It all went wrong when it stopped looking like it was being transmitted from a computer in Romania via a block of council flats in Shoreditch

If you had access to Sky or cable during the '90s, chances are you remember The Box. Not, as it is now, a selection of music videos scattered between a series of pre-programmed shows and teleshopping - but back when for £3.50, viewers could select any video listed and watch it through a dull blue haze.

This was the time when one minute you'd get a TLC/702/En Vogue TRIPLE WHAMMY and then B*Witched would come on (for the 40th time that day).


For every Busta Rhymes, there was a Solid HarmoniE. For every Steps, there was a Scooch. The Box was the channel where acts from the pop toilet were guaranteed coverage (and in some cases managed to score genuine hits). At least until 9pm, after that it was full of videos that were all just black women shaking their arses at the camera.

Evidently for many Moopists, The Box was a massively influential in terms of showcasing new artists, even if many of them never quite found their way to the big time. It may well live on to this day, now transmitting in HQ and accompanied by an array of sister channels. But it really never was quite the same when it stopped looking like it was being transmitted from a computer in Romania via a block of council flats in Shoreditch.

Check out: Let's remember The Box (90s style)