Tag: Music

Categories
1963

Social History 1963 #14

Thursday 7 March 1963

Advice on how to get the best out of your television set is offered today in a 218 page booklet, ITV 1963. A “ghost” double image may be cured by slightly turning the tv aerial. Poor pictures can be caused by using cheap, poor-cable between the aerial and set. Most picture problems are caused by wrong choice, or wrong fitting, of aerials.

An advertisement has appeared in The Times seeking support to remove That Was The Week That Was from television on the grounds that the programme lacks decency and good taste.

Pop news: Eden Kane’s brother, Clive, has tried to find success calling himself a number of names including Clive Kane, Paul Kane, Clive Paradise, Clive Robin and Clive Concord. Now he’s released his first disc, There’s a Lot More Where This Came From, as Wes Sands.

From Liverpool, in the steps of the highly successful Beatles, come Gerry and the Pacemakers, a four-man group who are likely to make a stir with their first disc – How Do You Do It?

Manchester City’s 2-5-3 defensive plan paid dividends in their long-delayed third round FA Cup tie against Walsall. One goal settled it, but it was the Wall that finally ended Walsall’s hopes. For although they had most of the game, their attacks were repeatedly dashed against City’s fantastic eight-man defence.

Television highlights: Amateur Boxing – Scotland v Switzerland. Tales of Mystery. Criss Cross Quiz.

Radio highlights: Saludos Amigos! Vienna in the 1920s.

Weather: mainly dry. Outlook – changeable. 14c, 57f.

Friday 8 March 1963

A woman can now know if she is pregnant two hours after taking a new test. This while-you-wait test costs £2 2s at the Family Centre run by the London Foundation for Marriage Education.

After twelve hours, the Duchess of Argyll completed her evidence in the divorce action brought by the Duke. The Duchess is accused of multiple acts of adultery. The hearing continues today.

Private ownership of cars should be banned. This suggestion is made in the journal The Railway Review. Only in exceptional circumstances should individuals be allowed to own cars. Motorists should hire cars as needed from hire firms. It is estimated that by 1970 the number of private cars will have shot up from 6,500,000 to 13,000,000.

Barbers in Stockport, Cheshire have decided to charge more than the standard 3s when cutting long hair. Mr Charles Sephton, branch secretary, said, “We are fed up with the long-haired Johnnies. In future, members will charge extra for cutting long hair.”

Agony Aunt: My father always says that blondes can be dangerous. Jane Adams’ reply – And so can redheads and brunettes.

Television highlights: Richard the Lionheart. Let’s Imagine – Being Beautiful. Take Your Pick – 300th Edition. 

Radio highlights: Music While You Work. Piano Party.

Horse racing resumes in England today after 75 blank days caused by the Big Freeze.

Weather: cloudy with rain. Outlook – bright with showers. 13c, 55f.

Saturday 9 March 1963

Why not turn your wife into a good backseat driver? Don’t wince at the thought. With spring and summer approaching, your wife could be a valuable “navigator”. Buy Ordnance Survey maps for the district you intend to cover and teach your wife to read them.

Television executive Robert St John Roper had to stay off work for several days after he found a dead mouse in his tinned-beef pie. Allied Canners were find £50 for selling food below the required standard.

On 1 March the Conservative government put a tax on fresh food imported from abroad. This tax is designed to protect our own growers’ crops. However, because of the Big Freeze there are no home-grown crops. Once again, the brunt of the burden will be felt by the hard-hit housewife.

Top three television programmes this week: 1 Labour Party Political Broadcast 2 Coronation Street (Feb 25) 3 Coronation Street (Feb 27).

Television highlights: Juke Box Jury with Spike Milligan. Bertram Mills Circus. The Invisible Man.

Radio highlights: Let’s Take a Spin. What Do You Know?

Looking ahead to the 1966 World Cup, England’s football selectors will be focusing on three games today – Arsenal v Liverpool, Leyton Orient v Aston Villa and Middlesbrough v Chelsea. In particular they will be looking at Peter Bonetti, Ken Shellito, Terry Venables and Ian Callaghan. 

A crowd of 60,000 will watch the England v Wales women’s hockey international under the new Wembley roof. England start as strong favourites – they are unbeaten at home.

Weather: sunny, showers, windy. Outlook – similar. 10c, 50f.

Sunday 10 March 1963

After eight days of evidence and twenty witnesses, the Argyll case is reaching its conclusion. The Duke of Argyll is seeking a divorce from the Duchess on the grounds of her “multiple” affairs.

The peak age for illegitimate fatherhood in England and Wales is between twenty-five and twenty-nine. The second largest group are aged between thirty and thirty-four. In 1961, three men aged seventy-five fathered illegitimate children, while fifty-three were fathered by men aged between sixty and sixty-four.

