Full programme details have been revealed for the new online music series That Was Then… This Is Now! which launches this week featuring Hertfordshire residents Marty Wilde and Kim Wilde among others.
The music streaming show kicks off this Thursday – November 5 – with tickets on sale now for the digital programme.
Created and produced by hitmaker Mike Stock, of Stock Aitken Waterman fame, and former BBC presenter Mike Read, the series features some of the biggest British pop stars of the 80s.
The show will be available to stream online by purchasing tickets – providing a platform for the artists who are unable to tour for the foreseeable future due to COVID-19.
Each edition of the series will feature multi-artist line-ups consisting of new live studio performances shot in the highest 5K resolution, as well as exclusive interviews with presenters Mike Read and Sky TV’s Hayley Palmer.
The first series features chart stars Chesney Hawkes, Johnny Hates Jazz, Leee John of Imagination, Limahl, Marty Wilde with daughters Roxanne and Kim Wilde, Owen Paul, Right Said Fred, Paul Young, Sonia, Steve Harley, The Fizz, The Vapors, and Toyah.
You can see the Wilde family in show two from Thursday, November 12, along with fellow Hertfordshire resident Paul Young.
Marty, 81, Kim and Roxanne also feature in the fourth programme on November 26.
Wherever I Lay My Hat (That’s My Home) chart-topper Paul Young is also in the fifth episode debuting on December 3.
The Wilde family need little introduction. Now in his 80s, Marty Wilde was one of the biggest British rock ‘n’ roll singers of the late 50s notching up six top 10 singles and writing hits for artists as diverse as Lulu and Status Quo.
Marty’s biggest hits include Endless Sleep, Donna, Sea of Love, A Teenager in Love, Rubber Ball, and Bad Boy.
Daughter Kim collaborated with Marty’s son Ricky Wilde, penning a series of hits throughout the 80s, with breakthrough single Kids In America charting at number 2 in 1981.
The Codicote-based singer has sold over 10 million albums and 20 million singles, and holds the record for being the most-charted British female solo act of the 1980s, with 17 UK top 40 hit singles.
She topped the charts in America with You Keep Me Hangin’ On, and her UK hits include Chequered Love, Cambodia, You Came and Four Letter Word.
Sister Roxanne has also had a widely impressive musical career, although lower key, working with the likes of Kylie Minogue.
Kim continues to record to this day, and has also presented radio shows.
Tewin’s Marty Wilde, meanwhile, received an MBE in 2017 for services to music, and continues to tour with his band The Wildcats.
A teen icon in the 1950s, he’s achieved success as a singer and songwriter across eight consecutive decades on the Official Albums and Singles Chart.
His latest album Running Together was written and recorded alongside daughters, Kim and Roxanne.
Paul Young, who once had a regular gig slot at The Horn in St Albans ‑ then called The Horn of Plenty ‑ with his Streetband in the 1970s, has had a stunning career spanning 45 years to date.
He topped the singles charts as a solo artist in the 1980s on both sides of the Atlantic on the back of the success of album No Parlez.
The decade also saw a landmark performance at Live Aid in 1985, as well as singing the opening line to Band Aid’s Do They Know It’s Christmas.
That Was Then… This Is Now! was produced independently by Mike Stock, who is best known for his work in the hit-making team Stock Aitken Waterman in the 80s and 90s.
On creating the show in order to support artists who rely every year on touring, Mike Stock said: “These artists are still making great music and we wish to showcase their classic hits alongside their still exciting new material.
“These heritage acts have been largely ignored by the government and cut off from any income this year.
“We hope to provide some financial assistance as well as giving audiences something of real quality to enjoy.”
Each edition of the five-part weekly series will be made available from 7pm on Thursday evenings – a nod to the classic Top of the Pops timeslot – starting with the first episode on Thursday, November 5.
Ticket buyers can then watch any time after each edition goes live. Seven days after the customer’s first viewing their link expires.
Once available, the shows in the series will remain available to purchase until midnight on January 1, 2021.
Tickets can be purchased now via ThisIsNow.TV.
Customers can buy individual editions, while a discount on the whole series is applied for those who purchase all five editions before November 5.
Alongside hosting the series, Mike Read joins Mike Stock in an executive role in the show’s creation.
Having been a broadcaster since 1976, he is best known for being a DJ with BBC Radio 1, and television host for music chart series Top of the Pops, children’s show Saturday Superstore, and music panel game Pop Quiz.
THAT WAS THEN… RUNNING ORDER
That Was Then… This Is Now! show guide:
• Show 1 – Available from November 5, 2020
Featuring: Toyah, The Fizz, Chesney Hawkes.
• Show 2 – Available from November 12, 2020
Featuring: Owen Paul, Marty Wilde & Kim Wilde & Roxanne Wilde, Leee John of Imagination, Paul Young.
• Show 3 – Available from November 19, 2020
Featuring: Limahl, The Vapors, Right Said Fred.
• Show 4 – Available from November 26, 2020
Featuring: Steve Harley, Marty Wilde & Kim Wilde & Roxanne Wilde, Sonia, The Fizz.
• Show 5 – Available from December 3 2020
Featuring: Johnny Hates Jazz, Limahl, The Fizz, Paul Young, Leee John of Imagination.
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