Top Of The Pops – you all know this popular British television program very well, at different times many famous artists performed there, but few people know that the very first recordings do not exist at all, the BBC management lost the very first programs due to film savings! Miser!
But, lo and behold, there were recordings of another famous British program of the 70s – Old Gray Whistle Test, which, perhaps, in many ways, is more interesting than Top Of The Pops itself.
The individual volumes were originally issued as separate issues as follows:
Volume One (2-DVD) BBC BBCDVD 1073 (17 September 2001)
Volume Two (DVD) BBC BBCDVD 1279 (13 October 2003)
Volume Three (DVD) BBC BBCDVD 1280 (16 February 2004
(4-DVD) BBC / Amazon BBCDVD 1510 (16 February 2004) – the first issue was exclusively available thrugh the online retailer Amazon.co.uk
(4-DVD) BBC BBCDVD 1867 (21 November 2005)
Volume One – Disc One
1. Under My Wheels by Alice Cooper
2. Tiny Dancer by Elton John
3. We Gotta Have Peace by Curtis Mayfield
4. Political Science by Randy Newman
5. Help Me Make It Through The Night by Kris Kristofferson & Rita Coolidge
6. Ain’t No Sunshine by Bill Withers
7. Sylvia / Hocus Pocus by Focus
8. Hands Off by Rory Gallagher
9. May You Never by John Martyn
10. Stir It Up by The Wailers
11. Do The Strand by Roxy Music
12. Frankenstein by The Edgar Winter Group
13. Jet Boy by New York Dolls
14. Dolphins by Tim Buckley
15. Upon The My O My by Captain Beefheart
16. Rock ‘N’ Roll Doctor by Little Feat
17. Roxette by Doctor Feelgood
18. Stand By Me by John Lennon
19. Give My Compliments To The Chef by The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
20. Freebird by Lynyrd Skynyrd
21. Amarillo by Emmylou Harris
22. Too Long At The Fair by Bonnie Raitt
23. Tom Tranbert’s Blues by Tom Waits
24. Really Free by Otway & Barrett
Interviews with:
Elton John & Bernie Taupin
Mick Jagger
Keith Richards
Robert Plant
John Lennon
Audio Coding mode: Dolby Digital
Sampling Rate: 48kHz
Audio application mode: Not Specified
Number of Audio channels: 2.0
Bitrate: 448 Kbps
Number of Audio streams: 8
Volume One – Disc Two
1. Pyscho Killer by Talking Heads
2. Statue Of Liberty by XTC
3. (I’m Always Touched By Your) Presence Dear by Blondie
4. Stone Fox Chase by Val Doonican & Charlie McCoy
5. Paradise By The Dashboard Light by Meatloaf
6. American Girl by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
7. Can’t Stand Losing You by The Police
8. Rosalita by Bruce Springsteen
9. I’m Bored by Iggy Pop
10. “Aren’t Friends Electric?” by Tubeway Army
11. Message To You Rudi by The Specials Smash It Up / I Just Can’t Be Happy Today by The Damned
12. Rock ‘N’ Roll High School by The Ramones
13. Careering by Pil Reward by The Teardrop Express
14. I Will Follow by U2
15. Stone Fox Chase by Nine Below Zero
16. Ghosts by Japan Shipbuilding by Robert Wyatt
17. Moon River / Pretty Persuasion by REM
18. Holding Back The Years by Simply Red
Interview with:
Bruce Springsteen
Volume Two
1. Warming Up The Band by Head Hands And Feet
2. May I? by Kevin Ayres And The Whole World
3. Ladytron by Roxy Music
4. House At Pooh Corner by Loggins And Messina
5. Relay by The Who
6. The Kiss by Judee Sill
7. God Gave Rock ‘N’ Roll To You by Argent
8. Put It Where You Want It by The Average White Band
9. Bad Motor Scooter by Montrose
10. Disney Girls by Bruce Johnston
11. Maid In Heaven by Be Bop Deluxe
12. Goin’ Back by Nils Lofgren
13. She’s Gone by Daryl Hall and John Oates
14. Love And Affection by Joan Armatrading
15. One Of Those Days In England by Roy Harper
16. Bored Teenagers by The Adverts
17. Because The Night by The Patti Smith Group
18. Metal Postcard by Siouxsie And The Banshees
19. Don’t Believe A Word by Gary Moore And Friends
20. Jimmy Jimmy by The Undertones
21. Slap And Tickle by Squeeze
22. Dancing by Orchestral Manoevres In The Dark
23. Schooldays by Stanley Clarke / George Duke Project
24. Days Of The Mountain Part 1 by Tom Verlaine
25. Walk Out To Winter by Aztec Camera
26. Hyperactive by Thomas Dolby
27. Walls Come Tumbling Down by The Style Council
28. Marlene On The Wall by Suzanne Vega
29. “Skiffle Jam” by Andy Kershaw / John Walters / Ro Newton / John Peel
30. When Love Breaks Down by Prefab Sprout
31. Opportunities by The Pet Shop Boys
32. Dirty Old Town by The Pogues
Volume Three
1. Meet Me On The Corner by Lindisfarne
2. Oh You Pretty Things by David Bowie
3. Jamaica Say You Will by Jackson Browne
4. Born To Be Wild by Steppenwolf
5. I Get By by Stealer’s Wheel
6. Giving It All Away by Roger Daltrey
7. Black Coffee by Humble Pie
8. The Brillancy Medley (Eck Robinson)/Cherokee Shuffle (Tommy Jackson) by Fairport Convention
9. Boogie Funk by Freddie King
10. Surrender To The Rhythm by Brinsley Schwarz
11. A Little Bit Of Sympathy by Robin Trower
12. Dreamer by Supertramp
13. Jumping Jack Flash by Johnny Winter
14. A Heart Needs A Home by Richard & Linda Thompson
15. At Seventeen by Janis Ian
16. Year Of The Cat by Al Stewart
17. Couldn’t Love You More by John Martyn & Danny Thompson
18. Fires Of Spring by Chris Rea
19. A’ Bomb In Wardour Street by The Jam
20. When It All Comes Down / Hold On by B. B. King
21. I Don’t Want To Be Nice by John Cooper Clarke
22. Sunday Papers by Joe Jackson
23. Chelsea Girl by Simple Minds
24. Frame By Frame by King Crimson
25. Rip It Up by Orange Juice
26. No-One Is To Blame by Howard Jones
27. Is It A Crime by Sade
28. In A Hole by Jesus & Mary Chain
29. Sweet Sweet Baby (I’m Falling) by Lone Justice
30. All I Want For Christmas Is A Dukla Prague Away Kit by Half Man Half Biscuit
31. Walk Like An Egyptian by The Bangles