Things can only Jed better
21/02/85 (Bruno Brookes & Mike Read)
Howard Jones – “Things Can Only Get Better” (6)
Howard and his growing entourage get the show underway and there's even an appearance from his old mate Jed - not in mental chains this time but instead impersonating Charlie Chaplin! But the song would go no higher.
Sharpe & Numan – “Change Your Mind” (20)
Gary looks like he could do with a couple of pints of blood here, but the song did rise up three more places.
Prince – “Let’s Go Crazy” (27) (chart buster)
This fourth and final single from his Purple Rain album peaked at number 7.
Mick Jagger – “Just Another Night” (39) (chart buster)
His first solo single Memo From Turner reached number 32 in 1970, and now fifteen years later his second solo single also reached number 32.
ZZ Top – “Legs” (42) (chart buster)
What would you have given to have seen this danced to by Legs & Co! It peaked at number 16.
Little Benny & The Masters – “Who Comes To Boogie” (43) (chart buster)
Their only hit, peaking at number 33.
Don Henley – “The Boys Of Summer” (22)
Jetting into the studio to perform his classic solo hit, which went up ten more places.
Bryan Adams – “Run To You” (11)
On the same jet perhaps? The second of tonight's North American stars to perform in the studio but Run To You went no higher.
The Top Ten:
Prince - "1999" (10) (video clip)
Commodores - "Nightshift" (9) (video clip)
The Art Of Noise - "Close (To The Edit)" (8) (video clip)
Kirsty MacColl - "A New England" (7) (video clip)
Howard Jones - "Things Can Only Get Better" (6) (video clip)
Dead Or Alive - "You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)" (5) (video clip)
Bruce Springsteen - "Dancing In The Dark" (4) (video clip)
Ashford & Simpson - "Solid" (3) (video clip)
King - "Love & Pride" (2) (video clip)
Elaine Paige & Barbara Dickson – “I Know Him So Well” (1) (video)
The only female song to feature in full tonight, third of four weeks at number one.
Eddy & The Soulband – “Shaft” (30) (audience dancing/credits)
This cover was his only hit, peaking at number 13.
@BBCFOUR#TOTP— Graeme Wood (@woodg31) February 2, 2018
TV📺21/2/85 BBC1
7.0:EastEnders 7.30:Top of the Pops 8.0:Only Fools & Horses 8.30:A Question of Sport 9.0:News 9.25:Miss Marple pic.twitter.com/gkGNfv3yWu
February 28th is next, but it features Mike Smith so won't be shown on BBC4.
As shown by the TV schedule Angelo has posted, this TOTP went out immediately after the second episode of EastEnders, which had begun two days earlier. However, even if this edition was just 30 minutes we have not quite reached the end of longer shows yet, as it was not until EastEnders moved to 7.30 a few months later and TOTP started going out before it that the shorter running time became permanent. Mike Read and the lesser-spotted BB do the honours this week, the latter sporting a sparkly golden Maltese cross for some reason. They try their best to banter and generate a sense of bonhomie, but they seem a bit too poised in front of the camera for it to feel genuine. Nevertheless, it's a slick enough presenting job.
ReplyDeleteHoward up first, this time in a stripy waistcoat and mustard-coloured trousers. I did wonder if "Charlie Chaplin" might be Jed, and it was good to have that confirmed by Bruno. I'm sure we have seen that hairy drummer before, but I can't remember when. We move on to John Peel's old mate and the Numanoid, still persisting with that unappealing deathly pallor. This seems an unlikely partnership on paper but they actually end up bringing the best out of each other, as this is rather more tuneful than many of Gary's singles, but also more interesting musically than anything Shakatak ever did. The big-haired backing singer seems very intense...
The breakers have been rechristened as "busters" this week, which is rather stupid when records that stall at 33 hardly seem to justify the new appellation. In fact the Prince track is the only one of these that we will see again, which is a relief as none of these have much musical distinction. Mick Jagger was trying hard to forge a solo career at this point as his relations with Keef had hit rock bottom, but with material as mediocre as this you can see why he didn't succeed - he looks pretty awful in the video too. The fabled car is once again present and correct in ZZ Top's promo, but Legs sounds pretty weak compared to the last two singles - I like the furry guitar, though! As for Little Benny and the Masters, I have never heard this before and wouldn't particularly care to hear it again - it also sounds more 1981 than '85.
