Hello, good evening and welcome to the 23rd of April 1992 edition of Top of the Pops!
Unpoppable
23-4-92: Presenters: Mark Franklin & Femi Oke
(NEW) EMF – Getting Through
Getting tonight's show underway with the lead song from their Unexplained ep and it peaked at number 18.
(7) CURTIS STIGERS – You’re All That Matters To Me
A second time in the studio with this song and it went up one more place.
(2) IRON MAIDEN – Be Quick Or Be Dead (video)
From their number one album Fear of the Dark, this single was at its peak at number 2.
(9) MARC ALMOND – The Days Of Pearly Spencer (video) (Breakers)
Peaked at number 4.
(14) KYLIE MINOGUE – Finer Feelings (video) (Breakers)
Peaked at number 11.
(20) MICHAEL BALL – One Step Out Of Time (video) (Breakers)
Got no higher.
(22) K-KLASS – So Right (video) (Breakers)
Went up two more places.
(8) CARTER – THE UNSTOPPABLE SEX MACHINE – The Only Living Boy In New Cross
From the duo's number one album 1992 - The Love Album, this single was their one and only top ten hit and it went up one more place.
(NEW) MICHAEL JACKSON – In The Closet (video)
The third single from his number one album Dangerous and it peaked at number 8.
(1) RIGHT SAID FRED – Deeply Dippy (video)
Second of three weeks at number one.
30th of April is next.
Iron Maiden - straight in at No.2, this is not a surprise, but a surprise that it passed me by at the time, as I don't recall this one at all. The song & video is probably one of their finest, as it relates to the fast pace of technology in city life having a negative effect on many people at the time, and considering this was about three years before the internet arrived mainstream, it was one of the examples of a song in the early 90s fearing the worst.
ReplyDeleteMarc Almond - A Breaker at No.9, it was a sign of the TOTP times, were the new revamped show preferred showing exclusives like EMF and all 6 minutes of the new Michael Jackson video, ahead of those with already high chart positions in the Top 10 or 20 like Marc Almond at No.9 with only a breakers slot to show for it. Luckily for Almond he finally gets a full play on the next show, but had to wait till at No.4!
K-Klass - not as good as Rhythm Is A Mystery, but I'll take this one any day, as it fitted superbly with the early 90s dance music scene, and would have been an easy choice for DJs for the dance floors at the time.
Mr EMF sporting an extraordinary hat (or are they gloves?) for the underwhelming lead track off their new EP. Guitar sounds quite Middle Eastern in places, but that's about as distinctive as it gets.
ReplyDeleteCurtis Stigers we've seen before, so onto the new Iron Maiden video where they have the financial markets on their minds. I hesitate to say that all their songs sound the same, but I wouldn't be able to pick this one out of a line up.
Zooming through the Breakers, two of which confusingly we've seen before, then Carter USM which to be fair is quite a fun performance for them, the audience behind are having quite the party. But their trademark pun in the title is pretty pointless, Simon and Garfunkel were making exactly the same point about New York, only not as arch, so why bother?
What is it with the revamped show and boring 6 minute Whackson videos? The Smooth Criminal is bothering Naomi Campbell in this one, and we can see the beginnings of his skellington horrorface taking shape. Chorus is fine, I suppose, but the rest is mediocre.
Then Wrong Said Fred to end on, the video again.
On to some groups peaking lower down the charts this week who missed out on a TOTP visit:
ReplyDeleteNo.38 M People - Someday
This pre-1993 phase for the group before they became more of leading group with regular Top 10 hits, at this point in 1992 they were still struggling to get noticed, and this third single could only manage No.38, and not even high enough for a Breakers slot.
No.40 Madness - House Of Fun
Second single off the 1992 greatest hits album just released, and following up It Must Be Love as the first release from the album. I much prefer House Of Fun over It Must Be Love, but the two songs had reverse success, as the latter made Top 10 in the singles chart a couple months earlier.
No.41 Rod Stewart - Your Song/Broken Arrow
Not sure if Your Song is a cover of the famous Elton John single, but certainly Rod Stewart was having mixed fortunes in the singles chart since his two Top 10 singles in 1991, as this first one for 1992 stalled outside the Top 40.
