A Hard Day's Knight
03/12/87 (Gary Davies & Janice Long)
The Hooters – “Satellite” (22)
Went up no higher.
Alexander O’Neal – “Criticize” (4) (video)
Also at its peak.
The Proclaimers – “Letter From America” (3)
A second studio performance but the song went up no higher.
Def Leppard – “Hysteria” (26) (breaker)
Another song already at its peak.
Cutting Crew – “I’ve Been In Love Before” (24) (breaker)
Their final top 40 hit and number 24 was its peak.
Jellybean featuring Elisa Fiorillo – “Who Found Who” (18) (breaker)
Became Jellybean's only top ten hit when it peaked at number 10.
Michael Jackson – “The Way You Make Me Feel” (16) (breaker)
This third single from his number one album Bad peaked at number 3.
Paul McCartney – “Once Upon A Long Ago” (14)
Performing in the studio for the first time since 1974, this became Macca's final solo top ten hit when it peaked at number 10.
T’Pau – “China In Your Hand” (1)
Fourth of five weeks at number one.
Maxi Priest – “Some Guys Have All The Luck” (12) (+ credits)
At its peak.
December 10th is next but it is a Mike Smith edition so BBC4 will skip it.
Good lord! As correctly recalled by THX on the last show, Janice really did announce the full title of the Tams hit!
ReplyDeleteHooters – Satellite – This is good! Really rousing and almost folky in feel. I liked this quite a lot. Good start to the show….
Alexander O’Neal – Criticize - …and then a couple of quick wickets. FF
Proclaimers – Letter from America – FF (notwithstanding gold disc!)
Breakers – Daft Leotard – Hysteria – title track from the massive selling album. Produced and co-written by Robert John ‘Mutt’ Lange. Cutting Crew – I’ve been in love before – Re-released and remixed after stumbling into the lower regions a year earlier. This title always makes me think of the first line of the fabulously underrated Abba song ‘I’ve been waiting for you’ (definitely the highlight vocal from ‘Mama Mia 2’ for me). Jellybean – Who found who – This looks and sounds like Madonna.
Paul McCartney – Once upon a long ago – With George marooned at no2 (it would go to no1 in the US) we get this sumptuous song from Paul. So much happening here; instrumentals and those gorgeous harmonies. I heard this at the time and thought it had to be the Christmas no1, but no, it barely penetrated the top10. Featured as the ‘new’ track on the compilation ‘All the Best’. Non album B Side ‘Back on my feet’ was written with Elvis Costello.
T’Pau – China in your Hand – All is forgiven ‘Pops’! We are treated to the mimed saxophone and almost all of the instrumental and vocal fade out. Guitarist Ron Rogers is wearing split jeans which I don’t recall being ‘in’ at this point in time.
Maxi Priest – Some Guys – Couldn’t be bothered to listen to this again.
Agreed about The Hooters. It couldn't have been a better way to kick off the show, in classic high-energy style that TOTP always liked when selecting who would open the show, and very early-80s in energy. I just didn't like to the excessive strobe in background, as I am sure that epileptics out there would be having seizures galore if they watched it.
DeleteI guess that the fact that The Hooters were from Philadelphia and graced the TOTP studio in London, we have to be grateful for, and the concept of 'satellite' was quite eye-opening as satellite TV only sprung up a couple of years earlier in the USA, as up until the 80s, Americans could only watch TV shows from their own State.
I saw a documentary a few weeks ago on Sky Arts about Andre The Giant, who was a famous wrestler in America, and only the American State out of which he wrestled could see him on TV, until Satellite TV arrived in the mid-80s where the USA as a whole became aware of him. If you have Sky catch-up TV, it is well worth watching it to grasp the meaning of the whole satellite revolution of the 80s in America, and this title by The Hooters really brings it home!
Satellite by The Hooters isn't pro-satellites, though, it's anti-satellites because they will be spreading the message of lies from the money-grabbing televangelists' TV stations. It's a satirical song.
DeleteOh, and Andre the Giant will be familiar to UK viewers from The Princess Bride. From 1987, coincidentally!
