Do you remember remember this song?
05/11/87 (Janice Long & Mike Smith)
T’Pau – “China In Your Hand” (5)
Getting the show underway with a bang, this will be number one next week.
George Harrison – “Got My Mind Set On You” (7) (video)
Rocketing up the charts, from his top ten album Cloud Nine, this narrowly missed out on the top spot, peaking at number 2.
Heartbeat – “Tears From Heaven” (32)
A sparkling performance, but this was their only top 40 hit, and number 32 was its peak.
Freddie Mercury & Montserrat Caballe – “Barcelona” (12) (video)
Peaked at number 8.
Whitesnake – “Here I Go Again” (17) (breaker)
It had peaked at number 34 in 1982, this time around it made it to number 9.
The Communards – “Never Can Say Goodbye” (15) (breaker)
Became their third and final top ten hit when it peaked at number 4.
Eric B & Rakim – “Paid In Full” (28)
Peaked at number 15.
The Bee Gees – “You Win Again” (1) (video)
Fourth and final week at number one.
Was (Not Was) – “Walk The Dinosaur” (10) (rpt from 22/10/87 + credits)
At its peak.
November 12th is next.
A very good show this one with lots of great videos in particular.
ReplyDeleteFreddie Mercury & Monserrat Caballe - I remember at the time when seeing this video for the first time on this edition of TOTP, that it was one of the best videos ever made, and certainly that I have ever seen. I mean just the glamour and panach of it all was something very special and unique, that only someone like Freddie Mercury was capable of.
Whitesnake - this period in their career was by far their best, and their huge success over here and particularly in America with this one was a truly fantastic achievement. I remember on late night ITV at the time, a show called Casey Kasem's America's Top Ten, an American show also broadcast here on late night TV, and this Whitesnake video was shown on it week after week, so successful was it in America.
Eric B & Rakim - this must have been the defining moment in the start of the house music phenomenon on the late 80s, and something unusual at the time where a DJ would have his own single on vinyl. Certainly mixing sounds like Israeli Ofra Haza's Im Nin Alu with his vinyl scratching, and 'put the needle on the record' was something not seen before at this level.
Was Not Was - unusual to repeat the same studio performance of two weeks ago for this week's playout. You would think they would have shown the superb video for it, with not two, but four sexy Flintsone girls for the male viewers. "Bum Bum Akalaka Bum Bum", as Angelo put it on his caption a couple of shows ago!
Gazza finally takes a break as we reach Bonfire Night, and so it's left to Janice and Smitty to do the honours for what, as they keep on reminding us, is the first official TOTP in stereo (in London, anyway). Smitty is in smug, slappable mode, and unfortunately this seems to rub off on Janice as well, as she got on my nerves a bit this time - I didn't think much of her African tribal matriarch look either.
ReplyDeleteT'Pau prepare to go to the top for five whole weeks with their most famous song, and certainly the only one you will ever hear on the radio these days. I have already mentioned that I find Heart and Soul far superior to this plodding, stodgy, massively overplayed affair; the obscure lyrics also get on my nerves. The performance is all very po-faced and serious, with Carol emoting away but failing to make the lyrics make any more sense as a result. On we go to George Harrison's big comeback single, released after a long fallow period in which it looked as if his chart career might have come to a permanent end. He didn't actually write this, as it is an old song originally recorded by James Ray in 1962. I once heard an amusing parody of this called "This Song is Just Six Words Long," but for all the lyrical repetitiveness this is a likeable affair helped along greatly by Jeff Lynne's dynamic production; the Harrison-Lynne partnership on this single and the accompanying Cloud Nine album would lead directly on to the formation of the Traveling Wilburys. The haunted house video is also good fun, though it's painfully obvious that the Quiet One isn't doing the acrobatic dancing during the instrumental break!
Heartbeat passed me by at the time, and I wasn't very impressed by this rather thin, insipid effort - the singer's fashion sense reminded me a little of Howard Jones. Barcelona is a far more memorable record, ludicrously overblown nonsense, of course, but Freddie and Montserrat do it with such conviction that it somehow works. Montserrat, who died just a few months back, arguably paved the way here for the crossover success the Three Tenors would enjoy a few years later, and Barcelona itself would memorably be used by the BBC as their theme music for the 1992 Olympics. The video is suitably grandiose too - was that Brian May conducting the orchestra with a light sabre?
The breakers will be on again, so we now come to the tedium that is Eric B and Rakim. This isn't my thing at all, and it seemed to go on for an eternity, while the camera made me feel dizzy as it circled round and round. Presumably the two guys standing motionless at the back were supposed to be "minders" of some kind, to give the act more street cred. Interesting that the "Pump Up the Volume" sample was included, as I know MARRS had lifted that from another Eric B and Rakim record, so were they now trying to cash in on MARRS' success by reusing it here? Final week at the top for the Gibbs, and our hosts give us their unflattering impression of the brothers before, rather oddly, we sign off with a repeat of the studio performance of Walk the Dinosaur - perhaps the Beeb thought the video was controversial in some way...
