Saturday 18 July 2015

Two Little Top of the Pops

I can't remember a time we had to skip two consecutive editions before, but that's what we have to do this week, with both the 4th September 1980 (DLT) and the 11th September 1980 (Savile) falling foul of Yewtree. Luckily, many of the featured songs we've either seen before or will get another chance to see, but sadly once again we do miss out on Splodgenessabounds...

We should be playing in the Permier League!



4-9-80: Presenters: Dave Lee Travis & Kevin Keegan

Huge Thanks to Neil B for making this whole edition available at 4Shared.com

(45) SECRET AFFAIR – Sound Of Confusion YouTube
(3) KELLY MARIE – Feels Like I’m In Love
(22) NICK STRAKER BAND – A Walk In The Park
(5) HAZEL O’CONNOR – Eighth Day ®
(20) BILLY JOEL – It’s Still Rock And Roll To Me (danced to by Legs & Co) YouTube
(10) CLIFF RICHARD – Dreamin’
(13) SHEENA EASTON – Modern Girl ®
(27) THE BEAT – Best Friend (video) YouTube
(26) RANDY CRAWFORD – One Day I’ll Fly Away YouTube
(10) CLIFF RICHARD – Dreamin’ (clip of TOTP 4-9-80)
(9) MIKE BERRY – The Sunshine Of Your Smile (clip of TOTP 14-8-80)
(8) ABBA – The Winner Takes It All (video)
(7) THE PIRANHAS – Tom Hark (clip of TOTP 7-8-80)
(6) GARY NUMAN – I Die You Die (video)
(5) HAZEL O’CONNOR – Eighth Day (clip of TOTP 21-8-80)
(4) SHEENA EASTON – 9 To 5 (clip of TOTP 7-8-80)
(3) KELLY MARIE – Feels Like I’m In Love (clip of TOTP 7-8-80)
(2) DAVID BOWIE – Ashes To Ashes (video)
(1) THE JAM – Start (video)
(12) THE CLASH – Bankrobber (crowd dancing) (and credits)



Two little boys and a Top of the Pops please!
 

11-9-80: Presenters: Jimmy Savile O.B.E. & Richard Skinner

Huge thanks here to Manorak for making the whole of this edition available to watch at Vimeo

(32) THE SKIDS – Circus Games
(17) BLACK SABBATH – Paranoid (video)
(25) IAN DURY & THE BLOCKHEADS – I Want To Be Straight
(7) ELVIS PRESLEY – It’s Only Love (danced to by Legs & Co)
(21) SHAKIN’ STEVENS – Marie Marie
(26) JUDAS PRIEST – United ®
(40) SPLODGENESSABOUNDS – Two Little Boys
(27) SPLIT ENZ – I Got You
(10) SHEENA EASTON – Modern Girl (clip of TOTP 21-8-80)
(9) THE PIRANHAS – Tom Hark (clip of TOTP 21-8-80)
(8) CLIFF RICHARD – Dreamin’ (clip of TOTP 4-9-80)
(7) ELVIS PRESLEY – It’s Only Love (clip of Legs & Co TOTP 11-9-80)
(6) SHEENA EASTON – 9 To 5 (clip of TOTP 7-8-80)
(5) HAZEL O’CONNOR – Eighth Day (clip of TOTP 21-8-80)
(4) RANDY CRAWFORD – One Day I’ll Fly Away (clip of TOTP 4-9-80)
(3) DAVID BOWIE – Ashes To Ashes (video)
(2) THE JAM – Start (video)
(1) KELLY MARIE – Feels Like I’m In Love ®
(18) QUEEN – Another One Bites The Dust (crowd dancing) (and credits)

59 comments:

  1. Great work by The Skids' publicity department to get them a second slot for "Circus Games" after climbing a whole place in a fortnight and completely failing to make the top 30.

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    1. I remember The Teardrop Explodes appearing on TOTP 3 times in '81 with 'Passionate Friend', which peaked at No.25.

