Concept and creative process
The biggest stars, the most iconic performances, the most outrageous outfits – it was Britain’s number one pop show, ‘Top of the Pops’! Originally broadcast weekly on BBC1 from 1964 to 2006, ‘TOTP’ became the world’s longest-running music show, and in spite of its cancellation as a regular weekly show, still persists to this day in various Specials. The show survived notably in the BBC2 compilations of highlights from the archives, which ran from 1994 and which are still repeated in BBC Four’s Friday night music schedule. BBC Four also screens weekly repeats of entire ‘TOTP’ shows, a chronology which began in 2011 with 1976 and has currently (in 2021) reached 1990. The titles for 1967 featured simply a well-designed ‘TOTP’ logo in a neon style, alternating with the year date, and intercut with shots of the studio and the audience.