Friday 24 July 2020

The Top of the Pops Year

Say it loud, say it clear, it's the 25th of December 1989 edition of Top of the Pops!

Behind you!


25/12/89  (Jakki Brambles, Bruno Brookes & Gary Davies)

Erasure – “Stop”
Getting Christmas Day underway with the ironically named Stop which had peaked at number 2 back in January.

Kylie Minogue & Jason Donovan – “Especially For You” (video clip)

Mike & The Mechanics – “The Living Years”
They hadn't made it into the studio at the time in was peaking at number 2 in the charts but they are here for Christmas.

Marc Almond & Gene Pitney – “Something’s Gotten Hold Of My Heart”
Also in the studio to perform their number one hit.

Michael Ball – “Love Changes Everything” (video clip)
Michael Jackson – “Leave Me Alone” (video clip)
Simple Minds – “Belfast Child” (video clip)
Madonna – “Like A Prayer” (video clip)

Jason Donovan – “Too Many Broken Hearts”
What a year he'd just had and here he is in the studio with this number one hit.

Simply Red – “If You Don’t Know Me By Now” (video clip)
Bangles – “Eternal Flame” (video clip)
Natalie Cole – “Miss You Like Crazy” (video clip)
Various – “Ferry ’Cross The Mersey” (video clip)
Kylie Minogue – “Hand On Your Heart” (video clip)
Cliff Richard – “The Best Of Me” (video clip)
Prince – “Batdance” (video clip)
Soul II Soul – “Back To Life (However Do You Want Me)” (video clip)
Jason Donovan – “Sealed With A Kiss” (video clip)

Bros – “Too Much”
A colourful performance in th studio for this song which had peaked at number 2.

London Boys – “London Nights”
More studio acrobatics for what was probably their final appearance on the show to perform their biggest hit which had peaked at number 2.

The Beautiful South – “Song For Whoever”
And another new studio performance for another number 2 hit.

Kylie Minogue – “Wouldn’t Change A Thing” (video clip)
Jive Bunny & The Mastermixers – “Swing The Mood” (video clip)

Sonia – “You’ll Never Stop Me Loving You”
She's only got a snowman to dance with tonight as she performs her number one hit.

Alice Cooper – “Poison” (video clip)
Lil Louis – “French Kiss” (video clip)
Richard Marx – “Right Here Waiting” (video clip)
Jason Donovan – “Every Day (I Love You More)” (video clip)

Black Box – “Ride On Time”
Back in the studio for another rousing performance of the year's biggest selling single.

Milli Vanilli – “Girl I’m Gonna Miss You” (video clip)
Technotronic feat Felly – “Pump Up The Jam” (video clip)
Jive Bunny & The Mastermixers – “That’s What I Like” (video clip)

Lisa Stansfield – “All Around The World”
In the studio for a new performance of her number one song.

Phil Collins – “Another Day In Paradise” (video clip)
Linda Ronstadt & Aaron Neville – “Don’t Know Much” (video clip)
New Kids On The Block – “You Got It (The Right Stuff)” (video clip)
Jason Donovan – “When You Come Back To Me” (video clip)
Jive Bunny & The Mastermixers – “Let’s Party” (video clip)

Band Aid II – “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” (video)
And the class of '89 (and Cliff) with their second of three weeks at number one!


December 28th is next.

85 comments:

  1. I actually thought this was one of the better Christmas Day shows, with more studio performances and less reliance on video clips than we have seen on some in the past. Three decent hosts as well, with Bruno much more lively than on the previous show and Gazza and Jakki their normal professional selves - I liked being her taken off to the ball by Jason in the final link! Having said all that, the unusually strict chronological approach that the show adopted meant it mirrored my feelings towards 1989 from the musical perspective - a strong start, but getting progressively worse as it went on.

