0:00:02 > 0:00:04It's Thursday night, 1976. It's Top Of The Pops.
0:00:04 > 0:00:07MUSIC: "Whole Lotta Love" by Led Zeppelin
0:00:10 > 0:00:14As soon as 7.30 on Thursday night came around, people tuned in.
0:00:14 > 0:00:15Oh-oh-oh!
0:00:15 > 0:00:18You make sure you'd had your supper by then,
0:00:18 > 0:00:20you made sure your homework was done by then.
0:00:20 > 0:00:24The music of 1976 appealed to all ages.
0:00:25 > 0:00:27HE IMITATES JIMMY SAVILE
0:00:27 > 0:00:28The Wurzels!
0:00:28 > 0:00:30Ooh-aar!
0:00:30 > 0:00:33- We were middle of the road, weren't we?- No, we were brotherhood of man.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36- Oh, yeah! - Just in case you got confused.
0:00:39 > 0:00:40It's magic.
0:00:40 > 0:00:44Top Of The Pops was very much a variety show, and it was run on variety rules.
0:00:44 > 0:00:46It was a really good party atmosphere.
0:00:47 > 0:00:51It all started to slightly parody itself.
0:00:52 > 0:00:54That real world was definitely knocking
0:00:54 > 0:00:58on Top Of The Pops' door by '76, but not getting in.
0:01:06 > 0:01:11In 1976, the British public basked in 35-degree heat.
0:01:11 > 0:01:13# Here comes the sun... #
0:01:13 > 0:01:18There were holidays by the beach, hosepipe bans and ice cream.
0:01:18 > 0:01:20Life seemed too good.
0:01:20 > 0:01:23But in all this summer madness, the cracks were beginning to show.
0:01:23 > 0:01:27James Callaghan's government struggled with social tension
0:01:27 > 0:01:29and rising unemployment.
0:01:29 > 0:01:31The nation's youth were frustrated,
0:01:31 > 0:01:34and there was racial unrest on the streets.
0:01:34 > 0:01:37But you could always switch on the telly to escape.
0:01:37 > 0:01:38APPLAUSE
0:01:44 > 0:01:47Wakey waaaaaaaaa-key!
0:01:47 > 0:01:52Billy Cotton was the king of variety in the '50s, and by 1976,
0:01:52 > 0:01:55Bill Cotton Jr was in charge of light entertainment at the BBC.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59Bill's programming reflected his variety upbringing,
0:01:59 > 0:02:02and prime-time television catered for all the family.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07Nice to see you, to see you nice!
0:02:07 > 0:02:12I grew up in the TV age, when the whole family watched telly together.
0:02:12 > 0:02:15And you only had, I think, two channels in the '60s,
0:02:15 > 0:02:18and then three in the '70s.
0:02:18 > 0:02:21No, it's for me. That's better. Right.
0:02:21 > 0:02:24Light entertainment, which was kind of all that the mainstream
0:02:24 > 0:02:29really provided, seemed really escapist.
0:02:29 > 0:02:34Hello there, and a very warm welcome to this week's edition of Top Of The Pops.
0:02:34 > 0:02:41# We got reggae, we got reggae, We got reggae, we got reggae! #
0:02:41 > 0:02:44And by 1976, even Top Of The Pops, the nation's favourite music show,
0:02:44 > 0:02:47looked more like a light entertainment show
0:02:47 > 0:02:50for all the family than a teenage chart show.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53Everybody in the family could enjoy Top Of The Pops,
0:02:53 > 0:02:55one week or another,
0:02:55 > 0:02:58because there was always something on there for them.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03But how did Top Of The Pops and the charts turn into a variety show,
0:03:03 > 0:03:07when back in 1964, it had seemed to be all about the music?
0:03:07 > 0:03:10Yes, it's number one, it's Top Of The Pops.
0:03:10 > 0:03:13Back in 64, a gentleman called Johnnie Stewart was producing
0:03:13 > 0:03:17trad and twist programmes for the BBC, very faddy.
0:03:17 > 0:03:21He persuaded the head of the BBC at that time that the nation
0:03:21 > 0:03:24needed another show as an alternative to Ready Steady Go!
0:03:24 > 0:03:27In other words, to reflect the hits of the day.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30Top groups, top records, top everything.
0:03:30 > 0:03:35MUSIC: "Let's Spend The Night Together" by The Rolling Stones
0:03:35 > 0:03:37In the '60s, Top Of The Pops was swinging.
0:03:37 > 0:03:39It was THE show where you could see
0:03:39 > 0:03:42the biggest music stars and coolest fashions.
0:03:42 > 0:03:46# Don't you worry 'bout what's on your mind, oh my
0:03:47 > 0:03:52# I'm in no hurry, I can take my time, oh my... #
0:03:54 > 0:03:56It was an institution,
0:03:56 > 0:04:00and every kid in the country wanted to watch Top Of The Pops.
0:04:00 > 0:04:04In the early '70s, the music was spectacularly,
0:04:04 > 0:04:07utterly, effing wonderful.
0:04:07 > 0:04:12# Get it on, bang a gong, get it on
0:04:16 > 0:04:20# Get it on, bang a gong, get it on... #
0:04:20 > 0:04:23I came to be a teenager in 1970, which was nice timing,
0:04:23 > 0:04:27and Top Of The Pops was absolutely important,
0:04:27 > 0:04:31in terms of bringing to you glimpses of other adventures.
0:04:31 > 0:04:38# Don't want to learn about etiquette from glossy magazines
0:04:38 > 0:04:46# Why should I try to talk correct like they do in other scenes? #
0:04:46 > 0:04:49It was what everyone talked about at school the next day.
0:04:49 > 0:04:51You sometimes talked about it with your parents.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54When Bowie first appeared on Top Of The Pops,
0:04:54 > 0:04:57performing Star Man, in a complete body suit,
0:04:57 > 0:05:00it was, "Oh, my God, he's dressed like a girl."
0:05:04 > 0:05:09# There's a star man waiting in the sky
0:05:09 > 0:05:11# He'd like to come and meet us
0:05:11 > 0:05:13# But he thinks he'd blow our minds... #
0:05:13 > 0:05:17We'd never seen androgyny. We'd never seen a hint of homosexuality.
0:05:17 > 0:05:21You probably have those conversations with children to Mum and Dad,
0:05:21 > 0:05:23"Oh, he looks a right pranny",
0:05:23 > 0:05:24and, "What are they on about?"
0:05:24 > 0:05:28And that used to be a topical thing.
0:05:28 > 0:05:33From one bopper sensation to another, this is T Rex and Metal Guru.
0:05:35 > 0:05:37# Waaa-aaaah-yeah... #
0:05:37 > 0:05:42The next day it was... Just everybody was on it, this incredible moment,
0:05:42 > 0:05:46and some of the things, you know, dictated who you'd become. Your taste.
0:05:46 > 0:05:48# Is it you?
0:05:48 > 0:05:51# Metal guru, is it you?
0:05:51 > 0:05:56# Sitting there in your armour plate chair, oh yeah
0:05:56 > 0:05:59# Metal Guru, is it true...? #
0:05:59 > 0:06:03There would be real fights, you know. David Bowie or T Rex went on.
0:06:03 > 0:06:08A lot of your friends deemed that to be teeny bop music. You know, it's singles music.
0:06:08 > 0:06:10# Could it be?
0:06:10 > 0:06:14# You're gonna bring my baby to me... #
0:06:14 > 0:06:17We couldn't really understand boys like Marc Bolan or David Bowie.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20They were too complicated when I was 13.
0:06:20 > 0:06:24Glam was also a little bit too old for me.
0:06:24 > 0:06:29At that point I wanted a simple idea of a boy.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32It seems that every now and again, in the pop world, along comes
0:06:32 > 0:06:38either a group or a singles singer, and gets the full force of the pop mania.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41The teeny bop craze had ruled the charts in the early '70s.
0:06:41 > 0:06:45Young girls could scream after their pop idols, from The Osmonds...