Pat Moss, “Britain’s Best Female Driver”, believes that drivers should take a second driving test a year or eighteen months after their first test to show that they have improved.

Glass fibre tape measures will soon be on sale. They are as strong as steel and do not rust. A back massager while you are driving is the latest relaxation idea. The massager is attached to a long cord, which can be plugged into the lighter outlet.

Six hundred men’s suits and other clothing were stolen in a £12,000 raid on a tailor’s shop in Chelmsford, Essex.

The newest fashion for men is knitted sports shirts – loose, poncho waistlines with pointed centres back and front.

Television highlights: The Saint. Dr Finlay’s Casebook. Sunday Night at the London Palladium.

Radio highlights: Painting of the Month. Sing Something Simple.

Weather: mostly cloudy with showers and gales.

Monday 11 March 1963

Britain is fast becoming a Cafe Society. Prawns, fillet steak, French-fried potatoes and red wine – that’s our favourite meal in Britain today. Today, we prefer to eat out. With more married women working even Sunday lunch is becoming a restaurant meal.

Britain, a nation surrounded by fish, spends more on importing fish and fish products than any other country except America, says a United Nations survey. Britain paid out £63,000,000 on fishery imports in 1961, America spent £130,000,000.

Last month’s unemployment total was 878,356, the highest since the fuel crisis of 1947. With the Big Freeze over, this number is expected to drop. However, the underlying trend is still up – 240,000 on March 1961.

Post Office scientists are using a new “detective machine” in their war against the Telephone Terrors. People who make abusive or threatening calls will be identified through their voices, in much the same way that fingerprinting identifies hands. The voice-printing machine has proved accurate in 99% of 30,000 cases.

A petition is being raised to keep a dance band, the Dave Clark Five, at a Basildon dance hall. Customers fear that they might lose the band to other London dance halls. So far, 2,300 people have signed the petition. 

Television highlights: Panorama on divorce reform. Their Kind of Music. BBC Play – The Honest Man.

Radio highlights: Does The Team Think? Melody Showcase.

Weather: rain followed by showers. Strong to gale-force winds. Outlook – similar.  10c, 50f.

Available for pre-order, Songbird, my novel set in the winter of 1962-63

https://books2read.com/u/bMqNPG

For Authors

#1 for value with 565,000 readers, The Fussy Librarian has helped my books to reach #1 on over thirty occasions.

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Categories
1963

Social History 1963 #13

Saturday 2 March 1963

A Jazz Special by Shirley Lowe.

Hardcore regulars at jazz shows are calling themselves “Oggis”. They walk around with badges saying so. Some even wear them on their feet.

Mods are now engaging in hipster-talk. “This sax player is too much.” “He’s a gas.” Both mean he’s all right.

The musicians Trads go for are Chris Barber, Kenny Ball, Acker Bilk, Monty Sunshine, Dick Charlesworth, Sandy Brown and Ken Colyer. Mods like Johnny Dankworth, Tubby Hayes, Tony Crombie, Ronnie Scott, Vic Ash, Victor Feldman, and Ken Colyer. Mods like Ken Colyer because his music is uncommercial and he hasn’t had a hit.

Trads go to Jazzshows Jazz Club, a basement in Oxford Street. It has 7,000 members and is packed out every weekend. Mods go to Ronnie Scott’s in Gerrard Street. 

Trad fans are usually younger than Mods. Some are earnest forty-year-olds with beards. Mod fans are in their twenties and do a job of some kind.

Trad girls wear leather trousers or coloured stockings, loose sweaters and a lot of hair. The men wear jeans and sloppy sweaters. Mod girls are neat and fashionable. The men wear college-boy hairstyles, well-cut mohair suits, slim knitted ties and thick horn-rimmed spectacles. 

Trads look on Mods as a lot of slickly-dressed phoneys pretending to get intellectual pleasure where none exists. Mods consider Trads as a lot of kids who like dressing up and don’t recognise a cheap commercial sound when they hear one.

Television highlights: Juke Box Jury with Dusty Springfield, Harry H Corbett, Alan Dell, Millicent Martin and David Jacobs. That Was The Week That Was. Thank Your Lucky Stars with Petula Clark, Little Eva and Peter Gordeno.

Radio highlights: Desert Island Discs with Sir Learie Constantine. LP Parade.

Weather: frost then sunny. Outlook – continuing dry with frost at night. Maximum temperature 3c, 37f.

Sunday 3 March 1963

Britain’s housewives had a shock yesterday when they went shopping. Vegetables, especially greens, were costing as much as the Sunday joint. Cabbages were the dearest of all costing six shillings each. The high prices are likely to continue for at least three months, and might go higher. The reason for the higher prices is the Big Freeze.

Hard-up Halifax Town – they are in the red to the tune of more than £13,000 – are turning their pitch into an ice-rink today. Skaters will be charged half a crown. People can spectate for a humble bob-a-nob. Club secretary Norman Howe will play pop records over the loud speaker, including the Skaters’ Waltz.

