Category: Entertainment

For a band that refused to put out singles in the UK, it is ironic that TV’s ‘Top of the Pops’ (1964-2006) used a cover of one of Led Zeppelin‘s LP tracks, ‘Whole Lotta Love’ (1969) during 1970-77 and 1998-2003 as its theme tune. Aside from that footnote in pop history, they were known exclusively in the heavy metal arena, playing a fusion of blues, folk and rock. Their live performances expanded on their studio recordings and broke attendance records in the U.S.A. formerly set by The Beatles.

In 1968, The Yardbirds’ lead guitarist, Jimmy Page (1944-) from Middlesex hurriedly put together a new line-up to fulfil the recently-disbanded group’s final gigs. He recruited singer Robert Plant (1948-) from Staffordshire, bassist John Paul Jones (1946-) from Kent and drummer John Bonham (1948-80) from Worcestershire. They subsequently decided to make it a long-term arrangement. The band’s name was a self-deprecating twist on “going down like a lead balloon”.

Bonham’s death from a drunken episode ended the band’s phenomenal run. Their worldwide sales of more than 300 million records include classics such as ‘Communication Breakdown’ (1968), ‘Ramble On’ (1969), ‘Immigrant Song’ (1970), ‘Stairway to Heaven’ (1971) and ‘Kashmir’ (1975). Their first four LPs (1969-71) plus the double-LP ‘Physical Graffiti’ (1975) are considered by many to be their best.

(Top image: Heinrich Klaffs at Flickr.com / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Londoner Dame June Whitfield (1925-2018) studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art during WW2. Beginning with Shakespearean theatre, she was destined to have a very successful, busy acting career. This spanned radio, TV, film, pantomime, voice-overs and musical theatre and endeared her to a large audience. Her crystal-clear, melodious voice lent itself equally well to song, speech and comedy impersonations.

She first became famous for playing Eth, engaged to the dimwitted Ron in radio’s ‘Take It From Here’ (1953-60). She went on to work alongside many of the comedy greats but claimed she never wanted a starring role herself after seeing the stress that some of them suffered. Nevertheless, after the TV sitcom ‘Beggar My Neighbour’ (1966-68) she started working with Terry Scott (1927-94) in ‘Scott On’ (1968), then ‘Happy Ever After’ (1974-79) and finally ‘Terry and June’ (1979-87), in which she was arguably the co-star.

She appeared in four ‘Carry On’ films ~ in 1959, 1972, 1973 and 1992. Her last film was ‘Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie’ (2016) in which she reprised her role as the grandmother in the ‘Absolutely Fabulous’ series (1992-2012), adding a touch of sanity to the goings-on. On radio she memorably played the title role in ‘Miss Marple’ (1993-2001), proving not just her versatility but her star quality.

(Top image: Guy Manchester at Flickr.com / CC BY 2.0)

‘That Was The Week That Was‘ (“TW3” for short) made stars of the lone female performer, the hugely talented theatrical singer/actress Millicent Martin (1934-), host Sir David Frost (1939-2013) and journalist Bernard Levin (1928-2004). It was the first satirical comedy show on British TV and politicians soon came to dread its regular Saturday night showing on BBC at 10.40pm, the last slot before close-down.

It began in November 1962 with 22 episodes written by a team of two dozen, assembled by creator, director and producer Ned Sherrin (1931-2007). The BBC in those days was open to new ideas and TW3 delivered, both in content and format, being aired live with glimpses of cameras, microphones, studio audience, script papers and technicians. Mistakes could not be edited out and the show often overran its time.

1963 was an unfortunate year for TW3, seeing the death in June of one of its performers, Timothy Birdsall, aged only 27. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in November, for which TW3 produced its one and only serious episode in commemoration, and finally the BBC decided to cancel it altogether in December after 14 episodes of the second series, succumbing to pressure to censor political satire in the run-up to the October 1964 General Election.

(Top image: bbc.com/ copyright)

‘The Magic Roundabout‘  was a children’s programme aired from 1965 to 1977, with a 5-minute slot every weekday before the News. This meant it also gathered a large adult audience. People appreciated the subtle humour of the script, written and voiced by Lincolnshire-born Eric Thompson (1929-82).

