Vince was never happier than when he was on Top of the Pops
05/03/87 (Gary Davies & Janice Long)
The Christians – “Forgotten Town” (27)
Getting the show underway tonight with some fine harmonies on their studio debut with a tune that peaked at a surely too low number 22.
A-ha – “Manhattan Skyline” (13)
Performing in the studio but they couldn't get this tune any higher in the charts.
Erasure – “It Doesn’t Have To Be” (20)
Helped by some enthusiastic dad dancing from Andy this follow up to Sometimes peaked at number 12.
Mel & Kim – “Respectable” (25)
Looking cool and slinky in their matching suits, this dance floor dynamite tune would soon become the duo's only number one.
Jackie Wilson – “I Get The Sweetest Feeling” (10) (breaker)
This song had originally peaked at number 9 in 1972, then it made number 25 in 1975, but this time around it made it to number 3.
Freddie Mercury – “The Great Pretender” (9) (breaker)
Peaked at number 4.
Boy George – “Everything I Own” (7) (breaker)
Will be number one next week.
Al Jarreau – “Moonlighting” (29)
The theme tune from the show that made a star of Bruce Willis, this became Al's only top ten hit, and indeed his final ever hit, when it peaked at number 8.
Ben E. King – “Stand By Me” (1) (video)
Final week at number one.
Percy Sledge – “When A Man Loves A Woman” (2) (video/credits)
It had peaked at number 6 in 1966, this time around it peaked at number 2.
March 12th is next, but it is yet another skipped Mike Smith edition.
What a wonderful show!
ReplyDeleteThe Christians - Tuebrook's finest.
A-ha - Strangely mediocre.
Erasure - Political stance.
Mel and Kim - Great girls.
Jackie Wilson - More nostalgia.
Freddie Mercury - Cheeky monkey.
Boy George - Cod reggae.
Al Jarreau - Silky smooth.
Ben E King - Extra nostalgia.
Percy Sledge - Nostalgia overload.
Janice Long - Randy scouser.
Gary Davies - Housewives favourite.
spartacus, to use your reviewing style: welcome aboard
DeleteThis edition went out the night before the Herald of Free Enterprise disaster took place, a tragedy that would of course impact on the charts soon afterwards. Back to the show, however, and Janice adapts to TOTP life post-Peel by hitching up with Gazza; a good pairing they make too, with both seemingly quite enthusiastic about this week's line-up.
ReplyDeleteJanice was doubtless extra keen on The Christians because they came from her part of the world, but I had forgotten how good this debut hit of theirs actually is, a real epic sound with some fine vocal harmonies from the brothers, who also have quite an imposing stage presence. A real shame, then, that this didn't make the Top 20 - were some people put off by the band name, I wonder, even though the brothers' surname really was Christian? It's an even greater shame that you never hear it on the radio these days, the rather tepid cover of Harvest of the World being the only hit of theirs that ever seems to get an airing. A-ha are in the studio, but I think I would rather have seen more of their typically imaginative video, not least because the song doesn't really work; the gentler verses sound OK, but jar horribly with the harsher, rockier chorus.
Lots of studio turns tonight, with Erasure next in line as they perform their follow-up to Sometimes. You don't hear this one much, but it is a typically rousing and melodic Vince Clarke tune. The one bit I don't like is the Swahili part, which for me doesn't really fit with the rest of the song, though I must admit I thought it was in Spanish until we were informed otherwise! Mel & Kim's mega-hit next, and even though it has been overexposed it does still sound pretty good, and defies you not to dance. The girls once again look sharp and slinky here, and for me this probably marks the final great pop moment for SAW before their slide into formula really began.
