599 Switch

First  viewed  : 25  March  1983

The  London-based  summer  replacement  for The  Tube   has  been  largely  forgotten  now, partly  down  to  the  fact  that  neither  of  its  presenters,  Yvonne  French  and  Graham  Fletcher-Cook , went  on  to become  household  names  although  the  latter  is  still  a  working  actor.

Switch  was  very  similar  to  Whistle  Test   with  short  sets  played  to  an  audience  of  technicians  in  an  empty  studio,  interspersed  with  the  odd  video. I  remember  Fletcher-Cook  was  very  partisan  in  his  tastes, pulling  a  face  when  having  to  cue  in  the  video  for  Depeche  Mode's  Everything  Counts  and   then  saying  "That  was  Depressed  Toad"  after  it  had  finished.

It's  to  be  hoped   Fletcher-Cook was  a  fan  of  Paul  Weller  because  he  and  the  acts  on  his  Respond  label  seemed  to  get  more  than  their  fair  share  of  exposure. The  first  episode  closed  with  a  continuous  set  from  The  Questions, then  Tracie  ( with  Weller  having  a  rare  outing  as  a  bass  player  on  her  hit  The  House  That  Jack  Built ) then  The  Style  Council. To  be  fair , Weller's  operation  was  based  in  the  capital  so  they  would  be  an  easy  booking.

Respond  were  always  a  shaky  proposition. The  Questions  had  some  potential  but  they  were  a  former  Jam  support  act  and  never  escaped  from  Weller's  shadow. I  think  the  association  probably  did  them  more  harm  than  good. Tracie   ( Young )  was  a  slight  talent  who  just  about  deserved  her  handful  of  hits. Why  on  earth  he  signed  The  Main  T  Possee  ( aka  New  Romantic  loser  Vaughan  Toulouse ) though , I  can't  imagine. I  remember  my  mum  watching  him  do  his  dire  single  Fickle  Public  Speaking  and  saying  "This   is  horrible"  and  she  was  dead  right. Within  a  couple  of  years  it  was  all  over.

By  that  time,  Switch  was  history.  It  finished  in  September  1983  and  never  returned.