We all get hurt by love, but in the name of understanding it's the 8th of September 1994 edition of Top of the Pops!
Neighbour from heaven
8-9-94: Presenters: Brian Harvey & Tony Mortimer
(19) BLONDIE – Atomic (Remix)
Back in the top 40 after a twelve year gap and getting tonight's show underway (although only Debbie has turned up) but it got no higher.
(9) CORONA – The Rhythm Of The Nigh
Performing their first of three top ten hits and this one was the biggest peaking at number 2.
(16) THE WONDERSTUFF – Unbearable (video) (and charts)
Their thirteenth and final top 40 hit but it got no higher.
(NEW) CYNDI LAUPER – Hey Now (Girls Just Wanna Have Fun)
Covering her own song and this version became her fourth and final top ten hit when it peaked at number 4.
(ALBUM TRACK) OASIS – Rock ‘N’ Roll Star
Performing a track from their mega number one debut album, Definitely Maybe.
(13) PET SHOP BOYS – Yesterday When I Was Mad (video)
Got no higher.
(2) KYLIE MINOGUE – Confide In Me
A second studio performance but this dreamy song was at its peak.
(NEW) BON JOVI – Always
Here tonight with a song that will peak at number 2.
(1) WET WET WET – Love Is All Around (video)
Fifteenth and final week at number one!
(NEW) WHIGFIELD – Saturday Night (video) (and credits)
Will go straight to the top.
15th of September is next.
Blondie - is the group's name, not Debbie Harry as solo, so if doing Atomic in the TOTP studio, the rest of the group should have been there surely? I remember when it was in the charts the first time in 1980, there was only a video to show on TOTP, as Blondie were note flying in to perform it on the show. Oh how times have changed by 1994.
ReplyDeleteCorona - I remember this as a dance floor regular played by the DJs, and although I don't remember this TOTP performance, the girls on the stage looked very likeable and sexy in those minidresses. So comfortable they looked in them, that it seemed they could dance to anything that night.
Pet Shop Boys - too much strobe in the video really put me off it, and also the single as a result. However they did get the new second video slot on the show, not involving the chart rundown as the traditional video slot, so now with the Radio 1 DJs presenting, the videos were gradually coming back into the show since before the 1991 revamp to concentrate more on studio performances.
Wet Wet Wet - I think there must have been a plot to get rid of these guys at No.1 for 15 weeks already, that a mention of Whigfield by the presenters as next week's No.1 single, when Whigfield was not even in the charts yet, I thought was very presumptive and not appropriate. They even played a clip of the Whigfield video at the end of the show instead of the usual montage with credits, that something was being forced, as the current format of the show was not to pay a video with the credits at the end of the show.
Blondie's 'Atomic' was indeed shown as a video in 1980....and the video is for the vastly superior album version. I am not sure what Debbie performed in the studio here as I haven't watched it but I suspect it was the edit used on the 7", 12" and (I suspect) 'Best of Blondie' compilation.
DeleteAs an aside, one edition of 'Pick of the Pops' I listened to a few years ago had the album version played rather than the single version, but more recently a 1980 chart reverted back to the single version which, to be fair is the one you heard on the radio at the time in 1980.
Good Lord, I didn't know Atomic was this complicated.
DeleteI cringed when I first saw and heard our hosts, but I thought they did a good job overall. Tony doing most of the heavy lifting but they were straightforward and not obnoxious. Well done, chaps.
ReplyDeleteHorrible pointless remix to begin and if you can’t get “Blundie”, as the purposely torn backdrop stated, in the studio then don’t advertise them.
I used to love Corona limeade. Quite enjoyed this perky rave pop complete with easy-on-the eye dancers, though the singer was obviously miming.
Ta and bye to The Wonder Stuff. Silver medal placing for me this week, and nice intro praise from Brian.
Quite a few previous chart acts in the 40 but not played yet again. The only non-mugshot sighting of the decidedly frightening Henry Rollins with his Band.
Cyndi Lauper cashes in on the ‘Lilt rock’ reggae phase by desecrating her second best hit for me.
A soupcon of light self-indulgence by Brian before… this lot again? Couldn’t we have had Rollins Band or Pop Will Eat Itself instead?
How on Earth did that fit-inducing PSB video manage to get on the show? What with the quite awful track, a quick FF before I went mad.
Best looking feet??? Peak of the week as, thankfully, we get to see and hear Kylie in her pomp. Nice outfit and eyelid make-up match there. Such a shame this wasn’t released a week later to stand a decent chance of a deserved number one.
Great, Bon Jovi are back. File comment under Oasis. A reasonable stadium lighter ballad but the sandwich in a trio of slower tracks on the show.
Bye and good riddance, W’s. I seem to recall the lads asked their record company to halt pressing the single to give someone else a chance at the top.
Talking of which, our first viewing of the Nordic monolith.
Chart rundown - Warren G & Nate Dogg were unlucky not to get a mother play this week, going up again to No.8, but played only once on new entry in July at No.9, so for the last seven weeks in the Top 10 they never got a second play.
ReplyDeleteAlso Prince was a new entry this week at No.30 with LetItGo, but didn't get a play on the show, and missed out cos the single fell down the chart the following week.
Lots of great stuff tonight though three exclusives is too much.
ReplyDeleteI'm assuming Blondie had a Greatest Hits out? I love Atomic but this is a weird and slightly pointless remix.
Corona - great track but the worst miming to probably someone else's voice since Black Box and Milli Vanilli.
How did we not get the Wonderstuff in the studio? They always give good Pops. Thinking this is a Greatest Hits inspired re-release as well? Boy does tonight have a thing.
