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Wigan Chosen Few TOTP Tape Exists ?

The Top of the Pops showing of Wigans Chosen Few dancers back in 1975 is often mentioned when talking about "all our yesterdays" on here and other places and sure that those who were around at that time can remember the actual show or indeed the follow on effect that it had.

As has been said many times it was thought that no copies of this episode have survived the years due to the practice of wiping and re-using tapes that the BBC had at the time

Online archives do put the appearance date as 30-01-75 , (it also says was used again two weeks later but memory and the listing says that it was used as end credit playout). A quick check of a lot of related sites does have this episode down as "missing/wiped", however on travels round various sites read a article about a private video library for sale, details were a bit hazy but it seems that the person was selling a vast huge amount of various tapes, apparently in a lump lot with one person saying a figure of £25,000 being the asking price.

Of course you know what's coming next, there is a web site (link below ) with listing details of all the tapes and guess what, yep there is that January episode listed

Did try and get further details but didn't get any joy, so perhaps the collection has already been sold?

Of course I could be wrong in all this, after all it is the internet, plus the archive listings could also be wrong and perhaps the tape condition is bad or whatever.

On other hand it is listed so it possibly does exist, so maybe one day people will have the chance of actually seeing it again, maybe who ever does have the tape, may make it available in the future once aware of possible interest?

Who knows?

Anyway website link to listing below (listing is on the music page) , if anyone gets any further or more info/news then it would be appreciated if you could let us know

http://www.privatevi...o.uk/index.html

episode listing (from another website- so can't say if 100%)

30-1-75: Presented by: Tony Blackburn (Wiped)

THE GLITTER BAND " Goodbye My Love

ANDY FAIRWEATHER-LOW " Mellow Down

MAC & KATIE KISSOON " Sugar Candy Kisses

QUEEN " Now m Here

SUZI QUATRO " Your Mama Wont Like Me

ALVIN STARDUST " Good Love Can Never Die

WIGANS CHOSEN FEW " Footsee (crowd dancing)

STEVE HARLEY & COCKNEY REBEL " Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me)

PILOT " January

ELVIS PRESLEY " Promised Land (crowd dancing) (and credits)

 

Article update

10 years on

10 years after first publishing this article the actual video clip from Top Of The Pops featuring 'Wigans Chosen Few'  from 1975 was posted online in  our Soul Source Video feature in 2018 by member @Venus
and can be viewed here...

updated 2019



Edited by Mike



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5 minutes ago, back street blue said:

 

If Pete Smith has taken his ball home then who can blame him?

 

 

 

There are reasons it was changed so that you need a gmail/google account and I'm sure it wasn't all down to Pete.. Anyone wishing to view it can.. It takes 2 mins to set up an account.. If folks can't contact Pete PM me their address and I will arrange for the link to be forwarded

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1 minute ago, dedji1955 said:

There are reasons it was changed so that you need a gmail/google account and I'm sure it wasn't all down to Pete.. Anyone wishing to view it can.. It takes 2 mins to set up an account.. If folks can't contact Pete PM me their address and I will arrange for the link to be forwarded

Hiya Fred, yeah I know why it was taken down and didn't mean that, looks like Pete's had enough "feedback" from some of the genius's on here generally. 

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On 04/11/2016 at 15:16, geeselad said:

who first played it and what was it covered as?

I think it was covered as Odd Billy and The Bad Boys. Possibly a Russ spin but not sure.

I've seen the TOTP clip now. It's strange how the memory plays tricks as I don't remember it just being gymnastics out of step with the music.

Anyway, here is a clip of the original Chosen Few. They left the TOTP set saying they wanted to dance to something with more musical integrity. No accounting for taste.

 

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5 hours ago, mike said:

here's some related background

the 1975 billboard issue features a brief word about the promotion and production of the 45 in an article about european disco scene

also mentions a competition to find the best 3 'clappers'

all before my time tf!

