This edition of Top of the Pops from the 22nd of December 1994 is not being shown on BBC4 because it is hosted by Gary Glitter. So a big thanks once again goes to Anonymous for making it available here at WeTransfer.
Zaggy Christmas!
22-12-94: Presenter: Gary Glitter
(15) ETERNAL – Crazy
Getting the show underway with their fifth top 20 hit of the year, but it got no higher.
(8) ZIG & ZAG – Them Girls Them Girls
Here tonight with their first of two top 40 hits, this one being the biggest and it peaked at number 5.
(16) MADONNA – Take A Bow (video) (and charts)
Ending an incredible run of 34 consecutive top ten hits, this one got no higher.
(3) BOYZONE – Love Me For A Reason
Went up one more place.
(2) MARIAH CAREY – All I Want For Christmas Is You
At its peak.
(ALBUM TRACK) THE BEAUTIFUL SOUTH – You Keep It All In
Performing from their massive number one greatest hits album, Carry On Up the Charts.
(NEW) THE HUMAN LEAGUE – Tell Me When
Making a comeback after five years away with what became their eighth and final top ten hit when it peaked at number 6.
(1) EAST 17 – Stay Another Day
Third of five weeks at number one.
(ALBUM TRACK) GARY GLITTER – I’m The Leader Of The Gang (I Am) (and credits)
From his non-charting album, 20 Greatest Hits.
Xmas Day 1994 is next.
Big thanks to Anonymous for their help this week (part 2), however this attempt to download was even worse than for my capitulated effort for the previous show. It started by saying it would take 14 (14!!) hours to download and never got past 0.0 completed so I packed it in.
ReplyDeleteAs with the last edition I just looked up the tracks I couldn’t remember on YouTube – the first three, in fact.
Eternal: the first time Louise gets to sing some of the song solo but, sadly, it’s unremarkable.
Zig And Zag: the puppets from ”The Big Breakfast”. Off after 15 seconds. Better or worse than Mighty Morph’n Power Rangers? Discuss.
Madonna: slow ballad, Oriental sounding to start with, I can see why this was a comparative flop.
Sorry I can’t help with the non-mugshot also-rans info for these two editions.
As with Sting, The Beautiful South rehash an old hit to boost Christmas sales.
Absolute class from The Human League. What a comeback.
Our bastard host fails to improve festive revenue with his attempt.
Oh well, it would have felt weird watching Christmas programmes in this heat anyway – it reached 30C in my kitchen this afternoon.
I never watch the festive re-run, so I’ll catch you again on July 14th
No 38. Robert Palmer "You Blow Me Away" His last Top 40 single and no chance of a showing here as was out of the chart by the start of 95.
DeleteNo 35. Jimmy Page and Robert Plant "Gallows Pole". First of 2 hits for the duo but the next one is not until 1998.
Also noticed that Saturday Night by Whigfield was back up to No.21, having already been at No.1 in October.
DeleteJimmy Page & Robert Plant did an exclusive video for TOTP2 in Wales for their new single Gallows Pole which was shown a week after this TOTP edition on TOTP2 31.12.94, and highly recommended viewing.
DeleteETERNAL racking up the hits and enjoyed this one. "Crazy" a bit more of a group number.
ReplyDeleteGreat memories of the Big Breakfast and ZIG & ZAG. Silly season of course but this is quite good fun.
MADONNA misses the Top Ten but "Take A Bow" is a cracking number. Chart wise Eternal;s previous single, Gloria and PJ + Duncan all going back up this week.
BOYZONE having a real success with their first single. Did your nan knit your sweater Ronan or was it a bet? He looks about 12!
A couple of great numbers up next with firstly THE BEAUTIFUL SOUTH. "You Keep It All In" a decently poppy tune, and from their massive Number One album which I played a lot. Then some nice staging from THE HUMAN LEAGUE with the rather underplayed "Tell Me When". A proper 80s pop tune in 1994. Brilliant.
Good to see those performances and managed to flick through all the GG stuff.
