Big Nose and a host of golden memories (TOTP 2)

Member Name: thehud

Product:	TOTP 2
Date:	16/10/02 (71 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Some classic clips

Disadvantages: Some not so good bits

Every Saturday evening (I think it is, although if truth be told, I've seen it all over the place - that's the wonder of Sky Digital I guess) we get a regular dose of TOTP2 (Top of the Pops 2, you plebs).

For people like me who are getting just that little bit long in the tooth now, TOTP2 is a wonderful, wonderful treat, with the makers being able to take their pick through the entire vaults of clips which have appeared on the main programme these last forty years. Aah, the waves of nostalgia come flooding over me, engulfing me in a heady hedonistic dream.

Imagine it - David Bowie and Mick Ronson performing Starman, the Stones and Jumping Jack Flash, the Pistols with Pretty Vacant, Queen with Bohemian Rhapsody, Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel with Make Me Smile and/or Judy Teen, Ultravox with Vienna, even (God save us) Joe Dolce with Shaddup A Your Face - what an absolute dream, even if one or two get in which really shouldn't be given house room.

It's a splendid concept and the Beeb usually feature some form of thread running through the whole thing, whether it be stars whose birthday is that week or who charted in that particular month in a previous year.

A couple of months ago we got a Marc Bolan and T Rex special on the 25th anniversary of the great glam rocker's untimely death. They really went to town with that one and fetched out every single appearance the Elfin One had on TOTP. Getting a non stop quick fix of Bolan like that certainly brought home exactly how wonderful (but also how patchy) his output was, and it's for contributions like this that I really value TOTP2.

The whole thing is pieced together and fronted (or more exactly voiced over) by Old Big Nose, Steve Wright, these days like so many other a veteran of Radio Two. Ah, again we're showing our age. I remember when Wrighty wa sthe scourge of daytime radio with his posse, one of the first on the station, and his endless a
rray of characters. These days he's just a sad old ex-rebel. However, Steve is just about perfect for TOTP2 with his cutting sarcasm and friendly piss taking - pop isn't meant to be taken seriously and Steve certainly doesn't mind a tongue in the cheek or two.

I love TOTP2 and sit there regularly every week waiting for my regular fix - Lord, I even got Inspiral Carpets the other week featuring Mark E Smith from The Fall - now that's a classic.

For many people, however, TOTP2 will be just another sad collection of reruns and repeats, but for us oldies it's a wonderful piece of nostalgia.

Love it to death

Summary: