MAKE the best possible water-tight financial agreements with your manager right from the start.

The amount of your manager’s percentage depends on what he is going to do for you. Some of the best managers take up to 40 per cent.

For 40 per cent a manager should take care of publicity, photographs, the fan club expenses — plugging your record, and the agency side of it as well, the side that gets you the work.

If your manager takes 15 per cent you’ll still have to pay 10 more for publicity and 10 for the booking agency. It’s often better to have it all under the same roof.

As a general rule I’d say a large slice of your income should be invested, but you must have enough money to enjoy life and to be fairly generous among friends.

I’m not suggesting you have to “buy” friendship, but if you are mean and never seen around at the right parties enjoying yourself, then often you’re not liked. You lose friends and get a reputation for being a bit of a tight wad.

So, in other words, as in so many of these general rules I’m laying down, you must try to tread the rather difficult middle path.

If you are fortunate enough to be highly intelligent you can make up a lot of leeway on your lack of experience or lack of knowledge of the business.

Of course, again, there are exceptions. You can be dumb and still be a star, but the chances are, not for long.

Any girl who wants to become a pop singer would do well to have Susan Maughan’s intelligence. It is, apart from her natural talent and her looks, her greatest attribute. She is a manager’s and publicity man’s dream.

John Lennon. for instance, is one of the most intelligent people I have ever met in the Pop world. And George Harrison surprised me once. We were going to a Press conference and I said: “Don’t you think you’d be better off wearing a shirt and tie rather than that sweater?”

He said: “Do you want me to wear a shirt and tie?” I said: “Yes.”

He said: “Why don’t you say, ‘I want you to wear a shirt and tie,’ instead of asking ME if I think it’s best?”

He was quite right. He wanted me to say exactly what I meant and it was “soft” (i.e., Liverpudlian for unintelligent!) of me to say it in a way I didn’t really mean.

I was, of course, coming from a different generation, merely trying to be diplomatic. But George, although he would never want to hurt anyone, says exactly what he thinks.

And this, in the Beatles’ environment, is intelligent. I can assure you.

There is a great deal to learn when you are an embryo star in the pop world, there are many emotional and material adjustments to be made and if you don’t happen to be highly intelligent by nature, then TRY to be.

Now, I’ve laid down all these rules, but I must emphasise there are exceptions to every one.

And no matter if you followed them all implicitly, no matter how talented you are, how brilliantly you are managed. how cleverly you are publicised, there are still outside influences over which you have no control.

So LUCK plays a big part in a would-be pop star’s success. If you don’t have any luck at all, you could well be in trouble.

But if you follow all these rules and work hard and really try to do what you feel to be true and right for you, then you have opened all the doors you can.

And sooner or later luck should come in through them.

Good luck!

The post How to become a pop star: a lot depends on your luck appeared first on THIS IS MY 1960s from Transdiffusion.

THERE is no doubt that if you make the grade as a pop star, your private life is going to take a back seat.

You’ve got to be prepared for the fact that most of your life will be spent working or travelling to your work.

So when you do get home it is important that you should be able to enjoy your leisure in peace.

At the same time you have to remember that if you haven’t got fans trying to find out where you live and trying to get in to see you, there’s something wrong.

So you have a problem. Just as industry is realising that leisure at regular intervals is very important to anyone doing a job, the same applies in show business.

I think a star should live somewhere as inaccessible as possible which means the country or, if you must live in town, in a fairly remote part of it or in a secure hotel.

Fans? I do think the time has come for every up and coming pop singer to consider seriously that perhaps they should NOT start a fan club.

The Beatles found it quite a problem once they had become big stars. On George Harrison’s birthday great G.P.O. sacks full of mail were arriving at the rate of 24 a day. He had no hope of reading them. His fan club girls had to get half a dozen extra staff and still they couldn’t cope.

And one has to organise fan conventions. The Beatles had a northern and southern fan convention last year and at each there were 3,000 or 4,000 girls milling around. I don’t think the Beatles suffered any harm, but someone alone and smaller might have.

This sort of thing can hurt two ways. First, there is the physical assault which is very uncomfortable when you’re being pushed and mauled about. Second, is the fact that most girls are in the fan business for kicks for themselves.

They are in it to do themselves a favour, not the artist; in it for their own enjoyment and once they have actually got to an artist they’ve had their kick. From that point on you tend to lose fans as they’ve met you, touched you and who’s next?

So there IS an argument in this day and age for having the courage NOT to start a fan club.

Money is very important but it should never be your god. What is important is that you should never depart, at least not very far and not very often, from your real desire to sing or play what you feel you really want to.

It was only when the Kinks made the record they really wanted to make, “You Really Got Me”, that they hit the No. 1 spot. And this is by no means exceptional.

NEXT WEEK: How to make a deal with your manager

The post How to become a pop star: when the fans cool off… appeared first on THIS IS MY 1960s from Transdiffusion.

ONE of the biggest pitfalls of budding newcomers to the pop scene is that they are sometimes too full of themselves and too full of big ideas.

Never think because you “went down big” at the local dance hall at Chipping Sodbury that you’re going to conquer the West End and the disc biz overnight. A touch of humility is not only important, it’s VITAL.

If you have a basic talent, just keep plugging away be cause sooner or later a good manager, agent or recording executive will spot it. But to have too big an idea of yourself and to go bustling and blathering around can often lead to obscuring your real talent.

I know an up and coming artist like this right now who. through his push and blather is in danger of making a fool of himself. And he doesn’t have to do this because he does have real talent.

The trouble is he’s been so used to having to force himself upon people who couldn’t see his talent, he’s gone too far the other way.

Of course, you must project yourself when you audition. Don’t become too much of a yes-man or become too obsequious. that, too, is suspect and rather nauseating.

So many kids today think it’s a sign of weakness to show gratitude or even be polite, to say “please” and “thank you.” The finest artist in a show is often the one who goes to the compere when he’s sitting in his dressing-room waiting for his taxi home, and says: “I want to thank you very much for giving me such a wonderful introduction.”

Recently Godfrey Winn had Cliff Richard in a radio programme. Godfrey is under no illusion that by having Cliff in his programme he put up the listening figures fantastically and therefore could well be grateful to Cliff.

But what happened was that Cliff wrote a personal letter to Godfrey thanking HIM for having him on the programme. As Godfrey wrote to me: “That’s a sign of a great artist.”

Honest humility is very important. I remember when the Beatles were doing a show at the Finsbury Park Empire the Christmas before last, there was an electrical fault and the mikes and amplifiers went dead.

They were the greatest act in show business, yet they blushed and, in turn, each apologised to the audience.

I have known other artists in similar circumstances just walk to the back of the stage in a huff, get irritated with the technicians or just walk off the stage without a word

Recently I saw Susan Maughan get heckled by a drunk during a live show. She sang the song “A Man Called Bill” and this drunk in the audience happened to be called Bill and he became a nuisance

He started shouting and caused chaos in the audience but Susan stopped, laughed with them, joined in with the general merriment, then had another go. No prima donna tactics with Susan.

NEXT WEEK: I’ll tell you about fan clubs and why I think that up and coming stars should start a fan club

The post How to become a pop star: you must have humility appeared first on THIS IS MY 1960s from Transdiffusion.

Generally speaking, I think it’s right for a singer or instrumentalist to have proper training, but it’s not essential.

I think John Lennon had a few guitar lessons but I’m sure the Beatles as a whole do not claim to have had professional training.

If they had it might well have destroyed their natural exuberant, gay spontaneity. I think professional training is more important for the individual artist than for the group.

First of all, you must have talent. Secondly, it is a good idea to bring out your talent by being professionally taught. But there is another danger here — and I think this should be your manager’s decision rather than yours — that your natural talent could be suppressed or misdirected by wrong tuition.

It would be silly to be taught by someone who doesn’t understand or like pop music, or cannot foresee the potential of the artist.

The thing to do is find a teacher who is both good at his job and who understands the business.

It might be a good idea to visit several teachers till you find one who suits your needs, who is interested in you and what you hope to achieve and, above all, who understands popular music.

The days when a new young star almost HAD to be good looking are over. Of course, good looks do help, especially on TV, but don’t despair if you’re not good looking.

Today most big artists arrive via the disc charts. That means via records and SOUND. If you make a good sound and your record sells enough to make the charts, and you can follow that up with another.

then you’re accepted anyway and your looks don’t matter.

One could say that the Pretty Things and the Rolling Stones were not good looking but some girls think they are. There is something about them the girls like. It’s the expression that’s so often important. No-one could call Ringo Starr good looking but millions of girls find him most attractive.

Look at the Beatles. Fourteen months ago people were saying they were an ugly lot of boys. But now there’s nothing but admiration for them. People go out of their way to talk about their good points as far as their features are concerned.

As I said, good looks like, say, Cliff Richard’s, must be an advantage when he does TV shows or films, but if you’re not as handsome as Cliff don’t worry. If you establish yourself with the right sound first, your looks take second place.

And who’s going to know if you’ve got talent if you don’t actually get up and sing? Forget your looks, that’s my advice.

The question of clothes requires very careful thought. It’s been proved beyond doubt by groups like the Rolling Stones and the Swinging Blue Jeans that you don’t have to be dressed smartly to be successful.

Both the Rolling Stones’ and the Beatles’ managements thought very carefully about how their groups should dress.

The fact that they both ended up with different answers is beside the point.

The Beatles are well groomed and wear more conventional suits. The Stones are professionally dishevelled and by that 1 don’t mean they’re dirty.

The Stones get an identification with a large section of the teenage public because they take casual dress to the nth degree.

You owe it to the public to be clean, shaved and have groomed finger nails. And your hair, like your clothes, no matter what style you decide upon, should be professionally done.

