FROM the election of Bradford’s first Asian Lord Mayor to the star-studded opening night of Yorkshire TV, a new film offers a glimpse into the history of television in the North.
Curated and presented by the Yorkshire Film Archive, TV Comes North: Bradford brings together archive footage of first broadcasts, award-winning documentaries and regional news features.
There’s footage of the BBC’s ‘Interludes’- remember the Potter’s Wheel? - and a selection of memorable programmes, including Yorkshire TV’s 1976 documentary The Bradford Godfather - profiling Mohamed Fazal Hussain, one of the first Pakistanis to settle in Bradford, who helped Asian families coming here in the 1960s - and presenter Michael Clegg’s myth-busting investigation into the famous Stott Hall farm in the middle of the M62.
Yorkshire and North East Film Archives Manage, Graham Relton said: “I’m really looking forward to heading back to Bradford and taking audiences on a whistle-stop tour of TV in the North.
“I’ll be showing some old favourites together with plenty of newly unearthed footage, ranging from pop culture, the weird and wonderful - including local attempts at breaking world records - to the best regional news features and hard-hitting documentaries. There really is something for everyone to tune into!”
David Burton, Cinema Commercial Manager at the National Science and Media Museum added: “We’re thrilled to be hosting a special screening of TV Comes North: Bradford at Pictureville.
“The Yorkshire Film Archive have brought together some fascinating footage to look back at the history of television programme in the North and Bradford. The film has been specially tailored for our audiences and cinemagoers can look forward to seeing footage of prominent moments from throughout Bradford’s history as well as early footage of the museum.”
The film presentation is part of a new project called TV Time Machine, a collaboration between three Northern film archives - the Yorkshire and North East Film Archives, and the North West Film Archive - supported by Film Hub North with National Lottery funding on behalf of the BFI Film Audience Network.
The special screenings of TV Comes North brings to a close an exhibition at the National Science and Media Museum, exploring the last 100 years of broadcasting.
Switched On, running until January 11, takes visitors on a journey from the first radio microphones to the invention of colour television and the rise of on-demand video and streaming services.
The exhibition examines the industry through 14 pioneers linked with broadcasting innovations who have forced the industry to adapt, improve and make room for more voices.
Visitors can learn about influential trailblazers like Sir David Attenborough, who led the introduction of colour on BBC2, and Delia Derbyshire, who created the famous Doctor Who theme tune in 1963 - marking the first television tune made purely from electronic sound, among many others.
Visitors can also experience first-hand the last century of broadcasting innovations through six interactives, including a live camera feed that shows the evolution of television displays over time.
Switched On is part of Broadcast 100 - a bumper year of exhibitions, special displays and digital content across the Science Museum Group that has been celebrating the 100th anniversary of the BBC and the 40th anniversary of Channel 4.
* Pictureville Cinema is showing a season of festive family favourites, from The Polar Express in IMAX 3D to Home Alone 2, for just £3 today, Christmas Eve. The museum’s galleries are also open over the festive period, including the interactive Wonderlab where visitors can explore light and sound, and the Kodak Gallery which showcases the history of photography. Visitors can pre-book a slot for the Games Lounge for £2 per person.
* TV Comes North: Bradford will be screened at Pictureville Cinema on Thursday, January 19. Visit scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk/cinema/tv-comes-north-bradford
* THERE’S more television history over at Shipley Library, where an exhibition explores the work of Sydney Wright. On October 8, 1929 the first ever television broadcast outside London was received in Syndey’s house in Nab Wood.
As reported in recent T&A features, the first live sound and vision was received at Bankfield Drive, home of Sydney, who was the manager of the radio department at Christopher Pratt & Sons in Bradford. To receive the historic transmission, a portable televisor, about 2in x 2in x1ft, with a 4 x 2 in picture, was used, and Sydney’s own wireless set and speaker. A T&A reporter, there to witness it, wrote that “through an aperture measuring, roughly, four ins by two dots of orange light appeared. Quickly the dots flashed past the eye until nothing but a square of orange light was to be seen. An adjustment here, and the dots formed the shape of a man’s face”...”he turned his head to one side then the other, opened his mouth, raised his eyebrows, laughed and scowled. It was difficult to imagine that this vision was being flashed 200 miles through the air. The man disappeared. In its place there came another vision. Still a man’s face, which in a moment was easily recognisable as a profile of the Prince of Wales.”
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