DANIEL MUSIC

TOP OF THE POPS

I don’t know about you but I am still missing Top of the Pops. It doesn’t help that they keep bringing back one off specials – Christmas, New Year, Comic Relief. Why? I am not saying that I don’t enjoy them because of course I do but it just makes me long for the days when I was guaranteed to see my favourite artists on TV once a week. You see I believe this is all part of the problem. We are losing track of the music we love. I know that music is more accessible to us now than it has ever been owing to the digital age that we are living in. Fewer and fewer of us buying CDs, preferring the convenience of downloading.

Of course, there are plenty of music TV channels and people can access the videos and live performances of their favourite artists online any time of the day or night but it is just not the same. When I was growing up the whole family would watch Top of the Pops on a Thursday night. It was a simple pleasure, knowing that your favourite band was going to appear that night. I especially remember the week when Oasis and Blur were both on as they battled each other for the number one slot with ‘Roll With it’ and ‘Country House’ respectively. It was iconic. Branded USB sticks.

You can’t achieve that same feelings watching video after video on music TV channels. I bet it isn’t the same for bands and artists either who are looking for opportunities to promote their new material and connect with a wider fan base. I heard a rumour recently that Simon Cowell was interested in bringing it back although he would want to move it to ITV. No thanks, the BBC is where this classic format belongs. ITV can bring back CD:UK but you won’t catch me joining that campaign.