So whose Xmas jumper is the most special?
18-12-80: Presenter: Simon Bates
(31) THE BEAT – Too Nice To Talk To
A good year for The Beat - this became their fourth top ten hit when it made number 7. Can you spot the imposter from the Specials?
(2) ST. WINIFRED’S SCHOOL CHOIR – There’s No-One Quite Like Grandma ®
Surely they wouldn't dare to knock John Lennon off the top of the charts for Christmas, would they? So sad, but it was cut from tonight's 7.30 edition.
(27) THE BARRON KNIGHTS – Never Mind The Presents
It's nearly Xmas so here's another comedy medley from the Barron Knights - but this one was their final top 20 hit. And also cut from the 7.30 edition. But we do get to see 'special' guests Little and Large reminding us how un-pc 1980 comedy still was.
(34) THE SPECIALS – Do Nothing
Sporting very fashionable Xmas jumpers and having seemingly mugged Madness of their tartan trousers, Do Nothing became the fourth top ten hit of 1980 for The Specials when it reached number 4. Can you spot the imposter from The Beat?
(35) GARY NUMAN – This Wreckage
Taken from his number one album Telekon, but the single did't do as well, peaking at 20.
(33) ROBERT PALMER – Looking For Clues ®
Second time on the show but still couldn't make it into the top 30. And cut from the 7.30 showing.
(18) CHAS & DAVE – Rabbit
Turning the studio into a warren tonight, Rabbit became the boys' first top ten hit when it peaked at number 8. (Rabbit and pork = talk)
(39) THE NOLANS – Who’s Gonna Rock You
Helped by Santa on the drums, this song became the third hit from their Making Waves album, reaching number 12.
(3) JONA LEWIE – Stop The Cavalry ®
Couldn't quite march all the way to number one.
The Top Ten Rundown:
(10) ADAM & THE ANTS – Antmusic (video)
(9) THE STRAY CATS – Runaway Boys (video)
(8) SPANDAU BALLET – To Cut A Long Story Short (video)
(7) THE BOOMTOWN RATS – Banana Republic (video)
(6) MADNESS – Embarrassment (clip of TOTP 11-12-80)
(5) THE POLICE – De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da (video)
(4) ABBA – Super Trouper (video)
(3) JONA LEWIE – Stop The Cavalry (still picture)
(2) ST. WINIFRED’S SCHOOL CHOIR – There’s No-One Quite Like Grandma (clip of TOTP 4-12-80)
(1) JOHN LENNON – (Just Like) Starting Over (and credits)
Starting Over had originally peaked at number 8 at the end of November, and had dropped down to last week's 21. Here, Legs & Co pay tribute to the recently murdered John Lennon in a way that only they can, with a final frame over the credits of a shining star on top of a Christmas tree.
Next up should be the two Christmas specials, but sadly both will be skipped by BBC4 because of the presenters involved.
So then instead we move on to 1981 on Friday the 8th of January with 'The Story of' followed by 'Big Hits'.
And don't forget the annual Xmas edition of TOTP2 on BBC2 Saturday 12th December!
I just love the way the show begins with a member of the audience putting a liqourice allsort hat on Simon Bates’s head as he introduces the first act The Beat.
ReplyDeleteThe Beat – definitely their best single so far in this their debut year 1980, which was certainly a very good one for them. Too Nice To Talk To definitely has a breath of fresh air about it.
The Barron Knights – Ok, so it’s out-take time on Pink Floyd, Fiddlers Dram and The Ramblers. “Who’s that geezer, Father Christmas?” “Officer Swift got stuck in the lift.” Great to see you back for Christmas Barron Knights.
The Specials – one has to say that Little & Large’s introduction of The Specials on this show, was better than the Specials themselves. Still, it was refreshing to see The Specials back in the TOTP studio after an absence of well over a year since late 1979, whereby throughout 1980 they just sent videos to TOTP, like Too Much Too Young, Rat Race, etc., and suddenly they were now back in the studio just in time for Christmas.
Nonetheless, it seemed that the Specials with their mummy’s knitted jumpers this week were now shedding their bad-boy image and controversial lyrics of Too Much Too Young, in order to be invited back on the show after being shunned all year since that No.1 in February where they could not broadcast the whole video due to the lyrics on offer.
Robert Palmer – 3rd Week of five at the No.33 slot, TOTP must have felt sorry for Palmer, and repeated his TOTP studio performance from some weeks earlier. Not a great record when you compare to his later success in the late 80’s.
Chas & Dave – now this is a real classic, and probably their most known track, and maybe inspired by Watership Down getting to No.1 for Art Garfunkel the previous year? Going forward, one of these were also probably the inspiration for Jive Bunny & The Mastermixers who came on the scene some 9 years later in 1989 with a barrage of No.1’s. RABBIT, RABBIT, RABBIT, RABBIT, RABBIT.
John Lennon – and so to the No.1 this week for Mr Lennon, with a somewhat subdued Legs & Co, moving like penguins rather than people, and having to make a second routine to the same song they did in November when this first charted. The girls seemed visibly affected by Lennon’s death, with their usual smiles very hard to find this week. How sad for all.
so chas & dave are to blame for jive bunny then?
