Full chart here.
Introduced by Kid Jensen - and what a very smart and polite young man he is too.
Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway – Back Together Again (chart rundown)
This one's in at no. 22 but all in all it's a pretty uninteresting chart with not much going on, except for a new number one. Orchestral Manoeuvres are into the Top 30 at last, just one place behind the Electric Light Orchestra with their new one I'm Alive. Perhaps it was all these 'orchestra' manoeuvres which upset the BBC orchestras leading to the strike which kept the Pops off the telly for an amazing nine weeks. Well, we shall never know, as indeed no-one doing tonight's show evidently had no idea of what was about to hit them.
Liquid Gold - Substitute
They're back after the mega-hit Dance Yourself Dizzy, and full marks to them for being so quick off the mark with this follow up which would go Top 10 within a month despite lack of whacky TOTP promotion. This reminds me of the kind of funky Brit-disco which would emerge again in a couple of years with Wham! and the like., so these things obviously go in cycles. Never mind.
Hot Chocolate - No Doubt About It
It's getting a bit hot in here so better cool things down a bit with loads of dry ice and 'space' effects for this classic Hot Chocolate number which had got to number 2, where it would stay, effectively making it one of those classic 'nearly number ones'. Errol Brown's voice and indeed wiggle, will live on forever.
Elton John - Little Jeannie
Oh dear - Reggie was obviously well past his "Crocodile Rock" heyday, and this looks and sounds like a rather last ditch attempt to revive a seventies based career in the eighties (hello Smokie). This got nowhere and continues a rather large grey area (notice I didn't say black hole) in Elton's career, but as we all know he'll still be standing in a couple of years, and will soon become big mates with princesses and stuff.
Crown Heights Affair - You Gave Me Love
Thankfully Legs are back in their usual half-way-through-the-first-half position and are doing a bit of proper dancing and showing off their pants, hooray! It's a cheer-leader themed routine this week and - shock, horror, probe - even the audience are involved! Whatever will they think of next?
Don McLean - Crying
You know how it is. You're sitting in your log cabin, 'round an open fire, strumming on your guitar .. and you're crying. It's a promo video, not a re-used BBC Christmas studio set of course, and is one of the few good reasons why the Pops will be off the air for the next couple of months. This was already at number 13 and would get to number 1. For three. Whole. Weeks.
Thin Lizzy - Chinatown
But enough of this namby-pamby moping around the place. Let's get some proper rock in leather trousers back on! After Phil Lynott's failed attempt to shake the world with his solo career a few weeks back, the whole group is back in town - China town in fact. This one would slowly but surely reach the giddy heights of no. 21, but we won't be seeing it on the Pops again. Meanwhile girls in sensible trouser suits look on.
Roxy Music - Over You
Speaking of sensible trousers, sensibly dressed Kid 'Man at C&A' Jensen gives a lengthy introduction to the also sensibly dressed Roxy Music with their new hit. I'm no Roxy expert but I did notice that that's not Phil Manzanera on sax so where's he gone? First hit single off the new Flesh + Blood album which effectively kick-started their 'smoothie' eighties image. Oh and to be honest only Bryan Ferry could get away with wearing a pair of trousers like that.
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - Messages
More sensibly dressed young men please! Here's the most unsensibly named group ever with the second performance of their wonderful, wonderful song, this time reinforced with their full stage gear, some extra sate of the art drums and of course the full special effects treatment. Only one member of the band is not wearing a tie and will consequently be kicked out soon. This had finally gone Top 30 and would peak at no. 13 in three weeks time. Obviously the last time we'll see this song performed but they'll be back later in the year with something much bigger, and even more sensible clothes.
Jermaine Jackson - Let's Get Serious
Or rather let's not get too serious and bring some mindless American disco music back on. It was Michael last week and this week its another Jackson sibling doing his thang on some US pop show, which someone kindly taped and sent over to the Beeb in London, England. Thankfully he was previously informed about tonight's dress code.
Stiff Little Fingers - Nobody's Hero
Oh well, enough ties already, better get the punk rockers in from the provinces. An unsuccessful attempt to follow up the moderately successful At The Edge (can you whistle it?) and indeed we'll never see the likes of them on the Pops again. End of an era in more ways than one tonight.
Mystic Merlin - Just Can't Give You Up
Bit of a performance video for this one as Mystic Merlin do a bit of magic - as befits their name - on the only young wench of the group who was already in a bit of a trance. Behold! She levitates! It's all done with mirrors, y'know. The Mystics climbed just a l'il bit higher after this showing but then appropriately disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Lena Zavaroni - Jump Down Jimmy
The only reason I can fathom as to why Ms. Zavaroni (née Zavaroni) suddenly appeared on the Pops with this is that she had just launched her own new music show on BBC One, entitled Lena. What I can't fathom is why said show was evidently in no way affected by the BBC orchestra strike, and remained firmly on air for the next six weeks, while Top of the Pops was off air. Some kind of conspiracy going on here? Had no-one ever thought of this? Anyway, rubbish song that got nowhere.
The MASH - Suicide is Painless
There seems to be some doubt in the webosphere as to whether this Legs & Co. repeat from last week was used in the original broadcast, but no matter, this seventies MOR dirge with lyrics written by a 14 year old was the record most purchased by the Great British public this week and that's that. So much for 'the sound of the eighties', as announced by Peter Powell at the beginning of the year. Twenty-two weeks on and, with very few exceptions, there hasn't been anything much that has broken from the seventies mold. A bit sad really.
Lipps Inc. - Funky Town
We play out with this one tonight, now in the top 10. At least it has a hint of 'modern' about it.
I wonder if anyone to do with the show had any idea of what was going to happen next: the 9/11 of Top of the Pops, an event which would shake up the show and possibly attitudes to pop music in Britain forever. Or would it?
See you in the future.
No comments:
Post a Comment