Would have been nice to see what he would have worn for a second performance!

Top of the Pops 22/3/1990 presented by Gary Davies

 

Big Fun - Handful Of Promises No21^

Erasure - Blue Savannah(Video) No3^ (39,000 sales)

Orbital - Chime No28 NE

The 49ers - Dont You Love Me(Video) No14^

 

 

**Breakers Queen Latifah & De La Soul - Mama Gave Birth To The Soul Children(Video) No34 NE

**Breakers heart - All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You(Video) No33 NE

**Breakers Jam Tronik - Another Day In Paradise(Video) No36 NE

 

 

 

Snap - The Power No12 NE*

David A Stewart & Candy Dufler - Lily Was Here(Video) No7^ (32,000 sales)

They Might Be Giants - Birdhouse In Your Soul No17^^

***No1 Beats International with Lindy Layton - Dub Be Good To Me(Video)***No1 4th Week (45,000 sales)

Jimmy Somerville - Read My Lips(Enough Is Enough) (Video) No32^

 

 

We have the longest running presenter currently on the TOTP roster, Gary Davies. His lovely shirt and all in the studio tonight. As Gary says at the start we have first time performances from Snap and Orbital coming up, two important acts in this era. But we start the show with Big Fun on the main stage with new single 'Handful Of Promises'. The cheesy quartlet are on the third single from their debut and only album release 'A Pocketful Of Dreams'. Seemed those dreams faded fast like alot of SAW acts they didnt go on much past album 1 or 2. As you can tell this isnt my thing but to be fair to them this sinngle was immaculately performed white trousers and all.

 

Next up we get another play from the fab new single by Erasure as it climbs close to the top of the chart at number 3, pity they didnt come into perform this as it could well have propelled it to even greater heights. This is the third single from the synth duos fourth album 'Wild'. The music video we are watching is directed by English singer, songwriter, musician and music video director Kevin Godley (from Godley & Creme fame) shows Vince Clarke and Andy Bell performing the song in a large, white room, which gets painted blue as the video progresses. A mysterious blue hand is coming down from above. Reaching the room, it holds a paint brush in view. The camera follows the hand as it paints Clarke and a shirtless Bell until they both are completely blue. Eventually gold-colored leaves, similar to those shown on the Wild! album cover, blow in and cover the duo as they perform.

 

Next up we have the first part of the chart rundown from 40-31 with new entries by Beloved, Richard Marx, Jam Tronix, Queen Latifah/De La Soul & Heart.

 

Next up in the studio sees one of those debuts from dance legends Orbital and the wonderful signature tune 'Chime' so called as its a house version of a bell chiming for me lol. Orbital are an English electronic dance music duo from Sevenoaks, Kent, England, consisting of brothers Phil and Paul Hartnoll. The band's name is taken from Greater London's orbital motorway, the M25, which was central to the early rave scene and party network in the South East during the early days of acid house. In addition, the cover art on three of their albums shows stylised atomic orbitals. 'Chime' is the first single. It was originally recorded on cassette tape and allegedly cost less than £1 to produce. The track was originally released in December 1989 and was a big underground success. In 1990, it had a wider release on FFRR Records and hence they are into the UK charts with it. Obviously this being TOTP they have the obligatory dancers beside them during the performance.

 

Next up we can keep dancing as we get the second showing for the new The 49ers single first shown in video format last week and that seems to have done the job with a huge 14 place rise in the chart.

 

We have another group of breakers this week including video clips from new entries for Heart, Queen Latifah and De La Soul and Jam Tronik with her butchering of the recent top 5 hit from Phil Collins.

 

Next up in the studio is the second new act Snap performing what I can imagine will be a future big hit and enters this week with 'The Power' at number 12. Snap! is a German Eurodance group formed in 1989 by producers Michael Münzing and Luca Anzilotti. The act has been through a number of line-up changes over the years, including American singers, songwriters and rappers Thea Austin, Turbo B, and Penny Ford. 'The Power’ was released in 1990 as the lead single from their debut studio album, 'World Power'. The song contains samples from "Let the Words Flow" by Chill Rob G, "Love's Gonna Get You" by Jocelyn Brown, and "King of the Beats" by Mantronix. In Germany, Arista Records had a deal with Stu Fine, former owner of Wild Pitch Records, but Arista did not have the same type of deal for a legal US release. Chill Rob G consented to a US release (which he thought could be lucrative), and Wild Pitch issued a stateside single and video with his lyrics from "Let the Words Flow." Consequently, Arista Records wished to release their own edition in the US, but because it was not legally possible for the label to simply reissue the European single, it was decided to re-record the entire track with new lyrics by rapper Durron Butler and additional vocals by Penny Ford. The samples were then all legally cleared and the song was finally re-released under the new name Snap!, despite the fact that Jocelyn Brown had commenced legal action because of the unauthorized sampling of her vocals.

 

We get a third play of a song climbing the top 10 slowly at this time from former Eurythmic Dave Stewart, if this is the quality he comes out with when he goes solo cant wait until Annie Lennox makes here solo debut. This has a timeless feel to it with the sax solo by Candy Dulfer. I love it!

 

Now we have the middle section of the chart with new entries by Orbital and Snap and plenty of upward movers. Talking of upward movers heres the highest climber of the week by 'They Might Be Giants'. 'Birdhouse in Your Soul' was released in late 1989 through Elektra Records as the lead single from the album ‘Flood’, making the single the band's first release on a major label. "Birdhouse in Your Soul" is the band's highest-charting single in both the US and the UK, and is one of their best-known songs. The song's lyric is narrated from the perspective of a nightlight. Due to its largely digital composition, it contains some unconventional musical elements for a pop song, including an atypical snare drum pattern and modulation among four keys. Production was handled by Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley. I really love the fab performance of this they way they sang it on the stage.

 

After this its the top 10 countdown no new entries but risers into the top 10 for Candy Flip and New Kids On The Block. Which means for the fourth week and sales moving below 50,000 its Beats International and this week we get another showing of the video. This is clearly Jam Hot!!

 

We finish the show with the video for Jimmy Somervilles current single rising the top 40 this week, 'Read My Lips'(Enough Is Enough). This single is the third from Jimys debut solo release of the same name which charted in the top 30 of the albums chart in November 1989. The single discusses the need for funding to fight HIV/Aids.

Edited May 17, 20214 yr by steve201

Some goodies in this edition. As I was doing concerts a lot at the time, I saw Snap! (this line-up), Heart, and have since seen Erasure - but no others!

 

 

Would love to see Heart live, they aren’t a band I knew much about before watching the TOTP episodes but they were quite successful for a couple of albums.

Top of the Pops 29/3/1990 presented by Nicky Campbell

 

Bizz Nizz - Dont Miss The Party Line No22^

Heart - All I Want To Do Is Make Love To You(Video) No23^

Candy Flip - Strawberry Fields Forever No3^ (43,000 sales)

 

 

Inspiral Carpets - This Is How It Feels No14

Jimmy Somerville - Read My Lips(Enough Is Enough) No26

The Family Stand - Ghetto Heaven No24

 

 

Jam Tronik - Another Day In Paradise No21

***No1 Snap - The Power(Video)***No1^ 1st week (57,000 sales)

Queen Laifah & De La Soul - Mamma Gave Birth To The Soul Children(Video) No18^

 

 

Future news reader and current affairs presenter Nicky Campbell presents tonights packed edition of TOTPs and we start with Bizz Nizz and their current dance-pop-hip-hop track which is the sound at number 22 in the chart. Bizz Nizz was a Belgian dance act formed in 1989 by Jean-Paul de Coster of Antwerp. The following year De Costa and Phil Wilde the bands remixer left to form legendary early 90s dance act 2Unlimited with performers Ray Slijngaard and Anita Doth.

 

Next up as is tradition we get a rising video clip and its another view of the new single by Heart for a second week in a row. Heart is an American rock band formed in 1967 in Seattle, Washington as The Army, two years later, The Army changed their name to Hocus Pocus, then they changed their name again to White Heart a year later, but eventually changed the name a final time to Heart in 1973. By the mid-1970s, original members Roger Fisher (guitar) and Steve Fossen (bass guitar) had been joined by sisters Ann Wilson (lead vocals and flute) and Nancy Wilson (rhythm guitar, backing and occasional lead vocals), Michael Derosier (drums), and Howard Leese (guitar and keyboards) to form the lineup for the band's initial mid- to late-1970s success period. This single was composed by veteran songwriter and producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange and released as the lead single from the band's tenth studio album, 'Brigade'. The song was first recorded as ‘All I Want to Do Is Make Love to You’ by Dobie Gray in 1979, though with different lyrics. The Heart version tells the story of a woman who sets out to seduce a hitchhiker in order to become pregnant because although there is a man in her life, he is infertile.

