Now did you remember to write down the name of the song for John.....?
03/03/83 (David Jensen & John Peel)
Icehouse – “Hey Little Girl” (17)
A somewhat cool start to this week's show, with Hey Little Girl now at its peak.
Forrest – “Rock The Boat” (12) (video)
His only top ten hit, peaking at number 4. But it was edited out of tonight's 7.30pm showing.
OMD – “Genetic Engineering” (25)
The first single from their top 5 album Dazzle Ships, Genetic Engineering peaked at number 20, and featured robotic voices provided by a popular toy from the time.....
Bananarama – “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye” (21)
This cover of Steam's number 9 hit from 1970 became the first of two top ten hits for the nanas in 1983 when it made number 5.
Patti Austin & James Ingram – “Baby Come To Me” (18) (rpt from 17/02/83)
A live vocal from the duo here of this Rod Temperton song, produced by Quincy Jones, which peaked at number 11.
And next, 'by popular demand' we get the return of the 'Top Ten Video Show' which at least gives BBC4 viewers a chance to catch up with some Yewtreed classics like Sweet Dreams Are Made of This and Total Eclipse of the Heart.
Michael Jackson – “Billie Jean” (1) (video/credits)
The one and only week at number one for Billie Jean, but Michael Jackson was now on the verge of mega stardom.
Today's BBC1 schedule
So we run into another problem now, with the edition from March 10th 1983 being co-hosted by Mike Smith, so BBC4 will skip that one and show March 17th instead.
Not as good a show as the previous week with DLT & andy Peebles, but nevertheless, I did like the return of the video top ten segment, a specially the superb debut video of The Eurythmics - orange hair and all!
ReplyDeleteIcehouse - aptly fitting name of a group for the time of year in the winter of 1983. Brrrr, I do remember it was a very cold one early that year, especially in the playground at grammar school!
OMD - I noticed that the band member at the back with a Pet Shop Boys style loudspeaker, could easily have passed for Midge Ure, so much was the resemblance I thought. Had he sung 'Vienna' instead, people could easily have thought he was fronting Ultravox.
Bananarama - not one of their best singles, insisting on doing old covers, so I'll have to look at the video to see if Banana redeem themselves with this one. I thought Keren from Banarama was looking really hot on this show (yes, a cutie Wilberforce), and was soon to become the Mrs of Andrew Ridgeley of Wham. I think it must have been love at first sight for him after this appearance from her, considering they were both in the charts at the same time with their respective groups.
The OMD man in question was/is th every attractive Martin Cooper.
Deletesorry, but martin is no match for paul humphreys in the "boyishly cute" stakes - i bet his nan still gave him a cuddle at that point... even though he was a fully-grown man in his 20's!
DeleteYou may be right. Martin always seemed a bit more mature, and has also aged better I must say.
Deletei have mentioned this before, but sadly paul's boyish good-looks have not stood the test of time - these days he looks not unlike robert morley!
DeleteHa! Indeed! Cooper suffers with back problems though, hence supporting stool during live perfs! MAyeb overdid things in youth?
DeleteThe Rhythm Pals are back once more, wearing each other's jumpers, though I felt they were a little bit too pleased with themselves this time. Having said that, some of their comments over the "Top 10 Video Show" were amusing, and I liked Peel's dissing of Bananarama's dance moves.
ReplyDeleteIcehouse get things off to a slinky start - I assume the rather arrogant-looking keyboardist who keeps staring at the camera is the one who Wilberforce mentioned got into trouble with the law. Kid informs us that Forrest is an American who for some reason was living in Holland. I have never heard of him, and why he felt it necessary to inflict on us a new version of Rock the Boat, one of the most inane and irritating songs of the disco era, I really don't know. The cheap-as-chips video is chiefly notable for featuring a young Sinitta, before her own short-lived brush with musical success.
Next up is OMD, making their return to TOTP action after a year away. The Dazzle Ships album was a key turning point in their career; up until this point they had very successfully combined creative daring with commercial and critical appeal, but Dazzle Ships was not well received by the critics and dropped out of the charts very quickly after reaching its number 5 peak. Sadly, Andy and Paul would never fully recover their creative confidence after this, and later releases would generally tend towards the commercial and "safe." They all look very fetching here in their tartan shirts, and the song is a very pleasant listen, though it is not in the same league as their superb earlier singles.
