Oxford Road Show
Encyclopedia
Oxford Road Show was a pop music
magazine show broadcast on BBC2 from the BBC's
New Broadcasting House
, Oxford Road, Manchester
between 1981 and 1985. The show featured music, pop music news and competitions. Later it was known as "ORS 84" and "ORS 85". The show was presented as addressing issues for young adults by young adults.
Many bands and artist popular at the time performed on the show including The Cure
, Spandau Ballet
, Duran Duran
, Simple Minds
and The Smiths
The show had several presenters including Peter Powell, Jackie Spreckley, Janice Long
, Timmy Mallett
, Richard Witts, Rob Rohrer and Victoria Studd.
The show was later parodied as "Nozin' Aroun'" in the first episode of The Young Ones
.
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
magazine show broadcast on BBC2 from the BBC's
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
New Broadcasting House
New Broadcasting House
New Broadcasting House is the home of the BBC on Oxford Road in Manchester city centre. The studios house BBC Manchester, BBC North, BBC North West, the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and the BBC Religion and Ethics department...
, Oxford Road, Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
between 1981 and 1985. The show featured music, pop music news and competitions. Later it was known as "ORS 84" and "ORS 85". The show was presented as addressing issues for young adults by young adults.
Many bands and artist popular at the time performed on the show including The Cure
The Cure
The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...
, Spandau Ballet
Spandau Ballet
Spandau Ballet are a British band formed in London in the late 1970s. Initially inspired by, and an integral part of, the New Romantic fashion, their music has featured a mixture of funk, jazz, soul and synthpop. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s, achieving ten Top Ten singles...
, Duran Duran
Duran Duran
Duran Duran are an English band, formed in Birmingham in 1978. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States...
, Simple Minds
Simple Minds
Simple Minds are a Scottish rock band who achieved worldwide popularity from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s. The band produced a handful of critically acclaimed albums in the early 1980s and best known for their #1 US, Canada and Netherlands hit single "Don't You ", from the soundtrack of the...
and The Smiths
The Smiths
The Smiths were an English alternative rock band, formed in Manchester in 1982. Based on the song writing partnership of Morrissey and Johnny Marr , the band also included Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce...
The show had several presenters including Peter Powell, Jackie Spreckley, Janice Long
Janice Long
Janice Long is an English radio broadcaster currently working on BBC Radio 2. Her show is on Sunday to Thursday nights from midnight to 02:00. She is the older sister of TV and radio personality Keith Chegwin.-Early career:...
, Timmy Mallett
Timmy Mallett
Timmy Mallett is a TV presenter and broadcaster in the UK. He achieved cult status on BBC Radio Oxford and Manchester's Piccadilly Radio and later on TV-am...
, Richard Witts, Rob Rohrer and Victoria Studd.
The show was later parodied as "Nozin' Aroun'" in the first episode of The Young Ones
The Young Ones (TV series)
The Young Ones is a British sitcom, first broadcast in 1982, which ran for two series on BBC2. Its anarchic, offbeat humour helped bring alternative comedy to television in the 1980s and made household names of its writers and performers...
.