I think they had pretty much peaked by early 1967. Only Hey Jude, Something and Let it Be from their later years can be described as real classics. I hate 'Walrus', which as well as being part of the double EP it was also the B side of Hello Goodbye. I would have played either Your Mother should Know or Fool on the Hill.

Hour 2 - http://umdmusic.com/default.asp?Lang...hBand=&ChSong=
TOTP -
21-12-72: Presenter: Tony Blackburn (Wiped)

(7) ELTON JOHN – Crocodile Rock (crowd dancing) (and charts)
(14) GLADYS KNIGHT & THE PIPS – Help Me Make It Through The Night ® * WATCH
(24) ELVIS PRESLEY – Always On My Mind (video)
(13) ROYAL SCOTS DRAGOON GUARDS – Little Drummer Boy (video)
(37) CAT STEVENS – Can’t Keep It In
(NEW) DICK EMERY – You Are Awful
(16) DAVID BOWIE – The Jean Genie (danced to by Pan’s People)
(NEW) MALCOLM ROBERTS – Happy Song
(19) LYNSEY DE PAUL – Getting A Drag
(29) WIZZARD – Ball Park Incident
(1) LITTLE JIMMY OSMOND – Long Haired Lover From Liverpool (video)
(3) T-REX – Solid Gold Easy Action (crowd dancing) (and credits)

That was intentional I believe? They felt that their psychedelic stuff might go over the head of the average singles buyer.

Gutted they missed out Blue Mink. A great song, especially when you consider the top 2 they WILL be playing.

Oh. This. The track that put a massive price on Jimmy Osmond's head

Hour 3 - http://umdmusic.com/default.asp?Lang...hBand=&ChSong=
TOTP -
19/12/85 (Paul Jordan & Mike Smith)
Amazulu – “Don’t You Just Know It” (19) WATCH
Band Aid – “Do They Know It’s Christmas” (3) (1985 video)
Aled Jones – “Walking In The Air” (14) WATCH
Level 42 – “Leaving Me Now” (28) (breaker)
Sophia George – “Girlie Girlie” (25) (breaker)
Elton John – “Wrap Her Up” (23) (breaker)
Pet Shop Boys – “West End Girls” (5)
Whitney Houston – “Saving All My Love For You” (1) (video)
Paul McCartney – “Spies Like Us” (16) (audience dancing/credits)

Hang on - that tracklisting was Now 4, wasn't it?

This chart and the one Gambo is playing is the one for the week prior to Christmas. The 'official' Christmas chart for 1985, with Shaky at number one was announced on Christmas Eve at 12.45 by Gary Davis. This was the Tuesday of that week. Phil Swern... Oops. You should be playing the one dated 28/12/85.

Absolutely correct David. "This day" in 1985, Christmas Eve, was when Shaky knocked Whitney off the top to claim the festive No1 for himself. I clearly remember hearing Gary Davies announce it at lunchtime in the regular Tuesday top five reveal. This is what annoys me and seems illogical with these daft w/e dates which in the case of 1985 show the Christmas No1 as having reached that position after Christmas on 28th Dec.

Very shocked as POTP ended to then hear on the news that Status Quo's Rick Parfitt has died, giving 2016 yet another pop scalp.

Bah Humbug Gambo also ignored Little Drummer Boy, up 7 places in the 1972 chart, on Christmas Eve, whilst playing instead songs going down, not moving and re-releases from the 60s. What a Christmas plonker.

Having played I Am the Walrus at Number 2 you would think the disc jockey would mention that it was also the B side of the Number 1.

His last Christmas was this Christmas.

George Michael has passed away on Christmas Day to add another huge music loss to the year. It appears that he succumbed to heart failure and was a mere 53. Talk about a major shock at any time never mind at Christmas.

On Saturday we heard Last Christmas played on POTP at No10 from 1985 on re-release and George (with Andrew) had two singles in that pre-Christmas top ten. Last Christmas by Wham! actually rose from No20 to No16 in this weeks current Christmas chart and I've already seen it speculated on whether it will now jump to next weeks No1 after this appalling news. I doubt it myself but I do think George Michael will get the No1 album if not next week then very soon in the new year, and the Wham albums may make an impact too.

You have been loved. The sun has now gone down.

Yes, I also noticed that Gambo played the chart from the earlier week, in a sense making a mockery of the Christmas number 1.

I'd have liked to have heard Level 42's Leaving Me Now. Maybe it didn't make the top 20 or at least not in the right week. It is my 2nd fave Level 42 song, after The Sun Goes Down.

This is an excellent track, but as Gambo mentioned Magical Mystery tour in his opening I was anticipating hearing this song. I prefer both to Hello Goodbye in fact.

On the 7th January, Saturday will be our day to hear the charts from that week in 1974 and 1987. (If the radio 2 shedule is right, which it hasn't been lately).

As if we haven't heard enough of Slade's Christmas classic over the last two month

Always striking that it managed to hold the No1 position right up until Tuesday 15th January 1974. Mind you, the Band Aid single in early 1985 did precisely the same thing to the same day as Slade after five weeks on top too. Although all it actually means is that it was the best selling single up to week ending 5th January still, published as No1 on Tuesday 8th. So that 15th January flatters to deceive just a touch. Nowadays of course festive tunes plunge the week after Christmas very quickly. Slade crept into the top forty by a whisker this week at No39 with Merry Christmas Everybody. I haven't heard it so much this Christmas - only about 5 times so far!

Of course in those days everything was done by post. The returns from the shops would be sent by snail mail. The period covered in that 15/1/74 chart would have included sales as far back as 7th of January. I wouldn't be at all surprised if many of the chart returns shops didn't even post their data from December until the turn of the year. Shops weren't open right across the festive period then. Posting chart returns probably was the last thing on the minds of sales staff.

The charts just before and after Christmas should always be taken with a pinch of salt anyway. The Virgin chart book misses out several of the charts from this time of year. In those books the first chart dated 4/1/75 was actually announced on Radio 1 on Christmas Eve 1974. In the same book misses out the first chart of 1976 completely, therefore depriving Dana of her number three hit with Cold, Cold, Christmas.

This Saturday it's 1975 in the UK and the US. Don't know whether this is a one off or whether they intend to do more UK/US charts. I like the idea and it's a change to hear something a bit different and obviously gives Gambo a chance to impart some of that US pop knowledge.

The Radio 2 schedule clearly states 1975 but at the end of the show on Christmas Eve, Paul said 1977. The Radio Times and the R2 schedule have been wrong several times recently. Who knows what we will get. Tune in on Saturday to find out the year.. It could be 1947

I've a sneaky feeling that Paul will be right!

I think so too, I also don't think we will have the advertised January 1974 on 7th January as there are too many Christmas leftovers from 1973 including the number one

Can't see Last Christmas making No.1 but may climb whereas all the other Xmas songs will fall. The top selling GM album is his 1997 Ladies & Gentlemen Best Of although I prefer 25. Anyway L&G is No.1 on Amazon now but out of stock but can't see it selling enough to make No.1 this week but maybe next. Remember other albums will have had sales for an extra couple of days.

Had your quote been made 30 years ago then yes I would have completely agreed with you as Slade were ALWAYS played at Christmas but over the last 20 years lets be honest Shakin Stevens, Wham Carey and the McCartney songs are now flogged to death and I for one am completely sick of those efforts

It'll be interesting to see how many singles re-enter the Top 75 on Friday and which one is the most popular (expect it to be Careless Whisper).

I can see the chart being very much like when we lost Bowie in January and Jackson back in 2009 where we get an influx of songs back in the chart.