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Topic: Top of the Pops on BBC Four - Thread Two.

Started by Dr Rock, August 26, 2018, 02:21:41 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

buzby

Quote from: daf on May 27, 2019, 12:00:49 PM
10 December 1987: Presenter: Mike Smith

(4) PET SHOP BOYS – Always On My Mind
Another great re-interpretation by the PSBs. The trusty combo of Emulator II and Fairlight Series III returns and they show Jan Hammer how to do a playback performance with a Fairlight by having their name written in notes set up to scroll across the screen on the Page R sequencer.

Julian Mendelsohn's extended mix contains samples of Joss Ackland's dialogue from It Couldn't Happen Here, and extra scenes were shot for the video and to include the song in the film. Mixmaster' Phil Harding and Ian Curnow did an extended dance mix that is badically SAW cheese with a new synth melody that's totally ripped off from Spagna's Call Me. It does feature a the new line 'You were always in my house' leading into the break that was specially recorded for Harding by Tennant. This version would be reworked by the band and Mendelsohn to remove some of the the cheese (and add a rap by Tenannt)  for their Introspective remix album.

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(27) JOHNNY HATES JAZZ – Turn Back The Clock
A Fender Rhodes, E-Mu Emax, baby grand and a Beatle Bass. And that is literally the most interesitng thing I can say about this song.

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(9) ALISON MOYET – Love Letters
Er, Dick Haymes had a hit with it in 1945, Smith, long before the Ketty Lester version.
Quote from: Satchmo Distel on May 27, 2019, 08:39:12 PM
One of those she now disowns and refuses to perform live?
Like Weak In The Presence Of Beauty, it was a song she cynically chose to record because she thought it would be a hit, not because she liked it. She was under a lot of pressure from her label at that time and the whole period surrounding Raindancing was not a happy one for her. She did recently bring it back into her set (for her European tour in January this year) but prior to that it had only been performed a handful of times since 1987.

The video famously features French & Saunders doing a bit of business. Moyet had been friends with French since 1982, and she had been the special guest on the debut episode of French & Saunders in March this year so appearing in the video was probably repaying the favour.

Quote from: daf on May 31, 2019, 09:55:29 PM
(20) KRUSH – House Arrest
First Footing

For me, this was the best of the house crossover singles of the time (better than the stuff Coldcut and Bomb the Bass were having commercial success with).  I had the 12" of this, and my 13-year-old self was obsessed with its B side, Jack's Back / Back Beat, which sounded like nothing I'd ever heard before.  Still a nice track, though hard to understand why it seemed so special at the time.

With House Arrest still a favourite of mine, I remember going into a secondhand record shop a few years later, looking for other Krush tracks from the back catalogue.   I was disappointed to learn that they only released one other single, a very minor hit called Walking on Sunshine, which sounded nothing like House Arrest or Jack's Back, and then they disappeared forever.

One of its members, Mark Brydon, went on to later form Moloko.

Jockice

#1172
Quote from: Darles Chickens on June 01, 2019, 11:17:32 AM
For me, this was the best of the house crossover singles of the time (better than the stuff Coldcut and Bomb the Bass were having commercial success with).  I had the 12" of this, and my 13-year-old self was obsessed with its B side, Jack's Back / Back Beat, which sounded like nothing I'd ever heard before.  Still a nice track, though hard to understand why it seemed so special at the time.

With House Arrest still a favourite of mine, I remember going into a secondhand record shop a few years later, looking for other Krush tracks from the back catalogue.   I was disappointed to learn that they only released one other single, a very minor hit called Walking on Sunshine, which sounded nothing like House Arrest or Jack's Back, and then they disappeared forever.

One of its members, Mark Brydon, went on to later form Moloko.

Mark had also previously been a member of Chakk.

