vastar iner
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Post by vastar iner on Jan 16, 2015 22:00:16 GMT 1
21. JJ72I've really liked this 21-30 decad, I wonder if it's because of the underdog nature of many of the acts; they scratched out hits against all the odds and made it into the TOTP rundown. Maybe it's because whereas the top 10, 20 and 40 are all iconic in their own way, top 30 has never been so, even though for years that was the magic number to get your chyron in front of millions. It's a lot more impressive a set of acts than 11-20. JJ72 were one of a group of bands that followed a sort of pattern - trio with hot bassist; can't quite work out how that happened. Also their name was an enduring mystery, James Joyce being hinted at, but apparently it comes from 72 jam jars. Suitably other. One underdog act that made it here was The Cockney Rejects, who had the moxie to call all of their albums Greatest Hits. Another was Lush, who made it here twice. They gain points because one of them was a Bluenose; they lose points because their biggest hits came when they were following the Britpop bandwagon, rather than concentrating on their own ethereal brand of Britpop. Also the underrated and overlooked German band Propaganda, with Claudia Brucken's icequeen voice prominent, although to me their finest 45 came after she had left, with the breathstealing " Heaven Give Me Words". Of the other acts that got this far, Candlewick Green won Hughie Green's Opportunity Knocks for a couple of months; the difference having a TOTP made was that they remained one hit wonders, unlike, say, Steve Brookstein, Leon Jack...oh. Clea proved to be another talent show flop; but going back to the television theme George Cole teamed with Dennis Waterman for a Chrimbo one-off, about which he was apparently nervous performing on Ver Pops, as he had to do it live - not much chance of miming to talking. Of course he and Dennis pulled it off with aplomb. On the sadder side, a three other talents with tragic endings peaked here. Susan Fassbender, whose " Twilight Cafe" was rather sparkling, committed suicide a few years afterwards; incidentally that Steve Wright voiceover makes me want to punch him repeatedly, very, very hard, right in the middle of his talentless face. Lynyrd Skynyrd' “Freebird" is one of the biggest hits-that-wasn't of our times - not long after recording it a plane crash decimated the band. And Sandy Denny, known perhaps more for her work with Led Zeppelin, and who died after a fall at her home, was the singer of Fairport Convention, whose one single hit - a French version of a Manfred Mann hit - topped at 21. By one of those coincidences Led Zep also peaked here... One oddity to note at 21. Colin Brown's excellent pre-chart charts have Les Compagnons de la Chanson with a nine week run at number 1 in 1950 with the French song " Les Trois Cloches". In 1959 the American sibling act The Browns covered it as "The Three Bells" and scored a US number one; in due course it was released in Britain, but obviously Columbia dug through their archives for a re-release and a hit the second time around. (Another a capella group, Prelude, also peaked at 21.) And finally an unlucky act. Furniture's " Brilliant Mind" would surely have gone top ten had it not been for label Stiff going bust in mid-run...
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vastar iner
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Post by vastar iner on Jan 18, 2015 9:27:46 GMT 1
20. Brian WilsonThe Power of 29 grabbed with such a vice that I would clutch at any straw. One of the many artists who peaked there was Brian Wilson, when his version of Smile finally came out; but then the BBC collaboration peaked at 20 last year, and, gloriously, it was credited on the CD as "Brian Wilson & Various". So I could put him here. Which is bad luck on House Of Love, who were shoo-ins until then, but Brian Wilson is that rare thing - a genuine genius. Pet Sounds, the towering achievement of the LP, which of course contained the definitive " God Only Knows", was described by Carl as a solo album on which the Beach Boys just helped; you can almost define the Beach Boys oeuvre as the more Brian, the better it was. And throughout the sixties it was quite an oeuvre, from the jollification of surf (note that he wrote hits for other people as well, indeed his first number 1 came via Jan & Dean - take that, Barlow, you tax-cheating talentless Britain-hating tw*t), through to the transcendent perfection of Pet Sounds and the symphony that is Smile, to the languid requiem of " Surf's Up". Too much genius for one brain. There were others of course who peaked here. I always had a soft spot for Flowered Up even though they were really a Cockney answer to The Happy Mondays. Drugstore's acoustic version of "El President" was aeons better than the hit version with Yorke glomming his grotesquely over-rated self all over it. And it's surprising in two ways that Luke Haines topped off here via Blackbox Recorder; firstly, that he made the charts at all; secondly, that, having made the charts, he didn't get much higher.
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TheThorne
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Post by TheThorne on Jan 18, 2015 9:44:13 GMT 1
You know I have never been able to get into The Beach Boys, when I was little I knew the 'Surfin USA' etc which I thought was fun novelty but when I got older it was all ooohh there is more to them than that 'Pet sounds' is a masterpiece and I just didnt get it, I tried to like it. I don't even like 'God Only Knows' yes I am weird. Think The Beach Boys are my Radiohead.
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vastar iner
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Post by vastar iner on Jan 18, 2015 12:18:32 GMT 1
19. M.I.A.The absolute classic indictment of the BBC's playlisting policy. How many people of Indian subcontinent origin have ever been a-listed? Apache Indian a generation ago, one of those tw*ts from a boyband, and that's about it. And even though "Paper Planes" has a hook that would slay you more than the bullets would were they real, this did not get playlisted at all. Even when it became a hit in the States and scrambled into the top 20 on the back of that, it was shamefully ignored. Perhaps that's why she's much more successful in the US - even though many playlist policies there are ghastly, they are not overtly racist. Anyway. Maya Arulpragasam deserves all the credit in the world for managing to shift albums despite some rather extreme approaches to music. So she just nips out Arcade Fire, whose name I think fits a "The" better, and dear old X Ray Spex. Poly Styrene's bravura portrayal of "Germ Free Adolescent" before a totally bemused audience on TOTP is a formative experience of my early musical exposure...
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Post by raliverpool on Jan 18, 2015 12:52:18 GMT 1
#21 Never liked the JJ72's. Yet you went on to mention 5 acts who had #21 peaks with fantastic singles. The best of which being Propaganda's Duel (far better than that track Kim Wilde rightly rejected co-written by Howard Jones; the album 1234 could have been a success had they gone with the far superior follow up Only One Word featuring Pink Floyd's Dave Gilmour which made #1 in Argentina & was a big hit across the continent; and #3 in South Africa) ... #20 You have gone with an absolutely appalling effort at recreating the 1997 CIN BBC Various Artists reworking of Lou Reed's Perfect Day, ahead of two seminal tracks "Shine On", & the track I would have selected "Facts Of Life". Add to the fact you got a dig in at Gary Barlow, when of course Brian Wilson got done by the IRS for tax avoidance in 1968 (some (wrongly) reckoned at the time him going into a psychiatric hospital for a brief period of time was an attempt to avoid being jailed for the crime) is some what ironic! #19 I would gone with Arcade Fire, but completely agree with you analysis of the MIA single. Whilst that artist deserves further credit for further exposing how the Queen Of Pop has become an increasingly sad parody of her form self where she seems to be now about as rebellious and subversive as Mary Whitehouse: metro.co.uk/2012/02/12/madonna-slams-m-i-a-stunt-after-super-bowl-middle-finger-controversy-322158/
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vastar iner
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Post by vastar iner on Jan 18, 2015 13:08:18 GMT 1
#20 You have gone with an absolutely appalling effort at recreating the 1997 CIN BBC Various Artists reworking of Lou Reed's Perfect Day, ahead of two seminal tracks "Shine On", & the track I would have selected "Facts Of Life". Remember I'm not picking them for the singles, but for the acts. So an act that peaks with a subpar single can still make it. And there are a good few that peaked with something that wasn't really very good. The Chuck Berry Syndrome. Indeed, when it comes to HoL, I'd say their best track was " Love In A Car", which wasn't even a single. But "Surf's Up" is one of the all-time great tracks.
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TheThorne
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Post by TheThorne on Jan 18, 2015 13:42:13 GMT 1
yes MIA great single and for a song that wasn't daytime placed I certainly heard it enough think it was on MTV2 a lot mind you. But Arcade fire are my 2nd favourite band of the last fifteen years so I would have gone with them.
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vastar iner
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Post by vastar iner on Jan 19, 2015 22:02:27 GMT 1
18. British Sea Power
They could almost be on the list for the sheer whimsy of calling their debut The Decline Of British Sea Power. But in a way they're a sort of British Sigur Ros, capable of elevating one to the highest heights, only with their feet firmly rooted in pop sensibilities rather than boreal experimentation. But listen to " The Great Skua" for an example of how high they can soar. Best single was, I reckon, " Please Stand Up" though. I note that BSP were members of the Dreaded 76 Club for a while... Not much else at 18 at all. Spiritualized, whom I've mentioned back at 84, and whom I reckon frankly to be of lower quality, although their CD packaging was always splendid. And Interpol, who have flickered from time to time. Otherwise I must give a passing mention to Prince Buster, from whose song Madness got their name, and in whose honour Madness got their first hit.
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vastar iner
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Post by vastar iner on Jan 19, 2015 23:22:31 GMT 1
17. The Iceland number
The SugarcubesOK, it's only the Iceland number because two Icelandic acts - Mezzoforte and The Sugarcubes - have peaked here. But that's quite a proportion of the Icelandic charting artists - and even then one who peaked higher was of course the lead singer of this particular act. And Mezzoforte were on Steinar, an Icelandic label; not sure any others have ever made the chart. I've expostulated at length before just how much of a life-changer " Birthday" was, and it is one of my Desert Island Discs. But even when they eschewed the total leftfield and made a pure pop hit, such as "Hit", they were still wonderful. Iceland has the population of Stoke and yet has come up with loads of great musical acts (as well as Miss Worlds). From memory, Stoke has come up with Robbie Williams, which means Stoke is at minus one. A few good other acts made it this far. Cartoon-punk act The Rezillos, whose " Top Of The Pops" is the definitive charts song, and whose Jo Callis would get a Christmas number one; Lloyd Cole, namechecked by no. 101, who certainly deserved more success, how " No Blue Skies" didn't decimate the opposition is an enduring mystery; and Tegan & Sara, whose presence here is a prime example of Chuck Berry Syndrome.
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Post by Earl Purple on Jan 19, 2015 23:41:13 GMT 1
I think #20 was the peak position of Rialto. And as you mentioned Drugstore. And I think Pepe Deluxe. And they all had #1s in my charts but none of them with those hits. And Black Box Recorder had several big hits in my life bigger than "The Facts Of Life" but Luke Haines's only #1 in my chart was as part of the Auteurs.
House Of Love - Shine On was their biggest hit in my chart. That was their #20 wasn't it?
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vastar iner
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Post by vastar iner on Jan 20, 2015 23:16:44 GMT 1
Yeah, "Shine On" was their biggest, in fact a re-issue, but they had much better singles peak at 41. 16. Yeah Yeah YeahsThe teens in the charts are much more anaemic than the 21-30 grouping. Not sure why. Perhaps it's because if you can get this far, you find it easier to break into the top 10 and make a bit more of a go at it. Anyway, 16 is a good example of how things can run out quickly. MGMT proved the quip that it takes a lifetime to make a debut album and 12 months to make a follow-up. Koopa demonstrated how much power the industry has - after a modicum of hype at being an unsigned band making the charts via downloads, the industry then promptly squished all possible sources of publicity. A bit like as happened to Delays. I remember them being on Ministry Of Mayhem, at the start of that programme's run, when it looked much more like an attempt to re-create Tiswas than anything ITV had managed. Within a few months, the only bands seemingly allowed on were Girls Aloud, McFly and V. What a waste. Of the programme, not of those groups, who really ought to be wasted. Should have had the publicity for the hyper-exuberant " Hooray", which, given the success of The Common Linnets, might have gone down a storm at Eurovision. I note with some surprise Aphex Twin topped out here. Never been my cup of tea, but it's remarkable he made the top 20. So did Dylan's group The Band. And Judy Tzuke, who was Nik Kershaw's favourite singer. Anyway. Karen O. Namechecked by Brakes in "Heard About Your Band". As are Liars and Sleater-Kinney. Quite the prophetic cut. But overall a fairly dull number.
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vastar iner
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Post by vastar iner on Jan 20, 2015 23:40:32 GMT 1
15. Voice Of The BeehiveI'd not seen this video before, which is interesting as it starts off with Woody and Bedders from Madness rather than the Brooke sisters. Almost as if it were a gentle introduction to the temporary Madness hiatus, leading the audience on to a new band. 15 is a small but select number. VotB had a simple, fresh take on pop in an era when everything was becoming yuppified and commoditized. And they hung around for a while without ever really making the big breakthrough that they warranted - not even a big single hit like Amazulu or Aztec Camera. Their finest moment came with " Monsters And Angels", by my exacting definition a Perfect Pop Song. I really ought to have gone with The Sundays here, they got a lot of critical acclaim and Harriet Wheeler was an engaging frontwoman, especially after Tin Tin Out's particular brand of music genocide took one of their best singles, sucked everything brilliant out of it and replaced it with everything turgid, and, surprise surprise, got a much bigger hit with it, but at least they are remembered. VotB seem to be completely forgotten. Another possibility was one of those name-bands - Carmel, with Carmel McCourt on vocals, and, my God, there aren't any singers like her nowadays, just the bland somnambulism of the bored housewives. Not their biggest hit, but " More More More" was bloody brilliant. Bauhaus did the cheap trick of resorting to a cover version to glom a quick hit, but to be fair to them they did a great cover of a great song. Two spinoff groups from Bauhaus are worthy of note; Love & Rockets, who came unexpectedly close to a US number 1; and The Bubblemen, who didn't. Other groups of note who got this far and no further: Bad Company, basically half of Free, who had a US number 1 album; and Beggar & Co, who did hit the top five with their memorable brass accompaniment on Spandau Ballet's "Chant Number 1", aka "I Don't Need This Pressure On". Hence B&C subtitling their less successful single "Mule" "Chant Number 2". And a few novelty singles. You might not recognize Alfi & Harry, but that was a pseudonym of Ross Bagdarasian - the genius behind The Chipmunks. You might remember Brown Sauce, which was Swap Shop trying to follow Tiswas into the charts ( not a bad single, actually, written by BA Robertson, and Edmonds got into the video without being on the 45, not 100% sure what Maggie Philbin is feeling to go along with the chorus). And Stan Boardman destroying the hypothesis that all Scousers are comedians. Oh, and Paula Cole. What happened to her?
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Post by Earl Purple on Jan 21, 2015 0:24:15 GMT 1
Kingmaker peaked at #15 twice. Possibly my choice for that number.
Voice of the Beehive did get to #3 in my chart though in 1988 with "I Say Nothing"
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Post by vya on Jan 21, 2015 4:44:52 GMT 1
VotB were just fantastic - a really high proportion of their singles were of extremely high quality, and they really deserved at least one really big hit (I think I agree that "Monsters and Angels" was their very finest, but it's a close run thing with two or three others vying for that title - "Perfect Place" was simply lovely, even if the single mix has become really difficult to find, "I Say Nothing" and "I Walk The Earth" were brash and ballsy and brilliant, and "I Think I Love You" is such good fun... That said, forgotten? perhaps - but I was really surprised to hear "Don't Call Me Baby" on Radio Two recently....odd, as it really was not that big a hit, now a scarily big number of years ago. Bring on a revival I say.
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vastar iner
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Post by vastar iner on Jan 22, 2015 0:25:34 GMT 1
14. The rawwwwk number
PP ArnoldDammit, Dolores. Couldn't you have turned The Cranberries into an albums band after "Linger"? That would have fitted out this number perfectly. Instead, I've got an uninspiring selection from which to choose... An unusual number of metal-ish acts peaked here. Jane's Addiction, Gillan, Anthrax, The Wildhearts, The Quireboys and Pat Metheny Group. Some had their moments, but that's all they were. Then you have The Piltdown Men, with their novelty instrumental rock stretched out to three singles; not bad, but not enough. And then there are a couple of jokes. At least Roland Rat Superstar was in on it. I'm not sure Vanilla ever were. So we are down to very few. And this is one heck of a cheat, but I claim the letter of the law supports me, if not the morality of it. I will yield to nobody in my admiration of PP Arnold. Got her break as an Ikette and an absolutely heart-meltingly stellar vocalist. Her highest charting credit came via The Beatmasters, but she also did the vocals on Altern 8's " Evapor 8", for which she got a label credit, if not a chart credit - and ultimately topped the charts as one of KLF's Children Of The Revolution on "3AM Eternal". Really, I should have had her at 18, for her highest solo single - the definitive version of " First Cut Is The Deepest". Although were I a producer with the appropriate tech I would re-mix it by getting rid of every single instrument. Just leave her naked voice. How can you not fall in love with it? But the other alternatives at 14 were not exactly awe-inspiring. The closest were The Creatures, and that was really for their work as being 50% (usually) of Siouxsie & The Banshees. Behind them Spear Of Destiny, Kirtk Brandon's post-Theatre Of Hate spikiness. So Patricia Cole it is. Must give a shoutout though to a one-hit wonder who came up with a marvellous 14er - there was some money behind them making the Christmas number 1 in 1988, but that year was a particularly appalling one with around a million people proving they had a cumulative IQ of about twelve. And that's the German band Freiheit, whose late-era-Beatles-soundalike " Keeping The Dream Alive" was a much better shout than "Especially For Yeeuuurrgggghhh".
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Post by Earl Purple on Jan 22, 2015 1:05:22 GMT 1
Didn't PP Arnold also have a single "It's a Beautiful Thing" with Ocean Colour Scene that peaked at #12? So she doesn't fit at #14.
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vastar iner
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Post by vastar iner on Jan 22, 2015 1:12:33 GMT 1
She didn't get a chart credit or even a label credit. She's mentioned on the sleeve. Not enough. (The Altern 8 label credit is not a full credit incidentally - it's a mention of her guest vocal in the small print. One thing I note in fact from checking it is the Altern 8 typography on it is the same stencilling as was the Crass house style. Never noticed that before.)
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TheThorne
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Post by TheThorne on Jan 22, 2015 8:15:12 GMT 1
Out of those I would have went for Janes Addiction much more than just s metal band they had prog and funk influences , their album Ritual de la habitual is a classic
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vastar iner
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Post by vastar iner on Jan 22, 2015 22:04:37 GMT 1
13. Talk Talk13 is as good as 14 was not. Let's go through some of the runners and riders. - Sophie B Hawkins: "Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover" is an all-time great waiting to be discovered. Unfortunately, being a singer/songwriter with a distinctive voice, she was too much competition for Mariah Caries and her Sony shagbag, so they deliberately, malignantly and maliciously sabotaged her career. No wonder Bowell found a home there.
- Belle & Sebastian: winning the Brit award for Best Newcomer in 1998 was one of the funniest moments in pop history. f*** S***s. Tend to get a bit over-worthy at times though. But when they're hot, they're untouchable.
- Joy Division: obvs. Far too prominent to over-look. As fits a mouldbreaking act, they were also hit and miss, but "Atmosphere" won the alltime Festive 50 poll and was a worthy winner. Although click here if you dare.
- Reparata & The Delrons: their biggest hit was definitely not their best work. Not many acts named after a nun. Not even The Singing Nun. But they had a couple of non-charting singles that deserved gigantic success - none better than "I'm Nobody's Baby Now".
- Elastica: well, how much of them was really Damon Albarn? But for a while Elastica looked like they could break the mould. A three-quarter female band - not group - topping the album charts? Have there been any female instrumentalists even coming close since?
- The La's: Lee Mavers got a bit up himself over the follow-up. Very much a Stone Roses, reputation on one astonishing piece of work. Too little to make it here.
So I've gone with Mark Hollis' outfit, because the album that just gives him the wink over the above is one of those things that will scarcely be repeated. He basically had free rein of a studio for months to work on sonic sculptures and came up with Spirit Of Eden, the most uncommercial album ever to chart. Don't think I've heard anything close. Certainly not from someone who could come up with brilliant pop songs as well.
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Post by Earl Purple on Jan 22, 2015 22:23:49 GMT 1
I have a clear winner for me for numbers 13, 12 and 10 and two for #11. My #13 would be Belle & Sebastian of course, with 5 number ones. The others on those list have also all had 4 or more #1s in my chart.
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