Top of the Pops 15/2/1990 presented by Anthea Turner

 

Black Box - I Dont Know Anybody Else No5 NE* (28,000 sales)

Cher - Just Like Jesse James(Video) No15^

Eric Clapton - Bad Love(Video) No25^

 

 

The Wedding Present - Brassneck No24 NE

Rod Stewart - Downtown Train(Video) No21^^

Sybil - Walk On By No6^ (25,000 sales)

 

 

Depeche Mode - Enjoy The Silence(Video) No17 NE

Michael Bolton - How Am I Supposed To Live Without You(Video) No22 NE

The Stranglers - 96 Tears No31 NE

 

 

***No1 Sinead O'Connor - Nothing Compares To You***No1 3rd week (128,000 sales)

Tina Turner - Steamy Windows(Video) No27 NE

 

 

 

We have Anthea Turner presenting by herself tonight, great to see that shes one of the main presenters now. On her introduction for first act Black Box though thats some style the guy to her right has. Anyway back to Black Box who are fiollowing up their huge number one from last summer "Ride On Time" with this high new entry at 5 with "I Dont Know Anybody Else". They have the same singer too without the controversy of the sample in the last single. This is the second single from their debut album 'Dreamland'. It does sound quite similar to the first single only the breakdown is slightly slower but it has the known piano driven house beats. The song features an uncredited Martha Wash on lead vocals. The title is a misheard lyric lifted from "Love Sensation" by Loleatta Holloway, the original line being "I love nobody else", using the same melody line as the chorus of "I Don't Know Anybody Else".

 

Next up we get another showing of the new video by Cher. I am really growing to love this track even though it isnt one I am familiar with before watching the TOTP repeats, looks like the UK public were increasingly loving it too as is rises in the chart again to number 15 and therefore gets another play. Pity the lady herself wasnt available to perform in the studio. This is Chers 20th out of 43 top 75 hits in the UK chart, starting in 1965 and going up to October 2013 (so far), quite a record.

 

We have another new video this time by Eric Clapton with his current hit "Bad Love". Eric Clapton, is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist and separately as a member of the Yardbirds and of Cream. This single is the third from his 1989 studio album 'Journeyman' and was co-written by Foreigners lead guitarist Mick Jones and drums on the record are by Phil Collins whom he appeared on the TOTP a few weeks ago on his new single. This was Clapton's 13th of 26 UK top 75 entries as a solo artist. He also had 7 entries as a member of the Yardbirds and 8 as part of the band Cream.

 

Next up we have the first part of the chart countdown from 40-31 with new entries by Thunder, Renegade Soundwave, Adam Ant, Chris Rea, Paul McCartney and The Stranglers. So loads of big names getting new entries this week. This is Adam Ants first top 40 hit in 6 years.

 

Next up in the studio we have a new entry by a band called 'The Wedding Present'. Ironically this is Antheas first show as a newly wed following her marriage to former TOTP presenter Peter Powell, wonder if she got many wedding presents like this. They do sound quite grungy and a bit like early Blink 182 which isnt a sound that had really developed yet at the time so its quite refreshing. The lead singer has about as much charisma as a stick though standing hands in pockets and not smiling, maybe its done on purpose? I am liking these new indie sounds of the early part of the decade. The Wedding Present are closely linked to the C86 scene, the band has charted a total of eighteen singles in the top 40 of the UK Singles Chart, including a historic run of twelve singles – one for each month – in the year of 1992, which tied Elvis Presley's record for most top 40 hits in a single year. This single is taken from their second studio album 'Bizarro'. Technically speaking, only one single was taken from the album, "Kennedy", which provided the band with their first Top 40 hit, reaching #33. In early 1990, The Wedding Present re-recorded "Brassneck" with Steve Albini, which reached #24 in the UK charts.

 

We have another riser next for legend Rod Stewart who hasnt had much new entries in the chart since the mid 80s but this new era seems to be having some impact. "Downtown Train" is a song by Tom Waits released on his album Rain Dogs in 1985. Rod Stewart recorded a cover version that became a number-three hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart after being released as a single in late 1989, and was also a number-one single on the album rock and adult contemporary charts. The song went to number one in Canada and made the top ten on the UK Singles Chart in 1990. Stewart received a Grammy nomination for the song in the category Best Male Pop Vocal performance. Stewart's cover featured the slide guitar playing of Jeff Beck.

