Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    Nostalgia Central
    • Home
    • Blog
      • Lists
    • Television
      • TV by Decade
        • TV – 1950s
        • TV – 1960s
        • TV – 1970s
        • TV – 1980s
        • TV – 1990s
      • Comedy
      • Drama
      • Kids TV
      • Variety
      • News & Sport
      • Advertisements
    • Music
      • Music by Decade
        • Music – 1950s
        • Music – 1960s
        • Music – 1970s
        • Music – 1980s
        • Music – 1990s
      • Artists – A to K
        • Artists – A
        • Artists – B
        • Artists – C
        • Artists – D
        • Artists – E
        • Artists – F
        • Artists – G
        • Artists – H
        • Artists – I
        • Artists – J
        • Artists – K
      • Artists – L to Z
        • Artists – L
        • Artists – M
        • Artists – N
        • Artists – O
        • Artists – P
        • Artists – Q
        • Artists – R
        • Artists – S
        • Artists – T
        • Artists – U
        • Artists – V
        • Artists – W
        • Artists – X
        • Artists – Y
        • Artists – Z
      • Artists – 0 to 9
      • Genres
      • Music on Film & TV
      • One-Hit Wonders
      • Playlists
      • Online Radio
    • Movies
      • Movies by Decade
        • Movies – 1950s
        • Movies – 1960s
        • Movies – 1970s
        • Movies – 1980s
        • Movies – 1990s
      • Movies – 0 to 9
      • Movies – A to K
        • Movies – A
        • Movies – B
        • Movies – C
        • Movies – D
        • Movies – E
        • Movies – F
        • Movies – G
        • Movies – H
        • Movies – I
        • Movies – J
        • Movies – K
      • Movies – L to Z
        • Movies – L
        • Movies – M
        • Movies – N
        • Movies – O
        • Movies – P
        • Movies – Q
        • Movies – R
        • Movies – S
        • Movies – T
        • Movies – U
        • Movies – V
        • Movies – W
        • Movies – X
        • Movies – Y
        • Movies – Z
    • Pop Culture
      • Fads
      • Toys & Games
      • Fashion
      • Decor
      • Food & Drink
      • People
      • Technology
      • Transport
    • Social History
      • 1950s Year by Year
      • 1960s Year by Year
      • 1970s Year by Year
      • 1980s Year by Year
      • 1990s Year by Year
      • Events
    Nostalgia Central
    Home»Music»Music on Film & TV
    Music on Film & TV TV Shows - 1970s Variety 3 Mins Read

    Lift Off (With Ayshea)

    Share
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email

    1 9 6 9 – 1 9 7 4 (UK)
    144 x 25 minute episodes

    Ayshea was born Ayshea Hague on 12 November 1948 in Highgate, London, and made her film debut at the age of nine. By the age of 17, she had a record deal with Philips Fontana and made a number of appearances on TV shows such as Thank Your Lucky Stars and Discotheque.

    It was Granada TV producer Muriel Young who hired Ayshea to present and star in her own pop show, Lift Off With Ayshea (essentially a slightly tweaked version of Young’s earlier show, Discotheque) in 1969.

    Debuting on Wednesday 5 November 1969 and originally simply titled Lift Off – the “With Ayshea” was added in April 1972 – the series eventually ran for 144 episodes, although sadly, only two complete episodes remain in the ITN archive.

    hector_liftoff

    Ayshea was joined by dance troupe The Feet (originally The Ken Martyne Dancers), resident band The Pattern, and initially Graham Bonney as co-presenter – he left after one series.

    She was also joined by puppet owl Ollie Beak (voiced by Wally Whyton) – formerly of Five O’Clock Club – until 1973. Puppet dog Fred Barker was also seen in some later editions.

    The show gave TV debuts to The Sweet and Wizzard, whose main man Roy Wood roped Ayshea into singing backing vocals on the group’s first #1, See My Baby Jive.

    Being a children’s show, there was a lot of knock-about humour built in and the programme also strayed into playing clips from family movies at one point, but it did provide some useful chart coverage at a time when such a thing was a scarce commodity.

