Why We Need 'Top Of The Pops' To Return To Our TV Screens

The time is now.

It’s been a decade since ‘Top Of the Pops’ disappeared from our TV screens, save for the annual Christmas special, and we think now is the perfect time to resuscitate the classic music show.

With so few opportunities for acts to get their music on the box these days, ten years later the need for a dedicated music show has never been greater.

Simon Cowell has already stated that he’d love to buy the rights from the BBC and re-launch it on ITV, saying he’d “rather it came to us than just sit in the dustbin.”

And surely even he couldn’t make as big a mess as the Beeb did with the recent reboot of ‘Top Gear’?

Former presenter Fearne Cotton backed up the music mogul, adding: “Let’s get a petition, let’s get banners and let’s picket outside. People don’t have a platform these days. TV-wise it’s difficult for bands and artists to do promotion at the moment.”

There is a glimmer of hope - and we won’t even need banners.

The BBC’s Director of Music has revealed his hopes to revive the iconic music series, inspired by the successful revamp ‘Top Gear’ had when it was brought back in 2002.

Bob Shennan revealed he hopes to bring back ‘TOTP’, following the massive success of the recent Adele special on BBC One.

However, he added that it would not return in its traditional weekly slot, saying: “If just bringing back ‘Top Of The Pops’ was such a straightforward and obvious thing to do, somebody on some channel would have done it.

“The challenge is to find a new way to bring it to mainstream audiences. We’re going to have to find a new twist,” he said, adding that any potential show would have a new name.

Hmmm, we’re not convinced, but if you’re reading Bob, here’s eight reasons why we need ‘TOTP’ back in our lives..

We might just get to witness music history in the making
You know, like when the sight of a young Boy George making his debut appearance with Culture Club in 1983 caused households across the nation to ask ‘why is he called Boy George if he’s a girl?’
Artists need somewhere, ANYWHERE, to plug their latest hits
BBC
Apart from a coveted guest spot on ‘The X Factor’ or ‘Strictly’, there’s pretty much nowhere else for mainstream pop acts to promote their latest releases. Not even CD:UK (sniff).
Live TV will always gives us plenty of oh-my-god-did-you-see-that? moments.
You know, like when a certain ‘refreshed’ member of Status Quo fell off the stage or when 80’s goth band All About Eve forgot to mime along to their latest single. Awks.
There’s something for everyone, which means the whole family can gather round to watch (well, we can wish)
BBC
It wasn’t unusual to see the likes of Kylie, U2, The Stone Roses and Bob The Builder all appearing on the same show. IMAGINE!
It’s camp
From Madonna doing her best Katie Price impression performing ‘Like A Virgin’ in a pink wig to Kylie being joined on stage by gaggle of lookeylikey drag queens. Pink row of tents included.
It will give new and emerging talent the chance to get seen and heard
Which means they won’t have to resort to appearing at the end of ‘The One Show’, Pointless or (worse) ‘The Andrew Marr Show’. Just no.
And that goes for the presenters too…
Can you IMAGINE a world without Fearne Cotton, Reggie Yates and Edith Bowman? Oh.
The charts might actually become relevant again
Official Charts Company
If it has a primetime Friday TV spot, it could be the first place the new chart is unveiled and people might actually get excited/care again.