Southern Star shines on... And it's good bye from us...

30 years ago today, Southern Television went off air for the final time. Bitterly disgruntled at the IBA's decision not to renew its franchise, Southern chose to sign off in a brutally somber manner...

For the obsessive telly fanatic, a better quality final 10 minutes of And it's good bye from us is here. The show featured songs to 'suit the occasion' with Lillian Watson singing 'good bye songs' long since heard even in 1981. Anyone expecting a Bucks Fizz melodi mix with clips from Worzel Gummidge and other Southern classic programmes were severely disappointed.

Fast forward to the 'final goodbye', equally drawn out but quirkily effective - presenters soberly standing in line to collect their P45 it seemed (if only one was to cheekily pull a face or stick two fingers up when the Pink Panther esque music kicked in...) This severe ending opted to fade to back with a melanchonic orchestral fanfare before the Southern Star faded away...

No National Anthem, no good night from us once again, and certainly no mention of programmes tomorrow on TVS... a fading star - simple, but effective.

To signal a key change in British television a big ending for Southern Television.

The Southern Star - What an Alcastar!



Alcastar by Alcazar
Text och musik: Niklas Edberger, Johan Fransson, Tim Larsson, Tobias Lundgren and Anders Hansson.

Over in ATV land there was more of a party going on... if you mangaged to keep 'em peeled into 1982, Shaw Taylor popped by to bring in the new... A last look at the clock and farewell ATV.



At 12:33:53 it was time to wish one and all a peaceful good night... before partying along to the National Anthem and the tunes played on BRMB through the night.

Central Independent Television started later on January 1st 1982 (Starts at 4'10 in the clip above)

Central was Carltonised in 1997 and finally died on 28-10-02 with the familiar tones of Ted May very cleverly saying: "This is Carlton for the Central Region and we're all off to the South Bank..." a double meaning to introduce The Show Bank Show and the fact that ITV1 continuity would no longer be regionalised but come direkt from London's South Bank.



So all that remains is a toast - to Central News...



Happy 30th Birthday - Central News!