Rock on TV

Beat Club (1970 editions)

The best rock programmes ever committed to videotape has to Germany's monthly "Beat Club" series as broadcast in 1970-1971. Live performance's had been re-introduced in late 1969 and the focus was now very much on rock rather than pop, the first colour edition was broadcast in January 1970 and it wasn't long before the programme was making full use of colour chroma key video-effects with spectacular and ever more inventive results. Many of the performances from this era top the versions found on the records, Spirit's "1984" being the obvious example whilst Family's "The Weaver's Answer" (and Roger Chapman's possessed freak out during the instrumental passage) is quite possibly the greatest live TV performance I've ever seen. The programme was sold to various country's around the globe including one in Africa, but sadly not to Britain. An article in Disc & Music Echo revealed that "Beat Club" was widely thought of among British artists who appeared on it as the best music show in the world, far better than anything broadcast at home.
Dave Dee hosted the first two colour shows, then Uschi Nerke (who had been co-presenting since the show began) became sole host from that point onwards.

Dates/times refer to the broadcast in Germany.
Show 51 - Saturday 31st January 1970, 4:00-5:03pm (Spirit "1984" / Humble Pie "Sad Bag of Shakey Jake" / Renaissance "Island" / Free "Mr Big" / John Mayall "I'm Gonna Fight For You JB" / Canned Heat "Let's Work Together" / Juicy Lucy "Chicago North-Western")
Show 52 - Saturday 28th February 1970, 4:15-5:15pm (Jethro Tull mimed - something of an exception for Beat Club at the time - "The Witches Promise" / Taste  "If the Day Was Any Longer" & "It's Happened Before, It'll Happen Again" / Badfinger "Rock of All Ages" & "Come and Get it" / Jackie Lomax "How the Web Was Woven" / Clouds "Big Noise from Winetka" / Bobbie Gentry / Arlo Guthrie / Joe Cocker)
Show 53 - Saturday 28th March 1970, 4:15-5:15pm (Bare breasted girls dancing to Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" / Edgar Broughton Band "Love in the Rain" & "American Boy Soldier" / Mott the Hoople "You Really Got Me" & "One Step Ahead" / Ashton Gardner & Dyke "Rolling Home" & "Billy and his Piano Without" / Marsha Hunt "One Step Ahead" / Beatles promo for "Let it be")
Show 54 - Saturday 18th April 1970, 4:15-5:15pm (The Move "Brontosaurus" / Taj Mahal "Sweet Mama Janis" & "Tomorrow Will Not Be Another Day" / The Flock "Introduction" & "Clown / Marsha Hunt "Keep The Customer Satisfied" / Johnny Winter "Johnny B. Goode" & "Mean Town Blues")
Show 55 - Saturday 30th May 1970, 4:45-5:45pm (Black Sabbath "Black Sabbath" & "Blue Suede Shoes" / Renaissance "Kings and Queens" / Blodwyn Pig "See My Way" / Jody Grind "Paint It Black" / Rare Bird - "Sympathy" & "Beautiful Scarlet" / Canned Heat - "In Future Blues")
Show 56 - Saturday 27th June 1970, 4:15-5:15pm (Family "The Weavers Answer / Van der Graaf Generator "Whatever Would Robert Have Said?" / Santana "Jingo-Lo-Ba" & "Incident" / Brinsley Schwarz "Ebury Down" / David Peel on film / Mungo Jerry)
Show 57 - Saturday 15th August 1970, 4:15-5:15pm (Jethro Tull "With You There to Help Me" & "Nothing Is Easy" / Edgar Broughton Band "Apache Dropout" & "Silver Needle" / Steamhammer "I Wouldn't Have Thought" / Atomic Rooster "Save Me" / Dr John "Mardi Gras Day" / Zappa interview rec 19/06/70)
Show 58 - Saturday 5th September 1970, 4:15-5:15pm (Free "Fire and Water" & "All Right Now" / Pretty Things "Cries From A Midnight Circus" / Humble Pie "For Your Love" / Hard Meat / Cat Stevens / Rolling Stones on film)
Show 59 - Monday 26th September 1970, 4:15-5:15pm (Black Sabbath "Paranoid" & "Iron Man" / Third Ear Band "Hyde Park" / Eric Burdon and War "Paint it Black" & "Spill the Wine" / Status Quo / Archive 67 Hendrix Beat Club as tribute)
Show 60 - Saturday 24th October 1970, 4:15-5:15pm (Amon Düül II "Between the Eyes" & "Eye Shaking King" / Ginger Baker's Airforce "12 Gates of The City", "Early in the Morning", "Toad" & "Sunshine of Your Love" / Incredible String Band "Everything's Fine Right Now")
Show 61 - Saturday 28th November 1970, 4:!5-5:15pm (Stone the Crows "Danger Zone" & "Love 74" / Colosseum "Take Me Back to Doomsday" & "Tanglewood '63" / Fotheringay "Too Much of Nothing" / Muddy Waters "Blow Wind Blow" & "Honey Bee")
Show 62 - Thursday 31st December 1970, 2:25-3:25pm (Emerson, Lake, & Palmer "Take A Pebble" & "Knife Edge" / UFO "Boogie" / The Move "When Alice Comes Back To The Farm" / Warm Dust "Indian Rope Man" & "Worm Dance" / Also Zappa on film)

Black Widow recorded a set for "Beat Club" in May but nothing from this was broadcast at the time, the whole set has however since been issued on DVD.
 

