Thursday 15 March 2018

Crazy For Top of the Pops

Maybe you need to be in a straitjacket not to watch this peach of an edition from 13th June 1985 of Top of the Pops!

Busting up the charts


13/06/85  (Dixie Peach & Mike Read)

Scritti Politti – “The Word Girl” (8)
With Dixie Peach making his presenting debut to introduce tonight's opening act who went up two more places.

Madonna – “Crazy For You” (9) (video)
From the movie Vision Quest (never heard of it!) and on its way to number 2.

Sister Sledge – “Frankie” (11)
The sisters squeeze into the studio with a song that will be number one in two weeks time.

Harold Faltermeyer – “Axel F” (30) (breaker)
From the movie Beverley Hills Cop this was Harold's only top 40 hit, peaking at number 2.

Bruce Springsteen – “I’m On Fire” (23) (breaker)
Double 'A' side with Born in the USA,  - it peaked at number 5.

Fine Young Cannibals – “Johnny Come Home” (16) (breaker)
Their first of five top ten hits, this one reaching number 8.

Billy Ocean – “Suddenly” (4)
A second studio performance from Billy but Suddenly was now at its peak.

Marillion – “Kayleigh” (2)
Fish has got his full dress kilt on this time but Kayleigh was another song also at its peak.

The Crowd – “You’ll Never Walk Alone” (1) (video)
We didn't get to hear very much of it, did we? First of two weeks at number one.

Animotion – “Obsession” (5) (audience dancing/credits)
Now at its peak.


20th June is next.

66 comments:

  1. It’s hello to Dixie Peach, whom I must say I have no memory of whatsoever. He doesn’t get off to the best of starts, with Mike Read mangling his big intro for the new boy and Dixie then talking about his “suntan.” He also has an annoying Wrighty-like tendency to move around and point a lot, but he is at least likeable and enthusiastic, and in fairness this was his first time in front of the cameras. Mike, as you would expect as the more experienced of the two, is a steadying presence after his initial blunder and is his usual knowledgeable self - he also does the 40-11 rundown on his own, for some reason.

    Not that much on this show that we haven’t heard before, though this new Scritti performance does introduce a revamped main stage, with the squares ‘n’ circles retired after two years’ service in favour of a variety of different shapes and squiggles. Green ditches the whites for a dark suit this time, continuing to conventionalise his image. Madge proceeds to unleash the first of her big ballads, which has endured much more than the obscure film it accompanied, and is really the first indication that she was starting to broaden and deepen her vocal range. While the song is strong, the video is disappointingly conventional by Madge standards, some “in performance” shots interspersed with clips from the film.

    Apparently Nile Rodgers hated Frankie when the Sledges first suggested to him that they record it, but unfortunately he soon changed his mind, serving up one of the least distinguished hits of his career. The song is supposed to be about Frank Sinatra, though there is nothing at all Sinatraesque about it musically, and it just sounds flimsy and twee; I remember it being played incessantly on Irish radio that summer, and I have disliked it ever since. Performance-wise the sisters could not be more uncoordinated here in terms of dress and colour, though the long pink gloves two of them are wearing do look rather like marigolds from a distance! I’ll save comment on the breakers until they appear in full, but those bits of the Axel F video where Harold Faltermeyer was superimposed over the film clips looked really naff.

    Billy is back in the studio, accompanied by dry ice and a misguided new casual look. Dixie then commits a howler in the Top 10 video rundown by claiming that Madge “is up 14 from 25 to number 9,” before Marillion also make a return appearance and Mr Dick sets out to remind us all that he is Scottish, don’t you know. As Mike mentions, The Crowd’s number 1 made Gerry Marsden the first person to top the UK chart twice with different versions of the same song, but inevitably the BBC4 scissors have been at the video again. While editing it down was preferable to skipping the show completely, which looked possible at one stage, they could surely have done a better job of the segue into the last link? Yet another song we’ve heard before to close, but Obsession is a great choice of playout track and the audience really get into it, with some moody lighting to help the atmosphere. I don’t really recall it at all from the time, but it’s now one of my favourite hits of ‘85.

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    1. I'm surprised so many don't remember Obsession, for me it either stood out at the time (though it annoyed me back then) or it got played a lot.

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    2. Agreed, I remember Obsession by Animotion so well, that every week when the charts came out, I was hoping it would go deeper into the Top 5 (mainly due to the tall sexy blonde in the video), but here it came to a halt at No.5, and boy did they give it a good playout this week, with a rock-solid 3 minutes of it! The dancing to it from the studio audience was awesome, and it really gave a feelgood outro to the whole show. I love this track, and an awesome lavish video to go with it.

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    3. I was only five at the time, so I think that partly explains why I don't remember it. I certainly don't remember hearing it on the radio back then, unlike Frankie, Out in the Fields or Born in the USA, and I don't think it has had much airplay since.

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    4. I can remember Dixie Peach being on Radio 1 but I doubt I ever heard his show as he was on Saturday night at 9.30. He kept looking away from camera a lot and stooped down just before the breakers (to pick up a script?) but it was his first time.

      I too can't remember Animotion or the Springsteen song first time round and I'd never heard the Steve Arrington song from a weeks back until these re-runs.

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    5. A bit of further info for anyone interested: Mr Peach was on Radio 1 until 1987 and later moved on to forces radio. According to Wikipedia his speciality was rock and funk.

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    6. He has also provided backing vocals for the likes of Elton John and Hall & Oates, apparently.

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    7. I had a look at the personnel for Elton John and Hall & Oates albums in the eighties and nineties but he wasn't listed even under his real name of Bernie Michael, so his contributions were maybe uncredited or minimal.

      There's also a brand of hair pomade called Dixie Peach.

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    8. this has reminded me of the familiar black american actor clarke peters (best-known for "the wire") who supposedly was the bass singer on heatwave's disco classic "boogie nights", although he never officially got a credit. also apparently the drummer on the heatwave recordings was not the guy in the band (ernest "bilbo" berger), but (uncredited) session ace-turned-rubettes clown john richardson!

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    9. Don't forget Clarke Peters also starred in the greatest British disco movie (apart from The Bitch), The Music Machine, in a remarkable outfit, and in David Essex's last try at big screen stardom, Silver Dream Racer.

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    10. Looking at the radio listings for 1985 on BBC Genome it's surprising that Mark 'Me, Mark Page'Page didn't get a try out on TOTP, unless I've missed it. He seemed to cover a lot of the weekday shows as well as presenting his own programme whereas Dixie Peach only did one late night show.

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    11. We did see Mark Page briefly in one 1983 show, when he was introduced as a Radio 1 new boy, but he never got to host TOTP himself.

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    12. I can't have been paying close attention to that edition!

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    13. i shelled out well over a tenner for a dvd copy of "the music machine" a while back, and only got about two or three quid for it when i sold it on afterwards. so it's probably the most expensive film i've ever watched! but despite that, as a fan old enough to have experienced the original disco scene it was still worth it. and as an expatriate american dancing deejay, clarke peters (whose given name is the much less charismatic peter clarke - he had to change it due to another actor having the same name) definitely stole the show

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    14. Especially in that chest-baring leotard/white slacks combo.

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  2. Like John, I have no recollection of Mr Peach, but he looks quite keen on being there and the duo make a good job, even if Mr Read does get the Lion’s share.

    Scritti Politti – The Word Girl – FF

    Madonna – Crazy for you – One of my favourite Madonna songs even now. A stonking ballad with a big build up to the chorus. It’s the production that makes this the gem that it is. John ‘Jellybean’ Benitez had apparently never produced a ballad at this stage and songwriters John Bettis (Richard Carpenter’s writing partner) and Jon Lind weren’t too chuffed when they were told Madonna was going to sing their big ballad from ‘Vision Quest’. The rest is history and the song went all the way to no1 in the States.

    Sister Sledge – Frankie – Joni Sledge looks great as she sings lead on this much derided on this forum song. I quite like it even if it’s not the best thing ever written, and I love the girls’ dance interlude. Four weeks to come at no1 folks!

    Breakers – I’ll hold fire on commenting until these feature more (no pun intended with ‘fire’ and Bruce there!).

