The Tube set for radio comeback

The Tube was the most influential pop programme of the 1980s

Iconic music show The Tube is to return after a 19-year absence on Channel 4's internet radio station.

The broadcaster said the revived show, featuring major stars as well as new and unsigned acts, would pay homage to the original but also be distinctive.

The Tube launched in the channel's opening week in 1982 and made TV stars of presenters Jools Holland and Paula Yates. It was axed in 1987.

Channel4radio.com is to offer tie-ins with its TV hits and original shows.

The Tube will launch on the channel in September.

Notorious

Channel 4 director of radio Nathalie Schwarz said the original programme had been "fresh, unpredictable and edgy".

"These are qualities we know the new show will emulate."

The Tube will be recorded live in front of a studio audience in Manchester.

The original programme was filmed in a Newcastle studio set up to look like a nightclub.

It offered many viewers their first sight of acts like Frankie Goes to Hollywood, REM and Madonna.

Holland notoriously prompted the show to be taken off-air for three weeks in 1987 after swearing during a live trail on children's television.

Channel4radio.com was launched in June, with Channel 4 hoping eventually to launch a series of radio stations on DAB digital radio and digital TV.