1977

1977
The first terrestrial showing of Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory. The first episodes of Tarzan, Lord Of The Jungle and Ronnie Corbett's Saturday Special broadcast. The first episode of This Year, Next Year broadcast on BBC2. The Stevie Wonder Story broadcast on Radio 1. The Clash headlined the opening of London venue The Roxy. The first episode of Star Maidens broadcast on LWT. Chris Boger's Cruel Passion (aka Marquis De Sade's Justine) - starring Koo Stark, Martin Potter and Lydia Lisle - premiered.
The first episodes of Wings and Anne Of Avonlea broadcast. Andrew Previn interviewed Stephen Sondheim on BBC2's The Lively Arts. The first episodes of The Anno Domini Interviews and BBC2's The Natural History Of A Sunbeam.
Eleven year old Nigel Short appeared on BBC2's The Master Game. In 1993 he would become the first Englishman to play a World Chess Championship match. On Stars For 77, the Radio 1 DJs made their predictions for pop stardom in the coming year. Roy Jenkins, the Home Secretary, announced he was leaving the House of Commons to become President of the European Commission. The first UK broadcast of Charlie's Angels on Thames.
Malcolm Bradbury's Love On A Gunboat broadcast as part of the Play For Today strand. An adaptation of The Princess & The Hedgehog broadcast. The first episodes of BBC2's The Musical Time Machine - starring Vince Hill, The Young Generation and The Nolan Sisters' - and The Punch Review broadcast.
The first episodes of The Secret War - presented by William Woollard - and Rosie broadcast. Lawrence Durrell's Spirit Of Place broadcast on BBC2. The Sex Pistols left for a five day tour of The Netherlands and hit the headlines again. According to the press, they 'spat, vomited and swore' in the terminal building at Heathrow. In fact, as they were running late, they bypassed the terminal entirely.
The first episode of Wildlife On One and the documentary Go Tell It To The Judge broadcast. On BBC2's The Book Programme Robert Robinson interviewed Dennis Wheatley. A century by Tony Greig and seven wickets for Bob Willis helped England to win the second test at Calcutta by ten wickets. Chris Old also scored a fifty and took five wickets. Derek Randall and Roger Tolchard made their test debuts.
The first episodes of Mister Big and Kane On Friday broadcast. Pompeii Live, Boat Show 77 and the A Smile For The Crocodile episode of Horizon broadcast. Thelma Houston's 'Don't Leave Me This Way'/'Today Will Soon Be Yesterday', The Rubettes' 'Baby I Know'/'Dancing In The Rain', O'Jays' 'Darlin' Darlin' Baby (Sweet, Tender Love)'/'A Prayer', Boz Scaggs' 'What Can I Say?'/'Harbor Lights', JJ Barnes' 'The Erroll Flynn'/'She's Mine', Bobby Womack & Brotherhood's 'Home Is Where The Heart Is'/'We've Only Just Begun', The Majors' 'It Only Happens'/'One Sided Love Affair', Sheer Elegance's 'Dance The Night Away'/'Don't Wanna Miss My Bus', Gladys Knight & The Pips' 'Nobody But You'/'Pipe Dreams' and Deaf School's 'Taxi!'/'Last Night' released. The first episode of Another Bouquet broadcast on LWT. The first UK TV showing of Die Screaming, Marianne in The Friday Film strand.
The first episode of A Taste Of Britain broadcast on BBC2. Renaissance appeared on Sight & Sound In Concert (simultaneously broadcast on BBC2 and Radio 1). James Burke interviewed Sir Fred Hoyle in According To Hoyle. Network featured the first episode of the BBC North East docudrama A Slight Case Of Poison.
In the first episode of Other People's Children dirty old rotter Jimmy Savile 'talks about looking after other people's children with a group of Manchester childminders.' Jane Goodall and Baron Hugo Van Lawick's film Lions Of The Serengeti - narrated by David Attenborough - broadcast as part of The World About Us strand.
The first episodes of Laurie Taylor's Signs Of Trouble, The Age Of Uncertainty and Eleanor Marks broadcast on BBC2. Clive Sinclair introduced his new two-inch screen television set, which retailed at an eye-watering one hundred and seventy five notes. The first episode of Children Of The Stones and the World In Action episode Mister Opie Brings Bad News broadcast on Thames.
Mike Leigh's The Kiss Of Death broadcast as part of the Play For Today strand. Alan England's The Invisible Guest broadcast. The first episode of The King's Dragon broadcast as part of the Look & Read strand. The first episode of Robin's Nest broadcast on Thames.
The first episode of International Pro-Celebrity Golf broadcast on BBC2 featuring Tony Jacklin and Sean Connery playing Johnny Miller and Bing Crosby. Don Taylor's The Achurch Letters broadcast as part of BBC2's Playhouse strand.
David Bowie's Low, Hawkwind's 'Back On The Streets'/'The Dream Of Isis', Nutz's 'Sick & Tired'/'Wallbanger', Marc Bolan & Gloria Jones's 'To Know Him Is To Love Him'/'City Port', Rare Pleasure's 'Let Me Down Easy'/'Long Version' and Heatwave's 'Boogie Nights'/'All You Do Is Dial' released.
Don Boyd's East Of Elephant Rock - starring John Hurt, Jeremy Kemp, Judi Bowker and Christopher Cazenove and Luigi Batzella's Kaput Lager - Gli Ultimi Giorni Delle SS premiered.
An adaptation of The Winslow Boy broadcast as part of the Play Of The Month strand. The first episodes of Holding On and Moses The Lawgiver broadcast on LWT.
The first TV showing of Dulcima. Gary Gilmore was executed by firing squad in Utah, the first execution following the reintroduction of the death penalty in the US. Gilmore was sentenced to death for the 1976 murder of a motel clerk in Provo. Gilmore's reported last words were: 'Let's do it.' Two people subsequently received Gilmore's corneas, transplanted within hours of his death which, in turn, inspired The Adverts' 'Gary Gilmore's Eyes'. The World In Action episode Doctor's Order broadcast.
Mike Stott's Our Flesh & Blood broadcast as part of the Play For Today strand.
England won the third test at Madras by two hundred runs. It was a low scoring game with Mike Brearley's fifty nine the highest score on either side. John Lever, Bob Willis and Derek Underwood again ran through the Indian defences like a really strong curry - the host's being dismissed in their second innings for just eighty three.
The first episode of Magnus Magnusson's BC: The Archaeology Of The Bible Lands broadcast on BBC2. President Carter was inaugurated. The Who's lawsuit against their former managers Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp was settled with negotiations between Pete Townshend and Stamp in London. Pete received a one million dollar settlement and The Who gained the rights to all their recordings from 'Substitute' onwards. MCA also agreed to pay for the cost of a screenplay for Quadrophenia. During the settlement, Pete learned that Allan Klein now permanently owned a piece of his song copyrights as a result of a 1966 contract with Decca. Pete, who loathed Klein, was appalled by this. After the meeting, Pete and Stamp went to The Speakeasy where they watched John Otway's performance. Paul Cook and Steve Jones of The Sex Pistols approached them. Mistaking Cook for Johnny Rotten, Townshend told them that The Pistols would have to carry 'the rock 'n' roll banner' from now on as The Who were 'finished.' Instead of the snarled response he expected, the two Pistols expressed their admiration for The Who and declared they didn't want them to break-up! An NME photographer attempted to take a photo and a very drunk Townshend tried to punch him. Tearing up his million-dollar cheque, Pete left the club and passed out in a Soho gutter where a policeman, who recognised him, woke him and told him: 'Pete, you can go and sleep at home tonight if you can get up and walk away.' Townshend's reply was: 'Who the fuck are you?!' The following day, a deeply hungover Townshend turned the events of this night into the first verse of a new song. The following week's NME reported on Pete's meeting with Cook and Jones. 'He thinks he's past it but he's still great,' said Cook. Jones added: 'He was a really great geezer even though he was, like, paralytic!' David Wickes's Sweeney! - starring John Thaw, Dennis Waterman, Ian Bannen, Lynda Bellingham, Barry Foster, Diane Keen, Colin Welland, Michael Coles, Brian Glover, Johnny Shannon and Nadim Sawalha - premiered.
Manhattan Transfer's 'Chanson D'Amour'/'Popsicle Toes', Slade's 'Gypsy Roadhog'/'Forest Full Of Needles' and Al Matthews' 'Fool'/'All I Have To Do Is Dream' released.
Fay Weldon's Act Of Rape broadcast on BBC2. Bruno Mattei's Casa Privata Per Le SS - starring Gabriele Carrara, Marina Daunia and Macha Magall - premiered.
Howard Brenton's Saliva Milkshake broadcast as part of BBC2's Centre Play strand. An abridged version of Diary of A Nobody - read by Arthur Lowe - broadcast as part of Radio 4's Story Time strand. The World In Action episode Death By Request investigated one woman's plight to have The Suicide Act amended due to her deteriorating health condition.
Charles Wood's Do As I Say broadcast as part of the Play For Today strand. The Sensational Alex Harvey Band appeared on The Old Grey Whistle Test.
The first episode of BBC2's The Velvet Glove broadcast. Fleetwood Mac's original guitarist, Peter Green, was committed to a mental hospital after firing a pistol at a delivery boy bringing him a royalties cheque. Patti Smith fell off the stage whilst opening for Bob Seger in Tampa and received twenty two stitches in her head. Claude Pierson's La Nymphomane Perverse - starring Gilbert Servien, Edwige Davis and Laurence Jarry - premiered.
The Key To The Universe broadcast on BBC2. EMI terminated its contract with The Sex Pistols - allegedly 'in response' to its members' 'disruptive behaviour' at Heathrow at the beginning of the month though most people released that was merely the first excuse they could think of.
The Stranglers' debut single '(Get A) Grip (on Yourself)'/'London Lady', Real Thing's 'You'll Never Know What You're Missing'/'Love Is A Playground', Bryan Ferry's 'This Is Tomorrow'/'As The World Turns' and Alan Tew Orchestra's 'Theme From Wings'/'Don't Cry For Me Argentina' released. Sam Peckinpah's Cross Of Iron - starring James Coburn, Maximilian Schell, James Mason and David Warner - premiered.
Rory Gallagher appeared on BBC2's Sight & Sound In Concert. Spiral Scratch, the independently released debut EP by Buzzcocks released ('Breakdown', 'Time's Up'/'Boredom', 'Friends Of Mine').
The first episode of BBC2's The Light Of Experience broadcast. Newcastle United's manager, Gordon Lee, was appointed as Everton's new boss. Lee's assistant at Newcastle, Richard Dinnis, took over as acting manager.
Denis and Charlotte Plimmer's The Chauffeur broadcast on BBC2. Keith Dewhurst's Our Terry broadcast as part of the Centre Play strand. Centre Georges Pompidou was opened in Paris by French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing. Cesare Canevari's L'Ultima Orgia Del III Reich (The Gestapo's Last Orgy) - starring Marc Loud, raniela Poggi and Maristella Greco - premiered. The World In Action episode The Militants broadcast.
The first episode of John Hopkins' Fathers & Families broadcast. Ry Cooder and The Chicken Skin Band appeared on The Old Grey Whistle Test. Dario Argento's Suspiria - starring Jessica Harper, Stefania Casini, Flavio Bucci, Miguel Bosé, Barbara Magnolfi and Susanna Javicoli - premiered in Rome.
The Newcastle United squad, led by captain Geoff Nulty, threatened to strike unless Richard Dinnis was appointed as the club's permanent manager. Frictions were exacerbated by the board signing Ralph Callachan from Hibernian without consulting either Dinnis or the other players. In a - with hindsight cowardly - act, the senior players leading the revolt sent the three local players in the squad, Irving Nattrass, Alan Kennedy and Paul Cannell, out to face the press. Later that day, the board - reluctantly - agreed to the players' demands and appointed Dinnis as manager. With subsequently hilarious consequences. India won the fourth test at Madras by one hundred and forty runs.
Wings' 'Maybe I'm Amazed'/'Soily', The RAH Band's 'The Crunch (Parts 1 & 2)', Roy Harper's 'One Of Those Days In England'/'Watford Gap', Electric Light Orchestra's 'Rockaria!'/'Poker', Bee Gees' 'Boogie Child'/'Children Of The World', Delegation's 'Where Is The Love (We Used To Know)'/'Back Door Love', Heart's 'Crazy On You'/'Soul Of The Sea' and Fleetwood Mac's Rumours released; very popular with hippies, the latter went on to become one of the best-selling LPs of all time.
BBC2's A Night At The Pictures broadcast. Annie Nightingale's Radio 1 show featured the first of a two-part interview with George Harrison. Twenty-eight-year-old Irene Richardson was murdered in Roundhay Park in Leeds, at almost the exact same location where Marcella Claxton had been badly injured nine months previously. Police believed the two cases were connected, along with the previous murders of Wilma McCann and Emily Jackson and the attempted murders of at least three other women.
Enoch Powell was the subject of The Anno Domini Interviews. The first episode of Just William broadcast on LWT.
The first UK broadcast of Serpico. The first episode of Headmaster broadcast on BBC2. The Soviet Union launched Soyuz Twenty Four (with Cosmonauts Viktor Gorbatko and Yury Glazkov) to dock with the Salyut Five space station. London's newly revived International Times proclaimed for the first time that 'punk is dead.' Never trust a hippie. The World In Action episode Waiting For Merlyn broadcast.
Television's Marquee Moon released.
The final episode of The Secret War (Still Secret) revealed to the general public for the first time 'the best kept secret of the Second World War,' the breaking of the German Enigma codes at Bletchley Park. In a dazzling display of total football, the Netherlands - with Joann Cruyff in devastating form - beat England two-nil at Wembley in a friendly international. Nijmegen Eendracht Combinatie's Jan Peters scored both goals. Birmingham City's Trevor Francis made his England debut after a lengthy press campaign to get him into the national side but produced little as England spent most of the ninety minutes chasing Dutch shadows. The first episode of Horse In The House broadcast on Thames.
The three IRA terrorists involved in the 1975 Balcombe Street Siege were sentenced to life on six charges of murder.
The Three Degrees' 'Standing Up For Love'/'In Love We Grow', David Bowie's 'Sound & Vision'/'A New Career In A New Town', Winston Groovy's 'I'm Going Back'/'So Easy', Prince Far I's 'Heavy Manners'/'Version' and disgraceful, slappable old hippies Jethro Tull's 'The Whistler'/'Strip Cartoon' released. Although Bowie did nothing to promote his single, its use by the BBC in a series of 'forthcoming programmes' trailers over the following weeks ensured that it was a huge hit.
The Chieftains appeared on BBC2's Sight & Sound In Concert. The first episode of All You Need Is Love broadcast on LWT.
Colin Morris talked to television playwright and critic Dennis Potter on The Anno Domini Interviews about his work, his beliefs and his doubts. Anthony Crosland, the Foreign Secretary, suffered a massive stroke, from which he would not regain consciousness. He died six days later.
The first episodes of It's Our Turn! and The Flumps broadcast. Anthony Read's Kipper broadcast as part of BBC2's Centre Play strand. The World In Action episode The Road To Amsterdam broadcast.
The first Aardman Animations character, Morph, was introduced with the launch of Take Hart with Tony Hart. Sid Vicious replaced Glen Matlock as the bassist of The Sex Pistols, Matlock - allegedly - being sacked for 'liking The Beatles!'
The first episode of Heads & Tails broadcast. The fifth test at Bombay was drawn. Mike Brearley scored his highest test score - ninety one - and Derek Underwood took nine wickets in the match.
Nicolas Gessner's The Little Girl Who Loves Down The Lane - starring Jodie Foster and Martin Sheen - premiered in the UK. The squeaky-voiced plastercine character of Morph made his debut on Take Hart. The first episode of The Galton & Simpson Playhouse broadcast on Thames. George Newman, the chairman of Staffordshire County Council, was sentenced to fifteen months in prison for corruption.
The Damned's Damned, Damned Damned and the single 'Neat, Neat, Neat'/'Stab Your Back', 'Singalonga Scabies', Ramones' 'I Remember You'/'California Sun', 'I Don't Wanna Walk Around With You', Smokie's 'Lay Back In The Arms Of Someone'/'Here Lies A Man', Boney M's 'Sunny'/'New York City', Larrington Walker's 'Joy'/'Trust Me', Gordon Giltrap's 'Lucifer's Cage'/'The Ecchoing Green' and ABBA's 'Knowing Me Knowing You'/'Happy Hawaii' released. A-ha. The first test flight of Space Shuttle Enterprise (flown by Fred Haise and Gordon Fullerton) mated to the Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft. The science fiction comic 2000 AD was launched. Don Schain's Too Hot To Handle - starring Cheri Caffaro and Aharon Ipalé - premiered.
The first episode of Tom Wright's dramatisation of Rob Roy broadcast.
The first UK Broadcast of Perry Como's Hawaiian Holiday. The World In Action episode The Police Tapes broadcast.
David Owen became the youngest post-Second World War Foreign Secretary, succeeding the late Anthony Crosland.
The Man With No Name, Iain Johnstone's profile of Clint Eastwood broadcast. Alain Payet's Train Spécial Pour SS
- starring Monica Swinn, Christine Aurel and Sandra Mozarowsky - premiered.