This single was a product of Fon Records in Sheffield which recorded some great stuff but often had problems with getting it into the shops. They did a Pulp single called Death Comes To Town, which was never released. The Krush  single was licensed to a major and was a deserved hit. I'm not sure what happened afterwards, or indeed with The Funky Worm, who had a hit the following year but also vanished quite quickly (I don't mean I don't know what happened to the members. I'm still in touch with a couple of them.).

Fon's business practices left a lot to be desired (I don't mean they were dishonest, just inept) and unlike Factory in Manchester or Zoo in Liverpool, or Good Vibrations in Belfast they didn't have a charismatic figurehead to promote them. I know those are from earlier days but the way Fon's boss (who shall remain nameless because he was quite rude to me last time we met) used to talk, they were going to revolutionise the music business. It was all bluff you know (and I knew that at the time) but unlike Wilson, Drummond or Hooley he just couldn't carry it off.

Incidentally, Robert Gordon, the producer on this track, is a neighbour of an old mate of mine. He hates Fon now. And Warp. He claims that both screwed him over. I couldn't possibly comment.

buzby

Quote from: daf on May 30, 2019, 10:05:33 PM
17 December 1987: Presenters: Gary Davies & Mike Read

(21) WET WET WET – Angel Eyes (Home & Away)
This smirking prick again. More stolen lyrics, this time an entire verse almost verbatim from Squeeze's Heartbreaking World, for which Difford would sue them and got a writing credit.
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(17) SIMPLY RED – Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye
Such a fucking dreary dirge. The only thing that could liven this up would be Hucknall pushing  his Pink Pancakes against the camera lens.
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(20) NAT KING COLE - When I Fall In Love
Ha, shenanigans ahoy! EMI owned Cole's back catalogue, so they decided to release the original version to cash in on Astley's cover becoming a hit. That it also took sales of Astley's version, helping the PSBs (on EMI's Parlophone label) get no. 1 was an added bonus.
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(19) BELINDA CARLISLE – Heaven Is A Place On Earth (US TOTP clip)
I do find it odd thatTOTP USA seemed to have had a live vocals policy years before they did it in the UK. Her voice is quite raspy in this too - I wonder if there were a few retakes?

The song's writers Ellen Shipley and Rick Nowels (who also produced) provide backing vocals on the record, alongside Diane Warren (who wrote some of the songs for the parent album Heaven On Earth, including future singe I Gat Weak) and Michelle Phillips, with Thomas Dolby playing additional keyboards.

Seeing as it entered ar #25 this week and just missed the Breakers (and would never got played), here's
(25) NEW ORDER – Touched By The Hand Of God (video)
Originally written and recorded for the soundtrack they did for the film Salvation!, a parody of US televangelists, starring Stephen McHattie and a young Viggo Mortensen and produced by Factory US manager Michael H. Shamberg (hence how they got the gig).

After the chart success of True Faith, it was decided to re-record the song with Arthur Baker mixing as a single to capitalise on their enhanced profile. The video was directed by Kathryn Bigelow and includes scenes featuring Bill Paxton (it was filmed while they were in the UK promoting Bigelow's film Near Dark) and Commando's Rae Dawn Chong intercut with the band in a parody of hair metal videos, including a visibly uncomfortable Gilllian in a corset and thigh boots. Hooky looks right at home though (it would be not far from the look he adopted for his terrible solo project Revenge)  Rob Gretton also comes on to take a bow at the end

Sadly the song peaked at #20 three weeks later - I can't help but think if the video had been played on TOTP it might have got further.

Sebastian Cobb

Quote from: Bobby Treetops on June 01, 2019, 09:23:53 AM
As someone who has a stutter, this song brings back some pretty bad memories for me. I would have been 13 at the time and before this came out my stutter was rarely commented on at school, but afterwards every time I got stuck on a word, inevitably some joker would pipe up 'Alright, Stutter Rap'. It was always said in jest and it was teenage boys being teenage boys but it subsequently made my stutter worse.

Much like the Mini Pops record that's lingering in the top forty this week, it was ill considered and thought out.

