Billy Butler (DJ)
Encyclopedia
Billy Butler is a radio presenter on BBC Radio Merseyside
. In the 1960s he was a DJ at the Cavern Club and has presented TV shows such as FAX
and the magazine programme What the Butler Sees. In September 2010 he published his autobiography Billy Butler MBE – Mrs Butler’s Eldest.
Billy appeared in Scousers in St Helens on 26 October 2010 alongside Tina Malone
, Margi Clarke
and many others.
quiz show
which ran for over a decade on BBC Radio Merseyside
. It was hosted by Billy Butler and Wally Scott .
Hold Your Plums started out as a segment of Billy Butler’s radio show and was extended to a two hour show of its own. It was broadcast live from the BBC Radio Merseyside Studio’s on Paradise Street in Liverpool on Sundays from 11am to 1pm, using Root Beer Rag
composed by Billy Joel
as its regular catchy theme tune. Mostly an audience was present in the studio as the show went out.
The setup of the show was that contestants answered a general knowledge question correctly to be allowed a go of the fruit machine to see if they win a prize. Contestants had to match up three symbols of Bells, Cherries or Lemons to win a prize. If they were lucky enough to match up three Plums then they win the star prize. If they collected three different symbols they were able to ‘nudge’ the symbols into a winning combination, like on a standard fruit machine. A member of the audience was delegated the job of 'Nudger-Watcher' and would have to call out ‘The nudge is out’ should three different symbols be given by the fruit-machine. If contestants received two matching symbols they were asked to ‘hold’ the two that matched and were given one last spin to see if they matched the third symbol, and because Plums were the shows top symbol to win its star prize contestants were encouraged to ‘Hold Your Plums’, coining the shows name. The prizes were often tacky silly pointless objects and were only added for comical value. Often contestants would return to the show and become regular stars themselves often complaining to Billy or Wally that the prize they won last time on the show was never delivered adding more comical value.
Usually Billy was quizmaster and clue giver, helping contestants as best as he could get the right answer. He also operated the fruit-machine. Wally set the questions and organised the prizes, he would often try and help Billy with clues to help contestants answer their given question.
At the height of its success on BBC Radio Merseyside Billy and Wally were joined by two other regular cast members: Terence and Len.
Terence, a flamboyant, camp, openly-gay man, became one of the first. His role on the show was as the regular 'Nudger-Watcher'. He was also given his own small spot on the show at the beginning when he would read a poem he had written which would often contain non-offensive comedic homosexual innuendos, and would occasionally be about his partner Malcolm. During the show when contestants were answering questions and something suggestive was mentioned Terence would make a low groan noise to highlight the comments sexual meaning.
Len Horton was another regular who joined the show. His role was as the pianist. A regular question that was asked to contestants was to name the tune being played by Len. Unfortunately Len played the piano really badly making the song he was playing completely unrecognisable.
By this time Hold Your Plums had become a scouse institution with a huge following. It was loved by people in the north-west including celebrities like Peter Kay
. During an interview in 1983 on Terry Wogan
’s chat show Wogan, Cilla Black
told a captive audience some of her favourite contestants.
As the show peaked Billy and Wally left the comfort of BBC Radio Merseyside and joined commercial rival Radio City
, taking the show with them. However rumors had circulated that the two were joining a radio station in a different city. There was a public outcry as Billy and Wally were featured on the front cover of the local newspaper, the Liverpool Echo
, with the headline ‘Over and Out’ that the show had finished for good. The article in the Liverpool Echo promoted a telephone number that people could ring to listen to a personal message from the duo to their fans. In it Billy stated that the two were not leaving the city and that neither he nor Wally would ever do that.
News spread fast that Hold Your Plums and the regular cast of Len, Terence, Wally and Billy at the helm would be returned for a new series on Radio City nearly a year after it the two left the BBC. This time the show was pre-recorded every week from a different venue across Liverpool and Merseyside. After only a few years on Radio City Billy and Wally called it a day and signed off from Hold Your Plums for the last time.
