I wanna see you sweat. I wanna see you sweat. I wanna see you sweat. Because its the 16th of August 1990 edition of Top of the Pops!
Rave on
16-8-90: Presenter: Anthea Turner
(24) GO WEST – The King Of Wishful Thinking
Getting us underway tonight with a live vocal and this song from the Pretty Woman movie peaked at number 18.
(18) STING – An Englishman In New York (video)
Went up three more places.
(25) THE KLF – What Time Is Love?
Making their studio debut tonight with became their first of five top ten hits when this exciting tune peaked at number 5.
(6) NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK – Tonight (video)
This third single from their number one album Step by Step peaked at number 3.
(12) TOGETHER – Hardcore Uproar (video)
At its peak.
(17) BETTY BOO – Where Are You Baby?
In the studio again with the lovely Boo-ettes to perform this third single from her top 4 album Boomania, and it became Betty's biggest hit and her third and final top ten hit when it peaked at number 3.
(13) JON BON JOVI – Blaze Of Glory (video)
Got no higher.
(9) ROXETTE – Listen To Your Heart
Flying in from Stockholm to perform in the studio this evening and the song went up three more places.
(1) PARTNERS IN KRYME – Turtle Power (video)
Fourth and final week at number one.
(26) PRIMAL SCREAM – Come Together (video) (and credits)
Got no higher.
August 23rd is next.
Go west - was this live? The song is better than this lacklustre performance [Pre post look at comments - i see angelo says live vocal, but backing is poor as well]
ReplyDeleteKLF - this is more like it. This is how you do a dance track, even the spoken lyrics work. Excellent. (Not sure why kung fu girl was there though)
(I don’t usually comment on repeat performances, but I will make an exception with NKOTB - gets worse every time it is on. Its like 3 rejected Beatles tracks randomly stuck together)
Betty Boo - don’t remember this. Bit similar to doing the do, but chorus was quite nice. Jury is out...
Did Anthea say ‘buns bon jovi’ ;-)
Roxette - still love this. Someone last week said they sound like Heart. Never thought about it before, but I agree...
Primal Scream - very different mix to the hit I remember, although i wuite liked it. So, is this the single or album version, and which is the version that gets played these days.
That was me comparing Roxette to Heart, Charlie. Not meant as a bad thing eihter.
DeleteCouldn't agree more about The KLF making their first appearance on TOTP and debut single. The KLF were outstanding throughout their chart career, albeit only between 1990-1992, but what a cracking debut single, and yeah loved the gorgeous girl dancer on stage with the Hong Kong Fuey moves!
DeleteThe version of Come Together found on the Screamadelica album (a year later) was a dubby remix. Do this quite lovely single version has been lost in the mists of time somewhat.
DeleteGood episode overall although quite a lot of so gs we've heard before.
ReplyDeleteSurprise live vocal from Go West, not my favourite group but kudos to them for that, as the Pretty Woman soundtrack continues to provide hits.
The KLF track is great if not their finest hour, but the dancers couldn't be more 1990 if they tried.
Betty Boo was enjoyable.
Really happy to see Roxette in the studio. Weird to see them using generic TOTP backing musicians instead of their usual band though. And re: comparisons, Per has said before that Listen To Your Heart was deliberately inspired by Heart and wanting to really play with pushing that kind of stadium rock ballad vibe as far as they could. Works for me.
I would say I was bored of the Turtles at number 1 but then I remembered we're getting 16 weeks of Bryan Adams in 1991, so four weeks is nothing.
The Together video at No.12 was as good a tune as The KLF if not as dynamic, but not far off, and still sounds good to dance to 30 years later, even for us 50 somethings now, but it was perfect timing in 1990 for a 22 year old going to discos and hearing these super duper dance tracks that made a real difference.
ReplyDeleteApart from The KLF making their debut on his chart, so did an unknown Mariah Carey, into the chart rundown at No.27 with Vision of Love. I don't recall this track, as Carey meant nothing in terms of pop music at the time, but she was at No.1 in America throughout this week and throughout the August 1990 month with this tune, while were just getting to know her for the first time at No.27 this week!
Also just entering the TOTP chart at No..39 was Wilson Phillips second single Release Me which did not do as well as Hold On, but did get to No.1 in America for one week with it the following month in Sep 1990, as did Jon Bon Jovi with Blaze of Glory, now at his peak in Britain at No.13 this week.
Slightly hoarse live vocal time from Go West, and presumably thanks to being on the Pretty Woman soundtrack, the royalties mean they never need to work again. The song? Eh, midlevel pop rock, on its way out, though.
