title: Da Nang

text: As of 2007, Da Nang industry was dominated by the state sector, which made up 57% of gross output. This is about the same as its share in 2000. Over 80% of the state industry is centrally managed (in other words: belongs to state corporations headquartered in Hanoi). Almost half of the rest is contributed by the foreign-invested sector, while the private domestic sector is still relatively small and has not been able to significantly increase its share compared to the state sector. Industry grew by an average of 14.8% per year from 2000 to 2007, making it the main engine of economic growth. However, it has the second lowest industrial growth rate in the South Central Coast (behind only Khanh Hoa Province). Employment has grown at an average of 5.75%, reaching 118,900 in 2007.


title: Da Nang

text: Historically, Da Nang's main marketplace has been the Hàn Market (), which is downtown near the west bank of the Hàn River, between Tran Phu and Bach Dang Streets. This market, much like Ben Thanh Market in Saigon, offers a wide variety of goods sold by many different vendors, such as clothing, silk, jewelry, flowers, foodstuffs such as dried fruit and fish, as well as coffee, tea and wine (including Vietnamese snake wine).


title: Da Nang

text: Many new construction projects are underway in Da Nang, including several beachfront resorts such as the US$130 million Hyatt Regency Danang Resort & Spa, and the Beach Resort complex (including Ocean Villas and Marriott Hotel) in Ngu Hanh Son. Another ambitious project, the US$250 million Da Phuoc International New Town aims to construct an entirely new urban area on reclaimed land on the city's north sea coast, making it the first major land reclamation project in Central Vietnam. Plans for the Đa Phước project include the erection of a hotel and several smaller resorts, a 33-story apartment block and 60-story office block, an 18-hole golf course, a marina, as well as villas and international schools.


title: Da Nang

text: The tourism sector is a vital component of Da Nang's economy. Its status as a transportation hub for central Vietnam and its proximity to several UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the Imperial City of Hue, the Old Town of Hoi An, and the My Son ruins fuels much of its tourist activity.


title: Da Nang

text: Mỹ Sơn is an archaeological site dating back more than a thousand years, in Quang Nam. Located in a remote forested valley some 70 km west of Da Nang, this former capital and religious center of the Champa kingdom once contained in excess of 70 style temples and stupas. Although badly damaged by bombing raids in the 1960s, the site still has more than 20 structures and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999. Many statues, sculptures and reliefs recovered from Mỹ Sơn are kept in the Museum of Cham Sculpture, near the Hàn River in the heart of Da Nang. Dating from the fourth to the 14th centuries, the sensual artwork on these works depicts daily activities as well as Hindu and Buddhist religious themes.


title: Da Nang

text: The Marble Mountains are rocky limestone outcrops jutting out of the beach just south of Da Nang. Paths lead to the top of the forested cliffs, providing views of Non Nuoc Beach and the South China Sea. The caves in the cliffs were originally inhabited by the Cham people. Later, the Nguyen Dynasty built numerous pagodas among the caves. The Marble Mountains are home to various artisans producing sculpture and artwork at its base at Non Nuoc Village.


title: Da Nang

text: Non Nuoc Beach is a white sandy beach on the outskirts of Đà Nẵng that is renowned for its history as an R&R destination for American troops during the Vietnam War. Today, the beach, along with Mỹ Khê beach to the north, are home to expensive resorts, surfing, and entertainment facilities. Ba Na Hills is a mountain resort with a 5 km-long cable car system which carries guests up to Ba Na's peak at 1487m above sea level. Son Tra Mountain, just some miles away from the city centre with some wild streams and resorts along the seaside.


title: Da Nang

text: The central coastal city of Da Nang saw a significant growth in international tourist arrivals in 2017, according to the city's Department of Tourism. In 2017, about 6.6 million visitors came to Da Nang, up 19% over the previous year and 4.8% higher than its yearly target. The figure included 4.3 million domestic tourists, up 11.3% year-on-year.


title: Da Nang

text: The central city earned over VND19.4 trillion (US$853.96 million) in revenue, an increase of 20.6% from 2016. Statistics also show that the city witnessed an impressive increase in the number of visitors by air which stood at over 1.58 million, up 74.4% while by-car visitors via Thailand and Laos was estimated at 14,120.


title: Da Nang

text: Central Vietnamese cuisine, particularly the cuisine of Da Nang, is well known through Vietnam, and growing in popularity internationally. Da Nang is famous for its flavorful dishes, such as Mì Quảng, Bún chả cá (fish ball noodle soup),Bánh tráng cuốn thịt heo( Dry pancake roll with pork), Banh xeo (Crispy pancake), Nem lui (Lemongrass Pork Skewers).


title: Da Nang

text: Da Nang's football club, SHB Da Nang F.C., play in the V-League, Vietnam's top professional football league. They are currently one of the most highly ranked teams in that league, having emerged from competition as champions of the 2009 V-League. In the same year, they also completed the double by winning the Vietnamese Cup. They also qualified for the 2010 AFC Champions League and the 2010 AFC Cup; although they did not advance past the qualifying play-off in the Champions League, they advanced to the quarter-finals of the AFC Cup after defeating Becamex Bình Dương in extra time. Several Da Nang F.C. players also play for the Vietnam national team, including defender Võ Hoàng Quảng and midfielder Phan Thanh Hưng. SHB Da Nang F.C. play their home games at the Chi Lăng Stadium, a 30,000-seat stadium in Hải Châu District.


title: Da Nang

text: There are several universities located in Da Nang, with campuses in many locations throughout the city, as well as satellite campuses in surrounding regions.


title: Da Nang

text: The city has 17 high schools, of which Le Quy Don High School for the Gifted is among the leading high schools in Vietnam.


title: Da Nang

text: There is also a sizable presence of overseas education representatives in Da Nang. Campus France, is a French-government agency in Da Nang city which promotes the learning of the French language, and supports students in the city and the surrounding province in the location of study opportunities in the higher education system in France. The consultation service provided by CampusFrance is free of charge. English Language Institute is a learning center built by the University of Queensland, Australia, targeting English teaching in addition to serving as an IELTS testing provider. Singapore International School is an international school in Da Nang.


title: Da Nang

text: Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) is also known as "Da Nang lung" as many cases occurring during the Vietnam War were treated at a medical centre in Da Nang.


title: Da Nang

text: Đà Nẵng is at the end of the East–West Economic Corridor (EWEC), which stretches over Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, and Burma (Myanmar).


title: Da Nang

text: Da Nang International Airport, located at the centre of the city, is the third largest international airport in Vietnam. It is an important gateway to access central Vietnam. The airport was known as Da Nang Air Base during the Vietnam War, during which time it was described as the world's busiest airport. During the month of May 1968, the base reached an average of 2,595 air traffic operations daily, more than any airport in the world. As of June 2011, the airport has domestic connections to Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Haiphong, Vinh, Buon Ma Thuot, Da Lat, Nha Trang, and Can Tho, as well as international connections to Seoul (South Korea), Tokyo (Japan), Singapore, and Taipei (Taiwan).


title: Da Nang

text: Beginning 16 December 2011, Air Asia, a Malaysian low-cost carrier, began offering four flights a week between Đà Nẵng and Kuala Lumpur. A new international terminal opened in December 2011 allowing further connections to destinations such as Phnom Penh (Cambodia), Thailand, Hong Kong, Japan, and Australia.


title: Da Nang

text: Da Nang is a major station along the North–South Railway, also known as the Reunification Express. National Highways 1 and 14B run through the city, providing road connections to Hanoi in the north and Ho Chi Minh City in the south, as well as the Central Highlands and Laos to the west. The Hai Pass is a mountain pass separating Da Nang and Thừa Thiên Huế Province, where Highway 1A passes through. To cut down on transit time and the danger to motorists from navigating the twisting mountain road, the Hải Vân Tunnel was built, opening in 2005. It is the longest tunnel in south-east Asia at 6.28 km, and allows motorists to save between 30 minutes and an hour on traveling times over the old Hải Vân Pass route. An expressway between Da Nang and nearby Quang Ngai is also in the planning stages.


title: Da Nang

text: Several bridges cross the Han River and its tributaries in Da Nang, including the iconic Han River Bridge, Tran Thi Ly Bridge, Nguyen Van Troi Bridge, Tuyen Son Bridge and the recently completed Thuan Phuoc Bridge, which is the longest suspension bridge in Vietnam. The Dragon River Bridge will cross the Han River at the Le Dinh Duong/Bach Dang roundabout, offering tourists coming from Đà Nẵng International Airport a more direct route to My Khe and Non Nuoc beaches, along the city's eastern edge.


title: Da Nang

text: Da Nang's port system is the third largest in Vietnam after Ho Chi Minh City and Haiphong. In 2008, Da Nang's port handled 2.7 million tons of cargo, of which 1.2 million tons were exports, 525,900 tons were imports, and 985,600 tons were domestic cargo. Over 29,600 passengers passed through the port in 2008, a significant increase over previous years. The port system consists of two areas: Tiên Sa Seaport, and Song Hàn Terminal. Tien Sa Seaport has a navigation depth of , and is able to receive medium range tankers of up to 45,000 DWT, as well as container ships and large cruise ships. The approach to Song Hàn Terminal is long with a navigation depth of , and can accommodate vessels of up to 5,000 DWT. Vietnam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines) is the port authority for Đà Nẵng's port system.


title: Da Nang

text: Despite the fact that the port's infrastructure is not specifically designed to accommodate cruise ships, the number of large cruise ships docking at Da Nang Port has increased in recent years. In the first two months of 2010 alone, 12 cruise ships docked in Da Nang, carrying 6,477 passengers.


title: Da Nang

text: In recent years, cruise ships tend to dock at Chân Mây Port, which is located 50 km from Da Nang through the Hải Vân Tunnel.


title: Steve Hackett

text: Stephen Richard Hackett (born 12 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who gained prominence as the lead guitarist of the progressive rock band Genesis from 1971 to 1977. Hackett contributed to six Genesis studio albums, three live albums, seven singles and one EP before he left to pursue a solo career. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Genesis in 2010.


title: Steve Hackett

text: Hackett released his first solo album, "Voyage of the Acolyte", while still a member of Genesis in 1975. After a series of further solo albums beginning in 1978, Hackett co-founded the supergroup GTR with Steve Howe in 1986. The group released the self-titled album "GTR", which peaked at No. 11 on the "Billboard" 200 in the United States and spawned the Top 20 single "When the Heart Rules the Mind". When Hackett left GTR in 1987, the group disbanded. Hackett then resumed his solo career. He has released albums and toured worldwide on a regular basis since.