Broad Look At Pop
Seven programmes hosted by Peter Taylor broadcast in the London area only on successive nights around midnight. In Show 1, Pete Townshend talked about the pop opera "Tommy", for Show 2 Martin Russell of the London Arts Lab was asked to explain their aims, Show 3 featured Richard Hamilton (responsible for The Beatles 'White Album' artwork), Show 4's guest was Jim Anderson who was the co-editor of the underground magazine 'OZ', and Show 5 was a look at popular music in the Church. There are no details available for shows 6 and 7, so these may possibly have been compilations or repeats.

Show 1 - Thames Monday 30th March 1970, from 11:55pm
Show 2 - Thames Wednesday 1st April 1970, from 12:00am
Show 3 - Thames Thursday 2nd April 1970, from 12:25am
Show 4 - Thames Thursday 2nd April 1970, from 11:55pm
Show 5 - LWT Saturday 4th April 1970, from 12:05am
Show 6 - LWT Sunday 5th April 1970, from 12:10am
Show 7 - LWT Monday 6th April 1970, from 12:15am

Repeat Show? - Thames Wednesday 1st July 1970, 3:00-3:50pm
 

An Hour With Pink Floyd

USA TV Special recorded at KQED TV Studios in San Francisco during the afternoon of 29th April 1970.

Set list
"Atom Heart Mother"
"Cymbaline"
"Grantchester Meadows"
"Green is the Colour"
"Careful With That Axe, Eugene"
"Set the Controls For the Heart of the Sun"

USA TV Premiere:- PBS/KQED January 1971
Repeated in the USA:- August 1981
 

Kralingen 1970 Stamping Ground

Film of the Holland Pop Festival (billed as the Dutch Woodstock) in Kralingse Bos, Rotterdam 26th-28th June 1970, directed by Jason Pohland and George Sluizer featuring - as well as the artists on stage - naked women rolling around in floating inflatable pyramids! There's some good footage of Family, T.Rex and Pink Floyd, Santana are in top form and the film also includes rare footage of early Dr John (though sadly the song performed here was not typical of his night-tripper period).

Performances used in the film
Santana - "Gumbo"
Al Stewart - "Zero She Flies"
Canned Heat - "Human Condition" & "So Sad"
T.Rex - "By the Light of the Magical Moon"
Jefferson Airplane - "Won't You Try - Saturday Afternoon"
It's a Beautiful Day - "Wasted Union Blues"
Family - "Drowned in Wine"
Country Joe - "Freedom"
Dr John - "Mardi Gras Day"
It's a Beautiful Day - "Bulgaria"
Flock - "Big Bird"
The Byrds - "Old Blue"
Jefferson Airplane - "White Rabbit" & "The Ballad of You and Me & Pooneil"
Pink Floyd - "Set the Controls For the Heart of the Sun" & "Saucerful of Secrets "
Santana - "Savor" & "Jingo"

Soft Machine - "Esther's Nose Job" is thought to have been included in the original version but cut from the home video release

Caravan, Third Ear Band and Quintessence were among the acts who played at the festival but didn't make it into the film.

Film released 1971 (89 minutes)
Home Video released in 1981 by Intervision
 

Doing Their Thing

"Doing Their Thing" was a Friday tea-time Granada series of television studio performances by rock/pop bands in front of a small audience, each show was devoted to one act. The series was only broadcast in the North West region.

Free set list
"Ride on a Pony"
"Mr Big"
"Songs For Yesterday"
"I'll Be Creeping"
"All Right Now"

Deep Purple set list
"Speed King"
"Child in Time"
"Wring That Neck"
"Mandrake Root"

Family set list
"Good News Bad News"
"Drowned in Wine"
"Processions"
"No Mule’s Fool"
"Strange Band"
"Holding the Compass"

Marmalade - Granada Friday 10th July 1970, 6:10-6:40pm
Mungo Jerry - Granada Friday 17th July 1970, 6:10-6:40pm
Free - Granada Friday 24th July 1970, 6:10-6:40pm
Status Quo - Granada Friday 31st July 1970, 6:10-6:40pm
Georgie Fame - Granada Friday 7th August 1970, 6:10-6:40pm
The Tremoloes - Granada Friday 14th August 1970, 6:10-6:40pm
Deep Purple - Granada Friday 21st August 1970, 6:10-6:40pm
Stone the Crows - Granada Friday 28th August 1970, 6:10-6:40pm
Juicy Lucy - Granada Friday 4th September 1970, 6:10-6:40pm
Labi Siffre - Granada Friday 11th September, 6:10-6:40pm
Tír na nÓg - Granada Friday 18th September 1970, 6:10-6:40pm
Family - Granada Friday 25th September 1970, 6:10-6:40pm

The Deep Purple show was issued as a Home Video in 1990 by Castle Communications (26 minutes)
 

The Timeless Moment
A three part BBC tv series in which Geoffrey Moorhouse talked to people who had experienced a new view of reality either through drugs, madness or mysticism. Pete Townshend was interviewed for Part One which weighed up the loss of ego through chemical means against the traditions of prayer and fasting. Alan Watts also contributed to this series.

Part One "Drugs" - BBC2 Friday 17th July 1970, 10:30-11:00pm
Part Two "Madness" - BBC2 Friday 24th July 1970, 10:20-10:50pm
Part Three "Mysticism" - BBC2 Friday 31st July 1970, 10:40-11:10pm

Repeat run:
Part One - Sunday 1st April 1973, 6:55-7:25pm
Part Two - Sunday 8th April 1973, 6:55-7:25pm
Part Three - Sunday 15th April 1973, 6:55-7:25pm
 

Message to Love: The Isle of Wight Music Festival 1970

Although all of the footage was filmed 26th-31st August 1970 and various bits and pieces were released over the years, the full length film of the festival (attended by up to 700,000 people) was not shown until 25 years later. Highlights include fantastic performances by Miles Davis (during his "Bitches Brew" period, the clip used in the film is far too brief), The Who (fully deserving of two songs) and Jethro Tull (a run through of "My Sunday Feeling" with the great Glenn Cornick still on bass, a pity they didn't also include an edit of the blistering "My God" introduced by Anderson as "a really nice song unless you happen to be Jewish or Catholic or something."). Other memorable scenes include the ultimately successful battle to tear down the temporary wall to make the festival a free concert.

