1981: Inventor CLIVE SINCLAIR on the ZX80 and TV80 | Pacesetters | Retro Tech | BBC Archive

Look East's Neil Lyndon looks at the extraordinary career of Clive Sinclair. The Cambridge inventor is on the cusp of releasing a new, flatscreen CRT pocket television, which may change television design for ever.
Sinclair had great success with the Sinclair Executive - an electronic pocket calculator, which he followed up with the ill-fated Sinclair Black Watch, only to bounce back with his low cost Sinclair ZX80 Home Computer.
Despite his success, rumours abound that Clive Sinclair's business acumen does not match his ingenuity as an inventor. Would he be better taking a back seat and concentrating solely on inventions?
This clip is from Look East: The Pacesetters, originally broadcast 21 April, 1981.
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[@nigelcarren]

I respect any man who starts his run in his hallway instead of waiting until outside! 🏆🇬🇧

[@simonrussell4986]

The only way you could get me to run 6 miles before breakfast would be to move my kitchen to the other side of town.

[@lewis7515]

I like the way he kind of tumbled out of there like there was no guarantee he wasn't ending the day with a heart attack

[@nigelcarren]

@@simonrussell4986 🤣😂 Simon, that suggests to me that you are NOT a Weetabix with cold milk kinda guy? So... With that in mind, what time is breakfast mate? Two of everything for me please, I am happy to do all the heavy lifting! 🥓🥓🍳🍳🍅🍅🧀🧀☕☕🇬🇧

[@simonrussell4986]

@@nigelcarren Ha ha! Two of everything coming right up!

[@katewolfspirit6722]

@@simonrussell4986 Alternatively, for me it would be for someone to let loose a very angry rhino, you wouldn't see my arse for dust! ;-))

[@Theoriginalborgy]

As a Brit growing up in the 70-80's as well as ZX Spectrum (I still own and use a ZX Spectrum 128K) owner this man was a household name and legend, A man ahead of his time the C5 was 35 years too early in this world of electric scooters, bikes and trikes. RIP Sir Clive, affectionately known as Uncle Clive. :(

[@purefoldnz3070]

very strange man, he never used computers or the internet. RIP.

[@ojbeez5260]

Bald Ginger Santa

[@pauloliver6813]

Yep- you are correct about the C5. He was a visionary, and not given enough credit. It's a pity the Spectrum never sold abroad as they could have- in an alternative universe it could be Spectrum, not Apple. But...The main difference between the C5 and all the e-scooters etc is that they were exclusively designed for the road. E-scooters operate at the expense and danger to pedestrians; the C5 was a danger to its driver. A serious consensus is needed about the use of e-vehicles on pavements and roads.

[@ForViewingOnly]

Any vintage computing enthusiasts watching this will recognise scenes that were reproduced in the BBC's excellent docu-drama 'Micro Men'.

[@MatthewNorthMusic]

@@MonVonalot Agreed what I was about to say Armstrong played the roll perfectly.

[@gcooper642]

I thought Alexander Armstrong played him very wooden, but watching this makes ne realise he played him accurately

[@hoofie2002]

An excellent drama with great actors and a very good script.

[@sinkler245]

@@MonVonalot I’m too baked for this

[@Edgel-in6bs]

A slightly dramatized version of events. But a brilliant programme nonetheless.

[@jameshardy6277]

The sound of a ZX Spectrum loading Manic Minor or Jet Set Willy will always hold a special place in my heart. I feel very blessed to have be a kid/teenager through the 80's & 90's.

[@masterkamen371]

Meanwhile kids in the 90s in the Balkans: 💀

[@jameshardy6277]

I couldn't give a f**k! about the Balkans. I'm done with apologising for growing-up / living in a functioning country. I often see people like you turn an innocent comment into some political BS. Go find some happiness mate! @@masterkamen371

[@benlachenal771]

How Sinclair runs out of his house on his jog was pretty amazing 😂

[@fidelcatsro6948]

a man ahead of his time🐱👍🏿 (1940-2021)

[@Anthony_Matabaro_Tech]

Yes he was, the world will miss him, RIP Sir Clive Sinclair 👍🏿

[@carlbirtles4518]

He also created the infamous C5.

[@CricketEngland]

Who would have thought that Sinclair pioneered the flat screen TV

[@EllRiver]

Well he didn't, he had the idea. But he ran his company into the ground in the late 80's

[@CricketEngland]

@@EllRiver well you could say the same about the C5 doing that too so it was just his TV’s

[@annother3350]

@@EllRiver having the idea and building it is pioneering

[@EgoAlters]

The first flat panel/flat screen TV came out in the 50s, the Aiken Tube.

[@CricketEngland]

@@EgoAlters I know that I never said he invented them

[@martinbennett9908]

Got my first computer -a 48K Spectrum - for Christmas 1982, and I have had a fantastic career as a games programmer all my life. Thank you Sir Clive.

[@firsteerr]

sir Clive was an electronics genius who also recognized other genius AND knew the price point was king

[@TopOfThePopsFan]

Couldn't afford the assembled ZX80, so I bought the kit and assembled myself. Worked first time. Still have it.

[@monteceitomoocher]

Me too!, wish I'd kept it, collectors item now, happy days back then.

[@scottyc7220]

My first computer was a ZX81, spent hours typing in programs from magazines. Had to be careful not to move it as my 16k rampac would move and crash, great memories.

[@Anthony_Matabaro_Tech]

I loved my Spectrum, RIP Sir Clive Sinclair

[@XenonJohnD]

Remember mounting the ZX81 and rampac on a wooden board then soldering very many little link wires between the connections until I had a reliable wobble free rampac. Added a keyboard later, bought as a kit at the first ever Sinclair show in London. Ugly but it was reliable.

[@scottyc7220]

@@XenonJohnD You reminded me, I had a rubber keyboard that was stuck over the original one. Was still awful, but at the time thought it was better.

[@ericdickison7995]

Zx81 was my first computer, then went onto the Speccy 48k, and I still have it to this day. Happy days….

[@AtheistOrphan]

I received a Sinclair ‘Grey Watch’ (the date version of the Black Watch) for Christmas 1977 and thought it was the absolute cat’s pyjamas. Wish I still had it.

[@speedbird737]

I felt the same when I had to iphone v1 a whole year before any one in the UK!

[@AtheistOrphan]

@@speedbird737 - Cheers Nigel. I remember I was only 12 and was the toast of the playground!

[@annother3350]

@@speedbird737 When you had that iphone my Nokia already had 3G, USB on-the-go and I could transmit music to any nearby FM radio receiver

[@speedbird737]

@@annother3350 and you had to use a crappy keyboard to type in messages and no apps - bad screen and no google maps integration or touch screen functionality like the iPhone lol

[@annother3350]

@@speedbird737 on 2G it wasn't worth surfing the net, Grandpa

[@MrAlwaysBlue]

RIP Sir Clive. A truly Great Briton.

[@Anthony_Matabaro_Tech]

Yes he was, he will be missed

[@snotwurfit]

Some of my most enjoyable times as a kid was playing on my ZX Spectrum 48k. I had been excited at the prospect of getting a ZX81 for Xmas, but was blown away when I unwrapped the Xmas wrapping paper and saw Spectrum on the box. I even look back at all those hours getting tape load errors, rewinding the cassette, turning the volume down and trying again -with affection. SCS -a great inventor

[@jameshardy6277]

Ah the memories.

[@robintyson591]

Highest admiration Sir Clive. The thing I remember most were the books. SERIOUS manuals - very thick - detailing BASIC programming language. Must have taught and inspired hundreds of thousands.

[@rodcambridge9040]

Ha! I remember these, too. The ones I had with my spectrum were orange in colour. A great way to get started in BASIC!

[@welshlad6427]

The ZX81 was one of the best things I had as a young teenager. So many great memories playing games like Manic Miner with my mates. Loved it……..other than loading the games on my cassette player. Now that was frustrating 😂 Clive Sinclair thank you, you legend ❤

[@georgeprout42]

The cassette player was due to cost. Someone at school would buy a game, use their portable "ghetto blaster" double tape deck to make a copy and go back for a refund shortly afterwards. "My mum also bought this for me earlier". By the end of the week we all had copies. We shouldn't be known as generation X, we were generation R. As in the R tape loading error generation.

