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Seaside Special
''Seaside Special'' is a European light entertainment show broadcast from 1975. It was an outside broadcast filmed at a big top around numerous British seaside resorts. Originally the big top belonged to various circuses (mainly Gerry Cottle's Circus), but in later seasons, the BBC bought its own to be the venue. The programme was developed by producer Michael Hurll. The series was developed after a short-lived, 6 part 'trial' aired on BBC2 in 1973, under the title ''Show of the Week: The Young Generation Big Top'', starring the dance troupe The Young Generation and hosted by various personalities. The series was broadcast from various Pontin's Holiday Camps around the UK under the Gerry Cottle Big Top. The first show, airing on 6 August 1973, was hosted by Clodagh Rodgers. While this show was originally made in the United Kingdom, it was also co-produced in France, Switzerland and Belgium. The format was revived by the BBC as ''Summertime Special'' with all eight episodes broad ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mike Batt
Michael Philip Batt, LVO (born 6 February 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, record producer, director and conductor. He was formerly the Deputy Chairman of the British Phonographic Industry. Having achieved substantial international success as a solo artist, he is particularly known in the UK for creating The Wombles pop act, writing many hits including the chart-topping " Bright Eyes", and discovering Katie Melua. He has also conducted many of the world's great orchestras, including the London Symphony, Royal Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, Sydney Symphony and Stuttgart Philharmonic in both classical and pop recordings and performances. Early life and career Michael Philip Batt was born on 6 February 1949, in Southampton, England. He attended Peter Symonds School, Winchester. His blog refers to his role as cadet Company Sergeant Major at the school. Batt began his career in pop music at the age of eighteen when he answered an advertisement plac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mike Smith (broadcaster)
Michael George Smith (23 April 1955 – 1 August 2014), also known by the on-air nickname of Smitty, was an English television and radio presenter, racing driver, pilot and businessman. He died on 1 August 2014 from complications of heart failure following major heart surgery. During the 1980s, he co-hosted BBC TV's '' Breakfast Time'' and was among rotating presenters of the music show ''Top of the Pops'', broadcast on BBC One. Radio career Smith began his broadcasting career at Chelmsford Hospital Radio, before joining BBC Radio 1 in 1975 as a freelance producer and presenter. His work included promotions and production work for the ''Radio 1 Roadshow'', ''Quiz Kid'' and most daytime network shows. As a standby DJ, Smith occasionally broadcast when live outside broadcasts failed. He joined London's Capital Radio in June 1978 and presented a variety of shows until July 1980, when he became the breakfast show presenter. He moved back to BBC Radio 1 in 1982, presenting the weekday ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Goodies
The Goodies were a trio of British comedians: Tim Brooke-Taylor (17 July 1940–12 April 2020), Graeme Garden (b. 18 February 1943) and Bill Oddie (b. 7 July 1941). The trio created, wrote for and performed in their eponymous television comedy show from 1970 until 1982, combining sketches and situation comedy. Beginnings The three actors met each other while undergraduates at the University of Cambridge, where Brooke-Taylor ( Pembroke) was a law student, Garden (Emmanuel) was studying medicine and Oddie (Pembroke) was doing English. Their contemporaries included Graham Chapman, John Cleese and Eric Idle, who later became members of Monty Python, and with whom they became close friends. Brooke-Taylor and Cleese studied together and swapped lecture notes, for they were both law students, but at different colleges within the university.''From Fringe to Flying Circus'' – 'Celebrating a Unique Generation of Comedy 1960–1980' – Roger Wilmut, Eyre Methuen Ltd, 1980. All three ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ronnie Corbett
