Feel the force - this is your chance to get control of the 6th of May 1993 edition of Top of the Pops!
Wake-up call
6-5-93: Presenter: Tony Dortie
(4) 2 UNLIMITED – Tribal Dance
Getting the show underway but the song got no higher.
(2) JANET JACKSON – That’s The Way Love Goes (video) (and charts)
At its peak.
(12) UTAH SAINTS – Believe In Me
Here tonight with what became their third and final top ten hit when it peaked at number 8.
(5) ACE OF BASE – All That She Wants
Making their studio debut with a song that will soon be their only number one hit.
(27) SOUNDS OF BLACKNESS – I’m Going All The Way (video) (Breakers)
Got no higher (this year).
(22) DEPECHE MODE – Walking In My Shoes (video) (Breakers)
Peaked at number 14.
(16) RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE – Bullet In The Head (video) (Breakers)
Got no higher.
(15) SHABBA RANKS & MAXI PRIEST – Housecall (video) (Breakers)
Peaked at number 8.
(20) KINGMAKER – 10 Years Asleep
Performing their third of five top 40 hits and it peaked at number 15.
(NEW) ELTON JOHN – Simple Life (via satellite)
Peaked at number 44.
(1) GEORGE MICHAEL & QUEEN – The Days Of Our Lives (video)
Featuring Lisa Stansfield, second of three weeks at number one.
13th of May is next.
2-Unlimited - certainly don't remember this TOTP studio performance and show opener, but great to see Anita's hot body on this one. The songs and stage outfits were a bit like Snap's Cult Of Snap in 1990 which worked off the same theme.
ReplyDeleteJanet Jackson - last outing for this one on TOTP, now at a peak of No.2. Jackson went on to dislodge Silk with the creepy lyrics from the US No.1 spot soon after, and Jackson would stay at No.1 for a staggering 8 weeks during May and June 1993, so although this is the last time for this one on TOTP, the Americans would be in for the long haul with Janet seemingly forever at No.1, and much like we had to endure not so long ago with Whitney Houston with the Christmas 1992 No.1.
Utah Saints - lesser known hit of theirs but very powerful track nonetheless, and just love it. Sadly this is the only outing on TOTP for this one.
Ace Of Base - Sweden's seeming continuation of the Roxette phenomenon, that itself followed Abba. Ace of Base turned out to be more short-lived than the other two Swedish groups, but this debut single and soon to be No.1, turned out to be their greatest success, although the following year they achieved No.2 with The Sign. Good stuff indeed!
Elton John - first full year with the new wig, and second single in a row with a full head of new hair, the hats had gone for good by now after using them on his singles between 1977-1992, as the baldness was no longer in view thanks to the new hair technology. In terms of the song, I felt this sounded a lot like an INXS effort.
I just went to add the Elton John track to my playlist and it's 6 and a half minutes long...that is far too long even got a half decent Elton number
DeleteMorgie, even the edited version of "Simple Life" released as a single clocked in at exactly five minutes!
DeleteWere you ready to, erm, pump some flavour?
ReplyDelete“Say that again” – you scamp, Ray. Hang on… my my, Anita, you’re spoiling us. Apparently there was some rave and some other people going on at the same time.
Dorky pretends to be a Weeble before Janet’s silky groove and mellow vid. Nice.
Can’t stand Utah Saints. I believed in a quick FF.
Almost a “Carry On” intro by Tony into Ace of Base’s soon to be all-conquering holiday memento pop.
Sounds of Blackness with “I’m Going All The Way To Number 27 For Now” with their a cappella gospel choir ditty.
Moody Mode stuff. A far cry from “Just can’t Get Enough”.
What was that next track called again? What a lovely sentiment.
The best medicine for “Housecall” was an FF.
Ah, Now. Peak of the week as Kingmaker channel The Wonder Stuff sound with the singer’s Elvis Costello look. Verbose and venomous. Great stuff. Should have been a top 10 maker.
“Who’s nicked my Joanna?” Elton looking and moving like Brains from “Thunderbirds”. Poor choice for a single and the public agreed.
Queen karaoke time again. Yawn.
I am so so sad to read of the death of Judith Durham aged 79. The purest clearest voice on timeless songs such as 'I'll never find another you' and 'The Carnival on over', both chart toppers at the time of Beatlemania. I rank the 50th Anniversary Seekers concert at the RAH in 2014 as one of the most enjoyable and moving concerts I have ever been to.
