Colour Me Pop
Encyclopedia
Colour Me Pop was a British music TV programme
broadcast on BBC2
from 1968-1969. It was a spin-off from the BBC 2 arts magazine show Late Night Line-Up
. Designed to celebrate the new introduction of colour to British television, it was directed by Steve Turner, and showcased half-hour sets by pop and rock groups of the period. The programme was a pioneering precursor to the better remembered BBC music programme The Old Grey Whistle Test (1971-87). Unlike its successor, most of the editions of Colour Me Pop are lost.
21.06.68 The Small Faces
28.06.68 Eclection
12.07.68 Salena Jones
with The Brian Lemon
Trio
19.07.68 Fleetwood Mac
26.07.68 The Kinks
09.08.68 The Peddlers
16.08.68 The Tremeloes
23.08.68 Barry Noble
30.08.68 Spooky Tooth
07.09.68 The Hollies
14.09.68 The Moody Blues
21.09.68 Unit 4 + 2
28.09.68 David Ackles
05.10.68 O'Haras Playboys
12.10.68 Honeybus
,
Clodagh Rodgers
23.10.68 The Mothers of Invention
02.11.68 Eclection, Spooky Tooth, Jethro Tull
09.11.68 Foggy Dew-O, Lew Prinz And The Bedrocks
16.11.68 The Nice
23.11.68 The Alan Price
Set, Julie Driscoll
and The Brian Auger
Trinity
30.11.68 Giles, Giles and Fripp
07.12.68 Timebox
14.12.68 Love Sculpture
21.12.68 Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band
04.01.69 The Move
11.01.69 Sons And Lovers
16.01.69 The Pop Tops
25.01.69 The Toast
01.02.69 Chicken Shack
06.02.69 Bobby Manna And The Art Movement
15.02.69 The Equals
,
Barbara Ruskin
22.02.69 The Marmalade
01.03.69 Ten Years After
08.03.69 World of Oz
15.03.69 Caravan
22.03.69 Harmony Grass
12.04.69 Free
19.04.69 Jimmy Campbell
,
Sweet Thursday
26.04.69 Elastic Band
10.05.69 Family
17.05.69 Cats Eyes
31.05.69 Group Therapy
07.06.69 Lions Of Judea
14.06.69 Strawbs (who also invited David Bowie
along to perform mime to one track Poor Jimmy Wilson, with his producer Tony Visconti
05.07.69 Trapeze
(at Laf)
12.07.69 Copperfield
26.07.69 Orange Bicycle
02.08.69 The Love Affair, Philip Goodhand-Tait
09.08.69 Gene Pitney
,
Mike Cotton Sound
30.08.69 The Fortunes
---.---.--- Chambers Brothers
Other material that is known to exist outside the BBC is as follows: A black and white copy of the Nice edition is known to be at large on the collectors circuit. There exists a b/w French TV-shot promo film for The Hollies "Listen to Me" that was filmed during their Colour Me Pop recording. Off-monitor screenshots from the Giles Giles and Fripp, Timebox and Toast editions survive in private hands (though in 2009 Timebox drummer John Halsey cast doubt on the Timebox screenshots, stating they were from another show). The soundtracks to the Giles Giles and Fripp, Hollies, Fleetwood Mac, Barry Noble, Ten Years After, Family, Bonzo Dog Band, Kinks and David Ackles editions are also known to survive..
Videos identified as being taken from the programme can be seen on the YouTube website, including recordings of Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, Frank Zappa and The Mothers Of Invention, The Nice, The Moody Blues, The Move, and The Small Faces.
broadcast on BBC2
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
from 1968-1969. It was a spin-off from the BBC 2 arts magazine show Late Night Line-Up
Late Night Line-Up
Late Night Line-Up was a pioneering British television discussion programme broadcast on BBC2 between 1964 and 1972. Late Night Line-Up returned for a special one-off edition on BBC Parliament in 2008.-Background:...
. Designed to celebrate the new introduction of colour to British television, it was directed by Steve Turner, and showcased half-hour sets by pop and rock groups of the period. The programme was a pioneering precursor to the better remembered BBC music programme The Old Grey Whistle Test (1971-87). Unlike its successor, most of the editions of Colour Me Pop are lost.
