Friday 4 March 2016

Spurs Are On Their Way to Top of the Pops

As if it wasn't bad enough to lose 17 editions to yewtree, here's a Peter Powell hosted show from May 7th 1981 that can't be shown on BBC4! The reason being that it was originally broadcast live and there were technical difficulties in recording a good copy of it!
So thanks here of FA Cup Final proportions to Neil B for posting a copy of this show into Dropbox!
(Maybe BBC4 should have asked him nicely for a copy of it!!)

https://www.dropbox.com/s/94ibxs9592iyuo0/T...-05-07.mp4?dl=0

On Top of de Pops with Tottingham..


07/05/81 (hosted by Peter Powell)

Alternative link~ https://www.wetransfer.com/downloads/1940e6...04072942/60a2f5

(32) Kim Wilde – “Chequered Love”
A cracking follow up to Kids in America, this one making it to number 4.

(26) Stray Cats – “Stray Cat Strut” (video)
The second of four singles from the Stray Cats in 1981, this one peaking at number 11.

(5) Shakin’ Stevens – “You Drive Me Crazy”
Following up his number one hit This Ole House with this number two hit.

(12) Keith Marshall – “Only Crying”
Now at its peak.

(45) Tottenham Hotspur FA Cup Final Squad/Chas & Dave – “Ossie’s Dream (Spurs Are On Their Way To Wembley)”
Chas and Dave with what would soon become their biggest hit so far when it made number 5.

(13) Eddy Grant – “Can’t Get Enough Of You”
At its peak.

(2) Starsound – “Stars On 45”
A full Legs & Co routine this week to the Starsound record which was now at its chart peak.

(21) REO Speedwagon – “Keep On Loving You” (video)
The band's only top ten hit when it made number 7.

(9) The Nolans – “Attention To Me”
The sisters' final top ten hit now at its peak.

(36) The Undertones – “It’s Going To Happen”
Reached number 18 to become the band's final top 20 hit.

(1) Adam & The Ants – “Stand & Deliver” (video)
Straight to the top of the charts for the first of five weeks at number one.

Starsound? - "Stars on 45" (reprise with credits) ??


The Cup Final Special is up next, from May 14th 1981.

46 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Seems theres too much traffic at the moment for the link!

      Delete
    2. Alternative link ~

      https://www.wetransfer.com/downloads/1940e6...04072942/60a2f5

      Delete
    3. None of the links seem to be working now. Not drop box, not the alternative.

      Delete
  2. Being the first live episode in ten years as Pete says explains why they didn't have their recorders running, I suppose.

    Kim Wilde, what a fantastic pop record and a great way to kick things off, races along superbly this one, great tune that made her stand out from the crowd by dint of having real hooks in her singles.

    Stray Cats, cheapo video but quite effective, the cartoon, is that Tex Avery's Bad Luck Blackie? Hilarious toon. The song genuinely does have a strut about it.

    Hey, happy birthday Shaky! Here he is with You Drive Me Cwazy, as he pronounced it, and nice to see Gill has rejoined her colleagues. His songs are sounding better than I remember, actually.

    Keith Marshall, that guitar sits there like Chekov's gun, the suspense of when it'll be used is palpable. But he looks a bit too in love with himself to warm to.

    Oh great, a football record. Are Legs & Co Spurs fans, then? Must have broken a few hearts, this. About a minute in I'd had enough, then it seemed to go on for another quarter hour. An easy gig for Chas and Dave, but sounds very lazy for their usual standards.

    Eddy Grant, is this a song about Clark Gable? Sounds like that's what he's singing about.

    Legs & Co working overtime this episode, doing all the actions to the song clips of course. Bring on Hooked on Classics, I say.

    A snatch of REO Speedwagon, that singer looks even older than the UK Subs frontman, no wonder they put him so far away from the camera. Soft rock classic, but not really my type of music.

    Gotta give some respect to the Nolans, singing and dancing live on a live show, just shows what pros they were. The song is lightweight, but that suited them.

    The Undertones didn't often get political, but this was a seriously catchy ditty about a very serious subject. Pity they ran out of hits after this.

    There's a touch of Ernie, the Fastest Milkman in the West about Stand and Deliver, or is it just my ears? The comedy lyrics and all. But about a highwayman not a milkman. Please yourselves. Anyway, top tune, terrific video, Adam doing all his own stunts, Amanda Donahoe over-emoting, no wonder he was master of all he surveyed.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I just love the solo acoustic trumpet and sax on The Undertones hit where everything goes silent around this trumpet and sax cameo in the middle part of the song, and it was also to be their last top 40 hit.