NEXT WEEK: How to avoid the pitfalls of success.

The post How to become a pop star: now – find the right sound appeared first on THIS IS MY 1960s from Transdiffusion.

EVERY artist needs publicity in the pop business. It may be hard to believe but even the Beatles needed it once! It’s true!

When I went to Paris with them last year, they were the biggest stars in this country and were rapidly climbing the American charts, but in Paris they were really not well known.

Backstage on their first-night appearance at the Paris Olympia theatre, there were no big guns from the Press but there were dozens of “freelance” photographers.

Our dressing-room was about the size of two telephone boxes put together.

Into it were squeezed four Beatles, two road managers, endless guitars, myself and two British journalists. What a crush!

Three or four of the photographers also pushed their way in. About 20 outside were also trying to get in.

I suddenly saw a chance to create a “story” for the papers. As it was, the first night could have passed off very noisily, very excitingly, but not a word would get printed. I told the road managers of my idea, then told the photographers to get out — in French, English, Arabic and Russian!

But they refused, so at a given signal, we threw them out. This caused a great melee outside.

This, of course, made the story and my calculated gamble came off. It made every paper next day in Britain and France and caused quite a storm. Next day I held a “peace” conference at our hotel, apologised handsomely all round, drinks were exchanged, injuries were compared and that made a second “story.” From then on we were away.

This was, of course, merely complementary to the Beatles’ marvellous performance. They entertained their audiences very well but the publicity and pictures of the melee helped arouse a tremendous interest throughout Paris which otherwise might not have happened.

Many people tend to decry gimmicks but I am sure in the pop world today they are, if cleverly thought out, essential.

The Beatles’ name was originally picked as a gimmick. But today you’d never imagine them called anything else. The Kinks is a gimmick name, thought up to attract attention, but now it is endemic to them.

The question of your gimmick must be thought over very carefully. It must fit your present and, if you’re successful, what you believe will be your future “image.”

But always remember, although a trademark may help sell the product, the product itself must be good. There is no doubt that the right song can turn a pop singer into a name overnight — or raise a fading career from the doldrums.

One of Brian Epstein’s greatest contributions to his artists’ future is his instinctive and uncanny ability to pick a good song for them.

This, of course, he doesn’t have to do for the Beatles. Most of their singles are their own compositions, and they choose much of their LP material.

But Cilla Black with “Anyone Who Had A Heart” and Billy J. Kramer with “Little Children” are perfect examples.

Peter and Gordon undoubtedly got off with the right song, “World Without Love.” How did they get it? Peter is the brother of Jane Asher, who is Beatle Paul’s girl friend. Paul and John Lennon had written the song, part of it with Peter and Gordon at the Asher home.

Their next song, “Nobody I Know,” was a Lennon and McCartney number and “I Don’t Want To See You Again” is, too.

Peter and Gordon may go along to a record company and put five numbers on tape, two or three of which may be theirs and two by Lennon and McCartney.

The recording manager picks what he feels to be the best of the lot. So far it’s always turned out to be Lennon and McCartney.

But there is a danger here — and Peter and Gordon are aware of it — that they might get stuck with a Lennon and McCartney type of song every time. So now they have recorded a Del Shannon number.

The real answer, of course, is to do a Frank Sinatra and start your own record company!

NEXT WEEK: Brian Sommerville discusses: looks, talent, and grooming that make a pop star. And tells you the secret of success behind the great artists in the pop scene.

The post How to become a pop star: how to choose the right song appeared first on THIS IS MY 1960s from Transdiffusion.

WHENEVER anyone asks me, and it’s amazing how many do, if there is one quality a budding pop star needs most of all, I always give the same one-word answer—talent.

If you don’t have talent you might as well go back to the farm, or the bank counter, or wherever it is you work.

Mind you, that talent may not be obvious. It often takes a clever manager to spot it because the person might be shy or trying to start off with the wrong style.

The Beatles illustrate the point. Brian Epstein, their manager, agrees with me that he was extremely lucky in finding four boys who had an incredible amount of talent between them. Some of that talent was obvious but some was not.

John Lennon’s was clear from the start and so was Paul McCartney’s to a slightly lesser extent in that they were both good at composing. But the latent talent in George Harrison and Ringo Starr emerged much later.

Today George is coming out with some really tricky guitar playing. He has proved himself an expert guitarist.

And Ringo has revealed a latent talent in his humour, his new comic image. This talent has been brought out by a process of evolution, actual experience, confidence from success and by being put on the right lines by Brian Epstein.

Another case of really obvious talent is Tommy Steele. He has now graduated from being only a pop singer to becoming a fine all-round entertainer. He always had this natural talent, coupled with a flair for putting it over.

This flair, too, is most important. You need personality to put your talent over.

If you don’t have the personality to put your talent over, you may just as well not have the talent.

Anthony Newley is another example of a man so talented that he emerged as a pop singer as an off-shoot from his main job of acting. He also helps write his own songs and stage shows.

How do you know if you’ve got talent? Most of the time if you are really talented, you won’t know. In fact, if you do think you’re the great undiscovered genius it might be as well to think again. For most talented people I’ve known did NOT know they were talented.

Often the real true artist is the last person to know just how talented he is.

That doesn’t mean they didn’t have the confidence to persevere. You MUST have that.

I remember when I was working in an assistant capacity as publicity man to Peter Sellers. We were watching a scene in a film he’d just made and he didn’t think it was very funny, although to everyone else it was. In fact, it was the funniest scene in the film, yet Peter wanted to do it again.

Just as the law courts will occasionally jail an innocent man or free a guilty man, most people know that justice is almost invariably done. It’s the same with talent in show business. If you’ve got it, you should win through.

There are the freaks — talents who just don’t get noticed and people who get a stardom they don’t deserve. But, generally speaking, talent will be recognised sooner or later and receive its just reward.

Above all, don’t be put off too easily. There may be a number of reasons why you might be told quite consistently by agents and managers that you are not what they want.

Maybe you have some rough edges and they can’t be bothered to smooth them out. Maybe you clash with someone else already on their books. Maybe there is something about you they don’t like, quite apart from your ability.

Never be misled by this. You must still press on. Be as honest as you can with yourself and if you really think you’ve got something, be confident in your own ability. But don’t be too clever or cocky about it.

I’ve just taken on a man called Deke Arion. I’m convinced, as are many who’ve seen him, that he’s very talented. He sings, does impersonations that are cleverly satirical. He compares favourably in the early stages with Tommy Steele or even with Danny Kaye. For all manner of reasons, he never signed with anyone, but now I’m certain he’s destined for stardom.

You may have all the talent in the world but without good management, in this highly competitive business, you don’t really have much chance.

I think the Beatles’ greatest debt of gratitude to Brian Epstein must be from the very early days, before they’d made their first couple of records, when Brian came from Liverpool and literally “sold” them to the recording industry.

This doesn’t apply in every case, of course. But Brian found a recording manager, a recording company and a music publisher and convinced them that the Beatles were worth knowing.

Brian had doors slammed in his face and people didn’t want to know him or the Beatles, but he worked very hard.

I do feel that without him they would never have been pushed so well. He brought their great talents to everyone’s notice. Of course, with their talents they would have been discovered by someone but there are very few managers with anything like Epstein’s abilities.

Brian was so convinced by the evidence of his eyes and ears—and he had experience from running a record shop— that he was inspired to work like he did.

And I would say it was essential for any budding pop star to have a manager who feels like this about him or her.

How do you go about finding a good manager? There are no hard and fast rules. A lot of it is inspired guesswork, a lot of it is sheer luck.

But you should be guided by your own instincts. Instinct is a wonderful thing in show business and first impressions are often right.

You should look, of course, for an honest and reputable person. And you must be convinced that when they say “I will do this or that for you” they mean it and are capable of really doing their best to fulfil their promises.

You should feel the manager has a personal interest in you, believes implicitly in your talent, and that in the face of criticism or in a tight corner he will fight for you and defend you — and not just because he’s paid for it.

He should also be aware of your bad points and idiosyncrasies and know how to counteract them.

As in all basic rules, there is a middle path to follow. Don’t depart too far from it.

Publicity, of course, goes hand in hand with good management. But there is one point I must make: Too many people have the idea in the pop world that if you get a good publicity man — you can include the manager in this, too—you are made.

That all you need then is a little bit of patience, a bit of determination and the right song.

This just isn’t true. Publicity is never a substitute for talent. At its best all publicity can do is present the artist, using all the media available, in the best possible light.

With intelligent thinking between yourself, the management and the publicity man, you can knock off the rough edges, project the artist’s best points, and try to play down, and if possible remove, some of the bad ones.

And there must be mutual trust. For instance, with the Kinks, we appreciate each other’s sense of humour. I appreciate their talents and I think they appreciate my professional ability, publicity-wise.

They know I’m working for them and although they may not see that what I am doing is the right thing, they do trust that eventually I will be shown to be right.

If you’re going to buy a new car or an odd looking shirt, if you’re going to change your hairstyle, if your dog is having pups, if your wife is having a baby, or whatever you are up to, it’s your duty to keep the publicity man informed.

It’s then up to him to see it is exploited in the right way. Keeping an artist’s name before the public in an interesting and glamorous way is very important.

NEXT WEEK: I’ll tell you about the time time even the Beatles needed publicity in 1964. And how to find the “right song”.

The post How to become a pop star appeared first on THIS IS MY 1960s from Transdiffusion.

AFN PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

Week of 7 – 13 May 1967

If you’ve ever run across an old friend in an unfamiliar place, then you know how AFN listeners feel this week as several old radio friends pop up in unfamiliar places on the schedule.

