There are boys who like to settle down to watch the 7th of February 1991 edition of Top of the Pops!
Glad to see you
7-2-91: Presenter: Bruno Brookes
(21) KIM APPLEBY – G.L.A.D.
Getting us undereway with what became her second and final solo top ten hit when it peaked at number 10.
(25) GLORIA ESTEFAN – Coming Out Of The Dark (video)
Got no higher.
(23) U.K. MIXMASTERS – Night Fever Megamix (video)
Also go no higher.
(15) OLETA ADAMS – Get Here
In the studio with her piano to perform what became her only top ten hit when it peaked at number 4.
(2) THE SIMPSONS – Do The Bartman (video)
Knocking on the door to number one.
(24) KENNY THOMAS – Outstanding
Making his studio debut with what became his first of eght top 40 hits when it peaked at number 12.
(5) PHIL COLLINS – Do You Remember (live clip) (Album Chart)
From his number 2 album Serious Hits...Live!
(4) WHITNEY HOUSTON – I’m Your Baby Tonight (video) (Album Chart)
The title track from her number 4 album.
(3) ENIGMA – Sadness Part 1 (video) (Album Chart)
From their number one album MCMXC a.D - The Limited Edition.
(2) ELTON JOHN – Healing Hands (video) (Album Chart)
From his number one album The Very Best of Elton John.
(1) MADONNA – Vogue (video) (Album Chart)
From her number one album The Immacualte Collection.
(17) NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK – Games (video)
Went up three more places.
(3) 2 IN A ROOM – Wiggle It (video)
At its peak.
(1) THE KLF – 3 a.m. Eternal
Second and final week at number one.
(22) THE SOURCE feat. CANDI STATON – You Got The Love (video) (and credits)
Peaked at number 4.
14th of February is next.
Good Lord, I could have sworn that Gloria Estefan was a faller down to No.30 the week before, so how did she get back up, and a main slot on TOTP this week?
ReplyDeleteChart rundown - peak position for Bronski Beat 1991 remix of Smalltown Boy, and not sure why Bronski Beat were being relaunched albeit as a remix of a 1984 debut single? Suffice to say that they were out of the top 40 the following week, so no TOTP feature with this one during its solitary week in the top 40.
UK Mixmasters - Night Fever Megamix - by far the mother of all megamixes to date, the video being absolutely the best of what I have since since the craze started around 1987-1988. Worth watching the whole video, as the only name I could recognise from the silent comedy era of the 1920's is Snub Pollard. Anyone recognise others, and who were they?
2 In A Room - just love this tune, and remember it being a regular on the dance floor, as I was about a month away from turning 23 at the time, and enjoying my nights out. Bikini video always welcome considering the people in it would have been my age group, so they would all be in middle-age now thirty years on, but such a classic, and definitely worthy of a Top 3 peak position.
The KLF - this second week at No.1 but with no 'brick' mobile phone in the hands of the lead singer. Had he left it at home, or did TOTP confiscate it after last week's show? I noticed also that the elderly clarinet player for both performances at No.1 over the the two shows, came onto the stage only for his clarinet break, and didn't even stay on till the end of the single.
Kim A - I only really remembered the chorus of this, the verses are quite nothingy. Don't Worry was much stronger. Did anyone see that Road Map thing she did with Midge Ure a few years ago? It's probably still on iPlayer as it gets repeated a lot. I actually enjoyed their camaraderie and would like more of these random road trip pairings of two stars from an era. There's got to be (post-Covid) mileage in a Britpop roadmap version with, let's say, Louise Wener and Nicky Wire or someone.
ReplyDeleteGloria - This was her post-accident come back, right? I remember being really shaken by that accident at the time as the previous two albums had been big in Grimsby (they were on constant rotation in Primark at the time. Sidebar: they only recently replaced the old store which still had its 1980s signage up into the 2010s). Not her best. I do love her late-career reinvention as a filthy-humoured chat show staple though, what a legend.
ANOTHER RUDDY MEGAMIX. Make it stop!!!
