Mike knows the perfect place to put his pint of beer...
11-11-82: Presenter: David Jensen
(21) BLUE ZOO – Cry Boy Cry
Making their second appearance in the studio and getting tonight's show underway with their only top 30 hit, which peaked at number 13.
(2) DIONNE WARWICK – Heartbreaker ®
Now at its chart peak.
(9) MICHAEL JACKSON & PAUL McCARTNEY – The Girl Is Mine
The rare sight of an all male dance routine tonight from Zoo, but who would have had the slightest inkling at this point in time what was about to happen to Michael Jackson? And who could possibly have guessed that the album this first single was taken from would go on to become the biggest seller of all time! And yet despite going straight into the chart at number 9, The Girl is Mine went up just one more place...
(5) MARVIN GAYE – (Sexual) Healing (video)
His first top ten hit for five years, and his final one before his death in 1984, 'Healing' went up one more place.
The edited out JK bit:
(US 9) LAURA BRANIGAN – Gloria (video)
(US 4) MICHAEL McDONALD – I Keep Forgetting (video)
(US 1) JOE COCKER & JENNIFER WARNES – Up Where We Belong (video)
(41) A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS – Wishing (If I Had A Photograph Of You)
When this peaked at number 10 it became the band's only top ten hit, but that's pop music for you, its a case of hair today gone tomorrow....
(29) DONNA SUMMER – State Of Independence (video)
This terrific cover of a fabulous Jon and Vangelis song from the previous year peaked at number 14. Apparently Donna was nervous about appearing on Top of the Pops, hence this is another clip taken from the Late Late Breakfast Show.
(11) CLANNAD – Theme From ‘Harry’s Game’
Harry's Game was a popular ITV mini-series thriller set in Northern Ireland, and Clannad's theme peaked at number 5. And its not Enya singing here, she had recently left the group, it's her older sister.
(1) EDDY GRANT – I Don’t Wanna Dance (video)
The first of three week's at number one for Eddy ~ I bet he was dancing all the way to the bank!
(27) RAW SILK – Do It To The Music (crowd dancing) (and credits)
On its way to number 18.
No, you are not hallucinating. This did just happen. (We’ve added captions for ease of identification.) #TOTP pic.twitter.com/EnexanY0ce
— BBC Four (@BBCFOUR) December 16, 2016
Next up then will be a double bill on BBC4 next Friday, featuring November 18th 1982 followed by December 2nd 1982. Which means that we will somehow have to sandwich in November 25th, which was hosted by DLT, so won't be broadcast.
I've just watched the uncut version of this on 4Shared, for which many thanks to Steve H. I note that Kid (sorry, David) is sporting a poppy this week, which is appropriate as the show went out on Armistice Day, and he is his normal capable and informative self.
ReplyDeleteBlue Zoo are back to start us off, though the singer is sporting the same annoying hair and shredded top. His limelight comes very close to being stolen by a hyperactive dancing sailor in front of the stage, who is clearly desperate for the attention! Clearly one dire duet with a Motown legend was not enough for Macca in 1982, as here he is with another one. It's hard to believe in retrospect that this was deemed worthy of being the opening single from Thriller, and I would like to think that the various shots of unlovely ladies were deliberately put there to undermine the song by someone who dislikes it as much as me - the naff golfing jumpers worn by the Zoo guys also feel like quite an appropriate visual accompaniment! At least we were spared the truly excruciating talky bit near the end.
Another ex-Motown name up next, as Marvin Gaye mounts his big but short-lived comeback after several years in a drug-addicted wilderness that saw him living in Belgium, of all places. Sexual Healing is nicely produced but ultimately quite boring, as is the video. Nevertheless, it's sad to think that Marvin would not sustain this renewed success and would be dead less than 18 months later. The JK slot was short and to the point this week. I share his enthusiasm for Laura Branigan's Gloria, which is a brilliant record, though I had no idea that King recorded it himself. The Michael McDonald and Joe Cocker/Jennifer Warnes songs are both pleasant but dull - both men had mighty voices, but seldom employed them on songs that were worthy vehicles for their talents, in my view.
Good to see the Flock finally make it on to the show. While this tune is not as strong as I Ran, the melodic synths still carry it along very nicely. It may not surprise anyone who didn't know already that Head Seagull Mike Score was previously a hairdresser! The second Quincy Jones production of the night next, as Donna Summer performs one of her best post-Moroder efforts. This is actually a brutally cut version of the song, missing the entire first half, but the second half is the stronger part, and Donna really sings it well.
I suppose the Harry's Game theme marks the moment when Irish New Age music first entered the mainstream, though it would be ex-member Enya who would carry it to stratospheric commercial heights much later in the decade. I chiefly remember Clannad for their equally memorable theme for the classic series Robin of Sherwood a couple of years later, but this has the same haunting, ethereal quality, and the simple, still performance really helps to sell the song - just a shame that the band member on the far right starts moving around right at the end, spoiling the effect! This kind of music is deemed very unfashionable and naff now, but at the time it was very different, and I think a lot of it still stands up today, especially Enya's very early work. We then go from Ireland to the Caribbean with Mr Grant, before the guy in the sailor suit makes another bid for attention by jumping around to Raw Silk...
Agreed John that Flock Of Seagulls best song was I Ran, by a long mile in my opinion (excuse the pun). I have all nine of their videos made, as iTunes have the entire video collection for download, and pity that from 9 songs and videos released in the early 80s, their only top ten hit was Wishing (If I Had A Photograph Of You), which was not one of their best photographs for me!
DeleteI like The More You Live, The More You Love, though it only got to 26 in 1984. The Giant's Causeway-set video is quite atmospheric and memorable, too.
DeleteWow, how do I top that, John G?
