Shane sinks his teeth into it
02/04/87 (Gary Davies & Janice Long)
The Pogues & The Dubliners – “The Irish Rover” (21)
Our first sighting of Shane MacGowan's gnashers gets tonight's show underway. The Dubliners had their first top ten hit 20 years earlier, and now they got their second when this tune peaked at number 8.
Madonna – “La Isla Bonita” (5) (video)
Will get to number one later this month.
Curiosity Killed The Cat – “Ordinary Day” (22)
In the studio to perform this follow up to Down to Earth, and it peaked at number 11.
Fine Young Cannibals – “Ever Fallen In Love” (17)
It hardly seems five minutes ago we were watching The Buzzcocks perform the original on the re-runs, but this cover was a bigger hit, peaking at number 9.
The Rainmakers – “Let My People Go-Go” (34) (breaker)
Their only hit and it peaked at number 18.
Herb Alpert – “Keep Your Eye On Me” (33) (breaker)
Became Herb's eighth and penultimate top 40 hit when it peaked at number 19.
Whitesnake – “Still Of The Night” (27) (breaker)
Peaked at number 16.
Ruby Turner – “I’d Rather Go Blind” (24)
Performing in the studio but the song was at its chart peak.
Ferry Aid – “Let It Be” (1) (video/credits)
Released following the Zeebrugge ferry disaster, and featuring a whole host of chart stars, including Boy George, Nick Kamen, Mel & Kim, Andy Bell, Ben Volpeliere-Pierrot, Pepsi and Shirlie, Kim Wilde, Nik Kershaw, Gary Moore, Mark Knopfler,Taffy, Keren Woodward, Mark King, Paul King, Edwin Starr, Ruby Turner, Kate Bush and Paul McCartney. This was its first of three weeks at number one.
April 9th is next but it is yet another skipped Mike Smith edition.
Our hosts presented quite a contrast this week, Gazza sober and suited while Janice was casual, tomboyish, excitable and distinctly flirtatious with an audience member. She seemed very keen indeed on The Pogues, making their TOTP debut here amidst the flourishing beards sported by most of The Dubliners. A Top 10 hit this may have been, but you never hear it now and it has long since been eclipsed by the Christmas song. It's all jolly enough in its cliched Oirish way, but having two bands onstage leads to some serious overmanning in the banjo and guitar department.
ReplyDeleteMadge unlocks her inner Spaniard for this light, sunny and thoroughly agreeable piece of pop, soon to become her fourth number 1 and very much all over the radio in the spring of 1987. You just know while watching the video that she will eventually get out into the street to dance with the handsome guitarist; her flamenco dress is certainly striking, but she doesn't really make any serious attempt to do the moves. Curiosity next, back already with their second hit. This sounds a bit dreary and forgettable to me, nowhere near as good as Down to Earth, and Ben looks as if new-found fame is starting to go to his bereted head a bit, with his stage movements increasingly exaggerated and annoying.
FYC seemed to be subsisting on covers at this point in their career, but this is actually a very good take on this particular tune, slowing it down a bit and investing it with more melancholy than the more carefree original. Roland Gift makes a half-hearted attempt to match Andy Cox's footwork at one point, while David Steele is largely motionless for once as he stands behind a keyboard. The breakers will be back, so on to Ruby Turner, who is probably best known these days as Jools Holland's singing sidekick. She definitely has a good voice, but it is not given a great showcase in this remarkably passionless, bloodless version of the great Etta James song, which sounds like it was recorded to be played discreetly in a wine bar somewhere. The only memorable thing about this performance is the bass player, thanks to his outsize specs and equally large instrument...
It's charidee time again, as Ferry Aid becomes the latest vehicle for pop stars to show how much they care, and Janice rather unhelpfully tells viewers to send their donations to TOTP without actually explaining how. My chief memory of the Zeebrugge disaster is of being selfishly dismayed that the Saturday morning kids' shows had been elbowed aside to allow for live coverage of the unfolding tragedy, and when this record came out it was my first ever exposure to Let it Be, as I knew nothing of the Fabs' music at that point. It has never been a favourite song of mine, but this version is quite tolerable musically, apart from Gary Moore's overwrought solo. I recognised most of the people in the video, but I didn't realise that the soul singer was Edwin Starr, who was resident in this country by that time; Boy George, of course, was now back at number 1 after just a week away. Whatever you think of this, it was certainly an impressive feat to get it organised, recorded and released less than a month after the disaster took place. The video follows the Band Aid template more or less to a tee, and of course some of the personnel were the same. Was that Master Bates in the crowd at the end?
