Baby if you've got to go away won't you stay for another 8th of December 1994 edition of Top of the Pops!
Happy East-mas
8-12-94: Presenter: Neneh Cherry
(13) WHIGFIELD – Another Day
Getting the show underway with what became her second of three top ten hits when it peaked at number 7.
(15) P.J. & DUNCAN – Eternal Love
Quickly becoming studio regulars by now and this latest one peaked at number 12.
(5) MARIAH CAREY – All I Want For Christmas Is You (video) (and charts)
On her way to number 2.
(10) BOYZONE – Love Me For A Reason
Making their studio debut with their first of eighteen top ten hits, and this Osmonds cover peaked at number 2.
(11) GLORIA ESTEFAN – Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me (video)
At its peak.
(30) EYC – One More Chance
Here tonight and the song peaked at number 25.
(14) CLIFF RICHARD & PHIL EVERLY – All I Have To Do Is Dream (video)
Some confusing chart listings on TOTPs tonight. This one is listed as number 12 on the show, but according to the Official Chart Company it went in at number 14 and got no higher.
(4) JIMMY NAIL – Crocodile Shoes
A third studio performance for the good-looking Jimmy but the song was now at its peak.
(1) EAST 17 – Stay Another Day
Celebrating their first of five weeks at number one.
(TOTP2) GENERATION X – Wild Youth (clip of TOTP 8-12-77) (and credits)
Made number 54 in December 1977.
15th of December is next.
TOTP2 10-12-1994 https://we.tl/t-1uuSjQ1FtA
ReplyDeleteMany many apologies, but does anybody have the 19 November and 26 November editions still available, as I missed the deadline for the downloads- thanks
DeleteThey are added to the Popscene MEGA folder if you know where to find that.
DeleteInteresting on the review of the main TOTP show, that JW mentions here that Mungo Jerry's lead singer is out for legal action on Whigfield's new single having similarities to their 1970 No.1 In The Summertime, and this after a couple of other cases accusing Whigfield's Saturday Night of similar rip off.
DeleteWhigfield - back with another single to follow up her No.1, and bringing back the same formula of the same sexy miniskirted dancers. This new song didn't do as well, but still, No.7 at peak was a good achievement for a follow-up single to a big No.1.
ReplyDeleteChart rundown - anyone notice The Rolling Stones new entry at No.36, only to drop out of the Top 40 the following week, and no play by TOTP this only week in the Top 40.
Gloria Estefan - this new single reminded me of Kylie Minogue doing a similar number called Tears On My Pillow which got one week at No.1 in January 1990, the common theme being a celebration if not a cover of the 50s American high school romantic era which was kind of already celebrated in the late 70s with Grease, Showaddywaddy, Racey and so on, and so Gloria and Kylie seemed late to the party by the 1990s.
Cliff Richard & Phil Everly - interesting that Cliff took Don Everly's place on the song, considering both Everly Brothers were still very much around in 1994, both of which have sadly passed away recently - Phil in 2014, and Don in 2021. The Cliff & Phil video here reminded me of the Bellamy Brothers video on TOTP in 1979, with both standing similarly in front of the camera with their guitars.
And Yes Angelo, it is a mistake on the TOTP caption, someone putting No.12 instead of No.14. Probably the graphic designer was missing a cup of tea or refreshments when preparing this show.
The Phil and Cliff duet made me look at the chart success for an earlier version of 'All I Have To Do Is Dream', one recorded by Bobbie Gentry and Glen Campbell. I knew it was out around Christmas 1969 and by a remarkable coincidence it reached the UK Top 20 exactly 25 years to the week that the Cliff and Phil version also arrived in the Top 20! However this newer version stayed in the Top 20 for only 3 weeks while the earlier cover stayed in the Top 20 for 2 months. Understandable as Glen Campbell and Bobbie Gentry were at the height of trendy at the time.
Delete"a few words are needed by way of explanation of the various stories that have been flying around over the past week or so about the chart 2 weeks ago - that for the Week Ending 10th December. That week represented one of the few occasions when the chart rushed to the media on the previous Sunday happened to be wrong owing, not to human error as has been suggested, but by an unfortunate combination of circumstances.
