Saturday 19 January 2019

I Knew You Were Waiting (For Top of the Pops)

This edition of Top of the Pops from 29th January 1987 will not be shown on BBC4 due to the Mike Smith contract dispute. So a huge thanks once again to the uploader for making it available here at WeTransfer.

Top of the Pepsi & Shirlie


29/01/87  (Mike Smith)

Pepsi & Shirlie – “Heartache” (7)
On their way to number 2.

Aretha Franklin & George Michael – “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)” (2) (video)
On their way to number one.

Raze – “Jack The Groove” (20)
Their biggest hit, but it go no higher than number 20.

Robbie Nevil – “C’est La Vie” (3)
At his peak.

Vesta Williams – “Once Bitten Twice Shy” (25)
Her only hit and it peaked at number 14.

The Blow Monkeys – “It Doesn’t Have To Be This Way” (27) (breaker)
Became their only top ten hit when it peaked at number 5.

Michael Crawford & Sarah Brightman – “Music Of The Night” (24) (breaker)
Became the third top ten hit from The Phantom of the Opera when it peaked at number 7.

Taffy – “I Love My Radio” (15) (+ brief interview)
Peaked at number 6.

Steve ‘Silk’ Hurley – “Jack Your Body” (1) (video/credits)
Second and final week at number one.


Next up is February 5th.

55 comments:

  1. Thanks to the Archivist once more. I wonder if someone had told Smitty to stop acting like a prat, as he once again toned things down here and was so much better as a result, even if his of-its-time suit was horrendous.

    Pepsi and Shirlie begin their post-Wham lives with a big hit, but despite some slick production and decent vocals this left me unmoved. I think the main problem is the chorus, which feels very flat and dissipates any momentum built up by the verses. The girls put on a decent performance anyway, but what were the long schoolgirl-type socks all about? Their former colleague, meanwhile, was preparing to unleash the Faith album on the world at this point. As a stopgap, he recorded this accomplished duet with the Queen of Soul which, if not all that exciting musically, nevertheless makes for a pleasant and soulful listen. The video feels a bit Big Brotherly with those giant screens, but the montages of each singer's past, plus the footage of soul greats, was a nice touch.

    "Jack" was quite the buzz word at this time, wasn't it? This performance arguably marks the start of the long and ignoble tradition of faceless dance acts turning up in the studio and proving beyond doubt that they were not televisual. At least this lot make a bit of an effort, but the various dance moves feel overly-contrived, and it doesn't help that the track itself is utterly monotonous - much as I dislike Jack Your Body, at least it has some energy to it. Robbie Nevil next, but this new performance barely seems any different from the previous one.

    Credit to Smitty for acknowledging and laughing off his verbal slip where he almost referred to Vesta Williams as being from "Ohio in California." The lady herself looks like she has come direct from a production of the Arabian Nights, but her striking appearance and strong voice can't really save this thin, generic, eminently disposable piece of pop-soul from quickly vacating the memory banks. You might have expected Taffy to be Welsh, but she turns out to be a Deptford girl and certainly sounds it! Understandably she is keen to get away from Smitty and his questions as quickly as possible, and proceeds to give an energetic performance. In its way this song is also pretty thin and vacuous, but is redeemed by its infernally catchy chorus.

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    1. i can't remember the name of the act in question, but in the early 90's i remember being highly amused by some (literally) faceless male dance duo wearing those masks that painters and decorators use - with an "A" (presumably standing for anarchy?) spray-painted on them. they also has a load of scantily-clad yound women gyrating on stage as well!

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    2. am i right in that the place shitty got wrong regarding vesta williams was ojai (pronounced "o-hi")? if so, then that was the fictional residence of both the six million dollar man and the bionic woman!

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    3. The dance act from the 90s that you're thinking about were Altern-8. Their biggest hits were Activ-8, Evapor-8 and Hypnotic St-8. Bit of a theme going on there!

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    4. Ana Matronic did really well answering questions on the Bionic Woman on Celebrity Mastermind on Friday. Though I got the question she got wrong, right (the answer was Bigfoot)!

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    5. thanks for that anonymous - i checked them out again on yt and it's utter bollocks musically (making steve "silk" hurley look like beethoven in comparison), but visually it was as amusing as i remember (i had forgotten about the tone-deaf lady in the catsuit, as well as the obligatory baseball-capped rapper!):

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QT1fmPQXWg

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    6. Wilberforce - sadly, the mistake Smitty made was a bit more prosaic than that. He meant to say that she was from Ohio but now lived in California, so no Bionic Woman connections, alas.

