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

Because, the first one (tonight) is 1976, where we get :

01/04/1976
With Abba, the Brotherhood of Man, the Beatles, Fox, John Miles, Diana Ross and Sailor. (R).

Then after that they are on Thursday night, 7:30pm, and basically are running weekly, each
episode being from (exactly) 35 years ago (near enough)..

Until BBC4 sack it.

Brilliant idea. I can relive my childhood. My earliest musical memories (from pre-school days) are stuff like Abba, The Wurzels, Showaddywaddy and Hot Chocolate.

This docu that's on now makes grim viewing.

The docu made some interesting points, and for all that I'd have loved if they'd started in 1964 (or whenever), 1976 is a good year to kickoff from.

The big point made was that the charts had become a 'variety' show source, as opposed to the 'teen hit parade' of the sixties. So, loads of Mathis, Roussos, BroMan, Abba and Radio DJs having comedy send-up hits.

It'll be like this for a while, but one I do remember being somewhat of a life changing moment was when Eddie and the Hot Rods did "Get out of Denver",and I went straight out and bought the (expensive) ep the next day.

I know, thesedays peopple decry the rods as being "not as seminal as Dr Feelgood", but I saw a repeat on TOTP2 and it was as good as I remembered. So, soon come, that show which showed the juxtaposition of this band against the other acts on that night.

(also, it means that the quality of dodgy Punk TOTP compilation DVDs are going to shoot up. If they get that far, of course)

What tickled me most was the former TOTP producer saying that they didn't get the Pistols on for "Anarchy In The UK" (which peaked at #38) because it didn't chart high enough, very important that we always stuck by the rules etc etc... followed by an April 1976 show featuring two (useless) acts which never charted at all.

The Hot Rods did well to get a TOTP appearance for "Get Out Of Denver", as a) the Live At The Marquee EP peaked at #43 and b) it was the lead track on the B-side.

It was track 2 on the a-side, but yeah.

Also, the funny was having Dave Bartram saying "yeah, a TOTP appearance guaranteed you a top 10 hit" and demonstrating this with a screening of their massive top (fillinasecond) hit "Trocadero"...

32

xpost - Aaargh, so it was!

The big point made was that the charts had become a 'variety' show source, as opposed to the 'teen hit parade' of the sixties. So, loads of Mathis, Roussos, BroMan, Abba and Radio DJs having comedy send-up hits.

Am I misunderstanding? cos the 60s had big hits for Ken Dodd, Englebert Humperdinck, the Barron Knights etc etc

Oh sure, but the theory being that those were in the minority, show-content wise.

oh on the show. yeah probly fair enough. chartwise it was variety a-go-go

Yeah, I don't think the point was that the charts had become (more) like a variety show, but that TOTP had.

fuck Noel Edmonds and his 'comedy' links

fuck Noel Edmonds and his 'comedy' links

I know, what a dick. Still we had the Four Seasons doing "Silver Star" this week. Also Eric Carmen's "interview" with Noel Edmonds, where you couldn't hear a word he was saying, don't be shy Eric!

Interviews on TOTP? that's a rarity...

"Inteview" not really the word.

"You wrote a song for Dana didn't you?"
"Mumble mumble mumble"
"What's the best song you've ever written?"
"Mumble mumble mumble All By Myself"
"Well all the best with the new single"
"Mumble"

Don't know what song he wrote for Dana

Oh and Noel was saying what a good album "Eric Carmen" was: a rare display of good taste from Edmonds there!

Noel had to say he liked it cos he didn't want to blow a raspberry.

My god that it horribly formed.

*is*

OK so Google tells me Dana covered "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again" from the aforementioned "Eric Carmen" album

Is Dana the one who did some religious kids programme called 'Wake Up Sunday'?

Sounds likely

10CC, "Mandy Fly Me" was on too. Fantastic!

NEdmonds always had his love of singer-songwriters, to be fair.

Big fan of Harry Chapin, yer Edmonds.

Balderdash certainly describes droll Noel's career.

This was easily the most WTF song on this week's show:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iISUroWbu2U

I watched last night's 1976 episode, it was amazingly and compellingly bad. Lots of odd-looking folks I've never heard of awkwardly performing novelty songs, and one of Pan's People doing some remarkably gratuitous ass-shaking in the direction of the camera. I need more.

