The Magpie Annual (1976)

When I was a kid, TV Annuals were just as big business as toys and games. Here are some pages from the Magpie TV Annual 1976.

Takes you back doesn't it?

Christmas Radio Times (December 1940)

Keeping in the spirit of the festive season I came across this cover from the 1940 edition of the Christmas Radio Times.

Pages from Countdown (1971)

Back in 1971 the kids magazine Countdown was simply a must. The advert at the bottom of the page really does take me back. The breakfast cereal Sugar Smacks were offering six Doctor Who badges, one free inside each pack. Put like that, how could any kid contain themselves!

Morning has broken: Cat Stevens (1971)

"Morning Has Broken" is a popular and well-known Christin Hymn first published in 1931. English Pop Musician and Folk singer, Cat Stevens included a version, easily, the hymn's finest rendition, on his 1971 album Teaser and the Firecat. The song became identified with Stevens when it reached number six on the US pop chart and number one on the US Easy listening chart in 1972.

Writing credit for "Morning Has Broken" has occasionally been erroneously attributed to Cat Stevens, who popularised the song abroad. The familiar piano arrangement on Stevens' recording was performed by Rick Wakeman, a classically trained keyboardist best known for his tenures in the English Progressive Rock band Yes.

In 2000, Wakeman released an instrumental version of "Morning Has Broken" on an album of the same title. That same year he gave an interview on BBC Radio Five Live in which he said he had agreed to perform on the Cat Stevens track for £10 and was "shattered" to be omitted from the credits, adding that he never received the money either.

When shaping "Morning Has Broken" for recording, Stevens had to start with a hymn which took around 45 seconds to sing in its basic form. Producer Paul Samwell-Smith told him he could never put something like that on an album, and that it needed to be at least three minutes in length. Although an acoustic demo exists of Stevens playing an early version which lasts almost three minutes. Prior to the actual recording Stevens heard Wakeman play something in the recording booth. It was a rough sketch of what would later become "Catherine Howard". Stevens told Wakeman that he liked it and wanted something similar as the opening section, the closing section and, if possible, a middle section as well. Wakeman told Stevens he could not as it was his piece destined for a solo album, but Stevens persuaded him to adapt his composition. The familiar piano intro and general structure of the piece may be attributed to Stevens or to Wakeman.

On his return to performance as Yusuf Islam, Stevens made a payment to Wakeman and apologized for the original non-payment, which arose from confusion and a misunderstanding on the record label's part. On a documentary aired on British television, Wakeman stated that he felt Stevens's version of "Morning Has Broken" was a very beautiful piece of music that had brought people closer to religious truth. He expressed satisfaction in having contributed to this.

The Munch Bunch have run away, the Munch Bunch are here to stay: The Munch Bunch have found a home, with a garden!

The Munch Bunch is the title of a series of children's books, written by British author Denis Bond (under the Pen name Giles Reed) and illustrated by Angela Mitson, a teenager who had created the characters. They were published between 1979 and 1984 by Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. in the UK and Rourke Publications, Inc. in the US. The Munch Bunch are a group of unwanted vegetables, fruits, legumes and nuts who were swept to the corner of a shop but ran away together and set up home in and around an old, forgotten garden shed.

There was also a 1980 marionette/puppet-based television show that I remember very well, produced by long-time Gerry Anderson associates Mary Turner and John Read for ITC Entertainment, that featured the characters from the books. The stories for the television series were different from those contained in the books and were written mainly by Denis Bond (this time under his real name), though other writers such as Rosemary Kingsland also contributed. The series characters were voiced by the husband-and-wife team of Judy Bennett and Charles Collingwood probably best known for their work in The Archers. 52 ten minute editions were produced.

• Series 1: 12 editions,first shown from 24 September 1980
• Series 2: 13 editions, first shown from 25 March 1981
• Series 3: 21 editions, first shown from 30 September 1981
• Series 4: 6 editions, first shown from 7 April 1982

The books went out of print in the mid-to-late 1980s after a fire at Studio Publications apparently destroyed all the original artwork, and the brand name only survived as a range of yoghurts. These had been launched circa 1981 to coincide with the launch of the television series, with Mitson's characters as well as a few non-book characters such as Jenny Cherry and Charlie Chocolate but by the 1990s had struck out completely in their own right retaining only the logo and a few character names.

