Top Of The Pops

[RayRay]

I LOVED Ferry Aid. Bought the 7" single. Such a shame it's not on Spotify. Still a great line up.

[Thriller]

That FYC version of Buzzcocks is random. I’d never heard it before! Prefer their version of Suspicious Minds.

[Graham76man]

Lot's of Page three girls on the line up of Ferry Aid. Tragic since the event, as Suzanne Mizzi died in 2011 of cancer! Only 43!!

[CZB]

Tonight:

23/04/87 (Presented by Gary Davies)
(08) Five Star – “The Slightest Touch”
(13) The Smiths – “Sheila Take A Bow”
(14) Kim Wilde & Junior – “Another Step (Closer To You)”
( Charts 40 - 11 )
(02) Judy Boucher – “Can’t Be With You Tonight”
Breakers:
- (15) Starship – “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” (video clip)
- (12) Tom Jones – “A Boy From Nowhere” (video clip)
(17) Glenn & Chris – “Diamond Lights”
( Charts 10 - 02 )
(01) Madonna – “La Isla Bonita” (video)
(07) Terence Trent D’Arby – “If You Let Me Stay” (+ credits)

A very "live" edition this week, mostly studio performances - although Gary Davies perhaps
messed up his opening link, as the six acts appearing aren't really all "bands"!

The highlight for me was Judy Boucher, with a single recorded and (I think) originally released
in the previous year. Wikipedia explains the reason for its belated success:

Lizzie Webb, TV's exercise queen at the time, heard the song while driving home and decided
to use it as her exercise tune. The UK public began enquiring about it. Boucher's producer released
it to satisfy the demand which gave Boucher her first national entry into the charts. The song hit
No. 1 during mid-week, but then remained at No. 2 for four weeks in the UK and was also a hit in
the Netherlands, Ireland, Switzerland, France, Greece, Spain and the Philippines.

Glenn and Chris were famous footballers three decades ago, perhaps brought together because of
the way their surnames rhymed with each other rather than any singing or performing ability away
from the pitch. Wikipedia says the following, with which it's hard to disagree too much.....

The duo's live performance of the song on the widely watched music programme Top of the Pops
is often referred to as one of popular music's most embarrassing moments. One journalist described
it as "... truly awful dad dancing and shocking lyrics" while another opined, "A timeless classic for all
the wrong reasons ... You get the feeling that Waddle was rightly embarrassed to be there while
Hoddle genuinely felt he was at the start of something big."

According to an unusually ironic Gary Davies, "The new Wham! has arrived!"

[RayRay]

Always great to see Madonna at #1.

[CZB]

And Madonna was still at number one the following week.....


30/04/87 (Presented by Peter Powell and Steve Wright)
(19) The Jesus & Mary Chain – “April Skies”
(03) Starship – “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” (video)
(16) Labi Siffre – “(Something Inside) So Strong”
( Charts 40 - 11 - Peter Powell )
(14) Level 42 – “To Be With You Again”
Breakers:
- (23) Spear Of Destiny – “Never Take Me Alive” (video clip)
- (21) Fleetwood Mac – “Big Love” (video clip)
(07) Tom Jones – “A Boy From Nowhere” (video)
( Charts 10 - 01 - Peter Powell )
(01) Madonna – “La Isla Bonita” (video)
(24) Duran Duran – “Meet El Presidente” (video/credits)


My favourite this time was the Labi Siffre hit - his fourth, last and biggest top forty success,
it didn't arrive until fifteen to sixteen years after the first three!

Between 1982 and 1986, Duran Duran had had ten consecutive top ten singles - but 1987
would be a poor year for them. "Skin Trade" had already ground to a halt at number 22, and
the follow-up which was this week's playout video wasn't even going to match that, failing to
climb any higher than where it had already reached.

[RayRay]

Still a great song, Something Inside So Strong by Labi Siffre.

[Thriller]

That Judy Boucher song is absolutely dreadful. How the hell did she manage four weeks at #2?

[CZB]

Passing another Mike Smith edition (we're now into his final twelve months on the show!) - tonight:

14/05/87 (Presented by Gary Davies)
(18) Johnny Hates Jazz – “Shattered Dreams”
(11) The Cult – “Lil’ Devil” (video)
(22) Europe – “Carrie” (video)
( Charts 40 - 11 )
(04) Labi Siffre – “(Something Inside) So Strong”
Breakers:
- (21) Wet Wet Wet – “Wishing I Was Lucky” (video clip)
- (13) Cameo – “Back And Forth” (video clip)
(03) Tom Jones – “A Boy From Nowhere”
( Charts 10 - 01 )
(01) Starship – “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” (video)
(24) Zodiac Mindwarp And The Love Reaction – “Prime Mover” (video/credits)

Mostly videos this week - and, of course, a few of the same hits that were in the previous repeat.

"Carrie" - not the same song of this title that previously charted for Cliff Richard - wasn't going
any higher than the number 22 spot it occupied this week. But I think it probably receives more
airplay nowadays than the bigger hit "Rock The Night". Nine times out of ten, though, radio
programmers wanting to play a track by Europe would surely pick the number one smash "The
Final Countdown". Curiously, they seem about equally as likely to air the twelve-inch version,
which is identical to the seven-inch except that it has an extra minute's worth of instrumental
intro - which I suppose some DJs find useful to talk over!

Gary Davies mentioned that Tom Jones was "still going strong" twenty-two years after his first
hit - and, although he hasn't been in the singles chart for a while, I think it's fair to say that this
is still the case almost thirty-two years later! He's now 78, and still touring and performing.....

[CZB]

Tonight:

21/05/87 (Presented by Simon Bates and Peter Powell)
(06) Marillion – “Incommunicado”
(14) Wet Wet Wet – “Wishing I Was Lucky”
( Charts 40 - 11 - Peter Powell / Simon Bates )
(11) Cameo – “Back And Forth”
Breakers:
- (26) Donna Allen – “Serious” (video clip)
- (25) Johnny Logan – “Hold Me Now” (video clip)
- (23) Bruce Springsteen – “Born To Run” (video clip)
- (18) Tottenham Hotspur FC/Chas and Dave – “Hot Shot Tottenham” (video clip)
(10) Whitney Houston – “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)”
( Charts 10 - 01 - Peter Powell / Simon Bates )
(01) Starship – “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” (video)
(09) Fleetwood Mac – “Big Love” (video/credits)

More breakers, fewer full-length videos and performances this week. The 1987 Eurovision
winner wasn't quite going to go all the way to number one in the UK as Johnny Logan's
previous one had done - although of course it did in Ireland.

The lyrics of the Spurs hit included "Seven times we've won the cup, number eight is coming
up" - which would come true. Not in 1987, though - they lost to Coventry City! Their eighth
victory was four years later, in 1991.

I'm not sure that I could have predicted a long and illustrious career for the group performing
their first single here, Wet Wet Wet! That would become the first of twenty-seven top ten
hits for them - the last coming in 2008 - including three number ones, the third of which was
going to spend a vast number of weeks at the top.....

[Graham76man]

Still a great song, Something Inside So Strong by Labi Siffre.

And still quite relevant.

[RayRay]

Whitney was such a joy to watch and listen to. Her voice was such a treasure.

[Graham76man]

A friend of mine used to work at Sheffield City Hall and Wet Wet Wet were appearing there. She was told to make certain that a passageway was clear for Marti Pellow the lead singer of the group, but not let anyone else through. So she stood at the entrance stopping all the people. If anyone wanted to get past she told them it was for him. Then someone tapped her from behind and she said "you can't come through, it's for Marti Pellow". The voice said "I am Marti Pellow"

Once she also was on the ticket booth selling tickets for their concert. One ticket buyer before she purchased wanted to know if Marti had a "big one".
"A big one what?"
But I think the rest of us can work what the woman wanted to know

[Graham76man]

Whitney was such a joy to watch and listen to. Her voice was such a treasure.

Yes and she was live too, just like Tom the other night. You could tell as the microphone had a lead on it. Plus some slight imperfections, only to do with live singing.

If only you could go back in time and tell her don't take a hot bath when you are high on drugs.

[CZB]

And tonight, a fortnight and a Mike Smith later, Whitney has made it to number one:


05/06/87 (Presented by Gary Davies)
(07) Erasure – “Victim Of Love”
(13) U2 – “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” (video)
( Charts 40 - 11 )
(10) Pepsi and Shirlie – “Goodbye Stranger”
Breakers:
- (24) Jody Watley – “Looking For A New Love” (video clip)
- (23) Suzanne Vega – “Luka” (video clip)
- (22) John Farnham – “You’re The Voice” (live clip)
- (16) Beastie Boys – “No Sleep Till Brooklyn” (Montreux clip)
(06) Wet Wet Wet – “Wishing I Was Lucky”
( Charts 10- 01 )
(01) Whitney Houston – “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)” (video)
(18) Samantha Fox – “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Me Now” (video/credits)


I didn't really like the previous singles from former Page Three girl Samantha Fox very much - the only
one I had bought, from the bargain bin, was "Hold On Tight" - but this one, not to be confused with
the recent Starship number one, was rather good. Stock, Aitken and Waterman were credited on the
label, so this may partly explain why it seemed to me an improvement on her earlier biggest hits.....

