This 30th of May 1991 edition of Top of the Pops is not being shown on BBC4 due to The Doors not being covered by the BBC's Performing Rights Society agreement, so a huge thanks to Anonymous for making it available here at WeTransfer.
You can also stream it here at YouTube.
Over and shout
30-5-91: Presenter: Anthea Turner
(12) TECHNOTRONIC feat. REGGIE – Move That Body
Getting the show underway but the song got no higher.
(21) M.C. HAMMER – Yo! Sweetness (video)
Peaked at number 16.
(25) POP WILL EAT ITSELF – 92 Degrees F
Went up two more places.
(28) SONIA – Only Fools (Never Fall In Love)
Became her third and final top ten hit when it peaked at number 10.
(27) KRAFTWERK – The Robots (video)
Returning to the charts after eight years away, this tune peaked at number 20.
(32) SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES – Kiss Them For Me
In the studio but the song got no higher.
(5) AMY GRANT – Baby Baby
In the studio and on her way to number 2.
(10) KYLIE MINOGUE – Shocked
Also here tonight and on her way to number 6.
(1) CHER – The Shoop Shoop Song (It’s In His Kiss) (video)
Fifth and final week at number one.
(29) THE DOORS – Light My Fire (video) (and credits)
Had peaked at number 49 in 1967, this time around it made it to number 7.
June 6th is next.
MC Hammer - this time sampling Cameo's 1986 Top 3 smash hit Word Up to get success in 1991 with his new single Yo Sweetness, he does quite a good job of it, but there seems to be a trend here with MC Hammer in that he needs sampling of other people's tunes to get him started on his own tune.
ReplyDeleteInteresting video again, and need to watch it in full this weekend to see whether he pulls the voluptuous hottie.
Kraftwerk - I wonder whether this tune and video was new material for 1991, as at first I thought it was an old video re-released, but their back catalogue since 1975 when they had their first single in the UK charts, does not show any entries for this single Robots.
Siouxsie & The Banshees, - wow she has been going 13 years since her debut single in 1978, and running nearly as long as Krafterwork since 1975, we see two 70s icons in a row on a 1991 TOTP show. The chart history books go on to say that she continued until 1995 with new chart material before calling it a day, so she's not done just yet on TOTP!
Kylie Minogue - at No.10 and next door to sister Dannii stick at No.11 this week, its like Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak occupying No.10 & No.11 Downing Street at the moment. Well I'd rather have the Minogue sisters anyday! Surprising to see the female rapper on this tune segregated to the balcony, and not on stage with Minogue and her dancers, but I think that Kylie wanted the full spotlight on the stage with her sexy outfit, and no-one to outflank her, which could very easily have happened here, so good call Kylie.
Wait till we get to MC Hammer's Addams Groove for the true insanity of the man's sampling habit. Also features Christina Ricci in the video, as seen here in Cher's.
DeleteAlso just wanted to thank Anonymous for furnishing this show for us when BBC4 skipped it tonight and went straight to June 1991. I'll miss Anthea Turner as this is her last show as TOTP presenter, and I must say she was one of the better ones on the presenters roster.
ReplyDeleteThanks Anonymous for this. A good show it was. Anthea's last and I'll miss her. She got better and better as time went on and ended up both friendly and cooly professional. Even rubbish things seemed exciting when she introduced them.
ReplyDeleteTechnotronic; A racy start with some horse riding (or something) to illustrate a sort of raunchy remake of the Hokey Cokey. Certainly sexier than The Snowmen. Can't say it's much better than that single but the singer / rapper was very eye catching.
Anthea ends the performance by telling Radio 1 listeners what they didn't see. Informative to the end. Fortunately she doesn't spend anymore of her last minutes on the show doing that.
MC Hammer; Very unmemorable rap hectoring with a video that sees Hammer trying to impress a woman in a club by being a loud extrovert git. The video rolls away before we find out if it worked. Her last expression suggests it hasn't.
Pop Will Eat Itself; The co singer in prison costume I didn't recognise from the last appearance. Was he from another Grebo band? His vocal spot gives Clint more opportunity to lurch about and punch the air, not that singing is any kind of barrier to any of that. Can't remember the tune but it seemed fun.
Sonia; Guilty pleasure time! I really like this one. Apparently it was written for Diana Ross and it does have a great Supremes feel to it. Brilliant chorus and it just feels like a perfect vehicle for her and a joyous middle finger to her detractors. Good on her.
Kraftwerk; Looking and sounding totally out of place on the show which I'm sure is how they would've wanted it. Is this their only actual appearance as a group on Totp? 'The Model' I think was a montage of old film clips.
Siouxie and the Banshees; Always great to see an appearance by them. Siouxie looks fabulous as ever, one of the best dressed pop stars of all time. I'm wondering if the tabla player is a young Talvin Singh.
Amy Grant; For me probably the highlight of the show. Less of the rather false smileyness that's in the video and just a really cool performance. She kind of resembles a young Brian May when she looks serious. I realise there's no way of making that seem complimentary but, er, it is.
Kylie Minogue; Kylie gives us another raunchy dance routine as she nears the end of her time with SAW. A bit underwhelming this one because too much of it (the best bits) sound like 'Play That Funky Music'. Oh the rapper's up on the gantry. Novel.
Cher; Last time till the Christmas show. Next single is a belter.
So goodbye Anthea. She doesn't say it's her last but the announcement,"there is no more" gives it away perhaps. Sometimes a little overexcited but always dignified.
So then.
The Doors; It is then the appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, Sept 17th 1967. What a thing to finish with! I'm not even a great fan of them but to me that's arguably the greatest music TV clip of all time. The one that got them banned from being on that show ever again and which is rather cornily portrayed in the film.
Way better than the single. Short, to the point, a devastatingly powerful vocal from Morrison and an organ part that perhaps sounds like the way it should've been played. I always think Manzarek messes up the intro on the single. Shame it fades out with only a little bit to go. Still that is quite some ending. Thanks!
Took the time to watch the MC Hammer video in full, and he does indeed pull at the end of the video, but not without very hard work and help from his friends, where the dance action moves away from the dance floor to the alley outside the nightclub.
DeleteThe feature girl in the video with the red minidress finally has a smile on her face as they leave the rest of Hammer's friends who have also found new girlfriends to dance with. I still prefer Reggie on Technotronic's opener to the show, and agree she was very eye-catching. More Reggie please!
Should have shown the show just cutting it short after Cher- indeed the next week's prog over-ran by a couple of minutes, so under-running wouldn't have been a problem.
ReplyDeleteTechnotronic nowhere to be seen on the stage, they must have been dedicated backroom boys, but Reggie is well to the fore with an enthusiastic workout, though what bestriding the dancers Harvey Smith style was supposed to mean is a mystery.
ReplyDeleteMC Hammer spoils Cameo's Word Up, and does he care? Not a jot. Bizarrely, the "Yo sweetness is my weakness!" refrain was adopted by Michelle Gayle a few years later for her biggest hit, and nobody noticed where she'd cribbed it from.
The Poppies with a tune that taught Carter USM all they knew, but other than that, it sounds like a band winding down somewhat. Typically 110% in their performance, imagine what their concerts must have been like.
Sonia goes Supremes as she edges closer to the dumper, but comes across a bit more Phil Collins. A lot jollier than her last effort, it's how we preferred to see her, no matter the mournful lyrics.
Kraftwerk revamp their old material for their remix album The Mix, and this is the lead track off it, a more punchy The Robots. It succeeds pretty well, in fact the whole album isn't bad at all, the remix of Radioactivity probably the track that's endured the best on that one. And they really are robots in the video!
Heard this Siouxsie and the Banshees track on the radio this week, and it's been lodged in my head ever since. She's as intense as ever in performance, and the Indian vibes complement her vocals. This would have been really good to see on BBC4.
Amy Grant, however, I'm not too bothered about. Squeaky clean to the point of making your teeth itch, although those 1985 shoulder pads are quite the fashion statement.
Then someone who used to be squeaky clean, until Michael Hutchence got his mitts on her, Kylie aiming straight for the house/G.A.Y. clubbing crowd. Only the rap seems out of place (can't Kylie rap?). Again, much talcum powder on hand for the outfit.
Cher's hymn to the kissability of Bob Hoskins finally bids us adieu, then the reason I had to watch this on YouTube, The Doors, with Jim looking ever so slightly out of it but everyone else opting for professionalism. It's really Ray that makes this track what it is, but Jim's haunted vocals do contribute. Annie Nightingale called him a total poseur.
Kylie was going out with model Zane O'Donnell at the time (having dumped JD) and Zane was in the video for this and the previous single. Michael was still to come...
DeleteSounds like I'm rewriting history, then! So the path to filth was already underway? That recent Hutchence documentary made it look like it was all his idea.
DeleteGreat episode, apart from MC Hammer's boring effort, and the lacklustre dying breaths of Technotronic. (Bring back Ya Kid K!)
ReplyDeleteOther than that lots of my faves with PWEI, Siouxsie, Amy Grant and Kylie (wearing what we always used to call a 'Kylie band' in her hair) plus Pauline off Big Brother. Enjoy the Sonia track too, it's one of those 'oh THAT one' songs. Kraftwerk a good reworking. I wouldn't mind the Doors but boooo to the people who own their rights for not letting us ser this one on TV, so thanks Anonymous and YouTube person!
Three singles unlucky not to make the Top 40, and peaking this week just outside:
ReplyDeleteNo.54 - Mariah Carey - There's Got To Be A Way
Mariah doesn't seem to be making any headway in the UK charts since her debut single in 1990 called Vision Of Love, as a recent run of two follow-up singles could only get to the 30-40 section of the chart. However this third follow up was the first not make Top 40, but we all know that soon her fortunes over here were to change towards superstardom. We're just not there yet.
No.59 - The Rolling Stones - Ruby Tuesday (Live)
A new live version released in 1991 must have coincided with a new concert or live album I would imagine, as this tune was almost 30 years old even by 1991!
No.72 - Alison Moyet - Wishing You Were Here
Moyet must have been writing postcards on holiday.
No.72 as peak position for this one turned out to be her worst result since her debut single in 1984 with Love Resurrection, but she would keep trying with new singles until 1995 when she finally called it a day.
Anthea’s certainly not saying it’s her last show…wonder if she knew? She certainly had toned her style down from the early excitable shows so, like others, I will miss her.
ReplyDeleteTechnotronic – Move that Body, MC Hammer – Yo! Sweetness, Pop will eat itself – 92 degrees F
…..Skipped all three.
Sonia – Only Fools (never fall in love) – Nice song co-written by Tony Hillier from the Brotherhood of Man. Sonia’s hair looks bigger!
Kraftwerk – The Robots – Now then, what have we here? This was the opening track on the 1978 album ‘The Man Machine’ from which ‘The Model’ was taken. Great opening intro it had there. But this version sounds decidedly inferior. Wonder what propelled it into the charts?
Souixsie and the Banshees – Kiss them for me – Devoid of the usual garish make up this doesn’t feel like the usual sound and is quite good but not good enough for the top30 obviously.
Amy Grant – Baby Baby – Great stuff, pleased and surprised that it got so high and nice to see Amy all in black in the studio.
Kylie Minogue – Shocked – SAW still, but not one of their best despite the fancy routine and rapper on the gallery.
Cher – Shoop Shoop Song – I made the most of this at No1 before next week’s dip in quality.
Doors – Light my Fire – So this is what the show was not broadcast for. It’s amazing that they could show old clips like Free the other week but not this.. Anyway I enjoyed it and it prompted me to listen to a track from the posthumous album ‘An American Prayer’ that ‘Little’ Nicky Horne used to play repeatedly…’Roadhouse Blues’. I had forgotten all about it since 1978.
Free were covered by the BBC's umbrella PRS agreement whereas The Doors weren't. The Doors got banned from the Ed Sulllivan Show after this fo refusing to re-write the lyric "Girl, we couldn't get much higher", though you could pretend to argue the lyrics mean 'higher emotionally'.
DeleteThanks for clarifying Arthur. Hope no more shows fall foul of this..
DeleteTo expand on Arthur, Wixen Music UK who also own's Neil Young and Journey catalogue don't allow the BBC to play their songs on TV.
DeleteWixen Music UK own's The Doors Catalogue as well as the ones listed above and is affected by what's described above.
Deletenot that journey are likely to be heard anyway, but is there a reason why this wixen company won't allow any of the artists whose music they have control of to be played on the beeb?
Deletei would have thought anyone who owns copyright on vintage recordings would be more than happy to allow their stuff to be played in those circumstances for peanuts (or even gratis) as it in effect unpaid-for publicity, with punters watching or listening possibly reacting by thinking "oh yes, i remember liking that tune - i shall buy an mp3 download of it from the internet". which almost certainly wouldn't happen otherwise!
two cliches come to mind here:
1 - look at the bigger picture
2 - losing the battle in order to win the war
Big thanks to Anonymous and the YouTube helper.
ReplyDeleteI’ll rock the boat here and say I was glad to see the back of Shouty. Had I been the new look show’s producer I would’ve kept Gaz, Si and Jakki, and possibly Hey Wow Mark, and dropped the other three Radio 1 DJ’s like a stone.
Oo! A bleeped out word near the start of Technotronic. Incredible female clobber and lots of movement for a meh number.
Yet another MC Hammer video where he’s dressed like a mutant admiral, there are loads of people frugging around, and he ruins another act’s track in the process.
EMF’s uncles are back. The song not as criminal as that blokes’ outfit and, as mentioned, PWEI sound pre-Carter.
Ah, is it “Mambo No. 5” next? No, it’s Sonia (“we’re short of studio acts this week, lads, get Sonia out of her trailer”) and the SAWpremes. Ahem.
Art with a capital F next for Kraftwerk’s speak and spell synth disco.
A great intro for Siouxsie (“up just one place” – thanks, Turnoff!), who wasn’t afraid to mix it up a bit and change styles. This knocked Boy George’s recent Asiatic effort into a cocked turban.
An out of hours slot which makes Amy Grant more patable than in her saccharine video. Obviously American – check the jacket sleeve tassels.
The second episode of the emergence of SexKylie. Easy there, gal!
FF Cher. The Doors – wankers.
Apparently the bleeped out word near the start of Technotronic was 'joint' according to the comments section on the utube poster of this show.
DeleteI found out recently that favourite dance single 'More and More' by Captain Hollywood Project gets a studio appearance (yes!) and therefore I assume one line will be broadcasted as; 'smoke it like it's a...bleep!'
DeleteI meant to Say Amy Grant was more palatable, but she was probably more patable too!
ReplyDeleteThanks to anonymous for keeping us up to date...
ReplyDeleteTechnotronic - Enjoyed this more the second time around, though that was due to the rather suggestive dance I couldn't possibly comment...
MC Hammer - Another nail in the coffin of his career (did you see what I did there?). Couldn't quite catch enough of the high pitched riff playing in the background, but was that from one of his earlier hits? [Pre post look through comments - aha! thank you Dory, Word Up!]
Pop Will Eat Itself - My favourite PWEI track, which reinvented them from a grebo band to dance, Def Con One, barely scratched the charts, but this one gets to 23... It's ok...
Sonia - Like a poor karaoke version of 'You Cant Hurry Love' ripoff. Pass. [pre post - ok, written for Diana Ross, that explains the tune...]
Krafwerk - released to advertise their Mixes album, the original was vastly superior...
Siouxsie and the Banshees - Don't remember it. Another 'OK'.. The background riff reminds me of something [pre post - no help on the background riff there. Is it just me?]
Amy Grant - Fairly average journey into US teen songstress country...
Kylie - could have lost the rap. Another average song that kept my attention with the suggestive peformance. Sign of my age I guess...
Doors - classic toon. Not sure what the owners gain from not licensing it - especially since the video is easily accessible via YouTube. Strange that they cut off the last few seconds...
So its the end for Shouty Anthea. She was always full of energy and gave her all but she is the definition of "Jack of all trades, master of none" (see Fearne Cotton for a modern version).
ReplyDeleteShe was even on Channel 5s "Biggest hits of 1991" show a few weeks ago saying how sick her and the other TOTP presenters got of introducing Bryan Adams at No.1 when she didn't even do it once! Anything for a TV spot. TOTPs gain of course is Blue Peters loss.
TECHNOTRONIC feat. REGGIE – Move That Body still as bad as when I watched the video 10 minutes ago
Well I'm seeing a compete lack of enthusiasm from the backing dancers.. I've got better moves than that now. Oh dear...
M.C. HAMMER – Yo! Sweetness
Now this is how to put some energy into the dancing! Do you think the ladies were impressed?
Not the Hammers finest hour.
POP WILL EAT ITSELF – 92 Degrees
This is more like it. Always loved PWEI singles. They burnt bright and then were gone. Great fun.
SONIA – Only Fools (Never Fall In Love)
She's gone sixties on us. I do actually quite like this. Decent little pop song. Sonia was on TV this weekend championing caravan holidays. Bless her.
KRAFTWERK – The Robots
Is this a remix? Can't remember if we've had this before. That hook sounds really familiar. Who nicked that? Gonna drive me mad now.
Peek-A-Boo SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES are back. Kiss Them For Me a riot of noise and weird looks. Glorious stuff.
AMY GRANT – Baby Baby
When did Amy pop by? Great to see her in the studio. Never realised this got quite so high but I'm glad it did. Big fan of this one. Nice chicken dance in the middle Amy.
KYLIE MINOGUE – Shocked
With female rapper. She's so cool. Maybe.
Cracking tune remixed by DNA and she's looking rather lovely as well. What would Madge say? Rapper or Kylie's bum? The Director can't decide 😜
Au reviour CHER
THE DOORS – Light My Fire
How was this not a hit first time around?
Those songs flew by tonight.. sure some of them only got 2 minutes..