0:00:02 > 0:00:05Eight, seven, six, five, four, three.
0:00:05 > 0:00:07OK, here we go.
0:00:08 > 0:00:11Hello, chums. Are you sitting comfortably?
0:00:11 > 0:00:14Then we'll begin the continuing story of Top Of The Pops.
0:00:14 > 0:00:15# Pop, pop
0:00:15 > 0:00:16# Pop music
0:00:16 > 0:00:17# Pop, pop
0:00:17 > 0:00:19# Pop music. #
0:00:19 > 0:00:221979, the year in which Top Of The Pops
0:00:22 > 0:00:27celebrated its 15th anniversary, its 800th edition,
0:00:27 > 0:00:30and was still the only pop show that mattered.
0:00:30 > 0:00:34Your shiny mansion on the hill is to go and do Top Of The Pops.
0:00:34 > 0:00:37If you did Top Of The Pops, you'd shoot up automatically 15 places.
0:00:37 > 0:00:40Top Of The Pops is like the Holy Grail.
0:00:40 > 0:00:41# Talk about
0:00:41 > 0:00:44# Pop music, talk about
0:00:44 > 0:00:45# Pop music... #
0:00:45 > 0:00:48And in '79, the range of styles on Top Of The Pops was never greater.
0:00:48 > 0:00:50You had punk...
0:00:50 > 0:00:52# Oh, you silly thing! #
0:00:52 > 0:00:54..turning into new wave...
0:00:54 > 0:00:56# You've really gone and done it now. #
0:00:56 > 0:00:59Disco was on fire...
0:00:59 > 0:01:01# Hey-y-y-y-y, y'all
0:01:01 > 0:01:05# I got all my sisters with me Oh-ha, oh-ha. #
0:01:05 > 0:01:07Two Tone arrived, with bands like Madness...
0:01:07 > 0:01:09# Even if I kept on running
0:01:09 > 0:01:11# I'd never get to Orange Street. #
0:01:12 > 0:01:14And that's not to mention reggae...
0:01:14 > 0:01:19# Money in my pocket but I just can't get no love. #
0:01:19 > 0:01:20..country...
0:01:20 > 0:01:23# One day at a time
0:01:23 > 0:01:25- # Sweet Jesus... # - The list goes on.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28# Doctor, doctor, please! #
0:01:28 > 0:01:30# Will a little more love make it right? #
0:01:30 > 0:01:33But in spite of the musical merry-go-round...
0:01:33 > 0:01:34# Found myself in a strange town... #
0:01:34 > 0:01:38..a failing country was falling apart, with endless strikes
0:01:38 > 0:01:42and conflict, and back at Top Of The Pops,
0:01:42 > 0:01:45the cracks were starting to show.
0:01:45 > 0:01:47MUSIC: "Cars" by Gary Numan
0:01:47 > 0:01:50The programme was a little...weary,
0:01:50 > 0:01:53and hamstrung by working practices.
0:01:53 > 0:01:56Show me a man in the union that goes "ungh" for a living,
0:01:56 > 0:01:59and I'm putting him out of work? I don't think so.
0:01:59 > 0:02:01It was the end of the decade
0:02:01 > 0:02:03and the end of the line for '70s Top Of The Pops.
0:02:05 > 0:02:06"CARS" CONTINUES
0:02:13 > 0:02:17UPBEAT JAZZ MUSIC
0:02:17 > 0:02:20In '79, with only three channels, Top Of The Pops
0:02:20 > 0:02:25broadcast on Thursday night on BBC One after Tomorrow's World.
0:02:26 > 0:02:27Good evening.
0:02:27 > 0:02:28SPACEY SYNTH MUSIC
0:02:33 > 0:02:35# It goes la, la, la, la, la, la... #
0:02:35 > 0:02:38And in November '79, Top Of The Pops racked up
0:02:38 > 0:02:41its highest-ever audience of 19 million viewers.
0:02:41 > 0:02:43# La, la, la, la, la, la, la... #
0:02:43 > 0:02:44BEEP
0:02:46 > 0:02:49But that might have had something to do with the fact ITV
0:02:49 > 0:02:51happened to be on strike.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54And that's how the whole year started.
0:02:54 > 0:02:56MUSIC: "Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2)" by Pink Floyd
0:03:00 > 0:03:04# We don't need no education. #
0:03:06 > 0:03:08The infamous Winter of Discontent
0:03:08 > 0:03:12with the most working days lost since the general strike of 1926,
0:03:12 > 0:03:14stopping rubbish collection,
0:03:14 > 0:03:17closing railways, schools, hospitals,
0:03:17 > 0:03:20turning the country into a ghost town.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23I'm hoping that common sense will prevail and all those involved will
0:03:23 > 0:03:26think not only of themselves but of the children who won't be able to
0:03:26 > 0:03:27go to school,
0:03:27 > 0:03:31and for housewives who may find food supplies threatened in some way.
0:03:31 > 0:03:36In Sedgefield, a grave digger strike forced desperate measures.
0:03:36 > 0:03:40'It was Mrs Mary Mason's dying wish to be buried near her husband.
0:03:40 > 0:03:44'Her two sons crossed the picket lines and dug the grave themselves.'
0:03:44 > 0:03:47Of course, the threatened tanker drivers dispute, now that began to
0:03:47 > 0:03:51spread, and then of course we begin to face problems in terms of fuel.
0:03:51 > 0:03:54The government and unions were at war.
0:03:54 > 0:03:55Everybody felt it,
0:03:55 > 0:04:00including a family show band from Salford just entering the charts.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03# Do, do, do, do, do, do
0:04:03 > 0:04:06# # Do, do, do, do, do, do... #
0:04:06 > 0:04:08It was quite a stressful time
0:04:08 > 0:04:11because the earlier part of '79, we'd had the Winter of Discontent.
0:04:11 > 0:04:15I remember, you had to plan your gigs out knowing where you
0:04:15 > 0:04:18could do, where they would serve you petrol, and being
0:04:18 > 0:04:21in a successful band, you were very fortunate that the garages...
0:04:21 > 0:04:23You could phone a garage up and say,
0:04:23 > 0:04:26"We're coming in at three o'clock in the morning.
0:04:26 > 0:04:29"Do you think you could save us some petrol?", and they would.
0:04:29 > 0:04:32# I heard you on the wireless back in '52
0:04:32 > 0:04:36# Lying awake intently tuning in on you
0:04:36 > 0:04:39# If I was young it didn't stop you coming through
0:04:39 > 0:04:41# Oh-a, oh-a... #
0:04:41 > 0:04:43The country may have been falling apart,
0:04:43 > 0:04:46but in the world of pop, business was booming.
0:04:48 > 0:04:52Unbelievably, 1979 was the biggest year for single
0:04:52 > 0:04:55sales in the UK ever in recorded history.
0:04:55 > 0:04:57# Radio star...
0:04:58 > 0:05:01# You are... #
0:05:01 > 0:05:05And many of those seven inch and new-fangled 12 inch single
0:05:05 > 0:05:08sales were in the unstoppable genre of disco.
0:05:08 > 0:05:12Well, it's Top Of The Pops, it's music, and it's Chic, Le Freak!
0:05:12 > 0:05:14# Freak out!
0:05:14 > 0:05:16# Le freak, C'est Chic
0:05:16 > 0:05:17# Freak out! #
0:05:17 > 0:05:21One man who hit big in '79 with disco found the show's ties to
0:05:21 > 0:05:24light entertainment were unchanged
0:05:24 > 0:05:27since his first appearance as a backing musician some years earlier.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30The first time we appeared on Top Of The Pops,
0:05:30 > 0:05:34we were in a group called New York City.
0:05:34 > 0:05:38We were, like, a one-hit wonder. We had a song called I'm Doing Fine Now.
0:05:38 > 0:05:40# I'm doing fine now...
0:05:41 > 0:05:44# Without you, baby. #
0:05:45 > 0:05:48We were doing seriously cool R&B Philly sound,
0:05:48 > 0:05:51and then the chap who came on right after us...
0:05:51 > 0:05:53Terrific!
0:05:53 > 0:05:55But he came out and he went...
0:05:55 > 0:05:59# There once was an ugly ducking. #
0:05:59 > 0:06:03# There once was an ugly duckling... #
0:06:03 > 0:06:06And, like, the whole crowd was jamming with him,
0:06:06 > 0:06:08and we were like, "Whoa!".
0:06:08 > 0:06:10It's most interesting music show I've ever seen.
0:06:10 > 0:06:12# Now freak! #
0:06:18 > 0:06:22Nile Rodgers's Chic had four disco anthems on Top Of The Pops
0:06:22 > 0:06:26in 1979, starting with signature tune, Le Freak...
0:06:26 > 0:06:28# I said freak! #
0:06:28 > 0:06:30..which almost didn't make it onto the show.
0:06:30 > 0:06:33When we played that record for the record company, true story,
0:06:33 > 0:06:36by the time that song ended,
0:06:36 > 0:06:40the entire conference room was empty cos they were all outside
0:06:40 > 0:06:43trying to figure out how to tell us how much it stank.
0:06:43 > 0:06:44# Now freak! #
0:06:44 > 0:06:46Do you want to know the biggest-selling
0:06:46 > 0:06:48record in the history of Atlantic Records, which is
0:06:48 > 0:06:51the record company of Cream, Led Zeppelin, Crosby, Stills
0:06:51 > 0:06:55and Nash, all these huge acts, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, John Coltrane?
