Before the days of nude quiz shows, Keith Chegwin was the golden boy of kids TV. This fun music quiz with obligatory gunge was a spin off from Cheggers' success on Swap Shop (Tiswas's Saturday morning rival). There would also be a 'live' performance from a guest band. Red and Yellow teams of school kids would battle it out to win pretty cool (for their day) prizes such as all the top ten singles on seven inch vinyl, answering questions on the latest teenybop fads like Kajagoogoo, doing challenges, scrambling over giant bouncy castles and such like. And at the end of the show, Cheggers would have a good bounce with the kids himself! Robbie Williams immortalised the show on 'Shooting Stars' by doing impressions of the buzzers.
2 Reviews
oozes 80's
chilla-black22 April 2010
Warning: Spoilers
whilst born in the 1970's, Cheggers Plays Pop really came into its own in the early 1980's - peaking around 1983, when it was a staple feature on the BBC. Children's TV as we now know it were largely influenced by these formative years in the 1980's with ITV playing a large part as well.
The previous entry is accurate in that it was a 'Top of The Pops' feel programme that combined two sections of cheering kids with the evergreen Keith Chegwin proving that he was more than good at cracking the odd joke on Swapshop. With 1983 being a definitive year in the 80's, the style of the show placed huge emphasis on colours, balloons galore and a party party atmosphere.
Of the best elements of the show was the fact that high profile music artists would regularly come on and perform either their current single or new release. I remember seeing the likes of Jonah Lewie, Human League, Dollar, Kajagoogoo, Tracey Ullman and another Tracey - in a rare TV performance - (she was a singer with The Jam, Style Council) all on it. Miming though, it has to be said - with the exception of Channel 4's 'The Tube', live performances of current hit singles did not occur on terrestrial television until 'Top of The Pops' changed the landscape in 1988.
The show featured an absolutely electric theme tune, which added to the cult status. Cheggers Plays Pop most definitely made Keith Chegwin a household name in the UK.
The previous entry is accurate in that it was a 'Top of The Pops' feel programme that combined two sections of cheering kids with the evergreen Keith Chegwin proving that he was more than good at cracking the odd joke on Swapshop. With 1983 being a definitive year in the 80's, the style of the show placed huge emphasis on colours, balloons galore and a party party atmosphere.
Of the best elements of the show was the fact that high profile music artists would regularly come on and perform either their current single or new release. I remember seeing the likes of Jonah Lewie, Human League, Dollar, Kajagoogoo, Tracey Ullman and another Tracey - in a rare TV performance - (she was a singer with The Jam, Style Council) all on it. Miming though, it has to be said - with the exception of Channel 4's 'The Tube', live performances of current hit singles did not occur on terrestrial television until 'Top of The Pops' changed the landscape in 1988.
The show featured an absolutely electric theme tune, which added to the cult status. Cheggers Plays Pop most definitely made Keith Chegwin a household name in the UK.
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