Baby, when I think about you I think about the 4th of November 1993 edition of Top of the Pops!
Hitty woman
4-11-93: Presenter: Tony Dortie
(17) THE TIME FREQUENCY – Real Love
Getting the show underway with what became their only top ten hit when it peaked at number 8.
(8) MARIAH CAREY – Hero (video) (and charts)
Went up one more place.
(21) AEROSMITH – Cryin’
Making a big noise in the studio tonight and the song peaked at number 17.
(20) PAULINE HENRY – Feel Like Making Love
Performing her biggest hit and it peaked at number 12.
(26) FAITH NO MORE – Another Body Murdered (video) (Breakers)
Got no higher.
(25) JULIET ROBERTS – Free Love (video) (Breakers)
Got no higher.
(24) SOUL II SOUL – Wish (video) (Breakers)
Got no higher.
(14) WHITNEY HOUSTON – Queen Of The Night (video) (Breakers)
Got no higher.
(7) CULTURE BEAT – Got To Get It (video) (Breakers)
Peaked at number 4.
(18) THE SHAMEN – Comin’ On
Here tonight and the record went up four more places.
(23) WET WET WET – Shed A Tear
In the studio and the song went up one more place.
(1) MEAT LOAF – I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That) (video)
Third of seven weeks at number one.
11th of November is next.
Pauline Henry's song a cover of the Bad Company original from the best part of two decades earlier.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed The Shamen's "Comin’ On"
ReplyDeleteA very upbeat track!
Time Frequency - this studio performance reminded me of DD Jackson's Automatic Lover from 1978 where she also had a robot on stage, albeit not as advanced as the two on stage with Time Frequency!
ReplyDeleteMariah Carey - so Dortie says an outside bet for Christmas No.1? Well not in the UK, but definitely for the USA, as Carey only just made it to Christmas No.1 in America with this tune, and then for a further three weeks into January 1994, so 4 weeks in total at the No.1 spot for 'Hero'.
Aerosmith - Good Lord, how did TOTP entice this lot to the studio, when all we had since Love In An Elevator in 1989, were just videos played on TOTP if at all.
Pauline Henry - no relation to the Birmingham actor Paul Henry who played Benny in Crossroads and went to school with Jeff Lynne of ELO. Anyway, back to Pauline Henry, and wasn't this single originally done by a male group, as it sounds very familiar? Oh I see the answer from Richardr above, so thanks!
The Breakers - Soul 2 Soul always seem to come up with good videos, even though I'm not into all their music, and it's been a long year of hits for Whitney Houston since January with I Will Always Love You. Was Queen Of The Night on the same album?
The Shamen - ah now, highlight of the show for me, as also cos they had not been in the TOTP studio for quite a while, and I think not since 1992, so welcome towards the end of 1993, and 'no matter if you're black, white, yellow or brown, you keep Comin' On!' Anyway, what is that cute girl in light green sitting on a pedestal in the middle of the stage wearing??
Meat Loaf - a further decline in viewing time of the video, as we get a further edit this week, chopping off most of the first half of the video, to show mainly the second half, and giving us a total of 3:50, so just under 4 minutes. The video is getting shorter by the week!
Mary Keen gets an intro mention despite not being credited on The Time Frequency’s real average rave. What are Mr & Mrs R2D2 doing there?
ReplyDeleteMariah with some right old AOR syrup.
Fine stadium rock performance from Aerosmith, who win the award for best dressed mic stand on the show yet. Watch that drummer go during the instrumental bridge.
Unusual trance-pop version of that old rock classic from Pauline, who gives Mariah a run for her money with some of those high notes.
Breakers in turn: awful row / meh uptempo R&B / not a patch on Soul II Soul’s best / another row / satire from Tony but he’s right about that Culture Beat track.
The return of MC Prat and a Shaman playing his keyboard from the opposite side.
I shed a tear that Wet Wet Wet, with their ponytailed trio up front, were on.
Another slice of Loaf to finish, with both Dorky and the Letraset cheating re the song title.
Just picked up the The Shamen's single was released as part of an EP called The SOS EP, of which Comin' on was one single from it. Didn't know that at the time of our write-ups above!
DeleteStill don't know what it is that Meat Loaf wouldn't do for love, even 29 years later watching these repeats!
Top Ten rundown - this week had The Goodmen at peak position of No.5 on second release, and although they sadly never got a main slot on the show, it will still rank as one the decade's greatest danclefloor singles as well as all-time greatest intro.
ReplyDeleteThree songs at peak position further down the chart this week, outside of TOTP range for an appearance on the show:
No.39 Texas - You Owe It All To Me
Texas had an up and down chart career across their first few years of singles since 1989, with most of the singles peaking outside the Top 40, as I only recall one appearance on TOTP in the studio up to this point.
