While the sun hangs in the sky and the desert has sand there'll always be the 24th of January1991 edition of Top of the Pops!
Mane man
24-1-91: Presenter: Simon Mayo
(26) TONGUE ‘N’ CHEEK – Forget Me Nots
Getting us underway with this Patrice Rushen cover which was to be their final hit and it got no higher.
(9) ROBERT PALMER – Mercy Mercy Me/I Want You
A repeat showing and at its peak.
(6) 2 IN A ROOM – Wiggle It (video)
Their only top ten hit and it peaked at number 3.
(11) THE SIMPSONS – Do The Bartman (video)
The first of two top ten hits for the cartoon family, with this one going all the way to the top.
(7) OFF-SHORE – I Can’t Take The Power
In the studio but it got no higher.
(18) A TRIBE CALLED QUEST – Can I Kick It? (video)
Their first of three top 40 hits, and it went up three more places.
(14) RICK ASTLEY – Cry For Help
In the studio with his lockdown hair to perform what became his eighth and final top ten hit when it peaked at number 7.
(1) QUEEN – Innuendo (video) (and credits)
Straight to the top but for one week only for this epic title track from their number one album.
January 31st is next.
Quite a sexy show this one, when you consider 2 In A Room followed shortly after by Off-Shore.
ReplyDelete2 In Room - It was nice to see a great beach video with sexy girls in bikinis when we were in the middle of a cold winter and a gulf war in January 1991. It turned out to be one of the most standout dance tunes of the decade, never mind 1991 when this tune peaked at No.3 a couple of weeks later. Love the oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh background riff coupled with the beat.
Off-Shore - highlight of the show, and strange as to why TOTP felt the need to cover over some of the studio performance with the video, when the group made the effort to come in to the studio to perform it, as this was one of the standout tunes on the show, along with 2 In A Room? It could be that TOTP thought that the lead singer had too much chest showing for TOTP, and was too risqué. Not since Sabrina in the TOTP studio in 1988 with Boys, had we seen this sort of proportion, only the difference is that Sabrina was fully covered up top, and there was no video superimposed on her studio performance.
Gah, I thought we were over the tepid 1990 covers, but here's another one. They've speeded up Forget Me Nots, but it hasn't improved it, and the track would be sampled at least two or three times in the future.
ReplyDeleteBobert we've seen, so onto the video for 2 in a Room (must have taken them ages to think of that name) where they resort to the beach resort for an aggressively stupid rap, but it was never supposed to be anything but daft.
After the Ninja Turtles, we get The Simpsons for the novelty Number 1, though not quite yet. Interesting to see the original style of animation in the video, which doesn't look quite right now. The show hasn't been much cop for years, but this hit proves a generation (or two) grew up with it and still regard it fondly.
Off Shore, not to be confused with the superior Offshore by Chicane from a few years later, we're back to someone miming to the sample. Inoffensive, but forgettable.
A Tribe Called Quest have a hit with this Coldcut remix, hence all the samples of Ian Dury, Frankie Howerd and Pete Tong who the band would never have heard of. Almost a novelty record, but the rap survives, and their final album was a winner a couple of years ago.
New look for Rick Astley, but he hasn't gotten used to his hair, it appears. Gospel-fuelled, which is a stretch, but for all its pretensions it's not so bad. After this, he all but vanished from the scene.
Then a Number 1 I have no memory of whatsoever, and even hearing it I could only vaguely recall bits and pieces. Obviously a go at Bohemian Rhapsody Part 2, but a dog's breakfast overall, video looks like someone told The Brothers Quay to lighten up.
And that's it - thanks for nothing, Saddam!
A near perfect edition gets followed by one that is, for the most part, pants. I guess it was too much to hope for it to be great twice in a row but they could've made some better decisions with regard to a truncated edition couldn't they? War is bad.
ReplyDeleteTongue 'N' Cheek; A cover. A by numbers dance cover. Next.
Robert Palmer; Cover 2. Seen already and like it but not fussed about seeing it again.
2 In a Room;.....(tumbleweed)........
The Simpsons; For me one of the worst records of the year, so bad I didn't think about watching 'The Simpsons' on tv until years later. Irritating voice sings puerile, unfunny lyrics. Did Michael Jackson really have a hand in this as has been suggested?
I'd like to think that interest in saxophone jazz went up 50 fold after the release of this single.
Off Shore; We're missing several mins this week why is this being shown in its entirety, especially when the totp team are clearly so unimpressed that they intersperse it with the video.
They still can't take the power whatever that means.
