Five O'Clock Club and Five O'Clock Funfair shows

[markdixon]

Here’s a review of ‘Five O’Clock Club’ (11 February 1966) from ‘The Stage’ (17 February 1966).

For children? Five O’Clock Club on Fridays is billed as children’s television, but this I doubt. I see no difference in this pop programme and those which are shown for the adult viewers. There were some children at the back which may have been some attempt to lay claim to the title, but these were the quietest kids I’ve seen.

They did show some sort of animation when Billy J Kramer went into his song. For my part, I liked the Soulmates best of all and Mark Murphy, blues singer from America, not at all. The Soulmates, two boys and a girl, were gay with their Bring Your Love Back Home. Mark Murphy, whose forte seems to be improvisation, sang and improvised to his heart’s content, but I think his was the only heart that was. Not an interesting programme, particularly for the children. I can’t see how they can possibly join in, actively or in spirit.

Chad and Jeremy were listed as guests in the TV Times, but they must have been replaced at the last minute by the Soulmates.

It looks like the director tried to do something a bit different for Billy J. Kramer’s performance.

I found an article in ‘The Times’ (28 June 1966) that appears to back up the reviewer’s claim that children were no longer enjoying the music featured on ‘Five O’Clock Club’. 

Children Go Off ‘Pop’ Music

Younger children seemed to be losing interest in pop music, Mr Michael Segal, head of children’s programmes for Rediffusion television said yesterday in announcing a new format for the company’s Five O’clock Club on Fridays. From July 1 the programme would have a new 10-minute regional quiz called The I.Q. Game.

The change is in line with others made by Mr Cyril Bennett, Rediffusion’s new director of programmes, in an effort to give the company’s output added respectability.

I also noticed the following line in an article in 'The Times' (02 August 1966) about changes to ITV schedules.

The children’s programme Five O’Clock Club is scrapped as part of a drive against pop music. 

ITV’s 'drive against pop music' in late 1966 also led to the cancellation of Rediffusion’s ‘Ready Steady Go!’ and ABC’s ‘Thank Your Lucky Stars’.

[Tony Walshaw]

Interesting to read about 'the drive against pop music'.

This was around the time that musical guests ceased to be on 'Blue Peter'. Pop music was losing its innocence, with songs having suggestive or protest lyrics.

I suspect that TV producers were wary of this, and preferred to put music e.g. on evening BBC2 shows, rather than at teatime.

[Kev Hunter]

Am I right in recalling that "Time For Blackburn", "All Systems Freeman" and "Monster Music Mash" were broadcast in the so-called 'tea time' slot however? I'm sure I watched these not that long after getting home from school around 1968/1969.

[johnpoole]

Depends when you had your tea ...

Monster Music Mash was broadcast in the 5:15 slot I believe; but All Systems Freeman was at 6:40 on Fridays and Time for Blackburn was on Saturdays

[Peter Stirling]

Jul 27, 2018 9:45:10 GMT Kev Hunter said:

Am I right in recalling that "Time For Blackburn", "All Systems Freeman" and "Monster Music Mash" were broadcast in the so-called 'tea time' slot however? I'm sure I watched these not that long after getting home from school around 1968/1969.

Slightly O/T but Time for Blackburn went out on the tea time Saturday slot in many areas, it had replaced the innovative 'Good Evening' devised by Jonathan King, Good Evening was moved to a late night slot where it withered and died.

I mention this, as in another thread it mentions that at the time the crusties at ITV were deciding that there were too much pop music on TV having too much influence on the young and as we know 'Ready Steady Go' 'Thank Your Lucky Stars' etc had been cancelled. Jonathan King had got around this by having a pop show that was more of a magazine ie- he could sneak in his beloved pop music but also contemporary concerns of the day..
However perhaps because they saw King as 'one of their gang' the interviewees often strayed off their record/film company script and expressed what they were really thinking and the sometimes bizarre theories of their own. So ITV probably thought this was too much for children's time TV and thus shunted it into late. Time for Blackburn was a similar format but was more slick and controlled.

