The long 3 hour splurge of the Saturday morning TV show was for many of us a bit of a ritual as we grew up. In those days before PCs, Nintendo, and iPads, it was a reliable electric childminder allowing parents to ease themselves into the weekend.
It was always music focused – I’ve never forgotten the moment when Swap Shop launched Kate Bush onto an unsuspecting and completely dumbstruck world, nor the five day wait so we could see her again on Top of the Pops and confirm the first impression. Pluggers, knowing that most families would be out to the shops after the show, competed to get their acts on, exposing them to actual interaction with fans on the phone. Live. With occasionally inevitable and hilarious results.
It stayed a bit of a habit for me well into the late 1980s, and I usually had it on in the background. But I did miss this one, which is a shame because it’s wonderful. Not only a rare promo performance of Carnival 2000, but a fantastic interview, including a question on Gazza – if I remember right the guy who asked the question is still a fan and is now mortified by it. Philip Schofield asking some quite pointed questions about the number of songs. And the must jaw droppingly mouth watering giveaway. I’d love to know who won that.