Just finished watching disc one of the recently released Thames TV box set (ahh! Happy memories of their opening ident) and it remains just as funny although I don't remember seeing so many bands featured in each episode - I want to see more of Kenny!!
More of those people with the naughty bits, Hot Gossip has been OK though, and NOW I'm in love again with.......................
Carla!! 
Does anyone know whether she ever published art studies? 
A couple of the Hot Gossip members were on Pointless celebrities not so long ago. But Carla? You mean the cartoon character from Captain Kremmen? I remember Australia's ABC marketing all this as a kids' show when The Goodies and Tommy Cooper weren't on. I remember Carla.
Quote: Kenneth @ 2nd February 2019, 2:30 PMCarla? You mean the cartoon character from Captain Kremmen? I remember Carla.
Is there, was there any other? 
Quote: Hercules Grytpype Thynne @ 2nd February 2019, 9:53 AMJust finished watching disc one of the recently released Thames TV box set (ahh! Happy memories of their opening ident) and it remains just as funny although I don't remember seeing so many bands featured in each episode - I want to see more of Kenny!!
More of those people with the naughty bits, Hot Gossip has been OK though, and NOW I'm in love again with.......................
Carla!!
When it first started it was mainly a pop programme as he'd been a DJ for years. He wasn't really considered a "comedian."
Quote: Chappers @ 3rd February 2019, 11:10 PMWhen it first started it was mainly a pop programme as he'd been a DJ for years. He wasn't really considered a "comedian."
Kenny's rise to comedy stardom was similar to Billy Connolly's in that both of them were initially music-based acts with little bits of comedy between the musical sections.
As time went by, the comedy bits expanded continually until they both became comedians with a bit of musical content.
The expression "star-studded" is often used to describe the cast of TV spectaculars but rarely has it been more appropriately used than in the case of Kenny's weekly video show: it would have been impressive enough if he'd had one megastar on his show every week but Kenny regularly had three or four colossal names in a single show.
His guests included Wings (twice), Bonnie Tyler (twice), Electric Light Orchestra, Bryan Ferry (twice), Darts (twice), Kate Bush, Lindisfarne, Suzi Quatro, Nick Lowe, Thin Lizzy, Gordon Giltrap, Elkie Brooks, Justin Hayward, Cliff Richard, 10cc, Steve Gibbons Band, The Moody Blues, David Essex, The Boomtown Rats and others too. And that was just series one!
That's entertainment!
Was that Bonnie Tyler and Bryan Ferry twice?
Quote: Chappers @ 4th February 2019, 8:39 PMWas that Bonnie Tyler and Bryan Ferry twice?
I know it's difficult to believe but yes, indeed it was.
Quote: Hercules Grytpype Thynne @ 2nd February 2019, 9:53 AMJust finished watching disc one of the recently released Thames TV box set (ahh! Happy memories of their opening ident) and it remains just as funny although I don't remember seeing so many bands featured in each episode - I want to see more of Kenny!!
Yeah, it's now easy to forget that the Video Show was just the latest in a succession of series he'd done, which were music shows with his own wacky links between them. Striking when (re)watching this DVD release - which has had a lot of music cut due to rights issues - to be reminded how central the music actually was.
I'm glad this topic was posted, because I recently showed my kids, ranging from 9 to 29 years old, a few episodes and, while they thought Kenny was hilarious, they were taken aback by the amount of cleavage and short skirts etc. Obviously, we're not 'allowed' to do this now, so they're bound to be more sensitive to what they've never been used to, right?
I hadn't watched any episodes myself for years and years and was actually surprised at my own reaction to the same things. I grew up listening to Kenny on the radio, watching him on TV with my parents/grandparents and the funny sketches with the scantily clad ladies NEVER caused a problem. My mum laughed as much as my dad did and I just didn't think about it. It was just a funny series that we all enjoyed.
I won't list all the other shows that wouldn't be 'acceptable' these days, but it just shows you that, even someone like me, who was brought up on this type of comedy, can be 'conditioned', if you like, to rethink their opinions on certain aspects of shows they were completely unaffected by years ago.
Saying that, I'm not even sure I feel, personally, different about this type of comedy now. I just feel I have this constant nag in me that whispers, "You couldn't do that now, tho," when I see something in an older show that would be considered offensive to the younger generation now...and I hate it.
I mean...is there anything we're all watching now that will eventually be classed as unacceptable, because I'm pretty sure we've gone as PC as we possibly can? Right?
If you notice, Kenny often points out the use of cleavage and short skirts for comedy effect DURING sketches that use it. In one such sketch, a mini version of him is superimposed wedged between a pair of boobs! It's as if he, himself, is having a dig at sexism in general...and, I've never had the impression his co-stars suffered as a result of appearing as his 'sexy girls'.
There's always been a lot of talk about the pressure young girls/boys feel under to look perfect and sexy and like the models/actors on TV, but I don't remember watching Cleo Rocos and hoping I'd grow up to be exactly like her characters on the show. Even as a young girl, I was aware she was a character in a comedy show...not a role model. She was far too over the top to exist in the real world. I just remember laughing at the nonsense provided by Kenny Everett.
For me, Kenny Everett pushed the boundaries of silliness...and silliness means a lot to me, so I'm just going to accept that my reaction was more a feeling of...wow, I'd forgotten how different things were back then, coupled with the fact my kids were sitting there grimacing throughout.
Thanks again for posting this topic, my brain needed it.
I agree. Many salient points there. I'm not old enough to have seen these shows originally, but I have watched many of their ilk during the 2000s, for example, and find myself coming back to them again now with a different reaction. Conditioning feels exactly the right word for it.
......................................How bad are you going to feel if that actually happened? 