 

Next up we return to the studio for a second performance for the current single from Candy Flip and their psychedelic brit popesque interpretation of the Beatles classic 'Strawberry Fields Forever'.

 

Next up Nicky countdowns the first section of the chart from 40-31 with new entries by Skid Row, Jungle Brothers, The Stone Roses, Alannah Myles and Janet Jackson.

 

Next up its another studio performance for the wonderful Inspiral Carpets with the fab 'This Is How It Feels' the bowl haircuts and all.

 

We are being spoilt now this week with a fourth studio performance this time from former Bronski Beat and Communards front man Jimmy Somerville. As Nicky announces every single hes released with eithers bands or soloy have reached the top 40. This is the 15th of 21 top 75 singles in the uk chart for Somerville under his various guises.

 

Next up the charts from 30-11 with some fab new entries by UB40, The Cure, Rebel MC, The Family Stand and Bizz Nizz.

 

And next up again another studio performance for The Family Stand a New York based soul and R&B group, active since the late 1980s, consisting of Sandra St. Victor, Peter Lord Moreland, and V. Jeffrey Smith and their fab current single 'Ghetto Heaven'. This has a very early 90s shuffle beat to it and sounds great. 'Ghetto Heaven' is the debut single from the groups second album 'Chain'.

 

Next up we get another studio performance this time in the form of Jam Tronik and their dancefloor cover of the recently released top 5 hit by Phil Collins. It probably happens alot more these days and wouldnt warrant a seperate chart entry but I guess the vocals are from a different artist but for me its just why, whats the point of this?? Jam Tronik are a German Eurodance group which consisted of members Anja Lukaseder (also known as Nikita Warren), Ulrich Fischer and Volkmar Kalff. Charlie Glass was the founder and producer of the project. The group released dance cover versions, several of which were hits in Europe. Sampled in this version is the drum loop from the 1988 Raze song "Break 4 Love". The B-side, "Get on the Raze", also samples "Break 4 Love".

 

Next up the top 10 with two risers by They Might Be Giants and the new number 1 up 12 places by Snap and the classic dancefloor filler 'The Power'. So after 4 weeks at the top beats International drop 4 places to number 5. Apparently this is the first track to jump up the chart to number one from outside the top 10 since Glen Mederios in July 1988.

 

We end the show with another video clip of the current Queen Latifah & De La Soul track. We know all about the latter following their great two albums between 1988-90 but who is the former? Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally as Queen Latifah, is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, actress, and producer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she signed with Tommy Boy Records in 1989 and released her debut album ‘All Hail the Queen’ on November 28, 1989, featuring the hit single 'Ladies First'. In the UK she released this single with the De La Soul boys. This was the first of six UK top 75 singles.

 

Really enjoyed this weeks episode with all the studio performers despite the second performances by Inspiral Carpets and Candy Flip. And another great new number one, really enjoying 1990 so far.

Edited May 19, 20214 yr by steve201

Top of the Pops 5th April 1990 presented by Anthea Turner

 

Happy Mondays - Step On No16 NE

Madonna - Vogue(Video) No4 NE* (36,000 sales)

They Could Be Giants - Birdhouse In Your Soul No6^ (34,000 sales)

 

 

Queen Latifah & De La Soul - Mama Gave Birth To The Soul Children(Video) No14^

Emma - Give A Little Love Back To The World (Eurovision 1990 entry) n/a

UB40 - Kingston Town(Video) No11^

 

 

Jason Donovan - Hang Onto Your Love No9 NE (27,000 sales)

***No1 Snap - The Power***No1 2nd week (78,000 sales)

Alanna Myles - Black Velvet(Video) No17^

 

 

 

We have Anthea presenting tonights show introducing the Happy Mondays for their second perfvormance in the TOTP studio followingh their first in November 1989. This is arguably their biggest hit single 'Step On' with classic lyrics including 'twisted melons' and the like and Bez doing his usual dance on the stage. The repeated phrase in the song "you're twisting my melon, man" was later reused for the title of Shaun Ryder's autobiography Twisting My Melon. This is one of the sounds of the early 90s for me along with The Stone Roses most famous hit. 'He's Gonna Step on You Again' (also known as "Step On") is a song originally performed by John Kongos, co-written by Kongos and Christos Demetriou, and first released in 1971 by Fly Records. It entered the UK Singles Chart on 22 May 1971 and spent 14 weeks there, peaking at No. 4. It was also covered by Aussie bands 'The Party Boys', 'Chantoozies' and 'Exploding White Mice' in 1987 with the former reaching number one for two weeks in the Australian Chart. The Happy Mondays version was originally intended as a contribution to the Rubáiyát: Elektra's 40th Anniversary compilation for their US label Elektra, but they decided to keep it to release as a single, and instead covered Kongos's "Tokoloshe Man" for the compilation. The Happy Mondays version incorporates a short sample of three guitar notes from the original.

 

Next up as is tradition we get one of the big new videos of the week and it couldnt get much bigger than the new Madonna single and one of her biggest in 'Vogue'. 'Vogue' is a song from her second soundtrack album 'I'm Breathless'. It was released as the first single from the album on March 27, 1990, by Sire Records. Madonna was inspired by vogue dancers and choreographers Jose Gutierez Xtravaganza and Luis Xtravaganza from the Harlem "House Ball" community, the origin of the dance form, and they introduced "vogueing" to her at the Sound Factory club in New York City. 'Vogue' is an upbeat house song which set trends in dance music in the 1990s with strong influences of 1970s disco within its composition. 'Vogue' also contains a spoken section, in which Madonna name-checks various golden-era Hollywood celebrities. Lyrically, the song is about enjoying oneself on the dance floor no matter who one is, and it contains a theme of escapism. 'Vogue' has appeared in a remixed form on two Madonna greatest hits collections: The Immaculate Collection (1990) and Celebration (2009).

 

Next up we have the first section of the chart from 40-31 with new entries by The Quireboys, Paula Abdul & David Bowie with a reissue of his single 'Fame'.

 

Next up in the studio we get another play of the fab 'Birdhouse In Your Soul' from 2 weeks ago. I love the way they perform this on stage.

 

Next up we get a third play of the new rising single by Queen Latifah and De La Soul as it enters the top 20. Its Queen Latifahs first of six top 75 singles in the UK.

 

Next up in the studio as is tradition on TOTP to promote the eurovision track even if its not in the chart yet. In 1990 it was by 15 year old Emma and has a gospel chior chorus to make it cheesy as anything. 'Give a Little Love Back to the World', written and composed by Paul Curtis. It would end up coming 6th with 87 points, not bad for a 15 year old welsh singer. Emma won the right to perform at Zagreb by winning the UK national final, A Song for Europe, where she was the fourth singer to perform. Like in 1988 and 1989, the winner was picked via a nationwide telephone vote, and Emma emerged victorious, receiving nearly three times as many votes as the second-place finisher (clocking in at just under 100,000 supporters). At Zagreb, the song was performed seventh on the night, after Luxembourg's Céline Carzo with "Quand je te rêve", and before Iceland's Stjórnin with "Eitt lag enn." At the end of judging that evening, 'Give a Little Love Back to the World' took the sixth-place slot with 87 points. Belgium awarded the UK its only 12 points for the evening. One large theme of Eurosong '90 in Zagreb was unity and peace, as the contest came mere months after the fall of communism in most of Eastern Europe. Emma's song strayed from this larger theme somewhat in that her song was a plea for environmentalism. Emma, dressed in red, was flanked by five backup singers: three women (in blue dresses) and two men (in alternating white and blue trousers, vests and shirts). After Eurovision, the song placed at No. 33 on the UK Singles Chart, in the best chart placing by a UK Eurovision act since 1984.

 

Next up we have the middle section of the chart with new entries by Jesus Jones, Technotronic & The Happy Mondays.

 

We have the video for the new UB40 single 'Kingston Town, which is one of their classics but unfortunately by this stage of their long chart career they generally didnt come onto TOTP like they did up until the mid-80s. This is the second single from UB40s 9th album 'Labour of Love 2'. It became the group's sixth top-five hit on the UK Singles Chart 'Kingston Town' is a 1970 song by Lord Creator released as a single on producer Clancy Eccles' Clandisc label.

