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graham b
Joined: 23 Sep 2010 Posts: 211 Location: Wakefield
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Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2011 7:38 pm Post subject: TOTP does Elvis |
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Don't know if its a repeat but I'm watching Top of the Pops does Elvis on BBC4 with Willie Nelson, Tom Jones, Macca, Cliff etc. Now it's John Cale! |
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aviddiva
Joined: 11 Oct 2008 Posts: 1135 Location: Wakefield, West Yorkshire
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Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2011 1:18 pm Post subject: Top Of The Pops - Thursday evenings BBC-4 |
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'Sings Elvis' was a repeat. Could have done without the Jordanaires hits medley and I can't see the Stylistics on clip shows now without thinking of Mark Radcliffe in 'Reelin' In The Years' slagging them off! _________________ We are loonies and we are proud!
- Campbell Bain in 'Takin' Over The Asylum' |
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Lord Evan Elpuss

Joined: 10 Dec 2006 Posts: 3414 Location: Cloud Cuckoo Land
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aviddiva
Joined: 11 Oct 2008 Posts: 1135 Location: Wakefield, West Yorkshire
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Posted: Tue Sep 06, 2011 1:40 pm Post subject: Top Of The Pops - Thursday evenings BBC-4 |
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Why was a verse missing from 'Dancing Queen' last week?
Steve Harley in the 'Here Comes The Sun' promo reminded me of Tim Vine when he waters the plant! _________________ We are loonies and we are proud!
- Campbell Bain in 'Takin' Over The Asylum' |
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aviddiva
Joined: 11 Oct 2008 Posts: 1135 Location: Wakefield, West Yorkshire
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Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 7:56 am Post subject: Top Of The Pops - Thursday evenings BBC-4 |
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When Ruby Flipper danced to Paul McCartney & Wings's 'Let 'Em In', I also remembered that the doorbell sound at the start was also used on the 'George & Mildred' series that ITV3 are repeating now!
So does Macca get a royalty every time that doorbell is heard? _________________ We are loonies and we are proud!
- Campbell Bain in 'Takin' Over The Asylum' |
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ColinB Guest
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Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 10:11 am Post subject: Re: Top Of The Pops - Thursday evenings BBC-4 |
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aviddiva wrote: | When Ruby Flipper danced to Paul McCartney & Wings's 'Let 'Em In', I also remembered that the doorbell sound at the start was also used on the 'George & Mildred' series that ITV3 are repeating now!
So does Macca get a royalty every time that doorbell is heard? |
Probably not. My guess is that it was a commercial music library track that was used, although McCartney recorded mostly at Abbey Road where EMI held a huge library of FX on tape loops, discs and even the real objects used to make the effects (as amply demonstrated on the Beatles' Sgt Pepper album).
I have a whole stack of SFX (sound effects) from library sources and I hear them very often on TV programmes. |
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aviddiva
Joined: 11 Oct 2008 Posts: 1135 Location: Wakefield, West Yorkshire
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Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2011 12:55 pm Post subject: Top Of The Pops - Thursday evenings BBC-4 |
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Ruby Flipper must have been on overtime this episode! _________________ We are loonies and we are proud!
- Campbell Bain in 'Takin' Over The Asylum' |
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graham b
Joined: 23 Sep 2010 Posts: 211 Location: Wakefield
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Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2011 4:54 pm Post subject: |
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Nice to see Manfred Mann's Earth Band and Gallagher & Lyle though |
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Lord Evan Elpuss