    Billy Ocean – Suddenly – Deserved second appearance for another timeless ballad.

    Marillion – Kayleigh – The 12” of this featured the long version with the complete Steve Rothery guitar solo and a strange ‘alternative mix’ with lots of echo.

    The Crowd – You’ll never walk alone – No matter how much moaning we do on here ain’t going to change anything and this brief scissor cut is all we’re allowed to see. What I can’t understand is why we’re denied seeing the first minute or so with the Nolans singing the second verse. I guess they couldn’t be bothered to do a more sophisticated edit, it’s just chop or show. I dug out my single of this and played the B Side called ‘Messages’. Not the OMD classic, but members of the Crowd thanking people for buying the single. Macca features even though he was not on the recording itself, and then towards the end some funny noises start up and it’s you know who.

    Animotion – Obsession playout – Long playout on this and white dresses certainly seemed to be ‘in’ at this point of time. Two dancers are supporting Marillion ‘Misplaced Childhood’ t-shirts which surely the band must have been giving out as promos as they don’t look like the kind of people who would be Marillion fans?

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    1. The reason I detested Frankie by Sister Sledge, is that I had always seen them as a disco floor/Nile Rogers type of sound, and then this offering completely out of their usual style. Good Lord sct353, four weeks to come at No.1? I think I'll take a break from the blog for those four weeks!

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    2. now then now then guys n gals, who could that person making funny noises in the b-side of the crowd single possibly have been?

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    3. hmm - maybe you are right thx and it's not who i thought it was. did rolf make funny noises as well? maybe he was playing his digeridoo?

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    4. Didn't Rolf used to make funny noises when he was drawing on Cartoon Time? Or perhaps that was just people doing impersonations of him.

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    5. Ok, so here’s the voices that feature on ‘Messages’ on the B Side of the Crowd:-

      Keith Chegwin
      Kiki Dee
      Paul McCartney
      Lemmy
      Gary Holton
      Philip Lynott
      Tim Healey
      Chris Norman
      Rose Marie
      Rolf Harris
      Ann Nolan
      John Conteh

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    6. Rolf did make weird panting noises while drawing, and he also deployed them extensively on his 90s cover version of Satisfaction, which followed hard on the heels of Stairway to Heaven. Knowing what we do now, I can't help wondering if he also made the noises in more intimate settings...

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    7. I hope he didn't also say 'can you tell what it is yet'...

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    8. i'm sure i've mentioned this here before, but about 15 years ago i heard via a guy i met who claimed to be an ex-beeb employee that rolf was known to show off his didgeridoo to young boys in his dressing room (if you see what i mean). but i took it with a huge pinch of salt... until about 10 years later when i went into a newsagents to buy a soft drink, and read the screaming tabloid headlines about him being charged as a pedo!

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    9. Rolf's convictions solely relate to offences against girls, so I would still be inclined to take that story with a pinch of salt...

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    10. Have you ever heard Rolf Harris's cover of Divinyls' "I Touch Myself"? Yes, it's as creepy as you imagine.

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    11. It was touching other people that was the problem.

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  3. Shakey Shakerson16 March 2018 at 07:33

    I can't believe there was a Radio 1 DJ of the 80s that I had had never heard of. In fact when I read the name I thought Dixie Peach was a woman! But no, he's a man, and a 'suntanned' one at that. Oh, how the bods at Broadcasting House must have laughed at that one.

    Scritti Poliit start us off in excellent manner with a song we have covered sufficently here, but it's interesting to watch him transform his image with each passing appearance. Obviously this was the (brief) period when wearing white socks with black shoes was fashionable.

    Madonna. The first of her classic hits but an appalling cut n paste video in which Madge is seen doing a rare thing. No, not keeping her clothes on, but singing with an actual microphone in her hand. Can't think of any other video in which she does that. Good song.

    Sister Sledge. There is a famous poster (called something like Ascent Of Man) which shows a line of creatures beginnig with an ape on the left and gradually transforming into a human on the right. This Sister Sledge performance reminded me of that with thefamily good looks definitely residing to the right of screen. A good performance of a not-very good song.

