RIP TOTP

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Announced when I retuned from dinner on Guardian website.

Bollocks.

As Jarvis Cocker once said, it all turned to shit when they took it off Thursdays.

― suzy (suzy), Tuesday, 20 June 2006 22:15 (nineteen years ago)

>>>
TOTP, the end

― DJ Martian (djmartian), Tuesday, 20 June 2006 22:18 (nineteen years ago)

Thanks, had totally visceral reaction to news, but ARGH.

― suzy (suzy), Tuesday, 20 June 2006 22:19 (nineteen years ago)

Marcello will be along in the morning to tell us why this wouldn't have happened under Harold Wilson, bless him.

― Shadow of the Waxwing (noodle vague), Tuesday, 20 June 2006 22:36 (nineteen years ago)

Well, it didn't did it?

― mark grout (mark grout), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 07:36 (nineteen years ago)

as with smash hits, i haven't seen it in a decade (ok, three years).

― Roughage Crew (Enrique), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 07:39 (nineteen years ago)

I saw it last month.

YA WAI TO GO BBC. I think they've been insanely stupid here. Commissionaire who axed it is one of those Americans I'd imagine it would be impossible to engage in conversation about music. In other words the person in the world least likely to see the value in TOTP as a brand, or how having it on Thursdays was vital to British music market in terms of week-to-week commerce firstly and then as knock-on effect for entire music industry. Argh.

― suzy (suzy), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 07:50 (nineteen years ago)

Funny you should say that, NV, but if the BBC powers at the time had had its way - largely through fear of a Wilson Government - TOTP wouldn't have gone ahead.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 07:56 (nineteen years ago)

I keed because I love ;)

― Half loaf, half pompadour (noodle vague), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 07:59 (nineteen years ago)

I had just started watching it again because they moved it to Sundays at 7pm, which was absolutely perfect for me - sandwiched between the Simpsons and Corrie.

Two great performances in the last few weeks from Gnarls Barkley and The Flaming Lips made it a nice round-off to the week.

Ah well.

― accentmonkey (accentmonkey), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 08:16 (nineteen years ago)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/5100206.stm

Tony's perspeckative..?

― mark grout (mark grout), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 08:19 (nineteen years ago)

"Record sales don't sell as much"

"Mums and Dads won't like the (strawman) American Rapper"

― Onimo (GerryNemo), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 08:23 (nineteen years ago)

What bothers me is that the Beeb will now devote their music coverage to tossy niche programmes like Jools Holland and coverage of boring festivals. I don't want to start casting the R word around, but the lack of a broad-based pop show means Pop will get pushed to the margins, i.e. children's telly.

― Half loaf, half pompadour (noodle vague), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 08:28 (nineteen years ago)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/5100314.stm - TOTP in pictures.

― Onimo (GerryNemo), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 08:29 (nineteen years ago)

R-word?

Rockism? Racism? Richardshops? Radio? RichmondHill? Raggett?

― mark grout (mark grout), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 08:30 (nineteen years ago)

All of the above.

― Half loaf, half pompadour (noodle vague), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 08:32 (nineteen years ago)

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41791000/jpg/_41791278_katebush1978_416.jpg

lovely

― jed_ (jed), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 08:38 (nineteen years ago)

You have no idea how sad that makes me. :-(

― Insert Clever Screen Name Here (kate), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 08:40 (nineteen years ago)

i couldn't care less that it's been axed, it never played a particularly large part in my musical life and i think alot of people exaggerate the part it played in theirs.

― jed_ (jed), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 08:41 (nineteen years ago)

It played a HUGE part in my aspirational life.

And I did watch it, right up until I no longer had a telly. :-(

― Insert Clever Screen Name Here (kate), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 08:42 (nineteen years ago)

As much as I hate to agree with mass murderer Moel Edmonds, the BBC are making a mistake here even if it is just branding. Top Of The Pops is worth more to the Beeb as a brand than as a TV show. TOTP legitimises the BBC Official Chart on Radio One, and therefore legitimises them running a pop channel in the first place. Frankly low ratings even helps this as a niche audience.