ReplyDeleteAll I can say is that the JK slot had the best music on the this week's show. The Americans in 1982 were certainly making better music than the Brits by a distance.
Highlights of the show for me were:
1. Laura Branigan's fullsome chest.
2. Michael McDonald's lyrics "I keep forgetting I'm not in love anymore." This was sampled by Warren G & Nate Dog, some 12 years later in 1994, in case anyone didn't know that.
3. Donna Summer, getting prettier and prettier with every song, and now in that TOTP in the sky, after we sadly lost her in 2012 at only 63 years of age.
Oh God, they've spelt Hall & Oates wrong again on the chart rundown - it's still OATS, and why the heck do they insist on dropping the letter e?
i didn't know that the michael mcdonald tune was sampled by some rappers or other, but i'm not surprised. it might be more prevelent to ask if there's anything such talentless twats didn't get their hands on (and killed the goose that laid the golden egg in the process accordingly)?
Deletedidn't the shamen drop the letter "e"?
DeleteYeah Wilberforce, Waren G & Nate Dogg in 1994 used the entire background riff of Michael McDonald's I Keep Forgetting, for their new hit at the time called Regulate:
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1plPyJdXKIY
I actually quite liked the Warren G hit at the time, not knowing the background was taken from Michael McDonald's 1982 massive American hit, I Keep Forgetting (thanks JK for the clip on TOTP this week).
Suffice to say that iTunes only offer the Warren G video for download and collect, and not the Michael McDonald one. Hmmm, I'm not impressed, considering that there's nothing like the original........
Another thoroughly decent show with big Dave. Some nice barefoot action from Blue Zoo. Couldn't stop looking at Dionne's teeth again. Peerless production from Quincy Jones on the MJ/Macca number. The tartan was baffling though. Also some rather surreal photos of "girls"! Thatcher FFS! Great bassline on the Gaye track. The Flock of Seagulls song seemed to be faster tempo than I remember it. State of Independence was a Balearic classic in later years. (albeit a cover version) Clannad. This song fascinated me as a kid due to its atmosphere. A great advertisement for Carribean holidays from Eddy Grant. A great chugger from Raw Silk to finish.
ReplyDeleteA pretty good episode this week; the crowd atmosphere seemed spot on and the only obviously annoying hired-in poser was the sailor dressed wannabe.
DeleteA variety of top (well, alright) turns from Blue Zoo, the Seagulls (definitely their best tune in my opinion, love the synths on it), Donna Summer and Clannad as well as lots of distinctly average 'classics'.......oh and Raw Silk again, if ever there's a meh, eh??
Anyway what I did want to say is that I own and love the Moodswings/Chrissie Hynde "big in the Balearics" version of State of Independence (or Spritual High as it was re-named), and I still think it's the definitive version of this tune...Donna's seems a little pedestrian by comparison, and it's not often you could say that!
I also notice that the director/camera loved the v.pretty cheekbones lady in the white n red Japanese themed dress, who stood with the excellent Kid in a couple of links and danced to the Silk at the end of the show. She reminded me of German pop 'legend' Sandra of Everlasting Love cover and Michael Cretu of Enigma marriage 'fame' in the UK. Sandra appears to have been in the middle of a stint in Arabesque at this point in time.
Wasn't that all rather pointless trivia?? :)
A friend of mine pointed me at a new freeview channel called Vintage TV. Mixture of 60s-80s videos, TOTP and concert films. Be warned, it is VERY addictive.
ReplyDeleteVintage TV has been going for about 10 years or so, and I have been watching it on Sky, and I agree on its addictive nature. It seems that if it has just been added to Freeview, it gives non-cable users the chance to enjoy this channel. I thought it was already on Freeview from before.
DeleteVintage TV has been on Freeview for at least a couple of years now.
Deleteis vintage tv anything to do with retro talking head specialist wayne hemmingway? i know he has his vintage festivals, that i keep thinking i must go to but probably never will...
DeleteVintage TV was actually launched on Sky, currently channel 369, in September 2010, so it has been around for 6 years for Sky Subscribers, and then made available in 2013 on Virgin Media subscribers.
DeleteWhile initially not offered on Freeview, it was in 2014 on internet-connected Freeview boxes, but then in July 2016 it became available universally on Freeview, even if not connected to the internet.
Vintage TV plays music videos from 1940-1999, and nothing from 2000 onwards, which is not considered vintage, but I wonder how long for......
Crikey! Didn't realise Vintage TV had such an illustrious history. Probably just as well it's only just become available/known to me :-)
DeleteCertainly before 2010 I used to listen to the radio at home when there was nothing on TV that I wanted to watch, but now with Vintage TV it also acts as my 'radio' in the background, with the added effect of having the video for every song they play.
DeleteI especially like their current airplay of many of the original ELO videos from the 70s which were never aired on MTV or VH1 Classic pre-2010 launch of Vintage TV. Ah, the power of television!
pt ii...
