15th September

1977: Dr Feelgood's Lee Brilleaux has bought himself a new jacket for their second appearance and it may not fit entirely well. If his stance is one of static menace, Generation X's Billy Idol is all over the place. No sneering yet but there is some air guitar and headbanging. Neither of the above comes from Danny Mirror's Elvis tribute and red velvet shirt.

1983: Janice and Jimmy - the original odd couple. Seems a stylistic shift to go from the frenzy of the intro pace to the comparatively laidback Kajagoogoo, and then you see the hitherto unthought extreme Limahl had taken his hair to. Even the dancers seem to be taking the piss. The Truth were supposed to be the soul band who'd fill in the Weller-shaped gap. Not in that jumper they weren't.

1988: Where did Bros' Matt Goss get that mike from, a Duplo playset? The point where Matt moves behind his brother so they can be the only people in the spotlight may have been a subtle clue to Craig vis a vis his future. There was once a time when people didn't sing back in bulk to The Proclaimers' walking-based ideas. Nobody beats a tambourine like Craig Reid. Advertising had put The Hollies at number one. Who among us believes the guitarist would have been born when it was first a hit?

1994: They never used to warn us when genres made their show debut, but Mayo makes room to note M-Beat featuring General Levy is the "first jungle on Top Of The Pops ever". Live vocals too, which is ambitious given that much movement. None of which could get in the way of Whigfield's behemoth, as the set delineates. Note her resolute refusal to join in with any part of the dance. Don't know what the... thing we see at 1:56 is.

2000: Richard Blackwood's serious successful (up to a point) musical career now seems like something someone made up, and judging by his miming and the long bits other people do that may well have been the case.