 

Next up in the studio its former neighbour starlet Jason Donovan who is fairly regular on the TOTPs but thus sounds like a late SAW give away but hes still buig enough to enter the top 10 at number 9 as a new entry even into mid 1990. This was the second single from Donovan's second studio album 'Between The Lines', his final album, for Stock Aitkin and Waterman as 1991 would see him take on the Westend role of Joseph and the Technicolour Dreamcoat from which he would have a huge single in the chart.

 

Next up its the top 10 countdown with risers for Bizz Nizz and the two new entries for Madge and Jason Donovan and the number one for a second week is Snap and the dancefloor class 'The Power'.

 

We end the show with Jason Donovan helping Anthea introduce this weeks final video for Alanna Myles with the sexy rock 'Black Velvet, a classic for me. 'Black Velvet' is a song written by Canadian songwriters Christopher Ward and David Tyson, and recorded by Canadian singer-songwriter Alannah Myles. It was released in January 1990 as one of four singles from Myles' 1989 eponymous album from Atlantic Records. Myles won the 1991 Grammy for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance for the song and the 1990 Juno Award for Single of the Year. Since its release, the power ballad has received substantial airplay, receiving a "Millionaire Award" from ASCAP in 2005 for more than four million radio plays. The song is a paean to Elvis Presley — whose portrait was often painted on black velvet, and who used a hair dye named Black Velvet. Co-writer Christopher Ward, who was Myles' then-boyfriend, was inspired on a bus full of Elvis fans riding to Memphis attending the 10th anniversary vigil at Graceland, in 1987. Upon his return to Canada, he brought his idea to Alannah and producer David Tyson, who wrote the chords for the bridge.

Edited May 23, 20214 yr by steve201

Top of the Pops 12/4/1990 presented by Mark Goodier

 

Jesus Jones - Real Real Real No23^

Janet Jackson - Escapade(Video) No18^

Technotronic - This Beat Is Technotronic(Ft MC Eric) No15^

Heart - All I Want To Do Is Make Love To You(Video) No11^

 

 

**Breakers David Bowie - Fame 1990(Video) No28^

**Breakers Sonia - Counting Every Minute(Video) No30 NE*

**Breakers The Blues Brothers - Everybody needs Somebody To Love(Video) No31 NE

 

 

Bizz Nizz - Dont Miss The Party Line No7^ (30,000 sales)

Paula Abdul - Opposites Attract(Video) No17^^

The Cure - Pictures Of You(remix) No24^

***No1 Madonna - Vogue(Video)***No1 1st week (65,000 sales)

The Quireboys - I Dont Love You Anymore(Video) No26^

 

 

 

We have Mark Goodier in the studio tonight with a very excited audience member alongside him.

 

We start the show with Jesus Jones a band who Mark tells us were the first band to play in Romania post the fall of the Iron Curtain, we must be back in 1990! Jesus Jones are an English alternative rock band from Bradford-on-Avon in Wiltshire, formed in late 1988, who continue to record and perform currently. Incorporating elements of electronic music styles such as house and techno to an indie rock format, along with fellow British groups such as The Shamen, Pop Will Eat Itself and EMF, Jesus Jones were one of the leading purveyors of the early 1990s alternative dance scene. In late 1988, while on holiday in Spain, Mike Edwards, Iain Baker, and Jerry DeBorg decided to leave the band they were in at the time, and form their own band. The name of the band came about when they realised that they were three "Joneses" sitting on a beach in Spain surrounded by people called Jesus. This single 'Real Real Real is the first single from the 1990 album 'Doubt'.

 

Next up we get the video for the new single by Janet Jackson.'Escapade' is a song by American singer Janet Jackson from her fourth album Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814. It was written and produced by Jackson and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. The song was released on January 8, 1990 by A&M Records as the third single from Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814. 'Escapade' was released following Jackson's iconic "Rhythm Nation" single and became the third of the historic seven top-five singles released from the Rhythm Nation 1814 album, reaching the top spot in the US Chart. The accompanying music video for 'Escapade' takes place at an exotic carnival setting, also featuring Jackson's trademark intense choreography. The song and its video have influenced other songs and videos from several artists, who have cited influence from its upbeat tempo and joyous feel. The song was partially inspired by Martha & the Vandellas's 1965 song "Nowhere to Run", which Jackson originally considered covering for the album, but instead chose to record a new song after a suggestion from producer Jimmy Jam. After the proposal, Jackson and her producers developed the song's initial idea, which was based on having an anthem-like feel, and 'Escapade' became one of the first songs to be recorded for the album.

 

Next up we have the first part of the chart countdown from 40-31 with new entries by The House Of Love, Adamski, Faith No More, Tongue N Cheek, Marillion, Ride & The Blues Brothers. Loads of activity in the bottom of the chart.

 

Next up we increase the volume in the studio with the new single from Technotronic. This is fairly typical late 80s, early 90s dance hip hop albeit Technotronic perfected what alot of artists between 1988-90 were trying to do. Technotronic was a Belgian electronic music project formed in 1988 by Jo Bogaert, who originally gained popularity in Europe as a solo artist with various New Beat projects, including the Acts of Madmen and Nux Nemo. 'This Beat Is Technotronic' is the third single from Belgian dance group Technotronic's 1989 debut album 'Pump Up The Jam'. Featuring MC Eric on vocals.

 

Next up we get a third play of the new single by Heart as it slowly rises up the top 40. Lets face it i dont know where this peaks but its a classic and will likely be in the top 5 soon enough especially with the repeated plays on TOTP and likely UK radio of the time. great ballad.

 

This episode sees the return of the breakers with the new risers on video this week including David Bowie and the remix of his track from the early 80s 'Fame', the new single by cheeky scounser Sonia and finally the new entry from The Blues Brothers.

 

Next up in the studio we have another play of the current single by Bizz Nizz. I do like the two dancers dancing at each side of the rapper both in the same distinguished outfit.These future 2Unlimiteders creating quite the buzz on British dancefloors of the time, plenty more to come from them in the early 90s.

 

Next up a video from American dance diva Paula Abdul from before her X-Factor judging days. 'Opposites Attract' is a song recorded by Paula Abdul, featured on her debut album 'Forever Your Girl'. It was written and produced by Oliver Leiber. Vocals on the song, in addition to Abdul, were provided by Bruce DeShazer and Marv Gunn, also known as The Wild Pair. 'Opposites Attract' was the sixth and final single from the album. Lyrically, the song is about a couple who love each other despite being different in almost every way possible.

 

We get the middle part of the chart next starting with the highest new entry from Sonia and risers by Bowie, Paula Abdul and the Cure.

 

Speaking of The Cure Mark is proud and Im excited to again see The Cure continuing to come along to performin the TOTP studio espeically given this was the amazing bands most interesting era. 'Pictures of You' is the fourth and final single from the bands 1989 album 'Disintegration'. According to interviews, the inspiration of the song came when a fire broke loose in Robert Smith's home. After that day, Smith was going through the remains and came across his wallet which had pictures of his wife, Mary. The cover of the single is one of the pictures. The same picture was used as the cover of the "Charlotte Sometimes" single, but that image was heavily warped and distorted. The Cure along with Depeche Mode are probably two of my favourite discoveries from rewatching these old TOTP espisodes since they started with 1976, always had heard of both bands but didnt realise how amazing they both were.

 

So up next the UKs 10 biggest selling singles and we have new entries in the top 10 for UB40, Alannah Myles and Happy Mondays benefitiing from last weeks TOTP promo and we end with a new number one as after 2 weeks Snap drop to be replaced by another classic with 'Vogue' by the queen of pop Madonna up to the top spot.'Vogue' is Madonnas 25th top 75 hit in the UK and 7th number one. Quite the profile that girls building up.

 

Pretty great show that although I hate the way the cut off the end of the classic 'Vogue'. We end the show with the slow ballad by The Quireboys. This is the third single from their debut album 'A Bit Of What You Fancy'. This is the bands fourth of 6 UK top 75 singles.

Edited May 27, 20214 yr by steve201

Top of the Pops 19/4/1990 presented by Jackie Brambles

 

Sonia - Counting Every Minute NO 21^

The Quireboys - I Dont Love You Anymore(Video) No25^

Adamski - Killer No20 ^^

 

 

The Blues Brothers - Everybody needs Somebody to Love(Video) No18^

Alannah Myles - Black Velvet No2^ (49,000 sales)

Faith No More - From Out Of Nowhere No30

 

 

***No1 Madonna - Vogue(Video)***No1 2nd week (64,000 sales)

The Family Stand - Ghetto Heaven(Video) No12

 

 

We have Jackie presenting in the studio tonight with 5 live acts starting with Sonia bringing some late SAW action to the charts with her fourth of 12 top 74 hits in the UK chart. This one has everything you have expected from Sonia and SAW since her break through last summer with all the dance routines to boot. This was the fourth release from Sonias debut album 'Everbody Knows' and this was the single preceeding the album release. At the time Sonia was the first british female artist to have 5 top 20 hits from one album.

