A 1960s Childhood: From Thunderbirds to Beatlemania (Childhood Memories)

by Feeney, Paul

  Savile’s Travels (1968–69): Radio 1. Each Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. Jimmy Savile introduced interviews and records from his weekly world of people, places and pop.

  Semprini Serenade (1957–82): BBC Light Programme, transferring to BBC Radio 2 in 1967. This was another ‘easy listening’ weekday evening show that would send the kids running for cover! ‘Old ones, new ones, loved ones, neglected ones’ – Alberto Semprini played them all on keyboard and piano, accompanied by Harry Rabinowitz and the BBC Revue Orchestra (this became the BBC Radio Orchestra in 1964), and later, the Serenade Orchestra.

  Sing Something Simple (1959–2001): BBC Light Programme, transferring to Radio 2 in 1967. A torturous half-hour for any child forced to listen to this every Sunday evening, but its longevity proved that it must have been popular with older people. The show featured the Cliff Adams Singers performing a collection of non-stop familiar songs, accompanied by pianist and accordionist Jack Emblow and his quartet. The programme came to an end with the death of Cliff Adams in October 2001.

  Today (1957–present): BBC Home Service, transferring to BBC Radio 4 in 1967. Early morning news and current affairs programme, presented by Jack de Manio throughout the 1960s, until 1971. You may remember listening to the dulcet tones of the hugely popular Jack de Manio and his roaming London reporter, Monty Modlyn, as you dipped your neatly cut bread soldiers into a boiled egg. You would, no doubt, have been late for school if you relied on Jack de Manio’s time checks in the morning. He was notoriously gaffe-prone and often got the time wrong.

  The Tony Blackburn Show (See Breakfast Show, Radio 1).

  Top of the Form (1948–86): BBC Light Programme, transferring to BBC Radio 2 in 1967, and sometimes simulcast on BBC Radio 1. This was radio’s general knowledge quiz show for teams of children from secondary schools around the country. However, it mainly featured pupils from grammar and independent schools. The 1960s presenters included John Ellison, Paddy Feeny, Tim Gudgin and Geoffrey Wheeler. The quiz involved teams from different age groups and it was very popular with young listeners eager to pit their wits against kids of their own age. The rousing theme music was taken from Marching Strings by Marshall Ross (a pseudonym of orchestra leader and composer Ray Martin).

  Woman’s Hour (1946–present): BBC Light Programme, transferring to Radio 2 in 1967, and then to Radio 4 in 1973. A weekday afternoon woman’s magazine programme that was on from 2–3 p.m. each afternoon, until 1991 when it was moved to a morning slot. Norman Collins originally created the programme as a daily programme of music, advice and entertainment for women at home during the day. The 1960s presenters included Marjorie Anderson and Judith Chalmers. It was essential listening for mums at home in the afternoon, and another interesting radio show for kids off school with childhood illnesses, particularly boys, who would be fascinated by live discussions about women’s menstrual problems and the menopause – they discussed such things on the radio as far back as 1947!

  Workers’ Playtime (1941–64): BBC Home Service, then Light Programme (1957–64). This was a radio variety touring show that was broadcast live three days a week from different factory canteens around the country, as selected by the Ministry of Labour. The programme was produced by Bill Gates and featured countless well-known entertainers, like Janet Brown, Charlie Chester, Peter Sellers, Tony Hancock, Frankie Howerd, Roy Hudd, Anne Sheldon, Betty Driver (now famous for her role as Coronation Street’s barmaid, Betty Williams), Eve Boswell, Dorothy Squires, Arthur English, Julie Andrews, Morecambe and Wise, Bob Monkhouse, Ken Dodd, Ken – ‘I won’t take me coat off – I’m not stopping!’ – Platt, Gert and Daisy (Elsie and Doris Waters), and the impressionist Peter Goodwright. Children who listened to the show imagined that working in a factory was fun and all about having a good time – what was so hard about that? The show was originally scheduled to run for just six weeks, but went on to become one of the longest-running radio shows in history.

  There were a lot of programme changes on Radio 1 and Radio 2 from their opening until 1970, and there were several shared programmes. Radio 2 struggled to find enough of its own core programmes to fill the airtime. Here is what you would have been listening to on Radio 1 if you had been at home on Tuesday 19 September 1968.

  5.30 a.m. News & Weather.

