TV Pop Diaries
Pop Music on British Television 1955 - 1999

Although Everett had been popular DJ on Radio London, and then the BBC, it was am absolute certainty that a television career would beckon.

He had previously appeared, albeit briefly, in the 1965 movie Dateline Diamonds, a crime caper in which diamonds are smuggled aboard the Radio London boat, while his first television appearance was probably on Southern Television's Countdown on October 1966, making his BBC TV debut on panel show Juke Box Jury in May 1967 just as he had joined the BBC's Light Programme. His Top of the Pops call-up came in November 1967, but even then he had to share duties with Pete Murray.

His first leading role would be for a Christmas Eve 1967 broadcast by ABC. How On Earth? was a carol service for young people, broadcast from Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral, co-starring The Bee Gees with Everett reading from the Gospels in Scouse.

His next appearance wouldn't be until August 1968, but this time it was a full-time gig, lasting nearly a year. Nice Time was a concept put together by Granada TV producer John Birt and would find Everett co-hosting with Germaine Greer and ex-Candid Camera star Jonathan Routh. There didn't seem to be any regular features to the show, no musical guests, no sketches, just whatever they wanted to do. Even TV Times, there to promote the show, didn't seem to know what the point of the show was claiming Nice Time "...is what it says." The show continued throughout 1969 with Everett appearing on the last edition of Granada's The Discotheque performing his cash-in record 'Nice Time'.

His next TV job would be reviewing the hits of 1969 on Cilla Black's Christmas Eve show, followed a few months later with a contribution to Man Alive's documentary about Radio One DJs.

After the second series of Nice Time had come to an end Everett was grabbed by London Weekend to present a new Friday evening show. London Weekend were still reeling after the Simon Dee debacle and they should have thought twice about hiring another controversial DJ, but they appeared happy to sign Everett. Unlike Nice Time he would take a different approach this time around. He would try to make a TV show like his radio show, so it would have jingles, pop music, plus there would be appearances from his regular sidekicks, butler Crisp (played by Brian Colville who joined 24th August 1970) and Gran (a puppet with the voice of Everett himself). The show would have comedy, live guests, film clips and an oldies spot (the Golden Earhole award). The films used to accompany some of the songs were provided by Philip Jenkinson's Filmfinders, who would perform to same trick for BBC's Disco 2 and The Old Grey Whistle Test.

Gordon Hesketh, the original director, sensed that the show wasn't working and the star was also unhappy with the results. Hesketh would be replaced by Bruce Gowers who would later find international fame as the director for Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody promo in 1975, a record that Everett himself debuted months before its release. Talking to the Daily Mirror about his new series Everett said "The new show will be something quite different, not that I expect it to knock 'Top of the Pops' off the screen. That old thing will still be with us in 1998." He would also play bad records as well as new releases, presaging his 'World's Worst Record Show' on Capital Radio a few years' later.

Ex-BBC radio producer Terry Henebery was assigned as the show's producer and a new format was worked out, but there was still some concern about his reluctance to stick to a script. Aware of his short attention span London Weekend were keen to give Everett a tele-prompt machine for his script, but he didn't take to it "so I told them to ditch it" he told the Daily Mirror, preferring to ad-lib. Everett was also responsible for the show's end-credit cartoons.

The show came at the right time for Everett after an off-the-cuff remark led to his eventual dismissal from BBC Radio One in the summer of 1970, so this would be his only outlet until he went back to BBC radio in 1971.

London Weekend announced the show to the press - "There'll be no regular guests as such. It's simply a visual version of Kenny's radio show. There'll be tapes, film, noises, funny characters, that sort of thing."

Despite the station's happiness with the show it wasn't fully networked by ITV. The stations that took it would shift it around their schedules, while others chose to ignore it. But by the end of August 1970 London Weekend were happy enough to book Everett for another thirteen shows, plus another six weeks as the MC for the Bob Kerr's Whoopee Band show on Friday evenings, beginning in September.

However the show that Everett is brought back for would have a different format and titled 'Ev', his wife's nickname for him.

THE KENNY EVERETT EXPLOSION

London Weekend

10th July 1970 - 11th September 1970