Have to agree about Zig & Zag, I mean I couldn't help but enjoy the tasty Santa's helpers surrounding Zig & Zag all over the stage. I'd love to have some Xmas fun with them in those Santa outfits!
DeleteAt last! After ten fruitless attempts my PC decided to engage and download this show. Thanks again to Anonymous for this contraband.
ReplyDeleteHost – bastard. Overly shouty and with a daft entourage around him. He made Angus Deayton look like a brilliant presenter in comparison.
A very dark setting for Eternal’s upbeat opener. What was this called again?
So that’s why Eternal couldn’t wear red and white. All the outfits had been purloined by Them girls. 15 seconds of this was more than enough. Z&Z F&F.
Madge’s track gets a video play despite jumping a whole place in the chart. Some would say it was bull, but luckily we didn’t see one with that matador in the video.
Non-mugshots: early sighting of Bill Whelan (featuring Anuna and the RTE Concert Orchestra), whose track will take a further six weeks to peak, and a brief sighting of Strike’s first hit before it drops out of the chart before resurfacing and hitting the top five three months later.
The next two were not listened to, and the next two after that were very much enjoyed.
Briana Corrigan was in The Beautiful South when “You Keep It All in” was a sinister hit what with its lyrics. Now we get Jacqui joining in instead. Hull 36 Leeds 59 on the backing sign wall instead of The Housemartins’ album title “London 0 Hull 4”. The backing band attire reminded me of Hudson Ford branch-off The Monks of “Nice Legs…” infamy.
At least a decent cover intro for peak of the week, The Human League’s triumphant brief return. Identity parade line-up complete with ego-free Phil at the end. Great drumkit!
A repeat of a previous East 17 showing, and then a hasty switch-off before the bastard ends the show plugging an album which flopped completely.
It was a bit unusual to see singer Jacqui on the Beautiful South doing Briana Corrigan's lines, but Corrigan shouldn't have left the group then. Dave Hemmingway has hung on throughout since 1989 when they all came on to the scene with Song For Whoever, but I did like this new 1994 studio performance of Keep It All In, as the three co-lead singers held themselves together very well on the performance.
DeleteNot sure why Human League came as a single line on the stage instead of their usual stage positionings, and it made me think they would all do a bow at the end, like on a theatre stage, but this was a great tune, and definitely worthy of a No.6 eventual achievement.
Briana Corrigan left The Beautful South partly because she objected to the sexist lyrics in three of the band's songs at the time.
DeleteA quick look outside the Top 40 this week, and we see The Carpenters at peak position of No.44 with a single called Trying To Get That Feeling Again, which I had always associated with Barry Manilow, but apparently The Carpenters had the original.
ReplyDeleteCoincidentally 1994 was the last year that both the The Carpenters and Barry Manilow released a single in the UK, with Manilow getting to a peak of No.73 in August with Let Me Be Your Wings.
The Carpenters version of 'Tryin' to get the feeling again' was a previously unreleased track which featured on the 'Interpretations' compilation album. Richard's sleeve notes explain all and are worth reading if you get a chance.
DeleteMissed this one again, thankfully a lot of the clips are on YT though sadly not Eternal, I liked Crazy quite a lot so a shame not to see that again.
ReplyDeleteHuman League a good showing, I do like this and the next single quite a lot .
Beautiful South plugging Carrion Up the Charts which sold squillions, I quite like Jacqui's version here though it isn't the same as the original.
E17 repeat and a Madonna video are fine but not reason enough for me to seek out and I don't really care about any of the other songs (and hahahaha that GG album was a flop. good.) so that's me back on track for Christmas!
carry on, stupid auto correct!
DeleteRad, here's the Eternal clip from TOTP, albeit slightly truncated....
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12Hn5-Zvbmo
Is there no way to keep these downloads up for longer than a week? Missed 4 episodes cause I've been a little behind and the downloads have expired - and the YouTube accounts suspended.
DeleteSame, Arthur! I now realise I am not sure how to see 15/12/94 and 22/12/94, might have to turn super sleuth and see what the depths of the internet can throw up.. grr, Gl*tter!
Delete