It's now been 40 years since one Friday night music show injected edge and the occasional moment of uncontrolled chaos into British TV.
This week marks four decades since Channel 4 launched and with that comes the anniversary of some of the biggest and memorable TV shows to air, such as Brookside. But on Bonfire Night in 1982, the first episode of The Tube also aired, making household names of presenters Jools Holland and the late Paula Yates, Chronicle Live previously reported.
For five series, The Tube gave TV and music lovers something they'd never seen before and helped launch the careers of bands like Frankie Goes to Hollywood and The Proclaimers. The show also gave a platform to rising comedians such as French and Saunders, Vic Reeves, Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson.
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Mainly being filmed in Newcastle, The Tube occasionally ventured to the likes of Belfast, Glasgow, Manchester - and Liverpool - to present each city's local talent. Many will remember one famous moment on The Tube when a then unsigned Frankie Goes To Hollywood first performed 'Relax' on the show at The State nightclub in 1983.
In 1985, an episode also saw Jools Holland visit Liverpool for an event organised by Echo and the Bunnymen called Crystal Day and another episode was also solely dedicated to Liverpool's music and arts scene during the final series of The Tube in 1987. Now four decades on since the show hit our screen, we recall The Tube in 20 fun facts.
1. Kicking off with a bang, the first show was broadcast at tea time on Friday, November 5, 1982 on the newly-launched Channel 4.
2. It came live from Tyne Tees Television’s Studio Five on City Road, Newcastle.
3. Among the show’s creators and producers were the Geordie trio of Malcolm Gerrie, and Andrea and Geoff Wonfor.
4. The programme took its name from the circular covered walkway leading to the studio.
5. The show’s distinctive theme music came from a song called Star Cycle performed by guitarist Jeff Beck on his 1980 album There And Back.
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6. The Tube would make household names of presenters Jools Holland (former keyboard player with chart band Squeeze) and Paula Yates who would die in tragic circumstances in 2000.
7. There would be more than 100 episodes broadcast across five series.
8. The audience was made up of the same people most weeks after applying for much sought after passes.
9. The Tube helped launch careers of the likes of Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Terence Trent D’Arby, The Proclaimers and Madonna (in a performance broadcast from Manchester’s Hacienda nightclub).
10. The show also had a commitment to comedy, giving a platform to rising stars such as French and Saunders, Vic Reeves, Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson.
11. Pop’s big names also headed to the City Road TV studios. Tina Turner, U2, Culture Club, The Jam (who played their last TV set on the first ever Tube), Bon Jovi, Paul McCartney, Dire Straits and INXS were just some of those who appeared.
12. Regulars in the next-door Egypt Cottage pub would rub shoulders with famous faces from the world of entertainment enjoying a drink.
13. The show’s production team also travelled across the globe with features filmed as far afield as Japan, Jamaica and the United States.
14. By 1987 and the time The Tube’s fifth series was underway it was suffering from falling ratings and problems with internal politics, and suffered from adverse publicity when Holland swore live on peak-time air.
15. Duran Duran would be the last act to perform on the show which was broadcast for the final time on April 24, 1987.
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16. Paula Yates’ last words on the show were: “Here it is, the moment we’ve all been dreading. It’s the last moment of The Tube. It’s been wonderful. You’re going to miss us when we’re gone.”
17. A one-off episode of The Tube, hosted by Donna Air and Chris Moyles, was broadcast on Sky 1 in 1999.
18. Memorabilia from the show including one of the two neon Tube signs (currently in Newcastle’s Discovery Museum) and a piano played by Holland was auctioned off by Tyne Tees when it moved to Gateshead in 2005.
19. In 2012, there was credible talk that a revival of the The Tube was on the cards, but nothing would come of it.
20. The former Tyne Tees TV studios and the iconic Egypt Cottage have both long been demolished.
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