Friday 29 April 2022

Free Your Top of the Pops

 I wear tight clothing and high heeled shoes because it's the 12th of November 1992 edition of Top of the Pops!

Happy Top of the Pops Day!


12-11-92:   Presenter:  Mark Franklin

(20) EN VOGUE – Free Your Mind
Getting the 1500th show underway and the song went up four more places

(FLASHBACK) THE SUPREMES – Baby Love  (clip of TOTP 15-10-64)  (and charts)
The trio's only number one.

(16) MICHAEL BOLTON – To Love Somebody
Performing this Bee Gees cover but it got no higher.

(6) VANESSA PARADIS – Be My Baby
A second time in the studio but her final top 40 hit was now at its peak.

(7) UNDERCOVER – Never Let Her Slip Away
In the studio with their second and final top ten hit and this Andrew Gold cover went up two more places.

(8) AMBASSADORS OF FUNK feat. M.C. MARIO – Supermarioland (video)
Got no higher.

(NEW) JASON DONOVAN – As Time Goes By
With Xmas just around the corner this Dooley Wilson cover became his sixteenth and final top 40 hit when it peaked at number 26.

(2) CHARLES & EDDIE – Would I Lie To You?
Performing live in the studio tonight and the song will be number one next week, oh yeah.

(ALBUM TRACK) NEIL DIAMOND – Morning Has Broken
Another early Xmas offering and this old song became his eleventh and final top 40 hit when it peaked at number 36. 

(1) BOYZ II MEN – End Of The Road  (via satellite repeat) 
 Third and final week at number one.

 

19th of November is next.

22 comments:

  1. So this week's TOTP show stuck to the Top 20 only for the playlist, with no Breakers on the show. Such was the competition for a slot on the show this week, that even Whitney Houston as a new entry at No.12 could not get a breakers slot, and would have to wait. It could be that her iconic video which was soon to be No.1 was not ready yet?

    En Vogue - just sneaking on as the lowest chart position for a play on the show at No.20, this double A-side with 'Give Him Something He Can Feel' was the second time round for the 'Feel' single, as when it was released on its own without Free Your Mind, it flopped outside the Top 40 only a few weeks earlier!

    Vanessa Paradis - last time we will ever see her on TOTP as this was her second and final single release in the UK, but she did look good now at 19 years old in 1992 on this studio appearance.

    Neil Diamond - first ever appearance in the TOTP I believe, and just like INXS on last week's show, it was hardly worth the wait for either of them, as they were a lot better in the 80s music-wise, I mean the 70s for Diamond!

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    1. Turns out this was Neil Diamond's sixth and final TOTP studio outing and his first for 20 years, thus the first in this re-run of the shows.

      According to the bespoke 'Popscene' website the others were ...

      04/05/67 : Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon
      21/01/71 : Cracklin' Rosie
      18/02/71 : Sweet Caroline
      27/05/71 : I Am I Said
      01/06/72 : Song Sung Blue

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    2. Good Lord, I guess these five previous studio appearances by Neil Diamond are on TOTP shows that were wiped by the BBC? In any case then, it was a 20-year gap between 1972 until 1992 between his last two studio appearances, and yes, the first time we see him in the studio in these BBC4 reruns which started with the 1976 shows.

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    3. 'Song Sung Blue' from 01/06/1972. Great live rendition...

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zi2DjPeDdD8

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    4. Just checked the Popscene website, and it appears that Song Sung Blue is the only performance that still exists from the wiped 01/06/72 TOTP show presented by Jimmy Saville, so Neil Diamond can be seen on TOTP after all on a 1972 show, 20 years before his final appearance on this week's 1992 show as the Album Track feature on Mark Franklin's presented show.

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  2. Blurgh, let's celebrate 1500 episodes with cover after cover.

    At least it opens strong with En Vogue, fab performance.

    I had to laugh at Mark Franklin saying there's been 57 presenters when we're about to enter the mid 90s with 57 presenters a year!