 

Next up we get the video for the new Quireboys single and as Jackie says they are currently touring in Japan. This is a true British metal rock band trying to do American metal 80s ballad music from their album 'A Little Of What you Fancy'.

 

Next up Jackie introduces the first part of the chart rundown from 40-31 with new entries from Unique 3, and Pat & Mick are back with another top 40 hit.

 

Up next in the studio the fab new single by Adamski with vocals from what would become 1990s MOR legend Seal with his first top 40 hit albeit not credited. This is a fab dance house track which will become one of the defining hits of 1990 and one of the biggest dance tracks of the whole decade, what a tune, what a vocal from the talented Seal. What an amazing breakdown in the chorus as well. I am still trying to figure about about what solitary brother and sister Seal believes wouldnt want to live in this madchester, house music britain of 1990??

 

Next up the Blues Brothers are climbing the top 40 again a decade later with the fab 'Everybody needs Somebody'. The Blues Brothers are an American blues and soul revivalist band founded in 1978 by comedians Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as part of a musical sketch on Saturday Night Live. Belushi and Aykroyd fronted the band, in character, respectively, as lead vocalist 'Joliet' Jake Blues and harmonica player/vocalist Elwood Blues. The band was composed of well-known musicians, and debuted as the musical guest in a 1978 episode of Saturday Night Live, opening the show performing "Hey Bartender", and later "Soul Man". In 1978, the band released their debut album, Briefcase Full of Blues, and opened for the Grateful Dead at the closing of Winterland Arena in San Francisco. They gained further notoriety after spawning a Hollywood comedy film in 1980, The Blues Brothers. 'Everybody Needs Somebody to Love' is a song written by Bert Berns, Solomon Burke and Jerry Wexler, and originally recorded by Solomon Burke under the production of Bert Berns at Atlantic Records in 1964. Burke's version charted in 1964, but missed the US top 40, peaking at number 58.

 

We finally get a performance from the fab Alannah Myles in the TOTP studio with the huge hit 'Black Velvet’ up to number 2 in the chart now and still selling well. Love the leather gear she has on here. What a great tune this is! Unbelievably this was the first of only two top 75 hits in the UK chart, the other a few months after this hit and it would only peak at 61 for 'Love Is' so clearly just building on this success. 'Black Velvet' would rechart on downloads in 2012 again again as the above hit did at 61. So 'Black Velvet' is her amazing legacy for us.

 

Next up Jackie takes us up the chart from 30-11 with only one new entry from ‘Adventures of Stevie V’ with his single 'Dirty Cash' being the highest new entry. Its a song well known for Dizzee Rascals and DJ Alan Fitzpatrick sampling of it in the previous decade. This is another classic well known by most these days and this original is typical 90s house in all its wonderful colour and dance routines and rapping in the chorus. It was first released in 1989 on Mercury Record Label, then again in 1990 both on 7-inch vinyl, where it went to number one on the US dance chart. It features Melody Washington, a music teacher from Georgia living in England and teaching for the U.S. Air Force, who met Stevie while she was playing in a local club near his home. Mick Walsh composed the track while Stevie Vincent produced it.

 

Next up another studio performance from punk, metal band 'Faith No More'. This gives me punk or even grunge vibes for the first time in the chart and a bit like early Green Day or even Foo Fighters. 'From Out of Nowhere' was the first track off Faith No More's third studio album The Real Thing. It was also the first single to be released off it and to feature Mike Patton on vocals. It was first released on October 30, 1989 but didn't reach the UK singles chart. It was re-released on April 2, 1990, after the success of ‘Epic’ and it reached #23 on the UK singles chart. However, it never became as popular as ‘Epic’, which peaked at #25 in the same charts, despite the former song peaking higher.

 

Next up we get the top 10 biggest selling singles of the week with new top 10 entries from Heart and Paula Abdul. We end up with a second week at the top for the fab 'Vogue;' by Madonna.

 

We finish the show with the video for 'Ghetto Heaven' which is still climbing up the chart to number 12, what a great way to chill out after a rautious show, a real comedown!

Edited June 6, 20214 yr by steve201

Would love to see Heart live, they aren’t a band I knew much about before watching the TOTP episodes but they were quite successful for a couple of albums.

 

They were quite good in concert, a full-bodied sound, but by the time I saw them in 1990-ish they'd been going for 15 years at least with US rock tracks like Barracuda hitting there in the 70's, so plenty of material and the only filler was the latest album tracks that didn't make singles.

 

 

Great in-depth commentary as always Steve!

 

So many classics in 1990 that I still love, Ghetto heaven, The Power, Vogue, Black velvet, Escapade, Killer, UB40 to name but a few - half of them are total nostalgia reminders of being in Florida in march with my mum and dad and 5 & 6 year old nephew/niece doing all the theme parks. We even saw "Blues Brothers" doing Everybody Needs... at Universal Studios in a sort of street-scene after touring round in the car from the movie (or a lookalike) - not the original actors of course, though, but it was fun, as was "Aretha Franklin" - the closest I ever got to seeing her, being as she wouldn't come to the UK, she hated flying.

Thanks for commenting Pop! 😀

 

You sounded like you had some great trips when you were younger!

 

As you say there are so many great pops songs between that 1987-93 period that I find there’s a lack of proper indie and new wave bands that dominated but there was really when you watch the old TOTP episodes it’s just wasn’t as notorious as the 1981-85 period!

Top of the Pops 26/4/1990 presented by Bruno Brookes

 

 

Pat And Mick - Use It Up And Wear It Out No22^

Natalie Cole - Wild Woman Do(Video) No30 NE

Unique 3 - Musical Melody No29^

Paula Abdul with The Wild Pair - Opposites Attract(Video) No3^(44,000 sales)

 

 

**Breakers All About Eve - Scarlet(Video) No34 NE

**Breakers Kid Creole & The Coconuts - The Sex Of It(Video) No35 NE

**Breakers Sinitta - Hitchin A Ride(Video) No38 NE

 

 

Jesus Jones - Real Real Real No20^

Phil Collins - Something Happened On My Way To Heaven(Video) No26 NE*

Tongue N Cheek - Tomorrow No28 ^

***No1 Madonna - Vogue(Video)***No1 3rd week (63,000 sales)

Bruce Dickinson - Tattoed Millionaire(Video) No33 NE

 

 

We have Bruno in the studio tonight presenting and introducing former Radio 1 and TOTP presenter Pat Sharpe returning with his on stage duo Pat & Mick with a remix of the old Odyssey track 'Use It Up And Wear It Out'. The old Odyssey version was released in 1980 and spent 12 weeks in the top 40 including two weeks at number one.Pat & Mick seem to have brought a load of dancers onto the main stage for this performance or else TOTP have allowed the audience on there again like they used to in the old stage pre-1989. This is the second of 4 top 75 hits in the UK for the duo following their top 10 success last March with 'I Havent Stopped Dancing Yet'. As you can hear it was produced by the star producers of the day Stock Aiken and Waterman.

 

Next up we get the video clip fo the new single by Natalie Cole. This song was made for the soundtrack to the hit 1990 film Pretty Woman with Richard Gere and Julia Roberts along with many of classics such such as 'Pretty Woman' by Roy Orbison and 'It Must Have Been Love' by Roxette. This is Natalies 9th of 11 top 75 singles in the UK chart.

 

Next up its the countdown from 40-31 with new entries by Billy Idol, And Why Not, Sinitta, Kid Creole & The Coconuts, All About Eve and Bruce Dickinson.

 

Next up in the studio as Bruno introduces confirming there is 20 dance songs in the top 40 currently including this next on stage performer 'Musical Melody' by Unique 3. Unique 3 are an English rave band from Bradford in Yorkshire, formed in 1988, who are best known for pioneering the 'bleep techno' sound. Their song The Theme captured this sound,and it later appeared in a remixed form on The Chemical Brothers' compilation album Brothers Gonna Work It Out. This though is their most commercially sucrssful hit. I love the shuffle like production and hip hop vibe to this, it doesnt sound like a UK act either it sounds like something from New York. Really nice to discover tracks like this in the TOTP repeats.