    Some of the new performances were very enjoyable, particularly Erasure (was Andy wearing his BBC pass round his neck?), Marc & Gene and the London Boys. Less enjoyable was Gracie, trying to be all secuctive and sultry and not succeeding, while Matt Goss turned up in a horrible matching jacket and cap his mum probably gave him for Christmas! Nice to finally have Mike & the Mechanics in the studio, and a chance to hear more of their fine song than we did when it was in the charts, though Paul Carrack's squinting into the camera was a bit unsettling. The snowmen dotted around the studio also came across as rather sinister, and I do wish, just for once, the Beeb would splash out to put a proper tree in the studio rather than those nasty synthetic white things...

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    1. I was a bit disappointed the London Boys didn't do their flip as a final flourish, I don't think they ever appeared again, did they?

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    2. Correct, THX, London Boys never troubled the top 40 again.

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  2. Confirmation that 1990 is on the way! Though no date yet. Possibly August 14th? ~

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2020/bbc-music-tv-music-documentaries-summer-autumn

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    1. Top Of The Pops: The Story Of 1990 (1 x 60m)

      The documentary explores how, after the global political upheaval of 1989, the new decade soon demonstrated that the new pop grammars of hip-hop and dance all too often bewilder the entertainment-focused, old-school institution of the BBC’s weekly chart show.

      Artists such as Betty Boo, MC Tunes and Beats International bring the British take on hip-hop to the studio, whilst Adamski, Orbital, 808 State and Euro-dance sensations Snap! deliver their brand of beats to the TOTP audience.

      In a year in which even Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and John Barnes embrace rap, breakthrough hip-hop artists share the studio with some big balladeers including Sinead O’Connor and Maria McKee. As Milli Vanilli lose their Grammy Award for lip syncing, Top Of The Pops begins to question its own miming policy.

      Hip-hop kids and the indie underground are beginning to enter the pop mainstream, but despite the new zeitgeist the battle for the Christmas Number 1 is a stand-off between the old and new guards: Cliff Richard and Vanilla Ice. Top Of The Pops: The Story Of 1990 features contributions from Adamski, Seal, Betty Boo, Orbital, Norman Cook and the Beats International vocalist Lindy Layton, Paul Hooton (The Farm) and Penny Ford (Snap!).

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    2. In normal circumstances, I would have expected The Story of 1990 and Big Hits to be shown on Friday 7 August, but I see that a documentary on The Real Thing is going out that night instead. I have heard that the coronavirus has disrupted production of The Story of 1990, so I'm not altogether surprised about the delay, but it does mean that we will get it no earlier than the 14th, and quite possibly later. I don't see how BBC4 can get 1990 wrapped up by Christmas, that's for sure.

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    3. Yes they will certainly have to whizz through them if they want Christmas 1990 in time for Christmas 2020. Maybe one show on Thursdays and two on Friday?

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    4. I'd reckon they've confirmed 'The Story of 1990' this coming mid-August (14th at the least), so the repeat run may take hold on the 21st of August with one on Thursday and the other two shown on Friday (like they did with the 1988 episodes).

      There is 52 consecutive episodes counting for 1990 and even in its 30th anniversary year, all of the hosts aren't banned neither (so a full archive) same with 1989, hopefully there isn't going to be any muted issues, live episodes do count simultaneously with Radio 1.

      A while ago Drama skipped six episodes of EastEnders from 1990, that was only probably down to the producer, since then with 1992 episodes, they haven't skipped any since the one August '92 episode had minor copyright issues.

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    5. And The Story of 1991 appears to be scheduled for January 8th 2021!

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    6. Yay - TOTP quadruple bills all round!

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    7. If we do end up with three or four shows every week, I may have to give up on detailed critiques - it will get a bit too much!

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    8. I have enough trouble getting two shows critiqued two days after transmision, let alone potentially four a week for a few months!

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    10. Just do what I do...be late to the Party!

