Pick of the Pops

1 9 5 5 – Current (UK)

This long-running 60-minute BBC Radio programme was first broadcast on the BBC Light Programme on 4 October 1955 and was originally hosted by Franklin “Jingle” Engelmann (pictured below) and based on the Top 20 from the UK Singles Chart.

Alan Dell took over in 1957, and in May 1958, David Jacobs became host, and the show went out late on Saturday nights. Over the years, the duration varied from 40 to 75 minutes.

In the autumn of 1961, the show became part of Trad Tavern and was broadcast in three 20-minute segments. By then, Alan “Fluff” Freeman (a former radio announcer from Melbourne, Australia) had replaced David Jacobs.

From the relative obscurity of Saturday night, Pick of the Pops moved to 4:00 pm on a Sunday afternoon in January 1962.

Freeman made the presentations of other DJs sound pedestrian. From its opening seconds to its closing moments, it was quite unlike any other pop record programme.

The soon-to-be-familiar format was enhanced by Freeman’s opening of “Greetings, pop pickers!”

It became one of the most popular music shows on the radio, expanding to 90 minutes and then to two hours in October 1967, running from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm.

The popularity of Pick of the Pops coincided with the availability of domestic tape recorders. Although illegal, home taping of the show was widespread, usually with the microphone held against the radio speaker.  The arrival of radio cassette recorders in the early 1970s made home taping foolproof and inexpensive.

The show transferred to BBC Radio 1 (simulcast on BBC Radio 2) from 1967, and Alan Freeman became the show’s longest-serving presenter, continuing with the show until 24 September 1972.

Tom Browne replaced Alan Freeman in 1972 with Solid Gold Sixty. However, by the mid-1970s, programmes featuring the Top 10 from previous years became a feature. Sunday lunchtimes on BBC Radio 1 had Jimmy Savile‘s Double Top Ten Show.

From 1982-88, Alan Freeman himself introduced Pick of the Pops Take Two on London’s Capital Radio, before transferring the format – which now featured past charts – back to BBC Radio 1 in 1989.

Leaving the BBC in 1992, he hosted Pick of the Pops Take Three on Capital Gold from 1994-97 before returning to the BBC again.

The show has remained a weekend fixture on BBC Radio 2 for almost 30 years. Following Freeman’s retirement in 2000, it was taken over by Dale Winton and has since been hosted by Tony Blackburn, Paul Gambaccini, Steve Wright and current presenter Mark Goodier.

Between 1961 and 1966, the theme tune was At the Sign of the Swingin’ Cymbal written and performed by Brian Fahey and his Orchestra. In 1966, it was replaced with Quite Beside The Point by the Harry Roberts Sound, but was reinstated in 1970.

Presenters
Franklin Engelmann (1955)
Alan Dell (1956, 1957 – 1958)
David Jacobs (1956 – 1957, 1958 – 1961, 1962)
Don Moss (1963)
Alan Freeman (1961 – 2000)
Dale Winton (2000 – 2010)
Tony Blackburn (2010 – 2016)
Mark Goodier (2016)
Paul Gambaccini (2016 – 2023)
Steve Wright (2023 – 2024)
Mark Goodier (2024 – present)

Audio