December 1980 was all set to be a cracking month for Richard Skinner. After years reading the news on Radio 1 he’d landed a proper DJ gig on the station, taking over Mike Read’s evening show in the post-Christmas week, … read more
Who remembers the great vinyl shortage of 1980? Generally remembered as a mid-’70s problem, it seems to have reared its head again this year as once more the record that played us out of last week’s TOTP is still playing … read more
How do you set up an edition of Top of the Pops in late 1980? Follow these steps and you’ll be there in no time. Fire up Stephanie Mills’ Never Knew Love Like This Before yet again! Flood the studio … read more
Another week, another episode deemed unsuitable for broadcast by BBC Four thanks to the host’s behaviour elsewhere. I mean, really, it’s not like we’re going to zoom in on DLT through the unenthusiastic crowd and find him locked in an … read more
Our TuneThis is a story about a young fella – well, a fella – who found himself… in a position he wasn’t entirely comfortable with. Let’s call him “Simon”, because that’s his name. Now, Simon was blessed with a pleasing, … read more
The last few episodes of TOTP have been a bit “meh”, in all honesty. There’s been a lot of repetition, not just of songs but of performances, especially evident in last week’s show when only Adam and the Ants and … read more
After last week’s automobile-related tomfoolery it’s time to bring some sense back to the proceedings with the ever-reliable Peter Powell. But hang on, who’s this with him? Powell introduces him as “one Colin Berry” (sadly this doesn’t spark a football … read more
Desperate, soul crushing times afoot in the TOTP studio as – for the third week in succession – we join the show already in progress with a group of generic audience members grooving unenthusiastically to Ottawan’s D.I.S.C.O. Indeed, it’s like … read more
Good times afoot in the TOTP studio as we join the show already in progress with a group of generic audience members grooving unenthusiastically to Ottawan’s D.I.S.C.O.… hang on, isn’t this how we started last week? Yes, there’s a humanitarian … read more
Good times afoot in the TOTP studio as we join the show already in progress with a group of generic audience members grooving unenthusiastically to Ottawan’s D.I.S.C.O. – the English language version, not the more exotic French version on the … read more
And yea, no sooner are we back from the seemingly endless summer break in the BBC Four reruns of 1980 TOTP than the spectre of Dave Lee Travis looms up again and we’re skipping another week. Shame really, as this … read more
The world of 1980 TOTP on BBC Four is a strange place indeed. Earlier in the year two entire months disappeared without comment as we skipped over The Event – which wiped out the whole of June and July – … read more
