When you electrocute Worzel Gummidge
20/02/86 (Janice Long & Mike Read)
Paul Hardcastle & Carol Kenyon – “Don’t Waste My Time” (13)
On its way to number 8.
Diana Ross – “Chain Reaction” (4) (video)
On its way to number one.
Depeche Mode – “Stripped” (23)
On its way to number 15.
Survivor – “Burning Heart” (8) (video)
On its way to number 5.
Public Image Ltd – “Rise” (11)
It didn't rise any further.
Billy Ocean – “When The Going Gets Tough The Tough Get Going” (1) (rpt)
Third of four weeks at number one.
The Damned – “Eloise” (3) (audience dancing/credits)
At its peak.
February 27th is next.
Great interaction between the giggly hosts tonight.
ReplyDeletePaul Hardcastle – Don’t waste my time – Rather than repeat my previous put down of this I’ll just say that ‘Wasted Time’ by the Eagles from their ‘Hotel California’ album is one of my favourite songs. The live performance on the DVD is just fantastic with Don Henley triumphing on vocals.
Diana Ross – Chain Reaction – Ah yes just wonderful to see the entire video. It’s a surprise that Barry, Maurice and Robin didn’t appear in it as their magic touch is all over this. It’s also a surprise that this was the second track taken from the ‘Eaten Alive’ album. The first single release, which happened to also be called ‘Eaten Alive’ reached the dizzy heights of no71 a few months earlier and, on listening for the first time ever, has a certain Jacko all over it.
Depeche Mode – Stripped – Another industrial sound which for me, with its non high hat drums is very Peter Gabriel.
Survivor – Burning Heart – As Janice points out, this really does sound like ‘Eye of the Tiger’. However, unlike other artists who have released facsimile follow up singles, there was at least a five year gap between these two. Loved the video, captures all the excitement of the big fight and the protagonists ‘other halves’ along with the stage show of Survivor.
PIL – Rise – FF
Billy Ocean – When the going gets tough – Would have liked to see the video again..
The Damned – Eloise danceout – First time the Damned featured on a dance out!
Ditto Stephen regarding the American videos on the show - the highlights of the show for me. The Diana Ross video already at No.4, and wow, didn't she look good when she flashed and then it was an evening dress, not her underwear or naked body. Phew!
DeleteThen even better, the Survivor video, which brought memories of 1986 flooding back. I just love the tune probably more so now than back then, and yes the video really hit the spot. Alas no third American video, as the No.1 with Billy Ocean was a repeat of the first TOTP studio performance before it got to no.1.
The Damned were certainly In unchartered territory on the playout position, and also as high as No.3, which was probably their best ever chart position, and the playout this week was more notable for the lady in the yellow dress with the big knockers.
I suppose the Billy Ocean video was "American" in that he was signed to a US label, but it was actually filmed at the Brixton Academy.
DeleteReally?..I didn't think Danny De Devito and his Hollywood co-stars went all the way to Brixton in London to film it with Billy Ocean.
DeleteYes, I was surprised by that, but they did it - presumably the money was good!
DeleteWhen the money gets good, the actors get going!
DeleteA good show, with Janice and Mike Read clearly enjoying each other's company and Janice in a tactile mood. I thought Mike was in better form here than he had been for a while, but this is actually the last we will see of him for several months, presumably because he was about to give up the Radio 1 breakfast show.
ReplyDeleteThree years on from providing vocals for Heaven 17's Temptation, Carol Kenyon provides a similar service for Paul Hardcastle and does a great job. This is quite a departure for Hardcastle, but it's a good song and far preferable to 19 in my book - not sure about the keytar-wielding maestro's dance moves here, however! Miss Ross next with her last great single, a superb Motown pastiche from the Gibb brothers which deservedly took her to number 1 again after 15 years. I remember the video vividly from the time, and actually thought the b/w footage was genuinely from the 60s. I later realised that of course it wasn't, but they do a good job of treating the film to make it look of the time. Mystifyingly, the song got no higher then 66 in the US charts.
