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

[Icehaven]

Big Fun were basically 3 Jason Donovans weren't they? Wonder why Big Fun 1 got stuck with a zebra print jacket while 2 and 3 got Fresian cow ones. Creative differences perhaps.

[Norton Canes]

Fuck me, we're at the arse end of the SAW era here. Literally.

[Norton Canes]

FYC pre-empting the Reni beat here

[Icehaven]

Bruce Springsteen's Philadelphia rips off Fine Young Cannibals a bit dunnit?

[Norton Canes]

FYC pre-empting the Reni beat here

By about six minutes

[Icehaven]

Bloody hell it's weird seeing the Stone Roses as part of this era, mostly because my earliest knowledge of them is from hearing them in indie clubs nearly a decade later but it's still insane to me that this is from the 80s.

[Icehaven]

Oh my god! No idea this existed.

Edit: Sorry I mean the very unremixed version of Hallelujah by Happy Mondays with Kirsty McColl of all people on backing vocals.

[kalowski]

Fuck me 1989 is the end times isn't it?

[buzby]

FYC pre-empting the Reni beat here

I heard that on the breakers in the first of tonight's episodes and thought 'Stand by for Funky Drummer Overload' - it seemed to get slapped on everything for about the next year or so.

Broadcasting geekery note - they have royally fucked up the aspect ratio in this second episode tonight. It's being broadcast in 16:9 widescreen format but with a 4:3 window in the centre with black borders down the sides. I noticed they had fucked it up a couple of weeks ago (I think it was 16:9 with a 14:9 window that time ) but it must have been spotted as it  went back to normal full frame after a couple of songs. If you are PVRing them for archival purposes rather than ripping them off iPlayer you are going to be very pissed off

[Icehaven]

One of the New Kids On The Block is wearing a Bauhaus Tshirt, which seems unlikely.

[Mr Banlon]

Did Aaron Neville also work the door of a sketchy biker bar in 1989 ?

[kalowski]

Cheapest video in the world for The Arms of Orion.
"Just whack a load of clips from previous videos together."

[Icehaven]

Cheapest video in the world for The Arms of Orion.
"Just whack a load of clips from previous videos together."

Yeah it's not even in Batman is it?

[kalowski]

Yeah it's not even in Batman is it?

Not that I remember. This is interesting though:

Of note is that this track is credited both on the album and single as "Prince with Sheena Easton", once of only a few times that co-credit has been given to anyone other than Prince's bands the Revolution and the New Power Generation. (U Make My Sun Shine and We Gon' Make It Funky are other instances of co-credited tracks)

[Mr Banlon]

Interview with Sheena and Prince from the time : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TV6ZB5MzD1s

[buzby]

Oh my god! No idea this existed.

Edit: Sorry I mean the very unremixed version of Hallelujah by Happy Mondays with Kirsty McColl of all people on backing vocals.

It's not the unremixed version. It was the Mavcoll Mix that was created as a more chart/radio friendly 7" edit by Steve Lillywhiite as a spin-off from on the Madchester Rave On EP as Factory could see that track was getting most of the airplay. Lillywhite brought in his missus Kirsty to add the backing vocals. The EP has the original Martin Hannett-produced full length version of the track with no backing vocals).

[kalowski]

My Mandela moment is that I would have sworn Kirsty and the Mondays appeared on the episode when Ian Brown was also on, but wearing his £10 notes top.

[Icehaven]

It's not the unremixed version. It was the Mavcoll Mix that was created as a more chart/radio friendly 7" edit by Steve Lillywhiite as a spin-off from on the Madchester Rave On EP as Factory could see that track was getting most of the airplay. Lillywhite brought in his missus Kirsty to add the backing vocals. The EP has the original Martin Hannett-produced full length version of the track with no backing vocals).

None are the version I know and love, this one.

https://youtu.be/IAEcU-cxUGM

Which presumably came later.

[MiddleRabbit]

My Mandela moment is that I would have sworn Kirsty and the Mondays appeared on the episode when Ian Brown was also on, but wearing his £10 notes top.

Nick Kent interviewed both bands in their dressing room and, apart from Kent getting in trouble for making up quotes from Anthony H Wilson about 'Ian Curtis dying was the best thing that happened to me', The Mondays claimed victory as Gaz Whelan, their drummer, 'had the same top on as Ian Brown - and he was only the drummer'.

The video with for Fools Gold had Brown in his burning £10 notes t shirt, and that was everywhere for months - the video.  Mind you, he got his money's worth out of that t shirt too.

