Texas

TOTP 20 MAR 1998

Posted on by 80stastic

And just like that we appear to have reached a ‘jumping the shark’ moment in the history of TOTP. I ranted a bit in the last post about the Cast of Casualty having a hit record and their continuation of the soul-destroying trend for actors becoming pop stars off the back of their TV series characters performing a song in the show. That was bad enough but just seven days later we have the unedifying spectacle of the resurrection of another TV show inspired hit machine that made little sense back in the mid 70s and even less in the late 90s. We’ll get to that presently but some admin first in that we should acknowledge the fact that Jo Whiley is tonight’s presenter and I may have words to say about her later as well.

We begin though with the Spice Girls who have entered the charts at No 2 with their latest single “Stop”. Normally, a No 2 hit wouldn’t be anything to be sniffed at but in this case, well…it was seen as quite the seismic disappointment seeing as it halted the run of every one of the group’s singles having gone to the top of the charts. Despite Jo Whiley saying in her link that she didn’t think it meant the end of ‘girl power’, the Battle of Britpop aside, I don’t think there’d been as much discussion of a song not getting to No 1 since “Welcome To The Pleasuredome” halted Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s run of chart toppers in the mid 80s. I discussed the potential reasons for “Stop”…well…stopping their imperial run in the last post so I’m not going over all that again but suffice to say that in a way Jo Whiley was right – a No 2 instead of a No 1 single wasn’t the end of ‘girl power’ but the departure of Geri Halliwell a couple of months later possibly was.

We’re at the ‘jumping the shark’ moment already. Now don’t get me wrong. I like The Wombles as much as the next person of my generation who grew up with them in that final, five minute children’s TV slot before the boring old news came on. Everyone child of the 70s knew the names Great Uncle Bulgaria, Tobermory, Madame Cholet, Wellington, Bungo, Tomsk and, of course, Orinoco. I think a very young me had a poster of Wellington on my bedroom wall. That stop-motion animation and the playful voice of Bernard Cribbins was magical stuff. However, the idea to turn them into a pop group…I’m not sure I was ever on board with that even as a small child. Back in the 70s though they were huge. The brainchild of Mike Batt who wrote not just their hits but the TV show theme tune as well, according to Wikipedia they were the most successful music act of 1974 in the UK with more weeks on the singles chart than any other artist. Is that true? My God. It probably is though. In 1977 – the year of punk – David Soul was the UK’s best selling artist so…

Those 1974 hits included “Remember You’re A Womble” (No 3), “Banana Rock” (don’t recall that one but it made No 9), “Minuetto Allegretto” (No 16) and, of course, “Wombling Merry Christmas” (No 2). Back then, there were no Gorillaz-style computer graphics nor holograms to depict The Wombles but people in cumbersome, furry costumes which did actually look like their television counterparts but had no moving mouth parts which kind of undermined the whole idea of them performing.

Back to the late 90s though and why were The Wombles suddenly back on TOTP? Well, they are back in the charts with a rerelease of “Remember You’re A Womble” which would peak at No 13. Again though I ask why? Why did we need to be reminded of this – how to be diplomatic about this? – song that was of its time? Apparently it was part of campaign to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the show first appearing on our TV screens. A good enough reason you might say? No and I’ll tell you for why. Firstly, The Wombles were back on our TV screens anyway as a new series of episodes were made after Canadian company Cinar Films acquired the rights from original production company FilmFair. These were shown in the UK by ITV. Secondly, the songs were awful and we really didn’t need them back in our lives and indeed our ears.

At the song’s end, Jo Whiley ponders whether it could be The Verve underneath those Wombles costumes. A facetious remark obviously but it got me thinking about who did occupy those furry suits? Back in the mid-70s, some of the names of those who were in the band as it were included Mike Batt (obviously), session guitarist Chris Spedding who produced the first Sex Pistols demos and had his own hit called “Motor Bikin’”, legendary session drummer Clem Cattini who worked with everyone including pioneering producer Joe Meek and was one of The Tornadoes on mega hit “Telstar” and Robin Le Mesurier (son of the beloved Dad’s Army actor). As for the 90s version, the internet is not giving up much. Apparently whoever were in those costumes didn’t want to remember they’d been a Womble!

