Friday Rock Show
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The Friday Rock Show was a radio show in the United Kingdom that was broadcast on BBC Radio 1 from 2200 to 0000 on Friday nights from 1978 to 1993. Throughout most of its run it was hosted by Tommy Vance. Ostensibly for the genre of rock in general, it was most closely associated with heavy metal. In the early 1980s it was the only nationally available medium for this genre of music, and Vance's enthusiasm for showcasing new bands and his rapport with fans made the show essential listening for rockers. For most of its run, its intro and closing theme tune was the Dixie Dregs instrumental "Take it Off the Top", and the quiz in the show "the Friday Night Connection" used the Van Der Graaf Generator number "Theme One" (a cover of the theme tune originally written for Radio 1 by George Martin in 1967).
Every show included a studio session or live performance. Other features included "The Friday Night Connection", a quiz in which listeners had to identify three pieces of music and the connection between them, and the "Rock War" (later renamed "Rock Challenge" during the 1991 Gulf War), in which listeners were asked to vote for the best of three demo tapes sent in by aspiring bands. Another feature was the listerners all time chart which took place once a year on the shows Birthday (Now We Are 1,Now We Are 2,etc etc) on it was played the most popular rock tracks, which invariably finished with 'Led Zeppelin, Stairway to Heaven' at number 1. On many shows archive recordings made in BBC Radio 1 studios,from as far back as the late 1960s were played. This material included bands like Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, The Nice, Rush and Genesis among others. Much of this material was never available on general release, until the era of the De Luxe edition CD album or the bonus tracks CD albums arrived.
The show played a significant role in the rise of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal. It had the additional good fortune of being able to "borrow" the 88-91 MHz FM transmitters of BBC Radio 2, allowing listeners to enjoy the music in the best available quality for the time, before Radio 1 finally acquired its own FM frequency in 1988. Before this happened, the show was temporarily given an extra hour from 2100 to 2200. This was heard on mediumwave only except in London and parts of the south east, where it was relayed by BBC Radio London's FM transmitter. After Radio 1's move to 24-hour FM broadcasting, the show's time slot was put back half an hour to 2230 to 0030.
By 1993 the introduction into Britain of a much wider choice of television and radio channels had made heavy metal more accessible and the show less important, and Tommy Vance left Radio 1 to join the original line-up of Virgin Radio.
The show was taken over by Claire Sturgess but ceased soon after.