Murderers sentenced to life imprisonment are now serving an average of only eight years eight months in prison.

The Duchess of Argyll, 49, flies to Edinburgh tomorrow to face cross-examination in her husband’s divorce action. She is accused of adultery with three men. The Duke’s charges are denied by the Duchess and all three men. Amongst the witnesses are three private enquiry agents and a handwriting expert.

Soon housewives will be able to buy infra-red cookers, which will cook anything from a quick breakfast to a complete meal in five minutes. Price, £45.

Television highlights: The Golden Hour – ballet. The Avengers. Formby Festival.

Radio highlights: Mystery Playhouse. Top Twenty.

Weather: dry and sunny with a night frost.

Monday 4 March 1963

For eighty minutes today a touring Welsh choir was barred from communist-ruled East Berlin. There were so many Joneses and Evanses that the Red guards didn’t believe it. The party of sixty contained eighteen Joneses and twelve Evanses. It took a lot of hard talking to get the choir through Checkpoint Charlie.

Teenage crime in America soared last year, up 9% compared to 1961. J Edgar Hoover, director of the FBI, said that crime rose by 7% in general, with a significant increase in murders.

A firm is paying its boy apprentices ten shillings extra a week if they don’t smoke. The bonus is the idea of Mr Harry Wheaton, managing director of a boatbuilding firm in Torquay, Devon. He said, “Too many youngsters smoke in spite of medical warnings. I felt I ought to do something about it.”

Personal advertisements: John Graham of Paisley would like his wife to ring HAM 8576 any day before 9am. June – contact immed pm, re J & J. Urgent – H. Will the widow of Major Rainbird contact Amelan and Roth, Solicitors. She will hear something to her advantage.

Television highlights: Coronation Street – Lucille finds a skeleton in Ena’s cupboard. Dancing Club with Victor Silvester. What’s My Line?

Radio highlights: Desert Island Discs – Percy Thrower. The Jazz Scene.

People went sunbathing yesterday – in Britain! As the temperatures soared into the fifties, thousands streamed to the seaside and country. The RAC reported that 15,000 cars an hour left London on the 25 main exit routes. In Poole, Dorset there was a fifty yard queue for ice cream, while garages reported “summer-like” petrol sales.

Weather: fine in most areas, 9c 48f.

Tuesday 5 March 1963

The BBC yesterday dropped the famous Bow Bells radio signature tune, used since 1934. The BBC feels that it is time for a change. So the Home Service yesterday adopted “an appropriate traditional air” from Handel’s Water Music as a signature tune.

The cellar is making a comeback. It’s not the dark coal-hole it used to be. Today it is called the lower ground floor and is being used as a spacious family games room, a storeroom and a garage.

The new status symbol is the four-sink kitchen – one for washing up, one for the veg, one for household cleaning and one beside the cooker for draining pans. Architect John Prizeman said, “I don’t know how housewives have managed with one sink for so long.”

There are more than one million men than women in England and Wales. The most popular age for marriage is 22 for men, 20 for women. Divorce is increasing in Britain with an anticipated 34,000 petitions expected this year.

The Walsall v Manchester City Third Round FA Cup tie has been postponed for the thirteenth time because of ice. Norwich played Blackpool in their much-postponed third round tie last night. The game ended 1 – 1. The reply is scheduled for tomorrow.

Television highlights: Professional Boxing. The Defenders – legal series. Here and Now – the world of pop music.

Radio highlights: Family Favourites. Nana Mouskouri. 

Weather: mostly dry and cloudy. Outlook – changeable. Temperature 11c, 52f.

The FA Cup Fifth Round draw: Walsall or Manchester City or Birmingham or Bury v Norwich or Blackpool or Bradford City or Newcastle United. Chaos because of the Big Freeze.

Wednesday 6 March 1963

The new Triumph Herald 12/50 saloon is a quality family car that’s different. Announced today, it is the only British car in volume production with a skylight roof. Currently, the Triumph Herald 12/50 is being made for the British market only.

Ukrainian Leo Sachnowsky and his English wife Florence of Womborne, Staffs, will have to wait until later today to discover how much they have won for an all-correct 1/4d line on Littlewood’s Treble Chance football pools. It will be a “substantial amount”, said a Littlewood’s official (it was £40,000 – over £1,000,000 today).

At the fifth day of the hearing at the Court of Session in Edinburgh, people are queuing at 9am to gain entrance to the proceedings, which begin at ten. The attraction – the Duke of Argyll is suing the Duchess for adultery with “numerous” men.

1,075,000 people in Britain enjoy incomes of more than £25 a week – why not you? There’s a simple formula for success. Post this coupon to the School of Careers and receive a free book, which will tell you all you want to know about enhancing your career.