0:06:45 > 0:06:47# Crazy horses
0:06:49 > 0:06:51# Crazy horses... #
0:06:53 > 0:06:55..to our very own Rollers.
0:06:55 > 0:06:57- ALL CHANT:- Bring on the Rollers!
0:06:57 > 0:07:02I remember wanting to belong to a gang of girls,
0:07:02 > 0:07:05and music seemed to be the way into this,
0:07:05 > 0:07:08and the music that everyone was listening to was the Bay City Rollers.
0:07:08 > 0:07:16# Bye bye, baby, baby goodbye... #
0:07:16 > 0:07:21So when all the girls ran into the toilets at school to listen
0:07:21 > 0:07:26to the announcement of the charts, and the Bay City Rollers were number one, and everyone screamed.
0:07:26 > 0:07:28THEY SCREAM
0:07:28 > 0:07:32# Now if I were free...
0:07:32 > 0:07:35It seemed very simple, this code. You had a tartan scarf,
0:07:35 > 0:07:40you learnt the dance steps, you screamed if anyone mentioned them
0:07:40 > 0:07:44or their music was on the radio, and you put their posters up on your wall,
0:07:44 > 0:07:47and I thought, "I've cracked it. I can be a girl now".
0:07:47 > 0:07:51# Bye bye, baby, baby goodbye
0:07:51 > 0:07:54# Bye, baby, baby bye bye... #
0:07:54 > 0:07:57Top Of The Pops helped establish the teeny bop sensations,
0:07:57 > 0:08:01and in the mid-'70s, the show was an influential player in the British record industry.
0:08:01 > 0:08:03PHONE RINGS
0:08:03 > 0:08:05Good morning, Top Of The Pops.
0:08:05 > 0:08:09The thing about Top Of The Pops was that it was a barometer of the singles chart.
0:08:09 > 0:08:13Back then, the chart was carved in stone. It was unshiftable.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16So it was an incredibly prestigious show.
0:08:16 > 0:08:21On the Monday morning, 8am in the morning, the record pluggers
0:08:21 > 0:08:23from all the different record companies
0:08:23 > 0:08:25met in Top Of The Pops' office,
0:08:25 > 0:08:30and that was the first time they knew whether any of their acts were going to be on television.
0:08:30 > 0:08:34# Blinded by the light... #
0:08:34 > 0:08:37I can remember, at the BBC, trundling down to the Tube,
0:08:37 > 0:08:40"Yes, we're on, we're on". You know, the complete joy.
0:08:40 > 0:08:44If you were just a new entry, you were praying that another artist
0:08:44 > 0:08:47was on tour and couldn't come in.
0:08:47 > 0:08:49If their acts weren't going to be on television,
0:08:49 > 0:08:55the first thing they did was to ring the factories to stop the record being produced,
0:08:55 > 0:08:58cos it was such a powerful programme.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01To be a producer on Top Of The Pops was...
0:09:01 > 0:09:04I mean, they had enormous power.
0:09:04 > 0:09:06They could make or break records, really.
0:09:06 > 0:09:08I always hesitate to be an arbiter of British taste.
0:09:08 > 0:09:14I think that we do a very successful job reflecting
0:09:14 > 0:09:16what the British public is buying in the show.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19It was Robin Nash who once said, "Top Of The Pops
0:09:19 > 0:09:26"is the only programme in the world where the producer has nothing to do with the talent". In other words,
0:09:26 > 0:09:29it was governed by forces outside his control.
0:09:29 > 0:09:34The singles market in the '70s was big business, and the only access to your favourite tune
0:09:34 > 0:09:37was buying the seven-inch for 70p.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40There were more million-selling singles in the '70s
0:09:40 > 0:09:45than in any other decade. The singles chart was enormously important.
0:09:45 > 0:09:50Over 50 million singles were sold in 1976, and there was a massive divide
0:09:50 > 0:09:53between the singles audience and album buyers.
0:09:53 > 0:09:57The album charts of the day, Steely Dan, Rainbow, Chicago, people like that,
0:09:57 > 0:10:00that was a different demographic, more longevity.
0:10:00 > 0:10:05There was huge discrepancy in the '70s between album music and single music.
0:10:05 > 0:10:06There was no mix at all.
0:10:06 > 0:10:10Here's one that went up 14 places in this week's chart, Sailor and A Glass Of Bubbly.
0:10:10 > 0:10:13# I got the money, I got the place
0:10:13 > 0:10:17# You got the figure, you got the face
0:10:17 > 0:10:22# Let's get together, the two of us over a glass of champagne... #
0:10:22 > 0:10:25Bands like Sailor, who had come out of pretty much nowhere,
0:10:25 > 0:10:29they had two or three hits. I mean, in '76, the went on Top Of The Pops
0:10:29 > 0:10:31and pretty soon it was massive.
0:10:31 > 0:10:35# The two of us over a glass of champagne... #
0:10:37 > 0:10:42Of course, with a lot of one-off singles in '76, bands didn't have long careers,
0:10:42 > 0:10:45but had a good minute or two in the spotlight.
0:10:45 > 0:10:48We take you over to the Trocadero with Showaddywaddy!
0:10:50 > 0:10:54Every act that released a single dreamed of being on Top Of The Pops.
0:10:54 > 0:10:56It meant you'd arrived.
0:10:56 > 0:11:00The show, at that time, was a priority. It was the top of the list
0:11:00 > 0:11:05for any record label. If you want to sing your sales, it would be Top Of The Pops.
0:11:05 > 0:11:11It had so much power. You knew if you were on Top Of The Pops that your record was going to go top ten.
0:11:13 > 0:11:19If Top Of The Pops put the hits on TV, the nation's favourite radio station played them to the masses.
0:11:19 > 0:11:21PIPS BLEEP
0:11:25 > 0:11:28JINGLE: # Radio 1, good morning. #
0:11:28 > 0:11:32In the '60s, 1967 onwards, Radio 1 was the number one station.
0:11:34 > 0:11:38Radio 1 blasts the airwaves from two electronic cubbyholes,
0:11:38 > 0:11:40produced as about as cheaply as radio can be.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43It's a bright, brash upstart of a channel.
0:11:43 > 0:11:49It really did rule the pop kingdom, you know, Radio 1, and still does. Sells records.
0:11:49 > 0:11:54Executive producer Doreen Davies chairs the weekly playlist meeting at Broadcasting House.
0:11:54 > 0:11:57- That'll go up, then, go up. - I think it will go up.
0:11:57 > 0:12:02The playlist is a selection of 40 records judged suitable for maximum exposure on the air.
0:12:02 > 0:12:07The decision at the end of the day is a crucial one for the artists and the record companies.
0:12:07 > 0:12:11On Radio 1, we had audiences of every generation.
0:12:11 > 0:12:13I have a card from Lynn Cooper, Mrs Lynn Cooper,
0:12:13 > 0:12:18who lives at 19 Norfolk Crescent, Nuneaton, and she has written in for her sister,
0:12:18 > 0:12:23who I know is getting married tomorrow. We're going to go down right now to Lewes in Sussex
0:12:23 > 0:12:26and say hello to Penny Greenwood. Hello, Penny. Are you there?
0:12:26 > 0:12:28- Yes, hello.- How are you? I can't hear you very well.
0:12:28 > 0:12:31- You'll have to talk up just a little bit.- Oh, hello.
0:12:31 > 0:12:32That's much better. Lovely.
0:12:34 > 0:12:38You couldn't think that my breakfast show on Radio 1, I'd come off the air
0:12:38 > 0:12:42and the first audience figures we got were for 20 million.
0:12:42 > 0:12:46So 20 million people were hearing that record, and of course, you know,
0:12:46 > 0:12:50Top Of The Pops was getting millions of viewers as well.
0:12:50 > 0:12:57People forget how big the Radio 1 DJs were. Not in size, but in popularity.
0:12:57 > 0:13:01Radio 1 DJs had been big since the late 1960s, when Radio 1 started.
