Tuesday, 21 November 2017

842 APB



First  viewed :  9  January  1988

This  new  pop  show  went  into   Channel  Four's   Sunday  lunchtime  slot  previously  occupied  by  Network  7. When  I  originally  wrote  about  that  show  I  confused  the  two; that  post  has  now  been  corrected.

APB  was  ITV's  Cinderella  region,  Border's  attempt  at  a  pop  show  though  it  also  featured  film  and  sports  items  as  well.   It  was  presented  by  Gaz  Top .APB   took  the  approach  that  there  were  enough  performance  and  video  outlets   on  TV  and  its  pop  features  instead   allowed  the  stars  to  expand  on  their  particular  interests  so,  for  example,  Michael  Hutchence  showed  us  round  his  motorcycle  collection.

Bjork  and  Einar  from  The  Sugarcubes  came  in  and  were  interviewed  sitting  on  a  giant   leather  chair  that  made  them  look  like   Thuinderbirds   puppets. Instead  of  being  asked  when  their  LP  was  coming  out,  they  talked  about  Iceland's  geography.

The  programme  helped  turn  me  on  to  All  About  Eve  after  a  feature  where  Julianne  Regan   talked  about  her  love  of  candles  and  Goth-y  stuff  and  she  came  across  as  a  very  sweet  personality. 

It  only  lasted  the  one  series.

3 comments:

  1. I'm surprised to know of any other Border TV production beyond "Mr and Mrs"! I guess I was too young to be interested in pop music, let alone the more "indie" side of things. I remember Gaz Top from other things at the time - shame they didn't get a Cumbrian to do the presenting, but perhaps the accent would have proved a problem...

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    1. I thought I'd spare you the Mr and Mrs reference and you've brought it up ! :-)

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    2. Ol' Derek was an alright sort. He presented my cousin with a trophy for winning a pool competition at Southport Pontins in the late 80s: my mam and Aunty were impressed to meet someone from TV land.

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