The last weekly episode of Top Of The Pops aired 10 years ago this week. Is it time to bring a music show back to prime time TV?
Ten years ago this week, the final weekly episode Top of the Pops aired on the BBC. McFly’s Don’t Stop Me Now was the Official Number 1 single, while Razorlight, Lily Allen and Paolo Nutini ruled the Official Album Chart.
The Christmas/New Year specials and charity spin-off episodes have kept the flame alive, while the magazine continues to adorn newsagents’ shelves (although this month’s cover star ‘Zoella’s Holiday Haul!’ suggests it’s a very different magazine to the one I relentlessly bugged my parents to buy me when I was younger) – but as a regular weekly bulletin on the latest and hottest tunes, it remains a distant, but vivid, memory.
Before its mid-'00s decline, I loved Top of the Pops. I was a '90s kid, so I looked forward to tuning in every Thursday (and Friday by the late '90s) evening – whether it be to a band blasting out their latest single, a pop group miming to their new track awkwardly squashed together on a tiny stage, or an international superstar belting out their global smash with a slightly confused look on their face. Performing on the show was considered an honour, and it pulled in just about every major player. Then there was the chart countdown at the end, which was always exciting. In fact, with TOTP and its sort-of rival show CD:UK on ITV, there was a time when we were spoiled for choice when it came to music on TV.
While we're here, let's relive some of the great and, erm, not so great performances of TOTP's past:
Of course, there continues to be regular re-runs of classic TOTP on BBC4 - it is currently reliving the joys of 1982, with Bow Wow Wow, Depeche Mode, Tight Fit, Gary Numan, Japan and Visage all featuring over the next fortnight alone, to the delight of a feverish, enthusiastic Twitter following.
Indeed, we all have our favourite TOTP moments. Here are some of ours...
Spice Girls - Wannabe (1996)
It was their first appearance on TOTP, and the world had never seen anything like it. Okay, technically it was shown via satellite, and the lip syncing is horrible, it was somehow still amazing, wasn't it?
The Flaming Lips and Justin Timberlake (2003)
That time when the biggest pop star on the planet offered to perform with The Flaming Lips, dressed as a dolphin.
Blazin' Squad - Flip Reverse (2003)
The London collective kicked off the 2003 'All New' Top Of The Pops revamp with this notable performance of Flip Reverse, which features hordes of teenagers dancing outside Television Centre.
Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit (1991)
Forced to mime playing their instruments, Nirvana did what any self-respecting band would do, and smash them up during this performance of Smells Like Teen Spirit.
Aretha Franklin - I Say A Little Prayer (1970)
Nailed it.
Gareth Gates & The Kumars - Spirit In The Sky (2003)
If you can remember Gareth Gates and The Kumars then you're doing well. This was a Number 1 single guys...
Madonna - Like A Virgin (1984)
Madonna caused quite the stir when she performed Like A Virgin in That. Pink. Wig.
Beyonce - Crazy In Love (2003)
The famously small stage wasn't quite big enough for Beyonce to do her Crazy In Love routine justice, but as always, she held it together.
Article image: BBC
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Andrew077
I haven't really followed the singles charts since 2009, primarily because many of my favourite bands and artists from then on stopped having hits, even what I listen to now doesn't chart and would only likely do well in the album charts. At least when Top Of The Pops was around you had diversity in the charts back then, which you certainly don't have now in these charts overrun with piano-led ballads, autotune, r'n'b and dance, I mean, if they were to bring this show back, is that really the kind of thing you would have to be sitting through for a whole half hour? No chance. If they did bring it back then they should go beyond what is in the charts and actually use it as a platform to showcase new bands and new artists too. Unfortunately the only live music show you have left on terrestrial television, and which actually does recognise new artists (and has classic and established artists on it too) is Later With Jools Holland, and that only comes on at various times of the year, yet late at night of course. I do welcome the idea of bringing a live music show to primetime tv, but they would have to have the right formula for it.
Tom Ingrid
The last act to perform live in the TOTP studio on the weekly show was Snow Patrol with Chasing Cars... Last video shown was Shakira with Hips Don't Lie a week later.
I'd love to see the show back on TV, bands would love it too. I don't know what half the singers in the Top 20 even look like, never mind how they sing live! Bring back TOTP!
mike t-d
I don't think that McFly had the Number One single on the last ever Top of the Pops - I remember watching it at the time, and they finished with a video of Beyonce & Shakira's "Beautiful Liar". I remember it because cutting to a video for the final Number One felt like such an anti-climax.
Thomas Sales
The problem is that the whole reason Top of the Pops worked was that there was no other way of watching music at the time; nowadays 4Music and Viva provide modern music. In addition, you can get the chart countdown on this site without it being dredged across as a half-hour program. Therefore, I would be happy with a repeat of The Official Chart Show at 7:30pm on Fridays on BBC1 since all that gets aired then nowadays is panel show repeats.