ReplyDeleteSting again on video, trampled by Ben Liebrand. Gotta say, he gets a lot of stick, but Sting's lyrics are not too bad here. Ben Liebrand, on the other hand, doesn't get enough stick.
Hey, 1990 has arrived! The KLF, which apparently stood for The Kylie Liberation Front until they had second thoughts. Their first single was called And Kylie Said to Jason, which you can't play on the radio now because it goes on about Rolf Harris. Anyway this, Anthea seems to think it's called What Time Is It, Love? but in college we used to call it What Time Is Lunch? Great stuff.
New Blockheads in black and white, just to add to the cliches. They really should have had an animated video for this one, looking like the naff Beatles cartoon of the 1960s. One of the "Kids" has his T-shirt logo blanked out, even though it's obvious what it is and draws attention to it.
Not the most visually appealing duo, Together, and I bet they didn't pay for that Star Wars sample, either.
Yes, Betty Boo's best single, lifting the riff from Reparata and the Delrons to change it into something just as catchy. Betty's lyrics here are excellent, just pure fun. "Please use the telephone service!" I recall the video for this was the first thing I ever looked at on YouTube.
The Young Guns movies were rare 90s Westerns to be hits, mostly thanks to the Brat Pack stars, though even they were getting a little long in the tooth. Jon By Jovi's theme tune is if nothing else perfect for its unconvincing posturing. I think he's in the film too - doesn't he get shot?
Roxette, I'll never get on with these two, I can appreciate how slick they were but they were always kind of soulless for me. Another one benefiting from the Pretty Woman effect, one record on.
Partners in Kryme, you know, I don't hate this, the rhymes are quite amusing for a novelty record. "Shouted Cowabunga as they hit the ground!"
Primal Scream with a mix of Come Together that I don't recognise, though presumably I heard it at the time. It's OK. Bobby sounds a bit tremulous.
Shouldn't the answer for 'What Time Is Love?' be "after 9pm" for busy working people, or possibly "anytime of the day or night" for housewives? I think the gorgeous girl dancer on that stage with The KLF would have her own timetable possibly?........
DeleteI always thought that Jon Bon Jovi's solo album at this point saw him turn the corner into songwriting maturity. This particular song Blaze Of Glory is one of my all time favourite rock ballads, but Jon was to continue this mature phase of his singing talents back with main group Bon Jovi a couple of years later on the Keep The Faith album, with Bed Of Roses and Dry County which were similar sounding songs to his solo effort Blaze Of Glory for the Young Guns II movie.
Those housewives sound busy. I thought the girl dancer was in danger of booting the rapper off the stage.
DeleteCertainly a perfect choice for Angelo's blog title and picture this week, "What Time Is Top Of The Pops?" Erm, 7pm in 1990 good sir!
Delete@Dory - The answer to What Time Is Love is surely 3am Eternal?
Delete@THX1139 - The rapper gets booted off their next record and replaced with Ricardo Da Force!
Great answer, Morg!
DeleteGo West; eeuurrrgh! Sorry, I hate this record. It's not that it's a badly written song. Nor is it from an intrinsic dislike of Go West. I think 'Call Me' is an absolutely brilliant tune. It's just the horrible pumped up, alpha male sliminess of this which offends my ears. I appreciate that that was probably the point. I'm sure it works well in the film, I can't remember but not a film soundtrack that I'm in any hurry to hear again.
ReplyDeleteGood that they made the effort to sing it live though. Was the guy who yelled obnoxiously at the start one of the audience or one of the band?
Sting; Pointless dance re-make of a good song.
The KLF; They're here!! The Kings!!!
The big car has chosen to drop them back in the totp studio in their new guise. Sorry I mean their old guise. No I mean their old new guise.
This single zapped my head off when I first heard this one baking hot summer afternoon, possibly on the Radio 1 Roadshow. The raps, the mad sirens, the monumental three note phrase.
As I heard about these repeats I hoped that they might possibly get as far as early '92 so I could see the KLF's performances in their original context. The performance isn't especially memorable by their standards; Bill Drummond, behind keyboards, bearing an alarming resemblance to an aging DJ at a wedding reception while the girl that almost always featured alongside them (Don't know but I'm assuming it's Cauty's ex wife Cressida) kicks her legs in the air somewhat unmystically.
Presumably the be-tusked druids, 10ft ice cream cones and morris dancers were still soundly sleeping in Bill Drummond's brain. But that's all to come.
It is so so good to meet you two again.
