# Live into 85

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British television special

Live into 85 Genre New Year's television special Presented by Tom O'Connor Country of origin United Kingdom Production Production company BBC Scotland Original release Network BBC1 Release 31 December 1984 (1984-12-31)

***Live into 85*** is a [New Year's Eve](/source/New_Year's_Eve) television special that was broadcast by [BBC1](/source/BBC_One) on 31 December 1984. Broadcast from the [Gleneagles Hotel](/source/Gleneagles_Hotel) near [Auchterarder](/source/Auchterarder), Scotland and presented by the English comedian [Tom O'Connor](/source/Tom_O'Connor_(comedian)), the special was themed around Scotland's [Hogmanay](/source/Hogmanay) festivities and was a retool of the BBC's then-traditional [New Year's specials](/source/BBC_New_Year's_Eve_specials).

The special aimed to be more contemporary following multiple perfunctory editions and to have a broader appeal to English viewers, booking the English singer [Maggie Moone](/source/Maggie_Moone) and the English band [Modern Romance](/source/Modern_Romance_(band)). The show faced a number of production setbacks, including the withdrawal of [Bucks Fizz](/source/Bucks_Fizz) and a number of on-screen incidents, including failed performances by [John Grieve](/source/John_Grieve_(actor)) and [Chic Murray](/source/Chic_Murray).

*Live into 85* had a poor reception by viewers and critics in England and Scotland alike, with Grieve and Murray coming in for particular criticism. The year after, the BBC ended its networked Hogmanay specials after 32 consecutive years in favour of different formats and relegated its [Hogmanay-centric coverage](/source/BBC_Scotland's_Hogmanay) to an [opt-out](/source/Regional_variation) on [BBC1 Scotland](/source/BBC_One_Scotland).

## Background

In 1953, after having used varying [outside broadcasts](/source/Outside_broadcasting) to mark the new year,[1] BBC TV began to network [Hogmanay](/source/Hogmanay)-themed [variety](/source/Variety_show) specials from [BBC Scotland](/source/BBC_Scotland)—such as *[The White Heather Club](/source/The_White_Heather_Club)*—as part of its New Year's Eve programming, which usually featured a mix of music, comedy, [Highland dance](/source/Highland_dance), and poetry performances. They most often featured talent such as [Jimmy Logan](/source/Jimmy_Logan), [Kenneth McKellar](/source/Kenneth_McKellar_(singer)), [Andy Stewart](/source/Andy_Stewart_(musician)), and [Moira Anderson](/source/Moira_Anderson), while the [City of Glasgow Police](/source/City_of_Glasgow_Police) choir and [pipe bands](/source/Pipe_band) also made regular appearances.[2] The specials were often criticized for their stereotypical kitsch and [tartanry](/source/Tartanry),[1] with the press also questioning whether specials based distinctly on Scottish traditions were relevant to audiences outside of the country.[2] Stewart later defected to a competing special produced for [ITV](/source/ITV1),[2] *The Hogmanay Show*,[3] a po-faced version of the BBC specials featuring himself and other Scottish acts.[4] By the 1980s, the BBC's own Hogmanay specials had become perfunctory. Filmed in increasingly dilapidated studios and venues with rowdy audiences, their lineups comprised intoxicated, late-middle-aged performers and old-fashioned comedians whose material relied on regional humour and [in-group and out-group](/source/In-group_and_out-group) jokes about the other [Home Nations](/source/Home_Nations).[4]

## Production

The special was broadcast from the Gleneagles Hotel.

The decision to retool the Hogmanay special for 1985 came from a younger team of producers at BBC Scotland, who desired to produce a special that would be more contemporary, and more inclusive of English viewers. The producers were also motivated by "Make it Live in 1985", a campaign announced by the [English Tourism Board](/source/VisitEngland) to promote live entertainment. The producers scouted the [Gleneagles Hotel](/source/Gleneagles_Hotel) as a venue, finding it to have suitable accommodations for an outside broadcast.[4] The [Bootle](/source/Bootle)-born [light entertainment](/source/Light_entertainment) personality [Tom O'Connor](/source/Tom_O'Connor_(comedian)) was brought on as presenter, along with the English band [Bucks Fizz](/source/Bucks_Fizz) and the [Birmingham](/source/Birmingham)-based singer [Maggie Moone](/source/Maggie_Moone) (of *[Name That Tune](/source/Name_That_Tune_(British_game_show))* fame) as performers. A dwindling budget meant that the remaining performers and guests were drawn from Scottish talent.[4]