[@equinoxxee]

Thank you for these archive images. Sir Clive Sinclair was a very brilliant and forward thinking man. Thank you Clive for everything you have invented! RIP Sir Clive Sinclair

[@purefoldnz3070]

very strange man. Never used a computer or the internet.

[@Anthony_Matabaro_Tech]

I could not agree with you more, RIP Sir Clive Sinclair, a top man, ahead of his time, I loved my Spectrum. 👍

[@a1white]

And a year later the ZX Spectrum was released and was a huge seller, sold on the high street, it was revolutionary, introducing the concept of a personal computer for an affordable price.

[@Conceptualcreatures]

The world needs more like him

[@Anthony_Matabaro_Tech]

@Be Better, I fully agree with you, RIP Sir Clive Sinclair.

[@mattfranks4335]

My favourite bit was the ginger comb over .

[@DuckAlertBeats]

Lolol the way he came bowling out of his house for a run there 😂

[@kildogery]

Sinclair was basically Kickstarting every product. So far ahead of his time and a bona fide genius.

[@jonathancauldwell9822]

The ZX81 and ZX Spectrum were my introduction to the world of computing and led to my 30-year career in software development. To see those machines still being supported and used to this day shows the effect this man had on so many. Requiescat in pace Clive, you were ahead of your time

[@svenred6eard757]

Love the running shorts

[@doctorsocrates4413]

I would never have got into computing if it were not for the 48k spectrum..i then went on to have an amiga500...but the spectrum was my first ever computer and i hold it dear to my heart for all the great childhood memories it held...clive was a genius...rest well clive.x

[@icvideoservices]

An absolute legend. Sir Clive changed my whole life by getting the Spectrum to market at a price a single parent could afford. I learned a bit of programming on it and it led to a great career in IT

[@MatSmithLondon]

Similar aims as Raspberry Pi, in terms of making computing smaller and more affordable. Lovely. It's impressive how he managed to start running BEFORE actually leaving the building.

[@mrpositronia]

Raspberry Pi was indeed inspired by the BBC Micro, which was made by Acorn, a company founded by ex-Sinclair Radionics' Chris Curry. So, it's a spiritual successor to that original idea of home-learning machines. 😁

[@dronespace]

@@mrpositronia home learning goodness ❤️

[@annother3350]

he was escaping the wife

[@Anthony_Matabaro_Tech]

@@mrpositronia Yes it is, and those of us old enough to remember the Spectrum, appreciate what the PI is trying to do, RIP Sir Clive Sinclair

[@markdaly1903]

Sir Clive Sinclair was a revolutionary in terms of computers and the tech industry. but he was torn apart over his idea about electronic scooters and the idea bankrupted him but his idea has come to pass..

[@markdaly1903]

when he appeared on Tv, tomorrows world, his prototype did not work and the press tore him apart

[@jayme69]

Singlehandedly put the UK on the map as a world leader in Home Microcomputers and in turn birthed the bedroom coders movement which contributed immeasurably to the video games industry we know today. #Legend

[@SWR112]

Sir Clive was ahead of his time what we need is a Sir Clive for batteries in EV’s to take them next level. Mail order was just Amazon of its time. Imagine if he had started Amazon and had its cash he’d have probably came up with some scary ideas. He got computers in peoples houses I had many fun hours in front of a ZX81 early 80’s with a warm keyboard 😂. The spectrum 48k was king in its day. Many of the developers in charge today started on one of his machines. Glad he seen tech like the EV and phone and computers mature till his death 2021. He’s refreshingly honest, he did need someone to look after the business with hindsight.

[@MoroccanAnwar]

THIS MAN WAS AHEAD OF HIS TIME!!

[@Anthony_Matabaro_Tech]

He most certainly was

[@videogamebookreviews]

He's a fan of book jenga, it seems. 2:33

[@pauloliver6813]

The journalist Neil Lyndon appeared on one of the most famous programmes in British TV history. Channel 4 After Dark with Oliver Reed on Masculinity. I remember watching it live, and it is still utterly fascinating.