I hate it because it's a bunch of middle class wankers lampooning something they haven't bothered to understand. It really is an insult to hiphop in a way that GLC or Pitman weren't.

It's a shame some Irishman didn't pack Tony Hawks into that fridge and push it into the sea.

sweeper

Marti Pellow's making me think about the undertaker from Phantasm, for some reason.

Jockice

#1176
I actually quite like Wet Wet Wet's first album but surely 'people say I'm so automatic, people say I'm not so systematic' must be one of the worst couplets in pop history, especially with the high-pitched noise he makes in between.

I mean, what does it mean anyway? I've been to Clydebank several times (I lived only a few miles away) and never heard anyone there use the word systematic for any reason. But he expects us to believe that more than one person in his life has said: "You know your problem Marti, you're so automatic. But looking on the brighter side, at least you're not so systematic."

No wonder they nicked other people's lyrics
.

Sebastian Cobb

Remember when Marti Pellow and Hucknall had a fued over the who was the king of blue-eyed soul despite the correct answer being 'neither of you'?

daf



buzby

Quote from: sweeper on June 01, 2019, 02:16:11 PM
Marti Pellow's making me think about the undertaker from Phantasm, for some reason.
I like to think of one of the silver death spheres from Phantasm drilling into his forehead.

The Culture Bunker

Quote from: buzby on June 01, 2019, 12:28:41 PMAfter the chart success of True Faith, it was decided to re-record the song with Arthur Baker mixing as a single to capitalise on their enhanced profile. The video was directed by Kathryn Bigelow and includes scenes featuring Bill Paxton (it was filmed while they were in the UK promoting Bigelow's film Near Dark) and Commando's Rae Dawn Chong intercut with the band in a parody of hair metal videos, including a visibly uncomfortable Gilllian in a corset and thigh boots. Hooky looks right at home though (it would be not far from the look he adopted for his terrible solo project Revenge)  Rob Gretton also comes on to take a bow at the end
I always thought Barney pointing at Gillian on the "I've never looked at you in a sexual way in my life before" was a bit rum.

Quote from: Jockice on June 01, 2019, 12:22:47 PM
Incidentally, Robert Gordon, the producer on this track, is a neighbour of an old mate of mine. He hates Fon now. And Warp. He claims that both screwed him over. I couldn't possibly comment.

I was a fan, he should have been up there with Sweet Exorcist and LFO as an early UK techno pioneer- he seemed to just disappear. His mix of Rhythmatic - Take Me Back is a bass 'n' bleeps classic.

https://youtu.be/fWk_S_lyFa0

Sebastian Cobb

Quote from: Better Midlands on June 03, 2019, 04:42:59 PM
I was a fan, he should have been up there with Sweet Exorcist and LFO as an early UK techno pioneer- he seemed to just disappear. His mix of Rhythmatic - Take Me Back is a bass 'n' bleeps classic.

https://youtu.be/fWk_S_lyFa0

you might be interested in this: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0005k9z/scoobs-and-the-rave-years

Jockice

Quote from: Better Midlands on June 03, 2019, 04:42:59 PM
I was a fan, he should have been up there with Sweet Exorcist and LFO as an early UK techno pioneer- he seemed to just disappear. His mix of Rhythmatic - Take Me Back is a bass 'n' bleeps classic.

https://youtu.be/fWk_S_lyFa0

I agree. I'm not sure exactly what happened with Fon and Warp (I've heard stories from both sides) but he became very disillusioned. He still does some musical stuff but it's very low-key. I don't know him very well but he's big mates with my friend from the same road (they share a certain...er...interest) so I'm sort of kept up to date with what he's doing.

Quote from: Sebastian Cobb on June 03, 2019, 04:48:01 PM
you might be interested in this: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0005k9z/scoobs-and-the-rave-years

Cheers, I'll check this out.