 

Bruno introduces the next video clip and he bigs it up as the best video of the year by Paula Abdul with her new single 'Opposites Attract'. I really like the way this is made, remainds me of Who Framed Roger Rabbit which was a big film at the time mixing real actors with cartoons. ‘Opposites Attract' is a song recorded by Paula Abdul, featured on her debut album Forever Your Girl. It was written and produced by Oliver Leiber. Vocals on the song, in addition to Abdul, were provided by Bruce DeShazer and Marv Gunn, also known as The Wild Pair. ‘Opposites Attract’ was the sixth and final single from the album. This is the 5th of 12 top 75 singles in the UK for the American singer.

 

Tonights edition sees the return of the breakers with some big new entries which will likely climber higher up the chart in the coming weeks starting with the new single by All About Eve , then the new video by Kid Creole and his Coconuts who we havent seen on TOTP since the shows mid 80s peak, well 1983 to be exact and next its the video for the new Sinitta single.

 

Next up in the studio we get another showing of last weeks Jesus Jones performance of 'Real Real Real'. As Bruno says while introducing he has a real cult following, it does sound like one of them early Brit pop or Madchester style bands. Its not bad at all.

 

Next up Bruno introduces the countdown from 30-11 with new entries by Natalie Cole which we saw earlier and Phil Collins who we get the video clip for next as its the weeks highest new entry 'Something Happened On The Way To Heaven'. Another classic from the huge selling 'But Seriously' album by the Genesis frontman. He really is on the top of his game in this era. The only time the title of the song is used is the second line of the third verse. The song is often identified by the recurring hook of "How many times can I say 'I'm sorry'?". The song was written by Phil Collins and longtime Genesis/Collins guitarist Daryl Stuermer and was produced by Collins and Hugh Padgham. It was also included on ...Hits. The song was originally written for the movie The War of the Roses.

 

Next up in the studio we have a performance by Tongue N Cheek as their single 'Tomorrow' moves into the top 30 of the chart. Tongue 'n' Cheek were a British electro music group formed by Robin Achampong and Delroy Murray of Total Contrast, that were primarily popular in the UK club scene between 1987 and 1992. The group's members were Conor Col Henry, Maureen Mason and Junior Williams. The group's biggest UK chart hit single was this single "Tomorrow", which spent weeks in the charts and would go on to peak at No. 20. It was remixed by Chicago DJ Frankie Knuckles. The lyrical content from "Tomorrow" was sampled by house music group Love Decade on their 1996 single "Is This a Dream" which reached No. 39 on the UK Singles Chart. This was Tongue N Cheeks 3rd of 5 top 75 singles in the UK chart and their first to enter the top 40. It would also turn out to be their highest peaking single. Quite the bouncing around in this performance though surely they arent dressed for it!

 

Next up its the singles countdown from 10-2 with new entries in the top 10 for Family Stand and Adamski. We end the countdown with 'Vogue' by Madonna at number one for a third week with sales only slightly declining to 63,000!

 

We end the show with the new entry at 33 by former Iron Maiden lead singer Bruce Dickenson with his heavy metal track 'Tattoed Millionaire' the first single from his first solo album of the same name. The album project began when Dickinson was asked to record a song for A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child, and so wrote "Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter". Collaborating with future Iron Maiden guitarist Janick Gers, Dickinson began creating a solo album which was fundamentally different from his works with Iron Maiden, with a hard rock sound that is less progressive. "Bring your Daughter..." wasn't included on the original release, as Iron Maiden planned to record an alternate version for their 1990 album No Prayer for the Dying, which went on to become the band's only number one single on the UK Singles Chart to date. The album did however yield four Top 40 singles in the UK, with the lead and title single 'Tattooed Millionaire', reaching No. 18. A cover of the David Bowie penned, Mott the Hoople hit "All the Young Dudes", was also a relative success, reaching No. 23. The promotional video was directed by Storm Thorgerson. According to Ultimate Classic Rock, the song is about "celebrity tabloid rockers".

Edited June 21, 20214 yr by steve201

Not one of my faves episodes I'd say - Pat & Mick, errr, I'll stick with the originals. Unique 3 & Tongue n cheek I genuinely can't recall how they sound at all, the former didn;t make my charts, the latter hit 29. Paula Abdul's was one of her best, loved the video. Phil's wasn't bad, think I bought the specially-packaged CD single. Tattoed Millionaire peaked at 71 in my charts, so not a fave, and Vogue of course, is - chart-topper classic! Jesus Jones always good.

Yeh Phils song was one I didnt know I knew which is always nice, no wonder the album sold so much!!

 

 

Top of the Pops 3/5/1990 presented by Simon Mayo

 

Sinitta - Hitchin A Ride No26^

Soul II Soul - A Dreams A Dream(Video) No8 NE* (29,000 sales)

Morrissey - November Spawned A Monster No12 NE

The Adventures of Stevie V - Dirty Cash(Video) No5^ (34,000 sales)

 

 

**Breakers En Vogue - Hold On(Video) No33 NE

**Breakers Billy Idol - Cradles Of Love(Video) No34^

**Breakers Michael Bolton - How Can We Be Lovers(Video) No38 NE

 

 

BBG Ft Dina Taylor - Snappiness (Sweet Inspiration Edit) No28 NE

Bruce Dickinson - Tattoed Millionaire(Video) No18^

Adamski Ft Seal - Killer No4^ (42,000 sales)

***No1 Madonna - Vogue(Video)***No1 4th week (63,000 sales)

Emma - Give A Little Love Back To The World(Video) N/A Eurovision 1990

 

 

We have Simon in the studio presenting tonight sporting some very nice white shorts, it must have been an early spring heatwave back then and as Simon says there was a local council election. He presents the latest cheesfest from Sinitta which is a Hi-NRG cover of the old song by Vanity Fair. She has some written card promps on stage and looks as gorgeous as ever. This was the 5th and final single from her 1989 second album 'Wicked'. The song was produced by Ralf Rene Maue. The B-side contains a previously unreleased song 'I'm On My Way'.

 

Next we have the video clip from the highest new entry in the chart by Soul II Soul who of course still dont like to perform on the TOTPs. Still building on their success of the debut number one from last summer the London RnB group continue here with a straight debut in the top 10 and this is a smooth uptempo ballad. It sounds decent but doesnt have the wow factor of their debut. 'A Dreams A Dream is the second single from their second album 'Vol 2 1990: A New Decade. It features American born British singer Victoria Wilson-James.

 

Next up Simon takes us for our first view of the top 40 with the songs between 40-31 with new entries for Salt-N-Pepa, Propaganda, Michael Bolton and En Vogue.

 

Next up in the studio its the new single by Morrissey. Great to see him still coming into the studio 7 years into his career with the Smiths and as a solo artist. 'November Spawned a Monster' is a song that was written by Morrissey and Clive Langer and features one of Morrissey's former colleagues from The Smiths, Andy Rourke. The track is one of Morrissey's personal favourites, and has been played live many times by the singer. It, along with its B-side 'He Knows I'd Love to See Him', appears on the compilation album 'Bona Drag'. The song tackles the plight of the disabled, an unusual subject matter for a pop single. As ever with Morrissey, the tone and sentiments are riddled with ambiguity. His use of words such as 'monster' and 'twisted' creates a strange mix of revulsion, sympathy and black comedy, all used to enlighten, and disturb, the audience. By forcing the ambivalent persona of tormentor and saviour, Morrissey forces the listener to confront their own prejudices head on."The song is quoting Les Chants de Maldoror (Chant 2, verse 7), in which a hermaphrodite perceives himself as a monster and dreams of love.

 

Next up we get a showing of the video clip this time for Stevie V with the dance classic 'Money Talks' as it moves up to its highest position yet in the chart. Following this we get three more videos as the breakers return with clips of the songs that could rise up the chart in the coming weeks with showings for Michael Bolton, En Vogue and Billy Idol.

 

Next up in the studio its another new dance group called BBG with vocalist for the group Dina Taylor AKA Dina Richardson. This was the first of 5 top 75 singles in the UK top 40, this track being the only song which reached the top 40. This is the kind of sophistricated dance record that showed how huge the changes in the genre had been since house music broke out of chicago in the late 80s and since it claimed its first top 40 single in 1986. It had changed UK music beyond recognition and was now dominating the charts and spliting into sub genres 5 years later.

 

Next up Simon counts down the middle section of the chart from 30-11 with new entries from the band we have just saw BBG and Morrissy and plenty of risers from Phil Collins, Sinitta, Kid Creole and the Coconuts, Pat & Mick, Tongue N Cheek and Jesus Jones. Another one of those risers in the top 30 is by former Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson 'Tattoed Millionaire' although Simon says its the highest new entry its a chart riser and this is the second time TOTPs has shown the video. This is standard early 90s metal and shows exactly where the genre had went over the previous decade and why a new sound would blow this away in the next 18 months!!

