BBC1 Saturday Menu1974
An oldie...but a goodie! John Braban takes us through the evening's highlights which include The Generation Game, Dick Emery and Kojak. A straight forward clips compilation with an animated bumper.
BBC1 Election Link1974 1974 was the year when we had two general elections. Not sure which one this refers to but here's a junction into a Labour election broadcast.
Christmas Eve menu1974 Recovered from early N1500 footage, here's the rundown of programmes we had to look forward to on Christmas Eve 1974. It was not a good year for most - with the three-day week, the Switch Off Something campaign and two general elections, but BBC1's festive graphics flew in the face of the austerity all around using day-specific animations.
BBC1 Boxing Day Menu1974 Staying in 1974, The Magnificent Seven and Steptoe are on offer in this incomplete menu. A check on festive TV listings confirms this clip is from 1974 and not the following year as originally stated; we are fallable humans who occasionally forget things after all so apologies for not making the correction sooner.
BBC1 Tuesday Menu1977 A complete promo for prime time on BBC1, including It Ain't Half Hot Mum and Tonight. Featuring the voice of Ray Moore.
Christmas Day on BBC1 (Children's Party)1977 The first in a series of clips looking back at BBC Television's most successful Christmas ever - that of 1977, and to start with here's the Christmas Day menu for BBC1, with that now-classic Morecambe and Wise Christmas show and Barbra Streisand's "Funny Girl" as the big film. Spookily, "Rain On My Parade", which she sings here, featured in the BBC1 Christmas promos for 2007. Ray Moore is your voiceover.
Christmas on BBC1 (Music Box)1977 An alternative look at the Christmas night line-up on BBC1, using different clips from the big comedy shows.
Boxing Day on BBC1 (Snowball Fight)1977 Moving on now to Boxing Day, note that Top Of The Pops' Christmas show had to wait until the 26th for its festive party while Jimmy Savile has a few late Christmas presents for a lucky few. Ray Moore again narrates.
Holiday Tuesday on BBC1 (Weather Vane)1977 And to extend the Christmas party further, we got a Bank Holiday Tuesday in 1977 which means more great entertainment from BBC1. Well, depending on your personal taste that is - Disney Time was very much the Cash In The Attic of its day and The Waltons' Christmas Special was very much the antithesis of the miserable EastEnders specials we have now come to expect. Happy days eh!
Two Ronnies trail (Paintbrush)1977 Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without more great witticisms from this pair, who post-Morecambe and Wise would find themselves the BBC's biggest comedy big guns. The episode being promoted here wasn't a stand-alone special but part of the series already showing.
Christmas Day on BBC11978
It was almost the Christmas that never was on BBC1 due to industrial action across the BBC. However, the BBC were determined at least that BBC's Christmas Day schedule went out no matter what, even if that meant management operating the controls. Highlights included the first seasonal edition of Larry Grayson's Generation Game as well as returning favourites The Spinners and Top Of The Pops. The accompanying graphics may well have been used in previous years, and I must say that teddy bear is behaving rather lewdly!
BBC1 New Year's Eve menu31.12.1978
Not going out this year? Never mind, as BBC1 has everything you need to welcome in 1979. No major "end of the year" show; just Larry Grayson and The Good Old Days.
Easter Monday menu1979
When bank holidays were special as far as the TV schedules were concerned - typical Easter Monday fayre including the obligatory Disney Time (as opposed to today's obligatory Cash In The Attic).
BBC1 - Mechanical slidesc. 1979 A manually-operated guide to what's coming next on both channels. At the flick of a card, BBC2 becomes BBC1!
BBC1 Children's Menu1979 Straight after Christmas and BBC1 wastes no time getting back into its usual afternoon routine. Just before afternoon children's programmes comes this particularly interesting menu slide, coloured by the NODD system (note the colours are those of the BBC1 globe).
Christmas on BBC1 (Cambridge Buskers)1979
A first look at the festive fare on offer for 1979, and in a break from the animation of previous years BBC1 opts for a live action/studio based shooting for its "Cambridge Buskers" theme that year. The result looks rather dubious...but all the old favourites look set to be wheeled out again such as Emu's Broadcasting Company and It's A Christmas Knockout. On the right, a shorter sting promotes To The Manor Born.
BBC1 Thursday Menu - Christmas1979 Keeping the party spirit going a few days after Christmas with this panto-themed bumper.
BBC1 Thursday Menu14.02.1980
Programme-wise a very typical Thursday with Tomorrow's World taking centre stage, and still going strong is the Play For Today.
Thanks to Robin Carmody for confirming the TX date of this clip.
BBC1 Christmas Stings1980
Christmas on BBC1 in 1980 was excellently promoted with an array of stings, promos and on-screen devices. In the lead-up to the holidays BBC1 was keen to let us know there's a "hint of Christmas" in the air with these promos.
Ray Moore voices the first clip, with John Braben doing the second. Note the different picture frame, despite the similarity of these sequences.
BBC1 Christmas Stings1980
Further examples of pre-Christmas publicity. The first is similar to our previous clips but on the right a different approach, showcasing BBC1's festive entertainment as a gift to everyone.
BBC1 Children's Menu1981 A few minutes to spare before Play School so let's have a look at this afternoon's children's programmes with Uncle Andy Cartledge. What would today's youngsters make of the background image?
BBC1 Euro Championships - Tomorrow1981 We're quite used to seeing these "soundbyte"-type promos nowadays but 20 years ago they were quite new. This fairly succinct trail uses "Chariots of Fire" and no commentary to sell the European Champions Cup Final in 1981.
BBC1 Eurovision - Tonight1981
For some, 1981 was the last time we genuinely won the Eurovision Song Contest (OK so we did it in 1997, but not without the help of an American!) And the BBC1 pulled out all the stops to ensure Bucks Fizz swept the board that night.
BBC1 Saturday Menu1981 A typical Saturday in 1981, when the BBC knew how to entertain viewers. Hi-de-Hi, Pop Quiz, Athletics and the late film are there for our pleasure.
BBC1 Holding Slides 1975-1983
BBC1 continued to use 1969-style slides after the change of globe in late 1974. Eventually the slides caught up and the result was the classic "twin-stripe" stills used from around 1976 until late 1983. Distinctive in that they carried the alternative BBC1 logo, with Eurostile lettering for the programme title.
