"It's nineteen eighty o - n - e!"
29/01/81 (Tommy Vance)
(58) Slade – “We’ll Bring The House Down”
You've got to hand it to Slade, they kept plugging away even when they were completely out of fashion, and every now and again it paid off. This rocker became their first top ten hit for six years.
(2) John Lennon – “Woman” (video)
The first of two appearances on the show this week for John Lennon, a rarity indeed! I'd like to think that this fine song would have made number one anyway, even if John had not been murdered. The footage of John and Yoko in Central Park is from November 1980.
(44) The Stranglers – “Thrown Away”
It was over a year now since their last top 20 hit, and it would be another year yet before their next one. Thrown Away was discarded after reaching number 42. And edited out of the 7.30 showing.
(18) Madness – “The Return Of The Los Palmas 7” (video)
And most obligingly this tune made it to number 7. But also edited out of 7.30pm.
(46) Sheila Hylton – “The Bed’s Too Big Without You”
Her only other chart single was called Breakfast in Bed, which didn't make the top 50. This time out she did a little better and took this Police cover to number 35. Again, edited out of the 7.30 showing.
(6) Ultravox – “Vienna” (rpt from 15/01/81)
Strange, I only the remember the video being shown on Top of the Pops, but no sign of it yet as Vienna heads towards that number 2 peak.
(26) The Gap Band – “Burn Rubber On Me” (video)
Peaked at 22.
(25) Diana Ross – “It’s My Turn”
The first of five singles for Diana Ross in 1981, but most success came towards the end of the year.This one peaked at 16. And we get a classy Legs & Co this week with each of the girls taking their turn in the spotlight.
(3) Phil Collins – “In The Air Tonight” (rpt from 15/01/81)
Went up one place higher.
(29) Susan Fassbender – “Twilight Café”
Deserved to get higher than the 21 it peaked at.
(1) John Lennon – “Imagine” (video)
Final week at the top before being replaced by....... John Lennon!
(19) Heatwave – “Gangsters Of The Groove”(credits)
The band's final top 20 hit, and 19 was its peak.
But no sign anywhere of Bowie's Scary Monsters...
Tomorrow then we move into February 1981 with the edition from the 5th hosted by Simon Bates.
It's one of those rare types of show, where John Lennon has four hits in the top 30, that is Nos, 23,22, 2, 1.
ReplyDeleteAs if that was not enough, Adam & The Ants have two top ten hits this week at No.9 and No.4.
Slade start the show with one of their mini-comebacks it seems, and Ultravox slowly but surely march on up towards the top of the charts, deservedly so I must say.
Not if Joe Dolce had anything to do with it!
DeleteSlade are back with what sounds like a playground chant beefed up with crunchy guitars and drums. I remember the chorus, but not the rest of it. Dave looks comical jiggling up and down to the beat.
ReplyDeleteI hope I'm mistaken and Mark Chapman WASN'T featured in John Lennon's Woman video, but with all the clips and clippings it was hard to tell. There was even a photo of what looked like Lennon's dead body, as if lying in state. A bit morbid.
Stranglers go for minimalism in a barely there tune. No wonder they had to wait for another hit a year later.
Madness with more clips and footage. Always listen out for Suggs calling the waiter, it's more obvious in the video. OK, detectives, is the Venus café still in existence, then?
If a real reggae act cover a cod reggae song, what does that make this Police redo? It's OK, but aside from a female voice I'm not sure what it adds.
I recall a Midge Ure anecdote where he said the drum machine would malfunction at the bit where the song speeds up, leaving Ultravox to abandon it. Doesn't happen so much if they're miming, of course.
The Gap Band with the record Tone Loc sampled his drumbeat for Funky Cold Medina from. This is better, it grooves along nicely.
Unlike the Diana Ross tune which is a bit whiney and plaintive. Legs & Co taking turns as per the lyrics, very clever girls. Wind machine to the fore as well. Or maybe a hairdryer.
Susan Fassbender demonstrating the fast becoming relevant art of dancing while playing a keyboard - take note, Phil Collins. Nice that she was asked back, it really should have been a bigger hit, shouldn't it?
Did Mr Vance get his sweatshirt from the merchandising at a Cannon and Ball show?
After a quick Google search, it appears the Venus Café is now a Papa Johns Pizza outlet.
DeleteAh, so it was Tone Loc who sampled The Gap Band song? I erroneously thought it was De La Soul.
