Trunk of the Pops
08/01/87 (Gary Davies)
Swing Out Sister – “Surrender” (38)
Getting tonight's show underway with the follow up to Breakout, and it became their second and final top ten hit when it peaked at number 7.
Lionel Richie – “Ballerina Girl” (24) (video)
Not one of his better known hits, and it peaked at number 17.
The Gap Band – “Big Fun” (9) (rpt from 18/12/86)
Their second and biggest and final top ten hit, peaking at number 4.
The Pretenders – “Hymn To Her” (19) (video)
Became their penultimate top ten hit when it peaked at number 8.
Iggy Pop – “Real Wild Child (Wild One)” (36) (breaker)
Shame we didn't get the whole song to spice up this edition a bit! Peaked at number 10.
Robbie Nevil – “C’est La Vie” (32) (breaker)
His only top ten hit, peaking at number 3.
Paul Simon – “The Boy In The Bubble” (31) (video)
This second single from his massive number one album Graceland peaked at number 26.
Jackie Wilson – “Reet Petite” (1) (video)
Third of four weeks at the top.
Genesis – “Land Of Confusion” (14) (video/credits)
At its peak.
Next up is January 15th, but it's the first of 16 Mike editions in 1987.
I think TOTP was continuing to feel the January blues a bit with this edition, as some 1986 barnacles continued to cling to the boat and there was the grand total of one new studio performance. The audience must have been a bit hacked off about that, but as if to compensate they seem to have been told to be particularly manic in their grinning and clapping. It wasn't unprecedented for the same presenter to host two regular shows in a row, though I don't recall it happening before in the repeat run, and Gazza does another decent job here. However, the bomber jacket and tie combo suggest he had been taking tips from Quo's stylist...
ReplyDeleteCorinne dons her favourite coat again for this forgotten second SOS single. While it makes a pleasant change to hear something from them other than Breakout, I'm not convinced this was much better, though the classy backing vocals helped to counteract Corinne's droning a bit. Lionel Richie looks like he was deliberately trying to imitate his Hello video here, what with the performing arts theme, the soft focus and the inevitable, though mercifully brief, talky bit. As for the song, even by his standards it was dull, dull, dull, and it would be his last Top 20 hit for five years.
I assume from The Pretenders promo that the song was released with an eye on the Christmas market, but they evidently released it a bit too late to get a big festive hit. It's not a bad little tune, and the chorus is quite stirring, but it's perhaps a little too subdued for its own good, and a bit too long as well. We'll see more of the breakers anon, so on to Paul Simon and the excellent opening track from Graceland. I love that accordion part, and though Paul's tendency in his later solo work to cram too many lyrics in can often be annoying, for some reason it works here. A very innovative video too, which apart from the featured images of the World Trade Center hasn't really dated. As with the previous show, we've seen the last two songs before.
The videos on this show made good viewing, from Lionel Richie's Ballerina Girl which I though was perfect bedtime viewing with a cup of cocoa, to the brilliant Pretenders hit, which can thank the video for enhancing the appeal of the song.
DeleteHowever, the Paul Simon video drew too much from the video concept of Talking Heads with And She Was, which came out a year earlier in 1986, so I felt it was a bit more Talking Heads than Paul Simon!
AcerBen has made the 15th January show available here:
ReplyDeletehttps://we.tl/t-KEv2mMW1JL
Surrender wasn't as immediately catchy as Breakout, but for a touch of class in the late 80s charts you could do worse, even if it gets pretty repetitive with about two lines for the chorus. The addition of a backing vocalist was a good idea, and the trumpet player is no longer invisible.
ReplyDeleteEesh, Lionel Richie with a stultifying, banal bit of syrup, obviously aimed at the mums, or even the grans, judging by the would-be cutesy video. Pretty dreadful - check out those lyrics for "will this do?" can't be arsed-ness.
The Gap Band, with a repeat studio performance, don't get many of those now, they either brought acts back or showed the video. Maybe the snow was dissuading everyone but Swing Out Sister from showing up? Mr Gap appears to play one note on his keyboard throughout.
The Pretenders with a lovely song which sounds like a tribute to Chrissie's mum (mom?) but features a genuinely sweet melody offset by her low-voiced vocals. This does remind me of Christmas, but on this listen that seems to be because of the time it was released rather than the content.
Breaker, breaker... then Paul Simon's storming first track off Graceland, love the African bassline and drums and the video was of a style later to be used by Michael Jackson and Tears for Fears. I remember poring over the lyrics in fascination (they were printed on the inner sleeve!). Didn't sound like anything else in the charts at the time, aside from Red Box maybe.
Then magic darts to finish, along with the full Genesis video complete with Ronald Reagan starting World War III. Odd what we thought was funny back then. Spotted graffiti in the background "MANDY CALL BILL!" - guess who that referred to? He'd probably be arrested now.
shouldn't bill get arrested now anyway? after all, it's common knowledge he was having sex with minor back then. so why aren't the yewtree squad after him?
DeleteI don't think the snow had arrived just yet - it began falling a couple of days after this show. The "Mandy Call Bill" sign is a good spot - as far as I can remember, their relationship didn't really cause a stir until she married him a couple of years later.
DeleteBill hasn't been Yewtreed for the same reason Jimmy Page hasn't - there's been no complaint against him from the lady involved.
Deleteso does that mean it's alright to be a pedo technically, as long as the jailbait concerned doesn't have any objection? i'm not saying that's my personal view btw, just that seems to be what the law is implying...
DeleteI'm pretty sure it's not all right to be a paedophile under any circumstances, but I'd guess that there has to be an arrest for any charges to be brought. I'm just some random bloke on the internet, though, I'm not versed in law.
Deletei'm just pointing out the absurdity of it being one rule for some and a different one for others in this particular matter. my own view on "underage" sex is that puberty is nature's way of saying when someone is ready to choose to be (legally) sexually active or not, as opposed to artificial age-based restrictions imposed by moral guardians and do-gooders
DeleteI'm not so sure, you may be physically able to have sex before the age of consent, but psychologically it will probably be a different matter.
Deletethere were several girls in my year at school of whom it was common knowledge they were having sex with boys two or three years older than them before they had got to the "age of consent" (in fact there were rumours of at least a couple of abortions). so did that make the "boys" (who would have been 16 to 18) paedophiles? in the eyes of the law, presumably at least tehnically? of course like practically all the boys in my year i never got the opportunity to have "under age" sex with the female of the species, even though i had been physically capable of doing so for several years before i was legally allowed to. in fact the only person who did actually come on to me in that time was a (much older) guy, who i felt obliged to turn down!
Deleteof course that could have been the reason why i became so obsessed with pop music as a young teenager, because (to paraphrase basil fawtly) i had no sexual avenues of pleasure open to me (legally or not)?
swing out sister: i remember taking notice of their debut, and thinking this follow-up was actually a touch better than that. so i blagged a copy of their debut album, and discovered they were in fact two of the weakest tracks on it. listening to this again for the first time in ages, i've been reminded that corinne unforunately had a slight lisp ("still waiting for love to take wevenge"). the drummer always seemed a bit surplus to requirements to me too, and not surprisingly didn't last that much longer. unlike corinne and the keyboard player who are still active now, seemingly very popular in far-flung places like java
ReplyDeletelionel richie: probably mercifully this one passed me by at the time, and about 10 seconds listening on yt was enough to convince me to hastily move on
pretenders: unlike their (her) previous material, this very much has an american AOR feel about it. the video underlines that with the "log fire in log cabin in vermont or somewhere similar in teh middle of winter" imagery, so perhaps they were deliberately targetting the american market with this?
paul simon: after the breath of fresh air that was "you can call me al", i was quite disappointed in what i suppose you could call this cod-zydeco follow up. much better was on the "graceland" album in the form of "i know what i know" and "diamonds on the soles of her shoes" (the latter also failing to hit the heights as a single release to my recollection). this will seem utterly non-pc these days of course, but i remember being amused by a wag in my then-office referring to a partiularly odious colleague of greek-cypriot descent as "the boy who's a bubble"
Second week in a row for Gary solo, and I do like his style.
ReplyDeleteSwing out Sister – Surrender – Another one I quite liked at the time but just haven’t heard it since as I didn’t buy it and it’s not one played on the radio. Enjoyed hearing it again though.
