Kate invaders!
22/08/85 (Gary Davies & Steve Wright)
Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam – “I Wonder If I Take You Home” (15)
The show gets underway with a club sound. Her first of three top 40 hits, this one was her biggest peaking at number 12.
The Cars – “Drive” (5) (video)
Went up one more place. Shame they didn't show the Ethiopia version of the video, but it was probably too harrowing for the show.
Baltimora – “Tarzan Boy” (11)
Swinging into the charts with the sound of the Spanish summer discos and a dancing gorilla, but it was his only hit and it climbed up to number 3.
Dan Hartman – “I Can Dream About You” (40) (breaker)
His third and final top 40 hit, it peaked at number 12.
Mai Tai – “Body & Soul” (36) (breaker)
Their second and final top ten hit, peaking at number 9.
Marc Almond – “Stories Of Johnny” (34) (breaker)
Peaked at number 23.
Kate Bush – “Running Up That Hill” (4)
You wouldn't expect anything less than an otherworldly performance from Kate, her first in the studio since 1979, and the song went up one more place.
Princess – “Say I’m Your Number One” (10)
It is hot tonight, isn't it! And she went up three more places.
Madonna – “Into The Groove” (1) (video)
Fourth and final week at number one.
Amazulu – “Excitable” (12) (audience dancing/credits)
At its peak.
Next up is August 29th.
Gazza has his hairy chest on display this week, while Wrighty continues to give a good impression of a man with ADHD. He also unwittingly demonstrates how little store should be set by anything he says when he calls the Baltimora record his “favourite” - I distinctly remember him rubbishing it when he played it on Radio 2 a few years ago! Not sure what that Sean Penn “sleazebag” comment was meant to be referring to…
ReplyDeleteLisa Lisa up first, evidently so good they named her twice. She looks a bit of a midget sandwiched between the two Cult Jammers, who could teach Wrighty a thing or two about hyperactivity. I suppose this has quite a good beat to it, but the tune has an annoying nursery rhyme quality to it accentuated by Lisa’a whiny vocals. Another outing next for The Cars’ depressing video, as they climb the charts again post-Live Aid. By coincidence they were inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame last weekend, along with Dire Straits, Bon Jovi, Nina Simone (though her music wasn’t exactly rock ‘n roll), Sister Rosetta Tharpe and The Moody Blues.
The Baltimora performance inevitably has a cheesy quality to it thanks to the gorilla and the scantily-clad Jane; I’m slightly surprised Jimmy McShane didn’t just wear a loincloth, though he does briefly reveal one underneath his coat. I seem to recall my sister really liking this at the time and buying the single, and I do actually think this is one of the better summer Europop hits, catchy and memorable for the right reasons. Apparently the singing was done by the producer and musical mastermind behind the act, Maurizio Bassi; Baltimora was essentially a partnership between him and McShane, backed by a group of Italian session musicians, though as McShane was the sole public performer it’s not surprising that Gazza thought he was going by that name personally. Perhaps mercifully, the one breaker we won’t be seeing any more of is this little-known Marc Almond offering, which sounds a bit of a mess from a production viewpoint and also has a rather unsettling video.
Running Up That Hill was my introduction to Kate Bush, though I have always been rather agnostic about her; she is clearly very talented and has done some good stuff, but I find a lot of her music inaccessible. That is not the case with this major comeback hit however, and I do particularly like the thudding drumbeat and spooky synth noises. It's a bit weird to have her and the band all squashed together on that small stage, but it is quite effective when they move forward in unison as the song intensifies. Princess is back, bearing her bra and sporting number 1s in both ears this time, as well as on her lapel. A good effort, but sadly still not enough to get this to the top of the charts. Amazulu get another airing to end the show, and the audience bounce along happily enough to it, though nobody looks particularly excitable, sadly…
It was great to see the TOTP gorilla back on the Baltimora Tarzan-wailing chorus, and after numerous visits of the resident gorilla in 1981-82 with the likes of Tight Fit and other early 80s acts. However, I felt a little uneasy with the ending where the Jane girl took hold of the gorilla from behind and simulated a sex act from behind.
