Alice Cooper Top Of The Pops Birthday Question

[pitkin88]

I am guessing this would be 1974.Probably January as TOTP would have been 10 years old. The band sang Happy Birthday to Top Of The Pops in a recorded segment. I believe they were in the Jail costumes ( so probably at the filming of the Teenage Lament promo ) and at the end Dennis went down on one knee and sang " and many more ".

I am going by memory and I believe this was shown only once so they might have been in the sailor suits. Can anyone clarify and also does the film still exist?

[Si]

I believe it was sailor suits, and I have never seen a copy so, outside the BBC archives, I would guess it isn`t "out there".
Some years ago I did look through the listings available for what episodes where left in the BBC vaults and unfortunatly I think it was one of the ones they wiped

[pitkin88]

Thank you for the speedy reply. I guess there are very few of us who actually saw it. Bloody BBC and their damn wiping!! It could be possible that more than one copy exists unless it was actually filmed by the BBC. I would think it would have been filmed by the band/organization as I couldn't see the BBC sending a crew out there for a one minute piece of film.

[Si]

Thank you for the speedy reply. I guess there are very few of us who actually saw it. Bloody BBC and their damn wiping!! It could be possible that more than one copy exists unless it was actually filmed by the BBC. I would think it would have been filmed by the band/organization as I couldn't see the BBC sending a crew out there for a one minute piece of film.

The wiping of so much by the BBC is their biggest disgrace. Granted they couldn`t see how valuable the stuff would become but, come on, it didn`t take a genius to realise this stuff was worth keeping.

It's completely possible there is still a copy out there somewhere, either in the AC archives (Andy?) or on a shelf in some south American TV station.
They still occasionally find things that have been thought lost for decades.
There's even a site for this stuff, http://wipednews.com, and apparently they have just found Sean Connery's first TV lead role in a London attic, thought lost for 50 years.

[concolz]

Being an 'old timer', I remember watching the 10th anniversary show. It was actually broadcast on 27th December 1973; hosted by, shudder, Jimmy Savile. ACG were definitely in sailor suits.

[pitkin88]

Being an 'old timer', I remember watching the 10th anniversary show. It was actually broadcast on 27th December 1973; hosted by, shudder, Jimmy Savile. ACG were definitely in sailor suits.

Thanks Concolz. I had it in my mind that it was around Xmas but went by the date TOTP first began. Any idea where the segment was filmed?

[pitkin88]

Thank you for the speedy reply. I guess there are very few of us who actually saw it. Bloody BBC and their damn wiping!! It could be possible that more than one copy exists unless it was actually filmed by the BBC. I would think it would have been filmed by the band/organization as I couldn't see the BBC sending a crew out there for a one minute piece of film.

The wiping of so much by the BBC is their biggest disgrace. Granted they couldn`t see how valuable the stuff would become but, come on, it didn`t take a genius to realise this stuff was worth keeping.

It's completely possible there is still a copy out there somewhere, either in the AC archives (Andy?) or on a shelf in some south American TV station.
They still occasionally find things that have been thought lost for decades.
There's even a site for this stuff, http://wipednews.com, and apparently they have just found Sean Connery's first TV lead role in a London attic, thought lost for 50 years.

Great site. I was aware of it. You can get lost for hours on there. Not only did the BBC wipe but they dumped as well ( rim shot ). Beatles BBC recordings thrown in the bin thankfully retrieved by a producer who was mortified as to what was happening. There is an interesting story about something very similar regarding two missing Steptoe episodes. And to think we paid our licensing fees for this.

[pitkin88]

Could it be on this?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0730306/

[A_MichaelUK]

From pitkin88:
"Can anyone clarify and also does the film still exist?"

Yes but in the worst quality imaginable.

[philouze]

What the hell is this all about?? Wipe? BBC? Is this a porn site, now? All right, I'm out (and there's another double entendre)

[Si]

What the hell is this all about?? Wipe? BBC? Is this a porn site, now? All right, I'm out (and there's another double entendre)

Back in the early 70s the BBC destroyed a huge amount of its archive of programs, including many historically important shows/footage. Many tapes they wiped and reused to save money, others they simply threw in a skip to be destroyed. A matter of a couple of years later they realised their idiocy and started trying to replace what they had destroyed from other TV company copies but have never managed to find the majority which are lost forever.
However there are various groups who's life's work is to scour the world for things that possibly survived and still to this day things turn up, including things like TOTP and other music shows which long lost footage of some of the most important bands ever.

[pitkin88]

Further back than that Si. A lot of stuff from the 60's too.

[Si]

Further back than that Si. A lot of stuff from the 60's too.

Material yes, but I thought the big purge started in the very early 70s when they started wiping everything old and current.

[Robbie]

Its incredible what has been wiped.Slightly off topic I know, but I am a great fan of the film "Zulu". Amazingly, in 1936 Colour Sargent Bourne (Nigel Green "with some guts behind it"!) was interviewed about the battle of Rorke's Drift. Tragically, it was wiped and lost forever so the tape could be re-used. Although a transcript survives its not the same as hearing the voice of someone who actually fought in the battle!

