TV

So this is Christmas, and what have you done? Employed sensible Simon Bates to host the last regular TOTP of the year, that’s what. This could all go terribly, terribly wrong but thankfully he’s flanked by three young ladies in … read more

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