Chart Music Podcast

[Satchmo Distel]

You're either going to love Al or hate him. Same with Taylor. The first "smells of unwashed cock" line or reference to granny wanting your spunk will have you hooked or appalled. I don't think that they are aiming for a larger than cult audience. It's not jolly japes.

[Satchmo Distel]

Message from Al:

Pop-Crazed Youngsters,

A brief heads-up to apologise for no new Chart Music action this month, due to technical issues and being blindsided with ridiculous amounts of other work and other assorted  mither on the part of your host. 

The good news is that the next episode is being edited over the weekend and the episode after that has already been lined up, so we're looking at two new episodes in Feb, along with finally getting round to sorting out the David Q&A. And we're looking into work-arounds so you can stream the full, ad-free episodes instead of having to download them.

Ta for your patience.

Stay Pop-Crazed,
Al

[billyandthecloneasaurus]

I would say the CM chart rundown near the beginning which is just a list of unexplained in-jokes wouldn't entice a new listener

I fucking love the podcast but that injoke chart thing is just fucking crap.  GET RID.

[Nelson]

Aw, it's a bit of harmless fun.

The straight-faced, unexplained references to The Old Sailor in the last episode really tickled me.

[non capisco]

The straight-faced, unexplained references to The Old Sailor in the last episode really tickled me.

Reminded me of someone who posted here saying they heard someone in a record shop asking for a record by 'The Loneliest Monk'.

[DrGreggles]

I fucking love the podcast but that injoke chart thing is just fucking crap.  GET RID.

Nah

[Jim_MacLaine]

Message from Al:
finally getting round to sorting out the David Q&A.

No rush mate.

[non capisco]

^ I'm eager to hear it, Al apparently answers the jingle-jangling elephant in the room question. 

[DrGreggles]

That Q&A has been pending for a while - I've actually forgotten the question I asked Stubbsy.
Probably about Kraftwerk or something else to do with his (excellent) book.

[famethrowa]

Stubbsy can be a little annoying with his umming and ahhing, but he made reference to the Two Ronnies on the "Rue De Remarques" so he's alright by me. In fact he may have done it twice?

[Natnar]

I wonder if Al has anything special planned for the 50th episode? An episode with all of them in it or a special guest maybe?

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

B.A. Cunterson?

I don't think they should ever invite anyone else in, unless the very special guest was also a member of the '80s/'90s Maker staff. Another voice from that era could be interesting, but I don't like the idea of the established CM gang bringing in novelty guests. Chris Needham, for example, is an obvious choice, but Al would be better off interviewing him for a side-podcast. That would be mint.

[Natnar]

Maybe someone who has actually performed on Top Of The Pops? I would think that Al or the others must be mates with some of the performers that appeared on Top Of The Pops. It'd be interesting to hear what doing Top Of The Pops at the time was like.

[DrGreggles]

I wonder if Al has anything special planned for the 50th episode? An episode with all of them in it or a special guest maybe?

Nah. Normal episode please!

[famethrowa]

I wonder if Al has anything special planned for the 50th episode?

Savile

[Uncle TechTip]

Carol Decker and Wendy James were both good fun on the Story Of shows, acutely aware of the absurdities.

[DrGreggles]

I thought Wendy James came across as a bit full of herself to be honest.
Decker's famously a good laugh though, isn't she.

[Natnar]

Taylor and Toyah! What could go wrong...

[DrGreggles]

Anyway, I think it's new episode eve.
https://twitter.com/ChartMusicTOTP/status/1226600573543362560

[non capisco]

It's now available for the High Flying Cats.

Spoiler alert

Simon and Taylor! 1980! Four hours forty five minutes!

[close]

[Beep Cleep Chimney]

Quote a lot to take in here. 

[Epic Bisto]

Halfway through and so far I've openly guffawed at Taylor's crowdfunding project, the saga of Sound TV, and Elvis Costello described as an incel "full of righteousness...with a cock glowing with wank blisters".  This is all killer and no filler so far.

[Golden E. Pump]

This may be the best episode yet, guys.

Banger.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

I'm glad Simon finally got the chance to explain, in an entirely reasonable way, why he doesn't particularly care for The Beatles.

