TV Pop Diaries
Pop Music on British Television 1955 -
By 1965 the success that the Tamla-
A UK tour to help promote the new label was arranged with The Supremes, The Miracles,
The Temptations, Martha & The Vadellas and Stevie Wonder all backed by Motown studio
players The Earl Van Dyke Six/Sextet, similar to the previous Motortown Review shows
in the States. This magnificent line-
Having loved their music and having worked on stage with some of Motown's acts in
the USA it was Dusty Springfield who bent the ear of friend and Ready Steady Go editor
Vikki Wickham and suggested that maybe producing a Motown show would be a good idea.
This would be a one-
The Temptations would be the first to land in the UK on March 9th, followed by Stevie Wonder three days later, and then The Supremes, Martha & The Vandellas, The Miracles and The Earl Van Dyke Six on the 15th.
Ready Steady Go's new studio at Wembley had enough room to host all the artists in a kind of variety show format, one act quickly following the previous, tackling their hits mostly in abbreviated form to cram in as many hits as they could. The rehearsals must have been hectic as the Daily Mirror suggested "The only hitch occurred when Diane, leader of The Supremes group, vanished during the final dress rehearsal. The show was held up for nearly an hour before Diane was found, curled up, fast asleep between two pieces of scenery. 'Diane, it seems, is always falling asleep,' said a programme official." Choreographer Malcolm Clare led the three boys, three girls dance troupe.
Recorded on 18th March 1965 and broadcast a few weeks later between 9.40 -
Two days after the recording of the show The Miracles and Martha & The Vandellas popped up on the regular Friday night Ready Steady Go. Proving, if necessary, who were the most popular of the Motown groups The Supremes popped up on the 21st March edition of Sunday Night At The London Palladium, Britain's favourite variety show.
In addition to the first batch of Tamla-
Despite the critical love thrown at Motown from the UK fans the tour was a flop outside of London and EMI suggested that Georgie Fame should join the tour to flesh out the bill. Promoter Arthur Howes told Disc "I had the manager of the Leeds Odeon on to me the morning after the show played there. He said it was the most professional and polished show he had seen. Yet it played to only around 1,500 people out of a total capacity of 4,000 for the two concerts. It's been roughly the same story in Manchester, Blackpool, Wolverhampton and Glasgow. And this is even more surprising considering the large coloured populations in these centres. It isn't as if there hasn't been any publicity. There has been tons of TV and radio coverage of the artists."
Just after the tour The Supremes' Stop! In The Name Of Love, and Nowhere To Run by Martha & The Vandellas both hit the UK chart.
The Supremes – Baby Love
The Miracles – You Really Got A Hold On Me
Stevie Wonder – I Call It Pretty Music
The Temptations – The Way You Do The Things You Do
Martha & The Vandellas – Heat Wave
Dusty Springfield – You Lost The Sweetest Boy
Dusty explains what/where Motown is, while The Earl Van Dyke Six -
The Miracles – Ooh Baby Baby
Dusty Springfield with Martha & The Vandellas – Wishin’ and Hopin’
The Temptations – It’s Growing
The Supremes – Shake
Martha & The Vandellas – Nowhere To Run
Stevie Wonder – Kiss Me Baby
Dusty Springfield with Martha & The Vandellas – I Can’t Hear You No More
The Supremes – Stop! In The Name Of Love
The Temptations – My Girl
Martha & The Vandellas – Dancing In The Street
The Miracles – Shop Around
The Supremes – Where Did Our Love Go
The Miracles and ensemble – Mickey’s Monkey
An edited version of the show, together with a few Ready Steady Go clips, was released in home in the 1990's as The Sounds Of Motown, while a couple of BBC TV documentaries about Motown in Britain have also used the footage. It was finally given a limited release on DVD from Kaleidoscope/BMG in 2023.
THE SOUND OF MOTOWN
Rediffusion
28th April 1965