When your thumb looks like a guitar
06/02/86 (Simon Bates & Paul Jordan)
The Damned – “Eloise” (18)
Their only top ten hit, it peaked at number 3.
Five Star – “System Addict” (6) (video)
Their first of six top ten hits, this one peaked at number 3.
Ozzy Osbourne – “Shot In The Dark” (21)
Went up one more place.
Belouis Some – “Imagination” (25) (breaker)
Became his only top 20 hit when it peaked at number 17.
Public Image Ltd – “Rise” (20) (breaker)
Peaked at number 11.
Whitney Houston – “How Will I Know?” (19) (breaker)
Peaked at number 5.
Double – “The Captain Of Her Heart” (14)
Their only top ten hit, peaking at number 8.
Billy Ocean – “When The Going Gets Tough The Tough Get Going” (1) (video)
First of four weeks at number one.
James Brown – “Living In America” (8) (audience dancing/credits)
Went up three more places.
Next up is February 13th.
I could not find anything to comment about on this show, apart from the excellent video at No.1, so here goes.
ReplyDeleteThe Billy Ocean video now at no.1 for the first week, was the epitomy of 80s american nostalgia, not for Ocean himself, but more for the likes of his three guest backing singers, of which Danny Devito also took the sax instrumental break on the stage in the video.
Devito was most famously known for his role of Louie, the New York taxi cab company supervisor, managing the likes of Christopher Lloyd as Jim Ignetowski, and Andy Kaufman as Latka Gravas. Taxi was already three years since its curtain call when the final series went out in 1983, so here in 1986, Devito seemed like he had finally found his next famous role in the India Jones movie where I think this video was linked to, and was certainly the best thing on this TOTP show to start February 1986.
One of the best No.1s of the entire 80s decade in my opinion, and it was to stay there at no.1 for the whole of February 1986, and it has some meaning for me, as it was the No.1 on my 18th birthday in that same month.
The Billy Ocean song was from Jewel of the Nile, the sequel to the hit feminist twist on adventure movies Romancing the Stone, of a couple of years previously. DeVito was in that too. He was never in an Indiana Jones movie, though.
Deletei did actually try watching both the douglas/turner films, but never got the end of either of them as they were heavy going despite (or maybe because of) the comedy element, and because it was quite obvious they were just indiana jones-lite. they also did a remake of the victorian adventure novel "king solomon's mines" (starring richard chamberlain and a pre-fame sharon stone - what a shame she wasn't the female lead in the douglas films rather than turner) around this time, that was another obvious cash-in. and just as dreadful. the film that de vito directed and co-starred in with douglas and turner as a sort-of follow-up to their adventure films ("the war of the roses") is worth a watch though
Deleteha ha my bad syntax suggests it was michael douglas and kathleen turner who also did "king solomon's mines"! actually it was cannon films (who have been mentioned here before in recent times) who leapt on that particular bandwagon
DeleteI saw Romancing the Stone in the cinema in St Andrews, knowing nothing about it beforehand, and thought it was great, it's really cheering to go into a film unaware and thoroughly enjoying it. Kathleen Turner is fantastic in it, proving she could do something else other than the maneater from Body Heat, you feel truly invested in her character thanks to her sympathetic stylings from mouse to capable and in control. Great chemistry with Douglas too.
DeleteThe terrible King Solomon's Mines I saw on video, can't believe that got a sequel too. There's an amusing anecdote in the Cannon doc Electric Boogaloo about the African extras and crew on it relieving themselves in the pool Sharon Stone had to sit in because she was winding everyone up so much. Well, not amusing if you're Shaz.
ha ha thx you've reminded me of the legend that employees in stationery factories would piss in the vats used for the glue strip put on envelopes that people would lick to shut them with! not surprisingly, being aware of that i always run such an envelope through water from a dripping tap for the moisture required
Deletetalking of sequels involving michael douglas and sharon stone, when the latter made a belated follow-up to the film that broke her fame-wise ("basic instinct"), by that time her star had fallen so low (possibly due to her reputation for being difficult?) that she was reduced to working with jobbing british thesps as opposed to hollywood royalty... plus somewhat bizarrely ex-footballer stan collymore, who was also renowned for having an attitude problem!
Basic Instinct 2 managed to be bizarre and boring at the same time, but it is strange to see proper, Northern, gritty thesp David Morrissey in the Douglas role.
DeleteI remember seeing Sharon on a Graham Norton show about 15 years ago where she did a Grace Jones and started hitting him - oddly that hasn't made it to those clip show compilations! Channel 5 are you reading?
When Tommy Steele starred in a stage production of Singin' in the Rain, he apparently rubbed the crew up the wrong way so much that some of them peed into the water tanks that would drench Tommy during his performance of the title song!
Deletehosts: oh dear, the original prat alongside the latest one. note jor-ache couldn't even get the title of the number one single right (so is it "when the going gets rough, the rough get going" then?). also: whilst james brown had a host of nicknames, i don't recall "boogie" being one of them - after that howler by prat junior, you can actually here someone react in disbelief!
ReplyDeletedamned: i know they've been on the show fairly recently with what was a modest hit that showed their new goth direction, but for most (including me) this was a case of "where have these washed-up old punks suddenly sprung from? i wasn't familiar with the original so couldn't compare at the time (in retrospect i don't think they did anything drastically different), but remember the meandering middle bit seeming to go on and on and on. and on. i never really liked it despite the saturated radio play, as it was all a bit too cod-rock operatic for my taste
ozzy: say what you like about the merits or otherwise of heavy metal (amd i'm mostly in the "otherwise" camp), you cannot argue that by-and-large the frontmen of such acts have impressive larynxes. however mr osbourne is clearly an exception to that with his mediocre efforts at singing, so no wonder he had to bite the heads off bats and piss on the alamo in order to keep in the limelight
double: first some norwegians, and now a bunch of swiss guys with a belated leap upon the synth pop bandwagon. listening to this again, i suddenly remembered the mega-clunky modulating link between the dreary verse and only slightly less dreary chorus (and i simply can't bear the sound of a soprano sax these days). a bit sad really that they had a hit whilst their far-superior countrymen yello had been in business for several years without bothering the chart compilers (they got their moment in the sun in the end with "the race", but it was nowhere near as good as some of their earlier stuff)
james brown: the trouble with the godfather of soul is that whilst i dig a fair bit of his 70's funk workouts, i don't actually care for the man himself with all his shouts, screams and yelps. but whilst i don't suppose this would be regarded as one of his classics, at least producer dan hartman has reined some of his infuriating tics in. and musically it has to be admitted that it's quite an infectious groove that i have a vague recollection of easily filling dancefloors at the time
Sadly it would seem that, after his two shows with Smitty, Paul Jordan had decided to try to emulate his presenting style, as he comes out with some bizarre comments. The Fine Yoghurt Cannibals? Shot in the Dark being somehow related to the birth of Ozzy's future TV star son Jack? Next to this Master Bates (whom Paul seems quite keen to suck up to) comes across as relatively normal, and he does a competent job, studiously ignoring his co-host's unfunny antics.
ReplyDeleteI remember The Damned's version of Eloise well from the time, and only discovered later that it was a cover. After listening to Barry Ryan's magnificently demented original, this vaguely Goth-tinged version instantly sounded limp and forgettable in comparison, and remains so today; at least Dave Vanian's Cruella DeVil-inspired hairdo provides some visual interest. Five Star seek to prove their credentials as the new Jacksons with a slickly choreographed video featuring lots of computers to show how modern they are, and also what appears to be a role of Andrex toilet paper...
Ozzy was at the peak of his blond perm period here, and the sparkly coat-cum-dress suggests he was trying to get in touch with his feminine side. The song sounds like pop-rock from the production line, hitting all the buttons that guarantee radio airplay, but soulless and formulaic. The breakers will all appear again, so straight on to Double and a song that was a favourite of Terry Wogan's for many years on the Radio 2 breakfast show. It's a pleasingly mellow tune, but never quite manages to shift out of first gear and becomes a bit tedious by the end. The performance is appropriately static, with the singer-guitarist coming over as a bit creepy and unsettling.
