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

[buzby]

These polished soul classics really upset me; this one was marks some of Rik Hall's earliest work, and one of his many tracks that really didn't need a compressor.

Comparing the 1966 and 1987 7" singles on youtube, they are exactly the same (aside from the sound quality on the second video being slightly shit). It didn't get remastered until the release of the Rhino's It Tears Me Up compilation in 1992, then they did it again in 1998 and a few times since.

[non capisco]

buzby, I sometimes picture you as Thomas Jerome Newton in 'The Man Who Fell To Earth', watching about thirty TVs at once to give your advanced brain a fighting chance at staying appropriately stimulated. HOW DO YOU KNOW ALL THIS STUFF ABOUT EVERYTHING, MAN?!!

[buzby]

buzby, I sometimes picture you as Thomas Jerome Newton in 'The Man Who Fell To Earth', watching about thirty TVs at once to give your advanced brain a fighting chance at staying appropriately stimulated. HOW DO YOU KNOW ALL THIS STUFF ABOUT EVERYTHING, MAN?!!

I normally pick one track an episode that I like or already know something interesting (to me, at least) about to go in-depth on. I do go to 'Deckard and his Esper machine' lengths to get the synth IDs correct though (the new BBC digital transfers really help in that respect, compared to fuzzy UK Gold VHS rips.).

[daf]

12 March 1987: Presenters: Mike Smith & Steve Wright (Justified Ancients of Mu Mu Sample Special!!)

(16) ALISON MOYET – Weak In The Presence Of Beauty
The Grand Parade of Delightful Repackaging
(3) JACKIE WILSON – I Get The Sweetest Feeling (video)
Something Old
(25) NICK KAMEN – Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever
Something New
(4) FREDDIE MERCURY – The Great Pretender (video)
Something Borrowed
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(32) THE MISSION – Severina
(31) BRUCE WILLIS – Respect Yourself
(24) GENESIS – Tonight Tonight Tonight
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(21) BEASTIE BOYS – (You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party) (video)
Something Blue


https://www.flickr.com/photos/51106326@N00/sets/72157664121950596

(1) BOY GEORGE – Everything I Own
Breadhead!
(33) FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD – Watching The Wildlife (video / credits)
There goes Frankie

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https://wetransfer.com/downloads/928dcf9dba7a653c2bbd48eb9175621120190201184248/8fe5c4

[Norton Canes]

(27) THE CHRISTIANS – Forgotten Town
Giz a Job!
(13) A-HA – Manhattan Skyline
A Rat-a-tat-a-tat
(20) ERASURE – It Doesn't Have To Be
Follow the Bouncing Bell

Just catching up with this. You know what, that might be about the best TOTP studio triple-whammy ever. (Oh and though the charts get in the way, Respectable ain't too shoddy either)

[Norton Canes]

What the fuck?! Can't believe Gary D followed up Erasure's Swahili lyrics by saying the charts would be "In good old-fashioned English". Sake.

[daf]

Legend Gary!

[buzby]

12 March 1987: Presenters: Mike Smith & Steve Wright (Justified Ancients of Mu Mu Sample Special!!)

For some reason your timestamped link isn't working for me - try this.
That's was I was referring to in by previous Smith/Wright post - this was broadcast while Bill & Jimmy were recording '1987', and edited highlights of the chart rundown from this episode formed the basis for the intermission between the Abba-sampling 'The Queen And I' and The Beatles-sampling 'All You Need Is Love' on the B-side of the album, prompting the BBC to jump on the legal avalanche that followed it's release. When they released '1987 - The JAMs 45 Edits'  with all the offending samples removed*, the instructions given to recreate the segment were:
"Switch on the television, bang through the channels on remote control, fast-forward on the video of last week's Top Of The Pops, stopping at whatever catches your eye. Do this for about three minutes, then as soon as you hear the intro to our infamous 'All You Need Is Love', hit the t.v. off button."

*The only sample that they had permission to leave on the record was from The Fall's 'Totally Wired' on the album's closing track 'Next'

[Darles Chickens]

The album version of "All You Need Is Love" there is not even the same as the original single version, which sampled the Beatles' intro entirely, rather than the comically crude rendering of "La Marseillaise" with a sampled "Waaah", and then the single word "Love" sampled from the Beatles, repeated and speed-shifted.

The original version never even got a release as no distributor would touch it, so it's surprising that they dared to release "1987" in the form that they did, with huge fragments of "Dancing Queen", etc.

[daf]

For some reason your timestamped link isn't working for me - try this.

Cheers!

