Anyway...... The big day has come at last to say 'I do' and make this 19th September 1985 edition of Top of the Pops your very own, in sickness and in health, until death us do part!
Twice the fun!
19/09/85 (Simon Bates & Peter Powell)
Red Box – “Lean On Me (Ah-Li-Ayo)” (18)
Getting the show off to a drumtastic start with their first of two top ten hits, this one peaking at number 3.
Madonna – “Angel” (10) (video)
Already on her fifth top ten hit of the year, she must've been a bit too tired to make a brand new video, but the song still made it to number 5.
Midge Ure – “If I Was” (8)
Not the best miming from Midge here, but the song was terrific and will be number one in two weeks time.
Cameo – “Single Life” (35) (breaker)
Their breakthrough hit peaking at number 15. And not one single ludicrously large cod piece anywhere in sight!
Rene & Angela – “I’ll Be Good” (31) (breaker)
Their only top 40 hit, peaking at number 22.
Billy Idol – “Rebel Yell” (25) (breaker)
His follow up to White Wedding also peaked at number 6.
Lloyd Cole & The Commotions – “Brand New Friend” (27)
Performing what would become his second biggest hit, peaking at number 19.
David Bowie & Mick Jagger – “Dancing In The Street” (1) (video)
Third of four weeks at number one.
Colonel Abrams – “Trapped” (28) (audience dancing/credits)
Became his only top ten hit when it peaked at number 3.
26th September is next.
Angelo, you certainly did not imagine that bizarre re-start of the show part way through Red Box. Even stranger, there was no acknowledgment of the cock-up either at the time or at the end of the show - is BBC4 now being run by robots?
ReplyDeleteQuite a decent show overall, and given the combination of hosts the presentation was remarkably smooth and gaffe-free. Smitty really must have been bad, considering how much happier PP seems to be in the company of Master Bates, and he is perhaps the most energised here that he has been all year - his constant references to "the Pops" soon get irritating, however...
It's just as well I like this Red Box song, given the inadvertent extra coverage it got on the 7.30 showing. I remember it well from the radio at the time, and I have always liked the way it builds from the slow verses to the anthemic chorus. The duo aren't much to look at, but the row of drummers at least provide some visual flair, even if their attempts at synchronicity don't fully come off! Madge next with her umpteenth hit of the year, and clearly the record company had exhausted the video budget as we are instead presented with a cut 'n' paste job lot of clips from earlier promos. Quite a nice little tune, this one, though not one of her more memorable hits.
Midge looks slightly uncomfortable on that large stage with just a mic to hold, but at least he had taken a trip to his barber by this time. This future chart-topper could just as easily have been another Ultravox hit, so similar is the overall sound and production, and it is certainly up there with his best work with the band thanks to the soaring chorus. Sadly for Midge, it would also prove to be his last ever Top 10 hit.
We'll be seeing all the breakers again soon, so straight on to some more Scottish pop in the shape of Lloyd Cole and the Commotions. There appears to be some sort of private joke going on during this performance, but the song itself is a decent offering, if perhaps a bit too close in sound to Perfect Skin to really stand out. We will also being seeing more of Colonel Abrams soon, but this lively number certainly makes for a worthy end to an enjoyable 30 minutes.
BBC 4 has always been automated apparently. No live announcers.
DeleteI certainly got the impression there was nobody on hand to salvage the situation!
DeleteThat fact that the new Madonna video was a rehash of some of her earlier videos, was probably a reflection of the record company moving far to quickly with releasing Madonna singles in the UK. I mean Good Lord she had three songs in the top 40 rundown on this week's TOTP! It consequently made for a very tired-looking video for Angel, with no new video footage, but still already at No.10 in the charts before we could conceivably blink. At this point in 1985, there was clear Madonna-mania in Britain, and no-one could really stop her I guess.
DeleteMidge and Madge, if you're not careful you might read the wrong name in this thread. Maybe they could have do a collaboration together as 'Midge and Madge', although Madonna may want first billing.
DeleteI am sure she would demand nothing less, starry!
