tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6190903519028956778.post8133949213269898522..comments2024-02-23T08:40:24.961+00:00Comments on Yes It's Number One: European unionUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6190903519028956778.post-79969275215200156582012-05-12T22:02:17.836+01:002012-05-12T22:02:17.836+01:00France's last win...France's last win...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6190903519028956778.post-25991013592977596742012-05-08T16:32:11.916+01:002012-05-08T16:32:11.916+01:00The morse code groove wasn't entirely new. Any...The morse code groove wasn't entirely new. Anyone else remember "Sending Out An S.O.S." by Retta Young from a couple of years earlier? Shame her TOTP appearance didn't escape the wipers - a comparison would have been fab.Arthur Nibblenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6190903519028956778.post-5655583375177087982012-05-08T09:07:12.032+01:002012-05-08T09:07:12.032+01:00in the silver convention video the guy on morse co...in the silver convention video the guy on morse code machine keeps looking like he's thinking about having another go as his finger hovers over the button, then changes his mind at the last second... still, it's a good idea if a novelty item - it reminds me of that track by the penguin cafe orchestra that was built around a telephone dialling tone...wilberforcehttp://www.gavinunderhill.co.uk/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6190903519028956778.post-73083603757991156982012-05-07T19:46:04.893+01:002012-05-07T19:46:04.893+01:00And here he is coping with the 1986 Commonwealth G...And here he is <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTwuI_HDhxw" rel="nofollow">coping with the 1986 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony</a>Simonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05834265575179460764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6190903519028956778.post-34137864005913755032012-05-07T19:42:41.316+01:002012-05-07T19:42:41.316+01:00"The full story as I remember it is as follow..."The full story as I remember it is as follows. Stewart did not trust rollers. To make sure he had a running roller at the end of the show he had two. About the time the roller was due he screams run REVOLVE (the scenery on stage), both [the camera operators, one of whom relays this story] hear it as rollers, and cue our ops to run the roller - notice no talkback for the operators, we have to cue them ourselves! When the mistake is realised [camera 8's] op reverses the roller and manages to reset it, [camera 6] I think gives up. On the second cue [8's] roller refuses to start, faulty forward/reverse switch - hence the second failure. Notice however that when Stewart realises that he had been misheard by two separate people he immediately calms down and (grudgingly perhaps) accepts that he caused the problem. I did dozens of shows with him before I joined OBs and they were never boring. You may have hated his guts at times, but looking back his output was prodigious. Often 2 1 hour shows a week. His staff was 1 assistant producer and a couple of production secretaries. Compare that with today. He was always eager to try any new equipment, and any new effects available. Television needed, and still does need people to push the boundaries, even if you only realise it 30 years later! I have a good deal of respect for the old b*****r!"<br /><br />(from <a href="http://www.tech-ops.co.uk/page154.html" rel="nofollow">this page of Stewart Morris recollections</a>)Simonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05834265575179460764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6190903519028956778.post-38000036774355136382012-05-07T17:00:10.450+01:002012-05-07T17:00:10.450+01:00A bit echo-y, but Mike and Lynsey did us proud tha...A bit echo-y, but Mike and Lynsey did us proud that night, the French entry which won was nowhere near as memorable. Plus Lynsey didn't start laughing halfway through, so all the Pops appearances were good for something.<br /><br />As for Silver Convention, was the sticking point the increased number of lyrics they had to learn instead of their usual three line chorus and no verses affair?THXnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6190903519028956778.post-76205405708401528652012-05-07T13:36:32.682+01:002012-05-07T13:36:32.682+01:00Absolutely fascinating stuff by Stewart Morris - e...Absolutely fascinating stuff by Stewart Morris - exasperation, fury, resignation, despair and dark humour rolled into a song and a half. What must the whole programme have been like! It reminded me of a Benny Hill sketch where Benny's the out-of-screen director telling the cameras where to go during a young musician's concert, and, much to Stewart's...er, Benny's fury, they focus on some stocking tops, Jenny Lee Wright's cleavage, Bob Todd picking his nose and the top of Jackie Wright's bald head.<br /><br />We may get to see that Rags routine in full. Their Euro entry didn't quite make the top 50 but did well enough to make TOTP, and a snippet of their song was shown on the 1977 documentary at the start of the year. Their record label ballsed the sleeve up, showing Eire as part of the United Kingdom, so it probably wasn't just Stewart who lost his rag..boom boom tish!Arthur Nibblenoreply@blogger.com