Billy is on video for his first week at the top, and it is an entertaining affair with the stars of The Jewel of the Nile throwing themselves in to their backing singer roles - we also get Danny DeVito's MU-baiting moment in the sax-playing spotlight. Another film tie-in to play us out, as James Brown grunts and yelps his way through this mediocre comeback hit. While nothing special, it does at least provide "Duncan Norvelle" and his cohorts in the studio with something danceable.
john you've reminded me of the anecdote of when ozzy osbourne was a hopeless alcoholic and mrs o (the odious sharon) either locked away his clothes or took them with her when she went out when they were staying in a hotel room, so he couldn't go out and get drunk (presumably stopping room service as well). yet came back several hours later to find him smashed despite that. the mystery was only solved when he later admitted that he had dressed in her clothes and gome out and got pissed in a local transvestite club!
DeleteThat's a great story, and probably true!
Deleteto my recollection it was sharon who told the tale, so i would guess it's true? good old ozzy - you can always rely on him for fantastic fables of rock 'n' roll excess, despite being a crap singer!
DeleteAnother episode I really enjoyed! We seem to be on a roll at the moment.
ReplyDeleteThe Damned go waaaay over the top with Paul and Barry Ryan's throat-strainer, and make a not bad fist of it in the process, though I do miss the "do-de-do-de-do, do-de-do-de-do" change of tempo at the end of the middle eight. Liked Dave's cocked eyebrow, made oi laff.
Finally a decent slice of pop from Five Star after a few tries, not that it was in any way cool to say that at the time (or now, perhaps). Computer themed ditty (because the 80s - at least it wasn't about nuclear war) that has a distinctive, almost stuttering beat ensuring it sticks in the mind.
Paul Jordan mentions Jack Osborne being three months old, on the day three decades later he was in the news for assaulting someone, too (I thought he had MS? Keeping active, no doubt). Meanwhile, Ozzy wails through some mid-tempo metal that reminds me I watched every episode of The Osbournes, and I'm still not sure why.
Hmm, this must be the alternative, non-rude "Belouis" "Some" video to Imagination. Had to get on TV somehow, I suppose. Presumably we see John and Whitney next instalment?
Then Roger Federer's favourite record (I like to think), a moody little number that suits the way past midnight mentioned in the opening line. Quite resonant in its modest way, very Europop sounding, but not to its detriment. Didn't know Richard Madeley was the lead singer.
Billy rightfully claiming the top spot with one of the brightest number ones of the decade, and we get the proper, DeVito playing the sax video too! What was all that on Story of 86 about when they said he had to be replaced, then?
James Brown to dance out to, remembering his clobber in Rocky IV and wincing on his behalf. Mind you, he probably wore worse in concert.
re five star: level 42 had a flop single not long before this called "micro kid" that used some of the then-new technology buzzwords (mega, digi, square waves, etc)
Deletere billy ocean video: i am guessing that it was the broadcast of this that alerted the musicians union that danny de vito was not a real musician and so shouldn't be allowed to pretend to be one? that reminds me of the "story of 86" where the "robert palmer girls" told the ridiculous story of actual musicians having to be present on the set of the infamous video despite not actually doing any playing, just so the MU couldn't accuse them of doing likewise - maybe because of the hoo ha over the billy ocean video?
... i'm glad they cleared that up btw, as i thought those women in the "addicted to love" video did actually play on the recording! seriously, i always felt a bit sorry for the model chosen to be the drummer in the "band" as you can barely see her throughout the video
DeleteThere were five genuine classics on this week's edition - courtesy of Five Star, Belouis Some, Double, Billy Ocean and James Brown.
ReplyDelete'Eloise' was a classic in the hands of composer Paul Ryan's twin brother Barry, but smacks of shameless commercialism in the hands of former indie chart regulars The Damned, who were now under the corporate thumbs of MCA. In fairness, however, the band's accomplished cover of 'Alone Again Or' the following year deserved to climb much higher than it did.
Five Star's offering - co-written by Tina Turner sideman Billy Livsey - would eventually prove to be lyrically prophetic, gaming addiction now being officially classified as a psychological disorder. The quintet's all-round talent cannot be denied; even my Dad loved them. Sadly, having filled the gap caused by the hiatus of their mentor Michael Jackson, they would fade from view with his re-emergence. One of their later, less prominent chart entries was entitled 'Rock My World' - given that his last major hit was 'You Rock My World', maybe the admiration was mutual?
