90′s wiki: The Box

The box went live in the UK in 1992 and was the first TV channel of its kind. Viewers could call in and request tunes they wanted to hear (every song had a unique three-digit code), although you often had to watch a lot of rubbish while waiting for your song to come on. Sporting the motto ‘Music television you control’, this channel was a backlash against the lame playlist payola-driven stranglehold MTV and VH1 had over music television in the early 90s.  Remember, at the time of its launch there were only three music channels and not many people in the UK were interested in watching CMT (Country Music Televison). So when The Box appeared with no veeJays, no long programming, no long ad breaks and a diverse selection of videos that ranged from boybands to miami bass and underground hip hop to hardcore thrash metal, it was welcomed with open arms. The only programming was ‘Box Talk’ where artists would shamelessly promote their new single and ‘Box Fresh’ which was no more than an advert for the newest videos.

Viewer democracy meant that programming structured itself by who was at home at any given time. During the daytime housewives ruled the roost, endlessly requesting Karyn White’s ‘Superwoman’ and Gloria Gaynor’s ‘I Will Survive’. When the school bell rang adolescent girls would repeatedly request whatever boyband was flavour of the month. As the kids lost the battle of the remote to their parents the eclectic tastes of the trendy teens and twenty-somethings would emerge playing indie and gangster rap. As they say the freaks come out at night and that’s when you would see a lot of miami bass – or just any video with a lot of booty bouncing or boobs that had been liberated from bras and bikinis. With every subculture and social group getting their time to shine The Box was one of the most universally liked TV stations in cable history, the only problem being the cacophonic soundclash that occurred when the school holidays arrived.

The original box format (real ghetto quality clip)

Trivia

Was brought to the UK from Miami where it originated by Vincent Monsey who had previously worked at Radio Caroline a pirate radio station that broadcast from a boat anchored of the coast of Felixstowe with the express intention of playing music that the mainstream radio stations would not playlist and break the stranglehold of the then juggernaut of radio broadcasting, the BBC.

90′s Guy says

This channel was the key to killing boredom in the 90′s and was constantly on in my yard, I can still remember the excitement of seeing the 3 little yellow numbers I’d just typed into the phone appear on the screen for the first time. I also remember you usually had to wait about an hour to hear anything you’d selected unless it was the middle of the night.

Just to illustrate its far reaching powers I remember me and my sister crying with laughter while my mum cleaned the living room with ‘The Box’ on. She was singing away unbeknownest to her that me and my sis were listening to her best rendition of Cypress Hill’s ‘When the shit goes down’. Unfortunately the censored version on the box was re-titled ‘When the ship goes down’ and my mums hearing had changed it further to the point that she was warbling ‘When the boat comes in, you better be ready’. We are still waiting for that boat to come in.

90s Guy’s Box top 5

By no means the best videos played on the box but the 5 clips your about to see are tracks that weren’t getting any play on UK tv outside of the box and instantly became box cult classics.

Half Pint – Boom and Hydraulic

Gerrardo – Rico Suave

Ice T – G Style

Positive K – I Got a man

Domino – Getto Jam

Popularity: 57% [?]

Edited: September 5th, 2008