ReplyDeleteAlarm bells sounded at compliers Millward Brown in the early hours of December 4th. Despite repeated attempts, computers at several branches of Woolworths were refusing to surrender their sales data for the Saturday. A few phone calls to engineers later and the problem was apparantly sorted, the computers were dialled up and the data exchanged. Except that things were not sorted, the data sent by Woolworths was corrupt, and was simply a repeat of Friday's sales data. The error was not spotted until Monday afternoon when reports for individual record companies showed that some singles had apparantly sold twice as many on Friday as they had on the Saturday rather than the other way round as is normal. Millward Brown re-ran the chart to check the error had not come from their end and 24 hours later the problem was tracked down to the rogue Woolworths data. By now the chart was in public circulation and it was too late to undo the error. For the sake of accuracy, a second chart was compiled, this time using the corrected data and it is that which will form the basis of historical records and which was used for the 'last week' positions of the chart printed last week. In the event the error only affected a small part of the calculations resulting in minor switching of places for a few singles - nothing that can be said to have harmed the prospects of many of the records on the chart. All in all it was not a week that the CIN nor Millward Brown will look back with with joy...
The only similar upset in recent times came in October 1989 when an elecrical fire at then compilers Gallup early on the Sunday morning wiped out the entire computer centre responsible for chart compilation. A skeleton staff working at another location prepared a chart for broadcast that evening using sales data up to Friday - the full official chart was not compiled until early the following morning. Even in this electronic age it seems things can go wrong. "
https://chart-watch.uk/archives/1994/week-ending-december-24th-1994
So that's why some pf the placings were a bit skew-wiff this week. Mariah was number 6 on the show, but actually number 5. And PJ&Duncan were number 15 on the show, but they were already at number 12.
DeleteWow, that's super interesting!
DeleteThanks for that. I had a memory of a chart being replayed on a Tuesday afternoon following a Woolworths error. This must have been the one.
DeleteThere was another chart re-run but on the same day of announcement (a Tuesday) in 1976, when Manuel and his Music of the Mountains became number 1 but, immediately after the song had finished, the lunchtime DJ announced the chart was incorrect, and a new one (which was simply read out) was announced about six hours later, and Manuel dropped off the top slot he never actually achieved.
DeleteI seem to recall that the Music of The Mountains song was the Legs & Co slot on the show in 1976 if that was the year.
DeleteSct353...that Manuel and his Music of the Mountains track was simply gorgeous. 'Manuel' was actually well known conductor and arranger Geoff Love. I will have to look up the Legs and Co. Interpretation.
DeleteIt would be in early 1976, and before BBC4 picked up the shows from 1st April 1976.
DeletePans People...with Lesley Judd!! I had completely forgotten that! What a lovely surprise.
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBuz6QeyPcM
Yes of course, it was one of the last Pans People routines before they morphed into a male-female dance troupe for a few months until Legs & Co arrived in late 1976.
DeleteInteresting few peakers just outside the Top 40 this week:
ReplyDeleteNo.41 Perez Prez Prado - Guaglione
New entry this week for Prado, but got no further. It wasn't until two further re-entries in 1995 that Prado finally made it, getting to No.2 with this single, but that will not be until mid-1995.
No.71 Captain Sensible - The Hokey Cokey
First single for Sensible for 10 years since 1984, and turned out to his last single.
No.83 Black Lace - Bullshit
Another 80s party band returning in 1994, but went down to No.100 the following, and so got no traction for this surprising new single release in 1994.
It would have been fairer if Cliiff had duetted with Don Everly this time round, as he'd already had a top 10 hit with duetting with Phil on "She Means Nothing To Me" in 1983.
ReplyDeleteIt's Christmas let's have ballads upon ballads! A few too many to make this a great episode especially given the much better fare recently.
ReplyDeleteGloria E and PJ and Duncan get their dues after missing out last week. I don't mind Eternal Love as a song but their vocals aren't great. I like the Gloria one.
Whigfield has a decent enough cheesy pop song in terms of melody and lyrics but it's built around the exact same backing as the last one which is a bit too cynical for me.
