Thank Your Lucky Stars (TV series)
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Thank Your Lucky Stars was a British pop show from ABC Television, broadcast on ITV from 1961 to 1966. Many of the top bands performed on it, and for millions of British teenagers it was essential viewing. As well as featuring British artists, American guests were frequent visitors.
It would appear from the surviving footage that the bands mimed their latest 45. Occasionally a band was allowed to do two numbers (possibly the ‘A’ and ‘B’ sides of the latest single), and if you were pop royalty like The Beatles or The Rolling Stones you could do four numbers.
Audience participation was a strong feature of Thank Your Lucky Stars, and the Spin-a-Disc section, where a guest DJ and three teenagers reviewed three singles, is a very well remembered feature of the show. Generally American singles were reviewed. It was on this section that Janice Nicholls (whose catchphrase "Oi'll give it foive" became famous)and Billy Butler appeared, and dozens of teenagers had their fifteen minutes of fame.
The Merseyside specials are very fondly remembered and gained huge audiences.
It appears that the first theme song was by Peter Jay and the Jaywalkers and later on "Lunar Walk" by Johnny Hawksworth was used.
The show bowed out in the summer of 1966, after two thousand artists had appeared on it. One of the main reasons was the power of the Musicians' Union in the 1960s and being a largely mimed show, TYLS was a prime target.
