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Post by markdixon on Oct 9, 2023 19:51:21 GMT
It’s an excellent clip.
I agree with what’s been said here already. It’s likely to be from a Dutch or West German pop show (or possibly a promo clip financed by the band’s management).
However, I couldn’t help wondering for a moment if this is a lost music insert from Granada’s ‘Scene at 6.30’? It looks like a ‘Scene’ performance to me. The band are in a tiny studio without a stage. There’s no sign of a presenter or audience.
It’s been mentioned already that ‘At The Station’ was released in the UK only so it would make more sense if it was performed on a British show. Of course, there’s the issue of the miming ban which came into force on British TV a couple of months before the single was released. I know that ‘Scene at 6.30’ sometimes featured artists promoting their records weeks or even months before the actual release date. Therefore, the clip could have been broadcast by Granada before the miming ban started.
I hope someone discovers the source of this clip soon.
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Post by markdixon on Jun 17, 2023 12:39:10 GMT
The Television Toppers were dancers who appeared on the BBC TV programme 'Quite Contrary' on 31 January 1955. However, for some reason they were billed in the Radio Times as 'The New Toppers'. IMDB confirms the Television Toppers and the New Toppers were the same dance troupe.
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Post by markdixon on Sept 11, 2022 12:01:07 GMT
Dave Berry made the following appearances on Granada’s ‘Scene at 6:30’ (all missing):
10/11/1964: ‘One Heart Between Two’ and ‘You’re Gonna Need Somebody’
03/03/1965: It’s likely that he performed ‘Little Things’
31/05/1965: It’s likely that he performed ‘Can I Get It From You’
17/06/1966: It’s likely that he performed ‘Mama’
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Post by markdixon on Aug 24, 2022 16:36:52 GMT
I think it's from a Spanish series called Tele-Ritmo. I recognised the Italian singer Mina at the beginning of the clip. I did a quick search online and it turns out she appeared on Tele-Ritmo some time in 1966.
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Post by markdixon on Mar 12, 2022 15:47:46 GMT
Some more information has emerged about Nick Drake’s appearance on ‘Octopus’.
Richard Morton Jack has written ‘Nick Drake – An Authorised Biography’. It’s due to be published in September 2022. He’s set up a Facebook page to promote the book and there’s a discussion on there at the moment about ‘Octopus’.
The author has confirmed that the Nick Drake footage is not known to exist. He also stated that Drake performed ‘Cello Song’ on the show with no other musicians present. Presumably, this was a live vocal with a pre-recorded backing track. Drake wasn’t interviewed on the programme.
Morton Jack interviewed ‘Octopus’ presenter Sue Woodford for his book so hopefully we’ll get a detailed insight into this mysterious programme.
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Post by markdixon on Feb 20, 2022 13:48:48 GMT
I’m still trying to find information about clips from ‘Scene at 6.30’ that were also shown outside the UK. So far, I’ve discovered that an entire episode was broadcast on 08 October 1966 on the 3rd TV Channel for Northern Germany and Berlin. I also know that a ‘Scene’ special about Twiggy (from 24 June 1967) was sold to WPIX in New York and to tv stations in Denmark and Australia in July 1967.
I haven’t been able to discover anything about the ‘Scene’ pop clips that were sold to TV stations around the world. It’s possible that a few of these might still exist as inserts within foreign pop shows or documentaries from the 1960s. How would we be able to identify them if they were to turn up on YouTube or elsewhere? Did the musical interludes on ‘Scene’ have a distinctive visual style?
I’ve not really been able to identify a unifying style because there are so few clips in existence. The music slot was handled by several directors (including Silvio Narrizano, Michael Apted, David Warwick and Phillip Casson) so there were bound to be variations in approach.
Many of the performances were recorded in Granada’s Studio 4, a tiny studio that also doubled as a continuity booth. It’s not much to go on, but I think a typical ‘Scene’ music performance would have been very tightly focused on the performers. There wouldn’t have been a studio audience or any space for elaborate set designs. The ‘Twist and Shout’ performance by the Beatles was very much in that style.
The Beatles performed against a ‘Daily Echo’ newspaper backdrop for ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’ and ‘This Boy’. However, I doubt that backdrops were used that often. A large amount of publicity stills of pop stars were taken by Granada’s photographers Ray Green and Stewart Darby. From the few photos I’ve seen, it appears that ‘Scene’ performances often took place in a darkened studio lit only by spotlights.
‘Scene at 6.30’ also used location filming for many of the music performances. These were very popular at the time so perhaps some of these were sold abroad. They’ll be a lot easier to identify than the studio performances if any ever turn up.
