TOTP 80.26 28/08/80

BBCFour repeat here.
Full chart here.

Presented by Peter Powell and B.A. Robertson

pic: popscene

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Top 10 rundown and then...

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

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

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

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

TOTP 80.16 17/04/1980

Full chart here.
This show was not repeated on BBC4 in 2015, as it was presented by J*mmy S*vile, but here's the line-up anyway, courtesy of Turn it on Again > Top of the Pops 1980:

Leon Haywood – Don’t Push It, Don’t Force It (chart rundown)
Not a terribly exciting chart this week, the highest new entry being Sky's Toccata, as featured last week. There are however are couple of big movers who make fairly unlikely bedfellows in the battle for the top spot before long....

Phil Lynott – Dear Miss Lonely Hearts
Thin Lizzy leader had obviously got a bit peed off with working with bandmates so decided to embark on a solo career à la John Foxx. Unlike Foxx however, Lynott continued to stay in Thin Lizzy at the same time and even have his band mates guest on the album Solo in Soho. Confused? Well never mind cos this will get nowhere. Lynott's biggest solo hit would be Yellow Pearl, co-written with Midge Ure for said album, which would later become the TOTP theme tune. Midge Ure of course replaced John Foxx in Ultravox - see what I did there?

Barbara Dickson - January February
Stable at last week's no. 11, but somebody obviously decided she needed to a leg-up. Which she didn't get.

Girl – Hollywood Tease
Blimey! Who's this? Some kind of glam-rock outfit who don't want to join the new heavy metal movement? Reminds one of early Japan (David Sylvian's band, not the country) but more Led Zeppelin than Roxy Music. I swear I'd never heard this before in my life, and probably never will again either.

Blondie – Call Me (Legs & Co)
This one is already at no. 2 - yes number two - guys n gals, without so much of a Pops' credits run-out up to now. Still no sign of Debs and the boys though so one will have to make do with the Legs, dressed a kind of ska suit affair with coloured tops, Pauline Black wouldn't be seen dead in.

B. A. Robertson – Kool In The Kaftan
Tiresome and thankfully here for the last time with this one.

The Selecter – Missing Words 
Again, struggling somewhat chart-wise but they won't need to make the trip down from Coventry again for a bit.

The Ruts – Staring At The Rude Boys
New in at, er, no. 51 folks. Not a patch on Babylon's Burning but this wouldn't do too badly for them.

The Pretenders – Talk Of The Town
Top 10 again after their no. 1 smash, but we won't have to endure this tedious video no more. Still a great tune though.

Dexy's Midnight Runners – Geno
Geno! Geno! Geno! This one's up to no. 12 this week and obviously causing a bit of a stir up and down the country as the single is bought by young punters who had no idea who Geno Washington was. And to think Record Mirror called this "a turgid eulogy with few redeeming features". Stay tuned.

The Nolans – Don’t Make Waves
Bubbling under the Top 30, and we still have I'm in the Mood for Dancing still ringing in our ears. Lovely ladies with a lovely dance routine and a lovely live vocal. Lovely.

UB40 – Food For Thought
Up one more place for the Brummie boys who were hitting their peak with this one at no. 4.

Sham 69 – Tell The Children
More fag-end of punk rock, although would fare much worse than, say, The Ruts. But Sham 69, you may now disband.

The Detroit Spinners – Working My Way Back To You
My colleague Angelo has reminded me that this is actually a medley with Forgive Me Girl. Still at no. 1 but I think that's quite enough of the '70s for now thank you very much.

Bobby Thurston – Check Out The Groove
Oh no! More seventies?

TOTP 80.14 03/04/1980

Introduced by Kid Jensen
BBCFour repeat here
Chart here.
Full show on youtube here.

Cheeky! Kid Jensen excercises his eyeballs (see Legs & Co.)

