Top Of The Pops is set to return as a weekly show every friday night after the chart show hosted
by Fearne Cotton and Dermot O'Leary.
www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/top-pops-set...eback-dermot-5546470

MCR wrote:
Top Of The Pops is set to return as a weekly show every friday night after the chart show hosted
by Fearne Cotton and Dermot O'Leary.
www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/top-pops-set...eback-dermot-5546470

Two boring presenters.

Why bother? The old TOTP brought in a broad audience because it offered a broad range of musical hits. A new TOTP would only offer a narrow, age-specific, set of hits. The charts no longer have broad appeal, so a chart show will no longer have broad appeal. TOTP belongs in the past.

No - there's still a place for the most popular (and populist) sounds - some of which will seem specialist but have greater appeal after several listens. I remember that rap track - Gangster's Paradise. On the surface just a rap track; in reality Coolio's hit appealed to grandmothers and babies too. TOTP just needs someone NOT conned by the major label priority promotions. If 30 years ago (when I started saying this) someone had been able to change the basis of inclusion on the show (as I asked to do in 1995 - and was given Eurovision instead) TOTP would still be around. Featuring great populist tracks.

According to Music Week, Top Of The Pops isn't returning. Shame. With the Charts coming out on Friday, a 7.30 PM exposure on BBC1 would be fantastic for the industry. I think I posted my idea here before, but I still think an extended version of the ONE SHOW on Fridays, with Chris Evans presenting the charts, a music "magazine format" with acts being interviewed and performing. (Or miming), would work. Anybody know somebody at the BBC that this could be pitched to?

I always liked that idea of yours Dixie; it depends on someone good, honest and incorruptible choosing the music/acts (me) but hopefully some BBC bosses are reading this!

Two boring presenters.

... and a boring long out of date programme.

Right on both points NCS but it doesn't have to be that way!

dixie wrote:
Anybody know somebody at the BBC that this could be pitched to?

Yes, somebody who wants to wreck the schedules. The age range for that time of day on BBC1 goes from about 15 to 70. That means you need VERY broad appeal and quite a bit of eclecticism, as Artie notes above. JK might love a chart-based show on that channel at that time but most above 30 who aren't in the biz would find it monotonous and alienating. Have a look at the charts and ask a few people you meet who don't read the music press and aren't going through a mid-life crisis. Most people don't even know who is in the charts these days, and don't care.

Depends which "chart" you used. I'd have Noel Coward next to Clean Bandit and AC/DC alongside Sam Smith.

Kenneth Mintcake wrote:
dixie wrote:
Anybody know somebody at the BBC that this could be pitched to?

Yes, somebody who wants to wreck the schedules. The age range for that time of day on BBC1 goes from about 15 to 70. That means you need VERY broad appeal and quite a bit of eclecticism, as Artie notes above. JK might love a chart-based show on that channel at that time but most above 30 who aren't in the biz would find it monotonous and alienating. Have a look at the charts and ask a few people you meet who don't read the music press and aren't going through a mid-life crisis. Most people don't even know who is in the charts these days, and don't care.


But the old top of the pops repeats are mixed in style and everyone seems to like it?

There are lots of programmes and channels out there showing the same music videos, but very few showing artist performances (live or mimed), so it could be a success and the Totp brand still has a lot of currency despite allegations about 2 or 3 of it's ex-presenters. However it will never be as big as it was in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. For a start a single that got to no 17 in 1979 (shooting star by dollar) would get to No. 1 today with the same sales, people aren't buying records. The charts aren't as relevant anymore (this could be partly because there is no totp). Do you know what the current no. 1 is? I haven't got a clue, is it just because I'm middle-aged? I don't think the youngsters care that much anymore. Because of streaming many of the songs in the charts are old hits so you would continually get the same songs in the charts.

robbiex wrote:
However it will never be as big as it was in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. For a start a single that got to no 17 in 1979 (shooting star by dollar) would get to No. 1 today with the same sales, people aren't buying records. The charts aren't as relevant anymore (this could be partly because there is no totp). Do you know what the current no. 1 is? I haven't got a clue, is it just because I'm middle-aged? I don't think the youngsters care that much anymore. Because of streaming many of the songs in the charts are old hits so you would continually get the same songs in the charts.
Statistics contradict your statement about Dollar. Sales of singles (physical and Downloads) reached an all time peak in 2013, and, though sales have now declined slightly, they are still significantly higher than the 1960s, 70s and 80s. Also, music "consumption" (not sure I like that word in this context!) has changed and so has the chart. Streaming now accounts for over 50% of the charts volume. So, the public are now more in control and the record companies ability to manipulate vastly reduced. It's right that old records can re-chart if there is a good reason.

Also, the reason you don't know what is number one is very probably because you are middle aged. The Sunday Chart shows (BBC and Global Radio stations) are still the highest listened to radio shows in Europe, which proves a lot of people are still very interested in the Charts.

But, back to the TV Show idea. Though I believe exposing the chart is an important component, it could just be the Top 10, and the content of the show doesn't need to reflect the chart. Though it would be preferable to use it as a very loose guide - and including at least some content of the No.1 essential - even if it's only played out over the closing credits (in the event its not a particularly relevant No.1).

dixie wrote:
robbiex wrote:
However it will never be as big as it was in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. For a start a single that got to no 17 in 1979 (shooting star by dollar) would get to No. 1 today with the same sales, people aren't buying records. The charts aren't as relevant anymore (this could be partly because there is no totp). Do you know what the current no. 1 is? I haven't got a clue, is it just because I'm middle-aged? I don't think the youngsters care that much anymore. Because of streaming many of the songs in the charts are old hits so you would continually get the same songs in the charts.
Statistics contradict your statement about Dollar. Sales of singles (physical and Downloads) reached an all time peak in 2013, and, though sales have now declined slightly, they are still significantly higher than the 1960s, 70s and 80s. Also, music "consumption" (not sure I like that word in this context!) has changed and so has the chart. Streaming now accounts for over 50% of the charts volume. So, the public are now more in control and the record companies ability to manipulate vastly reduced. It's right that old records can re-chart if there is a good reason.

My statement about Dollar is correct. Although 2013 may have seen the largest number of singles sales (including downloads), individual singles only sell a fraction of what they did in the 70's and 80's. There are a lot more singles released than in the 70's and 80's. I don't think that streaming a record should be classed as purchasing the single. That would be like listening to a record on the radio would be classed as a sale. Old records re-chart because there are new ways of merchandising them cds, mp3s so people feel that they have to re-buy them in the different format.

TOTP needs to be presented by people with Charisma, Charm and sound musical knowledge or background. The names mentioned hint more at supposed trendiness than quality.

I don't think the presenters matter much (which was why I did without hosts on 2 of my 3 Brits shows). What matters is a really good pair of ears producing the show; preferably someone also with clever and original visual and content ideas. No Limits got almost 6 million viewers on BBC2 by combining Noel Coward with AC/DC, Prince and Talk Talk.

I can only speak as someone who grew up watching TOTP. The presenters, for me, were as much a part of the show as the music. People like Fuff, Pete M, DLT, Jimmy, Kid, etc made the show worth watching and we talked about them as a part of a much loved pop scene (as were Pan's People). Of course today's scene has a different atmosphere and I doubt we could ever recapture the magic of the 60s and 70s. A new TOPT would probably be so different that it couldn't be TOTP.