I remember watching the Herald of Free Enterprise disaster on a TV newsflash on the Friday evening, the stories they were telling about it were horrendous. It's an iconic image from a disaster-ridden year.
DeleteIt was the Slimy one John - Gloria Hunniford was in the 'choir' too.
Deletei think i might have been aware that edwin starr was based in blighty at this time (making a decent living as a touring soul nostalgia act apparently), but not (as i've just discovered) that his given name was charles hatcher!
DeleteDid anyone notice in the Ferry Aid video a young looking Pete Waterman behind Edwin Starr, separated only by a glass screen? Overall, this Ferry Aid single was very much in the realms of Band Aid, but I thought was much better, having Paul McCartney and Kate Bush on vocals instead of Bob Geldof and Midge Ure.
DeleteSteve - thanks for confirming, I thought it was him.
DeleteTHX - there barely seemed to be a month that went by in the late 80s without some new disaster occurring in and around the UK. Zeebrugge, King's Cross, Piper Alpha, Clapham, Lockerbie, Kegworth, Purley, Hillsborough and the Marchioness tragedy all took place in the space of little more than two years.
Yeah, people look back on the 80s as a shiny, gaudy time nowadays, but in some ways it was as grim as the 70s.
DeletePicture the scene: me in Chemistry, 1987. Chap next to me says, did you see Top of the Pops last night? I say yes. He says did you see The Pogues and the Dubliners? I say yes again. Pause. "Shite, isn't it?" Anyway, I didn't think it was that bad, but it is basically the same thing over and over until the ship sinks. Note Shane has a spot of trouble with his mic and sheepishly places it on the studio floor.
ReplyDeleteMadonna goes all Latina for La Isla, with a very frilly dress that reminds me of a certain Absolutely sketch. Has a nice swing to it, doesn't get revived that often, so nice to hear it again.
Hmm, Curiosity's follow-up wasn't a patch on their first big hit, no wonder it stalled outside the Top Ten. Just another ordinary song. Ben getting into unintentional self-parody there.
Fine Young Cannibals in a radical revision of the Buzzcocks classic, it's not too bad, probably because the song itself was a cast iron punk classic and survives this treatment. But don't make a habit of it.
Ruby Turner in an oddly muted version of the old standard, we know she can let rip because we've seen her every year on the Hootenanny, but she doesn't get charged up here until the song is almost over. Plus the lyrics I have always found a bit uncomfortable and masochistic.
Ferry Aid, sheesh, not my favourite Beatles song and this does not improve it. More fun playing spot the star than listening to it. Another SAW production, I think (well, they were fast and cheap). Counts as the only number one hit for most of the singers. Including Su Pollard - she made it to the top and The Who never did!
could the likes of su pollard really go around saying that had a number one hit, when all they did to "earn" that accolade was turn up and sing one line on a charidee record? well, according to discogs she was a member of the "band"... along with 38 (yes - there were thirty nine of them by my count!) others! including the following (who also unlike roger daltrey & co can technically claim to have topped the charts):
Delete* gloria hunniford (who did actually have a singing career of sorts before becoming a presenter)
* mandy smith (notoriously and primarily known for being bill wyman's jailbait squeeze, although surprise surprise SAW had by this time signed her up as one of their artists... probably for that reason rather than any actual singing talent)
* carol hitchcock (shaven-headed australian singer that i've never heard of before, and surprise surprise another one in the SAW stable)
* julian godfrey brookhouse (who's this posh-sounding bloke? it turns out to be mr beret's guitarist colleague, although curiously the other members of curiosity don't get a credit)
* toby andersen (another "who's that?", whose only previous form sppears to have been a member of over-hyped early 80's band funkapolitan)
* lizzie tear (another new name to me, who released a few singles on EMI before sinking without trace... unlike the "herald of free enterprise"!)
i haven't watched "later" for many years now (i despise both jools's sycophantic manner towards his famous interviewees, plus the pat "one superstar act, one world act, one this-week's super hip indie act" etc presentation formula), so i wasn't aware that ruby turner was a regular on his hootenanny shows. however i did go with a friend to see his rhythm & blues orchestra once, and i seem to remember she was the support act as well as a featured singer in his own. so perhaps no surprise that he features her on his show whenever he can?