0:13:01 > 0:13:05Phenomenally powerful. You hung on their every word.
0:13:05 > 0:13:06Stand by, take six.
0:13:06 > 0:13:09JINGLE: # The Golden Hour
0:13:09 > 0:13:12# Tony Blackburn remembers... #
0:13:12 > 0:13:15- Best of luck, studio. - # 1960! #
0:13:16 > 0:13:20There's another from Freddy Carter. Thank you, Noel, for the last few hours.
0:13:20 > 0:13:23Always turn off after me name check.
0:13:23 > 0:13:27There were 12 DJs, and every one of them was a household name.
0:13:27 > 0:13:33Jimmy Savile, DLT, Johnnie Walker, Alan Freeman, Tony Blackburn, and so it went on.
0:13:33 > 0:13:37Hello, good evening. Welcome once again to Top Of The Pops!
0:13:37 > 0:13:40Hello, good evening, and welcome to Top Of The Pops!
0:13:40 > 0:13:43I'll be on breakfast tomorrow. Do hope you're going to join me.
0:13:43 > 0:13:49They were the great faces of the nation in a way because they had two things on their side.
0:13:49 > 0:13:51They were constantly there cos they were on Radio 1,
0:13:51 > 0:13:55and then they had Top Of The Pops, which put them in front of millions every week.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58It was an obvious idea. I mean, you know, BBC programme, BBC radio,
0:13:58 > 0:14:00BBC television, it was an obvious link-up.
0:14:00 > 0:14:06The DJs, they were not stand-offish. They were very much part of the Top Of The Pops furniture.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09I thought tonight's proceeding would be held in camera,
0:14:09 > 0:14:12but in fact, we're just mucking in on tonight's Top Of The Pops.
0:14:15 > 0:14:19Setting the standard for the DJs was the original Top Of The Pops presenter.
0:14:19 > 0:14:23And a welcome to this week's top DJ, Jimmy Savile!
0:14:23 > 0:14:25CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:14:25 > 0:14:27Hello, ladies and gentlemen. How about that?
0:14:27 > 0:14:29Welcome to Top Of The Pops.
0:14:29 > 0:14:33He was a genuine music lover, and he was into pushing new music,
0:14:33 > 0:14:35and he was a DJ pioneer.
0:14:35 > 0:14:38Oh-oh-oh! Goodness gracious.
0:14:38 > 0:14:41At number 18, would you believe, ladies and gentlemen,
0:14:41 > 0:14:42Gladys Knight and the Pips.
0:14:42 > 0:14:46Ho-ho, Midnight Train To Georgia, thank you very much indeed.
0:14:46 > 0:14:50Jimmy has always been old in my eyes, because of the look.
0:14:50 > 0:14:52You know, the white hair and everything.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55But you didn't view him as old, you weren't watching someone
0:14:55 > 0:14:58that you thought should be doing something else.
0:14:58 > 0:14:59They were the bee's knees.
0:14:59 > 0:15:04But by 1976, Jimmy had competition.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07On any radio station, certainly in the early days,
0:15:07 > 0:15:11and probably today as well, the number one presenter would be the breakfast show presenter,
0:15:11 > 0:15:15because it's the most important show of the day.
0:15:15 > 0:15:19- JINGLE:- # Start your day with Noel Edmonds...
0:15:19 > 0:15:26- Good morning. - # No-el, No-el, good morning. #
0:15:26 > 0:15:30He was so fashionable, he was so on the mark as a DJ,
0:15:30 > 0:15:31as a broadcaster.
0:15:31 > 0:15:33Did you always want to be a DJ,
0:15:33 > 0:15:36or did you start off wanting to be something else?
0:15:36 > 0:15:37Andy Williams?
0:15:37 > 0:15:39Oh, come on, I'm not that old.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42These people were validators, in a way.
0:15:42 > 0:15:45They were saying, "This is number one, this is Top Of The Pops."
0:15:45 > 0:15:48You believe them, they're not going through the motions.
0:15:48 > 0:15:53No Radio 1, no Tony Blackburn, mind you I'm sure he'd be sick of that.
0:15:53 > 0:15:56I wasn't aware of too much competition between the DJs,
0:15:56 > 0:15:58because we were all doing quite nicely.
0:15:58 > 0:16:02I did, at one time, wear a T-shirt saying, "I hate David Hamilton."
0:16:02 > 0:16:03Do you like the T-shirt?
0:16:03 > 0:16:05I think this is a style that is going to catch on
0:16:05 > 0:16:07for this coming Christmas, don't you?
0:16:07 > 0:16:11In actual fact, this is the new look for '77.
0:16:11 > 0:16:14I thought, "This is the most wonderful publicity I could possibly get."
0:16:14 > 0:16:17David Hamilton and I were always great friends,
0:16:17 > 0:16:19and we always had a go at one other in a nice way.
0:16:19 > 0:16:22Censored, it's censored!
0:16:22 > 0:16:25I heard that you're one of the worst players in the world.
0:16:25 > 0:16:28You couldn't even tackle a rice pudding!
0:16:28 > 0:16:29DJs had a field day in those days.
0:16:29 > 0:16:31I wish I was a presenter, then, I tell you,
0:16:31 > 0:16:33I'd be laughing.
0:16:33 > 0:16:39They were zany, almost sub-Bruce Forsyth variety characters as such, they had schtick.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44we were, in a strange sort of way, as big as the artists
0:16:44 > 0:16:48- we were presenting, and we were built up as pop stars. - SCREAMING
0:16:48 > 0:16:51They'd be on Radio 1, they'd be on Top Of The Pops, they'd go on tour,
0:16:51 > 0:16:56they'd open supermarkets and they'd get paid huge amounts of money.
0:16:56 > 0:16:59I totted it up once and I opened 1,000 supermarkets
0:16:59 > 0:17:02around the country, and when they didn't do so well
0:17:02 > 0:17:05and they closed down, I offered to go back and close them down.
0:17:07 > 0:17:10I remember going to Scotland and opening a menswear shop.
0:17:10 > 0:17:12They dropped me at the wrong side of the street,
0:17:12 > 0:17:16and the police rushed over and showed me through the crowd.
0:17:16 > 0:17:18As I went through, they ripped my jacket to pieces.
0:17:18 > 0:17:20It was a menswear shop, and when I came out
0:17:20 > 0:17:23I was wearing a better jacket than the one I went in with!
0:17:23 > 0:17:24APPLAUSE
0:17:24 > 0:17:28It was an easy transition for the Radio 1 DJs
0:17:28 > 0:17:31when it came to also hosting the BBC's primetime
0:17:31 > 0:17:33Saturday night light entertainment shows.
0:17:33 > 0:17:37# Sunshine Saturday... #
0:17:40 > 0:17:43Yes, once again it's Seaside Special,
0:17:43 > 0:17:46the show that goes coast to coast with the very best people
0:17:46 > 0:17:48in the pop music field, the variety field,
0:17:48 > 0:17:50we've got some fabulous stars for you.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53The Radio 1 DJs not only did Top Of The Pops,
0:17:53 > 0:17:57but some of us did Seaside Special as well.
0:17:57 > 0:18:01Seaside Special went out on Saturday night in the big peak slot,
0:18:01 > 0:18:03now occupied by Strictly Come Dancing.
0:18:03 > 0:18:07Ladies and gentlemen, I would like you now to meet a real superstar
0:18:07 > 0:18:10and somebody who I have personally admired for many, many years.
0:18:10 > 0:18:13Ahem. Good evening.
0:18:15 > 0:18:20The Top Of The Pops presenters had become the perfect hosts for family viewing.
0:18:20 > 0:18:23Programmes like Seaside Special, I think,
0:18:23 > 0:18:26must have had a very similar audience to Top Of The Pops.
0:18:26 > 0:18:29Certainly in hindsight, you are aware of how not even
0:18:29 > 0:18:33a cousin of light entertainment programmes, but a close relation,
0:18:33 > 0:18:38a brother, a sister, a son, they were part of that tradition.
