The Roxy

Overview

The Roxy was a British television music programme that was broadcast on ITV in the late 1980s. It was produced by Tyne Tees Television following the demise a few months earlier of its more successful music show The Tube. This 30 minute programme made its debut on 9 June 1987 and was presented by David Jensen and Kevin Sharkey. The show opened with Erasure performing "Victim Of Love". It featured the music chart as used on its sister programme, a radio show called The Network Chart Show. Whereas The Tube featured rock and punk bands and emerging musicians, The Roxy concentrated on the mainstream UK singles chart. The show suffered, however, from not having a regular slot on the ITV network. Also, unlike The Tube which had gained a loyal fanbase and respect from artists, mainstream acts were reluctant to travel to Newcastle upon Tyne for a three minute performance when they could appear on the more established Top of the Pops in the more accessible London. After an industrial dispute which saw the temporary end of live performances, and failing to compete with its long running BBC counterpart, Top of the Pops, The Roxy was cancelled. The programme lasted for just under a year. The final edition of The Roxy was broadcast on 6 April 1988.