So here we are again after a week’s break. What treats have we got in store? At least we are spared the world’s worst calypso artist this week.

 

A dreadful start with Al Hudson and The Partners. Who?

 

The Dooleys then show that it can get worse than the first song. Can’t they just show the one from two weeks ago again?

 

Michael Jackson next (plus Legs & Co). I’m not a fan but this is at least an improvement in the Dooleys.

 

Apparently The Headboys have been cut. This seems to be non-entities week.

 

Anyway, on to Chic now. Whatever happened to Nile Rodgers?

 

Dr Hook couldn’t make it to the studio so there’s some American film footage. Shame they even bothered with that really.

 

Viola Wills up next. It’s doesn’t get any better.

 

Inferior reggae now from Errol Dunkley. Do I get a medal for sitting through the whole of this week’s show?

 

Good grief, it’s getting worse. Cats UK with a monstrosity I had conveniently banished from memory. Until now. Based on the Lorraine Chase advert for whatever it was.

 

Some quality at last with Wales’ finest rocker Dave Edmunds.

 

And after that brief interruption for something decent we’re back to the dross. Mike Read was unavailable this week so Dana takes the “right-wing nut-job” slot.

 

The Police still at number one. Never mind Message In A Bottle, I’m sure most of the audience must have hit the bottle by now.

 

Fleetwood Mac over the closing credits with the title track from the album that had to follow Rumours.

 

Well, that was largely quite an ordeal but I survived it somehow.

Cats UK featured the ex Emmerdale Actress Deena Payne

The Headboys Shape Of Things To Come was much better than either Cats UK, Dana, or Errol Dunkley. Not as funny, granted..... :lol:

Not as good this week, Dana and Cats were dreadful.

 

Brain teaser: what do these no.1 acts have in common Johnny Kidd /Pirates, Dr Hook & Gabrielle?

They all wore eye patches.

At one time they played the number one over the chart and then again at the end of the programme. This week, more than most weeks, we can be grateful they dropped that idea. Instead we get The Selecter, a far better choice.

 

Staying with 2Tone, it’s The Specials. The chances of this standard being maintained through the whole show are zero (unless they managed to “lose” the last few minutes).

 

Now it takes a turn for the worse with Viola Wills. There is at least one greater horror to come.

 

Time for some Queen in their brief (one song) rockabilly period.

 

Legs & Co performing to Chic. A pretty poor effort but not this week’s nadir by any means.

 

Thankfully Cats UK have been cut (once was more than enough) along with the Charlie Daniels Band.

 

Dr Hook again. Same poor quality film (matching the song) as before.

 

Iris Williams next and, yes, that tune is back again with words this time. Iris Williams is a sort of Poundland Shirley Bassey.

 

On to the Dooleys. Even they didn’t manage to be the worst act this week. Yes, one of the programme’s lowest points is still to come. Get your mute buttons ready.

 

Oh dear God, they really are building up to the denouement. There now follows a Party Political Broadcast on behalf of the Conservative Party. It still isn’t the worst this show has to offer.

 

Errol Dunkley again. This is actually one of the better songs this week.

 

Reach for those mute buttons now.

 

And so we come to the moment nobody has been waiting for. It’s the moment when Anita Ward’s Ring My Bell managed to lose its position as the worst number one of the year. It wasn’t even close. Lena Martell won by a country mile. BBC Surrey and Sussex (it may just have been Sussex at the time) used to have a regular poll of listeners’ favourite songs. This diabolical monstrosity always did well. It was a postal vote so, if they had managed to “lose” all votes from Eastbourne and Bexhill, the result could have been very different.

 

Some Abba to finish to help us forget most of the last half-hour.

Yes, not just cats UK, and Iris Williams: usually they would have been considered low points, this week there are 2 of the biggest crimes to vinyl ever committed, Thatch and Martell. I loathed them then, and I'm happy to see with the passage of time I was far too generous!

 

 

JANET BROWN – The Iron Lady, I shouted back at the TV WTF, Haven't Heard this before.

Janet Brown failed to make the Top 75 with that weird Thatch goes Reggae song - I wonder why.

 

Annoyingly I switched on a couple of minutes in, missed the Selector and only caught the end of the Specials - managed to see all the dross though.

 

A very weird time for music...

