Unusual 70's Ad

Thought I'd share this very unusual advert from the 70's. Somehow I don't think we'll be seeing any ads like this one on British television any time soon!

Lookin

Lookin was a really good 70's TV magazine. The adults had 'The TV Times' and 'The Radio Times'. The children and teenagers had 'Lookin'.

The 70's - The Era Of Public Information Films

I'll never forget the great public information films we had in the 70's. "Clunk click every trip" advised Jimmy Saville. For many people who grew up in the UK in the 70's that immortal phrase will stick in their memories for a long time yet! And what was that other one, by the green cross code man? "Look right, look left, look right again". Very sound advice indeed. I remember as a young girl navigating a busy street and waiting to cross the road. "Look right, look left, look right again" I thought to myself. Yes, I repeated that mantra many a time whilst waiting to cross a road. It really stuck in my memory and I believe did help to keep me and many other children safe on the roads. Here is a list of the 'health and safety gurus' who helped children in the 70's stay safe.
Jimmy Saville "Now then, now then. as it happens" in the seventies, Jimmy Saville persuaded the nation that it was better to "Clunk Click on Every Trip".
Green Cross Code Man
The super-hero in spandex helped a generation of kids to cross the road safely. Played by 6 ft 7 Dave (Darth Vader) Prowse.
The Green Cross Code Man made a visit to St Augustines CE primary school in Swinton.
Jon Pertwee
The Doctor Who star attempted to re-enforce the Green Cross Code message with his bizarre request for us to "SPLINK". It's been suggested that it stands for Stop at the Pavement. Look and Listen for traffic. If no traffic is Near walk across. and Keep looking and listening as you cross.

Alvin Stardust

The glam rocker told us that we "must be outta our tiny minds" if we forgot to look before we crossed the road.




Kevin Keegan

In between training

sessions for Liverpool and visits to the hairdresser, Kev still found time to get the road safety message across to his legions of fans.

Tufty

The Tufty club was launched in 1961 and has recently been modernised. Bernard Cribbins narrated the popular 1970's films featuring our road safety squirrel and his naughty friend Willy Weasel.

Public Information Film Featuring Les Gray

Sixties Pop Memorabilia

Yes I know this blog is a 70's blog but I couldn't resist including this vintage bit of Beatles memorabilia! It's a Beatles towel described like this:-

"Rare original vintage Beatles fab four unused Irish linen tea towel 1964
Superb vintage piece of fab four sixties ephemera!
The Beatles images have adorned everything from mugs and plates to toys, thermos flasks to beauty products and most things inbetween!
Here is a great item for any enthusiastic Beatles collector - an original irish linen tea towel featuring John, Paul, George and Ringo circa 1964.
Printed in black, claret and dusky pink on cream, this fab tea towel has a border of guitars and drums, and features printed signatures above the heads of each of the band.
Printed along the bottom "all pure linen, made in Ireland, Ulster, copyright, fast colours".

The seller is asking for £70.00, which may seem a bit steep for a bit of cloth but aah, this ain't any old bit of cloth. This is a bit of cloth with the mugshots of the Beatles on it, which makes all the difference, and mightily increases it's value! I remember when I was a fan of a pop group in the 70's, anything with their faces on I just had to have! It was the same with other fans, and fans of other pop groups or singers in the 60's and 70's - even in the 80's. A young girl's love for a pop group or star is such a powerful thing, it takes over every aspect of her life. She lives, eats, sleeps and dreams this boy band or singer and will buy anything she can get her hands on that has anything to do with them, if possible! And it is this phenomenom that makes the discovery or management of a young boy band or boy singer so lucrative. As long as the boy band or singer is popular and they still have hordes of teenage, (or pre-teen) obsessional (and very hormonal!) fans chasing after them anything featuring them will sell. Why else do talent scouts or managers continually hope to discover the latest boyband! As a source of money, what can rival them? (well of course there are some things but I can't think of them at the top of my head) Because like I said, once a young girl is in love with a boy band or singer she will buy virtually anything that features them - whether records, magazines, posters, badges, bags, watches and yes, even tea towels.

