tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656821189691902130.post6668145164703577681..comments2024-03-28T23:09:18.798+00:00Comments on Never Forget ~ Top of the Pops 1995: I Love Top of the PopsAngelohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16090709386124664912noreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656821189691902130.post-527074259761075312016-10-09T20:17:18.174+01:002016-10-09T20:17:18.174+01:00david i don't know if you're new to readin...david i don't know if you're new to reading the blog or just to contributing to it, but there's been plenty written about the statuesque martha in previous editions. personally i think not only was she as pretty and sexy as kim wilde (if not more so) but also obviously a lot more talented too. and yet she never had a hit single of her own whilst ms wilde cleaned up in the charts!wilberforcehttp://www.gavinunderhill.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656821189691902130.post-55394429332995690912016-10-09T18:08:33.484+01:002016-10-09T18:08:33.484+01:00Sorry I'm a bit late, I actually watched this ...Sorry I'm a bit late, I actually watched this last Wednesday evening but then spent a long weekend away from the computer. And I really can't be bothered to type stuff into the phone.<br /><br />Not only thanks to Darnall42 for posting this but also kudos for setting up a new account after the last one was 'rumbled'.<br /><br />Another show, I thought, which started off really good but tailed off towards the end. Sorry, but the Associates were a bit too avant-garde for me and I never was a fan of Nicole's Teutonic warbling.<br /><br />It did seem a bit strange having the Yazoo performance crashing in halfway through the first verse; on YouTube on my primitive monitor the resolution wasn't good enough to see any problem with the original showing (apart from Richard Skinner quite clearly 'padding' and talking nonsense) but it must have been obvious on broadcast TV. The BBC would surely have wanted Vince & Alf to come back and do it again but they must have had other commitments.<br /><br />I don't know if anyone else can remember the household consumable which was offering a free Top 40 single at this time, I can't, but I chose 'The Telephone Always Rings'. I'm not sure why - it's OK but I fail to see how it could have been a fave rave back then.<br /><br />Today, the Simple Minds video is like watching every 1980s music video cliché packed into three minutes, but it was early on in the decade and therefore original, so credit where it's due.<br /><br />And I agree with others about the Blondie number which finished the show. I've always felt that 'Call Me' was the last great Blondie single and wondered if those which followed were actually 'Blondie' at all, rather just a Debbie Harry vocal over an anonymous session recording.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656821189691902130.post-14941243870896665182016-10-08T18:33:59.462+01:002016-10-08T18:33:59.462+01:00Of those you've listed, Too Hot To Handle woul...Of those you've listed, Too Hot To Handle would be my favourite, that has funk in spades.<br /><br />Another great tune of his is 'Stomp' which The Brothers Johnson recorded of course.Noaxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02790474836630218113noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656821189691902130.post-18300396250121267882016-10-08T18:06:24.418+01:002016-10-08T18:06:24.418+01:00"The statuesque Martha" was Martha Laidl..."The statuesque Martha" was Martha Laidly, formerly a member of Martha and the Muffins (and not THAT Martha!)<br />She is now a professor at OCAD University in Toronto, Canada.David, Ulverstonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656821189691902130.post-4474592393995431342016-10-08T15:36:05.540+01:002016-10-08T15:36:05.540+01:00I thought I'd seen it somewhere before.I thought I'd seen it somewhere before.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11937581521280389248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656821189691902130.post-86820732311928001582016-10-08T06:46:40.667+01:002016-10-08T06:46:40.667+01:00it's a hard choice to put it mildly, but if i ...it's a hard choice to put it mildly, but if i had to pick one of his as my favourite it would likely be "the groove line". i have recently discovered this fantastic extended mix, that as far as i can tell was only released a decade after it was originally a hit:<br /><br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuJvyVUPpqI<br /><br />ps - bama who was your friend that was signed to heatwave's record label?wilberforcehttp://www.gavinunderhill.