0:06:55 > 0:06:57Le Freak!
0:06:57 > 0:06:58# Just come on down
0:06:58 > 0:07:01# To 54
0:07:01 > 0:07:02# Find a spot
0:07:02 > 0:07:03# Out on the floor
0:07:03 > 0:07:05# Ahhh, freak out! #
0:07:05 > 0:07:09And in '79, Nile's funky hits weren't just with Chic.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12Our man of the year and his team were unstoppable,
0:07:12 > 0:07:15and wrote hits for three other bands as well.
0:07:15 > 0:07:16We are going to have Sister Sledge
0:07:16 > 0:07:19and He's The Greatest Dancer at number six!
0:07:19 > 0:07:21# Ah-wah, wow!
0:07:21 > 0:07:23# He's the greatest dancer
0:07:23 > 0:07:24# Ah-wah, wow!
0:07:24 > 0:07:27# That I've ever seen. #
0:07:27 > 0:07:28They had it.
0:07:28 > 0:07:30They absolutely had it, and they didn't just have it as a group,
0:07:30 > 0:07:33they had it to give and to share to other people.
0:07:33 > 0:07:38I usually work with people, typically,
0:07:38 > 0:07:42to revive their careers or start their careers.
0:07:42 > 0:07:45Here's Sheila B Devotion and Spacer.
0:07:48 > 0:07:50# He's...
0:07:50 > 0:07:53# A spacer
0:07:53 > 0:07:55# A star chaser. #
0:07:55 > 0:07:58Sheila and B Devotion, the year before, they'd been
0:07:58 > 0:08:01Sheila B Devotion, horrible version of Singing In The Rain.
0:08:01 > 0:08:05# I'm singing in the rain
0:08:05 > 0:08:08# Just singing in the rain. #
0:08:08 > 0:08:10And then you've got Spacer.
0:08:10 > 0:08:14What an absolutely incredible record that was. It was just terrific.
0:08:14 > 0:08:16# He's...
0:08:16 > 0:08:18# A spacer
0:08:19 > 0:08:20# A star... #
0:08:20 > 0:08:22So warm.
0:08:22 > 0:08:24No matter how nasty people felt disco was, they couldn't
0:08:24 > 0:08:29say that the music that Nile Rodgers and Ben Edwards made was nasty.
0:08:30 > 0:08:31ROCK MUSIC
0:08:34 > 0:08:37But in '79, disco's hold on the charts was peaking,
0:08:37 > 0:08:42even for a jury of showbiz grand dames like Joan Collins,
0:08:42 > 0:08:44Elaine Paige and Johnny Rotten.
0:08:44 > 0:08:49I think we're oversaturated with disco. We're being pulverised by it.
0:08:49 > 0:08:51I think it should stop,
0:08:51 > 0:08:55and I think that it's time we found something very, very different.
0:08:55 > 0:08:59The problem with 1979 is that, as great as it was for us
0:08:59 > 0:09:04on Top Of The Pops, it also was the year that...
0:09:06 > 0:09:10..was unfortunately the end, really, of Chic getting hit records.
0:09:10 > 0:09:14We never had a number one record ever again. That's it.
0:09:16 > 0:09:20From top five with Le Freak C'est Chic, Nile's gang was now
0:09:20 > 0:09:22thought of for novelty records,
0:09:22 > 0:09:26a collection of sheep noises set to a disco beat,
0:09:26 > 0:09:30and the lone punk on the Juke Box Jury panel was not amused.
0:09:31 > 0:09:32Johnny Rotten.
0:09:34 > 0:09:35Rubbish.
0:09:35 > 0:09:36ROARING LAUGHTER AND CHEERING
0:09:41 > 0:09:44And the audience agrees, so it's a miss all round.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47Next, he set his sights on Top Of The Pops.
0:09:47 > 0:09:50This is Public Image Ltd and Death Disco.
0:09:58 > 0:10:03# Seeing in your eyes, ah! #
0:10:03 > 0:10:05When we had Public Image in the studio, there was a lot of,
0:10:05 > 0:10:08"Oh, we've got this edgy band in. Are they going to behave themselves?
0:10:08 > 0:10:11"Are they going to do something really shocking?"
0:10:11 > 0:10:13# Words can never say the way
0:10:13 > 0:10:18# Told me in your eyes. #
0:10:18 > 0:10:19'I've only found out'
0:10:19 > 0:10:22over the years how nervous we made people.
0:10:22 > 0:10:25I think we pre-recorded.
0:10:25 > 0:10:29I don't think it was live, because we were real spontaneous,
0:10:29 > 0:10:33really couldn't care less about offending people,
0:10:33 > 0:10:35in fact, probably hoped to.
0:10:35 > 0:10:37# Never really know... #
0:10:37 > 0:10:40It was almost like a contempt for the programme, really,
0:10:40 > 0:10:44in the fact that he's turning away from the audience, he's got the headphones on,
0:10:44 > 0:10:47but he understands there's a message that he wants to get out there.
0:10:47 > 0:10:50Death Disco was Public Image's take on disco.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53So, you know, it had a dark aspect.
0:10:53 > 0:10:57Maybe not everyone appreciated just how dark a sound that was
0:10:57 > 0:10:58because it was on Top Of The Pops.
0:10:58 > 0:11:02The song that talks about rotting flowers and the death of his mother.
0:11:02 > 0:11:07# Watch her slowly die. #
0:11:07 > 0:11:11Personal, I was very cheeky and lairy,
0:11:11 > 0:11:14and when I got to the BBC, the first thing, "Where's make-up?
0:11:14 > 0:11:18"I've got to go to make-up. I want my teeth blacked out."
0:11:18 > 0:11:22And a few people half-heartedly tried to talk me out of it.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25I wasn't having it, and I couldn't wait. You know, "Where's the camera?
0:11:25 > 0:11:27"Here it comes! Urgh!"
0:11:31 > 0:11:34The whole thing, normally, about going on telly, obviously,
0:11:34 > 0:11:37is you want to look glamorous and look your best.
0:11:37 > 0:11:38# Never realise... #
0:11:38 > 0:11:41And I thought it was a laugh to look really horrible.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44I think I had talked about having big spots put on my face
0:11:44 > 0:11:46and I think I got talked out of that.
0:11:49 > 0:11:53But one thing that upstart new wave bands often found is
0:11:53 > 0:11:56they made the show's producers reach for their slightly dated
0:11:56 > 0:11:58palette of special effects.
0:11:58 > 0:11:59# With anxiety!
0:12:01 > 0:12:03# Babylon's burning Babylon's burning. #
0:12:03 > 0:12:07You've done your show. You go back home, you've got to watch it.
0:12:07 > 0:12:09# Babylon's burning... #
0:12:09 > 0:12:12"It's The Ruts with Babylon's Burning!" and # Dun-dun-dun-dun. #
0:12:15 > 0:12:19And these kind of really cheap effect flames come up
0:12:19 > 0:12:21and we're like, "What?!", you know.
0:12:21 > 0:12:25Really embarrassing and your mates kind of poking you.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28THUNDERING BASS LINE
0:12:28 > 0:12:33MUSIC: "Into The Valley" by The Skids
0:12:39 > 0:12:42ELECTRIC GUITAR CHORDS
0:12:42 > 0:12:46But special effects couldn't disguise a punk iceberg
0:12:46 > 0:12:48heading straight for the good ship Top Of The Pops.
0:12:48 > 0:12:52# Into the valley
0:12:52 > 0:12:54# Betrothed and divine
0:12:55 > 0:12:57# Realisation's no virtue
0:12:57 > 0:12:58# But who can define
0:12:58 > 0:13:01# Why soldiers go marching Those masses a line? #
0:13:01 > 0:13:05The show's crew of long-serving light entertainers were
0:13:05 > 0:13:08lined up in the sights of the young new wave generation.
0:13:11 > 0:13:13It was such a mixed bag, Top Of The Pops.
0:13:13 > 0:13:17I mean, you'd have on one show something like The Nolans.
0:13:17 > 0:13:20# Yeah! Yeah!
0:13:20 > 0:13:24# I'm in the mood for dancing
0:13:24 > 0:13:26# Romancing... #
0:13:26 > 0:13:31And then you'd have a punk band or a new wave-ish band, you know,
0:13:31 > 0:13:34sort of coming on, and it was surreal sometimes.
0:13:34 > 0:13:38# Ooh, so come on and hold me tight
0:13:38 > 0:13:39# Dancing
0:13:39 > 0:13:41# Dancing... #
0:13:41 > 0:13:44At the time, of course, we were kind of the cheesy Nolans.
0:13:44 > 0:13:47That was our image and it was, you know, Irish sisters all singing in
0:13:47 > 0:13:52nice harmonies and dressed the same, which was quite a difficult
0:13:52 > 0:13:56image to have, because we were just normal girls.
0:13:56 > 0:13:59# I'm in the mood for dancing... #
0:13:59 > 0:14:04You know, we did get stick from other bands, like punk bands.
0:14:04 > 0:14:08One in particular, I remember, when we were doing I'm In The Mood For Dancing, The Skids were on.
0:14:08 > 0:14:10# Where the air turned red as the bodies bled
0:14:10 > 0:14:12# Into a schoolboy's dream
0:14:12 > 0:14:14# But who were there could only stare
0:14:14 > 0:14:16# Into this wondrous scene?