ReplyDeletewacko/macca: i agree with john that making this dull effort the first single from the "thriller" album (presumably purely on the basis that macca had just had a no.1 hit with another motown legend) was as baffling as 10cc's record company putting out "life is a minstron" as a 45 instead of "i'm not on love". as for those guys prancing about in golf gear (!), at the risk of being perceived as dory in disguise: bring back legs & co! clearly (and thankfully!) someone was having a laugh as the (un)lovely ladies featured were mostly one or more of the following: puppet/lesbian/transvestite/coffin-dodger/hag. the only one there likely to get dory blowing a bit was selena scott, who was a really big thing at the time as a piece of thinking man's crumpet, but slid into the "where are they now" category quite some years ago now
marvin gaye: having found out the hard way that it's not a good idea to cross motown pupper master berry gordy, by this time he was exiled in europe and probably barely making ends meet whilst going to seed. so it's rather surprising that cbs took a chance on him. this is one of those things that you think is alright, but it's never going to be unconditionally loved. and take away the drum machine, and parts of it could sound like what he was doing back in the 60's with motown! i don't know if the reason half his backing ladies are white is because he couldn't find enough black ones in brussels, but whatever their skintone i can't help but imagine him having some fun with them once the video chores were completed! by the way, nobody seems to have pointed out that there was quite a kerfuffle over the title of this track at the time - i think it was agreed that all of it could be announced on the telly (can someone confirm how kid - sorry, david introduced it, as i'm not going back to the library to watch it again just for that reason!), but only referred to as "healing" on the radio. but whatever, even back then it was seen as rather silly (other than no doubt in the eyes of "wacko & macca's girl" mary whitehouse!)
a flock of seagulls: now then, aren't this lot remembered due to the fact that there were a pair of brothers in the band a la their peers spandau, japan and ub40? of course i'm joking - it's for that fucking stupid haircut! that apart, they were utterly insignificant both visually and musically. and it rather irks me that despite that, the fucking stupid haircut has made them iconic of the age - if you ever see any kind of media montage of the 80's, the fucking stupid haircut is there as surely as night follows day! i've already mentioned before that i hated this plodding tuneless dirge, and listening again has not made much difference to that opinion, although like someone above it didn't feel quite as slow and dragging to me as i remembered it (maybe it was another "special for totp" recording?). apparently they (or rather he) are still going, but i don't know if the fucking stupid haircut is still part of the act (i would have thought so, for what else is there to offer?). but i suppose that even if his hair went the way of his brother's, then he could always wear a syrup...
I found a recent photo of Mike Score online the other day, and he now appears to be totally bald!
Deletethat's no surprise, given the amount of hairspray and other crap he must have used to have maintained the fucking stupid haircut!
Deletept III...(!)
ReplyDeletedonna summer: i knew this was a cover of a jon & vangelis tune at the time, but hadn't heard their version as yet (it turned out that they weren't that different to be honest). what i liked about both was the (sadly brief) use of the lydian mode (which features an augmented fourth - see, getting a music degree wasn't an entire waste of time), and in her version the massed chorus near the end (that was apparently composed of some of quincy jones's customers and/or acquantances doing him a favour)
clannad: so kid.. sorry - david, is it pronounced clann-AD or CLANN-ad? i always thought it was the latter, but you haven't helped by using both. if ever a piece of music earns the description "haunting" then this is it. and it was rather amazing that it took off commercially given it had that quality in an age of bright and shiny synth pop. but apparently it caught the imagination of viewers watching the highly-popular mini-series
drama "harry's game" (based on "the troubles") from where it was used as credits music (i watched that fairly recently on dvd, and although i did so in retrospect it all seemed a fuss over nothing - all undercover agent harry did in effect was doss down in a guest house and hang around in a workie for most of the time!). another pathetic claim to fame alert: just after i left school i briefly played in a band with a peer of mine (whose musical talent was limited, to put it mildly), who informed me that his brother was a road manager for the likes of fleetwood mac. then many years later at a school reunion i discovered he was clannad's manager! no doubt he got the job entirely due to his own abilities, rather than having an inside track to the industry...?
The Donna Summer version was far superior to the Jon & Vangelis one, possibly because of the massed chorus/choir used on Donna Summer's version, but also her intro was a lot more listener-appealing in my opinion.
Deletept 1b...
ReplyDeletehost: i thought that our man went straight from kid to david jenson, but then had to backtrack to some kind of amalgram when it was evident the change of name wasn't working? but on this evidence it appears otherwise. this reminds me a pub near where i once lived that was demolished and replaced with another that was given a completely new name. but despite that the locals still referred to it unofficially by the old name, to the point where eventually it was changed to that formally! not one of his best performances (especially the first link) but his worst is better than most others' best
blue zoo: is it me, or is this recording different from the one released? it certainly sounds better than the one i heard on youtube. and did the keyboard player go on to become an integral and long-serving member of the legendary gooners defence of the 90's? the bowie clone is wearing the same (non) top again, which suggests that it was probably far more pricey than it looked (if so then i hope he washed it after the last time they were on). there was a very similar synth pop band called ca va ca va that were plucked from my local band scene and given a deal with jive records (after the recommendation of none-other than peter powell, who they supported at a local gig). and probably like blue zoo, the singer had a shirt that was custom-designed at great expense (in this case by then-mega trendy katharine hamnett). but like blue zoo they only had a brief flirtation with fame (in their case not even troubling the totp mugshot compilers), so they probably still owe the money for it!
this is out of order due to my posts not uploading half the time! does anyone know the reason for this recent problem?
DeleteCaVa CaVa ended up on Regard, the same label as Haysi Fantayzee, and had a couple of lower level chart ticklers. I remember reading in Record Mirror the lead singer's shirt as shown on the sleeve for "Where's Romeo" cost £1,000. In 1982! That singer had a voice you could either call distinctive or as annoying as Joe Pasquale's!
Deleteapart from the singer's marmite vocal style (i completely agree with arthur), perhaps one reason çava çava didn't quite make it was because no one knew how to pronounce their name properly (cave-a cave-a?). they actually started off as quite alternative post-punk band before being cleaned up as synth-pop act by their record company. they were all from swanage, apart from the drummer that they later picked up on the bournemouth local music scene. and whom they did a "pete best" to by ditching him just before signing their record contract (and replacing him with a cute american guy who happened to be the boyfriend of their manager). the guy in question became an semi-regular email correspondent of mine many years later, and not surprisingly informed me that he was totally pissed-off at the time!