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    7. oh well, that's a shame. apart from being the fictional residence of the bionic duo, ojai is a real small town in california (actually classified as a city) that is very upmarket and home to many hollywood types

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  2. Thanks for the upload, Anonymous. Have you got the three shows that BBC4 cut the Crowd video short? They were 6/06/85, 13/06/85 and 20/06/85. Also have you got 19/07/84, 20/09/84 and 11/07/85 all of which BBC4 cut links to.

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    1. here are 5 episodes i cant find 19 07 84 sorry.
      https://we.tl/t-6EicVH53BK

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    2. Thank you very much for all the uploads Anonymous. They are brilliant. Would you have any of the following shows: 1/7/71, 25/1/73, 28/8/75, 4/9/75, 22/6/78, 13/7/78, 10/8/78 and 9/11/78. The John Travolta & ONJ film footage was removed from the 1978 editions and the 1973 show was cut on Einsfestival. The other three were on UK Gold with some small edits.

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    3. yep, here are all 8 episodes.

      https://we.tl/t-cItZhOMuZN

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    4. Brilliant Anonymous! Have you also got 1/01/76,15/04/76,22/03/79,23/11/78 and 21/07/83? They are either UK Gold versions or BBC4 removed clips from.

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    5. Great that old shows can be shared here Just wondering if anybody would have 17/06/71 and 15/08/74 also a long shot the surviving bits of 25/12/69 . even though it is said 4/10/73 is wiped i heard a copy may be around I think it might have been a home recording ?? any help on these would be great. Great Blog Angelo I will be regular visitor (on my partners account)

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    6. Not from the BBC archive but...
      https://fil.email/XEiaj0Ng

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    7. brie here are the 5 eps.

      https://we.tl/t-OVaGuaX9II

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    8. Thanks Anonymous for these. Great stuff!

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    9. A big thanks from me also Anonymous for the 8 shows and all the other ones too!

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    10. Many thanks from me too. Fantastic to finally have that Police performance back where it belongs in 21/7/83. My copy I had pasted a copy from youtube into the UK Gold version to make it complete but it didnt sit right in my edit so brilliant to finally have an uncut version!

      Why UK Gold had to edit them out in the first place when they screened the episode is beyond me! In fact..why these classic shows need to be edited at all for transmission today is also beyond me!

      Many thanks again for these uploads and also for the Mike Smith editions that have also been shared. The sound quality on these BBC Archive versions really is suoerb and far beyond what was being recorded on VHS at the time. Wonderful stuff!

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    11. Fantastic uploads Anonymous, thank you for sharing them with us. Not sure if these 2 are available but have you got the raw/unedited copies of 11/10/73 or 25/12/73. Michael Ward was edited out when BBC4 screened 11/10/73 and there are some retakes and outtakes on the 25/12/73 tape.

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    12. here's what i can find

      https://we.tl/t-5IRyYUsPZK

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    13. Thank you very much, Anonymous. Some of the DJ links are extended on the alt version of 25/12/73. Eye Level from The Simon Park Orchestra is also longer and retakes from The Sweet and GG are included as well. I think the other performances may be the same on both copies.
      Great to see the complete 11/10/73 also.

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    14. Wow..Uncut 11/10/73! Never thought I would ever get to see that! Wonderful stuff!

      BBC Four only ever had the unedited VT to work from when they screened the episode so it was never actually shown on their channel as originally broadcast way back in 1973.Great to finally see it uncut. Thanku!

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  3. Ah, Pepsi and Shirlie with their breathy debut hit, if this counted as a debut after their Wham! days. Not a bad little pop ditty, and it did very well for them, though their tries at a distinctive fashion sense never caught on. Also, I have a feeling this performance made this 14-year old boy into a 14-year old man.

    Aretha and George, two great tastes that sounded great together. As I've said before, I really underrated this track at the time, but it's aged very well indeed. Not quite in at number one, when that was still a novelty.

    Raze, bless their cotton socks they did try, but this was spectacularly naff, bendy lady and all. Nondescript house at best, and the attempts to look live when it was all recorded were embarrassing.

    Robbie Nevil much as before (is his hair getting bigger?) then a gem from Vesta Williams, really liked this at the time, top bit of soul pop, maybe it was the opening line about Dracula that sold me on it? She looks quite formidable here, I had a memory of TOTP showing the video only, so this was a nice surprise.