I have no idea how Neville Keighley arrived at his professional name, Belouis Some; it sounds as though it were invented by a sci-fi or fantasy author such as Douglas Adams or Terry Pratchett. Still, the polished 'Imagination' brought Mr Keighley/Some a brief measure of fame, though I believe he was worthy of greater achievement. He might even have become the new Bowie.
Johnny One-Note's effort, while lyrically applaudable, might have become a classic had it actually contained a proper melody.
Double - the first Swiss act to score a British Top 10 hit - would chart high across the globe, including the US, with their sophisticated jazz-pop offering. Alas, the duo's follow-up single 'Devils Ball' would fail miserably despite a guest appearance by Herb Alpert, no less.
to my recollection, at the time of their 15 minutes of fame 5 star were derided as lightweight pap by everybody other than those who actually bought their records - which was a good reason why there was a great sense of schadenfreude when their megalomaniac manager dad buster over-reached himself by moving the family into a mansion that they ended up having to leave not long afterwards because they couldn't afford to live there!
DeleteThat's late 80s extravagance for you! The late Emu creator Rod Hull found himself in a similar predicament in the early 90s after purchasing Restoration House in Rochester at the height of his earning power. Unable to meet renovation bills after being dropped by ITV, however, he was forced to file for bankruptcy in '94...and we all know the rest.
DeleteIn a roundabout way, wilberforce, you have reminded me of a gaffe Steve Harley (who can be found in this week's TOTP chart) made when presenting Radio 2's 'Sounds of the Seventies' in the mid-Noughties. At that time, the programme was broadcast at 10pm, immediately before Mark Radcliffe's show. As the original Phantom of the Opera signed off, he introduced Lindisfarne's 'Lady Eleanor' as being the work of the Geordie folk-rockers' lead singer, "ROD Hull". The bard of Benwell was the equally missed ALAN Hull, but I know where Steve got his wires crossed: Lindisfarne's bassist, who also wrote the band's debut smash 'Meet Me On The Corner', was Rod Clements. Anyway, Mark and his colleagues had a good laugh about the faux pas on air after the final D6 chord had faded.
talking of rod hull, i wonder how many times he was mistaken for roy hudd (and vice versa)?
DeleteI wonder how many people met Roy Budd, the composer who gave us the score for "Get Carter", and got him mixed up with Roy Hudd?
Deletethe story of "get carter" was that as pianist roy budd's first film-scoring assignment, the allocated budget was next-to-nil - hence the minimal title theme that featured only him plus the rhythm section of his jazz trio (including the talented chris karan, who was also proficient on exotic percussion). but as a result of that success he then got given a free hand to provide lush and atmospheric orchestral scores for a string of 70's crime thrillers such as "fear is the key", "the stone killer" and "the internecine project" - including this supercool piece for the latter (with mr karan once again tapping the tablas):
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX5siXMWURI
btw the human league were obviously big fans of the "get carter" theme, as they covered it on the "dare" album
Ironically Lindisfarne's 'Lady Eleanor' was released as a single before 'Meet me on the corner' but wasn't a hit (neither was the band's debut single 'Clear White Light Part 2'). The debut album from where the 'Lady Eleanor' was taken, 'Nicely out of Tune' also sank without trace upon initial release. When 'Meet me on the Corner' from the band's iconic second album ' Fog on the Tyne' took off, Charisma Records jumped in and re-promoted 'Lady Eleanor' as well as its parent album, and saw both score very highly in the charts. Deservedly so I'd say, as I still play them regularly.
DeleteI too admire Lindisfarne's classic early work. By "debut smash", I meant that 'Meet Me On The Corner' was their debut HIT; I have known for a long time that it was the band's third single release. The reissued 'Lady Eleanor', as you state above, was their second smash.
DeleteAbsolutely Julie. On the back of this thread I have had the compilation 'On Tap' playing in the car today! Rod, sorry Alan Hull wrote some great tunes and his debut solo album 'Pipedream' is a gem.
Deletei've never got excited by anything i've heard of lindisfarne's, however each to their own. the reason i've responded here is because i remember their harmonica player/jack-of-all-trades ray jackson hanging around on the set of "the tube" in the early/mid 80's as some kind of local mascot!
