''Starparade'' was a West German music television programme, which aired on

ZDF ZDF (, short for Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen; ; "Second German Television") is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. It is run as an independent nonprofit institution, which was founded by all fe ...

from March 14, 1968, to June 5, 1980, and was hosted by , along with James Last and his orchestra who founded his world-wide success on the show.

History

''Starparade'' was an elaborate music show which was filmed in different venues across Germany. Each show was broadcast for approximately 90 minutes and showcased music and short interviews with the artists. The inclusion of international acts, and acts more local to Germany, reflected the international reach of the programme that was sold to various broadcasters outside of Germany. Initially, ''Starparade'' was scheduled for Saturday night, but was later moved to Thursday. The series was initially due to be filmed in colour, but the first 13 episodes were transmitted in black and white. These black and white recordings, with the exception of the first episode, have been lost and are no longer in the ZDF archive.

Choice of music

''Starparade'', true to its name, featured popular, sometimes internationally famous acts, who would usually sing multiple songs. It featured domestic stars like Heino alongside international artists such as

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and ABBA. Alongside this, the

James Last Orchestra The James Last Orchestra was a German/multinational big-band orchestra. The orchestra was established in 1964 as a studio orchestra, led by jazz musician Hans Last. The orchestra started touring in 1968 and has been very popular worldwide. From 1 ...

played instrumentals, at times even

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

. Every show also featured the official television ballet ensemble, which performed at least two dances, such that every show began with the opening music by the James Last Orchestra and a dance. Episode 14 (30 September 1971) featured Max Greger and his orchestra.

Special edition

During the 1975 International Broadcasting Exhibition, a consumer electronics fair held annually in Berlin, digital technology made it possible to exhibit the show on a wall of TV screens, with each screen contributing a part to the complete picture.

Scottish Television

In 1979 Scottish Television acquired the UK rights to the series. STV repackaged ''Star Parade'', removing the German compere and adding new English continuity. Each episode was 60 minutes long. They were screened from 1979 to 1985 by each of the 15

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

companies.

2013 re-broadcasts

On 19 August 2013, the ZDFkultur channel in Germany started to re-broadcast the ''Starparade'' series and started with episode 14, featuring Max Greger instead of James Last.

Episodes broadcast on ZDF

References

*Online archive of the Vienna '' Arbeiter-Zeitung'' and the '' Hamburger Abendblatt'', closing the original programming

External links

* {{IMDb title, tt0476114, Starparade, (1968–1980)
"''Starparade''"
fernsehserien.de (in German) German music television series ZDF original programming 1968 German television series debuts 1960s German television series 1970s German television series 1980s British television series 1980 German television series endings German-language television shows Scottish television shows Television series by STV Studios