I lived in Southampton in the late 70s and loved Saturday Banana and everything else about Southern. Bill Gamon was my drama teacher at school before he left for a job at Southern TV. That's him standing in the brief shot with Bill Oddie near the end as they watch the banana being hoisted.
I loved Southern TV as well even though I lived in the Midlands, but I got to watch Southern when I went on holiday to Weymouth in the 70s, great times.
As a kid, I was on Saturday Banana (well, in the audience), my school mates dad worked for Southern TV. A lady producer came over to our group just before transmission and asked if any of us were Kevin the juggler they had booked. Another friend with me pretended to be him and was taken outside for the live broadcast.
In 1978 I was in the last year of junior school and it was announced that kids selected at random would be going on a school trip to a tv show. I don't recall knowing about the show beforehand and know it took place in July '78, so it was near the series start. I remember lining up in the playground waiting to hear it I'd been chosen and being really happy! Don't recall much about the coach/,minibus trip, which was only to Southampton from Bournemouth, but a world away for a kid of 'almost eleven '. I do recall seeing my first live band, Marseille, who were incredibly loud in the studio; outside there was a football match featuring some professional players, I forget who, but I did get a few 'autographs',... Also I remember ,being outside and ,Melissa Wilkes being friend!y and speaking to us. Another presenter was overwhelmed and turned and fled, his hat blowing off in the process; never mentioned anywhere, but I'm convinced it was Graham Fletcher-Cook, later an actor. I do also recall the version of Runaround, where a kid from my school called (I think) Keith Lashmar won a portable TV!
i remember that huge banana from when i was a kid in Southampton too . Thats what is so good about youtube ..always something popping up to remind you about things . My first TV appearence was in that studio as an extra on Midnight is a Place , a victorian drama now lost forever i think . And that clip also reminded me that there were two level crossings and a railway running running thru that car park !
Midnight Is A Place DOES exist, and you may be pleased to hear that it is available on DVD. I saw the carpet press set in studio 1,,March 1977. A great 13 part drama from Southern Television
this takes me back i just started working for southern in october and yes there was the strike, but hey this was the eighties. thirteen of the best years of my life working in that building.with great people and making good programs.
See in the end credits the name Susan Tully, later to become famous as Michelle Fowler in Eastenders. Also mentioned in the credits was John McCririck. Was he there to give the young viewers horse racing tips for the ITV Seven?
@TheMeakers I'd love to hear what Southern Television was like to work for, and were they really as bitter about TVS taking over as I have read? A golden age of ITV that we will never get back again. Such a shame.
Best "Saturday Banana" moment was when a little girl, reading a cue card, mis-pronounced "Grand Prix" as "grand pricks". When Bill gently corrected her, she said, "No, it says here: grand PRICKS!" to great guffaws.
"The only existing", haha, i believe you. I've been trying to find a recording of this for years. Nobody knows what i'm talking about! I was starting to wonder if i'd made it all up! Thank you for confirming.
I was on the show as a child and would love to see it as it went out live and have never seen the episode from 15th July 1979 as it was Broadcast on my 13th birthday. Can anyone please help
The reason for the wiping of tapes at the time was that the old 2" tapes were incredibly expensive. We're used to cheap VHSs or DVDs now, but a 2" tape had to be used again and again.
Hi there! Bill Gamon was my dad & we've very much enjoyed watching these little clips, I was wondering whether you have any more or the original versions that we could get hold of?
We in the Tyne Tees region were denied access to Saturday Banana, Our Show, The Mersey Pirate, Fun Factory and, other than the final series, Tiswas. Tyne Tees felt that old films were more suitable for kids - I mean really old films - often black-and-white ones!
Hi Fani. Your dad was a great drama teacher. I was very sad the day he left us and went to work for Southern. I did not upload this video it was loaded by The Meakers
@BarneyWobba I worked at Southern TV at this time, a lot of dross was churned out at times....this one was not STV's finest hour [can't think what was though!]
I was a student with your dad at King Alfred’s College, Winchester. He was a really lovely man and I have many happy memories of that time. Best wishes, John Baxter.
