See Ya at What Gets Me Hot: Cathy McGowan Rolling Stones (Brian Jones) Mime 'I Got You Babe' (Jagger

Ready Steady Go! Cathy McGowan Rolling Stones (Brian Jones) Mime 'I Got You Babe' (Jagger - Loog watch)

Ready Steady Go! and Cathy McGowan

Rolling Stones (Brian Jones) Mime 'I Got You Babe' Loog & Jagger

3:00

http://post.ly/17FpJ for Alan Pritchard and all the other blokes and birds from leighton buzzard (is it Kathy the Mod?) Rolling Stones (Brian Jones) Mime 'I Got You Babe' Loog & Jagger

Britain in 1963. In a land with a dire shortage of radio stations & lacking a TV outlet for the beat generation, Ready Steady Go was a breath of fresh air. "The weekend starts here" was the proclamation and for most British youth this was true. First broadcast from Rediffusion's London studio in Kingsway in the heart of the west end between Holborn and The Aldwych, (and just around the corner from the London School of Economics where Mick Jagger had studied), the show was hosted by Keith Fordyce and Cathy McGowan. Fordyce was from the 'old school' of presenters, and something of an anachronism amongst the fab and cool things of the Mod Generation, and was soon overshadowed by accidental discovery Cathy who had been working in the TV company's production office.

Keith Fordyce


Cathy McGowan



Cathy marries Hywel Bennett

Cathy quickly became a role model and nominated the Queen of the Mods. Some very cool people appeared on the show - and that was just in the audience. Clothes and dancing ability were all-important for candidates for the show's audience. The rewards were great as successful entrants would regularly be rubbing shoulders with The Beatles, Dusty Springfield, The Rolling Stones, Gerry And The Pacemakers, Marvin Gaye, Gene Pitney, The Beach Boys, Sandie Shaw, The Animals and Manfred Mann.

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Martha and The Vandellas		Cool Mods in the audience

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Cathy is quoted as saying that she blundered her way through each show and some of the remaining episodes salvaged on video do confirm the 'spontaneous and seemingly unrehearsed' nature of the show. But her raw energy, enthusiasm, style and beauty made-up for any lack of interviewing or presentation technique.

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Cathy with Donovan

Cathy launched her own range of clothes and accessories as well as a record player and other items.

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RSG's main 'rival', the BBC's Top Of The Pops, although outlasting RSG by 32 years, did not have the impact, credibility and energy that RSG manifested in its short 4-year run. With the coming of hippies and psychedelia, the beat and mod generation gave way to concept albums and beads, RSG became less relevant and Cathy 'retired' from TV, first marrying Hywel Bennett and, more recently, becoming partner to singer Michael Ball. These days she has established herself as a style guru to the stars.

Keith Fordyce is now a DJ on local radio around the country.

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Peter Noone		Manfred Mann

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Dusty Springfield

RSG has left a legacy and to this day both the programme and presenter Cathy are synonymous with cool. Items bearing her name, such as shoes and bags, achieve high figures on eBay. The show finished in 1966 at the height of its popularity and has achieved cult status to a new generation, courtesy in part by the release for transmission in the eighties by copyright owner Dave Clark (of Dave Clark Five) of several episodes on Channel 4. These have been since released on video and DVD.