Where has all the hairspray gone?
26/09/85 (Janice Long & Dixie Peach)
Depeche Mode – “It’s Called A Heart” (21)
Getting the show underway, and just about the last New Romantics standing, are Depeche Mode with a tune that peaked at number 18.
Billy Idol – “Rebel Yell” (13) (video)
The blonde Sid Vicious, and just about the last punk standing, Rebel Yell peaked at number 6.
Jennifer Rush – “The Power Of Love” (15)
Our first studio sighting of the biggest hit of 1985, which got Dixie particularly aroused according to Janice, this million selling single will be number one in two weeks time.
Five Star – “Love Take Over” (35) (breaker)
Went up ten more places.
The Damned – “Is It A Dream?” (34) (breaker)
Got no higher.
Dead Or Alive – “My Heart Goes Bang” (31) (breaker)
Peaked at number 23.
The Style Council – “The Lodgers” (17)
In almost matching his and hers outfits, Paul, sporting blonde streaks, and Dee share the lead vocals on this political track that peaked at number 13.
The Top Ten Videos:
Mai Tai - "Body & Soul" (10) (video clip)
Baltimora - "Tarzan Boy" (9) (video clip)
Amii Stewart - "Knock On Wood" (8) (TOTP clip)
Marillion - "Lavender" (7) (video clip)
Red Box – “Lean On Me (Ah-Li-Ayo)” (6) (video clip)
Madonna - "Angel" (5) (video clip)
Midge Ure - "If I Was" (4) (video clip)
Stevie Wonder - "Part Time Lover" (3) (video clip)
Bonnie Tyler – “Holding Out For A Hero” (2)
Another studio performance but if Bonnie was holding out for a number one she was to be disappointed because the song could get no higher.
David Bowie & Mick Jagger – “Dancing In The Street” (1) (video)
Fourth and final week at number one.
Maria Vidal – “Body Rock” (11) (audience dancing/credits)
At its peak.
Next up is October 3rd.
Nice selection introduced by a fairly hyper Janice and Dixie.
ReplyDeleteDepeche Mode – It’s called a Heart – Another strange industrial sounding record from the Basildon boys.
Billy Idol – Rebel yell – Not bad Billy, not bad. Your very best I would say!
Jennifer Rush – The Power of Love – At last! My 1985 highlight. Jennifer looks great in her matching lipstick, nail varnish and trim on her black outfit. The record is undoubtedly the remix version and what a cracking performance with a very convincing mime. Just fabulous. Can’t praise this record enough! I’ll have to try to think about something new to say about it over the coming weeks.
Breakers – Five Star forgettable, Damned not very punky now and Dead or Alive seem to have rehashed ‘You spin me round’.
Style Council – The Lodgers – Nope, I don’t recall this and probably will forget it again in a couple of weeks.
Bonnie Tyler - Holding out for a Hero – Bonnie probably didn’t realise this had been released because it already had a year or so ago and flopped, but was reignited by its use in ‘Cover up’ which she probably didn’t watch! Anyway great performance with the electronic drummer particularly enjoying himself (you don’t see those kind of drums much now).
Bowie and Jagger – Dancing in the Street – oh per-lease drop down!!
Maria Vidal – Body Rock danceout – As Dory clarified a week or so ago, this reminds me of ‘Flashdance…what a feeling’ but that’s no bad thing. Short danceout this week.
Did anyone notice Dixie Peach mis-pronouncing Maria Vidal as Maria Dival when introducing the playout? Body Rock does sound a lot like Flashdance...What A Feeling.
DeleteFor that matter, Holding Out For A Hero sounds a lot like Tonight Is What It Means To Be Young from the film Streets Of Fire, once the song eventually gets going:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eln48BCELk
Suffice to say that both these Steinman songs were released in 1984, and both with cracking videos. Pity that Bonnie Tyler narrowly missed the No.1 slot, getting stuck at No.2 for three weeks.
Janice and Dixie made for an engaging team this week, and Dixie was a lot more assured than in his previous appearances. Indeed, the only gaffe I noticed came from Janice, with her "Colonel Abrahams" moment.