Cos here comes another one. I thought this remix was abysmal at the time bit it's grown on me a bit over the years. Ace wig, too.
Great Oasis performance but two exclusives (of three) in a row is a lot.
PSB - As you guys have already said, weird and probably vaguely offensive video. The song is OK.
Kylie - easy highlight of the night, she looks great too.
Bon Jovi - this one felt inescapable at the time. Good track, just over played.
I watched the thing given it was its final outing. And here comes its successor. Glad they're showing videos for the credits now rather than the weird clips.
Yep, two new video slots came in since Dortie and Franklin left, one whole video in the middle of the show, not including the chart rundown video, and now a video on the end credits, so you could have potentially four videos if you include the No.1 single if the group were not available to perform in the studio.
DeleteThree singles peaking outside the Top 40 this week for previous Top 40 charters but now all at their last ever single:
ReplyDeleteNo.47 Billy Idol - Speed
In a solo career stretching back to 1982 with the original release of Hot In The City which only managed No.58, Idol was previously lead singer in Generation X with singles between 1977 to 1981, so across the group and solo career it goes all the way back to 1977, and now come to an end in 1994.
No.48 Tag Team - Whoomp! (There It is)
Remix of their original which got to No.34 at the beginning of the year. Not sure why they released a remix in the same year, but probably to do better than their No.34 peak for the original.
No.79 Opus III - Hand In Hand
Fourth and last single from the Hertfordshire group, but nothing made Top 40 for them, apart from their debut single It's A Fine Day which made Top 5 in 1992.
A cracking episode here. I don’t remember Blondie receiving the remix treatment but there is a whole album (1995s Beautiful) of the stuff - I’ll give it a Spotify spin this week. This was a bit pointless though.
ReplyDeleteCorona, great pop-dance music, unlike the previous Blondie dance remix track. Rhythm of the Night was revived recently (well actually 10 years ago now), quite brilliantly, by Bastille. Also the recently released Pet Shop Boys’ DiscoVery has their excellent live take on it recorded in late 1994.
The Wonder Stuff with the re-release of their 1987 debut single from the just released greatest hits album. Great to be hearing this again, being a big fan of everything Grebo in the late 80s.
Next up Oasis. Blur with Phil Daniels were most entertaining last week, but Oasis were kings (excluding Pulp, Suede, Elastica, Salad) in the Brit Pop battle of the bands. In 1994 i’d moved from Manchester’s Moss Side to over the road from Oasis’ Burnage area to pick up the swagger.
Pet Shop Boys were certainly mad for it with this song / video. One of their best to these ears, particularly when heard in the closing sequence of their 1994 Disco 2 album.
I was about to take issue with Angelo there as I read the description of Kylie’s track as dreary instead of dreamy 😆. Stunning tune.
Still not had the listening pleasure of the wets so looking forward to not having to FF next week with Whigfield’s arrival at the top.
Can’t keep up with all these transmissions - currently have a backlog of 26 episodes…
ReplyDeleteStarting off with a hideous remix of atomic. Presumably she is there on her own as they removed all the other instruments. Oh dear…
Corona - my memory, and that if my other half, remembered this being sung by a man. The dancers dresses seem to have shrunk in the wash.
Wonder stuff - bought this first time around. Don’t remember it being rereleased.
Cyndi Lauoer - see Blondie.
Oasis - “a new band” giving it large as ever. Could have been a great single - Still rocks all these years later.
PSB - don’t remember this, but enjoyed it. Typically looney (no pun intended) video.
Kylie - from her Madonna chill phase, could have been a Bond theme. As quoted, “dreamy”
Bob Jovi - still played on the radio nowadays, a slowie, but pleasant enough. Audience struggling to find a dance move other than waving arms.
12" Singles/ extended mixes. Had they passed their sell by date by this stage? I remember buying the 12" of 'Dancing with Tears in my eyes' which went on and on and on.... The 12" of 'Reet Petite' was similarly irritating in going "rrrr...rrrr...rrr...rrrr... reet petite' in the chorus. Sheer butchery in my view!
ReplyDeleteThe Blondie remix of Atomic was definitely being plugged as a 12" at the time but yes I think their biggest era is over.
DeleteOne of BLONDIE has bothered to show up (were they even together at this point) and Debbie seems thoroughly disinterested in proceedings. This is however my favourite Blondie tune.
ReplyDeleteFirst of two massive summer dance anthems in 2 weeks (with Whigfield to come). CORONA are all legs and all miming for "The Rhythm Of The Night". There seems to be a lot more miming going on again recently. Quality tune.
Charts this week with THE WONDERSTUFF and a song having a second crack. Good tune. Liked that. Shame this is the end for them, they have been a lot of fun.
Big respect to CYNDI LAUPER, not only for the great live vocal but for completely reinventing her biggest tune and making it better. Everybody gets to have fun listening to this one.
Enjoying the early OASIS tunes more second time around. Big thumbs up for "Rock ‘N’ Roll Star" but Liam can't be arsed to sing live either.
Not the best PET SHOP BOYS video ever. "They've both made such a little go a very long way" is a great lyric and apparently said to them by an fan outside a gig once.
Gorgeous KYLIE. Adore this tune. So sexy and beautiful is "Confide In Me" Brian East revealing a previously unknown foot fetish.
BON JOVI with one my favourite tunes of 1994. "Always" a proper power ballad. Excellent and should have been a Number One.
Bye WETS. Hello WHIGFIELD.
De be da ba da....
Great show!