A strange camera angle is deployed as Mike introduces Depeche Mode, who are accompanied by an impressive Harley Davidson, for some reason. Appropriately there is quite a bit of leather on display too (plus lipstick from Martin) as the band perform a low-key but effective number which has a menacing undertow. Janice is rather dismissive of Survivor's latest Rocky theme in her introduction, but it can't be denied that this is Eye of the Tiger part 2. It's listenable enough, though the video is a rather unimaginative "in performance" piece interspersed with clips of Sly and Dolph. The singer looks very different here from the Eye of the Tiger video, but the voice is the same so presumably it must be the same man.
You certainly couldn't mistake John Lydon for anyone else, and he is on good form for this rare visit to the TOTP studio. This is an unusually tuneful effort by PIL standards, straying towards Big Country territory in the chorus, but all the better for it - judging from this performance, the fashion for two drummers had evidently not run its course yet. More old punks to close the show, and it was pleasing to see the civilians get a bit more camera time here than the oh-so-dull cheerleaders, just for a change.
It was a different singer for Burning Heart, the late Jimi Jamison had replaced David Bickler in 1984.
DeleteLydon's miming was very poor, and out of key in many places. They should have asked him to do another take. Quite awful, considering the video was better, which did not get any more than a small clip on the Breakers the week before, and what, no Breakers this week??!! Good Lord!
Deletehow can miming be "out of key"?!?
DeleteThanks for that, Zenon. Survivor evidently pulled off the AC/DC trick of bringing in a new vocalist who sounded very similar to his predecessor. The same was true of Genesis on the early post-Peter Gabriel albums, where Phil Collins is clearly trying to imitate Gabriel's singing style.
Deletei would have said manfred mann pulled the same trick by replacing him with mike d'abo, who was not only a soundalike but a lookalike too. ironically both now perform together in the manfred mann-less manfreds
Deletethat should have read: replacing paul jones with mike d'abo!
DeleteThere's an amusing story I once heard, which was that the Manfred Mann hit Semi-Detached Suburban Mr James was originally "Mr Jones", but the band decided to change it lest it be thought they were having a dig at the recently-departed Paul!
DeleteShame it wasn't Sly and Robbie instead of Sly and Dolph!
DeleteIt's a shame that tomorrow night (Friday) there is a TOTP2 70s Special in the same slot as the usual 1986 re-runs. What's all that about, and why could they not show 27th Feb '86 which would have been in that slot? The mind boggles.
ReplyDeleteI would assume that BBC4 are rationing the 1986 shows a bit so that they last until Christmas and we don't end up in last year's situation, where we ran out of regular 1984 shows in November.
Deletehosts: is it me, or does janice long always seems to be paired up with someone fairly competent and/or credible - as opposed to cringeworthy a la slimy, shitty, wrighty et al? if so, i wonder if that was through sheer good fortune, or by demand via her status as the sole female jock?
ReplyDeletepaul hardcastle/carol kenyon: the first proper "song" hit for mr hardcastle (as opposed to cut ups of vocal samples), that comes over as a cross between d train and shakatak. still, miles better than that dreadful thing that ms kenyon did with heaven 17. like nick rhodes a few weeks previously, hardcastle ropes in some rather old-hat screen technology to provide a bit of variaton from jiggling about with his keytar as if he's in dire need of the lavatory
diana ross: noax describes this a housewife classic. i see it as an example of the "bohemian rhapsody syndrome", whereby you get over-exposed to something you originally think so-so that in the end it can't help but grow on you - even though you can never unconditionally love it. more modulation going on to reasonable effect (i wish i'd start making notes every time that happened on totp, so i could maybe start up my own website to that effect ha ha). puppet-masters the bee gees stamp themselves all over the track vocally, but perhaps surprisingly are absent from the video (they should have been in that room with the tv monitors, with bazza playing the speccy slaphead doing all the cueing of course). talking of the video, i thought it was a "ready steady go" pastiche all the way through, which is recollective revisionism for you. but whatever guise ms ross appears in, she still looks like a stick insect to me
depeche mode: "stripped down to the bone" would have made a for a more accurate if less titillating title. this is actually quite good once it gets going, although their previous dreary electronica had done too much damage for me to retain any interest in them by now. martin gore's still looking very girly facially, although i can't tell if he's wearing his leather skirt or not thanks to the inexplicable presence of a whacking great motorcycle on stage
survivor: as others have noted, it's "eye of the tiger part ii" practically note-for-note (or to be more precise: beat-for-beat). but in their defence they may have been told to deliberately regurgitate that through the insistence of sly or whoever produced the "rocky" franchise. that still doesn't explain why it became almost as successful though. pretty boy guitarist frankie sullivan puts in a shout as a nominee for the dubious "mullet of the decade" award
pil: actually quite tuneful in places and a decent mid-paced backing track to boot, although mr lydon still can't resist doing his unique party piece vocalese. when i tried watching this on yt i was subjected to a new and highly disturbing "big brother"-style trend, whereby an advertising strip was plastered over the video itself with no apparent way of getting rid of it. bastards!!!
