Web Page  No 2428

4^th December 2017



Firstly can any one help? I have had this request, where is Fred?

 I recently had lunch with two other former Patrol Leaders from the 62^nd (1963-1967) who now live in north Wales and on the Isle of Wight.  The three of us moved on to a Senior, later Venture Scout group housed in a Nyssen hut sub-leased from Portsmouth Rugby Club at the former war-era army barracks at Hilsea.  The leader was Fred Hellyer, at the time in his thirties and living with his family on Hilary Road in Cosham.  I was wondering whether you or any of your local contacts might have any information about Fred and what became of him beyond about 1969, when the three of us left the scouts and the area.

First Picture: RSG Set

Second Picture: Donovan and Cathy McGowan

Third Picture: The Beatles, Helen Shapiro, Dusty Springfield, Eden Kane and Keith Fordyce on the set of RSG!

Ready Steady Go

Having Last week dealt with Don Lang who appeared on the 6-5 Special which was an hour programme and which ran for 97 episodes, it is time to look at the ITV challenger  Ready Steady Go which was only 30 minutes long for the first year and was extended to 50 minutes later and it lasted 52 episodes.

It was broadcast every Friday night from 1963 during its run until it ended on 23/12/1966. Presented by Keith Fordyce and Cathy McGowan  it featuring many performances by The Beatles, Rolling Stones,  Mick Jagger, Dusty Springfield, Del Shannon, the Animals, the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, and Dave Berry and The Who amongst other 60's greats. It had a simple formula – to showcase artists from both the UK and USA (usually miming), alongside an audience who danced or stood around during the performances. Performers were declared live from 2nd April 1965 when lip syncing was abolished.

Cathy MacGowan was an irritating, mini-skirted, giggler, while Keith Fordyce would have looked more at home as an assistant in a furniture shop – still, it was a start and pre-dated Top of the Pops by a few years. Big names who appeared on Ready, Steady, Go, included Dusty Springfield, Del Shannon, the Animals, the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, and Dave Berry. The theme tune was provided by Manfred Mann (the catchy 54321).

Perhaps it was not the most inventive of music shows – and suffered from the miming aspect which made most artists look ridiculous as they lip synched to a track which resounded around the huge space. It was hardly definitive but was the first attempt on British TV (after 6-5 Special) to provide a weekly showcase for the movers and shakers of popular music. As Cathy MacGowan would say, 'The weekend starts here …'.

The programme was broadcast every Friday and was conceived by Elkan Allan, head of Rediffusion TV. He wanted a light entertainment programme different from the low-brow style of light entertainment transmitted by ATV. The programme was produced without scenery or costumes and with a minimum of choreography and make-up. The programme was produced by Associated-Rediffusion, the weekday ITV contractor for London, called Rediffusion-London after 1964. The live show was eventually networked nationally.The show gained its highest ratings on 20th March 1964 when it featured the Beatles being interviewed and performing "It Won't Be Long", "You Can't Do That" and "Can't Buy Me Love" - the last a hit at the time.

In the 1980s Dave Clark of the Dave Clark Five acquired the rights to the 1960s UK music show and bought the rights to the surviving recordings.

In 1965 the programme was parodied in The Benny Hill Show  where Benny Hill impersonated Cathy McGowan, Peter & Gordon and a singer named P. J. Orbison (the amalgam of the names of P. J. Proby and Roy Orbison). Although not actually mentioned by name. Ready, Steady, Go! was parodied in the 1967 film Bedazzled featuring comedians Peter Cook and Dudley Moore (who both had appeared on Ready Steady Go).  The song used was filmed on the actual Ready Steady Go set in late 1966.

In the mod film Quadrophenia, the main character is watching the Who perform on Ready Steady Go!.

In episode 3 of Alan Plater's 1995 TV drama Oliver's Travels, Oliver (played by Alan Bates) says "Ready, Steady, Go!", to which his B&B hostess (played by Molly Sugden) replies, "If you're old enough to know that, you're as old as you look."

