Page 24 was the site of Mustapha Million's
oil-striking debut in the first issue of Cheeky Weekly, and our moneyed mate returned to that location the following week. However,
week 3 of the comic saw advertorial feature What's New, Kids occupy
the subject location with, in addition to promoting a new board game
and traditional kites, a reminder to readers to follow the fireworks
code and also make use of the Fun Phone to communicate their jokes to the Cheeky office.
A week later page 24 was the home of a page
containing jokes, designed to be cut out, folded and inserted into
the Fun Wallet that came as a free gift with issue 2 of the toothy
funster's title. The editor presumably felt that the gags provided
with the Fun Wallet would have palled not a little as they circulated around the playgrounds of the nation in the two weeks that
had elapsed since the gift first appeared.
A six-week run of the Saturday page commenced
in the issue dated 19 November 1977, before Cheeky's regular dip into
comics of yesteryear, which I refer to as the Old Comic feature,
turned up. Saturday then returned for a further four weeks, the
second of which included the final outing of Doug's Doodle, relocated
from its usual Tuesday slot. Mustapha Million then returned to page 24 in
the comic dated 04 February 1978, but a week later the location under
review was home to 2 ads for IPC product, namely Shoot and Misty.
Saturday then turned up for a week, before a run of half page ads for
more IPC titles ensued...
| Date | Details |
| 25-Feb-78 | Ad: IPC 'Misty' 3 of 5 Ad: 'Buster' 2 of 5 |
| 04-Mar-78 | Ad: IPC 'Buster' 3 of 5 Ad: 'Misty' 4 of 5 |
| 11-Mar-78 | Ad: IPC 'Buster' 4 of 5 Ad: 'Misty' 5 of 5 |
| 18-Mar-78 | Ad: IPC 'Look and Learn' 2 of 16 Ad: 'Buster' 5 of 5 |
| 25-Mar-78 | Ad: IPC 'Look and Learn' 3 of 16 Ad: 'Mickey Mouse' 2 of 18 |
The above run of issues saw the final ads in
Cheeky Weekly for Buster and Misty (excluding ads for specials), the
two titles having clocked up 5 ads each (Misty being promoted on page
24 in 3 consecutive issues of the toothy funster's comic). In
contrast Look and Learn was to amass a total of 16 ads by the time
Cheeky Weekly ended, and Mickey Mouse was promoted on 18 occasions.
Saturday then made a brief visit to page 24
(this time with an additional description of April Fool's Day) before
another two half pagers promoting Mickey Mouse and Look and Learn
appeared a week later. Page 24 in the next issue was composed of 2
stamp collecting ads, a small panel mentioning the harmonica
competition running that week in Krazy and Whizzer and Chips, a
message from Snail informing readers that the winners of the name the
snail competition would be announced the following week and a half
page ad for Look and Learn notifying prospective purchasers that a
Panini Booklet of Animals, plus free stickers to affix therein, was bundled with the
current issue.
Page 24 in the 22 April 1978 edition was
something of a bittersweet affair as, sharing that location with a
half page Joke-Box Jury gagfest was an ad for Whizzer and Chips which
that week was welcoming the survivors from Krazy, the comic which
gave birth to our toothy pal but had ceased publication a week earlier.
Indomitable Saturday then returned for a week, but seven
days later the site in question was home to yet another pair of IPC
ads, this time for the Krazy Holiday Special and the football-focused
Roy of the Rovers. Cheeky's doings on Saturday then resumed, only to
be replaced a week later by another ad, but this time from Wall's Ice
Cream who were hoping to shift significant quantities of their Tom and Jerry and Skateboard Surfer
lollies by employing a cartoon strip depicting the cat-and-mouse duo engaged
in some deft skateboarding moves.
In the 27 May 1978 issue What's New Kids made a
bid to secure page 24, but was dislodged the following week by an ad
for Weetabix, notifying those with an interest in breakfast cereal
that their product was offering T-shirts emblazoned with the company
logo. Mustapha and his millions then moved back in for a week,
replaced in the subsequent issue by an ad for Kellogg's, who were
countering the Weetabix offer two weeks earlier with their own
promotion whereby small plastic Playpeople could be obtained in
exchange for tokens carried on packs of their early morning
comestibles.
Sarah and Tim were given instruction on how to
safely navigate their way from one side of the street to the other
when the Green Cross Code Man turned up the following week in an ad
placed jointly by the Department of Transport, the Scottish
Development Department and the Welsh Office.
Page 24 was the scene of a momentous event in
the 01 July 1978 edition as Cheeky Weekly favourite Calculator Kid made his debut.
Charlie and Calc remained in the same location for 3 further weeks
after which Saturday returned for a single issue. Calculator Kid then
returned for one issue, before the site under review featured ads in the following 2 issues – the first placed by Burton's
(confectioners whose most famous sweet snack is probably the
legendary Wagon Wheel), who were running a promotion with toys as
prizes - 'Get your mum to look for the special packs' - (although the
iconic circular biscuity treat seems not have been included in this
marketing ploy) and the second for Anglo Bellamy's rather unimaginatively-named Bubbly bubble gum.
In the next issue, dated 26 August 1978,
Calculator Kid began a 5-week run on page 24, bringing to an end his
visits to this particular location. Cheeky's Friday doings then
occupied the site under review for 2 weeks, after which Paddywack
caused his customary confusion for a fortnight.
Pirelli, the tyre manufacturers, were evidently
siphoning off some of their spare rubber to make children's slippers
featuring the likenesses of cartoon favourites Scooby Doo and Boss
Cat (the BBC's alternate title for Top Cat, due to the existence at the time of a cat food of that name). An ad for this fun footwear appeared on page 24 of
the 28 October 1978 issue, and the following Week Kellogg's ran their
Playpeople ad again.
Friday then returned, but a week later
Paddywack was back, but with only two gag strips, as the lower
portion of the page saw Cheeky asking readers to send in the name of
their favourite star 'from the world of sport, TV, pop
music...anything'. The votes would be used to compile a cut-out
poster featuring the most popular choices. A week later Friday paid
its final visit to page 24, and the week after that Tweety and
Sylvester's final Cheeky Weekly strip appeared in the same location.
Friends of Cheeky Chit-Chat made its debut on
page 24 in the issue dated 09 December 1978, but the following
edition saw Joke-Box Jury commence what was to be a 5 week occupancy,
after which Skateboard Squad rolled in for one issue. Page 24 was host to its third debut in the 17
February 1979 comic as sporadic filler Tease Break made its initial
appearance, sharing the page with a reminder that votes were still
being sought for the celebrity poster.
The dynamic Skateboard Squad returned for a
fortnight, after which the gag-evaluating panel of Joke-Box Jury were
in deliberation for 6 weeks, on the final occasion sharing their page
with an ad reminding readers that posters were concurrently appearing
in Whoopee! and Whizzer and Chips, as part of a multi-comic promotion
which included the Top Ten poster running in Cheeky Weekly (for which
celebrity nominations were sought earlier).
Skateboard Squad returned for a week, after
which Joke-Box Jury made a chucklesome reappearance, following which
Skateboard Squad began their final run on page 24 (which was also to
be their final two weeks in Cheeky Weekly under their original name). A week later, in the 19
May 1979 edition, page 24 consisted of the half-page conclusion of
Thursday, paired with an ad for the Krazy Holiday Special. Paddywack
then made his final appearance in the location under review, after
which an ad placed by SP Toys extolling the luminous properties of
their Glo-Putty and Glo-Doh, which seems to have been a development
of the Silly Putty concept.
Readers who had sent in gags to be judged by
the Joke-Box Jury were no doubt eagerly scanning page 24 a week later
as the verdict was handed down yet again on the latest batch of quips
and puns.
Skipper, Skatie and Wipe-Out then returned to
page 24 in the issue dated 16 June 1979, but in their new guise of
Speed Squad (the terrific trio had unveiled their new title in the 26
May 1979 edition). Speed Squad were back again the following week but
in the next issue Joke-Box Jury had its final outing on page 24,
bringing the number of times it had appeared in that location to 15
and making it the feature to appear most frequently in that location.
The lively letters page Chit-Chat then returned
for what would be its last run on page 24, amounting to 10 weeks and
bringing the total times it appeared in the location under review to
11, making it the second most regular feature to appear on the page
which followed page 23.
A week after Chit-Chat moved out, the
well-oiled wheels of Speed Squad were again in evidence in what was
to be the intrepid trio's last visit to this site. The comic dated 22
September 1979 saw Thursday turn up on page 24 for the final time,
and a week later the same location hosted an ad for the third issue
of IPC's new football mag Top Soccer, sharing the page with an ad for
Pop-A-Points pencils and crayons inviting readers to enter a
colouring competition.
It was then the turn of Mustapha Million to
make his final page 24 appearance, after which an ad for Mr Bellamy's
Amazing Liquorice Novelties ran for 2 weeks. There followed a
surprise bid by the kids of Stage School to take control of page 24,
though their tenancy of that location lasted but 3 weeks after which
there was another unexpected attempt to take control, as 6 Million Dollar Gran was shifted to the latter pages of the comic and held on
to page 24 for 6 issues. Gran's run was then interrupted by some
reprint shenanigans featuring The Gang, but the synthetic senior
citizen saw off the double-decker dwellers seven days later,
commencing a 2-week run. In the 19 January 1980 comic page 24 was
home to 2 half-page ads for IPC product; Mickey Mouse and Shoot (two
separate comics I hasten to add – not a rather unlikely merged title).
Gran then resumed occupation for the final two
weeks of Cheeky Weekly. Despite first moving to page 24 as late as November
1979 when the comic was approaching its termination, Gran's total
appearances in that location numbered 10, putting her, in the
rankings of most frequent comic strip occupants, into equal third
place with Calculator Kid.
IPC was the most frequent advertiser on page
24, with its own comics and mags being promoted there on 14
occasions.
| Elements | Total |
| Joke-Box Jury | 13 |
| Calculator Kid | 10 |
| 6 Million Dollar Gran 1/2 | 9 |
| Advertisement: IPC\Advertisement: IPC | 9 |
| Saturday 1/2 | 9 |
| Chit-Chat 1/2 | 7 |
| Skateboard Squad | 6 |
| Chit-Chat | 4 |
| Friday | 4 |
| Saturday | 4 |
| Paddywack | 3 |
| Speed Squad | 3 |
| Stage School 1/2 | 3 |
| Advertisement: Kellogg's | 2 |
| Advertisement: Mr Bellamy's | 2 |
| Joke-Box Jury\Advertisement: IPC | 2 |
| Mustapha Million 1/2 | 2 |
| Mustapha Million 2/2 | 2 |
| What's New, Kids | 2 |
| 6 Million Dollar Gran | 1 |
| Advertisement: Bubbly | 1 |
| Advertisement: Burton's | 1 |
| Advertisement: Department of Transport | 1 |
| Advertisement: Glo-Putty and Glo-Doh | 1 |
| Advertisement: IPC | 1 |
| Advertisement: IPC\Advertisement: Pop-A-Points | 1 |
| Advertisement: Pirelli | 1 |
| Advertisement: Wall's | 1 |
| Advertisement: Weetabix | 1 |
| Doug's Doodle\Saturday | 1 |
| More joke strips 2/2 | 1 |
| Mustapha Million | 1 |
| Old Comic | 1 |
| Paddywack\Who's your Super-Star | 1 |
| Saturday - April Fool's Day 1/3 | 1 |
| Tease Break\Your chance to vote | 1 |
| The Gang 1/2 | 1 |
| Thursday | 1 |
| Thursday 2/2\Advertisement: IPC | 1 |
| Tweety and Sylvester 2/2 | 1 |
Was Juke box Jury still going then?
ReplyDeleteAccording to Wikipedia, the original Juke Box Jury finished in December 1967, but the programme was revived in June 1979, over a year after Joke-Box Jury commenced in Cheeky Weekly in December 1977.
DeleteSo Cheeky comic inspired it to come back ;)
DeleteSomeone at the BBC was obviously a fan!
Delete