More on the breakers next time, so we move on to Al Jarreau and his smooth theme to a show that was huge at the time, but seems to have become rather forgotten now. Al was almost 47 back then, but looked older, and also appeared to have spilt something down his shirt. This kind of music isn't really my thing, but Al's vocals are so slick and seductive that he does manage to pull me into it. A nostalgic double whammy to end the show, with Ben once again holding off Percy at the top of the charts. The latter is another massively overplayed old chestnut, and in any case I prefer Warm and Tender Love. The video looks suspiciously like it has been hastily thrown together, going down the Jack Your Body route of using ancient silent movie footage. However, I know for a fact that the scene of the boy kissing the girl under the mistletoe comes from a 1945 Pathe newsreel, as I have seen it on a Pathe compilation video...
Not only did those brothers have the surname Christian, the only non-brother in the band, Henry Priestman, has Christian as his middle name!
DeleteI felt that the show should have opened with Mel & Kim, rather than The Christians who were actually a non-mover at No.22, and the show rarely starts with a non-mover, and also the fact that it was customary to open the show with a fun dancy number. Considering the full list of acts on the show, I was surprised they didn't start off the show with Mel & Kim.
DeleteAlso we didn't see the customary video as second slot in the show, as the first three acts on the show were TOTP studio performances unusually. The Freddie mercury video would have been perfect in second slot, rather as a breaker so high up the charts at No.9. Good Lord!
Arthur - it also seems rather appropriate that his surname was Priestman!
DeleteDory - it did seem a bit ludicrous that the three "breakers" this week were already in the Top 10, but I suppose two of them were new entries and so kind of qualify for the breakers tag on that basis.
Deletechristians: as i mentioned a while back, this lot were allegedly nothing like their names when it came to how they treated others, failing to observe the old adage "be nice to people on the way up, as you might meet them on the way down". thus presumably why they are now a forgotten band (ho ho)? another that sort-of came back to me as i listened again for the first time in ages, and it's okay but nowhere near as good as what seal did using a similar template a few years later
ReplyDeletea ha: i can't believe that they churned out so many singles, most of which completely passed me by at the time. i think i'll pass on listening to this one this time too
erasure: definitely not one of the minimum of three of their many hits that anyone is likely to recall when asked to do so a la my shakin' stevens quiz
mel & kim: like their other hits, one can no longer view it merely as the likeably jaunty and catchy commercial dance-pop it was seen as at the time thanks to the knowledge of what happened as a result of its success
al jarreau: i remember watching "moonlighting" practically every week when it was broadcast, and yet never quite being able to make my mind up if it was actually any good or just complete nonsense. it certainly got more weird, whacky and surreal the longer it went on (am i right in recalling that one episode was entirely dedicated to a cod-operetta scored by billy joel?), and that's maybe why it now seems to have fallen out of favour despite being bruce willis's launchpad to hollywood superstardom. as for the tune, it was much the same in that it had some class and style about it but was not something to get wholeheartedly excited about
percy sledge: i remember reading of the legend of this when i was a teenager who was getting heavily into black music in the 70's. yet like other so-called soul classics from the 60's such as "sitting on the dock of the bay", when i did get to actually hear it i couldn't understand what all the fuss was about. and i certainly didn't appreciate it's presence at the top end of the charts in 1987 any more than "stand by me" and others that were exhumed simply because of a few cool tv ads for jeans. just out of curiosity, was this the soundtrack for the one that eddie kidd (blighty's answer to bike stuntman superstar evel knievel) appeared in?
I think the only reason that the Percy Sledge and Jackie Wilson songs in the top ten were released, was to follow up on the success of the Jackie Wilson No.1 Reet Petite which was the first No.1 of the year for the whole of January, and way too long in my opinion.
DeleteInteresting that on the Jackie Wilson follow up to Reet Petite, and at No.10 this week, they laboured the point by showing the Reet Petite record cover on the record collection on the floor rack in the Jackie Wilson video clip on the breakers this week.