Murray, who was meant to be the traditional [first-foot](/source/First-foot), was in poor health at the time and would die a month later,[4] while Bucks Fizz dropped out after a [tour bus crash](/source/Bucks_Fizz#Coach_crash) on 11 December and were replaced on short notice by [Modern Romance](/source/Modern_Romance_(band)).[4] O'Connor visited Gleneagles Hotel the day before the broadcast to [recce](/source/Recce_(filmmaking)) the scene, and was sufficiently disgruntled by the lack of standby recordings to badger the producer until he agreed to film one of the bands and some other segments. The day of broadcast, temperatures were no higher than 4 °C (39 °F), conditions were hazardous, and several acts were late arriving. It also became apparent that the producers had failed to secure the venue for exclusive use, resulting in an audience with rowdy hotel guests.[4]

Over the course of the broadcast, audience members frequently staggered into shots, distracted the cameramen, and were [caught on microphones](/source/Hot_mic). A drunk audience member attempted to peer up Maggie Moone's skirt while she was performing[4] and another groped her.[5] Meanwhile, a drunk John Grieve forgot his lines and stumbled into laughter when attempting to recite a poem, the [kilted](/source/Kilt) Pipes and Drums of British Caledonian Airways refused to return to the venue's freezing car park after their performance, and Chic Murray was so flustered by the continuing presence of the Pipes and Drums that he became too bewildered to perform and spent his segment berating the floor manager.[4]

## Reception and aftermath

*Live into 85* was poorly received by critics in both Scotland and England and many viewers complained about the programme's poor quality.[6] Writing for the [British Comedy Guide](/source/British_Comedy_Guide), comedy historian [Graham McCann](/source/Graham_McCann) indicated that the broadcast was taken off the air 40 minutes earlier than scheduled outside of Scotland, with the last scene shown being O'Connor—after Modern Romance's performance of "[Best Years of Our Lives](/source/Best_Years_of_Our_Lives_(song))"—telling viewers that "you won't believe what I've just seen at the bar". He also remarked that *Live into 85* was "so stupendously awful that it killed that deeply dubious broadcasting tradition [of Hogmanay] stone dead", having led both the BBC and ITV to phase out broadcasts of Hogmanay-themed specials, and observed that "the Scottish newspapers appeared to be inaugurating a period of national mourning" following its broadcast.[4]

[Norman Harper](/source/Norman_Harper) of *[The Press and Journal](/source/The_Press_and_Journal)* described the special as "an hour of televised tripe" and singled out Grieve and Murray for criticism,[4] while [Dennis Hackett](/source/Dennis_Hackett) of *[The Times](/source/The_Times)* described the special as "a shambles in content and production" and [Scottish Television](/source/Scottish_Television)'s offering for ITV "a close second".[3] Retrospective reviews were not much better. Scott Murray of *[The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian)* wrote in December 2008 that the special was a "spectacular car-crash" and singled out Grieve's attempted contribution as "bloody awful doggerel",[7] while the [*Daily Record*](/source/Daily_Record_(Scotland)) described it in December 2012 as "one of Scotland's most embarrassing telly gaffs".[8] Andrew Roberts of *[The Independent](/source/The_Independent)* wrote in December 2014 that O'Connor "merited a special television award for maintaining his sang-froid".[9] O'Connor would later remark that the spine of his video of the show was labelled "The Show That Died of Shame".[4]