Stripped is a good song title considering the long hot summer we are having this year. I could think of many examples, but just go to all the beaches and see for yourself. However, the song being released in the month of February 1986, where the summer was a long way off, you are correct in that it must have referred to titillation rather than bikinis or swimming trunks having a well-earned dip in the sea.
DeleteGreat to see a couple of quality presenters this week..hoping for an improvement on lasts weeks music now..
ReplyDeletePaul H has nicked the BBC Micro from the school computer room and his playing his guitar /keyboard hybrid. He must be most "uncool" pop star on the show!
Song is not too bad. Must admit I get bored of it rathe quickly but it's ok as an occasional listen.
Of course with nowadays the producer/musician always gets first credit but this was an unusual combination in 86.
Diana Ross with her best tune. Great video as well. Suprised they didn't drag the Bee Gees in for this video. They would fit right in. Of course 11 year old me had no idea what this song was about 😂😂😂
The Mode back on the pops. A more grown up, but still clean cut look with a stripped back song. Not familiar with this but enjoyed it, becoming a real Mode fan in my middle years.
Well said Janice, it is exactly the same as their previous record. Never seen a Rocky film, never want to. Boring, next..
PS why is Simon Bates on keyboard. .
PIL next. Not a punk fan, far too young, so didn't know where Jonny came from. Just a mad man with a mad song which I rather like,
Can't imagine this one getting past my Dad hence I don't recall seeing this performance before,
Still Mr Ocean top of the pops. Repeat this week of his original appearance, still fab. Love the slightly aloof backing singer..
Completely unrehearsed shambles of a link from Mike and Janice.
Great song to play out. Not the easiest to dance to though. .
Good show,
I would guess that the Bee Gees didn't want to appear in the video because at this stage they preferred to remain backroom boys and still felt that they were too "tainted" by the disco tag to reappear as performers - it's also possible Miss Ross did not want them sharing her limelight! However, we're not all that far away now from their big comeback as performers in 1987.
DeleteMr Hardcastle with Ms Kenyon first, ever since I read this sounds just like Too Funky by George Michael I can't "un-hear" the comparison. Anyway, an apparent riposte to those who dismissed him and didn't think he could write a proper song, and it's a very decent slice of pop with disgruntled lyrics (and appropriate facial expressions from Carol).
ReplyDeleteDiana Ross, well, they weren't to know they'd be playing this video umpteen more times in the following weeks. Overreaction, in the case of the TV director with the beard.
Depeche Mode, ooh, is it a rude title then? Hey, saucy boys! Nope, it's a gloomy, slow-paced number, I suppose they were ploughing their own furrow by this time, and they did have their fans - still do. Martin seems to have taken makeup tips from 1970s Agnetha from ABBA.
Survivah, bombastic as ever, though their biggest crime here is not putting Paulie's robot in the video. Happy birthday, Paulie! Anyhoo, same beat as their previous hit, same lyrics only with a Cold War, say what ye see makeover.
PIL, ah, best thing on the show, I literally didn't understand this track at the time, but after a few listens I "got" it and now think it's one of the best things Lydon ever did outside of the Pistols. Was that Don Letts on keyboards?