The brand did enjoy something a resurgence in the UK during the mid-1990s, largely thanks to a popular TV commercial for the Munch Bunch"pot shots" range (a petits-filous type yoghurt aimed at the young) set in a pool hall which ran from May 1994 until February 1996, although this renewal in popularity proved short-lived, and only three of the Munch Bunch characters were featured in the "pot shots" range. A completely different series of Munch Bunch books was published in 1998 by Ladybirds Books in the UK to tie in with the yoghurts following the resurgence brought about by the TV commercials of 1994-96. Denis Bond and Angela Mitson had nothing to do with these and the characters were different although a few were similarly named e.g. Sally Strawberry.

The Munch Bunch yoghurt brand name itself nevertheless still continues to this day under the Nestle umbrella, although it is now almost completely unrecognisable from the 1980s and 1990s, with the "fruit and veg" characters having been dropped completely and replaced by a "cow" mascot named Munch.

The Original Characters:

• Aubrey Aubergine
• Adam Avocado
• The Banana Bunch
• Barnabus Beetroot
• Billy Blackberry
• Bounce (spring onion)
• Button and Tiny (mushrooms)
• Casper Carrot
• Chunky Pineapple
• Corky Coconut
• Corny-on-the-Cob
• Dick Turnip
• Emma Apple
• Lizzie Leek
• Lucy Lemon
• Merv Marrow
• Nurse Plum
• Olive
• Olly Onion
• Peanut
• Pedro Orange
• Pete Pepper
• Penny Parsnip
• Percy Prune
• Pippa Pear
• Professor Peabody
• Rory Rhubarb
• Rozzy Raspberry
• Runner Bean
• Sally Strawberry
• Scruff Gooseberry
• Spud (Potato)
• Supercool (cucumber)
• Suzie Celery
• Tom Tomato
• Wally Walnut

Joe 90: Episode 5 - Three's a Crowd

"I Know everything. Think of a number."

Joe 90 receives the brain patterns of a lovely girl

who has attracted his Father's attention but is suspected of being a spy!

In an episode originally entitled, "Think of a Number" Professor McClaine finds his heart ruling his head when an extremely lovely girl named Angela Davis comes along to see him, saying she is an American reporter. McClaine ignores the possibility that she may be an Agent working for a foreign country - which she is, in fact - and is both flattered and interested to find that she is knowledgeable about electronics and that she finds him attractive.

Joe 90 views the friendship with growing mistrust. So does Sam Loover, who is worried when given a report on their many meetings by the Security people who have Mac under surveillance.

When Sam speaks to Mac about it, he draws a blank. Mac insists that his personal life is no concern of Sam's. Sam, however, finds a willing ally in Joe 90, who is given Miss Davis' brain patterns. When Sam begins to question him, it is almost as if Joe can read Angela's mind and his story of what he thinks she intends to do reveals that she is definitely a spy! Joe can clearly see her taking photographs of the laboratory and stealing vital plans, then d riving to an aircraft waiting to take her to an unknown destination.

Dare Mac be told? It is Joe 90 who sees a way to outwit the scheming Angela.......

Magic our Maurice! Oh, No. It's Selwyn Froggitt! (1974-1977)

As a kid I loved, Oh, No. It's Selwyn Froggitt! the Situation Comedy from ITV that ran from 1974 to 1977.

It starred the great Bill Maynard long before his Greengrass days as the council labourer, Scarsdale Working Men’s Club secretary, hapless handyman and all-round public nuisance Selwyn Froggitt. It was created by Roy Clarke, who wrote the pilot episode transmitted in 1974, though the series was mostly written by Alan Plater. It was made for the ITV network by Yorkshire Television.

Set in the fictional Yorkshire Town of Scarsdale UK, the show was centred around the bungling exploits of Selwyn Froggitt, a burly, balding, good-natured council labourer (Maynard) usually clad in a donkey jacket, with pretensions to intellectual competence (he carried the Times rolled up in the pocket of his donkey jacket, although was hardly ever seen reading it, preferring to tell people that "There was an article about it in the Times") and an urge to improve his life and that of everyone around him. Froggitt was on the committee of his local Working Men's Club, serving as concert secretary in charge of booking 'turns'.

Selwyn Froggitt was fundamentally and spectacularly incompetent at everything he turned his hand to, being equally inept at his day job (digging holes and filling them in), do-it-yourself at home, and booking acts for the club.

The show featured a number of catchphrases, the most memorable being: Maynard's "Magic, our Maurice!" accompanied by two thumbs up, his mother's (Megs Jenkins) "Don't open that cupboard, our Selwyn, things fall out!" and almost everyone at the club's "A pint of cooking and a bag of nuts, Raymond." Raymond the barman (Ray Mort) was fond of answering the telephone with a number of highly fictitious and fanciful addresses. All decisions taken by the club committee were taken on a "Show of hands..." and "Carried unanimous".