title: Steve Hackett

text: Hackett's body of work encompasses many styles; in addition to his work in progressive rock, he has explored pop, blues, world music and classical music on his solo recordings. According to "Guitar World": "Hackett's early explorations of two-handed tapping and sweep picking were far ahead of their time, and influenced Eddie Van Halen and Brian May." Other guitarists influenced by Hackett include Alex Lifeson and Steve Rothery.


title: Steve Hackett

text: Stephen Richard Hackett was born on 12 February 1950 in Pimlico, central London to Peter and June Hackett. He was born one day before his future Genesis bandmate, singer Peter Gabriel. He has a younger brother John who took up the flute and has performed, collaborated, and written with Hackett throughout his solo career, and helped compose some of the early Genesis songs uncredited including "Get 'Em Out by Friday" and "Cuckoo Cocoon". Hackett attended Sloane Grammar School in Chelsea. In the 1950s, the family relocated to Vancouver, Canada but returned home after his parents, his mother in particular, became too homesick.


title: Steve Hackett

text: Hackett grew up having access to various musical instruments, such as the harmonica and recorder, but he did not develop an interest in the guitar until the age of 12 when he started playing single notes. By 14, he was learning chords and experimenting with chord progressions, although he never received any formal training.


title: Steve Hackett

text: Hackett's earliest musical influences were classical (Johann Sebastian Bach) and opera (Mario Lanza). He has said that his compositions are still influenced by them. Hackett also has cited numerous British blues artists as influences, namely Danny Kirwan, Peter Green, and various guitarists in John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, as well as Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, and King Crimson.


title: Steve Hackett

text: Hackett's first professional playing experience came as a member of three rock bands: Canterbury Glass, with whom he played on "Prologue" on their album "Sacred Scenes and Characters" which was recorded in 1968 but distributed in 2007; Heel Pier; and Sarabande, all of whom performed rock with progressive rock elements. He then joined Quiet World in 1970 which featured his brother John on flute. He did not write any material with the group as the band's founders directed what the other members played, which did not bother Hackett as he wished to get more experience in a recording studio since the band had secured a contract with a label. Hackett played on the band's only studio album, "The Road" (1970), released on Dawn Records, and left them soon after.


title: Steve Hackett

text: In December 1970, Hackett placed an advertisement in "Melody Maker" in his search for a new band. It read: "Imaginative guitarist-writer seeks involvement with receptive musicians, determined to strive beyond existing stagnant music forms". In a 2021 interview, Hackett explained that, by 'stagnant', he meant a lack of inclusion among the different music genres in the 1970s. The ad was responded to by Genesis lead vocalist Peter Gabriel. Genesis, which also comprised keyboardist Tony Banks, bassist Mike Rutherford, and drummer Phil Collins, had lost founding guitarist Anthony Phillips and sought a new, permanent replacement to his temporary replacement Mick Barnard. Gabriel advised Hackett to listen to their last album "Trespass" (1970) before Hackett auditioned for the group. Hackett's first live gig with Genesis took place at City University, London on 24 January 1971.


title: Steve Hackett

text: Hackett's first recording with Genesis was "Nursery Cryme" (1971). He helped shape the group's sound by strongly encouraging them to incorporate a Mellotron into the songs, and his guitar work is prominently featured through solos on "The Musical Box", "The Return of the Giant Hogweed", and "The Fountain of Salmacis". He became an early proponent of the guitar tapping technique normally attributed to Eddie Van Halen. Hackett claimed that Van Halen had told him that he learned the technique after attending a Genesis concert in the mid-1970s. "Foxtrot" (1972) included Hackett's guitar solo composition "Horizons", which he based on a Suite for Cello by Bach. "Selling England by the Pound" (1973) features Hackett using tapping and sweep picking, later popularised by Yngwie Malmsteen, both of which are used on "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight". The song "Firth of Fifth" contains one of Hackett's most well-known guitar solos and has remained a favourite in concert even after Hackett's departure. The writing sessions for "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" (1974) was a difficult time not just for Hackett but the entire group, partly due to the personal lives of some members which affected the mood in the group. Hackett explained: "Everybody had their own agenda. Some of us were married, some of us had children, some of us were getting divorced. And we were still trying to get it together in the country". Hackett, in particular, was going through a divorce from his first wife. While Gabriel wrote the majority of the lyrics, all the band members co-wrote the music. Hackett had picked out "The Lamia" and "Fly on a Windshield" as his favourite moments on the album.


title: Steve Hackett

text: After recording his debut album "Voyage of the Acolyte", Hackett resumed working in Genesis and recorded "A Trick of the Tail" (1976), the band's first with Collins on lead vocals. Hackett is credited on "Dance on a Volcano", "Entangled", and "Los Endos". The follow-up, "Wind & Wuthering" (1976), is Hackett's final studio album with the band. He had grown increasingly constricted by his lack of freedom and level of input and was insistent that more of his material be included on the album, but was rebuffed. Of the nine tracks, he was credited with four: "Eleventh Earl of Mar", "Blood on the Rooftops", "Unquiet Slumbers for the Sleepers...", and "...In That Quiet Earth". Another track of Hackett's, "Please Don't Touch", was rehearsed but rejected and replaced with an instrumental, "Wot Gorilla?". Another, "Inside and Out" (credited to the entire band), was relegated to the band's first extended play release, "Spot the Pigeon" (1977).


title: Steve Hackett

text: After the "Wind & Wuthering" tour, Hackett left the band during the mixing stage of the Genesis live album, "Seconds Out". His departure was announced in the press during the promotion of the album on 8 October 1977. Hackett has said that he "needed autonomy".


title: Steve Hackett

text: Since Hackett's departure, the 1970–1975 line-up of Genesis has reunited a handful of times. On 2 October 1982, the group gathered for Six of the Best, a one-off performance held to raise money for Gabriel's WOMAD festival. In 1983, Hackett was joined on stage by Gabriel and Rutherford during a series of shows at the Civic Hall in Guildford, the three performing with Hackett's band. The set list included a mix of Genesis songs, covers, and tracks from their solo careers.


title: Steve Hackett

text: In 1998, members of Genesis reunited for a photo session and dinner to celebrate the release of the "Genesis Archive 1967–75" box set. The release featured Hackett and Gabriel re-recording some guitar and vocal parts, respectively. Hackett also participated in the re-recording of "The Carpet Crawlers" from "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" for inclusion on the 1999 greatest hits album "".


title: Steve Hackett

text: In late 2005, the 1970–1975 line-up gathered to discuss the possibility of a reunion and performing "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway". After Gabriel decided against the idea, Hackett opted out of the project. This led to Banks, Rutherford, and Collins getting together in 2006 for the . Hackett took part in a series of interviews as part of the remastering of the band's discography in 2007, and the interview book "Genesis: Chapter and Verse" released in the same year.


title: Steve Hackett

text: In March 2010, 1970–1975 line-up of Genesis were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio. Hackett appeared at the ceremony with Banks, Rutherford, and Collins, though none of them performed.


title: Steve Hackett

text: In 2014, Hackett was featured in the BBC documentary "" which focused on the band and the solo careers of the other members. Hackett expressed his displeasure with it following its broadcast, which he described as a "biased account of Genesis history" which "totally ignores" his solo work. Hackett was included in the compilation album "R-Kive" containing Genesis material and tracks from each member's solo career, his contributions are "Ace of Wands", "Every Day", and "Nomads".


title: Steve Hackett

text: In 2022, Hackett said he was invited to the final Genesis concert in London on 26 March. However, he was unable to attend due to his tour being rescheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Peter Gabriel attended, but did not perform with the band.


title: Steve Hackett

text: In October 1975, Hackett released his first solo album, "Voyage of the Acolyte". Its original title was "Premonitions", but management at Charisma disliked it and suggested "Voyage of the Acolyte", to which Hackett agreed. The album features Collins and Rutherford on drums and bass, respectively, and reached No. 26 in the UK and was certified silver. Hackett enjoyed the freedom he had when writing and recording his own album, but was informed by Rutherford and Banks that he could not continue his solo career while in Genesis. Part of one of the album tracks, "Shadow of the Hierophant", was rehearsed by Genesis during the writing and recording of "Foxtrot". Upon its release Hackett resumed working in Genesis.


title: Steve Hackett

text: Hackett's first post-Genesis album was "Please Don't Touch!", released in 1978. As with "Voyage of the Acolyte" (1975), much of the material on the album was in the style of progressive rock. It did contain, however, much more vocal work. Hackett, who had never sung lead or backing vocals on a Genesis song, turned over most of the vocals to a number of singers, including folk singer Richie Havens, R&B singer Randy Crawford, and Steve Walsh of American progressive rock group Kansas. He did provide lead vocals for "Carry On Up the Vicarage", but they were processed using a "laughing gnome" vocal effect. The album peaked at no. 38 on the UK chart, and no. 103 on the "Billboard" pop Albums chart in the United States.


title: Steve Hackett

text: Having released two albums, Hackett was faced with the task of assembling a band to perform the material live. This became a group with John Hackett on flute, bass pedals, and guitar, Dik Cadbury on bass and vocals, Nick Magnus on keyboards, John Shearer on drums, and Pete Hicks on lead vocals. The subsequent European tour was Hackett's first as a solo performer. It began at the Chateau Neuf in Oslo, Norway on 4 October 1978 and ended with six shows across the UK, culminating at the Hammersmith Apollo in London on 30 October. Hackett used his band on his next album, "Spectral Mornings", recorded in the first two months of 1979 in the Netherlands. The album contains various musical styles, including straightforward and progressive rock, folk, and a wider range of instruments such as a Cantonese koto. It reached No. 22 in the UK and No. 138 in the US. The supporting tour included a spot at the Reading Festival in August 1979. Hackett looked back on this period, and the atmosphere within the group, as a hard working and positive one.


title: Steve Hackett

text: Before Hackett recorded his fourth album "Defector", he organised a series of gigs in November 1979, including one in London at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, to test out new material. Hackett found the experience of recording "Defector" as equal to "Spectral Mornings" and noted the similarity in music between the two albums, though he considered the material on the latter as some of the strongest of his career. Upon its release "Defector" peaked the UK chart at No. 9, which remains his highest-charting album in the country. In the US, the album went to No. 144. The album's tour saw Hackett perform his first solo dates in the US. The tour left Hackett exhausted, and recuperated in Brazil where he spent three months working on new songs.


