TOTP 80.42 18/12/80

First shown 18th December 1980*
Repeated on BBCFour from 10/12/2015
Presented by Simon Bates
Full chart here

*wee note: I've chosen the exact original date in 2015 to publish this post.

Bates is back and will do us the honours for this, the last 2015-repeated TOTP80. Over to you Symes...

Wow! Quite a party going on here, funny hats and Stray Cats in the background...


The Beat - Too Nice to Talk To
It's been a great year for The Beat, now having had four hit singles (five if we include tears of a Clown from late last year) and a cracking album which remained top 30 for five months. Alas it seems as if the magic was over with this last one as they are swept away with the new-new wave in '81. Perhaps the Soviet soldier-chic was a bad move?

St. Winifred's School Choir - There's No-One Quite Like Grandma
Stuck at no. 2 having been somewhat cheated out of the top spot by the cruel hand of fate. All is not lost however, not for the wee clones at least. Symes must have a niece or nephew or something at St. Winifred's as he clings on to the fact that it might still get to no. 1 for Christmas and yah boo sucks to John Lennon.

The Barron Knights - Never Mind the Presents
Funny hat back on Symes and since this is Great Britain so we couldn't have a Christmas without having a 'novelty' 'Christmas record, could we. I remember this lot being quite popular at the time although being more of Monty Python / Not the Nine O'Clock News man myself, I duly poo-pooed their populist humour. In hindsight however their Pink Floyd "we don't need no educayshun" piss-take is actually quite funny.

More japes now with special guests Little and Large....steps back in amazement...

The Specials - Do Nothing
Such was The Specials' hardcore following that they seemed to get hit after hit with almost no effort, and little radio play, involved. Third single from their 'lounge' influenced More Specials album, which was surprisingly short-lived Top 30-wise. Nice Christmas jumpers, and more dress sense than The Beat and Little & Large put together. The 'second vocalist' who jumps around doing nothing, not even singing much would later be adopted by

Symes plugs some BBC records, then gets so excited about the next artist he gets the song title wrong and also misguidedly tells us it's 'live'.

Gary Numan - This Wreckage
Talking of hardcore followings, here's another artist who had already become a bit of a cult within the space of just over a year, with mega-selling albums, a handful of top 10 singles, sell-out tours etc. Hard to believe we're only just a year after Cars though as this synth-durge with lyrics about God being dead, and "I leave you" in Japanese and all that is hardly TOTP or even hit-radio material. As you're retiring Gaz, might as well get back to the drawing board. Nice festive 'snowman'-chic jumpsuit though.

Robert Palmer - Looking For Clues
Perhaps it was Numan himself who managed to pull a few strings and get his mate Robert Palmer back on the Pops. Palmer recorded a version of Numan's I Dream of Wires for his Clues album: "you scratch my back mate and I'll call someone at the BBC...". Symes reminds us that PAlmer's last single wasn't "a massive hit" and thereby puts the jinx on this one too: stuck at no. 33, the third of five weeks in that hallowed chart position.

Symes reminds us that Christmas Day is coming up next Thursday (who knew??) and that the Pops will be on at 2 pm and not in the usual slot, so that makes a change.

Chart rundown 30-18.


Chas & Dave - Rabbit
The first appearance of the cheeky Cockney duo since '79's hit Gertcha (Cockney rhyming slang for 'gertcha') and now they're back with this song about some lady friend and her 'rabbiting' ie. the art of catching rabbits, which may seem like a strange thing at this time of year. Should've been 'turkeying' perhaps? Unlike Gary Numan, Chas 'n' Dave sing live.

Charts 17-11. Bates is keen to show us what's going up this week. Erm, only Quo & Queen, actually Symes.

The Nolans - Who's Gonna Rock You
In a desperate effort to get some female artists onto the show (despite Chas n Dave's sexist ranting) The Nolans sisters are grabbed by the skin of their teeth at no. 39 and dragged on to brighten the place up a bit and keep the Dads, and indeed The Parents, happy.  Complete with backing band, this is/was a rather feeble attempt at 'disco' and not their best but it'll keep the Nolan ball rolling. And 'rock' isn't meant to be a euphemism for something else, by the way.