0:14:16 > 0:14:18# Yankee...
0:14:18 > 0:14:20# To war! #
0:14:20 > 0:14:23My memory of Top Of The Pops from that era is pretty miserable.
0:14:23 > 0:14:27I mean, it was the biggest show on television, no doubt about it,
0:14:27 > 0:14:30but it was always inhabited by the most moronic acts, the kind
0:14:30 > 0:14:33of acts that made you want to be in a punk band in the first place.
0:14:33 > 0:14:36I don't know, maybe they were just trying to live up to their image,
0:14:36 > 0:14:39but as we passed their dressing room going to our dressing room,
0:14:39 > 0:14:43they spat out in front of us on the floor.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46If you think about the context, we were so miserably
0:14:46 > 0:14:50unhappy about being here, and it was like a kind of prison for us.
0:14:50 > 0:14:52# A German son with a Yankee gun
0:14:52 > 0:14:54# And a uniform much older
0:14:54 > 0:14:56# Yankee... #
0:14:56 > 0:14:59Of course our record company was shepherding us on, and in effect,
0:14:59 > 0:15:03they had four mad Irish women who were going to chin them,
0:15:03 > 0:15:06but they got away with it that time.
0:15:06 > 0:15:07# Wanted
0:15:07 > 0:15:11# Boy, you're everything I ever wanted
0:15:11 > 0:15:13# Now all I got's a memory... #
0:15:13 > 0:15:17In '79, another top five act from the world of working men's clubs,
0:15:17 > 0:15:19The Dooleys...
0:15:19 > 0:15:20# Boy, you know you got me
0:15:20 > 0:15:22# Cos you're wanted... #
0:15:22 > 0:15:25..found themselves on the same show...
0:15:25 > 0:15:30..as lairy punk rockers Generation X.
0:15:31 > 0:15:34# King Kong, King Kong. #
0:15:34 > 0:15:37We arrived one sunny day at Television Centre.
0:15:37 > 0:15:44And there on the roof stood certain young members of Generation X,
0:15:44 > 0:15:49and they were all relieving themselves on the crowd down below.
0:15:49 > 0:15:52# Oh, we....
0:15:52 > 0:15:56# We are the chosen few. #
0:15:56 > 0:16:01The commissionaires with their hats on were shouting up, "Oi!
0:16:01 > 0:16:02"What do you think you're doing?!",
0:16:02 > 0:16:06and back came the reply, "We're making a statement!"
0:16:06 > 0:16:10# Oh, and we...
0:16:10 > 0:16:12# We are the lucky people
0:16:13 > 0:16:15# You got me
0:16:15 > 0:16:17# And I got you
0:16:17 > 0:16:20# We're the chosen few. #
0:16:20 > 0:16:24But it is possible Generation X were on the roof of TV Centre
0:16:24 > 0:16:26for another reason -
0:16:26 > 0:16:29in search of the BBC club and bar,
0:16:29 > 0:16:33a Shangri-La of subsidised, cheap booze.
0:16:33 > 0:16:36Most of the time it was just sitting in a dressing room,
0:16:36 > 0:16:40bored out of your brain, wondering when you can go to the BBC bar.
0:16:44 > 0:16:47But the hallowed walls of the BBC Club and bar,
0:16:47 > 0:16:51untouched by human hands since its opening in 1960,
0:16:51 > 0:16:55were restricted to BBC Club members only.
0:16:58 > 0:17:01Every band member, of course, rocked up to the BBC bar tried to
0:17:01 > 0:17:03go in and say, "You know, I'm a friend of..."
0:17:03 > 0:17:07and there was this huge, great big bloke on the door.
0:17:07 > 0:17:11They had a commissionaire. They were ex-army sergeants, usually.
0:17:11 > 0:17:14Wore a hat and uniform, sign you in.
0:17:14 > 0:17:16He had this massive, great old handle moustache.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19Honest to God, the bribery that used to go on to these men to try
0:17:19 > 0:17:22and get into the BBC bar.
0:17:22 > 0:17:24He wasn't having it. He'd heard every story on the planet.
0:17:24 > 0:17:28Yeah. Barry? This is my problem here.
0:17:28 > 0:17:30'A few studios along, in number three,
0:17:30 > 0:17:33'there's a new classic serial in rehearsal.
0:17:33 > 0:17:38'This sort of production uses a great deal of scenery.'
0:17:38 > 0:17:41The social mix of the BBC bar reflected a TV Centre which,
0:17:41 > 0:17:44in '79, was in its bustling heyday,
0:17:44 > 0:17:46producing a vast array of programmes.
0:17:46 > 0:17:48'Lunchtime,
0:17:48 > 0:17:51'and there are four canteens to choose from at the centre.
0:17:51 > 0:17:53'Here, secretaries and sound engineers
0:17:53 > 0:17:56'can mingle with cardinals and kings.'
0:17:56 > 0:17:59The mix of the BBC Club afterwards was great, because you'd see
0:17:59 > 0:18:02people who were coming off the sets of a popular drama.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05"Oh, look, there's Soames from Forsyte Saga", or there'd be
0:18:05 > 0:18:08someone from Blue Peter, or "And there's Doctor Who over there!"
0:18:08 > 0:18:10'Think of the thing which has frightened you
0:18:10 > 0:18:12'most on Doctor Who recently.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15'The chances are that it started life here.'
0:18:15 > 0:18:17Yes, can we please keep it quiet, studio?
0:18:17 > 0:18:18We're trying to camera rehearse.
0:18:18 > 0:18:21SCREECHING ROAR
0:18:21 > 0:18:24I remember going to the bar, and I thought, "This is a bit of me."
0:18:24 > 0:18:28It was a bit like the bar in Blade Runner.
0:18:29 > 0:18:33It was all geezers dressed as aliens from the film set of Doctor Who,
0:18:33 > 0:18:34and they were cab drivers.
0:18:34 > 0:18:37So I'm at the bar with a geezer dressed as an alien, and it
0:18:37 > 0:18:40was from Bermondsey or something, as I recall, cab driver.
0:18:40 > 0:18:41You know, extra.
0:18:44 > 0:18:45Good evening.
0:18:45 > 0:18:49I remember thinking, "These geezers are great. "They're getting stuck in
0:18:49 > 0:18:51very early in the day, like me". So, yeah.
0:18:51 > 0:18:54For a moment, everyone's kind of equal.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57# For once in my life... #
0:18:57 > 0:19:01I mean, I saw Mr Tony Bennett.
0:19:01 > 0:19:04# ..I have someone who needs me. #
0:19:04 > 0:19:08You know, a bit of a fan. I like good singers, you know. No offence!
0:19:08 > 0:19:09THEY LAUGH
0:19:09 > 0:19:12I like good singers. So anyhow, I went and said,
0:19:12 > 0:19:14"Oh, hello, Mr Bennett, I just wanted to say hello."
0:19:14 > 0:19:16# ..For once unafraid... #
0:19:16 > 0:19:19We spoke for about ten minutes. He was very encouraging.
0:19:19 > 0:19:23He told me to follow my dream and carry on, work hard and what
0:19:23 > 0:19:27a great thing it was to be able to do something you love for a living.
0:19:27 > 0:19:30- Pure class.- Pure class.
0:19:30 > 0:19:33So, joining Tony Bennett at the BBC bar in '79 are...
0:19:35 > 0:19:39..The Ruts, Madness, Legs & Co,
0:19:39 > 0:19:42Soames from Forsyte Saga, Jah Wobble,
0:19:42 > 0:19:46aliens from Doctor Who and this lot from Camberley.
0:19:46 > 0:19:49# Every lousy Monday morning
0:19:49 > 0:19:52# Heathrow jets go crashing over our home. #
0:19:52 > 0:19:57Luckily, I had a friend who was filming The Onedin Line in the next studio,
0:19:57 > 0:20:01and because of her, we were able to go to the BBC bar afterwards.
0:20:09 > 0:20:11- I'll see you at the club. - Aye.
0:20:12 > 0:20:17There's one character who played this old captain, Captain Baines.
0:20:17 > 0:20:19You're out of line, mister!
0:20:19 > 0:20:22He was terrified that we were there initially, because he thought,
0:20:22 > 0:20:24"Oh, my God, punk rockers,"
0:20:24 > 0:20:27and he'd read all the tabloids about how terrible we were.
0:20:27 > 0:20:29You listen!
0:20:29 > 0:20:33If you don't get those two of this ship then we damn well will.
0:20:33 > 0:20:37Suddenly there are these suburban, sort of middle-class boys
0:20:37 > 0:20:39being quite polite
0:20:39 > 0:20:43and being quite thrilled that they are in a cheap bar and not really
0:20:43 > 0:20:48wanting to do anything to get expelled from the Holy Grail of cheap booze.
0:20:48 > 0:20:5061.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53Take up the bar, then, Annie. Take up 65.
0:20:53 > 0:20:57Alongside The Members, as part of the new wave vanguard,
0:20:57 > 0:21:01the Top Of The Pops studio was graced with the new emerging model of pop front man.
0:21:01 > 0:21:03Cue applause...
0:21:03 > 0:21:06From Joe Jackson to Andy Partridge...
0:21:06 > 0:21:08And now Elvis Costello.
