Ready, Steady, Go!

READY, STEADY, GO!

          Back in the late eighties my brother loaned me a video tape he had recorded off of the Disney Channel. It contained several episodes of the classic British pop music show “READY, STEADY, GO!” It’s not likely these shows will be coming out on DVD any time soon since they are very heavy on performances by bands including The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who etc, and the rights to the songs are probably cost prohibitive. Interestingly, the shows are owned by Dave Clark of The Dave Clark Five.

           It’s odd what I remember about these shows. It occurs to me now that maybe I recall these moments because they all reflect that the show had an unusually comfortable intimacy with its guests.

           When another band played, or while the producer’s played a record, The Beatles would actually dance with the kids out in the audience. In one of his intros, Dave Clark explained that dancing with The Beatles was allowed on fast songs only, as touching a Beatle was strictly forbidden.

           At one point one of the hosts sees Ringo is wearing a bracelet engraved to “Richie”. The host asks who Richie is. Ringo answers, “That’s me real name – Richard Starkey – but don’t tell anybody.” The host repeats the name to himself quietly as if he’s trying to commit it to memory – as if he may never hear it again. Ringo then explains that the bracelet was a gift from his mum, after which several people react by saying “Awe!” sweetly.

           Oddly enough – since I am a much bigger fan of The Beatles than The Rolling Stones, my favorite performance in all the shows was The Stones lip – synching to Sonny & Cher’s “I Got You, Babe”. It is the only time I have ever seen The Stones having fun acting silly. The girl is Ready Steady Go! host Cathy McGowan, the blond guy with Mick is The Stones original manager Andrew Loog Oldham.