David Essex Showcase
Synopsis
Cheap New Faces-style talent show, plus David Essex singing at the beginning, middle and end. The show returned in 1983 as The Freddie Starr Showcase.
Champion
Philip Jap
Trivia
Mr. Jap's musical career never quite took off (despite the assistance of big-name producers Trevor Horn, Colin Thurston and Tony Mansfield), but other contestants went on to greater fame. Mari Wilson took the runner-up slot, which was just what she always wanted, and other entrants included Thomas Dolby, Chris Barrie, Richard Digance, Adrian Hedley, Talk Talk, and Amazulu. Though neither won their heat, the groups Wavelength and Toto Coelo both had hit singles off the back of their appearances, with "Hurry Home" and "I Eat Cannibals (Part 1)" respectively.
Broadcast live from the then-new Harrogate (International) Centre.
Video
Philip Jap performing "Total Erasure"