[RayRay]

I loved the look Pepsi and Shirlie had with those curtain-looking-dresses.
Shame it wasn't nearly as catchy as Heartache.

[CZB]

A strange one tonight.....


11/06/87 (Presented by Simon Bates and Peter Powell)
(15) John Farnham – “You’re The Voice”
(17) Bruce Willis – “Under The Boardwalk” (live clip)
( Charts 30 - 11 - Peter Powell / Simon Bates )
(14) Beastie Boys – “No Sleep Till Brooklyn”(Montreux clip)
(16) Run DMC – “It’s Tricky” (Montreux clip)
Breakers:
- (23) Tom Jones – “It’s Not Unusual” (new TOTP performance clip)
- (22) Whitesnake – “Is This Love?” (video clip)
- (21) ABC – “When Smokey Sings” (video clip)
(02) Johnny Logan – “Hold Me Now" (video)
( Charts 10 - 01 - Peter Powell / Simon Bates )
(01) Whitney Houston – “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)” (video)
(18) Jody Watley – “Looking For A New Love” (video/credits)


.....with no audience present in the studio, and almost no live performances from there.

I much preferred the previous Eurovision winner from Johnny Logan, and the previous hit
version of "Under The Boardwalk", by the Tom Tom Club, over those seen tonight.

Note that, according to Peter Powell, the highest new entry at number four from George
Michael was "I Want" ..... well, it was quite early in the evening.

While this could have been thirty minutes of election-free programming - votes were being
cast on this day, with Margaret Thatcher winning her third election and Neil Kinnock losing
his first - Simon Bates made sure this wasn't to be the case!

[Thriller]

Whitney was such a joy to watch and listen to. Her voice was such a treasure.

Loved this performance, so effortless and you could tell she was enjoying herself.

Really like Donna Allen’s Serious from this era, later sampled by Strike of course.

[RayRay]

Watching right now.
My husband: "Pleasure Principle by Janet Jackson? What's that? Never heard of that song."
Me: "I guess I have to play Janet more often."
Hubby: "Nooooooooo!"

[CZB]

Tonight - and Whitney has now dropped from the top.....


18/06/87 (Presented by Janice Long and Simon Mayo)
(08) Samantha Fox – “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Me Now”
(16) Whitesnake – “Is This Love?” (video)
(20) Tom Jones – “It’s Not Unusual”
( Charts 40 -11 - Janice Long / Simon Mayo )
(14) ABC – “When Smokey Sings”
Breakers:
- (25) Chris Rea – “Let’s Dance” (video clip)
- (24) Janet Jackson – “Pleasure Principle” (video clip) (breaker)
(21) Curiosity Killed The Cat – “Misfit”
( Charts 10 - 02 - Janice Long / Simon Mayo )
(01) The Firm – “Star Trekkin’” (video)
(26) Broken English – “Comin’ On Strong” (video/credits)


1987 was the most successful year for Whitesnake - three hits, two of them reaching the
top ten. This current one was on the way to a number nine peak, equalled by the follow-up
which was a re-release of an earlier minor hit.

On the subject of re-releases - following the massive success of "Down To Earth", Curiosity
Killed The Cat's "Misfit" was promoted again. Having ground to a halt at number 76 in
September of the previous year, it was now on the way to a vastly improved peak of number
seven!

I think the Tom Jones performance is the full length one of the clip featured in the breakers
of the previous episode. Simon Mayo observed that he had been a sex symbol for 157 years
- so I guess it's coming up to 200 years now.....

"Star Trekkin'" completed a remarkable 74-13-01 rise to pole position - at the time, no other
future number one had ever initially entered the top 75 as low as number 74. Naturally, this
one was my favourite from this week!

[CZB]

And tonight:

25/06/87 Presented by Simon Bates and Peter Powell)
(18) Chris Rea – “Let’s Dance”
(03) Bruce Willis – “Under The Boardwalk” (live clip)
(05) Pet Shop Boys – “It’s A Sin”
( Charts 40 - 11 - Peter Powell / Simon Bates )
(14) Terence Trent D’Arby – “Wishing Well”
Breakers:
- (23) Prince – “If I Was Your Girlfriend” (video clip)
- (22) Simple Minds – “Promised You A Miracle” (live clip)
(26) Cliff Richard – “My Pretty One”
( Charts 10 - 01 - Peter Powell / Simon Bates )
(01) The Firm – “Star Trekkin’” (video)
(07) John Farnham – “You’re The Voice” (Montreux clip/credits)

"Promised You A Miracle" was another one that had been a hit previously - there really were a
lot of re-releases, remakes and reissues in 1987.....