Top Ten Time.

Jona Lewie - Stop the Cavalry
Like Symes said, now at no. 3 with his Moog-tuba brass backing band, and of course sleigh bells and the "wish I was at home for Christmas" (clang!) festive bits thrown in. Repeated studio performance.


John Lennon - Just Like Starting Over
"..number one, of course.." cit. Symes. Legs & Co. were absent last week because they were apparently busy rehearsing for the Christmas & New Year's specials. But it looks as though they had to quickly put together a Christmas-themed routine for the deceased Beatle's single...of course. One can always speculate on how the new Lennon/Ono material would have fared had it not been for The Tragic Incident: sceptics may say they would have re-faded into oblivion and faded rockstar sadness, while  others may say that it was a return to form with Lennon's retro-style fitting in with the new 50s/60s nostalgia (although way outclassing the likes of Stray Cats, Matchbox et al), while Ono's more avant-garde pop has already been absorbed into the new wave mainstream. I'd go for the latter theory. Whatever you think, Lennon was brutally murdered and his assassination by an obsessed "fan" was a cruel, illogical consequence of pop-stardom in the modern world.

Hate to have to finish TOTP80 on such a sad note - the omission of the Christmas show in BBCFour repeats here in the year 2015 also another sad consequence of how just a small number of leading figures in 'show business' and public broadcasting spoiled the party for everyone. Hopefully, hoever, said Christmas special will be made available by someone, somewhere and we can bring you the line-up and the usual commentary just for completion's sake.

Until then, it's good night from me.

TOTP 80.26 28/08/80

BBCFour repeat here.
Full chart here.

Presented by Peter Powell and B.A. Robertson

pic: popscene

Well we're back off our holidays but there are cases to be unpacked, washing to be done and plants to be watered so just a quick run-through this week.

First of all I'd just like to reiterate my view that B.A. Robertson is/was a burke and is/was never funny. Peter Powell was always a bit borderline embarrassing, but usually redeemed by his tastes in music. Not so this time I'm afraid. On with the show...

Ok well it's the usual 'preview' which interestingly puts the two promo videos (David Bowie and Gary Numan - oooh the irony) up first followed by a few other minor acts.

The Barracudas - Summer Fun
It's the novelty band up first of course, in true TOTP tradition. An appropriate choice as it's already late August and probably raining. Equally appropriately, this got nowhere.

Gary Numan - I Die: You Die
More summer fun! Not! Gazza's back with another new single, and like its predecessor We Are Glass is not from the forthcoming album. Ergo his millions of fans rushed out and bought the 7"(*) and made it a new entry at no. 8. Promo video only of course in which Gary sits in his car (where he feels safest of all), lurks in front of a microphone and wanders down dark and empty corridors. I can't hide my love of this track but the video is totally cringe-worthy and dates it incredibly, as most videos do, turning Gaz into a parody of himself. (*lovely piano version of Down in the Park on the B side btw).

The Selecter - The Whisper
In which Pauline has evidently abandoned her boy-ish sharp black suit 'n' trilby in favour of a more Thatcher-esque affair, although she continues to bounce around a lot like the rest of the band. Some kind of attempt to bring the ska sound into the 80s? Oh dear.

Mike Berry  - The Sunshine of Your Smile
"Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent." - Ludwig Wittgenstein.

The Skids - Circus Games
Oh still about, are they? Actually I've always quite liked The Skids so nice to see them back on, and with a good tune too. More smart clothing in an attempt to 'modernise' their image, although I must confess I preferred their 'modernist' look. This made no. 32 and so possibly their last appearance on the Pops. Question: Why is Jobson sucking his finger at the beginning of this?

Elton John - Sartorial Eloquence
Former TOTP guest-presenter Reg really was struggling at this point in his career and this kind of dirge with such a difficult title wasn't getting him anywhere either. But as we well know he was one of those 70s artists who would go on to re-invent themselves for the eighties. Hang on in there Reg.

