Bum, bum, acka lacka lacka bum!
22/10/87 (Simon Bates & Gary Davies)
Was (Not Was) – “Walk The Dinosaur” (12)
Getting this monster show off to a roaring start and the song went up two more places.
Los Lobos – “Come On Let’s Go” (21) (US TOTP clip)
Introduced by Nia Peeples and performing live in the LA studio, this song peaked at number 18.
Pet Shop Boys – “Rent” (17)
Not their most energetic of studio performances but Rent became their fifth top ten hit when it peaked at number 8
Kiss – “Crazy Crazy Nights” (4) (US TOTP clip)
Also performing completely live in the LA studio, but the song was at its peak.
Erasure – “The Circus” (7)
Andy's concertina has been dumped and replaced with a Salvation Army band, and The Circus went up one more place.
The Cure – “Just Like Heaven” (29) (breaker)
Went up no higher.
Ray Parker Jr – “I Don’t Think That Man Should Sleep Alone” (24) (breaker)
Became his final top 40 hit when it peaked at number 13.
George Michael – “Faith” (10) (breaker)
The title track from his number one album, and it peaked at number 2.
The Bee Gees – “You Win Again” (1) (rpt from 01/10/87)
Second of four weeks at number one.
Bananarama – “Love In The First Degree” (5) (video/credits)
Went up two more places.
Ocotober 29th is next.
Poor old Gazza gets lumbered with Master Bates this week, but they seem to gel fairly well and the Headmaster is on decent form. I notice that, as happened with PP in the previous show, Bates does the whole of the chart rundown - perhaps Gazza was too busy with TOTP USA to participate at this point in time?
ReplyDeleteWas (Not Was) make their TOTP debut, having pursued an idiosyncratic musical path since releasing their first album in 1981. This song feels like pop music at its most inane, but as with so many other 80s hits it is apparently about nuclear armageddon. It’s harmless enough fare anyway, if a little annoying, and at least there is the visual compensation of the dancers in their Racquel Welch-inspired bikinis! We then go over the Pond to Nia again, who introduces Los Lobos doing another Ritchie Valens cover from the La Bamba soundtrack. It’s a respectable but unexciting version, and the lead singer is a long way from being charismatic.
Best record of the night next up, another triumph for PSB and one of their most haunting, melancholy songs. Neil decides to have a sit-down for this performance, but he could have chosen a better-fitting jacket; it also looks very thick and woolly, so must have been hot under those studio lights. Back to TOTP USA for a live Kiss performance which is hampered by dodgy sound, and even more tongue-poking than in the video. Erasure then return with some members of the Sally Army in tow, while Andy ditches the squeezebox and hops awkwardly around on the spot instead - I wonder how they got on with Neil and Chris backstage?
The Cure are on a cliff edge, albeit one that looks to have been superimposed in the studio, for this latest effort. We will not see it in full, but it’s pleasant pop-rock, perhaps too close in sound to some of their more recent singles at the time to excite that much interest from record buyers. The Nanas close proceedings with perhaps their catchiest SAW-era release, which was also their penultimate single to feature Siobhan. The amusing video, with its acrobatic, hunky convicts, does feel a bit like a parody of Elvis’ famous Jailhouse Rock routine.
I think that the reason that the Los Lobos lead singer uncharismatic for what should have been a charismatic song, is that he was more concerned by not fluffing his lines during the mining, and hence his lips being close to touching the microphone throughout the song, so that no-one would be able to see any missed or fluffed words.
DeleteHe was literally glued to the microphone and you could not see his lips moving. A bit cowardly self-protection in my opinion, and not audience-friendly, for what was on paper a very good dance-music number, and as good as La Bamba.
