"how did any pop song become a hit because the BBC went out of their way not to play such 'puerile driville'"
Good question ... I was nine in 1963 and had developed an interest in "pop" music the previous year when The Light Programme started to play their "Top 20 Pop Chart Rundown" on Sunday Afternoons ... The Light Programme was on for most of the time in our house as my dad was too stingy to get a TV (something which I'm eternally grateful for as the years go by). I'd become introduced to such exotic American names as Elvis Presley, Little Eva, Pat Boone, The Crystals etc. etc. and was allowed to listen to Radio Luxembourg in the evening for an hour before being packed off to bed.
I don't remember hearing "Fingertips" on Luxembourg in '63 but no doubt it did get a spin or three. A lot of the programmes on Luxembourg were sponsored by record companies and only played that particular company's current releases (i can still hear the jingle for the "D.E.C.C.A. Decca Decca Decca" program playing in my head). I believe that Oriole (who released "Fingertips") had their own show but maybe it was on at the wrong time of night for me? I do remember "Lovelight" being played on Luxembourg (thought it was great), presumably in early '64, just before the Pirates started out.
When it came to radio there was also The American Forces Network (AFN) which I could pick up at night, plus a few Dutch, Belgian and German stations that played current "Pop" music and occasionally I'd listen to Hilversum or Brussels before Luxembourg came on air and hear something by The Beatles, Roy Orbison etc. etc. etc. Otherwise there was "Saturday Club" at lunchtime on The Light Programme on Saturday which played mainly "Pop" music, though most of it was "live" mainly played by British acts, though a visiting big US star might appear on it as well.
I'm not old enough to know for certain but I think that pre-Pirates (Spring '64) "Pop" records became hits through some combination of plugs on Radio Luxembourg, word-of-mouth, play on juke-boxes in pubs and cafes and spins in the discotheques that were emerging at the time.
Anyway, must dash ... I'm out later to clap my hands and stamp my feet (that's code for finding a pub to watch the Albania versus England game in case anyone was wondering).
Roger
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