Top of the Pops was the longest running weekly, music chart show featuring videos and performances on BBC1, UK which ran for over 42 years from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006 and featured around 2,000 episodes in total. The show saw many changes through the decades, in style, design, fashion and taste. Due to the BBC's former policy of deleting old programmes, the vast majority of the episodes from the first ten years of the programme's history have been lost. Of the first 500 episodes (1964–73) only about 20 complete recordings remain in the BBC archives. That's why only four of the seven ABBA studio performances exist in their full-length episodes). The 1976 Mamma Mia performance exists only in a Christmas retrospective episode; So Long from 1974 has been found thanks to the help of ABBA fans c/o this ABBA on TV website but it is feared the performance of SOS from 1975 is wiped forever.

Episode 1001.

Agnetha made a fleeting appearance at the Top Of The Pops Studio in between songs and talked briefly to the hosts, (then) Radio 1 DJs Tommy Vance and Mike Read (who Agnetha would have met the previous year when she was a guest with Benny on Saturday Superstore).

Running order: 

1. Modern Romance – Don’t Stop That Crazy Rhythm
2. Daryl Hall & John Oates – Family Man (VIDEO)
3. The Belle Stars – Sweet Memory
4. Pink Floyd – Not Now John (VIDEO)
5. Hot Chocolate – What Kinda Boy You’re Lookin’ For (Girl)
6. Galaxy featuring Phil Fearon – Dancing Tight
7. The Creatures – Miss The Girl
8. Men At Work – Overkill
9. Agnetha Faltskog – brief interview
10. Spandau Ballet – True (VIDEO) - No.1 in the charts that week
11. Kissing The Pink – The Last Film (over end credits)

Apparently Agnetha recorded a performance of The Heat Is On while in the studio in case it became a big hit.  If so, it's never been aired to my knowledge.

This was the last appearance by an ABBA member in person on Top of the Pops.

Click here for a TV listing from The Guardian (London) – 12 May 1983, p.24.

Tommy Vance died on 6th March 2005.

Broadcast information:
Thursday 12 May 1983, LIVE, 19:25-20:00, BBC1, UK
Repeated on UK Gold in the 1990s/2000s, UK
Rebroadcast in early 2017, BBC4, UK

Tommy Vance:  And just before we go to the No.1 record this week may I introduce you to our studio guest - from Sweden, also from ABBA but now a solo star as well - Agnetha, welcome ...
Agnetha: Thank you very much!
TV: Can I ask you why you've chosen a British producer to produce your solo single and album?
Agnetha: Why not?
TV: er, OK, now the single is called The Heat Is On, what's the album called?
Agnetha: It's called Wrap Your Arms Around Me
TV:   Why not!  Mike ...
Mike Read: You swine!  While you do that, Agnetha taught me how to say No.1 in Swedish .. here is nummer ett, right?  Sounds like number eight to me ...

Top of The Pops (Waterloo), 1974; 
Top of The Pops (Waterloo), 1974; 
Top of The Pops (So Long), 1974; 
Top of The Pops (Waterloo), 1974; 
Top of The Pops (SOS), 1975;
Top of The Pops (Mamma Mia), 1976; 
Top of The Pops (Fernando), 1976;
Top of The Pops (Christmas greeting), 1978;
Top of The Pops (Frida), 1982; 
Top of The Pops (Agnetha), 1983; 

Thanks to Mike Dudley and Jozsef. Also thanks to Gavin Bennett, Selwin Powell, Warren Thrower c/o ABBAtalk.
YouTube link c/o PlasticRetroPop