Good TOTP yesterday. Like the Dooleys song. May be in a minority here but I love the Lena Martell song!. Good sentiment and everyone should take One Day At A Time. She was a true one-hit wonder. Remember my mum betting with my cousin when it was low down the chart, No.30 I think, that it would reach No.1. He lost £5!

Edited October 31, 201410 yr by Common Sense

Oh gawd, It’s Mike Read again. Anyway, Sad Cafe over the chart. And, on a positive note, if they couldn’t show the Read shows, they would have to show even more of Farage to fulfil their quota of 100 hours of UKIP every week.

 

It’s Sparks time! What a great start to the show and what a tasteful suit Russ is wearing. Sadly this was to be their last chart hit for 15 years.

 

Oh dear. Not only could the quality not last, we now go to the other end of the spectrum for that bloody sparrow. Utterly, utterly dreadful. The only positive thing to say about it is that it is not Let It Go. Or Lena Martell. Dictionaries of the day gave “Sparks followed by The Sparrow” as the definition of “From the sublime to the ridiculous”.

 

Darts making their statutory appearance. Not Darts at their best and the public agreed. It didn’t make the top 40.

 

On to The Jam. Our idiot of a PM says Eton Rifles is his favourite Jam song. He obviously found the lyrics too subtle and didn’t understand the message.

 

Lene Lovich up next with a very strange song even by her standards. It wasn’t a big hit.

 

Legs & Co “dancing” to Earth Wind & Fire with another remix of their only song.

 

Thin Lizzy with a ballad. Whatever next?

 

And it’s little Suzi Quatro. That's what's next. Possibly this week’s least convincing mime.

 

BA Robertson with his second top ten hit.

 

And it’s time for the mute button again for Lena Martell.

 

Fleetwood Mac over the closing titles again. Will we get a proper performance of this?

From Popscene.

 

1-11-79: Presenter: Mike Read

 

(3) SAD CAFÉ – Every Day Hurts (and charts)

(45) SPARKS – Tryouts For The Human Race

(26) THE RAMBLERS – The Sparrow ®

(50) DARTS – Can’t Get Enough Of Your Love

(29) THE JAM – The Eton Rifles

(46) LENE LOVICH – Bird Song

(16) EARTH, WIND & FIRE – Star (danced to by Legs & Co)

(43) THIN LIZZY – Sarah

(20) SUZI QUATRO – She’s In Love With You

(42) B.A. ROBERTSON – Knocked It Off

(1) LENA MARTELL – One Day At A Time ®

(8) FLEETWOOD MAC – Tusk (and credits)

Next Week yewtree'd

 

From Popscene.

 

8-11-79: Presenter: Jimmy Savile O.B.E.

 

(21) KOOL & THE GANG – Ladies Night (and charts)

(44) MATCHBOX – Rockabilly Rebel

(29) IRIS WILLIAMS – He Was Beautiful (Cavatina) (The Theme From ‘The Deer Hunter’)

(2) DR. HOOK – When You’re In Love With A Beautiful Woman (video)

(51) MADNESS – One Step Beyond

(10) THE COMMODORES – Still (video)

(19) THE SPECIALS feat. RICO – A Message To You Rudy

(3) ABBA – Gimme Gimme Gimme (A Man After Midnight) (video)

(50) DAN-I – Monkey Chop

(26) HERB ALPERT – Rise (danced to by Legs & Co)

(5) QUEEN – Crazy Little Thing Called Love (video)

(53) SHAM 69 – You’re A Better Man Than I

(9) THE SELECTER – On My Radio ®

(1) LENA MARTELL – One Day At A Time

(27) DONNA SUMMER & BARBRA STREISAND – No More Tears (Enough Is Enough) (and credits)

 

well i'll review both episodes then :lol:

 

Sparks are brilliant, but this wasn't really a hit single, sadly, a bit too out there for the charts.

 

Eton Rifles fit nicely in with my view of the world at the time. And now.

 

Lene Lovich - talking of "out there" I was mad on this one, loved it sounding like nothing else. I seem to be alone.....

 

EW&F are Star's, Lizzy pretty enough, Suzi romps along nicely, BA is fab, lurve those Middle-eastern strings and the clever lyrics. An under-rated witty lyricist, ol' BA.