Here’s a list of some of them:
28 Jan 1963: Frank Ifield - ‘The Wayward Wind’ – filmed on the moors near Manchester 30 Jan 1963: The Vernons Girls - ‘Do The Bird’ – filmed in a park c. Feb 1963: Shane Fenton - ‘I Ain’t Got Nobody’– set in a solitary confinement prison cell 5 Feb 1963: Johnny Kidd and the Pirates - on a boat sailing along the Manchester Ship Canal 8 Feb 1963: Little Eva - ‘The Locomotion’. She stood on the footplate of a ‘Scot’ locomotive in a railway depot in Longsight, Manchester 1963: Kenny Lynch - ‘Up on the Roof’. The performance took place on the roof of the Granada studios c. Nov 1963: The Country Gentlemen - ‘Greensleeves’ – filmed somewhere on the banks of the River Mersey c. Jul 1964: Ken Dodd – ‘Happiness’ – children were shown fishing in a river near Capesthorne Hall, Cheshire Jan 1965: The Righteous Brothers – ‘You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling’ – filmed at Belle Vue Zoological Gardens, Manchester Jan 1965: The Just Four Men – also filmed at Belle Vue
It’s likely that some of these outdoor clips were filmed in a slightly surreal, jokey style common to pop promos from that era. It’s possible that dancers were featured alongside the musical performers occasionally.
Any further information is welcome.
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Post by markdixon on Oct 17, 2021 12:47:34 GMT
I’ve just finished reading ‘A Thousand Cuts’ by Dennis Bartok and Jeff Joseph. It’s a book about film collectors and film dealers. There are a couple of sections that mention the illegal film trade in South Africa in the early 1970s. Dupes of Hollywood films and US TV series such as ‘The Mod Squad’ were smuggled into South Africa directly from the USA. The book is written from an American perspective so there’s no mention of British television.
Earlier in this thread, there’s a mention of someone seeing episodes of ‘The Avengers’ and ITC series such as ‘The Saint’ in South Africa before 1975. Could these have been pirated syndication prints that had arrived directly from the USA?
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Post by markdixon on Sept 16, 2021 20:10:54 GMT
I’ve only been able to find information about one series called ‘Come Thursday’ and that’s the BBC radio show that has already been mentioned. This started on the Scottish Home Service in October 1964 and the final edition was broadcast on the Scottish Radio 4 in March 1968. It featured lots of Scottish pop groups and folk groups. I don't think there was a TV series called 'Come Thursday'.
‘Words and Music’ was mentioned earlier. This was a 20 minute show that was shown in the Grampian region only on Friday nights from 16 July 1965 to 13 August 1965. The regular guests on this seemed to be Julie Grant, Glen Mason, Doug Kynoch and the Johnny Scott Quartet. The Modelles made their TV debut on the show on 06 August 1965.
By the way, that ‘TV Times’ cover from August 1965 in the ‘Scotbeat’ article shows the Modelles on the set of ‘Granada in the North’, which was a late-night version of ‘Scene at 6.30’.
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Post by markdixon on Aug 16, 2021 18:33:11 GMT
The following might seem a bit off-topic at first but it does relate to this thread.
There’s an exhibition on at the moment at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester about the early years of Factory Records. Many items from Tony Wilson’s archive are on display including a handwritten list of potential guests for a proposed third series of ‘So It Goes’. I remember reading that plans for a third series were scrapped when Granada bosses heard Iggy Pop swear in an episode from Series 2 broadcast in October 1977. However, this list appears to be from the second half of 1978 because many of the bands included are post-punk. I didn’t know there were plans to bring back ‘So It Goes’ nearly a year after it was cancelled.
There are nearly 50 bands on the list and about half of these (Buzzcocks, Wire etc.) had already appeared on either the second series of ‘So It Goes’ (1977) or the first series of the late-night ‘What’s On’ (1978). Here are the bands that Wilson was hoping to put on television for the first time:
Public Image Limited, Talking Heads, Cabaret Voltaire, Gang of Four, Joy Division, the Normal, the Undertones, Ludus, Manicured Noise, the Dead Boys, Suicide, Pere Ubu, the Human League, Punishment of Luxury, Black Slate, Patrick Fitzgerald, the Smirks, the Yachts, Wayne County and the Electric Chairs, Ultravox, Matumbi, the Only Ones, the Desperate Bicycles, ATV
Three of the bands on the list (Human League, Joy Division, PIL) appeared on ‘Granada Reports’ after the attempt to revive ‘So It Goes’ was abandoned. I think it’s very likely that some of the others did too in 1978 or 1979. We can rule out Talking Heads because Wilson said in an interview that he was never able to get them to appear on a Granada programme. I also know that Cabaret Voltaire and Pere Ubu didn’t make their TV debuts until the 1980s.
Hopefully somebody out there can confirm if some of these bands did appear on ‘Granada Reports’. It would also be great if a few off-air recordings turned up on YouTube or elsewhere.