Oleta Adams - this is a classic, but... it always sounds like 'heels and mountains' to me...
Kenny T - He was always a bit boring. And this very beige inoffensive track is the absolute opposite of Outstanding.
Albums - eh, as middle of the road as you get, really.
NKOTB - the ep has literally just finished and I've already forgotten how that track goes.
KLF - That's more like it.
The Source - classic for a good reason, but we will be seeing this track a few too many more times over the years, both in this form and cover versions. (or we would be if TOTP hadn't got canned)
I like your TV pitch, Louise & Nicky could be the George & Mildred of the 2020s...
DeleteKim Appleby with the kind of disappointing follow-up to the stormin' Don't Worry. Wonder if the title was a try at appealing to SAW's big gay following? Though maybe GLAAD were too American, so maybe not. She gives it her best, grinning show, but you can tell her heart's not in it.
ReplyDeleteGloria Estefan, also with a personal setback in her recent past, and making the best of it by having a gospel choir do all the heavy lifting. All a bit faux inspirational.
Mind you, the previous two tunes are like Frank Sinatra duetting with The Beatles compared with someone taking a gigantic shit on The Bee Gees with this tinny, horrible dregamix. You thought Jive Bunny was bad? How about this pitiful rip-off with ghastly rerecorded vocals and synths? Who's sorry now?!
Oleta Adams with some quality, thoroughly respectable MOR soul that naturally is about as exciting as a drizzly day in February. OK, someone help me out - what was the 90s public information film that used this track? They used to show it in the breaks between Donahue and America's Top 10 or whatever.
The Simpsons, basically music for little kids despite Bart's mild swear word halfway through. Or maybe because of that.
Outstanding, Kenny? We'll be the judge of that. Give him his props, he did stay around for a while, so he must have had fans despite looking like a young executive out for post-work drinks. Fine, but no more than that.
Noticeable difference in what the albums buyers were getting compared to what the singles buyers liked.
New Blockheads, judging by those lyrics obviously getting a bit touchy that "the critics" didn't like their music. You can make all the money in the world, it won't buy you respect, Donnie and company. But a half decent record might have (half decent NKotB record not available).
2 in a Room we've seen, maybe they liked the Bewitched reruns? For the nose!
Repeat of The KLF's first go at this performance, then one of the most overplayed records, and indeed songs, known to humanity, which was basically an old Candi Staton track sampled over Frankie Knuckles' 80s house classic Your Love. It did Candi's career some good, anyway, but in any subsequent version, the remix or Florence and the Machine or anything else, I'd be happy never to hear it again thanks to it being flogged to death.
Gloria Estefan went all the way to No.1 in America a few weeks later with this tune, and stayed at top spot for two weeks, while here in the UK she was at a peak of No.25 with this week's showing of the video on TOTP, as she would take a big tumble out of the top 30 the following week.
DeleteThe great albums divide was never more pronounced than in the 70s. Take 9th March 1975 as a case in point:
DeleteNo1 Album - Physical Graffiti - Led Zeppelin
No1 Single - If - Telly Savalas
Ah. The Oleta adams song. I recall master Bates getting all emotional on his brekkie show due to the line “cross the desert like an Arab man”. Just as the gulf war was at its peak.
ReplyDeleteThe idiot.
A couple of tunes peaking outside the top 40 this week:
ReplyDeleteNo.49 - The Way You Do The Things You Do - UB40
It's quite interesting that in the three months after the UB40/Robert Palmer top ten success with I'll Be Your Baby Tonight, we have seen that Palmer scored immediate follow-up success gaining a second successive top ten hit with Mercy Mercy Me, while UB40 released two follow-ups that couldn't even make Top 40, the second of which was this one that peaked at no.49 this week before tumbling down.
It would not be until 1993 that UB40 would enter the charts again with their famous Elvis Presley cover going all the way to No.1, the exception being a remix of One In Ten reaching No.17 at the end of 1992, but still, we can say goodbye to UB40 on these reruns for another two TOTP years from now, as we will not see them on TOTP till then.
