Screens of the stone age

Sadness over the axing of Top of the Pops – the last ever edition airs July 30 – should be tempered by the knowledge that the BBC is arguably committing an act of kindness by killing off a show many believe to be slipping into its dotage.
To say that TOTP feels increasingly out of synch is perhaps to somewhat understate the case. Rooted in the long-vanished era of ‘event’ television and a singles chart that actually reflected what the public was listening to, Top of the Pops was not merely outmoded, it was antediluvian. This decline is reflected in a plummeting viewership, which has fallen to less than one million per episode from a 19 million peak.
From a certain perspective, of course, TOTP’s demise after 42 years is crushingly predictable. Indeed, the real surprise is that it lasted as long as it did.
Despite the undeniable influence of pop promos – and, specifically, of MTV – on the aesthetic of the rock song, music and television have, more often that not, struggled to get along. Their shared history has been fraught – frequently unhappy, sometimes farcical. Few other mediums would seem so naturally attuned to the needs of one another, only to produce so much low-grade entertainment.
Nowhere has this been more true than in Ireland. With the possible honorable exception of No Disco, no music programme has really intruded on the national conscience. The most damning thing to be said about domestic music shows is that, when they departed the airwaves, nobody noticed.
As commentators start to assess the legacy of Top of the Pops, the question, then, is this: in a post-TOTP environment, can music and television find a way to get along?
While it had reached the end of its natural span, TOTP> will unquestionably be missed, not least by artists, believes Alison Howe, producer of the BBC’s Later... With Jools Holland.
“For many bands, getting on Top of the Pops was the ultimate goal,” she says. “I’m sure there are still a lot of groups out there who would love to appear on Top of the Pops. And to that extent it’s a shame it no longer exists.” (A case in point: fans of the britrock outfit Art Brut have petitioned for the group’s inclusion on the very final TOTP).
Television remains highly relevant to music audiences, believes Howe. Notwithstanding the spread of alternative media, in particular the internet, TV exerts a unique grip over the public conscience, she argues. Howe cites the appearance on Later... last year of KT Tunstall, then a little-known toilet-circuit regular.
“It’s such a marvellous story. She really was a stand-in at the last minute. Appearing on Later... did fantastic things for her career. So it certainly remains the case that television can afford you a degree of exposure that is hard to find anywhere else.”
At a time when music feels ever more fragmented and ghettoized, television is one of the last ‘broad tents’ in the mass media, says Howe. TV can also, she contends, broaden our tastes, surprising us with new talent. “Often, the band you were interested in watching may not be the one that impressed you the most. In fact, the act that really blew you away may be one that you never heard of. So I think that television certainly still has a part to play.”
To survive, music programming needs to bring something unique to the table, she says. “When big US acts come to the UK, Later... is the show they want to do because it stands out from all of the rest.”
For Irish artists, television can often feel like just another door slammed in a young band’s face, says Tilde Wolfbrandt, producer of Nightshift, the late-night music show on Channel 6. To catch the eye of MTV2 for instance – de rigeur for a group with designs on the UK market – a slick video is a necessity. Not a problem if you are backed by a big international label. Should you be a local band on the first rung, however, commercial television is unlikely to give you a second glance.
“Sometimes we play a video that isn’t so good, if we like the song. MTV2 wouldn’t do that,” says Wolfbrandt. “When it comes to Irish artists, a lot of the videos are cheaply made. That said, a good idea can be just as effective as a really huge budget. Recently OK Go released a great video [to the song ‘A Million Ways’], which cost practically nothing.”
Wolfbrandt says she will miss Top of the Pops, but will not mourn it.
“Audiences are a little bit more sophisticated nowadays. They expect to see more than half an hour of bands miming every week.”
However, some in the industry disagree that TOTP was redundant.
“I was very surprised that the BBC has dropped the show,” says Peadar Mac Gaoithin, producer of TG4’s Pop4. “The format is still popular. CD:UK is in much the same vein as Top of the Pops. Channel 4’s Popworld is a little more ironic – but it’s aimed at a similar demographic. As indeed is Pop4. I still think there’s a place for a Top of the Pops-type programme.”