| The Roxy | |
|---|---|
| Presented by | David Jensen (episodes 1-29 & 43) Kevin Sharkey (1-42) Paul Nolan (30-36,38 & 43) Emma Ridley (episode 31) Pat Sharp (33 & 35-43)[1] |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 43 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company | Tyne Tees Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | ITV |
| Release | 9 June 1987 (1987-06-09) – 5 April 1988 (1988-04-05) |
The Roxy was a Britishmusic television program broadcast on theITV network from June 1987 to April 1988 and was produced byTyne Tees Television in Newcastle, shortly after its more successfulChannel 4 music show,The Tube, was decommissioned.
The show was initially presented byDavid Jensen andKevin Sharkey. The first edition was transmitted across the ITV network on 9 June 1987, introducingErasure performing "Victim of Love". Subtitled asThe Network Chart Show,The Roxy was based on the weekly chart compiled forIndependent Local Radio which was broadcast on Sunday afternoons across ILR stations every Sunday afternoon from 5pm, in competition with BBC Radio 1's own chart show.
In January 1988 the programme was retitledRoxy The Network Chart Show and was introduced alongside a new studio set, which included a large 20-foot multicoloured sign spellingROXY (this fell over at the end of the final edition using a flashpot effect and slow motion video, followed by "Leader of the Pack" byThe Shangri-Las playing). In addition to the revamp of the set,David Jensen was just a voiceover reading the charts each week but he returned to presenting duties for the final edition;Kevin Sharkey was the main presenter and was joined byPaul Nolan, and laterPat Sharp, as co-host.
The programme suffered from not having a fixed network timeslot and for a short time, an industrial dispute which affected live studio performances. After just ten months on air,The Roxy aired its final edition on Tuesday 5 April 1988. By this point, some regional stations aired the programme around midnight like Anglia, Grampian, STV, TVS, Thames and Yorkshire.
The demise ofThe Roxy also signalled the end of major live music TV production at Tyne Tees, which asidesThe Tube, had also spanned series such asAlright Now,Razzmatazz andCheck it Out. The company also produced coverage ofQueen's concerts atWembley andthe Milton Keynes Bowl and co-producedU2 Live at Red Rocks: Under a Blood Red Sky.
The programme had three different theme tunes during its run. The first, written and performed by Simon May, was used for the first 29 episodes; the second, performed by 4's Company, was only used for episode 30; and the third, called "Amnesia", written and performed byStock Aitken Waterman, was used for episodes 31 through 43.