Web Page 970

Top Picture: Billy Bunter




Second Picture: The old IOW car ferry.

Gerald Campion


Gerald Campion, this name probably does not mean much to you but if I say Billy Bunter in the BBC's early television series about the Fat Owl of the Remove and his antics at Greyfriars and that Gerald Campion played the part for 10 years was itself something of a tour de force, since he was a 29-year-old father of two when he began to play the part and aged nearly 40 when he finished.

The producer of the series, Joy Harrington, had almost despaired of finding a suitable candidate for the part when a friend suggested she took a look at Gerald Campion, who was lunching at the Under 30 Club. She decided at once that his button nose and general appearance were perfect, and immediately went shopping for a pair of pince-nez spectacles.
As she saw it, his only drawback was that he was not fat enough in fact he who stood 5 ft 5in tall and weighed 11st 12 lb, having recently been on a diet. "He simply isn't fat enough in the tummy," Joy Harrington declared. Gerald Campion later claimed that, to regain weight, he had gorged himself on home-made jam tarts; judicious padding did the rest, as well as protecting him during Bunter's regular kickings and beatings.

When the series began, in February 1952, each episode was screened twice - at 5.40 pm for children, and at 8 pm for adults - and each was performed live. At the same time he was running his own theatrical club at night, and it was said that, in order to cope with so demanding a schedule, he had to resort to taking amphetamines. On the day following transmission of the first episode, the Daily Sketch declared it "dull, dated, boring" - only to be submerged by an avalanche of complaints from readers whose children had loved it.

Until the series ended in 1961, he continued to endure the attentions of the gimlet-eyed Mr Quelch ("Bend over, you wretched boy") and Bunter's sadistic school chums; and the nation's sitting rooms echoed to his cries of "Geroogh", "Yarooh", "Crikey", "Ouch", and "Leggo, you beasts". Meanwhile, during the 120 episodes, Quelches came and went (the first was played by Kynaston Reeves), as did Bunter's schoolmates, among them Michael Crawford and Anthony Valentine.
As Gerald Campion outlived them all, he found himself, to his horror, one of television's earliest celebrities, recognised everywhere he went. "Sweet shops were the worst," he complained later. "I'd be in them and blokes would manhandle their kids round to face me, and point at me and shout: 'Look there - that's Billy Bunter!' "

After the series was axed following the death of Bunter's creator Frank Richards, Gerald nonetheless sent in some scripts of his own in an attempt to revive it. One had Bunter captured by cannibals, who put him in a cooking pot and invited him to eat a large clove of garlic; he received no reply.

The son of the scriptwriter Cyril Campion, Gerald Theron Campion was born at Bloomsbury, London, on April 23 1921; one of his godparents was Sir Gerald du Maurier. After attending University College School, Hampstead, Gerald went to RADA aged 15. After the Second World War, in which he served as a wireless operator with the RAF in Kenya, he resumed his career as an actor - by the time he was chosen to play Billy Bunter, he had made 12 television appearances.

At the same time he embarked on a parallel life, in 1950 opening The Buckstone, a theatrical club opposite the stage door of the Haymarket theatre. On one occasion he was irritated to find that a visiting artist had doodled on one of the tablecloths; he threw it out, only to discover later that the culprit had been Annigoni.
In 1956 he started The Key Club - to which each member had his own key - close to the Palladium; and this was followed by Gerry's, in Shaftesbury Avenue, whose members included Michael Caine, Keith Waterhouse, Tony Hancock and Graham Hill.
After the demise of Bunter, he continued to work as an actor, although without the same success. Among his film roles were parts in Carry On, Sergeant; Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines; Chitty Chitty Bang Bang; and Half A Sixpence. He also appeared in television series such as Minder, Dr Who, and Sherlock Holmes.

He was a lover of French cuisine, and in later life he developed a new and successful career as a restaurateur, running a series of establishments in London and the Home Counties. Among them were Froops, in north London; Bassetts, in Tunbridge Wells; and The Woodman's Arms Auberge, a hotel/restaurant at Hastingleigh in Kent which he ran with his second wife Suzie. In 1989, when he was involved with The Woodman's Arms, he reflected: "I suppose it is fitting that the man who played Billy Bunter should end up in the Good Food Guide." In 1991 he and his wife retired to France, where he died on 9th July 2002.
Gerald Campion married, first, in 1947, Jean Symond. After their divorce he married, in 1972, Suzie Marks, who had worked as a dancer at Gerry's; she, and three children from his first marriage, survived him.

Stay in touch,

Yours,

Peter

DUSTYKEAT@aol.com
Pj.keat@ntlworld.co.uk

You Write:

Stephen Writes:

Your story on the Tracks & Paths did bring back lots of great memories, Before moving to the Highbury Estate we used to live up in Paulsgrove so spent my childhood exploring Portsdown Hill the chalkpits and beyond.
One place that was a magnet for the kids was to walk over the hill to what used to be HMS Dryad the Royal Naval base and Southwick House home to the D Day maps, we often climbed over the old wall that went around the site to scrump for apples and any other goodies we could get our young hands on, one of the best games we would play was to bait the Royal Naval Police who patrol the area by getting them to chase us over the wall, we where far to young and agile for them to catch us, but if they did a clip around the ear was always forth coming.

As I mentioned I used to live on the Highbury estate which was a long walk or bus ride to Manor Court, we often used to go down into Drayton Park after school and risk are lives climbing over the fence and running over the railway tracks by the triangle, then use the bus fare we saved to buy sweets.

Another great place with hidden paths was along the Hilsea fortifications and Portscreek, if you knew were to look you could find old buried military bits & bobs or just watch the courting couples doing their thing. All in all a great place to grow up with Hills the Sea and the countryside not to far away and it was safe for kids to play and learn, its a shame that kids today cannot enjoy what we experienced.

Its been over 35 years since I lived in Pompey, but when I go back to visit my family I find places I knew have change out of all proportion,
I would love to explore around Hilsea again, so next time I’m back home I just might have a mooch around for good old time sake.

Jonathan Writes:-

Your Blog of the 50's and 60's was as ever evocative of memories. I so well remember cutting across the farms in Farlington to get to the marshes. There was a level crossing at the railway where we used to place pennies on the rail lines to get the trains to flatten them.

The marshes themselves were a great place to explore.........they still are. Recently when I was over in England I went for a run around the sea wall and on the way back found a little untouched enclave just close to the motorway and north of it accessed by an unused dirt road underpass. There was a pond there with a bench next to it and a sad little sign stating that a young boy had drowned there some years previous.

The marshes were a great place to fill out the I Spy book about the country side. You did a recent blog on I Spy books if I remember aright and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

As boys we used to wade out in the mud up to our knees, probably unwise but what the heck, we were boys.

I used to be allowed to ride from Rectory Avenue in Farlington along the Havant Road to Bosham to visit my Aunt and cousins who lived close to the water's edge in a lovely bijou cottage.

The chalk pits were great weren't they. Do you remember the cave that was about 15 foot up one of the vertical faces. I never dared crawl in lest I got stuck and couldn't reverse out.

We used to go sledging in winter if it snowed at "The Devil's Footprint" just a bit east of the chalk pits.

The water works always had a malodorous smell from the filter beds.

We used to play cricket until it was too dark to see the ball up at the Recreation Ground between the end of Solent Road and Woodfield Avenue. I once split my younger brother's eyebrow open when a ball bowled by me at about 10 p.m. collected his specs.

News and Views:

Elvis Presley's granddaughter, model Riley Keough, will star in Steven Soderbergh's upcoming film, "Magic Mike."

On this day 2nd September 1960-1965.

On

02/09/1960

the number one single was Apache - The Shadows and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was No Hiding Place (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

02/09/1961

the number one single was Johnny Remember Me - John Leyton and the number one album was Black & White Minstrel Show - George Mitchell Minstrels. The top rated TV show was Blackpool Tower Circus (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

02/09/1962

the number one single was I Remember You - 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.The big news story of the day was 20000 killed in Iran earthquake.

