Happy Nellie Year!
03/01/85 (John Peel & Richard Skinner)
Smiley Culture – “Police Officer” (34)
Ello Ello Ello! Smiley Culture gets 1985 off to an arresting start with his only top 40 hit, which peaked at number 12.
Sal Solo – “Sam Damiano (Heart & Soul)” (37)
A choir of school children arrive in the studio. Didn't anyone tell them that Christmas was over now! Nevertheless, this still became a number 15 hit for the former Classix Nouveaux frontman, although he never had another make the top 40. And now the new format, the whole of the top ten, though some are just snippets:
Foreigner – “I Want To Know What Love Is” (10) (video clip)
On its way to number one.
Paul Young – “Everything Must Change” (9) (video)
At its peak.
Tears For Fears – “Shout” (8)
Went up four more places.
Frankie Goes To Hollywood – “The Power Of Love” (7) (video clip)
The former number one.
Ray Parker Jr – “Ghostbusters” (6) (video clip)
The former number two.
The Toy Dolls – “Nellie The Elephant” (5)
Their only hit, but they certainly made the most of it, and the audience joined in the party, and it went up one more place.
Madonna – “Like A Virgin” (4) (video)
Went up one more place. Shame they didn't re-show her studio performance instead of the video.
Paul McCartney & The Frog Chorus – “We All Stand Together” (3) (video clip)
At its peak.
Wham! – “Everything She Wants” (2)
George and the gang make it into the studio to perform this fabulous flip side to Last Christmas, but it got no higher.
Band Aid – “Do They Know It’s Christmas” (1) (video)
Penultimate week at number one.
Grandmaster Melle Mel & The Furious Five – “Step Off” (30) (audience dancing/credits)
Their third and final top ten hit, peaking at number 8.
Tonight's BBC1 schedule
Next up is January 10th but sadly, and despite the teasing clip of host Mike Smith in the Story of 1985, this edition will not be shown on BBC4.
I hope playing the whole top 10 is as short lived as the top 10 video show format. That was launched by Peel and/or Skinner too wasn't it?
ReplyDeleteI think it was the Rhythm Pals, though even that was just a rebrand of the video Top 10 used during 1980-81.
DeleteInto the second half of the 80s we go, then, with what I think is the final show hosted by Mr Ravenscroft with somebody not called Janice Long. This second try at a Peel-Dickie partnership works quite well, actually, even if the chemistry does not quite reach Rhythm Pals heights.
ReplyDeleteSomething up first that would have sounded pretty new to most ears at the time, as Smiley Culture melds reggae and rap together, as well as pointing the way towards the "Jafaican" accent so prevalent among London yoof today. While the bits where Smiley pretends to be a policeman are quite amusing, and I also like the brass section in their police uniforms, it goes on too long and feels by the end as if you are being beaten over the head with a verbal hammer. The song is grimly ironic in retrospect, as Smiley would stab himself to death in 2011 while the boys in blue were searching his house for drugs. Sal Solo next, missing the Christmas boat slightly with this very pleasant tune. Sal no longer looks much like Richard O'Brien here, not least as he appears to have grown a ponytail, or is it just a fake one attached to his cap? As ever when a choir appears on TOTP, it makes me wonder what the kids are doing now...
Michael Hurll then has the brilliantly original idea of playing a mostly video Top 10, interspersed with some new studio performances. Interesting to see the Paul Young video, though the black backgrounds made it feel a little drab. Tears For Fears are back in the studio, and give a lively performance of this great song - I saw their recent concert on BBC4 last week, and it was pretty good, though I thought Curt in particular is looking his age.