Joined: 10 Dec 2006 Posts: 3414 Location: Cloud Cuckoo Land
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ruddlescat
Joined: 16 Sep 2010 Posts: 18010 Location: Near Chester
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Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2013 8:14 pm Post subject: |
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I used to enjoy listening to Peter Powell when he did the teatime show on Radio One
I think I'm right in saying after he left the BBC he took up a new career as a record producer but I don't think he ever worked with any big names  _________________ Are you ready for a Ruddles? |
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Ian Robinson Site Admin
Joined: 11 Dec 2006 Posts: 3597 Location: Chorley, Lancashire
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Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2013 8:43 pm Post subject: |
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ruddlescat wrote: | I think I'm right in saying after he left the BBC he took up a new career as a record producer but I don't think he ever worked with any big names  |
No, he became a manager, having formed an agency with one Grant Bovey. He was agent for his then-wife Anthea Turner and has been the "brains" behind her various scams to stay employed over the years. I assume he's still a manager. |
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ruddlescat
Joined: 16 Sep 2010 Posts: 18010 Location: Near Chester
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Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2013 8:48 pm Post subject: |
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Yes Ian of course you're right - now it all comes back to me  _________________ Are you ready for a Ruddles? |
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Lord Evan Elpuss

Joined: 10 Dec 2006 Posts: 3414 Location: Cloud Cuckoo Land
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Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2013 9:41 pm Post subject: |
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Another one with a few good tracks featured: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01q6xrs/Top_of_the_Pops_26_01_78/
Great to hear Rich Kids, Gordon Giltrap 'Heartsong', Gallagher & Lyle 'Showdown' (sounds like it should have been a hit IMO) and Yellow Dog 'Just One More Night', which makes me think of the series Shoestring, the detective series which was set around a radio station. Which meant you got plenty of background music and that Yellow Dog track was one I remember hearing. _________________ Lord Evan Elpuss, Your ideal job is a Lumberjack. |
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Lord Evan Elpuss

Joined: 10 Dec 2006 Posts: 3414 Location: Cloud Cuckoo Land
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Ian Robinson Site Admin
Joined: 11 Dec 2006 Posts: 3597 Location: Chorley, Lancashire
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Posted: Thu Aug 29, 2013 9:00 pm Post subject: |
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Can't help but notice Lionel Richie looks older in this episode than he does now!
Still enjoying the repeats, but the next two would have been Savile and DLT so there's going to be a slight leap. |
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Lord Evan Elpuss

Joined: 10 Dec 2006 Posts: 3414 Location: Cloud Cuckoo Land
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Posted: Fri Aug 30, 2013 1:38 pm Post subject: |
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Yes, it is nice to see these, but what a shame about the Saville etc affair, Their editions quite often had some of the more interesting acts on. Have a look at this site (click 1978 for the ones BBC4 are repeating now) http://z6.invisionfree.com/popscene/ar/f50.htm to see what I mean. _________________ Lord Evan Elpuss, Your ideal job is a Lumberjack. |
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Ian Robinson Site Admin
Joined: 11 Dec 2006 Posts: 3597 Location: Chorley, Lancashire
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Posted: Fri Aug 30, 2013 4:02 pm Post subject: |
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Lord Evan Elpuss wrote: | Yes, it is nice to see these, but what a shame about the Saville etc affair, Their editions quite often had some of the more interesting acts on. Have a look at this site (click 1978 for the ones BBC4 are repeating now) http://z6.invisionfree.com/popscene/ar/f50.htm to see what I mean. |
Thanks for that. Be interesting to see what they do with 26th October episode.
I think that as they've been re-editing the shows lately anyway (because they couldn't get the rights to the Grease clip) they should simply cut Savile and DLT out. |
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ruddlescat
Joined: 16 Sep 2010 Posts: 18010 Location: Near Chester
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Posted: Fri Aug 30, 2013 5:29 pm Post subject: |
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I disagree about that Ian
I really don't think the BBC should be 'censoring' this kind of output even if some of the shows do include Savile and others - like it or not these people existed and being major players in the music industry of that era are part of history and as such we can't expunge them from our collective consciousness
just because we now know things about them which were not known at the time
In fact although most decent people loathe the man the same goes for the likes of Gary Glitter
In any event I don't think most viewers really care who happens to be presenting the individual weekly shows - they watch for the musical artists appearing probably mainly for nostalgic reasons  _________________ Are you ready for a Ruddles? |
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Ian Robinson Site Admin
Joined: 11 Dec 2006 Posts: 3597 Location: Chorley, Lancashire
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Posted: Fri Aug 30, 2013 7:20 pm Post subject: |
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Yes, but the problem is they're not showing any Savile or DLT shows at all, so we're missing out completely. Edited shows would at least let us watch the performers, as the BBC clearly don't want us to watch certain presenters. |
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ruddlescat
Joined: 16 Sep 2010 Posts: 18010 Location: Near Chester
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Posted: Fri Aug 30, 2013 8:06 pm Post subject: |
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I entirely agree Ian - so in effect we have censorship on the BBC
Just shows what life is like in Britain in 2013  _________________ Are you ready for a Ruddles? |
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Schizoidman

