Which Decade Is Tops For Pops?

This episode - our second in a row to delve into the weird world of Number Ones - is all about connections. Two of our chart-toppers have roots in the 18th century; three of them were originally written in another language, the same people translated two of them into English, and two of them feature misheard lyrics; two of them gave their performers record-breaking tenth Number Ones; the keyboardi...

Concluding our trip to the Dark Side, the results of Episode 8 have shaken up the Master Scoreboard in a most intriguing way. Take a listen, and see whether you agree with the assessments of our esteemed commentariat! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Plenty of pop is cheap and cheerful, and that's fine - but when it does touch on darker themes, we shouldn't gloss over them. With that in mind, the randomiser has chucked some challenging stuff in our direction this week, but we also get to ponder questions such as: What is heteronormativity? Does love still bloom in Rosemary's wake? Would a herb-themed club night be commercially viable? Should t...

The Episode 7 votes have been counted and verified, and here are the results, augmented by a selection of comments from our listeners. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In our most star-studded episode yet, we ask: did Manfred Mann miss a golden opportunity to go Hi-NRG? Earth Wind & Fire, KC & The Sunshine Band, Sly & The Family Stone: can YOU tell the difference? What were the club kids wiggling to in early 1989? How wise is it to heckle Ryan Adams? What brand of cheddar best represents The Saturdays? Does anyone else other than Nick remember Ben's...

In which the results of the voting for Episode 6 are revealed, along with some listener comments and an update on the Master Scoreboard. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Does anyone else remember Shooting Party, or is it just a Nick and Trev thing? Must we fling this smooth soul filth at our pop kids? How did Betty from Kingston become a preferred provider of dairy goods? What prompted Cher's pivot to dance? Has Madge been eclipsed by ABBA? Does a classic empowerment anthem benefit from Gerald's toxic mithering? After the horror show that was Episode 5, we are bac...

Can a happy go-lucky manchild nincompoop channel grown-up emotions? Just how great was Claude "Clo-Clo" Francois? Does the "sick drop" have its roots in comedy punk? How did DJ Trev end up on The Big Breakfast? Why didn't the Chuckle Brothers do a rap about building a shed? Does Taylor Swift work at the end of the night in a heavy rock bar? Join Mike Atkinson, Nick Parkhouse and DJ Trev as they po...

Were Darts punk? Ms Keys or Ms Knowles? Is 3.05am peak "sexy time"? Can chatbots be podcasters? Is Boris Johnson still a loving garden? Can four lads from Watford go Latino? Is Mike just trolling the Nick/Trev consensus? How many toasters were we from Scunthorpe? Have there been any funny Comic Relief songs? Has anyone got an Esso Tiger t-shirt in their loft? What are the roles and responsibilitie...

Will we ever stop talking about Brother Beyond? How are we going to shoehorn the mandatory Climie Fisher reference? Did musical innovation end in the 1980s? Should Nick throw away his Madagascar DVD? Why should we be thanking Ed Sheeran for Eurovision 2023? Why does Trev give a hard swerve to wedding discos? Are comedy medleys of childhood favourites ever a good idea? Why did Mike ask a pre-fame i...

Join Mike, Nick and Trev as they pick apart six more hit singles from six different decades, then have your say by voting for your favourites. In this episode, we ponder such issues as: would John Lennon be touring with Herman's Hermits? ; how far can you actually travel along a watchtower? ; how easy is it to smuggle ketchup into a nightclub? ; are we living in a golden age for solo female pop? ;...

Join Mike, Nick and Trev as they pick apart six hit singles that were in the same position in the UK Top 10, exactly ten years apart - then vote for your own favourites. Highlights from the launch episode include a Mariah Carey fever dream, the bakery success of The Searchers' first drummer, a Poundland Harry Styles, the best chart "crew", and a harsh judgement on Maroon 5's "Sugar". There's also...

Come on then, let's sort this out once and for all. Which decade had the best pop music of all time? This podcast gives you, the listener, the chance to help us solve this age-old question.   In each episode, we'll be looking at six hit singles that were in the same position in the UK Top Ten exactly ten years apart, from the 1960s through to the 2010s. We'll introduce them, we'll discuss the...