Evening all. Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam with Full Force start #TOTP with "I wonder if I take you home".
In a balanced programme tonight, Lisa Lisa represents the Junior Anti-Sex League. "It's an easy song to relate to, for females. Sexually, we've been put on the spot all our lives. And what with teenage pregnancy on the rise, there are more young girls wondering, 'Should I do it?' They're starting to think twice before they jump in."
Though we didn't know it at the time, this was the way of the future: a sparse hip-hop beat, a woman's siren vocals cutting through to sing-slash-rap the performance. Betty Boo is watching and taking notes.
The closest contemporary comparison at the time - Five Star, and Lisa Lisa (and the two backing dancers) has more star power than the Pearson quintet.
The Cars found renewed interest in "Drive" after it was used as the soundtrack to some harrowing images from Africa during Live Aid last month.
The song had been a top ten hit last autumn, and we see the same video tonight; the #TOTP producers would later say they got this wrong and should have used the Live Aid footage.
From the sublime to the studio: Baltimora with "Tarzan boy". It's this year's Euro-disco-summer-smash-hold-a-chicken-in-the-air hit, based around nothing more than Tarzan's yodel.
The performance is mostly close ups of Mr. Baltimora, wearing a tan shirt and trousers. Behind him are a scantily-clad woman and a gorilla having a very good time.
Baltimora were frontman Jimmy McShane, with vocals by producer Maurizio Bassi. Jimmy previously worked with Dee D Jackson: was he the man in the robot suit here?
https://yewtu.be/watch?v=dzKV1BIrjH4
This is a professional performance of a very adequate song. It's the sort to make sense after a few too many bevvies - though unlike Spagna two weeks ago, it doesn't sound so great in the morning.
Breakers! Turns out they're the week's three new entries.
Dan Hartman with "I can dream about you", watching himself on TV while serving in a bar.
He'll be in the studio next week with his Song For Europe entry, as turned down by Hall & Oates.
https://yewtu.be/watch?v=N7cMs0eqNBQ
Mai Tai in a mirrored nightclub to perform the thoroughly ace "Body and soul".
They'll also be in the studio next week, proving
a) that you can get sex-positive records into the top ten
b) Dutch Caribbean music is awesome
c) the top ten is better with singers called Jetty, Caroline, and Mildred.
Marc Almond's solo debut "Stories of Johnny", a bucolic dream counterposed with mundane reality.
Marc ... didn't make it to the studio. Here's the full video.
Kate Bush performs "Running up that hill", with a six-piece backing band. Crammed into a small stage, added visual menace.
Two standalone drummers, a keytar, two guitars, and a lute. Bathed in pink-purple light, the band stand rooted on the spot until everyone - Kate and the band - steps forward in unison. They're coming at us!
Staging? On #TOTP? Nobody else gets away with that!
It's all very atmospheric and mean and moody. Future number one, for sure.
"Say I'm your number one" by Princess. Earlier this week, Xander Armstrong on Pointless showed that nobody remembered this song. Look at what you're missing!
Great costume. Red hat, black jacket, "1" badge and "1" ear-rings.
Superb song. A soulful midtempo tune, with the chorus in that eastern European minor key pleading. Princess looks mean 'n' moody, and commands the stage when it's needed.
Rest of the top ten on video: Eurythmics, Billy Idol, Tina Turner, Dire Straits, The Cars, Kate Bush, Madonna, then a climb for UB40 and Chrissie Hynde. More from one of these later.
Madonna is still number one, the same video for "Into the groove" we've seen for five weeks now. Still fresh, still sounded absolutely amazeballs on Laser 558.
Dance out is Amazulu's wonderful summer smash "Excitable". The bank holiday weekend starts here, especially for the gang of four on the podium.
Here's how Annie and the gang appeared two weeks earlier.
https://yewtu.be/watch?v=YoGiMDA0sAU
That first Mystery Year was 1985, presented by Lord Gary Davies of Wooton and Baron Steve Wright. Stay tuned for another Mystery Year after a word from the continuity announcer.
We begin with "Cold cold heart" by Midge Ure.
Last solo hit for the Ultravox singer, with a pennywhistle refrain that will get stuck in your brain all weekend. (Hey, it might dislodge "Tarzan boy".)
Midge does his bit to address the problem of unemployment by hiring three drummers. Norman Lamont will be pleased.
On video, "Charly" by The Prodigy. Squawks of Charly provided by former #TOTP host Kenny Everett.
Spawned a whole host of rave choons based on kids tv: Trumpton, Sesame Street, Roobarb, the Banana Splits, and many many more!
"Sunshine on a rainy day" comes from Zoe. Had to release this a couple of times to become a hit, and one may prefer the original mix.
Co-written by Youth from Killing Joke, whom Zoe was dating at the time; she'd later wed rock 'n' roll poet Murray Lachlan Young.
But smell the patchouli oil! Groove to the neo-hippie chant. For a certain subset of people, this sort of song was catnip in ways we didn't fully understand at the time.
"What can you do for me" asked the Utah Saints. Sampling "There must be an angel", the The Eurythmics hit from about fifteen minutes ago.
Great song, can never watch the video without feeling queasy.
Our group declare to be true