blackcat

Not off the top of my head, Fiesta, I know that Juice Newton also had a version of Angel Of The Morning released. Best guess would be some over the top hip hop version hit the charts in 2001! Wild Thing by The Troggs was one record that defined that whole sixties era. Just as it could be argued that Love Is All Around by Wet!Wet!Wet! helped to define the rather bland 1990's era, in my view. And the writer of Love Is All Around? Mr Reg Presley, of The Troggs!

Thanks Grebo, Robbie, Suedehead, great suggestions so far. I note that there is quite a debate on the equivalent of this thread on the Haven site. Don't know if anyone wants to start such a debate on here. Over there some people are suggesting that maybe the BBC might indeed be taking top of the pops 1977 off the screens, in view of two ex-presenters now being alledgedly involved in scandal, the late Jimmy Savile, and Dave Lee Travis (DLT has just been released on bail). My point of view is that such an action would be unnecessary, I only watch the old top of the pops for the music and the way that music is presented by the artists concerned, I certainly don't watch these old shows because of the presenters. As far as I am concerned a modern day Adolf Hitler could be presenting these shows, I could not care less. All I care about is the music show cased by them. One BBC solution would be to phase out all clips of presenters, and just show the music from the programmes, a bit like on Top Of The Pops 2. That would mean that the programmes would not be going out in their exact original forms, but that's life. I keep watching remastered editions of the old Star Trek series, and no one has complained about those old sixties programmes being altered to cater for a modern audience. So why not do the same with these old top of the pops shows. But that's just my point of view. Obviously I would not wish distress on any relative of a person who was alledgedly abused by Savile, and if showing his face on the box causes such distress, then yes, don't show his face. But there must be other ways around this than what I view as the highly drastic step of taking the programmes completely off the air. Any opinions, this is the place! Thanks, BC B-)

Thank you to popcharfreak for his Sony Bono input, this week's edition was advertised as being presented by Dave Lee Travis, but was actually presented by David Jensen. I can only assume that the original DLT presentation was shelved in view of the latest current events. Pretty soon there won't be any editions to show at this rate! Let's hope that Peter Powell, due to present the next edition, is not arrested within the next week or so. :w00t: Liked this week's edition, good rock records from Ram Jam and Tom Robinson, bit of fun from Darts, reasonable ballad from Rod The Mod, a slightly more sophisticated sound from ABBA, and a novel number one from those Baccara Spanish beauties. It has been argued that Yazz's "The Only Way Is Up" is a rip off of Baccara's "I Can Boogie". There is certainly a similiar vibe there. And play out music from the Sex Pistols. Great stuff. Other highlights included a reasonable soul song from Smokey Robinson, who presumably was on a tour of the UK at the time, hence a rare appearance from the great man in the Top Of The Pops studio. And then there was a political song from Boney M! :cry: Who would ever have guessed such a thing occurring. So trivia question for this week, inspired by Boney M's Belfast - let's have a few songs which either mention big cities around the world in their titles, or which are about big cities. So, for example, I would cite London Calling by The Clash, but also Waterloo Sunset by The Kinks, as both are fundamentally about London. I reckon lots of records should come into the equation here. All the best, BC B-)

Correct Feista, the late great Mr. Bono wrote Needles & Pins. He also worked with Phil Spector before writing most of the songs for the highly successful partnership he had with Cher. He also eventually became very successful in American politics. Tragically he was killed in a bizarre skiiing accident in 1998.

Fair enough! Are you surprised by the answer, though? Again, perhaps a better and relevant song writer than most people give him credit for.

Correct in all aspects, suedehead - as usual - as regarding the best known versions of Black Is Black and Needles & Pins. For a bonus, do you know which famous sixties pop singer co-wrote Needles & Pins? (Er, without looking it up, of course). He was only famous from the point of view of being one member of a very well known male and female duo, who were very successful indeed in the 1960's.

