The only place she ever played her bells was the 3rd of December 1992 edition of Top of the Pops!
Only M
3-12-92: Presenter: Tony Dortie
(16) STEREO M.C.’S – Step It Up
Getting tonight's show underway and the song peaked at number 12.
(3) MICHAEL JACKSON – Heal The World (video) (and charts)
Went up one more place.
(4) HEAVEN 17 – Temptation (Brothers In Rhythm Remix)
A second live studio performance but the remix was now at its peak.
(22) DINA CARROLL – So Close
In the studio and the song went up two more places.
(18) REM – Man On The Moon (video) (Breakers)
Got no higher.
(14) U2 – Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses (video) (Breakers)
Got no higher.
(9) CLIFF RICHARD – I Still Believe In You (video) (Breakers)
This year's Cliffmas offering went up two more places.
(8) ROD STEWART – Tom Traubert’s Blues (Waltzing Matilda) (video) (Breakers)
Also went up two more places.
(23) BONEY M – Boney M. Megamix
Liz Mitchell is the only original member here performing what became the group's tenth and final top ten hit when it peaked at number 7.
(NEW) MADONNA – Deeper And Deeper (video)
Peaked at number 6.
(11) SIMPLY RED – Lady Godiva’s Room
Performing a track for their Montreux EP which was now at its peak.
(1) WHITNEY HOUSTON – I Will Always Love You (video)
First of ten weeks at number one.
10th of December is next.
Stereo MC's - the lead singer reminds me of Australian darts player Simon Whitlock currently ranked No.25 in the world, but without the wizard beard.
ReplyDeleteMichael Jackson - it's not so much about a new entry at No.3 this week for Jackson, but more about the chart rundown's racy song titles sprawled over the Jackson video:
No.39 Cathy Dennis - Irresistable
No.33 Club 69 - I Wanna Be Your Underwear
No.24 Wrecks 'n' Effect - Rump Shaker
No.21 Shabba Ranks - Slow And Sexy
Boney M Megamix - with only one original member of Boney M on stage here, Liz Mitchell (thanks Angelo), it was only right that the acting stand-ins were behind her, and not beside her like the original Boney M, so a nice touch by TOTP or the cover actors to respect the original band members not there with Mitchell.
Madonna - Ah, highlight of the show for me, and easily one of Madonna's very best singles, it was a sort of Into The Groove Part 2, as it was so much fun on that dance floor in the video, hence connecting the two songs. Not since Into The Groove in 1985 had Madonna had so much fun in her videos with no weird to wonderful storyline that we had to get to grips with or try to understand, this was just brilliant! I'm going to be listening to this all weekend, with the video added in for good measure.
I’ll share a funny (ironic) story about this week’s new number one destined to haunt us for 12 weeks. It is well entrenched in my ‘never ever want to hear again’ league of tracks (like Steve ‘Silk’ Hurley, Mars etc.). One of the first CDs I ever bought was an ‘Old Gold’ compilation called ‘We’re all alone’ (still available on EBay). It contained a real treat selection of songs such as the Rita Coolidge track and I was keen to get these on one CD. All the tracks were UK hits…..except the very first which was a Dolly Parton track I’d never heard or heard of called ‘I will always love you’. I must have played the track once and realizing how awful it was, always started the cd off at track 2 (Mary Mcgregor’s ‘Torn between Two Lovers’). Then this Bodyguard release came out and when I heard it made an instant unwanted connection with the CD and the much skipped track. Incidentally the Dolly version was used in a 1982 film called ‘The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas’. I’ve not seen that film nor ‘the Bodyguard’ needless to say.
ReplyDeleteWhitney Houston's cover of Parton's 1982 single was just marketed very well in combination with The Bodyguard movie with Kevin Costner that the song was associated with, and had much more money behind it than The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas with Dolly Parton and Burt Reynolds at the time, where the movie was marketed more than the song.
DeleteWhile the Prodigy are at peak position this week of No.5, and not shown since a breakers clip a couple of weeks ago when outside the Top 10, it was a little disappointing that the group were not in the studio or had their video shown in full while in the Top 10, as it will go down the chart next week.
ReplyDeleteHowever, two songs further down the chart at peak position this week with no TOTP for them at all, not even The Breakers for Philip Schofield, and worth a mention:
No.27 Philip Schofield - Close Every Door
Another song from the Joseph & The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, with Tim Rice providing the lyrics, this one did not have the same impact with record buyers as Jason Donovan's single release from this musical, but here is Schofield's video;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-TIqW3v9n8
No.47 The Black Crowes - Hotel Illness
Isn't this another term for a hospital? The Black Crowes were an understated but brilliant rock band of the time, and this was another superb track that failed only just outside the Top 40. After this single, they would come back for a brief run of singles in 1995-96 with mixed fortunes chart-wise.
Quite a packed ep this one, with a really weird mix of good and dross. The archive clips seem to have stopped, which would have more impact were two of the tracks tonight not reworked versions of old songs.
