Planet of The Apes at Selfridges

Back in the day when there were only four TV channels, Fridays after school were special! Three of us, would catch the 142 bus, back to our friend Nainesh's house, to watch old Top of The Pops/ Whistle Test recordings on The Shah familys' state of the art, top loading video recorder.

The videos were the trailer for the main feature, that was Channel 4s, The Tube. If the thrill of seeing our favourite bands wasnt enough, it was accompanied by the joy of a small tin of Long Life lager , and if we were really lucky, Mrs Shahs, fantastic Aloo dosas. Halcyon days indeed.

But above the Telly, and the sleek black drinks cabinet were the family photos, one of which features above. There was Nainesh, his sister, Mrs Shah, but with Galen, Zako and Urku from the Planet of The Apes TV series!

The story goes, that back in the winter of 1975, a number of characters from Planet of The Apes made an appearance at Selfridges in London. It appears you queued to be photographed with some of the characters, a bit like Santas Grotto, but even more terrifying. There are a few more Selfridges pictures circulating online and apparently there was even a live show ( Think, Its a Knockout!) If you like the idea of these Store appearances photos, theres an unbelievable site, Plaid Stallions, that has many more!

Planet of The Apes has a special place in my heart. I remember fondly playing with the mego action figures and of course watching the TV series. Years later I read the Pierre Boulle book (that was bizarrely missing the last page!) and watched the original film, which I still enjoy, but why did Tim Burton feel the need to remake it?