Here's a little song he wrote, and he sings every note
06/10/88 (Simon Mayo & Richard Skinner)
The Pasadenas – “Riding On A Train” (13)
Setting the template for the deluge of boy bands that will follow in their footsteps, but the song got no higher than number 13.
Bobby McFerrin – “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” (11) (video)
Featuring Robin Williams no less in the video, this was Bobby's only top 40 hit and it peaked at number 2.
The Wee Papa Girl Rappers – “Wee Rule” (17)
In the studio to perform what became both their only top ten hit and final top 40 hit when it peaked at number 6.
Spear Of Destiny – “So In Love With You” (36) (breaker)
Their final hit and it got no higher.
The Beatmasters & PP Arnold – “Burn It Up” (35) (breaker)
Peaked at number 14.
Kim Wilde – “Never Trust A Stranger” (32) (breaker)
Peaked at number 7.
Erasure – “A Little Respect” (12)
In the studio to perform this storming third single from their number one album The Innocents, and it peaked at number 4.
Rick Astley – “She Wants To Dance With Me” (7) (rpt from 22/09/88)
Went up one more place.
U2 – “Desire” (1) (video)
Just the one week at number one.
Duran Duran – “I Don’t Want Your Love” (14) (video/credits)
At its peak.
13th October is next.
Short review for this time because, barring one song it was awful! Didn’t take long to watch either!
ReplyDeletePasadenas – Riding on a Train – Going nowhere but still on the show – why?
Bobby McFerrin – Don’t worry be happy – One of those irritating songs.
Wee Papa Girl Rappers – Wee rule – Another of those irritating songs.
Breakers – Skip the first two but Kim Wilde was on a roll her with a superb follow up to the wonderful ‘You Came’.
Erasure – A little Respect – ‘Storming’ indeed Angelo. Love the way the large ‘RESPECT’ is brought into the studio fresh from the video shoot, and what a tongue in cheek video it is too. When I first heard this I thought it had no1 written all over it, but no, we get the likes of U2 and Whitney instead. Strange world.
Rick Astley – She wants to dance with me – Just not in the SAW league at all.
U2 – Desire – The lowest selling no1 of the year at no45. Even bloody BVSMP outsold it! In fact the 10th biggest seller of 1988 was Womack and Womack, outselling this week’s dire no1 and nexts and a number of others.
Duran Duran – I don’t want your love – In a creative lull…when’s ‘Ordinary World’ due? Oh wow…1993!
sct i remember being quite surprised when duran made a comeback in the early 90's (having watched their star gradually fall throughout the second half of the 80's) with something that impressed me to the point that it was only bettered by "save a prayer" from their 80's peak. and amazingly the parent album offered up several more quality tracks in a similar vein too!
DeleteDesire didn't sell well at all for it's number One but I think The Timelords only made Number 50 in the chart of the year so at least it beat that/
DeleteDickie returns after three years away, having just defected back to Radio 1 from Capital. He appears chunkier than when we saw him last, and then there is that rather extraordinary barnet, which makes him look like he's auditioning for Bucks Fizz - no wonder Mayo seems so mesmerised by it! Dickie is as professional as ever, and conscientiously introduces the playout track even after his co-host (who seems in a very playful mood this week) had already said goodbye, but he does seem out of place now and would make only one further appearance.
ReplyDeleteAs Angelo mentions, The Pasadenas' slick moves in this studio turn do ominously prefigure what we would soon start getting from the boy bands, though obviously this lot come from a very different musical tradition. Despite the impressive choreography, the song still leaves me underwhelmed. Next up, one of the most irritating songs ever recorded, which had me reaching quickly for the FF button; the video may have boasted Robin Williams, but that just helps to make it as annoying as the song...
The Wee Papa Girl Rappers approach the peak of their short chart career with a bouncy performance and a single that has an instantly catchy chorus, but gets let down by the estuary rapping - overall, however, not bad by the standards of rap records. To the breakers, and this rather harsh-sounding effort from Spear of Destiny perhaps unsurprisingly climbed no higher, but I quite liked what I heard and think it could grow on me more with further listens.
Erasure are in the studio with their finest song, one of the best of the year and probably the best thing that Vince did outside of Yazoo. There is something really uplifting and emotional about this tune, helped by the way the vocals are layered, and it builds to a powerful climax. As already mentioned, Andy and Vince are accompanied by the big letter blocks that appeared in the video, and yet again Vince opts to strum a guitar. Duran Duran to finish, with a middling effort that is a bit halting in the verses but then serves up a decent chorus. The video is somewhat unsettling, with the band in the guise of political demagogues and Simon looking ever so slightly mad...
in retrospect the most irritating things about that bobby mcferrin thing was the suggestion that if you piss-off the landlord because you can't be arsed to pay the rent, then he should just grin and bear it! i've paid rent for nearly 40 years now, and although money has been tight more often than not i've always done so on time throughout that period (other than delays for exceptional/unavoidable reasons that were agreed to in advance by the landlord). yet others seem to think nothing of casually slipping behind on the payments for the flimsiest of reasons!