    What's The Phantom Raspberry Blower of Old London Town doing in the Michael Crawford video? Anyway, moving swiftly along, another pop gem from one hit wonder Taffy, and she seemed delightful as she bounced around. Songs about how great radio is always pander to the DJs, but this was a genuinely fun tune, and she should have been a bigger star. I'm guessing that EastEnders contract never transpired?

    Then Steve to end on, say goodbye to your 15 minutes, "Silk"!

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    1. Spot on regarding Pepsi & Shirlie. I remember really liking this ditty, and their interesting outfits in the TOTP studio. The video is not bad either, I remember getting it on a VHS compilation, typical of late 80s VHS music releases.

      Interesting that Raze came all the way from New York to the TOTP studio, considering they only went up one position in the charts this week to No.20! The bendy lady as you refer to her, was quite good on that stage I thought, and probably the highlight of the whole performance, as she looked very fit and athletic, with perfectly toned gym sort of body. Raze was all about the dance moves on this performance, and not so much the tune.

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  4. pepsi & shirley: decent-enough dance pop (if perhaps a bit passe for 1987), but i still have no recollection of it even having listened to it again now. it sounds like their old boss on backing vocals, thus returning the favour. they actually sound like quite good singers, although i've said before that i always thought shirley was very plain-looking - even for a backing singer, never mind as a co-lead (although martin kemp obviously thought otherwise!)

    aretha & george: rather pepsi and shirley than this pairing, any day of the week. but then again unlike most i have no time for ms franklin whatsoever. the world's best soul singer? to paraphrase keith moon: she wasn't even the best singer in her own family

    raze: or "eraze", as sct would no doubt rather have it. not too promising at the beginning, but once it gets going it has its moments. however the synth doesn't sound quite in tune with the bass, and there are too many breakdowns. but then again when you've just basically got a riff, then there's not a lot else you can do to vary it. not surprising that it stalled at twenty, given that it's actually tune-free and thus unlistenable outside of a club environment (although laughably i've just been listening to the "7" radio edit" on yt)

    vesta williams: of course mention of vesta brings to mind then-exotic meals in a box as well as matches, rather than 80's soul singers. i can't even remember her, never mind this track. which might sound alright in a club as functional dance music, but synth solo apart it's fairly mediocre and instantly forgettable

    taffy: for some reason i thought she was white, but i think i must be mixing her up with someone else. the backing certainly sounds like it's been done by white people (it turns out to be italians behind it). as already mentioned, the chorus is by far the most interesting thing about it. but unlike "jack the groove", it works both as a radio and club track

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    1. Vesta was the goddess of the hearth in Greek mythology.

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    2. yes, i guessed it was some kind of mythological monicker. can anyone think of any other products that carry such names? ajax for one springs to mind

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    3. At a stretch you could say Mars Bar, but that definitely wasn't named after the Roman god of war!

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  5. Thanks again for loading up anonymous – so BBC4 viewers get spared another outing for ‘Jack your Body’ plus a similarly irritating ‘Jack the Groove’ (what is it about ‘Jack’?). Smithy’s hair seemed to be getting ever longer at this stage…

    Pepsi and Shirlie – Heartache – Uplifting bouncy start to the show with lots of enthusiasm. Certainly something beaty and catchy to dance to. Mrs Kemp seems to be doing more of the vocals.

    Aretha Franklin and George Michael – I knew you were waiting (for me) – Those brackets again Wilberforce! I love the insistent bass line on this track. It’s not the greatest song ever written (co-written by Climie Fisher incidentally) but I still enjoy hearing it and watching the video...and it was loved in the States as well when it topped their charts in April. Speaking of US chart toppers; how about this one that was their no1 at this point in time; ‘At this moment’ by Billy Vera and the Beaters. Ever heard of it? Nope, nor had I; I had to look it up on YT.

    Raze – Jack the Groove – Oh per-lease!!! If ain’t as bad having you know what at no1 we get this similar piece of nonsense which I gave about 20 seconds before FF.

    Robbie Neil – C’est la vie – Robbie restores some tune back into things with another studio outing.

    Vesta Williams – Once bitten twice shy – Not my cup of tea; FF

    Breakers – Blow Monkeys – very reverend looking video. Michael Crawford – The Music of the Night – incorrectly captioned as “and Sarah Brightman” although she does appear in the video; this was a solo Michael song that was a double A Side with the solo Sarah song “Wishing you were somehow here again”. Marvellous stuff both sides.

    Taffy – I love my Radio – A very feisty Taffy in her orange outfit bounces around for this uplifting song that is not too far removed from Pepsi and Shirlie.