Judas Priest - Living After Midnight
The Priest were up ten places after last week's appearance so get the chart rundown slot.  Indeed many of the acts on last week benefit from last week's show (except for John Foxx and The Dooleys, both non-movers), especially Genesis, The Brothers Johnson and Secret Affair although it's those creepy Dr. Hook who storm into the Top 10, beating even Madness with their new one. The Top 5 is still pretty much distributed between the usual handful of artistes although The Vapors are on their way down and Liquid Gold dangerously close to the top spot.

Madness - Nightboat to Cairo
And indeed here are the nutty boys from Camden appropriately dressed for this Egyptian pastiche straight in at no. 14. It was actually the lead track from their Work Rest and Play EP, a compliment to their debut album One Step Beyond (which featured 'Cairo') and a stop-gap prior to their new album in the making.

Barbara Dickson - January February
Here's Babs again with one of her best known numbers, doing very nicely thank you at no. 12. In April.

Dexy's Midnight Runners - Geno
Their debut effort didn't do so well chartwise, despite a rousing TOTP performance, although by now word had obviously got round that this lot were a bit good and Geno would become one of those new wave/eighties anthems still renowned to this day. Still bubbling inder the Top 30 but destined to do a lot better. A lot better indeed.

Pretenders - Talk of the Town
Another much anticipated new single after their surprise No. 1 success earlier in the year. Here the lads 'n' lass appear in a Blondie-esque promo-video (for 'tis surely captured on new-fangled videotape rather than film) on an eye-dazzling set. Very Kenny Everett-ish in a way, which is probably what it was made for rather than drab old TOTP. Great track by the way.

Leon Hayward - Don't Push It Don't Force It.
Kid invites us to exercise our eyeballs on this one and sound advice indeed as this week Legs & Co. really are rather phwaor. (Male chauvinist mode on, note the flash of bum in the opening seconds) The skimpy night dress things remind one of Kim Basinger's favourite kitchen get-up in a future 9½ Weeks, and the girls here really show us how silly animal/workman/ballet costumes often get in the way of the enjoyment. So don't force it, keep in simple girls, keep it simple. (Male chauvinist mode off).

UB40 - Food for Thought
This was by now blaring out of the nation's radio sets morning, noon and night as is reflected in its formidable no. 10 spot. Ironically, in a few years, they will not only be appearing on the same show as Chrissie Hynde (albeit virtually) but on the same song even.

The Selecter - Missing Words
Yet another eagerly anticipated follow-up single from these 2-Toners who as usual give an energetic delivery with lost of jumping around on the wobbly TOTP stage. Discrete success for this one although their chart performance was decreasing with each release.

B.A. Robertson - Kool in the Kaftan
Slow chart progress for this Scotsman who seems even more irksome than last time. This kind of 'comedy' single seems to have aged even more poorly than, say, Captain Beaky. Love and peace, man.

The Lambrettas - Poison Ivy
More jerking and jumping about à la Selecter which is quite a relief after "B.A.". The Lambrettas had gone Top 10 with this cover version, although this is as high as they got with it. No matter. They'll be back again soon, I'll wager.

Prima Donna - Love Enough For Two
Well it's April and so it's Eurovision Song Contest time and this is the UK's 1980 entry folks. A fairly banal affair although to their credit it got to third place with cent et six points, pipped to the top spot by Ireland's Johnny Logan (more of him later). The German entry came second, although that year I was of course rooting for synth-poppers Telex from Belgium who naturally came third last.

The Jam - Going Undergound
But enough of this soppy Eurovision malarkey! Let's get back to real English music wot ver kids are interested in. Yes, Weller & Co. hold out at no. 1 for a third week. After which it may have seemed as though The Jam had their moment of glory, but it ain't over yet!

Doctor Hook - Sexy Eyes (play-out)
Thank you Mr Kid Jensen for an ace show by the way - pity we had to end with this but, sadly, it was doing rather well.

See you next week!

TOTP 80.6 07/02/1980

Repeated on BBCFour as from 19.02.2015
Full chart here: Official charts

First Pops of freeezing Feb, and as promised it's new boy Steve Wright doing the duties tonight, and he's even brought his own groupies

pic: @Phleeper

Jefferson Starship - Jane 
Chart rundown only, thank goodness as we really wouldn't like to see this bunch of tired old seventies rockers 'performing' on TOTP thank you very much. This eventually got a tad higher so best not speak too soon.

