'A lovely bunch of coconuts!'
5-8-82: Presenter: David Jensen
(4) MADNESS – Driving In My Car
Madness drive into the studio, sporting the white suits this week (I hope Kevin hasn't got a sour face later on) but this record had come to the end of the road of its chart run.
(25) JUNIOR – Too Late
Mr Live himself is here again tonight, and Too Late went up there more places.
JK's bit here, edited out of course:
(US 12) THE GO GO’S – Vacation (video)
(US 9) THE MOTELS – Only The Lonely (video)
(US 4) FLEETWOOD MAC – Hold Me (video)
(US 1) SURVIVOR – Eye Of The Tiger (video)
(20) THE BRAT – Chalk Dust (The Umpire Strikes Back)
Also edited out of tonight's 7.30pm show ~ good call!
(22) DONNA SUMMER – Love Is In Control (Finger On The Trigger)
Zoo go all Mad Max and strut their stuff while Donna's video plays on the big screen in the background, she still hadn't made it into the studio at this point, and this song became her first top 20 hit for three years, peaking at number 18.
(19) THE BELLE STARS – The Clapping Song
A flashy performance, in more ways than one, of The Clapping Song on its way to number 11.
(8) KID CREOLE & THE COCONUTS – Stool Pigeon
Here's the aptly named August with his exceptionally sparkling coconuts, albeit with some slightly weird dance moves, and this terrific party tune went up one more place.
(21) BAD MANNERS – My Girl Lollipop (My Boy Lollipop)
Keeping the party going, in their own special manner, with what would soon become their final top ten hit when it reached number 9.
(11) THE STRANGLERS – Strange Little Girl
Another studio performance helping this tune up to number 7.
(1) DEXY’S MIDNIGHT RUNNERS with THE EMERALD EXPRESS – Come On Eileen ®
The first of four weeks at number one.
(29) SURVIVOR – Eye Of The Tiger (crowd dancing) (and credits)
And we end the show with Zoo springing back onto the floor to dance to the tune that would eventually replace Eileen at number one.
Next up is August 12th 1982
Angelo the Dexys performamce wasn't a repeat, it was new.
ReplyDeleteIt was hard to tell really ~ popscene has it down as a repeat - I did wonder if the Stranglers was a repeat too, but the audience looked different and I think Hugh had a coat on last time.
DeleteAnyone got the full edition with the JK slot? I would love to see the Fleetwood Mac clip, cos this song Hold Me was not released in Britain, and to make matters worse, there was at this point no new material from Fleetwood Mac on our shores since 1979 with their last top 30 hit Tusk, so by now we were completely starved of the group here, with nothing new from them in three years! Why such a long break?
DeleteAfter releasing a live album in 1980, Fleetwood Mac took a break while Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks and Mick Fleetwood all recorded solo records. The band reunited for the highly underrated Mirage album in 1982, which is often unfairly dismissed as a poor man's Rumours. Hold Me may not have been released as a single in the UK, but Gypsy would scrape to 46 and Oh Diane would reach the Top 10 early in 1983, which we should see on the repeats next year.
DeleteMy perception is that for much of its existence the Buckingham-Nicks version of Fleetwood Mac was not as popular in the UK as the original, brilliant Peter Green line-up had been - certainly their record sales over here were not as huge as in the States. I don't think that really changed until the Tango in the Night album in '87.
Still John G, three years away from the charts in that era was too long, and to make matters worse, BBC4 edited out the JK slot to rub salt in our wounds. We're still about 6 months away from Oh Diane, so hopefully someone can come to the rescue with the full show including the JK section.
DeleteDory - actually 'Hold Me' was released in Britain but it flopped completely.
Deletehttp://www.45cat.com/record/k17965
That is Interesting. I don't think it made top 75 as it would have been in the official charts list. However, I found this listing of the song getting to No.94 in 1989 for Fleetwood Mac. Bizarre, and needs some explanation anyone please:
Deletehttp://www.officialcharts.com/search/singles/hold%20me/
Dory - This second single release of 'Hold me' was to coincide with the 'Greatest Hits' album that came out in 1989. The B Side was a new Stevie Nicks song 'No Questions asked' recorded by the short lived line up of the band that featured Rick Vito and Billy Burnette in place of Lindsay Buckingham who had recently quit the group after the 'Tango in the Night' album.
DeleteI have no idea why 'Hold Me' was chosen as a single from 'Greatest Hits' as another new song 'As long as you follow' had already been released as a single from the album.
Just had a thought on who else on this week's show could have sung "Hold Me" for any of us to oblige:
DeleteDonna Summer - yes
The Belle Stars - yes, all of them
Kid Creole - no
The Coconuts - yes, definitely
what about the cuddly stranglers and buster bloodvessel?
DeleteThat is Bama's stuff, along with the drummer on Dexy's apparently.
DeleteDory, while the top 75 is used for official chart purposes and nothing outside the top 75 receives an authorised chart placing, a top 200 is published for record company purposes with positions 76-200 used to determine which singles the companies should promote or delete. Hope that helps.
DeleteIt's a live Top of the Pops and one that has a slight whiff of old shows with some of the old problems creeping in, namely cameras in shot, floor managers in shot, crowd members staring at the cameras like startled rabbits and a muffled sound. But it has a good line up.