    Vanessa P - nice enough track, weird having her name on stage but that's a trend that's going to ramp up for the next couple of years.

    Chales and Eddie - excellent.

    Everything else is absolute dreck (or The Supremes from the past, or a now boring number one). Not even any breakers?? (Might be slightly salty about Queen of Rain not showing up).

    Absolute bin fire of an episode beyond those three decent performances.

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  3. Let's get the party started with En Vogue, I've really appreciated them in these repeats, they're pretty great and this cheeky appropriation of Free Your Mind And Your Ass Will Follow from George Clinton is a superb anthem of empowerment.

    The Supremes, as one of the few surviving 60s clips this has been played to death, so I looked at the charts. No 1500th celebration place for Rotterdam Termination Source with Poing? For shame!

    Michael Bolton groans his way through the first of tonight's rotten covers, and provides fair warning for most of the rest of the show.

    Vanessa! She's been on before but I still love this. She does look about as nervous as she did when she was on a few years ago.

    Undercover think, how can we make Never Let Her Slip Away worse? Get rid of the distinctive percussive shuffle, of course! Man, that's a weak voice.

    Does Mario count as a cover? Was this in fact someone's holiday video? Makes Turtle Power sound professional.

    Jase murders the classic theme from Casablanca. Always a bad sign when a dumper-bound singer opts for the Great American Songbook, no matter what Michael Parkinson might think.

    Charles and Eddie, which is the one who's dead? You couldn't escape this cod Motown effort at the time, and I got pretty sick of it, but it's well put together, I'll admit.

    Neil Diamond, is this some kind of joke? When have religious songs ever sat well on TOTP? I include you, Lena Martell. The fade in of the audience looking beatific is just ridiculous.

    Finally, the actual end of the road for Boys II Men. Won't miss this one.

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  4. For some reason the blog isn't accepting my Bonfire Night comment, so I'll try again tomorrow.

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  5. Four songs peaking INSIDE the Top 40 this week from previous chart regulars, with no TOTP for them this time:

    No.21 Elton John - The Last song
    Chance would be a fine thing, but had there been a Breakers section this week, he would have been on I guess. Turns out that nothing under No.20 was featured at all on the show this week, apart from the new singles by Jason Donovan and Neil Diamond who were not even in the Top 40!

    No.28 Roxette - Queen Of Rain
    Not familiar with this one at all, and Roxette continue with their superb catalogue of singles now three years on since The Look in 1989.

    No.31 Gary Clail - Who pays The Piper
    First single in 18 months, and unlucky not to progress onto TOTP for his return single.

    No.33 Cher - Oh No Not My Baby
    Continuing her comeback in the early 90s with songs galore, this one missed out big time by not getting into the Top 30.

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    1. The first word of 'The Last Song' is "Yesterday"....it is the same note as that famous song... I do think that this Elton John track is cruelly underrated however.

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  6. Three songs peaking OUTSIDE the Top 40 this week from previous chart regulars, and with no TOTP for them this time:

    No.45 Dr Alban - One Love
    Eagerly awaited follow-up to Its My Life which got to No.2, this new one was a poor follow-up, and not even managing a Top 40 position, but his next single a few months later called Sing Hallelujah managed No.16.

    No.46 Celine Dion - Love Can Move Mountains
    Six months after her debut on the scene with Peabo Bryson in a duet called Beauty & The Beast which got to No.9, this new solo effort was quite unlucky not to get a Top 40 placing, but of course the best was still to come.

    No.49 John Paul Young - Love Is In The Air (Remix)
    Already 14 years since the 1978 original, this remix was quite unexpected considering the original was so iconic, so perhaps not surprising it failed to chart Top 40.

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    1. The JPY remix wasn't that unexpected, it was publicising the hit movie Strictly Ballroom out at the time.