Performances used in the film (not all are complete)
Jimi Hendrix - "Message to Love", "Machine Gun", "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)", "Foxy Lady" & "Purple Haze"
Emerson, Lake & Palmer  - "Pictures at an Exhibition"
The Who  - "Young Man Blues" & "Naked Eye"
Ten Years After  - "I Can't Keep From Crying Sometimes"
The Doors "When the Music's Over" & "The End"
The Moody Blues - "Nights in White Satin"
Free - "All Right Now"
Jethro Tull - "My Sunday Feeling"
Taste  - "Sinner Boy" & "Gamblin' Blues"
Family  - "The Weaver's Answer"
Kris Kristofferson  - "Me and Bobby McGee"
Joan Baez  - "Let it Be"
John Sebastian  - "Red Eye Express"
Tiny Tim - "There'll Always Be an England"
Leonard Cohen - "Suzanne"
Joni Mitchell - "Woodstock" & "Big Yellow Taxi"
Miles Davis  - "Call it Anything"

TV Premiere:- BBC2 Saturday 26th August 1995, 9:00-11:00pm
Home Video released 9th October 1995 by Castle
Repeat:- BBC Choice Tuesday 17th August 1999, 10:00pm-12:00am
Repeat:- BBC2 Sunday 26th November 2000, 12:45am-2:45am
Region 2 PAL DVD Released circa 2003 by Castle/VCL (Region 1 disc released in 1997), re-issued 2005 by Sanctuary

Jimi Hendrix at the Isle of Wight
Home Video released October 1990 by BMG
Region 0 PAL DVD Released 18th November 2002 as "Blue Wild Angel" by Universal Island (This was almost the full set. The shorter 56 minute version had been available as a region 0 DVD import since May 1998)

Listening To You: The Who at the Isle of Wight
Home Video released 24th June 1996 by Wmv
Region 2 PAL DVD Released 26th June 2000 by Wmv (Region 0 DVD available on import since November 1998)

Jethro Tull: Nothing is Easy, Live at the Isle of Wight
Region 2 PAL DVD Released 28th February 2000 by Eagle Rock Entertainment (80 minutes)

Miles Davis: A Different Kind of Blue
Region 2 PAL DVD Released 29th November 2004 by Eagle Vision
 

South Bank Summer

A London Weekend Television special including Deep Purple (who did "Mandrake Root"), Blue Mink, The Settlers and Mud.

TV Times entry: "London's South Bank, home of the Festival Hall, has seen many musical 'happenings', but none quite like tonight's non-stop pop extravaganza. Arranged to include all shades of pop music, the programme combines stage performances from the Queen Elizabeth Hall, with numbers filmed on location all over the South Bank Site. The location shots range from the front of the Festival Hall to barges on the Thames."

TV Premiere:- Granada (ITV North West only) Saturday 5th September 1970, 11:10pm-12:10am
                     London Weekend & Border - Sunday 6th September 1970, 8:50-9:50pm
                     ATV Midlands, Tyne Tees, Westward & Channel - Sunday 6th September 1970, 10:15-11:15pm
                     Anglia, Yorkshire, Scottish, Grampian, HTV & Southern - Sunday 6th September 1970, 11:15pm -12:15am
 

Frost Programme - Jerry Rubin & the Youth International Party

Forget the Sex Pistols 1976 appearance on Bill Grundy's regional "Today" programme, that was kid's stuff. Six years earlier the American social activist Jerry Rubin lit a joint live on air on national television, offered it to the host and declared that he was going to use his appearance fee to buy bombs to blow up society whilst the co-editor of the underground "OZ" magazine Felix Dennis fired a water pistol at Frost and said the word c***t (the first time this word had been heard on British TV). The footage survives - yet, unlike the Sex Pistols clip, Rubin and the party's chat show appearance has rarely been seen since and is always heavily edited.

This is a transcipt from a 7 minute edit (Rubin was sat alongside Brian Flanagan and Stew Alpert).....