DeleteLandlords do not have the most sympathetic public profile, which probably encourages some tenants to adopt such attitudes...
Deletewell yes the likes of rachman did themselves no favours in the long term, but to put it in context: it would never occur to a tenant to get something in a supermarket and then say at the till "oh, i'll pay you later when i think i can afford to"!
Deletei never rented one of his properties, but one landlord in the town i used to live in was legendary for chasing up outstanding arrears from tenants (usually dhss types) by sending his heavies around!
Richard Skinner was by now on late nights Radio 1, I used to go to sleep listening to him after John Peel (no offence, Richard). Why isn't his hair grey anymore?
ReplyDeleteBustin' moves like there's no tomorrow, The Pasadenas with their best record, and a preferable train tune to Kylie's Locomotion. Funny how, as mentioned above, they were in the ideal boy band mould but never really broke through to major success. Maybe most of them just weren't heartthrob material (sorry, Rockin' Jeff).
Bobby McFerrin with a song that at the time everyone thought, wow, that's amazing, he's making those noises all by himself, but then shortly after it was a hit it became akin to someone saying to you "Cheer up, might never happen!" when you were really not in the mood. And no, Bobby did not commit suicide as that urban myth goes - but Robin Williams, who was in the video, did kill himself. I think as time has gone on "grumpy" has become the default mode for most people, so no wonder this hasn't endured fondly.
Wee Papa Girl Rappers, another outfit who seemed destined for bigger things but petered out fairly quickly. A pity, because this is a lot of fun, and the lyrics are very smart in an amusing way, I particularly like the bowdlerised "kiss my boot!" and the bit about swearing in French. But it wasn't to be, alas.
Small mention of Spear of Destiny's final fling, I usually remember everything on these shows, however vaguely, but have no recollection of this. No wonder, Kirk's singing is hopeless here! No surprises it faltered.
Erasure, despite what they said on US sitcom Scrubs, this sounds like a classic now. Its "hey, what about me?" lyrics avoid sounding whiny and needy thanks to an irresistible melody which shows off Andy's impressive vocal range without straining it one iota. The video's great, but this song hardly needed it - somehow the boys would have to wait for their first number one, but this is the one they'll be remembered for. Wheatus who?!
In contrast, Rick demonstrates how to make your lyrics fit a whole line when you only have one word to sing. Dayayayayaaaance. Like that.
I seem to recall Henry Rollins having an amusing take on Rattle and Hum, where U2 order a gospel choir how to sound more black. Sums them up, really.
Duran Duran in decline, with a nothingy effort that seems to be saying something important but falls short of making it clear what it is. Say what you like about Billy Bragg, when he makes a statement you do know what he's on about. Black and white video for added seriousness, natch.
The one thing guaranteed to make me grumpy is someone telling me to cheer up, which is partly why I despise that song!
DeleteAlways look on the bright side of life...
DeleteJust looked him up, the other bloke in the McFerrin video is comic actor Bill Irwin. I thought it was film director Steven Soderbergh!
presumably the spear of destiny song was not about kirk brandon's relationship with boy george? it really was absurd that he later denied that ever happened to the point of choosing to litigate (a word i'd never heard of before mr mcferrin's hit btw) for libel, given that practically the whole blitz crowd (many of whom later became successful not just as pop stars but in the media generally) were aware of it!
DeleteThe second single for the Wee Papa Girl Rappers, and the only one of note so far, it reminded me a bit of the 1978 No.1 hit called Uptown Top Ranking by Althea & Donna, a bit speedier and with 80s rap added in for good measure to fit in with the changing disco styles.
ReplyDeleteIt was somewhat also a sign of the changing times that Duran Duran were no longer TOTP golden boys, as this comeback single in 1988 only got Breakers and playout during its run in the charts, and now they seemed very ordinary and unexciting for the TOTP studio, or it could be that they did not accept the invitation to perform in the studio. Whatever the situation, it was a sad fall from grace, even though they had another mini-comeback in 1993 with Ordinary World.
It’s Dickie Skinner! With a German band mullet! Albeit for a limited period, which is a shame as I liked his presenting style and he made a good duo here with Mayyyyyo. Nice affectionate head nudge there at the start.
ReplyDeleteBloody crowd noise. Even whistles this week!
The Pasadenas stuck at platform 13. All this did was remind me that my train provider’s got strike action all next month, which will make it a right bastard getting to and from work.
Be happy? BE HAPPY? Crap advice, Bobby. So ironic that Robin Williams eventually committed suicide. Without the earlier confirmation, I'd have thought the other chap in the video was Christopher Reeve.
What’s the title of the next tune, Dickie? Wee Pap Girl Rappers with a catchy (well, contagious) song which finds a new way to pronounce the word ‘fashion’, as in fash-on.
