The Day We Said Goodbye ‘Top Of The Pops’
During its heyday in the 1970s, TOTP routinely averaged UK audiences of 15 million.
Over a decade ago we said goodbye Top of the Pops as the lights went out for the last time, as a weekly show, on a British pop music institution. The final regular edition of TOTP, the show that soundtracked the musical education of tens of millions of viewers, was broadcast on BBC1.
During its heyday in the 1970s, TOTP routinely averaged UK audiences of 15 million, but by the mid-2000s, figures had slumped to 1.5 million. The final show, 42 years after the first in January, 1964, was watched by close to four million people. It featured archive performances by the Rolling Stones, Sonny & Cher, the Jackson 5, the Spice Girls, and many more.
To mark the anniversary, we’ve put together ten classic TOTP performances, and they begin with Marc Bolan in his glam pomp, plus some classic Peter Frampton, John Lennon, and much more besides.
T-Rex performing on Top of the Pops on August 4 1971. Left to right: Mickey Finn (1947 – 2003), unknown sax player, Marc Bolan (1947 – 1977), bass guitarist Steve Currie (1947 – 1981) and drummer Bill Legend.
T-Rex – Photo: Michael Putland/Getty Images
The Herd perform on Top Of The Pops TV show in 1967. L-R. Andy Bown (keys), Gary Taylor (bass), Peter Frampton (vox, guitar), Andrew Steele (drums)
The Herd – Photo: Ivan Keeman/Redferns
John Lennon becomes the first of The Beatles, post-breakup, to play on Top of the Pops where he performed his single “Instant Karma!” on February 11, 1970, in Studio Eight at BBC Television Centre, in London, England.
John Lennon – Photo: Icon and Image/Getty Images
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