First shown on BBC 1 on Christmas Day, 1980
Presented by Jimmy Savile and Peter Powell
not repeated by BBCFour in 2015
...so a huge thanks to Manorak for posting the show on vimeo, and thanks - as ever - to Popscene for the running order. Basically it's a 'The Best of [insert year here]' Christmas Day special, with lots of hits to keep everyone awake during the postprandial blow out and before The Queen comes on.
The Nolans - I’m In The Mood For Dancing
Dexy's Midnight Runners - Geno
Blondie - Atomic
Paul McCartney - Coming Up
Barbara Streisand - Woman in Love
Liquid Gold - Dance Yourself Dizzy
David Bowie - Ashes to Ashes
Marti Webb - Take That Look Off Your Face
(..having trouble with blog-tags so splitting this post into two..)
Showing posts with label Liquid Gold. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Liquid Gold. Show all posts
TOTP 80.37 13/11/80
First broadcast 13/11/80
Repeated on BBCFour from 05/11/2015
Presented by Simon Bates
Full chart here.
Preview then:
Iron Maiden - Women in Uniform
"..they're playing live tonight.." and indeed at least from the vocal it seems as if they really are playing live. Or perhaps it is only the (lead) vocal. Since when did that happen? Anyway, like the man said: new entry at no. 35. Catch them in Uxbridge and Redcar.
David Bowie - Fashion (video)
"..a beautiful thing from the Top Ten.." Thing? Does he mean the video or Bowie or what? Anyway indeed it is the "film" - at last - for The Dame's newest hit. Not as weird as the Ashes to Ashes one, but in true Bowie you've never seen anything quite like this before.
Repeated on BBCFour from 05/11/2015
Presented by Simon Bates
Full chart here.
Preview then:
Iron Maiden - Women in Uniform
"..they're playing live tonight.." and indeed at least from the vocal it seems as if they really are playing live. Or perhaps it is only the (lead) vocal. Since when did that happen? Anyway, like the man said: new entry at no. 35. Catch them in Uxbridge and Redcar.
David Bowie - Fashion (video)
"..a beautiful thing from the Top Ten.." Thing? Does he mean the video or Bowie or what? Anyway indeed it is the "film" - at last - for The Dame's newest hit. Not as weird as the Ashes to Ashes one, but in true Bowie you've never seen anything quite like this before.
After calling a young girl in spectacles "four eyes" (look who's talking) Simes presents those two other smarmy creeps from Doctor Hook to hype their new album called 'Razzy' or something. It did rubbishly so Capitol had to rush out a Greatest Hits album to compensate.
Gladys Knight & the Pips - Bourgie Bourgie
Speaking of rubbish American MOR here's a final blast from the 70s for this lot. Another low entry (like iron Maiden) so we do seem to be scraping the barrel a bit this week, n'est-ce pas? This gotone place higher before disappearing into oblivion.
Simes has a handful of new albums ready for Christmas, including the Abba one in case he didn't mention it. But wait here's Bolton's finest comedian who could crush grapes like no other.
Chart rundown 30-20, then
John Lennon - (Just Like ) Starting Over (Legs & Co.)
Still can't comment on thsi one without getting a bit weepy, but suffice to say here's a pretty amazing dance routine from ver Legs, which starts off very minimalist-Japanese, presumably as a homage to Yoko Ono, and then suddenly each pair of Legs is in a differen get-up doing a bit of a jig each on a separate stage. One can't help feeling they were all 'improvising'. Just a little.
Chart rundown 19-11
Liquid Gold - The Night, The Wine and The Roses
Another one form the 30-40 bracket. Pretty rubbish UK-disco as usual although I can't help feeling they would've done better had they emerged circa 1985. Although perhaps they were just as influential on 80s music as, say, David Bowie? Discuss.
Spandau Ballet - To Cut a Long Story Short
"Have a listen to this!" The sound of a new, young Britain no less in the form of Spandau Ballet's TOTP debut. Hot on the heels of Adam & the Ants' debut a few weeks back, here is another new band with funny clothes, perhaps just a touch of make-up and a brand new sound for the nations' dancefloors. Way down at no. 43 but this would shock the record-buying public into getting them up to no. 19 next week, positively p*ssing over all the rest. Plus they have decent haircuts. "I've a feeling we're going to be hearing a lot from these bright young things in the years to come" (he said in a Simes voice).
Abba - Super Trouper
I'd love to know how many had tuned in to see this 'film' for the first time but actually preferred watching Spandau Ballet instead, but no matter as Abba were already at their peak and the record-buying public had been hotly anticipating this new one, and the ensuing album. It is indeed the highest 'jumper' up to no. 13 from nowhere. Feelin' like a (Christmas) no. 1? Possibly.
Top Ten countdown ..
Blondie - The Tide is High
"A new number one and a great lady" - so what do you know Simes? And just what is it about putting the words "Number One" in your song lyrics these days? Is that in the hope of actually getting to number one? Well it might well be cos this is where Blondie are this week, and a million miles from, say, 'Rip Her to Shreds'. The video is a complete shambles and one wonders what they were 'on' when they made it. Better than Barbara Streisand though.