Spear of Destiny trying to sound like Broooce and failing. What was that called again?
The next song was a slowed down Yazz featuring someone’s mum, and some “Tales of the Unexpected” style video work.
A moody sultry video for a moody sultry song by Kim Wilde. Good knock.
Erasure, a band, Simon? Surely a duo. Not a little ‘respect’ behind them on stage there. A retro return to the white T-shirt and guitar for a song I could imagine Abba covering. Does anyone else think Andy Bell strikes a resemblance to Leicester City and England striker Jamie Vardy?
Nice ‘here but on video’ skits by the lads before I FF the chart topper video.
We finish with “I Don’t Want To Hear Or Watch This”.
Not a great show! (Been a few of those recently!)
ReplyDeletePasadena’s soft shoe soul left me cold...
Liked the Mcferrin single when it came out, but the video was naff.(how come Robin Williams was in it?) (was going to say was the other person Christopher Reeve but I saw the comment about Bill Irwin, and then the other Reeve comment!)
Rapper girls soft rap song got the FF
I thought Spear of Destiny was a-band...
PP Arnold - another one of those terrible remix things (ps current album worth checking out)
Kim Wilde, dont remember it, but the highlight so far...
And repeats...
You may have thought PP was wee-wee, but her Beatmasters tune was an original.
DeleteAh, there you go. My bad :-)
Deletedoes anyone know why pat arnold (as she's known as by industry insiders) used gender-non-specific initials as her stage name? of course kd lang also did that, but in her case that was all part of her carefully-cultivated androgynous image
DeleteWilby, the singer born Patricia Ann Cole was given the stage name by a photographer called Gered Mankowitz.
DeleteBobby McFerrin - HOUSEWIFE CLASSIC! What an utterly vile song. As someone who's suffered mental health issues, the musical equivalent of "Cheer up, it might never happen!" is about as welcome as syphilis.
ReplyDeleteWee Papa Girl Rappers - Impossible not to sing "Wee rule, we like to swing our pants" if you were a regular viewer of Going Live, this is a good fun tune.
Breakers - I too keep forgetting that the Spear Of Destiny song exists. I'm happy to keep it that way.
Erasure - Well, now...at the time, this was utterly fantastic. However, I've now heard it way too much and it's also sadly become pretty much the only song by them that you ever hear, to the extent that your average punter probably thinks a) It got to No.1 and b) It was the first release from the album.
Duran Duran - Not very good, sadly. The only good thing to be said about it is that it allowed the NOW XIII compilers to schedule it after 'I Want Your Love' by Transvision Vamp and before 'Love Is All That Matters' by The Human League (which we won't be seeing as it missed the Top 40) in a puntastic sequence.
Its the return of TOTP more competent hosts Richard Skinner along with 3 people's hair! Paired with the Boy Mayo they do a reasonable job (even though Rich messes up the link into Rick Astley)
ReplyDeleteThe Pasadenas are Riding On A Train all the way to the top of the show. I must admit I do like this record. I'm amazed they disappeared so quickly though. Good solid pop song and quite 60s sounding which has been all the rage in 88.
Setting the template for the deluge of boy bands t
Don’t Worry, Be Happy, sang every kid in the playground for months on end... Poor Bobby McF. Such a happy song and such as sad ending for him.
Great to see Robin Williams in the video, and a true one hit wonder.
The Wee Papa Girl Rappers up next with another school favourite “Wee Rule” This is the better remembered (and still on Spotify) single however I don't think it's as good as their previous (now unavailable) track. Nicely done though and clearly pleased to be there.
Breakers:
Spear Of Destiny had another hit? Not “So In Love With" this one I'm afraid and a very cheap video.
The Beatmasters & PP Arnold (never heard of her - 1968 you say?) Burn It Up is another great dance record from 88. Stood the test of time well.
Kim Wilde all sultry in the video and looking rather HOT! Never Trust A Stranger a weaker offering but who's complaining - not 14 year old me (or 45 year old me come to that!)
Erasure – Its called “A Little Respect” so let's have some BIG letters spelling out RESPECT behind them! What a great and funny idea. Work Experience has earned their stripes this week.
Andy in white shirt, Vince strumming guitar. Same old, same old. Quality tune though.
Rick Astley up next and the backing singer is clearly happy dancing by herself Rick.
U2 in the studio but on video. Maybe.– “Desire)less" you could say... No??? I'll get my coat.
Duran Duran – Nice to see the fill video to “I Don’t Want Your Love” which has grown on me since last week.
Really good show this week. Liked them all.
Erm, Bobby McFerrin hasn't had a sad end, he's still alive and touring! Robin Williams, however, did have a sad end.
Deleteas basically a novelty act and a one-hit wonder, who would possibly want to go and see bobby mcferrin perform 30 years on?
Delete