Top of the Pops on BBC Four - Thread Three

[Chicory]

A superb studio performance from Shara Nelson with 'Massive', all those old blokes with their beautiful stringed instruments, then.... cut off half way through by Brambles' rambles.  Oh don't worry, it's only perhaps the best single of the entire decade.

The Source video's great, real earthiness to it.  When any old gormless fucker could just rock up and be in a music video.

[DrGreggles]

A superb studio performance from Shara Nelson with 'Massive', all those old blokes with their beautiful stringed instruments, then.... cut off half way through by Brambles' rambles.  Oh don't worry, it's only perhaps the best single of the entire decade.

The Source video's great, real earthiness to it.  When any old gormless fucker could just rock up and be in a music video.

2 of my favourite 90s singles in the same episode!
Lovely.

[A Hat Like That]

The Source video's great, real earthiness to it.  When any old gormless fucker could just rock up and be in a music video.

yeah, it was on at the end a few weeks back and I was a bit squiffy - lovely stuff.

I'm here for N-Joi's backing dancers.

[Sebastian Cobb]

N-JOI live in Manchester is fantastic: https://www.mixcloud.com/djsota/n-joi-live-in-manchester-lp-pt-12-1992/

[Chicory]

I'm here for N-Joi's backing dancers.

Was that the one with the dancing Blockbusters contestant?

[Catalogue Trousers]

Spoilers just in case, but my heart sank when I saw that 'Do The Bartman'

Spoiler alert

stayed at number one for nine dog-frigging weeks. It's not even a good novelty cash-in single. Mind you, we also have sixteen weeks of a much shitter song at number one coming up a bit later this year. 1991's chart-toppers, on the whole, really fucking stink.

[close]

[non capisco]

I have a daft rule not to skip any reoccuring performances/videos on the TOTP repeats but I've granted myself an exception for 1991 and

Spoiler alert

Bryan bloody Adams

[close]

[Egyptian Feast]

Spoilers just in case, but my heart sank when I saw that 'Do The Bartman'

Spoiler alert

stayed at number one for nine dog-frigging weeks.

[close]

Good news, your info is not correct. It only stayed there for three weeks according to the official charts. Perhaps it was there for nine weeks in America?

[DrGreggles]

Yeah, The Clash are coming. #SellOuts

[Catalogue Trousers]

Phew. I was misinformed. Odder than that, Do The Bartman spent nine weeks at number one in the Irish Singles Charts, which is where the confusion arose.

[DrGreggles]

Good news, your info is not correct. It only stayed there for three weeks according to the official charts. Perhaps it was there for nine weeks in America?

Probably spent 9 weeks on the chart or something .
Definitely wasn't #1 in America.

[Norton Canes]

Yeah, The Clash are coming. #SellOuts

Never did the Pops though

[Egyptian Feast]

Phew. I was misinformed. Odder than that, Do The Bartman spent nine weeks at number one in the Irish Singles Charts, which is where the confusion arose.

Ahh! Wow, I don't remember that. Mind you, that's nothing compared to the length of time The Saw Doctors and Zig & Zag spent at no 1 with some of their early 90s singles. 'I Useta Lover' seemed to be no. 1 for years.

[DrGreggles]

Never did the Pops though

Just a jeans ad.

[Pauline Walnuts]

   

(28) | THE HIGH – Box Set Go (video)

KICK

IN

THE 

SUN

Almost, their big comeback single was:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uQ6O9fs8JU

[daf]

7 March 1991: Presenter: Nicky Campbell

(10) | HALE & PACE & THE STONKERS – The Stonk
(20) | ROCKY V feat. JOEY B. ELLIS & TYNETTA HARE– Go For It (Heart And Fire) (video)
(21) | QUARTZ introducing DINA CARROLL – It's Too Late
(14) | LIVING COLOUR – Love Rears It's Ugly Head (video)
(16) | NED'S ATOMIC DUSTBIN – Happy   
- - - - - - - - - - (Album Chart) - - - - - - - - - - -
( 5 ) | GEORGE MICHAEL – Freedom (video)
( 4 ) | ELTON JOHN – Healing Hands (video)
( 3 ) | CHRIS ISAAK – Wicked Game (video)
( 2 ) | GLORIA ESTEFAN – Coming Out Of The Dark (video)
( 1 ) | QUEEN – Innuendo (video)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
( 7 ) | XPANSIONS – Move Your Body
(18) | ROXETTE – Joyride
( 1 ) | THE CLASH – Should I Stay Or Should I Go (video)



(15) | THE CHARLATANS – Over Rising (video and credits)

[A Hat Like That]

Was that the one with the dancing Blockbusters contestant?

hint of Kevin Eldon about the lad, I thought

[Gulftastic]

If you can do the Bart, man, you're bad like Michael Jackson.

