TOTP81.12 26.03.81

Repeated on BBCFour 11/02/2016
Full chart here

Presented by Richard Skinner

TOTP debut: Polecats, Graham Bonnet, Tony Capstick

Last show of March and Spring has sprung and Skinner is slowly abandoning the Geography teacher look in favour of a trendy new shirt, but still keeping the rowdy kids at bay.

Polecats - John, I'm Only Dancing
Now here's a thing - a poignant cover of a David Bowie song. Also quite funny as it had only been a hit just over a year ago, although the original dates back much further of course. (Further reading here). Appropriately the lead singer is thin and white. As indeed they all are. Despite 'rockabilly mania' this would only get one place higher than this week's 36.

Kim Wilde - Kids in America
So much for the new guys, better get a hit on: Kim Wilde now at no. 2 (video)

Graham Bonnet - Night Games
Always thought he was an American although I just discovered he was born in Skegness. He's been around a bit has our Graham and fresh from a successful album  and a couple of hit singles with Rainbow he decided to go it alone. This is his one and only UK solo hit, but he's still going apparently.

Hazel O'Connor - D-Days
Can't quite work out how she released her album Sons and Lovers last year, yet this is only the first single from it. Anyway we're all hungry for a bit of TOTP Hazel action and this is what we get! Haze is in full-on post-punk theatrical mode, perhaps trying to go one up on Lene Lovich? Or on Toyah (the singer) even. (Enjoy the full performance here)  Anyway good to see her back, now at no. 23

Tony Capstick - Capstick Comes Home
Oh no it's one of those Great British Novelty Singles isn't it? We do seem to have to have one now and again. Tony was a folk singer from Yorkshire who spent a lot of time as a radio deejay, cum comedian, cum bit-part actor.  One of the year's highest new entry's so far in a no. 10.

Gillan - New Orleans
OK so after a quick snooze, let's get the party going again with some pretty serious hard rock cover version stuff. From the new album Future Shock. According to wikipedia band member Bernie Tormé "left just before the band were due to fly back to the UK to appear on Top of the Pops". So obviously not here tonight then.

Linx - Intuition (video)
Another showing of the video premièred by Tommy Vance a couple of weeks back. Doing well at no. 13

Lene Lovich - New Toy
We haven't seen Lene on The Pops for almost two years now - last appearance was with Bird Song in November '79, which wasn't even a hit. As this one won't be either. Much like O'Connor it's a late seventies post-punk throwback thing although Lene was obviously too scary to appeal.

Bad Manners - Just a Feeling
Just one place below Ms Lovich are Bad Manners. The 'joke' seems to be wearing a bit thin, although this won't be the last we'll see of them. Fatty wotsit lead singer also very scarey, possibly trying to out-scareHazel and Lene at this point?

The Whispers - It's a Love Thing (Legs & Co.)
Dreary American disco music which still sounds so 'seventies'. And Legs are down to five? It's even too dark in here to tell really

.

Landscape - Einstein a Go-Go (video)
Thnakfully some proto synth-pop to modernise things up a bit. Still going strong at 11 although it's still that video.

Shakin' Stevens - This Ole House
New number one, and Shakey's first of four. A repeat of the studio knees-up from a few weeks back, rather than the rather dour video, and so Legs are back to 6...hurrah!


Bucks Fizz - Making Your Mind Up (over credits)
Extra plug for The Fizz about to go live from Dublin in ten days time with their Song for Europe now at 24.

TOTP81.11 19/3/81

Repeated on BBCFour  2016
Full chart here

Presented by Peter Powell

TOTP debut: Sharon Redd, Bucks Fizz

Much to our shame here at TOTP81 Central we didn't actually get to watch this show, nor record it on the ye olde VCR either so we're just going on a couple of videos kindly uploaded to youtube and a lot of guesswork for this week's comments. Pity 'cos Pete Powell tells us at the start that "we've got a great show lined up", but then again don't they always say that? Here goes..

Sharon Redd - Can You Handle It?
Don't know much about this foxy lady other than she's a bit foxy, has very long arms and cuts a mean figure in a slinky black cat-suit thing. The song is perhaps a bit too 1979-disco though and unsurprisingly didn't go very far.It's a full-on TOTP studio job though with the Sharon up on her own mini-stage, Legs and Co. rear of stage, plus the kid-audience, who have to sit down and hand-jive, lest their dancing proved to be better than that of Shaz and Legs put together.