AMERICA’S POPULAR MUSIC which has formerly been heard at 1030 each day Monday through Friday will now be heard on most AFN stations at 0805 daily. Host Andy Mansfield is the proud owner of one of the largest record collections in existence and he shares his treasures with his listeners. Those of you with a taste for nostalgia will enjoy both Andy’s reminiscences and his music. And younger listeners whose fathers still insist Ruth Etting was a better singer than Petula Clark will have a chance to judge for themselves. There is plenty of up-to-the-minute music, too, for those who still prefer Petula.

IRA COOK, one of America’s top disc jockies, will now be heard Monday through Friday at 1030. Cook is a really old hand at picking music everyone enjoys and one of the more popular features of his show is “A pair of platters” wherein two songs of similar title or subject are contrasted each day.

Baseball’s BILL VEECK (which he insists rhymes with “wreck”) will now be around five nights weekly at 2310 following the News and Sports Nightcap. Veeck is one of the sportworld’s most outspoken figures and his five-minute commentary nightly is always good for a chuckle.

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AFN PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

Week of 23 – 29 April 1967

All over America, it is a nightly habit for bleary-eyed television fans to lie in their beds and stare at the television set between their toes. The reason for this unusual national habit is Johnny Carson’s TONIGHT show. AFN makes it easier for its listeners by presenting the highlights of these shows nightly Monday through Friday at 2230 hours. This week Carson fans have a number of treats in store for themselves.

MONDAY: Comic Woody Allen talks about Las Vegas . . . Jack Lord, actor, talks about his early days and the Mitchell Trio sings “Time to Love One Another”.

TUESDAY: Singer Steve Lawrence belts out “What Now My Love” and Art Linkletter talks about the early days of radio.

WEDNESDAY: George Segal, actor, sings and plays banjo and the hottest new talent in New York, Don Ho, sings “It Aint No big Thing”.

THURSDAY: Comic Corbett Monica is aboard tonight and talks about doing a play. Roberta Peters, opera star sings “The Nightingale”.

FRIDAY: Actress Phyllis Newman talks about visiting the White House and old-timer Rudy Vallee sings “Winchester Cathedral”.

A LISTENING REMINDER: With the start of summer weather, tuck a portable radio in your picnic basket. Weekends on AFN feature a variety of light, enjoyable programs to help make the lazy days pass pleasantly. Radio is your constant good companion and goes with you every place.

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AFN PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

Week of 16 – 22 April 1967

Twenty-five years ago this week — on 18 April 1942 — the first WWII edition of Stars and Stripes rolled off the presses of the London Times. Since then Americans serving in Europe have come to think of the Stars and Stripes as their hometown newspaper. The S & S story is a fascinating one and this week AFN tells that story in a specially prepared documentary broadcast saluting the elder medium. (AFN is about one year younger.) Listeners will hear the voices of present and former Stripers reminiscing about the early days of the paper. They will hear the sounds of today’s tremendous publishing effort and meet the people who are responsible in great part for keeping Americans in Europe on top of the news. The program was written and produced by AFN’s Bob Matthes and will be heard at 2130 hours on 18 April — twenty-five years to the day after the re-birth of Stars and Stripes during the second world war.

Anyone casting a movie about a United States Senator would likely pick Everett McKinley Dirksen for the part — he has been called the prototype of a senator in appearance, manner and speaking style. Listeners will hear his famous voice during CONNOTATION at 2030 Wednesday, 19 April, as the program makes a departure from its usual format and features “Gallant Men”, the best selling album of Americana recorded by Senator Dirkson.

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AFN PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

Week of 2-8 April 1967

Regular listeners to AFN will have noticed a couple of new voices on old favorite programs during the past few weeks. Currently hosting AFN’s “WEEKEND WORLD” is Army Specialist Don Burns. Don re­placed Army Specialist Rick Scarry who has returned to the United States. The program also boasts a new producer — Army Specialist Ron Hitchcock. Hitchcock and Burns are presently planning a number of surprises for listeners to this program (1400-1800 Saturdays and Sundays) which ranges the world for features and music.

Another new voice is popular disc jockey Johnny Grant who now hosts “SMALL WORLD” (1405-1500 Monday through Friday). Johnny is well known to former residents of the Los Angeles area through his radio work there. He’s equally well known to service men because of the dozens of shows featuring top Hollywood stars he has brought to bases around the world.

The “TONIGHT” show this week, as always, has a great guest list. The 2230 presentation features Damita Jo, drummer Buddy Rich and author George Plimpton on Monday. Tuesday, Steve Allen and Frankie Laine guest. On Wednesday it’s the Joe Bushkin Trio, Della Reese and Lorne Greene (who plays “Goofus” on the violin). Thursday evening comic Bill Cosby and all-around entertainer Theodore Bikel appear and Friday its Arthur Prysock, Bud and Cee-Cee Robinson and author Gene Shepherd.

The post AFN Europe program schedule 2-8 April 1967 appeared first on THIS IS MY 1960s from Transdiffusion.

HIT tunes. And The Beatles. They seem to go together like bacon and eggs. But we never seem to hear very much about HOW they write hit tunes.

Beatles John Lennon and Paul McCartney have been dubbed Britain’s answer to Rodgers and Hammerstein. Together, they have produced 52 successful numbers in four years. How do they do it? That’s what I asked when I interrupted their latest recording session at St. John’s Wood, London. And the answer: while tramping about Britain and the world in transit from one date to another.

“From Me To You” was born on a coach during a one-night stand tour; “This Boy” was originally scribbled down on an Airport Disposal Bag; “Can’t Buy Me Love” happened in Paris; in fact, the lads did most of the numbers from their first film “A Hard Day’s Night” while in Paris or touring America.

See The Beatles in:
Ready, Steady, Go! Friday
Lucky Stars Special, Saturday

Top left: Paul McCartney, bass guitarist. The Brainy Beatle. Speaks three languages.
Top right: George Harrison, lead guitarist. The Artistic Beatle. Teachers predicted he’d be a famous painter.
Bottom left: John Lennon, rhythm guitarist. Playing left-handed? “Well,” says John, “anything Paul can do…”
Bottom right: Ringo Starr, drummer. The Latest Beatle. Joined the group in 1962

No set routine. Sometimes John dreams up the tune and Paul writes the words; sometimes it’s the other way round. Paul wrote “Can’t Buy Me Love” on his own. John was the man behind their latest, “I Feel Fine.” But they always have a joint credit. Because they work together on the final “polishing up” technique, words and music.

They have a knack of knowing exactly what the other is thinking of musically. Call it pop rapport, if you like.

John whipped up “I Feel Fine” in an intense 90 minutes at the St. John’s Wood recording studios just over a month ago. It was waxed inside another hour — swift work by any standard.

Mention of Paris. Know how you say Rolling Stones in French? Thousands of beat-barmy Parisians know. When word spread that these five shaggy-maned laddies were appearing at the Paris Olympia, fans besieged the place.

All seats were sold within 24 hours’ notice that the Stones were to appear there. That’s the best business ever for the internationally-famous Olympia.

France digs the Rolling Stones. Spaniards love Susan Maughan. Slinky Sue spent three days in Spain a fortnight ago, fêted as the Best TV Artist in a nation-wide magazine poll.

When she returned to London, she notched up a motoring landmark, too. Her first parking ticket! Fined £2 [£40 today, allowing for inflation]. And they call her “Bobby’s Girl!”

Françoise Hardy, the 18-year-old French pop-ette who will be singing her latest “Pourquoi tu n’aime” on Saturday is motor-mad, too.

Crazy about cars. Drives a Mini-Cooper at high speed without batting an eyelash. Even in Paris’s traffic jungle. Until last month, when she was filmed driving around for an ITV company.

Françoise told me she was so busy trying to follow the instructions of the cameraman, she collided with SEVEN cars.

The Searchers are off to foreign parts soon. Or rather, a foreign part. Sweden. They’ve never been there before. Told me they were looking forward to smörbröd.

Smörbröd? Not a one-night stand town. It’s Scandinavian for bread and butter. And The Searchers just love freshly-baked foreign bread.

Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas are just back from America. Surprise for them in Hollywood. Had a visit from Chief Shooting Star, 73-year-old head of the Dakota nation and a descendant of Sitting Bull. He wanted to meet the lads who were using his tribe’s name to make heap big music.

Gave the lads beads and handsomely-finished Indian gear.

Also on American pop patrol: The Animals. Their 21-day jaunt had the girls in hysterics. Real, genuine hysterics.

In New York a lass had prolonged hysterics and was carted off to hospital in a strait-jacket! And in Utica, New York State, a theatre safety curtain had to be lowered five times in the same performance to save the Animals from rampaging fans.

While The Searchers are in Sweden, they will probably hear the name Lorne Lesley mentioned. She’s a big star there. But this dusky lass from Tiger Bay had language problems out there at first.

Take her first big show in Scandinavia. Didn’t know the Swedish for “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.” So asked her pianist, who was also something of a wag. He told her… how to say:

“Good evening, ladies and drunken dogs.”

Lorne stepped up, was halfway through the greeting, then the audience was amazed when the pianist rushed across the stage and clapped his hand over the mike! Since then she carries an Anglo-Swedish dictionary.

No language problems for Long John Baldry. But he’s got sleeping problems. Especially in this colder weather.

Long John is a lofty 6ft. 7½in. [2.02m] tall. Longest bed he can find is only 6ft. 2in. [1.88m] So five chilly inches [13cm] of Baldry leg, plus the Baldry foot, stick out at the bottom. How does he manage to sleep at all? Easy. Wears football socks!