0:18:38 > 0:18:41# Saturday night, we're gonna have some fun... #
0:18:47 > 0:18:50It's a good British night from us on Top Of The Pops,
0:18:50 > 0:18:51it's the number one,
0:18:51 > 0:18:53it's the fabulous film of Queen, Bohemian Rhapsody,
0:18:53 > 0:18:56marvellous, so do have a super year, God bless,
0:18:56 > 0:18:57see you next week.
0:18:57 > 0:19:05# Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?
0:19:05 > 0:19:11# Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality... #
0:19:12 > 0:19:16The omnipresent Radio 1 DJs played a big part in creating the hits,
0:19:16 > 0:19:20but what did that mean for music in 1976?
0:19:20 > 0:19:24The year started with a radical moment of innovation.
0:19:24 > 0:19:27Queen, with Bohemian Rhapsody, changed the whole face
0:19:27 > 0:19:31of television, as such, with respect to Top Of The Pops.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34People liked the video more than the song, I suppose,
0:19:34 > 0:19:38but that did herald the storyboard and what was to come with MTV.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41# Galileo, figaro, magnifico... #
0:19:41 > 0:19:44But 1976 was far from from innovative in the charts,
0:19:44 > 0:19:48with its cast of regulars hogging the limelight.
0:19:48 > 0:19:53In '76, I guess, one of the big changes in music would be Cliff Richard with Devil woman.
0:19:53 > 0:19:54I mean, Cliff, woo!
0:19:54 > 0:19:58# She's just a devil woman With evil on her mind
0:19:58 > 0:20:02# Beware the devil woman She's going to get you... #
0:20:02 > 0:20:06The Peter Pan of pop showed us a racier side.
0:20:06 > 0:20:08Cliff and Devil Woman. I mean, that...
0:20:08 > 0:20:13Firstly, it's a really well-written song by an established performer.
0:20:13 > 0:20:14It was just a bit of a shock
0:20:14 > 0:20:18that here you had this very Christian man performing it.
0:20:18 > 0:20:20It was a song that he never really liked,
0:20:20 > 0:20:24because, you know, Cliff is whiter than the driven snow, isn't he?
0:20:24 > 0:20:26It wasn't really quite his image.
0:20:26 > 0:20:29Even by then, '76, Cliff seemed to have been around for a couple of centuries,
0:20:29 > 0:20:32so whatever people feel about Cliff now, they felt then.
0:20:32 > 0:20:33# She's gonna get you! #
0:20:33 > 0:20:36APPLAUSE
0:20:36 > 0:20:39- Congratulations! - Oh, thank you very much indeed.
0:20:39 > 0:20:42You've heard that before. How many hits is that now in the charts?
0:20:42 > 0:20:45- I think we've made 64 entries. - When I'm 64? Do you like that?
0:20:45 > 0:20:47Nice to see that you're nearly famous, too.
0:20:47 > 0:20:52Here is the record that is number one in the chart, yet again, for Abba. This is Fernando.
0:20:52 > 0:20:57But the year belonged to a band that were our Swedish fantasy.
0:20:57 > 0:21:00Abba, who I absolutely love, and they, visually,
0:21:00 > 0:21:01are just made for Top Of The Pops.
0:21:01 > 0:21:04# There was something in the air that night
0:21:04 > 0:21:08# The stars were bright, Fernando... #
0:21:08 > 0:21:11Everybody in the world wanted them on their show.
0:21:11 > 0:21:14You'd get Benny or Bjorn saying to me, "What are we doing, then?
0:21:14 > 0:21:17"Which shows are we doing?" I said, "Top Of The Pops,"
0:21:17 > 0:21:20because, at the time, Top Of The Pops was the show to do.
0:21:20 > 0:21:26# If I had to do the same again I would, my friend, Fernando... #
0:21:26 > 0:21:30Abba represented a sort of softness. It represented sweetness.
0:21:30 > 0:21:33They represented nothing about the country you lived in,
0:21:33 > 0:21:36nothing about the location you lived in, nothing about your life
0:21:36 > 0:21:40as a young person in Britain in the mid-'70s.
0:21:40 > 0:21:43They were a kind of a fantasy.
0:21:43 > 0:21:47# I've been cheated by you since I don't know when... #
0:21:49 > 0:21:52Abba, to me, were the biggest group to come along,
0:21:52 > 0:21:56certainly in the '70s, and disco was coming along as well,
0:21:56 > 0:22:00- and I loved the disco music. - ABBA charted three times,
0:22:00 > 0:22:04but I don't remember Abba as having the respect then as they do today.
0:22:04 > 0:22:07# Yes, I've been broken-hearted
0:22:07 > 0:22:11# Blue since the day we parted
0:22:11 > 0:22:15# Why, why, did I ever let you go?
0:22:15 > 0:22:18# Mamma Mia, even if I say
0:22:18 > 0:22:21# Bye-bye Leave me now or never... #
0:22:21 > 0:22:26They looked, for me, the final splutterings of glam,
0:22:26 > 0:22:29cos they still wore glitter, still dressed up in that sense.
0:22:29 > 0:22:34So for me, that five years that had taken me from 13 to 18 -
0:22:34 > 0:22:37a third of my life - it seemed, "Why are they still doing that?"
0:22:37 > 0:22:41"Why are they still wearing the platform shoes? That's the Middle Ages now."
0:22:41 > 0:22:47Now, we shall certainly be hearing a good deal more of this winning song,
0:22:47 > 0:22:51and in April, of course, it'll be competing against the best of the rest in Europe.
0:22:51 > 0:22:54But at the moment it's goodnight from the Royal Albert Hall in London,
0:22:54 > 0:22:57and once again that winning song by the Brotherhood Of Man,
0:22:57 > 0:23:01and it's called Save Your Kisses For Me.
0:23:01 > 0:23:03# Though it hurts to go away
0:23:03 > 0:23:06# It's impossible to stay
0:23:06 > 0:23:11# But there's one thing I must say before I go
0:23:11 > 0:23:13# I love you
0:23:13 > 0:23:15- # I love you - You know... #
0:23:15 > 0:23:17From one Eurovision success to another,
0:23:17 > 0:23:23the biggest-selling single of the year belonged to our very own version of ABBA.
0:23:23 > 0:23:25Top Of The Pops put us definitely and firmly on the map.
0:23:25 > 0:23:26Week after week.
0:23:26 > 0:23:29# But you keep me hanging on... #
0:23:29 > 0:23:32It was the public that put the record there.
0:23:32 > 0:23:37When we arrived to do Eurovision, we were number one in the charts.
0:23:37 > 0:23:39# Won't you save them up for me?
0:23:39 > 0:23:42# Your...kisses for me
0:23:42 > 0:23:47# Save all your kisses for me
0:23:47 > 0:23:49# Bye-bye, baby, bye-bye... #
0:23:49 > 0:23:52Years on, I mean, they still wait for the dance.
0:23:52 > 0:23:53It's just phenomenal.
0:23:53 > 0:23:55# Honey, don't cry... #
0:23:55 > 0:23:58Because we were a middle-of-the-road band,
0:23:58 > 0:24:02I think they didn't expect us to hold it for so long,
0:24:02 > 0:24:06and I still think today that we could have done another week or two there.
0:24:06 > 0:24:08I think they're there for life.
0:24:08 > 0:24:11# Hang on, baby, hang on...#
0:24:11 > 0:24:16But I think they'd had enough of us and they went, "Goodbye. That's enough."
0:24:16 > 0:24:18# ..only three... #
0:24:18 > 0:24:20APPLAUSE
0:24:20 > 0:24:25Compared to other years, it probably wasn't the vintage champagne of pop.
0:24:25 > 0:24:29Some people might see the music of 1976 as being bland. I don't,
0:24:29 > 0:24:34I think the music of 1976 was great fun.
0:24:34 > 0:24:36# Disco, disco duck
0:24:36 > 0:24:38Got to have me a woman!