Jerry Rubin: "[We want to see] the destruction of Western culture, destruction of imperialism, destruction of capitalism, destruction of society dominated by money, erm... Revolution! Open up all the jails, free the prisoners, put the judges in jails, war against...people vs. the pigs. Also destruction of narcotic television like this [Applause from the audience]
David Frost: "How many members of your party have we got in the audience?"
Rubin: "EVERYBODY! We're all in the party!"
Frost: "How many members of Jerry's party have we got?"
Rubin: "We can't count 'em."
Stew Alpert: "You're being too linear David."
Frost: "Well, Very few, you're a tiny minority."
Rubin: "A tiny minority?"
Frost: "What, would you say, would this new society be like? You went through all the things you'd destroy, now tell us what your new society would be like."
Rubin: "It would frighten you because it would be a society based on freedom and chaos and people really expressing their human nature. It wouldn't be a society based on such controls as this whole environment that we're controlled by right now. It would be a society where black people would not be oppressed by white people, which is the society that we've inherited from our parents and teachers and pigs etc."
Frost: "But how would it be free-er?"
Rubin: "Do you have to know every detail?"
Frost: "Well of course you do. If you're chucking one thing away, you like to know what it's being replaced with."
Alpert: "It's freedom from detail. Details are like prison bars and the prison bars people build for themselves. When you ask us questions like that, you're trying to build prison bars around us, so that's why we don't answer them. It's not that we don't have answers...."
Frost: "You have secret answers."
Alpert: "They're answers that show themselves in the way we act, in what we do, rather than in the concepts that we'll play ping pong with you. We won't play conceptual ping pong."
Frost: "But out there we've got millions of people watching. Now for instance, if your society took the place of the society that's there now, how would their lives be better?"
Alpert: "How would their lives be better? Ask them what they want."
Brian Flanagan: "The first thing we would do would be to stuff you and put you in a people's museum as one of the last remnants of the death culture."
Rubin [Trying to take papers off Frost]: "You don't need notes David, tear it up!"
Frost: "I do need them."
Rubin: "Why? What are you scared of?"
Frost: "Nothing. Come back to the thing that you didn't tell us at all. This is very...I must thank you, this is very entertaining, but what is your society going to be like? Just answer."
Alpert: "Planet of the Apes."
Rubin: "It will be a society without money - Imagine that? A society in which everything is free, a society in which everything is shared, in which people aren't competing against oneanother...."
Frost:"How will that work though? You don't know."
Rubin: "Of course I know, because we live it right now."
Frost: "RUBBISH! You negotiated more than anyone else who has ever been on this programme to get double the usual fee. Rubbish!" [Applause from the audience on both sides]
Rubin [Standing up excited]: "OF COURSE, YES! WE'RE GOING TO USE THAT TO BUY BOMBS TO BLOW UP YOUR SOCIETY!" [More applause and cheering] "WE'RE GOING TO USE IT TO SMOKE DOPE! [To Frost] Do you smoke dope?"
Frost: "No."
Rubin: "Well let's try it"
Frost: "What sort of dope are you in favour of, all dope?"
Rubin: "We'll light it up first."
Alpert: "No, we're not in favour of hard habit forming drugs. Opiates, absolutely not."
Frost: "What drugs are you in favour of?"
Alpert: "Marijuana, LSD, Mescaline, Hashish. What we consider consciousness expanding drugs as opposed to the barbiturates - the alcohol that your civilization intakes every day and that the housewives in America and, I assume, in England intake every day - Death drugs. We're against those."
Frost [Mockingly]: "You're just in favour of your life drugs."
Alpert: "We're in favour of drugs that expand the consciousness and even make you look a little better."
[Hippies in the audience begin to come down and invade the stage]
Rubin [To an older member of the audience wanting to speak]: "Come on, join us. Don't be afraid of your kids."
Frost [getting up and walking away from the stage to stand by the front row of the audience] "I feel more like being over here. People watching this programme have had a very good picture of you and the party and all of that. How many people do you think will have been converted to your cause watching you all this evening?"
[Other hippies try to answer at once]
Frost: "No - Jerry. It's a reasonable question and Jerry is a reasonable man, he'll probably answer it."
Felix Dennis: "He's not a reasonable man, he's the most unreasonable cunt I've ever met in my life."
Frost: "HOW PATHETIC!"
Dennis [Now firing a water pistol at Frost]: "Oh shut up Frosty, you were dead years ago. Die a death [Firing the water pistol again in rapid succession] die, die, die."
Frost: "Isn't this marvellous?"
Rubin [Standing up] "This is liberated television!" [Big rumble heard from audience area, but viewers don't see what is happening, hippies cheer]
Well spoken man comes down from audience: "I'd just like to say [that in my line of work] I'm surrounded by odd people each day..."
Hippies: "Odd?"
Man: "WOULD YOU KINDLY SHUT UP FOR ONCE IN YOUR MISERABLE LIVES! Can I just ask one simple question? How many seconds tomorrow will these people spend anywhere near a cenotaph? And I think that is a rather important question." [Man turns and storms back to his seat to applause].
Frost [still worrying about the C-word] "Listen! By laughing childishly when you manage to say a four letter word on television - BIG DEAL!"
Dennis: "OK man, how many times have you said a four letter word on television?"
Frost [motioning in a similar fashion to stamping his foot as he says this]: "NEVER! AND I HOPE I NEVER WILL BECAUSE IT'S SO PATHETIC - AND SO CHILDISH - ...."
Dennis [Dismissively]: "Oh go away."
Frost ".... - AND SO POINTLESS - AND WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK." [Cuts to ad break]

Read more about the programme here.

ITV Saturday 7th November 1970, 10:10-11:10pm
 

Rainbow Bridge

Actress Pat Hartley travels to Hawaii to visit the 'Rainbow Bridge' planetary meditation cult. Almost universally panned as complete and utter toss (then and today), the film does at least include parts of two live performances by Jimi Hendrix at the Haleakala Crater in Maui filmed on 30th July 1970 with Billy Cox on bass and Mitch Mitchell on drums.

Songs featured:
Hey Baby (first show)
In From the Storm
Foxy Lady
Hear My Train A-Comin'
Voodoo Child
Purple Haze
Hey Baby (second show)

Film released March 1972 (74 minutes)
Home Video released January 1984 by Kace International, re-issued September 1984 by Hendring
Region 0 DVD released 25th September 2000 by Eagle Vision (A region 0 DVD had been available on import since December 1998)
 

Disco 2 (1970 editions)

"Disco 2" is a largely forgotton BBC2 series that plugged the gap between "Colour Me Pop" and "The Old Grey Whistle Test". The first series (originally going out as "Line Up's Disco 2" during its' first couple of months on air) was presented by Tommy Vance, the 2nd series by Pete Drummond. The director was Granville Jennings with a theme tune by Elton John. Hardly anything survives, notable losses from 1970 are Blodwyn Pig, Family, Caravan (at their peak in 1970) and Curved Air (promoting their first album in November 1970).

