TOTP81.17 30/04/81

Not repeated on BBCFour
Full chart here
Presented by Jimmy Savile

TOTP debut: Tenpole Tudor, The Human League (Mk. 2).

For those of you just arriving from another planet, having been away since 2004, we inform you that this show, as well as others, was not repeated by the BBC in 2016 as it was presented by Jimmy Savile (aka Sir James Wilson Vincent Savile, OBE, KCSG9 who has therefore been banished from our screens forever more, along with another presenter and DJ Dave Lee Travis (aka The Hairy Cornflake) . Alas, it's all a bit of shame of course as we don't get to see so many episodes of our fave music TV show which were so fundamental in the course of popular musical history, especially in the magical year of 1981. But of course we must respect the victims of the aformentioned persons' wrong-doings and just take it all as it comes, keeping our rundown and commentary as simple as we can. Except when it comes to The Human League.

Thin Lizzy - Are You Ready?
As this was from a live EP one wonders how this was performed in the TOTP studio. Anyway it obvs worked well as The Lizzy went forward with leaps and bounds after this week's 43 spot.

Madness - Grey Day
In which the Nutty Boys go all Joy Division, cut the whacky crap and give us one of their better, more mature tunes. The video is still a bit 'nutty' though of course as they filmed it in and around their native Camden rather than in a grimy Manchester slum or an a deserted beach. Second week in charts and already no. 5.

The Beat - All Out to Get You
Fellow, or former fellow, ska-based band The Beat seem to be stuck in a bit of a musical rut on the other hand, even though this is better than the other side of the double 'A' side single, ie. Drowning. Struggling a bit at 22 and that's as far as it goes.

Sheena Easton - When He Shines
We haven't seen or heard of wee Sheena for a bit (and we didn't get to hear or see her this time either), not since 1980 in fact, as her last single bombed in February. They're still managing to milk the debut album Take My Time though, with this the fifth single from said opus now at 42.

Dept. S - Is Vic There?
Vic still obviously not coming to the phone, much to the advantage of Dept. S who go up a couple of places to no. 28

Ennio Morricone - Chi Mai
Fighting for the top spot but Ennio's doing a bit of a Vienna hanging round the no. 2 position again this week. A video was shown, apparently.

Spandau Ballet - Musclebound
Another repeat performance. The Spans are up to no. 13 but I still reckon they were wrong not to do Glow on The Pops.

Quincy Jones - Ai No Corrida
We're having had a good run of quality British acts and songs on so far tonight (save for Maestro Morricone), so better have some senseless American rubbish eh? Amazingly however I learn from Wikipedia that this song was nota Quincy original but was co-written by Chaz Jankel of Ian Dury & the Blockheads fame. Intrigued? Read more here.

The Teardrop Explodes - Treason (It's Just a Story)
As with another artist/song we'll be hearing about in a few moments this one suffers in 2016 from the fact that it/they were introduced either by JS or DLT. And again we'll never know if this was the time that Julian Cope was off his head on chemical substances or not. Plus it's a damn good song so it's utterly unfair we didn't get to see it again. Expectations were very high for The Teardrops' follow-up to Reward as they were only at no. 56 and on The Pops already.

Tenpole Tudor - Swords of a Thousand Men
OK well if you enjoyed all that dressing up as American Indians, pirates, and God knows what else in the early 80s then you probably would have enjoyed this lot's faux-medieval costumes, fake armour and the like. Swashbuckling chic was in, and Tenpole were at 37.