The following year, the BBC repeatedly reassured viewers that that year's offering would be free from [bagpipes](/source/Bagpipes), [accordions](/source/Accordion), and [kilts](/source/Kilt); 1985's show began with [Terry Wogan](/source/Terry_Wogan) walking on stage with his [flies](/source/Fly_(clothing)) down.[7] No official end-of-year show was mounted for some years; 1987 featured a special New Year's episode of the BBC's soap *[EastEnders](/source/EastEnders)*,[4] while [Clive James](/source/Clive_James) filled in seven years between 1988–89 and 1994–95 with sardonic year-in-review specials[10] and [Angus Deayton](/source/Angus_Deayton) took over thereafter with a similar format.[11] Hogmanay would not be featured in a BBC New Year's special broadcast outside of Scotland again until 1998–99, when BBC One aired *New Year Live—*an equally-shambolic adaptation of BBC Scotland's *[Hogmanay Live](/source/BBC_Scotland's_Hogmanay)* from Edinburgh presented by [Carol Smillie](/source/Carol_Smillie) and [Fred MacAulay](/source/Fred_MacAulay).[12] Marking the occasion, a [Mark Lamarr](/source/Mark_Lamarr) documentary on *Live into 85* would air on [BBC Two](/source/BBC_Two) that night as part of its own New Year's Eve lineup.[11]

## Cast

Source:[4]

- [Tom O'Connor](/source/Tom_O'Connor_(comedian)) - presenter

- [Maggie Moone](/source/Maggie_Moone) - guest

- [Modern Romance](/source/Modern_Romance_(band)) - guest

- [Moira Anderson](/source/Moira_Anderson) - guest

- [Chic Murray](/source/Chic_Murray) - guest

- [Buff Hardie and Stephen Robertson](/source/Scotland_the_What%3F) - guest

- [John Grieve](/source/John_Grieve_(actor)) - guest

- [Bill Torrance](/source/Bill_Torrance) - guest

- The Pipes and Drums of British Caledonian Airways - guest

- The Jim Johnstone Scottish Country Dance Band - guest

- The Tom McShane Dancers - guest

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:62_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:62_1-1) ["Ring in the New"](https://www.bbc.co.uk/webarchive/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.co.uk%2Fblogs%2Fgenome%2Fentries%2F41e3299e-cae5-475f-bcf1-8eefa6609667). *BBC*. 31 December 2015. Retrieved 2 January 2024.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:8_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:8_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-:8_2-2) ["Hogmanay Hell: The BBC's New Year Live 98 - Comedy Chronicles"](https://www.comedy.co.uk/features/comedy_chronicles/hogmanay-hell-new-year-live-98/). *British Comedy Guide*. 31 December 2023. Retrieved 3 January 2024.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:1_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:1_3-1) [*The Times, 1985, UK, English*](https://archive.org/stream/NewsUK1985UKEnglish/Jan%2002%201985%2C%20The%20Times%2C%20%2362025%2C%20UK%20%28en%29_djvu.txt). 21 May 1985. Retrieved 22 April 2024.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:0_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:0_4-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-:0_4-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-:0_4-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-:0_4-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-:0_4-5) [***g***](#cite_ref-:0_4-6) [***h***](#cite_ref-:0_4-7) [***i***](#cite_ref-:0_4-8) [***j***](#cite_ref-:0_4-9) [***k***](#cite_ref-:0_4-10) [***l***](#cite_ref-:0_4-11) [***m***](#cite_ref-:0_4-12) [***n***](#cite_ref-:0_4-13) McCann, Graham (30 December 2021). ["Gang Aft Agley: The Day TV Broke Hogmanay - Comedy Chronicles"](https://www.comedy.co.uk/features/comedy_chronicles/hogmanay-tv-broadcasts/). *British Comedy Guide*. Retrieved 22 April 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Smith, Aidan (24 September 2019). ["Jackie Bird won't be on TV, so cancel Hogmanay"](https://www.scotsman.com/news/opinion/columnists/jackie-bird-wont-be-on-tv-so-cancel-hogmanay-aidan-smith-1406947). *[The Scotsman](/source/The_Scotsman)*. Retrieved 22 April 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Corporation, British Broadcasting (1985). [*BBC Annual Report and Handbook 1986: Incorporating the Annual Report and Accounts 1984-85*](https://books.google.com/books?id=CYouUSGHF1IC&q=%22live+into+85%22). B.B.C. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-563-20448-0](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-563-20448-0).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Murray_7-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Murray_7-1) Murray, Scott (24 December 2008). ["Joy of Six: Memorable Christmas and New Year TV events"](https://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2008/dec/24/memorable-christmas-and-new-year-tv-events). *The Guardian*. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0261-3077](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0261-3077). Retrieved 22 April 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["Square eyes Live into 85; Each week we look back at our favourite TV shows. From soaps, dramas and reality telly to quiz, cop and kids' shows, some have become our friends. - Free Online Library"](https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Square+eyes+Live+into+85;+Each+week+we+look+back+at+our+favourite+TV...-a0313303280). *www.thefreelibrary.com*. Retrieved 22 April 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["New Year's Eve television: Should old debacles be forgot..."](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/new-year-s-eve-television-should-old-debacles-be-forgot-9946915.html) *The Independent*. 28 December 2014. Retrieved 22 April 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Cream, T. V. (27 November 2019). ["Clive James, on television – TV Cream"](https://www.tvcream.co.uk/blog/rip/clive-james-on-television/). Retrieved 22 April 2024.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:2_11-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:2_11-1) ["Five… Four… Three… Two… One! : Off The Telly"](https://web.archive.org/web/20210721065846/http://www.offthetelly.co.uk/oldott/www.offthetelly.co.uk/indexeba2.html?page_id=3915). 21 July 2021. Archived from [the original](http://www.offthetelly.co.uk/oldott/www.offthetelly.co.uk/indexeba2.html?page_id=3915) on 21 July 2021. Retrieved 22 April 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** McCann, Graham (31 December 2023). ["Hogmanay Hell: The BBC's New Year Live 98 - Comedy Chronicles"](https://www.comedy.co.uk/features/comedy_chronicles/hogmanay-hell-new-year-live-98/). *British Comedy Guide*. Retrieved 22 April 2024.