DeleteI'm making one of my occasional visits this week, as this particular edition opens with one of my favourite recordings not only of the 80s, but indeed of all time. When I first heard Red Box's 'Lean On Me' on the radio, I thought I was hearing the work of a Europop outfit from Germany or Benelux - possibly because the song is rhythmically reminiscent of Opus's 'Live Is Life', which had only recently been a smash. Unlike the Austrian one-hit wonders, however, Simon Toulson-Clarke and Julian Close proved to be abundant in fresh, original ideas, both musically and lyrically. Sadly, they would turn out to be TWO-hit wonders, their other smash being the following year's 'For America'.
ReplyDeleteMadge is next with the sixth of an incredible eight Top 10 hits she managed to score in only her first two years of chart action. By 2009, her tally had increased to 63! She may not be the force she once was, but she is undisputedly one of the all-time greats of the industry.
Midge, meanwhile, concluded his Top 10 career in style with a boldly arranged synthpop love song co-written by Daniel Mitchell from Ultravox's one-time support act Messengers. I have had the privilege of being treated to a powerful live rendition by the fundraiser himself, at 'The Big Gig' in Glasgow in 2011. A smash across Europe, the song remains a favourite on oldies radio despite its grammatically dubious title. (Inspector Morse: "If you WERE. You'll never get on if you can't master your subjunctives, Lewis!")
Cameo's effort was passable, but Rene & Angela came across as poor imitators of 'Don't Stop The Music' hitmakers Yarbrough & Peoples. (Chipmunks: "You don't really wanna stop! Nooooo!") I'm afraid I do.
The Artist Formerly Known As William Broad thrashed away as per usual, before Lloyd Cole and friends mellowed the atmosphere with a minor gem that featured keyboardist Blair Cowan on piano accordion. Iike me, the latter also plays melodica! WHEEZE!!
To round off this week's edition, the audience let their hair down to the strains of one of the classic floor-fillers of the era: 'Trapped'.
Typo above: LIKE me.
DeleteLIKE you? We LOVE you, Julie. In the words of The Mighty Wah!, come back!
DeleteI think once someone's reached a certain level of fame though there's interest in whatever they release (whether good, bad or just average). And I think that happened to Madonna.
DeleteI thought our hosts blended well. Not on the same scale as Janice and John, but Simesy and Petey seemed to compliment each other.
ReplyDeleteI watched most of this re-run live - I skipped the number one and the outro, and only started watching at 7.38 (having thought “Oo! I forgot, I can watch most of this”) and cursed my bad timing, thinking I’d join the show near the start of Midge Ure, only to see Simesy’s intro to the song after...
Actually, VERY good indie knock there, Pete. “Chenko” by Red Box was initially released on exalted indie label Cherry Red, then Madonna’s label Sire snapped them up, re-released it, then they had a flop before this kerching moment.
I loved the Adam Ant topping drummer quotient, especially the hyperactive dancing and beaming female drummer and the percussionist togetherness near the end. Also loved the bloke drummer cringing at a mishit while miming! The moments you’re confident while on your TOTP debut? First go the shades, then the guitar, then you pick the mic off the stand!
Madonna’s new video, ay, Simesy? Obviously, Madge hasn’t been selling enough units to warrant a video for this single, or maybe she’s knackered, resulting in a corned beef hash of the other vids as a “Will this do?” option. Never really liked this song, I always found it average.
One or two static folk way back in the audience as Midge Ure, resplendent in the nattiest prison outfit yet, does rock star mic stand moves to a ballad. Interesting how the chorus’s words change for the second run through and the ‘bam bam bam’ bit gets longer each time during the song.
First TOTP sighting of That Cameo Man With The Codpiece, but without the frightening pelvic article this time. In future, be afraid, be very afraid.
Rene wearing what looks like a plastic coated tigerskin print jacket (that was probably cool in some ‘hood but I dread to think where), Angela holding the longest oblong mic known to man, and a slab of anonymous soul which Cameo smack baseball style out of the stadium.
