Supersonic (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Supersonic is a British
children's television music show which featured pop music
artists of the day. Launched in 1975, it was produced by London Weekend Television
for the ITV
network and ran for two years. The show typically lasted 30 minutes and was broadcast, firstly, on Thursday afternoons - Series 1, Show 1: (4 September 1975) - Series 1, Show 18: The Supersonic Christmas Show 1975 (25 December 1975.) It was then moved to a Saturday afternoon slot from Series 1, Show 19: (3 January 1976.) The programme was presented by film and music producer Mike Mansfield and the main theme was composed and sung by Andy Bown
.
Although the show starred performers with songs in the music charts, the show, unlike its BBC
rival Top of the Pops
, was not chart-based. Whilst Top of the Pops ran all year, Supersonic had a limited run with season one consisting of 30 editions and season two consisting of 28.
The show was recorded in front of an audience of children at London Weekend's studios, then known as the South Bank Television Centre
and used a laissez-faire
style of production in which cameras
were highly visible and areas such as the production gallery were featured. Its host also doubled up as producer and director, cueing in performances from the studio gallery instead of presenting conventional links to camera.
Musical performances from this show where later repackaged for U.S. television, under the title Twiggy's Jukebox
, hosted by model-turned-actor/singer Twiggy
, which ran for one season in 1978-1979.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
children's television music show which featured pop music
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...
artists of the day. Launched in 1975, it was produced by London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television was the name of the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties including south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire, Warwickshire, east Dorset and...
for the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
network and ran for two years. The show typically lasted 30 minutes and was broadcast, firstly, on Thursday afternoons - Series 1, Show 1: (4 September 1975) - Series 1, Show 18: The Supersonic Christmas Show 1975 (25 December 1975.) It was then moved to a Saturday afternoon slot from Series 1, Show 19: (3 January 1976.) The programme was presented by film and music producer Mike Mansfield and the main theme was composed and sung by Andy Bown
Andy Bown
Andy Bown is an English musician, who has specialised in keyboards and bass guitar. He is a member of the rock band Status Quo.-Career:...
.
Although the show starred performers with songs in the music charts, the show, unlike its BBC
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...
rival Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
, was not chart-based. Whilst Top of the Pops ran all year, Supersonic had a limited run with season one consisting of 30 editions and season two consisting of 28.
The show was recorded in front of an audience of children at London Weekend's studios, then known as the South Bank Television Centre
The London Studios
The London Studios is a television studio complex which is owned by London Weekend Television and has been home to the London Weekend ITV provider since 1972...
and used a laissez-faire
Laissez-faire
In economics, laissez-faire describes an environment in which transactions between private parties are free from state intervention, including restrictive regulations, taxes, tariffs and enforced monopolies....
style of production in which cameras
EMI 2001
The EMI 2001 Broadcast studio camera was an early, very successful British made Plumbicon studio camera that included the lens within the body of the camera. Four 30mm tubes allowed one tube to be dedicated solely to producing a relatively high resolution monochrome signal, with the other three...
were highly visible and areas such as the production gallery were featured. Its host also doubled up as producer and director, cueing in performances from the studio gallery instead of presenting conventional links to camera.
Musical performances from this show where later repackaged for U.S. television, under the title Twiggy's Jukebox
Twiggy's Jukebox
Twiggy's Jukebox was a weekly rock music TV series seen throughout the United States during the 1978-1979 television season. Its original host was the model and pop singer Twiggy, and the musical performances were taken from the 1975-1976 LWT series Supersonic. The program was distributed by...
, hosted by model-turned-actor/singer Twiggy
Twiggy
Lesley Lawson née Hornby known as Twiggy is an English model, actress, and singer. In the early-1960s she became a prominent British teenage model of swinging sixties London with others such as Penelope Tree....
, which ran for one season in 1978-1979.