top of the pops 1976 April to 1977 April BBC 4 7.30 Thursday

[NP]

Certainly The Beatles clip was removed because of clearance fees (in the UK Gold repeats in the early 1990s, EMI handled the rights and they were bundled in with other EMI acts; nowadays, Apple handle The Beatles' repeat fees and charge an arm and a leg and another arm.) There are one or two other Beatles clips in the spring of 1976 of which most will be cut. (In March 1976 a boxed set of Beatles singles was re-issued together with a new single, 'Yesterday'. About 7 or 8 of these turned up in the Top 40 in April and May, by memory: 'Yesterday', 'Hey Jude', 'Get Back', 'Paperback Writer', 'Help!', 'Lady Madonna', 'Strawberry Fileds/Penny Lane'. Alan will be along with chapter and verse in a minute.)

[alanultron5]

Sorry NP! Beatles `rights` nowt to do with it! Just `time` Plenty of Beatles clips -including `Let it Be` been on recently. Sadly, its the bloodymindedness of BBC4 controller who (If you read his interview in last weeks Radio Times) really doesn't give a #### about what viewers want! No change there then!

I have the UK Gold 17 April show-that channel were `very` sensetive re `copywrite` and they still managed the 40 minute version! Its the poliocy of BBC4 and its God arrogant controller at fault in my book!

[steelclaw]

Your right Alan if we're not getting episodes uncut then why show them at 7.30pm on a Thursday night? We're not getting a true representation of what TOTP was this week 35 years ago, so why bother trying? BBC4 might as well show them in a different slot or on a different day when they can be shown uncut.

[Lew Stringer]

Sorry NP! Beatles `rights` nowt to do with it! Just `time` Plenty of Beatles clips -including `Let it Be` been on recently. Sadly, its the bloodymindedness of BBC4 controller who (If you read his interview in last weeks Radio Times) really doesn't give a #### about what viewers want! No change there then!

I have the UK Gold 17 April show-that channel were `very` sensetive re `copywrite` and they still managed the 40 minute version! Its the poliocy of BBC4 and its God arrogant controller at fault in my book!

I don't know if the BBC4 controller is "God arrogant" or not but I do know that whatever rights UK Gold negotiated would be nothing to do with BBC4, who would have to negotiate their own contract.

Instead of fretting over what isn't, why not enjoy what IS there?

[Digifiend]

Actually, UK Gold was part owned by the BBC. So it may well come under the same contract. It would just need to be renewed if it lapsed.

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

I am 'under investigation' by the TV licence people, for refusing to reply to their letters. I am expected to pay postage for return replies, but being the canny Scot that I am, I am reluctant to fork out postage towards endless queries. I get letters every 2 weeks or so.

I have tried contacting the Licence people by e-mail, but the letters still get sent out automatically by another department.

All you who buy a license are paying towards this appalling waste of resources, [endless letters/officers investigating folk who don't actually watch telly] which probably applies to everyone without a license.

I am waiting for the ossifers to come to my door, when I will switch on the TV to reveal unwatchable white 'static' on each channel.......I can't recieve pictures since analog was switched off. Nor can I recieve live TV pictures on the computer.....



Also, I have been getting threatening letters from the Census people, who are prepared to fine me 1000 quid if I don't fill it in. The deadline passed today.Whether I will actually go along with the flow and fill it in, I don't know. Very few people have been actually jailed for non-co-operation on this score.

I will just maintain it was sent out but lost in the post.

[Digifiend]

Digital TV boxes are only about £20 you know...

[Phoenix]

You could see these real-life situations, Rab, as completely absurdist, cropping up within the central character's chaotic and crazy world, in which he is eventually reduced to living as a tramp/hobo/down and out. On the other hand, if you were to investigate these issues through the prism of your cartoons, you may well find that Baby Boomer and Veronica would challenge their non-conformist preconceptions and resolve to do three things, 1. pay their TV licence, 2. buy a digital television and 3. fill in the census form and stick it in the post. As our vicar used to say in those far-off days when I used to go to church, Think on these things.

