Blimey, Kim Wilde's let herself go.....
07/04/83 (Simon Bates & Peter Powell with the cast of Fame)
Dexys Midnight Runners – “The Celtic Soul Brothers” (24)
Originally released a year earlier but failed to make the top 40, this re-release fared better, peaking at number 20, and it was the band's penultimate hit, though we'd have to wait over three years for their final one.
Culture Club – “Church Of The Poison Mind” (9) (video)
The first single from their forthcoming number one album Colour by Numbers, and helped out on vocals by Helen Terry, Church of the Poison Mind peaked at number 2.
JoBoxers – “Boxerbeat” (3)
This punchy tune was now at its peak.
Twisted Sister – “I Am (I’m Me)” (29)
Jetting in all the way from New York to perform their only top 30 hit, which reached number 18.
Michael Jackson – “Beat It” (30) (video)
The follow up to Billie Jean, and the third single from Thriller, peaked at number 3
Tracie – “The House That Jack Built” (23)
Her only top ten hit, peaking a number 9. But edited out of tonight's 7.30 slot.
F.R. David – “Words” (21)
This was FR David's only top ten hit, peaking at number 2, and helped out here in the studio by an energy efficient dance routine from Zoo.
Nick Heyward – “Whistle Down The Wind” (15)
Braving a second live show after missing his cue last time, but practice makes perfect and Whistle Down the Wind went up two more places.
David Bowie – “Let’s Dance” (1) (video)
First of three weeks at number one.
Big Country – “Fields Of Fire (400 Miles)” (13) (+ credits)
Went up three more places.
Next up is April 14th 1983.
Once again, Master Bates somehow gets entrusted with a live show, with a very excited and eager PP by his side. While on paper this is not a promising pairing, they actually work quite well together and Bates, annoying time checks aside, gives one of his most competent performances yet. The Kids from Fame add little to the show, not least because the brief interviews with them seem to focus more or less exclusively on which parts of the country they are visiting during their tour. Still, they do a good impression of being happy to be there, I suppose.
ReplyDeleteKevin seems to have spruced his image up a little for this latest Dexys appearance, perhaps because they were now enjoying big US chart success. This is perhaps the best single from the Too-Rye-Ay album, with a fiddle part that sticks in your head and stays there - it's a shame we don't hear more of this on the radio, and a lot less of a certain other song of theirs. Another band now enjoying great American success were Culture Club, back here with their third great single in a row. This is comfortably the best track on Colour By Numbers, aided plentifully by Helen Terry's powerhouse backing vocals. The video is good-natured fun, with the revelation of George's "family" the highlight.
Zoo have their gloves back on as JoBoxers deliver another knockout performance - I assume that stage must have been well reinforced, as the band stamp down on it pretty hard! My first reaction on seeing Twisted Sister was that a Cinderella panto somewhere had lost one of its Ugly Sisters. This looks to me like the beginning of American hair metal, though as hard rock anthems go, this is a very decent effort.
When introducing Jacko, PP almost makes it seem as if he is telling Debbie Allen to "beat it!" We all know this video, of course, and this is one song that stands up to repeated listens, though whenever I hear it the famous Weird Al Jankovic "Eat It" parody tends to come to mind. Inexplicably, the famous guitar solo is almost completely edited out here, badly disrupting the flow of the song. Tracie finally emerges from Weller's shadow as she appears on the show for the second week running, this time in her own right. On this evidence it is hard to see what the Modfather thought was so great about her, as her voice sounds pretty average. Admittedly the song isn't great either, being both repetitive and one dimensional - it also seems to nick its keyboard riff from Centerfold. If memory serves, this is the performance that Tracie cringed over in The Story of 1983 owing to the awkward dance moves Michael Hurll got her to perform. I notice she is also wearing white stilettoes, appropriately enough for an Essex girl...
The multi-talented FR David next, looking a little lonely on that stage with just the two Zoo inmates for company. It's fairly obvious that words do not come easy for him, and his wimpy vocals are annoying, but this does have a very pretty melody to keep it bearable. It is notable that at the start of the show Bates admits that the acts will be miming - was this a tacit acknowledgment of Nick Heyward's cock-up two weeks earlier? In any case, Nick is back and is trying to look even more grown-up by donning a suit. He seems a lot more confident this time, and happily there are no further mishaps. Nice to see Big Country back in the studio too to play us out, and this is a good rousing tune to finish on - the Kids from Fame certainly appear to enjoy it.