DeleteThanks, Arthur, I'm guessing you can't get a nice plate of egg, chips and beans there now? Unless it's on a pizza.
Delete@Noax: The De La Soul drum intro does sound like The Gap Band, but I'm not sure if it's the same sample. It's certainly not listed on their Wiki page for the song.
Praise the Lord, another Top Of The Pops - this one helmed by the Rock-loving Tommy Vance. And we are up and running with, according to TV, THE Slade. Is that as opposed to the other Slades knocking around? Where they ever called THE Slade? Anyway, this is a proper rock record and the boys deserved a bigger hit. Jim Lea - channelling his inner-punk - gives it the full welly.Well done boys - good start to the show.
ReplyDeleteA scissors-and-paste vid for Lennon's Woman. Decent song, decent emotions behind the lyrics.
The Stranglers with Jean Jacques up on vocals - and I use that word advisedly. Not sure what the hell the thought process was behind this song. Not their best moment.
Madness have a go at pretending to be in The Apprentice in a vid for an album-filler.
Sheila Hylton. I had forgotten about this - for the obvious reason that it's pants. It also took an absolute age to get going. Quicker is better, love.
The Gap Band. Now you're talking. A proper, proper dance tune - great vocals and a great snarly guitar. It's just a pity they faded before the vocals got really going.
Next up - The Leggers dancing to a bit of Diana Ross. Not a bad little slowie this one - if a bit stage-musically. Although it does seem out of place with her recent Chic output. As for The Leggers, well they all took their turn to do a turn. Could not be more literal!
So, all in all that was a pretty decent show. Slade, The Gap Band, and Madness were my personal faves. The crowd were relatively restrained, and the chart rundown was pleasingly mathematical. 7.
As for Mr Vance. That was close to being an 8, but calling Slade, THE Slade, is rather criminal. 7.
Ah, Slade, the second top 30 act on the Cheapskate label after that Sue Wilkinson. They were previously called Ambrose Slade, but not The Slade to my knowledge.
DeleteBefore Ambrose Slade they were The 'N Betweens, but certainly never The Slade to my knowledge!
Deletewere there any non-slade related acts on the cheapskate label (don't forget their drummer don powell was the "percussionist" for that sue wilkinson thing)? also, didn't the label happen to be owned by chas chandler, who (not) by sheer coincidence was also slade's manager?
DeleteThere were plenty of non-Slade related acts on Cheapskate, who issued nearly 50 singles in total - including releases by Roy Wood and The Glitter Band!
DeleteThere were plenty of non-Slade related acts on Cheapskate, who issued nearly 50 singles in total - including releases by Roy Wood and The Glitter Band!
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ReplyDeleteSlade - whom my Mum adored - had had a major boost to their fading career the previous year at the Reading Festival, where they replaced the indisposed Ozzy Osbourne at the last minute. They had been on the verge of disbanding, with Dave Hill having to be persuaded to rejoin - but, in the words of their comeback hit, they brought the house down. Many of the glam-metal bands of that era, including Def Leppard and Motley Crue, cited Slade as an inspiration.
ReplyDelete'Thrown Away' was by no means the first Stranglers' offering to be led by Burnel - what about '5 Minutes' and 'Go Buddy Go"? As we all know, Hugh Cornwell would regain his regular spot as frontman on the hit that would revive their career a year later.
Madness' cocktail-lounge instrumental effort was not one of their best and a strange choice for a single, but they too were on their way to greater things.
Sheila Hylton's previous chart item 'Breakfast In Bed' was in fact composed by Muscle Shoals songwriters Eddie Hinton and Donnie Fritts for the late, great Dusty Springfield, who was first to record the song. It would eventually become a major hit in the hands of UB40 and Chrissie Hynde in '88.
'It's My Turn', a return to balladry for Miss Diana Ross, was a film theme penned by two of the most prolific hit songwriters in the industry, Michael Masser and Carole Bayer Sager. Not a bad turn on the catwalk by the resident interpreters.
The late Susan Fassbender's Achilles heel was her lack of ability as a PERFORMER. Although technically a first-class musician, having been classically trained on piano, clarinet and percussion (see Wiki), she was let down by her deadpan vocal delivery - which was not too far removed from Martha & The Muffins' lead singer Martha Johnson. Both 'Twilight Cafe' and 'Echo Beach', it must be said, could have been the titles of either throwaway Mills & Boon novelettes or obscure Australian soap operas.
