiley, Cuppa T, Frank Barry Duo. Prizes were presented by the Bachelors.
04 April 1968: The Rock 'N' Roll Revival Band, Nina Shaw, Richard Fox, Kath Wood, John Zaradin
By the way, some of these contestants achieved success in other fields. Kathy Jones later appeared in ‘Coronation Street’ and became one of the original presenters of ‘A Handful of Songs’. Bill Kenwright became a theatre producer and chairman of Everton Football Club.
You might be vaguely aware of John Paul Joans who was voted “Best Male Vocalist” in August 1967. He was an eccentric singer and comedian who had a minor chart hit in 1970 with “The Man from Nazareth” (which he co-wrote with three members of 10cc).
Any additions or corrections are welcome. I’d particularly be interested if anyone has further information about the performances by Elton John and Gilbert O’Sullivan.
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Post by williammcgregor on Nov 13, 2016 18:24:56 GMT
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Post by Dale Rumbold on Nov 14, 2016 19:21:17 GMT
Ah, Kathy Jones ... I spent a portion of the mid 1970s somewhat fixated on her ...
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Post by markdixon on Mar 30, 2018 8:50:44 GMT
I’ve updated my earlier post in this thread by adding nearly 20 names to the list of “Firstimers” contestants. These include The Fairytale (a psych-pop group from Warrington who released a great single on Decca called “Guess I Was Dreaming”) and The Kirkby Town Three (a folk-group from Merseyside fronted by the playwright Willy Russell). I’m quite intrigued by The Buddies, a vocal duo from South Wales who specialised in spoof flower power songs. Apparently, they used to appear on stage with a psychedelic goat called Hippy.
Other information
Here are a few more snippets of info about the “Firstimers” series:
• Chris Kelly presented the Wednesday night omnibus editions. However, there was also a prize for best guest compere. I think one of these guest presenters was Bob Stewart, who had previously been a DJ on Radio Caroline
• The series was very popular at the time. Some of the contestants even appeared in a number of non-televised Sunday night shows at Blackpool North Pavilion. The first of these shows took place on 30 July 1967 and featured The Grumbleweeds, Michael Terry, John Paul Joans, Paul Weldon and the Tennessee Sound, Helen Del and Kathy Jones
• A new series of half-hour editions of “Firstimers” was due to start in the Granada region on 3rd May 1968. However, shortly before transmission the name of the show was changed to “New Faces”. This new series was presented by Tommy Vance and lasted for 13 episodes. Contestants included folk-pop group The Wednesday Folk (later known as The Fivepenny Piece), singer-songwriter Linda Stevenson and classical guitarist Michael Strutt. A lot of the other entrants were established singers and groups from the cabaret circuit, such as Patricio, Maggie Kelly, The Eddie Connors Four and Sami Sarjeant
Any further information is welcome. I think it’s possible that many audio recordings of “Firstimers” episodes are out there somewhere. Maybe some of these will surface on YouTube at some point.
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Post by markdixon on Sept 15, 2018 9:43:15 GMT
I’ve added a few more names to the list of ‘Firstimers’ contestants above. One of these is Tom O’Connor. He is best known as a comedian and quiz show host, but he made his TV debut as a folk/country singer on an edition of ‘Firstimers’ broadcast on 12 July 1967.
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Post by Ray Langstone (was saintsray) on Sept 16, 2018 19:13:42 GMT
All the episodes appear to be junked.  "FIRSTIMERS A Granada production. Transmission details are for the Granada region. Usual duration: 5 minutes Date Episode Title Production No VT Number Holding / Source Format 22.05.1967 J / Kathy Jones. 23.05.1967 J / Foggy Dew-O. 24.05.1967 J / The John Evan Band. 25.05.1967 J / Bill Brennan. 26.05.1967 J / The Cumbrian Folk. 29.05.1967 J / 30.05.1967 J / 31.05.1967 J / 01.06.1967 J / 02.06.1967 J / 05.06.1967 J / 06.06.1967 J / 07.06.1967 J / 08.06.1967 J / 09.06.1967 J / 12.06.1967 J / 13.06.1967 J / 14.06.1967 J / 15.06.1967 J / 16.06.1967 J / 19.06.1967 J / 20.06.1967 J / 21.06.1967 J / 22.06.1967 J / 23.06.1967 J / 26.06.1967 J / 27.06.1967 J / 28.06.1967 J / 29.06.1967 J / 30.06.1967 J / 03.07.1967 J / 04.07.1967 J / 05.07.1967 J / 06.07.1967 J / 10.07.1967 J / 11.07.1967 J / 12.07.1967 J / 13.07.1967 J / 14.07.1967 J / 17.07.1967 J / 18.07.1967 J / 19.07.1967 J / 20.07.1967 J / 21.07.1967 J / 24.07.1967 J / 25.07.1967 J / 26.07.1967 J / 27.07.1967 J / 28.07.1967 J / 31.07.1967 J / 01.08.1967 J / 02.08.1967 J / 03.08.1967 J / 04.08.1967 J / 07.08.1967 J / 08.08.1967 J / 09.08.1967 J / 10.08.1967 J / 11.08.1967 J / 14.08.1967 J / 