New Kids; A 3rd time? There have been two opportunities to watch and dismiss this crud and still it goes higher up the charts! I saw a bit more of the video. Someone in a condemmed building waving his arms about.
Together; Like the visuals to this but the single is pretty anonymous. It sounds a little too much like the theme to 'The Clothes Show' which itself sounded like an instrumental version of Pet Shop Boys' 'Opportunities'.
Betty Boo; A brilliant '60s meets '90s concoction, my favourite one of hers. Another great performance too, all in black this time. I wish the camera didn't have to whizz about quite so much!
Jon Bon Jovi; Did Anthea almost say Bon Jon Bovi in that introduction? An interesting slip up when you consider that she was later to marry a chap with a surname of Bovey!
Another film song, this one for 'Young Guns II' and Jon/Bon goes acoustic to pleasing bluesy effect. A bit too breastbeating for me though and a video showing clips from the movie with the most perilous drive in cinema in the world. A little selfish.
Roxette; I agree it is very like Heart this one. Particularly 'Alone' with the same walloping power chords in the chorus. It's all terribly serious though, like all of Roxette's singles after 'It Must've Been Love' (even their fun singles sounded terribly serious) but it is good to see the duo in the studio. If nothing else we get the extraordinary sight of Per Gessle not being in a long billowing coat.
Partners In Kryme; Men dressed as turtles still at No.1. Discuss.
Primal Scream; Oh great song to finish! I really love this single though I have no memory at all of this being out at the time.
It would be hard to rate this above the titanic mix that's on 'Screamadelica' but I just think the single version is a perfect bit of pop sunshine. Really good that so much of the video gets shown here. Crikey even the bassist Henry Olsen had a fair old barnet back then! A video that I wanted to watch again as soon as it finished.
I thought Anthea was about to call wee Jon "June Bon Jovi", but I might be wrong.
DeleteThe Clothes Show theme was an Arthur Baker remix of a PSB song, In the Night.
Anyone think, crikey, Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen has joined Go West, and he's arrived on his bike?
ReplyDeleteUB40 were at their peak this week at No.35 on the chart rundown, and sadly did not get any showings as the fell one place the following week, and then tumbled out of the Top 40.
ReplyDeleteI checked out the video of Wear You To The Ball, and it seems that having seen the success of Junior Reid with The Soup Dragons on the same chart, UB40 decide to take a similar approach by bringing back their head Rastafarian from Rat In Mi Kitchen, and he also starts his vocals with "You Hear What The Man Say!........." Absolutely brilliant!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFxuXH8fA8E
That’s right, Anthea, tell us right at the start everyone’s who’s on tonight’s show. Duhhhhhh!
ReplyDeleteAcceptable movie pop from Go West, and a very good live vocal from the lad Pete.
Next up, a bandwagon jumping tosser with a remix by a complete tool. Have a guess if I watched this or not.
Ah. Now. A studio production desk for a keyboard, three self-promoting T-shirts, a chap trebling up as keyboardist / keytarist / dancer, a sultry one woman Pan’s People, and a classic rave-type tune thrown in. KLF never did anything by halves. Joint peak of the week.
Oh Christ, It’s KNOB with their “Magical Mystery Tour” medley shite again.
The Blackburn Rave Organisation obviously enjoyed Together more than I did. Kicked out of the park by KLF. What an inspired video!
Mid-mugshots: Mariah Carr-ey according to Anthea, a student of the Diana Ross school of shagging and marrying the record company boss to further your career. I also keep forgetting to mention the mugshot caption for Tricky Disco contains at least twice as many different words as their actual single.
Wahey! The gorgeous Scot / Malay mash-up that is Betty Boo, giving us Deeelite (before we’ve heard of them) done in 12-bar blues style for the verses. Classic fun dancey rap. Such a shame she peaked so early. Up there with KLF for me.
Bob-a-Job Jovi next with an oh so earnest ’hoist your guitar neck to the stars every 20 seconds’ light metal ballad. At least it was better than Little Angels or Poison.
Did Heart ever do a song called “Listen To Roxette” in return? Well put together and perfectly listenable Nordic AOR.
Hurdle those turtles again for a tune I’d forgotten and liked, despite Bobby Gillespie regularly trying two other notes before settling on the correct one. This wasn’t as self-conscious as “Loaded” and for me it worked.
I always mute the intro to a show as I don’t want to know what’s coming up. Gambo is a bit trigger-happy with the spoilers on Pick of the Pops too!