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  8. On the theme of the Bee Gees, today is the First of May...."When I was small and Christmas trees were small....". Steve Wright just played it on the radio and I'd recommend the moving Lulu/Maurice Gibb duet if you haven't' seen it.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cNWAtgNCWg

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    1. I agree with the Lulu / Maurice duet as being quite emotional, but "First Of May" was also the inspiration for cruel yet funny parody "Meaningless Songs (In Very High Voices" by spoof harmony trio The Heebeegeebees who included Angus Deayton.

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    2. Ah yes....never heard that one Arthur...will have to look it up. I have got 'Boring Song' from the same Deayton band however in my collection, and that always raises a smile..."Oh not again, not again, another boring, boring verse...."

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  9. Did they get a job lot of dry ice machines this week?

    En vogue - great performance. Never really appreciated how current the lyrics are.

    Vanessa paradis - motown like tune, but a little weak

    Undercover slaughter yet another old tune

    Crikey, worra lot of covers!

    Aha he admits it! Well that didn’t take long…

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  10. What a dreadful, unoriginal set of covers for the 1500th show, complete with Mark waffling loads of uninteresting facts. As said in “Grease”, let’s hear it for the toilet paper!

    We peak too early with En Vogue’s harmonious rock rap and fine performance. Play best next to “Walk This Way”.

    Dr. Alban gets lower case spelling in the chart rundown. Has he been naughty?

    Oh no, Bellowing Mullethead’s next. Quick exit.

    Vanessa’s back with her decent faux 60’s skipalong which reminds me tunewise of Randy Vanwarmer’s “Just When I Needed you Most” for some reason.

    Undercover were so bad that my PC packed up and then went ‘slo mo’ on them when I got it working again.

    Not so super, Mario. Even the producer thought that as we endured precisely 66 seconds.

    Jase is going back with Kylie for the last ever edition of “Neighbours”. Far more topical and of interest then this mush.

    Charles and Eddie’s song always sounded too lightweight and plasticky to me. Surely after singing the title, the next line should be “Oh no” instead of “Oh yeah”?

    Nice of Neil Diamond to clap along and give C&E the thumbs up before his Vic Reeves club singer turn. Pump up the bitter!

    We end with a repeat of the End Of The Trousers video.

    I only hope edition 1501’s better. Low bar to beat in any case.

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  11. I'd actually never heard "Poing" before so YouTubed it. Literally just a boing noise with rave backing for three minutes. It made number 2 in the Netherlands and number 3 in Belgium!

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    1. Poing was a bit of a joke at the time, but it has its insistent charms!

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  12. Happy 1500th edition. Thought it was Fireworks night last week? Storming start from En Vogue. Brilliant tune. Wonderful performance. Fantastic! Think that's one of my favourite performances of the year. Follow that everyone….

    The Supremes next and that's a good link from En Vogue. Loving the 60s dancing. Didn't realise Gary Clail had a third hit?

    A non dance cover version makes a change. Unfortunately it's Michael Bolton. He was rather popular wasn't he. A bit of Mum love going on here I think. Alright Mikey calm down mate…

    More girl power from Ms Paradis with her 60s parody (see what I did there). A much better performance than a few weeks ago. Really good song.

    Undercover are back. Is this the most unwelcome second single we've ever had on this group? Sax man is back as well. Proper Karaoke this one.

    Super mario land can do one then Jason is STILL going…oh dear Jason, please give up now, this is painful.

    Charles and Eddie and I will confess I like this one. They are an odd combination but it's a really good song with a proper foot tapping chorus.

    WTF is this from Neil Diamond. It's like the headmaster has got up at school assembly. Anyone got an apple to throw at him? I suppose the only redeeming thing is that they haven't wheeled Saville out for this "celebration". Good grief!

    Feels like this Boyz II Men song has been in the charts for most of the 1500 editions of this show but thankfully this is the End of the Road 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣. I'm delirious…I'll go now….

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    1. As Arthur Nibble pointed out at the top of this blog - the last time that Neil Diamond performed in the TOTP studio was 20 years earlier with Song Sung Blue, on a June 1972 TOTP show presented by Jimmy Saville, so you're not far off.

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