Drumbeat | |
---|---|
Theme music composer | John Barry |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language | English |
No. of episodes | 22 (all missing) |
Production | |
Producer | Stewart Morris |
Production location | London |
Running time | 30 minutes |
Original release | |
Network | BBC |
Release | 4 April – 29 August 1959 |
Drumbeat was a BBC television series that aired every Saturday from 4 April to 29 August 1959. It was the BBC's answer and rival to ITV's TV series Oh Boy! , though as the latter finished on 30 May 1959, for most of its run Drumbeat had no comparable competition.
It launched the careers of singer Adam Faith and composer John Barry, songwriters Les Reed, Johnny Worth (alias Les Vandyke) and Trevor Peacock. Among its guest stars were Petula Clark, the Lana Sisters (including Dusty Springfield), Billy Fury, Dickie Valentine, Paul Anka, Cliff Richard and Anthony Newley.
The show had a number of resident bands and singers: Emile Ford, Bob Miller and the Millermen, the John Barry Seven, Vince Eager, Sylvia Sands and Adam Faith. Danny Williams, the Raindrops (featuring Jackie Lee), the Kingpins, and Roy Young also appeared regularly and Trevor Peacock was the compere for 16 of the 22 episodes.
The producer-director was Stewart Morris, who went on to enjoy a long career in television. For a while, he was married to resident singer Sylvia Sands.
The series was broadcast live with the exception of the episode of 18 July, which was telerecorded. None of the episodes are known to have survived.
In June 2010, Silva Screen Records released a CD comprising the original LP and EP recorded in 1959, together with a few related tracks.
Are You Being Served? is a British television sitcom that was broadcast from 1972 to 1985. It was created and written by David Croft, who also served as executive producer and director, and Jeremy Lloyd. Michael Knowles and John Chapman also wrote certain episodes. Produced by the BBC, the series starred Mollie Sugden, Trevor Bannister, Frank Thornton, John Inman, Wendy Richard, Arthur Brough, Nicholas Smith, Larry Martyn, Harold Bennett and Arthur English.
Gerald Alexander Anderson was an English television and film producer, director, writer and occasional voice artist, who is known for his futuristic television programmes, especially his 1960s productions filmed with "Supermarionation".
Lulu Kennedy-Cairns is a Scottish singer, actress, and television personality. Her career has spanned six decades. Her debut single, a cover version of The Isley Brothers song "Shout", reached the top ten of the UK Singles Charts in 1964. In 1967 she rose to international prominence after appearing in the film To Sir, with Love singing the theme song, which topped the US Billboard Hot 100 for five consecutive weeks.
Terence Nelhams Wright, known as Adam Faith, was an English singer, actor, and financial journalist. As a British rock and roll teen idol, he scored consecutive No. 1 hits on the UK Singles Chart with "What Do You Want?" (1959) and "Poor Me" (1960). He became the first UK artist to lodge his initial seven hits in the top 5, and was ultimately one of the most charted acts of the 1960s. He was also one of the first UK acts to record original songs regularly.
John Barry Prendergast was an English composer and conductor of film music. Born in York, Barry spent his early years working in cinemas owned by his father. During his national service with the British Army in Cyprus, Barry began performing as a musician after learning to play the trumpet. Upon completing his national service, he formed a band in 1957, the John Barry Seven. He later developed an interest in composing and arranging music, making his début for television in 1958. He came to the notice of the makers of the first James Bond film Dr. No, who were dissatisfied with a theme for James Bond given to them by Monty Norman. Noel Rogers, the head of music at United Artists, approached Barry. This started a successful association between Barry and the Bond series that lasted for 25 years.
Bergerac is a British crime drama television series. Set in Jersey, it ran from 18 October 1981 to 26 December 1991. Produced by the BBC in association with the Australian Seven Network, and first screened on BBC1, it stars John Nettles as the title character Jim Bergerac, who is initially a detective sergeant in Le Bureau des Étrangers, within the States of Jersey Police, but later leaves the force and becomes a private investigator.
Laramie is an American Western television series that aired on NBC from 1959 to 1963. A Revue Studios production, the program originally starred John Smith as Slim Sherman, owner of the Sherman Ranch, along with his younger brother Andy, played by Robert L. Crawford Jr.; Robert Fuller as Jess Harper, an immature, hot-headed drifter who shows up at the Sherman Ranch in the premiere episode; and Hoagy Carmichael as Jonesy, who keeps the homestead/stage stop running while Slim and Jess usually alternate starring roles during the show. Actress Spring Byington was later added to the cast.
Martin Sam Milner was an American actor and radio host. He is best known for his performances on two television series: Route 66, which aired on CBS from 1960 to 1964, and Adam-12, which aired on NBC from 1968 to 1975.
Beat' Girl is a 1960 British teen exploitation drama film directed by Edmond T. Gréville. The film was released in the United States under the title Wild for Kicks.
Elleston Trevor was a British novelist and playwright who wrote under several pseudonyms. Born Trevor Dudley-Smith, he eventually changed his name to Elleston Trevor. Trevor worked in many genres, but is principally remembered for his 1964 adventure story The Flight of the Phoenix, written as Elleston Trevor, and for a series of Cold War thrillers featuring the British secret agent Quiller, written under the pseudonym Adam Hall.
Thomas Adrian Sands is an American pop music singer and actor. Working in show business as a child, Sands became an overnight sensation and instant teen idol when he appeared on Kraft Television Theater in January 1957 as "The Singin' Idol". The song from the show, "Teen-Age Crush", reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on Cashbox.
Six-Five Special is a British television programme launched in February 1957 when both television and rock and roll were in their infancy in Britain.
Just Good Friends is a British sitcom written by John Sullivan. It stars Paul Nicholas and Jan Francis as former lovers Vincent Pinner and Penny Warrender, who meet in a pub five years after he jilted her at the altar.
Ann Robinson is an American former actress and stunt horse rider, perhaps best known for her work in the science-fiction classic The War of the Worlds (1953) and in the 1954 film Dragnet, in which she starred as a Los Angeles police officer opposite Jack Webb and Ben Alexander.
Trevor Edward Peacock was an English actor and songwriter. He made his name as a theatre actor, including for his roles in Shakespeare. He later became known for playing Jim Trott in the BBC comedy series The Vicar of Dibley.
John Worsley, more widely known under the pseudonyms Les Vandyke and Johnny Worth, was an English popular music songwriter from the 1950s to the 1980s, who started his career as a singer.
Claude Austin Trevor Schilsky was an Irish actor who had a long career in film and television.
The John Barry Seven was a band formed by John Barry in 1957, after he abandoned his original career path of arranging for big bands.
Alan James Gwynne Cellan Jones was a British television and film director. From 1963, he directed over 50 television series and films, specialising in dramas.
Eve Taylor was a British talent manager, notable as one of the early female music managers. She managed singers Adam Faith, Sandie Shaw and Val Doonican, and composer John Barry, among others.