Finally, back to America. That’s where the Isley Brothers — Ronald, Rudolph and O’Kelly — live. Started early in show business. Brother Ronald was just three years old when he won a £25 War Bond in a song contest at Cincinnati Union Baptist Church!

Who are the Isley Brothers? Group who did the original recordings of “Twist and Shout” and “Shout,” both hot cover discs for The Beatles and Lulu respectively.

TAILPIECE: And don’t forget you can see pop stars Larry Parker and Jan Douglas in Tuesday’s Five O’Clock Club and The Trendsetters in Friday’s Five O’Clock Club.

The post Pop stars unlimited! appeared first on THIS IS MY 1960s from Transdiffusion.

Ever since The Hollies first came on to the scene hotfoot after The Beatles and all out to prove that Manchester could produce as good as Liverpool any day, The Hollies have been known for their style in clothes. Not for them the way-out haircuts, the scruffy jeans and sloppy Joe T-shirts. Even now they have gone casual, their casual wear wouldn’t disgrace a page in The Tailor & Cutter or Esquire.

If The Hollies have had a reputation for their clothes, their success as a group certainly hasn’t been built on that alone. I doubt even if it has had much to do with it. For The Hollies have equally always had one of the best group sounds in the business.

Their music has always had polish, originality and an essential heart.

Take this in conjunction with the fact that the five Hollies are five of the most likeable people in show-business and you have an unbeatable combination.

One of the words most used about The Hollies is that they are professionals — everybody says it except The Hollies themselves. “We are just a bunch of amateurs,” really says Graham Nash. “We play something, if we like it we play it again, if we still like it we work on it till we get it to sound exactly as we like it. Fortunately for us, what we like to hear seems to be also what our fans like to hear, so everybody is happy.”

A bunch of amateurs maybe, but professionalism is more than just being able to read music and play your instrument fairly well. Professionalism covers all sorts of other things, like always being in the right place at the right time, always being properly rehearsed before you get on stage, always knowing what you are going to do, being able to feel the audience reaction and adjust your act accordingly — all these things and many more make up professionalism, and The Hollies have it in full measure even if they do tell you that they just play to please themselves.

The Hollies have had all the hit-parade honours they have ever wanted, and are still getting them. They themselves, however, are always trying to broaden their scope. They have done very well in Europe, but they want to do better. They have never been very big in the States and they are determined to make their mark there also.

They have tried their hand at cabaret and made a success of it. They want to try films, they want to try all sorts of new things, new sounds, new instruments, new song structures. They are always seeking for something just that little bit better.

All The Hollies play their instruments well and they never cease trying to improve their standard. Drummer Bobby Elliott is acknowledged by the profession itself to be one of the best drummers on the scene today, and if he ever wanted to leave The Hollies he could be certain of a place in any group, combo, orchestra or band he wanted.

The Hollies are determined to always remain just that little bit ahead of the rest and in this writer’s opinion it’s all of a pot of gold to a bent pin that they will succeed in doing just that in 1967, as they have done in 1966 and 1965.

The post The group that likes to be different: The Hollies appeared first on THIS IS MY 1960s from Transdiffusion.

Outside the studios hundreds of teenage fans waited to mob Cliff. This was only a ten minute programme, but they had come from far and wide, travelling countless miles, just for the chance of seeing their idol in action for a few minutes.

Some of those crowding outside did not even catch a glimpse of him. But still they were happy to be there; content just to be near where Cliff was.

Since then Cliff Richard has reached an even higher peak of success. And apart from being one of the few pop stars to have stayed high in the popularity stakes, he has even knocked on the door of the exclusive Presley hall of fame to challenge the almost legendary Elvis for the No. 1 position.

Pop singers come and go, their career governed by the restless tastes of the teenage record buyers. Some of them are one record wonders who cut a hit disc, climb high into the Top Ten and then slide off into obscurity. Others find themselves stars overnight. But unless they can continue to provide the type of music the teenage audience want, their popularity — like the moonlight kisses of the famous Nat King Cole song — “cools in the warmth of the sun”. Some are stars at 15 and has-beens at the ripe old age of 20.

But for all these, the vagaries of “pop” music life, there are those with obvious talent — an ability certain to keep them in favour with their capricious audience. Such artistes are Brenda Lee, Helen Shapiro, Bobby Vee and Bobby Rydell, not to mention those old timers Connie Francis, Pat Boone, Tommy Steele and Frankie Vaughan.

All of these favourites have featured in ATV shows during the past year.

Cliff Richard, for instance, has appeared frequently in Startime and Sunday Night at the London Palladium programmes. That Cliff is one of Britain’s hottest show business properties is undisputed. There was a time when this swarthy dark eyed twenty-two-year-old meant nothing. But by the time he was 19 Cliff had made the top. Today he can smile at the cynics who thought him to be just another guitar-strumming teenager when he made his early television appearances in the Oh Boy show.

But the teenagers had faith in him. Cliff justified that faith. Today he is mobbed wherever he goes. ‘You miss being able to walk about unmolested,’ he says. ‘It would be nice to be able to wander about. But I like what I am doing, and that is enough to make up for it.’

In addition to the year’s stage and television successes, 1962 saw Cliff’s film The Young Ones, on release. It was a tremendous box-office success. And while the teenage fans naturally flocked to see him, so did the mums and dads, and there were many who came away from the cinema with the feeling that the Cliff of 1962 appeals to a far wider audience.

Like Cliff Richard, Tommy Steele, although he still has his youthful following, now appeals more to the family-type audience. Tommy was one of the pioneers of the business of disproving the cynics in their belief that his talent consisted only of an ability to strum a guitar and wiggle his hips.

Tommy gave a polished performance in Sunday Night at the London Palladium in January and offered a feast of entertainment later in the year when he appeared in his own show. When he made this appearance in Sunday Night at the London Palladium few people knew that he almost did not go on. When he arrived by cab for the afternoon rehearsal he discovered that he had left his music in the back of the taxi. A frantic search was begun and the police called in to help. Fortunately, the cabbie found the music, took it to a police station, and it was delivered to the Palladium by a constable.

‘Was I glad to see that policeman,’ said Tommy. ‘I wonder if that taxi driver knows that he probably saved the show that night.’ Tommy showed his appreciation by sending a reward to the police station for the driver.

Billy Fury, too, appeared in several ATV shows, including All That Jazz. Many people mistake Billy’s natural shyness for coldness. On a first meeting he is apt to appear quiet and serious. But once the ice is broken Billy quickly shows himself to be a warm, humorous person. His great love is fast cars — an interest he shares with many young pop singers, including Elvis Presley.

Of all the teenage stars to hit the headlines during the past year perhaps pert little Helen Shapiro has made the greatest impact. The latter half of 1961 found Helen an established star. And 1962 consolidated that success. Successive hit records brought fame to a poised 16-year-old girl who, when her first record was climbing high in the Top Ten, was still at a London school. Since then she has headlined Sunday Night at the London Palladium, appeared in Startime and starred in a two weeks’ season at the London Palladium Theatre.

In addition to these British successes, 1962 has witnessed another pop invasion from across the Atlantic. Brenda Lee, Neil Sedaka, Bobby Vee, Bobby Rydell, Jimmy Dean, Connie Francis and Pat Boone all came to Britain to star in Sunday Night at the London Palladium.

Pat Boone, now a firm favourite with British disc fans, came to make a film at Shepperton Studios and stayed for six months. Connie Francis, of course, has been a frequent visitor to these shores for a number of years and, as one Press man jokingly put it: ‘Connie comes here so often that the airlines are giving her a season ticket!’

Four years ago a petite 15-year-old American girl set foot in Britain for the first time. Her name? Brenda Lee. She appeared in a television show and immediately set people talking. In April of this year she returned again, this time as a fully fledged star, to top the Sunday Night at the London Palladium bill. During these four years Brenda had set the American pop world alight with her powerful voice and extraordinary personality.

Her youthful zest earned her the title ‘Miss Dynamite’ and, backed by several hit records and her successful Palladium appearance, Brenda set out to conquer Britain with a hectic tour of one night stands. Unanimously, British pop artistes acclaimed her. ‘Brenda is great,’ said Cliff Richard. While Helen Shapiro, who can probably claim to be Britain’s counterpart of this dynamic American teenager, said: ‘I think Brenda Lee is the greatest female rock singer.’ Adam Faith used Norman Vaughan’s expression to describe her. ‘I think Brenda is swinging,’ he said.

Apart from teenage entertainers, television during 1962 has seen appearances from many established star singers, from both sides of the Atlantic — artistes like Eartha Kitt, Matt Monro, Shirley Bassey, Frankie Vaughan and Lonnie Donegan. Donegan, for example, starred in another successful series of Putting on the Donegan shows for ATV and proved himself to be a dab hand at comedy in addition to being one of our most popular recording stars.

Matt Monro, the former busman, found a ready market for his talents in American night-spots. It is not easy for a British artiste to win acclaim in the United States but Matt was able to do this quite emphatically.

Before leaving the pop scene, mention must be made of a young man who, through those fine recordings Moon River and Jeannie, found a place in the top echelon — Danny Williams. Danny, the quiet spoken South African-born singer, has a style reminiscent of the velvety tones of Johnny Mathis. Danny appeared in All That Jazz for ATV.

It would not be right to talk about Cliff Richard without mentioning the fabulous Shadows — Brian Locking, Bruce Welch, Hank B. Marvin and Brian Bennet, who took over as the group’s drummer from Tony Meehan in the latter part of last year. Although they still back Cliff Richard, they are now stars in their own right, and in the past year there has been a friendly battle between the Shadows and Cliff for the top chart positions.

It has been a good year in the ‘pop’ music world.