Football sequences: since a win – Leyton Orient, 16 games. Since a defeat – Partick Thistle, 15. Since a home win – Leyton Orient, 9. Since a home defeat – Everton, 30. Since an away win – Swansea and Carlisle, 13.

Television highlights: Z Cars. Let’s Dance. Here Come the Girls – Alan Freeman meets the Springfields.

Radio highlights: On Your Farm. The Spread of Jazz.

Weather: dry, cloudy. Outlook – little change. Temperature 11c, 52f.

Available for pre-order, Songbird, my novel set in the winter of 1962-63

https://books2read.com/u/bMqNPG

For Authors

#1 for value with 565,000 readers, The Fussy Librarian has helped my books to reach #1 on over thirty occasions.

A special offer from my publisher and the Fussy Librarian. https://authors.thefussylibrarian.com/?ref=goylake

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Categories
1963

Social History 1963 #12

Monday 25 February 1963

“The sensation of Paris, I nominate the Shift (pictured) as the dress most likely to succeed in 1963. As a style it does most for most figures. It glides tactfully over the shape beneath, looks brilliant on good statistics, and cheats a little over bad ones.” – Felicity Green. 

Out came the sun yesterday – and so did thousands of motorists attracted by the best road conditions since the Big Freeze began two months ago. Although temperatures were a little above freezing the RAC estimated that in London alone 8,000 cars an hour were leaving for the coast and country.

The Loch Ness Monster reared its ugly head again yesterday, this time on television. Furthermore, viewers were told that the monster may have several mates, in Loch Ness and other lochs. Mr Alec Campbell, thirty years water bailiff at Loch Ness said, “I saw something. The hump simply rolled up out of the water  and sank gently out of sight. The skin was exactly like that of an elephant.”

The Conservative government has announced that married women employed as civil servants will be sacked if they do not return to work within three months of having a baby. 

Classified Advertisements: Do you want to sing like Helen Shapiro or Cliff Richard? Phone the Maurice Burman School of Modern Pop Singing for details.

Television highlights: Blue Peter. BBC News (two ten minute programmes). World in Action – the fashion business.

Radio highlights: Mr Acker Bilk Requests. Big Ben Banjo Band.

Weather: mainly dry, sunny spells, very cold. Outlook – similar. Maximum temperature 1c, 34f.

Tuesday 26 February 1963

Mrs Elein Mialila, 53, has given birth to her thirty-first child in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Extra-small coal is being put on the market to keep homes supplied with fuel during the Big Freeze. The small coal, the Coal Board said, will be of normal quality, but cheaper. Coal merchants are being asked to “encourage” customers to buy it.

The United States Supreme Court set aside breach of the peace charges against 187 students who demonstrated for racial equality at Columbia, capital of South Carolina. The court ruled that arresting, convicting and punishing the students infringed rights of free speech and free assembly.

Skoda, the Czechoslovakian manufacturer, is offering cut-price cars – rugged family saloons and gay sports cars. Their Octavia saloon is selling for £521, Octavia Super for £550, and their Felicia Convertible for £638.

The Rev Ernest Marvin who produced a Rock n Roll Passion play “A Man Dies” told his congregation at Bristol that his church might have to close through a lack of money. “We are broke,” he said.

Birmingham and Bury’s Third Round FA Cup tie remains unresolved. The latest attempt to play the game was abandoned after 45 minutes with Birmingham leading 1 – 0. The game featured a vigorous punch-up before an icy pitch curtailed the encounter.

Television highlights: Adventures in Learning. European Centre Forward – British footballer Gerry Hitchens in Turin. Beat Your Neighbour.

Radio highlights: Listen to the Band. Pete Murray.

Weather: dry and sunny, but still cold. Maximum temperature 4c, 39f.

Wednesday 27 February 1963

A massive research programme is to be carried out in the hope of producing a vaccine effective against the common cold, it was announced in the House of Commons last night.

A spokesman for the London Electricity Council said, “We reckon the average increase on last winter’s bills for our 14,000,000 domestic users will be 25 percent. But many will find their bills have shot up by much more. The average quarterly electricity bill currently stands at £10. The average quarterly gas bill is £5.

Thieves smashed a plate-glass window in Golders Green, London and stole £12,000 worth of jewellery. They escaped in a white Jaguar car. It was the second time in three months that the shop had been raided. Manager, Mr Leonard May said, “We are going to take more precautions.”

American jazz trumpeter Chet Baker was yesterday jailed for a month on drug charges. The magistrate at Marlborough Street Court, London told him, “I am afraid you are a drug addict.” Baker denied charges of illegally obtaining heroin and cocaine. He was also recommended for deportation.

Billy Fury has pulled out of the BBC’s Top of the Pops concert. He was told that he would top the bill and close the show. However, he was also required to make an appearance during the first half, but he couldn’t agree to that.