Lionel Richie – Ballerina Girl – With a video featuring, um, ballerinas. As Craig Revel Horwood would say; ‘Dull, dull, dull’ (NB I have written this before spotting that John G has used exactly the same phrase on his review – how about that for great minds thinking alike!!!). Not even included on Lionel’s definitive compilation ‘Back to Front’, this is definitely a case of diminishing returns. Listed as a double A Side with ‘Deep River Woman’, I don’t recall ever hearing that.
Gap Band – Big Fun – Repeat of the studio appearance; was there no video? Good sound though.
Pretenders – Hymn to her – This made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up hearing it after some years. That bit with delicate guitar near the middle is especially moving. A very simple but effective video, this was the show’s highlight for me.
Breakers – Iggy Pop – Nicky Horne was always playing Iggy Pop stuff on Capital Radio in the late 70s but it went right over my head. This sounded quite good however and hopefully we’ll get to see more. Robbie Nevil – didn’t like this at all at the time but appeals a lot more now.
Paul Simon – The Boy in the Bubble – Video aside, this is ‘dull dull dull’!
Jackie Wilson – Reet Petite – Outstaying its welcome somewhat, but at least it’s a song…
Genesis – Land of Confusion – Love the song, and it was a great live track, but I can’t bring myself to watch the video, though I did check that the depressing ending was shown and surprisingly it was. That must have shocked a few people at the time unless it was cut on broadcast – does anyone know for sure?
No mention of the new entry at no17 other than the chart rundown thank goodness….
umm sct, what was at no. 17 in the charts this week?
DeleteSorry - I meant no18 !
DeleteBBC4 seem to be showing the entirety of the TOTP "tapes", so videos usually continue to the end on these repeats that would quite often be cut off halfway through originally. That's my recollection, anyway.
Deletei agree with sct that gary davies' confident but laid-back personality made him one of the best radio 1 jocks to present the show. in fact i would place him second in the all-time list behind david "kid" jensen, with janice long possibly third. sadly though in contrast, the guy vying with gazza as most frequent host at the moment (shitty) is one of the worst of the entire run!
DeleteI think Gazza had grown into the role a lot since his hesitant early appearances, and was at the top of his game by this time. We will mercifully lose Smitty after March 1988, but it's typical his TOTP career only came to an end just as the charts really started to go downhill!
DeleteSct353, whether the Genesis video was actually shown in full on that original TOTP episode in 1987 or not, it is amazing how this track was still going up the charts when it was first played on the show a couple of months earlier in Nov 1986.
DeleteThe full playout by BBC4 could indeed be a first, as like you I expect that the original 1987 show would have been cut short on broadcast, not for the depressing ending, but rather to get on with the tight evening schedule on BBC1 at the time.
Anyway, that nuke ending was a similar ending to the Frankie Goes To Hollywood video for Two Tribes in 1984, which was not shown at all on TOTP, in favour of having the band in the TOTP studio instead.
If anyone is interested, the cut bit of Gazza's last link is here:
ReplyDeletehttps://we.tl/t-ipk4zzTb52
hi lads just wondering if TOTPDrykid is looking in can you make the 3 old restorations you put up before xmas (1 in oct + 2 in dec) available again as i missed them thanks keep up the good work
ReplyDeleteA bit of a laidback feel to this show but some good songs on it nonetheless, and it was more entertaining than the previous one!
ReplyDeleteSwing Out Sister - I only rediscovered this recently, it completely passed me by at the time. I really like it, and considering it was a Top 10 hit, you never hear it now.
Lionel Richie - Calling Operation Yewtree....joking, but it is sickly in the extreme.
The Pretenders - I generally prefer their slower songs, and this is my absolute favourite from their singles. Just a really lovely song with a great melody.
Paul Simon - It's OK, but like wilberforce, I prefer 'Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes' which was indeed a single but flopped.
Surprised to see the Genesis video in full at the end though at the time it obviously would have been chopped much earlier, though I definitely remember seeing it full on something (The Chart Show perhaps?)
the one bit i never liked about "diamonds on the soles of her shoes" was the ladysmith black mambazo choral section at the beginning. fortunately when i acquired it as an mp3, i was able to chop that tiresome segment out with a sound editor!
DeleteI only discovered today that no less than five singles were taken off "Graceland", with the title track released as the follow-up to "Al" and barely making the top 100. After "Bubble" we had "Diamonds" which also failed to trouble the chart ticklers (albeit missing the top 75 by a couple of places) and finally "Under African Skies" which did diddley squat, as you'd normally expect for a fifth single off a hugely selling album.
