The Decade That Taste (and Decency) Forgot

I grew up in the seventies. As childhoods go mine was definitely one of the better ones. Long hot summers, a loving family and good, wholesome entertainment on my television and radio. Who could ask for more?

Well, me. I could ask for the innocence of it all back please.

Yes, I came from a caring nuclear family and yes, the weather (especially in the middle of the decade) was warmer, for longer, than average. But the entertainment? At the time it was great and throughout the decades since I’ve smiled with nostalgia at the repeats, but now? Now the memories are tainted. Now little pieces of my childhood are being fouled with each new news revelation.

On the radio I listened to Dave Lee Travis playing the hits of Gary Glitter and others stars of the day, while John Peel spun more cutting edge discs later in the evenings. The Rolf Harris Show (under various names) was a television staple as were Jim’ll Fix It and It’s a Knockout. Jim Davidson and Freddie Starr were on every chat show going and had everyone in our house, from granny down to me, laughing together.

While many will say that they always felt that there was something ‘funny’ about some of these people the fact remains that they were among the most popular entertainers of their day. It wasn’t just me that enjoyed their work.

I’m not defending anyone here and if they’ve committed crimes then they should be punished. On the other hand everyone is entitled to a fair trial and, here in Britain, we’re all assumed to be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law but those still living have had their careers, like my innocent memories, shattered. This is, of course, nothing compared to what’s happened to the alleged victims in these cases.

I guess it’s the age-old question here again. Can we still love the art if we’ve subsequently learned to despise the artist as a person? And sure, we all look back at our youth with rose-tinted vision but could everything that we enjoyed back then have been, in reality, so awful?

My memory isn't what it was.