Hold Your Plums won a Bronze Sony award.
Hold Your Plums spawned several tapes of The Best of... and two successful Hold Your Plums videos. The first video in 1994 included a special recording of the show from the BBC Radio Merseyside studios in Liverpool intercut with stand-up footage of Billy and Wally in Widnes. The second video released a year later featured a live stage version of the show from the Everyman Theatre
, Liverpool.
This show and the tapes were (and are) a mainstay of Liverpudlian culture and Liverpudlian humour.
BBC Radio Merseyside
BBC Radio Merseyside is the BBC Local Radio service for the English metropolitan county of Merseyside and north Cheshire. It was the third BBC local radio station to launch on 22 November 1967 initially serving the south west of historic Lancashire....
. In the 1960s he was a DJ at the Cavern Club and has presented TV shows such as FAX
FAX (TV series)
FAX was a Canadian daily entertainment news series, which aired on MuchMusic in the 1990s. The series aired both as a half-hour daily show and as short interstitial segments called RapidFAX...
and the magazine programme What the Butler Sees. In September 2010 he published his autobiography Billy Butler MBE – Mrs Butler’s Eldest.
Billy appeared in Scousers in St Helens on 26 October 2010 alongside Tina Malone
Tina Malone
Tina Malone is an English actress, writer, director and producer, who is probably best known for playing the brash, belligerent, foul-mouthed Mimi Maguire on Shameless. She also played the role of Mo McGee on Brookside and a nurse called Bobbie on Victoria Wood's dinnerladies...
, Margi Clarke
Margi Clarke
Margi Clarke is a British actress . She was born in Liverpool and raised in Kirkby , and is known for her Scouse accent and platinum-blonde hair.-Early career:...
and many others.
Hold Your Plums
Hold Your Plums was a radioRadio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
quiz show
Quiz Show
Quiz Show is a 1994 American historical drama film produced and directed by Robert Redford. Adapted by Paul Attanasio from Richard Goodwin's memoir Remembering America, the film is based upon the Twenty One quiz show scandal of the 1950s...
which ran for over a decade on BBC Radio Merseyside
BBC Radio Merseyside
BBC Radio Merseyside is the BBC Local Radio service for the English metropolitan county of Merseyside and north Cheshire. It was the third BBC local radio station to launch on 22 November 1967 initially serving the south west of historic Lancashire....
. It was hosted by Billy Butler and Wally Scott .
Hold Your Plums started out as a segment of Billy Butler’s radio show and was extended to a two hour show of its own. It was broadcast live from the BBC Radio Merseyside Studio’s on Paradise Street in Liverpool on Sundays from 11am to 1pm, using Root Beer Rag
Root Beer Rag
"Root Beer Rag" is a song from Billy Joel's 1974 album Streetlife Serenade. An instrumental track in a very fast ragtime style, it was later released as the B-side of the "Honesty" single, and a live version was included with the DVD that was part of the 30th anniversary re-release of The...
composed by Billy Joel
Billy Joel
William Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
as its regular catchy theme tune. Mostly an audience was present in the studio as the show went out.
The setup of the show was that contestants answered a general knowledge question correctly to be allowed a go of the fruit machine to see if they win a prize. Contestants had to match up three symbols of Bells, Cherries or Lemons to win a prize. If they were lucky enough to match up three Plums then they win the star prize. If they collected three different symbols they were able to ‘nudge’ the symbols into a winning combination, like on a standard fruit machine. A member of the audience was delegated the job of 'Nudger-Watcher' and would have to call out ‘The nudge is out’ should three different symbols be given by the fruit-machine. If contestants received two matching symbols they were asked to ‘hold’ the two that matched and were given one last spin to see if they matched the third symbol, and because Plums were the shows top symbol to win its star prize contestants were encouraged to ‘Hold Your Plums’, coining the shows name. The prizes were often tacky silly pointless objects and were only added for comical value. Often contestants would return to the show and become regular stars themselves often complaining to Billy or Wally that the prize they won last time on the show was never delivered adding more comical value.
