The first Festive Fifty was broadcast in 1976 and differed in format to later charts in that it was not restricted to songs from that year. It was topped by
Led Zeppelin's "
Stairway to Heaven", first released in 1971, and also contained many older songs. The following year, Peel's producer suggested that instead of taking a poll (which might simply be a retread of 1976's list), Peel should simply compile a list of his favourite songs of the year. Long thought lost, this list of the "Forgotten Fifty" (consisting of 61 songs) was finally pieced together from rare archive materials for the 2007 BBC book
The Peel Sessions. The following years returned to a listener poll and listed mostly contemporary songs; "
Anarchy in the UK" by the
Sex Pistols topped three consecutive charts from 1978 and came second in 1981. This marked a period of domination of the upper reaches of the chart by
punk artists as the genre was embraced by Peel and his listeners, though other genres were represented further down the list, and the continuing presence in the list of "Stairway to Heaven" until 1979 showed that the older generation of Peel listeners had not completely abandoned the show. In 1982 the shift to a strictly annual chart was made. In the early 1980s
post-punk records by bands such as
Joy Division and
The Cocteau Twins featured heavily in the chart. In the mid and later 1980s indie bands began to gain recognition with
The Smiths making many appearances, including a record eleven entries in the 1987 list, but by this time Peel was beginning to become disillusioned with his listeners' tastes, complaining that there were too many "white boys with guitars" and not enough diversity. This trend of popular music continued in the early 1990s, despite Peel's championing of emerging rave and dance acts on his show. In 1991 Peel didn't get around to compiling the Fifty until the following year, and didn't broadcast it until 1993, where he played one song from it once a week. This 1991 chart, which became known as the "Phantom Fifty", was not the only year to feature an anomaly. In 1997 Peel decided that he didn't have enough time on-air around Christmas to do a countdown, and it was only from listener pressure that he agreed to do a 'Pretty Festive 31', which was topped by Cornershop's
Brimful of Asha. Despite this, the later 1990s and 2000s the list featured a more diverse range of acts, such as
The Delgados and
The Cuban Boys, who were favourites of Peel and his listeners. After John Peel died in 2004, the chart for that year was played by
Rob Da Bank and was topped by
The Fall; Peel's favourite band and prolific session guests.
Huw Stephens from Radio 1's One Music strand, the original replacement for Peel's show, joined fellow One Music presenter Rob Da Bank for the chart for 2005. In 2006, after One Music was removed from the Radio 1 schedule, the Festive Fifty was discontinued. Peel's former production team, however, invited the internet radio station
Dandelion Radio to take up the compilation and broadcast of the Festive Fifty, which they have done since 2006. ==All-time charts==