Billy Idol with a tune later used to peddle peanuts. Enough said.
I was hoping the appearance of an accordion might result in an interesting tune, but Lloyd “I’m not strumming this thing till near the end” Cole gave us one of his more pretentious offerings instead. Not a fan. I much preferred “Perfect Skin”, “Lost Weekend” and “Forest Fire”, the latter undeservedly missing the new mugshots by a solitary position.
What if they did a mashup of Colonel Abrams and Father Abraham? On second thoughts...
Forget Father Abraham Arthur, what was more noticeable was an adventurous cameraman on the studio audience dancing on the playout tune, where he seemed fixated on an upskirt shot of a slim girl in a blue minidress. He seemed reluctant to move away from showing us her buttocks, but eventually he moved on to the others on the dance floor. Nice way to end the show though, and pity we only got two minutes of the playout tune, even on the late night repeat.
DeleteBoth Angel and Gambler I find average, Dress You Up gets her back to decent music though.
Deletehosts: pp wears a chunky sweater over a shirt, even though it's only september - had it got that cold that quickly that year? it doesn't matter what time of year it is for slimy though (or even what year it is for that matter - his hairstyle hasn't changed a jot since he first presented the show back in the late 70's), as it's the usual jacket and open-collared shirt combo
ReplyDeletered box: this banal son-of jimmy-the-hoover's-hit is annoying for a number of reasons: 1 - bill withers had already had already been in th top 20 with a song of this name, so why didn't they choose something different for a title? 2 - it has a silly bit in brackets afterwards that i don't recall being aware of at the time (pp doesn't bother mentioning that bit on his intro. also the silly bracketed bit doesn't even appear until it's chanted right at the end of the record). 3 - the singer poses in shades for only a few seconds before dispensing with them (mind, you, given his piggy eyes he should have kept them on for the duration). 4- the balding synth player pretends to blow into a flute for all of two seconds. 5 - why are there three people bashing bits of drumkits cobbled together, when it's obviously all done on a drum machine?
madonna: this driving blend of dance and rock styles tends to be overlooked in contrast to some of her other earlier hits, but it's probably one of the finest things she ever did. like "holiday", i just wish i could listen to this now without being reminded what a despicable arsehole she ended up becoming
midge ure: i was probably wondering at the time why he was releasing solo fare, when he had practically turned the once-excellent ultravox into his own mediocre backing band by this point anyway? i do remember being a little surprised that this run-of-the-mill effort got to the top, and thinking it must have been thanks to the video where he made faces and stuff with that recently-invented novelty toy?
lloyd cole: i was already head-scratching at the appeal of this guy and his chums, and this confounded me even more. the only bit i remember about it (and i certainly have no interest in hearing it again now) was the intro where he came out with pretentious guff like "walking in the pouring rain, walking with jesus and jane. jane wore a turtle neck, i was much happier then" in a hideously-affected vocal style. and it doesn't even rhyme properly!
colonel abrams: or "colonel abrahams" as most people mistakenly thought he was called (a la "ian dRury"). i remember totally despising this tuneless rubbish that was obviously aimed at the dancefloor and yet in my view missed the mark by a million miles - it was only much later that i discovered it was produced by the drummer of landscape, who'd been responsible for similarly lumpen and lifeless recordings in the past
Regarding Red Box's trio of miming drummers - it's called staging, luvvie! It is so important to make an impact on a TV audience when trying to sell a disc. Several drummers and percussionists were credited on Red Box's album 'The Circle and The Square', which includes both the duo's big hits, so I suspect there are some real drums in the mix. Julian Close is a saxophonist and flautist as well as a keyboardist and programmer; refer to Discogs.
DeleteAs for the title, the lyrics of a song can be copyrighted, but a title cannot. There have been two songs called 'Cinnamon Girl' (Prince and Neil Young), and three major hits entitled 'The Power of Love'! The subtitle 'Ah-Li-Ayo' refers to the chant sung by the studio backing chorus (but mimed by the drummers!) towards the end. I recently discovered via the 45cat website that the song was retitled 'One Man Ten Men' when belatedly issued in the US - presumably to avoid confusion with Club Nouveau's contemporaneous revival of Bill Withers' 'Lean On Me'? Also, both Red Box and Club Nouveau were signed to Warner Bros at the time.