Usually Billy was quizmaster and clue giver, helping contestants as best as he could get the right answer. He also operated the fruit-machine. Wally set the questions and organised the prizes, he would often try and help Billy with clues to help contestants answer their given question.
At the height of its success on BBC Radio Merseyside Billy and Wally were joined by two other regular cast members: Terence and Len.
Terence, a flamboyant, camp, openly-gay man, became one of the first. His role on the show was as the regular 'Nudger-Watcher'. He was also given his own small spot on the show at the beginning when he would read a poem he had written which would often contain non-offensive comedic homosexual innuendos, and would occasionally be about his partner Malcolm. During the show when contestants were answering questions and something suggestive was mentioned Terence would make a low groan noise to highlight the comments sexual meaning.
Len Horton was another regular who joined the show. His role was as the pianist. A regular question that was asked to contestants was to name the tune being played by Len. Unfortunately Len played the piano really badly making the song he was playing completely unrecognisable.
By this time Hold Your Plums had become a scouse institution with a huge following. It was loved by people in the north-west including celebrities like Peter Kay
Peter Kay
Peter John Kay is an English comedian, writer, actor, director and producer. His work includes That Peter Kay Thing , Phoenix Nights , Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere , Britain's Got the Pop Factor... and other independent productions which have included two sell out tours.-Early career:Peter Kay...
. During an interview in 1983 on Terry Wogan
Terry Wogan
Sir Michael Terence Wogan, KBE, DL , or also known as Terry Wogan, is a veteran Irish radio and television broadcaster who holds dual Irish and British citizenship. Wogan has worked for the BBC in the United Kingdom for most of his career...
’s chat show Wogan, Cilla Black
Cilla Black
Cilla Black OBE is an English singer, actress, entertainer and media personality, who has been consistently popular as a light entertainment figure since 1963. She is most famous for her singles Anyone Who Had A Heart, You're My World, and Alfie...
told a captive audience some of her favourite contestants.
As the show peaked Billy and Wally left the comfort of BBC Radio Merseyside and joined commercial rival Radio City
Radio City 96.7
Radio City 96.7 is a British Independent Local Radio station, based in Liverpool, that serves Merseyside, Cheshire and North Wales...
, taking the show with them. However rumors had circulated that the two were joining a radio station in a different city. There was a public outcry as Billy and Wally were featured on the front cover of the local newspaper, the Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
The Liverpool Echo is a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is published Monday to Saturday, and is Liverpool's evening newspaper while its sister paper, the Liverpool Daily Post, is the morning paper...
, with the headline ‘Over and Out’ that the show had finished for good. The article in the Liverpool Echo promoted a telephone number that people could ring to listen to a personal message from the duo to their fans. In it Billy stated that the two were not leaving the city and that neither he nor Wally would ever do that.
News spread fast that Hold Your Plums and the regular cast of Len, Terence, Wally and Billy at the helm would be returned for a new series on Radio City nearly a year after it the two left the BBC. This time the show was pre-recorded every week from a different venue across Liverpool and Merseyside. After only a few years on Radio City Billy and Wally called it a day and signed off from Hold Your Plums for the last time.
Hold Your Plums won a Bronze Sony award.
Hold Your Plums spawned several tapes of The Best of... and two successful Hold Your Plums videos. The first video in 1994 included a special recording of the show from the BBC Radio Merseyside studios in Liverpool intercut with stand-up footage of Billy and Wally in Widnes. The second video released a year later featured a live stage version of the show from the Everyman Theatre
Everyman Theatre
The Everyman Theatre stands at the north end of Hope Street, Liverpool, Merseyside, England. Established in 1964 in a former cinema, it encouraged local talent and played a part in the development of new artistes and writers. The theatre was rebuilt between 1975 and 1977, and was closed again for...
, Liverpool.
This show and the tapes were (and are) a mainstay of Liverpudlian culture and Liverpudlian humour.