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  3. The highlights of Christmas 1989 follow:

    The Christmas Day episode saw Erasure kick the show off like they did in the first weekly TOTP of the year with a song that was held off by Kylie and Jason, on the ITV Chart Show, they were at number one in the Top Ten on the 7th of January 1989, as it was the show's own chart-topper.

    Again we have video clips from January to December, again The Bangles, Kylie's 'Hand on Your Heart', Madge's 'Like a Prayer', and Technotronic's 'Pump Up the Jam' and Phil Collins' 'Another Day in Paradise' have been my favourite tracks on video for 1989.

    We have Mike Rutherford and Paul Carrack with the B.A. Robertson-written 'The Living Years' for January, the same month in where Marc Almond and Gene Pitney repeat their same live studio performance they did in January only to be complete with Xmas decorations.

    Jason Donovan finally gets to perform 'Too Many Broken Hearts' in the studio, his fourth and final live appearance of 1989, despite he didn't promote it in March as he only spoke to Bruno Brookes on his chart show on a Sunday evening to when he was at number one.

    Again, The Beautiful South's 'Song for Whoever' is one of their non-Jacqui Abbott/Briana Corrigan tracks with a male vocal as Paul Heaton has a great voice to name-check some of the girlfriends in the lyrics as 'I forget your name' and then Bros are back to repeat 'Too Much' from July, it name checks their future hit 'Madly in Love' in one of their lyrics, then followed by London Boys doing 'London Nights' again in the studio as since it was one of their best tracks of 1989, Miss Evans' Hit Factory-written song takes us into July and the Black Box feel again sounds like the Heather Small vocal on lip-synching to one of the biggest sellers of the year.

    Plus Lisa Stansfield is the last of them to perform in the TOTP studio with 'All Around the World', followed by the Christmas Number One which was Band Aid II with Bros, Cliff, Sonia, Kylie, and Jason.

    We get the extended play-out at long last, on original broadcast it ended with Soul II Soul as they had to make way for the Queen's Christmas speech at 3pm and especially do like the ending with 'Merry Christmas' towards the end of a Jive Bunny video and we get a extra minute of Paul Hardcastle's 1986 hit 'The Wizard', the current TOTP theme.

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  4. Incidentally, 70s kids - Talking Pictures TV are repeating Runaround at 07.40 tomorrow. They've shown Christmas episodes before, but this is a repeat of the regular series. Set your recording devices!

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    1. my cousin once competed on "runaround"! what was amusing was that if any kids weren't sure what the correct answer was from 3 options, they would just jump on the choice "zone" which had the biggest number already standing in it (either for fear of looking stupid and/or a herd mentality). and of course that would often turn out to be the wrong answer!

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    2. Any truth to the rumour the kids had to hand back the prizes once the recording was over?!

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    3. Apparently Charles Hawtrey, one of the Carry On regulars appeared as Dracula on a Runaround episode in 1980, some 8 years his last Carry On film in 1972:

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5RCOiSwPJc

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    4. well the series was produced by southern tv which was a bit of a tin-pot operation to put it mildly (the only other programme i remember them producing that didn't relate to local matters was "freewheelers"). so it wouldn't have surprised me if the kids had to return the prizes? the other thing i found amusing about watching it was when host mike reid (who up to that part had done little on telly other than be an extra in ITC productions, so presumably he got paid next-to-nothing?) used to bellow in his cor-blimey accent: "runaround... NAAAAHHHH!!!!"

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    5. G g g g g g gooooooooo....

      Remember it well.

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    6. Mike Reid of course treated us to the no10 hit 'The Ugly Duckling' in 1975. A real classic you don't hear much on the radio now.

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    7. Southern also produced Out of Town, a soapbox for Jack Hargreaves to air his rural views, which got the OK from one of the station's bosses... a Mr J. Hargreaves.

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    8. Fred Dineage who was on national ITV a lot in the 70s as cover for Dickie Davies on World of Sport, and also one of the presenters of How, but then settled down to TVS (Southern) where I think he still appears on their local news programmes present-day.

