He should have tried Liverpool in the early 80s. A heroin epidemic, black immigrant types rioting, Derek Hatton and Militant, Heysel. Talk about life enhancing
I seem to recall that this brief extract was part of an expansive piece on Birmingham by Savalas, aired in cinemas (for maybe 5 years) as a warm up feature; does anyone have that version?
Me and my brother actually won a competition in 'Look-in' to meet Telly on the set of Crossroads,which he was appearing in as a special guest,anyway,he took me and me brother to a Wimpey in Droitwich,which he was particularly interested in at the time.He stunk of Brut and made us pay for our own bender brunch burgers.Me and me brother had the last laugh though,Telly chucked his ring up in the car park and as he staggered about,my brother nicked his hat....,we've still got it.Marvelous.
I would imagine it would be OK for Savalas to give his impressions based on what he had seen and heard of the place even if he lied because no one could ever disprove it.
But here he is so obviously lying, claiming to have visited places that we all know he's never been to. I would have thought that would be a different issue.
Telly definetly appeared in Birmingham as my cousin spoke to him on the phone at work and he said in the mail that it was his kinda town.
Must upload all the photos I have of the city centre, a lot of the other indoor markets such as Liverpool and Preston copied the original 60s one in Birmingham.
@ucanseethejoin also Telly provided the voiceover for an advert for our local jellyhut in Sellyoak which was seen at the local Odeon.I used to love the Local ads at the cinema,me.
2:11-2:14 "You feel as if you've been projected into the 21st century" - Errr.......no Telly, in the 21st century, it's all clogged up and looks like sh**. Oh well. lol
'a sophisticated shopping centre over the railway terminal' - he must mean that dog hole littered with macdonalds packaging and swarms of teenage thugs/muggers preying on anyone who looks unable to fight back. Why is is that some people spend their whole day in or outside Macdonalds? Its a plastic dung heap selling sugary salty shit burgers ...perhaps these people think it is sophisticated.......
Mmmm,...did Alum rock,Sparkbrook,Nechells,Lozells,Perry Barr..take your breath away,yes another way in the immigrants know all about that..Telly must have been on some good shit that day..Shit hole Birmingham..
I used to go into Birmingham back then, still live here now , forgot how clean it used to look, in 2000 I took some photos in the Bull Ring before it was demolished, there are rats on the photos besides litter and graffiti
Yeah shame the most recognisable landmarks now are a massive purple and silver armadillo and the river of vomit that flows through Broad Street of a weekend.
hes probaly seen as much of brum as the council big wigs who sit from a high and tell how great it is they must be talking to mr and mrs moneybags cause thats who youd have to be these days to engoy brum these days
"I walked on the walkways... sat on the seats" Er, presumably that was in your mind's eye, Telly - as you lit up another cigar in your Los Angeles recording booth. I love it!
If that view nearly took his breath away he must have had fantastic eyesight because the nearest he got to Birmingham was a recording studio in London!
Love it how "you feel as if you've been projected into the 21st century", but now you're here, it feels like you're in the 80's. Hahaha. I love Birmingham/
Amazing. The lovely Susan Boyle makes her first ever public appearance at 3 mins 11 seconds in. Did Telly Savalas actually go to Brum? He probably did the voice over from Chicago!
Just seen this for the first time and I love it. It is Birmingham how I remember it as a kid (the old Bullring and Rotunda, etc.), but narrated by Tele Savalas, which makes it more than a little bit surreal... but on the plus side makes it sound much, much much cooler than I remember it being
I loved Bull Ring more then hated it as i use to work as a Market boy in the 90s.You couldnt beat the atmosphere and personalitys that were in that place.I wouldnt give them years back to you it was a pleasure to work there.
Ok but keep in mind Bull Ring in the 60s was differant to Bull Ring in 80s and late 90s.And lets face it they are not going to say dont come to Bull Ring because its dark,crap and you might get mugged by a glue sniffer.
'This was the view that took my breath away?' Are you kidding me!!!
I'm a Brummie and as much as i loved the old Bullring, i hated it in equal measure! it was filthy, dark, dingy and in needing of bulldozing a good 15 years before they finally did!
At least they kept the Rotunda, they were going to knock that down at some point as well. Don't get me wrong, I love Brum, I come from there and I've proud to be a brummie, I just wish they had't built the selfridges building.
Did anyone know that they're going to knock down the Oasis markets? I'm outraged, another piece of Brums history to be replaced by modern office blocks and shops for rich snobs with too much money.
Fact for non-brummies - we have more canals than Venace!
Brum has changed so much, today its unrecognisable - apart from New Street Station, which is still a dump. I miss the old Birmingham, it may have been 'a dangerous dump' (which is a lie it wasn't that bad,) but at least it was honest, it wasn't trying to be something it wasn't. Unlike how it is now. The traffic is terrible, the selfridges building is ugly and looks stupid next to St martains, and the bulllring is all mainstream. The only good change is the markets are safer more spread out.
I've always wanted to see this, brings back some happy memories from when I was a kid. A day's Christmas shopping in Brum, at all the big specialist shops, was the highlight of the year.
