whit aboot moira brody the irish thrush , ps ah loved wee larry singin boot rob roy mcgreeger o!

Was there anything the matter with Charlie?

charlie sim managed a pub in sigthill flats it was called the sidings i think, anyone remeber him in it. wares ma nanna

Just thinking about Larry Marshall singing "It's In The News", there was another fairly long-running thing he did on the show. At least, it seemed long-running to me when I was about ten or eleven.

There was a prop he had brought in to the studio, and the best way I can describe it is that it looked like a vertical folded-up ironing board with what looked like two arm rests coming out from the centre of each long side. Larry would appear daily leaning against this board, standing up, with his forearms resting on the things that looked like armrests, and would invite viewers to guess what the prop was and what its function was. I seem to recall this went on for quite a long time. Viewers would send in their guesses, and invariably they were wrong. Eventually, he revealed what it was and what its real function was.

After all these years, I'm blowed if I can remember what that prop was, but I remember it clearly, and every so often it pops back into my head to annoy me.

Yes, Dorothy Paul was the singer, and she turned out to be a very fine character actress in later years. I remember her in 'The Steamie', which my mum loved because it was so like the Steamie she used to take the laundry to round the corner.


Alex

Oh boy, I remember running home from school starving for my lunch then watching The One 0 Clock Gang.
Thank you for the memory jasminkeenan

Did anyone watch the TV documentary about the Gang a number of years ago when Larry Marshall started arguing with the rest of the Gang about who was the front man.
It kicked off when one of the members, it may have been Jimmy Nairn, mentioned that he was the front man of the show. Larry Marshall lost it at that statement and argued that he was the front man.

The program deteriorated at that point and turned into a shambles.

I think the memory of that documentary will be the argument for many viewers.
Pity really because it wasn't a bad documentary.

I missed that documentary (I'd have watched it had I knkown about it), but I remember the fallout, and the poor showing that was reported about Larry Marshall's behaviour and attitude. As far as I remember, the front man really was Larry Marshall, and I remember reading how he'd been dismissive of the contributions of other 'ex-Gang' members to the show. It was a big surprise to me -- though now I can see it -- to learn that the chef Nick Nairn is the son of Jimmy Nairn.

I remember that the 'Gang' always did a sketch on Fridays, set in a school classroom, with Jimmy Nairn as the teacher in mortar-board and gown and cane (Oh! he's beating the bairns, fetch the Social!), and the others as school pupils. (I don't want to dwell here on the fantasies I used to have over Dorothy Paul in a gymslip and knickers. Actually, I still have them, and one of them's starting now.) Charlie Sim was the gormless laddie in the school cap who was always greetin' about his 'nana' (banana, not granny), and Marshall was the streetwise cheeky beggar. It was not uncommon for the sketch to end with Larry Marshall bent over a desk getting half a dozen strokes of the cane, and I can imagine after that documentary that Jimmy Nairn would have given his eye teeth to repeat one of those scenes for real.

Distance lends enchantment, I suppose, but my memories of it are of good entertainment, and good fun, though I suppose that in those days of restricted broadcasting hours, the only daytime competition it had was the Test Card. I often recall the sequence of tunes in the test card running up to the start of the programme, with 'Charlie is my darlin' and 'Hundred pipers' signalling the end of the test transmission and the approach of the clock display and the announcer's voice saying "Sit back and relax, it's ... the One o'Clock Gang!"

Larry Marshall's wife is Kay Rose and I know Kay's sister, Lyn, quite well. I enjoyed a very liquid Christmas and Hogmanay with Larry and Kay (back in 1969 or thereabouts). We saw Larry (and Denny Willis, Stuart Gillies and others) at the Kings Theater Glasgow in "Aladdin" (Larry played Widow Twanky). I have fond memories of Larry and Kay and think about them often from here in California. Last time I spoke to Lyn she said they were both good.

Went to a One O'Clock Gang show in the old STV studios on a New Year's Day!!! A lot of people weren't laughing, I think they have been "hung over". My Granda watched it faithfully every day. Always remember Charlie Sims and his "nanna".

A rather poor quality photo of Dorothy copied from a 1962 TV paper.

Och well, your getting it for nothing, so stop your moaning

Golly, this reminds me why I used to lust after Dorothy Paul, even though I was too young to know why.

And, Errrrrm, have your thoughts changed, Alex old boy? Click to view attachment

Alex, I was about 17 at the time, and I know exactly why!!

Not yet. I'm making full use of the transition period between being too young to know why, and forgetting why!

Aaaa, so your slipping into the twighlight zone. In other words, it's just not funny when one can't remember why one used to lust after someone, and the next phase is trying to remember what lust actually meant.

Larry and Kay are neighbours of mine, and are still doing well. They always have something left over from the Sunday roast for my dog.

Two of the nicest people you could ever meet.



