Weekend Rewind: Vintage TV Pop Shows

Opinion

To mark New Zealand Music Month, NZ On Screen Content Director Irene Gardiner looks back at some classic TV pop shows of the past.

Our flagship TV pop show of the mid-60s was Let's Go, hosted by legendary music presenter Peter Sinclair (his first TV job). Unfortunately no footage of the series survives, but these rare behind-the-scenes shots offer a fascinating glimpse of TV studio production of the time. This colour Standard 8 film - shot during a rehearsal by technician Clyde Cunningham - is the only video record of a series only ever seen in black and white.

You can see the behind-the-scenes footage of Let's Go here:

By 1967, Let's Go was no more and Peter Sinclair was busy hosting C'mon - the fondly remembered pop series that lasted three seasons and fostered talent such as Mr Lee Grant, Sandy Edmonds, Bobby Davis, Ray Woolf and the Chicks. Unfortunately only two episodes of the classic series have survived. One of them is this final episode of the first series of the show.

Watch C'mon 1967 final here:

C'mon and its follow-up series Happen Inn (also sadly lost - there are no surviving episodes) were both made out of the NZBC's Wellington studios. But by the early 70s, Christchurch was also getting in on the pop TV act with the arrival of the series Pop Co. This end of year special from 1974 features a stellar cast including Steve Gilpin, Rob Guest, Space Waltz, Annie Whittle, Mark Williams, and Beaver.

You can see the 1974 Pop Co special here:

In 1975, our music television took a rockier turn with the Wellington-produced Grunt Machine series. Again, there isn't a lot of surviving footage for the series, but the striking animated opening titles still exist.

View the Grunt Machine opening titles here:

There are also still a few pieces of music footage surviving from the show, including this 1975 performance of Spellbound by Split Enz.

Watch Spellbound on Grunt Machine here:

Iconic music series Radio with Pictures arrived on the scene in the late 1970s, originally hosted by Barry Jenkin (aka Dr Rock), then Phil O'Brien, then Karyn Hay. This episode from 1984 features presenters past (Jenkin) and present (Hay) discussing clips selected by Jenkin, whose choices very much reflect his musical epiphany at the hands of punk in the late 70s. This segment features three local acts including the Scavengers with their classic Mysterex.

View Radio with Pictures here:

Screening during the same years as Radio with Pictures was the chart-based pop show Ready to Roll. These are the 1980s opening titles for the music show that made 6pm on Saturdays essential viewing time for pop music fans. These titles replaced the late 1970s set (scored by the Commodores Machine Gun).

Watch Ready to Roll opening titles here: