Ingredients for a 'classic' TOTP:

-> A studio location with kids dancing
-> Radio DJs on rotation
-> Live bands (miming, sometimes quite shamelessly) in the studio
-> Perhaps one or two groups on video
-> one track 'danced' to by a bunch of 'girl next door' dancers (for the dads). Preferably to songs by groups who have sworn never to appear in person.
-> 80% of the groups classic teenybop fare (to annoy the musos but to give contrast to the times really good bands turn up)
-> 15% of the bands with a nominal amount of 'edge' (to annoy the parents who can't understand the words/tell the boys from the girls etc)
-> NO MORE THAN once every six weeks - a real superstar, or very very 'credible' act to provide a watercooler moment.

Full stop.

See what's missing?

Anything to do with the 'charts'. You could make a case for constructing something around (say) the iTunes chart, but anything that interferes with the basic structure outlined above is doomed to failure - and the charts currently do that. And that, my friends, is where successive producers went wrong - playing around with the above to accommodate an increasingly irrelevant singles chart.

There. Job's a good 'un.

PS: I freely admit that Patrick made the point explicitly first - but of course it's on a Thursday night. Goes without saying. Honest.

First things first, Thursday evenings. No argument, no debate. Thursday evenings it is.

The opening titles feature footage of a young street urchin playing something ghastly on his mobile phone at spleen-bursting volume on the bus. Old folk frown and mutter.... street urchin shouts out "It's Top Of The Pops, innit Grandad!" and the show begins...

Cut to the inside of a television studio... a posse of surgically-enhanced lovelies from the pages of lads mags dance suggestively around a totem pole fashioned in the shape of Dave Lee Travis.

The format of the show is somewhat different. Each band appears in turn, placed in stocks (like one would have seen in a village square in the Middle Ages) on a hydraulic platform in the middle of the audience. Their latest tune is then played over the giant speakers suspended over the crowd. Each audience member then has to vote as to whether the song is 'wicked' or 'shit'. If the collected votes say 'wicked', then the band gets to play their song. If it's 'shit', they are pelted with rotting vegetables, fruit, loose change... anything that's to hand really.

And that's about it... a surefire winner.

The old TOTP is dead now, and trying to bring it back just as it was probably wouldn't work - although it would be fun to try it. So, here's an alternative...

There's the issue of whether the charts are relevant - as an alternative to using the charts as a selection process, why not introduce an interactive element to the selection process? Let the audience nominate the acts they'd like to see on the show, either through a website or via text vote. You could still feature the charts in some capacity, but having the audience choose the acts would probably help the show stay relevant to those watching it.

Make sure you've got artists and bands performing live, ideally in a big studio similar to the hangar in which they film 'Top Gear'. If they can't or won't perform live... they're out. Let them perform, and allow the studio audience (and the viewers at home if possible) to select their favourite - a kind of 'Battle of the Bands' scenario. The winner gets to play again at the end of the show. This could be great, particularly if there was the potential for a 'giant-killing' act... say, a small virtually unknown band toppling a major international superstar.

This kind of set-up would surely benefit the music industry too, as audiences seem to love voting for favourite performers, and then going out and buying their records afterwards.

Rotate the presenters, with a mix of DJs / music-related people and more unusual choices - it usually works for 'Have I Got News For You' when they drop someone a bit unusual in there. Wouldn't you like to see, say, Brian Blessed presenting TOTP one week?

As for the timeslot - I could never understand why 'Top of the Pops' wasn't shown on Saturday evenings - it's ideal family viewing, so why not put it on straight after 'Doctor Who' (or equivalent family drama)?

Here endeth the lesson. Hope you like it. : )

I think its had its day and its time to give up trying to bring back something that is so out of date now.
If people want the chart rundowns there are plenty of music sites that can do a great job.
I loved Top of the pops back in the 'old' days but its had its day time to move on!

I think it should be a cable chanel with the top 40 on all week as an interactive option so you can select the songs you want to listen to when you want to!

There's a lot of nonsense talked about the (non-)relevance of "charts" and "singles" and the dominance of digital music by people whose job it is to seem cutting edge, but last week, Now That's What I Call Music 70 sold more copies in one week than ANY OTHER COMPILATION in chart history (well over 350,000 copies on CD), and that's a series that's 25 years old! This clearly gives the lie to the notion that
1) CDs are dead (downloads are still a tiny part of the music business)
2) People aren't interested in singles (there's just nowhere to buy them anymore!)

The huge majority of the music-buying public aren't mega-fans, they're casual buyers who only buy a few albums a year, and they have been completely disenfranchised since the demise of TOTP, because there is no longer a single weekly appointment where *everyone* can quickly get up-to-date - the only alternative is to sit through mind-numbing hours of cable channels or headache-inducing kids' shows.

The big factor we all remember about the glory days of TOTP is that it brought the whole family together, and that was lost once they (and we mean YOU, Andi Peters) decided that "The Kids" were the only audience that mattered, and the show died accordingly, while TOTP2 went from strength-to-strength (strange, that!) Forget "The Kids", they're too busy on the interweb, on the phone and stabbing each other to watch TV.

So my diagnosis is:

1) Forget about being cool - appeal to those who remember and love the brand, let the kids sit in too if they like...
2) Concentrate on the charts - don't be at the mercy of pluggers, producers or "taste-makers"
3) No-one on 2 weeks in a row
4) Always play the number 1 in full
5) No old tracks/old footage
6) Live audience dancing like geeks
7) Play videos only in case of emergency - lip-synching artists on stage is the priority
8) Thursday night - of course!
9) No interactive element whatsoever - nobody could care less what Kev in Stevenage wants to see, except Kev himself
10) Good DJs as presenters, not just this week's face (so no Fearne Cotton, no George Lamb etc.)

For the record, this isn't my personal idea of a perfect pop show, just my idea of how TOTP could be successfully resurrected...

I must admit that I have spent a considerable chunk of yesterday evening and this morning considering this. I came to the conclusion that the 'classic' Top of the Pops formula simply won't scan these days. So, I thought of what 'winning formulas' could be applied. This has led to a Top of the Pops that is a hybrid of Top Gear and The Word.

A magazine show with three presenters. In place of all-car knowing Jezza we have the all-music knowing Sir David Hepworth!! If he's not up for it how about Danny Baker. In place of the ever enthusiastic Hamster we the ever enthusiastic Mark Ellen or the ever enthusiastic Andrew Collins. I'm a bit stumped on who should take the place of James 'Captain Slow' May. Open to suggestion.