The Toy Dolls are also back with their tedious novelty tune - the audience seem to enjoy it, but the giant drumsticks are the only memorable thing about it for me! Something much more classy from Wham soon afterwards; as I've mentioned before, this funky, hard-edged little number is probably my favourite Wham song, and it seem that it was George's too, showing off his ever-increasing maturity as a songwriter. Great performance as well, with George, Pepsi and Shirlie keeping a reasonable coordination to their dancing while the conga player merrily spins his drums around. Melle Mel to finish off, continuing to milk his success with Chaka Khan but in the process serving up one of the more listenable rap records. Some people in the audience seem a bit unsure of how to dance to this, and the attempt at some coordinated steps by one group comes nowhere near Wham's earlier efforts...
as i know from experience having recently moved to the smoke at the time, the "jafaican" accent as you put it was already in use by second (and maybe third) generation black londoners by the mid-80's. i used to think of it as a mix of jamaican patois and cockney geezer speak, with a bit of afro-american rapper thrown in. it was pretty unique to young black londoners at the time, although i presume these days that (in the interests of trying to affect an attitude of cool) young white londoners sound practically the same? i remember "safe" (as in "all right" or approving of something) being a particularly popular expression back then - is that still the case, or is it now no longer safe to say safe?
DeleteYes, Jafaican is the accent of choice for seemingly all young Londoners these days, regardless of colour. Judging from various phone conversations I have overheard on trains in recent years, "sweet" would appear to be the new "safe," though admittedly I have only heard white guys use the expression!
Deleteby sheer coincidence i've just learned via watching a christmas 2017 edition of "university challenge" on yt that apparently the latest urban term for expressing approval of something is "dench", as coined by london rapper lethal bizzle (who i confess to not previously having heard of). however the fact that it has now reached the white middle classes via that tv show surely means via definition that its days as hip street slang are numbered, if not already superceded?
Deleteas a big fan of tears for fears in their mid/late 80's heyday, i felt obliged to take a look at their recently-broadcast concert on bbc4 via yt. yes curt does look a bit cadaverous these days, but at least he's in shape for a guy in late middle age. as is roland, although insisting on maintaining the bob hairstyle he had when 30 years younger does him no favours. music-wise, like all acts these days it seems they can't play totally live and feel compelled to use backing tracks regardless of the number of actual musicians on stage (which is a con in my view). and given they are both lead vocalists and capable of backing each other up, why is there a need for a third one on stage who isn't even playing any instruments?
DeleteI was a bit surprised that there was a third vocalist on stage, and he looked very much like a spare part, but perhaps they thought they needed someone else to achieve a fuller sound live?
Deleteat least one other member of the band had a vocal mic set up as well, which would indicate even less reason to have mr spare part vocalist on stage. maybe he was a mate of theirs? or maybe they decided to do a tribute to the late ray thingy of the moody blues? whatever, he certainly wasn't there to provide a bit of glamour!
Deleteanother inauspicious start to the new year due (like previous years) to most of it being from the year before, as it seemed people stopped buying singles over xmas. of the new stuff: i didn't know that smiley culture actually met his demise as a result of pressure by plod - maybe they never forgave him for taking the mick out of them on vinyl all those years before? as for sal solo, i suppose at least he was now living up to his name even if his solitary hit made no impression on me. and how ironic that after dominating the dance scene (and the charts to some extent) the previous year with the classic "white lines" whilst being utterly ignored by totp, melle mel's follow-up that nobody remembers gets played on the show. maybe because that one wasn't warning the kids of the danger of drugs?
ReplyDeleteThe only two songs from this week's show that I could pick out as brilliant are Shout by Tears For Fears, and Everything She Wants by Wham.
ReplyDeleteAt No.8, Shout is probably TFF's finest moment, being more an anthem than a song, and so powerful is its aura, that this song alone firmly and forever cemented TFF as one of the giants of 80s music. Like John G and Wiberforce, I also had the privilege of watching the TFF Radio 2 concert on BBC4 earlier this month, and despite Curt looking around 60, and Roland looking about 20 years younger, it has to be said that whether we watch TFF on a TOTP rerun like this this one in January 1985 or a late-2017 BBC indoor concert, the music is just brilliant.
Suffice to say that the album Songs From The Big Chair I remember lapping up at the time at my local Our Price record shop, for its groundbreaking musical scores that made the first TFF album look mighty small in comparison. Let us at this point salute Tears For Fears for the joy and entertainment they have provided for the last 35 years since they arrived as an unknown group in late 1982 with their debut hit Mad World, and now at No.8 in this week's January 1985 TOTP chart.
As for Wham deciding to flip Last Christmas to the double A side with Everything She Wants, I have to agree with John G that not only is this classy and funky, but you can chalk me up too as this one being my favourite ever Wham single. Not sure why the video was chosen to be black-and-white, as all their previous videos were in colour, but they were to repeat this b&w video-making a year later in 1986 with I'm Your Man and The Edge Of Heaven in what turned out to be Wham's final year.
It was good to see TFF get some exposure, as I don't think they have ever really been given their due - certainly one of the best acts of the 80s, in my view.
DeleteThe trouble with this new format is that not all the interesting records made the Top Ten, so I hope we don't lose out in favour of hearing the same things over and over.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, two items from the 30s to start with, and Smiley Culture with a song that sounded like a good laugh back in '85 but now seems shaded with horribly ironic, portentous tragedy. It's still a fun, cheeky ditty, and his toasting skills are exemplary - first mention of ganja on TOTP? Nope, Lenny Henry had played his PC Ganja character a couple of weeks before! Derek B would go on to rip this off on his biggest hit a short while later.
Sal Solo with his Christmassy tune, just missing out on actual Christmas, but it's a pretty, plaintive thing rendered totally uncool because it has a schoolboy choir on it. Hugely catchy, though, and massive in Poland for some reason. Don't hear a guitar on it, Sal.
Now into this Top Ten, with a lot of overfamiliar stuff, both from the past few shows and in the culture from the 21st century. Paul Young's video should really have featured the kids playing the younger him with the trademark spiky mullet. But definitely one of his best songs.
Tears for Fears with their muscular ode to primal screaming, still sounds monotonous and humourless to my ears, but they were providing something distinctive to the charts, in a good way.
Ah, what we all wanted to see again, The Toy Dolls, punk's not dead! Energetic, if nothing else, and an impressive header by Mr Dolls on the balloon at the end.
What have we told you about not standing up in boats, Madge? Very foolhardy. Not sure what a lion had to do with Venice, wouldn't she be better off with a sea lion with all that water about? Song remains a saucy reminder of how pop would grow more explicit over time.
Wham with their other A side, like the bassline here, and as John G mentions a very nicely co-ordinated set of moves from the group. Not sure where the synth player got to - was he filming for The Late Late Breakfast Show at the time?
Band Aid hanging in at the top, sad to see Paula Yates and baby Fifi Trixibelle, knowing she's dead now. OK, she was a rubbish presenter, but it's still a shame.
Melle Mel makes it to TOTP at last, and hands up who remembers this one?! Nope. Disappointingly, it's one of those "I'm great, me!" raps that were prevalent at the time and not a patch on his other hits. The O'Jays' For the Love of Money lift not quite disguised by the re-recording.
The Lion of Venice sculpture in the Piazza San Marco is held to symbolise both Venice and St Mark, which is presumably why they included a lion in the video.
DeleteThe things you learn on this blog! Every day's a school day...!
Deleteam i right that both mrs & miss big-gob in the video are no longer around, or was it another one of his daughters that copped it a while back (you see kids: just because they had a free pass to slebland and riches that you can only dream of, it doesn't necessarily mean they were set up for life. well, not for a long one anyway!)?
Deletei can't say i ever cared for paula yates's somewhat-smarmy and self-congratulory presenting of the "tube" (nor was i ever impressed by her looks either - she was definitely giving toyah some comtetition when it came to one's only talent being able to succeed in showbiz despite an evident lack of any). but after she left the show her replacement lesley ash was far worse! muriel gray was by far the most competent female presenter on that show in my opinion, but was probably denied the anchor spot for being a bit too fiercesome and dyke-like - which would probably stand far more in her favour these days!
It was Peaches who passed away, of a drugs overdose, just like her mother.
DeleteAt least Paula was marginally better than the deer in the headlights little boy on The Tube (Felix?).
wilberforce - oh dear! I thought Paula Yates was a good TV presenter. Shame about the personal demons, but there you go. Not really on to have a good sneer about that, I'd have thought? Unless that's your cuppa (and evidently it is yours? lol).
Deleteas they say teaurn, each to their own. apart from not caring for her smug and self-satisfied style of tv presenting (a "skill" that i'm sure most of us could do at least competently, if given the opportunity), i'm sniping at paula yates because she was a shameless gold-digger who ultimately got what she deserved... like a moth getting too close to the f(l)ame!
