0:00:02 > 0:00:03If I could borrow your cheeky bits
0:00:03 > 0:00:06I'd be grateful, cos we have a splendid Top Of The Pops.
0:00:06 > 0:00:07MUSIC: TOP OF THE POPS THEME
0:00:07 > 0:00:10If you wanted to know the state of the nation in 1977,
0:00:10 > 0:00:14surely Britain's favourite pop show wasn't the obvious place to look.
0:00:14 > 0:00:16Or was it?
0:00:21 > 0:00:26It was the year when Jubilee fever caused Britain to break out in a rash of red, white and blue.
0:00:29 > 0:00:31But not everyone in 1977 was celebrating.
0:00:31 > 0:00:35MUSIC: "Something Better Change" by The Stranglers
0:00:35 > 0:00:38There were forces afoot in the nation that wanted to shake things up.
0:00:40 > 0:00:44It was bubbling under in '76 and in '77, it just exploded.
0:00:44 > 0:00:47I was angry. I was angry about what was going on in the world
0:00:47 > 0:00:50and I was angry about this overall blandness of music.
0:00:52 > 0:00:581977 would see a wide diversity of musical styles jostling for supremacy in the charts.
0:00:58 > 0:01:03Anything that reeked of romance, fetch me the sick bag.
0:01:04 > 0:01:10And things came to a head with a dirty battle royale for the Number One spot.
0:01:10 > 0:01:12But there remained little doubt
0:01:12 > 0:01:14as to the jewel in the nation's musical crown.
0:01:14 > 0:01:16- BOTH:- Top Of The Pops!
0:01:16 > 0:01:21It was like, you'd made it if you were on Top Of The Pops.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24The question was, have you been on Top Of The Pops?
0:01:24 > 0:01:27If you said no, well, you're not going to go anywhere.
0:01:27 > 0:01:32And by the end of '77, both the charts and Britain's favourite music show
0:01:32 > 0:01:34would never look quite the same again.
0:01:39 > 0:01:40# Change! #
0:01:43 > 0:01:471977 saw Britain a nation on its knees.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50MUSIC: "Rock Bottom" by Lynsey De Paul and Mike Moran
0:01:50 > 0:01:51# Where are we?
0:01:51 > 0:01:53# Rock bottom
0:01:53 > 0:01:55# Tragedies
0:01:55 > 0:01:56# We've got 'em
0:01:56 > 0:01:58# Remedy
0:01:58 > 0:02:02# Why don't we rub it out and start it again?
0:02:02 > 0:02:05# With sympathy. #
0:02:05 > 0:02:09A land of hope and glory was now crippled by high inflation...
0:02:09 > 0:02:12Long queues at the job centre...
0:02:12 > 0:02:14..and revolting workers.
0:02:14 > 0:02:16BOTH SING: # With sympathy
0:02:16 > 0:02:17# Sympathy
0:02:17 > 0:02:20# I get it, harmony
0:02:20 > 0:02:21# You've said it
0:02:21 > 0:02:22# Where are we?
0:02:22 > 0:02:23# Where are we?
0:02:23 > 0:02:26# Rock bottom, rub it out and start it again. #
0:02:28 > 0:02:29The mood was one of change.
0:02:29 > 0:02:31# Rock bottom
0:02:31 > 0:02:32# Rub it out and start it again
0:02:34 > 0:02:37# Rock, rock, rock bottom
0:02:37 > 0:02:40# Rock, rock, rock bottom
0:02:40 > 0:02:43# Rock, rock, rock bottom
0:02:43 > 0:02:45# Rub it out and start it again
0:02:45 > 0:02:47# Oooh-ooooh. #
0:02:47 > 0:02:50This next number has a certain ring to it. It's Legs, Fists and Co,
0:02:50 > 0:02:53doing the Ali Shuffle to Maxine Nightingale's Love Hit Me!
0:02:53 > 0:02:56MUSIC: "Love Hit Me" by Maxine Nightingale
0:02:56 > 0:03:00Yet life on Top Of The Pops remained one cheeky party.
0:03:05 > 0:03:07# When I saw your face
0:03:07 > 0:03:08# Love hit me
0:03:08 > 0:03:12# And there was nowhere I could run
0:03:12 > 0:03:15# My loneliness was over
0:03:15 > 0:03:17# And my life had just begun. #
0:03:17 > 0:03:20Most of the acts invited on Top Of The Pops seemed to be escapist pop
0:03:20 > 0:03:24or novelty acts that belonged at the end of the pier.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28While Britain seethed,
0:03:28 > 0:03:34the Top Of The Pops audience took solace in Joy Sarney and her love song to a randy seaside wife-beater.
0:03:34 > 0:03:36# Ooh-ee-ooh-ee-ooh-ee!
0:03:36 > 0:03:37# Uh-uh
0:03:37 > 0:03:38# Oh, no you don't
0:03:38 > 0:03:40# Ooh-ee-ooh-ee-ooh-ee!
0:03:40 > 0:03:41# Ah-ah
0:03:41 > 0:03:43# Oh, no you don't
0:03:43 > 0:03:45# Ooh-ee-ooh-ee-ooh-ee!
0:03:45 > 0:03:47# That ain't the way to do it
0:03:47 > 0:03:48# It's the way to do it
0:03:48 > 0:03:51# That ain't the way to do it
0:03:51 > 0:03:52# It's the way to do it
0:03:52 > 0:03:54- # Oh, no, it ain't - # Oh, yes, it is
0:03:54 > 0:03:55# Oh, no, it ain't
0:03:55 > 0:03:56# Yes, it is
0:03:56 > 0:03:58- # No, it isn't - # Yes, it is
0:03:58 > 0:03:59- # No, it isn't - # Yes, it is!
0:03:59 > 0:04:00- # It isn't - # Yes, it is!
0:04:00 > 0:04:02# Ooh, what a pity!. #
0:04:05 > 0:04:08Youngsters watching Top Of The Pops in '77, however,
0:04:08 > 0:04:11remained utterly captivated.
0:04:11 > 0:04:13# Back to the places
0:04:13 > 0:04:17# And the people I once knew. #
0:04:17 > 0:04:21The joy of it was that it was family viewing.
0:04:21 > 0:04:25It was Thursday night, so it was payday,
0:04:25 > 0:04:29you'd go to a supermarket and get loads of crisps as your treat.
0:04:29 > 0:04:31Have a shandy if you were lucky!
0:04:31 > 0:04:36Really traditional, kind of warm working-class.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41My mum absolutely loved David Essex.
0:04:42 > 0:04:46# Hey, you say you want to be my friend
0:04:46 > 0:04:48# Stick with me
0:04:48 > 0:04:49# Until the end. #
0:04:49 > 0:04:53Part of the joy of watching Top Of The Pops then
0:04:53 > 0:04:56was that it brought the generation gap into your living room.
0:04:56 > 0:04:59# Daddy, daddy cool
0:04:59 > 0:05:00# Yeah. #
0:05:00 > 0:05:03And you would sit there, and your dad would huff.
0:05:03 > 0:05:08While some young viewers enjoyed the show for provoking family squabbles,
0:05:08 > 0:05:10others watched it for comfort.
0:05:11 > 0:05:14My main aesthetic as to whether or not I liked an act
0:05:14 > 0:05:16that I was watching on Top Of The Pops
0:05:16 > 0:05:19was, if my mum and dad suddenly died in a car crash,
0:05:19 > 0:05:22would these people, could these people look after me?
0:05:22 > 0:05:24Would these people be good parents?
0:05:24 > 0:05:28# Running away from danger Hiding from every stranger
0:05:28 > 0:05:31# Angelo... #
0:05:31 > 0:05:34According to those criteria, Brotherhood Of Man were top of the list.
0:05:34 > 0:05:36# They found a love so strong
0:05:36 > 0:05:39# They took their lives that night # And in the morning light... #
0:05:39 > 0:05:43Either pair looked like they would be very, very good, loving parents,
0:05:43 > 0:05:46so naturally I liked Brotherhood Of Man.
0:05:48 > 0:05:52Here's something to smile about, the nation's brand-new Number One sound.
0:05:52 > 0:05:55Top of the pile against the nation, and David Soul.
0:05:55 > 0:05:58# Don't give up on us, baby... #
0:05:58 > 0:06:01As the year began, pop royalty reigned supreme,
0:06:01 > 0:06:03with its very own soul man.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07# The future isn't just one night
0:06:09 > 0:06:12# It's written in the moonlight. #
0:06:12 > 0:06:15David Soul had a brilliant year. Two Number Ones, three hits.
0:06:15 > 0:06:19Silver Lady is just fantastic. The strings are brilliant,
0:06:19 > 0:06:24and it kind of makes...self-pity oddly aspirational.