He still has Bob Hopes's golf clubs

Ah hid tae laugh at the argument ower who wis "front man" for the One O'Clock Gang. If it wis me ah wid be tryin tae hide the fact that ah wis ever oan the show - it wis dire, even by the standards of the day. Dorothy Paul an Charlie Sim had talent as individuals, but the rest were instantly forgettable, especially Jimmy Nairn who always looked as if his corns wur gien him gyp.
The only reason the show wis so popular wis the novelty o it aw at the time.

Charlie Sim died a coupla years ago, an he had a sad life at the end. He suffered a stroke and ended up at the same Auld Age Pensioners' Club as ma Da, jist a shadow o his former self.

Benny. It may be your opinion of one of the most popular shows ever on Scottish TV, but I think there are a few million who would disagree with you.

Ah've no doubt there are many people who absolutely loved The One O'Clock Gang, Rab, but ah don't think it wis because the show wis of a high standard, or even of a comparable standard tae shows from other ITV networks at the time. It wis amateurish in the extreme, even takin the unsophisticated humour of the time intae account. Because millions of people like somethin, it disnae mean it's good. Remember the auld graffitti - "Eat crap - 10 millions flies can't be wrong!"

Re The Gang: The last lady singer, after Moira Briody left, was Marie Benson. The so-called "English Gangster" was Bryan Johnson, brother to Teddy Johnson of the singing duo Pearl Carr & Teddy Johnson. Bryan's hit record was a Eurovision song called "Looking High, High, High".
Re the show being of a high standard - it was, considering it was on for five days a week, 50 weeks of the year! I well recall that, when The Gang went off on holiday, STV put on an English lunchtime show called Lunch Box, starring Noele Gordon (of "Crossroads" fame) and it was dire in comparison!
The Gang had a set pattern - Monday was general items, Tuesday was Disc Jockey Larry, Wednesday was "Songs That Matter to Me", Thursday was The Minstrel Show (Larry portrayed Talbot O'Farrell, Charlie frequently portrayed G.H. Elliott, singing "My Southern Maid") and Friday, of course, was The School, with Larry as Benny Marshall, Charlie as Samuel but I can't recall what Dorothy's wee specky girl with pigtails was called and Jimmy was the long-suffering teacher.
Came the day when G.H. Elliott actually appeared on The Minstrel Show and how honoured and delighted Charlie was!
For further references re the Gang, and nice photos, you should read Dorothy Paul's book, "Revelations of a Rejected Soprano".
And it was Jimmy Nairn's voice-over who started the show every day: "Switch that dial, turn that knob, sit back and relax - it's the One o'Clock Gang!" The Tommy Maxwell Quartet consisted of Tommy, guitarist Ron Moore, keyboard player called Arthur ? and a double-base called Scrubber ?
Ah, happy memories!

nae mention o jimmy nairn tall lanky wan his son is nick nairn the celeb chef . liked moira she wiz crackin wee singer larry's real name wis henry tommaso an he brought oot a wee record aboot rob roy .

''by loch lomonds bonnie banks 300 year ago there lived a big braw heilin lad rob roy mcgregor o''. etc.

they wernae top drawer but i liked them charlie did a wee bit singing an aw but thats better forgotten aboot ah luved aw the daft we sketches iwies thought wee larry hid a slight turn in his eye .

oops sorry AH THIUGHT THERE WIS ONLY WAN PAGE JUST NOTICED THE OTHER 4 ACH A WIS HIVVIN A SENIOR MOMENT

Judged by the standards of its day, ah don't suppose it wis aw that bad - it wis only dire, no completely deplorable - but ah certainly don't think STV's efforts were comparable tae the big networks. Ma Da wis the plumber at STV frae before it opened in 1957 tae he retired in 1978 and ah remember gaun tae a couple of the Christmas parties where Larry Marshall hid aw the weans singin tae "follow the bouncing ball". Ah didnae want tae sing, or play games - ah wis merr interested in aw the grub.

Ah also remember when ah wis at Milncroft Primary, ma Da brought hame a loada publicity photies o the Gang, an ah did a roarin trade wi the other weans, swoppin the photies fur comics an sweeties. Ah might no hiv thought much o the One O'Clock Gang, but ah wisnae daft.

Name one lunch time show that was better.

How did ye remember him, even ah hud forgoat aboot that boring scunner.

Forgot aboot the bugger in an instant. Yet, a couple o days on, we remembers.

Ach.. weel, thanks pal.

I saw Larry Marshall a few years ago at Marks and Spencers in Milngavie.Not seen him for a while.I think he lived out Strathblane way.Great old trooper!
Joop

I don't know of any other lunchtime shows of that era - don't forget there were only two channels back then - BBC and ITV. I do remember though that STV aired a programme called "Roundup", aimed at early teens, and the format was a carbon copy of "Tuesday Rendevous" made by one of the bigger ITV companies and broadcast on STV. Tuesday Rendezvous had the then famous guitarist Bert Weedon as co-host and regularly showcased the pop groups of the day. Roundup had a youthful Paul Young and Morag Hood as presenters and their first offering wis a completely unknown, spotty little oik in National Health specs sittin playin the piano an singin "Moon River."

