Top Hat of the Pops
09/04/87 (Mike Smith)
The Rainmakers – “Let My People Go-Go” (28)
Went up ten more places.
Club Nouveau – “Lean On Me” (6) (video)
Peaked at number 3.
The Blow Monkeys – “Out With Her” (30)
Got no higher.
Judy Boucher – “Can’t Be With You Tonight” (14)
Became her only top ten hit when it peaked at number 2.
Living In A Box – “Living In A Box” (23) (breaker)
Became their first of three top ten hits when it peaked at number 5.
Bon Jovi – “Wanted Dead Or Alive” (17) (breaker)
Peaked at number 13.
Terence Trent D’Arby – “If You Let Me Stay” (7)
At its peak.
Ferry Aid – “Let It Be” (1) (video)
Second of three weeks at number one.
Whitesnake – “Still Of The Night” (22) (video/credits)
Peaked at number 16.
April 16th is next.
Nothing to review on this one frankly, apart from the Whitesnake playout, which was the first of the three tracks with the same leading lady on each of the videos, ie, Still Of The Night, Is This love, and Here I Go Again. It seemed to be a resurrection of the group who had been around for a number of years but did not chart well until this phase-two of their career, which went so well that they achieved No.1 status with at least one of these tracks, which I remember when ITV used to show America's Top Ten in the late 80s late at night with presenter Kasey Kasem, and their Here I Go Again video a feature on that show on more than one occasion to say the least.
ReplyDeleteSmitty plays things fairly straight again here, and is once again much the better for it; he does seem undecided on how to pronounce "Boucher", however! I don't remember The Rainmakers at all, but their combination of biblical lyrics and catchy pop-rock on this song is surprisingly effective, if not perhaps conducive to a long chart career. The "Mad Hatter" singer is evidently something of a character, or wants us to think he is, and the guitarist tries to catch the eye with a feeble Pete Townshend-style jump at one point. The Blow Monkeys, meanwhile, follow up their biggest hit with what sounds suspiciously in places like a slowed down version of it, which may help to explain why this one stiffed at 30. The off-putting performance may also have been a factor, with Dr Robert perched ludicrously on a stool in a Marc Bolan-style feather boa looking convinced he was now just as big a star...
ReplyDeleteI'm as surprised as Smitty that this Judy Boucher song did so well, as it's another one that completely escapes my memory. Apparently this got in the charts because Mad Lizie from TV-am used it as backing for her keep fit routines, though how you could work up a sweat to this soporific mix of lovers rock and country is a mystery; Judy herself has the slight air of a housewife who doesn't really understand how she has made it on to TOTP. The breakers will both be on again, but we get a surprisingly large amount of the Living in a Box video here, including an unexpected cameo, albeit not in person, for Tony Blackburn.
TTD celebrates his new-found success by treating us to a star jump as well as some extra splits this time, while the guitarist and keyboardist also decide to show off a bit for the cameras. We end with Whitesnake, whom David Coverdale had now decided to re-invent in the style of US poodle rockers, giving himself a blond makeover to fit the new image. He would hit paydirt with this change of direction, which can be seen clearly in the video for Still of the Night and the commercial sound of the song; to my ears it is FM rock at its most forgettable.
rainmakers: or the rain-MAKERS as shitty bizarrely pronounces them. don't remember this lot at all, nor did any recollection of their song come back to me as i listened again now. i can see why as it's pretty forgettable, other than for the lead guy's annoying vocals. so what was the purpose of the top hat put on half-way through?
ReplyDeleteblow monkeys: don't remember this one either, but unlike the above this slinky plastic soul is far more to my taste and better than both their previous hits. maybe it got no higher thanks to dr robert's rather fey appearance (looking like a camp santa) and manner? perhaps he should have put on a top hat half way through, instead of that feather boa-type thing from the start?
judy boucher: didn't she have a couple of reggae-lite hits a while back? if so then although they weren't much cop they were much better than this drivel that appears to have been modelled on "lady in red" (which actually sounds good in comparison)
whitesnake: still plodding along a decade after forming, although by this time mr coverdale had replaced most if not all of his original gnarled old rockers with newer and sleeker models. and got hold of some "youth cream" (as parodied by the ageless dick clark in the classic "police squad" comedy series) himself. i'm no expert on metal, but i would have said this was a weak effort within that particular genre
don't think Judy had had earlier hits - perhaps you are confusing her with Audrey Hall who had a couple in '86?
