Double Decker
10/09/87 (Simon Bates & Peter Powell)
T’Pau – “Heart & Soul” (5)
Making a second studio appearance, this first single from their number one album Bridge of Spies went up one more place.
Level 42 – “It’s Over” (24)
With Mark in his vest showing off his guns, this became their sixth and final top ten hit when it peaked at number 10.
W.A.S.P. – “Scream Until You Like It” (32)
Went up no further for the Rocky Horror extras.
Wax – “Bridge To Your Heart” (12)
Also making a second studio appearance but this song was at its peak.
Jonathan Butler – “Lies” (29)
Became his biggest, and final, hit when it peaked at number 18.
Rick Astley – “Never Gonna Give You Up” (1) (rpt from 13/08/87)
Third of five weeks at number one.
U2 – “Where The Streets Have No Name” (4) (video/credits)
At its peak.
Ok, so now we reach the point where there are four Mike Smith editions on the trot! None will be shown on BBC4, but we will of course blog them here, starting with September 17th.
Nothing to comment on a pretty dire show, apart from Carol Decker of T'Pau already at No.5 in a blink of an eye, and getting the centre stage with the same video screen, that has been there since 1980 in the same TOTP studio.
ReplyDeleteCarol certainly looked good in that black dress, and while not a colour I like on dresses, she does look very good. I think she was actually very small, although it is difficult to tell when you are not in the same studio and only watching on TV.
T'Pau - massive Star Trek fans, apparently. Be sure to mention that to them, and do the Vulcan salute when you see them, and they'll do a salute back, it's guaranteed.
ReplyDeleteLevel 42, with a morose effort, muted and sorry for itself. There is a tune there, and it's fine, but I'm surprised this made the Top Ten, if only briefly. Mark and his bass are really annoying because despite holding it throughout, he doesn't play or even mime it, just passes it from hand to hand over and over. Put it down, man!
W.A.S.P. stood for We Are Sexual Perverts, so the school lore had it, not something you'd advertise in the 21st Century, but hey, different times. Lead singer looks a bit like a hair metal Pepe Le Pew. Lyrics are dodgy, never mind the title, and while it's a spirited performance, they do look very silly.
Wax, predicting the noughties' trend for replacing lyrics in songs with "Woooaaah woooaaah woooaaaah!" and thinking that's perfectly adequate. They do get away with it here, I suppose.
Jonathan Butler with a curiously bitter ditty considering how jolly the tune is. Obviously wanted to be George Benson. Also needs more lyrics for his chorus, or indeed more melody for his song, but this was decent enough radio fodder at the time. I don't think that backing singer was really playing that sax, somehow.
Who was the singer who sang something like "There once was a singer called Rick Astley/He sang Never Going to Give You Up/It was ghastly"? Wasn't a punk song or anything, it was the kind of AOR that Roger Scott played.
U2 ripping off The Beatles from their film Let It Be, and while it's impossible to see the Fabs' doc outside of YouTube, Rattle and Hum is widely available. Call that justice? I like a good rock movie, but have resisted its charms. How much do you want to bet that cop was asked to stop the show - once they had finished their song, of course? Anyway, the tune, well, it races along I suppose (once the intro is over), but I was never keen even when we were supposed to like Bongo.
i see to remember that at the time some people mistakenly thought that t'pau was mr spock's mother, when she was in fact some kind of vulcan high priestess (apparently the lady playing the role had a real problem doing the vulcan salute!). spock's mother was actually human - thus leading to the brilliant falklands war joke: "what did port stanley and spock's mum have in common?" answer: "they were both fucked by vulcans!"
Deletereading about that rick astley pastiche (i've never heard of it before, so have no idea who did it), i am a bit surprised that nobody referred to him as "rick ghastly" at the time. unlike bros of course, who inevitably got dubbed "dross" ha ha
Delete"Dick Spatzley" is the only alternative appellation for Rick that I am aware of from that time. As for W.A.S.P., lead singer Blackie Lawless was apparently asked what it stood for in an interview once and replied "we ain't sure, pal!"
