It takes five to six hours to prep each week's #TOTP facts. If you'd like to bung me a tip, you can do so via this Ko-fi link: ko-fi.com/totpfacts (It’s set at £2 minimum because PayPal take the first 33p) Thanks! #youcanmutethishashtag

Fancy watching John Peel’s This Is Your Life? Okay, here you go. Even Mark E Smith is on his best behaviour! youtube.com/watch?v=7HCEZG… #TOTP

I wish I had one of these t-shirts. #TOTP

Jarvis Cocker infamously interrupted Michael Jackson’s performance of “Earth Song” at the Brit Awards on 19 February 1996. Here’s a bunch of news reports: youtube.com/watch?v=ymCQyq… #TOTP

The “Earth Song” video was shot in the Amazon rainforest, Karlovac in Croatia, Tanzania, and New York (in a cornfield used for the forest fire sequence). #TOTP

“I later found out the cause of the great man’s monumental shyness. Apparently he was on nose job number 12, or thereabouts, and his attempt at a button-like proboscis had pretty much collapsed... apparently it looked truly awful.” #TOTP

'Once I'd got my head around the idea it became hilarious. I'd try to get to the other end of the desk to get an ashtray or whatever, only to find three people blocking my path.' #TOTP

Bassist Guy Pratt recalls recording his part on “Earth Song”: “Someone was hiding under the [mixing] desk, telling the engineer what Michael would or wouldn’t like... it was all I could do not to fall apart in a mixture of hysteria and confusion.” #TOTP

Michael Jackson also featured on a further 11 top 40 hits as a member of The Jackson Five and a further 12 (including one number one) with The Jacksons, He also appeared on USA For Africa's number one 'We Are The World' in April 1985. #TOTP

It charted again (as part of a series of CD single reissues) at 34 in June 2006 (his 67th hit), and then again as a download following his death in July 2009, climbing back to 33. #TOTP

The 42nd of 75 (including reissues) UK top 40 hits credited to Michael Jackson, 'Earth Song' was the sixth of his seven number ones (and his only Christmas number one). 'Earth Song' stayed at number one for six weeks across December 1995 and January 1996. #TOTP

Wonderwall is a 1968 film about a scientist who becomes obsessed with watching his neighbours – a photographer and a model.
George Harrison’s soundtrack was the first solo LP by a Beatle. youtube.com/watch?v=c7rafd… #TOTP

“It was called ‘Wishing Stone’ for ages until we were listening to Wonderwall Music by George Harrison and it was like, ‘Brilliant, I’ve got a Beatles connection!'” #TOTP

The working title of “Wonderwall” was “Wishing Stone”. Noel Gallagher: “[After a gig] I met some girl and we went back to my hotel room and she had this stone in her pocket that she insisted I had... I thought it was a great title and the song came out of that.“ #TOTP

Noel Gallagher on “Wonderwall: “It's a song about an imaginary friend who's gonna come and save you from yourself.” #TOTP

'She's going, 'That's the original.' I said, 'Play that again!' Then she sent the tape over and eventually we found out what it was. But for a minute I was going, 'Did I? Maybe I did!' She was well pissed off for about an hour and a half.” #TOTP

“So I get a phone call off the wife [at 7am]... She's going, 'You know that song you wrote for me?' 'Yeah...' 'Well it's not even one of your songs, is it?' I was going, 'What are you fucking going on about?' She says, 'Listen to this' - and she's taped it off the radio!” #TOTP

Noel Gallagher first heard the Mike Flowers cover of “Wonderwall” when Meg Matthews called him on the phone. “We were in America, and the fella who played it for the first time... was doing a spoof, saying that was the original of ‘Wonderwall’.' #TOTP

'Wonderwall' was the first week's project. Chris Evans then made the track “single of the week” on his Radio 1 breakfast show. #TOTP

The Mike Flowers Pops cover came about after BBC radio producer Will Saunders recruited them to cover the hits of 1995 for Radio 1 DJ Kevin Greening’s Satruday show. #TOTP