This is one of those things you'd have a hard time convincing people really existed until the magic of the internet allowed you to prove it. The Pop 'N Rocker Game was a "Game show and Concert". Three contestants answer questions about music videos and bands and then all of a sudden, in the midst of the trivia, (generally if the answer to a question was a band you never heard of) that band would suddenly be there and come out and perform. The contestants and the audience would gather around with excitement and the game show would be interrupted for a song. The last contestant standing had to unscramble various band names to win the Big Prize. Then the guest band would come out and play again.
The part I wondered how they pulled off was any band who agreed to do the show was not a very famous band. Like the first time I ever heard of Romeo Void was on this show and I wondered what would happen if the contestants were like "I don't know the answer to this question. I never heard of Romeo Void." Would the band be stuck backstage never to come out and play? Certainly not.
Anyways, this was a cheesy artifact of the fun early '80s days when music videos were really taking over the world. So we got John "Bowser" Bauman in full '80s regalia (not retro '50s gear) as the host. Some questions involved clips from videos.
Sometimes you got two bands on one episode. Jack Mack and the Heart Attack and the post-Lionel Richie Commodores. Motley Crüe and Oingo Boingo are other bands that youtube clips show from this show.
Phil Hartman was the announcer reading about "a new color TV" and other great prizes. Watch the youtube clips to experience the magic.
