Top of the Pops to end its 42-year BBC run

Whenever you see a pre-MTV-era video on VH1 Classic or some other similar place, chances are the perfromance was taken from the BBC program Top of the Pops. Every week since January, 1964, the show has counted down the 30 biggest songs on the UK pop charts, and the bands that have played on the show have ranged from The Beatles to Nirvana, according to this article. Think of it as an British equivalent to American Bandstand, that featured odd combinations of acts lip-synching their current hits. But, like AB, it was wildly popular at its peak, with an audience of 15 million viewers.

But the new era of music downloads took its toll on the show's ratings, and the BBC decided to cancel the show last week; its last show will be aired on July 30. Given the fact that countdown shows and pop charts in general have become meaningless in recent years, it's surprising the show lasted this long. Anyway, the band Art Brut has an online petition up to play on the last episode, so if you like these guys (I haven't heard of them, so I'm going to go to their web site and listen right now), go and sign it.

[via Pop Candy]