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

[buzby]

They were from Bristol and at the time taking a classic song and giving it that "modern" sound was also being done by Wild Bunch - The Look Of Love and Smith and Mighty - Anyone/Walk On By

Although not from Bristol, one of the earliest examples of this was Bomb The Bass' cover of Say A Little Prayer. Later on we got the likes of St Etienne with Only Love Can Break Your Heart, Quartz featuring Dina Carroll's It's Too Late and Beats International's Dub Be Good To Me.

[Darles Chickens]

I really Like Betty Boo's second album. I'm not being ironic.

Me too - it's a fun record.  Real shame it bombed and basically marked the end of her career as a performer.

[Better Midlands]

Although not from Bristol, one of the earliest examples of this was Bomb The Bass' cover of Say A Little Prayer. Later on we got the likes of St Etienne with Only Love Can Break Your Heart, Quartz featuring Dina Carroll's It's Too Late and Beats International's Dub Be Good To Me.

Sybil did quite well taking it further in a pop direction with Don't Make Me Over & Walk On By going to #19 and #6 respectively.

[buzby]

Me too - it's a fun record.  Real shame it bombed and basically marked the end of her career as a performer.

Madonna was also a big fan of her and offered to sign her to Maverick Records after her second album. She was in New York in 1994 and got a call from Madonna asking if she wanted to go out to dinner. She thought it was a joke at first, but went over to her apartment where they had a drink before going out to a restaurant.

The top photo was taken at the restaurant by Tupac Shakur. She was wearing a Versace leopard-print jacket and as well as enthusing about her music all evening and how she was setting up her own label, Madonna kept going on about how much she loved her jacket. At the end of the night when she was getting dropped off at her hotel, Boo took the jacket off and gave it to her, and she later wore it for the press interviews promotong her Bedtime Stories album.

She had started work on tracks for a third album before Madonna offered to sign her , but her mother was then diagnosed with terminal cancer and having already lost her father she turned it down so she could look after her. She died in 1995. After that she went into songwriting

Around 2002 she also started to think about coming back and was working on tracks for a third album with Matt Fletcher/Rampage/MixPro (who did the 1991-95 'Now Get Out Of That' TOTP theme with Tony Gibber and played the italo piano on that dreadful One Foot In The Grave remix that came up on here recently), but that never came to anything. The only thing she has officially put out as Betty Boo since was the Take Off single with Jack Rokka in 2007.

[monkfromhavana]

The song is a cover of Rose Royce's - Wishing On a Star, but instrumentally it is basically the intro of Faze O - Riding High looped with Funky Drummer and Hot Pants breaks underneath.

They were from Bristol and at the time taking a classic song and giving it that "modern" sound was also being done by Wild Bunch - The Look Of Love and Smith and Mighty - Anyone/Walk On By

Also the first production from DJ Krust & his brother Flynn (from Flynn & Flora).

[Better Midlands]

Also the first production from DJ Krust & his brother Flynn (from Flynn & Flora).

The mixed Funky Drummer/Hot Pants break from WOAS was used by Goldie on Metalheads - Terminator for the pitch shifting section.

[daf]

Me too - it's a fun record.  Real shame it bombed and basically marked the end of her career as a performer.

So good I bought it twice - back in 1992, and the deluxe edition a few years ago - which includes loads of extended versions and remixes.

Tony the Tiger says : It's GRRRRRRReat!

[daf]

The only thing she has officially put out as Betty Boo since was the Take Off single with Jack Rokka in 2007.

Does this count? - Wigwam video / GMTV (2006)

[buzby]

Does this count? - Wigwam video / GMTV (2006)

She was using her real name in Wigwam (despite what the presenter calls her). Also:

The remaining duo of Paul Carter and Amanda Glanfield did a lot of work with The Shamen, and work for the likes of Scooch and Girls Aloud (collaborating again with Alison 'Betty Boo' Clarkson, who had moved on to her second career as a songwriter). The last thing they seem to have done was produced the Alison Clarkson/Alex James project Wigwam in 2006.

She got to know Alex James through her husband and manager Paul Toogood (he was also the manager of Echo & The Bunnymen when they reformed in the late 90s, and co-produced their albums). The video was filmed outside The Groucho Club, which seems to loom large whenever Alex James in involved in anything (see also Fat Les).

With The Beatmasters she got 3 tracks onto Girls Aloud's debut album Sound Of The Undergound. When it went double platinum, their record company phoned her up and saying thay had a platinum disc for her, and they needed her address. She gave it to them, then they asked for a £250 cheque for the disc, so she told them to stick it up their arse. She also famously fell out with Cheryl Tweedy (as she was then), when she let slip she was working on songs for her solo album in a radio interview before the news of Girls Aloud's split had broken. Tweedy called her 'lying shit' and that nobody knew who she was so she was using her name for publicty. Clarkson's response was that Tweedy was a 'silly old cow' and that they needed to have a fight.

