Something Else (TV series)

This article is about the UK youth TV programme. For other series with the same title, see Something Else.

Something Else is a television show produced by the British Broadcasting Corporation and scheduled on its BBC2 channel between 1978 and 1982, targeted specifically at a youth audience. It began in 1978 on Saturday evenings and is an early example in British television of the genre known as "Youth TV" (later deliberately misspelled as "Yoof tv") encompassing unknown and largely untrained young presenters with undisguised regional accents, minimal scripting, magazine format, freeform discussion of contemporary concerns to young people, interspersed with performances by up-and-coming new bands.

The programme's innovative presentation style influenced subsequent shows in the genre such as The Tube, Oxford Road Show, Network 7 and The Word. It was also satirised by Not the Nine O'Clock News (as Hey Wow) which began that same autumn, and also in "The Young Ones" (as "Nozin' Aroun'").

During its run it captured on film The Clash performing 'Clash City Rockers' & 'Tommy Gun' in 1978 in their only televised performance for the BBC; the last (and only nationally broadcast) television appearance by Joy Division playing 'Transmission' and 'She's Lost Control' live in the studio in September 1979; The Jam appeared on the same show playing 'Eton Rifles' and U2 featured in May 1982 performing a three-song set consisting of 'Rejoice', I Will Follow' & 'With A Shout (Jerusalem)' promoting their second L.P. 'October'.

Programme guide

• 11/03/1978 The Clash
• 15/09/1979 The Jam / Joy Division / John Cooper Clarke (in Manchester)
• 06/10/1979 The Specials / Linton Kwesi Johnson
• 03/11/1979 Siouxsie and the Banshees
• 22/12/1979 The Skids / The Revillos
• 01/12/1979 Rudi / The Undertones
• 24/05/1980 Secret Affair / Sad Café
• 10/11/1980 Dexy's Midnight Runners / Regulators
• 17/11/1980 Young Marble Giants / The Damned
• 24/11/1980 The Specials / General Accident
• 08/12/1980 Ian Dury & The Blockheads / Sect
• 15/12/1980 Siouxsie & The Banshees / God's Toys
• 05/01/1981 Adam & The Ants / Linx
• 25/09/1981 Angelic Upstarts / Tygers Of Pan Tang
• 02/10/1981 The Questions / Dolly Mixture / The Jam / Aidan Cant / Anne Clark
• 09/10/1981 The Beat / Talisman
• 16/10/1981 The Raincoats / Fay Ray
• 23/10/1981 Dodo Vision / Kirsty MacColl
• 06/11/1981 Orange Juice / Depeche Mode
• 07/05/1982 Steel Pulse / Clint Eastwood & General Saint
• 01/01/1982 Compilation of performances.
• 23/04/1982 Fun Boy Three
• 30/04/1982 Dr Fantasy's Devils / Blue Poland
• 14/05/1982 Jam Today / Sophisticated Boom Boom
• 21/05/1982 U2
• 01/10/1982 Birds With Ears
• 15/10/1982 Abacush / Barnes & Barnes
• 23/10/1982 Joeys
• 25/10/1982 debates
• 27/10/1982 debates
• 28/10/1982 debates
• 29/10/1982 debates
• 05/11/1982 John Cooper Clarke / Linton Kwesi Johnson / Steel