 

Simon introduced the new radio 1 logo in all its glory before that video and now he boasts that he is introducing next weeks number one with a studio performance of one of the strongest risers of the week in 'Killer' by Adamski and the wonderfuf but uncredited Seal - what a tune! Simon Mayo may just be right to boast, we shall see. 'Killer' is a song by British acid house DJ and record producer Adamski. Written by Adamski and Seal and produced by Adamski, 'Killer' was Adamski's breakthrough single but is now more notable for featuring Seal as a vocalist. Concerning the origins of 'Killer'. Adamski recounted that Seal saw him perform in 1989 at an illegal rave called 'Sunrise 5000' at the Santa Pod Raceway. Seal afterwards handed a demo tape to Adamski's MC, Daddy Chester, with which both were impressed. Seal had previously been singing in blues bands but a year spent travelling in Asia had recently changed his view of life and he had since become involved in the rave scene.Adamski and Seal later happened to meet on New Year's Eve 1989 at a club named Solaris in London, and Seal was invited to work on one of a number of pieces that Adamski was performing at that time. Adamski had an instrumental track he called "The Killer" because he felt that it sounded 'like the soundtrack to a movie murder scene'. According to Adamski, Seal's vocals were recorded against this track on 27 January 1990: coincidentally the same day that 10,000 people gathered in Trafalgar Square (not far from the studio where they were working) for the 'Freedom to Party' demonstration against a government crackdown on rave culture, which Adamski himself attended. Musically, the song is characterized by a distinctive opening bassline and keyboard melody during the chorus. The track makes use of only two instruments – Ensoniq SQ80 Synthesizer and a Roland TR-909 drum machine – and occupied only eight tracks of a 48-track mixing console. What a thumping house track they came out with!!

 

Next up we have the top 10 countdown with new entires in the biggest selling 10 songs in the country by Soul II Soul and Adamski. We end with a 4th week at number one for the queen of pop Madonna.

 

We end the show with a video clip of the UK Eurovision track by Emma who was in the studio a few weeks back, the fact this isnt top 40 yet must be concerning for them and Im surprised TOTP played it again as they rarely play songs outside the top 40. The contest is on that weekend so maybe itll climb into next weeks chart?

 

Really enjoyed that edition with performances by Adamski and Seal, Morrissey and BBG. Plus Billy Idol returning to the TOTP video rundown for the first time in around 4-5 years!

Edited June 25, 20214 yr by steve201

Top of the Pops 10/5/1990 presented by Gary Davies

 

Kylie Minogue - Better The Devil You Know No5 NE* (32,000 sales)

The Wonder Stuff - Circlesquare(Video) No20 NE

Mantronix Featuring Wondress - Take your Time No19 NE

 

 

New Kids On The Block - Cover Girl(Video) No8 NE (23,000 sales)

Beats International - Wont Talk About It No18 NE

Michael Bolton - How Can We Be Lovers No22^

 

 

En Vogue - Hold On(Video) No14^^

***No1 Adamski Ft Seal - Killer***No1 1st week (62,000 sales)

Thunder - Back Street Symphony(Video) No25 NE

 

 

We have TOTP legend Gary Davies in the studio for tonights party with the highest new entry at number 5 for Aussie pop princess Kylie Minogue with the fab 'Better The Devil You Know;' one of my favourite singles of her early years. 'Better the Devil You Know' is a song taken from her third studio album 'Rhythm of Love'. The song was written and produced by Stock Aitken Waterman. The song was released as the album's lead single on 30 April 1990 by PWL and Mushroom Records. 'Better the Devil You Know' is known as the song that re-invented Minogue with more sex appeal, as her previous albums were presented with her "girl next door" persona. Her music onwards presented a more independent approach. The song's title is referenced as an idiom. Lyrically, the song was said to be about Minogue's leaving of her TV series Neighbours and her relationship with her then-boyfriend, INXS frontman and singer Michael Hutchence. The song was lauded by music critics, who noted the imagery change in her music. They also complimented the song itself and felt it was one of Minogue's best - a highlight of not just her studio album but her compilations as well. It was her 10th top 5 record in a row, quite the feat!

 

Next up we get the new video for the Wonder Stuff. 'Circlesquare' was the fourth single from the bands second album 'Hup' released in 1989. This is the 7th of 16 top 75 singles in the UK chart between May 1988 and September 1994, including one number one famously with Vic Reeves which is coming next year.

 

Next up we have the first part of the chart rundown from 40-31 with new entries by Emma, Motley Crue, James, Paul Young, Sam Brown and The Pasadenas. Emma did make it in at 40 following Eurovision then!!

 

Next up in the studio sees the return of Mantronix following the biggest hit of their career with another vocal by 'Wondress' this time on 'Take your Time'. This was the second single from the bands 4th album 'This Should Move Ya' and the 8th of 10 UK top 75 singles.

 

Next up with a new entry at number 8 its the new single by the biggest pop band of the era New kids On The Block and the song 'Cover Girl'. The lead vocals were sung by Donnie Wahlberg. The fifth and final single from their multi-platinum second studio album 'Hangin' Tough'

 

Back in the studio the new entry at 18 for the band that were at number one for 5 weeks earlier in 1990 'Dub Be Good To Me'. Lady Layton is back on vocals here and it creates that same chilled out dance shuffle but its just not the same as the signature hit.' Won't Talk About It" had previously been released as a Norman Cook solo single in 1989, was re-released as a single from debut album 'Let Them Eat Bingo' released in March 1990.

 

Gary presents the middle section of the chart countdown with new entries for Lisa Stansfield, Thunder, Sinitta is up 2 places, Michael Boltons up 16, a new entry for the Wonder Stuff, Mantronix and Beats International and up 19 places for En Vogue. One of those high risers Michael Bolton is the next performance in the studio and the way Gary points to the stage 'over there' suggests that we didnt perform on the show, maybe he performed this when he was over to promote the first single he got into the top 5 earlier in the year or they had to perform before the other acts. At any rate this is another late 80s sounding power balled from Mr. Bolton and its sounds fab and I have definately heard it before on radio today. This was released as the third single from Boltons 1989 album 'Soul Provider'.

 

We of course have to get a video play for the weeks highest climber in the chart by En Vogue as its up 19 places. En Vogue is an American R&B/pop vocal group whose original lineup consisted of singers Terry Ellis, Dawn Robinson, Cindy Herron, and Maxine Jones.Formed in Oakland, California, in 1989, En Vogue reached No. 2 on the US Hot 100 with the single 'Hold On', taken from their 1990 debut album 'Born to Sing'. They kind of remind me of Five Star or one of them short lived pop bands of the late 80s. But this would be the first of 13 top 75 singles in the UK stretching from now until July 2000.

 

Next its the top 10 countdown with new entries into the upper echelons of the chart for New Kids On The Block, Kylie Minogue and we have a new number one well predicted by Simon Mayo last weeks show during their performance as Adamski and Seal climb 3 places to the top spot with a third UK dance act hitting number one in as many months.

 

We end the show with the video for heavy metallers Thunder with their current single 'Back Street Symphony'. This was the third single from the bands debut album of the same name. This was the 2nd of 18 top 75 hits in the uk chart from February 1990 until December 2006. I know what your thinking more of this type of rock/metal...bring on the onslaught of indie by the middle of the decade.

Edited June 25, 20214 yr by steve201

Top of the Pops 17/05/1990 presented by Nicky Campbell

 

Hothouse Flowers - Give It Up No31NE

The Pasadenas - Love Thing No22^

The Chimes - I Still Havent Found What Im Looking For No16 NE*

 

 

Eurythmics - Angel(Video) No27 NE

Sam Brown - Kissing Gate No29^

Paul Young - Softly Whispering I Love You No21^^

 

 

***No1 Adamski - Killer(Ft Seal)***No1 (89,000 sales) 2nd week at No1

Depeche Mode - Policy Of Truth(Video) No28 NE

 

 

Its time to jump on the TOTP rollercoatser again with who I have decided is my favourite presenter on the show in this era Nicky Campbell with that lovely suit and a a flower in hand to introduce our first studio performance from Hothouse Flowers a new entry at 31 with new single 'Give It Up' which is their 3rd of 10 UK top 75 hits between May 1988 and May 1998. Its the first release from their sophomore album 'Home'. Hothouse Flowers are an Irish rock group that combines traditional Irish music with influences from soul, gospel, and rock. Formed in 1985 in Dublin, they started as street performers. Their first album, ‘People’ was the most successful debut album in Irish history, reaching No. 1 in Ireland and No. 2 in the UK. Really love the lead vocals on this track by the singer on the piano.