      As I've mentioned before, 'Circus Games' was a sure sign of The Skids' artistic decline - though I notice the children's chorus was in 13/4. The Stranglers would subsequently make much more effective use of that unusual time signature in 'Golden Brown', the song that proved to be their entree into the post-punk scene.

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    2. Was that Skids' chorus in 13/4 time, or was it a sequence of three bars of 3/4 followed by a bar of 4/4?

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    3. The finer points of music theory can be subjects of contention - cf. the opening chord of 'A Hard Day's Night'. I would be inclined to notate the chorus of 'Circus Games' in 13/4, though it could also be written in a mixture of 3/4 and 4/4. I have seen some notated versions of 'Golden Brown' in which the intro is written variously in 6/8 and 7/8, though it could also be scored in 13/4 or 13/8. Let's phone a friend - Dave Greenfield would be handy!

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    4. would dave greenfield actually know what time signature he was playing in? probably like most rock musicians he would just be thinking "oh, that sounds good" or maybe "that riff's a bit unusual" rather than analysing it as such...

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    5. I can remember discussing this with a one-time hospital radio colleague who happened to be a bit of a muso. He could listen to any record and quickly deduce the time signature. He tried to tell me the difference between 3/4 and 6/8 (apparently, Tom Jones' 'Delilah' is in the latter time) but I couldn't get my head round it!

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    6. the top number in the time signature indicates the number of beats in a bar (a "bar" being a division of time), and the bottom number indicates the type of note used to represent the beat (4 would indicate a crotchet, 8 a quaver, etc). the americans make this a lot simpler by calling a crotchet a quarter note, a quaver an eigth note, etc. i was recently singing in a choir being led by an american conductor, and when he mentioned a quarter note (surprisingly the only time to my recolledtion) my fellow tenors were scoffing that he was using mickey mouse terminology. to which i responded that at least it was logical, and that it meant you didn't have to differientiate which length of note was a crotchet and which was a quaver! (by the way, my method of doing that is to think "quavers have a curly bit - as in the shape of the crisps of that name - at the top of the stem!)

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    7. 20th cent: "delilah" COULD be scored in 3/4, but the reason 6/8 would more likely be used is a: due to the tempo, and b: due to the "feel" - many musicians count the beats in their head when they read the notes, and counting "ONE-two-three, TWO-two-three" (the words on capitals are accented) makes more sense than counting ONE-and-two, AND three and". if i were scoring the tom jones version of "delilah" then i would actually write it in 12/8 time signature rather than 6/8, so i would be thinking for each bar: ONE-two-three, TWO-two-three, THREE-two-three, FOUR-two-three) as the song more-or-less has that span of vocal melody followed by the same span of instrumental break...

      hope that makes some sense!

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    8. I'm still not enlightened.... but thanks for trying Wilb!

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  2. 4th Sep episode - we may not get to see it, cos it wasn't aired on UK Gold, and unless someone has a VCR copy, this may get lost forever in the BBC vault. In any case, it was not a good show, as most were repeat performances from 21.8.80

    However the best part of he show was Legs & Co who seemed to have danced this perfectly like Billy Joel himself, and no doubt they would have studied the video shown on 21.8.80 before getting to the stage for 4th Sep.

    The Jam - first and only week at No.1, knocking off Bowie, and I must say with a very good single called Start.

    11th Sep episode - much better show than the 4th, and nice to see Diana Ross being interviewed, but pity that she could not perform Upside Down, now that it was falling down the charts, and she came a month too late to perform it on the show.

    Black Sabbath - nice to see this classic released 10 years after it first came out in 1970, and I wonder what was the significance of re-releasing it now? Good video performance though.

    Ian Dury dressed as a policeman this week - oh please.

    Elvis Presley - I must admit I don't recall this in the charts in 1980, but Legs & Co gave it a good showing in heavenly white costumes. Did you notice at the end of this, when Jimmy Saville took a young girl away to look after her, saying she was considering fainting. Yewtree, there you go for some more work.

    He was back a couple of songs later, saying he has two little girls with him, while introducing Two Little Boys by Splodgeness Abounds. Yewtree, you still there?

    Overall, a much better energetic and vibrant show than the 4 preceding shows since the summer strike was over, and nice to see Richard Skinner for the first time on our screens.

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  3. hopefully we won't miss out on split enz (i've only just realised that their name is a pun with regard to their origins!) as a result of yewtree, as a: they were literally a colourful bunch, and b: it's the first sighting of what was to become a giant songwriting talent in the teenaged embryonic form of neil finn of crowded house

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    1. Angelo, 4/9/80 is now up on Neil B's 4shared page.

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    2. Have you got the link for Neil B's page?

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    3. If you click on 'May (5)' at the top left of this page, and then choose 'Missing Top Of The Pops'. That will take you to 17/4/80, and you can then use Angelo's link to get to Neil's page.
      That's what I do to get there!

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    4. Thanks - I've just added the link for the 4.9.80 edition to the blog :-)

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    5. Great teamwork, thanks!

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  4. Many thanks to Neil B and Manorak for making these shows available - I was particularly pleased to see that the recording of the DLT edition was virtually complete, with just a little bit missing from the start.

    There isn't a huge amount to say about the first show, given most of the songs have been on before, but DLT linked it quite slickly and Keegan was OK, a little nervous and indistinct on occasion but not embarrassing. His perm was still looking quite bubbly at this point, and it seems he had a foot injury, which was unfortunate for Southampton given they had just signed him from Hamburg. Hank Marvin and Cliff (again) also pop up for slightly pointless guest spots, and DLT's round table discussion on the state of the charts with Cliff and Kev seemed a bit pointless and cringeworthy - just get on with the music! It was also noticeable that the 30-11 countdown was split into two on this occasion, for the first time.

    I share DLT's enthusiasm for the Randy Crawford song, a lovely ballad sung beautifully by Randy (though I think the vocal was rerecorded for this performance). The fact she had her eyes closed for the duration of the performance was a bit offputting, but I suppose she was "feeling" the song. Another good effort from The Beat, though it was rather brutally cut short (as was Sheena Easton), and the Legs routine was light and fun, perfect for the song they were accompanying. They would have been better off being dressed in leather or Fifties-style dresses, though - given the costume designer was called Nicholas Rocker, you'd have thought he might have done so!

    I'll be back later with my thoughts on the Savile edition - does anyone know, incidentally, if Keegan actually did have a single out at this time (as mentioned on this show), and what it was called?

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    1. Forgot to mention that the Secret Affair track was also pretty good, if not quite up to the standard of My World. The singer's tailoring was the most impressive aspect of the performance for me...

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    2. according to discogs, kevin keegan did indeed put out a single in 1980 called "england" - presumably released to cash in on said football team appearing in that summer's european football championship finals (they finished bottom of their group to my recollection). i knew about "head over heels in love" that was released the year before (just missing the top 30, and kk posed with his record as if he was kicking or heading it like a football). but perhaps surprisingly he also released another single in 1972 (called "it ain't easy") before his footballing career really took off

      apart from the singlalong squad shite, other footballers i can remember releasing records include: glenn (hoddle) & chris (waddle - the latter actually released a pretty cool afrobeat single in tandem with french footballer basil boli when playing for marseille), ian wright and andy cole. but with regard to the latter, i don't think it was this:

      http://www.discogs.com/Andy-Cole-2-Ted-Gilbert-Geoff-Love-Twizzle-Sisters-The-Alyn-Ainsworth-His-Orchestra-And-Alyn-Ainswor/release/3249564

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    3. Indeed, "Mighty Mouse" was one agonising place below the mugshots with his Smokie-penned effort in 1979.

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    4. Thanks Wilberforce - I guess it might have been the "England" single they were referring to on the show, though the European Championships were long since over by early September. England actually finished second bottom of their group - West Germany won the tournament, predictably...

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    5. the thing i remember about that tournament was that the mighty england were playing belgium who had a population a 10th of the size of ours and so were expected to be rolled over accordingly. however the belgians stunned our boys by drawing the match, and as the decade went on they proved that was no fluke, becoming acknowledged as one of the best teams in the world thanks to the emergence of the likes of erik gerets, enzo scifo and jan ceulemans

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  5. Right, some comments on show number two - incidentally Angelo, we also skipped two consecutive shows in August 1979, though they were only consecutive because the show that should have separated them was never made because of a strike.

    There seemed to be a really good atmosphere about this show. Jim'll was certainly energised (though as I understand it he wasn't very keen on Michael Hurll's way of doing things), and Richard Skinner was impressive and assured on his debut - I'm looking forward to seeing him host the show solo. The news segments make their debut, and were actually quite interesting, and not too obtrusive. The Diana Ross, Bee Gees and Leo Sayer interviews interrupted the flow rather more, and in the case of the first two were another classic case of TOTP securing the biggest stars for interviews but never for performances at this time!

    As with the previous show there were quite a lot of songs on that we've heard before, but the Blockheads' performance was priceless. I thought Dury made quite a convincing officer, and it was hilarious to see Wilko in uniform - the Beeb clearly had a job lot of helmets, as they were all over the audience too. Ironic in retrospect that Jim'll should have been hosting this particular show, given the large "police presence"...

    Out of the new stuff, the best was undoubtedly the Split Enz tune. A fantastic pop song, and certainly the equal of anything Neil Finn did later with Crowded House - I thought the suits looked pretty good too. Splodgenessabounds added to the general light feel of the show with their amusing take on Two Little Boys, which on balance I prefer to the original - the audience didn't seem so taken with this, though.

    The other "new" songs weren't really new at all, of course. Like Dory, I'm not sure why Paranoid was rereleased at this point in time - perhaps it was to cash in on Metal's renewed popularity. It is a classic, anyway, and the live performance shown was pretty good, though by this time Ozzy was no longer in the band. I don't think I've ever heard that Elvis song before, and I'm surprised it was such a big hit. It's rather melodramatic, but Legs at least looked fetching in their shiny cowgirl outfits.

    I noticed our Nazi-saluting friends in shamrock t-shirts were present again, but I didn't spot anything untoward on this occasion...

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    1. i never understood why "paranoid" was re-released either. but it did seem to get a lot of airplay in youth club discos that i went to around that time, so maybe there was some underground swell around the country that prompted the record company to cash in?

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    2. I've liked Poor Boy by Split Enz more.

      I didn't like the Elvis song, it's a shame as some effort has been made with the dancers.

      Splodgenessabounds had a peculiarly jittery punk energy and were interesting enough.

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    3. never mind sabbath - what possible reason could there be for putting out another king 45 some three years after he croaked onthe crapper?

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    4. It could be that it was the 3-year anniversary of Elvis's death at this point in the year, hence this new release.

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    5. They'd just brought the first Elvis boxed set (informally known as The Silver Box) to commemorate 25 years - so it was tied in with that.

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  6. I just want to say i love you guys for making these lost shows available again..in the words of the kid..good love!

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  7. Split Enz missed out on a potential hit when "Six Months In A leaky Boat" was one of those records banned by the BBC during the Falklands war due to the song title. I seem to recall Massive Attack got banned from airplay at the time due to their name.

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    1. Massive Attack had a name change during the first Gulf War, I think they were reduced to Massive or something. Lulu's Boom Bang a Bang was banned outright!

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  9. According to 'songfacts', release of Paranoid : "In the UK, this was re-released in 1980 to capitalize on the success of Black Sabbath: Live At Last, which was released earlier that year. The album was taken from a Sabbath concert in 1975 with the original band members."

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  10. Maybe Randy Crawford had her eyes closed because DLT was in her eyeline?

    Splodgenessabounds reminds me we will never again hear the last number one of the 1960s broadcast in Britain. Did Max Splodge have his name on the back of his jacket? I couldn't work it out.