Guy Williams From Lost In Space

I remember watching 'lost in space' in the 70's. It was a sci-fi programme for children and it was great! I loved it! Carried on watching it even when I was in my late(ish) (well 15 or 16) teens. And the man who played the dad in it was absolutely gorgeous, so handsome. Anyway, here's his original screen test to get the part. Sorry he smokes in this, but that was how it was in those days.

Lost In Space Trailer

The pop music stars who rocked the fashion world with their popular looks

The Bay City Rollers’ flares and tartan scarves were listed among the most iconic looks in music history yesterday.

The style – adopted by thousands of fans of the Scots group at the height of Rollermania in the 1970s – was voted eighth in the list of iconic looks from the music industry.

Top was the Punk style pioneered by the Sex Pistols, followed by Michael Jackson’s single glove and Madonna’s cone bra – her Jean Paul Gaultier-designed Blonde Ambition look from 1990.

Others included ABBA’s all-white outfits; Kylie Minogue’s hot pants; Frank Sinatra and his tailored suits; and Spice Girl Geri Halliwell with her Union Flag dress.

Edinburgh group The Bay City Rollers – whose hits included Shang-a-Lang, Summerlove Sensation and Bye Bye Baby – were ahead of the famous black-and-white look of KISS and the Parka jackets worn by Oasis.

More than 2000 people across the UK were surveyed for the research, which was carried out by PRS for Music.

The research revealed that 41% of men and 39% of women let their music tastes influence their choice of clothing.

Ellis Rich, chairman of PRS, said: “Since the rise of pop music, it has become more common for the public’s dress sense to meet their music tastes. While bands like ABBA got the ball rolling back in the 1970s, there has been an incredible emergence of new trends blossoming out of the music industry.

“From the New Romantics’ make-up to the alternative Indie lovers, we’ve seen it all.”



Dressed to thrill


The top ten iconic looks are:



1. Sex Pistols - Punk

2. Michael Jackson - Solo glove

3. Madonna - Cone bra

4. ABBA - All white outfits

5.Kylie Minogue - Hot pants

6. Frank Sinatra - Smart suit

7. Geri Halliwel - Union Flag dress

8. Bay City Roller - Tartan

9. KISS - Black and white

10. Oasis - Parka jackets


_________________________________________________________________
8th? Should've been 1st! But then again I am biased.

70s Television

The Goodies

The show was an excuse for Bill Oddie, Graeme Garden and Tim Brooke-Taylor to do just about anything they liked. They were three odd job men who did anything, anytime, anywhere including launching a rocket to the moon, sailing to a lost island, and house-sitting a lighthouse. 'The Goodies' was a great show; BO, GG and TBT were all really funny and very talented comedians. It was always great when the Goodies came on telly, you were always guaranteed a good laugh! Nothing like them these days. The show is best remembered for hit song 'The Funky Gibbon'.

BCR Book Review

Saw this review by an American journalist for a Bay City Roller book recently:-

"Tam Paton's sensational inside story of Britains No. 1 pop group. The most popular singing band to come from England since the Beatles!"

Seems our precious cousin from across the pond hasn't cottoned on to the fact that the BCR came from Scotland. Or maybe he was just being mischievous! And in case anyone's wondering, no, Scotland is NOT in England!!! And at the moment it's also still in the UK - just about!