DeleteAnother patchy show – I guess they’re all going to be patchy now as its 1987. Good to see the hosts enjoying themselves.
ReplyDeleteDubliners / Pogues – The Irish Rover – Surprise chart entry but as soon as Shane starts singing all I can think of is ‘and the bells are ringing out for Christmas Day’. Who bought this though?
Madonna – La Isla Bonita – Fifth single from the ‘True Blue’ album and no let up in quality. Remixed (although very subtle) it was played a lot before its single release and the video is charming also. Nice to see the picture sleeve photo used on the chart rundown too.
Curiosity killed the Cat – Ordinary Day – Ordinary sound, not a patch on the singles released either side and that beret is getting a bit old hat (!).
Fine Young Cannibals – Ever fallen in love – I liked the original…but I like this even more. The Cannibals had a gift in making covers sound good!
Breakers – Rainmakers – never heard of them or this. Herb Alpert – Good to see Herb ‘rising’ up the charts but video apart, don’t think much of this. Whitesnake – Not one of their best.
Ruby Turner – I’d rather go blind – Hmmmm. Quite boring actually.
Ferry Aid – Let it be – I recall this disaster well as I made a crossing on a similar boat a short while after and it was quite nerve wracking. A whole pot pourri of stars in this one, though I can’t for the life of me identify a lot of them on first viewing. I think I saw Mel and Kim, Taffy and possibly Su Pollard, and a quick check on the sleeve on 45 cat and yep, it’s her. This page also has a clipping from the Sun newspaper telling us who sings each line. Well worth a look on the link below. The late Stephanie Lawrence is there somewhere too. Loved the guitar break, especially good to see Mark Knopfler included. The Kate Bush vocal really jars for me though. No Bryan Ferry, and presumably no undesirables as in the Crowd.
http://www.45cat.com/record/aid1
Bryan Ferry's name alone probably precluded his involvement.
DeleteThe Pogues & The Dubliners altogether comprised 11 band members across the two pop groups, as I counted 11 people performing on the TOTP main stage, ie, the one with the video screen in the background. Of course this only equalled the record on TOTP when Kool & The Gang sported 11 band members of their own in 1982 with Oo La La La Let's Go Dancing.
Deletepogues/ dubliners: only us brits could turn a guy who's as ugly as sin and can't sing for toffee into some kind of musical hero and icon! i remember how excited peers of mine used to get about him and his colleagues, who to me were basically an irish pub band presented as cool indie hipsters. so they did nothing for me (i'd rather see the genuine article such as the dubliners than a fake rocked-up version if i had to choose). around the late 80's/ early 90's i remember a mate of mine once insisting in showing me a video he made at a wedding reception he attended where mr magowan was also a guest, in which the latter was staggering about all over the place as a result of being quite obviously blind drunk - much to my chum's amusement, although i just thought it was rather sad and pathetic
ReplyDeletemadonna: i remember the video with the flamenco dancer dress, but not how this cod-latin tune went. and can't be bothered to be reminded of either
curiosity killed the cat: unlike others here i think i prefer this to their first effort, as it grooves a bit more easily even though like it's predecessor melody-wise it's in-one-ear-and-out-the-other stuff. if one looks closely, one can now see the peak of the "beret" sticking out behind at several points, although of course knowing in hindsight helps. at one point mr beret's posh chums try to cosy up to him lad's style, but they're obviously not quite in the same league as your average stadium-filling rock act when it comes to that sort of thing
fine young cannibals: i watched this again just to see if this was still as bad as i remember it being. and it is, as it's quite obviously of its time with crunching snares and scratching funk guitars desperately trying to make it sound cool (and failing miserably). david steele must have realised at that point that he's scored an own-goal by adding a synth bass to it rather than a real one, as (i know from experience) you can't jerk about all over the place if you're figuratively chained to a bloody keyboard. in fact that was a primary reason i switched from them to bass when i returned to playing live in the early 90's after several years break - so i could move about and look cool on stage, rather than be the stationary dork stuck at the back that no one takes any notice of!