0:21:08 > 0:21:10# Don't know where to begin... #
0:21:10 > 0:21:13The angry young nerd.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16# Love doesn't wait for ever It's now or never. #
0:21:16 > 0:21:19Elvis Costello was in a rather combative relationship with
0:21:19 > 0:21:23Top Of The Pops, with television generally, he was the "angry young man."
0:21:23 > 0:21:26When asked what inspired him to write songs, "Hate and revenge."
0:21:26 > 0:21:30# Accidents will happen We only hit and run
0:21:30 > 0:21:36# I don't want to hear it cos I know what I've done. #
0:21:36 > 0:21:39And Elvis's passion seeped out of every pore
0:21:39 > 0:21:42and luminous fabric of his cool nerd image.
0:21:42 > 0:21:45Elvis Costello, you know, great suit.
0:21:45 > 0:21:47Sweated an awful lot, though, didn't he?
0:21:49 > 0:21:52# Don't start that talking
0:21:52 > 0:21:55# I could talk all night
0:21:55 > 0:21:58# My mind goes sleepwalking
0:21:58 > 0:22:01# While I'm putting the world to right. #
0:22:01 > 0:22:05Elvis's image bordered on court jester, with a knowing look
0:22:05 > 0:22:08and singalong choruses, like Oliver's Army.
0:22:08 > 0:22:13# Oliver's army is here to stay, Oliver's army... #
0:22:13 > 0:22:14We had it marked down as a B-side.
0:22:14 > 0:22:17We had no idea it was even single material.
0:22:17 > 0:22:21It was our version of an Abba song, with all the jangly pianos
0:22:21 > 0:22:23and things.
0:22:23 > 0:22:25SONG CONTINUES
0:22:29 > 0:22:31# There was a checkpoint Charlie. #
0:22:31 > 0:22:35But the pop gloss hid provocative, even political comment.
0:22:35 > 0:22:39And in '79 Elvis pushed the boundaries on Top Of The Pops
0:22:39 > 0:22:42by using a word that was loaded with meaning.
0:22:42 > 0:22:45# All it takes one itchy trigger
0:22:45 > 0:22:49# One more widow one less white nigger. #
0:22:49 > 0:22:55He's speaking in the voice of a young soldier from the North East
0:22:55 > 0:22:56who, to get out of having no job,
0:22:56 > 0:22:59joins the army, gets sent to Northern Ireland,
0:22:59 > 0:23:03where there was a dehumanisation of the people they were killing.
0:23:03 > 0:23:05He's saying this is what they were thinking.
0:23:05 > 0:23:09Oliver's Army was a bitter take on the ongoing Troubles
0:23:09 > 0:23:13in the year the IRA murdered Airey Neave
0:23:13 > 0:23:16and the British Army marked a ten-year presence.
0:23:16 > 0:23:18The N-word, "white nigger"
0:23:18 > 0:23:23was being supportive of people who were being abused by the system.
0:23:23 > 0:23:25Just an itchy trigger - boom! - you know, gone.
0:23:25 > 0:23:32# But there's no danger It's a professional career
0:23:32 > 0:23:39# And I would rather be anywhere else than here today. #
0:23:39 > 0:23:44While Elvis got away with an unspeakable word in Oliver's Army,
0:23:44 > 0:23:46Chas & Dave weren't so lucky.
0:23:49 > 0:23:52# There is a word that I don't understand
0:23:52 > 0:23:56# I hear it every day from my old man
0:23:56 > 0:23:59# It may be cockney rhyming slang
0:23:59 > 0:24:01# It ain't in no school book. #
0:24:01 > 0:24:04I remember in '79 doing Gertcha, the producer came over and said,
0:24:04 > 0:24:09"Before you do it, I'm glad you're doing the vocals live
0:24:09 > 0:24:12"because there's a word I want you to cut out.
0:24:12 > 0:24:17"What?" "Can you cut the word 'cowson' out?"
0:24:17 > 0:24:19I remember saying to him, "Why?"
0:24:19 > 0:24:24He went, "My mother heard it on Radio One this morning and she called me
0:24:24 > 0:24:28"and she's informed me that it's an old-fashioned Victorian swearword.
0:24:28 > 0:24:30"So I'd be really happy
0:24:30 > 0:24:35"if you can cut it out or substitute it for something else."
0:24:35 > 0:24:38And I talked to Dave and we came up with a couple of other words
0:24:38 > 0:24:41beginning with F and C, but he didn't want to know about that.
0:24:41 > 0:24:44# He says it every time that he gets mad
0:24:44 > 0:24:47# A regular caution is my old dad
0:24:47 > 0:24:50# Rub the old man up the wrong way... #
0:24:50 > 0:24:54So we did it and I remember having one more run-through
0:24:54 > 0:24:55and I accidentally said it...
0:24:55 > 0:24:58# Gertcha, cowson, gertcha! #
0:24:58 > 0:25:02"Stop! Say that once more, you're off the show."
0:25:02 > 0:25:04# Rub the old man up the wrong way
0:25:04 > 0:25:07# Bet your life you'll hear him say..."
0:25:07 > 0:25:10And when we did the final take...
0:25:10 > 0:25:13# Gertcha... Gercha! Gertcha! #
0:25:13 > 0:25:16I looked at Dave and my eyes sort of spun round.
0:25:16 > 0:25:20# Gertcha! When the paperboy's half an hour late, gertcha! #
0:25:20 > 0:25:25It was our mums and dads and our uncles and aunts and grandads,
0:25:25 > 0:25:27it was their word, they used to say it - "You cowson!
0:25:27 > 0:25:32"Gertcha, cowson!" Gertcha sort of went with it - "Gertcha, cowson!"
0:25:32 > 0:25:37- It's such an inoffensive word, isn't it, really?- Son of a cow.
0:25:37 > 0:25:40# Gertcha! Gertcha! #
0:25:40 > 0:25:44You can say anything but don't say the C-word. What's the C-word?
0:25:44 > 0:25:46That's the C-word, "cowson".
0:25:53 > 0:25:56Meanwhile, in the outside world,
0:25:56 > 0:25:59a certain someone was making a big impression.
0:25:59 > 0:26:02Where there is doubt, may we bring faith,
0:26:02 > 0:26:05and where there is despair, may we bring hope.
0:26:05 > 0:26:09Elected as Prime Minister in May '79, Margaret Thatcher
0:26:09 > 0:26:13soon identified her first enemy and was ready with a new broom.
0:26:13 > 0:26:18What madness it is that winter after winter
0:26:18 > 0:26:20we have great set piece battles
0:26:20 > 0:26:24in which the powerful unions do so much damage to
0:26:24 > 0:26:28the industries on which their members' living standards depend.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35And in a parallel universe called Top Of The Pops...
0:26:36 > 0:26:40# They call me the Iron Lady
0:26:40 > 0:26:43# Tell you I'm hard as nails. #
0:26:45 > 0:26:50In a microcosm of the conflict, the unions were fighting their corner.
0:26:56 > 0:27:00I'll never forget my brother Frank, who played lead guitar.
0:27:00 > 0:27:02We got up on stage to do our rehearsal...
0:27:02 > 0:27:05# Honey, I'm lost... #
0:27:05 > 0:27:08And because he played guitar, his microphone was in the wrong
0:27:08 > 0:27:11place, and he picked up the mic stand and moved it
0:27:11 > 0:27:15and all of a sudden there was a walk-out because an artist had
0:27:15 > 0:27:18taken somebody's job and moved a mic stand.
0:27:18 > 0:27:20It was that silly at times.
0:27:21 > 0:27:24And in '79 American disco acts frequently brought their
0:27:24 > 0:27:26studio-finessed songs to the show
0:27:26 > 0:27:30to find they wouldn't be backed by their own recording, sounding like this...
0:27:30 > 0:27:32SLICK DISCO INTRO
0:27:36 > 0:27:39..but were obliged, through Musicians' Union rules, to play
0:27:39 > 0:27:44with the Top Of The Pops Orchestra, a staple of the show since 1964.
0:27:44 > 0:27:47TURGID INTRO
0:27:53 > 0:27:56# Ain't no stopping us now
0:27:56 > 0:27:58# We're on the move
0:27:58 > 0:28:01# Yessir! Yes!
0:28:01 > 0:28:06# Ain't no stopping us now We got the groove. #
0:28:06 > 0:28:10The Musicians' Union insisted that
0:28:10 > 0:28:14if there was an artist that had an orchestra on the track,
0:28:14 > 0:28:17they would have to work with the BBC Orchestra.
0:28:17 > 0:28:21# I know we've got a long, long way to go
0:28:21 > 0:28:25# And where we'll end up I don't know. #
0:28:25 > 0:28:28I was on the same show with McFadden and Whitehead.
0:28:28 > 0:28:31They were great, but the backing track wasn't wonderful.
0:28:31 > 0:28:36- STILTED:- # La la la la #
0:28:36 > 0:28:40Because they're classically trained musicians, a little bit wooden,
0:28:40 > 0:28:42a bit stiff.
0:28:42 > 0:28:45# La la la la. #
0:28:45 > 0:28:49When you're dealing with an orchestra, they're playing
0:28:49 > 0:28:52what's on the sheet, and what's on the groove is not in the sheet.
0:28:54 > 0:28:59# In this world there is much confusion
0:28:59 > 0:29:02# And I've tasted city life and it's not for me... #
0:29:02 > 0:29:05At the time, in '79, I was working with the Jacksons.