DeleteI didn't notice that! I'll have to take another look...
DeleteThat gorilla was definitely having a good time.
DeleteI agree the Kate Bush performance was as eerie as the song.
Tight perm for Wrighty...
ReplyDeleteLisa Lisa up first (psst - your blouse is open) with a cool tune that still gets played today thanks to its forward-looking dance production. Seeing her and her back ups dates it a lot more than simply hearing her, of course.
The Cars, well, they couldn't have shown the clips of dying children that made Billy Connolly cry, but I imagine it's what was brought to mind by everyone watching the official video at the time.
Cheerier stuff from Baltimora, one of the strongest of the heard it on holiday phenomenon, and a real earworm with its wordless, singalong woah-woah chorus. Was that the same gorilla suit from Tight Fit's routine of three years before?
Unhappy coincidence, like Baltimora's frontman, Dan Hartman also died of AIDS. Love this tune, best thing about Streets of Fire. BOXE, Mai Tai? Then Marc continues his obsession with Johnnies with diminishing returns.
Kate Bush in the studio so we don't see the video that reminds me of the Reeves and Mortimer routine where they wore cardboard Jimmy Hill masks and did a dance straight on to the camera. A solid comeback, you can hear why it was a hit because it didn't sound like anything else in the charts, only in a good way. Originally called A Deal with God (as opposed to a deal with the Devil) until somebody told Kate US radio stations would not play it with that title.
Princess is back, also in her bra, though she should have chosen something with more support if she wanted to rival Lisa. Yes, I'm reduced to fashion tips.
Madonna with the other movie song from this episode, and Sean Penn was by now notorious for his volatile temper, newfound fame didn't sit right with him. Also, and you have to be careful repeating this because he does sue, there was a big rumour going around that he once spent a whole evening beating his wife Madonna up while she was tied to a chair. Make of that what you will. He never bettered Fast Times at Ridgemont High if you ask me.
Amazulu to end on a high...
Indeed I noticed Lisa Lisa's bulging chest coming out of the open blouse. Back to the music, and the song in the caption on the chart rundown is 'Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam featuring Full Force". So where was Full Force on the invitation the TOTP studio?
DeleteAs John G rightly mentions, with Lisa Lisa in the studio sandwiched between Cult Jam, I could only be disappointed with the absence of Full Force, as they had I think appeared in the TOTP studio before, and with their own single. Of the three entities, I would put Full Force as the dominant part of the three way band, but hey, it is still a mystery as to why they were not there to join Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam.
Dan Hartman finally made it to the top 40 with this tune from Streets of Fire, first seen on a late 1984 edition of TOTP on one of Jonathan King's USA charts.
DeleteAlthough Hartman's single failed to chart in 1984 following JK featuring a clip of it on TOTP; how it did so now a year later is somewhat baffling. The only thing I can think of is that the Streets Of Fire movie was only just being released in the UK in the summer of 1985. Well, better late than never I say!
Woo Gary Davies in full Medallion Man mode now, and Steve Wright wearing a sweatshirt with a couple of pens in the top pocket for some ill-defined reason.
ReplyDeleteLisa Lisa. THIS is prime 80s - both visually and aurally, but the song itself is pretty nondescript lacking, as it does, any semblance of a tune.
FFF time now as The Cars vid had already outstayed its welcome in the Shakey brain even before this Band-Aid inspired revival.
Baltimora. Christ on a bicycle! This is horrible euro-crap, not helped at all by the singer's too-many-blue-smarties performance.
Dan Hartman. Well this is better. Not by much, but still I can listen to it without stuffing hot molten wax into my ears.
Mai Tai. Not as impressive as History, but still the best thing on the show so far.
Marc Almond. I had a lot of respect and admiration for Mr Almond, but this is awful, tuneless nonsense. Shame.
Kate Bush. By a country mile this is way,way,wayyyyyyy better than anything else on the show. An absolute belter of a tune with a sparse backing that just makes Kate's gorgeous vocals even more gorgeous. And it's a great performance as well . Possiby ToTP 1985's finest four minutes. Garlands and air-kisses all round.
Princess is a decent runner-up to Kate although the velcroed-on hat was a tad distracting.
