What fantastic memories this brings back. Simpler times and real music. Summer 1985 was pretty poor, weather wise - oh the hours I spent as a boy in front of the telly recording my favourite Ceefax tunes! How many of us realised at the time how lucky we were to experience this glorious era?
I well remember that era, being fifteen and still at school. Ceefax started when I was four and ceased when I would have been forty two. My musical memory is very good!
The nostalgia of sitting here in Sept 2020. reading the news headlines from my last year at secondary school. Just turned 52 and I am remembering the me that was about to turn 17 within a couple of weeks of this date. Where did the intervening 35 years go?
I was fifteen back then and remember that era very well. You are less than two years older than me, as I spent my 50th birthday during the first lockdown!
This is so wonderful really-Pages from Ceefax on BBC1 in-vision from 1.45-4.20pm at the time. As has been said here also, BBC2 was also running on Ceefax then with an all day broadcast from 9.00am to 5.25pm as well. Ah, those were the days indeed, unlike now too alas of course. And the music too. Well done!
Thanks for uploading this Neil. Great example of Pages from Ceefax in its heyday - accompanied by the first five (and a bit) tracks from Rio Dancanaro - one of the best 80s BBC One tapes, IMHO. And almost eight-and-a-half hours of Pages from Ceefax that day on BBC Two (9am - 5.25pm)!
The TV Room, with lunchtime programmes for children over we're treated to a selection of pages from the BBC teletext information service Ceefax accompanied by music from the Rio Dancanaro tape which many of tracks are very contemporary for the time.
Time they replaced all the crap programming on BBC1 and BBC2 with downtime and music again. We never realised at the time that we were just 1 year away from daytime TV changing for the worst with a full day's all programmes schedule on BBC1, later on date on BBC2 but even there downtime ended at 2pm max. Things just aint like the good old days now, which in 1985 was still just about.
The absolute glory days for trade here - there were many hours during 1985/1986 when there was a choice of output on BBC1, BBC2 and C4. The BBC's closedown time actually increased in the couple of years leading up to daytime TV, in comparison with earlier in the 1980s. Remember reading that this was down to budget cuts - shame they didn't bite for a bit longer!
Yes it was too of course. Ceefax really replaced the Test Card in May 1983 when the BBC decided then that a static image would burn onto the screen so I read somewhere too. Whereas of course, Ceefax with its moving pages would not do so as such-as well as being more interesting too really, given that you had something to read really at the same time too, such as the news, sport, weather as well as the tv and radio listings as well also. Thank you!
Also schools programmes went to BBC 2 in September 83 so there were longer periods of downtime on BBC 1 from 1983-86. Showing TCF for 2 hrs 30 mins on a weekday afternoon in August 85 was simply not acceptable.
At 1:02 in other words unspoken by the BBC of course but in reality was the real situation she is saying to viewers "if you want proper afternoon television, please switch over to ITV now and rejoin us at 4.20 for children's programmes" - as ITV was the only UK channel back then with a proper, full daytime schedule from 6.15am each weekday.
That is because it was funded by advertising, not the taxpayer, and could spend freely. The BBC had to focus its programming into the hours when the working British population were most likely to be at home to watch it, and thus make the most of their licence fee. Ceefax transmissions replaced trade test transmissions as set technology improved and there was less need for test cards/testpatterns. The luxury of day time TV 24/7 on BBC1 came in the late 80s when a number of factors came to play - one of these being technology making it cheaper.
@@leejenwin1937 Did you know that before 1972 the Postmaster General controlled the amount of TV hours per day that could be aired on BBC and ITV? Back in 1966 it was set at 50 hours per week for general entertainment on both BBC and ITV. They used the excuse that "for every hour ITV is on air they make money, for every hour BBC is on air they spend money" - ignoring the fact that ITV had to spend money to make programmes. This attitude continued even when all broadcasting hours restrictions were abolished in Jan 1972. However ITV didn't make programmes out of thin air and no money. They spent a lot of money on putting on as much as they could. Back in the pre 1972 era, ITV actually spent more money on adult educational programming than the BBC, as adult education was exempted from the 50 hour limit per week along with religious programmes, schools programmes, state occasions and sporting coverage.
Until 19th January 1972 broadcasting hours were restricted then gradually extended during the year. Schools programmes on ITV moved to a 9.30-noon slot on 18th September 1972 and stayed there until June 1987. ITV's daytime service started on 16/10/72.
@@andrewswift9039 Hi, yes I know this, I have wrote about this a lot over the years, in fact on Facebook and other sites I was the one who informed people of this and I was the one who updated the Wikipedia section on this too. So looks like you have been reading my research, which is great to know that people have read it. I have a lot of material of research on this era of restricted broadcasting hours.
I remember that season United won the first 10 league games in a row, but blew it after a poor winter run. The title went to Liverpool again - as it usually did in the 1980s.
There was simply no budget provided for a full daytime service on BBC One until 1986. From 1983 to 1986 it was Breakfast Time, Pebble Mill, News, and young children's programmes that was it until 3.55pm. On occasion you would get a lot of sport or maybe some films, but not all the time. ITV were the only channel in 1985 which operated a full daytime service starting with TV-am at 6.15am.
@@johnking5174 Well there was the first showing of Play School on BBC1, by then at 10.30am, rather than the 11.00am it had been before on BBC2. That really lasted when it went to BBC1 in September 1983, and then until the series ended in October 1988. Until September 1985 of course it was also repeated later at 3.55pm, but then the BBC decided to not re-show it any more. There was a time in the first part of 1984 when they would indeed show a Star Movie film. But by January 1985 they gave that up and both BBC1 and BBC2 would indeed show Pages from Ceefax much of the time. That really lasted until October 1986 or so when daytime tv as such started. Although BBC2 by then of course was showing Daytime on Two for much of the day, although by the time that ended at 3.00pm it would then show Ceefax. There was a period in late 1984 when it was showing repeats of Dallas, but then they gave up on those also. Odd really somehow!
I know I also read in the Test Card Circle magazine that in July 1986 on both BBC channels of course in the daytime Ceefax had a very long showing; unlike alas a year later on when it was not and all because of daytime tv indeed too!
Also mostly on a Wednesday at the time, BBC1 or BBC2 if not would show Gharbar, which came from the Asian Unit production in Birmingham as Pebble Mill at the time. They had also produced the series Nai Zindiagi Naya Jeevan, which ended in 1982, and Network East, which started in 1987. After that, Ceefax would be shown. On Mondays at the time, there was a repeat of the Sunday night Songs of Praise series at the time, often at 3.15pm or so too. Thank you!
Also at the start of 1984, BBC1 would show at 2.00pm The Afternoon Show, produced by BBC Scotland in Glasgow at the time. Its presenters were Barbara Dickson and Penny Junor. It followed Pebble Mill At One and the See Saw children's series at 1.45pm mostly. However, after two series they gave up on that one also, replacing it with more Ceefax until the start proper of daytime tv.