E17 and Mariah are great but we only just saw them.
Everything else is dreadful and whilst 1995 is my second favourite music year ever (after 1989) that's definitely in spite of Boyzone and a certain TV singing squaddie duo.
Gloria was invigorating the only hit single for Muriel Smith, which made number 3 in 1953. Six months or so after Gloria, U2 punned the song's title with their single "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me".
ReplyDeleteU2's finest moment in my opinion!
DeleteSo after a brilliant show with a fabulous host we get a poor show with rather rude host.
ReplyDeleteWHIGFIELD with Another version of Saturday Night. Same tune. Different Lyrics. No thank you.
Then P.J. & DUNCAN who are just embarrassing themselves now. Truly dreadful.
MARIAH CAREY with the rather naff video for "All I Want For Christmas Is You". Yes that is Vera Duckworth in the charts!
Hello BOYZ-OWN (now known as boy-zone). Cheesy cover of "Love Me For A Reason" for the Xmas teenage market but they will do much much better than this.
"Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me" it's Gloria with a very soppy ballad. I don't mind this one but tonight it turning into a huge pile of Cheddar!
EYC all dressed up for a dreary ballad, those moves aren't gonna get a ten from Len on Strictly. File in the bin with Ant and Decs' number.
It's come to something when even Sir CLIFFmass can't be arsed to record a decent Christmas tune. I mean it's a nice song but why?
JIMMY NAIL gets told he's good looking by Neneh after Lily had him as "the ugly bloke off the TV" last week. Annoyingly "Crocodile Shoes" is growing on me.
EAST 17 are TOTP! Quite right too.
An intro with no T’s pronounced. How quaint.
ReplyDeleteThe screen says Neneh Cherry, our slightly irritating host this week calls herself Neneh Kravitz instead.
Whigfield gets us started with “Another Day other than Saturday”, aka “Use The Same Backing Track As The Big Hit”. Dreadful rip-off. Who on Earth bought it?
It’s Why Aye 17 with a cloying ballad. Pass me the bowl. Hopefully the rest of the show will be more upbeat. Ah.
Sound down for the non-mugshots which have “I Love Saturday” next to “Saturday Night”, and the only top 40 weeks for Optimystic, who actually reached 37, and a duet I’ve never heard and never will, the power duo of Joe Longthorne and Liz “Vera Duckworth” Dawn.
Oh Christ, it’s the debut of that lot who were unintentionally hilarious when first seen on Irish TV. Another act I will be commenting on very little. Neneh hits her peak with a sneaky intro calling them Boys Own and calling The Osmonds morons.
Oo, a new straight hairdo for our Glo. Vocals lovely, backing a bit too plasticky for my liking.
“One More chance”? Last chance for EYC as their last two minor hits failed to make the 30. Bye, and shut the door on the way out.
A 1981 video next for some Ovaltine Radio music. Too syrupy for me so all I had to do was FF.
A truncated intro (probably namechecking future host Gary Glitter) before some nice pre-song banter with…. Jimmy Nail again.
At least East 17 were more demurely dressed this time round.
After probably the most soporific TOTP yet in the re-runs, we get a right old truck driver gear change into a weird choice for outro, a Generation X non-hit – it actually peaked in 4th place in the breakers outside what was then a top 50, so it probably reached somewhere around number 60 unofficially.
Well, no Pops this week. See you in a fortnight.
Anyone watching the repeats of Pop Quiz on BBCFour? Both episodes have been from 1983 so far.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed them. Particularly like the fact they don’t waste 5 minutes brushing the stars egos and giving ludicrous clues (yes, ‘hit list’ I am looking at you!)
DeleteSct353 last weeks Hit List show had the team who won the first round mouthing an answer to one of the other remaining two teams who then got through.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteQuick TOTP update....
ReplyDeleteNo TOTPs tomorrow (Friday 23rd June).
The last two regular 1994 TOTPs atren't being shown due to the presence of a wrong 'un, so we'll need someone to download the shows on here for us again.
The Christmas show (which I never watch or critique) is being shown on Friday 30th, and it's a blank week after that, so we won't get to 1995 until 14th July at the earliest.