Anyone watching TOTPs 1980?

 

A glimpse of the last era/decade with Showaddywaddy then a firm push into the coming new romantic tinged era with Adam & the Ants!

Welcome to 16 October 1980, the day James Callaghan resigned as leader of the Labour party.

 

It’s a 35-minute show this week, so there shouldn’t be much missing. Tommy Vance is our presenter. Sadly, nobody seems to have decided that the preview could be dropped to save a bit of time. And why are they playing Ottowan in the background AGAIN?

 

The show is off to a good start with some Madness.

 

Suzi Quatro has turned up as this week’s guest presenter.

 

The “Blimey, were they still going in 1980?” moment is provided by Showaddywaddy. Most of them are rather soberly dressed by their usual standards.

 

Barbra Streisand attempts to send us all to sleep while Legs & Co do their thang.

 

A very young-looking Michael Palin has turned up to promote a Monty Python album.

 

Debut time now, with the first appearance of Adam and the Ants, sort of introduced by the aforementioned Python.

 

More promotional stuff now with a mention of Stevie Wonder’s new album, followed by a pointless appearance from Dollar. Still, it gives them a chance to show off their interchangeable hair. BTW, they didn’t get married.

 

First part of the chart rundown next.

 

George Benson rises to Barbra Streisand’s challenge and tries to send even more people to sleep than she did.

 

Second part of the chart rundown.

 

Some rockabilly from Matchbox now. When did we last see some rockabilly in the chart? Maybe there’ll be some on Adele’s new album. Probably not though.

 

Bad Manners have been dropped. After all, 35-year-old music news is far more important.

 

The top ten rundown, including the song that prompted lots of baffled comments on Twitter a couple weeks ago. Fittingly for Twitter, it’s some birdsong. I remember it now. Utterly bizarre.

 

The Police are still at number one.

 

The BBC seems to have been under an obligation to feature Ottowan every week. Here they are again.

I hear there was a few people chucked out of the studio during Adam and the Ants?

I hear there was a few people chucked out of the studio during Adam and the Ants?

Yes, Twitter reports that Adam and the Ants were attacked by members of a band whose members included John Lydon's brother.

Haha I follow the TOTP facts on Twitter too. Some of them also were giving nazi salutes on camera in the weeks before - strange punk rockers!!

Would Adam & the Ants be classed as the first new romantic band?

Here's the edition which should have been shown next week hosted by DLT but not now for obvious reasons

23/10/1980

https://vimeo.com/130003915

For now at least, we are almost completely in sync as we get the show from one day short of 35 years ago today, my brother’s 17th birthday. Earlier in the day, Blue Peter showed how to make a version of Star Gazey Pie. The standard version uses seven different types of fish. The BP version was made with pilchards.

 

Once again, we’ve missed a show, so expect a few repeats from our last nostalgia trip.

 

Peter Powell is joined by Colin Berry. Who? Twitter seems to be having the same reaction.

 

A great start to the show with Adam and the Ants, our first repeat. Time for a commercial break, flogging TOTP t-shirts. That look at her chest wasn’t very subtle Pete.

 

Good starts on TOTP rarely last long, and this week is no exception. Next up are Odyssey.

 

Bad Manners have survived the cut this time. Ah yes, those grass skirts.

 

This Colin bloke is now reading some music news. Not terribly useful now. Even the news about the Japanese charts.

 

From the Japanese charts to the first part of the UK chart rundown, ending with David Bowie.

 

Talking of whom, this week’s Legs & Co challenge? “Come up with a routine for Bowie’s Fashion. Don’t worry, we’ll film most of it over the heads of the audience so people won’t see much. Oh, and we’ve got a new filter gadget. That will hide some more.”

 

Our new friend Colin (whoever he is) gets to do the next bit of the chart rundown.

 

Sheena Easton time now. Thankfully, that isn’t really a thing any more.

 

Olivia Newton-John recorded a single with Cliff Richard. Clearly, today’s editor doesn’t like it. It’s been cut in favour of another repeat, this time from Showaddywaddy. Just in case you missed the wig being removed last time.

 

The top ten rundown (pray silence for Enola Gay) ends with Barbra Streisand, in her second week at the top.

 

To end the show, it must be Ottowan again. No, it isn’t! Thank goodness for that. We get Stephanie Mills instead.

The logic of repeating showaddywahairwaddy when theres a perfectly lovely xanadu single from cliff n livvy escapes me. I videod the top 10 rundown at the time so its oh so familiar to me like an old friend youve not seen a while.

 

I really liked the sheena single against expectations at the time, it still sounds fine and she looked good in white cowgirl tassles. Sheena why dont you try the usa for a while? Just dont go back to scotland though is my advice...! John peel loved sheena true fact. John me loved naughty raunchy sheena true fact. :lol:

 

Bad manners lov'em even if beer was a flinging over the audience when i saw them in concert a few months later...

