This Top 5 Best ITV Programme Themes are Missing from Viewer Poll….

According to the exclusive viewer poll that formed the basis of countdown show The Sound of ITV: The Nation’s Favourite Theme Tune ( to mark ITV’s 60th anniversary ), the Benny Hill signature tune Yakety Sax is the all-time favourite ITV programme theme, polling at No 1.

A perfectly understandable choice as it’s so memorable and catchy. As The Guardian newspaper commented in their article on The Sound of ITV: The Nation’s Favourite Theme Tune: “Obviously, the correct way to celebrate this victory forbenny hill tv show good old-fashioned slap-and-tickle would be to initiate a snaking conga pursuit across the country by pinching the bottom of a buxom nurse – it’s what Benny would have wanted.”

But was it the best ITV programme theme of all time? Definitely not. As The Guardian article pointed out: “The win seems all the more impressive considering the competition, even with the field restricted to ITV output. Yakety Sax surpassed venerable bong hit News at Ten, the silver service tinkle of Downton Abbey and even the iconic fanfare of Richard Greene’s Robin Hood. But despite The Sound of ITV’s rundown of 20 classic themes, there were still some notable omissions.”

The newspaper lists these five ITV programme theme tunes “that regrettably didn’t make the cut”: World In Action, Bullseye, Taggart, Terrahawks & Funhouse.

The Record Press author would concur with World In Action, but not the remainder. So here is the definitive Record Press Top 5 Best ITV programme theme tunes, none of which appeared in The Sound of ITV: The Nation’s Favourite Theme Top 20 which is a total scandal –

Top 5 Best ITV Programme Themes / Theme Tunes

 

1)      The Persuaders Theme by the John Barry Orchestra

2)      The Protectors – Avenues and Alleyways sung by Tony Christie

3)      The Adventures of Black Beauty – Galloping Home by the London  String Chorale

4)      World In Action – Nantucket Sleighride performed by Mountain

5)      Cheers – Where Everybody Knows Your Name sung by Gary Portnoy 

 

the persuaders dvd

 

 

What’s your favourite ITV programme theme tune / theme music of all time? Let us know in the Reply Box below.

Framed DVDs of a favourite TV show with a personalised plaque, make unique presents or original gifts for a special celebration  / special occasion ie a wedding, a 21st, 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th Birthday, a Silver, Ruby or Golden Wedding Anniversary, Father’s or Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day!!  THE PERFECT PERSONALISED PRESENT!!

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By |2015-09-17T18:13:48+01:00September 17, 2015|Framed DVDs, Music, Music Memorabilia, Nostalgia, Retro TV, TV|0 Comments

Top 10 Best ITV Programmes to mark ITV 60th Anniversary

ITV celebrates its 60th Anniversary, having launched on the 22nd September 1955. To mark the occasion Radio Times is running a poll for viewers to vote for their favourite TV show from a list of 60 memorable programmes.

The survey covers output from Saturday night entertainment shows such as Opportunity Knocks in the 1950s, Blind Date in the 1980s and current favourite The X Factor, The poll includes drama series such as Inspector Morse, brideshead revisited dvdCracker and Prime Suspect and the more recent Broadchurch. Epic 1980s dramas Brideshead Revisited and The Jewel in the Crown also  feature in a list of 60 designated programmes compiled by Radio Times for its poll.

It also includes classic documentaries such as Seven Up! and The World at War as well as cult children’s TV shows Tiswas and Magpie. As you would expect the UK’s longest-running television soap Coronation Street, which was first broadcast in 1960, has also been included.

Alison Graham, Radio Times television editor, commented: “ITV has always liked to do things differently, to shake things up a bit. It brought us the muck and brass of Coronation Street and its flinty northern women and, in another television time altogether, Prime Suspect’s DCI Jane Tennison, flawed, brilliant and impossible to forget.”

She continued: “It opened minds and changed lives with World in Action and John Pilger’s unforgettable Year Zero: The Silent Death of Cambodia, and it has never been afraid to give us flat-out, glittery and unapologetic entertainment shows, from Sunday Night at the London Palladium to The X Factor. No list can possibly cover everyone’s beloved programmes, but we’d like to think that there’s something on here that stirs your heart and prompts you to vote for the greatest ITV programme of all time.”

Votes can be cast at www.radiotimes.com/itv60 or by post via a coupon in the new issue of Radio Times, with voting closing on the 11th September 11. The winner will be announced in the week commencing 21st September.

