Hovis 'Bike' advert 1973 (Britain's favourite TV ad)

[stpb123ify]

Why do I always remember this adverts voice over with a Yorkshire accent?

[RustiSwordz]

Directed by Ridley Scott! No I'm not kidding...

[elliot888ify]

this cant beat the caburys garilla advert sorry

[british123able]

ridley scotts 1st ever tv....thing!

[MarktgInnovation2Day]

great ad!

[snaveeel]

who cares this was and always will be our british heratige i love england with a passion and i see that advert and i think ohh im off up there normally but no i think id love to move there to get away from the little shits here

[julesthemadman]

Memories... but wasn't the advert remade several times?

[ivangrozny27]

young fresh faced boys........cobblestones.....w­hite bread.......jumpers for goalposts....marv'lus

[ZanmaruV2]

I live about a 5 second walk from there lol

[teaisloveable]

got to love Shaftesbury in Dorset <3

[1977Harrier]

FYI that cobbled street is in a little English village called Shaftesbury, incidentally the same place as referenced by Bill Hicks in his "Crime in England" sketch.

[smile221]

@1977Harrier Shaftesbury isn't a 'little english village' It's a market town, that part is just on the edge looking over onto the countryside. It has a population of ~7000. I live in a little village near it that has a pop. of 500.

And I've ridden a bike down that hill...Recommend good suspension if anyone else wants to try it.

[RustiSwordz]

Removed comment because someone already mentioned it!

[DeeDeeQT]

Definitely watching this because Chris Moyles just mentioned it for Rob DJ's Monday Night Quiz!

[mog398]

"me dad always yowsed ta say it wer a bloody long way for a loaf of bread!"

[vania1013]

the bike is in harrogate musuem the narrator died of old age about 15 years ago

[kgm1000uk]

Why don't ole ma Peggarty get her bread from Reeve the baker at the top of the hill where the shops are?

[Willbutler]

does anyone know where i can find the two ronnies piss take of this?

[JJMCB26]

IT WAS A GRAND RIDE BACK!!! GET IT INSIDE YOU, BOY!!! LMFAO!!!

[DSilius]

iv been on that street

[JJfromMW]

I been to that street!

[2008Sameoldfitup]

roy west

[geoffmss]

Interesting association with Yorkshire despite it's voice over and location shot. I guess it's the brass band reworking of the music that embed it in the memory. . Gold Hill in Shaftesbury is a special place to visit

[LisaB976]

MEHEHE i live in shaftesbury ;) -where the hill is :L gold hill.. its a beaut for sledging down! :D

[kevphillips02]

@LisaB976 i love the cafe in shaftsbury. Reminds me of how cafes should be with a juke box if i remember.

[LisaB976]

@kevphillips02 Yeah right! how café's should be!

[kevphillips02]

@LisaB976 You are probably to young to understand my comment

[needinput]

Mistah Scott - He say you Bread Runna!!!

Last stop on my round would be old ma Peggotty’s place. She was trained for an Off-World kick murder squad. Talk about Beauty and the Beast - she was both.

’Twas a grand ride back though …. and afterward, I knew baker would 'ave kettle on, and bones bent outward, like he exploded from inside. Hmm.

[broadleygreen]

The comments on here are a great laugh!

Perhaps they should add a posh voice saying "We never eat that factory muck, We make our own" That would be more in keeping with the period.

[killanimalsforfun247]

In my day we used to do a days work before we even got up and we had to eat lumps of coal for breakfast.  We had to walk 653 miles to work in bare feet and t' streets were paved with shards of broken glass coated with gnome shite. You young 'uns don't even know you're born.

[LennySoldier]

@killanimalsforfun247 The four yorkshire men, monty python, classic !

[kevphillips02]

@killanimalsforfun247 you were lucky.

[killanimalsforfun247]

@kevphillips02 Aye, In me father's day a lot of folk got work as paving stones and had three ton waggons pulled by giant shire horses over them. I remember him tellin' me after a good meal of limestone and cast iron broth 'being a paveing stone was one of the best jobs you could hope for in my day'. He's currently a keystone in a bridge near Keighley, bless him.

[Jetstarboy]

@kevphillips02

PYTHON? LOL \!!

[johnjnukemsheridan]

@killanimalsforfun247 xD Well..that wuh luxury, wuh that! When I wuh a lad, wi ad tuh get up a month ago. Lick tar off th'rord fer 'er breakfast. Wash it down wi a bottle uh 2nd 'and bleach. Wark 700mile tuh work barefoot on 'ot coal, all up 'ill. Wer wi got a punch from t'boss n' ha'penny a year fer 'er trouble. Wark 800 mile, up hill all th'way home. Wer dad give us a thick ear, a fat lip, un sliced us in 'alf wi a bread knife. 367 days a year. And we wuh greatful.

[dave8204]

@MyTinyCock

There are,2 English people.

[CPhillips92]

@ciccogol92

I know. I was responding to someone else who'd said that it was set in Yorkshire. It clearly isn't. This seems to be a fake cultural memory: something that everybody "knows" even though it isn't true. A bit like how everyone remembers that it was people in Portsmouth who mistakenly attacked a paediatrician instead of a paedophile, even though that actually happened in Wales.

[greygoaty]

I went there on the way to my trip to York to see the brontes museum!

[unclemort1960]

@greygoaty i went to that museum and walked to the waterfall which inspired some of the writing all that walking made me hungry so i ate sandwiches( made with hovis of course)

[BabyiLoisaa682]

hÎ_ÄÑýôñë_wáÑÑÃ_chät_wIth_me_î­_fËËl_só_lÓNEly_tòÐAy└

[floatershaw]

lol

[iconzero]

" A grand ride back"!! You kidding? Those cobblestones must've smashed your arsehole seven ways from Sunday!!

[djantix1977]

@iconzero ROFLMAO. And what you never get told is one day he ended up having the bike surgically removed from him when he lost control and totalled the bike.

[CountryBoy749]

@iconzero I'll bet! lol

[lukasdukas13]

i was there a few weeks ago and it hasn't changed one bit !!! :)

[Slofyxx]

ohhhhh i went there not long ago its a ver beauiful hill :)

[CPhillips92]

Wait, doesn't the voice over bloke sound like he's from Bristol rather than Yorkshire?

[G0IFI]

Always thought Hovis tasted like sawdust

[BuddyFantastic]

@G0IFI like the second world war German ersatz bread

[G0IFI]

@BuddyFantastic A little before my time, but I've read about that, it actually did contain sawdust? I read about ersatz coffee too, made from acorns. The things we take for granted are real treasures when we're deprived of them.

[clare6572]

Loved this old ad live by it was made Gold Hill Shaftsbury Nth Dorset.

[loko2468]

the song

watch?v=2-ZVUlzFmJ0

[paulreeve]

“Back in my day you could go to the cinema, get a bag of chips afterwards, hop on the bus home and still have change from a thrupenny bit”.

[smi88y]

daft twat ad a house on a hiill

[kittkarr2000]

@00.46 looks like the man is greengrass from heartbeat actor Bill Maynard! Anyone know if this is him?

[73dickie]

Wow, I was born in 73, lol I remember those adverts!

[blobby1972]

@73dickie wow thats amazing I was born in 72 but I can't remember back further than77

[73dickie]

@blobby1972 lol, no what I meant was that this advert was still running when I was 5 or six!

[blobby1972]

@73dickie yea I know realy I was just joking :)

[Mattteus]

Music inspired by Hiawatha...

[ofcoursehesthefarmer]

ee when I were a lad, wars was wars. Not like nowadays with all this new fangle technology. You knew where you was with your good old fashioned thermo-nuclear bombs. Now - your muslim has no respect whatever for good old fashioned military combat. He steps onto a train without so much as a by your leave and blows the thing sky high. Frankly if I'd known things were going to turn out like this I'd have fought on the German side in the last war.

[Alphabex8]

i like how this ad backs up peasants. i grew up poor and people like to make fun of poor kids. but then again, my family never made bread. big mistake-fuck!

[andyingreece]

Ridley Scott's directorial debut.

[katakisLives]

Been up that hill many times! literally just round the corner from that famous view of the hill its tarmac all the way to the bottom of the hill, really shatters the illusion!!!

[1996bambi]

haha i remember this add as good as the world has become today i do miss the good old days wish i could be there now

[meatisdeliciouse]

I met a guy who claimed to be the kid in the hovis advetrts called Dennis, He worked at my school.

[draven26]

An ad that plays on our sense of nostalgia, cobbled roads, safe, warm comforting and reliable and quintisentially British

[draven26]

An ad that plays on our sense of nostalgia, cobbled roads, safe, warm comforting and reliable and quintessiantially British

[rayflute]

Eee it were grand! :)

[prevvy]

I have the privilege of living there

[ScottDog141]

YEAH! I live in Shaftesbury! lovely bread

[Dragonflamz]

and this was voted britains favourite ad because....?

[MeganWeldon]

I've been there before..

[louisorleans]

Boy pushing the bike?? Former All About Eve & Nik Kershaw drummer Mark Price. Apparently...

[T800System]

TWAS LIKE TAKIN' BREAD TO THA' TOP'O'THA WOOOooorld!

lmfao

[longhairedbeatnik]

they dont bake um like they used to do

[StixH]

Largo

[afuzzyduck]

please be upstanding, for the national anthem of THE NORTH

[darrengsaw]

I think the answer to that is pretty obvious

[dobiegee]

Early Ridley Scott!

[olderguyphil]

Take 50 boy now on that other old favourite Lucozade thanks for sharing regards Phil.

[timmyo848]

to think i would finish my paper round by coming up that hill every day. gold hill shafesbury dorset.

[digitalbroadcaster]

@timmyo848 By 'eck son, I bet tha' keeled ye'?!

Ironically I didn't even know Ridley filmed this, considering I film for him sometimes. Small world by 'eck.

[DKNY707]

travelled 4 hours from birmingham yesterday to see where this was filmed. it really is breathtaking . unfotunately forgot my camera

[u2funnyman]

Great ad but this typical of advertising industry going to Somerset/dorset to do the advert , Id like to know why did they do ad in north

[insaneclownbrian]

"There's Wheatgerm In That There Bread!"

[closertofiftythanyew]

cows butter.

Europeans, don't be corrupted to use anything else. unless you're tight and jewish. bread and vegitable oils do not mix, in europe, nor yank europeans, too!

[RobbieL1111]

boo

[IZanmaruI]

i live 30secs away from that hill and my friend lives 6 down :P

[glennsharpe]

he also did a lot of uncredited production design for classic Dr Who

[carpy1]

isn't that SELWYN FROGGIT as the Baker

[baldandold]

@carpy1

magic our morris.....

[ryanthecabbie]

Ridley Scott, Gladiator, Alien, Thelma and Louise, Black Hawk Down and .... er Hovis advert!!!

[SimonB198207]

ryanthecabbie - yeah, i notice the ad cuts off just before the chestburster explodes out of the poor lads ribcage...

Hovis isn't just full of wheat germ...

[chdot]

Bet Gold Hill is slippery today!

[MrBuckley123]

the good old days

[michael2me]

im the mug who turned the hovis boy part down what a mug

[Stoatsblood]

OMG WTB BBQ He isn't wearing a helmet!!! Youtube should take this video down, it's like, totally promoting irresponsible, dangerous behavior! Just kidding. Did you spot the totally hip Fixie that lad was riding?

[alfiesgirluk]

@ Stoatsblood Ha ha ha I like it and too true, health and safety should see this irresponsible advert. roflmao

[jfgwills5]

haha old guy says to kid "get it inside you boy", these days he'd be on some sort of register

[jasfifty]

haha

[AdonisbutcallmeAds]

@jfgwills5

PC world gone mental!!

[alienhuman]

@jfgwills5 you are sick.

[Greenockgal]

aw, fab! we went and visited this place last week, called Gold Hill, beautiful!

[CurlyLyns82]

Aaw it gets me everytime.

[imtehredpowerranger]

I know its only for bread, but the Hovis adverts are really aawesome :D especially the new 2009 one ^^

its my fave :DD

[SweetieEmzie]

the first voice sounds a bit like hagrid from harry potter :)

[basherofnoggins]

same accent

[IZanmaruI]

and i live just around the corner from that hill :) like a 1minute walk lol

[resolypf4]

much better than kingsmill

[lukea444]

Woop! I can play that on the guitar

[pneagle1]

sounds like the music from the shire....in lord of the rings! :P

[angeliesings]

yep Gold Hill.. been there ,its steeper than it looks too!

[AllyikaMan]

we studied it in media too, it sucks willy!!! :P

[carpet9999999999]

i'm studying it in media studies now, wish i was making sweet vids instead

[AllyikaMan]

its CRAP!!

[cymruambyth29]

I've ran up and down that hill know as gold hill! :-)

[1875HIBSFC]

We studied this in Media studies!

[ade2006]

EEEE it were rite grand when I were a lad..

[Ianstonn]

Ah yes, remember this advert..havn't visited the location yet... Interestingly did you notice that the very final voice over at the end was 'Ian Holm' who would star in Ridley's film 'Alien' five years later??

[souflett]

yea isn't it in the cotswolds?

[spankshaft]

i was at this street yesterday in Shaftesbury dorset i wanted to trash down on a bike

[natlew999]

i just wanted to let everyone know that this was actually recorded in dorset. even though its ment to be the north.

[tomski3]

Haha! I've only heard this been spoken in Yorkshirian. In any case, riding up that hill as fast as you can ride down it? Tricky, especially on a single gear bike.

[ClydeDocker]

so where else did you threaten people?

[viragom5]

Greetings everyone!

If You would like to, watch this video as well! We're on a competition, and we want every one of you to share thoughts (comments) about it! So please watch:

/watch?v=tTEJKtHmo4s

[Hasmatkid]

A lot of ads had regional accents added for the various ITV regions. The best was Joe Gladwins, I'm a lancastrian. If you get a chance check out the Harp lager ads from the mid eighties.

