Happy Four
28/05/87 (Mike Smith)
The Housemartins – “Five Get Over Excited” (13)
This Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep soundalike went up two more places.
Bruce Springsteen – “Born To Run” (16) (live clip)
At its peak.
Mirage – “Jack Mix II” (7)
Peaked at number 4.
Donna Allen – “Serious” (15)
Peaked at number 8.
Pepsi & Shirlie – “Goodbye Stranger” (27) (breaker)
Became their second and final top ten hit when it peaked at number 9.
Gary Moore – “Friday On My Mind” (26) (breaker)
Got no higher.
Erasure – “Victim Of Love” (23) (breaker – Montreux clip)
Peaked at number 7.
Johnny Logan – “Hold Me Now” (3)
Wetn up one more place.
Starship – “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” (1) (video)
Fourth and final week at number one.
Johnny Hates Jazz – “Shattered Dreams” (5) (video/credits)
At its peak.
June 5th is next.
Many thanks to the uploader....great work.
ReplyDeleteA couple of interesting performances on this show.
ReplyDeleteMirage with Jack Mix 2 - what happened to Jack Mix 1, I think it completely passed us by, but joking aside, was there a Jack Mix 1 that bombed out and didn't make it to the top 40 rundown? Anyway the dance routine I quite liked with that quirky trio, especially the soft-shoe dancing by the pretty girl in the middle of the trio. Surprised this was at No.7 already, and eventually made top 4, but I thought it was quite good.
Pepsi & Shirlie - on the theme of pretty, didn't they (especially Pepsi) wear awesome body-beautiful outfits on that video clip? Good Lord, I didn't know that Pepsi was that well endowed in the chest department. Overall a nice video, and a warm welcome back to the pair after their big No.2 effort with Heartache in 1986.
Starship - final week at No.1 and we get to see the video from the very start for the first time, but the trade-off is that it was cut short at the instrumental break cos the BBC (not me) were probably ready for a new No.1, and Whitney was about to oblige.
I certainly wasn't best pleased at WH getting to no1 with that flippin song! Heard it far too many times in my lifetime!
DeleteIt seems there was indeed a Jack Mix 1, but it was just a shorter version of Jack Mix 2!
DeleteInteresting hearing Smitty’s voice ahead of the start and the bit at the end with ‘Sonic Boom Boy’ playing and the audience dispersing. Thanks Uploader! Otherwise, not the best of shows for me.
ReplyDeleteHousemartins – Five get over excited – There has been a spate of ‘Five’ books released in recent years in the style of Enid Blyton such as ‘Five go to Brexit Island’ but not ‘getting over excited’. Not sure of the ‘Chirpy chirpy cheep cheep’ similarity Angelo, it didn’t particularly strike me. Anyway, a harmless jolly start to the show without really being anything above average.
Bruce Springsteen – Born to Run – Given many accolades this song, but was a minor hit in the States originally and a flop over here. It really does little for me and I much prefer ‘Dancing in the Dark’ and, best of all, ‘Racing in the Streets’.
Mirage – Jack mix II – Oh per-lease! Who bought this stuff? I thought this was on the way down! FF
Donna Allen – Serious – I thought Donna must have been a one hit wonder as so unremarkable is this, but no, she reached no10 two years later with ‘Joy and pain’ (“never heard of it” I hear you say, yep me neither).
Breakers have a theme today along with Sam Fox who has entered the lower regions with ‘Nothings gonna stop me now’ – Pepsi and Shirlie – ‘Goodbye Stranger’ is one of the standout tracks on Supertramp’s ‘Breakfast in America’ album so this was always going to struggle in comparison; harmless stuff. Gary Moore – Friday on my Mind’ was a big hit for the Easybeats in 1966 and this version is pretty good too, just a bit heavier. Stonking tune. Erasure ‘Victim of Love’ another facsimile title, this time with one of the more upbeat tracks on the Eagles superb ‘Hotel California’ album.
Johnny Logan – Hold me now – Continuing the facsimile title song theme, I don’t think many people would rate this self-penned song above the Thompson Twins song, but it almost gave Johnny his second Eurovision chart topper. Johnny was engaged to a Turkish belly dancer.
Starship – Nothings gonna stop us now – As Dory observes, we actually see the start of the video this time (something Madonna’s videos never get granted). Final week at the top for this high quality song before it is replaced something quite different which I won’t hark on about here, but also produced by Nerada Michael Walden (I shoulda loved ya).
