Last Granada closedown | Friday 12 into Saturday 13 February 1988

From the archives of www.transdiffus...
The wonderful and much missed from our screens Colin Weston fluffs his way through the last ever closedown for Granada. Granada had taken reluctantly to 24 hour TV, finally giving in under threats from the IBA that the night-time hours could go to a separate national franchise. Nevertheless, they make a song and dance about how good the new programmes would be. They weren't, but then almost nobody was watching anyway.
Read an interview with Colin Weston at www.transdiffus...

[@nightw4tchman]

I hate saying "things were better back then" but having a TV channel close down at night feels so much better to me. I still, just remember BBC doing it.

[@marshalllucky]

Thankyou Colin for all the years and fond memories , it was like saying goodbye to a friend each evening .

[@susanwoods7242]

I was 13 when I fell in love with Colin Weston he was announced at time on Anglia television how amazing to see this all these years later!! It was 1971/2 that I absolutely worshiped this guy all my school friends were into Donny Osmond and David Cassidy !!! To me they could not hold candle to Colin!! He left Anglia television sometime in 1972 at 14 I cried for week or more!! Happy innocent days xx

[@jcampton1]

'Fluff' (which was CW's nickname cause he would fluff up his links) living up to his name on Granada's very last closedown before going all night

[@heidipeeps]

I miss it when the telly use to close down at the end of the day. It was like an event

[@johnpat3622]

I don't mind 24 hour TV, as long as they show actual programs, instead of infomercials.

[@peterwilliamskelhorn6675]

@@johnpat3622 it was the late 00s that itv night time went 💩 with the phone in games

[@d2dar459]

​​@@peterwilliamskelhorn6675 Yep. All that "casino" crap. I swear those shows are mostly silence while the presenters wait for some lonely sod to ring in.

[@peterwilliamskelhorn6675]

@@d2dar459 they got most lonely people back then. When i couldn't sleep before 2010 and watching TV during the night i fancied some of the male presenters in black suits. (BUT never joined in those casino shows)

[@d2dar459]

@@peterwilliamskelhorn6675 Good. Lol. (For not joining in with the casinos).

[@darren2514fv]

25 years later all we get is gambling and shopping shows

[@anthonyperkins7556]

And Stevie thinks that's good filler material for a night-time schedule.

[@Phil6219]

Ahh good 'ole Colin, our friend in the telly. He's got a radio show on Radio Salford on a Thursday :)

[@Bananaaddict81]

Ah Youre from Texas

[@Bananaaddict81]

Can someone reply

[@danielwilliamson6180]

Bless, Colin Weston.

[@AndyPearce100]

This silver version of the Granada ident was also used as the networked endcap on early editions of This Morning, until the ITV generic 1989 style was introduced. I'm not sure that it was ever used on any other programmes, which continued to use the traditional Blue & Yellow version.

[@AllenJeremy]

It was used as an endcap on the first edition of a shorted lived series from 1988 called The Funny Side which was hosted by the late Mike Smith but for the rest of the series the blue & yellow Granada endcap was shown.

[@tomharding]

Wow, I remember that Thames production logo from way back when. I just sat there mesmerized as a kid wondering if that reflection was genuine.

[@stickytapenrust6869]

The reflection was, although the arrangement of the landmarks wasn't.

[@Deltarii]

7:14 - 7:29 What a way to go with a eery flatline at the end

[@darren2514fv]

Granada went through to 3am on Friday and Saturday Nights from June 1987 through to February 1988 when 24 hour TV started

[@markxist]

Colin Weston, a face from my childhood.

[@johnhastings7841]

Colin Weston was a continuity announcer at Border Television (my region) for a few months in 1984.

[@anthonyperkins7556]

The testcard says GRANADA NCR, NCR stands for Network Control Room

[@paulkronbachs7249]

2.53 What a strange time to close down .I suggest the night crew were doing a dry run for the following night before they open at 6

[@sillygoose635]

*2.56, actually.

[@brucedanton3669]

I would guess that that was the case then indeed so too of course-but who knows I wonder too?!

[@CarlEdenHypnosis]

I used to stay up just to listen to the music.

[@naqashrazak2414]

Yes this is last ever Closedown from Granada on Saturday 13 February 1988.

[@TheImatube]

Wish tv today was just the same as it was till 1988

[@sillygoose635]

So boring?

[@TheImatube]

Lol typical predictive text. It should of read I wish tv toady was just the same as it was in 1988. Tv today is so boring.