title: Steve Hackett

text: Hackett changed musical directions with his fifth album, "Cured" (1981). It was recorded without his band which he had worked with since 1979, barring contributions from Magnus and John Hackett, and features Hackett handling all the lead vocals. Instead of using a drummer, Magnus used an electronic Linn drum machine. Although it contained tracks in a progressive rock and classical style for which Hackett was known, it also showcased a more pop-oriented approach. Released in August 1981, "Cured" peaked at No. 15 in the UK and No. 169 in the US. The album's tour marked a line-up change with John Hackett and Magnus joined by Chas Cronk on bass and Ian Mosley on drums. The tour for "Cured" saw the band perform at the 1981 Reading Festival.


title: Steve Hackett

text: After promoting "Cured", Hackett received an invitation to form a new trio with Keith Emerson and Jack Bruce, shortly followed by an offer to replace Paul Jones and become lead in a new West End musical production. He declined both offers, and went ahead with his next studio album, "Highly Strung", put out in April 1983. It would be his last release on Charisma, as growing differences over Hackett's direction, plus management resisting to release an acoustic or live album, caused an end to their partnership. "Highly Strung" went to No. 16 in the UK, and "Cell 151" became a minor hit there.


title: Steve Hackett

text: In 1983, Hackett had secured a deal with Lamborghini Records which supported the release of his seventh album, "Bay of Kings", containing classical guitar compositions. The album went to No. 70 in the UK. This was followed, in August 1984, with Hackett returning to rock music in his next release, "Till We Have Faces". It demonstrated a merge of his guitar with influences of Brazilian percussion and world music. The album peaked at No. 54 in the UK.


title: Steve Hackett

text: In 1985, Hackett formed the supergroup GTR with veteran Yes and Asia guitarist Steve Howe. The group released a gold-selling album, produced by Yes/Asia keyboardist Geoff Downes. The album included "When the Heart Rules the Mind", which hit number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100, the highest charting US single in Hackett's career. Hackett soon left GTR over financial and management squabbles. Hackett's main reason for ending GTR was the lack of funds to continue the project, and his growing desire to pursue a less mainstream career path. Among them included charity and film work, including a jingle for an airline.


title: Steve Hackett

text: In 1986, Hackett also participated with former Yardbirds members Chris Dreja, Paul Samwell-Smith and Jim McCarty on their Box of Frogs project second album "Strange Land" together with Jimmy Page, Ian Dury and Graham Parker on tracks, "I Keep Calling", "20/20 Vision" and "Average". In 1987, Hackett contributed to the Genesis orchestral album "We Know What We Like: The Music of Genesis", performed by the London Symphony Orchestra with arranger and conductor David Palmer.


title: Steve Hackett

text: After GTR, Hackett returned to the studio and recorded a new solo album, "Momentum". The troubles he had faced in GTR led Hackett to rate the album as "a theraputic, cathartic thing" as he welcomed the return to recording "music without props". Released in March 1988, his tour across Europe to promote the album was met with large and enthusiastic crowds which included gigs in Estonia, Russia, and the Soviet Union.


title: Steve Hackett

text: In late 1989, Hackett was the helm of the charity single "Sailing", a cover of Rod Stewart's 1975 hit released under the name Rock Against Repatriation. It was to raise money and awareness of Asian groups that left the difficult conditions of their home but were refused entry into Western countries. Released as a single in 1990, the song included Brian May, the Moody Blues, Mike Rutherford, Phil Manzanera, and Godley & Creme.


title: Steve Hackett

text: In the 1980s he also made a special appearance on Brazilian singer Ritchie's first album, named "Voo de Coração" (1983). He is co-author of the song "A Mulher Invisível" (1984), from the 2nd LP of the countryman living in Brazil and also played guitar on the track "Meantime" (a poem by Fernando Pessoa music by Ritchie) on the 4th LP of the artist, "Loucura e Mágica" (1987).


title: Steve Hackett

text: In 1992, Hackett resumed touring for the first time in six years, which also saw his return to activity in the US in several years. His reason for the prolonged absence was down to his involvement in various legal issues which prevented him from touring there. Hackett was pleased that his 1992 North American tour was well attended, and used it to test the strength of some new material that he had been working on to an audience, as well as to promote his first live album, "Time Lapse". 1992 also saw the release of "The Unauthorised Biography", a compilation album including two previously unreleased tracks that Hackett co-wrote with Brian May, and Hackett's acoustic performance with the London Chamber Orchestra with a program of Vivaldi. He picked the show as a career highlight.


title: Steve Hackett

text: In May 1993, Hackett released his tenth studio album, "Guitar Noir". It includes the track "Walking Away from Rainbows", which lyrically dealt with Hackett's career decision of leaving mainstream music and pursuing what he wishes. Shortly after its release Hackett considered the album "the most crucial thing I've ever done. It's been the thing I've most wanted to do as an album because I've been reduced to silence for so long." Hackett followed this with a blues album, "Blues with a Feeling" (1994), formed of covers and original material penned by him and his group.


title: Steve Hackett

text: For his next album, Hackett decided to rework a selection of Genesis tracks with various guest musicians. This was released in 1996 as "Genesis Revisited", which peaked at No. 95 in the UK. It includes "Déjà Vu", a track Hackett wrote with Peter Gabriel in 1973 during the "Selling England by the Pound" sessions that had remained unfinished. In retrospect, Hackett said that much of the album made him "wince", and that he can "hear the struggles". Hackett promoted the album with two shows in Tokyo in December 1996 with John Wetton, Chester Thompson, Ian McDonald, and Julian Colbeck. The concerts were recorded and filmed, later released as "The Tokyo Tapes" in 1998.


title: Steve Hackett

text: In April 1997 he released the neo-classical influenced "A Midsummer Night's Dream" with accompaniments from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. It reached the top 10 UK classical chart. This marked the beginning of keyboardist, arranger, and producer Roger King taking a more prominent role on Hackett's future albums and live shows. In 1999, Hackett released his fourteenth studio album, "Darktown". The album is named after a book, and the music and lyrical ideas took eight years to finalise. Hackett looked back on the album as one with lyrical themes that he had not been "brave enough" to present before. It went to No. 156 in the UK.


title: Steve Hackett

text: In 2000, Hackett and his brother John released "Sketches of Satie", a tribute album to the French composer Erik Satie with the compositions rearranged for flute and guitar. Hackett said that he had not worked on a project with John for some time and had missed playing with him, leading to his manager Billy Budis to suggest an album of Satie's music. Later in 2000, an album of Hackett's with material originally put together in 1986 but put on the shelf, was released as "Feedback 86". A portion of the material was for a second GTR album, and features appearances by Brian May.


title: Steve Hackett

text: In 2001, Hackett contributed instrumental music to the score of "Outwitting Hitler", a documentary about a Holocaust survivor. It was his first venture into soundtrack work, and had one weekend to finish it. He used themes that he had previously released with some originally intended for his future guitar/orchestra album "Metamorpheus" (2005).


title: Steve Hackett

text: In 2003, Hackett released "To Watch the Storms", his first studio album in four years and his first completed in his new recording studio, Crown Studios. It also marked his return to progressive rock music, and unlike his several previous records the material was put together within three months. His next solo release was the orchestral "Metamorpheus" (2005) with the Underworld Orchestra, which dates back to 1997 when Hackett recorded his guitar parts for the songs. This was followed by the rock album "Wild Orchids" (2006), followed by "Tribute" (2007), a classical album showcasing original pieces and renditions of those by Bach, Byrd, Barrios, and Andrés Segovia.


title: Steve Hackett

text: The recording of "Out of the Tunnel's Mouth" (2009), was met with various legal issues, including those instigated by Poor and his former manager Billy Budis regarding its rights and attempt to block its release, to prevent Hackett from playing on records by other artists, and the ownership of Hackett's catalogue on Camino Records. A court decision allowed Hackett to "be back in the record business", and to release "Out of the Tunnel's Mouth" on his new label Wolfwork Records in October 2009. The album was recorded at Hackett's own flat rather than a professional studio. It features contributions by former Genesis guitarist Anthony Phillips and Yes bassist Chris Squire. Hackett toured the album.


title: Steve Hackett

text: In August 2009, an official, authorised biography, "Sketches of Hackett" by Alan Hewitt, was released. The first edition hardback includes a bonus DVD with a 90-minute interview.


title: Steve Hackett

text: On 15 March 2010, Genesis was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Hackett making a rare appearance alongside Collins, Banks and Rutherford at the ceremony, though they did not perform together. Hackett, in recent years, has put on record his willingness to participate in a reunion. A planned reunion of the classic 1970s Genesis line-up fell apart in 2007 when Peter Gabriel expressed reservations, and subsequently Hackett dropped out in deference to the Genesis 'trio' line-up, as opposed to the four-piece.


title: Steve Hackett

text: In 2011, Hackett released his 24th studio album "Beyond the Shrouded Horizon" (no. 133 in the UK album chart). In 2012 he went on tour to promote the album in the UK. In 2012, Hackett and Chris Squire again collaborated to release the album "A Life Within a Day" under the name of Squackett.


title: Steve Hackett

text: Hackett released "Genesis Revisited II" in October 2012. His main reason to revisit the project was the desire to perform the material live once more, and got various musicians to perform the songs which cover material by Genesis and some solo material. Involved was former Genesis lead vocalist Ray Wilson. The album was met with enthusiasm from the public which resulted in Hackett making a stronger chart presence and a sell out supporting tour in the UK. The album reached No. 24 in the UK. In June 2013, both "Genesis Revisited" albums were awarded a Japanese Gold Sales Award for 100,000 copies sold. The UK tour included a show at Hammersmith Apollo, London which won Hackett the Event of the Year Award at the 2013 Progressive Music Awards. The show was released on CD and DVD as "Genesis Revisited: Live at Hammersmith" which reached No. 58 in the UK. Hackett completed a second tour with a rearranged setlist in 2014 which spawned "Genesis Revisited: Live at the Royal Albert Hall". This reached No. 80 in the UK. Following the success of the Genesis Revisited tours, Hackett has considered himself as "the keeper of the flame of the early work" of Genesis.


title: Steve Hackett

text: In March 2015, Hackett released "Wolflight". It reached No. 31 in the UK. "Wolflight" also contains Chris Squire's last studio recording with the track "Love Song to a Vampire". In September 2015, the independent music company Wienerworld released "The Man, The Music", a documentary on Hackett's career that went to No. 5 on the UK DVD chart. That October, Universal/Virgin released "Premonitions: The Charisma Years 1975–1983", a 14-disc box set of his first six studio albums with extra material including live recordings and new remixes by Steven Wilson.


title: Steve Hackett

text: Hackett's solo album "The Night Siren" (no. 28 UK album chart) was released in March 2017 and entered top 40 in six international album charts. The album continues the exploration of world music/progressive rock, and also contains influences from the Beatles' psychedelia period and classic science fiction. In October Hackett won the "Chris Squire Virtuoso" award at the 2017 Progressive Music Awards.


