Monthly Archives: June 2010

Pirate Radio Part 2

Posted on June 30, 2010 by | 2 Comments

radio_dial

Part 1 : The birth of Radio 1 and Radio 2

Part 3 : Radio Caroline

Part 4 : Caroline has competition

Part 5: A sad, sad end

On my portable radio I can tune a dozen or more radio stations and listen to a wide range of music and it’s something that I, and most other people, take for granted.

We have dealt with the reorganisation of the BBC but I want to very quickly set the scene as it was at the start of the decade so that you can see what prompted people to take the extraordinary step of installing radios on boats and then anchoring them in the sea just off the coast.

Imagine, for one moment, that I take away all but one of the radio stations off your radio and make you listen to just one music station. You now have no choice what you listen to, you have to accept the music you are given. Also, to buy music is now expensive and, worse, you have only one device that you can play it on. Now that’s bad enough but worse to come.

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Days Out Lichfield Staffordshire Cars In The Park

Posted on June 29, 2010 by | Leave a comment

carsinthepark_classiccarsCars in the Park is a car event held at lovely Beacon Park, Lichfield, Staffs on Saturday and Sunday 3rd and 4th July 2010.

According to the website – url below – the event is organised by The Rotary Club of Lichfield with proceeds spread over a number of local, national and international good causes. Camping is available and car parking is on an area adjacent to the park at a cost of £3 per vehicle on Saturday and £5 per vehicle on Sunday.

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Classic Cars Skoda 1000MB

Posted on June 28, 2010 by | 2 Comments

Photo1_skoda_calssic_60s_carAn inexpensive car that is economical to drive, with good performance and which can do a variety of different jobs without complaint is the holy grail of the car industry. So, how did the Skoda fare?

Skoda had been planning this car for many years trying various designs to come up with a car that would, effectively, be all things to all people. This design, which became available in the UK in 1965, was an imaginative and hopeful design for the future of the factory. The letters MB, incidentally, stand for Mladá Boleslav the location of the factory in the North of the Czech Republic.

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Music Tamworth Bands

Posted on June 27, 2010 by | 1 Comment

Tamworth_BandsI’ve just found a great website to bring you that details the history of bands and music in the Tamworth area in the Midlands in the UK.

The idea of the website is to record in detail the growth of the music scene that developed in Tamworth between 1960 and 1990. Each band mentioned is listed, with photographs, details of band members, songs, recordings and gigs.

If you lived in the Midlands, as I did, in the 1960s and beyond, it is well worth a look as it brings back a lot of memories. If not then it’s still worth a read because of the history that it documents of the changing attitudes to pop music and the way that a social phenomenon develops in a small town.

But that’s not all. It’s also worth taking time to explore the various links on the left that lead to some fascinating music related articles. Finally, if you like seeing photos of the period then the Gallery is worth a look.

This is a good resource that is well researched and with a lot of information that will be of interest to all and I recommend an early visit.

http://www.tamworthbands.com/

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Fashion Hippies Part 1

Posted on June 25, 2010 by | 3 Comments

hippy_fashion

Part 2 Tie-Dye

Part 3 The Military Look

Part 4 Hippie Accessories

We are now at the end of the 60s decade and heading for a style which will take us through one of the oddest fashions trends in the topsy-turvy fashion merry-go-round that was the 1960s.

Hippies appeared in America in the mid-60s and were composed mainly of middle-class teenagers disaffected with life and culture who drew on the experiences of 50s anti-conformist beatniks. Psychedelic drugs were common by this time and hippy culture merged the two ideas to create a movement that expressed itself by promoting anything contrary to the excepted society of the day.

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Entertainment TV Gideon’s Way

Posted on June 24, 2010 by | 4 Comments

london_1960sCops and robbers have never gone out of fashion and many say that the very best programs where those made during the 1960s.

Gideon’s Way is another ITC entertainment program from 1964 based on books written by John Creasy (which he wrote as J J Maric). They are set in London’s East End and starred John Gregson as Commander George Gideon of the Yard and each week there was a different crime to solve.

Produced in black and white, there were 26 episodes, each of the usual 55 minutes duration. The series was, so far as I recall, well filmed and very popular and it also relied on a lot of location scenes. At the time these were just part of the series but now, of course, they represent a snapshot of the East End of London as it was then. For reasons you will see below, it is not possible to develop this idea.

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Entertainment The Birth Of Radio 1 (and 2)

Posted on June 23, 2010 by | 4 Comments

radio_1960sPart 2 : Needle Time

Part 3 : Radio Caroline

Part 4 : Caroline has competition

Part 5 : A sad, sad end

We’re used now to calling our stations by numbers but, in the 1960s, radio stations had much more interesting and explanatory names.

Radio broadcasting in the UK began with just one service for domestic broadcasting called the ‘Home’ service. After the Second World War the less formal part of the Home service that mainly kept the forces in touch with home was transferred to a new station called the ‘Light’ program.

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Days Out Elvaston Castle Steam Rally

Posted on June 22, 2010 by | Leave a comment

elvaston_castle_classic_carsBefore you start wondering, yes, it does have a 60s theme but it’s called Elvaston Castle Steam Rally.

The rally takes place at lovely Elvaston Castle on the 3 and 4th of July 2010 so this a definite day for the diary.

The castle can be easily found four miles south-east of Derby and comprises a castle along with over 200 acres of woodlands, parkland and formal gardens.

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