So here goes, this is the Record Press Top 10 Best ITV Programmes to mark ITV 60th Anniversary –

 

Top 10 Best ITV ProgrammesAvengers_TV_Series dvd

 

1) The Avengers ( 1961-1969 )

2) Brideshead Revisited ( 1981 )

3)The Persuaders ( 1971-1972 )

4) Rising Damp ( 1974-1979 )

5) The Sweeney ( 1975-1978 )

6) Upstairs Downstairs ( 1971-1975 )

7) Bouquet of Barbed Wire ( 1976 )

8) Inspector Morse ( 1987 – 2000 )

9) Tales of the Unexpected ( 1979-1981 )

10) Cracker ( 1993-1997 )

 

What’s your favourite ITV programme of all time? Let us know in the Reply Box below.

Framed DVDs of a favourite TV show with a personalised plaque, make unique presents or original gifts for a special celebration  / special occasion ie a wedding, a 21st, 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th Birthday, a Silver, Ruby or Golden Wedding Anniversary, Father’s or Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day!!  THE PERFECT PERSONALISED PRESENT!! ORDER NOW…… www.myfirstrecord.co.uk/framed-dvds

 

By |2015-09-04T13:02:43+01:00September 4, 2015|Nostalgia, Retro TV, TV|0 Comments

Patrick MacNee, who played John Steed in The Avengers, dies

Six months after Brian Clemens, the scriptwriter and producer behind the iconic cult TV series The Avengers passed away, Patrick Macnee who played the star of the show John Steed, has also died.

Patrick Macnee, as the suave, urbane & debonair John Steed in The Avengers, with his trademark bowler hat & umbrella, was my first hero…..

In the past four years the Record Press author has written extensively and often referenced the character of John Steed in The Avengers as the object of my first hero worship at the age of five. Patrick Macnee shared this dubious status with Roger Moore, john steed patrick macneewho played Simon Templar in The Saint. Both were cult TV series in the 1960s and both heroes captured the imagination of the infant Simon Sterland. They were dashing and debonair, but John Steed edged it with his superior sartorial elegance epitomised by his Pierre Cardin tailored three piece suits, bowler hat and umbrella.

John Steed was the quintessential Englishman as was Simon Templar and Patrick Macnee and Roger Moore came together on the big screen in the 1985 Bond film, A View To A Kill. In a way it was fitting that they should come together in celluloid having been great rivals in competing cult TV series two decades earlier.

I’m not going to labour my hero worship of Patrick Macnee and John Steed as I have paid many tributes to actor and alter ego on the Record Press blog in recent years, but suffice it to say I’m very sad at the passing of Patrick Macnee. Let’s hope Roger Moore keeps the British flag flying for a few more years yet. In the meantime, Patrick Macnee – thanks for the memories……

What’s your favourite episode of The Avengers? Let us know in the Reply Box below.

Framed DVDs of a favourite TV show with a personalised plaque, make unique presents or original gifts for a special celebration  / special occasion ie a wedding, a 21st, 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th Birthday, a Silver, Ruby or Golden Wedding Anniversary, Father’s or Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day!!  THE PERFECT PERSONALISED PRESENT!! ORDER NOW…… www.myfirstrecord.co.uk/framed-dvds

By |2015-06-26T13:17:39+01:00June 26, 2015|Film, Framed DVDs, Nostalgia, Retro, Retro TV, TV|0 Comments

Simon Templar to be canonised as The Saint for a new generation

The Saint aka Simon Templar is to return to our TV screens, according to Radio Times.

An ITV pilot will resurrect the cult figure Simon Templar, created by novelist Leslie Charteris. The Saint was originally played from 1962 to 1969 by Roger Moore before he became James Bond in 1973. The pilot episode shouldThe Saint DVD be ready to film next year, according to Ed Whitmore who is writing the new drama with Chris Lunt. Ed Whitmore explained to RadioTimes.com: “The character of Simon Templar, best known for leaving a calling card of a stick figure of a man with a halo at the scene of his crimes, was hugely popular in his day, and the time is ripe for a modern-day re-imagining. There is a post-Breaking Bad appetite for morally grey characters – Simon Templar is a kind of Robin Hood figure, he’s timeless.”

