if only there was some way of looking up, i don't know, the bbc4 schedule...
Thu 23 Jun 2011 19:30Fri 24 Jun 2011 00:45Sat 25 Jun 2011 23:25
"Noel Edmonds looks at highlights of the weekly 1976 pop charts and introduces the Surprise Sisters, the Real Thing, the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Flintlock, Osibisa, Archie Bell and the Drells, Brian Ferry, the Wurzels and Ruby Flipper."
osibisa... and weren't flintlock the band that one of the tomorrow people used to be in?
lots of non-chart entries in last week's i noticed. unless they are using the top 40 for eligibility but only listing the top 30.
― koogs, Monday, 20 June 2011 09:26 (thirteen years ago) link
No, a whole bunch of not-charting stuff.
"New Edition" get the wildcard that is "some sort of BBC TV programme tie-in". I remember two theme tunes for "Saturday Special", the variety show that came each week from a different seaside town. One was a hit "Summertime City", and one wasn't, "Get a little sand between yr toes". That one I don't remember at all.
"Natural Rhythm" and "Don't make promises" weren't, but got a fair amount of radio play.
― Mark G, Monday, 20 June 2011 09:42 (thirteen years ago) link
ouch, that Surprise Sisters medley of Beatles songs was really bad. Anyone know when TOTP stopped this variety show nonsense or was it basically just When Punk Happened(tm)?
― wtf is wrong with people? (snoball), Thursday, 23 June 2011 18:36 (thirteen years ago) link
Not SAHB's best single, but better than yet another repeat of this Archie Bell video.
― wtf is wrong with people? (snoball), Thursday, 23 June 2011 18:45 (thirteen years ago) link
That cover of Got To Get You Into My Life was all kinds of awful.
― Food Processors Are Grebt (Nasty, Brutish & Short), Thursday, 23 June 2011 19:43 (thirteen years ago) link
have only watched half of last night's but i laughed all the way through alex harvey. the clown. the bassist's hair. the drummer in a suit. the ax!
the surprise sisters were no way sisters.
― koogs, Friday, 24 June 2011 09:03 (thirteen years ago) link
I haven't seen this weeks yet, but I do remember it, I think.
Did they medley into "You won't see me" ?
― Mark G, Friday, 24 June 2011 09:04 (thirteen years ago) link
Yes.
― wtf is wrong with people? (snoball), Friday, 24 June 2011 09:13 (thirteen years ago) link
Hmmmm, girlbands weren't quite as, uh, glamorous in the 70s as now, were they? All worth it for SAHB, Alex didn't do much but still looked pretty scary!
― R. Stornoway (Tom D.), Friday, 24 June 2011 10:59 (thirteen years ago) link
BOLAN!
― You get nothing for a pair, not in this game (snoball), Thursday, 30 June 2011 18:32 (thirteen years ago) link
There must have been some kind of BBC enforced limit on the amount of excitement that TOTP could serve up in the mid 70's. Every stomping track had to be followed by some abject shite. Bolan followed by Lancaster & Bile, Frampton ("tube in the mouth") followed by Brotherhood of Spam (another song with a stupid twist ending).
― You get nothing for a pair, not in this game (snoball), Thursday, 30 June 2011 18:44 (thirteen years ago) link
DLT's world famous dual purpose pirate/yokel impersonation...
― You get nothing for a pair, not in this game (snoball), Thursday, 30 June 2011 18:56 (thirteen years ago) link
ruby flipper on acid again last night.
and for all the dreadfulness (bom, wurzels) i quite enjoyed it.
odd how that disco Mud song has been lost to history despite being on TOTP 4 or 5 times.
(i only got 17 minutes of the longer version but the extra bit i saw was a Thin Lizzy repeat)
― koogs, Friday, 1 July 2011 06:56 (thirteen years ago) link
Yes, Bolan.
Was that his last TOTP appearance? And, didn't he look so young? (and healthy!)
― Mark G, Friday, 1 July 2011 08:31 (thirteen years ago) link
Actually, I shouldn't 'ask' that, I should know..