The first episode of Max Boyce In Concert broadcast. George Roy Hill's Slap Shot - starring Paul Newman - premiered. The opening episode of Raffles - The First Step - broadcast on LWT. Sweet's 'Fever Of Love'/'A Distinct Lack Of Ancient', Al De Lory & Mandango's 'Right On'/'Jesus Cristo', Alvin Cash's 'Ali Shuffle'/'Doing The Feeling', John Martyn's 'Over The Hill'/'Head & Heart', The Damned's 'Neat Neat Neat'/'Stab Yor Back', 'Singalonga Scabies', Showaddywaddy's 'When'/'Superstar' and Kansas' 'Carry On Wayward Son'/'Questions Of My Childhood' released.
The first episode of the six-part Doctor Who serial The Talons Of Weng-Chiang broadcast. May I Have The Pleasure? broadcast on BBC2.
The first episode of It's My Belief broadcast. The first UK TV showing of Claude Chabrol's La Boucher as part of BBC2's Murder At The Movies strand. Keith Richards, staying in a Toronto hotel, was extremely busted by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police who found a shitload of smack in his room. He was charged him with possession of heroin for the purpose of trafficking, an offence which at that time carried a prison sentence of seven years-to-life in The Big House. Having been woken from a drug-induced stupor to have the charges read to him, Keef's reported first words to his wife, Anita Pallenburg, were: 'Seeya in seven years, love!' Emmylou Harris's 'Here, There & Everywhere'/'Amarillo' released.
Nigel Williams' Talkin' Blues broadcast as part of BBC2's Centre Play strand. The first episode of The Tomorrow People serial The Dirtiest Business and the World In Action episode Equal Pay - Today Or Tomorrow broadcast on Thames.
James Callaghan threatened to withdraw state assistance to British Leyland unless it put an end to strikes and got its shit together.
The first episode of Romance broadcast on Thames.
The first episode of A Taste For Adventure broadcast. Barry Humphreys' A Summer Side-Show broadcast as part of the Omnibus strand.
Horizon's documentary The Red Planet broadcast. The Loftus Roadrunners' 'Queens Park Rangers'/'Drive Me Down To QPR', Willie Fisher's 'Put Your Lovin On Me'/'Take Time To Know Her', Jobell & The Orchestra De Salsa's 'Never Gonna Let You Go'/'Disco Version', Joni Mitchell's 'Coyote'/'Blue Motel Room' and Queen's 'Tie Your Mother Down'/'You & I' released.
The first UK broadcast of The Fantastic Journey. John Arlott's England Versus Australia: One Hundred Not Out broadcast on BBC2. Formula One driver Tom Pryce died after colliding with a track marshal at the South African Grand Prix in Kyalami. In the Philippines, ten months into the shooting of Francis Ford Coppola's epic Viet'nam war odyssey, Apocalypse Now Coppola's leading man, Martin Sheen, suffered a massive heart-attack. Subsequently given the last rites in hospital Sheen survived and returned to the set within a month, although it took almost another year before movie was finally completed. Despite going massively over budget and suffering from two years of press predictions of a disaster in the making, the movie actually turned out to be a twenty four carat masterpiece and a huge box-office hit.
Wordpower looked at how audiences form and express their views, beginning with people's favourite TV programmes.
The Stranglers' first session ('Hangin' Around', 'I Feel Like A Wog', 'Goodbye Toulouse' and 'Something Better Change') broadcast on The John Peel Show. The World In Action episode Do You Take This Man? focused on the growing number of British-Asian girls who were rejecting the traditional arranged marriage to someone they do not know.
The first episode of Three Piece Suite broadcast on BBC2.
The Energy File broadcast. The Sex Pistols signed to A&M Records at the offices of Rondor Music.
The Pistols re-staged the previous day's contract signing outside Buckingham Palace for the benefit of the media. The contract, however, would be very terminated on 16 March as a result of the band vandalising property and verbally abusing employees during a visit to the record company's office. The rings around Uranus were discovered by astronomers James Elliot, Edward Dunham and Jessica Mink using the Kuiper Airborne Observatory.
The Clash played The Coliseum Cinema in Harlesden, supported by Buzzcocks, Subway Sect and The Slits. It would be drummer Terry Chimes's last gig with The Clash until 1982. Roman Polanski was charged with raping a thirteen-year-old girl at the Los Angeles home of Jack Nicholson. Pascalis, Marianna, Robert & Bessy's 'A Music Lesson'/'Mathema Solfege', The Loyal Band's 'Come All You Villa'/'Villa Rock', Sammy Hagar's 'Catch The Wind'/'Rock 'N' Roll Weekend', T Rex's 'The Soul Of My Suit'/'All Alone' and Dream Express's 'A Million In One Two Three'/'Spinning Top' released.
John McGrath's Once Upon A Union broadcast on BBC2. The Centenary test between Australia and England began at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The League Cup final ended in a goalless draw between Aston Villa and Everton at Wembley. Sid Vicious was involved in a nasty skirmish at The Speakeasy Club with Whispering Bob Harris which resulted in one of Harris's friends needing fourteen stitches in his head.
Kraftwerk's Trans-Europe Express released. The government revealed that inflation had pushed prices up by nearly seventy per cent within three years. The first episode of The Tomorrow People serial A Much Needed Holiday and the World In Action episode From Death Row To Downing Stret broadcast on Thames.
Jack Rosenthal's Spend, Spend, Spend broadcast as part of the Play For Today strand. British Leyland managers announced their intention to dismiss forty thousand toolmakers who have gone on strike at the company's Longbridge plant in Birmingham, action which was costing the state-owned carmaker more than ten million knicker a week.
The first episode of Out Of Bounds broadcast.
The first episode of Who's There? and The Carpenters In Concert broadcast. Australia won the Centenary test at Melbourne by forty five runs, exactly the same margin as they won the first by in 1877. Derek Randall's one hundred and seventy four in the second innings got England far closer to a world record run-chase than many had expected. Rod Marsh's century and Dennis Lillie's eleven wickets in the match ultimately proved too much for the tourists.
Iggy Pop's The Idiot, The Clash's debut, 'White Riot'/'1977', Joe Tex's 'Ain't Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman)'/'I Mess Up Everything I Get My Hands On', The Three Degrees' 'We're All Alone'/'In Love We Grow' and Lynsey De Paul & Mike Moran's 'Rock Bottom'/'You Shouldn't Say That' released.
No Comment and Philip Chilvers' profile of Fritz Lang broadcast on BBC2. The last Rover P6 rolled off the Solihull production line.
Peter Houseman, who helped Chelsea win the FA Cup in 1970, died in a car crash at the age of thirty one. His wife was among the four people who died in the crash, which took place near Oxford. Michael Apted's The Squeeze - starring Stacy Keach, David Hemmings, Stephen Boyd and Edward Fox - premiered.
The first UK TV showing of Walkabout. Whatever Happened To Slade? released. The World In Action episode Nuts & Bolts Of The Economy: Them & Us broadcast.
A Photograph broadcast as part of the Play For Today strand.
The first episodes of Mister Smith's Vegetable Garden and In The Making broadcast on BBC2. The government dramatically won a vote of no confidence in the House of Commons after James Callaghan struck a last-minute deal with the leader of the Liberal Party, David Steel.
Bryan Forbes's The Slipper & The Rose premiered at the Royal Film Performance.
The final episode of Porridge broadcast. Van McCoy's 'The Shuffle'/'That's The Joint', Stevie Wonder's 'Sir Duke'/'Tuesday Heartbreak', Eater's 'Outside View'/'You', Forbes's 'The Beatles'/'Sweet Kiss Of Fire', Jimmy Helms' 'Putting It Down (To The Way I Feel About You)'/'Uncertain', Teddy Pendergrass' 'The Whole Town's Laughing At Me'/'And If I Had', Tony Etoria's 'I Can Prove It'/'Angel For Lovers To Be', Georgie Fame's 'Daylight'/'Three Legged Mule' and Elvis Costello's debut, 'Less Than Zero'/'Radio Sweetheart' released.
The first episode of Start The Clock broadcast. Graham Parker & The Rumour appeared on Sight & Sound In Concert. After thirteen months of surveillance, Operation Julie officers swooped on eighty seven homes in England and Wales and, as The Clash later noted in 'Julie's Been Working For The Drug Squad' 'arrested every drug that had ever been made!' Blondie's 'X Offender'/'In The Sun' released.
The first episode of Jubilee broadcast. A collision between KLM and Pan Am Boeing 747s at Tenerife in the Canary Islands, killed five hundred and eighty three people, the deadliest accident in aviation history. Jesus Of Nazareth, directed by Franco Zeffirelli, co-produced by Lew Grade, debuted in most ITV regions (although, not LWT where it wasn't shown until 3 April), starring Robert Powell in the title role.
Leo Sayer Sings broadcast on BBC2. Yorkshire Television and Tyne Tees Television launched a nine-week breakfast TV experiment. They were credited as being the UK's first breakfast television programmes, six years before the launch of TV-am and the BBC's Breakfast Time. Both - Tyne Tees' Good Morning North and Yorkshire's Good Morning Calendar - ran until 27 May. The Sex Pistols played their first gig of the year, in Leicester Square's Notre Dame Hall. Terry Gilliam's Jabberwocky - starring Michael Palin, Harry H Corbett, John Le Mesurier, Max Wall and Warren Mitchell - premiered. The first episode of The Tomorrow People serial The Heart Of Sogguth and the first episode of Jamie & The Magic Torch and the World In Action episode Nuts & Bolts Of The Economy: The Vital Statistics Part One broadcast on Thames.
The first episode of Barry Hines and Ken Loach's two-part The Price Of Coal broadcast as part of the Play For Today strand. Roy Harper appeared on The Old Grey Whistle Test. Dave Boy Green beat John H Stacey in a final eliminator for the WBC world welterweight title.
The first UK broadcast of If Wishes Were Horses on BBC2. Egland beat Luxembourg five-nil in a World Cup Qualifier at Wembley. Mick Channon scored twice with further goals from Kevin Keegan, Trevor Francis and Ray Kennedy. Aston Villa's John Gidman made his debut at right-back and Ipswich Town's Paul Mariner also got his first taste of international football as a half-time substitute for the very ineffective Joe Royle (playing his final game for England).
The first UK broadcast of John Denver & Friend featuring a rare TV appearance by Frank Sinatra. Rudy Schokker Cries No More and It's No Joke broadcast on BBC2.
The market town of Hay-on-Wye declared independence from the UK, as a publicity stunt. 10CC's 'Good Morning Judge'/'Don't Squeeze Me Like Toothpaste', Ilanit's 'I'm No One'/'I Can't Say I Love You', Deep Purple#s 'Smoke On The Water', 'Woman From Tokyo'/'Child In Time', Silver Convention's 'Telegram'/'Midnight Lady', The Swarbriggs Plus Two's 'It's Nice To Be In Love Again'/'Here We Are Again', Jennifer's 'Do It For Me'/'Boogie Boogie Love', Aquarian Dream's 'Phoenix'/'Once Again' and Monica Aspelund's 'Lapponia'/'La-La, Sing A Song' released. John Frankenheimer's Black Sunday - starring Robert Shaw and Bruce Dern - premiered.
Red Rum won the Grand National for the third time. The first episode of Johnny Ball's Think Of A Number broadcast on BBC2. Roy Wood's Wizzo Band appeared on Sight & Sound In Concert.
Whose Doctor Who broadcast as part of BBC2's The Lively Arts strand. The World About Us documentary The Desert Dreamers broadcast. Gospel Rock - presented by Pat Boone - broadcast. On Film 77, Barry Norman previewed The Spy Who Loved Me and The Eagle Has Landed.
The first episodes of Golden Hair, Fabulous Animals, Michael and The Writing On The Wall broadcast. The first UK showing of Orson Welles' F For Fake on BBC2. The World In Action episode Nuts & Bolts Of The Economy: The Vital Statistics Part Two broadcast.
The first episode of A Roof Over My Head broadcast as part of the Comedy Special strand. Southside Johnny & The Asbury Dukes appeared on The Old Grey Whistle Test. Norman Cohen's Stand Up, Virgin Soldiers - starring Robin Askwith, Nigel Davenport, George Layton, John Le Mesurier, Warren Mitchell, Robin Nedwell, Edward Woodward, Irene Handl, Pamela Stephenson and Lynda Bellingham - premiered.

John Elliot's The Postmistress broadcast in BBC2's Country Tales strand. Hubert Frank's Vanessa - starring Olivia Pascal, Anton Diffring, Günter Clemens, Uschi Zech and Astrid Boner and Lou Antonio's Something For Joey - starring Geraldine Page, Gerald S O'Loughlin, Marc Singer and Jeff Lynas - premiered.
Parkinson & The Roots Phenomenon broadcast. The Tongues Of Men broadcast on BBC2. The German Federal Prosecutor Siegfried Buback and his driver were shot by two Red Army Faction members near his home in Karlsruhe. Max Wall's 'England's Glory'/'Dream Tobacco', Eddie Holman's 'This Could Be A Night To Remember'/'Time Will Tell' and The Desperate Bicycles' 'Smokescreen'/'Handlebars' released.
The first UK broadcast of Roots. Boswell's Wildlife Safari To Mexico and World Superstars broadcast. A Child Of Our Time and Stand By To Shoot broadcast on BBC2. The Clash's eponymous debut LP, Eddie & The Hot Rods' 'I Might Be Lying'/'Ignore Them (Always Crashing In The Same Bar)', The Graeme Edge Band's 'Everybody Needs Somebody'/'Be My Eyes', Dave Edmunds' 'Juju Man'/'What Did I Do Last Night?', Radio Stars' 'Dirty Pictures'/'Sail Away' and The Saints' 'Erotic Neurotic'/'One Way Street' released.
The first episode of Rolf On Saturday - OK? - featuring convicted kiddie-fiddler Rolf Harris - broadcast.
The first episode of Everyman broadcast. The first episode of Esther Waters broadcast on BBC2.
To Be Perfectly Frank broadcast. The first TV broadcast of The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie. Fivepenny Piece & Mike Harding, Julian Mitchell's Abide With Me and the first episode of Arlott & Trueman On Cricket broadcast on BBC2.
The first episode of Citizen Smith broadcast as part of the Comedy Special strand. A series would follow beginning on 3 November. Barrie Keeffe's Gotcha broadcast as part of the Play For Today strand. The Loneliest Job broadcast. The Boys' 'I Don't Care'/'Soda Pressing' released.
The League Cup final was decided at the third attempt when Aston Villa beat Everton three-two in the second replay at Old Trafford with a last minute goal from Brian Little. Peter S Traynor's Death Game - starring Sondra Locke, Colleen Camp and Seymour Cassel - premiered.
Who Was Jesus? broadcast on BBC2.
The first episode of Desert Adventure broadcast. Slade's 'Burning In The Heat Of Love'/'Ready Steady Kids', Rod Stewart's 'First Cut Is The Deepest'/'I Don't Want To Talk About It', Ray Dorset & Mungo Jerry's 'Heavy Foot Stomp'/'That's My Baby', Roger Daltrey's 'Written On The Wind'/'Dear John', Marvin Gaye's 'Got To Give It Up (Parts 1 & 2)', Jimmy Cross' 'I Want My Baby Back'/'Play The Other Side', Bryan Ferry's 'Tokyo Joe'/'She's Leaving Home', Pat Travers' 'Rock 'N' Roll Susie'/'Makes No Difference', David & The Giants' 'Ten Miles High'/'Superlove' and The Jam's debut 'In The City'/'Taking My Love' released. The first episode of Backs To The Land broadcast on LWT.
The first episode of Don't Quote Me broadcast on BBC2. John le Carré's The Honourable Schoolboy published.
The first episodes of The Health Show - with Miriam Stoppard and Terry Wogan - Grand Sham, Man & Boy, Andre Previn Meets ... and The People's Echo broadcast. The Stranglers' Rattus Norvegicus released. Samuel Beckett's Ghost Trio, ... but the clouds and Not I broadcast as part of BBC2's The Lively Arts strand.
The first episode of Don't Forget To Write broadcast on BBC2. The first episodes of Miss Jones & Son and The Flockton Flyer and the World In Action episode The Plane Makers broadcast on Thames. The London broadcaster followed several other ITV regions in using the generic strand title Appointment With Fear for their late-night showings of (mainly British) first-run horror movies. On this day, The Haunted House Of Horror received its UK TV debut.
A Choice Of Evils broadcast as part of the Play For Today strand. Michael Bentine's Square World broadcast as part of the Comedy Special strand. The first episodes of Politics Now broadcast. The Getaways broadcast on BBC2.
The twentieth anniversary episode of The Sky At Night broadcast. Generation X's debut session for The John Peel Show broadcast on Radio 1. Woody Allen's Annie Hall and Julie Pot-De-Colle - starring Jean-Claude Brialy, Marlène Jobert and Alexandra Stewart - premiered. The first episode of Dawson & Friends brtoadcast on Thames.
The first episode of Royal Heritage broadcast. The first episode of Paradise Island broadcast on Thames.