 

Next up we get a repeat performance of Sybil as her single moves up the top 10. Her 6th since her breakthrough in 1986 and highest charting so far.

 

Next up we get a rundown of the middle part of thwe chart from 30-11 with new entries by Tina Turner, The Wedding Present, Michael Bolton & Depeche Mode. We follow this with the video to the new entry by Depeche Mode "Enjoy The Silence". Another classic by them and a song i have heard alot on radio but didnt realise it was by them, so many classics in their discography. My love for the band has massively increased by watcvhing the old TOTP repeats as I realise how grerat they are. One of the highlights of the chart for me this week. "Enjoy The Silence" is the second single from Depeche Modes seventh studio album 'Violater'.

 

We get yet another video next by Michael Bolton with his first UK chart entry. Another name that is fairtly legendary 30 years on. Born Michael Bolotin he originally performed in the hard rock and heavy metal genres from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, both on his early solo albums and those he recorded as the frontman of the band Blackjack. He became better known for his series of pop rock ballads, recorded after a stylistic change in the late 1980s. He wrote this particular single with Doug James in 1982 and it was the second single from his 6th studio album 'Soul Provider'. This was Boltons debut single in the UK top 75 and he would go on to have 18 top 75 hits in the UK as well as numerous album.

 

Next up we are finally back in the studio and finally a band that didnt look down their noses at a TOTP appearence with the new entry at 31 by punk legends 'The Stranglers'. They last appeared in January 1988 so they are still fairly regular compared to some of the other big names in the chart who used to make appearences. A good track by them but my favourote is Peaches or Golden Brown from 1977 and 1982 respectively. This single was from the bands 10th studio album aptly named '10'. The song is a cover of 'Question Mark & the Mysterians’ track of the same name released in 1966.

 

And so we are into the top 10 countdown with Sinead O'Connor getting a well deserved 3rd week at the top.

 

We end the show with another legend Tina Turner and another one of her classics in 'Steamy Window'. What a lady she was by 1990 she was in her 50s and producing some of the biggest classics of her career. More about this single ;next week when I have a feeling she will perform it in the studio.

 

I enjoyed this episode as there was alot of big new entries by established acts but would have liked a few more studio performances but seeing the Stranglers for maybe the last time in the studio was an abvious highlight.

Edited April 8, 20214 yr by steve201

Enjoy The Silence is certainly one of Depeche Mode's best singles. It's a pity they didn't perform it in the studio. From the previous show, I like the Beloved song. It was an eclectic group of people namechecked in the lyrics. I was a keen viewer of Brookside at the time so I liked the inclusion of Billy Corkhill. Vince Hilaire was a random footballer to choose. Maybe they were Crystal Palace fans.

I don’t think Depeche Mode perform in the studio until 1996 again. Quite a while!!

 

 

Top of the Pops 22/2/1990 presented by Mark Goodier

 

Tina Turner - Steamy Window No13^

Chris Rea - Tell Me Theres A Heaven(Video) No24

 

 

Beats International - Dub Be Good To Me(Ft Lady Layton) No2^ (64,000 sales)

Cliff Richard - Stronger Than That(Video) No19*

 

 

**Breakers Thunder - Dirty Love(Video) No32^

**Breakers Electribe 101 Talking With Myself(Video) No33 NE

**Breakers Jamie J Morgan - Walk On The Wild Side(Video) No36 NE

**Breakers Renegade Soundwave - Probably A Robbery(Video) No38^

 

 

Guru Josh Project - Infinity(1990 time for the guru) No27 NE

Adam Ant - Room At The Top No22

***No1 Sinead O'Connor - Nothing Compares To You***No1 4th Week (93,000 sales)

Aerosmith - Dude Looks Like A Lady(Video) No29

 

 

We are back for the next episode of TOTP presented by the legend that is Mark Goodier in that very smart shirt. And we start the show in similarly legendary style with Tina Turner back in the TOTPs studio main stage to promo the third single off her seventh studio album 'Foreign Affair' released the previous September. The album name really was true as this was her first UK number one album and was a huge european hit but did less well in comparison in her native USA. A big turn around from the 1986 album 'Break Every Rule'. She really is on a roll this era with some of the biggest hits of her career well into her 40s. Doesnt look a day over 21 for me though :) "Steamy Windows" is heading irrecovably for the top 10 once again for Ms Turner and deservedly so!