"Special" guests all reunited on the stage for the party in funny hats outro, the pervily titled:
Young & Company – I Like (What You’re Doing To Me)
See you next week! (sort of..)
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.
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 80.15 10/04/1980
Introduced by Simon Bates
BBCFour repeat here
Chart here.
Liquid Gold - Dance Yourself Dizzy
Charts: Dexy's and Selecter just manage to creep into the Top 30 after last week's performances, although it's giant leaps for The Pretenders and Madness after theirs. Blondie are back big time, as is, surprisingly, Mr David Essex. Messrs. Doctor Hook and UB40 both make Top 5 and there's a new No. 1 ...
Undertones - My Perfect Cousin
Surprisingly (The) Undertones had only made the Top 30 once in the one and a half years since their debut, the seminal Teenage Kicks, being perhaps too strongly linked to their champion John Peel to be accepted into the mainstream. Five singles later however and here is what would become their biggest hit, and quite rightly so. Notable for its witty lyric which name-checks Sheffield synths-only band The Human League, cleverly rhyming 'advise her' with 'synthesiser'. As a homage, the NME ran the feature "The Human League's Guide to Synthesisers" later in the year. Fact.
David Essex - Silver Dream Machine
Wow! He's back! Looking at David's wiki page, he seems to go back further than we'd like to think. He did of course reach his peak around 1973-75, when he was endowed the enviable mélange of 'dishy' looks (or so my sister used to tell me) and some damn fine songs to make into hit singles. Later in the seventies he'd had to rely on the Evita musical to get another top-5 single (namely with Oh What A Circus in 1978) but since then ..naffink. This one put him back on, er, track for a few weeks though and was taken from/made for the feature film Silver Dream Racer, starring Essex himself. Apparently it was a complete flop although the single would do better.
Dr. Hook - Sexy Eyes (Legs & Co.)
Uh-oh, it's getting complicated again. The girls form a circle and so a kind of folk dance round thing, although "special effects" has to quadruple up the screen for some reason, they we get a close up of each dancer in turn, each doing more or less the same things over and over, with the occasional flash of knicker, and then we get some silk scarf slow motion pseudo-ballet dancing too. Hmmm. Last week's thing is going to be very hard to beat.
Saxon - Wheels of Steel
..and following on from David Essex and his motor-cycling saga, here's Barnsley band Saxon, originally named 'Son of a Bitch', fact fans with their new offering. While the rest of the country was getting excited and hot under the collar about punk rock, new wave and all that, these lads were waving the 'heavy metal' flag and indeed continued to do so through much the eighties, bless 'em. Rousing stuff.
Sky - Toccata
It's about time we had a novelty instrumental band/single back in the charts after The Shadows let us down a bit earlier in the year. Emerging from the classical-cum-progressive scene in the early seventies, this mixed Ossie-UK outfit (guitarist John Williams their most famous member) had enjoyed a big success with their debut eponymous album in '79 and were now ready to for the Pops with this adaptation of Bach's "Toccata and fugue in D minor", as a preview of their second album, adventurously named Sky2. Great stuff.
Judas Priest - Living After Midnight
More rock/heavy metal à la Saxon, and those tight trousers are now up to no.12
Siouxsie & the Banshees - Happy House
Another slow mover and another repeat although we're obviously a bit short of material this week to be able to show anything better and more exciting. Except for David Essex.
Sad Café - My Oh My
Somebody obviously thought this one needed a push too. Strangely it went up one place the week after this but then up seven more places the week after, which probably means we'll be seeing them again. Groan.
Bodysnatchers - Do Rocksteady
It's the ska band slot and the all-female Bodysnatchers are slowing climbing up so it's their turn. They won't get any higher though, not with this or anything else. Ever.
The Buggles - Clean Clean
Well after a run of four slow movers, it's about time for something new! With scary intro (see above)! The Buggles hardly seem to have been away two minutes but they're back with another single, lifted from their Age of Plastic album. Hardly sound of the eighties material this one though. Since Video Killed, chart performances are getting progressively worse and this, I fear, is the last we'll ever see of them on the Pops.
Detroit Spinners - Working My Way Back To You
..and they've worked their way up to the no. 1 spot, knocking The Jam down two places. A good song but hardly no. 1 material, one thinks. Not really what the kids want.
Secret Affair - My World
Quite frankly I'd have expected Blondie and their new smash Call Me to me to have been played here, Secret Affair having climbed just one place after last week. But no matter.
See you next week!
BBCFour repeat here
Chart here.
Liquid Gold - Dance Yourself Dizzy
Charts: Dexy's and Selecter just manage to creep into the Top 30 after last week's performances, although it's giant leaps for The Pretenders and Madness after theirs. Blondie are back big time, as is, surprisingly, Mr David Essex. Messrs. Doctor Hook and UB40 both make Top 5 and there's a new No. 1 ...
Undertones - My Perfect Cousin
Surprisingly (The) Undertones had only made the Top 30 once in the one and a half years since their debut, the seminal Teenage Kicks, being perhaps too strongly linked to their champion John Peel to be accepted into the mainstream. Five singles later however and here is what would become their biggest hit, and quite rightly so. Notable for its witty lyric which name-checks Sheffield synths-only band The Human League, cleverly rhyming 'advise her' with 'synthesiser'. As a homage, the NME ran the feature "The Human League's Guide to Synthesisers" later in the year. Fact.
