There's something in my head and it's the 23rd of June 1994 edition of Top of the Pops!
ShedMaker
23-6-94: Presenter: Simon Mayo
(19) ASWAD – Shine
Getting tonight's show underway with what became their second and final top ten hit when it peaked at number 5.
(3) DAWN PENN – You Don’t Love Me (No, No, No)
A second studio performance but the song was now at its peak.
(5) ACE OF BASE – Don’t Turn Around (video) (and charts)
This Aswad cover was now at its peak.
(7) ALL-4-ONE – I Swear
Back to perform their only top ten hit and it peaked at number 2.
(28) SHED SEVEN – Dolphin
Making their studio debut with their first of fifteen top 40 hits but this one got no higher.
(NEW) THE BC52’S – (Meet) The Flintstones (video)
Became their second and final top ten hit when it peaked at number 3. Yabbadabbadoo!
(12) CAPPELLA – U And Me
Performing what became their fourth and final top ten hit when it peaked at number 10.
(NEW) ELTON JOHN – Can You Feel The Love Tonight
In the studio with the first of his Lion King songs and this one roared to number 14.
(1) WET WET WET – Love Is All Around
Fourth of fifteen weeks.
(NEW) THE PRETENDERS – Night In My Veins (studio montage) (and credits)
Peaked at number 25.
30th of June is next.
Now THIS is more like it TOTP. Apart from the number one which I'm never watching, I enjoyed everything tonight and it was such a good mix.
ReplyDeleteShine might be my favourite Aswad song although the rap bit hasn't aged well. Lovely performance.
Dawn Penn isn't my favourite track but I appreciate it a lot more than I did then and another good studio turn.
Good night for Aswad with two songs on. I like this cover quite a bit even if the original is better.
All 4 One - cheesy but classic ballad.
Shed Seven are still going,they appear at Tramlines here in Sheffield pretty much every year and they're always good value. Good to have them here on the Pops.
I'm not really here for two exclusives but the BC 52s is such a fun redo of the Flintstones theme. I don't remember the film being much good though - but I was a cynical teenager, maybe I'd appreciate it more now.
Capella - serviceable dance bop.
Elton - his Lion King songs have been overplayed to the point of being sick of them but they're genuinely good.
Pretenders - not their best but fine.
Shine was definitely the best Aswad song ever, even though it didn't reach the amazing heights of No.1 that Don't Turn Around did for them in the late 80s. On Shine I did like the reference to running like Lynford Christie (athletics), and Ian Wright scoring (football) in the boy rap guest slot during the song, as it reminded me of the surprise rap section of I'm Free by The Soup Dragons in 1990.
DeleteI only came in half way through this edition so won't do a full review but just a few thoughts on the music.
ReplyDeleteThat must've been the first time that a group appear in some form and have one of their other hits get featured, unless it happened with The Beatles. My memory of hearing 'Shine' for the first time was thinking that they've made a late step from being a pop band to being a serious reggae act which of course is what they always were.
Aswad's other hit done in customary gloomy fashion by Ace Of Base. They really did have finding the most unpartylike chord progressions down to a fine art.
Couldn't stand Shed Seven at the time (though appreciating they had a very talented guitarist, the case with quite a few Britpop bands) but I thought that was a very good debut.
Elton's single I can't help but love. Gorgeous intro and I really hope that he performs it as his final song at Glastonbury though I'm sure he won't.
The Aswad singer on lead vocal for the Don't Turn Around song in 1988 was now on drums duty at the back of the band on Shine here in 1994. Not that anyone noticed of course, and interesting to note that Ace Of Base were less successful with their cover of Don't Turn around which got to No.1 for Aswad first time round in 1988.
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ReplyDeleteAswad - Apart from my observations above, I don't know why the guest teenage rapper coming on towards the end of the song came onto the stage only for his piece and the went off immediately after his piece. I would have been better to have him on from the beginning, as other groups would do.
ReplyDeleteChart rundown - a couple of songs missing out on TOTP and at peak this week were The Utah Saints with their first single in a year at No.32 with I Still Think Of You, which fell badly the following week to No.62, and also Bobby Brown with a new entry at No.38 with Two Can Play That Game and also out of the Top 40 the following week.
All-4-One - I Swear that this song was 11 weeks at No.1 in America during this summer of 1994 from May until the end of July, and although half way during this long tenure at the Top spot in the US, they still flew over to the UK to be on TOTP to promote it there, even though they stayed at No.1 in the US until the end of July. Good Lord!
Capella - this song while right in the Capella style of music, it was more about 6 tasty girls in shiny silver minidresses dancing on stage with the group.
Ok chaps/chappesses, please help. The 1983 episode this week had 3 people introduced between the songs. I didn’t recognise any of them, and couldn't catch their names. Any idea who they were? Thanks
ReplyDeleteThere were four of them, all from the TV series "Fame": Lori Singer, Gene Anthony Ray, Carlo Imperato and Debbie Allen.