Having recently seen the French TOTP (same branding different atmosphere) it is clear that this is a simple show to market wholesale and make money off of with licensing. But it is also in the public interest to have a pop music show on in prime time, since pop music is such a vital part of pop culture.

The rationale that everyone goes to MTV, free music channels, teh Interweb for their music is a bogus one. You could use exactly the same argument to ditch evening news shows.

― Pete (Pete), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 09:11 (nineteen years ago)

You could use exactly the same argument to ditch evening news shows.

they *should* ditch bbc1's news, it's appalling.

― Roughage Crew (Enrique), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 09:13 (nineteen years ago)

I hope they do. (Dammit, beaten by Enrique.)

Seriouxly (boringly), there've been at least two TOTP triv machines, as well as books, board games, all sorts of crap. The brand must still have value, I'd've thunk.

― Half loaf, half pompadour (noodle vague), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 09:15 (nineteen years ago)

They should rebrand BBC1's news as News for Dummies.

― Half loaf, half pompadour (noodle vague), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 09:16 (nineteen years ago)

Brand or no brand, the fact is that TOTP didn't, or couldn't, adapt to changing times and they should never have tried to make the programme "cool."

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 09:19 (nineteen years ago)

everything is cool now, though. what could they do? the weird-n-allegedly-wonderful oddities you used to get charting don't exist any more.

― Roughage Crew (Enrique), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 09:22 (nineteen years ago)

That's almost true, but I think there was a tendency for late-period TOTP to further manage what is an already heavily managed chart. Also, presenters that make you pine for the halcyon days of Dave Lee Bastard Travis are not a good thing.

― Half loaf, half pompadour (noodle vague), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 09:24 (nineteen years ago)

who was that one guy? wes? dick.

― Roughage Crew (Enrique), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 09:25 (nineteen years ago)

no! tim kash.

― Roughage Crew (Enrique), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 09:25 (nineteen years ago)

TOTP topic is top of both ILE and ILM new answers at the mo. with the same people on both!

― Konal Doddz (blueski), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 09:26 (nineteen years ago)

stupid aren't we?

― Roughage Crew (Enrique), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 09:27 (nineteen years ago)

Wes is a dick though.

― Half loaf, half pompadour (noodle vague), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 09:27 (nineteen years ago)

where did tim kash come from and go to?

shame about this but the show is rubbish and insignificant

― RJG (RJG), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 09:27 (nineteen years ago)

Basically, it's all Andi Peters' fault.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 09:28 (nineteen years ago)

so not that much of a shame, on balance.

xpost

― Roughage Crew (Enrique), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 09:29 (nineteen years ago)

yes

L O L

― RJG (RJG), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 09:30 (nineteen years ago)

Tim Kash was a computer-generated character based on market research carried out amongst trendsetters aged 35-40. He was deleted from the TOTP hard drive when Producers realised he was a cock.

― Half loaf, half pompadour (noodle vague), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 09:30 (nineteen years ago)

he came from MTV News. dunno where he is now. MTV News?

― Konal Doddz (blueski), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 09:31 (nineteen years ago)

doesn't say what became of the overprivileged ballbag.

xpost oic

― Roughage Crew (Enrique), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 09:31 (nineteen years ago)

berkshire, maybe

crosspost

― RJG (RJG), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 09:32 (nineteen years ago)

he was no Gary Davies or Tony Dortie.

― Konal Doddz (blueski), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 09:32 (nineteen years ago)

If I'd sent my son to a 16-grand-a-year school I'd be a tad disappointed if the best job he could manage was presenting Top of the Pops.

― Half loaf, half pompadour (noodle vague), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 09:34 (nineteen years ago)

Rebrand!

Russel Brand!

― mark grout (mark grout), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 09:36 (nineteen years ago)

never fear. TOTP will return, Doctor Who style, in 2017

― zebedee (zebedee), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 09:37 (nineteen years ago)

But it will be made in Wales and feature the Stereophonics every week.

― Half loaf, half pompadour (noodle vague), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 09:38 (nineteen years ago)

TOTP topic is top of both ILE and ILM new answers at the mo. with the same people on both!
-- Konal Doddz (stevem7...) (webmail), Today 10:26 AM. (later) (link)

Ah, but the ILM thread is reminising about old highlights, and this thread is the grumpy (old) people thread.