DeleteThis show would turn out to be Janice's last as a regular TOTP host, though she would return briefly in the summer of 1988, after she gave birth. Sadly she is rather irritating again here; it feels as if by this point in time she was trying too hard, and had become overly self-conscious in her presenting style. At least Gazza keeps things on an even keel, and he and Janice do seem to genuinely get on with each other.
ReplyDeleteThe Hooters got their name from a nickname for the melodica, which features in this performance. They had been around since the start of the decade, and had actually opened the Philadephia Live Aid concert, apparently after Bill Graham overruled Geldof's objection that nobody had heard of them! They managed a few substantial American hits after that, but Satellite would be their only real British success. I have always liked the song, which is very lively and poppy, though I didn't realise till now that it was satirising US televangelism. Surprising really that despite the TOTP exposure it climbed no higher. A very sweaty Xander O'Neal is on video this week, doubtless trying to affirm his credentials as a man for the laydeez by performing with an all-female band to an all-female audience, naturally full of good-looking women.
Perhaps appropriately, The Proclaimers provide a new performance identical to the first, and we then arrive at a bumper breakers section. Def Leppard's latest effort, the title track to their big-selling album, is more melodic than the previous two hits but doesn't stray too far from their established musical template. The Cutting Crew's song, meanwhile, is a pleasant ballad which I think gets let down a bit by the dreary vocals - there is some very nice guitar on it. We will see the other two breakers again, but nice to have confirmation that BBC4 are still willing to show Jacko, for now anyway...
We finally get a Macca studio performance in these reruns, and this isn't a bad little tune, though it loses its way a bit by the time mockney violin virtuoso and professional irritant Nigel Kennedy - who would find greater fame not that long afterwards with his recording of The Four Seasons - gets to do his brief and underwhelming solo. T'Pau finally show up again for a new performance of the number 1, generally adopting a sombre black look, though the notably ripped jeans on one of the guitarists spoil the effect a bit - the saxophonist, meanwhile, gets banished to the balcony. Maxi Priest to finish, with what appears to be a repeat of his previous outing in the studio - was there no video to show instead?
When I heard this tune by The Cutting Crew in 1987, I was totally hooked to it, by its sickly-sweet harmony, but I was only 19 then, and tried to find a romantic side, so music like this was a godsend! Suffice to say, I can't remember how high it got in the charts, but Angelo tells us No.24 was the peak. Oh well, it didn't even make top 20 then...
DeleteEven though BBC4 are still showing Jacko, I thought the lead girl in the video was too skinny, and he could have at least opted for someone else to feature as lead girl. I mean you would have to learn from Prince when it comes to choosing a sexy girl as lead girl on the video, and yes, Sheena Easton looked more appealing than the girl on Michael Jackson's new video here.
The Hooters - ah, remember Jimmy Swaggart? Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker?! We only heard about the US televangelists when they sinned against the Lord and publicly asked for forgiveness, so why this was a hit here is a bit of a mystery (though Phil Collins' rip-off, sorry, song on the same subject, was a bigger hit here later on). It was probably the catchy dee-dee-deedle-dee theme, which an audience member annoying sings too loudly during a quiet bit. They all look older than Paul McCartney here!
ReplyDeleteAlexander O'Neal, a deserved hit, but maybe those Breakers would have climbed higher if their videos had been given the same three minute exposure? I suppose this video is the soul version of Robert Palmer's Addicted to Love one.
The Proclaimers, not sure why they showed up again given this is identical to their last performance, unless someone let slip about the gold disc, and to top it all Charlie's guitar string breaks, thus shattering the illusion they were playing live. Janice's "Gary no more!" quip made me laugh.
Hysteria is the last thing that this Def Leppard track sounds like. Mild disinterest would be more appropriate. Same goes for Cutting Crew, with another midtempo plodder for dreaded "quality pop" radio play.
Two Beatles in the charts, but for me this was the superior effort, an original song that sounds like the grown-up, soothing version of The Frog Chorus. Could have done without Nigel Kennedy's contribution, just before he unleashed his recording of Vivaldi played at breakneck speed on the world. Nevertheless, this is a forgotten song rich with bits and pieces that amounts to a very relaxing tune. But how come Macca's hair isn't grey anymore?!
