TV Pop Diaries
Pop Music on British Television 1955 -
Produced by Johnny Hamp Firstimers was a locally-
This wasn't the first time that Hamp had called out for new local talent. Granada's
Scene at 6.30 held auditions in the summer of 1963 for a weekly new talent spot,
but with one proviso, as he told TV Times "Unless your whole act is a calculated
impersonation or set of impersonations, don't copy anybody, otherwise you'll be wasting
your time and ours." Hamp also tried with a similar format in 1965 with Granada In
The North, a ten minute tea-
After the first 60 acts had been seen they would compete for the Granada Firstimers Trophy, and it was hoped that one of the many artists whose careers Granada had helped launch previously would be around to appear on the twenty strong judging panel of journalists, agents, producers and show business personalities. There were three cash prizes of £150, £100 and £50.
Auditions were held three evenings a week, where each act was allowed to perform
two songs. However there was one recurring problem as producer Johnny Hamp explained
to The Stage "It's depressing how many girls sing Puppet On A String." On one occasion
a yodeller had a sore throat, so played the harmonica instead. Talking to TV Times
ahead of the first final in September 1967 Hamp claimed there were 3500 auditions
to go through. "A high proportion of those 3500 would-
The show was intended to run for one three-
The most successful act the show had was The Amen Corner, and Hamp kept a photo of
them on his desk. However a proto Jethro Tull had appeared in the first week of the
show. Tull's Ian Anderson talking to Prog magazine in late 2019 said "I was so upset
that they won! Andy Fairweather-
Another winning band The Foggy Dew-
A list provided by Mark Dixon on the Missing Episodes message board suggests the show had a leaning towards psych and pop with many fascinating appearances gone for good as no shows are thought to exist.
FIRSTIMERS
Granada
22nd May 1967 -