Everybody, ooh ooh, move your body, ooh ooh, to the 4th of January 1996 edition of Top of the Pops!
Happy Nude Year!
4-1-96: Presenter: Nicky Campbell
(10) MOLELLA feat. THE OUTHERE BROTHERS – If You Wanna Party
Getting the New Year underway and the song went up one more place.
(18) DUBSTAR – Not So Manic Now
Making their studio debut with the third of eight top 40 hits, but it got no higher.
(16) MADONNA – Oh Father (video) (and charts)
At its peak.
(2) BOYZONE – Father And Son
Also at its peak.
(17) THE PRESIDENTS OF THE USA – Lump (via satellite)
Performing their first of four top ten hits and it went up two more places.
(8) ETERNAL – I Am Blessed
In the studio tonight and the song went up one more place.
(5) EVERYTHING BUT THE GIRL – Missing
Back for a fifth time in the studio with this song which had already peaked at number 3 and was now rising back up the charts again.
(1) MICHAEL JACKSON – Earth Song (video)
Fifth of six weeks at number one.
(NEW) GEORGE MICHAEL – Jesus To A Child (video) (and credits)
Will be number one in two weeks time.
Happy New Year
ReplyDeleteAnd hello from a newly hung Wokingham council.
This looks a lot like 1995 from here I wanna party! Lyrical geniuses the Brothers.
Dubstar. I absolutely adore this song. Fabulous album. Great band. Gorgeous! This will make my end of year list.. rudely cut off in it's prime.
It's not quite snowing outside but it's bloody cold. Where is the sun! 2 top 40 hits for Madge but this is the lesser of the 2.
Excuse me. Something unpleasant is repeating on me. Oh it's Boyzone.
POTUSA quite a mouthful of a name.Another 96 album I had. Loads of fun to had here with great chrouses and hooks. Brings a lump ro my throat every time 😀
Do we think the pope knows who Eternal are.. probably not. Nice tune though.
Still selling by the bucket load it's EBTG. Tracey has nice new dress. Did she get that in the sales?
The Earth is still safe at the top then a Nicky Campbell link that should come with a trigger warning.
The Pope and Jesus in one night and it's not even Xmas. George’s best album Older (bit controversial but it is). This is a beautiful song. On the Sounds counter at WHSmith we played this album twice a day for months.
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0djDCfLIcEHbOMIxIFFcEm?si=2f4f3c4ae24642be
DeleteThe 1996 playlist is up and running
The POTUSA song reminded me of My Sharona by The Knack from 1979. The EBTG tune was surprisingly back I the studio at No.5, after having peaked at No.3 before Xmas in the December 1995 chart. Strange that!
Delete
ReplyDeleteHoorah, Happy New TOTP Year all.1996 was a good year musically for me I recall as I moved back to attending gigs rather than in-a-field raves! One of my best gigs was Dubstar after moving down to London. Love this tune, only found out last year that it was actually a cover version. Other song of the week is EBTG Missing, still sounds (and performance looks) brilliant after all these years.
Sidders (still struggling to login)
Happy new year all!
ReplyDeleteOuthere brothers still around with their least catchy track. Good for them.
Dubstar - Absolutely adored this album, Stars was my favourite but this is great too. Why was it cut so short?
Madonna - I like it but it's not a 1995/6 song to me, guess it helped shift more copies of the ballad compilation though.
Boyzone - I guess mildly preferable to Robson and Jerome.
POTUSA - Lots of fun in quite a ballad drenched episode.
Eternal - I like it but it is very slow.
EBTG - still going strong, deserved success for them.
MJ - Bring on the Brits ..
GM - How mad is it that this wasn't a Christmas single.
Yes indeed, George Michael's new single was ideal Xmas chart sound, but maybe the new video wasn't ready by Xmas? Still, hard to believe that GM was still only 32 at the time of this new single release in 1996!
DeleteChart rundown - Madonna had two singles in the Top 40 this week, as You'll See was still going down the chart and not yet out of the Top 40 when Madonna gets a new entry at No.16 with O Father.
ReplyDeleteAlso noticed a new entry by Pizzaman called Sex On The Streets, also at peak this week, and can you imagine, if it got any higher into the Top 20, TOTP would have to ignore it as it is a family show.
A good show for the start of a new year and I don't think there have too many of those in this repeat run. A nice touch also to have all the artists welcome us and wish us happy new year. Nicky Campbell the perfect host for the occasion and of course he was going to regale us with some comedy Scots dialect. And to you Sir. He does a fine job in squeezing in plenty of cheery Nickyisms with expert timing in an edition where some songs start up as soon as the previous one finishes. Reason; We've got a big newie to show and of course Jacko is still at No.1.
ReplyDeleteThe caption team seem to be having an off day this week.
Molella feat The Outhere Brothers; Christmas and New Year always follow the same pattern so it's appropriate that these two start things off. Rapping a bit, then a high bit then an audience response bit then more high bits. The audience response wasn't so loud this time.
Dubstar; According to the caption from 'New Castle' wherever that is. I'm with everyone else on this group. Fantastic and hugely underrated with Sarah Blackwood who I instantly loved because I thought she sounded so much like Linda Thompson. I bought 'Not So Manic Now' straight after Christmas '95 when hearing it on Radio 1 then bought 'Disgraceful' and never stopped playing it through 1996. Fabulous songs on there from start to finish especiallythe absolutely stunning 'Week In, Week Out'. Sarah sings live and brilliantly. Her not so calm eyes indicate either excitement or fear at being on the show but she looks a real pop star. Subjected to a standard 'thanks, that'll do' cut just as it gets near its marvellous final part and the camera pans past a rather bemused looking Chris Wilkie. Already a single of the year entry for me too.
Madonna; Great choice to go with the charts. 'Oh Father' was new to me at the time as my sister didn't buy 'Like a Prayer' but did buy 'Bedtime Stories'. The video's imagery laid on perhaps a little thick but it's a beautiful watch and a gorgeous song.
Boyzone; Another performance of 'Father and Son'. "Boyzone back on 'Top of the Pops'". hooray. The fact that Ronan is wearing an only slightly different jumper to the others sort of sums that performance up.
The Presidents Of The USA; 1st satellite moment of '96 then and a great one with these US alt rock funsters. Great to hear 'Lump' again. Chris Ballew a good laugh with his bass starting off back to front then doing a deliberately crap guitar solo with his voice! I hope we get some more satellite irreverence like that during this year.
Eternal; The trio doing a proto-Westlife seated on stools then dramatically standing up halfway through. I hope they weren't to blame. 'I'm Blessed' is OK.
Everything But The Girl; Back in the studio again. Enjoyed it but that'll do for me now.
Michael Jackson; An early chop for 'Earth Song' wasn't likely and again we get the whole saga from apocalypse to more apocalypse but with Jacko hanging on to some branches. No it is still powerful.
George Michael; Nicky's link is I'd imagine a Totp first and I rather hope a last. Was that Dubstar Chris' guitar? I'd say only Nicky but even for him that seemed a rather extravagant gesture. Captioned 'Jesus' which is rather funny when you consider what just been on, GM's new single after a few years away is given the whole showing and my God it took ages. I thought the credits would never appear. Nice song.