English group Generation X wrote a song about the show "Ready Steady Go" in 1978, which made various references and had the lyric "because I'm in love with Cathy McGowan". As part of the Southbank's Meltdown Festival 2011, curator Ray Davies recreated Ready Steady Go on Saturday 11th June.

Looking back it is very lucky that some of the original ideas never were instituted. Their early intentions were to present the main show to an audience of about 150 inside Rediffusions London studio at Television House, Kingsway, where compere Keith Fordyce would introduce the artists, with additional activity in the lobby where his Canadian co-host, David Gell, would chat with audience members about their personal current favourites. Other ideas for show considered at the time included: selection of one of the invited audience members to be an amateur disc jockey; giving someone the chance to win that week's Top 50 singles; blindfolding members of the audience and getting them to try and identify a current chart hit; and having a weekly section with 'showbiz' news items. Thankfully, all these were dropped and the production concentrated largely on the artists and dancing inside the studio itself.

Keep in touch

Yours

Peter

DUSTYKEAT@aol.com

You Write:

Jonathan writes:-

Hello Peter,

It's a lovely warm day in Johannesburg and I have just read your Blog of the week. I noticed the picture of the Solent Road teacher Mr Wing "Pop" as we called him. It set me to thinking on the other school teachers of that era the 50's. I had in succession the following Form teachers. Mr White, Mrs Magee and Miss Moore. Mr White was strict and wielded the cane occasionally. He gave us all a model animal at year end. Mrs Magee was much easier and used to bring her corgi to school (imagine that being allowed now). Miss Moore was as hard as nails to the point of extreme cruelty I will say no more on this I have written about it before. Other teachers I remember were "Doc" King who sported an RAF style mustache a bit scary but really rather a good teacher. Les Rose our PT teacher and would today be in trouble........Mr Hawkins our headmaster, another slightly scary bloke who would fill in occasionally when a teacher was off sick. We enjoyed the finest education in those days as a result of the 1944 Education Act. The education system has been tinkered with by successive governments to the point that the UK has gone from the best in the world to well down the list. 

The Education Act of 1944 was authored by Conservative Rab Butler and known as "the Butler Act", it defined the modern split between primary education and secondary education at age 11; it also established the Tripartite System, consisting of grammar schools, secondary modern schools and secondary technical schools. Academically gifted students who passed the "Scholarship" exam (later replaced by a "Grading Test" and the 11+ examination) were able to attend a grammar school. Children who did not pass the selection test attended secondary modern schools or technical schools. The school leaving age was raised to 15. The elite system of public schools was practically unchanged.

The new law was widely praised by Conservatives because it honoured religion and social hierarchy, by Labour because it opened new opportunities for the working class, and by the general public because it ended the fees they had to pay. 

In 1965 the Labour government started to mess around with the Education System and required all local education authorities to formulate proposals to move away from selection at eleven, replacing the tripartite system with comprehensive schools. The introduction of such schools was resisted by many Local Education Authorities. The changes were finally put into effect by the Direct Grant Grammar Schools (Cessation of Grant) Regulations 1975. Some schools (almost all Catholic) became fully state-funded, while the majority became independent fee-paying schools.

In this same period the school leaving age was raised to 16 and saw the introduction of the Education (Work Experience) Act, allowing LEAs to organise work experience for the additional final year school students. In some counties around the country, these changes also led to the introduction of Middle schools where students were kept at primary or junior school for an additional year, meaning that the number of students in secondary schools within these areas remained virtually constant through the change.

Many secondary schools in areas without a Middle School were unable to accommodate the new 5th year students. The solution to the problem was to construct a new building for these schools (often referred to as "ROSLA Buildings" or "ROSLA Blocks") that needed to extend their capacity. providing them with the capacity to cope with the new generation of ROSLA students. The "ROSLA Buildings" were delivered to schools in self-assembly packs and were not intended to stand long-term, though some have proven to have stood much longer than was initially planned and some are still standing now.

The 1988 Education Reform Act further tinkered around with the education system. These changes were aimed at creating a 'market' in education with schools competing with each other for 'customers' (pupils). The theory was that "bad" schools would lose pupils to the "good" schools and either have to improve, reduce in capacity or close. The reforms included the following:

-The National Curriculum was introduced, which made it compulsory for schools to teach certain subjects and syllabuses. Previously the choice of subjects had been up to the school.