I would add that all these oldies in the top ten this week, actually 5 songs out of the top ten as Gary Davies confirmed, harks back to a similar phase in 1981 with Stars On 45, Hooked On Classics, Tight Fit, all doing compilations, and of course Shakin' Stevens with his covers, and it seemed never ending, so now in 1987 it was back, but with mainly black performers, so slightly different this time round, but nevertheless, still with intended nostalgia to ride the charts.
DeleteWas Eddie Kidd in a jeans ad? There was the Eddie Cochran Levi's ad, but he's not in that, and there was the one that used The Joker as a biker (not Eddie) went in and out of a lift with remarkable ease, but I don't recall Eddie in one.
DeleteEddie Kidd featured in a Levi's ad in which he wore black 501s to get into a club, while those breaking the dress code are turned away. It's on YouTube under "Levi's Entrance".
DeleteThanks, Anon, all these years I never realised that was Eddie! Remembered the ad otherwise, though.
DeleteInteresting that there were two mugshot singles with "It Doesn't Have To Be" in their titles.
ReplyDeleteThe Christians, really liked them at the time, bought the album too, and this was a great, richly-produced slice of harmonising soul-pop. I liked their unconventional subject matter too, sounds a bit Fatcher's Britain in retrospect, but it gave them an edge.
ReplyDeleteA-ha with a song that can't make up its mind whether it's a sensitive ballad or an all-out rocker. Personally I prefer the rocker choruses, they have some oomph to them, whereas the verses sound weedy.
Erasure, more social commentary as pop song, and while I don't know if they'd be able to get away with singing in Swahili nowadays, it's a tuneful, sincere number, if not one of their better remembered hits.
Mel & Kim, did my eyes deceive me or did one of those tight jackets split right up the back thanks to the ladies' gyrations? Or was it supposed to be like that? Anyway, upbeat handbag dance pop, well put across thanks to M&K's bright personalities.
Skippety-skip over the Breakers, and Al Jarreau scooby-doos his way through the Moonlighting theme, can't divorce this from the show because it brings up all sorts of images of that addictively irreverent shambles of a comedy-detective-romance TV series. If it looked like a mess on the screen, it was even more so behind the scenes. But though Bruce and Cybill hated each other, they had great chemistry, odd isn't it? Also memorable for a final episode where they dismantled the set while it still hadn't finished.
Ben's still standing, and Percy is still waiting in the wings too, with his pension plan. I sometimes wonder if you're known for one song and are still performing years later, how sick of it do you get? Or are you just grateful to it?
thx i wish i'd have had the opportunity to answer that question about being known for one song. i would say from the viewpoint of a failed wannabe it's better than not being known for any - for a start i wouldn't have to worry about paying the rent!
Deletei do remember reading that antonio carlos jobim used to get a bit peeved when anyone thought the only thing he ever wrote was "the girl from ipanema" (which is apparently the second-most recorded song of all time), when he in fact wrote about 200 more!
Incidentally, the Bananarama tune Trick of the Night (slipping from view at 40) was the one that had the publicity of having its video directed by Paul Heiney on the proto-reality TV show In At the Deep End. It was so bad they ended up making a replacement video, but it was not enough to propel it up the charts.
ReplyDeleteI found the Paul Heiney-directed promo on YT - it's not terrible by any means, but it does lack dynamism:
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzGnWXSJhEc
Yeah, it's OK, but it's not really a Bananarama video. I mean, they're in it, but it's not their style.
DeleteTwo of the best hosts together. I actually prefer Janice not with Peelie as he was getting too acidic and seemed to be encouraging Janice, viz a viz the comments about ‘The Music of the Night’ the other week.
ReplyDeleteChristians - Forgotten Town – At last! After being ignored on the breakers for weeks, the band rock up in the studio and this song, the opener on the eponymous debut album, is a fine way to start the show. I used to play the album over and over again but have lost the tape I had of it so really must pick up a copy of the cd.
A-Ha – Manhattan Skyline – The waltzing lilting song is better than ‘Cry Wolf’ for me. Once again the band are available for the studio so we’re denied any more of the ‘join the dots’ video.
Erasure – It doesn’t have to be - …as good as the last single? Nope, it sure wasn’t.
Mel and Kim – Respectable – With respect, it’s hard to see what all the fuss was about really in retrospect. A decent enough dance tune but not the greatest no1 ever either.
Breakers – Jackie Wilson – Jackie and that plasticine again. This time we get to see the ‘Reet Petite’ sleeve. Nice touch. Song OK too. I remember first hearing this on Tony Blackburn’s radio show in 1972 and thinking that the only other male Jackie I knew was Jackie Charlton. Freddie Mercury – if ever a song was crying out for him to cover it then this was it. Boy George – Ugh! Why? Bread and Ken Boothe had done excellent versions of this song; the latter topping the charts in 1974. This version was awful in comparison.
Al Jarreau – Moonlighting – Curiously no mention of the show that this was the theme tune from. Was it on ITV perhaps? I recall it as a dreamy affair where the two leads kept staring into each other’s eyes and nothing else ever happened. Anyway, slinky theme tune.
Ben E King – Stand by me – Possibly outstaying its welcome, but couldn’t hold off Boy George unfortunately.
Percy Sledge – When a man loves a woman – …and I thought that we’d be spared this. Duh. Little cut in the intro before this I guess to edit out a mention on Smithy I assume?
Totally agree on The Christians' album, pity they didn't follow it up half as well.
DeleteMoonlighting might be best remembered for Cybill and Bruce in the office yelling at each other nineteen to the dozen simultaneously. Every week. It was on BBC 2, though.
What about Benny Hill's little friend, Jackie Wright?
"moonlighting" was on bbc2 to my recollection. perhaps they moved it to bbc1 when it got a bit more popular (if ironically less watchable)? and yes, bruce and cybil shepherd (she was nominally his boss) kept flirting with each other but never actually went any further if i recall correctly
DeleteMale Jackies? I'll raise you with jackie Chan.
Deleteunlike bob todd & henry mcgee, i didn't know the name of benny hill's diminutive sidekick until many years later. however i did become aware of newcastle united legend "wor" jackie milburn in my youth. he was related to jack(ie) and bobby charlton, although that knowledge was probably acquired later on as well
Delete@wilberforce: re: Moonlighting, you don't recall correctly! After about three seasons of "will they, won't they?" the tension got to much between David and Maddie (i.e. the producers had run out of ideas) and they had a massive snog to the strains of "Be My Baby" by the Ronettes, triggered by Maddie trying to slap David and him grabbing her hand, gazing into her eyes and them both doing what came naturally. It was Mark Harmon's fault (he played Maddie's boyfriend who made David realise he was jealous). After that, there was nowhere for the series to go.
DeleteJackie Gleason is another male Jackie who comes to mind.
Deletethx apologies if i got it wrong regarding the love/hate relationship in "moonlighting". but it may have been entirely possible that i had given up on the series before they finally jumped into bed together due to it getting too strange to carry on watching?
DeleteMoonlighting was actually very inventive, though that was probably thanks to desperation in thinking up new things to do to work around various behind the scenes mishaps and rivalries. I'm guessing one too many Herbert and Agnes episodes chased you away...
Deleteps - i agree with noax in that "moonlighting" is probablly unwatchable in its entirety these days!
Deletei didn't mind herbert and agnes at all actually (agnes was quite cute in an ugly way, if you see what i mean, and at least they were staff members that actually got to do something rather than just hang around in the background a la that mcgillicuddy guy). i think it was that it got too off-the-wall for me. part of me wants to watch it again to see if it still does anything for me or not. but a bigger voice is telling me to leave well alone as it will be a complete waste of my time!
DeleteEverything was going brilliantly on this show until the last 3 tunes came along...