Once In a Lifetime Tour 2010 Gets Underway

Well it's that time again! Yes, time for the 'Once In A Lifetime' tour - that fabulous tour that celebrates the best of the 'boy bands' or 'boy singers' of the 70's! You know the ones, the ones that caused mayhem up and down the land and caused teenage (and pre-teens) to swoon at the very sight of them! The ones that caused young girls to collect their posters and put them up on their walls and run away from home to try to catch a glimpse of them! (ahh, young love eh) Well I went to a 'Once in a lifetime' concert again this year. Missed the tour last time so was determined to get there this time! And I believe sadly, it'll probably be my last time. Personally I believe the first 'OIAL' tour was far better than this year. It had all the excitment of everyone who grew up in the 70's being able to once again see some of the 70's groups and singers they'd loved (or even loathed) from that groovy and great era. The line-up back then was David Cassidy, David Essex, The Osmonds and The Bay City Rollers! Erm... actually, not the real BCR from the 70's, it was the lead singer and some other guys who probably weren't even born when the original Rollers were at the height of their fame so it's a little bit naughty to call them the Bay City Rollers. Even calling them the 'LM legendary BCR' doesn't sound right to me. Anyway, at that first tour there were loads of David Cassidy fans, many had on David Cassidy scarves, some had on DC badges. Then there were the Osmond fans with their Osmond scarves (their seemed to be far more Osmond merchandise than anyone elses!) many had Osmond T.shirts on, some had Osmond badges on, some Osmond necklaces on. Many brought the programme which sold for around £10. (ouch!) Actually, I can't really remember seeing that many Osmond badges, saw some rosettes but I think it was mainly Osmond scarves. And they wore them around their necks with pride. There was a pair of Osmond fans who were outside before the concert started. They looked absolutely great in their Osmond gear. I can't remember what they wore but it was bright coloured and they had hats on (kinda like cowboy hats, not the purple 'Donny' hat) along with Osmond badges and rossettes. I just wish I'd had the guts to ask if I could take a picture of them! Sights like those of loyal fans of pop groups or singers of the 60's or 70's are priceless, because they capture a time when society was much more innocent. In those days, every girl had her favourite BOY pop singer who she was in love with or BOY pop group who she was in love with and no girl was interested in girl groups and no one was obsessed with sexual perversion! It was called the 70's, when people were a little bit more normal! There were also plenty of David Essex fans milling around but the ones that stood out the most were the Bay City Roller fans, as usual! Many had on their Roller gear (or some of it) There were Roller fans with tartan scarves round their necks or round their wrists, Roller fans with Roller badges on or with tartan trimmed trousers, (some shortened others not) tartan trimmed shirts and stripey socks on and plenty of Bay City Roller badges. Oh, and 2 Roller fans came in matching outfits, both had on denim jackets with a Bay City Roller T. shirt on underneath (the original 70's one which many fans had in the 70's including me) BCR necklaces and home-made BCR badges on their jackets. Oh, and of course tartan scarves! Boy, the memories came flooding back I can tell you. So much tartan everywhere. It felt like we were back in the 70's. It was so great seeing so many loyal Roller fans who'd come to see the Rollers. (or Les' Mckeown's version of them anyway) and the other 70's groups/singers. It was good to see the loyal fans of all of the groups/singers actually, really good. The most unusual sight was a woman dressed in half Osmond gear and half Roller gear. Or was it half Os half DC? No, it was half Osmond gear and half BCR gear And though she looked good as all the fans who made an effort to dress up as fans did , she also looked very strange! It looked so weird. In the 70's, girls liked either or, not both! There may have been the odd exceptions of course, but it was unusual for any fan to like both the Osmonds AND The Bay City Rollers in the UK. So seeing that was kind of weird. Anyway, saw this post of 'The Liverpool Echo' giving the low-down on the Once In A Lifetime (Remember The 70's) concert in Liverpool. There was a line up change this year, Leo Sayer replacing David Cassidy. I would have loved David Cassidy to have been there again but Leo Sayer was very good so it was ok. It would have been great to have had all 5 of them actually. That would have been ideal. But like I said, Leo Sayer was surprisingly good - I really loved hearing 'moonlighting' again. What a great tune. It bought back tons of memories. And all good. Anyway, a great time was had by all. Who was the most popular on the night? Hard to tell, but the fans sportingly seemed to support all the artists, regardless of who their favourites in the 70's were. In the 70's their was bitter rivalry amongst fans, especially amongst the David Cassidy and Osmond fans. Actually I seem to remember Osmond fans hating Roller fans, and visa versa. (I think the former was probably due to jealousy!) But on the whole, on that night, old rivalries were forgotten and everyone had a great time. The atmosphere was electric - so exciting, so happy, full of laughter and joy. And we all soaked up that wonderful, happy atmosphere. It was an absolutely FABtastic night - pure 70's nostalgia!