    Ayshea was quoted in the weekly column she wrote for Look-In during the 1970s as saying “I’m positive that the Americans will land on Mars in 1972”. Fortunately, she knew a lot more about pop music . . .

    After being romantically linked with Steve Winwood, Chas Chandler and Rod Stewart, she married Cat Stevens‘ record producer Chris Brough who went on to manage her and produce her records.

    Ayshea became a regular on TV shows such as The Golden Shot and Celebrity Squares. As an actress, she appeared in Jason King and had a recurring role in ATV’s UFO.

    After starring in pantomimes and summer shows all over the UK, Ayshea built up a large following for her live cabaret performances.

    She and Chris Brough were divorced in the 1970s.

    It was at this time that she represented Great Britain at the World Song Festival (in Tokyo) with a song written for her by Elton John entitled The Flowers Will Never Die.

    Following an engagement to Roy Wood – who produced her single Farewell – she later married Steve Alder who was starring as Jesus Christ in the Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice musical Jesus Christ Superstar.

    After five years it was deemed that Lift Off had run its course and Muriel Young began to put together a successor show called 45 which was aimed at a slightly older audience.

    Ayshea once again got involved but by the time it had picked up national coverage, Radio Luxembourg‘s Kid Jensen had been installed as host.

    liftoffwithayshea_043

    Ayshea moved to Los Angeles and appeared in the movies Demolition Man and Gotcha.

    Married to CBS president Michael I Levy,  Beverly Hills became her permanent home. For many years she was a well-known Beverly Hills socialite and ran a property development and interior design business.

    Hosts
    Ayshea Brough
    Graham Bonney
    Ollie Beak
    The Ken Martyne Dancers
    The Feet
    The Pattern

    Related Posts

    • Cuckoo in the Nest
      Cuckoo in the Nest
      1 9 7 8 - 1 9 7 9 (Australia)…
    • Kelly Monteith
      Kelly Monteith
      1 9 7 9 - 1 9 8 4 (UK)…
    • Krypton Factor, The
      Krypton Factor, The
      1 9 7 7 - 1 9 9 5 (UK)…
    • Mike and Bernie's Show
      Mike and Bernie's Show
      1 9 6 6 (UK) 9 x 45 minute episodes 1…
    • Blind Date (Australia)
      Blind Date (Australia)
      1 9 6 7 - 1 9 7 0 (Australia)…
    • Supersonic
      Supersonic
      1 9 7 5 - 1 9 7 7 (UK)…
    • Look Alive
      Look Alive
      1 9 7 5 - 1 9 7 6 (UK)…
    • OTT
      OTT
      1 9 8 2 (UK) 12 x 60 minute episodes Chris…

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email
    Previous ArticleIt’s A Knockout
    Next Article Take Your Pick

    Comments are closed.

    Follow us
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
    You May Also Like
    • Supercarrier
      1 9 8 8 (USA) This Sunday action show from ABC dramatised life […]
    • Air Hockey
      Ice hockey enthusiast Bob Lemieux dreamed up this popular table […]
    • Dirty Money (1979)
      Strongly committed to the ideals of a French right-wing alliance […]
    • Freedom (1982)
      Ron (Jon Blake) is an unemployed young man in 1980s Australia, […]
    • Hands of the Ripper (1971)
      This Hammer production has Freudian psychoanalyst Doctor John […]
    • Empire/Redigo
      1 9 6 2 – 1 9 6 4 (USA) 33 x 60 minute episodes Jim Redigo […]
    Twitter Feed
    Please note


    Nostalgia Central covers the period 1950 to 1999 and contains some words and references which reflect the attitudes of those times and which may be considered culturally sensitive, offensive or inappropriate today.
    Popular Tags
    1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 Action Figures Amicus Arcade games Australia Beach movies Beatles Blaxploitation Board games Britpop Canada Crime Disney Doo-Wop Elvis Presley Girl groups Glam Goth Hammer Heavy Metal Irwin Allen Labels Merseybeat Mod revival Motown New Romantic New Wave NWOBHM Oi! One-hit wonders Power Pop Pub rock Punk Radio Scotland Ska Soul music Surf music
    Search Nostalgia Central
    Copyright © 1998, 2022 Nostalgia Central
    • About
    • Contact
    • FAQ

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.