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    9. Fred had his own gameshow with Gambit, too, where he was incredibly rude to the contestants.

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    10. He is indeed still presenting Meridian news (as it is now) in the South and South East, and his daughter Caroline is a government minister and MP for Gosport. I have heard that How will be returning to our screens before too long, though no idea if this latest revival will feature Fred or not.

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    11. thx: what you should have said was "jack hargreaves managed to persuade southern tv to give him his own series - "how"?"

      talking of "how": on of the later presenters was gaz top, who at the time was trying to do a kid jenson and be billed under his given name of gareth jones

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    12. i suppose i should actually give southern tv credit where credit's due, as just before they lost the franchise to TVS (which was practically southern in all but name with most of the same presenters and mainly rubbish self-made shows) they produced "going out" - a cult series about a bunch of school leavers struggling to get laid and find work in thatcher's dystopian regime. in my view it remainsa a classic tv show of my (beaten) generation!

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    13. Ah Fred Dineage. One of steve coogans major inspirations for Alan Partridge!

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  5. I was hoping we’d get to see the 80s special that was shown on 28 Dec 89

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  6. Merry Christmas! I really enjoyed this edition. Most of the songs were amongst my favourites. I guess they were covering every no1 and every no2 which is why we were treated to the unwelcome delights of Lil Louis and Jacko’s ‘bonus’ track. The no1’s that I didn’t like were included as expected (and I skipped ‘em), so rather than go through the whole lot, here are some thoughts. btw Jakki was a great co-host for this show.

    Mike and the Mechanics – The Living Years & Mark Almond and Gene Pitney – Something’s gotten hold of my heart – These two were amongst the best of 1989 for me and we really didn’t see much of them when they were in the charts, but we get a nice snatch of both in the studio here. M&M were featuring Paul Carrack on vocals, so he grabs most of the limelight, but we don’t get single close up of the keyboard player on the left of the screen which I am sure is the other vocalist Paul Young (from Sad Café) who remains silent on this track.

    Madonna – Like a Prayer – Maybe this time we’ll see the early part of the song…nope, it’s straight into that gospel section again!

    Jason Donovan’s ‘Sealed with a Kiss’ was one I missed during my hiatus earlier this year. Not a patch on Brian Hyland’s version, but not as bad as I recall.

    Sonia’s no1 still sounds great but I found myself looking out for the ‘Five Doctors Time Scoop’ effect which was never applied to this performance. Lovely bubbly lass.

    Milli Vanilli – Girl I’m gonna miss you – I said previously that the video they showed was different to the one on YT and hey presto, they show some of the YT one here.

    Jive Bunny – My my, for an act who hit the top three times it really gets short shrift on this show! All three are given fleeting appearances.

    Linda Ronstadt and Aaron Neville – Don’ know much –At last we get to see a bit more of the video. The live rendition was good but lacked the gloss and punch of the recording, although we still don’t hear the instrumental section.

    Band Aid ii – A shiver went down my spine when this played. A worthy no1 and great cover.

    Playout – Well we do hear a lot of Paul Hardcastle’s ‘The Wizard’. Worth watching in full as they showed videos for some of the hits that were on the show in the studio. I don’t think we ever saw Sonia’s video as she always rocked up in the studio and there were a couple of others that I don’t recall seeing before.

    One Christmas hit sitting at no73 not featured and didn’t climb high in the charts (‘cos it is rubbish), was ‘Coldcut’s Christmas break’. However, in 1994 Coldcut recorded something wonderful called ‘Autumn Leaves’ which similarly flopped. This tune was a US no1 in instrumental form in 1955 for Roger Williams (who gave the song ‘Born Free’ a big break). This Coldplay cover though is well worth checking out if you haven’t heard it before, and I think we have probably seen the last of Coldcut on ToTP.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qoTzDPDvE8

    So, Wilberforce gave us his top 10 for 1989. Here are mine;

    1) Don’t know much – Linda Ronstadt an Aaron Neville
    2) The Living Years – Mike and the Mechanics
    3) Love changes everything –Michael Ball
    4) Right here waiting – Richard Marx
    5) Beds are burning - Midnight Oil
    6) Girl I’m gonna miss you – Milli Vanilli
    7) On the inside – Lynne Hamilton
    8) Eternal Flame – Bangles
    9) Swing the Mood – Jive bunny and the Mastermixers
    10) Like a Prayer – Madonna
    Honary mention to Liza Minelli for the most unlikely chart entry of the year.

