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 - 1950s Variety 3 Mins Read

    Oh Boy!

    Share
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email

    1 9 5 8 – 1 9 5 9 (UK)
    38 x 25 minute episodes

    Everyone knows that Cliff Richard is hardly a bad boy, but back in 1958 he was the enfant terrible of the British music scene, considered to be a corrupting influence on teenagers and definitely too hot for television.

    The series that earned Cliff such an awful reputation was Jack Good‘s Oh Boy!, the ITV pop show which first blasted onto TV screens on Saturday 13 September 1958 and reflected the change in musical tastes and in youngsters generally.

    Good, producer of the BBC’s teen series Six-Five Special, had tried to persuade the broadcaster to play down the show’s sports and general interest content and focus more on music, rightly believing that this was what its audience wanted.

    The BBC rejected his proposal which frustrated Good, who then resigned at the start of 1958, taking his programme concept with him to ITV, where he met a warmer reception. Oh Boy! blew the BBC away.

    In 1957 Cliff had been an unknown £4-a-week clerk called Harry Webb, but Oh Boy! rocketed him to fame and parental disapproval. But the kids worshipped him – so did some posh people. Lady Jellicoe said at the time: “I really think Cliff Richard is quite an alarmingly entertaining young man. And Oh Boy! is simply heavenly.”

    Besides Cliff, other regulars on Oh Boy! – broadcast live from the Hackney Empire in London – included The Dallas Boys (who despite their Texan name were from Leicester), The Vernons Girls (a singing group put together by the Vernons Pools company in Liverpool), Billy Fury and Marty Wilde.

    Oh Boy’s house band was Lord Rockingham’s XI, a bunch of jazz musicians and session men including saxophonist Red Price (pictured at left) – plus 23-year old South African organist Cherry Wainer perched behind a white leather Hammond studded with diamantes – who combined to produce an unusually crunchy sound – heard to good effect on their debut #1 single Hoots Mon.

    But most of the home-grown talent on display was fairly mediocre by American standards: The Dallas Boys were not Dion and The Belmonts, and The Vernon Girls were not The Shirelles.

    Kerry Martin left Six-Five Special to join Oh Boy!. She was sacked from the BBC show because she wiggled too much in a dance routine and she went to the rival channel as a singer.

    ITV eventually dropped Oh Boy! to launch Boy Meets Girls featuring Marty Wilde and a young guitarist called Joe Brown.

    Marty Wilde
    Hank B. Marvin
    Bruce Welch

    Video

    Links

    • ohboy.org.uk

    Related Posts

    • TV Teen Club
      TV Teen Club
      1 9 4 9 - 1 9 5 4 (USA) 60/30 minute episodes Originating in Philadelphia, this teen-oriented musical talent show…
    • Supersonic
      Supersonic
      1 9 7 5 - 1 9 7 7 (UK) 1 9 8 3 (UK) 58 x 30 minute episodes…
    • It's Cliff Richard
      It's Cliff Richard
      1 9 7 0 - 1 9 7 4 (UK) 45 x 30/35/45 minute episodes This Saturday night variety show…
    • Roxy, The
      Roxy, The
      1 9 8 7 - 1 9 8 8 (UK) 43 x 30 episodes 9 June 1987 saw the launch of…
    • Norman Wisdom Show, The
      Norman Wisdom Show, The
      1 9 5 6 (UK) 3 x 60 minute episodes Born in London in extreme poverty in 1915,  Norman Joseph Wisdom…
    • Bonkers!
      Bonkers!
      1 9 7 8 (UK) 24 x 30 minute episodes ATV presented this half-hour of knockabout fun with Bob Monkhouse and…
    • Drumbeat
      Drumbeat
      1 9 5 9 (UK) 22 x 30 minute episodes Drumbeat was intended as the BBC's answer to Oh Boy!. The original host…
    • If It’s Saturday, It Must Be Nimmo
      If It’s Saturday, It Must Be Nimmo
      1 9 7 0 (UK) 9 x 30 minute episodes After Simon Dee’s defection to London Weekend Television, it was a…

    1958 1959
    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email
    Previous ArticleMuppet Show, The
    Next Article On The Braden Beat

    Comments are closed.

    Follow us
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
    You May Also Like
    • Deep, The (1977)
      The second of a watery trilogy of films deriving from the novels […]
    • Cider House Rules, The (1999)
      Honoured with two Academy Awards, The Cider House Rules tells a […]
    • Earthquake (1974)
      This blockbuster disaster film had a dumb script and lacklustre […]
    • It (1990)
      In 1960, seven outcast kids who are known as ‘The Lucky […]
    • Board Games
      Board games have been played in most cultures and societies […]
    • Simon In The Land Of Chalk Drawings
      1 9 7 6 (UK) 26 x 5 minute episodes Six-year-old Simon loves […]
    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 1975 1976 Action Figures Amicus Arcade games Australia Beach movies Beatles Blaxploitation Board games Britpop Canada Crime Disco 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.