Complete list of performances
14.06.68 Manfred MannManfred Mann
Manfred Mann was a British beat, rhythm and blues and pop band of the 1960s, named after their South African keyboardist, Manfred Mann, who later led the successful 1970s group Manfred Mann's Earth Band...
21.06.68 The Small Faces
The Small Faces
The Small Faces were an English rock and roll band from East London, heavily influenced by American rhythm and blues. The group was founded in 1965 by members Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones, and Jimmy Winston, although by 1966 Winston was replaced by Ian McLagan as the band's...
28.06.68 Eclection
Eclection
Eclection were a British-based folk rock band, originally formed in 1967 in London by Norwegian-born Georg Kajanus , Canadian Michael Rosen, Australians Trevor Lucas and Kerrilee Male, and Britisher Gerry Conway...
12.07.68 Salena Jones
Salena Jones
Salena Jones is an American jazz and cabaret singer.-Biography:Born Joan Elizabeth Shaw in Newport News, Virginia, same home town as Ella Fitzgerald. "I loved Sarah Vaughan so much and adored Lena Horne's elegance, I put them together as ‘Salena.’ It looked good...
with The Brian Lemon
Brian Lemon
Brian Lemon is a European jazz pianist and arranger most notable for his works with Benny Goodman, Charlie Watts, Scott Hamilton, Buddy Tate, Milt Jackson, Ben Webster, George Chisholm and Kenny Baker. He moved to London in the mid-1950s to join Freddy Randall's band. After that he worked with a...
Trio
19.07.68 Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac are a British–American rock band formed in 1967 in London.The only original member present in the band is its eponymous drummer, Mick Fleetwood...
26.07.68 The Kinks
The Kinks
The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, North London, by brothers Ray and Dave Davies in 1964. Categorised in the United States as a British Invasion band, The Kinks are recognised as one of the most important and influential rock acts of the era. Their music was influenced by a...
09.08.68 The Peddlers
The Peddlers
The Peddlers were a British pop trio of the 1960s and 1970s.-History:The Peddlers formed in Manchester in April 1964, as a trio of Trevor Morais , Tab Martin and Roy Phillips The Peddlers were a British pop trio of the 1960s and 1970s.-History:The Peddlers formed in Manchester in April 1964, as a...
16.08.68 The Tremeloes
The Tremeloes
The Tremeloes are an English beat group founded in 1958 in Dagenham, Essex, and still active today.-Career:They formed as Brian Poole and the Tremoloes influenced by Buddy Holly and The Crickets...
23.08.68 Barry Noble
30.08.68 Spooky Tooth
Spooky Tooth
Spooky Tooth are an English rock band principally active, with intermittent breakups, between 1967 to 1974. In recent years, the band has been reconstituted at various points, and continues to perform occasionally.-Career:...
07.09.68 The Hollies
The Hollies
The Hollies are an English pop and rock group, formed in Manchester in the early 1960s, though most of the band members are from throughout East Lancashire. Known for their distinctive vocal harmony style, they became one of the leading British groups of the 1960s and 1970s...
14.09.68 The Moody Blues
The Moody Blues
The Moody Blues are an English rock band. Among their innovations was a fusion with classical music, most notably in their 1967 album Days of Future Passed....
21.09.68 Unit 4 + 2
Unit 4 + 2
Unit 4 + 2 were a British pop band, who had a number one hit in the UK Singles Chart in 1965 with the song "Concrete and Clay". The track topped the UK chart for one week.-Early days:...
28.09.68 David Ackles
David Ackles
David Thomas Ackles was an American singer-songwriter. He recorded four albums between 1968 and 1973.Describing Ackles's style in 2003, critic Colin McElligatt wrote, "An unlikely clash of anachronistic show business and modern-day lyricism...deeply informs his recorded output...
05.10.68 O'Haras Playboys
12.10.68 Honeybus
Honeybus
Honeybus were a 1960s pop group formed in April 1967, in London. They were best known for their 1968 UK Top 10 hit single, "I Can't Let Maggie Go".-Line-up:The best known line-up consisted of:...