The show is based around charts but is not restricted to them. To start off you have the top 10 albums of the week which is gauged by sales in the major chains but also from Amazon/Cd Wow(and here's the good bit) including second hand sales! This is just a quick run down without much commentary.

The 'singles' chart - a top 30 at most - consists of downloads from iTunes/eMusic and any other websites that wish to participate. Vinyl 7" sales and cd singles are also taken into account. The 'No.1' could end up being anything really - e.g. when the Beatles catalogue becomes available online it will dominate these charts for a considerable time. Could be very interesting.

Aside from that it is a magazine show. The three presenters 'review' new albums in the same fashion as the Top Gear guys i.e. they say what they think...'It's rubbish', 'It's the best album I've heard in years' etc etc.

There is a 'Word of Mouth' section where any performing bands are asked what they are currently listening to and what they would recommend - this will create a lot of competition and interesting recommendations as musicians love to 'be in the know'.

The jewel in the crown is where in place of 'Star in a reasonably priced car' we have 'An Artist, or Band, play something quite bland'. This consists of a live version of one designated 'bland' song, the same song every week, performed by a guest band or artist. For example, say we pick Simply Red's 'If you don't know me by now'. One week you have Radiohead playing their version of it (along with one of their own tunes) and the next week you have, oh, Burial having a go at doing something with it or Amy Winehouse. After the performance they are told how well they did, or didn't do as the equivalent of the lap times board on Top Gear. The board ranges from 'bland' to 'grand'. They are also subject to a Word Magazine quality interview, albeit a quick enough one in the manner of Top Gear.

That's it in a nutshell.

I'll let you know where you can forward the royalties!!

I don't know about the format but the audience should be wearing plastic hats again. And balloons, there must be balloons.

It may seem obvious but Top Gear & Doctor work because they have the right mix of writing, production and actors/presenters...and no telephone votes! The Word magazine did not come around because Messrs Hepworth & Ellen et al asked the mass public what we like to read. I asssume it was editorial know-how to make a fab mag?

So Firstly Get the right team together (they know what they need to do and dont need the public to tell them) Does anyone remember also that The Office received the worst scores in TV history when it subjected to focus groups

But what would I like to see in a programme? A mixture of whats best about OGWT...Later...CH4 Bands unsigned...Live at Abbey.

(1) New and archive material (bring the family together)
(2) No celebrity presenters or DJs...get someone that works in the industry, knows something about it but no Vernon Kay's please
(3) No chart references....just a mix of stuff thats emerging, established and at times a bit leftfield (bit like a music mag really)
(4) No video promos
(5) No judges and no mass hysterical growds.
(6) Definiteley and absolutely no Phone-ins!
(5) Small enthusiastic crowd...

Sunday alternative with Top Gear slot would be good....nice way to end the weekedn.

Some other contributors have already picked up on key elements but no-one has put it all together. I suggest a return to its earliest format, combined with elements of ‘Juke Box Jury’ of the same vintage.

Firstly, the show is ‘fronted’ by some talentless male twat with a lot of front (thinks Jonathan Woss, Russell Bwand, Noel Edmwonds, Jimmy Saville).

The music is played by ‘the lovely Samantha’ (played by Big Babs from Pan’s People) placing a specially-made 7 inch single onto a Dansette. (Obviously the male presenter cannot cope with such technical difficulties.)

The artistes are either groups with silly names or ageing TV ‘stars’ (thinks Ted from Hi-de-hi) who mime very badly to their track. Some do this gleefully, others through sheer incompetence (since they weren’t there when the track was laid down why should they be able to mime to it?).

The ‘audience’ consists of ‘groovy young things’ dancing in a way that would give a geography teacher a bad name. Amongst the audience, for camera close-up purposes, should be a ‘celebrity’ of such calibre as Stan Collymore.

At the end of each track a jury, chosen from the audience and all wearing sheep masks with no eye holes, vote on whether or not it is a hit or a miss by throwing darts at a board (preferably small, and held by the male presenter).

The show plays out with the same theme music that it came in with, ‘I Remember You’ by Frank Ifield.

...the 'guest presenter' slot for example was done to death already, since the 1990s at least. I remember the Oasis/Blur/Britpop days (it was on Fridays then) and it seems to me that's really the last time when TOTP was 'appointment TV' for a large proportion of the British public and when the singles charts themselves last had any real importance.

Nevertheless, here's my proposals. Apologies for length!

-I would change the length of the show from 30 minutes to 45 minutes, which is a 'best of both worlds' situation as it is in between the too-short 30 minutes to the too-long hour format.

-I would make the show live (as with a show like 'The Tube', the unpredictability of this format would have a certain 'anything can happen' entertainment value) in front of an audience. However, I'd get away from the sterility of the BBC studios and do it somewhere different every week, in a music club or some such (shades of 'The Hit Man And Her'...but we'll gloss over that!), as you will still have an audience as the original show did. I think it works better like that rather than an OGWT style show with no audience.

-I think there needs to be a verisimilitude of presenters. One of the problems the original show had before its demise was that there seemed to be endlessly changing presenters to the point it became a rather faceless brand and for me a show needs a 'face', think Bob Harris on OGWT, Later...with Jools Holland etc. It's hard to know who to have presenting it, but I know Simon Amstell's irreverent turn on that 'Popworld' show is still discussed in hushed tones so somebody like him would be good.

-As for the actual performing acts, I would keep elements of the original show here in that I would feature a handful of acts who were rising in the charts and, of course, feature whoever the Number 1 was in any given week.

-Aside from the 'official' singles charts, however, I'd also feature the Download singles chart with a performance from the Number 1 act (or a music video) and the album chart Number 1 to branch it out a bit from the usual format.

-I'd also look into the possibility of looking at the music DVD charts by featuring a short clip of whatever DVD was at Number 1. This may branch out to an older 'Later...' audience, but I'd keep it fairly short so to not lose the attention of the younger audience.

-In addition to that, I would feature an up-and-coming, hotly-tipped new act who are signed by a label but have yet to release a single in a slot called 'Tip for Top Of The Pops' or some such so that the programme can also be used to give newer acts a platform they wouldn't have got from the show as it was and if the show went into the homes of many millions again, it gives a chance for not only the newer acts to get a bigger potential audience than- say- 'Later...With Jools Holland' or any number of specialist digital channels would offer.

-In a spin on the old 'Juke Box Jury' format and in tune with the 'Pop Idol'/'X Factor' system, I would utilise a website vote system for the public to vote whether they think the track this hotly-tipped act play will be a hit or a miss.

-As for slot, I agree it needs to be in a slot that is already deemed a 'family' slot- the aforementioned 'Doctor Who' slot of Saturday evening would indeed be good, but even just before the 'soaps' on a weekday would be great, instead of repeating gameshows which seems to be the norm on certain channels! As I was used to it on a Friday, I'd be selfish and use that but it's like 'Ready Steady Go's old slogan- 'The Weekend Starts Here!'.

It's not perfect- some elements may be deemed prohibitively expensive or risky, such as the live club element- but this seems to me to be the best way to appeal to a cross-generational audience, in that I have tried to take elements of legendary music programmes and combine them in one.

Presenters
1)A different presenter each week is a must.
Presenter should be picked from across the spectrum of public life.
Newsreader, Footballer, Actor, Comedian, Politician…..
David Tennant would be a cracking presenter one week.
Get Boris Johnson, Peter Kaye, that bloke who presents Grand Designs, Jeremy Paxman, Bruce Forsyth….the list is endless and most would be up for it I reckon.

Format
2)No video clips thankyou very much.
I can watch their videos anytime.
All performers must perform either in the studio or alternatively on location.
I always loved it when artists would mime to their hit on the beach or in a country house somewhere.
A mix of live and miming is fine. I don’t want to hear a performer destroy a fantastic track if they’re not up to it.
No little chats with the band either, get them off and get the next one on.
This keeps the interest up.

The chart
3)Artists are invited primarily on their chart position.
And the chart would be based on downloads.
Nobody buys singles on CD anymore and TOTP is about singles.
New entries and climbers making the bulk but new releases also.

Running time
4)I always found 30 minutes too short so make it 45 minutes.
Enough time to get settled in but not enough to overstay it’s welcome.

Audience
4)Studio audience would be comprised of the general public, invited fans and let’s have a few celebs dotted about.
In my mind I’m thinking of the kind of knockabout look the audiences on The Tube had.

Timeslot and day
4)This would be later than previous. Around 8.30pm, this would allow for a few comments from the guest presenters that wouldn’t scare the children and maybe a bit of anarchy now and again from the artists.
I’d like to get the whole concept of TOTP away from the dinner on your lap type show and bring it into serious must see evening television.
I would be tempted to switch to Wednesday evening. TOTP has no business being on at the weekend or Friday and Wednesday is the next best day.

Theme tune
5).Stick with the Led Zep but update with a different remix each week.
Remix to be done by DJ’s, artists or sent in by the public.

Show it on a digital channel where you can select through the red button the chart you wish to listen to and the songs/videos you want to see/listen to.
Forget "live" music as most of the pop artists can't perform live.
Get interactive use the selections made by viewers to go towards the charts for the next week.
No need for presenters or audiences to look stupid, don't hark back to the past, the "olds" can do that with TOTP2!

Its really simple. Call it "Jools Holland's Top of the Pops". Everything else the man touches turns to gold, so why not TOTP?

You could have an episode each week produced by a different Music magazine e.g. a Word one presented by Hepworth and Ellen of course, a Q one, Mojo, Kerrang, NME, whatever the new version of Smash Hits is etc etc.

The editorial team would be able to choose the content maybe tied in to what's being reviewed and recommended in the relevant current issue or by reader's votes. Or in the case of Word, another method could be what's on the cover CD.

Can't believe anyones mentioned the fact you need cameramen at floor level so that there's gratuitous upskirt/leg/breast shots of crowd or particular tasty female singer/backing singer/etc.. its all I remember from TOTP's of old - or alternatively see 'Dave' Channel to see what I'm pervily on about!

Otherwise get Chris Eubanks back for more 'Thuggs thinging Thecilia' moments!!

Respectfully ignoring much of what our friends above have already written, and thinjking about what would make me and my kids (my kids and I?) watch, I came up withthe following:

A magazine format show wth music news/interviews as well as the live bands in the studio with the dancing audience/throng. Bands selected according to an editorial team judging what's hot at the moment rather than sales, but always including teh top 3 from an agreed chart format (I suggest downloads as the most reliable).

One element that would make me watch is teh Live Lounge concept where you get a top band in to do a couple of live covers of their own choosing.

Thursday evening at 7.30 on BBC1.
30 minutes long, and live.
2 presenters, one constant, one new each week. No divs.
5 or 6 current singles, played live in front of an audience.
Web votes cast during prog to determine closing number.
On repeats, lowest common denominator warning about voting over.
1 new single, about to be released, also played live.
25 minutes in, a short 2 minute look at a new music DVD release.
To close, the band with most web votes plays another track.

The main reason for bringing back TOTP is so that the Beeb can continue to top up the archive for future programmes such a TOTP2. So, it will be essential that artists (appear to) play live. Saturday night after Dr Who is the phone-in slot, so to get the Beeb to play along there will have to be a voting element - with the winner playing again after the National Lottery draw.

Obviously there will be a TOTP backstage programme on BBC3 after it all finishes, and the artists will have to be there in person rather than on video or satellite.

I like the idea of the constant remixing of the theme tune - perhaps there could be a vote on that too.

Please let us stop promoting the idea of voting.....can you imagine Word Magazine produced by votes?? Democracy is good when we need a government its not good, in my opinion, when we need creativity and innovation....which is what TOTP needs. Can you imagine a Dr Who phone in.."Who Should be the next Doctor??"...imagine the crap and tat that would be shortlisted.....Votes? No! Move on please

Jimmy Saville should host, surrounded by three silicone blonds in bikinis.
The studio should be lit by sleazy neon.
Guest presenters to accompany Jim could include David Miliband, Ian Hislop and Dickie Bird.
Absolute fundamental rule – all bands have to mime. I still have nightmares about some of the performers who appeared during the miming ban in the early 90s.
All genres should be represented. The Sarf London band, enticing violence, the old has-been making another comeback and, of course, reality TV shows should have the best of their bunch dancing to Michael Jackson songs in doctors coats, spinning on their backs etc.
Satellite link-ups must continue, U2 live from Guantanamo Bay, Pete Doherty beamed in from Strangeways, and so on.
I think the most popular way we obtain our music should certainly be used for the top ten count down. “And this week’s most illegally downloaded tracks for free are...” The graphic could be similar to the 80s count down, instead of using discs, the picture of the artist could be a windows file travelling to a My Documents graphic.
I think the guy who did the frog/Axel F ringtone thing should pen a new theme tune.
Phone in competitions are a must. Maybe Jo Whiley’s or Liz Kershaw’s team could look after that part of the show?
Scheduling is a priority. Saturday morning on BBC2, after that useless cooking programme with Tim Lovejoy and that bold bloke is good for me. I can listen to Leona Williams whilst I’m washing up.
Can hardly wait.

As someone who doesn't have access to broadcast television (do you honestly think it is worth £150 a year? - just buy DVD's!) I'm not sure I'm entitled to comment. But here goes:
Whenever I look at listings magazines, so many programmes seem to have "Behind the Scenes" and this is what TOTP needs. Let us hear 10 songs for the first time on a Sunday and then watch every evening what the Music Industry has been up to that day to try and persuade us to download that song. Saturday sees the chart run down and who won.

My recipe for new-look TOTP success:

1. The timeslot should be early Saturday evenings, pre-Doctor Who or whatever takes that slot, so you watch it before you go out. Forget Thursdays, there's too much competition and it woudl die as before.

2. The charts SHOULD feature, with emphasis on downloads of course.

3. No live performances, only miming. People want to hear the records as they sound on the radio.

4. No chats, no bars, no album tracks, etc. Keep it simple, as before.

5. Presenters: It's a hard one, but kids love Steve Jones, Miquita Oliver, Rick Edwards, Alexa Chung, Zane Lowe and Fearne Cotton. There's a case for Radio 1 DJs, like Jo Whiley and Chris Moyles too. Use combinations thereof, on rotation, in non-ironic fashion.

6. Not too much harking back to the past, but the show does have a history and a place in all our hearts, for whatever the reason, so acknowledge its history with the odd classic clip and retro theme tune.

7. Only feature tracks available now as downloads, going up the charts, new entries or those hovering around the Top 10.

8. 40 minutes. Fake party atmosphere, kids making faces behind presenters' backs, etc.

A ratings winner.

All Managers and PRs should be banned from the studio, as should anyone who might encourage the performers to play it safe and protect their image.
The show will only be must-see viewing if what happens onstage breaks out of the bland performance style that seems to be the norm in this day and age. That way we can get those that have been stars for about five minutes showing their true colours and hopefully behaving like twerps (and they must sing live) as well as more seasoned acts doing something out of character. Imagine Radiohead performing in dinner suits. Or Mariah Carey singing from within a block of concrete.

Give it up everyone; looks like it's being done via the Old Boys' Network. We haven't a chance.

-----Original Message-----
From: FraserM (FraserM@TVDreams.com)
Sent: 06 August 2008 14:51
To: M. Thompson
Subject: RE: Top of the Pops

Thommo,

Saw the piece in Ariel. Wanted to jot down a few ideas 
about the ToTP re-launch, so here goes!

Show goes out Thursday 19.00 pm. Expanded to 45 mins (42-43 
run time). Has single + album charts.

Presented by duo - one Radio 1 presenter (You know the sort) 
and one Radio 2 presenter. Not Woss or Wogan ilk. Think 
W.Bob but less 'Bob'ish.			
			
Singles chart expanded from Top 40 to Top 50 and based 
on either: 

1) download chart or
2) this new 'www.bbc.co.uk/soundindex' thingy your guys are 
doing (crawls Bebo, MySpace, LastFM, iTunes, Google & 
YouTube ev 6 hrs, outputs list top 1,000 most popular 
artists & tracks). 	
		
Album chart based on existing sources. Tracks to contrast 
from singles chart where pos. Where Xover unavoidable (i.e. 
No 1 album + single) just No 1 single in full, swap Highest 
New Entry for No 1 album, replace HNE slot with alternative 
album.			

Miming required. Video acceptable if have to.			

Average show as follows:



Let me know. 

Don't forget whose pater got you the Watchdog gig, eh?

Are you doing the Merton College reunion dinner thing? 
If so, see you there.

Toast in the post!

Ciao,

Frazza

Read these instructions carefully. Your career could depend on it.

1. When miming, remember to pout, punch the air, move back from the microphone and shake your head like a wet golden retriever before the playback reaches the last syllable of every line. The magic will not be broken by this, since all pop gods are accomplished ventriloquists, as reported by the Jackie Insight team in March 1972.

2. Sling your gold Les Paul Special so improbably low that in comparison Jimmy Page looks like he's strumming a ukelele.

3 Amplifiers are unsightly and unnecessary things. Ensure that the business end of your guitar lead is tucked into the left shoe of the boy in school uniform behind you.

4. Re: wardrobe. Silver lamé tailcoat, good. Silver lamé tailcoat with cerise feather boa, the business.

5. The man with the rictus grin in the BBC Props Department rowing blazer is a popular Radio One disk jockey. Humour him and you’ll be fine.

6. The studio set-dressing will probably be beyond your control, so make an effort to look at ease if you find yourself surrounded by giant lumpy papier-maché ladybirds, green-neon organ pipes or zigzag Spanish flags.

7. The audience will largely be made up of a Girl Guides troop bussed in from Stoke-on-Trent (except for the boy in school uniform, who is called Colin and is the studio caretaker’s nephew). You may think they all hate you. You may be right.

8. The girls will all be dancing the frashed chickato – a characteristically listless hybrid of the frug, the mashed potato and the funky chicken that is very popular in the Potteries. Try not to look too surprised if some of them manage to dance it vaguely in time to your music. These things happen.

9. For budgetary reasons, flying in Flo and Eddie from L.A. for the evening is unlikely to be an option, so your backing singers will be played by former members of the New Seekers.

10. The following training video has been prepared for demonstration purposes only. Watch it as many times as you can. Reproducing it accurately will almost certainly secure you a spot in the Boxing Day special.

If not, we're all f*cked.

one way or the other but a couple of useful suggestions:-

1) Make sure Ant and Dec are nowhere near the studios when recording takes place.

2) Have one record each show from the archives - for example Nena singing 99 red balloons - possibly with a small where are they now article added on.

3) have one record from one European chart show each week along the lines of 'big in Norway this week is.....'

4) Have a weekly sales chart - this is a personal interest as I have no idea what the average single sells these days. this would promote competition between the labels to get the biggest selling single in the year.

5) Offer viewers a discount if the buy 3 or more singles from one show.

This is a bit like the incentives package offered to the iranians - the BBC could follow their lead and tell us to bugger off or they could at least consider it and save the planet from extinction!!!!

I would like to see more presenters like the classic Chris Eubank announcing "at 7, it's Suggs with Cecelia"

Someone once told me Mr Eubank's phone number...

Fee Fie Fo, Fo Fi Fum, I believe it was...

....Bring back 'Pinky and Perky'.

If I relaunched Top of the Pops in 2008 I would target the programme at 8-16 year-olds and use it to ask the question, “What is music for?”

I imagine the programme lasting 45 minutes (Hey, it worked for Doctor Who) and working in the following way:

Opening titles, including a theme made up of samples submitted by music fans in the target age range and arranged and mixed by Mark Ronson or similar.

Presenters would be unknowns drawn from across the target age range, so that the audience is being addressed by kids like themselves. An eight-year-old can’t possibly be as disastrous as some of those R1 DJs, can they?

The programme would “tour” the country, broadcasting from a different town each week. And now from Norwich…

Regular features would include:

· Five minute films (a couple per episode), in which music fans in the target age range talk about music: where they listen to it, how they listen to it and why they listen to it. They would take the camera on a tour of their local area, pointing out the best places to hang out, what kind of music happens where etc.

· A dance competition, with local kids competing to devise the best dance routine to a current chart-topper. The winning team “dance-out” the credits.

· Requests for performances and videos from the original series (to pacify Mum and Dad), preceeded by a short interview about why the song was requested.

· Charts: Downloads, your traditional shop sales and charts submitted by the audience, such as “top ten put-downs” etc.

· Music: Footage of a local gig (unknown bands only), the usual mimed chart-toppers (from the top 10 download and retail charts), a smattering of “bubbling under” acts and an interview and footage of a big-name act on the road that week.

Nostalgia's the key.

I'd have the original titles and all the bands should be introduced by original clips of the DJs we love to hate with dubbed dialog over it to introduce the new bands.

The same thing would happen for the bands - the junior in the BBC office (the one who usually has to cut together clips of snooker to sync with Queens Don't stop me now) would cut together an old clip of Earth Wind and Fire to sync with the latest Kaiser Chiefs hit or Denis Roussos synced to babyshambles - an old Pans People routine for Toni Basils 'Hey Mickey' with the Ting Tings 'That's not my name'....the possibilities are endless.

I'm quite excited about this now.....

Cheers

Bob the Chiropodist

It's really dead easy. It's all about what is or is heading towards the top of the charts. So, it isn't serious, it is fun, it is about the songs (irrespective of genre), it is about the gimmicks. We need a small cast of DJ's who understand this and take it in turns (1 at a time) to present the show. Don't allow any any audience participation (shoot anyone who asks us to text in with what we think of anything at all) and restrict all band interviews to 30 seconds per show. Ban any song that hasn't been released yet or such promotional shenanigans; don't plug LP's, don't do any social programmes about the environment, STD's or such like. It's about the nation's favourite songs - good, bad, indifferent or whatever.

There's no point trying to resurrect the format for 'new' music. Jools Holland is doing that and the charts are an irrelevance. TOTP is all about nostalgia. I think TOTP2 tried this a few years ago but a programme with all the best clips and performances from the last 42 years is the only way to go. Cut it together with memories of the original performers (as they are now - what TOTP did for their careers, Kevin Rowland explaining why they sang in front of a poster of Jocky Wilson and not his brother Jackie, etc etc.) Do it year by year and you have 42 programmes at little cost. The licence payers are the winners at the end of the day...

It's obvious, just get a troupe of near naked nymphs to dance in front of the camera for one of the tracks. Priceless

I reckon I watched TOTP for 25 years, right up to the bitter end. There were some terrible mistakes made with the dying days of TOTP, and you could see it going under: The Star Bar, location reports, that kind of thing. Andi Peters has a lot to answer for. And he got rid of the last decent TOTP logo, just as it was branding itself into regional variations around the world. Moron.

Pop, by definition will always be around, it will always be current. The ongoing success of the Now series of records understands the thing that TOTP forgot: TOTP is not light entertainment, it is news/factual. When it was successful, and latterly that meant during the Rik Blaxhil years, a decent episode of TOTP acted as a time capsule for that week. You were told what was up, what was down and what was number one. And Blur drove around in a little milk float.

The charts are relevant. The death of TOTP in 2006 was phenominally short-sighted considering that because of rules on downloading, the charts were slowly undergoing a sea change away from the previous 15 or so years of high-entry, precipitious drop singles where tracks seldom climbed the charts slowly or hung around for long. Now the top ten tends to rub shoulders a bit more week-on-week and decent album tracks appears in the lower reaches of the charts as pluggers can no longer use the single-release-date as a target for ramping up radio play to force a high entry. So there’s one plus point, the chart is more watchable these days then it used to be.

The second benefit of the download era is the reversion to the era of the 45 where the single track is king. New REM album? No thanks! I’ll buy the songs I like as I go along! This focus on the song and not the singer suits TOTP as it would be driven by genuinely popular tracks instead of popular people.

So how to package all this as a new TOTP?

Well, it should go out on a Friday, live, in a sort of “weekend starts here” type of slot, as opposed to the “everyone’s watching Corrie” slot that it had in the end. New records should come out on a Friday (as they do in Ireland) meaning that chart return shops collate sales up until midnight on the Thursday. The new chart is debuted on the show, that’s the first time anyone finds out the number one.

Some core principles of TOTP as we know it should stay the same, we’re not trying to re-invent the wheel: A big studio, a happy vibe, bands generally play live, the number one is always played. Videos are not outlawed but they should be entertaining: another example of bad timing in the disappearance of TOTP is the concurrent rise of YouTube. There’s good vids out there. There’s no need for a Leg & Co type troupe as any dance/club single featured on the show will bring along their own scanty gyrators to make things slightly interesting.

The show should move “up” the charts, i.e. the show starts at 30 (or 40, or 75) and performances are in order of popularity. Lip service is played to the album top 10 as it would be a pity to gloss over the opportunity to get a good television moment out of a top 10 album (for instance last weeks number 7 record by The Batchelors).