DeleteI stand corrected - having checked out the link posted below for the full length version of the song, I see she did hit the reggae charts in 1985
DeleteThanks for the two uploads, Anonymous. Have you got the following shows which I lost when my computer was stolen. They are 22/04/76, 29/04/76, 9/03/79, 29/03/79, 7/05/81, 11/06/81 and 15/10/81. Cheers!
ReplyDeletehere you go
Deletehttps://we.tl/t-PmQN8yXGeP
wrong batch sorry hang on
Deletewere correct after all lol
DeleteBrilliant, Anonymous! Much appreciated.
DeleteHello. I just stumbled across this old post. My name is Tony and I'm looking for two rare totp:6/12/73 & 11/6/74. If anyone has these rarities available would you mind sharing? My email is: flipperfan76@gmail.com.
DeleteI would even consider paying for them! Thanks.
TonyD.
My apologies. I meant the episode:06 Nov 75 and
Delete30 Oct 75!
Thanks if any one can help!
TonyD.
One hit wonder time again with Biblical rockers The Rainmakers, which I was quite partial to at the time and it was nice to be reminded of it as it doesn't get revived too often (if at all). As Mr Rainmaker testifies and evangelises, this pounds away with a catchy rock melody and a humorously overbearing approach to Bible stories - I especially liked Christ asking "Why is everybody always pickin' on me?" like Charlie Brown (not THAT Charlie Brown). The formula would have worn thin if they'd carried it on, but this was entertaining as a one-off.
ReplyDeleteClub not-that-Nouveau as it's the video we've seen before, then The Blow Monkeys as Dr Robert channels his inner Marlene Dietrich in a poised but rather absurd performance. The song, well, I recognised the chorus, but it's not as infectious as their previous two hits, too laid back for its own good.
Judy Boucher - Smutty getting into a bit of Hyacinth Bucket trouble over the correct pronunciation, which is a lot more engaging than the song itself, a tepid slowy that trundles along enervatingly. Goes on for ages too, or sounds like it.
Oddly we get the entire ending of the Living in a Box video, but anyway, Terry's back and it's all gold, a better performance than his debut because he actually makes his moves properly rather than looking as if he's put his back out as before.
Let It Be at No.1 reminds me Peter Jackson is making a new documentary film about the making of that album, presumably because the two surviving Beatles don't want the actual Let It Be film from 1970 rereleased. I know it's on YouTube, but a proper version would be preferable, and I hope Jackson doesn't use the unused footage to make a cheery account of the production. Not that the original is full of screaming matches, mostly a lot of passive aggression, but it's an appropriate downer for the end of their career together.
Whitesnake, this time with Tawny Kitaen livening up their videos, she being Mrs Coverdale. Story goes that Dave returned home one day to find her in bed with someone else, and was ready to fight him when the bloke got out of bed and was about a foot taller than Dave, so Dave suggested they have a cup of tea instead (!). Anyway, the song, by the numbers rawk, not awful, but not essential.
Anyone see the Pointless 1970s Celebs special yesterday? One of our former heroes Kid Jensen was on it, looking the worse for wear from his Parkinson's I'm sad to say. He wasn't in terrible shape or anything, but I was a little sad to see him in diminished physical circumstances.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I was happy to see who won (no spoilers if you want to catch it on iPlayer) - bit of a legend!
I was just surprised that so many of the audience knew who Brian Lara was given that cricket is a minority sport now, supposedly only watched by over 50s. Perhaps there were a lot of those in the audience? Anyway 'Philippa Vale' was on great form!
DeleteI got the Brian Lara answer too, and I've never seen a cricket match in my life (other than in school). He must have a memorable name.
DeleteAnd yes, it was good to hear Liza laughing her head off!
Solo Smitty and his jokes…and thanks again to Anonymous for loading (have seen my comment on the 26/03 show about 10cc?).
ReplyDeleteRainmakers – Let my people go-go – All the way from Kansas eh? Frankly not something I particularly enjoyed or disliked. Just made no real impression.
