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).
Showing posts with label March. Show all posts
Showing posts with label March. Show all posts
TOTP 80.12 20/03/1980
BBC4 website programme page here
Official chart in full here
This week's show presented by Mike Read, so behave yourselves and mind your language. He's even got the Nerdy Student-teacher Thought Police in ...
Detroit Spinners - Working My Way.. (chart rundown)
The Spinners were up a massive twelve places to no. 8 thanks to Legs' sterling 'working-women' routine last week. In other chart action, Top 30 new entries include songs by last week's performers Genesis, The Dooleys, Secret Affair and Siouxsie & The Banshees (yay!). The Vapors are amazingly up to no. 4, Liquid Gold at 5 and Marti Webb is stable at 3, all benefiting from being featured last week, unlike The Police, Fearne Kinny, Peter Gabriel and Rainbow, who all drop. Oh, and there's a mighty new number 1...
The Bodysnatchers - Do Rock Steady
It's the quirky new band of the week, and the ska revival is obviously still going strong as demonstrated by the 'Snatchers of which there are apparently many. The two featured instrumentalists look amazingly like the two girls from The Human League, or at least how they would be some one and half years from now. Mike avoids the 'all-female band' reference but can't do without uttering another kind of sad sexist quip. Good song.
Squeeze - Another Nail in My Heart
They were on a couple of weeks back (in 1980) although we didn't get to see them (in 2015). Disappointingly underlit and Jools Holland almost off the stage and uncaptured on camera.
Rush - Spirit of Radio
"Here's Rush" says Mike but it's actually Legs & Co. time, this week in a kind of throwback '70s psychedelic dance routine thing which wouldn't actually be so bad if it were not for the fact that it's occasionally superimposed with a bizarre secondary routine of the girls dressed in 'eighties' plastic clothes listening to fake radios in improbable settings. Read obviously not paying much attention as he keeps going on about 'the band..'.
Sad Café - My Oh My
Perhaps we were unduly harsh on them towards the beginning of the year when they did Sad Little Girl or whatever, because that was actually quite good compared to this bluesy dirge. Sadly (geddit?) this is going to do quite well...
Lambrettas - Poison Ivy
Mod revival also still not dead as we get this lot - probably from Norf London - doing their version of an old song (yawn..). It's also 'drummer front stage' time although with that jumper and possibly the worst mod haircut ever, he looks as if he's hoping no-one will notice.
Barbara Dickson - January February
Before which Mike climbs up the stairs and has a Sooty and Sweep-esque conversational exchange with a fake owl. Moving on, here's Babs Dickson who - like Sad Café - did not very well with her last effort but would do nicely with this one. The song has obviously been a couple of months in the making, although a little less thought has been given to her stage outfit.
Shakin' Stevens - Hot Dog
Here he is again (third time?) and he's still only at no. 24 for Chrissakes. Time to try something else Shakes... 'Eddie Cochran of the eighties'? pah!
New single plug time: oh it's David Soul who says how much he likes 'English bands' (sic.), and, hey he's got a new single out.
UB40 - Food For Thought
Thanks to that ridiculous interlude, English band UB40 don't get much of an introduction for their TOTP debut. On the face of it they look like a kind of all-male Bodysnatchers but of course they were much more than that. Just at no. 40 this week although this is gonna be huuuge. And yes they were singing 'Ivory Madonna'.
Martha & The Muffins - Echo Beach
Read obviously totally unimpressed by The '40 and intent only on getting his 'two Canadian bands' link in, firstly with Rush and now with Martha and her Muffs (but who are those two squares standing in front of him during this hugely important intro? one asks). Another song the 2015 audience missed when they were on two weeks ago (in 1980), and alas for reasons best known back then, instead of the 'Pops studio performance we get a faux-live promo film this time, which is also inexplicably cut short.
B. A. Robertson - Kool in the Kaftan
I wonder what David Soul made of this? B. A. Robertson was one of those totally disagreeable characters who made a lot of semi-comic hit singles and somehow got away with it. This one takes the p*ss out of the hippy/'love and peace' movement, some ten years after such things were fashionable, so obviously even longer in the making than Barbara Dickson's latest effort. Like Barbara he's Scottish although this link has obviously escaped Read's attention as he's been too busy concentrating on Canada.
The Jam - Going Underground
At least he takes a few seconds to tell us that this next one is straight in at number one .. even though he makes it sound like it was something that happened once a month or so in those days too. NOT SO! This was a MASSIVE event for a MASSIVE single which probably hadn't even been played on the radio much at that point, also given it's semi-veiled political critique. Although taking much from the mod revival, The Jam at least managed to create something new and exciting and bring the angry young musical men sentiment bang up to date. They even had to make it into a double-A side with the softer Dreams of Children for fear of not getting Going Underground played although it was the latter and its legendary promo film (The Police, please take note) which gave them their finest moment. Mike read somewhat redeemed by stating afterwards that with this instant chart top-spot they were now up there with the likes of Elvis, The Beatles, and, er, Slade.
The Vapors - Turning Japanese
Mike keeps the new wave vibe going with The Vapors who, were it not for The Jam, may have got to the number one spot via the new wave kids spending their cash on a song about .................But that's it..! ....We'll see you next week!