    It's a pity we won't hear Split Enz on the repeats, a great record that I don't think they ever bettered, paranoid lyrics, sinister verses and a burst of sparkling melody for the chorus. Although Six Months in a Leaky Boat is very catchy.

    I think Richard Skinner was there because there's no way Jimmy would have read out the music news.

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    1. Split Enz will get on BBC4, as this performance was repeated on the 25/09/80 edition - however, that one won't be shown now until September.

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  11. I remember Richard Skinner making Bow Wow Wow's "C-30 C-60 C-90 Go" his record of the week before Radio 1 banned it for promoting home taping!

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  12. shaky shakerson20 July 2015 at 20:26

    Sep 4th Edition. With a co-hosting duo of DLT and Kevin Keegan, its a case of deep breath and fingers crossed but, astonishingly, the cringe factor is fairly low (principally because for most of the show they go their separate ways)

    The middle part of the show is a whole chunk of repeatedness and not in a good way. On either side are three newbies. Secret Affair's song is a nondescript doodle embellished with some 60s Byrds style guitar work and a Clarence Clemmons-style sax solo.

    The Beat. This is my favourite of their songs although it is moving away from their ska beginnings, and you can see the kind of stuff that would lead to Fine Young Cannibals musical style.Sadly it is cut short - something which could have and should have happened to Randy Crawford who is allowed to sleepwalk on for a good thirty seconds too long. And The Jam have themselves another number One.

    Musically the show gets a 5 - thanks mainly to The Beat and The Jam. DLT gets a commendable 7 for reining-in his wackiness and being the pro he undoubtedly was. Kevin Keegan gets just 1 - the reasons being. . . a) he used to play for Liverpool b) that Head Over Heels song c) the Les Dawson-style faces he pulled at the mere mention of a woman d) his apparent inability to use a microphone and e) he is useless.

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  13. shaky shakerson20 July 2015 at 22:08

    Sep 11th Edition. This week we have Saville and Richard Skinner.

    The Skids. Richard Jobson dials up the punch-in-the-faceability factor all the way up to 11, whilst Stuart Adamson continues to grow into his rock guitarist role.

    Ian Dury & The Blockheads giving it their all but the song is still below their usual standard.

    The Leggers dance to The King. I actually like this song and it would make my Elvis Top Ten Singles list ( although a long way behind In The Ghetto and Dont Cry Daddy) The Leggers outfits would also make my top ten list.

    A bit cruel of the ToTP producers to force Shaky to follow the real Elvis. It's like having to eat a Linda McCartney sausage after eating a Wall's banger!

    Two 'new' bands now from different ends of the world. The Splodges' - all punky three chords and shouting and the criminally under-valued Split Enz. Chalk and chese my friends - chalk and cheese.

    The chart rundowns. 30-21.Richard Skinner becomes the first presenter to nail it, and then fluffs the 20-11 section only recovering his timings at number 12. Good decision not to let Saville do these as he would have 'howsaboutthat-ed' the beejeesus out of it. He did get a go at the more leisurely top ten though.

    Another couple of good decisions letting Skinner do 'the news' ( although why a picture of just Debbie Harry over a Blondie story?) and letting Saville conduct most of the celebrity interviews. You can call him lots of things ( and who hasn't?) but Saville has a great knack of beginning, conducting, and, more importantly ending an interview.

    We play out with the last Queen song I was ever interested in with possibly the finest bass line in musical history.

    A couple of additional thoughts. First off, that's not a bad array of celebrity pop-ins is it. La Ross, 2/3 of The Bee Gees and Leo Sayer. And secondly why the random playing of One Day I'll Fly Away over the Bee Gee interview??

    A better than usual show gets it a 6.5. Skinner cops for a 7 for a slick, enjoyable turn whilst Saville picks up 5 having dropped points for his (possibly with the benefit of hindsight) creepy dealings with the young girls.

    I'm not a robot.

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    1. Well I've always loved Radio Gaga, so Queen were of interest later for me I suppose.