David Essex - Silver Dream Machine
Wow! He's back! Looking at David's wiki page, he seems to go back further than we'd like to think. He did of course reach his peak around 1973-75, when he was endowed the enviable mélange of 'dishy' looks (or so my sister used to tell me) and some damn fine songs to make into hit singles. Later in the seventies he'd had to rely on the Evita musical to get another top-5 single (namely with Oh What A Circus in 1978) but since then ..naffink. This one put him back on, er, track for a few weeks though and was taken from/made for the feature film Silver Dream Racer, starring Essex himself. Apparently it was a complete flop although the single would do better.
Dr. Hook - Sexy Eyes (Legs & Co.)
Uh-oh, it's getting complicated again. The girls form a circle and so a kind of folk dance round thing, although "special effects" has to quadruple up the screen for some reason, they we get a close up of each dancer in turn, each doing more or less the same things over and over, with the occasional flash of knicker, and then we get some silk scarf slow motion pseudo-ballet dancing too. Hmmm. Last week's thing is going to be very hard to beat.
Saxon - Wheels of Steel
..and following on from David Essex and his motor-cycling saga, here's Barnsley band Saxon, originally named 'Son of a Bitch', fact fans with their new offering. While the rest of the country was getting excited and hot under the collar about punk rock, new wave and all that, these lads were waving the 'heavy metal' flag and indeed continued to do so through much the eighties, bless 'em. Rousing stuff.
Sky - Toccata
It's about time we had a novelty instrumental band/single back in the charts after The Shadows let us down a bit earlier in the year. Emerging from the classical-cum-progressive scene in the early seventies, this mixed Ossie-UK outfit (guitarist John Williams their most famous member) had enjoyed a big success with their debut eponymous album in '79 and were now ready to for the Pops with this adaptation of Bach's "Toccata and fugue in D minor", as a preview of their second album, adventurously named Sky2. Great stuff.
Judas Priest - Living After Midnight
More rock/heavy metal à la Saxon, and those tight trousers are now up to no.12
Siouxsie & the Banshees - Happy House
Another slow mover and another repeat although we're obviously a bit short of material this week to be able to show anything better and more exciting. Except for David Essex.
Sad Café - My Oh My
Somebody obviously thought this one needed a push too. Strangely it went up one place the week after this but then up seven more places the week after, which probably means we'll be seeing them again. Groan.
Bodysnatchers - Do Rocksteady
It's the ska band slot and the all-female Bodysnatchers are slowing climbing up so it's their turn. They won't get any higher though, not with this or anything else. Ever.
The Buggles - Clean Clean
Well after a run of four slow movers, it's about time for something new! With scary intro (see above)! The Buggles hardly seem to have been away two minutes but they're back with another single, lifted from their Age of Plastic album. Hardly sound of the eighties material this one though. Since Video Killed, chart performances are getting progressively worse and this, I fear, is the last we'll ever see of them on the Pops.
Detroit Spinners - Working My Way Back To You
..and they've worked their way up to the no. 1 spot, knocking The Jam down two places. A good song but hardly no. 1 material, one thinks. Not really what the kids want.
Secret Affair - My World
Quite frankly I'd have expected Blondie and their new smash Call Me to me to have been played here, Secret Affair having climbed just one place after last week. But no matter.
See you next week!
TOTP 80.13 27/03/1980
Presented by Peter Powell
BBCFour episode page
Full chart here
The Vapors - Turning Japanese (chart rundown)
Interesting how we played out last week with The Vapors and kick-off tonight with....The Vapors, who are now on a par with Madness for being featured four times with the same song.
A fairly stale looking chart tonight as the top 4 are still battling among themselves, although Brit-power wins through with The Vapors and Liquid Gold both going up a peg and The Jam still holding their own at no. 1. Martha and the Muffins, Lambrettas and Squeeze all benefit from being featured last week as do UB40 who climb a massive twenty places and indeed go Top 20 just keeping Siouxsie & the Banshees out. New wavers aside, Barbara Dickson and B.A.Robertson both make good progress after making the effort to go down to the TOTP studios last week, less so Sad Café. Anyway we're late so let's get on wi'it.
Liquid Gold - Dance Yourself Dizzy
Still annoying as ever but definitely the prototypes of the hedonistic party-obsessed eighties which were just a couple of years away. A future Wham! were no doubt watching this. In that sense the most 'sound of the eighties' song/band to date. Drummer still hell-bent on showing as much of his skinny white body as possible although he's got his vest on this week.
Genesis - Turn It On Again
I don't quite know why Powell goes all serious for 'something more serious' by Genesis as I'm sure one could dance oneself dizzy even to Phil & pals if one really wanted. In fact there's quite a lot of dancing to be done in this week's show. Genesis were making slow progress but for some reason benefited massively from this repeat.
Brother Johnson - Stomp (Legs & Co.)
'Legs 11' 'cos it's Legs & Co. dancing to Stomp which is at no. 11 - geddit? There's a kind of seedy stripped down disco-stage for the girls this week who do their best to show us what 'stomping' really is. We'll be back here later.
