TOTP2
Encyclopedia
Top of the Pops 2 is a British television
music show broadcast on BBC Two
, showing archive footage from the long-running Top of the Pops
show, some dating back to the 1960s when the programme first aired on British television.
DJ
Johnnie Walker
. Colleague and fellow DJ Steve Wright took over in 1997 and hosted until being replaced by Mark Radcliffe
in 2009.
The presenters themselves never appear in-vision but provide a voice-over commentary and introduction to each piece. In 2003 the BBC started to run a daily version of TOTP2 in which celebrities chose their favourite archive performances. These celebrities, typically comedians, have included Vic Reeves & Bob Mortimer
, Phill Jupitus
and Jack Dee
. There have also been a number of TOTP2 specials in which a "greatest hits" show dedicated to one musician or band is put together from both archive and new footage.
, announced that the programme was to be "rested". The last showing of TOTP2 was intended to be the TOTP2 Christmas Special shown on Christmas Eve 2005 at 19:30 on BBC Two. But they did start to re-run TOTP2 on Dave from 2004 to 2008 with edited versions and also on Yesterday in 2010. Edited re-runs of TOTP2 resumed airing on Dave in April 2011.
, Jamelia
and Razorlight
, before it reverted to a 30 minute weekly format at 20:00.
It is broadcast in the 4:3 aspect ratio
like the majority of its archive material, though the first two episodes were in the 16:9 aspect ratio to accommodate new performances. The BBC planned to replace the main Top of the Pops on Christmas Day 2008 with TOTP2 with some live performances and archive footage to be shown including the 2008 Christmas number one (U.K. Single), these plans were later scrapped due to complaints by viewers. This led to Simon Cowell
to ask the BBC if he could buy the rights to TOTP so it could be shown on ITV1. The BBC later refused Simon Cowell's offer and announced that they would show TOTP on Christmas Day on BBC One as well as the TOTP2 specials on BBC Two.
On 27 June 2009 TOTP2 returned unexpectedly to celebrate the life of Michael Jackson, who had died two days earlier, this is the last episode to be presented by Steve Wright.
On 23 December 2009 the TOTP2 Christmas 2009 special was presented by Mark Radcliffe,
On 19 February 2010, BBC Four
aired a TOTP2 Latino special.
On 10 May 2010 a TOTP2 80s Special aired, in conjunction with the BBC's Eighties season, this marked TOTP2's 500th edition. Two other episodes were broadcast for the 1980s season, A Wham! special on 23 May 2010 and a Duran Duran special on 28 May 2010.
A repeat edition was shown on 23 June 2010 on BBC Four, showing archive performances from John Lennon to coincide with the Christopher Eccleston Drama.
On 9 July 2010 a repeat edition of the Rolling Stones special aired on BBC Four.
A brand new edition was broadcast on Saturday 25 September 2010, a 'School Days Special', featuring Alice Cooper and Busted.
TOTP2 returned again the festive period in 2010, with the TOTP2 Christmas Special 2010, which aired on Tuesday 21 December 2010 on BBC Two, again presented by Mark Radcliffe, who digs deep into the Top of the Pops archives to bring some festive performances from Slade, The Pogues, Elton John, Take That, Coldplay and Abba. It was shown in 16:9 for the first time since 2006.
Also on 1 January 2011, a repeat of the TOTP2 80s Special was aired at 1.15am on BBC Two.
On Saturday 26 March 2011, a repeat of the TOTP2: Country Jukebox Special will be aired at 12.10am on BBC Four
On Sunday 24 April 2011, a repeat of the TOTP2: Bee Gees Special, which first aired in 2001 on BBC Two, will be aired at 11.25pm on BBC One. This will be the first episode of TOTP2 to be shown on BBC One.
On Sunday 10th September 2011, a repeat of the TOTP2 Goes Disco! Special, which first aired in 2007, will be aired at 12.15pm on BBC Two. The episode will feature the likes of the Bee Gees, along with Gloria Gaynor, Liquid Gold, Sylvester, the Village People, the Weather Girls and the Three Degrees. Also, Chic, George McCrae, Hi-Tension, Heatwave, the JALN Band, Earth Wind and Fire, Tina Charles, the Gibson Brothers, and Edwin Starr, Blondie, Yazz, Boney M, Linx, Sophie Ellis Bextor and Infernal.
British television
Public television broadcasting started in the United Kingdom in 1936, and now has a collection of free and subscription services over a variety of distribution media, through which there are over 480 channelsTaking the base Sky EPG TV Channels. A breakdown is impossible due to a) the number of...
music show broadcast on BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
, showing archive footage from the long-running Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
show, some dating back to the 1960s when the programme first aired on British television.
Original format
The show was originally hosted by BBC Radio 2BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
DJ
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
Johnnie Walker
Johnnie Walker (DJ)
Johnnie Walker MBE is a popular British veteran radio disc jockey and broadcaster....
. Colleague and fellow DJ Steve Wright took over in 1997 and hosted until being replaced by Mark Radcliffe
Mark Radcliffe
Mark Radcliffe is an English broadcaster who has worked in various roles for the BBC since the 1980s and remains one of Britain's most recognised DJs. He is currently a presenter on BBC Radio 2 and BBC 6 Music, where he hosts an afternoon show five times a week alongside Stuart Maconie, called...
in 2009.
The presenters themselves never appear in-vision but provide a voice-over commentary and introduction to each piece. In 2003 the BBC started to run a daily version of TOTP2 in which celebrities chose their favourite archive performances. These celebrities, typically comedians, have included Vic Reeves & Bob Mortimer
Vic and Bob
Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer , more commonly known simply as Vic and Bob or Reeves and Mortimer, are a British comedy double act...
