“Vendetta”
Bernard Newnham, Bill Jenkin
There were a number of colour studios but BBC1 was still monochrome. I rememberworking on the crime series ‘Vendetta’ with Stelio Candelli, an Italian who didn’t speak English that well, and that was recorded in TC1 with EMI 2001s in monochrome. It seemed odd at the time.
Roger Bunce
I remember doing the first series of “Vendetta”. No memories of whether it was black and white or colour – but then all the viewfinders and monitors on the studio floor would have been black and white anyway. I was ‘Crew Relief, Mainly Sound’ at the time – struggling to appear helpful, enthusiastic and completely incompetent – so that I could get back to Cameras as soon as possible, without getting too bad a report.
Stellio Candelli got stage-fright on one episode and didn’t turn up. Neil McCallum had recently been introduced as a co-hero, in the hopes of making the dialogue more comprehensible. So, at zero notice he had to take over all of Stellio’s studio scenes. Unfortunately, Stellio still appeared in all the film inserts. Extra lines had to be added to justify the character change, for example:
"Are you going there now?"
"No. I’ll send my friend Danny Scipio." (and so on)
Oddly, the public rarely seem to notice these desperate contrivances.
Years later, I was watching an episode of "Taggart". Half-way through, I said to my wife,
"Mark McManus is ill."
"How do you know?"
Because another actor had taken over some of the scenes in which you would have expected Taggart to be the lead character. It immediately brought back memories of “Vendetta”. Mark McManus died shortly afterwards.
Peter Neill
This brings to mind an “EastEnders” when June Brown appeared on set having just returned from holiday. Make-Up had tried their best but there was no way they could mask her deep tan. Julia Smith decreed that Dot would never look like that and her lines had to be distributed round the rest of the cast.
David Brunt
“TV60” billed an episode of “Not Only … But Also” featuring John Lennon (the Christmas one, I think). Allegedly it was replaced by the first episode of “The Likely Lads”.
Len Shorey
The “Not Only … But Also” show featuring John Lennon was the pilot recorded in TC1, producer Jim Gilbert.
At the end of rehearsals and into the meal break. The late Neal Sadwick gram/op found Lennon lost looking for the canteen. Neal took him and enjoyed having a meal with him. Unfortunately I stayed behind in the Control Room to try sort a few problems. I’m sorry I missed him!
Louis Barfe
I think the billed ”Not Only…But Also” was the first one, transmission date: 09/01/1965 and not the 26/12/1966 special. In any case, “The Likely Lads” (episode 3 of series 1, “Older Women Are More Experienced”) wasn’t long enough for the slot, so as a bonus we got the 04/06/1962 edition of “Points of View” – http://youtu.be/WfGGmpD12ZY – complete with a tour of TV Centre and Lime Grove to the tune of “Far More Drums” by the Dave Brubeck Quartet.
“Girls of Slender Means”
Background
“The Girls of Slender Means” is a novella written in 1963 by Scottish author Muriel Spark.
It is set in ‘The May of Teck Club’, established by Princess May of Teck during the First World War "for the Pecuniary Convenience and Social Protection of Ladies of Slender Means below the age of Thirty Years, who are obliged to reside apart from their Families in order to follow an Occupation in London". It concerns the lives and loves of its desperate residents amongst the deprivations of immediate post-war Kensington between VE Day and VJ Day in 1945.
TV production transmission date: 3rd May 1965
Bernie Newnham
In “The Graham Norton Show” Series 14 Episode 17, Miriam Margolyes shows the pictures from “Girls of Slender Means” amongst other laugh-out-loud stuff.
John Henshall organised it all and Roger Bunce is in the front and Pete Fox at the back.
“How It Is”
Background
“How It Is” (1968) TV Series – 30 min – Talk-Show
[IMDB]
Geoff Fletcher
The first mention of “How It Is” in my diaries is on Thursday 18 July 1968, also in TC2 with Tony Palmer directing. This was with Crew 14 and Robin Barnes was Senior Cameraman that day and I did Camera 4. It was also recorded in G at Lime Grove from time to time and the last mention of it in my diaries is on Friday 13 December in R2 when Dave Mutton crewed me out for the day. It obviously moved about a bit.
John Howell, David Brunt, Steve Jellyman
John Howell was Grams/Tape Op. for Colin Dixon on most of the “How It Is” series, bailing out in October 1968 to work on “Treasure Island” with the irrepressible John Staple. John has a vague memory of Arthur Brown appearing on “How It Is” and the Fire Officer decreeing, "I don’t care who you are sir, you’re not setting fire to your head in my studio!"