Madge on top (although the hell that is UB40/Chrissie Hynde is fast-approaching) and Amazulu to play out.
Scores. 4 for the presenters. A pretty nondescript job.
Musically - even though Kate Bush is a 10 - the show struggled to raise the pulse being filled with over-familar songs and songs-without-a-tune. 3.
Christ-on-a-bicycle is my new favourite exclamation! :-)
Delete"christ on a bike" occasionally appeared in comic strip form in "viz"
Deletehosts: both actually did a quite decent job. but as others have pointed out it's noticable how much more animated and fidgety wright is, compared to the smooth davies
ReplyDeletelisa lisa: my memory of this was it was where the wheels were starting to come off the polished dance sound earlier in the decade, in favour of a grittier street sound. and a refresher listen proves so, although it's actually a bit more tuneful than i remembered it to be, and certainly far worse was to come. perhaps ms lisa (presumably not her given name) might have been better advised to get a couple of shorter guys to flank her?
cars: always okay, but nothing to get too excited about or go looking for (regardless of its "live aid" connection). i've said this before, but check out the title track of the parent album for some fantastic late-period synth pop
baltimora: like lisa lisa this came back to me as i listened again for the first time in decades. somewhat lightweight pop-dance (presumably of european origin?), but again compared to what was to come along later in the decade it's inoffensive and listenable enough. why was the guy so-called? probably the first appearance of a gorilla on the show since the similar-but-far-superior "the lion sleeps tonight" three years earlier
kate bush: she was always seen as a bit weird, but had taken things a bit too far in that direction for most punters' liking in the last few years (does anyone else remember that aboriginal-like thing with percy edwards and r*lf h*rr*s?). i don't know if her record company laid down the law for her to get back in line or not, but if so then it certainly worked (they apparently nixed the original title of "make a deal with god" in order not to harm its chances - yes, things were still that sensitive back then). the inventive use of her backing band here (including at least one brother i suspect) here no doubt helped shift a few units as well. i remember someone once commenting that the singer in focus had the eyes of a psychopath, and that certainly also applies to the guy playing the (air) balalaika!
Wilby, Lisa Lisa's real name is Lisa Velez. Her stage name was influenced by "Roxanne, Roxanne", the B-side of a rap single by a group called UTFO. Your post reminded me of the dad of former Man United players Gary and Phil...Neville Neville!
Delete.. which in turn reminds me of the united terrace chant based on bowie's "rebel rebel", the two last lines being something like:
Delete"neville neville, they ain't half bad
neville neville, the name of their dad"!
that also reminds me: at one point neville sr was some kind of big wheel within bury fc, and appealled for shakers fans to dig deep in their pockets to stop the club from going into administration... presumably well-aware that his sons could probably have paid off all the creditors with a couple of week's wages?
I think the balalaika player was indeed Kate's brother Paddy.
DeleteBlack Eyed Peas nicked a bit of the Lisa Lisa song in 2005 on their 'Don't Phunk With My Heart'.
DeleteWait a couple of weeks for a new edition and boy what a letdown this was. Steve and Gary do their best to keep spirits up, but with some ropey acts on display tonight it’s tough.
ReplyDeleteLisa Lisa etc – I wonder if I take you Home – No recollection….FF
Cars – Drive – Like shaft of gold light in the wilderness, this shines out, but gets chopped sadly. I remember thinking when I first saw the release ‘Drive’ by the Cars, thinking how witty a song title that was; a bit like say the Jam releasing ‘Toast and Butter’. But there is nothing witty or throwaway about this classic.
Baltimora – Tarzan Boy – This may have been big abroad in 1985, but my first foray overseas (to Tenerife) a year later saw no sign of it. Just happy dance fodder really.
Breakers – Not a single one excited me in the least.
Kate Bush – Running up that Hill – I should have liked tis more, but it’s so horizontal and repetitive and Kate and co. look soooo miserable.
