Ready Steady Go

1 9 6 3 - 1 9 6 6 (UK)

The Weekend Starts Here!

For teenagers everywhere, early Friday evenings were dominated by one program - Ready Steady Go - which promised "the weekend starts here". The first show was presented by Keith Fordyce and David Gell, with 200 kids in the studio. The line-up for the debut show featured Pat Boone, Chris Barber, Billy Fury, Brian Poole and The Tremeloes, and Joyce Blair.

Over the next three years, Ready Steady Go proved to be the best television pop show ever, combining its unique atmosphere and vitality with the best sounds around. The 'discotheque' set allowed the public onto the studio floor for dancing and mingling with the appearing stars. The show featured both new releases, existing hits and off-the-cuff interviews with the artists. It made stars of singer Donovan and a 19 year old 'typical teenager' from Streatham, South London - Cathy McGowan.

A lowly £10-a-week secretary, Cathy answered an advertisement for a teenage adviser to the show, along with 600 other hopefuls. Elkan Allan, the man behind Ready Steady Go, remembered; "she was awfully gauche and raw and desperately nervous, but she was worth taking on because she was obviously terribly switched on in a teenage way".

Cathy was totally unspoiled. She lived with her parents and admitted that her favourite program was Danger Man : "He's my idea of a smashing, terrific looking chap". And in spite of her new-found fame, she still dusted her production office everyday. The young girl, who constantly flicked her hair out of her eyes, soon became known as 'Queen of the Mods' and received 600 fan letters a week, and you could buy Cathy McGowan shirts, jeans, stockings and even a movable doll.

A 1964 spin-off series featured the RSG team in a show called Ready Steady Winner, searching for new pop talent. The panel of judges included Brian Epstein, Bill Haley and Brian Matthew. April 1965 saw a temporary name change to Ready Steady Goes Live when the show decided to ban miming, and live transmission began. Beatles' manager Brian Epstein welcomed the move. Rumoured to be less happy about having to sing live were Billy Fury and Peter and Gordon.

The following year saw the demise of the show and Cathy McGowan. Explaining why he felt the show had to go, Elkan Allan said: "When The Beatles got the MBE, pop music just became too respectable".