I wanna you to a getta used to a listening the words to a my song, Mr Ultravox!
05/02/81 (Simon Bates)
(35) Stray Cats – “Rock This Town”
The follow-up to Runaway Boys, and like its predecessor on its way to number 9. With some most enthusiastic audience dancing going on around them ~ but where are Legs & Co?
(5) Blondie – “Rapture” (video)
Now at its peak in the chart and it'll be nearly a year and a half before we see them again.
(17) Spandau Ballet – “The Freeze” (rpt from 22/01/81)
A little surprisingly this one froze at number 17 in the charts.
(19) Fred Wedlock – “The Oldest Swinger In Town”
A one hit wonder, making it to number 6. But edited out of the 7.30pm showing tonight. Booo!
(12) Rainbow – “I Surrender” (video)
The third and final of three top ten hits for the band, this one being the biggest hit reaching number 3. Also fell victim to the 7.30pm edit.
(11) Dire Straits – “Romeo & Juliet” (rpt from 15/01/81)
Heading towards its star crossed fate of number 8. But edited out of tonight's 7.30pm slot.
(28) XTC – “Sgt Rock (Is Going To Help Me)” (rpt from 22/01/81)
Soon to become the band's biggest hit to date before it halted at number 16.
(15) Cliff Richard – “A Little In Love” (video)
Already at its peak in the chart, but two much bigger hits were to come his way towards the end of the year.
(34) The Passions – “I’m In Love With A German Film Star”
This siouxsie and the banshees style pop noir looked very likely to be a really big hit but 25 was as good as it got.
(30) Joe Dolce Music Theatre – “Shaddap You Face”
Whereas this Australian number one from Italy didn't look very likely to be a really big hit...... A live vocal though, with audience participation, always impressive to see.
(1) John Lennon – “Woman” (video)
In true Beatles fashion John replaces himself at the top of the charts, but its a different video to the one shown last week - not featuring some of the more controversial stills....... and the credits roll over it.
Next up then is the 12th February 1981 with Richard Skinner.
It's interesting that straight after this 7.30pm show on BBC4, there is a new rival programme on Channel 5 to the BBC4 The Story of 1980.
ReplyDeleteChannel 5 gives us an hour of the hits and stories of 1980, and instead of TOTP performances, we get clips from videos from Madness's Baggy Trousers, Blondie's Call Me, amongst others.
But instead of a narrator, there are subtitles for the news stories of the year. Still, I do like the style of the show, and Bravo to Channel 5 for giving us viewers another 1980 treat, and another reminder of the music of the year, in addition and side-by-side with The Story Of.....series by BBC4.
Shaddup You Bates for the blog title? :-)
ReplyDeleteBrilliant!
DeleteLooking into Joe Dolce a bit more, he will be 70 next year, and has had two children with his first wife and then 6 children with his second wife, and so far has 12 grandchildren, and so the Dolce empire is as strong as ever in 2016!
DeleteMy local radio station played Shaddup You Face today, I wonder if the presenter had been watching TOTP last night?
DeleteStray Cats - great start to show with what was to be the start of the audience barn-style dancing next to the group performing, which we would see a number of times later in the year, such as with Shakin Stevens no.1 This Ole House.
ReplyDeleteBlondie - this just grows on me more every time I hear it, and nice to see a bit more of the video than on the show two weeks ago. More of the opening clip, and then more towards the end. Shame that this was Blondie's last top ten hit, and more like her last ever really significant hit. Thanks for the memories.
The Passions - I remember this so well, and it one was of those songs that was so memorable and defining of the era, that I remember the song resonated with me throughout the rest of the year, let alone February 1981. It is probably a one-hit-wonder, but one of the best.
John Lennon - what, a completely different video this week?? I preferred last week's video with their walk through Central Park, which is the only video I distinctly remember in 1981. In addition, this second video for Woman also saw the no.1 continue through to the end credits, which TOTP rarely did, like on Mississippi by Pussycat in 1981 and Super Trouper in 1980.
It's OK, Blondie were back for another significant hit - about twenty years later!
DeleteYeah THX, but that effort in 1999 with "Maria" doesn't really count. By then Debbie Harry was already 54 years old, like a different person and not the sex symbol that captured pop pickers' hearts in 1978-1981 through her main catalogue of hits, and what we remember her contributing to our charts.