Jackie Magazine

One of the best things about being a young girl in the 70's was the girl's mags we used to have. And one of the most popular was of course, Jackie. Almost every girl growing up in the 70's in the UK read Jackie mag at some point! It was really good, with articles and all sorts of things for us pre-pubescent and post-pubescent girlies. So what was so good about it? Why did girls go out and buy it? (of have it delivered by the paperboy if they were fortunate to have parents who were loaded!?) Well, it's simple. There was something for everyone. It was interesting. There were stories of romance or problems that we could relate to, there were letters from readers who were around our age, there were pages filled with all sorts of things from cartoon stories to clothesmaking ideas to info about boys. There was a fashion section which often gave patterns for making interesting clothes and other things. Then of course the most important thing. There were pictures and articles on pop singers and pop groups - which was the one reason why many girls bought it I suspect - me included! There were articles on groups and singers, but also posters that we could hang on our wall. I used to love going into the newsagents and seeing piccies of my favourite popgroup staring back at me from this (or any other) magazine. Cor.. they were just so gorgous. Did I ever fancy them!!!!!! Ahem.... erm.... anyway, yeh Jackie was a really good mag! There was the Cathy and Claire page which answered readers questions. I must admit I'd completely forgotton the name of this page. I knew there was a problem page but didn't remember the names 'Cathy and Claire'. Don't think I really read that page much that's probably why. There were articles about skin care for those worried about spots or acne, there were articles about relationships and boys, boys and erm.... more boys! (which was great for us. Boys were always so baffling when I was at school. It was really tricky at times!) Jackie was a great read. And there were also many others like Fab 208, Pink, Mirabelle and Diana. (did Diana form from Jackie. Not sure) I used to get them all. I think we were actually blessed with great magazines for girls in the 70's. It was a far more innocent era, and all the media, including girl's magazines reflected this.

Jacke Magazine On TV

Recently a documentary came on the TV about the 70's mag 'Jackie'. It was called "Jackie - A Girl's Best Friend' which was very interesting. Learned stuff I never knew or hadn't remembered (like the Cathy and Clair page). Also that the mag was produced in Scotland! Had absolutely no idea, thought it was London. That was a bit of surprise. The programme was great, so nostalgic. It bought back great memories. But just one gripe. I felt they dwelt on David Cassidy way too much. It was ridiculous. Towards the end I felt they went on about the Osmonds and David Cassidy far too much, well especially DC. It became like a DC love-fest. Especially when that Nina whats-her-name started drooling all over him. Omg, that Nina whatever-her-name-is just about made my stomach turn! Anyway, as far as I'm concerned there was way too much time spent on talking about DC. But even if they did choose to talk about him (I didn't mind them talking about him I was glad they did) they should have at least made the show a little more balanced and talked about other pop singers or pop groups that were popular in the 70's and given them the same amount of time. Anyone would have thought DC had been the only one to appear in Jackie mag! What about the BCR? Where were they? They didn't feature the BCR at all which I thought was a bit of a cheek! (but they didn't mind featuring BCR fans and pretending that they had been DC fans which I thought was a real cheek! It really was. That was just wrong) When I bought Jackie way back then, the Rollers were in it a lot, but the documentary makers chose to ignore this fact and fawn all over DC (who is bigheaded enough as it is in my honest opinion) Now don't get me wrong, got absolutely nothing against DC, in fact he seems a really nice and charming chap - but I do think the fame may have gone to his head a little at some point. I was actually a David Cassidy fan in the 70's, but it was because I sensed some big-headedness that I went off him. There were all sorts of pop singers and groups in Jackie mag from David Essex to Hello, Slik, David Soul, The Rubettes, Sweet, Gary Glitter...... Erm.... ok, forget GG. Yes, if only we could.