 

Next up, no its not a video its another studio performance from the Pasadenas. The Pasadenas were an English R&B/pop group. They had two UK top 10 albums and this single 'Love Thing' was the 4th of 10 UK top 75 singles between May 1988 and November 1992. As Nicky remarks the dancing will be left to them and then theres another football nod, must be cup final week.

 

Next up its the first part of the chart rundown from 40-31 with new entries by the B-52s, Little Angels and we saw them earlier The Hothouse Flowers.

 

Next up we get more studio action with a new entry at 16 by the Chimes and their new single 'I Still havent Found What Im Looking For' and yes youve guessed correctly its a cover of the 80s U2 classic and nowhere near as good. the Chimes are a Scottish band consisting of the singer here Pauline Henry, Mike Peden and James Locke. Bono from U2 commented that the Chimes' cover of their hit was the "only cover version he had heard that he enjoyed and did the original justice", adding "at last someone's come along to sing it properly.

 

We finally get a video of the new single by the Eurythmics. 'Angel' is a song recorded by the British duo Eurythmics. It was written by band members Annie Lennox and David A. Stewart and produced by Stewart and Jimmy Iovine. The song appears on Eurythmics' We Too Are One album and was released as its fourth UK single in May 1990, and would be the duo's final single for almost a decade (discounting the re-release of two older singles the following year). Lennox said in an interview at the time that the song was inspired by the death of her aunt, as she sings about a woman who has killed herself and now has "gone to meet her maker". The music video we see on the show was directed by Sophie Muller, features the duo taking part in a seance and running through a burning house, and was not widely seen in the US (not shown at all on MTV) supposedly due to several scenes depicting the occult. Sad to think this is the last time we shall see the band on TOTP for a good while after being a constant presence since 1983.

 

We get the middle part of the chart rundown next with new entries by Don Pablos Animals, Depeche Mode, Eurythmics and The Chimes is the highest new entry.

 

next up in the studio we see the return of Sam Brown with new single 'Kissing Gate'. Her wonderful vocals are shown off again on this single and although it doesnt have the same hit potential of 'Stop' from last year it still sounds terrific. This was released as the second single from Sams second album 'April Moon'. This would be Sam Browns final top 40 single in the UK charts.

 

TOTP is really delivering this week with yet another studio performance this time from 80s heartthrob Paul Young who returns with a new single for the first time in 4 years and has alot more hair this time round. he still has the soft melodies though. This is no 'Wherever i Lay My Hat' and has more Cliff Richard vibes to it but his appearence here after a long while shows he wanted a hit and this should do the job. This was the first single from Youngs 4th album 'Other Voices' released in June 1990.

 

Next up we have the top 10 countdown with new entries into the top 10 by Beats International & En Vogue and we end up with the number one seller of the week being Adamski and Seal for a second week.

 

Have to say that was one of the best shows in ages with no less than 5 studio performances with great appearences as well instead of having those shows where they try and get as many views of new videos in as possible.

 

We end with a video of course though but its a goodies the third single from the current Depeche Mode album 'Policy Of Truth'. Not as good as the first two singles but still classy as ever. 'Policy of Truth' was released on 7 May 1990 as the third single from their seventh studio album, Violator. Although the song was less successful than the first two singles before, it is the only Depeche Mode single to chart higher on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart (number 15) than on the UK Singles Chart (number 16).

Edited July 17, 20214 yr by steve201

Top of the Pops 24/5/1990 presented by Anthea Turner

 

 

The B-52s - Roam No20^

Mantronix Ft Wondress- Take Your Time(Video) No10^ (18,000 sales)

En Vogue - Hold On No5^ (32,000 sales)

 

 

**Breakers Movement 98 Ft Carroll Thompson - Joy And Heartbreak(Video) No32 NE

**Breakers Betty Boo - Doin The Do(Video) No33 NE

**Breakers Little Angels - Radical Your Lover(Video) No34^

**Breakers Talk Talk - Its My Life(Video) No35 NE

 

 

Beats International - Wont Talk About It No9^ (19,000 sales)

Michael Bolton - How Can We Be Lovers No11^

Don Pablos Animals - Venus No12^^

***No1 Adamski - Killer (Ft Seal)***No1 3 weeks (69,000 sales)

Was(Not Was) - Papa Was A Rolling Stone(Video) No25 NE

 

 

We have Anthea presenting tonight in the TOTPs studio and first of all she introduces the B-52s new single 'Roam' which moves up to number 20. It is a pity they didnt get a chance to perform their huge hit 'Love Shack' a few months back, it could have helped it claim the number one spot it so deserved. 'Roam' is a nice track with a lovely chorus though. It is actually the 4th single from the bands 5th studio album 'Cosmic Thing'.

 

Next up as is standard we get a big video in the chart and this week its the new single by Mantronix and Wondress 'Take Your Time'. This is the first clip of the video we have seen on the TOPs following their studio performance in last weeks episode.

 

We have the first part of the chart rundown next from 40 - 31 with new entries for Plus One, Gary Moore, Jane Child, Talk Talk, Movement 98 and Betty Boo.

 

Following this we have our second studio perforamcne from En Vogue following the video clip we saw two weeks ago. I really like this early 90s slice of shuffle pop. It seem slike this girl group could have been bigger than they were as they arent a group Im familiar with. 'Hold On' is the debut single of American girl group En Vogue, released in early 1990. The song is from their debut album Born to Sing. It was produced by Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy, and written by the former two and all members of En Vogue. It peaked at number 5 in the UK and number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the US. The song opens with an a cappella rendition of the Motown standard "Who's Lovin' You", written by Smokey Robinson and originally recorded by his group, the Miracles. It features lead vocals by Cindy Herron and Terry Ellis vocals on the introduction.

 

Next up Anthea introducers the breakers including video clips for Movement 98, Betty Boo, Little Angels and Talk Talk the later of which might be better known by the cover from No Doubt.

 

Next up we get a second studio performance of the new Beats International single 'Wont Talk About It' as it enters the top 10 at number 9.

 

Following this we have the middle section of the chart rundown from 30-11 with new entries by Was Not Was , and risers by Sam Brown, The B-52s, Depeche Mode, Don Pablos Animals and Michael Bolton. The later gets a repeat performance of his new single in an effort to claim a second top 10 hit in 1990. I have to say I am a bit of a Michael Bolton fan and this is an absolute classic so I wouldnt be against a top 10 spot for this next week.

 

Next up we have a new studio performance by Don Pablos Animals and their version of 'Venus' most recently a top 10 hit for Bananarama in 1986. 'Venus' was remixed and re-released by dance producers The BHF (Bisiach Hornbostel Ferrucci) Team in May 1990. Titled "Venus '90", the remix featured a hip house rhythm and samples. "Venus '90" reached number 78 on the UK Singles Chart. An instrumental version was also released independently under the producer's alias, Don Pablo's Animals, without referencing Shocking Blue. The instrumental version became the highest-charting version of the song, peaking at number four on the UK Singles Chart. I do really like this version and the lack of vocals makes it even more interesting, can sdee this climbin ghigher in the weeks ahead.

 

We get the top 10 rundown with new entries in here by Mantronix and The Chimes and for the third week at number one its Adamski with their 'Killer' number one hit. What a fab tune and nice to see the video this week.

 

We close the show with the video for 'Papa Was A Rolling Stone' the fab comeback by Was(Not Was). This was the comeback single from their upcoming 4th album 'Are You Okay'. 'Papa Was a Rollin' Stone' is a song performed by Motown recording act The Undisputed Truth. It was written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong in 1971.

