Best TOTP Podcasts (2024)

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Chart Music #74 - Neil 4:35:32

7d ago4:35:32

4:35:32

Our mate Neil Kulkarni died in January. This episode is dedicated to him. Subscribe | Facebook | Twitter| The Chart Music Wiki | Patreon Simon’s Quietus piece on Neil | Sofia’s Gofundme page Special thanks to Lily Wilde for cover art. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1
Chart Music #73: March 4th 1993 – Frank Bald 6:53:24

6M ago6:53:24

6:53:24

The latest episode of the podcast which asks; do we really have to hug? And rub-a-dub? The Chart Music time sofa descends upon March of 1993, Pop-Crazed Youngsters – the Forgotten Nineties, if you will. A time where the only options available to The Kids were having their heads filled with rubbish by trampy Americans, or being exploited by Ian Beal…

1
Chart Music #73 (Pt 4): 4.3.93 – Frank Bald 1:58:30

6M ago1:58:30

1:58:30

Simon Price, Sarah Bee and Al Needham hit the final stretch of this episode of TOTP with the chance to hear 20 seconds of a Xmas Number One, Bryan Ferry going through the motions, some Americans who want to weld you into a chair and Dead Madonna, then Diana Ross gets all excited at the sight of an oiled-up saxman, and we continue our ongoing missio…

1
Chart Music #73 (Pt 3): 4.3.93 – Frank Bald 1:32:56

6M ago1:32:56

1:32:56

Sarah Bee, Simon Price and Al Needham end up having a massively deep dive on Suede, before being whipped over to Hawaii to watch the Lower-Case Canadian sit on a box for a bit. Oh, and Runrig! Video Playlist | Subscribe | Facebook | Twitter | The Chart Music Wiki | Patreon Get your tickets for Chart Music at Birmingham Town Hall on Jan 13th HERE Ho…

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Chart Music #73 (Pt 2): 4.3.93 – Frank Bald 1:45:18

6M ago1:45:18

1:45:18

Simon Price, Sarah Bee and Al Needham begin their slog through an early-Nineties episode of The Pops with an examination of the changes Stanley Appell wrought upon our fave Thursday Evening Pop Treat. Then we’re immediately assailed by the sight of someone grabbing one of Right Said Fred’s arse as they do a bit for Comic Relief, followed by SuperMu…

1
Chart Music #73 (Pt 1): 4.3.93 – Frank Bald 1:47:38

6M ago1:47:38

1:47:38

#73 (Pt 1): 4.3.93 – Frank Bald Sarah Bee, Simon Price and Al Needham gird their loins for a plunge into a TOTP from the early Nineties, but before all that there’s a comprehensive leaf through that week’s NME. a heartrending discussion about the misery of gym knickers and hair loss, and a massive plug for our live show in Birmingham… Video Playlis…

1
76: My TOTP@60 : The Radio 1 Years With Shaun Tilley (Celebrating 60 Years of Top of the Pops) 1:19:31

6M ago1:19:31

1:19:31

Shaun Tilley celebrates the special relationship Top of the Pops and BBC Radio 1 enjoyed during the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. Sharing their memories with him are former hosts Pete Murray, Tony Blackburn, David Symonds, Dave Lee Travis, Johnnie Walker, Greg Edwards, Paul Burnett, Rosko, David Hamilton, Kid Jensen, Peter Powell, Mike Read, Andy Peebles, S…

1
75: My Radio 1 With Shaun Tilley and Tom Browne 44:13

6M ago44:13

44:13

From its launch in 1967, right through the 70’s to the mid 80’s...BBC Radio 1 was probably the world’s biggest music station! In this edition of the series Shaun Tilley introduces you to DJ Tom Browne, one of the many people behind the network's success during those golden years as he tells the story of ‘his’ Radio 1!!…

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74: My Radio 1 Roadshow At 50 With Shaun Tilley and Smiley Miley plus Many Other R1 Names 56:43

10M ago56:43

56:43

50 years on from it's debut in 1973, Shaun Tilley is joined by Smiley Miley as they tell the story of The Radio 1 Roadshow, the world's biggest travelling outside broadcast event going coast to coast every Summer! Its creator Johnny Beerling also shares his memories plus there's tales from Tim Blackmore, David Hamilton, Annie Nightingale, Dave Atke…

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Chart Music #72: October 3rd 1985 – Rod Vicious 6:41:12