On

02/09/1963

the number one single was Bad to Me - Billy J Kramer 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

02/09/1964

the number one single was Have I the Right? - Honeycombs and the number one album was A Hard Day's Night - Beatles. The top rated TV show was No Hiding Place (AR) 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

02/09/1965

the number one single was I Got You Babe - Sonny and Cher and the number one album was Help - The Beatles. 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 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

Web Page 968

Top Picture: The Gun emplacement near Fort Purbrook. On a fine evening I could lay in bed at home and se this through my bedroom window in the distance.






Second Picture: Farlington Marshes

Trails and Tracks

Some time ago I read these words ‘paths and tracks that only old men and young boys know’ and this really set me to thinking about how we, as young boys, used to find our way around the area whatever the domain without the benefit of maps or satnavs.
This knowledge extended across the hillside, the countryside and the marshlands as well as the urban paths and byways around the City of Portsmouth.

I will start with a look at the rural scene. I wonder just how many people today know of the pathway hidden behind the clinging ivy and the undergrowth in the chalk pit by the waterworks at the top of Gillman Lane. This was a well known path to us, it took us along the chalk face way up so we were able to see into the blackbirds nests and collect the eggs, which we were allowed to do in those days. This pathway was known only to the lads of the area but was till wee used. There was also several other paths within the other chalk pits in the area and as far as I can remember there were at least three paths up the face of the chalk pit in Upper Drayton Lane and one that took you round the back of the hermits hut in the chalk pit by the George. Mind you this path was always fraught with danger because if the hermit saw you he would chase you. He lived in a kind of green corrugated iron bungalow in the bottom of the pit and he disliked visitors. I wonder who he was and what happened to him?

But it was not only the chalk pits we knew our way around on the hill. We had our own paths through the undergrowth to varying favoured sites to play in. Then underneath the ground touching branches of some bushes made great dens and these were often protected by brambles and thorns. Even in the summer, when the grass was almost as tall as us we could still find our way about the hill for a meeting, a game or a cookout or maybe to explore some of the military installations that were still around.

But it was not just the hill we knew. Farlington Marshes were also our playgrounds. Most of us knew how to identify solid mud from soft mud and so safely navigate our way across the Marshes. We all knew the best spots to catch crabs, find ex government ordinance and to fish. Some of us even knew of a swan’s nest we could watch, mind you we did not try to take their eggs!!!

The area known to us as the Railway Triangle was also a spot for adventure. This was sandwiched between the Portsmouth to London railway line, the Eastern Road and Portscreek and was a mass of bushes, brambles and hidden places all joined together by narrow paths we explored on our bikes.

Talking of bikes. In the 1960’s I would pride myself that I could cycle from home in Farlington to Southsea sea front with only travelling on a main road for about half a mile and that was the stretch between the married Quarters at Hilsea opposite the Coach & Horses until I turned right off of Copnor Road to Amberley Road just past Rugby Camp and then it was back streets, back roads and back alleys all the way to Southsea. I bet that could not be done today!
I suppose that one of the best areas for tracks and trails was on the site where the school stands now. Before building the school, and for some reason I do not remember it being built, the area was composed of derelict allotments. The whole area was a maze of paths, tracks and walkways, an area where many of us travelled miles on our bikes exploring and racing. At the Old Manor Way end of the site were two prefabricated buildings one was an unused Territorial Army Centre and the other I believe was owned by Colt Engineering and had a row of, what looked like steel snails along the roof as ventilators. Does anyone remember them wonder?

Stay in touch,

Yours,

Peter

DUSTYKEAT@aol.com
Pj.keat@ntlworld.co.uk


From the site 10 years ago:-
And now for a short break...
We really are the first of not only the television age but the mass advertising age, just think back.

Televtsion advertising painted a whiter-than-white portrait of modern Britain. Advertisements held up a mirror to a society in which life revolved around home and family.

The Britain of the 2-minute commercial break was a reassuring place to live. Here was Katie who always used two Oxo cubes to give a meal ‘man appeal’, and sat down to watch her husband Philip drown his roast meat in gravy. On another street in safe, respectable suburbia, an immaculate and manicured housewife could be found making light of her spring cleaning with Flash (‘all around the house, all around the house, all around the house, Spring Clean with Flash’), or soaking in a foaming bath, safe in the knowledge that she would look a little lovelier each day with fabulous pink Camay, the soap which contained ‘perfume that cost 9 guineas an ounce.

Hands that did dishes could be soft as your face; Omo washed not only clean, not only white, but bright; and Hoovers beat as they swept as they cleaned. And after all that effortless housework, you could have a break, have a KitKat with a nice cup of Brooke Bond — tea that you could taste right to the last drop.

Men drove fast cars, played golf, went fishing. They drank beer and — for the first half of the decade — smoked cigars, cigarettes, pipes. Ever chivalrous, they would spring up to light the cigarettes of female companions in sparkly earrings. The more heroic of their sex anonymously braved hair-raising dangers, James Bond-style, all because the lady loved Milk Tray. Dads set out for the office (they went to work on an egg) with bowler hat and rolled umbrella, or shinned up ladders, whistling in time-honoured, salt-of-the¬ earth, cheery-chappie fashion.

Until the banning of TV tobacco advertising in 1965, smoking was widely but not always successfully promoted. The moody, black-and-white ad for a new cigarette, which vouchsafed that ‘You’re never alone with a Strand’, was much enjoyed, and the background music, ‘The Lonely Man Theme’, became a hit in its own right, spending two weeks in the pop charts in 1960. But the campaign was a spectacular failure. Who, after all, would buy a cigarette with connotations of loneliness? Better to smoke Anchor, after which a man at sea would so hanker that he even sang a shanty about it.

Pints of bitter were quaffed at the bar, while suave toffs in dinner jackets sipped vermouth (‘Do ‘ave a Dubonnet’). Martini was ‘for people who have a taste for excitement’. And when Pete Murray went to meet his friends at the Hilton what did he say? — ‘Noilly Prat’!

Catchy jingles ran around in the head so that the viewer might suddenly find himself singing that Double Diamond worked wonders, (sorry Gloria!), or tripping down the scales to the words ’Boom-boom-boom, Esso Blue’. Sublty was not copywriter’s stock in trade, this powder washed whitest, a special toothpaste would give you tingling fresh breath or a ring of confidence, this frozen pea would be as sweet as the moment when the pod went pop. Commercials played on insecurities: would your best friend tell you if you had BO? And what horrors lurked around the hidden bend?

As the decade marched on, television advertising took ever stronger hold upon the national consciousness. In school playgrounds jingles were sung, and the best-known selling lines (‘Graded grains make finer flour’; ‘Put a tiger in your tank’) became catchphrases which were almost better known than the products they promoted. And after 1964, when an Old English sheepdog was first used to market emulsion paint, the breed itself became popularly known as the Dulux dog.


You Write:

Steve Writes:-

TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED THE '40s, '50s, '60s and '70s!!

First, we survived being born to mothers who may have smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant. They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes. Then, after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright coloured lead-based paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, locks on doors or cabinets, and, when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets. As infants and children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, no booster seats, no seat belts, no air bags, bald tires and sometimes no brakes.

We ate cupcakes, white bread, real butter, and bacon. And we weren't overweight. WHY? Because we were always outside playing...that's why! We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on. No one was able to reach us all day. --And, we were OKAY..

We would spend hours building go-carts out of scraps and then ride them down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem. We did not have Play Stations, Nintendos and X-boxes. There were no video games, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVDs, no surround-sound or CDs, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet and no chat rooms. WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth, and there were no lawsuits from those accidents. We would get spankings and no one would call child services to report abuse. The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law! These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers,
problem solvers, and inventors ever.

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all.


If YOU are one of those born between 1940-1970, CONGRATULATIONS! You might want to share this with your kids, so they will know how brave and lucky their parents were.

News and Views:

Update on the Monkee’s tour. The remainder of the US tour has been cancelled. In a statement, a spokesman for Micky Dolenz said, "Management had booked a number of dates with the venues without running them by the group first... so we had to cancel the remaining dates.

On this day 26th August 1960-1965.

On

26/08/1960

the number one single was Apache - The Shadows and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Rawhide (ITV) 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

26/08/1961

the number one single was You Don't Know - Helen Shapiro and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. 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 were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.The big news story of the day was Burma becomes world's first Buddhist republic.

On

26/08/1962

the number one single was I Remember You - 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

26/08/1963

the number one single was Bad to Me - Billy J Kramer 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

26/08/1964

the number one single was Do Wah Diddy Diddy - Manfred Mann and the number one album was A Hard Day's Night - Beatles. The top rated TV show was Labour Party Political Broadcast (all channels) 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

26/08/1965

the number one single was I Got You Babe - Sonny and Cher and the number one album was Help - The Beatles. 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 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

Top Picture: The Practical Householder




Web Page 966


Second Picture: Barry Bucknell

DIY

We grew up just as the movement to do it yourself was starting to make inroads into the average household. Men who had never previously held a paint brush were starting out on the home decoration road and painting and wallpapering became more and more popular, with some.

One incident comes swiftly to mind to me took place at home in the late 1950’s. We had a kitchen table which we had inherited but its surface was in poor condition so it was decided to catch the bus into Cosham and buy a length of sticky backed Fablon. This we did every summer without fail renewing the Fablon to keep the table looking nice. But then my father heard about Formica and he decided that the next time the table was covered it would be with Formica and this would last for years and years.

Mother and I were set to peal off the old Fablon whilst Dad caught the bus into Cosham with the Formica measurements. All went well our end but I think that the thing that had slipped Dad’s mind was that you cannot roll up Formica like Fablon and bring it home on the bus. So two hours later he arrived home with Formica sheet under one arm and tin of Evostick under the other. He was not best pleased!!
Then came the fitting, after a sufficient rest, and the table was carried out onto the back lawn because we read that the glue had heady fumes which could cause drowsiness. The able top was all prepared and Dad opened the can of Impact Adhesive and found out almost instantly why the glue was so called because he managed to knock the onto the sticky surface and had a devil of a job to get it off again. However the job which should of taken about and hour had taken nearly all day. To finish off he managed to use his new Surform plane to smooth off the edges. I never remember him Formicaing anything ever again!

Into this world of amateur builders and decorators, as they say: Cometh the hour, though, cometh the man, and the supposed hero of this particular hour in Britain’s domestic history was a Barry Bucknell. There are still men out there who are now in their late 80’s and cannot rememeber what they had for lunch, but they remember Barry Bucknell all right. ‘The TV DIY man,’ they cry the minute his name is mentioned.

Barry Bucknell, was a trained mechanical ¬engineer, and first appeared on the nation’s black-and-white TV screens in 1956 in a popular afternoon ¬programme for practical housewives, About The Home. He got his own show, Do It Yourself, in 1958, and was soon receiving upwards of 35,000 letters a week from viewers desperate for top tips on putting up shelves, papering ceilings and building plywood porches.
Boosting its audience, no doubt, was the fact that the programme went out live, resulting in a regular flow of amusing mishaps. At each of them, Barry would cheerily cry: ‘Ah! Well, that’s how not to do it.’ This is what people remember most!
Barry’s monument, however, was without doubt Bucknell’s House, a 39-part weekly series in 1962 and 1963 in the course of which he completely renovated a derelict Victorian house in Ealing that the BBC had acquired for the purpose. The building, at 79 The Grove, had not been touched for decades, ¬suffered from extensive dry rot, wet rot and woodworm, and a surveyor had strongly advised against ¬purchasing it. But Barry Bucknell, with the nation watching open-mouthed, transformed it into a bright, attractive family home featuring every ¬modern gadget and design idea. A house that still stands today, I wonder how many residents realise that this particular address was once a TV star?
Stay in touch,

Yours,

Peter

DUSTYKEAT@aol.com
Pj.keat@ntlworld.co.uk

You Write:

Nothing this week !!!!!

News and Views:

The remainder of the Monkees tour was apparently cancelled Monday (August 8). While no real official word has been issued, Davy's web site lists no Monkees dates after the July 23 concert in Milwaukee. Pollstar and at least one of the venues say dates in August and September were cancelled. And the Davy Jones Facebook page has a message annoucing the cancellation and asking that the band's privacy be respected. The ony reason reportedly given was the standard "unforeseen circumstances" and further speculation is useless.

On this day 19th August 1960-1965.

On

19/08/1960

the number one single was Please Don't Tease - Cliff Richard & the Shadows and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Rawhide (ITV) 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

19/08/1961

the number one single was You Don't Know - Helen Shapiro and the number one album was Black & White Minstrel Show - George Mitchell Minstrels. The top rated TV show was Harpers West One (ATV) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Ipswich were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.


On

19/08/1962

the number one single was I Remember You - 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

19/08/1963

the number one single was Sweets For My Sweet - Searchers 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

19/08/1964

the number one single was Do Wah Diddy Diddy - Manfred Mann and the number one album was A Hard Day's Night - Beatles. The top rated TV show was Conservative Party Political Broadcast (all channels) 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

19/08/1965

the number one single was Help - The Beatles 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 were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. Watts race riots in US and the big news story of the day was Riviera Police (AR)

Web Page 964

Top Picture: Cliff Richard as pictured in Rave magazine



Second Picture: Who remembers the old ABC Cinema?



The Pop Magazine Explosion

Dozens of pop magazines sprang up in the early 60s to cover the growth of pop music.
In February 1963 The Beatles were No 2 in the charts with Please Please Me and an anonymous reporter from Boyfriend went to interview them for "an exclusive scoop" and her impressions are very revealing.

"They are almost frightening-looking young men," she said, "but when they smile, which is not often, they look wholesome and nice. But the rest of the time they look wicked and dreadful and evil, you almost expect them to leap up and chant magic spells." The Boyfriend article was one of the first in-depth articles about the group. It was well-written and made it clear just how weird the Beatles were when they first arrived.

The magazine was aimed at young women, with colour pin-ups, ads for cosmetics and hair lacquer, and plentiful picture stories. Boyfriend picked up on the hysteria surrounding the Beatles and invested heavily in the British pop boom.
In summer 1963 the magazine produced "Big New Beat", the first of several pop supplements "about the Northern Raves". The Beatles were on the cover and inside were group shots and candid close-ups with large type comments: "They have a knack of looking as if they'd just landed on this planet. They're otherworldly, that's what they are." Between 1963 and 1965, Britain had a vigorous pop and teen press, with at least a dozen weeklies and/or monthlies all bringing their readers the latest pop news. Selling between 70,000 copies up to 200,000 a week The Record Mirror and The New Musical Express charted the unprecedented rise in singles sales reaching a peak of more than 70million in 1964.

These magazines created an all-inclusive, environment and reading them today, they are historical documents yet retain the fervour of the moment. By the early 1960s, there were already several weeklies catering to the teenage female market; who remembers Marilyn, Mirabelle, Romeo, Roxy, and Valentine. Boyfriend was launched in 1959, with Marty - based on the popularity of Marty Wilde - following in 1960.