Roger Moore played Simon Templar in “The Saint” from 1962-1969, and was one of two TV heroes of the Record Press author in my early, formative years in the 1960s: the other being John Steed in “The Avengers”. I was completely mesmerised by the suave and debonair Simon Templar; only matched by my hero worship of the equally urbane John Steed. Albeit the love affair had worn off by the time Simon Templar returned to our TV screens for one series in 1978 in “The Return Of The Saint”. Ian Ogilvy who played Simon Templar in 1978, as good an actor as he is, simply did not have Roger Moore’s charisma and star quality.  However the replacement of Simon Templar’s car was a better fit: the iconic Volvo 1800 Coupe had been replaced by a Jaguar XJS.

Roger Moore was and remains “The Saint”: apparently he loved the role so much he reportedly turned down the The Saint Volvo 1800chance to play James Bond twice, before eventually signing up as 007 in 1973. For me Roger Moore is the definitive Simon Templar and as such I cannot even contemplate someone else playing The Saint. I’m all for progress, but not if it desecrates my cherished childhood memories!!

If you are a fan of Simon Templar in The Saint, you can order the DVD & cover of The Saint starring Roger Moore , framed and mounted with a personalised engraved plaque.  ORDER NOW… www.myfirstrecord.co.uk/framed-dvds

 

By |2015-02-26T16:49:43+00:00February 26, 2015|Framed DVDs, Retro TV, TV|0 Comments

Avengers, Persuaders & Professionals writer Brian Clemens dies

Brian Clemens, the legendary scriptwriter and producer behind the iconic cult TV series The Avengers, New Avengers, The Persuaders and The Professionals, has died aged 83.

avengersBrian Clemens’ contribution to TV in the UK from the 1960s to 1980s was prodigious. His other TV credits included The Baron, The Protectors, Danger Man, The Invisible Man and Bergerac. His production companies created The New Avengers and The Professionals, while Brian Clemens also wrote for a number of US shows including Remington Steele, Perry Mason and the Highlander TV series.

He single handedly created the “TV Tapestry” for the Record Press author’s childhood. The Avengers was the first TV series that I engaged with between 1967 and 1969. The surreal plots / storylines captured the imagination of the five and six year old me, whilst the suave and urbane John Steed ( Patrick MacNee ) became my hero – only matched by the equally debonair Simon Templar ( Roger Moore ) in The Saint.

When The Avengers and The Saint came to an end in 1969, the void was briefly and belatedly filled for a season by The Persuaders, another adventure series showcasing international playboys Lord Brett Sinclair ( Roger Moore ) and the persuadersDanny Wilde ( Tony Curtis ). Their wonderful on screen chemistry was sadly short lived as the The Persuaders only ran for one series from 1971 to 1972. The Protectors was supposed to fill the gap, but despite a star studded cast, headed by Robert Vaughan and Nyree Dawn Porter, the series lacked the charisma and panache of The Avengers and The Persuaders.

However Brian Clemens redeemed himself very quickly when he bounced backed with The Professionals in 1977, showcasing action men Bodie ( Lewis Collins ) and Doyle ( Martin Shaw ). Another favourite of mine was the Thriller series ( 1973 to 1976 ), with its twist in the tail tales and distinctive theme music.

Thank you Brian Clemens for creating such a rich TV Tapestry and so much fun and entertainment in my for formative years, God Bless You!!the persuaders dvd

Celebrate your love of The Avengers, The Persuaders or The Professionals, by ordering the DVD of The Avengers, The Persuaders or The Professionals, framed with a personalised engraved plaque.  ORDER NOW… www.myfirstrecord.co.uk/framed-dvds

 

Framed TV series or film DVDs with a personalised plaque, make unique presents or original gifts for a special celebration  / special occasion ie a wedding, a 21st, 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th Birthday, a Silver, Ruby or Golden Wedding Anniversary, Father’s or Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day!!  THE PERFECT PERSONALISED PRESENT!!

 

By |2015-01-12T16:20:33+00:00January 12, 2015|Framed DVDs, Retro TV, TV|0 Comments

Je Suis Charlie…..Freedom of Speech must always prevail

Record Press and its sister website MyFirstRecord.co.uk would like to take this opportunity to pay our respects to the 10 journalists from Charlie Hebdo and two policeman who were senselessly murdered in Paris yesterday; slaughtered merely for doing a job they loved and one that their readers loved and enjoyed. Yesterday democracy was viciously attacked, but today the free world is not cowed but stands proud and united!!

All writers, scribes and journalists try and write to enlighten an inform and they do it in the knowledge that they have a right to express an opinion, steeped in the western tradition and history of “free speech”. Yesterday that right to freedom of speech was cruelly denied to the 10 journalists and cartoonists on the staff of Charlie Hebredo, and of course their legion of avid readers and fans who have also been denied a basic human right.

