The Rolling "Top of the Pops" BBC4 Revival thread.

first song tonight is a CHILD abuse joke begging to be made.

> 'Automatic Lover' was so ridiculous

b-but the robot is doing The Robot

o_O at Ferry's VU cover.

And I can't tell if it's late 70s video effects or my PC's video card glitching.

i have never heard that ferry cover. or the thing over the end credits.

When that Ferry single came out, I had not heard any VU beyond "Waiting for the man"

Since getting into the VU, I have not heard Ferry's version..

Should be interesting...

dayglo is a bona fide classic, especially the treatment that totp gave it with the solarisation etc.

took two listens to realise that elkie brooks was a cover of the neil young song.

the long version had 'nice and sleazy' on it.

Darts appear to have been on every TOTP of 1978.

... or it just feels that way... and will we ever be rid of Brotherhood of Man?

Wasn't that their last hit single? If so, then soon.

that Izhar Cohen that comes up during the countdown was the israeli eurovision winner that year. but i can't recall it at all. A-Ba-Ni-Bi...

A real mixed bag this week.

"Cilla Black always makes great records, but this one I think is an exception."

my mind has also blanked out rod stewart's world cup song, thankfully.

Rod's effort was terrible, but Scotland's WC song for 1982 was by The Krankies.

"this is a song with a nice refrain"

so we'll sing it once again
and again
and again
and again
until it pops into your mind unbidden at random yet inconvenient moments for the next 35 years and counting

yes we smurf in a water tap
WHAT THE FUCK DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?!?!?!?!?!?!

The guy in the audience with the England hat needs a slap.

I wonder if Whitesnake and Bob Marley and the Brotherhood of Man exchanged 'Props' in the green room...

that Izhar Cohen that comes up during the countdown was the israeli eurovision winner that year. but i can't recall it at all. A-Ba-Ni-Bi...

Or as it was known in Glasgow, "Ah wannae be a polar bear"

my mind has also blanked out rod stewart's world cup song, thankfully.

I was singing it only last week!

Literally every time I watch this brotherhood of man are in the top 5.

Only one more appearance this year to come, in august, until the christmas episode.

Can't wait.

Hray, Buzzcocks

Or at least until the razor cuts Peter Powell comes on with his creepy 'budget Sting at Primark' look.

David 'crepe' Jensen: "The great thing about tonight's show is how many girls are on it!"

Ray Parker Jr.'s guitar doubles as a snow shovel.

heavy on legs and co this week.

Nobody worth a squirt of piss wants to go on it, that's why.

Forever Autumn seemed like it was 6 minutes long, and it's not the first time it's been on

Oh, I thought it was "Sky at night" week..

Apart from Raydio you haven't missed anything.

it's wednesday, that's probably why.

it's repeated tonight and maybe saturday. and on iplayer.

oh yeah!

Right, will have a word wit' tivo.

A bland cover of 'It's Only Make Believe'. Totally not an attempt to ride on the coat-tails of 'Grease's success, oh no...

Nah, that would suggest a thought process 'in the moment' which is not evident

I guess Lloyd-Webber and Rice couldn't get Ringo Starr so they had to settle for David Essex...

More like Che Whatever.

hadn't seen that clip of gordon dancing with legs and co before. noticed he'd also amended his t-shirt...

Tony Blackburn confused by all these Hong Kong Gardens and Dreadlock Holidays.

I'm intrigued by the breaks in transmission. Are we missing J P$£l episodes?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/totp2/trivia/presenters/list2.shtml

am not sure where we are...

August 3, 1978 - Dave Lee Travis
August 10, 1978 - Peter Powell
August 17, 1978 - Noel Edmonds
August 24, 1978 - David Jensen
August 31, 1978 - Tony Blackburn
September 7, 1978 - Peter Powell
September 14, 1978 - Jimmy Saville
September 21, 1978 - Paul Burnett
September 28, 1978 - Dave Lee Travis

peel is much later iirc (feb '82)

also, some breaks may just be due to missing recordings.

(wednesday's was 31/08)

Apologies for the easy google opportunities I missed there.

Right, I assumed JP was around earlier than he may have been. It seems the beeb is trying to keep the broadcasts in the original week of each particular year.

(he'd done some of the earlier shows but there was a hiatus...)

1977: The Year Doo-Wop Broke.

(wait, it's 1978. still, with all the showaddywaddy, darts and grease stuff in the charts... 4 things in top 10 from grease.)