[Satchmo Distel]

re. Shara Nelson: 'Down That Road' (summer 1993) is a belter:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usiW9cHSLws&ab_channel=broncodevilbroncodevil

And 'Uptight' (Feb 94)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ER6sHHiUyPs&ab_channel=SharaNelson-TopicSharaNelson-Topic

[Pauline Walnuts]

After years of the T-shirts, I think that's the first time I've ever heard any Ned's Atomic Dustbin.

[Norton Canes]

28 February 1991: Presenter: Jakki Brambles

Oh Jakki that is so not your look, and you completely deserve that long, reproving glance from the punter next to you. She's only thinking what we're thinking

(32) | N-JOI – Adrenalin

Utterly brilliant in the most berserk way possible. You know it's going to be good from the moment the camera first closes in and the rave riff kicks off and the Tom Rowlands Dance Droid 3000 strikes its first double cobra ninja tai chi pose and what is he even wearing and why does he start eating his hair halfway through and oh yes, there's a first TOTP outing for the Melbourne Shuffle, and She-Rave looks absolutely fantastic but is she really pulling her weight moves-wise then woah! there go the high kicks, and the Jois are doing exactly what they should do hammering away indiscriminately on the keyboards and the audience are swaying gently like they might as well be watching Bucks Fizz and I know I probably say a bit too often that such and such is the best TOTP performance I've ever seen but come on, no-one's going to top this.

Not even

(31) | MASSIVE – Unfinished Sympathy   

Though it was a smart move for the band not to turn up, putting the focus on Shara and the strings.

7 March 1991: Presenter: Nicky Campbell

(10) | HALE & PACE & THE STONKERS – The Stonk

Dog turd obv, the only thing that struck me was that if heaven forfend anything like this was done today, the backing singers would be trying to sell the comedy with stony faces instead of delirious perma-grins.

(16) | NED'S ATOMIC DUSTBIN – Happy   

After years of the T-shirts, I think that's the first time I've ever heard any Ned's Atomic Dustbin

By contrast, despite being around at the time I heard plenty of Ned's Atomic Dustbin but don't remember any of their t-shirts.

[monkfromhavana]

Just caught up with these.

N-Joi were great, shame they ran into difficulties with their label which meant that their debut album wouldn't be released until 1995. They could have maybe matched The Prodigy (who were greatly inspired by them, as were loads of rave acts), but drifted away, including the guy on the left's brother, who stopped managing N-Joi and spent the next 25-odd years managing The Prodigy.

"Candi Staton has taken some time out of her busy schedule to hook up with The Source to release this". Given that this is essentially the accappella from The Source ft. Candi Staton's 'You Got The Love' laid over 'Your Love' by Jamie Principle Frankie Knuckles and she had nothing whatsoever to do with it, this is stretching things a bit much. I really love the video simple. One of those videos where the cheapness doesn't matter because it's a good idea (even if it's a simple one) and was very much in sympathy how the race scene perceived itself.

Dina Carroll really does have a massive gob. She's the Billie Piper of the early 90s. Nice to see Quartz sneaking in a bit of their earlier and far greater track, 'Meltdown', before succumbing to this 'grown-up' release.

[Sebastian Cobb]

Isn't it 'eren's bootleg mix' that's over Knuckles' Your Love? I always get mixed up about this.

[Darles Chickens]

Dina Carroll really does have a massive gob. She's the Billie Piper of the early 90s. Nice to see Quartz sneaking in a bit of their earlier and far greater track, 'Meltdown', before succumbing to this 'grown-up' release.

I'd forgotten completely about Dina Carroll, which is surprising, as I once spent a memorable summer's evening at the "Mill Pond" in Cambridge, getting drunk with her and her mum.  She was surprisingly shy for someone who'd risen to modest fame and made their living belting out songs in front of big audiences.

[buzby]

"Candi Staton has taken some time out of her busy schedule to hook up with The Source to release this". Given that this is essentially the accappella from The Source ft. Candi Staton's 'You Got The Love' laid over 'Your Love' by Jamie Principle Frankie Knuckles and she had nothing whatsoever to do with it, this is stretching things a bit much.