The series was piloted in TC4 on 11th April 1968 under the title ‘My Generation" with Tony Palmer directing. There was an ‘interview pit’ in front of a BP screen which had a continuous showing of “Stagecoach” and the fire lanes were full of traders selling military uniforms and other ‘Carnaby Street’ paraphernalia. The lapel badges however said ‘Sound and Picture City’.
"Sound and Picture City", a wild ‘psychedelic’ music show for which only one pilot show was recorded in TC4, was another alternate title for the April 1968 "My Generation" pilot that evolved into "How it Is". Produced by Tony Palmer, presented by Kenny Everett, Chris Denning and Caroline Coon. The Who were main guests.
David Brunt suspects that the April recording might have been with The Who.
In 1969 “How It Is” went on to become “How Late It Is”.Wasn’t there another ‘magazine’ programme running concurrently with “Dee Time”, that is “The Wednesday Show” hosted by David Jacobs?
One show of which I have a vague memory was a wild ‘psychedelic’ music show called ‘Sound and Picture City’! Only one pilot show was recorded in TC4, and I think it was about summer 1966?
Tony Millier
I remember doing “How It Is” in Studio G then Riverside. Producer was Tony Palmer, Director Tony Cash? Grams was John Howell (a great asset and moral booster). I was a nervous Sound Supervisor having just been appointed. At one pre-recording we had the British Youth Orchestra from the Proms playing in the audience rostrum. Also the John Dankworth orchestra following an all-night band call at Ronnie Scott’s club – I was refused the overtime!
Great days.
I remember Bert Power and Chris Wilden were on the crew. I met Chris much later at TVI sound Dubbing when he came to check us out for possible use by Anglia TV when he has head of something in sound.
The “How It Is” programme had a banjo player in the audience who would be cued to play by the producer if he thought the current item should be curtailed. I had a Pye compressor modified to access the side chain and fed from the banjo mic. This device would then gate out the interview groups etc. and then we moved on to the next item.
Roger Bunce
I remember that "How It Is" was initially known as "How Late It Is", a reference to the fact that it was a late night show and that its target audience of ‘young people’ (before they were known as ‘Yoof’) would feel ever so grown-up if they were allowed to stay up and watch it!
Later, either because it was scheduled earlier, or because the first title was starting to sound too patronising, it was changed to "How It Is" – as in "We’re telling it how it is!" – in an attempt to sound hard-hitting and gritty. But this didn’t stop critics on Radio 4 (or was it the Home Service then) calling it "This is it". They sometimes had one camera pointing at a monitor, so that pop groups could be surrounded by Doctor Who-style video howl-rounds. I remember those Radio critics praising Tony Palmer’s use such avante-garde, experimental techniques, and saying that "the Old-Fashioned Engineers of the BBC" would probably have disapproved. And WHO do they think invented those techniques, if it wasn’t those old fashioned BBC Engineers? Did they think that Tony Palmer would have dreamt up such things all by himself, if some uncredited Techie hadn’t suggested it to him!
I remember Tony Palmer’s shouting, abusive directorial style, and one occasion when a Cameraman refused to continue unless he apologised. He did. I also suspect that "How It Is" was the basis of that programme for "Young Adults" that was so mercilessly parodied in one episode of "The Young Ones".
Bill Jenkin
I think “How it Is” was produced by Tony Palmer. Before the series started I was sitting in the canteen with Chris Beer. We were discussing a project Chris was involved in which we were going to call “MYSYRA – How it Was” (MYSYRA stood for “Meet yourself as you really are” – well it was Chris Beer). We talked about the title, Tony Palmer was sitting on his own at the next table ear-wigging. The next thing we know is that a new series called “How It Is” appeared in the schedules with Tony Palmer as producer. Coincidence? – well you can judge that for yourself.
“How It Was” was directed by various people, Tony Staveacre was one, I think Bruce Milliard may have been another.
Unfortunately The Who’s appearance on ‘Twice a Fortnight’ with Crew 14 shaking the cameras to bits etc to “I can see for miles” is no longer on Youtube – too many copyright infringements.
Robin Sutherland
I did eight episodes of “How It Is” in 1968 including the first with Arthur Brown (18/07/1968) and his inflammable headgear which I’m sure Tony Palmer directed – very loudly.
I remember Angela Huth taking over and Tony Staveacre being a welcome change from TP.