Princess – Say I’m your number one – FF
Madonna – Into the Groove – After four weeks it still sounds a damn sight better than most of the rubbish on the show tonight (Cars excepted)
Amazulu – Gosh FF is getting a lot of use on this one….and it’s UB40 & Chrissie to ‘look forward’ to further use next week…
Sad to hear of Dale Winton’s passing this week. I liked his presentation of ‘Pick of the Pops’ when he took over from Alan Freeman and I have still got the ‘handover’ photo of the two of them that I cut out and kept from the Radio Times. In my CD collection is ‘Dale’s Disco Divas’ which contains a brief intro message from the man. I bought it primarily for one track; ‘Shame shame shame’ by Shirley and Company that I had struggled to find on CD anywhere. Clearly, it did appear on lots of compilations as commented on by Nigel ‘Remember when…’ who also noticed acts that appeared on ToTP frequently. He must have forgotten about Gillan!
One hit wonders Shirley and Company peaked at number six with this, their only hit. I like it, but it does have its faults, such as the way a male member of the group shouts "Ohhhhhhhh", now that is annoying. But its biggest fault is that I'm sick of buying it, it turns up on far too many compilation CDs. It must be the CD generation equivalent of what my sister and I used to describe as "Cheap To Get" acts who always seemed to be available for Top Of The Pops (Showaddywaddy, Mud, Alvin Stardust etc).
my introduction to dale winton was the first series of "supermarket sweep" which i think was a morning filler show to start with. i thought he was a reasonably good-looking guy, but with a sober and colourless personality and a wardrobe to match - as if he was working in a supermarket for real. then when the next series was broadcast he was suddenly as camp as a row of tents, with jazzed-up clothes and hairstyle to match! apparently he had originally been told to tone down his act for fear of offending the coffin-dodgers that watched the show, but the producers allowed him to express his "true" personality when it was on the brink of being ditched due to being too boring! the other thing i remember was that when he published an autobiography, it was rumoured that he would come out as straight!
Deleteregarding cheapo 70's CD comps: alvin stardust may well have been on call for totp, but there were never any of his hit singles on such compilations - i had access to loads of them at the the time, and that became the bedrock of my then-burgeoning mp3 collection (i still don't have any mp3's of his, only the original simgles hanging around still waiting to be converted to digital). the surprising thing about that is that his record label was (unlike many at the time) started up by a businessman who had no interest in the muse of his artists - only in making money out of them!
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DeleteMy gran loved Dale Winton in the same way she loved Larry Grayson: friendly, non-threatening males both. I watched a few Supermarket Sweeps with her and she it was a highlight of her day - my bigoted grandpa, who could find ample reason to take against anyone, was less keen!
DeleteBut Dale was huge with students too - quite often it was students who were the contestants. Big music fan as well, really knew his disco and soul. Sorry to see the horror stories coming out in the press at the weekend (I just read the headlines - couldn't be bothered getting depressed).
Looking closely at the caption at the top of the blog this week, the man with the moustache standing next to Kate Bush looks a lot like Kelly Groucutt of ELO, regarded by many as the second vocalist on ELO after Jeff Lynne. Was there any connection between Kate Bush and ELO?
ReplyDeleteTalking of ELO, the last time they featured (on video of course) on TOTP was in the summer of 1983 with Rock 'n' Roll Is King, so we have had a further two years of TOTP reruns without them on the show, and it will not be until 1986 they they return for their final album and singles releases, so something small to look forward to at least.
Well 'Calling America' was hardly ELO's finest hour, nor was the 'Balance of Power' album. But I really liked the final single; 'Getting to the Point' that in later years enjoyed a lot of radio play. A forgotten ELO gem in my opinion that Jeff doesn't even include in the live set.
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJHpJKMTDQA
Agreed that Balance Of Power was not their best work, but I still like some songs from the album, including Getting To The Point. It was a sad end to a 15-year run for ELO dating back to 1971, of which I only personally remember from 1978 onwards, having been about 10 years old at the time.
DeleteI loved 'Balance Of Power'. I agree that it wasn't their best work, but I prefer it to 'Secret Messages'. I thought 'Heaven Only Knows' would have been a great choice of single and would have had a great chance of giving them another top 20 hit to bow out with.