I think Simon's miming comment was probably referring to last week's effort from New Order, which I guess people had been talking about all week ... indeed, I heard on the Steve Wright show that Mr Angry was so angry about it he threw the phone down! ;-)
DeleteInteresting what some of us remember most from the Cuture Club video. What I remember most is not the extended family of other Boy Georges, but rather the following:
Delete1. Helen Terry making more impact than Boy George on vocals, as no-one was expecting a female addition on vocals.
2. The black member of the band having his hat blown off onto the road by the wind in that convertible car, and the hat being back on his head within a second.
3. The band moving from driving a car, to later flying a passenger plane. Zikes, I wouldn't trust this lot with my life in the air. Pity the video cuts out while they are still in the air, and we don't know what happens next, i.e., if all the passengers are still alive.
Two Zoo inmates for company? I think his luck had arrived right there on that stage. I wouldn't mind being locked up with those two in evening dresses like those, especially the one in red. Good Lord, there's an early morning stiffie if ever I could think of one.
DeleteYou may well be right there, Angelo.
DeleteDid Bates have another appointment to get to, hence the checking of his wristwatch throughout? He's obsessed with the time. Bates for the new Doctor Who!
ReplyDeleteOne of my favourite Dexys tunes first up, a wistful, catchy melody that skips along nicely. It always reminds me of its use in the Richard Gere/Valerie Kaprisky movie Breathless when they go to the nightclub, a mark of the band's brief moment in the international spotlight.
Culture Club, well, Helen Reddy looks a lot different from the way she did in Airport 1975, and - what? Anyway, a jolly tune, lyrics notwithstanding, and another pop act following in the footsteps of Madness to produce a wacky video. I don't know why the Japanese press were singled out for lampooning, though.
A better performance from JoBoxers, taking advantage of that live show energy, though the dancers out front seem to have mislaid their gloves - oh, look, that lady up there has them.
Comedy act of the night next, not Kenny Everett but Twisted Sister demonstrating the benefits of haircare, Dee resembled Cousin Itt in places. As for the song, I thought I was me? Very confusing. All the more ridiculous when it's obvious he wasn't singing live, but straining to look like he was belting it out.
Weird Al has ruined Beat It for a generation, once you've heard his spoof you can't NOT hear his pisstake lyrics even when Mike is singing the original. A nice demonstration of the patented Cannon Films' multiracial street gang, anyway.
Tracie, after all that outrageousness her complete normality was a breath of fresh air. A modest ditty, modestly sung, but bright enough to want you to encourage her, even if she looks like she won a competition.
F.R. David, surely the coolest dude on the show by miles, erm, OK, maybe not, but I did like this meek Europop at the time and it still sounds fair, it's a light little melody, not too taxing. Taking that cue, the pair of dancers are possibly the most "can't be arsed" we've seen since the late 70s audience, and they're professionals. Flick, you can't have choreographed this?!
Nick Heyward looking a lot happier and a lot less discombobulated this time around, which is good, though the presentation is rather unexciting.
Then Dame Dave making it to the top spot, you wouldn't begrudge him that, it was a song that didn't sound like anyone else at the time, in a good way.
Big Country to end on, having a rare old time among the crowd which include The Kids from Fame really getting into those Celtic rhythms, Lori Singer especially. As for their contribution, they were patently there to publicise their tour and little else, Leroy (RIP) manages one line of response and Bruno barely that. Where's Mr Shorofsky to whip Bates into shape?
Don't you mean Helen Terry? Helen Reddy was someone else, and certainly not part of Culture Club! Suffice to say that it was an interesting move by the band so early on to bring in a female side-vocalist, when we were only just getting familiar with Boy George and his bandmates.
DeleteYup, that was my joke.
DeleteDon't worry THX, no one gets my dry wit either.
Delete*taps mic* Is this thing on?
DeleteIf History has taught us anything (and if, like me you were in Mr Higson's class, then it's probably nothing) it is that society is constantly being threatened by demonic, devilish, and downright black-hearted duos. Bonnie & Clyde, The Krays, Rosemary & Fred West, The Krankies....and these two. Peter 'Smile-In-His-Voice' Powell and Simon 'Sit-down-5C-that-bell-is-for-me-not-you' Bates have, against all that is logical and holy, been teamed up together. This could be teeth-grindingly awful. Let's see, shall we?
ReplyDeleteWell, it's off to a typical Bates start as he checks his watch and tells us the time. That can mean only ONE thing - this is a LIVE edition. Bates confirms this and then - rather oddly- states that all the bands are in the studio and some may be miming. Wait, what?
First up. Dexys with the brilliant Celtic Soul Brothers. Forget Eileen and Jackie Wilson, THIS is the sound of the Too Rye Ay album. Glorious and lovely to see. Not the first clue what Kev is singing of course.