The motoring programme Top Gear began as a local monthly magazine format produced by BBC Midlands from its Pebble Mill Studios, presented by Angela Rippon and Tom Coyne. In 1978 it transferred to BBC2 where it remained until 2001. In 2002 the series was relaunched in a new format. The best format ... in the world. Kraftwerk's 'Trans Europe Express'/'Europe Endless', Alice Cooper's '(No More) Love At Your Convenience'/'It's Hot Tonight', The Rubettes' 'Ladies Of Laredo'/'I'm In Love With You', The Adverts' 'One Chord Wonders'/'Quick Step', Big Daddy & The Sugarcanes' 'Tomorrow Night'/'Version' and Peter Tosh With Words Sound & Power's 'African'/'Stepping Razor' released.
National Front marchers clashed with anti-Nazi protesters in London. Patricia Atkinson was murdered in her flat in Bradford; she was believed to be the fourth woman to die at the hands of a serial-killer who was, by now, being dubbed The Yorkshire Ripper. Everton and Liverpool drew two-two in a classic FA Cup semi-final at Maine Road, with referee Clive The Whistle Thomas mysteriously disallowing what would have been a late winner from Bryan Hamilton, a decision which infuriates Evertonians to this day. At Hillsborough, Manchester United beat Leeds United two-one to reach the final for the second consecutive year. The Trammps' 'Disco Inferno' released.
Susan Pleat's CND broadcast as part of the Jubilee strand.
Brian Clark's The Saturday Party broadcast as part of the Play For Today strand. The first episode of Fred Basset broadcast. The first episodes of Wealth Of The Roman World and Women At War broadcast on BBC2. The World In Action episode The Prison Children broadcast.
The Boys & Mrs B broadcast as part of the Comedy Special strand. The Country Party broadcast as part of the Play For Today strand. The Kinks appeared on The Old Grey Whistle Test.
Does Scotland Mean It? broadcast.
The Embassy World Snooker Championship moved to the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield and attracted television coverage for the first time. John Spencer beat Cliff Thorburn in the final on 30 April. Scotland defeated Sweden three-one in a friendly international at Hampden Park, with goals from Asa Hartford, Kenny Dalglish and debutant Joe Craig. Craig's Celtic team-mate Ronnie Glavin and Dundee United's Davey Narey also played for Scotland for the first time. It was Wille Ormond's final game in charge of the national side before taking the Heart Of Midlothian manager's job. West Germany thrashed Northern Ireland five-nil in a friendly international in Köln. Klaus Fischer scored twice on his international debut with further goals from Rainer Bonhof, Dieter Müller and Heinz Flohe. Fischer's Schalke 04 team-mate Rüdiger Abramczik also made his first international appearance. Gerry Armstrong of Spurs made his Irish debut. A federal court in Stuttgart sentenced Red Army Faction members Andreas Baader, Gudrun Ensslin and Jan-Carl Raspe to loads of jail. Harrison Marks's Come Play With Me - starring Irene Handl, Alfie Bass, Ronald Fraser, Mary Millington and Suzy Mandel - premiered.
The Jam's debut single 'In The City'/'Takin My Love' - written by eighteen year old Paul Weller, Bryan Ferry's 'Tokyo Joe'/'She's Leaving Home', Mia Martini's 'Freedom Is Today'/'Libera', Heatwave's 'Too Hot To Handle'/'Slip Your Disc To This', Child's 'What's A Nice Girl Like You?'/'Sad One Sided Love Affair', Frankie Miller's 'Be Good To Yourself'/'Down The Honky Tonk' and Schmetterlinge's 'Boom Boom Boomerang'/'Mister Moneymaker's Music Show' released. British Aerospace was formed, to run the nationalised aviation industry. Zebedy Colt's The Devil Inside Her - starring Jody Maxwell, Terri Hall, Dean Tait and Nancy Dare - premiered.
The first episode of Sport On Four broadcast on Radio 4. A Cold War between Cambodia and Viet'nam evolved into the Cambodian-Viet'namese War. Led Zeppelin set a new world record attendance for an indoor performance at the Pontiac Silverdome when over seventy six thousand hairies attended.
The first episode of David Attenborough's The Discoverers broadcast. The Clash's White Riot Tour - with The Jam, Buzzcocks, Subway Sect and The Prefects in support - began at the Guildford Civic Hall.
The first episode of The Mackinnons broadcast. Elton John performed the first of six consecutive nights at London's Rainbow Theatre, his first concerts in eight months. The Jam's first session of The John Peel Show featured 'In The City', 'Art School', 'I've Changed My Address' and the as-yet-unreleased 'The Modern World'. The World In Action episode All Work & Low Pay broadcast.
Maggie - It's Me! broadcast as part of the Comedy Special strand. A Picture Of Tom Keating broadcast. Twelve Off The Belt broadcast as part of BBC2's Second City Firsts strand. Roger McGuinn and Tom Waits appeared on The Old Grey Whistle Test.
The Beatles Live At The Hollywood Bowl released.
The first UK broadcast of David Frost's The Nixon Interviews. The Clash's White Riot Tour played a legendary gig at Eric's Club in Liverpool. It was attended by just about everybody who would be anyone in the subsequent Liverpool post-punk scene. After show, Julian Cope first met Pete Wylie and Ian McCulloch and The Crucial Three was formed. Though they never actually did anything as rock and roll as play a gig (McCulloch's love of melody clashing with Cope's devotion to avant-garde groups like Pere Ubu) from these origins would be spawned The Teardrop Explodes, Echo & The Bunnymen and Wah! Heat. The Light Fantastick broadcast on BBC2.
The Stranglers' 'Peaches'/'Go Buddy Go', Olivia Newton-John's 'Sam'/'Changes', The Police's 'Fall Out'/'Nothing Achieving', Doctor Feelgood's 'Sneakin' Suspicion'/'Lights Out', Burke & Jerk's 'Stretford Enders'/'My Old Dads Shoe', Harry Van Hoof's 'Once Upon A Time In The West'/'Your Song', The Users' 'Sick Of You'/'(I'm) In Love With Today' and Marie Myriam's 'L'Oiseau Et L'Enfant'/'The Bird & The Child' released. Rosie Ellen Celine Marcel born in Richmond.

Having been postponed from 2 April because of a BBC technicians' strike, the Eurovision Song Contest was broadcast from London's Wembley Conference Centre with Angela Rippon as presenter. It was won by France's Marie Myriam with 'L'oiseau Et L'Enfant'. The British entry, 'Rock Bottom' by Lynsey de Paul and Mike Moran finished second. Tottenham Hotspur's first relegation since 1935 was virtually guaranteed after they were thrashed five-nil at Manchester City.
The first episode of The Legend Of Robin Hood broadcast. The first episode of Murder Most English: A Flaxborough Chronicle broadcast on BBC2. The first episode of King Of The Castle broadcast on LWT.
The first episode of Badger Watch broadcast.
Slik appear in Ray Connolly's Our Kid, broadcast as part of the Jubilee strand. Hugh Burnett's UFO documentary Out Of The World broadcast. Nils Lofgren and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers appeared on The Old Grey Whistle Test. The Damned featured in session on The John Peel Show.
The Stranglers and support band London started a ten-week national tour. Thirty-five top international cricketers - including six of the current England team: Tony Greig, John Snow, Alan Knott, Derek Underwood, Dennis Amiss and Bob Woolmer - signed a deal to play round-robin tournaments in Australia later in the year organised by Australian TV magnate Kerry Packer. This followed the Australian Cricket Board's decision to turn down Packer's offer of one-and-a-half million dollars per year for the television rights to screen Australia's test matches on his Channel Nine network. Not unexpectedly, the British press were critical of what they sneeringly dubbed 'The Packer Circus' and reserved particular vitriol for the England captain Tony Greig, for his role in organising the break-away. Greig retained his position in the England team, but was stripped of the captaincy and replaced by Mike Brearley.
The first episode of Sea Tales broadcast on BBC2. Virgin Records announced that they had signed The Sex Pistols.
Michèle Torr's 'I'm Just (A Simple Country Girl From France)'/'Une Petite Francaise', Heddy Lester's 'The World Keeps Turning'/'Never Saw Him Laughing', Blondie's 'In The Flesh'/'X Offender', Cloud One's 'Atmosphere Strutt (Parts 1 & 2)', the Electric Light Orchestra's 'Telephone Line'/'Poorboy (The Greenwood)', 'King Of The Universe', Kiss' 'Hard Luck Woman'/'Calling Doctor Love', 'Detroit Rock City', The Pleasers' 'You Know What I'm Thinking Girl?'/'Hello Little Girl', The Choice Four's 'You're My Happiness'/'Beside Me', Parliament's 'Give Up The Funk (Tear The Roof Off The Sucker)'/'Doctor Funkenstein', 'P Funk (Wants To Get Funked Up)' and The Clash's 'Remote Control'/'London's Burning' released, the latter by CBS against the band's wishes. Joe Strummer and Mick Jones would write 'Complete Control' in response. 'They said we'd be artistically free/but it's just a bit of paper.'
Jerusalem: A Tale Of Two Cities broadcast. Liverpool won the First Division for the second season running following a goalless draw with West Ham United. Manchester City finished second. In Milan, during a far-left demonstration, an unidentified person shot at the police, killing an officer, Antonio Custra.
Fay Weldon's Age Of Hypocrisy broadcast as part of the Jubilee strand. Slaughter & The Dogs' 'Cranked Up Really High'/'The Bitch' released.
The World In Action episode What Paisley Didn't Know broadcast.
Daft Mam Blues broadcast as part of BBC2's Second City Firsts strand. Ettore Scola's Una Giornata Particoilare (A Special Day) - starring Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni - premeired at Cannes.
The first episode of A Bunch Of Fives broadcast on Thames.
Heartbreak House broadcast as part of the Play Of The Month strand. The Jam became the first new-wave band to appear on Top Of The Pops. Coventry City and Bristol City drew at Highfield Road and both survived in the First Division as Sunderland lost two-nil at Everton and were relegated. Andy Gray of Aston Villa and Malcolm Macdonald of Arsenal were the joint top goalscorers in the First Division with twenty five goals each. The Greatest - starring Muhammad Ali, Ernest Borgnine, James Earl Jones and Robert Duvall - premiered.
The Jam's In The City, Iggy Pop's 'China Girl'/'Baby', The Vibrators' 'Baby, Baby'/'Into The Future', The Dooleys' 'Think I'm Gonna Fall In Love With You'/'Goodbye Hallelujah Island', Queen's First EP ('Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy', 'Death On Two Legs (Dedicated To ...)'/'Tenement Funster', 'White Queen As It Began'), Bo Kirkland & Ruth Davis' 'You're Gonna Get Next To Me'/'Stay Out My Kitchen (If You Can't Stand The Heat)', Bonnie Raitt's 'Runaway'/'Home' and The Ramones' 'Sheena is A Punk Rocker'/'Commando', 'I Don't Care' released. The Clash and The Slits returned to their hotel, The Holiday Inn in Seaton Burn, after a gig at Newcastle University. Other guests reportedly complained about the noise and foul language and there were allegations of criminal damage and theft reported in the local press. 'Both groups were rowdy and obnoxious,' said the hotel's manager, Andrew Wilkinson. Mind you, if you've ever been to Seaton Burn, rowdy and obnoxious is pretty much par-for-the-course.
Elizabeth Archer & The Equators' 'Feel Like Making Love'/'Version' and The Stranglers' 'Peaches'/'Go Buddy Go' released; it was, immediately, banned by the BBC for use of the word 'clitoris' but was, nevertheless, a top ten hit. Manchester United won the FA Cup for the fourth time, defeating Liverpool two-one at Wembley. It was their first major trophy since they won the European Cup in 1968. The first episode of JB Priestley's An Englishman's Journey broadcast on BBC2. Anthony 'Doc' Shiels, camping next to Urquhart Castle on the shore of Loch Ness, took 'some of the clearest pictures of The Monster.' Shiels, a professional stage magician and psychic, claimed to have 'summoned' the animal out of the water. He later described it as 'an elephant squid,' claiming the long neck shown in the photograph is, actually, the squid's 'trunk' and that a white spot at the base of the neck is its eye. Due to the lack of ripples, it has been declared a hoax - 'The Lch Ness Muppet' - and received its name because of its obviously staged appearance. The first UK broadcast of the Columbo episode Fade Into Murder on LWT.
The Life Of A Lake broadcast. The first UK broadcast of Jerzy Skolimoski's Deep End as part of BBC2's Screen 2 strand.
Scientists reported using bacteria in a lab to make insulin via gene-splicing. Moluccan terrorists took over a school in Bovensmilde, Northern Netherlands with one hundred and five hostages and, simultaneously, a passenger train on the Bovensmilde-Assen route nearby (taking ninety hostages). On June 11, Dutch Royal Marines stormed the train and six terrorists and two hostages were killed. Jimmy Bloomfield resigned as manager of Leicester City after six years in charge. He would be replaced, a fotrnight later, by Frank McLintock. The World In Action episode The Man Who Went Too Far broadcast.
Let's Make A Musical broadcast. James Robson's Dead Spell broadcast as part of BBC2's Second City Firsts strand. Home Secretary Merlyn Rees was booed and jostled by policemen at a conference in Scarborough. Charles Wintour, managing director of the Daily Express, made a bitter personal attack on Vere Harmsworth, the chairman of Associated Newspapers, in particular condemning the Daily Mail's recent accusations of bribery within British Leyland which was revealed to be based on a forged letter. Labour's NEC rejected calls for disciplinary action against the Trotskyist Militant Tendency who had infiltrated the party. A nineteen year old American airman was discharged for setting up a Ku Klux Klan burning cross at the USAF base at Lakenheath, Suffolk. Education Secretary Shirley Williams asked a range of 'interested parties' to 'submit views' on corporal punishment in schools. Star Wars premiered in the US. Joanne Mary Joyner born in Harlow.
Liverpool won the European Cup defeating Borussia Mönchengladbach three-one in Rome's Stadio Olimpico. Bob Paisley famously commented that this was the second time he had been involved in a German defeat in Rome but, on the previous occasion, 'I was driving a tank!'
T Rex's 'Dandy In The Underworld'/'Groove A Little', 'Tame My Tiger' and The Sex Pistols' 'God Save The Queen'/'Did You No Wrong' - finally - released. Prime Minister James Callaghan officially opened the M5 motorway, now complete with the final stretch at Exeter, fifteen years after the first part of the motorway (near Birmingham) was opened. Elvis Costello's 'Alison'/'Welcome To The Working Week', Supertramp's 'Give A Little Bit'/'Downstream', Nick Lowe's Bowi EP ('Born A Woman', 'Shake That Rat'/'Mary Provost', 'Endless Sleep'), Richard Stilgoe's 'Lilian Thomson'/'The Minute Waltz', Rod Argent's 'Gymnopédies Number One'/'Light Fantastic', ommodores' 'Easy'/'Machine Gun', 'I Feel Sanctified' and Eater's 'Thinkin' Of The USA'/'Space Dreamin', 'Michael's Monetary System' released. Smokey & The Bandit premiered. Anna Charlotte Martin born in Beverley.
The first episode of In Deepest Britain broadcast on BBC2. England - missing several Liverpool players - beat Northern Ireland two-one at Windsor Park in the Home International championship. Mick Channon and Dennis Tueart were on target after Chris McGrath had given the Irish an early lead. Ipswich Town's Brian Talbot made his England debut. Scotland, under new national coach Ally MacLeod, shared a goalless draw with Wales at Wrexham.
Hope In Their Hearts, The Royal Windsor Big Top Show and the first episode of Erica On Embroidery broadcast. Wim Wenders' The Goalkeeper's Fear Of The Penalty shown as part of BBC2's Screen 2 strand. Angela Carter's Vampirella broadcast on Radio 3 as part of the Drama Now strand. The first episode of The Sunday Drama - The Late Wife - broadcast on LWT.
Production on Jeff Stein's movie The Who, The Kids Are Alright, began. The World In Action episode Casualities Of The Cuts broadcast.
Chris Bailey's Waifs & Strays broadcast as part of BBC2's Second City Firsts strand. The Small Faces and Television appeared on The Old Grey Whistle Test. The BBC banned 'God Save The Queen' saying it was, 'in gross bad taste.' The Independent Broadcasting Authority issued a warning to all radio stations that the single 'may be in breach of Section 4:1:A of the Broadcasting Act.' Wales beat Engand one-nil in the Home International championship at Wembley. A Leighton James penalty gave the Welsh their first victory over England since 1955. Burgess, Philby & Maclean broadcast in Thames's ITV Playhouse strand.
The Minstrel, ridden by Lester Piggott, won The Derby. Rod Stewart was at number one in the singles chart with 'The First Cut Is The Deepest'. 'Officially,' at least, as many now conclude that a deliberate policy was initiated - by someone, somewhere - to keep The Sex Pistols off number one during Jubilee Week. Banned by TV, Radio 1 (except for John Peel who did play it when he was allowed to) and several retail chains it is amazing that anybody even knew The Pistols' single was available. CM Pennington-Richards' Sky Pirates - starring Adam Richens, Michael McVey, Sylvia O'Donnell, Bill Maynard and Reginald Marsh and Jesús Franco's Une Cage Doree - starring Roger Darton, Evelyne Scott, Alice Arno and Joëlle Le Quément - premiered. Scotland defeated Northern Ireland three-nil in the Home International championship. Kenny Dalglish scored twice and Gordon McQueen added a third.