Most of the acts listed below are all billed in the newspapers, so I'm presuming they did perform in the studio but we can't be 100% sure as the programme would also show artists on film and play tracks accompanied by pieces of un-related old film (similar to 'Whistle Test' practice in later years)

1st Series
Joe Cocker / Lou Christie & Elton John Group (Chicago also appeared on film) - BBC2 Saturday 10th January 1970, 11:05-11:30pm (colour as "Line Up's Disco 2", exists as b&w telerecording)
Procol Harum / Juicy Lucy / The Peddlers  - BBC2 Saturday 17th January 1970, 11:10-11:35pm (colour)
Chicken Shack - BBC2 Saturday 24th January 1970, 11:05-11:30pm (colour)
Pentangle / Richie Havens - BBC2 Saturday 31st January 1970, 11:00-11:25pm (colour)
Taste / Jimmy Ruffin - BBC2 Saturday 7th February 1970, 11:05-11:30pm (colour)
Wild Angels - BBC2 Saturday 14th February 1970, 11:10-11:35pm (colour)
The Strawbs / Judas Jump - BBC2 Saturday 21st February 1970, 11:05-11:35pm (colour)
Blodwyn Pig - BBC2 Saturday 28th February 1970, 11:15-11:45pm (colour)
The Tremeloes / Fleetwood Mac - BBC2 Saturday 7th March 1970, 11:10-11:35pm (colour)
The Faces / Toe Fat - BBC2 Saturday 14th March 1970, 11:05-11:30pm (colour, now listed as simply "Disco 2")
Slade / Keef Hartley Band - BBC2 Saturday 21st March 1970, 11:20-11:45pm (colour)
Yes / The Move  - BBC2 Saturday 28th March 1970, 11:15-11:40pm (colour)
Fairport Convention / Hookfoot - BBC2 Saturday 4th April 1970, 11:15-11:40pm (colour) *Fairport did "Sir Patrick Spens"
Honeybus - BBC2 Saturday 11th April 1970, 11:15-11:40pm (colour)
Juicy Lucy - BBC2 Saturday 18th April 1970, 8:50-9:15pm (colour)
Slade / Legend - BBC2 Saturday 25th April 1970, 11:15-11:40pm (colour)
Pretty Things / Trader Horne - BBC2 Saturday 2nd May 1970, 9:50-10:20pm (colour)
Family / Groundhogs - BBC2 Saturday 9th May 1970, 11:25-11:50pm (colour) *Groundhogs drummer had 2 black eyes & a plaster on his nose after an attack by a Hells Angel
Buddy Knox / Daddy Longlegs - BBC2 Saturday 16th May 1970, 11:15-11:40pm (colour)
Stone the Crows / Buster Bennett - BBC2 Saturday 23rd May 1970, 11:05-11:40pm (colour)
Fleetwood Mac (with Peter Green) / Quintessence - BBC2 Sunday 31st May 1970, from 12:30am (colour)
Groundhogs - BBC2 Sunday 7th June 1970, from 12:30am (colour)
Free / Bobby Darin - BBC2 Sunday 14th June 1970, from 12:55am (colour)
Procol Harum / Affinity - BBC2 Sunday 21st June 1970, from 12:50am (colour)
The Roy Young Band / Audience - BBC2 Saturday 27th June 1970, 10:25-10-55pm (colour)
"Bob Dylan Special" (must have been on film, archive footage etc.) - BBC2 Saturday 4th July 1970, 9:30-10:00pm (colour)
Alan Bown / Justine / Steeleye Span - BBC2 Saturday 11th July 1970, 11:35pm-12:00am (colour, part exists)
No programme on 18th July 1970
Matthews Southern Comfort / Mighty Baby / Savoy Brown - BBC2 Saturday 25th July 1970, 9:30-9:50pm (colour)

2nd series
Humble Pie / Taste / Melanie  - BBC2 Saturday 12th September 1970, 7:45-8:15pm (colour)
Caravan / The Strawbs / Kris Kristofferson - BBC2 Saturday 19th September 1970, 7:45-8:15pm (colour)
Quiver / Turley Richards - BBC2 Saturday 26th September 1970, 7:45-8:15pm (colour)
Eric Burdon / Mark-Almond / Orange Bicycle - BBC2 Saturday 3rd October 1970, 7:45-8:15pm (colour)
Mott the Hoople / Bridget St John - BBC2 Saturday 10th October 1970, 7:45-8:10pm (colour)
La / Jimmy Campbell / Rare Bird / UFO - BBC2 Saturday 17th October 1970, 7:45-8:15pm (colour, exists)
Stone the Crows - BBC2 Saturday 24th October 1970, 7:45-8:15pm (colour)
Slade / The Move / Clarence Carter / T2 - BBC2 Saturday 31st October 1970, 10:45-11:10pm (colour)
Cat Stevens / Good News - BBC2 Saturday 7th November 1970, 10:55-11:25pm (colour)
Genesis / Dream Police / Zoo / Duncan Brown - BBC2 Saturday 14th November 1970, 10:45-11:10pm (colour)
Curved Air / Fleetwood Mac / Curtis Mayfield  - BBC2 Saturday 21st November 1970, 10:45-11:15pm (colour)
Trapeze / Lindisfarne / Satisfaction / Jonathan Kelly - BBC2 Friday 27th November 1970, from 10:45pm
Wishbone Ash / James Taylor - BBC2 Saturday 5th December 1970, 10:35-11:05pm (colour)
Golden Earring / High Broom / Ray Fenwick / Which What  - BBC2 Saturday 12th December 1970, 10:40-11:05pm (colour)
Elton John - BBC2 Saturday 19th December 1970, 11:05-11:40pm (colour)
No programme on 26th December 1970

Series 2 continues on the 1971 page
 

Top of the Pops (1970 editions)

1970 saw TOTP reduce the rota of four presenters to two with Jimmy Saville and Tony Blackburn now taking turns. Following a stagnant period in 1969, the show picked up again with many major rock acts appearing in the first year of the new decade, John Lennon, Jethro Tull and Blodwyn Pig in January/February followed by The Who, Free, King Crimson, Family, Caravan, Country Joe, The Kinks, Black Sabbath, Fleetwood Mac and Deep Purple before the year was out. The sets, the girls and the fashions were all looking good too in a period that seemed to bring the best out of almost everybody including less credible acts (such The Dave Clark Five with a terrific "Everybody Get Together") whilst even somebody singing about having a friend in Jesus rocked in 1970.