Johnny hates Jazz – Shattered Dreams – Nice ending and good video.
sct i'm very familar with "joy and pain" actually. although via the maze original (and also a live version by them) rather than donna allen's cover. given that maze used to regularly sell out the hammersmith odeon several nights running when they came to blighty back in the 80's, i'm surprised they didn't have a hit with what is seen as their anthem/signature song themselves
Deletealso regarding the original version of "goodnight stranger": i thought it was generally boring compared to the first two hits off "breakfast in america", although i did like the instrumental bit at the end. unfortunately all radio deejays took that as their cue to either fade it out or (worse) start blathering over it. many years later when i acquired a digitial copy, i edited it down so only the instrumental bit remained!
Great to see the bit at the end, people leaving the studio!
ReplyDeleteYes, and Mike Smith uncharacteristically tongue-tied on this edition, fluffing a number of his links.
Deletethe trouble he had with the girl standing next to him was quite amusing
Deletehousemartins: one definitely does not get over excited at this basic and banal indie pop
ReplyDeleteboss: come back housemartins, all is forgiven! the studio version is bad enough (in my view perhaps the most over-rated recording of all time) so i dread to think how horrific this live rendition must be. and no, i'm not going make the effort to find out
mirage: i suppose i might just about have tolerated this if i was pissed in a club at the time, but in the cold light of day 30 years on it really is absolute cash-in bilge by opportunist and talentless oiks. however they seem to have got hold of the "pump up the volume" sample before sct's chums marrs did
donna allen: this prince-style effort might not be the greatest dance groove ever recorded by a long long way, but compared to the above it's blessed relief
johnny logan: um excuse me sir, there was already a big hit with this title just a few years earlier. and it was a million times better than this soporific shite
"Five killed in a car crash... Five poisoned over dinner..." Not as cheery in the class warrior lyrics as the tune suggests, but I loved the People Who Grinned Themselves to Death album at the time, and this was one of the highlights. They were incredibly sarky, though. Great brass section on this.
ReplyDeleteAw Gawd, the Boss doing one of his every muscle straining renditions, not my type of thing. Wasn't the red-haired lady on stage his new girlfriend, who he had recently dumped his wife for? Are they still together?
Mirage with basically Stars on 45 for 1987, although at least they had the decency to show up in the studio. Pretty sure that's not their vocals, though! The girl looks kind of cute in her bouncy way, but as with those compilation covers of the early 80s, you can't imagine anyone wanting to hear them now. Audience going nuts for this, curiously. "Hurgh!"
Donna Allen, yes, that's better, she's quite bouncy herself, though for slightly different reasons. Great little tune, really sassy, she was obviously quite a handful. Her friend who joins her latterly is quite amusing too. Sampled for a 90s dance hit, of course (You Sure Do by Strike).
Think the only Breaker we don't see again is Gary Moore, and thank goodness for that as he murders the classic Easybeats tune with an avalanche of nasty production and over the top guitar licks. Bleaurgh.
Johnny Logan, with the better of his Eurovision hits, but it's not something that I go back to a lot (or at all). Seems to be singing live, so credit to him for that.
Then Starship with their last ever week at number one (unless you technically count last year's Christmas No. 1 - but don't do that). Oh how sick I was by week four of this back then.
Johnny still Hatin' with a pretentious video allowing Mr Datchler to do some acting. Not sure that was wise.
Bad luck, Duncan, your shout out will not be broadcast on BBC 4 all these years later!
i remember the boss marrying a very pretty and stylish up-and-coming actress called julie anne moore in the mid-80s, and thinking "is she really going out with him?". so it was no surprise to me that that the marriage didn't last 5 minutes as america's blue-collar hero realised that the feisty rock chick backing singer in his band (called patti scialfa to my recollection) was a far better match. and yes as far as i know they're still together 30 years on
Deletesorry, i've just checked, and the actress in question was called julianne phillips - not the much better known julianne moore ha ha (although by coincidence she was born in the same year as her namesake, and like patti scalfa is a redhead!)
DeleteYes, we still have at least one single to come off the Tunnel of Love album which was all about Bruce's breakup.
DeletePerhaps the most interesting upload that the Archivist has provided for us so far, thanks to Smitty's pre-show banter with the audience at the start and the footage of them leaving at the end to the sound of Westworld. As for the show itself, it definitely wasn't one of our host's better outings, as he uncharacteristically stumbled over some of his links while coming out with the usual irritating non-sequiturs - what was "banana-shaped" about the Housemartins' record? Perhaps Smitty himself felt he was in need of a break, as thankfully we won't see him again until September.
