| The Paradise Club | |
|---|---|
 Title card | |
| Genre | Crime drama |
| Created by | Murray Smith |
| Written by | Murray Smith Russell Murray Michael Aitkins Jeremy Burnham Susan Boyd Barry Purchase |
| Directed by | Various |
| Starring | Don Henderson Leslie Grantham Leon Herbert Barbara Wilshere Peter Gowen Nick Dawney Annie Scott-Horne |
| Theme music composer | Dave Lawson |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 20 (list of episodes) Preview warning: Page using Template:Infobox television with "list_episodes" parameter using self-link. See Infobox instructions and MOS:INFOBOXPURPOSE. |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Archie Tait |
| Producer | Selwyn Roberts |
| Cinematography | Alan Jones |
| Editor | John S. Smith |
| Running time | 50 minutes |
| Production company | Zenith Entertainment |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC1 |
| Release | 19 September 1989 – 27 November 1990 |
| Infobox instructions (only shown in preview) | |
The Paradise Club is a BBC television crime drama series, broadcast between 19 September 1989 and 27 November 1990. The series starred Don Henderson and Leslie Grantham as Frank and Danny Kane, siblings who inherit a nightclub from their mother, Ma Kane, a matriarch of a criminal South London gang, after she tragically dies. At the start of the series, Frank is working as a priest but decides to return to London to steer his brother Danny away from crime. The series featured a large supporting cast, with Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden notably making an appearance in the episode "Rock and Roll Roulette".[1] A total of 20 episodes were broadcast over the course of 2 series. The first two episodes of series 1 were partly filmed in Broadway Market on the edge of Hackney, the location was apparently chosen for its authentic London character.[2] Around the time of original broadcast, there was some criticism for possible negative stereotyping of ethnic minorities in the series.[3]
The series has never officially been released on DVD, due to issues surrounding clearance rights for the music used. Notably, the series has yet to be repeated on any of the BBC's co-owned free-to-air digital channels, such as UK Gold or UKTV Drama (it has been aired on UK Gold). However, both series are available to purchase from Amazon, but these are VHS to DVD transfers of the original broadcast, in varying quality.[4][5] A soundtrack album of music featured in the series was also released in 1989, and was available on CD, LP and Cassette.[6]
- ^ badwolf1973 (4 May 2008). "The Paradise Club with Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden Part 1". Archived from the original on 20 December 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2017 – via YouTube.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Wright, P. (2009). A Journey Through Ruins: The Last Days of London. Oxford University Press.
- ^ Malik, S & Newton, D.M. (Eds.) (2017). Adjusting the Contrast: British Television and Constructs of Race. Manchester University Press.
- ^ "The Paradise Club – Series 1". Retrieved 3 February 2017 – via Amazon.
- ^ "The Paradise Club – Series 2". Retrieved 3 February 2017 – via Amazon.
- ^ "The Paradise Club". Amazon UK.