DeleteShe even changed her name title to Deborah Harry for that 1999 chart hit, in order to forget the Debbie of her earlier years!
last week's video for Woman features a still of Lennon dead on a slab in NYC mortuary! Maybe that's whey they showed a different one this week!
DeleteTrue Angelo, although when I said I preferred the first video, which also happens to be the official video played by music video channels to this day, I meant it based on the Central Park winter feel, and Yoko's personal reflection and coming to terms with the future without John, which was a more apt view of the situation to hand with the tragic event.
DeleteI think if Blondie could get a hit two decades after their heyday (the album did OK too) with a brand new song it proves they were far from over the hill, whether you still fancied Debs or not.
DeleteI think Blondie were on the way out with Rapture, considering that she's singing here about eating bars and eating cars. Seems things had gone belly-up right here on this track.
DeleteMy memory's hazy, but I think my first sighting of 'scrumpy and western' singer Fred Wedlock was on a 1970's HTV lunchtime entertainment show called "Yer Tis" (Bristolian for "Here It Is"). Fred's grandad was a renowned football with Bristol City and had a stand named after him. Fred joined Blue and Judie Tzuke as one-single top 30 cadets on Elton John's Rocket label.
ReplyDeleteAnd don't forget the Lambrettas
DeleteI'm surprised that Fred Wedlock got as high as no.6 with this one, considering there was a major shift in pop music at this point in time to new wave.
DeleteWedlock's style is more reflective of the mid-70s style of chart music when the likes of Pans People, Whispering Grass, and DIVORCE by Billy Conolly were rocking our boats with this style of ditty.
So how wedlock snuck in with this outdated style in 1981 is somewhat surprising and baffling at the same time, when TOTP were already in the sway of the New Romantics.
I mean, it was like going back in time to 1975 while we were in 1981.
There should always be room in any chart for a song as much fun as the Oldest Swinger in Town :-)
DeleteI forgot about The Lambrettas - they actually had two 'mugshot' hits and a top 50 entry as well.
DeleteI forgot about The Lambrettas - they actually had two 'mugshot' hits and a top 50 entry as well.
DeleteMissippii by Pussycat was in 1976 dory
ReplyDeleteApologies, I realised my error after posting it.
DeleteYeah, no Legs & Co this week, not even a mention from Bates about their absence. Almost as if they were being phased out...
ReplyDeleteA very precarious looking Stray Cats performance, it looked as if the whole shebang was about to fall over and collapse at any moment. Can't fault their energy, and it is a rollicking tune.
This Rapture video has some of the most awkward dancing outside of the actual TOTP studio. 24 hour shopping rapture? Debs must be in TV heaven these days.
Fred Wedlock, looking a bit like he'd won a competition. Maybe That's Life would have suited this better, and well done to the audience for trying to groove to it, but the lyrics are amusing enough in a "jokes your dad makes" way.
Everyone scarper, it's the rozzers! My mistake, it's Rainbow with their flashing blue lights, when Bates said they had a line up change I expected to see Geoffrey, Bungle, Zippy and George rocking out. Not a bad shouty rocker, but I prefer their other hits.
Just shows you how far the video revolution was going when Cliff was embracing the medium. Pleasant enough tune, but it's a pity his mansion is suffering subsidence.
The Passions, anyone know which German film star she was singing about? I'm hoping Gert Frobe. Anyway, ethereal, moody recording that stands the test of time, mainly thanks to the haunting vocals and shimmering guitar. And apparently sung by Blythe Duff from Taggart.
Joe Dolce, two comedy records in one show, luckily this one never did anything. Er, didn't it?
Thank goodness they changed the Lennon video, the other one was making me uncomfortable. This one is more nondescript, but who was in that balloon? What was that last clip from?
Yeah THX, and it looks like Legs & Co will only be on one of the two TOTP shows on BBC4 next week, i.e, on Thursday with Richard Skinner, but no sighting whatsoever on Friday with Peter Powell according to Popscene, although on the Sky TV Guide information it does say Legs & Co will be on that Peter Powell show.
DeleteCan someone put the record straight please, or do we have to wait till Friday to find out?
The German film star THX, was Steve 'Roadent' Conolly, who had been a roadie for The Clash, and also had minor roles in some German movies!