Ronald Balfour Corbett (4 December 1930 – 31 March 2016) was a Scottish actor, broadcaster, comedian and writer. He had a long association with Ronnie Barker in the BBC television comedy sketch show ''The Two Ronnies''. He achieved prominence in David Frost's 1960s satirical comedy programme ''The Frost Report'' (with Barker) and subsequently starred in sitcoms such as ''No – That's Me Over Here!'', ''Now Look Here'', and '' Sorry!.'' Corbett began his acting career after moving from Edinburgh to London; he had early roles in the TV series ''Crackerjack'' and ''The Saint'', and appeared in the films ''You're Only Young Twice'', ''Rockets Galore!'', ''Casino Royale'', ''Some Will, Some Won't'', and ''No Sex Please, We're British''. He first worked with Ronnie Barker in the BBC TV series ''The Frost Report'' in 1966, and the two of them were given their own show by the BBC five years later. ''The Two Ronnies'' ran as a comedy sketch show from 1971 to 1987, and became ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Val Doonican
Michael Valentine Doonican (3 February 1927 – 1 July 2015) was an Irish singer of traditional pop, easy listening, and novelty songs, who was noted for his warm and relaxed style. A crooner, he found popular success, especially in the United Kingdom where he had five successive Top 10 albums in the 1960s as well as several hits on the UK Singles Chart, including " Walk Tall", "Elusive Butterfly" and "If the Whole World Stopped Lovin.'" ''The Val Doonican Show'', which featured his singing and a variety of guests, had a long and successful run on BBC Television from 1965 to 1986. Doonican won the Variety Club of Great Britain's BBC-TV Personality of the Year award three times. Early life and career Doonican was born on 3 February 1927 in Waterford, Ireland, the youngest of the eight children of Agnes (née Kavanagh) and John Doonican. He was from a musical family and played in his school band from the age of six. When his father died in 1941, the teenage Doonican had ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peters And Lee
Peters and Lee were a successful British folk and pop duo of the 1970s and 1980s, comprising Lennie Peters (22 November 1931 – 10 October 1992, Enfield, Middlesex) and Dianne Lee (born February 1949). Background Lennie Peters (AKA Gary Hall; born Leonard George Sargent, 22 November 1931, Islington, North London), an uncle of Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts, was blinded in one eye during a car accident when he was five years old. A thrown brick blinded his other eye when he was sixteen. Before Peters and Lee, he was a pianist playing the London pub scene. He recorded two singles on the Oriole label, "Let the Tears Begin" and "And My Heart Cried" in 1963 and 1964 respectively. In 1966 he recorded "Stranger in Paradise" for Pye Records and then "Here We Go Again" on the Gemini label in 1970. The latter he would revisit as Peters and Lee in 1976. He teamed up with actress and dancer Dianne Lee (born Dianne Littlehales, February 1949, Sheffield, West Riding of Yorkshire, Eng ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sacha Distel
Alexandre "Sacha" Distel (29 January 1933 – 22 July 2004) was a French singer, guitarist, songwriter and actor who had hits with a cover version of "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" in 1970, which reached No 10 in the UK Charts, "Scoubidou", and " The Good Life". He was made Chevalier (Knight) of the Légion d'honneur in 1997. He had also scored a hit as a songwriter when Tony Bennett recorded Sacha's song for The Good Life in 1963. It peaked at #18 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart and Top 10 on the Easy Listening chart. Career Distel was the son of Russian-French emigre Léonide Distel who was born in Odessa (Russian Empire) and French-Jewish pianist Andrée Ventura (1902–1965), born in Constantinople. His uncle was bandleader Ray Ventura. After Ventura settled in Paris with his orchestra Les Collégiens, Distel gave up piano and switched to guitar. During his career, Distel worked with Kenny Clarke, Jimmy Gourley, Lionel Hampton, Slide Hampton, Bobby Jaspar, Barney Kessel, J ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Wurzels
The Wurzels are an English Scrumpy and Western band from Somerset, England, best known for their number one hit " The Combine Harvester" and number three hit "I Am a Cider Drinker" in 1976. They are known for using British West Country phrases "ooh arr!" and calling young people "young 'uns" in songs such as "I Am a Cider Drinker" and "The Combine Harvester". Name The name of the band was dreamt up by founder Adge Cutler. It is short for mangelwurzel, a crop grown to feed livestock. The Wurzels' particular "genre" of music was named Scrumpy and Western after the group's first EP of the same name, issued early in 1967. Scrumpy is a name given to traditionally-made rough cider in southwest England. History Adge Cutler and The Wurzels The Wurzels were formed in 1966 as a backing group for, and by, singer/songwriter Adge Cutler. The first recordings were made live in the 'Royal Oak Inn', Nailsea, Somerset in December 1966. With a thick Somerset accent, Cutler played on his Wes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Showaddywaddy