Culture Club on video (so not in the studio, Simes) in a song which shares the same harmonica as Karma Chameleon and even a near-identical opening line, but is much better. Jon Moss going all Thunderbirds on us in the pilot's seat, and not much screen time for featured female Helen Terry.
JoBoxers get another outing, once again accompanied by dancers wearing boxing gloves because THAT is never going to get old is it?
Next up is a rare studio outing for Spinal Tap. Nope, sorry, my mistake - its Twisted Sister, and by God, Liz McDonald has let herself go. This is garbage of the highest order and everyone concerned should be very ashamed for themselves.
Michael Jackson (another video, Simes) with his version of Weird Al Yankovich's classic Eat It, featuring the world's most effete and non-scary street 'gangs'. Was this the video that got Jackson finally ono MTV's roster? And was the guitar-shredding solo ALWAYS cut out because I don't remember it that way at all.
Traci ditches Paul Weller to take centre stage on her own, unfortunately forgetting to take any semblence of a decent song with her. Forgettable.
FR David. 'Words - words dont come easy to me'. Couldn't agree with you more FR. This is a good five, six years behind its time, and I have no idea how this made it into the charts.
Nick - Nicky- Haywood rather bravely attempts another live-mime and this time he nails it. Well done Nicky son. This has rather grown on me since last week. A summery sound that probably would have done even better in the charts had it been released during July/August.
The Dame is at the top ( so that's another one not in the studio) but we seem to be finishing a good couple of minutes early. Oh, God, it's not Sid Snot again, is it? No - it's Stuart Adamson's band and the brilliant Fields Of Fire sees us home.
So, to the scores. Two. That's it, that's all these are getting. Powell was the better of the two during the pointless 'Fame' interviews ( but where was Doris?) but that's not saying too much. His pants are now reaching nipple-height and Lord alone knows what his top was - medievil singlet?, JoBoxer depression-era rags? Bates was smug and smarmy and did his watch-check thing and was useless throughout. My opinion is that the producers lumped these two together to get rid of them in one fell swoop, because it certainly wasn't for their chemistry.
Musically I'm going with a 6. The two high points were opener Dexys and closer Big Country. Nick Heywood was good, the three videos were fine, but the rest of it ranged from 'bah' to 'meh'.
I think Doris made her excuses in case DLT would be there again.
DeleteAgreed that the Dexys new effort here is a very good one, but shame it got only one play on TOTP and could only reach No.20 in the charts.
DeleteIt was also to be the final hit for them after three rock-solid years of hits when they first burst onto the scene with Geno back, in 1980. Final hit, apart from a muted comeback attempt in 1986 which fell flat on the general public, I must add.
I think you're forgetting Dexys' immortal theme tune to Brush Strokes!
DeleteYeah, Brush Strokes theme in 1986. I remember that my English Teacher in my final year at Grammar School was a walk-on part in the show, as a background drinker standing at the bar at the pub scenes in the show, and he was getting teased in school about it, but never partook in any conversation about it, well not with the pupils anyway! Suffice to say that I don't think anyone else from my school, teachers or pupils for that matter, got anywhere near TV fame, apart from this one which was 'brushed-stroked' (excuse the pun) under the carpet.
DeleteBrush Strokes ran for ages, but I never thought it was much good. Karl Howman's follow-up sitcom, Mulberry, was much more interesting with Karl as an apprentice of Death trying and failing to dispatch an old lady, but unfortunately it got axed before the writers could wrap it up.
DeleteThe Tremeloes covered 'Words' around that time in a desperate bid to make a comeback; it was their first single in a newly signed deal with their former label CBS. Chesney Hawkes' dad and chums performed the song competently enough, albeit in a slightly lower key - but on the whole, it sounded like a local cabaret singer's recording for a tiny independent label. It certainly lacked the production values of FR David's original, which is one of my 'guilty pleasures'.
DeleteIt didn't gain much press attention, but The Trems' Chip Hawkes and Rick Westwood were both caught up in the Yewtree net recently. They were put on trial for a sexual assault alleged to have occurred in the 60s, but both were acquitted.
DeleteThe Celtic Soul Bros would have been a bigger hit had it not already been released as a single as well as being on the Too Rye Ay album which almost everyone had by then.
DeleteAlthough Because of You was credited to Dexys I think of it as a solo Kevin Rowland record, he certainly had no band with him when he appeared on TOTP.
john you're certainly right about the tremeloes not getting much attention from the press regarding being tapped-up by the yewtree squad (which is most unusual, given the normal hysteria). when i looked it up on the internet to read more about it, all i found was some bollocks about a "secret wall" above a manchester record shop on which pedos supposedly kept records of their activities! as i live in manchester and know the local record shops quite well i was curious as to which one it was, but could not find that out - does anyone else know more?
