A 1960s Childhood

From Thunderbirds to Beatlemania

Paul Feeney

• Publisher: The History Press
• Year: 2010
• Print ISBN: 9780752450124
• eBook ISBN: 9780752462288
• Topic: Histoire
• Subtopic: Histoire sociale

Do you remember Beatlemania? Radio Caroline? Mods and Rockers? The very first miniskirts? Then the chances are you were born in the or around 1960.

To the young people of today, the 1960s seems like another age. But for those who grew up in this decade, school life, 'mod' fashions and sixties pop music are still fresh in their minds. From James Bond to Sindy dolls and playing hopscotch in the street, life was very different to how it is now. After the tough and frugal years of the fifties, the sixties was a boom period, a time of changed attitudes and improved lifestyles. With chapters on home and school life, games and hobbies, music and fashion, alongside a selection of charming illustrations, this delightful compendium of memories will appeal to all who grew up in this lively era. Take a nostalgic look at what it was like to grow up during the sixties and recapture all aspects of life back then.

Seven

TELEVISION

It seems incredible to think how much of children’s lives revolved around television in the 1960s, considering that up until April 1964, when BBC2 was launched, there were only two channels broadcasting, BBC and ITV. There were no video or other recording machines around to enable you to record and watch programmes that you missed. If you weren’t sitting in front of the screen when a programme was first shown, then that was it – you had missed it. It’s amazing how many childhood memories are stirred by reminders of those old television programmes that you once rushed home from school to see, or begged mum and dad to let you stay up to watch. Kids didn’t have television sets in their bedrooms back then, so you couldn’t secretly watch a late night programme in the darkness of your room with the sound turned down. Your parents had complete control over the television’s power button, and they decided what you were allowed to watch and when. Mind you, there wasn’t 24-hour television in those days, and popular programmes were usually shown within a short time frame in the evening. In the mid-1960s, even Saturday’s television programmes didn’t start until lunchtime, and then the afternoon was taken up with Grandstand on BBC1 and World of Sport on ITV. If you weren’t into sport then you had to wait until 5.30 p.m. before the first real programme came on, and that was usually Doctor Who on BBC1. The BBC2 channel didn’t come on air until 7.30 p.m. All three channels would usually close down after their late-night movies, which started around 11.30 p.m., but BBC1 didn’t always show a late movie on a Saturday and would sometimes close down before midnight.

People who grew up in the 1960s will often say that they didn’t watch much television when they were a kid because they were playing outside all the time. It is true that kids loved to play out and did spend as much time as possible outside, but after all these years, most still manage to vividly remember all of the old television programmes. After all, there were a lot of new groundbreaking programmes being made, and television itself was still a fairly new form of entertainment in many working-class homes, so it was still somewhat of a novelty. There are a number of 1960s television personalities that are no longer in the limelight, but are so synonymous with the period that even today people instinctively link them to the sixties. People like: Arthur Haynes (d.1966) – star of the very popular ITV comedy programme, The Arthur Haynes Show; Cathy McGowan – known as ‘Queen of the Mods’, she was the most in-touch presenter of ITV’s pop music show, Ready Steady Go!; Mick McManus – a professional wrestler who appeared in the wrestling segment of ITV’s World of Sport on Saturday afternoons; Valerie Singleton – one of the main presenters of the BBC’s children’s programme, Blue Peter; Susan Stranks – one of the main presenters on ITV’s children’s programme, Magpie; Muriel Young (d.2001) – presenter of various children’s television programmes on ITV (remember Pussy Cat Willum, Ollie Beak and Fred Barker?).

There were also loads of fictional television characters that we grew up with and remember so well from our favourite television shows of the 1960s. Characters like Minnie Caldwell – the timid friend of bossy Ena Sharples and fellow gossip Martha Longhurst in ITV’s Coronation Street, played by Margot Bryant (d.1988); Little Joe Cartwright – one of the leading characters in the western series, Bonanza, played by schoolgirl heart-throb, Michael Landon (d.1991); Jason King – the flamboyant leading character played by Peter Wyngarde in the television series, Department ‘S’; Napoleon Solo – the suave spy character in The Man From U.N.C.L.E. played by Robert Vaughn; Troy Tempest – the square-jawed puppet pilot of Stingray, the super fast submarine, in ITV’s string-puppet television programme for children; Simon Templar – the leading character in the ITV series, The Saint, played by Roger Moore.

