I was one of the members of Birkenhead Operatic Society, singing 'Take Your Girl' from Ivor Novello's 'Kings Rhapsody'. Hughie was always very supportive of the amateur groups and we appeared in one of the heats, won the vote in the Studio and were invited back on the All-Winners show. Our lead singer Margaret Groome in now 93 and living in West Kirby Wirral. She's never lived down the fact that Hughie snogged her on live TV. Mary Hopkin was the star in the making, but as a young man of 25, I fancied Wendy King and I always loved her singing 'Daughter of the last of the red hot mommas'. Although I didn't realise it at the time, I appeared as an extra with her son-in law Jonathan Ansell in 'Whistle Down the Wind' at the Liverpool Empire in 2010. He was very encouraging and supportive of us extras - or supers as we were called. So I've been on the same bill as Jon and mother-in law - all strictly as an amateur - what memories. I'm still performing today - though obviously not at the moment with all the theatres closed.
Hello everyone, thank you for your lovely comments. I have only just now seen then that today 11 May 2016. My daughter Debbie got a copy of this for me through one of her contacts in television quite a few years ago, my brother David told me to put it on RU-vid X
omg! you are so lucky to have had someone find this episode! Congratulations and a lovely performance! I appeared on the programme and won on the clapometer (Pickitywitch won on the votes). I have tried to find a copy but Hughie Green told me that they had all been wiped. I'm on my knees now, is it possible you could give me a lead so that I might try and find out if there is a copy of me somewhere? Drew ( I was Andy back then as a child)
I used to watch this when I was a kid - I'd forgotten all about it. I takes me back to a time when television was still an exciting, magical thing that the family gathered around at weekends. Thanks for sharing :-)
Hi Wendy wow this brings back some great memories i can remember watching you sing on this show back in 1968 and i said to my mum i think that young lady wendy king is very beautiful and my mum said yes she is and by your picture next to your name your still very beautiful wow im lost for words i love what you put on on you tube wendy please stay and well love alan xxxx
I can only remember vaguely Opportunity Knocks episodes from the ABC days, so it is so nice to see a whole episode. Well done to Wendy for her performance and for posting. Many thanks.
I love this. We're so used to seeing crackly, scratchy versions of old TV shows, which leads us to think they were slightly amateurish in the way they were produced. Not a bit of it. This shows us just how professional ABC was in its day and its great to see it just as it would have been broadcast. And Wendy, you were just sensational!
Why does this old show make the X Factor look absolute shite in comparison? Wonderful slick show and whatever is said about Hughie Green now, he never exploited, patronised or looked down on his performers. Wendy got the backing she deserved here and it looks and sounds fantastic- how would a singing banjo player fair on the X Factor today?
Yes I agree. If it was B G T most of them would have got buzzed off. May Hopkins doesnt have the Xfactor with that voice. Dave Swans jokes not too good. Dont know if he made it on to the Comedians.
HE NEVER EXPLOITED ACTS ? Before our audition he made us sign a contract giving him 30% of all earnings made after appearing on OP KNOCKS...NEVER EXPLOITED?
Lovely to see Wendy King here.My Aunt Edna worked for her family for many years as a kind of Nanny and Wendy attended her wedding in the early 70s.Edna gave me one of her albums which I have to this day.She has a great singing voice.
Youre a star Wendy.Good of you to put the whole show on.Thank You.Just goes to show how British tv variety shows have deteriorated over the years.This is top class.
Wendy amazing to see the show I've forwarded a link to Royston Mayoh who is very pleased to see it after all these years Thanks for sharing with us xxx
That's why I love the internet. A brazilian like me, born in the early 90s, would never reach these. Glad to meet Opportunity Knocks, and all those artists.
When I was 6 or 7 years old round about 1966, I introduced my mon coral Edmonds on this show. She sang. She is still alive and I would love to be able to show her a recording of herself! Can anybody help!?
Lovely and nostalgic 🥰. Thank you Wendy and your brother for posting it . You were great! If you want a giggle, pop the subtitles on when the little Welsh boy tells his story lol .
Well done Wendy King! What strikes me is just the range of the acts in this show. It truly was Variety. I wonder what Simon Cowell would do if Birkenhead Amateur Operatic turned up singing Ivor Novello at one of his auditions these days! The Graysons had the tough job opening the show and they were a talented act, but I'm just wondering whether it was something to do with the microphones of the time as they do sound a bit flat in places. I would have been too young to remember this particular show, but do just about remember Mary Hopkins in the Eurovision a couple of years later. Thank you so much for posting this
Thank you for posting this. The Graysons a Manchester act operated under several names The Boydells for one. Can't find much on The Duke's Noblemen other than they covered an early Elton John song.
I remember watching this on TV at the time and have only just discovered it here some fifty something years later. Many thanks to Wendy. The boy in short trousers is Ieuan Thomas - pronounced Yuy-Ann (very difficult to write it phonetically but he does explain to Hughie Green in the clip - was that banter prepared … much?). I’m a bit vague on his life story but believe he went on to get a Masters or Phd in something like marine biology. Thus far he’s living in the town in south Wales where he grew up and went on to present various TV shows on the Welsh TV channel S4C over the years. Creative, funny, sweet natured - essential part of the “lads night on the town” back in the day. Absolute legend!