Television highlights: Let’s Imagine Predicting the Future (repeat). Professional Boxing. Here Come the Girls – Alan Freeman talks to Susan Maughan, and sees her make a disc.

Radio highlights: Modern Jazz – Johnny Dankworth and his orchestra. Big ‘O’ Show.

Weather: cold, misty, frosty. Outlook – dry, frosty. Maximum temperature 4c, 39f.

Thursday 28 February 1963

Two Labour MPs, Mr Harold Davies and Mr Will Owen, have put down a Commons motion suggesting that a world fund be set up under the United Nations for the relief of distress due to natural disasters.

N Hart Ltd, whose office in Gerrard Street, Soho, is upstairs from Ronnie Scott’s famous basement jazz club, sued Mr Scott claiming damages and an injunction to stop nuisance by noise. Mr Scott denied excessive noise or causing a nuisance. The case was adjourned until today.

A national campaign to persuade motorists to use dipped headlights was urged yesterday. The call came from Birmingham, a city that has achieved sensational results in its own campaign. The city’s casualty figures have been drastically cut, and it is now the safest city to drive in at night, the Lord Mayor claimed.

The Duke of Argyll was still giving evidence when his divorce action against the Duchess was adjourned last night. His evidence had lasted ten hours and will resume today. The Duke alleges adultery by the Duchess. She denies the allegations. On a courtroom table were bundles of documents, red-backed diaries, photographs and a tape recorder. The Argyll action may prove to be one the most expensive divorce cases of the century by the time it ends.

A new LP out this week, Music from Mathematics, is loaded with music, without one musician or singer taking part. The album was made electronically by the IBM 7090 computer machine. Punched cards were fed into IBM 7090 and music came out. The singing voice is rather toneless, with an American accent.

Pop Charts: top three 1. Please Please Me – The Beatles 2. The Wayward Wind – Frank Ifield 3. The Night Has a Thousand Eyes – Bobby Vee.

Television highlights: Moonstrike – secret operations series. World Figure Skating Championships. This Week – discussing wages by cheque.

Radio highlights: Workers’ Playtime. Smash Hits.

Weather: sunny, but rather cold. Frost. Outlook – similar. Maximum temperature 4c, 39f.

Friday 1 March 1963

This winter has been the coldest for 133 years – and that’s official. For the three months ended yesterday Britain has had its coldest shiver since 1829-30. The average daily temperature recorded at Kew, London was 33.3 Fahrenheit – just above freezing point. This is seven degrees colder than the normal three-month average. 

Still fewer people are going to the movies. And there are fewer cinemas for them to go to anyway. Total admission to Britain’s cinemas in 1962 was 415,000,000 – twelve percent down on the 1961 total. Nearly 400 cinemas closed in 1960, 330 in 1961 and 300 in 1962. Currently, 2,715 cinemas remain open.

A £10,000 trust fund to establish all-Welsh speaking schools in Wales has been launched today by Mr Trefor Morgan, an ex-insurance man who has made a fortune in the past five years.

Agony Aunt: When I swear at home, I get a clip across the ear. But my dad swears. What do you say? Jane Adams’ reply – Your dad deserves a clip across the ear too.

Agony Aunt: My boyfriend – we are not engaged – has gone to America for eighteen months. He says I am not to date. What should I do? Jane Adams’ reply – You are not engaged so go out and enjoy life.

Football: A World Cup television treat is in store for British viewers. In 1966, matches will be played every evening except Sundays, and the games will be televised live. On the pitch, England have plenty of problems to resolve following their 5 – 2 defeat to France.

Television highlights: Miss England 1963. The Metal Music Man. This World of Wales.

Radio highlights: Smooth n Swinging. Wandering Minstrel. 

Weather: sunny after light frost. Outlook – little change. Maximum temperature 7c, 45f.

Available for pre-order, Songbird, my novel set in the winter of 1962-63

https://books2read.com/u/bMqNPG

For Authors

#1 for value with 565,000 readers, The Fussy Librarian has helped my books to reach #1 on over thirty occasions.

A special offer from my publisher and the Fussy Librarian. https://authors.thefussylibrarian.com/?ref=goylake

Don’t forget to use the code goylake20 to claim your discount 🙂

Categories
1963

Social History 1963 #11

Wednesday 20 February 1963

Two hundred wives in Westminster and Barnet are testing a new family-planning pill. The pill has already been tested on 599 women and not one became pregnant. A spokesman said, “A doctor’s prescription will be needed when the pill becomes available.”

Soft background music will be played as an experiment for the next fortnight to customers at Sunderland Savings Bank. If the majority of customers are in favour, the music while you bank will be made a permanent feature of the bank’s service.

The home of striptease king Paul Raymond was stripped of gems and furs. Thieves climbed in through a window and stole Mrs Raymond’s wedding ring, plus three mink stoles. 

