News Headlines

It was December 1964 and Kenya had declared itself a republic. Kenya had been given independence a year before. Now its Prime Minister Jomo Kenyatta led a ceremony in Nairobi to declare the country's new status. He was described by the British High Commissioner as the wisest old bird in Africa.

Here the head of British Railways Lord Beeching was sacked by the Government, and a shooting in the East End was linked to the activities of the Krays.

The death was announced of Lord Marks, he had pioneered a revolution in British dress, with quality garments sold in his store. The store of course was Marks And Spencer. His mission he had once said was to glamorise women and children at a price they could afford. He was 76-years-old.

In the Commons the death penalty died. MPs voted by three hundred and fifty five to a hundred and seventy to abolish it. It was such a majority that it was thought the Lords would not try to vote against it.

Martin Luther King was in London at St Paul's Cathedral preaching a sermon.

TWINKLE - BANNED BY THE BEEB It was one of the surprise hits of 1964. Terry by Twinkle though had trouble getting airplay from the BBC's Light Programme when the corporation banned it from air, probably because of its content about a tragic death. However, it got plays on pirate radio, enough to propel it into the singles chart to reach No.4. Twinkle's real name was Lynne Ripley. She was born on July the fifteenth 1948 in Surbiton in Surrey. With green eyes and blond hair, she was just fifteen when she enjoyed her chart stardom. There had been big hit records about tragic deaths before of course - Ricky Valance's Tell Laura I Love Her had made the top spot at the beginning of the decade and the Shangri-las were just months away from releasing Leader Of The Pack. The follow up to Terry was a song called Golden Lights but failed to dent the Top 20. She went on to record other songs without chart success, despite changing her name to Twinkle Ripley. The picture above is of a rare EP by Twinkle released on the Decca label titled A Lonely Singing Doll Twinkle joined a duo called Bill And Co in the seventies. The name came from a children's TV series . The eighties group The Smiths celebrated Twinkle by recording her song Golden Lights .

Join John Hayes for his Journey Back In Time, a nostalgic look back at music and memories from a chosen year, this Sunday from 9am on 103.5 & 95.3FM - BBC Essex.

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