Snog of the Pops
01/09/88 (Mark Goodier & Steve Wright)
Level 42 – “Heaven In My Hands” (18)
Getting tonight's stereo show off to an upbeat and long-haired start with a song that peaked at number 12
Julio Iglesias & Stevie Wonder – “My Love” (5) (video)
Now at its peak.
Womack & Womack – “Teardrops” (7)
In the studio to perform their only top ten hit and it went up four more places.
Guns N’ Roses – “Sweet Child O’ Mine” (24) (breaker)
A famous song for the band of course, but for time being it got no higher. It would be next year when it would re-chart and peak at number 6.
Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine – “Anything For You” (19) (breaker)
Peaked at number 10.
Yello – “The Race” (14) (breaker)
Became their only top ten hit when it peaked at number 7.
A-ha – “Touchy” (12)
They were studio veterans by now and this latest offering went up one more plac.
Bomb The Bass – “Don’t Make Me Wait” (6)
In the studio but the song went up no further.
Yazz & The Plastic Population – “The Only Way Is Up” (1) (video)
Fifth and final week at number one.
Phil Collins – “Groovy Kind Of Love” (9) (video/credits)
Will be number one next week.
8th September is next
Our hosts get very excited about the first “simulcast” (pronounced by Mark in American style) with Radio 1, and don’t shut up about it throughout the show. Once they discard those dressing gown thingies they were wearing at the start, adorned with what appeared to be multiple R1 logos, we can see that Wrighty is once again sporting his yuppie look on what is his first show for a while. By his standards, he’s not bad, except when trying to get down wiv da kidz with that excruciating “check this out” when introducing Bomb the Bass. Mark, meanwhile, seems to have fully relaxed in front of camera and now looks completely at home.
ReplyDeleteLevel 42 first, with a revised line-up and an unfortunate new look for Mark King, who appears to be modelling his hairdo on Beethoven, and is sporting a nasty tasselled jacket into the bargain. I’m not familiar with the song, but it is actually a decent rocky effort that just fails to land a truly memorable chorus. After more Julio/Stevie purgatory – who the hell was buying it? – Womack and Womack turn up with a jaunty little number that, pleasant as it is, never really gets out of first gear. Linda spends a lot of time looking in Cecil’s direction, until he finally comes over to her, and her miming is much less synchronised than I hope and assume BBC1 and R1 were!
Despite being the signature tune of Axl, Slash and co, and the song that helped make them the biggest band in the world for a time, this is all we get on TOTP of Sweet Child O’Mine – this time around, anyway. For all its bombast it is a classic rock ballad, though one it is better to listen to without having to watch the band’s posturing. A-ha are back, and in an upbeat mood too, as exemplified by Morten’s tongue poking. The song fits the band’s mood, as it is their most lively and enjoyable offering for some considerable time, and deserves to be a better known item in their catalogue.
I was impressed by the amount of gold bracelets the Bomb the Bass singer had on her arms, though with that oversized jacket the effect was far from being Indian princess! I quite liked this, as it made for an energetic mix of dance, pop and rock elements. It’s perhaps ironic that a generally up tempo show comes to an end with Phil Collins’ dreary cover version. I’m a big fan of The Mindbenders’ classic original (sung of course by future 10cc stalwart Eric Stewart), but Phil just turns it into a lifeless dirge. The video’s drab as well, just an excuse to string together a load of clips from Buster, which is one of those films that doesn’t seem to turn up on TV anymore.
Yes, it was a huge comedown after the vibrant and upbeat Yazz at No.1 for five weeks, to have a dreary song and video by Phil Collins take over the No.1 spot in September. I remember preferring Bomb The Bass to take over and keeping the huge dance vibe at No.1 going into the month of September.
DeleteOn the subject of Bomb The Bass, it was a reflection of TOTP's gradual decline at the time, when Steve Wright introduces it on the show as "their new single" playing it for the first time at No.6. In years gone by, when TOTP shows were around 40-45 minutes, it would be having its second or third play by now at No.6!
Just to remember clearly this was the first simultaneous broadcast with BBC One and Radio 1 as they went stereo on FM on that day in 1988 as to only to recall their transmissions ended around 1991, as TOTP moved to Elstree.
ReplyDeleteThis wasn't the first simultaneous broadcast with Radio 1 and BBC One, the other being the 1000th episode on the 5th of May 1983, so this could be five years later, as Radio 1 had started transmitting in stereo and switched on to the FM frequency of 97-99.
