• 284

    Saturday 9 January 1965, 5.15-5.40pm


    Panel: David Healy, Pete Murray, Peggy Mount, Dusty Springfield


    Producer: Stewart Morris


    Records played:
    Here She Comes – Tymes (Pye) HIT (3-1)
    The Special Years – Val Doonican (Decca) HIT (all)
    Invisible Tears – Elaine & Derek (Decca) MISS (all)
    You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’ – Cilla Black (Parlophone) 0.54 HIT (all)
    Everybody Knows – Dave Clark Five (Columbia) HIT (3-1)
    Across The Street – Craig Douglas (Fontana) MISS (all)
    Makin’ Whoopee – Ray Charles (HMV) MISS (3-0 second jury)
    Dance Dance Dance – Beach Boys (Capitol) HIT (3-0 second jury)
    Ain’t It The Truth – Mary Wells (Stateside) HIT (all)


    Audience Research Report
    Audience was 22%, and 9% watching ITV
    Reaction index of 51 (average 54 for series)
    “Juke Box Jury appealed very much more to viewers under 20 but at the same time reaction to this particular edition was not unduly enthusiastic.”
    Teenagers thought that there were too many records of a type that would never make the charts. (Actually, untrue in this instance!)
    The teenagers had little time for anyone not of their generation or musical persuasion.
    The most popular personality was the one member who openly admitted her ignorance of pop music – Peggy Mount. Viewers admired her honesty and found her likeable and forthright.
    Pete Murray disliked for his “stupid fooling around” and “disastrous attempts at humour”.
    Dusty was criticised for her “inarticulate mumblings” and her “quite grotesque makeup”.
    David Healy didn’t make an impression either way.
    The majority found the ‘candid camera’ shots of the audience a most attractive feature.

  • 204

    Saturday 29 June 1963, 6.35-7pm

    (Recorded 22 June, 8.30-9.15pm)


    Panel: Catherine Boyle, John Lennon, Caroline Maudling, Bruce Prochnik


    Producer: Neville Wortman


    Records played:
    Southend – Cleo Laine (Fontana) MISS
    B side was Watch Your Step
    So Much In Love – The Tymes (Cameo Parkway) MISS
    JL: “I thought it was Rolf Harris at first, and then I thought, It’s the Drifters.”
    Devil In Disguise – Elvis Presley (RCA) HIT
    JL’s harshest criticism
    John Lennon doesn’t like Elvis Presley – so what?
    NME, 26 July 1963
    The Click Song – Miriam Makeba & Harry Belafonte (London) MISS
    JL: “If it was in English, it’d mean even less. It’s intriguing because it’s foreign.”
    On Top Of Spaghetti – Tom Glazer (London) MISS
    JL: “I can’t stand these ‘all together now’ records. I prefer Little Eva’s Old Smokey Locomotion.”
    Flamenco – Russ Conway (Columbia) MISS
    JL: “I like pianos but not pub pianos playing flamenco music. Didn’t sound anything like flamenco.”
    First Quarrel – Paul & Paula (Philips) MISS
    JL: “I liked their first record because I liked the octave singing, her singing one above him. This second wasn’t worth bothering about. This had Jim in it. American records are always about Jim and Bobby and Alfred.”
    Don’t Ever Let Me Down – Julie Grant (Pye) MISS
    JL: “I thought ‘Ah, one of those with an intro, but the intro was enough.”


    Photo of smiling Bruce Prochnik in Radio Times, looking about 14. He had played the title role in Oliver! on Broadway
    Caroline Maudling was stepping in for Zsa Zsa Gabor
    Caroline was Reginald Maudling’s daughter and was in Frankie Vaughan film, It’s All Over Town.
    Katie Boyle was hosting the Eurovision Song Contest

    John Lennon did a Johnny Mathis, giving negative reviews of every disc. He voted all but one a Miss. Didn’t harm his career though.

    Producer Neville Wortman: “I had John Lennon on before the rest of the Beatles. A music publisher told me that John Lennon would be a marvellous guest so I rang him and he came in and had lunch with us at the Television Centre with his leather jacket and it was a marvellous lunch in which he spoke about everything. It was a cinch to have him. A lot of people came up from Liverpool and elsewhere for that show. The Shepherd’s Bush Empire was besieged. That is when I thought this is going to be something much bigger than I thought it was. John Lennon was a great panellist as he didn’t care what he said. He stood from the rest of the panel that day.”

    The Beatles were playing in Abergavenny that night but they didn’t have to take the stage until 10.30pm at the Town Hall Ballroom. John Lennon was flown by helicopter from London at a cost of £100 and touched down at the the Penypound football ground at 9.50pm. They played to 600 fans and then stayed overnight at the Angel Hotel.