Spectrum Video (UK)

Background : Spectrum was a UK sublabel of PolyGram Video that focused on music-related videos. It was the sister company to the primarily-AmericanPolyGram Music Video. It was also the name of a former PolyGram Records label that distributed primarily compilations..

1st Logo (1982-1988)

Nicknames : "Spectrum Pixie Dust & Red Line" Logo : It's basically the same as the 1st PolyGram Video logo, but at the very end the logo is extended to make way for a series of rainbow-colored bars with "spectrum" in a jumbled white Helvetica font to form one-by-one from the right side of the screen.

German Variant : Same as the German variant of the 1st PolyGram Video logo, but with the Spectrum logo zooming in from the center of the screen instead of the Arena logo wiping in. FX/SFX : Same as the 1st PolyGram Video logo, with the Spectrum animation. Music/Sounds : A dreamy descending synthesized sound, followed by a calm synth ditty.

Availability : Extremely rare. Check eBay for tapes that feature this logo, as it primarily appeared on UK tapes of music. One example is The Jam: Video Snap!. Scare Factor : None. The music is nice and tamer than its parent counterpart and the Spectrum logo is just adorable. However, the German variant may cause headaches.

2nd Logo (1988-1990)

Nickname : "The Rainbow Countdown in Letters" Logo : In a black background, we see a red line "stretching", then two white arrows, representing rewind, appear in the line and behind it we can see an white oval appearing via a countdown effect, containing the letter "s" (red). The arrows then show the same letter on the line on a black color before they go out of view, then we see another set of white arrows pointing to the right, representing fast-forward, with the countdown effect then inverting the colors of the background and oval at the same time the letter "p" (orange) appears on the oval and then on the line. This process is repeated with the following letters in the same order as the colors of the rainbow alongside other VCR symbols: "e" (yellowish-orange, single arrow (play backwards)), "c" (yellow, two horizontal lines (pause)), "t" (gradient of light green and dark green, two vertical lines), "r" (dark green, triangle), "u" (gradient of green and greenish-blue, square (stop)), and "m" (gradient of greenish-blue, blue and indigo, circle (record)), at the same time adding the rainbow colors with a gradient effect to the line letter by letter. The oval then wipes out of view via the same countdown effect, and the logo fades out seconds afterwards.

FX/SFX : The countdown-like animation and the VCR symbols. 2D computer animation.

Cheesy Factor : This logo is an embodiment of '80s animation; video symbols, high colors and synth music. And yet, it's glorious.

Music/Sounds : A muzak-like synth tune.

Availability : Even rarer than the previous logo. Appeared on later music tapes from the company.

Scare Factor : Minimal to low. It may startle some; otherwise, it's a harmless logo.