Main Menu

Tip jar

If you like CaB and wish to support it, you can use PayPal or KoFi. Thank you, and I hope you continue to enjoy the site - Neil.

Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com

Support CaB

Recent

Welcome to Cook'd and Bomb'd. Please login or sign up.

March 29, 2024, 01:41:17 PM

Login with username, password and session length

Best TOTP appearances

Started by A Passing Turk Slipper, November 13, 2005, 11:52:07 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

Emergency Lalla Ward Ten

Morrissey with 'MARRY ME' scrawled on his chest.

Beagle 2

I thought the first unsigned band on there were Bis? God that song haunted me, a girl who fancied me looked like Manda Rin, I got mocked through no fault of my bloody own. Shit record too.

That MSP's performance was when I fell in love with them, I remember being really blown away by it at the time in a very serious teenaged way, and then when I saw it on the DVD I absolutely pissed myself, they're just fucking about, Reeves's gurning face is an absolute picture, and the EMF fans in the front row just look confused.

Johnny Rotton singing "....a pile of 'it'" instead off shit on Dolls New York was probably my worst moment (even though I did love the filthy lucre stuff really).

23 Daves

Quote from: "Beagle 2"God that song haunted me, a girl who fancied me looked like Manda Rin, I got mocked through no fault of my bloody own. Shit record too.

God, some people don't know how lucky they are.  I'd have swapped places with you... I've got a lot of affection for Bis, actually, they were responsible for one of my all-time favourite live moments, but that's another story.

Erm... I think Legs and Co danced to The Clash's "Bankrobber" actually, and held pistols up to the camera with messages saying "This is a Stick Up!" being held in their hands.  It's pure genius, that.

Frinky

Blur's "performance" of There's No Other Way springs to mind, especially Graham's one-handed solo.

Captain Crunch

Quote from: "23 Daves"Erm... I think Legs and Co danced to The Clash's "Bankrobber" actually, and held pistols up to the camera with messages saying "This is a Stick Up!" being held in their hands.  It's pure genius, that.

Yes!  I am a tit, don't listen to me, of course it was.  I never did find out why The Clash never appeared in person though - some sort of agro with some sort of thing?

And I've remembered my favourite TOTP moment - N-trance 'Set You Free' with Lee Limer doing that fantastic dancing in a Man City shirt on a table.  If I could dance like that I'd never leave the house.

Daaaaaaan

Another classic is Pyramid Song by Radiohead. The audience looked more confused than I've ever seen them.

23 Daves

Quote from: "Captain Crunch"
Quote from: "23 Daves"Erm... I think Legs and Co danced to The Clash's "Bankrobber" actually, and held pistols up to the camera with messages saying "This is a Stick Up!" being held in their hands.  It's pure genius, that.

Yes!  I am a tit, don't listen to me, of course it was.  I never did find out why The Clash never appeared in person though - some sort of agro with some sort of thing?

I believe they felt that appearing on Top of the Pops would make them look stupid or somehow trivial and flippant, in a nutshell.  Not like the political agitators and street poets they actually were (apparently).  The Cocteau Twins have also refused to appear for the very same reason ("Can you imagine us on there, with all those balloons around us?").  

New Order also famously refused to go on until they were allowed to perform live.  In the end the Beeb relented, and they were shit.  The live "Blue Monday" is probably one of the all-time worst TOTP memories.  It caused gasps of dismay from all of my family, I can tell you.

Another classic TOTP moment is supposed to have been Julian Cope appearing on a live edition tripping his balls off as he tried to mime to the Teardrop Explodes "Passionate Friend".  However, I've never seen any footage of this, and I certainly don't remember anything bizarre at the time (I was one of those kids who could never, ever miss TOTP throughout the early eighties.  Eventually The Chart Show replaced it in my affections).

dan dirty ape

Quote from: "Frinky"Blur's "performance" of There's No Other Way springs to mind, especially Graham's one-handed solo.

Whilst on ecstasy, giving Steve "check out the guy at the back" Wright the chance to indulge in "whoooo, look at his big eyes!" patter on TOTP2.

Were Doug E Fresh and Slick Rick/Run DMC/'Licensed To Ill' era Beastie Boys ever on TOTP?

The Mumbler

Doug E. Fresh & The Get Fresh Crew/The Show
Performance 21/11/85
Hosts: Janice Long, Paul Jordan

Run DMC/Walk This Way
Promo Video 11/09/86
Host: Mike Smith
Promo Video 25/09/86
Host: Janice Long

Run DMC/It's Tricky
Performance 11/06/87
Host: Peter Powell, Simon Bates

Beastie Boys/Fight For Your Right To Party
Promo Video 12/03/87
Hosts: Steve Wright, Mike Smith

Beastie Boys/No Sleep Til Brooklyn
Performance 11/06/87
Hosts: Peter Powell, Simon Bates

Beastie Boys/She's On It
Promo Video 30/07/87
Host: Gary Davies

*******

Run DMC and the Beasties performing on the same show!

