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.


Video PlaylistSubscribe | Facebook | TwitterBluesky 

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
#58: 23.10.1980 – Top Of The Gear [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:32:43
#58: 23.10.1980 – Top Of The GearThe latest episode of the podcast which asks: has anyone ever done that to someone else’s nostrils? Really?Neither willing to go out and pissed off with staying in, your favourite podcast…
#58 (Part 4): 23.10.1980 – Top Of The Gear [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:25:57
Taylor Parkes, David Stubbs and Al Needham bring an appalling episode of Top Of The Pops to a close, as Travis has a final lunge at the Motor Show models, Barbra Streisand shows us her slides of all the Hollywood crumpet…
#58 (Part 3): 23.10.1980 – Top Of The Gear [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:25:50
David Stubbs, Taylor Parkes and Al Needham look on in horror as DLT goes full-on PLP (as in Pepe Le Pew) on Elkie Brooks, while Kelly Marie feels safe with her two chaperones. More car nonsense. And Christopher Lilliput.…
#58 (Part 2): 23.10.1980 – Top Of The Gear [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:09:09
Taylor Parkes, David Stubbs and Al Needham commence an intensive evisceration of this episode of Top Of The Pops, but oh dear – Dave Lee Travis has decided to fill the studio with boxy cars and bored women in Talbot t-sh…
#58 (Part 1): 23.10.1980 – Top Of The Gear [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:18:44
David Stubbs, Taylor Parkes and Al Needham prepare the ground for an intensive dissection of an episode of Top Of The Pops from 1980, a year which has very much established itself as the Ken of the Eighventies.There’s a…
#57: 11.10.73 – A Balloon Full Of Gravy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:55:48
The latest episode of the podcast which asks: would you let your daughter marry this episode of Top Of The Pops?It’s the first episode of the year, Pop-Crazed Youngsters, so the ever-forward-looking Chart Music throws it…
#57 (Part 4): 11.10.1973 – A Balloon Full Of Gravy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04:46
Simon Price, Neil Kulkarni and Al Needham bring this Golden Age episode of the Pops home, as Slade finally – and fatally – learn to spell single titles correctly, Limmie and Family Cookin’ do something that isn’t You Can…

«1...678910