At No.1, for yet another week, stands John Lennon - who, through tragic circumstances, holds the unique distinction of being the only act to succeed itself at No.1 in the British singles chart.
Heatwave's moderately successful closer was supplied, as were most of their hits, by British songsmith Rod Temperton - who would subsequently be responsible for the title track of the world's most successful album.
Jean Jacques Burnel also provided lead vocals (spoken and in French) for "La Folie", the bewildering almost flop follow-up to "Golden Brown".
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DeleteOK so that appears to explain why Slade were making this comeback in 1981.
DeleteRegarding Lennon succeeding himself at No.1, you could say that there are two separate circumstances here, in that Imagine got to No.1 as re-release and as a result of his sudden murder, but Woman got to No.1 as new material in its own right and would likely have been released anyway as a follow-up to Starting Over, and got to No.1, even if he had not died suddenly.
Didn't the Beatles manage two consecutive number ones, Julie? When I Want to Hold Your Hand replaced She Loves You towards the end of 1963? Meaning John performed this impressive feat twice.
DeleteI stand corrected, Angelo - I've just consulted my Guinness Book of British Hit Singles, and the Beatles did indeed replace themselves at No.1 in late '63.
DeleteDory - I implied no disrespect towards the great John Lennon whatsoever. In fairness, though, given that 'Starting Over' had peaked at No.8 and was on its way down at the time of his assassination, I don't think either that song or 'Woman' would have reached the top had he lived, though the latter song was still strong enough to have made the Top 10. Similarly, The King's chart-topper 'Way Down' would almost certainly have peaked somewhere between 41 and 50 had it not been for his sudden and unexpected demise.
And I think much more recently a certain Justin Bieber has achieved it too ~ I know, but it still counts! :-)
DeleteTopical! hark at you! In fact, Justin Bieber became the first act to hold all the top three singles places simultaneously. To think of all the superb acts back in the day who deserved that accolade so much more....
Deletearthur does that mean a singles chart still actually exists? if so then justin's sales must have gone into double figures if not triple...!
Deleteseriously: although i can't claim to be a beatles' fan, the fact that shite like westlife could surpass their most-consecutive no. 1 hits achievememt with a bunch of releases that probably sold less combined than any one of the beatles' records in question makes an utter travesty of the charts!
Very lively and enthusiastic hosting by Tommy Vance on this one, I thought, with an inventive approach to reading out the chart rundown thrown in for good measure. I'm sure he was delighted that Slade (sorry, THE Slade), kicked off proceedings with one of their heaviest numbers. The band were very much riding a comeback wave at this time, having unexpectedly stolen the show at the previous year's Reading Festival (when they were on the verge of splitting up) and acquired a new following among metal fans. The song is a bit too shouty for my tastes, but the band give the performance their all and it gets the show off to a lively start.
ReplyDeleteWoman is a pleasant enough tune, I suppose, but fundamentally quite dull. The video is made poignant by its shots of Lennon walking through Central Park in the last weeks of his life, but I'm surprised TOTP left in that photo of what I am pretty sure is his corpse. The infamous autograph photo with Mark Chapman is also included.
I'm not surprised BBC4 edited out the next three songs from the early showing, as none of them are very exciting. The Stranglers sound like they are on mogadon (though in fairness there is a glimmer of a promising tune in the chorus), while I'm surprised Madness chose to release such an unremarkable instrumental as a single - at least all the pop culture clips in the video are fairly entertaining. Sheila Hylton did a decent job with her Police cover, but I had forgotten it as soon as it finished.
The Gap Band were livelier, and this song is a lot better than their best-known hit, but it was frustrating that it was cut off just as it really got going. Legs, sadly, never really got going at all with this overly static and catwalk-constrained routine - it doesn't help that the song is one of the most saccharine ballads ever offered up by Miss Ross, and she has released a few over the years! The girls certainly seemed to have a thing for wigs at this time - why was Patti wearing that purple one?
Interesting that neither Young Parisians or Scary Monsters got an airing on TOTP - I'm sure both would have been more memorable than some of the stuff that was on this edition!
Very odd that at the time TOTP scheduled a band with the name The Stranglers straight after John Lennon's video. Not very sensitive of the situation, was it?