DeleteHas anyone had any trouble downloading the full length version of 11/11/82? I use Realplayer and Freemake and neither of them are doing it despite downloading all the previous ones off 4shared via Realplayer. Any suggestions?
ReplyDeleteMine just played immediately on 4shared this time, but if someone can transfer the 4shared version to WeTransfer, then it will download in whatever system you have. Now there's a challenge......
DeleteHas anyone had any trouble downloading the full length version of 11/11/82? I've never had any problem downloading them before off 4shared via the downloading site I use. Any suggestions?
ReplyDeleteSome fresh pop news over the weekend:
ReplyDelete1. Simon Bates turned 70 yesterday (old age begins at 70 nowadays, or some would dispute that and say 80).
2. The Move have just released a deluxe CD/DVD collection called Magnetic Waves Of Sound: The Best Of The Move. This features a 21-track CD of hit singles and album tracks (I didn't know they had that many), plus an hour-long DVD of BBC and German TV performances, including a rare video of I Can Hear The Grass Grow. Although the pack will be released in the shops on 27th January, it can be pre-ordered on this link from now:
http://smarturl.it/MagneticWavesOfSound
Can't wait to get mine. To see Bev Bevan & Jeff Lynne on these performances is rare enough up till now, but this new release will have everything the group has captured on sound and vision. A must for all Move fans, not to mention ELO fans.
Don't pay too much for this Move collection Dory. At the end of the day it's just another single compilation CD, of which there have been a number before - and while some people may appreciate 'digitally remastered' it rings alarm bells for me, although thankfully that 'loudness war' thing seems to have subsided. And the DVD is NTSC (at least they're honest) which means that all European footage will be degraded. In particular, the Colour Me Pop material, which exists as broadcast quality video, will be below par here.
DeleteWhere is the link to the 4shared download please.
ReplyDeleteIt's here Clarebell:
Deletehttp://www.4shared.com/video/-7ScufDEba/TOTP_111182_Full_JK_version_.html
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteThanks for the link, Dory. Yet more mis-spelling on the US chart captions, this time for Lionel Ritchie and Laura Brannigan! Would've been nice to know the full top ten (a quick check on t’net confirms that down from 3 to 6 was “Eye In The Sky” by The Alan Parsons Project, and John Cougar’s “Jack And Diane” had dropped from 2 to 5) and I loved the disinterested kids, the gal smoking, during JK’s middle link.
Deleteer arthur, according to both wiki and discogs laura's surname is actually spelt branigan...
DeleteThat's what I meant, though I didn't make it clear. The US captions should have read Lionel Richie and Laura Branigan, but their surnames were spelt the way I mentioned above.
Deleteokay arthur i'll let you off! what you should have done to have made it clear was put (sic) after each name - something i remember being used quite a lot in interviews with rock stars in the music weeklies of the 70's and 80's. of course i had no idea what it meant at the time i.e. reproducing an inaccurate quote or word as expressed by the source, and thought they were suggesting the quote/word in question was vomit-inducing!
DeleteMichael McDonald's I Keep Forgetting, while in America's top ten at this point in 1982, was not released in the UK until the summer of 1986, after the success of his duet with Patti LaBelle with the massive transatlantic hit called On My Own. This success with Patti LaBelle seemed to spur some new interest in McDonald in 1986, but I wonder why he didn't make it in the UK charts in 1982 with I Keep Forgetting, following JK's plug on this week's show. Bit strange really. However, his first taste of success in Britain was in February 1984 with Ya Mo Be There which got to No.12 in our charts.
ReplyDeleteWas that a girl sporting a Farmer's Boys T-shirt behind Kid? Curious.
ReplyDeleteBlue Zoo up first, and whatever the merits or otherwise of the track the lead singer's ripped top/pyjama bottoms/bare feet/single dangly earring/Mari Wilson-rivalling hair height combination is severely offputting. What is a Blue Zoo, anyway? One where the animals are sad at being stuck in cages?
Dionne Warwick, man, that's one half-arsed ending. According to Paul Gambaccini on Pick of the Pops yesterday she much preferred her next Bee Gees-penned single. Didn't do as well as this, though.
Shocked that this kind of strong language could get through the BBC censors - the "D*gg*ne" girl?! Absolutely outrageous, Dear BBC, why oh why oh why... Anyway, a tune that sounds like it should accompany the test card and lyrics that sound as if a child wrote them, accompanied by Zoo dressed for the golf links in a comedy routine that apparently had them wanting to shag Mary Whitehouse and a panda. That's entertainment!
Marvin Gaye's last real hit, a pleasant, laid back groover but not exactly Prince's Get Off when it came to thundering sexuality. Were there two videos for this? I seem to recall one with Marv chatting up a lady psychiatrist (God knows he needed one) or have I got my videos mixed up?
A Flock of Seagulls, must admit I didn't have much time for these guys' other singles, but this is a majestic synth tune that builds to a fantastic instrumental ending which naturally is cut off this performance. Love the lyrics, too.
Donna Summer goes one better than J&V with her impeccably delivered State of Independence, I always associate this with Annie Nightingale who played it a lot.
Clannad moodily mooing their way through their tune which was far more memorable than the TV series it came from. They really should have called it something else. The Lloyd George of 1982.
Eddy Grant deservedly at the top, even if it was played to death at the time. Then Raw Silk to end on, though not very much of it.
THX, good observation regarding the Marvin Gaye video. There was only one video, including the lady psychiatrist/doctor, but TOTP edited it out (I think in the original 1982 broadcast), to a truncated version shown this week on BBC4.
DeleteHere is the complete video where Marvin gets so aroused by the doctor, that his blood pressure goes through the roof, and then she takes some love potion for herself to absorb his desire for her:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjlSiASsUIs
nice comment about blue zoo thx - let the animals free! maybe they chose that name in preference to red z - thinking "hang on, the americans will call us "red zee" - in an inverse way to brits calling that rapper twat "jay zed" in mock-ignorance in twenty years time!