Jeff Lynne didn't appear on this video for George Harrison, but he did on the other video version shown on The Chart Show, which I think is much better than the one on TOTP:
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZwjdGSqO0k
Interesting point John on Was Not Was. The video if controversial would be because of lyrics like:
Delete"It was a night like this forty million years ago
I lit a cigarette, picked up a monkey skull to go...."
"I met you in a cave, you were painting buffalo
I said I'd be your slave, follow wherever you go.
That night we split a rattlesnake and danced beneath the stars...."
"One night I dreamed of New York
You and I roasting blue pork......"
"I killed the dinosaur, I killed the dinosaur....."
OK, so I make that five counts of animal cruelty for the RSPCA to investigate, ie, five different animals, so I think the BBC must have rejected the video based on the lyrics, and not the four hot chicks dressed like Betty Rubble of The Flintstones.
I wouldn't imagine it was the lyrics the BBC objected to, Dory, as they were quite happy to feature the song on the show. Perhaps they had just mislaid the video that week?
Deletet'pau: this snorefest undid whatever credibility they might have built up with their debut hit. however i presume these days it's a staple on nostalgia , thus sparing them the indignity of having to sign on?
ReplyDeletegeorge harrison: the luckiest guy on earth, in that by association he was in a band with a couple of talented songwriters like lennon and mccartney. despite that he was always chafing at the bit for recognition as a tunesmith himself. and yet without exception (this included), whatever he churned out was uttlerly insipid to my ears
heartbeat: something i can't remember at all, but in my defence m'lud they never cracked the top 30. it starts of decently-enough with a pop-dance groove, but as soon as the the woman fronting it starts singing it loses all momentum. no wonder it never it got any higher
freddie/montserrat: apparently recorded with the 1992 olympics held in said city in mind, although of course freddie never lived to see them. after the cod-opera of "bohemian rhapsody", freddie finally gets to do the real thing (well, in a manner of speaking). but like most authentic opera, it's not something i'll ever go out of my way to listen to
eric b/rakim: not only have they ripped-off the bass line for "don't look any further", they can't even manage to reproduce it properly. it almost goes without saying that i wouldn't pay these pair of jokers in tap washers
with regard to t'pau, it should have read "with regard to nostalgia radio"!
DeleteWhat made this a non "insipid" tune for Harrison is the production of it by Jeff Lynne who left ELO the previous year to move into a different direction with George Harrison, later evolving further with him in 1988 with The Travelling Wilburys, as John G correctly mentions.
DeleteI actually think Jeff Lynne was a better producer than he was a performer in his own right. He did some great work in the late 80s/early 90s both with the Wilburys collectively and through his production of solo albums for Harrison, Roy Orbison and Tom Petty.
DeleteIt was quite weird to see Lynne playing second singer on George Harrison's song, when we were used to Lynne for so long as the main singer on ELO since 1973 after playing equal lead with Roy Wood in ELO's first year in 1972.
DeleteIt was a great mark of respect for Harrison, and I think Lynne must have felt some relief that the ELO pressure was off his shoulders at last, and that he could take a softer backing-singer role with Harrison, and then the Travelling Wilburys as a take-it-in-turn singer.
For me George Harison's 'While my Guitar gently weeps' is the highlight of the White Album. He also wrote two of the best songs on 'Abbey Road'.
DeleteT'Pau, well, we'll see this again... and again... and a-bloody-gain, as mentioned above it's all you ever hear from them now despite a respectable chart career.
ReplyDeleteGeorge Harrison, with only really his trademark guitar sound marking this out as anything but an E.L.O. production with him on vocals. It's perfectly fine, but I far prefer his solo originals (away from the Beatles) - When We Was Fab was a very decent, offbeat nostalgia piece, which I think was his next release.
Heartbeat: "Have you welcomed the Lord Jesus Christ into your life?" It's shite like this that means nobody takes Christian rock or pop seriously in this country, and they're an offputting lot to look at, to boot. If God is crying so much, why doesn't he do something to help? Thoughts and prayers, my arse.
Frustratingly, the outtake clip of Andi Peters on some forgotten daytime quiz show involving this Barcelona song isn't on YouTube, which is a pity because it's hilarious. Anyway, official theme not to the coming Olympics, but the one after - why were they so keen to put their foot in the door so early? Just as well they did, considering how poor old Freddie ended up. Way over the top, but entirely fitting for the occasion, though camp as you like. I suppose Pedro Almodovar would have appreciated it.
Eric B. and Rakim with this classic cut from an equally classic album... er, oh dear. They don't look too happy to be there, Rakim noticeably walking off stage at the end. As Mark Radcliffe observed, they looked like they were trying to mend a gramophone. The reason for this was they hadn't heard this Cold Cut remix, so had no idea what it was like, and on showing up when they did they were not impressed (was it the sample from a Play School album that did it?!). So bemused at best, they dutifully appeared with the barest minimum of effort and collected their cheque, cursing those crazy Brits.
Then Bee Gees and the Wassocks to end on.
