Friday 12 July 2019

Top of the Pops Of Fools

All aboard! It's time to weigh anchor and set sail on the March 3rd 1988 edition of good ship Top of the Pops!

Do you think I'm saxy?


03/03/88 (Gary Davies & Simon Mayo)

Coldcut featuring Yazz & The Plastic Population – “Doctorin’ The House” (9)
Getting tonight's show off to an energetic start and the record went up three more places.

Rick Astley – “Together Forever” (4) (video)
Went up two more places.

The Sisters Of Mercy – “Dominion” (13)
In the studio with their white suits but the song was at its peak.

Belinda Carlisle – “I Get Weak” (17) (breaker)
Became her second of seven top ten hits when it peaked at number 10.

Johnny Hates Jazz – “Heart Of Gold” (32) (breaker)
Their final top 40 hit, peaking at number 19.

Taja Sevelle – “Love Is Contagious” (28) (breaker)
Became her only top ten hit when it reached a high of number 7.

Aztec Camera – “How Men Are” (33) (breaker)
Peaked at number 25.

Erasure – “Ship Of Fools” (20)
This first single from their huge number one album The Innocents peaked at number 6.

Derek B – “Goodgroove” (19)
Making his studio debut and rapping his way up three more places.

Kylie Minogue – “I Should Be So Lucky” (1) (BBC video)
Third of five weeks at number one.

Mel & Kim – “That’s The Way It Is” (16) (video/credits)
The duo's fourth and final hit - they surely would have gone on to have many more if it were not for Mel's illness - it peaked at number 10.


March 10th is next, but it is a Mike Smith edition.



29 comments:

  1. Let's hear it for the still-unidentified Plastic Population, miming away for all he's worth. Apart from that, much as before, and they cut off the outro again which was my favourite bit.

    Rick Astley, first of three SAWs on this episode, and a bog standard tune of theirs, nothing remarkable. Same goes for the video, which at least suits the poppy, empty-headed (and empty promises) song.

    Ah, you see Andrew Eldritch was a Goth, but he wore a white suit, you didn't expect that, did you? Anyway, a slight step down from This Corrosion, but nice and dramatic, especially in the chorus. Dominion is an appropriately portentous word, anyway.

    Presumably we see the Breakers again, they were all on the way up, so onto Erasure, I always get this one mixed up with the previous hit of theirs, it sounds very similar, but their fans didn't seem to mind. The choking dry ice from The Sisters of Mercy hasn't been dispersed, it's a right peasouper and no mistake.

    Ah, the late Derek B, not sure he was the UK's first rapper, Simon, Morris Minor would have something to say about that. He seems to have ripped off Smiley Culture's Police Officer for those lyrics, but he gave it a go, cod-American accent and all. His next hit was the one I preferred.

    Back to the specially shot vid for Kylie, and our third SAW is a demonstration of what you do when one half of the act is literally dying: call in the Brian Rogers Connection (or nearest equivalent). This isn't too bad, I didn't mind hearing it again at all, decent bouncy chorus.

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  2. We're in assured hands tonight with Gazza and Mayo, even if on one link the latter comes in a bit too soon and interrupts the former. Coldcut and Yazz are back to start things off, with Yazz unusually sporting trousers while her scat-singing mate steals the show by wearing a romper suit and freezing in position so completely at one point that I did wonder if some camera trickery was being employed. Incidentally, Gazza was very prescient in telling us to look out for Yazz's solo debut, particularly as it hadn't been recorded yet! Rick's on video, and it's appropriate telephones feature so prominently given that SAW are really phoning it in here, but I suppose it's lively enough. I'm surprised they didn't use up-to-the-minute cordless models, actually - I remember that my parents went cordless the year before.

    In light of Mayo's story about the Arab's offer for Sisters of Mercy's Patricia, you have to wonder whether the 100 camels might have contributed more musically to the group. The band look ludicrously self-important here, and the white suited singer looks as if he is in urgent need of the toilet. The song is bombastic and overwrought, and it sounds on the chorus as if they are singing "vermillion"! All the breakers will be on again bar Aztec Camera, making a low-key comeback here after four years away from TOTP. It's a nice little tune, but their next hit was the one that really brought them back to prominence.

    1988 was perhaps the peak year for Erasure, with some excellent singles to come later in the year. This one isn't as good, the promising verses leading to an underwhelming chorus, but it's OK overall. Vince's curious aversion to be seen playing a synth continues, while Andy is in his trademark white t-shirt, and emotes seriously. I don't remember Derek B at all, but he is obviously significant as being the first British rapper to achieve chart success - if we discount Morris Minor and the Majors, that is! I wasn't sure if he was being entirely serious here, as his fake American accent wandered into ludicrously posh tones at some points. Still, at least it didn't go on too long, and Mayo astutely alludes at the end to the debt it owes the Jackson Five's ABC.