The first episode of The Frost Programme broadcast. Kerry Packer appeared to debate his World Series concept with Jim Laker (who was, broadly, supportive of Packer's aims) and Robin Marlar (who, very much, was not). Marlar's aggressive, shouty indignant interrogation of Packer came unstuck when Packer proved to be articulate, witty and confident in his vision was the future of the game. The show significantly raised Packer's profile in the UK. The main goal of his trip to the UK was to meet the game's authorities and reach some type of compromise. He made a canny move by securing the services of Richie Benaud as a consultant. Benaud's standing in the game and his journalistic background helped to steer Packer through the internal politics. Eddie & The Hot Rods' The Sound Of Speed EP ('Hard Drivin' Man', 'Horseplay'/'Double Checkin' Woman', 'All I Need Is Money') released.
Bob Marley & The Wailers' Exodus, Hot Chocolate's 'So You Win Again'/'A Part Of Being With You', Cock Sparrer's 'Runnin' Riot'/'Sister Suzie', Stanley Woodruff & The US Trio's 'What Took You So Long?'/'Now Is Forever', Soul Twins' 'Quick Change Artist'/'Give A Man A Chance' and Dave Edmunds' 'I Knew The Bride'/'Back To Schooldays' released. Seychelles President James Mancham was deposed whilst he was in London attending a Commonwealth Conference. Soviet leader Breshnev promised there would be no return to the 'illegal repressions' practiced under Stalin. Two pregnant women hostages were released from the Dutch train hijacked by South Molucan terrorists fourteen days earlier. The National Food Survey highlighted British eating patterns 'closer to the American model' for convenience and 'fast' foods. Billionaire tyrant Rupert Murdoch announced that he had 'no interest' in bidding for the Beaverbrook Express Group though he was keen not to see it fall into the hands of Tiny Rowland's Lonrho conglomerate. A public enquiry began into plans by British Nuclear Fuels for a reprocessing plant at Windscale. Richard Fleischer's adaptation of The Prince & The Pauper - starring Mark Lester, Ernest Borgnine, Oliver Reed, Raquel Welch and Rex Harrison - premiered.
Cicero: The Queen's Drum Horse and Happy As A Sandbag broadcast. Scotland beat England two-one in the Home International championship at Wembley. At the final whistle thousands of Scottish supporters broke through a police cordon and celebrated by taking souvenir turf. Dozens also swung on the crossbar until, with great glee, they snapped it in half. 'Large parts of the famous Wembley turf were probably being transplanted in Scottish gardens yesterday,' wrote The Times' Norman Fox. Most of the press went down the predictable 'birch these sick hooligan scum' route although one or two did point out that, almost exactly ten years earlier, similar scenes had followed another famous Scottish triumph at Wembley and no one then had batted an eyelid. Gordon McQueen and Kenny Dalglish scored for the visitors with Mick Channon replying for the hosts. Arthur Appleton's Jobling broadcast as part of BBC2's Network strand. Jubilee week started as the nation prepared itself for a tidal wave of jingoistic revelry in the form of street parties. A weekend of violence erupted in Spain as Basque separatists carried out for a series of bombings. Five British aircraft-spotters arrested in Greece for spying ten weeks earlier were released without charge. Kôyû Ohara's Ori No Naka No Yôsei - starring Naomi Tani, Tatsuya Hamaguchi and Minoru Ôkôchi - premiered.
The Sunday Mirra carried the infamous Punish The Punks headline. One of the most disgraceful excuses for journalism ever printed the piece, essentially, encouraged readers to make their disgust at the phenomena known to any punks they should come across. Predictably, within days several violent incidents had taken place, including attacks on high-profile figures like Jamie Reid, Joe Strummer and Johnny Rotten. To the ultimate shame of the Crown Prosecution Service, no Mirra journalist was ever charged to incitement to cause violence. Nor, for that matter, was the Labour MP Marcus Lipton, who was quoted in the Mirra with the opinion that 'if pop music is going to be used to destroy our established institutions, it ought to be destroyed first.' Classy.
The Music Of Morecambe & Wise broadcast. The first UK TV showing of I Start Counting. Janey Preger's Fattening Frogs For Snakes broadcast as part of BBC2's Second City Firsts strand. Australia won the third cricket One Day International against England at Kennington Oval by two wickets with ten balls remaining in a virtual monsoon. England had already secured the series winning the first two matches. Two Stars For Comfort broadcast on Thames.
The Sex Pistols attempted to interrupt Silver Jubilee celebrations by performing a set on board a boat on the River Thames. Police forced the boat to dock and several arrests were made following a scuffle, including Malcolm McLaren getting busted. Eric Clapton featured on The Old Grey Whistle Test. The convicted kidnapped Ted Bundy was transported from the Garfield County jail in Glenwood Springs to Pitkin County Courthouse in Aspen for a preliminary hearing in the case of the 1975 murder of Caryn Campbell. He had elected to serve as his own attorney and, as such, was excused by the judge from wearing handcuffs or leg shackles. During a recess, he asked to visit the courthouse's law library to research his case. While shielded from his guards' view behind a bookcase, he opened a window and jumped to the ground from the second story, injuring his ankle as he landed. After shedding an outer layer of clothing, he walked through Aspen as roadblocks were being set up on its outskirts, then hiked southward onto Aspen Mountain. Near its summit he broke into a hunting cabin and stole food and clothing. The following day he left the cabin and continued South toward the town of Crested Butte, but became lost in the forest. For two days he wandered aimlessly on the mountain. On 10 June, he broke into a camping trailer on Maroon Lake taking food and a ski parka; but instead of continuing Southward, he walked back toward Aspen, eluding roadblocks and search parties along the way. Three days later, he stole a car at Aspen Golf Course. Cold, sleep-deprived and in pain from his sprained ankle, he drove back into Aspen, where two police officers noticed his car weaving in and out of its lane and pulled him over. He had been a fugitive for six days.
The last episode of Survivors broadcast. England drew the opening game of their summer tour of South America nil-nil with Brazil in the Maracanã. Les Cocker was in charge of the England team as Don Revie was, supposedly, watching Finald play Italy. In fact, alleged disguised in Arab dress, he had gone to the Middle East to be interviewed for the job of 'supreme of football' in the United Arab Emirates.
 The Brothers performed 'Sing Me' on Top Of The Pops wearing some really nasty orange bri-nylon shirts. Tony Blackburn then, helpfully, informed the audience: 'They're real-life brothers if you're wondering, they come all the way from Mauritius. But they've been over here for fourteen years now.' So, that's all right, then.
The first episode of No Appointment Necessary broadcast. John Tully's Friend Or Foe? broadcast in the Stories Round The World strand. The first Apple II series computers went on sale. Smokie's 'It's Your Life'/'Now You Think You Know', Manfred Mann's Earth Band's 'Spirits In The Night'/'The Road To Babylon', Heavy Metal Kids' 'Chelsea Kids'/'Jackie The Lad', The Reflections' 'Like Adam & Eve'/August & Deneen's 'We Go Together', Kris Kristofferson's 'Watch Closely Now'/'Crippled Crow' and Cliff Richard's 'When Two Worlds Drift Apart'/'That's Why I Love You' released. James Earl Ray escaped from the Brushy Mountain State Prison in Petros, Tennessee; he was recaptured three days later.
The first episodes of Tell Me More and Supernatural broadcast. Above Us The Earth broadcast on BBC2.
The first episode of Kossoff & Company broadcast. Trevor Cherry became only the third England player to receive a red card in an international, when he was sent off in a friendly against Argentina. Cherry lost two teeth after being punched in the mush by Daniel Bertoni, who was also sent off. The game ended in a one-all draw with Stuart Pearson on target for the visitors. I'm Just A Simple Man broadcast on BBC2. The Dave Brubeck Quartet appeared on The Lively Arts. Guitarist Michael Schenker vanished after a UFO concert at The Roundhouse in London. He was replaced for several months by Paul Chapman until he rejoined the group in October. England won the second Ashes test against Australia by nine wickets. The Supremes performed their final concert at Drury Lane Theatre.
The first episodes of Grapevine and Maidens' Trip broadcast on BBC2. The first episode of Cottage To Let and the World In Action episode Without Time Or Limit broadcast on Thames.
David Cook's Nick broadcast. Alistair Cooke's The Life & Times Of Mark Twain broadcast on BBC2. Dave Boy Green lost in eleven rounds to Carlos Palomino for the world welterweight title.
The first episodes of Alan Plater's Middlemen and Shelagh Delaney's The House That Jack Built, starring Duggie Brown, broadcast. England ended their South American summer tour with a drab goalless draw against Uruguay in Montevideo. It proved to be Don Revie's last game as manager. Scotland won a friendly international with Chile four-two in Santiago. Lou Macari scored twice with Kenny Dalglish and Asa Hartford adding further goals. Kilmarnock's Jimmy Stewart made his Scotland debut as a half-time substitute for Alan Rough. In an extended Arena, writer and critic Albert Hunt assessed the renaissance of British playwrights, 'which had given the theatre of the 1970s such a distinctive voice.' Richard Attenborough's A Bridge Too Far p remiered.
Ted Walker's The Gaffer broadcast as part of BBC2's Sea Tales strand.
Hawkwind's Quark, Strangeness & Charm, Sandy Denny's 'Candle In The Wind'/'Still Waters Run Deep', Bob Marley & The Wailers' 'Exodus'/'Instrumental' and Adam's Apples' 'Don't Take It Out On This World'/'Don't You Want Me Home' released. Wimbledon FC, champions of the Isthmian League, were elected to the Football League in place of Workington in the Fourth Division. Peter Yates's The Deep premiered. Its success largely rested on its opening scene of Jacqueline Bisset swimming underwater wearing only a white T-shirt and a black bikini bottom.
During a break from The Sex Pistols latest recording sessions at Wessex Studios Johnny Rotten and producers Chris Thomas and Bill Price were attacked outside the Pegasus pub in Islington. Johnny had his arm slashed and suffers tendon damage. David Bowie's 'Be My Wife'/'Speed Of Life' and Boney M's 'Ma Baker'/'Still I'm Sad' released. Scotland drew one-all with Argentina in a friendly international in Buenos Aries. A Don Masson penalty gave the visitors the lead, Daniel Passarella equalised. Vicente Pernia and William Johnston were sent off for fighting after fifty six minutes.
The World About Us documentary Greenpeace Voyages To Save The Whales - narrated by David Attenborough - broadcast on BBC2. Stanley Long's Adventures Of A Priate Eye - starring Christopher Neil, Suzy Kendall, Harry H Corbett, Diana Dors, Liz Fraser, Adrienne Posta, Jon Pertwee, Irene Handl, Anna Quayle and Ian Lavender - premiered.

The first episode of the extremely strange Ludwig broadcast. Anglia Television broadcast the fake documentary Alternative Three. It entered into the conspiracy theory canon. The IBA was criticised for allowing transmission without warning viewers in advance that it was a drama. Seventeen people were arrested during clashes between pickets and police at the Grunwick film processing laboratory. Alternative Three and the World In Action episode My Years With Amin broadcast on Thames.
The Yard broadcast. British Leyland and Renault announced a forthcoming collaboration. Professor Bernard Williams was appointed Chairman of the government's new committee of enquiry into the obscenity laws. Conservative MPs wished to amend the Criminal Law Bill to tackle the problem of 'child thugs.' A libel hearing over remarks allegedly made by a police officer to civil rights activist Peter Hain was settled out of court. Laker Airways won the right to fly from London to New York. Basque terrorists ETA claimed responsibility for the murder of Bilbao industrialist Javier de Ybarra. In Milan, the trial of Red Brigades leader Renato Curcio took place. King Hussein of Jordan and Syrian President Assad held talks on the future of the Middle East. Big Ben stopped working for five hours due to a fault. Britain had the technology to develop windmills as a power source, the Department of Energy announced, but the economics were 'doubtful.' Martin Scorsese's New York, New York - starring Robert De Niro and Lisa Minnelli - premiered. The first Ashes test at Lord's ended in a draw. Bob Woolmer top-scored for England in both innings (including a century in the second) whilst Jeff Thomson took eight wickets and Bob Willis seven in Australia's first innings.
Mike Proctor took a hat-trick as Gloucester beat Hampshire by seven runs in a classic low-scoring Benson & Hedges Cup semi-final at Southampton. The first episode of One More Time! broadcast on BBC2.
The first episodes of In Her Majesty's Service and Shirley Bassey broadcast on BBC2. Talks between Kerry Packer and ICC broke down after Packer's wish for exclusive TV rights in Australia were rejected. XTC's debut session on The John Peel Show broadcast. Scotland lost a friendly international to Brazil two-nil in Rio. Zico and Toniho Cerezo scored for the hosts.
The Cortinas' 'Fascist Dictator'/'Television Families', Mink DeVille's 'Spanish Stroll'/'Gunslinger', Heart's 'Barracuda'/'Cry To Me' and Real Thing's 'Love's Such A Wonderful Thing'/'Topsy Turvy' released.
Suburban Studs' 'Questions'/'No Faith' released.
The Rugby League World Cup culminated in Australia's thirteen-twelve victory over Great Britain at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Roy Sullivan, a park ranger in the Shenandoah Nation Park, was struck by lightning for the record seventh time.
The first episode of In The Beginning broadcast. The first UK TV showing of Unman, Wittering & Zigo on BBC2's Screen 2 strand. Sixteen-year-old Jayne McDonald was found stabbed to death in the Chapeltown area of Leeds. Police believed that she was the fifth victim of The Yorkshire Ripper. Elvis Presley played his final concert at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis. The first episode of Follow Me broadcast on LWT.
The World In Action episode Starting On The Dole broadcast.
James Cameron's Death OF The Orient Express broadcast. Andrew Taylor's The Sniffler & The Pug broadcast as part of BBC2's Centre Play strand.
Lord Ryder resigned as chairman of the National Enterprise Board. Thousands of motorists may have been wrongly convicted because of inaccurate police method for gauging a car's speed by measuring skidmarks according to a senior judge. President Carter announced the decision to scrap the B1 bomber and replace it with the Cruise missile. Dutch fishermen withdrew trawlers from the North Sea after the Netherlands government warned they would not be supported if they defied a British ban on herring fishing. The right to strike within Britain's nuclear plants was legally challenged. Donald Neilson's appeal against his conviction for murdering Leslie Whittle was dismissed. The final day of submissions to the Home Office on The Annan Report into the future of broadcasting saw Independent TV companies putting a case for the fourth channel being, effectively, ITV2. The committee's recommendation was it should be run by a separate authority. Eighteen-year-old John McEnroe lost in the Wimbledon semi-finals to Jimmy Connors in four sets. It was the best performance by a qualifier at a Grand Slam tournament.
Top Cop broadcast. Virginia Wade beat Betty Stöve in three sets to win the Wimbledon Ladies Singles titles. The Sex Pistols' 'Pretty Vacant'/'No Fun', The Saints' 'This Perfect Day'/'L-I-E-S', Neil Richardson & His Orchestra's 'Theme From Mastermind (BBC TV Series)'/'Child Of The Sun' and Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers' 'Roadrunner (Once)'/'Roadrunner (Twice)' released. Liverpool sold Kevin Keegan to SV Hamburg for a European record fee of five hundred thousand knicker. Borivoj Zeman's Honza Málem Králem - starring Jirí Korn, Nada Konvalinková, Marie Glázrová and Jorga Kotrbová - premiered.
BBC2's Saturday night double bills of classic horror movies, Dracula, Frankenstein - and Friends! began with Tod Browing's Dracula and James Whale's Frankenstein. Björn Borg defeated Jimmy Connors in five sets. It was Borg's second consecutive Wimbledon Men's title and fourth Grand Slam title overall.
The first UK TV broadcast of Triple Cross. The first episode of The Roman Way broadcast on BBC2.
The first episode of Sportstown broadcast. The Long Sprint broadcast on BBC2. Tom Paxton appeared on The Camera & The Song. Manchester United's manager, Tommy Docherty, was sensationally dismissed by the club's directors due to his affair with the wife of the club's physiotherapist, Laurie Brown. The World In Action episode The Very Public Death Of Enrico Sidoli broadcast.
The first episode of Red Alert broadcast. Peter Whalley's Risking It broadcast as part of BBC2's Centre Play strand. The first episodes of Rhythm On Two and Impressions From Upper Mongolia broadcast. General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq overthrew Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the first elected Prime Minister of Pakistan.
During a Pink Floyd concert at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal, Roger Waters having become increasingly irritated by a fan, spat at him. The incident became the catalyst for the group's next LP, The Wall. The first episode of the BBC2 documentary series Brass Tacks was broadcast, featuring a debate as to whether Myra Hindley should be considered for parole. The general consensus of which was 'should she fuck.' Donna Summer's 'I Feel Love' released. I'm Bob, He's Dickie broadcast on Thames.