No.46 - Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel - (Come Up And See Me) Make Me Smile
This original 1975 hit had a comeback here in 1992, and narrowly missed out on a 1992 chart position, so I could just imagine the group returning to the TOTP studio in 1992 to perform it had it gone up the charts for another couple of weeks or so to warrant a TOTP call up.
Was the Steve Harley single back out because of a TV advert? It seems likely!
DeleteRod Stewart was indeed tackling the John / Taupin composition.
Delete"It's a little bit funny........."
DeleteEMF as an exclusive? Sure, if you say so. Don't really remember this one.
ReplyDeleteCurtis S - fine but dull
Iron Maiden - add me to the list of those who memory holed this.
Marc Almond is unlucky to not be on in a very top 10 heavy show. K Klass another barely memorable song and the others we had last week.
Carter the easy highlight with their best track.
SIGH another MJ video making yet again two non chart songs in a show.
Mark becoming a generic but safe pair of hands. Shame Femi only lasted a handful of episodes. Likeable and controlling her nodding car dog syndrome.
ReplyDeleteEMF singer with a sort of jester’s cap for a song that goes mystical and just about separates it from everything they did apart from “Unbelievable”. We started in 1976 with a load of non-chart openers and the only difference now is that sometimes the ‘exclusive’ opener makes the chart.
All but two longhairs on stage next as Curtis gives another top live turn. Like his waistcoat too.
All longhairs next as Iron Maiden gives us an Iron Maiden by numbers song but with unusual foresight.
Breakers in turn: wonderful, already seen so pointless, ditto and melodic rave.
Peak of the week as Carter beautifully re-write the title of an “Evita” song in the lyrics and are allowed stage revellers which rave acts aren’t. Good to see Jimbob’s arms is better. Mark’s becoming a lucky charm for their appearances.
Well done to Femi for not chickening out like Mark and outro-ing Carter with their full name.
Oh, Christ, ANOTHER Wacko exclusive clogging up 20 per cent of the show like constipation!
The Freds again with their deeply silly but likeable song and video.
Crikey, less FF Than for several weeks
ReplyDeleteEMF - don’t remember this, but it was ok. The chorus reminded me of another song.
Curtis Stigers - more life in his facial expressions than in the song
Iron Maiden - again, don’t remember this, ok, but bog standard Maiden…
Marc Almond - I really liked the original and this a fairly good cover, but if I remember it has an extra verse(?)…
KKlass - dance tune that appears to gave a tune. Miracles…
Carter - as previously stated I have like this band all the way back to Damnations. and this is one of their good uns
Michael Jackson - now here is a surprise, here is another I don’t remember - mind you it is pretty dire.
The Marc Almond version added an upbeat last verse and extra chorus which might have got heard but for bloody Jackson again.
DeleteThe Marc Almond version is a full 2 minutes to the original version
DeleteAnother week, another MJ video meaning we only get 4 other tunes.
ReplyDeleteEvery Mother's Favourites EMF are back with a new hat and the same tune. Found myself bopping along to this but don't ask me to hum it now it's finished. Unbelievably outstayed it's welcome by about 2 minutes.
Curiosity drop the cat and miss out on ToTP.
Curtis back again. Still liking this one. Still want to take scissors to his hair.
Be quick it's Iron Maiden and the single will be Dead next week..soon the whole chart will behave like Maiden and Wedding Present singles. In then down the following week. Not loving this one at all, bit of a telephone themed video. That BT Tower was taken over by an alien menace in a 1966 Doctor Who and Noel was still presenting from there 20 years later 😂
Breakers:
Marc Almond: Adore this..get him in the studio!
Kylie: very grown up video.
Michael Ball: Europe loved him.
K-Klass: sounding suspiciously like Black Box.
Carter up next with their biggest and best hit. Starting very school assembly before going all school disco . Great atmosphere, great performance. Wonderful stuff.
Only 6 minutes and 10 seconds! He's slacking. He's also very creepy when trying to be sexy. Shame really as it's a seriously good tune.
The Freds get a well deserved Number One and this tune has been in my head all weekend. It's very annoying. And the crap video as well..joy.
Carter stole the show…I'm off to find a more annoying record than Deeply Dippy.