The stop-motion films of puppet figures in the brightly-coloured Magic Garden were made by Frenchman Serge Danot, assisted by Yorkshire-born animator Ivor Wood (1932-2004). ‘Le Manège Enchanté’ (1964-71) did not translate satisfactorily for British ears, hence the Thompson re-write. Thompson also did all the voices for the characters, who were:

• Dougal – dog with shaggy fur covering his legs (making animation easier)
• Zebedee – magical toy on a spring, assigned the classic end line, “Time for bed!” (..”said Zebedee”)
• Brian – intelligent, cheery snail
• Ermintrude – pink cow, sang, ate flowers
• Dylan – hippy rabbit with guitar
• Florence – sensible little girl
• Mr. Rusty – elderly roundabout operator
• Mr. McHenry – elderly gardener
• The Train – small steam train

The catchy theme tune was composed by Frenchman Alain Legrand. In the UK, there are at least four towns that have a complex road junction dubbed ‘the magic roundabout’ after the programme. The traffic at these spots moves slowly, thereby reducing accidents.

(Top image: Lcl123 at Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0)

Sir Barry Gibb (1946-) and his twin brothers Maurice Gibb (1949-2003) and Robin Gibb (1949-2012) knew instinctively as children that they were destined to follow a singing and song-writing career together. Born on the Isle of Man, they grew up in Manchester, then Redcliffe and Sydney in Australia in 1958-66.

First singing in public when the twins were only six, they returned to the UK in search of stardom, ensured by their distinctive vocal harmonisation and talent for writing chart-topping songs, not just for themselves but for other artistes too. The group’s name was derived from the same B.G. initials of Barry, their mother and two men who initially helped promote them, hence ‘The B.G.s,’ which transformed into The Bee Gees.

Their first UK no. 1 single was ‘Massachusetts’, in 1967. Eight years on, in 1975, Barry discovered his falsetto range, which then featured extensively in their songs. In the studio, the trio would sing round one microphone and their different vibratos added another dimension to the mesh. Whilst recording the ‘Saturday Night Fever’ album in 1977, they were told it was to be used as the soundtrack for a film their manager was making. It went on to be the best-selling soundtrack of all time.

(Top image: John at Flickr.com / CC BY-SA 2.0)

At a time when women in the UK had achieved gender equality in many spheres, The Spice Girls came along to push the boundaries of acceptance in the music industry. Assembled in 1994 and disbanding six years later, their phenomenal worldwide success saw sales of 85 million records, the most of any all-girl singing group. They adopted an ethos of ‘girl power’, which suited their exuberant, brash image, exemplified in their playful groping of Prince Charles at an event in 1997.

The distinct personalities of the five members were the key to their marketing appeal. These were:

• ‘Ginger’ ~ Geri Halliwell (1972-) whose departure in 1998 caused shock and heartbreak among all Spice fans;
• ‘Sporty’ ~ Mel C(hisholm) (1974-) known for her tracksuit-bottom outfits;
• ‘Posh’ ~ Victoria Adams (1974-) who married footballer David Beckham, the media then dubbed the couple ‘Posh & Becks’ and she later became a fashion designer;
• ‘Scary’ ~ Mel B(rown) (1975-) who, with Ginger, was a leader of the group;
• ‘Baby’ ~ Emma Bunton (1976-), the favourite of many of the youngest girl fans.

Their first hit, ‘Wannabe’ (1996) was no. 1 in 37 countries. Most of their singles reached no. 1 in the UK but continual success led to battles of ego, including the sacking of their ‘pop genius’ manager, Simon Fuller, by fax.

(Top image of 2008 reunion performance: Kura.kun at Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0)

London-born Freda Lingstrom, OBE (1893-1989) was a pioneer of radio and television programming for pre-school children. She launched BBC radio’s ‘Listen with Mother’ in 1950 and it was so successful it ran until 1982. It was a collection of stories, songs and nursery rhymes and it aired just after lunch on Monday to Friday. Two years later, as Director of BBC Children’s Television and assisted by Maria Bird (1891-1979), she put together an equivalent schedule for TV and so began ‘Watch with Mother’.

Each day’s 15-minute programme featuring puppet characters aired at 3.45pm and had its own title:-

• Monday: ‘Picture Book’ with Sausage the dachsund
• Tuesday: ‘Andy Pandy’ joined by Teddy and Looby Loo
• Wednesday: ‘The Flowerpot Men’ with Bill & Ben and Weed
• Thursday: ‘Rag, Tag and Bobtail’, a hedgehog, a mouse and a rabbit
• Friday: ‘The Woodentops’ with Spotty Dog and Buttercup the Cow

After the first few years of filming (in black-and-white) the episodes were repeated, with ‘Andy Pandy’, the most popular show, being repeated 34 times until the film wore out! A one-off series in colour was then produced in 1970. Other titles were introduced over the years, such as ‘Bagpuss’, ‘Trumpton’ and ‘Tales of the Riverbank’ and the whole series continued until 1980.

(Top image of The Flowerpot Men: The Lowry at Flick.com / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

John Eric Bartholomew (1926-84) from Morecambe and Ernest Wiseman (1925-99) from Leeds were Britain’s most successful comedic double act, Morecambe & Wise. At the peak of their fame, their 1977 Christmas Show attracted a TV audience of 27 million, half the UK population. Actors and celebrities of all kinds craved an appearance on the Morecambe & Wise Show, often displaying talents that were otherwise hidden, such as singing, dancing or playing the straight man…

Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise met as young variety performers in 1939 and hit it off straight away. They reunited after serving in WW2 and managed to secure a radio series in 1953, whilst honing their act in revue shows and pantomimes. They moved on to TV and by 1962 had found their niche and created many of the sketches they later developed, including the Grieg sketch shown above, in which Ernie originally played the conductor.

They made three comedy films in the 1960s and one in 1983. Their much-loved BBC TV series ran from 1969 to 1977 but, wanting a new direction and more film work, they signed with Thames TV. However, Eric had suffered from heart problems for some time and eventually had to stop dancing. Upon his death in 1984, their reign came to an end.

(Image [cropped]: Alwyn Ladell at Flickr.com / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Boarding schools are a perfect setting for children’s fiction in which to celebrate the resilience, heroism and ingenuity of the younger generation. St. Trinian’s girls’ school, the creation of Ronald Searle (1920-2011), took this to a comic extreme which all ages could enjoy. It was a parody of an alternative type of school in which attendance at lessons is optional, such as the Summerhill school in Suffolk, founded in 1921, which courted a fair amount of criticism in Searle’s time.

His version of a school-gone-wild was introduced in a cartoon series in the early 1940s, followed by several books. There have been seven films, of which the most notable are:

• ‘The Belles of St. Trinian’s’ (1954)
• ‘Blue Murder at St. Trinian’s’ (1957)
• ‘The Pure Hell of St. Trinian’s’ (1960)
• ‘The Great St. Trinian’s Train Robbery’ (1966)

Alastair Sim (1900-76) famously starred as both the headmistress and her conniving brother. Joyce Grenfell (1910-79) was the naïve policewoman and George Cole (1925-2015) the spiv.

The comedy was derived from the unbridled mayhem and anarchy in the school. The girls in the lower Forms were adept at bomb-making and sabotage, and the 6th Formers constantly failed their exams as they were too busy drinking, smoking, gambling and practising their feminine wiles.

(Image [cropped]: James Vaughan at Flickr.com / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Born in Yorkshire in 1934, Dame Judi Dench has spent almost all her working life as an actress and she is much revered in that industry. She has won many awards for her work in theatre, television, film, radio and animation.

Her professional debut was in 1957 at the Royal Court Theatre in Liverpool in Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’. This set the touchstone for her long career of playing prestigious, leading characters including several Queens. Her first film was ‘Four in the Morning’ (1965) and her first musical was ‘Cabaret’ (1968) in which she played Sally Bowles. Although apprehensive about singing, she was in fact highly acclaimed for her rendition, more akin to acting-singing. This versatility was to stand her in good stead.

Perhaps her most famous role was as M, James Bond’s boss, in four Bond films from 1995 to 2012. She also has two successful TV sitcoms under her belt: ‘A Fine Romance’ (1981-4) in which she starred alongside her husband, Michael Williams (1935-2001), and ‘As Time Goes By’ (1992-2005) opposite Geoffrey Palmer (1927-2020). In the video below, Michael Williams is seen crying with joy as his wife receives the award for her part in the film ‘Mrs. Brown’ (1997) in which Geoffrey Palmer again co-starred.

(Top image: le pixelomancien at Flickr.com / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

The world’s longest-running panel show is BBC Radio’s ‘Just A Minute’ (JAM), which first aired on 22nd December 1967. Parlour games used to be a way to pass the time at home before the advent of television, and JAM is a good example of this type of brain-teasing fun. Contestants must each try to speak for sixty seconds on a topic given to them on the spot by the chairman ‘without hesitation, repetition or deviation’.

Points are awarded for correct challenges, being incorrectly challenged, speaking at the end of the minute and, at the chairman’s discretion, for a witty remark. This not only requires general knowledge and verbal eloquence by the speaker, but also the mental dexterity of the other players and particularly the chairman to keep track of what has been said. That chairman has been the ever-present Nicholas Parsons, CBE (1923-2020) who only missed four programmes through illness towards the end of his life. Apparently, he wanted to be a panellist at first and had to be persuaded to take the chair ‘temporarily’.

Kenneth Williams (1926-88) was the star contestant in its first decades, with Paul Merton (1957-) emerging as the linchpin later on. There have been close on a thousand episodes.

(Image: Steve Bowbrick at Flickr.com / CC BY 2.0)