DeleteJakka of course famously played his Mandolin at the end of Rod Stewart's 'Maggie May' and also on 'Mandolin Wind' and 'Farewell'. On the 'Every Picture tells a Story' album, Ray is credited thus; "The Mandolin was played by the Mandolin Player in Lindisfarne. The name slips my mind". Happily on 'Smiler' (from which 'Farewell' is taken) the memory had been jogged and "The Mandolin on 'Farewell' was played by Ray Jackson".
DeleteA rarity for this era of TOTP - an edition where I barely used the FF button. It was only used for Billy Ocean's overplayed song.
ReplyDeleteIt was amusing to watch Bates's obvious contempt for Jordan (presumably as he was a junior member of the roster) grow as the show went on, resulting in a rather barbed quip through gritted teeth at the end. I never thought I would say this, but Bates was clearly the most professional presenter on display, and his link into Double was pretty smart and probably went over the heads of 99% of the viewing audience.
The Damned - A good cover version of an original that, being 6 minutes long, was always handy for a spin in the days when I did the overnight radio show. I'm sure you can guess why.
Five Star - Their first good slice of pop, with even better to come.
Ozzy - I'm not overly keen on him really, but this is easily his most tuneful solo song.
Breakers - Surprisingly all good, even the Whitney song!
Double - Nice to hear this every so often, there was one stage where it got overkill on the radio but not these days. The first big hit to feature a deliberately off-key note since Orange Juice's 'Rip It Up' I reckon.
i concur with noax on the whitney effort - in my view it was by far the best thing she did until her house cover of "i'm every woman" several years later (as an unknown teenager she had sang backing vocals on the original version by chaka khan). sadly though this comptetent dance track always seems to get overlooked in nostalgia terms, in favour of the inferior housewife classic "i wanna dance with somebody"
DeleteSome good stuff on tonight and enjoyed the hosts and their correct pronunciation of ‘Double’.
ReplyDeleteThe Damned – Eloise – There’s a one word comment from somebody on 45cat about this – ‘fabulous’, and I couldn’t have put it better myself. Barry Ryan’s original in 1968 was one of those mega hits. Totally over the top and over-produced a la Meatloaf, but brilliant. Certainly one of the records of 1968, only kept off the top spot by Hugo Montenegro’s ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’, which funnily enough we were discussing last week. Who cares if this isn’t punk? It’s just a great way to start the show and proved that music was very much alive in 1986.
Five Star – System Addict - …at the other end of the scale, FF.
Ozzy Osbourne – Shot in the Dark – Not bad. Hard to say if Ozzy really takes this sort of thing seriously or whether he’s really hankering after the heavy metal of the likes of ‘War Pigs’.
Breakers – Belouis Some – Saw him supporting Queen at Knebworth later in ’86, but to be honest nobody was really paying much attention. One of those ‘ok’ songs. PIL – Rise – no mistaking the voice where it’s Pistols or PIL, just not very musical which can be said of the last dreadful breaker on show which I’d cheerfully, along with every other record she’s made, never hear again!
Double – The Captain of her Heart – Plenty of musicianship on display here. A sultry, subtle piece of music with lovely instrumentation and chord changes. Really sounds great to hear again and a nice performance from the band hailing from the country that later gave us Roger Federer, who was 4 when this came out, so probably doesn’t recall hearing on the radio as a youngster! On the other hand Martina Hingis was born in 1980, so may well have ‘tra-la’d’ along to it.
Billy Ocean – When the going gets tough – Like Dory, I agree this is a fabulous no1 and one of the great staples of 1986. Everyone liked it and the video was a treat too. Billy had been chipping away at the charts since his comeback and finally made it to the top, deservedly so.
James Brown – Living in America danceout – FF for me, even though loads of people seemed to really like it at the time.
Paul and Simon. The b team on tonight.
ReplyDeleteDamned up first. What a tune. Singer not shy in that outfit. Audience clapping too early, not heard this before then? 😁 Nice lighting change.
Five Star on video. Shame they couldnt get a studio peformance for this. Great effort made with the video though. Very mad max. Nice moves.
Ozzy with 3 month old Jack waiting in the wings to cause him grief in later years.. Ozzy still looks quite normal here rather than the waxwork he turned into later. Song is pretty lame. Fairly standard 80s rock lite.
