Was TOTP not on tonight?

No, it was Sky at Night tonight. Back on tomorrow.

Suedey is footie-watching tonight with a cup of cocoa, so I'm in off the Subs bench...

 

It’s Kid Jensen, a good substitute for Peelie, and we’re off with “Number One in Venezuela” Modern Romance. The old 50’s Eddie Calvert gem, Cherry Pink & Apple Blossom White, not covered too badly as it happens, though the singer shouldn’t have worn his old gymn shorts on stage.

 

It’s then that huge advert for Rocky III, Eye Of The Tiger. Never watched a Rocky film, avoid Stallone at all costs, but despite all that it’s a bonafide rockpop classic that still sells and is universally known, giving Survivor fame beyond their years. Crap video though, apart from Burgess Meredith, the definitive Penguin.

 

It’s cutey Nick Hayward still fronting Haircut 100 with yet another jangly pop singalong goodie, Nobody’s Fool. The audience moronic clapping and echo chamber was the last straw and made him jump ship soon after for a solo career. True fact. Maybe.

 

The chopped out bits: Kids From Fame, Hi-Fidelity, the most tolerable thing to come out of the show, though not one I'm ever going to repeat play these days. Other one is Captain Sensible doing the first Wot? moment of the show, and attempting successfully to do the worst ever mime performance - he wasn't even using the same words - and backed by the Dolly Mixtures all "using" the same synth. Great record, rapping fun.

 

Next up, all I wanna do is Talk Talk and Today I’m thinking it’s still an exciting synthrock goodie. Talk Talk sold records on talent, certainly not on boyband looks. Ditto Thomas Dolby, who’s stepped into a wind machine for a spot of Windpower. Tories throughout the country will now be revolting. More than usual. Actually, I always thought Thomas should’ve been a mad scientist rather than a rock star, even before Magnus Pyke’s guest vocal on a later hit. A bit meandering for my tastes.

 

Chart rundown, and even Canadians pronounce Duran Duran in the UK as Jooran Jooran. Americans say Dooran Dooran. Oh yes they doo doo. And here they are in another travelog video set in tropical climes, and one I actually liked, Save A Prayer had that backdrop synth hook which warmed the heart cockles. Previous Rio singles were more foghorn-vocal pop-by-numbers, OK, but not exceptional. I’m in a minority there!

 

Another bit o’ chart, and What? It’s Soft Cell? It certainly is, with a very mid-60’s “surely Sandie Shaw recorded this?” moment. Actually, Kid says it’s an old Northern Soul fave - but doesn’t say who did it originally, tut tut, and google’s no help! By this time Soft Cell were 5 singles into a great run of singles.

 

On top? Dexy’s. Eileen. Banjos. Fiddles. Denim. Accordians, drums, guitars, and an invisible horn section - presumably too much of a risk to have on telly after the last lot bolted. Fab.

 

That even-more-annoying cover of Shirley Ellis’ annoying 60’s original Clapping Song fades us out....

Judy Street sang the original of What in 1965. Tina Mason also did a version.

Thanks for that CS, Judy Street is still alive too I see, and I rather like the original version as well as Soft Cell's! B-)

Not often you get to hear other soft cell records other than Tainted Love. What is a good song and grows on you. According to https://secondhandsongs.com/performance/300...ions#nav-entity the original was by Melinds Marx (daughter of Groucho Marx) in 1965, then Judy Street in 1966 and Tina Mason in 1967.

 

Love Talk Talk, however do prefer Talk Talk and o fcourse Its my Life to Today

 

Save A Prayer not one of my fave songs by Duran Duran

 

Dexys Midnight Runners another band you don't hear much else of their material other than Eileen

Thanks Fiesta, I'm a huge fan of Groucho Marx, so it's great to hear his daughter did the original version - I quite like that version too, and I would buy it if it was on itunes. It isn't so hey ho, other sources :lol:

 

 

fridays TOTP and it's off with a Beehive bang, the glorious Just What I Always Wanted from the fab 60's retrotastic Mari Wilson, great fun.

 

Up next it's The Bitterest Pill, one of my fave (and unfairly lesser-known) Jam hits, I see it as a sort of preview of The Style Council in errr it's style, and not that long before I joined the Council. Needed the cash...

 

Jim Kerr's on, all skinny goth stylee and synth band-y, before he went on a stadium rock backlash and megasales. Like The Jam, caught them in concert in their prime. He's been getting a lot of Simple Minds acoustic stick for his vocals on TV last week oops!

 

Shakatak always had a jazzfunk take on Manhattan Transfer-40's cocktail jazz genres, and Bill Sharpe was a mate of John Peel. Invitations wasn't their best single, but it's decent enough for me. Prob about time I bought their singles collection for a pleasant evening in.

 

Simon Bates doing his usual professional chart rundown, and then into Adam Ant's first blip in his run of singles, Friend Or Foe was more kiddie chant than tribal pop delight for me - given Marco is still in the video he may as well have kept the Ants going, too, though it's better than I recall it was, fun.

 

another rundown and into Carly Simon and her regular 5-yearly UK hit (72/73/74 then 77 then 82 then 87) Why? Cos this time she's dropped the singer-songwriter class and Bond theme fabulousness and gone straight to the Chic-masters for a Nile Rodgers gem, sadly just some dancers not the woman herself.

 

top 10 mentions ABC's awesome All Of My Heart (saw them do an awesome live version the other week) and awwww some cos they aren't on and Survivor are. Eye Of The Tiger is an anthem, just too familiar an anthem for me to love it quite as much these days as I did back in the day.