ReplyDeleteDepeche Mode were well and truly in thrall to their "industrial" sound at this point in time, but while it was certainly striking it did tend to make their songs from this period sound quite samey. This was a perfectly decent effort, but it disappeared from my brain as soon as it finished, the only lingering memory being Mr Gore's display of gender fluidity courtesy of his nail varnish, Madge-rivalling big necklaces and skirt. A far more memorable tune from Billy Idol next, a prime slice of 80s rock that probably serves as his anthem. A shame it got cut criminally short here, but at least we did get a glimpse of the foxy lady on keyboards in the video.
The next track is one I remember disliking at the time, partly because it seemed dreary and overlong, partly because Jennifer Rush's jerky movements while singing were very annoying! I don't mind it so much these days, a stately, well-produced power ballad that had an unsurprisingly large appeal. As for Ms Rush, I saw her interviewed about this song a few years ago, and it's fair to say she had undergone so much plastic surgery she made Cher look like a beginner...
Five Star will make it on to the playout next time, but the breakers were as good as it got for these Damned and Dead or Alive efforts. The former band come up here with a song that is not immediately that interesting but grows on you with repeated listenings, while the latter managed to grab me straightaway with another slice of catchy pop wrapped up in an irresistible SAW production. Interesting that there was still no full play for Stevie's video despite him being in his second week at number 3, but we do get another studio outing for Bonnie, albeit one not especially different from last time, with "Trevor Horn" still very prominent. Maria Vidal's generic hit makes for a dull playout, and perhaps because of this the studio audience are in lacklustre mode when it comes to the dancing.
I neglected to mention the Style Council, which doesn't surprise me as this underpowered piece of lefty agitprop was instantly forgettable. Nice blazers, though...
Deleteyou see - (as i pointed out before) even the deejays refer to the guy who had a hit with "trapped" as "colonel abrahams"!
DeleteIt's just one of those things I think people are hard-wired to mispronounce - I am pretty sure that if his name had been Abrahams there is no chance people would have mispronounced it as "Abrams."
DeleteNever mind the keyboard player on the Billy Idol being foxy as you say, but I rather thought that Jennifer Rush was the only foxy one on this week's show with the dapper miniskirt on those long long legs.
Deletejust like ian dury it seems - i know at least two people who have in their ignorance referred to him with an extra/imaginary "r" in his surname. one of those remains blissfully unaware of that fact, whilst i enlightened the other. and with regard to the latter, it's quite bizarre how often either he or i get to reference "ian drury" (in an ironic manner) in everyday conversation!
Deleteanother common misconception is that the pointy-eared green-blooded alien in "star trek" is called "dr spock"!
DeleteColonel Abrams (his real name!) is probably easier to pronounce now J.J. Abrams is famous (no relation, obvs).
DeleteSorry Dory, but Jennifer Rush isn't my type at all, even in her pre-surgery incarnation...
Deleteif you dare, than use the link below to see jennifer rush's transformation in all its gory detail:
Deletehttp://www.gossiprocks.com/forum/plastic-surgery/245937-jennifer-rush.html
Good Lord
DeleteI always thought it was pronounced Abrahms anyway, probably as it's just easier to say.
DeleteI think the 'Dr Spock' confusion is tempered partially by the fact that there was a Dr (Benjamin) Spock who wrote books about Baby Care. This particular volume was in my Mum's drawer for years with this very cover!
Deletehttps://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/354025220689923343/?autologin=true
i've uploaded critique on what must be close to 500 shows now, and yet very few have been glossed over to the point where i haven't even bothered analysing individual artists. sadly this is one such edition though, and in my view very much demonstrates the downwards turn into mediocrity that pop music was making at this point. fortunately at least one last hoorah is to come before i plan to put in my ticket (and i mean it this time!). but if this is the standard to come, then i shan't be leaving here with any regrets
ReplyDeletethis is nothing to do with the music, but i have noticed there are two performers on the same show modelling long black skirts, lots of tom around their necks and blonde big hair. so who do readers fancy out of that pair the most: bonnie tyler or martin gore?
Deletewith regard to ms tyler, did anyone else notice that her guitarist was none other than one of the atack twins from child? i'm surprised she let him join her band actually, given that he's prettier than her!
I'm straight and I think I prefer Martin Gore!
Deletewell said noax (you're a brave man ha ha), and i definitely second that as i've never found old hawk face the slightest bit appealing... however much time she obviously spends trying to tart herself up!
DeleteI was a little disappointed to say the least, that Stevie Wonder stuck at No.3 for the second week, did not even get a full play for this superb song Part Time Lover. It may be that TOTP were a little embarrassed by his blindness being so obvious in the video, where he had to be accompanied by a minder to walk him everywhere.