I have no intention or interest in making this statement a political vehicle, although I have to say as a non Moslem I find the publication’s portrayal of the Prophet Mohammed abhorrent and unnecessarily malicious. That said I merely wish to lament those slain scribes, who whilst cognisant of the danger, plied their trade fearlessly. Satire is a legitimate vehicle for  parodying politics and religion. No politician or religion should be above scrutiny. Satire is a way for people to challenge perceived wisdom and established thinking. Challenging convention is woven into the tapestry of western society and civilisation over hundreds of years. Satire is about debate and discussion; presenting an alternative argument – it is not definitive, merely a subjective stance. Whatever happens in the future, the pen will always be mightier than the sword or gun!!

R.I.P. my fellow scribes……..Vivre Le France et Liberte

Je Suis Charlie

 

By |2015-01-08T15:44:13+00:00January 8, 2015|TV|0 Comments

Top 10 Best Genesis singles to celebrate Genesis reunion

It has been announced that Genesis are to reunite for a BBC2 special. Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins will appear with the original line-up of Mike Rutherford, Steve Hackett and Tony Banks for the first time since 1975.

Genesis: Together and Apart will be a one-off feature-length documentary to air on BBC2 later this year. The programme was genesisannounced as part of the broadcaster’s new BBC Music strategy, which was launched on the 16th June at Broadcasting House in London. This was music to the ears of the Record Press author – I was weaned on Genesis in my formative years. If you were at public school in the 1970s, it was almost obligatory, if not mandatory, to like Prog Rock music. Although I quite liked Yes and Rush, my preferred choice of Prog Rock band was Pink Floyd and Genesis.

Most Sunday afternoons at my boarding school would be spent listening to my Genesis and Pink Floyd vinyl albums, numbering five in the collection: Trick of the Tail, Wind & Wuthering, And Then There were Three ( Genesis ) and Dark Side Of The Moon, Wish You Were Here ( Pink Floyd ). In truth because I got into Genesis circa 1976 / 1977, I’m not particularly au fait with the Peter Gabriel years ( 1969-1975 ). When I have listened retrospectively, I find his tenure of the band as lead singer and songwriter a little self-indulgent for my taste. The equivalent of musical foie gras – pleasing in small quantities as a starter but too rich to have as a main course!!

So my love of Genesis was forged by the three successive post Peter Gabriel albums, “Trick of the Tail”, “Wind and Wuthering” and genesis trick of the tail album“And Then There Were Three”, which were all splendid albums. Phil Collins’ down to earth, working class approach and influence had a sobering effect on Genesis, in the wake of public school educated Peter Gabriel’s departure, who had brought a more pretentious, art school influence to the band.

The removal of Peter Gabriel’s stifling influence on the band brought emancipation for the remaining members of the band, allowing two significant things to happen. First of all Peter Gabriel’s departure allowed Phil Collins to flourish as a vocalist – I love the hypnotic poignancy and pathos of Phil Collins’ vocals. As much as I love Peter Gabriel’s voice, Phil Collins’ dulcet tones brought a richer texture to the music of Genesis. Secondly Tony Banks, Steve Hackett and Mike Rutherford were able to take a more central role in Genesis, both as performers and songwriters. That said, it will be fantastic to see all five original band members re-united for the BBC documentary Genesis: Together and Apart.

After the first three albums under Phil Collins’ leadership, Genesis started to became much more commercial, recording some great singles, although quite a few floundered in the lower reaches of the Top 75. As a Genesis fan I have no qualms in unashamedly presenting you with my Top 10 Best Genesis Singles –

 

Top 10 Best Genesis Singles

1) Many Too Many

2) I know what I like ( In my wardrobe )genesis i know what i like

3) Your Own Special Way

4) A Trick of the Tail / Ripples

5) Follow you follow me

6) Mama

7) Misunderstanding

8 ) Land of Confusion

9 ) That’s All

10) I Can’t Dance

 

What are your favourite Genesis songs, singles or album tracks? Let us know in the Reply Box below.

Celebrate your love of Genesis in your home or office, by ordering your favourite Genesis song in a vinyl or CD format; single, album or album cover; framed and mounted as a picture disc souvenir. You can also personalise it with an inscribed / engraved plaque…… 

ORDER NOW…….. www.myfirstrecord.co.uk/

Framed vinyl records, framed CDs and framed DVDs with a personalised plaque, make unique presents or original gifts for a special celebration  / special occasion ie a Wedding ( Wedding First Dance Song ), an Engagement Party ( Our Song ), a House Warming Party ( New Home ), a 21st, 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th Birthday ( How about the No1 song on the day of birth? ), a Silver, Ruby or Golden Wedding Anniversary, Father’s or Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day!!  THE PERFECT PERSONALISED PRESENT!!