Early 1970s maxi dress.

Flattering one piece dress has a paisley-printed bodice of nylon knit in a lacy-look texture with accents of crepe-textured double-knit polyester that match the skirt. Back zipper closing.

This dress dates from around 1973 as you can see, this is the original catalogue picture of the dress.

Child's 70's Laura Ashley Dress

Just wanted to show a pic of the kind of dress worn by many a girl in the 70's. It has a frilled hem, little puff sleeves and tie sash at waist, all in a pretty fawn and blue floral print. A delightful dress.

70's Laura Ashley Dress

Now this is the type of dress I love! A beautiful Laura Ashley dress - straight out of the 70s. How to describe it?

A classic early Laura Ashley. Long, white and pannelled. This lovely, old-fashioned dress represents for me biblical womanhood, femininity and modesty. Heavy 100% cotton with crochet borders at hem of panels and hem, sleeve and down two sides of the bodice. High neckline (women of today, please take note!) and pleated middle front bodice, long puff sleeves and button cuffs. The style statement here is the additional shorter apron like panels – one covering the entire front and two either side of nylon zip at the back. Feminine and beautiful. A most fabulous dress.

No 1's Of The 70's

Detailed item info
Track listing
1. Metal Guru - T-Rex
2. Blockbuster - Sweet
3. School's Out - Cooper, Alice
4. Jealous Mind - Alvin Stardust
5. Rubber Bullets - 10cc
6. Devil Gate Drive - Quatro, Suzi
7. Son Of My Father - Chicory Tip
8. Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes) - Edison Lighthouse
9. Yellow River - Christie
10. Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Old Oak Tree - Dawn
11. Twelfth Of Never - Osmond, Donny
12. Hold Me Close - Essex, David
13. When Will I See You Again - Three Degrees
14. Rock Your Baby - McCrae, George
15. Kung Fu Fighting - Douglas, Carl
16. Double Barrel - Barker, Dave & Ansel Collins
17. In The Summertime - Mungo Jerry
18. Band Of Gold - Payne, Freda
19. Love Me For A Reason - Osmonds
20. Sad Sweet Dreamer - Sweet Sensation
21. Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon & Garfunkel

1. Bye Bye Baby - Bay City Rollers
2. Coz I Luv U - Slade
3. January - Pilot
4. Under The Moon Of Love - Showaddywaddy
5. You Won't Find Another Fool Like Me - New Seekers
6. Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep - Middle Of The Road
7. Save Your Kisses For Me - Brotherhood Of Man
8. When A Child Is Born - Mathis, Johnny
9. I Only Have Eyes For You - Garfunkel, Art
10. Free - Williams, Deniece
11. When I Need You - Sayer, Leo
12. Stand By Your Man - Wynette, Tammy
13. Tears On My Pillow - Nash, Johnny
14. Barbados - Typically Tropical
15. December '63 (Oh What A Night) - Four Seasons
16. I Love To Love (But My Baby Loves To Dance) - Charles, Tina
17. You To Me Are Everything - Real Thing
18. Show You The Way To Go - Jacksons
19. I Feel Love - Summer, Donna
20. Are Friends Electric - Tubeway Army

Any of these classics bring back memories? Personally, some of my favourite no.1's of the 70's would have to be 'I'm not in love' by 10.CC, 'The Logical Song' by Supertramp, 'Haitian Divorce' by Steeley Dan, 'The Dean And I' by 10.CC, and Something In The Air By Thunderclap Newman. Oh, and also 'Breakfast in America' by Supertramp. (what a voice!) What, some of them weren't number ones? Well they all were in my book.

