ABC 

24 May 2004 tbs.pm/2040

 

ALBUM ABC

ABC Weekend Television
Midlands: weekends 1956-1968 (franchise change)
North: weekends 1956-1968 (franchise change)

 

Your Weekend TV

Regular readers of Electromusications and our sister-sites will be aware of a ‘slight’ pro-ABC bias. This may seem strange if you know that most of Transdiffusion’s editors are too young to remember ABC, and most are from outside ABC’s midlands and northern regions.

And yet, the remaining presentation of the company enthrals them – and captivates those of us who contribute to the sites. Why should this be? It’s difficult to say. Perhaps the continuity, with such masters of the art as David Hamilton and John Benson, was an example (often learnt!) to other companies.

The presenters were cosmopolitan, knowing, friendly, warm, urbane and professional. They were hand-picked by a knowledgeable management and well-trained, so much so that the positive adjectives are attracted to them as if magnetic.

The station’s second symbol – a triangle, formed to a musical ident based on a three-note motif – dominated the screen, the outside broadcast vans, the studios and even the presenters’ blazers. On the front of some of the country’s most popular programmes, it became known to every television viewer.

At a time when ‘channel branding’ is the creed of television executives everywhere, and companies flog idents to death through indifference or change them so rapidly as to lose all meaning, ABC seems to have hit a magic formula that sophisticated modern companies are still hunting for blindly.

Add to this magic formula programmes like ‘Oh Boy!’, ‘ABC Armchair Theatre’ and the still-repeated, still-unimpeachable ‘The Avengers’, and you have the archetypical ITV company – the one they all want to be.

On Screen

The first years of ABC’s life were spent sheltering under the shield symbol pioneered by their parent company Associated British Picture Corporation and their sister company ABC Cinemas. During their daily start they would use a symbol very similar to the one still being used by the (unrelated) ABC Cinemas of today.

For idents and captions, a modified form of the shield was used, as seen here. For this version, on the cusp of changing to the new triangle, the shield appears with the ‘new’ music underneath – although the broadcaster here failed to get the tape up to speed in time.

In 1959 there was a revolution at ABC. The shield was vapourised and the new triangle symbol introduced. This accompanied a whole new range of popular – though rarely populist – programming. The triangle and its tailed-arrow forum-up and serif-print text became an instant classic.

It’s the sign that says you’re watching ABC Television in the early 1960s. Using essentially the same musical ident as the later version (the music having predated the triangle symbol anyway), the ‘serif’ ident was clever and dominated the screen in a way not thought of at a time when most geometric idents zoomed in or spun on their own axis.

Another revolution strikes the company in 1964, as the dramatic serif ident is replaced by the imposing and impressive sans serif version. The arrows, no longer with tails, drop on to bold block capital letters and leap to form a smaller triangle – the letters now dominating the symbol rather than vice versa.

The ultimate ident for monochrome days. In silence, the triangle shoots toward the viewer, then each component part – also triangles – drop down from the top of the screen, creating a letter where they land. Finally, once the letters ABC have finally appear, the triangles jump up to create the main symbol again. This is accompanied by a musical ident far better than ATV – the company’s main rival.

The opening of the ident – the silent triangle rushing forward and past the screen – is simply amazing for a time when idents often rushed forward but froze mid-screen. This ident blasts past the viewer and simply commands attention. Wonderful.

ABC North authority announcement by John Benson

The herald of them all, John Benson, gives this fascinating announcement. It leaves more questions than it answers as Benson mentions “the Northern station” in the singular, ignoring the three transmitters and two broadcasters that served the then pan-north region (Winter Hill, Emley Moor, Scarborough; ABC Weekend and Granada). But then Benson ignores Scarborough on channel 6, sticking to just the two main transmitters on each side of the Pennines.

ABC Midlands authority announcement – John Edmunds

The smaller Midlands region – a great revenue earner but somehow less satisfying for the company to programme for – had a slightly different presentation style to its northern sister.

Whilst ABC North was being the antithesis of dour Granada, ABC Midlands had to try to be the antithesis of ATV – which, in effect, was Granada!

Rather than plough that particular barren furrow, ABC chose to just try to sound more grown-up than ATV, as evidenced in the DX-reception authority announcement.

ABC Midlands authority announcement – Bill Steel

Towards the end of ABC Weekend’s life, their Midlands chief announcer John Edmunds moved to the BBC to become a newsreader cum announcer. A combination of this… well, humiliation, really… and the addition of a new transmitter meant that a new announcement had to be recorded. Bill Steel, then a young announcer for ABC and later destined to be the last head of presentation at Tyne Tees, was drafted in to rerecord the announcement. This announcement was recorded off-air by a member of the original Transdiffusion back in the 1960s and sent on reel-to-reel audiotape to the archive.

ABC ident into ITN news (formal)

An important part of branding ABC was the continuity announcer.

Each one had to seamlessly switch between being your friendly and genial host for the evening – cracking jokes, making you feel welcome and part of the team, almost – and being the Voice Of ABC.

Here, David Hamilton takes us, in a limited time, from the ident to the news, getting in a name check for the station, reciting the station’s slogan, giving a time check and announcing what’s about to happen – all with his ‘gravitas’ voice.

ABC ident into ITN news (informal)

Earlier in the evening, and David Hamilton has his ‘genial’ voice at the ready to take us through a similar pattern – ident, name, slogan, programme information, next programme, time check – in a similar amount of time.

This time, however, he uses the ‘that’s the sign that means you’re watching ABC’ formula after the ident – softer than the stark ‘You’re watching…’ version. And the Tommy Cooper programme is plugged in the small space available – almost saying “don’t turn over, we’ll be right back”, in contrast the the ‘take it or leave it’ formal news announcement.