Quote from: Jockice on June 03, 2019, 07:36:22 PM
I agree. I'm not sure exactly what happened with Fon and Warp (I've heard stories from both sides) but he became very disillusioned. He still does some musical stuff but it's very low-key. I don't know him very well but he's big mates with my friend from the same road (they share a certain...er...interest) so I'm sort of kept up to date with what he's doing.

I had a bit of a read into it, I think I can work out the unsavoury character you mention above. I can see that there was a lot of money involved very early on which would cause trouble amongst everyone.

Jockice

Quote from: Better Midlands on June 04, 2019, 10:42:13 AM
Cheers, I'll check this out.


I had a bit of a read into it, I think I can work out the unsavoury character you mention above. I can see that there was a lot of money involved very early on which would cause trouble amongst everyone.

My mate Stuart? Nah, he's okay. He decorated my flat you know.

Quote from: Jockice on June 01, 2019, 12:22:47 PM
I know those are from earlier days but the way Fon's boss (who shall remain nameless because he was quite rude to me last time we met) used to talk, they were going to revolutionise the music business. It was all bluff you know (and I knew that at the time) but unlike Wilson, Drummond or Hooley he just couldn't carry it off

A.R. ?


Quote from: Jockice on June 04, 2019, 11:25:05 AM
I know who you're referring to, but no, not him.

*puts deerstalker hat back in the cupboard*

Jockice

Quote from: Better Midlands on June 04, 2019, 11:29:07 AM
*puts deerstalker hat back in the cupboard*

Not that he's a total innocent either...

kaprisky

Usual question: how many episodes are we missing from the 1988 run?

buzby

Quote from: kaprisky on June 07, 2019, 11:56:05 PM
Usual question: how many episodes are we missing from the 1988 run?
Four:
28/01/88 (co-presenting with Davies)
04/02;88 (solo) - both of these mean we lose Tiffany's studio performance of I think We're Alone Now.
10/03/88 (cc-presenting with Wright)
31/03/88 (co-presenting with Campbell)

The 25/12/88 Christams episode will most likely be edited to excise the 'Gary Joins The JAMs' performance of Doctorin' The Tardis, and the 25th Anniversary episode on 31/12/88 has the double Yewtree whammy of  Savile and Glitter.

Jockice

Quote from: buzby on June 08, 2019, 12:14:48 AM
Four:
28/01/88 (co-presenting with Davies)
04/02;88 (solo) - both of these mean we lose Tiffany's studio performance of I think We're Alone Now.
10/03/88 (cc-presenting with Wright)
31/03/88 (co-presenting with Campbell)

The 25/12/88 Christams episode will most likely be edited to excise the 'Gary Joins The JAMs' performance of Doctorin' The Tardis, and the 25th Anniversary episode on 31/12/88 has the double Yewtree whammy of  Savile and Glitter.

The Tiffany performance was on the hits of 88 thing last night though. I've always had a bit of a soft spot for that single, even though I was an indie ultra in those days.

kaprisky

Thanks buzby. Four isn't as bad as the 16 we had for '87 I suppose.

I liked how on Story of '88 they had some rushes/rehearsal footage of the studio, for instance the bit where the Yazz track stops and someone shouts out: "I was enjoying that!".


daf

Quote from: Jockice on June 08, 2019, 08:48:05 AM
The Tiffany performance was on the hits of 88 thing last night though.

That's the US TOTP performance - which we will see again, as it was originally shown on the 14 Jan show (presented by Davies & Mayo).

It's a shame they didn't think to use the 'Jumper' performance - as that's the one we'll not get to see on BBC4.

Norton Canes

Another great 'Story of...' doc for 1988 - Wayne Hussey and Wendy James particularly good value, Mark Moore of S'Express sounding just as exuberant now as he was then. Some nice rehearsal footage from one of the shows too.

