On the judges panel for this Near Misses show were Martin Jackson, Mickie Most, Les Reed and Muriel Young.

They watched six acts who had all scored 100 points or more on their first appearances and as a result were returning, this time for a chance to claim a place in the series Gala Final in April 1978.

The acts returning for a second chance were;

• Ian Simpson (conjuror) – show 6.19
• Civvy Street (five-piece group) – show 6.18
• Amanda Paul (vocalist) – show 6.14
• Harry Pitch (harmonica player) – show 6.19
• The Bards (folk trio) – show 6.18
• Pinky Steede (vocalist) – show 6.19

Joining the six acts was guest performer, Essex vocalist Geoff Taylor, who had won show 3.35 back in May 1975 and had also appeared in show 3.40 in June 1975, which was a Winners and Near Misses show.

The winner of the show were the group Civvy Street, who had impressed the judges enough on their first show to earn a second appearance. Their win secured them a place in the series Gala Final on the 2 April 1978.

Confusingly they were still performing in the clubs as Live Wire Band and were being advertised as New Faces winners despite not appearing under that name on the show. In fact one advert, for a club show on the same night as the broadcast of this show, listed them as Live Wire Band (ex Civvy Street), yet the advert the band ran in The Stage after their win listed them as Civvy Street (ex Live Wire Band).

In August 1978 Civvy Street were one of three acts who appeared at Paul Daniels’ Blackpool Bonanza, broadcast on Granda Television and produced by former New Faces judge John Hamp. They were introduced by host Derek Hobson who also introduced comedian Alan J. Bartley and vocalist Patti Boulaye. In November 1978 Civvy Street released their first single, Just About Time, on the DJM Record label.

In the fifties self-taught harmonica player Harry Pitch formed his own band and in one St Valentine’s Day show in the 1963 they headlined a show with support from the Ray Davies Quartet, who eventually became The Kinks.

Harry was also in demand by advert agencies and performed on commercials for Oxo, Milky Bar and Strand Cigarettes. He also played on the theme for Last Of The Summer Wine for most of it’s 37-year run and was also a member of the small group of musicians who provided background music for the show. Harry also played on the theme for the TV detective series Shoestring.

Harry sadly passed away on 15 July 2015 at the age of 90.

The vocalist Pinky Steede was born in Bermuda, where she lived until she moved to the United Kingdom in 1976. Throughout the 1980s Pinky performed around the world as a cabaret singer and appeared on television programmes in Hong Kong, and Eire as well as a BBC production of Bubbling Brown Sugar.

In 1980 she performed the lead role in Guys and Dolls in Hong Kong where was based for 16 years and in 2009 she was inducted into the Bermuda Musical Hall of Fame.

In October 2014 Pinky returned to the county of her birth to perform at a gala fundraiser for cancer charity PALS at Fairmont Southampton Princess Bermuda. Pinky turned eighty in September 2021 and now lives in Portugal where still performs regularly in nightspots and casinos across the Algarve region. Her latest album, Love Is, was made last year in Portugal.

Pinky published her autobiography, Hi, My Name is Pinky: A Singer’s Lifetime in the Limelight, in June 2016

Archive: A copy is held by the BFI – Work – 572289