v t e New Year's Eve and New Year's Day Events America's Party First Night Hogmanay New Year's Eve in London Russian New Year celebration Objects dropped on New Year's Eve Peach Drop Pelican Drop Réveillon de Copacabana Sydney New Year's Eve Taipei New Year's Eve Party The Possum Drop Times Square Ball Twelve Grapes Vienna New Year's Concert Millennium celebrations Sports College Football Playoff bowl games Rose Orange Sugar Fiesta Cotton Peach Other college football games Citrus Bowl Gator Bowl ReliaQuest Bowl Tour de Ski JFA Emperor's Cup Final Four Hills Tournament NHL Winter Classic Spengler Cup Final IIHF World Junior Championship Team Canada New Year's Eve Game Saint Silvester Road Race New Year Sprint Nos Galan road race Parades Tournament of Roses Parade London's New Year's Day Parade Florida Citrus Parade Mummers Parade Television United States New Year's Rockin' Eve New Year's Eve Live: Nashville's Big Bash Fox New Year's Eve specials NBC New Year's Eve specials CNN New Year's Eve Live ¡Feliz! MTV New Year's Eve specials Happy New Year, America Red Bull New Year No Limits Rudolph's Shiny New Year Happy New Year, Charlie Brown! First Night 2013 with Jamie Kennedy Sesame Street Stays Up Late! Snoopy Presents: For Auld Lang Syne United Kingdom BBC New Year's Eve specials BBC Scotland's Hogmanay The Big Fat Quiz of the Year Chewin' the Fat Jools' Annual Hootenanny Only an Excuse? Scotch and Wry STV Hogmanay specials The White Heather Club International 2000 Today Canada US Ireland Hello 2021 Elsewhere Áramótaskaupið Bye Bye Dinner for One Kōhaku Uta Gassen Little Blue Light MBC Gayo Daejejeon Silvesterstadl Sylvesterpunsch Willkommen 20xx Music "Auld Lang Syne" "Auld Lang Syne (The New Year's Anthem)" Chorale preludes for New Year's (Bach) Church cantatas for New Year's "Happy New Year" "It's Just Another New Year's Eve" "Levy-Dew" "New Year's Day" "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?" "What's Another Year" Related New Year films Gregorian calendar Baby New Year Father Time Feast of the Circumcision of Christ First-foot Calennig Hogmanay Christmas and holiday season Junkanoo Leap second Guy Lombardo New Year's resolution New Year tree Saint Sylvester's Day Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God Vasilopita Watchnight service Messages New Year Address by the President of Russia Prime Minister's New Year Message

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Live into 85](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_into_85) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_into_85?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.