Enter the temple of holy love and shout your name to the 4th of February 1993 edition of Top of the Pops!
Hair raiser
4-2-93: Presenter: Mark Franklin
(9) M-PEOPLE – How Can I Love You More? (Remix)
Getting the evening underway with a song that had made number 29 in 1991 this time around it peaked at number 8.
(6) DURAN DURAN – Ordinary World
Second time in the studio but the song could get no higher.
(13) DEF LEPPARD – Heaven Is (video) (and charts)
At its peak.
(8) THE BELOVED – Sweet Harmony
A second studio performance but the song was now at its peak.
(22) RAPINATION feat. KYM MAZELLE – Love Me The Right Way
Live in the studio tonight but the song got no higher.
(21) ULTRAVOX – Vienna (video) (Breakers)
Number 2 of course in 1981, this time it made it to number 13.
(19) TOM JONES – All You Need Is Love (video) (Breakers)
Got no higher.
(15) EXTREME – Tragic Comic (video) (Breakers)
Got no higher.
(20) GLOWORM – I Lift My Cup
Performing their first of two top 40 hits but this one got no higher.
(NEW) STING – If I Ever Lose My Faith In You
From his number 2 album Ten Summoner's Tales, this single peaked at number 14.
(1) WHITNEY HOUSTON – I Will Always Love You (video)
Tenth and final week at number one.
11th of February is up next.
M-People - so it takes M-People to remix their debut single of 1991 to try again for success with it in 1993? Bingo, M-People are now a rock-solid Top 10 act, going straight in as a new entry at No.9 with a remix, after two years and four singles with a highest chart position of only No.29 for all their graft up until now. Good Lord, overnight success in 1993 for this lot!
ReplyDeleteDuran Duran - this is no ordinary world when Duran Duran are invited in 2022 to perform at the Queen's Platinum Jubilee party night with two singles along with Nile Rogers, and then totally outperforming the so called younger, more energetic stars of the future who nobody recognises. More Duran Duran please in 2032!
Def Leppard - I've said what I have to say about the lot, getting this single shown on three TOTP episodes in a row, at the expense of other deserving acts in the 20-30 section of the chart that got brushed aside without even a Breakers slot.
The Breakers - interesting how Ultravox are back in the charts with Vienna, some 12 years after it was kept of the No.1 slot by Joe Dolce's Shaddap Your Face in 1981. Any reason why Vienna was re-released here in 1993?
Gloworm - I don't recall this one at all, but I must say it was really good from this eclectic bunch whoever they are, and I really liked this tune hearing it for the first time now. And those dancers on stage.......very nice!
Sting - Good Lord, with Duran Duran, Ultravox, and now Sting, all on the same show and all in this 1993 chart, it felt like 1981 all over again, as Sting was with The Police getting to No.1 with Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic in that same year that Duran Duran and Ultravox made their breakthrough in a big way lots of Top ten singles.
Not a bad episode overall in terms of it having a mix of genres. Shame so many songs we've heard before though. Great start with M People and I think the debut of Heather's high hairdo? Duran Duran I like though it's been on this show too much. Speaking of being on too much, hello Def Leppard. The track is growing on me though. The other three studio performances of chart songs are decent, amd I could do without a Stong exclusive bur that's just personal taste. The staging is weird, Game of Thrones meets the pilgrims? I'm assuming there was a reason. Breakers are all a bit eh. See you Whitney! Thanks for not doing 16 weeks!
ReplyDeleteEg, Sting not Stong. The latter sounds like a Comic Relief tribute act.
DeleteWelcome to watch looks like an edition of Ye Olde Top of the Pops, judging by the number of old hitmakers back on it.
ReplyDeleteA poor start to the show for me. Can’t stand Heather Small’s voice, never a fan of Duran Duran (Mark’s intro reminded me of the Rowan Atkinson “smarm smarm grovel grovel” Parky sketch), and we get Def fecking Leppard for a third week and I agree with Dory about them clogging up valuable time which would have been used better for other artists.
The Beloved are back with the refrain “Let’s come together” combined with that warped sperm backdrop again.
My my, I’d forgotten about the voluptuous Kym Mazelle. Some outfit. Apparently there was a backing track to this.
”Vienna” was re-released to tie in with a ‘best of’ album featuring Ultravox and Midge Ure which made the top ten.
Interesting we get Tom Jones the same week that his record for longest gap between UK number one singles (42 years) was beaten by Kate Bush. Dreadful cover version here which must have been for charity.
Not Extreme again. One of their midtempo-by-numbers ones.
Gloworm (wasn’t that a make of gas boiler back in the day?) with an annoying repetititititive lyric. Different dancers to the norm, I’ll give them that.
Can’t stand Sting, and thank goodness we’ve reached the end of that thing at number one. Just as bad an ending as the start was.
Firstly just to say that my boiler at home is a Gloworm one, and it is working very well thank you. Had few repairs over the years, but still working fine!
DeleteWith regard to old hitmakers on this TOTP show, there was also Mick Jagger at peak position at No.24 this week with Sweet Thing, and joining him at No.24 (yes two songs at peak of No.24) was a new band called D-Ream with Things Can Only Get Better, and Freddie Mercury was at peak position of No.29 this week with The Great Pretender, and Billy Ocean at peak of No.55 this week with Pressure, so lots more old hitmakers on this week's chart Arthur!
Oh and Cathy Dennis was also a new entry at peak position of No.32 this week with Falling, and fell badly out of the Top 40 the following week.
Another great episode, my favourite band ever Duran Duran with Ordinary World, such a great song, played it many times since and Sting's If I Ever Lose My Faith In You.
ReplyDeleteJoe Dolce, sorry Ultravox's previous No2 hit was backed with 'Wastelands' which although credited to Ultravox was in fact a Midge Ure solo song which reached No46 in February 1986. Taken from his album 'The Gift'. How come Chrysalis Records got that wrong?!
ReplyDeleteWell I like the outfit Heather. A great remix and a great tune. Stunning vocal. Proper chill out dance tune. Always had a soft spot for M-People.
ReplyDeleteDuran Duran next and Simon in a flowery top from 1968. Classy tune. Who's playing that guitar solo?
Da Leppards get the Top 40 treatment. A very 80s video so most welcome. Bit random though to be a great video. 3 good songs in a row so far!
Tune 4 more than good.. it's great. Vocal different tonight. Some effects on that mic I think. Beautiful tune. ❤️ And some proper 80s sax as well.
I didn't think we'd get this tune and I'm so pleased we did. Spotify dodging Rapination with a dance classic I played to death at the time. Fan-bloody-tastic! Always nice to see Kym as well.
Breakers:
Ultravox: Greatest hit
Tom Jones: Cheesy. Charity tune?
Extreme: haven't they given up yet?
Gloworm definitely on something, how long does it take to lift a cup? Repetitive nonsense chorus and God bothering as well. There had to one duff record didn't there.
Sting has come as Dickens for one of his finer solo singles. I ended up getting his greatest hits and it's a really fine body of work. These sets are getting better and better. I saw a Sting tribute act at Wokingham Festival last summer who was astonishingly good. Highlight of the day.
Ditch the gloworm and that was a very decent show. Bye Whitney….