I have a lot of time for this Red Box debut single. I thought they used the main stage of the studio really well, considering it was their first time on British TV for most people. The song itself has such a feelgood atmosphere to it, and it would be something of a perfect tune for a street party, or a celebration of a Royal Wedding, particularly because of the lyrics "from the very very young to the very very old, everybody now say Aye, from the centre of the earth to the corners of the globe, every one of you say Aye".....It's really much like what we will be experiencing today at the Royal Wedding. How ironic that TOTP aired this show the night before the Royal Wedding!
DeleteKate Bush also had a couple of big drums on stage for Running Up That Hill, even though it does sound electronic to me. Both want to hint at their folk roots.
DeleteI actually liked Running Up That Hill more than I expected, though I thought it went on a bit. And I do like the Red Box song, though the video was criticised as being pretentious here the music is the main thing. For America is at least as good and has a better video.
On the brackets issue, The Moody Blues had a track called Lean on Me (Tonight) on their 1991 Keys of the Kingdom album, the bracketed part presumably there to avoid confusion with the earlier songs that shared the main title. As for the Abram/Abraham confusion, that is perfectly understandable to me - the Old Testament patriarch himself started off as "Abram" before being given a divine upgrade to his name.
DeleteThe early autumn of 1985 was unusually warm - it cetainly was around my 6th birthday on 1st October, which at the time was the hottest October day on record (a record subsequently broken on the day I turned 32 in 2011). I remember having a party in McDonald's on that earlier day (McDonald's was still relatively new and glamorous in the 80s) and feeling very hot while eating my burger.
perhaps that bunch of red box percussionists were roped in to distract from both the uncharismatic main duo and the banal music?
Deletei have mentioned this thing about nicking other people's song titles before, so of course i am aware that no copyright exists (which is rather puzzling, given that most intellectual property is protected in that way). if i were writing a song and it was pointed out that somebody else had already had a hit with the title i had in mind for it, then i would change it to something else!
Wilby, you forgot Mud's remake of Bill Withers' hit, but I'll let you off seeing as the dreaded wipers removed all three TOTP outings of Carshalton's finest doing the remake.
DeleteArthur - you've hit the nail right on the head here! Mud's version in my opinion knocked spots off Bill Withers' original; especially that unaccompanied harmony bit before the drums lead us into the extended instrumental outro. Checkout a 'lost' ToTP performance here c/o our friend S-M-S, complete with Les's wonderful 'air violin'!
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvXPIVFuyqs
Ah, a prime cock-up as Denis Norden would have had it, to go along with The Yogs on Within These Walls or that bit in Blake's 7 when the screen started spinning like a washing machine. I'm guessing someone leant on the wrong button?
ReplyDeleteAnyway, not to worry, as the show itself was intact. Red Box to start with one of the brightest, most optimistic sounds of the eighties, from a terrific album that made the most of what would be called World Music rhythms and sounds, but before Paul Simon got his mitts on the concept.
Madonna's Angel gets a YouTube fan video decades before such a thing existed. Her label milking the cash cow, they knew a good thing when they heard it. The song is fairly average for her, not bad but there's a reason it's not revived too often. And she has a new single out this week - there's staying power.
Midge Ure in a jacket that's too big for him with the oddly mournful love ditty If I Was - hey, if wishes were horses, beggars would ride, Midge! About to hit the top spot, it's nice enough, but the lyrics are a bit If I Had a Hammer.
Then the Breakers, which we'll see in full soon though always nice to see the tremendous Larry Blackmon.
Lloyd Cole, now, I remember seeing him on one of those Channel 4 Sunday lunchtime shows, Wired or APB or whatever, where he said he was going to eat what he liked and get fatter and fatter, ending up just like Orson Welles. Take a look at Lloyd now. He's not fat! Did he have second thoughts? Anyway, yeah, the song, always sounded awkward to me, this one, it has good elements but they don't hang together, like a Frankenstein Monster. Picks up once it gets going, however.
