From the top of a tall erection you can hear the 4th of March 1993 edition of Top of the Pops!
Bottom of the pops
4-3-93: Presenter: Mark Franklin
(13) RIGHT SAID FRED – Stick It Out
This year's Red Nose song became their fourth and final top ten hit when it peaked at number 4.
(4) LENNY KRAVITZ – Are You Gonna Go My Way? (video) (and charts)
At its peak.
(28) MARXMAN – All About Eve
Performing their only top 40 hit and it got no higher.
(7) SUEDE – Animal Nitrate (video)
From their self-titled number one album, this was their first of eight top ten hits, and the first ever Britpop top ten hit, but number seven was as high as it got.
(21) K.D. LANG – Constant Craving (via satellite)
Became her second and final top 40 hit when it peaked at numbe 15.
(29) RUNRIG – Wonderful
Performing in the studio but the song got no higher.
(25) RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE – Killing In The Name (video) (Breakers)
Got no higher this year, but will get to number one in 2009.
(20) BRYAN FERRY – I Put A Spell On You (video) (Breakers)
Went up two more places.
(13) THE JESUS LIZARD – Puss (video) (Breakers)
Went up one more place.
(11) MADONNA – Bad Girl (video) (Breakers)
Went up one more place.
(NEW) DIANA ROSS – Heart (Don’t Change My Mind)
In the studio tonight and the song peaked at number 31.
(1) 2 UNLIMITED – No Limit (video)
Fourth of five weeks at number one.
11th of March is next.
Top 40 rundown - The Shamen as a new entry at No.18 were strangely not included in the Breakers, considering that their chart position was in-between No.11 and No.20 where the other four singles on The Breakers were positioned.
ReplyDeleteWas their no video available for The Shamen, or was there any other reason to leave them out of The Breakers in favour of Bryan Ferry at No.20 who already had a studio appearance the week before? Suffice to say that as a result of this brush-off, The Shamen fell badly the following week out of the Top 40 to No.45. Good Lord!
Also on the Top 40 rundown, Boyz II Men with a new single for 1993 were at No.27, and narrowly missed out on a Breakers slot, as did Martha Wash at No.37, and The Christians at No.39, all of which were at peak position this week, with no TOTP at all for all three groups along with The Shamen.
Martha Wash will get her days in the sun, with two top tenners and another just missing the 20 via collaborations.
DeleteWasn't Martha Wash one of the Weather Girls on the dance floor classic It's Raining Men? I certainly remember her name associated with disco dance groups in the 80s.
DeleteGood spot, Dory! I'd forgotten that Martha Wash was half of Sylvester's backing duo, Two Tons O' Fun, who became The Weather Girls.
DeleteChrist, midnight on Sunday / Monday and I still get on the podium with this comment. Sadly, I get the feeling this forum’s dying on its arse.
ReplyDeleteMark nose the drill this week. See what I did there?
Oh dear, a bloke literally making an arse of himself to begin with. That made “The Stonk” sound like “Bohemian Rhapsody”.
Good to see k.d. lang written as correct in lower case in the chart rundown. Interesting to see Neil Young in the top 40 this weekend.
Lenny Kravitz with the coolest female drummer since the vision in Scritti Politti.
Wahay, actual Marxist hiphop next, complete with “self defence is no offence” T-shirts reflecting the track’s subject matter. Like De La Soul only darker and harder. Liked this. Did All About Eve ever release a single called “Marxman” in return?
A pouty Brett delivers his sick note before, as I once saw it called in a ranty letter to a paper, “Animal Night Rate”. This knocks Blur into a cocked hat for sure. Apparently, amyl nitrate (as alluded to in the title) is a drug used to, erm, relax, certain backside muscles before you-know-what.
Love “Constant Craving”. One of the easier songs to perform at karaoke. Not keen on the past-the-notes showbiz crooning on show here, though.
Runrig, big Country with bongos. Glad to see they got their time in the spotlight, as appreciated by the ‘can’t believe this’ drummer’s grin.
Rage Against The Machine, Are you watching, Bruno Brookes? Remember to play the version without the swearing. Ah.
Braying Ferry again? No, Mark, this isn’t a great new song, it’s an insipid cover.
The Jesus Lizard. What a load of shit, as shown by the fact this probably made the biggest drop ever from a TOTP showing, from 12 to 64 and then out and they never slurried the charts again
.
Madonna, brilliant? You’re easily pleased, Franklin.
Oh dear, the Queen’s festival gatecrasher, star of a huge ballsup during the USA World Cup opening ceremony, and dressing like Cher here. Diana Ross, mutton dressed as lamb on so many levels.
At least Mark’s post-chart summit outro makes more sense than the last episode’s babbling.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteFour songs at peak position outside the Top 40 this week for previous chart regulars, with only one having previously been on the show as an exclusive:
ReplyDeleteNo.41 Paul McCartney - C'Mon People
Even after his studio performance a couple of shows back with all those nice people around his piano, there was to be no Top 40 position for this single, and McCartney would not be back in the charts until 1997, so its goodbye to Paul until then.
No.49 Vanessa Paradis - Sunday Mondays
Penultimate single from her, and first one not to make Top 40, as the final one a couple of months later also flopped, and there would be no more from Paradis in the charts again.
No.58 Suzanne Vega - When Heroes Go down
Another performer on penultimate single, and fourth single in a row to flop outside the Top 40, after her No.2 in 1990 with Tom's Diner. She would return once more in 1997 with only one single peaking at No.40.