ReplyDeleteThose cheeky Hull-based scamps are up first, with a song that puts me much more in mind of All You Need is Love than Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep. It's a lively and fun listen, however, and Stan and Fatboy engage in some comic jostling on stage to enliven it further - at least, I assume it was comic! I'm with Wilberforce on the subject of Born to Run - it is massively overrated and bloated, with a very American sensibility that just doesn't appeal to me at all. Not sure why this live version was released at this point, but I suppose from a technical point of view it is accomplished enough.
From an old song to another ominous glimpse of the musical future with this opportunistic Houseification of Mel and Kim's recent hits. I can understand why people would dance to this in a club, but as with so many modern dance records I really don't know why you would want to buy it. Smitty seemed obsessed by the fact that Mirage came from Paddington, but in actual fact the people on stage here were just fronting for evil Mirage mastermind Nigel Wright, who had also been behind the hit medleys released by Enigma a few years previously. I don't remember Donna Allen at all, but she looks like a fun girl and comes to the studio devilishly dressed - good interaction with her male sidekick too. The song is very much a product of its time, but in fairness I've heard worse.
Gary Moore's cover of the Easybeats classic is just about palatable, but the leaden rock guitar slathered all over this version just can't compete with the frantic, intricate guitar work of the original. In the video, Gary looks like he is accompanied by a long-haired Barry Manilow on keyboards. Back in the studio, Johnny Logan appears on TOTP for the first time since performing his previous Eurovision winner in 1980. His hairstyle had moved with the times, and there is a bit of nice eye contact with the audience, but this is bland, inoffensive fare that is nowhere near as distinctive as What's Another Year; the chorus does try to move into power ballad territory, but is not successful. Starship complete their last week at the top, and JHJ end proceedings with a video that mines similar territory, as a poster girl magically comes to life. As THX has already mentioned, Clark's acting skills leave something to be desired...
my apologies to mirage puppet master nigel wright for referring to him as a talentless oik, as he is probably one of the most successful music producers in the business. but still very much an opportunist though, as this wasn't the first time he tacked onto a new dance craze - he was also responsible for the blondie "stars on 45" thing a few years earlier to my recollection. by the way, followers on the show may remember him as the beardy keyboard player in shakatak
DeleteYes, Mr Wright did co-produce the "Platinum Pop" Blondie medley by This Year's Blonde. Perhaps unsurprisingly, in recent years he has taken the Simon Cowell shilling and worked on shows like Britain's Got Talent.
DeleteThe track by Mirage – “Jack Mix II” was a pop travesty. However, many thanks to the uploader. To see these 'lost' episodes from BBC Archives is fantastic, they are real gems; to hear the off air comments from Smithy and the production crew at the end. Great work to the uploder, this is a great site.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the upload again, Anonymous. Could you upload 5/08/82 again that you did for me last week as Kid Jensen's links on the show are muted on the one you uploaded. Also have you got 28/01/82, 9/09/82, 10/11/83, 1/03/84 and 17/01/85? All have missing links or parts taken out by BBC4 and aren't on the Google file. Cheers!
ReplyDeleteonly copy avalible of 5/8/82 is mute links am afraid, here are others, can't find 9/9/82 either.
ReplyDeletehttps://we.tl/t-JmOESZuS1n
Thanks for trying, Anonymous, and thanks for the others!
DeleteThere is a very good quality .avi file (1.17GB) of 5/8/82 available with the Jonathan King section added in. The quality of the JK section is not as good but the rest of the show is superb quality.
DeleteI also have a BBC1 copy of 9/9/82 that's not the same as the one on the Google drive. Let me know if you (or anyone) would like either or both of them.
Yes please
DeleteSorry, it can get a bit confusing with more than one of us using the name Anonymous. There is definitely only one legendary Anonymous on here and it's not me. Thanks again to our fantastic uploader. If I post anything on here from now on I will sign off as Anonymous MK. Here's the link to 5/8/82 & 9/9/82:
Deletehttps://we.tl/t-rHK7id6r5l
Thanks Anonymous, could I request a few shows from you if you have them please?
ReplyDeleteThey are: 6/6/68, 6/3/69, 27/2/69, 26/10/78, 4/1/79, 11/9/80 and 23/10/80. Some are available with timecodes on the Google Drive and others were edited on both BBC4 and UK Gold. Peter Sarstedt is also missing from 27/2/69 on Google Drive.Thank you!
here they are can't find 6/3/69 though.