There were just too many popular television programmes to mention them all, but here is a selection that will surely bring back some fond memories:

77 Sunset Strip (1958–64): ITV. An American fictional private detective series that starred Efrem Zimbalist Jr as Stu Bailey, and Roger Smith as Jeff Spencer, both former government secret agents. Edd Byrnes played the wisecracking, hair-combing, seriously cool valet parking attendant from next door, Gerald Lloyd Kookson III, known to all as ‘Kookie’, the wannabe investigator. The two private detectives worked out of offices at 77 Sunset Strip, next door to Dean Martin’s real-life nightclub, Dino’s. All the girls loved ‘Kookie’, and his frequent use of the comb lead to a huge increase in comb sales in Britain.

All Gas and Gaiters (1966–71): BBC1. An ecclesiastical situation comedy series set in the fictional St Ogg’s Cathedral. The farcical stories were centred on rivalries between the resident clergy. Its stars included William Mervyn, Robertson Hare and Derek Nimmo.

Animal Magic (1962–83): BBC1. A children’s television series presented by Johnny Morris, who often dressed as a zookeeper and always managed to find humorous ways of explaining animal facts to children, including lots of funny voice-overs. The series was a mixture of film location reports and animals brought into the studio. Most of the animal films were made at Bristol Zoo.

The Arthur Haynes Show (1956–66): ITV. A British comedy sketch series, starring the talented Arthur Hayes, best known for his famous portrayal of a tramp (‘Up to me neck in muck and bullets!’), a character that was created by Johnny Speight. Other regulars on the show included Nicholas Parsons, Patricia Hayes, Graham Stark and Dermot Kelly who played another tramp called Irish. The series only ended because of Arthur Haynes’ sudden death in 1966.

The Avengers (1961–69): ABC, then Thames Television for ITV. A British television adventure series created by Sydney Newman about secret agents in 1960s Britain. The cast featured John Steed played by Patrick Macnee, Dr David Keel played by Ian Hendry (1961), Dr Cathy Gale played by Honor Blackman (1962–64), Emma Peel played by Diana Rigg (1965–68) and Tara King played by Linda Thorson (1968–69). The secret agent storylines often involved a lot of science fiction and fantasy that made it hard for kids to follow. In 1976–77, the series was revived as The New Avengers starring Patrick Macnee, Gareth Hunt and Joanna Lumley.

Batman (1966–68): ITV. The original American television series that starred Adam West and Burt Ward as Bruce Wayne (Batman) and Dick Grayson (Robin), two crime-fighting heroes who dressed up in tights and masks to defend the people of fictional Gotham City. There was a Batphone, Batcave and a Batmobile, and each episode included a major brawl (punctuated with words like ‘POW!’, ‘ZOKK!’ and ‘BAM!’ that appeared across the screen). Batman and Robin were always completely outnumbered, but the dynamic duo always won the day and saved the people of Gotham City from villains like the Joker, the Penguin, Catwoman and the Riddler.

Benny Hill Show (1955–68): BBC TV/BBC1 and (1957–60 & 1967) ATV for ITV. Benny Hill is probably best recognised for his later (1969–89) Thames Television series, but he was on television a lot in the 1960s performing his comedy sketches, slapstick and songs. He even did passable impersonations of people like Hughie Green and Alan Wicker. His 1960s shows were less smutty than the later ones. Henry McGee, Bob Todd, John ‘Jackie’ Wright and Nicholas Parsons were among the regular performers that appeared in his 1960s shows.

The Beverly Hillbillies (1963–72): ITV. An American situation comedy series about a hillbilly family that move to Beverly Hills when they become rich after finding oil on their land. The show starred Buddy Ebsen as Jed Clampett, Irene Ryan as Daisy May ‘Granny’ Moses, Donna Douglas as Elly May Clampett and Max Baer Jr as Big Jethro Bodine.

Bewitched (1964–72): BBC1. An American situation comedy series that starred Elizabeth Montgomery who played a young witch named Samantha, who meets and marries a mortal named Darrin Stephens (played by Dick York in the sixties). While Samantha pledges to forsake her powers and become a typical suburban housewife, her magical family disapprove of the mixed marriage and frequently interfere in the couple’s lives. The chief antagonist was Samantha’s mother Endora, played by Agnes Moorehead. Samantha would twitch her nose to perform one of her many spells, which were often intended to help her husband when he was in some difficulty.

