Comin' atcha the 13th of February 1998 edition of Top of the Pops!
It started with a hit
13-2-98: Presenter: Jayne Middlemiss
(18) ERROL BROWN – It Started With A Kiss
It had been a number 5 hit in 1982, this time around number 18 was the peak.
(3) CLEOPATRA – Cleopatra’s Theme
Making their debut with the first of four top ten hits, this one was the biggest but it got no higher.
(30) HEADSWIM – Tourniquet
With their only top 40 hit and it got no higher.
(13) JAY-Z feat. GWEN DICKEY – Wishing On A Star
A number 3 hit for Rose Royce in 1978, this version was at its peak.
(11) WES – Alane
In the studio with his only top 40 hit but it got no higher.
(27) SPIRITUALIZED – I Think I’m In Love
Performing their third of seven top 40 hits, but it got no higher.
(2) BACKSTREET BOYS – All I Have To Give
At its peak.
(1) AQUA – Doctor Jones (and credits)
Second and final week at number one.
Much better show this week.
ReplyDeleteHot Chocolate featuring Errol Brown - I don't recall this reworked version without the main group behind Errol as in the original 1982 single, but it did seem to take on the similar slower tempo of their Christmas 1978 single I'll Put You Together Again.
Interestingly enough, also tonight about an hour later, BBC4 aired a July 1982 TOTP show with Hot Chocolate also opening the that show with a studio performance of the same single, so Errol must have also wanted the first slot on the show here in 1998 for the reworked single without the main group. Funny that!
Jay-Z featuring Gwen Dickey - Good Lord, exactly 20 years after Rose Royce had a No,3 single with this song, we now see lead singer Dickey back with the same song in 1998 with added rap from Jay-Z. I must say that Dickey 20 years on had an amazing pair of legs in a tight miniskirt in the TOTP studio here in 1998 at the age of 44 for this reworking of her original single as lead singer of Rose Royce.
I would have liked to see a duet with Gwen Dickey and Errol Brown, as they were on the same TOTP roster this week, but unfortunately not singing together which would have worked very well as they both came in this week with reworking of their original ballads.
Wes - Alane
Perfect tune to follow Jay-Z and Gwen Dickey I thought, especially the gorgeous lead dancer with the white hotpants raising the temperature on that TOTP stage and making this tune very watchable I must say. The melody itself also reminded me of Mory Kante's Yeke Yeke which only managed No.29 in 1998, while it was No.1 all over the world.
Spiritualised - this also flowed perfectly after Wes - Alane, and it seemed that TOTP had a perfect string of three singles in a row from Jay-Z and Gwen Dickey, to Wes, and then to Spiritualised. Good Lord, this show has really made my evening!
Ready for TOTP2 Rob........
TOTP2 14-02-1998
ReplyDeletehttps://fromsmash.com/TOTP2-14-02-1998
There is no 07-02-1998 as the Snooker was on.
Cheers!
DeleteThis edition of TOTP2 went out on Valentines Day 1998, and not surprisingly featured loads of love songs. I liked how the TOTP2 red brick caption, still going strong since the first ever episode of TOTP2 in 1994, turned into a pink love heart at the end of the ABC, Stevie Wonder, Thin Lizzy and Chris De Burgh clips.
DeleteNo doubt soon we will lose this piece of TOTP2 history when Steve Wright will eventually kick out the Johnnie Walker graphics and various themes on the show, which is when I will stop watching them, but for now in early 1998 we still have some of these original graphics still going strong.
Thanks Rob (for posting) & Anonymous (for original file)
DeleteSnooker, so there was no episode.
Glastonbury, The Proms & Snooker/Football keep repeats off BBC4 now.
Some things never change!!
Thanks Rob!!!
ReplyDeleteGreat to see Hot Chocolate's featuring Errol Brown back on the show, plus AQUA's Doctor Jones was very catchy.
ReplyDeleteI'm just curious, is Blondie's Heart of Glass (TopPop) version, ever been on Top of the Pops in it's day, plus is this version available on DVD?
Heart Of Glass when in the charts in early 1979, appeared on TOTP only with the official video, and no TopPop clip. The only time Blondie appeared in the TOTP studio to perform was the later single Sunday Girl in May of that year, and possibly an earlier single in 1978.
Delete