    ..and here are 10 I’d cheerfully wish to never hear again (there are plenty more, but these were big hits)

    1. French Kiss – Lil Louis
    2. Ride on Time – Black Box
    3. Back to Life –Soul II Soul
    4. Pump up the Jam – Technotronic
    5. Help – Banananrama and Lana nee nee
    6. The Best –Tina Turner
    7. Leave me alone –Michael Jackson
    8. Street Tuff – Rebel MC
    9. My prerogative – Bobby Brown
    10. You’re history – Shakespeare’s Sister

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    1. The Marc Almond & Gene Pitney studio performance on this show, only played two thirds of the song, even in the studio, because it seemed too long for the number of songs that TOTP had to cram into this one-hour show, so anything more than 3 minutes, even in the studio, would be chopped down, and unfortunately this pair was unlucky on this show.

      With regard to Ronstadt & Neville, another duet on this Xmas TOTP show, it was the first time TOTP showed any of the video, as the previous two performances in Nov 1989 were a studio appearance and its repeat, and only the ITV Chart Show up to this point had shown the video.

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    2. I can only pick two from your favourites of 1989, that is Ronstadt & Neville, and Jive Bunny's Swing The Mood. The rest I'm afraid were either so overplayed at the time to the point of spoiling the novelty, or just not appealing.

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    3. Oh I forgot about Midnight Oil. Good choice. I like that MJ song though...

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  7. RIP Peter Green, one of the greatest guitarists ever, and a fine singer and songwriter too. No less a figure than BB King observed that, of all the British blues players that emerged in the 60s, Peter was the only one that gave him the "cold sweats". It is of course a tragedy that mental illness sent him into a downward spiral when he was at the zenith of his powers, one that would never fully be reversed, but the music he and the great original Fleetwood Mac line-up left us will never die.

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    1. like eric idle, green changed physically after his prime to the point where he was unrecognisable from his (good-looking) youthful self. i suspect it was few too many business lunches that did for eric, but presumably green's mental illness that triggered homelessness and destitution was responsible for his noticeable physical demise?

      or course the copious drugs that rock superstars felt obliged to indulge in back in the 60's didn't do green any favours either - i remember reading a peer of his relating a tale whereby he saw green with a piece of cheese in his hair... which was still there the next time he ran into him a week later!

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    2. Yes, I think it's fair to say that Peter did not look after himself at all for about a quarter of a century after leaving Fleetwood Mac, so no surprise his appearance suffered.

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    3. i've just looked up green's ex-mac colleague danny kirwan who had similar troubled times after he left the band before also dying recently. and perhaps not surprisingly the boyish looks of his youth had also faded to the point of him being practically unrecognisable. however i think the amazulu singer is still in pole position for the "i can't believe that's the same person who used to be in that band" award!

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    4. @wilberforce - just looked anne-marie up. Imagine her on Never Mind The Buzzcocks..

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    5. charlie, i remember a fair bit of discussion here on how badly she had aged when amazulu had their 15 minutes in these re-runs. actor david hemmings was another who changed for the worse as he got older the point of practically beyond recognition, in his case morphing from a waif-like blond angel in "blow-up" to a bloated denis healey clone!

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  8. Sad about Peter Green, but more of a shock is CP Lee has died, had a minor hit with Heads Down No Nonsense Mindless Boogie, but a regular on radio for many years as a witty interviewee.

