Where's That Top of the Pops?
16/07/87 (Simon Bates & Peter Powell)
Bananarama – “I Heard A Rumour” (28)
Peaked at number 14
Bruce Willis – “Under The Boardwalk” (2) (live clip)
Got no higher
Hue & Cry – “Labour Of Love” (34)
Making their debut with what was to be their only top ten hit when it peaked at number 6
Kenny G – “Songbird” (25)
Peaked at number 22
Mel & Kim – “FLM” (7) (video)
Got no higher
Los Lobos – “La Bamba” (32) (breaker)
Will be number one in two weeks time
The Cure – “Catch” (27) (breaker)
Got no higher
Boogie Box High – “Jive Talkin’” (14) (breaker)
Their only hit. George Michael did the lead vocal and it peaked at number 7.
Freddie McGregor – “Just Don’t Want To Be Lonely” (23)
Became his only top 40 hit when it peaked at number 9.
Pet Shop Boys – “It’s A Sin” (1) (rpt)
Third and final week at number one.
Madonna – “Who’s That Girl?” (3) (video/credits)
Will be number one next week.
Next up is July 23rd.
Technical problem in the playout of the episode. Will hope to show tomorrow. Via Cassian Harrison, controller of BBC4.
ReplyDeleteThanks for that Andrew - I guessed it must have been a last-minute technical hitch, given they seemed all set to show it tonight. A WeTransfer copy has appeared, source unknown, and not the greatest picture quality:
Deletehttps://wetransfer.com/downloads/45e1636c97a7c8fe17775ac0848ceb0620190328203119/f3eb8a
On BBC iplayer too now.
ReplyDeleteTruly, the summer of 1987 was the summer of Master Bates, but happily his performance here is much more assured than on his previous outing. Maybe having PP back at his side helped - they both seemed very enthusiastic this time, and PP even let out a little whoop when Bates mentioned the next show was going to be live, recalling his over-excitable early days on "the Pops".
ReplyDeletePP also seemed very keen on the Nanas' new effort, a typical SAW production but undeniably a catchy one, with lots of energy. Fashion-wise the girls are as hopelessly uncoordinated as ever, but they seem to have made a bit more effort with the choreography this time, particularly with those elaborate ear trumpet mimes on the chorus, and perhaps inspired by Shaky (or not) they also have their own troupe of stripped-to-the-waist blokes. It seems a little odd that Hue and Cry got on the show when they were so low down the chart, something which did not happen much at all at this point in the show's history, but I'm glad they did as this is one of the best tunes of the year for me, full of dynamism and interesting changes in tempo, and it also makes good use of the strike metaphor in the lyric. As someone who leans to the Left, it is perhaps ironic that Pat Kane looks like a sharp-suited yuppie here; according to his Wikipedia entry he was preceded as Rector of Glasgow University by Winnie Mandela, and succeeded by Johnny Ball, which makes you wonder what they might all have had to talk about if they had ever met up...
Muzak alert! In fairness to Kenny G, this is quite atmospheric and melodic for much of its length, though it does go weirdly jazzy and discordant in a final passage that just seems designed for Kenny to show off. Visually this is dull, with Kenny's bubble perm and soprano sax miming not making the heart race much - I think they might have been better showing a video, if one existed. We do get a promo for Mel and Kim, though sadly by now Mel's illness had set in and she wasn't well enough to take part in filming, hence the rather fun marionettes. The song isn't as good as their previous two hits, but it is tuneful and listenable enough. We won't hear any more of this Cure song, which is rather a shame as it has nice, wistful sound to it quite at odds with the big production in favour with most acts at the time.
Back in the studio, Freddie McGregor treats us to
some light reggae which is certainly at the more melodic end of the spectrum; a nice summery tune, if not the most memorable performance. Perhaps surprisingly it's another studio repeat for PSB, meaning we don't get to see their video at all, before Madge plays us out with next week's chart-topper. For me this is one of her lesser tracks, not bad by any means but a little bit flat compared to many of her hits. The promo sees her go brunette and androgynous, and features plenty of clips from the accompanying film of the same name. Another box office bomb for Madge, it looks pretty terrible from the clips alone...
Incidentally, does anyone remember the BBC discline mentioned at the start and end of the WeTransfer download, where you could ring up and listen to the Top 40? Can't say I recall it at all!
I thought the same regarding Bananarama having been influenced by Shakin Stevens the previous week to have male-strip backing dancers. It seemed to take a leaf from Man To Man Meets Man Parish who started all this nonsense in March of the same year 1987. However, I did like the abundance of lipstick on the Bananarama girls, which looked very fruity to start off the show this week.
DeleteKenny G did have a superb video John G (are you by any chance rleated?), and I remember this song for the video if nothing else, which is what charmed me towards the music of Kenny G, John G!
The reason that this Mel & Kim offering was not as good as the first two hits, is because there was more emphasis on money than fun and love. I mean the verse "I love money" was clearly sung heavily towards the end of the song!
I'm pretty sure I am not related to Kenny - I certainly hope not, anyway! I do have a very distant connection to Frankie Howerd (via a cousin's marriage), but that's about as starry as my family tree gets...
Deletebananarama: a sign of the times when this is one of the better numbers on the show. although the musical template was pretty much in place and they had become chart regulars, what SAW needed to do now as the final stage of their plans for world domination was to end their association with the likes of (i can't believe i'm writing this) established industry veterans banaranarama who had the nerve to interfere with the recording process and replace them with their own puppets...
ReplyDeletebruce willis: this seems to have been in the upper reaches of the chart forever. it wasn't as if "moonlighting" was pulling ten million viewers a week. so why, exactly?
hue and cry: slimey's intro suggests that they were brought in to appear at the last minute after a dropout. if so it looks like it happened so quickly that the singer went straight to the studio from his day job as an accountant. i have a rather negative memory of this lot, but over-heavy snare apart this choppy funk-lite isn't actually that bad
kenny g: i think this was the moment when fusion officially became smooth jazz. this reminds me of what they used to play on jazz fm in the 90's before they had to change the name to smooth fm because they weren't actually playing any proper jazz, with bland stuff like this the nearest it got. i also remember pat metheny (who is one of my musical heroes) savaging mr g on the internet with a lengthy diatribe accusing him of just showboating for the masses with hendrix-style widdly-widdly solos rather than actually playing technically correctly (well done pat!)
cure: is this really the same outfit that did "a forest"? an uttlerly abysmal two chord whimsical mess. incredibly bob still has his old chum/hanger on lol on board in the video - this time pretending to play a fiddle
freddie mcgregor: like all the other reggae records by black artists in the 80's, this is bland and instantly forgettable. it comes to something when the "cod" varieties offered up by whiteys are far more interesting to my ears. the two backing singers here are the ladies from the cool notes (remember them?)
madonna: if it wasn't her then i wouldn't find this pop-dance effort objectionable. annoyingly though it's yet another title that was a different hit song for someone else only a few years previously. is it me, or does she have rather fat ankles?
I did think that the suit and tie on the lead singer of the Scottish group Hue & Cry was more of a business suit than an evening wear suit. The best example of perfect suit-and-tie-wearing in the TOTP studio were Spandau Ballet and ABC, which were just spot on for music, evening, disco, but not Hue & Cry by any means!
DeleteI thought initially, does Freddie McGregor have any Scottish roots with that heavily-Scottish surname, but on second thoughts, I think it must be a stage name, much like Reg Dwight used the name Elton John as his stage name. Maybe THX can give us his thoughts?
Freddie McGregor's his real name! Remember a lot of black Jamaicans were given surnames from their ancestor's slave owners, hence he must have had a great grandfather who was owned by a McGregor - I'm afraid Scotland was heavily involved in slavery a couple of centuries ago.
DeleteWas there a timeshare deal with 1987 pop stars for the stripped to the waist, greased up male models? If so, it was Bananarama's turn with them tonight, though one barges right into Sara which can't have cheered her up too much. Anyway, the clammy fingers of SAW were well and truly around the chart, but this isn't the worst thing they ever did, and I'd forgotten about the girls' dance moves.
ReplyDeleteWhat is this, the fourth time Brucie has had his video shown? Maybe they were hoping that if they showed it often enough the audience would finally clap in time.
Claim to fame: I stood next to Pat Kane in Glasgow's Mitchell Library once. Didn't say anything to him, though. Anyway, Hue and Cry, this was probably their best single before they descended into smugness, though listening to those lyrics it's no surprise Pat became a leftie activist after leaving music. Does seem a bit "soul for accountants", despite the sentiment.
To quote Tony Hancock: "When he brought that out I thought he was going to smoke it!" Most annoying performance by far is Kenny G, with a hairdo to put Leo Sayer to shame, the equivalent of those talent show hopefuls who run up and down the scales to prove they have range. I only remember the bit in Wayne's World where this tune features, and not flatteringly.