― mark grout (mark grout), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 09:43 (nineteen years ago)

I told Alice (6) the programme was ending, and she said "Well, we'd better make sure we watch it then"

― mark grout (mark grout), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 09:44 (nineteen years ago)

Not grumpy or old, just perplexed.

― suzy (suzy), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 09:44 (nineteen years ago)

Surely in a multi-channel environment there is massive value in owning programs that everyone knows (and broadly approves of) that nobody actually watches. At least there should be for the BBC.

― Pete (Pete), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 09:45 (nineteen years ago)

This could go in a reverse scenario of "What the papers say" to get sold off to ITV.

Last month's "Illegal performances in front of audience" scandal - Was this the final straw?

― mark grout (mark grout), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 09:47 (nineteen years ago)

Not unless they can make money out of them via nostalgic DVDs.
(xpost)

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 09:49 (nineteen years ago)

i would contribute to these threads but there's not really that much to say further to what stevem said on the ilm thread - how have they managed to fuck up something which is SO EASY TO DO?

― The Lex (The Lex), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 09:56 (nineteen years ago)

Oddly enough, while watching the England defence around the 92nd minute last night, the same thought occurred to me.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 10:02 (nineteen years ago)

As much as I hate to agree with mass murderer Moel Edmonds, the BBC are making a mistake here even if it is just branding. Top Of The Pops is worth more to the Beeb as a brand than as a TV show.

Going back to this for a second, the fatal flaw was that the BBC messed about with the TOTP brand until nobody knew exactly what the brand was supposed to signify - was it a chart show? was it Radio 1's playlist? was it supposed to be hip? - when to maintain the brand they should have kept the show the way it had always been, i.e. that week's best-selling records irrespective of genre - no "exclusives," no "cool" acts, no flashbacks - just the hits, ma'am.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 11:17 (nineteen years ago)

In other words, stick with the audience it had and not try to seek a different audience, thereby eventually losing everybody.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 11:18 (nineteen years ago)

i agree i think, in that looking back to a typical edition of the show from, say, 1991 with a title theme in 'The Wizard' that had established itself as perhaps more fitting than 'Yellow Pearl' (looking back, a very odd choice of theme tune but then i suppose it would do now), a reasonable (and again v recognisable/distinctive logo - unlike latter incarnations) presenters who weren't particularly inspiring, sexy or whatever but that's okay because we had the music/artists to inspire us and be sexy and a strictly chart-orientated format with no 'exclusives' or performances pre-release - just new entries and climbers in the chart. if your song was going down you were not welcome on the show. it was this simplicity that made it work. it was not broken then so why they started tampering with the format the following year is still baffling today.

― Konal Doddz (blueski), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 11:23 (nineteen years ago)

my thoughts pretty much exactly, TOTP started to die the minute they monkeyed with the format chasing an audience that had drifted away as the chart became less interesting and people bought less singles(songs straight in and out rather than moving up and down as in the past). They changed it which lost more viewers, then changed the time it was on which lost some more. The quote on the BBC blamed iPods(what?) and 24 hour music channels which have existed for 25 years and serve a different purpose. If anything the rise of downloads has made the single track popular again and seems to have made the chart more interesting. It's certainly got more movement in it than before and surely the ability to download has increased sales. A perfect time for a resurgent TOTP. But, apparently not.

― mms (mms), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 11:55 (nineteen years ago)

iPod is a perfect example of how to maintain a brand, actually - you buy an iPod, or you see the name iPod, and you know exactly what it represents and what you're getting. At the end you couldn't do that with TOTP.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 11:58 (nineteen years ago)

I tend to agree too, but the Top Of The Pops format is very easy to restore, as you mention - its the stuff in the charts, new and going up. The French one worked that way, happily inserting an album chart bit which is by no means deadly to the format and rolling over a more leasurely hour. Dutch and Belgian versions I believe work the same way, and have logos/music which are derived from the current version.

I think TOTP has always thought itself to be a bit cool, and never has been (remember there was a time when Radio 1 DJ's were cool). And as for sticking with the audience, well maybe that audience was drifting away. But for a show like TOTP, the audience isn't that important (a deadly thing to say in current TV but true nevertheless)! There was still something special about seeing yr new favourite band on TOTP, esp if the presenters didn't have a clue.