Some proper music now with the return of James who have reached that point in their career where a Best Of album is not only due but justifiable and credible. Taking the singles from their four albums on Fontana/Mercury (not including jam sessions album “Wah Wah”), plus two new songs and an track from early EP “James II”, it would go to No 1 and three times platinum. I was one of those who bought it and a good choice it was too but playing the whole album in one session, I had to admit to myself that some of the tracks did tend to merge into each other. I know – that’s fighting talk to some people but I can only call it as I hear it. Maybe that’s just an inevitable consequence of their sound being so distinctive and idiosyncratic.

Anyway, as was the established practice by this point, a new song was released to promote the Best Of which was “Destiny Callling”. Now, you know what I said about their songs merging into each other? Well, band member Saul Davies described the writing process for “Destiny Calling” as “whacking on a capo and playing “She’s A Star” at twice the speed”. Look, I’m not trying to find fault here, I’m just reporting the details. For what it’s worth, I liked it – a fairly obvious dig at the mechanics of the music industry, it was a perfect appetiser for the retrospective of their work…OK, of their chart successful work. What’s great about James though is that they’ve never rested on their laurels. Within 18 months they’d released their eighth studio album and have gone onto produce another ten in the following 25 years. I like Tim Booth’s Ian Curtis type wig out as the performance reaches its climax. Thankfully, nobody in the studio audience shouted at him to “Sit Down!”. Ahem.

I have no idea who this is or what her hit sounded like so I’m going in with no preconceived notions…

*three minutes later *

…well, what did I expect from a song called “Uh La La La”? This is lowest common denominator Eurodance rubbish that wasn’t even original. Alexia (for that is her who were talking about) clearly ripped off 1995 hit “I Luv U Baby” by The Original for the final line of the chorus (not the words which are clearly not unique but the intonation of the delivery). And what about that title? Clearly pinched from Kool And The Gang’s “Let’s Go Dancin’ (Ooh La,La, La)” but with the ‘Ooh’ adapted to ‘Uh’ to try and disguise the theft even though she’s clearly singing “Ooh”. Was this an attempt to become 1998’s version of Whigfield? I say 1998 but the single had been a hit all around Europe in 1997 but via lots of different record labels so the swines at Sony music ordered a unifying re-edit, remix and rerelease on Almighty Records to launch Alexia in the UK and so we had to suffer like the rest of the continent. A couple more minor hits later and Alexia was gone from our charts forever though she’s still recording music to this day amassing 19 (!) album releases to date including a Christmas album in 2022.

At the end of Alexia’s performance, Jo Whiley makes a remark that “Uh La La La” is about Alexia’s inner feelings but that “it could so easily be about the sex appeal of a Teletubby”. In a recent post, I commented on Jo’s intro for The Lilys who were the latest act to record a song for a Levi’s ad campaign following in the footsteps of Stiltskin, Babylon Zoo and Freakpower. When mentioning those names, she noticeably grimaced and I remarked this was a bit rich coming from a woman who would argue in favour of the musical significance of The Teletubbies if it kept her on TV. Ha! I wasn’t so far away with my assessment!

We’ve arrived at the final hit of the 90s for Kylie Minogue and although not one of her most well known tracks it might well be one of the most underrated. “Breathe” was the third and final single released in the UK from her “Impossible Princess” album. I think I’ve discussed the problematic gestation ofthat album before but briefly, it took two years to record due to changes of musical direction, various different collaborations and a quest for pure perfection from everyone involved in it. As such, its release was postponed multiple times and then its title was deemed dubious after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in August 1997. It was finally made available in the UK in late March of 1998 having been renamed to simply “Kylie Minogue” (the third eponymous album of her career) meaning that all three singles from it were released before the parent album which was unusual to say the least.

“Breathe” is actually very engaging – slinky but not without substance and almost hypnotic with its lyrics about internal contemplation. It could be a prototype for “Pure Shores” by All Saints which is a compliment by the way. It probably deserved better than its chart high of No 14. The 90s had started with a No 1 for Kylie with “Tears On My Pillow” but by the decade’s end, her sound, exemplified by the likes of “Breathe”, was almost unrecognisable from that. Whilst her creativity was in the ascendancy, her commerciality was on the wane but she would get the latter back in spades come the new millennium with “Spinning Around” and those hot pants. Sadly, I won’t be reviewing those TOTP repeats as I’m stopping at the end of 1999 so fare thee well Kylie and thanks for all the content.

