A Christmas cracker of a music TV show
Pop goes Christmas. MARION MCMULLEN looks at the music show that’s been essential festive viewing for decades
MOUNTAINS of fake snow, a television studio decked with glittering tinsel and baubles and wall-to-wall pop stars.
Christmas Top Of The Pops was always essential viewing for every music lover across the country and the BBC offered a bumper present of the year’s biggest hits to unwrap.
There was everything from Slade’s Noddy Holder cheerfully shouting “It’s Christmas” on their 1973 single Merry Xmas Everybody to Wizzard declaring “I wish it could be Christmas every day”.
And, of course, dancers Pan’s People were always around to add some extra seasonal sparkle to the proceedings dressing as reindeers, being painted gold for the 1968 show and dancing in candle headdresses in 1973. Before the dawn of music videos, the girls were always ready to take to the dance floor when a music act was unable to appear on the show.
Top Of The Pops is one of the UK’S longest-running television shows and was a late Christmas present to viewers from Santa Claus.
It launched on January 1, 1964, from a converted church in Dickenson Road, Manchester, and showcased the hits of performers like the Rolling Stones, Dusty Springfield and The Hollies.
The music programme was originally commissioned for only a sixweek run and began with a performance of I Wanna Be Your Man by the Rolling Stones. The Beatles were number one in the charts at the time with I Want To Hold Your Hand.
Those inside the studio showed boundless enthusiasm at the thought of being so near to their music idols while, outside, the church was besieged by fans desperate to get inside and join the fun.
With no M6 and the airport frequently fogbound, acts often found it impossible to reach the studio before the live broadcast so producers turned the cameras on the young audience as they danced along to the record and they became the stars of the show.
Many of the early 1960s recordings no longer exist but the format was soon winning over fans in more than 80 countries – and the highlight of the Top Of The Pops year was always the Christmas Day special. The first in 1964 saw music from the Beatles, Cilla Black, The Kinks, Sandie Shaw, Dave Clark Five and The Searchers. Having the Christ mas No.1 was the ultimate accolade and over the years those who achieved the seasonal slot ranged from German disco band Boney M. with their version of Mary’s Boy Child/oh, My Lord in 1978 and Mud’s Lonely This Christmas in 1979 to Shakin’ Stevens and Merry Christmas Everybody in 1985.
Band Aid charity single Do They Know It’s Christmas? became the biggest-selling Christmas number one of all time in 1984 with nearly four million told.
Irish boy band Westlife decided to put on festive reindeer antlers to celebrate after clinching the prized Christmas number one in 1999 with I Have A Dream/seasons In The
Sun. Meanwhile Girls Aloud made it to number one in 2002 – just a month after they were formed after winning ITV show Popstars: The Rivals. Their release Sound Of The Underground/stay Another Day became the 50th Christmas number one and sold 213,000 copies.
Reaching number one meant an automatic invitation to appear on Christmas Top Of The Pops with a chance to be watched by millions of viewers on the big day.
The seasonal offering included a sprinkling of festive favourites over the years like Mel Smith and Kim Wilde’s Comic Relief ’s Dancing Around The Christmas Tree and Wham! classic Last Christmas.
Presenters like Noel Edmonds and Tony Blackburn would join in the festive spirit by wearing their holiday best and cracking jokes.
The world’s longest-running music show was cancelled by the
BBC in 2006 after 42 years, but the Christmas favourite still continues and has been presented over the last few years by Reggie Yates and Fearne Cotton .
TV’S biggest pop party will be back again on Christmas Day this year as well as New Year’s Eve. It will see Clara Amfo and Jordan North host the music specials and keep the groundbreaking show alive.
The Christmas special line-up includes Anne-marie, Griff, Clean Bandit featuring Wes Nelson, Joel Corry featuring Mabel, KSI, Mimi Webb, Sigrid and Tom Grennan.
Clara says: “TOTP remains an iconic and beloved show, so to be part of it at Christmas is so very special and I’m delighted to be presenting alongside the joyous Jordan North! We’re very much looking forward to celebrating some of the UK’S favourite chart stars with the audience at home.”