TV Test Cards & Closedown Music

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That’s a brilliant memory—especially catching the Carole Hersee test card unexpectedly like that. There was always something a bit magical about stumbling across it when you weren’t expecting to, particularly at odd times like Christmas morning.

You’re right—BBC...

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Before 24-hour broadcasting became the norm, there was something oddly comforting about the end of the TV day.

Late at night, after the final programme had aired, the continuity announcer would sign off, and we’d be left with a test card or a still image—often accompanied by...

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Does anyone else remember Knightmare? Easily one of the most intense and nerve-wracking things on children’s TV in the late 80s and early 90s.

For anyone who needs a refresher: one poor contestant would wear that iconic helmet, completely blinding them, while their teammates guided...

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I thought it was about time we gave Red Dwarf its own thread.

First aired back in 1988 on the BBC, it somehow managed to blend sci-fi, surreal comedy, and pure British silliness into something completely unique. Whether you grew up with the original BBC run or caught the later Dave-era...

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I remember seeing websites and email addresses being mentioned on kids’ TV when I got home from school — it all felt a bit alien at the time.

What used to make me laugh (and slightly annoy me) was how presenters would reel off the contact options for competitions:
...

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You’re not wrong.

Half the battle these days is just getting past the pop-ups, cookie banners, and proving you’re not a robot every five minutes. By the time you actually reach the page, you’ve almost forgotten why you went there in the first place.

It does...

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Does anyone else remember the early days of the internet—when simply getting online felt like stepping into something futuristic?

I’m talking about the era of dial-up tones, waiting patiently while pages slowly loaded line by line, and those wonderfully basic websites filled...

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For those of us who lived through it (or grew up hearing about it), Britpop wasn’t just a genre—it was a full-blown cultural movement that defined mid-90s Britain.

Emerging in the early 1990s as a reaction against American grunge, Britpop brought the focus back to British identity,...

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I briefly met Chesney Hawks, Dave Hill and Busta Bloodvessel at Sunshine Festival around 15 years ago. I had backstage access, and got their autographs — but alas — I no long have the autographs.

I am also excited to meet another famous person, as on 9th May, I will be seeing...

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Yes, you’re absolutely right that backmasking goes back to the 60s, especially with The Beatles experimenting with studio techniques.

But just to clarify, my original point wasn’t about when it started—it was about when many of us first heard about it.

For...

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That’s a brilliant example—and exactly the sort of thing I remember people talking about!

Fire On High by Electric Light Orchestra is probably one of the few cases where it was actually done on purpose rather than people just imagining things.

I love the message...

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That must’ve been an incredible time to be in the City—right at the heart of it.

I’ve always understood “yuppie” as “young urban professional,” but “upwardly mobile” definitely captures the spirit of it just as well.

You’re...

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I remember recording a TV programme back in the early 2000’s called “When Rock Ruled the World” (or something along those lines). It was one of the shows with a mix celebrity interviewees reminiscing about Rock music being the dominate music genre. I remember the segment about Judas...

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That’s a great shout—the early 90s recession really did pull the rug out from under that whole “endless boom” feeling. It’s easy to forget how quickly fortunes could turn.

And yes, the Filofax! Such a perfect symbol of the era. Before mobiles and emails took...

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I can kind of see what you mean in terms of both being easy targets for satire and the whole “flashy image” thing—but I think they came from completely different ends of the social spectrum. Yuppies were all about career success and visible wealth, whereas “chav” became...

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lol...

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I’ll start with Another One Bites The Dust by Queen. If you play that line backwards it sounds like “It’s fun to smoke marijuana”

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Does anyone else remember all the talk about backwards messages in songs back in the 80s/90s?

I’m sure this was one of those things that spread around school playgrounds and older siblings’ record collections. You’d hear that if you played certain tracks backwards, there...

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I’d always have a bowl of cereal for breakfast and I took a packed lunch to school (sandwiches, crisps and fruit).

Tea time changed depending on the season — salads and jacket potatoes in the summer — Stews and casseroles in the winter.

Generically, and culturally,...

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In the cultural landscape of the 1980s, few labels captured the spirit of the decade quite like “yuppie.” Short for “young urban professional,” the term described a new social archetype: ambitious, career-driven, and unapologetically materialistic. Yuppies didn’t just participate...