I recently commented that BBC4 should bust a gut to get hold of the recordings of American Bandstand. Dick Clark kept a great deal of recordings for his own archive, thus collating a valuable history of 20th century popular music from rock and roll to the modern day. BBC4 have a fantastic track record when it comes to music programming, often theming an entire night around a specific genre, with Top Of The Pops and Old Grey Whistle Test compilations, live concerts, and documentary. On Thursdays, they are showing Top Of The Pops episodes in real time, which has proved that full episodes of Top Of The Pops aren't necessarily a good thing. For every David Bowie, there seems to be a Rene and Renata, which perhaps builds a case to bring back Top Of The Pops 2 instead. Or just find the recordings on YouTube instead.
Music television is in very poor health at the moment, with very little in the way of performance programmes. Later With Jools Holland is very hit and miss, and has possibly run it's course. Future BBC4 programme makers will have a difficult job compiling from the current era, especially when it comes to straight forward pop music. These television shows are vital if we're going to maintain the history of music performance. At the moment, all a band or singer has is an appearance on Graham Norton's show, or Jonathon Ross, or a plug on The X-Factor. The latter usually only applies if Simon Cowell is in charge of you.
There is a concrete case for bringing back Top Of The Pops, but with the right presenters. The Radio 1 DJs of old might have been Smashie and Nicey buffoons, but they had a good television presence and knew how to rouse a crowd. When I applied a few years ago to produce the show, (yes really) I suggested guest hosts; pop stars and comedians mainly, with actors and children's television presenters thrown in. If the BBC don't want me as a producer, the least they could do is offer the job to one of two people; Louis Walsh, or Pete Waterman. They both understand the pop music business, despite their own crimes against the hit parade, and would know how to stage what was once the most relevant music show on television.
Top Of The Pops saw off competition from chancers over the years. I remember The Roxy, Razzmatazz, The Tube, CD:UK, The White Room and The Word all coming and going during my life. In addition to that, Whistle Test, Ready Steady Go, 6-5 Special, and others from before my time have all been consigned to television history. This is why we have an archive for use by nostalgia peddling programme makers. The future archives will be full of holes, and history will record music not with live performance but with pop videos.