    Breakers. Axel F was good then.I hate it now. Of the Springsteen double header I much prefer Im On Fire. Born in the USA ismuch too bombastic for me. FYC - another that has suffered from over familiarity.

    We'll skip right past Mr Ocean - which is the nadir of the show and on to Marillion, with Fish proving three things here. 1 - he's a big old unit. 2- he's Scottish. and 3 - he watched his last appearance and has done some extra make-up work on his balding forelock. Well played Mr Dick.

    Interesting fact about the tracks played on this week's shows - there wasn't a single flop. Peak positions for them were, in order, 6 2 1 2 5 8 4 2 1 5.

    Scores. Dixie was poor on his debut. Read was his usual self - 5

    A good show musically. 7

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    1. Yeah Shakey, me too, I was expecting to see a woman with that name Dixie Pichie, and don't remember this male DJ at all. He didn't do well on the show, and I would rather have had DLT or Tommy vance going Mike read, had they not left the show a year earlier. What a waste!

      Kind of agree regarding Sister Sledge, and I also preferred to look to the right! For sure, left was getting uglier. Sister Sledge here seemed to be taking a move away from their classic disco of the 1979-1984 era, for a softer jazzier style for 1985, and it seemed to pay off by getting to No.1 for four weeks in the what is now summer of 1985.

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    2. shakey i think there was a black female late night/weekend radio 1 jock in the 90's who had a similar name to dixie peach, and maybe that's what's confusing you? but then again i may be confusing myself!

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    3. I also assumed Dixie Peach was a woman, the first time I heard the name! A change of musical style may have paid off for Sister Sledge in the short term, but this would be their last UK Top 40 hit apart from some 90s remixes. In the US, Frankie only got to 75 and was their last ever American hit.

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    4. There used to be a black female presenter on Radio 1 in the eighties called Ranking Miss P. The only one I can think of from the nineties is Lisa I'anson who also hosted the odd TOTP.

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    5. wilberforce, you might be thinking of The Ranking Miss P?

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    6. my memory is rather dim here so maybe i was subliminally thinking of ranking miss p, although i still can't actually remember anything about her (i don't suppose there were too many - if any - other black female R1 jocks in the 80's/90's?). now her name has been mentioned, i do recall lisa l'anson from the 90's. i think she may have been of mixed race, although i'm not sure?

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    7. The Ranking Miss P's speciality was reggae and lover's rock, that sort of thing. She was on Sunday nights.

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    8. She was Wilberforce and if memory serves me correctly left Radio 1 in disgrace after partying so hard in Ibiza she missed her show.

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    9. I joined senior school this year and you HAD to have white socks with black shoes. Even if your parents didn't let you out of the house like that, you had to change them before school..height of fashion!!!

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    10. I also thought Dixie Peach was a woman when I read his name looking through a TOTP presenters guide around a decade ago.

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  4. I noticed that The Fine Young Cannibals were referred to as a 'Breaker' this week. Good Lord, there were already in the Top 30 the two weeks before! Having heard the lyric's, I think that the lyrics "what is wrong in my life that I must get drunk every time", is the first time that anti-social behaviour (getting drunk) appeared on a top 40 single, and it was an indication of a new era in pop music where the innocence and fun within chart singles, along with TOTP as a family type of show, was now getting pulled apart to a future of lyrics from an underworld of cheap poor songwriting reflecting problems in society.

    I remember in the 90s there was a band with a record title called "the drugs don't work", and this seemed to go up high in the charts. So what this shows is that 1985 was the start of the decline in pop music if the likes of Fine Young Cannibals can use lyrics about getting drunk, and I'm not surprised that TOTP did not play them as a main feature up to this point, and likely avoided doing so for as long as possible if at all! It's times like this where we should be grateful that TOTP reduced the show to 30 minutes. Well done to them (I never thought I'd say it).

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    1. I believe The Verve's No. 1 The Drugs Don't Work referred to singer Richard Ashcroft's sadness that the medication given to his dying father was having no beneficial effect.

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    2. It's not the first song to have such social commentary in the lyrics (remember 'Rat Trap' for example?) and as far back as the 60s The Dubliners were singing about 'Seven Druken Nights'!!