  5.33 Breakfast Special (as Radio 2).

  7.00 The Tony Blackburn Show with today’s top discs and reviews.

  9.00 Family Choice with Gay Byrne (as Radio 2).

  10.00 The Jimmy Young Show with a mixture of discs and guests and phone calls.

  12.00 Midday Spin with Tony Brandon.

  1.00 p.m. Don Moss with the Disc Jockey Derby show.

  2.00 Dave Cash with records and live music.

  4.15 The David Symonds Show playing records and talking to guests.

  5.45 Chris Denning with What’s New in pop records.

  6.45 Foreverett presented by Kenny Everett.

  7.30–10.00 (as Radio 2)

  10.00 Late Night Extra presented by Pete Myers with music, news and guests.

  12.00 Midnight Newsroom.

  12.05 Night Ride presented by Bruce Wyndham, with swinging sounds on and off the record.

  2.00 News & Weather

  2.02 Closedown.

  Radio 1 presenters and disc jockeys in the 1960s included: John Benson, Alan Black, Tony Blackburn, Tony Brandon, Gay Byrne, Dave Cash, Pat Doody, Pete Drummond, Tom Edwards, Kenny Everett, Chris Denning, Joe Loss, Ed Stewart, Keith Skues, David Symonds, Emperor Rosko, Robin Boyle, Pete Brady, Chris Denning, Peter Latham, Barry Mason, Brian Matthew, Pete Myers, Wally Whyton, John Peel, Don Moss, Pete Murray, Sean Kelly, The Baron, Stewart Henry, Mike Raven, Humphrey Lyttelton, David Jacobs, Terry Wogan (doing the Late Night Extra show back then), Dwight Whylie and Jimmy Young.

  This was the BBC Radio 2 Schedule for 19 September 1968:

  5.30 a.m. News & Weather.

  5.33 Breakfast Special presented by Paul Hollingdale with records and resident band.

  9.00 Family Choice with Gay Byrne playing your record requests.

  10.00 The Jimmy Young Show (as Radio 1).

  11.00 Morning Story.

  11.15 The Dales.

  11.31 Melody on the Move with Jimmy Hanley presenting orchestral music.

  12.00 Midday Spin with Tony Brandon (as Radio 1).

  1.00 p.m. Bruce Trent asks: Do You Remember? Musical memories.

  2.00 Woman’s Hour introduced by Marjorie Anderson.

  2.45 Woman’s Hour Play with the fourth instalment of Rough Husband by Patricia Campbell.

  3.00 Dave Cash (as Radio 1).

  4.15 The Dales.

  4.31 Racing Results.

  4.34 Roundabout with Robin Boyle presenting news, views, and music.

  6.32 Sports Review.

  6.40 Brian Matthew with Album Time, review of LPs and EPs.

  7.30 News Time with Corbet Woodall.

  7.45 Top of the Form with question masters John Ellison and Tim Gurgin.

  8.15 Vince Hill says Be My Guest.

  8.45 The Likely Lads – comedy with James Bolam and Rodney Bewes.

  9.15 Nights of Gladness with the BBC Concert Orchestra.

  10.00–2.02 (as Radio 1)

  Radio 2 presenters and disc jockeys in the 1960s included: David Allan, Marjorie Anderson, Alan Black, Dave Cash, Ken Dodd, Pete Drummond, Tom Edwards, Bruce Wyndham, Kenneth Alwyn, Ronnie Aldrich, David Gell, Jimmy Hanley, Peter Latham, Barry Mason, George Martin, Brian Matthew, Wally Whyton, Charles Crathorn, Ken Dodd, Catherine Boyle, Robin Boyle, Eric Robinson, Bruce Trent, Elenid Williams and Jimmy Young.

  Seven

  TELEVISION

  It seems incredible to think how much of children’s lives revolved around television in the 1960s, considering that up until April 1964, when BBC2 was launched, there were only two channels broadcasting, BBC and ITV. There were no video or other recording machines around to enable you to record and watch programmes that you missed. If you weren’t sitting in front of the screen when a programm
e was first shown, then that was it – you had missed it. It’s amazing how many childhood memories are stirred by reminders of those old television programmes that you once rushed home from school to see, or begged mum and dad to let you stay up to watch. Kids didn’t have television sets in their bedrooms back then, so you couldn’t secretly watch a late night programme in the darkness of your room with the sound turned down. Your parents had complete control over the television’s power button, and they decided what you were allowed to watch and when. Mind you, there wasn’t 24-hour television in those days, and popular programmes were usually shown within a short time frame in the evening. In the mid-1960s, even Saturday’s television programmes didn’t start until lunchtime, and then the afternoon was taken up with Grandstand on BBC1 and World of Sport on ITV. If you weren’t into sport then you had to wait until 5.30 p.m. before the first real programme came on, and that was usually Doctor Who on BBC1. The BBC2 channel didn’t come on air until 7.30 p.m. All three channels would usually close down after their late-night movies, which started around 11.30 p.m., but BBC1 didn’t always show a late movie on a Saturday and would sometimes close down before midnight.

  People who grew up in the 1960s will often say that they didn’t watch much television when they were a kid because they were playing outside all the time. It is true that kids loved to play out and did spend as much time as possible outside, but after all these years, most still manage to vividly remember all of the old television programmes. After all, there were a lot of new groundbreaking programmes being made, and television itself was still a fairly new form of entertainment in many working-class homes, so it was still somewhat of a novelty. There are a number of 1960s television personalities that are no longer in the limelight, but are so synonymous with the period that even today people instinctively link them to the sixties. People like: Arthur Haynes (d.1966) – star of the very popular ITV comedy programme, The Arthur Haynes Show; Cathy McGowan – known as ‘Queen of the Mods’, she was the most in-touch presenter of ITV’s pop music show, Ready Steady Go!; Mick McManus – a professional wrestler who appeared in the wrestling segment of ITV’s World of Sport on Saturday afternoons; Valerie Singleton – one of the main presenters of the BBC’s children’s programme, Blue Peter; Susan Stranks – one of the main presenters on ITV’s children’s programme, Magpie; Muriel Young (d.2001) – presenter of various children’s television programmes on ITV (remember Pussy Cat Willum, Ollie Beak and Fred Barker?).

  There were also loads of fictional television characters that we grew up with and remember so well from our favourite television shows of the 1960s. Characters like Minnie Caldwell – the timid friend of bossy Ena Sharples and fellow gossip Martha Longhurst in ITV’s Coronation Street, played by Margot Bryant (d.1988); Little Joe Cartwright – one of the leading characters in the western series, Bonanza, played by schoolgirl heart-throb, Michael Landon (d.1991); Jason King – the flamboyant leading character played by Peter Wyngarde in the television series, Department ‘S’; Napoleon Solo – the suave spy character in The Man From U.N.C.L.E. played by Robert Vaughn; Troy Tempest – the square-jawed puppet pilot of Stingray, the super fast submarine, in ITV’s string-puppet television programme for children; Simon Templar – the leading character in the ITV series, The Saint, played by Roger Moore.

  There were just too many popular television programmes to mention them all, but here is a selection that will surely bring back some fond memories:

  77 Sunset Strip (1958–64): ITV. An American fictional private detective series that starred Efrem Zimbalist Jr as Stu Bailey, and Roger Smith as Jeff Spencer, both former government secret agents. Edd Byrnes played the wisecracking, hair-combing, seriously cool valet parking attendant from next door, Gerald Lloyd Kookson III, known to all as ‘Kookie’, the wannabe investigator. The two private detectives worked out of offices at 77 Sunset Strip, next door to Dean Martin’s real-life nightclub, Dino’s. All the girls loved ‘Kookie’, and his frequent use of the comb lead to a huge increase in comb sales in Britain.

  All Gas and Gaiters (1966–71): BBC1. An ecclesiastical situation comedy series set in the fictional St Ogg’s Cathedral. The farcical stories were centred on rivalries between the resident clergy. Its stars included William Mervyn, Robertson Hare and Derek Nimmo.

  Animal Magic (1962–83): BBC1. A children’s television series presented by Johnny Morris, who often dressed as a zookeeper and always managed to find humorous ways of explaining animal facts to children, including lots of funny voice-overs. The series was a mixture of film location reports and animals brought into the studio. Most of the animal films were made at Bristol Zoo.

  The Arthur Haynes Show (1956–66): ITV. A British comedy sketch series, starring the talented Arthur Hayes, best known for his famous portrayal of a tramp (‘Up to me neck in muck and bullets!’), a character that was created by Johnny Speight. Other regulars on the show included Nicholas Parsons, Patricia Hayes, Graham Stark and Dermot Kelly who played another tramp called Irish. The series only ended because of Arthur Haynes’ sudden death in 1966.

  The Avengers (1961–69): ABC, then Thames Television for ITV. A British television adventure series created by Sydney Newman about secret agents in 1960s Britain. The cast featured John Steed played by Patrick Macnee, Dr David Keel played by Ian Hendry (1961), Dr Cathy Gale played by Honor Blackman (1962–64), Emma Peel played by Diana Rigg (1965–68) and Tara King played by Linda Thorson (1968–69). The secret agent storylines often involved a lot of science fiction and fantasy that made it hard for kids to follow. In 1976–77, the series was revived as The New Avengers starring Patrick Macnee, Gareth Hunt and Joanna Lumley.

  Batman (1966–68): ITV. The original American television series that starred Adam West and Burt Ward as Bruce Wayne (Batman) and Dick Grayson (Robin), two crime-fighting heroes who dressed up in tights and masks to defend the people of fictional Gotham City. There was a Batphone, Batcave and a Batmobile, and each episode included a major brawl (punctuated with words like ‘POW!’, ‘ZOKK!’ and ‘BAM!’ that appeared across the screen). Batman and Robin were always completely outnumbered, but the dynamic duo always won the day and saved the people of Gotham City from villains like the Joker, the Penguin, Catwoman and the Riddler.

  Benny Hill Show (1955–68): BBC TV/BBC1 and (1957–60 & 1967) ATV for ITV. Benny Hill is probably best recognised for his later (1969–89) Thames Television series, but he was on television a lot in the 1960s performing his comedy sketches, slapstick and songs. He even did passable impersonations of people like Hughie Green and Alan Wicker. His 1960s shows were less smutty than the later ones. Henry McGee, Bob Todd, John ‘Jackie’ Wright and Nicholas Parsons were among the regular performers that appeared in his 1960s shows.

  The Beverly Hillbillies (1963–72): ITV. An American situation comedy series about a hillbilly family that move to Beverly Hills when they become rich after finding oil on their land. The show starred Buddy Ebsen as Jed Clampett, Irene Ryan as Daisy May ‘Granny’ Moses, Donna Douglas as Elly May Clampett and Max Baer Jr as Big Jethro Bodine.

  Bewitched (1964–72): BBC1. An American situation comedy series that starred Elizabeth Montgomery who played a young witch named Samantha, who meets and marries a mortal named Darrin Stephens (played by Dick York in the sixties). While Samantha pledges to forsake her powers and become a typical suburban housewife, her magical family disapprove of the mixed marriage and frequently interfere in the couple’s lives. The chief antagonist was Samantha’s mother Endora, played by Agnes Moorehead. Samantha would twitch her nose to perform one of her many spells, which were often intended to help her husband when he was in some difficulty.

  Blue Peter (1958–present): BBC TV and BBC1. Nobody ever thought that Blue Peter would evolve into the programme it has become today, or that it would still be running over fifty years down the line. It was first aired on 16 October 1958, and then appeared as a weekly 15-minute programme that was aimed at 5-to 8-year-olds. The first two presenters were Christopher Trace and
Leila Williams, winner of Miss Great Britain in 1957. In the programme, Christopher Trace would demonstrate boys’ toys, such as model railways, aeroplanes and trains, and Leila Williams would show girls’ toys, mainly dolls, and girls’ hobbies. Occasionally, the artist Tony Hart would appear on the programme, using his drawings to tell children’s stories. In the early years there were no Blue Peter badges, pets or ships, and no Blue Peter garden. In 1962, Leila Williams was removed from the programme by its newly-appointed producer and Anita West took over for a short time until Valerie Singleton was appointed in September 1962. Also in 1962, the first Blue Peter pet, Petra the mongrel dog, appeared on the show, but sadly the dog was sickly and died after just one appearance. A lookalike dog replaced her without viewers being told, and the new Petra continued to appear on the show until 1972. In 1963, the first Blue Peter badge was introduced, and that same year Fred the tortoise joined the show. From 1964, the programme’s running time was extended to 25 minutes and it was shown twice a week, with a more wide-ranging content, including charity appeals and lots of adventure and discovery features. That year, Blue Peter also got its first cat, Jason, a Seal Point Siamese. In 1965, Patch, son of Petra, became part of the team and remained there until 1971 when he died from a rare disease (Shep, a border collie, replaced him). In December 1965, John Noakes joined Singleton and Trace as one of the show’s main presenters. In July 1967, Christopher Trace left and was replaced by Peter Purves. After that, Singleton, Noakes and Purves continued as the show’s main presenters for the remainder of the sixties. The theme tune was a sea shanty called Barnacle Bill.

  The first Blue Peter book was published in 1964. These books (1966, 1967, 1965) show regular 1960s Blue Peter presenters John Noakes, Valerie Singleton and Christopher Trace with some of the early Blue Peter animals.