-Formula funding was introduced, which meant that the more children a school could attract to it, the more money the school would receive.

Best regards Jonathan 

News and Views:

On this day 4^th December 1960-1965

On 04/12/1960 the number one single was It's Now Or Never - Elvis Presley and the number one album was South Pacific. The top rated TV show was Armchair Theatre (ABC) the first episode of Coronation Street on shown and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

 On 04/12/1961 the number one single was Tower of Strength - Frankie Vaughan . The top rated TV show was Coronation Street and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was Sunday Night at the London Palladium (ATV).

 On 04/12/1962 the number one single was Lovesick Blues - Frank Ifield and the number one album was On Stage with the Black & White Minstrels - George Mitchell Minstrels. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street and the box office smash was Lawrence of Arabia. A pound of today's money was worth £12.89 and Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions

 On 04/12/1963 the number one single was She Loves You - The Beatles and the number one album was With the Beatles - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street and the box office smash was The Great Escape. A pound of today's money was worth £12.64 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. Christine Keeler arrives in prison to serve her sentence of nine months for perjury.

 On 04/12/1964 the number one single was Little Red Rooster - Rolling Stones and the number one album was A Hard Day's Night - Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. Poet Edith Sitwell dies.

 On 04/12/1965 the number one single was The Carnival is Over - Seekers and the number one album was The Sound of Music Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street and the box office smash was The Sound of Music. A pound of today's money was worth £11.69 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

Web Page  No 2426

27th  November 2017

First Picture: Don Lang

Second Picture: Don Lang and his Frantic Five

Third Picture: On Set of 6-5 Special

Forth Picture: The Big Hit The Witch Doctor ( I bet you can all still sing the chorus!)

Don Lang

Gordon Langhorn (Don Lang), was a trombonist who was born in Halifax on 19^th January 1925 and died of Cancer in London on 3rd August 1992.

He was that rare species, a popular entertainer and household name during his heyday in the late 1950s who still retained the respect of his fellow jazz musicians, critics alike. A natural performer, he could stir an audience to cheers with one of his 300-words-a-minute vocal workouts and the next instant pick up his beloved trombone and play a sublime jazz ballad in the style of his favourite, Bill Harris.

Born Gordon Langhorn he had the physique even as a child to follow his father and grandfather into professional rugby football but preferred first the piano, then double bass, only progressing to trombone at 21 after hearing recordings of the American jazzman Jack Teagarden. An obvious natural, he was soon asked to play with the local dance bands while still working daytime as an electrician. But his first fully professional engagement, on the Isle of Man in 1947, this set the course for the rest of his life.

Spells with Peter Rose and the Teddy Foster orchestra led to a call from Vic Lewis, then putting together a 'progressive' big band to tour Europe, for an inventive and creative trombone voice. As featured soloist, he left behind a series of fine solos on Lewis recordings such as 'Sunday Girl' and 'The Man I Love'.

It was during the next four years with the Ken Macintosh band that he began to sing regularly, initially as a gag with the in-house vocal quartet the Macpies but, as his confidence grew, and he often broadcast as a solo artist. It was with Macintosh that he co-wrote and recorded the hit instrumental 'The Creep', covered no less than 17 times in the US alone, notably by Stan Kenton.

Encouraged by his success and tired of spending his life 'up and down the A5', he decided to form his own group and develop his own vocal style - setting to the music lyrics to known jazz solos, usually at a breakneck tempo. After producing his own demonstration recording in this style he was immediately signed to HMV in 1955 and the resulting record 'Cloudburst' was an instant success. Whilst King Pleasure and Annie Ross had recorded in this style, no one had managed to combine fast tempos with such clear diction, a fact not lost on the 'Cloudburst' lyricist and famed American vocaliser John Hendrix, who professed himself an admirer and wrote 'Jumping to Conclusions' specifically for the now-renamed Don Lang. This abbreviation of his real name was chosen because 'the shorter the name, the bigger the billing'.