70s was the golden age for ugly blokes, you could still end up in a band on TOTP with groupies galore. Rubettes' (sans caps) song sounded more like the Beatles than the Rutles!

I'm watching this now. LOL at the male members of the Vagabonds miming the female backing vocals. Something massively depressing about second tier disco groups though, like they're trapped in time, it's as if they're composed entirely of all the bits of late 70's disco that don't influence music today.

Shoeless and carrying a walking stick with a bicycle bell on it? Fucking hell, Harpo could teach Lady gaga a thing or two.

Sheer Elegance one of the most misnamed bands ever judging by what they were wearing, the uglyness of the Rubettes & their overcocky drummer, the utter WTFness of Harpo. mandatory viewing from now on!

I'm sure Punk would never of happened if Sky+ would of been available in 1976...ended up fast forwarding most of last night's show...bring back Noosha Fox...become a little obsessed with s-s-single bed...

^^^ same goes for watching it on iPlayer. I don't know if 'compellingly bad' is the term, or just 'bad'.

the uglyness of the Rubettes & their overcocky drummer

Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sx-aH0oBscw

definitely 'compellingly bad' for me. and Fox lady really reminded me of Alison Goldfrapp which is a Good Thing.

Noosha F missing link between Clare Grogan and Goldfrapp. Love that record.

Ah, been catching up via good old iplayer on the wii.

Old enough to remember these episodes quite clearly in some cases.

Sad that they haven't gone back far enough in time to have Sparks on.

Still, don't recall that Gilbert O'Sullivan song though I must have heard it then.

Oh, last I heard, they are definitely doing this run for a year.

After that? Who knows...

Still, don't recall that Gilbert O'Sullivan song though I must have heard it then.

He was long gone as commercial proposition by 1976. That song sounded like a demo, did artists have to re-record tracks? I know they had to re-record vocals, hence the ubiquity of the Ladybirds. But then other acts obviously just mimed to the record.

They did 'have' to.

A lot of them switched the tapes post-session, apparently.

ooooooo-oooooooooooooh Vienna it's Slik

It's Midge Uuuurrrr...

And Paul knickerless

Jesus Christ, superstar?

DLT looks like Badly Drawn Boy.

This is sooooo much better than last weeks....

Only one novelty act so far.

Shit Brotherhood Of Man are still number one...

Hard agree, the band had pop chops for days.

Tony Dortie presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 2 December 1993 and featuring U2, Bjork, M People, East 17, Mr Blobby and Meat Loaf.

One of these things is not like the rest of these things...

3D glasses, the Meta Quest of the early 90s.

Jeremy Clarkson?

I thought it might have been some kind of charity single but apparently not. Carol Vorderman is in the video as well, but tbh she was everywhere on TV in the 90s.

I'm sure I had that remix of Big Time Sensuality, does anyone know which one it is?

Fluke Minimix?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CwVLnl9m40

Yes, nice one GP - that’s a group I’ve forgotten about.

2 Unlimited gleefully leaning into the ridiculousness with their performance of 'No Limits' on this Christmas 1993 edition. But elsewhere it seems that the editors of this episode were hitting the fast forward button more often than I was.

1993 is a bad year for TOTP, not a great year for the charts, but the selections on TOTP (loads of big name boomers with their latest shit singles many of which didn't even do well) were even worse. And still annoyed about the apparent boycot of The Prodigy.

Hard disagree, this year and Christmas episode was full of bangers.

1993 is all eurodance, ragga and waistcoats, I have no issue with this. The problem is that TOTP in 1993 seems committed to pretending that young people want to hear stadium metal and dadrock. I'm a few episodes behind but the last one I watched had the crowd going wild for 2 Unlimited and then completed disengaged for everything else.

Ah, yes, I get you.

Exactly, every week we had a chart countdown with loads of great stuff then across to another satellite link of Rod Stewart from Paris at #34. The charts were maybe 10% heritage acts but the show was sth like 50%. Even the good Eurodance stuff was often ruined by a combination of ill-judged live vocals and backing track mixed way too low.

also Take That can fuck off forever

I also think it's telling that, in this era, when TOTP show an exclusive performance of a yet-to-be-released single, it inevitably ends up charting. It feels like the show is trying to influence rather than reflect popular taste, and you only need to look ahead fifteen years to see how that ends up working out for them.

