These are the times, these are the crimes, and this is the 6th of October 1994 edition of Top of the Pops!
Taking a punt
6-10-94: Presenters: Punt & Dennis
(13) C.J. LEWIS – Best Of My Love
Getting the show underway but the song got no higher.
(4) CYNDI LAUPER – Hey Now (Girls Just Wanna Have Fun)
A third time in the studio but the song was now at its peak.
(5) MADONNA – Secret (video) (and charts)
Got no higher.
(9) MICHELLE GAYLE – Sweetness
A second studio performance and the song went up five more places.
(2) BON JOVI – Always (via satellite)
At its peak.
(11) ELTON JOHN – Circle Of Life
Here tonight but this Lion King song got no higher.
(NEW) TAKE THAT – Sure (via satellite)
Another number one on the way.
(NEW) INXS – Strangest Party
In the studio tonight and the song peaked at number 15.
(1) WHIGFIELD – Saturday Night
Here again for her fourth and final week at number one.
(TOTP2) THE STRANGLERS – No More Heroes (clip of TOTP 6-10-77) (and credits)
Number 8 in 1977.
13th of October is next.
Four of the Top 5 singles in the chart were played, so you could say a top flight show this week!
ReplyDeleteCyndi Lauper - Hey Now, a second invite to the TOTP studio to perform this, and now getting the rolls royce treatment ushered in by a BBCTV camera. Good Lord, and considering when the original of this song came out in 1984 we had to make do with the video cos Cyndi didn't fly in for the show as she was doing now in 1994 for the reworking of it for the 1994 version.
Madonna - seems that the black & white video trend has continued since 1990 with Vogue, and no signs yet of going back to colour videos. In terms of the new song Secret, it really was becoming boring by now, as she was not partying any more like Into The Groove (1985) and Cherish (1989) in glorious colour videos having so much fun.
Chart rundown - peaking at No.22 this week with no play on TOTP was the combination of Jocelyn Brown and Kym Mazelle with Gimmee All Your Lovin', and I'm not sure if this was a cover of the big ZZ Top debut hit in 1994. Also The Rolling Stones with a new entry and peak at No.23 missed out big time on a slot on the show. Same for Heavy D & The Boys with a new entry peaking at No.30 this week and no play.
Michelle Gayle - seems that it was all about tits, bras and underwear on TOTP in 1994, and every show we were being given lots of eye candy as one group after another seemed to want to go further on the sexy clothing or non-clothing it seems.
INXS - rare TOTP studio appearance, as we were used to seeing them only on video throughout most of their singles catalogue, and I didn't find this new single at all interesting. Not sure how they've got left before calling time on their singles career.
Spoiler alert... INXS will be on again next week for this, their last hit for two-and-a half years, the next one involving their fourth and last TOTP studio turn.
DeleteJocelyn and Kym were indeed covering the ZZ Top classic.
TOTP2 08-10-1994 https://wetransfer.com/downloads/48ccd75ca4a6923f26a9bf939a62464820230525202902/a4eee7
ReplyDeleteHave to say that the highlight of the show was David Soul's Silver Lady from Recorded For Recall 1977, and The Video Stir section with Pantera's new single.
DeleteAlso on Recorded For Recall 1986, the pick of the bunch has to be The Bangles looking sexy in the TOTP studio performing Walk Like An Egyptian, and Madonna's video for True Blue which was so 80s Madonna before her black & white video era from 1990 onwards.
How ironic that it took the launch of TOTP2 to return us to a 40-minute TOTP show that we lost so cruelly in 1985 on the main TOTP show being shortened to 30 minutes thanks to the launch of Eastenders.
Oh dear, off to a crap start with that band intro.
ReplyDeleteAbout seven years ago, I saw Peter Dennis (Hugh’s his middle name) walking out of an outdoors equipment shop fifty yards from my office in London. I didn’t get the chance to see him loitering within tent. Harumph.
Sadly, Hugh was totally unfunny in this edition, while Steve made an attempt at some proper hosting occasionally and did a half decent job of it.
Only two songs plus the outro that I liked, so this’ll be quick.
A complete massacring of The Emotions’ classic first up. CJ FF.
Cyndi Lauper again? Great distinctive entrance on that camera podium, mind you.