Bryan Adams is up next with another track from his “Unplugged” album. Unlike the first single taken from it though, “I’m Ready” was not a new song but nearly two decades old which Adams first recorded in 1983 for his album “Cuts Like A Knife”. Back then it was an out and out rock song but in 1998 it metamorphosed into an acoustic ballad complete with a low whistle played by Irish folk legend Davy Spillane which seems like an attempt to jump on the bandwagon of the Celtic flute sound to be found on “My Heart Will Go On”. I definitely prefer the rockier version of “I’m Ready” though it’s hardly one of his best efforts. Still, compared to The Wombles, this was high art indeed. By the end of the decade, Adams would have released another studio album, a second Greatest Hits collection, teamed up with a Spice Girl and even had a dance hit (courtesy of a remix by Chicane) that had gone down a storm in Ibiza!

By March 1998, “White On Blonde”, the fourth Texas album, had been out for over a year and delivered the band four Top 10 singles. So how do you convince your fanbase to buy a fifth? Easy. Team up with a couple of rappers and re-record the first of those four hits and release it as a double A-side with another track from the album. That sounds overly cynical but that is what happened – the release details at least. I may be being presumptuous about the intentions behind them. However, with follow up album “The Hush” still 14 months away from being available in the shops, it was a way of both maintaining the band’s profile and keeping them in the charts.

The rappers concerned were Method Man and RZA from the Wu-Tang Clan so big names (not quite sure how they knew Sharleen and the gang though) and the track they collaborated on was “Say What You Want” which they retitled “Say What You Want (All Day, Every Day)”. It was performed at that year’s BRIT Awards and presumably audience reaction was positive enough for a proper release to be considered (maybe that was the real reason behind it being made commercially available). As this version wasn’t on the album, the track on its own wasn’t going to squeeze any more sales out of it so it was doubled up with “Insane” which was on the album. So, starting with “Say What You Want (All Day, Every Day)” and I have to say I didn’t get it. I’ve read comments online saying how it “just worked” but I couldn’t/still can’t hear it. The rap bits don’t blend with the pop song – they just sound really incongruous next to each other. Then there’s that layer of strings introduced to the chorus that wasn’t in the original which sounds discordant or even out of tune. Am I missing something?

As for “Insane”, I’m not convinced that it’s quite strong enough to have been a single but it’s a moody number that has something going for it. The smouldering brass parts remind me of Portishead (or is it Groove Armada?) and Sharleen’s vocals are as on point as ever but it’s maybe just a bit too downbeat? I think it probably makes more sense in the context of the album.

We have a new No 1 and it’s from Run D.M.C. vs Jason Nevins. The track “It’s Like That” had actually been the rap trio’s debut single all the way back in 1983 but had largely been overlooked in favour of its B-side “Sucker M.C.’s”. Fast forward 14 years and, with Run D.M.C’s legacy as one of the most influential hip-hop artists ever assured, the track was revisited by producer and remixer Jason Nevins and became a massive international hit, going to No 1 in multiple countries. I seem to remember that it had been available in other territories way before an official release was secured in the UK meaning that imports of the single made their way into record shops over here first. I think we may have had a few copies in the Our Price in Stockport where I worked. Its phenomenal (and maybe unexpected) success would lead it to spend six weeks at No 1 and become the third best selling single of 1998 in the UK. As well be seeing plenty more of this one, I’ll leave it there for now.

Order of appearanceArtistTitleDid I buy it?
1Spice GirlsStopNah
2The WomblesRemember You’re A WombleWhat do you think?!
3JamesDestiny CallingNo but I had the Best Of album
4AlexiaUh La La LaDefinitely not
5Kylie MinogueBreatheNegative
6Bryan AdamsI’m ReadyNope
7Texas / Wu-Tang ClanSay What You Want (All Day, Every Day) / InsaneNo but I had a promo copy of the album
8Run D.M.C. vs Jason NevinsIt’s Like ThatAnd no

Disclaimer

I make no claim to the rights of this show and all ownership and contents including logos and graphics belongs totally to the BBC or copyright holder(s).