Mel & Kim, tellingly with the video - is that the Montreux performance we see in the clips? Nice try at keeping the mood buoyant, but we were already aware of the reason the girls weren't seen outside of the archive footage. As for the song, pretty bog standard SAW.
The Cure's Breaker was a muted, keening little thing, almost as if they couldn't be arsed, but it wheedled its way into my mental jukebox at the time, regardless. A bit twee in retrospect. But congratulations on making the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame this week.
Funny, at the time I thought Freddie McGregor was absolutely ancient, but looking at him here he was younger than I am now. Anyway, this is a perfectly pleasant, yearning and melancholy piece of sunshine reggae, and he does have a good voice.
Still no sign of that PSB video, were the TV channels running scared after the controversial broadcast of Derek Jarman's homoerotic Latin-fest Sebastiane on Channel 4? Don't think they even left in the erection in that showing!
Madonna to end on, with one of her lesser-spotted number ones. Which is worse, Shanghai Surprise or Who's That Girl? It's a tie!
The large number of times that the Bruce Willis video was shown on TOTP was largely due to the fact he was in the top 3 for a long time, but I didn't find the video appealing, contrary to what the presenters were saying about it.
DeleteIt's not so much about the PSB video not being shown, but you'd think that they would have at least invited PSB for a new studio performance this week at third week at No.1, which I am sure they would have gladly accepted!
Bananarama - One of their more forgotten tunes I suppose, though as the group's resident SAW fan I am bound to like it of course.
ReplyDeleteI too am mystified as to how Bruce Willis's dreadful song spent so long in the Top 3.
Hue & Cry - I wonder if they were hoping that Mel & Kim might be available and that's why Hue & Cry were brought in at short notice? Whatever, they were lucky because - as has already been said - anything in the 30s of the chart seems to get ritually ignored at this point in the show's history. It is at least a decent song though.
Kenny G - The fact that Steve Wright used this as backing music for ages tells you everything you need to know.
Mel & Kim - That's definitely the Montreux footage we saw when the song was in the 'Breakers' section before. A shame that circumstances meant a slightly poor video - their performances always lifted the songs.
Breakers - The Cure song is incredibly dreary. I remember there being a lot of speculation at the time as to who was singing the Boogie Box High track when it was quite clearly George Michael!
Freddie McGregor - This wouldn't have happened without Boris Gardiner. Thanks (again) for nothing, Boris.
Not much to write home about on ‘the Pops’ on this show… The lack of a full showing for ‘that American hit’ by Heart is kind of embarrassing.
ReplyDeleteBananarama – I heard a Rumour – First of the Fleetwood Mac themed titles, this sees the girls and some male models in full SAW mode. Not the best thing ever recorded but pleasant enough.
Bruce Willis – Under the Boardwalk – again????
Hue and Cry – labour of Love – This started up and I gave it a half a minute until I realised it was something I really didn’t like.
Kenny G – Songbird – Gosh this was boring!!! Now give me Fleetwood Mac’s (Christine McVie) ‘Songbird’ any day….I could listen to that forever.
Mel and Kim – FLM – Fun love and money eh? Reminds me of another title FUBB by Wishbone Ash for some reason.
Breakers – Los Lobos – another pointless no1 coming up. How on earth did this reach the summit? The Cure – made no impression on me. Boogie Box High – Never knew that this was George Michael…thanks Angelo. Good Bee Gees impression.
Freddie McGregor – Just don’t want to be lonely – Pleasant reggae.
Pete Shop Boys – It’s a Sin – Well they didn’t want to show that video did they?
Madonna – Who’s that Girl – Comfortably her most trite no1 in this era. People just bought anything she released no matter what it was and this was new product. Similarities to the previous video.
Speaking of American No1s - how on earth did we miss on this over here? It was no1 in the States a few weeks ago in 1987. I would have thought it would have sold by the bucket load over here....and it's a lot better than most of the stuff in the chart rundown on this show.
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51Iq8JmmfxY
I remember Lisa getting a bit of airplay over here with it, but it did nothing chartwise. Odd, as you say, but some perfectly decent records miss the boat sometimes.
DeleteYeah, I remember this one being played every week on Paul Gambaccini's Radio 1 show on Saturday afternoons with the weekly American charts, and Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam seemed to get to No.1 or near enough in America with everything they put out.