DeleteIt's not certain, but it could be, because of bunny rabbits, and the common link is 'bunny' here.
DeleteCome to think of it Wilb, I was revelling further into this, and found four rabbit songs so far, of which one made no.1 in 1979, two in 1989, and one had only reached No.8 at peak in 1980 (Chas & Dave):
Delete1. Bright Eyes - Art Garfunkel 1979
2. Rabbit - Chas & Dave 1980
3. Swing The Mood - Jive Bunny 1989
4. That's The Way I like It - Jive Bunny 1989
Can anyone add any other songs like these with links to Rabbits in either the song title, artist or video material, such as these four, to see if we can make a top ten of RABBIT, RABBIT, RABBIT, RABBIT for ourselves, and make Chas & Dave extra happy for Christmas?
'Rabbit Fighter' by T.Rex from the album 'The Slider' and 'White Rabbit' from Jefferson Airplane.
Delete"...and a bell was ringing in the village square for the rabbits on the run....".
jefferson airplane's "white rabbit" - a psychedelic take on the "alice in wonderland" story... as opposed to the porn version i mentioned recently!
DeleteGreat stuff, so I count six so far:
Delete1. Bright Eyes - Art Garfunkel 1979
2. Rabbit - Chas & Dave 1980
3. Swing The Mood - Jive Bunny 1989
4. That's The Way I like It - Jive Bunny 1989
5. Rabbit Fighter - T. Rex
6. White Rabbit - Jefferson Airplane.
Let's see if we can get another four to make a rabbit top ten!
How about one of Georgie Fame's number one hits....
Delete"Bunny and Clyde, they lived their life together.....".
Here are the other four....
Delete"Every Which Way But Loose" and "I Love A Rainy Night", number 41 and 53 UK hits for Eddie Rabbitt
"Rabbit Heart" by Florence and the Machine
and...
"O My Father Had A Rabbit" by Ray Moore!
Oh man, I didn't think it would be that easy Arthur. OK, so here is the final Rabbit top ten (in no particular order):
Delete1. Bright Eyes - Art Garfunkel 1979
2. Rabbit - Chas & Dave 1980
3. Swing The Mood - Jive Bunny 1989
4. That's The Way I like It - Jive Bunny 1989
5. Rabbit Fighter - T. Rex
6. White Rabbit - Jefferson Airplane
7. Every Which Way But Loose - Eddie Rabbit
8. I Love A Rainy Night - Eddie Rabbit
9. Rabbit Heart - Florence & The Machine
10. O My Father Had A Rabbit - Ray Moore
Bubbling under:
DeleteRabbit heart - Florence and the machine
2009
Not sure if this counts, but there is a Moody Blues album track called Tortoise and the Hare.
DeleteAlbums don't count John
DeleteIt's a track from an album Dory, not an album itself.
DeleteApologies, I should have read your message properly. OK, so we have eleven so far:
Delete1. Bright Eyes - Art Garfunkel 1979
2. Rabbit - Chas & Dave 1980
3. Swing The Mood - Jive Bunny 1989
4. That's The Way I like It - Jive Bunny 1989
5. Rabbit Fighter - T. Rex
6. White Rabbit - Jefferson Airplane
7. Every Which Way But Loose - Eddie Rabbit
8. I Love A Rainy Night - Eddie Rabbit
9. Rabbit Heart - Florence & The Machine 2009
10. O My Father Had A Rabbit - Ray Moore
11. Tortoise And The Hare - The Moody Blues
Don't suppose Hare Krishna Mantra by Radha Krishna Temple (1969) counts? :-)
DeleteNo Charlie, cos the Hare in your suggestion is not the rabbit/bunny hare type
DeleteYou do realise that that was a joke?
DeleteLet's not split hares!
DeleteLet's not split hares!
DeleteA difficult show for the schedulers, as most of the mugshot climbers – in fact, all the new entries in the top ten except for the inevitable number one – had been shown the previous week, and positions 11 to 30 contained 12 droppers and two non-movers (Barry Manilow and ELO). Very slim pickings indeed.
ReplyDeleteYes indeed, ELO spent a staggering 7 weeks stuck in the 20-30 chart position from November to January with Don't Walk Away, and this week was their 4th week stuck in this corridor with the final Xanadu soundtrack release, and a mighty fine one too.
DeleteI noticed there was only one act in the Top Ten with any women in it, too. The charts had gotten really blokey by this point.
DeleteNot entirely correct, as there were two acts with women in the top ten - Abba and St Winifred's School Choir. Thank God there was no Stephanie Mills in the top ten.
DeleteAlso, this blokey top ten was due largely to Spandau's debut single being lodged at around No.6 for an eternity it seemed at the time.
THX - "Gotten"? Are you American, Canadian or Irish?
Delete@Dory, I didn't count the choir because they were a novelty record consisting of a bunch of little kids.
Delete@Julie: Scottish! With a bit of Irish.
i'd never have thought that spandau ballet would ever get referred to as "blokey"!
DeleteThanks, THX. "Gotten" is used in some Scottish dialects, too.
DeleteMy late Dad, who was from Wirral, had a habit of saying "squoze" instead of "squeezed". Conversely, Londoner Kate Bush sang "Just like his wife before she FREEZED on him" in 'Babooshka'.
