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

High watermark for TOTP this week?

tight fit, hadn't that already been and gone?

didn't realise The Model had made it to number 1 in the uk.

both sides of the Town call Malice / Precious number 1. is that unique?

Offhand, I think the next double-a where both tracks appear will be the Wets/Bragg one.

As far as 'two songs from one band', I don't think it happens again until The Ramones' farewell, and the Sex Pistols reunion.

Sorry WTF? Kid Jensen: "Good to see Gary Glitter back on TOTP" o___O
And I don't remember this Madness song. The arrangement saves it, but Suggs sounds like he's sleepwalking through it.

ABBA in 'still not giving a shit about appearing on TOTP' video action.

"oh and btw everyone except Benny and Bjorn hate each other kthxbye"

Missed that Gary Glitter ref, I guess somebody's gonna get some words about that.

Oh wait I just watched it again - Gary Numan not Glitter.

Tsk.

This actually almost happened a couple weeks ago, Kid was all "Hello, hello, its my first show for a year, and its good to be back, and so.... Toyah!"

Oasis did two songs on TOTP in 1996, iirc.

This week's episode should have been 25/2/1982, but was skipped because unperson DLT was the presenter. We lose eight or nine episodes from the rest of 1982 because either DLT or Savile was the presenter. And there are a couple of shows with multiple presenters towards the end of that year where there'll be some noticeably sharp edits.

duel moog keytars on tha numan track. and a tam-o-shanter. obvious swerve into Japan territory in the music and clothes choices.

toni basil was 38 / 39 when Mickey was in the charts. her one-hit pop career probably the least interesting thing about her. had been dancing all her life, pretty much. was in Head and Easy Rider.

i like Cardiac Arrest, apart from the crossword clue lyric. tinkly piano, xylophone, horns.

The lyrics to 'Cardiac Arrest' aren't terrible, but 'House Of Fun' is a far better attempt at that type of song.

it's just that one line about 'like a big american car but misspelt with a d'. makes more sense with a comma in there because 'cadillac' also has a d in it.

the sleeve, iirc, had a crossword grid and some clues on the front.

I wonder if Chas & Dave's "There's No Pleasing You" has ever been played as the first dance at a wedding reception?

I used to know someone who looked like Bryan Ferry, but he wouldn't have been able to pull off this creepy bow tie and leather jacket look.

I'd forgotten how badly Spandau Ballet could dress sometimes. Two of them dressed like Sherlock Holmes is bad enough, but somehow Tony Hadley tops that with the checked shirt/knitted tie combined with brown leather trousers with the waistband pulled right up.

In those days, 'well dressed' = 'wearing a lot of clothes'

Well they certainly nail that 'wearing the whole mens section of the Freeman's catalogue' look.

If a meteorite wiped out Spandau Ballet, would astronomers class that as an Instinction Event?

never ever seen this blondie video before.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7gqErYW0K0

episode was going so well but i've always hated House Of Fun.

I like the premise of the lyrics, it's just the relentless hahahaWACKYdoyousee? way in which they're presented. Which is basically every Madness song ever. It's not like they're smug, which would really make them detestable, just that you can literally see them trying. so. hard. to. be. liked. But to be fair to Madness, that was a common trait in a lot of early 80s pop.

Was it in the studio or the video with the kids?

the video

i had forgotten baggy trousers was earlier and just as bad.

There's a grotesque, slightly sinister edge that elevated them well above other practitioners of the monkey-business malarkey. And they interspersed Baggy Trousers, House of Fun etc with sincere material like Embarrasment, Grey Day, It Must Be Love. The likes of Tenpole Tudor or King Kurt (Stiff Records' attempts to clone Madness) never bothered with any of that. Captain Sensible did though. Which is why I'd rather listen to one of his albums than anything by King Kurt!

you can literally see them trying. so. hard. to. be. liked.

I don't think they really had to try too hard, their early stuff was very likeable.

yeah the trying to be liked thing.. never felt that way about them.

longer version of the kid jenson episode had the first bunnymen appearance on it (back of love), featuring some clown in the audience walking around on stilts...

wonderdog

this weeks episode was flawless - simple minds - "glittering prize", "the message", carly simon - "why", adam ant - "friend or foe". id no problem with "eye of the tiger" at no.1 either

that was friday.

thursday was another story.

I do like the boisterousness of the crowd in this era of TOTP

Re wonderdog, the rumour about who was in the dog costume is true..

https://twitter.com/BBCFOUR/status/801872398479978496

.. but you knew this already, right?

Did Peter Powell really just say "a terrible saxophonist and also a boring person"?

"boring" bob grover!

I did not know that BBC4's twitter feed is basically just totp trivia… it's been a long day, I'm ok with being pandered to

Yeah, that was the guys persona, and what it said on the back on the single sleeve.

I thought Peter was going to mention the "Fabulous Wealthy Tarts" as featured on Paul Young records, but of course he hasn't happened yet..

As a child I used to be really into the Piranha's and searched out their early stuff at record fairs etc. But they are so bad except for about one and a half songs. Practically every other band from 1982 or whenever it was, is better than them.

I did see a 12" acetate of Jilly one time, at the Reading record fair.

Did you?

Double bill starting tonight at 7PM.

Ooh!

Holy crap this episode might be peak early 80s.

Ha, I guess this ^ is the one I'm just watching:

Rio
Mad world
Living on the ceiling
(Renee and Renata)
Wham rap

Johnny Schlong! (as she was always known in my house). and the bunnymen, he'll ruin that t-shirt doing that...

nice to see Zoo aren't above the overly literal interpretations of song lyrics, ripping things up whilst dancing to Rip It Up.

(that and altered image in the same show)

i wonder if joboxers were aware of dexys?

1983 seems to be peak nostalgia for me. Remember most of it very vividly, including the John Peel and Kid Jensen routines, but still some jolts - like Leo Sayer still eeking out an viable existence somehow.

Last night's programme especially was a real straight-down-the-middle mix of 'oh I remember this' and 'wait, who?'.

Like I don't even remember JoBoxers.