 |
| Cooking up a storm |
27-3-80: Presenter: Peter Powell
(3) THE VAPORS – Turning Japanese (and charts)
Now at its peak in the charts.
(4) LIQUID GOLD – Dance Yourself Dizzy
A third performance from Liquid Gold, and the drummer seems to have run out of places to put the keyboard!
(23) GENESIS – Turn It On Again ®
A repeat of their debut performance, but the 'Turn it on Again' part was left in this time.
(11) Legs & Co – Stomp around in black dresses to the Brothers Johnson, with a song co-written by Rod Temperton, no doubt giving it a leg up into the top ten.
(38) DR. HOOK – Sexy Eyes
Sexy Eyes became the group's sixth and final top ten hit.
(25) JUDAS PRIEST – Living After Midnight
Lead singer Rob Halford has gone all long haired and blond since the last time we saw him, and this song was the first of three top 30 hits in 1980.
(21) SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES – Happy House ®
Another repeat showing here with Happy House on its way to a peak of 17.
(27) SECRET AFFAIR – My World
Was edited out of the 7.30pm showing.
(29) THE DOOLEYS – Love Patrol ®
Were also edited out, though this was a repeat.
(32) JOHN FOXX – No One Driving
On the show for a second time in 1980 each time with a song that just missed out on a top 30 place, No One Driving stalled at 32.
(5) THE DETROIT SPINNERS – Working My Way Back To You – Forgive Me Girl (Medley) (video)
The only video on the show tonight and the first time we've seen the Detroit Spinners in action.
(1) THE JAM – Going Underground
With Paul Weller sporting a back to front (advertising!) Heinz Tomato Soup apron as a nod to The Who, this was the second of three weeks at number one for Going Underground.
(30) LEON HAYWOOD – Don’t Push It, Don’t Force It (and credits)
Playing over the credits is Leon Haywood with his only UK chart hit.
Next week is a Sky at Night week so we have to wait a fortnight until we get to see the edition from April 3rd 1980
What a pleasure to have both Liquid Gold and The Dooleys on the same show. The two bands must have had a blast in the dressing room, with so much fun that they had to offer us viewers, and what a great start to the 80s.
ReplyDeleteHowever, as Liquid Gold were making a start their chart careers, it was to be the final appearance on TOTP for The Dooleys, as the 80s could not carry their 70s sound any further on the journey, and while they had two more singles releases later in the year, they did not make the top 40, and so this weeks appearance on TOTP was to be their last I think.
Correct, this was the last of The Dooleys' 18 showings on TOTP. An end of another little era in this re-run.
DeleteApparently, a couple of years on from this last appearance, the band called it a day, and emigrated to South Africa to perform as a functions band at weddings and the like, and they still live and perform there now 35 years later, including keyboard Dooley Helen.
DeleteWhat actually happened was that Ann, Bob and Helen all left the band in '82 and moved to South Africa, where they currently perform under the name Shiraz. The Dooleys, meanwhile, continued to perform on the British cabaret circuit with Irish singer Vicki Roe in Ann's place and two others taking over from Bob and Helen on bass and keyboards respectively. They finally disbanded in '92 after several more line-up changes.
DeleteHmmm, Shiraz. Isn't that some kind of wine?
DeleteCould be some kind of whine.
Delete
ReplyDeleteDr Hook – great to see them more regularly now in the TOTP studio since Xmas 1979, where for 7 years previous to that from 1972 – 1979 of TOTP not being able to get them across from the USA, they now seemed to be coming quite freely since their big No.1 towards the end of 1979. An amazing about-turn in their UK presence, and it appears that the three weeks at No.1 in love with their beautiful woman, must have turned the switch.
John Foxx – the instrumentals in the background of this song sound eerily like The Motors single Airport from 1978. Listen carefully and you will hear the similarity. Did anyone realise this at the time?
All 5 of Foxx's top 40 hits in 80/81 made the top 40 but not the 30 (including the Ultravox re-release) so he was consistent.. Presumably, in Europe after the rain there was slow motion in the underpass with no one driving due to a burning car.
ReplyDeleteHa Ha Ha !!!
DeleteThe futuristic sounding John Foxx, in real life Dennis Leigh from Chorley.
ReplyDeleteThe Vapors make 3 of the 5 TOTP options - studio, chart rundown and end credit - and needed a video appearance and a Legs & Co routine for the nap hand. Shame they weren't given an unhindered studio outing, as we never got a proper viewing of their smash.
