It's a bit of a Seventies Day, all told.
Today marks the 60th anniversary of Britain's first commercial TV network, ITV; the channel that had arguably its greatest successes in that decade - with its non-PC "comedies" (The Benny Hill Show, On The Buses, Love Thy Neighbour, Man About The House, et al), significant factual programming (such as World in Action, The South Bank Show, The World at War) and much-loved dramas (Upstairs Downstairs, A Family at War, Edward the Seventh and many more). It was never a patch on the BBC in its classiness - and, of course, there were all those adverts - but as a kid growing up I have fond memories of 70s ITV's children's programmes such as The Tomorrow People, Just William and anything from the studios of Gerry Anderson (Thunderbirds, Joe 90 and the rest)...
Also on this day - in 1976, Charlie's Angels starring Farrah Fawcett had its début; in 1972, Idi Amin expelled 8,000 Asians from Uganda (mostly to the UK); and in 1975, Sara Jane Moore was the second person to fail to assassinate US President Gerald Ford.
Just today, reviving cringe-worthy memories of the sudden and unstoppable rise of "tartan-mania" - particularly among the girls at my school - the most popular "boy-band" of the 1970s, the Bay City Rollers have (embarrassingly) have announced a reunion tour...
And, among today's birthdays is the centenary of Arthur Lowe (one of the curmudgeonly stars of that archetypal (BBC) 70s show Dad's Army); and Captain Mark Phillips (whose marriage to Princess Anne in November 1973 was the first Royal Wedding celebration I remember) blows out 67 candles.
So, to really capture the "feel" of that delightfully tacky decade in spectacular fashion, what better than this long-forgotten "gem" from 1975?!
Someone crack open the Babycham, would you?
I love that ! Viva El Bimbo
ReplyDeleteIt's "the look" to go for this season... Jx
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