The Tourists - So Good To Be Back Home Again (46)
And it's good to have you back again too Tourists! This was their follow up to their rendition of  I Only Want to be With You which went massive around Christmas and had only just dropped out of the Top 30. The lead singer - one Ann Lennox - is wearing some very odd headgear, nay, hairgear. Don't think she'll go too far, and nor will that daft looking guitarist in a red suit in the background. Now that bloke singing with Lennox on the other hand, he looks like a real new-wave star.

Cliff Richard - Carrie 
I wasn't looking forward to this but it was a pleasant surprise, and not half as cheesy as I thought. A really good ballad on the back of his We Don't Talk Anymore renaissance, which had also done well "State-side" as Steve Wright might have said. Steve does of course remind us of how young Cliff (né Harry Webb) still looks etc., although it is amazing to think that he'd already been having hit records for over twenty years. Knighthood due, I reckon.

The Whispers - And The Beat Goes On (Legs & Co.)
A proper dance song for Legs rather than prancing around in tight-fitting lycra, dressed up as wild animals and....ehem, moving swiftly onto this week, it's The Whispers! Who? Well apparently this lot had been going round since 1964 (therefore nearly as long as Cliff) and their patience was now paying off with this snazzy little dance number which despite the demise of disco would actually be a smash. Some credit to Legs perhaps?

The Boomtown Rats - Someone's Looking at You
But enough of disco! Back to New Wave and all that with The 'Rats, enjoying their eighth top twenty single and parent album The Fine Art of Surfacing, of  which this was the opening track, also selling truckloads. It's the repeat recording of a couple of weeks ago, starting off with Fingers and his funny little organ and Geldof looking a lot like the Floyd Pinkerton/Pink character he would later play in the movie version of The Wall, the tour for which opened on this very night in LA as a matter of fact. Small world.

The Nolans - I'm in the Mood for Dancing
And just so the Wright-person can use once more the 'Oirish' connection (cringe) it's The Nolans again, this week switching places with Madness but kept off the no. 2 spot by that fat American bloke, grrr. Commendably, this was yet another new performance for the Pops with live singing, although this time the resident orchestra obviously had better things to do. The lead Nolanette seems to be doing a little less twirling too, so perhaps all that dan-cin' and roman-cin' was already taking its toll.

The Chords - Maybe Tomorrow
New name time, and this week it's The Chords from Sarf Landan who are doing their best not to look like The Jam even though they do sound quite a lot like The Jam, or at least they do to these 21st century non-Mod-tuned ears. This was their second stab at 45rpm stardom and they'd hit the Top 40 with this little number this week, but sadly do little else. Shame - they seemed quite good.

The Regents - 7 Teen  
They're back again from their debut a fortnight hence and have edged up to number 11. The audience do seem a tad more enthusiastic, although the band continue to strut and pout much as they did first time around. The lead singer has obviously anticipated the 80s wide shoulder pad fashion, although perhaps they should actually go inside the jacket so as not to show the sticky tape, mate.

Queen - Save Me
Enough of the youngsters, time for a bit of 'classic rock' to keep all the punters happy. As anticipated in last week's closing credits, this had already made it up to no. 20. Nice little promo film here too mixing live performance, some soppy animation and a, er, dove which Freddie just fails to catch hold of (ie. "save") at the end. Hopefully this one didn't hit the back of the net.

The Selecter - Three Minute Hero
Bringing a bit of energy back into the show, it's more of those fun-loving ska kids who are also rocketing up the charts this week. (Interestingly, chart anoraks, they were one place ahead of Queen last week but are now one place behind). Sadly this would not replicate their On My Radio debut, although the soon-to-be-released album Too Much Pressure would establish them as one of the key bands of the genre/era.

AC/DC - Touch Too Much
Despite having become something of a cult (witness the buzz on Twitter recently when folks started realising they would be on tonight) AC/DC failed to set the singles charts alight at the time, with album sales doing considerably better. I'm no fan but I preferred last year's Highway to Hell. A unique TOTP moment nontheless.

The Buggles - The Plastic Age 
But back to the future... Good to see Buggles back on, even though chart progress was slow for Horn and pals with this one from the soon-to-be-released album. A new performance this week, distinguishable from the one of a fortnight ago only by Geoff Downes' rubber, er no sorry, plastic gloves. The hugely underestimated Plastic Age eventually made the Top 20 although whether we'll see them again on the Pops remains to be seen.

The Specials - Too Much Too Young
Second week at no. 1 for Coventry's finest even though this, the third showing of the live promo film, gets rather short shrift from TOTP makers tonight. Whether that was an excuse for not having to broadcast too many taboo lyrics to the nation or a punishment for not coming to the TOTP studio is anyone's guess. Their days at the top spot were numbered, but they'll be back, mark my words. Try wearing a CAP!


Joe Jackson - Different for Girls (closing credits)
Joe was stable at no. 5 and obviously not worthy of another studio appearance/repeat. Only The Nolans could carry that off.

Well that's all for this week and, sadly, there'll be no Pops on BBC Four next week so you'll have to wait until 5th March for the next show, chums. But do stay tuned for more 1980 music 'n' fun in the meantime.

TOTP 80.5 31/01/1980

Repeat shown on BBCFour  from: 12.02.2015

Hello everyone: a bit late with the Pops commentary this week, due to a strange mix of mourning Steve Strange and Valentine's Day celebrations. But here we are with the last TOTP of January '80, and it's Dave 'Kid' Jensen's turn again, this time with a 'sensible' jacket (as worn by Simon Bates) with short collar worn in a definite seventies style. What happened to the eighties, Kid?

The Selecter - Three Minute Hero (chart run-down)
Not sure if the 'colourful' chart run-down quip refers to the garish (eighties?) colour scheme used in the graphics or indeed The Selecter themselves, whose new song is in at no. 29. Thirty-second heroes only this week though I'm afraid.

The Revillos - Motor Bike Beat
OK, here's the 'novelty' one to get the ball rolling, with yet more 'colorful' on-stage japes by Edinburgh post-punks Revillos, previously known as (the) Rezillos who'd had a hit single ironically entitled "Top of the Pops". Confused? Well so is this performance which seems to have numerous band members jumping around all over the place, even finding space for a, er, motor-bike of course.

Kenny Rogers - Coward of the County
Oh dear. This really was the sorry state of American music at the moment, but one which of course was still finding its way over here too, probably receiving ueber-playing by Radio 2 'disc-jockeys' throughout the day. Now we know what Father Christmas does when he's not being Father Christmas. Like Margaret Thatcher, this was already at no. 10.

Azymuth - Jazz Carnival 
Oh dear (2). Lithe young women dressed in tight fitting animal 'costumes', locked in cages. Hmm. What's worse, they've got 'Kid' donning an explorer's type hard-hat in order to give us a David Attenborough-like description of each 'animal'. Quite what this has to do with a "jazz carnival" is somewhat beyond us. The dance routine is equally as embarrassing. Better move one

John Foxx - Underpass
From the ridiculous to the sublime. It's hard for me to give any kind of objective description of John Foxx's (né Dennis Leigh) first TOTP appearance as it was one of those jaw-dropping, life-changing moments that would change me, and my tastes in music, forever. This was Foxx's first solo single, and indeed the first all-out electronic track, even though as Kid rightly points out he'd been dabbling for the genre for some time. TOTP cameras must have been a bit lost here as there's no drum kit, no guitars to (wrongly) zoom in on at opportune moments: even Gary Numan had brought along a drummer and a bass guitarist. Foxx was accused of imitating Numan, which is ironic as it was Foxx with his former band Ultravox! who had inspired a young Gary to make his own music in the first place. However, unlike Numan, Foxx failed to hit the number 1 spot with this fabulously gloomy track about "standing in the dark", "lifting the receiver", "world war-something" and so on, done solely with synthesisers and drum machines. But history has proved him right and this song and parent album Metamatic have since been revered, revisited and re-purposed in the new world of electronica. Click, click, drone...


