15-2-79: Presenter: Peter Powell
(7) THE BEE GEES – Tragedy (and charts)
(54) THE DOOLEYS – Honey I’m Lost
(11) GENERATION X – King Rocker ®
(6) EDWIN STARR – Contact (danced to by Legs & Co)
(39) ALAN PRICE – Baby Of Mine
(30) PEACHES & HERB – Shake Your Groove Thing (video)
(46) THE PRETENDERS – Stop Your Sobbing
(21) GLORIA GAYNOR – I Will Survive (video)
(62) LENE LOVICH – Lucky Number
(3) THE THREE DEGREES – Woman In Love (video)
(50) THE SKIDS – Into The Valley
(1) BLONDIE – Heart Of Glass (video)
(17) THIRD WORLD – Cool Meditation (and credits)
The Bee Gees ~ play over the chart rundown - they just weren't interested in being on the show at this time were they?
The Dooleys ~ a number 24 hit for this brother and sisters act ~ much better was soon to come...
Generation X ~ with their number 11 biggest hit ~ band members Bob Andrews and Tony James both went on to have bigger hits in the 80's with Sigue Sigue Sputnick and Westworld respectively.
Edwin Starr ~ his first band was a ‘50s doo-wop group called The Future-Tones
Alan Price ~ ex member of the legendary Animals of House of the Rising Sun fame - but this song made it to 32 in the charts
Peaches and Herb ~ were Herbert Feemster and Linda Greene, although there were quite a few other Peaches over the years
The Pretenders ~ with a Kinks cover, Chrissie Hynde was in a relationship with Ray Davies at the time.
Gloria Gaynor ~ sings a maga classic disco hit written by Dino Fekaris and Freddie Perren, who also wrote Peaches & Herb’s Shake Your Groove Thing ~ not a bad week then.
Lene Lovich ~ with a tune that went on to be a number 3 smash, was born in Detroit, but spent her teenage years living in Hull, after her English mum ran away from her Yugoslavian dad! Duff duff duff........
The Three Degrees ~ the video this time, what a smash this was for them, where did Twiggy go wrong?
The Skids ~ with another song about the troubles in Northern Ireland - it got them to number 10.
Blondie ~ yes, it's still number one :-)
Third World ~ play us out over the credits this week with what became a number 17 hit.
Next week's show still hangs in the balance a bit ~ it could be the return of DLT to our screens, we'll have to wait and see.
Ah, Chrissie Hynde, who had something in common with Patsy Kensit…Jim Kerr! However, the final score in terms of these gals’ rock star liaisions was Chrissie Hynde 2 Patsy Kensit 4!
ReplyDeleteTaking of relationships, the Alan Price single was released on red heart-shaped vinyl as a Valentine’s Day cash-in (yes, commercialism was around even in those days), but this wasn’t the best coloured shape Jet records released - that award goes to the brown rectangular disc issued to tie in with “Rollin’ On” by Cirrus, aka the Yorkie Bar jingle.
Following on from my mention of Weekend chocolates, anyone old enough with a sweet tooth might remember Cadbury’s Lucky Numbers, a 1960’s loose selection of chocolates with digits on the wrappers, only available via sweet shop jars from memory.
Back with more spoutings tonight, once I’ve had a chance to watch the show on the iPlayer – our telly’s packed up!
Hmm, I thought that was probably the dullest show of the year so far - too much MOR pop and forgettable disco, with a particularly lifeless audience in the studio. I had never heard of The Dooleys before this repeat run (with good reason, it seems), and I still can't comprehend why anyone would have wanted to buy their weak-as-water pap! Amazing really that Alan Price was still getting on TOTP as late as this - I don't think his solo stuff was ever much cop, even when he was enjoying chart success in the late 60s.
ReplyDeleteOn the positive side, it was interesting to see The Pretenders make their debut (and sobering to think half this line-up would be dead in 4 years), and I enjoyed Lene Lovich and The Skids. As for I Will Survive - I can readily understand why it was a big hit, but I would survive quite happily if I never heard it again! Give me Never Can Say Goodbye any day...