[steven_crayn]

Here's one rare BBC clip that survived Teenage Lament 74 closing Top of the Pops February 7th 1974
http://youtu.be/oRvZF39wk-k

[steven_crayn]

Being an 'old timer', I remember watching the 10th anniversary show. It was actually broadcast on 27th December 1973; hosted by, shudder, Jimmy Savile. ACG were definitely in sailor suits.

Thursday, December 27th 1973
early close down
BBC1 Top Of The Pops Ten Years of Pop Music 1964 - 1974 5:45 - 6:35 PM
Host: Jimmy Savile with guest Samantha Dolenz (nee Juste)
The Kinks – Top Of The Pops (Video)
Cilla Black – Anyone Who Had A Heart
Dave Clark Five – Bits And Pieces (Clip Of Totp 26-2-64)
Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas – Little Children (Clip Of Totp 26-2-64)
The Supremes – Baby Love (Clip Of Totp 7-10-64)
The Beatles– I Feel Fine (promo with gym equipment)
The Bachelors– I Believe
The Who– My Generation (Monterey Pop Fesitval, 1967)
The Rolling Stones – Get Off My Cloud (Clip Of Totp 4-11-65)
The Rolling Stones – The Last Time (Clip Of Totp 4-3-65)
The Righteous Brothers – You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’ (Clip Of Totp 28-1-65)
Sonny & Cher– I Got You Babe (Clip Of Totp 12-8-65)
Jonathan King – Everyone’s Gone To The Moon (with intro from TOTP 1865)
Mickey Dolenz - chat with host
Sandie Shaw – Long Live Love
Herman, Cilla Black, Val Doonican interview clips from TOTP December 1967
Scott Mckenzie – San Francisco (TOTP film)
Procol Harum – A Whiter Shade Of Pale (Clip Of Totp 26-12-67)
The Tremeloes– Silence Is Golden
Dave Dee, Dozy Beaky Mick & Tich – Legend Of Xanadu (Clip Of Totp 8-2-68)
Joe Cocker – With A Little Help From My Friends (How It Is)
Status Quo– Pictures Of Matchstick Men (Clip Of Totp 15-2-68)
Alan Price Set – Don’t Stop The Carnival (Clip Of Totp 15-2-68)
Crazy World Of Arthur Brown – Fire (Clip Of Totp 18-7-68)
Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger– This Wheel’s On Fire (Clip Of Totp 6-6-68)
The Move – Fire Brigade (Clip Of Totp 6-6-68)
Marmalade – Ob-La-Di-Ob-La-Da (Clip Of Totp 25-12-69)
Free – All Right Now (Clip Of Totp 4-6-70)
Pan’s People - clips from 1970
Norman Greenbaum – Spirit In The Sky (Pan’s People)
The Rolling Stones – Brown Sugar (Clip Of Totp 27-12-71)
Rod Stewart – Maggie May (Clip Of Totp 27-12-71)
David Bowie – Starman (Clip Of Totp 6-7-72)
Wizzard – Ball Park Incident
Wizzard – Angel Fingers (end Credits)

[steven_crayn]

The Top Of The Pops 500th Birthday Edition was broadcast on BBC1 on Thursday, October 3rd 1973 between 7:00 - 8:00 pm
Hosts: Jimmy Savile, Tony Blackburn, Noel Edmonds, Kenny Everett
NB During rehearsals The Who’s roadies pelted Cliff Richard with wigs from the BBC props department
Intro: Whole Lotta Love (with Cozy Powell and Tony Carr from CCS on drums)
Dawn Tie A Yellow Ribbon , Say, Has Anybody Seen My Sweet Gypsy Rose
Cliff Richard Take Me High
Lynsey De Paul Won't Somebody Dance With Me (interrupted by Tony Blackburn)
David Bowie The Laughing Gnome (TOTP film)
Isley Brothers That Lady (disc)
Jackson 5 Skywriter (promo)
The Osmonds filmed greeting, Let Me In (disc)
Sweet Ballroom Blitz
Brian Ferry A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall
Mick Jagger filmed greeting
Slade – filmed greeting from USA, My Friend Stan (repeat)
David Cassidy Daydreamer, chat with Tony Blackburn, Puppy Song (at Heathrow airport, London)
The Who 5.15 (the full studio recording has the band trash their instruments, throwing wigs around while Pete Townshend flicks Vs at the audience)
The Simon Park Orchestra Eye Level

[pitkin88]

Thank you Steven. Do we know where in the show Alice Cooper is? I would assume if all this survives the clip does too and should be in excellent quality.

[recoop]

I cannot recall sailor suit episode but did remember the TOTP Feb 74 outro of Teenage Lament 74- thanks for link Steven- would love to see sailor suit episode even if quality is poor

[pitkin88]

It was amazing I even got to see it. I think I had pretty much stopped watching the show at that time. I doubt ANYONE had any idea they would be on singing Happy Birthday. Amuk?