Several bloggers have written their thoughts on the passing of Top of the Pops, the last edition of which airs this weekend. (Disillusioned Lefty Michael and Miss Fitz at Slugger are just two who have posted on the subject today.) There are few people either here or in Britain between the ages of 15 and 55 or so who would not have regularly tuned in to the show.

For me the heyday of TOTP was the late 70s and early 80s, which just so happens to coincide with my early-mid teens. Whenever I have seen archive compilations of the show that feature acts from that era, I know all the lyrics to the songs, good and bad, even though I may not have heard them for decades.

Back then, one-hit wonders were a fairly regular occurrence. Usually these were fairly indistinguishable from the regular fare on offer. Every now and then though, these one-hit wonders would be completely different to everything else in the charts. Folky songs, hymns, or songs of devotion to elderly relatives, that sort of stuff, that came from nowhere and made it to No.1. Antihits might be an apt name for them. Here's a few off the top of me head (not all from the late 70s/early 80s):

Day Trip to Bangor - Fiddler's Dram
Save Your Love - Renee and Renata
Shaddapa Your Face - Joe Dolce
Grandma - St Winnifred's School Choir
Grandpa - Clive Dunn
Two Little Boys - Rolf Harris

And some Irish contributions:
Sweet Sixteen - The Furey Brothers and Davey Arthur
A Bunch of Thyme - Foster & Allen (I still cringe when I think of those leprechaun suits)

Any more?