I take it we all know about this, do we?

www.bbc.co.uk/totp

Click on "Database" on the left-hand side.  By far the best resource on the entire BBC site (a proper TOTP archive), and apparently compiled by someone who doesn't even work for the BBC.

Derek Trucks

One things that made mid -90s TOTP great was that band members got into the habit of pretending to play different instruments or having a different role in the band.  I recall Noel singing and Liam solumnly playing guitar near the back for "Roll With It" and Mark from Ash pretending to sing Goldfinger to name a couple.

The Clash appeared on the largely forgotten music show 'Something Else' where they felt very misunderstood.  Hardly surprising, with Strummer talking politics on a music show presented by teenagers.

After declaring this a disaster, they vowed never to go on television again.

VegaLA

Quote from: "23 Daves"New Order also famously refused to go on until they were allowed to perform live.  In the end the Beeb relented, and they were shit.  The live "Blue Monday" is probably one of the all-time worst TOTP memories.  It caused gasps of dismay from all of my family, I can tell you.

Another classic TOTP moment is supposed to have been Julian Cope appearing on a live edition tripping his balls off as he tried to mime to the Teardrop Explodes "Passionate Friend".  However, I've never seen any footage of this, and I certainly don't remember anything bizarre at the time (I was one of those kids who could never, ever miss TOTP throughout the early eighties.  Eventually The Chart Show replaced it in my affections).

I have this New Order TOTP performance as an AVI file still. I remeber seeing a clip of it at New Years eve 1989 when the beeb did some round up of the decade. It was so STIFF I did'nt know what to think...neither did the audience. Barney starts laughing for no aparant reason and Gillian looked really uncomfortable.

As for the Julian cope performance was'nt Bill Drummond miming the trumpet as part of the band ?

I used to have a vid full of TOTP performances in the mid 80's. i had Dough E Fresh, Whodini, the Real Roxanne as well as the Beastie boys at the Montreaux rock festival along with Run DMC. The VHS tape was worth its weight in gold but I lent it out to some sh1t who 'lost' it.

Still I have quite a few vids from the late 80s to the mid 90s, i'm just waiting to get them converted from Video to DV. I also have a Bauhaus performance on the old grey whistle test I will upload soon.

dan dirty ape

Cheers, Mumbler. I knew I had dim recollections of 'The Show' being on a music show around that time and asking my mum if Slick Rick was a pirate.

Ray Le Otter

Quote from: "VegaLA"
Quote from: "23 Daves"

I have this New Order TOTP performance as an AVI file still. I remeber seeing a clip of it at New Years eve 1989 when the beeb did some round up of the decade. It was so STIFF I did'nt know what to think...neither did the audience. Barney starts laughing for no aparant reason and Gillian looked really uncomfortable.

This clip is also available on the DVD "NewOrderStory", and has been repeated far too many times, especially when there are far superior clips they never show, where they can actually play live well, such as "Thieves Like Us", "True Faith", "Round & Round" and "Fine Time", the latter of which is memorable for Barney's crap Bez-like dancing and gurning.

In fact, New Order look more embarrassing when they are miming, as most recent performances on TOTP prove.

kidsick5000

Surely the best New Order performance was the bizarre (at the time) live performance from Malibu beach  with a bunch of happy sunny baywatch extras playing beach volleyball.

Especially the girls with the telephone

dan dirty ape

Doesn't the Hoff himself show up in one of those lifeguard jeeps?

Clinton Morgan

Not sure if its been mentioned before, but I nominate Iron Maiden performing a reissue of 'Run To The Hills' and their hard rocking fans in the audience.

boki

Haven't actually seen this myself, but didn't Fish refuse to mime when Marillion went on to do 'Lavender' and just held up cards with the lyrics on?  Sounds like it would've been hilarious for a minute or so.

Daaaaaaan

Ian Brown making a mockery of the miming policiy for Fools Gold was great too.

kidsick5000

Quote from: "Daaaaaaan"Ian Brown making a mockery of the miming policiy for Fools Gold was great too.

Didnt he have an eggfight for his first solo performance?
Yeah, thats it. He had this 'keyboard' guy with a pallette of eggs, and he moved his hands over them in a mysterious theremin way.

Then they started lobbing eggs at each other.

My Star, was it?