DeleteAnd the balloon in the Lennon video was from the 1970 promo for Instant Karma.
Speaking of Rainbow the TV series, I saw an obituary recently for original host David Cook. Curiosity led me to discover that the first episode from 1972 was on YouTube, complete with a different-looking Zippy, forgotten puppets Sunshine and Mooney and the original, scary Bungle! The production team were wise indeed to change that line-up later on...
Delete@Angelo: Excellent work there! Never heard of Steve or seen the Instant Karma promo - to YouTube!
DeleteInto February we go then, in the company of stand-in Geography teacher Simon Bates, and we start the ball rolling with The Stray Cats. Its a sparky opening (if a tad lower down the quality ladder than Runaway Boys)and seems to be the latest 'idea' from the bods behind the scenes; begin the show with a raucous, loud, singalong song and get the mood going.
ReplyDeleteFred Wedlock. Obviously Tery Wogan is on a bit of a roll with picking potential chart songs. Following on from 'Its Hard To Be Humble' a couple of weeks ago, this is another 'comical' effort which gets less funny each time you hear it. A neat trick seeing as it wasn't funny to begin with.
Rainbow. A form of cod metal, pretending to be heavy, but really little more than a decent pop tune.
Cliff about to have a bit of a peak amidst a plethora of troughs. Typical Clif fare both musically and filmically with the video looking like it was made by someone direct out of film school.
Never had much time for The Passions - a bit too art-schooly for me.
Joe Dolce. I have mentioned before my preference for this over Vienna. I think it might be the Chico Marx style Italian accent that Joe uses - "There is no Sanity Clause". Whatever. It strikes me as unusual that a song which is at number 30 this week should end up going all the way to number 1. That never happens these days, does it?
Chart rundown. The top ten now only uses clips from videos - and NOT TOTP performances. Thus The Look don't get a (ahem) look in as they only had studio appearances. Likewise Young Parisiennes had no video. The only other top ten act represented by a still photo only are Ultravox. The obvious conclusion to be drawn from this is that the iconic video has - at this date- not been made yet. Maybe if it had, Majure and the boys may have beaten Dolce to the top spot!
Marks. A bit of a drop in standards here compared to recent weeks. A lot of repeats and, of the new stuff, only Stray Cats and Joe Dolce tickled my fancy. 5.
Simon Bates. A solid, if dishwater dull, performance from the old Geography teacher. Don't recall any mangling of acts or titles so I suppose I'd have to award a 6.
Good Lord, Simon Bates introduces Joe Dolce by saying that he has been No.1 in Australia for the last 8 weeks (yes EIGHT WEEKS).
DeleteNow I see it all. He conquered Australia and Italy already at a humungous level, and now he had plans on the UK, and Good Lord, there seemed to be no stopping this man!
Regarding the point about Ultravox, yes, I noticed that the iconic video was nor=t available as yet, with the TOTP studio stills used in the top ten rundown, but notice how in the top ten rundown Simon bates calls it a "surprise hit." Interesting, isn't it?
DeleteLooking at the top selling 25 singles in Australia in 1980 and 1981, Joe Dolce doesn't make either despite his 8 weeks at the top. Probably due to the sales being split across the years.
DeleteThe best selling single in Australia in 1981 was 'Counting the beat' by the Swingers which I've never heard of, whereas in 1980 it was 'I got you' by Split Enz which we're all familiar with.
Thanks for the heads up Stephen
DeleteRegarding Vienna's "surprise" success, I suppose Ultravox at the time were still regarded as a cult, arty band of limited mainstream appeal, which probably helps to explain Master Bates' comments.
Deleteweren't the humungous the enemies of mad max? (oh dear, i'm going a bit "pathetic sharks" here!)
Delete...I think Viz and popular music were immortalised by Captain Morgan and his Hammond Organ until he was summarily silenced by the censors!!!
Delete("Bosun, give us a bossa nova beat - Her name is Lola, she was a showgirl..." etc. etc.)
It was really refreshing to see the Rainbow video in its full completeness, although I still prefer the previous lineup and Graham Bonnet on lead vocals, as per their first two hits in 1979/80.