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    3. Mungo Jerry were cheerfully endorsing drinking and driving in the early 70s.

      And topical for St Patrick's Day, Peter Sellers had a tune where he took the mickey out of drunken Irishmen called A Drop of the Hard Stuff in 1958.

      Hear this:
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=di6yX3yVAtM

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    4. thx i have to admit i was quite surprised about 15 years back when i watched a "don't drink and drive" commercial with "in the summertime" as the soundtrack, and hearing the lyrics "have a drink, have a drive". in fact, i had to check to make sure that those lyrics were actually in the original recording, and hadn't been added specifically for the ad! mind you, in those days it was perfectly acceptable to go out and have a skinful before jumping back into the car to go off elsewhere - as a kid in those days i remember when my uncle used to knock back the booze non-stop at my nan's house throughout christmas day, and then drive home (with my aunt and younger cousins also in the car) in the early hours!

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    5. Wasn't that the PIF commissioned by the Government where they deliberately juxtaposed it with the aftermath of a car crash, though? There definitely was one of those 'Don't Drink & Drive' campaigns using the song.

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    6. Yes, it was. I've been watching a lot of vintage British TV recently, and the amount of alcohol consumed in them is alarming! Bottles of Scotch in the office poured at every opportunity, etc. It's a wonder anything got done, everyone must have been absolutely hammered.

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    7. unlike today of course. but it wouldn't surprise me if less work actually gets done in offices these days, with many staff spending much of their time sending off immaterial emails and texts to their mates?

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    8. when i started working (in the late 70's), nobody actually drank any booze in my office firm (not openly, anyway). but they had introduced flexi-time, with the result that many staff would spend the maximum amount of time allowed for lunch in the boozer over the road. friday was particularly bad in that respect, as they would usually stagger back into the office up to half an hour over the allotted time (dsepite already having had two hours to get pissed in), and spend the next 90 minutes or so doing little if any work before clearing off at the earliest opportunity (4pm) so they could carry on jugging!

      one thing that was allowed in one of my office jobs was smoking at one's desk, until in the late 80's when it got banned - with smokers having to hang around outside (a humiliation i wasn't prepared to endure, so i only smoked in my lunch break - when i went outside anyway - and once i had finished for the day*), before finally being designated a smoking room. but although nomimally they were only supposed to smoke in tea breaks, you can be sure that the smokers took more time out than the non-smokers did. which makes me wonder: are employers now allowed to make it clear that smokers get no such privileges, and as such only non-smokers are employed?

      * i stopped smoking over 20 years ago now, and like most ex-smokers i now deplore the practice!

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  5. hosts: i certainly have no memory of dixie peach whatsoever either, so he couldn't have lasted long on radio 1. it wasn't mentioned to my recollection in "the story of 1985" doc that peach himself came up with the (self-deprecating) "suntan" comment before gary davies repeated the joke in a later show - someone please correct me if i'm wrong, otherwise it would seem there's some serious distortion/revisionism of history going on

    scritti politti: still no sign of either of their totp appearances for this song on yt, although there is a amateur video of (a now brown-haired and grey-bearded) green & co performing it at "the laugharne festival" (wherever that is) only last year

    madonna: yet another one i had to be reminded of, although it all pretty much pretty came back to me as i listened to it again. despite my antipathy toward her on a personal level, i have to say that it's a well-put together tune with a smart contemporary production. she didn't write this or appear in the flop movie it was tied in with called "vision quest" - that sounds like a sci-fi film, but as i've just discovered was in a fact a romantic melodrama starring a very young-looking matthew modine (although he was already in his mid-20's when he played a high school student in it). of course all those variables were to change with her next single, that was released in almost indecent haste after this one

    sister sledge: i hate this so much that i'm not even going to bother looking for the totp footage on yt. i remember lead singer kathy being interviewed and saying she felt embarrassed about singing "he's the greatest dancer" because of the chauvinistic lyrics - hopefully she felt even more embarrassed singing this because it was so inane and lightweight. and what makes this piffle even worse is knowing that someone like nile rodgers was responsible for it. despite the already strong competition, this will definitely make the final cut for my top 10 turkeys of the year list

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    1. previously thinking it was unworthy of comment, i have just had a related thought about the crowd - i don't know if it was because of the revival of this song for charidee or due to the plethora of bleak scouser dramas that were being shown on the telly, but it was around this time that fans of the opponents of liverpool fc used to taunt the koppites by singing what was their signature tune... but with the words changed to "you'll never get a job"!

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    2. further to my comments on "frankie", i now see from above that in my (blissful) ignorance i wasn't aware that kathy (who was the usual front-person) didn't actually do the lead vocal. maybe she said to nile rodgers "there's no way i'm singing that crap - let one of the others have a go instead"? but if so, i don't suppose there was even a second's consideration of giving the gig to the sister that looked like an alpaca?

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    3. also further to my comments: madonna apparently did actually appear in the film "vision quest" - in the extremely minor and not-exactly-demanding role of "singer in bar", where perhaps not surprisingly the song she was singing was "crazy for you" (which i have now noticed has modfather-style emphasis on the wrong part of a phrase i.e. "crazy FOR you"). however that is obviously utterley insignificant conmpared to the third-banana role she had in the film her next single release was associated with!

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    4. Madonna, of course, was signed to Sire Records. This release (and later 'Gambler') from the 'Vision Quest' soundtrack were on Geffen Records with a 'courtesy of Sire Records' credit for Madonna's appearance. I bet Sire wished that they had released this one. However, they managed to get it on 'The Immaculate Collection'.

      The 'Vision Quest' soundtrack included and impressive roster of acts; Journey, Style Council, John Waite, Don Henley, Dio, Red Rider (who?), Sammy Hagar and Foreigner...along with Madonna's two hits.

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    5. even further to my comments: i actually got a rare opportunity to watch this show on iplayer, and what mr peach seemed to say in his introductory speech was something like "i've been laying in the sun waiting to present this show". which could rather ambiguously either be a very weak joke regarding him being dark-skinned, or alternatively could just have meant there was some very nice weather that week

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  6. Not much to say about this lot that I haven't before. I seem to be alone in remembering Dixie Peach, though, he was on Saturday nights as far as I recall. Typical 80s DJ really, he wasn't a "personality" jock.

    Scritti Politti first, all dressed smart casual. Then Madonna from forgotten college drama Vision Quest, about wrestling, but not alas the Big Daddy-Kendo Nagasaki style of wrestling. The footage of Madge comes from her scene in the film where she's performing in a nightclub, she doesn't even speak otherwise. As for the song, nice enough, but not my favourite of hers.

    Sister Sledge bringing new meaning to the word "banal", oh how sick of this I was by the end of Summer '85.

    The Breakers we'll hear again, Billy we've heard before, same goes for Marillion selling a million (was Fish off to a wedding?), then a cough and a spit from The Crowd. Don't feel too bereft not hearing this.

    Animotion to end, decent playout track. Er, that's it.

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  7. Not a lot to say about this one, since it's one of the worst editions of the repeat run, full of horrendous ('Frankie') and tedious songs.

    The only 2 I liked were Scritti and Marillion, and they've been on before!

    Even the Breakers weren't interesting bar one exception. 'I'm On Fire' is my favourite Springsteen song, so I'm really pleased that they chose that rather than the overly bombastic (and ironic - not that 99.9% of the population realise that) and awful 'Born In The USA'

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    1. I'm on Fire is alright but I like My Hometown more, which fitted into other slower songs I liked then such as One More Night and So Far Away.

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    2. It seems that Springsteen at this point in 1985 was constantly in the charts for months on end, with one single release rolling another since at least early 1984 I think. Enough already.

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  8. Dixie Peach made a bit of a lemon of himself with the self-effacing suntan quip early doors, but I thought he was fine - give me him instead of Slimes, Shitty and Shite Wright any day. Oh yes, Mike, “You’ve seen him on Radio One”. My sides.

    Tsk, Green, half your jacket lapel is facing inwards. Should’ve worn spats with those socks. Two words for the song (yes, we know) – cod reggae.

