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

Not recommended for the fuller figured man tbh. Nice to see reggae was still getting in the charts in '86.

I remember that Sigue Sigue Sputnik performance, and I remember likening it to a hit of poppers: fantastic for the first minute, then you're just left with a numbed-out headache.

I remember that it should have been lots of flash bang wallop riz riz boom. And it was four or five blokes standing around, plus two drummers.

Some national newspapers around the time were all 'this band is terrible' mock outrage kind of thing, which got 12 year old snoball interested because I remembered similar media coverage with Frankie Goes To Hollywood two years previously. But the reality was that Frankie genuinely were exciting while SSS were just a bit dull and repetitive.

'Love Missile F1-11' is a 30 second song repeated six times to make a 3 minute single, and '21st Century Boy' is basically the same basic backing track with some rockabilly guitars and a Billy Idol impersonation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6fudSHb0js
Even Bowie can't make this song sound repetitive.

I mean can't make this song not sound repetitive

Tonight's episode, featuring Simon Bates as a your friendly late night bigoted taxi driver.

That dark brown leather jacket screams "I'm a wanker and it's 1986".

Despite recently not turning out to be an Operation Yewtree suspect, Cliff ironically looks like Gary Glitter in this video for 'Living Doll'.

Some national newspapers around the time were all 'this band is terrible' mock outrage kind of thing
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/IUgAAOSw0fFZe6Yt/s-l500.jpg

As if Paul Morley was in any place to judge SSS.

I remember the video for 'A Different Corner' but I'd forgotten about that fuck-awful mullet. It's like George went to Noel Edmonds' barber.

Criminally this might be Falco's only UK TV appearance.

Although this week they play the excellent video. Pity Gary Davis is prattling on over the top of it.

Just Say No smoke up in a bathroom in the White House (allegedly)

"George Michael and 'A Different Corner'" although apparently not a different photo because it's the BBC and they'll just use a still from the video to 'Careless Whisper' like it's still 1984.

Sly Fox - "Let's Go All The Way" – Classic or Dud?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bXIL0DTJGo

"My Favourite Waste Of Mime"

Quite a trajectory in UK pop during these years. Until about 78 - when punk had caught up with the charts - TOTP was mostly a parade of appalling novelty records and MOR. Then for a few years we had an injection of experimental, interesting pop records - until 83/4, then mostly trash again. I generalise of course. Watching these re-runs is like a graph of my interest in pop music during the late 70s/80s.

Pete Cetera looks like a serial killer in this video.

Oh my god

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVR9JykPC-0

Steve Wright: "OK, so this week I'm going to dress like a complete tosser by wearing jeans, a shirt, and a jumper."
Peter Powell: "Hold my beer..." (grabs tie)

Peter Powell: "Also I won't bother to shave for extra creep points."

https://78.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ljl17sqgyX1qzujsgo1_400.gif

I think Holiday Rap could be my favourite novelty record.

Has any pop star in history had more bad haircuts than Howard Jones?

Chris Waddle?

DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince WTF?!?!

That seems ridiculously early as I think of Will Smith as a very 90s act.

Yeah, he didn't even get top billing in them days

wow does Shaky look bored here

Top class silliness from Duran Duran. They (most of the time) don't take themselves too seriously, one of the reasons I prefer them to Spandau Ballet. I've always liked 'Notorious', to the point where I think it might be their best 80s track after 'Rio'.

The video for 'Take My Breath Away' was shown a lot on TV at the time, but until now I never noticed that the singer's jumpsuit appeared to be smeared with excrement on one side.

Take two Yamaha DX7 keyboards into the shower? Yes, because we're Mick Hucknall's backing band.

My theory is that Falco looks cool because he's not afraid to come across as a fool. Everyone else so far this episode has been far too worried about seeming credible.

John Peel on TOTP is this guy basically

https://local.theonion.com/awful-man-offers-witty-acerbic-take-on-everything-he-s-1819570846

That was his last edition supposedly for years, you can see why.

Gary Davis: "One of the hottest disco records around" - he's just not trying to be cool at this point. Or maybe trying too hard?

Also why is he dressed like a scout leader?

Also I remember watching Man 2 Man Meets Mann Parrish when it was first broadcast but the obvious gay subtext went completely over nearly-13-year-old snoball's head.

Astonishingly, i never even twigged from the sleeve

https://img.discogs.com/DmILqIJcPvd_qpuLAnfPaiuubG4=/fit-in/600x600/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-782778-1158280435.jpeg.jpg

As a kid at the time if you weren't aware of gay subcultures it could be mistaken for that Athena poster aesthetic?

I had said at the time, it was the one record "since" that actually reminded me of the Velvet Underground!

"With the full support of the British record industry" here's another completely unknown singer representing the UK at Eurovision. This song only reached 96 in the UK singles chart.

Which one was that?!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAi1UfpXi-Y

Yeah I have no memory of this either.

Still, the current entrant would dream of getting to 96 in the chart