Club Nouveau - Lean on me – Now that’s more like it. No1 in the US at this point in time, Bill Withers apparently sent them a ‘Congratulations’ telegram and said that he’d like to meet the band. The royalties must have been handy too!
Blow Monkeys – Out with her – Nope, no recollection, and didn’t grab me either despite the fluffy outfit.
Judy Boucher – Can’t be with you tonight – Hey! Not a lot of love on here for this already. It’s one of my favourites of 1987! Just a sumptuous hypnotic tune. What probably doesn’t help is the strange way the single cut was edited. It appears to go out with a whimper, and is structured verse – chorus – verse – fade. The unedited version goes verse – verse – chorus – instrumental break – chorus – fade to a natural ending. Check it out here:-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9B2OMyCUrU
Breakers – Living in a Box – entering the ‘Visage’ by Visage league, this is just one of those records I could not get into at all. Bon Jovi – Diminishing returns.
Terence Trent D’Arby – If you let me stay – As noted before, not a fan of this.
Ferry Aid – Let it be – Can anyone verify if ‘The lady in red’ above the ‘Ferry Aid caption at the end is Stephanie Lawrence? I only ask as I think her rendition of ‘Only he has the power to move me’ from Starlight Express is a Lloyd Webber underrated gem. Sad to think that Stephanie has been gone for nearly 19 years now.
Whitesnake – Still of the Night – With hints of things to come, the video looks like a tamer version of that for ‘Here I go again’ but the song isn’t as memorable. Coverdale did belt out some classics for Deep Purple over 12 years before this, such as ‘Burn’, so it’s hard to believe that it is the same guy.
Thanks again , Anonymous, for the uploads. Any chance you have got the following shows which were either UK Gold shows or shows that BBC4 took links out of. They are 27/04/78, 22/02/79, 25/12/80, 3/12/81 and 17/02/83.
ReplyDeletehere are 4 eps cant find 17/02/83
Deletehttps://we.tl/t-m8Pftc4Fzf
Sorry Anonymous; not sure if you saw my other comment, but do you have the 22/06/73 show at all please?
DeleteGreat stuff again, Anonymous! Many thanks.
Deletebrie i have this copy of 17.02.83 your welcome to it if you like
ReplyDeletehttps://we.tl/t-wfRsjRWYeN
Thanks Meer for this! It's the Jonathan King section I was after.
Deletehow come all the totp recordings collectors/completists/obsessives like brie, meer et al never seem to make any critique or even comment on the actual content? i kind-of see them as people i know who love listening to music, but couldn't play a musical instrument to save their lives ha ha!
DeleteYou're spot on there Wilberforce, concerning me!
Deletesct353 here is the 22.06.73 show
ReplyDeletehttps://we.tl/t-ukTlj6GZV0
Thanks meer - much appreciated.
DeleteWatched it through, and thanks again. Never knew that this show existed until the past week. Kenny Everett as a host is so wacky! Enjoyed the Hot Shots, Pans People and of course 10cc at no1. I must have seen this on transmission as I watched the show every week. Goodness knows what my parents made of Kenny!
DeleteThanks again to The Archivist.
ReplyDeleteOoo! A new testcard with “BBC Archive 5” on it and a ‘boing boing’ for the last few seconds until the 3rd second before transmission - it was normal practice to go to blank screen at that point before a programme started.
The audience were on it early doors before The Rainmakers, whose lead singer Bob’s still performing and been namechecked lyrically in some American literature. He still comes across as the prat in the hat to me, though. The band are from Kansas and, while Istanbul is split over two continents by a river, Kansas City is split across two separate states (Kansas and Missouri) by a river. Right, geography lesson over.
The dreadful Club Nouveau next, far worse than Mud’s earnest version. What’s in common with the two acts? All five of their covers of the Bill Withers hit were missed by BBC4. All three Mud TOTP studio turns were wiped, while both Club Nouveau’s were Shittied.
The Blow Monkeys with a feather bore and a 331⁄3 rpm version of their last hit.
Mugshots - Shitty’s still telling us who’s coming up next, and a big whoop for Boy George’s slop.