Froggitt's accomplices on the committee included the dour Scouser Jack (Bill Dean) later to play Harry Cross in Brookside, Harry (Harold Goodwin) and excitable, stereotypical Welshman Clive (Richard Davies). His brother Maurice was played by Robert Keegan.

The show's humour included a fair measure of slapstick alongside Alan Plater's typical northern humour.

In 1978 after three successful series under the title of Oh, No. Its Selwyn Froggitt. Yorkshire Television changed the format of the show radically. The new version of the series was entitled Selwyn; all of the regular cast bar Maynard departed to focus on other work and the Froggitt character became entertainments manager at a seedy holiday camp on the east coast. Alan Plater was no longer involved with the show during that series. Selwyn ran for only a single series with disappointing audience reactions, a planned second series was cancelled. And so, another comedy classic disappeared into the sit-com grave yard!

The Starsky & Hutch Monthly. Christmas 1978

And so the Christmas theme continues.....Back in the 1970s, one of the best selling magazines around was the Starsky & Hutch Monthly. Above is the cover from the Christmas Magazine 1978.

By George, it's Mildred! The Christmas TV Times (1977)

When I was nowt more than just knee high to the proverbial Grass hopper back in the good old 1970s, the thing I looked forward to apart from Christmas itself, were the Christmas editions of the TV & Radio Times. TV really was was TV back in those days, none of your EastEnders or Corrie bollocks cluttering up the schedules with their far fetched, over the top dismal servings of dead turkeys mascarading as plots! Just plain good old fashioned Christmas TV! Gracing this cover from 1977, arh, yes, those were the days! Were Brian Murphy & Yootha Joyce alias George & Mildred Roper along with Harry Secombe.

Cloppa Castle - Episode Five: Caught in a Jam

Since the invention of the Bruda Banger, the soldiers at Cloppa Castle have not had to pull the Queen around in her chariot. As a result of this and little action from the Hasbeenes, the men of the fort have grown a little fat and lazy. The Queen is appalled by this and goes to see Cue-ee-dee. He is busy making a new oil purifier machine. She asks him to do something about the men and he uses them to power the machine, hence getting them exercise. The new machine produces different grades of oil for different purposes.

Elbow tries to impress the Queen by showing the men shackled to the machine. Just as things are going well, the Hasbeenes attack and Elbow cannot find the keys for the cuffs. The Queen calls for Mudlin and orders him to find a spell to release the men. He thinks he has come with a solution but alas all that happens is a new pipe appears on the machine. It suddenly starts producing jam puffs which explode. These are then used against the Hasbeenes which although stops them to begin with, the jam attracts bees which eventually sees them off the castle assault.

Wham's Last Christmas! (1984)

"Last Christmas" by British pop duo Wham! was released on Epic Records in 1984, on a double A-side with "Everything She Wants". It was written by George Michael, one half of the duo. The song has been covered by many artists throughout the years.

Wham! had been a dominant force in the UK Singles Chart in 1984 and news that they were planning a Christmas single meant that a battle for the coveted Christmas No1 spot in the UK seemed set to be between Wham! and the year's other big act, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, who had achieved a third No1 in early December with "The Power of Love". However, the Band Aid project, helmed by Bob Geldof, produced the No1 single. Wham!'s offering peaked at No2 for much of the period, although George's involvement in Band Aid meant that Wham! still had an input. Wham! subsequently topped the monies raised by Band Aid by donating all of their "Last Christmas/Everything She Wants" royalties to the Ethiopian Famine appeal.

"Last Christmas" did make No1 in various other countries.

The single sold well over a million copies and became the biggest selling single in UK chart history not to reach No1. A year later, it was re-issued for Christmas again (this time without a billed flip-side) and got to No6. A second re-issue at Christmas 1986 - by which time Wham! had split - stalled outside the top 40.

The song gradually sold in Japan, and finally became the best-selling single that did not reach that country's top-10 chart, selling more than 600,000 copies and peaking on the chart at No12 in 1992.

Since 1997, the song enters the German Single charts every year and peaked at No4 in 2007. In the airplay charts the songs enters every year the Top 5.

In 2007, the track re-entered the UK Top 20 and hit the UK iTunes Top 10.

In 2008, the song re-entered the UK Singles Chart again, this time at No36 and peaked at No26.

In 2009, the song re-entered the UK Singles Chart at No39.

In 2009, the song re-entered the Spanish Lista de Canciones (Singles Chart) at No9.

In Germany, the song is the most successful Christmas single of all time with 94 weeks on the German Singles Chart and a peak position of No. 4. In January 2008, the song fell from No. 4 to No. 64 there, making it the biggest fall out of the top ten of the German Singles Chart.