Top Of The Pops

[Blondini]

That ELO is indeed drawn out and awful.

More info:
https://twitter.com/TOTP1978

Apaarently, Clout didn't perform on that record, it was a group of men. The women were from South Africa - the song was previously recorded by both The Righteous Brothers and Gloria Gaynor (b-side of I Will Survive).

City Boy's drummer later sang Tight Fit's The Lion Sleeps Tonight (mimed / fronted by a model).
Their keyboardist Lol Mason became singer with The Maisonettes. AND - their guitarist later wrote the Goonies theme and was A and R manager for Britney Spears!

Forever Autumn started life as a Lego jingle! See clip on that page.
That was clearly a rerecording in that clip - sounded totally different - live drums, slightly different tin whistle sound, more backing vocal effects, It also didn't look like a usual studio clip - no audience - so was it actually a "video" or a specially prepared clip? For the next performance there was a studio audience: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpzOIDo8DFU

You can see Andrew LLoyd Webber on keyboards alongside Rod Argent on that San Jose hit. As Peter Powell says.

[Graham76man]

Tony don't you mean that Clout only sang the vocals? The voices on the record sound like female vocals to me :-?

Anyway that performance shot it up from 4,317 to 317 in the Amazon best sellers!

[Blondini]

The story goes that none of them actually played on this single, and that it was instead recorded by an all-male band called Circus.

Probably.

[Robbie]

As Blondini has posted, 'Substitute' was recorded by Gloria Gaynor. It actually started life as the A side with 'I Will Survive' as the B side. Fortunately the record label saw sense and promoted 'I Will Survive' to the A side. By the time 'I Will Survive' was released in the UK, 'Substitute' had been replaced by 'Anybody Wanna Party' as the B side. And what a B side, I actually preferred 'Anybody Wanna Party' to 'I Will Survive'...

[CZB]

This week:


13-7-78: Presenter: Tony Blackburn

(26) SATURDAY NIGHT BAND – Come On Dance Dance (and charts) [ ? ]
(6) THE BOOMTOWN RATS – Like Clockwork
(NEW) SUZI QUATRO – The Race Is On
(29) ANDREW GOLD – How Can This Be Love (video)
(13) THE O’JAYS – Used Ta Be My Girl (danced to by Legs & Co)
(NEW) STEVE VOICE – On The Shelf
(23) BOB MARLEY & THE WAILERS – Satisfy My Soul
(63) RENAISSANCE – Northern Lights
(2) FATHER ABRAHAM & THE SMURFS – The Smurf Song (video)
(12) LINDISFARNE – Run For Home
(30) VOYAGE – From East To West (video)
(NEW) RACEY – Baby It’s You
(1) JOHN TRAVOLTA & OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN – You’re The One That I Want (video)
(16) BLUE OYSTER CULT – (Don't Fear) The Reaper (and credits)


Neither the opening nor the closing track are listed in the archive - presumably this is an edition that wasn't
repeated on UK Gold ? - and I'm more confident that I've identified the latter correctly than the former . . . . .


The future top 20 hit by Renaissance - one of several featured here again that I bought - was one of just four
new entries in the whole of the top 75 this week.

I thought the other-A-side of the Voyage hit, "Scot's Machine" was far superior to "From East To West". Simon
Bates was using it as the background music for the top twenty countdown on Sunday evenings at this time.

According to Tony Blackburn, introducing Steve Voice (who?), it's "His first time on "Top of the Pops" - not his
last, I wouldn't have thought." Well, he was half right . . . . . the title of this completely unmemorable single
would seem to reflect exactly where most copies of it just remained . . . . .

[Blondini]

^ More TOTPFax info:

Voyage vocalist Sylvia Mason-James was a prominent backing vocalist on several hits, notably she was the female voice on Jimmy Nail's Ain't No Doubt, and credited vocalist on Chicane's Strong In Love (as Mason). Was also on Pet Shop Boys' Go West.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylvia_Mason-James

Steve Voice - most obcsure act ever featured? Didn't even make the top 75. Donny and Marie Osmond also recorded that song.

[Graham76man]

My version of the Saturday Night Band single switches to mono for a while then back to stereo. I've never been able to work out if it was done on purpose or if someone hit the mono button when the song was being mastered? It happens during the instrumental break.
Out of that lot I purchased (at the time) also Gold, Quatro, Renaissence, Lindisfarne, & Voyage. I don't remember the Steve Voice track at all!
Anne (presumably as she was wearing the chain around her neck) the lead singer of Renaissence, looks a bit like Rachel from Friends.
I think I'll always remember Bob Geldof just like that, even if he lives a long time. Just so iconic

[Graham76man]

Renaissance Northern Lights has shot up from 23,356 to 177 on the Amazon download bestsellers!

