I feel it in my fingers, I feel it in the 9th of June 1994 edition of Top of the Pops!
Big night out
9-6-94: Presenters: Vic Reeves & Bob Mortimer
(16) MANIC STREET PREACHERS – Faster
Getting the show underway but the song got no higher.
(15) KYM MAZELLE & JOCELYN BROWN – No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)
In the studio tonight and this disco cover went up two more places.
(7) ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS – Absolutely Fabulous (video) (and charts)
Went up one more place.
(22) BLUR – To The End
Here with the second single from their number one album Parklife, and it peaked at number 16.
(28) BRAND NEW HEAVIES – Back To Love
From their top 4 album Brother Sister and it peaked at number 23.
(10) GUNS N’ ROSES – Since I Don’t Have You (video)
Their penultimate hit and it was at its peak.
(4) MAXX – Get-A-Way
A second studio performance but the song could get no higher.
(9) DAWN PENN – You Don’t Love Me (No, No, No)
Performing her only hit and it peaked at number 3.
(1) WET WET WET – Love Is All Around
Second of fifteen weeks at number one.
(NEW) BRAVADO – Harmonica Man (studio montage) (and credits)
His only hit and it peaked at number 37.
16th of June is next.
Manic Street Preachers - Good Lord, is this the first time that TOTP allowed a balaclava for a lead singer to perform with? It's certainly not what I imagined when you consider how the show evolved as a family friendly show in the last 30 years up to this point.
ReplyDeleteKym Mazelle & Jocelyn Brown - I always thought that no-one could top the original by Donna Summer & Barbara Streisand in 1978, but this 90s remake with Mazelle & Brown was just as good I thought. Love the tasty shiny minidresses on the six girls dancing behind them on the stage.
Chart rundown - Roxette at a peak of No.24 this week was cold-shouldered for a slot on the show, and what a shambles, as this was one of their very best tunes if not THE best, and yet not even the video if they could not come in to perform it. Good Lord! Also Danii Minogue sneaking in to the Top 40 at No.39 was also at peak, and not be featured on the show, so this one also missed out.
Maxx - its that Pacman sound again, like going back to the late 70s and early 80s video games.
I recall there were many complaints about that Manics performance!
DeleteYeah. Loads to Ofcom. Manics wouldn’t have cared
DeleteThis was a great episode, I don't even feel too miffed we don't get Crash! Boom! Bang! (not a good night for Swedish pop as Ace of Base also miss out). Where was this wealth of choice back in May when we had three dire episodes in a row?
ReplyDeleteI still find it weird to see the Manics being edgy knowing how their image is about to change although obviously also sad because of the reason why they end up being so different. Love this though.
Kym and Jocn- Really like this version of No More Tears and good to have them both in the studio.
It's a shame we only get PSB on video when we only just had that but I guess there's value in having the Comic Relief emphasis by including the AbFab clips.
Blur - soon to be heard closing indie disco nights for years to come. I like this one although Tender and End of a Century are even better. Blur slowies: underrated.
BNH A very 1994 band. One of those acts I always quite liked without loving enough to buy anything from.
GNR - I had forgotten all about yhis. Pretty good track if not the most memorable.
Maxx - again?
Dawn Penn - This very much takes me back. We thought Dawn Penn was sooo old back then (to be fair the video didn't do her any favours as it aged her terribly). Now I'm older than she was then I shake my head at our teenage idiocy.
Doesn't this show go a lot faster when there isn't a number one to pay attention to? Not sure what the nonsense over the credits is when there were songs in the chart they could have played.
Vic and Bob were great fun on this edition and really justified the new approach of having celeb guest presenters. Chaotic intros and scotch eggs. Exactly what I hoped for.
ReplyDeleteThe opening link sets the style for the following 30 minutes. The opening number certainly doesn't.
The Manic Street Preachers; Apparently the performance with the most number of complaints in TOTP history. 'Faster' the lead single from 'The Holy Bible,' and a ballistic start to the show. James does look mega unnerving in his balaclava even though his name is stitched into it. Nicky also full of intent and Sean thundering away on the drums. Richey = star. I don't remember this at the time and probably didn't want to know until a few weeks later when I saw them late at night on '4 Goes To Glastonbury' and was totally stunned. How on earth is he playing lead and singing like that at the same time? And the outfits. Band of the year for me.
Loved Vic's exchange with a girl who doesn't realise he's there and just stares at him. "Oh,No worries!". Priceless.
Kym Mazelle and Jocelyn Brown; My favourite performance of this on the show was Legs and Co's routine on a show in '79. This version was surprisingly forgettable and Kym Mazelle seemed off key for most of it. I liked Jocelyn's hairstyle.