ReplyDeleteStereo MCs the best of the night, great opener. Of the ballads, I'll take Dina Caroll and first-week-at-the-top-Whitney-before-it-becomes-too-much over the rest.
Deeper and Deeper is an underrated Madge song and I wish we'd had more of REM.
Stereo MCs proving once again they can be the saving grace of a mediocre episode, they were a tight band and this is put across with skill. I thought this was a bigger hit, though!
ReplyDeleteToo many kids in the video? Must be the Smooth Criminal himself, Michael Whackson, with a glutinous plea for world harmony that if anything would make the world more violent in response.
Heaven 17 seem to be a man down, then Dina Carroll with a nice but wishy-washy ballad that goes nowhere in particular.
REM are the best of the Breakers with their tribute to comedian Andy Kaufman, and will later have a hit with a song written for a film based on Kaufman named after their earlier hit. Confused?
Still can't ditch those megamixes, and now Frank Farian is doing the money for old rope thing after the Milli Vanilli controversy died down. Seems to have been edited with a cheese grater.
Actual, not bad single from Madonna in her smut period, this is a moody number that has been forgotten but maybe worth a revival. Don't think much of her hairdos in the video.
Simply Mick and Whitney? Ah-ha-ha-ha-I don't think so.
I did like the dress sense of the lead singer of Heaven 17, keeping that 80s smart etiquette which was more common on TOTP in the early 80s for the men to dress smart if invited on to the show. By the time we got to 1992 and Take That for example, it was about more downgraded clothing as the norm, and living it for the girls to dress up.
DeleteI remember watching Man On The Moon as a tribute to Any Kaufman when the film was released in 1999, with REM credited for the musical score, so not sure how this single came out in 1992 for REM when the film was still 7 years away!
REM: it's simple, the film was named after the song from a few years before. REM also recorded a new song for the film which was a hit too.
DeleteOur host namechecks Norman Lamont, who was really newsworthy one year later after Julian Clary’s jibe about him at those comedy awards. How to end your career in five seconds.
ReplyDeleteThe return of MC Kung Fu Shapes – please do that shirt up, Rob! – and good to see the same backing vocalists stage front again. Top stuff. Peak of the week.
Sub-“We Are The World” syrup from Wacko, though very poignant in these current times. Was that the Ku Klux Klan pictured behind number 23 in the rundown???
Were the rest of Heaven 17 on holiday celebrating their royalties?
Confident stage presence by Dina, and a more palatable song than that awful cover version at the top.
Michael Stipe becomes a stuntman for one of REM’s best.
I feel so sorry for those Ukrainians who suffered U2 in that fallout shelter recently.
Squelchy syrupy festive hit time for Cliff, with the third (in this case mostly) monochrome video in a row. Couldn’t anyone afford Kodak colour film?
Oz Stewart next.
Barrel scraping time with Boney M. That’s not Bobby!!! Nice ‘Ooh!’ at the start by Liz who seemed genuinely pleased at the audience response.
Agreed, Madonna’s track sounds like a slower and slightly more Latin “Into The Groove” but nothing wrong with that.
That Mick Hucknall gets as many points from me as Lady Godiva had clothes.
The less said about that plastic soul singer, not even the best singer in her family, and the crap film this is taken from the better. I won’t even mention this sludge for the next nine weeks it’s top.
Sorry published a little quick.
ReplyDeleteOops bit quick to publish. Michael
ReplyDeleteDecember already…how time flies
ReplyDeleteStereo MCs what a great record this is. A good performance too with all live vocals that really bring the tune to life. Lead singer I'd cross the street to avoid if it was dark. "Did he make it out the 90s?" Mrs Morgie asks….
MJ goes all righteous. It's not Earth Song be grateful. Philip Schofield is in the chart. OMG!
Carol gets a credit for the Heaven 17 remix and rightly so.
I love Dina Carroll. Such a gorgeous voice. Quality album. This is a nice tune as well.
Breakers:
REM: Awesome Tune
U2: Decent Effort
Cliff: Make him stop!
Noel Edmonds: Waltzing Mush
Boney M are back! Party Time. My word this was everywhere this Xmas. What happened to the rest of them? Is this the first time they've sung live? 😜 Classic. That Rasputin bit will be back in 30 years time.
Hooray a decent Madonna tune at last. Big fan of this one and shows how great she is when she has a well written tune to sing. Excellent.
He's escaped Montreaux but Gingey has got another tune stuck at Number 11. At least we've moved on from the Stars album at last. This is not one of their finest but I like his voice so all is well
Should I watch The Bodyguard. Mrs Morgie loves it. Not sure it's my thing.
Good show tonight
This wasn't the first time Boney M had sung live, the classic lineup were forced to do so on a 1970s TOTP and because only one of them was actually on the record and could sing, they sounded dreadful.
ReplyDelete