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

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.

i am almost shocked that anybody of the right age could forget JoBoxers

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

also wearing boxing gloves for JoBoxers.

I too didn't remember/realise quite how dexys they were.

How did I never know one of them went on to Earl Brutus?

enjoyed the whole episode, apart from Nick Heyward.

Weren't JoBoxers formed from the ashes of Subway Sect?
*googles*
Yes, they were.

That was it, yes. I think Dig Wayne was hired from Stage School,or something..

rip it up also the first 303 on totp, according to some totp tweet i saw earlier today. it's been a favourite since, well, 1983. but i've never wondered what was making those sounds.

So they showed episode 999 and 1001 and skipped 1000. And they was a lot of repetition between those two.

Fave bit was the tunnel of pouts during the instrumental bit of the Siouxie song.

Apparently 1000 featured Savile AND Travis AND Glitter AND King, which is quite the royal flush.

haha wow.

http://www.tv.com/shows/top-of-the-pops-uk/5th-may-1983-1000th-episode-417528/

Massively extended party edition with many old and new performances to celebrate the 1000th edition of the show.

Presenters: Dave Lee Travis, Steve Wright, John Peel, Gary Davies, Mike Smith, Paul Gambaccini, Peter Powell, Simon Bates, Tommy Vance, Richard Skinner, David Jacobs, Mike Read, Tony Blackburn, Noel Edmonds, David Jensen, Janice Long and Jimmy Savile

Playlist:
Thompson Twins - We Are Detective [Performance]
10 C.C. - I'm Not In Love [Repeat Performance]
Abba - Waterloo [Repeat Performance]
Adam Ant - Goody Two Shoes [Repeat Performance]
Beatles - All You Need Is Love [Repeat Performance]
Bee Gees - Massachusetts [Repeat Performance]
Billy.J.Kramer & The Dakotas - Little Children [Repeat Performance]
Blancmange - Blind Vision [Performance]
Blondie - Picture This [Repeat Performance]
Boomtown Rats - Looking After No.1 [Repeat Performance]
Cilla Black - Surround Yourself With Sorrow [Repeat Performance]
Cliff Richard - All My Love [Repeat Performance]
Dave Clark 5 - Bits & Pieces [Repeat Performance]
David Bowie - Starman [Repeat Performance]
Duran Duran - Is There Something I Should Know [Repeat Performance]
Elton John - Your Song [Repeat Performance]
Fun Boy Three - Our Lips Are Sealed [Performance]
Gary Glitter - Im The Leader Of The Gang(I Am) [Repeat Performance]
Heaven 17 - Temptation [Performance]
Human League - Fascination [Performance]
Joe Cocker - With A Little Help From My Friends [Repeat Performance]
Manfred Mann - Mighty Quinn [Repeat Performance]
Police - Spirits In The Material World [Repeat Performance]
Queen - Killer Queen [Repeat Performance]
Rod Stewart - Maggie May [Repeat Performance]
Rolling Stones - Brown Sugar [Repeat Performance]
Rolling Stones - Get Off Of My Cloud [Repeat Performance]
Sonny & Cher - I Got You Babe [Repeat Performance]
Spandau Ballet - TRUE [Repeat Performance]
Status Quo - Pictures Of Matchstick Men [Repeat Performance]
Supremes - Baby Love [Repeat Performance]
T.Rex - Get It On [Repeat Performance]
The Beat - Can't Get Used To Losing You [Performance]
The Move - Fire Brigade [Repeat Performance]
Zoo / New Edition - Candy Girl [Performance]

(2-2 for man u vs brighton, late equaliser from brighton. man u won 4-0 in the replay)

joboxers again, different song.

I really have no memory of them. I'm surprised, as I would have thought that a band that was a bit Dexys and a bit Madness would have caught the attention of a nine year old snoball.

my brother had their album, I thought they were crap. amazed that most of them were in Subway Sect though.

Thread:
In Praise of: "Just Got Lucky" by the Joboxers

FFS when do these presenters stop mispronouncing Depeche Mode "Depesh-ay Mode"?

Also I'd forgotten what a massive creep KC looks like singing 'Give It Up', adding an extra dimension to an otherwise by-the-numbers summer pop hit.