Surviving edition - BBC1 Thursday 29th January 1970, 7:15-8:00pm (telerecorded in b&w)
Surviving edition - BBC1 Thursday 5th February 1970, 7:15-8:00pm (telerecorded in b&w)
Surviving edition - BBC1 Thursday 26th February 1970, 7:15-8:00pm (telerecorded in b&w)
Surviving edition - BBC1 Thursday 15th October 1970, 7:05-7:45pm (mute links)

Notable appearances (not promo films or the audience dancing to the disc):-
01/01/1970 Badfinger - "Come and Get it"
22/01/1970 Jethro Tull - "The Witch's Promise" (exists on colour VT)
29/01/1970 Blodwyn Pig - "Same Old Story" (exists on colour VT)
12/02/1970 John Lennon - "Instant Karma" (also did separate performance for 19/02, both exists on colour VT)
26/03/1970 King Crimson - "Catfood"
26/03/1970 The Who - "The Seeker" (exists as copy abroad)
02/04/1970 Slade - "Shape of Things"
23/04/1970 Moody Blues - "Question"
04/06/1970 Free - "All Right Now" (exist on colour VT)
18/06/1970 Kinks - "Lola" (exists on colour VT)
16/07/1970 Country Joe MacDonald - "I Feel Like I'm Fixin' To Die Rag"
20/08/1970 Caravan - "If I Could Do it All Over Again"
27/08/1970 Family - "Weaver's Answer" (exists in private hands)
10/09/1970 Deep Purple - "Black Night" (exists on colour VT)
22/10/1970 Black Sabbath - "Paranoid"
29/10/1970 James Taylor - "Fire and Rain"
12/11/1970 T.Rex - "Ride a White Swan"
26/11/1970 CCS - "Whole Lotta Love"
 

In Concert (1970 editions)

Live performances in front of a studio audience for a series chiefly associated with solo singer/songwriter's.

1st Series
Joni Mitchell - BBC2 Friday 9th October 1970, from 10:50pm
John Sebastian - BBC2 Friday 16th October 1970, 10:15-10:50pm (Repeat BBC2 Monday 16th October 1972, 10:40-11:15pm)
Elton John - BBC2 Friday 23th October 1970, 10:35-11:05pm
Bobbie Gentry - BBC2 Friday 30th October 1970, 10:20-10:50pm
David Crosby & Graham Nash - BBC2 Monday 9th November 1970, 10:10-10:40pm
James Taylor - BBC2 Monday 16th November 1970, 10:10-10:40pm
Tony Joe White - BBC2 Monday 23rd November 1970, 10:10-10:45pm
Randy Newman - BBC2 Monday 30th November 1970, 10:05-10:40pm
Mason Williams with Esther Ofarim - BBC2 Monday 7th December 1970, 10:10-10:45pm
Alan Price - BBC2 Monday 14th December 1970, 10:10-10:45pm
Mac Davis - BBC2 Monday 21st December 1970m 10:10-10:40pm
Tom Paxton - BBC2 Monday 28th December 1970, 10:05-10:35pm

Series 1 continues on the 1971 page
 

Lift Off (1970 editions)

The first run of Granada's current pop series for children continued into 1970 and returned for a 2nd series later in the year, for which Wally Whyton and his glove puppet owl Ollie Beak replaced Graham Bonney. Black Sabbath were the most notable guests of the 2nd series, they performed "Paranoid". The Sweet also turned up and did "Funny Funny".

1st Series continued
Show 10 - ITV Wednesday 7th January 1970, 4:55-5:20pm (Marmalade / Gary Hamilton / Tracy / Back Street Band)
Show 11 - ITV Wednesday 14th January 1970, 4:55-5:20pm (Roger Whittaker / Bill Kenwright / Billie Davis / Axis)
Show 12 - ITV Wednesday 21st January 1970, 4:55-5:20pm (Robin Gibb / Heath Hampstead / Fluff / Maggie Briton)
Show 13 - ITV Wednesday 28th January 1970, 4:55-5:20pm (Edwin Starr / John and Ann Ryder)

2nd Series (broadcast in colour until the ITV 'Colour strike' which may have effected programmes tx'd in November & December)
Show 1 - ITV Wednesday 7th October 1970, 4:55-5:20pm (The Tremeloes / Mike D'Abo / The Peddlers / Jimmy Thomas)
Show 2 - ITV Wednesday 14th October 1970, 4:55-5:20pm (Roger Whittaker / The Tangerine Peel / Miki Anthony / David Essex & Rozaa / Bitter Almond)
Show 3 - ITV Wednesday 21st October 1970, 4:55-5:20pm (Black Sabbath / Julie Felix / Labi Siffre / Honey Dew / Christie)
Show 4 - ITV Wednesday 28th October 1970, 4:55-5:20pm (Pickettywitch / Dana / Roger Foss / Sheridan & Price / Petticoat & Vine )
Show 5 - ITV Wednesday 4th November 1970, 4:55-5:20pm (John Walker / White Plains / Mud / Baskin & Copperfield / Maggie Brown)
Show 6 - ITV Wednesday 11th November 1970, 4:55-5:20pm (Harmony Grass / Tony Burrows / New World / Don Fardon / Lynn Holland)
Show 7 - ITV Wednesday 18th November 1970, 4:55-5:20pm (Richard Barnes / Sky Pony / Johnny Johnson / Magna Carta / Doris Troy)
Show 8 - ITV Wednesday 25th November 1970, 4:55-5:20pm
Show 9 - ITV Wednesday 2nd December 1970, 4:55-5:20pm (Tommy Roe / The Equals / Mike Leroy / The Black Velvet)
Show 10 - ITV Wednesday 9th December 1970, 4:55-5:20pm (Dave Dee / The Dream Police / Ken Dodd / Billie Davis / Keith Potger & The New Seekers)
Show 11 - ITV Wednesday 16th December 1970, 4:55-5:20pm (Peter Noone & Herman's Hermits / Julie Rogers / Jeff Collins / Stavely Makepeace)
Show 12 - ITV Wednesday 23rd December 1970, 4:55-5:20pm (Graham Bonney returned as co-host and guest singer for this Xmas special / Mike Leroy / Cassidy / Marmalade)
Show 13 - ITV Wednesday 30th December 1970, 4:55-5:20pm (The Sweet / C. Crane / Janie / The Paper Dolls)
 

Other TV/Film appearances 1970
08/01/1970 Fleetwood Mac - "Rattlesnake Shake" & "Coming Your Way" [Playboy After Dark, USA TV] (Live with dancing audience, also play out over closing credits)
11/01/1970 Jethro Tull - "Living in the Past" & "Bouree" [A Vague to the Smile, French TV] (miming in TV studio in front of a colourful pop-art back drop)
16/01/1970 Velvet Underground [USA TV] (Performance for unknown show on "Channel 7")
??/??/1970 The Who - Live at Théâtre des Champs Elysées, Paris [French TV, b&w] (rec 17/01/1970, clips included on a news report)
18/01/1970 Jimi Hendrix [Simon Dee Show, LWT] (First show of Dee's colour series following his departure from the BBC, sadly wiped)
??/???/1970 Funkadelic - "I Got a Thing" [Upbeat, USA TV]
01/02/1970 Pentangle [Simon Dee Show, LWT]
08/02/1970 Spirit - "1984" [L'invité du dimanche, French TV b&w]
08/02/1970 John Lennon & Yoko Ono interview [Simon Dee Show, LWT] (Audio exists, rec previous day)
25/02/1970 John Mayall [Line Up, BBC2] (Closure of blues club Klooks Kleek)
27/02/1970 Delaney & Bonnie with Eric Clapton & George Harrison [Beat 70, Danish TV b&w] (rec 10th December 1969 on stage at Falkoner Teatret, København, Denmark)
??/02/1970 Yes - "Time and a Word" [Belgian TV] (Still with Peter Banks on guitar who left around April)
13/03/1970 Pink Floyd [Line Up, BBC2] (rec on 05/03/70, performance logged as "Zabriskie Point", now lost)
14/03/1970 Jethro Tull - "Bouree" / The Nice [The Switched-On Symphony, USA TV] (Jack Good special, Tull in large TV studio surrounded by statues in front of an audience, rec 13-15/02/70)
23/03/1970 Family - "Drowned in Wine" & "Love is a Sleeper" [Tous en Scène, French TV]  (Rec live in Paris Feb 70)
26/03/1970 Jefferson Airplane - "Emergency" & "Volunteers" [Dick Cavett Show, USA TV] (plus Grace Slick interview, this might actually be from 26th November and not 26th March)
30/03/1970 Big Grunt - "11 Mustachioed Daughters" [Marty Amok, BBC1] (Viv Stanshall fronts this post-Bonzo's band wearing a green afro wig)
01/04/1970 Jerry Rubin interview [The Phil Donahue Show, USA TV]
05/04/1970 The Temptations - "Psychedelic Shack" [Ed Sullivan Show, USA TV] (This is hilarious,  in a good way)
18/04/1970 Norman Greenbaum - "Spirit in the Sky" [American Bandstand, USA TV] (Did this song again on the 01/08/70 show along with "Canned Ham")
25/04/1970 Badfinger - "Come and Get it" / Steppenwolf - "Hey Lawdy Mama" [Get it Together, USA TV]
26/04/1970 George Harrison interview [Fact or Fantasy, BBC1]
26/04/1970 Jimmy Page - "White Summer" [Julie Felix, BBC1]
30/04/1970 Soft Machine "Facelift" & "Esther's Nose Job / Pigling Band" (Live at Théatre de la Musique, Paris) [Pop 2, French TV] (Rec 03/1970, more of this concert shown on the 23/07/70 edition)
05/05/1970 New Report [ITN News] (Kent State massacre, Ohio on 4th May - 4 students (2 of them female) killed by the National Guard in an indiscriminate hail of bullets fired at those protesting against US invasion of Cambodia)
16/05/1970 Jethro Tull - "The Witch's Promise" & "Teacher" [Get it Together, USA TV]
??/??/1970 Kevin Ayers - "Why Are We Sleeping" [Pop 2, French TV]  (live on stage, apparently unbroadcast at the time)
24/05/1970 Fleetwood Mac - "Albatross" [Julie Felix, BBC1]
28/05/1970 News Report [Reuters] (Charles Manson & his "hippie followers" in court (27/05/70) in LA for pre-trial hearing in the Sharon Tate murders case. Trial begins on 15/06/70 for total of 7 murders inspired by misinterpretation of Beatles "Helter Skelter")
28/05/1970 Third Ear Band / Kevin Ayers [Pop 2, French TV]
07/06/1970 The Who [CBS News, USA TV] (Report on concert in NYC, 30 min unbroadcast interview also recorded)
13/06/1970 "Cincinnati Pop Festival: Happening for the New Generation" [USA TV] (Incl great performances by The Stooges, also Alice Copper, Traffic, Mountain & Grand Funk Railroad)
29/06/1970 Magma [Discorama, French TV b&w]
03/07/1970 Frank Zappa interview [Late Night Line Up, BBC2] (John Peel interviewed two members of Canned Heat and Zappa)
22/07/1970 Miles Davis - "Directions" & "Theme" [Dick Cavett Show, USA TV]
02/08/1970 Norman Greenbaum - "Spirit in the Sky" [Something Else, USA TV] (I think this might be the outdoor sequence with a row of dancers on a hill, Norman miming with guitar & shots of a stone cross)
29/08/1970 Moody Blues - "Question" [It’s Lulu, BBC1 colour]
04/09/1970 Jimi Hendrix Interview [Supershow '70, American Forces TV (Germany)] (The last Hendrix TV interview, recorded backstage at a German Pop festival)
18/09/1970 Jimi Hendrix Death News Reports [USA TV] (ABC and CBS news reports both survive in b&w)
22/09/1970 Family - "The Weaver's Answer" [TopPop, Dutch TV b&w]
29/09/1970 Black Sabbath - "Paranoid" [TopPop, Dutch TV b&w]
12/10/1970 Yes - "Astral Traveller", "Everydays", "Then" & "No Opportuntity Neccesary, No Experience Needed" [Pop Shop, Belgian TV] (included interviews as well as miming to tracks in various locations)
17/10/1970 Jethro Tull [Pop 2, French TV b&w] (Live at The Olympia 10/10/70 + Ian Anderson interview)
17/10/1970 Pete Brown & Piblokto! - "Aeroplane Head Woman", "Golden Country Kingdom" & "Got a Letter From a Computer" [Pop 2, French TV b&w] (Live in front of an audience)
30/10/1970 Miles Davis - "Directions" & "Honky Tonk" [The Tonight Show, USA TV]
31/10/1970 Family [Pop 2, French TV] (Concert excerpts from Olympia Theatre, Paris)
28/11/1970 Magma [Pop 2, French TV]
05/12/1970 Fairport Convention "Walk Awhile", "Dirty Linen", "Sloth" & "The Journeyman's Grace" [Pop 2, French TV b&w] (Live in concert at The Olympia)
??/12/1970 Captain Beefheart - Lick My Decals Off Baby LP Advert [USA TV b&w] (The greatest TV commercial ever, people hated it so much it ended up being banned)
06/12/1970 Jefferson Airplane / Quicksilver Messenger Service [Go Ride the Music, USA TV] (Jefferson Airplane taped playing live on stage but no audience on 2nd April 1970 with Joey Covington on drums)
19/12/1970 Kevin Ayers [Pop 2, French TV] (Clips from on stage and some chat in French)
31/12/1970 The Who - "I Don't Even Know Myself" & "Naked Eye" / Fleetwood Mac - "Purple Dancer" / Elton John - "Your Song" [Into 71, BBC1]
John Mayall - "California" & "The Laws Must Change" [Live In Saarbrucken, German TV b&w]
Can - "Deadlock" & "Mother Sky" / Kraftwerk "Ruckzuck" (Live) [German TV b&w] (Not a great sound balance on the Can performance, sadly. Rec 1970 but apparently not tx'd until Jan 1972)
Mothers of Invention at Gaumont Palace, Paris [French TV] (rec 15/12/70, clips were used by Pop2, OGWT [UK] and Spotlight [Sweden] in 1971)
Moody Blues - "Gypsy" [b&w] (Live on stage, could be from 1969 or even 1971)

