Top Of The Pops

[Robbie]

The poor showing of "It's A Game" confirmed that the Rollers had lost a lot of their fanbase. It peaked at number 16 with only one week inside the top 20. It was their first single since they returned to the charts in 1974 to miss the top 10 and was the first single in 9 releases over a three year period to miss the top 5.

"You Made Me Believe In Magic" was their last UK chart single, peaking at number 34. In the US it gave them their third of three top 10 hits. In part their decline in popularity, which began in 1976, was down to the fact that they were concentrating as much on the US market as the UK market. Plus three years of mega-stardom was as much as most of the more popular teen bands managed back in those days.

[Graham76man]

No TOTP this week, not a missing episode either

Presumably they are trying to delay them, so they don't have Christmas charts in November.

[Blondini]

Blue and Mr Big in the charts in 1977!

Though it took a few more weeks before Blue even entered the top 50 with that.

[Blondini]

Great Bonnie Tyler appearance. Unfairly under-appreciated singer in the main.

[CZB]

This week:


31-3-77: Presenter: David Hamilton

(NEW) BLUE – I’m Gonna Capture Your Heart
(13) BILLY OCEAN – Red Light Spells Danger
(2) DAVID SOUL – Going In With My Eyes Open (danced to by Legs & Co)
(NEW) DAVID DUNDAS – Another Funny Honeymoon
(29) LYNSEY DE PAUL & MIKE MORAN – Rock Bottom
(8) BERNI FLINT – I Don’t Want To Put A Hold On You
(42) THE STYLISTICS – 7000 Dollars And You
(28) BONNIE TYLER – More Than A Lover
(1) ABBA – Knowing Me Knowing You (video)
(6) ELVIS PRESLEY – Moody Blue (and credits)


.....and all of those were present in tonight's early repeat, so the 35-minute slot for the later ones probably just accomodates quite a bit more of the play-out track again.

I read elsewhere that this is an edition not actually officially retained by the BBC, and the recording came from David Hamilton's personal collection instead? That could well be correct - I certainly don't remember seeing it in UKGold's run of repeats.....

[Robbie]

Good to see this episode as its one that is only in the BBC archives because David Hamilton provided the BBC with one of his own home recordings. The picture quality wasn't brilliant but for a 35 year old tape recording it wasn't bad!

The video for "Knowing Me Knowing You" is one that I can actually recall seeing on TOTP at the time. It's also one of the few Abba songs that I quite liked at the time.

[Graham76man]

Mike Nesmith being interviewed by "Diddy"! Talking about his new single RIO. It was actually one of the first records to get a proper video. Which is ironic too as Mike went on to pioneer MTV. In fact if it wasn't for him insisting that the youth of the nation wanted to watch music, not just hear it on the Radio, MTV would never have started.
Another fact about Mike is that his mother invented correction fluid for typists!

[Graham76man]

Blue didn't make the chart

Real Chart top 40 the first Sunday after that show!
01 01 ABBA Knowing me knowing you
02 02 David Soul Going in with my eyes open
03 05 Berni Flint I don't want to put a hold on you
04 04 Showaddywaddy When
05 06 David Bowie Sound and vision
06 11 Billy Ocean Red light (spells danger)
07 09 Elvis Presley Moody blue
08 03 Manhattan Transfer Chanson d amour
09 15 Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis Jr You don't have to be a star
10 18 Lynsey De Paul & Mike Moran Rock bottom
11 10 Smokie Lay back in the arms of someone
12 07 Brotherhood Of Man Oh boy
13 21 The Stylistics 7000 Dollars & you
14 14 Brendon Gimme some
15 08 Boney M Sunny
16 37 Dead End Kids Have I the right
17 19 Graham Parker & The Rumour Hold back the night (EP)
18 12 Maxine Nightingale Love hit me
19 23 Bonnie Tyler More than a lover
20 36 Elkie Brooks Pearl's a singer
21 30 Denice Williams Free
22 34 Andrew Gold Lonely boy
23 13 Cliff Richard My kinda life
24 29 The Jacksons Enjoy yourself
25 16 Mary MacGregor Torn between two lovers
26 17 Electric Light Orchestra Rockaria
27 33 OC Smith Together
28 27 Queen Tie your mother down
29 31 T. Rex Soul of my suit
30 42 David Dundas Another funny honey moon
31 22 Barbra Dickson Another suitcase in another hall
32 20 Suzi Quatro Tear me apart
33 25 The Rubettes Baby I know
34 40 Barbra Streisand Love theme from A Star is Born (Evergreen)
35 24 Real Thing You'll never know what your missing
36 52 Peter Gabriel Solsbury Hill
37 78 Stevie Wonder Sir Duke
38 Ne 10cc Good morning judge
39 Ne Tavares Whodunit
40 Ne Blue I'm gonna capture your heart