No.72 Cher - Whenever You're Near
Oh dear, Cher was in decline at this point with the last few singles barely scratching the Top 30, and now this flop, the 90s were a still a busy time for her with new singles released throughout the decade, so there is plenty more to come, as the late 90s would bring more success for her, including two number ones for her in the 1995-1998 phase.
@Arthur am late to the pops party this weekend due to work but am hoping people are still going to stick with the show. 93 is a mixed bag but 94-98 is a fantastic era IMO. Some great tracks this week (Suede, Lenny, kd lang, RATM - who'd have thought it'd be a future Xmas No 1?) though I couldn't sing along with kd cos she changed the tempo and rhythm of it for the live, cheeky.
ReplyDeleteRSF cheeky fun and better than some of the more po faced charity records of the 00s era. Everything else is kind of there.
Angelo, interested if blog viewings are down or just blog postings. Maybe reflects how less important TOTP was in people’s lives but the music was just as inspiring.
DeleteTo be honest I don't check the stats much - but here are the headliners:
DeleteAll Time1607310
Today326
Yesterday561
This Month3638
Last Month14847
The most popular ever post is Promise Me Top of the Pops from a year ago, which has 13.6K views.
DeleteThat's good to hear Angelo that people are still viewing the blog as often as ever. Maybe visits are constant, just less to get excited about enough to post. Plus I'm probably not alone, but not being able to post on my iPhone is a bit of a stumbling block. As Rad says elsewhere, the rise of Britpop should see the comments return.
DeleteI've had issues too trying to post comments - seems to be working ok for me at the moment. But if anything I'd say that the 1990s posts have had the biggest viewing figures.
DeleteAnother decent edition with the opener kicked off by Alan Freeman. Good. What he's kicking off; not so good. Mark calls it this year's 1993 comic relief single. To differentiate it from two years ago's 1993 single I suppose. I really had to grit my teeth to listen to this one to the end. I totally get the link but please don't drag poor Bernard Cribbins into this shite. Also Hugh Laurie, music fanatic that he is, must be an actual saint to allow himself to feature so prominently. I don't know, maybe I have no sense of humour. For charity of course and perfectly good that it did so well but if someone said that was the worst pop single ever to make the Top 40 I don't think I'd argue.
ReplyDelete1st part of the chart rundown over a video from the Lenny Kravitz Experience. Someone definitely realising a personal fantasy here but when Jimi Hendrix does supernatural bragging he is a wholly soulful, cosmic human being while Kravitz just comes across as an egomaniac. Also let down by the whole thing building up to the sort of chorus that Color Me Badd might've come up with. Proof that only Hendrix can ever really do Hendrix although it's pretty rocking and visually it's great. Yes Mr. Lead guitarist you do look like Noel Redding.
Marxman I thought would be a dance act but it's a surly East 17 type of thing albeit with a good soul melody half hidden behind the rap. Maybe the only single and act to be made up of other acts; All About Eve, Richard Marx and Man.
Brett of Suede makes the effort to turn up to the studio to come across as bored shitless. His voice has gone apparently so we get the video for 'Animal Nitrate' which isn't the most imaginative (a grim tenement block leading into a room of dark velvety decadence, I wonder how many seconds it took them to write that one up) but it looks fabulous and is such an iconic vid from that year. Brilliant single and definitely a favourite of '93. Two weeks after their show stealing, dinner jacket baiting appearance at The Brits, virtually guaranteed to 'tyyke' them into the Top 10.
K.D. Lang with the glorious 'Constant Craving', another real bit of nostalgia. It sounds rather bare without the gorgeous harmonies and I also found her singing everything 1 beat late in the first half a little off putting but its still far and away the best satellite thing so far. Classic song.
Runrig in the studio with 'Wonderful' which they say alot.
Breakers with Rage being a little less raging than were on the Top 40 that Sunday afternoon. Bryan crooning in close up, I assume there were evergreen plants somewhere in shot. Jesus Lizard pretty exciting but I'm sure it wasn't their contribution that got the single into the charts. Madonna at her least interesting. Looking forward to 'Rain'.
Don't recall this Diana Ross single at all but it's very pleasant and she's in great voice. The set suggesting a tranquil late night urban scene though the street wouldn't be very tranquil if the traffic light was doing in real life what it's doing here.
2 Unlimited still air punching and finger wagging on their pinball machine at No.1. Anita clearly scared the ball off. I still really like this though I'd love to know what Derrick May thought of Ray shouting 'Techno!', 'Techno!'.....
It was good to see fluff on the show in some form. Please would BBC, in their centenary year, show the Alan Freeman presented edition from 6th March 1969? It's the oldest, indeed the only surviving '60s, edition of Top of the Pops that can now be broadcast in full. One from the previous week with Stuart Henry also exists but mainly with muted links. That would be a brilliant thing to see later this year. You can hope. I wonder what other music things will get a showing?
ReplyDeleteDid anyone watch the new documentary on Wednesday night on Sky Documentaries called Who Killed The KLF? It charts the rise and fall of the group between 1986 and 1992 in their various guises.
ReplyDeleteIt's going to be again tonight on the same channel at 10pm, so a bonus for 90s pop fas on the same night as two TOTP episodes from 1993 on BBC4.
Cheers Dory, I’ve added this to my watchlist (Sidders)
DeleteYes i watched that. A very odd pair with some seriously dodgy ideas and beliefs. Hard to tell if they are being earnest of just taking the p**s! Great tunes though
DeleteFourth time I've posted and it keeps disappearing
Delete