Shakin' Stevens - This Ole House
Video and big-hit time with Shaky the Pelvis who is up to no. 2. Promo-video duly shot in an ol' house. To be fair he makes a good job of this, even though me Dad used to say he still preferred Rosemary Clooney's version. As do I.

Dave Stewart & Colin Blunstone - What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?
And speaking of cover versions, here's a modernist take on an ol' song originally a hit for Jimmy Ruffin in 1966 ('twould be interesting to know whether it was featured on The Pops back then). This eighties version is synth-heavy and the stage set-up is very Gary Numan / John Foxx-esque although Blunstone's voice, and the organ solo, still manages to make it sound like it was made sometime in the last decade. Dave Stewart isn't the one who was in The Tourists and then broke away with Annie Lennox to form Eurythmics in the future, but is actually the former prog-rock keyboardist who liked to mess around with newer versions of older classics, as indeed he will do again in the near future, but still before The Eurythmics are invented, but with somebody else. Got all that? This Ole Dave and Colin (and colourful pals) now at no. 30. Extra points for the PiL T-shirt.

The Who - You Better You Bet
Repeat from a couple of weeks ago. Now Top 10 at no. 9, but it's their last hit single. Ever.


Stevie Wonder - Lately (Legs & co.)
Snooze time with this uber-slow smoochy track from Stevie, now at no. 18. Sadly sonic proceedings
are not aided one jot by this Legs routine which might as well have been done in 1972. Costumes likewise.

Phil Collins - I Missed Again
Another studio repeat from a couple of weeks ago. Phil and his horns now up to 14. Album knocked off the top spot by those scoundrels Adam & the Ants but still going strong at no. 2.


Bucks Fizz - Making Your Mind Up
Yes, it's that time again - Eurovision! And here's our entry for this year - a kind of all singing-all-dancing Abba but without the instruments and Scandinavian accents (more's the pity). Again, sorry we missed this one as it was a debut and a very important one in some ways. Not in the charts (yet), but expectations for Eurovision success - and beyond - are high. Those swift of mouse may see the performance here, but (parental warning) there is much bottom wiggling and ripping-off of skirts.

Visage - Mind of a Toy
Follow up to the now seminal Fade to Grey for these New (fangled) Romantics and already flying relatively high at 24. A sign of the times perhaps that they were a new "group" who didn't need to bother to get thir backsides outside the recording studio (if indeed they ever did), or the nightclub, to go on Top of the Pops. But no matter - it's another cracking video by Godley & Creme and an excellent song often wrongly ignored in favour of  'Grey'. Debut album also out now, kids!

Duran Duran - Planet Earth
And keeping the New Romantic theme going, here are  the meisters of frilly shirts and crimped hair now in the Top 20. They join the ranks of The Who and Phil Collins with another studio repeat. Bah-bah-bah b-bah-bah-bah-baaah.

Toyah - It's a Mystery
This one seems to have been going around for ages, yet it's a mere four weeks since they debuted. Fairly new romantic-y too and up to a thurpwithing no. 8, and it ain't over yet!


(Top 10 countdown probably happened here)


Roxy Music - Jealous Guy (over credits)
Second and final week at no. 1, as the nation starts to get fed up with moping about John Lennon and prefers to get up and have a good knees-up.


See y'all next week when we should be 'right' again.

TOTP81.10 12/3/81

Repeated on BBCFour from 04/02/2016
Full chart here

Presented by Tommy Vance (no audience)

TOTP debut: Landscape (video)

"...a very special edition" says Tommy and in an effort to detract us from the fact that some TOTP staff are on strike again so there's no "live" audience/performances, he convinces us that tonight's show is packed with "amazing" music .. Let's see if you're right, eh Tommy?

The Teardrop Explodes - Reward
This is a repeat studio performance from 19 Feb which is just as well since that got yewtreed out in 2016. Apparently Julian Cope was off his face with some substance he certainly didn't get from the BBC canteen, but that doesn't really matter cos he was always off his face anyway and has been ever since. Well done to the 'Drops though, now up to no. 13.