Deleteby the way, this latest swoop on the tremeloes for something that supposedly took place in the 1960's makes this "historical sex crimes" thing even more ludicrous. who can seriously recall things in great detail from even 10 years ago, never mind more than 40? as such there really should be a legal time limit imposed on prosecuting crimes allegedly committed retrospectively. i would set it at 15 years, which in my opinion would give even child victims enough time as fully-grown adults to decide whether to press claims against alledged perpetrators or not...
Just before JoBoxers come on, Powell interviews Lori from Kids Fame who tells us that the next four shows on their tour following their appearance on TOTP, is London-Birmingham-Brighton-Israel, which pulls Powell to astonishment, for him to say "have a good trip". The Israelis were always more into American movies and TV shows than British ones, so it's hardly surprising that The Kids From Fame was probably a top show there, and the need for promotion from Lori and co.
ReplyDeleteI did also like Debbie Allen's fresh look and low-cut top when interviewed by Powell just before Michael Jackson's video came on. Pity she wasn't fuller-chested for that top!
no comment on our hosts as the weather was too shitty to make the trip to the library today, so it's another "bits & pieces" review cobbled together from what i could find on youtube...
ReplyDeletedexy's: mr rowland (now presumably even he realised the stupidity of billing his name before that of his band?) tries the same modulation trick as on "come on eileen", and it doesn't work quite as well. of course that might be because i've heard the latter a million times now and have got used to the awkward key change? anyway, thankfully i'll never get to hear this one anywhere near as much to find out if the same applies! i wonder if the drummer had any say in being reduced to bodhran player?
culture club: the first thing i noticed in the video was the personalised number plate on the fancy american car, which indicates an approximate timepoint where that pathetic practice that is endemic of "modern life is rubbish" originated. of course back then i imagined having one too (it was the ignorance of youth to blame, m'lud), but nowadays i wouldn't drive a car around with one of these things on it if you paid me (in fact, if i could then i would ban them by law). with regard to those prats who do, i suppose it's all part of that syndrome where everyone thinks they are being different and individual, and yet ironically are exactly the same as everyone else (there is a term now invented for this behaviour - someone please remind me, thanks). what about the song? well, it's another ghastly 60's soul-style knock-off a la recent singles by the human league, maisonettes et al (and it turned out that rather sadly george michael was apparently taking notes too). i was playing in a band that did mainly contemporary dance-style grooves at the time, but then our manager insisted that we do our own take on this track, which unlike the rest of our set i always despised and thought of as "mock-mock-motown"!
twisted sister: no doubt more due to their outrageous appearance and antics than their music, this lot were firm favourites in the likes of "sounds" at the time. this is actually the first time i've ever heard one of their recordings, and not surprisingly it's metal-on-autopilot that doesn't make the same impact as the visuals. i seem to recall they were considered as transvestites at the time, although in fact they are only wearing make-up and not women's clothes. so are no different to the english glam-rockers from 10 years earlier in that respect. out of interest i looked singer dee snider up to see what he looks like these days, and although still has the corkscrew hair it seems he no longer bothers with the slap
wacko: this so-so effort got a lot of hype at the time as supposedly being the first-ever dance-oriented track to feature a rock guitar solo, but the fact is that happened at least 10 years earlier curtesy of the isley brothers. apart from them, if you want to hear some other excellent pre-wacko distorted axe solos on funky tracks, then check out "shack up" by banbarra plus "slide" and "you and me" by slave
Twisted Sister never really made it here in the UK at anywhere near what they managed in the US, but the only one which I familiar with is this video with Vintage TV shows regularly, called Leader Of The Pack, which is a hilarious rendition of the famous Shangri La's original version.
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cO_brEreGLw
I remember John Peel saying on one of his shows that a personalised number plate was "a sure sign of a dickhead" so you were not alone in your disdain back then, Wilb.
DeleteWilberforce, Why don't you install get iplayer to save you the trip to the library every time?
Deletewow - i've actually got something in common with peelie! as i've admitted in my review, when i first became aware of personalised car plates i did think it would be cool to have one with my forename on it (which happened to fit the original british format, even if the number 1 had to serve as the letter I). but by the time i actually owned my first car (a year or so after this totp episode was broadcast) any such thoughts had disappeared. what really gets me with these prats that persist in this practice is that they do things to the plates such as adding extra bolts to make letters and/or numbers look like something else in order to suit their vacuous vanity. which in effect makes it illegal! hopefully some cop who feels the same way about this as myself and peel has booked some of these pricks as a result?
Deletebrie i'm not a technohead, so had no idea something like get-iplayer even existed! a look-up of it on a search engine suggests it's some kind-of unauthorised alternative to the official iplayer, so therefore probably just as illegal to use it as watching the official version without owning a tv licence. and not only that: i would think that downloading such things would also invite all manner of cyber creepie-crawlies onto my computer! so thanks, but no thanks (at least for now, anyway)
Deletealthough very few complete editions of these shows seem to be on youtube (or if any are posted, then presumably the beeb's watchdogs are quickly removing them?), fortunately most of the clips of individual acts seem to be on there. which for review purposes is good enough for me in the event i can't get access to the show itself...
Wilby it was very brave of you to looks up what Dee Snider looks like now. Remember you can't un-see these things.
DeleteAnd it's brave of you to watch the show in your local library. I went to mine recently to look at the British Newspaper Archive on line in their computer room and it was full of people talking and eating their lunch. I would feel too self conscious sitting there watching old tv shows and wouldn't be able to concentrate or enjoy it.
yes bama, i can't say i particularly like the idea of watching totp in the local library, particularly given that these days they are not the sacrosanct halls of tranquility they once were. so i only go there as a last resort, and even then try to do so early on so there's likely to be less oiks hanging around and getting in my way! i never noticed it myself, but someone i know who also has to use the library for internet access kept complaining to me about some doley/homeless type there that was stinking the place out!
Deletept ii...
ReplyDeletetracie: she was a quite pretty girl-next-door type (with great hair!), but vocally it was quite clear (what the modfather thought) that she didn't have a lot to offer voice-wise. so not surprisingly she only had a brief time in the spotlight, but that was enough for her to get her foot in the door to now work as a radio DJ - something she could only have imagined in her wildest dreams otherwise. although the modfather produced this pop-soul-dance-lite thing, thankfully there's none of his bellowing aural presence on it. but the instrumental motif is suspicously similar to that on "centerfold" by the j geils band!
fr david: not something i've heard for years, and the memory i had of it was being utter shite. i couldn't find the totp clip on yt, but it took only a few seconds of listening there to confirm it was bland euro-synth-pop that still does little if anything for me
As this is the last outing for Whistle Down The Wind, with no video shown during its chart run, I took a look at the video which features an abandoned red telephone box (do any of these still exist?) in the middle of snow-covered mountains:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLPMcY6KmE8
I must say that the TOTP studio performance was very good this week, and the song has really grown on me now in the space of a week or so since it's first appearance. I just don't know why Heyward could not incorporate these nice songs into Haircut 100, instead of doing them solo, as his solo career was not half as successful as Haircut 100.
I think Whistle Down the Wind was originally intended as a Haircut 100 song, but the rest of the band forced Nick out before they could record it.
DeleteI also just noticed that the two couples standing behind Peter Powell on introducing Nick Heyward were the same two couples dancing round in circles on the playout, in front of Big Country.
DeleteTalking of which, Big Country was probably the best playout on the show for ages, not only for the two sexy Highland couples dancing that amazing dance, but also all the Kids From Fame dancing with the studio audience behind the band and to the side...right to very end of the song and last balloon pop, which we were able to see on the late night edition, and made for a very fun close to the show. Absolutely brilliant!
Don't know about the Big Country dancing being amazing, it just reminded me of the sheer hell of country dance lessons in school, which for someone with two left feet like me was an absolute ordeal!
DeleteI used to have country dancing lessons in primary school. I can't dance to save my life, but it was still better than doing PE...
DeleteThe dancing to Big Country this week was a bit similar to the dancing on the Portsmouth video by Mike Oldfield which was a big Top Ten hit in Dec 1976, and shown on TOTP. what do you think?:
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CCf7gvmDEU
I did country dancing too in my junior school (bows head in shame). And I even took part in a competition at county level. The things you do when you're a kid.
DeleteI felt for my (male) triplet cousins and their younger brother when they were nippers, because their mother (who was a huge fan of Vince Hill, BTW) forced them to take Morris dancing classes!
Deleteone of my old-school teachers (who still wore one of those ridiculous gowns at times, even though it was the mid-70's!) tried to make our year learn traditional ballroom dances, but not surprisingly the boys refused as one to take part... especially when it came to doing "the gay gordons"!
DeletePeter Powell dressed like one of Tears For Fears in a sackcloth vest and Super Slime on playground duty.
ReplyDeleteDexys and their theme tune The Celtic Soul Brothers - what a way to start a show. Loved this one at the time and it was a shame that this was to be their last proper hit as a band (I count Because Of You as Kevin solo). Surprised to see the drummer Seb Shelton (formerly with Secret Affair) reduced to keeping rhythm with a giant tambourine attired in a boiler suit and a Jeremy Corbyn style cap. Not a good look. Impressed that the cameraman focused on the banjo player at the right moment, that doesn't happen often.