0:29:05 > 0:29:08# ..I dream of distant places. #
0:29:08 > 0:29:12The problem there is that you work with the best - the ultimate session
0:29:12 > 0:29:17bass player or the world-class session guitarist from LA.
0:29:17 > 0:29:19Suddenly, I've got them on stage
0:29:19 > 0:29:22working with very competent musicians
0:29:22 > 0:29:24but a brass section that would rather go to the bar
0:29:24 > 0:29:26and have a drink at lunch time.
0:29:26 > 0:29:31# I want destiny! Destiny!
0:29:31 > 0:29:33# It's the place for me. #
0:29:33 > 0:29:37Joe Jackson, Jackson's father, was a stickler for everything being right.
0:29:37 > 0:29:39# Ah, destiny! #
0:29:39 > 0:29:44I would get it in the ear. "Judd, they haven't got the groove.
0:29:44 > 0:29:46"The brass players are all over the place,
0:29:46 > 0:29:49"the string players are slack." What could I say?
0:29:52 > 0:29:54ELECTRONIC INTRO
0:29:54 > 0:29:57The story I'm about to tell you is one of the most extraordinary
0:29:57 > 0:29:59tales of our time.
0:30:00 > 0:30:05It's a story of change. Some say it's a change for the worse.
0:30:05 > 0:30:10The Musicians' Union, for a year or two, tried to ban me,
0:30:10 > 0:30:14because they said I was putting proper musicians out of work!
0:30:14 > 0:30:16How offensive is that?
0:30:16 > 0:30:20# Here in my car I feel safest of all
0:30:20 > 0:30:22# I can lock all my doors
0:30:22 > 0:30:26# It's the only way to live in cars. #
0:30:26 > 0:30:30A keyboard synthesiser can simulate everything from a harpsichord
0:30:30 > 0:30:32or violin to a full brass band.
0:30:32 > 0:30:34It's very exciting.
0:30:34 > 0:30:37# It keeps me stable all night in cars. #
0:30:37 > 0:30:41The thing is, if I had people doing, like, strings, which a real person
0:30:41 > 0:30:44could have played, I'd have had some sympathy for what they were saying.
0:30:44 > 0:30:48The synthesisers going...uurrgh!
0:30:48 > 0:30:51You know, show me a man in the union that goes uurrgh for a living
0:30:51 > 0:30:54and I'm putting him out of work. I don't think so.
0:30:58 > 0:31:00To get banned by the union meant I couldn't have
0:31:00 > 0:31:02gone on Top Of The Pops.
0:31:02 > 0:31:05They were trying to kill my career based on ignorance.
0:31:05 > 0:31:07I wasn't putting anyone out of work.
0:31:07 > 0:31:10There was nothing on my albums that I could have got a human being in to do.
0:31:10 > 0:31:13SYNTHESISER
0:31:13 > 0:31:18In May '79, Gary debuted with his ground-breaking electro sound
0:31:18 > 0:31:21and an unforgettable look.
0:31:21 > 0:31:24# It's cold outside
0:31:26 > 0:31:28# And the paint's peeling off of my walls. #
0:31:28 > 0:31:33I made it my record of the week on Radio One, so I was really delighted that he got a Top Of The Pops slot.
0:31:33 > 0:31:34And I was instantly drawn to them.
0:31:34 > 0:31:36I thought, "This is a mesmerising performer."
0:31:36 > 0:31:40# In a long coat, grey hat smoking a cigarette. #
0:31:42 > 0:31:45This guy bounces onto Top Of The Pops for the very first time
0:31:45 > 0:31:48and he decides, "This is the way I'm going to play it."
0:31:48 > 0:31:51He just did some little jerky movements,
0:31:51 > 0:31:56little head movements and looked a bit...disinterested in life.
0:32:02 > 0:32:04# Now the light fades out. #
0:32:04 > 0:32:09I'd noticed that Top Of The Pops had a fairly generic look.
0:32:09 > 0:32:11The lighting, the way people performed - they'd always be
0:32:11 > 0:32:14looking into a camera all the time whatever they were doing.
0:32:14 > 0:32:17Lights flashing on and off with different colours
0:32:17 > 0:32:19and everyone looked the same.
0:32:19 > 0:32:22And I wanted to do something that was different to that but I didn't think they'd let me.
0:32:22 > 0:32:24I said to the people when I first got there,
0:32:24 > 0:32:29"Would it be all right if I didn't have any colours, just white?
0:32:29 > 0:32:32"And would it be OK if I had some on the floor in front of me?"
0:32:32 > 0:32:35I wanted lights coming up and shadows and things.
0:32:35 > 0:32:37And I thought they just tell me to piss off, basically.
0:32:37 > 0:32:39But they didn't, they were really lovely.
0:32:39 > 0:32:43Great! Somebody's actually interested.
0:32:43 > 0:32:46# So now I'm alone and I can think for myself
0:32:48 > 0:32:52# About little deals and issues and things I just don't understand. #
0:32:53 > 0:32:57I didn't smile, because I was embarrassed about my teeth.
0:32:57 > 0:33:00I've sort of grown into them now, but when I was younger I thought
0:33:00 > 0:33:04these two front teeth were like Bugs Bunny, I thought they were too big.
0:33:04 > 0:33:07And then you start reading reviews in newspapers about this
0:33:07 > 0:33:11sort of cold, androidy new person on Top Of The Pops and you think,
0:33:11 > 0:33:16"Ah!" Hadn't intended that, I was just embarrassed about my teeth.
0:33:16 > 0:33:17APPLAUSE
0:33:19 > 0:33:22An amazing sound from a band for the future. That's Tubeway Army.
0:33:22 > 0:33:24Great stuff.
0:33:24 > 0:33:27While Gary Numan unleashed edgy electro-pop...
0:33:27 > 0:33:31REGGAE BEAT
0:33:31 > 0:33:35..'79 was also a breakthrough year for a style of music that came
0:33:35 > 0:33:37a little later to the party.
0:33:37 > 0:33:40If you look at Top Of The Pops year on year, you see the change in music.
0:33:40 > 0:33:42But to me, reggae music was always the same.
0:33:45 > 0:33:50That lovely, lazy drum pattern that rhythm guitar,
0:33:50 > 0:33:51that beautiful singing...
0:33:51 > 0:33:56# Ooh... Meditation. #
0:33:56 > 0:33:58And it was all encapsulated in Top Of The Pops.
0:33:58 > 0:34:01At long last, reggae seems to be making inroads in the charts,
0:34:01 > 0:34:05and at number 26 this week, here's Dennis Brown with Money In My Pocket.
0:34:09 > 0:34:13# Woh oh... #
0:34:13 > 0:34:18Dennis Brown was a complete demigod on the reggae scene.
0:34:18 > 0:34:23# Money in my pocket but I just can't get no love. #
0:34:23 > 0:34:26And Top Of The Pops, when a tune got in the top 10,
0:34:26 > 0:34:29in the black community, people were on the phone to each other.
0:34:29 > 0:34:32"Are you watching Top Of The Pops? Whatshisname is on."
0:34:32 > 0:34:40# I'm praying for a girl to be my own
0:34:40 > 0:34:43# Soon they say she's coming but I don't believe a word. #
0:34:43 > 0:34:46Under the banner of reggae there were lots of sub-genres,
0:34:46 > 0:34:48and I remember one big-selling song that
0:34:48 > 0:34:52appeared on Top Of The Pops was Janet Kay, which was more of a lovers' rock.
0:34:52 > 0:34:54Here's a lady with a great voice. She's Janet Kay
0:34:54 > 0:34:56and this is Silly Games.
0:34:56 > 0:34:59A surprise crossover hit from the British reggae charts,
0:34:59 > 0:35:03Janet Kay, aged 18, had never even performed in public.
0:35:03 > 0:35:06I went on holiday with a friend of mine
0:35:06 > 0:35:09and we went to Holland and it was the first time for me
0:35:09 > 0:35:11going away from home, because I was still living at home.
0:35:11 > 0:35:14And while I was away I got a phone call saying,
0:35:14 > 0:35:17"You need to come back, you've got to do Top Of The Pops." And I'm like,
0:35:17 > 0:35:19"Top Of The Pops?!" I was a very shy person so
0:35:19 > 0:35:22I didn't really know how I was going to actually do that, being so shy
0:35:22 > 0:35:24because I'd never sing in front of anybody live.
0:35:26 > 0:35:29# I've been watching you
0:35:29 > 0:35:32# For so long
0:35:32 > 0:35:34# It's a shame. #
0:35:34 > 0:35:40So my very first performance ever in front of a proper audience
0:35:40 > 0:35:45was live on TV in front of however many millions of people.
0:35:45 > 0:35:49# Oh, the pain
0:35:49 > 0:35:51# Boy, how it hurts me. #
0:35:51 > 0:35:55I had no idea of how to put myself together, so I wore this pink
0:35:55 > 0:35:59T-shirt that I knotted at the side, that sort of looked a bit trendy.
0:35:59 > 0:36:01I thought, "I've got to have sparkles,"
0:36:01 > 0:36:04and I had this little black chiffony-type scarf
0:36:04 > 0:36:06and I kind of put it round my neck and thought,
0:36:06 > 0:36:09"Yeah, that kind of looks all right. That'll probably do."
0:36:10 > 0:36:15# Should I, dear, come up to you and say... #
0:36:15 > 0:36:17And then they said to me, "Janet, we want you to mime.
0:36:17 > 0:36:19We don't want you to sing, we want you to mine."
0:36:19 > 0:36:23And I was like, "What's miming? I don't know how to mine.
0:36:23 > 0:36:26"Suppose my mouth doesn't move the same as when I did the recording?
0:36:26 > 0:36:29"I don't do how to do that. Can I just do it live?"
0:36:29 > 0:36:31# I've got no time... #
0:36:31 > 0:36:34I think they were a little bit put out because most people mimed.
0:36:34 > 0:36:41# Silly games... #
0:36:42 > 0:36:49# Silly games... #
0:36:49 > 0:36:53Silly Games was the pride and joy of anyone who loved lovers' rock,
0:36:53 > 0:36:57because it was massive in the little blues
0:36:57 > 0:37:00and shebeen parties that went on in local areas.
0:37:00 > 0:37:04And it was our tune. Our local girl, Janet Kay.
0:37:04 > 0:37:08The reason it's so slow, you'd have a small room
0:37:08 > 0:37:11and ram as many people as you could in that room.
0:37:11 > 0:37:12It would be really hot.
0:37:12 > 0:37:15You'd get as close as possible to your partner
0:37:15 > 0:37:18and you'd dance as slowly as possible.
0:37:18 > 0:37:22It's so sensual, sexual, and it's rude, almost.
0:37:22 > 0:37:24You shouldn't be that close to someone you just met.
0:37:26 > 0:37:29When you saw Janet Kay performing that on Top Of The Pops, I was
0:37:29 > 0:37:32like, "No, that's not how you do it," cos the crowd were
0:37:32 > 0:37:34standing there having a little boogie.
0:37:34 > 0:37:38I was thinking, "You're supposed to be dancing with each other," because that's all I knew.
0:37:38 > 0:37:40APPLAUSE
0:37:40 > 0:37:44Reggae's popularity didn't stop there as new wave groups
0:37:44 > 0:37:45jumped on the bandwagon.
0:37:45 > 0:37:49# Bermuda in the Bahamas
0:37:49 > 0:37:51# Front Street Hamilton
0:37:51 > 0:37:54# They're doing more than growing bananas
0:37:54 > 0:37:57# They got a tax dodge going on
0:37:57 > 0:38:00# Offshore banking business. #
0:38:00 > 0:38:02And in summer '79,
0:38:02 > 0:38:07one previously unknown band eclipsed all other reggae acts.
0:38:07 > 0:38:10The beauty of those days, it was so innocent and so simple.
0:38:10 > 0:38:11You'd hear a song on the radio
0:38:11 > 0:38:15and if you really liked it, you hoped to see it on Top Of The Pops.
0:38:15 > 0:38:18And that's all we had. It was as simple as that.
0:38:18 > 0:38:20MUSIC: "Roxanne" by The Police
0:38:20 > 0:38:25And I remember hearing Roxanne on the radio and loving it, because it
0:38:25 > 0:38:30had this sort of reggae undertone about it, it was like a reggae tune.
0:38:33 > 0:38:34When I saw Sting...
0:38:34 > 0:38:36# Roxanne... #
0:38:36 > 0:38:39..I think my mouth was open for three minutes.
0:38:39 > 0:38:41# ..put on the red light... #
0:38:41 > 0:38:43I think my sister and I were watching it, going...
0:38:43 > 0:38:44# Those days are over
0:38:44 > 0:38:48# You don't have to sell your body to the night
0:38:48 > 0:38:51# Roxanne. #
0:38:51 > 0:38:53He was blond!
0:38:55 > 0:38:59Like, I'd never seen a blonde person singing a reggaeish tune before.
0:38:59 > 0:39:03I don't recollect that ever. I always thought black people sung reggae.
0:39:03 > 0:39:06Hello, nice to be back with you once again on Top Of The Pops,
0:39:06 > 0:39:08and here comes that brand new top 30.
0:39:10 > 0:39:13Top Of The Pops was of course all about the singles chart,
0:39:13 > 0:39:17but around this time, some keen Guardian reporter types
0:39:17 > 0:39:21started suggesting all with the chart may not be hunky-dory.
0:39:21 > 0:39:23This is where the hit parade is compiled,
0:39:23 > 0:39:26at the BMRB headquarters in Ealing.
0:39:26 > 0:39:29There are an unstated number of secret chart return shops
0:39:29 > 0:39:32around the country and 450 of them
0:39:32 > 0:39:36are sampled each week for the album charts, 250 for the singles charts.
0:39:36 > 0:39:39There were unscrupulous record companies that used to go
0:39:39 > 0:39:43out on Saturdays shopping.
0:39:43 > 0:39:47Every time one of these shops sells a particular record or cassette,
0:39:47 > 0:39:51it's all recorded here in this distinctive BMRB diary of sales.
0:39:51 > 0:39:55Of course, if you had a list of the shops, you used to get
0:39:55 > 0:39:58a team of people to go and buy ten records in each shop.
0:39:58 > 0:40:02It was very hush-hush, but everybody knew about it.
0:40:02 > 0:40:05The BMRB claim that no-one knows just how many shops
0:40:05 > 0:40:09are on the panel or which are being sampled in a particular week.
0:40:09 > 0:40:12I helped buy Al Stewart's Year Of The Cat into the charts by going
0:40:12 > 0:40:14round with a friend of mine in the car
0:40:14 > 0:40:18and buying singles with a list of the shops.
0:40:18 > 0:40:22Every record company we've spoken to say they know exactly which
0:40:22 > 0:40:25shops are concerned and they target their products accordingly.
0:40:25 > 0:40:29The BPI or the governing body of the record industry policed it
0:40:29 > 0:40:34and if there was any doubt, a record could be lowered.
0:40:34 > 0:40:35HE BANGS GONG
0:40:35 > 0:40:39One of the best new singles, second highest new entry this week,
0:40:39 > 0:40:41The Members and The Sound Of The Suburbs.
0:40:41 > 0:40:45The Members released Sound Of The Suburbs and it really buzzed.
0:40:45 > 0:40:49# This is the sound, this is the sound of the suburbs. #
0:40:49 > 0:40:55You had NME, Melody Maker, Sounds and we were in them almost every week.
0:40:55 > 0:40:58We were this very hot band and it fires up the charts.
0:40:58 > 0:41:02# Old man's out washing the car
0:41:04 > 0:41:08# Mum's in the kitchen cooking Sunday dinner, her best meal
0:41:08 > 0:41:10# Moaning while it lasts. #
0:41:10 > 0:41:14The official charts thought it was being hyped by Virgin,
0:41:14 > 0:41:16so they dropped us one step.
0:41:18 > 0:41:20And then they realised they were wrong and put us
0:41:20 > 0:41:23straight back up the charts the following week.
0:41:23 > 0:41:26# This is the sound of the suburbs. #
0:41:26 > 0:41:29The Members' hot debut single only notched one rung higher
0:41:29 > 0:41:32before falling out of the charts.
0:41:32 > 0:41:37You start to drop in those days down the charts and people stop buying your records.
0:41:37 > 0:41:38It's just the way it was.
0:41:39 > 0:41:43But in those days if you couldn't buy or hype your record into the charts,
0:41:43 > 0:41:47there was another, more time-honoured way of doing it.
0:41:47 > 0:41:50Pluggers do a lot of legwork and a lot of fast talking.
0:41:50 > 0:41:54Employ one of these toe-tapping johnnies.
0:41:54 > 0:41:57- I like it!- Yeah? Oh, good. - Smells like a hit to me.
0:41:57 > 0:42:00Records pluggers, or promotion people, were very important to the programme
0:42:00 > 0:42:03because they'd be on at the producer, the director,
0:42:03 > 0:42:06for days in advance trying to get their own acts on the programme.
0:42:06 > 0:42:10The record companies have no option but to keep plugging away.
0:42:10 > 0:42:13Getting on Top Of The Pops is what matters, not how you get there.
0:42:13 > 0:42:17At that time, if you did Top Of The Pops you'd shoot up
0:42:17 > 0:42:20automatically 15 places and that was the whole game.
0:42:23 > 0:42:26# Out on the street I was talking to a man
0:42:26 > 0:42:30# He said there's so much but there's nothing I don't understand
0:42:30 > 0:42:34# You shouldn't worry I said that ain't no crime
0:42:34 > 0:42:38# Cos if you get it wrong you'll get it right next time. #
0:42:38 > 0:42:41For a plugger trying to get their record on Top Of The Pops,
0:42:41 > 0:42:45all efforts were focused on the day that next week's chart was published.
0:42:45 > 0:42:49When the chart is compiled, it's phoned through to the BBC.
0:42:49 > 0:42:54Good morning! Are you all ready? Right, one, nine...
0:42:54 > 0:42:58We'd all congregate on the sixth floor of TV Centre
0:42:58 > 0:43:00and all the pluggers were gossiping away -
0:43:00 > 0:43:04"My band is better than your band," this, that and the other.
0:43:04 > 0:43:06Quite a good camaraderie.
0:43:06 > 0:43:09We'd be waiting and they'd be getting the results of what's
0:43:09 > 0:43:12coming in the charts, new entries and everything else.
0:43:12 > 0:43:15Can you guys come in now?
0:43:15 > 0:43:18But eventually the doors would open, you'd walk in. "Your track's in
0:43:18 > 0:43:21"at number 38. Are the band available?"
