“Nostalgia”
“Wonderful memories”
“takes me back to my childhood”
I have heard these statements bandied around a fair bit this past week and was even known to ‘tweet’ a few myself. “Why, you ask?” Well the return of that all singing all dancing one hour of good clean fun that was known to all that were born pre 1990 as “Young Talent Time”
To all who shared the joy (and I know that there are many of you), the return of the modern version of Young Talent Time has brought back memories of the songs, the costumes, the dance routines and of course the talented team members we loved and loathed. Only I didn’t actually loathe any, I was just insanely jealous of their ‘best life in the world’! What mother of an 80’s kid didn’t hear at least once the words “mum…. please can I join the Young Talent Team”?
For me however, Young Talent Time held a very special place in my childhood. You see, my mum worked at Channel Ten, and as a result, I spent all day of her Saturday shift down the corridor, sitting in the studios of Young Talent Time, watching the rehearsals in preparation for the Saturday night taping of the show. I would sit for hours learning every word to every song and every dance move to every routine in the hope that they may call on me should a team member be unable to take their place. Believe it or not that never happened. I did however, make numerous cameo appearances as they often called on myself and my cousins and friends to be a part of a pseudo audience when they needed to pre-record a segment. So that is probably my biggest claim to fame to date.
Once home, I would sit for hours watching the enormous number of VHS tapes of recorded episodes, growing up alongside Tina, Vinnie, Katie, Natalie, Tim, Bevan, Greg, Lorena, and of course Danni Minogue. I remember sitting in the rehearsals near her big sister Kylie and thinking to myself “I wonder if she wishes that was her up there on the stage?” Little did I know that same sister would soon be one of the biggest pop singers of our generation.
All this nostalgia got me thinking. I wonder what my kids will look back on as a major contributor to their childhood. What song, tune or little ditto will stop them in their tracks and transport them back to their younger years? I think that it is unlikely to be one or two particular television programs, artists or bands (I also had an obsession with Abba but I’ll save that for another day) as developments in technology have inundated them with a gazillion choices in forms of entertainment. It is probably also unlikely that anything could keep their attention and endearment long enough before the next big thing comes along.
I guess one must be confident in knowing that in moving with the times and embracing the changes that surround them, my kids will still look back with many, many fond memories of their childhood. They’ll just be different to mine.
Is there a particular show, song or movie that takes you back to your childhood? How about your own children?
This Post Has 22 Comments
If. We were friends i would have done anything I could to hang out with you on Saturdays, I would have known those routines and spent the day singing loudly in the corridors.
Sadly, i was never going to be chosen for such a thing, but dreaming about it was fun.
I think we woud have been friends Claire…and I so would have taken you!
I just HAVE to comment on this one!!! I too was obsessed with the show, and probably sat in the audience on 3 occasions (we too had a contact who worked at ch 10). But my fondest memory was one of our audience visits with Sam, Nona and Miff……..and the absolute FREAK out Nona had when she thought that Joey Perrone was checking her out! Ahhhh those were the days………giggly teenage crushes on wanna be tweenstars! However I must admit that I still do have the autograph of Dannii Minogue at the ripe old age of 12, obtained in the Ch 10 cafeteria after the show!!
Too funny Lisa! Can definately see Nona freaking out with Joey Perrone!
I used to pretend I was on YTT and I dreamt about being discovered. Sadly I sucked and had no chance. but the dreams were enjoyable 😉 xx
Seems like we all had the same dream regardless of our talent or lack thereof!
Ok shameful truth here: I never watched it. But I do think its cool you sat next to Kylie Minogue!
Some of my favourite songs now are ones my order sister listened to, and I sometimes wonder if my kids will love some of my favorites for the same reason.
I was trying to explain to my kids why some of our music was so great….sounded like an old person!
ABBA, my first album of the ancient record variety at 10 , and The Beatles, which my dad used to play a lot in the car. They were more his youth, but became part of my childhood because of his influence. I can see I’m already passing on one of my favourite 1990s bands, Take That, (mind you I was a young adult by then) to my daughter who’s not quite 3!
Yes Abba was a definate favourite with me, and I guess with music it is often what our families were listening too. I love that your 3 year old is into Take That!
Oh that’s an awesome claim to fame! Who doesn’t love YTT. And Kylie!!! I too sometimes wonder what my kids will think of their childhoods. They seem to laugh a lot and I think they’re pretty lucky but who knows!!! We all do the best we can but if I could borrow a tardis for a day and travel to the future, that would be one of the first things I would want to know. Great post.
Well if they are laughing a lot they will surely have lots of wonderful memories 🙂
Wow! You are like the luckiest person I know! My aunt and uncle lived next door to Karen Knowles and I met Bevan in a nightclub once, that’s as good as it gets for me!!
Well thats not bad! Bevan always got all the soppy songs for the mums and grandmas!
As I said on Twitter, Martine, so hugely envious of you! What I would have given to trade places with you. It sounds wonderful.
Funny the Dannii/Kylie comment. During an interview I did with someone who used to work on the show, they believed Dannii was the real talent of the family. Interesting how things turn out though.
Ella has made me watch it EVERY day. She is obsessed. It’s strange seeing her go from singing nursery rhymes and children’s songs to now singing pop songs. I have a DVD of the old episodes that I really need to pull out of the cupboard and show her.
As you say, it’ll be interesting to see what their childhood memories are as they get older. I think the competition for their attention is so great now.
Love that Ella is loving it! It does seem to happen pretty fast that they go from the nursery rhymes to the pop music. I now walk down the hallway and hear 3 different pop songs at once….and the 2 year old knows them all! (somehow he seems to be skipping the nursery rhymes)
I know how it feels when you remember the old times. Old times are good times.
I’m sure you people used to have great times. Even we had a small group of friends that would hang out together on weekends singing at the top of our voices. Those were great times.
Thanks for sharing.
-Phil
I just wanted to say that YTT is our one show that we are all sitting down to watch together once a week. All three of my girls do dance classes and also love to sing and we are all equally enthralled with the new YTT.
Yes I shared the YTT dream in my childhood. So much day dreaming about what it would be like to be part of the team. Those were the days! How lucky were you to watch rehearsals & be in the audience. Best. childhood. ever. hahaha. I was also obssessed with Olivia Newton John. Especially the songs from Xanadu. I loved the magic of it all. My miss 5 loves ‘the fairies’ & I guess for her it’s all about the music & dancing & magic too.
Well if you really want to cherish something one should always remember old days as old days are there to be cherished.
Old days are there to be cherished, These are the best days of any person.
My old days were one of my best days… I always cherish it whenever I get the opportunity….
Comments are closed.