ReplyDeleteMadness are a great way to start the show. According to their biography when they recorded this they borrowed the Maddiemobile Morris Minor drophead from a car club and they had to drain every drop of petrol from it before the BBC would allow it in the studio, When the band performed on an ITV show a few days earlier Suggs was absent because his wife was in hospital giving birth to their daughter. His place was taken on that occasion by the ventriloquist's dummy.
Junior struggling to match the success of his first hit with Too Late still at number 25 but he gets a second outing on the show. They could have shown Japan who were a higher non-mover at number 9 or better still featured one of the numerous climbers/new entries at the bottom end of the chart, namely Haysi Fantaysi, Wavelength, The Clash, The Fun Boy 3, The Associates, Talk Talk, Sheena Easton, David Sylvian and The Boystown Gang. Junior has changed his clothes but his hand still thrust firmly in pocket but he's singing live to a rerecorded backing but I'm not sure this and the creepy Zoo dancers help sell the song.
The Brat boys also return but they have moved up to number 20. So not as successful as the real John McEnroe but a considerable success all the same.
Then Zoo, who get a proper credited outing this week, dance to Donna Summer who has been absent from the charts for a couple of years. And we get to see her on video as well in the background.And in colour. Wow, I wasn't expecting that. Zoo look like a poor man's Village People with gun toting cowboys in the background (which fits in with the trigger of the song title) but others are dressed as kinky cavemen. What was the reason for that? had they run out of cowboys outfits?
The Belle Stars are also back and wearing slightly more clothes than last time. It's clear that they don't really know to do the dance they are describing in the lyrics because they don't appear to be doing any of the moves they are singing and there's certainly as lack of clapping until the end but I guess it doesn't matter. I like the bit where they hold their noses when the Vocoder kicks in.
Then Kid gets to introduce Kid - hey hey! Yes Mr Creole and co make it to the studio again to do Stool Pigeon at least some of them have made it. The musicians including little Coati Mundi are strangely absent. I like the Cocoanuts in their mirror tile dresses. I loved the bands output at the time and bought a few of their singles including this and the Christmas EP which missed the Top 30.
The Charts and I see Leo Sayer has re-entered after dropping out last week, so he's a re-entry not a new entry Kid, get it right.
My love affair with Bad Manners ended in 1981 and I'm afraid I had no time for this so-so cover of the Millie classic.But it's nice to see the band in matching suits adorned with questions marks, an idea borrowed from The Joker in Batman via Nick Lowe. And Buster dressed very inappropriately for August in a Bud Flanagan-style fur coat. The funny thing about Bad Manner was that they never tried to look like pop stars, they made no effort at all. They may all have suits on but they look like a bunch of hairy geezers that you might find in any old pub band.
More familiar territory with The Stranglers but it's new performnance although not a lot different from the last one. But this is a great song, I love the dreamy instrumental break.
Nitpick of the week : the Question Mark suit was worn by The Riddler.
DeleteYeah, I noticed that The Brat this week was a new performance in the studio, and not a repeat of the studio performance of a couple of weeks earlier. Surprisingly so, as this must have been a difficult sketch to do in the first place with such precision, so well done to whoever the two actors were, to be brave enough to come back, and to TOTP for hosting them in the studio a second time, as it would have been all to easy to repeat-show the first performance from 22nd July.
Deleteone of those "coulda been" artists bama mentions is wavelength, who i have no recollection of whatsoever. although apparently they did get their chance to appear on the show shortly after this. i thought about listening to their hit on youtube, but when i saw it catagorised on discogs as "soft rock" i decided not to bother!
DeleteLike Dexys Keep It this is Part Two (Inferiority Part One).
ReplyDeleteThe Top Ten, then Dexys who got their second number one and deservedly so.
Is this the first number one song to credit a former number one artist (Johnnie Ray) in the lyrics? Answers on a pair of torn dungarees. Sadly drummer Seb Shelton is not shirtless this time but you can't have everything.
Play out with Eye Of The Tiger and a terribly under rehearsed routine from Zoo (their third of the night) somewhat spoiled by a fat Bob Hoskins lookalike walking across at the start. Gertcha!
Heinz had credited a previous number one artist in his big 1963 hit "Just Like Eddie", but Mr. Cochran's surname wasn't mentioned in the lyrics.
DeleteGood call Arthur but Heinz didn't get to number one.
DeleteI really liked the Zoo performance this week on Eye Of The Tiger to see us out on the end credits. Suffice to say that there was a lot more of the routine on the late night showing, like at least another minute or two of the song! By the way, do you know which one of Zoo is called Foxy, according to the end credits?
DeleteI bet Junior was delighted to hear from the Radio One Roving Reporters that there was "Better music still to come" - Gee, Thanks guys!
ReplyDeleteI think that was maybe a reflection on the musical quality of The Brat who was of course edited out of the 7.30 showing.
DeleteDoh - Of course!
DeleteWell, this must have been the show of the year for fancy dress costumes. It's not possible to beat it. Every performance on the show apart from Junior and The Stranglers, took fancy dress to a completely new level!
ReplyDeleteMadness and Bad Manners on the same show? Good Lord, the dressing room must have been a raucous laugh. Difficult to know who came out best of these two bands this week.