The first episode of The Whole Universe Show broadcast. Lewis Gilberts' The Spy Who Loved Me - starring Roger Moore, Barbara Bach, Curd Jürgens and Richard Kiel - premiered.
The first episode of The Foundation broadcast on LWT. The Jam's 'All Around The World'/'Carnaby Street', Grace Jones' 'I Need A Man (Part 1 & 2)', Hawkwind's 'Quark, Strangeness & Charm'/'The Forge Of Vulcan', Showaddywaddy's 'You Got What It Takes'/'Showboat', Long John Baldry's 'On Broadway'/'Instrumental' and Alan Tew Orchestra's 'Magic Fly'/'Desert Island Fantasy' released.
The first episode of The Hot Dogs broadcast. The first episode of Country Game broadcast on BBC2. Tom Watson won the second of his five British Open golf titles by one stroke over Jack Nicklaus at Turnberry.
Maureen Long survived an attack by The Yorkshire Ripper in Bradford.
The first episode of AJP Taylor's How Wars Begin broadcast. Gay News was found guilty of blasphemous libel in a case brought by that awful old bigot Mary Whitehouse's National Viewers and Listeners Association. Whitehouse 'objected' to a poem and illustration published in the fortnightly paper about a homosexual Roman centurion's love for Christ at the Crucifixion. The poem, The Love That Dares To Speak Its Name, by Professor James Kirkup, was distributed to the jury and reporters. However, the judge, Mister Alan King-Hamilton, ordered that it could not be published (two small left-wing magazines ignored the ruling in a protest against censorship). Prosecuting Counsel John Smyth told the court: 'It may be said that this is a love poem - it is not, it is a poem about buggery.' Don Revie announced his resignation after three years as manager of the England football team. The World In Action episode Jack's Last Stand broadcast.
The first episode of These Twenty Five Years broadcast. Within twenty four hours of resigning from the England job, Don Revie accepted an offer to become the highest-paid football manager in the world when he was appointed by the United Arab Emirates on a four-year contract worth over three hundred grand. And, instantly, earned the nickname 'Don Reddies'. England won the second Ashes test at Old Trafford by nine wickets. Match highlights included another century for Bob Woolmer and six wickets for Derek Underwood in Australia's second innings.
The first episode of The Selling Line broadcast on BBC2. Somalia declared war on Ethiopia. The New York City blackout lasted for twenty five hours, resulting in much looting and general disorder.
Top Of The Pops featured Julien Temple's promo video for The Sex Pistols' 'Pretty Vacant'. The first episode of Storyteller broadcast. The Young Man & The Lion broadcast on BBC2.
The first episode of Reflections In A Mirror broadcast on BBC2. The Ramones' 'Swallow My Pride'/'Pinhead', 'Let's Dance', Mud's 'Just Try (A Little Tenderness)'/'Gives You The Good Times Now' and Jackie Wilson's 'It Only Happens When I Look At You'/'Just As Soon As The Feelings Over' released. The first episode of Devenish broadcast on LWT.
Gloucestershire beat Kent by sixty four runs in the final of the Benson & Hedges Cup at Lord's. The British Grand Prix at Silverstone was won by James Hunt ahead of Niki Lauda. It marked the debut of Canadian driver Gilles Villeneuve. The race was also the first outing for the first turbocharged Formula One car, the Renault RS01, driven by Jean-Pierre Jabouille.
The first episode of Hi Summer broadcast on LWT.
The World In Action episode Nuts & Bolts Of The Economy: The Uncommon Market Part One broadcast.
Bill Tidy and Alan Plater's The Fosdyke Saga broadcast on BBC2. Benoît Lamy's Jambon d'Ardenne - starring Annie Girardot, Ann Petersen and Michel Lechat - premiered.
Hugh Whitemore's adaptation of Eighty Four Charing Cross Road broadcast as part of the Play For Today strand.
The Credible Captain Cousteau broadcast. The First Night Of The Proms broadcast by BBC2 and by Radio 3 for the first time in quadraphonic sound. Elvis Costello's My Aim Is True, Barclay James Harvest's 'Hymn'/'Our Kid's Kid' The Boys' 'First Time'/'Watcha Gonna Do?', 'Turning Grey', Space's 'Magic Fly'/'Ballad For Space Lovers', Alice Cooper's 'You & Me'/'My God', Trammps' 'Trammps Disco Theme'/'Love Epidemic', Rod Stewart's 'Mandolin Wind'/'Girl From The North Country', 'Sweet Little Rock 'N' Roller', Be Bop Deluxe's Live! In The Air Age EP ('Shine'/'Sister Seagull', 'Maid In Heaven') and The Stranglers' 'Something Better Change'/'Straighten Out' released. The 'purged' Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping was restored to power nine months after The Gang Of Four were expelled from power in a coup d'état.
The first episode of Play Sport broadcast. Pop At The Mill featured performances by The Rubettes and Helen Shapiro. The BBC North documentary A Fair Fortnight broadcast as part of BBC2's Network strand. James Cameron's Stand Up & Be Counted broadcast. Chrysler Europe launched the Sunbeam, a three-door rear-wheel drive small hatchback similar to the Ford Fiesta and Vauxhall Chevette. Kerry Packer threatened legal action against ICC and TCCB if they carried out their threat to ban any of his contracted players from playing international or domestic cricket.
The first episode of Ballet Shoes broadcast. Peter Watkins' Edvard Munch broadcast on BBC2.
The first episodes of John Burningham's Around The World In Eighty Days and Robbie broadcast. The Jam's second John Peel Show session (featuring 'All Around The World', ''London Girl', 'Bricks & Mortar' and 'Carnaby Street') broadcast. The World In Action episode Nuts & Bolts Of The Economy: The Uncommon Market Part Two broadcast.
The first episode of Looking At Documentaries broadcast on BBC2. Led Zeppelin cancelled the last seven dates of their American tour after Robert Plant learned that his six-year-old son, Karac, had died of a respiratory virus. The show two days previously in Oakland proved to be the band's last ever in the United States.
The first episode of Commentator's Choice broadcast. The Soviet Politburo ordered Boris Yeltsin, first secretary of the CPSU Committee of Sverdlovsk Oblast, to demolish the Ipatiev House, where Tsar Nicholas II and his family were shot in 1918. Kevin Connor's The People That Time Forgot - starring Patrick Wayne, Doug McClure, Sarah Douglas, Dana Gillespie, Thorley Walters, Shane Rimmer, Milton Reid and David Prowse - premiered. John Miles' 'Slow Down'/'Manhattan Skyline' released.
Geoffrey Boycott made his return to the England cricket team after a three year absence and Ian Botham made his debut in the third test at Tenth Bridge. Boycott scored one hundred and seven and eighty not out (despite running out local hero Derek Randall during the first innings) and Botham took five for thirty five as England won the match by seven wickets. Alan Knott also scored a century and Mike Brearley eighty one durting England's second innings run chase. The pilot episode of A Sharp Intake Of Breath broadcast in Thames's The Sound Of Laughter strand.
The first episode of Rough Justice broadcast. Elvis Costello's 'Red Shoes'/'Mystery Dance', The Lurkers' 'Shadow'/'Love Story', Rods' 'Do Anything You Wanna Do'/'Schoolgirl Love', The Hollies' 'Amnesty'/'Crossfire', The James Brown Soul Train's 'Honky Tonk'/'Brother Rapp', Tyrone Davis' 'This I Swear'/'Givin' Myself To You' and Sweet's 'Stairway To The Stars'/'Why Don't You Do It To Me?' released.
Geoffrey Green's football documentary Heading For Glory broadcast on BBC2. Left-wing German terrorists Susanne Albrecht, Brigitte Mohnhaupt and Christian Klar assassinated Jürgen Ponto, the chairman of the Dresdner Bank in Oberursel.
Festival 77: Thanks For The Memory broadcast on BBC2. The movie version of Are You Being Served? premiered. It was shit. The first episode of Here I Stand broadcast on LWT.
Festival 77: Late Night Line-up broadcast on BBC2 featuring David Frost talking about The Nixon Interviews and Dennis Potter and Christopher Morahan discussing the development and importance of the TV play. Also the first episode of Festival 77 featuring programmes from the BBC archives for each of the previous twenty five years. Elvis Costello & The Attractions' first John Peel Shows session broadcast featuring 'Less Than Zero', 'Mystery Dance', 'Blame It On Cain' and '(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes'. The government introduced voluntary Stage III one-year pay restraint. The first episode of Lord Tramp and the World In Action episode Nuts & Bolts Of The Economy: The Uncommon Market Part Three broadcast on Thames.
Peter Terson's The Ballad Of Ben Bagot, the first of BBC2's Scene: New Plays For Young People strand broadcast.
The first episode of Barry Took's adaptation of A Roof Over My Head broadcast. The Boomtown Rats debut John Peel Show session broadcast. United States Senate hearings on Project MKUltra were held.
Barry Norman's Hollywood Greats broadcast.
Seems Like Yesterday broadcast. The Football League backed The Football Association's ban on sponsors advertising on player's strips. However, non-league clubs were permitted to show sponsor's names on their players' shirts. La Belle Epoque's 'Black Is Black'/'Extended', Meri Wilson's 'Telephone Man'/'Itinerary', T Rex's 'Celebrate Summer'/'Ride My Wheels', JJ Barnes' 'How Long?'/'I'm The One Who Loves You' and Little Feat's 'Time Loves A Hero'/'Rocket In The Pocket' released.
Ian Davidson and Dick Vosburgh's The MDCLXXVII Show broadcast on BBC2.
The first episodes of The ABC Of Music and Thora Hird's Praise The Lord broadcast. The West Indies cricket board said it would ban its Kerry Packer-contracted players from all first-class matches. The Test and County Cricket Board followed suit, subject to a High Court hearing. The first episode of Took & Co broadcast on LWT. Squeeze's Packet Of Three EP ('Cat On A Wall'/'Night Ride', 'Back Track' released.
The first UK broadcast of The Amazing Cosmic Awareness Of Duffy Moon. The case of a Coventry teacher who was alleged to have hit thirteen-year-old girls on the bottom with a gym shoe was highlighted. The National Union of School Students asked the Education Secretary, Shirley Williams, to introduce legislation 'as soon as possible' to abolish the practice.
Lakeland Summer broadcast.
Kenny Dalglish became Britain's most expensive footballer in a four hundred and forty thousand pound transfer from Glasgow Celtic to Liverpool. David Berkowitz was captured in Yonkers, New York, after over a year of murders dubbbed 'the Son of Sam killings'. There was an appalling lack of political awareness among school leavers according to Bernard Crick, Professor of Politics at Birkbeck College. A Dutch tugboat captain was sentenced to be flogged in Saudi Arabia for breaking the country's prohibition laws. Holidaymakers due to leave Heathrow were to expect delays as air traffic control assistants began a work to rule. Campaining was underway for the Birmingham Ladywood by-election caused by the resignation of Brian Walden who had decided presenting Weekend World was a more preferable - and honest - gig than being an MP. The Lancet reported a potential case of Munchausen's Syndrome By Proxy concerning the mother of a six year old Yorkshire girl. A judge declined to order a new trial after a jury failed to reach a verdict relating to alleged offences committed by several defendants at the 1976 Notting Hill Carnival. After a fourteen-week trial, estimated to have cost quarter of a million knicker, the jury of seven white and five black men returned fifty one verdicts - of which only eight were convictions. The High Court refused to ban rival marches planned by the National Front and the Socialist Workers' Party through Lewisham. John Landis's Kentucky Friend Movie - starring Evan C Kim, Bong Soo Han, Bill Bixby and George Lazenby - premiered.
Geoffrey Boycott scored his one hundredth first class hundred on his home ground - Headingley - for England during the fourth Ashes test. England won by an innings and eighty five runs to regain the Ashes. Ian Botham took five wickets in Australia's first innings. Cleo Laine and Johnny Dankworth's And Now ... broadcast. The Clash played at the Bilzen Festival in Liege, Belgium on a bill that also included Elvis Costello & The Attractions.
The first episode of Bellamy's Britain broadcast on BBC2. The Union-Castle Line's RMS Windsor Castle launched the final passenger mail voyage from Southampton to Cape Town, the last major British ship to operate in the regular ocean liner trade. The NASA Space Shuttle Enterprise made its first test free-flight from the back of a Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft. Sam Wanamaker's Sinbad & The Eye Of The Tiger - starring Patrick Wayne, Taryn Power, Margaret Whiting, Jane Seymour and Patrick Troughton - premiered. Wreckless Eric's 'Whole Wide World'/'Semaphore Signals', Keith Rowe's 'Groovy Situation'/'Groovy Dub', The Adverts' 'Gary Gilmore's Eyes'/'Bored Teenagers', Donna Summer & John Barry's 'Down Deep Inside'/'Theme From The Deep' The Bee Gees' 'Edge Of The Universe'/'Words', Bonnie Raitt's 'Three Time Loser'/'Louise' and John Otway & Wild Willy Barrett's 'Racing Cars (Jet Spotter Of The Track)'/'Running From The Law' released.
The Golden Trashery Of Ogden Nashery Broadcast on BBC2. The first episode of an eight-part adaptation of Isaac Asimov's The Foundation Trilogy broadcast on Radio 4. An attempt by the far-right National Front to march from New Cross to Lewisham led to counter-demonstrations and violent clashes.

The first UK Broadcast of The Secret Life Of TK Dearing. Ron Greenwood, general manager of West Ham United, accepted an offer to become the temporary manager of the England national team. Rioting broke out in Birmingham during demonstrations against the National Front. The Big Ear, a radio telescope operated by Ohio State University as part of the SETI project, received a radio signal from deep space; the event was named 'The "Wow!" Signal' form a notation made by a volunteer on the project.
Willy Russell's Break In broadcast as part of BBC2's Scene: New Plays For Young People strand. The first episode of Marie Curie broadcast. Elvis Presley died on the lavatory of his home, Graceland, aged forty two. Seventy five thousand fans lined the streets of Memphis for his funeral.
Luis Buñuel's That Obscure Object Of Desire (Cet Obscur Objet Du Désir) premiered in Paris.
The Nationwide film It's Only A Game Of Football about Manchester United hooligans smashing up Norwich city centre broadcast.
Groucho Marx died of pneumonia at Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre in Los Angeles, aged eighty six. Bob Marley & The Wailers' 'Waiting In Vain'/'Roots', Jean Michel Jarre's 'Oxygene (Parts 4 & 6)', The Rezillos' 'I Can't Stand My Baby'/'I Wanna Be Your Man', Ram Jam's 'Black Betty'/'I Should Have Known', David Soul's 'Silver Lady'/'Rider', Stevie Wonder's 'Another Star'/'Creepin', Emotions' 'Best Of My Love'/'A Feeling Is', Kiss' 'Then She Kissed Me'/'Hooligan', 'Flaming Youth', Ian Dury's 'Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll'/'Razzle In My Pocket' and The Boomtown Rats' 'Lookin' After Number One'/'Born To Burn', 'Barefootin' released.
The five hundredth episode of Match Of The Day broadcast. Sadly, it featured just one goal in the two games between Ipswich Town and Arsenal and Manchester City and Leicester City. In-keeping with the start of a new football season, BBC2's Network featured the BBC North documentary Cup-Tie: The Sights & Sounds Of A Saturday. NASA's unmanned probe Voyager 2 was launched carrying a golden record containing sounds and images representing life and culture on Earth, including the first movements of Bach's 'Brandenburg Concerto' (despite Carl Sagan suggesting 'that'd just be showing off!') and Beethoven's 'Fifth Symphony', Guan Pinghu's 'Liu Shui', played on the guqin and Chuck Berry's 'Johnny B Goode'. Some months later on the American comedy show Saturday Night Live, Steve Martin announced that the first message from aliens had been received by NASA: 'Send more Chuck Berry'!
Hell Miss Ragtime broadcast. Other Voices: Rolling Stone In America broadcast on BBC2. Tony Bilbow's AJ Alan profile Man Of Mystery and the final episode of The Men From The Ministry broadcast on Radio 4.
It's Not All Beer & Skittles broadcast. A new, smaller, one pound note was introduced in Britain.
The first episodes of Marc (including The Jam performing 'All Around The World') and The Paper Lads broadcast on Thames.
A-Roaming broadcast.
Horizon: 2002 broadcast. A pseudo-documentary set twenty five years in the future (presented by an aged Richard Baker) it 'looked back' on the scientific advancements made - and reported on, by Horzion - since 1977. With uncanny accuracy, the episode would predict developments as diverse as test tube babies, the Internet and virtual reality and the increase in leisure time due to computerisation. The first episode of The Summer Of 76 broadcast. The Vibrators' 'London Girls'/'Stiff Little Fingers', Johnny Moped's 'No One'/'Incendiary Device', Kraftwerk's 'Showroom Dummies'/'Europe Endless', April Stevens' 'Wanting You'/'Falling In Love Again', The Velours' 'I'm Gonna Change'/'Don't Pity Me' and Sailor's 'Down By The Docks'/'Put Your Mouth Where The Money Is' released. The National Assembly of Quebec passed the Charter of the French Language making French the official language of the province. Denis Héroux's The Uncanny - starring Peter Cushing, Ray Milland, Samantha Eggar and Donald Pleasence - premiered.