 

Next up we get a video play of the new Chris Rea track "Tell Me Theres A Heaven", the third single from Reas biggest album 'The Road To Hell'. Rea was inspired to write "Tell Me There's a Heaven" after his daughter Josie saw footage of a riot in South Africa on the news, which showed "this horrible thing of throwing lighted tyres over people" and "one guy burning to death". Rea recalled to Peter Doggett in 2019: "Joan's [Rea's wife] dad was saying he didn't know what to say to Josie about what she'd seen, so he just said, 'That man has gone to heaven'. And that's how songs happen. I went up to see her and she was safely asleep, so I looked out the window and said to myself, 'Grandad told you there's a heaven, I'd like someone to tell me there's a heaven, too. The songs name is in stark contrast to the name of the album its from.

 

After this we have the first part of the chart countdown from 40-31 with new entries by legend Shakin Stevens, Jamie. J.Morgan, Electribe 101 & Ram Jam. We follow this with another studio performance by Beats International as it rises to number two in the chart and they are trying to hit the top spot. This is exactlty the sort of song that could have been performed on TOTP exactly 10 years earlier in 1980 except without the house beat and rap, sounds like a two tone production. One of the best songs on the chart for me. Fatboy with his shorts and all on in February!!

 

Next up we are back to the videos with Cliff's new single "Stronger Than That". Building to another number one by the end of this year and following involvement with the christmas number one in december past Cliff is back with the fourth single from his 1989 album 'Stronger'.

 

Next we have the return of the breakers highlighting future chart climbers from outside the top 30. We start at 32 and go through the new entries and climbers down to 40 including Thunder, Electribe 101, Jamie J Morgan & Renegade Soundwave.

 

Next up in the studio we have the big dancfloor hit of the moment(in 1990) with one that most will know today not least because its a great record but also due to a more recent 21st century 2008 re-release and slight remix. this was the original and best and as Mark says it sounds like a curry!! Guru Josh real name is Paul Walden and he is from Jersey. He was a member of a few rock bands in London but after taking ectasy in a London pub during a gig for his band 'Joshua Cries Wolf' in 1988 turned to house music. Paul sadly passed away in 2015 but his legacy and especially this classic house record will live on.

 

Next up the middle chart rundown from 30-11 includes new entries for the Guru Josh himself, Aerosmith and Cliff Richard.

 

Next up in the TOTP studio for the first time since 1984 is legendary new romantic Adam Ant with a long awaited comeback. One of the highest climbers this week its great to see the legend back with his familar stage stance, seems like so long ago since he ruled this stage on a weekly basis over a decade ago! Its the first single from his fourth solo album 'Manners & Physique'. "Room at the Top" was written by Adam Ant, Marco Pirroni & Prince protégé André Cymone. Adam only provided vocals for the track, while Marco played guitar & bass guitar. Cymone produced the track, played keyboards & did the programming. Or, as Manners & Physique's liner notes put it, "everything else". "Room at the Top", was styled after the Minneapolis sound, as was most of the Manners & Physique album. Of which, in Ant's words, Cymone was "one of the architects. This was Adam Ants 8th of 11 top 75 singles in the UK chart.

 

Well with a top 10 including the fantastic "Enjoy The SIlence" by Depeche Mode we find out Sinead O'Connor gets a deserved 4th week at number one despite pressure by Beats International, maybe next week for them!

 

We finish the show with the fab new video by Steve Tyler and the boys from Aerosmith and the very country sounding "Dude Looks Like A Lady". First released in 1987 and a number 45 hit in the UK from the 'Permanent Vacation' album. It is the fifth of 18 top 75 singles in the UK.

 

Im sure this will rise in the coming weeks. Another classic by them!!

