7 ways to top, 7 ways to top, 7 ways to top, 7 ways to top, 7 ways to the 4th of July 1991 edition of Top of the Pops!
Wham!
4-7-91: Presenter: Gary Davies
(9) INCOGNITO feat. JOCELYN BROWN – Always There
Getting the show underway and the song went up three more places
(26) NATALIE COLE & NAT ‘KING’ COLE – Unforgettable (video) (and charts)
Peaked at number 19.
(17) COLA BOY – 7 Ways To Love
In the studio tonight but this was their only hit and it peaked at number 8.
(22) ANTHRAX feat. CHUCK D – Bring The Noise (video)
Peaked at number 14.
(35) KIM APPLEBY – Mama
In the studio to perform her third and final solo top 40 hit and it peaked at number 19.
(30) HEAVY D. & THE BOYZ – Now That We Found Love (video)
Their only top 40 hit and it peaked at number 2.
(36) QUEENSRYCHE – Best I Can (video) (Breakers)
Got no higher.
(33) C & C MUSIC FACTORY – Things That Make You Go Hmmm (video) (Breakers)
Their second and final top ten hit and it peaked at number 4.
(31) BILLY BRAGG – Sexuality (video) (Breakers)
Peaked at number 27.
(37) JESUS LOVES YOU – Generations Of Love (video)
Went up two more places.
(27) VANILLA ICE – Rollin’ In My 5.0 (video)
Got no higher.
(1) JASON DONOVAN – Any Dream Will Do (video)
Second and final week at number one.
(32) WHITNEY HOUSTON – My Name Is Not Susan (video) (and credits)
Peaked at number 29.
11th of July is next.
Cola Boy - boy how I like Angelo's caption this week. I was expecting a male singer, but we got a Cola girl and how good she looked. Song was good too, and I believe this was the one and only appearance on TOTP for Cola Boy for 7 Ways To Love, so they had to get through all 7 ways in one appearance. Hard work that.
ReplyDeleteHeavy D & The BoyZ - love this new 90's version with rap, and the Boyz did a very good job on the single and the video. Still, the original in 1978 by Third World is by far the best, but in those days not all groups had a video to go with their tune, and this new one by Heavy D and The Boyz turned out to be one of the best tunes of 1991.
Jesus Loves You - how this got a main slot ahead of some of The Breakers this week above them in the chart is not entirely surprising as they went up only one position to No.37 this week so it was last chance saloon, and also considering that their last single Bow Down Mister didn't survive long in the top 40 last time round, so TOTP got to this follow-up quickly as main slot on the show to bolster their fortunes, being a new Boy George project. Suffice to say that the public were still not impressed, as it only got to No.35 at peak the following week.
Whitney Houston - we know her name is not Susan, but this playout tune went up only three more places to No.29 the following week, and so missed out on a main slot on the show, so we won't see this one again, so enjoy it on the playout as much as possible.
Jocelyn was massive in the clubs, actually she was pretty massive in the studio too. Anyway, a top of the voice dance number, full of energy but not really my cup of tea.
ReplyDeleteCreepiest tune of the night, Natalie duetting with her long-dead dad, now they're both dead, of course. Something a bit uncomfortable about this one, it's no Somethin' Stupid by Frank and Nancy.
Cola Boy were really Saint Etienne under a pseudonym, so about to enjoy a lot of success. The singer (mimer?) here was Janey Lee Grace of Steve Wright Big Show fame. As for the tune, not their best, but I was amused by the xylophone freakout two thirds of the way through. Nice, though.
YES. One of the singles of the year, I have this on CD, Chuck D (and Flavor Flav, no show without Punch) team up with Anthrax's crunching guitars and hammering drums to deliver a monster of a track. It had already been a hit for Public Enemy in its original incarnation, but weirdly I do prefer this one, it's just great.
Kim Appleby anticipating The Spice Girls with a tribute her dear old mum, it's a sincere song but a bit cheesy. After this she decided she couldn't cut it anymore and retired from the limelight.
Gah, Heavy D and the Boys, you could not get away from this track in the summer of 91 and it drove me up the wall. Listening to it now, it's still kind of annoying. Would have been Number 1 except for another overplayed record.
Breakers, Queensryche using more synth that I would have expected, C&C I expect to hear more of, and Billy Bragg with a great pop tune proving even the indie boys were getting obsessed with sex back then.
For some reason we don't get any of the above in full, but we do get this middling Boy George effort that barely scraped into the top 40. He's gone all flamenco on us - is it still cultural appropriation if that's also from Europe?