SteveM, the format tamper in 1992 was not the death of TOTP, and it was arguably at its best around that time. But the format tamper was a direct result of Smashy and Nicey (Enfield can be blamed for all the UK pop failings). Agred about pre-releases/exclusives - weakened the format. Also Top 40 rundown please, it took up time but meant they presenter got to do a one lner about the Milltown Brothers.

― Pete (Pete), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 11:59 (nineteen years ago)

TOTP around '92 attracted a lot of flack among critics in the same way Radio 1 was getting. You can tie this in with lack of pop icons in favour of alt scenes (rave, grunge etc.) at the time perhaps (bad for ratings?).

― Konal Doddz (blueski), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 12:04 (nineteen years ago)

I'm not quite convinced by the "cool police" arguments. I mean, it's not that long ago that some poor sod had to dress up in a crazy frog outfit and dance around on there. They still gave time to the random naff stuff, when it happened. It just doesn't happen as much these days. That's not really TOTP's fault though.

― JimD (JimD), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 13:19 (nineteen years ago)

I felt it's death knell when they showed the full "Bad" video of Michael Jackson.

Watching some people riding the underground and chatting about what they were going to do next after the breakup of high school, just felt totally wrong. Where's the music? Where's the party in the studio?

Even people jumping up and down waving balloons and dancing to "Love will tear us apart" felt less wrong.

― mark grout (mark grout), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 13:25 (nineteen years ago)

Well the thing is no one actually dressed up in a Crazy Frog outfit. It might have been more fun if they had. We just got a bog standard scowling dance troupe...trying to look cool.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 13:28 (nineteen years ago)

The Crazy Frog said he would only go on if his knackers were on show and ToTP wouldn't let him. :(

― Raw Patrick (Raw Patrick), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 13:36 (nineteen years ago)

The "throwing pop filth at our kids" argument oddly partially came more out of Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter thatn anything else (combined with the Radio one flack). In distancing itself from that by not using Radio DJ presenters it cut a vital link which nevertheless remains in most viewer bonces to this day. But gimmicks and changes in ID is what TOTP has always been a bit about. I think it is - despite the number of times its format has been jiggered with, a pretty bulletproof format. The problem is not that people don't watch it. Its that the BBC don't realise that it does not matter if people don't watch it.

Rather than BBC2 on a Sunday, how about 7-8pm BBC3 on a Thursday.

― Pete (Pete), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 13:41 (nineteen years ago)

no one actually dressed up in a Crazy Frog outfit

He did! He did! I saw him! He wasn't there for the whole track, he turned up about two thirds of the way in and fannied about behind the turntables for a while, but honest, he was definitely there.

― JimD (JimD), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 13:47 (nineteen years ago)

7:15 on Saturdays, after the current Dr Who series has finished?

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 13:47 (nineteen years ago)

The problem is not that people don't watch it. Its that the BBC don't realise that it does not matter if people don't watch it.

I agree!

But I was never convinced about the Thursday argument before because of the chart for that week becoming 'stale' by that point. Not a big deal tho ultimately I suppose, and Suzy alluded upthread to the advantage a Thursday night scheduling had in terms of propelling sales the following weekend.

― Konal Doddz (blueski), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 13:57 (nineteen years ago)

7:15 on Saturdays, after the current Dr Who series has finished?

But that would mean a reschedule when Dr Who came back on. TOTP needs a fixed time slot for 52 weeks of the year.

― Venga (Venga), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 14:13 (nineteen years ago)

Gossip is that 4nd1 P3t3rs )====> ( ( ) +1m K4sh. No wonder TOTP's been buggered evver since.

― suzy (suzy), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 14:16 (nineteen years ago)

xpost: Even in the supposed 1970s heyday, there were occasional new releases/previews, eg. Mud's "Tiger Feet", and various suspiciously placed non-hits that never became hits - one show circa 1975 featured three "up and coming" bands that were never seen again. I can also remember a cartoon promo for "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" being screened at least twice. And then there were various European Chart round-ups circa 1983, eg. a German round-up which featured "99 Luftballons" and Righeira's "Vamos A La Playa".