No.60 Midnight Oil - Into The Valley
Not sure of this was a cover of the 1979 song of the same name by The Skids, but Midnight Oil were a superb Aussie band which did well early on in the UK in 1989 with Beds Are Burning, but more recently hardly being heard of in terms of chart positions by 1993, and this one could only manage No.60.
No.61 MC Sar & The Real McCoy - Another Night
Could have sworn that this did much better and was in the Top 40, but this may have been at a re-release later if there was one.
The Midnight Oil single is actually called "In The Valley" so it isn't the Skids song. Good knock re MC Sar & The Real McCoy, by the way - reissued a year later and it shot all the way to number 2.
DeleteGive it 12 months and Another Night will get to Number 2.
DeleteMostly a case of good performances of not very good singles on this edition. Tony who has been more and more strident lately really goes for it this evening. Charging through his links, catchphrases left, right and centre (the first word I think he utters is "wicked!!!"), he's a one man Top of the Pops promotion machine on hyperdrive setting. Is he aware that the live broadcast is next week?
ReplyDeleteThe Time Frequency I nearly fast forwarded as the backing resembled TT's 'It Only Takes a Minute' but that was a good dance tune which I half recall from the time. The singer who looks a lot like Davina McCall made plenty of alluring glances to camera while whipping up a party atmosphere. Good start.
Charts with a big dull anthem from Mariah Carey so an opportunity to look closer at the charts. A sign of the changes that The Time Frequency entered the charts higher than Whitney Houston.
Tony doing a high speed big up for Aerosmith. Is it their first appearance in the studio? More screaming rock theatrics than an actual tune but an entertaining watch. I wonder if Steven Tyler's was the loudest live vocal in the show's history.
Pauline Henry could've rivalled it with her cover of Bad Company's 'Feel Like Making Love'. Very raunchy from her, she really goes for it there and great to see the ex-Chimes singer back in the studio.
Breakers. Faith No More; Charmless cack. The dark ages of Limp Bizkit et al worryingly previewed.
Juliet Roberts; Barely noticed.
Soul II Soul; Gorgeous video with the same exoticism as 'A Dreams a Dream'. Classy tune and enjoyed the moments in what looked like a fire garden; great memories of the old Mayor's festival in London every September.
Whitney Houston; also going rocky. Pretty poor.
Culture Beat; Tony's comment.
The Shamen; Taking a diversion into full Orb style psychedelia, fractals and ecology images on a screen behind them. Colin Angus very different to his normal look. Is he sporting hair extensions? Probably their least catchy but a bold few minutes.
Wet, Wet, Wet have been away for a while and they return with a pleasant if pedestrian number. They look contented; maybe they'd been recently invited to assist on a soundtrack or something. Another tune that's been good to revisit.
The video for Meat Loaf again. Talk a little more Tony so I can get my popcorn. Still enjoying it but getting a little tiring.
A mention of the 3D edition coming soon in conjunction with Children in Need. Sounds interesting. Let's look at the line-up. Oh.
Settled down for my Saturday Pops and realised it's not there! Then remembered I hadn't commented on these two episodes.
ReplyDeleteThis episode was kind of fine, I guess. Nothing I loved, but decent mix and many of these tracks ones I haven't heard since they were out, which I do always appreciate
Storming start from THE TIME FREQUENCY. I think she feels alive and nice to see some work for the BBC's Visual Effects department now Doctor Who has gone. Cool robots, quality vocal, great dance tune.
ReplyDeleteMARIAH CAREY – Nicely staged video for one of her finest tunes.
Dropping the G it's AEROSMITH wih "Cryin’". Is this a Diane Warren tune? Performance one of the years highlights for me. Great stuff. Should have been Top 10.
Another strong vocalist gets her 15 minutes of fame. PAULINE HENRY feels like making love and I felt like bopping along to this. Nice.
Breakers:
FAITH NO MORE – Another Tune Murdered, what a bloody racket.
JULIET ROBERTS – Always had decent tunes but never a big star. I must admit I liked her.
SOUL II SOUL – Still going but "Wish"ing for a bigger hit.
WHITNEY HOUSTON – Queen Of The Night. Yet another great tune from Bodyguard.
CULTURE BEAT – Got To Get It Off Quickly. Rubbish.
Always happy to have THE SHAMEN back although lyrically this is a weaker tune from them but the hook and beat are good as always. Video looked good.
I feel generous and I won't "shed a tear" over this WET WET WET tune.
MEAT LOAF still Number One and I always think of Bonnie Tyler when I hear the female part of this.