ReplyDeleteI mean it is shocking that for a rock-solid top 3 position for a song, and with the video clearly available, that Stevie got ignored throughout its run in the charts. No 'Wonder' he didn't make it to no.1.
I thought it was a very powerful top 3 this week with Dancing In The Street, Holding Out For A Hero, and Part Time Lover heading up a fine rock-solid top ten this week.
I remember sharing Janice long's enthusiasm this week for Red Box at No.6, being convinced they were heading to no.1. I must admit that at the time, I was hoping for the same for Red Box, but it was not to be, considering it was one of the best singles of 1985, and definitely in my top ten songs for the year.
Depeche Mode with a forgotten hit, and not a big one either. Not sure I can hear those non-electronic instruments on the recording, certainly not that gong. Call it their transitional phase.
ReplyDeleteBilly Idol doing his bit for the Confederacy, I expect you're not allowed to play this in the USA now they banned The Dukes of Hazzard. It's OK, but his relentless posturing gets a bit much. Cyndi Lauper on keyboards, there.
Jennifer Rush, I have a grudge against this song because the music teacher at our school slagged me off for calling it boring. Coloured my perception of it ever since.
No memory of this Five Star tune, immediately pre-big success stage, The Damned is a curiously subdued one for a punk band (now Goth) and Dead or Alive sounds like a novelty record. Their video seems to be in the wrong ratio. Should have fixed that in post.
Style Council with a mid-tempo, mid-level number featuring a political metaphor only Mr Weller could decipher. All production and no tune. Dee seems to be sharing a private joke halfway through.
Bonnie Tyler on an extremely overstuffed stage, it was popular, I'll give it that. Then Dave and Mick for their last week at number one, but far from the last charity single to occupy this slot, alas.
Maria Vuval (huh?) to end on, that's a bit brighter. One of the crowd is wearing a dress that looks like it was run over by a Land Rover.
I'm afraid that this show saw repeated use of the FF button due to a combination of uninspiring music, dreadful picture quality in parts and pretty awful hosting. Dixie Peach was appalling on this, constantly missing cues and making mistakes. Sadly he dragged Janice down to his level. I really do wonder why - slight lack of confidence in his earlier appearances aside - Bruno wasn't given more chances yet Dixie was.
ReplyDeleteDepeche Mode - Extremely average stuff, as most of their mid-80s singles were.
Billy Idol - It's alright, seen and heard it quite a lot though.
Jennifer Rush - Once in a while I quite like to hear this, as it is a decent enough song, but overkill at the time means it's not in my favourites pile.
Breakers - 3 uninspiring songs from acts who did better both before and afterwards (though mostly after in Five Star's case)
The Style Council - Bloody awful. No style or substance whatsoever.
Then we just have a housewife classic, that No.1 again and a decent song to play out, not that we get much of it!
Were you watching on iPlayer? I've noticed if the internet connection is not at its best then the iPlayer can suffer, whereas if you watch TOTP live or record it to a DVR it looks fine.
DeleteAlso, Bruno would presumably be on Radio 1 at the time TOTP was on, I know there were pre-recorded shows, but maybe they wanted to craft an illusion?
I always watch on the TV, maybe I have a good eye for it but some editions are definitely as sharp as if they were recorded yesterday while others look very muddy.
DeleteYou're probably right about Bruno and the illusion of wanting TOTP to appear live.
Right, so next week we get to see three TOTP episodes from October 1985, with the second one a Mike Smith one, sandwiched between the two BBC4 airings. Suffice to say that the 10th October edition with Smith which we will require once again on WeTransfer, is actually the best of the three in my opinion, as the line up is a stonkingly good one.
ReplyDeleteFor anyone who wants to get ahead, the 3 October show can already be viewed on YouTube, albeit split into 4 parts:
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77qZSXPJQZ0
I think I can wait till Thursday for BBC4's crisp copy in one piece, but good initiative though.
DeleteThe highlight of the lesser known songs I think is Five Star, decent production and could have growth potential.
ReplyDeleteDead of Alive - not convinced by Pete Burns vocal. The SAW production compared to the earlier Whatever I Do or other Hi-NRG (like https://youtu.be/xKQ6u4fsADY) just sound watered down and lacking tightness. Dead or Alive had some success but I think that just made them overrated.
Bonnie Tyler deserved to get to No1 over Dancing in the Streets.
Our presenters were too grinny and, in Janice’s case, TOO SHOUTY this week but they still made a decent pairing and I thought that was Dixie’s best showing yet.
ReplyDeleteNote that it's taken the ski-jump descent in Madness's career before guitarist Chris Foreman takes centre stage in a mugshot.
Four hunks to start with, Janice? One’s dressed more girly than you are! Martin Gore-geous there with “It’s called A Skirt”. Methinks some of Depeche Mode’s African looking percussion would have been better suited to “The Lion Sleeps Tonight" or “Tarzan Boy”.
BILLY IDOL! PEANUUUUUTS!
My second favourite ”The Power Of Love” after Frankie, in the British national charts, apparently. Exuberant miming here by Jennifer Rush, but I’d have loved to have seen her swap places with Martin Gore and check the results.
Five Star there, obviously having listened to Evelyn King’s “Love Come Down”.
The best thing – in fact the only thing of note - with that damned Damned song (“Is It A Tune?”) was the Paula Yates lookalike being roped off stage.
“My Heart Goes Bang”, eh, Pete? Ask Doctor Dave Gahan for advice. Never mind your heart, you’ve got more trouble with that horrible elongated video.
Ah, soul. Sort of. Militant ersatz soul with few redeeming features. Paul Weller f#cking chewing again! Now that’s how to make Dee C Lee look plain and a tad chavvy.
The top ten vids – at number six it’s The Conch Shell And The Twig v DJ Vision On and, at 20:42 into the show, a cheeky upturned guitar forming a fretboard as cock in Midge Ure’s video. That boy!
BONNIE! TYLER! I knew some female work colleagues who used to sing this song and replace the word “hero” with “bunkup”. Ahem.
And we finish with a throng putting out a small fire to Maria Something-or-other’s “Ploddy Rock”.
Interesting that you mention the elongated video for Dead Or Alive. When I saw that clip, I was trying to ascertain whether it was a deliberate production in making the video, or whether it was a novice video maker making some mistakes in the production. Does anyone know why very occasionally these sorts of things crop up?
Delete@Dory: Usually such an image will be anamorphic, in that it would be un-squeezed for widescreen broadcast, but as that was some years away this was what a 1:85 or 2.35:1 picture would look like on a 4:3 screen. For some reason The Damned's cover of Alone Again Or used the same effect in its video, though that had a spaghetti Western theme, and cheap copies of those films would sometimes be seen in the wrong ratio. You saw it in cheap copies of kung fu movies too.
DeleteArthur - Pete's heart did of course go bang in the end, after a fashion...
DeleteOff topic maybe, but did anyone catch Smooth FM's Top500?
ReplyDeleteAmongst the abundance of George Michael, Stevie Wonder, Whitney Houston and Ed Sheeran tracks (surely in five years time these Sheeran efforts will have diminished?), one song truly moved me having not heard it properly for many years. Elvis Presley and 'American Trilogy' at no65. I had to turn up the radio and seek it out on youtube!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gyvTV5OJ5E
Smooth FMs 500 can be viewed on their website. There's some truly horrid records that bafflingly remain popular and in the top100 - 92, 80, 71, 30 and 4. Some of the ones I expected to higher up languish further down:- 78, 126, 150, 159, 175, 178, 198, 253, 260, 263, 297 (but there's no sign of 'Shaddap you face'), 298, 340....surprised to see 490 there at all but it's fabulous....and no 'Stairway to Heaven'.
All down to taste obviously, but some acts are notably absent completely or barely represented.
...Bohemian Rhapsody is missing also....maybe that and Led Zep aren't 'smooth' enough!?
Deletei assumed that "angels" had long-since been run out of town for the lightweight crap that it was that just happened to be around when tone-deaf morons first got to be brave/drunk enough to have a go at it as karaoke (i did quite a bit of that about 5 years or so back, and was relieved that nobody - not even the worst rubbish drunk in the place - did that... unlike "sweet bloody caroline"!). but there it is as number seven in this chart... having risen a hundred and fifty places since the last one was compiled! so what's the reason for that then?
Deletei would never listen to smooth fm anyway (it amused me when they had to rename that station from jazz fm because they basically never played any jazz on it!), but i can't believe that some crap by ed sheeran is at number one whilst an all-time classic that could the drfinition of "smooth" ("i'm not in love" by 10cc) languishes at the bottom of the top 100! mind you, that ed sheeran thing will probably be completely forgotten about by next year and will be even lower that that!!
Deletei know a guy who listens to smooth fm and who told me they kept playing curtis mayfield's "satisfaction" - sorry, "move on up" to death, but never anything else from his vast and (mainly vastly superior) back-catalogue. so he actually wrote to andy peebles who was a jock there at the time and queried why not. and peebles replied saying something like he personally agreed that more curtis should be played, but that was just the way it was!
Deletealso, i wonder if robert fripp is aware that all that abstract noise he was making on ""heroes"" was ultimately to no avail, as it's now somewhat baffingly in the smooth fm top 30? if that can be deemed as "smooth", then surely something like "ace of spades" can't be too much longer in making an entry?
DeleteSmooth is not the only station that plays Move On Up to death, some days you just need to hear Keep On Keepin' On but nope, it'll be Move On Up for the millionth time. But there's plenty of artists who seem to only have had one hit of significance according to radio station programmers (or their software).
Deletethe "move on up" airplay-hogging scenario (i can't stand it btw - probably for that reason!) reminds of antonio carlos jobim bemoaning the fact the most people thought he only ever wrote one song ("the girl from ipanema", which is one of the most covered songs of all time), when in fact he had composed about another couple of hundred more!
Deleteas i say, i never listen to smooth fm anyway (or any radio station for that matter - i play whatever i fancy on my computer, so i know i'm going to like it!), but i think it's a shame that joe public isn't getting exposed to some of curtis mayfield's funkier blaxploitation-style grooves such as "kung fu" and "if there's a hell below we're all gonna go"
Deletetalking of the latter: i have an alternative take of that where the producer asks curtis what the name of the track is beforehand, and afterwards comments "that's a hell of a statement!"
Hey, 6Music now playing Curtis - and it's We Gotta Have Peace! That's why I listen to this station.
DeleteI think Hell Below is best known now as the theme tune to sleaze-a-thon The Deuce on TV.
well it seems that curtis's nearest and dearest don't have to think about selling big issues!
DeleteJazz FM currently playing “Superfly”!
DeleteI've known his Impressions songs for what most be nearly 20 years (time flies), he definitely did some great work with them. Not known anywhere near enough
DeleteSo we enter Autumn 1985 and my journey through senior school begins...
ReplyDeleteSo we have Janice and Dixie now. Where has poor John gone...
Good to see Depeche Mode again. Not a song I recognise but unmistakably Mode. Quite a good little pop tune - will check this out.
Janice you have a mic so you don't need to shout. BILLY IDOL on video. This is very similar to his Mony Mony cover. Always great when these some radio airplay.
And here she comes...Jennifer "Power of love" Rush. It's the red leather performance I remember. This was everywhere for a few months and its a good song. I must admit I liked this at the time and still do. Celine Dion did a really good (but similar) version in the 90s on her Colour Of My Love album. Along with the brilliant Think Twice.
No idea what happened to Miss Rush though..amazed this was it for her, hit wise.
Breakers:
Five Star - still not at their peak but probably well on their way to take over Saturday morning kids TV/ Song isn't up to much
The Damned back again. This is the worst of the 3 hits so far this year. Pass.
Dead or Alive - Spin Me Round Part 2. Should have been the b-side and stayed there.
Nice to see Style Council back. Weller has gone all public school boy on us hasn't he, song is fairly good though. Discovering SC through these repeats as they completely passed me by at the time and liking most of it.
Top Ten video show still going strong including that Red Box video I remember so well. Midge on his way to the top. Amazed we haven't seen more of Stevie at number 3. Victim of the shortened episode length,
Bonnie I commented on last time. Fabulous as always. unlucky not to get to the top.
Last week at number one for a childhood favourite, although not to everyones taste.
Maria gets the playout..this should get the audience moving a bit this week.
Some of these TOTP editions I remember really clearly but this one was missed/forgotten in the past...
Not bad this week. Enjoyed.
Without giving too much away, while she's only remembered for "The Power Of Love", Jennifer Rush's follow-up made the top 20, and she made the top 30 and (just about) the top 60 with a couple of duets before the end of the decade.
DeleteDon't recall that all
DeleteLook forward to hearing them... 😀