 

For all other Genesis memorabilia, merchandise and news……. www.genesis-music.com/

 

 

By |2014-08-04T15:41:30+01:00August 4, 2014|Framed Vinyl & CDs, Music, Nostalgia, Retro Music, TV, Vinyl Records|0 Comments

Will BBC World Cup theme by Stevie Wonder be the 2014 Nessun Dorma?

Stevie Wonder’s track “Another Star”, from the imperious double album “Songs in the Key of Life”, will be the soundtrack to the BBC’s World Cup coverage.

The Record Press author hopes that this will bring the music of Stevie Wonder to a younger generation, who did not grow up with the artist as a prolific chart act as my generation did. Hopefully the BBC adopting “Another Star” as their World Cup theme music will do for Stevie Wonder what their use of “Nessun Dorma” as theme music during their coverage of the Italia 90 World Cup, did for Pavarotti. In both cases Pavarotti and Stevie Wonder were and are huge international stars, but there is still much currency to be had, by being associated with a high profile World Cup.

Just as Pavarotti’s “Nessun Dorma” caught the mood of the Italia 90 World Cup, then I believe Stevie Wonder’s “Another Star” will capture and convey the euphoria and flamboyance of the Brazil World Cup 2014. The song “Another Star” loops and builds on a syncopated rhythm where flutes and George Benson’s guitar fuse with congas and timbales. Stevie Wonder’s track “Another Star” conveys the feel-good, carnival Latin American ambience which will chime perfectly with the atmosphere of Brazil World Cup 2014.

Let’s just hope that Stevie Wonder’s “Another Star” does not become synonymous with Ross Barkley’s tears in the same way Pavarotti’s “Nessun Dorma” became associated with Paul “Gazza” Gascoigne’s tears in Turin, after England lost to West Germany in that World Cup Semi Final penalty shoot-out!! Ross Barkley is the closest thing that we have had to Gazza in the intervening 24 years, but England football fans should not put too much emphasis on the theme of the song, which is that Stevie Wonder “fell in love with one who would break my heart in two”.

If you are not familiar with the music of Stevie Wonder, here is a Record Press Top 10 Stevie Wonder songs to whet your appetite –

Top 10 Stevie Wonder songs

 

1) Superstition ( No11 1973 )

2) Living For The City ( No15 1974 )

3) Uptight ( Everything’s alright ) ( No14 1965 )

4) If You Really Love Me ( No20 1971 )

 5) I Was Made To Love Her ( No5 1967 )

6) For Once In My Life ( No3 1968 )

7) Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday ( No2 1969 )

8) Lately ( No3 1981 )

9) Master Blaster (Jammin’) ( No2 1980 )

10) Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours ( No15 1970 )

 

Framed vinyl records, framed CDs and framed DVDs with a personalised plaque, make unique presents or original gifts for a special celebration  / special occasion ie a Wedding ( Wedding First Dance Song ), an Engagement Party ( Our Song ), a House Warming Party ( New Home ), a 21st, 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th Birthday ( How about the No1 song on the day of birth? ), a Silver, Ruby or Golden Wedding Anniversary, Father’s or Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day!!  THE PERFECT PERSONALISED PRESENT!!   ORDER NOW…….. www.myfirstrecord.co.uk/

Get a framed favourite BBC2 show DVD to mark BBC2 50th Anniversary

BBC 2 launched on the 20th April 1964. However, its launch had an inauspicious birth, by nearly being aborted!! Just as BBC2 was about to go on air, a power cut affected the whole of West London and anchor man Gerald Priestland battled on in near darkness and total chaos.

The blackout meant that the first show to be broadcast on the channel in its entirety was Playschool, which went out the following day. The channel recovered from this rather shaky start and won both critical and audience success with a wide range of ground-breaking comedy and drama series, including The Likely Lads and The Forsyte Saga.

Shows such as Match Of The Day and the flagship science programme Horizon were broadcast in the early days and are still mainstays in the schedules to this day. Seminal programmes such as (Late Night) Line Up, Jazz 625, and The Beat Room were front-runners to programmes such as Later… With Jools Holland and the channel’s Glastonbury coverage.