0:06:24 > 0:06:28# Here I am, a million miles from home
0:06:28 > 0:06:33# The Indiana wind and rain cut through me
0:06:33 > 0:06:38# I'm lost and alone Chilled to the bone
0:06:38 > 0:06:39# Silver lady. #
0:06:39 > 0:06:44There's a whole period in the history of pop music I simply cannot be critical about,
0:06:44 > 0:06:48because I was lapping it all up like a man who's dying of thirst.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51MUSIC: "Promises, Promises" by Rags
0:06:51 > 0:06:54# Promises, promises Brought us together
0:06:54 > 0:06:56# Promises, promises came from our hearts
0:06:56 > 0:06:59# And find it funny that we'll know forever
0:06:59 > 0:07:03# Promises, promises Tore us apart. #
0:07:03 > 0:07:07In 1977, Top Of The Pops was still regularly attracting audiences
0:07:07 > 0:07:09of more than 15 million.
0:07:09 > 0:07:11# Find it funny that we'll know forever... #
0:07:11 > 0:07:14British television still had only three channels,
0:07:14 > 0:07:18and a tired nation was happy to slump in front of whatever it dished up.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24But something had been lost.
0:07:24 > 0:07:26MUSIC: "We'll Gather Lilacs" by Simon May
0:07:29 > 0:07:32# We'll gather lilacs
0:07:32 > 0:07:37# In the spring again
0:07:37 > 0:07:45# And walk together down an English lane. #
0:07:45 > 0:07:48Oh, dear. Top Of The Pops may have been only 13 years old,
0:07:48 > 0:07:52but it felt middle-aged. It appealed to young kids and their parents,
0:07:52 > 0:07:55but it was cutting out what had once been its core audience...
0:07:55 > 0:07:59teenagers. And they were revolting.
0:08:00 > 0:08:04It was kind of Year Zero. The other bands were all boring old farts.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07That was the expression which came readily to the mouth.
0:08:07 > 0:08:12Even some of the teen stars of the early Seventies were past their best.
0:08:12 > 0:08:14MUSIC: "Soul Of My Suit" by T.Rex
0:08:14 > 0:08:17He's in a very odd position in 1977, Marc Bolan.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20In some ways, he's the ghost of pop past.
0:08:21 > 0:08:25It's this weird thing of this guy that simultaneously appears to be
0:08:25 > 0:08:30slightly washed-up and suddenly vibrant again.
0:08:30 > 0:08:36# Well, you damaged the soul of my suit
0:08:36 > 0:08:40# You pulled out my love by the roots
0:08:40 > 0:08:44# But I'm not such a bad boy
0:08:46 > 0:08:50# Oh, no. #
0:08:50 > 0:08:53# Hey, today's the day I lay it on the line
0:08:53 > 0:08:57# The way to make you stay and keep you company
0:08:57 > 0:08:58# It's time to get my way
0:08:58 > 0:09:00# Cos night-time is the right time
0:09:00 > 0:09:04# And when I'm feeling fine I like my action guaranteed. #
0:09:04 > 0:09:08There was supposed to have been a teenage revolution in the Fifties and Sixties.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11If you look at Top Of The Pops, it looks like youth culture's lost.
0:09:11 > 0:09:13Like youth culture never happened.
0:09:13 > 0:09:16The Old Guard were clinging on,
0:09:16 > 0:09:18trying not to look over their shoulders.
0:09:21 > 0:09:22The whole nation felt stuck.
0:09:22 > 0:09:26Gentleman Jim Callaghan remained Prime Minister in a minority government,
0:09:26 > 0:09:29but faced industrial unrest on a daily basis.
0:09:29 > 0:09:32# Promises, promises tore us apart. #
0:09:32 > 0:09:38Keith Richards found himself in front of the beak on drugs charges...again.
0:09:38 > 0:09:40Margaret Thatcher on the other hand
0:09:40 > 0:09:45was aiming for the stars as the Great White Hope of the Conservative Party.
0:09:45 > 0:09:47As was another future Tory leader.
0:09:47 > 0:09:51They don't want to go to Callaghan's Promised Land,
0:09:51 > 0:09:54which must surely rank as the most abhorrent and miserable land
0:09:54 > 0:09:57that has ever been promised to the people of a nation state.
0:09:57 > 0:10:00APPLAUSE
0:10:01 > 0:10:05The problems facing Britain, though, were more immediate.
0:10:05 > 0:10:07CHANTING
0:10:07 > 0:10:10In a country that was creaking at the seams,
0:10:10 > 0:10:12at least you could rely on Top Of the Pops.
0:10:12 > 0:10:15A product made in Britain that was safe, reliable
0:10:15 > 0:10:17and as comfy as an old cardigan.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20Come on, you're not supposed to enjoy yourselves. Pay attention.
0:10:20 > 0:10:22After all, it is Top Of The Pops.
0:10:22 > 0:10:26MUSIC: "The Shuffle" by Van McCoy
0:10:26 > 0:10:30By 1977, as Britain's premier music institution,
0:10:30 > 0:10:32Top Of The Pops operated within rules known and respected
0:10:32 > 0:10:35by the record companies and their artists.
0:10:35 > 0:10:37And the stakes were high.
0:10:37 > 0:10:39# Oooh... #
0:10:39 > 0:10:42The biggest plug one could get,
0:10:42 > 0:10:45as a promotion man, what we called pluggers in those days,
0:10:45 > 0:10:48they call them PR men now, pluggers...was Top Of The Pops.
0:10:48 > 0:10:52It was the greatest, the greatest... I would do one Top Of The Pops
0:10:52 > 0:10:56and give away... If someone said "Eric, do you want 500 radio plays
0:10:56 > 0:10:58"or Top Of The Pops?" Give me Top Of The Pops.
0:10:58 > 0:11:01It... Literally, one appearance on Top Of The Pops,
0:11:01 > 0:11:03automatically you made the chart.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06And if you were in the chart, you'd go up the chart.
0:11:06 > 0:11:10In 1977, the show went out on a Thursday.
0:11:10 > 0:11:14But the planning began the Friday before.
0:11:14 > 0:11:17The record people would come up, all the promotions guys,
0:11:17 > 0:11:22with their new records and tell you what the sales were like.
0:11:22 > 0:11:24Then we would get the charts.
0:11:24 > 0:11:28These were arranged by an independent company, nothing to do with the BBC.
0:11:28 > 0:11:32And they were all related to the sales of records the previous week.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35There were various shops which were secret.
0:11:35 > 0:11:38PHONE RINGS
0:11:38 > 0:11:43Good morning, Top Of The Pops. Hi, Wyn, how are you? Good.
0:11:43 > 0:11:47And from those figures, we would then compile the programme.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50Good evening, welcome to Top Of The Pops!
0:11:50 > 0:11:53MUSIC: "The Crunch" by The Rah Band
0:11:55 > 0:11:59It was always a very tense moment, Monday or Tuesday in the week,
0:11:59 > 0:12:03when the initial sales figures were released,
0:12:03 > 0:12:05cos that was going to be the moment when you knew
0:12:05 > 0:12:08whether you were likely to be on Top Of The Pops.
0:12:08 > 0:12:12If you were lucky enough to be chosen, then a first appearance
0:12:12 > 0:12:16on Top Of The Pops was always going to be a day to remember.
0:12:16 > 0:12:19What used to happen with Polydor was, if you got Top Of The Pops,
0:12:19 > 0:12:25they would put on a limo for you, to pick you up and drive you in.
0:12:25 > 0:12:27So first thing, of course, I can remember...
0:12:27 > 0:12:29I was living in a little flat in Fulham,
0:12:29 > 0:12:32was the limo turning up to take you to Top Of The Pops.
0:12:32 > 0:12:36All I remember was suddenly coming up to this iconic building,
0:12:36 > 0:12:39the round one, and all the security,
0:12:39 > 0:12:44and loads of young people outside the gate, screaming and everything.
0:12:44 > 0:12:49They stopped when we drove past because they didn't know us from Adam,
0:12:49 > 0:12:52and we didn't look very, you know, charming.
0:12:53 > 0:12:57Television Centre in Shepherd's Bush was where dreams of pop stardom came true
0:12:57 > 0:13:01but for newcomers, the building could feel like a labyrinth.
0:13:01 > 0:13:06The place is vast! Endless, endless corridors.
0:13:06 > 0:13:09I swear to God, I'm sure I saw people wandering around shell-shocked
0:13:09 > 0:13:15who'd been in there since 1957 and had never found their way out.
0:13:15 > 0:13:18It was hot and it was airless
0:13:18 > 0:13:21and it took forever to find our dressing room.
0:13:22 > 0:13:27Yep, that's the BBC we love! From 9.30 on the Wednesday morning, rehearsals would begin.
0:13:27 > 0:13:29It was a long day for everyone.
0:13:29 > 0:13:32- APPLAUSE - And at 26 in the charts this week,
0:13:32 > 0:13:36the one and only David Bowie and Heroes.
0:13:36 > 0:13:37APPLAUSE FADES
0:13:39 > 0:13:42MICROPHONE FEEDS BACK # We turn water... #
0:13:42 > 0:13:47I'd like to start that again, there's feedback down here. Wooah!
0:13:47 > 0:13:48Or notes to that effect.
0:13:48 > 0:13:52MUSIC: "Feel The Need In Me" by The Detroit Emeralds
0:13:52 > 0:13:54MUSIC STOPS
0:14:00 > 0:14:04MUSIC RESUMES FROM BEGINNING
0:14:08 > 0:14:11It was a lot of waiting, and then you would do
0:14:11 > 0:14:13a run-through for the cameras,
0:14:13 > 0:14:16and then you'd go and wait again all afternoon.