The newer titles were more pop-heavy: as well as "love scene" picture stories and problem pages. The star staples were Elvis, Cliff Richard, Adam Faith, John Leyton and Eden Kane. Launched in 1926, Melody Maker was the longest-running pop magazine with its leanings to jazz, folk and blues, it was not pure pop; that was taken up by the New Musical Express, Record Mirror and Disc All were in black and white with weekly charts and much pop news: and it was aimed at young men as well as women.
Melody Maker was serious about music and it made headway during the early 60s trad boom. The New Musical Express had great insider gossip, "Tail-Pieces by the Alley Cat" and Disc was poppier, with prominent charts and front-page news stories.
Two important new weeklies were launched in January 1964. Jackie ("for go-ahead teens") ", was a streamlined version of Boyfriend: all the same elements but with larger pages and unusual, candid shots of stars like the Beatles. It was a winning mixture: by the late 60s, its circulation was up to half a million. Fabulous was a new tabloid pop paper it contained at least one pin-up of the Beatles in every issue for two years. Several issues, like that of 15 February 1964, were almost totally devoted to the group with 11 colour pages, and a central double-page poster (now hard to find, as they were usually stuck on the wall). Selling for a shilling, Fabulous was pricier than the competition but it had more pages, better quality paper and a regular team of photographers. It also introduced a more direct rapport between the stars and their audience. Features showing stars in their own homes were interspersed with old school photos and pop stars' musings on ideal girls. At the same time, Fabulous had guest editors: the Kinks, the Animals, Goldie and the Gingerbreads, Manfred Mann and the Who. Fashion was given prominent space, not only in the adverts, but in spreads directly related to star "gear".

With the British pop invasion of the USA Fabulous published its "Shaking London Town" issue, with a spread about Ready Steady Go!, as well as Vicki Wickham's and a "POP guide to London", which featured hairdressing salons, recording studios, clubs, mod shops, and the Fabulous offices themselves.

This view of pop culture saw the launch of another magazine in 1964. At 2s 6d, Rave was five times as expensive as the weekly music papers, but in return you got an 80-page quality monthly.The first issue showed the Beatles with 007 badges, inside were Dusty's (not me) fashion tips, a feature on star holidays articles by Alan Freeman's and Billy Fury.

Like Fabulous, Rave prominently featured young women writers. Cathy McGowan was a regular. However, if the ads for guitars were anything to go by, Rave also appealed to young men and it had a circulation of 125,000 by 1966.
During 1966, Fabulous became Fabulous 208; Boyfriend merged with the newly launched Petticoat, Marilyn with Valentine. Disc joined forces with Music Echo (which had already taken over s Mersey Beat) and went colour on the front and back pages.

Would you believe there was actually a film made in 1952 starring Margaret Rutherford and Richard Hearne (Mr Pastry) where the whole story revolved around the publication of a magazune called "The Teenager"

Now how many of those magazines did you remember?

Stay in touch,

Yours,

Peter

DUSTYKEAT@aol.com
Pj.keat@ntlworld.co.uk

You Write:
Christine Writes:

In clearing out the loft this week I found a box of old school stuff which contained a programme (signed by Bill Greer!) of the Messiah performance. It was interesting to read all the names listed and of course wondering what happened to some of them.


News and Views:

A foreclosed property owned by Connie Stevens in Indian Springs, Wyoming will be auctioned by a bank there August 25. Connie reportedly still owes around $2.8 million on the property.

On this day 12th August 1960-1965.

On

12/08/1960

the number one single was Please Don't Tease - Cliff Richard & the Shadows and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Rawhide (ITV) 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. The big news story of the day was First communications satellite launched.


On

12/08/1961

the number one single was You Don't Know - Helen Shapiro and the number one album was Black & White Minstrel Show - George Mitchell Minstrels. The top rated TV show was Top Secret (AR) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Ipswich were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.


On

12/08/1962

the number one single was I Remember You - 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

12/08/1963

the number one single was Sweets For My Sweet - Searchers 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

12/08/1964

the number one single was A Hard Day's Night - Beatles 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. The big news story of the day was Novelist Ian Fleming dies.


On

12/08/1965

the number one single was Help - The Beatles and the number one album was The Sound of Music Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Riviera Police (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. The big news story of the day was First woman High Court Judge.

Web Page 960

Top Picture: Windy Blow in stage outfit





Second Picture: Windy Blow at home as David Cecil entertain the local children







Charles Cole


David Cecil or Charles Cole are not a name from the 1950’s that immediately come to mind but if I mention the Children’s Television silent clown, Windy Blow, who sculptured balloons I am sure most of you will say ‘Ah! Yes, I remember him now’.
David Cecil was a pioneer of British film cartoons, but it was much later in life that he became known as television's first balloon act, twisting balloons into animals birds and other shapes.
In fact way back in the 1950’s, no TV variety show was complete without Windy Blow, the pram-pushing clown who made animals out of balloons and never spoke a word.
It is true he did appear on the TV in the 50's as a clown but his career was vast. In the early 1940's he was a renowned cartoonist and film footage can be found on the British Pathe Web site under his cartoonist stage name of Charles Cole. But it was as Windy Blow that he made his name a household word, so much so that his son Windy Blow junior also went on to perform on TV in 1977 in the magic circle. He was very involved in show business and was secretary of the British Actors Equity Union during the 1970's
It was Windy Blows lung power that saved his life and won Dave Cecil a regular TV date. But there was a time when Windy Blow, the clown who blew up three hundred balloons every show - and had just started a series of regular spots on B.B.C. Television - could not blow out a match. Ten years earlier, as a soldier with one lung he had only a year to live, the doctor threw him a packet of balloons as he lay in a hospital bed. "Have a go!" he said, "Might do some good. Stick at it!" Dave Cecil stuck at it but it was a long time before he could blow up a single balloon. When at last he managed it he began to shape balloons to amuse other patients. He made swans, giraffes, dogs and silly hats. He decided then that if he lived, he would make his living by blowing up balloons on the stage.
Windy Blow, the silent tramp-clown known and loved by children everywhere made his stage debut in 1952. His young audiences loved him and loved to take part in the act and win a balloon toy to take home. He appeared on Children's TV in August, 1953, and was in the first TV Music Hall of 1954. "I get through eighteen gross of balloons every week," he said "and my wife, Blanche, and I have had to start a small balloon factory in the garage behind our flat in Finchley. When I was in hospital, the man in the next bed gave me the formula for making balloons. I would have liked him to help in our factory, but he didn't recover."
Windy Blow only spoke once in public - at a party given by U.S. servicemen. He had given some balloon toys to a little Negro girl. As she returned to her seat some white children deliberately burst them. "Windy saw red! He'd never spoken before, but he said something then. He called that little girl back and made every toy he knew - especially for her. As she went back to her place a second time, she handed nearly all of them to the white children!"
The Cecil's flat was always swarming with the neighbours' children, who knew him simply as "the man inside Windy Blow". "Uncle Windy” as he was known was never short of eager young pupils wanting to learn how to model balloons.
But how did Windy Blow conduct his act? The balloons were all blown up to a certain size, depending on the room temperature – the blowing knack utilising the skill that Windy learned while developing his one surviving lung whilst in hospital after losing the other lung at the Anzio beach-head. David Cecil was born in 1910 and died in the eighties.
So folks of you go, get a packet of balloons and start modelling.
Stay in touch,

Yours,

Peter

DUSTYKEAT@aol.com
Pj.keat@ntlworld.co.uk

You Write:

Melvyn reminds me of two of the coach companies that operated from Southsea Sea Front in the 1960’s. Who remembers ‘Rambler’ and ‘Shamrock’?

Steve asks:-

If any Manor Court weekly readers know the whereabouts of the following names please email me STEVETIMMS9@AOL.COM

David Costick, Rex Whistler, Roger Lillywhite, Michael Macari, Michael Hawes and Malcolm Smith.




News and Views:

The Fortunes have announced that they are to join The Searchers, Gerry and The Pacemakers on next year's Sixties Gold tour.

On this day 29th July 1960-1965.

On 29/07/1960 the number one single was Please Don't Tease - Cliff Richard & the Shadows and the number one album was Elvis Is Back - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was Rawhide (ITV) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Burnley were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 29/07/1961 the number one single was Temptation - Everly Brothers. The top rated TV show was Harpers West One (ATV) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.The big news story of the day was No Hiding Place (AR).

On 29/07/1962 the number one single was I Remember You - Frank Ifield and the number one album was Pot Luck - Elvis Presley. 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 Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 29/07/1963 the number one single was Confessin' - Frank Ifield 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 Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 29/07/1964 the number one single was A Hard Day's Night - Beatles 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 Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 29/07/1965 the number one single was Mr Tambourine Man - Byrds and the number one album was The Sound of Music Soundtrack. 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 and Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

Web Page 952

Top Picture: Stars of the 50’s and 60’s, how many do you remember?