was not was: despite having been an achingly-hip aggregation in the eyes of the trendy music press for most of the 80's, it took until now for the hoi polloi to hear what all the fuss was about. i suspect that high expectation was the reason i felt it was a bit of an anti-climax, and despite having the funky feel that i should have loved it all seemed a bit too cold and calculated. still, i always enjoyed listening to the dry humour of harrison ford-soundalike david was (presumably not his real name?) in radio interviews back then
ReplyDeletelos lobos: i know i'm not a fan of bracketed song titles, but in this case it should have been called "come on, let's go (down to taco belle, where we can stuff our faces with all-you-can-eat)". presumably this is another richie valens song that's barely any different from the original? i do remember when they flogged an original tune of theirs ("will the wolf survive?") on the radio to death, unlike the band themselves the wolf died of starvation when it came to actual sales
pet shop boys: with this and their king cover to come, "what have i done to deserve this" seemed like a false dawn for the duo in my view. it took another year or so for them to get back on track again with "left to my own devices"
cure: a quite surprisingly tuneful, upbeat and straight-ahead effort from them with plenty of marr-alike jangly guitar, so a bit puzzling as to why it didn't make further chart inroads. bob not only reins in much of his annoying affected vocal, but also tones down the crazed clown make-up and plant pot hair in the video as well. lol is still just about hanging in there - now relegated to "second keyboardist" on the edge of frame, even though one suspects he was nowhere near the studio when the synth sounds were recorded
bananarama: banal-arama with a now-identikit saw production, although they manage to get themselves a co-songwriting credit was pete waterman & co. later on waterman disparagingly gave the reason for the partnership dissolving being due to them having the temerity to think they should have a say in how their records sounded!
David Was' real name is Weiss, so I suppose it didn't take a great leap of imagination to come up with his stage name!
Deletejohn i did actually know that was was not the proper surname of either of the was "brothers" (don's real surname is fagenson). if their stage/professional personas are a play on weiss's surname, then presumably both that and the band name are some kind of in-joke? but if so then it's hardly a side-splitter as far as anyone else is concerned, is it?
Delete"The sun was spitting fire, the moon was cool as ice, I felt a little tired, so I watched Miami Vice.......I walked the dinosaur.....I walked the dinosaur......."
DeleteI've just been loving this tune all Bank Holiday weekend, especially these super-cool lyrics from Sweet Pea Atkinson. Go Sweet Pea.....
I always understood the name was based on his surname, and pronounced Wass not woz - as you say, it was a good job i had my belt tight or my sides would surely have split.
DeleteWilberforce - I guessed you knew he was using a stage name, but wasn't sure if you knew his real name is Weiss. In any case, I agree with you and Charlie that it's not exactly hilarious...
Deletei always assumed it was pronounced "woz" (didn't uk deejays do that at the time?), so the "wass" thing is new to me. although even if you're a yank it's still hardly the epitome of wit, is it? if they thought they were so arch and dry, maybe the woz/wass brothers should have called themselves something like alec smart and dick clever instead?
Deletebtw the "lost in atlantic translation" thing remindes of jay z, who (c)rap-hating brits like myself take great relish in deliberately mis-pronouncing as the far less-cool-sounding jay zed!
It's supposed to be pronounced 'Wazz Not Woz' I believe. For a while, radio presenters did that though barely anyone bothers these days.
DeleteAlternatively, I heard the Was brothers say it was inspired by them saying a word then saying it was NOT that word, like Funny, Not Funny, sort of an in-joke. What a pair of cut-ups.
Deletetalk about hard work! still, no doubt they would be amused (and feel justified in their choice) if they knew that people like us were still debating over their name 40 years after they came up with it...
DeleteI found this superb 1989 performance of Walk The Dianosaur by Was Not Was, live at Daytona Beach, in a daytime party on the beach, including some hot chicks (not wearing very much) performing with them:
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zol1TBEHacM
Suffice to say that this clip was introduced by none other than Samantha Fox who had settled in the US following her enormous success with Full Force in 1988, and by number working for US television.
"I met you in a cave, you were painting buffalo
DeleteI said I'd be your slave, follow wherever you go
That night we split a rattlesnake and danced beneath the stars
You fell asleep, I stayed awake and watched the passing cars
And walked the dinosaur, I walked the dinosaur....."
See what you've done to the blog's algorithms, now, Dory - we're getting bra and knicker adverts!
DeleteWell, we were certainly getting a trend of bikini videos during 1987, and considerably more than ever before.