[Blondini]

Blue entered several weeks later: http://chartarchive.org/a/blue+scottish+band

[Graham76man]

Blue entered several weeks later: http://chartarchive.org/a/blue+scottish+band

Even if you believe that the Real Chart is wrong, because of the power of TOTP - to enter a chart weeks after the event is stupid to believe. Especially as the song is very commercial, very radio friendly.
Everyone in the music industry knew that TOTP would sell a record if you got on the show. A song not in the chart, would be there next week.
And in Scotland it would have been top! So we know that back in 1977 the BMRB had not enough shops in Scotland to cover the area. But then they tended to reject the log books if they weren't in on time, so you can imagine that Scotland being the furthest to post from, would have more late log books than any other area!
From what I've seen in other threads here on UKMIX the size of the survey wasn't even 250 shops, as many shops were not sending them in in-time. That's out of the ones that would supply the chart company with information. Most told BMRB to get stuffed!
In short BMRB charts are not worth the paper they are printed on. All they were good for at the time is for shops to lay out the top 50. It made it easy for the dumb 16 year old shop girls to find the record

That's not a plug for the Real Chart either, as that's the only one from 1977 anyone can see

[Blondini]

^We don't know what position it was at when they were on the show - might have been at 75 - might not have even been released (could have been a desperate space-filler)! If someone can find the Bubbling Unders from those weeks...

[Robbie]

I'm guessing the release of the single must have been delayed for some reason. It never made the Breakers Chart prior to it entering the top 50 some 4 weeks after this episode was first broadcast. The way that the chart worked back then with exclusion rules applying to both positions 41 to 50 of the main chart and to the Breakers Chart, a record at number 10 in the Breakers Chart was most likely the 75th best seller of the week. With 100% certainty we can say it was the 60th but there will have been a number of records with declining sales that weren't in either the main chart or the Breakers Chart that would have pushed it much lower than number 60. So for the single to not even put in a single appearance on the Breakers Chart prior to it entering the main chart at number 47 on the chart dated 30/04/77 suggests the single just wasn't available to buy in the first couple of weeks after Blue first appeared on TOTP.

In the NME top 30, the record first charted on 07/05/77 at number 25, the week when it was at number 35 (and in its second chart week) on the BMRB chart.

[Graham76man]

You lot

If the Record Industry told you that the moon was green cheese you would believe it.

You don't go on TOTP then delay or don't release a record for some weeks later. That would be sheer stupid by the record company.

Really if you look at the top 50 back then and compare it with TOTP, most records in that chart start to go down. It's like that TOTP wasn't having an effect on the Top 50 Just because Blue later sold records in the panel shops has nothing to do with why it's not in the Top 50 or breakers after TOTP.
Indeed we have seen a string of records shown on these TOTP shows that never made the breakers or the Top 50. So why should Blue's record be any different?
Just because it later made the charts

The most likly reason it did make the Top 50 weeks later is that Rocket Records (Elton John's label) made certain it got there. For if you look at the Label's success rate of hit singles since Rocket ROKN 501 was released in Nov 75. The only artists to have hit singles were Elton and Kiki Dee. Blue (ROKN 522) were the first act other than them two to have a hit (1 out of 15 not including Elton & Dee). Now that says a lot.
Furthermore even good records sometimes won't sell. One Record Rep told me once that a Hollies single would not sell. So the record company made certain it did. If Rocket tried the fair route for getting Blue to sell, can anybody begrudge them for fiddling?

[Robbie]

"You lot"

That's part of a line from 'Cathy Come Home'. Is Graham the matron?

[Graham76man]

"You lot"

That's part of a line from 'Cathy Come Home'. Is Graham the matron?

No it's the same form as the American "dumb ass" in a collective form.

[Robbie]

"You lot"

That's part of a line from 'Cathy Come Home'. Is Graham the matron?

No it's the same form as the American "dumb ass" in a collective form.

[CZB]

This week:


7-4-77: Presenter: David Jensen

(19) DEAD END KIDS – Have I The Right
(20) DENIECE WILLIAMS – Free (video)
(3) SHOWADDYWADDY – When
(24) ELKIE BROOKS – Pearl’s A Singer
(15) CLIFF RICHARD – My Kinda Life
(NEW) THE MANHATTANS – It’s You
(11) MAXINE NIGHTINGALE – Love Hit Me (danced to by Legs & Co)
(29) O.C. SMITH – Together (video)
(1) ABBA – Knowing Me Knowing You (video)
(14) SMOKIE – Lay Back In The Arms Of Someone (end credits)


There may be a bit more of the playout track (not mentioned in the archive at the time of writing, but no doubt it will soon be added!) in the late night repeats.