Your Love was written and performed by Jamie Principle. It was produced by Frankie Knuckles, but he hardly did anything to it. The version that got released on Persona Records in 1986 was remixed by DJ Mark 'Hot Rod' Trollan, and it is him who was reponsible for most of the instrumental backing. That version was later re-released on Trax in 1991 credited to Knuckles.

The Source's song was recorded with Candi Staton back in 1986 to be used in the soundtrack for a  video about a morbidly obese man trying to lose weight. It was never supposed to be released as a single, but The Source released it on their own label in the US, where Simon Harris heard it and licenced it for the Streetwave label in the UK. That was how the acapella ended up being used by DJs in the UK.

Isn't it 'eren's bootleg mix' that's over Knuckles' Your Love? I always get mixed up about this.

See above - Jamie Principle, not Knuckles.
Yes. DJ Eren Abdullah (the resident DJ at Solaris in London) was responsible for overlaying the Staton acapella over the Jamie Principle track and became an undergound hit. Producer John Truelove heard Eren's bootleg, copied it with producer Colin 'Jolly' James and pressed it up as an EP with a few other bootlegs he'd purloined and released it as Love/Rock. The buzz around the track then led it to be released separately as Truelove Presents...The Source Featuring Candi Staton, subtitled as Eren's Bootleg Mix.

For the 7" single release, the 'Truelove Presents..' part got dropped, and the B-side was the original The Source version of the track (which I assume must have been part of the agreement with The Source to use the acapella). John Truleove then assumed the name of The Source (they were from the US, and their only single had not charted here)

[monkfromhavana]

Your Love was written and performed by Jamie Principle. It was produced by Frankie Knuckles, but he hardly did anything to it. The version that got released on Persona Records in 1986 was remixed by DJ Mark 'Hot Rod' Trollan, and it is him who was reponsible for most of the instrumental backing. That version was later re-released on Trax in 1991 credited to Knuckles.

The Source's song was recorded with Candi Staton back in 1986 to be used in the soundtrack for a  video about a morbidly obese man trying to lose weight. It was never supposed to be released as a single, but The Source released it on their own label in the US, where Simon Harris heard it and licenced it for the Streetwave label in the UK. That was how the acapella ended up being used by DJs in the UK.
See above - Jamie Principle, not Knuckles.
Yes. DJ Eren Abdullah (the resident DJ at Solaris in London) was responsible for overlaying the Staton acapella over the Jamie Principle track and became an undergound hit. Producer John Truelove heard Eren's bootleg, copied it with producer Colin 'Jolly' James and pressed it up as an EP with a few other bootlegs he'd purloined and released it as Love/Rock. The buzz around the track then led it to be released separately as Truelove Presents...The Source Featuring Candi Staton, subtitled as Eren's Bootleg Mix.

For the 7" single release, the 'Truelove Presents..' part got dropped, and the B-side was the original The Source version of the track (which I assume must have been part of the agreement with The Source to use the acapella). John Truleove then assumed the name of The Source (they were from the US, and their only single had not charted here)

Eren is also one of the miming heads in the video. Incidentally Solaris is also where Adamski & Seal met.

[Better Midlands]

The original bootleg has some of the Jamie Principle vocals in it which really add to it, although Truelove and James did a great job recreating the track for official release.

There was also a promo put out in December 1990 that had the speaking clock counting down to midnight so as to gain NYE plays.

[Better Midlands]

Tom Rowlands Dance Droid 3000.

I had to do a double take to check it wasn't him, especially with the Manchester connection.

The other dancer was pretty lame in comparison.

[Better Midlands]

I'd forgotten completely about Dina Carroll, which is surprising, as I once spent a memorable summer's evening at the "Mill Pond" in Cambridge, getting drunk with her and her mum.  She was surprisingly shy for someone who'd risen to modest fame and made their living belting out songs in front of big audiences.

I met Quartz and Dina Carroll too a couple of months after this episode, can't remember much about it apart from expressing my love of

Meltdown

which retrospectively must have been quite annoying for them as it seems that Mark Summers made most of the track.

[KennyMonster]

*The Clash*...........Never did the Pops though

But Strummer did appear on the programme once didn't he?..................

Its a great trivia question that has stumped tons of musos I've known.