Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, ora, ora pro 18th of November 1993 edition of Top of the Pops!
Opera of the Pops
18-11-93: Presenter: Tony Dortie
(17) 2 UNLIMITED – Maximum Overdrive
Getting tonight's proceedings underway and the song went up two more places.
(22) TERENCE TRENT D’ARBY – Let Her Down Easy (video)
Peaked at number 18.
(4) CULTURE BEAT – Got To Get It (video) (and chart)
At its peak.
(27) CROWDED HOUSE – Nails In My Feet
In the studio and the song went up five more places.
(NEW) U2 – Stay (video)
Peaked at number 4.
(24) JAZZY JEFF & THE FRESH PRINCE – I’m Looking For The One (To Be With Me) (video) (Breakers)
Got no higher.
(21) STING – Demolition Man (video) (Breakers)
Got no higher.
(18) FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD – Welcome To The Pleasure Dome (Remix) (video) (Breakers)
Got no higher.
(12) JANET JACKSON – Again (video) (Breakers)
Peaked at number 6.
(8) ELTON JOHN & KIKI DEE – True Love (video) (Breakers)
Peaked at number 2.
(20) LESLEY GARRETT & AMANDA THOMPSON – Ave Maria
In the student tonight and the song went up four more places.
(1) MEAT LOAF – I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That) (video)
Fifth of seven seeks at number one.
25th of November is next.
How do! Early this week having stayed in to watch England’s paint drying display against the USA. Apt that Dorky mentions England ‘supremo’ Graham Taylor in his intro.
ReplyDeleteA 3-3-2 (Unlimited) formation to begin with. Not their best and the title was the complete opposite of that goalless draw.
Sick note time against, this time for old Terry. Oh so earnest monochrome video but a pretty song.
“Got To get It”? No way, sub-Snap boom thump, I’m afraid.
Mugshots: chart peak and the first of two top 40 entries for the delicately named Swedish Techno act house of Virginism. Ironic that “Laid” by James is further up (ahem) the chart.
Crowded House must have had loads of dosh booking that car park trailer from the other side of the world. Nice silky shirts. More easy listening from them, this one sounding slightly like a crime thriller theme tune. Song title summing up England’s attack. Okay, I’ll stop now.
Not enough 10p’s for the meter so we get U2’s Reg Varney inspired video, yet the lyrics include ‘car crash’ instead of ‘bus altercation’. Oh dear, Bono’s got a ribbon in his ponytail. I would NOT like to be that bloke at the top of that statue!
“Summertime part 47” next. Next!
Oh dear, take a wrecking ball to Sting’s track. See what I did there?
A pointless Frankie re-issue using up seconds which someone like Guns ‘n’ Roses would have appreciated.
More words in Dorky’s waffle over Janet than we actually hear from her. Duh.
Elton and Kiki didn’t waltz to number one after all, See what… never mind.
Ay up, an opera singer from Doncaster accompanied by a determined lass from Keighley in West Yorkshire who suffered leukaemia and came to prominence through Esther Rantzen’s “Hearts Of Gold” programme. Not my usual t’ing but nicely sung and played.
We finish again with “I won’t do that, chuck”.
I must tackle the Quality Street and get a green and a red see-through plastic wrapper for the next edition.
I thought that 2-Unlimited was the perfect show opener with their back-to-debut music style, and Anita looking oh-so-fine. Wonder how much more there is still to come from them.
DeleteIf you watch the whole Frankie Goes To Hollywood video, first shown in 1985, there is a classic moment where they leave their girlfriends in the open top car, while heading for the Pleasuredome without them, and you should see the look on the girls's faces for not being invited in, so that the Frankie's can check out the talent inside. Good Lord!
In an unusually video-heavy show, harking back to the TOTP days pre the 1991 revamp, TOTP must have been under pressure to get the songs out whatever the weather. U2 on video, in addition to the chart rundown video and sick-note video from Trence Trent Darby, made you think we were back in an 80s style TOTP with as many if not more videos than studio performances.
ReplyDeleteCulture Beat - while I did like this follow-up to Mr vain, I never thought it had the ability to trouble the the No.1 spot again with Meat Loaf firmly in position at the top spot. What is it that Culture "got to get it"? I remember Leila K's debut single in 1989 was called Got To Get, with the help of Rob 'n' Raz.
U2 - love this tune, and love the fact that there was a video available for the show, as U2 were never going to perform in the TOTP studio, now that they were doing stadiums and the like. What happened to Bono at the end of the video clip? Looks like he got run over, but not completely sure.
The Breakers - DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince - the video reminds me of Wiggle It by 2 In A Room from a couple of years back in 1991, but just not on the beach.
Meat Loaf - 5th week at No.1, and we are still getting around 4 minutes of the video each time, so full praise to TOTP for not getting bored of the video by this point, and the following week playing even more of it at 6th week at No.1.
Two favourites back to back non this edition. The rest didn't do much for me though 'Ave Maria' was certainly a change from the norm.
