Why did Bruno do a CD only show when it was on AM only at the time?


Colin Young on the Trunk of Funk plays a lot of vinyl, it sounds no different, though you get the odd crackle

That's what I do to although I'm more interested in around 1983 onwards although thanks to the TOTP repeats I like some of the charts from 1976-78.


I'm another one who likes the nineties charts.

The problem is there is not enough of these type of programmes on BBC Radio now and there are more and more charts to cover every year.

When Alan Freeman did the programme on Radio 1 1989-92
he covered 3 years a week with only 40 years of charts.
Now we have 60 years of charts but only 2 covered a week.

Bruno's CD shows were broadcast on a Bank Holiday, when Radio 1 had use of the Radio 2 VHF stereo frequencies, probably because of Sport On 2.


Excellent point!

I see the point then if neither Radio 1 or 2 wants the 90s. The problem is that the charts began to change during the 80s and 90s, and stopped reflecting a wide range of music. The 78 chart of this week, for example, has disco, pop, hard rock, soft rock, punk in various guises, comedy records, eurovision songs, film soundtracks, music in a 50s style, music in a 30s style... It's very hard to catagorise all the different styles in one Top 40.

The charts from the 80s onwards increasingly had less and less variety. IMO a 90s or 00s retro chart doesn't have the general interest that one from the 50s, 60s or 70s does.

My answer, personally, would be that Radio 1 should be playing music from the last 20 years. I say that as someone who doesn't currently listen to Radio 1... but also as someone that used to listen to Radio 1 years ago, and expected it to play the then music of the previous 20 years. There were retro charts on Radio 1 in the 70s, 80s and into the 90s, and they played music from the previous 30 years or so! That's where 90s and 00s retro charts should be now.

90s or 00s music works better on Radio 2 as part of the mix of music, where a DJ isn't constrained by playing tracks from one chart.

The 1978 chart is wildly varied as proved each week on TV this year.

What constitutes a "mainstream chart" in this country nowadays, in other words the official top forty as broadcast on Radio 1, is infact nothing of the sort in my opinion, and is no more than yet another "type" of chart. In no way can it anymore claim to be a truly national mainsteam music chart surely? How did this happen?

Also, the sound of a chart from, let's take 1974 and then 1981 as per last weeks show, or even more so with 1966 to 1976 in the coming weekends edition, there was a definite kind of sound in those years that did not last long until things changed. Now however, in 2013, you could go way back to 1993 with tracks sounding much the same. Music from 2000 could be music from 2010 as if the decade never existed between.

Not forgetting if Tony starts playing charts from 2000 onwards many of them will have absolutely NO climbers, just a succession of new entries and downers, which made the British singles chart from about 1995 to 2006 an absolute discredited joke not worthy of looking at, such as one of the worst chart behaviour years in history when in 2000 about 12 consecutive weeks had a new number one debuting straight at the top. That was never credible. I want to hear meaningful charts on Pick Of The Pops.

I recall back in January 1989 when Fluff returned with Pick Of The Pops to Radio 1 on a Sunday afternoon, one of that days charts he "picked" was from just 7 years earlier in 1982, and at the time to me it felt like an entire pop era ago, which infact it more or less was.

I think it depends on whether the year is picked carefully. When 2001 was done last year it worked because there was quite a variety of music and has said a lot of the songs featured were played on Radio 2 when they were new. If they carefully picked a chart that wasn't dominated by Dance music it works. In the 90's it wasn't all Dance music and picking the right chart can give you a decent mix of Brit Pop, Pop and Adult Contemporary.

Good post and spot on.

If i remeber, Fluff did a countdown from the 12 months previous once

More than once if I remember rightly? Also a certain other presenter who used to do a retro countdown show previous to him on the Network also did the same.

But you are talking about a Radio 1 from the past. Since the Bannister years Radio 1 plays very little music over a few years old. There was the mystery years when Simon Mayo was at the station which would go back as far as 1988 but this was scrapped when he left in 2001. Apart from a brief re introduction of The Golden Hour when Chris Moyles was at the station there has been little interest in any retro features or shows on the station.
On your points of the charts. I disagree about your view about the 50's and 80's. The 80's was arguably when the charts hit their peak. Certainly just about everyone listened to The Top 40 throughout most of the decade where as during most of the 50's there wasn't even an official chart. Yes you do have a point about the 90's with the speed of the charts but with the format of Pick of the Pops this can be gotten round by the fact that not all songs in The Top 20 are played.

"Don't be misled by peoples false comments thinking Tony and the POTP's team are using vinyl from the Radio 2 playout system. They are really bringing in turntables to the studio to play real vinyl provided by the team " - What you hear is from real live vinyl. No magic tricks.