Edited July 26, 20214 yr by steve201

Top of the Pops 31/5/1990 presented by Simon Mayo

 

Black Box - Everybody Everybody No22 NE

Talk Talk - Its My Life(Video) No20^

Sam Brown - Kissing Gate No23^

 

 

Erasure - Star(Video) No19 NE

Jane Child - Dont Wanna Fall In Love(Video) No25 NE

Chad Jackson - Hear The Drummer(Get Wicked) No12 NE

 

 

Betty Boo - Doin The Do(Video) No15^^

New Order - World In Motion No2 NE* (52,000 sales)

***No1 Adamski Ft Seal - Killer***No1 4th Week (54,000 sales)

The Charlatans - The Only One I Know(Video) No24 NE

 

 

 

We have Simon introducing tonights show with what i think is an Italy Italia 90 shirt which looks rather nice, a sign that this show may be football related with the upcoming World Cup in Italy coming on the horizon a tournament which would change football forever and have a decent effect on the UK charts. Simon keeps the Italian theme going by introducing the evening first act Italian house giants Black Box and their new single 'Everybody Everybody' a new entry at 22. 'Everybody Everybody' is a song by the Italian music group Black Box featuring US soul singer Martha Wash. It was the third single from their debut album Dreamland in 1990, and was released in March 1990 in most countries. The song contains a sample from Oran "Juice" Jones' song "Shaniqua". The song features an uncredited Martha Wash on lead vocals. In a 1990 settlement with RCA Records, Wash was guaranteed proper credit in recordings. As was customary in Black Box's music videos, live performances, and album covers, Katrin Quinol, a French model, was featured lip-syncing the lyrics sung by Wash.

 

Next up Simon introduces the video for the new single by Talk Talk this time doning a Ireland shirt claiming Talk Talk are ireland manager Jackie Charltons favourite band, I always knew I liked Simon Mayo and I would pay decent money for that 1990 world cup shirt nowadays. 'It's My Life' is a song by the English new wave band Talk Talk. Written by Mark Hollis and Tim Friese-Greene, it was the title track on the band's second album and released as its first single in January 1984. It reached number 46 on the UK Singles Chart. The single was re-released in the UK in 1985, but reached only number 93. On 1990, however, 'It's My Life' was reissued again to promote the compilation album Natural History: The Very Best of Talk Talk. This time, the song was a hit in the UK, reaching number 13, the band's highest chart-placing single in its native country. There are two versions of the video for "It's My Life". The first, shown here envisioned by director Tim Pope as a statement against the banality of lip-synching, consists almost entirely of footage from the 1979 BBC wildlife documentary Life On Earth, interspersed with shots of Talk Talk lead singer Mark Hollis standing in various places throughout the London Zoo. He keeps his hands in his coat pockets and his mouth pointedly shut tight, the latter often obscured by hand-drawn animated lines that occasionally appear in the documentary footage sequences as well.

 

So Simon has a new shirt for every intro here and Im loving it as he dons the Spain top before introducing the chart countdown from 40-31 with new entries by D-Shake, Roxette, Wilson Phillips and The Mission.

 

Next up its a repeat performance of the new single from Sam Brown 'Kissing Gate'. God she has amazing vocals, how on earth is this her final hit?

 

We have the amazing Argentina kit next and the obvious quip about a handball, they dont forget easily even 35 years later!! But he introduces the new entry at 19 by Erasure and the fab 'Star'. 'Star' is a song by duo Erasure, released as the fourth European (and third American) single from the group's fourth studio album, Wild!. Been described as a straightforward dance music track with disco elements, it was written by Erasure members Vince Clarke and Andy Bell. The lyrical content clearly referencing nuclear war; Erasure's own form of protest song. When released, the track was remixed slightly for radio, bringing acoustic guitar elements and various background vocal parts forward in the mix. This was Erasures 12th consecutive top 20 hit in the UK chart, what a record!

 

Next up we have the Brazilian kit as Simon introduces the video for the new single by Jane Child. 'Don't Wanna Fall in Love" is a song by Toronto-born singer Jane Child. Released in January 1990 as the second single from her self-titled debut album. We apparently only have the video for this and this would stall at number 22 as Jane refused to perform on TOTP as she considered it a sellout. The music video we see here was directed by cinematographer Derek M. Allen and shot in New York City at the request of Child, due to having written the song while living there. Shot in both black-and-white and color, the video shows Child walking through downtown Manhattan at night, alternating with scenes of the artist at work, singing into a studio microphone, laying down tracks on a Fairlight and mixing the results on a multitrack board.

 

We have the middle section of the chart next from 30-11 with new entries from NWA, The Charlatans, Black Box, Erasure, Chad Jackson and climbers by Movement 98, Jane Child, Sam Brown, Talk Talk, The B-52s, Was(Not Was) and the highest climber by Betty Boo. Nice to see the first every entry in the chart by 90s Manchester band The Charlatans.

 

Simon has the Scotland shirt on next and introduces the new song by Chad Jackson. Mark Chadwick, better known by his stage name Chad Jackson, is an English DJ, remixer and record producer. He is best known for his hit single "Hear the Drummer (Get Wicked)", but he also created member-only mixes for the Disco Mix Club. 'Hear the Drummer (Get Wicked)'. The song was produced by prolific song writer Steve Mac and was one of his first hits. Its has many samples including

 

The 45 King - "The 900 Number" from The 900 Number EP, 1990 (EP; portion sampled originally sampled from "Unwind Yourself" by Marva Whitney)

Afrikaa Bambaataa and James Brown - "Unity" from Unity, 1984 (12")

Afrique - "House of Rising Funk" from Soul Makossa, 1973 (LP)

Bobby Byrd - "Hot Pants - I'm Coming, I'm Coming, I'm Coming" from Hot Pants - I'm Coming, I'm Coming, I'm Coming, 1972 (7")

Gang Starr - "Movin' On" from Movin' On, 1988 (12")

Hijack - "The Badman Is Robbin'" from The Badman Is Robbin', 1989 (12")

Kool & the Gang - "Chocolate Buttermilk" from Kool and the Gang, 1969 (LP)

Kool & the Gang - "Give It Up" from Kool and the Gang, 1969 (LP)

The O'Jays - "For the Love of Money" from Ship Ahoy, 1973 (LP)

Public Enemy - "Welcome to the Terrordome" from Fear of a Black Planet, 1990 (LP)

Soul II Soul - a cappella version of "Back to Life" from Club Classics Vol. One, 1989 (LP)

Uptown - "Dope on Plastic" from Dope on Plastic, 1989 (12")

 

Quite the list then!

 

Next up and with Simon doning a New Order T-Shirt, which gives us a hint at the highest new entry this week, we get the video for the highest climber by Betty Boo which is shown for a second week in a row. 'Doin' the Do' is a song by English singer, songwriter and pop-rap artist Betty Boo. The song is included on her debut album, Boomania, and was released as a single in May 1990. It reached the top 10 in Australia, Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, and the United Kingdom. 'Doin the Do' was Boo's debut solo single, and second overall release, following her collaboration with the Beatmasters on their song "Hey DJ/I Can't Dance (To That Music You're Playing)" in 1989. The song samples portions of the 1968 single "Captain of Your Ship" by the American girl group Reparata and the Delrons and "I'm a Believer" by The Monkees.

 

And finally Simon has his red England shirt on to introduce the highest new entry by 'World In Motion' by electronic legends New Order. What more can I say a classic football track which is still played at each major tournament 30 years later even if in that time it has been overshadowed by The Lightening Seeds effort which would appear 6 years later. As Simon points out the England team stood in the same studio 20 years earlier singing 'Back Home' which reached number one in 1970, can this equal that next week?

 

Next up we get the top 10 with new entires for New Order and entering the top 10 are Michael Bolton and Don Pablos Animals. But its week 4 at number one for the classic Adamski house track.

 

We end the show with the new entry by The Charlatans. And what a classic this is, one of the big indie anthems of the early decade or dare i say it a brit pop anthem. I wasnt a huge Charlatans fan but this is instantly famiular and a classic. The Charlatans are an English rock band formed in the West Midlands in 1988. The current line-up comprises lead vocalist Tim Burgess, guitarist Mark Collins, bassist Martin Blunt and keyboardist Tony Rogers. All the band's thirteen studio albums have charted in the top 40 of the UK Albums Chart, three of them being number ones. They have also had twenty-two top 40 singles and four top 10 entries in the UK Singles Chart, including the hits "The Only One I Know" and "One to Another". 'The Only One I Know' is the second single by the English rock band the Charlatans. It was their first top-ten hit, reaching No. 9 on the UK Singles Chart.In the UK it was the highest-charting single from the Some Friendly album. The song contained lines directly lifted from the Byrds' 1967 song "Everybody's Been Burned,"while the melody prominently features an organ riff lifted from the Deep Purple rendition of the song "Hush".

 

Edited July 26, 20214 yr by steve201

ooh quite a list to comment on, so I'll just pick out personal classic faves, Dirty Cash, Killer, Vogue, It's My Life, Roam, Better The Devil You Know, and the forgotten I Don't Want To fall In Love, The Only One I Know, though there's a bunch of other lesser goodies too, and note that I saw in concert around this time:

 

Madonna

Thunder

 

 

Not at the same gig, though.... :lol: