Due to the inclusion of so much R&B the mods made the show their own, but no Parker-bearing
slob was ever seen, only well-groomed sharp lookers with in their twin-vents or sweaters.
For the first time a young audience was seen to be participating, crowding the floor-space
by dancing around the edge of the stage or podiums, whereas before the audience was
restricted to the seats well behind the cameras. Everyone was a star, the audience
as important as the stars on the stage. Despite the usual racially motivated complaints
it wasn't unusual to see black dancers in the audience, as they were on later shows
like Top Of The Pops and The Beat Room. Top Of The Pops later used professional dance
troupes like The Go-Jos and Pan's People to do a weekly routine, but RSG! had two
professional dancers of their own, Patrick Kerr and Theresa Confrey who would create
a new series of steps for whatever record was chosen that week. Once the step was
demonstrated they would then rope in members of the audience to dance along on the
stage. The stage itself was be so small that sometimes the guitarists had to turn
the neck of their guitar to the ceiling, a new pose was born. RSG was also responsible
for a minor miracle, a white audience that knows when to clap on the right beat.
In addition to the local talent, a new dancer from America, Pepe, was also introduced
in 1964.
RSG would become the next show to have a tie-in album. Decca released a sixteen-track
album in February 1964 including tracks by The Rolling Stones, Brian Poole & The
Tremeloes, Kathy Kirby, The Mojos etc. Francis Hitching wrote the notes claiming
it was "one of the best party records ever put out, designed for teenagers, but anyone
young enough to tap their feet will enjoy it."
On the 10th January 1964 show Keith Forsyth quite innocently requested that anyone
who wanted to be on the following weeks' show should turn up at Kingsway next Monday
for an audition to be in the audience. Fifteen hundred teens turned up, leading to
crowding, injuries, arrests and the following day's newspaper headlines.
The show's opening titles used the catch-phrase "The Weekend Starts Here" and the
accompanying theme music would change every few weeks, like fashion itself. Stevie
Wonder's 'Hey Harmonica Man', The Surfari’s 'Wipe Out', Manfred Mann's '5-4-3-2-1'
and 'Hubble Bubble', Dusty Springfield's 'Heartbeat', The Animals' 'I m Crying',
Wilson Pickett’s 'Land Of A Thousand Dances' among others would be employed to introduce
the show. In late 1963 Francis Hitchin approached Manfred Mann, and requested a theme.
"Can you work out a really lively new composition that we can use as a theme for
the programme. Must be exciting, must be easy to recognise. Go away and think about
it.. .." Tom McGuinness later told Beat Instrumental magazine in 1968 "We got '5-4-3-2-1'
out as a single the week before it was used on RSG . .. that was mainly because they
hadn't got the film ready to tie in for the opening credits." One set of credits
from mid-1964 featured Jamaican model Esther Anderson.
The show even had its own "chat area for star" where acts would be interviewed away
from the loud music and fans.
So successful was the RSG concept that the BBC attempted to counter the show with
its own completely networked alternative Top Of The Pops at the beginning of 1964,
and also a more obvious facsimile with The Beat Room on BBC2.
Producers decided to extend the RSG empire with the Radio Luxembourg hosted Ready
Steady Radio, featuring many of the acts who would appear on the TV show, while in
March 1964 a spin-off magazine with articles about the show and full colour photographs
appeared, which was a novelty since the programme was only broadcast in black and
white. An end of year annual was also published.
On April 3rd 1964 the show was extended, albeit by five minutes, now beginning at
6.10 pm. Manfred Mann's "Hubble Bubble" became the show's theme in mid-April, while
the same month a request for new teenage boy and girl interviewers drew around six
thousand applications. Each application had to come with proof that they have had
something published.
Because of the show's success the producers would be given the chance to make one-off
specials, the most famous of which was the Mod Ball from the Empire Pool, Wembley
in April 1964. Devised by Elkin Allan and Francis Hitching the idea was to hold a
show similar to the Chelsea Arts Ball with the money going to the Variety Club of
Great Britain. Over 25,000 applications were made for the 8000 tickets, but inevitably
the media tried to stir up trouble by suggesting that rockers had applied for many
of the tickets and would try to disrupt the show, and there was some evidence of
disturbance outside the venue on the night as it would have been in the best interest
of the newspapers to continue their campaign of stirring up trouble between the factions.
Things were predictably chaotic backstage, so if you needed access you had to give
the password "okay pops". Everyone was miming on the night, but since the venue was
so cavernous it was difficult to mime exactly in time with the music track. According
to TAM ratings it was seen by nearly eight million homes that night. Later in the
month the show pitched up at the International Contest for Television Light Entertainment
at Montreux, Switzerland, despite the fact that the show had not been ITV's entry
for that year. That honour had gone to the more-established Thank Your Lucky Stars'
Merseyside special from the year before. However the Mod Ball was subsequently entered
for The Golden Rose Of Montreux festival of television by ITV the following year.
West End club favourites Georgie Fame and The Blue Flames played live on the show
in March 1964, but in May other acts were allowed to perform live if they wished.
Talking to the weekly music paper Disc Francis Hitching, the show's editor said "This
will bring more atmosphere into the studio, and give the fans a chance to hear some
of the group's regular repertoire, instead of just their latest hit. The immediate
problem is to find enough rehearsal time." Among those playing live were rockers
Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins, proving the show wasn't just a bunker for mods.
The show also decided to get rid of the existing seating in the studio, allowing
another fifty people to dance.