It's slightly surprising to see a star of Don Henley's stature in the studio, but here he is with a moody look and a large backing band to perform this excellent song. I wonder if Don was a fan of The Thompson Twins, as the woman earnestly beating that tambourine with her sticks put me in mind of Alannah Currie! Bryan Adams has also turned up, though he could perhaps consider himself fortunate to get on the show given he had now been stalled at 11 for three weeks - in any case, he and his bandmates look happy to be there.
Interesting that we get a clip of a different Commodores video in the Top 10 - perhaps they realised the other one was a bit dingy and depressing. A cover version of the Isaac Hayes classic closes proceedings, though in truth it just sounds like the original with a glossy 80s production sheen. An annoying pair of cheerleaders hog most of the camera time here, but we do get a few gratifying shots of the audience shuffling along awkwardly.
To be pedantic, TOTP actually went to permanent half-hour shows on 25th July, but at 7.55pm. Incidentally, the 28/2 ep is up on YouTube but with poor sound quality.
DeleteThat's perfectly true Andrew, though I would argue that the shorter running time only became set in stone once TOTP moved to 7.00 from 5th September. I have seen those 28 Feb YT posts, though unfortunately the middle chunk of the show is missing - hopefully the whole thing will soon appear.
Deletei had the same feeling of deju vu about howard jones's hirsute drummer. but like john i can't pin down who he appeared on the show with before
DeleteIndeed true regarding TOTP and EastEnders John. Didn’t know about the missing chunk regarding 28/2 has to be said.
DeleteThe album that Jagger track came from is truly awful. It really wasn't a good period for the Stones either with their 1986 album containing little of distinction.
Deletesadly the relative failure of that album (regardless of its merits) wasn't enough to convince jagger that joe public wasn't interested in his solo aspirations. about 10 years ago he recorded and released another solo album, and as part of the promotional process managed to sucker some tv production company to film a "making of" documentary at great expense. despite it being shown on prime-time telly, the album's sales figures were apparently embarrassingly and pitifully few!
DeleteI remember thar Wilberforce - weren't the first week sales figures in the hundreds?
DeleteIt's not the last we've seen of Jagger in the eighties either, because his infamous studio appearance for 'Let's Work' was in 1987.
yes, sales figures were apparently that low to my recollection!
DeleteI remember 'Sweet Thing' being a single in 93, presumably from that album referred to above. I thought that was pretty good, but suspect it was given a big spruce up for single release!
DeleteThe hairy drummer who appeared with Howard Jones is Trevor Morais who last appeared on TOTP back in May 1979 with Quantum Jump
Deletethanks for the ID stuart - before that mr morais was the original drummer for the late 60's/early 70's hammond organ jazz trio the peddlers, whose albums sold quite well at the time judging by how many were hanging around in charity shops 10-15 years ago. and before that was part of the merseybeat scene, having followed in the footsteps of one richard starkey in rory and the hurricanes... who by coincidence has been discussed below in his alter ego as ringo starr!
DeleteIncidentally, D42's Vimeo copy of this show reveals another BBC4 cut from the final link:
ReplyDeletehttps://vimeo.com/163797734
I'm not a big Prince fan normally, it's just like he acts like he's some crazy cool person. When Doves Cry is the best of this period for him I feel.
ReplyDeleteThe Jagger one I don't actually mind, the beat feels strong, the vocal fits the mood of it. I'd take it over a number of others in this episode.
The Shaft update wasn't that bad, extra funky tightness, machine-like drive to it to fit it with some of the sounds of the time. Not saying it's as good as the original of course.
Howard Jones song ok, though I like the previous hits more.
Stu-Stu-Stu-Studio Line from L'Oréal, it's Howard Jones with his latest clown outfit, and appropriately, he's brought along the most famous silent movie clown to spruce up the instrumental break. Not a bad impression, Jed, got the mannerisms down pat.
ReplyDeleteSharpe and Newman, two great tastes that taste great together. Well, sound interesting together anyway, bringing out unusual benefits from both their styles, it shouldn't succeed but it's not bad. Gaz's hypothermia look is one he's sticking with, evidently.
Then the Chart Breakers, sorry, the Ghost Busters, or something, starting with a storming Prince ditty using the same clips from Purple Rain that When Doves Cry did. Mick Jagger once again proving nobody was interested in his solo stuff (this didn't even have a cult movie to back it up), ZZ Top with their usual song and video, and some bloke doing a childishly basic rap over a funk band beat.
Don Henley obviously had great faith in Boys of Summer if he was prepared to promote it overseas, and though it didn't appeal to me at the time, now I can hear its better qualities. Great production, if nothing else. Instrumental break needed Jed dressed as Buster Keaton with the set collapsing over him, though.
Bryan Adams, not dissimilar to the Henley track in the same style anyway, with Bry dressed as Francis Rossi for some reason. Instrumental break needed Jed dressed as Harold Lloyd hanging from a clock face.
Top ten, and the Commodores fresh from The Love Boat for a new video. Congrats to Kirsty, that kid will be 33 soon, just to make us feel old. Then Elaine and Barbara with a song that's sounding longer and longer with every airing.
Last up, what the world wasn't waiting for, an 80s funk version of Isaac Hayes' Theme from Shaft. Must admit, there's some serious bass workout here, but otherwise it's like covering My Way, there's always going to be a definitive performance, and yours ain't it. Did like the red jumpsuit woman - "Oh, dancing, I think I know how to do that..."
As John G says, it was somewhat surprising to see Don Henley making the travel from the US to the TOTP studio, considering his stature and ex-Eagles place in music's all time hall of fame, so you could say this was a good snatch for TOTP. I somehow wish we only saw this tune on the famous video for it, which is what really made this song one of the all time classic pop songs ever made.
DeleteSame goes for Bryan Adams on this very same TOTP show, a big American name which made better videos than studio appearances, and he too made the long travel for the TOTP studio, so two big snatches for TOTP on the same show. Wow!
howard jones: this is most annoying, as i actually think the funky backing track is pretty good. but as i hate his voice and weedy melodies, his stupid skunk-meets-porcupine haircut and his face that i'd love to smash in with a lump hammer, i can't bring myself to like it unconditionally. if only someone else had done it
ReplyDeletesharpe & numan: i still don't know if they're going to bother showing the sublime "this is not america" by bowie and the pat metheny group or not, but in the meantime we have to make do with the poundland versions of the dame and PMG's keyboard wizard lyle mays. gazza's scary white face/blue lips look doesn't really gel with the cheerful chappy persona of "peelie's mate" (unless you think of them as some kind of pop version of those happy/sad actor masks). like the above this is more kind-of white funk, that's got a bit more bite than the latter's usual featherlight efforts with shakatak. but why not just take shakatak in that direction, rather than inflict the numanoid's dreary drone upon us once again? am i right in thinking that the lady accompanying the odd couple is the superstar of backing singers (if that's not an oxymoronic term) tessa niles?
chart busters: i can't access the complete show, so i am presuming that this is just the "breakers" section re-titled? as such i think i'll pretty much leave them until they appear proper. and if they don't, then i'm not going to stay awake at night worrying about it (why jagger felt the need to make solo recordings always puzzled me, and the "go go" sound of little benny et al was nowhere near as good as the british rock press made it out to be)
don henley: i always like the way this started with the spare guitar riff, and the verse also held my interest. but the chorus was a real let down
eddy & the soul band: this guy was dutch to my recollection, which might explain the somewhat less-than inspired band name. a cover of isaac hayes's ground-breaking perennial that is fairly faithful other than usage of the then-contempary production sound such as slap bass samples and heavily-gated snares. but also perhaps criminally not bothering with the wah-wah guitar, that surely defined the original? there was actually another recording around at this time (that i only discovered many years on when i started collecting cover versions of ike's masterpiece - i now have around 50!) by someone called van twist (who were belgian as opposed to dutch), that unlike eddy's and most other takes actually offers a twist with a different kind of rhythmic base. and not long after that industrial/indie rockers cabaret voltaire also had a stab at it - though in my view that is pretty diabolical, and to be avoided by all but the most avid "shaft" completist!
