Chart Music #62: November 3rd 1977 – WHOO! HEY!

Chart Music #62: November 3rd 1977 – WHOO! HEY!

Author: Chart Music November 6, 2021 Duration: 6:12:29

The latest episode of the podcast which asks; if David picked potatoes on Jack Heap’s playing field for one hour, how many Fumanchews would he able to cram into his gaping maw? 

Once again, Pop-Crazed Youngsters, Team Chart Music has returned to the safety of the late Seventies, and your panel is a) having their crayons thrown out of the window after an incident that could have been ripped from The Shining, b) being disappointed by Scalextric, and c) getting their arse tanned over an art installation on some concrete staircases. And all the time, the terror of Punk is looming, and no-one – particularly the canine population – is safe.


As it turns out, the only Punk-free zone at this time is the episode of The Pops we’re about to get stuck into. Like David’s Scalextric, the show – in Robin Nash’s safer-than-safe pair of hands – is running on rails by now. Unlike David’s Scalextric, everything fits together, and nothing is skidding off the table and smashing against the wall. This is Top Of The Pops in its purest form, Pop-Crazed Youngsters, and we savour every mouthful of it for over six hours.


Musicwise, it’s a veritable bestiary of Pop Gargantua, with Xmas on the way, some huge LP drops this week, and the Monsters of the Hit Parade already starting to fight over your forthcoming record token. Paul Weller makes a doomed attempt to get the BBC to post his guitar to his girlfriend. The Carpenters say hello to some aliens. The Barron Knights dare to have a pop at The Old Sailor. Freddie Mercury pitches up dressed like a bottle of Sheridan’s. Legs & Co hit up a sari shop in Shepherds Bush for a game of Sexy Lady Croquet. Status Quo predate Abba with an avatar bassist. Actual David Bowie pitches up to the studio, but can’t be bothered to button up his cuffs. Showaddywaddy have a group huddle. And Abba get down to a proper session of Scandinavian Sorry. All brought to you by Peter Powell in his debut TOTP appearance, and he immediately hits the ground running, even if he has to be nudged by the gallery into putting himself about with the maidens of the studio.


David Stubbs and Taylor Parkes join Al Needham for an intense drill into ’77, veering off on such tangents as the Great Dog Collar Crimewave of Coventry, why trying to crush a tennis ball on the school playground in order to impress girls is a wrong ‘un, NASA convincing aliens that British people are big Medieval jessies, the ELO-Faust War, Dave Lee Travis annoying Brian May, a review of Dave Bartram’s 2005 travelogue of caravan parks, Bruce Foxton stroke fiction, and the GOLDEN FLEECE OF CHART MUSIC has been located. Oh, the swearing in this one…   


Video Playlist Subscribe | Facebook | Twitter | The Chart Music Wiki | Patreon


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.


Chart Music: the Top Of The Pops Podcast is a deep, often hilarious dive into the archives of the iconic BBC television show. Each episode focuses on a single, random broadcast of Top of the Pops, subjecting it to a forensic and affectionate analysis that only a panel of former Melody Maker critics could provide. Hosted by Al Needham alongside creators Sarah Bee, Neil Kulkarni, Taylor Parkes, Simon Price, and David Stubbs, this podcast dissects the performances, fashion, and cultural moment of each show with a unique blend of expertise and nostalgia. Listeners will hear detailed commentary that treats pop history with both seriousness and irreverence, uncovering the stories behind the hits and the oddities that defined Thursday night viewing for generations. It’s more than a recap; it’s a critical reappraisal of a pop institution, exploring how music, television, and memory intertwine. The conversation is insightful, witty, and packed with the kind of context only insiders can offer, making each episode a time capsule opened with care and a sharp eye. For anyone fascinated by the evolution of pop culture and the specific alchemy of a weekly chart show, this podcast provides an endlessly engaging listen.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Chart Music: the Top Of The Pops Podcast
Podcast Episodes
Chart Music #77: December 27th 1971: Six Tins Of Bachelors Peas [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 5:33:23
The latest episode of the podcast which asks; Tango or Telstar?Yes, it’s that time of the year, Pop-Crazed Youngsters – we decide to do a Christmas episode, and then Christmas happens and gets in the way of everything, t…
#77 (Pt 4): 27.12.71 – Six Tins Of Batchelors Peas [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:34:35
David Stubbs, Taylor Parkes and Al Needham reach the end of their journey through 1971 with the unsavoury sight of Ashton, Gardner and Dyke, before Diana Ross goes all Tales Of The Unexpected on us. The New Seekers – the…
#77 (Pt 3): 27.12.71 – Six Tins Of Batchelors Peas [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:18:35
Taylor Parkes, David Stubbs and Al Needham continue to gorge upon the selection box of 1971, and the big hitters have arrived. Slade – midway through their gestation into Tramps Of The Future – pitch up with their first…
#77 (Pt 2): 27.12.71 – Six Tins Of Batchelors Peas [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:27:16
David Stubbs, Taylor Parkes and Al Needham commence their expedition into a TOTP end-of-year review with a comprehensive breakdown of Tony Blackburn’s 1971 – from the highs of compering the Daily Mirror Hot Pants Ball an…
#77 (Pt 1): 27.12.71 – Six Tins Of Batchelors Peas [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:23:33
Taylor Parkes, David Stubbs and Al Needham prepare to set about a rare Sixventies episode of The Pops – a gloriously fecund time where the death of the Mopfabs creates a massive void. Who’s gonna fill it? We’ll find out…
Chart Music #76: August 12th 1982 – Humpty Dumpty Is Big Eggy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 6:01:27
The latest episode of the podcast which asks; do we really need a Chart Music Heritage Chart?Never have we needed Simon Bates at the top of the show warning of explicit content as much as we do for this episode, Pop-Craz…
#76 (Pt 4): 12.8.82 – Humpty Dumpty Is Big Eggy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:25:10
David Stubbs, Taylor Parkes and Al Needham – still far too young, still far too clever – finish off this outstanding episode of The Pops, and are delighted to learn that at this point even Michael Hurll has had enough of…
#76 (Pt 3): 12.8.82 – Humpty Dumpty Is Big Eggy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:31:10
Taylor Parkes, David Stubbs and Al Needham continue their odyssey through this massively enjoyable TOTP, and we finally get to see the Chocolate Guitar incident. Sheena Easton becomes Gertie Numan, then Haysi Fantayzee p…
#76 (Pt 2): 12.8.82 – Humpty Dumpty Is Big Eggy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:32:47
David Stubbs, Taylor Parkes and Al Needham gleefully ram their fists into a TOTP from the late summer of ‘82. John Peel oversees the well-supervised fun, unaware that a year from now Noel Edmonds is going to try to get h…
#76 (Pt 1): 12.8.82 – Humpty Dumpty Is Big Eggy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:40:15
Taylor Parkes, David Stubbs and Al Needham prepare to tuck into a gloriously succulent episode of Top Of The Pops from the Silver Age - but first, they have a leisurely trawl of that week’s NME, express disgust at the in…