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  14. Big thanks to Neil for the DLT / KK edition. At least Kevin was used sparingly, he was better and less irritating than at least three previous guest presenters (apart from the Cosmo Smallpiece impersonation before Kelly Marie and the ‘hilarious’ jam skit), and he handled his solo song presentation pretty well. Also a plus that DLT was on better behaviour this time.

    Not sure why Hank Marvin was there (I wish he’d pulled that beard a bit harder) and a nice comic ‘backatcha’ by Cliff, returning B.A. Robertson’s hairdresser quip from the last edition with a cross-court volley.

    I still don’t get why Secret Affair’s tune didn’t go higher than 45. My favourite of theirs. Marks lost for lack of organist as on the backing track but some regained for the Davey Payne-style sax player.

    A very upright mic for Kelly Marie and a 'too low' mic for Charlie...er, Nick Straker. Had Tommy Vance the bassist just finished some DIY or did he pre-empt Dexy’s dungaree chic?

    Nice storytelling and clip of “Breaking Glass” before Hazel O’Connor to promote her latest film. Obviously, no chance of showing a snatch (ooer) of her previous cinematic epic, “Girls Come First”!

    Poor symmetry with the Leggers’ rasta squaw outfits. There should have been two outfits each with a different colour at the top instead of three yellows and one green. I was really looking forward to seeing them rock out in the instrumental bridge but it got cut.

    At least Billy Joel did better than The Beat, who were allowed a whopping 74 seconds. A new guitar for Dave, but the same old dance. Apparently, there are two versions of the band at the mo, fronted respectively by Dave and Ranking Roger (with a baseball capped Roger junior in the latter line-up).

    So, DLT, Randy Crawford’s got the highest new entry? What about Ian Dury and the Blockheads immediately above her, or Elvis Presley, highest new entry in the top 30 and climbing 17 places? A quick check shows that Randy had climbed from 55 to 26, thus probably making her the highest new entry in the top 40 if not the top 50. Veronica’s got a great voice, but they should have given her some Roy Orbison specs to block out the shut-eye.

    Back with a critique of the Jim’ll / Skinner show some time this week. I’m sure you can wait!

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    1. I don't mind Randy's shut eyes, it's more the big mouth and teeth. That's rather shallow though, it's a classic song and her performance obviously showcased that well enough. A very blue setting for that song.

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    2. thanks arthur for the tip on "girls come first". apart from hazel, i noticed from the credits that another person with totp presence was involved, in the form of recently-departed musical helper derek warne. there was also a david grant listed in the cast, but sadly it turned out not to be the soon-to-be appearing-on-totp-with-linx singer...

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  15. Thanks to Manorak for the Jim’ll / Skinner show. Wasn’t it a right old ragbag! Richard telling us about songs moving from 30-something or 50-something into the mugshots, yet no numbers shown for the top ten countdown, Jim’ll giving the plot away about the new number one right at the start, discs given out to the female version of A Flock Of Seagulls, and useless interviews and boring music news which took the space of another record.

    Barry Gibb stayed at home to wash his beard, and how I wished Clive Anderson was there to interview The Bee Gees instead. Still, nice to see Leo Sayer…or was it his stagehand stand-in Mike Martin? Leo’s next single didn’t make number 1 – in fact, he had a string of at least four complete non-chart flops before his next hit in 1982, a cover of a failed “Song For Europe” finalist.

    Now then, now then, we have a letter here from Diana Ross aged 36-and-a-half…”Dear Jim’ll, could you fix it for me to be given some discs on TOTP without having to bother singing?” Ah, now then, you won’t sing so we’re having them back unless you mingle!

    Richard Jobson looked like a tosser again. Howzat! Nice truncated version of their top 32 smash. Black Sabbath were so fast I thought they were Splodgenessabounds. Ooh, Ian Dury and the Blockheads – cop a load of this. Not very PC. Still, it’s a weak single which won’t earn them many coppers. Boom boom tish!