,
Clodagh Rodgers
Clodagh Rodgers
Clodagh Rodgers is a singer and actress from Northern Ireland, best known for her hit single, "Jack in the Box".-Career:...
23.10.68 The Mothers of Invention
The Mothers of Invention
The Mothers of Invention were an American band active from 1964 to 1969, and again from 1970 to 1975.They mainly performed works by, and were the original recording group of, US composer and guitarist Frank Zappa , although other members have had the occasional writing credit...
02.11.68 Eclection, Spooky Tooth, Jethro Tull
Jethro Tull (band)
Jethro Tull are a British rock group formed in 1967. Their music is characterised by the vocals, acoustic guitar, and flute playing of Ian Anderson, who has led the band since its founding, and the guitar work of Martin Barre, who has been with the band since 1969.Initially playing blues rock with...
09.11.68 Foggy Dew-O, Lew Prinz And The Bedrocks
16.11.68 The Nice
The Nice
The Nice were an English progressive rock band from the 1960s, known for their blend of rock, jazz and classical music. Their debut album, The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack was released in 1967 to immediate acclaim. It is often considered the first progressive rock album...
23.11.68 The Alan Price
Alan Price
Alan Price is an English musician, best known as the original keyboardist for the English band The Animals, and for his subsequent solo work....
Set, Julie Driscoll
Julie Driscoll
Julie Tippetts is an English singer and actress, known for her 1960s versions of Bob Dylan's "This Wheel's on Fire", and Donovan's "Season of the Witch", both with Brian Auger & The Trinity...
and The Brian Auger
Brian Auger
Brian Auger is a jazz and rock keyboardist, who has specialized in playing the Hammond organ.A jazz pianist, bandleader, session musician and Hammond B3 player, Auger has played or toured with artists such as Rod Stewart, Tony Williams, Jimi Hendrix, Sonny Boy Williamson, Led Zeppelin, Eric Burdon...
Trinity
30.11.68 Giles, Giles and Fripp
Giles, Giles and Fripp
Giles, Giles and Fripp were an English late 1960s band, featuring brothers Michael Giles on drums and vocals, Peter Giles on bass guitar and vocals, and Robert Fripp on guitar.-Career:...
07.12.68 Timebox
Timebox (band)
Timebox, formed in October 1965, in Southport, Lancashire, was a 1960s psychedelic pop band, that developed from a complicated ancestry.-Career:...
14.12.68 Love Sculpture
Love Sculpture
Love Sculpture were a Welsh blues-rock band of the late 1960s, led by Dave Edmunds , plus bassist John Williams - stage name John David and drummer Rob 'Congo' Jones .-Career:Love...
21.12.68 Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band
Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band
The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band are a band created by a group of British art-school denizens of the 1960s...
04.01.69 The Move
The Move
The Move, from Birmingham, England, were one of the leading British rock bands of the 1960s. They scored nine Top 20 UK singles in five years, but were among the most popular British bands not to find any success in the United States....
11.01.69 Sons And Lovers
16.01.69 The Pop Tops
25.01.69 The Toast
01.02.69 Chicken Shack
Chicken Shack
Chicken Shack are a British blues band, founded in the mid-1960s by Stan Webb , Andy Silvester , and Alan Morley , who were later joined by Christine Perfect in 1968.-Career:...
06.02.69 Bobby Manna And The Art Movement
15.02.69 The Equals
The Equals
The Equals were a pop/reggae/rock group that formed in North London, England in 1965. They are mainly remembered for its million-selling chart-topper, "Baby Come Back". Eddy Grant, then sporting dyed blonde hair, founded the group...
,
Barbara Ruskin
22.02.69 The Marmalade
01.03.69 Ten Years After
Ten Years After
Ten Years After is an English blues-rock band, most popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Between 1968 and 1973, Ten Years After scored eight Top 40 albums on the UK Albums Chart...
08.03.69 World of Oz
World of Oz
The World of Oz were a British psychedelic pop group who released a sole self-titled LP in 1968, before fading into relative obscurity, although CD re-issues of the album are now widely available...
