Life's too short for you to die so grab yourself a 27th of March 1998 edition of Top of the Pops!
Taste that!
27-3-98: Presenter: Jamie Theakston
(2) CELINE DION – My Heart Will Go On
The former number one gets the show underway.
(12) PULP – This Is Hardcore
Here with the title track from their number one album, but it got no higher.
(5) DESTINY’S CHILD – No No No
Making their studio debut with their first of fourteen top 40 hits, and of course lead singer Beyonce would become a megastar, but this one got no higher.
(8) M-PEOPLE – Angel Street
Performing their tenth and final top top hit which was now at its peak.
(11) THE ALL-SEEING I – Beat Goes On
Here with their first of three top 40 hits but this one got no higher.
(7) TIN TIN OUT feat. SHELLEY NELSON – Here’s Where The Story Ends
With their first of two top ten hits and this one got no higher.
(3) ROBBIE WILLIAMS – Let Me Entertain You
Performing our 1998 blog title, this was the fifth and final single from his massive number one album, Life Thru a Lens, and it was at its peak.
(1) RUN D.M.C. versus JASON NEVINS – It’s Like That (video) (and credits)
Second of six weeks at number one.
10-8-78: Presenter: Peter Powell
ReplyDelete(16) VOYAGE – From East To West (and charts)
(64) THE REZILLOS – Top Of The Pops
(30) FOREIGNER – Cold As Ice (video)
(41) HI-TENSION – British Hustle
(21) BOB DYLAN – Baby Stop Crying (danced to by Legs & Co)
(27) RAYDIO – Is This A Love Thing (video)
(11) RENAISSANCE – Northern Lights
(37) JILTED JOHN – Jilted John
(1) JOHN TRAVOLTA & OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN – You’re The One That I Want (video)
(5) THE COMMODORES – Three Times A Lady (and credits)
This was the famous last TOTP edition of the 9 weeks that Travolta and Newton-John were at No.1, with The Commodores waiting in the wings to take over the top spot, and conveniently on as the playout song.
DeleteI would have liked to see the Travolta-ONJ No.1 in video form as it was aired on that Peter Powell edition, but BBC4 is still pasting over that part of the show with the May 1978 Legs & Co routine from before it got to No.1. Enough now.
Show 750 then and a fine edition it is. I'd wondered what caused it to be reduced to just 25 mins and had a look on the BBC Genome site. The Commonwealth Games from Edmonton was occupying much of the daytime schedule during this week so that must've been the reason for the shortened time slot. A pity Olympic Runners didn't have any charting singles that week.
DeletePeter Powell presenting this landmark edition and it's significance as well as some great singles means he's very cheery and bouncy here. Oh of course, it's 1978. He's always like this.
He's also still in that period of talkingveryfastin.... curiouslybroken.....passagesandat....veryintimate....volume. He's still a good watch though I couldn't always catch what he was saying.
Charts to Voyage which has a fabulous soaring chorus and thrilling, ultra fast cutting video, neither of which are on offer here but we do get Lindisfarne with each member looking almost identical and Gladys Knight and the Pips from about 1975. Great rundown as always from that year but slightly disappointing that only the most uninteresting part of 'From East to West' gets featured.
The Rezillos; "...inspired by us!", Hmm, in a way Peter. Yes what better way to kick off a major Totp edition than with a song that spends 3 or so minutes gleefully slagging off the show and everything it stands for. The logo flashed up at the end is the misunderstood icing on the cake and they may as well have shown the words: 'We're shit" in Totp typeface. Then again Robin Nash was a smart fellow and I'm sure he was aware of the lyrics and the fact they were all playing the pop game. And it is a fantastic pop punk single careering along with a brilliantly fun riff and the London "ding dongs" an' all that. Scottish weren't they? A great start to the show.
Foriegner; 'Cold As Ice' the single that gets the least airplay but big and catchy like the other two big singles hindered by a dreary sounding live version in the grainy footage that was probably unusual in 1978 but will be a staple of heavy rock singles by the early '80s.
