tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656821189691902130.post6507114192981798118..comments2024-03-28T10:45:51.725+00:00Comments on Never Forget ~ Top of the Pops 1995: Top of the Pops and SeekAngelohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16090709386124664912noreply@blogger.comBlogger105125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656821189691902130.post-59362962156136426742017-07-28T10:55:31.148+01:002017-07-28T10:55:31.148+01:00One of the best episodes for ages - surprised they...One of the best episodes for ages - surprised they made the 'slade' mistake again. Highlight was Mel Brooks video - haven't heard that since 1984. Wouldn't get past the PColice today.charlie cookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09051342047720711857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656821189691902130.post-69020667002036441242017-07-21T19:48:37.931+01:002017-07-21T19:48:37.931+01:00tim i can't stop laughing at the thought of so...tim i can't stop laughing at the thought of some hapless student trying to seduce a female visitor by playing an elvis costello album! i'm also reminded of a documentary on prog rock a while back, where yes/king crimson drummer bill bruford recalled in a rather cynical manner that there were very few if any women present at his gigs!wilberforcehttp://www.gavinunderhill.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656821189691902130.post-74423714250099512902017-07-21T13:34:48.237+01:002017-07-21T13:34:48.237+01:00Blimey yes. 99 (nearly two years for goodness sake...Blimey yes. 99 (nearly two years for goodness sake!!!) weeks on the chart for 'Diamond Life' peaking at no2 and 31 weeks for 'Promise' peaking at no1. They both sounded much the same I think.<br /><br />Different story on the singles front; One single, solitary top10 hit and it's this one; 'Your love is king'. <br /><br />As I mentioned before, the only single of hers that I had time for was the 2000 no17 hit 'By your side'. sct353https://www.blogger.com/profile/15640119850898956884noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656821189691902130.post-7822964066899561912017-07-18T23:06:01.360+01:002017-07-18T23:06:01.360+01:00A (very) occasional contributor here with a few be...A (very) occasional contributor here with a few belated thoughts.<br /><br />I was a student in 1984, and a copy of Sade's 'Diamond Life' album was absolutely de rigueur for any male student, just so they had something acceptable to play in the unlikely event that they managed to lure a female student back to their room. (Strangely enough, most girls didn't go for Genesis or Elvis Costello LPs.) Given that all the girls owned a copy too, it might explain the album's enormous sales.<br /><br />I think this was the start of the trend whereby each year saw one female solo artist sell gazillions of copies of their debut LP, setting the bar so high that the rest of their career was inevitably an anticlimax. I think the next year's was Suzanne Vega, and Tracey Chapman also springs to mind.<br /><br />As for Nena, I've listened to that song dozens of times, and I've only just realised that she's the one who triggers the apocalypse by buying and releasing all those balloons (colour not specified in the original German version) and spooking the air force. So she's got a damned cheek to celebrate causing the end of the world in song from.<br /><br />I noticed that Mel Brooks's clever rap included the phrase 'Achtung baby'. Do we think Bono and co. were watching that evening?TimThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14953081013855148796noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656821189691902130.post-63808356177082930182017-07-18T21:05:36.967+01:002017-07-18T21:05:36.967+01:00Did anyone spot Vyvyan's Ford Anglia in the Ul...Did anyone spot Vyvyan's Ford Anglia in the Ullman video? No sign of SPG sadly.Stunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656821189691902130.post-34685564547627799712017-07-18T19:35:07.518+01:002017-07-18T19:35:07.518+01:00ah yes, i'd forgotten about ms barker's &q...ah yes, i'd forgotten about ms barker's "romance" with cliff... back in the days when he still made out that he had an eye for the ladies!<br /><br />and so i think another century finally comes up here, even thought it's been more boycott than botham. cue muted applause from the pavilion...wilberforcehttp://www.gavinunderhill.