 

Mac: Tusk 100% did get on TOTP, I distinctly recall marching bands video in a stadium. Unless my memory is going, of course.

 

 

The Banned episode:

 

Matchbox grew on me, eventually.

 

Madness, it's criminal that this brilliant record and performance is not being broadcast. Dear Jim, can you fix it for me for Madness to get on the telly?

 

Abba, great record, OK video.

 

Dan-I, forgotten fab record, a bit classic KC & sunshine band-ish.

 

Queen: great video, fun record

 

The Selecter were good fun too.

 

The rest, meh! EXcept for Rise, & No More Tears but that's Legs & co/end credits..

Next Week yewtree'd

 

From Popscene.

 

8-11-79: Presenter: Jimmy Savile O.B.E.

 

(21) KOOL & THE GANG – Ladies Night (and charts)

(44) MATCHBOX – Rockabilly Rebel

(29) IRIS WILLIAMS – He Was Beautiful (Cavatina) (The Theme From ‘The Deer Hunter’)

(2) DR. HOOK – When You’re In Love With A Beautiful Woman (video)

(51) MADNESS – One Step Beyond

(10) THE COMMODORES – Still (video)

(19) THE SPECIALS feat. RICO – A Message To You Rudy

(3) ABBA – Gimme Gimme Gimme (A Man After Midnight) (video)

(50) DAN-I – Monkey Chop

(26) HERB ALPERT – Rise (danced to by Legs & Co)

(5) QUEEN – Crazy Little Thing Called Love (video)

(53) SHAM 69 – You’re A Better Man Than I

(9) THE SELECTER – On My Radio ®

(1) LENA MARTELL – One Day At A Time

(27) DONNA SUMMER & BARBRA STREISAND – No More Tears (Enough Is Enough) (and credits)

 

there was a mistake on this chart at the time and they accidentally put Dr Hook at number one. I'm not sure if it was the case on TOTP? but it was on some magazines. Heres Record Mirror for that week showing Dr Hook at number one http://scans.chartarchive.org/UK/1979/UK%2...01979.11.10.pdf

Edited November 7, 201410 yr by fiesta

So here we go on another trip back to 1979. Dynasty over the chart and the good news is that Lena Martell is no longer number one. A nation rejoices.

 

The Jam are the first proper act. This could be the highlight of the show.

 

Cliff next with a song I don’t remember at all. It got to number 46. He’d be quite pleased with that nowadays.

 

Legs & Co doing their thang to Barbra Streisand and Donna Summer. With no Lena Martell this week, surely this must be the low point.

 

On to The Moody Blues as Nights In White Satin reaches the top 20 for a third time. Sadly we don’t get the orchestral bit at the end of the full-length version. As ever Justin Hayward’s hair outdoes David Jensen.

 

Oh dear, now we get Kool and the Gang with one of their typically repetitive efforts. Their lyricist just scribbles a few words on the back of an envelope and leaves the band to repeat them ad nauseam.

 

Secret Affair with the fairly secret follow-up to Time For Action.

 

Aargh, Streisand and Summer are not the low point. That bloomin’ sparrow is back. Where’s the cat when we need one?

 

It’s late 1979 and Showaddywaddy are still around. This was a number 39 smash and it wasn’t very good.

 

OK so the Doctor Hook song was a pretty poor number one but it was far better than the one before it.

 

The Isley Brothers to play it out. Not exactly a vintage programme this week.

A third time in the chart for Nights In White Satin, renewed interest after a version by these guys (banana splits anyone?)scraped into the top 40 a couple of months earlier..

 

Edited November 21, 201410 yr by fiesta

Were Showaddywaddy nearing the end of their time by 1979?

Were Showaddywaddy nearing the end of their time by 1979?

They continued to have minor hits until 1982. Their heyday was the run of seven successive top five hits from 1976-78 but they kept plugging away after that.

Upcoming TOTP on BBC4

 

27th Nov - Peter Powell (voice over only due to strike) 29-11-79

4th Dec - Simon Bates 6-12-79

11th Dec - Mike Read 13-12-79

David Jensen/Peter Powell 25-12-79

 

Yewtreed

22-11-79 DLT (voice over only due to strike)

20-12-79 Jimmy Savile

27-12-79 DLT/Peter Powell

 

And that's it until 1980 kicks off

Edited November 22, 201410 yr by Musicmaster