I had mixed feelings about the Donna Summer outing. I don't really go for Zoo performance in combination with the video of the song in the background. They did this also with Diana Ross a few weeks earlier, and also did not come out well. It should be one or the other, but not the video and Zoo at the same time. On the positive side, I really liked the Zoo girls' fresh costumes on this performance, which made up for the chaos on set.
The Belle Stars - I took quite a liking to the cute blonde on the right hand side of the seven girls on stage (wow lots of girls in this group). The way she danced and moved.
Kid Jensen with Kid Creole on the same show? Good Lord, how lucky we are. As far as Kid Creole goes, I was impressed with his three coconuts in those mirror style curtains (ahem,dresses). You could say more fresh coconut for the studio this week. Yum!
First, Madness proving how difficult it is to dance in a car. Giving Kwik Fit's TV campaign advertisers a few ideas too. They should really have driven the car around the studio.
ReplyDeleteJunior with his in one ear and out the other pop tune, not sure about his jacket, it looks like he busted the zip putting it on too quickly.
The Brat a little freer with the "goddamns!" this time, shouting them over the beeps. I can't imagine this being more than mildly amusing the first time, so who bought it to listen to it over and over? The audience aren't laughing. Did like his massive tennis racket, however.
Not a Donna Summer tune you hear too often, but it's pretty darn good, with a borderline hysterical chorus punching away. Zoo's antics are much as we expected, I think I'd rather have watched the video.
The Belle Stars doing a bit more clapping this time around, but not much more. Hearing this again, I'd forgotten how funky the production was, in an 80s way.
Classic from Kid Creole and the Coconuts and, erm, nobody else from the rest of the band. But what a showman this guy is, though I don't know why the audience lets out a prolonged cheer during one of the instrumental breaks.
Buster Bloodvessel threatening to live up to his name by wearing the floor length fur and cavorting around like that. Pretty basic cover of Millie's famed tune, the band look like they're trying to out-Madness Madness.
Talking of instrumental breaks, there's a very strong one in this Stranglers song. Still don't know what this is about. The drummer is determined to stare down those of us watching at home.
Dexys finally make it to the top of the tree. Those jumpers have seen better days. I wonder if Kevin was enjoying his success?
Then to end on Zoo perform a line dance to one of the most overplayed songs known to humanity, as some fat bloke walks straight in front of them. Were we keeping you?
Regarding The Brat's tennis racket, I did notice it was a large wooden one, cos indeed at the time in 1982, the rackets were still wooden ones, and indeed John McEnroe winning Wimbledon using a wooden tennis racket.
DeleteMy, how times have changed, with wooden rackets no longer in use since way back when. Does anyone know when the wooden racket was discontinued in professional use, to the current metal ones which can deliver much faster reaction?
The prolonged cheer from the audience on Kid Creole was probably for the Coconuts curtains (I mean skimpy bikini style dresses on stage).
DeleteWith regard to the Bad Manners and Madness rivalry on the show, it must be remembered that the two groups were from neighbouring Inner London boroughs - Madness from Camden, and Bad Manners from Hackney, and so must have known each other quite well as two competing cockney outfits.
Bad Manners were from Manor House (borough of Haringey) and both that and Camden are in North London. Neither band are strictly cockneys which would be from East London (traditionally "within the sound of Bow Bells").
DeleteMy guess is the cheer during Kid Creole's performance was due to something Bad Manners were doing on the adjoining stage. Being an old trooper Kid carries on like nothing has happened not wanting to be upstaged by a fat bald guy in a fur coat.
what i remember about the old wooden tennis racquets was that having been probably the best player in the world before his early retirement, bjorn borg made a comeback in the early 90's eschewing raquet technology developed since in favour of his trusty old wooden one. and subsequently got a pasting from journeymen players using graphite raquets!
DeleteAccording to Wikipedia, 1987 was the last time anyone played with a wooden racquet at Wimbledon.
DeleteAnother music legend gone today, what a year this has been. But the most important question on here is, was Leonard Cohen ever on TOTP? Alexandra Burke doesn't count.
ReplyDeletePerhaps unsurprisingly, Leonard was never in the TOTP studio.
DeleteI've never really got Leonard Cohen. To me he's in the same bracket as Joan Baez, The Doors and The Velvet Underground - artists that many people seem to like because of their 'coolness' almost above their actual music!
DeleteOh, and Joni bloody Mitchell - forgot her.
Deletei love joni mitchell! well, i love the post-folk and pre-"jazz" period in the mid 70's where she made the run of classic albums "court & spark", "the hissing of summer lawns" and "hejira"...
DeleteJust noticed that the late night edition (friday) has been pushed back to start at 12:50am - due to a couple of Leonard Cohen Tributes being shown on BBC4 tonight.
DeleteWas Joan Baez ever cool? Anyway, I thought Laughing Len might have made it to the studio in the 60s, but apparently not.
DeleteHe was more a creator of a particular mood than he was a catchy songwriter, but what a mood that was. Brilliant lyricist too. I have a soft spot for the album he made with Phil Spector, which sounds as odd as you'd expect.
Can't say that I am a Leonard Cohen fan, but Fairport Convention did a great cover of Suzanne very early in their career.