Sue Wilkinson - You've Got to be a Hustler...
Second Pops performance for Sue and pals and she's been tarted up a fair bit this time, spandex 'trousers' 'n' all that, making her a kind of raunchy Sheena Easton, if you will. The keyboardist has even tried to copy her look. Still struggling at no. 25 though and got no higher.

Ian Dury & the Blockheads - I Want to Be Straight
Another throwback to the late 70s (see The Selecter, Skids above) and frankly the geezer's past his best. Obviously on some kind of post-70s hangover/hiatus, Dury confesses that he wishes to turn over a new leaf, and stop misbehaving himself. Nobody believed a word of it of course.

Village People - Can't Stop the Music
Yet more late 70s stuff still dragging on through .. Where are the eighties?????

Judas Priest - United
So after Village People what do you get? Judas bleedin' Priest! Lots of leather and Marshall amps and a singer looking like he'd much rather be somewhere else. The kids seem to be enjoying it, but oh my God .. what a very disappointing show this has turned out to be.

Top 10 rundown and then...

David Bowie - Ashes to Ashes
Thank Goodness for that! Sir David has come to save us all by letting us hear something modern and eighties and showing Gary Numan how a video should be made in this day and age. Second and final week at no. 1 (oops, spoiler) but the legacy lives on.

OK, end of a rather abysmal show, and it's the customary 'let the kids go mad on stage' moment. Thank you B A Robertson for nothing.

The Beat  - Best Friend
A bit of quality ska to play out on, although of course it was the other A side 'Stand Down Margaret' that was selling the single.

A show hardly worth coming back off our holidays for; things can only get better. Can't they? See you next week, sort of.

TOTP 80.21 22/05/1980

BBCFour repeat here.
Full chart here.

Introduced by future UKIP supporter Mike Read. In his pyjamas.

Lipps Inc. - Funky Town

This catchy disco number has come into the charts at no. 25 apparently from nowhere, well, no. 70. An interesting record which represents a kind of crossover from 70s disco to 80s synth-pop with it's catchy beep beep tune, and girlie vocals, sax and orchestration. Although of American origin, the record had universal appeal and reached number 1 in twenty-eight countries, including the US. Let's see how it fares in the UK, eh listeners? Oh yeah: Lipps Inc....geddit?

All in all it's a fairly mixed chart with a bit of everything although - save perhaps for the above mentioned Lipps Inc. and the new entry at no. 10 there's still very little to be seen/heard of the 'sound of the eighties'. On with the show...

Lambrettas - Da-a-a-ance

So while we're on the subject of the sound of the eighties, let's go back to the sound of ...the fifties perhaps? Their follow up to Poison Ivy, not particularity brilliant but oddly did quite well for them within a question of weeks.

Michael Jackson - She's Out of My Life

TOTP producers or whoever seem to have this technique of putting a quirky upbeat, possibly 'novelty' song on at the beginning, only to immediately follow it up by a slow one, bringing the pace right down big-time. Not sure I ever agreed with that technique but hey-ho. Here's Jacko again sans frères with this fourth song from Off the Wall which had reached a massive no. 4.  So now she is out of your life, time to go and watch some horror films methinks, Mikey, before we all drop off completely.

U.K. Subs - Teenage

Let's get the punks in again to liven things up a bit. And here indeed are the UK Subs with a follow up to...the previous one. In at No. 32 and wouldn't do any better, understandably. Possibly their last TOTP?

Jona Lewie - You'll Always Find Me in the Kitchen at Parties

Unlike other synth-friendly acts from two weeks ago The Human League and OMD (but there's time yet), Mr Lewie was faring well in the charts so here's another studio performance, this time with different girlie backing singers. TOTP production go all out on this one with full 'kithcen' set up, although The Buggles' rubber gloves don't seem to feature. Still only at no. 27 though.

Karel Fialka - The Eyes Have It

Now here's a surprise - and a very odd one too. Looking very 'eighties' with jumpsuits and keyboards à la Gary Numan, to the fore, our Fialka was a half-Indian, half-Scottish, half- Czech musician and 'poet' (it says 'ere) who made a futuristic electronic based album (Still Life - ed.) and attempted to break the UK charts with this catchy nascent-electro-pop single. Ultimately he failed - perhaps a year or so too soon Kaz?

The Specials - Rat Race

For the much anticipated follow-up to their no. 1 Too Much Too Young, Coventry's finest have done one of those new-fangled music 'videos', no less, to accompany their new single. It was straight in at no. 18 although still not the highest new entry, folks. The Specials were ready with a whole bunch of fresh new material which would later materialise in the 'More Specials' LP, which sort of brought them out of black and white and into colour. I just made that up.

Cockney Rejects - I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles

Tiresome 'punk' version of an old old song which our grandparents may well have heard back in 1919. The tune was apparently adopted as the anthem of West Ham football club soon after and so that's why we have to bear this dirge in the retro-future of 1980, since said club had just won the FA Cup. On hearing of the record's chart success, Arsenal supporters were said to be as sick as a parrot.

Gary Numan - We Are Glass

He's back! Numan's impact on the late 1979 music scene both with Tubeway Army and as a solo artist with no. 1 single Cars is well documented and his importance can never be overstated. By this time Gaz had already reached a kind of cult status thanks also to his triumphant live shows towards the end of '79. So no doubt thousands of Numanoids (and me) rushed out to buy the new single, which was also being advertised as not included on forthcoming album, a shrewd marketing move making it all the more desirable. A bit of a change in musical direction compared to the more sparse electronic style of Cars and The Pleasure Principle album yet it remains classic Numan and possibly one of his last great singles. Being a super-star, Numan didn't make it to the Pops studio but had made one of those new-fangled music 'videos' (sic.) featuring laser beams, dry ice, a new black plastic state-of-the-art jumpsuit and  - shock, horror - a shiny guitar. Oh and he's seen breaking a lot of glass. Although its success was short-lived, We Are Glass would get to no. 5, his best position chart-wise after Cars.

Junior Murvin - Police and Thieves

And continuing in the Pops tradition of putting two contrasting songs back to back with no heed to continuity whatsoever, after 21st Century boy Gary Numan here's some reggae from 1976.. I imagine this one got in the charts a) on the back of the ska/reggae revival and b) thanks to The Clash's cover version, ironically unappreciated by Mr Murvin, included on their eponymous 1977 debut album. Legend has it they got the idea to do said cover version after Police & Thieves became a kind of anthem during the 1976 Notting Hill riots, in which Messrs. Strummer and Simonon gleefully took part. Anyway back to 1980 and here's Murvin doing his thang once more, with moderate chart success to come.

Average White Band - Let's Go Round Again

Has this been on before? Possibly. Is it worthy of any comment? Possibly not. A non-mover at n. 17, it would only go slightly higher the following week.

The Mash - Suicide is Painless

And now for something completely different. For those who'd been wondering where ver Legs had got to, here they are later than usual in the running order, possibly to add to the shock factor? A bunch of smooth singing Americans intoning the joys of Selbstmord to a shmoozy MOR backing was bizarre enough but now we get the girls faffing about on top of it, thankfully not interpreting the song title/lyrics as literally as usual. The tune was originally included in the MASH movie - an adaption of the original novel - and then later adapted as an instrumental for the popular TV series which ran from 1972 to 1983. Noel Edmonds was apparently to blame for reviving the single and making it a hit. And the whole thing gets even more bizarre next week, folks.

Matchbox - Midnite Dynamos

A repeat of the performance from a couple of weeks ago and a bit of a filler as it had only moved up a few places in the meantime to a measly no. 26. Not that there was much else to chose from.

Johnny Logan - What's Another Year

And here he is again, still at no. 1. We may take solace in the fact that we won't see him round these parts for another seven years. Cheers Johnny.

Jermaine Jackson - Let's Get Serious (playout)

Not wishing to be outdone by his bruv Michael, Jermaine was also goin' solo and this one did quite well. No horror movies for him though and he'll be back with his siblings for the Victory album in just a couple of years time.

All in all a bit of a lacklustre show, but I'm sure all the Karel Fialka fans were happy. See y'all next week!