Seasons & episodes
S0 · E105Big Hits 1978 Air date unannounced · 60 min
No episode summary available yet.
S0 · E106The Story of 1979 Air date unannounced · 60 min
No episode summary available yet.
S0 · E107Big Hits 1979 Air date unannounced · 60 min
No episode summary available yet.
S0 · E108The Story of 1980 Air date unannounced · 60 min
No episode summary available yet.
S0 · E109Big Hits 1980 Air date unannounced · 60 min
No episode summary available yet.
S0 · E110The Story of 1981 Air date unannounced · 60 min
No episode summary available yet.
S0 · E111Big Hits 1981 Air date unannounced · 60 min
No episode summary available yet.
S0 · E112The Story of 1982 Air date unannounced · 60 min
No episode summary available yet.
S0 · E113Big Hits 1982 Air date unannounced · 60 min
No episode summary available yet.
S0 · E114The Story of 1983 Air date unannounced · 60 min
No episode summary available yet.
S0 · E115Big Hits 1983 Air date unannounced · 60 min
No episode summary available yet.
S0 · E116The Story of 1984 Air date unannounced · 60 min
No episode summary available yet.
S0 · E117Big Hits 1984 Air date unannounced · 60 min
No episode summary available yet.
S0 · E118The Story of 1985 2018-01-05 · 59 min
1985. Spandau, Wham!, Culture Club & the Durans, have a relatively quiet year, ushering in a new generation of pop talent. TOTP is a barometer for the state of the nation as King and a-ha compete for attention with politicos Billy Bragg and The Style Council who, fired up by the miners' strike & threat of nuclear war, give their all with Between the Wars & Walls Come Tumbling Down. Electro-dance hits the mainstream, Dead or Alive are #1 with You Spin Me Round. Paul Hardcastle holds #1 for 5 weeks with 19, a spoken word single made with sampling technology & released on the 10th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam war. Movie tie-ins and record companies eye a housewives market with a run of power ballads, from Jennifer Rush to Tina Turner & Bonnie Tyler, Holding out for a Hero. Bob Geldof brings pop generations together for Live Aid. Shakin' Stevens marks his 50th appearance on TOTP and lands his first Christmas #1 with a song he has waited a whole year to release.
S0 · E119Big Hits 1985 2018-01-05 · 59 min
Celebrating the big hits of 1985 with a selection of iconic Top of the Pops performances spanning the genres, from pure pop to power ballads, from Hi-NRG to hip-hop, to R&B and indie classics. Featuring Wham!, The Smiths, Kate Bush, a-ha, Eurythmics, The Cure, Dead or Alive, Bonnie Tyler, Tears for Fears, Sister Sledge, Jennifer Rush, Doug E Fresh and many more.
S0 · E120The Story of 1986 Air date unannounced · 60 min
No episode summary available yet.
S0 · E121Big Hits 1986 Air date unannounced · 60 min
No episode summary available yet.
S0 · E122The Story of 1987 Air date unannounced · 60 min
No episode summary available yet.
S0 · E123Big Hits 1987 2019-01-04 · 28 min
As BBC Four's weekly repeats of Top of the Pops reach 1987, we celebrate this high watermark of hits with some classic TOTP performances from this spectacular year. The programme includes studio appearances from Rick Astley with Never Gonna Give You Up to the godfather of punk, Iggy Pop, whose unforgettable appearance on the show is one not to be missed! The programme also honours Manchester’s finest, New Order, and Scottish soft rockers Wet Wet Wet, along with pop royalty Whitney Houston, Curiosity Killed the Cat, Boy George, The Bee Gees, The Pogues and a rare TOTP sighting of Eric B & Rakim. Pepsi and Shirlie, and many more are also poured into the mix, providing that perfect measure of definitive 80s pop.
S0 · E124The Story of 1988 2019-06-07 · 59 min
1988. TOTP celebrates its silver jubilee & brings the show to a younger audience with lively new presenters – Anthea Turner, Nicky Campbell et al. Charts are full of sparkling box-fresh pop stars, from tweenage heartthrobs Bros to the boy & girl we shared weekday teatimes with, our favourite Neighbours, Kylie & Jason. Stock, Aitken & Waterman reached their peak with wall-to-wall hits. In contrast to the wholesome hosts, Transvision Vamp put the grrr into girl, & those Wee Papa Girl Rappers give great dance hall ragga in a British spin on hip-hop. While pop reached a new purple phase, older kids were out at Acid House parties, buying records that sent S'Express & Yazz with Cold Cut to #1, much to the bemusement & then alarm of the adults.
S0 · E125Big Hits 1988 2019-06-07 · 59 min
As the 1980s draw to a close, Top of the Pops remains a broad church. We celebrate 1988 by cherry-picking the cream of the crop. The programme includes stand-out hits from Yazz, S’Express and Bomb the Bass, representing the growing popularity of house music, new Australian pop royalty Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan, who ruled the charts along with teen stars Bros and Tiffany, soul legends Womack and Womack, the Irish mist of Enya, British reggae from Maxi Priest and the balladry of Everything but the Girl. Other big hitters representing a year in the TOTP studio include Celtic duo The Proclaimers, Buffalo Girl Neneh Cherry, student queen Tanita Tikaram, Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart live in the studio as Eurythmics, Israeli queen Ofra Haza and the chart-topping new authentics Fairground Attraction with Perfect.
S0 · E126The Story of 1989 Air date unannounced · 60 min
No episode summary available yet.
S0 · E127Big Hits 1989 Air date unannounced · 60 min
No episode summary available yet.
S0 · E128The Story of 1990 Air date unannounced · 60 min
No episode summary available yet.