DeleteSheila Hilton's costume was the best part of the show, and my, she looked very good in it, even though I don't remember this at the time, and why she needed to cover a song by The Police is somewhat baffling to say the least.
*** IMPORTANT NOTICE ***
ReplyDeleteAfter 5 enjoyable years, I have decided to retire from this blog as of this week.
It has been a pleasure to discuss the repeats with you all, but I feel I have gone as far as I can as a regular contributor. I wish to focus on other projects and interests from now on, including the rebuilding of my career.
Best wishes,
*** Julie ***
Thanks for the contributions Julie. Your in-depth knowledge of the music business is second to none from what I have seen so far, and this now leaves 100% of us as male bloggers with no female contributions, which is somewhat unfortunate and an ideal scenario, but hey, who needs a boys club anyway?
DeleteI meant not an ideal scenario!
DeleteI second what Dory says, Julie. I hope you sill still 'pop' in from time to time ~ and here's wishing you the very best with your venture! (Sounds exciting!)
DeleteVery sorry to see you go, Julie. You've been a gem - thanks for everything. I've now got Thom Pace's hit spooling in my head as a tribute. "Maybe" you'll pop back occasionally?
DeleteThanks for letting us know, Julie, and good luck with whatever the future brings you.
DeleteJulie Ocean - always on fire!
DeleteDon't go Julie, the blog's too small without you.
This was a very strong performance by Tommy Vance (excepting his insistence on saying 'The Slade') and in retrospect, given the way he tackled the chart rundowns, almost an audition piece for the UK Top 40 chart show which he would take over from Tony Blackburn in fairly short order.
ReplyDeleteGreat choice of show opener with Slade - good song, I remember it well from the time.
I'm not sure about the wisdom of having 2 John Lennon songs in the same show, though I appreciate 'Woman' now more than I did then, and it hasn't been as overplayed as 'Imagine' of course.
The Stranglers were seemingly doing their interpretation of New Wave. Shame it was bloody awful. Madness - hmmm, not their best but enjoyable enough. Whereas I'm going to go against the grain by saying that I really like Sheila Hylton's interpretation of that Police song.
Ooh, it's that funky Gap Band song again. 'Milk, milk, lemonade...'. No, stop it!
That Diana Ross song was boring. The routine was OK, though Sue's costume is pretty ropey compared to the others.
Susan Fassbender was the highlight of the show. Sadly, as others have pointed out, she doesn't really ooze star quality. If she did, this would have gone Top 10 easily. Also, I have the 7" single and the picture on the cover looks like it was drawn by a 5 year old, so that probably didn't help either....
I agree Tommy’s informative and relaxed approach was spot on, but there was the odd blooper – anyone else notice he back-announced The Stranglers’ single as “Blown Away”?
ReplyDelete(The) Slade’s song’s guitar intro reminded me of “Ballroom Blitz”. I remember going to a few Chelsea matches with a mate around this time and, in response to rumours about ground renovation, supporters in the iconic home end sang “Don’t Pull The Shed Down” to the tune of Slade’s obvious stadium anthem. Wasn’t Noddy pleased to be there? Dave was in “Ace Of Spades” chic and I wondered who Jimmy was going to impale with his bass at the end.
John Lenon’s assassin Mark Chapman shown in frame accompanied by the line “I never meant to cause you to sorrow or pain”. Maybe meant as ironic, but I thought it was completely insensitive.
That Stranglers effort was sung an octave too low. Oh, and it was dog shite too.
Madness’s tune is what I term a ‘mostrumental’, i.e. almost an instrumental but with the odd word in it (see “The Crunch”, “The Hustle”) etc. . What was the point of that video?
Loved Tommy’s coals to Newcastle story regarding the bandwagon jumping Geordie’s cod reggae transplant. Nice version, complete with a revered reggae band backing Sheila, but maybe it was a few beats per minute too slow for its own good.
The Gap Band’s video had much better sound quality than for “Oops Upside Your Head”, and I thought the song had a good groove but was a bit too samey with no peaks or troughs. Liked the way the word “Gap” in “The gap band” at the end disappeared for a second or two to leave a gap. Oh, and I agree – all together…”Milk, milk, lemonade”……
Diana Ross’s song was way too meandering (what was it called again) and proceedings were only livened up for me by Patti wearing the latest prototype Aneka wig. Not long now before we lose Pauline.