Billy Ocean, now I'm convinced this repeat of his first appearance with this song is the one where my school was outraged at the blonde backing singer's lack of enthusiasm.
Damned to end on, I note they cut it off just as it goes into the slow bit - can't dance to that!
It was Don Letts.
DeleteThought so... soon to be in Big Audio Dynamite, I think?
Deletedid don letts actually have any musical talent, or did his old punk muckers get him to join the bands they formed after they left the ones that made their name because they thought he gave them dreadlocked street cred?
DeleteDon certainly knows a lot about music, as his radio show testifies, so I assume he has talent.
Deletei have friends who have massive music collections, and know pretty much all there is to know about the subject. but if you handed then a guitar to play, they might not even know what way around it goes! one of those chums cheerfully admits he has no interest in being musical himself, and is quite happy to listen to the efforts of others. which is probably for the best, as i can assure you that having some musical ability is both a blessing and curse! i once remember having lunch with a guy whilst on a music college course, who said to me "i wish i had your musical ability". to which i replied "if i could, then i'd do a mr spock-style mind meld and transfer it all to you!"
Deletein fact, i remember once trying in vain to teach two of said mates above how to play the chords for "ziggy stardust" (that aren't exactly difficult, even for beginners). but despite having invested in fancy guitars like strats, after a tortuous hour or so (by which point we had barely got to the "and where were the spiders?" bit) it was mutually agreed to pack it in!
Deleteand just so you know it was them being terrible pupils rather than myself a poor teacher: around that time i also tutored a teenage son of a work colleague to play practically every chord in rock music without any problems!
Just to answer THX's question, Don Letts was already in BAD by this point - they formed in 1984.
DeleteI'm not as convinced as others here that Read & Long made a particularly great time though they weren't helped by some seemingly amateurish direction, particularly the last link where they seemed to be desperately padding while waiting for the playout song to be cued up!
ReplyDeletePaul Hardcastle - I like this song, and it's good that Carol Kenyon (usually) gets a proper credit, which is more than you can say for her outing with Heaven 17. Shame about Paul's dancing...
Diana Ross - Housewife classic! Not in capitals though, as it doesn't send me rushing for the off switch. Something nobody ever notes - she doesn't sing it particularly well, does she? Bet the Gibbs would have done a better job.
Depeche Mode - Oh good, another of their many nondescript mid-80s tunes.
Survivor - I much prefer to this to their other hit, which really is a HOUSEWIFE CLASSIC since you hear it so often compared to this.
PIL - Best song on the show, and probably their best song too. John Lydon always livens things up with his presence.
ms ross never was that good a singer - the only reason she got the lead gig with the supremes (as opposed to the superior-voiced florence ballard - who was also better-looking in my opinion) was because she was shagging the boss berry gordy!
DeleteSeeing Miss Ross in the Chain Reaction video always makes me think she could do with a good meal inside her.
DeleteNonsense, I think she always had a super hot body, with the same body type as Victoria Beckham for example, and that didn't do her any harm, did it? I mean take the video of Muscles, where Ross get close up with some hunky men:
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFJO5LcWGfk
Depends what you like though, doesn't it Dory? People with the body shape of Victoria Beckham & Diana Ross tend to get labelled 'skinny bints' in my house!
DeleteAgree with you on Florence Ballard btw wilby, on both counts!
thx another word that comes to mind regarding ms ross's figure is "scrawny"
DeleteAh, Diana Ross, the prototype Mariah Carey. Different curves but same 'shag the record company MD' motto.
DeleteI just noticed from Wikipedia that Vintage TV has been 'temporarily' removed from Sky and Virgin Media, and I was wondering if any of you can access it from any other cable providers, as I have Sky and has not been available for a few days. It has been my go-to-channel for classic pop videos when not in BBC4 TOTP mode.
ReplyDeleteJust read a story on Metro online - I've just gone to have a wash as I felt dirty after going there - that claims that it will be back on Sky & Virgin (but not Freeview) in a few days, while also admitting that nobody seems to know what on earth is going on!
