Hold a chicken in the air.....
21/08/86 (Bruno Brookes & Gary Davies)
Depeche Mode – “A Question Of Time” (25)
Their last top ten hit was in 1984, and they will have to wait until 1990 for their next, this latest attempt peaking at number 15.
Prince – “Girls & Boys” (11) (video)
At its peak.
Bruce Hornsby & The Range – “The Way It Is” (23)
In the studio with this impressive tune which was on its way to number 15.
Janet Jackson – “When I Think Of You” (21) (breaker)
Peaked at number 10.
The Human League – “Human” (19) (breaker)
Became their first top ten hit for three years when it peaked at number 8.
Peter Cetera – “Glory Of Love” (18) (breaker)
From the movie Karate Kid 2, this song made it to number 3.
Jermaine Stewart – “We Don’t Have To…” (15) (breaker)
Peaked at number 2.
Modern Talking – “Brother Louie” (12)
It's the time of year when those two wet gits with their girly curly hair ....... Actually, they might be a sort of German version of Black Lace, but the song is very catchy and deservedly reached number 4, though we never heard from this pair again.
Boris Gardiner – “I Want To Wake Up With You” (1) (video)
First of three weeks at number one for Boris - shame he didn't make it into the studio.
The Communards – “Don’t Leave Me This Way” (28) (video/credits)
And here's the song that will replace Boris next month.
August 28th is next.
Back to a double act hosting and mercifully this week it’s just two shows to review!
ReplyDeleteDepeche Mode – A Question of Time – Quite an upbeat number from the Basildon boys led by their ‘ever haircut changing’ lead singer. Good start to the show from this song that I really don’t recall.
Prince – Boys and Girls – Ugh no, this is not in the same league as previous ‘purple’ hits and the b&w video didn’t excite me either.
Bruce Hornsby and the Range – The way it is – I was somewhat dismissive of this last week on the breakers. It’s really very good. Some great keyboard work that even the likes of Roger King would be proud of. I’ve seen this record in a new light and it well deserved to top the US charts in December.
Breakers -Janet Jackson – When I think of you – Not a particular favourite but grudging appreciation of the video. Another US chart topper. Human League – Human – Almost ‘Talk Talk’ etc but boy what a return to form. Love this song and again, topped the US charts. Peter Cetera – Glory of Love (theme from ‘The Karate Kid II) – Ah! the crème de la crème. What a song, what a voice. Just never get tired of this. Hopefully we’ll see it all next time rather than a portion. Another US chart topper. Film not so good however and the song only features fleetingly. Jermaine Stewart – We don’t have to… - Huh? What’s the message here? Safe sex? Just baffling how this reached no2. I was browsing in a card shop the other week and I was vaguely aware that this was playing on the radio; hadn’t heard it for ages and wasn’t fussed about hearing it again.
Modern Talking – Brother Louie – I wonder if MT had ever heard of the thought provoking Hot Chocolate song from 1972? This is certainly is typical European holiday disco fare first started way back in 1974 by Sylvia and is undeniably catchy but you don’t hear it these days. Written, produced and arranged by Dieter Bohlen who presumably is the big haired lead singer?
Boris Gardner – I want to wake up with you – A soothing piece of reggae with a film you can’t help but watch, if only to spot the locations. So where is the garden that the object of Boris’s desire is cavorting around?
Communards – Don’t leave me this way – In 1977 we had Thelma Houston and Harold Melvin & the Bluenotes simultaneously in the charts with this song (Harold won reaching no5). I preferred Harold’s version and am still undecided whether this more upbeat take is the best version. Strange video at the end. Looks very sinister.
....I've found the clip of 'The Karate Kid II' featuring 'The Glory of Love'. It's a largely instrumental rendition with the 'Like a knight in shining armour...' section sung in a different take to the single. Worth watching if you like this song as much as I do!
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWLs7NDe-UU&list=PLkLimRXN6NKx0vKFmssxqwP8S7_mOU6et&index=26
Hmm, interesting, I prefer the Peter Cetera video more than the instrumental version in the movie, ie, your clip. I still think it is a shame that Cetera had left Chicago a year earlier to go solo, but a solo effort is better than nothing at all from him, so it's a big thumbs up from me for The Glory Of Love!
DeleteDieter Bohlen went by the pseudonym of Steve Benson for at least one of Modern Talking's early UK release to try and cover up the fact they were German! They were massive in Europe, plus they topped the German chart with their first five singles and debut "You're My Heart, You're My Soul" sold a whopping 8 million copies worldwide.