The Nanas make their own half-hearted attempt at clothing coordination, but don't really pull it off. Another cover version, which sounds pretty weak against Steam's original and even more repetitive, something that all the pointy dancing in the world can't rectify! Not much more to say really, but at least BBC4 viewers get a chance to see the Austin/Ingram performance this time, with Peel notably getting the title of the song wrong on the chart rundown. Also interesting to hear that the FB3's female cohorts on The Tunnel of Love were known as the "Queens of Rhythm" - they should have teamed up to make a record with this week's hosts...
john the dodgy icehouse keyboard player in question is the dark-skinned one with glasses, as opposed to the white and receding fair-haired one. by the way, did they really need two keyboard players and guitarists?
DeleteThanks Wilberforce, that's the one I meant.
DeleteThis edition of TOTP got 9.74 million viewers, slightly more than Kenny Everett with 9.30 million the same evening.
ReplyDeleteNot much to say about the music really, I thought the top ten video show took up too much of the programme although the quality of songs in the top ten was pretty good.
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ReplyDeleteSomeone may have already answered this but why aren't the BBC showing the Mike Smith editions?
ReplyDeleteSmith didn't a 'licence extension' permitting his shows to be repeated as he was embarrassed by them. His family are respecting his wishes. Unfortunately for us, Smitty features a lot on TOTP in this period.
DeleteSorry that should've read 'sign a licence extension.'
Deleteit's still a case of utter incompetence by the beeb's administrators (who no doubt got the job through familial connections rather than being any good at it) - why should he or anyone else who contracts to appear one of their programmes (that was paid for by the tv licence payer and not him) have the right to object to any repeats? if he didn't fancy that, then he shouldn't have agreed to present the show in the first place!
Deleteon this subject, what i'd like to know is if were the acts that appeared on the shows also given the choice to nix future repeats? so far it seems none of them have exercised such a right, which suggests they don't have one. and yet the presenters do? the words "piss up" and "brewery" come to mind...
Icehouse, no, this isn't growing on me, even though they'd popped down to C&A to stock up on new clobber before the show.
ReplyDeleteForrest, this looks like something off The Fast Show, I'm not sure what it adds to the original, it's practically identical save for the synths. He's borrowed Bonnie Tyler's leathers from last week, too. And we never heard from him agaaaaaiiiiinnnnn...
OMD go experimental and sadly uncommercial, but this is a pretty good little tune, sounds like something off a Play School album only with pretensions. No idea what Peel was on about in his intro (wolves? Wools?) but I suspect we missed an off-camera rude gesture from the band.
Bananarama, this always reminds me of walking back to the railway station from college and hearing a big bunch of girls singing the chorus in unison for even more times than the 'nanas repeat it. Which is saying something.
Oh, so we finally see James and Patti's performance, fair enough. An impressive live vocal, but it's still a dull ballad.
Then the videos, with some evidence of this era's "sinister" promos that you don't get in pop anymore, as seen in TFF's, The Eurythmics' and Bonnie's efforts. Can Dave still do that thing with his eyes?
Whackson to end on, I did watch it this time, and it was more evidence of his obsession with invasions of privacy. Who was Louisa? Never noticed the bloke arm in arm with the woman at the end is the spruced up tramp! When do we get the answer record by whatserface? Might have been on the JK segment.
THX. The word was, indeed 'wools' - a shortened version of Woolybacks which is the name that Liverpudlians bestow upon anyone not living in a major city. It is most often a term for people who live on the other side of the Mersey - like John Peel and OMD. I suppose the term 'Woolyback' started off as highly derogatory as it infers that the person involved was a lover of sheep (and not in the wholesome way of John Craven, or the carnervourous way of The Big Bad Wolf)
DeleteThanks - every day's a school day with this blog.
Deleteof course coming from the heart of the 'pool peelie had every right to disparage his country cousins as scouse-lite. oh hang on, he actually came from that upmarket neck of the woods as well - is there no end to the man's duplicity?
DeleteActually, Wilbs, Peel DOES say that the term 'wool' applies just as much to him as to OMD during the link.
Delete2 tunes that I really like seen for the first (and possibly only?) time here but not much else to shout about.
ReplyDeleteGood to see another Icehouse performance to start, and then Forrest - ha ha, I suspect I may be the only one sticking up for this. I can't tell you how much I loved it at the time, and even though I know it's cheesy as hell (and the video even more so) I still do!
It's very weird that they do a clunky edit to the syndrum part to get back into the main body of the song and THEN chop it though. Why not just cut it during the syndrum sequence?
OMD - And I adore this too. Not many people's favourite, I know, but I love the energy and - yes - the Speak'n'Spell bits. Shame that the guy with the megaphone looks really embarassed to be miming them!