ReplyDeleteThe Christians - This song has improved with age I reckon, they made some great singles. Sadly 'Harvest For The World' was the biggest hit even though it was deadly dull.
a-ha - Unlike most commenters here, I like both the verses and the choruses! I think it's one of their very best and I'm also a sucker for songs where the title only appears at the very end.
Erasure - Not amongst their very best, but it's still Erasure so fine by me.
Mel & Kim - Fantastuc pop song which still sounds terrific and amazingly for this period in music history a deserved No.1 too.
I'll skip over the breakers, all being in the Top 10 was slightly unusual...
Al Jarreau - Not keen on this, I always used to do a piss-take impression of it whenever Moonlighting was on. My Dad adored that show, I tried to like it and some episodes were great but some really did look like half-arsed improvised rubbish. I bet it's aged really badly.
Then we get the 2 olides at the top, the latter of which is one of my least favourite songs of all time.
2 of TOTP best presenters up tonight, happy days,
ReplyDeleteThe Christians were one of those bands I'd heard of but not really what I listened to at the time. In fact this is the first time I've ever heard this song. I quite like it. Another Liverpool band championed by Janice and John I expect.
Aha show up next. With this rather good ballad that morphs into a Great punchy chorus. Thumbs up from the 12 year old as well as me.
Like the blue lighting.
Erasure up next. Turning into a good show tonight. Think I'm actually wearing that top now! Another great, and overlooked, pop song. Love Andys Dad dancing. Another thumbs up from the 12YO. Going well tonight.
Mel and Kim. What can I say. One of the best songs of the 80s. Bloody brilliant. Got my son singing along too. Result.
Breakers:
Another re release from Jackie Wilson. It s a good song but not as good as Reet petite and the sound quality is poor. Just in time for Valentines.
Freddie up neXT. What a talent. Wasn't a fan at the time but really like it now.
Boy George I did like at the time, "is that a man or a woman" says JT echoing my Nan from 35 years ago.
Al Jarreau never seen the TV show and I don't recall this performance either. Certainly not the most offensive slow song we will hear this year but no classic.
Stand By Me at the top again and getting the love from the younger generation.
Percy Sledge. Not a lot of love on here but brings back great memories of my Mums 40th birthday. No fuss she said, so my Mums friend hung a banner up across the front of the house and I got her a dedication of Radio 210fm and they played this song.
That was a really good show
A fine hosting by two safe pairs of hands, and we start with FOUR studio acts in a row? When did that last happen?
ReplyDeleteThe Christians are a mega band, Gary? First hit and a non-mover! Mind you, they do end up as charity collective chart toppers. I bought this at the time and love it, but it takes an age to get to the first chorus. Isn’t that lead singer tall as well as imposing?
I still couldn’t get my head around A-Ha’s merry-go-round waltzy verses and ‘let’s rock!” choruses. Almost as if this was two different songs bolted together.
Blimey, even I can dance better than Andy Bell! Vince, there’s a big bank of unused keyboards to your left!
“Respectable” always reminds me of Dundee with its “Tay, Tay” refrain. Stock Aitken and Waterman product in its infant stages and so much nicer than the slop we get in the future. A fine turn there by the former knicker factory girls.
No breakers you can use between 11 and 40? At all? What about Anthrax?
Nice sweet video there for Jackie Wilson’s mellow soul groove.
If anyone was pondering Freddie Mercury’s persuasions, I think they would have guessed during the video for “I Want To Break Free” three years earlier, where Fred looked very much at home in his “Corrie” costume.
George with dreadful watered down cod reggae. O dear, O’Dowd.
Top quality gurning by Al Jarreau with occasional Corporal Jones miming, i.e. half a second late. I used to watch and enjoy “Moonlighting” but, had I known it would spawn Bruce Willis’s career, I’d have had second thoughts.
Good Lord, just seen this show again on BBC2 tonight three-and-a-half years after this thread from the BBC4 showing. It's 15th September 2022 folks and BBC2 is showing this March 1987 show tonight!
ReplyDelete