Hi-Tension; Peter sitting down among the audience. Something good is coming up. "forget about all the other hustle..." which doesn't make much sense but nice to see him get excited and 'The British Hustle' is one of my favourites of '78. Even with the very cheesy claptrack at the start it rattles along magnificently. I love the way the vocals fade in without warning. Was that a mistake they left in? Also has some delightful audience moments with three girls having the best time at the front with one of them looking for and shyly waving at the camera every time it comes past her. I hope they got a slice of cake at the end.
Bob Dylan; Dylan would be the last person I'd ever expect to see in the studio and any play of his music seems a thrilling anomaly. Legs & Co have the challenging job of interpreting him even at his most straightforward and they keep it intriguingly vague. No close ups of them looking unhappy etc but an attractive dance with some dramatic soloing from Gill and the others emerging from and back into silhouettes. Such an emotive bridge in this song.
Raydio; Not much to hear aside from the amusingly direct lyrics. While asking their question, they dress like Slade gone disco and have a good old time. Forgotten the tune.
Part 2;
DeleteRenaissance; Classic, huge sounding single that was probably helped on its way by the folk crossover success that Gordon Giltrap had had at the start of the year. It's preceded by a cheerily disjointed link, something about Annie being on TV. Yes, and? Another reminder of the mind boggling array of sets in this year, now we're into the broken novelty heirloom era (week or so) and a beautiful, huge sounding single which lurks in my mind from way way back. Maybe not remembered from the exact time but I get a total Proustian rush when I hear the little woodwind section of this. Annie Haslam sings with her hands permanently on her hips which may have the influence of Maddie Prior. Her name round her neck. A pop star. Beautiful single which really takes off and carries on soaring to the end. The guy with the prematurely greying hair playing a double neck bass and 6 string electric guitar which is as useful as a piano stuck on to a drumkit. He smiles a lot and only plays one of the necks intriguingly. The audience rather distracted for such an anthemic sounding single.
Jilted John; Audience interaction time and Peter let's a girl have her moment in the spotlight by asking her if she's ever been jilted. Great work. He does suggest he has been as well before introducing Jilted John in front of a sheet. Again I went on TV Pop Diaries and it said Martin Hannett was in the band and yes I think that's him in the grey suit. Very funny and daft. The girls waving again.
John Travolta & Olivia Newton John; If they knew this would've stayed at the top for so long, or that the film clip wouldn't be shown years later, they might have surrounded Legs & Co & Floyd with a better set and a crowd that don't look like they've been teleported from 1976. My father said the moment he first heard this on the radio he knew it would be No.1 for weeks.
A sign off with a giant cake for Peter and a group of audience members most of whom look like the most miserable ones they could find. A blonde haired girl makes a frustrated face suggesting someone has just poked her in the back. Cheer up you've got a cake to eat! Hopefully the smiley, waving girls are busy getting their paper plates.
Good that on this shortened show the end sequence goes on as long as it originally did and The Commodores make a poignant play out.
TOTP2 28-03-1998
ReplyDeletehttps://fromsmash.com/TOTP-28-03-1998
Thanks Rob!!! Brilliant quality!
DeleteCheers Rob
DeleteHighlight of this TOTP2 episode was The Kane Gang with Closest Thing To Heaven with a TOTP studio performance from July 1984, in what I remember was a hot summer with Frankie Goes To Hollywood at No.1 with Two Tribes throughout the summer of '84.
DeleteWith the first Steve Wright series of TOTP2 now complete in March 1998, there has been a gradual removal of the Johnnie Walker themes on the show during Wright's first series, for example Recorded For Recall, The First Time, One Hit Wonders, etc all gone by now, and we are already into the pic 'n' mix format that Steve Wright made all his own, but the background graphics on the show are still there from the Walker era which no doubt will be going soon, as I remember most from Wright's series the orange and white captions between and during the songs, but they have not quite arrived yet.
Some cracking songs on this episode. Had never heard the Pulp song before but liked that. Remember buying the Tin Tin Out one, with great vocals from Shelley Nelson. Robbie’s song probably over played now but still worth a listen.
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