TV Pop Diaries
Pop Music on British Television 1955 - 1999

ABC Goes Pop 1956 - 1961

A Brilliant Company

While the Granada arrow defiantly (and accurately) pointed north the ABC triangle, at first view, seemed to be pointing south. However, ABC was a dual region, broadcasting first to the midlands beginning 18th February 1956 then extending to the north from Lancashire across the Pennines to Yorkshire from 5th May 1956 onwards. The three points of the ABC triangle actually pointed to its intended audience. But viewers in the midlands could be forgiven for bouts of déjà vu as a company using those same initials had already begun broadcasting from September the previous year. Lew Grade's Associated Broadcasting Company had won the contract to broadcast in the Midlands during the weekdays and in London at the weekend, but Associated British Picture Corporation had bagged the weekend spot for the north and the midlands and made it clear that they would be using the station identification ABC (Associated British Corporation) as the name was nationally known as a cinema chain, so Grade's ABC re-launched as ATV (Associated TeleVision) the following month. To add to the confusion, the Daily Mirror in November 1955 referred to the future ATV as the Associated Television Company.

Despite the nostalgia afforded to it's weekday shift cohorts Granada ("GranadaLand") and even ATV ("ATVLand") it was not offered to ABC, which has remained without a matey nickname all these years.

1956

Like all the other broadcasters at the time rock and roll really wouldn't be broadcast on prime time television, despite evidence from the UK's record sales. It caused trouble, it was Teddy Boy music. ABC, like the other new ITV stations, had to play it safe if they were to make a lasting impression, so it was to Joe Loss and his Orchestra that they turned to on ABCs first day of broadcasting and their first variety show, Hometown Saturday Night. In May 1956 the show visited Liverpool and featured one of its greatest sons, Frankie Vaughan, who was just beginning the second stage of his recording career, this time with Philips. The same month ABC debuted Numbers Please, a music quiz show featuring Ray Ellington and his Quartet as regulars, and Records/Diskery, a weekly new releases show, albeit with minimal guest appearances. Time For Melody came along in June as did Joe Loss’ Dancing Years and Bring A Record. The Dickie Valentine Show was a one-off, also in June, straying into what would become ATV's territory of the star-led show. ABC's relationship with it's noisy midlands neighbour would eventually cause harm to both, but they would on occasion work together, not only sharing a studio facility in Aston near Birmingham, but co-productions like July's Sunday Night at Blackpool, a recording of The Daily Mirror Disc Festival featuring many record stars of the day, but again, no rock and roll as Americans weren't coming over to the UK yet and the Brit rockers still had to make any kind of impact. Although Lonnie Donegan was making his presence felt he was country/blues/skiffle, not rock and roll. August's Beside The Seaside did however feature singing group The Four Southlanders performing something called Hush-A-Bye Rock, which was probably pretty daring for a Sunday night. Once summer was through it was time to get back indoors and in September Housewives Call The Tune was launched on Saturday mornings, again there were no personal appearances. Time For Rhythm followed the same month featuring in its first show The Merseysippi Jazz Band, again acknowledging that the north wasn't just Manchester and Leeds. Joe Loss and His Orchestra were back in September for Bid For Fame, ABC's first talent show, featuring both singers and groups. ABC's next venture into popular music was Fan Club in November, featuring many of the singing stars of the day, hosted by Decca recording star David Hughes. The same month saw ABC venture into Yorkshire with the opening of the Elmley Moor transmitter and to celebrate Salute To Yorkshire featured singing stars Dickie Valentine and Ruby Murray, while Murray and Joe Loss returned for Cabaret Time in November. Strangely, ABC didn't offer anything fancy for the Christmas period that year.

Straight away it was obvious that the station was in the entertainment business, but using the same talent over and over again would test the public's patience. Maybe looking at the younger audience might help.

1957

Prime time could be a crowded room, and the afternoons had yet to be taken up with minority sports and football results, so it was there that Musical Cheers debuted in February, as did Saturday evening's Bonanza, a musical drama that ABC had spent a whopping £4000 on. It only reached a small audience but they tried again in March with a rock and roll take on the twenties musical The Boyfriend. Contributing to the mock outrage of the day's youth culture the play Teddy Gang played in April, while at the end of the month they went back to playing it safe with The Joe Loss Show. Saturday afternoons were proving useful and in June they broadcast Festival Of Stars, another fundraising collection of musical turns. Holiday Town Saturday Night was back the same month but only succeeded in providing Joe Loss with more work. They also persuaded Frankie Vaughan to host a one-off special, also broadcast in June. August brought us the first edition of Top Numbers, a show which appears to have leant towards rock and roll from the start, while Top Of The Bill in September played host to Lonnie Donegan and other skifflers. October brought yet another play about teddy boys, but at least they gave us something for Christmas this year, with the panto' Cinderella co-starring Lonnie Donegan.