You can access the full show with John G's link to D42's copy.
Deleteblimey - an actual streaming copy rather than one that has to be downloaded (with nasties and all!). so thanks for that, although the individual performances for most of these shows can be found on youtube. however watching this now gives me the chance to comment on mike read's ridiculous attire (rather pointlessly wearing a tie with a collarless shirt!) and bruno brookes' curious pronounciations in the chart rundown i.e. band-AID, "yammo be there", "this is NOT america" (which by the way is now heading back down the chart, which means it won't get to be heard on the show - boo!). plus mr read adding a southern softie-style imaginary "r" in "shaft" - despite supposedly coming from oop north where they don't do that kind of thing!
Deletei forgot to mention: the ubiquitous backing vocalist claudia fontaine is on the show once again (with mr jones this time). she is/was one of the most prolific backing singers in british pop, although according to discogs she has only half the recording credits of tessa niles (who is credited on the sharpe & numan album that was somewhat curiously released several years after their hit, although one linda taylor is credited on the track itself - so i'm still not sure if it's tessa with them on this show or not?)
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DeleteGary Numan on this appearance seemed to be attired in Visage style faceprint and whiteness, so was it as much Sharpe & Visage as Sharpe & Numan? Good Lord, it was like 1985 going back to 1981.
DeleteThanks to James2001, who has made the full 28 February show available at the link below. The picture quality isn't great, but it is still watchable:
ReplyDeletehttps://we.tl/q9PFsktqdJ
Nice one :-)
DeleteWell another pretty good edition. These 1985 editions have certainly exceeded my expectations.
ReplyDeleteHoward Jones –Things can only get better – Great performance except for the little guy with the hat and moustache. What’s he got to do with this?
Sharpe & Numan – Change your Mind – Credit to Phil as he co-wrote this and not with Gary, but managed to make the song sound like Gary’s own! Presumably the ‘Berserker’ image was to keep promoting Numan’s own stuff? Weird ‘dancing’ for Mr Numan.
Busters
Never was a fan of Prince’s ‘Let’s go Crazy’. Mick Jagger looks like someone in the makeup department was let loose on the eye liner whilst I’d like to have seen more of the ZZ Top ’Legs’ video. Finally Little Benny and the Masters I’d never heard of before and I’m in full accord with John G; I can’t say I’ve missed much judging by this clip.
Don Henley – The Boys of Summer – Don brings his full entourage along for this performance which I do recall if only for the sheer surprise of seeing a member of the Eagles in the ToTP studio. Having raved about the excellent, introspective B Side ‘A Month of Sundays’ previously I went to have a listen on YT only to find it’s blocked, so I’ll have to dig out my single.
Bryan Adams – Run to you – This was also a surprising and pleasant appearance of another very American sounding artist and song. We’d had long stretches in previous years with nothing like Don and Bryan.
Elaine Page and Barbara Dickson – I know him so well – I always felt the bit in the second verse where Elaine sings the counter melody against Barbara should have been depicted by Barbara superimposed in the corner. Look at ‘Knowing me, knowing you’, the “Memories, good days, bad days” verse and you’ll see what I mean.
Eddy and the Soulband – Shaft – Well Isaac Hayes has been well and truly shafted here by this appalling rehash lacking all the wonderful instrumental bits (the ‘wah wah’ guitar that Wilberforce mentions) that forms a major part of this excellent piece of music.
I thought Joan Hickson was THE Miss Marple and this episode features the late Vic Maddern (Robson in the missing Dr Who classic story ‘Fury from the Deep’) whilst I love that episode of ‘Fools and Horses’ – one of my favourites. Here’s the denouement:-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjujYf5pz-Q
presumably "phil" is meant to mean bill sharpe? yes, officially he and his usual shakatak songwriting partner (and that band's drummer) roger odell wrote "change your mind", with numan apparently making no contribution. which again makes me ask why the latter was involved? perhaps they wanted to keep their day jobs safe by continuing to churn out the usual bland fare in order to pay the mortgage, and did this as a sideline to give themselves a break from that?