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656821189691902130.post-45062881765828246102017-07-18T18:47:02.534+01:002017-07-18T18:47:02.534+01:00Can't quite believe that Barker is still only ...Can't quite believe that Barker is still only 61, so she must have been 21 in the Wimbledon 1977 semi-final losing to Betty Stove. I think Barker had a relationship with Cliff Richard soon after, but clearly she was 'barking' up the wrong tree.Doryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07718769648375882927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656821189691902130.post-21763919994302364172017-07-18T08:59:46.208+01:002017-07-18T08:59:46.208+01:00That puts me in mind of the occasion when Manfred ...That puts me in mind of the occasion when Manfred Mann changed the title of their latest single from "Semi-Detached Suburban Mr Jones", to "Mr James," lest anyone think they were taking a pop at the recently-departed Paul Jones!John Gnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656821189691902130.post-35585491379967990912017-07-18T01:04:34.636+01:002017-07-18T01:04:34.636+01:00indeed thx, but otherwise she generally failed to ...indeed thx, but otherwise she generally failed to live up to expectations... including duly dispatching the inferior-ranked dutch woman betty stove in order to set up the all-english dream final of wimbledon 1977 against virginia wade (which was the centenary anniversary of the tournament, plus of course brenda's silver jubilee)wilberforcehttp://www.gavinunderhill.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656821189691902130.post-21440157508194541462017-07-17T23:58:31.687+01:002017-07-17T23:58:31.687+01:00Sue Barker won the French Open in 1976, so she was...Sue Barker won the French Open in 1976, so she was a very decent player. Plus she was generous about giving blood!THXnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656821189691902130.post-22478550437005535332017-07-17T23:52:23.006+01:002017-07-17T23:52:23.006+01:00Halo James were originally called Halo Jones after...Halo James were originally called Halo Jones after the brilliant Alan Moore comic strip in 2000 AD, but the lawyers came a-calling and the band were forced to change it (not very imaginatively!).THXnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656821189691902130.post-8948780910253635512017-07-17T22:07:55.876+01:002017-07-17T22:07:55.876+01:00Yes, the Germans came on board at about the same t...Yes, the Germans came on board at about the same time, presumably for financial reasons.John Gnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656821189691902130.post-35729795077785206952017-07-17T22:01:34.431+01:002017-07-17T22:01:34.431+01:00... which was presumably the beeb did a deal with ...... which was presumably the beeb did a deal with the devil i.e. that german production company to stop it going under? watching the series it is evident that the budget far exceeded the usual beeb budgetary restraints of the era, as not only are the sets rather impressive but many episodes were also partly shot on location in then-exotic and faraway places such as malta and the french riviera...wilberforcehttp://www.gavinunderhill.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656821189691902130.post-3389483976003574912017-07-17T21:55:03.021+01:002017-07-17T21:55:03.021+01:00thx i agree that sue barker is very good as a pres...thx i agree that sue barker is very good as a presenter (shame she wasn't as accomplished as a player!), but the sport she fronts has lady participants as well as men. the one female presenter that actually makes me forget that she's a woman in a man's world (which is meant as a compliment!) is hazel irvine when she does the snooker tournaments. and unlike many commentators / analysts / presenters today, she never got the job as a result of being a prominent sportsperson. or as a result of being a bimbo either for that matter!wilberforcehttp://www.gavinunderhill.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656821189691902130.post-59679660155016037832017-07-17T21:07:45.174+01:002017-07-17T21:07:45.174+01:00There is a connection between Doctor Who and Paul ...There is a connection between Doctor Who and Paul Temple, as then-Who producers Peter Bryant and Derrick Sherwin, who had just cast Jon Pertwee and brought the show into the colour era, were hastily transferred across to Paul Temple to try to rescue it from mounting production difficulties.John Gnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656821189691902130.post-1960938594145256842017-07-17T19:22:07.692+01:002017-07-17T19:22:07.692+01:00for some reason i was getting halo james (what kin...for some reason i was getting halo james (what kind of stupid name is that?) confused with an act called breathe, who had a hit with a song called "hands to heaven"<br /><br />i remember having a soft spot for it at the time, and listening again now for the first time in 30 years it still holds up for me (cliched sanborn-style sax wailing apart) as a catchy and well-crafted piece of late 80's post-synth-pop:<br /><br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KC5InWPjtL8wilberforcehttp://www.gavinunderhill.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656821189691902130.post-32938253428251126082017-07-17T19:06:43.410+01:002017-07-17T19:06:43.410+01:00bama like yourself i remember watching "paul ...bama like yourself i remember watching "paul temple" as a kid. well, one episode of it anyway, as (unlike the director-general of the beeb at the time) i felt it was slow and boring compared to the itc/lew grade fare of "department s", "randall & hopkirk", etc<br /><br />also i'm not surprised to hear about the german language episodes, as the bulk of the series was a somewhat odd collaboration between pious aunty and a commercial german tv company... who unlike their partners obviously had the sense to preserve them! i personally can't see any reason why they couldn't be dubbed into english again and then released for that market as a complete set - even if it means getting in soundalikes for mr matthews and many of the guest stars that are no longer with us?wilberforcehttp://www.gavinunderhill.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656821189691902130.post-87087831771856397942017-07-17T15:18:32.746+01:002017-07-17T15:18:32.746+01:00bama you've reminded of an album my parents ow...bama you've reminded of an album my parents owned called "sounds like the carpenters" that i discovered had a brilliant song on it called "(this) masquerade", which certainly had an effect on my burgeoning interest in more refined music. to my recollection it's as good as the carpenters' original version that i heard much later, and of course a few years on george benson did an excellent recording of it too. it really does sound like an old standard, but was in fact written by that wild man of rock leon russell of "mad dogs & englishmen" fame!:<br /><br />https://www.discogs.com/Session-Singers-Sounds-Like-The-Carpenters/release/2395202wilberforcehttp://www.gavinunderhill.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656821189691902130.post-45458401440508296682017-07-17T14:18:06.999+01:002017-07-17T14:18:06.999+01:00Sue Barker does a great job on Wimbledon, continui...Sue Barker does a great job on Wimbledon, continuing the tradition of sports competitors getting jobs in broadcasting when they're too knackered to do the running about anymore. She may have been one of the first?THXnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656821189691902130.post-36527993217691200242017-07-17T14:07:47.898+01:002017-07-17T14:07:47.898+01:00Don't we hear Billy's a capella number on ...Don't we hear Billy's a capella number on the show? I have a memory of it...THXnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656821189691902130.post-68597223764063839232017-07-17T14:05:32.432+01:002017-07-17T14:05:32.432+01:00@Wilberforce: Ah, but Missy was quite the minx! M...@Wilberforce: Ah, but Missy was quite the minx! Michelle Gomez was fantastic in the role, which presumably encouraged the new DW producers to make the lead female too.<br /><br />I say, wait and see, she might be a Tom Baker, she might be a Colin Baker, but having watched her in various Brit indie movies, I'm cautiously optimistic, she's a really good actress.THXnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656821189691902130.post-55235472957838499072017-07-17T13:57:33.418+01:002017-07-17T13:57:33.418+01:00I never worried about fitting in musically. I reme...I never worried about fitting in musically. I remember when I was 13 at school the teacher asked us who our favourite pop groups were and most said ABBA or ELO, a few of The Lads said Led Zeppelin or Deep Purple. I said MFSB as I was a bit of a soul boy at the time and had just discovered Philly soul from buying ex-jukebox singles. I got blank looks all round but I didn't care. I also got into The Carpenters earlier when I was 11 because my aunt and uncle bought an 8 track cartridge player and gave my bother and I all their cassettes and a player which they no longer wanted and they had about 4 Carpenters albums which we played to death.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11937581521280389248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656821189691902130.post-41037117239216167332017-07-17T13:48:15.862+01:002017-07-17T13:48:15.862+01:00I've just checked and it seems that Billy Joel...I've just checked and it seems that Billy Joel didn't make a video for An Innocent Man which is pretty odd considering it was a Top 10 hit in both the US and the UK. So we don't get to see it. In fact don't see him or even hear him again in 1984 even though he had two further To 40 hits. Totally bizarre.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11937581521280389248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656821189691902130.post-88212258481301737262017-07-17T13:37:02.950+01:002017-07-17T13:37:02.950+01:00There are no trees in Alderney and therefore very ...There are no trees in Alderney and therefore very few birds.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11937581521280389248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656821189691902130.post-53066665799768200952017-07-17T13:36:13.148+01:002017-07-17T13:36:13.148+01:00Wilby - I've watched the Paul Temple series on...Wilby - I've watched the Paul Temple series on DVD as well as I remembered seeing it as a small kid. Back then I thought he was related to Simon Templar (similar names). Did you know all the episodes survive in colour but only with German dialogue.<br /><br />Re Doctor Who Peter Davison was the last one I watched, at least regularly.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11937581521280389248noreply@blogger.com