''Pick of the Pops'' is a long-running

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering th ...

programme originally based on the Top 20 from the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

and first broadcast on the

BBC Light Programme The BBC Light Programme was a national radio station which broadcast chiefly mainstream light entertainment and light music from 1945 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 1. It opened on 29 July 1945, taking over the ...

on 4 October 1955. It transferred to

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

(

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultane ...

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

) from 1967 to 1972. The show was revived for six years in 1989 and its current production run started on

in 1997. It is currently hosted by

Paul Gambaccini Paul Matthew Gambaccini (born April 2, 1949) is an American-British radio and television presenter and author in the United Kingdom. He has dual United States and British nationality, having become a British citizen in 2005. Known as "The Grea ...

Original format (1955–72)

Initially the show did not feature chart music, but in September 1957 Alan Dell introduced the format of running through the charts of the week, playing the top 10s from various music papers, plus entries to the top 20s. David Jacobs broadcast the first averaged BBC Top 20 to the helm on Saturday 29 March 1958.

Alan Freeman Alan Leslie Freeman, MBE (6 July 1927 – 27 November 2006), nicknamed "Fluff", was an Australian-born British disc jockey and radio personality in the United Kingdom for 40 years, best known for presenting ''Pick of the Pops'' from 1961 to 200 ...

took over in September 1961, taking the show to a regular Sunday slot in January 1962. The programme ended in September 1972, while the Top 20 continued as part of "Solid Gold Sixty". Freeman, who became the show's longest-serving presenter, had been a radio announcer in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia. Freeman arrived in Britain in 1957 and joined the Light Programme in 1960 to present ''Records Around Five''. That same year he replaced David Jacobs as presenter of ''Pick of the Pops'', which was then part of a Saturday evening programme called ''Trad Tavern'', named after traditional jazz, which had a following at the time. ''Pick of the Pops'' became a separate programme in January 1962. It was produced by

Derek Chinnery Charles Derek Chinnery (27 April 1925 – 22 March 2015) was the controller of BBC Radio 1 from 1978 to 1985. Early life and career Chinnery was born in Richmond, London, and attended Gosforth Grammar School. He joined the BBC in 1941 aged 16. Fro ...

. Denys Jones (producer 1961–72) and Freeman split the programme into four sections: chart newcomers, new releases, LPs and the Top 10. The programme attracted large audiences as the BBC had "

needle time Needle time was created in the United Kingdom by the Musicians' Union and Phonographic Performance Limited to restrict the amount of recorded music that could be transmitted by the BBC during any 24-hour period. The number of hours per week allow ...

" restrictions and could play relatively few commercially available recordings each week. Freeman continued with the show when it moved to Radio 1 and stayed until the programme ended on 24 September 1972.

Revivals

Freeman revived ''Pick of the Pops'' on London station

Capital Radio Capital London is a radio station owned and operated by the Global media company as part of its national Capital FM Network. As Capital Radio it was launched in the London area in 1973 as one of Britain's first two commercial radio stations. I ...

in 1982. This format broadcast on Capital until 1988 as ''Pick of the Pops – Take Two'', combining the new chart (Top 15s compiled successively by Record Business, the ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' and MRIB) with a chart from the past. In 1989, Freeman returned to Radio 1 where the show featured three past charts each week, and was produced by

Phil Swern Phil "The Collector" Swern (born Anthony Philip Swern, 30 June 1948) is an English radio producer and music collector, who earned the nickname "The Collector" from working on ''Sounds of the 60s'' with Brian Matthew. Born in Ealing, London, he ...

through March 1992, and for the rest of 1992 by Sue Foster. Freeman stood down from the programme in 1992 after stating that he would not present the show again, and signed off with the Beatles' "The End". However, Freeman revived the show on

Capital Gold The Capital Gold radio station started in London in 1988 on Capital Radio's AM frequency, after the Independent Broadcasting Authority had urged stations to end simulcasting (broadcasting the same programmes simultaneously on AM and FM) and t ...

in April 1994 as ''Pick of the Pops – Take Three'', featuring two vintage top 12s, and the "Battle Of The Giants", and on other occasions featuring three vintage top 10s, two vintage top 20s and a rock request, along with competitions on Saturday mornings.

BBC Radio 2 era (1997–present)

Alan Freeman (April 1997–April 2000)

''Pick of the Pops'' returned to the BBC as an independent production by Unique Broadcasting on BBC Radio 2 on 5 April 1997, with Freeman now counting down two archive charts each Saturday afternoon, featuring the top 10s and interspersing trivia about the records, again researched by producer Swern.

Dale Winton (April 2000–October 2010)

Due to poor health, Freeman retired from radio broadcasting after presenting his last edition of the show on 1 April 2000. He was replaced by

Dale Winton Dale Jonathan Winton (22 May 1955 – 18 April 2018) was an English radio DJ and television presenter. He presented the shows ''Dale's Supermarket Sweep'' from 1993 until 2001 and again in 2007, the National Lottery game show ''In It to Wi ...

