The Protectors
The Protectors is a British television series, an action thriller created by Gerry Anderson. It was Anderson's second TV series to exclusively use live actors as opposed to marionettes (following "UFO"), and his second to be firmly set in contemporary times (following "The Secret Service"). It was also the only Gerry Anderson-produced television series that was not of the fantasy or science fiction genres. It was produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment production company. Despite not featuring marionettes or any real science fiction elements, "The Protectors" became one of Anderson's most popular productions, easily winning a renewal for a second season. A third season was in the planning stages when the show's major sponsor, Brut, ended its funding and thus forced the series' cancellation.
UFO (band)
After Schenker's exit, UFO rehired Paul Chapman on guitar who brought over unused track ideas from Lone Star's drummer Dixie Lee. Shortly after, they released their next LP, "No Place to Run", in January 1980. Produced by former Beatles producer George Martin, "No Place To Run" failed to match up to the success of its predecessors, though it fractionally missed the UK Top 10. Paul Raymond left the band at the end of the "No Place To Run" tour and was replaced by John Sloman from Uriah Heep on keyboards for a couple of months and then by former Wild Horses guitarist and keyboardist Neil Carter, who helped fill the void in the songwriting left by Schenker's departure. Carter debuted with UFO on stage at the three-day Reading Festival on 23 August 1980, when the band played as the Saturday night headline act. At the beginning of the following year, UFO released the self-produced "The Wild, the Willing and the Innocent", which had a lighter pop rock sound, which was popular at the time. The album achieved mild success in the UK, reaching the UK Top 20, and the single "Lonely Heart" was released.