So much of Brum has improved these days. The city centre compares well to any other city you could name. I wish they'd put the same amount of money into improving the ghettos you have to travel through to get there, though.
people can say what they like about what bham was like back then ... but i miss it. these days its just like any other city with its big indoor shopping malls. i used to like all the outdoor shops, markets and more importantly, VERY little traffic.
Ive been to Birmingham a few times its lovely city its also the original home to the best TV gameshow ever made Bullseye by the way on the full film do they show the ATV centre
Well, I guess he was referring to the city's forefathers fueling the industrial revolution through steam power, plastics, glass works, mass manufacture, engines, et cet era. James Watt's engines powered the steam mills of Manchester, and Henry Arkwright stole an earlier cotton spinning design from a Brummie. Shame they experimented on the city centre in the 70s in some sad U.S. style urban experiment.
In one sense yes, in another no. I find it a little sad that they used Telly (a popular U.S. actor of the time) to advertise all the Americanisation and awful architectural experiments in concrete during this time, the city and it's population lost more of it's fine architecture during this period than the bombing during WWII. However, i still enjoyed the film, my friend was at the BBC airing at the library and one of those interviewed lol.
intresting vid. well chosen narrator (even if an odd choice). brum like any major city has its 'problem' areas but sure makes up for it in its history,culture and surroundings. i stayed there several years ago and found it welcoming.
This is an edited version of the full 25 minute film, which has some comedy gems in it. They showed it at a film festival at the electric cinema a few years ago... 'when you think of Birmingham, you think of guns...' 'I dallied in dale end, rambled through Rackhams, browsed Bull Street'
Good times, back when the original/proper Mini was being made at Longbridge and there was a great optimism in the air. Or was that just during the 1960's? I seem to remember that when the 1970's kicked in we got nothing but power cuts, industrial action and bad fashions?
Do remember the film was made before the world became so vulgar! Films on Aberdeen and Portsmouth were made at the same time. The film maker filmed what he saw. The film should be viewed as a snapshot of the early 1980s - a happier and more polite time than today. The whole film is 25 minutes long - this is just a short extract.
Actually, yes I do. I've lived here for 42 years - my whole life to be more precise. It's my home. So I think I am allowed an opinion on it. But if you actually bothered to read what I wrote, you will see that I am commenting on what it USED TO BE LIKE! But then again, if you spell FUCK in text-speak then you're certainly not old enough to comment on Birmingham in the 70s and 80s!
Of course, if people like yourself are representative of Birmingham as it is now then it's a bigger shit-hole!
Birmingham at this time was a shit-hole. "...a sophisticated shopping centre" Haha! As sophisticated as a back street porn-cinema. "A four mile circuit of dual carriageways, tunnels and overpasses..." How about the million subways that stank of urine and were notorious for the opportunist mugger and rapist as they were dark and isolated from public view and were literally the only way to access the city - unless you wanted to risk getting run down! Thank God someone saw sense and got rid!
Hello Foreo, I couldn't agree with you more. This film is a farcical piss take to mask what Birmingham was really like back then. It had its good points for the time, but it certainly was not as galmourous as this film makes out. All the best.
Excuse me?? Seeing as you know absolutely nothing about me, I find such a statement quite absurd.
I've lived in Birmingham all my life and DO NOT dislike it. Birmingham city centre in the 70s and 80s was a horrible and dangerous place to visit. The town planners made Brum a bad place to live in! - the subways I mentioned were a very real and serious concern. Thankfully these have all been filled in. READ WHAT I WROTE before you make personal judgments about me.
I like the way that you never actually SEE any footage of him actually IN Birmingham... you just know he's doing this voiceover from his Las Vegas penthouse in a bathrobe...
I so wish I could open a door to find myself surrounded by this Birmingham. The Bull Ring looks gorgeous - it's such ashame I can't remember it. The unapologetic nature of this era fascinates me, such a contrast to today's safe greenhouse like shopping centre.
I've been looking for this ever since I saw a small clip on 'The Clive James Show' in the late 80s/early 90s. I'm pretty sure Telly made a lot of these for various cities. Thanks for the upload!
this isn't the full version. there's definatly a bit where tel informs us we can 'dally in dale end'
i was about 6 or 7 when this was made about 1981-ish and it's definatly my kind of town, cos back then it was a city for the real people of brum, whereas now, although it's improved looks wise, it's lost it's identity with streets full of subways, costas, coffee republics etc like any other city in britain. bring back lewis's and the old co op.
Thanks ChloeyBubbz for telling the world Birmingham has more canals than "veness". I'm sure your mother is proud!
This is an absolutely brilliant bit of work - and just shows how much of a dump Birmingham was, even back then! It is, of course, incredible how the city has changed over the last 8-10 years and how much it's now considered a European landmark.
Fantastic bit of footage and well worth the watch.
Although I have to take up the idea of New Street being a "rail terminal"...!
dump?! back then birmingham still made things, tangible things. britain's workshop. the "city of a thousand trades". might look like a dump to you, fella, but not this brummie.
History repeats itself. This is the same cheesey bullshit that we hear being spouted (and used to justify demolition of true landmark historic buildings) today, only now it's applied to the ugly, sterile, cloned flat-pack steel-and-glass airport terminal-style that makes up the latest CAD-aided architectural fad. Watch it date...
This is hilarious, Telly is just brilliant, you can here him smirking....love the idea that a cities roads are considered attractive. Birmingham was the fugliest shithole on the boil of the Uk until about 10 years ago when they had the genius idea of knocking down all the markets and the "pounding inner city ringroad" and spending money on making it a more aesthetically pleasing city. Oh they've banished the over 40's dancing competitions, think they all go dogging on cannock chase!
im a brummie, weve got more canals than veness, a fantastic night life on broad street, even got ourselves a beach. youve got to be a brummie to understand a brummie, weve got Jasper, Julie Walters and Ozzy Osbourne. such a contribution to the world of entertainment. i mean come on our kid, Liverppol is the city of culture (yeah right), Londons got the queen (and their welcome), come to brum. The reason no ones finds their way out is they dont wanna leave. faithful brummie signing out.
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|Chloe- can you tell me where "Veness" is you illiterate bitch! How do you get THAT thick? And Brummies wonder why the rest of the country thinks they're thick??
We're all thick ere... we don't even think let alone wonder. What? I hear you gasp... yeah, it's true monkey face. We're like dumb animals, maybe in the future other areas of the world, such as your own town, will excel in human evolution, cannibalism will return as part of a nutritious diet, and places like Birmingham will serve well as breeding grounds for culling of the thick bitches. Maybe I will one of them, or one of my children... I feel sick now, and must leave. I'm saddened.
pure class .. just how I remember it as a toddler before going south .. what happened to all the fountains in the shopping centre .. i'm sure they had them but my memory aint so good ..
Some great 1 liners from telly had me cracking up .. 'this is the view that took my breath awy' ... lol maybe it was the pollution from all the vauxhall chevettes & Austin ALL-AGROS
I'm disappointed that Telly didn't mention our quaint brummie accents (loved the world over) and for some reason they hadn't filmed the authentic Gas Street area of the City - can't think why.
This is bananas. Did Telly Savalas ever step foot in Birmingham? I seriously doubt it. Bloody funny though. "This is the view that almost took my breath away" had me creasing up!!
He was being paid of course he said it was a nice place. Its not that bad anyway. It looks like brums been trying to reinvent itself since then and probably earlier
What Birmingham is a real place?
sw1000xg 17 hours ago
Telly clearly spent lots of the 70's on very strong medication!
TW14EX 1 week ago
the disco comp, the multi carriage motorways and my favourite, British pubs! one gets the feeling he never even set foot there.
fraserandy77 1 week ago
"...the nation's industrial powerhouse. You feel as if you've been projected into the 21st century." Oh, the irony!
MisterLester 1 week ago
that dancing competition.... wow!
dwjp 1 week ago
@dwjp This is Mrs Taylor - I'm sure somebody loves you baby!
Genius!
TW14EX 1 week ago
Doesn't it look brown..
rnind1979 1 week ago 2
Beautiful pan of a street lamp at 01:09
alanwhite 1 week ago 2
Birmingham ... damn, it was a dump back then, and nothings changed much.
chrismallyon 3 weeks ago
@chrismallyon whens the last time you were in birmingham?
walexsbalex 4 days ago
He should have tried Liverpool in the early 80s. A heroin epidemic, black immigrant types rioting, Derek Hatton and Militant, Heysel. Talk about life enhancing
Friedkin01 3 weeks ago
I seem to recall that this brief extract was part of an expansive piece on Birmingham by Savalas, aired in cinemas (for maybe 5 years) as a warm up feature; does anyone have that version?
MatlockJack 1 month ago
Me and my brother actually won a competition in 'Look-in' to meet Telly on the set of Crossroads,which he was appearing in as a special guest,anyway,he took me and me brother to a Wimpey in Droitwich,which he was particularly interested in at the time.He stunk of Brut and made us pay for our own bender brunch burgers.Me and me brother had the last laugh though,Telly chucked his ring up in the car park and as he staggered about,my brother nicked his hat....,we've still got it.Marvelous.
INDEPF 1 month ago 7
next week Victor Mature on Kennington
BLONDBOMSITE 1 month ago
@BLONDBOMSITE Now that would be something to see!
I would imagine it would be OK for Savalas to give his impressions based on what he had seen and heard of the place even if he lied because no one could ever disprove it.
But here he is so obviously lying, claiming to have visited places that we all know he's never been to. I would have thought that would be a different issue.
dcasey77 1 month ago
it's completely logical....bald,gobby bronx cop bigging up a British urban experiment...it's what showbiz is all about.
BLONDBOMSITE 1 month ago
Would this be allowed today? Getting a celebrity to lie through his teeth from start to finish.
Isn't there a law against dishonest advertising?
I know a lot of advertising is misleading but this is something else!
dcasey77 2 months ago
@dcasey77 no there's no law against lying to the viewing public,it's what they want,is'nt it ?
BLONDBOMSITE 1 month ago
Telly definetly appeared in Birmingham as my cousin spoke to him on the phone at work and he said in the mail that it was his kinda town.
Must upload all the photos I have of the city centre, a lot of the other indoor markets such as Liverpool and Preston copied the original 60s one in Birmingham.
ucanseethejoin 3 months ago
@ucanseethejoin also Telly provided the voiceover for an advert for our local jellyhut in Sellyoak which was seen at the local Odeon.I used to love the Local ads at the cinema,me.
BLONDBOMSITE 1 month ago
Last time I went there was to see a Marky Ramone gig. Looks like I missed the rest of the 'action'. Can't wait to get back..
Shadow1776 3 months ago
2:11-2:14 "You feel as if you've been projected into the 21st century" - Errr.......no Telly, in the 21st century, it's all clogged up and looks like sh**. Oh well. lol
NeneValleyHarriers 3 months ago
this gives a new meaning to the term "polishing a turd"
Whitesnakelover 4 months ago
'a sophisticated shopping centre over the railway terminal' - he must mean that dog hole littered with macdonalds packaging and swarms of teenage thugs/muggers preying on anyone who looks unable to fight back. Why is is that some people spend their whole day in or outside Macdonalds? Its a plastic dung heap selling sugary salty shit burgers ...perhaps these people think it is sophisticated.......
bunterx 6 months ago 2
Mmmm,...did Alum rock,Sparkbrook,Nechells,Lozells,Perry Barr..take your breath away,yes another way in the immigrants know all about that..Telly must have been on some good shit that day..Shit hole Birmingham..
SpeedTriple59 6 months ago
I used to go into Birmingham back then, still live here now , forgot how clean it used to look, in 2000 I took some photos in the Bull Ring before it was demolished, there are rats on the photos besides litter and graffiti
ucanseethejoin 6 months ago
@ucanseethejoin Could you link me to some of those pictures you have got please ?
thegarbeen 3 months ago
More clips from this film on HAROLD BAIM'S BRITAIN OF FILM on BBC4 on 27th July 2011 at 8.30pm
M6i7a8b 6 months ago
Must be one of the funniest, most surreal things on YouTube
DadgeCity 6 months ago
"nearly"
He's a genius.
"a multi carriage motorway" . . . . just brilliant . . . " a 4 mile circuit of dual carriageways"
I'm on the next train!
josoapful 7 months ago
Comment removed
josoapful 7 months ago
Birmingham now has 2 million residents. Wow, I wish the roads were that empty these days.
iguanaman08 7 months ago
that looked like a fucking model!
srspower 7 months ago
Yeah shame the most recognisable landmarks now are a massive purple and silver armadillo and the river of vomit that flows through Broad Street of a weekend.
waleseggmundo 7 months ago
hes probaly seen as much of brum as the council big wigs who sit from a high and tell how great it is they must be talking to mr and mrs moneybags cause thats who youd have to be these days to engoy brum these days
Runrome 7 months ago
"I walked on the walkways... sat on the seats" Er, presumably that was in your mind's eye, Telly - as you lit up another cigar in your Los Angeles recording booth. I love it!
owlzowlz 8 months ago 3
Did Telly Savalas ACTUALLY go there?! There's no evidence of him being in Birmingham!!
nx03lcf 8 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
Spends most of his time talking about the roads. The best one of which is the road out, of course
maximtrickett 9 months ago
If that view nearly took his breath away he must have had fantastic eyesight because the nearest he got to Birmingham was a recording studio in London!
langley2205 9 months ago 2
"this is the view that nearly took my breath away"...lol
77edster 10 months ago 2
I want to live there!! Oh wait, I do. meh.
collegefreaks2000 11 months ago
amazing! great post! mrs taylor! go girl!
thepofmeister 11 months ago
Funny from start to finish - brilliant :)
diamondjo 11 months ago
Great fun!
Enjoyed the Radio 4 programme (2008) and have now seen the images to match those wonderful words.
mikeismad61 1 year ago
Did Telly Savalas see the pictures he was reading the script to?
thequeenofspades 1 year ago
Love it how "you feel as if you've been projected into the 21st century", but now you're here, it feels like you're in the 80's. Hahaha. I love Birmingham/
newheadliner81 1 year ago
The full version of this is on SKYARTS 2 HD on 27th December 2010 at 7.30pm
W8a7r1 1 year ago
Amazing. The lovely Susan Boyle makes her first ever public appearance at 3 mins 11 seconds in. Did Telly Savalas actually go to Brum? He probably did the voice over from Chicago!
Hemskibeat 1 year ago
0:53 ... NEARLY took his breath away....... instead he took his agent away and shot him.
blueluny 1 year ago
This is the view that nearly took my breath away at 0.53
nixcails 1 year ago
In answer to question: Disco Music is De Wolfe Library: CAN'T GET ENOUGH by MACDONALD/RAE Disc number: RMS/LP 118
TVArchiveMan 1 year ago
Music by De Wolfe library - super!
TVArchiveMan 1 year ago
Absolutely fantastic!
I'm assuming that uses KPM library music. if anmyone knows the titles I would eternally grateful
JoeScaramanga 1 year ago
The tramp looking fella in the Disco dancing competetion!! LOL.