ReplyDeletehttps://we.tl/t-xNuhYRJdK9
26/10/78 is the infamous edition where Elvis Costello is basically having a dig at Tony Blackburn whilst singing 'Radio Radio'. Blackburn apparently asked for his link after that song to be edited out and watching this archive version that rumour is very true as theres a definite snip in the original video there after the song. When BBC Four screened this one they cut straight to the next song so it appeared as if there was something missing..there wasn't..it was just to cover the bad edit present on the original tape that Blackburn had asked for!
DeleteYes, UK Gold did the same with 26/10/78 but at least we now have some sort of a link into Chris Rea!
DeleteThanks for the uploads Anonymous. They're great!
DeleteThanks Anonymous.Could you upload 20/10/77.Please
ReplyDeleteyep here is 20/10/77
ReplyDeletehttps://we.tl/t-PTWf9zq4YS
THANKS!!!
DeleteThis is a great show. The Patsy Gallant video gets cut just where it reaches the longer cut from the album. Didn't realise she was in the studio afterwards. Was this one ever shown by BBC4 or had Yewtree kicked in by then?
Deletei'm going to interject here and say that although i thought the patsy gallant hit was pretty lame, she did also record a couple of excellent funky tracks:
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dk-dqdoOkuA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pz-J1sPJjzA
here is another rare one it's 15/09/77 savile ep, and re 26/10/78 it's a new find for me, been asked several times for it.
ReplyDelete150977
ReplyDeletehttps://we.tl/t-0MqOg0cGfb
These uploads are amazing Anonymous! Would you have copies of 20/07/78, 22/11/79, 14/8/80 and 16/10/80? Cheers and a huge thanks for all the shows.
ReplyDeleteyep here are all four :
ReplyDeletehttps://we.tl/t-ZrH1q80LhE
14/8/80....Watch Your Backs!!
DeleteI would love to see the pilot episode made to test the re-boot of the show in July 1980..but alas I think anonymous has already said its not there :(
Delete9/7/80 if its worth checking again for luck?? Might just be labelled TOTP pilot? No worries if not..great uploads anonymous!
No pilot sorry
DeleteThis pilot version 9/7/80 https://we.tl/t-euzshGflwq It's m4v format
DeleteWow! Thats fantastic! Many many thanks!! An important milestone in the shows history! Never thought I would get to see it! Brilliant stuff!
DeleteCan I add my thanks for the 09/07/0 Pilot edition which I never knew existed. Fascinating. I wonder what they would have shown for 'Xanadu' if the show had been broadcast? Enjoyed Legs and Co. also!
DeleteAnonymous sorry, i have to bother you again. Can you upload 13/10/77, 14/9/78, & 13/9/79. Please
ReplyDeleteyep, here are all 3 of them
ReplyDeletehttps://we.tl/t-vC2TxtRuQU
THANKS!!! it's fantastic!
DeleteWhat a TOTP feast we have had today thanks to Anonymous! Could I ask for 2 shows please?
ReplyDeleteThey both have footage from 'Grease' rather than Legs & Co. dancing to John Travolta & ONJ and they are from 6/7/78 & 19/10/78. Thank you very much Anonymous for everything.
here they are :
Deletehttps://we.tl/t-zqKaAhdleR
Anonymous, thanks so much for all of these episodes. May I have the avi file (1.17GB) of 5/8/82 and the 9/9/82 episode. If you have files of a bigger size, have you considered putting your collection on a torrent site such as TorrentDay. It is a really good safe torrent site. A private tracker that is by invite only. I have a few free invite memberships if you are interested. By the way great site Angelo Gravity, I really enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteI dont have those 2 eps someone else posted earlier. Im a member of few torrent sites. But would be interested in an invite. I wish to remain anonymous on here but angelo knows who i am.
ReplyDeleteSure Anonymous, I can send you an invite, to say thanks for all the TOTP episodes. How could I send you the invite, I'm not very tech savvy, could Angelo help? To the person who posted earlier on the avi file (1.17GB) of 5/8/82 and the 9/9/82 episode, May I have them. Many thanks.
ReplyDeleteI've just added the link to 5/8/82 & 9/9/82 in one of the earlier posts above.
DeleteAnonymous MK.
Re invite to torrent day above can you send invite to this email
Deletebob196622@btinternet.com
Cheers Anonymous MK. Many thanks for that. It can get confusing I agree, so now I will sign off as Anonymous DB
ReplyDeleteBTW There is definitely only one legendary Anonymous on here !!!
ReplyDeleteLegend thanks for that compiment
DeleteI've been out all day and can't believe what I've just seen on this blog! Incredible! Nearly all the ones I've been after have been uploaded today! Just a few more Anonymous if you've got them. They are 22/06/73, 10/05/79 and 12/11/81. Many, many thanks!
