Welcome, welcome, one and all to this year’s TV Cream Christmas initiative as we present the complete guide to the Cream-era covers of some of Britain’s brightest publications! Today, it’s out today!
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- 1967 – Bevelled logo
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- 1968 – Monobrowed Scary Clown Number
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- 1969 – Big-head-on-little-body cameo
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- 1970 – We dread to think
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- 1971 – Perfection
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- 1972 – Cover artiste later starred in BBC 1988 Narnia adaptation
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- 1973 – Chaps, sack and craic!
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- 1974 – Oooo!
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- 1975 – Doily
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- 1976 – Pig’s arse
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- 1977 – Genuinely, one of the greats
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- 1978 – And this is he!
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- 1979 – Brought to you by OXO
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- 1980 – Well, it’s something different
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- 1981 – Phoenix from The Phoenix and The Carpet attacks dove of peace shocker!
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- 1982 – “Galleon doesn’t look Christmassy enough”/”I’ll put a pud on the mainsail”
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- 1983 – IT’S YOUR WORLD!
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- 1984 – Tricky brief: Santa meets sunshine holiday
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- 1985 – Best detail, Rodders proffering a pint glass
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- 1986 – Anna Wing and a prayer
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- 1987 – “We throw you the keys”
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- 1988 – Babes in the… wouldn’t bother with this year’s
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- 1989 – A Christmas choral
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- 1990 – Shit, it’s Generic Santa
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- 1991 – MAGAZINE OF THE YEAR
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- 1992 – And here’s Generic Snowman, see you again in ’96!
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- 1993 – Gap year
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- 1994 – “Hmm, Dad was originally smoking a cigar…”
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- 1995 – Clapperbored
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- 1996 – “It’s full of surprises!”
Tomorrow: TV Times!
Also:
- Snow On The Logo pt 1: Radio Times
- Snow On The Logo pt 2: TV Times
- Snow On The Logo pt 3: Look-in
- Snow On The Logo pt 4: The Beano
- Snow On The Logo pt 5: Buster
- All-New Snow On The Logo pt 1: 2000 AD
- All-New Snow On The Logo pt 2: Eagle
- All-New Snow On The Logo pt 3: Beano Annual
- All-New Snow On The Logo pt 4: The Dandy
- All-New Snow On The Logo pt 5: Potpourri
David Smith
December 5, 2016 at 12:51 pm
It genuinely took me 20 years – via an earlier Christmas covers round-up on TVC – to get the “All I want for Christmas is me two front teeth” gag inherent in the 1993 illustration (even with the wording of the caption)…
Applemask
December 5, 2016 at 4:12 pm
I did a whole video about these, you know.
TV Cream
December 5, 2016 at 5:02 pm
Excited for you, Applemask! How about a link?
Applemask
December 6, 2016 at 12:08 pm
It’s on the same Vimeo channel as my other Christmas Wrapping and so forth. Your Why Don’t YouTube archipelago must have seen it. Vimeo.com/bobthefish
Glenn A
December 5, 2016 at 6:22 pm
I think the psyschedelic ones from the late sixties are the best as they give the BBC a groovy, trendy edge with their magazine, something that was definitely lacking in the Auntie era. Must admit, can’t stand the ones with Mike Yarwood and Frank Spencer on the cover, they look creepy.
Richard Davies
December 6, 2016 at 5:55 pm
The Frank Spencer picture was used for one of the Some Mothers Do ‘Av ‘Em VHS covers, with the cracker retouched to look like a video tape.
Richardpd
December 9, 2020 at 11:31 pm
What’s with the 1990s retro styled covers? Harking back to the 1930-50s a few years after the nostalgia for that period peaked (All Creatures Great & Small, Jewel In The Crown, Dennis Potter’s plays set around then etc.)
The early 1960s ones were almost too modernist with their lino-cut styling, like the BBC had a competition to design the cover but made it only open to art students at the newly opened plate glass universities.
Richardpd
December 11, 2020 at 11:25 am
At least the 1990s ones have a feeling of warmth & depth, unlike some of the 1980s ones where the illustrations feel quite flat & a little dated in style, though 1981 & 2’s look quite decent.
The late 1960s -70s drawn ones seem to be fine in comparison, with 1977 being quite an inspired & clever one.
Glenn Aylett
December 12, 2020 at 11:00 am
Notice how important The Two Ronnies were to the BBC in the early seventies. Obviously Morecambe and Wise had the stratospheric Christmas ratings, but Barker and Corbett were winning over nearly as many viewers with their mixture of intelligent sketches, monologues and comedy music numbers. While I am a big fan of Eric and Ernie, though less so the Thames years, I think The Two Ronnies had the edge on them laughs wise. Also they seemed to be starmakers for such acts as The Nolan Sisters, Lynsey de Paul and Barbara Dickson.
Richardpd
December 12, 2020 at 3:52 pm
I also like the Two Ronnies, even if I saw most of their output via the many compilations rather than the actual shows.
Considering their show only debuted in 1971 they must have been made a quick impact to get on the front cover of the Christmas edition.
The musical interludes were a little different from other shows as whoever was the guest normally wouldn’t interact much with with the Ronnies, as usually most other shows would get the guest in a sketch or two.
Glenn Aylett
December 13, 2020 at 3:09 pm
I think the 1986 one is very appropriate as the country had entered Eastenders mania that year and the soap was attracting 20 million viewers, same as the previous year Only Fools And Horses had gone supersonic and was the country’s most popular sitcom. Suppose in 1988 they could have had the cast of Neighbours on the front cover, but maybe Melbourne wasn’t a very festive place.
Richardpd
December 13, 2020 at 3:26 pm
Yes it’s understandable that the BBC wanted to use their most popular shows for those years.
The Neighbours Christmas Specials could get surreal, especially as they were shown over here at the wrong time of the year.
Sidney Balmoral James
December 12, 2020 at 7:01 pm
These are significantly better than the TV Times ones, but come the 90s and the covers are interchangeable with those of their rival. What happened in 1989? That cover could have been used in 1969. 1980 with its Laura Ashley / Victoria Plum vibe is very evocative of that period. Mike Yarwood depicted in 1978 before the encroaching darkness (okay I know he had a few years left).
Richardpd
December 12, 2020 at 11:44 pm
1989 is a oddity being in the middle of a run of drawn covers, & almost half a decade after Aled Jones made choirboys popular.
You’re probably right about the Laura Ashley / Victoria Plum being right for 1980, though I normally associate that style a bit more with the 1970s, but some trends can hang on for a few years.