Thanks to those killjoys at H.T.V. Wales and their insane policy of regional scheduling ( English programmes everyone watched displaced by Welsh language shows no-one watched ), I had to visit my auntie's house to see this show. Because she lived high on a hill, her set could pick up stations mine could not, such as Westward ( as it was then called ).
I watched once whilst chomping on a Birds Eye meat and onion pie, and afterwards suffered terrible indigestion. To this day, I'm not sure what caused it - the pie or the programme.
'Get It Together' was the creation of Muriel Young, a former actor who'd become a producer of children's television programmes at Granada, where, amongst other things, she had masterminded the long-running film review show 'Clapperboard' ( hosted by Chris Kelly ), 'Shang-a-Lang' which helped propel 'The Bay City Rollers' to stardom, and 'Arrows' ( remember their one and only hit - 'A Touch Too Much'? ) which didn't.
'Together' was an attempt at a generic pop show, with groups miming to whatever they had in the charts at that time. None of the big hitters, such as 'Abba' and 'The Bee Gees', were visible in the studio. Viewers had to make do instead with 'Brotherhood Of Man' and 'The Jags' ( I'm sure you've got got their C.D.'s in your collection ). Oh, and Sir Cliff Richard turned up at least once. As did 'Slade'!
In 1977, punk ruled and anarchy was in the air. 'The Sex Pistols' was what the kids wanted. You would never have known it from 'Together', which boasted Arthur Mullard and Hylda Baker murdering 'You're The One That I Want' on a ferris wheel.
Even now, I can remember how dated the show looked. The set was like the 'Dr.Who' production team's idea of an alien city, with plastic walls, garish colours, and strobe lighting. I'm sure I even spotted dry ice lurking about the place. You half expected Tom Baker and K9 to appear. Nothing had moved on since 'Lift Off With Ayshea' a few years earlier. Even the title - 'Get It Together' - had a smell of patchouli oil about it. What was Young thinking?
The presenters were Linda Fletcher ( whatever happened to her? ) and Roy North, newly divorced from 'Basil Brush'. I have a soft spot for Roy; after all, he was a pretty good straight man for The Foxy One and, if you think that does not sound like much of an achievement, just check out the presenters on Basil's current B.B.C. series. Roy and Linda opened each show by singing ( badly ) the 'Get It Together' theme, which I have only managed to erase from my memory after years of psychiatric therapy and drugs. Roy, in flimsy disco shirt and flares, welcomed the audience by jumping up and down and exclaiming "Hi!" in a pseudo-Presley manner.
As well as the bands, there was a regular dance group known as 'Him & Us', consisting of a pair of stunning twins called Teri and Lisa Scoble ( who played clones in the classic children's sci-fi series 'Timeslip' ) and a handsome bloke whose name I never found out. They gyrated nicely enough, often to backgrounds provided by a zoetrope. 'Him & Us' originally appeared on 'Shang-a-Lang', then progressed to 'Arrows', before winding up here. By that time, they had acquired a new member, and changed their name to 'Him & Us Plus One'. I often wondered why they didn't think to rename themselves 'Them & Us'. Perhaps it sounded too much like an incitement to class warfare.
The kids present were quizzed, with Roy shoving a stick microphone down their throats. Often they got the answers right but the researchers had messed up the questions. An exception was the lad who, after hearing Billy Ocean's 'Red Light Spells Danger' was asked to identify the colour in the title of the song. He said: "Green".
The nadir of the show, though, came when Roy tried to sing a hit of the day. One week, it was David Soul's 'Don't Give Up On Us Baby' and, believe me when I say Owen Wilson's version in the 'Starsky & Hutch' movie was Pavarotti by comparison. As Roy enunciated each syllable his teeth made rumba movements. Whoever his dentist was, he should have gotten an award for his services to his craft. Throughout the song, kids in jumpers could be seen nervously edging their way off the set.
