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It's
A Knockout returned for its 1967 series with some important changes.
Firstly, it had become a national competition, extending its scope beyond the
Northern counties. Next, the "Tip-Top-Town" subtitle was quickly
dropped and the target for teams was more exotic - the Eurovision Trophy was
now up for grabs. Winners of each individual It's A Knockout heat would
go forward to a European heat, with the possibility of reaching the 1967
International Final, which was to be held in Kohlsheid, West Germany.
Additionally, the team presenting the series featured some new faces. David
Vine, a young sports reporter, would now work alongside original IAK
presenter, McDonald
Hobley. Ted Ray and Charlie Chester, regional masters of
ceremonies, did not return for 1967, the producers apparently preferring
multilingual presenters who could cope with the European broadcasts without
difficulty. Sadly, this counted out the two music hall veterans. Eddie Waring continued as main referee.
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 Obviously,
the most telling of these innovations was that which allowed British teams to compete against towns from other neighbour
countries. The pan-European competition went under the name of Jeux
Sans Frontières and had been running since 1965. The series was
transmitted across the Eurovision Network, a system administered by the
European Broadcasting Union since 1954, whereby television pictures could
be shared between European countries by cable and, latterly, satellite
connections. The addition of the overseas heats undoubtedly gave the
series an extra frisson of excitement. As the years passed, the presenters
and referees became part of a massive JSF family, developing a
terrific rapport that shone through in the broadcasts of each
international event. You can read more about the history of Jeux Sans
Frontières in its
own history section.
The
second series is notable for featuring the earliest surviving footage from It's
A Knockout. A 23-minute sequence from a live feed exists at the BBC, and
you can discover more about the content in its review.
Sadly, nothing is thought to remain from the early British adventures into
Europe, though hopefully some of these exist in European archives.
Bridlington,
courtesy of their winning the 1966 series of It's A Knockout, were the
first town to represent Great Britain in Jeux Sans Frontières,
competing in France on 14th June 1967. And they found it hard. Very hard.
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Despite
keeping in practice for the event, they didn't allow for the professional
standards of fitness and training expected on the continent. The British
teams, new to the ways of Jeux Sans Frontières, faced a culture
shock. It's A Knockout was a light-hearted fun event, but Jeux
Sans Frontières was deadly serious. It may have been conducted in a
friendly fashion, but make no mistake, teams were interested in one thing
only - winning.
Prize
money awaiting the winning finalist was the carrot dangled before the
teams - and in 1967, £4000 was a lot of money. Add to this the prestige,
the free advertising for your town, particularly effective should you win
the final, and you have a potent prize worth fighting for. And this was
before you even considered the language problems British teams faced. The
other teams and officials often communicated in a babel of different
languages, sometimes noted by confused British team members as "the
language of the moment", which would then quickly flit to another. No
wonder Bridlington finished a poor last place in their first competition
in Europe.
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Lytham
St. Annes get friendly with the camera - Brussels 1967
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With
two years of experience behind them, the other teams had reached a high
level of preparedness for the games. Before each event, there would be two
nights of rehearsals, conducted under floodlights, often running up until
midnight. In these rehearsals, the continentals usually played it very
cool, never letting on if they found a game easy. The British teams,
however, thought they were on to a good thing and went all out in
practice, only to become somewhat demoralised when their opponents turned
up the heat as the games began for real. In the case of Bridlington, by
time they started the competition, they had already lost several team
members, injured in practice, while pushing much, much harder than their
opponents.
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Shrewsbury's
Eurovision Trophy, now held in the Borough Council Collection
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It
would be two years before a British team tasted success in
Europe, when Shrewsbury from Shropshire made the final and faced
competition from Belgium, Switzerland, Germany and Italy. Shrewsbury knew
they were in with a good chance as they had home advantage, the BBC
staging the 1969 international final in Blackpool, Lancashire. The event
was an exciting and competitive one and clearly, as the programme
progressed, Shrewsbury were in with an excellent chance of winning.
Wolfsburg
from Germany proved the toughest competition, and ultimately, it
transpired that they and Shrewsbury were tied on equal points at the end
of the event. A tie-breaker was hastily arranged, consisting of greased
planks placed across a pool of water. The first team successfully to the
other side would win the trophy. With just two steps to go, the last
British team member slipped and fell in the water. The Germans were
already safely home. They had won. Or so it seemed. But then, in a gesture
of goodwill and sportsmanship that typified the spirit of Knockout
and Jeux Sans Frontières, the Germans declared that they wished
the result to stand as a draw. This was accepted by the organisers and by
the British team. The Germans even arranged to have another trophy made so
that the two towns could share it. Shrewsbury's trophy is preserved to
this day in the Shrewsbury Borough Council's collection of silver and
civic regalia.
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The
domestic tournament had by this time gone through a few changes. For 1968,
the marathon was jettisoned... and Katie Boyle joined David Vine as
co-host. By 1969, the marathon had been reinstated and Katie Boyle had moved
on. Her replacement was one Eddie Waring, referee from Day One of It's
A Knockout, and now elevated to commentator. Arthur Ellis, who would
go on to become another well-loved mainstay of the series, took over
Waring's
refereeing job - and, as a former World Cup Final official, there was no
doubting his credentials. There was no doubting It's A Knockout either...
it was going from strength to strength.
by
Alan Hayes
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