No.61 - Magic Style - Badman
Badman takes The Magic Roundabout theme tune to new house/disco dimensions for the 1990s with not so successful results, but I'm sure disco goers in 1991 would have danced to this somehow:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prS33_FZMD0
Great. Another double-header of crap hosts this week. Trev’s dressed for a cruise again.
ReplyDeleteA fine hairstyle for Kim Appleby, and I thought the female backing singer looked slightly like poor old Mel facially. This wasn’t C.R.A.P. but a bit too identikit for my liking.
The return of those eyebrows! Why do TOTP sometimes insist on playing the repetitive run-out / end of a song?
I turned the sound down for that Kwiksave Bee Gees rip-off and recognised silent comic Harry Langdon.
Oleta Adams with an accomplished if possibly work(wo)manlike piece of singing and playing.
Oh god , Bratman next. Do the FF.
Kenny Thomas gives us some ineffective wine bar disco. Nice bongos, mind.
I’d much rather have the complete chart rundown than the f#cking album chart every month.
Knobs are back with an egotistical sub-Vanilla Ice piece of shite. The bar gets lowered again.
2 In A Room, this time with the correct mugshot pic, and a re-run of KLF before they went pay as you go.
What a stupid video for the cobbled together rehash of Candi Staton’s track.
Glad that’s over with!
The chap on bongos with Kenny Thomas was, I think, Shovel later of M People and at the time either soon to join, or already with, new age indie dance combo Natural Life. They will have a minor hit later in the year with 'Strange World', a single that got a few enthusiastic plays on Si's Breakfast Show. The self titled album from 1992 is well worth a listen too. It"s aged a lot better than Ozrics or Back To The Planet. Good clothes on the back sleeve as well.
DeleteOh, by the way, TOTP presenters from 30 years ago, it's Candi Stay-ton, NOT Candi Stah-ton. Tony Blackburn gets this right to this day, and he can't even say Chic!
ReplyDeleteStah-ton was the pronunciation everywhere at the time including on Radio 1. I didn't hear it pronounced Stay-ton until many, many years later. Maybe Candi appeared and put everyone straight
DeleteHmm, not so good this time but with just enough strong new stuff to make it alright.
ReplyDeleteBruno presents. Okay.
Kim Appleby; Was she officially designated show opener whenever she had a single out? She is a great personality and I also really liked her programme with Midge Ure but this is a pretty weak start to the show. One notable thing is her singing what G.L.A.D stands for. Like Mel and Kim's 'FLM' though I don't think that was originally a phrase that was for a family show.
Gloria Estefan; Windy 'IAM ME!!!' pontificating to cover up a lack of any tune. Um, can we have one now.
UK Mixmasters;. Well we do get some catchy tunes but in the style of that Gidea Park medley shite from years before. No thank you.
Oleta Adams; Well here we are! A marvellous tune, another of early '91's gems with graceful reflective piano similar to Rick Astley's one. Another one that comes with memories of very wintry scenes in Hertfordshire (it may have been hammering it down that very evening actually) with one heck of a vocal. Beat that autotunies!
The lyrics have a quaintness that must sound ludicrous to post millennials, being closer to John Logie Baird than Taylor Swift but it gives the song such a romantic charm. Different times.
The Simpsons; PJ and Duncan on helium with a video that's been retrieved from a skip.
Kenny Thomas; I was wondering when he was going to turn up.
Album Charts; Oh if we must. Phil not performing with a paint pot on his head Whitney looks fantastic Enigma; The longest time I've spent planning to buy an album Elton John; The other side of the single 60 years later Madonna I thought she did some other singles.
New Kids On The Block; Going full hip hop. Whoops.
2 In a Room; I never thought I'd remotely like this one but actually it's ok. Certain bits of it are pretty funny.
The KLF; Their last week at No.1 but the fun has only just started. Bill and Jimmy obviously had the gift but much of the credit should go to Ricardo Da Force who totally understands their purpose and delivers a rap that's the perfect blend of serious and stupid.
