Rock School

For the documentary about an actual school of rock music, see Rock School (film). For the educational TV program featuring Herbie Hancock, see Rockschool. For the 2003 film, see School of Rock. For radio show , see WSLU.

Rock School (also known as Gene Simmons' Rock School) is a British reality television series starring Gene Simmons from the rock band Kiss. In the show, Gene Simmons had a short time to turn a class of schoolchildren into a real rock band. After their training, the students got to perform as a support act for a famous rock band.

The show was made by the British production company RDF Media. It was broadcast on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom, RTL 7 in the Netherlands, Channel Ten and Channel V in Australia, TVNZ 2 in New Zealand, VH1 in the United States and Latin America, TV 2 Zebra in Norway, Nelonen in Finland, TV4 in Sweden, Much Music in Canada, Vitaya in Belgium and ORF eins in Austria.

A comedy film with a similar idea, starring Jack Black, called School of Rock, came out in 2003. This was before the first series of the show began. Gene Simmons and his team said they did not make the show because of the film; they had been planning it since 2002.

Series 1

The first series of Rock School aired in autumn 2005 at Christ's Hospital, a boarding school near Horsham, West Sussex. The school is known for its strong music program. The show followed a group of year 9 students who were good at classical music but not very interested in rock.

Gene Simmons helped the students form a rock band called "The Class." The band members included Josh, known as “The Emperor,” Dudley the drummer, Jesse the guitarist, Kwamé on keyboards, and Camilla on bass. They also had stylists and stage managers to help them. By the end of the series, they performed for a crowd of Motörhead fans and even traveled to Los Angeles to play a special show.

One of the most memorable characters was Josh, nicknamed “The Emperor” because he loved the game Warhammer. Though he was very different from the others and sometimes acted strangely, his hard work and determination impressed Gene Simmons. By the end of the show, Josh felt like a true rock star and even grew his hair like famous guitarist Brian May from the band Queen.

Series 2

After the first series was very popular around the world, a second series started filming in October 2005 at Kirkley Community High School in Lowestoft, Suffolk. It began airing on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom on January 29, 2006. This time, Gene Simmons worked with students from a regular school, specifically from year 11, instead of classically trained musicians.

The students had to prepare to open for famous rock bands like Judas Priest, Rob Zombie, and Anthrax in Long Beach. The band, named "No Coment," went through many changes, with different members trying out for roles. By the end, the band was renamed "Hoax UK," and they successfully played their opening slot. One of the students, Chris Hardman, later released a single that became very popular. Other students also formed their own band called The Upraw. The class even got to visit Gene Simmons’ mansion and meet famous guitar makers in Los Angeles.