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656821189691902130.post-77884824319257444332016-10-07T21:22:18.712+01:002016-10-07T21:22:18.712+01:00Popscene lists the Yazoo performance as a repeat, ...Popscene lists the Yazoo performance as a repeat, and it definitely looked like it to me.John Gnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656821189691902130.post-11572606448565756952016-10-07T19:03:45.303+01:002016-10-07T19:03:45.303+01:00There was an article in the Daily Mail yesterday e...There was an article in the Daily Mail yesterday entitled 'The Pop Genius from a Fish Finger Factory' about Rod with 10 of his chart songs:-<br /><br />Thriller<br />Rock with you<br />Off the Wall<br />Boogie Nights<br />Give me the Night<br />Baby come to me<br />Sweet Freedom<br />Too hot to handle<br />Always and forever<br />Love is in control (finger on the trigger)<br /><br />I'm sure everyone has their favourite. RIP Rod.<br /><br />sct353https://www.blogger.com/profile/15640119850898956884noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656821189691902130.post-37774966149808916702016-10-07T18:11:10.050+01:002016-10-07T18:11:10.050+01:00This comment has been removed by the author.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11937581521280389248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656821189691902130.post-52749107894572258662016-10-07T17:13:56.418+01:002016-10-07T17:13:56.418+01:00My friend met him back in the late 1970s when he w...My friend met him back in the late 1970s when he was signed to the same label as Heatwave and said he was a really nice guy. Very unusual in the music business.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11937581521280389248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656821189691902130.post-45080739940879972702016-10-07T17:12:38.038+01:002016-10-07T17:12:38.038+01:00DLT still on good form and the show gets off to a ...DLT still on good form and the show gets off to a cracking start with Duran Duran. Although never a massive fan I really liked some of their early singles and this is a corker. I like Simon's slightly ungainly entrance through the crowd who don't really want to move out of the way but I'm glad the band have dropped all that New Romantic gear for more sensible suits. I see Mr Fairtarse is there as usual, at first I thought he was dressed in white bib overalls like one of the Chigley biscuit factory workers but it is a green string vest worn over a green cap sleeve tee shirt with white jeans.<br /><br />Yazoo. At first I thought this was a repeat and they had cut out the dodgy bit at the beginning but it seems it was a new appearance but they did cut of the start which was a little odd. <br /><br />Joan Jett appears to be channeling Noel Fielding here - a good performance but I've already grown a bit tired of theb song already. The well-trained crowd punch the air like they did in the video. Why not show the video which was better.<br /><br />The Fun Boy Three - Terry certainly looks a lot happier than he did the last week and he appears to be wearing the same semi-sailor outfit which makes me wonder if this was recorded then in anticipation of it entering the chart. I bought this one at the time and I liked the discordant horns on it. <br /><br />Interesting that both Terry Hall and Alison Moyet are both on the same show and ten+ years later they would both do guest vocals on Lightning Seeds albums (Sense and My Best Day).<br /><br />Lots of weird and wonderful visual tricks going on in the Simple Minds video, or VT as DLT calls it (he's known by his initials, so why should video be as well?). I think the band look a lot better here than they did when they were on the show.<br /><br />Michael Hurl's been on the funny pills again - last time with Hot Chocolate we had the cheerleaders and the band dressed up in aerobics gear dancing to the tune, this time it's Zoo and the band doing the same moves but it other clothing which just looks wrong. And why the two hairless muscle men? Shouldn't they be girls or is Errol secretly muscle man crazy?<br /><br />The Associates - I loved this at the time even though i didn't have a clue what it was about and this is a superb performance with Billy M on good form playing a joke on Martha by pretending to steal her mic. Not sure I care for Billy's suit with the bum freezer jacket. During the first chorus there's one bit where they insert a shot from elsewhere in the performance which is a bit odd, not clear why they did this.<br /><br />Then a repeat of Spandex - Martin Kemp looks such a knob end in those vile mishappen jodhpurs - did anyone actually find this cool or remotely sexy at the time. He looks like he's crapped himself especially when he stands like that.<br /><br />The Top 9 and then A Little Peace. I just checked out the lyrics to the Nicole song and she really does sing "Just like a candle blown out in the wind". I'm surprised Sir Elton didn't sue. At the 1982 Euro song contest the Finnish Entry was the complete opposite of Nicole's winner being about nuclear bombs. Not surprisingly it bombed scoring nul points and the singer Kojo supposedly slagged off the song saying "What is a little bit peace?" and he had a go at Nicole calling her "an ugly German virgin". What a sore loser.<br /><br />Playout with the Blondie song which I have no memory of at all. Hurl makes good use of his muscle Marys by having them posing again for no good reason.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11937581521280389248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656821189691902130.post-55370964779235010582016-10-07T03:58:10.996+01:002016-10-07T03:58:10.996+01:00as no one else seems aware or has seen fit to do s...as no one else seems aware or has seen fit to do so, it falls to me to announce the passing of the great rod temperton, writer of so many hits that we've seen on these totp re-runs over the last few years (and hopefully the next few to come) - in fact, too many to mention! and despite being a white guy from cleethorpes, he was surely one of the funkiest songwriters ever?<br /><br />i remember reading an interview with rod in (i think) mojo magazine about 10 years back, where he freely admitted that "with respect to bob dylan et al" lyrics were always the last thing he wrote for his compositions as he felt things like the groove were much more important - good on you rod!wilberforcehttp://www.gavinunderhill.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656821189691902130.post-44556862328475973412016-10-06T15:06:35.236+01:002016-10-06T15:06:35.236+01:00It was probably Karen from Banarama, seeing as Nev...It was probably Karen from Banarama, seeing as Neville pinched her bottom in the video for Really Saying Something, shown on the 22 April edition with Peter Powell.Doryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07718769648375882927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656821189691902130.post-76274037638720515782016-10-06T13:22:43.133+01:002016-10-06T13:22:43.133+01:00sorry noax, in my haste to escape the preening mus...sorry noax, in my haste to escape the preening muscleman at the end i didn't even bother listening to the blondie track. i've done so now on yt (well, a bit of it anyway) and wish i hadn't bothered - after cod-disco, cod-reggae and c(od-)rap we now get cod-calypso. and there's an instrument (in this case the no-doubt synth-generated "oil drum") doubling the same line as the vocal, something i always find irritating (yes, gary numan and altered images, i'm talking about you!). an appropriate title indeed considering how far this once-mighty force had fallen...<br /><br />also: that weird crouching thing that jim kerr did was pretty much his stock-in-trade to my recollectionwilberforcehttp://www.gavinunderhill.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656821189691902130.post-21006160823289147472016-10-06T10:51:10.802+01:002016-10-06T10:51:10.802+01:00Duran Duran - I like most of their singles, and th...Duran Duran - I like most of their singles, and this is no exception.<br /><br />I found it amusing that thanks to the Dicky/The Director/Alf (delete as applicable) cock-up, the song is now shorn of its first verse on repeat!<br /><br />Joan Jett was lucky to be on, usually when an artist pops in to record something for the following week's show, their single goes down! As it is, I've had enough of this song now.<br /><br />Fun Boy Three - Tuneless dirge.<br /><br />Simple Minds - I didn't mind the video, and I especially liked the bit with the spotlights. At least we now know why Jim Kerr did those weird crouching down bits in the studio, he was obviously trying to recreate that part of the vid.<br /><br />Hot Chocolate - I genuinely didn't think Errol was there at first, there were that many idiots clogging up the stage.<br /><br />The Associates - As others have said, the best thing on the show and such a shame that this song has been Yewtreed entirely (or should we call it 'Human Leagued' now?)<br />It's a great performance and I love the messing around with the mics at the end.<br /><br />Nicole - A better performance this time as she gets the words correct! Let me guess, on the next show they repeat the first one I bet....<br /><br />Blondie - Just me and THX liking this then? OK, it's not up with their very best but it's a good pop song.Noaxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02790474836630218113noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656821189691902130.post-63165240972922954252016-10-06T10:39:46.518+01:002016-10-06T10:39:46.518+01:00Is Ashley Blake really back on the BBC, Westy? I h...Is Ashley Blake really back on the BBC, Westy? I haven't seen him.<br /><br />I ask because he is without doubt one of the worst presenters I've ever seen - that alone should mean that he should never be on TV again. Mind you, almost everyone on our local news programmes are dreadful.Noaxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02790474836630218113noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656821189691902130.post-44931274940419509402016-10-06T09:15:27.916+01:002016-10-06T09:15:27.916+01:00just to show you the rubbish i remember from readi...just to show you the rubbish i remember from reading the rock and pop papers and magazines back then: in one of them (record mirror?) it was reported that neville from fun boy three was boasting about his new pop star girlfriend but refused to reveal who it was, only that she "was in the top 20". so the periodical listed all those concerned, and patrice rushen was one of those speculated on. but perhaps unsurprisingly in the end, i think his new squeeze turned out to be one of the bananarama girls...wilberforcehttp://www.gavinunderhill.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656821189691902130.post-39554317963506542232016-10-05T22:21:29.215+01:002016-10-05T22:21:29.215+01:00Thanks Darnall 42 for giving us the choice to watc...Thanks Darnall 42 for giving us the choice to watch or not…<br /><br />Duran Duran – Hungry like the Wolf – I bought this ‘cos I thought it was great and still do. Checkout the 12” version, especially for the ‘groans’ towards the end! I only recall seeing the video on TOTP so maybe I never saw this edition at the time. B side was a live version of the flop single ‘Careless Memories’.<br /><br />Yazoo – Only you – Repeat, missing the first section where something went wrong so they saved Vince and Alf’s embarrassment by omitting it here.<br /><br />Joan Jett – I love rock n’roll – Again, I don’t recall this in the studio reinforcing my belief that this is the first time that I have watched this episode. <br /><br />Fun Boy Three – The Telephone always rings – Lacklustre effort. My lips are sealed on what my favourite FB3 track is.<br /><br />Simple Minds – Promised you a miracle – So just who was the girl in this video? <br /><br />Hot Chocolate – Girl Crazy – Love the presentation except for ‘muscle man’!<br /><br />Associates – Club Country – Marginally more tolerable than ‘Party fears two’ but still a strange vocal.<br /><br />Spandau Ballet – Intuition – “Steve from Eastenders” again with a fast paced song given the ‘busy’ looking performance to match.<br /><br />Nicole – A little Peace – Pleasant without being a classic euro winner. Nicole’s follow up ‘Give me more time’ gave Nicole precisely one week in the chart…at no.75. We had to wait a few more years for the 600th number one and that was a classic..<br /><br />Blondie – Island of lost Souls- Insipid effort from a once great band.<br />sct353https://www.blogger.com/profile/15640119850898956884noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656821189691902130.post-52047905722563181032016-10-05T07:26:37.439+01:002016-10-05T07:26:37.439+01:00No worries! ;-)No worries! ;-)Arthur Nibblehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11547006132533866220noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656821189691902130.post-86525593233823354752016-10-04T22:07:35.498+01:002016-10-04T22:07:35.498+01:00Yeah, just checked the Google images, hmm, very ta...Yeah, just checked the Google images, hmm, very tasty, and she'll be 52 this month, so indeed she was only 17 years old on this week's show in 1982!Doryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07718769648375882927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656821189691902130.post-13934819505794484992016-10-04T20:32:18.222+01:002016-10-04T20:32:18.222+01:00I suspect JJ recorded her performance when she vis...I suspect JJ recorded her performance when she visited the studio the previous week. Couldn't be shown in the Simes fronted edition as Dicky S had introduced the video the previous week.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656821189691902130.post-17349119023190941062016-10-04T17:37:59.592+01:002016-10-04T17:37:59.592+01:00Ah, I should have known better than to pit my wits...Ah, I should have known better than to pit my wits against the man with the facts at his fingertips! This compression of three weeks into one had me forgetting that the England Squad were at No.2 the episode previous to this one. Sorry for messing you about!THXnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656821189691902130.post-43865679562836602742016-10-04T15:35:55.672+01:002016-10-04T15:35:55.672+01:00Maybe I missed something but, according to the Pol...Maybe I missed something but, according to the Polyhex chart stats website, which is usually very accurate, Bardo’s chart run went 43-16-6-2-6-21-33-61.Arthur Nibblehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11547006132533866220noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656821189691902130.post-85132537381487576162016-10-04T15:32:45.395+01:002016-10-04T15:32:45.395+01:00Bardo only recorded six tracks which were released...Bardo only recorded six tracks which were released as three singles before they were dropped by their record company. The two follow-ups to the big hit were "Talking Out Of Line" and "Hang On To Your Heart". Incredibly, through using these six songs plus a number of re-mixes, a Bardo album was released recently!Arthur Nibblehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11547006132533866220noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656821189691902130.post-18599395671753731472016-10-04T14:23:41.323+01:002016-10-04T14:23:41.323+01:00apologies arthur - i remember that guy now with hi...apologies arthur - i remember that guy now with his rippling muscle routine (a bit of a one-trick pony i would have said, so the competition couldn't have been too hot), although i would never have come up with his name. i did actually wonder if you were referencing the guy who co-created eastenders!wilberforcehttp://www.gavinunderhill.co.uknoreply@blogger.com