I never saw The KLF live but I did actually see a Bill Drummond appearance at Port Eliot Festival in 2010. What was he up to? He was by the lake building a bed of course! I watched people stop and chat and a nicer, more unassuming fellow you couldn't wish to meet. Sadly I didn't go and say hello. I was too starstruck.
The Source feat. Candi Station; A classic to finish on. Is this the radio edit? There are so many versions out there but it sounded like the one that appears on 'Now 19' and again on 'Now 1991'. Heard it so many times and will never tire of hearing it. One of the highpoints of dance and Candi apparently couldn't even recall recording it.
If you see Bill Drummond's recent film Best Before Death, it goes into the bed building business that has taken him around the world (though I guess the pandemic put a stop to that). You also get to see him naked. Er, cheers (!).
DeleteHe is an extraordinary character isn't he. An amazing life he's had. I do wish I'd gone and said hello at Port Eliot. A fine double bed it was at the end of the weekend! Pity that festival has gone. I only went once but a great experience.
DeleteKim appleby - weak SAW ... Oh God a rap! next!
ReplyDeleteGloria Estevan - bog standard female ballad, whitney lite, that did nothing for me
UK Mixnasters - ooh a megamix, haven’t had one of them for a while. The words horse, dead, and come to mind.
Oleta james - THIS is how you do a ballad (and its a cover that’s better than the original!)
Kenny thomas - instanding more like! I would say dull but the bumpity backing track made it annoying...
Top 5 albums
Move along... nothing to see here...
NKOTB - I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again, 5 Star of the 90s... was the ‘white lines’ bassline a credited sample or just nicked?...
Candy Staton - like DNA with Toms Diner, this is a great remix. I think that they didn’t pay her for using the sample, instead giving her a publishing percentage -that must have worked out well.
Well, the White Lines bassline was a sample too - from Cavern by Liquid Liquid.
DeleteDidn’t know that thx! Live and learn...
DeleteIf you go to the YouTube video for Cavern, look at the comments - the guy responsible for Liquid Liquid tells the whole story. They were basically ripped off and bankrupted when they took Grandmaster Flash and Melle Mel to court. Ruined their careers. It's really sad.
Deletemelle mel et al were on the sugarhill record label, whose boss sylvia robinson was one of the few female executives (by that, i mean sharks) in the business. but regardless of that, she was one of the worst! i recommend reading nile rodger's autobiography, for his story of how she tried to "deter" him from making a rightful claim to the royalties from "rappers delight" afer she and her crew ripped it off (without asking for permission) from "good times"!
DeleteNile Rogers' book is a terrific read, but that Rapper's Delight story is a low point, there's probably shady elements in the music industry now, but if they could go after someone as big as Nile, it makes you think...
DeleteThe Now 70s video channel regularly shows the rare video of Rappers Delight, i.e., not the one at The Soap Factory which is the official video as shown on TOTP, but rather the one at a poolside disco in the evening with mature girls in bikinis impressed by their disco equipment:
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruuG2v88zSM
Some odd moments here (and some damn odd moments!)
ReplyDeleteKim Appleby – G.L.A.D – For some reason after seeing this title I kept thinking of W.O.L.D by Harry Chapin. The music is poles apart but the titles are in the same initial vein. I try to forget some others (“Hi there Ottowan!”).
Gloria Estefan – Coming out of the Dark – Gloria turns all gospel here…not up amongst her best. Nice video.
UK Megamixers – Night Fever (megamix) – I really enjoyed the juxtaposition of the classic silent movie clips to the Bee Gees dance classics. Yes, Legs and Co doing ‘Night Fever’ would have been nice….
Oleta Adams – Get here – Pure class this. Written by Brenda Russell this features our old friend Pino Palladino on bass and Roland from TFF of keyboards. It’s the first track on an excellent compilation CD that I bought later that year called ‘Wings of Love’ and I always associate it with that.