10M ago6:41:12

6:41:12

The latest episode of the podcast which asks; so how do you set fire to a trophy? Like a man in a cage, we find ourselves trapped in the mid-Eighties, imprisoned in a lurid enclosure of neon and rolled sleeves and appalling Number Ones, with Gary Davies – fresh from a birthday party in a garage in Cumbria and looking well Bisto – in the Mr McKay ro…

1
#72 (Pt 4): 3.10.85 – Rod Vicious 1:26:26

10M ago1:26:26

1:26:26

Simon Price, Rock Expert David Stubbs and Al Needham hit the final stretch of this episode of TOTP, and pick through the ‘delights’ of the Top Ten. It’s a meaty fist in the air for Billy Idol, King of the Quincy Punks, before being subjected to a cult indoctrination video. We savour Midge Ure’s Sympathy Number One, and then it’s on to the dancefloo…

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#72 (Pt 3): 3.10.85 – Rod Vicious 1:43:38

10M ago1:43:38

1:43:38

Simon Price, Rock Expert David Stubbs and Al Needham plunge ever-onwards into a post-Live Aid episode of The Pops, and it turns out that 1985 is SKILL – well, it is when Cameo are slinking about on TOTP stage. Then we’re reminded of the dark times when John Parr pitches up to do a film advert. But then! It’s a double-barrelled blast of Our Bands, a…

1
#72 (Pt 2): 3.10.85 – Rod Vicious 1:28:49

10M ago1:28:49

1:28:49

Simon Price, Rock Expert David Stubbs and Al Needham set about this episode of TOTP with the usual gleeful abandon, asking themselves; what did Paul Jordan actually do to get nobbed off from Radio 1 in less than a year? And why does Gary Davies look like he’s been thrown into a tub of Bisto? Colonel Abrams gets us housetrained, Iron Maiden have a g…

1
#72 (Pt 1): 3.10.85 – Rod Vicious 2:12:34

10M ago2:12:34

2:12:34

Simon Price, Rock Expert David Stubbs and Al Needham prepare for a punishing slog through a post-Live Aid episode of The Pops – but first, a good hard shill of their new books, which are out NOW/SOON. We leaf through that week’s NME, discuss a Norwegian newspaper article from the year 2000, and, y’know, go on a bit about pop music. TUCK IN, POP-CRA…

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#71: March 19th 1981 – Shaky Of The Dorm 7:16:56

1y ago7:16:56

7:16:56

The latest episode of the podcast which asks; Whoops Scotties, Tasty Tarts Foster Grants or Allied For Carpets For You? Oh yes – it’s back to the Eighventies we go, Pop-Crazed Youngsters, to a year where everyone was loaded into a cannon and fired into the dress-up box, or so we’re led to believe. One look at Peter Powell – who has turned up lookin…

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#71 (Pt 4): 19.3.81 – Shaky Of The Dorm 1:46:17

1y ago1:46:17

1:46:17

Neil Kulkarni, Taylor Parkes and Al Needham finally stumble upon the real 1981 – Strange The Clock, and the New Street Station Dolls – while Al deals with an industrial dispute over Toyah by locking Neil and Taylor out and getting some robots in. And we finally get to grips with the most malign influence upon the charts of 1981 – the Syd Little of …

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#71 (Pt 3): 19.3.81 – Shaky Of The Dorm 2:09:14

1y ago2:09:14

2:09:14

Neil Kulkarni, Taylor Parkes and Al Needham plough on through this episode from the tail-end of the Eighventies, stopping for a deep, deep, deep dive on the post-Moon Who. Legs & Co say farewell to Pauline by sitting about under a giant Scotch egg, the Paint Pot comes back for an encore, and Bucks Fizz make their debut and do that thing with the Ve…

1
#71 (Pt 2): 19.3.81 – Shaky Of The Dorm 1:38:17

1y ago1:38:17

1:38:17

Neil Kulkarni, Taylor Parkes and Al Needham commence their odyssey into the March 19th 1981 episode, and are horrified to discover that the Top Of The Pops Orchestra are still knocking about, and The Kids – who are supposed to be dressed up as nouveaux dandies – are wearing visors and doing the Blockbusters hand-jive. After a visit from Comrade Sha…