title: Steve Hackett

text: In October 2018, Hackett underwent a UK tour which featured his band performing Genesis and solo tracks with the 41-piece Heart of England Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Bradley Tkachuk. Tkachuk and his brother took the orchestral arrangements that they had produced for a concert that Hackett performed in Buffalo, New York in 2017, which also featured an orchestra on stage, as the basis for the orchestral parts used for the tour, including those from Hackett's collaboration with the Icelandic band Todmobile. A live album and concert film from the tour was released in 2019, entitled at the Royal Festival Hall, London was released in 2019, entitled "Genesis Revisited Band & Orchestra: Live at the Royal Festival Hall".


title: Steve Hackett

text: Hackett released "At the Edge of Light", in January 2019. The album reached no 28 in the UK and marked Hacketts 10th solo album on the UK top 40 album charts since his solo debut in 1975. In 2019, Hackett toured with a set comprising "Selling England by the Pound" performed in its entirety with other Genesis songs, plus tracks from "At the Edge of Light" and "Spectral Mornings" to commemorate the latter's fortieth anniversary. The show at London's Hammersmith Apollo, the last of the tour was released as a live album and concert film on 25 September 2020, entitled "Selling England by the Pound & Spectral Mornings: Live at Hammersmith".


title: Steve Hackett

text: In March 2020, Hackett cancelled his existing North American tour just before a performance in Harrisburg, PA due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He resumed touring with performances including Genesis' "Seconds Out" in November 2021 in Finland followed by resumption of the cancelled North American tour in April 2022 in Boston following cancellation of the Canadian leg of the tour in March due to a case of COVID in the touring team.


title: Steve Hackett

text: In July 2020, Hackett released an autobiography, "A Genesis in My Bed". In an interview promoting the book, he revealed that he was collaborating with Roger King on an acoustic album with an orchestra named "Under a Mediterranean Sky", as well as a rock album with world music influences named "Surrender of Silence". The albums were released on 22 January 2021 and 10 September 2021, respectively.


title: Steve Hackett

text: Hackett has been married three times. His first was to Ellen Busse in 1972 and the couple had one son, Oliver (b. 1974). The marriage ended in a divorce in 1974. In 1981, Hackett married Brazilian painter and jewellery artist Kim Poor, who designed many of his album covers. They divorced in 2007, which led Poor to file a legal case against Hackett, claiming she was a joint owner of Stephen Hackett Ltd., which was where all future royalties from Genesis songs he had written and performed were paid into. In 2006, Hackett arranged for all royalties to be paid directly to him rather than the company, which Poor argued was in breach of their agreement and is entitled to a share of the money. Poor also challenged Hackett's right to make new albums independently, causing further issues. The case was settled in 2010.


title: Steve Hackett

text: In June 2011, Hackett married author Jo Lehmann, who has written lyrics on several of Hackett's songs. Jo's sister Amanda is a singer, songwriter, and musician who has performed on several of Hackett's songs and tours since 2009.


title: Top of the Pops

text: Top of the Pops (TOTP) is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its history, it was broadcast on Thursday evenings on BBC One. Each show consisted of performances of some of the week's best-selling popular music records, usually excluding any tracks moving down the chart, including a rundown of that week's singles chart. This was originally the Top 20, though this varied throughout the show's history. The Top 30 was used from 1969, and the Top 40 from 1984.


title: Top of the Pops

text: Dusty Springfield's "I Only Want to Be with You" was the first song featured on "TOTP", while the Rolling Stones were the first band to perform, with "I Wanna Be Your Man". Snow Patrol were the last act to play live on the weekly show when they performed their single "Chasing Cars". Special editions were broadcast on Christmas Day (and usually, until 1984, a second edition a few days after Christmas), featuring some of the best-selling singles of the year and the Christmas number one. Although the weekly show was cancelled in 2006, the Christmas special continued up until its axing in 2022. End-of-year round-up editions have also been broadcast on BBC1 on or around New Year's Eve, albeit largely featuring the same acts and tracks as the Christmas Day shows. It also survives as "Top of the Pops 2", which began in 1994 and features vintage performances from the "Top of the Pops" archives. Though "TOTP2" ceased producing new episodes since 2017, repeats of older episodes are still shown.


title: Top of the Pops

text: The Official Charts Company states that "performing on the show was considered an honour, and it pulled in just about every major player". The show has seen seminal performances over its history. The March 1971 appearance of T. Rex frontman Marc Bolan wearing glitter and satins as he performed "Hot Love" is often seen as the inception of glam rock, and David Bowie's performance of "Starman" inspired future musicians. In the 1990s, the show's format was sold to several foreign broadcasters in the form of a franchise package, and at one point various versions of the show were shown in more than 120 countries. Editions of the programme from 1976 onwards started being repeated on BBC Four in 2011 and are aired on most Friday evenings – as of June 2022 the repeat run has reached 1993. Episodes featuring disgraced presenters and artists such as Jimmy Savile, Dave Lee Travis, Rolf Harris, and Gary Glitter are no longer repeated.


title: Top of the Pops

text: Johnnie Stewart devised the rules which governed how the show would operate: the programme would always end with the number one record, which was the only record that could appear in consecutive weeks. The show would include the highest new entry and (if not featured in the previous week) the highest climber on the charts, and omit any song going down in the chart. Tracks could be featured in consecutive weeks in different formats. For example, if a song was played over the chart countdown or the closing credits, then it was acceptable for the act to appear in the studio the following week.


title: Top of the Pops

text: These rules were sometimes interpreted flexibly and were more formally relaxed from 1997 when records descending the charts were featured more regularly, possibly as a response to the changing nature of the Top 40 (in the late 1990s and early 2000s climbers in the charts were a rarity, with almost all singles peaking at their debut position).


title: Top of the Pops

text: When the programme's format changed in November 2003, it concentrated increasingly on the top 10. Later, during the BBC Two era, the top 20 was regarded as the main cut-off point, with the exception made for up and coming bands below the top 20. Singles from below the top 40 (within the top 75) were shown if the band were up and coming or had a strong selling album. If a single being performed was below the top 40, just the words "New Entry" were shown and not the chart position.


title: Top of the Pops

text: The show was originally intended to run for only a few programmes but lasted over 42 years, reaching landmark episodes of 500, 1,000, 1,500 and 2,000 in the years 1973, 1983, 1992 and 2002 respectively.


title: Top of the Pops

text: "Top of the Pops" was first broadcast on Wednesday, 1January 1964 at 6:35 pm. It was produced in Studio A at Dickenson Road Studios in Rusholme, Manchester.


title: Top of the Pops

text: The first show was presented by Jimmy Savile, with a brief link to Alan Freeman in London to preview the following week's programme, which featured (in order) Dusty Springfield with "I Only Want to Be with You", the Rolling Stones with "I Wanna Be Your Man", the Dave Clark Five with "Glad All Over", the Hollies with "Stay", the Swinging Blue Jeans with "Hippy Hippy Shake" and the Beatles with "I Want to Hold Your Hand", that week's number one. Throughout its history, the programme proper always (with very few exceptions) finished with the best-selling single of the week, although there often was a separate play-out track over the end credits.


title: Top of the Pops

text: Later in 1964, the broadcast time was moved to one hour later, at 7:35 pm, and the show moved from Wednesdays to what became its regular Thursday slot. Additionally its length was extended by 5minutes to 30 minutes.


title: Top of the Pops

text: For the first three years Alan Freeman, David Jacobs, Pete Murray and Jimmy Savile rotated presenting duties, with the following week's presenter also appearing at the end of each show, although this practice ceased from October 1964 onwards. Neville Wortman filled in as director/producer on Johnnie Stewart's holiday break.


title: Top of the Pops

text: In the first few editions, Denise Sampey was the "disc girl", who would be seen to put the record on a turntable before the next act played their track. However, a Mancunian model, Samantha Juste, became the regular disc girl after a few episodes, a role she performed until 1967.


title: Top of the Pops

text: Initially acts performing on the show would mime (lip-sync) to the commercially released record, but in 1966 after discussions with the Musicians' Union, miming was banned. After a few weeks during which some bands' attempts to play as well as on their records were somewhat lacking, a compromise was reached whereby a specially recorded backing track was permitted, as long as all the musicians on the track were present in the studio. As a result, Stewart hired Johnny Pearson to conduct an in-studio orchestra to provide musical backing on select performances, beginning with the 4 August 1966 edition. Later, vocal group The Ladybirds began providing vocal backing with the orchestra.


title: Top of the Pops

text: With the birth of BBC Radio 1 in 1967, new Radio1 DJs were added to the roster – Stuart Henry, Emperor Rosko, Simon Dee and Kenny Everett.


title: Top of the Pops

text: Local photographer Harry Goodwin was hired to provide shots of non-appearing artists, and also to provide backdrops for the chart run-down. He continued in the role until 1973.


title: Top of the Pops

text: After two years at the Manchester Dickenson Road Studios, the show moved to London (considered to be better located for bands to appear), initially for six months at BBC TV Centre Studio2 and then to the larger Studio G at BBC Lime Grove Studios in mid-1966 to provide space for the Top of the Pops Orchestra, which was introduced at this time to provide live instrumentation on some performances (previously, acts had generally mimed to the records). In November 1969, with the introduction of colour, the show moved to BBC TV Centre, where it stayed until 1991, when it moved to Elstree Studios Studio C.


title: Top of the Pops

text: For a while in the early 1970s, non-chart songs were played on a more regular basis, to reflect the perceived growing importance of album sales; there was an album slot featuring three songs from a new LP, as well as a "New Release" spot and a feature of a new act, dubbed "Tip for the Top". These features were dropped after a while, although the programme continued to feature new releases on a regular basis for the rest of the decade.


title: Top of the Pops

text: During its heyday, it attracted 15 million viewers each week. The peak TV audience of 19 million was recorded in 1979, during the ITV strike, with only BBC1 and BBC2 on air.


title: Top of the Pops

text: A year-end Christmas show featuring a review of the year's biggest hits was inaugurated on 24 December 1964, and has continued every year since. From 1965 onward, the special edition was broadcast on Christmas Day (although not in 1966) and from the same year, a second edition was broadcast in the days after Christmas, varying depending on the schedule, but initially regularly on 26 December. The first was shown on 26 December 1965. In 1973, there was just one show, airing on Christmas Day. In place of the traditional second show, Jimmy Savile hosted a look back at the first 10 years of "TOTP", broadcast on 27 December. In 1975, the first of the two shows was broadcast prior to Christmas Day, airing on 23 December, followed by the traditional Christmas Day show two days later.


