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Ready Steady Go!
We look at the TV series which took
popular music on TV in Britain from corny to cool.
Images courtesy of and © copyright www.rexfeatures.com
Britain in 1963. In a land with a dire shortage of radio stations
& lacking a TV outlet for the beat generation, Ready Steady Go was
a breath of fresh air. "The weekend starts here" was the
proclamation and for most British youth this was true. First broadcast
from Rediffusion's London studio in Kingsway in the
heart of the west
end between Holborn and The Aldwych, (and just around the corner from
the London School of Economics where Mick Jagger had studied), the
show was hosted by Keith Fordyce and Cathy McGowan. Fordyce was from
the 'old school' of presenters, and something of an anachronism
amongst the fab and cool things of the Mod Generation, and was soon
overshadowed by accidental discovery Cathy who had been working in the
TV company's production office.
Keith Fordyce
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Cathy McGowan |
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| Cathy
marries Hywel Bennett |
Cathy quickly became a role model and nominated the Queen of the Mods.
Some very cool people appeared on the show - and that was just in the
audience. Clothes and dancing ability were all-important for
candidates for the show's audience. The rewards were great as
successful entrants would regularly be rubbing shoulders with The
Beatles, Dusty Springfield, The Rolling Stones, Gerry And The
Pacemakers, Marvin Gaye, Gene Pitney, The Beach Boys, Sandie Shaw, The
Animals and Manfred Mann.
Cathy is quoted as saying that she blundered
her way through each show and some of the remaining episodes salvaged
on video do confirm the 'spontaneous and seemingly unrehearsed' nature
of the show. But her raw energy, enthusiasm, style and beauty made-up
for any lack of interviewing or presentation technique.
Cathy with Donovan
Cathy launched her own range of clothes
and accessories as well as a record player and other items.
RSG's main 'rival', the BBC's Top Of The Pops,
although outlasting RSG by 32 years, did not have the impact,
credibility and energy that RSG manifested in its short 4-year run.
With the coming of hippies and psychedelia, the beat and mod
generation gave way to concept albums and beads, RSG became less
relevant and Cathy 'retired' from TV. First she married the actor
Hywel Bennett. The two were a popular couple and there were sure to be
several guests who received special wedding
invitations to the
event. Many popular weddings today have their own special
customized wedding
invitations sent out to guests - more info on customizing wedding
invitations is at
http://www.mixbook.com/cards/wedding-invitations.
Cathy, more recently became a partner to singer Michael Ball. These
days she has established herself as a style guru to the stars.
Keith Fordyce was latterly a DJ on local radio around the country
and died in 2011.
RSG has left a legacy and
to this day both the programme and presenter Cathy are synonymous with
cool. Items bearing her name, such as shoes and bags, achieve high
figures on eBay. The show finished in 1966 at the height of its
popularity and has achieved cult status to a new generation, courtesy
in part by the release for transmission in the eighties by copyright
owner Dave Clark (of Dave Clark Five) of several episodes on Channel
4. These have been since released on video and DVD.
Cilla Black
Ready Steady Go! and Cathy McGowan.
Images courtesy of and © copyright www.rexfeatures.com
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