The Power Station was a

British television Regular television broadcasts in the United Kingdom started in 1936 as a public service which was free of advertising, which followed the first demonstration of a transmitted moving image in 1926. Currently, the United Kingdom has a collection ...

channel that was operated by

British Satellite Broadcasting British Satellite Broadcasting (BSB) was a television company, headquartered in London, that provided direct broadcast satellite television services to the United Kingdom. They started broadcasting on 25 March 1990. The company was merged with ...

(later

British Sky Broadcasting Sky UK Limited is a British broadcaster and telecommunications company that provides television and broadband Internet services, fixed line and mobile telephone services to consumers and businesses in the United Kingdom. It is a subsidiary of ...

, after BSB and Sky Television merged). It was a dedicated music channel.

History

Programming

''Power Up'' (weekdays at 7.00–9.00am) was the Power Station's breakfast show, hosted by Chris Evans. Other main shows that include ''The Power Hour'' (weekdays at 12.00–1.00pm), '' The Carmen Ejogo Video Show'' (weekdays at 4.00–5.00pm), ''The Power Chart'' with

Pat Sharp Patrick Sharpin, known professionally as Pat Sharp (born 25 October 1961), is an English radio presenter, television presenter and DJ. In the UK, he is known mainly for his work on the children's ITV programme ''Fun House'', and his extensiv ...

(weekdays at 5.00–6.00pm and Sundays at 4.00–5.00pm), ''Sushi TV'' (weekdays at 6.00–7.00pm) and '' Jonathan Coleman's Swing Shift'' (Monday to Thursday at 11.00pm–1.00am). The channel also featured

Boy George George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is an English singer, songwriter, DJ, author and mixed media artist. Best known for his soulful voice and his androgynous appearance, Boy George has been the lead singe ...

's weekly chat show ''Blue Radio'', ''The Power Club'', ''The Power Hour'' (a top ten show for example albums), ''Krush Rap'', ''Rage'' (where DJ Elayne Smith presented funky

rap Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

acid house Acid house (also simply known as just "acid") is a subgenre of house music developed around the mid-1980s by DJs from Chicago. The style is defined primarily by the squelching sounds and basslines of the Roland TB-303 electronic bass synthesiz ...

and

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

), ''The Chart of Charts'' (a two-hour chart pick with

indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming *Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies *Indie game, any game (board ...

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

and US music), and ''Power Haus'' (a 'headbangers' heaven'). ''Speakeasy'' featured jazz with rock music a feature of ''Raw Power''. Live concerts came from artists including the

Inspiral Carpets Inspiral Carpets are an English rock band, part of the late-1980s/early-1990s Madchester movement. Formed in Oldham in 1980, the band's most successful lineup featured frontman Tom Hingley, drummer Craig Gill, guitarist Graham Lambert, bassist ...

Belinda Carlisle Belinda Jo Carlisle ( ; born August 17, 1958) is an American singer. She gained fame as the lead vocalist of the Go-Go's, the most successful all-female rock band of all time, and went on to have a prolific career as a solo artist. Raised in ...

, Jason Donovan,

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis made ...

and

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and lead singer of the rock band Genesis and also has a career as a solo performer. Between 1982 and ...

Merger and closure

On 2 November 1990, British Satellite Broadcasting and Sky Television merged, as well as

Galaxy A galaxy is a system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar gas, dust, dark matter, bound together by gravity. The word is derived from the Greek ' (), literally 'milky', a reference to the Milky Way galaxy that contains the Solar System. ...

and

Now Now most commonly refers to the present time. Now, NOW, or The Now may also refer to: Organizations * Natal Organisation of Women, a South African women's organization * National Organization for Women, an American feminist organization * Now ...

channels were closed, but at first the Power Station survived, gaining a "

" suffix on its logo. The Power Station eventually ceased broadcasting at around 4.00am on 8 April 1991, with the final programme on the channel was an episode of ''

Johnny Sokko and His Flying Robot , also known as ''Johnny Sokko and His Flying Robot'' in the United States, is a manga and tokusatsu series created by Mitsuteru Yokoyama. It is similar to Yokoyama's ''Tetsujin 28-go'' (known as '' Gigantor'' in the U.S.), but ''Giant Robo'' has ...

'', which was aired during ''Swing Shift.'' At 6.00am, channel 4 for BSB viewers became

Sky Movies Sky Cinema is a British subscription film service owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). In the United Kingdom, Sky Cinema channels currently broadcast on the Sky satellite and Virgin Media cable platforms, and in addition Sky Cinema ...

, a subscription-based channel and it was given free to BSB viewers for one month if they also subscribed to

The Movie Channel The Movie Channel (TMC) is an American premium television network owned by Showtime Networks, a subsidiary of Paramount Global operated through its Media Networks unit. The network's programming mainly features first-run theatrically released ...

References

External links

The Power Station at TVARK
Defunct British television channels Sky television channels Music video networks in the United Kingdom Television channels and stations established in 1990 Television channels and stations disestablished in 1991 1990s in the United Kingdom 1990s in British television History of television in the United Kingdom {{UK-tv-channel-stub