TV Pop Diaries
Pop Music on British Television 1955 - 1999

The new ITV franchise for the south of England promised a range of new pop shows, probably not the amount that TVS' predecessors Southern Television had broadcast from 1966 to 1968, but anything new was welcome. But as it transpired only two series, DJ and Off The Record appeared.

DJ was named after the show’s host, Radio One's Dave ‘Kid’ Jensen, a regular host on Top of the Pops. His co-host would be Pauline Black, adding television presenting to her CV which already boasted acting roles and fronting Two-Tone’s The Selecter. Jensen had been given a weekly music news spot on news magazine show Coast To Coast and it was decided to expand this into a proper weekly show.

A live act would appear each week, while the rest of the show would be taken up with music news, interviews and film and video clips. The thirty-minute show was broadcast on Monday evenings at 6.30pm, a similar spot had been previously given to What's On by Granada. It’s probable that this was the last pop show to play at this time-slot on terrestrial television. The first season of six was followed by second, broadcast this time on Saturdays from 22nd October 1983.

The two series of DJ might have been followed up by The Number One Show. A pilot show was broadcast in January 1984 hosted again by Jensen and TVS presenter Khlaid Aziz, but got no further. TVS' investment in pop was over, however the studio in Maidstone, Kent where many of their shows were transmitted from later played host to Later with Jools Holland.

DJ

TVS

10th January 1983 - 17th December 1983