We don't have to look too far to find the 17th of December 1992 edition of Top of the Pops!
Eezer card
17-12-92: Presenters: Tony Dortie & Mr. Blobby
(7) THE SHAMEN – Phorever People
Getting the final regular show of 1992 underway with what became their fifth and final top ten hit wen it peaked at number 5.
(6) MADONNA – Deeper And Deeper (video) (and charts)
At its peak.
(26) EAST SIDE BEAT – Alive And Kicking
In the studio performing their second and final top 40 hit but it got no higher.
(16) GLORIA ESTEFAN – Miami Hit Mix (via satellite)
Went up eight more places.
(20) THE LEMONHEADS – Mrs. Robinson
Here tonight and this Simon and Garfunkel cover went up one more place.
(28) NIRVANA – In Bloom (video) (Breakers)
Got no higher.
(27) SLIPSTREEM – We Are Raving – The Anthem (video) (Breakers)
Peaked at number 18.
(25) THE WEDDING PRESENT – No Christmas (video) (Breakers)
Their twelfth single of the year and it peaked at number 25.
(19) LISA STANSFIELD – Someday (I’m Coming Back)
Here in the studio and the song peaked at number 10.
(2) MICHAEL JACKSON – Heal The World (video)
Could get no higher.
(10) BONEY M – Boney M. Megamix
A second time in the studio for Liz and co and it went up three more places.
(1) WHITNEY HOUSTON – I Will Always Love You (video)
Third of ten weeks at number one.
December 25th is next.
I did like this episode of TOTP, despite there being no move in the Top 4, stagnant since last week.
ReplyDeleteThe Shamen - I remember at the time the originality of The Shamen to purposely misspell the word 'forever' to 'phorever'. Anyway the studio performance to open the show with an Alice In Wonderland set was a bit of a surprise, considering their recent Ebeneezer Goode and Boss Drum efforts. It reminded me of the 1985 video for Tom Petty's Don't Come Around Here No More, where Alice In Wonderland was captured and made a meal of by tea and cake:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0JvF9vpqx8
Chart rundown - did anyone notice at No.11 The Prodigy listed wrongly as a new entry? They have already been in the Top 20 for three weeks, having gone down from No.5 last week.
East Side Beat - the covers craze in 1992 continues with a new rendition of The Simple Minds 1985 hit Alive & Kicking, and I thought the girl backing dancers on stage were very watchable with their football attire, and the lead singer of East Side Beat looks somewhat like world Top 5 darts player James Wade.
Hit Mix & Megamix - Miami Hit Mix and Boney M Megamix on the same show? Well it was fast approaching Christmas in 1992, so why the heck not?
Also, at peak position with no TOTP for him this time was Morrissey with Certain People I Know. I think Morrissey must have released more singles in his solo career than with The Smiths, as it seems there has been so many singles this year from him.
Lots of studio performances is always a good thing.
ReplyDeleteMr Blobby here, a year before he's headed to Christmas number one... who'd have thought? Mind you, the amount of novelty dance records in 92 probably paved the way.
Speaking of novelty dance, the Shamen with some very elaborate costumes and staging. Nice performance, their live TOTPs have come on leaps and bounds in the last couple of years from the car crash they had earlier in the decade.
Unfortunately, several of the other lives are covers and megamixes. I don't remember The Lemonheads having a Smiths/Morrissey bit in it,was that just for TOTP?
No, Laters, Michael Jackson doesn't deserve the nobel peace prize. And to think Heal the World was actually tame compared to the HIStory barges and the Earth Song Jesus Brits nonsense. Thankfully Jarvis is only a couple of years away now.
My two favourite tracks here are Madge and the ten seconds of Nirvana we get, sadly both on video.
Also currently watching 1998 and how did I not know until now that All Saints' Never Ever was built around Amazing Grace?
I didn't know.
DeleteEvan Dando's Morrissey impression isn't on the record. The US college rockers were weirdly obsessed with Morrissey, and I guess he thought "When in Rome (London)".
DeleteNo chance of getting Madonna or Nirvana in the TOTP studio, even in 1992 when 70s superstars like Cher, Diana Ross and others had a change of heart in the 90s to perform in the TOTP studio in order to prolong their pop careers.
DeleteNirvana did Smells Like Teen Spirit in the studio a few episodes ago, the manflu performance, remember? And Madonna will be back in the studio presently.
DeleteYou could trust The Shamen to put on a show, and we get an Alice in Wonderland extravaganza here. Not their strongest single, the usual eyes to the skies inspirational dance, really, but it's amusing.
ReplyDeleteMadonna, who probably needs an intervention these days, we have seen before, though I don't recall the colour sections of the video.
Oh, they've got Colin from Accounts to organise the office karaoke. Don't know why Tony insists on calling this drum 'n' bass when it really isn't. Just because it has drums and a bass on it?