15.03.69 Caravan
Caravan (band)
Caravan are an English band from the Canterbury area, founded by former Wilde Flowers members David Sinclair, Richard Sinclair, Pye Hastings and Richard Coughlan. Caravan rose to success over a period of several years from 1968 onwards into the 1970s as part of the Canterbury scene, blending...
22.03.69 Harmony Grass
12.04.69 Free
Free (band)
Free were an English rock band, formed in London in 1968, best known for their 1970 signature song "All Right Now". They disbanded in 1973 and lead singer Paul Rodgers went on to become a frontman of the band Bad Company along with Simon Kirke on drums; lead guitarist Paul Kossoff died from a...
19.04.69 Jimmy Campbell
Jimmy Campbell (musician)
Jimmy Campbell was a musician and songwriter from Liverpool. He was a member of Merseybeat groups The Kirkbys, The 23rd Turnoff, Rockin' Horse as well as releasing three solo albums.-Career:...
,
Sweet Thursday
Sweet Thursday (band)
Sweet Thursday was a short-lived late-1960s English rock band.The group included famed session keyboard player Nicky Hopkins, who had worked with The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Jeff Beck, and many others; folk guitarist, singer, and past session man Alun Davies ; and singer, guitarist, composer...
26.04.69 Elastic Band
10.05.69 Family
Family
In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
17.05.69 Cats Eyes
31.05.69 Group Therapy
07.06.69 Lions Of Judea
14.06.69 Strawbs (who also invited David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
along to perform mime to one track Poor Jimmy Wilson, with his producer Tony Visconti
Tony Visconti
Anthony Edward Visconti is an American record producer and sometimes a musician or singer.Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers; his lengthiest involvement with any artist is with David Bowie: intermittently from Bowie's 1969 album Space Oddity to 2003's Reality, Visconti...
05.07.69 Trapeze
Trapeze (band)
Trapeze were an English rock band formed in March 1969, by vocalist John Jones and guitarist/keyboardist Terry Rowley , with guitarist Mel Galley, singer/bassist Glenn Hughes, and drummer Dave Holland...
(at Laf)
12.07.69 Copperfield
26.07.69 Orange Bicycle
Orange Bicycle
Orange Bicycle were an English Psychedelic pop band, which existed from 1967 to 1971. The band played a style influenced by The Beach Boys, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and the hippie culture...
02.08.69 The Love Affair, Philip Goodhand-Tait
09.08.69 Gene Pitney
Gene Pitney
Eugene Francis Alan Pitney, known as Gene Pitney , was an American singer-songwriter, musician and sound engineer. Through the mid-1960s, he enjoyed success as a recording artist on both sides of the Atlantic and was among the group of early 1960s American acts who continued to enjoy hits after the...
,
Mike Cotton Sound
30.08.69 The Fortunes
The Fortunes
The Fortunes are an English harmony beat group. Formed in Birmingham, The Fortunes first came to prominence and international acclaim in 1965, when "You've Got Your Troubles" broke into the US and UK Top 10s...
---.---.--- Chambers Brothers
Surviving material from the show
Currently only the editions featuring The Small Faces, The Moody Blues, The Move and Trapeze are held in the BBC archive, as well as the episode featuring The Chambers Brothers that was never broadcast. In addition, three songs from the Bonzo Dog Band edition survive (one in unbroadcastable quality), plus film inserts from the Clodagh Rodgers/Honeybus edition, and the trailer for the Salena Jones show.Other material that is known to exist outside the BBC is as follows: A black and white copy of the Nice edition is known to be at large on the collectors circuit. There exists a b/w French TV-shot promo film for The Hollies "Listen to Me" that was filmed during their Colour Me Pop recording. Off-monitor screenshots from the Giles Giles and Fripp, Timebox and Toast editions survive in private hands (though in 2009 Timebox drummer John Halsey cast doubt on the Timebox screenshots, stating they were from another show). The soundtracks to the Giles Giles and Fripp, Hollies, Fleetwood Mac, Barry Noble, Ten Years After, Family, Bonzo Dog Band, Kinks and David Ackles editions are also known to survive..
Videos identified as being taken from the programme can be seen on the YouTube website, including recordings of Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, Frank Zappa and The Mothers Of Invention, The Nice, The Moody Blues, The Move, and The Small Faces.