DeleteA friend of mine at school, who I wouldn't have thought was an ELO fan, thought Calling America was absolutely fantastic for reasons I couldn't fathom.
DeleteI guess we're a year too early commenting on this new release in 1986. Apologies, I take the can for starting the whole ELO thread this week, but that picture at the top is so Kelly Groucutt of ELO, don't you think?
DeleteThe guy does resemble Kelly, but a quick check on wikipedia for 'The Hounds of Love' album shows no trace of any involvement.
DeleteOn the other hand, it's worth noting that the B Side of the 12" of 'Getting to the Point' contains the otherwise unobtainable ELO 'Megamix', with Kelly buried somewhere in the mix on the ELO tracks he did play on.
As mentioned above, I think the Kelly Groucutt-lookalike is Kate Bush's brother Paddy.
DeleteGood grief, I don’t watch this for three full days after the re-run and I still make the top 20 in the comments this week!
ReplyDeleteIf Madonna can show her bra part 1, as Lisa Lisa looks like Jeanette Krankie next to those Cult Jam types. Boom boom boom nyah nyah nyah na na na – hated this.
If the Nik Kershaw “Wild boy” show was banned for fit-inducing lights, that glitterball behind Gary’s intro to The Cars must have come a close second.
Baltimora obviously had a sugar rush. I remember when this was a hit some mates of mine thought one line in the lyrics sounded like “tonight, tonight, gimme the hard-on”. Ahem. What was the point of those dancers?
Just when the breakers section can’t get worse, some canned applause during Dan Hartman, whose song I loved but it was about 11% verse, 7% instrumental bridge and 82% chorus. Mai Tai’s follow-up was awful, but not as nightmarish as Marc Almond’s muddy sounding dirge complete with weird video and his new Pepe Le Pew hairstyle.
Easy standout of the show from Kate Bush. Serious, studious, synchronised and spine tingling. The keytar player wanted to get noticed in that outfit, didn’t he? I loved the stringless balalaika player’s punk speed cheese grating technique. Own up, now – who threw those streamers?
If Madonna can show her bra part 2, as a delighted Princess wears an unflattering too tight garment. Shame she wasn’t number 11 this week as her earrings would have matched the chart position.
That’s quite enough of UB40 and Chrissie murdering that classic in the video section, thank you. Hopefully it’ll start going down. Ah.
Ironically, it seems that when we have five episodes a week (or whatever) to cover, we get far more comments than when it's one a fortnight.
DeleteIt is cos the momentum has slowed down
DeleteIt could also be a reaction to some intensive blogging lately - we got through 26 shows during February and March.
DeleteGood Lord
DeleteI for one am quite happy for a little bit of a rest :-)
DeleteQuite by chance, I discovered that "Running Up That Hill" was actually used as the theme tune to BBC1's 1986 children's drama "Running Scared", about a girl who uncovers evidence which could jail a local gangster who then sets out to silence her.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI remember that series well and it's the reason this song still gives me the creeps. Even now I get a shiver down my spine every time I hear it.
DeleteStrange what tricks memories can play on you...
I have an excuse for only just commenting on this one, as I returned from the land of Split Enz and..erm...OMC just a couple of days ago.
ReplyDeleteLisa Lisa et al - Just another track with that awful mid-80s soul sound to me. I much preferred 'Let The Beat Hit 'Em' mainly because that was about 80% samples with her awful voice therefore less to the fore.
Baltimora - Brilliant fun, and the original version although not wildly different is worth checking out too.
Breakers - Since we're going to see the first couple, let me add to those who've already slated Marc Almond's song. Or rather songs as it seems to be a mish-mash of about 3 different ones.
Kate Bush - Getting a lot of plaudits here, and rightly so as it is an excellent song. I remember at the 2012 London Olympics closing ceremony they used a version of it. As soon as I heard the drumbeats I thought 'this sounds re-recorded' and nearly fell off my seat when I realised that it was a completely new version. This at a time when she was pretty much off the radar. That version is excellent too.
Princess - Nothing wrong with a jaunty hat. I think that outfit is pretty much what she wears in the video, isn't it?