0:24:38 > 0:24:40# Disco, disco duck
0:24:40 > 0:24:42Oh, get down, mama!
0:24:42 > 0:24:43# Try your luck
0:24:43 > 0:24:45# Don't be a cluck
0:24:46 > 0:24:48- # Disco- Disco
0:24:48 > 0:24:50- # Disco- Disco
0:24:50 > 0:24:52- # Disco- Disco
0:24:52 > 0:24:54# Disco, disco duck... #
0:24:54 > 0:24:58Top Of The Pops did play what the people put in the charts,
0:24:58 > 0:25:02and if it WAS incredibly mediocre and middle-of-the-road,
0:25:02 > 0:25:04Top Of The Pops couldn't change that.
0:25:04 > 0:25:07JJ Barrie, and No Charge.
0:25:08 > 0:25:11TO COUNTRY BACKGROUND Well, his mom looked at him standing there expectantly,
0:25:11 > 0:25:15and I could see the memories flashing through her mind.
0:25:15 > 0:25:18And so she picked up the pen,
0:25:18 > 0:25:20and turning the paper over...
0:25:20 > 0:25:22this is what she wrote.
0:25:22 > 0:25:25# For the nine months I carried you
0:25:25 > 0:25:26"For the nine months I carried you..."
0:25:26 > 0:25:29- # Growing inside me - "..growing inside me..."
0:25:29 > 0:25:31- # No charge- .."no charge..."
0:25:31 > 0:25:37Nobody new and exciting had seemed to come along to replace the glam scene.
0:25:37 > 0:25:40And I guess the record industry was delighted with that -
0:25:40 > 0:25:44they could put a lot of music into the charts that they were in control of.
0:25:44 > 0:25:46It wasn't coming from somewhere else and surprising them.
0:25:46 > 0:25:53# Baby Soon you're gonna le-e-eave me
0:25:54 > 0:26:02# When you go don't say goodby-y-y-ye
0:26:02 > 0:26:05# Keep on, keep on walking... #
0:26:05 > 0:26:09As powerful as it was, as large as its audience was,
0:26:09 > 0:26:11it wasn't manipulative to the point
0:26:11 > 0:26:15where it was going to invent its own chart for the sake of what went on the show.
0:26:15 > 0:26:20They had to go with Demis Roussos - who was extraordinarily popular.
0:26:20 > 0:26:25# Ever and ever, forever and ever
0:26:25 > 0:26:29# You'll be my dream
0:26:29 > 0:26:32# My rainbow's end
0:26:32 > 0:26:36# And the song I sing... #
0:26:36 > 0:26:41When you think about it today, and what music is today,
0:26:41 > 0:26:45you are looking at pure variety light entertainment back then.
0:26:45 > 0:26:50- The one and only...The Wurzels. - APPLAUSE
0:26:50 > 0:26:54Even Somerset cider drinkers braced the charts this year.
0:26:54 > 0:26:58# I drove my tractor through your haystack last night
0:26:58 > 0:26:59# Ooh-arr, ooh-arr
0:26:59 > 0:27:03The recording engineer at the time was a guy called Tony Clark.
0:27:03 > 0:27:06He used to record bands like Sky and John Williams,
0:27:06 > 0:27:09and he said - the first day we were recording, he said,
0:27:09 > 0:27:12"We've got a hit here."
0:27:12 > 0:27:14# Cos I've got a brand-new combine harvester
0:27:14 > 0:27:17# And I'll give you the key
0:27:17 > 0:27:19# Come on, now, let's get together
0:27:19 > 0:27:21# In perfect harmony... #
0:27:21 > 0:27:23It was Radio 1 that started playing the record, I think,
0:27:23 > 0:27:25and that's how it all ended up with Top Of The Pops.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28If you could put some a phrase on it,
0:27:28 > 0:27:32it was "melodic, singalong fun".
0:27:32 > 0:27:35She made I laugh... Ha-ha!
0:27:35 > 0:27:36# I'll stick by you
0:27:36 > 0:27:38# I'll give you all that you need
0:27:38 > 0:27:40# Ooh-arr, ooh-arr... #
0:27:40 > 0:27:43We were the boys that played the village halls and did this and that
0:27:43 > 0:27:46but we'd never actually been on a national television show.
0:27:46 > 0:27:49And then we found something that we could do.
0:27:49 > 0:27:52We could write songs that become a part of ourselves.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55Which makes us no different to all the bands that are around today.
0:27:57 > 0:27:59- APPLAUSE - Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!
0:27:59 > 0:28:03Now then, ladies and gentlemen... Applause there for The Wurzels.
0:28:03 > 0:28:05Now, what we're going to do, a bit more magic now.
0:28:05 > 0:28:08After three, I'm going to make these Wurzels disappear,
0:28:08 > 0:28:11and I'm going to bring that young lady back from Birmingham.
0:28:11 > 0:28:14One, two, three!
0:28:14 > 0:28:15Aaah...
0:28:15 > 0:28:19They were displaced by You To Me Are Everything by The Real Thing.
0:28:19 > 0:28:20It was like a life-saver -
0:28:20 > 0:28:23because at last you didn't have to sit through The Wurzels.
0:28:23 > 0:28:26# Oh, you to me are everything
0:28:26 > 0:28:28# The sweetest song that I can sing
0:28:28 > 0:28:29# Oh, baby
0:28:30 > 0:28:32# Oh, baby
0:28:33 > 0:28:35# To you I guess I'm just a clown
0:28:35 > 0:28:38# Who picks you up each time you're down
0:28:38 > 0:28:39# Oh, baby
0:28:40 > 0:28:41# Oh, baby... #
0:28:41 > 0:28:45The Bay City Rollers! Thank you very much.
0:28:45 > 0:28:47The teeny bop craze that had ruled the charts
0:28:47 > 0:28:50was on the wane, as their young fans grew up.
0:28:50 > 0:28:52Take it down!
0:28:52 > 0:28:56My interest in The Bay City Rollers passed very quickly
0:28:56 > 0:28:58because I was changing very quickly.
0:28:58 > 0:29:02I was going from being 12, 13, to 14
0:29:02 > 0:29:03which was a very different thing,
0:29:03 > 0:29:05and I was very quickly deeply embarrassed
0:29:05 > 0:29:08about EVER having liked The Bay City Rollers.
0:29:08 > 0:29:11Their posters were ripped from my walls. Anything...
0:29:11 > 0:29:14Their singles were thrown out, tartan scarves probably burnt,
0:29:14 > 0:29:16and then they were gone for me.
0:29:16 > 0:29:19And, as the hot summer of '76 drew to a close,
0:29:19 > 0:29:23The Bay City Rollers' single was to be their last big hit.
0:29:25 > 0:29:27Taking their place was a new band on the block
0:29:27 > 0:29:30who were fast becoming everyone's favourite teddy boys.
0:29:30 > 0:29:32INTRO: "Under The Moon Of Love"
0:29:37 > 0:29:41DAVE BARTRAM: When Under The Moon Of Love came along later in the year,
0:29:41 > 0:29:42it became a bit like a breath of fresh air.
0:29:42 > 0:29:45# Let's go for a little walk
0:29:46 > 0:29:48# Under the moon of love... #
0:29:48 > 0:29:53Eight blokes sort of stepping out doing their thing,
0:29:53 > 0:29:54with a hint of aggression...
0:29:54 > 0:29:57- # I want to tell you - I want to tell you
0:29:57 > 0:29:58- # That I love you - That I love you
0:29:58 > 0:30:01# And I want you to be my girl... #
0:30:01 > 0:30:03Everybody seemed to love the band.
0:30:03 > 0:30:06We even sort of... got things in the music press
0:30:06 > 0:30:10that were giving us credit for what we were doing!
0:30:10 > 0:30:13And there were other magazines that didn't like the band
0:30:13 > 0:30:16because we were essentially I suppose
0:30:16 > 0:30:19what at the time was called a teeny bop band.