    We conclude with Mel and Kim, and what would sadly be their last hit, though after Mel died Kim would briefly enjoy some solo success. This is a cut above the other SAW offerings in the show, less generic and eminently danceable, and with the sisters unavailable due to Mel's illness the dancers used in the video show plenty of energy and verve to sell the record.

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  3. I couldn't find much to comment on this show, except for the fact that the likes of Peter Powell and Simon Bates who had hardly any shows left before bowing out in 1988, must have seen this show with Cold Cut and Derek B in the studio, plus Bomb The Bass only just narrowly missing out on the No.1 spot, and must have thought that music was going in a different direction, and to a new perky generation with a different mojo on life, and felt it was no longer their passion as presenters on the show, and if you throw in SAW, you can see why Powell and Bates and Mike Read were shortly to bow out, followed soon after by Steve Wright in 1989, as we were about to lose an entire generation of TOTP presenters born in the 40s and 50s, passing on the mantle to those born in the 60s and 70s who would take over presenting the show, pretty much up until the new Millenium.

    Bomb The Bass were due a second appearance on the show this week, on their second week at no.2 behind Kylie Minogue, but oddly they were ignored this week, as they were last on as a new entry at No.5 two weeks earlier, so why no showing this week, not even the playout? Perhaps TOTP did not want them to get to No.1, but rather to keep Kylie there for longer? Not a good move to ignore Bomb The Bass a second appearance.

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    1. Dory - I'm not sure that Bates, Powell, Read or Wright (and you could even add in Long) bowed out as you put it. I think "shown the door" by the new producer was probably nearer the mark.

      Hosts were never contracted to present Top of The Pops so their latest show could always be their final appearance, although due to his long association with the programme Peter Powell actually announced at the start of his final edition that it was to be his last as host and even received a farewell cake at ithe show's close.

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    2. Reading Peter Powell's Wikipaedia info, it seems he also left Radio 1 for good in the same month as his last appearance on TOTP in September 1988, and never returned to radio or TV ever since.

      However, Mike Read continued on Radio 1 till 1991, and Simon Bates and Dave Lee Travis until 1993, all long after their departure from TOTP presenting.

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    3. Following his departure from Radio 1, Peter Powell became a celebrity agent and numbered among his clients future ex-wife, Anthea Turner.

      Not sure about Read or Wright but the other curiosity about these departures was that, at a time when Top of The Pops was pretty much pre-rcorded in its entirety, the final shows hosted by Bates, Long and Powell were all live programmes, co-presented with Bruno Brookes, Mark Goodier and Simon Mayo respectively,

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    4. Out of the long-serving hosts who departed in 1988-89, I think it's fair to assume that Smitty and PP quit of their own volition, because they were about to leave Radio 1 and do other things. In the case of the others, who would stay at Radio 1 for a few more years, it is highly likely that Paul Ciani opted to ease them out.

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    5. Happy to have not seen BtB again. Yazz/Coldcut and Derek B were quite enough in one show.

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    6. By this point the likes of Bates and Read looked seriously out of place presenting TOTP. Not so much in the case of PP but with Mayo, Goodier, Campbell and Brookes all making a mark at Radio 1 there was really no need to keep some of the old guard on the presenting roster.

      As mentioned above PP went on to become a showbiz agent and represented Zoe Ball when she was brought in to co-host the Radio 1 breakfast show.

      It's a shame the controller of Radio 1 didn't follow Ciani's lead and ease Bates and DLT out the door a bit sooner.

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    7. I would say that Bates always looked out of place on TOTP - it is truly baffling how he managed to carry on as a regular for almost nine years. As soon as he finally goes in July, we will see the start of one of Ciani's more dubious innovations, the use of kids' TV presenters. I suspect we may be pining for the Headmaster's return after being subjected to Anthea Turner for a few shows!

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    8. it is truly baffling to me how slimy managed to hold down a show on radio 1 for well over a decade? surely it would have been obvious to anyone but those responsible (as it was to me) that his oleaginous style was perfect radio 2 fodder for the grannies, as opposed to serving up pop hits for the kids - something he clearly never had any interest in!

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    9. The irony is that Bates worked on Radio 2 before he started on Radio 1. He evidently had friends in high places and the ability to schmooze, even though he came over as totally charmless on TV and radio! I gather that Jonathan King was a friend of his and helped to smooth his path at the Beeb, in the days when an endorsement from the quarter was a help rather than a hindrance...