ReplyDeleteHere are 2 of them brie
ReplyDeletehttps://we.tl/t-smA5j8w4S7
Brilliant Anonymous! You're a star! Where were you all these years when we've tried to get these shows when the BBC cut them up or didn't show them at all? Thanks again!
DeleteBrie, are you still after 220673, I have a version I can upload
DeleteMaybe, but only if it's different to the one I've got with the flashing BBC Archive logo on it, which is on the Google drive file. Somebody asked a few weeks ago if they could find the version with the edited line 'we've all got balls and brains' in 10cc's Rubber Bullets but it's not turned up yet.
DeleteHi Brie, Meer uploaded a copy of 22/6/73 here recently. It's almost complete apart from the missing Slade footage which is replaced with the audience dancing to 'Skweeze Me Pleeze Me' from 6/7/73. 10cc don't sing the 'Balls and Brains' line on the show.
DeleteThis is a better version than on the google drive, but still no balls and brains
Deletehttps://we.tl/t-641QXmKhsQ
Thanks Anon SH, this is new to me and we even get a brief glimpse of Slade on stage! I'm eternally grateful to whoever recorded this at the time but why oh why (My oh My) did they cut Slade out of the show.
DeleteA massive thanks yet again to our archivest for making this edition available to us. I vividly recall watching the original broadcast and my mother's remark regarding Bruce Springsteen-"That bowdie is gan tae hay a heart attac if he keeps singin lik thon". For those of you who aren't of Northern Irish - Scottish origin, that loosely translates into the Queen's English as "that person is going to have a heart attack if he keeps singing in such an intense manner". Anyway, great to see this edition and a flashback to my 15 years old self.
ReplyDeletethanks sonny for making some kind of comment on the actual content of the show!
DeleteSome take the Boss's "singing to the edge of an embolism" style as a mark of his integrity. I don't doubt he means every word, though.
Deletehi Anonymous Do yo by any chance have these shows
ReplyDelete20.11.80 14.01.82 13.05.82 07.10.82 25.11.82 and 30.12.82 thanks for all the uploads today
Thank you anonymous
Deleteyes meer, here are all of them :
ReplyDeletehttps://we.tl/t-M9Vu9I5f0c
30.12.82...Pigbags infamous drunken performance of "Papa’s Got A Brand New Pigbag"! I was hoping this uncut version would have the footage of him storming onto the stage and asking them to leave! I guess they switched the cameras off by then!
Delete'him' being Michael Hurll. I did originally put his name down and deleted a sentence forgetting to repost his name! Why can't you edit these posts!
DeleteA bit of a shame that there were some 'one-offs' on this edition that we won't see on BBC4.
ReplyDeleteThe Housemartins - One of their lesser hits I suppose but still very enjoyable.
Bruce Springsteen - Not much love for this on here but weirdly it's one of the few songs of his that I can actually stand. Not sure why.
Mirage - I remember their knock-off medleys being curiously popular at school. The performance is a bit ropey though, not sure the lady's dancing is particularly convincing, and there was no point giving mics to the guys!
Donna Allen - One of the soul tunes from this era that's aged rather well I think.
Breakers - Only Gary Moore to comment on here and nothing much to say about his 'meat and potatoes' cover version really.
Johnny Logan - Shame that he got another Eurovision victory with this drivel, given that he was big headed enough in the first place!
RIP Keith Flint of the Prodigy. Found dead at his Essex home aged just 49.
ReplyDeleteperhaps one of his bitches smacked him up?
DeleteIt was suicide, seemingly - very sad.
DeleteI don't know whether these repeats will last until The Prodigy's heyday, but Keith was much complained about for the Firestarter video because he was scaring the kids! TOTP ended up broadcasting it with the credits running over it, so the younglings wouldn't be so traumatised (not sure how that works).
DeleteAnyway, great frontman, and by all accounts a lovely bloke too. That was a real shock yesterday.
just to say that all you obssessives/completists going on about the availability or otherwise of these shows without actually giving any critique on the content remind me of my nan - she always watched the news on the telly without fail (practically setting her watch by it), and yet never commented on any of it afterwards!
ReplyDeleteI arrived back here after a few days away and saw 74 comments on this show, and thought, ooh, a proper discussion! Er… nope!
DeleteSorry THX, I would like to personally apologize for my active role in Sunday's TOTP binge. But it was great fun and you missed a treat!
DeleteAh, it's OK, at least fans are seeing the episodes. It's just a bit too box-ticking for me! Not that I'm turning down the opportunity to watch the current missing from BBC 4 ones...
