Date of Skip Bifferty on Granada's 'First Timers'

[ajsmith]

Hi, I'm writing on behalf of a friend of mine who is researching the group Skip Bifferty. He's looking for the exact date that they appeared on this Granada TV show. I was wondering if anyone on the forum has access to any contemporary listings that could help pintpoint exactly when their editions would have Txed? Thanks in advance.

[Kev Mulrenan]

I have a decent lot of tv times

Got an approx date?

[ajsmith]

May 18, 2020 13:03:42 GMT Kev Mulrenan said:

I have a decent lot of tv times

Got an approx date?

Thanks Kev! First Timers ran from 22 May 1967 to 04 April 1968 so could potentially be any time in that 11 month timeframe. I've a hunch it's more likely to be a 1967 show as SB's first 2 singles were released that year, but can't say for certain.

[Kev Mulrenan]

Ok

A nice little project to keep me going.

Was it just Granada or networked?

[ajsmith]

May 18, 2020 13:51:07 GMT Kev Mulrenan said:

Ok

A nice little project to keep me going.

Was it just Granada or networked?

AFAIK it was Granada only. There is more info on the thread from this forum from 2016 linked below, esp in Mark Dixon's post. This is a salient bit of info:

“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.

So it was a daily segment as part of 'On Air' but also a Wednesday compilation show under it's own title.

missingepisodes.proboards.com/thread/2535/granada-tv-first-timers?fbclid=IwAR1afo0HhzXC_d9LkmtzLRHtcZkSkSmnyBM1ezYTGMBdw0ylVE_88laJP_I

[Peter Stirling]

May 18, 2020 13:57:36 GMT ajsmith said:

.

Was it just Granada or networked?

AFAIK it was Granada only. There is more info on the thread from this forum from 2016 linked below, esp in Mark Dixon's post. This is a salient bit of info:

“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.

So it was a daily segment as part of 'On Air' but also a Wednesday compilation show under it's own title.

missingepisodes.proboards.com/thread/2535/granada-tv-first-timers?fbclid=IwAR1afo0HhzXC_d9LkmtzLRHtcZkSkSmnyBM1ezYTGMBdw0ylVE_88laJP_I[/quote]


OT but...was this one of the groups who were under the umbrella of Sharon Osborne's dad's management company..
...who 'sent the boys round' went they attempted to leave his clutches.

[markdixon]

I’ll add Skip Bifferty to my ‘Firstimers’ list on the other thread. I haven’t got an exact date for their appearance on the show, but I think it probably took place in August 1967. Their debut single, ‘On Love’ was released in the UK on 11 August 1967. ‘Firstimers’ was billed as a talent contest, but sometimes the show was used as a promotional spot for debut singles.

I looked through all the relevant issues of the Northern ‘TV Times’ to compile my list and there was no sign of Skip Bifferty. It’s possible that their TV debut was mentioned in one of the music papers at the time. It’s worth keeping an eye on the American Radio History website. Their collection of scanned British music papers from the Sixties is added to almost every week.