Liked Madonna’s tune. She looked different facially. Must’ve been the lighting.
Non-mugshots: PJ and Duncan AKA??? Lovely song title there for Body Count, the heavy metal band started up by rapper Ice-T. Arguably their best known song was “Cop Killer”, so how hypocritical that Ice-T later spent several years acting in a television police department drama.
Michelle and the gals try to outdo Madge sartorially. Sound and vision good for this one.
Bon Jovi AGAIN?!?!
Oh dear, the first of two ha-ha-hilarious snippets with the ‘Milky Milky’ character. Elton did turn up in all fairness, but the circle I’d give his song is a big fat zero.
So, Gary, if you’re not at Wembley, where are you? Sheesh. I thought I’d hate this and I wasn’t wrong.
Excellent initial wordplay by Steve prior to INXS getting their own exclusive intro Letraset. Shame it’s for something so nondescript.
The last time we’ll need Whigfield out of her car park trailer for a few weeks, but don’t tell her just yet.
We finish with a suitably anarchic mime from at least one quarter of The Stranglers.
C.J. LEWIS finds a third old tune. "Best Of My Love" now sounding like the last 2 he covered. Wow to the hair on the backing singers!
ReplyDeleteRiding in on the crest of a...tv camera..it's CYNDI and she'd still having fun. Her hair seems to have a life of it's own though. Jenny from Corrie on keyboards by the looks of it.
Here's something to remember. It's MADONNA with a Secret. Nice tune and I had the ballads album she released in 95 which is a really great compilation.
MICHELLE GAYLE wisely miming this week following her vocal performance 2 weeks ago. The sun is shining outside and this is a very summers day tune.
Absolutely amazed neither of ELTON's Lion King tunes went Top Ten. Nailed on Number One's I would have thought. He seems happy enough being in the studio though.
TAKE THAT could release a 3 minute mix of them farting at this stage and get a Number One. Thankfully this is much better than that but no matter how hard they try String Vests are not sexy.
Best in show tonight goes to INXS. "Strangest Party" an excellent tune, really enjoyed that performance.
Nice to see Jungle is still massive! Well done Whigfield. Could we not have had this for 15 weeks instead?
For me this was the best guest presenter show so far. I always liked Punt and Dennis (though at 17 I of course tried to embark on looking like Rob Newman. No luck. Hair far too lank) and the pair put in a good stint. Very witty and with the timing of TOTP regulars. They manage to reel off the Top 10 with a running joke with self interruptions aplenty and still manage to get the act and song title out before the next one comes up. A few occasional presenters couldn't be relied on to get that right delivering it straight. Both being as you'd expect them to be in 1994 though surprised Dennis didn't reprise his "good beat" teacher routine. Anyway made an average edition really enjoyable.
ReplyDeleteCJ Lewis; Some extraordinary hairstyles on the girls in the chorus. That was watchable but other than that completely forgettable. No 'Emotions' in that cover or anything else really.
Cyndi Lauper; Arriving entertainingly on a moving camera and she makes a far better go at the live vocals this time. I did like this version at the time and still do and if anyone has to spend a lot of a studio turn stomping around and hollering good-naturedly at their audience you'd want it to be her.
Madonna; A moody video for the charts and another sedate beauty from Madonna. A good period for her I think. The hosts intro it with a joke which Steve Wright might've offered in a particularly extrovert mood. Seemed a bit unimaginative for these two.
Michelle Gayle; Ah. This is the stuff! She deserved far more than the dull set and show logo she got last time and we get a full theatrical temple or something. She looks stunning and a complete pop star. The candle set up on the right it must be said did look worryingly unstable at one point!
Bon Jovi; Always enjoy hearing 'Always' but why the satellite clip again?
Elton John; Still like this.
Take That; Moody and very dull.
INXS; A stomper that I don't remember at all from the time but pretty good. Always worth hearing Michael Hutchence singing live.
Whigfield; The top 10 rundown was the highlight of the show for me and it would've been a shame if it was followed by something serious so Whigfield's last studio performance of 'Saturday Night' was very welcome. Yep, got into this at last.
Wish JJ Brunel had been in the studio every week in the mid '80s waving away all that dry ice.