BBC1 Idents and Clocks 1936-Present (2020)

[@oddsandwindsocks5905]

Memories come flooding back, I used to love the 70s 80s clock especially at Christmas, really festive and warm feelings to me . Then as time went by the clocks disappeared and now the naff intro that we see now , please bring back the clock, so nice and simple.

[@thebestspork]

there's actually a good reason they don't use the clock any more - digital television decoding delays mean it's impossible to broadcast an accurate one.

[@oddsandwindsocks5905]

@@thebestspork thankyou

[@Robholyoake3778]

And before it come one sided

[@Gilberto90]

@@thebestspork They've 'moved' the clock motif into the news intro though so it still lives on in a way (of course its also a reference to the radio time signal).

[@BruceDanton-xw6eg]

The bbc1 clock was last seen in 2002 when alas the balloon was changed to the dancers at the time so then too.

[@markbate5583]

The clarity of some of those 70/80s voices

[@richards6332]

Yes, the "announcers" today are AWFUL.

[@rory828]

@@richards6332they’re not that bad

[@Imxel21]

@@richards6332they all speak the same

[@jungfraujoch11333]

The lack of clarity in TV speech is amazing (esp crime ) Dolby processing and multi audio channels to blame

[@louiseogden1296]

I miss the clock. It always had that eerie, solemn character to it which we've lost since :-/.

[@louiseogden1296]

Replying to myself -- idents are liminal spaces and I love liminality.

[@BCJ1985]

1991 was easily the most sophisticated set of idents, loved them.

[@DuncanMcA]

I’m glad there’s some love for those idents. I thought that 1 globe was so classy! And the 2’s, say no more!

[@halfbakedproductions7887]

The "1" mirror globe is absolutely iconic 90s, no doubt about it. Everyone remembers it well. When I was at primary school circa 1992-3 that's how I wrote the number 1, because that's what influenced me - my parents and teachers hated it of course. People said it stayed on air too long and looked dismally dated by the end. I disagree, if anything fits that description it was that hideous mirror globe which should have gone well before 1985. And that electronic stripey 2 was rocking the 1970s all the way up to Easter 1986.

[@weaksauceremy]

Oh my god memory unlocked I wasn’t around for most of these (2000s kid) but the 2006-2016 idents were so calming I remember the cyclist one I was mesmerised lolll

[@alanmusicman3385]

You can almost see the transition during the 1990s to how the BBC regarded and presented itself. Up until the 1990s the BBC was confident in its place as uber-broadcaster and had no need to be anything other than a friendly but authoritative centralised (usually London centred) presence. After that it became increasingly about getting out and about, and dipping into everyday lives and activities (albeit in a highly choreographed and rehearsed way). In many ways I preferred the old self-confident BBC which was reassuringly "up there" - but of course so many things mean that can no longer be, Saville, the Internet, the never ending scamble to try to please everyone and keep the license fee arrangement and so on. One wonders how big a part the BBCs loss of its confident place at the heart of the nation has to do with the fragmentation of our society and the resulting loss of national cohesion. Clearly many factors bear on that, but I think that the diminution of confidence in the BBC is definitely one of them.

[@lmlmd2714]

The 2000s onwards were brutal for the BBC. They never really recovered their credibility from the Iraq War, where they came to be seen as the governments (and, increasingly, Tony Blairs own personal) propagandists. Ever since then they've been cringingly servile to the government of the day, which has made any attempt at being auhoritative or factual untenable. At the same time Freeview, quickly followed by streaming, has decimated their entertainment brand. On top of that the new found de-facto federalisation of the UK demand *much* more extensive localised programming in each country, which was both expensive, and culturally difficult for an organisation deeply wedded to it's Englishness, suddenly needing to produce quality content for the very different cultures of Wales, Scotland and NI. It's a mess mostly of their own making, but it still must be horrible for their mid-rank staff who just want to get on with making content.

[@marklatimer7333]

Satellite TV started the rot in the 90s - The internet was dial-up and far too slow so was much later.

[@fastcars393]

You can also see when they turned socialist and the woke too!