Kim Wilde - Kids in America (video)
Another good 'un with Kim and her bruvver and the rest now up to no. 6.  We also get to see the video, which had probably already been shown on Swap Shop. Love the way she goes round when she sings ".. the music go roooound" - has somebody made a gif of that?

Linx - Intuition
Now if you hadn't been on before TOTP before or hadn't bothered to make a video chances are you wouldn't have got on tonight's show. Thankfully Linx had made the latter investment. Nice little video it is too, part Madness kitchen-sink in Brixton type thing, and part slick studio "live" routine with the lead singer doing  his best Michael Jackson impression. They'd had a hit last year with You're Lyin' and this is the first of three hits in '81, now bubblin' under at no. 41

Kelly Marie - Hot Love
Don't sit down just yet as there's some more dancin' to be done with Kelly and her mates. Don't forget the 'Scottish' bit during the bridge the noo. Struggling a bit at 22 and I suspect the last we'll see of her for a wee while. Is it only me that can hear a bit of Abba's Take a Chance on Me in this?

Freeez - Southern Freeez
..and more dancing! This is getting to be hard work and soon your Dad we'll be moaning you're making too much racket jumping up and down. "the second of three great soul bands tonight" says Tommy. Frozen, sorry, stuck at no. 8 which is as high as this one goes. They'll be back in some form in a couple of years once they've learned the art of hip-hop and bubbly perms.

Status Quo - Something 'Bout You Baby I Like
Well if you're not The Quo type you can take a breather now and just take Tommy's advice and watch the latest Quo video. If you really must. It's the ordinary tale of an ordinary greasy car engineer youth, leaving his greasy job, going to a greasy record shop, before getting home and (mercifully) having a bath before joing his greasy mates before going to a greasy Quo gig. Something we can all relate too I'm sure. Just behind Freeez at no. 9 and similarly stuck there since last week.

Beggar & Co - Somebody Help Me Out
And again, like Freeez, this is the third time we've seen their studio debut. They were obviously too poor even to make a video. Another one stuck, at no. 15 this time. Have they met Spandau Ballet yet?

Landscape - Einstein a Go Go
Something new at last. Although not really, since this band had been treading the boards for quite some time now, eventually going jazz-funk in 1980 and now more synth-pop, even before synth-pop had been invented. Front-man Richard Burgess had also been busy producing Spandau Ballet's debut album (and all the singles of course) but has also found time to get into electronics in a serious and interesting way in order to come up with Einstein a Go-Go. Like Linx they'd had the good sense to make a video, and also like them are bubblin' under at no. 38 but slowly and surely that pied-piper-esque tune will soon get into the nation's brain and take them higher.

Talking Heads - Once in a Lifetime (Legs & Co.)
I trust you haven't tried dancing along to Landscape but you might try to be a bit avant-gardey with this one's start/stop jerky beat, maybe even imitating David Byrne in your attempts. Otherwise just enjoy Legs & Co., again, who were obviously on the picket-line with the cameramen and lighting people as this is a repeat from last month. Like The Teadrop Explodes, this was yewtreed out in '16 so 35 years later the strike seems like a damn good idea.

Chart countdown 30 - 21

Kiki Dee - Star
This one has made it up to no. 17 and will go a bit higher next week, but not much. It's the last we'll see of Kiki until 1993, when someone finally convinced her she'd only get a big hit if she does a song with Elton John.

Chart countdown 20 - 11. (Is it that time already?)

Coast to Coast - Do the Hucklebuck
Hucklebuck fever continues to sweep the nation, along with Shakin' Stevens who quite frankly does the rock n roll thing a lot better.

Top 10 - with clips, and rotating numbers.

Roxy Music - Jealous Guy
And a new number 1 at last with Smoothy Roxy's cover version of an ol' Lennon song, done as much as a tribute as a way of getting rid of that other rubbish that's been at no. 1 for too long. As Tommy says, it's their first (and only) no. 1 "in this country". Its reign will be sadly short lived but it's possibly the first decent no. 1 of the year so far.

Roxy video over credits.
See you next time! (wanders off, whistling...)

TOTP81.9 5/3/81

Presented by Mike Read
Full chart here

TOTP debut: Duran Duran

Mike Read doesn't seem to have been on for a long time - he's probably been writing a book about British Hit Singles or something, while still keeping his daytime job as Radio One DJ of course.

Anyway Mike's off to a cracking new start with an important debut...

Duran Duran - Planet Earth
Yes - here they are, a band which basically now have 'eighties' written all over them even though that's a bit unfair as they have continued to write, record and perform throughout the decades and right up to this day. But it wasn't an easy start for these Brummies in (literally) girls' blouses: this their first single proper, was released just over a month ago and was even now just a 'breaker' at no. 47. This opening spot for Planet Earth complete with, er, planet earth, made quite an impact though and these "new romantics looking for the TV sound" never looked back. Well, almost never.

Talking Heads  - Once in a Lifetime (video)
What's this? More art-rock? After faffing about a bit on the (American) noo wave fringes, these native Noo Yorkers (I think) were enjoying a hit with this rather odd track made all the more appealing by a very odd video. Leaping up from 24 to 14 this week.

Toyah - It's a Mystery
We're on an "eighties" role here with Toyah (the band) with lead singer Toyah (Wilcox, the singer) likewise leaping up to no. 16. Unlike the heads however Toyah (the band or the singer) would go on to enjoy a string of Top 20/30 hits for a few years to come, although not as many as Duran Duran.

Shakin' Stevens - This Ole House
A bit too much of this new romantic/avant-garde/art college stuff going on, we'd better get back to some 1950s nostalgic dressed in denim and trying to look a bit like Elvis. Totally catchy stuff, which the Great British public adore so look out world here comes Shakey again. I must admit it never occurred to me at the time that Stevens had a lot of that 'sex appeal' stuff which may also explain his overwhelming success in the face of (literally) girls blouses.

Headgirl (Motorhead & Girlschool) – Please Don’t Touch
Ok let's add a bit of leather to that denim shall we? Plus a healthy dose of patchuli oil (mostly in the hair) and it's those heavy metal boys 'n' girls giving it their all at getting hot and sweaty (but treading water) at no. 54. Don't touch? Wouldn't go anywhere near!

Phil Collins - I Missed Again
No point in hiding to the world that Phil's debut album Face Value remains one of my guilty pleasures and features a number of excellent tracks, although this isn't one of them. A disappointing follow up to the minimalist In the Air Tonight, Phil preferring to show off his horns and his funkier side. Nice Ronnie Scott sax solo, but Phil still not playing the drums. New at 45, although abovementioned album already at no. 1.


Kool & the Gang - Jones vs. Jones (Leg & Co.)
Kool & the Gang seem to be one of those bands that crop up just occasionally, issue a single and get a hit every time. That may not necessarily be the case as I don't have a detailed knowledge of their discography but anyway here they are again with a woeful tale of divorce set to a dance beat. Legs take it all literally of course and hals are Mr Jones and the other half Mrs, but notwithstanding the sexy stockings and saucy cross-dressing, legs really don't seem to be cutting the mustard this year. trouble afoot?

The Teardrop Explodes - Reward
Sadly we don't get to see a repeat of their studio debut from a couple of weeks back (yewtreed out in 2016) but instead get this rather gritty amateurish film/video with the Teardrops arseing about in a jeep in Liverpool docklands or some such place no doubt. Luckily all this does not deter from this being a totally brilliant song. Struggling a bit at no. 25 but hang in there - all is not lost.


The Who - You Better You Bet
The Who? They're still around? Some of you may remember Daltrey's guest "presenter" appearance in a revamped post-strike Pops format last year, but now he's back on stage wiv 'his maytes and wiv a new record, and some trendy haircuts and posh clobber too. Not half bad this song though and if I'm not mistaken Daltrey is also singing live. I wonder if they met Duran Duran in the dressing rooms? Anyway, new at 35 and glad to see that Pete Townsend is still doing this:

What? Top Ten countdown already? All in all we've enjoyed a really good show tonight. Plenty to talk about at school in the morning.

Joe Dolce Music Theatre - Shaddapa You Face
Third and final week at no. 1.

Coast to Coast - Do the Hucklebuck (credits & crowds dancing)
Hucklebuckin' up to no. 7 this week.



See y'all next time with a bit of a surprise....