1958

As BBC4's Top Of The Pops 'The Story Of' shows constantly informed us "it was the year everything changed." Top Numbers and other ABC shows continued, either proving their worth, ratings wise, or budget wise. An American import The Steve Allen Show debuted in January as did ABC's own The Late Night Show, both would feature pop talent, but still not veering to far away the from frocks and evening dress brigade. In February ABC's second anniversary celebration, Many Happy Returns, featured a singing group from Liverpool, The Vernons Girls, who would go on to national fame later in the year, thanks to ABC. March would bring a curious addition to ABC's schedule, Sunday Break. A religious show targeting the teddy boy and coffee bar audience would not have passed the audition stages in the real world, but not only did it pass but it stayed on the schedules until 1965. It featured not only British talent but acts from America like Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee. April brought us Before Midnight, a late night Saturday show featuring Rosemary Squires, but it wasn't until June that ABC delivered what we really wanted. Oh Boy was tested out in the ABC region for a couple of weeks and the decision was be made to commission a full series. Oh Boy shook up British television. The volume control on the TV became the definition of The Generation Gap. The show had old-timey jazz players pretending to be Sam Butera and The Witnesses, but they put everything they had into it. It was relentless, the first genuinely exciting British television. That show, among others from ABC would continue, but August brought an odd one, Win A Mink. From this angle it looked repulsive, but at the time a country just coming out of rationing it must have seemed almost as though some Hollywood glamour was now within our reach. And more glamour in the shape of a one-off Shirley Bassey special was broadcast in September. The following month Bassey would also appear in the debut edition of After Hours, presumably a re-boot of Before Midnight. Christmas this year brought us Top Numbers of 1958, a pre-cursor of the annual Top Of The Pops shows.

1959

Many of ABC's favourites like Bid For Fame, The Sunday Break, Holiday Town Parade and After Hours would continue, as had, somewhat surprisingly, Oh Boy. The viewing figures suggested that not only was it beating The Six-Five Special on the other side, but was teaching most other variety shows a lesson. Only Rediffusion's Cool For Cats would be commercial TV's nearest rival. Top Numbers would return, but now only once a month. It would be a quiet year for ITV's most pop-aware channel, with no new shows until September. Jack Good's paranoia about the success of Oh Boy had brought it to an early conclusion, but ABC wanted to keep him from returning to the BBC, so indulged his next venture, Boy Meets Girls. Noel Harrison joined ABC for Sentimental Journey in October, while Joe Loss continues his association with ABC with Lunch Dancing With Loss on Saturdays, starting in November. A re-boot of Boy Meets Girls in December would keep the show going until next spring, but if ABC were to prepare itself for the new decade, then maybe some new ideas would help.

1960

Despite expectations the new decade began pretty much as the previous one had left off, with only two new shows in the first few months. Make A Date began in March and Clubland Saturday Night in April. In the same month Jack Good was given a third and final throw of the dice at ABC when Wham began transmission, but it seemed evident that this was just an act of conclusion. However, in January a new sit-com featuring the Bradens must have drawn attention of later researchers, as it was given the title The Rolling Stones. In May ABC pitched up in Liverpool again with Cruising On The Mersey. It was all aboard the Royal Iris, but Merseybeat still was gestating, so it appears that jazz bands would be donning the life-jackets until further notice. Sammy Davis Jr teamed up with Lionel Blair for a special in June, while the same month saw a Daily Mirror article claiming that both the BBC and ITV would be dropping dedicated pop shows. Both had decided that trad jazz was rock and roll's replacement and that's where the money would go. Holiday Town Parade would re-appear featuring acts from various summer season shows around the country. Justifying the decision to drop rock and roll shows August sees Steamboat Shuffle's debut, a variety show set aboard what was meant to be a Mississippi paddle steamer moored on the Thames, featuring jazz bands and singers it was made to cash-in on the trad-jazz revival which was still popular at the time. Also popular were the solo piano players like Russ Conway, Winifred Atwell and later Mrs Mills. Joe 'Mister Piano' Henderson's show Sing Along With Joe, which started in November, would be filmed in factories across England with a supporting team of singers. ABC's gave us two Christmas Day offerings this year, the bafflingly titled Christmas On The Other Man's Farm, starring singer Craig Douglas and Alice Through The Looking Box, a fantasy featuring Marty Wilde and The Vernons Girls, late of Boy Meets Girls.

1961

ABC's regulars like Sunday Break and Sing Along With Joe remained, and it didn't look as though anything new would be added to the roster in 1961, after all they had made a vow not to make any new dedicated pop shows. In addition to the more obvious music guests on shows, sometimes you'd get to hear something wonderful, courtesy of one of many truly great composers working in British television at the time. In March ABC debuted The Avengers, a new Saturday night drama which, for the first few series, had a wonderful big band jazz theme, written by Johnny Dankworth. About the same time ABC pitched up at The Empire Pool at Wembley in London for the first of a new variety series, Big Night Out. The first edition of which was the NME Pollwinners' show featuring Cliff Richard & The Shadows, Emile Ford & The Checkmates, Adam Faith among others. The Pollwinners' show would become an annual event for ABC until 1966. In April ABC launched a show which has, due to the vagaries of fashion, rarely mentioned in the same breath as Ready Steady Go or Top Of The Pops. Despite the promise of no new pop shows it was suggested that ABC give Saturday nights another go, so the concept of Thank Your Lucky Stars was created and, after major tweaking in the second series, stayed for five years.

At this point we get off of ABC's roundabout. They will creative unique TV until its demise in summer 1968.

Author Kevin Mulrennan will publish a more extensive look at ABC's music output in a future book, while Network have released an thirteen-disc series of DVDs from the ABC catalogue.