1991
BBC1 Symbol (clean)1991 The globe identity was retained, as people liked it from research. Daniel Barber of Lambie Nairn and Co. designed the more accessible BBC1 ident by creating an animated sequence, featuring warmer, richer colours, a swirling one minute sequence with 9 points of entry. A classical numeral 1 was also introduced to pair with the bladed number '2'.
Enjoy this 60-second look at the 1991 BBC1 globe.
BBC1 Open Universityfrom 16.02.1991
First to air for BBC1's corporate revamp was a radical new look for the Open University ident. After twenty years the familiar form-up (and that fanfare) made way for this hi-tech interpretation. But the OU logo itself remained.
BBC1 Clock First TX16.02.1991
BBC1 had used the same clock face for almost ten years, so a change was long overdue! Looking almost like a crystal ball, the new clock mimicked a mechanical timepiece with a minute hand that moved every second.
BBC1 Virtual Globe16.02.1991
After what seemed like an endless wait the next day, the new symbol made its debut at 9am. Unlike the previous globe this one was designed by Martin Lambie-Nairn and introduced corporate branding to BBC1 for the first time. Philip and Sarah from Going Live were clearly fans of the new look - they staged a mock "unveiling" of the newest globe with Sarah, as the Queen, cutting the ribbon. Philip even went as far as to mention the terms NODD and COW - all those years in the Broom Cupboard came in handy!
BBC1 First Day TX - 4th Junction16.02.1991 BBC1 First Day TX - 5th Junction
16.02.1991 BBC1 First Day TX - 6th Junction
16.02.1991 BBC1 First Day TX - 7th Junction
16.02.1991
BBC1 Closedowns1991
A sign-off with the original 1991 clock. There's a long fade between clock and globe, which helps mask the difference in size of the circle.
BBC1 Clock - Version 21991
Shortly before Christmas, BBC chiefs decided to shrink the clock to match the size of the globe. At the same time a new background was introduced - possibly because the original design was incompatible with a smaller timepiece.
BBC1 Christmas1991
With such a radical change in BBC1's identity, what would Christmas bring? Well, the festive ident remained. Here the "1" is embedded in a swirling moon as Santa flies by in his sleigh.
BBC1 Christmas Closedown1991
Andy Cartlidge's BBC1 1991 Christmas Eve closedown announcement followed by an extra long play of the BBC1 1991 festive globe to the accompaniment of the national anthem.1992
BBC1 Christmas Idents1992
The toys come out to play this festive season, including a yawning crocodile and springy snowman. BBC bosses decided this ident was "too jolly" to be used against the National Anthem at closedown (I ask you!), so during the holiday period BBC1 signed off with a photo of Her Majesty.1993
BBC1 Start-Up18.9.1993
BBC1 stopped broadcasting Open University programmes after the end of the 1992 term - all OU programmes were shown on BBC2 - so BBC1 started its day at the weekend at around 7.30am and preceded it with a Ceefax transmission which began at 7am. Saturday's programmes began with the early morning news summary before handing over to Children's BBC for the rest of the morning. Images of the Ceefax transmission which preceded this startup can be found on the Teletext BBC page.
BBC1 Christmas: First TX24.12.1993
The first showing of the Christmas ident didn't go according to plan - the ident failed to start! David Allan is unfazed by the technical hitch and welcomes us to Christmas Eve on BBC1.
BBC1 Christmas Day and Night Idents1993
An enchanting Polar snowscape was the setting for BBC1's Christmas look a year later. Two polar bears look in amazement as Santa flies over the giant "1" - in day and night versions.
BBC1 Christmas Closedown24.12.1993
Then, the end of the night on Christmas Eve, with Peter Offer promising more to come tomorrow.1994
BBC1 Strike announcement09.05.1994
Yes it can still happen! Following the bitter dispute at TV-am in the late 1980s, the Tory government all but deunionised the broadcast industry. However, the unions can still disrupt schedules and that's what happened on May 9th 1994, when BECTU and the NUJ staged a 24-hour stoppage. There was no danger of blank screens but news programmes were blacked out; announcer Roger Maude explains why there's no Business Breakfast today.
BBC1 Christmas Eve Idents1994
Christmas is on the way, and BBC1's snowmen come out to play! Two of them in fact, sporting top hats. But there was more to this symbol than meets the eye. The centrepiece - the familiar "1" logo - was neatly gift-wrapped in the Christmas Eve version.
BBC1 Christmas Day Idents1994
On Christmas Day the snowmen undo the ribbon, revealing the glistening numeral,
BBC1 Boxing Day Idents1994
and in the final version (26-28 December), the wrapping paper has vanished.1995
BBC1 Christmas1995
A colourful animated theme for Christmas in 1995 - trailers featured an aeroplane whizzing round a brightly decorated Christmas tree. The idents featured a glistening "1" in place of the treetop star. There were three versions; the first being longest. Alternate versions featured the plane with no fanfare, and no plane at all. Christmas idents were not used at Closedown in 1994. A year later, festive symbols played out the channel once more and Jayne Constantinis signs off on Christmas Eve.
BBC1 Christmas1995
A colourful animated theme for Christmas in 1995 - trailers featured an aeroplane whizzing round a brightly decorated Christmas tree. The idents featured a glistening "1" in place of the treetop star. There were three versions; the first being longest. Alternate versions featured the plane with no fanfare, and no plane at all. Christmas idents were not used at Closedown in 1994. A year later, festive symbols played out the channel once more and Jayne Constantinis signs off on Christmas Eve.1996
BBC1 Christmas Ident & Closedown1996
Left clip - somethings missing
Right clip - Christmas Day comes to an end - yet again - and it's the end of a very late night for BBC1. Peter Offer presides over what would be the penultimate Christmas closedown on the channel.
1997
BBC1 Closedown - Final TX03.10.1997
It's the end of an era as BBC1's virtual globe gets its final spin. But its send-off is somewhat understated - announcer Phil Vowels does not mention the dramatic change of image awaiting us from tomorrow morning...
