It's appropriate that the first show of 1980 was introduced by fresh-faced Radio 1 DJ Peter Powell. As a relative youngster (28 at the time) Powell had his roots in the sixties and seventies but also had his finger on the pulse of newer music and would go on to champion many of the new pop acts of the early eighties. But on with the show..
The Clash - London Calling (chart rundown)
The single was stable at no. 29, which may not have put it in good stead in TOTP terms, but it was an appropriate opener to the decade by one of the more commercially successful punk bands and the song which definitely summed up of the mood of the time. It would go on to reach a peak no. 11 position two weeks later. The eponymous album had been released shortly before Christmas 1979 and would become a classic of the genre and the period. As far as I know the Clash never actually went on TOTP.
Madness - My Girl
The first new TOTP performance proper of the eighties, appropriately featuring the large '1980' numbered background. Madness had already become successful with two top 20 singles in the second half of '79 (One Step Beyond reaching no. 7 in November) and with this instantly likeable new single they could do no wrong.
Paul McCartney - Wonderful Christmastime (promo)
Definitely a festive 'left-over', about as appealing as cold turkey sandwiches on December 28th, but Macca's synthy Christmas single had gone up one place to no. 6, post-Chrimbo. It would plummet the week after despite this last ditch attempt to push it at the January sales.
Pretenders - Brass in Pocket
This is more like it - melodic pop with a 'new-wave' feel and a slinky 'post-punk' female vocalist to go with it! The single had already rocketed up to no. 5 and would indeed go on to do even better.
David Bowie - John I'm Only Dancing (promo)
Correct title: John I'm Only Dancing (Again), this was a 'left-over' form the seventies in more ways than one. Originally released in 1972, the song was remixed and revived apparently in order to up Bowie's sales, after the moderate success of late 70s singles DJ and Boys Keep Swinging, and to cash-in somewhat on the current dance/disco craze (hence its release also as an 'extended version' on 12"). The single was featured here as a promo-film, and did little to up the songs chart success as it would remain stable at no. 12 the week after. But no matter, Bowie would go on to do much greater things later in the year.
( - the BBC programme website list three songs here which were not featured on the repeat broadcast. I'd be interested to know if these were actually featured on the original broadcast.)
Kurtis Blow - Christmas Rappin'
More left-over turkey and, oh dear, it would also seem to be a Christmas song that time forgot. It may have been groundbreaking in its genre but one gets the impression that the UK/TOTP public was hardly ready for it. A non-chart feature, it disappeared without a trace after this showing.
Billy Preston & Syreeta - With You I'm Born Again
More music from Motown, or thereabouts, although this ballad would fare much better than the above mentioned rappin'. Released at the end of 1979, it was a new entry at no. 24. Apparently from the soundtrack of the film Fast Break (apparently) although I doubt that had much to do with its success. Like it or not, we'll be hearing a lot more of this in the coming weeks.
Chic - My Feet Keep Dancing (Legs & Co,)
Staying with our American cousins, more disco fodder here, as interpreted by in-house dance troupe Legs & Co. Not Chic's best-known song, and indeed it would be their last UK chart hit of a long run which had begun over two years earlier. A steady climber at no. 21, the song would slowly drop back down the charts, notwithstanding Legs & Co.'s admirable interpretation.
Dr. Hook - Better Love Next Time
As was often the case with the first song featured in each programme's running-list (see My Girl above) the song before the Number 1 was usually a new non-chart song, presumably because maximum audience attention would be at the show's opening and just before the no. 1 (did people just tune in to see who was no. 1?). Anyway it's more American faux-country 'n' western MOR this week with Union City's finest sons Dr. Hook (formerly Dr. Hook & The, er, Medicine Show). They had enjoyed a UK No. 1 single just a month earlier with When You're In Love With a Beautiful Woman, and although this follow-up and the subsequent Sexy Eyes would also fare well, their UK chart days were numbered.
Pink Floyd - Another Brick in the Wall (Pt. 2) (promo)
And so to the this week's Number 1, the first of the eighties. Ironically it was the Floyd who had knocked the above mentioned Dr. Hook off the top spot in the second week of December 1979, continuing to stay there for some time. There's no doubting Another Brick in the Wall's now legendary status, although far from being a standard pop single, this extract from the concept album The Wall remains one of British pop history's most unlikely hits. Presumably it was the "we don't need no edu-cay-shun" chant, inspired, unsurprisingly, by Alice Cooper's School's Out hit, which appealed to many young record buyers across the land. Despite Pink Floyd's 'rock dinosaur' label, if anything it goes to show that it was the British artists (rather than the Americans) who were producing the most interesting and innovative music at the time (see Clash / Madness / Pretenders above).
Rose Royce - Is It Love You're After (closing credits)
As if to prove my last point, it's back to the yawnsome Motown-y ballads to ease us out of the programme. Not time for bed just yet though: White Rock is on next, so we can enjoy the "thrills, skill and immense courage of the (Winter) Olympic heroes".
See you next week.
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