A few years back, Granada Plus brought back 'Shang-a-Lang' and 'Supersonic' ( now there was a cool show! ), but strangely omitted 'Get It Together'. No justice, is there?
I watched once whilst chomping on a Birds Eye meat and onion pie, and afterwards suffered terrible indigestion. To this day, I'm not sure what caused it - the pie or the programme.
'Get It Together' was the creation of Muriel Young, a former actor who'd become a producer of children's television programmes at Granada, where, amongst other things, she had masterminded the long-running film review show 'Clapperboard' ( hosted by Chris Kelly ), 'Shang-a-Lang' which helped propel 'The Bay City Rollers' to stardom, and 'Arrows' ( remember their one and only hit - 'A Touch Too Much'? ) which didn't.
'Together' was an attempt at a generic pop show, with groups miming to whatever they had in the charts at that time. None of the big hitters, such as 'Abba' and 'The Bee Gees', were visible in the studio. Viewers had to make do instead with 'Brotherhood Of Man' and 'The Jags' ( I'm sure you've got got their C.D.'s in your collection ). Oh, and Sir Cliff Richard turned up at least once. As did 'Slade'!
In 1977, punk ruled and anarchy was in the air. 'The Sex Pistols' was what the kids wanted. You would never have known it from 'Together', which boasted Arthur Mullard and Hylda Baker murdering 'You're The One That I Want' on a ferris wheel.
Even now, I can remember how dated the show looked. The set was like the 'Dr.Who' production team's idea of an alien city, with plastic walls, garish colours, and strobe lighting. I'm sure I even spotted dry ice lurking about the place. You half expected Tom Baker and K9 to appear. Nothing had moved on since 'Lift Off With Ayshea' a few years earlier. Even the title - 'Get It Together' - had a smell of patchouli oil about it. What was Young thinking?
The presenters were Linda Fletcher ( whatever happened to her? ) and Roy North, newly divorced from 'Basil Brush'. I have a soft spot for Roy; after all, he was a pretty good straight man for The Foxy One and, if you think that does not sound like much of an achievement, just check out the presenters on Basil's current B.B.C. series. Roy and Linda opened each show by singing ( badly ) the 'Get It Together' theme, which I have only managed to erase from my memory after years of psychiatric therapy and drugs. Roy, in flimsy disco shirt and flares, welcomed the audience by jumping up and down and exclaiming "Hi!" in a pseudo-Presley manner.
As well as the bands, there was a regular dance group known as 'Him & Us', consisting of a pair of stunning twins called Teri and Lisa Scoble ( who played clones in the classic children's sci-fi series 'Timeslip' ) and a handsome bloke whose name I never found out. They gyrated nicely enough, often to backgrounds provided by a zoetrope. 'Him & Us' originally appeared on 'Shang-a-Lang', then progressed to 'Arrows', before winding up here. By that time, they had acquired a new member, and changed their name to 'Him & Us Plus One'. I often wondered why they didn't think to rename themselves 'Them & Us'. Perhaps it sounded too much like an incitement to class warfare.
The kids present were quizzed, with Roy shoving a stick microphone down their throats. Often they got the answers right but the researchers had messed up the questions. An exception was the lad who, after hearing Billy Ocean's 'Red Light Spells Danger' was asked to identify the colour in the title of the song. He said: "Green".
The nadir of the show, though, came when Roy tried to sing a hit of the day. One week, it was David Soul's 'Don't Give Up On Us Baby' and, believe me when I say Owen Wilson's version in the 'Starsky & Hutch' movie was Pavarotti by comparison. As Roy enunciated each syllable his teeth made rumba movements. Whoever his dentist was, he should have gotten an award for his services to his craft. Throughout the song, kids in jumpers could be seen nervously edging their way off the set.
A few years back, Granada Plus brought back 'Shang-a-Lang' and 'Supersonic' ( now there was a cool show! ), but strangely omitted 'Get It Together'. No justice, is there?