[CZB]

This week, apparently another 30-minute edition.....




14-4-77: Presenter: Jimmy Savile O.B.E.

(NEW) THE BROTHERS – Beautiful
(10) MARILYN McCOO & BILLY DAVIS JR – You Don’t Have To Be A Star (To Be In My Show)
(14) BRENDON – Gimme Some
(2) DAVID SOUL – Going In With My Eyes Open (video)
(24) THE STYLISTICS – 7000 Dollars And You
(NEW) JOHN WILLIAMS & CLEO LAINE – Feelings
(22) ANDREW GOLD – Lonely Boy (danced to by Legs & Co and "Floyd")
(6) BILLY OCEAN – Red Light Spells Danger
(1) ABBA – Knowing Me Knowing You (video)
(3) BONEY M – Sunny (and credits)

[Robbie]

Yup, another 30 minute edition though the next few are longer.

Some decent songs and as usual some awful songs!

From Andrew Gold onwards the songs are quite good though 'Sunny' by Boney M (the playout song) now seems to have been around forever!

[Robbie]

Graham: I'm interested.

'Gonna Capture Your Heart' by Blue is obviously struggling to make the BMRB Top 100 and yet it made your preferred top 40 two weeks ago. Where is it up to this week? And how does it perform the next three weeks?

[Graham76man]

Graham: I'm interested.

'Gonna Capture Your Heart' by Blue is obviously struggling to make the BMRB Top 100 and yet it made your preferred top 40 two weeks ago. Where is it up to this week? And how does it perform the next three weeks?

Well after entering at 40 it went up one place. However the chart following this week's TOTP sees it falling ten places I'll keep you guessing as to where it will go next

As you say Robbie, with no other surport, I believe they couldn't keep up sales after the two week shove that happens with TOTP.

This weeks tracks see a battle for the number 2 with Billy moving from 5 to 2 and David down 1.
The Stylistics are doing much better up one to 8!
Marilyn and Billy go from 8 to 4. Brendon after falling to 26 blast back to 9!
Andrew Gold, which actually first came out late 1976, has jumped from 23 to 10.
Cleo and not the film music man! enter at 32! The Brothers shoot from 98 to 41.
ABBA still top - 5 weeks now!
Boney M start to slip just 1 to 7!

Meanwhile Rod Stewart's AA single is the highest new entry at 29

Blondie's first single X Offender is down from 68 to 100 after 3 weeks in the chart One of only 4 new wave (punk) tracks in the 100.

[Blondini]

^Birth of the best band ever! Would have been great to see that on TOTP. Is that the Private Stock 1976 release? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-Offender

Says on Wiki that the Chrysalis single (Rip Her To Shreds/ In The Flesh/ X Offender) was released in November - it was promoted with the infamous poster asking men "Wouldn't You Like To Rip Her To Shreds?".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rip_Her_to_Shreds

Though Discogs has evidence that it was 1977: http://www.discogs.com/Blondie-Rip-Her- ... ter/185023

In Australia, they had already reached #2 with In The Flesh - when their pop TV show Countdown played In The Flesh by mistake instead of X Offender and the public liked it so much it became a single! I guess Countdown also featured new and uncharted acts also?

[Graham76man]

^ I've no idea what label records in the Real Chart are on The Real Chart doesn't bother with such things.
It could even be an import from the USA, or a combination of several. What I can tell you is that it wouldn't have made the present chart, as the 100 sale was just 8K

Having bought records around that time shops did sell imports from the USA. One of the reasons being on Saturday afternoons Paul Gambaccini on the stereo Radio Two (as Radio One), broadcast the USA top 100, well not the full chart, he skipped a lot!

I suspect a lot of the Blondie "punk" records were sold in some of the backstreet "rock" shops. But I never went in such places. I was scarred of getting beaten up

Punks were scary people Back then

[Blondini]

^So Rip Her To Shreds never charted then? I think it's that 3-track but with only X Offender credited myself. Unless your compilers combined all versions under one sale listing.

[Graham76man]

Not certain what they did with the Blondie track.
My hunch could be that it is Private Stock PVT90 and listed as X Offender. The records numbers around it were issued at around Feb-March of 77. In The Flesh was later issued on PVT 105 in May of 77.

However having looked around the web some sites say it was issued in March 1976 That seems odd to put number 90 on when in March of 76 the records were still in the 50's In anycase it was issued anyway on the 17 June 1976 in the USA.
However PVT 90 was withdrawn from sale by the record company.
So how this record was selling on the Real Chart is a bit of a mystery. Unless someone put out a pirated copies of the test pressings or promos that were made?

However this isnt about TOTP... So I'll shut up...