T'Pau finally get their saxophonist, and then Maxi Priest repeated to end on. Maybe artistes were busy touring in the run up to Christmas, but I could have done with more variety in these episodes recently.
Oh yeah, and Janice did say the Tams' song title, my memory was correct!
The Hooters may look older than a young-looking 45-year old Paul McCartney, but when I was watching it, the lead singer looked very much like a 45-year old Mick Jagger!
DeleteWith regard to two Beatles in the same chart as solo artists, TOTP could have had both in the studio that week, but had to settle for only McCartney. Indeed it could have been a security headache if both agreed to appear on the same show for their respective hits, but I think McCartney went for it when seeing Harrison doing so well in the charts with 4 weeks at No.2, that Macca felt he had to make a point by coming to the studio to show his muscle, lest Harrison grab all the attention.
I don't know if Macca and Harrison were on speaking terms in 1987, but certainly Jeff Lynne took up Macartney's old mantle by joining Harrison on his tune still at No.2! Macca didn't join them on The Travelling Willburys the following year, so certainly on this week's show, it was Harrison & Lynne above McCartney, whether in the TOTP studio or not.
The Tams song title having the word 'shagging' meant nothing at the time, as the first time I heard this word was in 1990 by a colleague at work, and I was wondering what he was on about. Suffice to say that he was a Yorkshireman living and working in London, and I thought it was Yorkshire speak, but turns out that the British had garnered this awful speak forever more, whether or not it started off in Yorkshire for us Brits, it is still a mystery.
DeleteI heard the word "shagging" at school in the 80s, so it was definitely around before 1990! I doubt anyone in the UK was buying this single because they really liked The Tams.
Deleteleppard: a very smooth production for a metal act (i remember reading that the guitars were often recorded one string at a time, which was probably the reason for the clean sound). a bit surprised this stalled so early, but perhaps all those interested in this country had bought the album by then?
ReplyDeletecutting crew: like the above, another british rock band aiming for saturation airplay on american radio stations (and probably succeeding on that front). better than their previous hit, but still a bit too bland for my liking
macca: certainly the best thing he's managed since "coming up" right at the start of the 80's. good points are quite a decent tune and a polished arrangement and production. bad points are the hackneyed sax and rock guitar solos (much as i loathe nigel kennedy and his affectations, he should have done all the solo parts on his fiddle), plus as usual macca seems to strain a bit when he reaches for the high notes
The Hooters - I love this song, and I recall it being played a lot at the time so it was a genuine surprise that it didn't at least make the Top 20, especially after a potential TOTP leg up.
ReplyDeleteDef Leppard doing one of what seemed to be a never-ending stream of singles from 'Hysteria' and like nearly all the others, it does nothing for me. I prefer the Cutting Crew one with its mellow vibe.
Macca - Weirdly, I don't recall it from the time at all but listening to it now I rather like it, even if it was a rather blatant attempt to get a Christmas No.1.
Here we go, my second show on return after an unexpected and unwanted hiatus. Apologies for any repeats of old comments, as I couldn’t bring myself to check the old threads or shows to see what I’ve missed.
ReplyDeleteJanice with a sugar rush tonight and Gary giving away the number one top bins. Boo!
Great knowledge there about the metamorphosis of TV at the time. I didn’t realise US states could only watch programmes in their own state. Mind you, if that had happened over here I’d have preferred to watch Border all the time instead of that shit Carlton gave us. Philadelphia must be Mullet City going by The Hooters and their catchy hey-nonny drivetime rock. To think Nik Kershaw had an episode ditched for strobes which were like a campside torch compared to these!
Alexander O’Neal with an excellent white socks disco classic. No wonder he was melting with all those women around him.
Now, here’s the catalyst for me coming back. The old girl was chopping channels last Friday when she suddenly proclaimed (see what I did there?) “What’s this? They’re ugly, dressed like geeks and sound awful”. I pointed out The Proclaimers were behind “500 Miles” and she went “Ahh, okay then”. I admire the Scottish Chas and Dave for sticking to their guns and singing about their homeland in their proper accents. Love this. Easy on that guitar, mate!
