Sale Of The Century (opening titles)

[madabbafan]

The days when there was a limit on the value of the prizes that could be given away on TV quiz shows.

[dezzah1976]

sadly, this is the only progamme I remember Anglia making, but it was a highlight of the week to see the knight spin in to action, then to hear that legendary intro and then to see Nicholas Parsons, I knew the weekend had come at last!!!!

[dezzah1976]

@dezzah1976 btw, only one thing spells proper ITV to me more than this, and that's the ATV ident followed by the old ding-dong intro to Crossroads!

[eclectica1]

"And there they are, this week's star attractions that could be offered to our winning contestant tonight."

All well and good, but what about the prizes?

[Whitbywatcher]

Are we all looking at life through rose tinted glasses, have people always said that things arent the same, or are we right when we say that telly is crap today compared to then. With sky and cable theres so many channels now, yet nothing worth watching - TV today is just big business, a means to make money, adverts and sponsorship is what counts, public service means nothing.

[chris185821]

i was born in 69 , and i can remember watching this in the mid 70s , i think on a friday night , this makes me cry , just thinking back , lost many family since then , at oresent i find myself looking at anything from the past to remind me of better times , they really were better then ...

[cupcakefairy87]

When they talk about 'star attractions' do they mean the prizes or the girls?

[muteswan53]

Nicholas Parsons added a new word to the English Language in one memorable episode. He began to ask a question, and the player buzzed in before he had finished, with the correct answer. "Oh, said Nicholas, " you jumped in before I had time to complete the question. You must be telepathetic!" A word that could be used to describe much of today's satalite output I think?

[juanbbien]

I can't stand the shit that now comes on tv,stupid game shows,bloody idiots like Ramsey trying to act like he's some hard case,effing at some poor sod,Keith lemon what a wanker, Alan Carr about as funny as catching Aids

[flipinwotsit]

140 pounds for a new car??..things have changed...

[gallafey]

Sale of the century i remember being show on Sunday night during the summer season as i recall and i seem to remember it was fallowed by Heart To Heart, those were the good old days, now there is nothing but tripe on

[DaveyC95]

Jesus, why is that quiz shows gave away dinghys or yachts and caravans that Mr and Mrs average wouldn't bloody use?..That jewellery looks like Ratner tat and did television sets really look that once? lol

[truckerboy93]

that metro is worth what ?? £140 quid is that in srcap value or new?? lol they were shit.

[ASTMA193]

3 dislikes from contestants who didn't win anything ;)

[spib65]

@bobbygray100 you tried not to win the prizes

[downwidcrapmusic]

Lively 1000cc engine? I had one of those - I could fucking run quicker.

[RICKD790]

@downwidcrapmusic Haha, and when you passed them on the motorway they always seemed to be down at the front end on one or both sides.

[Hania454]

Wow, what a blast from the past.

[TheTmny876able]

Mid 1970's british TV the best in our history, les dawson, Morecambe & Wise, Spike milligan (Q series), Max Wall, Benny Hill, Frankie Howard (up Pompei) The avengers, The golden shot, That's life, it's a knockout, etc,etc,etc, i was brought up on proper tv, no reality rubbish like today.

[disneyfan81]

@TheTmny876able How about "Are You Being Served?"?

[Feisty1967]

£68 for all those bikes?! I want them now!!!

[mackinl]

is that a technics turntable at start.

[skunkhead2006]

fucking hell did yer see the state of the tv etc...state of the art at the time....lively 1000cc engine!!!! trippy.....thas easy on the fuel....mad as fuck......

[JohnnyTheWolfLupino]

Sale of the Century: The greatest thing to come from Norwich, apart from the A11. The prizes are better than Blankety Blank!

[Cool2BCeltic]

Kitschiness that characterised the era.

[scraggi]

Nicholas! I heard that they are making sale of the century into a film!

[borgduck]

@BluescreenODeff Oh please don't hurt me, pleeeeeeeaaaaaase!!!!

[mrBMW2800]

See The Old British Airways Logo

[IntricateCinnamonHat]

Put me off ever going to Norwich

[tecdessus]

just remembered why i hated the 80s, those bloody godawful electronic drum sounds, it was all over the place.JEEZ!

[tecdessus]

OH MY GOD! nicholas parcel! benny hill took the p%ss out of this and rightly so!

