Ruby Murray Official Site

Someone on the Whirligig message board has this week posted the playlist of the very first edition of 'Pick Of The Pops' - which I would never have remembered was introduced by Alan Dell.

It's good to note there was a Ruby record played in that programme, but more than that there was also one by Ray Martin, who was instrumental (no pun intended) in putting her on record. And take a bow Bernie, because also on the playlist was the latest record by your group 'The Four Jones Boys'. Here is the message as posted on Whirligig.

50 Years ago this week Alan Dell took over POTP

Below is details from the very first show:

The Light Programme Tuesday 10.01.56

21.00 Pick of the pops (Gram Dept)

A programmme of gramophone records
Presented by Alan Dell
Produced By Denys Jones

Yellow Rose of Texas (Stan Freberg)
A Good Idea Son (Max Bygraves)
Young and Foolish (Eve Boswell)
Ballad of Davy Crockett (Bill Hayes)
Robin Hood (Dick James)
Temptation (Caterina Valente)
Deep Purple (Ambrose & Orch).
It's Almost Tomorrow (Dreamweavers)
The Rose Tattoo (Percy Faith & Orch.)
I Want You to Be My Baby (Don Lang with Orch.)
People Will Say We're In Love (Stanley Black)
Part Of Gershwin (Medley) (Liberace with Orch)
Swanee -Philips BBL 7063
The Man I love
Liza
I Got Rhythm
You'd be So Nice To Come Home To (Lita Roza)
I've Got You Under My Skin (Oscar Peterson)
Boy Meets Girl (Norman Wisdom/Ruby Murray)
Love & Marriage (Frank Sinatra)
Where You Are (Ray Martin & Orch.)
Sixteen Tons ("Tennessee" Ernie Ford)
Moments to Remember (The Four Jones Boys)
Dreams Can Tell A Lie (Nat 'King' Cole)
The Tender Trap (Ella Fitzgerald) (0.25 Secs)
Ditto (Stargazers) (0.28 Secs)
Ditto (Frank Sinatra) (1.14 Secs)

22.00 News
22 15 Topic For Tonight (Talks Dept)
22.20 World Of Jazz (Gram. Dept)

Hello Brian,

Fame, at last. - By the way that group was our grandfathers, not us. They are wrongly billed too, it should read the Four Jones Men.

Seriously though, that was the very first record that we made, it was with Decca, if I remember correctly Johnnie Douglas was the arranger/M.D. I can still remember my harmony line, 50 years later. The record sold 4 copies, one to each of us. I have perhaps used the gag before but here goes. - It sold very well in Africa, they thought that they were liquorice pizzas. (I hasten to add that there is no racial intent in this intended gag)

Other Decca records we made were under such M.Ds as Roland Shaw and Eric Jupp.

Adios Amigo-(Young fella)

Bernie.