DeleteIt has been unavailable on Freeview as well for the last week or so
ReplyDeleteHi folks! Back from a holiday in Croatia (not Cambodia as per the Dead Kennedys) and comments now made on this and the last two shows.
ReplyDeleteNot a small book for hosts tonight, but a long read. Boom boom tish! Janice was right on it, wasn’t she? Maybe a bit tipsy or mushroomed, perchance? Mind you, good show with the bum quip, gal!
Miss “Temptation” and the disco Keith Harris, with a fine dance floor bomper plus some choreography which Five Star might have died for.
An FF next though, from what I briefly caught unless I read it wrong (which is possible), that pretend Diana Ross channel should have been XYZ TV and not XTZ TV in my opinion.
Wow - a 180 degree Mike! Stripped? Ooer missus! Depeche Mode with what they call a slow burner with Japan influences early doors.
An absolutely BRILLIANT and ‘rewind again’ disparaging intro to Survivor by Janice which knocks Nodding Dog’s attempt with Latin Quarter out of sight, like a six over the bowler’s head and through a pavilion first floor window!
Mugshot musings. A brilliant double A-side cram-in for Huey Lewis et al by Janice, but points deducted for her Jordanesque billing for Nana Mouskouri, while Ready namechecks Shaky™ (yawn) and misses out Carol Kenyon just like the song’s presentation. At least Audrey Hall gets a better photo this week. Last time round the camera angle made it look like her face was melting.
It’s Mr Anchor Butter next, in fairness doing a nice mini-bow at the start and I enjoyed his turn, but how strange that the ‘blow away the past’ punk had an antique mic.
An FF again for the chart topper, no Ocean motion for me, followed by the most unrehearsed and honest outro link yet, then a fantastic advert for melons, which seemed to have peanuts attached. Ahem. I bet you're glad I'm back!
i'm sure i'm not alone recalling watching those johnny rotten anchor butter ads with a mixture of amusement and disbelief. but mention of that does makes me wonder if anyone actually goes out and buys a certain product that they had previously never bothered with, just because it's now being endorsed by a certain sleb?
DeleteI don't think it's the endorsement that's important, it's whether you remember the product that matters. The butter manufacturer's contract with Lydon is obviously the gift that keeps on giving!
DeleteI know that, football-wise, many Manchester City fans avoided anything made by Sharp after that company sponsored their bitter rivals.
Delete...and no doubt sales of brother computers plummetted in the red half of mcr accordingly too (the "red half of mcr" being kent, dorset, cornwall etc - anywhere really where they don't have a decent football team of their own!)
Deletea scottish chum told me that the sales of mars bars went down 90% in scotland during a recent world cup where the company endorsed the england team by replacing the word "mars" on the wrapper with the word "believe" (presumably the other 10 were too addicted to deep-fat-frying them to abstain despite their disgust ha ha)! but i doubt if the sales picked up anywhere near as much in england as a result of mars's support?
I had absolutely no problem with John Lydon's butter adverts as they were pretty much in character and memorable without being annoying. Unlike about 99% of ads right now!
DeleteIs the curse of the TOTP repeats still a thing? Because it looks like Aretha "Zoomin'" Franklin may be passing away soon.
ReplyDeletejoe sample was one such "victim" i think, dying just as his band the crusaders had their one and only hit in these re-runs (and attendant totp exposure) with "street life". george michael was obviously another, and i think steve strange may have been too. can anyone else recall any others?
DeleteI suppose David Bowie was the big one, but the one I recall is Billie Jo Spears whose Blanket on the Ground was broadcast a few days before she passed away.
DeleteThere she goes.. RIP Aretha. What a voice! Best bit in The Blues Brothers too!
DeleteOh, yeah - I wonder if Madonna's birthday is cursed? She's 60 today and Elvis Presley died on the 16th of August too, 41 years ago.
Delete...and we have the fantastic duet with George - 'I knew you were waiting (for me)' coming up in the not too far distant future. RIP.
DeleteYeah, "I Knew You..." is a track I took for granted at the time, but looking back it's a cracking pop/soul tune.
Delete