1981: Spinning Squares

Under the leadership of Michael Hurll, the show underwent significant transformations from August 1980, following the resolution of the musicians' union strike. When the show finally returned to audience's screens, the chart rundown at the start of the show was discontinued and interspersed instead between performances, with the presenter counting down the chart. This chart rundown format continued for over a decade.

By January 1981, the show started without a chart rundown or opening title sequence, directly transitioning from the BBC1 globe ident, to the TOTP studio. However, in late February 1981, the classic circular Top of the Pops logo made a re-appearance again at the beginning of the show, however, this time round there was no opening title theme tune or sequence. The logo was simply positioned within a rotating mirrored black and white square for a few seconds, accompanied by silence, before fading to the presenter in the TOTP studio. Occasionally, a snippet of the opening performance would be played before the presenter introduced the first act over the new intro logo animation.

This opening sequence was short-lived and remained in use until July 2nd 1981. From the 900th edition of TOTP, the show would never be the same again, with Michael Hurll's changes being put into full effect. A full-on party atmosphere, and new visual brand were on the horizon…