Remember those Gloria Estefan records you liked? Do you want to hear them extracted and ruined? Well, have we got a song for you! I ask again: who actually liked these megamixes?
The Lemonheads were a brief indie sensation, sort of the grunge it was less rebellious to like (until Evan's heroin addiction became public and derailed them). This is a fun cover, not sure how much it adds though, and we have heard an awful lot of covers by now.
Oh well, one decent Breaker, so naturally we get ten seconds of it. The others? Bleurgh.
If Lisa Stansfield was on the soundtrack to The Bodyguard, does that mean she became a millionaire like Nick Lowe? One of her better songs, nothing too exciting but it's acceptable.
Michael Whackson live in front of a hysterical audience. You're only enabling him! Worse was to come...
"And so they shot him till he was dead!" "Yaaaay!!!" Poundland Boney M return.
Please go away, Whitney.
Just seen the TV schedules, and there is no TOTP 1993 this Friday, in favour of Big Hits 1992 essentially covering old ground, as we have already had this show recently on BBC2, along with The Story of 1992. Anyone know when BBC4 will resume with the TOTP 1993 episodes?
ReplyDelete1993 starts the following Friday, on June 3rd.
DeleteBit weird they are showing Big Hits 1992 first. Surely the Story of/Big Hits 93 would have been more sensible.
DeleteYes indeed, that would have been perfect and the ideal introduction into the 1993 episodes to come, but hey, who decides these schedules? Clearly not TOTP connoisseurs like us.
DeleteAnother great dance tune from The Shamen with an Alice style stage presence. Loads of fun this lot all year and well deserved success. Not sure what the meaning of phorever over forever is? Hopefully not another drug reference. Great start to the show.
ReplyDeleteOMG it's Mr Blobby! More of him in 93.
I like this version of Alive and Kicking by East Side Beat. The single is great. Not a great live vocal unfortunately, like watching Simon from accounts on the Karaoke. What's with the football shirts?
Love a bit of Gloria and live from Miami as well. The megamix lives on! Rave Estefan rocks (2 Unlimited sample as well, how many records has that been on this year?)
The Lemonheads rock the stage with The Graduate theme Mrs Robinson. This actually works really well as a grunge tune and I remember liking this at the time. Good to aee it again.
Breakers:
Nirvana: Their best tune?
Slipstream: No words for this really
Wedding Present: Dire
Lisa gets in on the movie action with a nice tune and some proper 80s sax as well. Nice beany hat.
Love a bit of Lisa.
MJ at Number 2, he will have to wait until Earth Song for his Xmas Number One as Whitney has the charts sown up for the next 2 months. A different "live" video as well which is a huge improvement on the previous one.
Boney M back again and Whitney to close. Blobby blobby… laters….
Alive & Kicking was used for the Sky Promo for the launch of the Premier League so I'm guessing that's why the dancers were wearing football shirts. Most of them seem to have forgotten their shorts unfortunately.
DeleteThe Shamen were most entertaining again. I have their 1989 mini-album (10inch) Phorward with a track called Phorward included, so they had used this "PH" for "F" naming before. Also, no idea what it means, maybe Pharmaceuticals related as you suggest?
ReplyDeleteI have a memory of Mr. Agreeable in Melody Maker taking his own ever so polite issue with The Shamen on their altered spelling of forever. I think it just went something like, "can't you get out of the late '80s for f***'s sake!". For me actually it's my favourite of theirs. Just a brilliant, alternatively joyful and slightly mournful tune.
DeleteIt's Mic btw. Blimey, having some issues with these postings lately!
DeleteYeah and me! iPhone no go, tried all the main browser apps. Have dug out an old laptop to fire up for a weekly comment. Sidders
DeleteDigging out the Phorward album re-discovered a free included 7” single of Shamen Happy Days. It was on debut LP Drop from 1987 and has aged surprisingly well (a bit of a the The The vibe to it, it’s on YouTube). Sidders
DeleteBBC4 to be scrapped on terrestrial televison and shoved online only! The end of the re-runs on the telly at least unless BBC2 pick them up... which is maybe why they've made and broadcast the recent "Story of" series (fingers crossed)....
ReplyDeleteDisappointing news about BBC4 but will be "over the next few years" so we will be OK for a bit. Not sure BBC2 would pick it up though, I'm sure they will have stricter rules on the balance of new/archive material.
DeleteI doubt very much that these TOTP reruns will go on until 2006, so the longer that BBC4 or BBC2 can hold out with the weekly repeats, it can only be commended, as they have been constantly churning out the back episodes from 1976 onwards for the last 11 years since 2011, which no-one could have foreseen.
DeleteAs sad as I am about BBC Four (which had already been decimated too much IMO), I rarely watch anything on there live, indeed there are only a few TV shows I watch live at all these days. So as long as they keep putting it on iPlayer I'll be pleased. I really hope we'll at least see out the 90s but it'd be great to get the reruns up til the end.
Delete