(There's a "Marc on TV" DVD that I did a sleevenote for, I don't think it has any TOTP though)
― Mark G, Friday, 1 July 2011 08:32 (thirteen years ago) link
'Laser Love' from October 1976?(and if the BBC can the repeats before we get that far)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tewzXZrUmJ0&feature=related
― You get nothing for a pair, not in this game (snoball), Friday, 1 July 2011 08:59 (thirteen years ago) link
Liverpool Express song would have been more interesting if they'd bother to write more than just a chorus. Punk Rock = Year Zero, just decimated so much of this stuff.
― R. Stornoway (Tom D.), Friday, 1 July 2011 10:37 (thirteen years ago) link
But you have to remember that 99% of the British population despised/dismissed/detested punk rock and only a tiny handful of punk singles charted in 1977.
That said, my anticipation for Eddie & The Hot Rods grows with every passing week...
― mike t-diva, Friday, 1 July 2011 11:20 (thirteen years ago) link
But you have to remember that 99% of the British population despised/dismissed/detested punk rock and only a tiny handful of punk singles charted in 1977
I know but its effect in the music business was more profound, it was like they realised that Mr. Big being the Most Exciting New Act of the year was, all things considered, not really good enough. Uh, but maybe I'm rewriting history here because wiki tells me Mr. Big's big hit was 1977!
― R. Stornoway (Tom D.), Friday, 1 July 2011 11:57 (thirteen years ago) link
Ah, but do you remember "Christmas with Dicken"? Their big hit "Romeo" was somewhat at the close of play, but still...
also:
That said, my anticipation for Eddie & The Hot Rods grows with every passing week...― mike t-diva, Friday, 1 July 2011 11:20 (2 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
― mike t-diva, Friday, 1 July 2011 11:20 (2 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
We are of a mind, yes.
― Mark G, Friday, 1 July 2011 13:35 (thirteen years ago) link
Demis Roussos looking like Spock's psychic half-brother from that Star Trek movie.
― You get nothing for a pair, not in this game (snoball), Thursday, 14 July 2011 18:41 (thirteen years ago) link
This week is pretty bad so far, two videos and Ruby Flipper pissing about (I'm not even going to call it dancing) to an instrumental.
― You get nothing for a pair, not in this game (snoball), Thursday, 14 July 2011 18:43 (thirteen years ago) link
That New Seekers track is apalling, presumably it was only bought by teenage lads who wanted to check Eve Graham out on totp.
― The multi-talented F.R. David (Billy Dods), Thursday, 14 July 2011 18:50 (thirteen years ago) link
Art Garfunkel clearly doesn't give a shit here.
― You get nothing for a pair, not in this game (snoball), Thursday, 14 July 2011 18:54 (thirteen years ago) link
I remember hating 'Diddy' David Hamilton a lot, but he's not that bad a presenter compared to the dross of Edmondsm the enforced wackiness of DLT, and the crepeiness of Sir Jimmy.
― You get nothing for a pair, not in this game (snoball), Thursday, 14 July 2011 18:56 (thirteen years ago) link
Mostly I watch this for the grim fascination of the awful music, awful fashion, ugly people and the bloke in Ruby Flipper dancing around dressed as a leopard, but I have to say the Roxy Music one tickled my fancy.
― There is power in an onion (Nasty, Brutish & Short), Thursday, 14 July 2011 19:20 (thirteen years ago) link
Ha Ha...wondered when the first reference to the Summer of '76 would occur...David Hamilton looking appropriately sweaty in his White whistle...
― The Pastiche Liberation Front (sonnyboy), Friday, 15 July 2011 22:21 (thirteen years ago) link
David Hamilton was very dull. His radio show used to play 'versions' from TOTP sessions to get round needletime restrictions, and was the housewives favourite. At least Edmonds was into his music..
― Mark G, Saturday, 16 July 2011 00:06 (thirteen years ago) link
Hamilton's R1 afternoon show also went out simultaneously on R2, as I recall - so it was MOR to the max.
― mike t-diva, Saturday, 16 July 2011 09:04 (thirteen years ago) link
RUBBISH EPISODE THIS WEEK.
― PJ Miller, Sunday, 17 July 2011 19:49 (thirteen years ago) link
longer version was 10 minutes rubbisher.
actually, i enjoyed it again.
― koogs, Sunday, 17 July 2011 19:58 (thirteen years ago) link
Yes, I always watch the LONG VERSION.
I enjoyed what in 1976 I might have happily called Ruby Flidder, but obviously would not do that nowadays.
