Posts Tagged ‘Television’

22 Feb

Sooty’s Magic Show Newcastle Tyne Theatre and Opera House 20th February 2020

Posted by vintagerock in Sooty. Tagged: , , , .

Well this was a proper nostalgia trip for me. sooty ticketThose of you who have been reading my blog for some time may recall that my 1st ever “concert” experience was seeing the Sooty Show with Harry Corbett at Sunderland Empire in the early 1960s. One of the many great things about having grand children is that it gives you the chance, and a great excuse, to relive your childhood. Now I wasn’t aware that Sooty was back on television again but indeed he is and, along with Sweep and Soo, in pretty authentic form accompanied by new friend Richard Cadell and on TV every morning (see the Sooty Show). So along we went myself, Laura, Dale, Lisa and little Phoebe to experience the little bear and all his friends. The advertisement said: “Izzy Wizzy let’s get busy! Join Sooty for his brand new Laugh Out Loud Magic Show! Direct from their hit ITV series, Sooty, Sweep and Soo will amaze you with impossible tricks and sidesplitting jokes! Be astounded at Sooty’s flying car, Soo’s singing unicorn and Sweep’s levitating sausage! A spectacular treat for the whole family.” What fun!

sooty progAnd pretty good it was too. Sooty was as naughty as ever, the little voices of our three heroes were exactly the same, the magic tricks were as silly as ever and Sooty had his magic wand and even said (along with all of us of course) “Izzy Wizzy Let’s Get Busy!” Along with this we had friendly magician Michael Jordan who span plates on sticks and managed to make his wonderful assistant disappear from a box.
But the most magical part came at the end. A little boy, who couldn’t have been more than 5 or 6 years old was brought up on stage. Richard told him that some magical things were going to happen and that he would “remember them for the rest of his life.” The boy did some tricks with Sooty and then climbed into his little red car alongside the little bear and flew up into the air. The car safely brought them back to land safely onto the stage and Richard presented the boy with a small magic wand which apparently was Sooty’s “original wand that he had had for 70 years. 🙂 ” The boy was told that he would treasure the wand for the rest of his life and that he would remember this experience for ever. And you know what. I bet he will.
Pure magic.

25 Mar

Pan’s People Sunderland Locarno 1973?

Posted by vintagerock in Geordie, Pans People. Tagged: , , , .

imageTop of the Pops (TOTP) was a big deal when we were kids. We would gather around the television every Thursday night, waiting to see our favourites bands, the latest chart hits and the familiar faces of the DJs. And one very important part of Top of the Pops was Pan’s People. In a world with no MTV and no pop videos, Pan’s People danced to hits when the group or singer was not available to perform on the show. Pan’s People were every young boy’s dream dancing in skimpy outfits and hot pants to the latest chart sounds. Pan’s People joined TOTP in May 1968. By 1970 they became a weekly feature. The original Pan’s People line-up consisted of Louise Clark, Flick Colby, “Babs” Lord, Ruth Pearson, Andi Rutherford and Dee Dee Wilde. Flick Colby stood down from dancing in 1971 to concentrate on choreographing their routines. Andi was replaced by Cherry Gillespie in 1972.
One night, I think it was in 1973 or 1974, Pan’s People paid a visit to Sunderland. It was a midnight to 4am show, and the girls shared the bill with local chart heroes Geordie. I’d been out for a drink with friends and turned up at the Locarno after closing time, around 11pm. We joined a massive queue and waited for the venue to open. I think Geordie were on stage first, but can’t be sure. I also seem to recall that there was a guest Radio 1 DJ, but don’t remember who it was. Pan’s People performed in the early hours of the morning, doing a series of dance routines on the ballroom floor to chart hits of the time. The Mecca was crammed, full of drunken guys cheering at the girls. My memory of the evening is very faint, but I’m sure it wasn’t a dream and that I did really see Pan’s People.
Dee Dee Wilde, dancer: “We got our big break after a couple of us passed auditions for the Go-Jos – Top of the Pops’ original group of dancers. We couldn’t think of a name, but Flick said, “Well, Pan is the god of music and fertility and he has six handmaidens …” So at 4am and bleary-eyed after several bottles of wine we became Pan’s People…..In the glam-rock era, we wore every outfit from beautiful to dreadful….Our sexuality was very tongue-in-cheek – girls next door being a little bit sexy – and people loved that. At the time, we were the most famous group of girls in Britain, the Spice Girls and Girls Aloud rolled into one.”
Babs Powell: “If one or two of the routines were raunchy or teasing, it was because the music suggested it. Mary Whitehouse hated us and later on we had one or two women’s lib protests. We did loads of TV shows, from Frankie Howerd to Happening For Lulu, and gigs all over the country. We did one in Cheshire once on a Thursday night and someone said: “‘Ere! How can you be the real Pan’s People that we’ve just paid to see when you’re on Top of the Pops right now?” Then a big fight broke out at the back of the stage. They hadn’t realised that the programme was filmed on Wednesdays.”
(Pan’s People – Our Story, Signum Books, 2012).