Dr. Hook - Sexy Eyes
Oh God they're back. Has this one been on already? Can't remember. Wait, hang on..does he say "Sexy eyes..gettin' down on you" in the chorus? All a bit pervy if you ask me.
Judas Priest - Livin' After Midnight
Speaking of pervy! Gerraload of all that heavy metal leather gear wouldya! The girls in the front row with their nice dresses are all loving it and clapping along anyway! ..and there's even some dancing to be done! I didn't remember the lead-singer having all that hair.
Siouxsie & The Banshees - Happy House
Why does Powell go all serious with his voice before certain songs? It's a repeat of two weeks' ago, but hey! you can dance to it! and pull confetti out of your pocket! It's all quite sane.
Secret Affair - My World
Wow Pete's suddenly not so serious anymore and is positively enthusing about this lot! Very good track actually and this week's performance does them and the song more justice than the dark Legs & Co. underbelly location of two weeks ago. The jacket and tie makes him look a bit like a smiley Gary Numan but nowt wrong with that. Just dance!
The Dooleys - Love Patrol
Don't sit down just yet! There's more dancing to be done! Just noticed this is rather Abba-esque, or at least it's what Abba were doing two or three years ago. End of the line here for The Dooleys I'm afraid.
John Foxx - No-One Driving
Amazingly even the glacial Mr Foxx is dancing too! Yay! He must have got a few tips off Legs & Co. before they left the set to make way for the four keyboardists, one of which is also doing a lot of dancing and even occasionally pressing a button! Quite a contrast to Foxx's more somber debut for Underpass a few weeks back, and sadly this more bouncier-one didn't move an inch after this week. Still a tad too early for the synth-pop age. Not Foxx's last single of the year but his last Pops appearance until Summer '81.
Detroit Spinners - Working My Way Back to You
More dancing to be done here by this rather dated vocal/dance troupe set-up, which would gradually go out of fashion only to return with the boy-band fad in a couple of decades time. They've obviously also seen Legs & Co.'s routine by taking the 'working' metaphor to its literal limit. Or perhaps it isn't really a metaphor after all.
The Jam - Going Underground
Powell approaches orgasm as they're IN THE STUDIO! And Paul Weller is wearing .. an apron! Inside out! Not sure if that gesture was ever explained by Weller but no matter, it's just good to have them on, and doing a very convincing mimed performance of this week's number one (even the promo film was quite good actually).
Leon Hayward - Don't Push It Don't Force It..
Ooo-er! Actually Hayward's debut single was entitled 'I Wanna Do Something Freaky To You' so it all follows ....
Not sure what Powell's mumbling on a about at the end but anyway see you next week (or rather in two weeks if you're reading this in 2015).
BBCFour episode page
Full chart here
The Vapors - Turning Japanese (chart rundown)
Interesting how we played out last week with The Vapors and kick-off tonight with....The Vapors, who are now on a par with Madness for being featured four times with the same song.
A fairly stale looking chart tonight as the top 4 are still battling among themselves, although Brit-power wins through with The Vapors and Liquid Gold both going up a peg and The Jam still holding their own at no. 1. Martha and the Muffins, Lambrettas and Squeeze all benefit from being featured last week as do UB40 who climb a massive twenty places and indeed go Top 20 just keeping Siouxsie & the Banshees out. New wavers aside, Barbara Dickson and B.A.Robertson both make good progress after making the effort to go down to the TOTP studios last week, less so Sad Café. Anyway we're late so let's get on wi'it.
Liquid Gold - Dance Yourself Dizzy
Still annoying as ever but definitely the prototypes of the hedonistic party-obsessed eighties which were just a couple of years away. A future Wham! were no doubt watching this. In that sense the most 'sound of the eighties' song/band to date. Drummer still hell-bent on showing as much of his skinny white body as possible although he's got his vest on this week.
Genesis - Turn It On Again
I don't quite know why Powell goes all serious for 'something more serious' by Genesis as I'm sure one could dance oneself dizzy even to Phil & pals if one really wanted. In fact there's quite a lot of dancing to be done in this week's show. Genesis were making slow progress but for some reason benefited massively from this repeat.
Brother Johnson - Stomp (Legs & Co.)
'Legs 11' 'cos it's Legs & Co. dancing to Stomp which is at no. 11 - geddit? There's a kind of seedy stripped down disco-stage for the girls this week who do their best to show us what 'stomping' really is. We'll be back here later.
Dr. Hook - Sexy Eyes
Oh God they're back. Has this one been on already? Can't remember. Wait, hang on..does he say "Sexy eyes..gettin' down on you" in the chorus? All a bit pervy if you ask me.
Judas Priest - Livin' After Midnight
Speaking of pervy! Gerraload of all that heavy metal leather gear wouldya! The girls in the front row with their nice dresses are all loving it and clapping along anyway! ..and there's even some dancing to be done! I didn't remember the lead-singer having all that hair.
Siouxsie & The Banshees - Happy House
Why does Powell go all serious with his voice before certain songs? It's a repeat of two weeks' ago, but hey! you can dance to it! and pull confetti out of your pocket! It's all quite sane.
Secret Affair - My World
Wow Pete's suddenly not so serious anymore and is positively enthusing about this lot! Very good track actually and this week's performance does them and the song more justice than the dark Legs & Co. underbelly location of two weeks ago. The jacket and tie makes him look a bit like a smiley Gary Numan but nowt wrong with that. Just dance!
