''Rock Wars'' is a Canadian television variety series, which aired in 1985 on CBC Television."CBC opens fire with Rock Wars". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', February 1, 1985. A national "battle of the bands" competition, the series featured unsigned musical groups competing in a series of regional concerts held in various cities across Canada, with the winner of each episode advancing to another round of competition until the ultimate winner was named at a final concert staged in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. Hosted by

Brad Giffen Brad Giffen is a retired Canadian news anchor who has worked on television in both Canada and the United States. Over his broadcasting career he has also worked as a radio personality, disc jockey, video jockey, VJ, television reporter, televisi ...

, the program aired on Friday nights as a companion to the network's music video series ''

Good Rockin' Tonite : ''For the song, see Good Rocking Tonight''. ''Good Rockin' Tonite'' was a Canadian television series, which aired on CBC Television from 1983 to 1993."As Good Rockin' Tonite turns 10, CBC video show's host is on a roll". ''Montreal Gazette'', J ...

''. Judges over the course of the series included Keith Sharp of ''

Music Express A Music Express is an amusement ride based on the original Caterpillar rides of Germany. Several near-identical ride designs are also produced by other companies: Musik Express by Italian company Bertazzon and US Majestic Rides, Himalaya ...

'',Keith Sharp, ''Music Express: The Rise, Fall & Resurrection of Canada's Music Magazine''.

Dundurn Press Dundurn Press is one of the largest Canadian-owned book publishing companies of adult and children's fiction and non-fiction. The company publishes Canadian literature, history, biography, politics and arts. Dundurn has about 2500 books in print, ...

, 2014. . p. 143. Samantha Taylor of CBC's '' Video Hits'' and

CFNY-FM CFNY-FM (''102.1 the Edge'') is a Canadian radio station, broadcasting at 102.1 MHz in the Greater Toronto Area, licensed to the suburb of Brampton. CFNY plays an alternative rock format. Owned by Corus Entertainment, its studios are in Downtown ...

program director

David Marsden David Charles Marsden (born in Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian radio broadcaster. Initially operating under the on-air name of Dave Mickie, with much fast-talking patter, he was a notable Toronto DJ of the 1960s who attracted critical attention fr ...

. The winner of the competition was to receive a half-hour CBC Television special devoted to the band, as well as a cash prize of . The series was won by Tchukon, a funk and

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

band from

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

,"Polished Tchukon charms fans". ''

Montreal Gazette The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of th ...

'', June 17, 1985. over finalists Eye Eye, HB Concept and Peter Mann and the Lonely. Other competitors over the course of the series included Monuments Galore,"From the CBC archives: Bands battle on CBC's Rock Wars in Winnipeg, 1985"

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

, February 20, 2015. The Instructions, The Rage, The Stilettos,

Eight Seconds Eight Seconds was a Canadian synthpop/progressive rock band formed in 1982 in Ottawa. They are perhaps best known for their 1986 single "Kiss You (When It's Dangerous)" which peaked at #14 in 1987 and was on the charts for 28 weeks in Canada from ...

, The Waiting, Haywire, Mad Shadows, Steps Around the House, Apple Viper, Zlatko and The Micah Barnes Band. Tchukon later went on to win Best Vocal Group in the 1986 edition of the American series ''

Star Search ''Star Search'' was an American television show that was produced by T.P.E./Rysher Entertainment from 1983 to 1995, hosted by Ed McMahon, and created by Al Masini. A relaunch was produced by 2929 Productions from 2003 to 2004. On both versio ...

''.

References

1985 Canadian television series debuts 1985 Canadian television series endings 1980s Canadian music television series 1980s Canadian reality television series Television shows filmed in Vancouver CBC Television original programming Canadian late-night television programming {{Canada-reality-tv-prog-stub