Top of the Pops on BBC Four

[RR]

Some of the regional variations pages give the final scheduled time:

e.g. https://www.bbc.co.uk/schedules/p00fzl6p/1991/01/24, and the previous week was https://www.bbc.co.uk/schedules/p00fzl6p/1991/01/19.

[James2001]

Album chart on tonight's episode still using the font from the April-December 1990 captions rather than the font for the Cypher captions for some reason.

[Steve Williams]

Album chart on tonight's episode still using the font from the April-December 1990 captions rather than the font for the Cypher captions for some reason.

Yes, making it even more unwelcome. Bruno presumably having a fag when they were recording the voice-over for that bit.

[James2001]

The 40-11 charts not including fallers really is irritating, it doesn't work at all. Still got another 4 months of it though until they start running the chart over a video.

They edited out the shot of the dancing egyptians in the Do The Bartman video too for some reason- was that a 1991 edit or a modern one? It's there in the ITV Chart Show episodes from the time. It's hardly offensive even if it is a bit stereotypical.

[James2001]

Also, Simon Mayo is now Simon Mayo MBE. Congratulations.

[James2001]

Album chart still using the 1990 font on the 7th March 1991 edition. Seems bizarre, were they being edited somewhere else which didn't have access to the Cypher kit?

The same edit on Do The Bartman on all three editions the song was at number one, I have to assume it was a 1991 edit, not something done by BBC4 seeing as it was identical on all three editions (anyone have a copy of the original broadcasts to check?), though it does seem a baffling edit regardless of whenever it was made. Especially when an even more stereotypical clip of people dancing on the Great Wall of China is left in a matter of seconds later. The only explanation I can think of is because it has people dancing in the desert it may have been cut out because it reminded people of the gulf war... even though it was Egypt rather than Iraq. But there were many just as illogical decisions at the time. In TOTP terms we had a Kylie performance banned because of a barely visible CND logo and Massive Attack branded as "Massive".

And on Do The Bartman, while not TOTP releated I do remember Sky One for some reason showing the music video at the end of an edition around 1999/2000. I can't remember which episode it was now sadly, in the US the first screening of Do The Bartman was after the original airing of Bart the Daredevil, it may have been that episode, but I couldn't say for sure. It was an episode from around 1990/91 though, Sky had just started showing the early seasons again after them having been on the BBC for several years.

[VMPhil]

This hasn't got much to do with the current TOTP repeats, but I really wanted to share this anyway - stunning UHD remaster of the Bitter Sweet Symphony video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lyu1KKwC74

[Neil Jones]

This hasn't got much to do with the current TOTP repeats, but I really wanted to share this anyway - stunning UHD remaster of the Bitter Sweet Symphony video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lyu1KKwC74

That is beautiful.

Pity Fat Les's Vindaloo music video (which to all and purposes is a send up of the Bittersweet Symphony video and filmed on the same street) only seems to be 4:3 but is labelled as HD. Seems semi-decent quality though.

[Colm]

The edits to the 'Do the Bartman' video were tied in with contemporary Gulf War censorship; nothing to do with stereotypes, although following Apu-gate, it's understandable reasoning.

While it's not been apparent on the recent editions of TOTP, the first few seconds of the KLF's '3am Eternal' were cut for BBC TV/radio airplay as it contained the sound of gunfire.

Thankfully, by the time of their next single, Massive Attack could use their full name.

[James2001]

Next week's episodes are Paul Ciani's final episode and Michael Hurll's return. A shame we haven't had the Story of 1991 yet as it doubtless has plenty of information about what happened behind the scenes.

[James2001]

The album chart still using the 1990 font on the captions on tonight's edition. Only one more album chart to go before the feature's scrapped, I presume it never got changed.

[Colm]

And only one more show with Anthea Turner... who was more excruciating than ever in that first episode, especially on the chart rundowns.

Only a few cosmetic changes from Paul Ciani's last show as producer to Michael Hurll's return in a caretaker capacity:

- VERY short snippets of the tracks featured in the Breakers section

- the use of a saxophone track as the bed during presenter links; which no-one in the usual circles has been able to identify as yet

- some colour-changing flowers on the end credits

More changes soon, as the 'no fallers' chart rundown is scrapped (and Twitter will rejoice) in favour of a crawl with the full Top 40; there's a brief spell of the presenters doing their links in front of a green screen... and of course, Year Zero looms closer.

[James2001]

And when they're not in front of a green screen, they're put up on the gantries away from the audience.

[Hellwyn Ballard]

- some colour-changing flowers on the end credits

Since 1991 I've wondered what that weird flower graphic on the end credits was all about, in the configuration of a lower case 'h'. (It remained there until "year zero" TOTP launched in October 1991).

It doesn't tie in with any of the other branding or graphics on the show.

[James2001]

Another change that happens between now and the revamp is after Stan Appel takes over, they put numbers flying over the title sequence for some reason.