[@marklatimer7333]

@@fastcars393 I think they were always a bit liberal, in the 1970s they seemed to great delight in upsetting Mary Whitehouse. that didn't take much. It has got worst in the last 15 years plus we notice it more now because in fact we are the that have 'awoken' to this lunacy.

[@kelvinpell4571]

@@fastcars393 Damn straight! Back in 1979 I was in Iran when the Shah was deposed. The BBC was how we found out what was going on........factual and truthful. Similar situation now....I would not trust anything the BBC reported. It is simply PRAVDA with a diversity agenda.

[@DiamondEnderPearl0135]

Why am I finding this nostalgic! I'm only 19 and getting epic flashbacks from these idents!

[@hav431am]

The 1953-1960 one is so calming. I dunno why.

[@25COfficial]

Maybe because of the relaxing tune :o

[@rklrkl64]

One bemusing thing is that with satellite delays and even longer delays with iPlayer "live" streaming, the BBC eventually had to give up the onscreen clock as part of their continuity output. Even the BBC News channel that airs today only shows the time in hours and minutes onscreen (so it will only be wrong some of the time compared to showing the seconds, where it would be wrong all of the time).

[@mariea82]

I didn’t know this

[@halfbakedproductions7887]

Unbelievably there was an on-screen clock to go with the dancer idents circa 2002. It was very rarely seen, but it did exist.

[@BruceDanton-xw6eg]

​i am not sure about that one at all

[@merlin5476]

I quite enjoyed this... But look at the Bbc now.... jeeesus.

[@k_np04]

BBC still have some of Elegance

[@shaz2761]

The most interesting thing for me is hearing how the accents change over time.

[@David-uf8ex]

Yes from nice diction to common as muck

[@ixlnxs]

@@David-uf8ex It's even worse in some other languages. Early broadcasts from Belgium and the Netherlands seem interchangeable. In the 1980s localisms started to creep in, and nowadays you can hear not just what country presenters are from, but even from what town. I long for the days there was a standard Dutch, owned by both nations. Not that I was alive then.

[@gui18bif]

@@ixlnxs portugal is even crazier. Im 20 years old and ive noticed our accent change already

[@halfbakedproductions7887]

@@ixlnxs I remember in 1997 when Channel 5 launched, there was a newsreader who spoke with a proper London accent. It was a real shock because I was so used to the RP and neutral voices heard on other channels.

[@jennydale8680]

Something very comforting about the 1991-1997 ident and clock at 3:36. I was 8 in 1991 so large part of my childhood right there

[@anonUK]

I feel the same about the 1985-1991 COW.

[@DuncanMcA]

Yeah I was 3 when they changed to the 1991 idents, so they are hugely comforting to me.

[@DuncanMcA]

@@anonUK it’s weird I remember the ‘TWO’ ident of that era but not the COW, not introducing programmes at least. But I do remember it as a BBC Video ident!

[@halfbakedproductions7887]

The mirror globe was a huge part of my childhood and I remember it well. When I was at primary school 30 years ago and learning to write and count, I even wrote the number 1 in the style of the BBC ident - my parents and teachers hated me for that. But it was such a big influence, so I didn't understand how or why it was wrong.

[@michealofloinn2539]

It’s a pity the old 4:3 format is stretched.

[@literallyfrankjaeger]

i love the accents in the older ones, very sophisticated. wish i sounded like that.

[@bwc1976]

1972-74 will always be my favorite, but really anything before 2002 is great.

[@rectify2003]

The BBC was so amazing, and as people have said so many memories have come flooding back

[@David-uf8ex]

Was being the word

[@leaturk11]

@Heavenly Pleasure oh dear..

[@AndrewLumsden]

We will never see these time checks ever again 😪

[@DuncanMcA]

There must be a way to generate a graphical clock using a TV or set-top box’s internal time (which is set by the internet so usually accurate), a bit like how local ads can be fed at postcode level. Just a thought!

[@edwardjones4870]

Ah, those wonderful BBC voices!

[@tinahardman9805]

I love the old idents. The first one I remember was the colour globe. Unfortunately they just became more boring as the years passed. The Oneness ident was just annoying.