Edited April 17, 20214 yr by steve201

The Beloved were great, and Hello was a great little record, nice in-depth listing of who's who in the song, my fave bit was the reference to The Supremes, giving the now-late Mary Wilson top billing not Diana Ross, hah! That would have pissed her off, being quite the little madam at times :)

 

Depeche Mode is brilliant, their greatest track, Tina Turner's Steamy Windows a great cover version of a smokey swamp-rock classic, and Cher bizarrely dissed Just Like Jesse James - yet it's so good! I find that Chris Rea song so moving, melancholy yet also sweet in a deeply sad way.

 

Great in-depth reviewing here :)

 

 

Thanks for comment Pop! 😀

 

Yes I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say ‘Enjoy The Silence’ is one of my favourite songs ever!!

It's one of mine too! DM are such a great band, I prefer them from about 85 onwards but it was Personal Jesus and Enjoy the Silence that really got me interested in them.

The Guru Josh song is great but I do slightly prefer the 2008 remix as the additional bassline bit in the remix goes so well with it. The remix still kept most of the features of the original which is good.

It's one of mine too! DM are such a great band, I prefer them from about 85 onwards but it was Personal Jesus and Enjoy the Silence that really got me interested in them.

 

I like the early synth pop and also the more modern stuff. I really think from listening to the 1989/90 episodes so far there def a move to the Brit pop the decade would be define by with ‘Enjoy The Silence’ sounding like something from that era and also The Stone Roses, Lightening Seeds and even The Beloved!

The Guru Josh song is great but I do slightly prefer the 2008 remix as the additional bassline bit in the remix goes so well with it. The remix still kept most of the features of the original which is good.

 

Thanks for commenting 😁 yeh loved seeing the performance of Guru Josh on TOTP but like the modern beat!

Top of the Pops 1/3/1990 presented by Jakkie Brambles

 

Shakin Stevens - I Might No29^

Rod Stewart - Downtown Train(Video) No10^ (21,000 sales)

Jamie J Morgan - Walk On The Wild Side No27^

 

 

**Breakers Innocence - Natural Thing(Video) No31 NE

**Breakers Marc Almond - A Lover Spurned(Video) No32 NE

**Breakers The B-52s - Love Shack(Video) No33 NE

**Breakers David A Stewart Ft Candy Dulfer - Lily Was Here(Video) No34 NE

 

 

Electribe 101 - Talking With Myself No23

Various Artists - The Brits Dance Melody 1990(Video) No7 NE* (29,000 sales)

Michael Bolton - How Am I Supposed To Live Without You No3^ (59,000 sales)

***No1 Beats International - Dub be Good To Me(Ft Lady Layton) No1*** 1st week (76,000 sales)

JT And The Big Family - Moment In Soul(Video) No22^

 

 

We have Jakkie presenting solo tonight as the roster becomes more fixed into 1990 after presenting with the more experienced hands when first appearing in the 1988/89 period. And what a way to start the show with the new single by legendary cronster Shaky Stevens. Im not sure how many TOTP appearences Shaky has had now(feel free to let me know anyone out there!!) but he first appeared in 1980 and is still going strong even though that sound hasnt changed one bit. This is Shakys 30th of 35 top 75 hit in the UK chart.

 

We are coming to the end of the road for Shaky but that cant be said for our second act tonight as Rod Stewart is entering that phase when people rediscovered why the loved him (same would happen for Elton John from 1990 onwards). Rods current hit is shown on video here as 'Downtown Train' becomes his 18th top 10 hit and first since 'Every Beat Of My Heart' in July 1986 and gets its second showing on TOTP in a matter of weeks. Come on Rod take some time to come in and perform.

 

Its the first part of the chart rundown next with the songs from 40-31 and new entries for Gloria Estefan, Tears For Fears, David A Stewart & Candy Dulfer, The B-52s, Marc Almond & Innocence.

 

Next up as Jakki said theres two versions of 'Walk On The Wild Side' out at the moment and this one is in the chart and therefore the TOTP studio by Jamei J Morgan. Have to say I know and like the song by the legend Lou Reed but this version is very forgetable. Jamie J Morgan formed half of the duo Morgan-McVey who released just one single, 1986's Stock Aitken Waterman-produced "Looking Good Diving" b/w "Looking Good Diving with the Wild Bunch". The B-side would later evolve into Neneh Cherry's "Buffalo Stance". This was his one successful single from his album released this year called 'Shotgun'.