0:14:16 > 0:14:17# Dinner's ready... #
0:14:17 > 0:14:21Despite the tedium involved, there were unexpected pleasures to be had,
0:14:21 > 0:14:25such as hearing fellow artists going through their paces.
0:14:25 > 0:14:27# My baby's coming over
0:14:27 > 0:14:29# Well, I know... #
0:14:29 > 0:14:33My very, very favourite was hearing The Emotions singing live.
0:14:33 > 0:14:36I mean, I get goose pimples right now.
0:14:36 > 0:14:38They were just sensational.
0:14:38 > 0:14:41For me, those were the best, best bits of Top Of The Pops,
0:14:41 > 0:14:42those rehearsal times.
0:14:42 > 0:14:46# Things ain't the way they used to be, baby boy
0:14:46 > 0:14:51# I can't believe that You're only teasing. #
0:14:51 > 0:14:53We had bets amongst us in the band,
0:14:53 > 0:14:57who would try and pull one of the dancers.
0:14:57 > 0:15:01We tried so many times as well. They just weren't having it.
0:15:01 > 0:15:03They were hit on all the time.
0:15:03 > 0:15:05MUSIC: "Peaches" by The Stranglers
0:15:05 > 0:15:09In May, Top Of The Pops was to do something rather unexpected and brave.
0:15:09 > 0:15:11Despite not being in the Top 40,
0:15:11 > 0:15:15The Stranglers were invited to appear on the show for the first time.
0:15:15 > 0:15:17Their single Peaches had been banned by the BBC
0:15:17 > 0:15:19for its sexual content.
0:15:23 > 0:15:27So they opted to play its double-A-side, Go Buddy Go.
0:15:27 > 0:15:30Now, watch out for this lot coming in the charts next week.
0:15:30 > 0:15:34They are so brave. The Stranglers!
0:15:34 > 0:15:37MUSIC: "Go Buddy Go" by The Stranglers
0:15:38 > 0:15:40# Boogie!
0:15:41 > 0:15:43# Woogie!
0:15:44 > 0:15:47# The boys and the girls are all dancing around... #
0:15:47 > 0:15:50Go Buddy Go I wrote when I was 15.
0:15:50 > 0:15:54And it was Jimi Hendrix meets the Beach Boys.
0:15:54 > 0:15:56# The boys and the girls are all holding hands
0:15:56 > 0:15:58# I said go, buddy, go
0:15:58 > 0:16:00# Buddy go, buddy go
0:16:00 > 0:16:02# Buddy go, go, go... #
0:16:02 > 0:16:05The Stranglers, to my seven-year-old self,
0:16:05 > 0:16:08looked like four fairly terrifying people.
0:16:08 > 0:16:10Going back to my analogy,
0:16:10 > 0:16:15would these people be suitable childminders if anything terrible happened to my parents?
0:16:15 > 0:16:18These people did not look like suitable childminders.
0:16:18 > 0:16:21Three of them looked like I would die of neglect,
0:16:21 > 0:16:23and Dave Greenfield,
0:16:23 > 0:16:27the keyboard player, just looked like he might just murder me.
0:16:27 > 0:16:31The Stranglers were a breath of fresh air for Top Of The Pops,
0:16:31 > 0:16:34or a blast of bad breath, depending on your taste.
0:16:36 > 0:16:38Making their debut on Top Of The Pops,
0:16:38 > 0:16:42here's The Jam, and their effervescent new 45, In The City.
0:16:42 > 0:16:46MUSIC: "In The City" by The Jam
0:16:54 > 0:16:59# In the city there's a thousand things I want to say to you... #
0:16:59 > 0:17:02An 18-year-old Paul Weller epitomised the new guard
0:17:02 > 0:17:06of pop stars - young, loud and with something to say.
0:17:06 > 0:17:07# I wanna say
0:17:09 > 0:17:11# I wanna tell you
0:17:11 > 0:17:13# About the young ideas... #
0:17:13 > 0:17:16Teenagers were back on Top Of The Pops.
0:17:18 > 0:17:22# In the city, there's a thousand faces all shining bright
0:17:23 > 0:17:26# And those golden faces are under 25... #
0:17:26 > 0:17:29There's an episode where Kid Jensen helpfully explains
0:17:29 > 0:17:32that what we've just seen is New Wave music,
0:17:32 > 0:17:35because we don't necessarily know what we are watching
0:17:35 > 0:17:39when we watch something that makes us feel unexpectedly excited.
0:17:40 > 0:17:41# In the city
0:17:43 > 0:17:44# In the city
0:17:44 > 0:17:47# In the city there's a thousand things I want to say to you. #
0:17:50 > 0:17:53Right at the forefront of a new phenomena known as New Wave,
0:17:53 > 0:17:55there go The Jam and In The City.
0:17:57 > 0:18:00Despite these rude intrusions,
0:18:00 > 0:18:03the Top Of The Pops juggernaut still rumbled on, regardless.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09In 1977, all bands appearing on the programme were required
0:18:09 > 0:18:11to perform to a backing track.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16The story of what they were actually performing to
0:18:16 > 0:18:22speaks volumes about why Top Of The Pops and Britain weren't working in 1977.
0:18:23 > 0:18:26Musicians' Union rules stipulated that all bands
0:18:26 > 0:18:30were required to record a new backing track in a matter of hours,
0:18:30 > 0:18:33to which they would sing live or mime on the show.
0:18:33 > 0:18:37What happened next, though, is still the subject of much debate.
0:18:37 > 0:18:40There were some bands on, like Wings or Queen or whoever,
0:18:40 > 0:18:43they've spent months and months and months, and the irony,
0:18:43 > 0:18:48if that's the right word for a Jewish East-End boy, of it was,
0:18:48 > 0:18:50not only did you have to rerecord it, you had three hours!
0:18:50 > 0:18:54You had a few bands said, "We can't do it, Eric, it's impossible.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57"It takes four, five, six months to record it in a studio,
0:18:57 > 0:19:00"we can't go and recreate that sound in a three-hour session!"
0:19:02 > 0:19:05The sessions took place in various recording studios in London.
0:19:05 > 0:19:08At least, that was the idea.
0:19:09 > 0:19:13If you listen to those episodes now, you'll notice that even though
0:19:13 > 0:19:17everything on there is meant to have been freshly recorded for the show,
0:19:17 > 0:19:21they sound curiously like the recordings.
0:19:30 > 0:19:31In the mid-seventies,
0:19:31 > 0:19:35the job of enforcing the rules on rerecording backing tracks fell to Don Smith,
0:19:35 > 0:19:39a Musicians' Union rep who would became a figure of dread.
0:19:41 > 0:19:43My nickname was Doctor Death...
0:19:45 > 0:19:47..but I didn't mind that,
0:19:47 > 0:19:49because it meant I felt I was doing my job properly
0:19:49 > 0:19:52if I was upsetting people who were trying to pull tricks.
0:19:52 > 0:19:56What I used to do with my bands, I can admit to it now,
0:19:56 > 0:20:00and Don, if you're still around, I apologise, but you deserved it,
0:20:00 > 0:20:01you was a schmuck,
0:20:01 > 0:20:04is that we used to just swap the tape over,
0:20:04 > 0:20:08swap the tape for the original, and eight times out of ten he would say,
0:20:08 > 0:20:12"You've done a fine job. You see, Eric, you see, it CAN be done in three hours."
0:20:12 > 0:20:15"Of course it can, Don, these boys are pros.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18"Of course they can do it in three hours." Little did he know.
0:20:18 > 0:20:20What would happen is you'd take him out for lunch,
0:20:20 > 0:20:23or to the pub, or your tour manager would,
0:20:23 > 0:20:26and by the time he came back,
0:20:26 > 0:20:31you had your backing track which you had apparently rerecorded,
0:20:31 > 0:20:34which was in fact the original backing track, without the vocals, you see.
0:20:34 > 0:20:40You'd fiddle about with the tapes and they'd come back in, and you'd say, "Yeah, just finished it."
0:20:41 > 0:20:44There were other cases where the engineer would suddenly say,
0:20:44 > 0:20:46"I've got to go to the toilet,"
0:20:46 > 0:20:48and leave the studio with a tape under his arm,
0:20:48 > 0:20:53and I would follow him down to the toilet and wait for him to come out.
0:20:53 > 0:20:55Because there could have been another tape there,
0:20:55 > 0:20:57that he was going to swap over.
0:20:57 > 0:21:00All kinds of skulduggery used to go on.
0:21:01 > 0:21:03The thought behind the rule
0:21:03 > 0:21:05was to protect the livelihood of musicians.
0:21:05 > 0:21:09In reality, many of those musicians were as keen as anyone to have an easy life.
0:21:11 > 0:21:17On occasions, when they knew that the sessions weren't being policed by the Musicians' Union,
0:21:17 > 0:21:20we used to get phone calls to say,
0:21:20 > 0:21:24"No need to come, but you'll still get paid."
0:21:24 > 0:21:27And, of course, that arrangement suited musicians fine,
0:21:27 > 0:21:31because you got paid without having to go out the house.
