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Regional British TV folk programmes |
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Subject: RE: Regional British TV folk programmes From: Dave Sutherland Date: 18 Nov 09 - 07:35 AM Tyne Tees Television, in the late sixties, did two series of "Walk Right In" hosted by Wally Whyton and produced by Jim Lloyd. It featured most of the type of guests that you would hear on their "Country Meets Folk" radio programme:- The Spinners, The Campbells, Alex Campbell, Jerry Lockran, Cliff Aungier, The Johnstones plus the odd local name including The High Level Ranters, The Callies and Fred Lawson. |
Subject: RE: Regional British TV folk programmes From: GUEST, Sminky Date: 18 Nov 09 - 05:25 AM Here are some from the 50's and 60's: JIG TIME STV (Scotland) Period: 1958 Host(s): David Kinnaird Known guests: The Reivers, Betty Robson ALEX AWHILE STV (Scotland) Period: 1961-1965 Host(s): Alex McEwen Known guests: Steve Benbow, Dolina MacLennan, Robin Gray BARNDANCE BBC Manchester Period: 1962-1964 Host(s): The Spinners (1962), Ian Campbell (1963), Steve Benbow (1964) HULLABALOO ATV (Birmingham) Period: 1963- Host(s): Rory McEwen Residents: Martin Carthy, Cyril Davies All Stars Known guests: Clancy Bros, Davy Graham, Ian Campbell, Sonny Boy Williamson Notes: Shown in most regions (not London). ALL TAPES SURVIVE. Not to be confused with Hullabaloo, musical variety series on NBC (USA) 1965-1966. HALLELUJAH! ABC (Birmingham) Period: 1963 Known guests: Bert Jansch, Martin Carthy, Nadia Cattouse Note: Shown in most regions (not London) PLECTRUM STV (Scotland) Period: 1963 Host(s): Steve Benbow SINGALONG BBC Period: 1964 Known guests: Martin Carthy, Nadia Cattouse, The Corries DANCE AND SKYLARK BBC Manchester Period: 1964 Host(s): The Spinners ONCE MORE WITH FELIX BBC Period: 1967-69 Host(s): Julie Felix Known guests: Tom Paxton |
Subject: RE: Regional British TV folk programmes From: ard mhacha Date: 17 Nov 09 - 09:54 AM Listen to beautiful version of Peggy Gordon, sung by Malachi Cush and Deirdre Bonner, from BBC N Ireland, http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00ntrhh/Blas_Ceoil_Series_3_Episode_4/ |
Subject: RE: Regional British TV folk programmes From: Dave Roberts Date: 16 Nov 09 - 07:55 PM I may be accused of slight thread drift here, but don't the British have a genius for throwing away (or allowing to be thrown away)some unique and cherishable institutions? The original ITV network was a sort of federation of independent commercial companies (hence the 'I' for 'Independent' in the network's generic name), each broadcasting to distinct regions of the country, all responsible for their own programming to a certain extent and all, in theory at least, able to contribute programmes to the network. There were production centres in every region, down to the very smallest in the Channel Islands. Of course, the system wasn't perfect and the large companies in London, the North and the Midlands, which had most of the advertising revenue and hence most of the clout, called the tune and made it difficult for the 'minnows' of ITV to get programmes onto the network. But it could be done. And all those independent companies were proud to make programmes for their own regions, such as the folk music shows mentioned above. Deregulation, and the infamous 'franchise auction' put an end to all that (wild horses could not drag from me the name of Margaret Thatcher in this connection),and we are now left with the appalling ITV PLC which has, effectively, brought an end to regional commercial broadcasting in the UK and churns out lowest common denominator drivel for much of the day. And I do realise that competition from new digital satellite, cable and terrestrial channels has been a factor, but so has the whittling away by toothless 'regulators' of the Public Service Requirements for ITV stations (currently requiring something like half an hour per week of non-news regional programming, and likely to be droppped altogether soon). Sorry to have climbed on the old soapbox - something I don't do a lot, but the loss of these regional stations has been incredibly detrimental to the cultural life of this country. |
Subject: RE: Regional British TV folk programmes From: BobKnight Date: 16 Nov 09 - 07:29 PM Ralph McTell used to be on a kids programme called, "Tickle-On-The-Tum." |
Subject: RE: Regional British TV folk programmes From: Effsee Date: 16 Nov 09 - 04:50 PM The Great Western Musical Thunderbox (IIRC) was on HTV in SW England in the early '70s. Hosted by Fred Wedlock. |
Subject: RE: Regional British TV folk programmes From: bill\sables Date: 16 Nov 09 - 04:37 PM Way back in the 60s most regional TV companies featured visiting folk singers in their early evening news magazine programmes I remember Tyne Tees "Look North" with the likes of Barry Skinner, Roy Harris and Johnny Handle and I played at Yorkshire TV, Border TV, Westwood TV, ABC Birmingham, Granada, Anglea, Grampian, Tyne Tees Thames TV and regional BBC stations as well. |
Subject: RE: Regional British TV folk programmes From: Rasener Date: 16 Nov 09 - 02:03 PM LOL I will come clean. I did exactly the same on my website and Richard sent me an e-mail to inform me of the mispelling. He sure did put me in my place. :-( |
Subject: RE: Regional British TV folk programmes From: Mark Dowding Date: 16 Nov 09 - 01:58 PM Apologies to Richard for getting his name wrong. In my defence I was at work and rushing. I get all sorts of spellings of my name for some reason - Last week at a gig I was called Mark Darling - but that's another story!! |
Subject: RE: Regional British TV folk programmes From: Rasener Date: 16 Nov 09 - 12:59 PM I remember watching Roger Whittaker late at night. He had a 10 minute program once a week I think on BBC. That was many many many years ago. Mark it is Richard Digance not Digence. I will have to ask him and Fred Wedlock when they come to Faldingworth :-) |
Subject: RE: Regional British TV folk programmes From: Bonecruncher Date: 16 Nov 09 - 12:29 PM In early 1960's the Iam Campbell Folk Groop and Paddy Bell were frequently on TV early evening. I cannot remember whether it was BBC or ITV, which I would have seen as Southern Television. Colyn. |
Subject: RE: Regional British TV folk programmes From: Folkiedave Date: 16 Nov 09 - 10:38 AM There is a programme called Blas Ceoil. |
Subject: RE: Regional British TV folk programmes From: GUEST,zalby Date: 16 Nov 09 - 10:36 AM There are some great folk sessions on BBC iplayer. Click on to iplayer on your tv, select music from the menu and you should get a list of music programmes. Mainly they come from ALBA the Scots channel. |
Subject: RE: Regional British TV folk programmes From: Smedley Date: 16 Nov 09 - 08:08 AM Mark, there is a regional TV archive located at Manchester Metropolitan University - it's possible they have copies of the shows you're discussing. |
Subject: RE: Regional British TV folk programmes From: Mark Dowding Date: 16 Nov 09 - 08:03 AM Thanks for the replies everyone. Radio is a better media for folk music as far as the logistics of being on-air is concerned although all the programmes take some planning to organise guests and decide what to play - I know, I've done part of one for Ali O' Brien's Sounds of Folk when I was involved with a programme about Harry Boardman. TV shows are more expensive by a factor that I wouldn't like to guess at and are more in the public eye when it comes to ratings. These days it isn't "fashionable" to have a variety programme like there used to be - Val Doonican, Cilla, Lulu, Rolf Harris etc where there might be a possibility of getting the bigger name folk artists on. Does anybody remember if any artists had their own show - maybe Cyril Tawney or the Yetties, Fred Wedlock, Richard Digence, Ralph McTell, Steeleye Span... It could have been that the smaller stations had programmes featuring their local superstars that the rest of us never got to see. Granada in the Northwest used to have a five minute programme at the end of the evening's viewing (in the days before you could watch 24 hour telly) called "Thank You and Goodnight" where concerts by the Oldham Tinkers, Blaster Bates, Mike Harding et al would be recorded and split up into individual songs/pieces would be shown each night. |
