But in 1983 there was one occasion when a football team were due to appear in the BBC studios to perform their song but didn't. This was because Manchester United, the team in question, were rendered unavailable on account of their participation in the 1983 FA Cup Final replay at Wembley against Brighton & Hove Albion.
What to do? The answer: Simply show a selection of recent Man United goals (and one Brighton one) with their song "Glory Glory Man United" playing in the background. This rendered the 21st May 1983 edition of Top of the Pops (already shortened because the match was shown directly afterwards) nothing more than a musical version of Football Focus. As for the song, it proved to be as unconvincing as Pat Sharp's presenting style, yet it still hauled its way up to number 13 in the charts. If anyone knows how that happened, please get in touch.
So here it is then - Manchester United's non-appearance on Top of the Pops, preceded as it is by Big Country's rendition of 'In a Big Country'.
If you want to get straight to the Man United bit, you'll need to fast forward to 05:06. If, on the other hand, you want to know when the Man United bit starts so you can avoid it, you'll need to hit the stop button at 05:06.
Warning: Video contains images of Pat Sharp pretending to be interested in the FA Cup Final replay.
