Shooting up the charts
23/04/87 (Gary Davies)
Five Star – “The Slightest Touch” (8)
Getting tonight's live show underway with what was to be their sixth and final top ten hit, and it peaked at number 4.
The Smiths – “Sheila Take A Bow” (13)
In the studio to perform what became their second of three top ten hits when it peaked at number 10.
Kim Wilde & Junior – “Another Step (Closer To You)” (14)
Also performing in the studio tonight, this became Junior's second and final top ten hit, and Kim's fourth of eight, when it peaked at number 6.
Judy Boucher – “Can’t Be With You Tonight” (2)
Another studio performance but she was now at her peak.
Starship – “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” (15) (breaker)
Will be number one in three weeks time.
Tom Jones – “A Boy From Nowhere” (12) (breaker)
Became his first chart hit for 10 years, and his first top ten hit since 1972, when it peaked at number 2.
Glenn & Chris – “Diamond Lights” (17)
Hoddle & Waddle put their only hit in the back of the net, and it peaked at number 12.
Madonna – “La Isla Bonita” (1) (video)
First of two weeks at number one.
Terence Trent D’Arby – “If You Let Me Stay” (7) (+ credits)
Another studio performance to end the show with, but the song was at its peak.
April 30th is next.
It’s a live show, as Gazza reminds us every five seconds, and Michael Hurll looks as if he is intent on reviving the party atmosphere prevalent in the earlier years of his tenure, though this chiefly manifests itself as confetti raining down on our hapless host. Five Star commence proceedings with the usual drill, though their all-white costumes are considerably better than some of the outfits they had previously worn. The song is also one of their better efforts for me, with a decent chorus that sticks in the brain.
ReplyDeleteAlthough there would be a few smaller hits to come after Sheila Take a Bow, this was the final time The Smiths appeared in the TOTP studio, as they split just three months later. I don’t mind this one; it is quite melodic, and Mozza’s vocals are more bearable than they sometimes are. He is also quite restrained in this performance, with no props but some moves that definitely qualify as “dad dancing” in my book! It seems a bit curious that Kim Wilde should team up with Junior for a duet, given that five years had elapsed since his sole previous Top 10 hit - were they labelmates at the time? In any case I’m not sure they should have bothered, as while it’s OK, it is far from essential listening. Quite a lively performance, however, with Junior dressed up for the occasion more than Kim, and some cute choreography that sees them bounce closer together when singing the chorus. I can’t remember if anyone mentioned this when he was last on the show, but Junior is the uncle of Richard Blackwood.
Judy Boucher follows Five Star in conforming to an all-white dress code, while single-handedly killing the party atmosphere stone dead with this mystifyingly big hit. Two breakers follow that we shall see again - NOTHING Gonna Stop Us Now, BBC? - and then Hoddle and Waddle enjoy their brief moment of pop glory, much to Gazza’s amusement (and perhaps also to the amusement of that other Gazza). The funniest thing about this performance, appropriately located on the “diamond” set, is how seriously they both seem to take it, as if they saw this as the start of a glittering musical career. It’s not actually that bad a song, quite similar in some ways to a Bucks Fizz record, though the heavy, moody production is presumably there in part to compensate for the vocal deficiencies of the two main men. TTD turns up again for a studio playout, complete with scrolling credits for a change - perhaps his badge was meant to signify that he now considered himself to be the new sheriff in town?
that wasn't the end of chris waddle's recording career - after he left spurs to become part of the all-star marseilles team in the early 90's, he also hooked up with french colleague basile boli on what is actually a highly-credible afro-dance track that even chris's geordie rapping can't spoil that much!:
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ct5puqTSi0
btw, watch out in the video for chris's appearance as presumably what the french saw as a stereotypical englishman (i don't suppose anyone strolled about in a pinstripe suit, bowler hat and brolly in the toon?), and his eye-rolling!
It's certainly different - Waddle seems to be rapping in a strange Geordie-French hybrid accent! He did score a number 1 too, of course, as he provides backing vocals on World in Motion.
Deletei saw an interview with waddle on yt when he was at marseilles, where quite bizarrely he was talking in english but with a french accent! a similar thing happened to ex-england manager steve mcclaren when he took over a dutch team, and started sounding like goldmember from austin powers
DeleteThis was a fun show, even with one major clunker halfway through that threatened to derail it. Five Star were first up with more of their pop square-bashing, and one of their better tunes too, very slick and professional. I wish Gary would stop playing that recent clip of Denise going all vocally extravagant when she was interviewed on Sounds of the 80s, though, it's kind of annoying.
ReplyDeleteMoz pays tribute to Shelagh Delaney for a change, how unlike pretty much every other lyric he'd penned for The Smiths. Or not. Anyway, for some reason I found I knew all the words to this, and it is exuberant by the boys' standards, booting the grime of this world in the crotch and all.
Here's a bit of amusement, an unlikely combination that motors along surprisingly well, even the rawk guitar throughout gives it some oomph rather than making it bombastic. Not as good as Junior's other hit, and not Kim's best either, but very creditable all the same.
Oh dear, here's the clunker, shouldn't they have played this last and then turned the lights on and asked everyone to file out? Nasty drum machine, there, Judy.
It's Hoddle and Waddle, why did they insist otherwise?! I remember Simon Mayo playing this first without saying who it was, and warning that even if you liked it, you could go off it immediately once you found out the artists. It's a plodder with over the top production, but better than anything Gazza vomited up in his chart career. But what did we do in a previous existence to deserve it?
According to Smutty on his Breakfast Show, Madonna was singing "Drop your goolie!" in the chorus to this. No, I wasn't convinced at the time.
Then Terry to end on, more or less the same performance but without the splits, wisely judging the floor to be too hazardous with all that confetti.
FF for the first three acts of Gary’s solo show so I am not even going to waste time and energy typing them up…
ReplyDeleteJudy Boucher – Can’t be with you tonight – As I have noted amongst all the previous derision for this song, I love it! However I much prefer the longer unedited cut as it gives the song a much better structure. Judy looks great here dressed all in white.
Breakers – Couple of crackers! Starship – one of my favourites of the year from the wacky film ‘Mannequin’ for which some clips are shown here. Tom Jones – from the show ‘Matador’ this is one of my favourite Tom Jones songs.
Glenn and Chris – Diamond Lights – Wow! What production, and these guys (well Glenn mainly) can really sing. Probably one of my favourite football songs along with the 1970 chart topping ‘Back Home’ by the England World Cup Squad which provides an opportunity to say RIP to a member of that team who had the honour of topping the charts and winning the World Cup – Gordon Banks.
Madonna – La Lsla Bonita – Nice tune and endearing video. Once again ToTP choose to cut the start of a Madonna video so we miss the bongo intro.
Terence Trent Derby – If you let me stay – I left.
….and ToTP trying really hard to ignore Fleetwood Mac.
Not surprisingly, the first Radio 1 DJ to play “Diamond Lights” was Spurs fan Simon Mayo. The single was somehow released on fabled hi-NRG disco label Record Shack and there was even a follow-up called “I’m Leaving”, which Glenn did soon after, for Monaco.
ReplyDeleteThis was one of the better 87 editions so far..
ReplyDeleteFive Star - I think this is their finest single, it still sounds good and the chorus is fantastic.
The Smiths - The last really good single by them, barring stuff that got released after they'd split up.
Kim Wilde / Junior - I think this song has aged rather well, certainly more so than 'You Keep Me Hanging On' from the year before.
Judy Boucher - There had to be some dross, didn't there? How on earth this got to No.2 is a mystery to me.
Breakers - Shame they didn't feature more interesting stuff like The Cure or The Damned rather than a couple of songs we'll see again anyway.
Glenn & Chris - This is by no means the worst thing we've heard on this edition of TOTP, let alone across 87 as a whole, though it's blindingly obvious that Glenn fancied the pop star life much more than Chris did.
Agree entirely on Five Star. If this was really their final top ten hit as Angelo points out, then it was certainly their very best one. I just love the way they start the show with such a great dancing beat, and to affirm John G's observation, the all white costumes enhanced the good-times beat. A nice way for Five Star to bow out.
DeleteI thought Glenn & Chris were a typical case of footballers trying their hand at pop music by doubling up as singers. Make what you will of it, but I thought they did a pretty good job, despite a poor tune to offer us.
five star: have they gone yet? can we come out of hiding now? bah - they're still here! although i won't be sorry to see the back of them, i have to admit that re-living their brief time in the spotlight has not been as cringeworthy as i thought it was going to be (although they are still extremely annoying on the visual front). i don't remember this one at all, but then again i had probably trained myself to ignore their output by this point
ReplyDeletesmiths: if this on-autopilot effort was anything to go by, then no wonder they were on the verge of splitting up. in mozzer's case to keep re-gurgitating his one-dimensional schtick ad nauseum with marr-alikes helping him out, whilst it appears that johnny himself had also run out of whatever steam he had. although at least he had the good grace to never release anything under his own name
kim wilde/junior: i suppose i should apologise to miss weedy for writing her off after her last hit. but given she either resorts to covers or duets (in this case with someone who had definitely been off the radar for a while now) from now on to keep her hanging on to musical fame (as arthur would say: see what i did there). sounds a lot more like her puppet masters than his at the controls, which probably shows how desperate he was to get another crack at the charts
judy boucher: i've already commented on this, but i just add my voice to the deafening noise that says it's a stinker (sorry sct!)
glenn & chris: more name-dropping alert! mr waddle (who comes over as ridgers to glenn's george michael here) was one of several spurs players that were semi-regulars in a wine bar i frequented (conveniently over the road from my office) in the late 80's/early 90's - we were actually on "nodding terms" with each other ha ha. gazza even turned up there once, but perhaps not surprisingly hoddle and gary lineker never showed their faces. anyway, whoever likened this to bucks fizz has really hit the nail on the head here - if they were just ordinary pop stars as opposed to famous footballers moonlighting, i'm sure this would have gained a general nod of approval. it seems chris's notorious mullet was still to make its appearance - was he inspired by viz's "billy the fish" to grow that ridiculous thing, or was it the other way around?
I think Chris's mullet days had recently come to an end by this point - I think it had peaked in the 1986 world cup.
DeleteNo, to be fair, it came back with a vengeance at Italia 90!
DeleteJohnny Marr's recent output has been very good indeed, I really liked his single Easy Money from a few years back.
DeleteThis was a hiatus period for Waddle's mullet - he had recently had a haircut, but it would grow out again to its full glory by 1989. Incidentally Wilberforce, glad to see you also think this sounds a bit like Bucks Fizz!
Deletei seem to recall that the first waddle mullet (in his newcastle united days) was more blow-dried and flowing, whilst the second one looked like a crew cut crossed with tutenkamen's headgear! i do remember there was actually a ceremonial cutting of the latter one after england crashed out of italia 90!
DeleteDoes anyone know how Glenn Hoddle is getting on after his worrying heart attack a few months ago? I do hope he is recovering well after his emergency heart surgery.
DeleteWilby, nice baton change with my borrowed catchphrase! As for Johnny Marr, check out his single "Dynamo" - not to everyone's taste but a decent effort nevertheless.
DeleteYou're being a bit unfair to Kim Wilde as her 'Close' album was full of good tunes, 3 of them Top 10 hits, and no covers in sight. Admittedly that was her last good material, but she got a support slot with Jacko off the back of it so was doing pretty well for herself!
DeleteWell it seems like ages since I last watched one of these. And very apt with Glenn Hoddle back on TV today for the first time since his heart attack last year. No offence but the FF button may come into play.
ReplyDeleteGary very smart. We are in full on live party mode tonight.
One of my favourite Five Star records. The fall from grace will be fast. This is a great pop song though and a great opening to the show.
Watch out for those balloons.
The Smiths killing the party mood, although this isn't too bad. Not sure why it needs that burst of Gary Glitter in the middle I don't know.
Three live acts in a row. Junior and Kim. Not sure where this collaboration came from (or where Junior came from) but it really struggles to get going. No chemistry either. Not Kim's finest hour.
My son is flossing to the chart countdown.
Judy back again. The public liked this didn't they.
Breakers :
Starship. Form the film Mannequin I believe. Never seen the film. Good power ballad though. Heading the way I think.
Tom Jones. Where did this come from.
Glenn and Chris. Anyone can have their five minutes in the 80s I suppose. Chris looks thrilled. This was clearly Hoddle's idea. The song really isn't as bad as I thought it would be. 😀
Maradonna at the summit this week and we get quite a bit of the video.
Terence closes the party, very surprised this stalled at number 7. Really thought this would be a number one.
Top show this week. Felt like 1983 all over again.
Yes, I was thinking 1981 all over again with those pom poms and cheerlaeaders in the TOTP studio, but I'll take 1983.
DeleteA dapper Gaz afraid of celebratory paraphernalia. Sorry, have I entered an episode of “The Good Old Days” by mistake there?
ReplyDeleteChrist, it’s lead Five Star on vocal again. Group sponsored by Persil both attire-wise and songwise.
The Smiths, take a bow, you’re never in the studio again, but at least you, erm, bow out with a jaunty happy tune. Had Johnny Marr borrowed Curiosity Prick Ben’s beret? That’s the lowest level of dry ice I’ve ever seen.
Kim and Junior, at least look at each other a bit more!
Judy Boucher there, a plodding song with some principle at least.
Starship – “Let ‘em say we’re crazaayyy!”
Our first sighting of “The Talking Cock” (ever seen the photo of Tom in a phone box wearing just a pair of Jockeys?) with bellows affront as per.
Good summation there, Gaz - Glenn was the George figure with Chris imitating Andrew. Missed a chorus start there at the end, Glenn! This was fascinating for me, as the guitarist was a fringe member of my social group who went on to bigger and better things musically. At one stage he was going to help me with a Eurovision entry (a song I’d written) and he’d roped in Jenson Button’s girlfriend on call as singer!
Skipping Madge for the best outro for yonks with Terry giving it some as usual – oo, and a rolling caption finish, probably for the first time in this re-run.
Xmas Day 1984 ended with rolling credits too.
ReplyDeleteAh, thanks for that. I never watch the Christmas issues so I wouldn't have known!
DeleteNot ANOTHER 5 star dirge - will they never end...
ReplyDeleteLong time lurker first time poster here. I don't suppose anyone has a download of this edition and/or 30/04/87? My set top box completely failed to record it when this was on in February (I'm hopelessly behind with this - can't keep up with two a week!)
ReplyDeleteMany thanks, Will