TV HIT OR MISS
Top of the Pops Was Popular, but Was It Any Good?
The BBC TV music show was an audience favourite before suddenly going out of fashion in the noughties. How come?
3 min readNov 8, 2023
The high concept:
Hits from the pop charts “performed” before members of the Great British Public, herded in front of television cameras for the delight of the nation.
None of your Old Grey Whistle Test esotericism here, thank you very much, we’re talking (potential) hit singles and the dreamy icons that record them.
Top of the Pops (or TOTP in its gawky abbreviated form) straddled decades, was successfully formatted and sold around the world, generated a magazine (called Top Of The Pops — which was just like Smash Hits) and grew a viewership cult, before withering on the television vine.
The show:
A 25 to 60-minute popular musical compendium with the charts at its starry centre.
