''Get It Together'' is a British children's television series, produced by
Granada Television for the UK
ITV network between 6 April 1977 and 22 December 1981. The series followed an almost identical format to the earlier ''
Lift Off with Ayshea
''Lift Off with Ayshea'' is a British TV show, produced by Granada Television for the ITV network, and starring Ayshea Brough, which ran for 122 editions spanning eight series, between November 1969 and December 1974.
Preceded by the show ' ...
'', also created by series producer
Muriel Young
Muriel Young (19 June 1923 – 24 March 2001) was an English television continuity announcer, presenter and producer.
Early life
Young was born in 1923 in Bishop Middleham near Sedgefield, County Durham. As a child, she lived with her family ...
.
The series was presented by former 'straight man' to
Basil Brush
Basil Brush is a fictional red fox, best known for his appearances on daytime British children's television. He is primarily portrayed by a glove puppet, but has also been depicted in animated cartoon shorts and comic strips. The character has ...
,
Roy North, initially with Linda Fletcher and then later with Megg Nicol who had made her debut presenting with
David Jensen
David Allan "Kid" Jensen (born 4 July 1950) is a Canadian-born British radio DJ and television presenter. Born in Victoria, British Columbia, Jensen began as a radio DJ on Radio Luxembourg. Jensen was later a broadcaster for the BBC from 1976 ...
in Yorkshire TV's Pop Quest. Whereas ''Lift Off'' had been originally designed to showcase viewer's pop music requests by guest artists, ''Get It Together'' relied more on the presenters and resident band and singers.
Mike Moran was the show's musical director, leading the studio band on camera, with singers including Victy Silva and
Kim Goody.
According to the BFI database, the first show was televised on 6 April 1977 and the last on 22 December 1981. It is possible that the first transmission was in fact earlier. One of the first guests on the series were that year's British representatives in the
Eurovision Song Contest Lynsey de Paul &
Mike Moran, but that episode is not listed in the BFI credits.
According to BFI, Series 1 ran from 6 April – 6 July 1977, consisting of 12 episodes. The show then returned later that year for a Christmas special on 27 December, entitled ''Get It Together with The Bay City Rollers''.
Series 2 ran from 10 January – 21 March 1978, featuring 11 shows.
Series 3 ran from 19 September – 19 December 1978, followed by a Christmas Special on 26 December, for a total of 15 shows.
Series 4 ran from 10 April – 15 May 1979, for just 6 episodes.
Series 5 ran from 27 November 1979 – 6 March 1980, including the ''Get It Together Christmas Bonanza'' on 26 December 1979, for a run of 13 shows.
Series 6 ran from 23 September – 23 December 1980, featuring 14 shows.
The final series 7, ran from 1 September – 22 December 1981, featuring 14 shows, with Megg Nicol replacing Linda Fletcher as co-presenter to North.
Guests that featured throughout the series run included: the
Bay City Rollers,
Squeeze,
U2,
Sally Oldfield
Sally Patricia Oldfield (born 3 August 1947) is an Irish singer-songwriter. She is the sister of composers Mike and Terry Oldfield.
Early life
Born in Dublin, Ireland, Oldfield was raised in the Roman Catholic faith of her mother, Maureen. Sp ...
,
Chas & Dave
Chas & Dave (often billed as Chas 'n' Dave) were a British pop rock duo, formed in London by Chas Hodges and Dave Peacock. Hodges died in 2018.
They were most notable as creators and performers of a musical style labelled ''rockney'' (a port ...
,
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 ...
,
Berni Flint,
The Glitter Band
The Glitter Band are a glam rock band from England, who initially worked as Gary Glitter's backing band under that name from 1973, when they then began releasing records of their own. They were unofficially known as the Glittermen on the first f ...
,
Billy Ocean
Leslie Sebastian Charles, (born 21 January 1950), better known by his stage name Billy Ocean, is a British recording artist who had a string of R&B international pop hits in the 1970s and 1980s. He was the most popular British R&B singer-son ...
,
Shakin' Stevens
Michael Barratt (born 4 March 1948), known professionally as Shakin' Stevens, is a Welsh singer and songwriter. He was the UK's biggest-selling singles artist of the 1980s.
His recording and performing career began in the late 1960s, althoug ...
,
T.Rex,
Sad Café
Sad Café are an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1976, who achieved their peak of popularity in the late 1970s and early 1980s. They are best known for the UK top 40 singles "Every Day Hurts", "Strange Little Girl", " My Oh My" and "I ...
,
Mink DeVille
Mink DeVille was a rock band founded in 1974, known for its association with early punk rock bands at New York's CBGB nightclub and for being a showcase for the music of Willy DeVille. The band recorded six albums in the years 1977 to 1985, afte ...
,
Steve Gibbons Band,
Eddie and the Hot Rods,
Strawbs,
The Real Thing The Real Thing or Real Thing may refer to:
Film and television
* The Real Thing (film), ''The Real Thing'' (film) or ''Livers Ain't Cheap'', a 1996 American film
* ''The Real Thing'', a 1980 television documentary by James Burke (science historian) ...
,
Lynsey de Paul &
Rocky Sharpe and the Replays
Rocky Sharpe and the Replays is an English doo-wop/rock and roll revival group who first found fame in the late 1970s. The usual line-up of the group was Rocky Sharpe (born Robert Podsiadły, 26 November 1952 – 5 December 2019), Helen Highwat ...
,
Slade
Slade are an English rock band formed in Wolverhampton in 1966. They rose to prominence during the glam rock era in the early 1970s, achieving 17 consecutive top 20 hits and six number ones on the UK Singles Chart. The ''British Hit Singles ...
and
The Vapors
The Vapors are an English new wave and power pop band that initially existed between 1978 and 1981. They had a hit with the song "Turning Japanese", which reached No. 3 in the UK Singles Chart in 1980 and No. 36 in the US ''Billboard'' Hot 10 ...
.
References
External links
*
1977 British television series debuts
1981 British television series endings
1977 in British music
1970s British music television series
1980s British music television series
Pop music television series
British television shows featuring puppetry
British music chart television shows
British children's musical television series
ITV children's television shows
Television series by ITV Studios
Television shows produced by Granada Television
English-language television shows
1970s British children's television series
1980s British children's television series
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