[@pennypay1]

There's something reassuring about these classic and calm time announcements. I first heard one in a film from 1949; it sounded like a clock's chime followed by an ident and the time of 7:30. Evening had come on and it was cold and rainy out, but the modest small house was cozy while 'Mum' and her son-and-law had tea and listened to the 'wireless'. (The brief film covered an unsavory subject after that intro, but still.) I was a child of the 70's, and have never lived anywhere but the U.S., but I'm charmed by vintage British media.

[@mutestingray]

I think the 91-97 indents are the best. They're the most "put-together" of them all.

[@robalexander8065]

The 1969 Nationwide intro was a reconstruction. Mike Gamble wasn't working as a BBC announcer at that point.

[@SeRGio_9320_]

Wow, memories stirred up 😮

[@rtc9063]

That aerobics class and the one at the end doesn’t even know the flamin’ routine.

[@ben9DB]

Yeah that always annoyed me too. Put some effort in love!

[@rtc9063]

@@ben9DB I can’t believe they did reshoot the whole thing for her to know the bloody steps the second time round. At least it’s gone for good now

[@jocramkrispy305]

Some of us don't "get" routines easily. It took me about 6 months to learn a single song. Still fluffed up the actual performance. Showed it to a friend *once*, they had it down perfectly.

[@rtc9063]

@@jocramkrispy305 I guess I’d be 6 years getting it right but seeing this was supposed for professional presentation purposes and the money the BBC would have wasted….

[@jocramkrispy305]

​@@rtc9063 Ah, I see the difference in our expectations... This wasn't a "professional presentation" it was depicting a local exercise class

[@evo5dave]

Damn. I want to watch The Goodies and Sorry! now.

[@JulieWallis1963]

We used to speak so beautifully. What happened.

[@johnanthony6092]

Mobile phones and the internet.

[@balticthegrapher]

@@johnanthony6092 how tf does the internet change your accent

[@johnanthony6092]

@@balticthegrapher By listening to poor speakers.

[@webski280]

We stopped faking the stupid "transatlantic accent"

[@Krycha.mro2006]

British accent sounds so beautiful than American, they speaking the same language

[@rjmunro]

Nearly all of these should be 4:3, not 16:9. Some of the globes don't look circular.

[@huwzebediahthomas9193]

Way too oblong, yes.

[@Captainwillie]

They are stretched

[@ianhelps3749]

Oddly enough, I remember the earlier idents ( late 60s to 70s) better than the later ones. After moving to Holland in 1988, I only watched British television occasionally on visits home.

[@PlanetImo]

Oh wow - this brought back some memories!

[@mariea82]

This shows how far the BBC have fallen in terms of class.

[@pickledegg1989]

The clock shown as '1991-1997' wasn't used for that long. It was used only for a brief period in 1991 at the beginning of the 'virtual globe' ident's life, and replaced by a second version used until 1997.

[@riftgamer9139]

0:48 BBC (1997 - 2021) logo in a 1963 BBC clock? Interesting.

[@newwinow]

celebrate 75 years

[@PatMazzola]

OK

[@scottandrewhorne4655]

When this Earthly World this Earthly Realm was a much better and nicer place to live

[@johnanthony6092]

Instead of focusing on what's changed for the worse, focus on what is still good.

[@scottandrewhorne4655]

@@johnanthony6092 theres nothing still Good John is there

[@johnanthony6092]

@@scottandrewhorne4655 There is, you're just looking in the wrong place.

[@robalexander8065]

Some great imagery. Please do something about the screen ratios though! The BBCtv ident looks like a lozenge rather than a globe.

[@arthurvasey]

Early television pictures were in 4:3, so either they have to be presented in glorious Squashovision or with bars at either the sides or the top and bottom!

[@anonUK]

@@arthurvasey Bars at the side would be perfectly acceptable for this imo. "Early" TV pictures were 5:4 or even portrait aspect. 4:3 lasted from the 1950s to the 90s.

[@GodzillaLover66]

2:45 Good Luck Annette!

[@thisiszaphod]

How the BBC has dumbed down through the years through idents.

[@EricIrl]

In what way? Can't get too excited about a clock or a globe.

[@Poshfrocknfluffyslip]

That’s media training in action!

[@G6JPG]

Such a pity that, for a clip on such a technical subject, up to about 4:04 of a 5:06 clip had the wrong aspect ratio.