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  9. has anyone else noticed that the dragged-up gary davies (above) looks like miss jones from "rising damp"?

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    1. Throughout the 70s and 80s, men dressing up as women on tv was very commonplace. The Two Ronnies come to mind as probably the most remembered for this phenomenon, but also Dick Emery, the latter Carry On films in the 70s, and many others. The phenomenon disappeared in the 90s with the next generation, where it was no longer PC for male comedians and TOTP presenters to dress up as women.

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    2. What about Lily Savage? The League of Gentlemen? Peter Kay? The panto dames in every city up and down the land every Christmas?

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    4. THX 1139, are you the same THX above? In answer to your observation about drag, I never really got into panto at Christmas time. Too busy eating turkey.

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    5. Yes it's me - see below for an explanation (messaging troubles, basically).

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  10. So here it is..Merry Christmas..Jive Bunny C'mom...Jive Bunny...

    Pop to the loo first cos we are an hour long tonight, It's the number ones and twos of 1989

    Stop! Here comes one of Erasures best tracks. Can we crown Vince Clark Mr Eighties? The Mode, Yazoo, Assembly, Erasure...
    He must be one of the most influential figures of the 80s. Andy still has his studio pass on...

    Santa's sleigh has broken down outside but it's fine cos Mike has bought his Mechanics to the studios at last. Such a beautiful haunting song. PC looks a lot like Phil Collins here.

    Marc and Gene next with possibly the best tune of the year. Certainly no 80s Best Of is complete without it. Marc has come as a 50s rock n roll Santa

    Is Michael Ball snogging Lisa Stansfield???

    Jason is in the studio still pretending to play the guitar. When Curtains were the height of fashion rather than This Country's joke.

    That Bangles song is a real belter.

    Bit of audience participation but why do people call him Cliff RichardS?

    Soul II Soul on video. Shame they couldn't make it to the studio.
    Jason on the Home and Away set for Sealed With A kiss

    The rather orange, baseball cap wearing Donald Trump up next...oh no, hang on...it's Bros with the last of their big hits. What the hell is that jacket?!? He looks like he's got droopy boobs.

    Thought we'd seen the last of the London Boys but they are back! Camp as Christmas but a great pop song.

    15 year old me found The Beautiful South a bit dull (I probably left the room for another Ginger Ale at this point) but I grew up and this is a wonderful tune. Tastes in music can improve...

    Well it wouldn't be 1989 without a bit of Jive Bunny would it.
    Why is the backing music behind the presenters the BBC News theme? Bizarre.

    SAW Pint Sized Pop Puppet Sonia is on her own. Yes, he's ditched her. Far too clingy I think.

    POISON. Alice Cooper with one of the tracks of the year!

    Then it's time to visit Impostors corner with Black Box, Milli Vanilli and Felly. What have you done today to make me feel proud Catrin? Biggest selling single of the year....fair play.

    Funky Hat, Kiss Curl, Beauty Spot, Sparkly Xmas Jacket. Check. Check. Check. Check. It's Little Miss Rochdale with her excellent number one single. Quality tune.

    Band Aid rightfully the Xmas Number One and then the lads turn up in dresses and Jacqui buggers off with Jason Donovan. Don't remember that panto...

    Finally we get a lovely montage to the TOTP theme to end 1989 on a high...great show...Merry Christmas to all of you at home...

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  11. Time for some Crackers and Turkeys to celebrate the end of 1989
    As with 1988 too many to make a Top 10 so gone for a compilation album.