It's also a bit awkward that they had no-one miming the female vocals at the beginning but I guess if someone had done that, they'd have then been standing around like a spare part for the rest of the song.
Bananarama - It's alright, nothing to get excited about.
Austin / Ingram - At least those who wanted to see it desperately get it this time round. I'm not one of them.
Top 10 Video Show - Not as interesting this time, really, and again I'd rather have seen a couple (or three?) acts instead. Shame that they didn't get Blancmange on this week given that their one appearance with 'Waves' is one we won't get on TV. More on that anon.
Now, can I get through 3 shows in a day? We'll see....
hosts: i wonder who had the idea of getting jumpers with their names on them and then wearing each other's "by mistake"? come on kid, own up that it was your idea of a jolly jape and that you had to twist peelie's arm to go along with it...
ReplyDeleteforrest: i too thought it was sinitta in the video, but thanks for the confirmation john. i also totally agree with you about "rock the boat" - it never floated my boat in the first place, and apart from being utterly redundant this version is even worse in that is has a really annoying whacking noise going on throughout. talking of whacking, i'd certainly like to give forrest himself a good one!
omd: not one i remember, and it sounded all a bit frantic watching it on a telly with the volume not too high. the megaphone thing is a direct lift of kraftwerk's "computer world", and also it sounds not just like "virginia plain" but "glass of champagne" too - maybe i should check it out at closer quarters?. i did like their energetic performance and paul's natty little synth though
bananarama: i don't care how much of a "cutie" any of you are, come in ladies - your 15 minutes of fame as a novelty act are up, surely? and most of those 15 minutes are seemingly spent here just chanting "na na na na" ad nauseum
austin/ingrams: oh dear, without the calming hand of quincy jones at the controls, this particular odd couple go all aretha franklin (known to me as "the queen of scream") as they try and out-wail each other. and if you're carrying a few extra pounds as patti is, then surely there is a better alternative to wearing a tent? especially when your singing partner goes to the effort of sporting a tux!
As much as I like Peel and Kid Jensen, I think they were laying on the comedy a bit thick. Seemed a bit forced to me. That OMD track is heavily influenced by Kraftwerk's Computer World with the synthesised vocals.
ReplyDeleteAh, Wilberforce has spotted the Kraftwerk reference earlier! Wools are normally people from St.Helens and Prescot.
DeleteFarmers from St Helens would be seen heading for the city with sheepskins on their backs, hence "woolybacks". Shakey is possibly confusing it with the more offensive term Scousers and other English folk save for the Welsh...
DeleteNot a vintage edition by any means, but I did laugh out loud at John Peel's introduction to the Toto clip: something about welcoming a bunch of accountants from the US, topped off with a none-more-sarcastic "Play those blues, lads!"
ReplyDeleteWhile I'm here, someone mentioned it on a previous blog, but everyone really should check out the 'literal video' version of 'Total eclipse of the heart', which is my favourite thing on the internet, ever. Here's a link:
https://youtu.be/fsgWUq0fdKk
Incidentally, I'm pretty sure the video was shot just down the road from where I was living, at the old Royal Masonic School in Bushey (now, inevitably, in the process of being redeveloped as an upscale residential enclave).
According to Wikipaedia, the Bonnie Tyler video was filmed on location at the Holloway Sanatorium, a large Victorian gothic hospital near Virginia Water, Surrey, a very long way from Bushey TimT!
DeleteCurious... It certainly looked like the RMS - but then, a lot of Victorian institutions were designed along similar lines.
DeleteI always assumed it was the school in Bushey because it was handy for Elstree Studios, and a quick check on said Wikipedia reveals that it has appeared in everything from 'Lucky Jim' to 'Judge John Deed' to 'Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'!
just to say with regard to the radio times scan that any time clare rayner comes to my attention, i can't help but think of the the word "wings" and then start sniggering like a schoolboy at the back of class accordingly!
ReplyDeleteIs that THE Brian Glover on “Question Time”? The author, actor (“Kes”, “Porridge” ) and wrestler Leon Arras all in one?
ReplyDeleteAnother fine turn by the Rhythm Pals, more confident and humorous this time. I wonder what Peelie had done to need that finger plaster? Good recovery when forgetting OMD’s album title and even laughing after the Wools mention!
Strange that there were only six full songs on the show and two were non-movers. The first being Icehouse, the very definition of ‘meh’.
Mind you, I though Forrest was the very definition of shite. I love the Hues Corporation version, and also the comic ‘sailor’ dancing to it in that Peter Kay series “Max and Paddy”, but this was awful.
