''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 describe ...

show made by

ABC Weekend TV ABC Weekend TV was the popular name of the British broadcaster ABC Television Limited, which provided the weekend service in the Midlands and Northern England regions of the Independent Television (ITV) network from 1956 to 1968. It was one ...

, and broadcast on

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

from 1961 to 1966. Of all the show's presenters,

Brian Matthew Brian Matthew (17 September 1928 – 8 April 2017) was an English broadcaster who worked for the BBC for 63 years from 1954 until 2017. He was the host of '' Saturday Club'', among other programmes, and began presenting ''Sounds of the 60s'' in ...

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 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 ...

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 compan ...

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 music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

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 The Dale Sisters were an English vocal trio, who had limited chart success in the early 1960s. They are best remembered for their recordings of " Heartbeat" and "My Sunday Baby (un Telegrama)", both of which became minor hits in the UK Single ...

Adam Faith Terence Nelhams Wright (23 June 1940 – 8 March 2003), known as Adam Faith, was an English singer, actor, and financial journalist. A teen idol, he scored consecutive No. 1 hits on the UK Singles Chart with " What Do You Want?" (1959) and "P ...

John Leyton John Dudley Leyton (born 17 February 1936) is an English actor and singer. As a singer he is best known for his hit song "Johnny Remember Me" (written by Geoff Goddard and produced by Joe Meek), which reached number one in the UK Singles Chart ...

The Brook Brothers The Brook Brothers were an English pop duo composed of Geoff Brook (born Geoffrey Owen Brooks, 12 April 1943, Winchester, Hampshire) and Ricky Brook (born Richard Alan Brooks, 24 October 1940, Winchester, Hampshire). The Brook Brothers started o ...

Geoff Goddard Geoffrey Goddard (19 November 1937 – 15 May 2000) was an English songwriter, singer and instrumentalist. Working for Joe Meek in the early 1960s, he wrote songs for Heinz, Mike Berry, Gerry Temple, The Tornados, Kenny Hollywood, The Outlaws ...

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 its ro ...

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 healthcare ...

and ran a practice in

Hednesford Hednesford (pronounced ) is a historic market town in the Cannock Chase (district), Cannock Chase district of Staffordshire, England. Cannock Chase is to the north, the town of Cannock to the south and Rugeley to the southwest.The population ...

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 ''Tuesday Rendezvous'' was a British children's television show which was transmitted on Tuesdays (obviously) and Fridays (oddly). History Howard Williams (replaced by Wally Whyton), Muriel Young and Bert Weedon (the famous guitarist) presented ...

'' on 4 December 1962. The first

theme song Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at so ...

was by Peter Knight & The Knightriders and, later on, "Lunar Walk" by

Johnny Hawksworth Johnny Hawksworth (2 February 1924 – 13 February 2009) was a British bass player and composer who lived and worked in Australia beginning in 1984. Biography Born in London in 1924, Hawksworth initially trained as a pianist, but also pla ...

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 world, Western demographic Cohort (statistics), cohort following the baby boomers and preceding the millennials. Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1960s as starting birth years a ...

song "Ready Steady Go!" referred to the show in its lyric: ''"I'm not in love with

Juke Box Jury ''Juke Box Jury'' was a music panel show which ran on BBC Television between 1 June 1959 and 27 December 1967. The programme was based on the American show '' Jukebox Jury'', itself an offshoot of a long-running radio series. The American serie ...

/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