Deletewhat possible reason could there have been for releasing a fifth single off a phenomenally successful album like that? especially given that at least two of the previous ones were flops? none, other than greed and exploitation i would say. good on you punters for not biting!
DeleteListening to Radio 2 over Xmas and Sounds of the 80s at New Year and all I've heard is Gary Davies...It's 1987 all over again.
ReplyDeleteSo TOTP fans when was the last time a Number 38 new entry got a TOTP spot. I would suspect this is a first for the shorter version of the show. Mind you Swing Out Sister were very big at the time and had just had a massive hit single. This is not as immediately catchy as Breakout but still a nice tune. Think I prefer it to Breakout. Was she always dressed in stripes? What is going on with that skirt?
Mr Rich Tea back with another soppy ballad. He made some great records and he made some cheesy dross and this is definitely in the latter category. With a cringe inducing soppy video as well.
Gap Band - seen this disco revival already. Like.
Pretenders on video - this is a beautiful song. I like Chrissie Hynde's voice. Nice wintery looking video that goes very well with the song, almost the best song on the show tonight...……….
Breakers:
Iggy Pop: This is a great song. Odd man but he can write a tune.
Robbie Nevil: Never heard of before or since. Great pop song. Bit of a ladies man was he?
And here comes the best song on the show - my favourite Paul Simon record and one of my all time favourite songs. Was a fan from the first time I heard it. Great video as well. Should have been a much bigger hit.
Our plasticine pal still at the top.
Another showing for the Genesis video - can't get away from those bloody spitting image puppets at the moment.
A very video heavy show this week - glad we got Paul Simon in full though. Back to Smithy next time..
Erm, Iggy Pop didn't write "Real Wild Child". It was a cover of a song by Australian singer johnny O'Keefe first released in 1958.
DeleteThen I take it back. He's just an odd man.. 😀
DeleteGary with another fine performance, apart from listing who’s coming up. What’s that weird background noise throughout the show?
ReplyDeleteA real treat for the audience as mentioned, with just the one studio act, and another black and white garb showing for a less colourful Swing Out Sister follow-up, though I loved Corinne’s in-sync dancing with the backing singer for the choruses.
That Lionel Richie syrup would have had the vom rising if I hadn’t been cleared out yesterday for a colonoscopy this morning.
A nice mellow video for The Pretenders’ tune which was written by a friend of Chrissie Hynde. Strange seeing her without a guitar.
Surely the first sighting of an Alien Sex Fiend T-shirt in that Iggy Pop video, which sees Iggy keeping all his clothes on – fairly unusual for one of his gig’s.
Robbie Nevil, trying too hard to be cool with a video with hints of the recent Robert Palmer efforts.
Never mind the boy in the bubble, it’s the bloke with the babble! Can you imagine the number of words crammed into “Reeling In The Years” or “The Boys Are back in Town” if Paul Simon had written them?
I hope your colonoscopy wasn't too unpleasant, Arthur. I had one a few months back, and they are not the most comfortable of experiences!
DeleteThanks, John. Actually it went better than expected - way better than the sluice gate opening the day before! - but I still feel zonked out from what I was given in the theatre, and The Ramones' "I Wanna Be Sedated" seems very apt right now!
DeleteThe worst bit for me was drinking that sickly lemony concoction that opens the sluice gate - four pints of the stuff, if I remember correctly! The sedation didn't seem to have any effect on me at all, though it presumably makes things more comfortable than they might otherwise have been...
DeleteI asked the theatre staff to warm the end first and only wake me if they got Channel 5. Luckily, they all got my sense of humour!
DeleteNo-one seemed to notice the Steve Silk Hurley tune in the background throughout the show when Gary Davies was introducing each act. It was a new entry this week at No.18 and sounded the perfect tune for background pop, and I thought it was the perfect soundtrack for the show, and could easily have been used instead of Paul Hardcastle's current soundtrack. Good Lord, if only TOTP had the same idea as me!
ReplyDeleteI did allude to the subliminal inclusion of Steve Hurley with my 'weird background noise' thread.
DeletePS - While typing this, at first I accidentally typed the name of said 'artist' as Steve Harley. Now that would have been a real juxtaposition!
Thanks Arthur, I didn't pick that up
Delete