Chart Music #75: August 15th 1974 – Could YOU Be Donny’s Bride?

Chart Music #75: August 15th 1974 – Could YOU Be Donny’s Bride?

Author: Chart Music December 14, 2024 Duration: 6:21:20

The latest episode of the podcast which asks; The Osmonds – who’s the Sex King?


We’re BACK, Pop-Crazed Youngsters, and to commemorate this we’ve only gone and picked out one of the maddest episodes of Top Of The Pops ever. It’s the late Summer of 1974, Robin Nash has just bedded in, and he’s got big plans for our Thursday evening fizzy Pop treat. Sadly, one of them – a massive splurge on David Cassidy’s farewell tour – has been shagged up by a BBC technician’s strike. But this week, the BBC has taken full ownership of the First Family of Utah and have given over a six-day block of early evening real estate to Ken, Ken, Ken, Ken and Donny.


Consequently, this episode is a complete twisting of our Pop-Crazed melons. Out goes the studio in Television Centre, and in comes the BBC Television theatre, the natural domain of Crackerjack, That’s Life! and the Basil Brush Show. Out goes the usual melange of sullen youths chatting about lads and shoes and what they bought at Chelsea Girl last Saturday, and in comes 3,000 girls with their pants all of a piss at the sight of an Osmond. Yes, there is a presenter – Noel Edmonds, wearing possibly the most Different Times shirt ever – but he’s only there to stop the endless SCREAMING that might was well not be there. 


Musicwise, well: Obviously the Osmonds get to plug their next single, but it’s a mixed bag of fag-end Glam, Black American sophistication, future advert jingles, and Brit-rubbish. The Glitter Band  show off their Cyberman bukkake hairdos. Marie Osmond continues her reign as the World’s Oldest 14 Year-Old. Cozy Powell and his band of Egg and Chippers thud away. Pans People airlift a vital supply of Dadisfaction. Steve Harley and his pickup band look at each other in amused disbelief. The dark secret of Sara Leone is revealed. OH MY GOD IT’S THE BAY CITY ROLLERS. Sylvia pops up for a bit of Spanish Schlager – Schangria, if you will. The Osmonds get a massive plug for their next single, and the grown-ups enter the room with this week’s Number One.


Sarah Bee and Taylor Parkes join Al Needham for a good scream – at everything – in this episode, veering off on such tangents as Sovereign Citizens, the Osmonds’ Barbershop Raga, Mike Read’s Shakin’ Jackanory, a horrifying tale from the Wank Factory involving a tin of anchovies and the Eastenders Omnibus, Tam Paton’s Star Bar obsession, and the most Plastic item of clothing ever. Swearing a-plenty. BE CALM.


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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 #78- February 16th 1978: Paint Along With Nancy Spungen [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 5:45:45
The latest episode of the podcast which asks; Emu versus Bernie Clifton’s ostrich – who wins in a fight?This episode is practically a scientific experiment, Pop-Crazed Youngsters; Al’s been wondering what the optimum age…
#78 (Pt 4): 16.2.78 – Paint Along With Nancy Spungeon [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:30:32
Simon Price, David Stubbs and Al Needham finish off a classic episode of TOTP by strutting through New York with a paint pot in hand, being delighted to learn that Sweep is a Punk Rocker now, contemplating the Agnetharse…
#78 (Pt 3): 16.2.78 – Paint Along With Nancy Spungeon [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:19:52
David Stubbs, Simon Price and Al Needham plunge the critical fist even deeper into this episode of TOTP, and the big names keep coming. Darts begin their biggest year by not doing The Wank! Legs & Co are finally granted…
#78 (Pt 2): 16.2.78 – Paint Along With Nancy Spungeon [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:33:51
Simon Price, David Stubbs and Al Needham begin their odyssey through this episode of The Pops, and what a opening! We get a blast of a tune none of us have heard before, followed by Tom Robinson not being allowed to self…
#78 (Pt 1): 16.2.78 – Paint Along With Nancy Spungeon [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:34:18
The return of the podcast that gets it’s hand right down the back of the settee of an episode of Top Of The Pops. Al Needham has a theory that, like World Cups, the TOTPs nearest to your tenth birthday are the sweetest,…
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…