Liquid Gold, with the TOTP orchestra brought in to... mime? It's not as if there wasn't enough happening on the stage. I think the drummer wanted to swap places with the singer. Charlie Chaplin on guitar, too.
ReplyDeleteTalking of drumming and miming, a very unconvincing mix of both in that Genesis track, though at least we reached the title of the song this time.
Legs & Co, I would say this was more of a skip than a stomp, I expected at least a bit of rollicking around with dustbin lids on their feet.
Dr Hook go disco, from the lyrics of the first verse it sounds as if the singer is about to look up and see the bouncer ordering him out of the club.
Judas Priest setting the template for a billion 80s heavy metal bands, the leather, the hair, the spandex, the studs. Looks a bit like a parody at this distance.
Mr Banshee on drums is nearly engulfed by the dry ice, I noticed this time. Siouxsie should really have thrown a bouquet at the end.
Secret Affair, watch out with that swinging saxophone, you'll have someone's eye out! Great stuff, and the bloke singing along at the side of the stage would agree. Peter Powell for once giving an accurate assessment of a record.
Shiny, shiny Dooleys. Now, who thinks keyboard Dooley would have fit right in with John Foxx's backing band? A crossover opportunity missed.
Good thing about this Detroit Spinners song is the lyric "have my cake and eat it too", because too often people just say "have my cake and eat it" and miss off the "too", when everyone who has cake eats it, but they don't all eat it too.
I can envisage Paul Weller in a floral housecoat and scarf to go with the apron surprisingly easily, but that's by the by. A lot of stuff we'd seen before this episode, but most of it was good, so no complaints.
Dead or Alive also got it right on "Cake and eat it" from "Youthquake" where Pete Burns declares "I gotta have my cake and eat it too"
DeleteTalking of lyrics, I've only just noticed that the Dooleys snuck in "creatures of the night" some years before Laura Branigan. Wasn't it the name of a show from the early days of Talk Radio UK?
DeleteDory: I noticed the similarity between 'No One Driving' and The Motors' 'Airport', too.
ReplyDeleteTHX: Paul Weller's apron was inside out, presumably because it advertised a famous brand of soup - not the brand that Andy Warhol affectionately saluted, but the other famous brand.
As for Dr Hook, they were more popular in the UK than in the US by this time, hence their more frequent studio appearances on TOTP. Their effective blend of country and soul served them well in the British charts for a while, but they would soon be eclipsed in the market by Lionel Richie.
A repeat-heavy episode, but there were still a number of new performances to enjoy. The most eye-catching was John Foxx, with his glamorous line-up of synth players - this is definitely the most stereotypically 80s performance we have seen thus far.
ReplyDeleteMy eyes were also drawn unavoidably to Peter Powell's horrific leather trousers - did he hope to be mistaken for a member of Judas Priest? Living After Midnight is a great song, though Rob Halford looks unrecognisable here compared to the band's earlier appearances. I wonder if Priest should be held responsible for the leather trouser craze of the 80s - every time I watched TV in that decade there seemed to be a pair on display somewhere!
Dr Hook, meanwhile, sing about sexy eyes while looking as unsexy as ever. Another polished effort from them, though it always reminds me of a cat food advert from some years back which used the song to back a succession of ultra-cute blinking cats! A good, committed studio turn from The Jam too, though I can't help thinking the apron detracted from the effect a bit - presumably the Beeb demanded it be turned back to front in order to avoid charges of advertising. I noticed PP called the performance "live" at the end - it definitely wasn't that, but to be charitable he may just have meant that the band were physically present.
So, The Vapors provide the chart rundown music this week, having been played over the end credits last week - a touch unimaginative, perhaps? Meanwhile, farewell to The Dooleys - a year ago I wouldn't have been at all bothered at their passing from the TOTP scene, but given the dramatically improved quality of their last few hits it seems a bit of a shame now.
I assume that the normal pattern of Sky at Night breaks will now reassert itself. If you can't wait a fortnight to see the 3rd April episode, I notice it is already available on Youtube...
Incidentally, forgot to mention that I was very glad that Genesis were allowed to get to the "turn it on again" bit this time!
DeleteI bet Angelo was too, otherwise he may have had to change this blog's title through lack of use on the show!
DeleteI just watched the 3rd April edition, so thanks for the heads up John G. It is the full show, looking like someone's personal VCR recording, but I'll wait till Angelo puts up the blog next week rather than comment now, as BBC4 are still behind by about 3 weeks, as we'll get to see the 3rd April show on 23rd April!.