ruby turner: i wasn't familar with the original version of this, but "soul classics" do nothing for me whoever sings them. and this is no exception. i always get her mixed up with ruby winters, who had a minor hit several years earlier with "i will!". can anyone name any other songs with an exclamation mark in the title?
ferry aid: oh no - another bloody awful "all star" charidee record (although as i've pointed out above, not all involved were what you'd call household names... other than in their own household ha ha) for the great unwashed to rush out in their droves to buy in brainwashed sympathy before playing it maybe once if at all and then either throwing away or taking it to the nearest charity shop a few years later. and why exactly was this macca dirge that seems to bear no relationship to the disaster in question chosen anyway? shouldn't they have done something with a nautical theme? i know some might think this in poor taste, but i don't suppose the floaters were invited to participate?
Shania Twain sure liked her exclamation marks e.g. Man! I feel like a Woman! Where she managed two in one title.
DeletePete Wylie's 'Sinful!' also....
DeleteThe Jam's Start! is another.
DeleteWe'll hear Erasure's Drama! this time next year, all being well. Still to come is Wake Up Boo! by The Boo Radleys, and of course Sir Cliff's first hit was Move It! Then there's The Beatles' Help!, probably the best hit song to feature one.
DeleteConsecutive exclamation mark hits in 1967 for Dave Dee, Dory, Beaky, Mick and Tich with 'Okay!' and 'Zabadak!'.
DeleteErasure had another punctuation song with Stop! and there was also Choice? from the Blow Monkeys and Sylvia Tella
Deleteoh yes sct, i'd forgotten that dave dee and co (or rather their managers/writers/ producers howard blaikley) had a penchant for sticking explanation marks at the end of their song titles!
Deletebtw, if you want to hear some great "freakbeat" (i.e. 60's grooves featuring hammond organs and fuzz guitars as post-modernly dubbed), then check this out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Aq3rwvnc6U
of course i meant exclamation marks!!
DeleteI see we are down to one show next week, thanks to The Sky At Night on Thursday's TOTP slot, and so just the Friday on BBC4 then. I can't say I'm all that disappointed, as the last couple of weekends have seen around 8 episodes to review. Good Lord, about time we had a bit of a breather!
ReplyDeleteWe won't have to get through so many shows in a week again for a while now, and the June-August period will be completely Smitty-free. The same sadly can't be said of September-October...
DeleteOnly one show next week but then back to two shows the following week.
DeleteThings you probably knew anyway...
ReplyDeleteThe Pogues were originally called Pogue Mahone but had to change the name as it's Gaelic for "kiss my arse". There was a story about a regional radio station in Scotland where the DJ announced the band's name and the Gaelic speaking producer spat his tea out in surprise at the name.
Chumbawamba did a re-written version of "Let it Be" under the moniker of Scab Aid, reeling at the idea of celebrities making charity records which can go on to aid awareness of their back catalogue and thus bring in extra moolah. The picture sleeve had a cynical cartoon strip featuring Rupert Murdoch, "The Sun" having sold loads of cheap family tickets for the fateful journey.
are you by any chance referring to when practically all of queen's and U2's back catalogue swept back into the charts as a result of their live aid turns? to this day it's never been reported if how much if any of that windfall ever went to the charidee in question - as opposed to in their own pockets!
Deleteshane magowan's first sortie into the music biz was with a punk band (for which he was obviously well-suited) known as the nips. but in fact they were originally called the nipple erectors, which they were advised to change in the hope they might escape censorship. obviously the second time around shane hoped that being naughty in gaelic might pull the wool over people's eyes. which might have happened 10 years earlier, but the media were too sussed by now!
DeleteOf course, we have George Harrison to thank for charity concerts and singles, as he started the trend back in 1970 with The Concert for Bangladesh.
Deleteit would have been much better in my opinion if he had just donated say half his beatles' earnings to the cause instead
DeleteWell that was quite a show tonight, Janice has cosplaying as Madonna and flirting with everyone (including an embarrassed GD). Think we know where all the Irish Whiskey in the BBC bar went don't we Janice. 😀 😀 😀
ReplyDeleteI have been in several Irish Bars and heard this performed many a time but never as badly as this racket. I have no idea what the appeal of Shane McGowan is but he is an appalling singer. How many members of the Dubliners are there???