title: Top of the Pops

text: The 1978 Christmas Day show was disrupted due to industrial action at the BBC, requiring a change in format to the broadcast. The first show, due to be screened on 21 December, was not shown at all because BBC1 was off the air. For Christmas Day, Noel Edmonds (presenting his last ever edition of "TOTP") hosted the show from the 'TOTP Production Office' with clips taken from various editions of the show broadcast during the year and new studio footage performed without an audience. The format was slightly tweaked for the Christmas Day edition in 1981, with the Radio1 DJs choosing their favourite tracks of the year and the following edition on 31 December featuring the year's number1 hits.


title: Top of the Pops

text: The year 1980 marked major production changes to "Top of the Pops" and a hiatus forced by industrial action. Steve Wright made his presenting debut on 7 February 1980. Towards the end of February 1980, facing a £40 million budget deficit, the BBC laid off five orchestras as part of £130 million in cuts. The budget cuts led to a Musicians' Union strike that suspended operations of all 11 BBC orchestras and performances of live music on the BBC; "Top of the Pops" went out of production between 29 May and 7 August 1980. During the Musicians' Union strike, BBC1 showed repeats of "Are You Being Served?" in the regular "Top of the Pops" Thursday night time slot.


title: Top of the Pops

text: Following the strike, Nash was replaced as executive producer by Michael Hurll, who introduced more of a "party" atmosphere to the show, with performances often accompanied by balloons and cheerleaders, and more audible audience noise and cheering. Hurll also laid off the orchestra, as the Musicians' Union was loosening enforcement of the 1966 miming ban.


title: Top of the Pops

text: Guest co-presenters and a music news feature were introduced for a short while, but had ceased by the end of 1980. The chart rundown was split into three sections in the middle of the programme, with the final Top 10 section initially featuring clips of the songs' videos, although this became rarer over the next few years.


title: Top of the Pops

text: An occasional feature showing the American music scene with Jonathan King was introduced in November 1981, and ran every few weeks until February 1985. In January 1985, a "Breakers" section, featuring short video clips of new tracks in the lower end of the Top 40, was introduced, and this continued for most weeks until March 1994.


title: Top of the Pops

text: Although the programme had been broadcast live in its early editions, it had been recorded on the day before transmission for many years. However, from May 1981, the show was sometimes broadcast live for a few editions each year, and this practice continued on an occasional basis (often in the week of a bank holiday, when the release of the new chart was delayed, and for some special editions) for the rest of the decade.


title: Top of the Pops

text: The programme moved in September 1985 to a new regular half-hour timeslot of 7 pm on Thursdays, where it would remain until June 1996.


title: Top of the Pops

text: The end of 1988 was marked by a special 70-minute edition of the show broadcast on 31 December 1988, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the first show. The pre-recorded programme featured the return of the original four presenters (Savile, Freeman, Murray and Jacobs) as well as numerous presenters from the show's history, anchored by Paul Gambaccini and Mike Read. Numerous clips from the history of the show were included in between acts performing in the studio, which included Cliff Richard, Engelbert Humperdinck, Lulu, the Four Tops, David Essex, Mud, Status Quo, Shakin' Stevens, the Tremeloes and from the very first edition, the Swinging Blue Jeans. Sandie Shaw, the Pet Shop Boys and Wet Wet Wet were billed in the "Radio Times" to appear, but none featured in the show other than Shaw in compilation clips.


title: Top of the Pops

text: Paul Ciani took over as producer in 1988. The following year, in an attempt to fit more songs in the allocated half-hour, he restricted the duration of studio performances to three minutes, and videos to two minutes, a practice which was largely continued until May 1997. In July 1990, he introduced a rundown of the Top5 albums, which continued on a monthly basis until May 1991. Ciani had to step down due to illness in 1991, when Hurll returned as producer to cover for two months (and again for a brief time as holiday cover in 1992).


title: Top of the Pops

text: From 1967, the show had become closely associated with the BBC radio station Radio 1, usually being presented by DJs from the station, and between 1988 and 1991 the programme was simulcast on the radio station in FM stereo (that is, until BBC's launch of NICAM stereo for TV made such simulcasts redundant). However, during the last few years of the 1980s the association became less close, and was severed completely (although not permanently) in a radical shake-up known as the 'Year Zero' revamp.


title: Top of the Pops

text: Following a fall in viewing figures and a general perception that the show had become 'uncool' (acts like the Clash had refused to appear in the show in previous years), a radical new format was introduced by incoming executive producer Stanley Appel (who had worked on the programme since 1966 as cameraman, production assistant, director and stand-in producer) in October 1991, in which the Radio1 DJs were replaced by a team of relative unknowns, such as Claudia Simon and Tony Dortie who had previously worked for Children's BBC, 17-year-old local radio DJ Mark Franklin, Steve Anderson, Adrian Rose and Elayne Smith, who was replaced by Femi Oke in 1992. A brand new theme tune ("Now Get Out of That"), title sequence and logo were introduced, and the entire programme moved from BBC Television Centre in London to BBC Elstree Centre in Borehamwood.


title: Top of the Pops

text: The new presenting team would take turns hosting (initially usually in pairs but sometimes solo), and would often introduce acts in an out-of-vision voiceover over the song's instrumental introduction. They would sometimes even conduct short informal interviews with the performers, and initially the Top 10 countdown was run without any voiceover. Rules relating to performance were also altered meaning acts had to sing live as opposed to the backing tracks for instruments and mimed vocals for which the show was known. To incorporate a shift towards USA artists, more use was made of out-of-studio performances, with acts in America able to transmit their song to the "Top of the Pops" audience "via satellite". These changes were widely unpopular and much of the presenting team were axed within a year, leaving the show hosted solely by Dortie and Franklin (apart from the Christmas Day editions, when both presenters appeared) from October 1992, on a week-by-week rotation.


title: Top of the Pops

text: By 1994, much of the 'Year Zero' revamp was quickly undone and the arrival of Ric Blaxill as producer in February 1994 signalled a return to presentation from established Radio1 DJs Simon Mayo, Mark Goodier, Nicky Campbell and Bruno Brookes. Blaxill expanded the use of "via satellite" performances, taking the acts out of studios and concert halls and setting them against landmark backdrops. As a consequence, Bon Jovi performed "Always" from Niagara Falls and Celine Dion beamed in "Think Twice" from Miami Beach.


title: Top of the Pops

text: The last remnants of the Year Zero revamp were replaced in 1995, when a new title sequence, logo and theme tune were introduced (the logo having first been introduced on the new programme "Top of the Pops 2" some months previously), coinciding with the introduction of a new set. Blaxill also increasingly experimented with handing presenting duties to celebrities, commonly contemporary comedians and pop stars who were not in the charts at that time. In an attempt to keep the links between acts as fresh as the performances themselves, the so-called "golden mic" was used by, amongst others, Kylie Minogue, Meat Loaf, Des Lynam, Chris Eubank, Damon Albarn, Harry Hill, Jack Dee, Lulu, Björk, Jarvis Cocker, Stewart Lee and Richard Herring. Radio1 DJs still presented occasionally, including Lisa I'Anson, Steve Lamacq, Jo Whiley and Chris Evans.


title: Top of the Pops

text: "TOTP" was traditionally shown on a Thursday night, but was moved to a Friday starting on 14 June 1996, originally at 7 pm, but then shifted to 7.30 pm, a change which placed the programme up against the soap opera "Coronation Street" on ITV. This began a major decline in audience figures as fans were forced to choose between "Top of the Pops" and an episode of the soap.


title: Top of the Pops

text: In 1997, incoming producer Chris Cowey phased out the use of celebrities and established a rotating team (similar to the 1991 revamp, although much more warmly received) of former presenters of youth music magazine "The O-Zone" Jayne Middlemiss and Jamie Theakston as well as Radio1 DJs Jo Whiley and Zoe Ball. The team was later augmented by Kate Thornton and Gail Porter.


title: Top of the Pops

text: Chris Cowey in particular instigated a set of 'back to basics' changes when he took over the show. In 1998, a remixed version of the classic "Whole Lotta Love" theme tune previously used in the 1970s was introduced, accompanied by a new 1960s-inspired logo and title sequence. Cowey also began to export the brand overseas with localised versions of the show on air in Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Italy by 2003. Finally, the programme returned to its previous home of BBC Television Centre in 2001, where it remained until its cancellation in 2006.


title: Top of the Pops

text: On 28 November 2003 (three months after the appointment of Andi Peters as executive producer), the show saw one of its most radical overhauls since the ill-fated 1991 'Year Zero' revamp in what was widely reported as a make-or-break attempt to revitalise the long-running series. In a break with the previous format, the show played more up-and-coming tracks ahead of any chart success, and also featured interviews with artists and a music news feature called "24/7". Most editions of the show were now broadcast live, for the first time since 1991 (apart from a couple of editions in 1994). The launch show, which was an hour long, was notable for a performance of "Flip Reverse" by Blazin' Squad, featuring hordes of hooded teenagers choreographed to dance around the outside of BBC Television Centre.


title: Top of the Pops

text: Although the first edition premièred to improved ratings, the "All New" format, hosted by MTV presenter Tim Kash, quickly returned to low ratings and brought about scathing reviews. Kash continued to host the show, but Radio1 DJs Reggie Yates and Fearne Cotton (who had each presented a few shows in 2003, before the revamp) were brought back to co-host alongside him, before Kash was completely dropped by the BBC, later taking up a new contract at MTV. The show continued to be hosted by Reggie Yates and Fearne Cotton (usually together, but occasionally solo) on Friday evenings until 8July 2005.


title: Top of the Pops

text: On 30 July 2004, the show took place outside a studio environment for the first time by broadcasting outside in Gateshead. Girls Aloud, Busted, Will Young and Jamelia were among the performers that night.


title: Top of the Pops

text: Figures had plummeted to below three million, prompting an announcement by the BBC that the show was going to move, again, to Sunday evenings on BBC Two, thus losing the prime-time slot on BBC One that it had maintained for more than forty years.


title: Top of the Pops

text: This move was widely reported as a final "sidelining" of the show, and perhaps signalled its likely cancellation. At the time, it was insisted that this was so the show would air immediately after the official announcement of the new top 40 chart on Radio 1, as it was thought that by the following Friday, the chart seemed out of date. The final "Top of the Pops" to be shown on BBC One (barring Christmas and New Year specials) was broadcast on Monday 11 July 2005, which was edition number 2,166.


