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

Seems you cannot post on FT without logging in at the moment (saw your note now, ta)

I think "Gimme Some" by Brendon represents an absolute nadir. Esp. when appearing with "Have I the Right?" by the Dead End Kids. I'm considering deleting this from the planner. It's too depressing.

chin up, you made it through Paul Nicholas, nothings as bad as that
this afternoons Counterpoint had a specialist round about TOTP, test yr knowledge here
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01gvlfp/Counterpoint_Series_26_Episode_2/

EDDIE & THE HOT RODS!!!

I find myself fast forwarding through the acts just so that I can enjoy Tony Blackburn's wit all the more easily.

He was the only one moving during Legs and Co's Stevie Wonder routine, probably because he knew he was going to have his way with one or more of them after the show. Their dancing was rubbish.

I've decided the reason the singer of the Dead End kids gives me such fear is his resemblance to the Sruwwelpeter.

Thinking about "Sound & Vision" made me really notice the musical similarities between "Knowing Me Knowing You" and some of the tracks on Low.

"Salisbury Hill" over the end credits the best thing on the show.

A double bill tonight, with a 1974 ep of Blue Peter in the middle.

what the what? have never heard this first track before. is kinda dreadful. "Contempt"?

The band was called Contempt, the song was called 'Money Is A Girl's Best Friend'. Never heard of them either, but I liked it.

I saw it was coming up so looked it up. Martin Rushent produced it, that's all I found out.

Don't remember it, will check it on the repeat

Right, I have seen it now. Godawful!

Once the 'bank-manager' got out of the way, you can see a bunch of young rock guys backing the wrong horse, basically.

that they are german was the only other thing that discogs threw up. reminded me of Sailor. it's actually a good name wasted.

'77 not any better than '76 so far. Possibly worse. Joy Sarney?

Actually, these two shows had a hell of a lot of stuff that didn't make the charts at all!

I regret missing Uriah Heep! That's how bad it was!

I missed the Bay Cities! thbiw.

I popped out to get Amber who was getting back from a school theatre trip. Back just-in-time to see Joy Sarney.

Amber was "I've seen enough" and went to bed.

BCR song was cack, like they were trying to be all grown up and adult

"Its A Game", who did that originally? That one was alright..

"String Driven Thing", there you go.

You know, I thought I knew the song too, not suited to them

Caught the end of this. What a dreary bunch of songs. I was ready to top myself after that. Even ABBA in that context came off as utterly joyless.

I like the idea of this much more than the reality. By this stage of 1977 I was still not quite 4 years old so there's hardly been anything I can honestly say I remember. By 1979 (if we get that far) I should know much more, but the quality so far has been so desperately poor that I wonder if things actually do improve later on, or if TOTP was always rubbish and my memory has just filtered out 90% of what was on there.

It's always been largely rubbish. Last night's shows were crap in 1977 (when I was 13, and therefore remember things all too well) and they're still crap now.

I've been compiling/saving the 'new-wave' entries onto DVD from the off, so far there's not been many.

I did miss Eddie/Hotrods "I might be lying", but then it wasn't as good as I remembered.

Anyway, I was going through some stuff in the loft and I found two 'archive' DVDs I bought at a record fair, clearly copied from someone's original VHS (or were they from UKTV gold? I dunno), quality pretty ropey. But there was a lot of tracks on them.

So, I should end up with much the same as these, just better quality.

Pitiful follow ups by Barry Biggs and Mr Big. That "Promises promises" by Rags I remember liking from the day (I was eight). And great to hear "Shuffle" by Van McCoy, which was used by R1 all the time (can't remember who played it though) And then Legs And Co dance to "Hotel California", my most hated song of all time.

The Bay City Rollers song reminded me of Pulp, for some reason.

I like to think that somewhere there is an ex-member of Rags/Brendon/Contempt happily watching with their (grand)children. It's the only way to get through the show.

The bass player of Brendon has been posting his happy recollections on some other part of the ternet.

Pick of the Pops did the Top 20 from this week in '77 on Saturday*. Apart from Rod @ #1 it was all bloody brilliant. Reinforced Mark's point upthread that TOTP was often forced to look beyond the 20, 30 or even top 40 for material. I guess there was little hope of getting Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder (each doing well with one of their best singles) on the show.

*getting it out of the way before the Pistols turn up?

Funny how guys like Marvin and Stevie readily turned up on Soul Train.

After half an hour of ZZZZZZZZZZZs it's DOCTOR FEELGOOD

saville's hair
m'na, m'na... (half of dancers really nonplussed by it all)

Not one, but two 'oh just move around a bit' piss-poor Legs & Co routines.

odd hearing that song about the doors only months after the original

oh, it was a wig. i missed the setup.

That had to be the worst Legs & Co routine - dancing to 'Disco Inferno' while wearing bikinis made from hubcaps, overlaid with a light pattern like you get after you get blinded by a lightbulb.

And of course, The Jam
Kid Jensen: "That was called New Wave! Don't be scared!"

(fucking search and "s)

> bikinis made from hubcaps

they were 7" singles, painted silver and with tassles. = DISCO INFERNO.

liked the suzi song.

Blue - dirty white piano, repetitive song

STRANGLERS

LIVERPOOL FUCKING BIGGER THAN THE BEATLES EXPRESS

Stranglers were a surprise, but I knew the Ramones was too much to hope for

Watched a bit of last night's show as I couldn't stand any more of Alan Shearer interrupting people on BBC1. Looked entertaining - not any good of course, just entertaining - saw end of Gladys Knight + the Pips, Neil Innes (doing an embarrassing song in celebration of the Silver Jubilee), Stranglers ("Go Buddy Go", which has a blatant reference to taking speed, how did that escape the censors?!?!), Demis R. + some all-white funk band called... Honky!

"Hope you had a great Jubilee; to keep us in the holiday mood, here's the Electric Light Orchestra with 'Telephone Line'" - Tony Blackburn.

I had no memories at all of Neil Innes' Jubilee cash-in single. I'm guessing it dropped out of the charts pretty quickly.

You guess wrong, the record never troubled the charts.

And if you thought that the Neil Innes track was bad, cop a load of this: http://lordofthebootsale.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/elizabeth-god-save-sex-pistols.html

Oh, is that the Jonathan King one? Heard about it, never heard it.

Actually, track down "Anarchy Rock" a bside from The Weathermen (i.e. himself), a better 'take-off' even though it's from 1971.

suck it John Miles!

double suicide, cheery...

The way break in that Smokie track rips off the verse of The Beatles' 'Baby You're A Rich Man' wholesale.

xp oh right, you're referring to Bro'hood 'o Man's 'Fernando Angelo'

'they took their lives that night' tucked in there mid-chorus.

rah band were a bit o_O. looked and sounded like something on Mute.