By Tony Blackburn
Last updated at 2:02 AM on 2nd April 2011
The summer of 1976 saw Britain bathed in sunshine. As a record-breaking heatwave gripped the country, temperatures soared and the skies seemed permanently blue.
But it was not just the glorious weather that gave us a glow during those long, hot weeks. It was also a wonderful summer of pop music, filled with memorable hits including Elton John’s Don’t Go Breaking My Heart, Stevie Wonder’s I Wish and Abba’s Dancing Queen.Indeed, the music formed the evocative soundtrack to that happy time.
And now we can relive those moments, for the BBC is to re-broadcast every single episode of the nation’s favourite music show, Top Of The Pops, from the year 1976.
Memories will come flooding back, from the gorgeous long-legged dancers of Pan’s People to the amazing power of Tina Charles’ voice as she belted out her No.1 smash hit, I Love To Love.
Chart classics: Acts like Abba made the 70s a golden era for Top of the Pops
It may be a year chosen on practical grounds — it was the first year that tapes of the episodes were kept — but it was also truly the golden heyday of Top Of The Pops. And I was lucky enough to be part of it as a presenter, a glorious position I held from 1967-1979.
The programme was part of the nation’s fabric in the Seventies — an entertainment institution, like the Two Ronnies or the FA Cup Final. The ratings were phenomenal, sometimes reaching around 17 million, compared with fewer than 3 million when Top Of The Pops was taken off the air in 2006.
But ’76 is exactly the right year to begin this musical trip down memory lane, because the show seemed to capture all the excitement, joyousness and positive energy that pop music generated, as well as the enjoyable silliness.
It was a programme of escapist fun, full of flair — and flares. I was in my early 30s then, living life to the full, and I look back on those days in the studio with nothing but fondness.
The show had begun in 1964, with Jimmy Savile presenting the very first edition. Featuring in that opening show were not only the Rolling Stones and the Dave Clark Five, but also The Beatles performing their huge best-seller, I Want To Hold Your Hand. What a line-up!
It wasn’t until the Seventies, though, that Top Of The Pops achieved its legendary status. What was the secret of its colossal appeal?
Chiefly, it was lack of pretention, because Top Of The Pops never took itself too seriously. The emphasis was always on enjoyment and giving a good time to people at home or watching live in the studio.
Rocket Man: Elton John sang Don't Go Breaking My Heart with Kiki Dee in 1976
Star hosts: Sir Jimmy Saville (left) and Tony Blackburn (right) anchored Top of the Pops in its heyday
This was a show that could have Diana Ross belting out I’m Still Waiting one moment and The Wurzels singing I Am A Cider Drinker the next.
And one of the great thrills for me was to meet the stars of the time. I’ll never forget going into Stevie Wonder’s dressing room, and there he sat, composing yet another distinctive song on his electronic organ.
I also remember interviewing the lovely Olivia Newton-John, when she was clad in a skin-tight leather outfit, and I thought to myself: ‘I’m in the right job here.’
Another asset was the atmosphere of excitement that enveloped the show, partly because it was recorded live in front of a noisy, animated audience. I was continually surrounded by eager youngsters desperate to get their beaming faces on television.
The mood of excitement was helped by the determination of the producers to keep the show fresh and new. We also had to obey rules; no act was to appear on consecutive shows, apart from the one with the No1 single. Nor was there any room for a performer who was sliding down the charts or whose single was outside the top 40.
The novelty value was further enhanced by the emphasis on fashion. It might sound absurd now, in a more cynical age, but in the mid-Seventies viewers from around the country tuned in to see what the young crowd in London were wearing.
And in 1976, that meant flares so wide they almost required planning permission — and platform shoes so high that serious injury might result from losing one’s balance.
One day in the studio, I noticed that my famously short colleague, radio presenter David ‘Diddy’ Hamilton, suddenly seemed to have sprouted in height. Then I looked down and saw his shoes. A pair of my own soon restored the status quo.
Of course, all good things have to come to an end. There are still some wonderful performers around — but Top Of The Pops itself gradually lost its popularity because the world of pop music changed so drastically.
Young people can now hear music through a multiplicity of channels including the internet. And the charts themselves — the very foundation of Top Of The Pops — have lost their influence with the arrival of the iPod and downloaded music.
Our society has also become more fragmented, more jaded and less innocent. In today’s age of rap and sexualised lyrics, it’s impossible to imagine a song like Brotherhood Of Man’s Save Your Kisses For Me becoming a big hit today.
But then Top Of The Pops lost its way. Acts from outside the Top 40 appeared — and the studio audience became less important as videos of acts took over. The show began living on past glories until it was put out of its misery five years ago.
But, at its height, as these broadcasts from 1976 will demonstrate, it was a glorious evocation of one of the golden periods of pop music.
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