Ready Steady Go!

Description

The Friday evening broadcast kicked off with the declaration "The weekend starts here!" and its opening theme evolved over time, beginning with the Surfaris' "Wipe Out," then shifting to Manfred Mann's "5-4-3-2-1," followed by their track "Hubble Bubble (Toil and Trouble)," and finally settling on The Rolling Stones' "Goin' Home." There is some evidence that The Who's "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" served as the theme for a brief stretch. Compared to its BBC competitor Top of the Pops, which launched in 1964, this show was more casual and aimed squarely at a younger audience. A key feature was the active involvement of the audience, who danced and interacted closely with the performers. Artists performed on various small stages, including studio gantries and staircases, while solo acts often stood on the main floor, tightly encircled by the crowd. Producers handpicked the audience from London clubs, selecting the most fashionable or skilled dancers to create a hip, in-sync atmosphere. Because some ITV regions aired local news at different times, viewers in those areas would join the program partway through. It stood out for letting musicians play full-length versions of songs, unlike other programs that demanded shorter cuts. The show never aired in the United States, and in the UK it was broadcast in black and white at a time when American networks ABC, CBS, and NBC were switching to full color. Production took place in compact studios at Rediffusion's Kingsway headquarters in London. Though the company had larger facilities in Wembley, the central London location made it easier to draw in stars and audiences. The small studio spaces meant the large cameras, which used rotating lens turrets instead of zooms, could not be hidden. Instead, they were sometimes woven into the performances, as seen in a Manfred Mann rendition of "Machines" that ended with singer Paul Jones crouching on the floor, surrounded by the cameras.

Origin of "The Weekend Starts Here"

Varney answered, "are you kidding mate – the weekend starts here." That slogan stuck, and for the next three years, Pete Stringfellow and the Mojo crowd were regulars on the programme, which was soon renamed "Ready Steady Go."

Presenters and producers

The show's most familiar hosts were Keith Fordyce and Cathy McGowan, though Dusty Springfield introduced the earliest episodes. David Gell and Michael Aldred also presented occasionally. McGowan and Aldred originally answered a newspaper ad seeking a "typical teenager" to serve as an adviser, but ended up hosting instead. McGowan’s obvious fan status came through in her delivery—she would trip over lines and lose her composure, yet her lack of polish made her even more beloved. By the end of the show’s run, she hosted solo. She also took part in on-air antics, such as lip-syncing with the Rolling Stones to songs by other artists, like "I Got You Babe."

Featured artists

Ready Steady Go! brought together an extraordinary roster of the era's biggest names, including the Who, the Beatles, the Hollies, the Merseybeats, the Zombies, Dusty Springfield, the Supremes, the Miracles, the Temptations, the Walker Brothers, the Kinks, the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Gerry and the Pacemakers, the Fourmost, the Rolling Stones, Donovan, the Fortunes, Helen Shapiro, P.J. Proby, Otis Redding, Freddie and the Dreamers, the Dave Clark Five, Bobby Vee, the Animals, the Crickets, Cilla Black, Gulliver's People, the Searchers, Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames, Billy Fury, Lulu, Marvin Gaye, Gene Pitney, and the Beach Boys, who made their British television debut on the show. Other notable guests included Sandie Shaw, Burt Bacharach, Jerry Lee Lewis, Paul Simon (who later described his appearance as the worst experience of his time in England), Kenny Lynch, the Small Faces, the Shirelles, James Brown and the Famous Flames, the Yardbirds, Them, Jim Reeves, and the Four Pennies. Three years later, Coe's disappearance made the front page of the Daily Mirror, and McCartney used that article as inspiration for the song "She's Leaving Home."

Jimi Hendrix made his first British television appearance on the show, performing "Hey Joe" live. Following that broadcast, his club tour sold out, and he was added to a nationwide tour with the Walker Brothers. This special later became a VHS video in the 1980s. The Supremes debuted their "Stop! In the Name of Love" dance routine on the program, and the Miracles closed the show with their hit "Mickey's Monkey."