I particularly enjoyed the "no pre-recorded vocals" rule in the early 1990s, in which dance acts were obliged to sing all of their vocal samples live, eg. Moby repeatedly shouting "Go!".

― mike t-diva (mike t-diva), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 14:36 (nineteen years ago)

"INjected with a Poison..."

― mark grout (mark grout), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 14:38 (nineteen years ago)

But I was never convinced about the Thursday argument before because of the chart for that week becoming 'stale' by that point.

in prehistory the chart came out on a TUESDAY dear boy, announced by gary davies on a lunchtime, THEN totp on a thursday then the, largely redundant, vance/brookes chart show (apart from for TAPING purposes obv) on a sunday...

mike is wrong about the no miming thing though, it was dreadful, all sensible bands knew to mime whenever they had the chance (wasis in particular)

― CarsmileSteve (CarsmileSteve), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 14:45 (nineteen years ago)

you mean the chart show on Radio 1 originally announced the previous week's chart?

― Konal Doddz (blueski), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 14:49 (nineteen years ago)

yes.

― CarsmileSteve (CarsmileSteve), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 14:54 (nineteen years ago)

Yes, that's right it did. Tom Browne.

"Solid Gold Sixty", where they played the forty records on the playlist, then the top twenty for that week. All that.

― mark grout (mark grout), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 15:05 (nineteen years ago)

i never knew that. when did they change it around so that Sunday was the first day the new chart was announced? when Gallup managed to scrape enough cash together to buy an Apple II to do the math quicker?

― Konal Doddz (blueski), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 15:06 (nineteen years ago)

Even in its supposed heyday TOTP was pretty awful, presented by all those horrible djs, Simon Bates, Steve Wright, Noel Edmunds et al, and that naff forced party atmosphere. Performances too tended towards the lame. I don't understand why people think it was so good.

― Revivalist (Revivalist), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 15:08 (nineteen years ago)

Performances too tended towards the lame.

Why would this be? Because they were rarely done in one-take? Because you knew the crowd weren't necessarily interested in the artist performing at any given time? Because it wasn't proper LIVE? All valid points but it didn't stop the show being bags of fun. WERE YOU NEVER YOUNG?

― Konal Doddz (blueski), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 15:12 (nineteen years ago)

When the commercial radio stations (i.e. Capital and who they sold it on to) generated their own chart supposedly a week more recent for a sunday night. xpost

― mark grout (mark grout), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 15:18 (nineteen years ago)

WERE YOU NEVER YOUNG?

Oh, I watched it religiously until I was 16 or 17, and obviously it has nostalgia value for that reason. But let's face it, it was pretty awful. And not really even so awful it was good. And I think I knew that even then, I just hung on for the few times they'd have New Order on or something.

― Revivalist (Revivalist), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 15:25 (nineteen years ago)

Perhaps they should bring it back, stick to the top 10(means i wont watch it but plenty will) have actual bands in studio as its unique to the show as videos can be seen elsewhere. and show it at say 7pm on a sunday where you might get people tuning in to see the chart rundown. Just don't put it on midweek as you can't beat the soaps. It's not just parents who watch the soaps, kids do too.
Pop Idol and such are all on saturdays and get family viewing. So sunday at the same time should work.
Its quite a simple formula really.

― Brigadier Lethbridge-Pfunkboy (Kerr), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 22:08 (nineteen years ago)

Actually even when i did watch it( since i was a kid until maybe 4 or 5 years ago) I probably only ever liked one band on it at most so clearly that was enough to get me watching.

― Brigadier Lethbridge-Pfunkboy (Kerr), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 22:13 (nineteen years ago)

Dutch coach Marco van Basten afterwards admitted Argentina had put his side "in a corner several times".

"I have seen progress in my team tonight. Argentina are a high quality team and they are playing 'Top of the Pops' football," he said.

― theantmustdance (theantmustdance), Wednesday, 21 June 2006 23:35 (nineteen years ago)

Various European and American chart round-ups circa that time, all brought to us by Jonathan King, but we don't talk about him here.

Was "Tiger Feet" on as a pre-release? That would explain the #10 entry position, which I remember thinking at the time was rather remarkable for a band who had only had one previous top ten hit.