 

play out to one of the great early rap records, The Message, Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, fab message-based stuff. Rap was protest music once, before it became an excuse for misogyny, swearing, self-promotion and bitching (in some quarters)....

We'll have to disagree on that Carly Simon mess :lol:

thursdays (sorry out of order) and it's ever-cheery Peter Powell introducing a great soulfunk dance track (not disco, disco was officially dead in 1982) Love Come Down, Evelyn Thomas. Very Shalamar.

 

Private Investigations. Dire Straits. More often than not I found Mark Knopfler a bit sort of a dull jazzier Dylan with occasional flashes of brilliance. This was one of the flashes, but criminally the epic track is cut off into the low-key Spanish guitar intro, I mean really, what's that all about, someone needs a slap. The majestic second half is the whole point.

 

Wonder Dog, a bit of a Ruff Mix. You may be expecting me to hate this German novelty track. Well, I don't, and I didn't, it was a bit of a laugh, and it's also chopped off early, which at least means we're spared the dog costumes of the dancers.

 

Having chopped off some actual hits they find time instead for a flop - Natasha's back with her Boom Boom Room - and Gillan rock pompifying Stevie Wonder's brilliant, show-stopping Living For The City, a song that remains as relevant in 2016 as it was in 1973. This version is tacky. Deep Purple were much better.

 

Talking of Shalamar, There It Is! As usual, American acts found it difficult to drop everything, get permits and fly over to appear on TOTP, so as usual it's dancers prancing about. One of their best records.

 

Ah, Saddle Up, David Christie - I think this one was gay French disco (Jacques Peppino is a much better pop star name than the fake one). OK disco wasn't entirely dead in Europe. It was semi-novelty, though.

 

Shaky doing what he does, and one of his non-annoying retro-stylee hits, the French-sounding bits help.

 

Survivor. Number One.

 

playout, another TOTP-MIA act, Rocker's Revenge and the synth-heavy funk smasher cover of Eddy Grant's fabulous Walking On Sunshine, still the best song with that title, even allowing for Katrina's later and more famous party anthem. This is the best version by far, better than Eddy's.

 

 

We'll have to disagree on that Carly Simon mess :lol:

Oops :lol:

 

Just wtching the extended version and Ub40 were cut out with a lesser track, talk talk fair enough its a repeat, and abc! bbc4 need a slap!

How long does Survivor stay at the top spot?

Wonder Dog, a bit of a Ruff Mix. You may be expecting me to hate this German novelty track. Well, I don't, and I didn't, it was a bit of a laugh, and it's also chopped off early, which at least means we're spared the dog costumes of the dancers.

 

Quite a famous chap in the Wonder Dog costume.

Quite a famous chap in the Wonder Dog costume.

 

really? Who? Now i need to know.... :lol:

really? Who? Now i need to know.... :lol:

I'm afraid it was Simon Cowell.

Simon Cowell in a dog costume? The things people do to get rich :o

Artistically, still his greatest contribution to popular music.

 

(Yes, even more than 'Slam Jam' by the WWF Superstars)

His greatest contribution to popular music is yet to come. It will be the day he retires.

Our journey through 198s has reached the latter part of September. This is the last episode before I moved out of the parental home in order to start my first job. Our host for the evening is John Peel.

 

David Christie gets us off to a bad start.

 

Fat Larry’s Band with a song beloved of insomniacs everywhere.

 

We have been spared Shalamar.

 

Finally a decent song, from Depeche Mode. And, yes, it’s the “Brian Clough lookalike” show. AAt least Peelie gets their name right.

 

From people who look terribly young to people who really are very young. It’s Musical Youth.

 

Culture Club make their debut although Boy George has been seen on the dance floor. Brian Clough lookalike number two. But is it a boy or a girl?

 

Time for the first bit of the chart.

 

Dollar have also been axed.

 

Six years after their number one, Chicago finally have another top forty hit.

 

On to the middle bit of the chart. Peelie hedges his bets with the alternative pronunciation of Depeche Mode.

 

More rubbish, from Evelyn “Champagne” King.

 

The top ten countdown and Survivor are still number one. WHY?

 

Rocker’s Revenge accompany the closing credits.

Here we are, back again for another dose of TOTP rom 1982. Peter Powell (in a very white outfit) is doing the honours. It’s a 45-minute show this time, so we’ll have even more cuts. Whatever is left should be an improvement on the last show.

 

Back in 1982 it started with Hot Chocolate.

 

Paul McCartney is the first victim of the editor’s scissors.

 

Cliff Richard, on the other hand, survives and gives a whole new meaning to the term green belt.

 

Yazoo have also been axed. Not a good decision.

 

David Essex is next for people who thought he was finished by now. The top part of his outfit is even more white than Powell’s.

 

A great cover version from Japan. When David Sylvian grew up he changed his name to Patricia Hodge.

 

Dexys Midnight Runners with possibly their most famous song. Not quite sure what happened in the BBC costume department here. I think they must have chosen their outfits and got dressed in the dark.

 

Chart countdown time.

 

Leo Sayer is here to send us to sleep. His costume came from the Play School section.

 

The chart countdown resumes.

 

Another chance to hear Visage.

 

Oh dear, Irene Cara is at number one. The message from the Fame cast looks like it was filmed in 1958.

 

We get a plug for Fame (on next) before the show ends with Dollar. Mmm, that episode was hard work again.

 

Just watched this episode which I recorded on sky planner - the Yazoo performance was Brillant apart from the poor loss of sound during the middle of the performance :(