15.08.1967 J / 16.08.1967 J / 17.08.1967 J / 18.08.1967 J / 21.08.1967 J / 22.08.1967 J / 23.08.1967 J / 24.08.1967 J / 25.08.1967 J / 28.08.1967 J / 29.08.1967 J / 30.08.1967 J / 31.08.1967 J / 01.09.1967 J / 04.09.1967 J / 05.09.1967 J / 06.09.1967 J / 07.09.1967 J / 08.09.1967 J / 11.09.1967 J / 12.09.1967 J / 13.09.1967 J / 14.09.1967 J / 15.09.1967 J / 18.09.1967 J / 19.09.1967 J / 20.09.1967 J / 21.09.1967 J / 22.09.1967 J / 25.09.1967 J / 26.09.1967 J / 27.09.1967 J / 28.09.1967 J / 29.09.1967 J / 02.10.1967 J / 03.10.1967 J / 04.10.1967 J / 05.10.1967 J / 06.10.1967 J / 09.10.1967 J / 10.10.1967 J / 11.10.1967 J / 12.10.1967 J / 13.10.1967 J / 16.10.1967 J / 17.10.1967 J / 18.10.1967 J / 19.10.1967 J / 20.10.1967 J / 23.10.1967 J / 24.10.1967 J / 25.10.1967 J / 26.10.1967 J / 27.10.1967 J / 30.10.1967 J / 31.10.1967 J / 01.11.1967 J / 02.11.1967 J / 03.11.1967 J / 06.11.1967 J / 07.11.1967 J / 08.11.1967 J / 09.11.1967 J / 10.11.1967 J / 13.11.1967 J / 14.11.1967 J / 15.11.1967 J / 16.11.1967 J / 17.11.1967 J / 20.11.1967 J / 21.11.1967 J / 22.11.1967 J / 23.11.1967 J / 24.11.1967 J / 27.11.1967 J / 28.11.1967 J / 29.11.1967 J / 30.11.1967 J / 01.12.1967 J / 04.12.1967 J / 05.12.1967 J / 06.12.1967 J / 07.12.1967 J / 08.12.1967 J / 11.12.1967 J / 12.12.1967 J / 13.12.1967 J / 14.12.1967 J / 15.12.1967 J / 18.12.1967 J / 19.12.1967 J / 20.12.1967 J / 21.12.1967 J / 22.12.1967 J / 26.12.1967 Awards Edition J / Duration: 10 minutes. With The Summers, Mike Styan, Donna Jo, The Kentuckians, Tom and Smilie, Cuppa Tea, Frank Barry Duo. 27.12.1967 J / 28.12.1967 J / 29.12.1967 J / 02.01.1968 J / 03.01.1968 J / 04.01.1968 J / 08.01.1968 J / 09.01.1968 J / 10.01.1968 J / 11.01.1968 J / 12.01.1968 J / 15.01.1968 J / 16.01.1968 J / 17.01.1968 J / 18.01.1968 J / 19.01.1968 J / 22.01.1968 J / 23.01.1968 J / 24.01.1968 J / 25.01.1968 J / 26.01.1968 J / 29.01.1968 J / 30.01.1968 J / 31.01.1968 J / 01.02.1968 J / 02.02.1968 J / 05.02.1968 J / 06.02.1968 J / 07.02.1968 J / 08.02.1968 J / 09.02.1968 J / 12.02.1968 J / 13.02.1968 J / 14.02.1968 J / 15.02.1968 J / 16.02.1968 J / 19.02.1968 J / 20.02.1968 J / 21.02.1968 J / 22.02.1968 J / 23.02.1968 J / 26.02.1968 J / 27.02.1968 J / 28.02.1968 J / 29.02.1968 J / 01.03.1968 J / 04.03.1968 J / 05.03.1968 J / 06.03.1968 J / 07.03.1968 J / 08.03.1968 J / 04.04.1968 Awards Edition J / Duration: 20 minutes. With The Rock 'n' Roll Revival Band, Richard Fox, Nina Shaw, Kath Wood, John Zaradin."" Info from tvbrain.info. Aye thang yew. |
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Post by Stephen Byers on Sept 17, 2018 6:49:38 GMT
5 Jun 1967: The Pennine Folk - sadly most of the members are now gone. But Ken Campbell their song writer is still active and contributes to Mudcat.org mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=64361They are on YouTube, some clips coming from newly discovered and restored editions of My Kind of Folk and Country Meets Folk. www.youtube.com/results?search_query=penine+folkTheir first LP Both Sides Now (i.e. both sides of the Pennines) only had a run of 100 copies. It sells for £500 if you can find a copy. |
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Post by markdixon on Sept 17, 2018 17:34:42 GMT
A clip of The Pennine Folk exists in the ITV archives. It’s from the period when they were known as The Pennines. They appeared on Granada’s regional news/magazine programme ‘Newsday’ on 01 June 1971. I think they performed ‘Manchester Morning’.
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Post by Stephen Byers on Sept 17, 2018 19:28:34 GMT
A clip of The Pennine Folk exists in the ITV archives. It’s from the period when they were known as The Pennines. They appeared on Granada’s regional news/magazine programme ‘Newsday’ on 01 June 1971. I think they performed ‘Manchester Morning’. 'Manchester Morning' from their second album. Also on YouTube. www.youtube.com/watch?v=mp0YpSPTfps |
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Post by markdixon on Mar 3, 2019 21:22:53 GMT
I’ve added a few more names to the list of ‘Firstimers’ contestants above. I’ve found out that The Love Affair appeared on the show on 03 January 1968. ‘Everlasting Love’ was released as a single in December 1967, so it’s possible that they performed that.
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Post by markdixon on May 5, 2019 8:21:03 GMT
I’ve found out that Johnny Young appeared on ‘Firstimers’ on 25 August 1967. He is an Australian singer who was a friend of the Bee Gees. It’s likely that he performed ‘Craise Finton Kirk’ on the show.
‘Craise Finton Kirk’ was written by Barry and Robin Gibb. Johnny Young’s version was released as a single on Polydor at the beginning of August 1967. Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb sang backing vocals on the recording.
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