You've got your point of view shared by the people who shut the programme down rather than risk not having their license extended. You don't need to make things up to back your case.

It was a popular show occupying a lunchtime slot. What do you think pulled more viewers The One O'Clock Gang or John Grierson's This wonderful World.

One of the lunch time show on other ITV regions was a so called magazine show Lunchbox presented by Noelle Gordon who turned over whole shows to promoting products with out mentioning the TV company was getting paid by the product placers. I know which I would prefer to watch.

What are you talking about, "make things up"? What did I make up? I was comparing The One O'Clock Gang to other shows produced by the bigger ITV production companies, not necessarily other lunchtime shows. As I've already stated, I don't know of any other lunchtime shows - I would need to have lived in other ITV areas to have seen their shows, and I didn't. "Magazine" shows were also shown on STV in the early days, until they were banned by the ITA.

None of ITV's most popular shows - even in Scotland - were produced by STV. Programs like The Army Game, Sunday Night At The London Palladium, Take Your Pick Double Your Money, etc. were all productions of other ITV companies.

Again you're not comparing like with like. STV covered the central belt of Scotland and the shows you mentioned were made by London based companies or Granada in the North West with a lot more money and in control of The ITV network. At the same time STV had to do real regional news unlike say TWW reporting on jeans being stolen off washing lines, cover Scottish football and politics. The big companies did keep crap like Mike and Bernie Winters in employment.

The One O'Clock Gang or Mike and Bernie. I know who'd I'd rather have but then I don't suffer from a Scottish cringe.

Loved the army game it later morphed intae bootsie an snuge,mike an bernie winters ? like the wag in the empire said chr**t theres another wan o them ses it aw.

Money certainly wasn't the reason why STV couldn't compete on quality with the bigger ITV companies. Canadian millionaire Roy Thomson, head of STV, himself made a famous statement that owning STV was "a licence to print money", and in the early days it undoubtedly was.

As far as " a Scottish cringe" goes, I am in no way ashamed to be Scottish, and never will be, but mediocrity deserves to be recognised for what it is - Scottish or otherwise.

Mediocrity or nay - Mr Larry Marshall was very generous and likeable. I used to 'cover' his table, at Guy's restaurant - and whenever he came in - which was often - he would think nothing of donating a £5 'tip' (more than a week's wages to many of us then, in catering).

Philanthropic people like him, will forever be remembered.

wee davy

I remember being taken to the studios to see that show I was only about 3 or 4 at the time and Larry Marshall came up to where we were sitting in the audience and I remember feeling terrified! I can't remember what he said to me just remember his face and microphone,it was televised..would luv to see that episode.

Ah've got nothing, good or bad, tae say aboot Larry Marshal as a person, Wee Davy, because ah didnae know him. He might've been the nicest guy in the world - that still disnae mean the One O'Clock Gang wis a good programme.

Daytime television was, in general, an extra curse on the unemployed. In later years I suffered that curse and ended up with a degree in Australian studies.

Mr St Clair points out quite rightly that more people watched Larry Marshall & Co. than John Grierson. What does that tell anyone about society?

Daytime television was, in general, an extra curse on the unemployed. In later years I suffered that curse and ended up with a degree in Australian studies.

Mr St Clair points out quite rightly that more people watched Larry Marshall & Co. than John Grierson. What does that tell anyone about society?

They once had a wee lass called 'Bernadette' on the show (cos I remember Larry bringing her in for lunch wan day (lunch wiz always right efter the show) - never did hear anything mair o' her efter that! lol (think she wiz a wan hit wunder).
Whitever it wiz like (generally) I coudnae really tell ye' - ah jist recall he WAS the 'show? I very seldom seen it masel. (Mibbe when a skived aff the school! before I wiz workin')

Anybody know whit happened tae Bernadette?

Maybe she had a (tele)vision?

oh bilbo - that was soooo bad! ahm a no serious here? who/where/whit wiz she? where did she go? cannae even find her on google, or utube! (no the wan ahm oan aboot)

Do either you or Mr. St. Clair have a reference source for this statement?

ok - here i go again - always answering me own questions lol

Bernadette Reilly who came from Townhead had her own TV show on Scottish Television in the 60s. As a singer she was known as 'Bernadette'

Found this quote on 'tinternet' - but thats it - so far - somebody help me yeah?

I was at a party in Hillhead sometime in the 60s where Bernadette tripped and fell down the stairs. I had the pleasure of checking her for broken bones

Hope her femurs were OK?

Ah think he's tellin fibias.

You canny say he isnae humerus Benny!

She must have fell on her funny bone.