Electric Blue (TV series)

Last updated

Electric Blue
PlayboyElectricBlue.jpg
Electric Blue
StarringVarious
Country of originUnited Kingdom
No. of episodes57
Production
Running time60 min.
Original release
Network Playboy Channel
Release1979 (1979) –
1987 (1987)

Electric Blue is a series of softcore pornographic videos that were produced in the UK in the 1980s. [1] [2] They subsequently aired on the Playboy Channel. [3] Many prominent porn stars performed on Electric Blue, including Ginger Lynn, [4] Traci Lords, [5] Marilyn Chambers, [6] Christy Canyon, [7] Sasha Gabor, [7] Blake Palmer, [8] Janey Robbins, [7] and Rick Savage.[ citation needed ] Hustler centrefold model and "scream queen" actress Gail Harris made appearances in many episodes.

Contents

Electric Blue: The Movie (1981) is a film compèred by the US pornographic star Marilyn Chambers. It consists of a compilation of clips from the Electric Blue home video series. These include sketches, erotic songs, lesbian fantasies and a nude disco dancing competition. There are also film clips showing archive nude footage of celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe, Joanna Lumley and Jacqueline Bisset, as well as Jayne Mansfield's naked bath scene from the film Promises! Promises! (1963). Electric Blue: The Movie was released theatrically in the UK in March 1982 under an X certificate [9] [10] and on VHS in 1983 as a tie-in to the Electric Blue video releases.

The series was so popular that the slang term 'bluey' was coined to represent all pornographic films. [11]

History

In 1979, the home video market in the UK was in its early stages of development and was dominated by cheap exploitation films available from rental shops, Electric Blue was launched in December of that year with the cost of £31. [1] Described as "the UK’s first men’s magazine on video", Electric Blue was an hour-long compilation of "video centrefolds" intercut with acquired film footage. A new instalment of Electric Blue was released about every three months. [2] The full-colour video magazines [12] were sold in the form of X certificate videotapes in UK shops alongside more conventional films. They were produced under a commercial relationship with Paul Raymond, a publisher of "top shelf" men's magazines, including Men Only and Club International . Raymond also owned the Raymond Revuebar, a striptease club in Soho, London. [13] The Electric Blue videos were an extension of his magazines into new media, [14] making use of his existing magazine models. [12] They presented images of women in a glamour photography style that was far from explicit, showing little more than breasts and pubic hair. The videos were also on sale in Australia. [3] The Electric Blue series came to an end in the mid-1980s. Playboy entered the cable television market in the early 1980s [14] and the videos were shown on the Playboy Channel [3] between 1983 and 1987. [15]

Distribution

It appeared on home video releases in North America, Australia, New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s.

Electric Blue was derived from the UK and were a subsidiary of the Video Classics group of labels in Australia. After that company ended, Electric Blue films were released by Virgin Video. Then, in the mid-1990s, they were distributed by Columbia TriStar.

The versions released on home video in North America differed from the UK versions, adding localized content and a greater emphasis on American porn stars.

The type of films released by this company consisted of female centrefolds, nudity and sexual situations.

