The Tube was a United Kingdom pop/rock music television programme, which ran for five series, from 5 November 1982 until 1987. It was produced in Newcastle upon Tyne for Channel 4 by Tyne Tees Television, which had previously produced the similar music show Alright Now and the music-oriented youth show Check it Out for ITV; production of the latter ended in favour of The Tube. The Tube was presented live by hosts including Jools Holland, Paula Yates, Leslie Ash, Muriel Gray, Gary James, Michel Cremona, Nick Laird-Clowes and Mike Everitt. The brand name was relaunched by Channel 4 as an online radio station in November 2006. The show was directed by Gavin Taylor; Geoff Wonfor directed some of the insert videos along with other staff programme director of Tyne Tees Television Martin Cairns. Many other specials were made, including one for the eve of the millennium. The Tube was a showcase for many emerging 1980s bands. Artists who played on The Tube included: Alison Moyet (Alf), Angelyne, The Art of Noise, The Assembly, The Associates, Aztec Camera, BB King, Big Country, Bon Jovi, The Boomtown Rats, Cardiacs, Cliff Richard, Cocteau Twins, The Cramps, Culture Club, Curiosity Killed the Cat, Cyndi Lauper, The Damned, Dennis Brown with Sly and Robbie, Depeche Mode, Dexys Midnight Runners, Die Ärzte, Dire Straits, Divine, Stephen Duffy, Duran Duran, Echo & the Bunnymen, Vow Wow, Elvis Costello, The Fall, Fatal Charm, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Charged G.B.H., Gregory Isaacs and Roots Radics, Gun Club, Hanoi Rocks, Heaven 17, Howard Jones, The Human League, Icicle Works, Iggy Pop, INXS, Judas Priest, Killing Joke, King, Level 42, Lloyd Cole and the Commotions, Madness, Madonna, Magnum, Meat Loaf, Motörhead, Ofra Haza, Paul Young, Pet Shop Boys, The Pretenders, The Proclaimers, Propaganda, The Psychedelic Furs, The Rainmakers, Robert Palmer, R.E.M., Scraping Foetus off the Wheel, Silent Running, Simple Minds, Simply Red, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Soft Cell, Spear of Destiny, SPK, Squeeze, The Style Council, Tears for Fears, Terence Trent D'Arby, Terry and Gerry, The Smiths, The Cult, The Cure, The Dream Academy, The Jam, The Mission, The Pogues, The Pretenders, The Stranglers, The Toy Dolls, Then Jericho, Thin Lizzy, Thomas Dolby, Tina Turner, Twisted Sister, U2, Ultravox, Voice of the Beehive, Tom Waits, Wall of Voodoo, Wham!, Whitney Houston, XTC, Yazoo, ZZ Top. The Tube was an important outlet for the performers, and provided a turning point in the careers of many of them. For The Proclaimers, performing "Letter from America" on The Tube was instrumental in helping the Scottish duo to their first top ten UK hit; it was also responsible for introducing Frankie Goes to Hollywood to their record label.[citation needed] In addition to being the launchpad for new and upcoming performers, The Tube became known for its high profile music performance 'scoops' from established world class bands such as U2 live at Red Rocks, Robert Plant, Bo Diddley and ZZ Top. The show was also fortunate to persuade Ringo Starr to give one of the first post-Beatles interviews in an extended article on his work with Marc Bolan and T. Rex, filmed at his then (and previously John Lennon's) house, Tittenhurst Park. The Jam performed on the first edition of the show in 1982, it was their last live TV appearance together before they split up at the end of the year. Directed by Gavin Taylor Presented by Jools Holland Paula Yates Leslie Ash Muriel Gray Gary James Michel Cremona Nick Laird-Clowes Mike Everitt No. of seasons 5 No. of episodes 121 + 10 specials Production Executive producer(s) Malcolm Gerrie Andrea Wonfor Crispin Evans Producer(s) Malcolm Gerrie Paul Corley John Gwyn Location(s) City Road, Newcastle upon Tyne Running time 300 minutes Broadcast Original channel Channel 4 Original run 5 November 1982 – 26 April 1987

• published: 09 May 2015
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