0:43:21 > 0:43:25If they're in America or Italy, automatically you say,
0:43:25 > 0:43:27"Yes, they are," even if they're not.
0:43:27 > 0:43:30And then you go back to the office and panic and try and get the band over.
0:43:30 > 0:43:32Is everything OK for them to come
0:43:32 > 0:43:34and do Top Of The Pops next week if we get high enough?
0:43:34 > 0:43:37'They definitely are. They've got their bags packed
0:43:37 > 0:43:40'and they'll be on the next Concorde coming over.'
0:43:40 > 0:43:43You're always trying to outdo somebody else in order to try
0:43:43 > 0:43:44and get somebody on the show.
0:43:44 > 0:43:48Oliver Smallman, who was another record executive and myself,
0:43:48 > 0:43:51decided we wanted to see this producer who always got in
0:43:51 > 0:43:53very early, a guy called Phil Bishop.
0:43:56 > 0:43:59We devised a plan of going in there the night before
0:43:59 > 0:44:04and I persuaded the guy on the gate that we were coming in to do
0:44:04 > 0:44:07a bit of maintenance at the Top Of The Pops office.
0:44:07 > 0:44:09We were escorted up there, the door was opened,
0:44:09 > 0:44:13we were left to our devices, which was to close the door,
0:44:13 > 0:44:16set up a tent and sleep overnight.
0:44:18 > 0:44:23In the morning, we put these Scouts outfits on. We got our primus stove.
0:44:23 > 0:44:25We're cooking beans and sausages.
0:44:25 > 0:44:29Phil came in and was like totally confused with what was happening.
0:44:29 > 0:44:31Anyway, we were trying to plug our little acts
0:44:31 > 0:44:32and it maybe served me right,
0:44:32 > 0:44:34I didn't get my act on, I was very disappointed.
0:44:36 > 0:44:38One budding young act getting noticed by pluggers
0:44:38 > 0:44:42at the time were a North London ska band, The Invaders,
0:44:42 > 0:44:46who had a family connection with Top Of The Pops.
0:44:46 > 0:44:49My mum was an AFM, which is an assistant floor manager.
0:44:49 > 0:44:52Everyone who wanted anything went to the AFM,
0:44:52 > 0:44:54from David Bowie to
0:44:54 > 0:44:59Bob Marley to everyone - they all, you know, knew my mum.
0:45:01 > 0:45:05In '79, The Invaders had news for Woody's mum -
0:45:05 > 0:45:08they changed their name.
0:45:08 > 0:45:09She used to know all the pluggers,
0:45:09 > 0:45:13so once we made the decision to be called Madness,
0:45:13 > 0:45:18she excitedly told all her pluggers and to a man every one of them
0:45:18 > 0:45:22went, "Oh, what a shame." "They were going to go so far."
0:45:22 > 0:45:26Right, this is the original of one of the ones we do.
0:45:29 > 0:45:32Madness didn't need an older generation of pluggers
0:45:32 > 0:45:35and record execs housed in corporate towers.
0:45:38 > 0:45:42They signed to a young and very different kind of label,
0:45:42 > 0:45:462 Tone, based in a small terraced house in Coventry.
0:45:46 > 0:45:48- I'm showing them around the office! - LAUGHTER
0:45:48 > 0:45:51Here we have the chequebooks.
0:45:51 > 0:45:56The receipts. The con... Oh, hang on.
0:45:57 > 0:45:59The contracts.
0:46:01 > 0:46:03I think this is our contract.
0:46:03 > 0:46:05LAUGHTER
0:46:05 > 0:46:07'It was phenomenal.
0:46:07 > 0:46:11'The music they were producing, out of really pokey studios.'
0:46:11 > 0:46:13There were bits of wall falling off while they were recording.
0:46:13 > 0:46:16Nice piece of mohair.
0:46:17 > 0:46:18LAUGHTER
0:46:21 > 0:46:24Those recordings were just astonishing.
0:46:24 > 0:46:27It might have been chaotically run but 2 Tone records soon had
0:46:27 > 0:46:31a roster of new ska bands all storming into the charts.
0:46:31 > 0:46:35It was more than just music, it was a whole movement.
0:46:35 > 0:46:38There was something really, really incredible going on.
0:46:39 > 0:46:42In November, all three bands on the 2 Tone label made it,
0:46:42 > 0:46:45extraordinarily, onto the same Top Of The Pops.
0:46:45 > 0:46:49# I bought my baby a red radio
0:46:49 > 0:46:52# He played it all day a-go-go a-go-go
0:46:52 > 0:46:56# He liked to dance to it down in the streets
0:46:56 > 0:46:59# He said he loved me but he loved the beat. #
0:46:59 > 0:47:058th November 1979, The Specials, Selecter, Madness, all in one show.
0:47:05 > 0:47:07# One step beyond! #
0:47:08 > 0:47:13And that's known in 2 Tone circles as the 2 Tone Top Of The Pops.
0:47:16 > 0:47:19You know when groups come with a bit of a swag, I think
0:47:19 > 0:47:22Madness had that swag. They really were great Top Of The Pops performers.
0:47:22 > 0:47:24And they asked us to do the nutty train.
0:47:30 > 0:47:32But it's a bit difficult for me,
0:47:32 > 0:47:35being the drummer because I can't really take my kit with me.
0:47:35 > 0:47:39It turned into more like...a conga.
0:47:40 > 0:47:42You know that Madness have arrived.
0:47:42 > 0:47:46Once they are doing that through a Top Of The Pops audience, they're there to stay.
0:47:48 > 0:47:50# One step beyond! #
0:47:51 > 0:47:55Top Of The Pops for years had been...looking like a girl.
0:47:55 > 0:47:57The Bowie effect was ridiculous.
0:47:58 > 0:48:02To even groups like Slade, all of a sudden people were
0:48:02 > 0:48:08looking like my dad did in his wedding picture. Sharp suits. And I loved it.
0:48:08 > 0:48:11A lot of my mates used to come to school, loafers were massive,
0:48:11 > 0:48:13suede boogers, we used to call them.
0:48:13 > 0:48:18Everyone was running on the spot, pork pie hats. It was a great look.
0:48:20 > 0:48:23# One step beyond! #
0:48:32 > 0:48:36It's funny, you join a band and there's all these milestones -
0:48:36 > 0:48:39make a record, get on John Peel.
0:48:39 > 0:48:42Your shiny mansion on the hill was to go and do Top Of The Pops.
0:48:42 > 0:48:46And you get it and you're so excited as a band.
0:48:46 > 0:48:49And I guess it probably ranks in
0:48:49 > 0:48:53the top ten biggest anti-climaxes in life.
0:48:59 > 0:49:02The first thing I felt was disappointment, really,
0:49:02 > 0:49:05because I've been watching it on the small box all my life
0:49:05 > 0:49:08and you get there, "Oh, God, is this what it's like?"
0:49:08 > 0:49:13I all ways remember that set they used to have with the arrow, and I'd seen it 1,000 times.
0:49:14 > 0:49:18Of course, it's make-believe. You know, there's little sets.
0:49:18 > 0:49:23In '79, these new wave types came face-to-face with BBC staff
0:49:23 > 0:49:25who hadn't changed their ways in decades.
0:49:27 > 0:49:29It was like being back at school.
0:49:29 > 0:49:31You used to get people coming in saying,
0:49:31 > 0:49:34"Right, you're on in half an hour and are you ready?
0:49:34 > 0:49:37"Have you been to make up and have...?" It was just...
0:49:37 > 0:49:40Barry? Just a slight problem here.
0:49:40 > 0:49:44I remember the faceless voice through the intercom,
0:49:44 > 0:49:46"Right, we'll do that again!" One of those.
0:49:46 > 0:49:47Cue them, please.
0:49:47 > 0:49:49Can you get off, you three, and can we have you two back?
0:49:49 > 0:49:54There was a lot of feeling that you were superfluous to the actual programme.
0:49:54 > 0:49:56"Musicians, tsk! Get them out of the way!"
0:49:56 > 0:50:00The cameras coming through here, you know. "Clear off!"
0:50:05 > 0:50:08And there were strictly regulated volume levels.
0:50:08 > 0:50:12And then you realise how quiet the playback is.
0:50:12 > 0:50:15Oh! Oh, horrendous.
0:50:15 > 0:50:18I mean, it was a constant battle to get it pumped up.
0:50:18 > 0:50:20They'd be very scrimpy. Just a little bit.
0:50:20 > 0:50:25"Is it going to be louder when you're filming?"
0:50:25 > 0:50:26"Yeah... Not much."
0:50:26 > 0:50:28He's got his drums.
0:50:28 > 0:50:31You've got plastic high hats, two plastic cymbals
0:50:31 > 0:50:34and pads on the drum, so it starts off...
0:50:34 > 0:50:36QUIETLY: Bup-diddy-bup-diddy-bup!
0:50:36 > 0:50:38QUIETLY: Boom, boom!
0:50:38 > 0:50:41You'd be like, "Oh, God, what are we doing?"
0:50:41 > 0:50:43You literally had to stop to kind of...
0:50:43 > 0:50:46Often, you'd see people on Top Of The Pops go like that.
0:50:54 > 0:50:57In those days, cameramen and sound men were just on a rota,
0:50:57 > 0:51:01so one day they could be doing the Antiques Road Show...