DeleteThey had a brief association with Full Force in 1986 (as Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam featuring Full Force), until Full Force branched out on their own for a while, before the Force brought Samantha Fox over to America for new superstardom over there at a higher level than she got in the UK, although we still have her in the UK in 1987 at least, and still doing the TOTP studio.
So 16th July then.. Eventually.
ReplyDeleteHooray the Bananas with more greased up men who seem much more at home here than with Shaky. Much more polishes routines now they are with SAW. Siobhan soon to lose faith in this new direction and abandon ship of course. This however is a great pop number.
WHO THE HELL IS STILL BUYING THIS BRUCE RECORD.. it's so so bad.. FF
Hue and Cry. Another in the cheesy jazz listening camp as per Curiosity and The Wets. I remember liking this at the time and it got a lot of Radio airplay. Lead singers looks like a Geography teacher in that suit.
Kenny G. Mr Sax himself. With a microphone stuck on the end and a very long wire... Oh the technology. 😀
He's got more hair than I think I've ever had in my life. Clearly a very talented individual so fair play to him. Actually found myself enjoying this. Well until he went off on one at the end and mudered Sweep from Sooty at the end.
Mel and Kim video this time, had the illness taken hold by this point? Love the dolls dancing. Not their best song.
Breakers:
Los Lobos on their way into everyone's heads for the rest of 1987. Never seen the film. Was it any good?
The Cure. A fairly standard slow song that doesn't sound great by the Cure.
Boogie Box High. Nice cover Mr Michael. I bought this.
Time for someone I've never heard of next. Freddie McGregor. Bit of reggae 87 style. Not a bad little song. Bit forgettable though and totally passed 13 year old me by. Never hear this on the radio nowadays.
Madonna new at 3. Why haven't we seen that yet.
PSB. Still fab. Still top of the pops. Still the same performance. 😀
Ah here comes Madge. Now this is one of my favourite Madonna tracks. Is this yet another dodgy film. Bloody hell she was busy wasn't she. Love the hat, mac and shorts combo.
Good show. 😀
i may have mentioned this before, but siobhan was reported as saying the reason she departed bananarama was because the other two had been friends since childhood (she met them later on at college) and that she felt more and more like an outsider as a result
Deleteof course she managed to do something in her next "band" that they had never achieved i.e. get a number one hit. but as you can see via this classic sketch by the mary whitehouse experience (rob newman: stop being a pretentious prick and allow the shows to be released on dvd!), perhaps she was the andrew ridgeley of that particular project?:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUgmKezH550
The irony of that sketch is that Shakespear's Sister was initially conceived as a solo project for Siobhan. Marcella was originally involved as a session vocalist and musician, and it was Dave Stewart (married to Siobhan at the time, of course) who suggested they become a duo. It's not that surprising then that Siobhan deeply resented Marcella taking the limelight when Stay became a massive hit, and that the partnership dissolved in acrimony soon afterwards.
Deletei have to admit that i never knew it originally started off as a siobhan solo project until researching the above now (whatever reason did dave stewart have to get involved? the same one why macca had the lovely linda in his bands of course - well they do say love is blind ha ha). but given given marcela detroit's talent and experience (i remember reading that around the time of shakepear's sister she was still regularly getting royalty cheques in the post for co-writing US radio staple "lay down sally" with eric clapton when she was in his band in the 70's), it was perhaps no surprise that it became a case of "cuckoo in the nest"!
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ReplyDeleteHmm, a bit dull...
Funny enough, i thought this BananaraMA track was a lot earlier in their career. Dont think the mime routine will replace YMCA...
Bruce again! FF...
Obviously allowed to say the full title of I want your sex now.
Kenny G - “just extraordinary”. Just boring more like
Our band do Twist and Shout and during rehearsal we always sing La Bamba to the instrumental - the winter evenings fly by...
So after saying i didnt remember it last time, i get to hear Jive Talking. So close to the original it doesnt seem worth the effort
Its a... its a... its a repeat performance
charlie you should do a medley of "twist and shout", "la bamba", and any other songs that use that chord sequence! i'm not sure off the top of my head, but wouldn't "louie louie" and "hang on sloopy" also qualify?
DeleteIn a band many years ago, we used to do hang on sloopy and slip summer loving into the middle of it...
Deletewe do some mashups nowadays...
word up, mixed with you really got me...
let me entertain you mixed with i got the music in me...
get the party started with white wedding (although we pinched that off another band)
Now I'm totally confused
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