- This article relates to the television programme. For the magazine, see BBC Top of the Pops.
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Top of the Pops (also known as TOTP), was a BBC One music chart show that first aired in 1964. Originally broadcast weekly between 1 January 1964 and 30 July 2006, it was traditionally shown every Thursday evening, except for a short period on Fridays in mid-1973 before being again moved to Fridays in 1996, and then to Sundays on BBC Two in 2005.
Each weekly programme consisted of performances from some of that week's best-selling popular music artists, with a rundown of that week's singles chart. Additionally, there was a special edition of the programme on Christmas Day (and usually, until 1984, a second such edition a few days after Christmas), featuring some of the best-selling singles of the year.
With its high viewing figures the show became a significant part of British popular culture. Although the weekly show was cancelled in 2006, the Christmas special continued until 2021 despite being without audiences in 2020 due to the Coronavirus pandemic. It also survives as Top of the Pops 2, which began in 1994 and features vintage performances from the Top of the Pops archives until its final episode in 2017.
In 26 July 2000 the BBC released a Top Of the Pops CD-ROM titled "Top of the Pops: Mix Factory" via BBC Multimedia.
Old episodes of TOTP from the 1980s and 1990s are now being repeated on BBC Four and to feature missing episodes at a later date.
See also[]
- Top of the Pops 2
- Top Gear of the Pops
- Top of the Pops Reloaded
- Top of the Pops@Play
- BBC Top of the Pops magazine