― PJ Miller, Sunday, 17 July 2011 20:00 (thirteen years ago) link
long version had extra Cherry Flipper doing a dance, Alex Harvey again and Johnny ("not Cash") Nash.
― koogs, Sunday, 17 July 2011 20:04 (thirteen years ago) link
It was rubbish this week.
Also, what's with the iplayer not being updated with the longer version anymore?
― Mark G, Monday, 18 July 2011 08:24 (thirteen years ago) link
i don't think it ever has been. certainly all the ones i have (think i'm missing the first) are the short version.
― koogs, Monday, 18 July 2011 08:41 (thirteen years ago) link
They did get updated previously.
― Mark G, Monday, 18 July 2011 08:46 (thirteen years ago) link
the 5 iplayer downloads i have here are all the short version. am pretty certain all the others are too.
― koogs, Monday, 18 July 2011 08:55 (thirteen years ago) link
and i usually grab them the monday or tuesday after they air, which should be enough time for them to throw the longer versions up (otherwise they'd only be up for a day before being replaced)
― koogs, Monday, 18 July 2011 08:56 (thirteen years ago) link
chapter and verse stats pls.
― Here he is with the classic "Poème Électronique." Good track (Marcello Carlin), Monday, 18 July 2011 09:12 (thirteen years ago) link
Big Hits: TOTP 1964-1975 on BBC2 on Saturday was much better. Lots of things everyone has seen before but it worked well enough. Driscoll/Auger still looks like 2028, not 1968.
― Here he is with the classic "Poème Électronique." Good track (Marcello Carlin), Monday, 18 July 2011 09:17 (thirteen years ago) link
I've had "Where do you go to my lovely?" stuck in my head since watching that.
― Neil S, Monday, 18 July 2011 09:34 (thirteen years ago) link
could be worse, my brain randomly flings OOH-AR OOH-AR at me. was surprised to find out that Wurzels song is based on a Melanie song, though.
― zappi, Monday, 18 July 2011 09:39 (thirteen years ago) link
all the wurzels hits were based on other songs, that was the point (i thought), parodies that piggy backed other tunes.
― koogs, Monday, 18 July 2011 10:06 (thirteen years ago) link
Except for "Drink Up Thy Zider" ..
― Mark G, Monday, 18 July 2011 10:14 (thirteen years ago) link
Honest, guv: I have seen a long iplayer version (at least two), and only a couple of times recently caught the actual late-transmission of the 40 min version.
― Mark G, Monday, 18 July 2011 10:15 (thirteen years ago) link
yeah, that's a bit of a mystery. and, of course, i'd prefer the longer versions myself.
i had forgotten drink up thy zider. but #45 in 1966 who would blame me?
― koogs, Monday, 18 July 2011 10:37 (thirteen years ago) link
That was with Adge Cutler, the Dylan of Zummerzet, though. They were more credible in them days.
― R. Stornoway (Tom D.), Monday, 18 July 2011 10:44 (thirteen years ago) link
And then poor Cutler was killed in a car crash and the Wurzels resolved to go on but alas "Combine Harvester" was no "Blue Monday."
― Here he is with the classic "Poème Électronique." Good track (Marcello Carlin), Monday, 18 July 2011 10:54 (thirteen years ago) link
Johnny Nash's "Wonderful World" on the extended show was pretty good, we thought.
xpost: punk singles which charted (meaning Top 40) in 77: mostly from memory, we had 3 each from the Pistols, Stranglers and Jam, 2 from the Clash, plus Sheena Is A Punk Rocker, Gary Gilmore's Eyes, Your Generation (Gen X), This Perfect Day (The Saints)... OK, so 15 is perhaps not strictly speaking a "tiny handful", but it's still a tiny fraction! Widening the net, there was also Watching The Detectives, Do Anything You Wanna Do, Marquee Moon and Prove It... can't recall any more?
― mike t-diva, Monday, 18 July 2011 10:57 (thirteen years ago) link
And of that list, how many did not feature on TOTP?
The two Clash ones (They banned themselves from the programme because they did a foreign TV show similar in concept and found they were crap at miming, no other reason actually), I dont think "Sheenah" was, apart from that: all those..
― Mark G, Monday, 18 July 2011 11:01 (thirteen years ago) link