Susan Fassbender’s mate Kay Russell reined herself in this time round but still joined Noddy in the “can’t believe I’m here again” club. Poor show, missing Susan’s instrumental bridge prowess and giving us a twirling bassist instead. Still, far more enjoyable than the boring bloke immediately beforehand.
Arthur, if you mean it was Mark Chapman on the right of the picture standing next to John Lennon, then perhaps this video included the photo to let the public know how shameful it was that an ordinary fan could end the life of a pop music icon.
DeletePolitical correctness was not as rife then as it is now, where people then were allowed to be more direct without worrying about PC issues, so yes I agree with you that it is insensitive nowadays and would not be included in a pop video, but at that time there was less distance between people, and more upfront journalism was allowed, so we can perhaps see why it was kept in.
This video was of course sanctioned by Yoko, though how much it was a genuine, heartfelt expression of grief on her part and how much a carefully calculated act of self-publicity is something that still gets debated to this day...
DeleteSee Andy Peebles recent interview for more info on that:
Deletehttp://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3337924/The-dark-truth-Yoko-Ono-revealed-BBC-DJ-Andy-Peebles.html
host: tommy's ironic/humourous swear shirt is great, and if anything he's even more enthusiastic about proceedings than previous shows. also some clever links, even if it didn't all quite come off
ReplyDeleteslade: in his excitement there's rather a strange pronounciation of the song title ("we'll bring the house DOWN!") from tommy in his intro. apart from dave hill borrowing judas priest guitarist kk downing's stage clobber, they hardly look any different than their glam heyday, and noddy still has those ridiculous mutton-chop sideboards. i remember that they were taking advantage of the NWOBHM fad by this time in an attempt to regain their former glory, and this sounds somewhat influenced by "ace of spades". not a bad piece of heavy rock overall, but they kept losing momentum with the "we will rock you"-style break-down chorus (that really should have been saved for the end)
stranglers: like slade they had lost their mojo around this point having been chart regulars for several years earlier, and by giving us this dull effort with non-existant tune the boys really had thrown away an opportunity to get back on the perch again. were right said fred listening to this when they wrote "i'm too sexy for my shirt"? dave greenfield has donated the moustache he used to wear to another act appearing later on...
madness: it was complete madness (sorry!) to release this cod-lounge instrumental as a single, as it's very much an album track or even a b-side. and as such it was lucky to make the top 30 (presumably on the strength of their burgeoning reputation), never mind no. 7! also, since a saxophonist chum of mine told me how awful he thought tommo's playing was, every time i hear him now he sounds as flat as a pancake! with regards to the cafe sign, even now it seems the practice of putting a brand name as part of it (in this case "pepsi") is still quite commonplace. so do the manufacturers pay the shop proprietors for what otherwise in effect is free advertising?
sheila hylton: i had it in my mind that the original of this was the police's most authentic attempt at reggae, but when i listened to it again it seemed rather busy (expecially stewart copeland's contribution) and rushed in comparison with this cover. so i think i actually preferred this sparser version, even if it did sound somewhat robotic- as they say, "less is more"! by the way, i presume our host was aware with his "coals to newcastle" quip that the song's composer was a geordie?
ultravox: ah, so that's where dave greenfield's 'tache went! was this the full version or an edit? having listened to it once too often in the past and OD'ed as a result, i haven't heard it for many years now so i can't remember! listening again i found i (still) liked the "second" verse, but the rest of it is now quite hard to take without cringing. presumably billy currie was supposed to have that deathly palour, rather than just not feeling very well that week?
despite being late to the party for this show, it's still another two-parter:
ReplyDeletegap band: it's not so much their music that i dislike, as their idiosyncratic vocal style. earlier in their career they released this nice funky instrumental that was mercifully free of such indulgence: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bh4gCHDs48s
diana ross: i have only the vaguest recollection of this song, but thought it sounded much more like the work of michael masser than chic. in fact masser also wrote the very similar (complete with same modulation trick) "do you know where you're going to?" for ms ross to sing several years earlier when she briefly tried her hand as a film actress. this one is also a theme for a film, but instead of ms ross it stars michael douglas, who was still best-known at that point for the tv series "the streets of san francisco". like all masser's stuff this is soppy to put it mildly, but i quite like it all the same
phil collins: i think everyone knows the significance of the paint pot i.e. phil's missus had run off with their painter and decorator. but if phil's tank top is his idea of making a fashion statement then that's hardly a surprise! said paintpot inspired me to display a gold-painted box (that i had used in a conjuring act as a kid) next to my keyboard when i started gigging with bands (although as it was made of cardboard it didn't last too long!). also, did anyone else notice the synth stand was a black and dekker workmate? i couldn't afford a proper stand myself in those days (or even an ironing board which would have substituted quite nicely), so when i did gigs i had to rely on using whatever i could find at the venue - usually either a table or a stack of beer crates! this is another one i haven't heard properly in decades, and i always thought the percussion prior to the iconic drum roll (which didn't actually sound quite as thunderous as i imagined it) was programmed. but listening again i think it's actually all phil's own work...?
susan fassbender: another one i haven't heard for decades. people singing standing up behind keyboards always looks a bit naff to me, and ms fassbender is no exception. the glasses don't help either.
although apparently she was a yorkshire lass, in keeping with her stage name her singing is more teutonic than tyke. but other than that it all sounds a bit mundane and old-hat to me - if pressed i suppose i'd have to describe this as a slightly-funky 12 bar!
heatwave: perhaps unsurprisingly given his strength laid in songwriting rather than performing (remember him in the the "boogie nights" video as the oldest-ever-looking twenty-something?) rod temperton had long-since jumped ship by now. but despite having far more high-profile clients queueing up for his wares, he stilll gave his old band some crumbs from his table - presumably out of loyalty, having got his first break with them? you can never say a rod song is weak in my opinion, but this is not one of his better ones
Wow, from your link, I didn't know that The Gap Band were around as early as 1974, and I agree that they should have stayed instrumentalists instead of bringing any singing or vocals to the fore.
DeleteI'm really enjoying these 1981 shows but hate the doubling up of episodes. They shouldn't rush the season as the saying goes and they're rushing it big time.
ReplyDeleteI always liked Tommy Vance's style of presenting because despite the occasional fluff he shows that he cares about the music.
Slade do look/sound as though they were trying to morph into a heavy metal band but luckily they gave up on that idea a bit later. This left me completely cold at the time but it sounds okay now. I now realise the "whoa-whoa" intro was nicked from Gary Us Bonds via Gary Glitter.
Lennon filling the charts so soon after his death puts me in mind of The Smiths' Paint A Vulgar picture - "At the record company meeting. On their hands - a dead star, And oh, the plans they weave, And oh, the sickening greed". As others have said above had Lennon not died these songs wouldn't be such big hits as they're not that good. But C'est la vie or should that be la mort?
Am I the only one who likes The Stranglers' lesser hits? Thrown Away is brilliant with Burnel's gravelly bass vocals offset against that repetitive beat. It sounds very ahead of its time and should have been a bigger hit although I grant you it's not a happy sound.
Everything Madness did was special and I loved this at the time. As the third single from the Absolutely album it was a wild choice being a (near) instrumental but they wisely included a free comic with the 12 inch single and that helped it into the chart. The video shows the band dicussing the video shoot in the Venus cafe in Westbourne Park. The films clips were all taken from Look and Life and Pathe newsreels. I always thought the melody in the chorus was nicked from a toothpaste ad jingle (Macleans I think).
Nice to see The Cimmarons with Sheila Hylton, I didn't know who they were at the time. A solid lovers rock cover of Sting's song but it does make you wonder whey they didn't do their own song as these guys could do this in their sleep.
Ah Vienetta. I was very jealous of Midge's pointy sideburns at the time and tried to grow mine the same way but couldn't get them right. Even at the time I was annoyed at the way Billy ("look at me") Currie looks at the camera all the time. Hate the way they edited this but I suppose time was against them.
I'm surprised The Gap clothes stores haven't used The Gap band's music for their TV ads, or perhaps they have.
The Legs routine for It's My Turn was perhaps the cheesiest thing they have done in a long time. It was like Flick recalled the video for Bowie's Boys Keep Swinging and recreated it with extras from Dallas. And what a dreadful dirge the song is.
I didn't get the Susan Fassbinder song back then but I do now and the more I hear it the more I like it. She may be doing the Victoria wood trick of hiding behind her keyboard but at least she's animated and is dancing a bit unlike some of the acts on the show.
Lennon's on sale again and then a nice playout with a Heatwave song I had forgotten about.
Just read your support for the Stranglers 'Blown away', sorry 'Thrown away'. I have to admit buying this single when it came out and I still have it. Rather this than Joe Dolce methinks!
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