B-) Thanks again for all your contributions, and welcome to Season One to this thread. Varied programme this week, reasonable soul offerings from The Emotions and Denise Williams, punk from The Stranglers, some prog rock from Yes, a slightly better than average tribute record from Danny Mirror (I think he was Dutch as well, was he not?) Baccara with a future number one, straightforward cover version of Needles And Pins by Smokie, a new but rather bland number one from David Soul. Trivia for this week - there were two sixties cover versions on this week's show, one of which was Needles And Pins, the other a version of Black is Black, which kick started the show. Name the two sixties artists who did the original versions. I reckon Needles And Pins should be easy, not so sure if the average modern day pop fan could name the original artist who did Black Is Black so easily without reference to the search engine, though. All the best, BC B-)

Thank you for your contributions, suedehead and feista, David also had a big hit with a song called Tahiti in 1983. He was also a big star of the films That'll Be The Day and Stardust, winning aclaim for good acting performances in those films. And he did a stint of acting in Eastenders. His main hits in the seventies came when glam rock was all the rage, but I can't recall David Essex ever needing to dress up in outrageous costumes. And he continued to have hits through the punk rock era, and into the early eighties. Perhaps a slightly more relevant figure in British pop that some people would give him credit for.

Two iconic rock classics helped give this week's show substance, in my view. Ram Jam's Black Betty a great rocking track, as was Golden Earrings Radar Love. I think Golden Earring were Dutch, if I remember correctly. Neither Ram Jam or Golden Earring did much else in the UK charts, as far as I can remember. Quite a varied programme this week, reasonable middle of the road songs from David Essex, and David Soul, good offering from the late lamented Donna Summer, class reggie, as usual, from Bob Marley, fine dancing from the lovely girls of legs & co. While I drool over them, the lady in my household, who was watching the programme with me this week, was drooling over Mr. Essex! Something to do with the way he looked at the camera, apparently. Lots of promo clips in this week's episode, maybe a sign of the times, with the pop video age just around the corner. Trivia question? As many David Essex hits as you can name off the cuff over the years in the British charts. All the best. BC B-)

Some good replies here, don't think Waltz In Black was a single, Richie, great track to listen too, though. I also remember a song called "Big In America", but not sure whether it was a hit or not. A fine band, and still going, although Hugh Cornwall left quite some time ago. Should have been bigger, in my view.

Late entry by me for this week's edition, mainly because I missed it on Thursday and have only just seen it on the tv. Were some highlights, not a particularly great show this week though. Good play out music, courtesy of Stevie Wonder, a better than average novelty record from Baccara, and an uptempo number from Leo Sayer were some of the more surprise offerings. An unusual novelty record from Mari Wilson about a randy telephone repair man, if I read the song correctly! Elvis still at number one, of course, and a rocky start to the show by The Jets. Some good punk offerings this week by The Boomtown Rats and The Stranglers, the latter always were one of my favourite punk bands. They seemed so much more musical than other punk outfits. So, trivia question for this week........as many Stranglers hits in the Uk as possible off the top of one's head. All the best. BC

Thanks suedehead for tellling me about Friday, on both this forum and Haven. will definately have my recorder button set for that day. Pophchartfreak, I like The Beatles as well, great group, no doubt about it. I just think that The Kinks have never had their full due in terms of credit, or sales. They were undoubtedly innovative, as outlined above, wrote some terrific songs, both in terms of singles and in terms of blindingly brilliant album tracks, but never had as much credit as other groups. They are rarely mentioned in the same breath as The Who, nevermind The Beatles! One of your arguments was that The Beatles have sold so many records, including the best selling album of this century. Does not always follow that the best selling artists are the most talented. Michael Jackson had the best selling album of the 20th century, he obviously was very talented, but even the most ardent MJ fan would hesitate to put him as the most talented song writer of the last century. And what about Westlife? They have sold loads of singles this century - would the forum members on here consider them as amongst the most talented groups of recent times? I doubt it. I am reminded of a quote David Bowie made once - he always preferred The Velvet Underground to The Beatles! We all have different tastes, of course, my argument is that The Kinks should at least be up there with The Beatles when it comes to accrediting certain artiists with new innovations, brilliant song writing and influence. Clearly they are never going to be up there with The Beatles when it comes to discussing record sales, but there again, who is?! All the best BC

Is this true, Kenukcsfant? It was not on last night, because of The Sky At Night, but I would be very sad if it was off the screens for a long time for the reasons you mentioned. :( Can't they just show old editions without Jimmy Savile in them? Be hard to bear if it is off the screens for months.

