BBC1 | closedown | 22nd April 1985

© BBC TELEVISION 1985
End of Rich and Famous
BBC1 slide: The Black Marble
BBC2 slide: One From the Heart
weather forecast
PIF: Check Your Tyres
BBC Radio Shropshire slide: launch
BBC1 clock (12:04am): closing announcement
BBC1 COW globe with national anthem
test tone
many strange test cards
transmitter shutdown
(background noise is whatever was on the tape previously having not being completely erased).

[@ravenhill_theAnglo-celt-1968]

loving these old 80's closedowns, it comforts my heart.

[@stickytapenrust6869]

Good because there’s a HTV Wales one from 1987 being published on my channel at 9am.

[@richardknowlson6319]

I love these classic 80s closedowns. I like how from 3:52 , you can still hear talking very faintly in the background.

[@billyh88uk]

I like how after the national anthem plays you can just about hear the sound of cheering and applause in the background.

[@stickytapenrust6869]

That wouldn't have been broadcast at the same time, I don't think. It's probably bleed-through from a previous recording on the tape, where the erase head in the VCR hasn't quite fully wiped off the soundtrack of the previous recording when it was making this one.

[@jessiecator1740]

I was 15. My husband, who is 18 years older than me and American found it hard to believe that everything closed here, including the TV. I've told him we had three channels growing up, one of those we weren't allowed to watch because it was for "common people". Watching this again it's actual quite scary, end of the world stuff.

[@stickytapenrust6869]

I never quite understood this thing about "ITV being for common people" - the quality and type of programmes between ITV and BBC1 was actually very similar.

[@jessiecator1740]

@@stickytapenrust6869 we were children and my mother was a snob, my father's rebellion was to put Tiswaz on instead of Swapshow and do the dieing fly to annoy her lol

[@Nico93]

ah, yes, the days when other things could interfear with the signal easy if it was audio.

[@flatcapman]

IT was very strange colour bars. Also the tone sounds like it tripped or was drunk in places

[@DamianLupinthe3rdLacombe]

I do hear music in the background after it shuts down the transmitter, if you hear it closely from before they sign off and during the black screen. :)

[@DamianLupinthe3rdLacombe]

haha! I love gumball!

[@DamianLupinthe3rdLacombe]

Nice reference

[@1875HIBEESFC]

That music that can be heard from 7:30, I know it was that the tape had not been fully erased but I wonder what it actually was

[@KitCurranRadioShow]

Ultravox, Hymn.

[@Boricua3lions1985]

I was 5 days old when this was on.

[@Stevieg496]

I was 20 day's old ;-)

[@frazermountford]

Imagine the outcry if the BBC cut the national anthem these days because they went to 24h broadcasting, its a shame really there was no reason they could of kept playing it at midnight each day

[@GROMIT9]

The Date of the clip is Monday 22nd April 1985.

[@bethanyturton6035]

That please stand by SFX was took a less of the SFX.

[@javiergomez9970]

Announcer is Mark Waddington

[@Stevieg496]

I was just 20 days old when this was recorded.

[@Matt571]

How come the bar test signal was shown instead of the test card? I have seen other closedowns where they go straight to the test card. I can remember seeing this bar signal on early mornings as well.

[@toucan3144]

wow ive never seen what happens after the anthem is played, since the other videos ended after the anthem

[@aidanlunn7441]

Usually the bars and stripes pattern didn't appear, usually it was just black screen with tone for between 15 and 30 minutes after shutdown until the transmitters were turned off.

[@marioalexanderski9598]

4:25 DeeJay PT has similar closedowns

[@sunshinemand]

Ultravox playing at the very end.

[@inactiveaccount2775]

6:50 what the... what just happened?

[@aidanlunn7441]

They just switched on pulse and bar test pattern (and the VCR I was playing this back off took some seconds to lock to the new sync pulses coming off the test pattern generator, hence the jitter on the picture and the "wobble" in the sound).

[@inactiveaccount2775]

oh okay 7:36 and now there's soundless static

[@aidanlunn7441]

SonicAndShadowFanBoy 750 Yup, that's when the transmitters switched off. I have heavily edited the time for the black screen after the globe faded out and also the time between the beginning and end of the pulse and bar testcard as the time for both on the actual tape totalled about 25 minutes!

[@phammaianh8536]

Clock 12:03 AM

[@Angel-zp4xr]

Gudnäit teya

[@fernlew8828]

that was a year and four days before the chernobyl disaster

[@iTzNQQB]

Can i use this video, Ill give credit for you

[@aidanlunn7441]

Yeah, go ahead

[@Angel-zp4xr]

Kæppœla kanekushon wan from da hāt

[@ninasweetgirl1349]

7:50 like a band trans x

[@Angel-zp4xr]

Blæk mābl