''Thank Your Lucky Stars'' was a British television

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describ ...

show made by

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, and broadcast on ITV from 1961 to 1966. Of all the show's presenters, Brian Matthew is perhaps the best remembered. Many of the leading pop groups of the time performed on it. As well as featuring British artists, it often included American guest stars. It would appear from the surviving footage that the bands mimed their latest 45. Occasionally a band was allowed to do two numbers (possibly the A-side and

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

sides of their latest single or an EP or LP track); bands of a higher status such as

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

would sometimes play up to as many as four numbers. A typical 1961 programme listing included The Dale Sisters, Adam Faith, John Leyton, The Brook Brothers, Geoff Goddard and Dion. Audience participation was a feature of ''Thank Your Lucky Stars'', and the Spin-a-Disc section, in which a guest DJ and three teenagers reviewed three singles, was a feature of the show. Generally, American singles were reviewed. It was on that segment that Janice Nicholls appeared. She was a former office clerk from the English Midlands who became known for the catchphrase "Oi'll give it foive" which she said with a strong

Black Country The Black Country is an area of the West Midlands county, England covering most of the Metropolitan Boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell and Walsall. Dudley and Tipton are generally considered to be the centre. It became industrialised during it ...

accent. After she was dropped from the show she trained as a

chiropodist Podiatry () or podiatric medicine () is a branch of medicine devoted to the study, diagnosis, medical and surgical treatment of disorders of the foot, ankle, and leg. A Doctor of Podiatric Medicine (DPM), or a podiatrist, is a healthca ...

and ran a practice in Hednesford in Staffordshire. Billy Butler was another reviewer. The Beatles' second national television performance was on the programme, the first being on children's programme '' Tuesday Rendezvous'' on 4 December 1962. The first theme song was by Peter Knight & The Knightriders and, later on, "Lunar Walk" by Johnny Hawksworth was used. The show ended on 25 June 1966, after two thousand artists appearances. The Musicians' Union was not in favour of such shows because, until the change of policy in 1966, the songs were mimed. The vast majority of'' Thank Your Lucky Stars'' shows are lost. Only a small handful are known have survived in full, as well as incomplete segments from other shows.

Cultural references

The

Generation X Generation X (or Gen X for short) is the Western demographic cohort following the baby boomers and preceding the millennials. Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1960s as starting birth years and the late 1970s to early 1980s ...

song "Ready Steady Go!" referred to the show in its lyric: ''"I'm not in love with Juke Box Jury/I'm not in love with Thank Your Lucky Stars".''

References

External links

Televisionheaven.co.uk

*
Thank Your Lucky Stars Episode Guide
*Thank Your Lucky Stars Boo

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thank Your Lucky Stars (Tv Series) ITV game shows Pop music television series 1960s British music television series 1961 British television series debuts 1966 British television series endings British variety television shows Television shows produced by ABC Weekend TV Television programmes about the Beatles English-language television shows Jimmy Savile