In 1956, he was chosen with his band the Frantic Five to be one of the cornerstones of the new BBC informal 'teenage' show The Six Five Special and for two years appeared as resident accompanist and in his own right, performing every week on live television such hits as 'Six Five Hand Jive', 'Red Planet Rock' and 'I Want You To Be My Baby'.

Whilst enjoying his popularity and a firm believer in giving the public what it wanted, on the demise of the Six Five Special in 1968 he retained his firm foothold in the jazz and big-band fields, but continued to make successful records like 'The Witchdoctor'. As a sight-reading musician the rocketing popularity of the Merseybeat did not affect him as badly as many of the other rock-and- rollers: indeed, when he was a session man on one of the Beatles' recordings, John Lennon actively sought him out to say hello.

Working in cabaret with his own band and as featured sideman with larger bands followed throughout the Seventies and early Eighties, but the last few years saw him in virtual retirement, apart from the occasional rock-and-roll revival show and some rehearsal band workouts just to keep his lip and trombone in good shape.

A strong but gentle man, who could keep you amused for hours over a long lunch, he retained the affection and respect of both the public and the many musicians who knew him. Typically his long fight with cancer was born bravely and with humour.

Anyone who ever heard him sing The Witch Doctor or The Auctioneer will never forget Don Laing.

Keep in touch

Yours

Peter

DUSTYKEAT@aol.com

You Write:

News and Views:

On this day 27th  November 1960-1965

On 27/11/1960 the number one single was It's Now Or Never - Elvis Presley and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Take Your Pick (AR) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 27/11/1961 the number one single was Little Sister/His Latest Flame - Elvis Presley and the number one album was Another Black & White Minstrell Show - George Mitchell Minstrels. The top rated TV show was Sunday Night at the London Palladium (ATV) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 27/11/1962 the number one single was Lovesick Blues - Frank Ifield and the number one album was Out of the Shadows - Shadows. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Lawrence of Arabia. A pound of today's money was worth £12.89 and Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 27/11/1963 the number one single was You'll Never Walk Alone - Gerry & the Pacemakers and the number one album was Please Please Me - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Conservative Party Political Broadcast (all channels) and the box office smash was The Great Escape. A pound of today's money was worth £12.64 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 27/11/1964 the number one single was Baby Love - Supremes and the number one album was A Hard Day's Night - Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 27/11/1965 the number one single was Get Off Of My Cloud - Rolling Stones and the number one album was The Sound of Music Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Take Your Pick (AR) and the box office smash was The Sound of Music. A pound of today's money was worth £11.69 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

Web Page  No 2424

20^th  November 2017

First Picture: Teddy Girl.

Second Picture: Teddy Girl Group

Third Picture ; Teddy Boy fashion

Forth Picture: Teddy Boys and girl

Fifth Picture: Warning Poster

The Ted’s

We all remember the ‘Teddy Boys’ and the havoc that some of them caused in the late 1950’s but who remembers the ‘Teddy Girls’?

The Teddy Boy, was characterized by an unlikely style of dress and fashion inspired by Edwardian period dandies fused together with American rock ’n roll fashion. They originally formed gangs based in East London through to North Kensington and became high profile rebels in the media and within a short space of time the movement had spread nationwide. But an important sub-subculture of the Teddy Boys, was the unlikely female element, The Teddy Girls.

In 1955, freelance photographer Ken Russell was introduced to Josie Buchan, a Teddy Girl, who introduced him to some of her Teddy Girl friends in Notting Hill. He vividly remembered a 14 year-old teddy girl, who, he said, had attitude by the truckload. The teddy boys were tough, they’d been born in the war years and food rationing only ended in about 1954. They were proud. They knew their worth. As they had the money they just wore what they wanted.

To understand the teddy girls style, we first have to go back to the boys culture. They emerged in England as post-war austerity was coming to an end and working-class teenagers were able to afford good clothes and began to adopt the upper-class Saville Row revival of dandy style Edwardian fashion. By the mid-1950s, second-hand Edwardian suits were becoming readily available on sale in markets around the country as they had become unwearable by the upper-class gentlemen once the Teddy Boys had started sporting them.