Second Picture: Street Hop Scotch

REMEMBER WHEN:

I am very much indebted to Chris for sending me a ‘Remember When’ article which has served as a basis for today’s page. So thanks Chris!

Now, remember when some girl’s schools in the City still insisted on their pupils wearing those ugly gym slips, however that was not all, some of the girls also had to wear big hats or hard straw boaters or, in Pam’s case at the Southern Grammar, a Deportment Sash if they carried themselves well!!! I think that we lads got off lightly only having to put up with collars and ties and school caps. Talking about collars and ties I expect we can all remember when all male teachers wore collars and ties and female teachers had their hair done every day and wore high heels, especially Jill Cogan!!!!!

With all our progress over the years, don't you wish, just once, you could slip back in time and savour the slower pace of life and share it with the children of today and tell them that, to us, being sent to the headmaster’s office was nothing compared to the fate that awaited you at home when your parents found out that you had been there. The days when the teachers kept a cane or slipper in the cupboard and some teachers even threatened to keep children back a year if they failed the school yearly exams. . . And they did to! On your way home you thought nothing of reaching into a muddy gutter or puddle to retrieve a penny, nobody owned a purebred dog and nearly everyone's Mum was at home when the kids got back from school.

In those days summers were filled with bike rides, cricket, football, Hula Hoops, cap guns, skating and visits to the Lido or the beach; playing Hop Scotch or just playing on the Rec or on the Hill or in the Marshes. The days of eating lemonade powder, sherbet dabs, flying saucers and liquorice sticks. From that period of time how many of these do you remember? Coca Cola in bottles, Blackjacks and bubble gum, home milk delivery in glass bottles with tinfoil tops (actually, we still do have this but only three times a week now, not daily), Hi-fi's and 45’s and even 78’s. Remember spinning round and round and then getting dizzy and falling down in fits of laughter? Playing cricket with no adults to help with the rules of the game and playing 25 a side football with coats as goal posts! Do you remember when decisions were made by going 'Eeny-meeny-miney-moe'? and a 'Race issue' meant arguing about who ran the fastest?

Catching tadpoles could happily occupy an entire day and it wasn't odd to have two or three ‘Best Friends’? Taking drugs meant orange - flavoured chewable aspirin and the ultimate weapon was not the catapult but the water bomb; and talking about weapons having a weapon in School meant being caught with a slingshot or catapult not a knife or blade.

Bottles came from the corner shop without safety caps and hermetic or childproof seals because no one had yet tried to poison a perfect stranger. We were happy but maybe deep down we were in fear for our lives, but it wasn't because of drive-by shootings, drugs, gangs etc. it was our parents and grandparents were a much bigger threat! But we survived because their love was always greater than the threat.

Remember when father would go into the living room several minutes before we sat down to watch the television because the set took at least five minutes to warm up

If your family was luck enough to own a car no one ever asked where the car keys were because they were always in the car, in the ignition, and the doors were never locked. When you pulled into a filling station you got your windscreen washed and cleaned, oil checked and petrol served, without asking and all this was free every time. The AA or RAC man would salute you if you were displaying an AA or RAC badge and the Ford Zephyr or Zodiac was everyone's dream car...

These were the days when it was considered a very great privilege to be taken out to dinner at a real restaurant with your parents (actually I cannot ever remember being taken out for a restaurant meal when I was a child).

As far as relationships went people went ‘steady’ and were not just ‘an item’ and the worst thing you could catch from the opposite sex was 'chickenpox'?

Ah! All so long ago!

Thanks again Chris that made a really good article.


Stay in touch,

Yours,

Peter

DUSTYKEAT@aol.com
Pj.keat@ntlworld.co.uk

You Write:

David writes:

Jim Fox was older then us he was born in 1941 and lived in Lower
Farlington Road.

News and Views:

Convinced that her dream of a museum will not come to fruition, Debbie Reynolds began auctioning off her collection of Hollywood costumes and memorabilia on June 18th, Marilyn Monroe's white "subway grate" dress from "The Seven Year Itch" went for $5.6 million. Two other Marilyn dresses brought the total to $8 million. A blue cotton dress and ruby slippers made as tests for Judy Garland in "The Wizard Of Oz" and never actually used in the film went for almost $1.75 million. The guitar from "The Singing Nun" was auctioned for $140,000. Even a Charlie Chaplin bowler hat fetched $110,000. It was the first in a series of auctions of Debbie's extensive collection.

On this day 1st July 1960-1965.

On 01/07/1960 the number one single was Three Steps to Heaven - Eddie Cochran and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was No Hiding Place (AR) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Burnley were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.The big news story of the day was Neale Fraser wins Wimbledon men's singles. British Somaliland becomes Somalia, Fidel Castro nationalizes Esso, Shell and Texaco in Cuba, Ghana becomes a republic, U.S.S.R. shoots down U.S. RB-47 reconnaissance plane

On 01/07/1961 the number one single was Runaway - Del Shannon and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Harpers West One (ATV) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. Haleakala National Park established in Hawaii, Diana, Princess of Wales was born.

On 01/07/1962 the number one single was Come Outside - Mike Sarne with Wendy Richard 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 Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. Burundi & Rwanda gain independence from Belgium, Burundi became independent as did Rwanda.

On 01/07/1963 the number one single was I Like It - 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 Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. Beatles record "She Loves You" & "I'll Get You". The British Government admits that former diplomat Kim Philby had worked as a Soviet agent. ZIP Codes are introduced for United States mail.

On 01/07/1964 the number one single was It's Over - Roy Orbison and the number one album was Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones. The top rated TV show was Club Night (BBC) and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 01/07/1965 the number one single was I'm Alive - Hollies and the number one album was The Sound of Music Soundtrack. 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 and Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

Web Page 956

Top Picture: Cliff and The Shadows. L to R. Jet Harris, Bruce Welch, Brian Bennett, Cliff, Hank Marvin in 1961. (Tony Meehan had left in 1960)



Second Picture: Who remembers the ill fated Portsdown Park?




Jet Harris

Jet Harris who died on the 18th March aged 71 was a founder member of the Shadows and played bass on such hits as Apache, Kon-Tiki and Wonderful Land, and backed Cliff Rich¬ard on many more.

Arguably the first British pop group of the rock'n'roll era, the Shadows were responsible for several other firsts. While the lead guitarist Hank Marvin became Britain's first guitar hero, Jet Har¬ris was the first British musician to record with an electric bass guitar, in place of the traditional upright acoustic double bass as was seen in groups such as Bill Haley and the Comets, this was in 1958.

However Jet Harris left the Shadows at the height of their fame in 1962, just before the rise of the Beatles. Unfortunately his departure was triggered by depression and alcoholism. But after leaving the band he enjoyed further success with the 1963 the chart-topper Dia¬monds, recorded with another ex Shadows member, the drummer Tony Meehan. On the record he made groundbreaking use of the bass guitar as a lead instrument. But after a couple more hits with Tony Meehan, Jet’s career ground to a halt following a bad car ac¬cident and his continued drinking.

He attempted a solo comeback in the mid-1960s but when that flopped, he drifted away from music and worked in various manual jobs. He resumed re¬cording in the 1980s and enjoyed some success on the nostalgia circuit.

He was born Terence Harris just before the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 in Kingsbury, North London. His first instrument was the clarinet, which he played in school bands. But by 1956, influenced by jazz and the skiffle scene, he had made his own double bass, which he played in a jazz trio named the Delinquents. He then bought a professional double bass, and began playing with the jazz drum¬mer Tony Crombie, who in 1958 urged him to experiment with an electric bass guitar, an instrument that was unknown in Brit¬ain at the time.

He had a Framus Star bass im¬ported from West Germany and intro¬duced the instrument in the Vipers skif¬fle group before joining Cliff Richard's backing group, the Drifters, in 1959. With the Drifters, he played on the singer's early hits, including his first number one, Living Doll. The group re¬ceived no royalties, only a session fee for playing on Cliff's records, and so in 1959 the Drifters landed an EMI re¬cording contract of their own, while continuing to back Cliff.

It was now that the American vocal group the Drifters threatened to sue over the use of the name, Jet Harris suggested they be¬come the Shadows and so the Shadows they became.

Apache, (a record that Hank Marvin always said was his pension fund) was their second release under the name and it gave them their first hit in 1960, when it knocked Cliff's Please Don't Tease off the number one slot. It was followed by further hits including Man of Mys¬tery. The Stranger, FBI, The Frightened City, Kon-Tiki, which became their second number one in 1961, The Savage and Wonderful Land, which topped the charts in early 1962.

By then the Shadows had also backed Cliff on further hits includ¬ing The Young Ones, and Jet along with other group members ap¬peared in the 1961 film of the same name. But away from the happy-go-lucky character depicted on the film set Jet Harris was a troubled figure. Unhappy in his marriage, he was drink¬ing heavily, and after a series of disa¬greements with the rest of the group, he parted company with the Shad¬ows in April 1962.

He recorded two singles, Besame Mu-cho and The Man With the Golden Arm, both of which reached the charts in 1962, before forming a duo with the drummer Tony Meehan, who had left the Shadows shortly before Jet had. The duo's first single, Diamonds, which also featured the then unknown Jimmy Page as a ses¬sion guitarist, replaced the Shadows' Dance On at number one in the charts in January 1963.

Before the year was out, the Harris and Meehan Duo had two further hits, Scarlett O'Hara and Applejack. But serious inju¬ries suffered in a car crash in 1964 ground Jet’s career to a halt. He returned to make a handful of un¬successful singles in 1966-67 and was considered for the bass role in Jeff Beck's group. But his heavy drinking wrecked any chance of a serious come¬back. Over the next decade he was vari¬ously reported to be working as a la¬bourer, a bricklayer and a bus conduc¬tor.

He eventually returned to making music, performing with a backing band called the Diamonds and with the Shadows tribute band the Rapiers. He also teamed up from time to time with former members of the Shadows at vari¬ous events and reunions, although he was hurt not to be invited to join the Shadows for their 50th anniversary, at the Royal Variety Performance in 2008.

He was appointed MBE in the 2010 New Year Honours and spent his last years living in a cottage in Bembridge on the Isle of Wight but died at the home of his partner Janet Hemingway, in Win¬chester. What a sad nd to a troubled life!


Stay in touch,

Yours,

Peter

DUSTYKEAT@aol.com
Pj.keat@ntlworld.co.uk

You Write:

Griff Writes:

School Careers.

I'm with you Peter!

They were virtually non existant weren't they. I remember the trips out for the Boy's to look at what was on offer and how dismal the prospects were and as far as I remember the boys I looked around employment places with were Keith Conlon, Barry Dunnaway and Bob Webster.
Depressing work places we visited as a group to say the least and the one that will always stick in my mind was the trip to Portsmouth Corporation Bus Servicing /Overhaul Centre at Eastney. I actually walked out the front door after 5 minutes for a ciggie because the place just overwhelmed me with an instant depression and it was at this point I think I had made my decision to do something a bit more exciting with my life and to do this I needed to join the RAF or the Navy. I had been accepted as an Apprentice at De-Havillands located next to Portsmouth Airfield but with my Dad dying from the Big C the previous year ( he was a Manager for DH.... nothing like a bit of nepotism eh! ) and with the DH factory moving to Hatfield that was now out of the question.
To be fair I had always been interested in aircraft from a young age so career wise it turned out to be a good choice and I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed my 25 years service of flying and excitement with just the odd exception which is normal in any job over a period of time.
It's true Norman Folland did encourage ALL his boys to join the RAF as he was ex-RAF (so was Bert Ray & Ray Dobson ) and I remember Norman saying to me in a very short 1 minute career advice room interview " Wise choice Melvyn! ".......and that was that.
Manor Court and Court Lane provided the Armed Forces and in particular the RAF with a lot of new entrants.
5G Miss Blit's class provided 3 of them alone Myself, Alan Clarkson & Martyn Smith. If your reading this Melvyn Bridger I always thought at the time you, as a top ATC Cadet would have tagged along with us all into the great unknown.

Cheers Everyone ....Melvyn ( Griff )Griffiths.



Paul Writes:-

I think the Furniture Factory for the Careers visit was White & Newton at Milton.

News and Views:

A case of bacterial pneumonia has forced Jerry Lee Lewis to postpone his show in Chicago

On this day 15th July 1960-1965.

On

15/07/1960

the number one single was Good Timin' - Jimmy Jones and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Rawhide (ITV) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth 13.68 and Burnley were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was Italian cyclist wins Tour De France.

On

15/07/1961

the number one single was Runaway - Del Shannon and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Harpers West One (ATV) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth 13.25 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On

15/07/1962

the number one single was I Can't Stop Loving You - Ray Charles 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 Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On

15/07/1963

the number one single was I Like It - 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 Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On

15/07/1964

the number one single was It's All Over Now - Rolling Stones and the number one album was Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones. The top rated TV show was Labour Party Political Broadcast (all channels) and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth 12.24 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was Donald Campbell breaks land speed record.

On

15/07/1965

the number one single was Crying in the Chapel - Elvis Presley and the number one album was The Sound of Music Soundtrack. 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 and Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

Web Page 954

Top Picture: London Road, North End, looking north in the 1960’s. Note the Odeon on the right.



Second Picture: Southsea Common postcard 1963.

The Rest of Your Life

I don’t know about you, but the only thing that I felt really let down about at Manor Court was in the field of Careers Advise. As far as I can remember I actually had none at all. In the back of my mind is the fact that Norman Folland was the Schools Careers Advisor for the boys and Joyce Pipe was the Advisor for the girls. Personally, I cannot ever remember having a careers interview with Norman Folland and those few lads that did, I seem to remember that he invariably recommended that most of them took the RAF Entry Exam. If it comes to that I don’t even remember having assemblies when prospective employers came along and spoke to us about their firms and the prospects within them. Maybe it is an uncharted blank in my memory and it actually did happen, but I do not remember it ever happening. Looking at the girls in the school, maybe it was that Joyce Pipe made a bigger impact on you girls if so come on and let me know!

Preparation for the world work was something that was almost ignored, although there was encouragement for some of us to go to college. To encourage us boys to think about work there were the odd outings to various employers during our 4th year but very little else.

I remember a group of us lads being bussed down to Stanhope Road to look at the printing process of the Portsmouth Evening News. We were taken to see the giant rolls of paper and the enormous printing presses. These were the days of the Comptometer operators who used the "touch typing" system, in the same way that typewriters and computer keyboards are used. After having typed the article it was set up using the hot lead method of casting type and the paper was set to rolling. I remember that it was a noisy, dirty and very unattractive workplace and I think I am right in saying that none of us were impressed and none of us went into the printing business. What really stuck in my mind was that as the company was printing so many news papers that day and on six days they did not even give us one to share on the bus going home.

Another visit was to a hand made furniture factory, again somewhere in Portsmouth. I have an even vaguer memory of this probably because my woodworking skills were terrible. I cannot remember the name of the company or where the factory was, I just remember the sweet smell of newly worked wood.

One group of lads went off to inspect the Dockyard Apprentice School at Flathouse Quay but I was not among their number.

I also remember a school visit to Hilsea Gas Works but I cannot remember if it was a science visit to see how Town Gas was made or a careers visit to see if we fancied working there, all I know is that it stank of sulphur, was filthy dirty and very unpleasant and we did not get to ride on the steam trains that worked there and that we had to clean the coke off of the soles of our shoes before we got back on the bus.

I understand that some of you girls had the delight of being taken to view the wonders of the Twilfit factory. Actually my late step mother in law was, for a time, a senior seamstress in the Twilfit factory and specialised in making corsets (something that our schoolgirls didn’t need I am sure, no samples there either!), later she transferred to that other well known corset maker in Portsmouth, Vollers. Of course today corset making has a completely different profile, they are no longer flesh pink foundation garments (only within the narrow surgical field) they are now very much fashion statements thanks to the pop stars like Madonna etc.