The presenters should not try to be cool, but should love music. The big lie about tv for youngsters is that it has to be presented by youth. When I was 10 my favourite TOTP presenter was John Peel. I hadn’t a clue who he was but he was good. There is no reason why J Saville shouldn’t still do it. The host position shouldn’t be fixed, but should draw on an appropriate pool of people, and not be done for “stunt television”. Personally I can think of three people who would be up to it: Adam Buxton, Chris Moyles & Simon Amstell. Buxton hosts the excellent BUG music video night at the BFI Southbank; Moyles, because there is no other show on tv that would be any good for him. (For the record: I like Moyles, he’s pure radio) and Amstell because we all remember PopWorld.

No phone-ins, no texts, no voting, no reports, nothing outside of the realms of songs from the charts. If there is to be any of that gubbins, put it on a TOTP website or behind a red button.

Remember TOTP isn’t trying to be cool, it’s just trying to deliver that week’s pop facts. Cut away the faff that Andi Peters brought in a dumb attempt to do a CD:UK (where’s that gone?) and focus on the week in the charts and it can’t go wrong. Remember, TOTP is the pop news.

Couldn't have put it better myself. (Not that that's necessarily a recommendation, mind.)

Slight reservation about the whole Moyles thing (face for radio, personality for somewhere a long way from me). Would like to put a good word in for Radcliffe as presenter.

OK, here's my 3

1) Tits and beer sell anything. FACT. Therefore, add tits and beer

2) Judging by how crowded the local pubs are 'round my way, I would suggest turning the music up to 11, enfourcing some kind of dress code for those watching it and instruct everyoe to drink day-glo drinks

3) Change the target audience. How good is TOTP2? Very is the answer you are looking for. Why aim TOTP at youngsters, aim it at the people who care about it.

I think part of the reason for the demise and subsequent switching off of the life support of TOTP was that they tried to appeal to a too wide an audience.

Any new TOTP should be aimed squarely at teenagers. If anyone else wants to watch it then that's fine. So Word readers probably won't actually be very interested until they repeat them as "classic" episodes in 10 years time!

Once that very small (but admittedly quite restricting) ground rule is established, the whole show can be based very closely around the format of classic era TOTP. As much live (OK mimed!) as possible with a few videos if necessary.

Not sure how to choose the music but why not just use the charts (not the album charts) but of course as a Word reader I have no idea whats in the charts at the moment so I don't really know if they would be suitable.

Bringing back the good times with TOTP is a great idea! On a Thursday evening pleeze, same format – songs from the Top 30/40, the chart run downs, using DJ’s from Radio 1 and even sexy female dancers (maybe Pole? Or even from this country!) TOTP2 already caters for the nostalgia market so no need for “old gold” or “classic mold” insertions of a track or two from yesteryear. It’s the sound of today we wanna hear!

I think it’ll be cool to take the show around the country, esp. in the summertime, when the weather's fine. Outside broadcasts giving an excuse for balloons & related paraphernalia plus hairy mammoth autograph sessions. Tusk! Tusk! The balloons of course could also be provided by the dancers (see above) – saving licence payers money! For those in attendance (chosen randomly by ERNIE – the fastest ticket selector in the West) is where your "actual" beer tent comes into play, bringing a rock festival ambience to those Summer months, and Summer Nights. Tell me more. Tell me more.Tell me more? OK – I will! I’m advocating some sort of scratch & sniff card be issued to the folks at home, not fortunate enuff to have tickets (two year waiting list still applies!) These smell-in-vision cards providing whiffs of Britney Spears inner thigh(one for the boys, or poss. just for me!), the aroma of boy bands (something for the girls) and nuance of cable wires. You could almost be there!

Give out the winning national lottery numbers just before the No.1 sound and you’ve "quite literally mate", hit the JACKPOT!

Who knows, if Guns N Roses get a move on the show could even feature a track from the brand new Chinese Democracy album?!! But that might have to wait for the re-runs as part of TOTP 2, in the year 2525, if man, and Steve Wright, is still alive....

Because:

a) For whatever reason it wasn't working weekly.

b) It would be easier to fill with in the studio performances

c) it would mitigate against the everything-going-straight-in-at-number-one thing

Don't bother......it's day is done and gone. These memories are infused with nostalgic fumes of mistaken memory, viewed backwards thru' a rose tinted telescope. TOTP was only any good because it was all there was. In truth, whilst I never intentionally missed it, ages 7 to 27, it was more often than not to end up groaning at the music, the DJs, the dancers or the audience. Whenever anything half decent came on, denial of all knowledge had to be espoused, so as not to frighten the elders. I'd sooner see Crackerjack.

Before my solution, a little bit of essential background;

This is a difficult task because the re-branded version of Top of the Pops which would be enjoyed by Word readers and passionate consumers of music culture with expansive and varied taste, will be a totally different beast from that which will appeal to the great unwashed who use music passively as a back-drop to their Aya-Napa holidays, and who will only ever buy whatever iTunes, Simon Cowell and the media tell them to.

Furthermore, the music industry has drastically changed since the 60s, 70s and 80s halcyon days of Top of the Pops. A re-branding of Top of the Pops is a much greater challenge than those successful attempts of Top Gear and Dr Who. It will have to cut through the tough competition from digital and satellite music television channels, and a myriad of other terrestrial pop music programming which did not threaten Top of the Pops’ dominant position during its heyday in the 1960s, 70s and 80s.

The emphasis placed on chart positioning in its heyday no longer seems to be as thrilling, nor as important. Today’s music industry predominantly makes its money through artists’ live performances and sponsorship tie-ins, rather than from mechanical sales of singles and albums. Top of the Pops should cater for this thirst for live performance.

Objective
To re-instate Top of the Pops as the quintessential piece of weekly UK pop music programming, which enjoys viewing figures far greater than those of its digital station competition. To do so the re-branded show will have to appeal to the music snobs as much as to the music luddites!

Presenter
Firstly the show should NOT be presented by any gobby youth T4 presenter who is mere clueless eye-candy and will unfortunately open his/her mouth to spew forth a mal-informed stream of gobshite into millions of UK homes. It was arguably these tossers who contributed towards the demise of the show in the first instance (without naming names, I’m pointing firmly in the direction of Fearne Cotton, Holly Willoughby, Alexa Chung, Alex Zane, Vernon Kaye, Steve Jones, June Sarpong, Peaches Geldof etc etc etc). Let’s have the show fronted by knowledgeable, affable, intelligent, presenter talent – thinking along the lines of a team including Lauren Laverne, Simon Amstell, Zane Lowe; people who could effortlessly give the correct chronology of Bowie album releases, as well as wax lyrical about the benefits and disadvantages of established artists leaving their record labels and going it alone. This calibre of presenter will hopefully inject some passion for pop knowledge into a young, impressionable viewing public whilst also satisfying the seasoned viewers. Someone who will act as the best ring-master for the show, whilst not coming across a patronising, clueless arsehole when interviewing artists.

Format
- BBC1. Thursday evenings. 40 – 50 minute show.
- Studio audience amidst 3 performance stages. Information as to how to apply for tickets to be part of the Top of the Pops audience should also be apparent at the end of each show, or offered as part of a weekly competition.
- 2 to 3 live studio performances per show (live as in live performance non-miming).
- At least 1 live performance of a chart band from the road on a current tour.
- Top of the Pops golden jukebox – 1 performance per show from the Top of the Pops archives – “this week from the archives…”
- Absolutely no unnecessary promotional oxygen to be given to X-factor, Popstars, Simon Cowell, Britain’s Got Talent superficial shite. Part of the benefit of reinstating the show on the BBC will be the prohibition of a public broadcaster from giving any form of promotional tie-ins. Top of the Pops should be the independent, intelligent antidote to Saturday night ITV drivel.
- 1 track per episode of an artists’ choice. Each week a different established popstar gives an insight into their favourite current track, giving reasons why. Track then played in its entirety (either live performance or video).
- Occasional cover-version performances in the same vein as Live Lounge. Once a fortnight an artist plays a live version of their interpretation of another contemporary artist’s song. Cross-genre treatments to be all the more satisfying.
- Rather than focussing on chart positionings, the music should be categorised in terms of ‘forthcoming releases’, ‘new releases’ and ‘current hits’. The number 1 song should be played in its entirety each week regardless.

Supporting media
- Re-branded website streaming the shows on the day following their television transmission (similar to iPlayer, but bespoke for Top of the Pops). Website will also detail the celebrity playlists and the cover-version performances played on the shows, as well as giving details on artists’ tours and latest news – the website will thus be a one-stop information shop for all news concerning current chart artists.
- Top of the Pops youtube.com page as a sub-brand from the BBC youtube page. Youtube clips from TOTP performances from the 60s through to the newly branded shows.
- Simultaneous broadcast of each show on a digital BBC radio station.

Being of a 'certain age' I have always loved TOTP's, but in its latter years it lost me.

I reckon

do like I've Got News For You do - different presenter from all walks of life each week.

Do past and present.

NO dancers

Use a chart like itunes

Saturday evening (near Dr Who)

Do online at same time

It needs to be on the same time as the official countdown on radio so that we can see the acts live getting the number one spot and their reaction to this.

There should be interviews and exclusive access to behind the scenes on bands and singers.

The best thing to bring it back would be for a great new host, the only perfect one for the job would be...

ME

Bring back the memories please

i can remember watching TOTP's in the 80's avidily as a teenager... so what stopped me from watching it? was it cos i got older and out grew it ? no it wasnt, it was cos the powers of B changed the format and fiddled and messed around with it until it was nothing like the original show...it was more like a cheap channel 4 broadcast...

i still adore all types of music and i feel the show needs to be exactly what its name suggests...TOP OF THE POPS and nothing else...it should have music from the top twenty selling singles and be aimed directly at teenagers...which is what it was always intended for! (the wider audiance can watch and listen to music on the many specialist radio and TV channels available)nothing too cheesey!

ideas and inspiration for the layout and design for the studio that it is to be broadcasted from could be taken from a competition asking teenagers for their opinions...lets face it the show is going to be for them...so why should,nt they have input...my teenage daughters love going to local disco's and night clubs...some research into how clubs attract their clientel might help...(its not just about alcohol) my girls go cos they love the music and the dancing...

regular weekly phone ins with VIP tickets to the show as well, as postal applications to go and watch the show being broadcasted should be made readily available...
and lastly... i dont believe that the show should be live...it should be pre-recorded with all the best bits shown...and the artists should be allowed to decide if they sing live or mime...look how well music videos go down...most of them are not live, they are pre-recorded and digitally enhanced...nowt wrong with that...its called 'TECHNOLOGY' and used well makes fab viewing..

i'd love to see TOTP's back on the screens and the very thought excites me...'hurry back home TOTP'

Use a combination of live music and video, the thing I hate seeing is bad miming. Each week make sure we get to hear the number one as well as the highest new entry and try to include a performance from each genre (rock, pop, dance, hip-hop etc).

Must appeal to those who buy music & those that watch tv. No miming! New bands coming through should be included. Live music & video. Also include good & bad clips from years gone by. Keep it at the same time - no moving days & swapping times. Could also include short interviews.

I loved top of the pops as a teenager,I have trouble seeing today's pop stars giving the same entertainment value.
So I conclude leave it where it belongs in the mist of time for us oldies to remember

A giant robot Jimmy Savile hosts the show, while the bands play on floating platforms in a huge sphere, the platforms are controled by viewers over the internet. Bands that fail to play well (all bands play live) under such conditions are subject to Jimmy prohibiting all their record sales for the coming week.

If it's to come back it should be fun, less inane chat and more audience participation. Why not have a headline set from the top of the alnum chart to make it more concert like?

No doubt any attempt to revive TOTP will involve “focus groups”, “brand consultants” and what have you, the whole thing brimming with Birtian bureaucratic bumgravy, but really this is straightforward back of the envelope stuff. Here goes:

Recognise how popular pop music is:

I have a hunch that more people are listening to more music than ever before and that pop music has never been so popular. (Record company sales figures may not reflect this, but that’s a whole other issue). It’s not hard to work out why. People start listening to pop music at a very young age and – the factor that was never anticipated – they don’t stop. They don’t “grow out of it”. Radio 1 and Radio 2 have massive audiences. Although there are shades of difference between the two stations in terms of audience age, style content etc. they don’t amount to much. People are largely listening to the same music. And it’s absurd that it isn’t the basis for a weekly mass market, mainstream pop TV show. It might as well be called Top Of The Pops. I know the title has the whiff of a pipe-smoking, sleeveless-pullovered BBC producer trying to be “with it” in about 1962, but once a name has stuck it doesn’t really matter. (After all the BBC’s TV magazine is called Radio Times and no-one bats an eyelid).

