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

Andy Crane's slicked back haircut makes him look like a mildly creepy shop window dummy that's come to life.

Just looking at tonights episode: '88 was such a dreadful time for pop music. A Jason Donovan bland-out, Phil Collins at no. 1 emoting through his sweaty lips. Pig vomit. No wonder, I paid no attention to the charts at the time and played with my Transformers instead.

might be one for the 'tech advances actually backwards' thread but these TOTP episodes were simulcast in stereo on radio 1. try doing that now...

I don't even remember that Lovely Day remix but wow was that phoned in

"Big Fun" at the outro was lovely though so not all bad

I didn't see that one, was watching around 9pm and the Pasadenas were the outro. I did see Big Fun come up in the chart countdown and said oh that's a classic to my wife

xxxp I feel that simulcasting made them clean up the audio a bit and get rid of that echoey mono sound with loads of crowd noise over everything that the last few months worth of episodes have had. I don't remember if it was Christmas 1988 or 1989 when I got a Toshiba 'walkman' with built-in radio to replace my £6 shit-arse Alba, but I did try the whole simulcast listening experience a couple of times. I usually couldn't be bothered - don't know why, as the sound on our TV was mono and tinny. Simulcasting only lasted for a couple more years anyway, because of the introduction of NICAM. Predictably we didn't have a TV capable of decoding NICAM until years later.

'88 was such a dreadful time for pop music

I can't agree with that. I probably bought more singles in the first six months of 1988 than any other time and it's been great seeing them all on TOTP again, especially S-Express. That said, I got less and less interested in the charts in the second half of the year, only bought three singles (as far as I can remember - Yeke Yeke, Teardrops and Need You Tonight), and after the hell of Mistletoe & Wine v Especially For You pretty much gave up on Top of the Pops altogether by 1989.

It's not quite as bad as the mid 70s, but for a couple of years there was an increasing disconnect between the charts and actually interesting music (particularly hip-hop, house, etc.). Although TOTP doesn't get as bad as the light entertainment wasteland of 1976, because the big artists still went on the show. Among other things that does mean we're in for an increase in performances from SAW acts - Pete Waterman even mentioned during an interview how much they valued getting their singers on the show. It's a situation that doesn't start to line up again until Madchester becomes nationally big in late 1989.

ffs the studio audience clapping out of time to Erasure's performance of 'A Little Respect'.

I remember the simulcast thing, managed to hook up the radio to the stereo audio in on the video. I got the stone roses and happy mondays totp that way.

Was the whole of the UK in FM by that point? I can't recall but i thought that was more towards the start of the 90s. Either way i wonder how many people even bothered with the whole simulcast business. It was very much of the 'Beerling' era wasn't it, all that '31 days In May' stuff and round-the-world yachting trips and suchlike.

I remember that there was a big push to promote Radio 1 as being on FM, because around 1990 the standard station jingle became "Radio 1 FM". Although even in 1988 I sometimes had trouble tuning in.

(Only slightly connected) I used to listen to Capital Radio as a teenager, despite living maybe 8 or 9 miles outside the M25. Chris Tarrant in the morning, Pat Sharp later on (I'm not really selling this, am I?), lots of adverts featuring Willie Rushton (or something who sounded like him) promoting 'London Car Telephones' to the tune of 'Hanging on the Telephone'. As I was outside of London, the FM signal wasn't strong enough for my radio to pick up, so I used to listen on medium wave. At some point in the second half of 1988 I was devastated to wake up to hear loads of 'golden oldies' from the 60s being played by an unfamiliar DJ. It turned out they'd split it into two radio stations and now the MW signal was 'Capital Gold' and Capital was only available on the FM which I couldn't get. I think I listened to Radio 1 for a few months after that, but hated the DJs and just drifted away from pop music. Not sure why I felt compelled to share this, but I've typed it now so might as well post it.

I lived slightly further outside the M25 at the time, and I remember one sole occasion around 1986 where I managed to pick up Capital on my mono radio cassette recorder. At the time we had a TV aerial that was large enough to get LWT, and there'd be adverts for Capital and I fetishised London life through watching programmes like The Six O'Clock Show.

Meanwhile this week, Milli Vanilli mime on TOTP. And everywhere else.