Next up future number one La Isla Bonita which I don't remember the video for at all. Strange as I must have seen this first time aroud. Hope there was a risk assessment completed for all those candles. Like the song though but nowhere near her best.
Curiosity back already and with some female backing (absent from the studio) which makes them sound like The Style Council. Song not so great this time around.
FYC cover of Buzzcocks really should not work but amazingly it does. Is that Chris Packam on drums? How old is Roland's jacket?
Breakers are back. 😀
Smitty was getting excited about the Rainmakers last week but its hard to see why. I'd never heard of them and clearly haven't missed much.
Herb Alpert with nice use of CSO to hide the fact he's forgotten to bring a tune.
Whitesnake. Nope sorry. Noise needing a coherent tune.
Way to kill the party mood Ruby (although she's clearly having a party on the stage, how many men does she need behind her?). In fairness its a good song and she sings it well. She loves her bling as we doesn't she.
Only one week for Respectable as we get Ferry Aid at the top. I clearly remember watching the news for most of the Saturday morning (they may even have take off the Kids TV, no news channel back the of course). I became really interested in the news when I was about 11/12 and things like Zebrugge and Challenger disaster had me glued to the TV. So sad.
Yes, the kids TV was definitely taken off the BBC that morning, at least for the first few hours. I can't remember if ITV did likewise, but as I didn't much like The Wide Awake Club anyway, I don't think I turned over to find out.
DeleteWell, regarding my musical tastes this was one of the worst TOTPs in the re-run thus far.
ReplyDeleteJanice’s baseball hat was an advert for an Edinburgh indie band called Win, who’d formed out of the ashes of The Fire Engines. Just so you know.
Our first sighting of The Professional Irishman™, actually born near Tunbridge Wells but relocated over the water at an early age. I used to go to gigs in Chalk Farm and there was (still is?) a pub there with a lovely leather settee which you couldn’t sit on as it was solely reserved for Shane MacGowan to sleep on. Look at all that facial hair on stage – is it Movember?
Not ‘four candles’ in Madge’s vid. Got any ‘ose in case there’s a fire?
Cat Litter there with “Ordinary Dirge” and Ben Volauvents-Parrot rightly getting the urine extracted by Gary afterwards. Good man!
I’ve always hated the FYC version of the Buzzcocks classic but, now it’s pointed out, I get it that Roland put more keening emotion into the tune than Pete Shelley. Wobbly Leg Boy needed Vince Clarke’s levitating keyboard from last week or a keytar to throw his usual shapes.
Three awful breakers there. The Rainmakers’ leader looked like a cross between The Mad Hatter and BA Robertson and just as much of a knob, Herb combined his tuneless dirge with an optical illusion (how did he supposedly balance that chair on the tightrope?) and Whitesnake’s drummer winning the award for most cymbals in a built-up area.
Ruby Turner with wine bar soul and a song I’ve never liked.
Not a fan of charity records, so Ferry Aid Became FFerry Aid. See what I did there?
I remember the later 80s being very bkand, but this episode was rather good.
ReplyDeleteThe rainmakers is another song that I don’t think I’ve since it was a hit, but was quite jolly.
Herp Alpert ‘say no to drugs’ plug a bit ‘in your face’.
Were Whitesnake promoting promiscuity? Difficult to tell from the video.
Ruby Turner cover was one of the most bland I’ve heard of the song. Check out Janis Joplin for THE cover.
My recording cut out in the middle of Let It Be - saved me FFing...
Pogues / Dubliners - Good fun, though I was always mystified exactly how this became a hit!
ReplyDeleteMadonna - Classic twisted lyric here - "Last night I dreamt of some Dago". A good song, if not amongst her very best.
Curiosity - Very bland retread of their previous hit.
Fine Young Cannibals - At the time I didn't know the Buzzcocks original so to me it was just a great song (and I still prefer the FYC version) - in fact I can recall that I saw it on Get Fresh on a Saturday morning and had it in my head for the rest of the day.
Ruby Turner - The song doesn't excite me, and Ruby has done better. In my radio days I interviewed her and she was incredibly funny and lovely.
Ferry Aid - Unusual for a chart topper to feature the previous 2 acts to be at No.1. Not much else to say about it really, it's better than the Bradford fire charity song effort I guess.
was the bradford football disaster charidee record a cover version of a certain crazy world of arthur brown song?
Delete