The post The Pop Invasion appeared first on THIS IS MY 1960s from Transdiffusion.

Her own series on BBC TV proves her versatility. The series has a vast following.

From Television Stars 1966, published by Purnell

Even though she has carved her niche in popular music, Kathy is still a devout opera fan and enjoys hearing her two favourite operas, “Carmen” and “La Boheme”, whenever she has the opportunity.

Getting to the top of any profession is no easy task. There was no exception in Kathy’s case. Before her first big disc hits, “Dance On” and “Secret Love,” she can remember the tough, sometimes heartbreaking days, when success seemed a million years away — endless one-night stands and club engagements. For all her charm, however, Kathy is made of stern stuff. “I always wanted to be a star,” she declared, “and I was willing to make the kind of sacrifices one has to make in order to attain stardom.”

She was sweet sixteen when she started on her road to fame. It was then that she was signed by Bert Ambrose to sing with his band. Bert had tremendous faith and confidence in her. He groomed her, taught her, guided her into becoming the name she is today. Never for one minute did Bert or Kathy think in terms of failure.

When she finally hit the jackpot there were other problems to cope with. Success can be worrying, even sometimes upsetting. She found herself working harder than ever. She once confessed, “Success is terribly, terribly strange. At first I didn’t feel anything. People would say, ‘You’ve sold so many thousand records this week and earned such and such’ — but it wasn’t until I walked along the street and people recognised me that I realised what fame meant. It’s amazing. I came from oblivion all of a sudden.”

Some artistes on finally getting to the top forget their early struggles and hardships. Not so, Kathy. “In this business you’ve got to keep your sense of values. I find that looking back acts as a tremendous stabiliser. It makes you realise how much you owe to other people who’ve helped you. All the time you’re thinking of them and not wanting to let them down.”

The glamorous image Kathy has projected on our screens is all part of the magic this dynamic girl possesses. “I would love to be in films,” she says, “but not as a sex symbol. You know, I’ve never tried to be a sex symbol. Early on in my career many people compared me with Marilyn Monroe. I admit the comparison was extremely flattering. I loved seeing her films. She was a fantastic woman. I was a great fan of hers.”

No star likes to be compared with another, and Kathy has proved to her public that she has a style and personality of her own — a warm, friendly one to match her talent.

She admits that the late Mario Lanza had more influence on her career than anyone else. “When I was taking opera lessons I used to love seeing all his films. I thought he was the greatest thing that ever lived. In fact, he used to make me cry. That’s the effect his voice had on me.”

Kathy is also a great Doris Day fan.

Now that she has the world at her feet what does Kathy strive for?

“Oh, to be better than I was before. I’m a perfectionist. I like to improve all the time. Who doesn’t? What do I strive for? Well, contentment as a human being — personal happiness. Not that I’m unhappy,” she laughed, “but everybody thinks they could be happier.”

The post Kathy Kirby: Champagne Star appeared first on THIS IS MY 1960s from Transdiffusion.

Looking at Georgie, lost in his playing, one could not help but agree with him, and I don’t think that it is very often that Georgie does think about the hit-parade. In fact the hit-parade has had a very peculiar reaction to Georgie.

Most people know that Georgie led Billy Fury’s first backing group before The Tornados. He then took up the organ and formed The Blue Flames, with whom he played for years at the Flamingo and other clubs, building up a tremendous following, but never making the charts.

Incidentally, unlike most groups, The Blue Flames have always been a rather anonymous group, they are never personally identified, although through the years the fans have got to know the names of some of the members especially the bongo drummer. In the course of its existence The Blue Flames have had a number of personnel changes which have gone unnoticed to many people.

Georgie also, from time to time, augments The Blue Flames with additional instruments of one sort or another as he experiments with new sound developments. When I saw them recently, Georgie had included two extra saxophones and a trumpet in his line up, whether they will stay, or how long they will stay depends, no doubt, on how satisfied Georgie is with the new sound he is getting.

When you come to think of it Georgie is himself something of an enigma, when you ask yourself why and how a lad from Lancashire with no particular musical traditions behind him, or anything to inspire him beyond the records he hears of American jazz musicians, should become one of the leaders of Rhythm and Blues music.

So a little time ago I asked him about himself — what sort of person he was. Georgie told me —

“At school I was actually much keener on sport than music. I was captain of the school rugger team. I was in the school athletics team, I was a keen ice-skater, a keen water-skier and I was also in the school swimming team. I would emphasize the word was, because from the time I got interested in music, and even more so, after I became a professional musician and entered show-business, sport went by the board simply because of lack of time. Nowadays, about the only thing I do still is swim.

“But I never regret it, or anything from the past. Sometimes I am asked if I ever regret going into show-business? — Do I remember school with affection and so on? — The truth is I never think about the past at all. To me yesterday is over and done with — it can’t ever be brought back, so you might as well forget it. I think only of today and the future — this is important because if you think right about the future, the past need never come to your attention again. If you go wrong by the future, of course, you may be forced to remember the past because the silly action you did then has consequences which are always forcing themselves on your attention.

“In some ways I’m really rather a lazy person. One of the pleasures that a big chart success brings you is the money to be able to employ a lot of people to do all the arranging of things for you… you know the day-to-day details of living and travelling. That way I can concentrate entirely on making music. Which is, after all, the thing I do best. I do try to put on a bit of an act sometimes — I mean I try and appear terribly business-like and tycoonish when I have to negotiate business—but it is all an act. I’d be just hopeless as a real businessman. One of my troubles is that I’m not really strong willed. Anybody can get me to do almost anything if they dangle the right bait in front of my nose.

“Do I have any interests outside of music? — Not really. I think I’ve read all the James Bond books, if that is a virtue, I never get time for more serious books. I’m hopeless at drawing or painting and I couldn’t make anything with my hands if I tried. Clothes? I like to be well dressed and I blush sometimes to think how scruffy I used to be when I first came into show-business — but I have no interest in clothes or fashion at all. It doesn’t give me hours of enjoyment deciding whether a button should be here or there, or whether the yellow tweed is better than the purple mohair, which it seems to give some people. Well dressed — yes, no more than that. No, apart from swimming I can’t really say I have any real interests outside making music.

“Girls? Marriage? In due course, I suppose. It always sounds so silly the way people in show-business say you never have the time. But it really is true — there is always something that needs your attention, and when you add that on to the time you need to practice and rehearse, I would vote for any political party that promised me a twenty-five hour day. You know you don’t get time for girls — you have to make time and in order to want to make time you’ve got to want to be with the girl pretty badly. So until you meet the right girl, the ideal girl, the one that has that super attraction—you just seem to miss out on girls, there just isn’t time.’’

Well that is something of Georgie Fame’s view of himself, prompted by some odd questions from me. I do know that whether Georgie hits the chart high-spots again or not — Georgie is still going to be around playing his kind of music to anybody who wants to listen to it.

The post A Pop Enigma… flaming Georgie Fame appeared first on THIS IS MY 1960s from Transdiffusion.

He didn’t quite, because The Beatles’ ’65 tour of America just about saved them from that, nevertheless on a points system awarded for each week’s position in the American charts, Herman did in fact come top of the poll.

In spite of his tremendous success Stateside, Herman hasn’t really made much impact in England since his first hit-record. Most of his records make the charts somewhere around the lower end but you can’t say the English really love him.

If the English fans don’t buy Herman’s records in the quantities the Americans do, they do have at least one favourite occupation as far as Herman is concerned, and that is to marry him off.

So far, I think Herman has been rumoured to be engaged to almost every girl on the British pop scene, from Twinkle to Jackie Trent, the latter being hardly likely since she is already happily married.

I asked Herman about this one day when I met him at the Alpha Studios in Birmingham where he was appearing on a “Lucky Stars” programme.

“Girls”, said Herman, “when do you get time for girls in this racket?” echoing the heartfelt complaint of practically every pop star one puts this question to. “Romance? No time.”

“As for marrying me off, the fans are nuts. I believe the rumour regarding Twinkle began because we were on the same bill a couple of times and I was spotted taking her out to dinner after the show. Then I was on ‘Juke Box Jury’ once, and I happened to be criticizing a record by Lulu and I happened to say ‘I love Lulu, of course, but…’ and next morning the papers had me practically buying Lulu an engagement ring.”

“Mind you, I do love Lulu, everybody does, she is a wonderful and sweet person, but that doesn’t mean wedding bells are ringing for me or for anyone else. In fact I’m much too young to get married, I’m having a wonderful time and I don’t think a man should get married much before he is twenty-five anyway.”

Actually Herman never had any intention of becoming a singer. It all started when he was given the part of a young boy who had to sing, so he started singing lessons. Peter liked going to a youth club and listening to an amateur group which played under the name of The Heartbeats. One day they were short of a lead singer and Herman, or Peter Noone as he was then was, asked to fill in. Later he joined The Heartbeats on a permanent basis and they billed themselves as Herman and The Heartbeats. Of that original group actually only Karl Green remains with The Hermits.

Their big-time careers started when they were heard by Mickie Most, the man responsible for the hits of The Animals and The Nashville Teens, who travelled up to Bolton to hear them, liked what he heard and put them under contract. The result was “I’m Into Something Good” which was a tremendous smash hit.

Following their enormous success in the American charts, it was inevitable that Hollywood would beckon, and beckon with an offer that even the “not wanting to be an actor any more” Herman would find hard to resist. The Hermits have made several small features but their first big-budget picture was made towards the end of 1965 and is due for release in Britain about the time this Annual is published. At the time of writing, very little has been released about the film and even the title seems to be not yet finally decided.

Anything can happen in a picture, of course, but there is little doubt that with Herman in it, the fans will flock to see it.