Sorry, that was a bit aggressive on Heartbeat. It is rubbish, though.
Deletei wasn't listening to the lyrics for the heartbeat track, so never realised they were a bunch of jesus freaks (i made comment purely on the not-very-good music, but had i known then as an agnostic i'm sure i wouldn't have pulled any less punches than thx). despite their beliefs and preaching, it seems the guvnor upstairs (as a certain discgraced disc jockey might say) wasn't on their side when it came to having a big hit single...
DeleteMike Smith really does drag everyone down to his level, doesn't he? Only Gary Davies seems immune. Ah well...
ReplyDeleteT'Pau - Fine at the time, but now - no thanks. At the first radio station I worked for we played the album version which has a slightly different and much more dreadful vocal. The way Carol Decker sings 'eyes wide' in that is laughable, please do check it out.
George Harrison - A decent pop song, and I like most things that Jeff Lynne has a hand in. For years until the original turned up on an advert quite recently I never realised it was a cover though.
Heartbeat - Far be it from me to suggest that there was some chart hyping going on here m'lud but let's just say that this sounds like many other singles released at the time that weren't hits and they were very lucky to get on as a non-mover at No.32. And to think the brilliant 'Twilight World' by Swing Out Sister only got that high and didn't feature at all!
Mercury / Caballe - Overblown but rather enjoyable stuff.
Eric B & Rakim - You can't tell Rakim is pissed off with his diminished role at all, can you?! I like the Coldcut remix more than they evidently did, but the whole thing does look a bit daft.
Apparently someone sang China in Your Hand on The X Factor or some such show a few years back, and Gary Barlow, who was judging, said it was the first time he had ever heard it sung in tune! Needless to say, that did not go down well with Ms Decker...
Deletei'm another one disappointed that rubbish like heartbeat got on the show at the expense of "twilight world" by swing out sister, as that probably would have gone into my top 10 crackers list for this year had it been featured
DeleteGuy Fawkes Night show and a few crackers on here….
ReplyDeleteHosts are excited and Smithy’s teeth at the end were kind of disturbing.
T’Pau – China in your Hand – The Firework night show launches with a song rocketing up the charts and it’s another of those wonderful songs from 1987 which are such a contrast to the many lows. However, for me the song benefits more with the second verse intact rather than just jumping straight to the chorus “…and we could make the monster again, oh hands move and heart beat on, now life will return in this electric storm, a prophecy for a fantasy the curse of a vivid mind”. The song was Frankenstein themed and this verse just nails it.
George Harrison – Got my mind set on you – Very Jeff Lynne influenced and a forerunner of the Traveling Wilbury’s sound.
Heartbeat – Tears from Heaven – Like Scarlet Fantasy last week this is one I really don’t recall but it’s not bad at all.
Freddie Mercury and Monteserrat Caballe – Barcelona – A curious shiver went down my spine when watching this in its proper context. The guy was a genius. Just pure showmanship. We didn’t appreciate this enough at the time. People mocked it, just like the hosts here.
Breakers – We’ll see these again, so I’ll save comment.
Eric B & Rakim – Paid in full – illustrates my comment above. FF
Bee Gees – You win again – Great stuff still
Was (not Was) – Walk the Dinosaur – FF…but just remembered that the last track on the ‘Very best of Elton John’ double CD is a slightly forgettable effort from the film ‘Days of Thunder’ called ‘You gotta love someone’….produced by Don Was.
...finally thanks to Robert T for the upload.
Freddie Mercury & Monserrat Caballe would get to No.2 in August 1992 with this when it was re-issued on the back of the Barcelona Olympics that year, and so the superb video was back again in the limelight in the summer of 1992. The video sent a shiver down my spine too sct353!
DeleteSo fourteen days after the last post means I might be a little bit behind. I'll keep it short.
ReplyDeleteThe first STEREO outing and what would become a regular Simulcast with Radio 1. 98.8 or 99.1 in my area (depending on which way the wind was blowing I think)
T’Pau – “China In Your Hand”
What a storming record this is. Well deserved reputation as a cracking good tune. What a voice that Ms Decker has. Fantastic
George Harrison – “Got My Mind Set On You”
Remember this very well from the time, a really great song. Video is a bit static for me and I guess in the fuzzy old world of 80s TV the acrobat looked a bit like George,
Heartbeat – “Tears From Heaven”
Never heard of them or the song (someone up thread will hopefully have filled in the details) but what a fabulous song. Really enjoyed it.
Freddie Mercury & Montserrat Caballe – “Barcelona”
Oh no was my original reaction but it's really well performed and very stirring. Think I have just found a new respect for this record.
Breakers:
Whitesnake – Like. Great radio tune.
The Communards – Possibly their best song after "Don't Leave Me". Great video as well.
Eric B & Rakim – “Paid In Full"
Well we get full use of the BBCs new camera which is about the most exciting thing I can say about this. Dated really really badly.
The Bye Bye Gees at the top for the last time
A repeat of the studio Was Not Was performance of one of my favourite 80s tunes to play out.
A great show this week. Eric B aside I liked.