0:51:01 > 0:51:03It's very dusty inside and slightly discoloured.
0:51:03 > 0:51:06..and the next day they could be doing Top Of The Pops
0:51:06 > 0:51:09and they'd be, "Ooh, it's a bit loud.
0:51:09 > 0:51:11"Can you turn it down a bit?"
0:51:11 > 0:51:16You had to sort of force the performance out of yourself.
0:51:16 > 0:51:18And to make sure bands didn't complain,
0:51:18 > 0:51:22Top Of The Pops has its very own version of the naughty step.
0:51:22 > 0:51:26There was this kind of axe swinging over you, it felt.
0:51:26 > 0:51:28They'd record too many
0:51:28 > 0:51:32and there was usually one act that didn't make it to the week.
0:51:32 > 0:51:35So one week, when we did Something I Said...
0:51:35 > 0:51:40# Something that I said Was it something that I said?
0:51:40 > 0:51:44# Something in my head. #
0:51:44 > 0:51:47They had this kind of punk wall behind us.
0:51:47 > 0:51:51And they put the band, obviously Sham 69 behind us,
0:51:51 > 0:51:54but they put Sham 9. It was a sham.
0:51:54 > 0:51:57# Your self-righteousness has grown. #
0:51:59 > 0:52:03Gang of Four were on, so I think it was Andy Gill took his strings,
0:52:03 > 0:52:07took them all off and wrapped them round, you know, as if to say...
0:52:07 > 0:52:10and they just filmed them but didn't put it on.
0:52:11 > 0:52:14# Something that I said
0:52:14 > 0:52:15# Something in my head. #
0:52:15 > 0:52:18There was that sort of very BBC thing of,
0:52:18 > 0:52:20"If you're a little bit too out of line,
0:52:20 > 0:52:22"you're not going to make it this week."
0:52:22 > 0:52:29# Only time can tell if we get on well cos I love you. #
0:52:29 > 0:52:32Back at the start of the decade, the Top Of The Pops audience were
0:52:32 > 0:52:36a vital part of the show and seemed delighted to be there.
0:52:39 > 0:52:45By '79, the studio audience looked...well...lost.
0:52:51 > 0:52:54There was this kind of small group of kids that they'd
0:52:54 > 0:52:58kind of shepherd around like sheep.
0:52:58 > 0:53:00# Dance! #
0:53:00 > 0:53:02And they really treated them badly.
0:53:02 > 0:53:05The cameras would come at them and they'd really had to duck
0:53:05 > 0:53:08and get out of the way very, very quickly.
0:53:08 > 0:53:09# Dance! #
0:53:09 > 0:53:12They'd push the crowd around, like herding them about.
0:53:16 > 0:53:18It was just like living scenery.
0:53:18 > 0:53:20# Confused
0:53:20 > 0:53:24# We don't seem to know what we're doing
0:53:27 > 0:53:28# Like a blind man
0:53:31 > 0:53:33# Spinning round in space. #
0:53:36 > 0:53:38They don't look all that happy.
0:53:38 > 0:53:41They've got to come over here now and be happy around this band
0:53:41 > 0:53:43and they probably don't like the band.
0:53:43 > 0:53:48Sometimes, I think the audience could look as if they were in a state of shock.
0:53:48 > 0:53:51There was always a thing of "If possible, please keep moving,
0:53:51 > 0:53:54"please keep dancing, please look like you're having a good time.
0:53:57 > 0:54:00"And try not to look at the monitors." But who can resist that?
0:54:00 > 0:54:01# Dance!
0:54:04 > 0:54:05# Dance!
0:54:08 > 0:54:10# Dance! #
0:54:12 > 0:54:16There is, like, this vibe, you had loads of people being in there.
0:54:16 > 0:54:20You got this huge round of applause, but if you look at the front
0:54:20 > 0:54:23of the stage you'll see that those people aren't clapping at all.
0:54:23 > 0:54:24LOUD APPLAUSE
0:54:26 > 0:54:29It's canned applause! You know, there are 20 kids in there.
0:54:29 > 0:54:33This is Rosie, they are Legs & Co
0:54:33 > 0:54:35and this is Michael Jackson.
0:54:36 > 0:54:40In December '79, with a lifeless studio audience,
0:54:40 > 0:54:43the producers took steps to address the problem.
0:54:43 > 0:54:45The producer sent a message down saying,
0:54:45 > 0:54:49"We want to use the audience and make sure they're participating,
0:54:49 > 0:54:51"looking like they're having a really good time."
0:54:51 > 0:54:54# Party people night and day. #
0:54:54 > 0:54:58Two or three people took that slightly to the extreme.
0:55:00 > 0:55:04I remember there was one gentleman who had a bright red V-neck
0:55:04 > 0:55:08pullover on, and as the music started he was getting really into it,
0:55:08 > 0:55:12clapping away and a little bit over the top but warming up all the time.
0:55:12 > 0:55:15And it was getting more and more noticeable, this person behind us.
0:55:17 > 0:55:19And then, halfway through the routine,
0:55:19 > 0:55:22there were a couple of boys in front and one of them was getting
0:55:22 > 0:55:25so excited, completely over the top, and as Rosie came forward,
0:55:25 > 0:55:28we were all coming forward in a diagonal line,
0:55:28 > 0:55:30he fell off the chair and couldn't get back up again.
0:55:30 > 0:55:33As for the whole routine, he'd obviously been told, "Stay there,
0:55:33 > 0:55:36"don't move," and you can see his feet kicking
0:55:36 > 0:55:37and socks and what have you.
0:55:37 > 0:55:40I don't think he gets back on the chair for the rest of the routine.
0:55:40 > 0:55:43MUSIC: "Walking On The Moon" by The Police
0:55:49 > 0:55:52Towards the end of the year, following the ITV strike,
0:55:52 > 0:55:56a technicians dispute forced Top Of The Pops into an even greater
0:55:56 > 0:56:00change of format, with presenters out of vision and reduced to
0:56:00 > 0:56:04voicing introductions to previously shot performances and videos.
0:56:04 > 0:56:09# Walking on, walking on the moon. #
0:56:09 > 0:56:12Hit five, The Police and Walking On The Moon.
0:56:12 > 0:56:15I only want to be with you, in sound if not vision tonight.
0:56:15 > 0:56:18And now a change in tempo, a surprise single release.
0:56:18 > 0:56:21It's come out from Pink Floyd - Another Brick In The Wall.
0:56:24 > 0:56:28And in December, an ominous song made its way up the charts
0:56:28 > 0:56:30to be the last number one of the decade.
0:56:30 > 0:56:34# We don't need no education. #
0:56:34 > 0:56:37Another Brick In The Wall seemed to spell out
0:56:37 > 0:56:40the need for widespread change.
0:56:40 > 0:56:45# We don't need no thought control. #
0:56:46 > 0:56:51It was such an era-defining song. It wasn't my music, but it was rammed,
0:56:51 > 0:56:56it was like a hammer just banging on your head.
0:56:56 > 0:56:57You couldn't ignore that song.
0:56:57 > 0:56:59In a sense, you could argue
0:56:59 > 0:57:01that it was a single that presaged the 1980s.
0:57:01 > 0:57:03I mean, this is the future.
0:57:06 > 0:57:10And we know now Mrs Thatcher came in and greed is good
0:57:10 > 0:57:11and all sorts of things.
0:57:11 > 0:57:13There's something in that Floyd record
0:57:13 > 0:57:15that almost seems to suggest that.
0:57:15 > 0:57:18# Another brick in the wall. #
0:57:18 > 0:57:22Top Of The Pops would feel the wind of change too as older-gent
0:57:22 > 0:57:26producer Robin Nash would be replaced by a younger man
0:57:26 > 0:57:28with new ideas, Michael Hurll.
0:57:28 > 0:57:321979 is the last year of Top Of The Pops how it was,
0:57:32 > 0:57:35how it had been from the '60s right through the '70s.
0:57:36 > 0:57:37Michael was coming in
0:57:37 > 0:57:41and he knew what he had to do to keep that show evolving
0:57:41 > 0:57:43and to bring a new audience.
0:57:43 > 0:57:45# Another brick in the wall. #
0:57:45 > 0:57:48Within six months, the Top Of The Pops Orchestra
0:57:48 > 0:57:50would stop playing in the studio,
0:57:50 > 0:57:53the light entertainment luvvies would start to diminish,
0:57:53 > 0:57:55Gary Numan, his synthesiser pals
0:57:55 > 0:57:59and a whole new pop generation would arrive, and the show,
0:57:59 > 0:58:02for the studio audience and the performers,
0:58:02 > 0:58:04would get a total makeover.
0:58:04 > 0:58:07This is where the new age of Top Of The Pops begins.
0:58:07 > 0:58:09MUSIC: Antmusic by Adam And The Ants
0:58:09 > 0:58:13# Well, I'm standing here looking at you
0:58:13 > 0:58:14# What do I see?
0:58:14 > 0:58:16# I'm looking straight through
0:58:16 > 0:58:22# It's so sad when you're young to be told you're having fun
0:58:22 > 0:58:28# So unplug the jukebox and do us all a favour
0:58:28 > 0:58:33# That music's lost its taste so try another flavour
0:58:33 > 0:58:35# Antmusic
0:58:36 > 0:58:37# Antmusic
0:58:39 > 0:58:41# Antmusic
0:58:42 > 0:58:43# Antmusic. #