The Top 2000 has existed for 25 years, the radio version that is. And that is celebrated. Next month we will see the familiar face of pop professor Leo Blokhuis again on TV Top 2000 Quiz and in the cafe with Top 2000 a Gogo. Unfortunately, Matthijs van Nieuwkerk is not there (yet) this year. This 25th anniversary would have been a great reason to have him return to TV. The NTR decided in all its wisdom to Thomas van Luyn (Quiz) and Diederik Ebbinge (a Gogo) as presenters. Too elitist if you ask me.
Phenomenon
While the Top 2000 connects all walks of life. When Kees Toering, then boss of Radio 2, thought in 1999 that there should be a list of two thousand songs that we wanted to take with us into the next century, he did not know that his idea would grow into such a phenomenon. In fact, it was intended as a one-time project. The famous radio DJs of the time, including Frits Spits, Hans Schiffers and Bert Kranenbarg, were also not enthusiastic. Who wants to listen to two thousand records in a row, even at night, they thought. Only EO DJ Ron Stoeltie believed in it.
Nostalgia
The fact that they all changed tack was because Frits Spits ultimately saw potential in it. In the series The Magic of the Top 2000, every Friday on NPO 3, the makers look back on those early days. For those who love this nostalgia, the four-part series is recommended. The emotion of Ron Stoeltie alone when he sits down behind the old Top 2000 turntable – somewhere in storage in Hilversum – is worth its weight in gold.