Southern Television made numerous very high quality contributions both locally and nationally networked; "Winston Churchill The Wilderness Years" being one such production, critically acclaimed, and widely regarded at the time as the best historical drama ever produced
i remember driving past that banana as i used to live in southampton as a kid. its one of my first memories, not surprising really - a 40ft banana in a car park. dont really remember the programme itself. i like the title music though, sounds like ian dury or something!
at least Half of itv got this, Scottish tv, borders tv, yorkshire tv also broadcast the show, Granada did not unless it was for a couple of weeks in december 1979
... regular programmes, old films and American imports - some regions even had the duty announcer doing the same thing - I lived in the Tyne Tees region at the time and we had that - old films (war films, usually). Spare a thought for TSW - their predecessors Westward allowed them access to Tiswas - once they took over, they tried to pass off Survival and University Challenge as kids' programmes! Tyne Tees, incidentally, allowed us access to Tiswas for its final series in 1981/2!
@anthonythirteen Southern had it running until Xmas (head of kids' TV Lewis Rudd couldn't stand Tiswas and created this instead) - by Autumn, Tiswas was back - but Southern kept the Banana running - some regions opted out to accommodate Tiswas or LWT's Our Show - others stuck with the Banana - some regions up to 1981 still had their own variant on either Tiswas or the Banana - a fairly madcap parochial show with presenters culled from the local ILR stations, some of which linked around ...
Saturday Banana, as a contemporary show, was probably wiped after transmission as was ITV policy at that time. What would have been saved would have been anything recorded on film (ie opening titles). Story goes that the show was originally titled Saturady Bonanza but a typing error named it Saturday Banana. Nice, but not true. The show itself spawned too other shows, Metal Mickey and Runaround.
There was no "ITV policy" on wiping programmes, it was entirely down to the individual contractors as to whether they kept or wiped programmes. In the case of Saturday Banana, it was either wiped on the basis that it had no repeat value, or quite possibly never recorded in the first place, again because it had no repeat value.
Big three? I always thought it was the big five. In order, Thames, Granada, ATV, London Weekend and Yorkshire. Between them they controlled ITV and allocated production responsibilities. To their credit Southern had a very strong show in children's programming but they could never break the power of the big five. TVS had better luck but never quite made it.
When Bill Odie passed from the studio to the live OB, I couldn't believe my mate was there being introduced as Kevin the juggler (my friend is called Vincent). When directed to juggle, he just threw all the balls in the air and they went everywhere. It was broadcast live. I still laugh about it today. They realised what he had done and refused to let him back into the studio.
If this is the only existing recording (and it isn't even full fucking length!) then this is from exactly a month before Christmas Day 1978 - work that one out!
Tiswas was never networked giving rise to the rumour that Swap Shop was first & having regions try to make their own, Fun Factory,Mersey Pirate, Ghost Train, Only Whats Up Doc shown after Tiswas finished came close. Saw this one summer up in STV land & found it very boring ,Bill wanted to talk about crime & punishment while the sun shone outside..& Cheggers swapped toys on blackpool beach, suddenly my TV had an off button.
I lived in Southampton in the late 70s and loved Saturday Banana and everything else about Southern. Bill Gamon was my drama teacher at school before he left for a job at Southern TV. That's him standing in the brief shot with Bill Oddie near the end as they watch the banana being hoisted.
I loved Southern TV as well even though I lived in the Midlands, but I got to watch Southern when I went on holiday to Weymouth in the 70s, great times.
Metal Mickey! Unzip a Saturday Banana! Thanks for posting!
As a kid, I was on Saturday Banana (well, in the audience), my school mates dad worked for Southern TV. A lady producer came over to our group just before transmission and asked if any of us were Kevin the juggler they had booked. Another friend with me pretended to be him and was taken outside for the live broadcast.
Nice to see parts of the crew making the set up!
In 1978 I was in the last year of junior school and it was announced that kids selected at random would be going on a school trip to a tv show. I don't recall knowing about the show beforehand and know it took place in July '78, so it was near the series start. I remember lining up in the playground waiting to hear it I'd been chosen and being really happy! Don't recall much about the coach/,minibus trip, which was only to Southampton from Bournemouth, but a world away for a kid of 'almost eleven '. I do recall seeing my first live band, Marseille, who were incredibly loud in the studio; outside there was a football match featuring some professional players, I forget who, but I did get a few 'autographs',... Also I remember ,being outside and ,Melissa Wilkes being friend!y and speaking to us. Another presenter was overwhelmed and turned and fled, his hat blowing off in the process; never mentioned anywhere, but I'm convinced it was Graham Fletcher-Cook, later an actor. I do also recall the version of Runaround, where a kid from my school called (I think) Keith Lashmar won a portable TV!