[@Ozymandias1]

Oliver Reed was an alcoholic who often appeared on sets ad on tv when drunk. He died during a drinking contest with sailors. Bur he did live a full life.

[@gazuk2000]

Proper love, anything like this me. Thanks so much for posting on here. It's really interesting and I can't believe how far we have come regarding technology, still I bet great even better future technology still to arrive. Please control post more videos like this. Massive respect to you making your channel. I've sub and liked the video.

[@DJEonT1]

Thank goodness he had the drive to push products out (good or bad) as well as the skills to invent.

[@mach5406]

1:08 evidently the most important part of this video 😂

[@michelprins]

great guy i loved my zx48k

[@bondbug73]

The early 80's was a great time for such individual tech such as personal computers. Got too samey nowadays.

[@TheStevenWhiting]

Today we have the Pi so just so just as good even better with all the easy access to knowledge.

[@Anthony_Matabaro_Tech]

Yes it has, lack of creativity and to much going back to the well - (Kind of like modern movies, all remakes and reboots, and not good ones at that)

[@RasheedKhan-he6xx]

Thank you for the ZX Spectrum, 48K no less!

[@speedbird737]

flat panel and small tvs will never happen - crazy idea ;-)

[@mrmshifan]

World was not ready for him

[@legin3753]

Genius

[@scotishjohn]

Great guy remember my ZX spectrum

[@carlbirtles4518]

4 years after this, he infamously launched the Sinclair C5.

[@andreasj2429]

1:56, what's the name of the street? it looks pleasant.

[@videogamebookreviews]

The ZX80 was not the first personal computer. 1:47 ... Ah, gently corrected by Sir Clive (although the "without any sacrifice" bit is not really truthful) 3:52

[@speedbird737]

sacrifice sound, graphics, proper keyboard, etc lol

[@andygilbert1877]

It was certainly the first one many, many of us saw though. Kickstarted my interest for sure!

[@tjmarx]

The part where it claimed computers were all pretty much the same thing had me belly laughing. But even better when he said he didn't feel computers would run the home.

[@gama3302]

I remember my ZX81.

[@mart4995]

Great man, tragic combover.

[@craiggilchrist4223]

I always noticed about Clive. He hardly ever blinks lol.

[@fl00d69]

SMART MAN!

[@shaunsiz.itsbetterbytube2858]

At 5.46 sir clive said "we would suggest that the home will or would be run by computers" a very enjoyable video

[@CasinoWoyale]

You evidently have poor hearing. He said "we wouldn't suggest".

[@shaunsiz.itsbetterbytube2858]

@@CasinoWoyale well what would we do without people like you. I bet you were a hoot at school

[@Geert365]

7:54 That is indeed (i think) quite the tongue twister.

[@retrotap]

Brave question at the end, I thought it was going to turn dark.

[@davidlloyd3116]

I loved Jet Set Willy,

[@edwardfletcher7790]

Here in 2022, we finally have really cheap 4K flat screen TV's 😁

[@ninaevans4501]

Sleep well in the arms of God now Sir Clive. You have truly enriched all our lives. Of those of us who remember, as teens and younger children we were. Your computers developed quite a stir. As a closed chapter the times so moved on, our love for Uncle Clive still lives on. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️👍👍👍👍👍🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡

[@triggerhappystrange5496]

Interesting see just how far Data/Info storage tech has come in decades later! Funny how mention that we will hang Televisions on walls, as motority do today!😊

[@Ad0akes]

Still got my 128k+2 😁

[@scottishwildcat]

Sadly that flat TV was a commercial flop, not least because it launched around the same time as the first pocket LCD TVs. Watching it back now, I’d actually forgotten the Sinclair one still had a CRT in it, I thought it had an LCD screen too.

[@mikiex]

Even pocket LCDs weren't that popular at least in Europe, but they obviously sold enough for the large Japanese companies to keep making them

[@alangiles2763]

The Black Watch........oh dear 🙂

[@fredcatcreedy980]

Only a real man with fly out of his hallway in those shorts and ginger comb over.