Reading through this article, one can hardly help noticing that throughout I have referred to Herman in the singular and have made very little mention of The Hermits. This is not so strange really, for I don’t think there is any other group walking the scene in which the other members have attracted less attention. Right from the start of “I’m Into Something Good” the spotlight has been turned entirely on Herman and I think it will always remain there.

The post ‘Enerey The Eighth: Herman and his Hermits appeared first on THIS IS MY 1960s from Transdiffusion.

Actually the start of the Manfreds’ turning away from the pursuit of popular success started quite early in 1965, when their extended play record, which included the track “The One In The Middle”, hit the top of the E.P. charts and stayed there for months. I asked Manfred if he regretted not having cut “The One In The Middle” as a single. He told me — “No. We don’t reckon that much on chart successes with a single… it doesn’t mean all that much any more. We think that to get an E.P. or an L.P. up to the top of their respective charts is a much greater honour and in the long run worth a great deal more.”

This attitude is not really surprising, because although they have had a fair proportion of chart-topping singles, The Manfreds can hardly be called a typical group.

Manfred Mann himself is a South African by birth, he started his musical career by training for the career of a classical pianist, and to this end he went to Vienna to study. Instead of becoming a classical musician, he became more and more interested in jazz and blues. Mike Vickers is also a well-known jazz musician and composer, and indeed, often plays with The Modern Jazz Orchestra or one of several other combinations when The Manfreds are not working. Paul Jones was at Oxford when he became so interested in pop and blues singing that he neglected his studies and failed his first-year examinations, with the result that he got chucked out. Paul is a very complex character with a clear-thinking logical brain and a forthright manner, as he has shown the number of times he has appeared on T.V. as a panellist of one sort or another.

After he got thrown out of the University, Paul actually stayed in Oxford singing with local groups. He did this to be near his girl-friend Sheila, who was also at the University. When she graduated they both came down to London and got married.

There is very little doubt that Paul has been the main factor of the Manfred’s success. Whilst, without him, they would almost certainly have established themselves with the cognoscenti as a top R & B combo, they most certainly would not have achieved popular success as that term is generally understood.

Paul Jones is almost the perfect centreman. Not only is he an excellent harmonica player and a blues singer, but he has the sort of personality that gathers his audience to him, bringing them completely to an understanding of the lyric which he is singing. This has had the most marked effect with their hits like “If You Gotta Go, Go Now”, rather than their early ones like “5-4-3-2-1” and “Do Wah Diddy Diddy”, where Paul’s blues voice was used more as an additional instrument.

The Manfreds’ are not a group to rest on their laurels, or even stand still for very long, about six months ago Manfred started experimenting with increasing the group’s range and versatility by adding additional instruments to the usual organ, guitar, drums, sax, flute, harmonica combination. He has tried additional saxes and also tried adding trumpets. What the final result may be is not yet clear at the time of writing.

The tremendous success in America of Herb Alpert and The Tijuana Brass indicates that there is a trend towards a return of a modern version of Dixieland and the big band sound. If this is the case, and you dear reader will know by the time you come to read this Annual, it will be proof that The Manfreds are right on the ball with their thinking, and will undoubtedly be right in the forefront of the new wave.

The post The added sound of Manfred Mann appeared first on THIS IS MY 1960s from Transdiffusion.

If 1965 could be said to be the peak year of the Beatles’ fame with their being awarded their honour by the Queen, their third and most successful tour yet of the United States, their film “Help” a smash box-office success although they didn’t think much of it themselves, plus every record they chose to release going straight to the top of the charts in Britain and almost as quickly in the U.S.A., 1965 could also be said to be the year that we glimpsed the pattern of the future and 1966 could be said to be the year when the big question mark had to be answered — Where do we go from here?

To this writer’s mind the most significant thing about 1965, Beatle-wise, came at the end of the year when two songs written by Lennon and McCartney, “Yesterday” and “Michelle”, caused a sensation sung by other artistes than The Beatles.

Lennon and McCartney have always been a great song-writing team and each Beatles’ number they wrote seemed to get better and better, culminating, in the writer’s opinion, with the very beautiful “We Can Work It Out”, but all these have been Beatle songs sung by The Beatles. Other artistes have sung them, of course, but so far don’t seem, again in this writer’s opinion, to have really got hold of them. Several of these Beatles’ songs will in time become standards, of that there is little doubt, but at the moment they are overshadowed by the aura of The Beatles’ own performance of them, so that we cannot be wholly sure. With “Yesterday” and “Michelle” we have two songs that will undoubtedly become standards, and in each case gaining their effect just as much, if not more, when sung by other artistes.

As good as Paul McCartney’s own rendering of “Yesterday” in The Beatles’ L.P. was, it didn’t come up to the performance given it by Matt Munro, which deservedly made the Top Ten.

So these two songs show the future of two of The Beatles quite clearly, confirming what we always suspected, that we have in them two of the greatest writers of popular music that this generation will produce.

What of The Beatles as a group. For 1966, as we said was a year of problems and questions.

Many fans get up in arms at the mention of The Beatles or any of their favourites being finished, but sometimes forget the real question which is not, “Is the public tired of them?” which the public obviously isn’t, but “Are The Beatles tired of being The Beatles”.

To many fans the idea that The Beatles might wish to stop being The Beatles or Elvis Presley might wish to stop being called The King seems ludicrous. They cannot estimate or even begin to understand that what started out as a great adventure years before, when you had no money and there was all the world to gain, can become not only a bore, but a physical strain when you have enough money to provide you with a rich man’s income for the rest of your life, and yet the public still requires you to perform, expecting each of your offerings to be better than the last, and yet still forcing you to lead a life that is constantly circumscribed by the necessity of securing you from the over-eager admiration of your fans.

Presley found the answer by confining himself entirely to films and although he has gone on making records, his apparent reluctance to cut any new discs, apart from those required for his films, seems to indicate that he, at least, would welcome an easing-off of the fans’ admiration or rather that wild, out-of-hand admiration which seems to be confined almost entirely to recording stars.

Can The Beatles find this answer? Their first film “A Hard Day’s Night” wasn’t as successful as many people thought it might be. It was made on a cheap budget and there were some mistakes left in it that should have been cut out. It was almost as though it had been tried to put the film on to the world’s screens for as little money as possible as quickly as possible.

“Help” was an entirely different kettle of fish and has been a smash success. However, The Beatles proclaimed themselves not altogether pleased with it, and most critics thought it rather over-gimmicked and an attempt at something that didn’t quite come off.

This underlines the problem in making a film about four people. Many people draw the rather obvious parallel with the Marx Brothers and have tried to make out that The Beatles could be another Marx Brothers. Can they?

Well to some extent they have developed different characters. Paul McCartney, the juvenile, John Lennon, the master-mind, Ringo the sardonic clown, George, the burbling good-natured, “uncle” figure. The trouble is quite a number of readers won’t agree with me and will see them in quite a different set of roles—the only one that would be more in general agreement, being Paul as the juvenile romantic lead.

So far, however, the four have not shown themselves to be capable of emulating the talents of the Marx Brothers, and probably they themselves wouldn’t want to be a second lot of Marx Brothers anyway — The Beatles are nothing if not originals.

No doubt that they will be able to work out some satisfactory four-man act in time, which might prove the successful basis of a series of films starring the four boys.

Again, the question mark, may be put after the words — if they want to. It might well be that Ringo with a family and a string of investments, might after perhaps one more film and another American tour, be prepared to call it a day and take life easy on the proceeds. John and Paul obviously have a bright and permanent future ahead of them as composers, which might leave only George Harrison, who married early in the year, wanting to go on as a Beatle.

All this is in the realm of speculation. From the Beatles’ fans’ point of view and wishes The Beatles will go on for ever and there is no doubt they can for how many umpteen more years. The question still remains, however, will they want to?

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SHANE FENTON has made half-a-dozen appearances on “T.Y.L.S.” since that first date in October, 1961, when he appeared with his great group THE FENTONES.

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THE SPOTNIKS [sic] again reflect the space age, and in their strange Space-men costumes they stand in one of “T.Y.L.S.” ‘Out-of-this-world’ sets and play their big hit ‘Rocket Man’.

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THE TORNADOS hit the charts with ‘Telstar’, and not content to go to the top of British charts, rocketed straight across the Atlantic to the apex of the American lists. Here they are pictured during their first appearance on “T.Y.L.S.” in the Birmingham Studio in September, 1962.

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LITTLE RICHARD is another of the American stars who has come in front of ABC cameras, and was a new LITTLE RICHARD quite different from the tremendous boisterous artist of a few years ago. As always, his performance was of the highest standard.

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HELEN SHAPIRO made her very first television appearance on “T.Y.L.S.” shortly after the release of her first big record ‘Don’t Treat Me Like A Child’. Since then, viewers have watched this great girl star introduce hit after hit on the show.

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LONNIE DONEGAN’s cheerful disposition always makes for a happy day in the Studio for the camera crews and technicians, and his individual sound has made him a great favourite of the ‘at-home’ viewers.

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MATT MONRO has already established himself on both sides of the Atlantic as a great singing star. His appearances on “T.Y.L.S.” have served to confirm this stardom.

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JET HARRIS and TONY MEEHAN left the famous Shadows to go their own individual ways. After several months, they teamed up and made their first networked television appearance on “Thank Your Lucky Stars” playing their chart topping ‘Diamonds’.

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CHRIS MONTEZ and his partner, TOMMY ROE, are just two of the many American artists who are introduced to the British public in person by way of “Thank Your Lucky Stars”. CHRIS and TOMMY broke precedence on the show by taking over the entire second half to go through four numbers including TOMMY’s new chart climber ‘The Folk-Singer’. In giant sets facing each other across ABC’s Teddington largest studio, these two happy American stars really made an impression on the Studio and, at-home, audience.

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PETULA CLARK, whose records sell equally well in Britain and on the Continent, frequently flies in from her home in Paris to introduce her latest records on television’s top pop show “Thank Your Lucky Stars”. Her introduction of ‘Ya Ya Twist’ on the programme made it necessary for an English release of this number.

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JOHN LEYTON is one of the new breed of singers who are also actors. In fact, JOHN’s first appearances on television were as ‘Ginger’ in “Biggles” and as a pop singer when he played that type of role in a television play. His latest film, ‘The Great Escape’ with James Garner and Richard Attenborough, will open with a Royal Premier Performance in June. JOHN, however, is better known to “Lucky Stars” viewers as the singer of such top numbers as ‘Cupboard Love’.

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From the time, nearly four years ago, when a young man appeared in the charts singing ‘What Do You Want If You Don’t Want Money’, ABC Television’s programmes have always had a spot for that dapper young man ADAM FAITH. From “Boy Meets Girl” to “Thank Your Lucky Stars”, ADAM has become a great favourist of the Studio crews and his fellow artistes on the programmes. Below, ADAM has a big hug for Janice (‘Oi’ll Give It Foive’) Nicholls.

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FRANK IFIELD (above and left) is the only British singer to top the charts with three successive records – ‘I Remember You’, ‘Lovesick Blues’ and ‘The Wayward Wind’.

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Liverpool born BILLY FURY has become almost a regular star on “Thank Your Lucky Stars”, and has appeared more times than any individual performer. Rocketing to the top two years ago, BILLY is consistently one of the most popular stars of today.

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HI, this is your old mate Brian Matthew inviting you to take a look through the pages of this wonderful book of pictures taken from ABC’s “Thank Your Lucky Stars”, television’s top pop show.

In nearly 100 editions already shown, there must have been almost 1,000 personalities, including nearly every British star and quite a few American top recording artistes.

This book can’t attempt to show off all of these stars to you, but I think that the selection pictured really represents what “Thank Your Lucky Stars” means to me and, I hope, to you.

Happy viewing, and may all your stars be lucky ones.

Published for the proprietors by TV Publications Ltd, Bishop’s House, High Holborn, W.C.1. Printed in England by Berrow’s of Worcester Limited. © TV Publications 1963

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The cryptic-looking equation above is the secret formula for BOK — the most talked-about thing in radio for some years: it was handed to us by none other than Kenneth Horne, who from tonight will once again preside (in the Light Programme) over the process in which its various elements combine into the powerful, even explosive, mixture whose chief side-effect is laughter.

To identify the two Ks is easy: one stands for Horne himself, and the other for Kenneth Williams whose quick-silver properties can take shape in many forms, from querulous old Ambrose to gushy Charles. The Ps? One for Hugh Paddick, the substance of Snaith and the overhydrated Birkinshaw, one for Paul Fenoulhet, the musical matrix of the mixture, and one for Bill Pertwee.

Betty Marsden is undoubtedly the first M, and the other must be Eric Merriman, whose brooding countenance belies the verbal wit and flashing fancies that run through his scriptwriting brain. One J is Jacques Brown, the producer and catalyst of it all. But the second J only yields its identity to further research: it seems that Janet Waters is entering BOK for the first time. That leaves 4H. Obviously a compound element but, being the last, easily isolated—the Hornets, a singing group evolved out of last season’s Fraser Hayes Four.

Article source: the Radio Times published 13 October 1960

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I got him out of bed, though it was two o’clock. ‘I shall probably go back when you’ve gone,’ he said.

Inside the bed sitting room he has a huge piano which he can play with two fingers (he gave me a sample), an elaborate set of recording equipment (which gave forth the Wedding March), and a French telephone with a sexy purr for a ring.

He sat on the floor, took off his socks, and warmed his feet by the coal fire.

He’s small, very slim, twenty-four-years-old.

He left school at fifteen and started work scraping tins for a sausage-roll factory.

The scraping stopped when he got a job as a D.J. on one of the pirate ships. He joined Radio 1 at the start and since then his shows have had a faithful and diverse following. He is just as likely to play a duet by Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald as the latest chart-topper. Perhaps it’s this mixture of pop and sentiment that the fans like. Interspersed between the records are a set of weird zanies like Granny the hip 110-year-old, Crisp the butler with the half-crown voice, and a computer called Cecil. He’s got some new characters lined up for this new series.

The name Everett was pinched from actor Edward Everett Horton, who specialises in butler roles. His real name is Maurice Cole.

Along with his fascination for butlers (‘I now have a servant of my own called Adam, he’s very shy’), Kenny harbours a nostalgic yearning for the nineteen twenties and thirties. You can find evidence of it everywhere.

There’s the aspidistra he’s vainly trying to grow (it keeps getting eaten by Snuff the cat), the huge lighted candle on top of the piano, his obsession with old films, especially the work of Busby Berkeley who produced those fantastic dance routines involving scores of girls.

He’d like to see showbusiness get ‘big and grand’ again. ‘There’s only Zsa Zsa Gabor and Elsie Tanner who keep it going,’ he said.

He loathes the ‘sweet sticky depths to which today’s showbiz people have sunk’ and he fights any attempt to suck him in to ‘that quagmire of mediocrity.’

Between those who regard Everett as a ‘nut’ and those who hail him as a ‘genius’ — all agree that he is not mediocre.

He’s already got a great future behind him, but for the actual future Kenny is very unsure.

‘I might pack everything up and go off to Mexico and just happen. Or I might learn to play this piano.’

You can hear Kenny Everett’s show every Saturday morning on Radio 1

Article source: Radio Times for 30 January 1969 and kennyeverett.org

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Is it really a year since Tony Blackburn delivered his first disc at 7.0 in the morning? A year since Robin Scott announced his first team of DJs to launch the Wonderful new service? A year since the first jingle broke in on the air, since that swinging chick appeared at the top of the Radio Times pages; since those buttons were handed out which said ‘I’m a Radio One-upman’?

It;’s no longer like that at the beginning of the second year. Those very bright and highly professional young men who invaded the studios last September have become part of the BBC scene – and the Scene is part of the BBC. Their voices are familiar to millions who tune into 247 metres – whether it’s for the Daily Disc Delivery with Tony, for the Daily Whatsit with David, for the New Sounds with Peel, for R. & B. with Mike, Foreverett with Kenny, for… but why go on? You know who we mean, and here are pictures of some of those who are in the programmes this week.

The year ahead in Radio 1 and 2

It is probably fair to say that after their first year in action Radio 1 and Radio 2 haw established their patterns, their identities. and their listeners. As the second year dawns will there be major changes as a result of experience in the first one? The brief answer from Robin Scott, Controller of the two programmes, is ‘no’. His longer and more precise one is a qualified ‘yes’.

The intention at the start was to give listeners a wider choice of programmes than they had on the old Light Programme, and to give them this choice for as much of the time as possible. This intention has been kept very clearly in mind. At first the ‘choice time’ was just under fifty-three hours a week, and this has grown gradually until from September 30 it will be more like sixty-two hours.

This policy is to be most fully carried out at the major listening periods: breakfast, lunchtime, and early evening. To some extent this has happened already. Breakfast Special, with its team of John Dunn, Paul Hollingdale, and Ray Moore, will continue to provide the best in middle-of-the-road and light music on Radio 2 as a contrast to the Tony Blackburn Show on Radio 1, and at ‘going home time’ Roundabout on Radio 2 will still be placed against the David Symonds Show and the latest pop records on the other side.

There are, however, important changes at lunchtime. From Monday to Friday, beginning on October 21, the new Radio 1 Club will be in session from noon till 2.0. This is described in more detail on this page. On Radio 2 at the same time, starting on September 30, there will be a two-hour programme of sweet music. Sam Costa will be the first lunchtime host for this programme.

At the weekend the amount of alternative programmes will be considerable. The pattern on Radio 1 remains consistent through Saturday, with Chris Denning taking over the 2.0 to 4.0 p.m. spot for a spell, while Radio 2 is separate until 7.30, except for the return of Jack Jackson’s Record Roundabout from 1.0 till 2.0 and Country Meets Folk at 5.30. On Radio 2 Max Jaffa returns with a new-style Saturday morning show, and Frank Chacksfield delivers some of his characteristic sounds of sweet music in the afternoon. On both Saturday and Sunday nights Pete Murray will he host in the two-hour show to midnight on both programmes.

The picture is similar on Sunday. Eric Robinson continues with his Melodies for You in the morning, and, until the beginning of November, John Hanson will have his show in the afternoon. From November 10 there will be a new sweet music ‘Spectacular’ with such names as Semprini and Kenneth Alwyn figuring prominently. It will be an audience show recorded at the Camden Theatre.

‘Specialist’ music will continue to get its fair share on both programmes. Jazz Club on Wednesday (Radio 1) and Jazz at Night (both) will be matched on Sunday nights by Jazz on One (Radio 1) and Humphrey Lyttelton at five past midnight (both). That means more Jazz on VHF than before. ‘Progressive’ pop, Country and Western, and folk music continue much as they are, and Mike Raven’s Sunday night Rhythm and Blues increases from an hour to ninety minutes. Both programmes share some of the best in Latin-American music on Saturday evenings.

Among the non-musical programmes planned for the coming twelve months are Follow This Space, a sequel to Listen to This Space, which will begin on Sunday evenings in mid-October and I’m Sorry I’ll Read That Again early next year — both on Radio 1 and 2. The Sunday afternoon comedy spot in Radio 2 will be filled by the Navy Lark, followed in the New Year by the Ken Dodd Show, and in the spring by the other Ken in Round the Horne. The irrepressible Clitheroe Kid is back in October.

In Five to Ten from September 30 Bernard Miles will be reading his own adaptation of stories from the New Testament in his Hertfordshire dialect: a must for his many fans.

Sport, finally, takes its place in the line-up. The Mexico Olympics and the Test Series in South Africa are the highlights of the coming months and there will be up-to-the-minute coverage of both. Commentaries on the big boxing matches will be broadcast — ‘live’ from the ringside — as well as all the important mid-week football.

Year Two looks like a pretty full one — start listening NOW.

Radio 1 Club

Lunchtime Pop in the second year of Radio I takes on a new and rather exciting form. On October 21 Radio 1 Club opens its doors — well known to many pop fans already — in lower Regent Street, just off Piccadilly Circus. Of course, if you listen to Radio 1, you’re already a member of about the largest pop club in the world. But this is a way of putting your membership on record, and getting some special advantages as wall — which is part of what a club’s all about.

The object of the Club is to enable its members to come along at lunchtime, from Monday to Friday, meet the DJs, top guest stars, here some of the leading groups ‘live’, ask for request records, or collect autographs, or dance — or just sit around and have a snack.

To become a member all you have to do is send a stamped addressed envelope to Radio 1 Club Membership, BBC, P.O. Box 1AA, London. W.1. and your card will be sent to you. Fill it in as soon as you gat it. If you’re one of the first 10,000 to apply you will also gat a free lapel button — shown above. Your membership card will get you priority entrance to the Club, subject to the capacity of the premises.

Radio 1 Club news will be reported in Radio Times every week — where you can also see full details of all the other Radio 1 programmes. And here’s another advantage of joining this Club of the air. A lucky membership card number will be picked every day at the lunchtime session by one of the day’s guest stars. The prize will be record tokens for the top five pops. In addition to this one lucky card number will be drawn each week and published in Radio Times. The winner will receive tokens for the five top pop LPs.

Playing host each day will be one of the Radio DJs, they will all be taking part at some time, but to start the ball rolling for the first four weeks your hosts will be (in daily turn) Keith Skues, Johnny Moran, Dave Lee Travis, Stuart Henry, and Pete Drummond.

Plans are in hand to open Radio 1 Club branches throughout the country — but don’t wait for the Club to come to you, join right away, you might even be a lucky prizewinner. But prize or no prize, this is a club for pop fans — and if that means you, start writing.

Radio 2 is one too

For Radio 2 however it is not quite the same sort of birthday; the Light Programme was an old favourite when it changed its name. These twins are not identical, and they are getting less and less so – particularly at lunchtime, when Sam Costa has his new two-hour show, in the morning, with Breakfast Special, and in the early evening with Roundabout – if you like your music a bit sweeter.

What with one wavelength and another there’s a Wonderful year ahead.

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His black hair, perfect teeth, large dark eyes, and all-purpose smile would fit almost anybody’s identi-kit of a DJ.

His jokey voice is the first thing millions hear every morning; the jokes themselves may amuse you or drive you mad.

Tony arrived bang on cue for the interview looking extremely young even for his twenty-three years. He glanced at our cover picture and said: ‘We look like Elsie and Doris Waters don’t we?’

As yet Tony Blackburn hasn’t acquired the show-business smoothness that is often the hallmark of DJs. He still says what he thinks, and this has already cost him a few friends among pop people, who don’t expect that sort of thing.

He always reminds me of a lovable baby bird who has suddenly tumbled out of a warm nest into the harsh world outside. He is completely without guile or side.

A cynic might say that he was naïve; but uncomplicated would be a fairer word.

Jimmy Young arrived a few minutes later; he’d been detained at a BBC recording. Jimmy is forty-three, and ruefully admits that he has had his ups and downs in his show-business career.

You can’t imagine ‘Gentle Jimmy’ (as he’s known) being intentionally rude to anybody. He could, one feels, chat quite happily with anyone. And this is exactly what he does on the phone with scores of housewives every week during the show.

An opening gambit, find the chatty spot, and away he goes.

Jimmy has had two number ones in the hit parade — and any DJ who has enjoyed that sort of success might think he had a safe job for life.

But Jimmy went through a very lean time in the early 1960s when he had to dip heavily into his carefully-saved capital in order to live.

The coming of Radio 1 last year meant that Jimmy found his audience again. ‘There’s nothing worse than a man my age trying to act hip—and I don’t have to do that on my show,’ he says.

He is shorter than I expected, his handshake is firm, and a smile is always at the ready.

Thanks a million

‘I am very insecure. I’ve been criticised by everybody for practically everything. But I’m still here.’ He adds this last sentence triumphantly, his brown eyes dancing.

The millions of housewives who tune in to his show every weekday and bombard him with complimentary letters can’t all be wrong, says Jimmy. He has a very deep respect for success.

And success is not the only thing Tony Blackburn and Jimmy Young have in common. They are both singers, both have daily 4 live shows, and both listen closely to the other’s programmes.

‘I hear Tony’s show as I drive to work. We appeal to different audiences, but I think it’s great. Really. Look at the audience rating.’

Said Tony: ‘We’ve both got irritant value. Some people say my jokes are terrible, and people are always sending you and your show up, Jimmy. But people have got to listen to complain.’

‘You’re right, said Jimmy. ‘One of my fiercest critics in this building never misses a show. I had a nudist on the phone in the show the other day. And this fellow knew right away. He doesn’t leave his set.

When Tony is broadcasting he visualises one person — ‘Usually a dolly girl. Sometimes a mum who I’m being a bit cheeky to.’

For Jimmy it’s no-one in particular, just the audience at large.

Do they think marriage would be a disadvantage to their careers?

‘Yes,’ said Tony Blackburn. ‘It would be bad for me to be tied down at this point in my career. I couldn’t afford the time.’

Said Jimmy, who has been married: ‘Like Tony I’m working most of the time, but unlike him I don’t think my fans would worry. In fact they’d rather expect it I think.’

Tony has no fears about the future, he is bursting with confidence and enjoying every minute. ‘YI’m the world’s worst worrier after the show, but at the time I love it.’

As I looked across at the two DJs—one the eager newcomer, the other tried and trusted, I couldn’t help thinking of the millions of people who longed for their sort of fame.

What is different and special about Jimmy and Tony? What has brought them to the top of the pack?

Perhaps it’s that they are not different or special at all, but normal and ordinary. The sort of person every listener can identify with.

Tony tends to support this view. ‘I’m an ordinary chap and I think I appeal to ordinary people because I’m not a raver. I’m just like them.’

About critics Tony Blackburn says: ‘It annoys me when they attack my sense of humour. That’s pointless and silly because what is funny to one man doesn’t appeal to another. Besides I earn more than the critics…’

He paused and laughed: ‘That’s good isn’t it?’

Both claimed that they don’t have time to spend the little money the taxman leaves them.

‘I never see any of my earnings,’ said Tony. ‘They are looked after by my accountant.’

No complaints

‘But don’t say we’re complaining,’ put in Jimmy. ‘I’m certainly not.’

Strangely enough, the two get steamed up about parties.

People at parties are forever telling Tony that they don’t like the show. ‘Even if they love it really, they expect me to react, to defend it. But I just point out that they have a volume knob They can switch it off.’

Party time for Jimmy Young is spoilt when people keep asking him to sing. ‘If you invite a plumber to a party you don’t expect him to mend the bath do you?’

For the future Jimmy and Tony would like the good times to continue to roll.

Only more so.

Article source: The Radio Times edition of 8 February 1968

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Popular music had never been the BBC’s “thing”. It had done well with fans of dance band music in the 1930s and 1940s, the pop music of its time, who got a couple of hours every day. But as the 1940s turned into the 1950s, the dance music continued while the new rock and roll, the roots of pop, was largely ignored.

By the 1960s, the absence of pop on the BBC Light Programme was very noticeable. True, there were the odd request programmes, but the station’s appeal to children and to old ladies meant that some odd novelty and crooner numbers slipped in, ruining the flow for teenagers who wanted to “groove” to the Top 10.

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Into this gap stepped the off-shore stations like Radio Caroline and Wonderful Radio London, who provided pop music throughout the day. But they went off-air mid-evening each day to make space for the granddaddy of popular music services: Radio Luxembourg.

With the BBC’s habit of rationing popular music and light entertainment in the 1930s, Radio Luxembourg had made a very profitable niche for itself putting out exactly those types of programmes for 6-8 hours a night every night, interspersed with advertising and sponsorship. The signal, coming all the way from the German border with Luxembourg, was not as robust as modern ears would like, but when the choice was Radio Luxembourg or a three-hour dramatisation of Trollope or yet more dance band music, the Luxembourg “fade” be damned.

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By the 1960s, Radio Luxembourg, Your Station of the Stars, had embraced popular music in a way that even early BBC Radio 1 would never manage. The record programmes, brought to you by each label in turn or by various shampoo and chocolate manufacturers, were very different from the American-style output of the “pirates” but still very cool. And best of all, the new transistor radios that came on the market in the 1960s truly were small enough to listen “under the bedclothes” and had pretty good reception of medium wave signals. Thousands of us fell asleep to the latest tunes played by Your DJ BA Barry Alldis, Don Wardell and Jack Jackson until the early hours every morning.

Archive source: http://208.retropia.co.uk/

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A long clip from Radio Caroline North, one of the biggest of the off-shore “pirate” radio stations, in July 1967. The Don Allen Show ends, Dave Williams reads the news, and The Jerry King Show begins.

Source: https://soundcloud.com/transdiffusion

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