TRL UK

The Midnight Special

1972 · ★ 8.1

The Midnight Special is an American late-night musical variety series that aired on NBC during the 1970s and early 1980s, created and produced by Burt Sugarman. It premiered as a special on August 19, 1972, then began its run as a regular series on February 2, 1973; its last episode was on May 1, 1981. The ninety-minute program followed the Friday night edition of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. The show typically featured guest hosts, except for a period from July 1975 through March 1976 when singer Helen Reddy served as the regular host. Wolfman Jack served as the announcer and frequent guest host. The series also occasionally aired vintage footage of older acts. As the program neared the end of its run in the early 1980s, it began to frequently use lip-synched performances rather than live. The program also featured occasional comedic performances such as Richard Pryor and Andy Kaufman.

The Chart Show

1986

The Chart Show is a music video programme which ran in the United Kingdom on Channel 4 between 1986 and 1988, then on ITV between 1989 and 1998. The production company was Video Visuals, and was credited as "A Yorkshire Television Presentation" from 1993 and 1998. The show has lived on through a Channel 4 revival in 2003 and a more recent revival on the digital music channel Chart Show TV, which ran sporadically from 2008 and 2009.

CD:UK

1998 · ★ 7.5

CD:UK was a British music television programme. Originally run in conjunction with SMTV Live, the programme first aired on ITV on 29 August 1998 to rival the BBC's Live & Kicking and was the replacement for The Chart Show, which had been airing on the network for nine and a half years. In contrast to its predecessor, which only showed promo videos, CD:UK was broadcast live on Saturday mornings with a studio audience and featured live performances, as well as star interviews and competitions. It also featured the Saturday Chart, which although was unofficial, usually reflected the new chart positions a day before the official chart was announced on Radio 1. This made the BBC's long-running Top of the Pops, which aired only the night before, seem very out-of-date broadcasting the previous week's chart. CD:UK later utilised an interactive chart based on viewers' votes, called the MiTracks Countdown. From 1999 to 2004, the show was sponsored by Tizer. In 2002, the programmes was criticised for showing "raunchy" performances in a slot aimed at children, sparked by a performance of "Dirrty" by Christina Aguilera. In response, a spin-off programme entitled CD:UK Hotshots, featuring music videos which could be considered unsuitable for daytime viewing, was launched in January 2003 and broadcast overnight.

Hilary Duff: This Is Now

2007 · ★ 1

Hilary Duff: This Is Now is a two-part MTV reality television series about singer Hilary Duff, broadcast in April 2007. It followed Duff during a promotional tour for her album Dignity in Spain, and her first performance of her single "With Love" in Europe. It showed Duff participating in photo shoots, her personal affairs, and interview segments. The first episode aired on April 3, and the second on April 9, 2007. The show took two weeks to film, and an MTV crew followed Duff around, filming her preparations for the release of the Dignity album.

Popworld

Popworld was a British television programme that was broadcast on Channel 4 as part of the T4 strand, featuring pop news, trivia, gossip, interviews and music videos, as well as musical performances from contemporary artists. The show began on 20 January 2001 and was initially presented by Miquita Oliver and Simon Amstell. Alex Zane and Alexa Chung took over the hosting role in 2006. Popworld was broadcast every Sunday Morning on Channel 4 at 10:30am, and repeated on E4 at 2:00pm the following day. On 27 April 2007, Channel 4 announced that they would not be recommissioning the show, and after six years on air, Popworld ended on 14 July 2007.

Making the Band

2000 · ★ 9

Making the Band is an ABC/MTV reality television series that exists in separate iterations, each iteration focusing on a specific music act. It spawned musical acts O-Town, Da Band, Danity Kane, Day26, and Donnie Klang. Except for the first iteration of the series featuring O-Town, all seasons of Making the Band have been overseen by Diddy, acting as the man of the house who makes the final decision on who will be in the band.

Top of the Pops Reloaded

2005 · ★ 8

Top of the Pops: Reloaded is a weekly children's music show broadcast as part of the Saturday morning CBBC schedule on BBC Two. It was based on the show, Top Of The Pops, following on from its predecessor Top of the Pops Saturday. It was shown on BBC Two at 11am on Saturdays and repeated at 6pm on the CBBC Channel on Sunday. Presenters included Fearne Cotton, Sam Nixon and Mark Rhodes. The show also regularly featured Radio 1 DJs JK & Joel. From episode twelve onwards, a new feature was introduced where digital viewers could press their red button to access a different choice of music. Richard Oliff was the first ever 'Dad-Dancer' to be featured on the show, performing to Mylo's Doctor Pressure.

Friday Night Videos

1983 · ★ 8.8

Friday Night Videos is an American music video show broadcast on the NBC television network from July 29, 1983 to May 24, 2002, and was the network's attempt to capitalize on the emerging popularity of music videos as seen on MTV. Belinda Carlisle was the guest host for the first episode.

Live from Abbey Road

2007

Live from Abbey Road is a 12-part, one-hour performance series/documentary that began filming its first season during 2006 at Abbey Road Studios in London. Season 2 was filmed between 2007 and 2008, season 3 was filmed in 2009 and Season 4 was filmed in 2011. The series features a total of 128 musical artists to date -- usually two or three per show, performing up to five songs per session. The sessions are recorded without a live audience. Filmed in High-Definition with the occasional use of 35 mm lenses, the producers have sought to record performances which "look like a movie and sound like a record".

Making the Band 2

2002 · ★ 8

Making the Band 2 aired on MTV from October 19, 2002 to April 29, 2004. It centered around the creation of the hip-hop group Da Band.

Solid Gold

1980 · ★ 6.3

Solid Gold was an American syndicated music television series that debuted on September 13, 1980. Like many other shows of its genre, such as American Bandstand, Solid Gold featured musical performances and various other elements such as music videos. What set Solid Gold apart was a group of dancers in revealing costumes who at various points in the program performed various dances to the top ten hits of the week. Many other specials aired in which the dancers would dance to older pop hits as well. Reviews of the show were not always positive, with The New York Times referring to it as "the pop music show that is its own parody...[enacting] mini-dramas...of covetousness, lust and aerobic toning--routines that typically have a minimal connection with the songs that back them up." The series ran until July 23, 1988, and it was usually transmitted on Saturdays in the early evening. In 1986, Solid Gold added the current year to its title, so in the seventh season the show was known as Solid Gold '86/'87. For the eighth and last season the program became known as Solid Gold In Concert, reflecting the addition of more live performances than had previously been featured on the program in the past.

Pop-Up Video

1996 · ★ 6.3

Pop Up Video is a VH1 television show that "pops up" bubbles — officially called "info nuggets" — containing trivia, witticisms and borderline sexual innuendos throughout music videos. The show was created by Woody Thompson and Tad Low and premiered October 27, 1996. For a time, it was the highest-rated program on VH1, though Behind the Music overtook it by 1998. It was originally produced by Spin the Bottle Inc. and later Eyeboogie Inc. during its original run. In October 2011, Pop Up Video was revived by VH1, featuring new videos with new trivia and commentary. The revived production was continued by Eyeboogie Inc.