3 Underrated ‘Top Of The Pops’ Performances That Aren’t Nirvana

Everyone knows about grunge band Nirvana’s Top Of The Pops performance from 1991, in which the band refused to “fake” their set per the show’s guidelines for using pre-recorded tracks. They sabotaged it in the funniest way possible, though the showrunners certainly weren’t happy about it. But outside of that legendary set, there have been quite a few excellent Top Of The Pops performances that deserve more love. Let’s look at just a few.

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John Lennon

Former Beatle John Lennon performed on Top Of The Pops for the first time in 1970 as a soloist. It was the first time a Beatle appeared on the program since 1966. Joined by Yoko Ono, Lennon launched into a killer performance of the song “Instant Karma!”, which also became the first solo single by a Beatle to sell a hefty million copies.

During the performance, Lennon sang live over a pre-recorded track, and sounded absolutely amazing. It’s definitely a good thing that they didn’t force a lip-sync track on him. One could say this very performance marked the moment Lennon really started to move on his own following The Beatles’ breakup.

Alice Cooper

If you’ve never seen Alice Cooper’s Top Of The Pops performance from 1972, there’s probably a reason for that. Several “morality” campaigners at the time in England tried to get Cooper’s performance of “School’s Out” banned. By today’s standards, this performance was pretty mild. At the time, though, it was mind-blowing. Just look at the comments in the above-embedded YouTube clip of the set. Countless 70s kids have reminisced about how nobody in England had seen someone quite like Cooper before. A lot of shock rock fans were made when this performance aired.

David Bowie

There’s no way I’d make a list of the best Top Of The Pops performances without including David Bowie’s famed set from 1972. It was the performance that launched Bowie to national (and eventually, international) stardom, and you can tell from the footage alone how ahead of his time Bowie really was. Everything about this performance screams “80s,” yet it aired in July 1972. This has to be one of the most famous clips in music television history and one of my favorite performances of Bowie’s ever. Those bodysuits, that hair, all that energy, come on!

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