Make love not war we say on the 28th of May 1992 edition of Top of the Pops!
Rave on
28-5-92: Presenters: Mark Franklin & Femi Oke
(22) FUTURE SOUND OF LONDON – Papua New Guinea
Getting the show underway with their first of seven top 40 hits but this one got no higher.
(8) THE CURE – Friday I’m In Love (video)
Went up two more places.
(2) SHUT UP & DANCE feat. PETER BOUNCER – Raving I’m Raving
In the studio with their only top ten hit and number 2 was its peak.
(4) KRIS KROSS – Jump (video)
Went up two more places.
(15) BASSHEADS – Back To The Old School
Performing their second of four top 40 hits and this one peaked at number 12.
(18) DON-E – Love Makes The World Go Round
Live here tonight with his only top 40 hit but it got no higher.
(24) CUD – Rich And Strange (video) (Breakers)
Got no higher.
(26) MR. BIG – Just Take My Heart (video) (Breakers)
Their second and final top 40 hit and it got no higher.
(27) L7 – Everglade (video) (Breakers)
Got no higher.
(NEW) LISA STANSFIELD – Set Your Loving Free
Flying in from Berlin to perform in the studio tonight and the song peaked at number 28.
(1) KWS – Please Don’t Go (video)
Fourth of five weeks at number one.
4th of June is next.
Future Sound Of London - love the outfit on the lead singer, looking oh so dashy! Words like style and panache come to mind, which seemed to make the performance all the more watchable, even though it was something of a mild rave in sound.
ReplyDeleteKriss Kross - I remember that I couldn't stand this song at the time, and nothing has changed thirty years later, but considering it was at No.1 in America on the same week as part of 8 weeks at No.1 over there, what was it that the Americans liked so much about it for it to be as long at No.1 in America as Shakespeare's Sister was in Britain?
Bassheads - it took six months or so to follow up their first single Is There Anybody Out There, and this new one getting to No.12 at peak was somewhat secondary to the fabulous debut single that defined them, but I got to hand it to the girl on lead vocals with that very short grey dress that was quite appealing to say the least. Good Lord!
FSoL with a chill-out classic, they have a good go at adapting it to the TOTP demands, too. The female singer they have in the studio obviously isn't the one on the record, but the male singer sounds like the real deal, or is doing a fine impersonation. Not bad as these things go, i.e. it could have been a disaster.
ReplyDeleteThe Cure video again, not sure of the Laurel and Hardy reference in there. But acceptable.
Shut Up and Dance, now this definitely doesn't sound like the record! Was there legal action on this one or something? The original samples Marc Cohn's Walking in Memphis and is memorably ghastly, but they sound as if they're making this up as they go along. Did anyone have "raving shoes"? Even in 1992?
Video for Kriss Kross, the backwards trousers, wouldn't they unzip every time you sat down?
How old were the Bassheads?! Presumably they're the blokes in the middle, but they look about 50 years old each! Anyway, par for the course on TOTP dance tracks, singing samples, pretending to play the riffs, etc. The rave Bet Lynch gives up her synth drums 3/4 of the way through and just throws some shapes.
Don-E, this is pretty mellow, quite listenable with a nice, laid back melody. Not sure about him being a proto-Peter Andre with his washboard stomach, put it away, thanks.
Breakers, my, it's Cud, another pre-Britpop act with (I think) their biggest hit! Still hear this on the radio sometimes. I'd forgotten the singer looked like Hugh Fearnely-Whittingsall. Mr Big, urgh, L7, not enough momentum there.
Lisa Stansfield with one of her umpteen mid-tempo Barry White tributes, she has the voice but the tunes were resolutely unexciting, as is the case with this. Then KWS have a video at last, and it's as cheap and nasty as their single.
The Shut Up and Dance appearance was presumably pretty ingenious as their original none-cleared tune borrowing had been banned following its entry into the chart at number 2 earlier in the week. I think I was also confusing this with the very bad (even worse) Raving, I am Raving of this year, an inspired reworking of the Rod’s I am Sailing. I do remember liking Shut Up and Dance’s Green Man that came out at about this time. Raving shoes, Travel Fox or Fila were shoes of choice I recall. Although some field raves you’d have been better off with a pair of wellies!
DeleteYeah Cud’s best selling single, and worthy of just a 20 second video snippet, shame, their only TOTP listing. John Peel’s 1987 session and festive fifty appearance with You Sexy Thing was a high point (and their starting point). 1991’s single, Magic, should have been massive, combining baggy and Balearic with poetic lyrics, shame they couldn’t get on the Britpop bandwagon.
I'd forgotten about the Rod Stewart rave tune (so to speak)! Oh dear. I guess dodgy covers will always be with us.
DeleteFour songs peaking lower down the chart for previous TOTP regulars, with no TOTP for them this time round:
ReplyDeleteNo.34 Bruce Springsteen - Better days
Follow-up to his recent single Human Touch that got to No.11 a couple of months earlier, this one didn't even get off the ground for TOTP, getting no higher than this week's position of No.34.
No. 43 S Express - Find 'Em, Fool 'Em, Forget 'Em
First single for two years since 1990, and first not to break the Top 40, and they completely disappeared off the scene after this one, so maybe the song title was appropriate in this case?
No.52 KD Lang - Constant Craving
Surprised that this peaked as low as No.52 first time round here in 1992, but it was re-issued the following year in 1993 and did much better, getting to No.15.
No.56 The Pogues - Honky Tonk Women
Not sure if this was a cover of the Rolling Stones classic, but this one like most of their other early 90s singles, just couldn't make an impression on the chart, despite the famous song title.
The Pogues were indeed having a crack at the Jagger / Richards composition.
DeleteThis Future Sound of London tune is a favourite of mine, however this is the first time I have seen this performance, and what a brilliant performance - despite some of the dodgy acid trip gone wrong camera effects. Still not on YouTube, I’ll keep checking.
ReplyDeleteThe main female vocal is a sample of an ethereal 4AD label Dead Can Dance’s 1987 track. The singer in the studio does a pretty good job of reproducing this, as does the male vocalist on the other delivery. Great stuff. The bass line also comes courtesy of Meat Beat Manifesto’s “Radio Babylon”, worth checking out for its own sample of Boney M’s Rivers of Babylon.
After watching this TOTP show this weekend I also chanced upon a Sky Arts show “The Agony and the Ecstasy”. Presented by (Dangerous) Dave Pearce it’s a Top 20 run down of the best dance tunes of this period. Includes this FSOL track and many recent TOTP performers: Prodigy, SL2, Orbital, N-Joi, Bizarre Inc, LFO, Alison Limerick, Moby and Liquid.
Or "Mildly Alarming" Dave Pearce as Mark and Lard used to call him.
DeleteHa, ha THX, I’d forgotten about Mark and Lard’s mickey taking of Dangerous Dave. Those were the days, proper funny presenters on Radio 1 (not to mention Lee and Herring on prime time TV).
DeleteJust seen that next weekend there will be four shows to review, taking in the whole of June 1992 in one swoop. Hope everyone's up for it.
ReplyDeleteBlimey. Gone ten o’clock on Sunday evening as I post this and I still make top ten easily.
ReplyDeleteIf you like rave and rap, this episode suited you down to the ground. Personally, I thought it one of the worst of the entire re-run.
We start with what is now a former sound of London, some Polynesian rave giving way to something close to the backing of that rehash of “You Got The Love”. No thanks.
Peak of the week for me by a country mile, as The Cure try too hard to be funny but at least it shows Robert Smith isn’t a complete grump and the song’s brilliant. Great to see the whole video shown too.
I hated Marc Cohn’s “Walking In Memphis” and I hated this rave rip-off even more. This was deleted on the day of release, and its entire chart run was two weeks at 2 and 15.
I jumped Kris Kross immediately.
Christ, not more rave! Back to the old FF button.
In most weeks, especially five TOTP years back in the re-run, Don-E’s smooth but slightly anonymous song would have been ranked midtable in an edition for me. This time, the track with “posse” in the lyrics was second best. Says it all.
Cud! Not the most handsome frontman ever there. Also not surprising their follow-up and second biggest hit “Purple Love Balloon” never got an airing.
Mr. Big, just as boring as Extreme.
L7, third best tonight despite the inability of anyone in the band to sing properly.
If we’re going to get one of these chart song avoiding exclusives, can we at least have someone new to the show? More soup in a basket ‘soul’ from Lisa.
The elusive video for KWS which must have cost pounds to make, but I still couldn’t bear to watch it.
Femi’s “If you loved the show half as much” line at the end was old hat. Back in 1982 a band caled The Dots used it at the start of this song, which got banned from BBC airplay as their record company gave Radio 1 DJs free headphones and that was seen as illicit promotion.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3XiKfcPmaY
I know, Arthur, I thought it was quiet before, but we're barely making 20 comments per post now! Thank goodness for Morgie bringing up the rear!
DeleteAh bless ya THX. I can't keep up but I'm getting there
DeleteNot the greatest episode, and Mark can't even remember how many weeks KWS have been number one.
ReplyDeleteI do like The Cure but where's the definitive article gone? The whole show they're just 'Cure'.
The breakers might be the best bit, with Cud making a Wonderstuff-lite video to get some attention, and it worked! The song is fine. L7 isn't their best, but again is fine. Mr Big are... present.
Most of the studio tracks are pretty dull but not dreadful. They got so close to having a week without a pre-release then Lisa S comes along. Speaking of, I'm betting on her for Masked Singer in the future. They were guessing her a lot this year and acts they guess a lot one year often turn up in the future.
And glad I'm not going mad thinking Shut up and Dance wasn't what I remembered from the recorded version! This was a poor imitation, boo to copyright.
ReplyDeleteTwo RIPs today, Gary Brooker of Procul Harum, co-writer and singer of Sylvester Stallone's favourite song, A Whiter Shade of Pale. A Salty Dog and Homburg were pretty good too. I think there's TOTP footage still in existence of Whiter Shade?
ReplyDeleteAnd a real shock, Mark Lanegan, ex of The Screaming Trees and Queens of the Stone Age, loads of solo stuff and collaborations, died today at 57. I hadn't realised he'd been so ill with Covid, presumably that's why he died? No news at this stage. Anyway, his material with Isobel Campbell was so great, what a contrast in voices.
The Story Of/ Big Hits 1991 may be coming very soon, on Saturday 5th March BBC Two have:
ReplyDelete8:35pm - Top Of The Pops: Story Of 1990 (R)
9:35pm - Top Of The Pops: Big Hits 1990 (R)
10:35pm - Mariah Carey At The BBC
Another episode that took less than 10 minutes to watch. Excruciating!
ReplyDeleteI presume Benny Hill was in the charts following his death.
The Cure - with probably their biggest hit. they’re videos are always entertaining
Shut up and Dance - what a disjointed out of tune pile of junk (in case you didnt guess, I didn’t like it)
Benny Hill died in April 1992, so May 1992 brought the re-release of Ernie The Fastest Milkman In The West, which would explain why it was back in the charts 20 or so years after it was first in the charts and at No.1. Sadly it peaked at No.29 on the end of May chart, but was a welcome tribute to the great comedian.
DeleteDied the same weekend as Ayrton Senna and Frankie Howerd I believe. Bank holiday weekend as well.
DeleteWe can confirm this is definitely not the future sound of London or even Papau New Guinea. A chill out Ibiza tune, best played at 4 in the morning. Bit of a nothing tune really.
ReplyDeleteThe Cures video we've already seen so onto Shut Up and Dance. A very high new entry for this which I think was a Radio 1 favourite. A bit of a rave/garage cross over (if garage even existed at this time). Bloody awful it sounds in the studio. Think I'd successfully erased this from my memory.
Kriss Kross on video now…the jackets are on back to front now as well…hilarious…not.
More dance music from The Bassheads. Bit of sass on stage and some effort put into the performance which is nice. The best of the 3 studio perfomances so far but it's not great is it? The bar is low tonight…
Don-E brings some talent to proceedings with a nice little r'n'b number and a bit of flesh. This isn't too bad actually. Happily listen to this one again.
Breakers:
Cud: poor mans Mick Hucknall
Mr Big: Another power ballad…aaaahhhh. Stop!
L7: i would like to have some fun.
Lisa Stansfield. Welcome to the mad house. Give us a decent tune…oh well a fairly average ballad will do. Always nice to hear her sing. A little bit of quality in a rather poor show.
There is a KWS video! It's crap but that fits in nicely tonight I feel. Anyone else reminded of Tiffany's shopping mall video? No? Just me then.
Femi enjoyed it more than me.