Top Gear of the Pops
UK television special
Top Gear of the Pops is a one-off special programme that aired for BBC Two on 16 March 2007, as part of Red Nose Day 2007. The episode combined the elements of Top Gear, with that of BBC music chart show Top of the Pops, the latter of which was cancelled by the BBC in 2006. In the episode, presenters Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May hosted their own version of the chart show in their studio at Dunsfold, including discussions about music-related news topics, and performed as a band for the final number alongside Justin Hawkins.
The programme was produced as a replacement for A Question of Comedy, a one-off special edition of sports quiz A Question of Sport that had been recorded some months earlier for Comic Relief but was withdrawn due to Jade Goody being involved as one of its contestants. The decision came after it was felt to be inappropriate to show it following the racism controversy that emerged after her participation on Celebrity Big Brother 5.
Performances
Lethal Bizzle – "Mr."
The performance was deliberately cut short by Clarkson who literally pulled the plug on him, before labelling it as 'just noise' and referring to him as "Jizzy Tissue" throughout the rest of the show.
Travis – "Closer"
The band performed three times during filming to make sure everything was perfect, and was incident-free, with the song the only one to be taken seriously and Clarkson declaring it should be the "kind of thing that should be on TOTP".
Supergrass and Adrian Edmondson – "Richard III"
The band were assisted on guitar by comedian Adrian Edmondson, but had to put up with the hosts supplying bizarre "special effects" to "glam" up the song; Clarkson administered excessive dry ice artificial fog, May threw live 'Bonnie Tyler doves' (chickens) in front of and on the stage, and Hammond used a wind machine to finish things. The strong winds from the machine cause Edmondson to be blown off his feet and nearly to fall off the stage.
Note: The hosts pointed out that Danny Goffey's father, Chris Goffey, used to present the show.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Top Gear of the Pops” is uK television special. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Gear, Pops and television, not as a finished interpretation.
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Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Dec 20, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q7824547. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2007 and 2006.
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