SEEING Super Stars

David Hewitt recalls Supersonic, ITV's short-lived Top of the Pops rival

- By David Hewitt

Did anybody here catch Supersonic? That was the TV pop programme which briefly lit up our screens at the end of the glam rock period, as punk was still struggling to get going.

The show was created by Mike Mansfield, an East End boy who had begun his working life in the theatre. A director for a decade by now, on dramas and entertainment programmes, he had also been responsible for Shang-a-Lang, the teatime series that featured the Bay City Rollers at the height of their fame.

Supersonic was seen as a rival to the BBC's Top of the Pops, which critics complained was beginning to look its age. And for his part, Mansfield said he was "sick of watching groups who seemed to be rooted in concrete." "I want to bring back excitement," he told the Daily Mirror.

Made by London Weekend Television, and broadcast in the ITV regions on Saturday mornings or weekday evenings, the new programme would have a studio audience made up of schoolkids, who could certainly be heard, even if they couldn't always be seen too well.

The performances all took place on a black set with elaborate scaffolding and a big flashing star. They were filmed from every conceivable angle, with onscreen images changing every couple of seconds. And thanks to a huge special effects budget, there were copious quantities of fireworks, dry ice, confetti and foam.

But Supersonic's most striking – and most controversial – innovation was to dispense with a conventional presenter. "I don't want anybody fronting the show because it only holds up the music and the action," Mike Mansfield explained. He would cue the acts himself, from the control room. And with his distinctive mane of white hair – which belied the fact that he was still only 35-years-old – he quickly became a celebrity in his own right.