As you probably know there are a few clips of 'Good Evening' on YT which are basically what JK managed to grab before the whole series went in the skip.

[Kev Hunter]

My memory is playing tricks on me then, although I'm relieved to hear that I probably did watch Monster Music Mash after the rigours of a school day. However, being a slightly precocious Southern youth, I had 'dinner' rather than 'tea' at that time of the day.

[Peter Stirling]

Jul 27, 2018 11:29:09 GMT Kev Hunter said:

My memory is playing tricks on me then, although I'm relieved to hear that I probably did watch Monster Music Mash after the rigours of a school day. However, being a slightly precocious Southern youth, I had 'dinner' rather than 'tea' at that time of the day.

Ah if you were in the Southern region then this showed TFB earlier than the rest which I believe was on a Thurs or Fri night,having been recorded on the Tues. All Systems Freeman went out teatime after the news on a Friday night I believe.

[Kev Hunter]

Thanks Peter.. I'm reassured that my memory is still fairly ok!

[markdixon]

I’ve assumed for a quite a while that “Five O’Clock Club” was always broadcast live. I was also under the impression that Rediffusion rarely made recordings of these live shows.

However, I’ve found some information recently that suggests that many episodes were pre-recorded.

Anne Robinson was a researcher on “Five O’Clock Club” circa 1964/5. In her autobiography she claims that each week the Tuesday edition went out live and then the second edition was recorded immediately afterwards for broadcast on Thursday.

This didn’t sound very believable to me at first, but her claim seems to be backed up by someone who posted a childhood recollection on the Internet Movie Database about being interviewed on one of the live Tuesday editions in 1966. Here’s the relevant section:

The show was twice weekly, they did one live and then recorded the second one. Being in the audience for the recorded one I was on twice.

If it’s true that many episodes of “Five O’Clock Club” were pre-recorded, then it raises a tiny bit of hope that some editions may still be in existence somewhere.

[petercheck]

Indeed, I can confirm that some shows were pre-taped. From just The Hollies section of 'Channelling The Beat' there are 3 examples:

25-12-64 (taped in Trafalgar Square, 22-12-64)
31-12-65 (taped 28-12-65)
02-09-65 (Bernie Calvert's debut appearance as an official full-time member, taped 30-08-65)

[Peter Stirling]

Well this was certainly a practice of the day...One live, then record the next. Emergency Ward 10 was done in the same way and so was the early Avengers.

Meanwhile it looks like Kaleidoscope did win that ITV children's TV 1965 promo film (mentioned on this thread) after all.

[Richard Marple]

I think Coronation Street was made like that in it's early days, with the 2nd episode in the week being taped straight after the first one had gone out live.

[markdixon]

It’s great news that Kaleidoscope have recovered the ITV Children’s TV promo from 1965. It contains sequences from editions of “Five O’Clock Club” and specially-made linking material featuring Muriel Young, Pussycat Willum, Fred Barker and Ollie Beak.

Footage exists of Fred Barker on “Lift Off with Ayshea” and Ollie Beak on “Get It Together”, but I think the 1965 promo contains the only surviving sequences featuring both puppets together.

[williammcgregor]

There are no entries for The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Kathy Kirby, Sounds Incorporated, Twinkle and only one 'possible' The Who appearance, as yet
unconfirmed?

Is this correct?

[Thomas Walsh]

Wonderful thread for this legendary show to be fair. I hung out recently with me aul' mucker mate Roger Spencer. Drummer with Mike Sheridan & The Nightriders and The Idle Race of course. I spoke about some TV stuff and he mentioned The 5 O'Clock Club. MS&TN appeared twice on the show. He seemed pretty sure that there were some surving pictures of them from the show. There's none in this thread but I'll dig about a little and see what I can find. Any help with clips of Mike Sheridan William?

Thomas.