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

Maybe it's because of the missing Mike Smith episodes. Maybe it's the increasing familiarity of the songs - I was watching TOTP every week at this point. There are a lot of high points from '84/'85 that I remember - there are some real classic number 1s coming in the next few weeks that still stand up today. But also it was a time where there wasn't much new happening - the influences of rap/hip-hop/dance music weren't really in the mainstream yet. A lot of the acts that came up in the early 80s were still around and there was not that many people coming up behind them. We're in the lull just before the late 80s really kicks in. For me the real turning point was the first Pet Shop Boys' number 1 at the beginning of 1986. Towards the end of '85 I was getting a bit bored with music, but that record in particular really got me back into music in a big way.

> the influences of rap/hip-hop/dance music weren't really in the mainstream yet

the break dance thing at the start of this week's episode was part of the rot for me, cash-in stuff, like all the landfill disco from the tail end of that.

PSB are part of the problem for me, not part of the solution.

17/05/1984
With Break Machine, Deniece Williams, Marillion, Hazell Dean, Womack & Womack and Ultravox

10/05/1984
With Queen, The Flying Pickets, Terri Wells, The Pointer Sisters and Duran Duran.

03/05/1984
With Blancmange, New Order, Kenny Loggins, Jocelyn Brown, Human League and Duran Duran.

26/04/1984
With Duran Duran, Echo & the Bunnymen, The Flying Pickets and Lionel Richie.

19/04/1984
With Blancmange, Queen, Nik Kershaw, Lionel Richie and Kool and the Gang.

the bunnymen are the only thing out of those that i'd cross the road for (blancmange and human league also, maybe)

Watched the one with the three-piece Bunnymen doing "Seven Seas" in those fish / penguin costumes last night (this one:)

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VGF1mtZ1iVg

Tiny detail I found diverting: there are two fellows down the front with the wave effects - the one on the left I think is Bill Drummond, and both of them are wearing t-shirts which read "FRANKIE SAYS WHERE'S LES?"

youtube comments say:

"He refused to do the show cause it was not live (lip sync)"

I was just watching that Bunnymen perf earlier. I'm not sure if its embarrassing or brilliant.

I'm leaning towards embarrassing

Always loved that song though.

Great song

I remember Lenny Henry's parody of this Prince video but the original is pretty lols-y as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zmSn8tnJtA

Fuck me, that Elton John song was awful.

From past his prime Elton to past his prime Rod. Christ.

I liked it as a kid, and it's not bad bad, it's just Bernie and Elton being lazy.
Also Spandau Ballet looking like massive wankers at this point.

Finally, some quality!

And again, childe snoball thought this Rod song was catchy, but it's shit-awful lazy songwriting on the verses and a half-arsed vocal performance.

Those of-the-moment fx in the video of that Rod song, though!

I'm glad that at least 'Careless Whisper' was on this episode, though... if they'd 'Agadoo' instead it would have been fairly lousy from start to finish.

*played

Then again, it wasn't particularly a great chart that week... Okay, so Prince was in there, and Grandmaster Flash and the two Frankie singles which were all great, David Sylvian surprisingly in there but that track was never gonna get played, and Tears For Fears' 'Mothers Talk' one of their lesser singles... most of that chart was terrible, though.

'84-'85 were odd years - there were some great singles and some terrible dross, and not much in between. George Michael replacing Black Lace at Number 1 is a jarring flip from one extreme to the other.

It's not like 1984 and 1985 were short of great music... 1984 probably moreso than 1985, you wouldn't have thought it watching that, though!

The transition from 1980-1981 to 1984-1985 both musically and aesthetically has always fascinated me, though... reading through the Smash Hits archive, you can feel things change with Duran Duran's mega success, then Frankie, then Live Aid happens and by 1986 the whole feel of the decade has changed entirely.

haha Passenger what a wretched racket. DL called it one of the worst songs of the 80s in the Elton track-by-track thread.

Well, "Deny the passenger, who want to get on" is a potentially good lyric, but hmmm where it went.

Okay, here we go...

Actually, this Bucks Fizz doesn't have a bad riff - interesting mining on the guitar going on there, tho...

*miming, I mean.

Although we are in '84, so...

FFS. Spandau again? I mean, this is one of their better songs (IMO) but it wasn't a big hit. The riff in the verse is essentially Japan's 'Quiet Life' slowed down, too.

Ooh... Heaven 17 and Kraftwerk are in this week...

and what do they show? Level fucking 42.

The young David Miliband on keyboards, there.

The only Level 42 song that I can sort-of stand.

lol Alphaville

The sight of Mark King jumping up and down while his thumb is going ten to the dozen on a bass that's worn chest-height is just cringe.

John Peel: "Agadoo. What a gem." - loooooooooooool

Yeah even with their most tolerable song they still look terrible.
Liked 'Big In Japan' but never could make out most of the lyrics. Reading them now they're bobbins. And the singer looks like Simon Amstell.

Also I will never know how the fuck Black Lace ever became popular. I can only guess that the 'pissed up Brits on holiday' demographic is far larger than I thought.

"Agadoo. What a gem."

Oh I'm watching the stream and it's ~20 seconds behind.

Noel Edmonds: "Watch out for the flying bit of toast in Stevie's video!" he said to no audience applause or reaction whatsoever.

Okay, not Stevie Wonder's finest moment, but it coulda been so much worse... and 'I'll Fly For You' was really Top 10? I seem to remember it being somewhat of a relative flop for Spandau... huh.

Oh wait that's a different version of the video. Also Stevie Wonder's laziest hit is still miles ahead of everything else this episode.

Oh great, Tory bellend Bruno Brookes followed by that fucking Elton John track again - what a combo.

Also the multiple key change is like *ugh*. Come on, Stevie "I wrote the 'Superstition' riff btw" Wonder sinks to this? Although it shows how great he is that his lows still beat most people's highs.

Also I will never know how the fuck Black Lace ever became popular. I can only guess that the 'pissed up Brits on holiday' demographic is far larger than I thought.

― Zings Can Only Get Better (snoball), Friday, October 6, 2017 6:52 PM (three minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

At least there's 'The Chicken Song' to look forward to when the inevitable backlash happens... didn't one half of Black Lace end up joining Smokie in a bid to be taken seriously?

That'll be the Smokie of "Who the fuck is Alice" infamy..

I did buy "Agadoo" on 45. I was 7 tbf

Oh god, I hated Careless Whisper at the time. Too adult, too slow. I've revised that opinion now of course

xxpost:

Well, it clearly didn't have the desired effect!

Did we work out why Pete Wylie was dressed like Dave Vanian that one time?

This is my favourite podcast at the moment. Various ex-Melody Maker journos dissect a random episode of TOTP. Its hilarious

https://chartmusiccouk.wordpress.com/

yeah he joined Smokie then died in a tour bus crash in the mid 90s.

speaking of the 'pissed up Brits on holiday' demographic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMGNiAD-tMA

Did I mention I bought their first single?

Bohemian Rhapsody.