Yes, I thought that you were spot on when you said that John Lennon was the only artist with more than one posthumous number one, Fiesta. Then, thinking about it, I remembered the reason why I asked the question in the first place - ELVIS! Recall all those old records from Elvis Presley (and at least one remixed record from him) during the noughties that topped the UK charts? Might not have had much to do with his death, but surely those releases make him the all-time number one posthumous UK record holder.

Did not enjoy this week's edition quite as much, still good records about from the likes of Elvis Costello, good soulish sounding records from Rita Coolidge and The Jacksons, and I thought that Way Down by the other Elvis was actually a good record, shame it needed such tragic circumstances to propel it to number one. Interesting that older acts like David Essex were still appearing on top of the pops at this time. Lots of Legs & Co this week, okay by me! :dance: :yahoo: Not particularly taken with David Soul's Silver Lady, Don't Give Up On Us was a much better sound, if a bit grinding on the ears after so many plays. Carly Simon's Nobody Does It Better was class, though - Carly Simon seemed to average a big hit in the UK charts once every five years starting from 1972 over a period of about 15 to 20 years! Bizarre! Trivia for this week concerns that postumous Elvis Presley number one. Simply, name some other postumous records to have topped the UK charts over the years after an act's death. I reckon at least half a dozen is achievable by most pop fans with a knowledge of pop history. All the best. BC B-)

I think Suedehead DID mention the Undertones, Grebo. :mellow: That Petrol Emotion were a great band as well, agreed. Some more Southern Irish acts that maybe we should pay lip service too, like Sinead O'Connor, The Corrs, Clannad, Enya. (I think that they are all from the Irish republic, I stand to be corrected) :unsure: Maybe reference should be made to one of the highest rated films ever about pop music, a film that was set in Dublin, and featured some terrific soul sounds, all sung by an Irish "act". The Commitments, of course. Should also be noted that The Beatles - who are in the news a lot at the moment - were of primarily Irish extraction. Both John and Paul, during their solo years, released records about the Irish situation, and John probably considered himself more Irish than English.

Thank you for your list, Suedehead, and your contribution Feista, I did know that about The Adverts record, but most would not. When talking about Northern Irish pop music I would always add Van Morrison/Them in there as well, of course. A fantastic singer/songwriter, is Van.

Thank you for your Bond themes, popchartfreak has beaten me to it this week. Was a good edition, one of the best for a long while, loved almost every record featured in it. Was going to set a trivia question regarding Elvis, but naming his UK hits over the years would cause this thread to lengthen to the size of an encyclopaedia! I have set one for Scottish and Welsh artists in the past, and The Boomtown Rats and Thin Lizzy were featured this week. So, question has to be - name some Irish acts to have graced the UK charts over the years. Will accept acts from both sides of the Irish border. Should be a long long list. All the best, BC B-)

RIP how old was he? Sad news, eighties were a great decade for the programme.