It also annoyed me because "Teenage Rampage" which I much preferred was out the same week and came in at #6, but ended up stuck at number 2 behind "That's right that's right" etc. Not that Chinn and Chapman were particularly bothered...

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Thursday, 22 June 2006 06:44 (nineteen years ago)

The problem with a top ten prog is that by the time stuff is in the top ten, the sales are reducing. This means the record companies aren't that bothered about getting acts into the show.

― mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 22 June 2006 07:08 (nineteen years ago)

xpost: Yeah, definitely a pre-release. I spent a couple of weeks asking for it in shops before it came out.

― mike t-diva (mike t-diva), Thursday, 22 June 2006 07:16 (nineteen years ago)

RAK really had their marketing together in '74, didn't they? 18 hits out of 22 releases!

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Thursday, 22 June 2006 07:29 (nineteen years ago)

Its that the BBC don't realise that it does not matter if people don't watch it.
Rather than BBC2 on a Sunday, how about 7-8pm BBC3 on a Thursday.

-- Pete (pb1...), June 21st, 2006.

it maybe matters to the bands' 'people'?! would you get major acts playing that slot, if no-one was watching. i think the whole point of totp was that 'everyone watches it'. now no-one does there's no point.

― Roughage Crew (Enrique), Thursday, 22 June 2006 07:33 (nineteen years ago)

I do remember it being on the radio and so on for about a month beforehand.

That's why stuff generally went in low in the chart and climbed: Manufacture of singles was expensive, so they always made sure they didn't make too many. But as "Tiger Feet" had a large pre-promotion, and hey us kids all wanted one, they knew they'd sell all of those, so they made loads.

Course, CDs are cheap to make so they overpress so they get mass manuf discounts.

And now, they don't even have to make them!

― mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 22 June 2006 07:34 (nineteen years ago)

I honestly thought it had already been axed years ago.

meh, to the whole thing

― Ste (Fuzzy), Thursday, 22 June 2006 07:52 (nineteen years ago)

There seemed a peculiar glut of singles unexpectedly entering in high (top 10/top 20) positions throughout '74, including previously uncharted artists; this was a definite blip in that decade's general chart trends - you don't get a comparable period until 1980 or thereabouts.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Thursday, 22 June 2006 07:57 (nineteen years ago)

As I say, there was a lot of 'pre-releasing' stuff to the radio. If they played it loads, they manufactured loads. If not, they presumably made a small number and carried on to the next one.

"Somebody to love" Queen was on t'radio for about a month before.

― mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 22 June 2006 08:01 (nineteen years ago)

I remember back then, quite often the first time you heard a single by a band you liked was when you bought it and took it home. "Going Underground" The Jam was like that for me.

― mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 22 June 2006 08:02 (nineteen years ago)

The thing with pre-releases though was that they were usually no more than 3-4 weeks ahead of release, and generally only 1-2 weeks, unlike the two-and-a-half months you get now. But "Somebody To Love" was always going to chart high on the back of the first "new" Queen single since Bo Rap (though was eventually kept off the top by Showaddywaddy!).

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Thursday, 22 June 2006 08:30 (nineteen years ago)

Between 1975-9 I can offhand recall only three singles entering the chart within the top five, and only one of these ("Walking On The Moon") went on to make number one, though I suppose there could be a few more.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Thursday, 22 June 2006 08:33 (nineteen years ago)

Was David Soul one of them?

― Onimo (GerryNemo), Thursday, 22 June 2006 08:36 (nineteen years ago)

and the Elvis single that came out a couple of weeks after he died?

― Onimo (GerryNemo), Thursday, 22 June 2006 08:38 (nineteen years ago)

Yeah, it's aggressive pre-release rotation that's really killed it. By the time any tune's charted it's been knocking around for donkey's years and no one's interested in switching on TOTP just because it might be on.

(Apologies if this point's been made upthread, I've only skimmed the thread)

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Thursday, 22 June 2006 08:42 (nineteen years ago)

Also, that's Grandstand and TOTP both gone in the space of a few months. Which further BBC institution are they going to axe to make it a hattrick?

