''Arrows'' was a pop television series aimed at the teen market, which aired in 1976 and 1977 in the UK. The show was produced by Muriel Young, and ran for two 14-week series on the ITV network, produced by

Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV (TV network), ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire on weekdays only, as ABC Weekend TV, ...

. The show format was that the band Arrows would perform their own songs, and would introduce the guest artists. There was also a pop dance troupe called Him and Us who were regulars on the series. Arrows consisted of (lead singer) Alan Merrill, (guitarist) Jake Hooker and (drummer) Paul Varley. Guests on ''Arrows'' included such artists as

Marc Bolan Marc Bolan ( ; born Mark Feld; 30 September 1947 – 16 September 1977) was an English guitarist, singer-songwriter and poet. He was a pioneer of the glam rock movement in the early 1970s with his band T. Rex (band), T. Rex. Bolan strongly i ...

, The Bay City Rollers,

The Drifters The Drifters are an American pop and R&B/soul vocal group. They were originally formed as a backing group for Clyde McPhatter, formerly the lead tenor of Billy Ward and his Dominoes in 1953. The second group of Drifters, formed in 1959 and ...

, Gilbert O'Sullivan, Peter Noone, Alvin Stardust,

Gene Pitney Gene Francis Alan Pitney (February 17, 1940 – April 5, 2006) was an American pop and country singer, songwriter, and musician. Pitney charted 16 top-40 hits in the United States, four in the top ten. In the United Kingdom, he had 22 top-40 h ...

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, Billy J. Kramer, The Real Thing, and many more. Arrows were very popular in the teen print media in the mid-1970s, appearing in interviews and as pin-ups in all the glossy fan magazines of the day. They even had their own weekly cartoon strip which ran in Music Star magazine. A book was written about the band by

Bill Harry William Harry (born 17 September 1938) is the creator of ''Mersey Beat'', a newspaper of the early 1960s which focused on the Liverpool music scene. Harry had previously started various magazines and newspapers, such as ''Biped'' and ''Premier ...

in 1976.

The band

Historically, Arrows are now best known for writing, recording, and releasing the first version of the song " I Love Rock 'N Roll" in 1975, a year before the band had their TV series. The song served the band well. Arrows' performance of the song so impressed television producer, Muriel Young, when they did her show ''45'' in 1975, she decided to give the band their own weekly TV series on that day. The song is now an international rock classic, recorded by many well-known artists, including

Joan Jett Joan Jett (born Joan Marie Larkin; September 22, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actress. Often referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music#J, Godmother of Punk", she is regarded as a Pop icon, rock icon and ...

and

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. Cultural impact of Brit ...

Synopsis

Arrows are the only band in pop music history to have a weekly TV series of their own and no records released. Although they had hit singles before their series, the band released no recordings during the entire run of the shows. This unusual situation was due to a legal wrangle with their record label. Their last single release was two months before the first broadcast of ''Arrows''. There were 28 episodes in total. With repeats, that is 56 airings of the show. ''Arrows'' was broadcast across the entire ITV network, including all of England, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Gibraltar, Hong Kong, and more, for both series. During the second series the band added a fourth member, guitarist Terry Taylor, formerly a member of the band Tucky Buzzard. Taylor was introduced to Arrows by

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

' bass player

Bill Wyman William George Wyman ( né Perks; born 24 October 1936) is an English musician who was the bass guitarist with the rock band the Rolling Stones from 1962 to 1993. Wyman was part of the band's first stable lineup and performed on their first 19 ...

in January 1976. Terry Taylor is currently the musical director and a guitarist in Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings band.

Aftermath

As a result of their business complications, Arrows broke up in frustration in 1978, with the original Arrows Alan Merrill, Jake Hooker and Paul Varley all going their separate ways. In 1978, Merrill went on to the

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...

band Runner, Varley to the Charisma Records band Darling, and Hooker married Lorna Luft, retiring as a performer and becoming his wife's manager. The Arrows show producer, Muriel Young, died in 2001.

References

External links

The Arrows Show information
*{{IMDb title, 0318207, Arrows
Arrows fansite
1976 British television series debuts 1977 British television series endings 1970s British music television series British English-language television shows ITV (TV network) original programming Pop music television series Television series by ITV Studios Television shows produced by Granada Television