Spoiler alert

He doesn't hate them, he recognises their cultural and historical importance, and he actually quite likes some of their music. But they just don't really click with him, which is fair enough. Plus he got sick of being told at an early age that he'd missed out on the best period of music ever and that nothing he liked would ever match it. Which isn't the Beatles' fault, but he acknowledges that.

[close]

.

As he also said, being a music journalist who doesn't rate the Beatles highly puts him in a slightly awkward position, as he doesn't want to be perceived as some sort of annoyingly performative iconoclast. That's obviously not the case, though.

Anyway, I agree with Taylor. Dollar's cover of I Want To Hold Your Hand is crap.

[boki]

Daangerfreeeeeeeeeeeaks!  I remember the theme tune (or at least that particular bit of it) far more than I do anything else on the show, which is weird for a stunt show, especially as like most boys growing up in the 80s, I was all over that shit.

[gilbertharding]

I'm glad Simon finally got the chance to explain, in an entirely reasonable way, why he doesn't particularly care for The Beatles.

Spoiler alert

He doesn't hate them, he recognises their cultural and historical importance, and he actually quite likes some of their music. But they just don't really click with him, which is fair enough. Plus he got sick of being told at an early age that he'd missed out on the best period of music ever and that nothing he liked would ever match it. Which isn't the Beatles' fault, but he acknowledges that.

[close]

.

As he also said, being a music journalist who doesn't rate the Beatles highly puts him in a slightly awkward position, as he doesn't want to be perceived as some sort of annoyingly performative iconoclast. That's obviously not the case, though.

Anyway, I agree with Taylor. Dollar's cover of I Want To Hold Your Hand is crap.

Was it him who came up with the phrase "Sit down and eat your Beatles"?

If it was him, it kind of encapsulates all the things you/he explained. Well - for me, anyway. I like the Beatles - a LOT (but not to the maniacal extent some seem to). I also like green vegetables (not as much).

Dollar's I Want to Hold Your Hand was, for me, vindication of liking The Beatles as a 10 year old. Other kids used to give me stick for it, and I remember one girl in particular laughingly wonder why I didn't like modern groups like Dollar. And then they released I Want to Hold Your Hand.

[Brundle-Fly]

Dollar's I Want to Hold Your Hand was, for me, vindication of liking The Beatles as a 10 year old. Other kids used to give me stick for it, and I remember one girl in particular laughingly wonder why I didn't like modern groups like Dollar. And then they released I Want to Hold Your Hand.

What kind of 'cool' primary school were you attending that had ten-year-old schoolmates giving a flying fuck about what music you were into?  At that age In my class, all we liked was Frere Jacques, Lord Of The Dance and the theme tune to the Hair Bear Bunch,

Oh, and Station To Station.

[DrGreggles]

I like The Beatles a lot. A LOT.

But I hate David van Day more.

[gilbertharding]

What kind of 'cool' primary school were you attending that had ten-year-old schoolmates giving a flying fuck about what music you were into?  At that age In my class, all we liked was Frere Jacques, Lord Of The Dance and the theme tune to the Hair Bear Bunch,

Oh, and Station To Station.

What? Everyone watched Top of the Pops. And I had a big sister who liked Zeppelin, 10cc and the Beatles (and Genesis, unfortunately).

I can also remember *vividly* in Infants School, girls doing their handstands against the wall, singing "B A Y, B A Y, B A Y C I T Y, with an R O double-L E R S, Bay City Rollers are the best."

Boys, meanwhile, charged around the playground singing "We won the war! In Nineteen Seventy Four!"

[Brundle-Fly]

What? Everyone watched Top of the Pops. And I had a big sister who liked Zeppelin, 10cc and the Beatles (and Genesis, unfortunately).

I can also remember *vividly* in Infants School, girls doing their handstands against the wall, singing "B A Y, B A Y, B A Y C I T Y, with an R O double-L E R S, Bay City Rollers are the best."

Boys, meanwhile, charged around the playground singing "We won the war! In Nineteen Seventy Four!"

Oh, of course, we all watched TOTP but I don't recall any fandom rivalry as such at that young age. It was  all just music. Mind you, I was 10 in 1976 and you were 10 in 1980 so perhaps, there might have been a shift by then?

I do 'member dressing up as a teddy boy for a school assembly that year and miming to the original version of Rockin' Robin off of the K-Tel 'Goofy Greats' bubblegum pop compilation.