From 1966 to 1980, "Top of the Pops" had an in-studio orchestra conducted by Johnny Pearson accompany select musical performances, with The Ladybirds (later Maggie Stredder Singers) providing backing vocals. Credited on the show as musical associate, Derek Warne played piano and provided musical arrangements for the orchestra. As "The Telegraph" recounted, Pearson and the orchestra improvised accompaniments with about 20 minutes of rehearsal time per song, and the musicians, "almost all middle-aged, often struggled with the enormous range of rock and pop tunes with which they were presented." In contrast, "The Times" said upon Pearson's passing in 2011 that the orchestra "often elicit excellent performances with barely enough time beforehand for a couple of run-throughs."