0:30:19 > 0:30:22# I'm gonna talk sweet talk And whisper things in your ear... #
0:30:22 > 0:30:26I can remember singing to audience members, and...
0:30:26 > 0:30:27It's something that we always did
0:30:27 > 0:30:30in our stage show anyway, so I was quite comfortable doing that.
0:30:30 > 0:30:32# Come on, little darling, take my hand
0:30:32 > 0:30:35# Let's go for a little walk... #
0:30:36 > 0:30:40But if teeny bop wasn't your thing, there was always a hidden treasure.
0:30:40 > 0:30:42I think what you often want from a great pop song -
0:30:42 > 0:30:45and you often wanted to be on Top Of The Pops -
0:30:45 > 0:30:49is an edge of surrealism - something surreal, something other.
0:30:49 > 0:30:50# Everybody
0:30:50 > 0:30:52# Plays the game
0:30:52 > 0:30:55# You don't have to... #
0:30:55 > 0:30:58And often that manifested itself by something, you know,
0:30:58 > 0:31:01really, really wonderful going on this really naff programme.
0:31:01 > 0:31:03Someone like Alex Harvey would pop up...
0:31:03 > 0:31:05# Are you going to the party?
0:31:06 > 0:31:09# Going to the Boston Tea Party
0:31:09 > 0:31:12# Going to the party
0:31:12 > 0:31:15# Going to the Boston Tea Party... #
0:31:15 > 0:31:18There were some rather irresistible pop records
0:31:18 > 0:31:21that you couldn't resist because they were peculiar.
0:31:21 > 0:31:24# Girls, girls, girls Girls, girls, girls
0:31:24 > 0:31:27# Well, they made 'em up in Hollywood
0:31:27 > 0:31:29# Put them into the movies... #
0:31:29 > 0:31:32In their novelty, in their attempt to get play on the radio
0:31:32 > 0:31:35and to be...you know, to sound right and to be catchy enough,
0:31:35 > 0:31:37they were oddly exotic.
0:31:37 > 0:31:40# I've got a one solitary
0:31:40 > 0:31:43# Lonesome single bed... #
0:31:43 > 0:31:45Sometimes something would take you by surprise.
0:31:45 > 0:31:49Even if you were - like I was - a profound snob about music.
0:31:49 > 0:31:52And if the producer didn't pick your band,
0:31:52 > 0:31:54there was always the dancing girls.
0:31:54 > 0:31:57Here are the fruity...Pan's People!
0:32:02 > 0:32:04# You sexy sugar plum... #
0:32:04 > 0:32:10Legs & Co and Pan's People, they came on and did these very sensual and erotic routines,
0:32:10 > 0:32:13and nobody else was doing it on TV at the time,
0:32:13 > 0:32:15and so they were quite unique.
0:32:17 > 0:32:21Their dance routines were... quite sexy for the time,
0:32:21 > 0:32:24and dances like that you couldn't see anywhere else
0:32:24 > 0:32:26on any other variety programmes.
0:32:26 > 0:32:29It was purely on Top Of The Pops.
0:32:30 > 0:32:33There were very few women on top of the Pops, and Pan's People
0:32:33 > 0:32:35were moulded into whatever was needed...
0:32:35 > 0:32:40which wasn't a very helpful role model for a young girl!
0:32:40 > 0:32:43Pan's People, who are deep in the heart of the jungle.
0:32:43 > 0:32:45JUNGLE DRUMS
0:32:47 > 0:32:48What they did was, I think,
0:32:48 > 0:32:53purely part of the entertainment variety genre,
0:32:53 > 0:32:55where they were dancing girls,
0:32:55 > 0:32:58who were probably considered more important
0:32:58 > 0:33:02for shapely legs than for actually being dancers.
0:33:02 > 0:33:05So there was this kind of Benny Hill postcard innocence
0:33:05 > 0:33:08about watching Legs & Co.
0:33:08 > 0:33:10Here...are Legs & Co!
0:33:11 > 0:33:14There was almost sort of a laddishness, I think.
0:33:14 > 0:33:16DLT - "Not 'alf." You know?
0:33:16 > 0:33:17I know where I'm going later -
0:33:17 > 0:33:20straight down to Pan's Persons' little carriageway,
0:33:20 > 0:33:22through those white blocks. Woargh!
0:33:22 > 0:33:23And Dad's going, "Ooh, yeah."
0:33:23 > 0:33:26MUSIC: "Oh, What A Night" by The Four Seasons
0:33:28 > 0:33:31I remember my father and my brother watching Top Of The Pops
0:33:31 > 0:33:34because it was either Pan's People or Legs & Co.
0:33:34 > 0:33:37And they weren't interested in what they were dancing to,
0:33:37 > 0:33:40they weren't interested in what the movements were.
0:33:40 > 0:33:44All they interested in was how little they were wearing
0:33:44 > 0:33:46and what provocative moves they did.
0:33:48 > 0:33:50Rather shamefully, we expected and accepted
0:33:50 > 0:33:53that women would be there often for decorative purposes.
0:33:53 > 0:33:57They were there to keep the male viewers there.
0:33:57 > 0:33:59I don't think I ever watched it for Legs & Co!
0:33:59 > 0:34:01Nobody really took offence.
0:34:01 > 0:34:05Today I think you'd probably be called sexist,
0:34:05 > 0:34:09but in those days, you know, it was...just banter.
0:34:09 > 0:34:12Very interesting, how times have changed.
0:34:13 > 0:34:15But it wasn't only the professional dancers
0:34:15 > 0:34:18that got the chance to strut their stuff on Top Of The Pops.
0:34:18 > 0:34:21- We wanted to dance, didn't we? ..You wanted to dance.- Yes!
0:34:21 > 0:34:22We're going to dance.
0:34:22 > 0:34:26Lots and lots of people wanted to be on Top Of The Pops, dancing there,
0:34:26 > 0:34:30so they came in off the streets and they were encouraged to dress up,
0:34:30 > 0:34:35and think the rest of the country probably saw the fashions that were happening in London.
0:34:35 > 0:34:38One of the first shows to have an audience participation in there.
0:34:38 > 0:34:41We're going to pick out the best dancer in this one,
0:34:41 > 0:34:43because we're going to see the kids dancing here in the studio.
0:34:43 > 0:34:47The audience were always in shot, and that was always the public
0:34:47 > 0:34:49looking up to the pop star. So you sort of felt part of it.
0:34:49 > 0:34:52- LEO SAYER: - # You make me feel like dancing... #
0:34:52 > 0:34:55You knew you'd made it, if you were in there and you were on camera.
0:34:55 > 0:34:58# You make me feel like dancing... #
0:34:58 > 0:35:01When I was young I thought it would be quite romantic to be in the audience.
0:35:01 > 0:35:04In fact, it would have been enough to just be there watching the stars.
0:35:04 > 0:35:06- # I feel like dancing- Wooo! - # Dancing- Wooo!
0:35:06 > 0:35:08# Dance the night away... #
0:35:08 > 0:35:12If you were in the audience, you got pushed around by the floor managers.
0:35:12 > 0:35:16If a camera was coming your way, they didn't bother about you, that just barged into you.
0:35:16 > 0:35:19But...the kids had a good time and it was just great fun.
0:35:19 > 0:35:24For me there was too much of this dancing - looking over the shoulder to see if you were on camera.
0:35:24 > 0:35:30If you were in the audience and doing the show, it was a really good party atmosphere.
0:35:31 > 0:35:35But by now, the Top Of The Pops party didn't seem to be for its younger viewers,
0:35:35 > 0:35:38and it was trying to cater for all the family.
0:35:38 > 0:35:41# It's so nice, nice, nice
0:35:41 > 0:35:45# To have you home, home again... #
0:35:45 > 0:35:48The '70s, and my generation, were already
0:35:48 > 0:35:53almost a backwash to what had gone on in the '60s. I couldn't love the music.