Showaddywaddy are a rock and roll group from Leicester, England. They specialise in revivals of hit songs from the 1950s and early 1960s, while also issuing original material. Showaddywaddy spent 209 weeks on the UK Singles Chart, and had 10 Top Ten singles, with one reaching number one. Formation The band was formed in 1973 by the amalgamation of two groups, Choise and the Golden Hammers, the latter often known simply as The Hammers. They both played at the Fosse Way pub in Leicester and soon discovered shared musical tastes. After playing together in jamming sessions, they joined together permanently and Showaddywaddy was born. This led to an eight-member band, with the unusual feature of having two vocalists, two drummers, two guitarists, and two bassists. The band's first professional gig was at the Dreamland Ballroom in Margate, Kent on 1 September 1973. Hits Showaddywaddy won one programme on the ATV series ''New Faces'', in November 1973, and were runners-up in the "All ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bernie Clifton
Bernie Clifton (born Bernard M. Quinn, 30 April 1936) is a British comedian and entertainer, known for his work with his orange ostrich puppet costume Oswald the Ostrich. Early life Clifton was born on 30 April 1936 in St Helens, Lancashire, where he also grew up. He left grammar school without any qualifications at 15 and became an apprentice plumber. At the age of 21, he was called up for national service and became a radar mechanic at the Bomber Command Bombing School (BCBS) at RAF Lindholme. He has been based in South Yorkshire ever since. Career Clifton's first performing job was as a singer with a dance band, but he was fired after a month. His first television performance was on the light-entertainment show '' The Good Old Days'', where he was inspired by Les Dawson. He performed in the 1979 Royal Variety Performance. He subsequently appeared on several further occasions, including the 2016 show. He made regular appearances on '' Crackerjack!''. During the 1980s, he app ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lena Zavaroni
Lena Hilda Zavaroni (4 November 1963 – 1 October 1999) was a Scottish singer and a television show host. At ten years of age, with her album ''Ma! (He's Making Eyes at Me)'', she was the youngest person in history to have an album in the top ten of the UK Albums Chart. Later she starred in her own television series, made numerous TV guest star appearances, and appeared on stage. From the age of thirteen, Zavaroni suffered anorexia nervosa and also developed clinical depression when she was fifteen. Following an operation to cure her depression, Zavaroni died at the age of thirty-five from pneumonia on 1 October 1999. Life and career Early life Zavaroni was born in Greenock, Renfrewshire and grew up in the small town of Rothesay on the Isle of Bute. Her parents owned a fish and chip shop. Her father Victor (b. 1939) played the guitar and her mother, Hilda (née Jordan) (c. 1940 – 1989) sang. Zavaroni began singing at age two. Her grandfather Alfredo had emigrated from Ita ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Keith Harris (ventriloquist)
Keith Shenton Harris (21 September 1947 – 28 April 2015) was an English ventriloquist, best known for his television show ''The Keith Harris Show'' (1982–86), audio recordings, and club appearances with his puppets Orville the Duck and Cuddles the Monkey. He had a UK Top 10 hit single in 1982 with "Orville's Song" which reached number 4 in the charts. The son of variety performers, Harris assisted in his father's ventriloquy acts as a child; as a teenager, he created his own ventriloquism characters which he performed at holiday resorts in the summer season, attracting the attention of television producers. He debuted on screen in 1965 and became a popular act guest starring on various shows; he had his first solo series ''Cuddles and Company'' in the 1970s, but got his big break in 1982 with ''The Keith Harris Show''. He, Orville and Cuddles became popular performers on primetime television until ''The Quack Chat Show'' was cancelled in 1990, as audiences and television pro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