DeleteSct, the next two weeks there are three shows a week to review (six shows), so get ready!
DeleteGazza and BB, both donning big chunky jackets despite it being August, are purveyors of efficient but rather uninspired presentation on this one. Both also slip up, with Bruno almost messing up one of his links while Gazza not only repeats the Bates untruth from the week before that CDB had had four weeks at the top, but then goes on to claim that the new number 1 is Boris Gardiner's first hit. Incidentally Bruno fans, make the most of this show as he won't be seen again until 1988.
ReplyDeleteThe Mode start us off with a tune that is definitely less gloomy than their usual fare, and really quite enjoyable. They have come with some very heavy duty synths this time around, while Dave seems determined to make himself dizzy. Prince is also spinning around quite a bit in this Roaring Twenties-influenced video, which looks good but is supporting a tedious, self-indulgent song. Sorry Gazza, but the bit where the female voice started wittering endlessly in French was the worst part for me...
Gazza also seems to have bought the Master Bates hype re Bruce Hornsby, proclaiming this a "mega record" despite it only being at 23 this week. A long cherished staple of Radio 2 playlists, I feel like I have heard this a million times over the years but it still sounds fresh today, and the ivory tinkling is top notch. You might reasonably have expected more hits to follow, and in the US they did for a time, but none of his other UK releases got higher than 44. That seriously dodgy hairstyle, seemingly designed to cover up obvious baldness, may not have helped. By the way Bruno, how could they currently be on tour in America if they were in the TOTP studio? Was the performance pre-recorded?
A bumper pack of breakers this week, perhaps because there weren't enough acts available for a studio outing. They act as a bit of a preview for the next show, as they'll all be on it, so onwards to Modern Talking and a song I haven't heard in a very long time, plus plenty more bad hair - how long did the singer spend tending to his tresses, I wonder? You can see why this worked in the holiday discos, as it is infuriatingly catchy in a rather understated way, and certainly not the worst example of a holiday hit. It does seem odd though that this should have the same title as the completely unrelated, but far superior, Hot Chocolate song - it's not an obvious title for more than one song to have. We close with what is, for my money, the best version of this disco classic, thanks to a highly dynamic production and the interplay of Jimmy and Sarah Jane's vocals. I thought the gender role reversal was hilarious as a kid, and the gimmick still sounds effective today. The video's a bit weird, mind you - I assume it is trying to bring attention to homophobia, but if that's the case it doesn't so very effectively.
At the time I thought Brother Louie was about a monk!
DeleteBrother Louie topped the US charts covered by the Stories in August 1973.
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmF3jDwSTmI
Was Bruno banned from the TOTP studio for two years for crimes against fashion? Even for the eighties his jacket was bad.
DeleteRegarding shared titles, there have been two songs entitled 'Cinnamon Girl' (by His Purpleness and Neil Young), three SMASH HIT songs called 'The Power of Love' and at least three compositions with the title 'Heart On My Sleeve' - including a flop by David Essex! The latter also scored a minor Top 75 hit with 'You're In My Heart' - an Essex original, rather than Sir Rod's stadium singalong.
Delete"The Voice" is another example, with Ultravox and The Moody Blues coming up with completely different songs of that title around the same time.
Deleteat one point in i think the late 90's the record for number of hit songs with the same title was shared by two that had about 25 of them each. yet i cannot remember the titles in question, as despite their prolificness i don't think any of either were a massive hit!
Delete'You're in my Heart' is a thoroughly pleasant piece of music which features on David's 20 track 2006 Compilation 'Greatest Hits' - a great set slightly spoilt only by the bizarre inclusion of a version of 'Oh what a Circus' without the original choral accompaniment, instead replaced by what sounds like Elaine Paige. The version of 'Silver Dream Racer' is also a horrible orchestral cut rather than the familiar version. These two tracks aside (which the sleeve makes no mention of the variations), great set!
Deletewilberforce, 'Crazy' is definitely one of them, not sure of the other off the top of my head...
DeleteIt's just come to mind that My Oh My is another title to generate more than one hit song (Sad Café and Slade).
DeleteDepeche Mode, I remember this one well, a propulsive piece of electropop with a great keyboard riff and some self-consciously dodgy lyrics. Definitely their best from the mid-80s for me, before they reimagined themselves as a stadium goth rock band.