Blue Peter (1958–present): BBC TV and BBC1. Nobody ever thought that Blue Peter would evolve into the programme it has become today, or that it would still be running over fifty years down the line. It was first aired on 16 October 1958, and then appeared as a weekly 15-minute programme that was aimed at 5- to 8-year-olds. The first two presenters were Christopher Trace and Leila Williams, winner of Miss Great Britain in 1957. In the programme, Christopher Trace would demonstrate boys’ toys, such as model railways, aeroplanes and trains, and Leila Williams would show girls’ toys, mainly dolls, and girls’ hobbies. Occasionally, the artist Tony Hart would appear on the programme, using his drawings to tell children’s stories. In the early years there were no Blue Peter badges, pets or ships, and no Blue Peter garden. In 1962, Leila Williams was removed from the programme by its newly-appointed producer and Anita West took over for a short time until Valerie Singleton was appointed in September 1962. Also in 1962, the first Blue Peter pet, Petra the mongrel dog, appeared on the show, but sadly the dog was sickly and died after just one appearance. A lookalike dog replaced her without viewers being told, and the new Petra continued to appear on the show until 1972. In 1963, the first Blue Peter badge was introduced, and that same year Fred the tortoise joined the show. From 1964, the programme’s running time was extended to 25 minutes and it was shown twice a week, with a more wide-ranging content, including charity appeals and lots of adventure and discovery features. That year, Blue Peter also got its first cat, Jason, a Seal Point Siamese. In 1965, Patch, son of Petra, became part of the team and remained there until 1971 when he died from a rare disease (Shep, a border collie, replaced him). In December 1965, John Noakes joined Singleton and Trace as one of the show’s main presenters. In July 1967, Christopher Trace left and was replaced by Peter Purves. After that, Singleton, Noakes and Purves continued as the show’s main presenters for the remainder of the sixties. The theme tune was a sea shanty called Barnacle Bill.

The first Blue Peter book was published in 1964. These books (1966, 1967, 1965) show regular 1960s Blue Peter presenters John Noakes, Valerie Singleton and Christopher Trace with some of the early Blue Peter animals.

Bonanza (1959–73): ITV. A weekly western series based on the adventures of the Cartwright family and the goings-on at their 1,000 mile² fictional ranch called Ponderosa on the shore of Lake Tahoe in Nevada. The head of the family was Ben Cartwright, played by Lorne Green. He had three sons, each by a different wife, Adam (Pernell Roberts), Eric or ‘Hoss’ (Dan Blocker) and Joseph or ‘Little Joe’ (Michael Landon). Michael Landon was the only original leading cast member who was wig-free throughout the series.

Bronco (1958–62): BBC TV. An American western television adventure series starring Ty Hardin as Bronco Layne, a former Confederate officer who wandered the Old West encountering all sorts of famous names, from Billy the Kid to Theodore Roosevelt.

Cheyenne (1955–63): ITV. Made by Warner Brothers, this was the first hour-long American television western series. It starred Clint Walker as Cheyenne Bodie, a former frontier scout who became a drifter taking all sorts of short-term jobs on ranches, wagon trains and cattle drives. And he sometimes worked as a civilian Cavalry scout, a federal marshal and a special investigator; an all-round hero who sorted out conflicts everywhere he went. Clint Walker was the only regular cast member but many well-known guests appeared, including Angie Dickinson, James Garner, Michael Landon and Rod Taylor.

Cilla (1968–69): BBC1. Cilla Black’s own series of music shows in which she sang songs, danced and introduced guest artists. During the series her guests included Donovan, Georgie Fame, Tom Jones, Henry Mancini, Dusty Springfield and Ringo Starr. Paul McCartney (credited as ‘Lennon/McCartney’) wrote the theme song, Step Inside Love, which reached number eight in the UK charts in March 1968.

Coronation Street (1960–present): Granada Television for ITV. A prime time soap opera created by Tony Warren that was set and produced in Manchester, about life in and around the fictional Coronation Street. First broadcast on 9 December 1960, it was shown twice a week in the 1960s (three times a week from 1989 and five times a week from 2009). The 1960s cast included such characters as Ena Sharples (Violet Carson), Elsie Tanner (Patricia Phoenix), Annie Walker (Doris Speed), Mr Swindley (Arthur Lowe), Len Fairclough (Peter Adamson), Minnie Caldwell (Margot Bryant), Martha Longhurst (Lynne Carol), Ken Barlow (William Roache) and Albert Tatlock (Jack Howarth).

Annuals of television series, like Crackerjack, Emergency Ward 10 and The Man from U.N.C.L.E., were very popular Christmas stocking fillers for children of all ages.

Crackerjack! (1955–84): BB...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
• One : A DECADE OF CHANGE
• Two : HOME LIFE
• Three : OUT ON THE STREETS
• Four : GAMES, HOBBIES AND PASTIMES
• Five : MUSIC, FASHION AND CINEMA
• Six : RADIO
• Seven : TELEVISION
• Eight : SCHOOLDAYS AND HOLIDAYS
• Nine : CHRISTMAS
• Ten : MEMORABLE 1960S EVENTS
• Eleven : WHATEVER HAPPENED TO?
• Copyright