Deletei took a look at the radio times extract above, and went through the many pupils' names in "grange hill" to see how many i was still familiar with from what is probably considered the "classic" era of the show. among those i recognised and had visual recall of were suzanne ross, zammo mcguire, glenroy (no surname given in his case) and roland browning (or rather ro-LAND, as the younger black girl who kept hanging around with him used to call him). i remember in the late 80's being on one side of a tube station, and spotting the guy who played roland on the other side - as did some kids, who started shouting out "ro-LAND! ro-LAND!" across the tracks... to which he responded with a rather sheepish wave!
ReplyDeleteSo we start 1985 with a new format and a song I have never heard before. Police officer I will happily never hear again... Let's hope there is better to come..
ReplyDeleteWifey is pissing herself laughing...oh well Smiley. Never mind.
Sal Solo is another new one on me. Wonder if any of the choir are watching now. Definetely should have been a Christmas hit. Not bad but forgettable.
Really odd chart this week with so much 84 stuff going back up.
Richard explains the new format. They didn't ask me...
Paul Young. This is a really great song for me. Wifey a big fan. Loving the mullet...mind the baby Paul
Shout! Easily the best song on the show.
Ghostbusters still doing well I see. Song doesn't get tired at all. Love it.
Another go for Nellie. Just mad...that's Christmas party season for you.
Another chance to see Madonna's video. I imagine my Dad turning over at this point, I was far too young for this filth.
Aaaahhh the Frog Chorus. A childhood fave.
Wham with the brilliant Everything She Wants. Deserved to be number one.
The actual number one of course well on its way to becoming the biggest selling single of the 80s. And rightly so.
Last up (after a quick edit to remove Michael of Smith) we get Melle Mel showing us rap should be done. U listening Smiley?
Not sure about this new format. The Top Ten seemed to take forever to get through. Preferred it when they did the video Top Ten a few years ago,
Think the presenters had less chance to make their mark.
In fact the whole show seemed to go on a bit. One of the longer 'regular ' editions I think.
This episode was about 40 minutes long, but thanks to the imminent arrival of EastEnders TOTP would shrink down permanently to 30 minutes later in 1985.
DeleteThanks. I wondered when it shrunk in size. Wasn't there a 3 minute limit on the songs as one time as well.
DeleteJohn, it's not a case of 'thanks' to the arrival of Eastenders. I remember feeling somewhat short-changed when the arrival of Eastenders was the first time that TOTP was relegated to 30-minutes forever, and was never again to be at the customary 40-minutes that we had pretty much every week for the 20 years of TOTP leading up to 1985.
DeleteIt was a moment of sheer madness by the BBC, in my opinion, to reduce the show to 30 minutes, because it meant showing less songs, and so the new singles released, inevitably had to fight harder to get on the show, and even those that were on the show seemed to be rushed out more quickly than ever.
A work colleague of mine only has interest in big hit songs and often has no recollection of songs lower down the chart. She also (erroneously) thinks music from 85 & 86 is brilliant. Suddenly it all makes sense given this terrible TOTP rebrand.
ReplyDeleteMind you, I'd gladly have heard less of Smiley Culture. I was one of the youth this was presumably aimed at back then and I found it baffling and awful. I haven't changed my opinion.
Sal Solo - Much better, though I don't know why he covered up his famous slaphead. This song sticks in your head, and I listened to the album it's on earlier this week. It's not bad actually, and there's a song about showing solidarity with Poland which - to answer THX's question - indicates that he was already popular there.
Then the dull bit with the nth iteration of Top 10 in full. The TFF song I've heard far too often and isn't that great anyway, Toy Dolls are crap and only Wham save the day with a great tune.
The Melle Mel song was alright but I had totally forgotten that it got as high as No.8!
no doubt some will think or even accuse me of being sexist for saying this, but to my recollection very few women of my generation had any real interest in music outside of the mainstream that was continually pumped at them via the radio, telly, and the lighter end of the magazine market. the one area where they probably had more knowledge and interest than men was the club scene, but even there most were probably just happy to dance to the music played there and then leave it behind until the next time they went out, rather than seek out the records to buy and listen to at home. it would be interesting to get a reaction from a female peer who contributes to this blog. but in my estimation there currently aren't any, and has only been one of any note since the re-runs started. which speaks volumes. and this is a circumstance where by definition the music featured is of the mainstream variery, rather than the more obscure/esoteric/specialist stuff that i'm sure i'm not the only guy here who was into back then?
