"Top of the Pops" Canned

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Solid Lifters

Solid Lifters

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Wow... this is sad to hear. So many of the best musical acts of all time got their big breaks by performing on TOTP in the UK and the long-ago-defunct American Bandstand here in the States... now there really isn't a platform for new artists to break out, seeing that MTV no longer has anything to do with music and VH1 concentrates on so-called "reality" programming...

I watched this show religiously when I lived in Holland, since there wasn't much on the air, anyway. It was the only way to listen to music since I lived in a place I wasn't allowed to touch anything but the TV and myself (those were good times.)

Here's what MSN.com said...

LONDON, England (AP) -- The British Broadcasting Corp. announced Tuesday that it is canceling "Top of the Pops," its flagship music chart show, after more than four decades on the air.

BBC director of television Jana Bennett said the show, which first appeared in 1964, would air for the last time on July 30.

"We're very proud of a show which has survived 42 years in the U.K. and gone on to become a worldwide brand, but the time has come to bring the show to its natural conclusion," she said.

"Top of the Pops" has featured everyone from The Beatles and The Rolling Stones to Nirvana and the Spice Girls. At its peak, the weekly rundown of Britain's best-selling acts attracted more than 15 million viewers.

The show has suffered flagging ratings in recent years as it faced competition from cable and satellite music channels and the Internet. Last year it was moved from the main BBC1 channel to BBC2, which attracts a smaller audience.

In a statement, the BBC said that "in a rapidly changing musical landscape 'Top of the Pops' no longer occupies the central role it once did."

Bennett said the BBC remained committed to music, and announced a slew of new shows, including a rock history series entitled "The Seven Ages of Rock."
 
Yeh its going bye bye, but to be honest Im glad, all the manufactured pop cr*p that goes on just mime the stuff and nobody ever preforms live anymore unlike the other musical shows on UK tv (Later with Jools Holland).

If they want to get their music out to the public now, these naff pop stars will either have to find another turd show or start to learn how to sing and play instuments.

in the last lot of shows, people who usually go to this cr*p fest (12-18) have been ignoring it and not paying to watch people do naff mime acts, so the Beeb had to rope in some floor staff and executives to make up the number in the croud, now thats funny.

Yes solid, big bands did get their name on TOTP but so many bands also did it on "Old Grey Whistle Test" and "The Tube" if you want to watch great music without the cr*p backing track miming that goes on, on TOTP then watch the forementioned "Later With Jools Holland "
 
I agree with sprite. The last time I caught Top of the Pops it was a load of rubbish. I'm not sad to see it go in its modern format at all, but I do appreciate the history of the show.
 
I used to watch it a lot when i was younger, but i guess the music channels and internet have taken over.
 
It was 21 years ago I last watched the show. I guess it changed since then. But then, so did everything else.

When I first started watching the show, 23 years ago, it was an awesome show. Everybody in my age group, teens, watched it. I loved it.

I understand that it has gone from a great show to a corporate method of exploiting their swill, much like MTV and VH1 and the like. But, I like to remember it as it was, not as it is when it finally got the axe.
 
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