The Dooleys, or whoever wrote this, were big fans of I've Got You Under My Skin on this evidence. These days I prefer Peaches and Herb's Shake Your Groove Thing to Gloria's I Will Survive, simply because the latter is so unbelievably overplayed, even now. Also, P&H had the spanglier video.
ReplyDeleteNice to see a Rubettes cap getting a work out on The Skids' number, although since learning he spat at The Nolans I've gone right off Richard Jobson. Good manners cost nothing, Richard.
Lene Lovich, can we settle once and for all if the story about her dubbing screams onto Hammer Horror movies was an urban myth or a bit of invented PR to make her sound interesting? As if she didn't sound interesting enough (though the studio version here was less urgent than the record).
Legs and Co seemed to be decked out in curtains, a shower curtain in Pauline's case, unless that was bubble wrap. Certainly an energetic routine.
The lead singer of Third World died a couple of weeks ago, so RIP.
I thought Legs & Co were the best performance on the show. How fitting was Peter Powell's introduction, about "Contact" with Legs & Co. So right Mr Powell, everyone's wish indeed.
Delete50 something here.
ReplyDeleteQuite enjoyed this edition, probably because of the weird leaps from disco to new wave to MOR and back again. Couple of censorship points - Blondie faded out before the "pain in the ass" line and Third World edited so that the opening verse referring to prostitution didn't put people off their dinner. If I recall correctly a few weeks later John Travolta rhyming 'shit' and 'tit' was actually broadcast but, since BBC4 can't afford to show clips from Grease we won't see that.
Dooleys - yes they're still in naffville but once big brother takes a backseat and lets the girls do lead vocals you'll see a marked improvement. The bottom line is that if they'd been around a couple of years earlier they'd have been a great deal more successful.
Love to have been a fly on the wall at the Gloria Gaynor video discussion. "Can't just show Gloria singing her heart out, that's old hat, we need something to make the video stand out. Any ideas?" "I know, let's intercut it with clips of someone dancing on roller skates." "Brilliant idea Smithers, see to it."
This edition was probably the worst of 79 so far, sadly.
ReplyDeleteIt started off with a terrible edit in Tragedy which was so bad that it reminded me of many adverts that take songs and chop them to bits using hacksaw and sellotape. The all time worst being one for a car ad (I think, or was it perfume?) that took Chris Isaak's brilliantly paced chorus to Wicked Game and turned it into 'Noooo IIII/on't wanna fall in love/ith you'.
The Dooleys must have had a great agent to get them on first again! I can't say I remember the track at all, but luckily their other 2 1979 hits are belters.
Great Edwin Starr song, shame about the leotards + whatever's knocking about to stick to them style costumes for the ladies.
Alan Price - Dreary. Looking it up, I notice that his previous flop (also featured on TOTP!) was the double A side.
The Pretenders - Not exactly their best effort, not sure about Ms Hynde's bed hair either. Mrs Noax cannot stand her, incidentally.
Speaking of unbridled hatred, what is possibly my least favourite song in the world then turns up! HATE 'I Will Survive'. Hate it, hate it, hate it. What's even worse is that the hit single should have been her version of Clout's 'Substitute' (though in all honesty was too soon after the original to have really done that well)
Lene Lovich - Best song in the show by far, although the performance is a little flat. I think she's actually miming to the re-recorded vocal, isn't she? Still brilliant though.
3 Degrees - Given a chance to make a video....they use those awful costumes that they wore when in the studio!
The Skids - Sadly, though the song is alright, as I have said before I find Jobson a totally insufferable prick so I couldn't really watch it.
peter powell: as effervescent as ever, with a fantastic intro for generation x. love him or hate him, you cannot deny he ever lacks in enthusiasm...
ReplyDeletebee gees: did anyone else notice the awful edit, presumably so they could shoehorn in more of the bee gees vocals over the chart rundown (i don't remember the actual 45 being savaged in that manner). this is ok but far from the best of their disco dominating era: prepare to scream sacrilege now, but i much prefer steps' handbag house version...
the dooleys: with the singer's feathercut for a moment i thought i was watching totp '71! this is not bad by their standards, if abysmal by anyone else's (funny how their comparatively good 45's were their least successful ones chart-wise). i note a new lady member on the ivories, perhaps unsurprisingly much more prominent than beardy bloke also on keyboards. i also noticed a guitarist wearing a ridiculous hat, which cannot but raise suspicion that he has something to hide i.e. excess visible flesh on his head...
edwin starr: i always loved the before-it's-time sequenced synth on the intro, but inevitably lost interest in proceedings when edwin kicked in with his somewhat inappropriate voice. still, it's aeons better than the follow-up "h a p p y radio" which is surely one of the worst disco singles of all time? patti was looking particularly foxy dancing to this one - unlike the others who always hold their plastic smiles however they feel inside, patti's facial expressions often seem to give away her feelings on what she's dancing to (does anyone else agree?)
alan price: he always seems to get to do his latest offering, even if it's completely out of touch with the current scene and totally unsuited to the show. was he a chum of the producer or something? this cod-gospel thing is as ever in-one-ear etc to me. note to beardy guy on sax with tam o'shanter as his choice of (not) diverting attention to hair loss problem: wait until the thing can be heard before you start pretending to play it...
peaches & herb: as angelo says, one that's slipped through the cracks (although it was fairly popular at the time to my hazy recollection), but not surprising as it's a disco pot boiler and nothing much more. nice top peaches - i must get one of those for the next time i boogie on down at a retro disco night...
pretenders: presumably from the kinks' late 60's heyday of "waterloo sunset" et al? it certainly sounds that dated. bassist pete farndon was incredibly cool-looking in a james-dean-bad-boy way, as was guitarist james honeyman-scott (there's a real rock 'n' roll name for you!) in a more clean-cut preppy manner. a tragedy that both died so young, especially the latter who might well have been held in as high regard as johnny marr is now had he been around a bit longer...
Hey Noax! Is this your first showing on this forum? If so, welcome back to the clan. If not, I've just been down the pub!
ReplyDeleteNot a bad show, enthusiastically presented by Pete, especially when it came to Lene Lovich and The Skids. Mind you, black mark for no outro mention of Third World, though a very nice touch when they showed a photo of the band during the runout. I can’t remember that ever happening again. Can anyone recall another such occasion?
First sighting of the third Dooley girl on keyboards in this show if I’m not mistaken. Shame the other lasses were relegated to joint mic duties instead of their usual front stage shaking stances.
Why was Pauline dressed like a bubblewrap turkey for the “Contact” routine? Where was Gill? When did Lulu last have a haircut? Fully agree -wasn’t Patti at her open mouth pouting best?
Liked Pete’s rhyme of “number 39” with the title of Alan Price’s song. but hated the song’s ultra-lazy first rhyming couplet of “down” and “down”! That sax player showed where The Rubettes should have gone cap-wise to extend their careers!
Never mind Gen X or the Skids, the fastest thing on this show was Peaches and Herb’s punk-speed disco. Does anyone think this song might have charted higher if the word “Thing” in the title had been replaced by “Thang”?
I think drummer Martin Chambers is alive and in the current Pretenders line-up, hopefully still wearing these leather Steptoe mittens. Sadly, The Pretenders were always sullied by the chart rigging allegations regarding their chart topper.
Fully agree with the previous comment about “I Will Survive”. Hate it with a passion. Got “Never Can Say Goodbye” in my record collection. Far superior.
Ah. Lene Lovich, the prototype Hazel O’Connor, Being married to a Balkan myself, I can understand why Mrs. Premilovich made a break with young Lili-Marlene. They can get a bit feisty! A very clever and under-rated song, this. Ah ooh ee ooh! Lene was previously in a band called The Diversions, whose one top 40 hit was not only the loser in a two-way chart battle with composer Carl Malcolm’s own version of “Fattie Bum Bum”, but lalso one of only three top 40 hits for the Gull label, the others being “Barbados” by Typically Tropical and “Bam Boogie Woogie” by Cleveland Eaton. One act previously on Gull who made it big later was Judas Priest!
At least we saw a bit more of the other two Degrees in their video. Apart from better orchestration, more assured lead vocals and fine harmonising, I think Sheila’s slightly more voluptuous figure may just have helped this song beat Twiggy’s effort.
Richard Jobson, the Jeremy Clarkson of punk / new wave. What an opinionated cock. Shame, because The Skids’ song and dancing are fantastic. I recall Jobson was in a London / West End play with punk micro-star Honey Bane, where they were meant to simulate pleasures of the flesh but Jobson played it for real on at least one occasion. Of course, the real genius in The Skids was the great and sadly missed Stuart Adamson. The B-side to “Into The Valley” was a succinct song namechecking TV and radio personalities, with the chorus a four-time chant of former Corrie character Albert Tatlock.
I reckon loads bought “Heart Of Glass” just to see Debbie in the video again. If so, good call!
are there any straight men alive who don't hate "i will survive with a passion? i certainly agree that "never can say goodbye" wipes the floor with it, but then again that hasn't been played to death...
DeleteYes. Me. Sorry.
DeleteHi Arthur!
DeleteI've posted about most editions on Angelo's blog I think - obviously I'm not being controversial enough to get noticed!!
I agreed about Patti at her very best in Legs & Co's performance of Edwin Starr's 'contact. Patti's work here is on a par with her work on Ruby Flipper's performance of 'You Should Be Dancing" by the Bee Gees, on a TOTP edition in Aug/Sep 1976, introduced by Noel Edmunds. For me that was the best of Patti so far, hotpants and all!
DeleteProof I've been down the pub. That was meant to say "Bama Boogie Woogie" in my last comment. Apologies and doffed hat to our eminent forumite of said name!
ReplyDeletepart II:
ReplyDeletegloria gaynor: aarrgghh! not that bloody song again! not that bloody video again!! not that bloody roller-skater again!!! nice boob tube and spandex pants combo though. gloria tries her best to be glamourous but despite the sequins and stuff just can't escape looking mumsy - like many ladies of that era (especially those "of colour") she looked younger than that when she was considerably older...
lene lovich: pete excitedly informs us that he's been waiting for this - the audience obviously were not feeling likewise as they stand like statues throughout despite the infectious nature of the track. another one that fell by the wayside despite being quirky danceable pop in the manner of more-celebrated similar stuff from the likes of ian dury, squeeze and M. apparently ms lovich is still active today after a fashion, but did you know before this short-lived brush with fame she a: sang lead and wrote the lyrics for cerrone's euro disco classic "supernature", and b: along with long-term partner and bald guitarist les chappell (there's a guy for whom follicle fallout was no shame) was in a funk outfit called the diversions?
the three degrees: i always feel a bit sorry for the one on the right, who actually sang the lead vocal on their first hit but henceforth had to make way for sheila ferguson who their manager presumably decided was the diana ross of the trio (i prefer the one on the left myself, but then again i preferred florence ballard's looks to diana's). also, if that's not a wig she's wearing then i'll eat mine...
the skids: one of the more interesting punk/new wave bands that got on the show. richard jobson a: destroys my theory that all men wearing hats on totp are bashful baldies, b: seems to dance to an entirely different record (was bez watching?), and c: very much resembles a young ray "i'm the faackin' daddy!" winstone...
rating: 7/10
Looks like yet another blog for this programme has started up. Someone called DD posted today on Chris's last thread, mentioned they've got access to most of the Jim'll / DLT contraband editions and given a website address of http://itstopofthepops.blogspot.co.uk
ReplyDeleteIs it me or is it all getting a bit confusing?
thanks for that arthur! i can't check if the website address is the same as chris retro's or not as (to stop me wasting my time to check if he's finally updated it) i've now deleted it from my bookmarks...
Deleteanyway, i've now bookmarked this and shall be monitoring it and adding brief comments where applicable. but i'm firmly nailing my colours to angelo's mast with regard to my in-depth reviews and analysis...
Always good to have another blog site, so this is very encouraging
Deleteit looks like chris retro has finally packed it in and handed the website name for his 1978 totp blog to someone else to have a go...
Deletetalk about going out in a whimper! whilst i appreciate his efforts, it seems that once he managed to get himself a paying job as a result of his blogging, us "followers" became second-class citizens and got neglected accordingly - if it was too much to aggravation for him to continue, then all he had to do was make a brief announcement in the way his predecessor simon did, and he would have been inundated with thanks and gratitude for his efforts despite that. instead i bet i am not alone in feeling slightly bitter in the wake of what has happened (or to be more accurate, what did NOT happen). as they say: "politeness costs nothing"! let us hope for his sake he shows more respect for his new employers and clients...
can only disagree with the comment regarding chrissie hynde and the Pretenders Brass In Pocket being part of a rigging scandal, it's merely hearsay and nothing more in my book. Never proved and the mere suggestion is a joke and smacks of jealousy. Brass In Pocket was a superb track and stood head and shoulders about the bands first two singles. The bands first album went straight to number one and the 12 tracks on it were all written by Chrissie Hynde except for two. The single Brass in Pocket fair well in other countries as well including chrissie hynde's homeland the USA. A lot of people make comparisons with Debbie Harry and maybe Harry was prettier but chrissie hynde was a far better musician and song writer and six years younger than Harry. Makes me angry that people dwell on brass in pocket as a chat rigging scandal....it's a load of bollocks!
ReplyDeletePS i'd like to say this episode other than the atrocious Alan Price track wasn't that bad. I was 16 when this episode went out and was buying singles every week on my way to DJ'ing in the mid eighties. I was heavily into new wave, skids, the jam, The Police, Ruts, Pistols, Members etc this episode featured Gen x as well with Billy Idol, I preferred the B-side to the single Gimme some truth . I also preferred the B-side to the Skids into the Valley a live track called T.V. Stars. I had a habit of flipping the singles to find better tracks on the B-side back then.
Hi Saltie. I didn't realise the rigging story was hearsay, though it seemed to get a lot of press back then. It didn't affect what I thought of the band. My favourite track of theirs was an early one (maybe a B-side?), an edgy number called "Tattooed Love Boys".
Deletei never knew that the success of "brass in pocket was allegedly down to brass being put in insiders' pockets rather than coming out of those of punters, but then again the very concept of a chart encourages (if not exists for) such purposes for anyone who has ever made a record... alleged or otherwise! there is still a belief that brian epstein and/or his staff went around buying the beatles' first single in order to get it into the charts - were that true and had they not done so, then macca might well have spent his working life as an insurance clerk before quietly retiring, and lennon would probably have spent his time drifting between casual jobs and the dole...
Deleteanother thing i have just learned from checking wiki is that "now then, now, then for a million points" the full title of this track is "brass in pocket (i'm special)"!
i know that strictly speaking this has nothing to do with totp 79, but it might be of interest to those reading...
ReplyDeletedid anyone else watch the recent danny baker rockin' decades series? if so, did anyone else think that louise wener (of 90's britpop also-rans sleeper) now looks like a cross between betty boop and dec (or is it ant?) in drag...?
I've got a soft spot for Sleeper purely because, for a few years not that long ago, their drummer co-ran a monthly punk rock karaoke night at The Garage in Islington with indie DJ legend Steve Lamacq. I used to love turning up and having a go. The drummer was part of the in-house three piece backing band, called Spiteful Handjob!
DeleteBit too much 'disco by numbers' for my taste in this episode. Thought Pretenders ok - pity she didn't have a comb. Knowing the fate of the bass player, you can see he is already on the path to his demise.
ReplyDeleteWith reference to B Sides, I always used to use this as a barometer to the quality of the artist - if the B Side isn't throwaway, there is probably plenty in the artistic pot.
i always checked out the b-side of any 45's i purchased in the hope that it was something good and therefore worth twice what i paid for it! as a result some b-sides are among my most cherished recordings (i'm sure i'm far from alone here)...
Deleteit always seemed rather ridiculous to me that the b-side earned equal royalties for its writer, regardless of the fact the practically everyone bought the thing for the a-side and it was just filling a hole. of course the more savvy exploited that by making sure it was them that wrote the b-side. i remember all chinnichap's "clients" being given the opportunity to write their own material for b-sides... although in their case probably because chinn & chapman couldn't be done with wasting their time writing something that hardly anyone was going to listen to!
probably the most notorious b-side in financial terms was that of "bohemian rhapsody". may and mercury usually alternated with the a-sides and the other less-prolific members got thrown the bone of the flip. however, because mercury wrote "rhapsody" and roger taylor happened to get the other side that no one listened to, he ended up making more money from their single releases than brian may, who contributed a hell of a lot more material! this was probably a major factor in their bickering over royalties, which they finally resolved by having everything credited to the band as a whole regardless of who actually wrote the tune...
also, occasionally there would be something on the b-side that would be produced specifically for that purpose - perhaps the best example of that is napoleon XIV's "they're coming to take me away ha ha!" which like the label is backwards - apparently pub landlords would utilise this by putting it on the jukebox at closing time to clear punters out double quick!
I agree there are some fine B-sides out there. On at least one occasion, I bought a single despite not really liking the A-side because I thought the flip side - "Cat People (Putting Out Fire") by David Bowie - was brilliant.
DeleteAnyone else remember the Memorex Tape advert with misheard lyrics? The Skids "plenty of cheese" and "masses of lime"...
ReplyDeleteInto the valley
DeletePeas sure sound divine
That sissy suffered you but who can Viv iron?
The soldiers go marching, there's masses of lamb
Whose disease is catskin?
My picture is Hugh's toe
Ahoy, ahoy, Len see a sty
Ahoy, ahoy, barman & soda
Ahoy, ahoy, juicy men embalmed her
Ahoy, ahoy, lung nearly gave!
It was a Maxell tape advert. Memorex tape was the reason for the vocals being so garbled in the first place ;o)
Deletedespite being touted as top-quality, memorex tape was rubbish! even those 4-for-a-pound cassettes you could buy in places that sold cheap hardware and suchlike were better than that...
DeleteNo chance of DLT shows for the forseeable future - re-trial called for those two outstanding charges.
ReplyDeleteOne of which - the journalist one - reads like the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard and sounds more like entrapment by the journo than anything else. Sigh.
DeleteOne where he has been cleared - the 29/06/78 TOTP - is available for all to see (link on Chris's blog). Grimace or smirk? You decide.
Deletei can't remember if i said this before or not, but in the summer of 78 and/or 79 i went to several radio 1 DJ gigs at my local ballroom (in a small seaside town on the south coast) - they were the nearest we got to celebrities in our (remote) neck of the woods, and so they were treated with awe and reverence accordingly. but none more so than DLT - i recall that the anticipation beforehand was palpable, and when he finally came on stage (to his "own" music, lightshow and probably special effects such as dry ice, and wearing a cape as if he was a superhero or something) a packed audience reacted as if royalty or even a divine being had graced us with their presence and reacted accordingly. perhaps with regard to what i consider a clear recollection, i should have offered my services to his defence counsel as a character witness?
Deletei suppose what i'm trying to say is that like rock stars and other celebrities of that time he could easily have taken advantage of that unabated adulation and had his pick of starstruck jailbait had he so wished, even at that relatively low level. so why has he been singled out for scrutiny when there are others from that era that commanded far higher levels of slavish devotion (especially from young girls) than he ever could, and almost certainly committed far worse crimes in that regard than he was ever alleged to?
in my view, if anything good should come out of this farce (and the other yewtree trials that are also wasting vast amounts of taxpayer's money), the law should make sure that in future there is a time limit in which supposed victims can make accusations so that the alleged perpetrators can be charged for "historical" crimes of a sexual nature: i would suggest for adults up to 10 years after the alleged offence(s), and for minors up to the age of 26, where they would have 10 years as an adult to decide if they wish to press charges. and i think even that is being generous to the "vics" - after all, how many people can remember exactly what happened even one year ago, never mind 10? i like to think that (unlike the vast majority of people) i have a pretty clear memory on what happened 30-odd years ago, when most of these supposed incidents took place. but i bet if i were transported back to those days in a time machine and able to observe my younger self in action, then even i would find events somewhat different to how i now remember them!
Methinks the daughter of Chrissie Hynde and Ray Davies protesteth too much....
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-26327716
seems like mother, like daughter - maybe she should start up a pretenders tribute band?
Delete... and perhaps call it "the pretend pretenders"? (it took me several hours to come up with that one ha ha)
DeleteNice to see I got a mention by Mr Nibble even though he missed a letter off (shall I call you Arthu?). I've been away for a while but I'm back.
ReplyDelete1979 seems very in vogue at the moment what with TOTP and Challenge showing old Blankety Blanks and 321 episodes from that year - did you know Radio 1 deejay Janice Long was a contestant on the first episode.
I'm glad they've found a photo of Shalamar because the last time PP presented they were represented by a swirling disco light.
Bizarre how The Dooleys and Generation X get their names displayed in lights but no one else does although we got to see a photo of Third World in the send credits which was unusual as Arthu says above. I believe they did do this on a few occasions but usually only when they were playing out with the number one.
I to noticed The Dooleys have gained an extra female member on keyboards, reminds me of Gillian Gilbert from New Order, perhaps its the way she stands. Were they all brothers and sisters or were some cousins or married to others because there seem to be more Dooleys than Jacksons?
Without doubt Billy Idol is the worst mimer in the world and why does he insist on always staring at the camera. Had someone perhaps attached a mirror to it?
Edwin Starr's Contact was more of a gay disco hit than I Will Survive but is more or less forgotten now. Here the Legs girls look like they've all had an argument over who got to the dressing up box first.
Baby Of Mine was produced by US jazz pianist Mike Melvoin who released an album called The Plastic Cow Goes Moooooog. I remember seeing the heart shaped red vinyl single of ths is my local Boots, it was in their bargain bin for ages getting more and more tatty by the week, but I didn't buy it. Neither did I buy the Yorkie Bar theme by Cirrus which was also there. Mind you a lot of singes were on coloured or shaped vinyl then, eg Edwin Starr's Contact which was on pink vinyl.
I had forgotten this Peaches and Herb track. It was around this time that I began to get more into new wave and less into soul and disco. But this is pretty good.
Lene Lovich had a big impact at the time because of her look and the ooh-ooh, aah-aah thing but it all seems rather tame now. At one time her guitarist was Maxwell Hutchinson who went on to be an architect and is the poshest guy in the world. It's like finding out Brian Sewell was in The Sex Pistols.
Is it me or do the backing vocals on the Three Degrees sound a bit off? And they were miming to the record presumably.
Looking at the audience during Into The Valley I can't help but think that they must have been doped with something, they're so uninterested it's scary and Richard Jobson's performance is one of the most energetic I ever saw. I remember watching this at the time and rushing out the next day and buying it and a narrow tie. I loved The Skids and bought their next three singles. But why all the hate for Richard Jobson, what did he do that was so wring?
Never get tired of hearing Blondie and I'm gay and I thought DH was sexy. When the music papers did their end of year awards they always struggled to find competitors for top female vocalist. For years it was always Kiki Dee but from just this show there are lots of candidates.
.
I haven't heard Cool Meditation for years, shame they couldn't have the band in the studio.
good to see you back bama...
Deletei picked up the yorkie bar-shaped brown vinyl with "wrapper" sleeve single from a bargain bin back then, in the belief that it might be a worth a lot of money later (i was wrong)
when the music papers did their end of year awards around this time, readers apparently had even less choice for keyboard players then female vocalists: dave greenfield always won - even if the stranglers hadn't released anything! and rick wakeman always seem to come second - not for his skill on the ivories or for a liking of his music, but probably because he was the only other keyboard player that readers could think of!
Hi Bam! I did correct your name in a later message. Six of The Dooleys are / were siblings - only the bassist and drummer weren't related at first, but I think the bassist later married one of the sisters. Richard Jobson's had a kicking on here due to his opinions as seen on various shows, including the start of year revue. can't argue with "Into The Valley", though. Top drawer.
ReplyDeleteLate again... just watched this... what a lot of comments!
ReplyDeleteGood one! Gen X, Pretenders debut (and also the first 'dragged through a hedge backwards' hairstyle?), Lene Lovich (I have to admit I preferred the follow-up), Skids and of course Blondie.
As for I Will Survive, I thought it was a refreshing change to see the original visuals instead of a one-eyed alien (type 'alien song' into YouTube if you don't know what I mean).