Deletewilberforce - I'm female and was the polar opposite of what you suggest, re music tastes. In 85 I was 13 /14, and watched pretty much all the music TV shows doing the rounds and I would read the music weeklies at the library and listen to John Peel and whoever did the show prior to that on R1 in those days (Kid Jensen, Janice Long?). Things had been this way for a few years already. Not sure I ever outgrew a lot of that. In the present day, I wish some of those other music TV shows would also be repeated.
Deleteteaurn - i'm pleased my comment has drawn you out to respond (hopefully not for the last time, either), and to read that you had an interest in music beyond the superficial. but i still stand in my belief (based on memory and observation at the time) that the vast majority of females in their teens and twenties in the 70's and 80's had little if any beyond the mainstream. it may well have been in some cases that they had an interest, but were afraid to show it as they would then be perceived as weirdos and oddballs not conforming to society's expectations of women back then (where being single amd independent was very much frowned upon)?
Deleteyou mention janice long, but the fact that she has so far been the only female totp presenter among an ocean of male ones in these re-runs (and her stance was very much that she was "one of the boys", who just happened to wear a dress sometimes), surely is a microcosm of what i'm saying?
although i have no real connection with the youth of today, i would assume that it's now perfectly acceptable for young women to display and indulge a passion for lesser-known music without being seen as strange or different?
Teaurn, you sound like my sister! She was a big music fan, from The Beatles to A-ha, for years, though then she switched to classical for some reason.
DeleteI actually switched to classical music in 85.
Delete84 was such a hard act to follow for popular music in the charts and some songs like Dead of Alive really put me off.
I didn't bother with contemporary music for many years after, but I've enjoyed catching up on the past I missed later on (the internet makes it easier to find the good stuff now).
my sister was typical of my generation in that she had a superficial interest in mainstream pop music, that changed as quickly and as often as the trends did. so in the late 70's she was a schoolgirl into "grease" (complete with home-made rock n roll costume, that ended up being discarded as quickly as the music), and in the mid 80's was a yuppie with a copy of sade's "diamond life" on her coffee table. i also seem to remember she was also into duran duran for a while in the early 80's. so when she showed indifference to supporting any gigs i did at that time as a would-be pop star myself, i had to point out to her that even they had to start at the bottom rather than magically instantly appear from nowhere as a major chart act!
DeleteHas the Smitty show appeared yet?
ReplyDeleteYes, here it is:
Deletehttps://wetransfer.com/downloads/b6ecf9988ea4c5b8a937bfcee728d8e820180113200531/67838d
Thanks for sharing. 😀
DeleteNot sure if it is just our area, but freeview bbc4hd is being retuned next Friday, so if you have TOTP on series link you’ll have to retune and relink (or use non hd channel)
ReplyDeleteSo, who do I write to in order to complain and want the 1984 version of TOTP back?
ReplyDeleteI can see it being more difficult to critique this year’s shows. I rarely commented before on promo videos in TOTP and will probably struggle this year.
Videos are staged, airbrushed and controlled to the likings of the record company and show how they want the song and artist to be perceived. Studio performances are more lifelike and provide unfettered perceptions as well as allowing more slack for things to go awry, be it...
a mic falling off its stand,
a sincere ballad railroaded by a stray balloon smacking the singer in the mush,
‘crowd’ being mown down by the cameraman,
awkward camera shots,
more awkward dance routines,
even more awkward clothing (remember Billy Ocean’s mustard yellow trousers?)
and some headscratching acts on the show, like 1776 (that no-hit act fronted by a Charles Bronson lookalike.
Anyway, sorry I’m late – I went to a punk rock gig last night. So, here we go.
Smiley Culture – dreadful and so forgettable Dickie momentarily forgot its title.
Sal Solo dressed as the new romantic Norman Wisdom with another awful song.