title: Top of the Pops

text: The first edition on BBC Two was broadcast on 17 July 2005 at 7.00 pm with presenter Fearne Cotton. After the move to Sundays, Cotton continued to host with a different guest presenter each week, such as Rufus Hound or Richard Bacon. On a number of occasions, however, Reggie Yates would step in, joined by female guest presenters such as Lulu, Cyndi Lauper and Anastacia. Viewing figures during this period averaged around 1 million. Shortly after the move to BBC Two, Peters resigned as executive producer. He was replaced by the BBC's Creative Head of Music Entertainment Mark Cooper, while producer Sally Wood remained to oversee the show on a weekly basis.


title: Top of the Pops

text: On 20 June 2006, the show was formally cancelled and it was announced that the last edition would be broadcast on 30 July 2006. Edith Bowman co-presented its hour-long swansong, along with Jimmy Savile (who was the main presenter on the first show), Reggie Yates, Mike Read, Pat Sharp, Sarah Cawood, Dave Lee Travis, Rufus Hound, Tony Blackburn and Janice Long.


title: Top of the Pops

text: The final day of recording was 26 July 2006 and featured archive footage and tributes, including the Rolling Stones – the very first band to appear on "Top of the Pops" – opening with "The Last Time", the Spice Girls, David Bowie, Wham!, Madonna, Beyoncé, Gnarls Barkley, the Jackson 5, Sonny and Cher and Robbie Williams. The show closed with a final countdown, topped by Shakira, as her track "Hips Don't Lie" (featuring Wyclef Jean) had climbed back up to number one on the UK Singles Chart earlier in the day. The show ended with Savile ultimately turning the lights off in the empty studio.


title: Top of the Pops

text: Fearne Cotton, who was the current presenter, was unavailable to co-host for the final edition due to her filming of ITV's "Love Island" in Fiji but opened the show with a quick introduction recorded on location, saying "It's still number one, it's "Top of the Pops"". BARB reported the final show's viewing figures as 3.98 million.


title: Top of the Pops

text: As the last episode featured no live acts in the studio, the last act to actually play live on a weekly episode of "TOTP" was Snow Patrol, who performed "Chasing Cars" in the penultimate edition; the last act ever featured visually on a weekly "Top of the Pops" was Girls Aloud, as part of the closing sequence of bands performing on the show throughout the years. They were shown performing "Love Machine".


title: Top of the Pops

text: The magazine and "TOTP2" have both survived despite the show's axing, and the Christmas editions also continue after returning to BBC One. However, the "TOTP" website, which the BBC had originally promised would continue, is now no longer updated, although many of the old features of the site – interviews, music news, reviews – have remained, now in the form of the Radio 1-affiliated TOTP ChartBlog accessible via the remains of the old website.


title: Top of the Pops

text: In October 2008, British Culture Secretary Andy Burnham and Manchester indie band the Ting Tings called for the show to return.


title: Top of the Pops

text: On 29 October 2008, Simon Cowell stated in an interview that he would be willing to buy the rights to "Top of the Pops" from the BBC. The corporation responded that they had not been formally approached by Cowell, and that in any case the format was "not up for sale". In November 2008, it was reported by "The Times" and other newspapers that the weekly programme was to be revived in 2009, but the BBC said there were no such plans.


title: Top of the Pops

text: In July 2009, Pet Shop Boys singer Neil Tennant criticised the BBC for ending the programme, stating that new acts were missing out on "that great moment of being crowned that week's Kings of Pop".


title: Top of the Pops

text: In early 2015 there was increased speculation of a return of the show including rumours that Dermot O'Leary might present alongside Fearne Cotton. According to a report in the "Daily Mirror", a BBC insider stated that "some at the highest level are massive supporters of the plan [of a return] and have given the go-ahead." The move of the UK charts to a Friday due to take place in summer 2015 was also said to favour the possibility of a return, making it "the perfect tie-in" and a "perfect start to the weekend", but no weekly return has occurred.


title: Top of the Pops

text: In April 2011, the BBC began to reshow "Top of the Pops" on Thursday nights on BBC Four beginning with the equivalent show from 35 years earlier in a 7:30 pm–8:00 pm slot approximating to the time the programme was traditionally shown. The first programme shown, 1April 1976, was chosen because it was from approximately this episode onwards that most editions remain in the BBC archive. The repeat programmes come in two versions; the first is edited down to fit in the 30-minute 7:30 slot, the second is shown normally twice overnight in the following weekend, and is usually complete. However both the short and longer editions can be edited for a number of reasons. Potentially offensive content to modern audiences is cut (for example The Barron Knights' in-studio performance of "Food For Thought" on the edition of 13 December 1979 including a segment parodying Chinese takeaways using mannerisms that may now be viewed as offensive), and cinematic film footage can be truncated, replaced or removed entirely due to the costs to the BBC of reshowing such footage. The BBC also makes the repeats available on BBC iPlayer. The repeats are continuing as of June 2022 with episodes from 1993.


title: Top of the Pops

text: Since October 2012, episodes featuring Jimmy Savile have ceased to be broadcast due to the Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal and subsequent Operation Yewtree police investigation. Following the arrest of Dave Lee Travis by Operation Yewtree officers, and his subsequent conviction for indecent assault, episodes featuring Travis were also omitted. Following Gary Glitter's conviction for sexual assault, episodes featuring him are not included in the run, or otherwise have Glitter's performances edited out.


title: Top of the Pops

text: Mike Smith decided not to sign the licence extension that would allow the BBC to repeat the Top of the Pops episodes that he presented, with the BBC continuing to respect his wishes following his death. As a result, episodes featuring Smith are also omitted.


title: Top of the Pops

text: In 2021, it was discovered that episodes hosted by Adrian Rose (later Adrian Woolfe) were being skipped, starting with the 28 November 1991 episode featuring Nirvana's famous performance of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (mentioned below).


title: Top of the Pops

text: Other edits that have been made to episodes have included Jonathan King's reports from the US during episodes from the early 1980s, sometimes also resulting in the removal of a performance or video introduced as part of the report, and the removal of The Doors' performance of "Light My Fire" from a 1991 episode, due to The Doors not being covered by the BBC's music licensing agreement (which also resulted in another 1991 episode being skipped).


title: Top of the Pops

text: Prior to the 1976 BBC reruns shown in 2011, the BBC produced a special programme, "The Story of 1976". This comprised excerpts from the 1976 programmes, interspersed with new interviews with people discussing the time period.


title: Top of the Pops

text: They produced similar programmes for subsequent calendar years, each airing before or during the run of repeats from the particular year. These specials went on hiatus following "The Story of 1990" in October 2020, but returned in early 2022 as a weekly series, scheduled up to "The Story of 1999" in May 2022.


title: Top of the Pops

text: A series of "Big Hits" compilations have been broadcast with on-screen captions about artists.In December 2016, a festive special using the format of the "Big Hits" programmes, "Top of the Pops: Christmas Hits" was broadcast on BBC Four, featuring a mix of Christmas music and non-festive songs which had been hits at Christmas time. This effectively replaced the annual Christmas edition of "Top of the Pops 2", which did not run that year.


title: Top of the Pops

text: Although the weekly "Top of the Pops" has been cancelled, the Christmas Specials have continued, hosted by Fearne Cotton and Reggie Yates. The Christmas specials are broadcast on Christmas Day afternoon on BBC One. Since 2008 (apart from 2010 and 2011), a New Year special has also been broadcast. A new logo and title sequence were introduced on the 2019 Christmas special. The BBC's Head of Music Television, Mark Cooper, continued to oversee the programme as executive producer until 2019 when he was replaced by Alison Howe. Meanwhile, Stephanie McWhinnie, who had replaced Wood as producer with effect from Christmas 2011, was replaced by Caroline Cullen (who had previously worked as assistant producer on the show) from Christmas 2020, when both festive shows were recorded with new studio performances but no live audience physically in attendance. On 4December 2017, Yates stepped down from hosting "Top of the Pops" due to comments he made regarding Jewish people and rappers. The BBC later announced Clara Amfo as Yates' replacement, she continues to hold the role. Amfo was joined by Jordan North for the 2021 specials, with him replacing Cotton. Following a change in format for 2022, the festive editions with new live performances did not return and was replaced by a end-of-year programme, "Top of the Pops Review of the Year 2022", to be aired on Christmas Eve on BBC Two with Amfo returning as host alongside fellow Radio 1 DJ Jack Saunders.


title: Top of the Pops

text: The show was given a one-off revival (of sorts) for Comic Relief 2007 in the form of "Top Gear of the Pops", presented by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May. It was filmed at the "Top Gear" aerodrome studio in Surrey on Sunday, 11 March 2007, although it bore little resemblance to the usual "Top of the Pops" format.


title: Top of the Pops

text: On 13 March 2009, "Top of The Pops" was once again revived, this time in its usual format, for a special live Comic Relief edition, airing on BBC Two while the main telethon took a break for the "BBC News at Ten" on BBC One. As with the Christmas specials the show was presented by Radio1 duo Fearne Cotton and Reggie Yates with special guest presenter Noel Fielding and appearances from Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, Claudia Winkleman, Jonathan Ross, Davina McCall (dancing in the audience and later as a Flo Rida dancer with Claudia Winkleman and French and Saunders) and David Tennant.


title: Top of the Pops

text: Live performances – interspersed with Comic Relief appeal films – included acts such as Franz Ferdinand, Oasis, Take That, U2, James Morrison and Flo Rida (that week's Number1). Kicking off the show was a performance from Rob Brydon and Ruth Jones in their Gavin & Stacey guises, feat. Tom Jones and Robin Gibb with "(Barry) Islands in the Stream", the Comic Relief single.


title: Top of the Pops

text: In its extensive history, "Top of the Pops" has featured many artists, many of whom have appeared more than once on the show to promote many of their records.


title: Top of the Pops

text: Green Day hold the record for the longest "Top of the Pops" performance: "Jesus of Suburbia" broadcast on 6November 2005, lasted 9minutes and 10 seconds. There is uncertainty about what was the shortest performance. In 2005, presenter Reggie Yates announced on the show that it was Super Furry Animals with "Do or Die", broadcast on 28 January 2000, clocking in at 95 seconds. However, "It's My Turn" by Angelic was 91 seconds on 16 June 2000 and, according to an August 2012 edition of "TOTP2", "Here Comes the Summer" by the Undertones was just 84 seconds on 26 July 1979.


title: Top of the Pops

text: Cliff Richard appeared the most times on the show, with almost 160 performances. Status Quo were the most frequent group with 106 performances.