The Dooleys - Love Patrol
Don't sit down just yet! There's more dancing to be done! Just noticed this is rather Abba-esque, or at least it's what Abba were doing two or three years ago. End of the line here for The Dooleys I'm afraid.
John Foxx - No-One Driving
Amazingly even the glacial Mr Foxx is dancing too! Yay! He must have got a few tips off Legs & Co. before they left the set to make way for the four keyboardists, one of which is also doing a lot of dancing and even occasionally pressing a button! Quite a contrast to Foxx's more somber debut for Underpass a few weeks back, and sadly this more bouncier-one didn't move an inch after this week. Still a tad too early for the synth-pop age. Not Foxx's last single of the year but his last Pops appearance until Summer '81.
Detroit Spinners - Working My Way Back to You
More dancing to be done here by this rather dated vocal/dance troupe set-up, which would gradually go out of fashion only to return with the boy-band fad in a couple of decades time. They've obviously also seen Legs & Co.'s routine by taking the 'working' metaphor to its literal limit. Or perhaps it isn't really a metaphor after all.
The Jam - Going Underground
Powell approaches orgasm as they're IN THE STUDIO! And Paul Weller is wearing .. an apron! Inside out! Not sure if that gesture was ever explained by Weller but no matter, it's just good to have them on, and doing a very convincing mimed performance of this week's number one (even the promo film was quite good actually).
Leon Hayward - Don't Push It Don't Force It..
Ooo-er! Actually Hayward's debut single was entitled 'I Wanna Do Something Freaky To You' so it all follows ....
Not sure what Powell's mumbling on a about at the end but anyway see you next week (or rather in two weeks if you're reading this in 2015).
TOTP 80.11 13/03/1980
Shown on BBCFour as from 19.03.2015
Full chart here
Back to some kind of normality this week after all that faffing about with Winter Olympics and Steve Wright is back in charge.
Rush - Spirit of Radio (chart rundown)
Let's face it, any song with 'radio' in the title isn't going to played and played by all witless DJ's, especially of the Radio 1 variety, and sure enough this one proved an improbable hit for American dinosaur band Rush, and was already at no. 23, one of several new entries which also included The Labrettas and Martha & The Muffins who were on last week (apparently).
The Dooleys - Love Patrol
Well after having got rid of The Nolans we're stuck with another Brit family-run group who'd been having hits since 1977, amazingly a whole decade after they'd originally formed. This one was not their best, despite attempting to go 'eighties' with all the colourful lycra, and would indeed be their last Top 30 hit and TOTP appearance.
The Police - So Lonely
This one was getting rather huge so Sting & pals obviously had the pressure on them to get a promo video/film made up, which they duly did so by mucking around on metro trains in Oriental cities, singing down walkie-talkies. Somebody recently wrote that Police promo-videos were mostly them just mucking around in front of a camera, but it worked.
The Detroit Spinners - Working My Way Back to You
Speaking of mucking around, here's Legs &Co.'s weekly contribution where Flick has taken the 'working' metaphor from the title and transformed her girls into, well, workmen complete with striped tent and scaffolding. Only one of them is wearing a hard hat though, which wouldn't get past Health & Safety these days. Highest new entry at no. 20.
The Brothers Johnson - Stomp
Promo-film of what looks like something that came from about 1977. There are loads of 'em too . .are they really all brothers? Who knows.
Secret Affair - My World Today
Who are are actually located underneath Legs' scaffolding/work in progress set-up, and pretty much to their chagrin I can well imagine as it's all dark and dingy and doesn't do any justice to the band or song at all - poorly lit and mostly, er, behind bars. Is this really their world? perhaps they wouldn't want it any other way..
Liquid Gold - Dance Yourself Dizzy
But from the sublime to the ridiculous. What are they on?
The Vapors - Turning Japanese
A fresh studio performance of this excellent number, and no random 'Japanese' pics this time. And we still don't know what it's about.
Rainbow - All Night Long
Another promo-film repeat but this had already gone huge, so justified.
Siouxsie & The Banshees - Happy House
Gibson Brothers - Cuba
Peter Gabriel - Games Without Frontiers
Marti Webb - Take That look Off Your Face
Genesis - Turn It On Again
Fern Kinney - Together We Are Beautiful
It's a new number one but how the hell that happened I shall never know. Dull repeat performance of a couple of weeks ago in that tangerine-esque dress. I suppose it's a testament to the variety of the British charts that this kind of thing could outsell Blondie who in turn outsold Kenny Rogers who in turn..etc. It might be nice to have something British at no. 1 though.
Captain & Tennille - Do That To Me One More Time (playout)
More dross to play us out, after it had been featured proper last week.
That's all folks. Not long before next Pops!
Full chart here
Back to some kind of normality this week after all that faffing about with Winter Olympics and Steve Wright is back in charge.
Rush - Spirit of Radio (chart rundown)
Let's face it, any song with 'radio' in the title isn't going to played and played by all witless DJ's, especially of the Radio 1 variety, and sure enough this one proved an improbable hit for American dinosaur band Rush, and was already at no. 23, one of several new entries which also included The Labrettas and Martha & The Muffins who were on last week (apparently).