Marvellous stuff!
andyth55 1 year ago
Does anyone know the name of the disco song they are dancing to?? I love it!
bimlam 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@bimlam Disco Music is De Wolfe Library: CAN'T GET ENOUGH by MACDONALD/RAE Disc number: RMS/LP 118
TVArchiveMan 1 year ago
its a shame its turned in to a fuckin rat infested shit hole
richyc1983 1 year ago
I see SkyARTS are showing the full half hour film in HD later this year! Hurrah!
TVArchiveMan 1 year ago
view that takes your breath away ,rail terminal still the same ,was mr glitter putting on a show
RICHARDTOMLEY10WHARF 1 year ago
Look at those Rover Vitesse's go!
word2urmuva 1 year ago
Just seen this for the first time and I love it. It is Birmingham how I remember it as a kid (the old Bullring and Rotunda, etc.), but narrated by Tele Savalas, which makes it more than a little bit surreal... but on the plus side makes it sound much, much much cooler than I remember it being
Priscus 1 year ago
A wonderful nostalgia trip. Shame so much of the past has been lost because of the greed of developers.
mondyboy81 1 year ago 2
Absolutely magnificent
logixish 1 year ago
Wow, that brought back memories although my age was'nt even in double figures back in the 70's, but it was good to look at Brum back then.
BrassedoffMonki 1 year ago
Birmingham looks lovely and clean, must have been airbrushed! God bless Telly, must have been a bit of pocket money for him.
linnyhaha 2 years ago
"This is the view that nearly took my breath away"
Obviously a heavy smoker then!
nixcails 2 years ago 24
@nixcails what time was that?
Trek001 1 year ago
@nixcails Or it was the smog! :)
iguanaman08 7 months ago
I loved Bull Ring more then hated it as i use to work as a Market boy in the 90s.You couldnt beat the atmosphere and personalitys that were in that place.I wouldnt give them years back to you it was a pleasure to work there.
suckyamomma30 2 years ago 4
Ok but keep in mind Bull Ring in the 60s was differant to Bull Ring in 80s and late 90s.And lets face it they are not going to say dont come to Bull Ring because its dark,crap and you might get mugged by a glue sniffer.
suckyamomma30 2 years ago
'This was the view that took my breath away?' Are you kidding me!!!
I'm a Brummie and as much as i loved the old Bullring, i hated it in equal measure! it was filthy, dark, dingy and in needing of bulldozing a good 15 years before they finally did!
Bloody hilarious Telly, keep it up. . .!!
MulBerrie 2 years ago
Radio 4 covered this series of films - Telly Savalas never acyually visited any of the featured cities - why would he?!
bluefreefall 2 years ago
Me Again!
At least they kept the Rotunda, they were going to knock that down at some point as well. Don't get me wrong, I love Brum, I come from there and I've proud to be a brummie, I just wish they had't built the selfridges building.
Did anyone know that they're going to knock down the Oasis markets? I'm outraged, another piece of Brums history to be replaced by modern office blocks and shops for rich snobs with too much money.
Fact for non-brummies - we have more canals than Venace!
RomanaXx80ND 2 years ago
Brum has changed so much, today its unrecognisable - apart from New Street Station, which is still a dump. I miss the old Birmingham, it may have been 'a dangerous dump' (which is a lie it wasn't that bad,) but at least it was honest, it wasn't trying to be something it wasn't. Unlike how it is now. The traffic is terrible, the selfridges building is ugly and looks stupid next to St martains, and the bulllring is all mainstream. The only good change is the markets are safer more spread out.
RomanaXx80ND 2 years ago 2
I've always wanted to see this, brings back some happy memories from when I was a kid. A day's Christmas shopping in Brum, at all the big specialist shops, was the highlight of the year.
So much of Brum has improved these days. The city centre compares well to any other city you could name. I wish they'd put the same amount of money into improving the ghettos you have to travel through to get there, though.
VentionVal 2 years ago
Nuking from orbit has a certain appeal ..
mickyredmire 2 years ago 2
people can say what they like about what bham was like back then ... but i miss it. these days its just like any other city with its big indoor shopping malls. i used to like all the outdoor shops, markets and more importantly, VERY little traffic.
balsingh1 2 years ago
when was this film actally made anyone
cant believe they got Kojak doing the voiceover would have been cheaper getting Bullseye's Jim Bowen instead
stuttsy83 2 years ago
Ive been to Birmingham a few times its lovely city its also the original home to the best TV gameshow ever made Bullseye by the way on the full film do they show the ATV centre
stuttsy83 2 years ago
2:46 the old geezas skankin hahaha
SluWasteman08 2 years ago
"I walked down the walkways, sat in the seats, and admired the trees and shrubs"
No you didn't.
BarcelonaNil 2 years ago
"powerhouses of treasure"
Pardon?
BarcelonaNil 2 years ago
Well, I guess he was referring to the city's forefathers fueling the industrial revolution through steam power, plastics, glass works, mass manufacture, engines, et cet era. James Watt's engines powered the steam mills of Manchester, and Henry Arkwright stole an earlier cotton spinning design from a Brummie. Shame they experimented on the city centre in the 70s in some sad U.S. style urban experiment.
HeartOfTheBeat 2 years ago
Yes thank you, I understand that. It doesn't make the phrase "powerhouses of treaure" any less ridiculous.
Do you genuinely not see the funny side of this film?