[@sillygoose635]

@@TheImatube tv today is no doubt better than tv in 1988

[@antster1983]

Colin Weston can now be heard on local radio if you're in Salford on Thursday mornings between 10-11 am. www.salfordcityradio.org/shows.php?id=1522

[@antster1983]

I should also add that there is a group on Facebook dedicated to ITV continuity announcers, and Colin Weston has joined the group under his real name. :o)

[@adamstamps3568]

@@antster1983 could you send me the link to facebook group dedicated to itv continuity announcers please as id love to join the group

[@w_m64]

If only we had a Time Machine. Happy Days.

[@w_m64]

Thumbs up if you waited for the Test Card and Tone..

[@merseydave1]

Ruddy Hell, I remember that guy ... Colin West.

[@transdiffusion]

+David Cummings As it saying in the description, and he says in the video itself... Colin Weston.

[@arthurvasey]

You've heard of Weston-super-Mare - here's Weston-super-Fluff! Worked for Tyne-Tees and even Anglia at some point in his career - and even did a stint on Yorkshire - a station who thought that they were a radio station, as their announcers worked out-of-vision!

[@pak8606]

The date is Friday 12th February 1988 (early hours of Saturday 13th)

[@saraflint2982]

I hate 24-hour television. Nobody I know watches at 3.00 AM! Lovely video.

[@imrustyokay]

First Last I do...Being a night owl has benefits.

[@sillygoose635]

@@imrustyokay Yes, yes it does.

[@christopherhulse8385]

Night shift workers do exist!

[@saraflint2982]

@@christopherhulse8385 Yes, of course they do. I wrote that 6 years ago. I just really like this clip. The way they say good night is just lovely.

[@phammaianh8536]

Colin weston say good night ! LOL !

[@abhudson14]

24 hour tv the biggest mistake

[@sillygoose635]

No it wasn't.

[@nicolerichwine5767]

I'm pretty sure the act of shutting down a transmitter and turning it back on again was actually damaging it more in the long run, but nooooo we have to be stupid and say that everything the old days was better. “When I was your age the station shut down at midnight every day and that is the only determining factor in program quality! You kids today ain't got nuthin'!"

[@scottpeacock5492]

That is so true, Shutting down and switching on the tv transmitters every day was damaging transmitter antenna circults, Some morning the tv channels didn't come on due to bad weather or technical faults, Now a days it either on Standby or Shopping Channels taking over the night shifts.

[@phammaianh8536]

High Pitched Test Card

[@thomascope3371]

+Pham MaiAnh SCARY High Pitched Test Card to be precise :)

[@johnhastings7841]

3:59 Colin doesn't seem too impressed by the range of programmes.

[@xanderxine]

WOW 24hr television! and what did we end up? normal tv now finishes earlier than it ever did and all we get is money grabbing rip-off gambling shite followed by some crappy slideshow previews of shows no fucker is interested in watching! BRING BACK THE CLOSEDOWN!!!

[@Werten25]

I know right. lol

[@ObjectPresents]

And Nightscreen that is even worse than Teletext.

[@johnpat3622]

Maybe if the guy in the first commercial put a shirt on, he wouldn't catch cold!!

[@adamstamps3568]

id love to see the start up from granada 13th february 1988

[@Blubatt]

I'd love a clean version of the Granada closedown music. would be a great way to end my planned radio show

[@Phil6219]

I found it, it's called the "New Granada Theme" and is available at this address... audioboom.com/boos/475219-new-granada-theme-long-closing

[@Blubatt]

Phil, I owe you one.

[@Blubatt]

If I get the radio show, that's how I intend on ending my broadcasts every time I'm on. Say my good byes, and then play it for the last two minutes of the show

[@Blubatt]

@@andymerrett I did, and it was indeed on my radio show. It is long since lost now, but it was fun.

[@neilforbes416]

With a 24-hour schedule, the broadcast day starts and ends at Midnight. First show of the day is that which starts at or after midnight, last show of the day commences no later than 11.30pm (if running for 1 hour).

[@chriswathen9612]

Pretty much no. A TV 'day' runs from 6AM-5:59AM

[@neilforbes416]

@@chriswathen9612 ​ @Chris Wathen Well, it's about time TV stations geared themselves to the 24-hour cycle, midnight to midnight. *Gone are the days when TV stations "signed off" at 11.00pm or midnight and shut down their transmitters.*

[@brucedanton3669]

Well the Radio Times, TV Times, and all the other listings magazines/papers show that the day/night runs from 6.00am to 6.00am indeed. Odd though it is, this is how they show it somehow I guess too?!

[@chriswathen9612]

@@neilforbes416 WTF are you actually chatting? Stations routinely carried on past midnight in the 1970's which will be why the broadcast day didn't reset at midnight. The reason the 6AM cutoff has ended up coming about is firstly that was when breakfast programmes eventually ended up starting to mark a new day and by extension when 24 hour TV became standard that was the latest the previous broadcast day could continue. In order to have a fixed transition of one broadcast day to another then there must be a fixed point in the schedule where every channel has a junction and it would be very difficult to try and retrofit that back to be midnight. It's ended up that 6AM is far more convenient to mark the start of a new day which is what pretty much every channel has ended up running with.

[@neilforbes416]

@@chriswathen9612 Well, it's *NOT* every "channel", it's every *STATION!* Channels have *NO* physical entity, they are merely chunks of spectrum space on which several stations can transmit signals provided they are geographically well separated(150 or more miles apart). *STATIONS* are the large buildings that occupy large chunks of real estate in any city or regional town, and employ hundreds, if not thousands of people in various roles. Now back to my original comment. In the days before 24-hour broadcasting, a TV *station's* entire schedule would be contained *within* one calendar day(that is, within the same period of, for example, 1st May, 1969). The *station* would switch on its transmitter and transmit a test pattern and music up to a given instant when the day's programmes are scheduled to start(about 8.00am for example) then continue until about 11.00pm or up to midnight, but not much beyond midnight(perhaps 25 minutes up to half-an-hour). All "Breakfast News" did was stretch the broadcast day by a couple of hours, *inside the calendar day.* But now stations go 24 hours, transmitting digitally, so if you call up the *Electronic Programme Guide* on your TV or set-top-box, you'll see the last scheduled programme of a day starts around half-an-hour before midnight and is the last show on the *EPG* list for that day. If you nudge the list to the next scheduled programme, you'd see the date shown has advanced. These digital TVs and set-top-boxes clearly recognise the broadcast day *correctly* as from Midnight to Midnight. It's time the *stations* fell in line.

[@RobW581]

I hear he is on local radio in North Manchester.

[@BruceDanton-xw6eg]

Here in itv london then thames and lwt had already gone 24 hour in 1987. If this was a weekend they may have been showing night network then although i am not too sure there now then on that one.

[@kelvinoabina8543]

It was the First 24 Hour Television Non-Stop of Granada back in Early Valentines Day?

[@StFidjnr]

can you please upload the yorkshire last closedown before 24 hour tv

[@anthonyperkins7556]

24h TV was interesting at first but degenerated to home shopping, gambling and ITV Shitescreen.

[@pb871]

I always used to think Colin looked like a very cuddly teddy bear...and yes I would have snuggled up to it.

[@TheGuvOfWythenshawe]

I was still only a child in 1988 so Granada.....and of course ITV as a whole were always 24-7 from my point of view (they were already 24/7 by the time I did watch telly well into the wee small hours as a teen!) - I do however, remember the BBC going off air and BBC ONE alone playing the national anthem at the end of the day's programming, a tradition which would continue until November 1997, following the launch of the BBC News 24 channel. Not sure when BBC TWO went 24/7. That aside and unknown at the time, 24/7 broadcasting would lead to nothing but tripe and shopping channels ect being broadcast like they would today (from my point of view at least!)

[@KaleunMaender77]

8th of November was the last time BBC One closed down, meaning that the 9th of November 1997 is when it switched over to BBC News 24 overnight.

[@brucedanton3669]

I think that BBC2 was the last channel to go 24/7 in about 2004 so I read somewhere but I am not too sure on that though. Thank you anyway and well done though!!

[@zacheryalderton8434]

HOW MANY YEARS OF MEMORIES

[@alexdeguzman9284]

Goodbye granada!

[@jayzacharias4136]

Don't know why but in the late 70.s early 80.s this song used to scare the shit out of me, bizarre

[@bb3ca201]

No anthem? I'm shocked...

[@HighlandCall]

+Robert W granada never used the national anthem, which apparently was a shocking example of commercial decadence in 1956...

[@bb3ca201]

+HighlandCall wow. good to know. my family hailed from Scotland and (if I'm correct) tv there used it all the time

[@stevebrown4185]

Granada never played GSTQ,as the bernsteins were Jewish

[@dalsegno10000]

@@stevebrown4185 nonsense. They played it twice a year on the Queens birthdays. Nothing to do with being Jewish 🤦‍♂️

[@mango4606]

Granda last closedown

[@veraduncanson7634]

Stations should close down. Night night. Snuggle and tomorrow is another day. I grew up with Granada. The power of the North. Hard working people for centuries providing wealth and progress for the entire county.

[@MathewWilson2011]

Yeah, but now they can record what they want to watch so BRING BACK THE CLOSEDOWN!

[@sillygoose635]

Nah, KEEP THE 24hrs

[@lincsposter]

Not if you work nights! lol!

[@capitalcities1996]

3:36 Wait, Donahue's show was shown in the UK?!

[@linmanfu913]

Yes, but only in the middle of the night

[@MathewWilson2011]

I mean channels like BBC Three and Four still do it

[@boovy32]

The start of The Hitman And Her...etc....Maybe around 1988 ;-)

[@adamstamps3568]

no that came in october of that year not feb

[@paulfletcher7593]

Much better when we had the continuity announcers on screen.They felt like part of the family. People used to write into them.Sadly missed.Progress?🤔

[@glenbarber6298]

Goanimate clollin weston

[@whatamalike]

Bbc1 wouldn't go 24 hour for almost another 10 years. Bbc2 even longer! I can imagine how novel it must've been to have 24 hour ITV in the late 80s and very early 90s before everybody lost interest and it fell into The dead air it is now.

[@meridian2000]

Erm I think you'll find that both BBC One and BBC Two still close down at night but they don't go to a black screen. BBC One still closes down and says goodnight to viewers and instead of going to a black screne, it joins the BBC News Channel.

[@whatamalike]

@@meridian2000 not the same thing though is it?

[@MisterPolitical1]

I stayed up l8 mostly

[@mango4606]

Granada last closedown

[@mikekaraoke]

do you have any footage of 80's kids show Erasmus Microman with Ken Campbell

[@jameswhitaker8809]

ITV might as well bring close downs back, for all the crap they broadcast nightly.

[@sillygoose635]

What crap, there is none, shut up

[@anthonyperkins7556]

@@sillygoose635 Teleshopping, repeats of Judge Rinder and Tipping Point, Teleshopping with a simulcast of Ideal World and Nightscreen is good overnight TV is it?

[@matt785]

New pair of teeth in

[@kelvinoabina8543]

This was a Final Closedown of Granada, Back in Saturday, February 13, 1988 at 4 Minutes to 3 AM or 2:56 AM UK Time. (4 Minutes to 11 AM or 10:56 AM Philippine Time)

[@tennis5011]

I'm fascinated, Kelvin...how would you know about it, all the way from the Philippines??

[@saraflint2982]

I know about it all the way from the United States- and it was 6 years before I was born! The internet can do incredible things.

[@tennis5011]

First Last I miss those days terribly. When all stations here were really regionalised and continuity announcers, almost like a family friend. We all knew their names!! Plus, Granada's lovely closedown music, which sent you off to sleep, no problem. All seems like yesterday...but almost thirty years ago now (heavy sigh). Where did the time go??

[@tonysmith9817]

Kelvin Oabina i miss the 80s ...

[@andrewlawson5779]

Bruce Springsteen sang 57 Cannels and Nothing On, oh for Granada returning to past form🙁

[@jonathan89landson62]

Monday 30 September 1996 - PBS #4 - 8 in the morning

[@Robbiewa-bg4lu]

What a shame for the last closedown they didn’t play some music

[@glenncooney3959]

In retrospect it was nice to hear the ‘New Granada Theme’ one last time that night before television began its slow downhill descent. Definitely miss closedowns and personalities on TV, especially ITV

[@nicolerichwine5767]

Better TV would be nice, but think of the insomniac and the graveyard shifter. Regional TV would improve things, but not closedowns.

[@Tirana44]

Anglia rules! Well, it used to............

[@31cify]

Oooh Goodnight! Goodnight, Goodnight, Goodnight! After Prisoner and WCW, well, it truly was a F.....g Goodnight God bless Goodnight!

[@Randomlista12]

Back when TV was good.

[@sillygoose635]

Um, no.

[@Randomlista12]

Stevie xd

[@alexhillery4457]

1988

[@nicolerichwine5767]

Wait, Timotei shampoo is an actual thing?!

[@jesusbanda234]

YEAH and have you ever seen or hear or Lucky star?

[@jeykies3745.]

I thought Granada shut down in 2002

[@BruceDanton-xw6eg]

That was when they merged with carlton then to form the single itv then so too.

[@anthonyperkins7556]

24hr TV is shit, teleshopping repeats and utter crap thru the night

[@robertcomer2767]

Thank god I didn't live in the Granada region having to watch him screw everything up.

[@danslider9014]

Isn't that the charm of regional TV? Christmas Day round yours must be a scream..

[@abdirisaqabdaaq6364]

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