Brian Clough sank his old charges as Nottingham Forest beat Derby County three-nil at The City Ground. Kevin Connor's The People That Time Forgot - starring Patrick Wayne, Sarah Douglas, Thorley Walters, Dana Gillespie, Shane Rimmer and Doug McClure - premiered.
Clarke Francis - Sea Bird broadcast as part of BBC2's The World About Us strand. The Lively Arts featured a profile of James Herriot.
Emu's Blackpool Walkabout broadcast. Roots, Rock, Reggae broadcast on BBC2. The first UK TV showing of Hammer's Hands Of The Ripper. Squeeze's first John Peel Show session broadcast. Iggy Pop's Lust For Life released.
The rain-affected fifth Ashes test at The Oval ended in a draw.
Ridley Scott's The Duellists - starring Keith Carradine, Harvey Keitel, Albert Finney and Tom Conti - premiered.
The first episode of The Broken Biscuit Company broadcast. Courage Needs Witnesses broadcast on BBC2.
The first Athletics World Cup began in Dusseldorf. Thin Lizzy's Bad Reputation, Be Bop Deluxe's 'Japan'/'Futuristic Manifesto', Doctor Feelgood's 'She's A Windup'/'Hi-Rise' and Generation X's 'Your Generation'/'Day By Day' released.
Middlesex beat Glamorgan by five wickets in the final of the Gillette Cup.
The first episode of The Eagle Of The Ninth broadcast. The Golden Dragon massacre took place in San Francisco.
The first episode of Race broadcast. Voyager 1 was launched. Employers Association President Hanns Martin Schleyer was kidnapped in Cologne. The kidnappers killed three escorting police officers and his chauffeur. They demanded the release of Red Army Faction prisoners.
Clever Girl and the first episodes of David Essex and Robinson's Travels broadcast. The first episode of The New Quiz broadcast on Radio 4. Car industry figures showed that foreign cars were outselling British-built ones for the first time. Japanese built Datsuns, German Volkswagens and French Renaults were proving particularly popular with buyers, although British-built products from Ford, British Leyland, Vauxhall and Chrysler UK were still the most popular. Even if they were about as reliable as a chocolate fireguard. The first episodes of London Belongs To Me and You're Only Young Twice broadcast on Thames.
The first episode of Secret Army broadcast. The Sky At Night focused on the recently launched Voyager missions. England drew nil-nil with Switzerland in a friendly international at Wembley. Ron Greenwood called up seven of the players who had helped Liverpool to win the European Cup, including Ian Callaghan, who won his first cap in eleven years since the 1966 World Cup. Teammate Terry McDermott made his international debut. Scotland lost one-nil to East Germany in East Berlin. Leeds United duo David Stewart and Arthur Graham made their international debuts, Stewart saving a penalty from Hans-Jürgen Dörner in the second-half. The first episode of The Krypton Factor broadcast on Thames. Hawkwind made a rare TV appearance on Marc, performing 'Quark, Strangeness & Charm'.
The first episode of Day Out broadcast on BBC2. Sir Alf Ramsey made a surprise return to management, taking over at the First Division's basement side Birmingham City following the resignation of Willie Bell. Interpol issued a resolution against the copyright infringement of video tapes, which to this day is still cited in warnings on opening pre-credits of video cassettes and DVDs. The first episode of The Fuzz broadcast on Thames.
The first episode of Target, the BBC's - rather incompetent - answer to The Sweeney broadcast. The TV debut of Nigel Planer in an episode of A Roof Over My Head. The first episodes of Love For Lydia broadcast on LWT. The Motors' 'Dancing The Night Away'/'Whisky & Wine', Alberto Y Lost Trios Paranoias' Snuff Rock EP ('Kill', 'Gobbing On Life'/'Snuffin' Like That', 'Snuffin' In A Babylon'), HMK's 'Delirious'/'Chelsea Kids' and Pioneers' 'My Good Friend James'/'Secrets Of You' released.
The first UK TV showing of The Omega Man. The South African political activist Stephen Biko died after suffering a massive head injury in police custody in Pretoria.
The first UK broadcast of Big John, Little John. The first episode of Horses Galore broadcast. Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are ... broadcast.
Marc Bolan was killed in a car crash in Barnes, two weeks before his thirtieth birthday. His girlfriend Gloria Jones, who was driving the car, was seriously injured. Talking Heads 77, The Wurzels' 'One For The Bristol City'/'Cheddar Cheese', Skip Jackson's 'The Greatest Star Of All'/'Kent In Kentucky', Sham 69's 'I Don't Wanna'/'Ulster', 'Red London', Santana's 'She's Not There'/'Zulu', Dillinger's 'Cokane In My Brain'/'Buckingham Palace', 'Ragnampiza' and The Stranglers' 'No More Heroes'/'In The Shadows' released. Maria Callas, the American-born soprano died.
The first episode of The Gun broadcast on BBC2. Network's documentary Take Two focused on the comedians Bernard Manning and Derek Nimmo.
Everyman looked at the recent Gay News blasphemous libel case. The first episode of BBC2's 1990 broadcast. The Strange Case Of The End Of Civilisation As We Know It and the first episode of It'll Be Alright On The Night broadcast on LWT.
The first episode of The Long Search and Song By Song By Ira Gershwin broadcast on BBC2. BBC Schools and Colleges changed their Dots ident with rotating text. Buzzcocks first John Peel Show session broadcast. Manchester United were expelled from the European Cup Winners' Cup after their fans rioted in France during a first round first leg game with Saint-Etienne five days earlier. Under pressure from the Carter Administration, the President of Nicaragua Anastasio Somoza Debayle lifted a state of siege in the country. The first episode of Raven broadcast on Thames. Antonio Mercero's La Guerra De Papá - starring Lolo García, Teresa Gimpera, Héctor Alterio, Verónica Forqué and Rosario García Ortega - premiered.
Italia, Italia broadcast. Highlights of The Rollings Stones June 1976 show in Paris broadcast on The Old Grey Whistle Test. The Only Ones' first John Peel Show session broadcast.
The first episode of The Peppermint Pig broadcast. The first episode of the BBC2 version of My Music broadcast. Tom Stoppard's Professional Foul broadcast as part of BBC2's Play Of The Week strand. Salvatore Samperi's Nenè (aka Sweet Adolescents) - starring Leonora Fani, Tino Schirinzi, Paola Senatore, Sven Valsecchi and Vittoria Valsecchi - premiered. Scotland beat Czechoslovakia three-one in a World Cup Qualifier at Hampden Park. Joe Jordan, Asa Hartford and Kenny Dalglish scored.
The first episode of Alan Plater's For The Love Of Albert broadcast on BBC2. Alan Silliote's Pit Strike broadcast as part of BBC2's Premiere strand.
The Rolling Stones' Love You Live, The Stranglers' No More Heroes, The Clash's 'Complete Control'/'City OfThe Dead', Slaughter & The Dogs' 'Where Have All The Boot Boys Gone?'/'You're A Bore', David Bowie's 'Heroes'/'V-2 Schneider', Mud's 'Beating Round The Bush'/'Under The Moon Of Love' and Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers' 'Egyptian Reggae'/'Roller Coaster By The Sea' released. Only Olivia and the Horizon special Darwin's Dream broadcast on BBC2.
Liverpool's one-nil victory over erby County saw the club debut of Alan Hansen - the first of six hundred and twenty games for The Reds in a career that lasted until 1990.
The first episode of Anna Karenina broadcast on BBC2. The first episode of The Cost Of Loving broadcast on LWT.
The Barry Humphreys Show broadcast on BBC2. XTC appeared in session on The John Peel Show. Freddie Laker launched his budget Skytrain airline, with the first single fare from Gatwick to New York City costing fifty nine quid compared to the normal British Airways price of one hundred and eighty six knicker. UEFA reinstated Manchester United to the Cup Winners' Cup on appeal. However, they were ordered to play their return leg against AS Saint-Etienne at least one hundred and twenty miles from Old Trafford (they ended up playing the game at Plymouth's Home Park). To clarify the legal implications (including the proposed bans), Kerry Packer backed a challenge to the TCCB in the High Court by three of his players: Tony Greig, Mike Procter and John Snow. Bob Alexander QC (later a chairman of MCC), for the defence, accused the TCCB and the ICC of 'a naked restraint of trade.' The first episode of The Upchat Line and the World In Action episode The Man Who Talks To Terrorists broadcast on Thames.
The first episode of Summer Of 77 broadcast on BBC2. Pete Townshend and Ronnie Lane were interviewed on BBC2's The Old Grey Whistle Test to promote their recently released LP Rough Mix. The Slits first John Peel Show session broadcast (the only studio recordings featuring the line-up of Palmolive Romero, Tessa Pollitt, Viv Albertine and Ari Up).

Following his defeat in the world welterweight title fight against Carlos Paomino in June, Dave Boy Green beat Andy 'The Hawk' Price on points covered on Sportsnight. Exiles broadcast as part of BBC2's Play Of The Week strand. The first episode of Top Crown broadcast on BBC2. The Porsche 928 was publicly unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show. The final episode of Marc broadcast on Thames, two weeks after the death of its star, Marc Bolan. The episode ended with Bolan jamming with his friend David Bowie on a song called 'Sleeping Next To You'. The episode also featured performances by Generation X and Eddie & The Hoit Rods.
Richard O'Brien's A Hymn For Jim broadcast as part of BBC2's Premiere strand. Richard Hell & The Voidoids' Blank Generation released.
Muhammad Ali beat Earnie Shavers to retain his world heavyweight title. Johnny Mathis broadcast on BBC2. Watership Down author Richard Adams was profiled on The Book Programme. Iggy Pop's 'Success'/'The Passenger', Ian Dury's New Boots & Panties!!, The Damned's 'Problem Child'/'You Take My Money', Sparks' 'A Big Surprise'/'Forever Young', Carpenters' 'Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft (The Recognized Anthem Of World Contact Day)'/'Can't Smile Without You', Status Quo's 'Rockin' All Over The World'/'Ring Of A Change', Yachts' 'Suffice To Say'/'Freedom (Is A Heady Wine)', Gonzalez's 'I Haven't Stopped Dancin' Yet'/'Carnival', The Snivelling Shits' 'Terminal Stupid'/'I Can't Come!' and X-Ray Spex's 'Oh Bondage, Up Yours!'/'I Am A Cliché' released.
The first appearance of K9 in Doctor Who. Camel appeared on Sight & Sound In Concert. Network featured a profile on Irish comedian Frank Carson, The Way He Tells 'Em. Ian Trethowan succeeded Charles Curran as Director-General of the BBC.
The first episodes of Parosi and Kontakte broadcast. The first episode of Money Box broadcast on Radio 4. Niki Lauda's fourth place at the US Grand Prix at Watkins Glen was enough for him to win his second championship. After the race, Lauda decided not to compete in the final two races of the season because of the declining relationship between him and his team, Ferrari. Fred Zinnerman's Julia premiered. The World In Action episode The Life & Death Of Steve Biko broadcast.
The first episode of Marti Caine broadcast on BBC2. Spike Milligan appeared in My Name Is Legion part of BBC2's Open Door strand. ELO's Out Of The Blue released. Undertakers went on strike in London, leaving more than eight hundred corpses unburied.
The first episode of How Do You Do! broadcast Christopher Hamilton's Able's Will broadcast as part of BBC2's Play Of The Week strand. The first episode of The Norman Conquests broadcast on Thames.
Brian Clark's There's No Place broadcast in BBC2's Premiere strand.
XTC's debut 'Science Friction'/'She's So Square', Eater's 'Lock It Up'/'Jeepster', Crystal Gayle's 'Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue'/'All I Wanna Do In Life', Lenny Williams' 'Shoo Doo Fu Fu Ooh!'/'Problem Solver', Rod Stewart's 'You're In My Heart'/'You Really Got A Nerve', Boney M's 'Belfast'/'Plantation Boy' and The Tom Roinbson Band's '2-4-6-8 Motorway'/'I Shall Be Released' released. The Soviet Union adopted its third Constitution after a prolonged campaign by Brezhnev supporters to have it passed before the Supreme Soviet dissolved for the end of the current parliamentary session. Pelé played his final professional football game as a member of the New York Cosmos.
Norman J Warren's Prey - starring Barry Stokes, Glory Annen and Sally Faulkner - premiered.
The Best Of ABBA broadcast. Ron Pickering's Cuba, Sport & Revolution broadcast as part of BBC2's The World About Us strand.
The first episode of The Magic Show broadcast on BBC2. Doctor Feelgood appeared in session on The John Peel Show. Jean Jordan was found dead in Chorlton, Manchester (by dairy worker and future actor Bruce Jones), nine days after she was last seen. Police believed that The Yorkshire Ripper had killed her, the first crime outside Yorkshire which the killer had been suspected of. A five pound note found in the victim's handbag which had, apparently, been given to her by her killer led the police to narrow their field of inquiry to eight thousand employees who could have received the note in their wage packet. Over three months the police interviewed around five thousand men, including Peter Sutcliffe. The World In Action episode No Compromise broadcast.
The first episodes of Safe & Sound and Bellmany's Europe broadcast. Stanley Clarke and Sad Cafe appeared on The Old Grey Whistle Test. Wreckless Eric appeared in session on The John Peel Show.
The first episode of Peter Alliss's Play Golf broadcast on BBC2. Scotland beat Wales two-nil at Anfield in controversial circumstances to qualify for their second successive World Cup Finals. The first goal, a penalty converted by Don Masson eleven minutes from time, was awarded by the French referee, Robert Wurst, for handball against Welsh centre-half Dave Jones. Most Welshmen (and plenty of other people for that matter) still claim to this day that the offence was actually committed by Joe Jordan. Kenny Dalglish (winning his fiftieth cap) added a second three minutes from time. England beat Luxembourg two-nil at the Stade Municipal in their World Cup Qualifier. In a depressingly poor performance, Ray Kennedy and Paul Marinr scored for the visitors. Ipswich Town's Trevor Whymark made his international debut. Ultimately, it was England's inability to score more goals which cost them a place in the Finals. Northern Ireland also failed tol qualify after they lost one-nil to The Netherlands at Windsor Park. Substitute Willy Van Der Kerkoff scored the winning goal mere moments after he had replaced an injured Johan Cruyff. George Best made this thirty seventh and final appearance for the Irish national side. He is widely regarded as a the finest football never to play at a World Cup Finals tournament. The first episode of Midnight is A Place broadcast on Thames.
Pauline Macaulay's adaptation of The Obelisk broadcast as part of BBC2's Premiere strand.
An Evening With Glen Campbell broadcast on BBC2. David Bowie's "Heroes"/'V-2 Schneider', Elvis Costello's 'Watching The Detectives'/'Blame It On Cain', 'Mystery Dance', Electric Light Orchestra's 'Turn To Stone'/'Mister Kingdom', ABBA's 'The Name Of The Game'/'I Wonder (Departure)', The RAH Band's 'Jiggery Pokery'/'Porridge', Bee Gees' 'How Deep Is Your Love?'/'Can't Keep A Good Man Down', Queen's turgid 'We Are The Champions'/'We Will Rock You', Slade's 'My Baby Left Me'-'That's All Right'/'OHMS' and The Sex Pistols' 'Holidays In The Sun''Satellite' released. Outspoken opponent of gay rights, the former singer Anita Bryant was extremely 'pied' by four gay rights activists during a press conference in Des Moines, Iowa. Bing Crosby died after finishing eighteen holes at La Moraleja Golf Course in Spain. Sidney Lumet's Equus- starring Richard Burton, Peter Firth, Jenny Agutter, Joan Plowright and Colin Blakely - premiered.
Bottom-of-the-table Newcastle United lost their tenth consecutive First Division match three-two at Old Trafford, a club record.
The Week Of The Badger and the first episode of John Lucarotti's adaptation of Treasure Island broadcast.
The first episode of Des O'Connor Tonight broadcast on BBC2. Members of Grenzschutzgruppe Nine, the elite Police Tactical Unit of the German Federal Police, stormed a hijacked Lufthansa passenger plane in Mogadishu, Somalia. The operation lasted just seven minutes and was successful with all of the hostages rescued. Three hijackers died, the fourth was seriously injured. Sex worker Yolanda Washington's naked corpse was found on a Los Angeles hillside near the Ventura Freeway - the first known victim the serial killers Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono Jnr, whose crimes were dubbed by the media as the work of 'The Hillside Strangler.' The World In Action episode The Miami Experiment broadcast.
Leo Sayers Sings broadcast. Stephen Poliakoff's Stronger Than The Sun broadcast as part of the Play For Today strand. John Otway and Wild Willie Barrett appeared on The Old Grey Whistle Test. The Killjoys - with Kevin Rowland on vocals - appeared in session on The John Peel Show. Red Army Faction terrorists Andreas Baader, Jan-Carl Raspe and Gudrun Ensslin committed suicide in Stammheim prison; Irmgard Möller failed in a similar attempt (supporters of the Baader-Meinhof Group still claim that they were, actually, murdered by The State). The first UK broadcast of The Sullivans on Thames. Alain Payet's Helga, La Louve De Stilberg - starring Malisa Longo - premiered.