The Human League - The Sound of the Crowd

The last time we saw this band on the Pops they were little more than a group of all-male slightly geeky computer-operator types who didn't know whether they wanted to be Kraftwerk or The Glitter Band. Since then things have changed, however. The original band have split and the singer, one Phil Oakey - him with the lop-sided haircut - and his ginger haired, er, slide operator mate Adrian Wright have brought in a slightly more musically savvy other bloke and two dancing, chanting schoolgirls in in order to turn The Human League into something new. After an unsuccessful interim single Boys and Girls (coincidentally released the same day as the also unsuccessful debut single by Depeche-ay Mode), The Brand New Human League have upped their game, put their glad rags on and decided to add their voice to the sound of the eighties crowd, and indeed stand way above it (albeit on high heels). Written by Oakey and new boy Ian Burden, the new single sounded like it had come not from Sheffield but straight from outer space. The lyrics were a call to arms for a new generation of pop kids, a series of imperatives going from the direct - "Get in line now!" "Stay in time with the rhythm and rhyme!" - to the obscure - "Make a shroud pulling combs through a backwash frame", "Stroke a pocket with a print of a laughing sound!" (we had to wait for the lyrics to appear in Smash Hits to get them all), complete with Glitter-esque "Woah-woah-woah"s and resounding electronic hand-claps to punctuate the chorus, and stay in time. Faithful to their all-electronic sonic ethos, The League with the help of producer Martin Rushent, had come up with a single that would pave their way to stardom and lay down the foundations for a plethora of 'synth-pop' hits during the rest of 1981 and beyond. Considering the visual as well as the sonic impact of this crucial debut, more's the pity we didn't get to see this again in 2016. Joanne and Susan, stage front, had famously been taken out of school to appear on the show, while the lads had brought along some slim line keyboards and a couple of reel-to-reel tape recorders to defy the standard guitars and drums set-up, which was still the norm, while not forgetting the lipstick and eyeliner. The result was an explosion in sound and vision as important as that of, say, Gary Numan in 1979, or Adam and the Ants and Spandau Ballet a few months previously. To quote a fellow-tweeter, can you imagine any young UK band in 2016 releasing anything as vital, exciting and essential as this track? Check tonight's performance out on youtube, stay in time with the rhythm and rhyme, and add your voice.

Bucks Fizz - Making Your Mind Up
Third and final week at the top. (Video + credits). No-one was quite ready for what would come next.

Further reading: Smash Hits 30 April 1981

TOTP81.16 23/04/81

Not repeated on BBC Four in 2016
Full chart here
Presented by Dave Lee Travis

TOTP debut: Level 42, Roger Taylor (as solo artist).

Like we said, this one wasn't repeated in The Future so just a quick rundown of what was on:

Level 42 - Love Games
And indeed one of the 'victims' of Yew Tree policy in 2016 as we don't get to see the debut of these Isle of Wight funk-poppers with their soon-to-be first hit, now bubbling under at no.48. Plenty of chances of seeing them again though (we hope) when 1983 is repeated (which may or may not be sooner than you think).

Matchbox - Babes in the Wood
Enough modernity already, back to rockabilly nostalgia again with The Box's new one just a place below Level 42, ie. 49. A bit of a non-starter though and another lot to which we bid adieu.

Eddy Grant - Can’t Get Enough Of You
Eddy and pals are doing rather well on the other hand up to no. 22, and counting.

Roger Taylor – Future Management
Another new one, but from an old face. Why it's Queen's drummer Roger Taylor who obviously thought "Well if Phil Collins can do it, so can I" and has made a solo album / single. Rodge hardly manages to pull off the same trick however: in at no. 55 and destined to do not a lot better.

Gillan - New Orleans
Repeat of the hairy one (not the cornflake) and hairy friends at a hairy no. 18.

Barry Manilow - Bermuda Triangle 
An speaking of yacht rock, it seems amazing that Barry Manilow was still popular in 1981. What happened to Adam & the Ants? Where are The Human League? Stay tuned for answers to all of these questions... Meanwhile Legs & Co. dance away to this one from Baz, and believe it or not it's perhaps one of their best of the year as they splash about a bit in their bikinis, so what bad luck chaps that it doesn't get a repeat in the 21st century. But then again, there's always this...


Saxon - And The Bands Played On 
Repeat from 09/04/81. Enough said.

Keith Marshall  - Only Crying
Ditto

Freeez - Flying High

Back to the new Brit-funk with Freez's follow-up to Southern Freeez, but with a new vocalist. Flying High didn't quite live up to its name though and only got to no. 35. But again, stick around for '83 and a brand new Freeez sound.

Bucks Fizz - Making Your Mind Up

Second week at no. 1. But for the record....

Ennio Morricone is up to no. 2, Sugar Minott up to no. 4, The Jackson Sisters are at 7, at The Nolan Brothers at 10.

..and speaking of records, we play out with Starsound - Stars on 45. 

Night!

TOTP81.15 16/04/81

Repeated on BBCFour 03/03/2016
Full chart here
Presented by Peter Powell

TOTP debut: Department S, Girlschool (without their mates), Ennio Morricone.

Hello and welcome to another Top of the Pops. It's nearly Easter in 1981-land but there's not a creme egg in sight as Pete Powell takes us into The Pops with The Jacksons' Can You Feel It stomping away in the background. Go Pete, go!


