Looking Back: When exactly did Janice Nicholls say 'O'll give it foive!'

It was on every Saturday evening. The theme music started to the background of a steam train. ‘The 6-5 Specials coming down the line.’ sung by Don Lang and his Frantic Five’ This was a great tune for doing the hand jive to!

The hosts were Josephine Douglas and Pete Murray with guests including Petula Clark, Jim Dale, Cleo Laine and Johnny Dankworth, Terry Dene, Lonnie Donegan, Tommy Steele and Marty Wilde

The success of’ Six Five Special’ although only lasting a year, led to ‘Oh Boy’ in 1958.

Resident artistes included Lord Rockingham’s XI, Cliff Richard, The Drifters (later to become The Shadows, and Marty Wilde. with guests like Shirley Bassey, Billy Fury and Lonnie Donegan.

‘Juke Box Jury’ starting in 1959, provides one of the questions most asked today when people wallow in nostalgia about the era. Did Janice Nicholls say ‘ Oi’ll give it foive’ on Juke Box Jury or was it on ‘Ready Steady Go’?

Ready Steady Go had most viewers of any pop show in March 1964, when the Beatles appeared on the show singing ‘It won’t be long’ ‘You can’t do that’ and ‘Can’t buy me love’

With an informal format and a catch phrase of ‘The weekend starts here’ it was popular with the mod culture with first presenters Keith Fordyce and Cathy McGowan.

The first ‘Top of the Pops’ started in January 1964 with stars including The Rolling Stones, Dave Clark 5, The Hollies and The Beatles.

Uniting families over music was never something that happened when I was growing up in the 1950s. Our parents were horrified by the newly emerging rock and roll which they said would cause juvenile delinquency, with American parents trying to have the music banned from radio stations. Elvis Presley was particularly condemned for his sexual gyrating’s!

My father took me to see ‘Rock around the clock’ starring ‘Bill Haley and the Comets’ at the Essoldo Cinema at Sheffield Lane Top in 1956. It was a long time before my mother spoke to him again!