TV Pop Diaries
Pop Music on British Television 1955 - 1999

Granada producer Johnny Hamp was handed the task of finding new talent for the Pop Scene section of the weekday early-evening news and magazine show Scene at 6.30. Talking to TV Times in April 1964 he admitted "When we decided we needed a pop musical item in the show every night, we had a problem. Most of the big names launched their records in London. We decided that if we were going to get the teenage audiences we wanted, we would have to start scooping the London shows. That didn't only mean getting established names to come to Manchester first with their records. It meant digging out new talent before it had been fully recognised elsewhere." He also explained "On the new show we are trying to feature stars who are in the hit parade that week."

Being on the doorstep of Liverpool it was relatively easy to get access to the Brian Epstein stable, bringing Billy J Kramer to TV for the first time in 1963, followed by other acts like Freddie & The Dreamers who had auditioned a year before but had been rejected for being absurd. Also debuting on the show were The Hollies. Hamp said "I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw them. They were dressed in jeans and shirts that didn't match, and they looked more like rough kids than musicians. But we put them on, because they had a new kind of talent, and they never looked back."

In July 1966 the show was moved to a new late night spot in an attempt to rival BBC1's 24 Hours. A Granada spokesman told The Times that it would give the producers more time to process the day's news and events.

SCENE AT 6.30

Granada

1963 -