Did anyone out ther record the re-run of 6.5. Special on BBC4 TV last Thursday (11 Jan). Featured Eric Delaney. Would love a copy
I watched 6 5 Special and it was probably the most cringeing hour of TV I have ever seen. Cannot believe how much I used to love the prog. Pete Murray had to be the inspiration of the Woodentops, he was absolutely dreadful. Had to fast forward the last 20 minutes, terrible.
Did anyone see Juke Box Jury last week ? That was also very hard to watch and stomach. No wonder they wiped most of them!
Pete Murray is sometimes to be seen as an extra in British films doing such sterling work as "Man walking past doorway"name='Merton Park']I watched 6 5 Special and it was probably the most cringeing hour of TV I have ever seen. Cannot believe how much I used to love the prog. Pete Murray had to be the inspiration of the Woodentops, he was absolutely dreadful. Had to fast forward the last 20 minutes, terrible.
That's the role he plays in The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp and just think, what would it be without him? Exactly the same probably
Steve
I remember Pete Murray in a dreadful old B-movie called Escort for Hire made in the early 60s. I had no idea he had 'acted' in so many films.
Bats.
All very fascinating but does anyone have a recording of the show?
As Eric Delaney's biographer and friend a copy would be most welcome. Can anyone help? Thanks.
Hi Eddie, a bit ashamed to admit i have it. i fully agree with Merton Park it`s truly dreadful it must be a very strong contender for the worst program ever shown on T.V if you still want it send me a PM "BUT YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED"...cheers Dave
Pete Murray had a starring role (with the lovely June Thorburn) in three 'B' films (ESCORT FOR HIRE, TRANSATLANTIC, DESIGN FOR LOVING - in which Pete pays a beatnik....) for the DANZIGERS. made in 1960-61.
Do these films survive anywhere ? (Most of the Danziger output seems to have used as landfill many years ago.......)
Only two editions of 6.5 Special survive in the BBC vaults, out of the 100 or more produced - that was one of them ! (we are very lucky to any editions at all, as there was no such thing as videotape in 1957....)
I have this Eddie and have sent you a PM.
Lyn
It may seem absolutely dreadful by today's standards. However, it serves as a document of social history, as well as a reminder of the state of the British pop music industry in the 1950s. British records of this period mainly copied the latest US releases. The only performers of merit in this episode were the US group The Deep River Boys (who unfortunately mainly only 'covered' Elvis songs during this show). I am not sure how many US acts appeared on the show, but Pete Murray did mention Charlie Gracie having appeared. Maybe somebody older can throw some light on this for me.
Interesting too how reserved the audience was, and infact how serious they were during 'Juke Box Jury' when trying to decide the merits of the latest 45s. I thought pop music was supposed to be fun in those days. Nina and Frederick...David Mccallum....Jill Ireland.......arghhhhh !! It is just a pity that the famous Beatles' Juke Box Jury no longer exists. Now that would be one to watch.
I find it utterly incomprehensible that the BBC in their wisdom, wiped the Beatles on Juke Box Jury edition!!
Does anyone know who was responsible for the cannibalistic behaviour at the BBC of wiping so many bits of history. I had heard that in the late 1970's it was a cost cutting measure and the cost of storage and price of Video Tapes was the main reason .
I assume some Accountant pen pusher told them it was cheaper to re use tapes than purchase new ones, without realising the intrinsic value of what was on them, together with the real cash value of the content. Because they couldn't actually put a number on them they probably called them worthless. Idiots!
Somebody must have been making the decisions and it was probably over some considerable time. Is anyone aware of what actually happened.
At the end of the day it was an example of BBC TV 50 years ago, In watched it in that spirit. However I never felt the need to record it.
Ditto. It was awfully marvellous, or marvellously awful, depending on how you wanted to see it. I enjoyed it. Things like that should be available somewhere for people to see. But you can't keep everything in your own house can you.........name='image45']At the end of the day it was an example of BBC TV 50 years ago, In watched it in that spirit. However I never felt the need to record it.
I recorded SIX-FIVE SPECIAL and JUKE BOX JURY direct to DVD if anyone still needs a copy
'You can't keep everything in you own house' .....well. I'll give it a try !
name='spliffy']It may seem absolutely dreadful by today's standards. However, it serves as a document of social history, as well as a reminder of the state of the British pop music industry in the 1950s. British records of this period mainly copied the latest US releases. .
Yes I agree and watching it in that spirit I found it a relatively interesting piece. I had intended to record it on the basis that it is a good example of archive television from that period and of that genre , and wish I had recorded it to be honest. I must admit though Pete Murray was so wooden that as someone else said it must have been an inspiration for the creation of the Woodentops. His interaction with Spike Milligan was in particular noteably cringeworthy.
I recorded SIX-FIVE SPECIAL and JUKE BOX JURY to DVD because, love them or hate them, TV history from 50 years ago very rarely gets an outing.
name='crunchie']I recorded SIX-FIVE SPECIAL and JUKE BOX JURY to DVD because, love them or hate them, TV history from 50 years ago very rarely gets an outing.
Well said, that man!
I found it a fascinating glimpse into televisions, largely hidden, past. I was also suprised to see how little actual Rock 'n' Roll there was in the show. It was mostly jazz. Even The Deep River Boys, who were formed in the 1930's, could hardly be called Rockers. I suspect that this particular show is not truly representative of the series as a whole. It's a pity that some more editions were not saved and an even greater pity that broadcasters will not give a wider airing to their archive recordings.
name='Merton Park']I find it utterly incomprehensible that the BBC in their wisdom, wiped the Beatles on Juke Box Jury edition!!
Does anyone know who was responsible for the cannibalistic behaviour at the BBC of wiping so many bits of history. I had heard that in the late 1970's it was a cost cutting measure and the cost of storage and price of Video Tapes was the main reason .
I assume some Accountant pen pusher told them it was cheaper to re use tapes than purchase new ones, without realising the intrinsic value of what was on them, together with the real cash value of the content. Because they couldn't actually put a number on them they probably called them worthless. Idiots!
Somebody must have been making the decisions and it was probably over some considerable time. Is anyone aware of what actually happened.
But it was a different era. Video tapes were expensive (wasn't it something like �100 each in old money?). There were few repeats as Equity wouldn't allow them and, with the advent of colour, the public weren't keen on B/W telly.
There wasn't even a twinkle of a home video market. So why keep them? Overseas sales - that's why many programmes exist but not all were suitable for overseas sale. Historical value - not the job of, say, the BBC but they did keep odd examples for that reason. The BFI had to buy copies and they had a limited budget but again they collected a few examples.
But mainly it's the change in society. The sixties was a forward looking society. The priority was trying out new things. No point worrying about the old. These days we're obsessed with preserving the past arguably to an unhealthy level.
Certainly in the BBC the decision could be blocked by the producer of a programme who had to sign for their destruction. Hence most of Biddy Baxter's Blue Peters exist as she refused this. Her argument was that she could reuse segments in other editions of Blue Peter. But for other shows producers moved on and either were doing new projects and weren't interested or the same programme would have a new producer who wasn't interested in the old producer's work.
Oh and wasn't the Beatles' Juke Box Jury in 1963 when even the Beatles thought they might only be famous for a few months?
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