Top of the pops? It’s veteran DJ Tony Blackburn, whose countdown of yesteryear’s hits attracts nearly DOUBLE the audience of Radio 1’s official chart show
- Radio 1's chart show with Jameela Jamil attracts 1.3 million listeners
- Radio 2's Pick of the Pops gets an average audience of 2.1 million
- It is presented by Tony Blackburn on Thursdays and Saturdays
- He was first presenter on-air on Radio 1 when it launched in 1967
They are billed as the country’s most popular tunes but it seems that even the best offerings from today’s pop stars can’t compete with the hits of yesteryear.
It has been revealed that Radio 1’s chart show, which counts down the 40 top selling tracks in the UK, attracts 700,000 fewer listeners a week than Radio 2’ s Pick of the Pops.
The Official Top 40 show records 1.3million listeners every Sunday. Its presenter Jameela Jamil has just stepped down after two years fronting the programme to be replaced by 1Xtra host Clara Amfo.
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Radio 1's official chart presented by Jameela Jamil, pictured right, attracts 700,000 few viewers than Radio 2's Pick of the Pops hosted by Tony Blackburn, pictured left
In comparison, Pick of the Pops, presented by Tony Blackburn on Thursdays and Saturdays, attracts an average audience of 2.1million for each episode.
Blackburn, who turns 72 this month, was famously the first presenter on-air on Radio 1 when the station launched in 1967. He took over the show from Dale Winton in 2010, it has also previously been presented by Alan Freeman. It sees Blackburn revisit charts from previous years, counting down the most popular song from each vintage.
For example, Thursday’s episode looked at 1965, 1976, and 1987 and included hits from The Hollies, Abba and the Pet Shop Boys. And, in this afternoon’s edition, Blackburn will turn his attention to 1956 and 1980, which songs from Pat Boone, Elvis Presley, Frankie Laine, The Jam, Blondie and Sheena Easton all set to appear.
The programme first appeared in 1955 and has been on and off the airwaves at various times since, moving between Radio 1 and Capital before landing on Radio 2, where it has been since 1997.
Pick of the Pops used to play contemporary music, playing everything in the top 20 and new entries out of the tracks ranked 21 to 30. It was not until the 1980s that vintage music began to be included.
For many years, the Radio 1 chart was the only way to hear the big sellers of the week, prompting many people to tape the entire run-down.
Tony Blackburn pictured in the BBC studios in 1981 when he was a presenter on Radio 1
However, although modern audiences can now find the tracks on YouTube or streaming services such as Spotify whenever they want.
These new audience figures, which come from radio data compiled by audience research body Rajar, show younger listeners have not entirely lost their appetite for chart hits.
The Vodafone Big Top 40, which is broadcast on the Capital network at the same time the BBC broadcasts the Official Singles Chart each Sunday, has a weekly audience of 2.6 million. This chart is based on official iTunes download figures.
As of July 2014, the official chart on Radio1 included streaming in the calculation of where different tracks placed, to better reflect how people are consuming music.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2895058/Veteran-DJ-Tony-Blackburn-s-countdown-yesteryear-s-hits-attracts-nearly-DOUBLE-audience-Radio-1-s-official-chart-show.html#ixzz3NmWMQkhz
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