Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    Nostalgia Central
    • Home
    • Blog
      • Lists
      • Playlists
    • 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
      • 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 - 1950s Variety 2 Mins Read

    Off The Record

    Share
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email

    1 9 5 5 – 1 9 5 8 (UK)

    This BBC show combining elements of studio performance and behind-the-scenes documentary took to the air from Hammersmith’s Riverside Studios with bandleader and radio presenter Jack Payne as host.

    Payne presented the programme from a mocked-up office, introducing and interviewing performers, who were supported by the Concert Orchestra, conducted by Stanley Black, and the George Mitchell Singers.

    He also cued in outside broadcast items from venues such as theatre dressing rooms, where stars were preparing to perform, or pre-filmed sequences set in record pressing plants and the like.

    Over its three series, the 30-minute programme – produced initially by Francis Essex and later by Bill Cotton Jnr and James Gilbert – offered filmed visits to Abbey Road studios and the EMI factory, clips from feature films and various documentary-style items covering issues like record sales in Scotland and the German recording industry.

    It also provided an on-screen run-down of the current Top 10 records.

    The show relied heavily on co-operation from the recording industry and while it was still in the planning stages Ronnie Waldman, Head of TV Light Entertainment, invited bigwigs from EMI, Decca, Philips, Oriole and Polygon to the Lime Grove studios for drinks and a chat about the project, hoping to enlist their assistance.

    Not surprisingly, that assistance was readily forthcoming, the recording executives quickly grasping the value of the prime-time television exposure.

    Letters flooded in from labels recommending their latest releases and pushing their artists – Petula Clark, Matt Monro, Mandy Miller and others.

    There was still a big-band, middle-of-the-road feel to the earliest studio guests, among them Max Bygraves, Alma Cogan, Winifred Atwell, Hoagy Carmichael and Edmundo Ross, but later in the show’s run, skiffle and rock’n’roll had gained a foothold in the UK and artists such as Tommy Steele, Lonnie Donegan, Marty Wilde and Wee Willie Harris were featured.

    In 1958, Buddy Holly & the Crickets were pre-recorded at Riverside (pictured below) for the very last show.

    Related Posts

    • Happy Holidays
      Happy Holidays
      1 9 5 4 (UK) 6 x 30 minute episodes This BBC comedy series was written by Peter Ling (co-creator of Compact…
    • Asian Club
      Asian Club
      1 9 5 3 - 1 9 6 1 (UK) The first Asian magazine programme on BBC Television was an External…
    • Whose Line Is It Anyway?
      Whose Line Is It Anyway?
      1 9 8 8 - 1 9 9 8 (UK) 136 x 30 minute episodes 1 9 9 8 - 2…
    • Seaside Special
      Seaside Special
      1 9 7 5 - 1 9 7 9 (UK) This popular Saturday night BBC variety show was broadcast from a…
    • Aquarius
      Aquarius
      1 9 7 0 - 1 9 7 7 (UK) ITV arts programme, Aquarius, was originally edited and presented by Humphrey Burton,…
    • TFI Friday
      TFI Friday
      1 9 9 6 - 2 0 0 0 (UK) 1 x 30 minute episode 2 x 70 minute episodes 187…
    • Lux Video Theatre
      Lux Video Theatre
      1 9 5 0 - 1 9 5 7 (USA) 337 x 30/60 minute episodes For four years on CBS,…
    • Pebble Mill At One 
      Pebble Mill At One 
      1 9 7 2 - 1 9 8 6 (UK) This weekday magazine programme from the BBC was introduced in…

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email
    Previous ArticleSpace Children, The (1958)
    Next Article Royle Family, The

    Comments are closed.

    Follow us
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
    You May Also Like
    • Silver Lode (1954)
      In this gripping Western, John Payne stars as Dan Ballard, a […]
    • Dr Strangelove (1963)
      The hypothetical prospect of total nuclear annihilation provided […]
    • Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space
      1 9 7 2 (USA) 16 x 30 minute episodes This CBS spinoff from […]
    • Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, The
      The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band came together in California in 1966 […]
    • Washington Square
      1 9 5 6 – 1 9 5 7 (USA) 14 x 60 minute episodes This live […]
    • Big Match, The
      1 9 6 8 – 1 9 9 2 (UK) Jimmy Hill was born in Balham in […]
    Comments Box SVG iconsUsed for the like, share, comment, and reaction icons

    OUR LATEST FACEBOOK POSTS

    edition.cnn.com/2023/01/30/entertainment/cindy-williams-dead/index.html

    More sad news 😢
    ... See MoreSee Less

    Link thumbnail

    'Laverne & Shirley' star Cindy Williams dead at 75 | CNN

    edition.cnn.com

    Cindy Williams, the dynamic actress known best for playing the bubbly Shirley Feeney on the beloved sitcom "Laverne & Shirley," has died, according to a statement from her family, provided to CNN by a...
    3 days ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 1
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 0

    Comment on Facebook

    www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-64442824 ... See MoreSee Less

    Link thumbnail

    Television frontman Tom Verlaine dies at 73

    www.bbc.co.uk

    His band rose to fame in the 1970s New York punk scene, scoring UK hits including Marquee Moon.
    5 days ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 0
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 0

    Comment on Facebook

    www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-64418847 ... See MoreSee Less

    Link thumbnail

    Mr Blobby costume sells for more than £62,000 on eBay

    www.bbc.co.uk

    The character, made famous by BBC show Noel's House Party, had been in storage since the 1990s.
    6 days ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 0
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 0

    Comment on Facebook

    Put some beefiness into your mid-week menu with these recipe ideas published in a Birds Eye advertisement from the Radio Times on 30 September 1965.

    Put some "beefiness into your mid-week menu" with these recipe ideas published in a Birds Eye advertisement from the "Radio Times" on 30 September 1965. ... See MoreSee Less

    2 weeks ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 3
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 1

    Comment on Facebook

    They were awful. An overpowering savoury flavour that lingered in your mouth for hours. Heaven knows what unmentionable parts of a bull went into making them 😳

    More sad news 😪

    ... See MoreSee Less

    Link thumbnail

    US rock legend David Crosby dies aged 81

    www.bbc.co.uk

    Crosby, who co-founded both the Byrds and Crosby, Stills and Nash, had been ill for some time.
    2 weeks ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 0
    • Shares: 1
    • Comments: 0

    Comment on Facebook

    This is what they promised us when I was a kid. What happened? 

All I have is 700 channels of rubbish on the TV in High Def, TikTok, Facebook and a phone I can take photographs with . . .

    This is what they promised us when I was a kid. What happened?

    All I have is 700 channels of rubbish on the TV in High Def, TikTok, Facebook and a phone I can take photographs with . . .
    ... See MoreSee Less

    2 weeks ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 54
    • Shares: 22
    • Comments: 7

    Comment on Facebook

    I thought we would have moving pavements by now when I was a kid 😂

    Totally agree!!!

    The new Tesla, 4.6 next century.

    We got transvestite story hour instead

    We appear to be going backwards

    There's actually a very good David Graeber essay on this very topic: thebaffler.com/salvos/of-flying-cars-and-the-declining-rate-of-profit

    The Jetsons strike again.

    View more comments

    Renowned Australian singer Renee Geyer is dead at 69 following complications from hip surgery. Such a fabulous voice. RIP😢

https://nostalgiacentral.com/music/artists-l-to-z/artists-r/renee-geyer/

    Renowned Australian singer Renee Geyer is dead at 69 following complications from hip surgery. Such a fabulous voice. RIP😢

    nostalgiacentral.com/music/artists-l-to-z/artists-r/renee-geyer/
    ... See MoreSee Less

    2 weeks ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 0
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 1

    Comment on Facebook

    That is so sad to hear 😥 rest in peace 🙏 🕊 xx

    Gina Lollobrigida: Italian screen star dies at 95
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-64292026

    Gina Lollobrigida: Italian screen star dies at 95
    www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-64292026
    ... See MoreSee Less

    2 weeks ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 4
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 1

    Comment on Facebook

    😍😍😍😍

    Vale Jeff Beck. Dead at 78. 😢

    ... See MoreSee Less

    Link thumbnail

    Jeff Beck: British guitar legend dies aged 78

    www.bbc.co.uk

    One of rock's most influential guitarists, he was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice.
    3 weeks ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 1
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 0

    Comment on Facebook

    Hi everyone. Were in the process of moving www.nostalgiacentral.com to new dedicated servers to better cope with the volumes of traffic. Please ignore any SSL security errors you may receive when visiting the site over the next 24 hours while the move completes.

    Hi everyone. We're in the process of moving www.nostalgiacentral.com to new dedicated servers to better cope with the volumes of traffic. Please ignore any SSL security errors you may receive when visiting the site over the next 24 hours while the move completes. ... See MoreSee Less

    3 weeks ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 5
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 2

    Comment on Facebook

    Ironically, this post has jumped off the page at me. You'll probably get most traffic today because everyone will want to see what they might be missing!

    Martin Platt

    Load more
    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 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 Sport Surf music
    Search Nostalgia Central
    Copyright © 1998, 2023 Nostalgia Central
    • About Nostalgia Central
    • Contact
    • FAQ

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