I still talk about having "gotten around to" something.
DeleteDon't forget flippin' Young and Company with their yawn inducing 'I like what you're doing to me'. Chart sequence went 30 26 20 20 26 28 and every week that same b&w photo!
DeleteFor the first time since the new format since the summer, we see this week the top ten rundown all with video clips for each performer (including Spandau Ballet) and no stills!
ReplyDeleteThis was a highly eclectic show with which to end the year - I can only imagine what Chas and Dave, The Nolans, The Barron Knights, Little & Large and The Beat/Specials might have had to say to each other behind the scenes. Gary Numan probably just stood in a corner looking petrified...
ReplyDeleteMaster Bates tries hard to convey festive bonhomie, but just comes over for the most part as very insincere, and cocks up a couple of his early links for good measure. His laughter when chatting to Syd and Eddie also seemed forced, though I would think even less of him if he really did find them funny. It's amazing how long their show ran, as the plug wasn't finally pulled until 1991. I must admit to laughing at them occasionally as a kid, but I was young and innocent!
The Beat and The Specials were the two standout acts this week, and the member-swapping was amusing, as was the sight of Terry Hall looking thoroughly miserable in his festive jumper. It would have been even more amusing to see Numan similarly attired, but he stuck to his normal look while serving up a decent but somewhat unexciting tune. Singing about wreckage just as he got his pilot's licence was perhaps unfortunate - maybe he had a premonition about his later crash...
The Nolans gave a committed performance, though this particular song never rose above the ordinary, even with Santa on drums! Still miles better than Chas and Dave with their irritating Cockney crap, though - the only good thing about Rabbit is that it's pretty short. The Barron Knights were looking and sounding old and tired by this time. Whereas they had once managed to raise a smile or two, this lame effort was utterly mirthless - I wonder if this was their last TOTP appearance.
The festive atmosphere understandably withers at the end of the show as Legs dance to the number 1 and Bates, to his credit, does manage an appropriately sombre introduction. It is far from being a great routine, more a half-hearted shuffle than a real dance, but I guess that in the circumstances upbeat, energetic choreography might have been deemed out of place. However, the close up on the Christmas tree star at the end is a nice, poignant directorial touch.
This was indeed The Barron Knights' final TOTP appearance, their 12th in a 16 year span which included a ten year gap in the middle!
DeleteFor those who haven't already discovered them, Manorak has both Yewtreed Xmas shows on Vimeo - links below:
ReplyDeletehttps://vimeo.com/148174220
https://vimeo.com/128824696
The Christmas Day 1975 show will be on BBC4 on Christmas night, though Manorak has that available too...
Both the beat and specials swapped bass players. Dave wakelin was dressed a bit of a Russian the specials wore those woollen jerseys herd Jerry bouth them esp for the show but Horace wouldn't wear his lol when the beat preform ed on the xmas special a year later with their song the pulled chas smash Chris foreman and bedders from madness.
ReplyDeleteAh, a moving picture at the top of the page, that's new!
ReplyDeleteThe Beat coming over all shy with this odd, burbling-sounding song, it babbles along pretty nicely nonetheless. Mr Beat on vocals obviously regretting that very hot Russian hat judging by how much he was perspiring.
Has the lead singer from St. Winifred's ever given an interview? I've never seen or read one, it's as if she's ashamed of her number one success and wants to forget about it. Can't think why.
The Barron Knights, as usual playing the tunes adeptly but the jokes were getting worse and worse, barely jokes at all by this stage, just snarky observations. Still, they were pleased with themselves.
The Specials, nice to see them making the effort with the jumpers, at odds with the miserabilism of their song. Do Nothing has bleak lyrics saved by the wistful synth, it's almost haunting, more so if you didn't see them grooving in this performance.
Gary Numan, this has a rather effective synth riff too, though less wistful, more miserable. Quite like this one, but the two braces over one shoulder never caught on, did it Gaz?
Ah, this is the first Chas and Dave record that really caught my ear, I thought they were great when I was little. I suppose it's a novelty song, but maddeningly catchy with it. I was also strangely drawn to the hand gestures on the pair of rabbit people sitting by the piano - sorry, Joanna.
Do not remember this Nolans tune at all, it keeps threatening to get to a killer chorus then cops out. The backing band were really rocking out, weren't they?
Lastly, sad face for John Lennon, a pleasant enough, skipping little ditty, but somehow inadequate for the occasion of his death, especially the optimistic lyrics. Legs & Co's routine reminded me of the revival of the Sand Dance on Toast of London this week. Difficult to dance in a respectfully grieving manner, I suppose.
Oh, and Little and Large, well, I would have found them funny at the time, but that time was a very long time ago. Do you think this bit was scripted, by any chance?
The moving picture at the top of this blog coincided nicely with the first top ten rundown this week having all acts on video clips and no stills, and first time since the new TOTP format after the summer strike. Lots of firsts in the same week.
DeleteAgreed regarding the Specials bleak number here, and Little & Large's introduction of them was better than the song itself.
I disagree with you about The Specials' 'Do Nothing', which was penned by Lynval Golding (rhythm guitarist) and Jerry Dammers. It may not have been quite as cutting-edge as 'Too Much Too Young' or 'Rat Race', but it caught the economic and social despair of the era, nevertheless. I'd love to hear it performed by Adele or Katie Melua, for instance, as an acoustic ballad; I believe such a treatment would suit the song.
Delete@Dory, wait a minute, let's not say something we can't take back, The Specials' Do Nothing is a lot better than Little and Large. I recall hearing it on the radio when I was younger and always being transported to a reflective place.
Delete"The Barron Knights, as usual playing the tunes adeptly but the jokes were getting worse and worse, barely jokes at all by this stage, just snarky observations. Still, they were pleased with themselves."
DeleteThey always looked far too pleased with themselves. They were weak songs and even weaker jokes imo. Always laughing at their pathetic jokes, especially the frizzy haired one.
I think thats all I have to say about them!
I always found Little and Large as funny as toothache – down there with the likes of Cannon and Ball and the ridiculously named and virtually forgotten third rate 'comedy' duo Cheese and Onion. How many years did Eddie Large peddle that ’impersonation’ of Deputy Dawg for?
ReplyDeleteLittle and Large released at least three singles - one with the wafer thin catchphrase of “Deedle-Ee” was re-released nine years later, and another was a cover of sorts of Meri Wilson’s “Telephone Man”!
“Who’s gonna rock you now? Who’s gonna put out the fire?” Surely the sort of chorus lyrics you’d hear on internet stations like Planet Rock or Kerrang? Nope, it’s those maidens of metal, The Nolans!
Little & Large, along with Russ Abbot, were probably the best two comedy acts that the BBC had at the time, and I remember Eddie Large's impression of Deputy Dawg being better than his rendition of Laurel & Hardy with him as Oliver Hardy, and Syd Little as Stan Laurel.
DeleteEddie Large revealed in 2010 that he had not spoken to Syd Little for several years. This is not unusual in famous pop acts as well as TV comedy acts.
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI'm almost tempted to try to find that version of Telephone Man, just to hear how awful it must assuredly be - Meri Wilson's version is bad enough! According to Wikipedia, Syd Little was educated at Yew Tree Secondary Modern School in Wythenshawe, which in retrospect makes his appearance on TOTP rather appropriate...
DeleteHere you go, John, courtesy of the sublime 45cat website. Released on the Nevis label but it didn't reach the chart summit. Boom boom tish!
Deletehttp://www.45cat.com/record/nevs103
Just noticed from 45cat that the Nevis label also released a single by Johnny Ball (yes, that Johnny Ball!), plus two by The Singing Nolans (the girls with their parents and brothers before the gals went, erm, solo).
DeleteI succumbed to temptation Arthur, and it was amusing for about 10 seconds, but then just became an excuse for Eddie to show off his range of voices. If anyone is brave enough, their 1980 Christmas show, which they were plugging on this TOTP, is available to watch in full on YouTube. Funnily enough, it was produced by one Michael Hurll...
DeleteGodawful as suspected. I wonder if Lard ( of Mark and fame) got that daft Northern expression from Large (or was it Little?).
DeleteLittle and Large's 1972 single Rocksteady is actually quite good, musically at least. They seem to have invented Two Tone 7 years before Jerry Dammers. In fact the single was reissued in 1981 I'm guessing on the strength of the Two Tone craze. Needless to say it didn't bother the charts.
DeleteI always had a soft spot for Eddie large because he was such a nice guy but Sid little was always embarrassingly untalented. Eddie Large's wife Patsy Ann Scott was one of the presenters on the game show 321.
Simon Nice-But-Dull Bates has the honour of hosting the 'last Christmas Top Of The Pops before the Christmas Top Of The Pops'. Sorry, what? Well, at least, there is some attempt at festive cheer- balloons, hats, streamers and a large Christmas tree, leading me to hope that this year's ToTP specials will be more Christmassy than last year's.
ReplyDeleteMusically we start off with The Beat and the excellent Too Nice To Talk To. You can hear the beginnings of the 'sound' that the Fine Young Cannibals would make their own in this fine track.
St Winnifred's continue their inexorable climb to the top slot, the Barron Knights scrape the very bottom of their particular and peculiar barrel, and Little & Large pop in for. . . no discernable reason apart from proving they are a match for the towering wit of the Barron Knights. It's all gone a bit Seaside Special, hasn't it?
The Specials are up next - all Christmas Jumpery and cheery ska tune; just a pity no one told Terry Hall who takes his straight facedness to a whole new level.
Gary Numan mocks the Gods of Coincidence by gaining his Pilot's licence and then performing This Wreckage on the same day.
A third rate Cars, this one - album filler at best. Bates gets this title wrong - calling it 'Wreckage' and then in the very next link, he calls Robert Palmers previous single 'John & Mary'. Finger on the pulse.
The first part of the chart carries on and on to number 18 and Chas & Dave's Rabbit. (Presumably that explains the badge on Bates' lapel). I was recently in Sainsburys and the total number of rabbits on sale was - nil, so not sure what these loveable Cockneys are on about here.
Chart rundown continues to number 11 before a clumsy link to The Nolans who seem to have lost a sister somewhere. This isn't a bad stab at Mom & Dad disco, but as with all British disco songs of the era suffers from weedy production values.
The Top ten crammed with plenty of 'new'acts but topped off with THAT school choir and a dead Beatle.
Scores. The show, itself, scores a fairly decent 7. Mainly due to the Two-Tone double act,and the better-than-usual atmosphere. In a ToTP first, we have someone directing the show who knows where the hell to point the cameras. All solo spots in all of the studio performances were suitably captured. Bravo, sir.
Nice But Dull earns himself a 5. The misnaming of song titles, the enforced hilarity with L&L and the pseudo-solemnity of his Lennon intro costing him dearly.
So, just the Yewtreed specials to go then, which hopefully will turn up on here soon?
I'm not a robot.
The Nolans temporarily slimmed to a four-piece during eldest sister Ann's maternity leave. Another sister, Denise, had quit 2 years earlier to pursue a solo career.
DeleteBTW, 'Who's Gonna Rock You?' was written by future soul superstar Billy Ocean with Ken Gold, who co-wrote and produced The Real Thing's two biggest hits.
Michael Hurll directed this edition himself - it's been noticeable that, since the revamp, by far the slickest shows have been the ones where he has directed.
DeleteBack in the seventies J Sainsbury (as was its official name then) did indeed sell rabbit.
DeleteUp until a handful of years ago, there was a store next to the track near Vauxhall station which still had the J Sainsbury livery, many years after the image change. There was also an old off licence very nearby which, until three months ago, had a half-covered Watneys Red Barrel advert on an upper wall. Sadly all now gone.
Deletei remember being served up rabbit at the family dinner table from time to time as a child. i think it was bought as an alternative to the usual meat and two veg that was the staple diet of 70's households, and also because it was cheaper than other meat - probably because because it was mostly bone rather than meat!
Deleteanother rabbit-related thing: i grew up locally to the isle of portland that is famous for its stone among other things. over there no-one could or would say the word "rabbit" as their warrens were supposedly responsible for cave-ins in the quarries that mined the stone, so they used to say "bunnies" instead. as such i don't suppose chas & dave were ever popular there!
DeleteI remember, not that long ago, the powers that be had to modify posters on Portland advertising the film "Curse of the Wererabbit", so they take it very seriously!
Deletei would have thought the superstition would have started dying off now along with the older residents - due to general migration as elsewhere these days, many who live there now (including a noteable overspill from adjoining weymouth due to the cheaper housing) are not born and bred portlanders as they were before. but it obviously still prevails to a degree if a major film has to have its title changed to "something bunny going on"!
Deletei have to admit that despite the above changes, whenever i visit potland as part of going back to my old stomping grounds in that area, i get a definite feel of stepping back into the past as much of the landscape is still as desolate as i remember it being in my youth...
a belated add-on for the nolans: i think it was the end for big sister anne as far as the charts were concerned. neither she or other older sister denise were as telegenic as the four on display here, so when sony footed the costs of a grand reunion tour a few years back only these four were invited to take part, which really pissed anne off and i think she threatened to sue at one point (although they later apparently overcame their differences when it became known that bernie was dying of cancer)
Deletehost: never mind the bassists - if both the entire contingent of the beat and the specials had swapped places for each others' tunes, then slimy wouldn't have noticed. someone else pointed out a while back that the "top of the pops" album that he brandished at one point mysteriously never seemed to appear in charity shops many years later, and i certainly can't recall ever seeing a copy... unlike the "not the nine o'clock news" LP he also exhibited!
ReplyDeletebeat: an almost discofied effort from them, what with the frantic conga playing going on. then as now i thought this was okay but not a patch on "mirror in the bathroom"
barren knights (ho ho): oh dear, i really wanted to fast-forward this, but like st winifreds a couple of weeks earlier i resisted the urge just for the sake of commenting here. i think even the latest hit they parodied was over a year old by the end of 1980, which is pretty pathetic. and surprise surprise there's more "humour" that would never be tolerated these days, this time of a homophobic nature as opposed to a racist one. however, the instrumental backing for the pink floyd pastiche was very accurate, which explains why there are so many floyd tribute bands around!
little & large: i saw them once near the bottom of what was probably one of the last variety shows (lulu was the bill topper), and thought they were very funny. but then again i was only 10 years old at the time! seriously, i think eddie large has to be given some credit for his skill as a mimic, even if the rest of his act was somewhat crass. as for his partner, does anyone else remember the front page headlines in the tabs about 20 years ago screaming "sid little signs on the dole!"? but i bet now we're wallowing in the age of retro nostalgia even a talentless git like that gets regular work nowadays
specials: another record i have no recollection of whatsoever (this is becoming a slightly-disturbing trend - i thought i remembered every hit from those days!), this is perfunctory if competently-executed reggae, made slightly more interesting by jerry dammers' woozy piano and ice rink strings. i've never been too keen on the trombone as a solo instrument, but when it sort-of started following the tune at the end it really got quite annoying! on the sartorial front, presumably they thought they were being ironic in their by-the-fireside knitwear? but perhaps their jolly jape might have been more amusing had they done it in the middle of summer
Little & Large - that impression of Eddie Waring was just cool. I remember as a child in 70's on It's A Knockout that Eddie Waring with some hot babe on his side, would give us the scores on the doors with those manual numbers turned over in the outdoors.
DeleteOf course there was no electronic scoreboard then, so Eddie Waring would call on his assistant to update the scores. All this before passing back to Stuart Hall in the commentary box.
I chose the theme tune to "It's A Knockout" ("Bean Bag" by Herb Alpert) for the post-cake cutting photo session at our wedding reception. Such innocent times six years ago!
DeleteTalking of Eddie Waring, despite being a soft Southerner, I used to love watching the BBC2 Floodlit Trophy (live coverage of the second half of a rugby league match on a Tuesday night). Many matches in the competition were played during the daytime to save on the 'leccy, and Bramley won the Trophy one year despite their ground not having floodlights!
two-parter alert:
ReplyDeletegary numan: like the specials, gaz has an instrument doubling his vocals. in fact gaz always seems to have synths doubling his vocals - it's almost as if he wrote his somewhat-limited material as instrumental pieces, and then realised he had forgotten to add any melodies! was this dirge seriously the best he could offer as a single at this point? if so then he was better off sticking to flying (or crashing) planes
robert palmer: i asked this in a previous post without a response: does anyone know who the bassist and keyboard player in his "backing band" are?
chas & dave: musically not my cup of tea, but i suppose they have to be given credit for their instrumental dexterity (were they actually playing live?). and at least it wasn't "gertcha"
nolans: today by chance i discovered that there are now items of ladies clothing known as "jeggings", that are (you're no doubt already way ahead of me here) a combination of jeans and leggings. i mention this as it looks like the nolans have got some pre-jeggings on here. i also notice that lead singer bernie has quite a poor complexion - unlike lovely maureen who has skin like peaches and cream (why did she never take the lead?). as for the music, if it wasn't being performed by the nolans it might actually be considered as a reasonably creditable piece of jazz-funk!
lennon: even 35 years on it still galls me immensely that millions of people who wouldn't normally go anywhere a record shop rushed out and bought the guy's (mostly mediocre) stuff just because someone shot him. but what kind of tribute were legs meant to be giving - if anything it's comic with those white "things" (there can be no other way of describing them, surely) hanging off them?
As far as I could tell, Legs appeared to be going for a Stone Age Santa look!
DeleteNo, Simon, we’re not seeing you next Thursday at 2 o’clock. They won’t let us! And why is it a surprise that The Boomtown Rats have gone down? They went down last week as well!
ReplyDeleteHad The Specials’ bassist been given a temporary free transfer to The Beat for refusing to wear a chunky jumper? Dave Wakeling, still doing his unique dance while playing, looked boiling in the castoff Jona Lewie outfit, but Saxa exuded cool.
It’s Angus Young with a moustache! Ah, no, it’s one of the Barron Knights with what was their annual Christmas hit until Simon Bates’ kiss of death intro. Just as well on this evidence, but I agree the Pink Floyd facsimile backing was tip top.
The Beatskis’ bassist owned the stage while with The Specials. Hall, are you chewing? I’d forgotten how great the sound was on this single.
Gary Numan should have covered “Jet”. Regarding his outfit, this song plummeted so quickly he needed to adopt the brace position! See what I did there? Still, Gary looked more animated than with Richard Skinner, and he smiled more than Terry Hall.
I saw Chas and Dave this February at the very un-Chas and Dave-like venue of Richmond Theatre, and they were superb. Those rabbit masks in the audience were scary, but let’s not split hares!
The Nolans’ line-up was all wrong. It should have been blonde- brunette- blonde- brunette or with the blondes as bookends. Young Nolan had grown in confidence by this stage.
Legs & Co’s outfits were weird (how many fluffy animals had lost their tails for that garb?) and the routine was naturally subdued, but I agree it was a night touch highlighting the tree star at the end.
Oh, and I liked Neville Staples' jumper most.
Was pleased to see this morning that two items from 1980, are very much on the scene now in 2015:
ReplyDeleteChrissie Hynde of the Pretenders who bagged her first No.1 at the beginning of 1980 with Brass In Pocket, performed this morning on The Andrew Marr Show on BBC1 their famous 80's Christmas hit "It Must Be Christmas Time."
George Benson who bagged his first top ten hit in the summer of 1980 with Give Me The Night, just after the BBC strike, will be playing one night only at The Royal Albert Hall in June 2016, and tickets are plentiful for Benson fans who fancy some nostalgia.
Oops, I forgot to mention another.
DeleteBilly Joel who peaked in 1980, also just after the BBC strike, with It's still Rock 'n' Roll To Me, will be playing a one-off Wembley Stadium concert in September 2016.
I for one will be getting tickets for this, as it is indeed very rare for Billy to do a concert of this size in Britain.
Pedant alert - isn't that Pretenders hit called "2000 Miles"? Back to my hutch!
Delete....and of course, Jeff Lynne's ELO are touring next year. Enjoyed their performance on the Royal Variety Show the other night.
DeleteOh yes sct353, ELO are making a 2016 massive tour of the UK. How could I forget?
DeleteThat makes it four 1980 chart acts making big noise in 2015-2016 in Britain.
Did I overlook any others?
St Winifred's are reuniting for a stadium tour.
DeleteDoes anyone realise that the St Winifred's School Choir had already appeared on a number one hit before this monstrosity?
DeleteYes, they sang in the operatic section of 'Bohemian Rhapsody' after Freddie felt that Brian, Roger and himself needed some help with the high notes....
Nah, only kidding, it was 'Matchstalk men and Matchstalk cats and dogs' by Brian and Michael in April 1978.
A moth watering Yuletide edition indeed…with some not-so-very-festive songs on show…
ReplyDeleteThe Beat – Gosh Dave Wakeling was always so miserable! Was that left handed instrument a guitar or mandolin or something else? Not one of my particular favourites.
School Choir – Moving swiftly on c/o FF…
Barron Nights – I really enjoyed some of their late 70s pastiches. This one started off with someone sounding more David Gilmour than David Gilmour; and the producers had done a great job of reproducing the Floyd sound. However, give me Roger Waters’s lyrics any day.
Specials – An absolutely sublime moment here where Jerry Dammers just turns and grins at the camera showing missing front teeth. Nice bit of trombone from Rico Rodriguez. Double A side again btw, but never heard ‘Maggies Farm’ (the Bob Dylan song) played. Now why does anyone think they chose that song to cover?!
Gary Numan – Wearing his ‘Telekon’ suit and not playing live. Gary was quoted in 1985 in an interview with ‘Record Collector Magazine’ as saying about this; “Bloody stupid single. I don’t think that’s a bad song, but it’s a bad single. I don’t know why I chose it”. Record buyers clearly agreed.
Robert Palmer – Haven’t a clue why this was shown again.
Chas & Dave – The only other song I’ve ever heard to name check supermarkets is ‘Aisle of Plenty’ by Genesis. This however, was a far more obvious plug and must have really helped sales!
The Nolans – Wow! Quite enjoyed this, although it made little impression on me at the time. The promo video is well worth a look at on YT. Don’t think it was ever shown on TOTP though.
Jona Lewie- Enjoyed it but we’ve seen it so many times now! Would love to be able to watch the TOTP performance for ‘Seaside Shuffle’ but I think that’s gone forever. Summer 1972 ahhh….
Top Ten Rundown – So why do we get tantalising clips from the promo videos for ‘Runaway Boys’ and ‘To cut a long story short’ when they’ve not been shown before? I have a feeling they repeated the same trick with ‘In the Air Tonight’ – we’ll see very soon.
John Lennon – Low key legs. Probably the best compromise under the sad circumstances. Reminds me of ‘Way Down’….bit of dancing….still photo….more dancing….still photo…etc.
Sad that we don’t get to see Christmas 1980 shows on BBC4, but I am looking forward to Christmas 1975. Also, just spotted in today’s MoS supplement that ‘Finding Nemo’ is being shown on Christmas Eve, and guess what photo they’ve printed!!!
I can think of a singer who namechecked a supermarket - The Members' Nicky Tesco.
Deletewell done arthur, but there asda be more than that (ho ho)
Deletewhat about the morrison brothers - van, jim and james?
DeleteLily Allen's LDN name checks Tesco, a la "There was a litle old lady walking down the street, she was struggling with her bags from Tesco" and then goes on to rhyme it magnificently with 'al fresco'.
DeleteCurious fact - when LDN was played on Asda's in-store radio station, the word Tesco was blanked out. Now that's what I call censorship.
The Spice Girls (somewhat unnecessary) cover of "Christmas Wrapping" includes a reference to the all-night Tesco.
DeleteProbably because the classic original version by The Waitresses mentions A&P, a company we wouldn't recognise in the UK. A&P stood for The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, which evolved into a supermarket chain. Sadly, A&P folded last month after 156 years of existence.
DeleteWhat about Lost in the Supermarket by The Clash? Don't think they specify the emporium, however.
DeleteOh, and oddly when The Saturdays covered Christmas Wrapping they kept the American references intact, A&P and all.
DeleteReading indie band Bennet made number 34 in 1997 with the catchphrase-nicking ode to the frozen food chain, "Mum's Gone To Iceland".
ReplyDeleteIn the spirit of Christmas and inspired by Little & Large's excellent comedy, here's a few more 'supermarket hits' -
ReplyDelete'It ASDA Be You' - Harry Connick Jr
'LIDL L' - Jamiroquai
'Love Hurts' - Jim CapALDI
Ahem. Late as ever to the thread (in the New year - 1981 that is - I must be more punctual) I don't have much to add.
Dear me, Bates was even more awful than usual on this one. Presumably he'd been at the sherry earlier than the other DJs.
The new stuff : I like the song by The Beat, but very much don't like the offering by The Specials (and I cannot STAND chewing while miming - Paul Weller being the prime offender there, of course)
The Gary Numan song is just....dull, The Nolans one is surprisingly decent, I am a bit biased with Chas & Dave as I like most of their stuff.
Finally, The Barron Knights - now, usually, I would hear their annual festive songs on the radio and enjoy them but I could recall very little about this one except for 'The Sparrow' bit and it was weird that they were parodying stuff from so long ago.
The old : I'm starting to really love 'Looking For Clues'. Never has more effort (vainly) been put in to try to raise something from a No.33 chart position!!
Yes, Looking For Clues got stuck at No.33 for five weeks, even for two weeks after this performance, now at its third week at No.33 for Palmer. It's like his treasure hunt got cold, and was still looking for clues to the top 30, but somewhat in vain.
DeleteConsidering these was Palmer's early days in pop music, he could have been forgiven, cos he was to fare much better at the back end of the 80's between 1985 - 1990 where he had much better fortunes in the British pop charts, culminating in a gigantic collaboration with UB40 in 1990 with I'll Be Your Baby Tonight.
Palmer's career was a slow burn. He had been a solo artist since 1974, when Vinegar Joe split up, and while he did have some modest American success over the next few years, it wasn't really until he joined The Power Station that he really started hitting the big time, followed soon after by Addicted to Love becoming a huge hit for him in 1986.
DeleteIn our boredom while we wait another 10 days until the next blog 25th December 1980, I found the Robert Palmer video for Looking For Clues, and it's quite interesting in that he uses actors with a set of animal costumes props in a single corridor of what looks like a hotel somewhere in Europe:
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8mhSOWMY38
It certainly makes good early evening viewing, and would have made Little & Large very happy, considering Eddie Large's costume this week on the show was given to him by Sheena Easton!
what actually happened with regard to "looking for clues" being stuck at no. 33 was that loads of people were poised to buy it and thus send it into the top 30 and maybe even higher as a result of that. but then john lennon got killed, so they spent their money on his record instead...
DeleteIt could be that in those days, of course there were no credit cards, and people could only afford to by one record with whatever pocket money they had. Nowadays people can by a whole record collection and pay for it later, with all those buy-now-pay-later schemes! This in turn makes a mockery of the charts.
Delete... either that or they flipped a coin between "looking for clues" and "there's no one quite like grandma"?
Deletedory, hopefully you realise i was being facetious with my last two comments here! i think the real reason for "clues" failure to get any higher was that the sound was too ahead of its time, being too rocky for the disco crowd and to disco-like for the rock crowd! and at that point it was a case of "never the twain shall meet" for most!
Delete... i did actually buy the 12" version of "looking for clues" back then, and i seem to remember it being marked with a sticker for 99p. so i'm guessing it must have still been in the lower reaches of the chart at the time, as opposed to ex-chart bargain bins or second hand. but if the former then the chances were it wasn't purchased in a chart return shop (had it been then perhaps mr palmer might have got himself a "mugshot"), as at that point there were only a couple of hundred or so in the whole country that the chart compilers (BMRB) used to represent national taste and popularity. of course such a basic system was open to abuse from record companies, pluggers and others who had something to gain. and many shops selected even had chart-return machines (into which they entered the sales info) on the counter in full view of customers, that made the task of chart-rigging even easier! i knew some guy who managed such a shop, who told me that industry employees and hired guns were regularly giving him bribes to place imaginary sales in the machine... and that he used to take their money but never bother doing what they expected of him!
ReplyDeleteI thought I'd wait until December 18th before posting my comments (in other words I'm a lazy sod).
ReplyDeleteSimon 'knitting pattern' Bates wearing a smug look and a Chas and Dave rabbit badge. There's no 'coming up' bit this week (good!) so we go straight into The Beat.
In Horace Panter's biography he mentions that the two bands swapped bassists as a gag to see if the producers noticed and of course they didn't. I loved this Beat single and bought it and recently got their reissued CDs albums which has this performance on the accompanying DVD. Dave Wakeling is playing a now very collectable white Vox Teardrop guitar but as he's left handed he's turned it over and restrung it.
I'll skip over the St Winifred's as I had to fast forward through it and I was going to do the same through The Baron Knights but I thought I'd give it a go and I now wish I hadn't. I can't now un-see the adult school boy and other horrors. And then Eddie Large dressed in a Bacofoil jumpsuit. I want to die!
The Specials seem to have seen the Madness video for Embarrassment and thought they'd get the tartan trousers to match Madness's jackets. And the Christmas jumpers. All the rage now of course but back then it was unusual to see so many in one place. Horace Panter says the jumpers was Jerry Dammers' idea and the band went along with it begrudgingly. This is a remix of the song from the album with added 'Ice Rink Strings'. Terry does look a bit pissed off and I think the band were starting to hate each other by this point. After a year of no-stop touring and recording that's no surprise. they would split up in 8 months time.
I have no memory of this Gary Numan song at all. It's okay but as others have said not a patch on his earlier singles.
Now I like Robert Palmer's Clues and bought it at the time and I'm surprised to learn it got no higher than number 33.
Chas and Dave's Rabbit is one of those songs that I didn't buy at the time but I liked it. My uncle used to drink with the band's drummer Micky Burt who lived in Greenford, West London at the time. My cousin tried to impress his school mates with that fact but it didn't work as Chas and Dave weren't that cool back then.
The Nolans effort is another song I have no memory of but as it wasn't really a hit I'm not surprised.
I like the new revamped all-numbered, all-moving, all-video Top Ten (and I liked the new wipes between the acts ending and Simon back announcing them) but they went and spoiled it by repeating Jona Lewie rather than showing his video. Oh well.
And the Legs routine for John Lenin.oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. At least we now know what happened to all the rabbit pelts left over after Chas and Dave has skinned them.
Just seen that Specials drummer John 'Brad' Bradbury has sadly passed away yesterday. RIP John.
ReplyDelete