    I enjoyed Split Enz, as well as the police helmet on a balloon in the crowd, but tut tut to the drummer for (a) no jacket, (b) no Colonel Sanders tie and (c) no white shirt. Still, a great track.

    I don’t remember that Elvis song at all and, despite an energetic turn, the yeehah factor of Legs & Co turned to boohoo with the realisation Patti had got on her high horse. As for Shakin' Stevens, the new Jesse Green, TOTP missed a trick and should have had “Marie Marie” immediately before Kelly Marie. See what I did there? Talking of Yewtreed catchphrases…

    Here come Nunhead’s finest, Splodgenessabounds, complete with female backing vocalist Pat Thetic, and my second favourite punked up version of an old classic behind The Futureheads’ crack at “Hounds of Love”. You may recall one of our learned forumites telling us recently that the band phoned John Peel live on air to ask for the lyrics to “Two little Boys” as they couldn’t remember the second verse!

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  16. 'Experimental' was the word which sprang to mind when watching these two shows, particularly in the case of the second one. The first was one of those where they simply tried to fit too much in - just as I was getting into the music up popped the artist's name and that was it!

    But lots of good music (both new and repeated) and the 'spontaneous' appearances by Cliff, Hank, Leo etc. gave an air of unpredictability otherwise extinguished by those beginning-of-show clips.

    Except Splodgenessabounds. Sorry, but I think that they can be described as representing punk's nadir. Thankfully things got better as this style of cartoon punk begat the likes of the Toy Dolls and the Macc Lads (think 'Beano' and 'Viz' respectively) who combined catchy tunes and skilful guitar work with lyricism which could be described as modern folk.

    One thing which has struck me about these post-strike shows are the surprisingly retro elements to them. Far from heralding the new decade they would seem to be looking back to the show's past. From the 'Whole Lotta Love' theme comeback to the shots of kids a-groovin' during the end title sequence and, on the Jim'll show here, a black & white Eidophor (a video projector bright enough to be seen in studio lighting) which can also be seen in some of the remaining 1960s footage. Ye gods, I thought these things were all consigned to the skip - with the rest of the BBC's old b&w kit - long before 1980!

    Once again, thanks to those who have made this contraband available.

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    1. Eidophor! Hark at you! Great bit of technological info, 20thCR.

      I wasn't actually a fan of Splodgenessabounds (in truth, their top 10 hit irritated me) but I just loved their take on Rolf's big hit.

      They were obviously scrabbling round for songs to show in that Jim'll / Skinner edition - as well as The Skids' one place march outside the 30, we had two songs in the 20's (Ian and Shaky) which were non-movers.

      I forgot to mention, nice re-enactment of the Blockheads logo when they finished (that's the logo on the label of "What A Waste", apart from the "L" being a different size and the addition of the "S). Turns out The Blockheads' rhythm section stood in for 'the lads' in Frankie Goes To Hollywood to lay down a proper backing for "Relax".

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    2. In reply to Relic, retro elements in 1980 would mean looking back at the 50s and 60s, whereas my current retro nostalgia moments would be 70s and 80s which were my childhood and teen years respectively.

      I recommend to one and all on this blog to watch Vintage TV on Sky channel 369, which specialises in retro from from the 60's to the 90's, but most of the plays are 70's and 80's. It's a 24-hour music video channel mainly for those in the 40-60 age group who can associate with this music.

      It's certainly my favourite channel while waiting a week for the next BBC4 TOTP repeat, and while writing this I'm watching the legendary ELO 1978 video called Sweet Talkin' Woman. A piece of true feel-good retro!

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    3. Hey Arthur, I never knew that 'Relax' had a 'proper' backing, let alone by the Blockheads! FGTH - an average band with a strong singer - were ideal for a producer like Trevor Horn who just wanted a visual front for his own work.

      Dory - you're right, and it's all down to marketing. 'Peak nostalgia' has always been 20-30 years ago as a result of the 'market' targeting those in their 30s and 40s. It's interesting to notice how '60s music is becoming less prevalent these days owing to 'that generation' now entering retirement age and therefore of no interest to those with something to sell.

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    4. i remember the fuss made at the time about who or what actually played the music on the frankie goes to hollywood tracks - the general consensus was that (in order of significance) it was a mixture of technology, the blockheads rhythm section and the FGTH "lads". horn originally signed them up having seen them doing their own demo version of "relax" on "the tube" (they had also self-financed their own video to go with it), but if you can find it on youtube then you'll know it's drastically different from horn's final product. which makes one wonder why he bothered in the first place, as unlike 20th cent i didn't think their singer was very strong at all, be it in looks, voice or writing distinctive melodies. had that happened a few years down the line, they would have just written the stuff themselves and hired a (much better looking) male model to front it!

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    5. I remember that original FGTH video on "The Tube". It featured a couple of women 'dancers', and someone on telly (I forget who and where)said about the video "Two gays, two straights, two women - something for everyone"!

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  17. These 2 shows were thankfully a little more slick than some of the other double headers we've had. I enjoyed the DLT / Keggy Keegle (that's a Danny Baker 'thing' in case you're wondering!) one more in terms of the presentation as - shock horror - it almost seemed like they might have had some rehearsal time!

    The Secret Affair song was a little bland, but at least they looked sharp as ever. The opposite is true of the Nick Straker Band - great tune, but they look ridiculous.

    Didn't Randy Crawford always used to that shut-eyed gurning? I seem to remember that she was on TV a lot and that it always annoyed me. The song is one of those where I can recognise its musical qualities without particularly enjoying it much.

    Now to the other show. Ah, Richard Skinner, the man who single-handedly put me off listening to music for 3 or 4 years.....

    Let me explain. From 1979 with Bates through to 1983 with Tommy Vance I listened to the Top 40 chart showevery week and that was how I mainly discovered new songs (like many others I expect)
    Then, inexplicably, they gave the job to Skinner. Who did it in the same fashion that he does every other radio or TV job - very professionally, but in such a bloody bland BORING way. He was not chart presenter material, so I gave up until around 1987 when the legend that is Bruno Brookes was on.

    Mind you, mostly ignoring music from 1984 to 1987 meant that I didn't miss out on much.

    As for the music on the show, the Elvis track I loved at the time, and still do. The fact that I knew next to nothing about his early stuff meant that I wasn't comparing it to the 'classics'.

    Split Enz were also very welcome. Splodgenessabounds weren't, I don't really like either of their hits. The rest was mostly OK except for the execrable Jobson with the latest 'smash'.

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    1. Randy had her eyes wide open when she was with the Crusaders in her first appearance on TOTP, so I've no idea why she took to emoting like that.

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    2. i always liked richard skinner when he was a radio 1 DJ (didn't he take over kid jensen's "half-way house" early evening spot between the banal chart stuff in the daytime and the late night noise of john peel?). to my recollection, like gambo and mike read (and peter powell to a lesser extent, and most certainly unlike slimy bates) he seemd to have a genuine interest in and respect for poular music...

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    3. oh dear, that should have read "he seemed to have a genuine interest in and respect for popular music" - sorry!

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    4. maybe randy has her eyes tightly shut to give a visual interpretation of the "heart-tugging" nature of the music and lyrics? however i'm with noax in that it's well produced but doesn't do much for me on an emotional level, so all the anguished expressions in the world are not going to convince me otherwise...

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    5. Peter Powell once told John Peel he believed rap was the music of black criminals. I remember he thought I Need Love by LL Cool J was the only rap record he liked.

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    6. PP was wrong about rap there... inasmuch that he actually classified it as music!

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  18. Richard Skinner certainly does know his music, and was well suited to things like Whistle Test and Live Aid.
    He was also a good listen in the early days of Virgin Radio.

    As I said though, totally unsuited to the chart. Some people just are I think!

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  19. I missed the Vimeo link for the Savile ep, please could somebody let me know a new link? Thanks in advance :)

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  20. I missed the Vimeo link for the Savile ep, please could somebody let me know a new link? Thanks in advance :)

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