It was also simultaneously weekly right up until August 1991 (I think!) and also the TOTP studio backdrop remained the same since the Summer, also highlights in that episode were 'Teardrops in my eyes, reminds me baby of you!' as Womack & Womack performed for the second time in the TOTP studio in nearly four years since 'Love Wars'.
Yeah, and I think Bobby Womack at the end of this TOTP studio performance by coming across from keyboards to give the lead singer a squeeze at the end of the song, he didn't have to make the point so blatantly that she was his wife, as most people could figure that out from the Artist title on the song, being Womack & Womack. Surely people could not have thought brother & sister, or father & daughter? Ironically, I did prefer their previous hit Love Wars!
DeleteThis is Cecil Womack, not Bobby, though Bobby was his brother. I agree though that Love Wars is the better song.
DeleteSome years ago I heard a really good soul song called "Top Of The Stairs", written by Ashford and Simpson and performed by Collins and Collins. I was going to buy it until I discovered the Collinses singing the "let's go upstairs" lyrics were brother and sister. Put me off buying it!
DeleteOur cheesy hosts implore us to listen to the radio with the TV on, and I must admit I did get my ghetto blaster into the front room for a while before the novelty wore off.
ReplyDeleteOn with the music, and Level 42 return with a song best described as busy. Bit of a dog's breakfast, in fact, this is all over the place, though you can at least discern a tune or three.
Julio and Stevie - junk. There's a Chinese junk in the video.
Womack and Womack, mooning at each other like teenagers for a belated but more successful follow up to Love Wars. I do prefer the earlier one, but this grooves along quite the thing, and is good to nod your head along to. What was that gesture Mr Womack gave the audience halfway through - a pumping fist of triumph or a raised middle finger?
The hard lads in my school loved Guns and Roses, but they never did anything for me. I note Metallica are in the charts too, they were more for the heavy metalheads, though. They will be back, both of them.
A-ha with a frothy bit of fluff (frothy fluff?! Eurgh...), never revived until now but not so bad, unlike Morten's Gene Simmons' impersonation. Sounds like it was written to be heard at a fairground, possibly on the waltzers. Note to Mr Womack: a keytar offers more manoeuvrability.
Bomb the Bass, now Megablast was the theme song to the computer game... Uridium, was it? Someone will enlighten me. But they didn't play that because it was an instrumental, so we had Lorraine strut her stuff in a very serviceable pop ditty, she really holds those notes. Didn't mind hearing this again at all.
Yazz signs off at the top, but she'll be back. Then to end on, a real dog, Phil Collins' theme song to his vile little cinematic celebration of a violent thug. It really is an awful film, so I suppose this record fits it perfectly. An undeserved number one.
I am SO glad your opinion of that film matches mine, and I also despise the horrible way former child actor Phil Collins gets an unwarranted chart topper out of it.
Deletewas it buster who coshed the driver?
DeleteI did like the change up to Lorraine as the new cutie in the Bomb The Bass-line up, following a different cutie on the first single preceding this one, and only being given backing vocals, so they were now elevating the female component to lead vocals with new girl Lorraine in the ranks.
DeleteA similar look and appearance to her arrived a year or so later with Leila K with Got To Get:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmSKk4BVtZc
@wilberforce: It's a bit murky, but generally agreed Buster was the attacker who basically ruined the driver's life and put him in an early grave.
Delete@Arthur: Yes, the whole theme of the film is, isn't it awful this criminal had to leave the country and can't get his fish and chips anymore? There were a lot more serious issues than that, and the attack is thrown away in a long shot as if it was insignificant. O how I hate that film!
I don't know if it's because of the power of the Robin Hood legend, or something else, but there is a long and ignoble tradition in this country of romanticising career criminals - we've seen it recently with that unappealing bunch of oldies who pulled off the Hatton Garden job. No matter how bad their crimes, there always seems to be someone who will tell you they loved their mums and were just diamonds in the rough with hearts of gold...
Deletei don't think buster's fellow great train robber ronnie biggs coined the phrase "cosh the driver" (was it not already a press soundbite that became well-known?), but he certainly used it in vain as a song title for his collaboration with the post-rotten sex pistols. one suspects that malcolm mclaren egged him on that regard, to put the wind up the mary whitehouse generation and play to the anti-establishment gallery at the same time?
DeleteI'm not a particular fan of the 'Buster' film; I found it quite depressing. But what a soundtrack! Two Hearts by Phil Colins, Loco down in Acapulco bu the Four Tops. I just don't know what to do with myself by Dusty Springfield, I got you Babe by Sonny and Cher (not that other awful version), How do you do it by Pace and the Gerry Makers, Sweets for my Sweet by the Searchers, Keep on Running by the Spencer Davis Group...and a few Anne Dudley fillers. A great compilation.
Deletelevel 42: by the time of the "running in the family" album it seemed that mike lindup and (in particular) mark king were very much the stars and driving forces of the band, with the gould brothers making up the numbers in comparison. but there must have been more to them than that, as after they quit things went downhill pretty quickly! this was ok as a taster for the new formation, although as john notes it's a relatively rocky effort. but apart from the return to their fusion roots "man", the rest of the "staring at the sun" album was pretty woeful by their standards and not surprisingly (unlike their earlier LPs) became a charity shop fixture not too long afterwards
ReplyDeleteTake a look?
DeleteThere were a few interesting points to note from this show in that Yello were in the background music throughout the show, plus being given a Breakers slot this week. Fortunately they get a full play next week with their video.
ReplyDeleteAlso, in the chart Rundown for the third week, and not so fortunate, was little known Mory Kante with Yeke Yeke, going down one place to No.30, which did not get even a breakers slot or playout during its time in the charts. In the summer of 1988, it was No.1 in many other countries, and worth a view of the video before it finally tumbles out of the top 30 next week:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esTxWZEx9XA
Mory Kante's Yeke Yeke was rereleased in 1995 and did slightly better, but I agree, a great little tune that should have been Top Ten. Also a rare occasion of an African hit in the UK pop charts.
DeleteI found this brilliant clip from Belgian TV where Mory Kante performed this in a similar studio to TOTP a la early 80s TOTP studio lighting style, with dancers as good as Zoo, and where they took over the studio centre stage with a performance that would make TOTP stand in awe that they did not invite them to the show. Absolutely brilliant party atmosphere performance on prime-time Western Europe TV if not in Britain:
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vxV0X_Whw8
Love this so much, that I couldn't help but listen to it all day on this dreary wet Saturday!
Looks like recent footage, there. Are the subtitles so we can sing along?
DeleteOnly pop star from Guinea to have a hit here, I think? There must be other one-off place of origin hits, but I can't think of any right now!
I can think of The Goombay Dance Band who had a big No.1 in Britain in 1982 with Seven Tears. Weren't they from somewhere similar?
DeleteTHX, back to Mory Kante, and it appears he got to No.1 with this tune Yeke Yeke in Holland, Belgium, Finland, Spain and Israel in the summer of 1988, yet could only manage a peak of No.29 in Britain, and I don't remember it being played on BBC, ITV or the radio stations here.
DeleteI only recognised it now because I was on holiday in the summer of 1988, and kept hearing it non-stop while on holiday, in the shops, buses, portable stereos at the time, and had no idea until now that it just sneaked into our Top 30 only just.
It seems the footage above was from Belgian TV inviting him to peak time evening TV in 2000, which figures if he got to No.1 there 12 years earlier in 1988, right where we are now in these TOTP reruns.
The Goombay Dance Band were from Germany and Montserrat, and while I can think of German artists who had hits, Montserrat is a lot more obscure. It's in the Caribbean, not Africa, though.
DeleteI certainly heard Mory Kante on the BBC, Radio 1 anyway, in 1988, though it might have been on the evening shows, can't recall.
The singer-songwriter Heather Nova comes from Bermuda, though her highest-charting UK single only got to 69.
DeleteThe Mory Kante track was a hit again in remix form in 1995 and yet again with a different remix the year after! The original is the best though - I remember that Gary Davies championed it so it's a little surprising that it didn't get featured at all.
DeleteThree episodes a week from next Thursday, possibly until Christmas! Steel yourselves!
ReplyDeleteI suspect it will just be for the next fortnight, as after that, if they revert to the regular two shows per week pattern, there will be just enough shows left to take us right up to Xmas.
DeleteGood Lord, an overdose of TOTP in November just so that they can complete 1988 in line with the completion of 2019.
DeleteThe game that featured Megablast was Xenon 2. Cutting edge for the time.
ReplyDeleteThere you go, I knew someone would tell me! Many thanks. Up there with Everyone's a Wally by Mike Berry.
DeleteIn a three shows time, we will see the Pet Shop Boys with their new single Domino Dancing which seems to take the riff from Don't Make Me Wait by Bomb The Bass. Listen for yourselves from the two videos. Too much of a coincidence with between two songs in the top 40 at the same time in late September:
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_42p66WeM0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ik2YF05iX2w
I know I was in Majorca when this was transmitted as I recall reading the chart in the paper and seeing Phil straight in at no9 with a very familiar song title. I also recall seeing ‘Megablast’ by Bomb the Bass listed in the top10 which conjured up all sorts of horrors after ‘Beat dis’. I don’t think I ever dared listen to ‘Megablast’…
ReplyDeleteLooking very dapper in his braces is a very enthusiastic Wrighty paired with a more level Mark Goodier. Speaking of Level..
Level 42 – Heaven in my hands – Wow this was a good return to form in my book but sadly sales petered out before it could reach the heights of BVSMP. Good album ‘Staring at the Sun’ too. Usual Mike and Mark vocal interplay but some nice harmonies too.
Julio and Stevie - My love - …does it good.
Womack and Womack – Teardrops – W&W are clearly enjoying their studio visit and convey much of the feelgood vibe from the video. Great song this. Love the smooch dance bit in the instrumental section.
Breakers – Guns and Roses – That logo in the video is everywhere still. People who were not even born when this came out wear jackets with it emblazoned. Me? I just don’t get the appeal of G&R nor this song. Sorry… Gloria Estefan – After the dire ‘Dr Beat’ debut Gloria has just got better and better and the quality remains on the up with this song. Look forward to hearing it in full. Yello – crashing racing cars and a frantic instrumental sound. I have heard this music so many times not realising what it was until October 2019.
A-Ha – Touchy – Let’s be honest, this sounds feeble compared to the first few hits. Reverse polarity of Gloria ad the Norwegian lads here in terminal decline.
Bomb the Bass – Don’t make me wait – The big surprise of the show to me. I still haven’t heard ‘Megablast’ but this is really quite good. Not sure if I have heard it before not realising it is BtB but I know now!
Yazz – The only way is up – Second outing of the bouncy video which makes my eyes go funny! I don’t begrudge this being no1 for five weeks in the slightest.
Phil Collins – Groovy kind of love – I don’t think Phil originally intended to record this, but was persuaded to do so. A great rendition of the old Mindbenders hit (sung then by Eric Stewart of 10cc) missing only the echo vocal. Chopped here but we’ll see more soon.
All in all, another enjoyable edition.
This is the second showing of the video for Julio 'with' Stevie according to TOTP, and it could be their own TOTP titling cos Stevie did not appear in the video considering he had more voice/lines on the single than Julio, and I am sure the correct titling on the record was Julio 'and' Stevie.
DeleteLooks like TOTP were embarrassed for us viewers at the absence of Stevie in the video, and it seemed a form of apology to the viewers by using the term 'with' instead of 'and', implying that Julio was actually the main vocalist on the record, which in fact is not the case.
Didn't realise it was that there Eric Stewart singing on the original of this slaughtered hit. You learn something new every day.
Deleteeric and his mindbender chums also appeared performing in the sidney poitier/lulu film "to sir with love"
DeleteHi Anonymous! I'm on to ask you for more shows, if you've got them. Have you got the original archive shows that BBC4 either made cuts in or didn't show at all. They are 17/02/83, 24/05/84, 20/12/84, 24/01/85, 30/05/85 and 19/12/85. Cheers!
ReplyDeletehere are three shows brie :
Deletehttps://we.tl/t-gNdXbjiwR2
Great stuff, Anonymous! Many thanks.
DeleteOh God, the yuppie’s returned, though in better form this time. Still, bring back Liz Kershaw! Our hosts almost wasting the length of a breaker there boring us about this fecking simulcast (I’d rather have Janice Long, if you please) and those frequencies. Yawwwwn!
ReplyDeleteMark King sporting Big Country length hair, and good vocal interplay on a funk rock (frock?) tune not quite up to the usual bar.
“My Love” again? My ticker! Nodding Dog WOULD like this, wouldn’t he?
Mugshots part 1 sees The Primitives’ gutarist with a severe haircut and, oo, have Soft Cell split up?
W&W with a track I’ve never liked. So repetitititititve lyrically. Aren’t you meant to be miming keyboards rather than hugging your wife then giving us the finger? What a rude little man!
If only Guns ‘n’ Roses had just stuck to this sort of track. Love this, their best by a long chalk. The stage name of singer Axl Rose was an oh so humorous anagram of oral... ahem.
Gloria with the Comodores theory, i.e. changing to ballads equal more sales, but a good ’un anyway.
Yello spanner man Dieter Meier was (maybe still is?) a professional poker player. I remember Simon Mayo constantly playing this on his breakfast show with a yodelling bit over the car engine middle break which sounded great.
I wonder how may of A-Ha owned a Tanita Tikaram album? This sounded like a Nordic rip-off of “Dance Hall Days” by Wang Chung.
Mugshots part 2 – still not sorted out that frame height for UB40, then.
Wrighty with a sort of “this is a journey into sound” intro to Bomb The Bass, whose singer sounded like a techno Kylie to me. Still, I preferred this to Derek B and Rakim or whatevs.
Seen Yazz before, never want to see that depressing outro shit ever.
The yodeller on the Yello record was Dieter's cohort Boris Blank. Because they're Swiss, Simon asked him to yodel and being a wacky guy Boris obliged.
DeleteNot a good start FF FF FF
ReplyDeletePity we didn’t get more of GnR
Pity we didn’t get less of Gloria Estefan
Yello highlight of the show so far..
Strange how Aha track is introduced as “a return”, as it could easily have been recorded at the same time as their earlier hits. I only remember the chorus from this, but it IS catchy (and you know what fo do)
Funny how I recognise the Bomb The Bass song as ‘in and out of love’
I remember the simulcast days well, though our FM transmitter hadn't been switched on at this point. I'll return to the topic when it does...
ReplyDeleteLevel 42 - Not one of their very best but decent enough, and a good show opener.
Womack & Womack - I HATE this. Quite how it's become an overplayed 'classic' I don't know.
G'n'R - Can't stand them either, though I will admit that I don't mind this song. My main problem is with Axl Rose's dreadful voice.
a-ha - Now this I do like, it's fun pop. The Summery video works well with the tune too.
Bomb The Bass - This is truly a magnificent song. House music gets so much criticism but Tim Simenon produces this track so well, and it even has a guitar solo for goodness sake! The double 'A' is good too, though it isn't an instrumental - Merlin raps on it.
Trivia time: Lorraine was in The Cool Notes with hubby Steve, and their offspring was Bradley from S Club 7...
Phil Collins - Dull cover from a hideously offensive film in the days when The S*n also used to regularly do articles featuring 'loveable rogue' Ronnie Biggs.
It's in Stereo. It's simulcast on Radio 1. Now I can pop a cassette in the hi fi and play it back ALL WEEK, 88 just gets better and better 😊😊😊
ReplyDeleteLevel 42 up first and Mark hasn't had haircut since his last appearance. This is a rather funky number. I do like this a lot. Great start to the show.
Julio still looking for Stevie. Here's a clue Julio, he's not in China! Who the hell is buying this crap. FF
Hi Mum indeed. Wrighty gets upstaged by a teenager who's had took many sherbets, wonder if he'll see this again.
So good they named them twice Womack and Womack get a studio outing for possibly the most played radio song of the year, my word I got sick of this.
Breakerx:
GNR. Fabulous song. All time classic.
Gloria Estefan, I had this album. Always been a fan of this even as as teen. Just love her voice on this album. Quality.
Yello. Another sound of the summer. Cracker all the way.
A-ha with a pre recorded bit I feel. NIce catchy tune. Not their best but radio friendly. Amazing how clean cut Pal looks here, he has not aged well.
Oh no Mory Kante has gone down so we won't get to see it,,boo
Bomb The Bass. Fabulous dance record. Big fan of this. These big puffer jackets are all the rage, even Dr Whos new companion Ace will be wearing one to fight the Daleks next month. Is the singer American? Best act of the evening.
Yazz on video and then Phil Collins starts his plugging for the Buster movie with a quality cover of Groovy Kind of Love. We're back in the Genesis warehouse for the video and we will see a lot more of this one.
Right tben. Back to school next week. GCSEs to start studying for..