The ‘Teds’, as they called themselves, wore long coloured drape jackets, velvet collars, slim ties and began to pair the look with thick rubber-soled creeper style shoes and the ‘greaser’ hairstyles of their American rock ’n’ roll idols. Despite their overall smart style of dress the Teds were a teenage youth culture which were out to shock their parents’ generation, and they quickly became associated with trouble by the media.

Teddy girls were mostly working-class teenage girls as well, but considered less interesting by the media who were more concerned with sensationalizing the violent working-class youth culture of the boys. While teddy boys were known for hanging around on street corners, looking for trouble, a young working-class woman’s role at the time was still focused around the home.

But even with lower wages than the boys, teddy girls would still dress up in their own style of drape jackets, rolled-up jeans, flat shoes, tailored jackets with velvet collars and to put their feminine spin on the Teddy style with straw boater hats, brooches, espadrilles and elegant clutch bags. They would go to the cinema in groups and attend dances and concerts with the boys, collect rock ’n’ roll records and magazines. Together, they essentially cultivated the first market for teenage leisure in Britain.

In the end, it was the troublesome reputation of the teddy boys that got the better of this youth subculture. Some of the violence and vandalism, but not all, was exaggerated by the media, but there were notably a few gangs that chose a far darker path.

While most dedicated teddy boys were, at worst, involved in petty crimes, there were instances of gangs rioting and using razors, knuckledusters and knives to carry out attacks. The racist tendencies of some of the teddy boy gangs in the end lost to the unstoppable rock ’n’ roll movement centred around many African-American acts. The British pop boom of the 1960s brought new music and new youth cultures and the era of the teddy boy was coming to an end.

It’s certainly a great shame that such an interesting and elegant style of dress for young people had to be associated with such negativity and violence. The Teddy Boys were the first group in Britain whose style was self-created.

Were you one?

Keep in touch

Yours

Peter

DUSTYKEAT@aol.com

You Write:

News and Views:

On this day 20^th  November 1960-1965

On 20/11/1960 the number one single was It's Now Or Never - Elvis Presley and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Take Your Pick (AR) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

20/11/1961 the number one single was Little Sister/His Latest Flame - Elvis Presley and the number one album was Another Black & White Minstrel Show - George Mitchell Minstrels. The top rated TV show was Sunday Night at the London Palladium (ATV) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 20/11/1962 the number one single was Lovesick Blues - Frank Ifield and the number one album was West Side Story Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Lawrence of Arabia. A pound of today's money was worth £12.89 and Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 20/11/1963 the number one single was You'll Never Walk Alone - Gerry & the Pacemakers and the number one album was Please Please Me - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Conservative Party Political Broadcast (all channels) and the box office smash was The Great Escape. A pound of today's money was worth £12.64 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the week was Socialists win Dundee West by-election.

On 20/11/1964 the number one single was Baby Love - Supremes and the number one album was A Hard Day's Night - Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 20/11/1965 the number one single was Get Off Of My Cloud - Rolling Stones and the number one album was Liverpool. The top rated TV show was "Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Sound of Music.

A pound of today's money was worth £ 11.69. The big news story of the day was Take Your Pick (AR)".

Web Page  No 2422

13^th  November 2017

First Picture: Rupert Logo

Second Picture: Rupert Album 1958

Third Picture: Rupert and Friends

Forth Picture; Rupert and Paul McCartney

Rupert Bear

Throughout my childhood I remember having Rupert books around the house. Rupert Bear was a children's comic strip character created by the English artist Mary Tourtel and first appearing in the Daily Express newspaper on 8th November 1920. Rupert's initial purpose was to win sales from the rival newspapers the Daily Mail and the Daily Mirror. In 1935, Ruperts artist and storyteller was taken over by Alfred Bestall, who was previously an illustrator for Punch. He proved to be successful in the field of children's literature and worked on Rupert stories and artwork well into his 90s. More recently, various other artists and writers have continued the series.

