The girl could sing, knew how to move everything, always wanting more, she'll leave you longing for the 19th of April 1990 edition of Top of the Pops!
Alannah is in the building
19-4-90: Presenter: Jakki Brambles
(21) SONIA – Counting Every Minute
Getting the show underway and the song peaked at number 16.
(25) THE QUIREBOYS – I Don’t Love You Anymore (video)
Went up one more place.
(20) ADAMSKI – Killer
With Seal making his studio debut on vocals and this simply excellent song will be the next number one.
(18) THE BLUES BROTHERS – Everybody Needs Somebody To Love (video)
John and Dan on their way to number 12.
(2) ALANNAH MYLES – Black Velvet
She's in the studio tonight as sultry as a female Elvis but the song could get no higher.
(28) THE ADVENTURES OF STEVIE V – Dirty Cash
Also in the studio performing what became their only top ten hit when it peaked at number 2.
(30) FAITH NO MORE – From Out Of Nowhere
Turning up the volume several notches tonight with what became the band's second of fourteen top 40 hits when it peaked at number 23, despite the somewhat eccentric miming.
(1) MADONNA – Vogue (video)
Second of four weeks at number one.
(12) THE FAMILY STAND – Ghetto Heaven (video) (and credits)
Went up two more places.
April 26th is next.
Best Song: Killer,Black Velvet, Vogue,Ghetto Heaven and Dirty Cash
ReplyDeleteWorst Song: I Don't Love You Anymore.
Jakki seems to be hiding something under her coat, barely uncrosses her arms the entire show!
ReplyDeleteSome good stuff from Adamski onwards, although Faith No More’s lead singer was more annoying than amusing.
Not a bad episode of TOTP,
ReplyDeleteADAMSKI – Killer.
Fantastic Song that never dates!
THE BLUES BROTHERS – Everybody Needs Somebody To Love.
ALANNAH MYLES – Black Velvet.
THE ADVENTURES OF STEVIE V – Dirty Cash.
MADONNA – Vogue.
Love that M1 Piano
Adamski was the highlight of the show this week. I watched the show last night at my mother's house, and she pointed out that it was difficult to determine if the tall dancer in white on the other side of Adamski on keyboards was a man or woman. Anyone know?
ReplyDeleteAh, how nostalgic of the days when your parents would catch TOTP and complain, "You can't tell if it's a man or a woman!"
DeleteAnyway, she was a lady ballet dancer, she had a bosom. Not that I was staring.
Last time I watched TOTP with my mum was in this re-run after I'd alerted her that "The Skye Boat Song" was on that week and she wanted some company to watch it!
DeleteMy Nan (rest her soul) was always thoroughly confused by Boy George...
DeleteSonia, continuing a recent run of not too interesting SAW platters, at least she's not lonely with a couple of dancers there. Difficult to distinguish from her umpteen other performances on the show.
ReplyDeleteYeah, yeah, Quireboys, we've seen you, then one of the songs of the year from Adamski, probably heard this too many times, though. Always remember Chris Evans playing this and going "Who let R2-D2 into the studio?" Anyway, driving menace married to a terrific bassline, with Seal applying the human element.
Why were The Blues Brothers back in the charts? I say "back", but this was the first time this cover had been a hit. It also sounds different on the record than it does in the film. For a pair of white boys, only one of whom actually liked soul music, this isn't too bad, but separated from the movie it's a bit adrift. Still made more sense than Aykroyd and Belushi doing it on Saturday Night Live, mind you.
Alannah made it to the studio, I'm slightly surprised to see, and she had a tour as well. Can imagine that was an hour of waiting for her to do Black Velvet and then going home.
Hey, Stevie V, you still hear this now, it has a really neat atmosphere to it, sort of threatening, but needy at the same time. They were pretty much one hit wonders, but Stevie must welcome the royalty cheques down the years.
Ah, here's the highlight, Faith No More! Terrific record, packed with energy and a big, big sound, love the keyboard riff propelling it all along. Mike Patton on vocals, an interesting chap who makes deeply experimental records as a side project, but calls himself Mr Bungle, which makes most Brits of a certain age think of Zippy, George and Geoffrey on Rainbow. You wouldn't get them miming oral sex as Mike does here - I note the director moves on sharpish.
Madonna firmly ensconced at the top, then The Family Stand have an actual video now, exhibiting some remarkable dress sense.
Sometime soon after this Adamski number one, I seem to recall that George Michael was so impressed by it, that he mixed it onto his own version of Papa Was A Rolling Stone, which came off very well I must say, and the combo became one of his most underrated singles:
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaeCnGOaE98
I seem to remember George performed it at the Freddie Mercury tribute concert, It's a great mash up
DeleteOne of the best episodes of the year so far. The Quireboys were the only dud for me, and even then it's not bad, just a bit nothingy and we had the video last week, without a studio performance it seems a bit pointless.
ReplyDeleteFaith No More I love, ditto Alannah Myles' Black Velvet (although the sound mixing was a bit off). Killer is a classic and easily the best thing both Adamski and Seal ever did. I always liked Ghetto Heaven fine enough, too.