0:21:32 > 0:21:35It was all a sham, a complete and utter sham,
0:21:35 > 0:21:37just to keep the union happy.
0:21:37 > 0:21:42From 1977 onwards, I would say nobody ever got away with it.
0:21:42 > 0:21:44But that would be me saying it.
0:21:44 > 0:21:48You may have other people who say, "I did once." But I don't think so.
0:21:48 > 0:21:52I think it was well policed, by myself and the BBC.
0:21:52 > 0:21:54You keep telling yourself that, love.
0:21:54 > 0:21:56Even the BBC seemed to be in on the ruse,
0:21:56 > 0:21:59even if they chose to turn a blind eye.
0:21:59 > 0:22:03In most cases, if we put our hands on our heart,
0:22:03 > 0:22:06we knew that it was impossible in a three-hour session
0:22:06 > 0:22:10to achieve this, um, magic tape.
0:22:10 > 0:22:11OK, here we go.
0:22:11 > 0:22:13MUSIC: "This Is A Modern World" by The Jam
0:22:13 > 0:22:14# This is a modern world... #
0:22:14 > 0:22:18With those magical tapes safely in hands of the Top Of The Pops production team,
0:22:18 > 0:22:20the show could go on.
0:22:20 > 0:22:23# What kind of fool do you think I am?
0:22:26 > 0:22:29# You think I know nothing of the modern world
0:22:32 > 0:22:33# This is a modern world
0:22:35 > 0:22:37# This is the modern world. #
0:22:41 > 0:22:45The main producer of the show in 1977 was Robin Nash,
0:22:45 > 0:22:49an old-school gentleman with a bow tie and an easy smile.
0:22:49 > 0:22:54However, woe betide you if you did anything to upset his precious schedule for the day.
0:22:54 > 0:22:57# Wish I knew what to do
0:22:57 > 0:23:00# It would be so nice seeing you... #
0:23:00 > 0:23:03I had Olivia Newton John on the show, doing a song called Sam.
0:23:03 > 0:23:05Sam, Sam, you know, lovely song.
0:23:05 > 0:23:10# Sam, you know where I am... #
0:23:10 > 0:23:13And then four o'clock, she comes out in her dressing gown,
0:23:13 > 0:23:16hair in curlers for the dress run.
0:23:16 > 0:23:20And Robin says to her, "Miss John!
0:23:20 > 0:23:25"Are you wearing that on the show tonight - curlers and a dressing gown!
0:23:25 > 0:23:27"Who are you, Hilda Baker?"
0:23:27 > 0:23:31# Sam, you know where I am... #
0:23:31 > 0:23:37She said, "No, Robin, I'm just not ready yet." "What do you mean, you're not ready?"
0:23:39 > 0:23:41In tears, she was. He made her cry.
0:23:41 > 0:23:43# Sam... #
0:23:45 > 0:23:47If the Stranglers provided the spit,
0:23:47 > 0:23:51then acts like Olivia Newton John provided the polish.
0:23:53 > 0:23:57That's gorgeous. Olivia Newton John and Sam, and what a great couple they make.
0:23:57 > 0:24:00MUSIC: "Disco Inferno" by The Trammps
0:24:00 > 0:24:03But there was another musical form emerging to challenge
0:24:03 > 0:24:05Top Of The Pops' middle-of-the-road orthodoxy.
0:24:08 > 0:24:11Although punk would steal the headlines in '77,
0:24:11 > 0:24:13it was disco that would rule the dancefloor.
0:24:16 > 0:24:19The sound was a newcomer to the Top Of The Pops party.
0:24:19 > 0:24:21# Burn, baby, burn... #
0:24:23 > 0:24:27Up and down the country, youngsters packed into dancehalls
0:24:27 > 0:24:30to show off their latest moves and routines.
0:24:31 > 0:24:34MUSIC: "I Feel Love" by Donna Summer
0:24:34 > 0:24:37# Ooh, it's so good, it's so good... #
0:24:37 > 0:24:39And one record more than any other
0:24:39 > 0:24:41would become an anthem to hedonistic abandon.
0:24:47 > 0:24:51To many, Donna Summer's I Feel Love was a more groundbreaking record
0:24:51 > 0:24:55than anything punk produced, and disco the true innovative musical style of '77.
0:25:00 > 0:25:02Not that you'd guess by watching Top Of The Pops
0:25:02 > 0:25:06try and do it justice when the song reached Number One in August.
0:25:06 > 0:25:11# I feel love, I feel love, I feel love... #
0:25:11 > 0:25:14The track is so brilliant, you actually forget what Legs and Co are doing.
0:25:14 > 0:25:16It just sounds amazing.
0:25:16 > 0:25:19They could just be pretending to be chimpanzees
0:25:19 > 0:25:21and it still wouldn't ruin the song.
0:25:21 > 0:25:24# Lo-o-o-o-o-ve... #
0:25:24 > 0:25:29But there was a price to pay. From Donna Summer, disco was cool.
0:25:29 > 0:25:33We Brits, however, somehow managed to take a subversive musical form
0:25:33 > 0:25:36and take it straight to the end of the pier.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39# Everybody, let your hair down
0:25:39 > 0:25:43# Let your body go downtown
0:25:43 > 0:25:46# Everybody, let your hair down... #
0:25:46 > 0:25:51Let Your Body Go Downtown could only be made in Britain.
0:25:51 > 0:25:53You'd be mad to think it was American.
0:25:53 > 0:25:56It's clearly like you're in a too-brightly-lit discotheque
0:25:56 > 0:25:58which throws everyone out at 11 o'clock.
0:25:58 > 0:26:03And you might have a huge argument in the car park
0:26:03 > 0:26:06with your boyfriend afterwards.
0:26:06 > 0:26:09It's that...those are the kinds of images, but...
0:26:09 > 0:26:11you know, it's a good chorus.
0:26:11 > 0:26:14# Everybody, let your hair down
0:26:14 > 0:26:18# Let your body go downtown... #
0:26:18 > 0:26:23British disco proceeds along quite a stately sort of walking pace.
0:26:23 > 0:26:27And something like Tina Charles just seems to amble along
0:26:27 > 0:26:30a little bit in a kind of pleasant, quite charming way.
0:26:31 > 0:26:36# Love bug, I've been bitten by the love bug
0:26:39 > 0:26:40# Love bug... #
0:26:40 > 0:26:43However revolutionary disco may be, this is a version of it
0:26:43 > 0:26:47you can have in between the sketches on the Two Ronnies.
0:26:47 > 0:26:51It's that sort of light entertainment-ification.
0:26:52 > 0:26:56But perhaps British disco artists weren't entirely to blame.
0:26:56 > 0:27:01A solo singer like Tina Charles would be backed by the show's waiting infantry...
0:27:02 > 0:27:04..the Top Of The Pops orchestra.
0:27:05 > 0:27:06Heard but rarely seen,
0:27:06 > 0:27:09The Orchestra was only there to satisfy the same union rules
0:27:09 > 0:27:13that forced bands to, ahem, re-record backing tracks.
0:27:15 > 0:27:19They'd be there for the camera rehearsal,
0:27:19 > 0:27:24and the sound rehearsal and this rehearsal, and then the show itself.
0:27:24 > 0:27:26And by the time the show came on,
0:27:26 > 0:27:28well, let's put it this way,
0:27:28 > 0:27:32the BBC Club had been open for quite a few hours.
0:27:32 > 0:27:35MUSIC: "Everybody's Talkin' 'Bout Love" by Silver Convention
0:27:35 > 0:27:37# Everybody's talking 'bout love... #
0:27:37 > 0:27:42I would say, judging by the general jollity of the musicians,
0:27:42 > 0:27:44it probably was an enjoyable gig.
0:27:44 > 0:27:46# ..'bout love
0:27:46 > 0:27:49# But nobody seems to give it... #
0:27:49 > 0:27:53You'd see a guy, perhaps a trombone player,
0:27:53 > 0:27:57who wasn't playing anything at that particular point in time,
0:27:57 > 0:28:01he'd be behind a trumpeter, who might be playing something,
0:28:01 > 0:28:04and the trumpeter would be having his ears pulled,
0:28:04 > 0:28:06and being poked with fingers,
0:28:06 > 0:28:08in order to try and stop him playing.
0:28:08 > 0:28:12# Isn't it strange? #
0:28:15 > 0:28:19My abiding recollection was when you de-rigged at the end of the day,
0:28:19 > 0:28:26having to clear copies of Penthouse, and move tins of beer,
0:28:26 > 0:28:31and coil up cables that were covered in cold coffee and beer
0:28:31 > 0:28:33and just the general mess, really.
0:28:33 > 0:28:36# Can't afford to pass it by... #
0:28:36 > 0:28:38By 1977, the Top Of The Pops Orchestra,
0:28:38 > 0:28:42which had been going since 1966, was in its twilight years.
0:28:42 > 0:28:45In the end, its number was up with the emergence of a sound
0:28:45 > 0:28:48that didn't require their dulcet tones.
0:28:49 > 0:28:51The Boomtown Rats, bit of social comment for you.
0:28:51 > 0:28:53Have a listen to the lyrics.
0:28:53 > 0:28:55MUSIC: "Looking After Number One" by Boomtown Rats
0:28:55 > 0:28:57# The world owes me a living
0:28:57 > 0:29:00# I've waited in this dole queue too long
0:29:00 > 0:29:02# I've been standing in the rain for 15 minutes
0:29:02 > 0:29:05# That's a quarter of an hour too long
0:29:05 > 0:29:07# Ooh-ooh-ooh
0:29:07 > 0:29:10# Ooh-ooh-ooh
0:29:10 > 0:29:13# I'll take all they can give me
0:29:13 > 0:29:15# And then I'm gonna ask for more
0:29:15 > 0:29:17# Cos the money's... #
0:29:17 > 0:29:21It was bubbling under in '76 and in '77, it just exploded.
0:29:23 > 0:29:25If you went around with spiky hair at that time,
0:29:25 > 0:29:29and a leather jacket, or if anyone thought you were a punk or looked different,
0:29:29 > 0:29:34you were taking your life in your hands walking down the street sometimes, you know.
0:29:34 > 0:29:37So it was quite scary...scary times.
0:29:37 > 0:29:41People just wanted to take us on.
0:29:41 > 0:29:45And by '77, we were quite hardened to that.
0:29:45 > 0:29:47We just didn't care.
0:29:47 > 0:29:52People genuinely did think that this was a collapse of the moral order.
0:29:52 > 0:29:55There were lots of other things politically happening
0:29:55 > 0:29:57in the mid '70s that might lead you to believe
0:29:57 > 0:30:00some sort of a collapse of order is about to happen.
0:30:00 > 0:30:03It really does appear that Britain's teetering on the brink of...
0:30:03 > 0:30:06There's people forming private armies and stuff like that,
0:30:06 > 0:30:07I mean, genuinely.
0:30:09 > 0:30:12You can see punk as a manifestation of this discontent.
0:30:14 > 0:30:17I didn't touch you, get off...
0:30:17 > 0:30:21The rest of Europe considered the UK the sick man of Europe at the time.
0:30:21 > 0:30:23My parents lived in France,
0:30:23 > 0:30:27the French take on it was that it was a threat to the monarchy.
0:30:28 > 0:30:31I was angry. I was angry about what was going on in the world,
0:30:31 > 0:30:36and I was angry about this overall blandness of music generally,
0:30:36 > 0:30:38and the way it was presented.
0:30:38 > 0:30:41So for us to get on Top Of The Pops and be angry
0:30:41 > 0:30:43and be different was important.
0:30:43 > 0:30:46MUSIC: "Gary Gilmore's Eyes" by The Adverts
0:30:46 > 0:30:48In marked contrast to what had gone before,
0:30:48 > 0:30:50the new wave of bands set out to shock.
0:30:50 > 0:30:53In January, a man convicted of a double homicide was executed
0:30:53 > 0:30:58at Utah State Prison by firing squad, at his own request.
0:30:58 > 0:31:01His name was Gary Gilmore.
0:31:01 > 0:31:03It's my life and it's my death.
0:31:04 > 0:31:07In August, a song with a macabre vision about Gilmore
0:31:07 > 0:31:09was climbing the charts.
0:31:09 > 0:31:13# I'm lying in a hospital I'm pinned against the bed
0:31:13 > 0:31:16# A stethoscope upon my heart A hand against my head
0:31:16 > 0:31:19# They're peeling off the bandages I'm wincing in the light
0:31:19 > 0:31:22# The nurse is looking anxious And she's quivering with fright
0:31:22 > 0:31:25# I'm looking through Gary Gilmore's eyes
0:31:25 > 0:31:28# I'm looking through Gary Gilmore's eyes... #
0:31:28 > 0:31:32The lyrics may have told a chilling tale, but for punk band The Adverts,
0:31:32 > 0:31:34their first appearance on Top Of The Pops
0:31:34 > 0:31:38was more like a black comedy.
0:31:38 > 0:31:41I went to sing, and they actually hadn't given me a microphone,
0:31:41 > 0:31:43they'd given me one of those fake aluminium microphones,
0:31:43 > 0:31:46so I'm standing there going, er,
0:31:46 > 0:31:50there's no vocals on the foldback, I can't sing, there's no microphone,
0:31:50 > 0:31:53and the floor manager there going, "Why isn't this guy singing?
0:31:53 > 0:31:57"Why isn't he singing? Stop it. Why isn't he singing?"
0:31:57 > 0:31:59# ..Gilmore's eyes
0:31:59 > 0:32:01# Looking through Gary Gilmore's eyes
0:32:01 > 0:32:03# Looking through... #
0:32:03 > 0:32:05"Sir, sir, there's no microphone."
0:32:08 > 0:32:11If the technical gremlins were a surprise,
0:32:11 > 0:32:15so was the treatment of the famous Top Of The Pops audience.
0:32:15 > 0:32:17The audience were much younger,
0:32:17 > 0:32:20I don't know, they must have rounded them up from school or something,
0:32:20 > 0:32:22and it must have been weird for them,
0:32:22 > 0:32:25because they kept getting herded from one stage to another.
0:32:25 > 0:32:29It's amazing that any of them looked natural at all.
0:32:29 > 0:32:32They didn't!
0:32:32 > 0:32:34All standing there in their cardigans,
0:32:34 > 0:32:36frugging about, pretending they're enjoying it,
0:32:36 > 0:32:40desperately trying to dance to Gary Gilmore's Eyes!
0:32:42 > 0:32:45MUSIC: "Do What You Gotta Do" by T-Connection
0:32:49 > 0:32:53The Top Of The Pops audience were always a good barometer
0:32:53 > 0:32:54of the state of the nation.
0:32:54 > 0:32:59In the '60s and early '70s, they were groovy.
0:32:59 > 0:33:02Well, most of them.
0:33:04 > 0:33:08By 1977, things had got a little more lethargic.
0:33:09 > 0:33:12Yet there was still no shortage of young people
0:33:12 > 0:33:14hoping to glimpse their favourite band.
0:33:14 > 0:33:18And people went to extraordinary lengths to try and work out
0:33:18 > 0:33:20who they'd be seeing.
0:33:21 > 0:33:25If a band was having a release of a new single,
0:33:25 > 0:33:29and I wanted to see that band, I would send off applications,
0:33:29 > 0:33:32say, three months prior to its release,
0:33:32 > 0:33:34on the hope that that band might be in the studio
0:33:34 > 0:33:37when I actually got tickets to the show.
0:33:37 > 0:33:39It was hit or, more often, miss.
0:33:39 > 0:33:42And not only would the audience then feel peeved
0:33:42 > 0:33:43about who was or wasn't on,
0:33:43 > 0:33:48but the Top Of The Pops studio itself left something to be desired.
0:33:48 > 0:33:50MUSIC: "Money Is A Girl's Best Friend" by Contempt
0:33:50 > 0:33:53The studio itself seemed far bigger
0:33:53 > 0:33:55when you watched Top Of The Pops at home.
0:33:55 > 0:34:00When you were there as part of the audience, it was really small.
0:34:00 > 0:34:02There were a number of stages,
0:34:02 > 0:34:04but virtually the corner of each stage
0:34:04 > 0:34:06would almost touch the other one.
0:34:06 > 0:34:09You were a little bit disappointed really,
0:34:09 > 0:34:13because you imagined it to be a vast open space of sets and cameras
0:34:13 > 0:34:16and stages and it wasn't like that at all.
0:34:16 > 0:34:19Breaking news, TV isn't like reality.
0:34:19 > 0:34:21There's little doubt, though, that by 1977,
0:34:21 > 0:34:25the audience appear to have entered the twilight zone.
0:34:25 > 0:34:28The Top Of The Pops audiences don't look very happy to be there,
0:34:28 > 0:34:29and they just shuffle around,
0:34:29 > 0:34:33like they're trying to keep warm waiting for the bus.
0:34:33 > 0:34:36MUSIC: "Slow Talking Boy" by Mud
0:34:36 > 0:34:39You genuinely could look into the crowd and see people...
0:34:41 > 0:34:43..looking like that at you,
0:34:43 > 0:34:47or just talking to each other while you were performing.
0:34:47 > 0:34:50For me, that's also part of the beauty of it,
0:34:50 > 0:34:53cos you'll see people just totally disinterested,
0:34:53 > 0:34:57people getting into it, people wanting to get into it.
0:34:57 > 0:34:59MUSIC: "Daddy Cool" by Darts
0:35:02 > 0:35:05If I pull this bit of string, two things will happen.
0:35:05 > 0:35:07First, some balloons will fall down on Neil Innes,
0:35:07 > 0:35:10who will then sing a number called Silver Jubilee.
0:35:10 > 0:35:12Let's see if it works, shall we?
0:35:12 > 0:35:17# Queen Elizabeth, Queen Elizabeth
0:35:17 > 0:35:20# Silver jubilee
0:35:22 > 0:35:26# Queen Elizabeth, Queen Elizabeth
0:35:26 > 0:35:31# God save you and me... #
0:35:31 > 0:35:34Even the Top Of The Pops audience roused itself in June,
0:35:34 > 0:35:37when the nation put up the bunting as celebrations
0:35:37 > 0:35:40for the Queen's Silver Jubilee revved up.
0:35:40 > 0:35:43# Sailing in the yacht Britannia
0:35:43 > 0:35:46# Nowhere in the world would ban ya
0:35:46 > 0:35:50# Or your royal family... #
0:35:50 > 0:35:53But Top Of The Pops would soon be confronted
0:35:53 > 0:35:56by a Number One dilemma of royal proportions.
0:35:56 > 0:36:00MUSIC: "God Save The Queen" by The Sex Pistols
0:36:00 > 0:36:02In May, newly signed to Virgin Records,
0:36:02 > 0:36:05the Sex Pistols released their second single.
0:36:05 > 0:36:08# God save the Queen
0:36:08 > 0:36:11# The fascist regime... #
0:36:11 > 0:36:14We didn't actually sit down and say,
0:36:14 > 0:36:18"Right, let's write an anti-Jubilee or anti-monarchy song."
0:36:18 > 0:36:21I guess it was there in the back of our minds.
0:36:21 > 0:36:23The song was written way back in '76, you know,
0:36:23 > 0:36:28and it was just timing, really, everything fell into place.
0:36:28 > 0:36:31With Jubilee week fast approaching,
0:36:31 > 0:36:34the BBC wasn't shy of showing where its loyalties lay.
0:36:34 > 0:36:37And that included banning the single.
0:36:37 > 0:36:40Just saying the name God Save The Queen,
0:36:40 > 0:36:44would in some way... It's like Macbeth or cancer,
0:36:44 > 0:36:46you just don't say it.
0:36:46 > 0:36:49That in itself is going to be enough to incense people.
0:36:49 > 0:36:52We didn't go out deliberately to get banned.
0:36:52 > 0:36:55We was like anybody else, we wanted our records played.
0:36:55 > 0:36:57We was a band, we wanted people to hear it,
0:36:57 > 0:36:59we wanted it to be on the radio,
0:36:59 > 0:37:01I guess we wanted to be on Top Of The Pops,
0:37:01 > 0:37:06so it was a bit of a downer when it was banned, to tell you the truth.
0:37:06 > 0:37:09But it was great for us, obviously.
0:37:09 > 0:37:12God Save The Queen started to skulk its way up the charts,
0:37:12 > 0:37:16pitted against a mind-boggling line-up of diverse talents.
0:37:19 > 0:37:22But sat at Number One was a rock'n'roll veteran
0:37:22 > 0:37:25who was far easier on the ear for the music establishment.
0:37:25 > 0:37:28MUSIC: "I Don't Want To Talk About It" by Rod Stewart
0:37:28 > 0:37:32# I can tell by your eyes that you've probably been crying... #
0:37:32 > 0:37:35Rod Stewart had once been seen as an oikish upstart,
0:37:35 > 0:37:37just like the Sex Pistols.
0:37:37 > 0:37:41But by 1977, he was virtually rock royalty.
0:37:41 > 0:37:43That summer, he released the double A-side single,
0:37:43 > 0:37:45The First Cut Is The Deepest,
0:37:45 > 0:37:47coupled with I Don't Want To Talk About It.
0:37:49 > 0:37:53# I don't wanna
0:37:53 > 0:37:57# Talk about it... #
0:37:57 > 0:38:01The Faces were like the people's band at one point,
0:38:01 > 0:38:04and off he'd gone to America, and now he's shagging Britt Ekland.
0:38:04 > 0:38:06He's clearly not of the people any more.
0:38:06 > 0:38:08He's become this remote figure,
0:38:08 > 0:38:11sequestered away in a Hollywood mansion with Britt Ekland,
0:38:11 > 0:38:13singing, "I Don't Want to Talk About It."
0:38:13 > 0:38:16MUSIC: "God Save The Queen" by The Sex Pistols
0:38:16 > 0:38:17And there was something that Rod
0:38:17 > 0:38:20might have been reluctant to discuss.
0:38:20 > 0:38:21The rumours that his single
0:38:21 > 0:38:24was actually being outsold by God Save the Queen.
0:38:24 > 0:38:26# We love our Queen
0:38:26 > 0:38:29# God saves
0:38:29 > 0:38:31# God save the Queen... #
0:38:33 > 0:38:36At the end of that Jubilee week, I think it was Number One
0:38:36 > 0:38:40in most charts, except for the BBC charts, funnily enough.
0:38:40 > 0:38:44I remember thinking, "This sounds weird.
0:38:44 > 0:38:47"I haven't heard anything like this before."
0:38:52 > 0:38:56There was this brilliant quote which was on BBC Wales Today,
0:38:56 > 0:38:58the regional equivalent, and it's, you know, "Ooh,"
0:38:58 > 0:39:01and he's a brilliant Welsh voice, and he goes,
0:39:01 > 0:39:03"I'd let my daughter go and see Rod Stewart,
0:39:03 > 0:39:06"but I'd never let her go and see this rubbish."
0:39:08 > 0:39:13All attempts to stop it by this complete media blackout fail.
0:39:13 > 0:39:17And the only thing to do is to actually just cheat.
0:39:19 > 0:39:22Never in its history had a banned record reached Number One.
0:39:25 > 0:39:28So, at 7.30 on Thursday the 9th June,
0:39:28 > 0:39:34there was only ever likely to be one occupant of the top spot.
0:39:34 > 0:39:37Right now, it's Number One time on Top Of The Pops, and here he is,
0:39:37 > 0:39:41he's still there, Rod Stewart and The First Cut Is The Deepest.
0:39:41 > 0:39:44MUSIC: "The First Cut Is The Deepest" by Rod Stewart
0:40:05 > 0:40:10# I would have given you all of my heart
0:40:11 > 0:40:15# But there's someone who's torn it apart
0:40:16 > 0:40:22# And she's taken just all that I have
0:40:22 > 0:40:26# But if you want I'll try to love again. #
0:40:27 > 0:40:30I think it's basically accepted as fact
0:40:30 > 0:40:33that the compilers of the charts fiddled the figures
0:40:33 > 0:40:36to ensure that God Save The Queen didn't get to Number One.
0:40:36 > 0:40:39Because there's plenty of reports from retailers at the time,
0:40:39 > 0:40:41the week of the Jubilee, going,
0:40:41 > 0:40:46"It's outselling I Don't Want to Talk About It by Rod Stewart hand over fist."
0:40:46 > 0:40:50Not everyone, though, bought into this conspiracy theory.
0:40:50 > 0:40:54Sour grapes, probably, sour grapes from people to say,
0:40:54 > 0:40:58"That outsold and that should have done that,"
0:40:58 > 0:41:01I think, from the Sex Pistols.
0:41:01 > 0:41:02Let's tell the truth, Rod.
0:41:02 > 0:41:05You were selling more records than the Pistols.
0:41:05 > 0:41:06That's a fact.
0:41:11 > 0:41:13I think there was a great deal of relief
0:41:13 > 0:41:16in the Top Of The Pops studios when Rod Stewart's song made Number One
0:41:16 > 0:41:19in that particular week, and the Pistols didn't.
0:41:21 > 0:41:25A crisis on Top Of The Pops had been averted, much to the BBC's relief.
0:41:27 > 0:41:30It would have been quite a difficult decision to make
0:41:30 > 0:41:34had the Sex Pistols got to Number One.
0:41:34 > 0:41:36We couldn't play out with the song,
0:41:36 > 0:41:39that would have been an impossible thing to do,
0:41:39 > 0:41:43because if the record's banned, Top Of The Pops was part of the BBC.
0:41:43 > 0:41:46And that was the rule at the time.
0:41:46 > 0:41:50Whoever actually sold the most records in Jubilee Week,
0:41:50 > 0:41:53most of the country wasn't to be deterred
0:41:53 > 0:41:56from having a right royal knees-up.
0:41:56 > 0:41:57Easy, Grandma.
0:41:57 > 0:41:59# There is no future
0:41:59 > 0:42:02# And England's dreaming
0:42:02 > 0:42:06# No future
0:42:06 > 0:42:09# No future
0:42:09 > 0:42:14# No future for me
0:42:16 > 0:42:19# No future
0:42:19 > 0:42:21# No future... #
0:42:21 > 0:42:25If the summer of 1977 saw crowds of happy British flag-wavers
0:42:25 > 0:42:28celebrating their Queen...
0:42:33 > 0:42:36..it also saw outpourings of grief when the world lost The King.
0:42:40 > 0:42:43Elvis Presley died in August, aged 42.
0:42:43 > 0:42:46Within a few weeks, his song Waydown was Number One,
0:42:46 > 0:42:49and Top Of The Pops paid tribute as only it knew how.
0:42:51 > 0:42:54Well, ladies and gentlemen watching, only a couple of days ago,
0:42:54 > 0:42:57the world was very shocked to hear of the death of Elvis Presley,
0:42:57 > 0:43:00the man who was the innovator of so much great rock'n'roll music
0:43:00 > 0:43:02of the past two decades.
0:43:02 > 0:43:04MUSIC: "Waydown" by Elvis Presley
0:43:14 > 0:43:18We were playing at the Vortex the night Elvis Presley died.
0:43:18 > 0:43:22Shortly before we went on stage, Danny Baker hopped on stage
0:43:22 > 0:43:26and announced that Elvis Presley had died,
0:43:26 > 0:43:29and all the punks jeered.
0:43:33 > 0:43:36Danny Baker's going, "No, no, Elvis, he was important!"
0:43:36 > 0:43:38And all the punks are going, "Wheeurgh!"
0:43:38 > 0:43:40MUSIC: "Life's An Elevator" by T.Rex
0:43:40 > 0:43:44# Can't you dig the sound? #
0:43:44 > 0:43:48But in September, even punks were shedding a tear
0:43:48 > 0:43:51when Marc Bolan, the epitome of glam-era Top Of The Pops,
0:43:51 > 0:43:55was killed when a car he was travelling in hit a tree.
0:43:56 > 0:43:58He was 29.
0:44:03 > 0:44:05It was hard to escape a feeling
0:44:05 > 0:44:08that a change of the musical guard was taking place.
0:44:11 > 0:44:14This week's highest new entry is at number seven.
0:44:14 > 0:44:17It's the third single release from the Sex Pistols.
0:44:17 > 0:44:20Their new one, it's called Pretty Vacant.
0:44:24 > 0:44:27Punk, which had previously wedged its foot in the door,
0:44:27 > 0:44:29now barged right in.
0:44:49 > 0:44:53# There's no point in asking, you'll get no reply
0:44:53 > 0:44:56# Oh, just remember I don't decide
0:44:56 > 0:44:59# I got no reason, it's all too much
0:44:59 > 0:45:01# You'll always find us
0:45:04 > 0:45:06# Out to lunch
0:45:08 > 0:45:11# Oh, we're so pretty Oh, so pretty
0:45:11 > 0:45:14# We're vacant. #
0:45:14 > 0:45:16I used to get hate mail
0:45:16 > 0:45:19because people thought that I had somehow booked them on the show,
0:45:19 > 0:45:21which is not true at all.
0:45:21 > 0:45:24# Don't ask us to attend cos we're not all there. #
0:45:24 > 0:45:27My two really distinct memories about seeing that video,
0:45:27 > 0:45:30Steve Jones had a knotted hanky on his head
0:45:30 > 0:45:33and Johnny Rotten's sleeves went over his hands.
0:45:33 > 0:45:35That was what seemed strange about it to me.
0:45:35 > 0:45:37# Cos we know what we feel. #
0:45:37 > 0:45:41Is it really that shocking? Is this what you're so afraid of?
0:45:43 > 0:45:46That was what was so powerful about Top Of The Pops.
0:45:46 > 0:45:48Once Pretty Vacant was on Top Of The Pops,
0:45:48 > 0:45:53I think it tapped into loads of kids all over the country
0:45:53 > 0:45:55and they totally related to it.
0:45:55 > 0:46:00They came screaming out of the suburbs all round the country
0:46:00 > 0:46:03and were totally getting into the punk things.
0:46:03 > 0:46:05Literally, things changed overnight.
0:46:05 > 0:46:09Punk rock was something that they hoped would get over with
0:46:09 > 0:46:13as quickly us possible, so Top Of The Pops could go back to normal.
0:46:13 > 0:46:15# Belfast
0:46:17 > 0:46:19# Belfast. #
0:46:19 > 0:46:21But the beauty of Top Of The Tops
0:46:21 > 0:46:25lay in its embrace of both the sublime and the ridiculous.
0:46:25 > 0:46:26# Belfast
0:46:26 > 0:46:29# Got to have a believin' Got to have a believin'. #
0:46:29 > 0:46:34It came as no surprise that in '77, the troubles in Northern Ireland
0:46:34 > 0:46:37finally became the subject of a chart hit in the UK.
0:46:37 > 0:46:40What was surprising was who sang it.
0:46:40 > 0:46:46# When the people be leavin' When the people be leavin'
0:46:46 > 0:46:49# When the people be leavin'
0:46:49 > 0:46:52# All the children cos the children believin'
0:46:56 > 0:46:58# Belfast
0:46:58 > 0:46:59# Belfast
0:46:59 > 0:47:02# When the country rings the leaving bell you're lost
0:47:02 > 0:47:04# Belfast
0:47:04 > 0:47:06# Belfast. #
0:47:06 > 0:47:09The people of Northern Ireland wouldn't have expected
0:47:09 > 0:47:12the first top-ten UK hit which addressed the troubles
0:47:12 > 0:47:14to be by Boney M.
0:47:14 > 0:47:17There was nothing that Boney M wouldn't take
0:47:17 > 0:47:20and render into bubblegum disco.
0:47:20 > 0:47:24The really weird thing about Belfast is that nobody at the time
0:47:24 > 0:47:28appears to have gone, "What's this song about? What's going on here?"
0:47:28 > 0:47:30It got to number seven in the charts.
0:47:30 > 0:47:35Along with Boney M, 1977 saw more black artists on the show
0:47:35 > 0:47:38than perhaps any other year in its history.
0:47:38 > 0:47:40# Exodus
0:47:40 > 0:47:42# Well, all right
0:47:42 > 0:47:46# Movement of the people
0:47:52 > 0:47:56# Men and people will fight ya down
0:47:56 > 0:47:59# When ya see Jah light
0:47:59 > 0:48:03# Let me tell you if you're not wrong
0:48:03 > 0:48:06# Then everything is all right
0:48:06 > 0:48:09# So we gonna walk, all right
0:48:09 > 0:48:13# Through de roads of creation. #
0:48:13 > 0:48:18But on the streets, the National Front was also as active as it had ever been.
0:48:18 > 0:48:21# Trod through great tribulation
0:48:21 > 0:48:23# In this Exodus
0:48:27 > 0:48:29# Movement of the people. #
0:48:29 > 0:48:33Even the light entertainment department at the BBC
0:48:33 > 0:48:36could appear stuck in a bygone age.
0:48:38 > 0:48:41# A long time ago when Britain was great
0:48:41 > 0:48:43# We was an independent state
0:48:43 > 0:48:46# Then they made us go to the common market
0:48:46 > 0:48:49# We don't know quite what he got yet
0:48:49 > 0:48:52# All we know is we got no cash
0:48:52 > 0:48:55# They say we is rich but that's all trash. #
0:48:55 > 0:48:58By that time, Britain was a very multiracial place,
0:48:58 > 0:49:02but you wouldn't necessarily see that in other programmes.
0:49:02 > 0:49:06It wasn't really reflected in sit-coms, not in drama.
0:49:06 > 0:49:08But it was reflected in Top Of The Pops.
0:49:08 > 0:49:11# Yes, I do wanna hold you. #
0:49:13 > 0:49:17Like disco, '50s-style rock'n'roll was a musical force in '77
0:49:17 > 0:49:22that seemed to bring together black and white musicians harmoniously.
0:49:22 > 0:49:26# When will you be mine? #
0:49:26 > 0:49:29Showaddywaddy had been regulars on the show for several years,
0:49:29 > 0:49:33reflecting a revival of Teddyboy culture across Britain
0:49:33 > 0:49:35that saw dance halls bopping and jiving.
0:49:35 > 0:49:39# I know our love will always be
0:49:39 > 0:49:44# When, when you kiss, when you kiss me right. #
0:49:44 > 0:49:47In the '70s, there is a massive Ted revival.
0:49:47 > 0:49:51The battles on the streets are between Punks and Teds.
0:49:51 > 0:49:54We've written Teds out of history.
0:49:56 > 0:50:00In 1977, those darlings of the doo-wop, Darts,
0:50:00 > 0:50:02would join the Top Of The Pops party.
0:50:05 > 0:50:08# I saw a crazy chick running down the street
0:50:08 > 0:50:13# I said ooh, pretty baby Why the great big heat?
0:50:13 > 0:50:17# She said, wow, what a square Don't you dig this scene?
0:50:18 > 0:50:21# Daddy Cool's playing his piano machine
0:50:21 > 0:50:23# Daddy who...? #
0:50:23 > 0:50:28Backstage, they'd find that life wasn't as multicultural as it was on screen.
0:50:28 > 0:50:36The people who were doing make-up at the BBC didn't really, as far as I was concerned,
0:50:36 > 0:50:40have a lot of experience making up black girls.
0:50:40 > 0:50:45The thing is, you know, I was doing Top Of The Pops, so I'm going to make-up!
0:50:45 > 0:50:51And I'd come out and I'd be absolutely devastated.
0:50:51 > 0:50:57All this bright blue and it was just awful.
0:50:57 > 0:51:01I'd get back to the dressing room and I'd just clear it all off.
0:51:01 > 0:51:04# Daddy Cool, Daddy Cool
0:51:04 > 0:51:07# Daddy Cool, Daddy Cool
0:51:07 > 0:51:09# Daddy Cool, Daddy Cool
0:51:09 > 0:51:13# Daddy Cool, Daddy Cool, Rock, Rock, Rock, Rock... #
0:51:13 > 0:51:17On stage, what Darts brought to Top Of The Pops
0:51:17 > 0:51:21were '50s harmonies allied to the anarchic spirit of punk.
0:51:23 > 0:51:29He does his "I'm Mr Cool, look at me singing this" stuff.
0:51:29 > 0:51:34And I take over and I'm the wild, zany entertainer on stage thing.
0:51:35 > 0:51:39And I sing my first verse, I jump off onto the top of the piano
0:51:39 > 0:51:44and fall completely off the stage. And I don't miss a word.
0:51:44 > 0:51:48And traumatised a load of little kids!
0:51:50 > 0:51:52# Daddy Cool, Daddy Cool
0:51:52 > 0:51:56# Daddy Cool, Daddy Cool
0:51:56 > 0:52:01# Daddy Cool, Daddy Cool, Ah-ha-ha, ah-ha-ha. #
0:52:01 > 0:52:06We're already at the stage where we play the Number One record
0:52:06 > 0:52:11- and that is Baccara, Yes Sir, I Can Boogie. Can you? - Yes.- Oh, I'd like to watch!
0:52:11 > 0:52:13Ooh, would this be allowed now?
0:52:13 > 0:52:16# Ah, ah... #
0:52:18 > 0:52:21I think a lot of people saw the DJs as buffoons
0:52:21 > 0:52:24and they were probably right.
0:52:24 > 0:52:25But you could take a kinder view
0:52:25 > 0:52:28and say the DJs were the glue that held it together.
0:52:30 > 0:52:33As '77 unfolded though, the old-school presenters
0:52:33 > 0:52:37who'd long ruled the roost suddenly appeared mortal.
0:52:37 > 0:52:40What can I say? Tea break... Get off! Quick! Quick! Come on.
0:52:40 > 0:52:47In case you've forgotten the name of the programme. You should see what's on the front! You let the secret out!
0:52:47 > 0:52:52You're up here to get a better view of Legs & Co.
0:52:52 > 0:52:57- That was Kiki Dee, right?- Right. - What have we got now?- Dunno.
0:52:57 > 0:53:00- I'm asking you. - Billy Ocean, right? Right!
0:53:00 > 0:53:03- Right, right.- Right, right!
0:53:03 > 0:53:09If the Dooleys get elbowed off in favour of the Buzzcocks, who's to say Dave Lee Travis
0:53:09 > 0:53:15isn't going to get elbowed off Radio 1 by a punk representative? Of course, it never happened.
0:53:15 > 0:53:18But you can see where that fear comes from.
0:53:18 > 0:53:20Take four.
0:53:20 > 0:53:27With all the new music on the show, producer Robin Nash realised the presenters needed shaking up.
0:53:27 > 0:53:29Enter...Peter Powell.
0:53:29 > 0:53:33Woo! Hey! That's Modern World. Wild stuff!
0:53:33 > 0:53:37Let's just think about those occupants of interplanetary craft -
0:53:37 > 0:53:40The Carpenters, Richard and Karen, and they're at number ten.
0:53:40 > 0:53:44Robin Nash had another trick up his sleeve.
0:53:44 > 0:53:47He said, "I'm thinking about getting a pop star.
0:53:47 > 0:53:55"But not just a pop star, you know, a big, big name pop star to present Top Of The Pops.
0:53:55 > 0:54:01I said, "With Noel or Peter Powell, or someone?" "No, no. On their own."
0:54:01 > 0:54:07And so Eric duly delivered a 24-carat pop star.
0:54:07 > 0:54:11OK, that's number nine this week. Love Of My Life.
0:54:11 > 0:54:14We have the fantastic Legs & Co dancing to Jonathan Richmond
0:54:14 > 0:54:17and the Modern Lovers, number five this week with Egyptian Reggae.
0:54:17 > 0:54:22He didn't do it for the money, of course not. He could buy the BBC!
0:54:22 > 0:54:28But he did it because I put in his head, Don't be a schmuck, Elton. Don't be a schmuck.
0:54:28 > 0:54:32When you've got a record out which is struggling, maybe, not selling,
0:54:32 > 0:54:36we're going to need Top Of The Pops more than they need you.
0:54:36 > 0:54:40It really is excellent news. This next record has come into the charts at number 27,
0:54:40 > 0:54:43making its debut on Top Of The Pops.
0:54:43 > 0:54:46So here's John Otway and Wild Willy Barrett.
0:54:48 > 0:54:52Elton wasn't the only innovation to hit the show at the end of 1977.
0:54:54 > 0:54:56# I wake up in the morning
0:54:56 > 0:54:58# Tell me, baby, what do you see?
0:54:58 > 0:55:02# I see my true love and she walks up and she kisses me, I say
0:55:02 > 0:55:04# Cor, baby, that's really free... #
0:55:04 > 0:55:09When we did Top Of The Pops in 1977, nearly all the acts did it
0:55:09 > 0:55:13to a backing track that they'd pre-recorded and me and Willy,
0:55:13 > 0:55:16we thought we were a live act and we insisted on doing it live.
0:55:16 > 0:55:22We were one of the first few people to do it live, which is why it sounds nothing like the record!
0:55:27 > 0:55:31In many ways, John Otway was the spirit of 1977 on Top Of The Pops.
0:55:33 > 0:55:36# I tried talking to your mama
0:55:36 > 0:55:38# Oh no, what's wrong with me?
0:55:38 > 0:55:41# Every time I go near you, baby, you say
0:55:41 > 0:55:44# Cor baby, that's really free... #
0:55:44 > 0:55:48I think I was lucky with 1977 because I wasn't particularly talented,
0:55:48 > 0:55:52I wasn't a great singer or guitarist, but I was wild on stage.
0:55:52 > 0:55:55I used to throw myself round, rip my shirt open,
0:55:55 > 0:56:00bang my head against the microphone, that sort of thing.
0:56:00 > 0:56:03And that sort of thing wasn't really fashionable in 1976,
0:56:03 > 0:56:07but '77, it became really cool and, um,
0:56:07 > 0:56:09you know, thank God for '77.
0:56:09 > 0:56:11'78, it became uncool again,
0:56:11 > 0:56:15but I had my window and I went straight through it!
0:56:15 > 0:56:19John Otway, when he went on Top Of The Pops, you know,
0:56:19 > 0:56:23he was one of the few acts we would stand back and just go,
0:56:23 > 0:56:26"Yeah. This is the way it should be."
0:56:26 > 0:56:28"That's a nutter. I like him."
0:56:28 > 0:56:30Look at me, baby. What do you see?
0:56:30 > 0:56:33I bought a bottle of champagne and put it on the fridge
0:56:33 > 0:56:37for the next time I was on Top Of The Pops and the next hit
0:56:37 > 0:56:40and about five years later, somebody suggested
0:56:40 > 0:56:42champagne didn't last that long.
0:56:42 > 0:56:45# Why, why, why don't you?
0:56:45 > 0:56:47# Why, why, why don't you...? #
0:56:47 > 0:56:52By the end of 1977, Top Of The Pops had changed.
0:56:52 > 0:56:55Always at heart a variety show, it had now become even more various,
0:56:55 > 0:56:58and in the process, regained its mojo.
0:56:58 > 0:57:02And once again the nation's teenagers were gripped.
0:57:02 > 0:57:07# Because the usual crew know so far what to do... #
0:57:07 > 0:57:11If you were going to buy a tie at the end of 1977,
0:57:11 > 0:57:14it would have to be skinny and your trousers would have to be tighter.
0:57:14 > 0:57:19Top Of The Pops would never be the same again...
0:57:19 > 0:57:21or would it?
0:57:21 > 0:57:24It would be nice...and tidy
0:57:24 > 0:57:27if at the end of the year The Clash
0:57:27 > 0:57:31were at the top of the charts with, you know, some song addressing
0:57:31 > 0:57:36the ongoing social woes in Britain as we lurched towards 1978
0:57:36 > 0:57:38and the Winter of Discontent.
0:57:38 > 0:57:40Um...
0:57:40 > 0:57:41But life isn't like that.
0:57:48 > 0:57:51# Mull of Kintyre
0:57:51 > 0:57:57# Oh, mist rolling in from the sea
0:57:57 > 0:58:00# My desire
0:58:00 > 0:58:04# Is always to be here
0:58:04 > 0:58:08# Oh, Mull of Kintyre... #
0:58:08 > 0:58:12When they first played it to me, I found it so boring. I hated it.
0:58:12 > 0:58:15And I didn't like it at all, but again, it was Paul McCartney,
0:58:15 > 0:58:17it was Mull of Kintyre,
0:58:17 > 0:58:20it was coming up to Christmas. How can you not plug it?
0:58:20 > 0:58:24It was Number One for... into January 1978.
0:58:24 > 0:58:28It just went on for ever and ever and ever.
0:58:28 > 0:58:30So I finished the year
0:58:30 > 0:58:32and started the New Year with another hit.
0:58:32 > 0:58:35I thought, "Eric, you're on a run again. Keep it going."
0:58:37 > 0:58:41# Sweep through the heather
0:58:41 > 0:58:45# Like deer in the glen
0:58:45 > 0:58:48# Carry me back
0:58:48 > 0:58:53# To the days I knew then
0:58:53 > 0:58:56# Nights when we sang
0:58:56 > 0:59:00# Like a heavenly choir
0:59:00 > 0:59:04# Of the life and the times
0:59:04 > 0:59:09# Of the Mull of Kintyre. #