There are certain things in life that make one feel old. As a child of the 1980s, I struggle to come to terms with the fact that there are fully grown adults who were born after 2000. A lot of the colleagues I have worked with over the years are much younger than me, and I forget that until, in conversation, I mention something from my childhood and am met with a blank look.

I have mentioned before my love of the retro Top of the Pops reruns on BBC Four. I found myself taking a trip down memory lane as I watched the likes of Avril Lavigne singing Complicated, followed by So Solid Crew's 21 Seconds and Get the Party Started by Pink. These are the songs that were in the charts as I was entering my 20s – songs I remember hearing on the radio when they first came out!

Music has the power to take us back to moments in our lives and evoke vivid memories. For me, when I hear All Riseby Blue, it reminds me of road trips to visit a friend in Nottingham. I also recall the first time I heard the Spice Girls on a family coach holiday in France, when Wannabe was playing at a motorway service station.

Japanese research has found that songs that were hits when we were 20 bring back the strongest feelings of nostalgia. They call it the "reminiscence bump", where we remember more from periods when we go through significant life changes. When you are 20, several life-defining moments can collide. It might be your first home, your first love or your first job as you find your way in the world as a young adult. For me, many of the big life moments came later, but when I was 20 I had just passed my driving test and was several years into my first job at Tesco.

As for Top of the Pops, there is now a generation that has grown up since the show was axed. The last regular edition was broadcast on 30 July 2006 – two decades ago! The Christmas specials continued for a while, but even they have now stopped. The way we consume music has changed dramatically – even the dedicated music channels have disappeared.

Top of the Pops was such an iconic show. I was lucky enough to be in the audience for several Christmas specials, and being in a studio audience of fewer than 200 people watching the likes of Ed Sheeran and Coldplay perform was an incredible experience. Maybe one day Top of the Pops will return for a new generation, but for now we must make do with the reruns on BBC iPlayer!

Listen to my radio shows on Radio Woking every Sunday from 9am to noon and every Wednesday from 7am to 9am. Life on the Edge with Edge Disability Consultancy airs every second Sunday at noon. You can also hear Emma and me on Surrey Hills Community Radio every second Monday at 9pm, while Life on the Edge airs every first Monday at 10am. Send me a voice note via www.speakpipe.com/jonandrews or email [email protected]