title: Top of the Pops

text: Throughout the show's history, many artists mimed to backing tracks. Early on, Musicians' Union rules required that groups re-record backing tracks with union members performing when possible. However, as "The Guardian" recounted in 2001: "In practice, artists pretended to re-record the song, then used their original tapes."


title: Top of the Pops

text: The miming policy also led to the occasional technical hitch. In 1967, as Jimi Hendrix prepared to perform "Burning of the Midnight Lamp", the song "The House That Jack Built" by Alan Price was played in studio instead, prompting Hendrix to respond: "I like the voice...but I don't know the words." In 1988, All About Eve appeared to perform "Martha's Harbour". Although the song was being played on the television broadcast, it was not being played in studio, so lead singer Julianne Regan remained silent on a stool on stage while Tim Bricheno (the only other band member present) did not play his guitar.


title: Top of the Pops

text: Occasionally bands played live, examples in the 1970s and 1980s being the Four Seasons, the Who, Blondie, John Otway, Sham 69, Eddie and the Hot Rods, Jimmy James and the Vagabonds, The Sweet, The Jackson 5, Heavy Metal Kids, Elton John, Typically Tropical, New Order, Whitney Houston and David Bowie. In 1980, heavy metal band Iron Maiden played live on the show when they refused to mime to their single "Running Free". Solo artists and vocal groups were supposed to sing live to the Top of the Pops Orchestra. Billy Ocean, Brotherhood of Man, Anita Ward, Thelma Houston, Deniece Williams, Hylda Baker and the Nolans all performed in this way.


title: Top of the Pops

text: In 1991 the producers of the show allowed artists the option of singing live over a backing track. Miming has resulted in a number of notable moments. In 1991, Nirvana refused to mime to the pre-recorded backing track of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" with Kurt Cobain singing in a deliberately low voice and altering lyrics in the song, and bassist Krist Novoselic swinging his bass over his head and drummer Dave Grohl playing randomly on his kit. In 1995, the Gallagher brothers of Oasis switched places while performing "Roll with It". During their performance of "Don't Leave Me This Way" the Communards singers Jimmy Somerville and Sarah Jane Morris swapped lyrics for part of the song towards the end. Another example of whimsy was John Peel's appearance as the mandolin soloist for Rod Stewart on "Maggie May". The new practice also exposed a number of poor live singers, and was dropped as a general rule.


title: Top of the Pops

text: In its final few years miming had become less and less common, especially for bands, as studio technology became more reliable and artists were given the freedom to choose their performance style. Former Executive Producer Andi Peters said there was no policy on miming and that it was entirely up to the performer whether they wanted to sing live or mime.


title: Top of the Pops

text: From 1966 to 1980, "Top of the Pops" had an in-studio orchestra conducted by Johnny Pearson accompany select musical performances, with The Ladybirds (later Maggie Stredder Singers) providing backing vocals. Credited on the show as musical associate, Derek Warne played piano and provided musical arrangements for the orchestra. As "The Telegraph" recounted, Pearson and the orchestra improvised accompaniments with about 20 minutes of rehearsal time per song, and the musicians, "almost all middle-aged, often struggled with the enormous range of rock and pop tunes with which they were presented." In contrast, "The Times" said upon Pearson's passing in 2011 that the orchestra "often elicit[ed] excellent performances with barely enough time beforehand for a couple of run-throughs."


title: Top of the Pops

text: Other notable members of the orchestra include drummer Clem Cattini, trombonist Bobby Lamb, and lead trumpeters Leon Calvert and Ian Hamer. From 1971 to 1974, Martin Briley played guitar for the orchestra before joining rock group Greenslade.


title: Top of the Pops

text: Following the 1980 Musicians Union strike, the programme resumed broadcast on 7 August 1980 without its orchestra or backing singers. However, Pearson continued to make occasional contributions as musical director until the 900th episode in the summer of 1981. Afterwards, Warne occasionally made musical arrangements through April 1982. Ronnie Hazlehurst conducted the orchestra from 1982 to 1983.


title: Top of the Pops

text: When an artist or group was unavailable to perform in studio, "Top of the Pops" would show a music video in place. According to Queen guitarist Brian May, the groundbreaking 1975 music video for "Bohemian Rhapsody" was produced so that the band could avoid miming on TOTP since they would have looked off miming to such a complex song.


title: Top of the Pops

text: In the era before promotional videos were routinely produced for every charting single, the BBC would frequently have neither the band themselves nor alternative footage available for a song selected for the programme. In the first few months of the show in 1964, the director would just scan across the audience dancing in the absence of any other footage, but by October 1964 a decision was made to at least occasionally bring in a dance troupe with a choreographed routine to some of the tracks.


title: Top of the Pops

text: An initial candidate troupe was the existing BBC TV Beat Girls, but an ex-dancer from the Beat Girls, Jo Cook, was eventually engaged to create a troupe, the all-female Go-Jos, with Cook as choreographer. The Go-Jos also worked outside of "Top of the Pops", notably for two years on the Val Doonican show – Doonican said in 1968 "I thought the Gojos were fabulous, something really new. When I got my own television series I just had to have them with me."


title: Top of the Pops

text: They were initially a three-piece (Pat Hughes for the first edition only, Linda Hotchkin and Jane Bartlett), but their number eventually grew to six (Hotchkin, Bartlett, Lesley Larbey, Wendy Hilhouse, Barbara van der Heyde and Thelma Bignell) with Cook as full-time choreographer. Lulu remembered of their costumes "They mostly wore white boots to the knee and short skirts and the camera would go up the skirt and it was all very risqué."


title: Top of the Pops

text: Cook herself said of working on the Doonican show (of which she was dance director) comparing to Top of the Pops, "Pop steps are limited... With Val we have more scope, and we can work to get more of the feel of ballet into our numbers."


title: Top of the Pops

text: In April 1968, a "Top of the Pops" choreographer, Virginia Mason, auditioned for dancers for a routine on "Top of The Pops" ("Simon Says" by the 1910 Fruitgum Company); two of whom that were successful (Ruth Pearson and Patricia "Dee Dee" Wilde) were part of the existing six-female dance troupe, Pan's People. Like the Go-Jos, this group was also partly drawn from ex-members of the Beat Girls.


title: Top of the Pops

text: Although this routine did not make it onto the programme itself, in subsequent weeks, members of Pan's People (Louise Clarke, Felicity "Flick" Colby, Barbara "Babs" Lord, Pearson, Andrea "Andi" Rutherford and Wilde) started to appear on the programme separately to the Go-Jos. Pan's People were then selected by the BBC over the Go-Jos when they chose a group to be the resident troupe. The Go-Jos' final "Top of the Pops" performance was in June 1968 dancing to "Jumping Jack Flash" by the Rolling Stones.


title: Top of the Pops

text: As with the Go-Jos, in the first eighteen months of the Pan's People era the dancers were not a weekly fixture on the programme. However, due to group fan mail and good viewing figures, by 1970 the group was on nearly every week. Pay was not high – they were paid the minimum Equity rate of £56 per week.


title: Top of the Pops

text: Colby spoke of the dancing – "They weren't Broadway-standard routines... we were definitely doing watercolours, not oil paintings."


title: Top of the Pops

text: In early 1976, the last remaining of the early members of Pan's People, Ruth Pearson announced her retirement, leaving just four members all of whom who had joined within the last four years; Cherry Gillespie, Mary Corpe, Lee Ward and Sue Menhenick. Rather than continue with this line up or add additional members, it was decided by Colby and BBC production staff to replace this group with a male and female group created for the programme, Ruby Flipper, choreographed by Colby and managed by Colby with Pearson. Lee Ward left shortly after this decision was made, reportedly saying regarding the change: "It's a big mistake. Men rush home to watch sexy ladies. They do not want to see other men."


title: Top of the Pops

text: Rehearsals for this new group started in March 1976, and the group began appearing on "Top of the Pops" in May 1976. Whilst producers were aware of the switch to the new group, Bill Cotton, the then head of the light entertainment unit of which "Top of the Pops" was part, was not. This group started as a seven-piece with three men (Gavin Trace, Floyd Pearce and Phil Steggles) and four women (Menhenick, Gillespie, Patti Hammond and Lulu Cartwright). Corpe was not invited to join the new troupe. Trace, Pearce, Steggles and Cartwright joined following open auditions, Hammond, an established dancer, was invited to join to complete the "look" following a later individual audition. Colby viewed this gender-mixed group as an opportunity to develop more physical routines including lifts, more duets and generally not have the whole group at each performance.


title: Top of the Pops

text: However, by August the BBC had decided to terminate the group due to perceived unpopularity and being "...out of step with viewers". Their final appearance was in October 1976.


title: Top of the Pops

text: The group created to replace Ruby Flipper was Legs & Co, reverting to an all-female line-up, and once more choreographed by Colby. Three of the six in the initial line-up (Menhenick, Cartwight and Hammond) were taken from Ruby Flipper. with Rosie Hetherington, Gill Clarke and Pauline Peters making up the six. Despite being an all-female group, on occasion one or more male dancers were brought in, notably Pearce several times.


title: Top of the Pops

text: During their run, the group covered the transition from Disco to Punk, Electronic and Modern Romantic music. Notably, they danced to two Sex Pistols tracks.


title: Top of the Pops

text: By late 1981, Legs & Co (by this time Anita Chellamah had replaced Peters) had become more integrated into the studio audience, rather than performing set-piece routines, as a result of the 'party atmosphere' brought in by Michael Hurll. Also by this time Colby was particularly keen to work once more with male dancers; feeling it time for a change, Legs & Co's stint was ended, and a twenty-member dance troupe (ten male, ten female), named Zoo was created, with a set of performers drawn from the pool of twenty each week. Colby was now credited as "Dance Director". Three members of previous troupes, Menhenick, Corpe and Chellamah, made at least one appearance each during the Zoo period. The dancers now chose their own clothes, moving away from the synchronised appearance of previous troupes.


title: Top of the Pops

text: By the early 1980s, record companies were offering the BBC free promotional videos, meaning dance troupes no longer fulfilled their original purpose. Zoo's run ended in 1983, and with it the use of dance troupes on "Top of the Pops".


title: Top of the Pops

text: After the demise of Zoo, the audience took a more active role, often dancing in more prominent areas such as behind performing acts on the back of the stage, and on podiums. However, the show also employed cheerleaders to lead the dancing.


title: Top of the Pops

text: For much of the 1960s, the show's theme music was an organ-based instrumental track, also called "Top of the Pops", by the Dave Davani Four.


title: Top of the Pops

text: Due to the then standard practice of wiping videotape, the vast majority of the episodes from the programme's history prior to 1976 have been lost, including any official recording of the only live appearance by the Beatles.


