JUNE 1965

The schedule published in the June 1965 edition of 'Jukebox' is a cherry-picked compilation of listings for pop programmes that could be heard that month on local and UK stations and on Radio Luxembourg. Veronica, 208 and the BBC Light Programme are included but no other offshore broadcasters.

The 'Jukebox' listings complier has covered pretty much any show on the Light Programme that played a variety of music, but might feature a pop record - such as the request shows Children's Favourites and Three Way Family Favourites. The main BBC programmes aimed at teenagers naturally held weekend slots. Saturday Club and Sunday morning's Easy Beat, both presented by Brian Matthew, featured mainly live performances with studio bands and guests from the charts. Brian Fahey & His Orchestra, The Mike Leander Orchestra and Arthur Greenslade & The Gee Men all played sessions during June 65. Special guests included Fab Forty acts Donovan, Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames, Sons of Fred and Them. Pick of the Pops was Sunday afternoon's rare, all-vinyl treat and included the eagerly-awaited weekly sales chart rundown.

On weekdays at 1700, 'Newly Pressed' supplemented the meagre needletime allowance, as spinning a new single was regarded as a review. As long as the record label was mentioned the latest releases were exempt from the regulation. Saturday Club, Easy Beat and Pick of the Pops all included segments that took advantage of this 'get-out' clause.

Luxembourg DJs at the time included Sam Costa, Alan Freeman, Jack Jackson, Jimmy Young, Brian Matthew with his Pop Parade and Jimmy Savile's Teen and Twenty Disc Club.

Both Veronica and 208 had programmes dedicated to Elvis. Veronica also showcased Cliff Richard and 208, the Beatles. On Wednesday evenings Veronica aired the US Hot Hundred.

DECEMBER 1965

Jukebox marked Radio London's 1st anniversary with a photo feature. Not only are the DJs profiled, but also Programme Director Ben Toney, whose photo is presumably absent because it would would not have been included in the promotional material issued by Radlon. The magazine focussed on the fact that Ben was a Texan, that the station was run on the American Top Forty format and that the ship was a former USS minesweeper

JANUARY 1966

This feature introduced some of the Big L DJs, and promoted the London venues where they were likely to be appearing during their weeks ashore – the recently-opened Big L Discotheque and the Marquee Club. The Fab Forty artists in the photo feature might be spotted there too.

JUNE 1966

Both of these Fab Forties have the same date, but come from editions of the magazine in French (#116) and Flemish (#122). Editions of 'Jukebox' were published in both languages, with the French version launching six months earlier.

Although both editions went on sale in June 1966, by the time 'Jukebox' had gone to press, the Big L Fab Forties, ironically billed as 'the charts that are always ahead of the others' were bound to be considerably out of date! No chart featured in a monthly magazine could possibly be current, although in the mid-Sixties a sales-based listing was much more likely to remain reasonably static for several weeks. The Fab Forties they printed (which must have been supplied by Radlon's Curzon Street offices) comprised Radio London's weekly playlist. Big L often gave airplay to singles that would not be in the UK shops for several weeks. Continental listeners might have to wait even longer for the release of a record they'd heard on the station.

We have established that the 'Jukebox" French edition #116 features the Fab Forty for May 1st, while Belgian edition #122 carries the May 15th chart. Leaving these charts undated may well have confused readers. By the June 1st publication date, much had changed in the two Fab Forties. The May 1st #1, 'Pretty Flamingo' had left the Radio London chart; 'Wild Thing', the May 15th #1, was on its way down and had vanished by June 5th.

JULY 1966

We now see a pattern established in the 'Jukebox' Belgian edition for the published Fab Forty being the chart from the middle of the previous month, often the one for the week commencing with the second Sunday of that month. July's featured chart was from 12th June. Although pictured in the 'Fab Fortiers' section, Fontella Bass had not been seen on the Radio London playlist since May 29th, when 'I Can't Rest' was at #22.