Talking of Split Enz, I notice Neil Finn is joining Fleetwood Mac for their next tour, now that Lindsey Buckingham has been given the boot/flounced out again (take your pick). It would be interesting to hear the Mac tackle some of Finn's songs, but I don't imagine they will - they have also given Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell some gainful employment for this tour, now that Tom Petty is no longer with us.
Deletenoax you have reminded me of the sort-of novelty hit "how bizarre", that got played to death on the radio in the summer of 1996 (i remember that as i spent about three months working in the kitchens of a holiday camp at the time, and the radio was on all day long). i bet it never gets played nowadays though?
Deletei was also a massive fan of crowded house around that time, acquiring the "best of" CD with limited editon bonus live disc. it does seem a bit odd that neil finn (who is more renowned for his songwriting than his guitar playing) has been recruited to fill buckingham's shoes. but presumably the other guy will do the more fiddly bits?
I would imagine Neil Finn has been hired primarily for his vocals, with Mike Campbell (who is very good) looking after the guitar playing. I also remember How Bizarre being played incessantly back in 1996, though I haven't heard it for a number of years now.
DeleteIt's RIP to Maggie Stredder, stalwart TOTP backing singer, who I discovered earlier today died last month. According to her obituary, it was the Ladybirds who backed Benny Hill on his festive chart-topper Ernie!
ReplyDeletemaggie was the one in the glasses that was always in the middle of the ladybirds whenever they sang on the telly. i have an album of theirs where they sang all the number one hits of 1977 - which meant they did stuff like by the likes of david soul and kenny rogers, and sounded somewhat magnus-like as a result. and the version of "float on" has to be heard to be believed, with these nice ladies "rapping" stuff like "pisces, and my name is maggie"!
DeleteI have just tried seeking out that Float On cover on YouTube, but sadly it doesn't seem to be there - it certainly sounds like one for the "once heard, never forgotten" category!
DeleteAnd more Kate Bush news... 40 years after her hit single "Wuthering Heights", Kate Bush has agreed to write an inscription for a monument to the Bronte sisters on the Yorkshire moors.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like ages since we were last here...good to be back.
ReplyDeleteNice to see the presenters have made an effort to dress up...
The start of this Lisa Lisa record always reminds me of "Nothing has been proved".
Think is a song I discovered after the time as it's not a childhood memory. It's a pleasant enough song but not hugely memorable. Serious 80s fashion going on here as well.
Live Aid effect still keeping The Cars in the Top Ten. Nothing new to say except "Pork Pie"
Here comes Tarzan Boy. Gonna be stuck in my head all day now. This one I do remember well. Sure I would have been singing along to this on the Radio. The dancers behind seem to have no idea what they are supposed to be doing. Was he expecting a cheer when he revealed his chest - ha ha.
Oh look, the Gorilla suit is back...and getting a good fondling as well...
Breakers:
Dan Hartman - I do like this song, very pleasant tune.
Mai Tai - Oh my word - I do remember this from my school discos, didn't realise I'd forgotten it..
Marc Almond goes solo. He will do so much better later on. Quite an understated beginning..
Kate Bush - An amazing artist who always puts everything into a performance. This record still creeps me out but fair play - she knows how to write a decent tune. One of the greats of pop music.
Princess is back - a song originally offered to Bucks Fizz no less. Would have been interesting. Could see Jay in that outfit :-)
Gary predicting the next Number 1 - taking it's time but it'll get there, meanwhile Madonna still grooving at the top of the tree. Never tire of hearing this one.
Amazulu on playout gets the audience awake (well most of them anyway).
That was a good show and even Wrighty wasn't annoying. Result.
Live with Janice and John next week - look forward to that...
Cars - Drive - My memory tells me that they showed the Live Aid video, but I was wrong...
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Baltimora has the record for the most ‘oh’s in a song...
Mai Tai - Another example of how age is catching up with me - I remember the title, but not the song...
Kate Bush - full stage, although one of them looked like he didn’t want to be there. I didn’t see the Kate Bush comeback shows - did she have 7 in the backing band for Running Up the Hill?....
Interesting that they have DIO in all capitals in the run down.
‘Sleaze bag’ comment was a bit unfair...