I'm too long in the tooth

WHENEVER I watch an old Top Of The Pops, there are three things in particular that strike me, reminding me just how long ago this all was.

- Mike Ward

The first, of course, is the music. The second, almost as obvious, is the fashion. And the third thing that strikes me? The teeth.

Back then, the teeth of even the biggest stars were often dreadful by today’s standards - stained, wonky or worse. The great David Bowie was a prime example. Another, more extreme, was Shane MacGowan of The Pogues, although in Shane’s case I rather think that was the look he was cultivating. And yet I don’t remember noticing these dental disasters at the time. It’s only now, 40 or 50 years on, when perfect, blinding white gnashers have almost become obligatory for anyone on TV, that the teeth of old look so hilariously bad.