A Transdiffusion Presentation

Report an error

Author

Jim Johnson Contact More by me

You Say

10 responses to this article

Michael Flood 26 November 2012 at 5:50 pm

My father worked for ABC in the 1960s. I have fond memories of my early years surrounded by some amazing industry professionals. David Hamilton and John Benson, in many ways, were pioneers of modern presentation. Live television – frightening.

Nick Taylor 4 December 2012 at 9:58 pm

I lived in the Midlands and North at different times during ABC’s existence and loved the presentation of the station.

The original shield symbol was animated during the station opening, like a searchlight from the bottom up. The great ABC march is also on the web.

There is some great Pathe footage on their website of the opening night of the Didsbury studios, lots of views of the original symbol.

It would be great to see a mock up of the animated shield.

Pete Singleton BEM 5 June 2014 at 5:10 pm

I know I’ve said this before in other places but there was something really special about an “ABC Weekend”.

When Granada finished after Friday teatime and after a slight on-screen flicker, the ABC triangle zoomed towards the viewer followed by the chimes, the “bom, bom-bom” and David Hamilton’s voice announcing, “This is ABC, Your Weekend Television in the North”, we knew the weekend really HAD started. It was a cosy, “family” feeling and we knew we were in for some brilliant programming with “Armchair Theatre”, “The Avengers”, Redcap, Holiday Town Parade, Opportunity Knocks and countless other first class shows.

What the magic formula was I’ve tried to work out many times and been unsuccessful. It could have been the ABC symbol as described by Jim Johnson in his excellent article above. Or perhaps it was the almost personal relationship the viewer had with the continuity announcers (“and a special good night to you”). More likely, it was the innovative drama and the high standard of the home-grown production and writing values that emanated from the Didsbury studios… it’s impossible to pin it down.

Even now, some nearly 50 years on, I remember the feeling of great sadness when it was all over as the franchise ended on 28 July 1968 and Granada got the full seven days.

As good as Granada was, there was something very special about an ABC Weekend.

Ching, ching CHING… Bom, bom-bom. And a special good night to YOU. If you’re still there, please don’t forget to switch off and pull out the plug…

Good night.

Psssssssssssssssssssssshhhhh

Ronnie MB 11 June 2014 at 8:44 pm

Are you sure Granada ever did an on-screen handover to ABC? I thought the North only ever had the 5/2 split and that the evening handover only ever happened in London (from 1968).

Friday nights in Granadaland 13 June 2014 at 2:23 am

“When Granada finished after Friday teatime”

Your recollection is in error.

Granada TV did not finish after Friday teatime but continued all evening until closedown late on Friday night.

ABC Television was only broadcast on Saturdays and Sundays and was thus a true weekends only TV stations, althought it did produce a program or two for weeknights, namely wrestling, for those companies who included it in their schedule.

It was not until 1968 that weekends began at 19:00h on a Friday with London Weekend Television from the South Bank.

“and Granada got the full seven days.”

Do you rememer the advertisement that Granada placed in the local newspapers informing people that viewers would be able to watch Granada next weekend and the weekend after that and the weekend after that and the weekend after that and the weekend after that … [text repeated until all of the space in the advertisement was filled]

Russ J Graham 14 June 2014 at 12:34 pm

I’m afraid your memory is playing tricks with you, Pete. Granada (and ATV Midlands and Rediffusion London) ran from start of broadcasting on Monday until close of broadcasting on Friday. ABC (and ATV London) ran from start of broadcasting on Saturday until close of broadcasting on Sunday. There was no handover. In July/August 1968, the weekend contracts were abolished everywhere except London, and Thames handed over to London Weekend at 7pm on Friday – that was the first ever time there was a switch from one contractor to another mid-evening.

Pete Singleton BEM 23 June 2014 at 12:19 pm

I’m grateful to Russ, Ronnie and FNIG for pointing out my error – what do they say about memory playing tricks as you get older? Maybe it was wishful thinking on my part but as you rightly say Thames/LWT was a Friday 7 pm ‘handover’ from mid-’68 – and this could have been where my memory was taking me.

This was not the situation with the Granada/ABC, even though I had believed it to be so.

I stand, head in hands, but happy to be corrected!

Joanne Gray 7 October 2015 at 4:51 pm

Nice to hear Mr Tyne Tees – the great Bill Steel – in an earlier incarnation. I grew up in the 70s and 80s and had no idea he’d worked for other tv stations.

nhewit 10 March 2016 at 3:56 pm

The special ‘Goodnight to you’ was as I recollect that of John Mundy the’ in vision announcer’ on BBC North West in the 1970s, I sincerely doubt that Granada would have had the time considering the fact that up until 1968 viewers were wished both ‘Good Night’ and also ‘Nos Da’ at one time even Manx was thrown in for good measure, all of which ate away at the limited broadcasting hours. When Granada belatedly introduced in vision announcers post the 1982 franchise renewal and the Mersey TV bid scare, I think the announcer by the name of Charles did include more personality and also possibly winked but this was years after ABC became Thames, incidentally in a prophetic gesture ABC’s Didsbury studios on May 5, 1956 was opened by the lady Lord Mayor of Manchester from non other than the studios at TEDDINGTON LOCK!

Alan Keeling 12 June 2016 at 8:51 pm

During the summer of 1968, when ATV took over the new weekend franchise, Midlands viewers missed the hugely entertaining programme schedules that were offered by ABC TV.

Your comment

Enter it below

A member of the Transdiffusion Broadcasting System
Liverpool, Thursday 8 June 2023