 

We have plenty of new entries low down in the chart which means a return of the breakers including all the new entries named between 40-31 except the wonderful tears For Fears song which is my favourite out of the bunch. No luck at all!

 

I put that behind me though as next up in the studio is the wonderful chilled out house vibes of Electribe 101 with the Bond sample to be found in the middle. I have found out why I love this track, the band are managed by Tom Watkins the same manager of the Pet Shop Boys. Named after a Soviet refrigerator and the Roland SH-101 synthesizer, the band was composed of four electronic composers and producers from Birmingham (Brian Nordhoff, Joe Stevens, Les Fleming, and Roberto Cimarosti) and a female vocalist from Hamburg, Germany (Billie Ray Martin). This single is released from the bands debut and only album under this name 'Electribal Memories'. They changed their name following a rift and break with their label and renamed The Groove Corporation releasing an album under this name in 1994 called 'Co-Operation'.

 

We have the middle part of the chart countdown with only one new entry for JT & The Big Family. We follow this with a video of the highest new entry at number 7 for Various Artists and their mix of some of the biggest dance music of 1989 which was performed at the Brits the previous week. kind of think of the famous number two mash up by Florence and Dizzee from the same event a few years ago.

 

Next up in the studio we have legendary American singer Michael Bolton, great to see him over to perform to try and promote his music in Britain. This just sounds so late 80s with the sax solo and big guitar rifts, it actually sounds quite old fashioned by 1990 more suited to 1987.

 

Next up the biggest sellers in the UK this week with new entries by the Brits and The Stone Roses and finally after 4 weeks at the top Sinead O'Connor gives way to Norman Cook and Co in Beats International with 'Dub Be Good To Me'. What a great change over of number ones and Beats International sounds alot more 1990s!! Love the brazil jumper Norman. Anyway Beats International were a British dance music band and hip-hop collective, formed in the late 1980s by Norman Cook (later in his career known as Fatboy Slim) based in Brighton, East Sussex, England, after his departure from The Housemartins. A loose confederation of musicians, the line-up also included vocalist Lindy Layton, former North of Cornwallis vocalist Lester Noel, rappers DJ Baptiste (The Crazy MC), MC Wildski and keyboardist Andy Boucher. Unusually, the band's live line-up also incorporated a graffiti artist, REQ, who would paint designs on a backdrop while the musicians played. After having a few small hits under his own name such as 'Blame It On The Bassline', a 1989 hip-house crossover single featuring MC Wildski, and 'For Spacious Lies' with Lester Noel, Cook decided that further releases would be under the collective name "Beats International" - just one of the names he would go on to use in the 1990s. Beats International's debut studio album, 'Let Them Eat Bingo' would include these solo hits and the original version of 'Won't Talk About It' which featured Billy Bragg singing in a soulful falsetto. The album also spawned the UK number-one single 'Dub Be Good to Me', a re-working of The SOS Band's chart-topper 'Just Be Good to Me', based on a sample of the bassline from The Clash's 'Guns of Brixton'. This song was the first to be credited under the Beats International name and featured sometime actor Layton on vocals.

 

 

We finish the show with the video for 'Moments in Soul' by JT And The Big Family. 'Moments in Soul' was the only hit single by JT and the Big Family, an early 1990s group from Italy. It has become their trademark song. The song samples Art of Noise's 'Moments in Love'.

Edited May 1, 20214 yr by steve201

loads of great records in the UK charts of the time, and I have to say (as I was regularly doing 2 weeks holidays in the States at this time) that the US chart music scene was still stuck in the mid 80's while the UK scene had moved on to another burst of new music under a new scene. The US dance scene had sparked it off, arguably, but US radio never embraced it to the same degree...

Thanks for commenting Pop!

 

Yeh I always associate dance music with Europe for some reason even though it clearly broke through in the Chicago house scene but the UK club scene and European holiday resorts gave it a new round platform. As I said in the thread the Michael Bolton song sounded very mid 80s slow rock. I’m sure it didn’t represent everything.