title: Top of the Pops

text: Of the first 500 episodes (1964–73), only about 20 complete recordings remain in the BBC archives, and the majority of these are from 1969 onwards. The earliest surviving footage dates from 26 February 1964, and consists of performances by Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas and the Dave Clark Five. Some programmes exist only partially (largely performances that were either pre-recorded or re-used in later, surviving editions). There are also two examples of rehearsal footage, which are both from 1965, one which includes Alan Freeman introducing the Seekers, and another with Sandie Shaw rehearsing "Long Live Love"—both believed to be for the end-of-year Christmas Special. There are also cases of shows that exist only in their raw, unedited form. The oldest complete episode in existence was originally transmitted on Boxing Day in 1967 (only five complete recordings from the 1960s survive, two of which have mute presenter links). The most recent that is not held is dated 8September 1977. Most editions after this date exist in full, except a few 1981–85 episodes recorded live feature mute presenter links (These episodes were skipped on the BBC Four re-runs).


title: Top of the Pops

text: Some off-air recordings, made by fans at home with a microphone in front of the TV speaker, exist in varying quality, including the Jimi Hendrix Experience performing a live version of "Hey Joe" in December 1966.


title: Top of the Pops

text: Some segments of "TOTP" which were not retained do survive in some form owing to having been included in other programmes, either by the BBC itself or by foreign broadcasters. What was thought to be the only surviving footage of the Beatles on the programme, for instance, comes from its re-use in episode one of 1965 "Doctor Who" serial "The Chase". Additionally a number of recordings are believed to exist in private collections. However, in 2019, an 11-second clip of the group's only live appearance on "TOTP", from 16 June 1966, was unearthed – this was recorded by a viewer using an 8mm camera to film the live transmission on their television. Other individual but complete clips that have surfaced over recent years include The Hollies performing "Bus Stop", and The Jimi Hendrix Experience playing both "Purple Haze" and "The Wind Cries Mary".


title: Top of the Pops

text: Thanks to a deal between the BBC and German television network ZDF around the turn of the 1970s, several TOTP clips were sent over to be shown on "Disco", a similar-styled chart show. This meant that performances from the likes of The Kinks (Apeman), The Who (The Seeker) and King Crimson (Cat Food) still exist in German archives.


title: Top of the Pops

text: Two complete episodes from 1967 were discovered in a private collection in 2009, having been recorded at home on an early available open reel to reel video recorder. Whilst the tapes suffered from major damage and degradation of both sound and picture quality, one show featured Pink Floyd with original leader Syd Barrett performing "See Emily Play", whilst the second contained Dave Davies singing his solo hit "Death of a Clown".


title: Top of the Pops

text: The programme was forced off the air for several weeks by industrial action by the Musicians' Union in both 1974 and 1980.


title: Top of the Pops

text: "Top of the Pops" has a sister show called "TOTP2" which uses archive footage from as early as the late 1960s. It began on 17 September 1994. The early series were narrated by Johnnie Walker, before Steve Wright took over as narrator. In summer 2004 BBC Two's controller, Roly Keating, announced that it was being "rested". Shortly after UKTV G2 began showing re-edited versions of earlier programmes with re-recorded dialogue. Finally after a two-year break "TOTP2" returned to the BBC Two schedules for a new series on Saturday, 30 September 2006, in an evening timeslot. It was still narrated by Steve Wright and featured a mixture of performances from the "TOTP" archive and newly recorded performances. The first edition of this series featured new performances by Razorlight and Nelly Furtado recorded after the final episode of "Top of the Pops". In 2009 Mark Radcliffe took over as narrator. "TOTP2" continued to receive sporadic new episodes from this point onwards, most notably Christmas specials, until 2017 when the show ceased producing new episodes, though previous episodes are still repeated on both BBC Two and BBC Four.


title: Top of the Pops

text: Aired on BBC Radio 1 between the mid-1990s and late 2001 was "Top of the Pops: The Radio Show" which went out every Sunday at 3 pm just before the singles chart, and was presented by Jayne Middlemiss and Scott Mills. It later reappeared on the BBC World Service in May 2003 originally presented by Emma B, where it continues to be broadcast weekly in an hourly format, now presented by Kim Robson and produced by former BBC World Service producer Alan Rowett.


title: Top of the Pops

text: The defunct channel Play UK created two spin offs; "TOTP+ Plus" and "TOTP@Play" (2000–2001) (until mid-2000, this show was called "The Phone Zone" and was a spin-off from BBC Two music series "The O-Zone"). BBC Choice featured a show called "TOTP The New Chart" (5 December 1999 – 26 March 2000) and on BBC Two "TOTP+" (8 October 2000 – 26 August 2001) which featured the "TOTP @ Play" studio and presenters. This is not to be confused with the UK Play version of the same name. A more recent spin-off (now ended) was "Top of the Pops Saturday" hosted originally by Fearne Cotton and Simon Grant, and its successor "Top of the Pops Reloaded". This was shown on Saturday mornings on BBC One and featured competitions, star interviews, video reviews and some "Top of the Pops" performances. This was aimed at a younger audience and was part of the CBBC Saturday morning line-up. This was to rival "" at the same time on ITV.


title: Top of the Pops

text: A number of performers have sent up the format in various ways. This was often by performers who disliked the mime format of the show, as a protest against this rather than simply refusing to appear.


title: Top of the Pops

text: The "TOTP" format was sold to RTL in Germany in the 1990s, and aired on Saturday afternoons. It was very successful for a long time, with a compilation album series and magazine. However, in 2006 it was announced that the German show would be ending. The Italian version (first broadcast on Rai 2 and later on Italia 1) also ended in 2006. In February 2010 the show returned on Rai 2, and was broadcast for two seasons before being cancelled again in October 2011. The French version of the show ended by September 2006 on France 2. The short-lived Turkish version was aired on atv in 2000.


title: Top of the Pops

text: In the Netherlands, "TopPop" was broadcast by AVRO 1970–1988, and a version of the show continued to run on BNN until the end of December 2006. BBC Prime used to broadcast re-edited episodes of the BBC version, the weekend after it was transmitted in the UK. Ireland began transmitting "Top of the Pops" in November 1978 on RTÉ2. This was the UK version being transmitted at the same time as on BBC. The broadcasts ceased in late 1993.


title: Top of the Pops

text: "Top of the Pops" had short-lived fame in the United States. In October 1987, the CBS television network decided to try an American version of the show. It was hosted by Nia Peeples and even showed performances from the BBC version of the programme (and vice versa). The show was presented on late Friday nights as part of "CBS Late Night", and lasted almost half a year. It was originally slated to be a first-run syndicated series, but it was changed when Lionheart Television, the show's producers signed up with the network.


title: Top of the Pops

text: In 2002, BBC America presented the BBC version of "Top of the Pops" as part of their weekend schedule. The network would get the episodes one week after they were transmitted in the UK. BBC America then tinkered with the show by cutting a few minutes out of each show and moving it to a weekday time slot.


title: Top of the Pops

text: On 23 January 2006, Lou Pearlman made a deal to bring "Top of the Pops" back to the airwaves in the United States. It was expected to be similar to the 1987 version, but it would also utilise the Billboard magazine music charts, most notably the Hot 100 chart. It was supposed to be planned for a possible 2006 or 2007 launch, but with several lawsuits against Lou and his companies (which resulted in his conviction in 2008), as well as the cancellation of the UK version, the proposed US project never went forward. On 19 August 2006, VH1 aired the UK series' final episode.


title: Top of the Pops

text: The United States had its own similar series, "American Bandstand", which aired nationally on ABC from 1957 to 1987 (although it would continue in first-run syndication until 1988 and end its run on USA in 1989). Similar series also included "Soul Train" (1970–2006, featuring R&B artists), "Club MTV" (1986–92, featuring dance music acts; hosted by Downtown Julie Brown, an alumnus of TOTP as part of the show's last dance troupe Zoo) and "Solid Gold" (1980–88; like the early TOTP, it also used dance troupes).


title: Top of the Pops

text: Canada's version was "Electric Circus" (1988–2003) on MuchMusic, which was also seen in the USA through MuchMusic USA. It had a national chart (mostly of dance music and some pop) as well as live performances, and was based on a local late '70s programme in Toronto called "CITY-TV Boogie".


title: Top of the Pops

text: The "Top of the Pops" brand has also been exported to New Zealand. Although the British show has been broadcast intermittently in New Zealand, the country historically relied on music video-based shows to demonstrate its own Top 20, as the major international acts, who dominated the local charts, considered New Zealand too small and remote to visit regularly. This changed to an extent in 2002, when the New Zealand government suggested a voluntary New Zealand music quota on radio (essentially a threat that if the stations did not impose a quota themselves then one would be imposed on them). The amount of local music played on radio stations increased, as did the number of local songs in the top 20. Therefore, a new local version of "Top of the Pops" became feasible for the first time, and the show was commissioned by Television New Zealand.


title: Top of the Pops

text: The show was executive produced by David Rose, managing director and owner of Satellite Media, and began airing in early 2004 with host Alex Behan. The hour-long show (as opposed to the 30-minute UK version) which was broadcast at 5 pm on Saturdays on TV2 contained a mixture of performances recorded locally on a sound stage in the Auckland CBD, as well as performances from the international versions of the show. The New Zealand Top 20 singles and Top 10 albums charts are also featured. Alex Behan stayed as host for two years before Bede Skinner took over. Despite having a sizeable fan base, in 2006 TVNZ announced that "Top of the Pops" had been axed.


title: Top of the Pops

text: Free-to-air music channel C4 then picked up the UK version of "Top of the Pops" and aired it on Saturdays at 8 pm with a repeat screening on Thursdays. However, since the weekly UK version was axed itself, this arrangement also ended.


title: Top of the Pops

text: In addition, a licensed version was shown on the United Arab Emirates-based MBC2 television channel. This version consisted of parts of the UK version, including the Top 10 charts, as well as live performances by Arabic pop singers.


title: Top of the Pops

text: Brazilian network TV Globo aired a loosely based version of the original format in 2018, labeled as 'Só Toca Top', hosted by singer Luan Santana and actress Fernanda Souza.


title: Top of the Pops

text: A number of compilation albums using the "Top of the Pops" brand have been issued over the years. The first one to reach the charts was "BBC TV's The Best of Top of the Pops" on the Super Beeb record label in 1975, which reached number 21 and in 1986 the BBC released "The Wizard" by Paul Hardcastle (the 1986–1990 Top of The Pops theme tune) on Vinyl under the BBC Records and Tapes banner.