Deletea belated observation on the passing of mr cohen: probably like most i regularly look at the wikipedia "recent deaths" page. and despite firmly residing in the "cult" category for the length of his career with nary a hit single to his name (and certainly none either in this country or the states), laughing lenny gets his own special entry on the main page. yet his peer robert vaughn who was known to millions as "the man from u.n.c.l.e" among many others things (and is the last of "the magnificent seven" to die, which is surely an eventful thing in itself?) doesn't even get listed there... unlike marti friedlander, gwen ifill and ilse aichinger, who i've personally never heard of!
Deleteand another belated observation, this time on joan baez: what a difference between what can only be described as a hideous-looking young woman on this album:
Deletehttps://www.discogs.com/Joan-Baez-Farewell-Angelina/master/129752
and this soft-focused beauty 10 years later:
https://www.discogs.com/Joan-Baez-Diamonds-Rust/master/129759
Kindergarden time at ToTp as Kid Jensen introduces Kid Creole, Junior and The Brat all on the same show.
ReplyDeleteBut first up, its Madness - one of a number of acts tonight with a higher-than-average head count. It's not their best song, but to make up for it they turn in a high calibre performance. Poor rhyming couplet mid-way through though. 'I dented someone's fender - he learnt not to park on a bender'.
Junior. Again. That's a weird way to do your coat up. It's not exactly setting the charts alight is it? And yet it gets another airing. Strange.
The Brat. Was it really a good idea to give the audience tennis balls to throw at the end? Some of them wear hitting Roger Kitter with some force.
Donna Summer's latest gets the Zoo treatment. The song is boring and its not helped by a rather boring dance routine. FF.
The Belle Stars. Another group requiring a large dressing room. Now did one of the girls miss miming her line or did the director balls the shot up? During the instrumental break, the girls pair up except for drummer Belle Star who is left looking lonely. Serves her right for her abysmal attempt at miming her instrument.
Kid Creole with some of his coconuts. Weird visual effect on the female coconuts making it look like they are naked but pixellated out. And where are the rest of the band?
Bad Manners. Scraping the barrel time.
The playout song this week is the hideous Eye Of The Tiger which will somehow - against all that we hold dear - get to the very top in a couple of weeks. Bizarely Zoo get their third outing of the night, and even more bizarely they decide to do a drunken line-dance hokey-cokey shuffle kind of thing. This will be Exhibit Number One when I take Flick Colby to TV Court for the pain and suffering I have had to endure watching these under-rehearsed, in-love-with-themselves, no-talent Fame School wannabes. And their names! Bunty, Dijon, Foxy, Peyton and, I kid you not Voyd. An appalling dance troupe.
Scores. Kid gets 6. The hitsound chartsound countdown thing is still there so that's annoying and despite his protestations I'm not sure he was that engaged with tonight's tunes.
The show. Musically it was a slight improvement on last week. But when you look at the songs they could have played instead, you get the feeling it was a bit of a let down. Points dropped for missing the Belle Star's line and for that production bod who suddenly found himself in front of camera and ducked down. But a point gained for the baldy fat production bloke who looked like he was storming off the set during Eye Of The Tiger. I'd like to think he was as offended by Zoo as I was. 4.
Please be better tonight, ToTP. Pretty please.
Regarding the girls in Belle Stars paring up Shakey: considering that there were seven girls in the group, one had to be left lonely, and sorry it had to be the drummer.
DeleteWhich one of the girls would any of us have liked to pair up with at the time? For me, it's the blond with the long curly hair with the light coloured dress, or the cute lead singer telling us to cross arms with our partners right palm and left palm and..oh what the heck.....
I'm assuming that apart from Julie, it's all men on this blog, right?
Yes, Dory, its the pixieish lead singer for me as well.
DeleteThreeeeeee six nine, the goose drank wine, the monkey chewed tobacco on the streetcar line, the line broke, the monkey got choked, and they all went to heaven in a little rowing boat....clap clap, clap clap...
DeleteI am developing a fondness for the lead singer too, possibly this is some deep rooted memory from the time....
Delete"My mama told me, if I was goody, that she would buy me a rubber dolly. My auntie told her I kissed a soldier, now she won't buy me a rubber dolly....."
Deleteit's quite amusing that amongst the pretentious zoo names that obviously weren't handed out at birth are some really plain ones like roy and sharon!
Deleteoh and dory, i'll leave you to pair up with the surplus belle star, thanks
Will be my pleasure Wilb
DeleteShakey, regarding your last point about wanting tonight's TOTP to be better, I think your wish will be granted. I mean only Yazoo, The Firm, and the no.1 Dexys having been shown before, and every other performance was a first time one, and so with new class acts like Toto Coelo and Haysi Fantaysee making their TOTP debuts, we're in for a real treat tonight. I wonder if Foxy from Zoo will be back on tonight's show?
DeleteCan we talk about which drummer from Dexys we'd like to pair up with?
DeleteSpeak for yourself Bama
Deletei couldn't picture who the first drummer for dexys was so i had to look them up on discogs, where (perhaps not surprisingly given the idiosyncratic nature of their leader) there were nearly 30 musicians listed as ex-members! i also inadvertantly discovered that banjo player billy adams' given name is (also) kevin, and as we already know there was no room in this band for more than one person of that name!!