DeleteI'm almost afraid to ask if by any chance anonymous has copies of 3 shows that were all broadcast live but not shown on BBC Four and I would love too see them uncut if possible. Firstly the 15th anniversary of radio 1 special which was 30/9/82..the 1000th edition which was 5/5/83 and lastly the famous train edition which was 30/8/84. I promise i will crawl back under my rock and not ask for anymore..
ReplyDeleteAll three are on the Google drive folder, Wayne. 5/5/83 is an original BBC1 Broadcast and the other two are also on there.
ReplyDeletehere are two of them, can't find 30/8/84 though.
ReplyDeletehttps://we.tl/t-BWSvbPvxqQ
Thankyou anonymous.Very much appreciated as always.I did comment down below i do have the versions in the google drive but the rather special archive versions sometimes have extra footage and extended playouts not seen on original transmission and if they are not available its fine as I do have the episodes.I've deleted that post as anonymous has very kindly uploaded a couple of them. Thanku :)
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHi Anonymous. Have you got another version of 1/03/84 as the one you uploaded has mute links. Many thanks.
ReplyDeleteNo sorry no other version of 1.3.84.
ReplyDeleteI WILL comment on the advertised show soon, honest (maybe tomorrow night), but can I plead with Angelo to place the "Holy Grail" 1980 pilot show next on this blog? A television milestone which should be preserved in a televisual museum and deserves proper critique. I watched it and wrote down as many notes for that one contraband show as in four normal editions, there was so much to enjoy or tut about. I'm happy to dump my critique here if you want, but I really think the pilot show deserves its own berth. It takes a good ten minutes to download but if you're disappointed I'll give you your money back.
ReplyDeleteAngelo did post a blog for the pilot show back in 2015 when we were running through 1980 (it seems like an eternity ago now), so an alternative could be for anyone wanting to comment to go back to that post. I have downloaded it (big thanks to Gia for providing it), but haven't got round to watching it just yet.
DeleteWas the full pilot show available for Angelo to critique back then? Not arguing, just asking (and too lazy / tired to check, but I've had a few issues in the last week which have worn my batteries down).
DeleteIt was the blog post I have given the address for below. We didn't have the show available at the time, so Angelo just linked to various YT clips for the songs. Hope your batteries are recharged soon, Arthur!
Deletehttp://angelogravity.blogspot.com/2015/06/two-pints-of-lager-and-top-of-pops.html
Thanks. I'll post my comments there. I forgot to thank gia for downloading the nugget for us. Batteries still a bit flat (a nasty family illness and a ridiculous work backlog) but I think I'm getting there.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteHere you go, Arthur ~
DeleteTwo Pints of Lager and a Top of the Pops Please
A huge thanks to the amazing Popscene website here for somehow putting together the running order for the ground breaking 9th July Top of the Pops pilot edition that was made in the middle of the musicians union strike in 1980. No studio acts appeared and it has of course never been broadcast but we do have a Legs & Co routine (that was eventually shown on the 7th August) and some clips of awkward looking standins from BBC4s The Story of 1980. I've added some Youtube clips too, though not necessarily from the actual show.
It gives us a little glimpse of the great music we were missing during June and July whilst the show was off the air ~ Kate Bush, ELO, Bob Marley to name but a few but oh to have seen the incredible Splodgenessabounds........
Can we have some service over here please, thank you!
9-7-80: Presenters: Peter Powell & B.A. Robertson (TOTP Pilot)
(14) SAXON – 747 (Strangers In The Night) WATCH
A number 13 hit and their follow up to Wheels of Steel
(2) ODYSSEY – Use It Up And Wear It Out (danced to by Legs & Co)
Many thanks to Manorak for alerting me to the presence of this clip ~ WATCH
(11) PAUL McCARTNEY – Waterfalls (video) WATCH
This follow up to Coming Up made it to number 9, both from his number one album McCartney II.
(21) THIN LIZZY – Chinatown WATCH
Now at its peak in the charts.
(22) LEO SAYER – More Than I Can Say WATCH
On its way to number 2 in the charts, his first top ten hit for nearly two years.
(16) KATE BUSH – Babooshka (video) WATCH
The second single from her number one album, Never Forever, Babooshka got to number 5.
(24) DARTS – Let’s Hang On (video) WATCH
This became the band's final top 20 hit.
(10) SPLODGENESSABOUNDS – Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps Please (still picture) WATCH
Another one of those songs that began as a B side (to Simon Templer) but became a hit, this one reaching number 7, the group's only top ten.
(9) BOB MARLEY & THE WAILERS – Could You Be Loved (live clip) WATCH
Bob's first top ten hit for two years.