1
#71 (Pt 1): 19.3.81 – Shaky Of The Dorm 1:50:18

1y ago1:50:18

1:50:18

Neil Kulkarni, Taylor Parkes and Al Needham prepare the stage for a late-Eighventies episode of The Pops – but first, it’s a flick through that week’s NME, Rod Hull and Emu pay tribute to Rolls-Royce, Neil speaks of his brush with the local Masonic Lodge (and fails to win the Tombola), Al shares not one but two embarrassing stories about teenage lu…

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#70: April 17th 1986 – The Rishi Sunak Of Top Of The Pops 6:08:07

1y ago6:08:07

6:08:07

The latest episode of the podcast which asks; has Rock Expert David Stubbs come from The Sky? After all the lovely Pop trifle we’ve had in recent episodes, Pop-Crazed Youngsters, it’s time for some necessary roughage, as we take a tentative walk down Nineteen Eighty Six Street once more. And yes, it’s stillone of the most rammel years for 20th Cent…

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#70 (Pt 4): 17.4.86 – The Rishi Sunak Of TOTP 1:39:51

1y ago1:39:51

1:39:51

Neil Kulkarni, Sarah Bee and Al Needham finally claw their way up the final furlong on an episode of TOTP that’s been better than any episode set in 1986 has a right to be. Neil issues a come-and-get-me statement to Janet Jackson, It’s Immaterial look knackered and bemused on the big new set, George Michael delivers the weirdest Number One of the e…

1
#70 (Pt 3): 17.4.86 – The Rishi Sunak Of TOTP 1:30:27

1y ago1:30:27

1:30:27

Sarah Bee, Neil Kulkarni and Al Needham plunge deeper into the 17.4.86 episode as we hit the Breakers section. Suzanne Vega slaps it about with assorted extras from Bonfire Of The Vanities, and then we get hit with REAL KIDS ISSUES as Grange Hill become child conscripts in the War On Drugs… Video Playlist | Subscribe | Facebook | Twitter | The Char…

1
#70 (Pt 2): 17.4.86 – The Rishi Sunak Of TOTP 1:12:35

1y ago1:12:35

1:12:35

Neil Kulkarni, Sarah Bee and Al Needham get stuck into the hellscape of 1986, and discover that it’s not that rammel, actually. We gaze upon the even-toed ungulate splendour of Gary Davies – a man who divides his time between going out on the pull with Brian Tilsley, bringing peace upon the houses of Fine Young Cannibals and Matt Bianco, and making…

1
#70 (Pt 1): 17.4.86 – The Rishi Sunak Of TOTP 1:25:38

1y ago1:25:38

1:25:38

Sarah Bee and Neil Kulkarni join Al Needham and prepare for some serious loin-girding as they prepare to tackle an episode of The Pops from the unappealing middle bit of the Aydeez – a neon wasteland where the Dinosaurs of Pop are running rampant in their Success Coats with sleeves a-rolled. But first, a flick through that week’s NME, and a vital B…

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#69: December 27th 1974 – The Ramadan #1 Of 1974 6:03:06

1+ y ago6:03:06

6:03:06

The latest episode of the podcast which asks; have any of Team Chart Music done a streak? It’s late January, but the inflatable Jimmy Savile-as-Santa is still hanging off the roof of the Chart Music house and the wreath that looks like DLT still hangs on the door as we prepare to tuck into another end-of-year splurge of Pop, as our favourite Thursd…

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#69 (Pt 4): 27.12.74 – The Ramadan #1 of 1974 1:37:44

1+ y ago1:37:44

1:37:44

David Stubbs, Taylor Parkes and Al Needham conclude their excavation of the last TOTP of 1974. After Ray Stevens lets us all down by refusing to lob it out, Suzy Quatro drops the last ever Glam Bomb and then – YESSSS! Carl Douglas gives another demonstration of Chinese-lettered-pyjama funk with the most perfect Number One EVER. Terry Jacks reminds …

1
#69 (Pt 3): 27.12.74 – The Ramadan #1 of 1974 1:38:10

1+ y ago1:38:10

1:38:10

Taylor Parkes and David Stubbs go deeper on the last TOTP of 1974 with Al Needham, and recoil at Dave Lee Travis looking none more Gnasher-like as he salivates over Stephanie De Sykes and then we’re hit with Another Chance To See the debut performance of Sparks, the Great Lost Gary Glitter Number One, Another Chance To See Sylvia telling some very …

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