    A lovely ballad by Madonna, and good to see her in an understated stage outing. With all those embellishments on her arms, she really should have joined The Bangles!

    “If I’ve got to sing this shit, I’m going to make them remember me by my outfit!” The Sledgers with a song just as terrible as a jazz version of “We Are Family” currently doing the rounds.

    I wonder if Dixie then reached down for a pint to steady his nerves rather than a script?

    “Axel F” - testcard music. How this charted higher here than any single by Depeche Mode is sacrilege.

    A Johnny Cash style song by Bruce Springsteen which suits him so much better. Strange how we got more instrumental than verse or chorus here.

    Fine Young Cannibals with a song which was huge in the discos of “Greater Egham” (i.e. within ten miles of the town) as a mate would put it. So that’s where the two fidgety blokes in The Beat went!

    Billy ‘Lionel‘ Ocean again. What on Earth was that top he was wearing?

    I hate the top 10 videos in small box format. Reboot!

    Nice rhyme from our hosts before Marillion’s classic, though I started singing to myself “Kenneth McKellar” instead of “Do you remember” due to Fish’s clobber (for the young amongst you, Mr. McKellar was a Scottish singer from the 1960’s who also worked in The Forestry Commission like Fish and wore a kilt when representing the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest).

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  9. As usual, here's a restored version of the BBC4HD broadcast with The Crowd video re-inserted (thanks to Hyper Gamers for the link to a complete version that I could use as source):

    TOTP 13/06/1985

    While I'm at it, here's two more restored editions with the final link added back in. I skipped restoring these originally as I couldn't find a source for an uncut version of either, but brie kindly pointed me in the right direction:

    TOTP 21/02/1985

    TOTP 07/03/1985

    (I'm still working on restoring 11/04/1985.)

    Full list of restorations:

    https://drykid.github.io/


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    1. That is a superb restoration of 13.06.85 drykid, and at last we can see how The Crowd video was shown in full on TOTP in 1985 at No.1 in the charts, unlike the measly 35 seconds of it by BBC4 this time round in 2018 on each of three June 1985 edition of TOTP.

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  10. Firstly a big big thank you to drykid for the restoration. Looks great on the big TV and good to see the full video at least once.

    Interesting that this week we have a presenter I had never heard of (until the story of 85 docu) but I would definitely have been watching TOTP at this time. I can only think we were doing something for my 11th birthday which was the previous weekend.

    I am now the same age in these repeats as my son is now... Feels very strange to type that... 😀

    On with show...

    So they kept "laying in the sun" in then...

    Scritti back again. Still loving this.
    I like his tie.. 😀

    Madonna with one of her best ballads. She released a ballad only album in the 90s "something to remember" which I was a huge fan of, and still play occasionally.
    Video from some awful film (they are all awful aren't they - apart from Dock Tracy) and its not up too much. Just going to enjoy the song 😎😎😎

    Here comes the most annoying pop song ever. 11 year old me "hey frankie..😀"
    43 year old me "aaahhhhhh 😣"
    Forgot there were moves to this.. School disco ahoy...

    Breakers:
    Axel F. Great tune. Wasn't allowed to watch the film. Dad was very strict about these things. Managed to see it on video at a friends house the following year. Naughty me.. 😈
    Bruce. This is just dirge. 😑
    FYC. This is more like it. Great song. Great band. 😀

    Billy is back again. No Wifey to sway along with today. Still a nice enough tune..

    Will we get to see China Crisis or Philip Bailey??? Bailey going back up again I see..
    Five Star doing better than I remember with All Fall Down.
    Guess we get no Katrina in the studio. Oh well, never mind.

    The Mai Tai video looks good.

    Marillion next then. A few repeat performances tonight but this is a good one. One do the great Number 2s.

    So time for The Crowd video in full. Was that it?? Would anyone have noticed if they'd just shown it. Probably drawn more attention to it by cutting it.
    Not a bad rendition on the song.

    Animotion a great play out. Good show.

    Sorry for the excess emoji, typing on my phone today as watching via the laptop. 😀 😀 😀

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    Replies
    1. So Dick Tracy not DOCK
      One "of" the great number 2's

      Read, then publish Morgie!!!

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