Film/Other
Jimi Hendrix - Live at Fillmore East [VT recording, b&w] (The first of two shows on New Years Day was captured on VT)
Jimi Hendrix - Live at Madison Square Garden, NYC [Film] (28th January 1970 - The 5th and final Band of Gypsys performance, Jimi was spiked before going on stage and had to quit after 2 numbers)
Jimi Hendrix - Live at the Berkeley Community Centre [Jimi Plays Berkeley, Film] (25th April 1970 - An edited version of the concert was released in 1971 and issued on home video in March 1985)
Jethro Tull - "A New Day Yesterday" (Fillmore East, May 1970) (Good example of Anderson doing his thing with the mic stand, appears to be privately recorded and not for TV)
Trans-Canada Tour [Film] (concert footage incl Ten Years After, Mountain, Traffic, Janis Joplin, Grateful Dead and others filmed Jun/Jul 1970, some of the acts appeared in "Festival Express" released 2003)
Jimi Hendrix - Live at the Atlanta International Pop Festival [Film] (4th July 1970, eventually issued on home video in 1992)
The Who / Jethro Tull / It's A Beautiful Day (Music Shed, Tanglewood, Massachusetts) (7th July 1970 - VT of entire concert intended for TV special)
Amon Düül II - "Soap Shop Rock" & "Kanaan" (Aachen Open Air Pop Festival) [Film] (11th July 1970 - 2nd track is titled "Eye Shaking King" on circulating clips)
Jimi Hendrix - Live at Stora Scenen [VT b&w] (31st August 1970)
Jimi Hendrix Live at the Isle of Fehmarn, Germany [Film] (Various bits and pieces of Jimi's last concert on 6th September 1970, some of it amateur, exist)