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BBC Two closedown (13th May 1979)

Posted on 14th January 2021 by The Rewind Team
Last updated on 30th May 2021 Filed under Channel Presentation, Test Cards
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FROM THE ARCHIVE OF: NC2

A Saturday night closedown from BBC Two in what was the final weeks of this on-screen presentation package.

VIDEO: BBC Two closedown. Announcer: John Trevor. TX DATE: 13th May 1979. COPYRIGHT: BBC.

Video content

[00:00:00] PROGRAMME GRAPHIC: a slide for Humoresque – the Midnight Movie next Saturday on BBC Two at 11.25pm. Joan Crawford stars as a rich, fashionable woman, who drinks a lot and adopts a poor, young but talented violinist, played by John Garfield.

[00:00:15] PROGRAMME GRAPHIC: a slide for Sunday Cinema: The Blue Dahlia. Continuing a season of films from the writings of Raymond Chandler. Starring Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake. It starts 10 minutes later than billed, at 10.30pm.

[00:00:27] CLOCK: at 13 minutes past 1, it’s time for BBC Two to close for the night.

When the clock fades out, we have 30 seconds of black and silence, before tone kicks in. There’s only about 20 seconds of tone here, which doesn’t seem right. We suspect the original recording may have been edited down. 2 minutes of tone was more common on BBC Two at closedown.

There’s then another brief spell of black and silence.

[00:01:59] TEST SIGNAL: the sawtooth signal was a common sight at closedown and early morning on BBC One and BBC Two in the 1970s and early 1980s.

After less than a minute or so of this, the video feed would be withdrawn, triggering a phased shutdown of the transmitter network across the country.

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Acknowledgements

FEATURE IMAGE:
PICTURED: BBC Two clock. COPYRIGHT: BBC.

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Broadcaster/Channel: BBC, BBC Two
Broadcast Area: UK: National

OSP Category: Clock, Closedown, Full Junction, Programme Graphic, Standard Presentation, Test Signal

OSP Package: BBC Two: December 1974 - June 1979

On Air Talent: John Trevor

Decade: 1970s

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