[anthonythirteen]

But it was never as showbiz as SotC!

[foxynickers]

i had a Mini metro like that..... mine only cost £60 in 1997 :)

they were ripped off!! lol

[sniffypigster]

Bloody hell, Where's the rest of the program?

[chalkie777]

Nicholas Parson at the end. . ."Do sit down if you want to!" !!!! Hilarious ;-))

[OldSchoolRasslin]

Did Anglia TV make any other programmes that were shown nationally? This is the only one I remember.

[anthonythirteen]

Survival, Tales of the Unexpected, often Ipswich & Norwich on Match of the Week.

[IntricateCinnamonHat]

@OldSchoolRasslin

Survival - ITV's answer to Attenburoughs 'Life On Earth'

[allen1jeremy]

@OldSchoolRasslin they made Tales Of The Unexpected, Gambit, Survival, Knightmare & The Zodiac Game.

[Larkspladge]

I'd completely forgotten about the knight on the horse. I was a small boy when this was on and imagined Norwich must be some glittering metropolis full of stars and excitement.

[gurneyer]

Am fairly sure this is the later theme music (is anyone able to post the earlier theme too please?). Did John 'Instant Sale' Benson ever actually make an appearance?..

[krakenwave]

Yeah, the Donna Summer-style disco-beat synth percussion sounds like a late-70s update. The original intro was definitely different from this.

[pierstheoneandonly]

I remember seeing it in the early 70's or poss late '60s with a Hammond organ theme instead of this one.

[BeedieMobility]

Sale Of The Century  wow bring back 1970's TV ! and the prices !

[custardaghost]

Not a great idea re the prices. In hard cash, you actually paid more then than now for stuff like white goods, tvs etc. Automatic washing machine was about £250 in 1975, a 22" colour TV over £300. Toys were also very expensive comapred to now. Check out the 70s ads on here to see the prices. SotC had arbitary figures just for the sake of the show.

[SLOPPYTHESLOWORM]

I have never met one single person in or outside the television industry who thought the dropping of regional ITV identities was a wise move. Who actually made that decision? ITV was considered a downmarket, trashy brand in our household but Anglia was the local station with a touch of class. Is it just a coincidence how ITV's fortunes changed so much for the worse after the corporate identity took over? And no-one cares!

[MoleinaHole]

You are 100% correct there. ITV was always cheap - but people felt genuinely protective over their local brand. It was like having a real nice mate from a trashy family!

[IntellectualAmy]

@SLOPPYTHESLOWORM - Take it from me, anything that gets bitten by anything 'Corporate' is fucked. I was ex-Corporate and believe me - never again! I value my sanity.

[kisbie]

@SLOPPYTHESLOWORM Agree 100%. As pointed out by others, it's ironic that UKTV have increased their profts and profile by giving each of their channels an individual identity and name - Dave, Yesterday, GOLD, Really etc.

[c3section]

I love the remix of the theme!

[UKSazzy67]

20" telly and comprehensive music centre, lovely!

[TheMasterNo6]

My parents loved this show when I were a kiddie, and before I were born as well!

[chazdavenport]

It's late Sunday afternoon, 1979 and on the telly, you see the spinning knight. Then, in comes a hornpipe chorus from Handels Water Music and then, John Benson's classic TV voice tells you that "Now, from Norwich, it's the Quiz of the Week".

Wow. I'm 11 years old all over again and it'll be bedtime in about an hour.

Thanks for posting this footage. Love it. Just love it.

[SickOfObamaAlready]

Oh no, not that music! I keep expecting my mum to tell me it's bath time!

[mauricefirman]

Worked on the show in the early 80's - if you did the scoring you got paid extra (can't remember how much) but the downside was you had to keep (relatively!) sober which was never easy as we recorded one show a day in the evening and the local pub was very tempting during downtime

[drwinkle101]

You worked on SOTC! Wow. Did you get your pleb paws on any of the posing birds?

[learjetpilot171192]

Mini metro!!

[smhorse]

Oh God, this brings back memories. Total cl-arse!!

[miweb74]

Absolutely classic television!!

[GottaBePaxton]

when john benson says "this weeks star attractions" is it just coinicence that the two hostesses are in center shot or did someone have a sense of humour? I'd like to think its the latter

[johnnysjukebox]

Bring it back NOW! you can just imagine Alan Partridge doing the voiceovers!!!

[Hondo20132]

This is like, the oldest SOTC footage that exists in the entire world!

[skunkhead2007]

Music Centre!!!!

[erebus2218]

cool, now I finally get that joke Lee Evans made. 'we don't get telly round our way sir!' lol

[borgduck]

Do we get to win the Disco chicks as well?

[Stratman78]

YES YOU DO!

[TimothyAnorak]

I imagined we might, but they never did, and heaven knows I'm miserable now...

[tonymontana1974]

its...... the quiz of the week.

[organaut]

Great rare clip! I used to like to hear Peter Phenn on the organ.Taught me to play.I wish I could get a recording of the whole show so I can listen to him again!

[allenjeremy]

This clip is from about 1982.

[Bryn2k]

Is it me, or did John Benson always sound like his nose had been crushed? Still, it was a recognisable voice!

[thedj2471]

still remember this tho

[thedj2471]

remember this when i was a kid god i feel old lol

[matsui2001]

A 2DR FAMILY CAR !!!! (00.51 IN THE FILM CLIM) It is a 1.0 Litre Mini metro. I would not be seen dead in one.

[ryan3571]

Wow, takes me back. The old Anglia Television too tks!!

[Squab1972]

And now.....from Norwich it's the quiz of the week!

[sibionic]

er...yes. That's what he says. Literally.

[allenjeremy]

I have an episode of Sale Of The Century from 1972 but it had a different theme tune and title sequence.

[johnnysjukebox]

Brings back old memories of being a kid & watching with me mum & dad years ago - great to have the old tv ident at the start as well - where's the bloke with the organ??? (fnar fnar)

[godsbrain]

oh happy days. cheers allanjeremy.

[beaton67]

ahhh, those sunday nights, we could never say a word while this was on, did anyone else have a know it all uncle who thought they knew the answers , it seemed only he could speak

[eclectica1]

I always felt I had to be on my best behaviour when watching this show as a 5-year-old...Nicholas Parsons reminded me of a stern schoolteacher...

[zippy592]

as i live in norwich,i went and saw the programme being made when i was 16

[troublemaker1973]

It did have a certain glamour to it at the age of six

[whyyoulidl]

wtf? a mini metro for £140? 2 cheap-arse watches for £80? Hmmm, I wonder which was better value?!!!!

[jansenmann]

Is that Alan Partridge doing the voice over?

[allenjeremy]

No that is John Benson who is doing the voiceover which he also did for Gambit & 3-2-1.

[1tardising]

Hi allenjeremy

This has got to be the best Sale of the Century intro it's better than that Challenge TV remake!

[darrowby1972]

The 2 door family car courtesy of Mann Egerton of Norwich, you can just see the "Tern" logo in the bottom corner of the windscreen! BRING THIS BACK ON CHALLENGE PLEASE. "sit down if you want to" smarmy git! LOL

[undergroundsplee]

Love it! That's one of the finest ITV idents, a great theme tune, spectacularly dated prizes, "and now, from Norwich, the quiz of the week"! Wonderful.

[shepshepherd]

I want that Music Centre! :P

[tireoghainian]

They've scaled it down a lot these days and now call it e-bay. Classy times!

[mutikonka]

A "lively" 1000cc engine!

[jeffryfourmile]

ooh a 2 door family car!!!

[therezabizarre]

i love this your fab moonunit...

[jeffryfourmile]

excellente

[wmbrown6]

I remember Benny Hill's 1976 takeoff of the show and his impersonation of his erstwhile occasional straight man . . .

[stevenalan]

sale of the century with your host nickleass parson.. lol

[RossPatzelt]

Nice! i use the intro on my show of this!"

[DNeronov]

Nice to hear the 1960's $ale theme

[AidanLunn]

curtisjoseph27, it could have been something else (see start of video for the answer)

[nightfire620]

HMNN a 1.0L Mini Metro for £140, lovely!

[HEMAfan]

THE BEST QUIZ SHOW EVER!

[chivatito14]

The highlight of my TV viewing week...

[NJDevils1087]

Yes you did :P

[curtisjoseph27]

what?! did i just see the stanley cup at 0:29??