Captain Scarlet
29/10/87 (Gary Davies & Steve Wright)
The Style Council – “Wanted” (26)
Getting tonight's show underway with a tune that peaked at number 20.
George Michael – “Faith” (2) (video)
This fabulous title track single from his number one album was now at its peak.
Rick Astley – “Whenever You Need Somebody” (11)
Became his second of eight top ten hits when it peaked at number 3.
Ray Parker Jr – “I Don’t Think That Man Should Sleep Alone” (15)
Mr Ghostbusters is in the studio and his final hit went up two more places.
Eurythmics – “Beethoven (I Love To Listen To)” (25) (breaker)
This odd little tune went up no higher.
George Harrison – “Got My Mind Set On You” (22) (breaker)
His first hit for six years and it peaked at number 2.
T’Pau – “China In Your Hand” (19) (breaker)
Will be number one in two weeks time.
Scarlet Fantastic – “No Memory” (30)
I don't remember this one at all! It was their only top 40 hit and it peaked at number 24.
The Bee Gees – “You Win Again” (1) (video)
Third of four weeks at number one.
Fleetwood Mac – “Little Lies” (5) (video/credits)
Their ninth of ten top ten hits was now at its peak.
November 5th is next but it is a Mike Smith edition so BBC4 will skip it.
As we close out October 1987 in some style, I picked out some interesting pieces:
ReplyDeleteThe Breakers - The Eurythmics, or should I say Annie Lennox specifically on the basis of that clip, seemed to be making some sort of point, but I'm not exactly sure what.
George Harrison seemed to make two different videos for his new tune here, ie, this second version on TOTP, but over on the other side, ie, The Chart show, I remember a different (and better) version 1 video where a boy meets a cute looking girl at a games arcade:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZwjdGSqO0k
Make your own minds up, but the non-TOTP version at the games arcade is a whole lot better!
Scarlet Fantastic - sounded like Soiuxie & The Banshees, and appeared like Haysi Fantaysee. The female lead singer certainly had a body to die for in that amazing shiny silver dress, but please, why oh why such awful puss 'n' boots boots, which somewhat spoiled the glamour of the dress and her hot legs. Needed heels to go with the dress surely!
Fleetwood Mac - surprised this one did better than Big Love, their previous single and opening release from the Tango In The Night album. Suffice to say that Little Lies was only getting shown this week for the first time on TOTP already at No.5, albeit only on the playout, but no great loss, as I prefer Big Love as being more like the traditional Fleetwood Mac sound than this one!
There's some comment about these videos on the 45cat entry for the single.
Deletehttps://www.45cat.com/record/w8178
To be honest, I don't recall either.
Check out the video for 'No Memory'. It features a DMS bus briefly at 3:16.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0nOb5h0JU8
Defintely a hidden gem this one.
Thanks sct353, the arcade video of Got My Mind Set On You had both Harrison and Jeff Lynne in the video in person, but the second version made for TOTP, ie the rocking chair video did not have Jeff Lynne in it, only his voice as backing vocals for Harrison, and so the arcade video was actually the official video (also known as 'version 1' on youtube), and thanks to The Chart Show, I remember seeing the 'version 1' video the day after TOTP showed their own 'version 2' of the video.
DeleteThe video for scarlet fantastic is definitely a bit of a hidden gem sct353, in that it is set in a prison cell where the two of them are locked up together, and she in a sexy dress. Hmmm, lucky for some. Still, these two have shades of Haysi Fantaysee, mainly the male partner of the duo.
Not the best of shows, with Wrighty’s return to action failing to help. He was more engaged than he sometimes is, but still looked hopelessly amateurish next to the smoothly professional Gazza. You might have thought, after nearly eight years as a TOTP host, that he would have learnt how to be comfortable in front of a camera, but seemingly not.
ReplyDeleteThe Style Council were now on a rapidly steepening downward slope, and this would be their final Top 20 hit. Perhaps ironically, Weller looks unusually happy here, and in fairness this chugs along pleasantly if forgettably, with a nice little bit of funky bass in the middle. They are doing nothing new, though, and Weller would later admit that he should have disbanded the Council much earlier. Faith is another of those songs I could have sworn got to number 1 at the time, which shows how the memory cheats. Still a great song though, a stripped-down rocker that made for a welcome and distinctive change of sound for George, showing his versatility and making it clear that he had staying power as a solo artist - the parent album, of course, sold in its millions. The video is equally simple but effective, though notoriously George would grow to loathe that jacket and would set it on fire in a later promo…
It’s a rapid return to the studio for Rick Astley with the follow-up to his mega-hit. This song is pure SAW formula, chiefly distinguishable from its predecessor through Rick’s more strident vocal, which doesn’t really suit him, and its relative lack of catchiness, whatever Gazza might think. Seems a bit unimaginative just having him alone on the stage again as well - couldn’t SAW have given him some dancers for once? I think this is the first, and presumably last, time that Ray Parker Jr ever appeared in the studio. I don’t remember this at all, and that doesn’t surprise me as it is all very tame and uninteresting, failing to deliver the raunchiness you might expect - I think I would rather have just heard Ghostbusters again! Like Rick, Ray is on his own and this makes for another dull performance, though I suppose it is mildly amusing at the end when the music stops some time after the vocals and he is left standing there self-consciously.