DeleteI can think of ruder explanations for what a Blue Zoo might be...
DeleteToo lazy to check, but someone on here recently suggested Blue Zoo was a risque (or maybe depressed) dance troupe!
DeleteThanks for confirming my memories, Dory! Silly video, doesn't suit the song at all.
DeleteNow I'm imagining the Blue Zoo having one of those polar bears who perform the same repetitive movement over and over in a fit of depression. Cry bear cry?
Arthur - it was me who made that suggestion!
DeleteA couple of weeks ago, someone asked about lurkers on the blog. Well, I'm one of them. I've been reading this blog since it began (and its predecessors before that), but I've rarely commented because I find it hard to keep up with the pace of new episodes; this year especially, by the time I've caught up with a show, everyone's had their say and moved on to the next one.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I've found the last few months fascinating, as 1982 was the year I started to see TOTP less regularly. I spent April to August in Germany (thus missing the entire Falklands War), where my staple listening was US forces radio. The songs I remember being played to death that summer were Steve Miller's 'Abracadabra' and the J Geils Band's 'Centerfold' (and being in Germany, I knew all about Trio), but most of the stuff that was in the British charts never got played.
Some of it, like 'Come on Eileen' and the classic Madness singles, I soon caught up with when I was back in the UK, but many of the performances on recent TOTPs have been completely new to me. I'd never seen either of Captain Sensible's hits, for instance, and there have been minor singles by the likes of Cliff, Dollar and Imagination that I've never heard before, let alone seen.
I haven't got anything original to say about this week's edition, I'm afraid - but looking at the charts, I will soon be able to reveal a pop-related claim to fame. Bet you're intrigued now...
Any contribution is better than no contribution, so welcome along. Although I have been one of the regulars on this blog, there are some episodes that I never saw first time round, as we still had only one TV in the house in 1982, so I would have to compete with my brother usually for peak time viewing and which channel would be on at Thursday early evening time, so although the music is not unfamiliar to me, the TOTP shows themselves are to some extent new, as some episodes would have passed me by, due to not having my own TV as a teenager in 1982.
DeleteI can't imagine how exciting it must be to have new songs to discover during this repeat run, TimT!
DeleteIt's thrilling enough for me to relive old performances and videos of tunes that I recall, but that's something else.
I must've seen most episodes from the early eighties onwards as TOTP was always on in our house (albeit on a black & white tv which is all we had for most of the decade) but I can't remember many pre 87 - only the occasional performance such as 'True' being number one when we went on holiday in 83. So it's great to enjoy these episodes and rediscover forgotten songs.
DeleteI had intended to do a review for the last show but work and Christmas shopping got in the way :-(
Hello TimT, I'm interested in your pop-related claim to fame even if no one else is. Are you going to give us a clue?
DeleteI've ended up seeing more shows than I thought I would since I've stopped using iPlayer, so thanks to Steve H for making this one available. Nicely eclectic, with the 'full' version featuring three superlative female singers, two of whom are sadly no longer with us.
ReplyDeleteSince I didn't see the edition from two weeks previous this is the first time I've seen Blue Zoo. This typifies 1980s music for me, a competent but fairly bland song from a band who seem more interested in how they look.
An all-male dance troupe, huh? Can't say I ever warmed to Zoo anyway.
A Flock Of Seagulls were one of those bands with a highly original sound but, truth be told, not much of substance beyond that. I can remember listening to a school friend's cassette recording of their debut album and his comment that it's "the same five or six notes throughout", in other words everything was in the same key. Perhaps Wilberforce or Julie can prove/disprove this? Even so, I ended up buying the album and many years later used 'DNA' as a 'bed' on my hospital radio show. These days Mike Score's haircut just makes me laugh - it was very much a passing phase since he doesn't have it on the debut album's photo and it had gone by the time of 'The More You Live The More You Love'. Then there's brother Ali's very distinctive style of drumming (better seen on the Tube performance) - I've tried to emulate it myself, both left- and right-handed, and all I can say is that it's beyond my own levels of dexterity.
That Clannad song wasn't really made for TV performance was it? Especially a mimed TV performance.
And a deserved no.1 for Eddy Grant, who appeared to have rediscovered his 'pop' roots after a solo career up until this time of 'heavy' reggae type stuff. If you haven't heard the Equals before (they tend to be remembered only for their solitary no.1), be warned, much of their material is quite infectious. In particular, check out 'Softly Softly', which has an intro sounding like the Stones' 'Satisfaction' played very badly on one of those cheap guitar/amp sets which Woolworths sold at the time!
shakey, are you suggesting that i make the effort to listen to a flock of seagulls' debut album in its entirety? if "wishing" is anything to go by then i can't say it's a task i would approach with relish, even if purely disecting it in terms of musical theory. although i suppose the opportunity to maul it might appeal. but if julie wants to do the honours then i'm happy to stand aside (especially given that they were another band from liverpool)...
Deletewhat i can say without even listening is that it's the kiss of death to have even two songs in a row in the same key as they inevitably sound samey, and that's something i always bear that in mind whenever i put together CD compilations for chums. i did a john barry one recently, and it was a hard job to get two in a row that weren't in the same key! but then again that's common practice with film and tv scoring, as a: there are usually gaps of dialogue inbetween the music, b: it's not the primary focus anyway, and c: it makes it much easier to churn out what is a heavy workload - i know this from experience as i once spent from dusk til dawn composing about five minutes of music (that were variations on a theme, and therefore not surprisingly in the same key) for a media project i was involved in. by the way, i originally picked up the above advice from the rather unlikely source of phil mogg of UFO in a "sounds" interview!