[@paulbevan5389]

My immediate thought too.

[@namph72]

Minack Theatre in Cornwall early 2000s amongst this

[@LittleLusMyLuvs]

There was a crank behind the 1970s BBC2

[@foxmulder6303]

Still miss the globe, especially at xmas, liked it when it was a spinning xmas pud

[@leo.909]

0:16 i think the music makes it creepy just a tad bit of creepiness and relaxation.

[@dukedragon28]

Was too young to remember the clock but bring it back anyway

[@CoolDudeClem]

the 90's - early 2000's idents, seems like only yesterday. I still have many VHS tapes of TV shows I taped back in the day, complete with those channel idents.

[@emmas4336]

2017 onwards: Cringe.

[@paranoia2021]

Hilariously, it’s been replaced by the “O-perspective”

[@MetroidMagmoor-629]

I agree to disagree

[@SkinniJ]

Lmao, skipped to this part and just, lmao.

[@mrburgess1698]

Yeah and the announcer had the audacity to say “We hope you enjoy our ‘exciting’ new look”!

[@witherblaze]

That exercise class looked awful

[@williamfairchild7439]

3:49 I do like the 1968 film version of Oliver and it's one of my favourite classic musical films

[@rectify2003]

Amazing Upload

[@bigtone1348]

I rember watching these while waiting for Andy Pandy.

[@lorrainewilkinson3134]

Me too.

[@bigtone1348]

@@lorrainewilkinson3134 and the Wooden tops, Bill & Ben, Picture Book, Rag Tag & Bobtail etc...... My children watched Chorlton & the Wheelies. My grandchildren loved Mopatop and the Tweenies. I'm still a child at 68!

[@lorrainewilkinson3134]

I'm 63 and will always love those children's programmes. Such simple times. When children were allowed to be children and knew how to play.

[@bigtone1348]

@@lorrainewilkinson3134 I couldn't have put it better. Visible strings and jerky actions. A bit like the old monster movies in the fifties. I love them too.

[@ObviousSchism]

I do love a good ident

[@SenyorCapitàCollons]

Since when did the BBC used digital idents or computer-drawed blocks? In spain since 1974 or 1977. And man it was so awesome to have television in 1936 already :O

[@davepowell7168]

What about the test card, or the national anthem as an alternative to stand to

[@windowsnt63official]

Did you notice something in the 1963 clock?

[@thatadhdkid2009]

Can you please give me the raw footage of the 1963 clock? I need it for a Beatles video.

[@tom2089rr]

The 1963 clock has the 1997-2021 logo for some reason?

[@RedOrTheBlueBean]

0:55 why is the 1997 BBC Logo here

[@KevinCarrotfan12]

Because it's an archive broadcast

[@heatingservice7433]

The 1963 clock here has the logo from 1997-2021 bottom left

[@newwinow]

75 yearsssss

[@Agnethatheredhairkid]

Bring back the lovely batwing!

[@marklatimer7333]

And the tiny round screen TVs that it was designed for - we had a 9 inch in our house in a cabinet the size of an American Fridge. It got so hot after a couple of hours that the wooden cabinet started to burn .

[@Agnethatheredhairkid]

@@marklatimer7333 Flippin' 'eck, Mark!

[@marklatimer7333]

@@Agnethatheredhairkid I'm older than I look you know.

[@Agnethatheredhairkid]

@@marklatimer7333 So am I, Mark! Most don't believe I'm over 60.

[@marklatimer7333]

@@Agnethatheredhairkid You are naught but a mere whipper snapper.

[@mikeynicol2556]

I do miss the highbrow nature of the BBC in the past, gives an element of sartorial poise to the country.

[@spmoran4703]

Just looking at things from the past . Most of it before my past. It's interesting. I saw repeated of Perry Mason. They were good.

[@davepowell7168]

This justifies the licence fee.

[@mgem1200]

Civilization decay began in 2006 in appears and finally ended in 2017. Right.

[@bundesautobahn7]

Weird how the presenter was an off-voice. In Germany, when we still had people presenting the programmes, they were actually shown, and not hidden behind a clock. The clock only came before the news, e.g. the Tagesschau.