Subject: RE: Regional British TV folk programmes From: GUEST,Johnny R. Date: 15 Nov 09 - 07:59 AM I used to live in Lincolnshire, but rather than tune in the the local radio programme I'd head up to the attic and listen to a folk show from Humberside. It might have been called the Folk and Roots Show, but I don't remember very well. It was hosted by Henry Ayrton, and reception wasn't great (hence listening in the attic) - but the music was wonderful. I ended up going to Beverley Folk Festival because of my interest in those broadcasts. Chris Wade appeared on the show quite a lot, and she later went on to run a music agency called Adastra. The show was notable for having some interesting guest appearances by Roger Wilson, Richard Thompson (once only I think) and others. |
Subject: RE: Regional British TV folk programmes From: Sue Allan Date: 15 Nov 09 - 06:04 AM Border TV (covers Cumbria and Scottish Borders) had a series called, I think, One Evening of Late in the late 1960s. I seem to remember Robin Hall and Jimmy MacGregor featured quite a lot, and in other Border programmes. As part of my research into Cumbrian folk music I have uncovered scripts of TV programmes BBC north west produced in Manchester which featured, as well as Cumbrian dancers, artistes such as Jacqui and Bridie, The Spinners, Steve Benbow. The programmes were hosted by Brian Redhead and Frank Bough, amongst others. And when it comes to radio programmes, I imagine most BBC local radio stations produced folk programmes in the past Radio Carlisle, forerunner of Radio Cumbria, had 'Folk Workshop'. In addition, an earlier version of regional broadcasting, BBC North, in the 1950s and early 1960s had Merry Neet, Barn Dance and other programmes. |
Subject: RE: Regional British TV folk programmes From: doc.tom Date: 15 Nov 09 - 05:38 AM Back in the late 60s, on dear old Westward Television, about 10 minutes to off-air time at the end of an evening, they used to finish the programmes with Charlie Bate and Bob Cann playing tunes in a pretty bare set in the studio. When I served on the Arts Advisory Board of Television South West (who won the franchise from Westward), we went through the archives and not a trace could be found - it had all been live. Great loss! TomB |
Subject: RE: Regional British TV folk programmes From: the lemonade lady Date: 14 Nov 09 - 11:32 PM I have Freesat and in the evenings at the weekend there's a channel called Alba which is very much Scottish. In fact no English is spoken on it much at all. They have some wonderful folkie programs. Sal |
Subject: RE: Regional British TV folk programmes From: BobKnight Date: 14 Nov 09 - 10:14 PM Grampian TV in Aberdeen used to have a programme back in the 60's called, "Silver City Folk," which featured amongst others a very young Barbara Dickson. |
Subject: RE: Regional British TV folk programmes From: Leadfingers Date: 14 Nov 09 - 09:41 PM I dont have any recordings , but Steve Benbow had a TV prgramme on BBC in (I think) 1967 ! |
Subject: Regional British TV folk programmes From: Mark Dowding Date: 14 Nov 09 - 09:34 PM Whilst folk music on TV these days is a rarity, at one time it had a higher profile with programmes featuring the Spinners, Mike Harding and The Fivepenny Piece and others on national TV. The BBC had a regional "opt-out" facility where the various regions around the country used to put their own programmes on - some of which featured folk music. BBC Northwest from Manchester made shows by The Houghton Weavers for a number of years in the late 70s and early 80s called "Sit Thee Deawn" and Harry Boardman appeared in a programme called "Ballad of the Northwest" which lasted for three series in the early 70's and featured a number of the groups and performers in the folk world from the area. As someone who lived in the north west, I was unaware of other regions' output of this nature and so I'd like to ask if anybody remembers programmes from their own broadcast regions around the country (BBC or the ITV regions) - maybe you appeared in some of them! As far as I know "Ballad of the North West doesn't exist except for a few cassettes that I was given of the soundtrack made by pointing a microphone at the TV speaker. "Sit thee deawn" fares better in the archives as I believe most if not all programmes made are in the archive. Anybody know what else might still exist? Cheers Mark |
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