Playlist for Pauline Boty updated

The Spotify Playlist for Pauline Boty and its info page on the website have both had an update. The 32 tracks last just under two hours and as before are organised into three main sections representing their relevance in different ways – as titles or subjects of Boty’s works, as soundtracks to her appearances in TV, film and on radio, and to the collaged walls she created,

The playlist has had these songs added:

Blowin’ in the Wind by Bob Dylan Boty collected the musician from the airport in December 1962 on his first visit to the UK and escorted him around London prior to his appearance in the BBC Sunday Night Play The Madhouse on Castle Street where he performed the song

She Loves You by The Beatles The 1964 painting It’s a Man’s World I includes Ringo Starr and John Lennon. Boty also had The Beatles as guests on The Public Ear, the fortnightly BBC radio programme she hosted from 1963–64, and told best friend Natalie Gibson how much she loved the band, particularly John Lennon. The photo she used in the work was taken at Arlanda International Airport in Sweden on 23 October 1963, She Loves You having been released in the UK on 23 August 1963

The Nursery Blues by The Shake Keane Fivetet This was the theme tune to the aforementioned radio programme The Public Ear co-presented by Boty

The website’s info page for the playlist has now been more clearly divided into the different sections as well as having details on when and where the tracks for Boty appear in Pop Goes the Easel added. Also now listed (but not included on the playlist) are the songs accompanying Peter Blake, Peter Phillips and Derek Boshier in the same documentary.

Please click here to go to the playlist info page and its link to Spotify [link]

Playlist for Pauline Boty added to website

A new Spotify playlist of music relating to Boty is now available. The tracks are organised into sections representing their relevance – as titles or subjects of the works, as soundtracks to her onscreen appearances on TV and film, to her appearances on Ready Steady Go! and to the collaged wall she created in her flat in west London.

Please click here to go to the playlist and see details behind the track selection [link]

Definitive history of “Ready, Steady, Go!” is out now

“Ready, Steady, Go! The Weekend Starts Here” by Andy Neill. Published by BMG Books.

“Ready, Steady, Go! The Weekend Starts Here” by Andy Neill has just been published by BMG Books. The 12″ x 12″ hardback comprises 272 pages with a UK retail price of £39.99.

Pauline Boty danced on the first show and was from then on a regular dancer with Derek Boshier. Both are mentioned in the book and Boshier’s 10th July 1964 dancer’s badge button is included among its illustrations.

From the BMG press release:

“Almost sixty years have passed since the first transmission of the most influential popular music programme in British television history.
Ready, Steady, Go! began broadcasting on Friday, 9th August 1963 and became an essential television ritual for the newly confident British teenager. It provided a style bible – setting trends and becoming the barometer for popular culture.
It epitomised the spirit of youthful optimism that gripped Britain in the mid- Sixties, reflected by the handpicked Mod audience who were an integral part of the programme. This was perfectly embodied by girl-next-door presenter Cathy McGowan whose shy, almost awkward demeanour directly connected her with the show’s target audience.
It ran for three and a half years up to December 1966, its demise coinciding with the loss of pop’s innocence and the birth of the ‘rock industry.’ Within that time RSG! set a blueprint for music presentation and production on British television that resonated over the following decades and can still be felt today.
It attracted and presented anyone who was anyone in popular music at the time: The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Marvin Gaye, The Supremes and Otis Redding were just some of the important names that appeared. RSG! not only gave invaluable television promotion to these greats but also provided such then-unknowns as Rod Stewart, Marc Bolan, David Bowie, Donovan, and Jimi Hendrix with their first small screen exposure.
Ready, Steady, Go! broke through technical barriers. Young adventurous directors such as Michael Lindsay-Hogg experimented with camera techniques used in French nouvelle vague cinema. The sets that were designed each week by Nicholas Ferguson were consciously modelled on current mod fashions and op art (Hockney, Riley, Blake etc.)
Ready, Steady, Go! has never been documented in full detail before – until now. Thanks to exclusive contributions and unseen photographs and memorabilia, author Andy Neill fully examines Ready, Steady, Go! from quintessential Swinging London accessory to its current iconic status as the most legendary popular music programme of all time.”

Two documentaries on “Ready Steady Go!” to be screened on BBC4 this evening

The programme was clearly close to Pauline Boty’s heart – she was regularly chosen as a dancer in the audience with her friend and fellow Pop artist Derek Boshier. The first documentary includes footage of them dancing in the party scene concluding Ken Russell’s “Pop Goes The Easel”.
Further information from and links to the BBC website below:

“The story of Britain’s iconic 1960s music show, Ready Steady Go! The programme revolutionised television ‘for the kids’ and coincided with the tremendous explosion of British pop talent that took the world by storm. It championed emerging talent like The Beatles, The Who, Sandie Shaw, Cilla Black, Otis Redding and The Rolling Stones.”

The Story of Ready Steady Go!
BBC4, 21:00, Friday 20th March 2020
We go behind the scenes and speak to the people who made it all happen, including original producer Vicki Wickham and the programme’s pioneering director, Michael Lindsay-Hogg. Plus further contributions from Annie Nightingale, Eric Burdon, Chris Farlowe, Mary Wilson, Martha Reeves, Paul Jones, Gerry Marsden and Jools Holland.
Further information available here [link]

The Best of Ready Steady Go!
BBC4, 22:00, Friday 20th March 2020
This priceless archive has rarely been seen and includes some of the most memorable performances from the greatest stars of the day. Tune in to see The Beatles perform Twist and Shout on a moving stage, The Rolling Stones presenting their very own episode, and Otis Redding’s sensational duet with Chris Farlowe and Eric Burdon. Other acts include Cilla Black, Lulu, and Martha and the Vandellas. Dusty Springfield also takes centre stage.
Further information available here [link]