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

What's the answer to "The Riddle"?

It amazes me that people are still asking me this question. I spilled the beans a few years ago now so this isn't exactly news.

My producer (Peter Collins) came over to my house just before we commenced recording on the second album to hear how I was getting on with the writing. He went away saying he thought it sounded great but didn't think I had the first single. Incensed by this, I went straight up to the spare room and got the chords and melody together for the Riddle. This must've taken all of twenty minutes. Knowing time was short before we started recording I jotted down some jibberish with the intention of writing the real lyric as we were recording it.

About a week later we started recording and I threw a rough guide vocal down using the jibberish lyrics. As the album progressed, I tried various different lyric ideas but nothing seemed to fit as well as the guide lyric. So we decided to stick with what we had. "Let's call it the Riddle", I thought. Then people would think it was actually about something.

I had completely underestimated the fuss this would cause and, to make matters worse, the marketing and promotions people at MCA decided to make a competition out of it (without telling me). The response was unbelievable. We got sack loads of mail with elaborate and detailed analysis of the song. Line by line, word by word. Some were the size of small novels. Some even made sense!! People stopped me in the street to give me their thoughts and theories. On one occasion I arrived to do a live Radio 1 interview with a certain DJ only to find he'd told the great British public that I would be "revealing all" on his show. He was most put out when I wouldn't (couldn't) co-operate.

It all got a bit out of hand and, very quickly, passed the point at which I could come clean without pissing off a lot of people.

In short, "The Riddle" is nonsense, rubbish, bollocks, the confused ramblings of an 80's popstar.

Please forgive me. I knew not what I did.

^ okay, LOL!

ffs this Nick Heywood song goes on and on

Heh. I normally have all the time in the world for The Human League, but Billy Ocean is far the best thing that's happened on this episode so far!

Agreed. I don't understand how his career just stopped in the late '80s. He was still releasing records but no-one cared.

You'd think that Murray Head would know the words.

Actually I'd like to hear a John Peel cover version of 'One Night In Bangkok'.

Fucking hell, Shakin' Stevens... truly bringing out the big guns this episode, eh!?

And now Shakin' Stevens' impersonation of a singer who gets voted off in the first live week of X Factor.

I should have said this last time Nik was on, but christ he looks so uncomfortable holding that guitar!

'80s Slade here with what can be best described as an audience participation number... I can think of another description for it, though!

Did they think this was going to take off as another seasonal staple a la 'Merry Xmas Everybody' or was this just the usual slab of Band Aid/Live Aid-era codswallop?

Ah Tina, finally some class.

After some substandard '80s Kool and the Gang that didn't deliver on the promise of its title, Frankie Goes to Hollywood sound damn fucking excellent. Love this song.

Seemingly every fucker on this episode is wearing one of those white "Feed The World" t-shirts... LOL at Alvin Stardust wear his on top of a non-more-mid '80s light blue long-sleeved button-up shirt.

ffs if Powell thought the video for 'Like A Virgin' was "provocative" fuck knows what he thought later.

Also I guess Alvin Stardust didn't have anything booked again this week?

Even at 10 years old childe snoball pegged Jim Diamond as coming over as a manipulative abusive creep in this song.

Having the word Virgin in the title was provok in 1984

Xpost was that the point? 'I thought you'd understand' Oh Really?

Looks like the rest of Black Lace had something else booked..

I should have said this last time Nik was on, but christ he looks so uncomfortable holding that guitar!

Wasn't he one of those guys who was really a prog rocker, but ended up as a 'pop star' for a while? Like Howard Jones' and Kajagoogoo (not Limahl)? Or maybe it jazz fusion or something Nik Kershaw was into (and really wanted to be playing)?

Fuck, the way JD looked at the camera just then.
Also Black Lace, cheers for that. Actually I think there were only two of them and the rest were session musicians.

I love how this episode reached it's absolute nadir at the very end, and this episode had 'The Riddle' being played throughout for some weird reason.

You know how Goebells really really liked schlager music, and made sure that the German record industry during WW2 basically only produced schlager? So that that seemingly inoffensive light music was actually really political from then on? Well I've always thought that Black Lace are the kind of act that Goebells would have liked.

There used to be more. They were a Butlins band, their first single was "Bohemian Rhapsody", they may have been the first band I saw live..

xxp I also like how their whole attitude to 'Do They Know It's Christmas?" at this point is "eh, it's just another charity record". They had no idea how big it would be.

Is this next one a repeat of Thursday's ep? Nick Heyward again... this sorta slap bass-tastic "funky" track really doesn't suit him at all... he really left Haircut 100 for this!?

xxp I also like how their whole attitude to 'Do They Know It's Christmas?" at this point is "eh, it's just another charity record". They had no idea how big it would be.

― Zings Can Only Get Better (snoball), Friday, November 10, 2017 9:02 PM (one minute ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Yeah, absolutely! We're into the whole build-up to Live Aid period now essentially... it's going to be interesting following this from now into the post-Live Aid period.

Yeah, it's a repeat of Thursday's episode... still gonna watch it anyway!

this sorta slap bass-tastic "funky" track really doesn't suit him at all...

... with wanky whammy-barred 80s Guitar Mag solo.

Ha, yeah! It sounds like it was written to be a hit, but instead of writing a decent song they instead came up with a list of things that were popular in the mid '80s and smashed 'em together and hoped that'd do!

Listening to Peel's and Vance's voices doing the chart rundown is making me seriously miss 'em both. Peel for all the obvious reasons, but I always enjoyed Vance enthusiastically talking about the joys of rrrrrock in that inimitable voice of his.

It's funny, "Warning Sign" was the first Nick record I liked/ bought.

You know how Goebells really really liked schlager music, and made sure that the German record industry during WW2 basically only produced schlager? So that that seemingly inoffensive light music was actually really political from then on? Well I've always thought that Black Lace are the kind of act that Goebells would have liked.

Black Lace do remind me of schlager. Every part of continental Europe has an equivalent.

Hang the fuck on, did Roy Wood re-record this!?

Wikipedia says yes, because they wanted to re-release it but couldn't find the original tapes.

Heh! I thought there was something off about that version... I prefer the original, naturally.

I keep forgetting how well arranged 'We All Stand Together' is for a song aimed at children, it's McCartney taking 'Yellow Submarine' to an extreme...

Ooh, I didn't know Bronski Beat did a TOTP performance of this... one of their lesser known hits, but I've always liked this one.

There's lots of Style Council songs I like... this isn't one of 'em!

OH GOD, NOT THIS! FUCK OFF!

Okay, so now we can wash away the memories of Foreigner with... *sighs* ... Thompson Twins.

TOTP Christmas 1984 drinking game: down a shot every time someone with a mullet appears.

Hahahaha! I bet it absolutely crushed Simon Le Bon's soul at the time to have to introduce Paul Young.

It's bizarre how normal Frankie Goes to Hollywood look in comparison to some of the mega mulleted folks like Le Bon and Young...

Also LOL at Weller miming Bono's line on 'Do They Know It's Christmas?'

Russ Abbott's 'Atmosphere':

• worse than I remember
• cheaper sounding production than I remember
• forgot about the Frankie Goes To Hollywood reference
• does the bass synth rip off 'I Feel Love'?

(what is with the 1981 repeats btw?)

Don't know. I thought they were trying to get through the episodes quicker, then I read the episode dates and realised they were repeats. Of repeats.

'81 > '85 fwiw

Big Sound Authority ... these guys are going to be big, apparently!

Ksssssss