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Post by ManicKangaroo on Apr 5, 2022 15:14:24 GMT 1
Bob Marley in the top five, so a re-issue. It was a previously unreleased track from a new box set so not a re-issue
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Mark
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Post by Mark on Apr 8, 2022 22:30:35 GMT 1
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Post by raliverpool on Apr 9, 2022 20:27:23 GMT 1
Top Of The Pops: The Story Of 1994
Highlights:
Wonderful, yet bittersweet to see The Cranberries as the first act discussed on the 1994 show for 10/15 mins. I never realized Radio 2 Terry Wogan was first responsible promoting "Dreams" in the UK on his show on its first release, before they became big in America, and was a UK hit upon rerelease.
Jarvis Cocker was great value as ever. Good to hear from also ran Britpoppers Shed Seven & Elastica. I loved the story of Oasis going to Blur regular pub in London and mock them to the tune of the Small Faces "Lazy Afternoon".
Whilst I did not know the Italian DJ/guy responsible for inflicting Spagna; & Sabrina was responsible for Whigfield.
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SheriffFatman
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Post by SheriffFatman on Apr 9, 2022 21:19:19 GMT 1
Are they doing these ‘Story of…’ documentaries as a series now? How far do they go? I’m not keeping up at all and my Sky+ is getting full!
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Mark
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Post by Mark on Apr 9, 2022 23:21:46 GMT 1
Are they doing these ‘Story of…’ documentaries as a series now? How far do they go? I’m not keeping up at all and my Sky+ is getting full! Looks like it, i think it's because BBC4 is now an archive channel and they can't show newly produced content which is what The Story of is
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SheriffFatman
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Post by SheriffFatman on Apr 10, 2022 8:06:31 GMT 1
Are they doing these ‘Story of…’ documentaries as a series now? How far do they go? I’m not keeping up at all and my Sky+ is getting full! Looks like it, i think it's because BBC4 is now an archive channel and they can't show newly produced content which is what The Story of is Really?! I didn’t know that! That’s a massive shame, I’ve seen some excellent new content on BBC4 over the years. They showed a series of documentaries on songs that changed hip-hop last year that was brilliant. It was imported, not made by the BBC, but I guess that won’t happen any more. Going back a bit Reginal D. Hunter’s Songs Of The South was fantastic too.
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Post by raliverpool on Apr 16, 2022 21:02:27 GMT 1
Top Of The Pops: The Story Of 1995
Highlights:
All this time and I never knew/realized Cast (& their debut album All Change) got its name from the final track by The La's on their debut & only album. John Power is clearly more Nile Rodgers rather than John Barnes in the self modesty stakes.
Humble bragger of the week was definitely Ronan Keating, albeit he was totally genuine about Stephen Gately.
Jarvis Cocker as ever was great value; as was Shaun Ryder & Kermit (Black Grape); David McAlmont was wonderfully flamboyant; Great to see & hear from Skin & Louise Wener.
Whilst the warm personality of Nicki Chapman helped fill a few of the gaps, especially with regards the Robson & Jerome story.
Finally good to see the serious shade thrown at the Xmas #1 deservedly getting the double-G treatment.
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SheriffFatman
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Post by SheriffFatman on Apr 17, 2022 11:38:26 GMT 1
I had forgotten The Farm did Don’t You Want Me. Why? They didn’t exactly add much to it.
A Million Love Songs was essentially Gary Barlow’s first solo single, the others just stand there looking lost. I guess this was the first sign he was not your average boy band member, more a kind of Pound Shop George Michael, not capable of his predecessor’s quality by any means, but with the bar set much lower in the early 90s easily capable of as much success.
I didn’t remember The Chippendales had released a single. Felt a bit silly sat alone in the front room watching their performance when my mother-in-law walked in, I was quick to explain it was Top of the Pops. She still tutted and walked straight out though, I suspect at me as much as them.
That Chris Rea track was the very definition of self indulgence, not sure what that was doing in the top 10. Pavarotti, Felix and Megadeath in the breakers, that’s variety for you.
Given that it’s now been 30 years since the Erasure-ish EP, it’s probably time someone started a Bjorn Again tribute band.
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vastar iner
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Post by vastar iner on Apr 21, 2022 8:54:56 GMT 1
Octo-ber. Starting the party, M People, which suggests it's going to be a downer. Music for people who don't like music. f***ing yuppie middle-class "ooh we are really into this raving fashion" b****cks. Get the f*** off my computer.
Mike Oldfield with a floaty face video, see above on the marketing for this.
Neds Atomic Dustbin. I think their sound has held up much better over the years than I would have thought. Group was a mixed marriage - Blues and Vilers.
Tasmin Archer, another repeat performance.
Lots of new entries in the charts, but none of them get a mention, other than over the top of a Prince video, which is high on the funk but low on the coherence. Trying to do too much? Prince himself is invisible.
Dina Carroll. With all the imagination of M People.
Billy Ray Cyrus, live from Nashville, a lot bluesier than his last one but it is still rubbish, Richard Marx-lite.
Breakers. Sade back at 26, she's taken a degree in ambient but is still looking for a tune. Patti Smyth & Don Henley, this is massive in the US, and that's indictment enough. Simple Minds with a re-release so why play this when they could have had e.g. All About Eve?
Fresh back from Barcelona, Take T**t, God this is dire, literally nobody buys this for the song. This is also not a band song, it's the tax dodger with some backing vocalists.
Top 10, Shamen still at no. 1, and still they're wasting the playout.
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vastar iner
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Post by vastar iner on Apr 21, 2022 23:54:39 GMT 1
5x3/5X2. Sunscreem. This thing about live vocals does not work for dance acts whose frontwomen cannot sing at all. Lucia sounds more Paul Robeson than rave queen. Emphasizes the poverty of production work as well when you don't have a vocal line.
Franklin looking like a 34 year old accountant trying to look hip. TOTP is coming up to its 1500th episode so to celebrate this we get Pan's People dancing to The Carpenters. Um, what?
Bizarre Inc. See above. How the hell is this number 4?
New video from Madonna. Be still my heart. Am I the only one who sees nothing erotic in Madonna? I mean, good God, Rachel Goswell anyone? This is minimal effort from her as well.
Oh f***ing arsetwatting ****ing hell. Doctor f***ing Spin. Everything so far has been dance other than something that was weak-ass twattery in 1972.
Can it get any worse? Oh yes it f***ing can. Boyz Eleven Men. Christing f***.
Breakers. The Farm doing a sh*t cheap not-even-karaoke desecration of a classic. Accadacca with a live self-cover. And the Weddoes with their October single. The 30 seconds of that have been literally the only thing worthy of being on the show. We get an out-of-context bit of The Orb as well.
Exclusive from Bon Jovi, because, hey, let's sh*t on the chart again. Track is actually OK but it absolutely does not need to be on.
No. 1 is a surprise, Tasmin Archer, and a welcome one.
That was heading towards Worst Show Ever before the breakers. It may be the Worst Planned Show Ever. It was basically all dance and not reflective of the variety in the charts. I'm astounded though that a) they wanted to plunder the archives and b) having done so found that the thing to have was the f***ing Carpenters. I literally cannot believe that. I mean...the Beatles, Stones, Hendrix, Sweet, Slade, Ant, All About Eve, Abba, the entire panoply of music...and they come up with The Carpenters?
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vastar iner
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Post by vastar iner on Apr 22, 2022 22:43:58 GMT 1
22/10. Jesus, this f***ing theme. I have shat more melodious turds. Remember what I said about desecration of a classic? Europe's Biggest And Best Music Show f***ing opens with it.
Dortie then introduces..."Virginia Plain"? Apparently from 1978, which it isn't. But now we get a rundown of 40 to 21. And new entries identified. Funny, they're rolling back on the "improvements" because they realize they were a crock of sh*t. It's an indictment of last week's show though that a 20 year old Roxy cut is way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way better than nearly all of it. (Megadeth at 13, lol.) "Make me a tea, and make it sweet..."
Chris Rea, "Nothing To Fear". Is this a new trend of artists rhyming their names with their songs? Innovative up-guitar angle which shows someone is still thinking at least. This is a bit "Private Investigations", slow long guitar solo building up to something. It's way out of kilter with partytime but all the more welcome for that. Surprisingly impressive. But they won't let the whole song play out. Because he's not Jackson.
Bjorn Again. OK, this is quite sweet, the Annifrid is hotter than the original, and it's a sign of both the strength of Clarke's songwriting and the Abba empathy that this sounds really really really fresh, exciting, and glorious. Oh, and is that the real Bjorn? Scarily similar.
Dortie is surprisingly quiet when introducing Arrested Development. This is a way better show than last week, despite the stupid Farm opening, because there is a variety; working backwards, we've had hip-hop, pure pop, rock, glam, and sh*te.
Talking of sh*te, Take T**t. They've made Barlow get shot of his piano. And there's a saxophonist now to the fore. Still unlistenable though.
Breakers. Zucchero & Pavarotti. Stochastic. I note that they basically only play the Pav bits because Zucchero is utter bobbins. Felix with some derivative rave. (De-rave-ative.) Megadeth, which deserved a play well more than T**t, even if it's not my tasse de thé. And Bon Jovi, proving that last week's play was needless.
And now...we have:
Accadacca Erma Franklin Liberation Estefan Go West Paradis Smiths Julian Cope Suzanne Vega John Lee Hooker Mudhoney James Brown
Oh, sorry, no, none of them, but those are acts we could have had. Instead, the producers of Top Of The Pops decide, on "Europe's best music show", that the absolute best music that the audience deserves is a non-charting song from...The Chippendales.
Oh for f***'s sake. THERE IS LITERALLY NO REASON OR EXCUSE FOR THIS. ABSOLUTE sh*t FROM ABSOLUTE sh*te. WHOEVER DECIDED THAT THIS SHOULD BE ON NEEDS TO BE FIRED. FROM A CANNON. INTO A WALL. MADE OF BARBED WIRE. THIS IS MEANT TO BE A f***ing MUSIC SHOW NOT SOME f***ing EXEC'S WET DREAM.
You know, there have been some very bad things on this show either side of the revamp, but this is the 100% absolute cannot-get-worse nadir, surely/
Ms Archer still on top, thankfully.
Acts that could have been on in full instead of the strippers or the RCA force-feeding of their latest twatband that had a non-mover:
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vastar iner
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Post by vastar iner on Apr 22, 2022 23:32:04 GMT 1
29/10. Despite not being on Ver Pops last week Go West have a big climb. This is the sort of song that would be huge in the US. And gets the FF from me.
Charts and the latest retro performance is "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing". It's not even the best Sayer song. Whoever has the key to the archive has not got any imagination at all. This SHOULD NOT BE ON THE SHOW. KEEP RETRO MATERIAL TO ANOTHER PROGRAMME. CALL IT, I DUNNO, TOP OF THE POPS TWO.
We then get two of last week's breakers in a reversion to the STUPID IDEA of playing songs in successive weeks. Then we get Vanessa Paradis, who is looking très sympa. Albeit she's not exactly a dynamic performer. Or a good singer. In the Minogue mould. Something of the Bardot in her face. Nice Motownish sound. Spoiler alert: how she looks now puts me on Team Amber.
Breakers. A Bolton cover, the world has surely suffered enough. John Lee Hooker with surely a big enough climb to warrant a full play. Oh God, now someone's housified the f***ing Mario theme.
A rave cover of "Run To You". Oh God, why? Whyyyyy? Rave has DEFINITELY entered the Molly Parkin Punk Dress phase where people who have no f***ing idea are mining the bandwagon. Only thing notable is the bassist looks like she's a total maneater.
Madonna, no thanks. Erasure, with a cover of themselves. So, that's what, three covers and a replay.
Boys Eleven Men are no. 1.
This...was an EXTREMELY bad show. It was somewhat varied but the charts are at a low.
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mfr
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Post by mfr on Apr 23, 2022 21:53:52 GMT 1
Go West's sales increase was not a massive one despite the big climb. The next week it would drop from 13 to 19 with a further sales increase (school half-term weeks often did that).
Leo Sayer's performance was from the last week of October in 1976, and the other 'oldies' were also re-shown roughly on their anniversaries, which is what TOTP2 did at first, so I think this is where the idea for that show started.
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vastar iner
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Post by vastar iner on May 20, 2022 9:57:32 GMT 1
Ooh, they've started up again. Bonfire Night. Should bonfire this f***ing theme. Just think, they once commissioned genuine talents to do the theme, for this revamp they picked something from a music library. f*** the BBC.
Tony "I don't bear grudges for 30 years" Dortie introduces Little Angels, who have just discovered that hip new act Bon Jovi.
Our "let's show everything that's new and happening and exciting in the charts right now" slot is now occupied by a song that was number 1 in 1969. To be fair, the Stones are doing the whole thing live, and it's way better than, well, the charts. Which are running along the bottom from 40.
That equally talented vocal group. Somewhere in the country a girl called Faye is looking at See-oh-barn and thinking "hm, wonder if that will work with blonde?" The set designers have pushed their imagination right out to put a radio tower in the background. This is actually a great song. Marcie has obviously trapped her skirt in a door and had it ripped off Carry On style.
Shamen. This is not a great song.
An EP of Right Said Fred covers, heh, random. Sarah from St Etienne and some chap are there to introduce The Rockingbirds, who probably never expected to be on Top Of The Pops, and given their pretty anaemic and fart-flat performance are not going to be again.
Breakers. Metallica, with their song. En Vogue, who have definitely sexed themselves up. Charles & Eddie, who are both complaining that the same woman is cheating on them individually, doesn't make sense. Don't know which is which. Erasure with a needless remix.
Arrested Development. Dortie says he's seen them twice and they keep getting better and better. Erm, no, if you've seen them twice all that means is they were better the second time. You cannot extrapolate continuous improvement from two examples.
Now for our "let's promote a new act that's not in the chart and desperately needs the publicity" we get...INXS. It's decent, there's a brooding and noirish side to it, but again I question why THIS is getting a play. How about Lemon Trees at 73 or even Sonic Youth at 52? Or of new releases...Dinosaur Jr?
Anyway, the no. 1 is unlistenable and it's Gibbering Idiot with the playout so that's the lot. Two highs, a slightly elevated, lots of lows, and 50% of the highs were a generation back.
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vastar iner
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Post by vastar iner on May 20, 2022 10:17:30 GMT 1
Day after Armistice. Mark "19 going on 33" Franklin introduces En Vogue, who, in the studio, seem a lot less sexed up. Disappointing. Although this has quite some dynamism it does come across as the nice girls trying to come across as all street tough. It's very Moulin Rouge.
And, almost as a deliberate contrast, we get The Supremes. There was something gorgeously naïve about the tentative and natural dance moves from the sixties girl groups, Diana, Mary, and Florence never came across as being stageschooled to the extent of sucking the joy out of everything.
Michael Bolton. Utter sh*te.
Vanessa Paradis. Hawt. Then she was being Depped for a few years. Oh dear. Not exactly dynamic, is she? It's almost as if she was picked because of her looks rather than her voice and she can only concentrate on one thing at a time.
Undercover. You really have to be a congenital moron to be buying this total sh*t. For Cliff's sake, if you like the song, GET THE ORIGINAL. Everyone involved in this should be banned from ever recording ever again because there is not the remotest chance that any of them will make any positive contribution to humanity ever.
The Super Mario theme has been jazzed up at Thorpe Park. I repeat what I said about Undercover above.
Jason Donovan. Oh for f***'s sake. Have I died and gone to the worst part of Hell? We've had the record for Worst Recording Ever broken four f***ing times in this one f***ing show.
Franklin has done some maths and worked out that TOTP has featured 7,500 bands. Um, I think he may have gone slightly wrong there. Charles & Eddie who sound like Altered Images in comparison with the rest of this episode. Seriously, who in the name of f*** chose Bolton (with a cover), Undercover (with a cover), Ambassadors of Funk (with a cover) and the Donovan atrocity (with a cover)? Having already put on The Supremes (with a song from the sixties)? Is the BBC trying to kill the programme off?
And who is next? Neil Diamond. With a cover. Erm. What? Why? Is this to deliberately show up how talentless Undercover and Donovan are? But it means FIVE cover versions and one old song in a time-limited show.
f*** the no. 1, f*** the playout.
That was the worst laid out TOTP ever. A complete nadir. Basically telling modern music "not one of you is worth listening to". When in the charts they could have had...
- Wedding Present
- Gary Clail On-U Sound System
- Inspiral Carpets
- Dinosaur Jr
- Shanice
- Definition Of Sound
- Oceanic
- Lemon Trees
- MC Lethal
And, as exclusives...
- Faith No More
- Manics
- Soundgarden
- Mondays
- Spiral Tribe (whoever they are)
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TheThorne
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Post by TheThorne on May 20, 2022 12:29:02 GMT 1
I really it was one of the worst TOTPs ever think I fastforwarded nearly all of it , the breakers were the best bit and VP
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vastar iner
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Post by vastar iner on May 20, 2022 14:13:54 GMT 1
The one after that one. We start with Cathy Dennis, who has the smart idea to start the song with the song title, because there's no possible way one could remember such an anonymous bucket of nothing. It's a baked potato with spud filling, it's going to Prets and asking for a bread sandwich, it's going to a smoothie bar and asking for water juice.
Sonny & Cher. Interestingly they use the Cooper Black chyron from the Rock & Roll Years or whatever it was called. Settle down, Beavis.
"This record was first massive in 1983." Great, we're back to being TOTALLY ORIGINAL again. Heaven 17. Glenn Gregory has a fantastic sh*t-eating grin on his face of "f*** me, I'm back in the charts and didn't have to do a thing". Carol Kenyon, wow. It's still not as good as the original though.
Madness, live from Red Square, with a cover. OK, that's 3 out of 4 that are not modern songs.
The Pasadenas, with a cover. 4 out of 5.
Breakers. INXS with a cheap ass non-video for a song that's already been on. Prodigy with a sample (albeit a good one). Is that the lunar simian Moon Monkey in the vido? GnR with a re-hash of "November Rain". Simply sh*te with something unlistenable, probably a cover because I cannot bear to hear it for more than about 3 seconds.
Whitney Houston, with a cover. 5 out of 6.
Genesis with a self-cover. 6 out of 7.
New number one though as C&E make it to the top. So much better than Boyselevenmen.
Another really really atrocious choice of songs though. Was it done by someone born in 1938?
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vastar iner
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Post by vastar iner on May 20, 2022 23:38:03 GMT 1
26/11. Franklin introduces the Meff. Well, that creative well has run dry.
They've given up on showing past hits, probably too embarrassing to the contemporary. GnR, it sounds again like Bon Jovi, this wouldn't be amiss in the country charts.
Undercover, they can f*** RIGHT off.
Carter USM. Oh God, even they're doing a cover now. This is like Andy Kaufman reading out Gatsby. It's almost a practical joke of a mismatch.
Breakers. Shabba Ranks. Not exactly illuminating. Deacon Blue. Scuzzier than their previous output. Sounds intriguing but we get about eight seconds of it.
And why? So that The Minogue Musocide can do a VERY VERY sh*t COVER OF A VERY VERY sh*t SONG. And dear sweet God she can NOT sing. Flat as a fart and nasal as a pachyderm.
OH GOD AND DONOVAN IS ON AFTER
Rod Stewart self-introduces as HE DOES A COVER VERSION AS WELL
WHAT THE ACTUAL f*** IS HAPPENING? IS THE BBC TRYING TO DESTROY ALL POP MUSIC? ? WHO THE f*** IS PICKING THIS MUSICAL GENOCIDE?
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TheThorne
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Post by TheThorne on May 21, 2022 6:58:41 GMT 1
Yep another really awful show
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vastar iner
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Post by vastar iner on May 21, 2022 13:04:03 GMT 1
This day I am mostly opening the third door on the advent calendar. "More talked about than Norman Lamont." That aged well. Stereo MCs. Annoying.
Michael Jackson. Loads of kids in the video. Wonder whose idea that was. Nauseating.
Heaven 17. The BEF are not there so it's Glenn 'n' Carol. She looks astounding. (Wasn't her in the video.)
Dinah Carroll. "She's just gorgeous." Not wrong. Song is dull though.
Breakers. REM. This needed a LOT more, it's one of their absolute best, poignant and nostalgic. U2, who are "the future of rock and roll", apparently. This is also one of their better ones. Cliff, this isn't. Rod the Mod, we've already had it.
Boney M. Um, what? Says a lot though that the crowd is more into an artless jemmied-together medley than it has been into most of these acts.
Madonna with one of her better ones, it's vogue-y but has an actual tune.
Simply sh*te and the no. 1 can f*** off.
Well, a better show, but from a very very very low base.
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