, Phill Jupitus
Phill Jupitus
Phillip Christopher Jupitus is an English stand-up and improvised comedian, actor, performance poet, musician and podcaster....
and Jack Dee
Jack Dee
James Andrew Innes "Jack" Dee is an English stand-up comedian, actor and writer known for his sardonic, curmudgeonly, and deadpan style.-Early life:...
. There have also been a number of TOTP2 specials in which a "greatest hits" show dedicated to one musician or band is put together from both archive and new footage.
Rest
In 2004, the incoming controller of BBC Two, Roly KeatingRoly Keating
Roland "Roly" Keating is the current Director of Archive Content for the BBC.-Education:Keating was educated at Westminster School, an independent school for boys in London, followed by Balliol College at the University of Oxford, where he read Classics.-Life and career:Keating joined the BBC in...
, announced that the programme was to be "rested". The last showing of TOTP2 was intended to be the TOTP2 Christmas Special shown on Christmas Eve 2005 at 19:30 on BBC Two. But they did start to re-run TOTP2 on Dave from 2004 to 2008 with edited versions and also on Yesterday in 2010. Edited re-runs of TOTP2 resumed airing on Dave in April 2011.
Return
On 30 September 2006, TOTP2 returned to BBC Two. The new show format was similar to the earlier TOTP2, but also included live/original BBC performances. The first 50-minute special included Nelly FurtadoNelly Furtado
Nelly Kim Furtado is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Furtado grew up in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.Furtado first gained fame with her debut album, Whoa, Nelly!, and its single "I'm Like a Bird", which won a 2001 Juno Award for Single of the Year and a 2002 Grammy...
, Jamelia
Jamelia
Jamelia Niela Davis , best known mononymously as Jamelia, is an English singer-songwriter, model, entertainer, television presenter and actress. She is most famous for her use of a cappella and prolific work in the R&B genre...
and Razorlight
Razorlight
Razorlight are a UK based indie rock band formed in 2002. They are primarily known in the UK, having topped the charts with the 2006 single "America" and its parent self-titled album, their second...
, before it reverted to a 30 minute weekly format at 20:00.
It is broadcast in the 4:3 aspect ratio
Aspect ratio
The aspect ratio of a shape is the ratio of its longer dimension to its shorter dimension. It may be applied to two characteristic dimensions of a three-dimensional shape, such as the ratio of the longest and shortest axis, or for symmetrical objects that are described by just two measurements,...
like the majority of its archive material, though the first two episodes were in the 16:9 aspect ratio to accommodate new performances. The BBC planned to replace the main Top of the Pops on Christmas Day 2008 with TOTP2 with some live performances and archive footage to be shown including the 2008 Christmas number one (U.K. Single), these plans were later scrapped due to complaints by viewers. This led to Simon Cowell
Simon Cowell
Simon Phillip Cowell is an English A&R executive, television producer, entrepreneur, and television personality. He is known in the United Kingdom and United States for his role as a talent judge on TV shows such as Pop Idol, The X Factor, Britain's Got Talent and American Idol...
to ask the BBC if he could buy the rights to TOTP so it could be shown on ITV1. The BBC later refused Simon Cowell's offer and announced that they would show TOTP on Christmas Day on BBC One as well as the TOTP2 specials on BBC Two.
On 27 June 2009 TOTP2 returned unexpectedly to celebrate the life of Michael Jackson, who had died two days earlier, this is the last episode to be presented by Steve Wright.
On 23 December 2009 the TOTP2 Christmas 2009 special was presented by Mark Radcliffe,
On 19 February 2010, BBC Four
BBC Four
BBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
aired a TOTP2 Latino special.
On 10 May 2010 a TOTP2 80s Special aired, in conjunction with the BBC's Eighties season, this marked TOTP2's 500th edition. Two other episodes were broadcast for the 1980s season, A Wham! special on 23 May 2010 and a Duran Duran special on 28 May 2010.
A repeat edition was shown on 23 June 2010 on BBC Four, showing archive performances from John Lennon to coincide with the Christopher Eccleston Drama.
On 9 July 2010 a repeat edition of the Rolling Stones special aired on BBC Four.
A brand new edition was broadcast on Saturday 25 September 2010, a 'School Days Special', featuring Alice Cooper and Busted.
TOTP2 returned again the festive period in 2010, with the TOTP2 Christmas Special 2010, which aired on Tuesday 21 December 2010 on BBC Two, again presented by Mark Radcliffe, who digs deep into the Top of the Pops archives to bring some festive performances from Slade, The Pogues, Elton John, Take That, Coldplay and Abba. It was shown in 16:9 for the first time since 2006.
Also on 1 January 2011, a repeat of the TOTP2 80s Special was aired at 1.15am on BBC Two.
On Saturday 26 March 2011, a repeat of the TOTP2: Country Jukebox Special will be aired at 12.10am on BBC Four
On Sunday 24 April 2011, a repeat of the TOTP2: Bee Gees Special, which first aired in 2001 on BBC Two, will be aired at 11.25pm on BBC One. This will be the first episode of TOTP2 to be shown on BBC One.
On Sunday 10th September 2011, a repeat of the TOTP2 Goes Disco! Special, which first aired in 2007, will be aired at 12.15pm on BBC Two. The episode will feature the likes of the Bee Gees, along with Gloria Gaynor, Liquid Gold, Sylvester, the Village People, the Weather Girls and the Three Degrees. Also, Chic, George McCrae, Hi-Tension, Heatwave, the JALN Band, Earth Wind and Fire, Tina Charles, the Gibson Brothers, and Edwin Starr, Blondie, Yazz, Boney M, Linx, Sophie Ellis Bextor and Infernal.