Vanilla Ice and his 5.0 dear, he really didn't have any more ideas, did he? Dumper bound anyway, a career of US reality TV awaited.
The Jase video, then a flop from Whitney as her career began to struggle, as did her life. Sort of You've Been Talking in Your Sleep for the R&B generation, and a Whitney song nobody remembers.
That is quite interesting about Saint Etienne under the guise of Cola Boy, as Saint Etienne had only just recently released their debut single a couple of months earlier in May 1991, only getting to No.54, but their lead singer was Sarah Cracknell who appeared with Saint Etienne in the TOTP studio at Christmas 1993 with I Was Born On Christmas Day.
DeleteDo you mean that the miming singer on Cola Boy was not the actual singer on the record, and was it Cracknell of St Etienne who had just started out their chart careers at around the same time as Cola Boy in 1991?
Regarding Boy George being played ahead of The Breakers for a main slot, as I mention above, as the Jesus Loves You project did not get off to a good start with the first single going down straight after they performed in the TOTP studio, and with this second single he had only gone up one place to no.37 to get this main slot, so it was now or never, and I think TOTP felt a bit sorry for the whole project struggling to make it big, so were kind of sympathetic to the cause, as in the normal routine he would have been on The Breakers, and say Billy Bragg would have been first in the queue for a main slot.
Whitney Houston you are correct was in decline with her chart career, and one more single in 1991 only got to no.54, but her revamp the following year saw her return with a big No.1 in 1992 with a famous soundtrack single, which then triggered 17 consecutive singles until 2002 which were all Top 20, so we're in for the long haul with Whitney on TOTP until at least 2002 THX!
Janey Lee Grace was the singer on the Cola Boy single, and that was her miming in the studio, yes.
DeleteSaint Etienne's Bob and Pete teamed with Sarah for their other hits, though I don't think she's on Only Love Can Break Your Heart. Might be wrong.
And yes, Whitney shook up her career with The Bodyguard (another Kevin Costner movie!), though oddly she didn't really capitalise on it after that revival of success. Her acting career didn't take off so well, for example (mind you, neither did Janet Jackson's, to name but one).
Saint Etienne's debut hit was actually called Nothing Can Stop Us Now, with double A-side called Speedwell, which only got to No.54 in May/June 1991, and just a few weeks before Cola Boy charted.
DeleteThe song you are referring to was Saint Etienne's second single called Only Love, which came out just after Cola Boy, in September 1991 and got to No.39 at peak.
"The Bodyguard". The most boring movie I've ever seen along with "Song Of The South". As for the plastic soul singer with no personality at number 32, bitch died on my 50th birthday.
DeleteNo hard feelings, though, eh Arthur?!
DeleteFunny how Song of the South isn't on Disney+, can't think why...
Tee hee! I have to admit I didn't remember Whitney's minor hit on the show before it came on.
DeleteChart rundown - Quadrophonia dip in at No.40 this week with Wave Of The Future and just about get a mention, but they dipped back out of the top 40 the following week, so no TOTP stage for them. Checked out the video and they are in a future burned down with only barren land and fires remaining, although not quite wildfires:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyU6iFX5vOI
Also, some tunes peaking just outside the top 40 this week, and just missing out on the TOTP chart rundown:
No.46 Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Learning To Fly
This is post-Travelling Willberrys era, and seemed to take a leaf out of Jeff Lynne's book with this one in music style.
No.47 - LFO - We Are Back
With a song title like that, I guess they were banking on another top 20 hit, but no.47 is all they could achieve with this one.
No.49 - Chris Rea - Looking For The Summer
Was 1991 not a good summer for weather then? This was Rea's second single in a row to flop outside the top 40, after his more successful Auberge at the beginning of the year.
No.69 - Kool & The Gang - Get Down On It (1991)
New entry this week at 69, and fell out of the Top 75 the following week, but the re-issue craze of 1991 still continues with a new one every week at this point.
Incognito - Very similar to Ride on Time, but one that has endured over the years. It's pretty good but heard it so much that it doesn't feel fresh.
ReplyDeleteNat'n'Nat - I'm never really keen on duets with dead people, though at least it's his daughter. Extra poignancy now they've both passed on, of course.
Cola Boy: THX, I never knew that they involved Saint Etienne and Cola Boy! PS Moira Lambert sang on Only Love Can Break Your Heart, though I could swear I've heard a version with Sarah singing. So either I caught a live show, a rerecorded version, or I've fallen into a full-on Mandela effect.
Kim Appleby - Nah, bring back the punchy pop if 'Don't Worry'. Schmaltzy songs about parents are some of my least favourite songs, it wasn't even timed for mother's day.
Heavy D - ah yes, now we're in summer 91 for real. So much nostalgia for this one.
Breakers - Queensryche isn't that memorable. On the other hand, Things That Make You Go Hmmm has been a constant earworm of mine. Honestly I don't think there's been a week in the last 30 years I haven't had it in my head. Sexuality - well meaning and a catchy tune but some of the lyrics feel quite clumsy.
Jesus Loves You -as oeir Dory, I could understand this getting a main slot if there was a studio performance but weird when it's just the video. Song's a bit dull.
Vanilla Ice - I could have done without his topless dancing. And this dreary track.
JDon - Couldn't turn up in the studio with the coat, eh? He's never been able to escape this though, it's often referenced in his various reality show appearances, and didn't he recently play Potiphar in the stage show?
Whitney - honestly surprised no one has done a 'My name is not Karen' cover version of this.
Overall this was a bit of a weird and slightly dull episode but congratulations for it not including the song at number 2.
Going to think of 16 things I can possibly say about it (that aren't just Make It Stop) before we next convene!
Only one show on next week, the 11th July episode, so the Bryan Adams tenure will have to be endured for longer than what should have been 8 BBC4 weeks (16 episodes at No.1). Good Lord!
DeleteThanks for the confirmation my mind wasn't playing tricks, and Sarah didn't sing on Only Love Can Break Your Heart. It's one cover version that really succeeds by going a completely different way.
Delete
ReplyDeleteIncignito - not as interesting as I hoped…
Nat/Natalie cole - not so much a duet as vocal ping pong. Didn’t add anything to the original…
Cola Boy - not very exciting. Reminded me of someone [pre post comment - aha, st etienne. Indeed. Bit disappointing for them. I’ve listened to the sarah crack ell vocal. Not a lot different.]
Anthrax - yet another sample of White Lines. Noise indeed! [pre post comment - cover eh? Don’t recall the original]
Kim Appleby - not good for my diabetes. think I prefer Grandad…
Heavy D - surprisingly, this started out as an interesting cover, but got a but monotonous
Breakers
Queensryche - standard Rock sound, but it was decent enough (singers voice reminded me of Journey singer)
C and c music - loved this at the time, and still do
Billy Bragg with Kirsty)- and another that I liked then and now (and BSide Bad Penny was also good)
(Fair slice of the songs for a change)
Jesus Loves You - not a Boy George fan, and this didn’t change my mind. Bit monotonous and preachy
Vanilla Ice - 1.0 more like…
Whitney Houston - no I Wanna Dance is it? Michael Jackson lite. Dull…
Didn't enjoy this edition as much as the previous one but still some ok things and one absolute stormer to kick it off. They seemed to have toned down the sliding about / vapourising of the presenter as well thank goodness.
ReplyDeleteIncognito feat Jocelyn Brown; BANGER!! Sorry I'll try not to use that word again but I had to here. Yes it is a cover, an instrumental in its original form I think, but it's just dance pop brilliance on this version, like Maria Muldaur's original of 'Midnight At The Oasis', a single that sounds like a party, whenever and however I hear it. Jocelyn can sing anything for me and it would be worth hearing so that voice put to a dance belter frontloaded with triumphant horns and house piano. Well, as she sings; 'total ecstasyyyy!!, All right!!!'
Only one showing of this performance though so really one to savour.
Natalie Cole & Nat King Cole; More tugging of the heart strings. Touching though yes a little spooky, it made me think of the ghostly father moments in 'Little Voice'. Beautifully done though with a soulful connection that you could never contrive. 2 greats now gone.
Cola Boy; Very interesting that this was St. Etienne working under a different guise. Memorable hook though a little more to this would've been good. So Janey Lee Grace, Steve Wright and Tim Smith have all appeared on Totp. I assume the old woman never did. Wrighty of course will make his own bid for pop stardom on this very stage in a short while. Whoopee.
Suprised that Gary, officially the dance fan among the presenters, made that comment about remembering all the lyrics.
Anthrax; Great rocked up version of the PE classic with clearly the full support of Chuck D and Flavor Flav. Extraordinary in any form. Had to turn the volume up for that.
Kim Appleby; I thought she had one sweet single. Good to hear again.
Heavy D and the Boyz; This was played so much on the radio for a while, part of me still automatically thinks this is somewhere in the lower reaches of the Top 40. Unruinably great chorus of course but even now I don't need to hear this again.
Breakers; A little more generous this time but Queensryche came and went with little effect. C & C love that single and convinced it was the theme music to 'Paramount City' with Arthur Smith but can't find any evidence of that. Billy Bragg, great single that I bought probably the morning after seeing him perform it with Steve Nieve and the Love Band on 'Tonight With Jonathan Ross'.
