Short extracts from three publications
Whilst the show was a hit, C4 decided not to exploit the potential "some day, on radio or television, someone should cater, day in day out, for the neglected middlebrow."
Extracts from Storm Over 4
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Duty Officer's Report - Sunday, 10 April 1983
21.20 Top Cs and Tiaras, Mrs Hawthorne, Bromley, Kent: Simple gorgeous. Can we have some more please? 21.22 Male: Very nice - enjoyed it, tremendous stuff. 21:23 Male: Can we have some more. Smashing! 21:24 Female: Amazing. Absolutely delightful. Middle-of-the-road viewers, fans of middle-of-the-road music, have a constant appetite that goes unsated. Julia Migenes-Johnson, before she sang Lulu at the Vienna State Opera or Carmen to Placido Domingo's Don Jose, appeared in half a dozen shows for us - Top C's and Tiaras, devised and directed by Bryan Izzard [Neil Anthony]. Though made on a shoestring they went down a treat with the fans. But they could not be a call on our air-time week in week out, I thought. Other priorities claimed our limited space. But some day, on radio or television, someone should cater, day in day out, for the neglected middlebrow.
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Storm Over 4: A Personal Account by Jeremy Isaacs, 22 September 1989
Extracts from Independent Television in Britain (vol.6)
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Cecil Korer, the other first casualty of short-termism, was a good old professional who had become something of a specialist in game shows for the family while at the BBC. Isaacs had, until Tesler's tirade at the Ascot conference, set his heart against spending more than the smallest possible percentage of his limited funds on entertainment. As a consequence, Korer had to make bricks without straw.
Korer did also cater for musical tastes deserted by British television since the days when the BBC broadcast from Alexandra Palace. He revived the music of Johann Strauss, Franz Lehar, Rudolph Friml, Sigmund Romberg and other light classical composers in 'Top Cs and Tiaras' with the help of the singer with a remarkable voice and great style, Julia Migenes-Johnson. |
Independent Television in Britain (vol.6) by Paul Bonner, 28 November 2002