Madness - My Girl
But enough gloom and doom! Let's get the Nutty Boys back in again, albeit in the third showing of this eighties-opening studio performance of almost a month ago, making Madness and indeed this performance the most featured to date. They were stable at no. 3.


The Shadows - Riders in the Sky
Oh dear (3). After John Foxx's static synths, the cameramen must have been glad to have had some guitars and a drum-kit to zoom in on at last, although this time no lead-singer, and so we have to make do with Hank Marvin's unique facial gestures for entertainment. To their credit these guys had been having hits since before The Beatles even knew how to play chords, although with this one you get the feeling their time was already up, notwithstanding the inclusion of four (count 'em) disco-effect syndrums to the drum kit. Next!


Rupert Holmes - Escape (Pina Colada Song)
Oh no, it's this again, and to add to the boredom it's a repeat from a couple of weeks ago. Somebody had obviously decided this needed some kind of 'boost' as it was already flailing as a non-mover at no. 27. Somehow this showing managed to get him and his bloomin' pina colada up a few more places.


Ramones - Baby I Love You 
Ooo! Who's this? Ramones? Aren't they American punk-rockers? But is this The Ramones who 'spearheaded' (sic.) punk in the USA from about 1976 onwards? But what's this? Doing a sloppy love song with the TOTP in-house orchestra (average age 60)? It's all very confusing but then again The Ramones never were going to do things normally. They would in fact wipe the board with this one and get to Top 10.


Jon & Vangelis - I Hear You Now
Better tone things down a bit and get one of those new fangled 'videos' in, with loads of special effects in to keep folks interested. I always really liked this song but the video is a tad embarrassing (perhaps even more than Legs' animal thing) and ages it terribly, as in fact most videos are wont to do. Hovering around the lower reaches of the Top 20, the record buying public heard them and gave Jon & Vang a wee boost.


Billy Ocean - Are You Ready
Um, for what exactly? Billy was already a household name, having had a few hits in the late seventies (including the ambivalent Red Light Spells Danger) although despite this one sounding a bit like what one Michael Jackson would be doing a couple of years hence, it bombed. Ocean would do better in the wide shoulder pad years.


New Musik - Living by Numbers
More, er, new (wave) music even though it's another repeat from a couple of weeks ago when they opened the show as the 'novelty' act. Speaking of numbers they'd now reached no. 20 and this repeat showing would edge them a little closer to the Top 10. (I've since checked out their album From A to Z which is/was actually quite good).


Keith Mitchell - Captain Beaky and his Band
In which bespoke Shakespearean actor recites children's poetry about animals over spritely orchestral musical arrangements whilst wearing 'sailor' cap and outfit. And gets to no. 5 in the charts. This could only happen in England, and it did. We have people Tony Blackburn and Noel Edmonds to thank for this.

Before the no. 1, 'Kid' introduces us to new boy Steve Wright who is obviously very shy, if rather more 'trendily' dressed, and gets to introduce....

The Specials - Too Much Too Young
And it's a new number 1, shooting up from last week's no. 15 whence it had already appeared from nowhere. Again, it's the live filmed footage as shown last week, although there's some logic to that as it was the lead track of a live EP, featuring four other songs (if we split the 'Skinhead Symphony' into its three respective parts). Despite the subject matter it didn't get banned, although I've a feeling that that final 'try wearing a CAP!' as well as being cut off again on TOTP, suffered a similar fate during what prime time radio play it would have received. Fun fact: first live track to get to no. 1 in the UK since Chuck Berry's My Ding-a-Ling.

Queen - Save Me (play-out)
After the smash hit Crazy Little Thing Called Love expectations were high, and this Brian May-penned number would do them well.

See you next week for the first February '80 Pops! Remember to get your TOTP80 selected video clippage here.