    Steve ‘Silk’ Hurley – Jack your Body – I have said quite a bit about this already. Listening to the UK-obscure US chart topper by Billy Vera, I know which song I prefer! Mercifully this is the last week at no1 and we nave several month to go now until MARRS is unleashed. Meanwhile, a parting thought from our 80s no1 blogger who has a slightly more forgiving view than Nigel and myself; “I've no doubt that haters of house/dance music will be quick to point out that it isn't something that generally gets heavy rotation as a 'golden oldie' and that a re-issue or chart re-entry on its thirtieth anniversary is unlikely. But I think they'd be being a bit petty. Certainly it's not a track for everybody…”. I’d agree on that last point.

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    1. i did of course mean Simon Climie who formed Climie Fisher with Rob Fisher. 'Love changes (everything)' would peak at no67 in 1987 before a remix and resurrengence to no2 in 1988.

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    2. Sarah Brightman with this Music Of The Night had three successful songs from Phantom in the charts by now in quick succession, ie, the title tune, the duet with Cliff Richard and the famous snog in that video, and now this one with Michael Crawford. She was certainly the talk of the pop charts in 1986-87, and why not?

      Agreed regarding Taffy as 'tasty'. Hmm, she should have called herself 'Tasty Taffy'. Having looked very ordinary the week before on the Breakers clip with a bland-looking video clip. she certainly came off very well on this studio performance, and much better than the video. It's amazing what Deptford and South East London brings!

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  6. Just to add this week that the new entry at no.35 by The Ward Brothers which unfortunately did not even get a Breakers slot, let alone a full playing, was quite superb. I remember at the time having the main chorus ringing in my head for weeks, if not months after:

    "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it....if there's a problem we'll get over it....I know our love will see us through."

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    1. Nice record that from the Ward Brothers. Also missing out this week is, at its chart peak of no75 - 'Distant Star' by, ummm Anthony Hopkins. Think 'If' by Telly Savalas without the memorable tune....

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    2. by chance i'm currently watching anthony hopkins in "westworld". a case of "small world" ha ha

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    3. I hope you had fava beans and a nice Chianti while watching! Yes, I know, wrong film....

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    4. arthur it's actually a pretty recent re-boot tv series of the original film that starred yul brynner!

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  7. Right, I'm going to make a few comments here rather than scatter them on the correct threads.

    Funny how Taffy was English, and the Welsh actor Windsor Davies was named after a posh English town (or soup!).

    By the way, Windsor and Don Estelle weren't the true definition of one-hit wonders, as they released a facsimile follow-up, "Paper Doll", which reached number 41.

    Funny how the word 'raze' means 'to demolish' while the similarly sounding 'raise' means to 'move upwards'!

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    1. thanks arthur - i should have checked for possible windsor & don follow-ups/cash-ins. i've just checked discogs, and the duo released not one but three albums together! by the way: although the series itself was hardly a classic, i always used the love the way that windsor and donald sinden hammed it up as rival antiques dealers in "never the twain"

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    2. Windsor Davies actually spent his formative years in Canning Town, and didn't move to Wales until he was nine, so he was born closer to Windsor than he was to the land of his fathers!

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    3. Just noticed the artists for that riproaring number 1 are shown on the label as 'Windsor Davies As B.S.M. Williams And Don Estelle As Gunner Sugden (Lofty)'. Don Estelle's real name was Ronald Edwards.

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    4. ...and while we're still on the subject, someone's done a sort of Banksy tribute to Windsor Davies....

      https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-46941059

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  8. For once a Smitty show where not only is he tolerable, but there's a fair smattering of decent songs!

    Pepsi & Shirlie - It's the kind of thing I'd usually have gone for but I never took to these 2 for some reason.

    George & Aretha - Whereas I LOVED this at the time. I'm slightly less thrilled by it these days.

    Raze - At least they put in some effort I suppose, but as others have said, it's a club track that happened to be doing quite well in the chart. Their 'Break 4 Love' is a much better song.

    Vesta Williams - I think I ignored this at the time, but I've grown to like it very much since.

    Breakers - One good pop song, one not so good musical number.

    Taffy - Well, I certainly didn't expect her to sound like that! For once it's a not completely awful interview at least. Note how she almost forgets to mime 'DJ' instead of 'midnight' a couple of times (see my comments on the previous show...)

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  9. Thanks once again to The Archivist. Oo, a different pre-show countdown sequence!

    Mike’s best hosting by a country mile. If only he could have been this good all the time.