ReplyDelete2 Unlimited; Sounding a little more serious than normal on this and so not as enjoyable as they usually are. Motorbike revving throughout it. Ray and Anita are in motorcycle racing gear and the dancing crew dressed like they're also off to Donnington. Big motorbike also present. Ok we get it. Is that the first one to appear in the studio since The Revillos with 'Motorbike Beat' in 1980? Two of them actually sat on it that time but here it's just for display.
Terence Trent D'Arby is another absentee through illness and Tony let's us down awkwardly by sitting at a piano ala Noel Edmonds and presenting the video rather than him playing a song. Disappointingly he doesn't give any indication that he could do it. I bet he can. Video earnest and with some nice sepia hillside scenes.
Culture Beat way below the quality of their No.1. No wonder I only know them for 'Mr.Vain'. I wickipedia'd the song for something to talk about and one of the co-writers has the mind boggling name of Nosie Katzmann. Sorry but I went to bed with my ribs aching after reading that.
This is off the chart better! Crowded House with my favourite track from 'Together Alone'. 'Nails In My Feet' just a pleasure to see here, so atmospheric. A great era that you could have genuine rock stars making a sound like that. Lovely performance with Nick and Paul playfully glaring into the camera and Mark Hart on an ornate Harmonium. Neil as always in fine voice.
U2 not in the studio and Tony is intriguingly elusive in giving a reason. The real reason is probably that they can't be arsed but I'll take any airing of 'Stay (Faraway So Close)'. The b&w video presents the band as actual guardian deities which is guaranteed to annoy but it's very powerful for sheer visual scale (goodness that's one bloody mad stuntman involved there) and the single is stunning. The coda near the end is among my absolute favourite of all '90s music. And Bono does allow himself to look a pillock at the end which the programme only just allows to see. This'll be in 3d next week.
Breakers all repeats or rubbish or Sting topless and sweating. Race past quickly.
A massive gear change into 'Ave Maria' with Lesley Garrett who was probably at the height of her TV fame (she'd been gotcha'd on 'Noels House Party' around this time) doing a full operatic rendition with Amanda Thompson who's brave story does ring a bell. Good to see them performing here.
Meat Loaf; Yes, right, thanks.
Tony gets the 3D show then.
Ps, 'Pick of the Pops' brilliant right at this moment with '76.
A great 1976 chart indeed Mic. Shame he didn't play 'Mississippi' and did play 'Love and Affection' ("Classic alert" for that and not for the new entry at No4 ?). Otherwise pretty faultless set of records, most of which stand the test of time.
DeleteSting's 'Demolition Man' was originally recorded by Grace Jones and then the Police had a go on the 'Ghost in the Machine' album. Not my favourite Sting song.
ReplyDeleteTop ten rundown - it was a stagnant Top 4 this week, and I noticed that the new entry at No.9, Guns 'n' Roses with Ain't It Fun did not get a Breakers slot alongside Elton John's new entry at No.8, so not sure why Guns 'n' Roses were not included in the Breakers, and considering they dropped out of the Top 10 the following week, I thought it worth the mention.
ReplyDeleteThree singles peaking outside the Top 40 this week for former chart regulars, with no TOTP for them this time round:
ReplyDeleteNo.42 Ace Of Base - Happy Nation
Third single released by Ace Of Base, and first to fail to make Top 40. However, this single was re-released in 1994 following the success of their next single The Sign, but it only got two places better at No.40.
No.61 Beverley Craven - Mollie's Song
Final single for Craven, and then called it a day after this one performed dismally chart-wise. Who's Mollie anyway?
No.62 Color Me Badd - Time And Chance
Look who's back with their fourth flop in a row since 1991 when they came on to the scene with two chart singles. This was their penultimate single with one more to come which also went the same way, only getting to No.65.
Dory, "Mollie's Song" is a love song to Beverley Craven's eldest daughter.
DeleteIn fact Beverley released another single from the 'Love Scenes' album. A cover of the Abba classic 'The Winner takes it all'.
ReplyDeleteA rather odd show tonight kicks of in "Maximum Overdrive" with 2 Unlimited, now a top 20 band rather than a top 10 one. I wonder how many records these 2 shifted across Europe, must have been a lot. Tune is OK but the performance is strong.
ReplyDeleteFirst no-show of the night is TERENCE TRENT D’ARBY but we get a piano performance in the video so we haven't missed that much. "Let Her Down Easy" a nice but rather forgettable number.
The CULTURE BEAT follow up sounded terrible in the breakers and in full it is truly bad. Who bought this?
Always available are the shiny shirted CROWDED HOUSE. Cue gags about preferring "Nails In My Feet" than listening to this one again. Rather a dull plodding one from them unfortunately.
Absentee Number U2 with a rather creepy video for a below par effort from them.
Breakers:
JAZZY JEFF & THE FRESH PRINCE – There was a third single? There was an album? Oh dear.
STING – Demolition of a great tune.
FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD – Poor first time around.
JANET JACKSON – Still slow and boring
ELTON JOHN & KIKI DEE – Still loving this one and would have been a great Xmas Number One.
LESLEY GARRETT & AMANDA THOMPSON – Ave Maria
And next up Opera! As you do. Raising serious money for Cancer charities following Amanda's diagnosis, aged 12 with acute myeloid leukaemia. The good news is she survived the Cancer and recovered fully.