[Sebastian Cobb]

They were from Bristol and at the time taking a classic song and giving it that "modern" sound was also being done by Wild Bunch - The Look Of Love and Smith and Mighty - Anyone/Walk On By

Although not from Bristol, one of the earliest examples of this was Bomb The Bass' cover of Say A Little Prayer. Later on we got the likes of St Etienne with Only Love Can Break Your Heart, Quartz featuring Dina Carroll's It's Too Late and Beats International's Dub Be Good To Me.

As opposed to the 4 Hero way of taking a classic song (Les Fleurs) and making it sound exactly the same.

[Better Midlands]

As opposed to the 4 Hero way of taking a classic song (Les Fleurs) and making it sound exactly the same.

See also Nuyorican Soul - I Am The Black Gold Of The Sun

[steveh]

As opposed to the 4 Hero way of taking a classic song (Les Fleurs) and making it sound exactly the same.

Have a memory of them at the time saying it was done because they wanted to use it in mixes and the original speeds up and slows down in tempo making that impossible.

[Norton Canes]

An intriguing tidbit of information about tonight's 20.00 episode courtesy of TV Cream:

20.00 Top of the Pops
Well, here's an episode we've been waiting for, as it's a BBC4 exclusive! This is the show from 26th October 1989 which was also the night Nigel Lawson resigned, and to get BBC1 back on schedule after the news broke, it was abruptly faded out after the number one, so the final link, the playout and the credits will now be shown for the very first time on TV, just the 31 years late. We do hope some of the audience alongside Bruno for his goodbye are watching, to finally get their moment in the spotlight. This unseen footage is a bit of a contrast to the rest of the show, as most of the songs are a bit familiar.

[Icehaven]

Forgot how sexy Chris Rea was. He was on morning TV a year or two ago, and time (and possibly booze) hasn't been kind.

Obviously watching two of these a week exacerbates the effect but I don't remember TOTP having the same artists on to do the same song as much as this. I'm sure that wasn't such a thing by the mid 90s when I started watching it regularly, unless I've misremembered. Every song so far has been on at least once before in recent weeks, either a performance or video (or combination like they did with Chris Rea).

[Sebastian Cobb]

Forgot how sexy Chris Rea was. He was on morning TV a year or two ago, and time (and possibly booze) hasn't been kind.

He's not been a well man for quite some time. He had pancreatic cancer in 2001, a stroke in 2016 and collapsed on stage in 2017.

[Icehaven]

He's not been a well man for quite some time. He had pancreatic cancer in 2001, a stroke in 2016 and collapsed on stage in 2017.

Oh. Now I feel bad.

[Sebastian Cobb]

I wouldn't he does look quite old for 69.

[Icehaven]

An intriguing tidbit of information about tonight's 20.00 episode courtesy of TV Cream:

20.00 Top of the Pops
Well, here's an episode we've been waiting for, as it's a BBC4 exclusive! This is the show from 26th October 1989 which was also the night Nigel Lawson resigned, and to get BBC1 back on schedule after the news broke, it was abruptly faded out after the number one, so the final link, the playout and the credits will now be shown for the very first time on TV, just the 31 years late. We do hope some of the audience alongside Bruno for his goodbye are watching, to finally get their moment in the spotlight. This unseen footage is a bit of a contrast to the rest of the show, as most of the songs are a bit familiar.

Well it was worth the 31 year wait for...the same Milli Vanilli they've played about 5 times already!

[Sebastian Cobb]

Have a memory of them at the time saying it was done because they wanted to use it in mixes and the original speeds up and slows down in tempo making that impossible.

Interestingly, I went to listen to this just now and noticed that on spotify, it has ~4.4 million plays, compared to their next most popular song play wise Look Inside at ~1.1 million plays. The Minnie Ripperton one has ~11.7, but I wonder how many of the 4 hero ones were actually looking for the Minnie version.

Spotify's popular list is bollocks though. Les Fleur is at number 1 yet Lovin' You has nearly 8 million more plays?

[Better Midlands]

Have a memory of them at the time saying it was done because they wanted to use it in mixes and the original speeds up and slows down in tempo making that impossible.

It would have been a lot easier to re-edit the original in ProTools/Logic/Cubase to keep a strict tempo in 2001 than record a (very faithful) cover version, however they did a great job and it lifted ther status as musicians.

[Sebastian Cobb]

It would have been a lot easier to re-edit the original in ProTools/Logic/Cubase to keep a strict tempo in 2001 than record a (very faithful) cover version, however they did a great job and it lifted ther status as musicians.

I did start posting something along the lines of 'and to think these days you'd just map it properly in serato!' but gave up.

I do respect them for being able to pull it off. But in many ways find the imperfections of the original (hiss, dynamics, lack of strict tempo) part of why I love it.

[Icehaven]

I've heard Girl I'm Gonna Miss You more in the last few weeks than in the last 30 years.

[Norton Canes]

Ah, The Sun Rising is lush.

[daf]

No, that was Single Bloke!

[DrGreggles]

Ah, The Sun Rising is lush.

It bloody is too.

[daf]

26 October 1989: Presenter: Bruno Brookes

(3) REBEL MC & DOUBLE TROUBLE – Street Tuff
Trouble Bass
(25) QUEEN – Scandal (video)
News of The World
(4)  BELINDA CARLISLE – Leave A Light On (video)
Diva Las Vegas
(12) CHRIS REA – The Road To Hell
Global Warning
(13) LISA STANSFIELD – All Around The World (video)
Rain Spotter
(7) LIVING IN A BOX – Room In Your Heart
I'm-a mimin' with an Axe . . . I'm-a mimin' with an un-plugged Axe
(16) DE LA SOUL – Eye Know (video)
Stealing Dan
(17) ADEVA – I Thank You
Throwing Shades
(1) JIVE BUNNY & THE MASTERMIXERS – That's What I Like (video)
Hawaii Five-D'Oh!



(2) MILLI VANILLI – Girl I'm Gonna Miss You (video / credits)
Come back Nigel Lawson, all is forgiven!

[Satchmo Distel]

Was there a lack of new releases in late 1989 that caused all this repetition or was it that the new releases were dance music that TOTP didn't think was telegenic?

[daf]

Just had a look on the official chart for the week of this episode - here

The rules they used to compile the line up were :
1. No songs repeated two editions in a row - except for breakers and the number one
2. No songs falling down the charts
3. Highest New Entries and Highest Climbers - in the TOP 40 - get priority (except when it conflicts with "Rule 1")

So, with that in mind, let's see what was available and what they selected, from the potential candidates.
(songs used = Bold Green / Red = ineligible due to appearance in the previous edition)

Top 40 New Entries :
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
(13) 'ALL AROUND THE WORLD' - LISA STANSFIELD
(31) 'NEVER TOO MUCH {1989} - LUTHER VANDROSS
(32) 'STATE OF MIND' - FISH
(39) 'TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF' - LEVEL 42
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Climbers :
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
(2   ⬆  3) 'GIRL I'M GONNA MISS YOU' -  MILLI VANILLI
(3   ⬆  6) 'STREET TUFF' - REBEL MC AND DOUBLE TROUBLE
(4   ⬆  8) 'LEAVE A LIGHT ON' - BELINDA CARLISLE
(6   ⬆  9) 'IF I COULD TURN BACK TIME' - CHER
(7   ⬆11) 'ROOM IN YOUR HEART' - LIVING IN A BOX
(12 ⬆15) 'THE ROAD TO HELL (PART 2)' - CHRIS REA
(14 ⬆21) 'I WANT THAT MAN' - DEBORAH HARRY
(15 ⬆33) 'I FEEL THE EARTH MOVE' - MARTIKA
(16 ⬆24) 'EYE KNOW' - DE LA SOUL
(17 ⬆28) 'I THANK YOU' - ADEVA
(19 ⬆34) 'DON'T MAKE ME OVER' - SYBIL
(23 ⬆36) 'C'MON AND GET MY LOVE' - D MOB INTRODUCING CATHY DENNIS
(25 ⬆26) 'SCANDAL' - QUEEN
(28 ⬆37) 'OH WELL' - OH WELL
(29 ⬆31) 'THE REAL WILD HOUSE' - RAUL ORELLANA
(37 ⬆48) 'THE SUN RISING - THE BELOVED
(40 ⬆51) 'THE MESSAGE IS LOVE ft. AL GREEN' - ARTHUR BAKER AND THE BACKBEAT DISCIPLES FEATURING AL GREEN
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

New Entries outside the Top 40 :
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
(42) 'TELL ME WHEN THE FEVER ENDED' - ELECTRIBE 101
(44) 'DRIVE ON' - BROTHER BEYOND
(50) 'NOT AT ALL' - STATUS QUO
(52) 'YOU'VE GOT IT' - SIMPLY RED
(58) 'GIT ON UP ft. SUNDANCE' - FAST EDDIE
(67) 'TEST OF TIME' - WILL DOWNING
(79) 'UP ESCALATOR' - LOVE AND MONEY featuring SUNDANCE
(80) 'RESCUE ME' - DEBBIE MALONE
(82) 'YA BAD CHUBBS' - CHUBBS ROCK WITH HOWIE TEE
(85) 'AMERICA BLUE' - HIS LATEST FLAME
(87) 'THIS TIME' - NEIL DIAMOND
(89) 'DOUBLE STANDARD' - DEE LEWIS
(90) 'SLEEPING MY DAY AWAY - D-A-D
(91) 'DO YOU WANNA RIOT' - LITTLE ANGELS
(93) 'ORDER OF THE UNIVERSE' - ANDERSON, BRUFORD, WAKEMAN, HOWE
(94) 'I CAN HANDLE IT' - MISTER MIXI AND SKINNY SCOTTY
(97) 'SCRATCH MY BACK' - ROXX GANG

- - - - - - -
So, by the looks of it, they weren't excluding any dance music deliberately - they just didn't get high enough in the chart to qualify.

[Norton Canes]

Yeah, when there's been a slew of repetition in the past I've looked at what else in the top 40 they might have played and by the time you take away fallers and played-last-weekers, there isn't always a lot left.

[Norton Canes]

I've really enjoyed all of Adeva's songs/videos/studio performances, she's been a bit of an underrated star of this run. Woo woo woo!

And right on cue, a stormer of a studio performance. Love that the backing dancers just seem to be having their own private throw-down. Adeva rocks.