, who joined him on this edition. Winton first presented the show solo on 8 April 2000. The regular weekly edition ended on 28 August 2004, with limited broadcast of special editions on Bank Holidays. ''Pick of the Pops'' then returned on a weekly basis in September 2005, on a Sunday afternoon, again presented by Winton. The BBC then moved the show to a Saturday lunchtime slot in April 2009, where it remains today. Winton presented his final ''Pick of the Pops'' on 30 October 2010, stepping down due to other commitments.

Tony Blackburn (November 2010–February 2016)

On 24 September 2010, it was announced that

Tony Blackburn Anthony Kenneth Blackburn (born 29 January 1943) is an English disc jockey, singer and TV presenter. He first achieved fame broadcasting on the pirate stations Radio Caroline and Radio London in the 1960s, before joining the BBC, on the BBC L ...

would replace Winton. His first show aired on 6 November 2010. Although the show was pre-recorded during the Winton era, from 29 January 2011 the show was mostly broadcast live, which allowed Blackburn to interact with listeners through emails and text messages. In August 2015, Tom Du Croz joined Swern as producer. Blackburn was dismissed by the BBC on 25 February 2016, having presented his last edition of the show five days earlier.

Mark Goodier (February–July 2016)

Following Blackburn's dismissal,

Mark Goodier Mark Goodier (born 9 June 1961) is a British radio disc jockey best known for his time on BBC Radio 1 between 1987 and 2002. He had two spells presenting the station's Top 40 singles chart, from 1990 to 1992 and from 1995 until 2002. He also h ...

became presenter on a temporary basis between 27 February and 2 July 2016.

Paul Gambaccini (July 2016–present)

Paul Gambaccini became presenter of ''Pick of the Pops'' on 9 July 2016, still produced by Swern and Du Croz. Du Croz was later replaced by Heather Wall, but returned in 2020. At the start of his tenure as presenter, Gambaccini featured music from the Billboard charts, along with the UK top 20, but this ended in 2017. Mark Goodier presented the 6 January and 24 February 2018 editions as Gambaccini was absent due to weather disruption and illness. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the show was voice-tracked due to Gambaccini being unable to travel to Wogan House. No edition was broadcast on 10 April 2021 due to the death of Prince Philip the previous day.

Noel Gallagher Noel Thomas David Gallagher (born 29 May 1967) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. He was the chief songwriter, lead guitarist, and co-lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis until their split in 2009. After leaving Oasis, he formed ...

guest hosted the show on 29 May 2021, to mark his birthday, becoming the first celebrity guest host in the show's history, playing music from the chart dated 25 May 1967 (his birth year) and 2 June 1979.BBC Programme Index - BBC Radio 2 listings 29 May 2021
/ref>

Gary Davies Gary Davies (born 13 December 1957) is a British broadcaster. From 1982 to 1993 he was a BBC Radio 1 disc jockey and a regular presenter of ''Top of the Pops''. As of September 2022 Gary Davies can be heard on BBC Radio 2 presenting Saturd ...

guest hosted the show on 21 and 28 August 2021 and 2 July 2022.

Presenters

Franklin Engelmann Henry Franklin Engelmann (4 March 1908 – 2 March 1972) was a radio personality popular in Britain in the 1950s and 1960s, particularly as the host of ''Down Your Way'' and ''Gardeners' Question Time''. Life and career Franklin Engelmann was bor ...

(1955) * Alan Dell (1956 and 1957–58) * David Jacobs (September 1956 – September 1957; March 1958 – September 1961; September – December 1962) *Don Moss (September – December 1963) *

(September 1961 – April 2000) *

(April 2000 – October 2010) *

(November 2010 – February 2016) *

(Interim host between Blackburn's departure and Gambaccini's arrival, February 2016 – July 2016, plus two shows as stand in cover for Gambaccini in January and February 2018) *

(July 2016–present) *

(three shows as stand-in cover for Gambaccini, 21 and 28 August 2021, 2 July 2022) *

Scott Mills Scott Robert Mills (born 28 March 1973) is an English radio DJ, television presenter and occasional actor. He is best known for presenting the '' Scott Mills'' show on BBC Radio 1 from 2004 to 2022 and since then, on BBC Radio 2. Mills has also ...

(one show as stand-in cover for Gambaccini, 16 April 2022) * Steve Wright (National Album Day specials, 15 October 2022)

Theme music

Between 1961 and 1966, the theme tune was "

At the Sign of the Swingin' Cymbal "At the Sign of the Swingin' Cymbal" (alternatively titled "At the Sign of the Swinging Cymbal") is an instrumental piece written by Brian Fahey. The piece was first released in September 1960 under the name Brian Fahey and His Orchestra. It is be ...

" written and performed by Brian Fahey and his Orchestra. In 1966 it was replaced with "Quite Beside The Point" by the Harry Roberts Sound, but was reinstated in 1970.

References

External links

* {{Use dmy dates, date=September 2017 BBC Light Programme programmes BBC Radio 1 programmes BBC Radio 2 programmes British music radio programmes Music chart shows