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Thursday, 22 June 2006 08:43 (nineteen years ago)

The elvis single came out a couple week before he died. It was languishing at number 45 or so. I know as I reviewed it on a radio show, said something like "This will be a bit hit" and "I heard a rumour Elvis is leaving Col Tom Parker"

wasirite?

― mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 22 June 2006 08:44 (nineteen years ago)

Yeah, the other two were David Soul's "Going In With My Eyes Open" and the aforementioned "Somebody To Love."

"Way Down" by Elvis - the chart progress was 46-42-4-1, i.e. either way he wouldn't have got past 42.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Thursday, 22 June 2006 08:47 (nineteen years ago)

Also, that's Grandstand and TOTP both gone in the space of a few months. Which further BBC institution are they going to axe to make it a hattrick?

They also cancelled Byker Grove!

Pretty much every hit song that I like I am sick of by the time it reaches the shops so I don't buy it. Why do they release things to the radio so early?

― Raw Patrick (Raw Patrick), Thursday, 22 June 2006 08:51 (nineteen years ago)

..and "They think it's all over"

― mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 22 June 2006 08:51 (nineteen years ago)

They Think It's All Over is hardly an institution! I might give you Byker Grove.

TOTP in its heydey was Event Telly. What's the point of having Event Telly that's no longer even remotely an event?

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Thursday, 22 June 2006 08:56 (nineteen years ago)

exactly.

― Roughage Crew (Enrique), Thursday, 22 June 2006 08:57 (nineteen years ago)

They should cancel Blue Peter.

― Raw Patrick (Raw Patrick), Thursday, 22 June 2006 09:01 (nineteen years ago)

EASTENDERS

― Roughage Crew (Enrique), Thursday, 22 June 2006 09:03 (nineteen years ago)

Grange Hill will be next.

― Brigadier Lethbridge-Pfunkboy (Kerr), Thursday, 22 June 2006 09:04 (nineteen years ago)

Grange Hill's good currently, so I hope not.

― Raw Patrick (Raw Patrick), Thursday, 22 June 2006 09:07 (nineteen years ago)

Yeah, Blue Peter. That'll get the Daily Mail crying!!!

― mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 22 June 2006 09:09 (nineteen years ago)

blue peter is enviro-socialist propaganda though innit?

― Roughage Crew (Enrique), Thursday, 22 June 2006 09:10 (nineteen years ago)

ITV should respond by bringing back The Roxy.

― Raw Patrick (Raw Patrick), Thursday, 22 June 2006 09:10 (nineteen years ago)

.. or "45" with Kid Jensen.

― mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 22 June 2006 09:13 (nineteen years ago)

.. or "45" with Me. I'm 45.

― mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 22 June 2006 09:13 (nineteen years ago)

Bring back Revolver with me as Peter Cook.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Thursday, 22 June 2006 09:16 (nineteen years ago)

Who is yr Dudley Moore though?

― Raw Patrick (Raw Patrick), Thursday, 22 June 2006 09:17 (nineteen years ago)

Dud wasn't in Revolver, it was just Pete as the pissed-off club owner.

Alternatively, amalgamate TOTP with Newsnight Review - wouldn't Morley and Greer make great presenters?

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Thursday, 22 June 2006 09:18 (nineteen years ago)

martha kearney more like.

― Roughage Crew (Enrique), Thursday, 22 June 2006 09:19 (nineteen years ago)

mmmmm....

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Thursday, 22 June 2006 09:21 (nineteen years ago)

Mull Of Bastard Kintyre entered in the top five, didn't it?

― Onimo (GerryNemo), Thursday, 22 June 2006 09:26 (nineteen years ago)

Nope, it entered at 48, then leapt to 5 the following week.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Thursday, 22 June 2006 09:28 (nineteen years ago)

Ah. I only think of the chart in terms of Top 40s you see, as that's all they played on the radio and listed on TOTP.

― Onimo (GerryNemo), Thursday, 22 June 2006 09:30 (nineteen years ago)

There are several instances of this kind of thing, which IIRC was due to singles sometimes being released on Saturday rather than Monday, e.g. Pretty Vacant went from 45 to 7. No, I meant top five actual first full week of release.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Thursday, 22 June 2006 09:31 (nineteen years ago)

I remember when ToTP did their early nineties move to live singing it got discussed on Late Review (or whatever it was called then--was it still part of The Late Show at that point) and the main consensus reached was that the woman from Oceanic couldn't sing very well.