    Now That’s What I Call Morgie’s Best of 1989

    Marc Almond / Gene Pitney – Something’s Gotten Hold Of My Heart
    Roachford – Cuddly Toy
    Robert Howard and Kym Mazelle – Wait
    S-Express – Hey Music Lover
    Dusty Springfield – Nothing Has Been Proved
    Donna Summer – This Time I Know It’s For Real
    Holly Johnson – Americanos
    Yello – Of Course I’m Lying
    Edelweiss – Bring Me Edelweiss
    Roxette – The Look
    Soul II Soul – Back To Life
    Madonna – Express Yourself
    Gladys Knight – Licence To Kill
    Alice Cooper – Poison
    Liza Minelli – Losing My Mind
    Black Box – Ride On Time
    Starlight – Numero Uno
    Tears For Fears – Sowing The Seeds Of Love
    Billy Joel – We Didn’t Star The Fire
    Martika – I Feel The Earth Move
    Rob n Raz / Leila K – Got To Get

    Now for the Turkeys! There have been a few but some notable songs that need a good plucking are:

    Bette Midler – Wind Beneath My Wings
    Cliff Richard / Van Morrison – Wherever God Shines His Light
    Simple Minds – Belfast Child
    Silver Bullet – 20 Seconds To Comply
    Cliff Richard – The Best Of Me
    Public Enemy - Fight The Power
    Lil Louis – French Kiss
    Mixmaster – Grand Piano
    Prince / Sheena Easton – Arms Of Orion
    Duran Duran – Burning The Ground

    So here is my Spotify TOTP 1989 Playlist.
    https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5a2NiXKOGEwmeQEhKDCIhG?si=1V9JPVzFSXyrhV31wyNAEg

    And the songs ignored by TOTP and the ones that peaked just outside the Top 40
    https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3i1ety6bIb0Iu0U03Tzw7n?si=gKwNs9UJSGSvOPqALMlQmg

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    1. Some overlay between yours and my lists Morgie...not always in the same lists however! Forgot about Bette Midler - I liked that, although no room in my top10. 1989 did feature some excellent songs, so well worth 'staying on the bus'!

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    2. The fact that the Edelweiss video featured someone picking his nose over a table of beers, was enough to put me off, so as a result, not a cracker for me.

      However, totally agree on Almond/Pitney, Billy Joel, and Rob 'n' Raz featuring Leila K, but a little surprised you chose Sowing The Seeds of Love ahead of Woman In Chains as your Tears For Fears choice.

      Got to say that one turkey of yours, Arms Of Orion, was one of my crackers for 1989, as a superb ballad that only Prince & Sheena could be capable of.

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    3. Always loved Sowing The Seeds. Don't know why it gets so much shade.

      Edelweiss a great tune but the video is very ODD.

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  12. So next week we get to round of the 80s with a TOTP special.

    I am sure we will all be sharing our thoughts and memories of the 80s both good and bad.

    How about a challenge. When we post we all pick one song from each year that means something to us. No explanations. Just 10 songs each that sum up the Eighties..

    The Eighties in 10 songs...how hard can it be...

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  13. Hi Anonymous! Here's my weekly request for the original versions of the following shows. They're all from 1977 this week and are 10/03, 21/07 and 29/09. Cheers!

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    1. https://mega.nz/folder/h0snQACa#uiNNqosfbdrfzODHsE1clw

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    2. sorry none brie

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    3. Thanks mate for looking. I'll try again next week!

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  14. OK, here are my Top 10 from 1989, in no particular order:

    Madge - Like a Prayer
    Sam Brown - Stop
    Liza Minnelli - Losing My Mind
    Dusty - Nothing Has Been Proved
    The Bangles - Eternal Flame
    Soul II Soul - Back to Life
    Erasure - Stop
    Eurythmics - Don't Ask Me Why
    Donna Summer - This Time I Know It's For Real
    Roxette - The Look

    Honourable mention also to Enya's beautiful, haunting Evening Falls, which would have made my list if it had actually been featured on TOTP.

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    1. Great list. That Eurythmics track deserved to be a much bigger hit

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    2. Top ten

      Belfast child
      Eye know
      Living years
      One (Metallica)
      Like a prayer
      I’d rather jack (!!)
      All I want is you u2
      Pictures of you-cure
      I want it all
      Eternal flame

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    3. I'm glad someone likes I'd Rather Jack

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    4. Morgie - yes, I think that is possibly the most underrated Eurythmics song, and for me it was their last great hit.