Deletesadly the wah wah guitar (or to be more precise, the use of the wah wah effects pedal with a guitar) had pretty much had its day by the time these totp re-runs started, but thanks to black moses incorporating it into "theme from shaft" they were all the rage on dozens if not hundreds of soul, funk and early disco recordings for several years. george harrison was even (presumably) motivated to write and record a track of that title on his post-beatles self-indulgent triple debut album as a result, although sadly there's precious little if any actual use of that effect in it!
DeleteGeorge Harrison's Wah Wah actually pre-dates the Shaft theme, and was written during the ill-fated Let it Be sessions in 1969. George had been using the wah-wah pedal extensively during those sessions, hence the title, though the song was actually a response to major arguments he had been having with both Lennon and Macca at the time, and which led to him temporarily walking out on the Fabs.
Deletesct - I agree that Joan Hickson was the definitive Miss Marple. She had actually appeared in an Agatha Christie play way back in the 1940s, and at the time Christie had expressed the hope that she would play Marple when she was older.
Deletei have to admit that i assumed harrison was as much influenced by "theme from shaft" with regard to the wah wah guitar sound, as his album came out around the same time as isaac hayes' soundtrack did. sadly though there was little if any evidence of that being used on beatles recordings (was that the reason he fell out with macca and lennon?) or his solo stuff. of course ike didn't invent the wah wah sound (hendrix was using one on "all along the watchtower"), but by utilising in harness with a rhythm guitar part and thus creating an irrestistable groove (rather than doing widdly-widdly solos as hendrix and presumably harrison did) opened the floodgates for its use in that manner. i remember reading an interview with the session guitarist legend chris spedding who said that he had owned a wah wah pedal for some time by that point, but as soon as he heard "shaft" he got rid of it as he thought he would otherwise be made to use it on every session he played on!
DeleteThe falling out was to do with Lennon/Macca patronising Harrison and not recognising the worth of the songs he was writing at the time, many of which would eventually end up on All Things Must Pass.
Deleteit's all subjective of course, but unlike some lennon & mccartney songs i can't say i've ever heard anything by george harrison that's appealed to me. perhaps the guy should have been grateful (as i think ringo was) just to have been in the same band as what are considered two of the greatest pop songwriters ever? or maybe if he felt that strongly about his own perceived talent being ignored and/or ridiculed by lennon & mccartney, he should have left the beatles and began a solo career whilst they were still going? and it's also easy to say in retrosepct, but my opinion is that by the mid-60's (and certainly once they decided to stop performing live) both harrison and ringo should have cleared their desks and been replaced by session musicians anyway!
Deletethe above reminds me of frank sinatra releasing a version of "something", and then allegedly saying something like it was the best song that lennon & mccartney ever wrote!
DeleteOn the other hand, I think All Things Must Pass is a masterpiece, and the best of the Fabs' solo albums from start to finish (George went off it, he said it was overproduced, which it is, but gloriously so).
DeleteThere's no doubt in my mind that George was producing the best music of any Fab straight after the split, and indeed just before it - I think he wrote the two best tracks on Abbey Road. He couldn't sustain it longer term, though I like his work with Jeff Lynne in the late 80s, in and out of the Wilburys.
Deletegiven that between them lennon & mccartney had probably written, recorded and released over a hundred songs in less than a decade (just writing one song is usually quite demanding in my experience), in terms of later beatles and early post-beatles output it was hardly surprising that harrison (who presumably only composed material when inspired to do so whilst in the band) was probably the freshest and sharpest of them songwriting-wise. however the ex-beatle who made the biggest impact as a solo act in the aftermath of their split was probably ringo!
DeleteBack Off Boogaloo is a great single, and... erm. That's about it.
Deletein the throes of the fab four split, presumably due to a kneejerk reaction and/or withdrawal symptoms beatles fans rushed out in their thousands to buy one of the first post-beatles' product that was ringo's debut solo album called "sentimental journey" - which was nothing but (badly sung) big band-style recordings of hoary old standards (with somewhat perfunctory arrangements by all manner of people ranging from quincy jones and john dankworth to macca and maurice gibb!), that he freely admitted he did for his mum!
DeleteYou certainly can't fault Ringo's hit rate in the early 70s - a Top Ten single every year from '71 to '74, three of which were co-writes with Harrison, including the rather lovely Photograph. However, I do wonder how much Ringo actually contributed in writing terms...
DeleteRingo's first writing credit was with Lennon & McCartney on What Goes On. He admitted that his contribution to the song was no more than four or five words.
DeleteHis first solo credit was with Don't Pass Me By in 1968. McCartney said the track had been around for years but Ringo never got round to finishing it.
Alan Klein reportedly used a Ringo recording session in late 1970 to try and lure Macca back to the fold. He got John to call him saying the others were working on a song and giving him details of the session. Klein thought that by getting Macca involved with the session it would strengthen his position in any legal wrangling to come but Macca didn't turn up to the session.
The original ratings for this week's TOTP's have been posted on the ratings forum. 14th Feb got 11.32m viewers, 21st Feb 10.71m.
ReplyDeleteMiss Marple and The Moving Finger got nearly 15 million after 9pm on 21st Feb with the billiards coverage on C4 enjoying 3 million viewers.
Ratings for 1985 then seem to be up a bit on 1984, where 8 -10 million was the norm.
DeleteDid viewers know what was going to be on the show in advance in 1985? I know the running order was included in the papers in the nineties.
DeleteIs it weird that I can still sing the theme tune to The Show Me Show?
ReplyDeleteA complete aside, but interesting to note that Anita Dobson (we'll be seeing her in 1986) was not the original actress cast to play Angie in EastEnders.
ReplyDeleteJean Fennell (who?) Was sacked just before the series aired, she did appear in early publicity shots.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2937230/Revealed-30-years-Angie-EastEnders-never-got-meet-Anita-Dobson-not-choice-play-role-propelled-stardom.html
like most of the original cast of "eastenders", anita dobson herself was very much a "who?" before it started. the only one that joe public could easily identify was wendy "miss brahms" richard (probably the first-ever soap regular that would nowadays be thought-of as a sleb), who like ms dobson also had a fleeting brush with the pop charts - in her case as the female voice (with a "featuring" credit) on mike sarne's early 60's chart topper "come outside"
Delete...not forgetting Michelle Fowler played by Susan Tully who was well known at the time for having played stroppy schoolgirl Suzanne Ross in 'Grange Hill'. Todd Carty also appeared as Tucker Jenkins in that popular series but he, of course, wasn't the original casting for brother Mark in Eastenders.
Deleteyes i suppose susan tully was a familiar face, if only to a niche audience i.e. mainly teenagers... plus saddos like me that were still lapping up "grange hill" in their twenties!
Deleteas one who had watched "grange hill" from the off (even though i had actually just left school when it started) i really enjoyed the spin-off series "tucker's luck", in which todd carty's character struggled to cope with life after leaving school in thatcher's brave new world (as i did!). i'd love to watch it again now, but sadly there doesn't appear to be a dvd release of it...?
DeleteMost editions of Tuckers Luck are on You Tube. The only missing one appears to be Season 1 Episode 2. All the rest are there.
DeleteIn retrospect, do we know for certain that Anita Dobson actually did play Angie, or was it Brian May...
DeleteAnita Dobson's album was in the record library at the hospital radio station I used to be involved with. The record looked as if it had rarely been taken out of its sleeve.
DeleteNot Mike Read's best, when he said Bruce's song had been a hit in 83 and was a bigger hit in 84 he meant 84 and 85, and got the title of the number 1 wrong, so Bruno was the better of the two!
ReplyDeleteWe hear that Kirsty MacColl had just given birth, ironically she sings "all the girls I knew at school are already pushing prams..."
ReplyDeleteOne of the big no1s of 1985 soon to hit our BBC4 repeat screens is 'You'll never walk alone' by the Crowd. Recorded under the direction of Graham Gouldman after the dreadful Bradford City FC fire, it contains a couple of faces in the crowd that we don't see on our screens these days. It will be interesting to see if there are any edits made at various points in the video if BBC4 do show it...
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLJus-atnVM
I am really nervous over the possibility of 13/6 and 20/6 being skipped altogether when it's number one.