The Dooleys - Love Patrol
Well after having got rid of The Nolans we're stuck with another Brit family-run group who'd been having hits since 1977, amazingly a whole decade after they'd originally formed. This one was not their best, despite attempting to go 'eighties' with all the colourful lycra, and would indeed be their last Top 30 hit and TOTP appearance.
The Police - So Lonely
This one was getting rather huge so Sting & pals obviously had the pressure on them to get a promo video/film made up, which they duly did so by mucking around on metro trains in Oriental cities, singing down walkie-talkies. Somebody recently wrote that Police promo-videos were mostly them just mucking around in front of a camera, but it worked.
The Detroit Spinners - Working My Way Back to You
Speaking of mucking around, here's Legs &Co.'s weekly contribution where Flick has taken the 'working' metaphor from the title and transformed her girls into, well, workmen complete with striped tent and scaffolding. Only one of them is wearing a hard hat though, which wouldn't get past Health & Safety these days. Highest new entry at no. 20.
The Brothers Johnson - Stomp
Promo-film of what looks like something that came from about 1977. There are loads of 'em too . .are they really all brothers? Who knows.
Secret Affair - My World Today
Who are are actually located underneath Legs' scaffolding/work in progress set-up, and pretty much to their chagrin I can well imagine as it's all dark and dingy and doesn't do any justice to the band or song at all - poorly lit and mostly, er, behind bars. Is this really their world? perhaps they wouldn't want it any other way..
Liquid Gold - Dance Yourself Dizzy
But from the sublime to the ridiculous. What are they on?
The Vapors - Turning Japanese
A fresh studio performance of this excellent number, and no random 'Japanese' pics this time. And we still don't know what it's about.
Rainbow - All Night Long
Another promo-film repeat but this had already gone huge, so justified.
Siouxsie & The Banshees - Happy House
Show highlight: possibly not their first TOTP after Hong Kong Garden a
couple of years back although I doubt they'd been on with intervening Top 30
singles The Staircase Mystery and Playground Twist (correct me if I'm wrong). Siouxsie and pals
on fine form looking anything but happy but then that's post-punk irony for ya.
This then was the start of their household name popularity proper and one which
would last chart-wise for a few years to come. Legends in the making.
Gibson Brothers - Cuba
Well after the euphoria of Happy House even this seems a lot easier to
digest, and in fact seems like an appropriate segue. Much better placed last
week and already up to no. 16. Steve Wright shows off all his DJ knowledge by
repeatedly letting us know it was a re-release but quite frankly Stevie who
gives a f..
Peter Gabriel - Games Without Frontiers
It's the promo film again sadly, but you have to be grateful for small
mercies. Like The Police and Rainbow this had become huge, even more so in fact as it was
already at no. 4, and so the Pops people could hardly ignore it.
..and likewise this one which was now stable at no. 3 although 'twas the
end of the road chartwise. Perhaps Marti could've done with freshening it up a bit - this was the third showing for the same performance
Genesis - Turn It On Again
More cathartic TOTP moments as we have a rather new look and new
sounding Genesis in the studio (albeit recorded earlier?) to present their new
single just prior to the new album Duke. It's all new! JAzzy 80s coloured gear and they're almost dancing even! Cracking song with about five different time signatures - prog goes pop.
Fern Kinney - Together We Are Beautiful
It's a new number one but how the hell that happened I shall never know. Dull repeat performance of a couple of weeks ago in that tangerine-esque dress. I suppose it's a testament to the variety of the British charts that this kind of thing could outsell Blondie who in turn outsold Kenny Rogers who in turn..etc. It might be nice to have something British at no. 1 though.
Captain & Tennille - Do That To Me One More Time (playout)
More dross to play us out, after it had been featured proper last week.
That's all folks. Not long before next Pops!
TOTP 80.10 06/03/1980
In their infinite wisdom, BBCFour have decided not to repeat this particular episode presumably because it was hosted by then Radio 1 deejay Dave Lee Travis who has been struck off a lot of Christmas card lists lately.
I am however indebted to Twitter followee Lee @leethommo Thompson who regularly publishes his vintage hand-written TOTP lists and who kindly tweeted me the list for this week's missing episode. And quite a cracker it would have been...
Mr. Thompson has also informed me that this was Martha & the Muffins' only live in the studio appearance and there will also be no repeat to come either as we get the filmed video next week. We can only live in a hope for repeats of the likes of Squeeze, The Lambrettas and UK Subs. But, er, Tony Rallo......?
In other chart action, power-ballard songstresses Marti Webb and Kern Finney were putting the scares on Blondie, still at the top spot. Cliff and the Whispers were slipping down whereas both Peter Gabriel and Rainbow obviously benefited from their respective promo-video showings last week and have both gone Top 10. (Post) punk rockers Stiff Little Fingers, the Police and The Vapors (highest new entry into Top 30) all going strong, as are (post) disco-ers Gibson Bros. and Liquid Gold.
Full chart here, and stick around for the next show.. coming soon!
I am however indebted to Twitter followee Lee @leethommo Thompson who regularly publishes his vintage hand-written TOTP lists and who kindly tweeted me the list for this week's missing episode. And quite a cracker it would have been...
Mr. Thompson has also informed me that this was Martha & the Muffins' only live in the studio appearance and there will also be no repeat to come either as we get the filmed video next week. We can only live in a hope for repeats of the likes of Squeeze, The Lambrettas and UK Subs. But, er, Tony Rallo......?
In other chart action, power-ballard songstresses Marti Webb and Kern Finney were putting the scares on Blondie, still at the top spot. Cliff and the Whispers were slipping down whereas both Peter Gabriel and Rainbow obviously benefited from their respective promo-video showings last week and have both gone Top 10. (Post) punk rockers Stiff Little Fingers, the Police and The Vapors (highest new entry into Top 30) all going strong, as are (post) disco-ers Gibson Bros. and Liquid Gold.
Full chart here, and stick around for the next show.. coming soon!
TOTP 80.9 28/02/1980
Shown on BBCFour as from 19.03.2015
Full chart here
Well with all that Winter Olympics nonsense over, we're back on a Thursday night after Tomorrow's World, with the full 40 mins. worth of fun. Take it away Kid...
Jefferson Starship - Jane
Didn't we have this a couple of weeks ago as chart rundown music? (checks database) ..yes indeed! Three weeks ago when it was at no. 30, and now it's gone all the way up to no. 21. It's going to be a long night.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions - I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down
First 'live' act tonight and it's a bouncy new-wave one which you may recall stormed into the charts at no. 17 a couple of weeks ago and was now at no. 5. Costello is doing his best to look 'cool' by appearing indifferent and un-bouncy but ends up looking like he doesn't give a monkey's. Which may well have been the case.
Marti Webb - Take That Look Off Your Face
Another one from two weeks ago and indeed a repeat of her glacial debut performance with the TOTP orchestra. Gary Numan and John Foxx stand aside - Marti was a chilling female automaton no mistake. "..you didn't sleep good last night.." still grates on me after all these years: one sleeps well, Marti, one doesn't sleep good.
The Vapors - Turning Japanese
It's the bouncy new-wave newcomers slot and this one quite rightly became quite a classic of its genre. Mimed studio performance interlaced with random 'Japanese' images which of course have nothing at all to do with masturbating in prison, which is what the song is actually about. Not that they never told us that at the time. Did Mike Read know?
Michael Jackson - Rock With You
..which is apparently all he wants to do according to 'Kid'. The camera pans right to give a faux-live in the studio effect, but we're not fooled. The BBC could never afford all those laser beams. Here's Jacko kicking off a rather bizarre disco-themed triptych. The single had indeed gone Top 10 although wouldn't go any higher than this.
Liquid Gold - Dance Yourself Dizzy
And from the sublime to the ridiculous. Kid takes into the tacky world of Brit-disco with a glass of ..something, and lead singer duly shows she's partial to a tipple pre-performance, if only for the sake of being to appear to be having a good time. Her co-members are equally as annoying, especially the bare chested (and almost bare everything else-ed) "drummer". This will of course be a huge hit.
Gibson Brothers - Cuba
Staying in the disco-dance theme here are the brothers Gibson (not be confused with the Brothers Gibb) who have chosen a missile crisis as the subject of this cheery number. Legs & Co. have also decided they'd like to celebrate US sanctions by joining along with the band on stage - a TOTP first?
According to Official Charts the song is having its second chance at chart success, after failing to set the nation alight last year. Lucky us.
Peter Gabriel - Games Without Frontiers
oooh! Art-rock! Weird visuals! and (at last) the real sound of the eighties? Gabriel had already gone Top 20 with this which did in fact get his post-Genesis solo career rolling, after the false start with Solisbury Hill a few years back. Could be huge. Mike Reid possibly not playing it though cos it mentions the word 'willy'.
Stiff Little Fingers - At the Edge
Punk-rock time and da Fingers seem angrier than ever. One wonders if Liquid Gold hadn't been the more anarchic of the two though.
Dave Edmunds - I Never Felt More Like Singing the Blues
Better calm down a bit..and we never felt more like going and put the kettle on before time.
The Police - So Lonely
An odd choice for Legs & Co. who had already had a turn with the Gibson Bros. The Police were obviously already at superstar status such that they didn't need to come on TOTP especially considering this was a single which had been dug up from their back catalogue and re-released on the back of previous success Walking on the Moon. Another song about masturbation? Who can say...
Rainbow - All Night Long
Well after Dave Edmunds and all that prancing about we'd better have some proper rahck music... and all credit to this lot, they really do look and sound like a rock band should I suppose. Surprisingly enjoyable, unlike.....
The Shadows - Ghost Riders in the Sky
I think this must be the third time this had been featured for Chrissakes and they haven't got any better. In fact it gets a whole lot worse with the drummer and his so-not-plugged-in syndrums placed at the front of stage. Sooo nineteen-seventies dah-ling, Please Lord let them climb no higher in the charts! (prayer answered)
Blondie - Atomic
This rather lacklustre show is saved by Blondie being at number one, albeit featured via the promo-video shown last week too. Mind you in those days TOTP was probably the only occasion you'd get to see such a thing so hurrah!