I can't play any musical instruments and know little about the technicalities of music but I have successfully segued together various tracks on megamixes which are in the same key, having a knack of knowing what key a song is in by ear.
Deleteyou don't have to be able to play musical instruments or know anything about the technicalities of music to put toether a good mix of songs - you just need to have a good ear!
Deleteif i were putting together a seque of dance tracks (and i have in the past), then like bama i would aim wherever possible to mix ones in the same key (or at least harmonically related) into each other so they just sound like one continous track. but that's obviously not the same challenge as putting together a
compilation of different (if perhaps similar-sounding) things, where the objective is to NOT make then sound like one continuous track!
It's a Kid-less David Jensen on mic duties this week, affecting a casual hand-in-pocket stance. Somehow Blue Zoo get another moment in the spotlight. The song is still 'meh' and the lead singer is still annoying.
ReplyDeleteMacca picks up another Motown hitchhiker for a song which, back in 82, I didn't really mind, apart from the cringey talkey bit at the end which is, thankfully, excised here. Don't get the Zooologists attire, nor the selection of 'girls' that pop up in the top left corner. Thatcher, Diana Dors, Barbara Woodhouse? Girls? Really?
Marvin Gaye's sublime Sexual Healing. Maybe not absolute peak-Gaye, but comfortably the best song on show here. And I like the smokey Jazz club video as well.
Wishing. As pointed out by just about everyone, that is a fabulously hooky synth melody; instantly memorable and sooooo 80s.
Donna Summer runs her disco hands over Jon & Vangellis' State Of Independence and promptly ruins it. I've never liked Ms Summer's voice or her generic europop disco songs and the damage she did to this ( and indeed the previously magnificent Macarthur Park) will forever be held against her.
Jeez. Clannad. FF.
Scores. As usual Jensen does a proper bang-up job, but he's only gone and used that 'hitsound countdown' thing again so that costs him. Still gets an 8 though.
Musically, this was very much a down tempo edition with very little to get the toes tapping. Marvin Gaye was the standout track, ably supported by AFOS, but apart from that it was all fairly mundane and unmemorable. 4.
Diana Dors was quite the sex symbol in her day, i.e. 25 years before this episode.
Deletebarbara woodhouse used to give me a bone-r when her fingers went "walkies" on me. and especially when she used to "sit" on my face. i'm just joking by the way - if anyone actually believes the above, then they must be barking mad!
DeleteAfter trying several different Downloading sites, none of which would Download it, i've just tried Realplayer again and it's managed to Download the 11/11/82 JK version at last!
ReplyDeleteWas worth it then to see Laura Branigan, assuming you are male?
Delete... or maybe a lesbian! when it comes to dark-haired ladies with a bit of a wild gypsy look about them, then i much prefer caroline munro. or annie wilson of heart - before she ran to fat that is!
DeleteWasn't Caroline Munro the beautiful lead actress on the Sinbad movies of the 70s, i.e., the 7th Voyage, Golden Voyage, etc? It was one of my earliest memories in childhood probably around 1973 at the age of 5, my dad took me and my older brother to the cinema to see one of these Sinbad films just released at the local cinema.
DeleteWith regard to Heart, I always fancied the blonde sister Nancy (as I'm dark haired myself) especially in the video for Alone where it starts with Nancy's naked back and looking up towards sister Annie on the balcony. Very nice...ooh er!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Cw1ng75KP0
where have you been dory? caroline munro was also adam ant's leading lady in the "goody two shoes" video, as recently discussed on this blog!
DeleteOh, I didn't know it was Munro in that Goody TS video, I'll need to watch it again. By the way, a friend of mine went last night to see Adam Ant at the Roundhouse in Camden performing for the final date of his 2016 UK tour performing the Kings Of The Wild Frontier album. The Roundhouse was an extra date added on to the tour due to popular demand for Adam Ant.
DeleteNancy Wilson eh? Hubba hubba. Wonder what she looks like now!
DeleteWho cares what she looks like now. In 1987 on the video for Alone, Nancy must have been prettiest face of the year. Actually pretty is an understatement.
DeleteI thought the same of Chyna Phillips in 1990 when she burst onto the scene with Wilson Phillips and the song Hold On (Chyna is the blonde one of course):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIbXvaE39wM
the last time i looked, nancy was still firmly residing in milf central. unlike poor old ann, who now resembles a weeble!
DeleteI’d have hated this edition back in the day. Didn’t enjoy it much 34 years later.
ReplyDeleteDavid ‘Adult’ Jensen was okay, though not at his best. He keeps giving us that unwanted mugshot catchphrase while refusing to bring back his celebrated sign-off.
I studied at Kingston Polytechnic in the early to mid 80's, and they put on quite a lot of gigs. Some were superb, like Prefab Sprout and the pre-TOTP Smiths, and some were dire, like The Mobiles and Blue Zoo, whose follow-up to “Cry Boy Cry” was nothing special and did nowt as a result.
Dionne Warwick. Nostrils alert!
A way below par routine by Boy Zoo to an awful duet. Hang on, to be below par’s really good on the golf course, isn’t it? Erm...
(Sexual) Healing – (fairly) good, though we have a candidate for worst rhyming couplet this year where Marv makes ‘oven’ sound like ‘ovin’ to rhyme with ‘lovin’’. Ouch.
Poor Laura Branigan died in 2004 aged just 47. “Gloria” spent 36 weeks in the US top 100, then a record stint for a single by a female solo artist. I preferred “Self Control” myself – a classic.
Here come A Flange Of Baboons! That lead Seagull’s hairstyle always irritated me, as does the usual CD version of “Wishing” which rambles on for what feels like five minutes after the single edit.