Now, at the expense of everything else between 11 and 29 and after two songs, chart rundown and more guff, we enter the ‘bright’ new era.
A nice bit of country soul by Paul Young, who nearly trod on the arm of that baby on the stairs, clumsy arse.
Roland Orzabal was really feeling the song, wasn’t he? A bit overwrought if you ask me.
How were The Toy Dolls just one-hit wonders with that musicianship? I loved the way the crowd tried to knock the singer / guitarist off balance with balloon fury - and did someone in the crowd say “W@nker” during one of the chorus build-ups? This song reminded me of Peter Kay’s working men’s club comedy “Phoenix Nights”, where one chap’s audition consisted of him jumping up and down in an elephant head codpiece to the Dolls’ classic.
No, Dickie, it isn’t “JUST Like A Virgin”. Sheessh.
Nice black and white livery for Wham apart from Andrew in Spandau Ballet gear and confined stage right holding a guitar because he can’t dance.
And we finish with an act pronounced differently by our hosts featuring the intro to ”I Feel For You” (why, for goodness sake?) and a (c)rap which could easily have been called “Smug Smug Smug”.
wasn't ridgers actually "playing" a bass rather than a guitar (even though it was obviously a synth rather than a bass guitar on the recording)? and he did dance moves fairly compentently in the early wham totp appearances - maybe he couldn't play air bass and co-ordinate his feet at the same time?
Deletelike most here, i agree the track was one of their better efforts (especially after the mock-motown rubbish they peddled in 1984), and it was a shame it was wasted an yet another "double a-side" - which to be honest i still don't really get the point of, as given their popularity at this point this might well have been another chart-topper for them had it been released as a standard single
Arthur, with regard to your first point about complaining and wanting the 1984 version of the show back, isn't it interesting that the title of Angelo's blog this week is 'Top Of The Pops Must Change'?
DeleteGood points there by Wilby and Dory.
ReplyDeleteSo, Dickie, apparently we want more hits, but in six weeks' time we get about 25% less airtime. Did we ask for that in the survey I never heard about?
I suspect there was no survey, just Michael Hurll's wish to tinker with the format - maybe he was bored.
DeleteMost TOTP changes over the years seem to be quietly dropped after a few weeks with the exception of the Top 40 Breakers.
I definitely watched this as I recall being underwhelmed at the time by the ‘other’ A Side of the Wham single (love it now) but don’t recall this 'top10 in its entirety nonsense'. I mean come on, we’d have actually had ‘An Innocent Man’ played if they’d been doing it earlier!! Was Andrew actually singing the lower parts – “give me money got to give me money…”? This version is different to the one on the other side of my festive sleeved ‘Last Christmas (pudding mix)’ 12” single where interestingly it has a big ‘A’ on both sides as well.
ReplyDeleteWithout going into too much detail, the show has some great moments thanks to the top10 rundown and some low points (hi there Smiley Culture and Grand Master Melle Mel). I particularly enjoyed Paul Young’s effort with lots of different people in the video. Sal Solo gets over his Classix Nouveax image and delivers something quite festive sounding….for January.
The highlight for me though was that Band Aid record at no1. What a song!
Grange Hill’s cast features Paula Ann Bland as Claire Scott. I definitely had the hots for her at the time!
I'm pretty sure that's George singing the lower vocals in 'Everything She Wants' as well.
DeleteThe version on the 12" is presumably the same one as on 'The Final' where it's just listed as (Remix) I think. It's a couple of minutes longer than the single version and structured slightly differently.
You could be right Noax. I read an article recently about the making of Last Christmas, which George recorded entirely on his own - vocals, all instrumentation, everything. He wouldn't allow anyone else in the studio, not even Andrew, so maybe other Wham songs around this time were recorded the same way.
DeleteThe BBC1 schedule includes one of Bob Godfrey’s lesser remembered cartoon series (cf “Roobarb”) and a picture of Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s mum, who turned up with two minders to watch her daughter’s first ever gig, as singer of indie band theaudience, at Staines Town Hall!
ReplyDeleteWas that a typo error Arthur? Did you not mean Sophie Ellis-Bextor's 'bum'?