According to wikipedia, it was the Prodigy who boycotted TOTP, not the other way round. xps

guess the idea was "this show is for everyone, we have to play the older acts to keep the mums and dads watching" which is tbh the kind of audience targeting fuckery that has been a plague on the BBC for the last 20 years.

xp yeah but it was TOTP that refused to play the videos

They've also managed to avoid Goodmen's "Give It Up" which has been hanging around for weeks and weeks.

There was a similar attitude in the 1970s with lame-o third-rate soft rock acts like Liverpool Express and Smokie turning up every week, while disco was tolerated by the producers at best.

b-b-but Liverpool Express were the new Beatles!

excuse me a moment.

A ha ha ha...

Righto, onwards

("Every man must have a dream" was basically "Imagine", righto o&o)

Was Righto their drummer or something?

It's possible

The "Give It Up" situation will descend into a farce in 1995 when Simply Red release Fairground and it's given blanket coverage.

I was put off from watching last night's repeat of the Christmas 1990 episode because the BBC saw fit to make the thumbnail a screenshot of Timmy Mallett mid-"oh yeah".

Also TOTP Review Of Year 2022 is on tonight at 10:40pm on BBC2 if you can muster the level give-a-shit-ness required to watch 'Clara Amfo and Jack Saunders present a hit-packed show'. Missed out a letter there.

Shogw

I'm sort of glad they never played Give It Up because I missed half of '93 and wanted to see that one.

You Are My Love is brilliant.

7pm tonight there's "Smashie and Nicey's Top of the Pops Party" - a retrospective on the show's first 30 years, originally broadcast on 4th Jan 1994.

If you don't fancy that then there are two regular episodes following.

I was just coming here to say I think I'll skip Smashie and Nicey. The BBC broadcast a mockumentary about them that went through just about all the jokes anyone could make in about 15 minutes. Unfathomable to me - both then and now - how those two characters became so big.

The good news is that there's not that much Smashie & Nicey, the bad news is that they've added a load of later clips, everything only gets 30 seconds, and the whole thing is an incomprehensible mess.

In the context of 1994, 'Things Can Only Get Better' isn't that bad, despite the singer's attempts to come across as an egotistic cock. It sounded worse during the 1997 General Election.

the sax solo is the only good bit

'Blow Your Whistle' is the kind of song that I was excited to hear in the club as a 19 year old but then after two minutes dancefloor freneticism I'd be "ffs enough" and dive towards the bar for another drink.

Marti Pellow, so sweaty.

Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart and Sting can all fuck off together pls

all for one, all fuck off

1977 was very white male, with only pussycat(!) as relief (and legs and co dancing around whilst dressed as car wash brushes). david soul sounds like he was pitch shifted up a couple of octaves.

Blow Your Whistle is a classic functional dance hit and gets bonus points for not being 2002 No. 5 smash Blow My Whistle Bitch.

Garth Brooks clearly subscribes to the Billy Joel school of "make facial expressions like you're taking a really long and difficult dump while singing".

First show tonight was pretty good! second was less good though. These were the last two shows for Dortie & Franklin, a shame as I've grown to like them a lot. Next week we have the relaunch format to kick off the real mid-90s

I saw Therapy? live about four or five times in the mid 90s. They were... considerably less good than I remember.

no actual good shot of the keyboardist on either of the d:ream appearances

only bit i enjoyed in the 4 episodes was martika's hair

I don’t think Brian Cox was in this version of D:Ream, but he was in the performances when it was previously released.

I was never that into Therapy?, but Screamager is a banger.

Britrock bands are to this era of TOTP what Senseless Things and that ilk were to the last.

"Give It Away" is one of those songs that I think I like when I try recall what it sounds like, but when I hear it (especially accompanied by the video) I realise that it's a bunch of nonsense.

I like that TOTP heralding their new era included a single from an album that was released before the last era. Why wasn't it a UK hit until 94 I have no idea.