DeleteHuey Lewis and David Lee Roth started the trend in 1985/86 with California Girls, If This Is It, and Stuck With You, and then in 1987, we had the The Beastie Boys with She's On It, followed very quickly by The Fat Boys with WipeOut, and now Was Not Was with Walk The Dinosoar. 1988 would see this trend continue with the greatest of them all, when the superb Kokomo video came along by The Beach Boys:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJWmbLS2_ec
Was (Not Was), a too cool for school outfit who give a different explanation for their band name each time they're asked finally have a hit with this would be party time self-satisfied smugfest. All very arch - oh, it's about a caveman but there's a nuclear war going on! - and not half as fun as it seems to think it is. I preferred I Feel Better Than James Brown from around the same time.
ReplyDeleteLos Lobos with the lead singer apparently now an extra from Dawn of the Dead. Was he always that sickly-looking, or was he having an off day? Anyway, it's OK for a record that purely existed to provide the film's stereo soundtrack version of one of Richie Valens' hits.
Pet Shop Boys with one of their most elegant, louche tunes, the lyrics speak volumes. Liza Minelli did a really good cover of this when she was collaborating with the boys. This was John Peel's favourite PSB track.
KISS are back with a ropey-sounding live rendition of their hit, made all the ropier by the vocals that have even more trouble hitting the high notes than on the actual record.
Erasure are back, sans squeezebox and their new friends don't get much to do until the second half. I suppose the brass band was intended to evoke comparisons to the grim oop north working men down't pit, as alluded to in the words? Personally I think Andy's dancing would be worse if he moved his feet too.
Brief bit of The Cure with one of their most wistful tunes, telling of losing the love of your life (at sea, oddly), but the guitar jangles prettily and the drums propel the song along to prevent it getting too morose. One of their better ditties.
The Bee Gees with the same clip again in three weeks, come on, show the video. Then the Nanas to end on, with a tune referencing third degree murder and comparing it to being in love, not something most would associate. Do you get "third degree murder" here, or is it an American thing? Anyway, very well edited video, I will say that, and not the worst thing SAW did.
I was also thinking, why did Erasure bother with the brass-section guests in those outfits, to only have a small part only in the instrumental break pretty much?
DeleteThere was a similar situation in 1979 when The Jam with Eton Rifles, brought in to the TOTP studio a Eton-dressed group of boys to join them on stage, but with nothing much for them to do, and just for a bit of eye activity for the viewers.
Was Not Was initially charted in July with the brilliant Spy In The House Of Love, peaking at No.21 in the charts, but which I don't think was featured on TOTP, so their TOTP debut as such with Walk The Dinosaur was a very long-awaited one, and what a way to debut with the two bikini lovelies (erection alert!) dancing on that stage with them, who must have been cold in that gear, considering the winter had well and truly set in that week with the hurricane-style winds the previous week in 1987. Suffice to say that the same two girls appear in the video with two more bikini girls joining them to make four:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgiDcJi534Y
I did like the contract in outfits on the stage, with the lead singer in black tuxedo, his co-singer Sweet Pea Atkinson in a bowler hat and shirt-with-no-tie, and the sexy backing dancers in Tarzan-and-Jane bikinis. There was certainly no room for a dinosaur to join them on that busy centre stage on TOTP with the video screen!
Sweet Pea Atkinson on Was Not Was is the one who sings the line "I felt a little tired, so I watched Miami Vice."
Just to revert to the thread we had running a week or so back about surviving TOTP clips from March 1970, the full show from 26 February can be found at the link below, together with the other surviving shows from that year. It's a pretty good edition, with the highlight for me being The Dave Clark Five performing Everybody Get Together, the best song they ever did. See if you can spot a teenage Peter Davison singing along in the audience:
ReplyDeletehttps://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1_vTFvA1d_DsHFUIPASyiT1kcu1ucn7Ci
John - I have to say for me the best DC5 song was 'Everybody Knows'. I also like 'Because' which didn't get an A Side release in the UK for some reason.
DeleteThat's a perfectly respectable choice sct - Because is a good tune too, and very strange it wasn't a A side.
Delete'Because' never sounded better than here on this enhanced version by this guy who just has the knack of improving the sound of great records!
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpKWpUJybng
This was a fun edition, much more for me to enjoy than the previous one.
ReplyDeleteWas (Not Was) - An enjoyable bit of silliness from them, they had surprisingly few hits and given how much it was played at the time, 'I Feel Better Than James Brown' wasn't one of them. Incidentally Dory, 'Spy In The House Of Love' got a remix / reissue so we may see that yet.