David Bowie - Alabama Song
More weirdo art-rock! Not exactly the first thing you think of when discussing David Bowie in 1980 with friends and colleagues, but amazingly this track did really well, evidence that anything new Bowie-related was already selling like hotcakes. Apparently this release was merely "to hasten the end of Bowie’s contract with RCA" cit. Wiki, and had already been going around for a bit (full story here). An interesting quirk in (Bowie) chart history nonetheless, even though even better things were just around the corner.
....so show us the way to the next TOTP! What's that? Presented by DLT? Who's he?
Full chart here
Well with all that Winter Olympics nonsense over, we're back on a Thursday night after Tomorrow's World, with the full 40 mins. worth of fun. Take it away Kid...
Jefferson Starship - Jane
Didn't we have this a couple of weeks ago as chart rundown music? (checks database) ..yes indeed! Three weeks ago when it was at no. 30, and now it's gone all the way up to no. 21. It's going to be a long night.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions - I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down
First 'live' act tonight and it's a bouncy new-wave one which you may recall stormed into the charts at no. 17 a couple of weeks ago and was now at no. 5. Costello is doing his best to look 'cool' by appearing indifferent and un-bouncy but ends up looking like he doesn't give a monkey's. Which may well have been the case.
Marti Webb - Take That Look Off Your Face
Another one from two weeks ago and indeed a repeat of her glacial debut performance with the TOTP orchestra. Gary Numan and John Foxx stand aside - Marti was a chilling female automaton no mistake. "..you didn't sleep good last night.." still grates on me after all these years: one sleeps well, Marti, one doesn't sleep good.
The Vapors - Turning Japanese
It's the bouncy new-wave newcomers slot and this one quite rightly became quite a classic of its genre. Mimed studio performance interlaced with random 'Japanese' images which of course have nothing at all to do with masturbating in prison, which is what the song is actually about. Not that they never told us that at the time. Did Mike Read know?
Michael Jackson - Rock With You
..which is apparently all he wants to do according to 'Kid'. The camera pans right to give a faux-live in the studio effect, but we're not fooled. The BBC could never afford all those laser beams. Here's Jacko kicking off a rather bizarre disco-themed triptych. The single had indeed gone Top 10 although wouldn't go any higher than this.
Liquid Gold - Dance Yourself Dizzy
And from the sublime to the ridiculous. Kid takes into the tacky world of Brit-disco with a glass of ..something, and lead singer duly shows she's partial to a tipple pre-performance, if only for the sake of being to appear to be having a good time. Her co-members are equally as annoying, especially the bare chested (and almost bare everything else-ed) "drummer". This will of course be a huge hit.
Gibson Brothers - Cuba
Staying in the disco-dance theme here are the brothers Gibson (not be confused with the Brothers Gibb) who have chosen a missile crisis as the subject of this cheery number. Legs & Co. have also decided they'd like to celebrate US sanctions by joining along with the band on stage - a TOTP first?
According to Official Charts the song is having its second chance at chart success, after failing to set the nation alight last year. Lucky us.
Peter Gabriel - Games Without Frontiers
oooh! Art-rock! Weird visuals! and (at last) the real sound of the eighties? Gabriel had already gone Top 20 with this which did in fact get his post-Genesis solo career rolling, after the false start with Solisbury Hill a few years back. Could be huge. Mike Reid possibly not playing it though cos it mentions the word 'willy'.
Stiff Little Fingers - At the Edge
Punk-rock time and da Fingers seem angrier than ever. One wonders if Liquid Gold hadn't been the more anarchic of the two though.
Dave Edmunds - I Never Felt More Like Singing the Blues
Better calm down a bit..and we never felt more like going and put the kettle on before time.
The Police - So Lonely
An odd choice for Legs & Co. who had already had a turn with the Gibson Bros. The Police were obviously already at superstar status such that they didn't need to come on TOTP especially considering this was a single which had been dug up from their back catalogue and re-released on the back of previous success Walking on the Moon. Another song about masturbation? Who can say...
Rainbow - All Night Long
Well after Dave Edmunds and all that prancing about we'd better have some proper rahck music... and all credit to this lot, they really do look and sound like a rock band should I suppose. Surprisingly enjoyable, unlike.....
The Shadows - Ghost Riders in the Sky
I think this must be the third time this had been featured for Chrissakes and they haven't got any better. In fact it gets a whole lot worse with the drummer and his so-not-plugged-in syndrums placed at the front of stage. Sooo nineteen-seventies dah-ling, Please Lord let them climb no higher in the charts! (prayer answered)
Blondie - Atomic
This rather lacklustre show is saved by Blondie being at number one, albeit featured via the promo-video shown last week too. Mind you in those days TOTP was probably the only occasion you'd get to see such a thing so hurrah!
David Bowie - Alabama Song
More weirdo art-rock! Not exactly the first thing you think of when discussing David Bowie in 1980 with friends and colleagues, but amazingly this track did really well, evidence that anything new Bowie-related was already selling like hotcakes. Apparently this release was merely "to hasten the end of Bowie’s contract with RCA" cit. Wiki, and had already been going around for a bit (full story here). An interesting quirk in (Bowie) chart history nonetheless, even though even better things were just around the corner.
....so show us the way to the next TOTP! What's that? Presented by DLT? Who's he?
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