Daaaaaaan

I don't think I've seen that. Sounds like it could be on his upcoming DVD, though which contains his videos and performances.

mcbpete

Yeah the two Orb appearances have been classic. I liked the early 90's appearance of Orbital when they played Chime. Just the two Hartnoll brothers standing by their synths/drum machines and one of them occasionally pressing something a la Kraftwerk. The only motion on the whole thing I seem to remember was a raver-type lady doing her best to interest the crowd. They weren't asked back after that.

The Mumbler

Quote from: "mcbpete"I liked the early 90's appearance of Orbital when they played Chime.  They weren't asked back after that.

They were, although not for years.  The database lists The Box (video) in 1996, then Satan Live (performance) in early 1997, and Funny Break (performance) in 2001.  Satan was such a huge hit (number 3!) it would have been embarrassing to have ignored them.

Quote from: "boki"Haven't actually seen this myself, but didn't Fish refuse to mime when Marillion went on to do 'Lavender' and just held up cards with the lyrics on?  Sounds like it would've been hilarious for a minute or so.


Back in those days, most people mimed.  On this particular occasion, Fish was rather 'unwell' (the self-inflicted kind) and so thought it might be fun to have lyric cards held up so audience members could join in...  Ahh, the days when people weren't subjected to karaoke.   He's not been in the band for nearly two decades now, so I refuse to talk about him any further.

Jemble Fred

The two most memorable for me:

Erasure, very early nineties I think. The song? Possibly 'I Love To Hate You'. But the reason I remember it is because they had an entire Wonderland set, with Vince Clarke as The Mad Hatter... was Andy Bell Alice? I don't know, but it's the oddest thing I've seen on TOTP.

And my other nomination is Billy Bragg doing 'Take Down The Union Jack' a few years ago. From S Club Juniors to some big nosed fortysomething bloke from Barking in one link. It was wonderful, and you could tell he knew it was unlikely he'd ever be there again. You'd have to have been made of either stone or shit not to have cheered.

VegaLA

Quote from: "kidsick5000"Surely the best New Order performance was the bizarre (at the time) live performance from Malibu beach  with a bunch of happy sunny baywatch extras playing beach volleyball.

Especially the girls with the telephone

I remember reading somewhere that it was shot on the 'Baywatch set' but never found where that was located. Can someone confirm that it is Malibu Beach ?

Oooohh.. just checked IMDB. Aparantly it was Venice Beach since it was shot in 93.

Ciarán2

Quote from: "The Mumbler"The database lists The Box (video) in 1996, then Satan Live (performance) in early 1997

This was a clip taken from their "Later..." performance. Not sure about "Funny Break" though, can't help you there.

My fave TOTP performance is...The Orb "Blue Room", actually. Outside of things mentioned already here, The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu's "It's Grim Up North" and "Last Train To Trancentral" by The KLF can be added to all the other KLF appearances. The Pet Shop Boys' "Red Letter Day" where Chris Lowe reclined in a high comfy chair like a posh baby. A couple of PSB ones actually, I like the understated "West End Girls" performance from November '85 - that's how synth pop duos are meant to look. Blur performing "Bang" was good, had a nice veggie theme to it with them parading placards round the studio.

People say The Associates were great on TOTP, but that weas a bit before my time. I do remember B.A. Robertson playing tennis on TOTP though, or am I getting confused with The Brat? Would have been around '82-ish...

Barney Sloane

Quote from: "trotsky assortment"
Quote from: "boki"Haven't actually seen this myself, but didn't Fish refuse to mime when Marillion went on to do 'Lavender' and just held up cards with the lyrics on?  Sounds like it would've been hilarious for a minute or so.


Back in those days, most people mimed.  On this particular occasion, Fish was rather 'unwell' (the self-inflicted kind) and so thought it might be fun to have lyric cards held up so audience members could join in...  Ahh, the days when people weren't subjected to karaoke.   He's not been in the band for nearly two decades now, so I refuse to talk about him any further.


When they went on TOTP to perform Garden Party, the burly piscine fellow refused to mime along to the line "I'm rhyming, I'm miming" (which was standing in for "I'm rucking, I'm fucking" from the middle eight), opting instead for an intimidating glare into the camera.  What japes.

kidsick5000

Im quite fond of those 70s bands who seem to fuck up their careers with their TOTP performances.

The Marmalade one for Obladi Oblada is contentious, but I do know that hat got a lot of criticism.

The biggest mishap was Pilot, apparently. Their song Airport was huge, they could have been huge. Then they appeared in public.
Good looking they werent. not even in the 70s when The Osmonds and Bay City Rollers were thought of as hunky lookers.
Nope. Balding, ill postured sesssion musicians.


I only bring it up cos some singer here has just done the same thing.

Derek Trucks

Airport - by The Motors surely?  Great 70s pop record.  Pilot had a big hit with "January" (not so great 70s pop record).