Jesus Loves You; Clearly the public only saw this as a one (moderate) hit project and this reissue couldn't get very high. The next reissue 'After The Love' was to get nowhere at all despite having a KLF link, being sampled to dreamy effect on the 'Chill Out' album. Not that that project exactly stormed the charts. I have got the LP, bought that summer. The guy at the counter frowned and said, "you know this one hasn't got any of the hits on it".
Vanilla Ice; No thanks though good to finally learn what 'A1A' refers to. I thought it might have been an activity rather than a place. Thought it might've stood for 'act prime arse'.
Jason Donovan; Singing with the kids one last time. Is there a psychological term for the feeling of wanting something to move on but at the same time wanting badly for it to stay. Never really keen on song or record but Jason sings with a wonderful weariness and the song suits him perfectly. For children on the show I'd say just behind Sal Solo, far ahead of St. Winifred's and The Ramblers.
So another No 1 is gone.
Ready then?
Whitney Houston; Forgettable Whitney single. My goodness.
I just came across this rare KLF video from 1989 sampling Endless Love, and a single that I never knew existed, in the year in between the end of The Timelords (1988) and the beginning of The KLF chartwise (1990) , and we can see the evolution of the TimeLords police car towards a new future of dance music for the 90s...........The KLF:
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHbUum0CVbI
I not only know the track, but it was featured in the Same Independent series as the Carter single I mentioned last time. The Independent series was a sort of indie version of the Now! Series.
DeleteTechnically it was Steve Wright's Posse who will be having the hit, as I doubt Steve had much to do with it. Blame Richard Easter!
DeleteThough Steve did have a couple of minor hits in the 80s as himself. They were absolutely brilliant. Or maybe not.
And one Top Ten in 1991.
DeleteDory, I hadn't realised that KLF's Kylie Said to Jason was a serious attempt at a hit, which reading stuff online now it was meant to be. As you say, preceded their chart near-domination in 1990/1991. I was a fan, a friend had done me a mix tape in 88 when I left home for college and that had "Whitney Joins the JAMs" on it - genius use of sampling. Then loved their Chill Out stuff (although wasn't sure if they meant it as a joke!).
DeleteUnfortunately you're unlikely to hear When Kylie Said to Jason on the radio anymore, because it mentions Rolf Harris prominently in the lyrics!
Deletedespite being into jazz-funk in the 70's i never heard any of the various versions of "always there" recorded at the time, so the incognito take was my first exposure to it. i agree with rad that it's s corker, and i remember growing to love both it and "generations of love" as a result of being constantly exposed to them in bars and clubs when i was hanging out in amsterdam around that time. btw i have listened to the other versions of "always there" since then, but none come close to this one!
Deletesorry - i meant i agree with mic!
DeleteBoy, that show was a struggle, and incredibly lumpy too. Three studio acts in the first five and then all the last eight were on video.
ReplyDeleteWell done, mic. “Always There” is a jazz /soul instrumental classic by Ronnie Laws, and I prefer it to the ‘new jazz’ version. Nothing wrong with Jocelyn Brown’s vocals, probably more to do with the modern backing.
As for that duet – creepy and horrible. Not so much “Unforgettable” as unforgiveable.
Fizzy disco next with Cola Boy and his singer wearing the type of 60’s dress last seen on the show when Tracey Ullman sang “They Don’t Know”. Why do I remember stuff like that?
I half expected Anthrax with Chuck D to be terrible but it worked really well. Prefer this to the original.
Spot the obvious singer / leader next as Kim Appleby is all in white compared to her black clad band. Worthy and genuine, but too syrupy for me.
Oh dear, a rap version of a reggae lite song I didn’t like in the first place. Can we have Anthrax back?
An unusual juxtaposition of heavy metal band and wheelchair man in the video for Queensryche’s unremarkable track.
Hmmm... (see what I did there?) I like that C&C stuff. Story rap with wacky graphics.
A belter from Billy Bragg, not always the serious political singer / songwriter prople thought he was, and willing to show a sense of humour too.
Here comes Boy George with another yawnsome peace and love song. I enjoyed the backing before it got boomy.
Dear God, the talentless beanpole rapper’s back. I prefer to think of his cartoon image being crushed by a lorryload of ice as in Rod Stewart’s video.
I’ve got bored with Jase at the top already, Can we have something different at number one? Ah.
At least Whitney wasn’t doing her usual high pitch shrieking in that forgettable song.