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

I Don't WANT to see telly anymore , Phoenix, it's not the cost.


Ah....you've been doing your homework on Baby Boomer I see, Phoenix!

I appreciate your interest!

I actually do know a guy who lived on this very street who is living as a tramp, and has done for about 2 years, more through Demon drink, and telling his ex-employers 'where to go' at the slightest difference in opinions...I'm not so extremist as to choose to live like a down and out, I just hate filling in HM Government forms.

[Lew Stringer]

I have tried contacting the Licence people by e-mail, but the letters still get sent out automatically by another department.

All you who buy a license are paying towards this appalling waste of resources, [endless letters/officers investigating folk who don't actually watch telly] which probably applies to everyone without a license.

Right, so save us some money by buying a second class stamp and reply to their letters, to the correct department, explaining that you don't have a connection.

[steelclaw]

Anyway I've just got in from the pub and TOTP is on again and it's much better now.

ALL BY MYSELF
Oh god I still don't like Eric Carmen.

[Phoenix]

Right, so save us some money by buying a second class stamp and reply to their letters, to the correct department, explaining that you don't have a connection.

My knowledge in this area of law may be out of date but I was always under the impression that you had to have a TV licence if you had a television set in your house or flat. Rab tells us that when he switches his on, all he sees is snow. Obviously this is because he hasn't got any sort of digital decoder, but if he were to get one he would have a fully-functioning set. He may well choose not to get the decoder but as far as the licensing authority is concerned he has a television set and therefore he must have a licence for it. The fine he is facing is, I believe, in the region of £1000. My advice to Rab would be to dump the TV set tomorrow morning at his local tip. He isn't going to watch it anyway so it is merely clutter. This would reduce at a stroke his liability for fines by 50%, so tomorrow afternoon he will be able to spread out in the extra space he has created and mull over the issue of the census form. A no-brainer in my opinion!

[Raven]

The edits will be solely to do with fitting it into a thirty minute timeslot, which is most convenient for BBC4, nothing to do with rights - and a lot of '70s Top of the Pops were 35 or 40 minutes.

I think the reason this is worth a little gripe, Lew, is that the whole point of showing these episodes on a week-by-week basis, in 'real time' like this, is presumably that we're supposed to be seeing the shows as they went out in 1976, warts and all, not the more typical carefully selected compilations. But with songs chopped out to fit a timeslot, we're getting somebody's choice of which particular songs we can see, instead. The more obscure - and potentially interesting - material seems most likely to be chopped.

As has been mentioned, UK Gold showed them uncut. As you'd expect BBC4 to be much more concerned about the integrity of their presentation than UK Gold, it is disappointing.

[Lew Stringer]

The edits will be solely to do with fitting it into a thirty minute timeslot, which is most convenient for BBC4, nothing to do with rights - and a lot of '70s Top of the Pops were 35 or 40 minutes.

I thought the one shown yesterday was on for 35 minutes?

I wouldn't have thought the BBC had to worry about trimming material to fit a time slot. Unlike the commercial channels they don't have to fit programmes around ever-increasing advert breaks and BBC programmes have often run to 40 minutes. Seems I'm mistaken but anyway fans of 1976 music still have Smokie and Sailor to watch. (Personally I prefer the stuff that came later with punk and new wave.)

[Lew Stringer]

My knowledge in this area of law may be out of date but I was always under the impression that you had to have a TV licence if you had a television set in your house or flat.

The TV licence is for receiving signals at broadcast time, not for owning the physical TV.

From the TV Licensing website:
"You need to be covered by a valid TV Licence if you watch or record TV as it's being broadcast. This includes the use of devices such as a computer, laptop, mobile phone or DVD/video recorder."

Presumably if one just uses the set for watching purchased DVDs (as I understand Rab does) you don't need a licence, but you need to prove you can't receive a signal. Disconnecting the ariel isn't enough, as the license folk could argue you could simply plug it back in once they've left. Sounds like Rab needs to go up on his roof and remove his TV arial, whilst hopefully having better luck than Rod Hull.