It's Top of the Flops as Top of the Pops Live is cancelled
The live stage tour of Top of the Pops Live, which was due to visit Wolverhampton and Birmingham, has been cancelled due to poor ticket sales, it was announced today.
The show, starring TV and radio presenters Sam Nixon and Darlaston-born Mark Rhodes, had been due to be staged at Wolverhampton's Grand Theatre from March 4 to 9 next year.
It had also been due at Birmingham's New Alexandra Theatre from October 29 to November 3.
But show producers Flying Entertainment said they had made the decision to cancel the show after "disappointing demand" across the country. Joint managing director Derek Nicol said: "Ticket sales have so far been disappointing and we have taken the difficult decision to cancel the tour.
"We apologise for any inconvenience."
Anyone who has already booked can get a full refund from the venue box offices.
Grand Theatre spokeswoman Vicky Price said bosses were "frustrated" by the decision as more than £3,000 worth of tickets had been sold since they went on sale just seven days ago.
"This suggests it would have been popular with Wolverhampton theatre goers," she said."Some venues on the now-cancelled UK tour have been on sale since May."
The show was billed as a celebration of the iconic BBC TV show Top of the Pops, featuring songs from throughout the 70s, 80s and 90s.
Music from T-Rex, David Bowie, Blondie, Madonna, Oasis and Blur was all due to feature, with dancers paying homage to the resident troops Pan's People and Legs & Co.
Mark Rhodes and Sam Nixon, who shot to fame on TV talent show Pop Idol, had been cast as the presenters.
It is the third show to be cancelled at the Grand in recent months. Stage musical Daddy Cool was called off in June due to financial problems.
The show was due to feature singer Jane McDonald and was scheduled to be at the Lichfield Street theatre from October 22 to 27.
Hundreds of people had already bought tickets to the Wolverhampton dates.
And in February, The UK tour of musical Hair, starring Pop Idol contestants Gareth Gates and Zoe Birkett, was cancelled – including five dates at the Grand.
Producers scrapped the tour on the grounds that "certain criteria could not be met".
