The Black & White Minstrel Show
 No doubt this BBC show would be condemned as terribly
politically incorrect in this new and enlightened (ahem) age with
white performers 'blacked up', but The Black and White Minstrel
Show was incredibly popular in it's day (up there with The
Good Old Days).
The show certainly seems surreal in retrospect, but a gaggle of
Al Jolson clones in traditional "blackface" was prime
variety television back then.
Probably the most offensive thing
about the show was the repertoire of old crap the group would trot
out and sing every weekend. The sort of material that even Max
Bygraves used to throw out . . .
Reflecting the American Deep South the songs would be about
Mammy, The Swanee River or Old Black Joe, but as time went on the
performances were seen as derogatory and politically incorrect and
in 1978 the show was finally dropped.
The George Mitchell Minstrels had already enjoyed success on
the West End stage when they featured in a one-off special called The
1957 Television Minstrels. The occasional television specials
soon developed into a regular series with a forty-five minute
non-stop format of Mississippi tunes and Country and Western
songs.
 The series featured music conducted by George Mitchell and
showcased the 36 Mitchell Minstrels, featuring solo performances
from Tony Mercer, John Boulter and Dai Francis - accompanied by
the 24-piece Television Toppers dance troupe.
During the early
years, various comedians such as Leslie Crowther, Stan Stennett
and George Chisholm acted as "fillers" between the slick
song and dance routines.
What accounts for such immense popularity? Part of the
explanation was undoubtedly the pleasure many got from the
program, with its meticulously choreographed dance routines and
popular songs and melodies. George Inns combined white dancers
with black-faced singers and this was believed to be visually
striking, particularly when colour television was introduced in
1967.
The Black And White Minstrel Show harked back to a
specific period and location - the Deep South where coy White
women could be seen being wooed by docile, smiling black slaves,
except in this case the black men were white artists
"Blacked-up."
 The racist implications of the premise of the program were yet
to be widely acknowledged or publicly discussed. But it was this
which largely led to the program's eventual demise.
The show does have the distinction however, of being the first
ever recipient of the Golden Rose of Montreux, an annual
international contest for light entertainment that was organised
by the Swiss Broadcasting Authority under the patronage of the
European Broadcasting Union, in 1961.
On 18 May 1967, the Campaign Against Racial Discrimination
delivered a petition to the BBC signed by both black and white
people, which requested that the program be taken off television.
Despite the controversy, the program continued until 1 July 1978.
Ultimately, its removal from the air coincided with the demise of
the popularity of the variety genre on British television.
The live show Memories of the Black and White Minstrels
toured the UK to packed houses in 2004 and 2005. The show was
performed white-faced and featured the stars, medley's and
costumes from the original TV series.
Thanks to Chris Gidney
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