Yes most charts have variety in them. In the 1990's there was a good mix of songs that were played on Radio 1 and those which were played on Radio 2 and commercial stations whilst in the 2000's the decline of the CD Single meant that some of the older acts got good chart placings a bit like what's happening in the album chart at the moment.
It's only really when downloads took over the chart that the variety went and became very similar to the Radio 1 playlist.

It depends on your favourite era of music. Every era has a type of music which tends to dominate the charts at that time so if you don't like that type of music it seems like the charts have no variety.

One thing that always comes over to me with Tony is integrity. So what you say comes as no surprise. Unlike most presenters, if he has to do a recorded show he makes sure his listeners know about it. The vinyl edition this weekend should make an interesting listen. Such a shame it won't be available to view on a studio webcam, as far as I know.

I'm reminded of Noel Edmonds Gotcha Oscar on Gloria Hunniford in the early 90's on Radio 2 when she was still playing vinyl on a turntable and the producer came in on her, broke the vinyl tack in half live on air. Very very funny and she gave a priceless look.


http://youtu.be/81jKzRPLIgY

Here's a nice crispy clear recording of the jingle on you tube. Come on Tony (if you're reading this!) Why not use it on Pick of the Pops? Remember, there's no mention of the radio station in it. You once said it was blessed by the Arch Bishop of Scunthorpe and was guaranteed to bring out the sunshine

I agree with all you've written. I've highlighted one section becuase I've often thought that one of the problems with today's charts is that they don't reflect the musical tastes of a wide range of ages in the way charts used to.

I would like to see someone produce a 70s demographic chart for today. By this I mean find out the demographics of the chart buying public in the 70s, and produce a weekly chart today where you use information from itunes or wherever regarding the demographic of the buyer. That info must be available today - you can't sign onto a website without providing your age, sex, etc. So I think if you sample the current weekly chart to reflect the demographics of the 70s, you would end up with a decent varied chart today.

I would agree it's possible to cherry pick one off charts that may be half decent. However I'm not sure it's worth it to displace a 50s, 60s, 70s or 80s chart. I'm not convinced that playing an hour of a chart from the 90s or 00s is the 'job' of Radio 2. I disagree with Radio 1 abondoning music of the previous 20 years. I disagreed with that policy in the 90s, and I disagree with it now. I'd keep POTP on Radio 2 as it is re years covered.

Stereo as well! Anyone Tweeted him? I guess the problem is that its not the Tony Blackburn Show, Pick On The Pops will scan but not very well.

I'm not on twitter, but it would be nice if someone who is interested, or contributes to this thread tweets him about it. I read his tweets and they come thick and fast. I had no idea that his special vinyl show was coming up this weekend when I started the thread last weekend and am real pleased that I accidentally seemed to catch the moment just right to begin a dedicated Pick Of The Pops thread.

If anyone checked out that Gloria clip, it is hard to believe that it was only 20 years back, although one source says it is as far ago as 1988, looking at her putting the tracks on the turntable herself and placing the needle. It all looks so quaint!

Don't forget that Tony does read the DS Forums too. He certainly remembers the jingle but, as keicar comments, it's POTP and not the Tony Blackburn show. Also there's the question of getting permission to use the Chris Rainbow jingle. Who'd now own the copyright?

Other DJs with the Summer Radio jingle were Peter Powell, Kid Jensen, DLT, Simon Bates, Paul Burnett and later Philip Schofield.

Well we will have to agree to disagree. Is it Radio 2's job to cover the 90's and 00's? Well yes at least with the 90's considering the target audience is over 35's. Infact you could argue more for the 90's than the 50's not that I am saying the 50's should be abandoned. Also the 90's have been done quite a few times in the past and only seems to have been abandoned since the beginning of this year.

As I mentioned Paul Burnett was still using his jingle on Classic Gold as late as 2007.

surely if the audience for a chart show from 1990 onwards was felt in demand then Radio 1 could air a weekly programme maybe a job for Mr Moyles?

So why was Moyles replaced in the 1st place? To get a younger audience! So they are hardly going to introduce a retro show presented by him are they?

Why not? its a good idea, even youngsters get nostalgic.

The BBC re-employed Mr Blackburn for a similar reason, one could argue that he's beyond the Radio 2 daytime demographic, but still extremely popular.

Annie Nightingale is still on Radio1.

For starters Annie Nightingale is only still on Radio 1 because she presents a specialist show that appeals to their audience. She's not there playing old music! Radio 2's demographic is very wide so both Tony Blackburn and Dermot O'Leary who follows him are in Radio 2's demographic. Surely if Tony wasn't it would mean they should be concentrating on more recent charts? Also how can a 20 year old be nostalgic for the 90's when they would have been too young to remember most of it?