Episodes

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References

  1. 1 2 Petley, Julian (2011). Film and Video Censorship in Modern Britain. Edinburgh University Press. p. 17. ISBN   9780748630936.
  2. 1 2 Upton, Julian (2016). "Electric Blues: The Rise and Fall of Britain's First Pre-recorded Videocassette Distributors". Journal of British Cinema and Television. 13 (1). Edinburgh University Press: 31. doi:10.3366/jbctv.2016.0294.
  3. 1 2 3 Hunter, Ian (2019). British Trash Cinema. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 222. ISBN   9781838714857.
  4. ↑ "Electric Blue 51 (1987)". Archived from the original on 4 February 2011. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  5. ↑ "Traci Lords Biography". The Biography Channel. Archived from the original on 29 April 2009. Retrieved 25 July 2009.
  6. 1 2 "Electric Blue 002 (Video 1981)". IMDb. 8 January 1981. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Electric Blue: Beverly Hills Wives (Video 1985)". IMDb. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  8. 1 2 "Electric Blue 26 (Video 1985)". IMDb. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  9. ↑ "Electric Blue The Movie (1981)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 27 May 2019. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  10. ↑ Gifford, Denis (2016). The British Film Catalogue. Vol. 1. p. 524. ISBN   9781317740636.
  11. ↑ South Wales Echo, Wednesday 18 August 1999 - https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0004733/19990818/006/0006
  12. 1 2 Street, Sarah; Johnston, Keith M.; Frith, Paul; Rickards, Carolyn (2022). Colour Films in Britain: The Eastmancolor Revolution. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 282. ISBN   9781911239574.
  13. ↑ Desmond, Richard (2016). The Real Deal: The Autobiography of Britain's Most Controversial Media Mogul. Random House. pp. 61, 100–103. ISBN   9781847947499.
  14. 1 2 "Paul Raymond the King of Soho". Strip Magazine. 27 December 2013.
  15. ↑ "Electric Blue – Aired Order – All Seasons". TheTVDB. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
  16. ↑ "Electric Blue 001 (Video 1979)". IMDb. 8 January 1979. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  17. ↑ "Electric Blue 3 (Video 1982)". IMDb. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  18. ↑ "Electric Blue 4 (Video 1982)". IMDb. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  19. ↑ "Electric Blue 5 (Video 1982)". IMDb. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  20. ↑ "Electric Blue 006 (Video 1981)". IMDb. 8 January 1981. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  21. ↑ "Electric Blue 8 (Video 1982)". IMDb. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  22. ↑ "Electric Blue 9 (Video 1982)". IMDb. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  23. ↑ "Electric Blue 10 (Video 1984)". IMDb. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  24. ↑ "Electric Blue 11 (Video 1984)". IMDb. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  25. ↑ "Electric Blue 17 (Video 1984)". IMDb. 8 January 1984. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  26. ↑ "Crystal Breeze". IMDb. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  27. ↑ "Venus DeLight". IMDb. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  28. ↑ "Electric Blue 19 (Video 1984)". IMDb. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  29. ↑ "Electric Blue 20 (Video 1985)". IMDb. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  30. ↑ "Electric Blue 21 (Video 1985)". IMDb. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  31. ↑ "Electric Blue 22 (Video 1985)". IMDb. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  32. ↑ "Electric Blue 24 (Video 1985)". IMDb. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  33. ↑ "Electric Blue 27 (Video 1985)". IMDb. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  34. ↑ "Electric Blue 30 (Video 1985)". IMDb. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  35. ↑ "Electric Blue 31 (Video 1985)". IMDb. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  36. ↑ "Electric Blue 33 (Video 1985)". IMDb. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  37. ↑ "Electric Blue 34 (Video 1986)". IMDb. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  38. ↑ "Electric Blue 35 (Video 1986)". IMDb. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  39. ↑ "Electric Blue 36 (Video 1986)". IMDb. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  40. ↑ "Electric Blue 37 (Video 1986)". IMDb. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  41. ↑ "Electric Blue 38 (Video 1986)". IMDb. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  42. ↑ "Electric Blue 39 (Video 1986)". IMDb. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  43. ↑ "Electric Blue 40 (Video 1986)". IMDb. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  44. ↑ "Electric Blue 41 (Video 1986)". IMDb. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  45. 1 2 "Blondi". IMDb. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  46. ↑ "Electric Blue 42 (Video 1986)". IMDb. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  47. ↑ "Electric Blue 43 (Video 1986)". IMDb. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  48. ↑ "Electric Blue 44 (Video 1986)". IMDb. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  49. ↑ "Electric Blue 45 (Video 1986)". IMDb. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  50. ↑ "Electric Blue 46 (Video 1987)". IMDb. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  51. ↑ "Electric Blue 47 (Video 1987)". IMDb. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  52. ↑ "Electric Blue 48 (Video 1987)". IMDb. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  53. ↑ "Electric Blue 49 (Video 1987)". IMDb. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  54. ↑ "Electric Blue 50 (Video 1987)". IMDb. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  55. ↑ "Electric Blue 51 (Video 1987)". IMDb. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  56. ↑ "Electric Blue 52 (Video 1987)". IMDb. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  57. ↑ "Electric Blue 53 (Video 1987)". IMDb. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  58. ↑ "Electric Blue 55 (Video 1987)". IMDb. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  59. ↑ "Barbii". IMDb. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  60. ↑ "Electric Blue 56 (Video 1987)". IMDb. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  61. ↑ "Electric Blue 57 (Video 1987)". IMDb. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
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