I was a bit disappointed with no Timelords in either programme, myself. I'm hoping it was an issue of not being able to get anybody to interview rather than foreshadowing larger cuts than required...

buzby

Quote from: daf on May 31, 2019, 09:55:29 PM
31 December 1987: Presenters: Gary Davies & Peter Powell

(20) KRUSH – House Arrest
This has been pretty comprehensively covered in the thread already. For the performance there's an E-Mu Emax, Casio AZ-1 keytar MIDI controller (with the 'IO' taped over) and nice use of the monitor wall behind them showing the video. The track features the snare drum sample used by New Order on True Faith and the 1987 re-recording of Confusion (which I think originated from Morris' Yamaha RX5).

The singer Ruth Joy had made her debut singing backing vocals on PWEI's Grebo Guru and U.B.L.U.D[/url] from their Box Frenzy album (I think she also appears briefly in the video for the awful Beaver Patrol). In the video for House Arrest she wears a PWEI baseball cap.

In the 5 years between House Arrest and Walking On Sunshine she signed to MCA as a solo artist, releasing 3 singles between 1989 and 1991 (including Soul Power, co-produced by Rob Gordon, and the excellent Kurtis Mantronik-produced Don't Push It. Unfortunately none of her singles got higher than the mid-60s in the UK charts. Her solo album Pride & Joy was eventually released at the beginning of 1992 and was effectively a compilation of tracks she had worked on since 1989 and as well as Mantronik and Rob Gordon there were collaborations with Carl McIntosh, Les Adams, Nomad Soul and Aswad. Unfortunately it was not a chart success.

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(31) CLIMIE FISHER – Rise To The Occasion
Hmm, bandwagon jumping, anyone? The original version of the song was a rather pedestrian soul ballad produced by Stephen Hague. This was handed over to 'Mixmaster' Phil Harding and Ian Curnow at PWL by their label EMI, requesting a club mix. The tempo was too slow for the dancefloor though, so they decided to do a hip-hop remix, and as is traditional for Harding it ended up being 'inspired' by another track, this time Pump Up The Volume (the background percussion loop is sampled from M/A/R/R/S' track and slowed down in the Infernal Machine). This was also no doubt seen as some kind 'fuck you' by Waterman over them still managing to knock Astley off the No.1 even after the dodgy Roadblock lawsuit. I wonder if EMI cleared all those samples?

The original version of the song was released as a single at the end of November and after a couple of weeks it had just entered the Top 75. The Harding & Curnow remix had been going down well in the clubs,so it was decided to ask Harding to do a 7" edit of the remix to put ot alongside the original version of single (it started out as a Limited Edition 3-track 7" with the remix on the B-side, and shortly afterwards replaced the original on the A-side), and this new mix then started getting airplay and climbing the charts.

for the studio performance, Rob Fisher has a Yamaha DX7 and Roland D50, but on his other stand is an Atari 1040St running the Steinberg Pro-24 sequencer. It's a pity he didn't actually have anything playing on it during the performance though (the black rectangle in the middle of the screen shows note volume on each track when it's playing). Simon Climie appears to have decided to take his jumper off at the last minute and now doesn't know what to do with it.

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(5) BELINDA CARLISLE – Heaven Is A Place On Earth (video)
Fi-i-i-i-ive
Directed by Diane Keaton, no less.
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(23) MORRIS MINOR & THE MAJORS – Stutter Rap (No Sleep Til Bedtime)
As another (ex) stammerer, this can fuck right off.

buzby

Quote from: Peter St. John on June 08, 2019, 04:53:05 PM
I was a bit disappointed with no Timelords in either programme, myself. I'm hoping it was an issue of not being able to get anybody to interview rather than foreshadowing larger cuts than required...
They made 2 appearances - one was the 'top hat sand capes' performance on 09/06/88 which was a Mayo/Powell episode so should be ok. The VT of this was repeated  the following week when they got to number one. It's only the Christmas episode ''Nazarene pointed hoods' appearance with Glitter that will be excised.

Regarding The Story Of, although Bill & Jimmy won't talk about it, there were contemporary interviews and features from the likes of Rapido  they could have used. They could also go and talk toth elikes of Nick Coler or Mark 'Spike' Stent, their long-time studio engineers.