A Scotland Yard detective placed a nylon stocking over his head at the Old Bailey yesterday to show jurors how gangsters masked themselves. He pulled his ears forward and pushed his nose to one side as he drew the knotted stocking down below his chin.

Television highlights: Two in the Bush, The Sky at Night, Living With the Germans.

Radio highlights: Parade of the Pops with The Beatles, Get With It.

Rugby Union: Hospitals Cup, First Round – St George’s 3pts St Bart’s 11pts.

Today’s horse racing meeting at Fontwell is off. The prospects of a return to horse racing this week remain extremely remote.

Weather: very cold with snow showers. Outlook – similar. Maximum temperature 0c, 32f.

Thursday 21 February 1963

A book on marriage guidance that was written sixteen hundred years ago will go on sale for the first time today. It is a book that will shock, offend and outrage many people. It is The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana. The publishers have deliberately priced the book at 42s to keep it out of the mass market.

The total of unemployed in Britain, due to be announced later today, is expected to exceed 900,000. A 100,000 jump from the January figure of 815,000 is feared. There is some speculation that the figure might reach 1,000,000. The main cause for this alarming rise is the Big Freeze, which has made 300,000 building workers idle.

Nylon prices to drop from 19s 11d to 16s 11d. A spokesman explained: “Until last September we were selling only seamed stockings. Now we are producing seamfree styles, which means that we are selling many more nylons.” The average price of nylons is 4s 11d. Some can be bought for as little as 2s 11d, but they only last for a few days.

Thirteen international starts including Bing Crosby, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald and Edith Piaf have cut new tracks for an LP called All Star Festival. Sales from the LP, cost £1, will aid refugees. Britain’s contribution is Greensleeves by Anne Shelton. 

Television highlights: Perspective – the British breakfast. Your Kind of Sport – Hockey. Public Speaking Contest.

Radio highlights: Smash Hits. Swinging UK.

Sheffield Wednesday’s FA Cup Third Round tie with Bolton Wanderers was postponed for the thirteenth time because of the icy weather. The game is now scheduled for next Wednesday.

Weather: sunny spells and snow showers. Night frost. Outlook – little change. Maximum temperature 3c, 37f.

Friday 22 February 1963

Venus is too hot to support life as we know it, according to signals sent back from Mariner II, which passed within 21,000 miles of the planet on December 14. Temperatures on the planet are between 300 and 400 Fahrenheit, 149 to 215 Centigrade. However, Venus may not have a deadly radiation belt, as the Earth has. This will make it less dangerous for spacemen to journey close to the planet.

The BBC is to broadcast help the motorist reports at the weekends, starting this Easter. Information about road and travel conditions will be given after the Light Programme news headlines. If the public shows interest, the reports might continue every weekend, or even every day.

Ten million savers who keep their cash in Trustee Savings Banks may soon be able to pay their bills by cheque. This will save them queuing up to draw out shopping money on Friday evenings and Saturday mornings.

Council house tenants in Halesworth, Suffolk are complaining because their houses, built in 1938, still do not have bathrooms or flush toilets. They have to dispose of every drop of water at the bottom of their gardens.

S.K. Bates of Devon writes: “Certain noises called Pop songs, and the people who make them, are often described as “fabulous”. The dictionary describes “fabulous” as absurd, incredible. Now, I begin to see the light.

Television highlights: Time Stood Still – Italian feature film. Moment for Melody. The Avengers.

Radio highlights: Unmarried Mothers – discussion. Alan Freeman Show.

Weather: mainly dry, but cold. Outlook – similar. Maximum temperature 2c, 36f.

Saturday 23 February 1963

Diners carried on undisturbed while fireman tackled a blaze on a fifth floor landing at the Cafe Royal, Piccadilly, last night.

There are 1,798,000 spinsters over the age of 35 in Britain – half a million more spinsters than bachelors. Oona P, 38, said, “Men are a lot of lecherous devils out for all they can get.” Jane G, 36: “Love ‘em and leave ‘em is my motto, before they leave you.” Marion P, 37: “Financially, I’m independent, and will have a pension for my old age. Why should I give up my freedom?” Rev R. Mary Webster said, “Women are able to achieve a much greater independence today. They can lead a happy life without marriage.”

Pin-up girls are appearing on long playing record sleeves, and fans are decorating their walls with them. However, one London dealer said, “There is a demand for sleeves, but it’s not terribly big at the moment. The EP type are the most popular, mainly of Cliff and the Shadows.”

Greens are still poor. Cabbages are 1s, sprouts 1s lb, King Edwards 5d, leeks 1s 4d, swedes 6d and cucumbers 4s.

Top television shows this week: 1. Coronation Street (Feb 11) 2. Steptoe and Son 3. Coronation Street (Feb 13) 4. Labour Party Leader Broadcast 5. The Paradise Suite. 