 

But look at the uk top 40 in 1990 and compare it to 1984 say and there’s some difference in sound.

Top of the Pops 8th March 1990 presented by Bruno Brookes

 

Guru Josh Project - Infinity (1990: Its Time For A Guru) No5^ (39,000 sales)

Gloria Estefan - Here We Are(Video) No24^

JT & The Big Family - Moments In Soul No8^ (23,000 sales)

 

 

Innocence - Natural Thing(Video) No20-^

Marc Almond - A Lover Spurned No29^

Erasure - Blue Savannah(Video) No12*

 

 

David A Stewart Ft Candy Dulfer - Lily Was Here(Video) No17^

Bros - Madly In Love No15 NE

***No1 Beats International Ft Lindy Layton - Dub Be Good To Me(Video)***No1 (76,000 sales) 2nd week

The B-52s - Love Shack(Video) No14^^

 

 

We have Bruno presenting what he calls it Britain's fabest pop show and we start the show with a studio performance for the second time in a matter of weeks for Dj Guru Josh as his dancefloor filler single 'Infinity' climbs closer to the top spot this week at number 5. Hes certainly having a great time on stage taking his top off at one stage. This is one of the classic early house pop songs for me, the sax solo just makes it sound fantastic although as I discussed with Snake following the first performance I enjoy the heavier beat of the re-release in this century.

 

Next up as is tradition its one of the big new videos of the week from a big international star. This time its the fab new video by latino beauty Gloria Estefan 'Here We Are'. Its the third single of her huge selling debut solo album 'Cuts Both Ways' and one of Glorias many loved ballads.

 

Next up Bruno brings us the first part of the chart rundown from 40-31 with new entries for Belinda Carlisle, Kate Bush, Whitesnake, Wet Wet Wet and for their UK chart debut by Primal Scream.

 

This is followed by a climber for JT & The Big Family following the video clip we saw last week. I like this funky pop track and it sounds even better when performed in the studio. Absolutely adore the Art Of Noise sample which is so obvious from the first beat. Oh Ye!!

 

As Bruno mentions a big thank you to Matt Goss of Bros for the cool leather jacket he is wearing, I was going to mention it earlier but he did my job for me with that. Next up its another viewing of the single by RnB/pop ground Innocence and the funky 'Natural Thing'. Fronted by singer Gee Morris and masterminded by the production team of Anna Jolley, Mark Jolley and Brian Harris, Innocence's sound was similar to then-popular group Soul II Soul, but also added elements of downtempo and chill-out music. This was the first single from debut album 'Belief'.

 

Next up the fantastic former Soft Cell lead singer Marc Almond with new single 'A Lover Spurned'. Definitely my favourite performance of the week. This was the first single off his sixth album 'Enchanted' and the only top 40 hit from it although he had other singles which peaked outside of that. The single itself featured actress Julie T Wallace.

 

Next up the middle part of the chart with new entries for The Mission, Bros and the highest new entry by Erasure with a highest climber by the B-52s. Next up we get to see the video for that highest new entry 'Blue Savannah' by the Erasure boys. And what a camp fab video it is too. This is the third single from the bands fourth album 'Wild'. A classic Erasure synth pop record written by Vince Clarke and Andy Bell. Considered one of the band's signature songs, the duo still perform it regularly in concerts. It has been described as an uplifting love song; the instrumentation is crisp and heavily synthesized, accented with sweeping, programmed piano.

 

Next up its another video this time by the sound at number 17 in the chart by former Eurythmic David A Stewart. 'Lily Was Here' is an instrumental duet by English musician David A. Stewart and Dutch saxophonist Candy Dulfer. It was released as a single in November 1989 from the soundtrack of the same name for the Dutch movie De Kassière, also known by the English title Lily Was Here. David A. Stewart invited Candy Dulfer, who had not previously released any of her material, to play the saxophone on this instrumental. The single became a major hit and stayed at the number one position for five weeks in the Netherlands. Because of this success, the single was also released in the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States where it became a hit .The success of this instrumental encouraged Dulfer to compose music for her own album, which she titled Saxuality.

 

Its back to the studio next for the new single by Bros. This is very late era Bros even though it feels like theyve only joined the pop party. Theyre new entries were moving further down the chart so needed to ensure a first week performance on the TOPs. This is the fourth and final single from second alnum 'The Time' which reached number 4 in the UK chart in late 1989.

 

We get the top 10 rundown next with the JT Family the only new song gatecrashing last weeks top 10 and a second week at the top for the classic Beats International. This week we get a look at the video for the song.

 

The final song we get tonight is the highest climber and future number one contender 'Love Shack' by the B-52s. 'Love Shack' is a single by American new wave band the B-52's from their 1989 album 'Cosmic Thing'. It was released on June 20, 1989, and was produced by Don Was. The song was a comeback for the band following their decline in popularity in the mid-1980s and the death of guitarist Ricky Wilson in 1985. The inspiration for the song was "a cabin around Athens, Georgia," with a tin roof, where the band conceived 'Rock Lobster', a single from their debut album. The cabin was said to have been located off the Atlanta Highway near Athens. B-52's singer Kate Pierson lived in the cabin in the 1970s, and it burned down in December 2004.Cindy Wilson's line "tin roof rusted" was originally an outtake from a jamming session, where Wilson continued her line while the tape had stopped. "Love Shack" is considered the band's signature song and has been a concert staple since its release.

 

Not a bad episode with great videos by Gloria Estefan and The B-52s and performacnes by Bros and Marc Almond.

Edited May 3, 20214 yr by steve201

pretty good episode all round really, loads of classics, not least Erasure (I saw them sing it t'other year supporting a Robbie Williams outdoor concert). Bros' Madly In Love among their best singles, love Gloria, and especially Love Shack which I'd picked up on in 89 when in the US North-West, and by this time I was in Florida with Roam hot on radio. I like everything on this show, pretty much!

Yeh the Erasure song is class, they really were on form between 1986-94!

Top of the Pops 15/3/1990 presented by Simon Mayo

 

The Mission - Deliverence No27

New Kids On The Block - I'll Be Loving You(Forever) (Video) No11 NE

Candy Flip - Strawberry Fields Forever No18

The B-52s - Love Shack(Video) No6^

 

 

**Breakers Big Fun - Handful Of Promises(Video) No29 NE

**Breakers Fish - A Gentlemans Excuse(Video) N030 NE

**Wet Wet Wet - Hold Back The River(Video) No31^

 

 

Primal Scream - Loaded No24 ^

Inspiral Carpets - This Is How It Feels No22 NE

Jive Bunny And The Mix Master - That Sounds Good To Me(Video) No4 NE*

***No1 Beats International with Lady Layton Dub Be Good To Me***No1 3rd Week

The 49ers - Dont You Love Me(Video) No28 NE

 

 

We get Simon Mayo on presenting duties tonight and its always a special edition when we have the first performance from an artist or group which turns into a legendary performer as the years go by. This week is one of those as we see the first appearence of legendary Scottish rockers Primal Scream. I mean the name alone sounds classy for a rock band, surely people realised back then they were going to be class!!

 

However we start with goth rockers The Mission on the main stage. 'Deliverence is their 9th of 17 top 75 singles in the UK chart. Not a band Im familiar with but thats quite the number of hits. Their biggest though was the 1987 number 11 hit 'Wasteland'. This is the second single from their third album 'Carved In Sand' which would hit number 7 in the UK album chart and follow up to the January release 'Butterfly On A Wheel'.

 

We get the next single from those pesky teenage heartbreakers New Kids On The Block next and like all their performances so far its a view of the video for new single 'Ill Be Loving You(Forever). Of to a slower start than its predecessor its still a new entry at 11 and itll be expected to climb in the coming weeks, will it follow their last two hits and reach the number one spot? This time we get a slower ballad love song, fairly typical for most bands like this. Its the third single of their second album 'Hangin Tough'.

 

Next up as is tradition we get the first part of the top 40 rundown from 40-31 with new entries from Jimmy Sommerville, E-Zee Posse & They Might Be Giants.