      Delete
  3. Watched it it was live and was shown two days after a couple of people happen on Tuesday 5 May the birth of pop star Craig David and the death of terrorist Bobby sands

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bobby was not really a terrorist just fighting for a foreign power to leave his country looking at the results of the General Election in Ireland his party just might be in Government soon

      Delete
  4. Got this nice and clearly on We Transfer, so thanks Angelo.

    Shakin Stevens - this week surrounded by Legs & Co in beautiful dresses with beautiful colours. What more could a man want, right Shaky? They're driving you crazy, I know.

    Tottenham Hotspur - I wasn't comfortable to see Legs & Co mixed up with that rowdy lot from Spurs, helped out by Chas & Dave, and that man in the middle Ossie Ardiles seeming totally out of it and trying to make a brave face in the melee of so many people on stage with him.

    Starsound - now that's more like it. I felt more closely aligned to Lulu this week on Legs & Co, and she certainly looked the most comfortable of the group in those clothes, and her slenderness that was second to none, really came to the fore this week on this Stars On 45, and she came off the best, even with the return of Gill after a couple of weeks off. Nice dancing Girls, and love your costumes!

    REO Speedwagon- this video is legendary, and they missed off the start and finish scenes where the lead singer is lying on a psychiatrist's chair talking about his obsession with this girl that is the subject of the video. Suffice to say, I don't think it is possible for anyone to be more beautiful, so I recommend you all to get on Utube to see the whole video, as TOTP showed only a small clip of it unfortunately here.

    Adam & The Ants - We're the dandy highwaymen.....oh whatever. We're in for the long haul with these dandy highwaymen at No.1 for 5 weeks (yawn yawn).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm not a big Adam Ant fan at all but I think it's possibly the best song he did, lots of tuneful parts very generous and the video is classic.

      Delete
    2. Just got down to watching this...finally! Thanks to those who made it available. I had quite forgotten about 'tracking' on videos. Anyway, the abrupt cut to 'Keep on loving you' was quite unforgivable. Almost as if someone said, that it would have to be on the show as it's going up the charts, but it's not really the sort of thing that we Brits want to promote, so let's keep it short. A similar dose of medicine was dished out to REO's excellent 'Can't fight this feeling' a few years later. I'm off to YT to watch the video in full!

      Delete
    3. Agreed Stephen, the REO Speedwagon video is one of my favourites of the 80s, and so cleverly written in its plot, that TOTP should have shown it in full. It's not often you get such a beautiful lead female on the video playing the part of most men's obsession.

      Delete
  5. Thanks Angelo for the surprise bit of info, to me at any rate, regarding this ep It indeed confirms that Ossie's Dream appeared twice on the show.

    ReplyDelete
  6. blimey, there not much in the way of synth pop on this show, is there? so we're not missing out on much in my opinion

    ...unless (unlike me) you believe that kim wilde falls into that category. like all her records after "kids in america" i can't remember how this one goes. and i have no inclination to refresh my memory in that regard

    and i always thought shakin' stevens followed up "thos ole house" with "green door", so another gap in my memory. i sometimes challenge people top name more than three of his many hits, and unsurprisingly most fail to do so!

    other than that, there's basically more rock n roll rehash, novelty stuff and that awful REO speedwagon thing that hopefully i'll never have to endure again!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Chequered Love is like a much lesser Kids From America, a stunted chorus not made up for by the fireworks like stuff behind her. But she did do other good stuff, her best album in 88 for instance.

      Delete
  7. regarding the THFC effort: there was a joke doing the rounds in the mid-80's that doesn't really work "on paper"...

    Q: "name two aussies who played in the FA cup final?"

    A: craig johnstone (who every football fan knew played for liverpool fc at a time when foreign players - even ones that spoke the native lingo - were a rarity), and "ossie" ardiles (which most people wouldn't think of, as they were struggling to name another player of antipodean background!)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    2. There was another question - what goes to the Cup Final and is never used? The answer is the losing team's ribbons but, after two ineffective finals performances, one wag gave the answer as Malcolm MacDonald.

      Delete
  8. although not a fan of spurs, i followed their 1981 fa cup-winning team with some interest as it featured graham roberts, who had previously played for my lowly non-league hometown club (weymouth fc) before becoming one of the few to establish himself as a top flight pro. he's also the only one who played for said club who later also played for the national team. although andy townsend also once played for them before winning many caps for eire, and might have done likewise for england had he not chosen to become one of jack charlton's "plastic paddies"!

    ReplyDelete
  9. shaky shakerson5 March 2016 at 15:59

    Just a few notes on this one.

    Kim Wilde. A fairly decent effort, but what is noticeable that La Wilde must have had some performance lessons as she is far mor animated here than on her previous hit -and she looks far happier too.

    Stray Cats - A nice cool bass-thwanging ditty. Loved it back in 81, but not so much now. Not a bad vid though.

    Shakin Stevens. I have previously mentioned my opinion that the Welsh Warbler had someone in the ToTP offices rooting for him. And it shows again here as he gets the full treatment with the Leggers in attendance and a choreographed bit for the audience to do.

    Spurs. At least its original - not like most other FA Cup songs. Still, its one for Spurs fans only.

    REO Speedwagon get their turn in the cigarette lighter light with a record that I actually went out and bought. Not a bad example of its kind - its just that its kind isn't all that good.

    The Nolans do it live again - well done girls.

    Adam & Ants - their last decent single this one as Adam slides into pantomime.

    Scores. 6 for the music, 5 for PP who drops points for his dad-dancing and his garbled links on a couple of occasions. (Although that might be harsh seing as it was a live transmision so presumably he would have had voices in his ear telling him to either hurry up or fill. Yeah but he's just so annoying - so 5 it is.)

    One to go.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. After weeks of ignoring 'Attention to me' we're treated to a second live performance from the girls as well as a chunk from the great video on the Top 10 rundown.

      Delete
  10. So in recent weeks Stray Cats, Kim Wilde, The Beat and Madness all return with weaker singles. :(

    Shaky has another nice song though, and I like the staging with Legs colourful in circle around him.

    The Nolans live, but weaker than their other performance?

    The Ozzie song made me think of the Falklands a year later, so I looked at some articles on him. One here was interesting as it pointed out the irony of lyrics about him going to war with his Tottenham team-mates.

    http://www.sportingintelligence.com/2012/04/02/thirty-years-on-from-the-falklands-sport-war-and-playing-in-the-cup-for-tott-ing-ham-020401/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I prefer Chequered Love to Kids in America, to be honest, though both are fine tunes. Agreed on The Beat, though.

      Delete
    2. Hmmmm, I love all four of those singles from the Stray Cats, The Beat, Madness and Ms Wilde. Chequered Love and Water on Glass are my favourite Kim singles. And I adore 'Drowning' by The Beat although it took a few listens to grow on me. And Grey Day would be one of favourite Madness tracks too. However, I do love Toyah and Kajagoogoo so what would I know !!!

      Delete
  11. Stand & Deliver goes straight in at No.1 this week. I'm not entirely sure, but I think this is the first song in the history of the charts to go straight in at No.1.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No a few had done it by this time, Dory ~ most recently I think was The Jam with Going Underground, and certainly Slade and the Beatles before them.

      Delete
    2. Actually The Police with Don't Stand So Close to Me were the most recent come to think of it.

      Delete
    3. Slade managed it a couple of times with 'Cum on feel the noize' and 'Merry Christmas Everybody'. GG also went straight in with 'I love you love'. Were the first group to achieve this none other than the Beatles with 'Get Back'.

      Delete
  12. First of all, thanks to Neil B for making this one available. Given the BBC don't have a broadcastable copy, I do wonder why they didn't mount an appeal for someone who recorded the show at the time to donate their version; after all, BBC4 were only able to repeat the 31/03/77 show because Diddy gave them his copy. I don't suppose Neil's version would have been deemed suitable, as there are some sound issues and the end credits are missing, but in any case it was still great to see this.

    Considering it was the first live TOTP in a decade, I thought the production team did a very slick and impressive job, with the vast majority of acts giving new performances and PP providing the best presentation I have seen from him in these reruns. Interesting that he got chosen to present this show, as it was just 3 weeks since his last appearance - he does seem to have been regarded by the Beeb as very much the "face" of TOTP in this early Hurll period.