(8) THE KORGIS – Everybody’s Got To Learn Sometime (video) WATCH
The follow up hit to If I Had You - made it to number 5, their only top ten.
(7) UB40 – My Way Of Thinking (sound dubbed over clip of TOTP 17-4-80) WATCH
The follow up to Food for Thought - reached number 6.
(6) LIPPS INC – Funky Town (still picture) WATCH
One hit wonder which reached number 2.
(5) THE DETROIT SPINNERS – Cupid (live clip) WATCH
Body Language had followed up their number one from earlier this year, but it only made it to 40 in the charts ~ this one did ten times better.
(4) DON McLEAN – Crying (video) WATCH
His first hit for 7 years and his second of two number ones.
(3) STACY LATTISAW – Jump To The Beat (still picture) WATCH
With her only top ten hit, now at its peak in the charts.
(2) ODYSSEY – Use It Up And Wear It Out (still picture) WATCH
Their first hit since Native New Yorker in 1977, and it became their only number one.
(1) OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN & ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA – Xanadu (still picture) WATCH
ELO had 15 top ten hits but this was their only number one. Olivia had 11 top ten hits which included 3 number ones, though non of them solo.
(29) CHANGE – A Lover’s Holiday (and credits) WATCH
This became the first of two top 20 hits in 1980 for Change.
So next week then the strike is over (much more quickly than it was 35 years ago!) and it's that first new era Top of the Pops from August 7th 1980.
Thanks, Angelo. I posted on that link, but for anyone interested, here we go...
DeleteFinally, on 5th March 2019, mine eyes see the glory of the “Holy Grail” pilot edition from 1980. Huge thanks to gia for unearthing this lump of televisual gold.
I guess BA Robertson expected his song to be climbing the charts so he could co-host and sing?
We start with some light banter, an awful joke from BA and a spoiler rundown of most of the artistes we’ll see on the ‘show’, complete with footage of the acts impersonated by stand-ins and our first wonderful clip of Legs & Co., I assume accompanied aurally by the Yellow Magic Orchestra’s mugshot hit.
‘Saxon’ up first with star performance number one by Beardy Boy, obviously left-handed and miming with a right-handed guitar held upside down and giving it full throttle. The cameraman knew the star of this outfit. No bass drum pedal there!
We’re then treated to Legs and Co dressed in studio civvies and looking lovely, providing the second sexiest TOTP dance troupe routine ever in my view (only behind the hoopy tops, berets and chairs routine for “Chanson D’Amour”). I’d forgotten how much I fancied Patti!
BA taking the mickey out of Macca for what looked like a spoof video and not a real one. As for “Waterfalls”, not exactly TLC, is it?
Interesting mugshot first third, with multiple arrows denoting a climber or new entry and a solitary arrow for a dropper. Maybe they should have had a graded system, e.g. one arrow equals a climb or drop of a set number of places? Matchbox get re-named Match Box.
What on Earth was that next Peter Powell link? “ ‘Thin Lizzy’ with Chinatown, or something”!!! I like the fact they chose the stagehand who looked most like Phil Lynott to portray him, but this ensemble needed a Beardy Boy to liven up proceedings.
Performance of the show from Mike pretending to be Leo Sayer. Are you chewing? At least he had a go at remembering the words. I loved his ‘ta dah’ ending. Boundless energy indeed.
Hmm, no multiple climbing arrows from 20 upwards in the mugshots and no special symbol for a new entry.
“The voice you’re just about to see”. Great work there, Pete. Here comes Kate Bush in what looks like another camcorder video, where Kate does one of those Tommy Cooper ‘halved costume for two parts’ routines. No glass smashing or other sound effects on the record in the vid.
Darts with a pretty good cover, though Bob and Griff should have worn different colour suits. That Rob Davis out of Mud was in the band about this time. I’m glad the bassist paced out his spot to keep his head away from that swinging gondola.
Now for the top ten in video form, sort of. Splodgenessabounds is one word, not two! Great videos there for Stacy Lattisaw and Odyssey, followed by...
A still photo testcard of Olivia Newton-John for the entire duration of the chart topper! Ambassador, you’re spoiling us.
A nice last link for the outro song, but the lads forget to tell us it’s Change there with “A Lover’s Holiday”.
Maybe I’m easily pleased, but I thought this pilot edition was fantastic.
by sheer chance i have just listened to a lot of the above for the first time in ages, as the last week in july 1980 was randomly selected as a top 40 chart-marking exercise by myself and a few other alumni for our old school facebook group page (in the same manner we used to when we were hanging out in the 6th form common room decades earlier!)