DeleteTheir first drummer was Andy "Stoker" Growcott -
Deletehttp://www.duffypedia.com/images/stoker.jpg
mr growcutt obviously has boyish good looks in the above pic, but my memory now is of him always wearing a woolly hat in dexys which (unlike those of other members) was practically covering his eyes! by the way, does anyone kow why his nickname was "stoker"?
DeleteGrateful though I am to be able to see this edition, I'm afraid that for me it was the 2nd in a row to see judicious use of the FF button...
ReplyDeleteMadness - It's good to see them in the studio but it's somehow less fun than the video. And the song's not all that.
Skipping Junior, I agree with Dory that it's a shame to miss out Fleetwood Mac's 'Hold Me' in the JK section as that's a great song. Despite it not being a hit in the UK it used to turn up on rotation at one of the radio stations I used to work for.
The Brat - A few changes to the performance here, not just the giant tennis racquet. The umpire wasn't wearing a Wimbledon jacket this time (bet the old fuddy-duddies there complained) and the gun was kept out of shot much more, which makes me wonder if they got complaints...
Donna Summer - What an awful song this is. I used to have to play this on the radio too, more's the pity.
Kid Creole & His Shiny Ladies - Glad that we got this one in studio, best song of the night probably.
Bad Manners - Just extremely average.
To finish, 2 of the most overplayed songs of all time back to back! I'm with the fat bloke. Bye!
before i make comment on this show, i'd like to mention that i went around to a friend's house to watch it on his smart tv, but was prevented by doing so as the internet/iplayer link didn't work. so as i refuse to buy a tv licence until a pay-per-view system is introduced (i notifed the authorities to that effect earlier this week) i was forced to book a pc at my local library, which like most these days isn't as pleasant as it could be thanks to the presence of the bottom feeders who blow what little money they have on booze/fags/whatever and thus can't afford their own pc so have to use the library ones. as such, in order to watch these shows in the comfort of my home as opposed to elsewhere, i would really appreciate it if anyone who reads this blog has the means to record them and put them ideally on youtube, or failing that some other streaming facility on the internet. thanks
ReplyDeletehost: the consumate kid (sorry, david 'kid' as someone still insists on billing him) even throws in a joke (no doubt due to the influence of his mate "peelie") about kid creole's lovely bunch of coconuts! and his hair is as lustrous and shiny as ever - it's a surprise that he never got to star in an advert for shampoo, in the manner that the west ham goalie phil parkes did around this time
madness: i could swear that i heard suggs rhyming "bald" with "sworn", but a look at the lyrics informs me that the former os "worn". there's no excuse for rhyming "far" with "tyre" though - not to mention "A45" with "58"! it was great when tommo emerged from the back of the morris minor, but it would have been even better had he done so from the bonnet like in the video. and in complete contrast to his usual toy/soprano sax he goes all roland rahsaan kirk/davey payne on us with what two large tenor ones! i'm not sure what the skeleton had to do with any of this, but i noticed that woody got a rare opportunity to come out from behind the kit in his role as a mechanic. as i've said before it's hardly one of their best (perhaps the lyrical inanity halted its rise to the top?) but visually excellent value as ever
junior: he's got himself a trendy new jacket, but his money would have been better spent on a decent haircut and some contact lenses. his voice really does annoy me, so hopefully that's it for him as far as this show is concerned?
the brat: mr kitter has obviously failed to realise that mr mcenroe was famous for being left handed (although us sinister types make up only 10% of the population, in sporting terms we are overchievers with up to 50% of professional sportsmen and women being cack-handed or footed). perhaps he couldn't hit the balls playing that way, but in any event it would actually have been better had he pretended to hit them - in the manner of fatbelly and gutbucket in the classic "not the nine o'clock news" darts sketch! an impressive roll over the net at the end though...
donna summer: david 'kid' introduces this as "love is in control" which got me head-scratching. then i recognised it as what i recalled as "finger on the trigger". the fact that the latter follows the former in parentheses in the title suggest it might have had a problem shifting units even though it's quite-good dance-friendly fare (and without checking, to my ears it sounded like a tune from the pen of the late rod temperton). the zoo guys didn't have too much to do other than spin their guns (the second song in a row to feature them!) around on their fingers. their presence reminds me that in contrast to the image portrayed by the golden age of hollywood, apparently the majority of cowboys were black guys...
Junior returned a few years later with Kim Wilde for his other big hit (not that you hear it anymore).
Deletei've just checked up on "love is in control (finger on the trigger)" and i was right in that rod temperton had a hand in writing it. the other credited writer is quincy jones, and perhaps the unwieldy title came about as each wanted a different one for it? i've also discovered that rather surprisingly it was a grammy nominee!
Deletepart II:
ReplyDeletekid creole: like others i think it's shame his band wasn't there. the coconuts knock the belle stars into a cocked hat looks and costume-wise, but the eye make-up makes them look a bit weird. does anyone else know that mrs creole is the coconut on the right (why isn't she next to hubby)? good to hear again, but it sounds like kid's been to the suggs school of lazy lyricism with couplets that don't quite rhyme ("round" and "down", "away" and "safe", etc)
bad manners: i thought they'd had their 15 minutes, but here they are again with a last hurrah and a by-numbers re-tread of a song i never much liked in the first place. i'm sure though that they were great value whenever they played live once the hits dried up
stranglers: one of those that i'm now thinking "i must add this to my music collection" and "why did i overlook it before?"
dexy's: all i have to add about this is why does one of the "emerald express" insist on playing his fiddle sitting down?