DeletePretty sure that's a photo of Janet Ellis and not anybody's "bum".
Deleteagreed, thx - i can't make comment on sophie ellis-bextor's "bum" (nor do i want to, to be honest), but has anyone else noticed how freakishly wide her face is?
DeleteI think it was Robbie Williams who once unkindly described her face as a "satellite dish!"
Deleteanother comedian made a similar comment about actress minnie driver having a face shaped like a fifty pence piece!
DeleteI find Sophie (and Minnie!) quite attractive. Let's hear it for unconventional beauties. Jolie laide, the French call them.
DeleteNice to see the Sal Solo song get appreciation,, I didn't know it at the time. A hint of an operatic vocal hidden in there, the children's choir do a decent job, better than on some songs you see them used.
ReplyDeleteEverything must change - is ok, has the feel of Love of the Common People in the vocal/production to me.
I like Step Off more than Police Officer which feels more a novelty comedy rap, though he does a good vocal like when he switches accents.
I wasn't that aware of Everything She Wants at the time, but it's a decent effort if not as much a big tune as their recent hits.
Hello from 2023. This edition was the latest of the 'through the decades' (well, approx 13 years so far) repeat of TOTP repeats. The 2001 (hmmm) revised version of the 30th anniversary show last night allowed enough time to show the full 3/1/85 edition, meaning a couple of extra minutes of some particularly smarmy male dancers strutting about to the play out song. A really good edition though with plenty of big hits as demanded by the clearly easily distracted viewers.
ReplyDeleteRichard Skinner and John Peel do the honours. The former his usual affable, former Thames continuity announcer assured self and the latter interested when he's interested. They make a good pair though some opportunities lively DJ banter get humourously lost in translation.
Smiley Culture; Goodness this takes me back! Must say he was a favourite for a short time. Amazing it was that far back. I just remember liking his jollity and his jumping between accents and I'm genuinely saddened to learn of what happened to him. He was definitely on TV a fair bit and I still like this. Obviously had no idea how sharp the lyrics were at the time.
Sal Solo; The revamp (not for long fortunately) emphasises the biggest hits of the week but before that a genuine obscurity. If it counts as a Christmas hit, it must be one of the least heard ones to make the UK charts. Indeed immediately after this was repeated in 2018, my sister texted me to say she loved this and hadn't heard it once since January '85. It's a gorgeous haunting single with a definite 'Box of Delights' ambience to it and maybe that's what took it into charts, it's concluding episode broadcast on Christmas Eve '84. Certainly Sal Solo looks more approachable than he previously did. A pity he didn't meet the applause by applauding his young choir. "..on some sort of youth training scheme", adds John rather uncharitably.
Richard explains the latest change to the format and into a frustratingly protracted top 10 rundown we go. At least most of the choices are good.
Paul Young; Foreigner IS the start of '85 for me but 'Everything Must Change' gets the full showing after a strange Peel link. Great single with the weird mix of eerie synth and pedal steel and I've always liked the opening lines. Always a very nostalgic listen. Video a bit boring.
Tears For Fears; Brilliant tune and a powerful performance.
The Toy Dolls; It's hard to listen to this now mainly because it's crap but we all loved this at primary school at the time and all 'sang' that part. They look about 7 years out of date and sound it as well. 'Nellie The Ellie' Richard calls it. Eh?
Madonna; The video to 'Like a Virgin' and her full arrival. Wow how I remember this! Her in the wedding dresses and on the gondola. One of the best pop star videos of all time for me and still such a great single.
John's half hammy, half genuine laugh at the end of the Paul McCartney clip made me laugh and even more so when it gets no response at all from Richard. That was funnier than any daft costumes.
Wham!; Good to see a studio performance of 'Everything She Wants' and a pleasant reminder of George Michael's rather indecisive dancing. He could be conducting Sal Solo's boys choir with his arms swaying from side to side. I noticed that the chart photo for the re-entering 'Freedom' is the one for 'Last Christmas'.
Band Aid; What to add here? There was an occasional series called 'So You Think You Know About....' on BBC1 and I'm sure that when the video was announced as being premiered after the news I thought it was another of those programmes. We had a school assembly all about the single's release.