SB & Q: On the Radio & On TV

Back in the seventies, radio stations in the UK had an obligation to limit the number of records played in any one hour. This was known as "needle time", after the old-fashioned term for a record player stylus, or needle. It was imposed by the Musicians' Union as a way of ensuring income for their members. Initially, this was not meant to line the pockets of rock musicians, but to guarantee funding for the various orchestras that had traditionally provided music for radio & TV in the forties and fifties.

While some radio stations handled this by having a certain proportion of talk-only programmes, BBC Radio 1 needed to create an image of being a 24-hour pop music station. Their solution was to bring singers and bands into their studios to record tracks - usually exactly like the versions on their records - and then play them as "live sessions", thus managing to comply with needle time. Usually, these sessions were specific to one particular DJ's show and would be repeated once after original transmission.

The BBC does still have many of these recordings. There have been many other artists who have had CDs released that contain material recorded in this manner.  6 Music, the BBC's digital station, played a session version of Dream Kid twice in its first couple of months of broadcasting. Perhaps there is a possibility that if enough people write to the BBC, they may decide to release a CD of "SB&Q at the Beeb". One thing they certainly have is a recording of one of the live concerts, because it was transmitted on Radio 2 a few of years ago. Now that really would make a great CD! Many of the following details have been provided by Tim Joseph, who has proved an absolute mine of information about the band.

At The Beeb:

Items in red are believed to be still held by the BBC archive.

Television Appearances:

The Sutherland Brothers & Quiver appeared on The Basil Brush Show on 13 November, 1976, where they performed Secrets. 

The band appeared on The Old Grey Whistle Test on 4 October, 1977, presented by Bob Harris, where they performed Ice in the Fire and Every Tear I Cry. Also appearing were Joan Armatrading and Harry Chapin.

They also appeared on Top of the Pops on 7 June, 1979, presented by Jimmy Saville, where they performed Easy Come, Easy Go.  Others appearing that night were The Tourists (prior to their evolution into the Eurythmics), The Skids, E.L.O., Elvis Costello, Linda Lewis, Roxy Music, Sister Sledge, Blondie, Nick Lowe & Eddie Grant.

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