The Eurythmics and George Harrison videos are two that stick vividly in my mind from the time, as like Karel Fialka's recent hit they were given weekly exposure on No Limits. However, while Annie's suburban breakdown and latest wig made an impression on me back then, the music did not and I can see why now, as it's self-indulgent, tuneless stuff. This was the first release from the Savage album, which saw Annie and Dave trying to return to their early experimental, electronic sound, but in this case it didn't pay off. Like Angelo, I don't recall Scarlet Fantastic. Their sound and image is considerably more rock 'n' roll than in their previous incarnation as Swans Way, and this is reasonable enough, but just lacks the edge that would elevate it to something more memorable. I think the imposing singer is taller than the guitarist, and she asserts her dominance by knocking his hat off more than once, which may not have been too great for his dignity, given how keen he is here to come over like a guitar hero.
We finally get to see the Bee Gees video, but it's not great, full of annoyingly jerky shots and obscure imagery which doesn't seem to have anything to do with the song. Fleetwood Mac are down on the farm to close things out; while there are also some arty touches to their promo, it is considerably more straightforward. I am not a great fan of Christine McVie's songs, as I often find both them and her voice quite dreary. However, this is one of her better efforts, full of understated drama, and it is further enhanced by Lindsey Buckingham's skills as a producer and arranger.
As we near to the final missing UK Gold cut track of 1987 makes its appearance on BBC Four as a "uncut factor" for a live performance for Ray Parker Jr and as of 1988's missing Top of the Pops performances were cut from UK Gold that are still to come later this year will be The Mission (25/02/88), Matt Bianco (30/06/88) and Enya (20/10/88) as where it was half performance and half video in the studio, where the same show situated they opened it with a video for the first time since November 1979's strike episode.
ReplyDeleteGetting back to that Oct'87 episode, well we'd get the Bee Gees' promo rather than the actual 1/10/87 performance which pledges nicely, as with Scarlet Fantastic would be a "one-hit wonder" at this stage in the top 40 in the U.K.
XTC's 'Generals & Majors' video began the show on 18/09/80.
DeleteI wonder why UK Gold even bothered to show these shows at all, considering that clips were edited out of each show that they transmitted. Not exactly entertainment, is it?
Deletestyle council: considering that these days the modfather would rather eat his own vomit than admit he had anything to do with this act, as is evident from these re-runs that's an awful lot to swallow. he's frantically chopping away on a guitar on this latest effort, but there's not a trace of one on the record to my ears
ReplyDeletegeorge michael: if you're running out of songwriting ideas, then i suppose churning out the old bo diddley riff is always a fallback (U2 did much the same thing a few years on). this must have taken george all of 5 minutes to write, and it shows. what i never knew was that almost a minute's-worth of pious and portentious church organ music preceded this throwaway flim flam
rick astley: i'm sure most of my generation remember his first single, but how many can remember too much of this near-copycat? for me it was only snatches of the chorus
ray parker jr: why did he always add the "jr" bit to his name on his records? was he concerned that his dad was going to enter the music business? this smooth and soulful effort is certainly a vast improvement on "ghostbusters" musically, although the lyrical message (and cringeworthy punning title in retrospect) cheapens it all a bit
eurythmics: arrgghh - annoying bracketed title alert (and back to front in this case, if one listens to the actual recording)! unlike their imitators scarlet fantastic (see below) i have no memory of this. the backing track is a return to their synth-pop roots and all the better for that, but annie replacing a tune with thatcher-style monologues in the verses is probably the reason for it failing to set the charts alight. the video is weird to say the least (i presume the strange bald-headed creature in it wasn't dave stewart?), with annie's pseudo-drag queen persona from "love is a stranger" making a return at the end of it. but although she won't thank for me for it, i think annie looks rather lovely as an 80's housewife
scarlet fantastic: angelo may have no memory of this, but i certainly have. this is a thumping dance track from two thirds of swans way-turned-eurythmics wannabees that i have listened to many years over the last 30 years or so, and it still sounds as good now as the first time i heard it (i recommend you check out the 12" "extra-sensory" mix). the only reason i can think for its relative failure is that it sounds a lot more like it was from the first half of the 80's than the second. it certainly couldn't have been because pete waterman had a hand in it, as everything else he was touching at the time was turning to gold
fleetwood mac: i feel a bit sorry for christine macvie in that she was always seen as the third-stringer of the songwriting members of the "rumours" line-up, even though this track proves that she was at least on the other two's level. although i like them all, this for me is the pick of the three hits from the "tango in the night" album (i particularly like the various vocal effects) and a near-cert entry in my top 10 crackers list (which fortunately is now getting much larger now we're near the end of this year). it has to be said though that the video with them hanging about on a farm really is a case of "what shall we do for the video?"
Not sure The Style Council were particularly wanted by this point, obviously having run out of inspiration and running on fumes. This is fair, and I did remember it once it got going, but it's also terminally unexciting and Paul looking like he's going to crack up laughing indicates how seriously we should be taking it.
ReplyDeleteGeorge Michael on video, and it's a stylish one full of strong images that suits the simple as you like tune. Harkening back to the fifties in sound and vision, was this the last gasp of the 80s' obsession with that decade? Mind you, George's lyrics wouldn't have got him on the radio back then.
Rick Astley with a victory lap return performance of Never Gonna G- oh, my mistake, he and SAW are playing it safe by slightly altering his big hit to make it sound a bit different, but not so much that it will scare his new fans away.
Ray Parker Jr got some stick back in 1987 for this record thanks to it seemingly ignoring the safe sex message that was being broadcast everywhere else, so maybe he should have called it "I Don't Think That Man Should Sleep Alone (Without a Condom). As for the tune, it's a laidback loverman groove, not too offensive on the ears, but no classic either.
Quick mention of Eurythmics' almost career-killing foray into experimental music, my uncle was a big fan of them until this and I recall him quizzing me on whether I thought it was any good or not. I wasn't sure! Still not sure.
Hey, Scarlet Fantastic! "We dream of deserts - and fast motorbikes!" Great song, reminds me of the Annie Nightingale Request Show, she was a big fan and no wonder, it's a sweeping vista of a tune, in Cinemascope and Stereophonic sound, one for the dreamers.
At last we don't need to see that studio clip of the Gibbs, because we have the video with its cryptic imagery of psychic flashcards and rocky landmarks. It's an unusual choice, but it's quite effective because it makes you listen to the song in a different way, complementing it.
Last up, Fleetwood Mac with what might be described as dreampop from this lot, especially the vocals, definitely one of their better eighties hits and I kind of prefer it to Big Love (no grunting!). Bucolic video, but it looks like they were unlucky with the weather.
You too can pretend to be a 3rd rate TOTP presenter by ending each sentence with 'like this' like this!
ReplyDeleteThe Style Council - Not as badly dated as some of their earlier stuff but not exactly top notch either.
George Michael - Perfectly fine but both song and video have been vastly overplayed since. Incidentally wilby, I'm surprised you weren't aware of the church organ bit at the beginning - a lot was made of it at the time as it was a slowed down version of 'Freedom'.
Rick Astley - Sorry to rain on everyone's parade here but this song came BEFORE Rick's No.1, originally being recorded by O'Chi Brown who took it to the dizzy heights of No.97. It's pretty standard SAW stuff really, rushed out as a cover to cash in on Rick's popularity.
Ray Parker Jr - Dull snd somewhat icky.
Breakers - 2 songs that would dominate the Top 2 of the chart for weeks on end and one that very much wouldn't, though I rather like Eurythmics' attempt to destroy their career actually.
Scarlet Fantastic - How weird that this pair were one-hit wonders twice, though it has to be said that both songs are magnificent. This became a ravers favourite as an end of set song for DJs a few years later!
Fleetwood Mac - It's more or less forgotten now that there were 6 singles from 'Tango In The Night'. Weirdly, the odd number releases were Top 10 hits and the even ones missed the Top 40 entirely. This is my least favourite of the 3 big hits now, but still a pleasant listen.
noax perhaps i never took any notice of the church organ padding on "faith" at the time, as the rest of it was barely listenable to my ears anyway. but surely they didn't play that bit on daytime radio?
DeleteI think you heard it occasionally at the time, you certainly never do now!
DeleteWell I don’t know, Gary’s tie matches Steve’s suit.
ReplyDeleteMixed bag on here as is becoming the 1987 norm.
Style Council – Wanted – Once upon a time there was a family band called the Dooleys who scored a few hits before putting the two sisters to the fore and scoring highly with ‘Wanted’. This is not the same song needless to say…
George Michael – Faith – Still popular today as evidenced by the SmoothFM top500, this still sounds great and a big surprise that ‘I want you Sex’ was released ahead of it as this is miles better.
Rick Astley – Whenever you need somebody – Proving the old adage “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it”.
Ray Parke Jnr – Sleep alone etc. – Not even a snoozebuster.
Breakers – We’ll see two of these again, but that Euyrthmics track is a case of the video looking more interesting than the tedious music….which just goes on and on. I played the video right through on YT (all 5 minutes of it) and its seriously weird…..and the music is just a drone.
Scarlet Fantastic – No memory – Me neither Angelo! But it’s good. There’s something alluring about Maggie De Monde who looks equally good on the reverse of the single sleeve.
Bee Gees – You win again – Nice to see the video. Are the stones those Cornish Minions I wonder?
Fleetwood Mac – Little Lies – At last the best track on the album gets a release and is massive and, like George still features on daytime radio and in the SmoothFM top500. The second single from the album ‘Seven Wonders’ sung by Stevie Nicks was written by Sandy Stewart with additional lyrics by Stevie. A much inferior song in my view and a minor hit. Here the trio of Christine, Stevie and Lyndsey get to input their distinctive vocals on the chorus and it never fails to impress on this track written by Christine with her then partner Eddy Quintela. Fabulous record.
It's strange that after the Big Love opening single from the album Tango In The night with a rock-solid No.9 for their efforts, the second single Seven Wonders only peaked at No.56 with no TOTP feature as a result, despite a very good video, and superior track to the next release Little Lies which made it No.5!
DeleteSuffice to say that their next release from the same album, called Family Man only made it No.54 at the end of 1987, so we will not see them back in the Top 5 until April 1988 with their most successful hit since Oh Well in 1969, called Everywhere.
The Tango In The Night singles releases were therefore a real yo-yo for the Macs, as the British public either really liked them or really had no time for them. I actually preferred the two flop singles Seven Wonders and Family Man over the other three hits that did make the top 10, but hey, you can't win them all.
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Delete...and there was a fifth single too. The McVie/Quintela/Buckingham song 'Isn't it Midnight' which made no60. I thought it was rather good, but everyone must have had the album by then. Continued the yo-yo trend; 9 - 56 - 5 - 54 - 4 - 60
Delete....duh! I can't even add up! I did meant a sixth single!!!!
DeleteYes, it is a weird result, ie, for every top ten single achieved from the album, the next would not even break the top 50. I did like Isn't It Midnight, what a shame this only made it to No.60!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete“I told you this was good show didn”t?” - you did, and you were wrong...
ReplyDeleteStyle Council - what is with the small drum kit? Did he get it as a present for his 10th birthday, and doesn’t want to give it up?...
Once again, breakers were better than the normal show... didn’t recognise the Eurythmics track, but it was quite quirky..
Scarlet Fantastic No Memory - i remember this faster. Was that a different mix, or did my turntable play fast?....
Ooh a video for the Heebeegeebees.. not sure what it was about though...anyone know where those interesting rocks were?....
Fleetwood Mac - i don’t think Christine Perfect gets the credit she deserves. Just thought I would put that out there...
Charlie - You've hit the nail right on the head there. 'Say you love me', 'You make loving fun', 'Songbird', 'Don't Stop', 'Over and Over'... Christine was right up there.
DeleteHere we go then with my Eurovision hangover.
ReplyDeleteSteve and Permanent Gary as I shall now call him open the show with The Style Council. I had no idea they were still going in 1987. The formula still working for them and this is a very upbeat summery song. Shame its October. 😀
George already at number 2 and we finally get the fulm video. This is quite an image change for him and he has suddenly become one of the big names in pop. Helps that this is a great song as well. Can see America lapping this up.
Rick back with his identikit SAW number. He seems much more confident this time. I actually think this is a decent song. Doesn't get much airplay nowadays which is a shame.
What is going on with the lighting this week. The whole thing looks very Red???
RPJ has flown in with this schmoozy number that Wrighty seems to live for. Amazed this did so well as it never really gets going. Tapping my foot though...
Breakers:
Eurythmics. Womens Lib in song form. This is not great from them. Needs a tune, verse, plan...
George Harrison with the fabulous Set on You. Love this.
T'Pau with their BIG hit. We will see this again very soon.
Scarlet Fantastic. Well this is all very odd. Don't remember this one at all. The reason for this may well be because it's crap. Goes on a bit doesn't it.
Thats a good top ten. Bee Gees still at the top and we get the rather underwhelming video.
Nice Edit to the Mac. Great song this.
Video is OK.