A Tribe Called Quest; At last a fine single. Nice to see more of it this time. Simon at the end namechecks one voice from it, Pete Tong, just arrived I think, at Radio 1. His voice dates the record far more than Jon Pertwee's does.
Rick Astley; Another great single, another vivid memory of the year with what seems to be a definate sound of that particular time; wintry ambience.
But. They start at the 2nd verse, spoiling the entry of the middle eight. See what I mean about choices of what to cut? Strange especially as Simon clearly loves this one. So do I and I thought this was a fine new look and sound for Rick but it actually proved to be his chart swansong. I don't think he appears again. A fine goodbye.
Innuendo; A poir show gets saved towards the end with this marvellous record crashing in at No.1. Stunning sounding and still so fresh. Actually prefer that to Bohemian Rhapsody.
You missed an open goal there, Mic. You could have done a Boy George and said "War is stupid"!
ReplyDeleteI'll do my critiques tomorrow. Pub last night, feeling a bit tired tonight due to liquid celebrations after Brentford's promotion today!
You're right Arthur! Good choice of song title. Actually I don't have any memory of how the Gulf War impinged on the schedules but I suppose it must've done a great deal. I think we mainly watched ITN's coverage. I do remember a us millitary guy around the time of 'Desert Storm' declaring; 'We kicked some ass!' and laughing about that at school. Pretty scary time though.
DeleteIn my post I notice I put Innuendo rather than Queen. Was trying to write while walking to work. I might be wrong but I'm pretty sure I heard it for the 1st time early morning in bed played by Bruno Brookes. I think it might've been a 1st play on the radio because Bruno said something along the lines of; "you will not believe what you're about to hear!!" Played the whole thing right to the end and I was left searching for my jaw in the dark. Still sounds incredible in ideas and execution. Very worthy No.1
DeleteThe military guy was presumably Stormin' Norman Schwarzkopf, the man who would announce the US had shot down Iraq's Scud missiles with a straight face when in fact the opposite was true, and no Scud missiles were shot down. Whoo, propaganda, huh?
DeleteHis Spitting Image puppet was hillarious with a face that squashed up every time he spoke.
DeleteThere's a persistent rumour that opera singer Elizabeth Schwarzkopf was his auntie, but it wasn't true, they just shared a surname and were not related.
Deleteah, the lady who notoriously chose (mostly) her own recordings on "desert island discs"! but according to wiki, she did so because of the memories associated with them - NOT (as people seem to assume) due to being an egotist who loved the sound of her own voice. so as such, was that such a bad thing?
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ReplyDeleteChart rundown - there were four songs inside the top 40 between 29-37 which were not to get any showings this week on TOTP and during their time in the top 40, partly due to the short 25-minute length of this week's TOTP episode, and that they would be going down the chart the following week:
ReplyDeleteNo.29 - I'm not in Love - Will To Power - would surely have got a play this week if not for the shorter show, as the lowest position on the show was No.26 with Tongue 'N' Cheek. Exactly two years after Baby I Love Your Way, Will To Power take on the 10CC classic from the 70s.
No.31 - Satan - Orbital - similar to Chime, but not destined for a Top 30 charting.
No.35 - Dedication - Thin Lizzy - new entry, and not sure why Thin Lizzy were back in the outer reaches of the top 40 this week with this re-release.
No.37 - Miss America - Big Dish - a one-hit wonder, and nice tune from a group I never heard of, and could have done much better in the UK with this only offering, but a good one nonetheless:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHEwyfUdRWQ
Orbital's Satan was indeed destined for a Top 10 spot, but not until 1996 when the live version hit no.3. "The funny thing about regret is, it's better to regret something you have done than to regret something you haven't done. And if you see your mom, be sure and tell her SATAN SATAN SATAN SATAN!!!"
DeleteOrbital were banned from Top Of The Pops at this point so they wouldn't have appeared in the Studio anyway.
DeleteWhy, had they appeared before, and what did they do wrong?
DeleteOrbital had been on TOTP on once before, when they failed to play ball with the producers and deliberately left all the keyboards and paraphernalia unplugged on stage and refused to mine properly. They were banned for six years if I remember their telling of it on "The Story of 1990" properly.
DeleteBeen watching the totp repeats since 2011 but my first time commenting. This episode brought back memories as a few days earlier i had heard Innuendo by Queen on the chart rundown and loved it. The album was then the first i bought, then a 15 year old. By the summer i had bought their back catalogue and my record collecting days had now started.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the clan. Tuck in!
DeleteWelcome David....a marvellous back catalogue to acquire too. What's your favourite album? One particular white covered album frequently gets played on my CD player and its not this one!
DeleteThey say that someones favourite is the first one you buy so would therefore be Innuendo. But Sheer Heart Attack is say is their best
Deletewelcome David. Some great tunes await in 91
DeleteHi David. Welcome!
ReplyDeleteTongue in cheek - very pedestrian... [pre post read of comments - a SPEEDED UP cover? Crikey!]
ReplyDeleteTwo in a Room - zzzzzzzzz
Simpsons - forced to confess I liked this at the time. Not now...
Rick Astley - not my cup of tea...
Queen - straight in at 1. Took a while to get going, but the highlight of the show. Don’t remember it being a single, and don’t remember the video at all
Distinctly low octane episode...
There have actually been a few Simpsons albums, which must count as some of the least essential music spin-offs of all time.
DeleteAh, the boy Mayo this time. See if you can spot the obligatory “former record of the week” link.
ReplyDeleteSecond week in a row we see an act with both a Stick (a bass without the fretboard) and a keytar following The Stranglers’ video. Best thing I can say about this.
Early mugshot research. The Big Dish were from Airdrie in Scotland and this was their 9th of 11 singles, the only one to chart here. Mark Summers is a well known DJ / mixer / producer who released nearly 40 singles. This was his only UK hit, and it failed to get a TOTP despite jumping ten places the next week.
Great intro by Simon to 2 In A Room’s tender ballad about inner city deprivation. That video must have been a tough gig.
I don’t think “Do The Bartman” was what Tracey Ullman envisaged when this lot got on her show.
Si forgets what Off-Shore’s track is called and uses the patented ‘”Over there” get-out clause. I’m guessing the video was interspersed due to a boring group and a lyric consisting of one line repeated ad nauseum. Give me Sabrina over this any day. At least this bunch finally got a proper pic in the mugshots instead of a surf wave.
I forgot the Quest Tribe ripped off “Walk On The Wild Side”. This got kicked off my screen pronto.
Rick Astley, sponsored by Timotei, with a decent song well emoted as per Rick’s norm, but no pretend mics for the six backing vocalists. Hmm. Yes, this is an old Mayo ROTW as per the outro. This was Rick’s eighth consecutive top ten hit, then it all went pear shaped. The follow-ups peaked at 58 and 70 and he managed just one more week in the lower mugshots.
I’m bucking the trend here. I hated that Queen track. Can we have Enigma back?
I didn't like the Queen track either! The definition of trying too hard. I did like Slightly Mad, though, which I think was on that album.
DeleteI loved Summers Magic with all the the Magic Roundabout samples. Shame it didn't do as well as the Thunderbirds tune from 1990. I'm sure i had the 12".
DeleteA few singles peaking this week outside the top 40 for otherwise top 40 regulars:
ReplyDeleteNo.42 - Lindy Layton - Echo My Heart - her solo career set up nicely by Beats International was not working for her a year or so on from Dub Be Good To Me, and could not even get top 40 with this. Unusually no video for this one which didn't help in getting a top 40 position.
No. 54 - The London Boys - Freedom - the public had had enough by 1989 with two top 10 singles by then, but 1990 and 1991 were flop years for them, and this ended up as their last single, so the curtain comes down for the Boys.
No.59 - Maria McKee - Breath - follow-up to her big No.1 Show Me Heaven, and could not even trouble the top 40. She had a few more singles releases until 1993, with the best result being a No.35, but in terms of TOTP, nothing to show after her 1990 No.1.
No.74 - Daryll Hall & John Oates - Everywhere I Look - they were always bigger in America, and having had their last hit in the UK as far back as 1985, this 1991 new release was their last ever single in the UK, only managing No.74, and so the curtain finally comes down on a seemingly part-time presence in the UK.for an iconic duo.
How many Hall and Oates singles did John Oates take lead vocals on? Any of them?
DeleteNever heard the voice of John Oates on any of their singles catalogue, as I never got any of their albums, so it's been all Darryl Hall I think as far as the singles charts go.
DeleteGreat to see this blog still going strong and a lot of the same contributors from down the years still on board. I used to read through all the posts circa 1979-85 (due a re-read); always really enjoyable. Top blog Angelo!
ReplyDeleteI can sum up this one in the words of the Vanessa Williams song – ‘Save the best for last’ (which we haven’t seen yet – 1992 I note…).
