Top of the Pops - Could it make it's way back to the charts?
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Running from January 1964 to July 2006, this quintessentially British chart countdown featured a plethora of artists. They kicked off with Dusty Springfield, the finale was Snow Patrol. Although remembered fondly by all lucky enough to see it at its peak why did its following plummet? What happened to Top of the Pops? And, most importantly, could it make a return?
With its not so humble beginnings in 1964 it attracted artists such as The Beatles, The Supremes and The Rolling Stones to name just a few. And, of course, we can’t forget the dance troop to end all dance troops, Pan’s People. From there, its popularity exploded. It enabled people to actually watch popular music and see the artists they followed as well as discovering other popular choices.
As with all live shows, the errors were sometimes more notable than the acts themselves. In 1971, Rod Stewart and the Faces singing ‘Maggie May’ caused chaos on the show, when two of the band abandon the stage, and a football was kicked about while the song played.
Something a lot of TOTP viewers will recall was the artists not always performing on stage. Many artists ridiculed the miming format, with history repeating itself with the Communards swapping lyrics with each other in 1986, the Gallagher brothers of Oasis in 1995 swapping roles and finally the infamous ‘Smells like Teen Spirit’ rendition in which Nirvana’s bandmates sang in the wrong voice with the wrong lyrics and failed to play the instruments correctly.
This was all clearly a popularity stunt by bands, or simply a subversion of what large companies demanded. Whatever the motive, we all loved the audacity to do things wrong, looking up to those who could stand up to people we never could.
Top of the Pops’ long reign came to an end on 20th June, 2006. The BBC announced that this monumental programme would retire after many years of dwindling viewership, increased competition, with the rise of social media, dedicated music channels and more readily available music and a decreased interest in the charts in society. However, TOTP2 did still continue, with showings of the back-dated catalogue a regular feature of noughties TV.
But this all begs the question, with the increased popularity of vinyl, posters and everything retro, should Top of the Pops make a return?
Many would argue that while the show was a 20th century hit, it does not fit with today’s television. With the charts remaining similar from week to week, month to month, it would become too repetitive; that many artists would be unwilling to mime, essentially ‘faking’ their trade in such an authentically oriented world. With all of the songs you want just a click away nowadays, who really cares about the charts anymore? If you want to know what’s hot right now, all you need to do is watch the first few TikTok videos on any teen’s For You Page, noting the songs.
But of course, there are no end of reasons for its return, the first of course is that any show like Top of the Pops is an invaluable platform for new, up and coming artists. As well as allowing its viewers to discover new gems they may not know otherwise and giving musicians an opportunity to show themselves in an otherwise faceless world.
The Christmas specials broadcasts are clearly popular, as they make their return this year, does that indicate a return of Top of the Pops? Or will it simply be just enough nostalgia to quench our interest, and it needn’t make a full return every week? I’ll leave you to decide.
Sources: BBC News Press Release, This Day In Music.