In 1967, with David Attenborough at the helm, BBC Two was the first channel in Europe to broadcast in colour. Released from the confines of black and white, the channel produced a series of ground-breaking factual programmes, including Civilisation and The Ascent of Man and and snooker show Pot Black, only made possible by the launch of colour television.

The 1970s saw the BBC2 launch two of the favourite TV series of the Record Press author – the manic comedy series Fawlty Towers and the Roman drama / soap I Claudius. Landmark current affairs shows such as 40 Minutes and Newsnight came to the channel, as did the arrival of cookery with Delia Smith’s Family Fare. The 1980s on BBC Two brought viewers Life On Earth; Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy; Yes, Minister; The Boys From The Blackstuff; Edge Of Darkness; Not The Nine O’Clock News; and The Young Ones.

As BBC2 entered the 1990s, perennial favourites like Top Gear and Gardeners’ World were joined by highly acclaimed drama such as This Life and Our Friends In The North, which captured the era’s political and cultural zeitgeist. Big Train, Gimme Gimme Gimme, Gormenghast, The Royle Family, The Fast Show, Shooting The Past and The League Of Gentlemen also arrived on BBC2 during this time.

BBC2 has continued to support new comedy in the 21st century, most notably with award-winning shows Dead Ringers, Double Take, Marion And Geoff, The Office, The Kumars At No 42, and the BBC Three co-commission Little Britain.

So Happy 50th Birthday BBC2. Here’s to the next 50 years of the Brilliant Broadcasting Corporation on BBC2!!

Preserve your favourite BBC2 TV show for posterity, by ordering the DVD of your favourite BBC2 TV programme, whether a comedy or drama, framed with a personalised engraved plaque.  ORDER NOW… www.myfirstrecord.co.uk/

Framed TV series DVDs and film DVDs with a personalised plaque, make unique presents or original gifts for a special celebration  / special occasion ie a 21st, 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th Birthday, a Silver, Ruby or Golden Wedding Anniversary, Father’s or Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day!!  THE PERFECT PERSONALISED PRESENT!!

 

By |2014-04-23T16:42:48+01:00April 23, 2014|Framed DVDs, Nostalgia, Retro TV, TV|0 Comments

Like Doctor Who, everyone has their favourite Radio1 Breakfast Show DJ

Radio 1 will be 50 in September 2017 and I’m sure the red carpet will be laid down in style at Broadcasting House for that eminent occasion, as it will be for the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary celebrations later this year.

Just as we all have a favourite Doctor Who, so we all have a favourite Radio1 Breakfast Show DJ. I’ll go first!! My favourite Doctor Who was Jon Pertwee and my favourite Radio 1 Breakfast Show presenter was Noel Edmonds. It is no coincidence that Jon Pertwee ( Doctor Who from 1970-1974 ) and Noel Edmonds ( Radio 1 Breakfast Show DJ from 1973-1978 ) were more or less contemporaries of one another.

Whether it be Doctor Who or Disc Jockey, the ones we remember with most affection are normally the first we watched or listened to. They were an instrumental part of our formative years. And although I had an affection for Tom Baker ( Doctor Who from 1974-1981 ) and Mike Read (Radio 1 Breakfast Show host from 1981-1984 ), they didn’t have quite the same impact and influence on me as did Jon Pertwee and Noel Edmonds.

I loved Jon Pertwee’s suave and debonair Doctor Who, who was always uber cool, even when driving around in his antiquated vintage car named Bessie. Likewise Noel Edmonds was a similarly urbane character on the Radio 1 Breakfast Show. Like Jon Pertwee’s Doctor Who, Noel Edmonds was also given to moments of zany eccentricity, in the form of his conversations with Flynn the Milkman or practical jokes on unsuspecting members of the public via his on air “funny phone calls”.

In truth both Jon Pertwee and Noel Edmonds occupied preposterous and ludicrous worlds and they both created a fantastic vehicle for escapism. And that’s what TV drama and radio breakfast shows are all about. They should provide the viewer and the listener with a wonderful outlet for escapism and fantasy!!

So who was your favourite Radio1 Breakfast Show presenter / DJ? Was it Tony Blackburn, Dave Lee Travis ( aka The Hairy Cornflake ), Mike Read, Mike Smith or possibly one of the ladies, Sara Cox or Zoe Ball? Let us know in the Reply Box below.

 

By |2013-11-13T16:36:56+00:00November 13, 2013|Nostalgia, Radio, Retro TV, TV|0 Comments
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