Deletei was watching the football results roundup on either "grandstand" or "world of sport" when the bradford city fire disaster happened, and as part of the live reportage of what was intended to be a summary of the match the camera actually panned over the ground behind the reporter to a guy walking along the pitch whilst set on fire as if he was in "the terminator" or something! perhaps not surprisingly that footage was never shown again...
DeleteGood Lord, that's pretty far-ahead looking, to say the least Zenon. We're still only in February 1985! Are you also known as Dr Who? Oh, and don't be nervous; you have all us regulars to fall back on in those moments of worry.
DeleteBoth shows are Smitty free so we'll have to wait and see if the beeb edit the song, edit it out or skip the entire show.
DeleteThere has been speculation for a while on other forums about what BBC4 will do when The Crowd reach number 1, but we are racing through 1985 so fast we won't have too long to wait to find out. It's typical, of course, that their two weeks at the top did not coincide with a Smitty show.
DeleteWilberforce - I have vivid memories of watching the Bradford City live on Grandstand during the football results section. It's my first clear football memory, unfortunately.
Sorry, I did of course mean to say "Bradford City fire" there.
Deletei have to admit as one already steeped in hollywood gore by the mid-80's ("the terminator", "mad max", "escape from new york" etc), rather than be horrified by the walking man on fire i was actually mesmerised and hoped the footage would be repeated in later reports. and was somewhat disappointed when it wasn't! i hope that if i witnessed something similar today, then i would be far more appalled than my younger less-sensitive self was. but even 30 years on (as i might have thought at the time) i have to ask why didn't the guy (who to my recollection later died in hospital of his injuries) try to put out the fire by taking some clothes off and/or rolling around on the pitch, rather than just walking along on it?
DeleteI predict that BBC4 will get through the whole of 1985 and 1986 by the end of this year, judging by the pace of these shows, and already rushing through Jan and Feb 1985 in a blink of an eye it seems.
DeleteThe Top 40 Chart Busters had two songs actually outside the Top 40, with only Prince and Mick Jacker being Bona Fide top 40 busters at No 27 and 39 respectively. The other two were at No.42 (ZZ Top) and No.43 (Little Benny), which managed to sneak on to the busters cos there were not enough new entries this week, with lots of songs dropping down within the top 40.
ReplyDeleteAgreed with John G that this was not one of ZZ Top's finest records, and not a jot on the brilliant Sharp Dressed Man we saw only weeks ago in the chart, and nor was the video anywhere near as good as Sharp Dressed Man. Nice legs on the girls though, which was about the only redeeming feature of this 'chart buster" at No.42.
Mick Jagger - Just watched the video in full, and really liked it. It seems he had his own singing and dancing style as a solo artist, that he didn't being out as freely as with The Rolling Stones, so it has to be said that the solo career was a good move. It's a fun video, which does well to enhance the song's appeal, so bravo Mick.
Little Benny & The Masters - the group name was in the same vein as Kid Creole & The Coconuts, and Elbow Bones & The Racketeers. Suffice to say that Benny looked and sung like Kid Creole, and then peaked at No.33 like Elbow Bones. Funny that!
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ReplyDeleteI think the top ten video countdown continues until the end of 1985.
DeleteOh dear, Mike and Trevor looking like Kwiksave dummies in what looks like the same jacket.
ReplyDeleteTalking of which, here comes Howard with “Things can only get better with my dress sense”. Ah. If only he’d ditched the deckchair waistcoat to be colour coordinated with the backing singers. Jed was pointless but at least he brought some energy to the proceedings.
The combination of Sharpe and Numan shouldn’t work but somehow it does. The most animated Gaz has been, and Bill’s cheered up since that video.
Here comes the pointless breakers section, once again ruined by too much waffle over the start of the excerpts. Oo, purple lighting for Prince. Quelle surprise. Mick’s effort went in one ear and out the other. It’s that bloody ZZ Top car again! Who comes to boogie? Not me. Not to that tosh anyway.
Quite a coup to get Don Henley in, complete with a female percussionist – the new Alannah Currie, perhaps. Lots of extra tambourine crashing in that instrumental break. I bought this single at the time and recently purchased the iTunes version with the guitar solo outro. As mentioned on the previous thread, the boys in the song title are American footballers practising on the beaches out of season –and what a Superbowl it was last night.
