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

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

Bernard Sumner dances like someone trying to take a dump while climbing a ladder.

they've changed a bananarama

You've read Karl Marx and you've taught yourself to use a rhyming dictionary... oh wait you haven't because you've tried to rhyme 'Marx' with 'dance'.

(that's weird - i watched 1988 big hits episode this morning and the above line jumped out at me too (is bros))

I'd love to know what Neil is thinking when he looks at the camera here. Maybe something like "fuck everyone at Smash Hits who thought this would be over in a year".

oh wow, is this 'shit Bros lyrics' hour? "I watch you crumble like a very old wall"

Phil Collins looks like a boy wearing his dad's suit. It's a real marvel of late 80s boxy shouldered baggy trousered tailoring.

Xpost I used to think it was "I want your bum boy, like a very old boy"

I knew it couldn't be, but never found out what it really was.

Anyone else watch the TOTP Christmas show yesterday? Would that be what TOTP would be like if it were revived today? Because it seemed very Brit School and safe.