KajaGooGoo The Oxford Road Show ORS

The Oxford Road Show
by theraggedtiger

The Oxford Road Show was a BBC pop music and magazine styled show, aimed primarily at young adults. 

The show was broadcast on BBC2 between 1981 and 1985, and during its run was known as ‘Oxford Road Show’, ‘ORS’, ‘ORS 84’, and ‘ORS 85’.  You may assume that the show was filmed in Oxford, hence its name, but the Oxford tag actually refers to something quite different – the BBC studios at New Broadcasting House, Oxford Road, Manchester.

Along with its contemporaries, ORS attracted top acts, with groups such as Simple Minds, Duran Duran, Ultravox and Japan all making appearances.  Although not taken quite as seriously as shows such as ‘The Old Grey Whistle Test’ or ‘The Tube’, ORS was a popular show amongst kids of my generation and older.  The presenter most associated with the show, both as presenter and chief interviewer of the acts, was Radio 1 DJ Peter Powell, although Radio 1 stable mate Janice Long also had a long association with the programme.  Timmy Mallet provided modest assistance, usually detailing and introducing the competition features of the show. 

As is customary with BBC productions, tickets were issued free of charge and on a first come, first served basis:

“…as an 18 year old, who had barely been out of Ashton, the prospect of this was too exciting for words. I ended up going to several shows, some on Saturday mornings having applied for free tickets, and some on Friday evenings, where even without tickets they would let a few extra people in if you were outside… Seeing Peter Powell in real life, not to mention getting winked at by Midge Ure and other stars was amazing… these shows were fabulous fun and had a great atmosphere that would be hard to get at an ordinary show….”  Mancky.                                                                                                                                                                                               Mancky.

Kajagoogoo performed on the show in January of 1983.  KajaFax is unaware as to how much of this performance still exists outside of BBC archives, but we do have clips available via You Tube.  Please click and enjoy!

Video courtesy of Kajagoogoomusic:

2011 KajaFax