Work to us was important, especially if you were not going on to College but the help in attaining a job seemed very limited.

However the whole world of work was vastly different then. If you had a job and had an argument or disagreement with the boss and resigned or left on the Friday, you knew that with a look in the Portsmouth Evening News that night or a quick trip to the Labour Exchange on Monday morning you would be back in work again within a day or two. How things have changed!



Stay in touch,

Yours,

Peter

DUSTYKEAT@aol.com
Pj.keat@ntlworld.co.uk



You Write:
Barry asks;

Whatever happened to 'bang' the fourth rice crispy brother?


News and Views:

Ottilie Patterson 1932-2011.She was once one of the UK's best-known blues singers but when she was laid to rest in Co Down, it was in complete obscurity. Ottile was buried in her native Comber after dying on June 20th in Ayr. She shot to stardom in the 1950s as a vocalist with the Chris Barber Jazz Band, marrying him in 1959. As early as 1963 she began to suffer throat problems and stopped appearing regularly with Chris Barber and retired in 1973. She became dogged by ill health and suffered the breakdown of her marriage. She had been living almost as a recluse in the Rozelle Holm Farm Care Home in Ayr for the past 30 years. Her death has gone unreported in the media as it seems to have been her own wish that there would be no fuss and she was given a private burial in the family grave. Chris Barber, now 81, is currently on a UK tour with The Big Chris Barber Band.

On this day 8th July 1960-1965.

On 08/07/1960 the number one single was Good Timin' - Jimmy Jones and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Rawhide (ITV) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Burnley were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 08/07/1961 the number one single was Runaway - Del Shannon and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Harpers West One (ATV) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was Mario Dubois born.

On 08/07/1962 the number one single was Come Outside - Mike Sarne with Wendy Richard 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 Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was 94 die in Bombay air crash.

On 08/07/1963 the number one single was I Like It - 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 Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 08/07/1964 the number one single was A Hard Day's Night - Beatles 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 08/07/1965 the number one single was I'm Alive - Hollies and the number one album was The Sound of Music Soundtrack. 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 and Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

Web Page 952

Top Picture: Stars of the 50’s and 60’s, how many do you remember?




Second Picture: Street Hop Scotch


REMEMBER WHEN:

I am very much indebted to Chris for sending me a ‘Remember When’ article which has served as a basis for today’s page. So thanks Chris!

Now, remember when some girl’s schools in the City still insisted on their pupils wearing those ugly gym slips, however that was not all, some of the girls also had to wear big hats or hard straw boaters or, in Pam’s case at the Southern Grammar, a Deportment Sash if they carried themselves well!!! I think that we lads got off lightly only having to put up with collars and ties and school caps. Talking about collars and ties I expect we can all remember when all male teachers wore collars and ties and female teachers had their hair done every day and wore high heels, especially Jill Cogan!!!!!

With all our progress over the years, don't you wish, just once, you could slip back in time and savour the slower pace of life and share it with the children of today and tell them that, to us, being sent to the headmaster’s office was nothing compared to the fate that awaited you at home when your parents found out that you had been there. The days when the teachers kept a cane or slipper in the cupboard and some teachers even threatened to keep children back a year if they failed the school yearly exams. . . And they did to! On your way home you thought nothing of reaching into a muddy gutter or puddle to retrieve a penny, nobody owned a purebred dog and nearly everyone's Mum was at home when the kids got back from school.

In those days summers were filled with bike rides, cricket, football, Hula Hoops, cap guns, skating and visits to the Lido or the beach; playing Hop Scotch or just playing on the Rec or on the Hill or in the Marshes. The days of eating lemonade powder, sherbet dabs, flying saucers and liquorice sticks. From that period of time how many of these do you remember? Coca Cola in bottles, Blackjacks and bubble gum, home milk delivery in glass bottles with tinfoil tops (actually, we still do have this but only three times a week now, not daily), Hi-fi's and 45’s and even 78’s. Remember spinning round and round and then getting dizzy and falling down in fits of laughter? Playing cricket with no adults to help with the rules of the game and playing 25 a side football with coats as goal posts! Do you remember when decisions were made by going 'Eeny-meeny-miney-moe'? and a 'Race issue' meant arguing about who ran the fastest?

Catching tadpoles could happily occupy an entire day and it wasn't odd to have two or three ‘Best Friends’? Taking drugs meant orange - flavoured chewable aspirin and the ultimate weapon was not the catapult but the water bomb; and talking about weapons having a weapon in School meant being caught with a slingshot or catapult not a knife or blade.

Bottles came from the corner shop without safety caps and hermetic or childproof seals because no one had yet tried to poison a perfect stranger. We were happy but maybe deep down we were in fear for our lives, but it wasn't because of drive-by shootings, drugs, gangs etc. it was our parents and grandparents were a much bigger threat! But we survived because their love was always greater than the threat.

Remember when father would go into the living room several minutes before we sat down to watch the television because the set took at least five minutes to warm up

If your family was luck enough to own a car no one ever asked where the car keys were because they were always in the car, in the ignition, and the doors were never locked. When you pulled into a filling station you got your windscreen washed and cleaned, oil checked and petrol served, without asking and all this was free every time. The AA or RAC man would salute you if you were displaying an AA or RAC badge and the Ford Zephyr or Zodiac was everyone's dream car...

These were the days when it was considered a very great privilege to be taken out to dinner at a real restaurant with your parents (actually I cannot ever remember being taken out for a restaurant meal when I was a child).

As far as relationships went people went ‘steady’ and were not just ‘an item’ and the worst thing you could catch from the opposite sex was 'chickenpox'?

Ah! All so long ago!

Thanks again Chris that made a really good article.


Stay in touch,

Yours,

Peter

DUSTYKEAT@aol.com
Pj.keat@ntlworld.co.uk

You Write:

David writes:

Jim Fox was older then us he was born in 1941 and lived in Lower
Farlington Road.

News and Views:

Convinced that her dream of a museum will not come to fruition, Debbie Reynolds began auctioning off her collection of Hollywood costumes and memorabilia on June 18th, Marilyn Monroe's white "subway grate" dress from "The Seven Year Itch" went for $5.6 million. Two other Marilyn dresses brought the total to $8 million. A blue cotton dress and ruby slippers made as tests for Judy Garland in "The Wizard Of Oz" and never actually used in the film went for almost $1.75 million. The guitar from "The Singing Nun" was auctioned for $140,000. Even a Charlie Chaplin bowler hat fetched $110,000. It was the first in a series of auctions of Debbie's extensive collection.

On this day 1st July 1960-1965.

On 01/07/1960

the number one single was Three Steps to Heaven - Eddie Cochran and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was No Hiding Place (AR) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Burnley were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.The big news story of the day was Neale Fraser wins Wimbledon men's singles. British Somaliland becomes Somalia, Fidel Castro nationalizes Esso, Shell and Texaco in Cuba, Ghana becomes a republic, U.S.S.R. shoots down U.S. RB-47 reconnaissance plane

On 01/07/1961

the number one single was Runaway - Del Shannon and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Harpers West One (ATV) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. Haleakala National Park established in Hawaii, Diana, Princess of Wales was born.

On 01/07/1962

the number one single was Come Outside - Mike Sarne with Wendy Richard 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 Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. Burundi & Rwanda gain independence from Belgium, Burundi became independent as did Rwanda.

On 01/07/1963

the number one single was I Like It - 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 Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. Beatles record "She Loves You" & "I'll Get You". The British Government admits that former diplomat Kim Philby had worked as a Soviet agent. ZIP Codes are introduced for United States mail.