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    10. I became a regular viewer of TOTP in 1981 and stopped watching the show at some point in 1988. I certainly recall watching Simon Bates' last edition so must still have been a viewer in July but, ironically, suspect I ceased watching shortly after.

      The use of children's TV presenters as hosts was a strange idea to say the least. What is often forgotten is that Paul Ciani already had a history with Top of The Pops as a relief producer and director for Michael Hurll in the early 1980s, however this was the first time he controlled the format.

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    11. I'm no fan of Anthea Turner but I can understand why Paul Ciani wanted to bring in more female hosts. What was less understandable was why he thought Andy Crane and Simon Parkin off CBBC would make ideal TOTP hosts, the latter apparently bemusing REM when he introduced their song Orange Crush as being 'lovely on a Summer's Day.'

      That Bates had friends in high places was borne out by his ability to worm his way out of Radio 1 roadshow duties each year by doing round the world trips and other stunts. Still, TOTP won't be quite the same without him!

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    12. I don't know why Philip Schofield never became a TOTP host. He was a far better presenter than either Crane or Parkin, was enjoying big success on Saturday mornings at the time, and from 1988 was also fronting the Beeb's coverage of the Smash Hits Poll Winners' Party. He also had a Radio 1 show for a while, so it's a bit of a mystery as to why he never did TOTP.

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    13. Philip Schofield had a Thursday night Radio 1 show that was live, possibly he felt it would clash with TOTP.

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    14. Ah, that may certainly help to explain it.

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    15. i find it hard to beleive that someone so obviously phony as bates had any friends at all - never mind some in high places? but then again i can imagine someone like that brown-nosing for england when it came to those higher in the beeb food chain (who probably made their own way to the top via the same method, or else were only there thanks to nepotism rather than any actual ability)

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    16. It's a shame that John Peel, David Jensen and Paul Burnett never got round to beating up Bates after the Radio 1 Christmas party - a great story from Simon Garfield's book on the station.

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  4. First time poster here (been following the blog since 1981 but always just that little bit too late catching up to comment) - I've caught every episode since then, but because of computer issues I missed the last two WeTransfer links...

    So if Anonymous (or anyone) could repost the links for 28/01/88 and 04/02/88 I would be so incredibly grateful (and I promise I'll start uploading proper episode reviews from now on to show my appreciation!)

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    1. here you go 28/1/88 and 4/2/88 again :
      https://we.tl/t-kxfOxYQtsu

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    2. Welcome, first time anonymous poster! It would be great if you were to join our regular band of reviewers, particularly as it has shrunk in size of late. If you do, you might want to give yourself a name?

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  5. erasure: oh look, it's another one of their many hits that no one remembers now

    derek b: i vaguely remember the fuss about mr b supposedly being blighty's first genuine rapper at the time, although as a non-fan i never went out of my way to check him out. listening now i suppose it has a sort-of home-grown charm, although it still manages to wear out its welcome fairly quickly. was this the first time a "posse" was mentioned in rap? probably not, but i remember a young black guy who started working in my office around this time going on about his posse and/or crew (even though i think he was playing to the gallery to at least some extent in that regard, for if he really was a homeboy from the 'hood he probably would have been doing something a bit cooler to pay the rent than typing people's names and addresses into computers all day long)

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  6. Patchy show this reflecting the eclectic music tastes of the ‘music lovers’ in the general public.

    Yazz and Coldcut – Next

    Rick Astley – Together Forever – Proving the old adage, “if it ain’t broken don’t fix it”. This is a perfectly good pop record however and the video is quite engaging too.

    Sisters of Mercy – Dominion – Very gothic and serious sound this, but not too bad. Love the way the keyboard player bashes the keys at the appropriate moments!

    Breakers – Belinda Carlisle- The archetypical Belinda image of her running her hands through her hair repeatedly, and the song isn’t bad either. Johnny hates Jazz – Prefer Neil Young’s ‘Heart of Gold’ from his classic ‘Harvest’ album. Taja Sevelle – no comment. Aztec Camera – Pleasant sound but the biggie is just round the corner…

    Erasure – Ship of Fools – As with the Aztecs, the biggie is just round the corner….

    Derek B – Goodgroove – Next

    Kylie Minogue – I should be so lucky – I guess we’ll be swapping videos over the next few weeks.

    Mel and Kim – That’s the way it is – A perfectly respectable dance record. All four M&K singles reached the top10, and as Angelo notes, there would have surely been more.

