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Saturday 31 October 2015

Happy Birthday Jim

Ever heard of a site called 'Find a grave' ? It's somewhere folk can go and leave special messages for those who have passed on. They can even light a virtual candle, or leave a virtual flower. But not for Jimmy Savile because the comments and tribute facility has been disabled 

'Continuously misused' ? No doubt by the same kind of sick mentality that called for his remains to be removed etc etc. But let's not waste our energy on the bad, let's celebrate the good. Let's TURN ON our own 'virtual' sincere messages for Sir Jimmy. I'll turn off my mods today so feel free to leave a message if you want. October 2013
 September 2014


Happy 89th Birthday Jim 
 

Wednesday 28 October 2015

Regional Variations 1978

Guys and gals have I got some more news for you on the, Sue Thompson yarn. I've been burrowing deep and have indeed manage to establish that the program, Jimmy Savile's Yorkshire Speakeasy was NOT a repeat, but a 'New Series' broadcast on a Friday night, but you could only see ALL the episodes if you lived in the right Region. 
Radio Times North 21-27th Jan 1978
 
 Radio Times East 28th Jan-3rd Feb 1978 
Radio Times North West  4-10th February 1978
Radio Times North 4th-10th Feb 1978
 Radio Times North 11th Feb-17th Feb 1978
 Also broadcast that week was a program called 'Network' 
This was Saturday 11th Feb 1978 and I include it because it was a platform by which viewers throughout the regions got a glimpse of what other folks were watching. Here's one from later in the year featuring Savile's Yorkshire Speakeasy.
 I'm leaning towards this being a repeat of one of the FOUR made earlier in the year. I say four because, while I have not had access to the week 18th February-25th, I do have the following week's North edition and JSYS is not on. 
This kind of fits with the postgraduate thesis stipulating that each of these series, only contained FOUR episodes per year
 I cannot say for certain that the student has all her facts right. I'm not so sure this program was made in 1971 for instance, or even 1976. In 1971 the Speakeasy Savile made was a radio program, but I'll not get too bogged down in that for now. The point is, the program involving Thompson's story (Friday 10th Feb) was broadcast. What I do not know is WHAT the topic of the conversation was or when it was recorded. This is a work in progress guys and gals, and any help would be gratefully received.
It's proving very difficult to access ANY information regarding this, made in Leeds program. Even the Director's memory appears impaired as to the format of the program/s he worked on with Jimmy. 
From Pollard Nick Vaughan Barratt



I think he has his programs the wrong way round. Or has he ? 
And then there's Sue's story here's how she describes things
 'Worked occasionally transmitted from there' ? Transmitted generally denotes live does it not ? As for the occasional bit, why would anyone work occasionally on a show that was only made FOUR times a year if that ? Doesn't make sense does it ? 

And then there's the bit about the young girl who just happens to be 14, being BLIND ! Strewth, how likely is it that Savile made TWO speakeasy programs, one radio, one television involving the blind in the space of 6 years ? It's possible of course, or maybe another woman has got her programs mixed up 
 http://www.kirstenhearn.com/index.php/about-kirsten
 https://kirstenhearn.wordpress.com/2012/10/07/the-downfall-of-saint-jimmy/

Miss Kearn is most certainly referring to the Radio one show Speakeasy recorded in London at the Paris Studio in Regent Street, it's usual venue. 

More BBC history lessons to come guys and gals.



 
 

Friday 23 October 2015

Battling Bessie

Goodness gracious guys and gals, you know I thought that Ena Sharples lookalike in the Cavern photo with Jimmy and Harold Wilson was just some battleaxe who managed a pretty neat photobomb in 1966

 Turns out she's a pretty famous Liverpool lass, a legend in fact. Guys and gals I give you, Battling Bessie !

Here's her wiki entry
Phew, Bessie is certainly my kinda lady and I'll certainly be looking for more information about her 'frequent clashes with the press' 

Bessie is even rumoured to be the butt of this famous Churchill riposte 

I'd sure like to see Bessie in action today. Heck I'd pay good money to see her on that panel questioning Tom Watson the other day ! Imagine her sitting back as the NHS goes down the toilet while a few idiots in the House of Commons discuss Satanic abuse. 
And, as for the Savile nonsense, well Jimmy was VERY well known by 1966. Do I think Bessie would have stood in the same room let alone, the same photo as a man who preyed on poor vulnerable girls ? 

Who knows ? But I for one would like to see someone like her take on the fakes and useless folk running our country and judiciary at the moment. Heck, even her statue would do me 
 Well done Bessie, another working class hero 
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4H-wMA80gM

 At the Labour Party Conference July 1966 

Here's some extra info for you 

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/bessie-braddock-people-of-liverpool-3347507 


Thursday 22 October 2015

Yakatey Yak - let's look back !

Today guys and gals I'm going to give you a radio and television history lesson. So pin back your ears and join me on my Savile's Travels in Yorkshire and anywhere else that takes my fancy.
OK,  let's start at the beginning with a radio show called Savile's Travels. This began in 1968, and was still on in August 1970 as a one hour show on a Sunday


 On 10th December 1972 ST is still going but Jimmy's show is two hours the second show called Speakeasy with the theme tune Yakatey Yak. 
By February 3rd 1974 Jimmy's show has become the double top ten show followed by Savile's Travels 


This was undoubtedly the show that one week featured an interview with 'The Family' the first fly on the wall TV reality show. Naturally the interview was filmed and shown in episode 12 of that show, here it is. Note Jimmy's theme as he arrives in the radio studio.
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8HQcyl3jaA

The same radio show is still on in June 1975 but Jimmy has been making television shows in this time. Regional television shows that is one of them being Savile's Yorkshire travels. Now guys and gals, imagine my delight when I realised that I already had a copy of a BBC4 show called lens Regional Television Life through a local lens' broadcast in July and November 2011, safely tucked away in case someone tries to wipe and or censor it. Better still, it's on you tube so you can all have a watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Woih2RT3pQ

Later on in the show we see the title 'Savile's Yorkshire Travels' and footage of that show including Jimmy's late 60's early 70's campervan and the theme song by Ted Heath, the bandleader not the Prime Minister that is 
One episode features three Yorkshire men one of whom I think is Fred Truman so I might be able to date it later, it's certainly the early 70's 

 Jimmy even manages a visit to his 'beloved Scarborough' 

 Scroll to about 6 minutes on this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pigtCFMJOIM

But let's go back to the radio Speakeasy recorded in London which often featured this lady and her group The Settlers




The  above is from an article written in 2010.
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/the.next.chapter.in.the.extraordinary.life.of.cindy.kent/26446.htm

 This is what Cindy had to say about Savile in more recent times.

Cindy-legs is a priest now guys and gals so how's about that then ? 
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/cindy.kent.reflects.on.jimmy.savile.scandal/30896.htm

 Things certainly were 'different then' Cindy, whose group just so happened to sing the theme song of a children's TV show I warmly remember watching before my tea after school.

 Follyfoot remember that folks ? 

Grow grow the Lightning tree !

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkJYSDdVnsE

When I first started my blog I mentioned my own personal memories of Jimmy Savile. Listening to his Sunday afternoon double top ten show wherein he awarded you points if you correctly named the singer and the song. He was a crafty bugger though and used to steal your hard earned points back. Here's a reminder of happier times guys and gals. There are more to come 
 http://www.radiorewind.co.uk/sounds/saville_xmas05_1.mp3

And plenty more here

http://www.radiorewind.co.uk/radio1/jimmy_savile_page.htm









 

Monday 19 October 2015

Speakeasy Sue story true ? I think not

Before I show you some evidence that drives a great big hole right through Sue Thompson's story, let's hear what that story was shall we ?
Note that the ITV producer who wrote the above, mentions a 'young guest' being abused FOLLOWING the recording of a program. Not before, but after the show, a show that was recorded not BEFORE 8pm on a Monday night (broadcast on a Friday), according to my source. 
This person claims to have attended Jimmy Savile's Yorkshire Speakeasy in Leeds, not for that particular recording, but for the week after. He made a note of the time of the recording in  his diary, as it happens.
 This person, who shall remain anonymous, claims he'd been invited to attend the show, remembers meeting Jimmy and shaking his hand. Now, bearing in mind that this would have been the time that guests and presumably audience members were asked to arrive, how long would anyone estimate, would it be before filming started ? Moreover, how long would it take to film a 30 minute television show, what time would it end ?

You see, Ms Thompson, if that is her real name, maintains that she somehow wondered into a dressing room on the day of the recording, not expecting to find anyone in there let alone the star. Yet there he was, she claims in a chair with 14 year old girl on his lap and his hand up her skirt. When I watched Exposure again recently, I formed the impression that all this took place BEFORE the recording, because her role that day was one of generally helping out, making sure Jimmy's dressing room contained finest cigars and a bottle of dandelion and burdock, that sort of thing. 

The after recording scenario make's a tad more sense. Only a tad, because why would a 14 year old girl be in a dressing room with the star of a televison show ? Where was her mother ? Better still, where were the other staff and crew ? I mean, these programs don't make themselves, they can and do, involve a great many people depending on the show that is. I do not know who or how many people were involved in this particular regional show, but I do know that one of these was Nick Vaughan Barratt, and he told Pollard that, in general Savile was gone straight after the show.

 But, Thompson doesn't stop at a girl on a lap who she thinks is about 14. She goes on to describe a social element to the occasion, the fact that she and others went to the cinema after the show. She says she was surprised when Savile actually went with them and sat beside as if he was, in her words, checking her out, presumably to see if she would what she had seen. But, surely he had not seen her had he ? She says he did nothing when she opened the dressing room door, just carried on abusing a young girl, as you do ! 
Allowing for an 8pm arrival, a 30 minute warm up and at least an hour to record, we have to be looking realistically at 10pm at the very earliest this thing would have finished. Let's add another hour or so for Jimmy to abuse the wee lass in his room. The next question will be : what time did the LAST film show start at a cinema near the studios in Leeds in 1978 ? Remember the flicks in the 1970's guys and gals ? I do, and I'm damned sure the last show was around 8 to 8.30 pm max, except for the late shows/midnight movies which tended to be on a weekend or Friday night, didn't they ? 
I couldn't find any listings for Leeds cinema's around the mid/late 1970's, but I did find this for London cinemas. Yes, Revenge of the Pink Panther was made in 1978
What do I think ? I think mssrs Jones and Thomas should have checked out a few facts before they invented this woman and her story. And I haven't finished yet guys and gals, there are more Speakeasy tales to tell. In the meantime, here's a fact for you to consider. Below are images taken from a much bigger, much better known Savile television show. It's the crew behind the production because, as I said earlier, television shows don't make themselves, lots of folk are involved, including chaperone's to guide and assist especially younger participants.




The kids even bring their mums and dads !