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A great tape to drift off to. Thanks.

It was really good to learn the exact date when BBC2 started shutting down for the afternoon. I was born too late when I started watching Play School after cutback was made, only to return to the testcard after and the dreaded tone! Well I didn't blend with the tone at that early age! But there were 2 occasions I was watching BBC2 beyond Play School in the late 70s, and testcard and tone was followed by a second showing SI at 11:30 before closing down completely. By the 80s the 11:30 SI had been stopped, except on Wednesdays with an up-to-date slide showing a live picture of the mast, with new intro tune.

Thank you so nice too.

Most of these pieces are new to me. Thank you. Am hoping to find the Test Card version of It Started in Naples, one of my very early musical memories - Watch with Mother was followed by all that wonderful music. 🙂

We Love BBC 2 Television on the Test Card

The closedown from 11:30 to 16:00 was still the norm until about the middle of the 1980s. Only if there were programme commitments such as conferences or sport did the BBC2 network remain on the air, and even then, it was not unusual for a locally generated test card G to appear, and consequently no CEEFAX.

This track and the transmitter logo used to scare the willies out of me. I used to live in Pinner, and then moved to Chesham. Apparently Chesham could not actually GET BBC2 until the mid seventies! Something to do with the geographical area - the shape of the hills, to do with glacier movement and so on. And that was even with an extra transmitter of some description behind the football club . . .

And to think that the BBC wanted Channel 4! They could barely fill the two channels they had around the time the channel was effectively up for grabs - BBC 2 literally off the air all day long from 11:30 until 4 pm, then, if the Open University was shut, test cards from 4 until around half seven and BBC 1 often had the test card from 3 pm, unless they showed something in Welsh! Three channels, only one of which started at around 9:30 and stayed on the air until about midnight or not much after, one of which rarely showed anything in the daytime beyond schools programmes, sports or Welsh language programmes with no subtitles or translations and the other literally off the air for much of the day!

BBC 1 UHF Mendip, BBC 2 UHF Chatham on reduced power. Network closing because of financial and fuel costs, Test card music all day. Blimey........just as well Covid pandemic and lockdowns didn't exist way back in 1975. 😲

The Test Card & Music Early Day's on BBC 2 With Playschool at 1100 HRS Until 1125 HRS Test Card Until 1130 HRS Closedown Until The Test Card Goes Back on Air at 1600 HRS With Music Until Evening Programme's Start Good Day's.

Would this have been from 1973 ?

When BBC 2 Closed down at 11.30 shortly after play school Did the crew go to mc Donald's or the pub or somewhere else?

Love the music can you tell me what it is so I can find it in love test card music I'm a big fan. But I do love the first track 👍