To my world of dreams so far away"...

Oh dear. There goes what remains of my credibility.

this was the happening sound for 7 year olds.

Specifically "Here Comes The Sun". It's the first song I can remember hearing.

Which came with about half-a-dozen records on the Gala label, all of which played at 78 RPM, despite the fact that the format had been dead for some years. One of my earliest memories is of coming back from the shop at the end of the street to discover that I'd left the record player still running.

Here's one of these odd 78s, but unfortunately I can't remember if it was one of mine.

and it still rocks.

I believe these days it's called a choon.

Either Bargepole is me or was born at the exact same moment as me. In the unlikely event that I was invited onto the podcast and asked the question "What records did your parents own when you were growing up?" My answer would be : The Seekers... along with The Ray Conniff Singers, Glen Campbell and Klaus Wunderlich. Car journeys featured these mighty artists on rotation on the 8 track player - I'm sure this was what made me welcome the rise of punk in 1976 rather than any desire to kill off the prog rock dinosaurs. You really have to listen to Klaus Wunderlich to understand the real misery of that period.

but I don't think it was this version. Not overly politically correct nowadays...

Handful of songs... ITV...lunchtimes... 1976... *sigh*. I tried to find them singing 'I Saw A Mouse' - alas, no luck.

No 1 when TOTP went colour in 1969, and still packing as much rush as a bar of Kendal Mint Cake.

It was the theme for Canadian TV kids show "The Friendly Giant".
"Look up. Waaaaaayyyy up.... and I'll call Rusty"

On the pop charts:
Brian Hyland - Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini
Randells - Martian Hop (doo wop on acid, with a touch of the Chipmunks)
Highwaymen - Michael Row The Boat Ashore
Beach Boys - Surfin' USA (which I misheard as "Servin' USA")

Those were the Days by Mary Hopkins... Then I got to see her on a pier show along with Laslie Crowther.. magic.

... was 'Postman Pat'. These were the highlights - first the famous theme tune:

And then Ted Glen's 'Leave it to Me':

Ridiculously, these almost set me off listening to them. They just bring back so many happy childhood memories.

The Archies, White Horses and The Flashing Blade all gone. Are we all mid 40's or something? Next up would be the Joe 90 theme or Engelberts "Please Release Me" or "Last Waltz", Mum was a fan, of Engelbert that is not Joe 90.

and others of a similar kidney please place a small caption adjacent to any You Tube clips that they choose to post, with salient details of said post.

Dependant on a variety of factors these clips may or may not show on certain media platforms and since the point of not captioning clips - one assumes - is to create the impression either of a seamless segue or for the purpose of arousing surprise, the actual effect is diminished when the viewer remains - literally - in the dark as to the content.

And now pop pickers, yup you've guessed it - my earliest pop memory is THIS!

(See what I did there?)

Actually, the first song that wormed its way into Sheev's sensibilities was "Yellow River" by Christie

Hands up by Ottawan, Shaddap you Face by Joe Dolce and, according to my folks, Bright Eyes by Art Garfunkel (although I was only one and a half when it was a big hit, so I must've picked up on it a bit later on).

as Splits, Blade, Champion et al comes this..

4.45pm I seem to remember

The series seemed to be shown at regular intervals during my 1970s childhood. Never mind the iconic opening credits, I quickly developed a deep-seated fascination with the mysterious (and badly edited) song sung by Mickey over the end credits. Much later I would go on to own original Monkees vinyl (yay!) and hear 'For Pete's Sake' in all its groovy glory.

"And all we have to be.... is free" - 49 seconds and I'm 7 again...

depress the hell outta me. They remind me of days of struggle (a single Mum bringing up an only child), perpetual rain, gloominess and Sunday being just such a drag of condensation on windows, the smell of gas, and a meal cooked by an aunty.
'Anyone Who Had a Heart' by Ciller is the nadir of 'bad funk' for me, others I can't listen to without getting the fear are:
'Downtown' ~ Petula Clarke
'Carn't Buy Me Loove' ~ aye, them
'Bright Elusive Butterfly' ~ VD
'Robinson Crusoe theme'
'Durham' ~ Roger Whittashiter
'You're My World' ~ the hatcheck girl again
'You've Lost that Loving Feeling' ~ The Shiteous Brothers

Oh Jeez! I need therapy after that.

in front of the TV:

(Eric and Ernie - Bring Me Sunshine)

Morningtown Ride, Robinson Crusoe, White Horses, The Boat That I Row... kids don't know they're born these days. What truly great tunes.

There was radio. Pop music was strictly rationed. We had the Light Programme and Uncle Mac presented Children's Favourites. Some of these tunes were rotated for years from the end of the war till the 60s.Like this one

but did any of you see Zokko ??? Were it not for a few things on the web I'd wonder if I'd imagined it:

Unconventionally presented and drenched in bleeping radiophonics, the serial segments came across as strangely tranquil and hypnotic, contrasting effectively with the loud and frenetic style of the rest of the programme. Leaning strongly towards jazzy “beat” outfits like The Alan Price Set, Georgie Fame and The Blue Flames and The New Vaudeville Band, the pop tracks were accompanied by extremely well directed shorts reflecting the lyrical themes of the chosen numbers, some of which were also used in editions of Top of the Pops.

Meanwhile, the variety acts simply turned up and did their stage performance within the very cramped confines of the Zokko! studio, doubtless causing severe logisitical problems for the numerous jugglers. Even the basic list of artistes who appeared on the show makes for fascinating reading, featuring such evocative and long-forgotten names as The Tumblairs, The Skating Meteors, and The Breathtaking Eddy Limbo and “Pat”. A handful of more established acts would also show up including conjuring legend Ali Bongo; veteran brother and sister variety performers Johnny and Suma Lamonte, whose acrobatic skills saw them in regular demand as guest turns on light entertainment shows; visiting American Phil Enos and his Amazing Comedy Car; and popular illusionist and judo expert Geoff Ray, who though now retired still proudly includes Zokko! on his CV.Most notorious however were Arthur Scott and his Performing Seals, who left the tiny studio reeking so strongly of fish recording was disrupted for days afterwards.

If this all sounds like a rather mindbending assembly of entertainment, its disorentating nature was amplified to nightmarish and jaw-dropping proportions by the adoption of a deeply psychedelic “swinging London” visual style, complete with flashing designs that looked garish even in black and white, captions written in lettering that would not have appeared out of place in an advert for a Carnaby Street boutique, and crash zooms of a modishly redesigned poster of Lord Kitchener.

I still feel it sounds so great that a full-blown Word investigative feature-perhaps with Kate M sent to find the breathtaking Eddie Limbo-is in order ?

Kind of explains why (begging Bargepole's pardon) I found DSOTM a bit of a letdown when I finally heard it ...

I'm off school, in a dressing gown, eating heinz tomato soup.
Television for schools is on...

It's TV themes which give me the childhood rush....

would scare the shit out of me as a small child. Looking at it now, it seems pretty tame, but a small shiver went down my spinhe when the dwarf appeared.

constant in my childhood and I always wanted to be Judy.

Otherwise, it was Acker Bilk's Strangers on a Shore which was the only record my father kind of approved of.

I have very distant memories of there only being two pop albums in the house when I was a very small lad: Abbey Road and Bridge Over Troubled Water. Is it possible that they were available on reel to reel? That's the picture I have in my head. And like Bob, Here Comes The Sun seems to stand out slightly sharper than the rest.

It was mostly classical otherwise, and the one that induces a Proustian Rush is The Moldau, by Biedrich Smetana, and here it is. Lovely.

Allowed to stay up late to watch The Saint

and the trip to London each year for the new Bond

with the Bonzos

...pre-school, and I remember watching it with my dad who worked shifts at the time.

Shirley Abicair and her zither. Completely forgotten until this topic. Thanks!

http://youtu.be/rvXNIfGw9kc

sock puppets and wooden spoons...Ragtime :-)

I'd love to share this with you all...

there was a young boy of about 5 absolutely singing his heart out to Karma Chameleon of all things. The tune and the words were completely wrong and I would have loved to see it on Youtube. Who knows in 20 years or so he may just be contributing to this site.

...but this one got plenty of play on the mono record player when I was knee-high to a roadrunner:

The Banana Boat Song by Stan Freberg.

Misses the beginning, and there are other versions on You Tube, but this is the version I remember (with Bugs Bunny & Speedy Gonzalez)

Not sure about the Blue Peter bit at the end though...

I thought I'd imagined this - nobody else I knew had ever heard of it:

cool grooves.

My earliest musical memories are Jimmy Shand & HIs Band (whom to be honest I was absolutely fine with, at the time).

There were also the Black and White Minstrels. Nothing to do with being politically correct, because the term didn't exist and even if it did I wouldn't have understood it, but I always loathed them and would find something else to do if it wasn't winter. In winter there was no escape, as in pre central heating days we only had one warm room other than the kitchen.

by Rolf Harris. I still get damp-eyed at the end if I hear it.

Rawhide (I wonder what became of Rowdy Yates?)

and Corky, the Circus Boy?

The mid-70s... the BEST time to be a child (IMHO ;-))

Talking of loving threads, this chap did:

Both were on tv quite often when I was little. Still have a soft spot for them

good music....

Thanks Dad.

.

I always thought I watched this in childhood, however it says, broadcast in 1977, when I was 22. However I was a student at the time does that count as childhood. Anyway I liked the theme tune.

....The Gallery: