672 High Band

First  viewed :  Summer  1984

When  The  Tube  went  on  its  summer  holidays  in  1984, Channel  4  didn't  resurrect  Switch  to  fill  its  Friday  evening  slot  but  came  up  with  High  Band  instead. High  Band  was  the  ultimate  in  cheap  programme-making ; all  it  consisted  of  was  broadcasting  a  previously  released  music  VHS   that  roughly  fitted  the  time  slot. Inevitably, the  acts  featured  were  slightly  past  their  commercial  peak, making  the  calculation  that the  benefits  of  an  hour's  exposure  would  outweigh  the  losses through  home  taping.

The  only  two  I  recall  watching, both  at  my  hall  of  residence , were  Blondie's  video  for  the  Parallel  Lines  album , with  the  aforementioned  Mike  Hughes  pontificating  about  what  a  great  drummer  Clem  Burke  was,   and  ABC's  Mantrap  folly  which  drew  some  negative  comments  about  Martin  Fry's  wooden  acting.