[@renewklear]

A very smart gentleman. I wonder what he would say if he were alive now to his “we don’t think computers will run our homes” statement. Or in a conversation with a ChatBot 😅

[@PlaAwa]

RIP

[@fffffffffffffffffark]

That code is hilarious, it doesn't calculate anything 😆 Clive was a legend though. Bring back the C5!

[@scaredyfish]

“One computer can do pretty much the same as any other” *so long as you can fit it in 1kb of RAM.

[@lilacfloyd]

Kickstarter etc. is the new mail order.

[@TheStevenWhiting]

4:01 Be honest Clive. You sacrificed the keyboard, the ZX80 keyboard was always bad. And because of the way the machine was coded, you'd get the screen blank every time you typed a character.

[@nebojsatomcic]

He had fixed blinking issue with the ZX81 :D

[@TheStevenWhiting]

@@nebojsatomcic I thought it was still an issue? Been so long I can't remember. I'd get random urges in the 80s in middle school to go home and type in a program from a box on my brothers ZX81. It lasted for a short while then I'd get bored. Mainly cause the code was always poorly typed in the book and my diagnostic didn't exist so when it didn't work I'd get annoyed and give up :)

[@XenonJohnD]

There was one space invaders game for the ZX80 that somehow worked without the screen blinking. I used it as the demo program to sell my ZX80 to someone ready for my upgrade to the ZX81.

[@mrrolandlawrence]

wow running shorts were short back then. also the irony of CS not really getting on with the internet & didnt even have an email address.

[@Danuk1996]

that 4k tv is amazing

[@AtheistOrphan]

Er, there was no ‘4k tv’ featured in this video! (It wasn’t invented until decades later). I take it your comment was meant as a joke?

[@Danuk1996]

@@AtheistOrphan I know mate it was a joke lol

[@AtheistOrphan]

@@Danuk1996 - I thought it might be, but you do get some VERY dense people posting comments here! Peace.✌️

[@MatSmithLondon]

Does the presenter, Neil Lyndon, remind anyone of Jez from Peep Show? e.g. at 0:18 or 1:55

[@gower1973]

We have automated assembly of the flat tubes, cuts to two women in a lab making them 😂

[@annother3350]

Androids you mean

[@PaulTaylor1]

I don't really like Elon Musk, but he shares something with Uncle Clive. If you have a vision, there's nothing like a room full of accountants and market experts to kill it dead. Sometimes the world needs people who ignore all that and just do what they think should be done. IMHO it will always fail in the end, but the classic moments gifted to the world in between are worth it for those of us whose lives were changed by them.

[@paranoidgenius9164]

"......... flat screens that can be hung on a wall......" Amazing prediction!😃

[@retrorambles517]

A great ideas man, poor business man

[@Edgel-in6bs]

I had a zx80...81....speccie. The QL didn't do it for me. A genius, however - an overused word, but this is a literal one.

[@anonUK]

RIP Clive Sinclair. The man who brought you Jet Set ******* Willy.

[@diablobarcelona]

It was Mathew Smith who brought us the likes of Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy - not Sir Clive.

[@anonUK]

@@diablobarcelona kzbin.info/www/bejne/jGTPkIGMbtSEZ8U

[@CastleKnight7]

@@diablobarcelona But without the Sinclair ZX Spectrum 48k…

[@scottishwildcat]

Indeed, Sir Clive always hated his computers being used for games.

[@diablobarcelona]

@@CastleKnight7 Indeed - but Sir Clive did was not the one that "brought" us Jet Set ***** Willy ;-)

[@makara80]

Of the ZX80 and rival machines, Interviewer: ‘Is it as efficient as the others?’ Sinclair: ‘Oh yes very much so’ …Er, now that’s not quite true is it Clive! 😂 The ZX80 may well have been far cheaper than it’s competitors but only with _substantial_ compromise to features and design…

[@Gazdatronik]

He was probably gauging its efficiency by part count

[@deanteasdale8261]

Does anyone know why the ZX81 ended up with that dodgy 16k pack attached by pins that kept shutting it down if you breathed etc? 😄

[@paulwesterman]

yeah only 1K on board and the only expansion was through a card edge connector - a poor connection method that was very prone to vibration, dirt, etc. Best fix I saw was two edge connectors connected with a ribbon cable

[@martinhughes2549]

Blutac solved that problem!