BarcelonaNil 2 years ago
In one sense yes, in another no. I find it a little sad that they used Telly (a popular U.S. actor of the time) to advertise all the Americanisation and awful architectural experiments in concrete during this time, the city and it's population lost more of it's fine architecture during this period than the bombing during WWII. However, i still enjoyed the film, my friend was at the BBC airing at the library and one of those interviewed lol.
HeartOfTheBeat 2 years ago
Everyone slags Brum off because they still think it looks and feels the same as it did in the 70's and 80's, which was when it was horrid!
I like the place more since I moved back, it has changed allot!
Strutlikejesus 2 years ago
intresting vid. well chosen narrator (even if an odd choice). brum like any major city has its 'problem' areas but sure makes up for it in its history,culture and surroundings. i stayed there several years ago and found it welcoming.
eagled96 2 years ago
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fucking dump!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
colebrook101 2 years ago
Comment removed
HeartOfTheBeat 2 years ago
This was the view that nearly took my breath away...
what a classic!
Stereolabdream 2 years ago
Brilliant
pinkanglia 2 years ago
The traffic fumes would have really taken his breath away.
Concreteowl 2 years ago
This is an edited version of the full 25 minute film, which has some comedy gems in it. They showed it at a film festival at the electric cinema a few years ago... 'when you think of Birmingham, you think of guns...' 'I dallied in dale end, rambled through Rackhams, browsed Bull Street'
Genius.
andyepps 2 years ago
i must have seen this video five or six times and it is still the funniest thing on youtube.
weirdloverwilde99 2 years ago 3
Good times, back when the original/proper Mini was being made at Longbridge and there was a great optimism in the air. Or was that just during the 1960's? I seem to remember that when the 1970's kicked in we got nothing but power cuts, industrial action and bad fashions?
taffy1967 2 years ago
This is first class....where did you pick up this gem
gbkiller007 2 years ago
you can watch clips from it & other Telly Savalas Looks At films & listen to a radio 7 programme about them if you go to baimfilms . com
longerdaysdyingss 2 years ago
looks lots nicer then....than it is now... i assure you :D
1nicelad 2 years ago
...and what qualifies you to give such a comment liquomerlin - there are much sadder places - you know nothing!
W8a7r1 2 years ago
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ohh my god look at aston express way and all these old fashioned cars, ha ha ha!
70000 people visiting the art gallery and the museum each month??!! they propably meant Broad Street, lol
Brimingham is the sadest town in the UK or better in Europe!!! dont go there people!!!!!!!!
liquomerlin 2 years ago
I can't help but wonder why the Birmingham skyline would take any American's breath away.
Let's face it, it's neither quaint nor spectacular in any way.
I do wonder how sincere this narration is, or if it's being read out from a script that he saw just the day before.
Did he actually visit these places for more than a 'taster'?
kara1464 2 years ago
Actually, he never visited Birmingham at all.
vermillion16 2 years ago
.... and I am really not surprised
kara1464 2 years ago
This is just exceptional. I am pleased that Telly enjoyed his visit.
ConcreteCorporal 2 years ago
The BBC hate Birmingham, yet it is such an incredible city. (Well, since the new Bullring.)
SugarlessCoffee 2 years ago
Is the tall building near the roundabout at 4:44 - 4:50 still standing? What was it's name and where is it?
BlakeTalking 2 years ago
It's CENTRE CITY on Smallbrook Queensway -and yes, Ii's still there!
TheTVArchiveMan 2 years ago 2
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BlakeTalking 2 years ago
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austin allegro - the bastard child of brum
nuke the place and start again.
edwardszzz 2 years ago
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Have to say brum is a much better looking place, shame its got people living there though, kinda spoils the place.
Jewsta2912 3 years ago
Ha ha ha ha, astonishing. The over 40s disco competition is incredible. Why don't they do that any more?
stevekipping 3 years ago 13
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You can tell he never actually visited Birmingham.
Its still a shit tip as well.
adrianblewitt 3 years ago
WOW HOW BRUM HAS CHANGED!
brummie gal x
clazza01 3 years ago
This film took forever to play. It kept buffering. Anyone else having this problem?
Wolverhampton1 3 years ago
theres no safety barrier on the motorway seperating the traffic. how dangerous is that?
drunkstill 3 years ago
Who loves ya bab? This is priceless! :-))
Cybergrycer 3 years ago
lol i remeber this was on top gear once
dominiccook12 3 years ago
Do remember the film was made before the world became so vulgar! Films on Aberdeen and Portsmouth were made at the same time. The film maker filmed what he saw. The film should be viewed as a snapshot of the early 1980s - a happier and more polite time than today. The whole film is 25 minutes long - this is just a short extract.
W8a7r1 3 years ago
Actually, yes I do. I've lived here for 42 years - my whole life to be more precise. It's my home. So I think I am allowed an opinion on it. But if you actually bothered to read what I wrote, you will see that I am commenting on what it USED TO BE LIKE! But then again, if you spell FUCK in text-speak then you're certainly not old enough to comment on Birmingham in the 70s and 80s!
Of course, if people like yourself are representative of Birmingham as it is now then it's a bigger shit-hole!
foreo 3 years ago
Birmingham at this time was a shit-hole. "...a sophisticated shopping centre" Haha! As sophisticated as a back street porn-cinema. "A four mile circuit of dual carriageways, tunnels and overpasses..." How about the million subways that stank of urine and were notorious for the opportunist mugger and rapist as they were dark and isolated from public view and were literally the only way to access the city - unless you wanted to risk getting run down! Thank God someone saw sense and got rid!
foreo 3 years ago
Hello Foreo, I couldn't agree with you more. This film is a farcical piss take to mask what Birmingham was really like back then. It had its good points for the time, but it certainly was not as galmourous as this film makes out. All the best.
milesfb 3 years ago
do you even fking live in brum?
you fuking idiot dont go around saying how shit brum is fk you.
StolenElf 3 years ago
Birmingham at that time was exciting and influential. The city was fab, it's people like you that make places bad to live in.
yarrtiscrapulence 3 years ago
Excuse me?? Seeing as you know absolutely nothing about me, I find such a statement quite absurd.
I've lived in Birmingham all my life and DO NOT dislike it. Birmingham city centre in the 70s and 80s was a horrible and dangerous place to visit. The town planners made Brum a bad place to live in! - the subways I mentioned were a very real and serious concern. Thankfully these have all been filled in. READ WHAT I WROTE before you make personal judgments about me.
foreo 3 years ago
Foreo - you are absolutely right about Brum's city centre in the 1970s and 1980s. It was awful.
Rennelgale 3 years ago
As the old saying goes, "You can't polish a turd!".
BigDogsDangler 3 years ago
I like the way that you never actually SEE any footage of him actually IN Birmingham... you just know he's doing this voiceover from his Las Vegas penthouse in a bathrobe...
kinouk 3 years ago 2
I wonder how much Kojak got paid for this drivel... not enough I would guess...
kinouk 3 years ago
I so wish I could open a door to find myself surrounded by this Birmingham. The Bull Ring looks gorgeous - it's such ashame I can't remember it. The unapologetic nature of this era fascinates me, such a contrast to today's safe greenhouse like shopping centre.
BlakeTalking 3 years ago
haha such a legend
londonboy87 3 years ago
Hehehehe...that was brill! :-)
clanccy 3 years ago
just wonderful. Frozen foods were a new thing too. And small cigars.
But I don't think Telly Savalas ever went to Birmingham. It's just a hunch...
crashtv 3 years ago 2
They should have done a cultural exchange and sent Benny to New York.
"There do be big skyscrapers here, Miss Diane"
nishlord 3 years ago 2
At 4:40 it could have been New York City if it hadn't been for the Ford Granada. :)
..or Ford Cortina even ;)
CodeTwo2 3 years ago
I've been looking for this ever since I saw a small clip on 'The Clive James Show' in the late 80s/early 90s. I'm pretty sure Telly made a lot of these for various cities. Thanks for the upload!
discopanda28 3 years ago
lol @ 1min 52secs "I visited the West Midlands Police Motorway Control Unit"... Fibs Telly! Fibs!
discopanda28 3 years ago
@ 4:20 - the "Trees and Shrubs" comment is simply wonderful!
Rennelgale 3 years ago
At 4:40 it could have been New York City if it hadn't been for the Ford Granada. :)
capricious71 3 years ago
the funny thing is that Telly never visited Birmingham or the other cities he promoted! he new the score, alright!
keeprighton2007 3 years ago
this isn't the full version. there's definatly a bit where tel informs us we can 'dally in dale end'
i was about 6 or 7 when this was made about 1981-ish and it's definatly my kind of town, cos back then it was a city for the real people of brum, whereas now, although it's improved looks wise, it's lost it's identity with streets full of subways, costas, coffee republics etc like any other city in britain. bring back lewis's and the old co op.
still love the place, brummies are ace!
bamberclart 3 years ago 4
Thanks ChloeyBubbz for telling the world Birmingham has more canals than "veness". I'm sure your mother is proud!
This is an absolutely brilliant bit of work - and just shows how much of a dump Birmingham was, even back then! It is, of course, incredible how the city has changed over the last 8-10 years and how much it's now considered a European landmark.
Fantastic bit of footage and well worth the watch.
Although I have to take up the idea of New Street being a "rail terminal"...!
daveworley 3 years ago
dump?! back then birmingham still made things, tangible things. britain's workshop. the "city of a thousand trades". might look like a dump to you, fella, but not this brummie.
keeprighton2007 3 years ago 3
It's nice to see these cheesy old videos! How things have changed.
hellooldchap 3 years ago
clive james used to show these on his shows in the early 90s and as someone pointed out there was more cities done
bobmorrice 3 years ago
History repeats itself. This is the same cheesey bullshit that we hear being spouted (and used to justify demolition of true landmark historic buildings) today, only now it's applied to the ugly, sterile, cloned flat-pack steel-and-glass airport terminal-style that makes up the latest CAD-aided architectural fad. Watch it date...
mostlyrailways 3 years ago
Telly must have been on LSD at the time!
narcoleptus 3 years ago
LOL!