Culture Club with their video filmed largely in Chalk Farm and Camden Town. Nice to see club host Scarlet Cannon (the blonde woman who opens the door to the Japanese photographers). My friend knew her for a while and told me a very funny story about her which I can't repeat here. The guy playing the harmonica here isn't playing it on the record that's sessionist Judd Lander who of course did similar duties on Karma Chameleon. The four band members piloting the plane together reminds me of the crew of Red Dwarf. Feel a bit sorry for vocalist Helen Terry who is a bit sidelined here and will be dropped later on, presumably when she asked to be paid.
The Joboxers back and doing the Boxerbeat while various anonymous members of Zoo do their own dance which being different from what the band are doing can't be the official Boxerbeat.
Twisted Sister or is it Creme Brule? I hated this at the time, no doubt put off by the post glam drag look of the band but soundwise it is okay if you like this type of thing. I certainly don't want to see it again.
Beat It is supposedly the first black record to use rock elements but I would argue that Odyssey's Back To My roots which boasts a rock guitar solo could be the first. Great video though although it has been played to death of course.
I was annoyed by the Tracie Young solo hits because while I liked The Style Council this seemed a bit average and naff, the same was true of Weller protege band The Questions who back her here. The tune is similar to J Geils' Centrefold and the synth is too loud and cheap sounding. Strangely all of them plus Weller and Mick Talbot appeared on Three Of a Kind as The Style Council performing a superb cover of Harvest For The World which was never released on a single or album. Weller set up his own label called Respond and I think the idea was to have a roster of artists who could appear solo or together like Motown but it seems very to odd to promote a song that can't be bought in the shops.
FR David, I was dismissive of at the time and I can't get very excited about it now. Words fail me (see what I did there).
The Chart Rundown Part 2 and Slimey says "Michael Jackson in the chart again with a song called Billie Jean". Would that be the million-selling former number one hit that's ben in the chart for 8 weeks?! Oh, that song. Most of the acts between number 11 and number 20 seemed to be going down which is why we have Nicky boy again which was non mover. The more you hear this the better it gets but this time why the hell is bassist Pino reduced to miming bass on an acoustic guitar? Is nothing sacred?
The Top Ten, then the Dame at the top with that video again.
Play out with Big Country in the studio which the cast of Fame go mad for. I like it when they send with a group who isn't number one but this is spoiled by the inclusion of Zoo doing country dancing again which is unnecessary.
bama i did mention above that the isley brothers were merging rock elements with funky sounds long before wacko - their original version of "harvest for the world" being such an example (even though it doesn't feature an ernie isley guitar solo)
Deleteyour mention of the style council being on "three of a kind" can't but make me think of the modfather filling in for lenny henry, mick being david copperfield (the third one that gets overlooked), and tracie as... well, tracey!
Yep sorry Wilby, I used to read through the blog to make sure I didn't double up on the comments or make faux pas when I posted but there are just so many hours in the day so now I post first and read afterwards.
DeleteYou're right about The Isley Brothers which is an even better example than mine.
don't worry bama - even though i always try and scour the comments posted to make sure i don't repeat anything, i still end up doing so from time to time!
Deletei could also cite sly & the familty stone and funkadelic as examples of acts that fused elements of black soul/dance music with white rock long before wacko did...
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWith this the only appearance for Dexy's Celtic Soul Brothers and their final curtain call on these re-runs, I found to my dismay that the video has been removed by Utube. Thank G-d I downloaded it from iTunes for a quality £1.89 for my pop video collection.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I did manage to find this other TV show performance of Celtic Soul Brothers, which borrows the TOTP carousel for what looks like a Saturday morning Kids show, by the ending of the clip:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbLiMRBUs_4
There is also a superb live performance of this song from Dexys on The Tube, from the newly-launched Channel 4 at the time, where we suddenly had four channels by early 1983:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mc4RbF_rt6I
Check out this clip of Blue Mink from 'Sez Les', in which future Sir Elton sideman Ray Cooper has a similar role to Dexys' Seb Shelton:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EckoUCAX3kA
As for Nick Heyward's bassist Pino Palladino, he appeared to be miming this week on an acoustic fretless bass, whith has fret markings in place of actual frets.
Interesting, but for me the best contribution by Blue Mink was their biggest hit called Melting Pot, also recently shown on ITV's Pop Gold:
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAWn4FO1MOw
Blue Mink made several great records in the early 70s, none more so than 'Stay with me' which I much prefered to the Faces. 'Randy' and 'Melting Pot' were good songs too,
DeletePino Palladino is surely playing an electric fretless bass on the Nick Heyward record, so he got it right the first time so why change it, unless of course Nick forced him to make a mistake to match the one he made the first time round.