Talking Of 70's Number 1's.....

... or songs that should have been number 1. What about that beautiful tune 'Haitian Divorce' by Steeley Dan? I used to love this song in the 70's, used to almost bring tears to my eyes. (Maybe cause it sounded kind of sad at times) But even though I absolutely loved the song, I didn't quite get all of the lyrics. And if anyone out there did know them, I wonder if anyone actually understood their meaning?

'Babs and Clean Willie were in love they said
So in love the preacher's face turned red
Soon everybody knew the thing was dead
He shouts, she bites, they wrangle through the night
She go crazy
Got to make a getaway
Papa say

CHORUS:
Oh - no hesitation
No tears and no hearts breakin'
No remorse
Oh - congratulations
This is your Haitian divorce'

Well, I really don't care what the lyrics were about, that was, (and still is) an absolutely beautiful tune. Top points to Steeley Dan!

Measuring Up The 70's 'Pop Idols

Warning About Escalators

A 70's Roller Fan Blogger! transfer

Hey, found a person who was a Bay City Roller fan in the 70's in Bloggerland! Yes, there are loads of us! I'm very impressed that the said Roller fan had the guts to put a picture of herself in full Roller gear on the net. Don't think many Roller fans or former Roller fans would be so brave! Former Roller Fan Blogger

Fiona Bruce's Vintage 70's Antiques Roadshow

To many, Fiona Bruce is a classy lady. When she reads the news or does any other type of broadcasting on telly, she just seems to be so cool, calm and collected. She's a successful woman and seems to have become one without losing any of her femininity. A little while ago I was quite surprised to find out I have something in common with her. Ms Bruce was a David Cassidy fan in the 70's! I was very surprised to learn that. I saw an interview with her where she spoke about how in the early 70s there was a pop rivalry between David Cassidy and the Osmonds. She said she was a fan of David Cassidy. She loved him! (like millions of girls all over the world) She had all his pics on her bedroom wall (so did I!) and did all the other 'fan' stuff I presume. The funniest part was when she desribed how, when watching the Osmonds on television, her and her family would have to turn the brightness down because of the Osmonds teeth. They were too bright! And even when the brightness was turned down all you could see were the Osmonds teeth! They were still there! Anyway, here in the UK, Ms Bruce is well-known as a newreader and presenter of Antiques Roadshow. But I've just found out that she has said that she would like to feature some vintage 70s stuff on the show. And that's another thing we have in common. A love of 70's things! She has lots of vintage 70's stuff which is so cool. I wish I'd kept my things I really do. This is what she had to say about it:- "1970s outfits, from bell-bottom flares to multi-coloured maxi-dresses, are deserving of a slot on the show. The idea of what is vintage or antique is so much more elastic now," she said. "At the moment, there's a massive trend for 1970s fashion. People are buying it to wear or just to collect. And they're paying big money." She spoke of her "love affair with second-hand clothes". 70's fashions are really growing in popularity over here. I don't know, maybe people are longing for a piece of that more innocent era. Or maybe they just like the styles. Perhaps a bit of both. But I for sure still love the 70's and some (not all) 70's fashions. Ms Bruce has her critics saying that she is 'dumbing down' the Antiques Roadshow. But I disagree. I and I'm pretty sure many others welcome the broadening of the understanding of the word 'antiques' and look forward to seeing those 70's vintage dresses on the show sometime in the future

Sweet - Little Willy

Decimalization

I remember decimalization, vaguely. It was a time of excitement for young children who could just about understand what was going on. All those shiny new coins! It's amazing how quickly we forgot the old ones.The memories of the old coins and their values are a bit of a haze to me now. I can remember the threepenny bit, the sixpence, the tuppence, the shilling, the pound note and the half a crown. It seems a shame to have gotten rid of our old money, even some of their names sound rather endearing today. But I suppose sentimentality had to make way for progress.