“How It Is”
Louis Barfe
This could it have been ‘The Friday Show’, which ran from 14 October 1960 to 30 December 1960. Different host and different producer each week. Dennis Main Wilson produced the first, with Dennis Lotis hosting, and a later one was hosted by George Formby and produced by Dickie Afton.
Nick Lake
Does anyone know who the VM was? I’m more than a bit impressed that anyone could actually cut that fast on the old BBC desk – not that you’d know at that speed whether they’d cut to the wrong camera or not!
Mind you, if it’s not heresy, I’ve always felt there was a tendency towards pretentious b*ll*cks at the time (of which “How It Is” was something of an exponent) until OGWT finally reinstated some common sense.
Derek Martin
I remember doing a show in TC2 with Everett, Denning etc. I clearly recall being on a Heron behind the stage watching Keith Emerson stick knives into his organ keyboard during ‘America’. I thought it was in TC2 – I remember it being pretty cramped
Bill Jenkin
According to missing-episodes.com the list of “How it is”/”How late it is” episodes is as below (which would indicate that “How it Is” was in 1968 and pre-dated “How Late it Is” in 1969.
I do remember one of those shows being done at Lime Grove ‘G’ on a Saturday (I think I was the Inlay Operator for this one show – the Bosch Fernseh overlay machine). I think it was usually done live but for some reason this day it was being recorded “as live” not long before TX time. I know Ron Koplick was the TM. It was the usual chaos in the gallery and Ron realised they were running out of recording time. When he tried to tell them about this they told him to shut up in no uncertain manner. Come the end of the recording Ron quietly informed them that the last 10 to 15 minutes had not been recorded. There was not time to do the whole show again before the TX so they had to record the last 15 mins again and do a change over half way through! I don’t think this is a fantasy of mine but memory does pay tricks.
1968 series – “How It Is”
| 19th July 1968 | The very first edition including Yoko Ono, Arthur Brown and a feature on “Yellow Submarine”. |
| 26th July 1968 | Eric Burdon and Pentangle |
| 2nd August 1968 | Mike Stuart Span |
| 23rd August 1968 | The Nice (Presumably this edition is the source of their performance of "America" on “Sounds of the Sixties” |
| 6th September 1968 | Moody Blues |
| 20th September 1968 | Status Quo |
| 27th September 1968 | Tyrannosaurus Rex |
| 11th October 1968 | The Who "Magic Bus" and Spooky Tooth "The Weight" |
| 25th October 1968 | Pentangle |
| 1st November 1968 | Pentangle (A bit odd for them to be on 2 weeks running, maybe they cancelled on the 25th October) |
| 22nd November 1968 | The Gun (also some film used to illustrate the Beatles “White” album which was released the same day) |
| 13th December 1968 | Fairport Convention |
1969 series – “How Late It Is”
| 14th March 1969 | The Who "Pinball Wizard" |
| 21st March 1969 | Led Zeppelin (as a last minute replacement act) |
| 25th April 1969 | Chicken Shack |
| 2nd May 1969 | John Lennon and Yoko Ono interview |
 
“Twice a Fortnight”
Background
“Twice a Fortnight” was a 1967 British sketch comedy television series with Terry Jones, Michael Palin, Graeme Garden, Bill Oddie, Jonathan Lynn and Tony Buffery.
Graeme Garden suggested to the director, Tony Palmer, that Michael Palin and Terry Jones be included in the cast and writers of the show.
[Wikipedia]
Geoff Fletcher, Peter Neill
“Twice A Fortnight” was a weekly late-night live comedy show starring, among others, pre-“Goodies” Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie and was recorded on Sundays at Lime Grove Studio G. It went out on Saturday evenings. Geoff worked on 8 programmes from Sunday 15 October 1967 through to Sunday 17 December 1967 with Crew 14. Tony Palmer was replaced by another director on one of them – Sunday 10 December 1967.
For several weeks Peter Neill worked on “Dee Time” on a Saturday, derigged, spent the rest of the evening in the Club, kipped down in the sound gallery and was there bright and early for “Twice A Fortnight”.
Robin Sutherland
I was on Crew 14 with the great Dave Mutton, the highlight in my three years in Tech Ops. He was credited as "The Lamb" in a crazy arts show we did with Tony Palmer.
I seem to remember the whole crew being dressed in monks’ hooded cloaks for the recording, for some obscure reason. I definitely recall tracking the Mole with Dave Mutton on the front wearing a massive hooded black robe and thinking, “This is bizarre!”
Tony put the whole crew on the end credits and was told he couldn’t, so he moved them to the opening of the show!