    Edit at the end….I guess to remove reference to Mike Smith. I can’t really understand why they do this as surely it’s his appearance that is not permitted rather than mention of his name?

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    1. Re editing out mentions of Smitty, I assume they do that so BBC4 viewers don't get confused when he doesn't appear on the next show. However, for reasons I have never fathomed they were quite happy to feature him on more than one occasion in The Story of... documentaries.

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  7. Boy Mayo almost peaking too early in Gary’s opening fanfare there.

    Great choreography again to start, with Yazz looking particularly Amazonian in the black outfit and Mister Population looking like a hessian sack version of Howard Jones, doing a wonderful scat mime but leaving his Satchmo hankie at home this time.

    “Shall we use that backing track again for Rick’s next single? No-one will notice”.

    Very late in the day to mention that Deacon Blue singer Ricky Ross has been depicted only by his nose and half a cheek for the mugshot run of “Dignity”.

    Ices! Ices! Stop me and buy one! The Sisters Of Mercy with bombastic stadium goth if ever there was such a term, featuring probably the first example of a GILF (no, I mean Patricia).

    Personally, I get weak looking in Belinda’s eyes. First midtempo ballad of the evening and the best for me.

    A hint of the tune to Red Box’s “For America” in Johnny Hates Jazz’s number, accompanied by an unusual let slightly jarring video.

    Amazing voice, Gaz? Here we have Taja Sevelle (real name Nancy Richardson) causing small dogs to run from five miles away in a not nice bellowing fashion.

    Lovely guitar there, Roddy. The Aztecs return with a neat and earnest if unremarkable midtempo ballad.

    Still better, though, than the next of its genre, provided by Identikit Erasure. Same clothes, guitar, sullen looks. Abandon ship.

    Only the UK could have a rapper called Derek. Looked like he had an undertaker backing him. F-to-the-F.

    We finish with a supposedly happy video but, in truth, a horribly sad and poignant one with Mel and Kim nowhere in sight. This is probably when we realized how ill poor Mel actually was.

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  8. Rick Astley - Meat and potatoes SAW really, not one of their best but not awful either.

    Sisters Of Mercy - One of their better tracks, I do at least enjoy singing 'DOM-IN-ION!' in the style of Andrew Eldritch.

    Mrs Noax loves the Aztec Camera one, I can take it or leave it.

    Erasure - Ask people what they reckon the first single of 'The Innocents' was and 99% would plump for 'A Little Respect' even though it was the final one! As for this tune, it's OK, not my favourite of theirs though.

    Derek B - I loved his follow-up. This one isn't as good.

    Mel & Kim - A good song, the title apparently inspired by the evening news on Capital FM (back when you could only get it in London) where they signed off with 'That's the way it is'. Sad seeing the generic video though.

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  9. Fairly so so episode.

    Didn’t realise Yazz started her TOTP career with this song.

    Not sure if it was my mood, but every track sounded really weak, even for bands I would expect to like such as SoM and Erasure.

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  10. March has arrived with a young Mayo and OOH Gary

    Coldcut back again and Yazz in her leathers,,VFX having a ball with the pictures. Nice they've made an effort with the performance.

    My favourite Rick song next. Shame no studio appearance. Video is a bit naff to be honest. Lose the suit Rick. It's not cool.

    Sisters of Mercy back with Patricia and no camels. Very moody. Full on Goth in places. I do recall this at the time, it did grow on me a bit. A nice change of pace from all the dance/pop. Liked that.
    Got to have a sax solo even in Goth. It is the 80s.....


    Breakers:
    Belinda. I get weak, no the Moyet number but still a great pop tune. Definetely a Belinda fan.
    JHJ: law of diminishing returns with this one, it's ok but not up to their usual standard.
    Taja Sevelle. An 80s classic. Geourgeous song. Always assume this is a much earlier 80s hit.
    Aztec Camera with a lesser known ballad. Nice

    Erasure back again. Guitar this time and the white tshirt and jeans combo still in check. Nice torch song,.. they were great song writers. Quality stuff.

    Derek B makes his TOTP debut. Brit rapper getting his good groove on. Nice involving the audience. Rap always seems to age really badly and this is no exception. Rapping about the M4 doesn't have the same hip sounds as the Bronx! Is he gonna mention Leigh Delamere services next? Rubbish.....

    Kylie obviously still tied into her Neighbours contact so we get video number two again. Cue Sydney,.,

    So sad to see this Mel and Kim video mash up as obviously Mel isn't well. Shame as it's such a great song and I loved all their hits.

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