Donna’s tune was in one ear and out the other for me. State of Insignificance, I suppose. Nice colour outfit, though.
Clannad’s tune was really atmospheric – if it was weather it would be a strong morning mist – and it must be the highest ever (almost)fully Gaelic single in the UK charts, but marks lost for that fidgety knob on the end. Hold your bloody arm still, man! Now where are you going?
An FF for Eddy Grants’ anaemic reggae lite, and no sighting of Raw Silk’s wafer thin lead singer in the outro.
Not sure when I’ll get to critique this week’s editions so, in case it's on or after the big day, can I wish you all a Happy Christmas and, hopefully, a single year TOTP New Year!
Blue Zoo - The singer was channelling his inner Sandie Shaw, I see (by which I mean barefoot, not going ton to record awful crap with The Smiths) and I still like this top pop nugget.
ReplyDeleteJacko / Macca - No thumbs aloft for this one. Merely average, and the producers clearly agreed given the line-up of Partridge style Pringle jumpers and the 'lovely' ladies to illustrate the song. Surprised that Goldie from Blue Peter didn't get a look in there.
Marvin Gaye - How ridiculous that no-one on the Beeb could use the word 'Sexual' given other song titles and lyrics heard in full previously. As for the song, I've always found it quite pleasing if unspectacular.
JK : 2 out of 3 decent songs, a better hit rate than usual. 'Gloria' is magnificent, and the Michael McDonald song is good too. I assume he objected to the Warren G sample as initially the version with it in was all over the radio, then it suddenly disappeared....
AFOS - Yes, they get dragged out for lazy clips shows to illustrate 'wackiness' and 'decadence' but I love their music. I agree that a whole album is a bit much, but most of their singles are great. 'I Ran' is my favourite and I can't help thinking that if TOTP had featured that when it was outside the 40, it would've been a hit.
Donna Summer - Great song, and I like this version. I remember the Moodswings / Chrissie Hynde version got a lot of airplay on our student radio station. Not so much nationally though, which is probably why it missed the Top 40 (Twice!)
Clannad - An excellent piece of music which is like something from another planet compared to everything else on the show and in the chart.
Eddy Grant's song is still crap, then some non-extended dancing this time. Including a girl who has clearly modelled her style on Kate from Haysi Fantayzee of all people!
As we will not get to see this first solo effort from Michael McDonald, following a successful career with The Doobie Brothers, you can see the whole video here, as it would not be until the summer of 1986 that the song I Keep Forgetting was finally released as single in the UK (crazy, isn't it?). Suffice to say I have been listening to this all weekend:
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnjEzx7Glr8
Wow, to have an apartment like his on this video, let alone his ex-girlfriend on it!
if michael mcdonald did object to talentless rappers mauling his recording, then three cheers for him! sadly most don't make such objections in those circumstances, either because they need the money (sadly that probably applies mainly to black musicians) or the street cred (even more sadly, that probably applies mainly to white ones!)
Deletesomeone said here that they thought the eddy grant thing was getting a thumbs up on this blog - well, i make it at least three of us now who think otherwise!
DeleteRegarding mauling of recordings Wilberforce, I remember my heart sinking when Atomic Kitten in 2002 sampled ELO's Last Train To London, for their new hit "Be With You", and subsequently got to No.2 with it. I wonder if Jeff Lynne had consented to it or not, i.e., did he need the street creed as you say, considering that his career in 2002 was largely washed up it seemed, well, until the new lease of life in 2013 with Chris Evans bringing Lynne's career back to life. Hmm....
Deletewell there's certainly no street cred kudos to be had by allowing someone like atomic kitten to maul.. sorry - sample your recordings. so going by my theory, it appears that mr lynne was on his uppers and in need of a few bob!
DeleteLate to the party this week despite only one episode…
ReplyDeleteBlue Zoo- Cry Boy cry – Strange shirt the singer is wearing. Love their Zoos do ToTP; Zoo, Blue Zoo, Zoom…
Dione Warwick – Heartbreaker – Too much to expect Dione to come into the studio to perform so instead we get a well-deserved repeat of this live rendition.
Michael Jackson & Paul McCartney – The Girl is mine – Ughh, Macca had a right rotten time with duets in 1982 after the horrors of ‘Ebony and Ivory’ we get this. Take it away……
Marvin Gaye – (Sexual) Healing – I guess the word in brackets wasn’t allowed on ToTP. One of those records that you’ve heard soooo many times! All those free love song compilation CDs that newspapers used to give away seemed to include it (funny, this phase seems to have stopped now). Radio stations pluck it from the archives far too often, you hear it in pubs, clubs, shopping malls, supermarkets…you name it…. Every time I hear it I hope it’s for the last time but it never is. Doesn’t conjure up feeling sexy or anything for me. I never liked Marvin Gaye much although ‘I Heard it through the Grapevine’ was quite an innovative sound.
JK Section – My word, BBC4 viewers are missing out! Mercifully the wonderful Laura Branigan scored a hit with ‘Gloria’ in the UK soon after as did Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes. Not sure about Michael McDonald but his time was to come in the UK too. My copy of ‘Gloria’ had a sticker on it saying ‘No1 in America as seen on Top of the Pops’….but it didn’t make the top in the US.
Flock of Seagulls – Wishing – Must have done wonders for hairdressers everywhere! Not a bad effort.
Donna Summer – State of Independence – Why did she record this? The original version with Jon Anderson’s vocals I think is so much better apart from the climax with the ‘choir’ which, amazingly features Michael Jackson, Dione Warwick and Michael McDonald (amongst others). Strange that this film starts the song off mid-way through.