Official chart in full here
This week's show presented by Mike Read, so behave yourselves and mind your language. He's even got the Nerdy Student-teacher Thought Police in ...
Detroit Spinners - Working My Way.. (chart rundown)
The Spinners were up a massive twelve places to no. 8 thanks to Legs' sterling 'working-women' routine last week. In other chart action, Top 30 new entries include songs by last week's performers Genesis, The Dooleys, Secret Affair and Siouxsie & The Banshees (yay!). The Vapors are amazingly up to no. 4, Liquid Gold at 5 and Marti Webb is stable at 3, all benefiting from being featured last week, unlike The Police, Fearne Kinny, Peter Gabriel and Rainbow, who all drop. Oh, and there's a mighty new number 1...
The Bodysnatchers - Do Rock Steady
It's the quirky new band of the week, and the ska revival is obviously still going strong as demonstrated by the 'Snatchers of which there are apparently many. The two featured instrumentalists look amazingly like the two girls from The Human League, or at least how they would be some one and half years from now. Mike avoids the 'all-female band' reference but can't do without uttering another kind of sad sexist quip. Good song.
Squeeze - Another Nail in My Heart
They were on a couple of weeks back (in 1980) although we didn't get to see them (in 2015). Disappointingly underlit and Jools Holland almost off the stage and uncaptured on camera.
Rush - Spirit of Radio
"Here's Rush" says Mike but it's actually Legs & Co. time, this week in a kind of throwback '70s psychedelic dance routine thing which wouldn't actually be so bad if it were not for the fact that it's occasionally superimposed with a bizarre secondary routine of the girls dressed in 'eighties' plastic clothes listening to fake radios in improbable settings. Read obviously not paying much attention as he keeps going on about 'the band..'.
Sad Café - My Oh My
Perhaps we were unduly harsh on them towards the beginning of the year when they did Sad Little Girl or whatever, because that was actually quite good compared to this bluesy dirge. Sadly (geddit?) this is going to do quite well...
Lambrettas - Poison Ivy
Mod revival also still not dead as we get this lot - probably from Norf London - doing their version of an old song (yawn..). It's also 'drummer front stage' time although with that jumper and possibly the worst mod haircut ever, he looks as if he's hoping no-one will notice.
Barbara Dickson - January February
Before which Mike climbs up the stairs and has a Sooty and Sweep-esque conversational exchange with a fake owl. Moving on, here's Babs Dickson who - like Sad Café - did not very well with her last effort but would do nicely with this one. The song has obviously been a couple of months in the making, although a little less thought has been given to her stage outfit.
Shakin' Stevens - Hot Dog
Here he is again (third time?) and he's still only at no. 24 for Chrissakes. Time to try something else Shakes... 'Eddie Cochran of the eighties'? pah!
New single plug time: oh it's David Soul who says how much he likes 'English bands' (sic.), and, hey he's got a new single out.
UB40 - Food For Thought
Thanks to that ridiculous interlude, English band UB40 don't get much of an introduction for their TOTP debut. On the face of it they look like a kind of all-male Bodysnatchers but of course they were much more than that. Just at no. 40 this week although this is gonna be huuuge. And yes they were singing 'Ivory Madonna'.
Martha & The Muffins - Echo Beach
Read obviously totally unimpressed by The '40 and intent only on getting his 'two Canadian bands' link in, firstly with Rush and now with Martha and her Muffs (but who are those two squares standing in front of him during this hugely important intro? one asks). Another song the 2015 audience missed when they were on two weeks ago (in 1980), and alas for reasons best known back then, instead of the 'Pops studio performance we get a faux-live promo film this time, which is also inexplicably cut short.
B. A. Robertson - Kool in the Kaftan
I wonder what David Soul made of this? B. A. Robertson was one of those totally disagreeable characters who made a lot of semi-comic hit singles and somehow got away with it. This one takes the p*ss out of the hippy/'love and peace' movement, some ten years after such things were fashionable, so obviously even longer in the making than Barbara Dickson's latest effort. Like Barbara he's Scottish although this link has obviously escaped Read's attention as he's been too busy concentrating on Canada.
The Jam - Going Underground
At least he takes a few seconds to tell us that this next one is straight in at number one .. even though he makes it sound like it was something that happened once a month or so in those days too. NOT SO! This was a MASSIVE event for a MASSIVE single which probably hadn't even been played on the radio much at that point, also given it's semi-veiled political critique. Although taking much from the mod revival, The Jam at least managed to create something new and exciting and bring the angry young musical men sentiment bang up to date. They even had to make it into a double-A side with the softer Dreams of Children for fear of not getting Going Underground played although it was the latter and its legendary promo film (The Police, please take note) which gave them their finest moment. Mike read somewhat redeemed by stating afterwards that with this instant chart top-spot they were now up there with the likes of Elvis, The Beatles, and, er, Slade.
The Vapors - Turning Japanese
Mike keeps the new wave vibe going with The Vapors who, were it not for The Jam, may have got to the number one spot via the new wave kids spending their cash on a song about .................But that's it..! ....We'll see you next week!
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!
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