''Rock Wars'' is a Canadian television variety series, which aired in 1985 on

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV, or simply CBC) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcasting, p ...

."CBC opens fire with Rock Wars". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'', February 1, 1985. A national "battle of the bands" competition, the series featured unsigned musical groups competing in a series of regional concerts held in various cities across Canada, with the winner of each episode advancing to another round of competition until the ultimate winner was named at a final concert staged in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. Hosted by Brad Giffen, the program aired on Friday nights as a companion to the network's music video series '' Good Rockin' Tonite''. Judges over the course of the series included Keith Sharp of '' Music Express'',Keith Sharp, ''Music Express: The Rise, Fall & Resurrection of Canada's Music Magazine''.

Dundurn Press Dundurn Press is one of the largest Canadian-owned book publishing companies of adult fiction and non-fiction. The company publishes Canadian literature, history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Hum ...

, 2014. . p. 143. Samantha Taylor of CBC's '' Video Hits'' and

CFNY-FM CFNY-FM (102.1 Hertz, MHz, "102.1 The Edge") is a radio station city of license, licensed to Brampton, Ontario. Owned by Corus Entertainment, the station broadcasts a modern rock format serving the Greater Toronto Area. Its studios are in Downtow ...

program director David Marsden. The winner of the competition was to receive a half-hour CBC Television special devoted to the band, as well as a cash prize of . The series was won by Tchukon, a

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

and

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...

band from

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

,"Polished Tchukon charms fans". ''

Montreal Gazette ''The Gazette'', also known as the ''Montreal Gazette'', is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper which is owned by Postmedia Network. It is published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the only English-language daily newspape ...

'', June 17, 1985. over finalists Eye Eye, HB Concept and Peter Mann and the Lonely. Other competitors over the course of the series included Monuments Galore,"From the CBC archives: Bands battle on CBC's Rock Wars in Winnipeg, 1985"

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is the Canadian Public broadcasting, public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a Crown corporation that serves as the national public broadcaster, with its E ...

, February 20, 2015. The Instructions, The Rage, The Stilettos,

Eight Seconds Eight Seconds was a Canadian synthpop/progressive rock band formed in 1982 in Ottawa. They are perhaps best known for their 1986 single "Kiss You (When It's Dangerous)" which peaked at #14 in 1987 and was on the charts for 28 weeks in Canada from ...

, The Waiting, Haywire, Mad Shadows, Steps Around the House, Apple Viper, Zlatko and The Micah Barnes Band. Tchukon later went on to win Best Vocal Group in the 1986 edition of the American series ''

Star Search ''Star Search'' (later known as ''Ed McMahon's Star Search'') is an American television show that was produced by T.P.E./ Rysher Entertainment from 1983 to 1995, hosted by Ed McMahon, and created by Al Masini. A relaunch was produced by 29 ...

''.

References

1985 Canadian television series debuts 1985 Canadian television series endings 1980s Canadian music television series 1980s Canadian reality television series Television shows filmed in Vancouver CBC Television original programming Canadian late-night television programming {{Canada-reality-tv-prog-stub