[buzby]

None are the version I know and love, this one.

https://youtu.be/IAEcU-cxUGM

Which presumably came later.

The Oakenfold/Weatherall/Farley mixes of the Rave On EP tracks were done before  the Lillywhite mix of Hallelujah. The Vince Clarke and Oakenfold remixes of their previous single W.F.L. had been club hits, so for their next release Factory had the club mixes ready for promo release at the same time as the EP (the original radio promo was a 7" edit of the Oakenfold Club Mix you are familiar with). Lillywhite's 'Maccoll Mix' came later to capitalise on the attention Hallelujah was getting  from the EP.

The 'Hallelujah' vocal used in Oakenfold &  Weatherall's Club Mix was sampled from Tramaine's 1985 single In The Morning Time

[Gulftastic]

Fuck me, we're at the arse end of the SAW era here. Literally.

They still had some petrol left in the tank. Jason Donovan's forthcoming Xmas track is a belter, then in 1990/1 Kylie releases a string of fantastic singles.

[Norton Canes]

My Mandela moment is that I would have sworn Kirsty and the Mondays appeared on the episode when Ian Brown was also on, but wearing his £10 notes top

My Mandela moment is that for ages I thought 808 State were also on the Roses/Mondays episode. Nice to see they in fact trumped them by a week.

[daf]

16 November 1989: Presenter: Simon Mayo

(20) 808 STATE – Pacific
On the Sixth Rave . . .
(24) UB40 – Homely Girl (video)
Cover Up
(33) JIMMY SOMERVILLE & JUNE MILES-KINGSTON – Comment Te Dire Adieu
French Aural
(27) KAOMA – Lambada (video)
Black Bottom!
(15) D MOB introducing CATHY DENNIS – C'mon & Get My Love
Dennis Racket
(12) IRON MAIDEN – Infinite Dreams (live) (video)
Rockin' Good : Men in Tights



- - - - - - - - - - - (breakers) - - - - - - - - - - - -
(35) PRINCE & SHEENA EASTON – The Arms Of Orion
(34) FINE YOUNG CANNIBALS – I'm Not The Man I Used To Be
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
(2) PHIL COLLINS – Another Day In Paradise (video)
The Man Lies Down on Broadway
(1) LISA STANSFIELD – All Around The World
Baby's Not Back
(28) INNER CITY – Whatcha Gonna Do With My Lovin' (video / credits)
Lady's In Black

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

[gilbertharding]

That Lambada video took an awkwardly Savile-tastic turn, after some initial signs of it being 'one for the Dads'.

Jenny Powell was FANTASTIC value. "Do you fancy Bobby Brown?" feed line for the deadpan reply. Shame she didn't get to pronounce "Comment te dire adieu" in the chart rundow. Very much the female Shat Parp Pat Sharp.

[non capisco]

My favourite aspect of the Mondays performance is that Bez clearly doesn't know or care when that song is meant to end. Abrupt stop, still dancing about and shaking his maraca, "Oh, right, finished, are we? Job's a good 'un."

[non capisco]

That Lambada video took an awkwardly Savile-tastic turn, after some initial signs of it being 'one for the Dads'.

I thought the same, it's pretty creepy. And then there was the unfortunate edit in the video for that crap Bobby Brown ballad where he's writhing about and leering lasciviously at the crowd from the stage and it cuts to a shot of a little girl screaming and pointing.

[Icehaven]

My favourite aspect of the Mondays performance is that Bez clearly doesn't know or care when that song is meant to end. Abrupt stop, still dancing about and shaking his maraca, "Oh, right, finished, are we? Job's a good 'un."

I just presume Bez can always still hear music for a while after it's stopped.

[non capisco]

I just presume Bez can always still hear music for a while after it's stopped.

Hehe. I love that the cue for him that it had ended was that the rest of the band had stopped moving.

[Sebastian Cobb]

I thought the same, it's pretty creepy. And then there was the unfortunate edit in the video for that crap Bobby Brown ballad where he's writhing about and leering lasciviously at the crowd from the stage and it cuts to a shot of a little girl screaming and pointing.

Someone told me they once saw Ryder at a Mondays gig  who started off 90 degrees out from the crowd until a carer turned him round to point the right direction.

[non capisco]

Has anyone seen that documentary about either the reformed Mondays or Black Grape that features an extended argument in a car between Sean and Bez about whether or not they ever supported George Michael? Bez is adamant they did. Sean is insistent that Bez is confusing it with the time he went to see George Michael. The mystery is never solved and I like to think they are still arguing about it to this day.