[Robbie]

From the edition of TOTP shown on Thursday I owned both 'Like Clockwork' and 'From East To West'.

I don't know if it was intentional but 'What You Waiting For' by Gwen Stefani contains the "tick tock" refrain that appears on 'Like Clockwork'. Probably just a coincidence rather than any sort of copy.

Renaissance were already known to viewers of the ITV childrens programme 'The Paper Lads' as they performed the theme tune.Does anyone else remember this programme? It ran from 1977 to 1979 and was a Tyne Tees production with the programme being set in Newcastle.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLEIE8WD0X4

[Robbie]

Just a reminder that TOTP 1978 is on Wednesday at 7.30pm this week (17/07/13) rather than Thursday due to the Proms. The repeat is on Thursday 18/07 at 1.30am.

[CZB]

Yes - as last summer, the BBC FOUR "Top Of The Pops" repeats move to Wednesdays for a few weeks, with full repeats on Wednesday and Saturday nights. A chunk of recently-seen tracks was chopped out of the middle of tonight's 7.30pm version:





20-7-78: Presenter: Kid Jensen

(30) GLADYS KNIGHT & THE PIPS – Come Back And Finish What You Started (and charts)
(NEW) SHAM 69 – If The Kids Are United
(10) A TASTE OF HONEY – Boogie Oogie Oogie (video)
(25) JUSTIN HAYWARD – Forever Autumn
(16) SATURDAY NIGHT BAND – Come On Dance Dance (danced to by Legs & Co)
(60) THE NEW SEEKERS – Anthem (One Day In Every Week)
(23) CITY BOY – 5-7-0-5
(7) ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA – Wild West Hero (video)
(4) CLOUT – Substitute (video)
(38) RAYDIO – Is This A Love Thing
(3) MARSHALL HAIN – Dancing In The City (danced to by Legs & Co)
(73) CHILD – It’s Only Make Believe
(1) JOHN TRAVOLTA & OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN – You’re The One That I Want (video)
(5) SHOWADDYWADDY – A Little Bit Of Soap (and credits)




I didn't recall these releases from the New Seekers or Raydio at all - neither of which would go on to reach the top twenty . . . . .

A lot of top ten tracks were featured this week - all of the four climbers and two of the five non-movers there. Only "Airport" by the Motors was moving down, from five to eight.

[Graham76man]

How can you not recall the New Seekers track it's brill.
Ray Parker Jnr was a course a member of Raydio. I do remember it well since I purchased it! It was clearly doing better than the BMRB chart, as it started it's life on the Real Chart at 38!
Sham 69 track was popular in Sheffield, well at least it was with one of our football team's fans. In fact the track became a popular chant at football matches anyway.

When I come to think about it the Saturday Night Band sound a lot like The Crown Heights Affair, especially the Galaxy of Love track. I suspect that both are just session musicians put together by some record company, adding female vocals over it. A bit like Silver Convention, who were some musicians really. But Pete Waterman (to market the band) put the 3 women on the cover of records and that's how they stayed. Not bad work for simply singing "Fly Robin Fly Up Up To The Sky". Money for old rope!

Child were the replacements for the Bay City Rollers in a way. But the record company never gave them original hits to sing, so they sounded like the Osmonds, old hat by 1978.

[Blondini]

Wanna know who Steve Voice was? A hit record producer apparently (lots of Kelly Marie stuff): http://www.discogs.com/artist/Steve+Voi ... ion&q=&p=1

And an abusive cocaine-addict wife-beater: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/artic ... sband.html
He's now dead.

[Graham76man]

Just added two months of 1978 charts to the Real Chart blog. These of course show what the real effect of TOP OF THE POPS had on the chart. These take them up to the end of June.
http://therealchart.blogspot.co.uk/p...al-charts.html

[CZB]

Wanna know who Steve Voice was? . . . an abusive cocaine-addict wife-beater

I wish I hadn't asked now - it would seem that he turned into a thoroughly nasty piece of work . . . . .









I think tonight's (750th) edition of "Top Of The Pops" must also have been one of the shortest ever . . . . .



10-8-78: Presenter: Peter Powell

(16) VOYAGE – From East To West (and charts)
(64) THE REZILLOS – Top Of The Pops
(30) FOREIGNER – Cold As Ice (video)
(41) HI-TENSION – British Hustle
(21) BOB DYLAN – Baby Stop Crying (danced to by Legs & Co)
(27) RAYDIO – Is This A Love Thing (video)
(11) RENAISSANCE – Northern Lights
(37) JILTED JOHN – Jilted John
(1) JOHN TRAVOLTA & OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN – You’re The One That I Want (video)
(5) THE COMMODORES – Three Times A Lady (and credits)


. . . . . surely only in a 25-minute time slot originally ! Very much dominated by tracks that hadn't reached the top twenty - those by Raydio and Foreigner wouldn't ever get there, but all the rest did in the weeks ahead.