Los Lobos - The least charismatic singer we've seen for some time gets a sweat on over this song, which is certainly more than I can manage.
Pet Shop Boys - The forgotten single from 'Actually', which is a crying shame as it's one of their very best.
The Cure - Hmm...one of those that I forget the second it's finished.
Bananarama - I think this is a brilliant pop song, deservedly returning them to the upper reaches of the chart.
Anonymous, if you're still out there, do you still want me to put up the list of missing higher res shows between 1976 and 1980? I put them on two weeks ago before the deluge of Smith shows which you didn't upload any of.
ReplyDeleteI’m late a postin’ this review. Waiting on the Smooth FM top 500 to conclude. Amongst the goodies being played over the weekend one of the songs on this edition of ToTP was no42 whilst one of his other songs was the no1 voted song! Yes George Michael’s ‘Careless Whisper’ has deservedly displaced Ed Sheeran and ‘Perfect’ from the top; not that I dislike that song’s appeal, just question it’s longevity appeal which clearly Michael’s effort has. Two other songs from this chart featured (no, not ‘Pump up the Volume’!) but ‘Little Lies’ was at no90 and ‘You win again’ was at no142. Too many Adele and Sheeran tracks in there for my liking, and Whitney continues to score heavily, but some good records have come back in including at no413 ‘Father and Son’ by Cat Stevens (which we were discussing on here a few weeks ago) and ‘Alone’ which has recently featured in the 1987 chart. Both ‘A Star is Born’ themes; ‘Evergreen’ and ‘Shallow’ feature also.
ReplyDeleteAs for this show, I won’t do the usual blow by blow account as I am so late. What I will say is that I enjoyed the PSB with Jan Hammer’s PC reprogrammed to say ‘Pet Shop Boys’, however the video is fabulous with Neil as the chauffeur whose love is unrequited. I also enjoyed the Nana girls ‘Jailbreak’ video. Surprised we didn’t get the usual studio appearance. Most other acts I skipped – particularly dislike ‘Walk the Dinosaur’ and Los Lobos whose appeal completely escapes me.
"A shadow from the sky much too big to be a bird
ReplyDeleteA screaming crashing noise louder than I've ever heard
It looked like two big silver trees that somehow learned to soar
Suddenly a summer breeze and a mighty lion's roar
I killed the dinosaur.....I killed the dinosaur.....
Not a great show, but hardly any FF...
ReplyDeleteAh, the return of TOTP USA - great shoulder pads...
PSB Rent - not exactly a lively performance, but a good track. Favourite cover version, Carter USM
Chart rundown, Amazulu Mony Mony - so two versions in the chart at the same time?... and what is the Ray Parker track in the rundown - don’t recognise the title?
Kiss - live vocal, but not live instruments...
Another Erasure track I don’t recall. Bit dull. Brass Band weren’t exactly overworked.
Breakers... ah that answers my Ray Parker question :-) no, don’t remember it...
Rerun of the bee gees, and peel out with bananarama video...
Slimes doing most of the heavy lifting tonight with Ooh Gary along for the ride (and to record the TOTP USA links). Shame Nia didn't do likewise for us..booo…
ReplyDeleteFirst up Was (Not Was) “Walk The Dinosaur” before killing it off at the end. Hugely infectious tune that I have always been a huge fan of.
Los Lobos the LA studio with their pointless cover that is inferior to the original in evert way
Pet Shop Boys up next. Love the stripped back sound on this. Quite an emotional number from them that works better with the video. Already on their 5th Top ten hit. Legends in the making.
Kiss perform live in the US but the song is no better for it. Bored of this one already.
Can't decide if I love or hate the Circus. Erasure bring in the brass and I was humming along by the end but I still have to be in the mood for this song,
Breakers:
Sideshow Bob and his Cure band with a song that sounds oddly familiar and it's not bad. Don't think we'll get to hear it in full.
Ray Parker Jr – Dross. Next.
George Michael – “Faith” Epic Fail from TOTP not showing this video in full this week. Poor decision. Iconic is the word here.
The Bee Gees still at the top. Actually finally working out the words to the chorus after 32 hours so some benefit in listening to this twice today.
Bananarama having a blast performing the video for “Love In The First Degree”. Siobhan still having fun (but this is her penultimate single with the group). One of the best SAW songs they did.