ReplyDeletePrince, one of the tunes from his film Under the Cherry Moon, and mentioned in the Trailers from Hell podcast this week where they observed after Purple Rain it seemed like a good bet for 90 minutes of great Prince tunes, only to find he'd decided he wanted to be an actor instead so the music barely featured - this video isn't a part of the movie, for instance. Anyway, a lesser heard tune, some weird synth noises and quacking ducks, but offbeat and strangely enticing. Though I do prefer Anotherloverholenyohead from the soundtrack (Parade), which flopped. Spot Kristin Scott Thomas!
Bruce Hornsby and the Range with a somewhat cloying bit of right-on ivory-tickling, yes, he was obviously a virtuoso, but he didn't half show off about it. Bears a curious facial resemblance to Hazel O'Connor. Not the worst thing ever, but if it was a Sunday night TV serial it would be middlebrow.
Four Breakers, and all on next week - is this a record? Well, it's four records, but you know what I mean.
Modern Talking, we all thought it was a lady singing and then they showed up on TOTP and we didn't know what to think. In your face, Boy George. Not a bad dash of Europop, quite tuneful, but you can see why they didn't have staying power here (though huge in Germany, I believe). Who was "NORA"?!
Stay away from that woman, Boris - who walks through a park like that?! Anyway, soporific reggae lite for mums, and we're stuck with it till The Communards can put a stop to him.
Speaking of which, sounded like a terrific cover back then, I do kind of prefer the Thelma Houston, but this has nothing to be ashamed of, guess it's one of those songs it's difficult to do badly. None too subtle pro-gay video, too, amid less enlightened times, which weren't that far away.
I think Nora was his wife, they both had name medallions made as some sort of joke.
DeleteAh, the famous German sense of humour.
DeleteThe Prince track here, Boys & Girls, I don't recall at all, but having seen the video on this show, I quite like it, especially as Prince and his Lovelies are all dressed up in tuxedo and ball gowns. This video would have come off much better in colour than black&white though.
DeleteOn the contrary, I do remember the Bruce Hornsby track very well at the time, but only the video, and I certainly don't recall them appearing in the TOTP studio, so herein is the beauty of having these re-runs over 30 years later, to remind us of TOTP shows that we occasionally missed, or that somehow passed us by.
The Prince film G&B comes from is in black and white too, so presumably His Purpleness directed the video as well?
Deletei'm not sure if i've mentioned this before or not, but those "lovelies" wendy & lisa (plus susannah i think) recorded this excellent track that was featured on their album "fruit at the bottom" (ooh er missus!):
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYk2wy8Ab0E
Live viewing - Rare opportunity to watch within a month of it being transmitted! Typically, it was a fairly poor episode that would have worn out the FF if I had been watching a recording.
ReplyDeleteDepeche mode - don't remember this at all. Very catchy though...
...nor the Prince track
Didn’t know Modern Romance were German. Long blond hair was about 3 years too late...
Remember Boris - still sounds as boring as it did at the time.
Communards. I play in a 60s covers band. This will be the third number one this year where we cover the originals - along with Venus and Spirit in the Sky.
hosts: presumably bruno was relieved his co-presenter was another jock on the short side for a change?
ReplyDeletedepeche mode: quite upbeat by their standards, but still quite boring as well. some rather dubious post-yewtree lyrics there: "you're only 15, and you look good"
prince: quite alarmingly i have no recollection of this whatsoever - even after i started watching the video. which is a bit of a shame as although for me his finest moment is "it's gonna be a beautiful night" this comes quite close with a similar no-nonsense funky groove. i like the black & white jazz age pastiche, although the music is hardly appropriate for it. i thought it was sheila e next to wendy at first, but then i realised it was wendy's twin sister susannah. why that black guy is laughing his head off at the end is utterly lost on me - presumably it's part of the plot for the disastrous follow-up film to "purple rain"?
bruce hornby & the range: this lot always remind of of huey lewis & the news, who had a similar top-heavy lineup of ordinary-looking geezers - including the main man in this case. i did quite like this, as did the guys who programmed the beeb's sports roundups at the time as it got used ad finitum. however if you want a better example of bruce and his distinctive piano noodling style, then take a listen to "the valley road"
modern talking: couldn't remember what this went like before i heard it, but crap name apart (something lost in translation probably) they aren't too bad at all. granted they're not going to give somebody like prince sleepness nights in the credibility stakes, but if you want a summery swaying piece of tuneful pop then you could a hell of a lot worse than this
Not for the first time, presenter-wise TOTP meets Miami Vice.