It looks like this was really the last ever appearance of Bad Manners on TOTP, after a two-year career in the pop charts. So I looked up the video for this effort, and a rare video does exist where Buster plays the ugly rival of a handsome man wooing a lollipop girl. Buster starts of as a milkshake seller making a complete mess of serving her a vanilla milkshake, and then he dresses up as Beano and completely messes up his rival's date with the girl lollipop.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_N1qQZL550
After this ugly performance by Mr Bloodvessel, I can only say goodbye and goodnight to Bad Manners for good in these re-runs. It's been fun, but let's move on to more well-behaved (and more handsome) performers.
Well this was a pretty rotten edition for me and like Noax, I used a lot of FF, so rather than diss everything I don’t like I will just comment on that which I did. I couldn’t believe it when bloody Bad Manners turned up again!!!
ReplyDeleteMadness – Driving in my car – Won’t win any awards for poetry but a classic rendition none the less.
Kid Creole & the Coconuts – Stool Pigeon – The second ‘Kid’ in the studio this time (and we have the ‘Kids’ from Fame to come…) but my attention was inevitably drawn towards the Coconuts! Good grief those outfits hark back to the classic Legs & Co routines of a couple of years ago and the heavy make-up reminds me of that dancing girl in the classic two part Star Trek episode ‘ The Menagerie’.
Stranglers – Strange little Girl – Gosh I really love this although I have heard it so many times. Jet Black seems to be staring very intently at the cameraman this time. I keep harking back to my school days of 1977/8 when classmates continually played ‘Rattus Norvegicus’ during lunchtimes and thinking that this track is a million miles away from the likes of ‘Peaches’ and ‘Ugly’.
Dexys Midnight Runners – Come on Eileen – Dungarees this time for the band and this piece of infectious pop really does justify its bestselling single of 1982 status.
Survivor – Eye of the Tiger – A great track to dance out with, although who is the guy striding off towards the front at the start and almost putting Zoo off their routine? (Bama – yes I agree, it did bring Bob Hoskins to mind!). We get a good chunk of playout this time which I am sure was never originally broadcast. Can’t wait for this to be No1. 1982 really had perked up now after the rubbish run of chart toppers earlier in the year (I see opinion may be divided on the merits of this track!).
Oh yes, the host. Pretty solid as always. I nearly did a double take when he announced Leo Sayer as a ‘new entry’ at No28. Reminds me of Alton Edwards, just keeps bobbing up and down that song…. 38 26 27 23 22 35 28 33
Agreed about Survivor probably not played out in full originally in 1982, although we will find out if someone puts up the full show with the JK slot, we can also look at the Survivor finish to the show, which goes to show how TOTP back then would only show part of the end track and cut out to meet the tight TV schedules on a Thursday night. Thank God for these re-runs where the late night repeat gives us everything to the last balloon pop!
DeleteAs this was the last appearance of Stool Pigeon, we never got to see the video on TOTP, so I took the opportunity to watch it, and the Coconuts in the second half of the video are wearing the same outfits as on the TOTP studio performance. However, the first half of the video with them in their gym gear, shows that they were actually a flat-chested bunch of Coconuts:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3xU0fnjUcg
Well, they were likeable enough, and made it to a peak of No.7 the following week, so it was not all bad.
Wow, everyone certainly piled in quickly with their comments for this one! Nevertheless, here's my take.
ReplyDeleteIt was deely boppers and straw boaters a gogo in the audience this week, though Kid does not let anything cover up his immaculate head of hair! As usual, Leo Sayer error aside, he is very much Mr Reliable here.
Madness had evidently managed to get on the right side of Michael Hurll at this point, as not only are they back in the studio but have been allowed to bring a car with them. I still don't like the song, but this is a fairly engaging performance - I bet they wouldn't be allowed to have that cigarette hanging from the skeleton's mouth these days! Junior once again, to his credit, gives us a live vocal. However, his decision to abandon the knitwear for an unzipped jacket bizarrely buttoned up at the top was not a smart move sartorially, and the Zoo dancers don't really help to make the song any more exciting or dynamic.
This is another show full of songs that have been on before, but if we have to put up with The Brat again at least it is a new performance. Roger ups the stakes this time with his squirty foam and enormous racquet, but in the umpire's words I still find this "a bit of a bore." Not much love around here for this Donna Summer track. Admittedly it is not up the standard of her seminal 70s work, but it's not a bad effort, though ill-served by this unimaginative Zoo routine with its camp cowboys and foreground dancers once again encased in weird post-apocalyptic costumes. It looked to me as if Donna's video was playing on a blue screen, via the miracle of CSO.
The Belle Stars are back, but this performance was only distinguished for me by the presence of the gigantic hands. The Coconuts were much more enjoyable to look at, especially in those dresses, but Kid Creole himself was certainly a snappy dresser, his outfit perfectly in keeping with this stylish song. I was really hoping we had seen the last of Bad Manners, but here they are again with a respectable but pointless cover of the Millie Small classic - clearly musical inspiration was running dry at this point. Once again Buster seems determined to make himself suffer under the hot studio lights, but I did like the band's question mark suits. Until I read Bama's comments above, I had harboured some hope that they were inspired to wear them after watching Doctor Who at the time...