DeleteAh ok. Explains why I didn’t recignise any if them. Thank you.
DeleteI loved the way the Kids From Fame danced with the studio audience on the Big Country studio performance and finale to the show
DeleteAh. Another World Cup and another chance for Si to get his football shirt collection out. Must have been knackered, having to zip off and back sharpish somewhere during each track for all those costume changes. Can’t think he would’ve changed and shown his bare torso in the audience!
ReplyDeleteAswad start us with fizzy reggae pop as refreshing as a can of what until recently used to be called Lilt.
On a ragga tip to begin with as it’s Dawn Penn, the granny looker with a belting voice.
Terrible cover by Ace of Base (didn’t realise how comely the dark haired singer was until now, mind you).
Non-mugshots: the only top 40 week for Kristine W(eltz), who managed a staggering 16 number ones in the US dance chart, plus we get both Cappella and Anticappella in the chart.
All-4-One, not a syrupy as some four-piece harmony groups and that’s the best I can offer.
I can only guess the TOTP Letrasetter’s from Yorkshire as the county gets its fourth placename mention in recent weeks for Shed Seven. Enjoyable if repetitititive. Didn’t like Rick Witter’s ‘me me me’ self-portrait T-shirt, liked the bass drum band namecheck being completely off kilter.
BC52’s. Clever branding. Also the first time we ever hear Fred Schneider actually singing!
Cappella would have been faceless commercial rave without Pan’s People Plus One behind them.
Si’s Ireland shirt has its car sponsor changed to a pun on a chewy sweet, before we get an entire bag of teeth-rot sugar from Elton.
FF the chart topper again for something almost punk-like from The Pretenders. Back of the net!
Just noticed that one song peaking outside the Top 40 this week was Peter Gabriel with Lovetown, and the third single in a row since 1993 to fail to make the Top 40. Suffice to say that Gabriel released one more single, an EP a couple of months later which unfortunately also flopped outside the Top 40, and that turned out to be his last ever single.
ReplyDeleteContrast this to Elton John who also started up in the 70s, and appeared as a new single this week in the TOTP studio, who was a TOTP studio regular for the last 20 years or so since the early 70s, and you can see the difference in longevity of careers, especially as Gabriel never graced the TOTP studio as far as I am aware, and so did not put in as much effort as Elton John with winning over generations of music fans by appearing on the show regularly through the years.
According to something I've discovered called the Televison & Radio Database, Peter Gabriel only appeared in the TOTP studios twice, for "No Self Control" in 1980 and "Sledgehammer" six years later. For once Popscene didn't help, as Peter Gabriel's details have been accidentally replaced by those of Gabrielle!
DeleteThe Television and Radio database made a error itself as Peter never did a studio performance for Sledgehammer .
DeleteHere comes Boy-Mayo and it's World Cup time again, Make sure you have a copy of the 1994 World Cup results by your side to get all the jokes tonight.
ReplyDeleteThe reggae take-over continues as ASWAD are back. Hurrah! Great record for the summer sun"Shine". Even the rap in the middle is bearable. Really enjoyed this one. Great show opener.
DAWN PENN is back with another fine rendition of "You Don’t Love Me". yes, yes, yes I do Dawn. Wonderful tune.
Finally we get ACE OF BASE with their Aswad cover of "Don’t Turn Around". They made rubbish videos didn't they? I really liked this at the time but not so keen on it now. Very 90s pop. Delighted to see one of my all time favourite songs has landed at No 40 (7 Seconds), fingers crossed we get a performance of this one.
Think we might see more of ALL-4-ONE and I surprised myself by quite enjoying this performance. Not quite as much as the teenage girls in the audience though. Still no idea what the school teacher is doing there?
Well this will wake everyone up. Stunning performance. I do like SHED SEVEN so great to see them arrive on TOTP. One of those bands that were never huge, but you'd probably recognise each and every one of the their fifteen top 40 hits. Put me down as someone who has the Greatest Hits album but nothing else as all their singles were great.
As far as marketing songs from films goes the B(C)52's Flintstones tune is a real winner. A great match up (even if the film was terrible) and a deserved smash hit as well. Some thought put into the video and I think everyone remembers this one, whether they like it or not.
CAPPELLA with a cover of the old Childrens Programme theme "U And Me". Thankfully they don't let the woman sing live this time so a much improved performance.
Pre-recorded ELTON JOHN next with his Tim Rice tune from what is about to become Disney's biggest hit ever. Shall I say now I have never seen Lion King. "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" is a rather fine tune though.
WET WET WET stuck on repeat and a snippet of PRETENDERS to play out.
Finally...a decent 1994 show. All hail the Mayo.