Be bold and confident about it:

I’ve never seen Doctor Who but I’m well aware of what happened there. The BBC decided to revive it. They made it really good. They put it in a prime-time slot and bigged it up. The message was simple: this is great and you’re going to love it. It was (so I’m told) and people did. I’d say the natural order of things would be for prime-time Saturday evening on BBC1 to be bookended by Top Of The Pops and Match Of The Day. TOTP should be on in the early evening/ teatime slot straight after the footy scores are in. It should be an hour long. It should play the hits that people have been listening to all week. You can’t turn on the radio at the moment without hearing Noah & The Whale. I haven’t the faintest idea what they look like. I suppose if I didn’t find the song rather annoying I could look them up on Youtube but why the bloody hell should I? I pay my licence fee. And the BBC’s public service remit should extend beyond Kirsty Wark haranguing Caroline Flint about stamp duty. It should also be about presenting Noah & The Whale for public inspection and keeping us abreast on how The Kooks are wearing their hair this season.

Ditch the charts (and forget about the generation gap)

Hands up who knows what’s No.1 in the charts this week. Thought so. Hardly anyone (including my 14 year-old daughter who listens to Radio 1 every morning, noon and night.) The charts don’t matter any more. And on TOTP they didn’t much anyway. That whole countdown to the No.1 business was always a bit irrelevant. Anyone interested knew it anyway from when it was revealed on the previous Sunday (or in pre-historic time, rather bizarrely, at Tuesday lunchtime.) What matters is what’s on the radio, so the new TOTP simply needs to put together a running order based on the playlists of Radio 1 and Radio 2 rounded off with the No.1 (the only chart position that really matters anymore). Forget phone-ins or any of that tireseome malarkey. Just pick a good selection from the records that are around.
Forget about that generation gap thing too. The old jokes about Dad sitting there saying “call this music?” and “is it a boy or a girl?” simply don’t work these days. The parents of teenagers grew up in the ’70s and ’80s. There’s nothing teenagers listen to or wear that is going to seem alien to them in the way pop music and pop stars were to my parents’ generation. Kids and their parents listen to largely similar music these days.
Obviously not everyone will like everything on the show but they never did and never will. (And pop fans often define themselves as much by what they hate as what they like). Of course most of us will have a good old laugh at DJ Ironik. But that’s half the fun. Many may use a James Blunt slot to bung the kettle on or check on the spuds. For those of us easing gently into our Private Godfrey years an appearance by Enrique Iglesias offers the perfect opportunity for a “comfort break”.

Presenter/ studio etc.

Simon Anstell would make the best presenter. He’d bring to the whole thing the right tone of fond mockery. Perhaps he could alternate with Chris Evans – still a master of creating a vaguely party-ish “vibe” without being too cheesy. Either of these two need to be teamed with a popsy. Someone all the blokes fancy but who isn’t too dim or annoying. Whoever this year’s Cat Deeley is in other words. (Sorry to be a bit sexist, but let’s not beat about the bush.) Guest presenters can be used every now and then as and when appropriate ones suggest themselves. There should be a studio audience, but not too prominent. Might as well use the Jools Holland Later studio setup: that sweep shot at the beginning of all the acts on their separate soundstages is ace. Perfect for TOTP, creating as it does the image of a pop “scene”. Only in exceptional circumstances should acts perform “live”. People wamt to hear the songs as they sound on the records. Videos should be shown, but should never make up more than about a third of the show. No harm in the odd oldie from the vaults if there’s a good enough reason (e.g. an Abba clip when Mamma Mia’s the big film of the week)

And there we have it: an hour of glamorous, poptastic, sexy, funny entertainment for all the family. Now, that wasn’t difficult was it?

(Offshoots for BBC 3/ internet: TOTP Backstage (similar to the Glastonbury format: interviews, perhaps even a Roundtable-type thing with he stars on that week reviewing new singles). TOTP Revisited: oldies (like TOTP2) along with Where Are They Now? interviews so we can laugh at how fat all the old pop stars are these days).

p.s. They could do worse than to stick this on the mood board at the planning meeting

I'd get chickens to present it. No kidding, my chooks absolutely love music, they coo and sing beautifully. They follow my husband when he's playing guitar to sing with him, it's very moving. They're deeply musical and super entertaining. I'd tune in!

I spent ages on Saturday trying to find a hart show to watch... and there wasn't one.

The crazy frog ruined TOTP... so my suggestion, bring it back, same format - but ban ringtones!!!!

A sprinkling of chart hits througout, a run down of the charts at the end with an up and coming new band playing over. Number one is played at some point. Famous names (preferably not particularly music related) pick a couple of archive clips each week. Well known musicians (McCartney, Albarn and the like) recommend something new they've heard. Reports from here and there - festival clips. 1 hour - irreverent and playful approach. Avoid the typical youth only type show or 'serious culture' late-night style. Maconie and Radcliffe type presenters. What's on your i-pod feature - public and celebrities, do us a shuffle and give us the first 3 say. Top Gear style studio and audience with repartee. Families featured - what the parents and their kids are listening to, how well do they know their music? Humourous features on fashions and hairstyles of stars of past and present and other amusing items a la Word. Still could call it TOTP. Sunday night at 7? Brief guides to genres - eg grime, dubstep. Simon Amstell to do a piss-take interview each week. He could also be a presenter (as Richard suggests). Just tying it to charts alone won't work - too much like the old show. Got to be different to that.

No presenters, a run down of the top albums and singles played by video, and archieved footage shown as voted by the public

Revamp into new early Saturday evening entertainment. It needs a fun element to the show to appeal to families.

The studio could be modernised.
Charts could feature alongside new up-and-coming bands, or singers, perhaps with a studio audience vote or National telephone vote for the best band each week, going into a final.

Presenters need to be favourites, such as Ant and Dec?!

Thursday night 7pm , nothing on at this time. Friday was always a bad idea - those in their teens or 20s 30s are likely to be celebrating end of week rather than watching tv and they are age groups t hat will still watch, aim it for all the family not just kids as alot of people watching are older generation- nostalgic. Have fun acts: novelty/silly acts might not be good music but occasionally are worth it for the entertainment factor, think of all the past memorable performances that have been from really rubbish bands. Great miming and sillyness.
Couple of short interviews with people..but nothing thats going to drag on.
exclusive album tracks, it's hard to get exclusive videos but if artists are willing to sing couple of tracks from a new album.

No presenters like Ferne Cotton - trying to be young and 'hip'.. they are simply irratating. ex-pop stars or older presenters with a bit of music knowledge, radio Djs. no 'New' young presenters trying to make it too cool.