Def Leppard with a slowed down “Animal”. “Tortoise”, maybe? Still, it was faster than Cutting Crew’s effort which didn’t cut the mustard with me. Followed by Madonna calling her lawyers. If Jellybean and Elisa had got it on would they have had jelly babies? Harumph.
I can hear Michael Hurll now – “He didn’t give us a video for his last single and ballsed up the end of my show, so Jacko’s only getting a breaker slot this time!”
Now then, Macca in the studio is a surprise. “Puppy dog tails in the House of Lords”? Sorry? All very dreamy and ‘glowy’, with Nigel Kennedy giving a performance which was probably the template for his “Jazz Club” mickey-take in “The Fast Show”.
Did T’Pau’s saxophonist have BO? I remember seeing a pop show years back called “Hit Me Baby One More Time” where, sadly, Carol performed this classic solo but underkeyed one of the high notes. Mind you, still better than her boyfriend Ronnie Rogers’ efforts when he was allowed to sing a B-side. Ouch.
Maxi sees us out with a maxi-mellow take on one of Robert Palmer’s more grunty efforts.
Right, looking forward to the next episode. Oh Christ - is he still here? Still, at least I missed that recent MARRS-less month-in-a-week mayhem.
Correct Arthur, up until the early 80s a US State was limited to its own broadcasting for TV viewing, until the arrival of Satellite TV, and you can imagine that as one US State was the size of the whole UK or more, then it is like a combination of all our regional tv stations, eg, Thames, Anglia, Central, Granada, STV, etc, which are the sum of the parts to make up the equivalent one US State.
DeleteMy feeling about the surprise TOTP studio performance of Paul McCartney after an absence of 13 years since 1974 with Wings, is that he was in the unusual situation of a lower profile Beatles member outdoing him in the charts at No.2 for 4 weeks, and was perhaps making a point to stand out from Harrison, ie, he was not going to reach the heights of Harrison peaking at No.2, and so coming the studio perform was his way of showing to the public that Macca is still here, and still our main solo Beatle..
Macca was the only Beatle to have solo success over the years, if we don't count John Lennon's early 70s solo singles, where Macca did the same, ie coming to the studio to perform, while Lennon sent his videos. The same things seem to be happening here in 1987 with George Harrison only sending the video, so Macca shows he can come to the studio.
Of course I'm not counting the 1980-81 period when John Lennon charted because of his death, but there was definitely a recurring pattern with Macca that when a fellow Beatle was in the charts at the same time as him with only a video to show, then he would come to the studio to perform his music, hence the 1975-1987 period where Macca was the only former Beatle to produce new music, we never got him in the studio. Healthy competition indeed!
Most important thing first. What is Janice on? Is she pissed?? Gary just doesn't know what to say.
ReplyDeleteThe Hooters up first and heard in full I do vaguely remember this. It's OK.
Alexander on video. The only guy in the room? Who thought this was a good idea? If those ladies were actually on the record it would make sense.
Gold Proclaimers at Number 3. Never realised this got so high. Well deserved. Great song.
Breakers:
Def Leppard: not their finest tune or video.
Cutting Crew. This sounds nice, will check this out on Spotify
Jellybean and Madonna. What do you mean it's not Madonna. Sounds like Madonna. Elisa who???
Michael Jackson. The way you make me feel is my favourite MJ song. Absolutely love it. But this video. Oh dear. Chase a girl, thrust your bits at her and then you and your mates trap her down a dark alleyway. So creepy. I was praying for her to get out the pepper spray.
Macca and Co up next. This is actually better than it first appeared from the breakers last week. Always feel sad watching Macca knowing that Linda leaves him so early. Nigel on Violin. He became a big star.
Tpau still at the top. Watching his week as I think it's a new performance?
How many more weeks
Maxi to chill out too at the end.. 😀
Lot of repeats from last two week.
ReplyDeleteHooters - live, better without the distracting video
Rarely, the breakers were the worst tracks of the show. Cutting crew - dont remember this. Its no I just died...
Paul McCartney - Must have been rare for such a big star to make a studio appearance....