[@publicznespodniekochamivan5068]

Wiadomości

[@Supposedlyimrightwingnow]

At some point the bbc was a worthy institution.....where did it go wrong?

[@johnanthony6092]

They employed Jimmy Saville.

[@sergioroman2920]

​@@johnanthony6092That also goes for Rolf Harris, Stuart Hall and many other disgraced celebs.

[@johnanthony6092]

@@sergioroman2920 The difference was they knew all about Savile from very early on and still allowed it to continue.

[@pertuk]

why oh why did they ever get rid of the globe?

[@MrEdrftgyuji]

Diversity

[@jakubpopawski9798]

But... Baloon Ident is an Globe

[@focusmicro]

2008 was when I STOPPED watching 'TV' . All the better for it too!

[@johnanthony6092]

I have an old tv licence in my drawer from 2001. If the goons come round asking for my licence I will show them the old one. When they say "This is 20 years out of date" I will say "So are the damned programmes!"

[@mariea82]

@@johnanthony6092 🤣

[@k_np04]

Peaky Blinders?? Is one of the best BBC series in History

[@alangaming2003]

And now they changed it again for the 2022

[@chrismcleantotaldrama5723]

0:24 0:38 0:51 those are long second hands

[@scottl.1568]

Sweet...

[@rah62]

That poor little old lady at the end of the front row at 4:40, made worse by the woman next to her in the "46" shirt flying all over, even more than the instructor.

[@robertcomer2767]

They should have reshot the whole sequence. It was embarrassing

[@Splozy]

???????

[@merlin5476]

It would have been great to see Gordon honeycombe or sandy gall 👍 or Mr Chomondley warner with his sidekick Grayson. 😅..... followed by a quickly decreasing white dot in the center.

[@EricIrl]

Honeycombe and Gall were news readers for ITN, not BBC.

[@merlin5476]

@@EricIrl it was a very long time ago, I'm supprised that i remembered their name's off the top of my head.

[@halfbakedproductions7887]

The circles were on air way too long and people largely got sick of seeing them (I know I did). I heard the BBC wanted shot of them sooner but just couldn't decide what to do. Oneness didn't last long and they've been changed yet again.

[@nemotube6313]

4:56 Exciting eh?

[@joshgalka9414]

Great!

[@jonathanfraser321]

Much prefer the pre 21C Idents. To see( and hear the 1963 announcemmet of the programme on the death of JFK !) and the announcer hid his emotions very well

[@RollaArtis]

When the earth was oblate....

[@kiacheckan7329]

I love dean and chappers

[@ChrisMac2489]

2:15 Doctor Who spearhead from space

[@jeffgreen7629]

I think that the bbc should reintroduce the globe between programmes, since they got rid of it many people believe the Earth to be flat 🌍

[@Agnethatheredhairkid]

@ Jeff Green: But it is flat, Jeff! It's a disc held up by 4 elephants standing on the back of a giant turtle. (Terry Pratchett fans will get this).

[@jeffgreen7629]

Ha ha Terry Pratchett, bless him, very sad when he died.

[@Agnethatheredhairkid]

@@jeffgreen7629 I met him in 1993 when he signed my copy of 'Small Gods'. Nice guy.

[@jeffgreen7629]

Oh wow. My partner has directed a couple of Pratchett stage plays, very funny. You’re so lucky to have a signed copy.

[@FritzMedia]

Excellent for highlighting the destruction of the traditional British way of speaking and distinctive clear, respectable dialect that disappears around the 1985 mark. Also perfect at showing how content gets far less informative and useful and gradually turns into entertainment and “comedy”.

[@DerekHartley]

The 'destruction of the traditional British way of speaking'. You mean the way that no-one spoke even BEFORE TV was invented, but was artificially used because they felt that 'regional' accents would be too hard to understand.

[@BCJ1985]

You're kidding, right? That said dialect represented almost nobody and was based around little more than snobbery.

[@Agnethatheredhairkid]

@@BCJ1985 Too bloody true, friend!

[@jocramkrispy305]

@@DerekHartley I think you may have confused Radio and Television

[@DerekHartley]

@@jocramkrispy305 No television, especially the news programmes were managed exactly the same in the early decades.