DeleteAnd the Blue Mink clip - great to see Sez Lez again but I didn't know that was Ray Cooper, the glimpsed pianist is Annie Odell daughter of Matchbox cars creator Jack Odell.
although i had played keyboards for several years beforehand, it was actually around this time (1983) that i first played an electric bass guitar. it was as a spontaneous last-minute fill-in for a friend's band's rehearsal, and the only bass i could find to borrow in time was one that had had its frets removed and then filled with resin or something to make it a "fretless" one. so it was an interesting experience to put it mildly!
DeleteHonestly, for me this was a very uneven show; I could have missed everything up until F R David and would have missed nothing I liked at all. Twisted Sister were as awful as I remembered them and Tracie was pretty insipid indeed (“Try Tracie and then decide” the advert went as I recall…). Someone tormented me with the 12” of ‘I am (I’m me)’ at the time and played me the tracks on the other side which, as I recall, consisted of an awful lot of swearing.
ReplyDeleteF R David – Words – Just a wonderful song. Love the guy who displays an ‘I Love you’ poster during the instrumental break and then hurriedly rolls it up as if he’d been rumbled! The cheer that goes up at the end indicated that the crowd enjoyed the song too.
Nick Heyward – Whistle down the Wind – Well done for coming in on time Nick! ‘Whistle down the Wind’ of course returned in 1998 when Tina Arena fairly belted out the ALW show tune. That was marvellous too.
David Bowie – Let’s Dance – We get more of the video this time.
Big Country – Fields of Fire – Great rousing finale with the song playing until it just peters out! Similarities to ‘Portsmouth’ are noted Dory!
…and that’s all I have to say on this one! Oh and the ‘Kids from Fame’ peaked at no50 with ‘Mannequin’ in Dec 82 but never got a mention, and we’ve just got ‘Friday Night’ to endure and then we’re done!
Whistle Down The Wind also returned in 1998 on the West End Theatres as a new musical of the same name, featuring new material by Jim Steinman, of which Meat Loaf penned a couple of the tracks too, most notable, No Matter What, which was also done by Boyzone around the same time.
DeleteYep, Tina Arena's 'Whistle down the Wind' was an ALW/Jim Steinman collaboration. I saw the show myself at Aldwych around 1999 if I recall rightly.
DeleteWas there a song in it called "He's just a fella", though? That's the most memorable line in the film, so I hope they literally made a song and dance out of it.
DeleteLondon, Birmingham, Brighton, Israel, everybody’s talking ‘bout pop music. Ahem!
ReplyDeleteIt’s the young Alan Sugar again with a fine slice of Celtic knees-up disco. Loved the way four of those musicians were thrashing their instruments choppily in unison.
That Culture Club number plate – “CLUB 1”. Which one do I choose to club? Helen Terry had a crack at a solo career and was believed in enough by the music biz to release seven singles of which only one, “Love Lies Lost”, made the charts peaking at 34. That Mikey’s very athletic, vaulting the fire escape stairs at that speed. I must admit, I hate personalised number plates but if ever N18BLE came up cheaply...
A bad case of crashing the vocals before JoBoxers with their plasterless but still over busy and slappable singer.
I was thinking “Bette Midler’s let herself go, hasn’t she?”. Ah, it’s the lead singer of Twisted Sister with their poodle rock by numbers equivalent of “I Am What I Am”.
“Beat It”. My thoughts exactly.
Ooh, a second helping this week of the multi-talented Tracie who was actually born in Derby. This wasn’t her ‘ug’ show with the dancers, but it was the only way The Questions could get on TOTP - they managed three UK chart entries peaking at 56, 66 and 46.
Does the “FR” in FR David stand for F#cking Rubbish? Pretty sure the gals from The Human League choreographed that routine.
Here comes Nicky (!!!) Heyward, smiling, confident, looking dapper complete with tiepin and giving a much better performance of a song whose “Hallo hallo” hook has become very catchy to these ears.
Big Country were just terrific. Once again they didn’t use the instrumental fade version of the single. Note the sole person, a Steve Wright doppelganger, facing the opposite direction to the band and watching the dancers instead. Loon.
Ha, ha, ha! That reference to Human League's Joanne and Susanne made me laugh out loud! FR David is a Tunisian-born Frenchman whose real name is Elli Robert Fitoussi David. He's still popular back home in France, and appeared on some early albums by "Chariots of Fire" composer and hitmaker Vangelis.