On 01/07/1964

the number one single was It's Over - Roy Orbison and the number one album was Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones. The top rated TV show was Club Night (BBC) and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 01/07/1965

the number one single was I'm Alive - Hollies and the number one album was The Sound of Music Soundtrack. 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 and Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

Web Page 950

Top Picture: The Supremes
Second Picture: The Original line up of The Who

Rock ‘n Roll in America

Rock 'n' roll was an American invention but it is still constantly progressing, adapting and experimenting allowing it to remain relevant to each succeeding generation, but it maintains the same urgency and perspective it had when it was founded more than a half-century ago.

So let us look at the first half of the 1960’s and note the high spots of the music in the USA at that time.


1960

Eddie Cochran dies at 21 in a car crash while on tour in England with Gene Vincent.
The twist was launched and it has adults taking part as well as kids and it becomes the most widespread dance craze since the Charleston ruled the 20's.

The Shirelles launch the girl group era with "Will You Love Me Tomorrow".
Motown Records makes its first splash with "Shop Around" a No 1 R&B hit by The Miracles.

Roy Orbison has his first major hit with "Only The Lonely".

The Ventures hit instrumental "Walk - Don't Run" brings the electric guitar back into prominence.

Elvis Presley is discharged from the Army and immediately scores a series of hit singles and albums upon his return with a slightly less menacing, more mature persona.

1961

Del Shannon's "Runaway" was the first unadorned and up-tempo rocker to hit No 1 on the Pop Charts in almost a year. The song also introduces the "musitron", an early form of the synthesizer.

The Marvelettes "Please Mr. Postman" becomes the first No 1 Pop hit released on a black owned and operated label - Motown.

A widespread revival of the mid-50's vocal group sound results in the re-appearance in the charts and airwaves of dozens of songs from 1954.

Gary "US" Bonds has a hit with "Quarter To Three" with its emphasis on a frenzied atmosphere rather than on intricate production.

Soul music starts gaining a foothold with hits by Sam Cooke, James Brown, Solomon Burke and former Drifters lead signer Ben E. King, who's "Stand By Me" is a No 1 R&B record.

Elvis Presley gives his last live performance for eight years.

1962

Motown continues to expand its power-base scoring No 1 R&B hits by both Mary Wells and the Contours and while attracting musical talent from all over Detroit that will soon result in the label becoming the biggest in the country.

Southern soul has its first major hit with the instrumental "Green Onions" by Booker T. & The MG's.

Ray Charles successfully melds country music with soul and crosses into the pop realm with the album "Modern Sounds In Country & Western Music".

The surf music craze, begun by instrumentalists in the previous few years, adds vocals when the Beach Boys score their first hit "Surfin' Safari".

Surf-rock guitarist Dick Dale debuts the new Fender Reverb amplifier.

The Four Seasons vocal harmonies explodes on the scene with three consecutive No 1 hits in the waning months of the year.

50's legends Fats Domino, Clyde McPhatter, The Everly Brothers, LaVern Baker and Bo Diddley score their final major hits after a decade in the spotlight.

1963

Surfing music lands dozens of guitar led instrumentals on the charts while the Beach Boys dominate the airwaves with a string of hit singles and three Top Ten albums in this year alone and are joined on the scene by Jan & Dean who notch the only surfing No1 hit with "Surf City".

The Girl Group sound explodes as Phil Spector becomes the dominant producer in rock churning out hits by the Ronettes, Crystals and Darlene Love, while others such as Lesley Gore and The Chiffons top the charts as well.

Motown leads a revitalization of R&B with huge successes by Martha & The Vandellas, The Miracles, Mary Wells, Marvin Gaye and the first hit by the 12 year genius "Little" Stevie Wonder.

James Brown's album "Live At The Apollo" becomes the first LP by a pure R&B artist to hit the Top Five on the album charts.

Early records by the Beatles fail to make an impact in America when they are released by various companies who note the limited interest and decline to pick up their distribution option.

1964

Rock 'n' roll has its first major shakeup in nearly a decade when in late January "I Want To Hold Your Hand" by The Beatles tops the US Pop charts.

In February The Beatles appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show receives record ratings as Beatlemania explodes worldwide.

Four of the six No 1 records between February and June are by the Beatles, a feat surpassed only by Elvis Presley in 1956.

English bands now flood American shores with the Merseybeat sound taking over the airwaves in June that year, resulting in the term "The British Invasion". By summer however American acts regained their footing with the two resident hit-makers The Beach Boys and The Four Seasons topping the charts in July.
The Beatles first film, "A Hard Day's Night" opens to rave reviews.

The next wave of the British Invasion featuring groups which were based in blues and R&B such as the Rolling Stones, Kinks and Animals follows by mid-summer.

The second musical explosion of the year happens when Motown strikes back with its biggest hits to date by the Temptations, Four Tops and its newest group The Supremes who score three No 1's in the final five months of the year.

Feminist stances are taken in Dionne Warwick's "Don't Make Me Over" and Lesley Gore's "You Don't Own Me", marking the first time in mainstream rock that hit records included these emerging viewpoints.

Sam Cooke, soul music's biggest star, is shot and killed by a woman at a hotel on December 10th. It is rock music's most publicized casualty since Buddy Holly's death in early 1959.

1965

Folk-rock is ushered in by The Byrds doing a cover of "Mr. Tambourine Man" which help introduce its author Bob Dylan to a wider audience.
Bob Dylan "plugs in" at the Newport Folk Festival marking the shift from acoustic folkie to rock 'n' roller.

Protest-rock follows focusing on such topics as the escalating war in Vietnam with "Eve Of Destruction" by Barry McGuire, to the civil rights battles in America by "People Get Ready" by the Impressions, to anti-authority songs such as the Rolling Stones No 1 hit "Satisfaction".

Martha & The Vandellas "Dancing In Streets" is used as a rallying cry when racial riots start during the summer.

Blues-rock hits its high point with The Yardbirds, The Who and The Pretty Things turning out acclaimed records in this aggressive style.
Southern soul scores its first major breakthroughs with Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding and Solomon Burke notching huge hits that cut across racial boundaries.
James Brown makes a startling and abrupt shift from pure soul to a rhythm-based new invention of his own making called "funk" with the hits "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag" and "I Got You".

The Beatles and Elvis Presley meet for the only time at Presley's Los Angeles home. While there John Lennon asks his idol why he doesn't record rock 'n' roll anymore.
Alan Freed, who coined the term "rock 'n' roll" and introduced it to white America a decade earlier, dies broke and forgotten at age 44 of alcoholism.

Stay in touch,

Yours,

Peter

DUSTYKEAT@aol.com
Pj.keat@ntlworld.co.uk

You Write:
Griff Writes:-

I was with Barry Dunnaway when the "Homemade Bomb" was planted by us in the sewerage works behind Kinross Crescent area. The other person I remember being in attendance and hiding behind the large earth mound as the fuse was lit was Robert ( Bob) Webster,
The "bomb" fuse was model aircraft Jetex fuse wire which was slow 'ish burning and the bomb ingredients were the usual cocktail of sugar and weed killer etc. , The resultant explosion was enormous and all I can remember of the event was running away as fast as my legs would carry me as all the adjoining neighbours came out to see what the loud explosion was all about. The hole left was enormous! That was my last interest in making homemade bombs.



News and Views:
He's not leaving the Rolling Stones, but Mick Jagger is recording with a "supergroup" (called Super Heavy) composed of Joss Stone, Damian Marley, Dave Stewart and movie music composer A.R. Rahman. An album is expected in September.



On this day 24th June 1960-1965.

On 26/06/1960

the number one single was Three Steps to Heaven - Eddie Cochran and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was No Hiding Place (AR) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Burnley were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 26/06/1961

the number one single was Surrender - Elvis Presley and the number one album was GI Blues - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was Harpers West One (ATV) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 26/06/1962

the number one single was Good Luck Charm - Elvis Presley 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 Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 26/06/1963

the number one single was I Like It - 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 Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was Kennedy declares Ich bin ein Berliner

On 26/06/1964

the number one single was It's Over - Roy Orbison and the number one album was Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones. 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 Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 26/06/1965

the number one single was I'm Alive - Hollies and the number one album was The Sound of Music Soundtrack. 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 and Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.