rhatid 3 years ago
This is hilarious, Telly is just brilliant, you can here him smirking....love the idea that a cities roads are considered attractive. Birmingham was the fugliest shithole on the boil of the Uk until about 10 years ago when they had the genius idea of knocking down all the markets and the "pounding inner city ringroad" and spending money on making it a more aesthetically pleasing city. Oh they've banished the over 40's dancing competitions, think they all go dogging on cannock chase!
emmaangelic 3 years ago
Chris Morris could not have done a better spoof than this genuine video.
mariegriffiths 3 years ago
im a brummie, weve got more canals than veness, a fantastic night life on broad street, even got ourselves a beach. youve got to be a brummie to understand a brummie, weve got Jasper, Julie Walters and Ozzy Osbourne. such a contribution to the world of entertainment. i mean come on our kid, Liverppol is the city of culture (yeah right), Londons got the queen (and their welcome), come to brum. The reason no ones finds their way out is they dont wanna leave. faithful brummie signing out.
ChloeyBubsz 3 years ago
Jasper? Jasper Carrot? Oh....erm....cool....yeah.... lol. Only joking, mate. Nice to see people proud of where they come from
fishslappingdance 3 years ago
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|Chloe- can you tell me where "Veness" is you illiterate bitch! How do you get THAT thick? And Brummies wonder why the rest of the country thinks they're thick??
Blackpoolhoaxer 2 years ago
We're all thick ere... we don't even think let alone wonder. What? I hear you gasp... yeah, it's true monkey face. We're like dumb animals, maybe in the future other areas of the world, such as your own town, will excel in human evolution, cannibalism will return as part of a nutritious diet, and places like Birmingham will serve well as breeding grounds for culling of the thick bitches. Maybe I will one of them, or one of my children... I feel sick now, and must leave. I'm saddened.
HeartOfTheBeat 2 years ago
pure class .. just how I remember it as a toddler before going south .. what happened to all the fountains in the shopping centre .. i'm sure they had them but my memory aint so good ..
Some great 1 liners from telly had me cracking up .. 'this is the view that took my breath awy' ... lol maybe it was the pollution from all the vauxhall chevettes & Austin ALL-AGROS
prone69 3 years ago
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me too - took my breath away that they still havent knocked it down
I am a Brummie and lived here LL MY LIFE EXCEPT 2 OR 3 MOINTHS IN THE SMOKE AND IT IS BETTER BUT COULD BE MUCH BETTER I THINK
clazza01 3 years ago
I'm disappointed that Telly didn't mention our quaint brummie accents (loved the world over) and for some reason they hadn't filmed the authentic Gas Street area of the City - can't think why.
moptimist 3 years ago
best moment "this is the view that nearly took my breath away". Well i laughed
nikku13 3 years ago
I am going to book up a holiday here, it looks fantastic. What is the best hotel to stay at?. It makes my home town of Las Vegas look like Trumpton.
u107068 3 years ago
LOl erm no do not bother
we will all come to stay at your house xx
clazza01 3 years ago
It doesn't look like that anymore, the skyline has changed considerably so stop slagging off Birmingham you assholes!
fanboy112 3 years ago
god new street station looked grimey even then!
dippy101 3 years ago
Where is this place? It looks fantastic! Coincidentally there's town called Birmingham in the west midlands, but that's a shithole!
2blackhats 3 years ago 4
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HeartOfTheBeat 2 years ago
This is bananas. Did Telly Savalas ever step foot in Birmingham? I seriously doubt it. Bloody funny though. "This is the view that almost took my breath away" had me creasing up!!
robrose73 3 years ago
"It was an over forties completion and...Incredible!" - that got me, best line in the film!
beastie586 3 years ago
This is fucking hilarious :D
TheMilkMan69 3 years ago
there is nothing in this (otherwise fascinating and informative) film to suggest that mr.savalas ever visited birmingham- what a sham.
Jackguinness 3 years ago
Choice class 117 and Leyland nationals
nikvanlanduyt 3 years ago
i think it might be a class 114, and notice the midland red fleetline and ailsa just before the end. ace!
bamberclart 3 years ago
CLASSIC!!!
britalian 3 years ago
I love this, Thanks beeb
"my kinda town"
MaximusMingus 3 years ago
this is magnificent
familymahoneII 3 years ago
Ahhh the 70's.....*shudder*....BURN IT..... BUUUUUUUUUUUUUURN ITTTTTTT!!!!!
FuzzyScotsman 3 years ago
my friend set his head on fire with a faulty blow tourch today. But we sat and watched this video before we rushed to a&e
rhinoears 3 years ago 2
He talks as if Birmingham is a nice place LMAO!! "this is the view that nearly took my breath away" WAT A JOKER!!!!!
Salvidge1 3 years ago
Nearly took his breath away... but didn't!!!
Do you think Telly Savalas actually knows where Brum is?
He was great, but I don't know how the scriptwriter could live with themselves.
sodeliciousx1 3 years ago
Your point is...?
Perhaps you should visit sometime and see for yourself. Oh, right, that'll mean making an effort.
mrsglide 3 years ago
He was being paid of course he said it was a nice place. Its not that bad anyway. It looks like brums been trying to reinvent itself since then and probably earlier
rmtheatre 3 years ago