TV Pop Diaries
Pop Music on British Television 1955 - 1999

A series of six Christian faith morality plays starring Cliff Richard.

Cliff had been up to Newcastle in 1968 to perform with a Christian choir at a concert at the City Hall, broadcast by Tyne Tees in February. Cliff talked to Barry Westward about his faith and took questions from the audience while singing songs from his recently released album Good News. Presumably the show must have proved successful as he was invited back to star in this series the following year.

Broadcast on Sunday evenings the show sees Cliff play ‘everyman’ Johnny Brown. Each week Johnny encounters a situation taken from the Christian parables and makes his own choices about dealing with them. Johnny, the non-Christian, is portrayed as a lazy, vulnerable fool until he sees 'the light'.

The show was announced at the end of 1968, but took six months to make it to the screen. A Tyne Tees spokesman told Disc in late 1968 "Nothing has been decided yet - but we're hoping it will be nationally networked. Cliff will sing alone and with The Settlers, and star in little religious sketches." Cliff had played a couple of charity shows with The Settlers at the Royal Albert Hall in January 1969.

Lynda Marchal (aka Lynda La Plante), Una Stubbs and Cyndi Kent of The Settlers play various girlfriends, while William Hartnell, in a rare post-Doctor Who role, plays Johnny's father.

The episodes were as follows,

1 - Up The Creek. The story of The Good Samaritan

2 - Johnny On The Rocks. Johnny steals money from his father.

3 - Johnny Come Home. Johnny plays the prodigal son.

4 - Johnny Faces Facts. Johnny learns to listen to his elders.

5 - Johnny Gets The Point aka Johnny In A Blind Rage. Johnny leans to help others.

6 - Johnny In Love. Johnny realises there's no place like home.

The series wasn't fully networked across all ITV stations and was never repeated, with only three of the shows still surviving in the archive.

LIFE WITH JOHNNY

Tyne Tees

25th May 1969 - 6th July 1969