    Cold or excited, there, Shirlie? Nice rara! Surely she should have been called after a soft drink to keep Pepsi company. Cresta, maybe? These days loads of footballers have their socks that high.

    George and Aretha with a Toppotron in the video! Nice touch to have all that nostalgia, but this song never did anything for me.

    Feck me, Raze invent line dancing! Followed by a bit of Alternative Car Park. Great camera angle at 12:15 in this show, obviously followed by Michael Hurll screaming down the line to change shot. Eat that, ‘Steve Harley’! Made me laugh out loud and compensated for the complete lack of tune.

    We then get a self-important anti-climax. Just the one big hit then, Robbie? Oh well, c’est la vie.

    Julian Cope’s “Trampoline” still not bouncing up or down the charts.

    I actually felt sorry for Mike with his balls-up before Vesta’s boil-in-the-bag disco. Not seen that shade of green on the show since Delegation (let’s see who remembers that far back!). Lots of acts jetting in from the States this week, aren’t there?

    The Blow Monkeys with a reasonable midtempo workout. More tea, vicar?

    Hmmm Betty! Couldn’t work out whether Michael Crawford was uglier than Sarah or vice versa.

    Taffy isn’t originally from Squeeze territory. The artist named Katherine Quaye was actually born in New York. Really liked her bubbliness in the interview (“Can I go now and not miss my cue?”) and her effervescent performance. Shame this was all we got of her chartwise, whereas she managed a top 3, a top 5 and a top 20 with other songs in Italy.

    Bye Steve. Don’t hurry back. In fact, you could say jack off. Boom boom tish!

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    1. I thought the camera angle at 11:48 was just as risque

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  10. Suddenly remembered it and wished I hadn't - does anyone else recall Pepsi and Shirlie's attempt at the Free classic "All Right Now"? Shudder...

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  11. Pepsi and Shirlie kick off with a great little pop song. Used to sing this loads around the house. Like someone posted last week I wasn't aware they were from Wham at the time. They disappeared quite quickly and I'm not sure they ever released an album. Nice outfits though. 😀😉

    Nice link into George and Aretha. And what a great song this is. One of the highlights of the 80s. George at the top of his game. Nice to see the old clips in the background, don't think I'd really noticed them before.

    Raze. All the way from New York. Could really have stayed in New York. Now this never got on the Radio 1 playlist. No surprise this is absent from Spotify. Where's Zoo when you need them.

    Robbie back again. Not quite down there Mike. Don't think anyone was fooled by that even in 1987.

    The Ward Brothers - Who??????
    Rosie Vela - again who???
    Vesta Williams - and again?

    Well we get the answer to one of those questions. Vesta dressed as the Green Goddess all the way form the US of A.
    Was waiting for the keep fit routine to kick in. Harmless enough song. Nothing special.

    Breakers:
    Blow Monkeys. Bit of quality on the show. Fabulous song. Video not up to much.
    The star of Phantom Michael Crawford makes it to the charts. What would Betty think? Not my thing.

    Taffy from Sarf East London. Seems a lovely girl. Is there a dress code tonight. All singers in bright colours please. Gotta love 80s.fashions. Tapping my feet to this one. 😀 She can bust some moves.

    Janice and John next week. Hooray

    Silk Hurley to play out. Not a bad little show. Flew by this week.

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    1. Pepsi and Shirlie's, erm, unusual take on "All Right Now" was the title track of their first album - they released two.

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    2. The Ward Brothers were a fraternal trio from Barnsley who released four singles, of which this was their only chart entry.

      Rosie Vela was a Texan model and singer whose album featured the head honchos in Steely Dan. "Magic Smile" made the UK top 30 for three weeks and that was her lot.

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    3. as a dan fan i was most excited when i heard that fagen and becker had reunited for the first time in several years to record with the unknown rosie vela. and the single "magic smile" was certainly comparable to their standards in my view. however the rest of her only album sadly wasn't...

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    4. Magic Smile is a great, louche-sounding laid back number, Gary Davis was a huge fan (though he fancied Rosie too, and made no secret of it on his show!).

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  12. Thanks Arthur. Two albums for P+S. Wow.

    Will have to check out Ward Brother and Rosie Vela on You Tube.

    I made the point of not knowing them as it is unusual for me to not recognise 1 act in the chart during the late 80s, let alone 3!

    Thanks for the info.

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  13. Ward Brothers a cross between It Bites and Living In a Box without the catchy song to match I'm afraid.
    The Rosie Vela effort really isn't up to much. Not surprised it past me by...

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