P-Rock
Encyclopedia
P-Rock TV was a UK based music channel which played mostly music videos in the Punk
and Ska
genres. It also featured underground rap and hardcore
artists. It was first set up in November 2002 by two South London based businessmen on a marketing budget of £2,500, with no previous TV experience. The channel continued into 2003 when it was cancelled.
which often features interview segments in the form of talk shows and other such programming. Also, P-Rock provided an alternative to the other channels of similar nature, in the manner of the type of music that was played. The channel played lesser-known underground bands, as well as more popular acts. Also, there was much more focus on contemporary and classic punk rock than the metal and rock that Kerrang!
featured heavily in its programming.
. It mainly played US bands, but also included some UK bands, particularly more underground acts. Over the Christmas 2002 period, the channel notably played videos by Rancid
, Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards
, The Distillers
, The Vandals
, The Offspring
, Tsunami Bomb
, Jimmy Eat World
and Reel Big Fish
, as well as a number of artists on Drive Thru Records such as Allister and Homegrown. They later extended to underground rap-rock bands such as Cypress Hill
and N.E.R.D. The channel also branched out and introduced less well known bands such as Good Riddance
, Bouncing Souls, No Use for a Name
and King Prawn
.
After its original cancellation, the channel resumed playing in May 2003 for a brief while but was later cancelled a second time. Before its final cancellation, the channel was put on a permanent technical failure notice, before being closed down for the final time.
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
and Ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
genres. It also featured underground rap and hardcore
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
artists. It was first set up in November 2002 by two South London based businessmen on a marketing budget of £2,500, with no previous TV experience. The channel continued into 2003 when it was cancelled.
Audience
The channel provided an alternative to the other rock-orientated music video channels around at the time. P-Rock played videos almost constantly, in contrast to channels such as MTV2MTV2
MTV2 is a cable network that is widely available in the United States on digital cable and satellite television, and is progressively being added to analogue cable lineups across the nation...
which often features interview segments in the form of talk shows and other such programming. Also, P-Rock provided an alternative to the other channels of similar nature, in the manner of the type of music that was played. The channel played lesser-known underground bands, as well as more popular acts. Also, there was much more focus on contemporary and classic punk rock than the metal and rock that Kerrang!
Kerrang!
Kerrang! is a UK-based magazine devoted to rock music published by Bauer Media Group. It was first published on June 6, 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper...
featured heavily in its programming.
Playlist
The channel's popularity relied partially upon the inclusion of popular artists among its tracklist. However, the playlist also featured a number of bands that rarely, if ever, had any time devoted to them on other channels, such as FarseFarse
Farse are a five-piece ska-punk band hailing from Birmingham in the West Midlands.They attended St. Thomas Aquinas school in Birmingham, where the band formed in 1996 as a four piece, Ollie Chris Dan Tom Rose...
. It mainly played US bands, but also included some UK bands, particularly more underground acts. Over the Christmas 2002 period, the channel notably played videos by Rancid
Rancid (band)
Rancid is an American punk rock band formed in Berkeley, California in 1991. Founded by Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman, both of whom previously played in the ska punk band Operation Ivy, Rancid is credited—along with Green Day and The Offspring—for reviving mainstream interest in punk rock in the...
, Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards
Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards
Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards were an American street punk band formed to release the songs that Lars had written. Their songs include subject matter consisting of drinking, fighting, drugs, sex, prostitutes, gangs, and street life...
, The Distillers
The Distillers
The Distillers were an American punk rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1998. They released their first two albums on Hellcat Records/Epitaph Records before moving to Sire, part of the Warner Music Group. The Distillers were originally formed by Australian-born Brody Armstrong , a woman with a...
, The Vandals
The Vandals
The Vandals are an American rock band established in 1980 in Huntington Beach, California. They have released ten full-length studio albums and two live albums and have toured the world extensively, including performances on the Vans Warped Tour...
, The Offspring
The Offspring
The Offspring is an American punk rock band from Huntington Beach, California, formed in 1984. Known as Manic Subsidal until 1986, the band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Dexter Holland, lead guitarist Kevin "Noodles" Wasserman, bassist Greg K. and drummer Pete Parada...
, Tsunami Bomb
Tsunami Bomb
Tsunami Bomb was a punk rock band from Petaluma, California that was active between 1998 and October 2005 and released 2 studio albums and 4 EPs. They were founded by Dominic David who left in 2003...
, Jimmy Eat World
Jimmy Eat World
Jimmy Eat World is an American alternative rock band from Mesa, Arizona, that formed in 1993. The band is composed of lead vocalist and guitarist Jim Adkins, guitarist and backing vocalist Tom Linton, bassist Rick Burch and drummer Zach Lind....
and Reel Big Fish
Reel Big Fish
Reel Big Fish is an American ska punk band from Huntington Beach, California, best known for the 1997 hit "Sell Out". The band gained mainstream recognition in the mid-to-late 1990s, during the third wave of ska with the release of the gold certified album Turn the Radio Off. Soon after, the band...
, as well as a number of artists on Drive Thru Records such as Allister and Homegrown. They later extended to underground rap-rock bands such as Cypress Hill
Cypress Hill
Cypress Hill is an American hip hop group from South Gate, California. Cypress Hill was the first Latino hip-hop group to have platinum and multi-platinum albums, selling over 18 million albums worldwide...
and N.E.R.D. The channel also branched out and introduced less well known bands such as Good Riddance
Good Riddance
Good Riddance was a punk rock band from Santa Cruz, California. They released seven full-length studio albums on Fat Wreck Chords, and their final album was a live recording of their farewell concert in 2007. Led by vocalist Russ Rankin, the band's longtime lineup included guitarist Luke Pabich,...
, Bouncing Souls, No Use for a Name
No Use for a Name
No Use for a Name is a punk rock band from San Jose, California, United States formed in 1987 by Chris Dodge , Steve Papoutsis , Rory Koff and John Meyers...
and King Prawn
King Prawn
King Prawn were a prominent band of the UK ska punk scene during the 1990s and early 2000s.King Prawn blended elements of punk, hardcore, metal, ska, dub, reggae, and hip hop into their music, which they dubbed wildstyle....
.
Programming
The channel managed a near non-stop stream of viewer-selected videos filled on the schedule, while there were features such as the Top 10 at weekends, or late at night. The channel also allowed itself to show some of the less savoury music videos at night that were banned from daytime showing, such as the gory video to the Misfits song "Scream".Complaints
Technical problems were rife during the channel's run, some of which being satellite failure and glitches in the videos.Cancellation
P-Rock's co-founder Mark Shipman, has stated that lack of commitment by advertisers led to the decision to close the channel down, when in actual fact the channel was cartelled by both Viacom and E-map who, at the time, were the owners of all the other music channels on the Sky platform. Although it was receiving over 600,000 viewers a week around the time of closure, the reluctance of advertisers to risk losing spots on the other music channels meant p-rock.tv without adverts was no longer financially secure.After its original cancellation, the channel resumed playing in May 2003 for a brief while but was later cancelled a second time. Before its final cancellation, the channel was put on a permanent technical failure notice, before being closed down for the final time.