DeleteYes, I think this was somebody's video recording from 1980 - it certainly wasn't the UK Gold repeat. While I was having a Youtube TOTP binge, I also watched 23rd March 1983 - a fantastic edition, and illustrative of how much the show and the music scene in general had changed since the start of the decade. It makes me hope all the more that the repeat run keeps going for another 4 years at least.
DeleteLet's hope so
DeleteA reasonable show if only for the diversity of what was served up. My selected thoughts:-
ReplyDeleteGenesis – so they did record the whole song after all, but due to the ridiculous shoe-horning of acts on the 13th March show, it was cut on its debut showing. Good job it progressed up the charts or else this would have remained unseen. Charisma records stupidly followed this up with the good (but completely un-single material) song ‘Duchess’ which only reached the high forties. By the time they released the excellent third single ‘Misunderstanding’, which was the first single in the US and had been a sizeable hit there, everyone had probably bought the ‘Duke’ album, so this missed out as well.
Legs & Co – A much more suitable dance record this week for the girls after the struggles with ‘Spirit of Radio’ the previous week and the only decent chart showing for the Brothers Johnson with the surprising well-aged ‘Stomp’.
Judas Priest – I was just waiting for the obligatory guitar solo, and sure enough when it came, some ‘Dr Who’ like effects accompanied it.
Dooleys – I echo everyone’s belated recognition of this once trite band and sadness at this being the last we’ll ever see of them on TOTP. Nice song.
John Foxx – Gosh this was absolutely awful! No wonder JF never penetrated the top 30 unlike Midge and the boys once they got going. Four keyboard players?!
The Jam – As predicted, a studio appearance, so no more concerns regarding dodgy cuts to the promo video. Paul sporting a tasteful ‘Heinz Tomato Soup’ apron back to front and also getting the ‘Dr Who’ treatment at one point. One more week at no.1 for the trio and I expect it will be a repeat of this performance.
maybe genesis's record company could have put out "please don't ask" as the follow-up to "turn it on again"? in effect phil collins' first "solo" effort, but far superior to any of the stuff he released under his own name...
DeleteYes, that would have been better than 'Duchess' certainly.
DeleteDid anyone else notice Phils ridiculous hop as the beat changed?
DeleteI didn't get the Who reference and had to look it up. I didn't realise they had an album track called "Heinz Baked Beans"!
ReplyDeleteOh well - after last week's excellent show it is no surprise that we slip down the ladder of standards for this edition. The man in charge of the microphone is the ever-smiling Peter Powell.
ReplyDeleteLiquid Gold - running out of ideas to be wacky now and resorting to fancy dress. This seems to have been on every show for the past month and to be honest it's losing its sheen - more Liquid Gold Plate.
Next up - according to PP - Genesis and 'Turn It On Again Babe' . Good song but a charisma-free performance here.
Dr Hook - another slice of Mom & Pop Disco before possibly the most embarrassing link in the history of ToTP.
Powell begins by sitting on the floor ( for some reason) looking all casual in his black leather pants and brown suede boots and carrying a scarf(?) Then he struggles to his feet introduces Judas Priest and then starts . . . well, dancing I suppose. Cringe.
What was Siouxsie carrying in her right hand at the start of the song? And where did it go to?
John Foxx and as mentioned a couple of times above, just compare this to The Motors' AIRPORT and stand back in amazement at the lack of lawsuits. I bet he wished he could have nicked a decent chorus as well.
Weller's Apron has been, obviously, reversed by the BBC to avoid advertising, so it seems strange to have the camera linger on it and put the footage into slow motion thus giving us plenty of time to work out what the apron says. Strange people at the BBC.
And Powell's scarf makes a return as he waves goodbye to us to the tune of Don't Push It by Leon Haywood, which sounds like a Rick James outtake.
So 4 for the show and 3 for Powell, who I have to confess is beginning to grate on my nerves more and more with each passing appearance. Luckily for me, his next appearance is not untill the May 8th edition.
I just found this top ten countdown from this week in 1980 in Australia.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TMefu4IIeg
Some of our UK 1979 hits were only now appearing in April 1980 in the Australian top 10, like Daytrip To Bangor (I never knew there was promo video for this!), Walking On The Moon (I never knew there was studio performance for this!), and Another Brick in The Wall as a joint No.2 with Crazy Little Thing Called Love. We in the UK never had joint No.1's and joint No.2's!