ReplyDeleteColours of my life indeed. RIP Judith.
Yes, very sad to hear. One of my Mum's favourite singers. The harmonies in 'I'll Never Find Another You' are incredibly atmospheric and stirring. One of my favourite singles from a blindingly exciting period for singles.
DeleteMy Mum was also a huge Seekers and had all the singles and albums. I was brought up with a diet of mostly Beatles and Seekers (with a few other sixties 7" thrown in). Always loved "Someday, One Day" as a kid. RIP
DeleteFour tunes at peak position this week lower down the charts with no TOTP for them, except Silk who already got on the show as a new exclusive:
ReplyDeleteNo.34 Def Leppard - Tonight
Somehow after the overplay by TOTP of their last single, this one peaking at No.34 did not even get a Breakers slot, especially as this week's Breakers went no lower than No.27. This group would keep going through the decade and beyond, releasing new singles, so we're in for the long haul with them.
No.42 Everything But The Girl - The Only Living Boy In New York
Precursor to the Pet Shop Boys single called New York City Boy some six years later in 1999, and successor to Boy From New York City by Darts in 1978. If Everything But The Girl were correct in their song title, then all three groups were singing about the same boy!
No.44 Sade - Kiss Of Life
Yes please, can I be first in the queue Sade? Second single in a row to fail to make the Top 40, and Sade would have one last try in mid-1993 which also failed, and then nothing from her until 2000. Good Lord, kiss of life quickly please!
No.46 Silk - Freak Me
Had already been on TOTP a few shows earlier as a new exclusive, and had a couple of weeks at No.1 in America with this, but a peak of No.46 in the UK chart was not all that bad, considering the risqué lyrics on this song that somehow passed the censors on TOTP.
Did anyone see the 'Sound of Birmingham at the BBC' compilation this evening? Great show, must catch it. A rare Totp moment, a first time showing of Black Sabbath 'Paranoid', found in 2016! Fantastic to see it on TV. Also a wonderful clip of The Beat doing 'Mirror In The Bathroom' on 'Look! Here!' in 1980. I had a look and I couldn't find it anywhere on YouTube so it would appear to be a true rarity. Well done BBC. I do hope it's a taste of things to come in this it's centenary year.
ReplyDeleteI had it on in the background but the Black Sabbath clip passed me by, so if you have the link, please send, or hopefully the show will be on BBC Iplayer.
DeleteThere will be this Tuesday night at 10pm on Sky Arts a short documentary on The Sex Pistols-Bill Grundy confrontation in December 1976 on Grundy's Thames TV show Today which effectively destroyed his career and elevated the Sex Pistols to notoriety.
Yes it's on iPlayer. It was a great compilation. Good to see the Top of the Pops clip of 'Love and Affection' rather than 'The Old Grey Whistle Test' clip which is available on DVD. Only quibble the absence of Roy Wood (The Move 'California Man' on Totp would've been a huge bonus) and Steve Winwood. Other than that really good programme.
DeleteBongos at the ready it's Tribal 2 Unlimited and they've been raiding the dress up box. Some extra lyrics this time but the same old tune. I think they could have sneezed on a single and it would have gone Top Ten in 1993.
ReplyDeleteJJ on video. Beautiful tune but we've seen the live version already. How many men has she got on the go here? I spy a megamix at Number 31…
There was a third Utah Saints hit? When did this happen? Forgotten this one. Not a patch on the first two but good fun and a nice Human League sample.
Ace of Base. A new sound for 93 and so refreshing.. must admit to being a big Ace of Base fan and snapping up the album. The new ABBA they were not, they were different and sounded great
Breakers:
Sound of Blackness: God is listening, I've tuned out.
Depeche Mode: Odd video. Is that Nesbitt? Great tune.
Rage Against The Machine: No thank you. Not really a tune is it
Maxi/Shabba: Remixed but Shabba has got stuck in a groove.
Now I like this haopy little ditty from Kingmaker. Good fun tune. Best in show tonight I think. Loved that.
Living the simple life next it's Elton John. Well this is the nearest he will get to it. What's happened to the mic? So much echo on that. Tune seems decent enough. Did he forget to pack his piano?