Clannad – Theme from ‘Harry’s Game’ – Wonderful, even if Enya’s miming is not. This appeared as track three on the fantastic easy listening (largely instrumental) compilation ‘Imaginations’ which was the follow up to the other great big selling compilation ‘Reflections’. You’d know the sleeves if you saw them as they were everywhere at the time and these records had some decent merging applied to the tracks so they flowed neatly from one to the next.
Eddy Grant – I don’t want to dance – Eddy hits the top 14 years after the classic ‘Baby come back’ with the Equals. Just love this.
Raw Silk- Do it to the Music – Low key ending with not much extra dancing this time.
sct353, love the use of Macca's last solo hit title to describe your views on his next single!
Deletethat wasn't enya miming badly with clannad - it was her older sister moya! enya's brief tenure with them (as a backing singer) only lasted a year or two and was already over at this point, but despite that she still gets heavily identified with them. by the way: in contrast to quite a few clannad recordings, i really do fucking hate "orinoco flow"!
DeleteOne more duet with Macca and Jacko to come and that is Say Say Say which is far superior to The Girl is Mine. And a good video as well which was show on TOTP.
DeleteIt's Enya's sister Moya Brennan singing here - Enya had left Clannad by this time.
ReplyDeleteOops, that was meant as a reply to sct.
Deleteoops - i didn't realise that john had already pointed this out...
DeleteThanks for pointing out the Enya error Guys!
Deleteclannad started off as a fairly conventional irish folk group in the 70's, before discovering synths and going down the ambient path. anyway, i'd like to bring this pre-fame gorgeous arrangement of a traditional tune to your attention:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcHxkQujBio
It's a long while till the next blog, so I couldn't resist going to my local karaoke last night, so I chose two of the songs on this weeks JK insert, i.e., Michael McDonald and Cocker/Warnes. It's interesting that the two songs negate each other in meaning and direction of love, but nevertheless, both iconic in pop history and superb lyrics:
ReplyDelete"I keep forgetting were not in love anymore, I keep forgetting things will never be the same again......" (McDonald)
"Love lift us up where we belong......" (Cocker/Warnes)
Just noticed the online Radio Times TV guide is still accompanying the TOTP detailswith a picture of Anita-era Legs & Co!
ReplyDeleteI only just got round to seeing this what with it being Christmas and everything. Must have been a thin show to attend because there were only three studio acts.
ReplyDeleteBlue Zoo wasn't a lot different to last time although the band had changed their clothes with the exception of the lead singer who having spent ages making his shredded coconut top was determined to get as much mileage out of it as he could.
a repeat of THAT Dione Warwick(e) performance and then the four Zoo boys having a fair stab at dancing to a not very dance-friendly tune. I hated this at the time.
The Marvin Gaye and Dona Summer videos were good to see again although I have seen them many times.
I somehow missed A Flock Of Seagulls at the time, I think I was put off by the hair dismissing them as a gimmick but I have since discovered their greatest hits and still play it a lot. It includes the long version of this which clocks in at about 9 mins.
My dad loved the Clannad song at the time mainly because he watched the series it was used for. I didn't have a lot of time for it but it sounds pretty good now.
Eddy Grant I like but I'm not over bothered about seeing the video again and play out with Raw Silk which seems to be stuck in the same place.
You haven't commented on the three songs in the JK insert Bama. The full show was kindly supplied by Steve H on 4-shared:
Deletehttp://www.4shared.com/video/-7ScufDEba/TOTP_111182_Full_JK_version_.html
you naughty boy bama! i'll comment on them though (without bothering watchingm that is):
Delete1 - shit
2 - okay but not his best
3 - shit
Thanks Wilby, that more or less sums in up. The title Gloria always put me in mind of Melvyn Hayes' character from It Ain't Half Hot Mum, so I could never take it seriously (and the fact that JK had recorded the song was enough to put me off). And I was equally put off by the weird twitching that Joe Cocker did when he performed this song in the official video. Nice to see a shirtless Richard Gere though.
DeleteGood Lord, I see that we have three (yes three) blogs to go up tonight. Two shows from BBC4, plus one show sandwiched in between with DLT, and we will already be into Dec 1982, which means the arrival of Renee & Renato.
ReplyDeleteHas anyone got the 25th Nov DLT edition?
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DeleteNeil uploading totp 25 november 1982 www.4shared.com/video/JJGX5yGwba/TOTP_1982-11-25.html
DeleteNice One gia :-)
DeleteBusy night ahead again :-)
Thanks Gia. Next week, we will have the same issue as another Yewtreed show (16 December) is sandwiched between two broadcastable ones. We will then also have the two Yewtreed Christmas shows to deal with as well...
DeleteIt's also been uploaded on meer's Vimeo page (an original BBC broadcast edition !) Spoilt for choice this time!
DeleteIndeed, Vimeo is always better, as 4-shared is an easy vehicle for viruses, trojans and worms - the computer type of course! Hopefully Angelo will load Meer's Vimeo copy tonight.
DeleteErm, Brie, two of the songs on the show are from UK Gold, stitched into this BBC broadcast for some bizarre reason. I would think that whoever recorded the show originally on VHS did not like, and therefore did not include Ultravox and Flock Of Seagulls, and has used the UK Gold copy to 'stitch' them into the VHS copy to make the complete show available to us.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteOh,as I hadn't watched it and had already downloaded both versions I hadn't realised it had been doctored up. Thanks for that!
DeleteI've found links to it on WeTransfer and Dropbox since so no problem whatsoever this time!
ReplyDeleteBrilliant stuff Brie
DeletePhew! Finally caught up (just in time for two new programmes tonight!)
ReplyDeleteI'm sure someone will have said this trivia fact before - A Flock of Seagulls got their band name from a shouted line at the end of Toiler on the Sea by The Stranglers...