The comic strip was, and still is, published daily in the Daily Express, with many of these stories later being printed in books, and every year since 1936 a Rupert annual has also been released. Rupert Bear has become a well-known character in children's culture in the United Kingdom, and the success of the Rupert stories has led to the creation of several television series based on the character. The character also has a large fan following, with such groups as The Followers of Rupert.

Rupert is a bear who lives with his parents in a house in Nutwood, a fictional idyllic English village. He is drawn wearing a red jumper and bright yellow checked trousers, with matching yellow scarf. Originally depicted as a brown bear, his colour soon changed to white to save on printing costs, though he remained brown on the covers of the annuals.

Most of the other characters in the series are also animals with humanlike form. They are all scaled to be about the same size as Rupert, regardless of species. Rupert's animal friends are usually referred to as his "chums" or "pals". Aside from his best friend Bill Badger, some of the most enduring pals are an elephant (Edward Trunk), a mouse (Willie), Pong-Ping the Pekingese, Algy the Pug,  Podgy Pig, Bingo the Brainy Pup, Freddie and Ferdy Fox, the identical twins Reggie and Rex Rabbit, and Ming the dragon. The kindly Wise Old Goat also lives in Nutwood, and helps Rupert in some of his adventures. One of the most unusual and evocative characters is Raggety, a woodland troll like creature made from twigs, who is often grumpy and annoying. In the 2006 television revival of the series, Raggety was transformed into a friendly elf with broken English.

There are also a few human characters in the stories, such as the Professor (who lives in a castle with his servant, Bodkin), Tiger Lily (a Chinese girl), her father "the Conjuror", and several less frequently occurring characters such as Sailor Sam, Gaffer Jarge, Captain Binnacle and Rollo, the Gypsy boy. There is also a recurring Merboy.

The series often features fantastic and magical adventures in faraway lands. Each story begins in Nutwood, where Rupert usually sets out on a small errand for his mother or to visit a friend, which then develops into an adventure to an exotic place such as King Frost's Castle, the Kingdom of the Birds, underground, or to the bottom of the sea. Sometimes one of the Professor's inventions opens the door to one of Rupert's adventures. At the end of the story Rupert returns to Nutwood, where all is safe and well, and where his parents seem perfectly happy about his adventures.

Unlike most modern comic strips, Rupert Bear has always been produced in the original form of strip with illustrations accompanying text as opposed to text being incorporated into the art in speech bubbles.

Alfred Bestall developed the classic Rupert story format: the story is told in picture form (generally two panels each day in the newspaper and four panels to a page in the annuals), in simple page-headers, in simple two-line-per-image verse and then as running prose at the foot enabling Rupert Annuals to be "read" on four levels.

It may be remembered that Rupert appeared in Paul McCartney's 1984 music video "We All Stand Together"; Paul McCartney also made an animated video starring Rupert called Rupert and the Frog Song.

Every year since 1936, a Rupert Bear annual has been released, even during the years of World War II, during a paper shortage in other words this years will be the 81st.

Keep in touch

Yours

Peter

DUSTYKEAT@aol.com

You Write:

News and Views:

On this day 13^th  November 1960-1965

On 13/11/1960 the number one single was It's Now Or Never - Elvis Presley and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Bootsie & Snudge (Granada) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 13/11/1961 the number one single was Little Sister/His Latest Flame - Elvis Presley and the number one album was Another Black & White Minstrell Show - George Mitchell Minstrels. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 13/11/1962 the number one single was Lovesick Blues - Frank Ifield and the number one album was West Side Story Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Lawrence of Arabia. A pound of today's money was worth £12.89 and Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 13/11/1963 the number one single was You'll Never Walk Alone - Gerry & the Pacemakers and the number one album was Please Please Me - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Great Escape. A pound of today's money was worth £12.64 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 13/11/1964 the number one single was (There's) Always Something There to Remind Me - Sandy Shaw and the number one album was A Hard Day's Night - Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 13/11/1965 the number one single was Get Off Of My Cloud - Rolling Stones and the number one album was Liverpool. The top rated TV show was "Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Sound of Music. A pound of today's money was worth £11.69. The big news story of the day was Take Your Pick (AR)".