Absolutely Fabulous; If only the chart rundown was 40 to 38 this week.
Blur; Ah, beautiful single. I liked the use of black and white film for this performance. 'Girls and Boys' put me off them for the whole of the 'Parklife' period but this really does sound good. Slightly shaky going for the big notes but a moving vocal from Damon.
Brand New Heavies; Would've preferred 'Dream On Dreamer' in the studio but this was good to hear. The male singer who is also I think on 'Shelter' from '97 does a fine job.
Guns 'n' Roses; Dreary version of an ancient pop tune but worth it for the funny link from Vic and Bob.
MAXX; Again?
Dawn Penn; This was all over the radio at the time and a nice reminder of reggae's dominance in the charts. I think originally a release from years before then given a '90s makeover.
Wet Wet Wet; Dressing like they clearly have their finger on British pop's new aesthetic pulse. Oh well. Week 2.
Harmonica Man could be a Vic and Bob character. Thinking about it, why couldn't they have been allowed an end song. They did have a bit of success in that department.
Chart rundown 40 to 38 only? You must like Dannii Minogue then. I must say that in the early 90s I couldn't wait to see her on TOTP, and this one somehow tanked at No.39 with no play.
DeleteWhat a shame Vic and Bob didn’t introduce the show under their folk duo aliases of Mulligan and O’Hare.
ReplyDeleteJames Dean Bradfield showing how to win friends and influence people there. Watch the BBC switchboard catch fire. That opener cleared the cobwebs and no mistake.
I could imagine The Weather Girls having a crack at the next tune but not doing it as well. Kym Mazelle looking like a bigger ‘Russian Doll’ version of Chaka Khan there. An ‘of its time’ Carry On style outro comment by our hosts.
Ab Crap with sound down for the non-mugshots, complete with Car Horn Emoji in consecutive positions with the word “Beautiful” in both titles, and the only solo top 40 outing for Sub Sub’s guest vocalist Melanie Williams.
Blur - ”To The End” of their career as quick as you can, please. The black and white staging emphasising their pretentiousness. I’d definitely prefer to have a Scotch egg than suffer that again.
Average acid jazz from the not so Brand New these days Heavies. Another ‘of its time’ outro comment by B&V who completely forget to namecheck the act. Not niiiiice.
I enjoyed that Guns ‘n’ Roses cover. Good to hear Axl Rose singing properly for a change instead of his usual whiney yell.
We could have had Roxette, Crowded House or SWV but no, we get a second slop of Maxx complete with Pork Piehat Prick. Not cagey (see what I did there?) in saying I wasn’t keen on that.
Peak of the week next with Dawn Penn’s smoky and sultry summer swayer. I quite like this (yes yes yes).
WWW FF followed by Old Grey Whistle Test style rave and, again, a montage effort which does diddly squat (and, again, out hosts forget to give it a namecheck. I know - I wouldn't let it lie.)
Happy 20th Birthday to ME!!! I may have been in the pub for this one...
ReplyDeleteMANIC STREET PREACHERS open up with James in a Balaclava for some reason. They appear to have come as some kind of guerrilla outfit. Not sure that was a wise move. Tune not up to much either.
KYM MAZELLE & JOCELYN BROWN – No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)
So for my 20th Birthday my parents bought me a new hi-fi system and I had a CD player in my room for the first time. So long cassette singles (Gary Clail 1991 being the first). This is the first CD single I ever bought. Just a great vocal and decent dance beat. Never going to win any awards but loads of fun.
Love a Scotch egg and love a bit of BLUR. "To The End" is a decent pop tune. You can tell this lot went to art school as it's all about the performance. Couldn't recall the BRAND NEW HEAVIES tune but I enjoyed it. Never going to set the charts alight though. However I wasn't enamoured with the GUNS N’ ROSES tune. Thought it was a bit bland. Then MAXX are back for some reason when there are other Top 40 hits I'd rather hear.
DAWN PENN – You Don’t Love Me (No, No, No)
Where did this come from? Big in Jamaica apparently. 1994 has given us some real dross but when it gets it right the tunes have been amazing. This is awesome. Absolutely love this. Great live vocal as well. Highlight of the show by a mile.
Marti and the Wets in full drug mode. We might get a decent vocal at some point in the next 15 weeks. BRAVADO sounding highly unoriginal on the playout.
Oh yes...Vic and Bob...Unfunny Prats should just about cover it.
I beat you by about 8 months, as my first CD single was Meat Loaf with I'd Do Anything For Love in October 1993, but we're pretty much on the same page, as 1993 to 1994 is when vinyl singles were on the wane and eventually bowed out in 1994.
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