The body of kidnapped West German businessman Hanns-Martin Schleyer was found in the boot of a car in the French town of Mulhouse, murdered by members of the Red Army Faction. The first episode of Gharbar broadcast on BBC2. Don Shaw's True Patriot broadcast as part of BBC2's Play Of The Week strand. Richard Brooks's Looking For Mister Goodbar premiered.
A plane carrying the American rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd crashed in a forest in Mississippi, killing songwriter and vocalist Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, backing singer Cassie Gaines and assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick and seriously injuring many of the remaining band members. Alan Bennett's A Little Outing broadcast as part of BBC2's Premiere strand.

The first episode of Kilvert's Diary broadcast on BBC2. The Jam's 'The Modern World'/'Sweet Soul Music', 'Back In My Arms Again', 'Bricks & Mortar (Part)', Nick Lowe's 'Halfway To Paradise'/'I Don't Want The Night To End', The Rubettes' 'Come On Over'/'Let Him Bleed', Heart's 'Little Queen'/'Treat Me Well', The Rubettes' 'Come On Over'/'Let Him Bleed', Roy Ayers Ubiquity's 'Running Away'/'Cincinnati Growl', Showaddywaddy's 'Dancin' Party'/'One Of These Days', Kenny Everett & Mike Vickers' 'Captain Kremmen'/'Retribution', Lou Rawls' 'See You When I Git There'/'Spring Again', Space's 'Tango In Space'/'Carry On, Turn Me On' and Sparks' Introducing Sparks released.
Tottenham Hotspurs' challenge for an immediate return to the First Division was boosted by a nine-nil win over Bristol Rovers on Match Of The Day. Debutant striker Colin Lee scored four goals and Ian Moores, a hat-trick.
The first UK TV showing of Melody (under the alternate title S.W.A.L.K.) At the Japanese Grand Prix Mario Andretti and James Hunt continued their late-season battle, with Hunt ultimately winning the race. A collision between Gilles Villeneuve and Ronnie Peterson saw Villeneuve's Ferrari somersault into the crowd, killing two spectators.
The World In Action episode The Surgery Is Now Closed broadcast.
The first UK broadcast of The Oregon Trail. Robin Chapman's Come The Revolution broadcast as part of the Play For Today strand. The Runaways appeared on The Old Grey Whistle Test. The first episode of Hard Times broadcast on Thames.
The Day I Shot My Dad broadcast. David Mercer's Shooting The Chandelier broadcast as part of BBC2's Play Of The Week strand. The last natural smallpox case - to date - was discovered in Merca district of Somalia. The World Health Organisation and the Centre for Disease Control consider this date as the anniversary of the effective eradication of smallpox, the most spectacular success of vaccination and, by extension, of modern science. The Netherland qualified for the World Cup Finals in Argentina with a one-nil victory over Belgium in Amsterdam with a Rene Van Der Kerkoff goal. Johan Cruyff made his forty eighth and final appearance for the Dutch national side.
Top Of The Pops featured Legs & Co dancing to Ram Jam's 'Black Betty'. Provocatively. Alan Plater's Give Us A Kiss, Christabel broadcast as part of BBC2's Premiere strand. The Sex Pistols released Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols. Despite refusal by several major UK retailers to stock it, the LP debuted at number one. The Greater London Council ordered that the supply of canes to its schools should stop until it had investigated allegations that they were being supplied through a mail order sex-aids shop. The first episode of Odd Man Out broadcast on Thames.
The first episode of Jack Jones broadcast on BBC2. Neil Young's Decade, The Adverts' 'Safety In Numbers'/'We Who Wait' and The Dooleys' 'Love Of My Life'/'Only You Can Get Me By' released. Former Liberal leader Jeremy Thorpe denied allegations of the attempted murder and of having a relationship with the male model, Norman Scott. The Clash played Newcastle Polytechnic. Hotelier Louis Slatcher, of the Avon & Northumberland Hotel in Jesmond (where, interestingly, The Clash were not staying and, indeed, had never stayed) was reported in the local press to have started a 'No Bunks For Punks' campaign. He described The Clash as 'the ones to avoid the most.' According to the Sunday Sun, 'Police were called in even before the concert began as hundreds of drunken youngsters, many in their early teens, tried to barge their way in without valid tickets.' The scallywags. All of this prompted a local Tory Councillor, Bob Lane, to call for the return of the birch. For those who were into that sort of thing. The Adverts' 'Safety In Numbers'/'We Who Wait' released.
The first appearance of The Fendahl in Doctor Who. The Sensational Alex Harvey Band appeared on Sight & Sound In Concert.
You Never Can Tell broadcast as part of the Play Of The Month strand.
Tonight featured Pete Townshend being interviewed by a frighteningly young and earnest Jeremy Paxman. The World In Action episode Eastern Promise broadcast.
Mike Leigh's Abigal's Party broadcast as part of the Play For Today strand. Meanwhile Scum, another Play for Today, was pulled from transmission due to controversy over its depiction of brutal life in a Young Offenders' Institution. Two years later, the director Alan Clarke made an acclaimed film version with many of the same cast. The original BBC play itself was eventually transmitted on Channel Four in 1991. The Goodies episode Alternative Roots broadcast. The Sex Pistols' proposed movie, Who Killed Bambi?, having already had a million dollars spent on it, collapsed when financial backers pulled out and the director Russ Meyer returned to Los Angeles. The sets at Bray Studios were taken down and the world wondered, to this day, what the scripted sex-scene between John Lydon and Marianne Faithfull would have looked like. Police were called to Alta Terrace Drive in La Crescenta, a neighborhood twelve miles North of Los Angeles, where the body of fifteen year old Judith Lynn Miller was found, naked, on a parkway in a middle-class residential area, the second 'Hillside Strangler'victim. A coroner's report detailed that she had been raped and sodomised. Miller was last seen alive on 31 October 1977, talking to a man driving a large two-tone sedan on Sunset Boulevard. Oldřich Lipský's Ať žijí Duchové! (Long Live Ghosts!) - starring Dana Vávrová, Jiří Sovák, Vlastimil Brodský and Lubomír Lipský - premiered.
The first episode of King Cinder broadcast. Arnold Wesker's The Kitchen broadcast as part of BBC2's Play Of The Week strand.
The Chronicle episode Pathways To The Gods about the Peruvian Nasca Lines broadcast. The Omnibus episode Pure Radio broadcast. Don Chaffey and Don Bluth's Pete's Dragon - starring Sean Marshall, Helen Reddy, Jim Dale, Mickey Rooney, Red Buttons, Shelley Winters and Jane Kean - premiered.
The Ramones' Rocket To Russia, Blondie's 'Rip Her To Shreds'/'In The Flesh', 'X Offender', Jim Milne & Tractor's 'No More Rock 'N' Roll'/'Northern City', Some Chicken's 'New Religion'/'Blood On The Wall', John Cooper Clarke's 'Suspended Sentence', 'Innocents'/'Psycle Sluts Parts 1 & 2', Ayshea's 'Golden Oldie'/'Keep Me From Blowing Away', Sophisticated Ladies' 'Check It Out (Part 1)'/'Good Man', Larry Wallis' 'Police Car'/'On Parole', Bill Withers' 'Lovely Day'/'It Ain't Because Of Me Baby', Scott Fitzgerald & Yvonne Keeley's 'If I Had Words'/'This Time Of Year' and Buzzcocks' 'Orgasm Addict'/'Whatever Happened To?' released.
The first UK TV broadcast of The Amazing Howard Hughes. The manager of the Virgin Records store in Nottingham was arrested by plod for displaying a promo poster for Never Mind The Bollocks - Here's The Sex Pistols in the window, the police citing an 1898 Indecent Advertising Act.
The naked corpse of Elissa Teresa Kastin was discovered near the Chevy Chase Country Club, in Glendale. Like Judith Miller, she bore five-point (neck, wrists and ankles) ligature marks and of having been strangled and raped. Kastin was also a professional dancer for the all-female dance troupe The LA Knockers and, unlike the two previous victims on The Hillside Strangler, was not a sex worker, drug user or runaway. The murderers - Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono - followed Kastin after she was seen driving home from work, pulled her over on the street she lived on, presented a fake police badge and claimed to be detectives.
The first episode of Who Pays the Ferryman? broadcast on BBC2. The Rich Kids's debut session broadcast on The John Peel Show. The World In Action episode The Accident investigated a claim by Russian Scientist Doctor Zhores Medvedev, that the world's biggest nuclear accident occurred twenty years previous in the Southern Ural Mountains.
Mary O'Malley's Oy Vey, Maria broadcast as part of the Play For Today strand. The Tubes appeared on The Old Grey Whistle Test. The Goodies episode Dodonuts broadcast. Greek archaeologist Manolis Andronikos discovered the tomb of Philip II of Macedon at Vergina. San Francisco elected City Supervisor Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected official of a large city in the US.
Dummy and Spasms broadcast on Thames.
Oldham housewife Lesley Brown underwent a procedure, later to become known as IVF (in vitro fertilisation), developed by Patrick Steptoe and Robert Edwards. Edwards was awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize in Medicine for this work. Lesley's daughter, Louise, was born nine months later. Although the media widely referred to Louise as the world's first 'test tube baby,' her conception actually took place in a Petri Dish. Six days earlier, Horizon had devoted an episode - A Child Of Our Own - to the subject of developments in IVF, months ahead of the public announcement of Lesley Brown's successful pregnancy.
The first episode of The Other One - starring Richard Briers and Michael Gambon - broadcast. Target featured an early TV appearance by Pamela Stephenson. The Boomtown Rats' 'Mary Of The Fourth Form'/'Do The Rat', Supertramp's 'Babaji'/'From Now On', Doctor Feelgood's 'Baby Jane'/'Looking Back', Trash's 'Priorities'/'Look', John Otway & Wild Willy Barrett's 'Really Free'/'Beware Of The Flowers ('Cos I'm Sure They're Going To Get You Yeh!)', Mungo Jerry's 'We're OK'/'Let's Make It', Johnny & The Self Abusers' 'Saints & Sinners'/'Dead Vandals', Robin Tyner & The Hot Rods' 'Till The Night Is Gone (Let's Rock)'/'Flipside Rock', Townshend & Lane's 'Street In The City'/'Annie', Penetration's 'Don't Dictate'/'Money Talks', Radio Stars' 'Nervous Wreck'/'Horrible Breath', The Lurkers' 'Freak Show'/'Mass Media Believer' and Wings' 'Mull Of Kintyre'/'Girls' School' released. It would reach number one. And then stay there ... forever. The probable date on which the serial killers Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono approached twenty four-year-old Catharine Lorre Baker, the daughter of the actor Peter Lorre with the intent of abducting and killing her. However, when they found a picture of her sitting on her father's lap among her identification, they let her go without further incident, fearing the murder of a celebrity's child may attract an unusually high amount of police and press attention. Lorre Baker did not realise who the men were until they were subsequently arrested in January 1979.
Inside Story: The Oblov Defence broadcast on BBC2. The first UK TV showing of Andrei Tarkov's Solaris. The Leeds Revolutionary Feminist Group organised the first of a series of 'Reclaim The Night' protests in response to The Yorkshire Ripper attacks; they objected to implied 'victim blaming' by the police and the media in relation to several of The Ripper's attacks being carried out on sex workers.
The first episodes of The Chlidren Of The New Forest and Behind The Scenes and the last episode of Dad's Army broadcast. The government called in the army, in their Green Goddesses, to replace striking firemen although some fire fighters left their picket-lines to help tackle a blaze at St Andrew's Hospital in Bow. The Devolution For Scotland Bill passed with a forty four Commons majority. The inquest into Stephen Biko's death in South Africa heard allegations that he had attacked police during his interrogation. President Sadat announced he would become the first Egyptian leader to visit Israel and address the Knesset next week. West German airline Lufthansa was placed on a terror alert after threats of reprisals following the suicides of imprisoned members of the Red Army Faction. The income level for free school meals was raised. A report indicated polytechnics were seen as 'vulnerable to Marxist infiltration.' Mogadishu Radio announced Somalia had expelled over six thousand Russian 'advisors'. A power struggle in Ethiopia saw the execution of the vice-chairman of the country's military junta, Atnafu Abate. Lord Lucan's creditors were to receive some monies after the runaway peer was declared bankrupt. Stuntman Evel Knieval spent the weekend in jail after attacking the author Sheldon Saltman with a baseball bat. Two Los Angeles teenagers, twelve-year-old Dolores Ann Cepeda and fourteen-year-old Sonja Marie Johnson, boarded an RTD bus in front of The Eagle Rock Plaza on Colorado Boulevard and headed home. The last time they were seen alive was getting off the bus on York Boulevard and approaching a two-tone sedan which, reportedly, had two men inside. Their corpses were found by a nine-year-old boy on a rubbish heap on a hillside near Dodger Stadium on 20 November. The girls - the latest victims of Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono - had been strangled and raped.
David Taylor's extraordinary Panorama film F-Troop, Treatment & The Halfway Line broadcast. Travelling football supporters in the 1970s knew in advance that they could encounter trouble at many away grounds. At some venues, though, it was more likely than others: Elland Road, Upton Park and Stamford Bridge, in particular, had fearsome reputations. 'The spiritual home of hooliganism,' however, remained The Den, home of Second Division Millwall. The spectre of thuggery hung over the game. Such high-profile incidents as the fight between Derby County and Chelsea fans on the pitch at the Baseball Ground, luridly captured by Match Of The Day cameras in August 1973 had Jimmy Hill frothing about bringing back National Service and various MPs venting their spleen. Even mild-mannered Ipswich Town manager Bobby Robson was quoted as suggesting 'I'd take a flame-thrower to the lot of them!' Panorama spent a couple of weeks filming with a bunch of Millwall yobs (the bulk of the footage was shot around two matches, a draw with Sheffield United at The Den on 22 October and an away trip to Bristol Rovers on 5 November which ended in a two-nil defeat for The Lions). Perhaps viewers were expecting cartoon bovver boys like those Bill Oddie and Eric Idle had recently sent-up in episodes of The Goodies and Rutland Weekend Television. What they got, instead, was a dose of Clockwork Orange-style ultraviolence. 'Within Millwall's terrace army there are divisions,' noted Taylor. 'At the bottom of the hierarchy are the youngsters; they call themselves The Half-Way Line. When it comes to aggro, they imitate their elders. As they grow older, some graduate to Treatment; they're the ones in the surgical masks ... In the trench warfare of the terraces, it's F-Troop who are the real nutters. Self-confessed loonies like Harry The Dog, who go looking for fights. They are seldom disappointed.' Overnight men like Harry - in a jumper his auntie had knitted for him - Ginger Bob ('Tottenham will get battered when they come down here cos they've got too much mouth'), Peter the Wolf and Mad Pat ('I'm not goin' away for some Northern ponce to spit on me. I'll put a pint glass in his head') became household names. The documentary was supposed to end with a studio discussion with representatives from the club which would have added a necessary balance to the shock-tactics of the preceding forty minutes. But, this was cancelled at the last moment when the BBC's news coverage of the firemen's strike was extended. Dennis Howell, the Minister for Sport and a man never short of an opinion called the programme 'the most irresponsible seen for a very long time' whilst Millwall themselves said it was 'grossly exaggerated and insulting.' The BBC replied that the documentary 'added significantly to the average viewer's knowledge of a serious social problem. We do not believe it is possible to report on that problem without looking at its roots.' Certainly the BBC's argument about adding to the viewer's knowledge, as Norman Fox recognised in The Times, was supported in at least one important regard. Few people, even those who stood on the terraces near the hooligans, were aware of the sinister interest the National Front had in the yobs as potential recruits. Replying to FA comments suggesting the programme would 'encourage violence' the BBC said: 'The FA are entitled to their opinion, but the BBC doubts any encouragement was given and continues to believe it is right to draw attention to the problem of football violence and try to create a greater understanding of its underlying causes.' A week later, Sir Michael Swann the BBC chairman, wrote to Howell saying he believed the programme was perceptive and valuable: 'Of course the topic was guaranteed to annoy various interested parties of whom, dare I say it, you are one.' The documentary became such a cause célèbre that even NME referenced it in Monty Smith's review of Racing Cars' debut LP: 'Television [is] currently obsessed with unpalatably dodgy plays and bleeding-heart profiles of adolescent dementoids like Harry The Dog of Millwall.' To lay one urban myth to rest, music journalist, broadcaster and Millwall fan Danny Baker was never a member of F-Troop. For a start, he could string a sentence together and was, therefore, vastly overqualified. The Turning Point premiered. The World In Action episode The Disputed Land broadcast.

Barrie Keefee's Nipper broadcast as part of the Play For Today strand. The Queen became a grandmother for the first time when Princess Anne gave birth to a son. The first SavaCentre hypermarket, a venture between J Sainsbury and British Home Stores, opened in Washington. The Clash played a gig at The Elizabethan Ballroom, Belle Vue in Manchester, which was filmed by Granada TV. Extracts from the show - 'Capital Radio', 'Janie Jones', 'What's My Name?' and 'Garageland' - were subsequently screened on episodes of So It Goes during November and December. They remain some of the most memorable images of The Clash live, performing at one thousand-miles-per-hour in a snowstorm of hockle.