Record Mirror (for some reason) asked Marty Wilde on his view of Blue Beat, a new
type of dance music which was beginning to attract an audience not just of ex-pat
West Indians, but also mods. Wilde's response was to look at what black South Africans
were dancing too when his visited the country three years' before. "This was confirmed
by Pat Kerr, of 'Ready Steady Go,' who told me that lots of the dances he was doing
were inspired by the coloured dancers whom he
saw in London clubs."
How, if at all, the show (which was now inspired by all things mod) responded to
the mods and rockers physical feuds is not known, due to the lack of evidence in
surviving editions, but in late May an approach to help end the turmoil came from
an unusual source. Described in the press as the "ton-up vicar" Father Bill Shergold,
who runs a motorcycle club in London's East End contacts Ready Steady Go editor
Francis Hitchings with the hope that a word from him on the show would help restrain
the tension, but Hitchings replied "This is not the way to go about it."
All the faces in the business appeared on the show, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones,
The Who, Yardbirds, David Bowie, Marc Bolan, Donovan, plus any visiting American
act sometimes performing live with their own band, or a band provided by RSG. But
as usual, Bob Dylan was the show's only significant stay-away, a performance he would
repeat for Thank Your Lucky Stars, The Tube, and Later.
A complimentary Battle of the Bands contest Ready, Steady, Win! broadcast on Monday
nights appeared in the summer of 1964 and offered a first prize of £1000 of equipment,
with a second prize of a £750 van, a third prize of £350 of clothes. The winning
band would also be given a spot on the regular Friday show. Initially nearly 5000
applications were made, so to separate the serious competitors from the chancers
each group had to send in a demo' disc of which one song had to be an original. Only
less than a thousand entrants managed to do this. Show Editor Barry Cawtheray explained
to TV Times about asking for discs "We decided against tapes. For one thing they
break and then on a tape you can have things like 'Mum' coming in at the beginning
and apologising for 'Rover' barking a bit in the background. With so many contestants
we could only spare the time to listen to the actual music." Talking about the groups'
clothes he claimed "One group was dressed in ultra-violet suits. When we said we
were ready for them to start - all the lights went out. We couldn't see to make any
notes. In fact, we couldn't even see each other. All we could see were these suits
shining at us through the darkness. We saw groups in black leather, in brown leather,
in purple leather, groups in gold lame, groups in historical outfits, groups with
masks and cloaks and eye patches and crutches - there seemed to be no end to it.
Wonderful!" Gay Shingleton and Michael Aldred hosted the thirteen-part series, along
with Keith Fordyce. Each show featured six groups a week and a guest panel of judges.
After the first show was broadcast two of the featured bands The Scene Five and The
Falling Leaves were offered recording deals. The finale was somewhat ruined by the
inclusion of Bill Haley and Georgia Brown on the judging panel, neither really modern-day
pop fans. The Bo Street Runners won the final, but failed to have a hit, leading
to a charge that it was all a waste of time, and it was notable that the producers'
didn't schedule a second series. Band member John Dominick told Melody Maker in December
1964 "It did untold good as far as getting the name about was concerned. On the other
hand we don't feel It did much good musically. It was a live programme and we weren't
at all happy with the sound - in fact we were very disappointed with our performance
when we saw a recording of the show." An album of the finalists was released by Decca,
but also failed to chart. Michael Aldred quit the regular show to help host the beat
contest, but wouldn't return after it had finished. Fifty hopefuls were auditioned
to replace Aldred on the regular show, but none were considered suitable, so guest
stars were recruited. Brighton-based journalist and band manager Anne Nightingale
had met Vicki Wickham backstage at a Dusty Springfield concert and it was Wickham
who suggested that Rediffusion give her a screen test. She would be assigned a show
That's For Me which began broadcasting in late 1964, but had appeared on RSG for
a few editions beforehand.
Writing for Pop Weekly in mid-1964 editor Francis Hitching made note of the ballads
which were now becoming more commonplace and since the RSG studio was meant to represent
a night club which played dance music it was having issues with this new trend. Dancers
had no option but to find a partner or sit this one out, difficult for what was meant
to be a dance show.
Many guests who had made previous appearances were invited back for the first anniversary
show on 7th August 1964 which was seen by fourteen million viewers. Francis Hitching
told Disc magazine at the time that the show had a seven-year waiting list for audience
members.
In September 1964 at a Variety Club luncheon Elkan Allan head of Rediffusion Light
Entertainment said "When we started 'Ready Steady Go!' a year ago our's was the only
programme with kids dancing on it. Now there's one every night. BBC has two copies
on. If they'll take theirs off, I'll promise not to run any more beat shows." Tom
Sloan of the BBC responded by saying "These remarks suggest that the BBC has deliberately
followed the course set by Rediffusion. In fact, BBC began this type of programme
with '6.5 Special' in 1957. This was the first show, which had youngsters dancing
in the studio, and set the pattern for all its successors. Any suggestion that the
BBC has copied Rediffusion's programme, is not only wrong but impertinent."
The viewing figures for the 1963 into 1964 New Year's Eve show was the largest late
night viewing figure ever, apart from the General Election results, so it was inevitable
that another new year show would follow. Talking about the new show to TV Times Francis
Hitching said "This is a programme that wasn't really designed to be watched. We
don't care whether they look in or not, so long as their sets are switched on. We
hope people once again will use our programme to get their own New Year parties swinging."
By the end of 1964 it was obvious, to the fans at least, that the show was justly
successful and important, and it gained the top spot in the New Musical Express Best
TV or Radio show, beating Top Of The Pops by about a third.
Go to 1965