 

Fashion still goes down big in retro clubs throbbingly good

Surprised you haven't heard of Colin Berry, Suedy! Obviously not a Radio 2 listener in the past. Used to do R2 the early show at 5.30am and stood in for Wogan on the breakfast show. Also a R2 newsreader for many years.

 

 

Woman In Love is an excellent song and Streisand a great vocalist.

Not a Radio 2 listener in the past or the present. Apart from the odd Bank Holiday chart-related programme, I never listen to Radio 2 and never have done (unless you count the time that the Chart Show was on Radio 2's VHF frequency).

Radio 2 is pretty decent these days - they've had to be to try and entice older listeners away from Radio 1, who (like me) just wouldn't budge when there was nothing better on offer that offered interesting new music. Now they do, but balance it with old music too. In Dorset you have Heart, Fire, Radio 1 or Radio 2 and that's it....

 

so its switching between 1 & 2 for me B-)

Radio 2 is pretty decent these days - they've had to be to try and entice older listeners away from Radio 1, who (like me) just wouldn't budge when there was nothing better on offer that offered interesting new music. Now they do, but balance it with old music too. In Dorset you have Heart, Fire, Radio 1 or Radio 2 and that's it....

 

so its switching between 1 & 2 for me B-)

We also have 6Music :)

I don't listen to much radio, prefer to choose my own CD's to play, but if I was to have it on it would be Radio 2. For me, aged nearly 56, Radio 1 is unlistenable now. At least you get a mix of oldies and some new stuff on Radio 2. :)

Edited October 30, 20159 yr by Common Sense

We also have 6Music :)

 

it's not on my car radio! :P I believe it's that newfangled digital radio music thing that never took off :lol:

We’ve skipped another week, so we are now in mid-November. This week’s presenter is Simon Bates. One of his contemporaries at school was Jeremy Corbyn. I’ve been waiting weeks to drop that fact in. By a quirky coincidence, a few days before this programme was shown, Michael Foot was elected leader of the Labour Party to succeed Jim Callaghan.

 

A nice gentle start to the programme with Iron Maiden. The missing programme featured Motorhead.

 

David Bowie is the first repeat of the week. Thankfully, there’s a video, so we are spared a repeat of Legs & Co’s performance. Mind you, it’s not exactly the geatest video ever made.

 

Oh dear, two of Dr Hook have turned up for a commercial break.

 

Time for a Gladys Knight song I don’t remember at all. Nope, it still isn’t ringing any bells.

 

TIme for us to be told about Ian Dury and U2 on tour (separately), followed by an appearance from Stu Francis for another advert. Why aren’t the audience shouting “Crackerjack”? On to the first part of the chart rundown, as far as John Lennon at number 20.

 

A month before this programme, the Today programme had a piece about Lennon to mark his 40th birthday. It probably made a lot of people feel old. Sadly, Lennon featured far more prominently on the programme just a few weeks after this programme. Anyway, what will Legs & Co make of this song? Oh dear, they look rather like shrouds. Is this a new conspiracy theory in the making?

 

Liquid Gold have been cut, so their song will remain forgotten for a little longer. Another one for the “Oh, did they have more than two hits?” file.

 

This week’s debut performance is next, from Spandau Ballet. I used to listen to the 12” version a lot back in the day.

 

Time for some Abba. The Not The Nine o’Clock News song and video, Super Duper, was very good.

 

The top ten rundown ends with another brilliant number one from Blondie.

 

Finally, Young and Company (who?) play us out.

I was overjoyed to have John Lennon back after half a decade away, my all-time hero (with mucka Macca), and Abba on top form, my band of the moment, every track a chart-topper for the interim since John was on sabbatical. What could possibly go wrong.....

 

I have to disagree about Super Duper, it was (like every single parody song on the show) an abomination in every way, and not funny in any way. Just played the youtube clip to make sure it's as loathesome as ever. I suggest the best two sketches instead : gorilla interview, and racist policeman.

 

Blondie was a John Holt reggae cover the original was from 1967, and he had to wait 8 years for a UK hit of his own (Help Me Make It Through The Night, a hit for Gladys Knight, also on the show, and written and recorded by Kris Kristofferson, co-star of Barbra Streisand who topped the chart the weeks prior to Blondie) and waited 13 years for his song to top the chart. I love it when chart trivia is circular....

 

 

Great to see Stu Francis, he was my hero around that time. Did anyone ever actually see him crush a grape? He certainly could, the question is did he ever?

Was the Spadaeu Ballets first TOTPs appearence?

It was Spandau's first single, so it was their debut (as said in my notes) unless they were in a Yewtreed programme.