Sonia's dancing still leaves a lot to be desired (and always brings to mind the French and Saunders parody). I'm kind of surprised she's never been on much reality TV. The only one that springs to mind is the weird ITV Reborn in the USA series.
Oh, and Dirty Cash! Remains a classic tune.
DeleteMaybe Sonia was too smart for the stress involved in reality TV, it's not for everyone. I kind of admire her for that (unless she's never been asked!).
DeleteSonia's spat with Dollar on "Reborn In The USA" was priceless!
DeleteTwo days after this TOTP show went out in 1990, The ITV Chart show top 10 rundown featured Heart's new entry into the top 10, and saying that it was their first single for two years since 1988, and they had a number of upcoming tour dates in the UK as part of the comeback. I went to the Wembley one in 1990.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, here is how the ITV Chart show played the top ten rundown and got it pretty much right, with Heart and Paula Abdul getting the feature videos in this week's top 10:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiHcgU_Jnh0
Also, interestingly enough at No.7, Bizz Nizz had no video made for their single!
DeletePresumably they couldn't afford it... if ever there was a record made in someone's bedroom, Bizz Nizz is it.
DeleteBizz Nizz were on Cooltempo, who had a few hits at the time, and the bespoke 45cat website has this video for the single...
Deletehttps://www.45cat.com/record/cool203
That is interesting Arthur, I wonder why The ITV Chart Show didn't get hold of it, as the top ten video rundown had them as the only ones in the top ten with no video, just a photograph!
DeleteWhy was Jakki so guarded in that coat? Had she put on an undergarment she’d regretted?
ReplyDeleteA knock on the BBC car park trailer’s door for Sonia to turn up. The truck driver gear change to the chorus from the video snippet in the previous show turns out to be a one-off weird key for the line before the chorus.
From an act appearing in Blackburn to one in Japan at the time. The band, a London group with a Geordie singer, were previously called The Choirboys and then The Queerboys which eventually worked against them, until the Reading Festival said they’d book the band provided they changed their name, and the rest is history.
Early mugshots: another outing for that oh so clear portrait of Ride.
It’s old X Tattoo On Head Man with a suitably off kilter coat, and his vocalist mate Henry who came over really well in “The Story”. Married for nine years to Heidi Klum too. I always thought the markings on Seal’s face were something tribal, but it appears it’s actually a medical condition.
Feeling hungry for six whole chicken and ten slices of dry white toast after the next track.
Alannah Myles with a brand new style of stage presence, and a tribute song whose subtle lyrics, catchy tune and keening vocals show “I Remember Elvis Presley” by Danny Mirror to be the complete turd it is.
“Dirty Cash” – does Steve V mean Bitcoin? By my reckoning, the first mention of a record company by name during the re-run in Jakki’s intro. A fine groove which would be better without that high pitched ‘whoop’ sample. Quite good to play either side of “House Arrest” by Krush if you ask me.
Peak of the week next. I love “From Out Of Nowhere”. Cleans the cobwebs away good and proper. Such a shame Faith No More’s singer bungled his performance (see what I did there?) with some embarrassing mucking about. Plus, he was a graduate of the Paul Weller School of Chewing While Miming.
On the outro side of “Vogue” sits another lovely groove which would benefit from ditching the unnecessary samples. Lots of lesser spotted double bass spinning, and some unusual outfits there, madam!
Several full plays of recent short versions...
ReplyDeleteSonia - ok song, dreadful miming...
Quireboys - hasn’t grow on me...
Adamski - this has stood the test of time, mainly down to having an actual tune.
Blues Brothers - good song, will have to get the soundtrack out, as i am sure that this a different version, even though the video is from the film...
Alannah Myles - slinky song. Best of the bunch so far...
Stevie V - and down with a bump! Actually not that bad - goes on a bit without variety, and vocals way too low...
Fath No More - ..and back we come! Excellent (apart from silly faces and ropey miming)
I do like that Jakki Brambles. Just a great presenter. Not a bad show either.
ReplyDeleteSonia – Counting every minute – Two dancers back with Sonia in that ‘if it ain’t broken don’t fix it’ one piece trouser outfit. Song is nothing we haven’t heard before but pleasant enough.
Quireboys – I don’t love you any more – I checked out the rest of the video and there’s a bit more broken crockery but too many shots of the band’s lead singer with his ‘trendy’ headband.
Adamski – Killer – It’s hard to put into words the impact that this song had on me at the time. Totally original sound and a tune that you can’t get out of your head. A wonderful debut from Seal who I wouldn’t have recognised from this.
Blues Brothers – Everybody needs somebody to love – OK. I know why this feels so familiar….Genesis. They used this as the first part of their ‘Oldies Medley’ at the encore of their live shows when ‘Turn it on again’ segued into it. Phil Collins preceded it with a long monologue about how Daryl needed somebody to love, how Tony needed somebody to love, how Michael Rutherford needed somebody to love and even Chester Thompson; he needed somebody to love too. So there you go, they all needed somebody to love….and off it went into that song, then ‘In the Midnight Hour’ etc. etc. before ‘duh – duh’….’turn it on…turn it on turn it on again….” you get the idea. Anyone interested can check out the B Side of the 12” single to ‘Illegal Alien’. There, got that off my chest!
Alannah Myles – Black velvet – Wow! Alannah in the studio! Nice one.
Adventures of Stevie V - Dirty Cash – FF
Faith no More – From out of nowhere – they’re heavy aren’t they? I don’t think I ever heard this. I recall the distinctive ‘stork’ cover of ‘Angel Dust’ though…..not sure if they had quietened down by then. A really serious performance from the lead singer!
Madonna – Vogue – Two more weeks at no1 ? Not that good I maintain.
Family Stand – Ghetto Heaven – Rapid FF
I would also say that this TOTP studio performance by Adamski and Seal was fantastic, mainly due to having the ballet dancer in white with them on stage, as the dance moves were perfect for the sound on the record. Top stuff!
DeleteJakki in charge this week and she does a steady job
ReplyDeleteCounting Every Minute until this Sonia song ends. Heard enough of it last week.
Less of the video from The Quireboys in the main show this week than in the playout last week but Noel Fielding does his best with an OK song.
No credit for Seal on one of the tunes of 1990 from ADAMSKI – Killer beat, great lyrics and a great vocal. He will get full (solo) credit next November when he releases his Killer EP.
Loved the lighting, costume, dancer and the whole stage setting of this one.
The Blues Brothers video gets a longer outing but the LP version of this is much better.
A very sexy and cool Alannah Myles gives us one of the best No2 records ever with the silky Black Velvet. Absolutely love this. Shame she was up against Vogue otherwise a guaranteed Number One.
So was Stevie V the one on the keyboard? Who was the singer? What adventures did they get up to? So many questions...
Dirty Cash is a great dance track though. Big fan of this in 1990 and it still sounds really good today. And heading for Number 2, like a lot of the best songs do.
Faith No More up next and this one of my little Brothers favourite bands (along with Little Angels). Completely not my style of music but I do like From Out Of Nowhere and the follow up Epic. Possibly because it worked it's way into my brain from the bedroom next to mine, but for whatever reason I enjoyed this. Do we think they will get invited back with the singer messing around like that?
Come on! Vogue! Again!
The Family Stand with a proper street video for Ghetto Heaven. Still struggling to like this one second time around.
This was a much better show than the one before, happily!
ReplyDeleteSonia - When I said better, I didn't mean this one obviously.
Adamski - A tune that still sounds brilliant today, 30 years on, and I haven't got bored of it at all. Although I liked 'N-R-G' I never expected such a brilliant follow-up. It's a shame that the follow-up to 'Killer' itself was so risible.
The Blues Brothers - One of those films that I never really understood why everyone got excited about and quoted endlessly from in a rather tedious fashion (see also 'Withnail & I' and 'Pulp Fiction') so naturally the song does nothing for me.
Alannah Myles - I never really cared for this, not sure why. It's not a housewife song as such but it was certainly overplayed for a good few years afterwards.
The Adventures Of Stevie V - Ah, now we're talking. Another great dance track which, as Jakki correctly points out, took quite a while to become a hit.
I'm particularly fond of the 12" version with its extraordinary opening rap as follows: "Roasting MCs just like a chicken, the rhyme is hot and the bass is kickin', dirty cash straight outta Texas, hittin' you hard in your Solar Plexus!"
Faith No More - Simply magnificent, they're my favourite rock band as they always had proper tunes to go along with the hard rock sound, and it's a crying shame that this wasn't a massive hit.
And on that positive note, I shall say goodbye. While I appreciate Angelo's efforts in running the blog and having to now cater for 2 different groups of people and keep everyone happy, the recent ruckus has left a bad taste in my mouth.
To be accused of bullying when in my opinion things were the other way round was not nice. I'm a big Doctor Who fan so believe me when I say that I know the importance of fan collectors and archivists in retaining and recovering old TV shows, so I was not belittling that group for their interest. To quote Tegan from the aforementioned show, it has unfortunately 'stopped being fun' to comment every week (much as I am still enjoying most of the music) so thanks to those who have read and replied to my comments and to all of the regulars for their insights.
I never thought when we started watching the 1976 shows that we would get this far and since 1990 was a year that significantly changed my life, it seems fitting to bow out now. Have a great Christmas, be nice to each other (remember that you never know what other people are going through) and thanks for the memories!
Cheers,
Noax
Sorry to hear this Noax. Enjoyed your posts and hope you think about reconsidering
DeleteSorry about that, Noax, you were always worth reading, but I understand if the experience has soured for you. Have a happy rest of your life. Maybe you can pop in every once in a while?
DeleteHi Noax.
ReplyDeleteWill be a shame to see you go. Hope you reconsider.
In the meantime take care and happy TOTP viewing.