[@ChanceLaughlin]

BBC is responsible for having preschool programs before PBS was founded, and some of their shows later aired on PBS in North America.

[@mericet39]

So, 2002 is when the BBC really lost the plot. Up until that point, it was modernizing gracefully. After that, it was becoming tabloid.

[@thisnicklldo]

I do remember the 1953-60 ident, but if it didn't show the BBC at the bottom, and you asked me to tell you what it was, I would definitely have picked either ATV or Rediffusion. Which shows that my memory is much less than perfect, and idents don't really work long term - not sure they work short term actually, they seem a bit of self-indulgence by the TV companies. I find the endless stream of animated idents at the start of movies very irritating - a long string of soulless corporations thinking they deserve a bit of recognition for investing to make a profit.

[@ronmedrano9549]

1964 in washing machine ident and clock 1:40

[@keth9016]

Yes, even for the 1960 & 1963 versions. In 1960, when they rebranded to "BBC TV", they used an ident called "The British Map". And a clock looks like a target. Four years later, in 1963, they introduced "The Globe" as their ident. The clock, same. In 1966, they took the globe to a watch strap, when their ident is brand new & improved. Even for the clock, which looks like a watch. In 1968, when they introduced their last black and white ident, the globe is by itself, like you can find in everywhere, floating in place. The clock is floating as well. In 1969, the globe isn't realistic. It's mechanical-based. Even for that, it has a mirror effect. That'll last until 1985, when it's in a 3D style. That'll last 1997, when the globe has turned into a hot air balloon.

[@pyeltd.5457]

Went all shit at 4:18

[@stepheng8779]

Went to shit at 4:03

[@LeoHodges]

@@stepheng8779 I agree!

[@Jehannum2000]

@@stepheng8779 The word that comes to my mind is "soulless".

[@R23911]

Ici Televisi-Radio Rainbow and TV9 (1956-1959;Formerly) GBN & GBN 1 (1959-present) Is a Pubilc National Major Service Broadcaster Company From Gay, Gay Lgbt Pride owned-country by Q Media

[@R23911]

Is a First TV Channel in GLP, GLP TV Shows Programming 24/7 hour for day, 365 days of the year

[@dagato2000]

0:12 - 0:16

[@skyfuzzball8312]

0:57

[@simonlloyd7557]

I havent watched Tv for almost almost 20 years, but it was interesting seeing how bland the BBC still is.

[@bramwell948]

The only thing bland round here is your comment

[@vespelian]

True, bland and patronising.

[@David-uf8ex]

@@bramwell948 NO simon is spot on , typical bbc type lashing out personally

[@David-uf8ex]

Bland and brainwashing

[@bramwell948]

@@David-uf8ex if you say so

[@stephennoonan8417]

2:02

[@WhattheFools001]

M8 momment

[@Robholyoake3778]

Once when the bbc was independent. But not anymore

[@JasmineSurrealVideos]

It's that feeling of ah finally I recognise one, which happened with the ones about half way through, with the 80s ones, tbh I think the 90s ones are the most polished and relaxing to look at. The modern ones are awful, too much going on, the simple globe and colours is more than enough, it's almost like the BBC lost its strong, easily identifiable identity. That's when I stopped watching terrestrial TV as well.

[@brianpan6453]

They never really did anything well, did they? Qu'elle dommage.

[@pavlovskiavtobuskizavod]

3:55 ok then I’ll switch to sky

[@chloedevereaux1801]

haven't watched the bbc nor tele in general since 1998 so i don't really care..

[@paulbevan5389]

So why did you watch this?

[@tinytonymaloney7832]

Exciting new look of oneness,??? Ffs

[@luisreyes1963]

Who gives a toss? When's Doctor Who coming on? 😡

[@mikesmith-fw9nc]

Visual display of progressive wokeism

[@AR-dn6kh]

Back when brits could speak properly, as opposed to all the slang shit these days

[@paulbevan5389]

Language evolves. Get over it. Or should we go back even further to Shakespearian times? Where's your cut-off point?

[@boop53]

I do not think that “shit” would be proper english. Also, “brits” is slang from “Britons”.

[@TammoKorsai]

'Slang shit' always existed for as long as humans have. You just didn't see much of it in the media until a certain point.