Also, just appearing in this April 1980 chart, and late to the party by a couple months after us in the UK was Coward of The County and Rock with you in the same top ten.
That's really interesting. Presume Police track from a show.
DeleteYes, that Police track Walking on The Moon was not performed in Britain on any TV shows, as we only got the promo video on TOTP and other shows, so I wonder if anyone knows where they did it, as it is very rare.
DeleteOh, I just found it here - the full four minutes of the studio performance on the Aussie show Countdown (their equivalent of our TOTP):
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKlMAIxWok0
Great find, Dory, just as interesting to see the songs that weren't hits here as it is to see the ones that were - so how come I recognise a couple of the Aussie-only ones (that Romeo tune for one)?
DeleteThe other remarkable thing about that April 1980 top ten countdown in Australia, is that Day Trip To Bangor was in it, and apparently a promo video was made, which was not aired in the UK, and nor is it on Utube, so I wonder if anyone knows how to find it.
DeleteAnd it looks nothing like Bangor. Or Rhyl for that matter.
DeleteThere were joint Number 1 songs occasionally in the 50s I believe. Technically, it also happened in 1990 with 'The Joker' by Steve Miller Band and 'Groove is in the heart' by Deee-Lite getting a tie. Unfortunately, the vastly over-rated former song was given the song on a countback system of some sort (biggest increase in sales I think)
DeleteBecause of this, they then allowed joint chart positions - you'll see a few in the 1991 / 1992 charts, although always in the lower section of the Top 40.
'...given the nod...' that should say. You can tell I've not posted on here for a while!
DeleteInteresting sampling some of these on YT. According to the April 20th Countdown Top 10 "There were two versions of 'Day Trip to Bangor' but Fiddlers Dram seem to have cornered the market". The other version appears to be by the Duffy's Band, who I have certainly never heard of. Also on this rundown is a video for 'Brass in Pocket' which I haven't seen before featuring Chrissie as a waitress!
ReplyDeleteI remember the Brass In Pocket video in our UK charts way back in 1980 with Chrissie as a waitress, so nothing is new here.
DeleteHowever the Fiddlers Dram video on the April 1980 Countdown Top 10 of 6th & 20th April is showing a video which for sure was never shown on British TV, and it's not even on Utube, so this is a real rare gem if anyone can find the complete video, as I would love to see it.
Not much to add to the comments, but it was such a shame that the most attractive Dooley joined so very late in the day. Unless I like the song, I usually fast forward through repeats, but I watched “Love Patrol” as a mark of respect to the band.
ReplyDeleteHated “Dance Yourself Dizzy”, but you can’t fault Liquid Gold’s obvious joy at being there. I liked the drummer’s athletics gear with the chart placing shown on the number on his back. Clever.
Legs & Co were obviously wearing the Charlie Chaplin line of St. Trinian’s outfits.
Interesting how someone recently mentioned the regional pride at a Birmingham band on TOTP, e.g. Dexy’s and UB40. Don’t forget to add Judas Priest to that list.
I’m glad Secret Affair’s saxophonist’s neck strap didn’t break under the strain. That could have been one Hell of an industrial accident otherwise.
Underpants! Airport! I’m really confused. Did John Foxx follow The Motors and nick the “Grandstand” theme for a future single?
Bearing in mind that apron work, a shame The Jam didn’t do a medley of their chart topper with “just Lie Eddie” – by Heinz! Boom boom tish!
By the most attractive Dooley, I guess you mean Helen? Also known as keyboard Dooley on our blog, I can only agree, and that I was looking at her at the back of the group on those keyboards in this TOTP performance of Love Patrol, and trying to see through the front lead vocals just to get a glimpse of Helen in that silver jumpsuit and high heels. Very nice!
DeleteI don't think this was marketed enough, because this could have been the next phase of the Dooleys evolution to bring Helen towards the front, as they did in 1979 by moving the other two sisters in front of the traditional lead male vocals, which changed the groups fortunes to a top 3 group in 1979.
Instead, this was to be their final top 40 hit, and soon after, they were getting ready for a life in South Africa under a new band name Shiraz. Helen, come back!
I forgot to mention, we've had clips from various music shows in the re-run, but the Detroit Spinners' snippet must be the first we've seen from Don Kirshner's show. Don was multi-talented - promoter, producer, manager (of The Monkees, for example), songwriter, label boss and show host.
ReplyDeleteAnother selection of quality items, from a personal viewpoint higher peaks but a lower average when compared to last week's show. It would appear that the MU had put its leaden foot down on this one: artists with orchestration were required to bring a tape of the basic band backing only and the house orchestra would do the rest. Said orchestra did a rather good job with Dance Yourself Dizzy (same musicians played on the record?) but I'm sure I could detect slight differences on My World. Then there was also an apparent enthusiasm for freeze-frames, including a couple of seemingly random ones, at the end of Legs & Co and during the Dr. Hook performance, looking for all the world like they're covering up tape defects or maybe something they don't want us to see in 2015.
ReplyDeleteNow I can recall that Liquid Gold featured regularly on our TV screens during 1980 but I never realised it was the same song on the same show! It's the last time we'll see them doing this number, a shame since Ellie was wearing progressively less clothing with each appearance!
Nice to see the Legs girls sans video effects for a change, but the 'mood lighting' is still in vogue.
Dennis Locorriere on silent rhythm guitar - very country.
Interestingly, Judas Priest were miming to the album cut here, the single version has both the intro and the bridge shortened - and for many years this was the only version I knew.
From a 2015 perspective Siouxsie looks like a typical 1980s housewife who thought she was a bit 'cutting edge'. Or more likely, 1980s housewives who thought they were a bit 'cutting edge' modelled themselves on Siouxsie. I think the same could be said of Julie Driscoll a decade earlier.
I can listen to Secret Affair's My World over and over again but I thought the pendulum saxophone was a bit too distracting here.
As I have said previously, the Dooleys had two more minor hits. I suppose it was inevitable that they would eventually morph into a plastic ABBA. And they did...
John Foxx - now here's something I've not seen or heard since 1980. Gave the impression of being an insurance man's dream, so I looked it up. As far as I could tell there were four Yamaha CS-80s - that's around 20 grand's worth of kit (at 1980 prices) on the stage there! That kind of money would buy a small house back in those days...
After that, the Detroit Spinners in NTSC gungeyvision seemed a bit of a let-down, but at least it was followed by one of the all-time classic Number Ones!
20thc you've jogged my memory that around this time i actually won a yamaha CP 70 electric piano (valued at £700!) in a competition in "sounds" music magazine. however despite its price tag it was pretty limited in terms of sonic variety, and in the end i swapped it for a "sielorchestra" synth that although worth less-than half the price at least had a few interesting sound patches on it (in my experience the strings patch was better than anything i ever heard on roland synths that i used later on)
ReplyDeletehere's a pic of the awards article if anyone's interested: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=742463162462365&set=gm.515945158536710&type=1&theater
Slightly surprised by some of the indifferent reviews of this episode, as I thought it was a belter, but each to their own.
ReplyDeleteI had never paid any attention to a performance of "Working my way back to you" before, but thought this was a very arresting display by the Detroit Spinners. I liked the little digging movements, which showed that the Legs were not far off with their literal portrayal last time this was aired. The Legs themselves did justice to the superb "Stomp" with a fine routine, but aren't they being given unflattering outfits at the moment?
Yes I also noticed Phil Collins' silly skip, just one of the memorable features of this geeky performance – as well as the styleless hair, the Hawaiian shirt, and the manic rolling eyes when the camera pans to his face.
John Foxx was the highlight for me, but then this sort of thing is right up my street. The backing keyboardists were clearly giving a nod to Kraftwerk, except that the synthesisers were laid in two rows rather than horizontally. Foxx himself gave an unusually lively performance, even frugging it a little, in contrast to his usual statuesque displays – this from a man who once experimented with living without emotion during his early days with Ultravox. "No one driving" is a real grower which repays a few listens, and I had never noticed the similarity with "Airport" before. He was about six months away now from the recording which brought him most to the masses – "My face", giving away as a free flexidisc with Smash Hits in the autumn, in the days before it began to go solely for the teen market.
"Sexy eyes" is a fine single to round off Dr Hook's major chart success, although "Girls can get it" reached number 40 later in the year. Despite this, I remember them, for some reason unfathomable to the pre-teen me – obviously because they were touring the UK at the time, and because of lack of other available guests – making one or two appearances comfortably after their sell by date (not that they were ever fashionable to pre-pubescent children), certainly into 1982, on Swap Shop, where to me they came across as intensely annoying with their (feigned?) wacky personas.
Shaky, your worries are over, as you will be relieved that the next TOTP of 3rd April 1980 has Legs & Co back to their skimpy short dresses for a song ironically called Don't Push It Don't Force It by Leon Haywood
Deletei'm a bit late to the party this week for one reason or another, but hopefully i can still contribute a few observations of interest:
ReplyDeletehost: i still can't help liking the guy, whatever others say. i remember buying a similar pair of faux-leather trousers around this time, but i rarely got up the nerve to wear them! when he introduced john foxx i noticed a couple of women in the surrounding gaggle wearing identical stripy dresses - does anyone know anything about that?
vapors: did this really need to played again? i've said this before, but the chart rundown provided a perfect opportunity to feature new and up-and-coming material, especially by those who for one reason or another couldn't physically make a live appearance (unlike this lot, who've made two already). i don't think anyone's mentioned this before, but after the vapors vaporised soon after their solitary hit, the singer ended working for the musicians union
liquid gold: if only the camera had been zoomed in from a little closer at the beginning, the sparseness of the audience may not have been so obvious. if they were going to use the bass-player's hat for the now-obilgatory acting out the vibes solo, then they could at least gone to the effort of having a musical keyboard put around it!
dr hook: although probably appreciated by an entirely different audience. to my ears this is actually not that different-sounding from the brothers johnson's effort that preceded it. going from the title, presumably the singer's love interest in this song is not mr eyepatch? although given their antics in the video for "a little bit more" i suppose it could be another band colleague. obviously getting a bit bored with "playing" congas, at the end eyepatch executes a flamboyant fill that is nowhere to be heard
priest: much better than that thing they did a year or so earlier, although the chorus seems naggingly familar. rob halford's new blonde bouffant style suits the visual image of the band much better, but taunts from the music press and others that he was now a tim brooke-taylor lookalike meant that didn't last for long!
The Vapors followed up 'Turning Japanese' with the Jam-like 'News At Ten' (during the strike, unfortunately); their third and last charting single was 'Jimmie Jones' a year later.
Deletedespite my tardiness there's still enough rambling here to make this another two-parter:
ReplyDeletedooleys: even though a repeat i had to watch again, just for one last look at miss singer dooley in her incredible shiny torquoise satin pants. yes, in relative terms they improved over their totp tenure, so it was perhaps surprising that this was their last hurrah
john foxx: the highlight of the show, and although not in the same league as "europe after the rain" a much better effort than "underpan - sorry "underpass". it looks like the original three on keyboards again (including sunshine and eddie, whose own stuff i again reccommend checking out on youtube) plus a japanese (?) lady - does anyone know who she is? musically, unlike other contrinutors here i can see no similarity whatsoever between this and the motors' "airport"... unlike that of the latters' "forget about you" and the "grandstand" theme - did keith mansfield who wrote that ever sue?
detroit spinners: hopefully the last of the irritating breed of identically-dressed black vocal groups where one does most of the work and the rest just do a few oohs and aahs and throw shapes in the background. i've always used the digging-up-the-road routine as way of demeaning this, but seeing them in action here i've realised i've not been doing it properly all this time: they actually dig in twice (not once like i've done) before throwing the dirt over their shoulder! so apologies detroit spinners. but your song and style still sucks as far as i'm concerened...
leon haywood: i always liked this, but (unlike the motors/john foxx thing suggested by others) this is another clear case of plagiarism, the riff ripping off not only kool's "ladies night" but also al hudson's "you can do it" (which probably also ripped-off "ladies night"). when i did a disco mix for my school reunion a couple of years back, i segued them all together to prove that point!
I don't know if Keith Mansfield sued The Motors over 'Forget About Grandstand', but being qualified to Grade 5 in music theory, I know that the synthesiser riff in 'No One Driving' - not the vocal melody - was lifted directly from 'Airport'.
DeleteYou're right about the three disco hits you mention in your last paragraph; as well as being in the same genre and at roughly the same tempo, they are all in the same key (C-sharp Dorian).
julie i shall have to take another listen to the john foxx thing when i get the chance (i have no audio on my laptop and had to watch this week's show at the library!). as far as i know, despite the massive musical advances made (particularly with regard to production and technology) over the last century, the basic concept of plagiarism of someone else's musical copyright still only relates to two particular aspects: melody and lyrics. whether a riff (or a series of notes) that is not the vocal or lead instrumental melody qualifies is still a grey area and likely a lot harder to prove, although there have been cases in more recent times where those who originally created a recognisable riff have been awarded at least partial share in royalties of other recordings where it is apparent that riff is an integral part of the work in question
Deletealthough the kool/al/leon tracks share the same riff and chord patterns in at least the "verse" sections, apart from having differing melody or lyrics, they also differ enough in other ways (form, arrangement) so as to probably not make it worthwhile for anyone to prove plagiarism (as opposed to influence). by the way, i know of at least 3 other recordings that have the same basic riff/groove, and hope one day to do a mega mix of them
in another case however, although the melody and lyrics of cashflow's "mine all mine" differed to that of the fatback band's "i found lovin", in all other aspects the former was a complete facsimile of the latter with the same form, chord structure and arrangement and even instrumentation. but despite that i can still find no proof that anyone was sued or even if things were settled out of court!
Wilberforce - I well remember the Cashflow/Fatback songs an used to play them together in what I fondly imagined was a humourous 'CashBack' mix. For some reason I supposed both songs were written by the same people, hence the lack of appearances before a Musical M'Lord.
DeleteJust checked this out for you on the 45cat website - both the Ca$hflow and Fatback Band songs were written by J. Flippin and M. Walker.
Deletethis response bring up another half century, so hopefully more polite applause from the pavilion, although i don't think another hundred is likely to be made... unless another radio 1 DJ is exposed as some sort of sexual pervert!
Delete"i found lovin" was released in 1983 and written by johnny flippin and michael walker who were both members of the fatback band. i've looked up "mine all mine" (that was definitely released after 1983) on discogs, and the guy credited with "writing" it is someone called kenny beck. probably like most i've never heard of him, but the producer of this travesty was larry blackmon of cameo fame, who really should have known better. although the whole thing still seems shrouded in mystery, my suspicion is that the writers/publishers of "i found lovin" approached those of "mine all mine" after it was a hit, and said "either give us the credit and the money, or we'll see you in court!"
I'm digressing terribly here I know, but "I found lovin" was around in the late eighties too as I recall and had the peculiar refrain of "you wot, you wot, you wot, you wot you wot ....."and was covered by the late Steve Walsh from I think, Capital Radio.
DeleteI hope these repeats last until then, I really do.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSdPDlkm_g8
Delete1987 it was!
The 'you what, you what' refrain was only on Walsh's version not the original. It holds a place in my heart as the WORST cover version ever.
DeleteYes, totally different. The video is a good snapshot of late eighties bling/crap though.
DeleteFor the record, I hate both versions. :)
shaky that was a brilliant idea to play both tracks together as "cashback" mix! i'm having a go at that with mp3's on cooledit and it actually sounds quite good, with the different melodies actually weaving in between each other like some kind of counterpoint! hopefully i will get it online soon for others to listen to, along with my kool/al/leon mix...
DeleteOther music programmes are generally available...
ReplyDeleteLooks like an interesting documentary on BBC4 tonight - "How To Make A Number One Record". I haven't got round to this week's "Pop Gold" yet, but the next edition's the last of this series. If it isn't "Back to the 70's, volume 2" it means ITV will have another series planned.
I don't think there was any Pop Gold on this week. Next weeks is listed as Series 1 Episode 7, and it's called Record Breakers.
DeleteThose 9pm Friday BBC4 music docs have been quite entertaining, though tonight's No 1s was a bit obvious it still had a few decent talking heads.
DeleteLast week's was better, if only for the clip of Anne Nightingale asking Paul Simon about Art Garfunkel's songwriting when they were together. You could have cut the atmosphere with a knife.
Next week it's tales from the tour bus, which should be the best so far, I'm hoping.
The look on Simon's face was priceless in that clip. You could also see the tension between him and Garfunkel quite palpably in the clip they showed of the two being interviewed by Frank Bough. I assume that must have been during their 1982 reunion tour, which was of course rapidly followed by Simon deleting Garfunkel's vocals off what became the Hearts and Bones album...
DeleteHmm, this is interesting, at least to me. This link concurs with your reply...
ReplyDeletehttp://tv.bleb.org/tv/channel.html?ch=itv1_hd&all&day=5
and this is the one I saw previously...
http://www.radiotimes.com/episode/dj7nfq/pop-gold--series-1---7-fashion-week
I'm still around!
ReplyDeleteI've been so busy these last couple of months that I rarely have time to watch the shows until a week after broadcast, by which time most of the interesting things have already been said.
I have been most impressed by Secret Affair throughout this year's shows and the ones they appeared on in 79. I always knew that 'My World' was a top tune, didn't know the others so well but got to like them, and my goodness they look super cool. If I was a little bit older at the time, I think I would have been trying to emulate their look.
Much better than The Jam. There, I said it!
good to see you're still with us noax - hopefully you'll now find time to watch the shows sooner and enlighten us more with your observations and wit...
Deletehere it is! the "cashback" mix (centre pan, l-r, r-l) plus the "kool & co" mix:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.mixcloud.com/wilberforcemixes/cashback-meet-kool-co/
With a long wait of two weeks for the April TOTP shows of 1980, I couldn't help but go back to the first month of these TOTP runs to April 1976, and on this very week on 22.4.76, where we were lucky to see the peak chart position of Music by John Miles in the TOTP studio.
ReplyDeleteThis is one of my all time favourites of British pop, and on the anniversary of it today at peak position of No.3 in 1976, I've been listening to this all day today, and first heard it when I was 8 years old way back then. Sit back and enjoy it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PF6mk2Sq4yY
Only just catching up with Pop Gold. 'Here Come The Girls' really lived up the title. Highlights include Ike and Tina Turner, Dolly Parton, Gloria Jones, Clem Burke on drums with Eurythmics. Never heard several of the songs before - Dusty 'Love Power', and Kate Bush 'There's Goes A Tenner'(?). Few interesting facts as well - ONJ's father worked on Enigma project.
ReplyDelete“There Goes A Tenner” was released as a single in late 1982 and got next to no TV or radio publicity. It missed the charts completely, becoming the first Kate Bush single to not make the top 50 at least.
ReplyDeleteStill two weeks behind but I'm getting there.
ReplyDeleteNice to see bonkers Liquid Gold performing with the orchestra even if the band make it more obviouis than ever that they are miming which makes the string players' presence a bit pointless.They always seem to fade when they reach the bit where the guitarist does his playing in octaves. I wonder if the band knew they were named after a brand of Poppers?
"Turn it on again babe" Where did the babe come from? Nice close up of Tony Bank's fat arse near the end just before he does his third duh-duh on the mini keyboard. I love all those suspicious glances the audience members are giving the cameraman when he pans round them, clearly that was more interesting that seeing Phil and Co in the flesh. Still a great song though and I lstill ove the line "I could show you some of the people in my life".
Always best to see Legs strutting their stuff to a soul or disco number. Nice sophisticated outfits for the girls which suits the style of the band.
Dr Hook.Shouldn't that be Sexy Eye, singular? Oh well, not a bad tune but this is the band finally selling out and loosing their country roots. More guitar parts in octaves.
Why does Peter Powell start by sitting down? Is it so that we can see that he has zero taste by having black leather pleated (pleated?!) leather strides with brown leather cowboy boots. Rob Haford does look a proper nana is that get up but hey that's what metal was all about. My mum used to have a cyclindrical cheee grater that looked a bit like one of Rob's studded leather gauntlets, my mate used to put it on his wrist and strut round like Mr Halford. It was 1980s, there wasn't much to do.
Brilliant we can actually see Secret Affair this time. Their sax player was Dave Winthrop who had previously been in Supertramp! I'm glad I didn't know that then. I was a mod at this point in time, purely influenced by the band and had an Ian Page haircut, Fred Perry, sta-press trousers and desert boots. Sadly none of my mates at school were into this music so I literally was "dressed up with nowhere to go" until I left school in July when I made up for lost time by going a bit mad. I even joined their fan club while I was still at school and still have all the newsletters somewhere in the loft. My World was a great song and should have gone a lot higher but the whole mod revival thing was treated as a bit of a novelty by the music press and within a year it was dead in the water.
Not sure who the creepy guy with glases in the red sweater is but he difinitely loks like a hangover fron the 1970s.
Jon Foxx makes good use of Legs set with a bit off added dry ice. Love the androgynous Japanese keyboardist. I must admit I never really got Mr Foxx at the time and most of his stuff left me cold with the exception of Europe After The Rain from 1981 which was beautiful.
The only time Detroit Spinners played Top Of The Pops was in 1977 when they were forced to do Could It Be I'm Falling In Love even though You're Throwing A Good Love Away was the stand out track on their EP. This is a good perormance but the band was never the same after Phillip Wyne left.
Like many people my age I remember Weller in the Heinz Soup pinny with the miniature pistol attached to it. Clearly it was a nod to The Who Sell Out although that was Beanz not Soup. A superb performance only slightly marred by the bit when the camera pans to a bored couple deep in coversation making it obvious that the music in the studio isn't that loud.
Leon Hayward nicked his intro from Blood Sweat and Tears' Spinning Wheel but no one seemed to notice at the time.