George is joined by a very sparkly Lisa for a renditon of Days. John looks visibly upset on the drums.
Off to Pump Some Flava! Laters…
After the sad passing of Judith Durham comes more sad news that Olivia Newton-John has passed away aged 73. Another legend; this has been on my brain for the last few days for no particular reason.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B26pyWvYuCc
One of her best. RIP Olivia
Ah, Olivia, a victim of The Great Strike of 1980 when she was number 1 with ELO and got a few seconds' coverage on the first show afterwards. She did have a very clear, distinctive vocal sound.
DeleteIndeed. Her contribution to the 'Xanadu' album was immense. ' Suspended in Time' is another big favourite of mine.
DeleteWhat a star she was. Her other single from that time 'Magic' I think only made No. 36 in Britain but to me it is literally magic. That tune got me when I was 5 and I've loved it ever since. Rip Olivia.
DeleteYes this clip of Suddenly from the Xanadu album was shown in an October 1980 edition of TOTP, ending in that famous snog with Cliff Richard, so thanks for sharing Sct353. Curious in that we didn't see any tribute to Olivia from Cliff this week.
Delete‘Magic’ was superb as well and topped the US charts for 4 weeks in August 1980. As often happens when a music star sadly passes away I pull out some of their music and give it a spin. The ‘Xanadu’ soundtrack was my choice for Olivia. A fine collection of John Farrar and Jeff Lynne songs indeed (although I always wondered why ‘Drum Dreams’ and ‘Fool Country’ were omitted from the album). Listening to ELO’s ‘Don’t Walk Away’ is always a treat and I have to wonder at the genius of Louis Clark and his orchestral string scores for ELO’s music which is pretty awesome on this track.
DeleteI bought the original Xanadu album in 1980 on vinyl of course, and I remember there was a flier inside promoting the Xanadu promo clothing, which I think I still have somewhere.
DeleteThe B-Side of the Xanadu album with the non ELO stuff, was a mele of sad songs, lost opportunities, heartbreak, and longing for love, and gave us a glimpse of Olivia's lonely existence, despite the stardom of Grease a couple of years earlier.
Drum Dreams was the b-side of one of ELO's singles on 7-inch vinyl, but I don't remember which A-side main single it was coupled up with.
'Drum Dreams' was on the back of 'I'm Alive' whilst 'Fool Country' was the 'Xanadu' B-Side. Both tracks appear in the film which I haven't seen for years.
DeleteI bought the VHS copy of the Xanadu film when VHS was the only way to buy films back in the 80s or 90s. I still have it, but more recently I purchased the Xanadu movie from Sky Store by exchanging my nectar points on Sky Store. It's a thoroughly good watch, but Olivia's songs are sad lonely ones, compared to ELO's which are more collective, upbeat and vibrant, not to mention refreshing.
DeleteAnd to think I thought Dance 2 Trance might have been a bit culturally iffy last week when we've got THIS with 2 Unlimited. Erk. Anita looks good though.
ReplyDeleteJanet also looking possibly the best she ever has with a nice summer tune.
Utah Saints proving once again they know what to do with a sample. It's not up there eith Something Good but I have fond memories of this one.
Ace of Base: 20 years ago I went to a conference in Sweden because my then boss was speaking. There was a band playing and the brunette from AoB was the singer. She gave us a lift back to the airport afterwards. And that's my most exciting celebrity anecdote.
A great set of breakers, including Depeche Mode apparently gatecrashing the set of Knightmare.
Kingmaker - had forgotten all about this one! Well hello early Britpop, in a couple of years 50% of the chart will sound like this.
Elton John with a comically huge mic. Peaked at 44? No wonder I don't remember this at all. It's rubbish as well.
I do love it when we get different songs from an EP, especially as we're still in the era of number ones hanging around.
A dance oriented episode that actually had me hooked
ReplyDelete2 Unlimited - limited lyric writing but again a catchy tune…
Utah Saints - I really like these guys. Certainly used samples to their best extreme.
Ace of base - on its way to number one spot (and three for the year) and still very listenable…
(Don’t remember the depeche mode song at all)
Kingmaker - been listening to wonder stuff have you lads?
Elton - cliff richard style arm waving and, unfortunately, could have been Cliff. Pass…
Never a fan of george Michael's output after wham, but boy could he sing