ReplyDeleteHowever, this new video was a good one, and I especially liked how they used police-car flashing lights to double up as flashing disco lights throughout the video. You could only do that on a track called "I Surrender". Great to see this already at No.12 in the charts for its first appearance on TOTP.
"I Surrender" was to be Rainbow's most successful charting success in the UK, going all the way up to No.3 by the end of February, and so their new line-up without Graham Bonnet seemed to have a positive effect on their charting success in the UK.
Wow, turned my back for a few days and three new shows have appeared! Watched this one first.
ReplyDeleteStray Cats – Rock this Town – Nice bit of rock ability with some very enthusiastic dancers – were they part of the Cats entourage I wonder?
Blondie – Rapture – Probably my least favourite Blondie hit….due to the rapping. Blondie were just great up until this point but for me this single would have worked better if the sung verses (which I like) had reprised.
Spandau Ballet – A definite dip in quality from cut short stories. Tony’s beard was a surprise.
Fred Wedlock – Oldest Swinger – Another surprising hit that I’d forgotten all about and watching this reminded me why.
Rainbow – I surrender – Another Russ Ballard tune but Joe Lynn Turner is on lead vocals now instead of Graham Bonnet who didn’t last long (and who’d soon be treating us to some Night Games). Usual style video from Rainbow with Roger Glover wearing a hat and Ritchie Blackmore avoiding looking at the camera.
Dire Straits – Romeo & Juliet – As I mentioned on the notes from a few weeks ago, I thought a longer showing of this performance would appear, and here it is. Timeless.
XTC – Sergeant Rock – Another military flavoured piece of nonsense by Andy and the boys.
Cliff Richard – A little in love – Looks like it’s filmed in some gothic house. Now, this Alan Tarney written and produced song was a worthy hit. However, checkout Barbara Dickson’s releases and she put out an Alan Tarney written and produced song called ‘Only Seventeen’ at around the same time with some similar sounding instrumentation. It’s a great single, but sank without trace. So how come Alan had the magic touch for Cliff and not Barbara?
The Passions – German Film Star – As dreary as I remembered it. One hit wonders them Passions. This was their fourth single but only chart hit ever.
Joe Dolce – Shaddup you face – So we have the Aussies to thank for this monstrosity! Thank goodness Ian Botham had his revenge in the Ashes later in the year. At number 30, TOTP clearly felt that should back this little ditty by preparing blackboards and ramping up the crowd participation stakes. Midge, Warren, Billy and Chris were surely unprepared for the impact this performance would generate as were the rest of the discerning record buying public!
John Lennon – Woman - Nice record, would probably have been released anyway despite Lennon’s death. Strange to roll the credits over it though and strange to show different film clips and stills to those shown previously.
…and no sign of Legs & co anywhere. I missed them!
In fairness, Alan Tarney had worked some magic for Barbara by writing and producing "January February".
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DeleteArthur, yep, you're right; forgot about that one!
DeleteMichael Hurll returns to the fray on this show after four weeks away (I think we have now reached the definitive end of Robin Nash's association with TOTP), and immediately makes his presence felt by once again dumping the kaleidoscope effect over the end credits. The unexplained absence of Legs is perhaps a chilling portent of their approaching demise - just 8 months left now, and there are further shows that they will miss in that time...
ReplyDeleteA deckchair-clad Master Bates provides adequate presentation, but as ever oozes insincerity and, after struggling to include the song titles on the 30-21 countdown, doesn't bother at all come 20-11. Still, The Stray Cats provide another lively performance with their worthy follow-up to Runaway Boys. I initially thought the dancers behind them were Legs, but it became apparent on closer inspection that was not the case. I wonder if they were professionals, or just the best dancers in the audience that week?
Novelty songs would be prominent in 1981, for some reason, and we get two here. In some ways Fred Wedlock's effort is perhaps more pertinent now than it was then, as the baby boomers reach pensionable age but show more determination than previous generations to hold on to their youth. The lyrics are amusing enough, but Fred's attempt to inject comical desperation into his vocals is irritating. As for Joe Dolce, I will freely admit that I don't mind this, and he worked the crowd in this performance like a real pro. I'm sure this helped the song to reach the top, and maybe record buyers were in the mood for something lighter after all those weeks of Lennon mourning?
Elsewhere, Rainbow provide us with some solid hard rock, but a very dull video, featuring a miserable-looking Ritchie Blackmore - I liked the way the graphics formed the band name into a rainbow at the end, though! Cliff's video was a bit more imaginative, and the song was another classy offering from one of the best periods of his career - it should have gone Top 10, in my view. Best new song of the week, however, was from The Passions. I agree with Angelo that it does sound very Siouxsie and the Banshees, but the haunting guitar and vocals combine to produce something rather special, and quite emblematic of this era.
Nice to see a longer Dire Straits performance this time (though a shame it got chopped from the early showing), and I was quite relieved that a different video for Woman got shown this week. I wonder if the BBC had had complaints about the other one?
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DeleteAgree completely regarding the Passions. The combination of a very good lead vocal voice, as well as the meaning of the song, and how people of that era (baby boomers) would have the time to dote on a film star and go to the effort of stumping up a vinyl record to tell the world about it, makes for great listening.
DeleteLet's see on next week's show with Richard Skinner if the show back then reverted to the original video for Lennon's second and final week at No.1 with Woman. The suspense is just immeasurable.
A deckchair may have been preferable to Master Bates as host...
Deletea deckchair would have known more about (then) contemporary pop music!
DeleteA very good point well made!
DeleteOn the video for Woman, according to Keith Badman's 'The Beatles After The Break Up' book, Yoko Ono arranged for the first version to be delivered to the Beeb for TOTP on 22nd Jan and then for it to be returned immediately after transmission. So that might explain why a second version was used when the song got to number one.
DeleteThanks for that info Steve - it would be interesting to know why Yoko wanted it back so quickly...
DeleteA pleasure John. No reason is given in the book, it just says that Yoko's personal assistant was intructed to fly back to New York with it as soon as the show was recorded. Incidentally if we get to 1982 there is an unannounced appearance from Macca to look forward to, sadly it's Slimy who interviews him...
DeleteSomeone on another forum has apparently emailed the BBC about when we might expect to see 1982, and they got a reply saying it would probably be later this year, so there might not be too long to wait for that Macca interview...
DeleteJust seen that. I prefer just the one episode per week but it's great the Beeb are going to continue ith the repeats. And we'll see some of John Peel's appearances a little bit sooner.
Deletetrying to watch these latest editions in good time on the telly in the comfort of someone else's lounge is proving as difficult as a contest trying to fill a barrel of water whilst tied to a piece of elastic with the opposition hurling wet sponges at them whilst competing in "it's a knockout". so i'm reduced to watching this on the laptop with headphones again, but despite that there's already been over 30 comments made!
ReplyDeletehost: oh no, not slimy again! and he immediately makes himself even more odious by affecting some kind of horrible "american" accent when introducing the first act. he also describes the blondie record as "beautiful" which is hardly the appropriate adjective for a funk/rap track. and then when he does a voiceover for spandau ballet he turns into w.c. fields! your worst one yet, slimy. still, in the interests of giving credit where credit's due at least he pronounced bowie's surname properly in the chart rundown
stray cats: a bit more of a traditional rock 'n' roller for their follow-up single. i suppose one of the few good things about watching the show listening through headphones is that you can actually make out a lot of the lyrics for the first time... so i discover that mr setzer is clearly no fan of disco music! the studio audience are quite animated, but the row of cushions at the back (where presumably there should be more punters) makes the whole thing look a bit odd
fred wedlock: of course i thought this was complete and utter rubbish at the time. musically i still think that's the case, but probably like most of you here i'm rather shocked at how the lyrical sentiment now rings true - even more so then it probably did then, given we are the "middle-youth" generation! last year myself and a female peer of my acquaintance went to an 80's disco in the heart of studentland in manchester, and we were pretty much the oldest ones there by at least 30 years! but it didn't stop us from boogieing on down as if it really was the 80's again, and we got respect from the kidz for doing so (well, at least to our faces, anyway!)
rainbow: the third radio-friendly slightly-heavy hit of theirs in a year, but not a patch on "all night long" to my ears. the new singer looks likes he's wearing a ladies' top, but otherwise fits the band's visual image better than his predecessor (maybe that was why graham bonnet got the boot?). as for the new drummer, i remember one of the weekly music papers reporting his name as "ron dinelli", when in fact it was bobby rondinelli! richie looks a bit bored to be frank (even eye-rolling at one point), obviously already getting a bit fed-up with radio-friendly hard rock and thinking of the day when he would get to pluck ye olde mandolin and wear a witches hat...
cliff: more bland pop from the original eternal teenager, notable only for some modulation going on. presumably this showing suggests that cliff has headed the yewtree squad off at the pass? for the time being, anyway...!
passions: i'm in love with this brilliant track! i always have been and i still am now, with the fey vocal, the hypnotic beat, and particularly the delicate guitar/echoplex stylings of clive timperley (who sadly disappeared from the scene soon afterwards, despite his undoubted talent). i always assumed the german film star in question was klaus kinski, but (thanks to angelo) i've finally discovered that's not the case...
joe dolce: sorry, but i just couldn't watch this one - to paraphrase the man himself "it-a make-a me sick"!
Klaus Kinski makes DLT look like Christopher Lillicrap, so I hope he wasn't the German film star in question.
Deletethx i had to look up (the somewhat unfortunately named) christopher lillicrap on wiki as i'd never heard of him! one of the reasons i thought the star in question was klaus kinski was because of the line "playing the part of a real troublemaker"
Deletea true cult figure (remember him as "the hunchback" in "for a few dollars more"?), by all accounts he was as nasty in real life as the characters he usually played, but as far as i know he never got sent down for any sex crimes...?
The host's description of the Blondie video as 'beautiful' goes to show that most people probably fancied Debbie Harry at the time and would have her on their sofa, whether funk/rap track or or anything else she chose to sing.
DeleteNo, Klaus was never arrested on any charges, but if you read his fearsome autobiography almost every other anecdote is about his search for sexual satisfaction! Then there's the issue that one of his daughters accused him of abusing her recently. He does mention fancying his other daughter Nastassja in the book, and getting turned on by his sister! Some reviews said the book was hilarious (why I read it), but it really isn't. Weird, yes.
Deletedory, slimy was referring to the record - not the singer!
Delete50 something here.
ReplyDeleteLooking at the BBC website (see below) the menu is a little different from what was served up. Apart from the mysterious disappearance of Legs and Co. we now have to ponder on what happened to Coast To Coast - or were they recorded in studio for a later show? I was wondering if Honey Bane was actually in the studio a couple of weeks back - it had the appearance of being edited in from
a pre-record.
Simon Bates introduces the pop programme, featuring Joe Dolce, the Stray Cats, the Passions, Coast to Coast, Rainbow, Blondie, Spandau Ballet, Cliff Richard, Dire Straits, XTC and John Lennon, and a dance performance from Legs & Co.
50-something, the definitive library for TOTP line-ups is the Popscene website, and here for 1981 you can see that neither Coast To Coast nor Legs & Co were ever on the Simon Bates edition of 5/2/81.
Deletehttp://z6.invisionfree.com/popscene/index.php?showtopic=1147
The following week's show of 12/2/81 with Richard Skinner does indeed have these two acts on the show, not the Simon Bates one of 5/2/81.
Dory - I always suspected that the TOTP line-ups would be online somewhere, but I have (and will continue to) resist looking! A bit like going to a concert and knowing what the set list is! I think last night's excellent Corrs concert at the O2 was all the more enjoyable for not knowing which songs they were going to play.
DeleteOh dear, just heard that Rainbow bassist Jimmy Bain died today aged 68, and so much for the first appearance of "I surrender" on this week's show with Simon Bates. It's really been a sad few weeks, what with Lemmy, David Bowie, Glen Frey and now Jimmy Bain departing our dear world in the space of 4 weeks.
ReplyDeletejimmy who? also dory when it comes to peripheral rock musicians croaking you didn't mention buffin from mott the hoople. together there's enough of them to form their own "supergroup" in heaven (or hell, or wherever they are now): bowie (vocals) frey (guitar) lemmy (bass) and buffin (drums). jimmy would have to sit it out and wait for others to join him to form another dead rock stars combo ... which at this rate shouldn't take too long!
DeleteNo finger plaster for the Stray Cats’ double bassist this time, and I thought it was only lead vocalists who stood on the bass drum! This song took me back to a pub in Eastcote I went to a handful of times – I think it was called “The Woodpigeon”- which had a large outer building used as an old style rock and roll venue.
ReplyDeleteFred Wedlock’s outing – what was it called again? - reminded me of that other unexpected folk hitster, Mike “Rochdale Cowboy” Harding. I did find the “takes you all night” lyric very amusing.
Classic pop-rock from Rainbow. Nice blouse! I don’t think Richie was rolling his eyes, more like looking upwards while concentrating. Roger Glover had previously released a children’s concept album whose single “Butterfly Ball” (vocals by Ronnie James Dio) made number one in The Netherlands.
So “Romeo and Juliet” will be a massive hit, then Slimes? It’s already at number 11! In fact it dropped one place the next week before peaking at a not quite as massive as forecast number 8.
I forgot to mention last time I liked the sergeant’s chevrons on Andy Partridge’s guitar and strap. Enthusiastic long range drum and cymbal strokes from XTC’s drummer.
In fairness to Cliff, you can tell by his mouth and throat he’s actually singing properly for most of the video and not just mouthing the words. That extra touch of class.
The Passions’ song was incredibly atmospheric and haunting, and I loved the guitar stylings of Nicky Campbell lookalike Clive Timperley who, ironically, quit the band during their “Tour Till We Crack” later in the year.
I bet the crowd loved getting old Fred and Joe Dolce in the same show! Can’t stand “Shaddap You face” though you have to admire the showmanship.
Butterfly Ball was a concert movie too, pretty strange one at that (Vincent Price is in it, oddly). It features a cartoon of the title song which ended up used as filler between programmes on TV during the 70s and 80s. It's probably on YouTube.
DeleteThe song was called 'Love is all' and rhymed with 'Buttefly Ball' and was credited to Roger Glover and friends.
Deletei remember that the singer and the drummer in the passions were "an item", which may have been a factor in clive timperley's departure from the band? i know from experience that if there is some kind of romantic attachment within a band, then it can cause problems and a wedge between those concerned and other members. other "couples" off the top of my head are debbie harry and chris stein of blondie, and chris frantz and tina weymouth of talking heads. and of course the fleetwood mac "rumours" line-up had two pairs of lovers in their ranks, which led to well-documented problems! and in the pretenders' case chrissie hynde alledgedly had sexual relationships with both the guitarist and the bassist at one time or another, so i wonder what kind of group dynamic that created?
DeleteAnother example Wilb is David Van Day and Theresa Bazaar on the Guys "n" Dolls line up in 1975, who later went on to form their own group called Dollar in 1978, as they seemed to be outflanked by the other two couples on Guys "n" Dolls. Take a look here:
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsbSPLKgPP4
in a manufactured act like guys n dolls (not just in the gender balance of their line-up, but the image they projected) you'd almost expect couples to be romantically involved. and apart from dollar, the lead singer was getting it on with fellow group member bruce forsyth's daughter (how did she get her break in showbiz?). perhaps more surprisingly i don't think the third "couple" in the act ever actually got to know each other in the biblical sense. i suspect the reason van day and bazar went "duo" was more likely because they were very much the junior partners of that group, and their egos couldn't handle that...
DeleteJulie Forsyth wasn't it? Not to be confused with the actress Brigit (no relation!).
Delete'There's a whole lot of loving' was recorded by session singers btw.
I expect there were many other 'goings ons' in bands. The other one that springs to my mind is Judie Tzuke and guitarist and sometimes co-writer Paul Muggleton (he wrote 'Come hell or waters high') who are still together (and married).
i've just thought of "the other two" from new order - i went to a gig of theirs in 1983, where it was recently claimed on facebook by others present that barney made gillian cry on stage! i wonder if steve morris had a word with him afterwards?
DeleteThis was a bit of a bland show, not helped by Simes being in charge, though I suppose he was a *bit* less annoying than usual.
ReplyDeleteStray Cats - I've mentioned before how I didn't like them then and I still don't. This is the weakest of their big hits as well.
Fred Wedlock - Next! My Dad thought this was hilarious, but I suppose it was aimed more at his age group. Now I'm roughly the age he was in 1981 I don't find it all funny however.
Rainbow & Cliff - both average videos to decent (if not totally top drawer) songs, I thought. I really like all the stuff Alan Tarney did with Cliff.
The Passions - I think this one slipped under the radar for me at the time, even though in my head it was always a Top 10 hit. However, I rediscovered it in my Uni days and I love it now.
Joe Dolce - Now, here's a strange thing. This performance is actually pretty amazing - he's almost ad-libbing it at times to suit the fact that he's on TOTP, at a time when hardly anyone was even singing live.
I love the pre-recorded crowd noise on the cassette recorder - something that he could easily have got the audience to do admittedly!
This was the one that was talked about at school the next day. So in summary, you can see why it was a massive hit even though we all know it's nonsense.
I therefore have 'gotta lotta respect' for Joe. Who does not, no matter how many times Bates said it, have anything to do with 'The Godfather'.
In a 'throw more mud at the wall to see if it sticks' scenario, there were at least three follow-up singles in parts of Europe - "If You Wanna Be Happy" (a top 50 scraper for Rocky Sharpe and the Replays two years later), a modified reggae version of "Waltzing Matilda"(!) and the tender ballad, "You Toucha My Car I Breaka You Face".
ReplyDeleteWhat is it about these pop stars going to their graves early? Today it was Colin Vearncombe from Liverpool, better know as Black, on Its A Wonderful Life, a big hit top ten hit in 1987. He was only 53 years old.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Wiki, he was in a serious car accident a couple of weeks ago in Ireland and and been a coma since then before succumbing today.
And the Top 10 hit that everyone forgets, 'Sweetest Smile'. For me, that's an even better song.
Delete(The song's just called 'Wonderful Life' by the way!)
My favourite of his singles was 'Now You're Gone' which scraped into the lower reaches of the Top 75 but should have been huge.
RIP Colin and thanks for some great songs.
I liked "Everything's Coming Up Roses" which didn't even chart. "Wonderful Life" is my favourite song at karaoke. Big shame. RIP Colin.
DeleteAgreed. Wonderful Life was one of the true stand-out songs of 1987, and his distinct voice and his preference for a black-and-white video in an era where colour was already in place for nearly 20 years, goes to show his unique place in pop music, despite the relatively short career for Black in the late 80s.
DeleteI believe 'Wonderful Life' was used on an advert a number of years later. Anyone know what for? I can't remember...
DeleteIt might have been for a Cadbury's product, but I can't remember for sure now.
DeleteIt was re-released in 1994 and just missed the Top 40, but I have a feeling that was for a fairly dull company - a bank, or insurance company or something like that, I think!
DeleteIt was re-released in 1994 and just missed the Top 40, but I have a feeling that was for a fairly dull company - a bank, or insurance company or something like that, I think!
DeleteStandard Life. Reached number 42.
DeleteStandard Life. Reached number 42.
DeleteThis week sees the farewell and slide down the charts for the first and last time for Yarborough & Peoples with that catchy sound called "Don't You Stop That Don't You Stop Don't Stop The Music".
ReplyDeleteIt was a little unfortunate that TOTP largely shunned this when it was in the top ten and a having a video available to show, but could only manage a Legs & Co offering some weeks back when it had only just entered the top 30.
This was to be Yarbourough's only Top 30 hit, but is still recognised as one of the best disco hits of all time.
The Stray Cats looking pretty cool. A shame they couldn't get any guys to join in with the girls dancing in the background.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to hate the Fred Wedlock song but I have to admit I smiled a few times listening to the words. The crowd seemed to like it.
I remember this Rainbow song very well from the time, catchy, crafted, soft rock, what's not to like. And a good video too.
Didn't have much time for the Dire Straits at the time but a bit later it reminded me of someone special and bought back a lot of memories. a long song though and I'm not surprised they faded it early.
Another Cliff song that I had forgotten about. He's breaking sartorial rules by wearing a checked shirt with a striped jacket but a good video employing some new visual effects of the time.
I bought this Passions single at the time but had memories of the group looking totally different to this.
It's a shame that Joe Dolce put an injunction against Andrew Sachs' version of Shaddup being released as I would love to have seen Manuel in the charts. That was also on Rocket Records like Fred wedlock.
The BBC are clearly getting a bit fed up with Lennon by this point and are running the videos behind the credits. At the time these films were fascinating as they were the first chances we had to see glimpses of Lennon but now of course they are available on YouTube 24/7.