Thanks Fiesta, that means that I liked both sides of that particular Fleetwood Mac record. Personally, I tended to like their Peter Green inspired songs more than their later Stevie Nicks/Lindsay Buckingham era records, especially tracks like "Oh Well", a great song. A bit punky as well, in its attitude, when you think about it. I missed the first ten minutes or so of last night's edition, will have to watch it again on the interactive service. Seemed like a good edition from what I did see, good soul from Danny Williams - his song was based on a Martini advert, was it not? Or maybe it was the other way around. Great record from The Jam, All Around The World, again, like Eddie And The Hotrods Do Anything You Wanna Do, summed up the punk philosophy perfectly. Good songs from top quality female singers like Candi Staton and Carly Simon as well, although I could have sworn Carly Simon's Nobody Does It Better - the theme from The Spy Who Loved Me - was a hit a bit later in that year. Was it a group called Mink De Ville who did "Spanish Stroll"? I missed the name of the group. I remember the actual record oh so well, though. On the down side, Donna Summer replaced at number one by Brotherhood Of Man. :angry: The freshness and originality of I Feel Love toppled by Brotherhood of Man's watered down version of ABBA's classic Fernando. In my view, anyway. But all in all, a decent episode from what I seen of it. Trivia question for this week - Carly Simon's song was from The Spy Who Loved Me. So, I think this question might be fun to try - as many UK hits as one can think of that have been James Bond themes over the years. The modern James Bond theme songs should be easy enough to recollect. But what about the Sean Connery early Bond films from the sixties? They might prove more of a stumbling block. All the best, bc B-)

Some good Fleetwood Mac replies on here, thanks to all who posted. The thing I remember about Fleetwood Mac is one of their b-sides being given exposure once, I think it might have been the original b-side of Albatross. Its title - and don't forget this was well before punk reared its ugly head in the late seventies - was SOMEONE'S GONNA GET THEIR HEAD KICKED IN TONIGHT. No peace and love for Fleetwood Mac during the hippie era, then.

Back after a two week break, a lot of the songs from last time out were still around in the charts, such as Thin Lizzy, Showwaddywaddy, Rita Coolidge, and Donna Summer still at number one, of course. Highlights for me included the Steve Gibbons Band, Fleetwod Mac, and Eddie And The Hotrods, or The Rods, depending on which source you go by. Do Anything You Wanna Do by The Rods just about summed up the punk philosophy. Unfortunately, not that many people of my generation really followed through on that philosophy. :unsure: Trivia question - as many Fleetwood Mac hits as one can think of of the top of ones' head. All the best. B-)

Yes, quite correct, I forgot about Rick Astley, my mistake. Thanks, Robbie. Also, going back to this week's top of the pops '77. maybe I should also have mentioned the Rita Coolidge record; a great song, very memorable melody. And suedehead, yes, thanks for your Thin Lizzy list. I vaguely remember a great Elvis tribute from Phil Lynott as well, I think it might well have been called "The King's Call". Released around about 1980, if my memory is correct. I also remember some kind of Christmas collaboration between Phil Lynott and some Sex Pistols members, but hey, my grey cells are working overtime this time in the morning. Not always easy to remember hits from decades ago off the top of one's head. Thank goodness for the internet and google, some would say.

Some good stuff on this week's edition, some good reggae - Bob Marley - some good soul, from the Detroit Emeralds, good rock from the Steve Gibbons band and Thin Lizzy, that classic disco number one from Donna Summer, a "new wave" hit from Jonathon Richmond, progressive tune from Emerson Lake And Palmer, and if you like MOR, there was Dana, and a MOR rock song from Showaddywaddy. I count Boney's M's song as the novelty record this week. Tremendously varied programme, as it should be. Trivia question? Let's have a few hits from the late, great Phil Lynott and Thin Lizzy. And a few from the late lamented Gary Moore as well. All the best.

Going back through the selections, belated appreciations to both popchartfreak and Grebo for the Sex Pistols stuff. Yes, I'm Not Your Stepping Stone was a cover of a Monkees song, and the Pistols were fans of The Monkees, presumably grew up watching the old sixties tv series of The Monkees. And Suedehead, Feista and Richie with some good suggestions for Donna Summer songs. I can think of at least two more off the top of my head. One was a great record called State Of Independence, hit in the early eighties, if I remember correctly. The other one was Dinner with Gershwin, hit in the late eighties, I believe. That collaboration that Feista mentioned with Stock Aitken And Waterman gave the SAW team a rare top ten hit in the States, their highest ever chrting record over there.