The highlight this time has to be the Pet Shop Boys' latest new entry - on its way to number
one, of course. One of my all-time favourites.

In the previous edition, Simon Mayo did manage to mention "sex" in the top ten countdown -
but now, with Peter Powell, it's back to just "I Want" again. This George Michael hit wasn't
ever played in the Sunday evening Radio One chart show.

[Graham76man]

I remember George not being pleased with the BBC at that time.
ILR Radio Stations such as mine - Radio Hallam - had no difficulty playing it or saying the title.
George had done the record because of the restrictive attitudes around at that time about sex and the AIDS thing.

[CZB]

Tonight:

02/07/87 (Presented by Simon Bates)
(11) ABC – “When Smokey Sings”
(16) Atlantic Starr – “Always” (video)
( Charts 40 - 11 )
(07) Curiosity Killed The Cat – “Misfit” (Montreux clip)
Breakers:
- (26) Black – “Sweetest Smile” (video clip)
- (23) Billy Idol – “Sweet Sixteen” (video clip)
- (17) A-ha – “The Living Daylights” (video clip)
(18) Broken English – “Comin’ On Strong”
( Charts 10 - 02 )
(01) Pet Shop Boys – “It’s A Sin”
( Interview with Genesis )
(19) Simple Minds – “Promised You A Miracle” (live video/credits)

A-ha's seventh hit, "Manhattan Skyline", was their first to miss the top ten - but their eighth, a Bond movie
theme, was on the way to a peak of number five. The follow-up, "Stay On These Roads", would also reach
that position in the following year.

I would struggle to name any hits by Atlantic Starr other than this one, their biggest. But ten of their singles
entered the top 100 in the UK, including "Secret Lovers" which had been their first top ten success.

[CZB]

And tonight:

09/07/87 (Presented by Gary Davies)
(26) Shakin’ Stevens – “A Little Boogie Woogie (In The Back Of My Mind)”
(05) A-ha – “The Living Daylights” (video)
( Charts 40 - 11 )
(12) Black – “Sweetest Smile”
Breakers:
- (22) Genesis – “Throwing It All Away” (video clip)
- (21) Jackie Wilson – “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher & Higher” (video clip)
- (16) Mel & Kim – “FLM” (16) (Montreux clip)
- (15) Heart – “Alone” (video clip)
(27) The Christians – “Hooverville”
( Charts 10 - 01 )
(01) Pet Shop Boys – “It’s A Sin”
(04) Terence Trent D’Arby – “Wishing Well” (video/credits)

Gary Davies' opening "alphabet" analogy only really worked as far as the letter "C" - and perhaps it would
have seemed as surprising then as it does now that he apparently thought viewers might not know what
a "boogie woogie" was.....

[CZB]

Tonight:


23/07/87 (Presented by Janice Long and Simon Mayo)
(26) Boy George – “Sold”
(03) Atlantic Starr – “Always” (video)
(35) Judy Boucher – “You Caught My Eye”
( Charts 40 - 11 - Janice Long / Simon Mayo )
(05) Los Lobos – “La Bamba” (video)
Breakers:
- (37) Errol Brown – “Personal Touch” (video clip)
- (34) Samantha Fox – “I Surrender (To The Spirit Of The Night)” (video clip)
- (33) Marillion – “Sugar Mice” (video clip)
- (20) Beastie Boys – “She’s On It” (video clip)
- (29) Luther Vandross – “I Really Didn’t Mean It” (video clip)
(13) Shakin’ Stevens – “A Little Boogie Woogie (In The Back Of My Mind)”
( Charts 10 - 02 - Janice Long / Simon Mayo )
(01) Madonna – “Who’s That Girl?” (video)
(10) Boogie Box High – “Jive Talkin’” (video/credits)


The second Judy Boucher hit wasn't going to be as successful as the first - but I liked it more
than anything else in this week's show. I also bought the bigger Los Lobos and Atlantic Starr
singles - although only when they reached the bargain bins.

I didn't really have any recollection of these tracks by Boy George and Errol Brown - who of
course had both topped the charts with their groups. "Personal Touch" climbed to a peak of 25
the following week, but spent only two more weeks dropping down in the top forty, while "Sold"
went up two places to 24 then made an even quicker descent and disappearance.

I don't think there had ever been so many "breakers" - perhaps one of the acts there had been
expected to perform live but couldn't make it?