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  15. Looks like I'm going to have to use my official Google name to post here, as the non-logged in version is having a lot of issues now. Anyone else notice this?

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    1. Yes. Although I’m the opposite,I’ve only just been able to log in! First time in over a year.

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    2. I was having a lot of issues a couple of weeks back posting comments without them just disappearing, but that hasn't been as bad the last few days.

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    3. Whereas I've been having a lot of trouble these last few days - though nothing like as bad as a year (that's crazy!). Guess the solution is to rely on my Google account from now on, the software on blogs is a law unto itself.

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    4. Crazy indeed. I’ve been able to read the blog, but can’t make comments. Tho some may see that as a good thing.
      If these shows go on for 2/3 more “years” I’ll still take an interest, but 1992 onwards, I will not be taking part as generally the music started to get really shit.

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    5. I struggled about 1991-3 as well, I was mostly listening to Pixies on rotation, but things did look up after that, for me, anyway. I was still watching TOTP all this time, though! Glutton for punishment or something...

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    6. I remember a 1994 TOTP show that Meat Loaf presented himself, presenting Reel to Real's I Like To Move It, when the song ended with one of the girl dancers on stage lifting up her miniskirt to show her bottom, and Meat Loaf was aghast by it. I can't seem to find it on YouTube, but no doubt we will see the show if we continue to 1994.

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  17. My top 10 for 1989:

    1. Something's Gotten Hold Of My Heart - Marc Almond & Gene Pitney
    2. Don't Know much - Linda Ronstadt & Aaron Neville
    3. Arms of Orion - Prince & Sheena Easton
    4. Ferry Cross The Mersey - Various Artists
    5. That's What I like - Jive Bunny
    6. Swing The Mood - Jive Bunny
    7. We Didn't Start The Fire - Billy Joel
    8. Getting Away With It - Electronic
    9. Song For Whoever - The Beautiful South
    10. Eve Of The War - Jeff Wayne (Ben Liebrand Remix)

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    1. Guessing the Jive Bunny love is for the original tunes rather than the cartoon rabbit.

      Couldn't find anything to love about Arms of Orion. Great call with Eve of the War though...

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    2. 2 jive bunnies??? Well, music is of course extremely personal in taste.

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    3. a charidee record in a top 10?!? is that a reflection on the year or the contributor? or both?

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    4. I chose Ferry Cross The Mersey mainly because of the new lyric for 1989, "This land's the place we love, Ferry Cross The Mersey...this land is the place we love........."

      Brings a tear to the eye. I'm a Southerner but could not help feeling emotional for the love of Merseyside by whoever sung those lyrics on the record.

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    5. .....Lyrics of the year, along with Electronic's opening lyrics in December "I've been walking in the rain just to get wet on purpose........."

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    6. Those “Ferry” lyrics do bring a tear to the eye. But not remotely in the same way!

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  18. RIP Denise Johnson, singer with Primal Scream and a hundred Manchester acts, died suddenly. I see they're having to crowdfund to pay for her funeral, which is very sad. By all accounts, a lovely lady. We should be hearing her on TOTP soon.

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  19. Ok, I think I've got to go with.....

    1. Eternal Flame - the Bangles
    2. Pump upo the Jam - Technotronic
    3. Ride on Time - Black Box
    4. Drama! - Erasure
    5. The Living years - Mike and the mechanics
    6. Poison - Alice Cooper
    7. Love Changes Everything - Michael Ball
    8. Requiem - London Boys
    9. Somethings Gotten Hold Of My Heart - Marc and Gene
    10. Swing the Mood - Jive Bunny!

    And just missing out You're History - Shakespear(e)s Sister :-)

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    1. Can only pick out two of yours, the last two.

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