ReplyDeleteLargely Simon Mayo presides over a load of rubbish and forgettable hits (was ‘Forget me nots’ really worth covering?). Who would have believed that the dreadful ‘Do the Bartman’ would soon be topping the charts cashing in on the Simpsons craze at the time. Simon says he doesn’t remember ‘Sugar Sugar’ (from 1969 – eight weeks at the top) which I find incredible – surely he must have heard it at some point? Give me that rather than Bart and his rapping pals….
I quite liked Rick Astley’s final sizeable hit with its gospel choir. A far cry from the production line SAW mid tempo tunes and a nice ‘haircut’!
Now for the cream of the crop. Queen’s ‘Innuendo’ was one of the songs of 1991 for me. What a track!! We get started here in the middle section of the superb video crafted from older Queen clips in places to substitute for a sadly ill Freddie. Obviously with a shorter show we were never going to get all six and a half minutes, but it is a decent showing and it’s amazing the song didn’t hold on at the top for longer; instead being replaced by something quite awful. The middle section features Steve Howe from Yes on guitar. I think (correct me if I am wrong) that this is the only appearance of any Yes member on a No1 single. Incredible given the massive output of the band and the likes of Jon Anderson producing such gems as ‘I’ll find my way Home’ with Vangelis. I’m not counting ‘Video killed the Radio Star’ with Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes who were members of Yes for just one album (‘Drama’).
Actually 'Sugar Sugar' was part of the Stars on 45 Medley in 1981 so Mayo must surely have heard that?
DeleteDid Rick Wakeman play on 'Space Oddity'? A no.1 in '75. Not sure, I know he's on 'Life On Mars'. I haven't checked Wikipedia. He might be playing Mellotron on it.
DeleteThat is a marvellous video for Innuendo. I think the images of the band come from the Scandal video and possibly Breakthru as well.
If only the original broadcasted show in 1991 had the No.1 Queen video also as playout, then this BBC4 rerun could have shown the full 6 minutes or so, in order to make this a newly-created half-an-hour show out of an original 25-minute show in 1991.
DeleteSimon's reference to not remembering The Archies was a joke. A little self-deprecation to pretend to be younger than he was to be humorously down with da kidz (or their parents).
DeleteA few songs here we've already had recently, like Robert P and Offshore. Of the rest, Wiggle it has been a daft enduring tune; Do The Bartman always reminds me of my old school friend Matt Smith (not that one)'s birthday do; Rick Astley wasn't so bad (at the time I thought it was a big ol dirge). Queen just makes me feel sad about what later 1991 will bring.
ReplyDeleteBoy Mayo up tonight with his roster of short pop-stars.
ReplyDeleteTONGUE ‘N’ CHEEK – Forget Me Nots
A fan of this and I had the album. A 1990 dance/cover sneaking into 1991. Enjoyed hearing this again. Might have to dig out the old vinyl.
2 IN A ROOM – Wiggle It
Incessantly catchy. Fills a dance floor. We did wiggle it. Good fun. Remixed for the UK to cut out the pauses. This is the US mix.
THE SIMPSONS – Do The Bartman
The good news is there is a really great 7" mix of this which actually isn't too bad. The bad news is, this isn't it! MJ on backing vocals of course, although at the time there was a rumour he did the voice of Bart on here which turned out to be just that. Nancy Cartwright on lead!
OFF-SHORE – I Can’t Take The Power
Exhibit One: Dance tune, one line vocal. Nowt to look at but the crap video.
We may need to rethink the show if these tunes keep showing up.
Producer: I can see at least 2 good points there 😛
A TRIBE CALLED QUEST – Pete Tong on vocals. Never knew that.
RICK ASTLEY – Cry For Help
He's back. He's ditched SAW. He's grown his hair.
This is a nice tune. His comeback over the last few years has been a joy to see..
QUEEN – Innuendo
Another song straight in at Number One. Something that will be the norm by 96.
Sadly from Queens last album whilst Freddie was with us. Bit of an epic this one.
My main memory of this is Tommy Vance covering the Radio 1 chart show and playing this in full along with a number of other tracks, and when you added in the Gulf War bulletins and Tommy's ramblings he was left with just under 30 minutes for the whole Top Ten..some songs faded very quickly 😛
Pauses or no pauses, the Wiggle It track by 2 In A Room is one of the highlights of 1991, and big dance floor favourite by DJs and dance floor enthusiasts alike!
DeleteNice to see you're still with us, Morgie! But Pete Tong is only on Can I Kick It? for one sample, he's not doing the rap. It was a Coldcut remix, so they put a bunch of British samples on the American original.
Delete