[@deanteasdale8261]

@@martinhughes2549 Blutac, now that's a praiseworthy invention 😄

[@SabretoothBarnacle]

"Blutac, that's genius. Our readers would love that" "What magazine did you say you're from again?" "Sinclair User" "Well you have my blessing" #throatlump

[@Ozymandias1]

Sort of like worn out micro usb connectors. I’m glad more manufacturers use usb-c now.

[@HOLLASOUNDS]

Smart man indeed.

[@johnmc3862]

Wow he was so posh!

[@jge123]

I have a book about the Spectrum signed by him, his handwriting was tiny.

[@cubleycat]

There are some XZ80s for sale on ebay at almost £800!

[@nigeljames6017]

Not being nasty, but it was the ZX80.

[@speedbird737]

with the fake vent on top lol

[@andygilbert1877]

For working ones. They must be a real rarity as I don’t remember mine lasting long! Luckily the ZX81 came along, that died too. Luckily along came the Spectrum, which lasted a bit longer, then died. Did I mention my QL? 🤣

[@speedbird737]

@@andygilbert1877 I kept to commodore (VIC20, C64,CD32,AMIGA500,etc) never had any issues all worked flawlessly

[@mattmid7012]

Wish I'd kept mine. I can't even remember what happened to it now.

[@zx50]

It's nearly the size of today's phones, especially the larger sized iPhones.

[@AtheistOrphan]

Encouraging children to get coding 42 years ago!

[@808music3]

Good for Clive Sinclair. Sometimes bringing too early and to cheap saturates the business market. It can be seen in Chinese products.

[@nathancox6249]

Games😁😁

[@sixpackpilot]

@4:44 I guess mr. Sinclair was fully focused on developing efficient, cheap, compact computers and could not care less about following a clean-desk policy in his office. Probably saw the computer as the only viable solution for the mess on his desk. Physically filing the lot or throwing away trash never was an option.

[@Ozymandias1]

Computers at the time had nowhere near the memory to store the contents of those files. Clear desk policies hadn’t been introduced, by the end of the 90s people still had lots of paper and personal stuff (such as family photos) on their desk. Now that is often not allowed and you often can’t listen to the radio too and talk to colleagues about anything but work-related things and aren’t allowed to use a mobile phone and you can only go to the loo during your lunch break, making office life dull and a drag compared to the past. I doubt those policies make work more efficient, rather the employees will look at job sites at home to try to find another job that gives them more satisfaction.

[@lewis7515]

2:23 - Reagan and Carter show up to call Sinclair a four-eyed get.

[@sheaintheavyshewasmymother8500]

Unless somebody invents computers and KZbin!! And mobiles or summat!

[@gigteevee6118]

The UK Steve Jobs….we’d have no Raspberry Pi without his vision of cheap computing for all either!

[@20thCB]

A little known fact about Sir Clive is that his wife would wind him up in the hallway before pushing him out the door!

[@TruculentSheep]

Wonderful, but note how he can't quite bring himself to mention computer games in any form.

[@wojciechturek1601]

Never heard about this person however what a brain 81 is when I was born

[@DavidMFranks]

Really clever guy. But I'm a bit afraid of him - I have a recurring dream where he keeps me hostage in a castle......

[@annother3350]

...and you have no chance in outrunning him?

[@lifeafterdev]

Better than Steve Jobs 🧠

[@gmf121266]

Nice tech shame about the C5...

[@kevanmccaffrey8513]

manic minor

[@maciej3373]

"You can use it at work" he says, while a grown man is attempting to write a program on a keyboard with keys the size of a quarter of his fingertips.

[@qwertykeyboard5901]

It's ashame my mtv specimen died from both me killing it and the thing committing suicide. Those things are NOT easy to work on!