Judy who? The second High Wycombe resident to reach number 2 after Howard Jones. Enough candelabra there to make Liberace spit. This makes Boris Gardiner sound like punk rock in comparison.
Ah, the first ever UK chart three-way here - a hit act, single and album all with the same name. Nice spinning in the gallery, lads, but crap editing by the Beeb to make the song sound ridiculously repetitive when they’d missed out the verses.
Did Dead Or Alive ever record a tribute song with Bon Jovi in the title? This sounded like a redundant theme tune for a crap western.
Shitty, we’ve seen enough of sodding Montreux in the past, please don’t bore us with this year’s offerings.
Terence gives us a sideways Frank Spencer look but, be fair, he always gave it some. Nice to see Vest Boy with a (fringed) jacket and Tribute Paul Simon in a new hat. I don’t get the lyrics, though. At first his other half’s got her bags ready for leaving, then he asks to stay?? Some naughty instrument interplay there.
Not sure if that’s Stephanie Lawrence out of Glamourpuss in Ferry Aid.
So, David Coverdale’s not much of a monolith following that cup of tea yarn. As for this effort, bring back the old catalogue – or Saxon!
My goodness 1987 is flying by with all these Mike Smith editions.. 😀
ReplyDeleteThe Rainmakers have clicked their heals and made it all the way from Kansas to the TOTP studio. A very Rolling Stones inspired song (a group I've never been a fan of). Lead singer has come as Mick Jagger dressed as Dr Who) Not really sure why this did so well. Instantly forgettable...Slade probably wishing it was them.
Unlike others Iove this rendition of Lean On Me. It was the first version I heard so probably why I like it. Good video as well, it works with the song. Will be singing this all day now.
Blow Monkeys with a slow smoochy number I don't recall. Was all the fur really necessary Robert? Surprised this isn't a Smooth FM staple, you certainly don't here it on any of the 80s stations. I wont be digging this one out again anytime soon. "Forced me into a coma... Zzzzzzzz)
Judy Boucher. All the way from High Wycombe (used to work there). This is obviously a Radio 2 hit. Would of hated this at the time but I quite like it listening to it here. Never gonna be a favourite but it's a nice song.
Breakers:
Living In A Box. Odd bit of the video to play. So much happening here. Too busy.
Bon Jovi. Always think this as solo hit rather than the band. Obviously getting confused with one of Jon's film hits. Not too bad.
Oh.No. MONTREUX
Mr D'Arby now a star! Nice hat. Nice moves. 😀
Ferry Aid still at the top. Denying Mel and Kim a third week. But we'll forgive them. Mel and Kim sound really good on this record,amazing to hear them without all the production on top.
This is a really good version of the song it must be said.
Whitesnake. I had a friend at school who was really into all this heavy metal, never really appealed to me although there are some Guns N Roses and Iron Maiden songs I don't mind and I quite like Poisons pop/rock.
This Whitesnake track however is shit.
Next...
The Rainmakers - The only song on this show that it was a shame not to see on BBC4 (bar a brief play in the Breakers) as it's great fun even if the vocals are somewhat unusual.
ReplyDeleteThe Blow Monkeys - A dull song coupled with a hard to like performance.
Judy Boucher - One of the worst songs of the entire year. Tedious drivel.
Whitesnake - Not as good as their later 87 releases. And Arthur, do you REALLY want Saxon back? I know I don't!
Compared to this particular Whitesnake effort, then yes! :-D
Deletebring back biff!
DeleteHi Anonymous many thanks for the TOTP episodes. Would you happen to have the 17.08.78 episode and 30.04.81 one.
ReplyDeleteMeant to say thanks to Meer also for the TOTP episodes. Would you happen to have the 17.08.78 episode and 30.04.81 one.
ReplyDeleteyes I do
Deleteonly messing I will upload tomorrow night or Friday morning (away for work at the moment)
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteMany thanks Meer
ReplyDeleteBTW thanks to Anonymous for 30.04.81 , 17.08.78 is a BBC4 edition
ReplyDeletehttps://we.tl/t-G8Ffd3unDO
Many thanks to you and Anonymous, cheers.
ReplyDeleteCould you please post the upload link to this 09/04/87? It's been deleted from WeTransfer.
ReplyDelete