New performances from The Stranglers and Dexy's to follow, the former the more notable for Jet Black's constant glowering at the camera and Dave Greenfield's rather monkish haircut. Zoo, seemingly making up for their low profile in some recent shows, then appear yet again for a dubious bit of line dancing to Eye of the Tiger. Like Come on Eileen it is ridiculously overplayed, but still stands up as a great pop-rock song - just a shame I find Jimi Jamison's vocals really irritating...
With regard to Donna Summer, it was a pity that her only showing of this on TOTP was on this show, and her video unfairly blocked by Zoo in front of the screen. The video I just watched in its fullness on Utube, and was very much Kylie Minogue-like in its style, and seemingly very low budget, so here it is, as we are not going to see it again:
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coZYG4uXVFo
Being a bit of a soul boy in my youth I was really into Donna Summer from 1976-79 but had lost interest in her by this point but watching the video, without the distraction of Zoo's appalling antics, it's a superb slice of funky pop. And I see that it was co-written by Rod Temperton who really could put together some fantastic riffs and hooks to create magic.
DeleteOK, now that we have 60 or so comments, can anyone serve up the full edition with JK, so that we can see the long-sought after new material from Fleetwood Mac that we did not have the pleasure of getting here in Britain in our charts.
ReplyDeleteHello all! I've been enjoying this blog and all of your comments, as well as previous ToTP related blogs for a few years now but have never felt compelled to comment before. On the rare occasion I'd had something to add someone has always beaten me to the punch.
ReplyDeleteHowever I'm pretty sure that a young vintage of the really rather excellent Frances Ruffelle (of Lonely Symphony fame) appears to have joined the bunch of party types hired to add atmosphere to the crowd over the last couple of weeks, and no-one appears to have noticed :)
Catch her hands-in-pockets stage left of the Kid at the very start of this episode, perched on the edge of the platform over The Brat's shoulder during Chalk Dust, as one of the two ladeez approached by BB during the instrumental break in My Girl Lollipop and cheering her approval next to our David at the end of Stool Pigeon. If it's definitely her then she was just to turn seventeen (where's Errol B when you need him?) and was a couple of years from breaking through in the West End in Starlight Express and then Les Mis. And it'll be another twelve years before we see her on ToTP performing one of our classic Eurovision entries.
Well spotted Nelly and welcome to the Blog. We occasionally spot famous faces in the crowd including Craig Fairbrass, Grant Santino, Carrie Grant and Jeff Stewart but Ms Ruffelle slipped through the net.
Deletenot only have i not spotted frances ruffelle in the totp crowd, i've never even heard of her! but then again andrew lloyd webber musicals and eurovision song contests are not exactly my cup of tea. but it's good to see nelly making comment, and also that she's one of hopefully many who follow our comments and opinions with some interest...
DeleteCheers sir wilberforce, and I'm sure there are many more mainly silent 'viewers' around.
DeleteOh and this Nelly is of the male variety....and has just changed his name too!
Frances was stood next to John Peel in the link between Toto Coelo and Yazoo during the next episodic adventure too.
By the way I have no time for Lloyd Webster musicals either, and am no great fan of Eurovision, but France's 1994 album 'Fragile' is a bit of a pop corker including an awesome Paddy McAloon tune called God Watch Over You.
I guess Paddy's own Prefab Sprout are still a few years away from being shown on ToTP re-runs.
sorry for assuming you were female nnelly - most people of that name are, but of course an an exception was the guy who co-produced soul ii soul (will we get to see them in these re-runs?)
Deletenice to see mention of prefab sprout who i loved to death in the early 90's, and who are still one of my favourite pop acts. their debut single did actually come out "this year" i.e. 1982 and i remember them being featured on "the tube" around that time, but i don't think they made their totp debut for several years after that...
talking of which, wouldn't it be brilliant if they started showing re-runs of "the tube" again? which of course first began at the end of "this year" i.e. 1982, and to my knowledge has never been repeated other than the odd bits and pieces. i used to live for that show at the time, racing home on my motorbike from my shitty job as soon as i was able in order to get home in time for the start of it. and of course the beeb then jumped on the bandwagon with "the oxford road show" that was on afterwards - what a feast for fans of (synth) pop at the time!
With everybody but Wilberforce being OK with the music of Meat Loaf, I just wanted to add here on the subject of musicals, that the long awaited musical Bat Out Of Hell will open in London's West End in June. 2017 will be the 40th anniversary year of Bat Out Of Hell, of which it is was aptly the right timing to launch the musical. Anyone interested?
DeleteOut of curiosity NNelly where does your user name come from? Mine is from the 1978 disco tune of the same name by Cleveland Eaton. I tried to change it for the 1981 blog to The Nightfly but it wouldn't let me sign in after the fist time, so I had to revert to the old name.
Deleteam i really the only contributor here who thinks that meat loaf's music is bloody awful?
DeleteI don't mind some of his older stuff, but the word histrionic doesn't begin to describe his style.