Joined: 20 Sep 2010 Posts: 1140 Location: Rural West Sussex
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Posted: Fri Aug 30, 2013 8:56 pm Post subject: |
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It's a pity because there's a TOTP from 1965 which still exists (one of the few from that era, because some idiot at the BBC wiped them all out) and which until recently was regularly shown on BBC4. It featured Sonny and Cher and The Byrds. And also Jimmy Savile, so presumably it won't be shown now.
This is a shame, and Auntie's patronising at its worst. I certainly don't object to seeing Savile despite his vile perversions or DLT on TV. I'd even be happy to see Jonathan King sing Everyone's Gone To The Moon. We don't need the BBC telling us what we can and can't watch. |
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unclebuck

Joined: 19 Apr 2010 Posts: 276 Location: Warwickshire
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Posted: Tue Sep 03, 2013 12:17 pm Post subject: |
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I agree with the previous comments.....
The BBC is effectively ripping pages it finds disagreeable out of the history books. Astonishing, and a little disturbing, that any broadcast organisation should think this is good policy.
I have been following the old TOTP series since the repeats began, with great interest and occasionally great amusement. Such a shame that there are now so many holes in the historical record. There must be many artists whose only appearance was on the shows that are being suppressed - we will never see them again. |
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Lord Evan Elpuss

Joined: 10 Dec 2006 Posts: 3414 Location: Cloud Cuckoo Land
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Posted: Tue Sep 03, 2013 6:00 pm Post subject: |
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unclebuck wrote: | I agree with the previous comments.....
The BBC is effectively ripping pages it finds disagreeable out of the history books. Astonishing, and a little disturbing, that any broadcast organisation should think this is good policy.
I have been following the old TOTP series since the repeats began, with great interest and occasionally great amusement. Such a shame that there are now so many holes in the historical record. There must be many artists whose only appearance was on the shows that are being suppressed - we will never see them again. |
Exactly my point. There are three new releases in the 14/9/78 edition which Jimmy Saville presented. Wouldn't I have loved to have seen Dr Feelgood doing 'Down At The Doctors', Tom Robinson Band 'Too Good To Be True' & be reminded how Tina Charles' 'Making All The Right Moves' went. Similarly in a DLT edition dated 28/9/78 there are four more new releases, two of which are very familiar, the other two are not, I'd love to see Lindisfarne doing 'Juke Box Gypsy' and how did Sugar Cane's 'Montego Bay' go?
Have a look at this to see others: http://z6.invisionfree.com/popscene/ar/t8799.htm _________________ Lord Evan Elpuss, Your ideal job is a Lumberjack. |
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becky sharp