Television highlights: A Song For Europe – selecting the British entry. Thank Your Lucky Stars – featuring Billy Fury, Clyde Valley Stompers and the Beatles.

Radio highlights: Desert Island Discs – Noel Coward. LP Parade.

Despite the Big Freeze, there will be no extension to the English Rugby Union season. The Rugby League season will close on 31 May.

Weather: Bright after early fog. Maximum temperature 4c, 39f.

Sunday 24 February 1963

Measles cases for the first seven weeks of this year total 130,154, compared with 7,587 a year ago, the Health Ministry said last night. Doctors expect 1963 to be the worst on record for the disease.

A report compiled by a senior member of the British Medical Association – “The Anatomy of Pop” – states that: “Pop music is a kind of social cement that binds young people together.” Furthermore, it concludes that songs from previous generations were much more suggestive than today’s songs, and that a pop idol is a “merchant of romance, a dealer in dreams.”

In shops soon – foods in tins with see-through tops. A vacuum cleaner driven by two motors is set to replace models driven by rubber bands. Within ten years more than half of the gadgets in our homes will work off batteries. 

Television’s most prolific and successful composer is Ron Grainer. Hear him with his orchestra on the LP version of That Was The Week That Was.

Most American jazz stars think that modern British composers are not with it. But Ella Fitzgerald disagrees. On her latest nationwide concert tour she is going to sing some of Lionel Bart’s music. For the sixth year running Ella Fitzgerald has topped the Melody Maker poll as the world’s greatest female jazz singer.

Britain’s best female driver, Pat Moss, offers some advice on driving: Relax – driving should be done the easy way. Don’t drive in high heels – if you don’t have flat shoes, drive in nylons. Sound your hooter when overtaking. And flash your headlights when overtaking.

Television highlights: Billy Cotton Band Show with Cliff Richard and the Shadows. The Solitary Billionaire – J Paul Getty. Play – The Prisoner with Patrick McGoohan.

Radio highlights: Pick of the Pops. Tune a Minute.

Weather: dry and sunny, but cold.


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Categories
1963

Social History 1963 #10

Friday 15 February 1963

Harold Wilson is the new leader of the Labour Party. He was elected last night with a decisive majority of 41 over George Brown. Mr Wilson said that he would carry on the policies of Hugh Gaitskell, whose death last month caused the leadership election.

Big Tony Mella, 37 year old king of the Soho clip joints, was murdered by his best friend Alvin Melvin who put three bullets into him. Melvin then shot himself. It would appear that Melvin tired of Big Tony’s insults and abuse. His friendship turned to hatred.

Surgeons have taken a kidney from a dead body and transplanted it into a living man. The operation, which lasted six hours, is the first of its kind in the world. It took place in Leeds General Infirmary 67 days ago. The recipient is doing well, but surgeons say it is too early to say if the operation has been a complete success.

The Tower of London’s 38 Beefeaters threatened to go on strike unless the War Office makes a move to settle their pay claim. The Beefeaters want 1s 9d more a day for carrying out special duties. The War Office has offered 6d.

The Third Round FA Cup tie between Charlton Athletic and Cardiff City has been postponed for the tenth time. Watford and Rotherham’s third round tie was also postponed last night.

Television highlights: The Woodentops, Captain Pugwash, Tales of the Riverbank.

Radio highlights: Piano Party, My Favourite Husband.

Weather: bright with showers. Outlook – similar. Maximum temperature 2c or 3c, 36f.

Saturday 16 February 1963

Three girl tv announcers (see below) have been taken off news reading because they become emotionally involved when giving details of tragedies. Also, they get thousands of fan letters and requests for photographs. This indicates that they are a distraction and reduce the impact of news items.

A third plot to assassinate President de Gaulle has been foiled in three years. The alleged ringleader of the latest assassination plot is Georges-Marcel Watin, nicknamed Limpy because of an infirmity. He escaped the police dragnet by minutes.

When Leslie Hopkin’s car stalled outside his home he asked his wife Beatrice to sit in the driving seat while he pushed the car to restart it. Leslie shoved and the car shot down the street leaving him standing. Beatrice steered safely past twenty-three parked cars. But her car hit a twenty-fourth. She suffered a broken leg, had four teeth knocked out, and received cuts. Leslie was fined £1 for allowing his wife to drive uninsured.

In a pop poll in Holland, Cliff Richard was voted the World’s top singer, receiving 50.5% of the vote. His idols, Elvis Presley and Ray Charles, received 20% and 3.25% respectively.

Little change in the grim vegetable situation and the Covent Garden men refuse to forecast any improvement for several weeks. Potatoes are 5d lb, tomatoes 2s, cucumbers 2s 6d each, and oranges 1s 9d.

Television highlights: The Rag Trade – an American tycoon, Thick Wilson, has take-over thoughts. That Was The Week That Was. The Braden Beat.

Radio highlights: Stephane Grappelly. Polka Party.

Weather: sleet or snow. Temperatures near freezing. Outlook – little change. 

Sunday 17 February 1963

Coming soon – canned cakes. You will be able to store them for two years. Handbags that grow as you let out the strap handles are all the rage in Paris. For £56 you will soon be able to have garage doors that open when car headlights shine on them.

Thousands of Frenchwomen took from their mailboxes this week plain wrapped packages containing large tubes simply marked “Soothing Cream”, apparently a beauty product. In the tubes was a contraceptive preparation. In France it is illegal to possess, sell, buy, advertise or advise on contraception and contraceptive materials.

A 1951 penny might be worth pounds. A coin collector in America has pointed out that the US catalogue prices for British 1951 pennies is as high as £3 8d, and market prices might be higher. The bulk of the 1951 issue went to Bermuda, where people are now afraid to spend a penny in case they lose a small fortune.

This week, only five people complained about the BBC’s satirical show That Was The Week That Was. Normally, hundreds of people complain every week.

Television highlights: His Soul Goes Marching On – discussion on race relations in America. Mr Magoo. Z Cars.

Radio highlights: Top Twenty. Let’s Put Out the Lights.

Only thirteen matches were played in the English and Scottish football leagues this weekend. The rest were postponed because of the weather.

Weather: very cold with snow.

Monday 18 February 1963

The president bends, breaks or ignores laws that stand in his way. People are arrested on a whim. Magistrates are corrupt. Radio and television are now propaganda instruments. This is the situation in France under dictator de Gaulle.

Railwaymen will join the fight for a 40 hour working week. Currently, they work 42 hours a week. Builders, plumbers and heating engineers will switch to a 40 hour working week in two years.

Real-life spacemen are catching up with the puppet stars of Fireball XL5. As every one of the 3,500,000 regular viewers knows, when the XL5 crew want to investigate some far-off planet, they first put Fireball XL5 into orbit around it. Then they make the final descent to the planet from the Mothership on a kind of space taxi, called Fireball Junior. And that is the way American astronauts will descend to the surface of the Moon sometime around the end of 1967.

Rector William Winfield has suggested that people should give up watching tv for Lent. Mr Winfield is giving up his favourites…boxing, travel films and Westerns.

Television highlights: World in Action – focus on supermarkets. The Plane Makers – factory series. Leave it to Beaver.

Radio highlights: Swoon Club. The Jazz Scene with Spike Milligan.

Classified Advertisement: Johnny D. Thanks for phone call. Arrange your pal visits us – Mam.

Weather: sunny spells, snow showers. Very cold. Outlook – similar. Maximum temperature 1c 34f.

Tuesday 19 February 1963

Motorists in London will soon be given “space flight” heart checks to measure the strain of rush-hour driving. Recorders will monitor heart rates as motorists fume in traffic jams, jockey for lane positions, and rage at other drivers.

A doctor died after using himself as a guinea pig for experiments with a drug, a coroner said yesterday. Dr Samuel Leff took LSD, lysergic acid diethylamide, a drug linked to hypnotism and exploration of the memory cells.

The widow of Big Tony Mella, the Soho club boss, sent a wreath to the funeral of the man who murdered him, and the widow of the killer, Alvin Melvin, sent a wreath to the graveside of Big Tony. The hostesses of the nightclub split into two groups and went to each funeral. “Both of the boys were good to us,” said one of the hostesses. “They were good to work for.”

Billy Cotton has been voted Show Business Personality of 1962. The Most Promising Newcomers are Sarah Miles and Tom Courtenay. Film Actor of the Year – Peter O’Toole. Film Actress of the Year – Leslie Caron. Stage Actress of the Year – Sheila Hancock. Stage Actor of the Year – Paul Scofield. BBC Television Personality of the Year – Harry Worth. ITV Personality of the Year – Violet Carson. Radio Personality of the Year – Eamonn Andrews.

Television highlights: The Sledge – Hungarian film. No Hiding Place. Emergency Ward Ten – Dick Moone assists in a crisis.

Radio highlights: Music While You Work. Casting Out Devils.

At the eleventh attempt, Charlton Athletic’s Third Round FA Cup tie with Cardiff City went ahead last night. Len Glover’s goal in the eightieth minute sent Charlton through to meet Chelsea in the next round.

Weather: cold easterly winds, snow. Outlook – unchanged. Maximum temperature 2c, 36f.

Available for pre-order, Songbird, my novel set in the winter of 1962-63

https://books2read.com/u/bMqNPG

For Authors

#1 for value with 565,000 readers, The Fussy Librarian has helped my books to reach #1 on over thirty occasions.

A special offer from my publisher and the Fussy Librarian. https://authors.thefussylibrarian.com/?ref=goylake

Don’t forget to use the code goylake20 to claim your discount 🙂