Which school were you from then? I was a Kingsleigh Junior brat :(
i remember that huge banana from when i was a kid in Southampton too . Thats what is so good about youtube ..always something popping up to remind you about things . My first TV appearence was in that studio as an extra on Midnight is a Place , a victorian drama now lost forever i think . And that clip also reminded me that there were two level crossings and a railway running running thru that car park !
Midnight Is A Place DOES exist, and you may be pleased to hear that it is available on DVD. I saw the carpet press set in studio 1,,March 1977. A great 13 part drama from Southern Television
this takes me back i just started working for southern in october and yes there was the strike, but hey this was the eighties.
thirteen of the best years of my life working in that building.with great people and making good programs.
13 years and you can't bloody spell programmes correctly!
Never ever seen this before (we got Tiswas up our way) Fascinating stuff, along with a typically funky Oddie composition! Thanks!
We got Tiswas as well, would have liked Banana to have been shown as well but I don't think ATV would have allowed it.
Thank you!!
This theme tune is without doubt the best thing that Bill Oddie has ever done in his life. Programme was crap, but the theme tune is brilliant.
Fucking epic theme tune. Bill Oddie knew what funk was all about.
See in the end credits the name Susan Tully, later to become famous as Michelle Fowler in Eastenders. Also mentioned in the credits was John McCririck. Was he there to give the young viewers horse racing tips for the ITV Seven?
Susan Tully was Suzanne on Grange Hill not long after this and Melissa Wilks joined in about 1984 as Jackie Wright- zammos girlfriend!
Man I remember this..Southern's attempt at Tiswas...anyone remeber the Mersey Pirate?
@TheMeakers I'd love to hear what Southern Television was like to work for, and were they really as bitter about TVS taking over as I have read? A golden age of ITV that we will never get back again. Such a shame.
my grandad is Anthony Howard the Producer and Director of this program :)
...and what s lovely gentleman he was; really nice guy
Wow, that brought back some old memories! Thanks for posting it.
Best "Saturday Banana" moment was when a little girl, reading a cue card, mis-pronounced "Grand Prix" as "grand pricks". When Bill gently corrected her, she said, "No, it says here: grand PRICKS!" to great guffaws.
That was a young Susan Tully but it was on L.W.T."s OUR KIDS in 1976. I was watching T.I.S.W.A.S. on H.T.V. WEST.
It was Melissa Wilkes who was Zammos girlfriend in Grange Hill.
What was the banana made of if it needed a heavy crane to lift it?
"The only existing", haha, i believe you. I've been trying to find a recording of this for years. Nobody knows what i'm talking about! I was starting to wonder if i'd made it all up! Thank you for confirming.
I was on the show as a child and would love to see it as it went out live and have never seen the episode from 15th July 1979 as it was Broadcast on my 13th birthday. Can anyone please help
I used to go and watch on a saturday in the studio at Southampton. metal Micky gave me the creeps then and still to this day.
The reason for the wiping of tapes at the time was that the old 2" tapes were incredibly expensive. We're used to cheap VHSs or DVDs now, but a 2" tape had to be used again and again.
@blueturtle01 Any ideas what became of Bill Gamon? I remember him on this show as Bill Oddie's sidekick.
As the program is wiped can anyone tell me what games..cartoons...funny moments happened on Saturday Banana being a big Goodies fan
We certainly got it in the Thames/LWT region as well.
Hi there! Bill Gamon was my dad & we've very much enjoyed watching these little clips, I was wondering whether you have any more or the original versions that we could get hold of?
My only claim to TV fame is having been on the pilot show of this as an 11 year old!! Came away with a cheap camera which has also sadly been lost :)
Now that would make a good story for a best man at his wedding!!!
We in the Tyne Tees region were denied access to Saturday Banana, Our Show, The Mersey Pirate, Fun Factory and, other than the final series, Tiswas. Tyne Tees felt that old films were more suitable for kids - I mean really old films - often black-and-white ones!
Hi Fani. Your dad was a great drama teacher. I was very sad the day he left us and went to work for Southern. I did not upload this video it was loaded by The Meakers
Wrong Southern DID in fact broadcast Tiswas in 1977! from October - November, although it was only 6 episodes.