(I've pasted your working link back in my original post)

[buzby]

The album version of "All You Need Is Love" there is not even the same as the original single version, which sampled the Beatles' intro entirely, rather than the comically crude rendering of "La Marseillaise" with a sampled "Waaah", and then the single word "Love" sampled from the Beatles, repeated and speed-shifted.

The original version never even got a release as no distributor would touch it, so it's surprising that they dared to release "1987" in the form that they did, with huge fragments of "Dancing Queen", etc.

From the recent 'Songs which mention the Beatles' thread:

The original white label promo of The JAMs debut single All You Need Is Love samples the full intro to The Beatles track of the same name. On the version that was released they kept the trumpet refrain but recreated it with a comedy vocal sample and only kept the sample of the initial 'Love' (which was pitched down to create the others) in the hope they wouldn't get sued.

[non capisco]

Mike Smith and Steve Wright are the pits together. "Ooh, the outrageous Freddie Mercury, underselling as usual!!!" Say what you mean, lads, "he's gay and I'm scared of him." Thank fuck these two weren't presenting when Man 2 Man were on. No, actually, fuck that, I wish they had have been and were forced to have male strippers' undulating crotches writhing directly into their terrified faces and Mike Smith starts crying.

[Darles Chickens]

From the recent 'Songs which mention the Beatles' thread:

Should have known you already had this covered :)  It does raise the question though: why didn't they learn!?  I think "1987" was the album they threw hundreds of copies overboard a ship after they tried to meet ABBA themselves in Sweden.

[daf]

I've got a bootleg of that back in my KLF/Shamen obsession days back in the 90's - Not even pretending to be the real thing with it's red & white cover & blobby potato print labels!

I have no memory where I got it from - I think it may have been one of those sellers in the back of Record Collector (probably £15-ish?)

Just put it on now for the first time in decades - Sounds pretty good! *

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* (unlike my boot of 'Space' - which skips all over side 2 due to the enormous bass sticking the grooves together)

[buzby]

Should have known you already had this covered :)  It does raise the question though: why didn't they learn!?  I think "1987" was the album they threw hundreds of copies overboard a ship after they tried to meet ABBA themselves in Sweden.

They burned some of them in a farmer's field after failing to meet ABBA at the Polar Music HQ, photographs of which were used as the cover art for 'Who Killed The JAMs?', and the event became the basis for the first KLF single, 'Burn The Bastards':

The rest they say they threw overboard from the ferry on their way back, though aterwards they took out a full page advert in The Face advertising the last 5 copies for £1000 each. By 1988 they apparently had sold 3 of those, and given one away as a  prize.

I've got a bootleg of that back in my KLF/Shamen obsession days back in the 90's - Not even pretending to be the real thing with it's red & white cover & blobby potato print labels!

I have no memory where I got it from - I think it may have been one of those sellers in the back of Record Collector (probably £15-ish?) Just put it on now for the first time in decades - Sounds pretty good!

I have the same bootleg - bought from a dealer at the Pennine record fair in the hotel round the corner from Lime Street Station in Liverpool. It is indeed suspiciously good sound quality for a bootleg.

* (unlike my boot of 'Space' - which skips all over side 2 due to the enormous bass sticking the grooves together)

I have a bootleg of Space too, obtained from the notoriously dodgy bootleggers Hard To Find Records along with a bootleg copy of the Pure Trance 5 remix 12". The sound quality of those isn't so good (you can hear the warping from the original Pure Trance 5 in the bootleg - virtually all copies of the original were warped).

[daf]

'Who Killed The JAMs?'

That's the only one I never managed to track down - had to make do with the Shag Times double just to hear a few of the tracks from it.

One of my favourites finds was a mint 12" of Kylie Said to Jason * - including the poster advertising their White Room film -



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* Featuring one of the most thrilling choruses ever - even if it does lean heavily on Being Boring by the Pet Shop Boys

[Jockice]

That's the only one I never managed to track down - had to make do with the Shag Times double just to hear a few of the tracks from it.

One of my favourites finds was a mint 12" of Kylie Said to Jason * - including the poster advertising their White Room film -



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* Featuring one of the most thrilling choruses ever - even if it does lean heavily on Being Boring by the Pet Shop Boys

That should have been a massive hit. But then I only ever heard it played once on the radio, and that was a on a local station around 6am.

[Darles Chickens]

That should have been a massive hit. But then I only ever heard it played once on the radio, and that was a on a local station around 6am.

They should've read a copy of The Manual.

[Lisa Jesusandmarychain]

I've got a bootleg of that back in my KLF/Shamen obsession days back in the 90's - Not even pretending to be the real thing with it's red & white cover & blobby potato print labels!

I have no memory where I got it from - I think it may have been one of those sellers in the back of Record Collector (probably £15-ish?)

Just put it on now for the first time in decades - Sounds pretty good! *

- - - - - -
* (unlike my boot of 'Space' - which skips all over side 2 due to the enormous bass sticking the grooves together)

I've got the original version of the album with all the unleaded samples and what is basically just that Abba song with a bit of kazoo and Bill Drummond's lovely Scots vocals ranting over it, and that. I dunno if this is going to impress anyone.

[Lisa Jesusandmarychain]

Should have been "uncleared", but am leaving the typo unchanged.

[buzby]

I've got the original version of the album with all the unleaded samples and what is basically just that Abba song with a bit of kazoo and Bill Drummond's lovely Scots vocals ranting over it, and that. I dunno if this is going to impress anyone.

My sister worked with a bloke who had an original copy, and she asked him to tape it for me when I was too late to get one before it was withdrawn (I had to save up pocket money then!). The bootleg copies have all the samples on them as well, of course. Original copies go for about £40-50 these days (the JAMS CLP 1 cassette version is far rarer than the LP - there were less than 500 made and most of them were unsold when it was recalled).

The sound used to play over the Dancing Queen samples is a pitched up sample of (presumably) Drummond going 'Waahhh'.

[phantom_power]

I really like that Mental as Anything song and am not sure why. Part of it is because I love the line "when you laugh you level this town" but it can't just be that. Maybe it is subconscious Crocodile Dundee association

[daf]

even if it does lean heavily on Being Boring by the Pet Shop Boys

Oops - daf cockup of the week :

I, of course, meant Left to my own Devices - Two peas in a pod, they most certainly are!

[daf]

Original copies go for about £40-50 these days

That sounds a bit on the low side to me - there's currenly one on ebay for £225

[DrGreggles]

Oops - daf cockup of the week :

I, of course, meant Left to my own Devices - Two peas in a pod, they most certainly are!

Both bangers, mate!

[daf]

19 March 1987: Presenters: Simon Bates & Peter Powell

(2) MEL & KIM – Respectable
Take it!
(11) BRUCE WILLIS – Respect Yourself (video)
What you singin' bout, Willis?
(25) THE MISSION – Severina
Wayne's World! Wayne's World! Party Time! Excellent!


https://www.flickr.com/photos/51106326@N00/sets/72157664447880771

(15) ERASURE – It Doesn't Have To Be
Thundersynths are GO!
(19) GENESIS – Tonight Tonight Tonight (Montreux clip)
Fake Plastic Drums (Oi Phil, you're not plugged in!)
(8) AL JARREAU – Moonlighting
Emergency Mind-Probe for Powell
(1) BOY GEORGE – Everything I Own (video)
Reggae Like It Used To Be
(16) PRINCE – Sign O' The Times (video / credits)
Snip O' the Link

[Norton Canes]

(2) MEL & KIM – Respectable
Take it!

Love their subtly almost-matching outfits. They're like a spot-the-difference competition!

(11) BRUCE WILLIS – Respect Yourself (video)
What you singin' bout, Willis?

Holy shit, I quite forgot how much I despised Bruce Willis during his thankfully very brief ubiquitous phase. Is now and has always been a complete talent vacuum.

(25) THE MISSION – Severina
Wayne's World! Wayne's World! Party Time! Excellent!

It's 1987, so no surprise to see some Regan on mix

(16) PRINCE – Sign O' The Times (video / credits)
Snip O' the Link

Like the sombre way Sign O' The Times underpinned the whole episode.

[kidsick5000]

(1) BOY GEORGE – Everything I Own (video)
Reggae Like It Used To Be

Pretty shocking that Culture Club were already done by 87

[daf]

26 March 1987: Presenter: Mike Smith

(22) TERENCE TRENT D'ARBY – If You Let Me Stay
Hoooo!!
(4) U2 – With Or Without You (video)
The state of that greasy mop!
(6) ALISON MOYET – Weak In The Presence Of Beauty
Forget it Mike, she's never going to go out with you!
(9) JANET JACKSON – Let's Wait Awhile
Let's sit down for a while
(15) PETER GABRIEL – Big Time (video)
Sledgehammer 2 : The Repeatening
(16) NICK KAMEN – Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever
. . . or we'll bring back Pan's People  (Yes please!! - Ed.)
(1) MEL & KIM – Respectable (video)
Binman Strike - week 3



(24) CLUB NOUVEAU – Lean On Me (video / credits)
Video Vieux

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https://wetransfer.com/downloads/1c768bd7eab82bb49d5d4f910fd61b0d20190207184826/b41520

[Norton Canes]

Jesus, Janice

Put him down