    The music gets underway in fine style with this largely forgotten but very catchy Kim Wilde tune. A worthy follow-up to Kids in America, and as noted in other comments Kim now seems more comfortable on stage. The Stray Cats also impress once again, a colourful and amusing video accompanying a classy and seductive song. It doesn't perhaps grab the listener as immediately as the previous two singles, but still good stuff.

    Shaky continues his golden run with this fine original song, marred only by his insistence on singing the title Jonathan Ross-style - I don't think he had a speech impediment, so I assume this was a deliberate affectation. It must have been a bit distracting for Shaky to have Legs dancing so closely around him, with moves that smack of hero worship, but he copes with it like a real pro!

    Legs must have had to make some very quick costume changes for this show, as once Keith Marshall (this time on his own) has done his thing they are back in their Spurs shirts and other football gear for the Cup Final song. I think Snooker Loopy was Chas & Dave's more successful venture into sporting singles, to be honest, as this just sounds like any other football song, and the Ossie "Tot-ting-ham" moment is cringeworthy! Somewhat ironic as well that Ossie was put front and centre of this, as it would be his compatriot Ricky Villa who would emerge as the Spurs hero when the Cup was finally won. I wonder if it was a desire to be on the show again that would ultimately lead Glenn Hoddle to record Diamond Lights?

    I notice that the Popscene running order is incorrect, as The Undertones turn up next. Seldom has a very political song been as catchy and accessible as this, though the staging wasn't the best, with the band and their brass-playing chums crammed into far too small a space. This was also a controversial performance at the time, with the guitarist visibly sporting a black arm band to mark the death of Bobby Sands, something he later said he regretted. Legs however then return to banish thoughts of the Troubles from our minds with another costume change and a second routine to Starsound.

    REO Speedwagon were one of those groups who were huge in America but nowhere near as popular here, and I don't think they deserved to be with hair as bad as lead singer Kevin Cronin's! As AOR ballads go, this one isn't bad, but we got very little of the song or video here. By contrast, the much more innovative promo for the new number 1 was played in full, though I don't think it has aged terribly well. I'm not that keen on the song either, which is a bit of a mess and seemed a slightly too calculated bid on Adam's part to jump totally into the mainstream - for some reason that "dandy highwayman" lyric really puts my teeth on edge!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I would say that Neil B's copy was only blighted by the terrible crackling and sound disturbance on the Legs & Co routine for Stars On 45, plus as you say the missing end credits, otherwise this could have been a good 'buy-back' copy.

      BBC4 are missing an 'advisor' to the TOTP re-runs, and could do with someone from our blog to advise them, cos think about it, whoever is putting these shows out may not have been born in 1981, let alone remember it. They would have to be upward of 45 years old to remember these TOTP shows, and somehow I doubt this is the case.

      Delete
    2. I liked the video of the Stray Cats song much more than the music, not as catchy as them at their best.

      Stand and Deliver had the similar energy of their earlier hits but more melody for me.

      I thought it was another cover from Shaky, maybe most did at the time? Definitely a good original song.

      Delete
    3. You Drive Me Crazy is definitely an original, though Shaky didn't write it himself. However, he did pen 5 other songs on the album this appeared on.

      Delete
  13. The one and only appearance of the REO Speedwagon debut hit called Keep On Living You seemed to only get a short clip on this show, but the full video is quite interesting cos it is based on the lead singer infatuated with the girl on the video, where he starts on the psychiatrists chair relating his story which is the basis of the video, and then ends the video in the same chair, where the girl in the video reveals herself at the end as the doctor that he is relating his story to!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJzNZ1c5C9c

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There were a lot of pop stars visiting shrinks in their videos in the 80s. Marvin Gaye with Sexual Healing, Thomas Dolby with Hyperactive, Sinitta with So Macho... must be others.

      Delete
    2. I always wondered why psychiatrists are called shrinks. Suffice to say I still don't know the answer, and gladly have never needed to see one. However, after watching the identity revealed of the shrink at the end the REO Speedwagon video, if they look anything like her? Hmmm

      Delete
    3. It's short for head shrinker, a derogatory term for their methods.

      Delete
  14. Well, it took three crashes of my PC before I finally got it, but big thanks to Neil for this edition. The sound may have been wonky in parts but I’d rather see this than suffer the BBC’s excuses at not having a decent copy to broadcast.

    Peter “Wow” Powell was probably a good choice for a live host, effervescent and maybe a safer pair of hands than some. Plus point for properly naming REO Speedwagon, minus for his pronunciation of “KEY My” again, and a quizzical look for naming a different track as Thin Lizzy’s hit.

    I much preferred “Chugalug” to Kim’s first hit. Could have done with a keyboard player to fill that void on stage and make the miming seem more authentic.

    The Stray cats song immediately reminded me of Thomas O’Malley from the film “Aristocats” . Surprised to see the BBC subliminally giving the thumbs up to prostitution as per the opening of the ‘film’.

    Gill’s back, sadly two weeks and two costumes too late. Still, I bet the Leggers preferred accompanying Shaky to Fred Wedlock. And so we go from the dynamic Shaky to, er, Cliff Marshall and the ‘ff’ part of the show, skipping all of the next four apart from checking that…yep, Lulu’s singing to “Stars on 45” as you’d expect.

    I never realised “It’s Going To Happen” was about the hunger strikes. I also didn’t realise until I researched it that one of the strikers was voted in as an MP while on his way to dying a month later.

    Is that The Regents’ singer with a perm in REO Speedwagon? I remember hating this song due to the long ‘ers’ at the end of the lines, e.g. togetherrrrrrr.

    If you’re doing a live show, The Nolans are a safe pair of hands. Taking to this like a duck to orange, and now with the youthful Gill-figured singer stage front with Bernie.

    I don’t think the then 18-year-old Amanada Donohue looked like she qualified for a pension. Ant should know - he’d been living with her for nearly two years at this stage. Fast forward five years and Amanda starred in “Castaway”. My my!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. the irish hunger striker in question was bobby sands. i remember there being a lot of news coverage of his martyrdom at the time, and he has since been portrayed in three films (but rather surprisingly given his track record for playing emaciated characters, not by christan bale)

      Delete
  15. Not surprisingly, 3 shows was my limit last weekend, so I've only just caught up with this one. Smartly presented, given that it was a live show - to give PP his due, there was only one garbled link and another moment where he seemed to be waiting for his cue for too long.

    Shame about most of the music though there were some gems. That includes Kim Wilde, as I really like 'Chequered Love'.

    The Stray Cats back again, whoopee! I suppose this is the best of their singles, not that I'm a fan of any of them really.

    Shakin' Stevens - I actually prefer 'You Drive Me Crazy' to his 1981 Number 1 hits. I know I'm probably alone in that!

    As a West Ham fan I don't talk about Sp*rs. Except to say how delighted I am that we beat them the other week.

    I know its cheesy (and the video even more so) but I do like 'Keep On Loving You'. Clearly the TOTP team didn't like it that much though, with one (half) appearance.

    The Undertones song is a bit odd as I always forget that it was even a hit. It's no 'Wednesday Week', that's for sure.

    'Stand And Deliver' I'm a bit bored of, to be honest. It's the one Ants song that always gets played on the radio and we've all seen the video hundreds of times as well. Loved it at the time mind!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're not alone Noax - I think You Drive Me Crazy is probably the best thing Shaky ever did.

      Delete
    2. What about a certain Christmas song from Shaky?! Nah, only kidding! I'd go for 'You drive me crazy as well'.

      Delete
  16. Blown it! Both links busted 11/03/16. Should have been quicker!

    Searching on YouTube for the stuff I want to see, I can't find Keith Marshall (2nd performance), Stars On 45 with Legs & Co (apart from the short clip in the subsequent Top 10 rundown) and The Undertones. However, I DID find:

    Kim Wilde - Chequered Love (an absolute must see!). See, she CAN smile! (Interestingly, from TOTP2, so the BBC clearly have a recording of this.)

    Chas & Dave - Ossie's Dream - I noticed Legs & Co in there, not much else to say really...

    A very fuzzy Nolans - Attention To Me - in my opinion the best thing they've done. But a backing tape that fades out while they're still singing is so naff... It's a shame that Johnny Pearson's band were not around by this time. Yes, they would have murdered it but it would have been interesting to see how!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The show is also on 4Shared, at this link:

      http://www.4shared.com/video/SEFgZ3UHba/TOTP_1981-05-07.html

      Delete
    2. Good one, thanks John!

      Delete
  17. What a great show. Being live this week really helped it move along and not a dud song in sight. Powell refering to Stray Cats VIDEO instead of a film for the first time I think?

    ReplyDelete