Bad Manners - Just a Feeling
They're back again although it does feel like they haven't even been away, but that might be just a feeling. By rights they shoul've been on last week but they were obviously otherwise Fattily engaged. Now at no. 15.

Spandau Ballet - Musclebound (video)
And after all that fat, time for a bit of muscle. Ver Spans themselves are obviously otherwise engaged asit's their grainy video that gets an airing this week. As I've said before it was a kind of 'double A side' with Glow - wish they'd come on to do that one instead. Would've given Bad Manners a run for their money. Now at 18 but there's time to improve.

Girlschool - Hit & Run
After having been given a bit of a leg up (oo-er) by big brother types Motorhead, Girschool after another try at going it alone (after failing last year) with this one. HEavy metal fans obviously still prefer their men rather than women in leather as they don't hals as well as Saxon, the abovementioned Motorhead et al. New at 32 and it won't get much better.

Sugar Minott - Good Thing Going (We’ve Got A Good Thing Going)
Well imagine going into a record shop in 1981 and asking for that. Mind you at this point you probably could've just picked it up off the racks at Woolworths or Boots or somewhere similar, which is what a lot of punters obviously did, as it's up to 7.

Department S - Is Vic There?
About time we had something new and a bit weird, and here indeed are Department S who fit the bill perfectly. They even have a singer who holds the mike like Alvin Stardust used to. This was probably first heard on John Peel's late night weirdo radio programme or some such but somehow theymade their way into the mainstream, and had their one and only hit. Amazingly (according to wiki) they are going to release an album in 2016. Can we wait?

The Beat - Drowning
And here's a combo who did rather well out of 1980 with all those chart singles. this is nice enough although you do get the feeling they are a bit last year's thing warmed up. Not drowning but slowy waving goodbye? Aother double A side with All Out to Get You which was actually a lot better. New at 53.

Whitesnake - Don’t Break My Heart Again
Allegedly caught by BBC cameras (yeah, we believe you Pete) in this faux-live performance, Whitesnake are another one of those macho testosterone-charged heavy metal bands much favoured by fans over girlies in T shirts. Album Come an' Get it (ooo-err!) just out and this is from it. Just made it into the Top 30 at 29.

UK Subs - Keep On Running (Till You Burn)
No strangers to The Pops where they always seem to get the chance to appear and sell a shed load of records afterwards although that never seem to happen. Agian, like Dept. S they are also still going and amazingly have an album out this year and even more amazingly it's their 26th, each one with a title beginning with a consecutive letter of the alphabet.

Ennio Morricone - Chi Mai (Legs & Co.)
Better slow things down a bit after all that post-punk malrkey, and this is where Pete's voice goes all soft and sincere which I really like.... Anyway it's the 'oddity' of the moment with Maestro Ennio Morricone's theme to BBC TV's Lloyd George period-costume drama series thing. You'd be forgiven for thinking that Morricone's pièce sounds a bit dated as it has its origins in one of his film scores from the early 70s, somewaht re-purposed here by Aunt Beeb. Legs rise to the Edwardina occasion by dressing up as Sufragettes putting on thier best BBC drama series serious faces to do a little dance. A nation snoozes off in the armchair.
Coincidentally, thirty five years on, and at the grand old age of 87, Morricone has just been given an Academy Award for his film score for Tarantino's The Hateful Hate. So now you know.

The Cure - Primary
But don't switch off just yet Pop Kids as it's time for a Legendary Post-Punk Moment on Top of the Pops as those weirdos The Cure suddenly appear and 'do' their latest single Primary. Not their first time on the show as Pete would have us believe, as they already had their first pop at chartdom with A Forest a year hence, making it all the way to 31. Primary would fare even worse than that, but no matter - they'll be writing songs about cats and caterpillars and being locked up in wardrobes soon.

The Nolans - Attention to Me
So how do follow up a little known doom and gloom proto-Goth band on The Pops? Why, with the all-singing all-dancing all-smiling Nolans of course! Mind you they have dressed up in their best Gary Numan black jumpsuits for the occasion. Even the Cure had a bit of eighties colour about them. Anyway, like the gals say it's all attention to them as they climb up to no. 14.

Top Ten countdown

Bucks Fizz - Making Your Mind Up
I suppose there were no prizes for guessing that The Fizz would've been this week's new number one, just pipping Shaky and indeed Stevie Wonder to the post. It would've been a laugh if Ennio Morricone had made it instead though eh? Again, they're probably off galavanting over Europe somewhere as this is a repeat showing of oen of their previous jigs.


The Jacksons - Can You Feel It
And we finish as we started with the Jacskon's record on heavy rotation in The Pops studio to see us all out.

So until next week, byeeeeeeeee!

TOTP81.14 9/04/81

Repeated on BBCFour 25/02/2016
Full chart here
Presented by Mike Read

TOTP debut: Keith Marshall

Welcome back and we're in for a good show with a good balance of hits, mid-way hits, breakers, stuff you can dance to, stuff you can rock to and some stuff which is just plain bonkers. According to Mike we're gonna see some of the best acts of 1981, which is unsurprising as this is 1981. On with the show.

Linx - Intuition
Well after having their video shown twice, they've made it to the studio at alst although basically doing what they do in their video, and even all dressed the same as far as one can tell. Up to no. 7 and pretty much the end of the road for this dynamic debut. They'll be back!

Bucks Fizz - Making Your Mind Up
Well they've just won Eurovision and here they are again doing that routine. Can't work out if this is a repeat or a live in the studio sort of thing but who cares? The Fizz certainly don't as they're at no. 2 and on top of the world. Well, on top of Europe anyway.

Saxon - And The Bands Played On
I keep forgetting that aswell as the year of synth-pop, new romantics and all that 1981 was also a big year (again) for greasy heavy metal type acts such as Saxon. They had a couple of biggish hits and misses last year and now they're back. Not a lot of difference between them and Linx when you think about it. Play on!

Keith Marshall - Only Crying
And here's one to keep your girlfriend happy. Sloshy Keith used to be in 70s glam-pop band Hello (thanks for reminding us of that Mike) and now he's on a solo thing with big hair and big teeth and that way of rolling his head which is just so annoying, as is the rest of this song. Outside the Top 30 and this will be around for a bit longer yet.

David Bowie - Up the Hill Backwards
The fourth single off last year's Scary Monsters album (count 'em) and stuck at no. 32. Legs do a decent enough routine thankfully not involving them going up a hill backwards, instead doing a 'Spanishy' sort of dance when that castanet sound comes in. Wonder what His Bowieness thought of it? Again it's the end of the road for Scary Monstrs period releases but of course he'll back later in the year after having a bit of  a session with Queen.

Quick interlude as it's Rosemary-from-Legs-&-Co.'s 21st birthday! So young! So innocent! Some sub-rate champers (read obviously used to drinking the real thing) to celebrate although make the most of it Rosemary as you'll be out of a job within 6 months.

Graham Bonnet - Night Games
Repeat of studio perf. of two weeks ago. Now at no. 12. Nothing more to add.

Public Image Ltd. - Flowers of Romance
Talk about 'variety' on The Pops! Kiddie choirs, greasy heavy metal types, blokes in girls' blouses, blokes whipping off girls' skirts - you had in all in '81. Plus this lot: a ginger ex Sex Pistol dressed like a vicar (sort of) and his 'friends' miming to a totally weirdo 'tune' which had probably only been played by John Peel on a Tuesday night at 11.40 pm. Involves a gal palying/sawing a cello, some other bloke in a lab coat banging on some drums, a keyboard that nobody uses and quite a few 'special effects'. Whatever next? PiL now at no. 31 and the hits just keep on coming.

Eddy Grant - Can't Get Enough Of You
Better get back to the pop kids. Here's Eddy Grant and a whole bunch of mates with his new one just outside the Top 40. The (predominately white) kids in the studio are loving reggae-ing along to this one and with all this inter-racial bonhomie it's hard to believe that the Brixton Riots are only days away. Eddy lived in Kentish Town anyway.

Gillan - New Orleans
See Graham Bonnet (above). Now at 24.

Charts 30 - 21

The Whispers - It's a Love Thing
More American blandness. A black male vocal group basically doing the same thing as The drifters were probably about seven or eight years ago. Legs danced to it a couple of weeks back but now we see the real thing in a performance video. Those flares.

Charts 20 - 11

Hazel O'Connor - D-Days
Which lead us neatly to Hazel O'Connor at no. 10 this week. repeat performance of two weeks ago of Haze jumping around in her bra and tights.

Top 10 countdown.

Shakin' Stevens - This Ole House
Last of three weeks at no. 1. repeat again. he'll be back, and again and again and...

Ad lib to fade.

TOTP81.13 2/04/81

Repeated on BBCFour 12/02/2016
Full chart here
Presented by Simon Bates

TOTP debut: Children Of Tansley School, Sugar Minott.

Here we are again and it's April, a wicked month according to some, and we start off with a TOTP as thick as treacle. Some new faces, some new songs although six out of the thirteen featured aren't in the Top 30 and one isn't even near anywhere. Let's get crackin' Simes.

Stiff Little Fingers - Just Fade Away
An energetic start with a somewhat re-vamped Fingers at no.47. Apparently they were told to behave themselves a bit better after last year's shambolic At the Edge performance,. Notwithstanding their somewhat better behaviour this one did indeed fade away.

Dave Stewart & Colin Blunstone – What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted?
A repeat of the studio performance for this cover version now at 17. Spoiler alert: we won't see them again until Christmas.

Light Of The World – Time

More outside the charts wannabes hoping to cash-in on the success of their stablemates Beggar & Co. When it actually gets to the dizzy heights of no. 35 this will be the modestly named Light of the World's biggest 'hit'. By the way they'd already been on The Pops this year with 'I Shot the Sheriff', yewtreed out in 2016.

Liquid Gold - Don't Panic

They just don't give up do they? One place above the Light and still gutted over not getting to no. 1 last year, and to make matters worse this one wasn't chosen as a "Song for Europe" either. The Great British public duly respond by getting this one all the way up to no. 42. Their next single will appropriately be entitled Where Did We Go Wrong?

Stevie Wonder - Lately (video)

Meanwhile in the upper echelons of the chart we hit snooze-ville once more with a Stevie Wonder 'classic'. Mind you if you think this is bad, just wait for Stevie's next single. And he's still sporting the 'big perm' look. When was this video made? 1979?

The Jacksons - Can You Feel It?

Third single from last year's Triumph album and third time lucky it is as it's a hit at last, after the less memorable Lovely One and, er, Heartbreak Hotel singles. A bit of a stomper although it's clear that American dance/disco music is still so clearly stuck in the late seventies. Li'l bro Michael will soon take care of that though.

Children Of Tansley School – My Mum Is One In A Million

Perhaps unsurprisingly, I know very little about this single and its story although we suggest you refer to the excellent World's Worst Records blog for further reading. The only obvious thing is that again they were trying to cash-in on the success of a predecessor: St Winifred's School Choir and their Grandma song,  a hit over Christmas. There had already been a "Granddad" one so they went for "Mum" instead, possibly in view of Easter/Mother's Day and all that. I don't think "Dads" ever got a similar treatment, unless you the reader can prove otherwise. This lot are cute enough but they won't be coming back. They're not even a proper 'choir'.

Sugar Minott – Good Thing Going (We’ve Got A Good Thing Going)

Better get back to the groove. A debut if I'm not very much mistaken and indeed a one-hit wonder. Pity really as, in hindsight, this was quite good and Sugar could've done some more just as good as this.

Lena Zavaroni – Roses & Rainbows

Were it not for the fact that Ms Zavaroni is sadly no longer with us, we might have a few bones to pick with her about how she managed to get her own TV series on BBC One and get on to The Pops without even being anywhere near the charts, and for the second year running! Don't know about audience ratings for her series(s) but record sales were practically zilch! Cynical as we are, we can only conclude that Lena had a lot of friends in high places. One day the truth will out. Rest in peace Lena.

Spandau Ballet - Musclebound

With most of the high-flyers having already been featured last week, The Pops people really have had to dig quite deep to get some new stuff on and we're now way down at no. 53 to drag up the not particularly muscular Spandau Ballet and their third single, a remix of the track from their Journeys to Glory album. It's a bit of a dirge and on the face of it the 'other' A side Glow might have been a better choice to showcase. Nevertheless this performance did the Spans no harm and they're Top 10-bound.

Bucks Fizz - Making Your Mind Up

Eurovision now literally only days away and so here's a repeat of that performance from two week's back, as The Fizz are no doubt busy rehearsing their routine somewhere in Dublin as we speak. Good luck chaps! At no. 5 in the charts now anyway.

Top 10 countdown, featuring Bucks Fizz in a video clip that looks like it was made in the Soviet Union.

Shakin' Stevens - This Ole House 

Still at no. 1 and what appears to be a new studio performance, much like the old one except it features - shock! horror! - male dancers accompanying the five Legs! Sacrilege! Whatever next?

The times they are a-changing.

Play out: The Nolans – Attention To Me

..and I'd really like to know who that guy in the red jumper and school tie is/was. I want to shake his hand.