Random Idents 

22 May 2004 tbs.pm/3437

As well as it’s normal idents Tyne Tees has used several other idents for special occasions as well as some versions created to be displayed as pre-programme idents (usually saying Tyne Tees Presents). These are just some of them.

1960s

A Tyne Tees caption taken from day one – from the opening titles to The Big Show, broadcast at 7pm on Tyne Tees’s first day on air on Thursday 15 January 1959.

It was also seen in 2005 as part of a montage of archive clips in the regional programme, The Big Move, about Tyne Tees’s move from City Road to Gateshead.

From 1959, this was a pretty much static caption over a background which we believe to be part of the programme the slide was from.

A slide from the 1960s.

And another.

1970s

This was animated, and flew into the centre of the screen from left to right, as the characters on the far right were passing through the camera point, until the left side letters came into view. The it centered itself and sat there. Using a chrome metallic effect, it was mainly used before Tyne Tees’s Top of The Pops competitor, The Roxy.

The Tyne Tees Logo hovering above Newcastle’s Tyne Bridge. Surreal…

This particular ident was used before The Paper Lads – a kids drama series, shown in two, seven programme long, series in 1977 and 1978.

Also from the 1970s, this mysterious red ident. It is believed to have been used before some sports programmes like Double Top and Invitation Snooker.

1988

In the 1980s, ITV ran nationwide telethons, clearing the schedules for 48 hours to raise money for charity. In 1988, versions of this special ident were used across the country – in this case for our very own Tyne Tees.

1999: Tyne Tees is 40

10-17 January 1999 was a special week for Tyne Tees. The station was forty years old, and the occasion was celebrated in style. A special ruby logo was created in Newcastle along with a new jingle, a modern version of the very first jingle from 40 years ago.

Cynics may cry that the 40th logo is just the usual logo done in red with some 40s floating around in the background, but a closer inspection would reveal some slight differences. For one, the Tyne Tees logo is actually centered on the screen rather than skewed at the top like the normal. The colours are more subtle. And as for the animation…

If you want an example of what the Leeds based promotions team could create, this is it. More thought and effort went into a logo that was used for a week than the logo that has been in regular usage – the animation sees the camera lifting up from a angled view of a 3D logo, before moving slowly to see the full version. It was subtle and understated and went well with the subtle and understated jingle. There was even a bump breaker to go with it all – a bit of a change from the ITV generic heart that Tyne Tees viewers had been used to.

Even more noticeable was the number of continuity announcements that featured the station name. With the continuity department in Leeds now supplying links for Granada, Yorkshire and Tyne Tees, the usual policy at the time was to provide generic links across all three stations. To actually hear the Tyne Tees name in every link was amazing, even if they were recorded and not live… Shame the whole thing lasted a week really.

And indeed, it did only last a week. One week and then it was back to normal with poorly designed ident and dramatic jingle. Still it was nice while it lasted…

2001

Christmas 2001 saw a generic ITV1 ident used across the Granada owned regions in the North. Apparently the regional names were supposed to go on the idents, but they didn’t get added in time.

To make up for it, most of the announcers on duty used the regional names in their announcements, but it was a sign of things to come…