@BarneyWobba I worked at Southern TV at this time, a lot of dross was churned out at times....this one was not STV's finest hour [can't think what was though!]
I was a student with your dad at King Alfred’s College, Winchester. He was a really lovely man and I have many happy memories of that time. Best wishes, John Baxter.
Southern Television made numerous very high quality contributions both locally and nationally networked; "Winston Churchill The Wilderness Years" being one such production, critically acclaimed, and widely regarded at the time as the best historical drama ever produced
Runaround?!
i remember driving past that banana as i used to live in southampton as a kid. its one of my first memories, not surprising really - a 40ft banana in a car park.
dont really remember the programme itself. i like the title music though, sounds like ian dury or something!
at least Half of itv got this,
Scottish tv,
borders tv,
yorkshire tv
also broadcast the show, Granada did not unless it was for a couple of weeks in december 1979
... regular programmes, old films and American imports - some regions even had the duty announcer doing the same thing - I lived in the Tyne Tees region at the time and we had that - old films (war films, usually). Spare a thought for TSW - their predecessors Westward allowed them access to Tiswas - once they took over, they tried to pass off Survival and University Challenge as kids' programmes! Tyne Tees, incidentally, allowed us access to Tiswas for its final series in 1981/2!
Remember Saturday Shake Up and Lyn's Look-In? Not regional telly at its finest, was it?
Sad isn't it. I was at a Southern do a few weeks' ago :)
@anthonythirteen Southern had it running until Xmas (head of kids' TV Lewis Rudd couldn't stand Tiswas and created this instead) - by Autumn, Tiswas was back - but Southern kept the Banana running - some regions opted out to accommodate Tiswas or LWT's Our Show - others stuck with the Banana - some regions up to 1981 still had their own variant on either Tiswas or the Banana - a fairly madcap parochial show with presenters culled from the local ILR stations, some of which linked around ...
Funky theme tune
But it never come back did it, for many views outside Southern, most places never took, and also the Great ITV strike took 3 months of it.
Saturday Banana, as a contemporary show, was probably wiped after transmission as was ITV policy at that time. What would have been saved would have been anything recorded on film (ie opening titles).
Story goes that the show was originally titled Saturady Bonanza but a typing error named it Saturday Banana. Nice, but not true. The show itself spawned too other shows, Metal Mickey and Runaround.
Runaround pre dates Saturday Banana, which started in 1978. Runaround aired from around 1975 to 1981
There was no "ITV policy" on wiping programmes, it was entirely down to the individual contractors as to whether they kept or wiped programmes. In the case of Saturday Banana, it was either wiped on the basis that it had no repeat value, or quite possibly never recorded in the first place, again because it had no repeat value.
Big three? I always thought it was the big five. In order, Thames, Granada, ATV, London Weekend and Yorkshire. Between them they controlled ITV and allocated production responsibilities.
To their credit Southern had a very strong show in children's programming but they could never break the power of the big five. TVS had better luck but never quite made it.
2:37 00
Wit happened to the banana
When Bill Odie passed from the studio to the live OB, I couldn't believe my mate was there being introduced as Kevin the juggler (my friend is called Vincent). When directed to juggle, he just threw all the balls in the air and they went everywhere. It was broadcast live. I still laugh about it today. They realised what he had done and refused to let him back into the studio.
i dunno
Bill Oddie music
Brill
best thing about this was the theme tune... no wonder Bill is in therapy these days, he's getting flashbacks of his time on this show...
Oh dear. Not much from Southern Television made it to the Thames region, and I can see why ;)
God bless Bill Oddie though :)
TVS number 73 was much more slicker and better is it available on DVD all episode of number 73 would like to know please
No73 was awful.
If this is the only existing recording (and it isn't even full fucking length!) then this is from exactly a month before Christmas Day 1978 - work that one out!
phallic much?
Tiswas was never networked giving rise to the rumour that Swap Shop was first & having regions try to make their own, Fun Factory,Mersey Pirate, Ghost Train, Only Whats Up Doc shown after Tiswas finished came close. Saw this one summer up in STV land & found it very boring ,Bill wanted to talk about crime & punishment while the sun shone outside..& Cheggers swapped toys on blackpool beach, suddenly my TV had an off button.