Arnham: The Story Of An Escape broadcast as part of BBC2's Play Of The Week strand. The soundtrack LP for Saturday Night Fever released. Close Encountered of The Third Kind premiered. England beat Italy two-nil at Wembley Stadium in their final World Cup Qualifyer, but still failed to qualify for the next summer's final tournament, because they didn't score enough goals against Luxembourg in an earlier match. It was England's best performance in years with goals from Kevin Keegan and Trevor Brooking. Three players made their England debuts, Manchester United's Steve Coppell, Manchester City's Peter Barnes and Everton's Bob Latchford.
Bill McGarry was appointed as Newcastle United's new manager and shook the club up by immediately announcing that several of the players who had threatened strike action to secure the appointment of previous manager Richard Dinnis earlier in the year - in particular Alan Gowling, Tommy Craig and team captain Geoff Nulty - were transfer-listed with immediate effect and would not play for the club again. The Jam's 'difficult second album', This is The Modern World, Generation X's 'Wild Youth'/'Wild Dub', Gordon Giltrap's 'Heartsong'/'The Deserter', Geraldine's 'Wonderful'/'Party Time', Manfred Mann's Earth Band's 'California'/'Chicago' and Hot Chocolate's 'Put Your Love In Me'/'Let Them Be The Judge' released. Herbert Ross's The Turning Point - starring Anne Bancroft and Shirley MacLaine - premiered. Miranda Caroline Raison born in Burnham Thorpe.
Egyptian President Anwar Sadat became the first Arab leader to make an official visit to Israel, when he met with Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, seeking a permanent peace accord.
Hikers found the naked body of twenty-year-old Kristina Weckler, a student at the Art Centre College of Design in Los Angeles, on a hillside between Glendale and Eagle Rock. When found, ligature marks were on her wrists, ankles and neck and blood oozed from her rectum. It was later revealed that Weckler had been injected with Windex, a hard-surface cleaner by her murderers, Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono.
The first episode of Graham's Gang broadcast. Keith Moon took Melody Maker journalist Chris Welch on 'a punk rock pub crawl.' Accompanying them were Keith Altham, Bill Curbishley, Richard Dorse and Billy Idol and Tony James of Generation X. They drove the short distance from The Marquee to The Vortex Club on Wardour Street in Keith's pink Rolls Royce. Spying the queue of punters waiting to get in, Keith berated them. 'Call yourselves anarchists? I've never queued in my life!' He promptly marched past the bouncers to cheers and applause from the punks. The World In Action episode Got It Taped broadcast.
Dennis Cannan's One Day At A Time broadcast as part of the Play For Today strand. The Goodies episode Scoutrageous broadcast. British Airways inaugurated a regular London to New York City supersonic Concorde service.
The badly decomposed body of twenty eight-year-old Evelyn Jane King, an aspiring actress who had gone missing on 9 November, was discarded in bushes near the Los Feliz off-ramp of the Golden State Freeway in Los Angeles. The severity of decomposition prevented determination as to whether she had been raped or tortured but she had been strangled like several other recently discovered victims of Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono. In response, authorities created a task force - initially composed of thirty officers from the LAPD, the Sheriff's Department and the Glendale Police Department - to catch the predator now dubbed The Hillside Strangler. John Bud Cardos' Kingdom Of The Spiders - starring William Shatner, Tiffany Bolling, Woody Strode, Altovise Davis and Lieux Dressler - premiered.
Christopher Seale, manager of Virgin's Nottingham shop appeared in court. Defending council, John Mortimer, called a Professor of English to explain the history and usage of the word 'bollocks'. The case was subsequently dismissed and the cover of Never Mind The Bollocks ruled to be 'decent'. Which was funny.
Ten Years Of Rolling Stone, a television special commemorating the magazine, was broadcast in the US on CBS. Guests at the event included Bette Midler, Art Garfunkel, Billy Preston, Melissa Manchester and Keith Moon. Mister Justice Slade ruled that any ban on Kerry Packer-contracted players by the ICC or the TCCB would be a gross restraint of trade. Slade said that professional cricketers needed to make a living and the ICC should not stand in their way just because 'its own interests might be damaged.' He added the ICC 'might have stretched the concept of loyalty too far.' The decision was a blow to the cricket authorities and, adding insult to injury, they had to pay court costs. The Killjoys' 'Johnny Won't Get To Heaven'/'Naive', The Pleasers' '(You Keep On Tellin' Me) Lies'/'I'm In Love', 'Who Are You?' and Slaughter & The Dogs' 'Dame To Blame'/'Johnny T' released.
Just after 5.10pm in the Southern Television ITV region, a hoaxer hijacked the sound of Independent Television News from the IBA transmitter at Hannington and broadcast a message claiming to be a representative of 'The Ashtar Galactic Command.' Thousands of viewers rang STV, ITN or the police for an explanation; the identity of the intruder has never been confirmed. The Motors' 'Be What You Gotta Be'/'You Beat The Hell Outta Me' and The Yobs' 'Run Rudolph Run'/'The Worm Song' released.
Ian Dury's 'Sweet Gene Vincent'/'You're More Than Fair' released.
The World In Action episode In The Name Of The Law investigated the death of Liddle Towers in the custody of Northumbria Police Force.
The Mayor's Charity broadcast as part of the Play For Today strand. The Goodies episode Punky Business broadcast. Police discovered the body of eighteen-year-old Lauren Rae Wagner, a business student from the San Fernando Valley, in the hills around Los Angeles's Mount Washington. She had ligature marks on her neck, ankles and wrists. There were also burn marks on her hands indicating that she was tortured. Lauren's parents had expected her to come home before midnight and the next morning when they found her car parked across the street with the door ajar, her father questioned the neighbors. He found that the woman who lived in the house where Lauren's car had been parked had witnessed her abduction. This woman stated that she saw two men. She also stated that she heard Wagner cry out, 'You won't get away with this!'
Bing Crosby's final Christmas special, Bing Crosby's Merrie Olde Christmas, was broadcast in America. It contained the infamous segment of Crosby and David Bowie duetting 'Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy'. It was broadcast in Britain on Christmas Eve on ITV. The first episode of Eustace & Hilda: The Shrimp & The Anemone broadcast on BBC2. Herbert Ross's The Goodbye Girl premiered. Jerks' 'Get Your Woofing Dog Off Me'/'Hold My Hand' released.
The Lol Cotteral Plays For Liverpool episode of The Big Time broadcast. Talking Heads' 'Psycho Killer' released. Lockheed's top-secret stealth aircraft project, designated Have Blue and precursor to the US Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk, made its first flight.

The first so-called Super Test (WSC Australia versus WSC West Indies) began in Melbourne. Fewer than three thousand punters attended. Security police in South Africa were exonerated of any blame in the death of Stephen Biko. The verdict was - rightly - treated with scepticism by much of the international media. Bob Marley & The Wailers' 'Jamming'/'Punky Reggae Party', Schoolgirl Bitch's 'Abusing The Rules'/'Think For Yourself', The Rezillos' '(My Baby Does) Good Sculptures'/'Flying Saucer Attack', Mick Farren & The Deviants' Screwed Up EP ('Outrageous/Contageous', 'Let's Loot The Supermarket Again Like We Did Last Summer'/'Screwed Up', 'Shock Horror Probe Looming') and The Damned's 'One Way Love'/'Don't Cry Wolf' released.
Italy's three-nil win against Luxembourg eliminated England from the 1978 World Cup.
Waste broadcast as part of the Play Of The Month strand. The first UK broadcast of Benoni & Rosa.
Stewart Parker's Catchpenny Twist broadcast as part of the Play For Today strand. Siouxsie & The Banshees' first John Peel Show session broadcast. President Anwar al-Sadat of Egypt broke all relations with Syria, Libya, Algeria and South Yemen. The move was in retaliation to the four nations and the Palestinian Liberation Organisation signing the Declaration of Tripoli.
Gerry Anderson's Into Infinity broadcast. The Goodies episode Royal Command broadcast (it had originally been scheduled for 15 November but was cancelled due to Princess Anne giving birth). Sham 69's first John Peel Show session broadcast. Andrew Flintoff born in Preston.
The first episode of The Getaways broadcast on BBC2. The Monty Python Instant Record Collection released.
The first episode of Plum's Plots & Plans broadcast. On Friday North, Mike Neville met The Smith Brothers who recalled memories of their show-business career. The first UK broadcast of Dynomutt, Wonder Dog on Thames. Ramones' 'Rockaway Beach'/'Teenage Lobotomy', 'Beat On The Brat' released.
Doctor Feelgood and Ian Dury & The Blockheads appeared on Sight & Sound In Concert. The first UK broadcast of Ein Tag. Nevill Francis Mott won the Nobel Prize in Physics jointly with Philip Warren Anderson and John Hasbrouck Van Vleck 'for their fundamental theoretical investigations of the electronic structure of magnetic and disordered systems.' Alternative TV's 'How Much Longer'/'You Bastard' and Long Tall Ernie & The Shakers' 'Do You Remember?'/'Cocktails At Midnight' released.
Once Upon A Time Is Now: Grace Kelly broadcast.
The first episode of Driver of The Year broadcast. The first episode of Beryl Reid broadcast on BBC2. Ian Dury & The Blockheads and The Adverts' first John Peel Show sessions broadcast. ABBA: The Album released.
Charades broadcast as part of the Play For Today strand. The first episode of Come Back Mrs Noah - though, tragically, not the last - and Ken Dodd's Christmas Laughter Show broadcast. Peter Weir's The Last Wave - starring Richard Chamberlain, Olivia Hamnett and David Gulpilil - premiered.
England's Thief broadcast. Patrick Moore interviewed SF author Arthur C Clarke on The Sky At Night. Saturday Night Fever premiered, igniting a sudden popularity for disco music. Marilyn Moore was attacked by The Yorkshire Ripper in Leeds but survived. Due to the severity of her injuries police - wrongly - believed that her description of her attacker might not be reliable. The body of seventeen-year-old sex worker Kimberly Diane Martin, which was naked and showed signs of torture, was found on a deserted lot near Los Angeles City Hall. Martin had previously joined a call girl agency because she feared exposing herself on the streets with The Hillside Strangler on the loose.
The Who played their first live gig in over a year at The Gaumont in Kilburn for Jeff Stein's movie The Kids Are Alright. However, the show was a disappointment with Keith Moon's performance being particularly lacklustre.
The 1977 Comedy Footlights Review broadcast on BBC2 featuring the likes of Griff Rhys Jones, Rory McGrath, Jimmy Mulville and Robert Bathurst. The Queen formally unveiled the Piccadilly Line extension, the underground link from Central London to Heathrow's terminals. Rod Hull & Emu's 'I'd Do Anything'/'Bristol Rovers All The Way', Eddie & The Hot Rods' 'Quit This Town'/'Distortion May Be Expected (laughbagindub)', Kiss' 'Rocket Ride'/'Love Gun' and Althea & Donna's 'Uptown Top Ranking'/'Calico Suit' released. An' ting. Don Siegel's Telefon - starring Charles Bronson, Lee Remick and Donald Pleasence - premiered. The first UK TV showing of Quest For Love on LWT.
Dennis Potter was featured on Radio 4's Desert Island Discs. Elvis Costello made his American television début on Saturday Night Live, but was banned from appearing again after substituting the scheduled performance of 'Less Than Zero' with 'Radio, Radio'. Nottingham Forest beat Manchester United four-nil at Old Trafford.
The Lively Arts featured a profile of the author Len Deighton.
One Pair Of Hands broadcast on BBC2. The first of a three test series between Pakistan and England at Lahore was drawn. Harood Rasheed scored a century for the hosts whilst Geoff Miller made an undefeated ninety eight. Geoff Cope and Brian Rose made their test debuts.
The Thin End Of The Wedge broadcast as part of the Play For Today strand. BBC2's The Camera & The Song featured the rottenly unfunny Victoria Wood. Black Christmas broadcast.
Great Big Groovy House and the first episode of Max Boyce broadcast. Four children died at a house fire in the West Midlands, as Green Goddess fire appliances crewed by troops were sent to deal with the blaze whilst firefighters were still on strike.
Here We Come A-Wassailing broadcast. Gerald Savory's adaptation of Dracula starring Louis Jourdan and The Goodies episode Earthanasia broadcast on BBC2.
The King Of Argos broadcast. Perry Como's Olde Englishe Christmas broadcast on BBC2. Dale J Martin and Jean Rollin's Phantasmes - starring Evelyne Thomas, Rachel Mhas, Catherine Castel, Marie-Pierre Castel, Monica Swinn and Corinne Lemoine - premiered. Robert Calvert and Dave Brock of Hawkwind played a gig at Barnstable's Queens Hall backed by mambers of the local band Ark under the name Sonic Assassins. It their only performance as such but would, susbseqeently, lead to the Hawklords project the following year. Four live recording from the gigl (including Calvert's extraordinary improvised peice 'Over The Tp' would be released on an EP, Sonic Assassins, in 1981.
Swap Of The Pops, Soviet Gymnastics Spectacular, Superpets and Andre Previn's Christmas Music Night broadcast. The Kinks appeared live in concert at The Rainbow Theatre on The Old Grey Whistle Test (simultcast on Radio 1). Thrice Welcome Christmas, The Snow Queen and Elaine Morgan's adaptation of A Christmas Carol broadcast on BBC2.
Both The Mike Yarwood Christmas Show (featuring an appearance by Paul McCartney & Wings) and The Morecambe & Wise Christmas Show attracted an audience of more than twenty eight million punters, amongst the highest ever in UK TV history. Basil Through The Looking Glass broadcast. Charlie Chaplin died aged eighty six. The Sex Pistols played an afternoon Christmas Party at Huddersfield's Ivanhoes Club for children of local firemen, laid-off workers and single-parents. Quiz Kid broadcast on Radio 1. Mel Brooks' High Anxiety premiered.
David Soul & Friends, Holiday On Ice, It's A Christmas Knockout and Parkinson & The Comedians broadcast. Orion - an SF 'rock musical' by Ken Howard, Alan Blaikley and Melvyn Bragg - broadcast on BBC2. Dennis Potter's A Christmas Forest broadcast on Radio 4. Ian Merrick's The Black Panther - starring Donald Sumpter, Debbie Farrington and Marjorie Yates - premiered. Because nothing says Christmas like 'the chilling story of a psycho.' The film - a depiction of thecrimes of Donald Neilson - was highly controversial on its release and was slated as deeply exploitative and 'sick by various media figures such as Sue Lawley on an episode of Tonight. Subsequently, it was effectively banned from viewing in Great Britain. Harry Chapin - Verities & Balderdash broadcast on Radio 1.
The Little & Largest Show On Earth broadcast. The Three Hostages - with Barry Foster as Richard Hanney - broadcast. Orpheus In The Underground and Rachel & The Beelzebub Bombardier broadcast on BBC2. Star Wars, which had already been a massive hit in America since the summer, opened in British cinemas.
Golden Great Hits Of The Monkees, Out of This World, The All-Star Record Breakers, Christmas With The Osmonds and the first episode of Washington Behind Closed Doors broadcast. Clive Exton's Stigma broadcast as part of the Ghost Story For Christmas strand. Willy Russell's Our Day Out broadcast in BBC2's Play Of The Week strand. Henri Sala's La Cage Aux Partouzes (aka Lustschloß Am Venusberg) - starring Siegried Cellier, Véronique Maugarski, Carole Gire and Emmanuelle Rivière - premiered.
Richard Harris's adaptation of The Prince & The Pauper broadcast. Something In The Wind broadcast on BBC2. The Sex Pistols had their application for entry visas for the US refused due to all of the members having previous criminal records. Once satisfactory explanations for the convictions were received from Malcolm McLaren - that they were 'nice lads, really' - the visas were issued.
Chris Boger's Cruel Passion - starring Koo Stark - premiered. Rose Royce's 'Wishing On A Star'/'Funk Factory' released. At Glenwood Springs jail, Ted Bundy piled books on his bed, covered them with a blanket to simulate his sleeping body and then climbed into a crawl space he had created in the roof of his cell. He broke through the ceiling into the apartment of the chief jailer - who was out for the evening with his wife - changed into some street clothes and casually walked out the prison's front door. After stealing a car, Bundy drove East but the car soon broke down in the mountains on Interstate Seventy. A passing motorist gave him a lift to the town of Vail. From there, Bundy caught a bus to Denver, where he boarded a flight. The jail's staff did not discover his escape until noon on the following day, by which time Bundy was already in Chicago. The first episode of The Professionals - Old Dog With New Tricks - and Mind Your Language broadcast on LWT (the latter in the - alleged - Comedy Hour strand). Lucy Punch born in Hammersmith.
The UK broadcast of the animated New Adventures Of Batman broadcast. Bruce Forsyth announced that he was stepping down as presenter of The Generation Game after six years. Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest ended the year with a five-point lead over Everton at the top of the First Division. Radio 1 - The First Ten Years broadcast.