Simpsons – Do the Bartman – Oh dear, it couldn’t last. Absolute tosh.
Kenny Thomas – Outstanding – Underwhelming.
Album charts – For the first time in memory there’s no Pavarotti in the top5 and it’s nice to see Enigma there….and Madonna’s collection appears deficient as it only seems to contain ‘Vogue’.
NKOTB – Games – Horrible! How many more hits did the kids have?
In a Room – Wiggle it – Novelty nonsense.
KLF – 3am Eternal – Still can’t find any redeeming features in this, or any semblance of a tune come to think of it.
Source / Candi Staton – You got the love – What on earth was that?
Last week Noel Gallagher presented ‘Pick of the Pops’ on Radio 2 as Gambo had a week off. Noel’s style was what you’d expect but quite compelling none the less. He did 1967 and 1979 which both appealed to me. 1967 was the year of his birth and a bright array of hits was on show. Certainly a better selection than January 1991 could muster. No1 was ‘Silence is Golden’ by the Tremeloes which started out as a Four Seasons B-Side to ‘Rag Doll’. I’ve not heard the FS’s version before so gave it a spin and was surprised to find it features a harp!
Thanks Sct. I had no idea The Four Seasons did the original of Silence Is Golden. They really were prolific in the hits dept, so many songs you've heard forever and you find out it's another of theirs. I sometimes work Saturday days so missed that Pick of the Pops. Any week in '67 would be a classic chart but especially that one. The top 10 is a sensational run of songs.
ReplyDeleteNo worries Mic. The episodes are on catch up so you can listen and enjoy at your leisure. Just go to the Pick of the Pops website and you will find them.
DeleteBBC Sounds in actual fact.
Delete
ReplyDeleteBruno suited and booted. Something off with the sound quality on my iplayer version. Very bass heavy and fading in and out.
KIM APPLEBY – G.L.A.D.
Why have one song about Devotion in the charts when you can have two! Another decent pop number from Kim. Shame it all fizzled out for her.
Rapper straight out of Rocky Horror. Scary.
GLORIA ESTEFAN – Coming Out Of The Dark
Not one of her best. Bit too middle of the road.
U.K. MIXMASTERS – Night Fever Megamix
Well we had Grease so this was kind of inevitable. Clearly this is a covers band rather than the Bee Gees. Shocking Jive Bunny video. Rather of heard Mark Summers.
Oh we've changed the chart rundown. Knew it was coming but still gutted. Always liked the rundown.
OLETA ADAMS – Get Here
Now here's a tune. Great voice and a really nice ballad. A deserved smash hit. Would have been nice to see a live performance of this one.
THE SIMPSONS – Do The Bartman
More of the dreadful album mix of this tune. Number One next week. Easy to forget The Simpsons were absolutely massive in the 90s.
Love the "turn that racket down" Homer bit that will shamelessly be reused on the start of Michael Jacksons Black and White. Anyone would think there was a connection.
KENNY THOMAS – Outstanding
British Telecom. Wow that dates this show. Was she Beatties son? Does he have an Ology?
Smooth Rick Astley/Paul Young tune. I don't mind this at all. Whatever happened to poor Kenny?
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK – Games
Trying to be cool it's the Knobs. There are not bad brothers. They are clearly middle class stage brats. Their songs are getting worse.
2 IN A ROOM – Wiggle It
Life's A "Beach"
THE KLF – 3 a.m. Eternal
"Mu-Mu" KLF is gonna rock you!
Just noticed the "It's Grim Up North" t-shirt 😜
THE SOURCE feat. CANDI STATON – You Got The Love
So here we go with remix Number One for "You Got The Love". A 1986 Candi Staton tune mixed with Frankie Knuckles house tune "Your Love".
Remixed and charts again in 1997 and 2006 hitting the Top Ten all 3 times.
Covered by Florence and the Machine in 2009 where the song went Top 10 for a fourth time.
This song will never go away..
This 1991 version is my personal favourite.