Are you watching Reynolds Girls?
11/05/89 (Bruno Brookes)
Swing Out Sister – “You On My Mind” (28)
Getting this live show underway with a 1960's vibe but the song got no higher.
Chaka Khan – “I’m Every Woman” (remix) (8) (video)
At its peak.
Yazz – “Where Has All The Love Gone?” (16)
A second studio performance (or was this a repeat?) but the song was at its peak.
Queen – “I Want It All” (3) (video)
Going straight in at number three but this frist single from their number one album The Miracle got no higher.
Hue & Cry – “Violently” (29)
Also in th studio tonight and the song peaked at number 21.
Natalie Cole – “Miss You Like Crazy” (5) (video)
On her way to number 2.
Stevie Nicks – “Rooms On Fire” (21)
Was this her studio debut? Taken from her top three album, The Other Side of the Mirror, this became her biggest, and only to 40 hit, when it peaked at number 16.
London Boys – “Requiem” (4)
Leaping all over the stage for a second time but the song was now at is peak.
Kylie Minogue – “Hand On Your Heart” (1) (video)
Just the one week at number one.
Stefan Dennis – “Don’t It Make You Feel Good” (22) (video/credits)
Another one of the Neighbours, but this was Stefan's only top 40 hit and it peaked at number 16.
18th May is next.
An excitable crowd seems to enliven the normally staid Bruno, who misses no opportunity to remind us that the show is LIVE. He also mentions how good the weather was at the time, and indeed May '89 was the start of a long hot summer that furnished me with some fond childhood memories.
ReplyDeleteSwing Out Sister return after a long absence, packing out the stage and, as Angelo says, giving us a tune with a distinct 60s easy listening vibe, though Corinne declines to trade in her usual bob for a beehive! I haven't heard this song in years, and it's not bad at all, though unfortunately rather drowned out here by the loudly clapping audience. Corinne's leopard-skin shawl comes loose towards the end, but she deftly tosses it back over her shoulder. I think that Yazz performance was new, but only because I don't recall her handing out flowers to the audience first time round - otherwise it feels identikit in every way.
Queen are also back after a long time away, and even at the time I remember thinking that Freddie didn't look quite right, even though his illness was of course a secret; he actually grew that beard to cover up the skin blemishes that were an early symptom of his AIDS. Musically this is typical Queen bombast, but somehow more likeable than many other of their records that are in a similar vein. I wasn't expecting to see Hue and Cry again, but here they are with a song that fully lives up to its unpromising title, being less than stellar; the only vaguely memorable thing about the performance is Greg Kane's club shirt.
I never thought we would see Stevie Nicks in the TOTP studio, but here she is looking resplendent in red, rather than her normal black witchy outfits, and also doing without the long mic stand she uses in concert which she always has covered in long dangly strips of crepe. In truth Stevie was well past her creative peak by this time, and drug abuse had also taken its toll on her voice, but this is still a decent pop-rock tune. The London Boys deliver a second studio turn which feels a bit more restrained than the previous one, but still contains lashings of camp.
Kylie is at number 1 with a colourful video and a hairdo that is reminiscent of a 1940s Hollywood starlet, but I think I preferred her studio performance. We finish with another of her Neighbours co-stars jumping on the band wagon she had launched, but in Stefan's case it was a deeply ill-advised move. The song is bad enough, the clunky production presumably designed to hide the inadequacies of his vocals, and the way he crams all the words of the title into what feels like one long composite word is cringeworthy. However, the video is possibly even worse, as he emotes his way through what looks strongly like a brothel - definitely a prime contender for turkey of the year...
In fact the last time Queen was in the charts before this new entry at No.3, was with Who Wants To Live Forever, which only got to No.24 in September 1986, so it was nearly three years until this next hit in 1989. Surprised they made it back with a new album in 1989, considering what Freddie Mercury was going through since his AIDS diagnosis in 1985/86 I think.
DeleteI think this was indeed Stevie Nicks first ever appearance on TOTP, even throughout her Fleetwood Mac tenure since her debut in the band in 1975. However, the first incarnation of Fleetwood Mac with Peter Green were indeed on TOTP in 1969 with Albatross, but I think it was a whole 20 years till 1989 with this Stevie Nicks solo debut on TOTP, that any of the Fleetwood Mac members appeared in the TOTP studio, as we had got used to only seeing them in their videos.
swing out sister's second album was very much influenced by jim webb to my recollection, although i never thought it a patch on their debut (it seemed others agreed, as it was a charity shop staple a while back). there was a half-decent instrumental on it though called "the kaleidoscope affair", which was more in the vein of burt bacharach. this may hve preceded the mid-90's easy listening revival which inspired the likes of the mike flowers pops and corduroy, but it has a very similar sound. i also note that the "spare prick at a wedding" drummer had cleared his desk by this point!
DeleteI believe this was a second studio performance by Yazz, albeit probably recorded on a separate date and then inserted to this show.
DeleteSwing Out Sister make a belated return with a tune that owes something to The Fifth Dimension (or Up Up and Away in My Beautiful Balloon, anyway) but is actually a really good pop tune, heralding summer in a way that should have been bigger. The stage reaches Showaddywaddy levels of overmanning (did we need the bloke on tambourine?).
ReplyDeleteAccording to Bruno this is Shawka Kawn up next, my aren't we posh? Anyway, it's the horrible remix of Climb Every Woman, and the video has been remixed too, confusingly with a muscular male torso which doesn't exactly indicate female universality.
I wasn't sure if this was a new appearance by Yazz either, but like John G I think the posy was new, not that it really matters because it's more of the same. Surprised it reached the teens, to be honest.
Queen with an in your face ditty about unleashed avarice, soaring vocals, guitar solos, and so on, but nothing they hadn't done before and sounding like a band out of ideas. Freddie remained a trouper, however.
Hue and Cry, who was tempted to call this Violently Ill, then? Oh-so-clever brutal title married to lilting, sappy melody, and Pat is even more like a pub singer, but the best you can say is it's inoffensive.
Bit more of Natalie Cole than last time she was on, this did surprisingly well considering it was a Whitney knock-off, but compared to the horde of other things La Houston inspired, I find it far preferable. Maybe it's the yearning lyrics and plaintive melody, but I like it.
Stevie Nicks with another hit that was maybe a surprise, the melody is nice enough but my goodness those lyrics needed more work. Who sings "If I do say so myself!" for heaven's sake? Her nasal stylings do little for some very silly words, but I don't mind it as long as I concentrate on the music.
The London Boys back and fighting a losing battle against the dry ice. We can barely see their signature flip!
Then Kylie at the top slot, and we get the video where she strolls around in figure-hugging dresses of various hues. It looks pretty cheap - wasn't she earning an absolute fortune yet? Guess she didn't want to splash the cash on stuff like this.
To end, as Bruno is swamped by hysterical women, we get the best thing on the show - no, only joking, no idea why Stefan Dennis thought a music career was a great move, but here we are. It wasn't.
I was a little disappointed that this Chaka Khan re-issue 10 years after it first charted in 1979, was meddled with by putting in clips from the I Feel For You video which was a No.1 for her in 1984. It really wasn't necessary to mix the two videos, as the original I'm Every Woman video from 1979 was quite good.
DeleteTend to disagree with John G about the Kylie studio performance on last week's show being better than the video when at No.1 on this week's show. The video with Kylie wearing the same dress in three different colours - blue red, and yellow, was a piece of video heaven. Did we really want to see those male dancers from her TOTP studio performance outflanking her by sheer height? No thanks, as Kylie being one of those lovelies in the late 1980s was much better suited to being the focus of attention, so the video with her figure-hugging dresses scored much more highly than last week's studio performance. Sorry John.
i don't recall ever hearing the remix of "i'm every woman", but as i think the original is one of the greatest disco tracks ever i don't think i want to! however i did like whitney houston's house cover that came out a few years further on (for those unaware a teenage whitney did backing vocals on the original version, and i think chaka returned the favour)
Delete@wilberforce: Stay away from the '89 Chaka remix! I can't think of one of those remixes that improved on the original, and this was no exception.
Deletedon't worry thx, i shan't be going there!
Deleteby chance i have just come across an 80's remix of another disco classic ("movin" by brass construction) on my computer that was given to me by a chum a while back, and a few seconds was more than enough to make me reach out for the delete button like a starving man grabbing a sandwich!
DeleteDory - I thought the Kylie video was a bit boring, despite the colour, but each to their own...
DeleteSwing Out Sister - pleasant song that wouldn’t be out of place on an Andy Williams album...
ReplyDeleteBit OTT from the crowd in the background of the links
Queen - as mentioned by other punters, with hindsight, Freddie not looking well
Hue and Cry - bit ploddy (especially following the Queen track)
Stevie Nicks - nice outfit, abandoning her usual flowy blacks. Could so easily have been a Fleetwood Mac track....
Stefan Dennis - sounds like a song Falco rejected as too cxxp
RIP Genesis P-Orridge, never on TOTP unsurprisingly, but one of the real characters in British music for years, even with the insanely unfriendly Throbbing Gristle - a name once heard, never forgotten.
ReplyDeletethrobbing gristle used to get featured quite a lot in the likes of "sounds" and "the NME" in the late 70's/early 80's, although of course like many i never actually heard any of their music at the time. many years later after i had a chat with a fan of theirs i checked out their album "20 jazz-funk greats" on yt, even though i realised of course that it would be a jazz-funk-free zone (it was mostly unlistanable noise in my view). oh, and there's only 11 tracks on it too - what wags they were!
Deletealso don't forget that in later years he (or rather s/he) drastically experimented in transgender/androgyny surgery a la pete burns:
Deletehttps://i.pinimg.com/736x/9b/ff/8b/9bff8b15637abd5193e0816f44d0b203--gender-bender-manchester-england.jpg
Yes, he/she attempted to become like "one person" with his/her wife through surgery. Then she died, so I don't know where that left him/her, but it was all a bit sad, really.
Delete20 Jazz Funk Greats has the classic cover of the band all dressed up and presentable at Beachy Head - chosen because it was a popular suicide spot! Hilarious, I'm sure...
Bruno and a very excitable audience with a live show tonight that's fairly seemless for a change.
ReplyDeleteA very lucky Swing Out Sister open with a sixties throwback after going down the charts last week. “You On My Mind” is a very fine song indeed and no cheetahs were harmed in the making of this show..
A bit more od old Chaka Khan clips this week. Who didn't own a copy of this already. Candi Staton is watching and wondering how many times she can have the same hit as well...
Yazz on repeat. Nice try Bruno.. Fooling nobody.
Queen seem to have been away for ages but what a comeback. “I Want It All” is a storming rock song with a fairly bog standard Queen video. I think The Miracle is a fine album with a much more mature sound. Enjoyed this. They have gone the way of other rock and heavy metal bands though with a limited fanbase who get them a high new entry, then the single crashes down the charts quite quickly. Less interest from the general record buying public.
Hue & Cry up next with a brand new pronunciation of “Vi-o-lently” that didn't catch on. Sorry lads, liked your previous stuff but this is pure cheese.
Natalie Cole on her way to Number 2..crikey.
The oddly dressed Stevie Nicks up next with a very fine tune indeed. In fact the whole album is rather good. A Wifey purchase at the time and still gets a spin every now and again. “Rooms On Fire”
London Boys back with bright yellow trousers but a repeat of the previous routine. Requiem was a bigger hit tham I remembered. Number 4 very impressive.
Kylie at the top. Its all done with mirrors in the video with a lovely red, yellow and blue dress theme.
Oh dear Stefan. “Don’t It Make You Feel Good?" Nope makes me wanna turn off the TV. Sorry SAW you can't make everyone on TV a star..
Happy 35th Birthday 🎂 to Neighbours this week.. 3 Deaths, 5 Weddings... I see what you did there... 😀
Queen's chart run - 3, 5, 9 ,18, 31, 53, 73. A bit Iron Maiden-ish.
DeleteMr Brookes makes a good job of solo hosting this show where he gets to introduce some music legends (and Stefan Dennis).
ReplyDeleteSwing out Sister – You are on my mind – Sister here reminds me of Sandie Shaw. Thought their hits had dried up but no, and they’d return with a cover of Dusty’s ‘Am I the same Girl’ three years later. As for this; pretty non-descript really, but not a bad way to start….and a lot of musicians on the stage.
Chaka Khan – I’m every Woman – Yawn…
Yazz – Where has all the love gone – The only way is down.
Queen – I want it all – Listen to Brian May’s commentary on the greatest hits DVD and he points out that this was the first of the singles released after the band knew Freddie was ill. At the time, you didn’t really bat an eyelid but I did think it strange that there was no ‘Miracle’ tour. This, of course is one of Queen’s iconic rocking anthems. Written by Brian about Anita Dobson’s motto apparently! We’re denied the slower bridge section on this showing “I’m a man with a one track mind….” sung by Brian and Freddie as a mini duet. Classic.
Hue and Cry – Violently – Don’t really get the appeal of H&C really and this was dull. Would have preferred more of Queen instead.
Stevie Nicks – Rooms on Fire – Wow! Did Stevie just happen to be passing by in town? Never realised that she made it to the ToTP studio. Prior Nicks solo offerings had been largely ignored in the UK (but were massive in the States) but she hit the mark with this single and album. Usual flowing dress on both her and her ethereal backing singers.
Natalie Cole – Miss you like crazy – As per two weeks ago, I just love this….also chopped before the bridge section. The video is interesting only for seeing Natalie keep alternating her frock.
London Boys – Requiem – Oh boy this is so infectious! Some vague hints of classical music buried in this I just love hearing this. A kind of two piece Village People image. Not unsurprisingly this was the 27th bestselling single of 1989 pipping the no1 ‘Sealed with a Kiss’ by Jason Donavan (which we’ve yet to endure). Actually looking in the year chart we’ve still got some superb records to come in 1989 (hi there Linda and Aaron!).
Kylie Minogue – Hand on you Heart – The only interesting thing I found in this is Kylie’s alternating heart dress – blue, red and yellow (but no green). I think I like the red one best. The song just doesn’t seem worthy to reach no1, but I can’t deny it shifted a lot of copies as it was the 10th biggest seller of 1989.
Stefan Dennis – Don’t it make you feel good – Not at all.
Stevie's Edge of Seventeen started getting a lot more play on UK radio after Destiny's Child sampled it. There is even a (pretty decent) film named after it.
DeleteHi Anonymous! I'm back again with this week's request. Have you got any original archive versions of the following shows, all from 1978? They are 9/02, 24/08 and 14/12. Also have you got either the original versions or the BBC4 repeats of 25/12/86, 2/07/87 and 9/07/87 as I missed them when BBC4 showed them. Cheers!
ReplyDeleteSorry nothing from 1978, but here are the bbc4 versions of other three.
Deletehttps://we.tl/t-fgqDManLfk
Great stuff, Anonymous! Thanks for these.
ReplyDeleteSorry for the tardy response this week. A combination of family matters, preparing for unwanted self-isolation (including a spree of panic shopping thanks to the ‘old girl’) and a stressful mad rush ‘working from home’ directive which didn’t happen (we were meant to start working from home tomorrow but were told to turn up to the office in the morning instead, ten minutes before home time!!).
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I didn’t quite catch it, Trev – is this show live? And can you get a suit which fits you – like, four sizes smaller?
Best song of the night to start with, as Swing Out Sister embrace their 60’s side. They’re still going and released a pretty good jazz album last year. A bit of a cheater (cheetah – geddit?) as this had gone down the mugshots then bounced up a bit to get an airing. Not complaining, mind you.
Charka Khan, Trev? Is that really how you pronounce Yvette Stevens’s alter ego? She’d changed facially between 1979 and 1984 as you could see from the unwarranted video mash-up.
Seen that all before, Yazz, and this song had blossomed and peaked. Pleasant enough, though.
“I Want It All”? I want it off my screen. FF.
On this showing, Hue and Cry was Scottish rhyming slang for (outrageous) shirt and tie. Very lazy rhyming in the chorus as violently rhymes with gently for starters.
“Miss You Like Crazy”? Miss this, no like, FF.
A bit of a coup next with Stevie Nicks in the strangest airhostess garb you’ll ever see, singing “I’d Rather Twirl Than Reynolds Girl”. In parts the bassline reminded me of “Mary’s Prayer” by Danny Wilson.
London Boys in home and away kits, with a man bikini top to boot, and the usual energetic performance.
Another high budget video for Kylie with her 50’s style bouffant again.
A Neighbours double to end with, and THIS is the future of rock and roll. “Donna Make Ya Feel Good” indeed. Did he really sing the line “You love me and me love you”???
Now, where’s that “Protect and Survive” video gone?
arthur you've reminded me of that 80's nuclear devastation drama "threads", but although i remember watching it back then to my recollection i didn't feel anywhere near as much concern as i do now for making sure i don't have to wipe my bottom with my bare hand!
Deletewhat a shame that stevie nicks didn't turn up to the totp studio at the same time as the reynolds girls. would they have given her some stick in person if so? of course the irony in using them as an example of a dinosaur act was that with the "tango in the night" album they were making music with as much contemporary feel and production as the hipsters!
DeleteGutted!
ReplyDeletehttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-51870325
Just watch Live Report from the previous show. I'm sure that'll make you feel, er, better!
DeleteBlimey, here I am late yet again...
ReplyDeleteSwing Out Sister - This is a good tune that should've done much better.
Queen - I liked it at the time but now I'm a bit fed up of it since (as with about 50% of their back catalogue) it gets licenced for adverts all the time.
Hue & Cry - Mrs Noax really likes this one for some reason. I don't.
Stevie Nicks - Whereas Mrs Noax can't stand this lady's voice, and I don't mind it at all. The song has aged rather better than most of the others on this show, that's for sure!
Stefan Dennis - So bad that it's hilarious. The video even more so. Who can blame him for jumping on the Neighbours bandwagon though?