Department S

Department S may refer to:

Department S (TV series)

Department S is a United Kingdom spy-fi adventure series produced by ITC Entertainment. It consists of 28 episodes which originally aired in 1969 and 1970. It starred Peter Wyngarde as author Jason King (later featured in spin-off series Jason King), Joel Fabiani as Stewart Sullivan, and Rosemary Nicols as computer expert Annabelle Hurst. These three were agents for a fictional special department (the "S" of the title) of Interpol. The head of Department S was Sir Curtis Seretse (Dennis Alaba Peters).

Production

"When a case proves too baffling for the minds of Interpol, they turn to the talents of Department S." – from the ITC trailer for the series.

The series was created by Dennis Spooner and Monty Berman, although neither man wrote any of the episodes. Episodes were instead written by ITC regulars such as Terry Nation and Philip Broadley. Many of the directors on the show had also worked on other ITC shows such as The Saint, Danger Man and Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased).

Department S (band)

Department S are a British new wave band formed in 1980, who took their name from the 1960s TV series Department S. They are best known for their debut single, "Is Vic There?", which was originally released in December 1980 and reached No. 22 on the UK Singles Chart the following year.

Career

1980s

Department S evolved from a previous punk/ska combo, Guns for Hire, fronted by Vaughn Toulouse and also featuring former Madness drummer John Hasler. Mike Herbage joined them on guitar and wrote Guns for Hire's only single, "I'm Gonna Rough My Girlfriend's Boyfriend Up Tonight", released on the Korova record label. The group then became Department S, with the addition of Eddie Roxy (later replaced by Mark Taylor) and Stuart Mizon.

They debuted at the Rock Garden in London on 24 September 1980.Demon Records subsequently released their debut single, "Is Vic There?", in December 1980 (reissued on RCA a few months later). It was produced by former Mott the Hoople members Buffin and Overend Watts, but its initial success led to the better-equipped RCA Records reissuing the single in March 1981. The single then began to climb the charts, and the band appeared on Top of the Pops. The B-side, a cover version of T.Rex's "Solid Gold Easy Action", featured Thunderthighs on backing vocals.