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Post by markdixon on May 1, 2021 13:56:23 GMT
I had a search on the British Newspaper Archive and a few other sites and here’s what I found out about ‘For Teenagers Only:
It was an ATV production and it was shown in the ATV, Southern and Channel TV regions. The programme was 20 minutes long. ATV broadcast it on Thursdays from 6:40 – 7:00. It appears that episodes were often recorded a week before transmission.
I found details of guests that haven’t been mentioned previously in this thread:
08/08/1963: Yvette Weldon (?) 29/08/1963: Les Stevens and the Satellites 05/09/1963: Cliff Richard 03/10/1963: Mark Fayne and the Astronauts performed ‘I Believe’ 31/10/1963: Q Martin and the Sabres ??/??/1963: Janice Nicholls ??//??/1963: Carl Wayne and the Vikings 30/01/1964: Denny Seyton and the Sabres 18/06/1964: Jason Ford, Kenny Ball 16/07/1964: Billy Boyle ??/07/1964: The Matadors 03/09/1964: The Swinging Blue Jeans
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Post by markdixon on Feb 19, 2021 14:01:20 GMT
KernickQ has also written a note about Vegetable Village on the Turnipnet site. This is similar to his comments on the Guardian website. However, there’s an extra bit at the end:
After Freda Lingstrom joined the BBC, she didn't want anything connected with (producer) Cecil Madden and so the future series that my Mother had been promised were dropped. They also went out live on Border TV in 1962.
Unfortunately there is no record with the BBC of the puppets, but Mother had some videos made in the early 1980s and I have copies of these (somewhere) at home.
I DO hope that at some time Mother's contribution to children's TV will be recognised.
It's possible that a few episodes of the Border TV version of Vegetable Village have survived.
I found an article in 'The Stage' about an exhibition organised by the British Puppet and Model Theatre Guild in Hastings in May 1966. There was a TV section containing puppets from Vegetable Village, The Sooty Show, Muffin The Mule, Camberwick Green and Stingray. Perhaps KernickQ saw a similar exhibition at Brixton Town Hall at about the same time.
Southern TV filmed two features about the Hastings exhibition for their news programmes. Does this footage still exist?
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Post by markdixon on Feb 18, 2021 19:23:23 GMT
I've found out that Vegetable Village was remade by Border TV in 1962. It wasn't networked and I think it was shown in the Border area only until about 1965. It's likely that the episode that survives on video tape is from the Border series.
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Post by markdixon on Jan 22, 2021 15:01:17 GMT
I haven’t been able to discover any further information about Granada’s ‘Indo Jazz Fusions’ but I did find out a bit more about HTV’s ‘Fusions’.
HTV published a booklet called ‘Accepting the Challenge’ in 1969 to celebrate their first year of broadcasting. The front cover showed a production still from ‘Fusions’ and there was a brief description of the series inside:
“Fusions”, a series of six programmes, explored and exploited the excitement of a new musical form - Indo Jazz. It was music that fused the melodies and rhythms of East and West. It provided opportunity for dancing that was exotic and spectacular. Critics hailed it, with justification, as “a musical revolution”. Cleo Laine, Georgie Fame, Elaine Delmar, Jon Hendricks, the Pink Floyd, The Nice and the Family were among the artists and the pop groups who took part.
Fusions. “Harlech are being very bold.” (Western Mail). “The opportunities to heap unqualified praise on a programme are rare, but I have no hesitation. This is a daring musical experiment.” (Western Daily Press).
This text was accompanied by a couple of photos of dancers from the show. They wore unusual and exotic make-up. I get the impression that interpretative dance was a major part of the series.
It’s clear from the booklet that HTV were proud of ‘Fusions’. It seems strange that nothing from the series has survived.
Transdiffusion have put the entire ‘Accepting the Challenge’ booklet online (search for harlech.televault.rocks).
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Post by markdixon on Dec 13, 2020 20:44:48 GMT
The archive status of ‘Dim Dam Dom’ seems to be very good. A few DVD compilations have been released (one of which features the Neil MacArthur performance) and there are clips and episodes available on the ina.fr website.
From what I can gather, ‘Dim Dam Dom’ was a monthly programme aimed mainly at young women that featured items about fashion, literature, film and music. It was very visually inventive and sometimes quite surreal.
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Post by markdixon on Dec 12, 2020 17:56:25 GMT
I watched “The ABC of ABC – A Souvenir With Music” this morning and I really enjoyed it. This was made in 1966 to commemorate ABC’s 10th anniversary in broadcasting. The programme featured a few clips from programmes that are now missing. These included the following:
• Cliff Richard performing ‘Mean Streak’ on ‘Oh Boy!’ (23 May 1959) • Oscar Brown Jr. performing ‘Sam’s Life’ on ‘Tempo’ (06 October 1963) • Spike Milligan, Peter Cook and Rosemary Forsyth on ‘The Eamonn Andrews Show’ (19 December 1965)
I think it's likely that the clips from ‘Candid Camera’ and ‘The Grammar of Cooking’ are also from editions that were subsequently wiped.
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