RSG! The Sound Of Motown (1965) #5

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• Description : More live Motown medley with Smokey...(more) Robinson and The Miracles (Shop Around), The Supremes (Where Did Our Love Go). Followed by the finale 'Mickey's Monkey' with Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, and everyone else joining in: The Supremes, The Temptations, Martha Reeves and The Vandellas, Stevie Wonder, Dusty Springfield. With the Earl Van Dyke Sextet. From the Ready Steady Go (RSG), Sound Of Motown TV special, recorded at the Rediffusion TV studios in London on 18 March 1965. **Historical notes**: This special was mainly Dusty Springfield's idea, to promote the Motown music and artists to a wider audience in Britain. Dusty was an occasional presenter of the weekly TV pop show Ready Steady Go (which had the tag line... The Weekend Starts Here). She was a big fan of Motown music, and suggested the idea for this special to Vicki Wickham, recording artists manager and RSG's producer at Rediffusion. This followed the Motown artists first tour of Britain in March 1965, which had suffered poor ticket sales and played to half empty theatres. The timing of the tour proved to be too early. The Motown artists were not well known in Britain (apart from the 'in' crowd) due to limited exposure on UK radio at the time. But the bosses at Rediffusion TV had to be persuaded to allow this special to be made. It's thought that it was Dusty Springfield's inclusion in the show which sealed it - but still a brave decision for the time. The TV special was very successful and is historically important as it did a lot to popularise Motown with a mass audience in the UK. If this TV special had been made before the tour, rather than after the tour - it could have made a big difference to ticket sales. Let's hope that this show (and other surviving RSG footage) one day gets a DVD release. It's now been over 20 years since anything's been heard or seen of these shows. The "Rediffusion London" TV station ceased to exist after July 1968, when the franchise for commercial TV in the London region changed. Sadly, only a handful of their music shows have survived. Most of the RSG shows are now lost to history. (less)