My review was written in May 1984 after watching the show on a Thorn EMI video cassette.
"Ready Steady Go! Volume One" is an entertaining and historically valuable black-and-white compilation of performances circa 1963-67 culled from kinescopes of the live British weekend tv show, whose format resembles Dick Clark's domestic "American Bandstand" program. Item was put together by rock drummer Dave Clark, who includes two promos (not from the tv show) of his group, the Dave Clark Five, doing their 1964 hits "Glad All Over" and "Do You Love Me".
Most of the compiled segments involve effective lip-synching to the actual recordings, accompanied by brief but effective interviews. Chance to see the groups performing (even to pre-recorded material) is the tape's chief value.
Highlight, coming near the end of the tape, is a live, direct-sound performance circa 1966 of the Rolling Stones. This allows the fans to see the late Brian Jones performing on marimba on "Under My Thumb" (with an enthusiastic vocal by Mick Jagger that is superior to the recorded disk version) and glimpsed playing sitar on "Paint It Black", taken at a faster tempo than the release version. Shrieking fans have to be held back bodily during the Stones' segment, in contrast to their blase attitude to most of the other top groups featured. The only defect, is now-dated "psychedelic" editing and camera zooming here, as well as during a spirited live performance by The Who of "Any Way, Any How, Any Where".
Peter Cook & Dudley Moore provide comic relief in a cutesy rendition of "Goodbye-ee", adopting upperclass twit personae for the occasion. A most unusual highpoint occurs in the Beatles segment, dating from early 1964, in which the usually overlooked (at that time) George Harrison is singled out to be interviewed as group spokesman, and tells about his love for U. S. drive-in movies.
Also on view are The Animals, at the beginning of their recording career lip-synching "Baby Let Me Take You Home" in early 1964, with Eric Burdon and Alan Price featured. Most obscure act is the recently deceased Billy Fury, who along with Cilla Black, performs in the pre-Beatles pop ballad mode.