I really think OMD should have got my current favourite TOTP drummer Malcolm to mime the female vocals for a laugh. Andy’s playing a guitar for a change, and look at Paul’s keyboard ensemble. Eat that, Rick Wakeman!
Karaoke time with The Fun Girl Three (who needs Zoo with a routine like that?), followed by cabaret soul tailed by James giving Patti one on the smacker.
I would have preferred two or three more songs instead of the video top ten, but they were struggling to get acts in the studio judging by the use of two non-movers. Strange they showed the song endings for Madness, Tears For Fears AND Kajagoogoo. I enjoyed the Eurythmics video (neat keyboard tapping to replicate the synth line) and I felt sorry for the one Thomson Twin not romantically involved with another Thompson Twin for getting a mimed knee in the nads.
Surprised nobody noticed/was horrified one Mr Ronnie Hazelhurst was musical director in this episode!
ReplyDeleteThe very ubiquity of 1980s BBC comedy theme tunes etc. Wonder if he got involved with totps much more.
Ronnie Hazlehurst's name has been cropping up in the credits for quite a while, though not in every episode.
DeleteHas it? Hadn't noticed. Live and kearn
DeleteWell were off with some daft pointing at Icehouse from the hosts at the start of this show!
ReplyDeleteIcehouse – He little Girl – I found myself more drawn to the girl in the pink and white dress and matching socks dancing in the middle behind the band so this made ‘Hey little Girl’ quite an appropriate title!
Forrest –Rock the Boat – Hues Corporation? Forrest? Which is better? Take your pick. Great song anyway and I like ‘em both.
OMD – Genetic Engineering – A song that was more interesting to record and perform than listen to. ‘Dazzle Ships’ was often referred to as ‘Dazzle Sh**’ and the next single ‘Telegraph’ wasn’t much better either. After a run of great singles, this was OMD’s burp moment.
Bananarama – Na Na Hey Hey Kiss him Goodbye – Didn’t they enjoy performing this and what a feel-good track for the audience to dance to? Slightly repetitive but a good ‘un. John Peel enjoyed reciting the title.
Patti Austin & James Ingram – Baby come to me – Seemed to abruptly start. Could that be due to removing the JK link?
Video – Chart – Well we really got a huge chunk of Bonnie Tyler’s superb video here which surely must have helped boost sales. Not so keen on some of the other videos compared to the first ‘Top 10’ show a few weeks back. Nice to see the ‘Shy Girl’ again.
At this point I switched off…
I see ‘The Citadel’ was still on…cue Vangelis…. A few other notable actors starred in this alongside ‘Abrahams’ – Gareth ‘Blake’ Thomas, Michael ‘been in almost everything’ Cochrane and Colin ‘6th Doctor’ Baker.
I just didn't like the awful close-ups of Forrest's facial hair in that video. Not something you want to watch while having your breakfast.
DeleteIcehouse return and at least they've given the keyboard player a mic this time but he still mimes to a female vocal at one point which is just wrong.
ReplyDeleteI had completely forgotten about Forrest's cover of Rock The Boat and I wish it had stayed that way. Horrible sound production and equally horrible video. I can't believe this was such a big hit, why didn't they just re-issue the original?
Nice to see OMD back and good to see a megaphone on TOTP. I had forgotten about this one which I haven't heard for years. Never a group to stand still their sound changed with each album.
More dreadful covers in the shape of Bananarama - puke-a-rama more like. How did this pile of rat wank ever get anywhere near the chart? Any one of those girls in the crowd could sing better. I did and still do detest Bananarama.
Had no recollection of the Patti Austin-James Ingram duet but it's quite nice and its appeal is largely due to Ingram's superb vocal performance. He has dressed up for the occasion she has dressed down and appears to be wearing an artists smock.
The Video Top Ten which takes up almost half the show - but it's a shame they can't show the whole top 30 this way with short clips of the ones going up and down and full performances of the risers/new entries - the Fun Boy Three more or less a copy of their TOTP performance, The Thompson Twins video is saved with editing and special effects, Madness superb as always but disguising what the song is really about, TFF's video does the song a lot of favours as it's no way as good as the last hit, Musical Youth using comedy to prop up an average song, The Eurythmics is perhaps the best video in the Top Ten wirth Dave Stewart doing some sterling eye work, the Toto video is dreadful but it's a good song, Kaja is like The FB3 a simple performance video with a lot of paid extras posing as fans and Bonnie Tyler is suitably over the top and stylish.
And Jacko at the top, the only surprise being who it took so long to get there.