ReplyDeleteDepeche Mode follow “A Question Of Lust” with “A Question Of Time”. Surely the next single in the sequence should be “A Question Of Sport”. This sounded like the opposite of Sheer Elegance’s underage perv minor hit from yonder “It’s Temptation”, trying to protect a youngster until they reach that time, i.e. when it’s ‘legal’. Martin in his usual unusual gear and nice whirling dervish work by Dave. I enjoyed that tune.
Sorry, that Prince effort plodded for me. Never got out of third gear.
A pre-recorded and sublime showing from Bruce Hornsby and the lads, complete with a drummer using rounded end drumsticks a la ELO’s Bev Bevan and a guitarist you can’t hear. The camera’s over here, Bruce!
Oo, the mugshots. I wonder what John Oates is doing now Daryl Hall’s broken out on his own? Has he phoned up Andrew Ridgeley yet to form that supergroup?
A fine one-take realtime video for Janet Jackson, and one of the more tolerable songs in her canon to these ears.
The League are back with a classic. As smooth as the best plain chocolate.
Peter Cetera there with the archetypal Essex ‘down the aisle’ wedding song. Enough said.
Fine lightweight disco there, Jermaine, but lose that bumfluff tache!
It’s Schwarze Spitze next. My Bosnian wife grew up listening to that dreaded Eurodisco and loves it. In fairness, this is one of the best examples, though Modern Talking needed a keyboard player and less pointing in the air during the choruses. Obviously they had very strong sunbeds in Germany 35 years ago.
Boris ‘Two Hits, Actually’ Gardiner with a song sponsored by Horlicks.
The Communards with a strange gig / drama video where you get to count Jimi’s fillings and see how Southampton’s finest Sarah Jane Morris makes young Somerville look like Mini-Me in comparison.
A slight deviation from the current shows, but last night I watched the Jonathan Ross show on ITV, where one of his guests was none other than Boy George, who revealed the new album from Culture Club for 2018, along with the first single and video. Yes, Culture Club and not Boy George solo.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing that after their last single release in 1986 (where we are now in the re-runs) that Culture Club are back for the first time in 32 years with a new album, single and video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McifsS0OYlo
I like the fact that the whole original group are all back together, including the black member who lost his hat in the wind while in the open-top convertible on the Church Of The Poison mind video. Is anyone on here going to buy the new album?
George and the Boys had a fairly successful comeback in 1998 with a couple of Top 30 hits. I Just Wanna Be Loved made it to No. 4.
Deletehttps://youtu.be/yTYw1JjptMQ
I notice that this time around they are being billed as "Boy George and Culture Club," which kind of acknowledges what was always the case, that George was the main man, but which also suggests that the others are desperate enough for the pay day to submit to the indignity!
Deletei watched a fly-on-the-wall documentary of culture club reforming to make a new album a couple of years or so back, and thanks to in-fighting (not surprisingly between george and his ex-lover jon moss in particular) it ended up being shelved. i wonder if this new album is one and the same now they appear to have put their differences aside?
Deleteas for the billing: i suspect that has less to do with the desperation of the others and/or george's ego than with effective publicity and sound financial sense, as (unlike the rest) george has pretty much kept in the public eye in one way or another ever since the band originally split back in the late 80's
Apparently the new album is a reworked version of the one that got shelved - according to George they are all in "a much better place now."
DeleteYou may well be right that the name change is primarily for publicity/financial reasons, but if I was one of the others I would still be inwardly seething that my secondary status had now been made official!
They're being billed that way because Culture Club (very briefly) did some gigs with a different lead singer.
DeleteCulture Club without George is a bit like Thin Lizzy touring without Phil Lynott, or Hot Chocolate minus Errol Brown - not that such considerations stopped them, either!
Deletedon't forget big country minus stuart adamson, not to mention from the jam (minus the modfather of course)
Deletei remember in the early 90's being asked if i wanted to attend a works xmas outing to some local club where the entertainment was herman's hermits. i declined, as probably unlike most of my colleagues i was well aware that "herman" (aka peter noone and the only hermit most people would even remember, never mind be able to name) had left the group at least 20 years earlier!
... i think the fact that people were being asked to fork out over £20 for what was in effect a tribute band (before tribute bands started becoming popular) was a big factor in my decision not to go!