Peter Powell individually name-checked the lead singer with Renaissance - having perhaps spotted the name-necklace she was wearing, just as I seem to recall Graham mentioned on their previous performance. However, that's not necessarily always a foolproof means of identification:

[Robbie]

CZB, Child aren't on the edition shown tonight! Even looking at your line up you can see they aren't listed. Thankfully...

[Graham76man]

I thought it would be the right thing to do to put the lyrics of Top of The Pops here because you can't really tell what she's singing.

[Verse 1:]
Hold Tight - Now we're on our own
Cue light - Now it's ready to roll
Tonight - How I've waited for aggravated for years
It's fun - Oh I just can't wait
Hold on - Do I look up to date
Your on - I'll do anything if that's the right thing to see

[Bridge:]
Does it matter what is shown
Just as long as everyone knows
What is selling what to buy
The stock market for your hi-fi

[Chorus:]
Take the money - Leave the box
Everybody's on Top Of The Pops

[Verse 2:]
There's one - Born every day
Sing song - Then fade away
Ding dong - What's the future in the pop music industry
Alright - So you make the grade
Hold tight - To the buck you made
Just wait - You been rated for constipated peak viewing time

[Bridge:]
Does it matter what is shown
Just as long as everyone knows
What's in fashion what is seen
On the front of a television screen

[Chorus:]
Take the money - Leave the box
Everybody's on Top Of The Pops

[Instrumental]

[Verse 3:]
Hold Tight - Now we're on our own
Cue light - Now it's ready to roll
Tonight - How I've waited for aggravated for years
It's fun - Oh I just can't wait
Hold on - Do I look up to date
Your on - I'll do anything if that's the right thing to see

[Bridge:]
Does it matter what is shown
Just as long as everyone knows
What is selling what to buy
The stock market for your hi-fi

[Chorus:]
Take the money - Leave the box
Everybody's on Top Of The Pops
Pay the money - Watch the box
Everybody's on Top Of The Pops
Everybody's on Top Of The Pops

When you read them it's not really positive about the show.
Thinking about it while watching tonight, I remembered it wasn't a cool show to watch in many circles.

[CZB]

CZB, Child aren't on the edition shown tonight! Even looking at your line up you can see they aren't listed. Thankfully...

Now amended, I meant Raydio ! I knew it was a group we previously also saw in one of the most recent repeats (we've skipped another Jimmy Savile show, and another DLT show, since last week) but typed the wrong name . . . . .

[Robbie]

CZB, Child aren't on the edition shown tonight! Even looking at your line up you can see they aren't listed. Thankfully...

Now amended, I meant Raydio ! I knew it was a group we previously also saw in one of the most recent repeats (we've skipped another Jimmy Savile show, and another DLT show, since last week) but typed the wrong name . . . . .

So who are the two chancers in your picture?! I thought they were the Atack twins from Child..!

Actually, they look like Modern Talking!

[Blondini]

Rezillos great - yeah, it wasn't a celebration of TOTP but clearly the show was happy for the publicity so had them on anyway. Guitarist Jo Callis later joined The Human League.

Jilted John is the now famous comedian John Shuttleworth. Great track - they wouldn't get away with that language in a similar timeslot now! Unless it was EastEnders!

I found out an amazing trivia fact from TOTPFax Twitter - regarding Bob Dylan's final top 20 hit.

18 year-old backing singer Katey Sagal rehearsed with Bob Dylan prior to that 1978 world tour, but was sacked before it started... #TOTP

Sagal later achieved fame playing Peg Bundy in Married With Children. Her impression of Dylan? "A little on the creepy side"… #TOTP

I loved Married With Children!

[CZB]

Jilted John is the now famous comedian John Shuttleworth. Great track - they wouldn't get away with that language in a similar timeslot now! Unless it was EastEnders!

One of the words he used also features in the recent megahit "Blurred Lines" - Radio One, and
presumably many other UK radio stations, always edit it out !

So who are the two chancers in your picture?! I thought they were the Atack twins from Child..!

Actually, they look like Modern Talking!

Yes, they are Modern Talking.

Annie Haslam's name-necklace in these two recent "Top Of The Pops" repeats reminded me that
Thomas Anders (on the left in the picture) always used to wear one that said . . . . . "NORA" !

[BrainDamageII]

I think tonight's (750th) edition of "Top Of The Pops" must also have been one of the shortest ever . . . . .


. . . . . surely only in a 25-minute time slot originally !

Coverage of Commonwealth games shortened it

5.40 NEWS.
5.55 N A T I O N W I D E
6,20 DR WHO (repeat).'
The Sun Makers,
6,45 THE XIth C0MMONWEALTH GAMES.
Swimming Finals, Gymnastics Finals and
Boxing,
7.45 TOP OF THE POPS.
Introduced by Peter Powell,
8,10 THE HOLLYWOOD'GREATS.
Ronald Colman, a profile of Mr Nice
Guy, written and presented by Barry
Norman. Personal comments from actor
David Niven, actress Lillian Gish, among
others.
9.0 NEWS.
9.25 THE SONGWRITERS.
Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber.
1Q.20 I, CLAUDIUS (repeat).
Claudius (Derek .Jacobi) hoped that
E m p e r o r Caligula's (John Hurt)
excesses would herald a return to a
Republic, but Rome officially accepted
his divinity.
11.15 CHECKPOINT.
Six highly personal views of Scotland.
Tonight Dr Conor Cruise O'Brien.

[Robbie]

Jumping forward one year to 33 years ago this week, darnall42 from Digital Spy has just posted the 800th edition of Top Of The Pops from 26 July 1979. I'm not sure why he's done it but who am I to argue with some decent music including the wonderful 'Stay With Me Tonight' by Judie Tzuke.

26-7-79: Presenter: Jimmy Savile O.B.E. (800th TOTP)

(50) SHOWADDYWADDY – Sweet Little Rock ‘N’ Roller
(30) JUDIE TZUKE – Stay With Me Till Dawn
(35) BUZZCOCKS – Harmony In My Head
(27) ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA – The Diary Of Horace Wimp (video)
(39) THE UNDERTONES – Here Comes The Summer
(10) SUPERTRAMP – Breakfast In America (video)
(41) TELEX – Rock Around The Clock
(13) PATRICK HERNANDEZ – Born To Be Alive (danced to by Legs & Co)
(23) CLIFF RICHARD – We Don’t Talk Anymore
(15) THE POLICE – Can’t Stand Losing You ฎ
(43) SPYRO GYRA – Morning Dance
(1) THE BOOMTOWN RATS – I Don’t Like Mondays (video)
(18) RICKIE LEE JONES – Chuck E.’s In Love (and credits)

https://vimeo.com/71327553

Enjoy!

[CZB]

including the wonderful 'Stay With Me Tonight' by Judie Tzuke.

Or even the possibly more optimistic "Stay With Me Till Dawn" !

Her one and only UK hit, this eventually peaked at 16 - but what forever sticks in my mind about it is that in the previous week, in which it climbed nine places to number 18, it wasn't played by Simon Bates in the Sunday evening Radio One Top Forty show. My theory is that he only discovered at too late a stage for anyone to locate a replacement that the wrong record was in the sleeve, or that it was mispressed or otherwise damaged / unplayable . . . . .

Judie's daughter, Bailey, would go eight places higher in the charts in 2007, singing "Uninvited" with the Freemasons.

As usual, there were several other singles in this edition that I also bought way back then, including those by Telex and Spiro Gyra - both of whom were also one-hit wonders !

I was surprised to see that no track was listed for the opening chart rundown - but it's clear from the recording (which I've watched just now, thanks for the link!) that for this one week only - no doubt to celebrate the 800th edition - they reverted to the "Whole Lotta Love" instrumental that had previously opened the programme every week for quite a few years.

[CZB]

Back tonight to another unseen-for-almost-35-years edition:



17-8-78: Presenter: Noel Edmonds

(5) BONEY M – Brown Girl In The Ring (and charts)
(27) THE STRANGLERS – Walk On By
(6) JUSTIN HAYWARD – Forever Autumn
(11) CERRONE – Super Nature (danced to by Legs & Co)
(14) CHILD – It’s Only Make Believe
(4) DARTS – It’s Raining
(18) 10cc – Dreadlock Holiday
(20) THE WHO – Who Are You (video)
(21) THE NEW SEEKERS – Anthem (One Day In Every Week)
(NEW) MR. BIG – Senora
(1) THE COMMODORES – Three Times A Lady (danced to by Legs & Co)
(8) CITY BOY – 5-7-0-5 {and credits)


The "Supernature" dance seemed to be over and done with very quickly so it may have been edited
down - with two later tracks disappearing completely until, hopefully, the late night repeats.

I really don't think I would have predicted that there was a future number one in tonight's line-up . . . . .