DeleteA couple of singles peaking this week outside the top 40 for two 80s legends of pop, and not making the TOTP rundown:
ReplyDeleteNo.53 - How The Heart Behaves - Was Not Was
The Was team's follow up to Papa Was A Rolling Stone did nowhere near as well, I would imagine because the Was brothers changed the winning formula of Sweet Pea Atkinson on lead vocals, and they should have known by now that this is counterproductive. I mean even the sexy minidress dancers could not compensate to ensure top 40 status for the group:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBFDPGk2rZg
No.83 - Famous Last Words - Tears For Fears
The follow up to Advice For The Young At Heart from the same album could only manage No.83 on the singles chart, and the Fears were really not reaching the new 90s generation looking for music more like The KLF and Betty Boo for example. The tune was too lazy on the ear, and more like a soothing-sounds sort of tune :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgmlKt5Q0fs
A rather good edition of the show tonight, Anthea not so annoying as usual and VT have a paintbox upgrade to play with.
ReplyDeleteGO WEST – The King Of Wishful Thinking
Following Roxette, David Bowie and Natalie Cole into the charts from the Pretty Woman soundtrack it's Go West with a live vocal. A really energetic start to the show, proper summer radio hit and a real 80s throwback. Ironic really that Roy Orbisons' "Pretty Woman" is about the only track from the film that hasn't been a hit this year!
STING – An Englishman In New York
Easily one of his best solo songs, love the remix and the really arty video, one of the best videos we've had in a while. No sign of this remix on streaming though. Middle drum part looks and sounds like the titles to NYPD Blue (still the best cop show ever made - IMO)
THE KLF – What Time Is Love?
What time indeed? The answer will of course come next January! This went down really well with the very young audience tonight and quite rightly so. The KLF one of my all time favourite groups and (along with a few others) was my reason for buying Now Dance 903 on vinyl in the summer of 1990 which had a great 12" version of this song and introduced me to the phrase "MotherF***ers" which was turned down if my Dad was ever in the house! A fairly basic studio performance but they will get better and better.
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK – Tonight
Is this a different video? Still their best song. Wonder why Donnie was pixellated?
TOGETHER – Hardcore Uproar
Rave is taking over and another track from Now Dance 903
Mariah CAR-EE Anthea? It's DURRAN DURRAN all over again.
BETTY BOO – Where Are You Baby?
My teen-crush Betty Boo up next and looking rather hot. Another 12" from the Now Dance 903 album and a bit of a 60s vibe going on. Fab stuff.
JON BON JOVI – Blaze Of Glory
Anthea too busy staring at Jon Butt Jovi to remember her lines. I would love to have seen the risk assessment for this video. All very Western, Like the song but have never seen the movie.
ROXETTE – Listen To Your Heart
Back in the UK with a real quality song. Love the sound and look of Roxette a lot. Great song-writing and performances. Huge fan of them. This song is not played so much these days but really is one of their best.
PARTNERS IN KRYME – Turtle Power
Happy this has it's last week at the top - not happy because I know what is coming next!
PRIMAL SCREAM – Come Together
Nice bit of Indie dance, very psychedelic video as well.
Donnie was pixelated because his T-shirt had a brand logo on it.
DeleteThe muddyfunsters sample The KLF used was from 1960s garage proto-punks The MC5, from Kick Out the Jams, not coincidentally the KLF were also known as the JAMMS - Justified Ancients of Mu-Mu (as they say in their lyrics).
Didn't The KLF evolve from The Timelords who got to No.1 with Doctorin' The Tardis a couple of years earlier?
DeleteI believe they were the JAMMs before they were The Timelords. The Timelords were their cynical scheme to actually have a hit. They'd been on the music scene for a good ten years before The KLF.
DeleteThey wrote a book on how to have a number one single, then as The Timelords did just that!
DeleteFinally got to watch this one. Not much to write home about save Anthea’s white trousers and an excellent track by Roxette which, as noted above, does sound like Heart both vocally and riff-wise. No bad thing. Betty Boo seemed to be all the rage but didn’t do much for me whilst Sting’s track is ‘sublime’ with a capital ‘S’.
ReplyDeleteI can’t believe that Turtles thing is still no1 as it is quite awful.
Dory’s comment about TFF ‘Famous last words’ being at no82 completely passed me by at the time and I didn’t even realise a fourth single had been taken from the album. Not really single material.
Yes indeed, it was a sad fall from grace for TFF, a band that in the early 80s, everyone couldn't get enough of them, and now could only reach No.83 in 1990 with Famous Last Words.
Delete