DeleteTowards the end of the Hermits' chart career, I don't think the band were actually playing on the records. On one of their final hit singles, 1970's Bet Yer Life I Do, the backing musicians were none other than Hot Chocolate!
DeleteJohn - indeed...HH moved to Mickie Most's RAK Label which also had HC signed. Errol Brown and Tony Wilson wrote the last two hits 'Bet yer life I do' (sounds like HC's 'Love is Life') and 'Lady Barbara'. The last 'proper' HH single for me was 'Years may come, years may go' which I always enjoy hearing despite its corny singalong character.
Deletethe "original" band is still plodding around the uk and perhaps europe as well even now to my knowledge (the only remaining member of their 60's hit-making days since the early 90's being the drummer). of course like most has-beens "herman" himself has now leapt on the nostalgia bandwagon, although he has to bill himself "peter noone and herman's hermits" and focuses on the american market where quite unbelievably they were pretty big in the 60's as well. the reason they probably got signed to rak was because mickie most was their original mentor and presumably still felt some loyalty towards them? likewise donovan, who was also pretty-much washed-up by then
DeleteA pretty decent show in amongst all the second half of 86 dreck, remarkable! Nice double denim on show from Bruno too.
ReplyDeleteDepeche Mode - Pretty much the only thing they brought out between 84 & 89 that I don't mind hearing, probably because a) It's got a proper tune and b) Isn't dreary
Prince - Completely anonymous and astonishing that it got to No.11 when many better singles he would release later in the next couple of years got nowhere near as high.
Bruce Hornsby - Des Lynam used to tell us what was coming up in Grandstand over the top of this, you know. It's quite likeable but I find his other material very dull indeed, especially 'New York Minute' which ironically feels like it goes on for about an hour.
Modern Talking - Utterly nonsensical but I love it, thank goodness for some proper pop. Some of their other singles that flopped here are pretty good too though inevitably they sound quite similar. What an extraordinary look they have too.
Boris Gardiner - Chalk up another terrible 86 No.1...
The Communards - Nothing wrong with this but I've just heard it too much over the years.
Wasn't New York Minute by Don Henley? Though it is a very long single.
DeleteI agree with THX there about Don and "Minute". Personally, I loved one of Bruce Hornsby's UK flops called "Look Out Any Window".
DeleteOh yes, for some reason I find it impossible to distinguish between Don Henley & Bruce Hornsby, especially as in both cases I like both the big hits and believe that the ones that missed the Top 40 did so for a very good reason!
ReplyDeleteSecond TOTP in one day. Don't mind if I do..
ReplyDeleteHooray The Mode are back. Become a huge fan during these repeats.
This is a right poppy little number isn't it, never seen them so animated, very good.
A chance to see more of the Prince video, still sounds like this was sampled for a Nelly Furtado song. Might be wrong, think this is not up to Princes usual standard but I like the old style video.
Bruce up next with his piano rock. I really don't know why I dislike this song so much, it's not bad, the blandness just annoys me I think. He seems to have no idea where the camera is, did he miss rehearsals?
Breakers:
Janet with one of her finest tunes. Shame the sound is all messed up. Oh well. She is a female Michael at this stage in her career.
Human League. Beautiful song, lovely to have them back. Another group I've become a fan of due to these repeats.
Peter Cetera. More MOR rock. America loved this stuff but some of it can be so bland. Bring back John Parr.at least he had a tune.
Jermaine Stewart. Quality tune. Not sure about the white hat though.
Modern Talking. This was the second year the family went Euro camping in France and this tune played EVERY night in the camp disco. Drove us all mad....but brings back many happy memories so I can't be mean to it. Though seriously what do they look like. Black !ace on acid. Not a great performance boys.
Gary has caught the "4 weeks at number one" fact from Slimes.
Sure it was 3 Gary.
Boris at the top.
Finally we get the video for The Communards. Now this is a tune...but more on that later...
morgie i've just read your belated comments for this and the previous few editions. however i feel the need to mention that you seem to be getting later and later with your reviews - perhaps to the point where no one else here looks for them any more?
Deletethat reminds me of the boxer nigel benn who was starting to make a name for himself around this time. he took ali's "rope a dope" approach, allowing his opponent to put him on the ropes and bombard him with punches before unleashing a blockbuster of his own that would at least put the other guy down if not knock him out - the risk of course being that he was putting himself in severe danger of being KO'd himself before he could do so!