[sukhrajsingh]

Hard to explain. But i think it's about childhood and coming home from school and having your tea. All those memories. Plus the music is very comforting. No negatives aboutt his ad.

[777rockdevilfob777]

haha i went up tht the ov a day it dun half kill =D

[MATTY0MOO]

ive been on that hill, im proud of myself lol

[Orinoco25]

This isn't right. I swear it was a "yorkshire accent"

[QSue22]

I agree with Threeload - the voice is all wrong. I remember the words..

ee were a right good baker were our dad, every morning he would.....

In a lancashire accent like mine - anyone know if Joe Gladwin advert on youtube?

... this is good, but Joe's is MUCH better.

[DavrosFromSkaro]

The guy doing the voiceover sounds like Richard Dawkins

[UppruniTegundanna]

I read your comment and was thinking "Seriously? You think that sounds like Richard Dawkins?" Then I realised you meant the guy at the very end.

[xxrobfalconxx]

Ive just come back from Golds Hill today, i gotta say, the street looks alot narrower in the flesh than what it does in the commercial. The hills is rather steep, but its not too long. Least the young boy didnt have to walk up it while it was covered in snow like i did lol.

[xxrobfalconxx]

Ive noticed something since this 1973 one compared to the remake in the mid 80's, the mans accent has changed. In this one he has a west country accent, but in the remake, he has a yorkshire accent.

[sierradelta07]

Why can't we go back to those days? Only the good parts mind. I was about 10 then so it was always summer hols or Christmas. The worst thing in my life was the long dull Sundays.

Great ad.

Yep, I'd go back for sure.

[sukhrajsingh]

The BEST AD EVER

[babyspicexx]

how is this advert the best the 2008 one is!!!!!!

[Threeload]

Not the same without Joe Gladwin, and the accent in this ad isnt what I associate with Hovis. Only means something when you have a beautifully aged and characterful Lancashire accent like Joes to polish it up

[00lightbulb00]

woop woop i live there

[pitbikecrazy]

i feel old watching this

[boywithatoy]

The music is Dvorak's Symphony No: 9 called 'From the New World'. An ad about Yorkshire filmed in Dorset with music about America! Still love it though.

[sortashaman]

yep, a brass arrangement of the second movement of Dvorak's "From the New World", based on a spiritual (hymn) titled "Goin' Home".

[fizzylogik]

@boywithatoy Why do you think it's an ad about yorkshire?

As a yorkshireman i see no connection whatsoever.

[raynarks]

@boywithatoy this is not an ad about Yorkshire, it's an ad for Hovis bread.

[alfiesgirluk]

@boywithatoy I love the ad and the music, just like to point out that Hovis began in Stone in Staffordshire (flat as a billiard table) so I don't know what your point about Yorkshire is

[caturn88]

Hovis is fucking wank and fuck their PR dept.

[Dragonrdh]

I live in Canada now and I miss Hovis. We used to buy it at M&S before they left Canada.

[sidious76]

Beautiful!

[Zanderbea]

i live very near there!

[littlecutiebuttercup]

the new ones better

[da8iwr]

With 35yrs more experience i should hope so :).

[JEANETTE60]

A brilliant advert

[ImBack4TheRave]

love this advert. good tune ;)

[charziiex]

omg iv seen the new hovis advert omg its soo brilliant its about a boy and when his in the years and they get better and better

[davidtennant4life]

not neccisarily

he just runs through diferent english feats

[moolegs159]

theres another version coming out next month

[XJazzalynLouiseX]

the new advert is out on firday 12th September during one of the breaks of ITV's Coronation Street

[DADRENO]

I seem to remember that the voiceover was by the bloke who played Wally Batty. "He were a great baker me dad...." Perhaps that was the northern version?

[DADRENO]

It was Joe Gladwin (Wally Batty) -- How could a timid little man like Wally escape from under the thumb of the formidable Nora?

[scottishwildcat]

Joe Gladwin didn't come till later... that's certainly not him on this ad, wrong accent altogether.

[TheSecondStain]

You're right. That's Howard Lang, old Captain Baines himself, from The Onedin Line. Just watch a clip from that series with him speaking in it if you don't believe me.

[guptube]

i live in that town....Shaftesbury, Dorset

[kinggimped]

Kinda sad that people hear the music and immediately think of bread, rather than Dvorak's awesome New World Symphony (of which the Largo is the least interesting movement!).

But still. Classic advert.

[Daynefc18]

whens the new 1 out

[JDenton16]

its the 1986 one whats got an yorkshire accent, but I think it might be a lancashire accent.

[JDenton16]

i love this advert it makes me proud to be from yorkshire. I used to play this song on the steel pans in primary school.