DeleteWell I certainly have heard of Frances Ruffelle and purchased 'Lonely Symphony' when it was chosen for the Eurovision Song Contest. That year Frances sung a number of songs and viewers had to vote for their favourite. Our much esteemed US correspondent was critiquing them and he really liked this. Another song was called 'One more Night' and his only comment on that was something like "How many songs called 'One more Night' do you know?".
DeleteNNely's not going to tell us is he. Never mind.
Deletea very late quip here, but bama it seems a case of "not on your nnelly"!
DeleteHaha, sorry folks I have 5 ToTPs queued up and haven't had a chance to come back to the blog in some time. Nelly is just a nickname based on my name and the NN bit is just a play on where I live.
DeleteI enjoyed Sir Wilberforce's quip v.v.much :)
And going back to an earlier comment I'd love to see re-runs of the Tube and the ORS, I'm a little younger so it was only ToTP for me until I 'properly' discovered music circa 1985....altho I quickly back-tracked to lap up the stuff I'd missed....including the Prefabs across the ages...
This edition marked something of a turning point for the industry. Bad Manners were now well and truly passe, along with 2-Tone generally, while Kid Creole was the undisputed King of Latin-American Disco, and the coolest dude around. Meanwhile, Dexys - boasting a renewed line-up that included a classically trained string section - proudly held the No.1 slot with their unique blend of Sir Van Morrison and classic Motown. You had to be fresh and original to score big hits in '82, and Bad Manners had gone stale.
ReplyDeleteAre you at all surprised that Bad Manners were washed up with this last effort, and with a lead singer called Buster Bloodvessel?
DeleteWhat's odd is that Come On Eileen wasn't Dexys' first Celtic Soul single. That was The Celtic Soul Bros which was released in March '82 but only made number 45. I guess the world just wasn't ready for the new sound then. Of course it was re-issued in 1983 but only made number 20 because most people had bought the album where it was included.
DeleteFunny that you should mention Van Morrison because around this time Bad Manners did a cover of "What's Up Crazy Pup" which originally written/recorded by Van Morrison and The Caledonia Soul Express.
Celtic soul - Emerald Express. Kevin didn't have to look very far for his inspiration did he?
I purchased the video of Celtic Soul Brothers from iTunes a few years ago, always thinking that it was the follow up to Come On Eileen the following year in 1983, not knowing it was actually released in March 1982 and didn't make top 40.
DeleteCome On Eileen was a US No.1 for Dexys in early 1983, and I always thought Celtic Soul Brothers followed it on both side of the Atlantic in 1983.
Welcome to the fold, Nelly. Fine spot re Frances Ruffelle! Don’t worry about being beaten to the punch – just join in and start your post with “I agree that…”!
ReplyDeleteI can see why David Kid got mixed up with the number of new entries, as he correctly mentioned there were five but Leo Sayer’s mugshot was accompanied by ‘new entry’ instead of ‘re-entry’.
Madness’s song made me feel old with the mention of the GPO in the lyrics. Was that the first studio car on TOTP since the efforts for Elvis Presley’s “Way Down”?
Junior’s fashion statement never took off, did it? Again, an unremarkable song but an applaudable live vocal – oh, and some pointless ‘dancing’.
One “f#cking” and two “Goddamns” from Roger Kitter this time. Glad he got the angles right when falling backwards with that giant racquet, otherwise he could’ve decapitated some of the front row, but why didn’t he squirt shaving foam at the umpire as a protest against his beard?
I thought Eric Idle had shrunk when he was interviewed by Kid prior to Donna Summer’s cheap-as-Junior’s video, accompanied by ore pointless 'dancing' in the sort of outfits Toto Colo would have worn had they been in "The Flintstones".
The Belle Stars were claptrap. Next.
Just who was that idiot with the trilby in front of Kid prior to “Stoolpigeon”? “Stop It”, indeed, madam! Great tune and mime by Mr Creole and I see the point about those Coconut dresses coming across as pixellated. I see they stole Martin Fry’s “Look Of Love” searching salute for their routine.
Nice lollipop lady mugshot for Bad Manners but, as a tune, “Lollipop” sucked.
Apart from Jet Black’s “Are you looking at my drumkit?” stare and even more pointless 'dancing' for the outro, I can’t think of anything to say about the last three tracks. Must be a first for me!
I agree that... Just joking Arthur.
DeleteRe madness and the GPO reference, that doesn't really make sense when you think about it, because the GPO drove Morris vans, the little yellow ones. Of course Madness famously used one of those as their tour bus when they first formed (as revealed in their biopic Take It or Leave it).
But the Morris Minor drop head. I did see a souped-up one in an obscure 1970s coming-of-age film called Danny Jones which was quite cool but they were usually used as naff, nerdy cars in Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em and Skyes, etc, so not that cool really.
thanks for the film reference bama - i've added it to my to-watch list of hundreds of obscure movies that i'll probably never get to see! by the way, i've discovered that the young man playing the titular character was also the voice of a childhood hero of mine: joe 90!
DeleteStill no sign of the missing JK piece of this show....
ReplyDeletehttps://mega.nz/#!Hh0nzKLS!holbLrHG3tIH56oOVNT2Tr5k6dBCz4oFmWEMQzht87I
Deletethanks Sean,fantastic quality!
DeleteNeil B can you help us out with the JK segment please if you have it
ReplyDeletethanks
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