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| Music in the News
Thursday 18 October 2001
Vocabulary from the world of music. Listen to and read the story then find explanations of difficult words below.
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The UK's most popular music show still tops
Summary: Top of the Pops, the UK's most popular TV pop show, is returning to BBC Television Centre after 10 years away. Despite its beginnings in Manchester, it is BBC Television Centre, where it was filmed for 25 years, that is regarded as the show's spiritual home.
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| | The News 
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| | | From a converted church in Manchester on New Year's Day, in 1964, Jimmy Saville introduced The Rolling Stones, The Beatles and Dusty Springfield to viewers - and introduced the country to what was to become TV's most enduring music show.
Many describe the 1970s as the programme's heyday, when it would attract 10 million viewers. An appearance on Top of the Pops would as good as guarantee a high chart placing when the new charts were unveiled the following Sunday.
During the 1980s, Madonna gave us a taste of what was to come when she performed 'Like a Virgin' in a pink wig. The 1990s and beyond have also produced theirfair share of memorable moments: the stage invasion when Nirvana played 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' and Robbie Williams threatening Prince on stage. And a new generation of stars emerged - Jennifer Lopez demanded dozens of dressing rooms for a recent appearance, while R Kelly brought 43 bouncers.
Since 1991, when the show moved out of BBC Television Centre, producers dabbled with the practice of forcing all the acts to sing live. Now it is optional again. Even though the programme is facing competition from new music TV channels, the internet and video, Top of the Pops is still shown in 80 countries, and it now attracts 4 million viewers per week in the UK alone.
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| | The Words | |
| | | a converted church
a building which used to house a place of worship but is now used for something else
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| | | enduring music show
a music programme that continues to exist without losing quality or importance
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| | | the programme's heyday
the time when the show was most popular and successful
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| | | as good as guarantee a high chart placing
almost secured a high position in the pop music charts
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| | | unveiled
introduced to the public
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| | | their fair share of
many, a lot of
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| | | the stage invasion
the phrase refers to the occasion when dozens of people from the audience decided to join Nirvana on the stage, even though nobody wanted them to
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| | | bouncers
specially hired people who stand at the door preventing unwanted visitors from coming in
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| | | dabbled with
if you dabble with something, you do it or take part in it, but not very seriously
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| | | to sing live
to perform in front of the audience, rather than to pre-record
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| | Other stories
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