0:35:53 > 0:35:58# It's so nice, nice, nice to have you home... #
0:35:58 > 0:36:05It was having a mid-life crisis, and the presenters were of another era and the music had got badly lost.
0:36:05 > 0:36:08# ..never ever gonna go away
0:36:08 > 0:36:10# Any more #
0:36:10 > 0:36:14You had to introduce what was in the charts that particular week.
0:36:14 > 0:36:19I didn't have any quarrel with it. One or two things were a little bit square for me, but
0:36:19 > 0:36:26if a record appealed to the mums and dads, or maybe the grandparents liked them - you know, so be it.
0:36:26 > 0:36:29# It's so nice, nice, nice
0:36:29 > 0:36:32# To have you home, home again
0:36:33 > 0:36:39# And you're looking exactly just the way you used to look before... #
0:36:39 > 0:36:43It was almost like being inside a very closed society -
0:36:43 > 0:36:46you took what you had, and you believed it was all there was.
0:36:46 > 0:36:51It was only later, when I got a tiny bit older and more adventurous,
0:36:51 > 0:36:54that I kind of realised there was a whole world out there
0:36:54 > 0:36:57that Top Of The Pops wasn't reaching.
0:36:57 > 0:37:00MUSIC: Theme from "The Old Grey Whistle Test"
0:37:01 > 0:37:06There was a much more serious approach to music on The Old Grey Whistle Test, BBC2's
0:37:06 > 0:37:08anti-Top Of The Pops music show -
0:37:08 > 0:37:10with no audience, no dancing...
0:37:10 > 0:37:13and a presenter that (whispered.)
0:37:13 > 0:37:15Hello, again. This is Bob Harris opening up another Whistle Test.
0:37:15 > 0:37:18# Gonna make her roar
0:37:18 > 0:37:19# Gonna make her fly... #
0:37:19 > 0:37:21What was given to us
0:37:21 > 0:37:26music lovers was The Old Grey Whistle Test, as a kind of counterpart.
0:37:26 > 0:37:30HIGH-PITCHED: # Ahh, ahh, ahh, ahh
0:37:30 > 0:37:34# Ahh, ahh, ahh... Ahh! #
0:37:34 > 0:37:38When you got The Old Grey Whistle Test, it was really
0:37:38 > 0:37:43exploring album tracks and people who were, in inverted commas, taking their music seriously, man.
0:37:43 > 0:37:48There weren't people being forced to look as if they were dancing and enjoying themselves,
0:37:48 > 0:37:52and there were presenters who really took the music seriously,
0:37:52 > 0:37:55rather than stood there trying to sound fizzy and excited.
0:37:55 > 0:38:00A good-looking programme tonight, too. Sessions from John Martyn and Little Feat,
0:38:00 > 0:38:04an interview later on with Robert Plant, some vintage film of Ike and Tina Turner,
0:38:04 > 0:38:08a track from the new Jefferson Starship album, and music from the Bachman-Turner Overdrive.
0:38:13 > 0:38:20But The Old Grey Whistle Test was a little too laid-back and worthy for a younger audience by 1976.
0:38:20 > 0:38:23# There was a woman in Georgia didn't feel just right
0:38:23 > 0:38:27# She had the fever all day and chills at night... #
0:38:27 > 0:38:30I was a 14-year-old kind of caught between two worlds, really.
0:38:30 > 0:38:34You'd have Brotherhood Of Man on Top Of The Pops, and some kind of
0:38:34 > 0:38:39West Coast American long-haired group on The Old Grey Whistle Test.
0:38:39 > 0:38:43And neither of them really seemed, to me,
0:38:43 > 0:38:47to be relevant or to relate to me or my world.
0:38:47 > 0:38:50# He's a doctor of soul
0:38:50 > 0:38:54# He's got his very own thing, yeah... #
0:38:56 > 0:39:00- PAUL MORLEY:- Those that liked that music, thought that what they liked
0:39:00 > 0:39:01was deeply serious, proper music.
0:39:01 > 0:39:05So they were protective of that and threatened by what was about to happen too.
0:39:08 > 0:39:13The nation's youth were becoming disenchanted with the BBC's musical offerings.
0:39:13 > 0:39:16Time now to go up the M1 motorway to the Scratchwood service area -
0:39:16 > 0:39:22we are going to find Laurie Lingo, the Plastic Chickens, the Dipsticks, everything - and Convoy GB!
0:39:22 > 0:39:26# It's a lonely life truck driving But it's better than a bike... #
0:39:26 > 0:39:29It all started to slightly parody itself.
0:39:29 > 0:39:32The format was very well established,
0:39:32 > 0:39:34everyone knew what was coming next...
0:39:34 > 0:39:37# ..the saga of the M1 motorway
0:39:37 > 0:39:41# Of the biggest bloomin' convoy outside the USA... #
0:39:41 > 0:39:45- LAVINIA GREENLAW:- The dancers got sillier, the songs got sillier.
0:39:45 > 0:39:49The presenters - who were really too old to be presenting it -
0:39:49 > 0:39:50got sillier too,
0:39:50 > 0:39:55and it didn't make any of us feel young, or excited, or happy or free.
0:39:55 > 0:39:59It was just as if everything had got badly stuck and no-one knew what to do.
0:39:59 > 0:40:01Er...listen, Plastic Chicken -
0:40:01 > 0:40:04d'you want to stick it in behind that suicide jockey?
0:40:04 > 0:40:08- What's a suicide jockey? - "As it happens, 'ow's about - urrgh!"
0:40:10 > 0:40:13It just seemed to be laughable. It was becoming laughable.
0:40:13 > 0:40:18We're all wearing white suits tonight, because we're doubling as ice cream salesmen.
0:40:18 > 0:40:19Choc ices...!
0:40:19 > 0:40:22Hello and welcome - tonight's programme's dedicated
0:40:22 > 0:40:24to everyone who wanted me to get the sack.
0:40:24 > 0:40:26It made it shallow and superficial and silly and glitzy.
0:40:26 > 0:40:31It had become much more obviously a family entertainment show.
0:40:31 > 0:40:33FUNKY DISCO MUSIC
0:40:41 > 0:40:44We were clearly not being given everything that was out there,
0:40:44 > 0:40:48and certain people were making these decisions on our behalf.
0:40:48 > 0:40:52Even if we didn't articulate it this way, that was a political thing,
0:40:52 > 0:40:54an ideological thing - and we needed to fight it.
0:40:54 > 0:40:59# Boredom, boredo-o-om... #
0:41:01 > 0:41:06The predominant mood of the young people of '76
0:41:06 > 0:41:10wasn't necessarily anger, but was actually boredom.
0:41:11 > 0:41:13LAVINIA GREENLAW: There didn't seem to be anything for us -
0:41:13 > 0:41:18I spent a lot of time in bus shelters wondering what to do and where to go.
0:41:18 > 0:41:22I hadn't yet found the music that mattered, I hadn't yet found the friends who would matter.
0:41:22 > 0:41:27I didn't know who to be, and it felt like the country didn't know what to be either.
0:41:27 > 0:41:31Light entertainment didn't seem to relate really or
0:41:31 > 0:41:35care really about what young people wanted.
0:41:35 > 0:41:36SIREN WAILS
0:41:40 > 0:41:43The generation that was coming of an age in the late '70s
0:41:43 > 0:41:46was a generation that was beginning to have to deal with
0:41:46 > 0:41:49rising unemployment. Interest rates were high...
0:41:49 > 0:41:53There was a very horrific kind of institutional
0:41:53 > 0:41:55and street racism that you were aware of
0:41:55 > 0:42:00in Britain - and of course you had the Notting Hill riots in 1976.
0:42:00 > 0:42:03MUSIC: "White Riot" by The Clash
0:42:05 > 0:42:12And there seemed to be a very big gulf between that real life, and the life that was portrayed by
0:42:12 > 0:42:15light entertainment on the BBC including Top Of The Pops.
0:42:15 > 0:42:18BBC's never gone this mad. Demis - come over here, darlin'!
0:42:18 > 0:42:20It's time to say goodnight,
0:42:20 > 0:42:24and we are going to leave you with the number one sound which has been there for 94 years.
0:42:24 > 0:42:30Demis - cop a load of our lovely British plonk, Chateau BBC 1914...
0:42:30 > 0:42:37That real world was definitely knocking on Top Of The Pops' door by '76...but not getting in.
0:42:37 > 0:42:40The cult is called "punk", the music "punk rock".
0:42:40 > 0:42:44Basic rock music - raw, outrageous and crude.
0:42:52 > 0:42:56# I am an Antichrist
0:42:56 > 0:42:59# I am an anarchist... #
0:42:59 > 0:43:03Completely discombobulated the mainstream entertainment world
0:43:03 > 0:43:06and the recording industry, because there were impulses and
0:43:06 > 0:43:10desires that were coming from a completely different place.
0:43:10 > 0:43:14It wasn't just about enjoyment, about being pleased, it wasn't just decoration.
0:43:14 > 0:43:17Malcolm McLaren, you discovered and managed the group.
0:43:17 > 0:43:21What about the accusation that you're more into chaos than anything else?
0:43:21 > 0:43:24Well, that's an accusation by people
0:43:24 > 0:43:27who really don't understand what kids want. Kids want excitement,
0:43:27 > 0:43:30they want things that are going to transform
0:43:30 > 0:43:34what is basically a very boring life for them right now.
0:43:34 > 0:43:36And music - young rock music -
0:43:36 > 0:43:39is the only thing they have that they thought that they controlled.
0:43:39 > 0:43:42And if you look in the charts, they don't have anything to do with it.
0:43:43 > 0:43:47# Anarchy for the UK... #
0:43:47 > 0:43:53My earliest memories of punk are the kind of intrusions it made on that Top Of The Pops world.
0:43:53 > 0:43:58They were not playing along with the idea of being a band, and being a band in a television interview.
0:43:58 > 0:44:00# I...
0:44:00 > 0:44:03# Wanna be...
0:44:03 > 0:44:07# Anarchy! #
0:44:07 > 0:44:10You'd hear a word like "anarchy", and clearly this wasn't Showaddywaddy.
0:44:10 > 0:44:11Something else was going on.
0:44:11 > 0:44:16At the time I thought that punk bands were anti-Establishment,
0:44:16 > 0:44:20you know, peeing all over the audience, that kind of thing...
0:44:20 > 0:44:24So I did actually come out once saying that I didn't think much of it.
0:44:27 > 0:44:30Punk rock just didn't do it for me.
0:44:30 > 0:44:33I found it... And I know a lot of people still love it -
0:44:33 > 0:44:37I found it tuneless, mindless.
0:44:37 > 0:44:41Everything about it. I found the artists not particularly appealing.
0:44:41 > 0:44:44What about the word "punk"? It means worthless, nasty.
0:44:44 > 0:44:46Johnny Rotten, are you happy with this word?
0:44:46 > 0:44:48No, the press gave us it.
0:44:48 > 0:44:51It's their problem, not ours.
0:44:51 > 0:44:53We never called ourselves "punk".
0:44:53 > 0:44:59Punk set itself up against Top Of The Pops, you know, because... it did seem part of the enemy.
0:44:59 > 0:45:04It did seem part of that mainstream world which punk was trying to wake up.
0:45:04 > 0:45:07Which bands do you think are really old hat now?
0:45:07 > 0:45:11Are you against the Stones and The Who, sounds like that?
0:45:11 > 0:45:13Yes, of course, because they're established.
0:45:13 > 0:45:16They just do not mean anything to anyone.
0:45:16 > 0:45:19Unfortunately, they didn't sell enough records
0:45:19 > 0:45:22to get into the charts - and as Top Of The Pops
0:45:22 > 0:45:24relied upon the charts
0:45:24 > 0:45:31because of these rigid rules that had been going since 1964,
0:45:31 > 0:45:34and nobody dared to change them for upsetting anybody.
0:45:34 > 0:45:37The idea that basically record companies, the record industry,
0:45:37 > 0:45:41in cahoots with the BBC, Radio 1 and Top Of The Pops,
0:45:41 > 0:45:43were basically dictating choice...
0:45:43 > 0:45:45It's kind of no wonder really that
0:45:45 > 0:45:51out of that era came a whole load of new kinds of music.
0:45:51 > 0:45:53It's no wonder really that the young people -
0:45:53 > 0:45:57bless them, as they always do - said "Let's make our own culture."
0:45:57 > 0:46:01It was never the sense that we wanted to smash Top Of The Pops to pieces -
0:46:01 > 0:46:05in that sense we were oddly compliant. We were quite happy for Top Of The Pops to keep going,
0:46:05 > 0:46:08but we wanted Siouxsie and the Banshees and The Damned
0:46:08 > 0:46:10to go on Top Of The Pops to give it the kick...
0:46:10 > 0:46:11# ..just for you
0:46:11 > 0:46:15# Here's a love song, just for you
0:46:15 > 0:46:17# Here's a love song
0:46:17 > 0:46:18# And it makes me glad to say
0:46:18 > 0:46:22# It's been a lovely day and it's OK... #
0:46:22 > 0:46:26Slowly, from '77 to '78, '79, 1980,
0:46:26 > 0:46:29you had fabulous people appearing on Top Of The Pops.
0:46:29 > 0:46:33When they did, it was an amazing moment.
0:46:33 > 0:46:36# Hong Kong garden
0:46:36 > 0:46:39# Oh-oh, oh-oh-oh-oh... #
0:46:39 > 0:46:44I think Top Of The Pops lost a generation in 1976,
0:46:44 > 0:46:49who eventually came back when edgier music started to top the charts.
0:46:49 > 0:46:53I think there was a complete reinvigoration of Top Of The Pops...
0:46:53 > 0:46:57and it seemed like their natural home, which now seems very strange!
0:46:57 > 0:47:00# Slanted eyes meet a new sunrise... #
0:47:00 > 0:47:05That's why Top Of The Pops sometimes has to go through these peculiar periods - or did then -
0:47:05 > 0:47:10because then there's this wonderful antidote, this wonderful way, it swings back another way.
0:47:10 > 0:47:13# La, la, la, la-la la-la-la
0:47:13 > 0:47:16# Oh-oh, oh-oh-oh-oh
0:47:16 > 0:47:18# Hong Kong garden...
0:47:18 > 0:47:20Hi there. All having a lovely Christmas?
0:47:20 > 0:47:22For the next three-quarters of an hour
0:47:22 > 0:47:25we're looking at the really big records of this year.
0:47:25 > 0:47:27It's welcome to the Christmas Top Of The Pops!
0:47:27 > 0:47:29MUSIC: "Whole Lotta Love" by Led Zeppelin
0:47:29 > 0:47:34But, in Christmas 1976, nothing had changed.
0:47:34 > 0:47:361977 may have been around the corner,
0:47:36 > 0:47:39but as far as Top Of The Pops and its presenters were concerned
0:47:39 > 0:47:41it was business as usual.
0:47:41 > 0:47:44- Let me introduce you to another very young group.- Our Kid.
0:47:44 > 0:47:48The number one record from a number one guy, don't know if you know him.
0:47:48 > 0:47:52Johnny Mathis, and When A Child Is Born, right this second.
0:47:52 > 0:47:58# All across the land dawns a brand-new morn
0:47:58 > 0:48:02# This comes to pass
0:48:02 > 0:48:06# When a child is born
0:48:07 > 0:48:09# A silent wish
0:48:10 > 0:48:14# Sails the seven seas
0:48:15 > 0:48:18# The winds of change
0:48:18 > 0:48:23# Whisper in the trees
0:48:23 > 0:48:26# And the walls of doubt
0:48:26 > 0:48:29# Crumble, tossed and torn
0:48:29 > 0:48:32# This comes to pass when a child is born. #
0:48:32 > 0:48:34Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:48:34 > 0:48:36E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk