I`m not mad on 60s music but I do like the soul that was around then. I really enjoyed the documentary about 60s British music that went to the US (last night on BBC4) and the following programme about the Beatles. That was such rare footage which I had never seen before.
Well that was a wonderful half hour of nostalgia, nearly all from 1968 hits. Hubby and I were singing along nearly word perfect!! It made us laugh as we looked back - got married in 1968 and lived in a tiny flat with secondhand furniture, we had a "studio couch" for a sofa and two old wing armchairs (one was very trendy as it was a rocker type) As they were secondhand we covered the studio couch in bright orange Stretch covers from Plumbs and the wing chairs in bright turquoise covers (bright colours were the height of fashion!) The wallpaper was dark navy and the pattern was big squares with little circles in the middle of the squares! the gloss paint was pale green (Dulux eau-de-nil colour!)We had a bright orange floor lamp in the shape of a large upright cylinder! We watched Top of The Pops every Thursday (7.30pm?) with a packet of Jaffa Cakes between us and we always scoffed the lot by the end of the programme! Ah sweet memories, been married 43 years now, quite scary as it doesn't seem that long....... ;)
Sandy Shaw, Julie Driscoll, Freddie and the Dreamers, Jimi Hendrix, the Foundations, Amen Corner, Procul Harum (didn't know till they said on the programme that "Whiter Shade of Pale" was the most played single in the UK in the past 75 years!) and a 1988 Phil Collins version of The Mindbenders "Groovy Kind of Love" - lovely! Part 2 of 3 next week..............
Tomorrows World? Remember that too - I once met Maggie Philbin, I had to organise a large exhibition from work, and Maggie was the guest star who I had to accompany all day, she was lovely, married to Keith (Cheggers) Chegwin at the time. My only moment of fame!
I love the 70s shows as they bring back memories of my younger years. The one thing I notice about those older TOTPs is that everyone is obviously having a damn good time. The performers are all smiling and enjoying themselves and so are the audience. Everything is so bright, colourful and cheery.
When you see modern equivalents everyone looks so miserable. The performers just scowl and glare into the camera and many look as if they'd suddenly sell drugs or stick a knife in anyone who looked at them wrongly. The people in the audience just look so bored and morose and there hardly a smile amongst any of them.
Perhaps it's a reflection of the bright and innocent lives and futures we had then compared to what the youngsters face today.
Yes, the bit about Whiter Shade of Pale has been filed in my Pub Quiz memory bank! When TOTP first started from the Manchester church, we used to watch it at half 7, then bully a parent to drive us to the airport to see them catching the half 9 shuttle back to London. Loved the 60's, who could forget PJ Proby's pants, a wardrobe malfunction these days.