 

image for reference...

euro-disco-billboard-1975.jpg

Great clip. I always thought I was going to a club in Wigan and now it turns out to be a discotheque. But now there's hope for us all as we enter our 60's and 70's -  clapping competitions instead of dance-offs. Bags I clap to Tainted Love...

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 Back to the clip. Vaguely recall seeing it on a TV at a soul-night in Central London a few years ago. How many copies of the original take are out there? I would have thought the only person worried about the WCF clip was the person who removed it from the BBC archive: that said, I don't suppose the BBC cares who took it. The only people who have an interest in the video clip are us so can we please have it back?

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On 04/11/2016 at 16:12, bo diddley said:

I think it was covered as Odd Billy and The Bad Boys. Possibly a Russ spin but not sure.

I've seen the TOTP clip now. It's strange how the memory plays tricks as I don't remember it just being gymnastics out of step with the music.

Anyway, here is a clip of the original Chosen Few. They left the TOTP set saying they wanted to dance to something with more musical integrity. No accounting for taste.

 

I've seen people recently at a "soul" night dancing just like that and wearing the same dresses

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Guest Geoffrey Gethro Jones

Posted

On 1/30/2015 at 10:45, Little Anthony said:

There is some footage of WCT on TOTP on this youtube clip from 1 min 15 secs for about 15 secs

 

 

Gethro  My celtic shirt green and white if you went to wigan you will know that shirt right hand side of stage just down from the front i never danced right at the front to many bright lights . I received this video the other day brought back a smile happy times who was with me -girl is Ann Rodgers guy spinning near me Tom Mercer other guy Kip all from wigan apparently they added the horns.From wolvo 4 dancers me Jako winston and Steve Powell .Answers to many questions about this and my journey from the cats 'Va Va and other venues of that time  to the casino first anniversary dance competition final 1974 can be found in my book '' They danced all night '' 126 five star reviews can be found on amazon .I self published as i wouldn't let anyone alter a single word i write  from the heart  dominated by the TRUTH of what the northern scene was really like back then . By going on top of the pops we shook up the mainstream establishment a lot of people who had never heard of northern soul came on to the scene  and are there to this day .Do i regret a thing no way  my reason was simple I just wanted to show pans people this is how you really  dance and as you see ''  we could all dance '' .Gethro now living in Chicago 

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Guest Geoffrey Gethro Jones

Posted

On 1/30/2015 at 10:45, Little Anthony said:

There is some footage of WCT on TOTP on this youtube clip from 1 min 15 secs for about 15 secs

 

 

Gethro  My celtic shirt green and white if you went to wigan you will know that shirt right hand side of stage just down from the front i never danced right at the front to many bright lights . I received this video the other day brought back a smile happy times who was with me -girl is Ann Rodgers guy spinning near me Tom Mercer other guy Kip all from wigan apparently they added the horns.From wolvo 4 dancers me Jako winston and Steve Powell .Answers to many questions about this and my journey from the cats 'Va Va and other venues of that time  to the casino first anniversary dance competition final 1974 can be found in my book '' They danced all night '' 126 five star reviews can be found on amazon .I self published as i wouldn't let anyone alter a single word i write  from the heart  dominated by the TRUTH of what the northern scene was really like back then . By going on top of the pops we shook up the mainstream establishment a lot of people who had never heard of northern soul came on to the scene  and are there to this day .Do i regret a thing no way  my reason was simple I just wanted to show pans people this is how you really  dance and as you see ''  we could all dance '' .Gethro now living in Chicago 

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I remember seeing this clip on top of the pops at the time and being very impressed with it. I was aware of the scene due to a lot of the older lad`s on my estate going to Wigan, like a lot of people of my age (57) it started the ball rolling as regards our involvement on the scene within little over a year I started going to Wigan myself, on this coming Saturday my wife and I are off to Rugby allnighter 43 years later I am still at it so couldn't have been no bad thing. Loved seeing Gethro dancing great to watch and a very nice bloke as well always said hello when I saw him at nighters . Hope he is well and still loving our music as I am to this day.

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