Earnest good time rock with Bryan, though I think they should have had a wind machine and fake snow to partly reenact the video.
I want to learn that Commodores dance shown in their video clip.
What’s the title of the chart topper, Bruno? “I’d Like To get To Know Him Well”? Closet Howard Jones fan, are we?
And we end with a shaft of wit followed by a waft of sh... er, “Shaft”.
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ReplyDeleteThink I'm a bit late to the party with this one... oh well, here goes...
On to the not quite standard 30 minute editions. Not really room for breakers and top ten video countdown but we get both and only 5 songs. I feel short changed...
Two top presenters this week in Mr Guitar and Mr Chart.
The fabulous Howard Jones kicks us off with a top top song. Shame it didn't make the Top five. Is this the first drummer with an electronic kit (must have been more but just noticed it).
Did someone forget to give the backing singers a mic???
I like this Sharpe and Numan collaboration. Always good to see Gary in the studio, so distinctive. His new album last year was really good.
The keyboard player has his own TV. Do you think they all gathered around to watch the new series of OFAH afterwards??
Chart Busters???
What happened to the breakers?
Prince - I like this one. He really is taking over the world at this point isn't he.
Mick Jagger - hadn't heard this before, he really doesn't suit this MOR stuff. He is too much of a rocker.
ZZ Top - Hmm... not sure you'd get away with this video now - and the song is not a patch on their last 2 efforts.
Little Benny - Never heard of him but the song sounds familiar
We get an American star next. Very unusual. Don making the effort must have helped this become a big hit although surprised it never made the Top 10 - such a classic record.
Interesting to note that Band Aid and Ghostbusters are still getting the sales.
One north American turns up and then ANOTHER.. was there a coach trip???
Big fan of Bryan Adams for a while in the 80s and 90s. He has one of those obsessive/devoted following like Barry Manilow (mad screaming middle aged women mostly). I believe Miss Weather herself (Carol Kirkwood) is a big fan as she constantly mentions him.
Because we like a good look-a-like. Is that Alex from Franz Ferdinand on guitar?
The Commodores taking a massive leap this week.
Dead or Alive well on their way to the top. Good to see TOTP still had the power to make a record.
Bruce - 83, 84 does Mike know what year it is?
Eddy on playout. what the hell is this...was this really necessary.
Some good performances tonight but over in a flash...
Now back to the laptop for the Mike Smith....
i wonder if barry manilow still has the same fanbase of screaming middle-aged women, now that he's come out as gay?
Deletebut regardless of that, the guy who has cornered that particular market surely has to be neil diamond (his appeal is utterly lost on me, but then again i'm not a middle-aged woman... or is the more the case these day, coffin-dodging women). that reminds me: has anyone ever been to a karaoke session in a boozer where somebody actually HASN'T had a go at "sweet caroline"?
Sweet Caroline even gets an outing at the T20 Cricket now with the commentators signing along...
Deletespandau's john keeble had been using the simmons electronic drumkit for several years prior to this (he was definitely playing one when they performed "true" on the show in 1983). and i have a recollection of several others having done so as well in previous editions
ReplyDeleteJust really noticed it this time, obviously need to pay more attention..
DeleteA good show with lots of tunes I liked, even if the hosting left a little to be desired..
ReplyDeleteHoward Jones - Very similar to the previous performance with added Jed of course. His Chaplin turn looks very similar to the one in ABC's 'The Look Of Love' video so was that him as well?
Sharpe / Numan - I said previously that I really like this one. Definitely much better than any of Shakatak's hits.
Chart 'Busters' preumably because there are 2 from outside the Top 40. Possibly an idea that never caught in, though the 2 in question were very lucky since they both seemed to get a chart boost. That short-lived 'go go' craze completely passed me by at the time, and by the sounds of it was a music press invented with about as much class as the 'shoegazing' movement of the 90s.
Don Henley - Great song, and there is a bit of a 'wow' factor with him being there. To follow that with the similar sounding Bryan Adams is a bit poor though, I'd rather something else like Big Sound Authority had got a second chance.
That 'Shaft' cover can be filed in my list of pointless cover versions, the ultimate example of which was MC B Feat. Daisy Dee's version of 'This Beat Is Technotronic'