(x-post)

― Raw Patrick (Raw Patrick), Thursday, 22 June 2006 09:37 (nineteen years ago)

They were right enough about that. "Insanity" was number one for about six months in Scotland.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Thursday, 22 June 2006 09:40 (nineteen years ago)

She was very, very out of tune. "Insanity" was played all the time in pubs in Northumberland. It was really annoying.

― Raw Patrick (Raw Patrick), Thursday, 22 June 2006 09:42 (nineteen years ago)

Wonder what branch of Greggs she's working in now?

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Thursday, 22 June 2006 09:52 (nineteen years ago)

Huzzah, one of my poorly thought out arguments has made it into the Guardian blogger box (page 3). Of course everyone will assume it was Ewing.

― Pete (Pete), Thursday, 22 June 2006 10:39 (nineteen years ago)

go on, what was it?

― Roughage Crew (Enrique), Thursday, 22 June 2006 10:43 (nineteen years ago)

Tanya Headon appears to have posted a comment there...

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Thursday, 22 June 2006 10:55 (nineteen years ago)

Other sane utterances we have heard from the man Savile in the past include:
"Gary Glitter can come back any time he wants to."

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Thursday, 22 June 2006 10:59 (nineteen years ago)

Top Of The Pops, as a show, may not be packing them in like it used to. And much of that is due to the music television on demand. Nevertheless it was THE music chart show, and as such it lent far more legitimacy to the Official Radio One chart than just being on Radio One did. Radio One is a silly pop radio station, Top Of The Pops was on BBCTV, after the news, and as (shudder) Paul Gambacini says rightly, it was the News Of Pop.

I think they took out the Radio One is a silly pop station bit. But unfortuantely they left in the pretty gratuitous (shudder).

― Pete (Pete), Thursday, 22 June 2006 11:54 (nineteen years ago)

Actually it was on after Tomorrow's World.

I blame EastEnders myself.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Thursday, 22 June 2006 11:59 (nineteen years ago)

I didn't notice this earlier, but from here:

However, "The end of the weekly show does not mark the total disappearance of the Top of the Pops brand from British television screens. It will continue to feature in programmes such as TOTP2, BBC TWO's archive show based on the Top of the Pops back-catalogue which will sometimes incorporate new performance, as well as one-off specials."

― JimD (JimD), Saturday, 24 June 2006 10:35 (nineteen years ago)

Russell T. Davies should wait eighteen years then revive it.

― chap who would dare to be a nerd, not a geek (chap), Saturday, 24 June 2006 12:57 (nineteen years ago)

In a way that shows lots of promise, then turns out to be shite.

― aldo_cowpat (aldo_cowpat), Saturday, 24 June 2006 16:33 (nineteen years ago)

except they killed off TOTP2 yonks ago.

― mark grout (mark grout), Sunday, 25 June 2006 16:55 (nineteen years ago)

I can't believe people are dissing "Insanity".

― Half loaf, half pompadour (noodle vague), Sunday, 25 June 2006 16:58 (nineteen years ago)

three weeks pass...

I hope they give it a proper send off, at least. I want Jimmy Saville to be guest presenter on the last ever show.

-- JimD (ji...) (webmail), June 20th, 2006 5:50 PM. (JimD) (link)

Well, that's something, at least...

― JimD (JimD), Tuesday, 18 July 2006 09:01 (nineteen years ago)

(Used "at least" twice in two lines. Spelt Savile's name wrong. I'm shit at this writing lark, me).

― JimD (JimD), Tuesday, 18 July 2006 09:03 (nineteen years ago)

I hope he gets everyone's names wrong.

― Konal Doddz (blueski), Tuesday, 18 July 2006 10:06 (nineteen years ago)

two years pass...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7972767.stm

― pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Monday, 30 March 2009 15:57 (sixteen years ago)

"The days are gone when we can make a programme and just put it out there," he added.

― Mark G, Monday, 30 March 2009 16:00 (sixteen years ago)

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