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The Rag Trade

The Rag Trade is a British television sitcom broadcast by the BBC between 1961 and 1963 and by ITV between 1977 and 1978.[1] Although a comedy, it shed light on gender, politics and the "class war" on the factory floor.[2][3]

The scripts were written by partners Chesney and Wolfe, who later wrote Wild, Wild Women, Meet the Wife and On the Buses. Wild, Wild Women was a period variation of The Rag Trade.[4][5]

Synopsis

The action centred on a fictional small clothing workshop (the title is a reference to the textile industry), Fenner's Fashions in London.[1] Although run by Harold Fenner (Peter Jones) and the foreman and pattern cutter Reg Turner (Reg Varney), the female workers are led by militant shop steward Paddy Fleming (Miriam Karlin), ever ready to strike, with the catchphrase "Everybody out!" Other cast members included Sheila Hancock (as Carole Taylor), Esma Cannon (as Lily Swann), Wanda Ventham (as Shirley) in series 2 and Barbara Windsor (as Gloria, during series 1, who later returned as Judy in series 3) replacing Sheila Hancock.[1][6]

In 1975, a colour pilot was made; with only Peter Jones reprising his role, this colour pilot featured a young Tony Robinson (replacing Reg Varney), Gaye Brown (briefly replacing Karlin), Jumoke Debayo, Diane Langton, Annabel Leventon, Jamila Massey, Mollie Maureen (replacing Esma Cannon) and Trixie Scales.[1]

The theme tune for this colour pilot was performed by Alex Welsh and his Band, however, this was never transmitted, as the BBC rejected the colour revival of the series.

Two years later, the series was revived by ITV company LWT, with Jones and Karlin reprising their roles.[7] The 1977–78 version ran for two series, most of the scripts being based on the BBC episodes from the 1960s, and featured Anna Karen (reprising her role as Olive from On the Buses) and future EastEnders star Gillian Taylforth as factory workers.[8]

The theme tune for the LWT series was written and performed by Lynsey de Paul (credited as Joan Brown) and released as a track on an album of TV themes that also featured another de Paul-penned theme "Hi Summer".[9]

In 1990, the series was remade as the series Fredrikssons Fabrikk by NRK in Norway, it ran for three seasons (1990–93, 17 half hours and one 45min special) and a feature film version Fredrikssons Fabrikk – The Movie in 1994 with a script credited to Chesney and Wolfe, and Norwegian series writer Andreas Markusson.[1][10]

Cast

1961–1963

1977–1978

TV episodes

On original transmission many episodes of the original BBC TV series of The Rag Trade were not given titles, so some are from production notes and repeat screenings.

Original BBC TV series

Series 1 (1961)

Series 2 (1962)

Christmas Night with the Stars25 December 1962 – featured a short sketch. (Has been lost)

Series 3 (1963)

Colour pilot (1975)

LWT relaunch series

Series 4 (1977)

Christmas special (1977)

Series 5 (1978)

Missing episodes

Because of the BBC's wiping policy of that era, of the 36 episodes made only 21 episodes of the original BBC Television version (1961–62) still exist in the BBC archives.[8]

The first series of the original BBC TV version of the show is almost complete, whilst the second series remains incomplete, as two episodes remain missing. Only one of the 13 episodes of the third (and final) BBC TV series (1963) currently exists – "Baby Dolls", which was confirmed to have been unearthed by Philip Morris of the Television International Enterprises Archive and returned to the BBC in 2018.[14]

Music

"The Rag Trade" was the theme song to the 1977 revival of The Rag Trade,[15][16][17] The song was written by Lynsey de Paul, but the vocals are credited to Joan Brown singing "It's the rag trade" over a quirky tune, sounding remarkably like de Paul. Indeed, some sources credit the vocal performance of the song to de Paul.[18][19] The recording was arranged by John Bell and the conductor was Denis King. It was released on an album of TV themes on the DJM Records subsidiary label Weekend Records.[20] The DVD set featuring all 22 episodes of the LWT episodes, with the theme music at the beginning and ending of every episode, was released by Network. The original version of "The Rag Trade" can be heard on de Paul's official website.[21]

DVD release

The 8 (out of the 10) existing episodes of the first series (broadcast in 1961) were released on DVD (DD Home Entertainment) in March 2006, followed by the 11 existing episodes of the second series (broadcast in 1962), released on DVD 7 months later in October 2006.[22]

A 4-disc set consisting all the remaining episodes from the first two series of the show was later released (through Simply Media DVD) on 23 October 2017.[23]

All the episodes of both colour series 4 and 5 of the (1977–78) LWT version of the series, including the 1977 Christmas special, have been released on DVD by Network.[24]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "BFI Screenonline: Rag Trade, The (1961-63)". www.screenonline.org.uk.
  2. ^ The Rag Trade: ‘Everybody Out!’ Gender, Politics and Class on the Factory Floor by Mary Irwin, pp66-79, British TV Comedies, doi:10.1057/9781137552952_5
  3. ^ British TV Comedies: Cultural Concepts, Contexts and Controversies, edited by Juergen Kamm and Birgit Neumann, 2016, ISBN 9781137552945
  4. ^ "BFI Screenonline: Wolfe, Ronald (1924-2011) and Chesney, Ronald (1920-) Biography". www.screenonline.org.uk.
  5. ^ Guide, British Comedy. "Wild, Wild Women - BBC1 Sitcom". British Comedy Guide.
  6. ^ Guide, British Comedy. "The Rag Trade cast and crew credits". British Comedy Guide.
  7. ^ "The Sample (1977)". BFI. Archived from the original on 13 May 2019.
  8. ^ a b "The Rag Trade". 9 April 2021.
  9. ^ "Unknown Artist – T.V. Themes (Vinyl, LP, Album)". Discogs. 20 October 1977. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
  10. ^ "FREDERIKSSONS FABRIKK (1994)". BFI. Archived from the original on 8 August 2021.
  11. ^ "The Rag Trade[06/10/61] (1961)". BFI. Archived from the original on 8 August 2021.
  12. ^ "The Rag Trade[01/12/61] (1961)". BFI. Archived from the original on 8 August 2021.
  13. ^ "The Rag Trade[20/04/62] (1962)". BFI. Archived from the original on 8 August 2021.
  14. ^ Guide, British Comedy. "The Rag Trade Series 3, Episode 5 - Baby Dolls". British Comedy Guide.
  15. ^ "The Rag Trade Series 4 episode guide". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  16. ^ The Kaleidoscope British Christmas Television Guide 1937-2013 by Chris Perry, ISBN 978-1900203609
  17. ^ "The Rag Trade". IMDb.com. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  18. ^ Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2014, by Harris M. Lentz III, ISBN 978-0786470631
  19. ^ "Chesney and Wolfe's Most Popular Britcoms from the 1960s and 1970s". Simplyhe.com. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  20. ^ "Unknown Artist - T.V. Themes". Discogs.com. 1977. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  21. ^ "TV Music". Lynseydepaul.com. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  22. ^ Guide, British Comedy. "The Rag Trade - Series One DVD". British Comedy Guide.
  23. ^ "The Rag Trade – Series One and Two. Simply Media DVD Review". 2 November 2017.
  24. ^ Guide, British Comedy. "The Rag Trade - The Complete First LWT Series DVD". British Comedy Guide.

External links