The BBC's flagship pop music programme Top of the Pops has been cancelled after 42 years, the BBC has announced.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/5099894.stm

How can they do that?  I thought TOTP was immensely popular?

How can they do that?  I thought TOTP was immensely popular?
It is still popular and is a complete mystery why, but there has been several drawbacks to the production of the TV show. There was a promise of being broadcasted live, as of transmission time, but with inside knowledge, all was not live.

It is still popular and is a complete mystery why, but there has been several drawbacks to the production of the TV show. There was a promise of being broadcasted live, as of transmission time, but with inside knowledge, all was not live.


I used to love watching TOTP in the early 00s.  The French Music station "Musique Plus" out of Quebec would show it, and I'd watch it every Sunday

On the DVD "The Very Best of Erasure", there is a clip of them performing "Sometimes" on TOTP in 1986

It is still popular and is a complete mystery why, but there has been several drawbacks to the production of the TV show. There was a promise of being broadcasted live, as of transmission time, but with inside knowledge, all was not live.


Very sad news

Fearne Cotton hasn't done the show any favours imo  tho 'I appreciate she isn't to blame for its removal from our screens   

When the BBC started th enew look TOTP, produced by Andi Peters, a few years back. An idea of a live competition was one of the features, and the answers to the question was given out wrongly, saying that Angels by Robbie Williams was his first solo number one record, where it was Millennium. A complete dogs's dinner.

Wow... this is sad to hear. So many of the best musical acts of all time got their big breaks by performing on TOTP in the UK and the long-ago-defunct American Bandstand here in the States... now there really isn't a platform for new artists to break out, seeing that MTV no longer has anything to do with music and VH1 concentrates on so-called "reality" programming...

From www.msn.com

LONDON, England (AP) -- The British Broadcasting Corp. announced Tuesday that it is canceling "Top of the Pops," its flagship music chart show, after more than four decades on the air.

BBC director of television Jana Bennett said the show, which first appeared in 1964, would air for the last time on July 30.

"We're very proud of a show which has survived 42 years in the U.K. and gone on to become a worldwide brand, but the time has come to bring the show to its natural conclusion," she said.

"Top of the Pops" has featured everyone from The Beatles and The Rolling Stones to Nirvana and the Spice Girls. At its peak, the weekly rundown of Britain's best-selling acts attracted more than 15 million viewers.

The show has suffered flagging ratings in recent years as it faced competition from cable and satellite music channels and the Internet. Last year it was moved from the main BBC1 channel to BBC2, which attracts a smaller audience.

In a statement, the BBC said that "in a rapidly changing musical landscape 'Top of the Pops' no longer occupies the central role it once did."

Bennett said the BBC remained committed to music, and announced a slew of new shows, including a rock history series entitled "The Seven Ages of Rock."

Holy sh*t! Wasn't Top of the Pops, like, a staple of popular music in the UK? That's how it always seemed to me reading about it. I've never even seen the show myself, yet I still find this news quite sad and surprising.

Holy sh*t! Wasn't Top of the Pops, like, a staple of popular music in the UK? That's how it always seemed to me reading about it. I've never even seen the show myself, yet I still find this news quite sad and surprising.
Completely, July 30th will be a sad day.

All good things must come to an end.
:\'(

(mind you, bad sh#t can go on forever, and ever, and ever!)

It is like when Dick Clark stopped doing American Bandstand.  The end of an era.  :(

It really got to me when they announced this. TOTPs was my childhood - and even though I don't regularly watch it now, I'll be sad to see it dissappear off our screens.

Since the early 80s - my parents used to record the Christmas special and I still have them all on tape. Is that going to be axed as well beacuse I don't think I could cope with that! That's a tradition in my house to watch it every year and slag off all the bad chart toppers :P

Don't take away Christmas TOTP - please!!!!!!  :\'(

It's so sad, they are blaming the rise of MP3 players and Ipods, personally I'm not sure what that's got to do with it.............

Never been a fan, although I can see how it's an institution.

Problem with TOTP was that they played what they wanted the public to hear, not what the public wanted to hear.

With the induction of 24 hour music channels, like Jimmy Saville said, I'm not surprised either.

Unfortunately, nobody waits for a specific show to come on once a week anymore (TOTP was the music programme to watch in the UK about 10/15 years ago) when they can get up to the minute music news when they want it.

TOTP is basically a casualty of the new '24 hour generation'. However, to go with the nostalgic 80s feeling that is coming back, the BBC should show full archive TOTPs from years gone by.

With the induction of 24 hour music channels, like Jimmy Saville said, I'm not surprised either.

Unfortunately, nobody waits for a specific show to come on once a week anymore (TOTP was the music programme to watch in the UK about 10/15 years ago) when they can get up to the minute music news when they want it.

TOTP is basically a casualty of the new '24 hour generation'. However, to go with the nostalgic 80s feeling that is coming back, the BBC should show full archive TOTPs from years gone by.
We (my family) still look forward to watching TOTP each Sunday, it gave an easy insight into the current charts.

Now how many past TOTPs have been wiped?

We (my family) still look forward to watching TOTP each Sunday, it gave an easy insight into the current charts.

Now how many past TOTPs have been wiped?


The BBC have kept archive footage since 1948 but were in the habit of removing quantities of programme footage when the stockrooms got full.

I think the BBC have made a point of keeping everything since the 70s.

The BBC have kept archive footage since 1948 but were in the habit of removing quantities of programme footage when the stockrooms got full.

I think the BBC have made a point of keeping everything since the 70s.
There are dedicted forums and websites that deal with the subject, and there is always seems to be a Holy Grail of episodes.

There are dedicted forums and websites that deal with the subject, and there is always seems to be a Holy Grail of episodes.


There is an official BBC Archives website but, due to copyright/contractual agreements you can only access them if you are doing research.

http://www.bbcresearchcentral.com/tv.html

There is an official BBC Archives website but, due to copyright/contractual agreements you can only access them if you are doing research.

http://www.bbcresearchcentral.com/tv.html


Interesting?

It feels like a big loss in the present, but your grandchildren won't give a rat's azz!

"Boy the way Glenn Miller played/
Songs that made the Hit Parade..."

http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/13/icon_rendeer.gif