 

Next up in the studio its the first performance from a group called Candy Flip and as it sounds its a dance pop version of the Beatles classic. Candy Flip were a British electronic music duo from Stoke on Trent, who were associated with the indie dance music scene in the early 1990s (a scene more commonly known as Madchester or baggy). And you can tell by the fashion they are wearing very typical 1990s clothes! Love the shakers though, very like the Happy Mondays. Its fitting that they do a remix of this beatles classic as this genre took alot of their basis from the late 60s British music and fashion and psychedelic style music fusing it with modern electronic music and beats. This would eventually form into what we now know as brit pop by the middle of the decade. This is the first single from the groups only album release 'Madstock'.

 

Next we get another clip of the classic song 'Love Shack' as it rises further up the top 10, will it get to number one?

 

We have a return of the Breakers this week with clips from future big hits that have brokwen into the chart this week first up from Big Love, second from Fish and a riser from Wet Wet Wet.

 

And next up as Simon says we have a debut performance from legendary rockers Primal Scream with their classic track 'Loaded'. Primal Scream are a Scottish rock band originally formed in 1982 in Glasgow by Bobby Gillespie (vocals) and Jim Beattie. Primal Scream had been performing live from 1982 to 1984, but their career did not take off until Gillespie left his position as drummer of The Jesus and Mary Chain. The band were a key part of the mid-1980s indie pop scene, but eventually moved away from their jangly sound, taking on more psychedelic and garage rock influences, before incorporating a dance music element to their sound with their 1991 album ‘Screamadelica’, which broke them into the mainstream. 'Loaded' is the first single from this legendary mainstream break through album . This was also their first top 40 single in the Uk.

 

We get the middle part of the chart rundown from 30-11 next with new entries by Fish, Big Fun, the 49ers, The Stone Roses, Candy Flip, New Kids On The Block and the band next up in the studio Spinal Carpets. Wow that was quite the amount of new entries.

 

Another 1960s lookalike band Inspiral Carpets. Graham Lambert and Stephen Holt, friends from their school days, formed Inspiral Carpets in 1983, originally as a garage rock- and punk-inspired band, with keyboardist Glenn Chesworth and bassist Tony Feeley.The band recruited 14-year-old drummer Craig Gill in 1986. In 1987, following the departures of Chesworth and Feeley, the lineup included first Mark Hughes, then Dave Swift, on bass and organist Clint Boon (at whose Ashton-under-Lyne studio the band had been rehearsing). The band released two albums of demos in the 1980s, ‘Waiting for Ours’ and ‘Songs of Shallow Intensity’, including songs that would later be re-recorded. Inspiral Carpets came to prominence along with bands such as the Stone Roses and Happy Mondays in the Madchester scene of the late 1980s. 'This Is How It Feels' is their first top 40 single although was their second top 75 single after 1989 release 'Move' peaked at number 49 before they signed a record deal with Mute Records to get more promo slots like this one on TOTP. They would eventually have 16 top 75 UK hits between 1989 - 2003. I actually really like this 60s sound and this doesnt have the house influences the last band had. The music scene by this stage of 1990 was starting to change with the bands performing this evening.

 

As Simon says in the introduction quite the change in direction next with the highest new entry by that pesky Jive Bunny but significantly its not a new entry at number one like the three preceding singles so the run is finally broken, but 4 isnt to be sniffed at.

 

After this the top 10 rundown ending with a third week at number one for the wonderful Beats International. We end the show with the second top 40 single of the year from dance group The 49ers and their follow up to top 5 hit 'Touch Me' which peaked back in January. This is more of the piano house style we have been used to since 1988, quite the tune though for me!

Edited May 16, 20214 yr by steve201

a few classics (B52's, Loaded, Inspirals) and some tosh (Jive Bunny, Big Fun, NKOTB's), so a mixed bag overall... :D

Yeh you have to put up with the mix of bad and good which is why we love the charts - Primal Scream though ❤️

Loaded by Primal Scream is the highlight from the studio performances and I like Candy Flip's version of Strawberry Fields Forever. It's a shame A Gentleman's Excuse Me by Fish didn't chart high enough for him to be invited to perform it in the studio. It's my second favourite solo song by him.