Evening all
"Bingo" - Catch
Remembered - if at all - for being faded out by ITV on the morning of 31 August for a newsflash.
And that's unfair: they're pioneering the pop-punk space later occupied by The Dum Dums and Point Break to modest success, and then by Busted and McFly and Avril Lavigne to great success.
Lead singer Toby went on to be an events promoter; he died in 2021.
"Raincloud" - Lighthouse Family
[remembers that the washing's still on the line]
Sorry, did I miss anything?
"Love me and leave me" - The Seahorses
Presenters in shot during the performance. That's never going to end well.
"Ooh la la" - Coolio
Not a tribute to Pepe Le Pew.
"The way I feel" - Roachford
Crumbles, that's a big and scary backdrop. Especially with the way the eyes follow you around the studio.
"Angel of mine" - Eternal
A greatest hits compilation is often the beginning of the end for a pop group, and Eternal are no exception.
"Angel of mine" is a sweet and sultry love song, the sort Eternal could do in their sleep. Covered by Monica the following year, went to the top on the Billboard charts.
After this, Kelle left, the Bennett sisters continued as a two-piece and were never as good.
"As long as you love me" - Backstreet Boys
Ooh, that's a shaky vocal from Blond Backstreet. Indeed, dodgy vocals from them all, and Curly Backstreet can't find the camera to save his life.
Perhaps the lads should give up their job in the Daz factory.
Take the doorstep challenge!
Would you swap one box of Daz for two boxes of your old #TOTP ?
"Something about the way you look tonight" - Elton John
In another universe, this would have been the lead single from his album, released on 8 September (week of "Sunchyme" and "Stand by me").
It had had good radio play, Elton was riding the success of "The Lion King."
Would probably have gone top ten for a week. Certainly played on Radio 2 and Heart FM till Christmas, and the album would have been big.
And then they interrupted Catch...
"I want you back" - Bananarama
Jacquie makes her #TOTP debut, having replaced Siobhan in the line up.
The usual Bananarama knockabout stuff, energetic armology, lots of backing dancers to take away from the fact that the 'nanas cannot sing and can't really mime either. New handheld cameras get right close and personal with Sara.
Hosts are Steve Wright and Bruno Brookes, dressed in white like they're meeting Eternal after the show.
"Pink Cadillac" - Natalie Cole
Interesting use of colour here, to bring out the titular car, and the temptation offered by a car full of girls. Natalie makes no effort to genderflip Bruce Springsteen's lyric.
It's a Bruce Springsteen album track and is as dull as that sounds, and gives little range for Natalie's voice or expression. She will do better - but not on this show.
"Love changes (everything)" - Climie Fisher
For a two-man band, they've got a lot of people on stage - Climie and Fisher, two backing dancers in puffball skirts, a keyboardist and a drummer.
Watch how the singer emotes down the camera, and it repays him by ... going off with the backing singers. Bit like the song, the sort of thing yuppies would serenade their conquests, only to be rebuffed when she walks off with Dave from accounts.
Breakers! Def Leppard have concert footage for "Armageddon it". A lighter and less satisfying version of "Pour some sugar on me"...
People dancing to "Theme from S-Express" by S-Express, another of those house tunes with release dates delayed to build up demand. They'll be in the house next week...
T'Pau have a minor hit with "Sex talk (live)", inevitably with concert footage.
The group's local station, Beacon Radio, tried to ban this track from airplay, programme director Pete Wagstaff claimed it was corrupting and bad for children.
He could have honestly said that he's not playlisting it because there are better songs around at the moment, the excuse Radio 1 gave...
Jermaine Stewart finishes the Breakers with "Get lucky", Jermaine gives around a street scene while his woman (!) preens herself, and someone tosses a coin to impress a schoolgirl.
He'll also drop in next week.
"Just a mirage" - Jellybean and Adele Bertai
We get a close-up of Jellybean first of all, keyboard whizz with a computer monitor, big hat, and goofy grin.
Adele Bertai has a stentorian voice, bowl haircut, bags of attitude - like Suzanne Vega, she's been around New York's scenes since the late 70s.
This gives me Adamski-and-Seal vibes: hot dance tune, vocalist who is worth every penny, and a keyboardist-composer aware he's being upstaged.
"Girlfriend" - Pebbles
It's spiky, stuttery R&B, with an winding insistent groove. Lovely call-and-response section near the end. Very much of its time,
Visually coherent, too. Off-the-shoulder purple dress that would get her into any goth club, and moody lighting - Pebbles keeps appearing in near-shadow.
One and only hit for her, even fewer than her cousin Cherelle. We'll meet writer and producer Babyface a lot. Yuk-yuk!
"Heart" - Pet Shop Boys
Chris is in a sailor's cap and blue anorak, and got plenty of spinny camerawork during the instrumental introduction (except they've cut it this week). Neil is in black, as usual, stands stock still, as usual.
Imperial phase Pet Shop Boys, and I think this is the finest song from the album.
Our group declare to be true