How do you say Bono Simon?? At least he got Double right.
Breakers :
Belouis Some. Like this one. No idea who he was. Fairly dull video.
PIL with the fantastic Rise. Though her was a scary man when I was 11 but a real talent.
Whitney. How will i know. This is full on 80s Whitney. Fabulous.
Double up next. One of my Mums faves. Heard it so much it became one of mine too. One of man Euro hits that make their over the water this year.
Billy top of the tree. Danny gets his solo. 😀 Great video. Great number one.
Another fab show. Apart from the hosts...
There was a much less dull video for Belouis Some's single, if you liked that sort of thing!
DeleteOnly one more Paul Jordan showcase to endure, folks. Paul and Simon? I wish we’d had Trevor and Simon, the Singing Corner from “Going Live” instead!
ReplyDeleteA former punk band doing a decent Goth-tinged cover of “Eloise”? I’ll be Damned. Boom boom tish! Dave Vanian there as the scariest umpire ever.
Five Star lyrically wired to a machine, which I think some people wished was an electric chair. A mainly uneventful yet still enjoyable vid for an earworm, and fine choreography as always from this troupe, but during their career they never really played the circuit. See what I did there?
Actually, a decent attempt at a joke by PJ prior to Oz. Bit of a coup getting him in the studio, but the band’s outfits outshone this mid batting order song.
Try making that outfit jibe to Oz’s face , Slimes. Please! And while we’re at it, Survivor’s single ISN’T called “Burning Heat”!
Belouis Some, not a breaker but a non-mover lucky to get a slot, PiL taking the rise with the awful lyric “didn’t said” (with a hot wire to John Lydon’s head, was he another system addict?), then that bitch who died on my 50th birthday with an oh-so-80’s plasticy backing soul-disco yelper. By the way, PJ, it depends how your bread’s buttered as to who you’d prefer out of Whitney and John. More than one option, mate.
Double with a wonderful smooth Euro shuffler. Talking of their name, there was an ITV game show, hosted (I think) by Tom O’Connor, where the audience shouted “Double!” for the contestant’s gamble. Can anyone remember the show’s name? Anyway, that singer’s eyes looked creepy and his guitar strings were very loose, but he made the effort for the relevant album cover. Double were actually just the singer/ guitarist and pianist and they posed as a pretend four-piece for the cover of “Blue” but, while singy bloke made a real effort to look like two different people in his mugshots, the pianist just had a shave for his doppelganger shot.
An FF for Billy Ocean despite Danny’s sax turn, then yet more dreadful schtick by Mini-Shitty prior to James Brown. Had the show lasted ten more minutes I reckon Slimes’s head would’ve exploded. I’d have stayed tuned for that.
Doesn't the PIL lyric go, "They put a hotwire to my head, 'cause of the things I did AND said"? It does sound like he's saying "didn't", I'll give you that.
DeleteThe only Tom O'Connor gameshows I can think of were Name That Tune and Crosswits. Not sure if they're what you're looking for!
i'm sure i've said this before, but mention of the singing corner reminds me of when i used to buy and pore through "the guinness book of hit singles" on a regular basis for about 15 years from the late 70's to early 90's - in the latter editions there was a highly amusing string of entries, starting with the singing corner, then the singing dogs (who were actually "singing" dogs, or at least dogs that barked in tune), the singing nun, and finally the singing sheep - the latter memorably described as "electronic sheep noises"!
Deleteah yes - to my recollection, the singing dogs were described as "canine vocal group"!
DeleteAbsolutely right with those PiL lyrics, THX. I'll put the conical 'D' hat on my head and stand in the corner.
DeleteAs for animal hits, I'll mention Ray Stevens' version of "In The Mood" sung as chickens and released under the pseudonym Henhouse Five Plus Two!
Okay, birds rather than animals but you get the idea. I laid a real egg there!
DeleteAre you sure that the singing sheep wasn't just Stevie Nicks under a pseudonym?
ReplyDeleteHear for yourself:
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bopF0Cgal20
It has a singing duck and a singing cow plus singing chickens on it too. Of its time, shall we say.
ewe wag john!
DeleteNot a baad response, Wilberforce!
DeleteTHX - I've just listened to it, and I think I need add no more to your comment...