Evening all! What'd we miss?
"One for sorrow" - Steps
"Perfect ten" - Beautiful South
Could be worse.
"The way" - Fastball
Inspired by the tragic tale of an elderly couple from Salado, Texas who left home to attend a festival twenty minutes away - but they got hopelessly lost, and their car fell into a ravine where they lay undiscovered for a fortnight.
"From rush hour with love" - Republica
Saffron and her Sleeperblokes had a final brush with fame. Perhaps not showing enough musical progression from "Ready to go" and "Drop dead gorgeous", Steve Lurpack was *very* sniffy about this single.
Their record label was Deconstruction Records, which folded shortly after releasing album "Speed Ballads", scuppering their chances of great success. Sent down Ver Dumper by fate.
"Adia" - Sarah McLachlan
The breakthrough hit for the Halifax singer-songwriter and Lilith Fair pioneer.
On the flip side of this single is "Angel", the weepy ballad covered by every X Factor singer ever (and by Westlife), and they're probably playing on Mellow Magic right now.
Sarah's continued to make great music, and new album "Better Broken" came out a few months ago. Recommended.
"Jesus says" - Ash
Another act still worth our while, though don't think this is their finest three minutes. I really need to dig out Intergalactic Sonic 7s, haven't played their hits in far too long.
"To the moon and back" - Savage Garden
Heard this too much to really love it. Give us a few years of not hearing a song, listen with fresh ears.
"Rollercoaster" - B*Witched
B*Witched made pop music for tweens, the kids who would spend their pocket money on a bag of sweets and a CD single and they dance around their room all weekend on the sugar rush.
B*Witched also made great pop music, with enough in it to entertain parents.
A quarter of a century later, both generations get the glow of nostalgia when we hear crackers like this one.
This pair of episodes comes from the fortnight when Costa Rica was praised for lowering infant mortality, John Hume and David Trimble shared the Nobel peace prize. Matthew Shepard was killed by gaybashers, and footballer Trent Alexander-Arnold was born.
Jayne Middlemiss hosted the first episode, the second will run without a presenter.
"Cruel summer" - Ace of Base
A cover of the Taylor Swift... wait, no.
A cover of the Bananarama song from the early 80s, evidently the group had a "naff cover" quota to fill on every album and this was it.
Darlings, give us something as good as "The sign", or something very left-field. This is banal and redundant to the original.
"Girlfriend" - Ickle Billie Piper
Some tween pop has stood the test of time, and still sounds great today.
Some tween pop worked in its surroundings, but now sounds dated and naff.
Some tween pop was just crap to begin with.
However many Elton John video sets they perform it on. However many groups of six fans they perform to.
C'mon, Doc, you're better than this.
"On a day like today" - Bryan Adams
Allmusic says " ".
"Top of the world" - Brandy & Mase
New Jack Swing eventually evolved into this materialistic rap, Brandy's angst at being successful, and co-opted in favour of the "backing" bloke.
Subsequently copied for "Jenny from the block", only less well and with all the interesting bits rubbed out.
"Stand by me" - 4 The Cause
Very, very strange.
The old Ben E King song, done by a semi-acapella family gospel group. The youngsters - aged between 14 and 17 at the time - had a short career and stopped recording without any further hits.
Managed by the same people as The Moffatts, who we'll (briefly) meet early next year.
The cd single also contained a version of "Papa was a rolling stone". Approach with great caution.
I mean, if this lot called for the crowd to sing along, they'd get everyone hollering along.
"Come back darling" - UB40
"...and i'll make you satisfied," sings Ali Campbell. Mate, there's one thing you can do to make us satisfied.
Taken from the album "Labour of Love Ill", because why bother writing new songs when you can churn out adequate covers of obscurities. It's all a bit predictable, right down to the video in Antigua.
"Rollercoaster" - B*Witched is still number one, and the best thing on the show.
Mystery Years are next!
The next edition of Top of the Pops was first shown in the week when Anwar Sadat said he wanted to pursue peace with Israel.
Harvey Milk was elected mayor of San Francisco, the first gay man to hold such high office. René Goscinny, the creator of Asterix, died; cricketer Ben Hollioake was born.
Zoom lenses at the ready, our host is Little Noely Edmonds.
"Goin' places" - The Jacksons (and charts)
"2-4-6-8 motorway" - Tom Robinson
Tom wears the pink triangle badge, a symbol reclaimed by homosexual men from its abuse by the nazi regime. The rainbow flag 🏳️🌈 had not yet been invented.
Gilbert Baker designed the eight-stripe pennant, at the instigation of new SF mayor Harvey Milk; it first flew in june of [the following year].
"I will" - Ruby Waters
Recorded in the Persoil factory: white dress, white piano, white chair.
"Virginia plain" - Roxy Music
Clip from #TOTP 24 august 1972, which explains why Bryan Ferry only looks middle-aged.
"Belfast" - Boney M
Lots of spangles on the jackets, but we have no idea what the hell the song's about. Or who's singing it.
What the hell *is* this song about?
"Watching the detectives" - Elvis Costello
Elvis does his Buddy Holly impression, with some fabulously huge lens flares.
Song of the ep, surely.
"How deep is your love?" - The Bee Gees
Danced by The TOTP Dancers - did they get a name? Ah, we'll call them Flick of the Wrist. This week, flat caps and waistcoats and sensible trousers, like they're auditioning for Oliver!.
"Captain Kremmen (Retribution)" - Kenny Everett & Mike Vickers
Vying for most incomprehensible song of the night with "Belfast" and "One for sorrow".
Former #TOTP host Kenny is at a knob-and-dial console desk, with shots of people drifting past galaxies.
Captain Kremmen was the host of a syndicated radio show, heard in London and the Black Country and the Solent. We'll see more of him when Everett gets his Video Show on ITV next year.
"She's not there" - Santana
Badly-shot stage performance.
"Love bug / Sweets for my sweet (medley)" - Tina Charles
Tina was the #TOTP house singer this year, like The Dooleys would be a few years later. Quite why she's wearing a dress large enough to cover most of The Dooleys is a mystery lost to time.
When we saw this ep in the last decade, she reminded me of Kelly Clarkson, an everywoman with charisma and talent. Think the comparison stands today.
"Daddy cool / The girl can't help it" - Darts
This week's Showaddywaddy performance, sharp suits and ties from the 50s throwbacks.
"The name of the game" - ABBA
How little of the number one can they possibly show?
"You're in my heart" - Rod Stewart (and credits)
Our first Mystery Year was 1977. Another one comes next.
The final edition of Top of the Pops comes from a very very good week. The East German government resigned and threw their borders open.
"Byker Grove" debuted on our telly, and "A Grand Day Out" introduced Wallace and his dog Gromit.
Laird Nicky Campbell is our host.
"Tell me when the fever ended" - Electribe 101
Billie Ray Martin is the lead singer, she comes dressed in something of a latex catsuit, perhaps hadn't got the memo about Flick of the Wrist. She commands the camera, makes great eye contact and properly smoulders down at us.
The melancholy groove was as welcome on radio as on the coolest dance floor. Only grown better with the passing years.
Song of the night.
"Don't ask me why" - The Eurythmics
Mean and moody, Annie's in a silver dress and ready to kick some arse.
Third best single from the album "We Two Are One", if you ask me.
"Don't know much" - Linda Ronstadt and Aaron Neville
Oh, that's gorgeous cinematography.
Just the two of them, and framed so we're mostly looking into the one singer's face, looking mostly at the other singer.
They chopped most of the second chorus, eliding into the outro, because the closing moments are the best bit, warm and fuzzies all round.
"You got it (the right stuff)" - New Kids on the Block
Smash Hits:
"These under-age pin-ups are big news in America and their live show is reckoned to be their strong point.
"It'd need to be, because this record is so unspeakably dreadful it makes homework seem attractive. The feeble, lead-booted synth-"funk" and tuneless ballads drag on for what seems like weeks, while their "hip", "tough" pose is pathetic.
"The only block they belong on is the chopping block. (2 out of 10)"
New Kids on the Block's management bought them a place on the Smash Hits Poll Winners' Party, which propelled them to this giddy height, up from 77 to 23 in one week.
Although readers insisted that Smash Hits gave NKOTB cover status throughout 1990, the mag's coverage was always with an undertone of "we all know this group thinks they're all that but they're not."
"A new south Wales" - The Alarm featuring the Morriston Orpheus Male Voice Choir
Mike laments the demise of coal mines in south Wales.
'Should have been the Alarm's "Bohemian rhapsody" but unfortunately it will probably be remembered as their "Birdie song",' opined Record Mirror.
The Alarm use emotive language and imagery, waxing nostalgic about the coal industry. Perhaps they're not considering how society don't want to be burning coal for longer than we must. [1/2]
[2/2] Unlike The Alarm, Brother Beyond *are* concerned about the "greenhouse effect", and their eco-friendly hit "Drive on" is a few places down in the charts.
Nathan and the others are earnestly endorsing the green campaign to consume less, use fewer fossil fuels, and certainly waste less oil on 7-inch slices of black plastic engraved with music.
So successful is the 'Yond's message that this is, er, their last week in the top 40.
Breakers! And Why Not? with "Restless days". The funky three-piece have been touring with Transvision Vamp and fellow Brummies UB40, this is a pleasingly memorable toe-tapper of a song.
Quireboys with "7 o'clock", a simple twelve-bar blues song from a band with strong glam images - like Dogs D'Amour or Poison.
"Grand piano" - Mixmaster
A megamixymatosis cut-and-shut medley of dance records, mixed by Daniele Davoli of Black Box.
Sorry, there's nothing interesting to say about this record.
"Rhythm nation" - Janet Jackson
An extra on her own stage.
Janet is one of a cast of uniformed dancers. Seven uniformed guards, identical black clothing, differentiated only in the silver accesories on Janet's lapel. In the many distant shots, she's just one of the crowd.
The choreography is outstanding, Paula Abdul >>> Flick Colby.
The song's underwhelming, Janet's vocal performance is an accessory on the track. Looks great, sounds meh.
"All around the world" - Lisa Stansfield
"We chopped that rabbit's head off!" - Lisa, last sunday.
A kiss curl to draw us in, a fisherman's cap to keep us intrigued, a song with plenty of hooks so we will remember it.
Lisa could melt a snowman at a hundred yards... more on that story next month.
"Golden green" - The Wonder Stuff
Another of their clever-clever tunes with plenty of lyrical wordplay, and all set on a painted backdrop of the western desert.
Anyone got a roadrunner to go "meep meep"?
The second Mystery Year was 1989.
And that's yer lot! The 64-75 compilation follows next, with Jeff Buckley Live in Chicago at 10.20.
Tomorrow on BBC2, it's Simple Minds - but not until 10pm.
I'm not with you next week - off to see Amy MacDonald in concert - but you lucky lot have over three hours of #TOTP to enjoy.
Whatever you're doing this fortnight, have a great one!
Our group declare to be true
Girl about village
Tracey S