Funnily enough, I wonder if Queensryche were inspired by St Elmo's Fire by John Parr, which is about a bloke in a wheelchair, though once the movie used it everyone thought it was about Demi Moore or the rest of the Brat Pack.
DeleteA quick bit of research shows that Billy Bragg's video was devised and directed by Phill Jupitus (previously known as Porky The Poet).
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteINCOGNITO feat. JOCELYN BROWN – Always There
The cool summer sounds of Incognito and the glorious vocals of Jocelyn Brown. Vocalist for hire, Top Ten with Todd Terry, Incognito and uncredited with Right Said Fred. The first CD single I bought was her cover of No More Tears with Kym Mazelle.
Waa this where Brothers In Rhythm nicked their "Such a good feeling" sample?
NATALIE COLE & NAT ‘KING’ COLE – Unforgettable
Cheese of the highest order or absolute classic. You decide. Not my cup of tea buy nicely done. Good video. Can see why it did well.
COLA BOY – 7 Ways To Love
30 years have passed without me realising this was a Saint Etienne project. Can highly recommend the book Yeah Yeah Yeah by Bob Stanley about the history of pop music.
Very 60s vibe and look to this one. Liked it more at the time than I do now.
ANTHRAX feat. CHUCK D – Bring The Noise, and they do. What a f***ing racket.
KIM APPLEBY – Mama
Nice swaying number from Kim but the end of the road for her I think. She gave up the music industry shortly afterwards and disappeared from the public eye until a few years ago when she released an unknown Mel and Kim track.
I really like this. That's all 3 hits, no idea why I never bought the album.
HEAVY D. & THE BOYZ – Now That We Found Love
One of 1991s standout tunes. Real quality rap/dance tune. So much energy. Loving the multi coloured raincoats!
A decent slice of Breakers:
QUEENSRYCHE – if this the best I'd hate to hear their worst.
C & C MUSIC FACTORY – Things That Make You Go How Did They Think This Would Work? But it does.
BILLY BRAGG – and Kirsty! Wonderul tune.
JESUS LOVES YOU – Generations Of Love
Moving well and truly into his dance phase and becoming a club DJ and remixer. George a boy of many talents. This is a nice tune but just lacking that killer hook to be a big hit.
VANILLA ICE – Rollin’ In My 5.0
I try so hard to never FF a tune so that I experience the full show but Mr Ice is making it so hard….please put your top back on white boy…
More to come unfortunately...
JASON DONOVAN still at the top and then WHITNEY letting us know "My Name Is Not Susan". No. It's Whitney. I could have told her that and saved us from this below average tune and appalling video.
Yeah Yeah Yeah is a fantastic book, I agree. I can't imagine the amount of research (or YouTube watching) that went into it.
DeleteI didn't understand the photo caption until I
ReplyDeletechecked the net and found out Janey Lee Grace had previously been a backing singer for Wham! amongst others.
I can remember exactly where I watched this when it was broadcast as I had two weeks in a cottage in Cornwall – this was week 1. Don’t recall much about the show except for the No1. I can see why I forgot some of these as they are awful.
ReplyDeleteIncognito / Jocelyn Brown – Always there – Howard’s Way anyone?
Natalie and Nat King Cole – Unforgettable – It is. Works really well. Some of the great duets like ‘Don’t go breaking my Heart’ were recorded separately anyway. Lovely video too.
Cola Boy – 7 Ways to Love – I shouldn’t really have liked this, but, well there was something about the slinky Janey and her Xylophone break that kept me interested even if the lyrics weren’t up there with the great lyricists.
Anthrax – Bring the Noise - ….and take it away please.
Kim Appleby – Mama – Being a Genesis diehard only one sing came to mind seeing this title but this was a pleasant enough offering from Kim.
Heavy D – Now that we’ve found love – Proving if something ain’t broken…
Breakers – Hated all of them.
Jesus loves You – Generations of Love – Completely forgot that O’Dowd formed this band and I certainly forgot the song.
Vanilla Ice – Rollin in 5.0 – Hopefully not too many more to endure from Mr Ice.
Jason Donovan – Any Dream will do – Deserved second and final week at the top. They just don’t want to show the end of this video that sees him on the stage alone after someone has ‘drew back the curtain’.
Whitney Houston – My name is not Susan – A good reason to miss the credits.
RIP Dilys Watling. Definitely a childhood pinup of mine. Released a few singles that didn’t chart but this duet with Benny Hill is quite hilarious.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehaXZY2VxtY
Dilys the sister of Doctor Who's Debbie who we lost a few years ago.
DeleteSct353, she certainly looked a hottie in that dress duetting with Benny Hill on that 1977 clip.
Delete