The Adventures of Mick and Dave, there's a sitcom we'll never have now.
Colonel Abrams to end on, we'll hear more of this too, it was a pretty sizeable hit. Great dance record, even if the audience don't look 100% convinced.
I never liked Graceland as much, I thought Paul Simon's peak was at the start of the 70s.
DeleteI think the Bridge Over Troubled Water album probably marks Simon's apogee as a songwriter, with There Goes Rhymin' Simon his finest solo LP.
DeleteAll the 3 LPs in that period are great for me, maybe his self titled isn't as immediately loveable as There Goes but I think it's great too.
DeleteGraceland was the first album I really got into as a teenager, I would listen to it almost every day for a long while. But Paul Simon's pretty consistent for such a long career.
Deletei'll probably be gone from here by the time the "graceland" album comes around, so i'll say that i loved "i know what i know" and "diamonds on the soles of her shoes". i remember thinking at the time how young paul simon looked in the videos for the singles off that album, and only later on did i realise he was wearing a syrup!
DeleteThe Yogs! 'King brilliant! to clarify what THX means, HTV meant to run a trailer for a Friday night prison drama and inadvertently showed an advert for a short-lived kiddies's yoghourt instead...
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RQz8YuNNcU
by chance i was at an open mic event last night, and the host played an acoustic version of "you can call me al". which actually demonstrated how flimsy it is as a song (the same three chords over and over again, with the verses sounding like rambling semi-improvised lines in that context), and how much of a difference the production made!
Deletemadonna has a new single out this week? when is the stupid old cow going to realise how pathetic her desperate attempts to keep up wiv da kidz are, and just call it a day?
DeleteJust going back to Paul Simon, like starry I think his self-titled album is generally strong, if a little downbeat in places. I've mentioned on here before his first solo album, The Paul Simon Songbook, which is also well worth a listen for its stripped-down sound and early versions of several future Simon & Garfunkel classics.
DeleteFor the most part this was an enjoyable edition, the crud being limited to the Breakers section and the chart topper.
ReplyDeleteRed Box's song is very jolly and one I've always enjoyed, though I probably prefer their other big hit.
'Angel' is a very under-rated Madonna tune, possibly a bit dated in production but good to hear. Shame about the cobbled together video but at least some thought had been given to the selection of clips in relation to the lyrics.
Midge Ure's song is nice enough, but I still can't believe it topped the chart (albeit only for a week) as it's not THAT remarkable.
I've probably wheeled this one out already, but in for a penny...I met Lloyd Cole in the late 90s when he was promoting one of his solo albums. He was very sardonic but very, VERY funny. He's quite amusing on Twitter sometimes too, though often - rather unlikely as it may seem - just talks about golf.
Colonel Abrams is a good one to end on. A good opportunity to remind you that Colonel really was his first name!
after lloyd cole went solo, his ex commotions bassist lawrence donegan became a successful (if controversial) sports journalist with his specialist subject being golf. so perhaps it's not so unlikely as it seems that mr cole shares that interest?
DeleteGood fact wilby, there probably is a connection there. No smashing TVs or entertaining groupies in their spare time, Lloyd & the band obviously just went for a round. Rock'n'roll!
DeleteWell we’ve had to wait a couple of weeks for this one. Was it worth the wait? Well, actually yes!
ReplyDeleteRed Box – Lean on me – So much better than Black Box, this hit is really enjoyable. The three drummers manage to trump Genesis and Adan & the Ants and all seem to be having a great time.
Madonna – Angel – One of those hits that doesn’t get played on the radio much. It’s certainly not one of her best but it’s a nice record all the same. The video compilation of previous hits is well done and was similarly achieved for Queen’s ‘The Show must go on’.
Midge Ure – If I was – One of my favourites from 1985, this song featured that Mark King on Bass. The single annoyingly had a slight edit which omitted the instrumental break that occurred at 09:54 if you’re watching this edition on BBC iplayer. The original version is on ‘The Gift’ album whereas the 12” mix didn’t really do the song justice.
Breakers – Nothing really caught my eye here…
…what did catch my eye, and nobody has commented thus far is that the year’s mega hit finally penetrated the top40 at no36. Yes, after an amazing 13 weeks in the lower chart regions, including a 9 week run in the 40s, Jennifer Rush is finally unveiled! Interestingly the picture shown is from the cover of the original single release rather than the ‘remix’ version that featured Jennifer in a black mini skirt. I remember well where I was when I first heard the song; it was in June 1985 on holiday in Devon. I was totally blown away by the song and couldn’t believe that it wasn’t racing up the charts. Maybe the remix (with greater emphasis on the drums) did the trick giving the song extra oomph. I personally prefer the original, more subtle mix on the original single (which had the same catalogue number and B Side) and the original (non ‘International’) eponymous album, with Jennifer wearing a denim top. Whatever, you can’t keep a good song down.
Lloyd Cole and the Commotions – Brand New Friend – Not one I recall….but I like it!
Bowie & Jagger – Dancing in the Streets – getting really fed up with this now!
Colonel Abrams – Trapped danceout – What a great track to dance out to! The instrumental bit near the start always reminds me of our friend Harold Faltermeyer with his ‘Axel F’.
Hope we don’t have to wait too long for the next show!
The next show is on Thursday, and then it looks like we will be back to shows on Thursdays and Fridays the following week, so we will probably have 1985 done and dusted by the end of June.
DeleteOne of the weaker songs in this for me was Cameo, at least the vocal parts anyway. When there aren't vocals the music moves along ok.
ReplyDeleteRebel Yell feels like the archetypal Billy Idol song. I doubt I paid much attention at the time as his image didn't appeal to me, but it's an easy song to accept I think.
Both Rene & Angela and Lloyd Cole sound pleasant enough, the latter may have potential to grow on me.
So after 3 weeks off due to BBC4 and work commitments it's time to settle back into 1985.
ReplyDeleteSlimes and Powell kick us off before "EastEnders".
Red Box I loved as a kid. A proper bedroom singalong song. Great video as well. A band I know nothing about - I think I thought they were American at the time.
He looks a bit like the guy from Level 42.
Great start to the show..
Singer has got the thin metal microphone I remember from the 80s. Was this it's first appearance?
Middlesborough - well I never.
Madonna back with a song that is largely forgotten, seems they even forgot to make a video for it. Not one of her best. But in 1985 she could of put out a record of her sneezing and it would of charted.
Midge back, post Band Aid success. Another favourite of mine from 85. It is still a great song. Not sure about the jacket though - more like something Doctor Who should be wearing. (although at the time we had the multi-coloured time lord)
Don't recall any other Midge Ure solo hits.
Breakers Time:
Cameo - Well I never knew they were a band. This is a bit naff really. Nothing to it.
Rene and Angela - new to me. Might be worth a full listen. Seems Ok.
Billy Idol - a huge US star with an eventual star turn in The Wedding Singer. This is a cool tune. Good singalong radio tune.
Lloyd Cole up next. Not familiar with their stuff although was aware of them at the time.
On first listen this isn't bad and worth further investigation.
Nice to see Midge trying to be Phil Collins in the video. Knock on Wood best thing on the show tonight. Never knew Marillion did so well?! Go Bonnie at number 2!
Having not watched for 3 weeks I'd forgotten what number 1 was...still love this...
Trapped - fabulous tune to play out. Real disco fave.
Thought the show was a bit subdued tonight. From the presenters to the audience. Not one of the best.
cameo had been around since the mid-70's, and like any other funk outfit worth its salt had a membership approaching double figures. then like many of their peers, head honcho larry blackmon (he of red codpiece infamy) decided to slim the act down to a trio and replace the rest with technology. i didn't think they were much cop when they were a funk band to be honest, and the only track from their 80's codpiece phase that didn't stink to high heaven was "back and forth"
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