Deletei wonder if the interviewer "got" blackie's reply? it took me a few seconds for the penny to drop ha ha. he may have been a pervert and a misogynist, but he obviously had a sense of humour too
DeleteI didn't know that there was a debate about the W.A.S.P. acronym. Everyone I knew took it as read that it stood for the standard "White Anglo Saxon Protestant". This made them very popular in certain areas of Northern Ireland when I was growing up. It's sad I know, but true.
Deletelevel 42: i've got most of their 80's stuff in my musical collection, but if i had to compile a level 42 top 10 then this immaculate wistful ballad would definitely be in it (even perhaps in a top 5?). however i recommend you listen to what i think is the original album version, rather than the mix with added superfluous harmonica and pedal steel guitar noodlings. i presume the reason mark "joe" king didn't use his bass was an ironic statement in response to detractors saying the band were all about his slap playing and nothing else?
ReplyDeletewasp: misogynistic metal-by-numbers that was lucky to get as high as it did. as i still had several metal-loving chums at this point i was well aware that this lot were not exactly a bunch of choir boys, although i never knew what the acronym stood for (but probably realised it was not "white anglo-saxon protestant"). despite making out how macho he was when it came to the ladies, the singer always struck me as a drag version of sultry seventies siren caroline munro
jonathan butler: i think he started out as a jazz-funk guitarist back in the 70's/ early 80's. but as south africa's answer to george benson (he even nicks the scatting-whilst-playing routine), by this time like george he'd also ditched that in favour of mortgage-paying lightweight pop-soul
U2: i wonder how many of their earlier fans were put off by the dreary and flabby stuff they were churning at this point in return for vast amounts of moolah (that as far as i know continues to be hoarded in offshore banking accounts, rather than being handed out by bonzo to help "end world poverty")? i know i certainly was
I remember Caroline Monro's sultry eyes in the Sinbad films of the early 70s, but have no idea what other stuff she appeared in on TV or films.
DeleteI believe Caroline appears in the 'Goody Two Shoes' video at around one minute in...
DeleteDon't forget Caroline as Stella Star in Starcrash, the ultimate 70s Star Wars rip-off, with the dream team of Christopher Plummer, Marjoe Gortner and David Hasselhoff! Dory will like her outfits.
Deletecaroline had actually been dabbling as a recording artist since the 60's, and hooked up with none other than gary numan in the mid 80's to record a single with him at the helm (wearing a very tight-fitting red pvc dress on the sleeve. caroline that is - not the numanoid ha ha). i actually think it's one of the best things ever associated with him:
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTQZVSY1AM4
unfortunately no video seems to exist of it, although she did get an opportunity to wiggle about in a very similar outfit here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZbXU2FAo9w
Caroline Munro followed up her success in the Goody Two Shoes video with Adam Ant, by appearing a year later in Meat Loaf's video for If You Really Want To, which came off the Midnight At The Lost And Found album. In the video she plays an office secretary where Meat is looking to win her heart:
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hEbykBCHqA
Caroline was a Bond Girl, she flies the helicopter that nearly blows up Roger Moore's Lotus in The Spy Who Loved Me. Her wink makes the whole sequence!
DeleteNot only that, and just as prestigious, she was an assistant on 321 with Ted Rogers.
Caroline was also a Navy Rum girl. As a student I had a 12 ft poster, scrounged off a bill poster, of her on my wall....
DeleteNot much of interest in this one sadly, they were obviously keen on Wax but even a 2nd appearance in its 3rd week at No.12 (!) couldn't push it upwards. Thank goodness they didn't show the video in full instead though, or the entire country may have had an epileptic fit.
ReplyDeleteLevel 42 - This is a nice song, almost a companion piece to 'Leaving Me Now'. Not quite as good as that, but still way above most of the other songs on this show.
WASP - For the 2nd week running we get a terrible rock song languishing in the 30s in the chart. 'Scream until you like it', eh boys? There aren't enough screams in the world....
Jonathan Butler - Fair dos for the live performance, but the song itself is average.
U2 - The intro is the best bit, after that it's just an OK song with a hideously overblown video.
Headmaster is back! It just struck me for no apparent reason whilst watching this show to say thank you once again to Angelo for loading these blogs promptly every week. Much appreciated. Especially with a rush of Smitty editions coming on.
ReplyDeleteT’Pau – Heart and Soul – It’s really good this. Forgooten how good it was. Carol Decker’s presence dominates this both physically and vocally and she’s rightly in centre space on the ‘Bridge of Spies’ album cover. Shame the band was so shortlived as this was a really impressive debut. Incidentally the second single release was called ‘Intimate Strangers’ but this was retitled ‘Sex Talk’ for the album and indeed the (live) single release in April 1988.
Level 42 – It’s Over – One of the singles of 1987 for me!!!! Just wonderful. King and Lindup have never sounded better. This version is slightly edited in that the instrumental section is curtailed a little, but it’s a really sumptuous ballad that represents Level 42 at their peak. I don’t think that there has ever been a better breakup lyric or song ever released and the picture on the sleeve is soooo appropriate rather than some random image. Just listen to that subtle instrumentation, that soothing gentle melody beautifully complimented by the production. Wow! This is mega.
WASP – Scream until you like it – Gosh! What a racket. Anything following Level42 would struggle but this is dire.
Wax – Bridge to your Heart – Welcome return visit to the studio from Gouldman and Gold and they’re most welcome in my view.
Jonathan Butler – Lies – I heard the bit about touring with Whitney and then I hit FF. This may have been the best thing ever recorded but I didn’t wait to find out.
Rick Astley – Never gonna give you up – I’ve been singing this on and off all week. Infectious.
U2 – Where the Streets have no name – Sorry early finish for me.
….and no Mars on the show despite a huge climb! Looks like the producers were trying to ‘do a Hurley’ and hope that the wretched record would go away. No such luck!!
They have definitely remixed the theme tune, haven't they? Another outing for the PP/Master Bates double act, though this the last show in '87 that they hosted together. Both are generally in good form again, though the Headmaster does mangle his T'Pau infodump a bit. Curious how PP did the 40-11 rundown on his own, while Bates did the Top 10.
ReplyDeleteCarol and co are up first, and the guitarist seems determined to try to grab some limelight from Ms Decker by miming along lustily to the lyrics and doing a silly little shuffle across the stage. I assume Mark King wore that vest in order to show off his impressively muscular arms - is that what slap bass playing can do? As for the song, it's OK, with a feel that borders almost on country in places, and certainly represents an attempt by the band to do something different. However, it's a bit too close to a dirge for my liking and not a patch on the Big O classic of the same name.
More hair metal next, as W.A.S.P. troop into the studio looking ridiculous even by the standards of that benighted genre. Their debut single was called Animal (F*** Like a Beast), and this effort is no more subtle, though that is hardly a surprise. I wonder if they actually were white Anglo-Saxon Protestants? From W.A.S.P. to Wax, and a second performance pretty much identical to the first - I assume this must have been the last time either Gold or Gouldman ever appeared on TOTP.
Jonathan Butler's mugshot in the chart rundown sees him clutching a guitar, but he leaves his hands free for this appearance. He looks like a confident performer, but the song itself is indeed sub-George Benson and goes on too long. The saxophonist looks like she has come dressed in school uniform, and I don't think she puts the sax to her lips once. U2 to close, with another Joshua Tree single that entered the chart high and soon started to slide. Unlike most here I think this is a powerful song, one of their best, but the blatant attempt to ape the Fabs' rooftop concert in the video does smack strongly of self-importance. Apparently the police did try to stop the filming, so that scene at the end is genuine, but according to Wikipedia happened much earlier in the shoot - in the end, the cops were happy to let them proceed...
as readers may know, i hate it when songs are given titles with silly, redundant or seemingly inexplicable bits in brackets afterwards. but thanks to john i couldn't help but laugh at being reminded of the debut single by wasp that was entitled in that manner!
Deletebtw, was that the first song ever released that had the word "fuck" in the title? i am aware that steely dan were supposedly the first act to use the actual word, on this track:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDMGHiMXV4A
I think you're forgetting the Dead Kennedys Top 40 (just) hit from 1981, Too Drunk to Fuck. I heard it on BBC 6 Music a couple of months ago, and it wasn't bad!
