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From: allenkirshner@hotmail.com
Newsgroups: alt.music
Subject: BBC cancels 'Top of the Pops' Re: New Yahoo! Group for Top of the Pops
Date: 20 Jun 2006 14:46:13 -0700
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Neosapienis wrote:
> Hi everybody,
>
> How goes it? I have just started up a new group for those who are fans of
> the British TV show "Top of the Pops". Share thoughts on your favourite
> bands, solo aritsts, and the latest news in the pop world on here.
>
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/topofthepops
>
>
> --
> Regards,
>
> Dario Western
>
Wow. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this story is making the
headlines today (June 20):
BBC CANCELS TOP OF THE POPS
The British Broadcasting Corp. has announced it will cancel the
long-running pop music program Top of the Pops.
The show began in 1964 with a broadcast that featured The Beatles and
The Rolling Stones.
It will end July 30 after riveting two generations of music fans and
helping the careers of hundreds of pop groups.
"The time has come to bring the show to its natural conclusion," said
the BBC's director of television Jana Bennett.
In a statement released Tuesday, the BBC said "ever-increasing
competition" from multimedia outlets makes it impossible for the show
to continue in its current weekly form.
At its peak in the 1970s, Top of the Pops had a weekly audience of 15
million viewers, but viewing figures fell below three million two years
ago. In 2005, the show was moved from its weekday slot on BBC1 to
Sunday night on BBC2, but failed to improve its ratings.
Increased use of iPods, the rise of 24-hour music TV channels and the
splintering of music markets into different genres has diminished
interest in the show.
Only six episodes of Top of the Pops were commissioned in 1964, but the
show proved so popular it became a Thursday night fixture on British
TV. The 2,000th show ran in 2002.
Over the years, the program went through many makeovers, but always
featured a countdown of the top 10 pop songs, culminating in the
announcement of the No. 1 single of the week.
The current edition features Canadian singer Nelly Furtado at No. 1
with her hit, Maneater.
Before music videos, dancers would perform as background while the hit
singles played. Many artists played their hits live. A hosting gig on
Top of the Pops was often a ticket to celebrity status.
Top of the Pops featured most of music's biggest names from Jimi
Hendrix in the 1960s, The Jackson Five and David Bowie in the 1970s,
Madonna and Kate Bush in the 1980s to Oasis and Britney Spears in the
1990s.
The mix of live TV and rock stars sometimes provided unwelcome
surprises. In 1991, Nirvana's lead singer Kurt Cobain sang "load up on
drugs, kill your friends" during a live performance of Smells Like Teen
Spirit.
TOTP2, a spinoff show, will continue to be seen irregularly on BBC.
Earlier this year, a U.S. music producer said he was planning to launch
a version of Top of the Pops, based on the Billboard Top 20, in the
U.S.
--
Allen Kirshner
(the alt.music.lyrics TV theme guy)
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