TV Pop Diaries
Pop Music on British Television 1955 - 1999

From the TV Times "The club's music by The Alex Welsh Band and young people from England, Scotland and Wales: a window on their world, and their approach to religion and living.”

The outbreak of violence by Teddy Boys across the UK in the mid-fifties was a Godsend to bored newspaper editors. Mock outrage about their behaviour led to calls by the media for the Church to involve itself. Why they felt the church, rather than parents had a duty to respond was never made clear, however they duly responded, and responded positively. The idea was to set up church-run youth clubs in order to remove violence, or at the very least dilute it. Run by clergy the media would later dub 'trendy vicars' the clubs came in for equal praise and criticism and were even the subject of the controversial 1958 movie Serious Charge.

In early 1958 ABC Television were in talks with social worker and religious adviser Penry Jones to devise a programme that looked at youth problems from a Christian perspective. Two pilot shows were produced and shown to clergymen, who were enthusiastic. An early version of the show, Facing Tomorrow, was to be broadcast by ABC on Sunday 16th February, featuring an interview with Frankie Vaughan, with a set design meant to recreate a youth club. But the show was awaiting approval from the Central Religious Advisory Committee, who had approval on religious programming from both the BBC and ITV. In the end it was not shown, but a re-vamp was commissioned.

A similar youth club setting to the pilot was constructed within a television studio and Sunday Break was launched on the evening of 16th March 1958. The same evening ATV showed an edition of About Religion, which had a Christ figure (played by an anonymous actor), dressed in jeans and a sweat shirt being crucified.

The purpose of the show was to engage young people in discussion about the problems that they face and why some feel that taking to violence and destruction is a way out, and if it is then how could Christian teaching help reverse it. Everything from youth church attendance to pre-marital sex were dealt with, all on a Sunday evening. The Rev Marcus Morris and TV personality Sheila Buxton presented the programme, with trad-jazzers Alex Welsh & His Band as the resident group, with other jazz groups appearing later on.

ITV must have had high hopes for the show, giving it the much-coveted TV Times cover for the first show, calling it "A Sunday club for teenagers.” Penry Jones claiming "Young people are no less religious than their grandparents. They are not religious in a churchgoing way, but they have faith and are interested in asking vital questions about life and its meaning.” Thirty youth club "members" were present on each show, brought in from around the country. It proved successful, at least in ratings terms, and by late 1959 the show was attracting a viewing audience of about three and a half million per week.

Alex Welsh and his group was replaced by The Dill Jones Trio in 1959 and the show moved out of the studio in July 1960 following another re-boot, and then the youth club was no more. Ronnie Hilton was hired as the resident singer in July 1960, while the Sunday Breaker Songsters joined him, along with a new host James Roose Evans.

On 26th March 1961 they broadcast A Man Dies, a folk music interpretation of the crucifixion featuring young people from a Bristol Presbyterian church youth club, and written by Rev Ernest Marvin and Ewan Hooper from Bristol's Old Vic theatre. As noted earlier, a similar take on the theme had been broadcast in 1958, but despite complaints from clergy, members of parliament and the public this new presentation was well received.

Music acts however would be dropped altogether in late 1962.

Joe McGrath was brought in to direct the show in 1962, a few years before he would move onto working with Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, while future film director Mike Hodges also worked on the show as programme editor towards the end of its run.

In summer 1964 the show re-boots as it uses young people as the presenters, selecting twenty boys and girls as comperes, interviewers and reporters.

During the show’s history the stars popping their heads around the door included Paul Anka, Brenda Lee, Marty Wilde and Mark Wynter, but the soundtrack was mostly trad jazz.

The same bored newspaper editors had another plan for the disaffected rockers in 1964 by engaging them in a needless punch-up with mods.

SUNDAY BREAK

ABC

16th March 1958 - 28th August 1965