Oh look it's the latest Terminator reboot starring Tom Jones.

I'd actually forgotten how excruciatingly bad this cover version was. The original Prince version gets away with the lyrics because he performs them in a light handed way. But this is like watching a task from The Apprentice. Or Celebrity X Factor.

Incidentally that segue of Anthea Turner over-excitedly introducing Royal House's 'Can You Party' featured in a TOTP documentary, specifically a section about how bad the show became in the mid to late 80s.

I lived slightly further outside the M25 at the time, and I remember one sole occasion around 1986 where I managed to pick up Capital on my mono radio cassette recorder. At the time we had a TV aerial that was large enough to get LWT, and there'd be adverts for Capital and I fetishised London life through watching programmes like The Six O'Clock Show.

I hear you.

And now "Capital" radio is everywhere St's local radio station

Blummin spelling corrector!

Chris de Burgh, the Alan Titchmarsh of music.

Actually that's kind of harsh on Alan Titchmarsh.

Brother Beyond encapsulate that era perfectly. I don't think I've ever heard that Prince song. I must give Lovesexy a listen sometime. I ignored it as I heard it was poor.

Who was the lady co-presenter? She looked a bit uncomfortable presenting, her eyes were darting everywhere

Sybil Ruscoe.

Ah, it's the time of the acid house scare where they don't even say the track name if it has acid in the title (Jolly Roger, acid man)

Don't think I've ever heard the Kraze track that is in the charts.

A quick YouTube tells me I'm missing nothing

Would that be The Party? It’s a classic crossover house track.

"Jack To The Sound Of The Underground" by Hithouse AKA 'Theme from The Mary Whitehouse Experience'.

Yes that is the violin player from Dexys Midnight Runners playing whatever that wind instrument is next to Tanita Tikaram. I could never figure out what some of the lyrics to this song were - "pig out til you've seen the light"?

susie mathis? was she ever a dj? oh, bbc radio manchester, i guess that counts.

"Subsequently, in 2009, Mathis became a Charity Manager working for Mohammed Al Fayed."

yazz seems to be on every episode recently.

(it's an oboe, i think)

can't remember robin beck. but it sounds familiar. was it a coke advert? ha, yes.

Was the whole of the UK in FM by that point?

Wow they were really pushing the whole Radio 1 FM weren't they.

I have no recollection of this Sam Fox track but it's not terrible.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9usE58DQWY

Humanoid's 'Stakker' - another song that they won't show on TOTP because 'oh-noes acid means drugs'.

Just been catching up on these. Quite surreal to see Steve Wright in his smiley t-shirt with Caron Keating saying 'aciiieeed'.

He Ain't Heavy was used in a Miller Lite advert, wasn't it? I'm assuming that the Commodores' Easy was also back in the charts because it was in an advert, but I can't remember what. I'm convinced Lovely Day was in an advert for Mars Milk, but I can't find any evidence on the internet to back this up.

'Easy' was used in a Halifax Building Society advert at the time.

I remember that Sam Fox track, it's ace!

Humanoid's 'Stakker' - another song that they won't show on TOTP because 'oh-noes acid means drugs'.

I'm pretty sure it does get shown on TOTP because I was reading about it a couple of days ago.

Stakker hasn't aged at all, still an amazing track. Snowman mix too

Oh wow it was actually on the very next TOTP (1/12/1988).

Are they skipping any episodes at this point? I doubt js is still presenting but is Mike Smith? Dlt?

What was Susie Mathis doing at this point? Gary said about her being on TOTP in 1968, and I saw she worked as a charity director for the Al fayeds, but was she the new Sybil Ruscoe or some such?

BBC local radio - at this point it was increasingly common for TOTP to be co-presented by a random DJ. Unlike the 90s where they'd bring in Chris Eubank or whoever.

Lol @ Angry Anderson

"Burning Bridges" - the worst Quo single? Mainly because of that interminably long-winded keyboard riff that makes up two thirds of the song. Meanwhile I'd forgotten all about Scott & Charlene's wedding on Neighbours (it was blown up into a ridiculously big deal by the BBC) but now I vaguely remember this song although who's this Angry Anderson?

Also if you think that 'Downtown 88' is a cynical cash grab try the 1976 disco-tastic re-recording:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7nC_Z773Do