DeleteIt seems that Blackie has found God these days, so won't play that particular song live any more!
Deletei've just thought of a record with the F word in the title that precedes the dead kennedys: "fuck off" by wayne county and the electric chairs!
DeleteI believe Wayne was Jayne when she recorded If You Don't Want to Fuck Me, Fuck Off, and it wasn't a hit either (unsurprisingly!).
Deletethx i thought we were talking about songs that had the F word in the title, whether they were hits or not? i once owned the "blatantly offensive" ep that had "fuck off" as its lead track (i picked it up from a bargain bin mainly for that reason), and was playing it quite loudly in my bedroom when my father came in and asked me to turn the noise down. fortunately he wasn't taking any actual notice of what wayne/jayne was singing, as i'm sure he would have been blatantly offended ha ha
DeleteOh, right, I thought we were talking about hits! Bruno Brookes once famously played Closer by Nine Inch Nails on the Chart Show, but neglected to notice he was playing the uncensored version, whose chorus repeats the refrain "I wanna fuck you like an animal!" Surprisingly, he kept his job. Oh, and he played Pixies' Planet of Sound, too, which has the line "This ain't no fucking around!" Nobody noticed that, however (except me!).
DeleteI thought it was 'Killing In The Name' by Rage Against The Machine that Bruno played on the chart show? I think it would have been Goodier on presenting duties by the time 'Closer' came out.
DeleteYou're right! Bruno played Killing in the Name and Mark played Closer. Better memory than me!
DeleteThe "Astley / Ghastly" rhyme referred to above is from the very wonderful Nick Lowe's ditty "All Men Are Liars".
ReplyDeleteOf course it was! A thousand thanks for your good memory, that's been bugging me ever since Rick showed up in the repeats.
DeletePP and Slimes again along with T'Pau back in the studio. Carol in black with sticks for legs and wild hair. Can anyone name another T'Pau band member without the use of Google?..
ReplyDeleteLevel 42 and Mark has forgotten his shirt. The band have also forgotten a tune. Picks up a bit of a melody at the chorus but not a fan of this one. Cheesy listening all the way.
WASP go all heavy metal on us. Why is the lead singer wearing a bra? My wife think he looks like Kat Slater from Eastenders..WASP were a poor man's Iron Maiden weren't they. Next...
There was a Goonies 2 ??????
Amazed Whitney never got a showing.
Wax back again. Still a huge fan of this song. Still looks like a couple of Dads trying to look cool at the school disco. 😀
Johnathan Butler. Nope, me neither.
Singing live though so fair play. This isn't bad, no idea why I don't remember this or why I haven't heard it since.
Yep. Like this. 😀 One for the Spotify playlist.
Another repeat of Rick in his Dads suit.
MARRS miss out and U2 get the nod with their most famous video. Always wonder how much was real and how much was staged. Great video though and a great song.
Not a bad show. Now off to the PC for 4 weeks 😬😬😬
Yes, I picked up on that Goonies 2 reference, but forgot to mention it in my comments. I've checked, and Bates was actually talking about Ghoulies 2! They never did make a Goonies sequel.
Deletei had to dig deep here, but i think the t'pau guitarist's name was ronnie rogers. also known as mr carol decker, with whom i think he wrote the band's songs. he was also the only one other than her that ever did interviews
DeleteGhoulies it is then. I'm sure I would have seen a second Goonies film. Thanks.
DeleteWell done Wilberforce.
I remember being very excited by "lies" at the time. I've no idea why looking back. I was looking forward to hearing it again after all these years and found it distinctly underwhelming.
Deletejust to report that rather spookily "it's over" for level 42 guitarist boon gould, who was found dead in his home on 30th april. he may not have been the most influential member of the original band, but even so thanks to him for being part of one of the greatest acts of the 80's in my view
ReplyDeleteTruly awful episode - FF got overworked this time...
ReplyDeleteThe lowlight was the WASP track which was as dreadful as the miming!