TOTP 80.43/2 25/12/80

..part two..


The Police - Don't Stand So Close to Me


Fern Kinney - Together We Are Beautiful


Johnny Logan -What's Another Year


Abba - Super Trouper


Lipps Inc - Funky Town (Legs & Co.)


Leo Sayer  - More Than I Can Say


Sheena Easton - 9 to 5


Pink Floyd - Another Brick in the Wall Pt. 2


St. Winifred's School Choir - There's No-One Quite Like Grandma

TOTP 80.22 29/05/80

BBCFour repeat here.
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.

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!