Joined: 01 Dec 2008 Posts: 6792
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Posted: Fri Sep 27, 2013 1:17 pm Post subject: |
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A new one on me on the programme last night ...the group,that is,not the song .... Colorado singing California Dreamin'
Looking it up I see it reached 45 in our chart. |
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Colin
Joined: 26 Sep 2013 Posts: 916
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Posted: Fri Sep 27, 2013 2:29 pm Post subject: |
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Schizoidman wrote: | It's a pity because there's a TOTP from 1965 which still exists (one of the few from that era, because some idiot at the BBC wiped them all out)... |
You imply that the decision to recycle video master tapes was down to a single person at the BBC. This wasn't the case. At a time when a single roll of 2" Ampex Videotape could cost £200.00 it was corporate policy. Tapes were bulk-erased at regular intervals unless the Producer had set aside funds from his/her budget to save the tape or if the programme was deemed by the relevant "committee" to have special importance or cultural significance. For many low-cost programmes (and TOTPs was a relatively low-cost programme) the cost of the stock was equivalent to a large chunk of the budget and that's why many productions were lost. TV was ephemeral and people had no idea that there would be interest in shows decades later.
On a more general note, I agree with the point that the BBC management is currently treading dangerously with its "re-writing of history" by not showing those programmes hosted by presenters are linked with scandal. |
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ruddlescat
Joined: 16 Sep 2010 Posts: 18010 Location: Near Chester
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Posted: Fri Sep 27, 2013 6:37 pm Post subject: |
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Good to see you back Colin - we've all missed your technical expertise  _________________ Are you ready for a Ruddles? |
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SantaFefan

Joined: 07 Dec 2006 Posts: 11258 Location: top of the cliffs in Norfolk
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Posted: Fri Sep 27, 2013 6:50 pm Post subject: |
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I still hate computers and Explorer8... oh yes I bought an ipad just to hate that too...  _________________ Johnnie Walker read out my message on Pirate Radio! 13/8/07
I have heard how radio should be. |
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Schizoidman

Joined: 20 Sep 2010 Posts: 1140 Location: Rural West Sussex
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Posted: Fri Sep 27, 2013 9:59 pm Post subject: |
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Colin: I'm sure you're right about the need for financial restraint meaning that most episodes of TOTP had to be erased but, if that's the case, how come so many (if not all) other Beeb shows from that time have been preserved? |
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becky sharp

Joined: 01 Dec 2008 Posts: 6792
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Posted: Sat Sep 28, 2013 8:04 am Post subject: |
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SantaFefan wrote: | I still hate computers and Explorer8... oh yes I bought an ipad just to hate that too...  |
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Colin
Joined: 26 Sep 2013 Posts: 916
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Posted: Sun Sep 29, 2013 2:54 pm Post subject: |
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Schizoidman wrote: | Colin: I'm sure you're right about the need for financial restraint meaning that most episodes of TOTP had to be erased but, if that's the case, how come so many (if not all) other Beeb shows from that time have been preserved? |
From the late 60s onwards it became clear that perhaps the corporation really should be archiving key material, but only because the internal committee that made the decisions re: archiving widened the net after pressure from producers and special-interest groups. One person who was very vocal was John Cleese, and this resulted in Monty Python's Flying Circus master tapes being preserved and later - thankfully - all 12 editions of "Fawlty Towers".
Another key factor in the preservation of "selected" programming is that many programmes that were otherwise regarded as "ephemeral" were actually reproduced onto 35mm cinema film using a special in-house Telerecording process. This was to provide overseas networks with programme sales copies. The reason these were supplied on film rather than videotape is that at the time different countries had different video standards (UK and most of Europe is PAL, USA is NTSC, France/Russia is SECAM, etc) and the technology required to convert them was costly and sophisticated, whereas film was ubiquitous and could be played out easily. So film copies were sent out - and thank heavens they were because (a) they can't be erased (they're photographic) and (b) they're more likely to be shoved away into archive vaults rather than being destroyed.
That's where old editions of things like Doctor Who, Dad's Army, Hancock's Half Hour, etc., have come from. You may notice some 1970s clips from TOTP that are shown in B&W in the BBC4 compilation programmes, despite TV Centre being fully equipped for colour from 1969. That's because - again - the B&W Film source (some networks bought B&W because they hadn't upgraded to colour production) has been the overseas exports having been retrieved and digitised by a guy in West London to a very high standard.
One more thing: colleges up and down the land had smaller portable B&W "EIAJ" format reel-to-reel videotape recorders from Sony and others that were often set-up to record TV programmes for teaching purposes later. Students (like me!) and technicians used to exploit this capability by setting them to record their favourite shows at night such that we could play them during the daytime. Some of those old tapes are still knocking around, and a specialist unit at the British Film & TV Archive's Restoration Centre in Berkhamstead has the capability to replay and restore these. I've been there and seen some of the work and it's fascinating. I was there when they were digitally capturing some long-lost 1968 Terry Jones material for a documentary called "Missing Presumed Wiped", which was shown on BBC4 a few years back. The engineers there were/are mostly retired BBC videotape engineers who donate their time to this work. Bless 'em!
So there you go...!
PS: I love my iPad. It's great not only for shooting full HD video but also editing it and then sharing it with others online or even on the big telly. A fabulous invention from Apple! |
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Ian Robinson Site Admin
Joined: 11 Dec 2006 Posts: 3597 Location: Chorley, Lancashire
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Posted: Sun Sep 29, 2013 3:25 pm Post subject: |
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Colin wrote: | One person who was very vocal was John Cleese, and this resulted in Monty Python's Flying Circus master tapes being preserved and later - thankfully - all 12 editions of "Fawlty Towers" |
Almost - it was Terry Jones (with the support of Cleese, et al) who actually bought the master tapes of Monty Python from the BBC, and that's why the Python members have been able to exploit (and profit from) the original series better than their contemporaries. |
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Colin
Joined: 26 Sep 2013 Posts: 916
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Posted: Sun Sep 29, 2013 4:46 pm Post subject: |
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Ian Robinson wrote: |
Almost - it was Terry Jones (with the support of Cleese, et al) who actually bought the master tapes of Monty Python from the BBC, and that's why the Python members have been able to exploit (and profit from) the original series better than their contemporaries. |
Within the BBC it was John Cleese who was vocal about the policy back in the 1970s, long before the issue came to a head. I remember an interview with him in a trade mag, circa mid-70s, on the subject and it was clear that he was very angry.
It was only when there was an internal discussion about recycling the 2" Quads that Terry Jones and John Cleese both said "This situation is ridiculous. If necessary we'll buy the bloody tapes to preserve them!" that the BBC relented and Jones did exactly that. |
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Lord Evan Elpuss

Joined: 10 Dec 2006 Posts: 3414 Location: Cloud Cuckoo Land
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Posted: Sat Oct 05, 2013 3:07 pm Post subject: |
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Schizoidman wrote: | I'd even be happy to see Jonathan King sing Everyone's Gone To The Moon. We don't need the BBC telling us what we can and can't watch. |
I don't know how long it's still available to view, but anyway, watch this edition, about 12:00 in. he's singing something different: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b03c68lk/Top_of_the_Pops_26_10_1978/
I also enjoyed watching City Boy doing 'What A Night' instead of '5705'. _________________ Lord Evan Elpuss, Your ideal job is a Lumberjack. |
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Colin
Joined: 26 Sep 2013 Posts: 916
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Posted: Sat Oct 05, 2013 3:24 pm Post subject: |
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It's unbearable! It reminds me that TOTP's heyday was definitely the mid-1960s. Many of its subsequent shows were cringeworthy - as this one proves. And Jonathan King really could be a right berk without even trying! |
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Lord Evan Elpuss

