Great Art Direction Disasters of Our Time No.1: The Top of the Pops Mishaps, Miming and Music Book

Top of the Pops Mishaps, Miming & Music:

True Adventures of TV's No.1 Pop Show

by Ian Gittis

BBC Books

2007

Designer Jim Lockwood

Four or five years ago I picked up a brand new copy of this interesting, if mostly rose tinted (considering what we now know it's note worthy that the only person in the entire book who comes across as a total cunt is openly racist BBC1 controller Bill Cotton), full colour large format celebration of the BBC's long running flagship pop music show for the grand sum of £1 in a Stockport pound shop.

Other than being struck by exactly how knowingly naff and borderline ugly the front cover artwork was, not to mention a little puzzled by the presence of Rolf Harris rather than a genuine major pop star such a Tom Jones, David Essex or Shaking Stevens, I ultimately thought nothing of it. I now wonder if Mr. Lockwood had some sort of inside knowledge that us the public were not party to and was trying to tell us something by, for fear of the celebrity liable lawyer, hiding dominoesque clues in plain sight.

The three main offenders, none of whom will need any introduction for the average Brit, are lined up at the bottom of the cover. 

First to fall in his red shirt we have the DJ and TV personality Jimmy Saville, now reckoned to be Britain's most prolific serial sex offender with allegations of rape, molestation paedophilia and even necrophilia and murder coming to light following his death.

On the right we have TV presenter, painter and occasional pop star Rolf Harris who it turns out had a hard time keeping his hands off adolescent girls.

And back on the left, with arm apparently about to throttle Mr. Saville, is serial groper DJ Dave Lee Travis also known as D.L.T. ("don't lean towards")

And apropos of nothing above this trinity of BBC perverts floats Elton John...

Though Mr. Lockwood couldn't have known also of note is the presence of Boy George who in 2008 was found guilty of assault and false imprisonment.

Needless to say this book is no longer in print.

A Screen Grab To Ponder...

How To Deal With BBC TV Licence Inspector Goons

A public service announcement...



How to own a TV and legally not have to pay the BBC £145 a year for the privilege.

George Melly on Jimmy Savile

Found this interesting looking book in a local charity shop. Paid a little more than I'd liked considering the condition but as I'd never seen one before and the text was written by one of my heroes, the surrealist, jazz singer and usually on the ball critic and social observer George Melly, I figured it worth a punt.

The Media Mob

(Collins, 1980)

Text: George Melly

Illustrations: Barry Fantoni

I'll let the cover text describe the contents:

"The Media Mob have invaded our living space... and we have relinquished our territorial rights. The Mob are all household faces, your friends and mine, needing no introduction. They are the aristocracy of the warm cod's eye, the cognoscenti of the idiot-box. The exact quality which transmogrifies a face into an icon is mysteriously arbitrary. It has nothing to do with talent or lack of it. Now Ena Sharples and Elsie Tanner are as much part of our mythology as Pickwick and Falstaff."

"It is in the evening, as soon as we are home, that the spirits put on flesh. The National Grid judders with the shock of dealing with the vastly increased load: we abdicate our responsibility - the Mob take over"

I'm going to confess that I haven't really made much inroad into reading the book as of yet but like many (most?) purchasers my eye was initially caught by the many full page water colour charactactures scattered throughout the book, particularly this one...

So what has Mr. Melly to say about the man now reckoned to be one of the most prolific sex offenders in the history of British justice? A man who not only got away with his vile crimes during his lifetime but now thanks to undeniable revelations regarding a decades long proactive cover up of his offenses by the BBC is perhaps by proxy doing more than anyone to finally bring down that bloated arrogant out of touch corporation?

"He doesn't really do anything, he just is. The mop of inappropriate dyed hair over the craggy, patently heterosexual face, the eccentric but meaningless clothes, the cigar, the parrot cries of 'Howzabout that, guys 'n girls?', the flat Yorkshire accent: none of it should add up and yet somehow it does. The reason, I believe is that (Jimmy) Savile is that rarest of all human creatures, genuinely good right through, a kind of bizarre saint. He's genuinely odd, too, with his big cars and his job as a hospital porter and his passion for physical endurance tests. But his goodness is manifest; people respond to it automatically."

I'm not going to pass any judgment on Melly's opinions as he was only going on what evidence was at hand. And I openly admit that until the recent revelations I pretty much shared them. Jimmy was IMO, if not a genuine eccentric, a genuinely odd person who I could never figure out why or how he got so famous. But he did and he (appeared to) use his fame and fortune for much good. He puzzled and amused me and that's why I liked him. How wrong Melly and I were.

Apostate Preaching Work

I used to be a Jehovah's Witness. I left the cult many many years ago, but only recently found the courage to actually examine what happened to me during my membership and realise the extent to which I was emotionally blackmail and subjected to mind control techniques. I'm working on a post detailing some of the history and beliefs of this vile destructive cult but have no idea when (if?) I will be happy with it.

This guy, a certain JWFairyTales from Youtube, came up with this great idea to help spread the truth about the Truth. Not sure what use it is posting it here but I know I'm going to print up some fliers to distribute among my friends and neighbours.