Deletehi unknown earlier on you where looking for some shows I found versions of 6.3.69 5.8.82 + 9.9.82 hope these are what you wanted
ReplyDeletehttps://we.tl/t-eJ3v78YmxG
A big thank you once again to Anonymous.
ReplyDelete30 seconds... aboug that .. 😀
Live TOTP tonight. All the way from Hull come The HouseMartins. This a boppy little number isn't it. Don't remember this at all. Seems like fun though and they are clearly enjoying themselves 😀 😀 😀 Nice lively start to the show.
Bruce with more of the live video we saw last week. That's some big tour he's been on.
Jack Mix 2 with the first of many cover hits. I had one of their albums in 88 which was fun to listen to as I liked all the tracks mashed up. Obviously not the originals and these 3 dancers probably not even on the record. I liked this but it hasnt aged well. I was 12. That's my defence.
OMG I'm on love TV. Well done Smithy dealing with that. She was mad.
Donna Allen. Love this. Great dance track. Great performance.
Nice gag Smithy.
Breakers :
Pepsi Cola with their second hit. Remember this and I quite like it. Amazed it didn't do better.
Gary Moore. Better than the last effort and in fact I think I like it. Crikey.
Erasure. One of my favorite Erasure tracks, this is an amazing pop song.
Love vocals again and this week it's Johnny Logan. Now I love Eurovison but this is not the best song to come out of it by a long way. At least Wogan would have been happy.
Starship still at the top. Still haven't watched the film.
JHJ video to see us out and time the girl in the picture has come to life, can't think where they got that idea from....
Great show tonight. 😀
I think Bruce and Bob Dylan are in a private rivalry to see who can do the most gigs evah.
DeleteThanks once more to The Archivist. Yet another new count-in to the show!
ReplyDeleteI always thought the “fun, fun, fun” bit of The Housemartins’ hit sounded like the “love, love, love” refrain in “All You Need Is Love”. Also, I only recently discovered Paul sings “Fifi” in the chorus instead of “Beep beep”. Was this a song about penpals? Definitely had a video where ex-drummer Hugh got kidnapped and replaced by new sticksman Dave.
Here comes the sleeveless lumberjack with a live (i.e. not so good) version of his best song to these ears. Is this the only rock song which mentions someone called Wendy? We’ve got to cut it, Mike, the song’s about six minutes long.
He loved Mirage, didn’t he? A three minute sub-“Stars On 45” workout video. Cute female mimer, mind you.
Well restrained with that noisy girl part 1. Nice cape, Donna, and a frenetic and buoyant performance. Was that Bez on stage near the end?
HAHAHAHA! Very well restrained with that noisy girl part 2. More choice outfits on Pepsi and Shirlie which outweigh their half-decent follow-up.
Gary Moore with an awful bombastic version of “Friday on My Mind” whose backing sounded a bit like Billy Idol’s “Rebel Yell”.
Did they have different countries’ TV logos at Montreux to denote the artistes’ country of origin? Andy Bell trying and failing miserably to look like Larry Blackmon. Nice dobro, Vince.
Johnny Logan holding his ears post-song because of the noise. What an arrogant, pretentious prat. “Hold Me Now”? Gladly, by the throat.
A different mugshot for Johnny Hates jazz and a video which showcases Clark’s superb acting and some weird reference to ballet. I agree with a previous post on another show’s thread -in the chorus, is he singing empty house, heart, hat or hah?
And we finish with a priceless 45 seconds of time gentlemen, please. Just brilliant!
Belle and Sebastian strike me as a band who must sing about Wendys all the time. Even when they're not. Not a very Bruce kind of name, though, is it? I wonder why he chose it?
DeleteGlad someone agrees with me about the Jazz H8rs' "empty hah".
I suppose The Association came close, but everyone knows that was actually called Windy...
DeleteWindy's not a very flattering name, is it? Another odd choice.
DeleteDespite its jauntiness, I’ve always taken Five Get Over Excited to be a biting attack on the privileged. The middle eight (“feigning concern a Conservative pastime...”) is a direct hit at Margaret Thatcher.
Deletei'll bring up what has been the first century of comments on this blog for quite some time now, although sadly this one was by-and-large the equivalent of a flat-track bully tucking into pie-throwers! ergo somewhat muted applause from some parts of the pavillion...
ReplyDeleteThe main reason for a century of comments on this blog, was because it is being used as a sort of bric-a-brac stall for obtaining old TOTP shows, otherwise it would have just about struggled to make the half-century.
Delete