Joined: 10 Dec 2006 Posts: 3414 Location: Cloud Cuckoo Land
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Posted: Sat Oct 05, 2013 4:40 pm Post subject: |
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I know what you mean Colin. He does behave like a berk in that edition, not his best song either, by a long chalk IMO. I much prefer this track which he
released under one of his pseudonyms. A different take on The Archies big 1960s No 1, and also introduced by Tony Blackburn! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BJw-5d5T3k
I think you can, at least, include the rest of the 1960s and first half of the 1970s in there. For me, things didn't really go downhill on Top Of The Pops till some time in the 1980s when they started to encourage the audience to whoop & make noises during the performances. I remember it sounded like the proverbial Chimps tea party at it's worst. _________________ Lord Evan Elpuss, Your ideal job is a Lumberjack. |
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Colin
Joined: 26 Sep 2013 Posts: 916
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Posted: Sat Oct 05, 2013 6:17 pm Post subject: |
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Lord Evan Elpuss wrote: | For me, things didn't really go downhill on Top Of The Pops till some time in the 1980s when they started to encourage the audience to whoop & make noises during the performances. I remember it sounded like the proverbial Chimps tea party at it's worst. |
While TOTP and its nemesis (Ready, Steady Go!) were "in tune" shows in the 60s, a very definite chasm developed between TOTPs and the real music scene in the early/mid 70s. I remember watching Deep Purple performing "Strange Kinda Woman" on TOTP one Thursday evening and then actually going to one of their gigs the following day in which they of course performed their new single. The band's performance on stage bore no resemblance to the farce on TOTP, and this was very much the case with other acts like Free, Bad Company, Nazareth, Thin Lizzy, David Bowie and even people like Elton John. TOTP was just a very silly show which was using a silly format and in no way represented what was really going down musically. How on earth bands managed to break through within that framework is a miracle - especially since the "single" was only important in pointing new people towards the albums and gigs.
For me, The Old Grey Whistle Test was the essential music show - as it was with all of my peers. At least they performed live in the studio in a live programme! |
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graham b
Joined: 23 Sep 2010 Posts: 211 Location: Wakefield
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Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2013 6:08 pm Post subject: |
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I see with all the cut episodes we are on November 9th 1978 tonight. At this rate it will be 1979 before the end of November |
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ruddlescat
Joined: 16 Sep 2010 Posts: 18010 Location: Near Chester
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Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2013 7:06 pm Post subject: |
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Absolutely wonderful to hear the fantastic Polystyrene performing on there with X Ray Spex
It was truly a record of it's time but the one ironic bit about it was that at the age of 23 that track acquainted me with Listerine mouthwash - and I've been using it ever since and have never had a filling or extraction in 35 years  _________________ Are you ready for a Ruddles? |
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Lord Evan Elpuss

Joined: 10 Dec 2006 Posts: 3414 Location: Cloud Cuckoo Land
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Posted: Fri Oct 18, 2013 2:42 pm Post subject: |
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graham b wrote: | I see with all the cut episodes we are on November 9th 1978 tonight. At this rate it will be 1979 before the end of November |
That'll almost certainly be because they are avoiding those editions introduced by messrs Saville & Lee Travis. Looking at this site http://z6.invisionfree.com/popscene/ar/t8799.htm There is only one that they'll avoid for 1978 and that's at the start of December 1978. But, as you say, they'll be showing 1979 editions before this year is out!!
It was nice to see X-ray Spex track, but hard to believe that Polly Styrene is no longer with us. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-13193968 _________________ Lord Evan Elpuss, Your ideal job is a Lumberjack.
Last edited by Lord Evan Elpuss on Fri Oct 18, 2013 8:06 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Colin
Joined: 26 Sep 2013 Posts: 916
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Posted: Fri Oct 18, 2013 3:15 pm Post subject: |
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I wish the aspect ratio hadn't been cropped to widescreen in order to match that of modern falt-screen TVs. That said, the quality of the conversion from the old 1970s 2" master videotapes to digital is staggeringly good. There's a guy in west London (an ex-BBC videotape technician) who has the incredibly rare machines in his house (!) on which to play the tapes and he does a fab job. The BBC contract to digitise the TOTP material alone must be a very lucrative one for him, but going by the visible results it's worth every penny. I just wish they were still in their original format. |
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