Deletearthur if you moved to edmonton (which i believe in your case is "norf of the river"?) you could probably live in a place with the postcode N18 8LE! i have to admit that whilst i was living in north london there was a road quite near where i lived that wasn't actually called a road, street, avenue or whatever - it was simply my surname! i did consider posing next to the road sign for a photo, but never got around to it. if anyone wants to guess what it was, it's also the name of the ground of the football club's that was nearby...
Deletei laughed out loud at the twisted sister bette midler line!
Deletethere was a myth at the time that as a session singer, helen terry had been one of the "colored" girls singing the "doo, de doo" refrain on lou reed's "walk on the wild side" ten years earlier. of course the internet now shows that's not the case, as the singers in question were actually three english white women known collectively as thunderthighs
DeleteThunderthighs had a minor hit with Central Park Arrest. Here they are on a day trip to Wales:
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-bRvdCA0Zs
wow, thanks for that thx - it's great to see that such obscure archive footage has been rescued! the single (that i've not heard before) sounds pretty good as well. i don't know how true the claims are that lynsey de paul wrote the song for them, but she certainly recorded it herself and her verson is just as good in my opinion:
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1HgW9pxrgM
Arthur - yes, Tracie was indeed born in Derby, although she grew up in Essex.
DeleteThunderthighs also provided backing vocals on Mott The Hoople's "Roll Away The Stone". I reckon "Central Park Arrest" would have gone a bit higher than number 30 had they managed a TOTP outing, but they missed out due to strike action when they were in the mugshots.
DeleteTracie was indeed bought up in Essex. She went to Boswells school in Chelmsford and went out with a mate of mine after leaving chool!
DeleteWhat a tenuous link to fame that is for me...
Pleased to say that I was fortunate enough to get tickets for the Royal College of Music (RCM) Students Film Orchestra presenting SCI-FI In Concert, last night in Central London.
ReplyDeleteHighlight of the show was the superb 10-minute rendition of ET:The Extra Terrestrial, which brought 1983 flooding back, and so good was this RCM version, that I was almost on the floor in admiration and with a tear in my eye, that even ET himself would have been impressed with.
Hmm, didn't know this until today. Twisted Sister’s singer Dee Snider was one of several musicians who testified in a senate hearing brought about by the Parents Music Resource Center requesting a letter system on album sleeves to denote what type of offensive material was contained in the lyrics (D for drugs, S for sex, V for violence etc.). The lettering system was never implemented, but the hearing saw the inception of the "Parental Advisory: Explicit Content" labelling.
ReplyDeleteformer "second lady" tipper gore was the driving force behind the PMRC that started up in the mid-80's as a reaction to the ever-increasing profanity and immorality on popular music recordings. of course, rather than protecting their children from all that filth, all they probably did in reality was to encourage them to somehow find a way to listen to any "forbidden fruit" with one of those PMRC labels on!
DeleteWriting this review before reading comments from others so forgive me if I'm repeating stuff...
ReplyDeleteDear me, what a car crash of a show. You've got a live edition with loads of people from Fame who need to be interviewed, and you give it to Bates & Powell?!
I particularly enjoyed what was literally a word from Lee Curreri. The music wasn't much cop either, so welcome to the first edition from 83 that has been deleted from my planner!
Dexys - Actually, this isn't a bad opening tune. Not their very best but better than hearing 'Come On Eileen' for the millionth time.
Culture Club - A like the song but I've just heard it too much now. The video also gets played a fair bit now too.
JoBoxers - Congratulations on playing in the song early so the intro's completely lost under the Lori Singer interview. Incidentally, she may be a looker but if you've heard her contribution to the 'Kids From Fame' album you will know that a singer, she is not!
Twisted Sister - Well, it's highly amusing but this is not for me.
Michael Jackson - Heard it and seen it far too often. Never thought the song was much cop anyway to be honest.
Tracie - Lots of people I know absolutely love this. I don't, I'm afraid.
FR David - It's cheesy as hell but strangely I don't mind this song as thankfully unlike others in this edition it hasn't been played to death since.
Nick Heyward - That's a very knowing smile at the beginning of the song, eh Nick? In fact he looks jolly throughout.
David Bowie deservedly top of the chart, then some average Jock Rock (I may have made this term up....) to end.
lori was the sister of marc singer, who some of you may remember as the hunky gravel-voiced resistance-fighter mike donovan in the classic 80's sci-fi series "V"?
DeleteNot only was Mr Singer in V, he was The Beastmaster too!
DeletePhew, fallen well behind again. Not much to say about this episode as it suffered from major FF, but ttAt Twisted Sister track! - never heard before. To misquote Whispering Bob, "mock glam"
ReplyDelete