Fabulous piece of television. I didn't realise that Op Knocks was originally made by ABC and later transferred to Thames after a franchise change. It's a great find. I wish more existed. I have a feeling Thames wiped most of their shows , I believe only one or two of those productions still exist. Fabulous , 38 minutes TV gold. Thank you :-)
1ATV Don't remember ABC at all - yet I remember Mary Hopkin - made a favourable impression on me at the time - I was only five! A pity most of this series has been wiped - could be interesting to play them now and, using modern voting methodology, see if the acts that won at the time would win today! Or acts that didn't do so well - would they win today? Su Pollard lost to a singing dog - but she became more famous - what happened to the crooning canine? Some acts tended to be one-trick ponies - my vague memories of the show featured a yodeller and a belly dancer! Comedians and possibly magic acts and ventriloquist acts probably fared best, with solo singers, followed by singing groups - the last two types enjoyed a modicum of success on the pop charts, but vanished! Whatever happened to Berni Flint and Paper Lace? Some of the acts were really good, but didn't do so well on the show! One edition featured an act billed as The Singing Harper Brothers - Thomas Derbyshire and Robert Harper - they went on to become Cannon & Ball, despite not winning Opportunity Knocks!
celebritymessages Who were you and what did you do? Even acts who didn’t win did well - sometimes after a change of name and act - a lot of them either got their own series (sometimes on the BBC) or appeared on other people’s shows!
@@arthurvasey Hello. I was Andrew Cameron, comedy impressionist. I was 15 years old and won on the clapometer. I was at Stage School with Jack Wild and Phil Collins at the time. 2010 I was semi finalist BGT and I still perform now as Drew Cameron. Just would love to have got a copy of the app knocks :)
Look no matter what people have been saying about Hughie Green he gave a lot of people there first big break into the world of showbiziness and Opportunity Knocks will always been the greatest every talent show ever
I used to work at the the same company as one of the Graysons, Terry McGeoch man in the middle, sorry if I messed up the spelling Terry. All of the staff there ragged him mercilessly about his appearances on Opportunity Knocks, but he was as close as I ever got to a celebrity, which should give him a laugh. Happy days.
Along with this show, Take Your Pick and Double Your Money enjoyed high ratings much earlier on Sundays thanks to Radio Luxembourg when it was broadcasting on 1293 meters Long Wave! .... and there is more i could add but ........
Died at 69. Dave Swan, who for 17 years played King Arthur in the Excalibur's “Tournament of Kings,” died Tuesday at a local hospice after a long bout with cancer. He was 69. The Welsh entertainer came to Las Vegas as a comedian in 1979, and estimated in early 2007 that he had done 22,000 performances on the Strip.
How TV talent shows have changed. This is full of very talented people, it’s very light hearted and good natured and Wendy is so talented. Today, it all seems to be a lot more nastier and cutthroat and X Factor just shoots people down in flames and in the most horrible of ways and those judges seem to take great pleasure in deflating people’s dreams..something Hughie would never have done.
Thank-you for sharing this, watched this show as a youngster. Trying to find shows from 1971 that had 'The Eddie Connors Trio' (he was my Dad's best friend) been trying for years with no results :-( Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanx again.
Hughie Green was English then moved to Canada. He was turned down for the RCAF but got onto the course as a privateer and flew 4 engined bombers in ww2.
Does anyone have any clips of Oppurtunity Knocks from 1972. My dad Dave Newman won it for 7 weeks running. He was beaten by a boy on the drums Steven Smith and Father I think.
Hi Wendy My wife was on opportunity Knocks with Tony Holland and the Casuals in 1965 she was on the all winners show as well her name was Maureen Myres at the time we have tried to get the footage but have had no luck at all. I hope you can help as the kids and grandkids would really love to see it.
You are correct. Bob Sharples also wrote, under a pseudonym, the theme music to that great series, 'Public Eye' which started out as an ABC TV production.
There was a total of at least 800 acts who first made their names on Opportunity Knocks! since ABC first broadcast the show in 1964. It's all progressive now, and now these days on BGT all the judges would have buzzed off even a little comedian like Ieuan Thomas was in 1968. I've even gotta Gramophone Popular Catalogue which has the track listing of the album by Wendy King, Ukulele Girl (Contour 2870 106), which first came out in 1971 as part of the initial release on that new label. I wouldn't think Simon Cowell would allow any more of that girly pop stuff that I for one have still gone for more than 50 years on.
What every happend to Mary Hopkins does any one know she was a great singer could someone help me on this please. Also the old ABC TV Studios in Didsbury were owned by Manchester University after ABC and Redifusion merged in 1968 stayed open till 1999 when demolised
@@eddiedavies222 Will do my friend, sadly I’ve had no luck at the moment but I’m still trying. If you would like to keep in contact with me regarding this my email address is cjhorton@elvisfan.com
Hi Wendy How did you manage to get this magnificent piece of TV history, its a domestic copy of the studio 405 video recording ( not transfered to film like most archive of this era) Was the programme live ? Thanks Gary
Wendy King Is it possible for your daughter to get the one where Lena Zavaroni won opportunity knocks back in 1973 I think it was. and put that up. She won it 5x.....
Wendy: Simply fantastic ! You are a precious girl. What a beatiful girl Mary Hopkin is too! From Mexico City. By the way when your birthday is? only curiosity.
Thank God for the scroll bar. Only wanted to see Mary Hopkin's performance. Still an incredible voice and was always far too good for the competition...
I felt sorry for that Welsh boy. There he was in Swinging London surrounded by people dressed in the latest Carnaby Street and Kings Road fashions and yet his mum made him dress like a wartime evacuee.
BGT is just a cheap nasty rip off of Op-knocks/New Faces with a bit of X factor rubbish added. Seen some comments about Hughie Green taking a percentage of income from successful acts, but it's been well documented how Cowell treats his artists both during the show's run and post show if he signs them up.
history hasn't been kind to him, but this was back when the family would all sit and watch together and I loved this show growing up in the 70's and found him charming at the time.