All opinions on the music and artists featured are my own. Sorry if you don’t agree.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m002gv57/top-of-the-pops-20031998?seriesId=unsliced

TOTP 14 NOV 1997

Posted on by 80stastic

With a couple of notable exceptions, this episode of TOTP has a definite mainstream flavour to it. Nothing wrong with that necessarily – it’s just an observation. Our host is Jayne ‘knowing smirk’ Middlemiss and we begin with a second consecutive appearance from Natalie Imbruglia performing her hit “Torn”. This would definitely fall into the category of ‘mainstream’ in my book as well as being a very decent tune. However, the version we all know wasn’t how it sounded in earlier incarnations. Check out its back story – it has more chapters to it than War And Peace. This is the Danish language version by Lis Sørensen which went under the title of “Brændt” (“Burnt” in English)…

Then there’s this – the ‘grunge’ version by US rock band Ednaswap that featured two of the song’s writers in its line up – Scott Cutler and Anne Preven. Discussing “Torn” in an interview with theringer.com, Sophie B. Hawkins said that she would like to have Will Smith or Tommy Lee Jones administer her with the Men In Black memory eraser treatment so that she didn’t know the Natalie Imbruglia version allowing her to see if she could spot the potential of the Ednaswap version to be such huge pop smash.

Would she have? Would any of us? Who knows? What I do know is that after Ednaswap and Lis Sørensen and before we got to Natalie there was a stop off in Norway where singer Trine Rein had a hit with it there…

Finally, the definitive version came about when third co-writer Phil Thornalley was put together with Natalie Imbruglia by his manager and new music publisher and one time Haircut 100 member Marc Fox. It was Fox who convinced them that they should give “Torn” another shot and so they worked the track up between them for days on end until they had what they believed was the perfect pop take on it. It was a heaven sent pairing – Thornalley’s reputation for working with some of the 80s biggest names was now so far in the rear mirror as to be imperceptible to the naked eye and he was desperate to relive his past glories whilst Imbruglia wanted to throw everything she had at pursuing a pop career. They were both prepared to do the hard yards and it paid off handsomely. “Torn” tore up the charts globally going Top 5 just about everywhere whilst her album “Left Of The Middle” went multi platinum. What I remember about that album is that they changed the artwork on it. Initially, it had a rather arty four column design with different images of Natalie in each. However, subsequent reorders were fulfilled by a new design that was just a portrait of her face that accentuated her striking eyes. I always assumed that was a deliberate and blatant marketing strategy on behalf of her label. I could be wrong.

Now, these reviews take some time to put together (I’ve spent literally weeks of my life doing this for the past nine years) so when a chance for a shortcut comes along, I’m going to take it. And here is one such opportunity. “Open Road” by Gary Barlow was on the 6th June edition of the show when Gazza performed it to celebrate the release of his debut solo album of the same name. Back then, I commented on how many people he’d brought to the studio with him that day. I don’t think it’s quite as many this time though it’s a pretty large band of musicians up there with him. Also different this time is that he’s plonked behind some keyboards for this performance whereas he was wandering up and down a walkway (the titular “Open Road” maybe?) before. Anyway, to see what else I wrote about this one, just click on the link to my previous post below:

TOTP 06 JUN 1997

Now, I said earlier there were a couple of exceptions to the wall to wall mainstream running order and this next artist is one of those I was thinking of. However, did Moby sit outside of that mainstream world? Within two years, he would have a UK No 1 and a worldwide 12 million selling album that spawned eight singles so could he be considered ‘alternative’ for want of a better word? I think he’d certainly begun his career out in the left field with his techno rave hit “Go” sampling the theme from cult, surrealist horror drama Twin Peaks but here he was in 1997 doing a dance version of perhaps one of the most recognisable theme tunes in movie history. It’s a conundrum for sure.

So quite why was he turning his hand to the “James Bond Theme”? Well, it was all to do with the new Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies which was released in the UK in December. The second movie starring Pierce Brosnan as 007, it followed 1995’s Goldeneye. I’ve never been a huge Bond fan I have to say. He’s just too slick and cool a character for me to get on board with – to quote Morrissey, he “says nothing to me about my life”. Anyway, back to Moby and his ‘re-version’ (as it was officially titled) of that famous tune. It was part of the soundtrack album to Tomorrow Never Dies the theme tune of which was recorded by Sheryl Crow. I have to say that his version doesn’t do much for me and is certainly no improvement on or indeed interesting take on the original to my ears. Even Moby himself rather distances himself from his recording by apparently saying that the original is miles better than the version he did. Whilst the go to image in our minds eye of Moby might be of him behind a keyboard and not wielding a guitar, here’s @TOTPFacts to add some context to what we saw here on our TV screens:

Oh blimey! Here’s a duet that, depending on your tastes, was either made in Heaven or came directly from the bowels of Hell. The backstory to this pairing of Barbra Streisand (note spelling of first name!) and Celine Dion is that at the 1997 Oscars show, Celine became the first artist ever to perform twice on the same show. One of the songs she sang was “I Finally Found Someone” from The Mirror Has Two Faces movie (that had been a hit for Streisand and Bryan Adams) after Babs declined to perform it. Originally, Natalie Cole was scheduled to replace Streisand but when she pulled out at short notice, Celine was asked to step into the breach. So pleased was Barbra with Dion’s treatment of her song that she suggested they record a duet together. The result was “Tell Him” which I assumed was also from a film soundtrack but wasn’t. Listening to it, I could more imagine it being used in a stage musical – a bad one mind you. “Tell Him” is less a song and more an emoting contest with Céline and Babs dukin’ it out for top billing. Apparently, Barbra (watch that spelling again!) is one of Celine’s idols so maybe it was subconscious on the latter’s part but Streisand is so lost in the business of show that it must have been instinctive. With those two names involved, it couldn’t help but be a hit and it was peaking at No 3 in the UK. That made two consecutive Top 10 hits for Barbra in the UK for the first time since the late 70s/early 80s whilst Celine would go down the soundtrack route to devastating effect (and I used that world deliberately) before 1997 was out with “My Heart Will Go On”.

I was talking to someone at work the other day who is 30 years younger than me and it transpired that she’d never seen Trainspotting. Not only that but she’d never heard of it and thought it would be a film about nerdy people with an obsession about trains. It’s moments like these that make me realise how old I really am. Anyway, that rather clunky reference is my segue into the next artist who are PF Project featuring Ewan McGregor and their hit “Choose Life” based on a speech given by McGregor’s character Mark ‘Rentboy’ Renton. This would be the second of my non-mainstream hits on the show this evening but again, given the popularity of Trainspotting and the reach of the film, did it actually reside in the left field? Well, sonically I think so as it reminds me of that dance track which used to give me the fear – “Higher State Of Consciousness” by Josh Wink.

As for the that speech it was based around, well, clearly that had to be and was sanitised for commercial consumption with the offending swear words removed so a case could be made that the track had been modified for mainstream acceptability and tastes. As for the performance here, it was the usual dance hit set up with anonymous blokes behind keyboards but with McGregor’s part shown on a big screen behind them. However, as with Moby earlier, there was a guitarist on stage which must have been some sort of record for two dance track studio performances to feature that instrument on the same show.

Some acoustic action now from Jon Bon Jovi with his third solo hit of 1997 all taken from his album “Destination Anywhere”. Host Jayne Middlemiss tells us that it was written about a row with his wife in Amsterdam though he’s applied some creative licence as his wife’s name is Dorothea not Janie as in “Janie, Don’t Take Your Love To Town”. Someone commented on Twitter that Mr Jovi had clearly written this with the help of an Oasis chord book and you can kind of hear what they meant. It has that ‘busker’ quality to it that so many Noel Gallagher songs have. It’s not an unpleasant sound though and in any case, Jon must also have taken some inspiration from Kenny Rogers who, of course, had a massive hit with “Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love To Town” with his group First Edition in 1969. As of 2025 though, Jon Bon Jovi is yet to resume his solo career.

What a time 1997 had been for Texas. After eight years of trying to follow up on the success of debut album “Southside” (spearheaded by the slide guitar propelled hit “I Don’t Want A Lover”), they finally cracked it big time with their fourth studio album “White On Blonde”. A chart topping, multi-platinum selling monster, it furnished the band with four hit singles all of which went Top 10. The final one of these was “Put Your Arms Around Me” and I have to say it was by far the weakest. For me, it’s just not substantial enough and I’m surprised that it was chosen for single release. Sharleen Spiteri’s vocals are as poignant as ever but there’s just not enough to it to make it truly memorable. It’s an album filler and no more and certainly not single material.

What’s even more bemusing is that they had a glorious track closing the album called “Breathless” that would have made a fine choice as the final single release. What do I know though?

Aqua remain at No 1 for a third week of four. Although often derided and despite appearing regularly in ‘The Worst Songs Of All Time’ lists, “Barbie Girl” has quite the cultural reach, impact and legacy. Fancy hearing a South Park version? Here you go…

Or a Family Guy version? No problem…

What? You want the original? Surely not? Oh well…

Order of appearanceArtistTitleDid I buy it?
1Natalie ImbrugliaTornLiked it, didn’t buy it
2Gary BarlowOpen RoadNever happening
3MobyJames Bond ThemeI did not
4Barbra Streisand and Celine DionTell HimNever
5PF Project featuring Ewan McGregorChoose LifeNah
6Jon Bon JoviJanie, Don’t Take Your Love To TownNope
7TexasPut Your Arms Around MeNo but I had a promo copy of the album
8AquaBarbie GirlNo

Disclaimer

I make no claim to the rights of this show and all ownership and contents including logos and graphics belongs totally to the BBC or copyright holder(s).

All opinions on the music and artists featured are my own. Sorry if you don’t agree.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m002bx6b/top-of-the-pops-14111997?seriesId=unsliced

TOTP 17 JAN 1997

Posted on by 80stastic

The day before this TOTP aired, Chris Evans resigned from Radio 1 leaving his former employer with a huge breakfast show sized hole in their schedule. The tipping point for Evans was station controller Matthew Bannister’s refusal to grant him Fridays off from hosting the show so he could prepare for his Channel 4 programme TFI Friday. Bannister had already turned a blind eye to multiple misdemeanours pulled by Evans during the course of his tenure including turning up late for work, going on a 17 hour bender that only ended two hours before he was due on air and broadcasting tasteless, innuendo-laden jokes. Bannister had already doubled Evans’ holiday entitlement but his star’s continued demands couldn’t be met indefinitely and he finally refused. Evans ego was so out of control at this point that he couldn’t handle someone saying ‘no’ to him and flounced off in a strop being replaced by Mark and Lard. I wonder if there are any huge egos on tonight’s show?

Tonight’s host is Scottish comedian Rhona Cameron whom I’m guessing won’t have had any ideas above her station as she was very early on in her career and was probably very grateful for the opportunity of prime time TV exposure. In fact, if I think of Rhona Cameron, I think of her ‘Sometimes’ speech in the first ever series of I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here which was in 2002. I’m surprised then that she was on our screens as early as 1997. Her first job is to introduce the Lightning Seeds who open the show with their latest single “Sugar Coated Icebergs”. Now, I do remember this one due to its peculiar title but I wasn’t sure how it went until I realised it was the same as all the other ones! Too harsh? Yes, of course it is and as I’ve said before in this blog, I don’t mind the Lightning Seeds at all but Ian Broudie (who always comes across as an unassuming guy and the polar opposite of Chris Evans) sure didn’t mind ploughing the same furrow over and over.

As the caption says, this one was written with Stephen Jones of Babybird and speculation was rife that it was about drugs. The lyrics about ‘sinking deep’ and ‘going under’ do kind of support that notion but the song’s bouncing, uplifting sound undermines that idea for me. One thing I did notice about it though was that its structure did seem to be changed to accommodate the lyrics rather. For example, in the first verse, the tempo is modified to allow the words ‘pointless’ and ‘coated’ to be worked in as the lines they are in don’t scan otherwise. Maybe that was Broudie’s way of trying to shake up the formula ever so slightly? “Sugar Coated Icebergs” would debut at its peak position of No 12 meaning that, excluding “Three Lions”, the Lightning Seeds still hadn’t ever had a Top 10 single despite having had double figures Top 40 hits. When it did come with their next single release which made No 8, it was with a cover version – “You Showed Me” by The Turtles. Still, “Three Lions” did go to No 1 three times in total and not many artists have that on their CV.

Now then, whether this was a case of egos out of control à la Chris Evans or not, what is true is that, just like the recently departed Radio 1 DJ, East 17 were attracting plenty of press that wasn’t positive. Let’s try and get the timeline of events correct here. This TOTP was broadcast on Friday 17 January but the shows were traditionally recorded on the Wednesday so that would have been the 15th. Lead singer Brian Harvey did a radio interview on the Thursday morning (16th) in which he advocated the use of recreational drugs and divulged details of his own intake. All hell broke loose as the media got hold of the story and Harvey was roundly criticised – it was even brought up at Prime Minister’s Questions on the lunchtime when John Major condemned Harvey’s words. By the end of Thursday, with the controversy still raging, the rest of the band distanced themselves from Harvey’s comments and he, himself, apologised for what he had said. Come Friday, the other three members of the group effectively sacked Harvey for unacceptable behaviour and threatened to sue him for loss of potential earnings.

All of this occurred just hours after this TOTP performance so I wonder if we can pick up on any tension between the four guys on stage. Remember that there had been doubts about Harvey’s commitment in the weeks before this incident – he’d actually quit the band before Christmas before quickly changing his mind. Rhona Cameron adds to the strained relations by pondering whether the group would split up in her intro. Watching the appearance back, I notice that Harvey is kept well away from Tony Mortimer with whom he had a difficult relationship – I don’t think they look at each other once. Harvey, for his part, looks uneasy with his hands in his pockets for some of the time. There’s also a lot going on in the background with a multitude of other people on the stage including a guy with a weird percussion contraption. It’s as if they were deliberately placed there to deflect attention from the group. Ultimately it would be Mortimer who would leave the band with Harvey reinstated as they attempted a comeback as a rebranded E-17.

What’s that? The song? Oh yeah, almost forgot about that. It was called “Hey Child” and was taken from their “Around The World: The Journey So Far” Best Of album. I don’t remember it at all and listening to it now, it seems like a slight, pure pop ballad that wasn’t very representative of their sound. I guess you could say the same thing about their most famous song “Stay Another Day” but “Hey Child” seems especially twee whereas their Christmas No 1 has a bit more gravitas. It would fall from its debut at No 3 to No 15 the following week. Was that drop off typical of the life cycle of singles back then or was it linked to the furore the band found themselves enveloped in? I’m not sure but I think this may well be the last TOTP appearance of the original line up of East 17.

Following quickly in the footsteps of this week’s No 1 comes another dance remix of an earlier track this time from Lisa Stansfield. Having first appeared in the charts back in 1989 as guest vocalist on the Coldcut hit “People Hold On”, Rochdale’s second most famous resident had gone on to bag herself a stellar career as a solo artist complete with multi platinum selling albums and a No 1 single. Despite all her success, Lisa always struck me as a down to earth sort – more Gracie Fields than airs and graces and certainly no Chris Evans character.

By 1997, she was about to release her fourth album so as a precursor to that, a remix of that first hit was released as “People Hold On (The Bootleg Mixes)”. Behind the remix were Dan Bewick and Matt Frost known as the Dirty Rotten Scoundrels whose treatment of the track took it to No 4 beating Coldcut’s chart peak by seven places. Unlike the Tori Amos remix though which totally restructured the original, this one just sounded like a poor man’s version of the 1989 hit to me. Even the video just features some recycled clips of promos for previous Stansfield hits rather than a brand new recording. It’s as if Lisa didn’t want anything to do with it. Whether she did or didn’t, her label Arista included it in that fourth album when it was released in the March as a bonus track. I guess it was just business at the end of the day and the music industry certainly had its share of dirty rotten scoundrels.

The 90s brought us some truly awful dance artists and tracks and this lot certainly fall into that category. Anybody remember No Mercy? They were a Latin American trio who were discovered by Frank Farian, the man who gave us 70s disco- cheesemakers Boney M and 80s pop blaggers Milli Vanilli. And now he was back with an act for the 90s, whether we wanted them or not. I was definitely of the latter opinion but enough people were of the former to send their hit “Where Do You Go” to No 2 in the UK. Yet again, the British record buying public had showed us that they could not be trusted with the nation’s reputation.

The song was built around the drumbeat from the Todd Terry remix of Everything But The Girl’s “Missing” (which they had already covered for their first single) but with some Spanish guitar flourishes, a line from that 60s hit by Peter Sarstedt and a shout-a-long chorus that wouldn’t have been out of place on an Outhere Brothers hit. What a remarkably talented bunch this lot were – and I thought Milli Vanilli were chancers! Like a floater that won’t flush away, the single lingered around the Top 40 for 14 weeks, 9 of them inside the Top 10 stinking the place out. No Mercy? NO! MERCY! FOR PITY’S SAKE MERCY!

Next to one of the most surprising comebacks of the decade. Hands up who had Texas down for scoring the fifth best selling album of the year?

*scans virtual room*

No you bloody didn’t! This was a band who’d only ever had one Top 10 hit eight years before and who last two albums had been, if not totally ignored, then studiously avoided. Nobody had them down for a Top 3 hit single at the start of 1997. So how did they do it? Well, they softened their sound it seemed to me. There was a big difference between the slide guitar licks and pounding backbeat of “I Don’t Want A Lover” and the smooth, radio friendly sound of “Say What You Want”. Their second biggest hit to this point had been a cover of Al Green’s “Tired Of Being Alone” so maybe they took inspiration from that when it came to writing songs for their fourth studio album “White On Blonde” although clearly its title was influenced by Bob Dylan’s “Blonde On Blonde”. Its lead single though was more Marvin Gaye than Zimmerman.

There was another factor in its chart success other than the way it sounded and it was to do with that man Chris Evans again. One of the last things he did before leaving Radio 1 was to champion “Say What You Want”. Given his reach at time via his breakfast show and TFI Friday, this was no small endorsement. However, I don’t think that lead singer and face of the band Sharleen Spiteri is similar to Evans in the ego stakes. Indeed, I once heard her say in an interview that she never has the lyrics to the band’s songs including in the sleeve notes as she encourages people to hear what they want to hear even if that means misinterpreting the actual words. That doesn’t sound like someone who has a ‘me, me, me‘ attitude. Texas would become one of the biggest selling artists of the late 90s and beyond. “White On Blonde” alone would shift 4 million units and generate five hit singles. Say what you want about the band but they had remarkable staying power and commitment to never give up.

Here’s someone with an ego that outdoes even Chris Evans. To be fair to Madonna, how could you not when you were* one of the most famous people on the planet? Was recording “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina” on her bucket list do you think? I’m pretty sure playing the role of Eva Peron in Evita was a lifetime ambition. We’d all been waiting for this song to be released from the soundtrack to the 1996 film after a new composition written specifically for it (“You Must Love Me”) had been the lead single. Maybe it was held back for the Christmas market with her record company thinking it had a shot at being the festive chart topper? When it did finally arrive, it debuted at No 3 before slipping down the charts but it’s on this TOTP as it had gone back up the charts from No 10 to No 5 presumably due to the film being released to UK cinemas.

*the use of ‘were’ was deliberate

There was another reason though and that was the release of the dance remix of the track. A dance remix you say? Of “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina”? Who knew? Well, not me and I was working in a record shop at the time so either I never sold a copy of it or I’ve completely forgotten about it. Either is possible. Want to hear it? Yeah you do…

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – I just didn’t get why the Backstreet Boys were so popular. I accept that I was in the minority in this opinion; their huge sales here and in America can’t be argued with and even the press had a lot of nice things to say about them but I thought they were tosh. Were they good looking (surely a pre-requisite for a boy band)? Not so you’d notice apart from maybe the blonde one. Were their songs any good? Look, I know the answer to that is going to be subjective but they sounded so pedestrian to me. Take “Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)” for example. It’s just a constant, one paced backbeat throughout that never goes anywhere. And why the need for the brackets in the title? Look, I know they didn’t write the song so they had no input into that particular decision but not writing your own material isn’t a tick in the plus column. Maybe they’ll liven up a bit when we get to their later hits. I won’t hold my breath though.

Now here’s a great song from a band who enjoyed massive success in the latter part of the decade but this track – “Nancy Boy” – is the only one of theirs that is permanently deposited in my brain bank. Placebo had already released four singles up to this point but their only Top 40 success thus far had been No 30 hit “Teenage Angst”. However, they had come to the attention of one David Bowie who invited the band to open for him on some live dates in 1996 and subsequently to perform at his 50th birthday celebration at New York’s Madison Square Garden. The endorsement of such a legendary figure couldn’t help but raise their profile and “Nancy Boy” duly became a No 4 smash when released in early 1997.

A jagged, brooding and bruising song, it was also very sexual in its nature and according to lead singer Brian Molko, had been written to “capture a kind of drug induced sexual rush”. Perhaps not the standard message behind a big hit when the charts were populated by the likes of Backstreet Boys, No Mercy and Madonna singing Andrew Lloyd Webber songs. I guess though that Placebo weren’t your average band. Molko’s androgynous image in particular (which was similar to Jas Mann’s from Babylon Zoo) attracted attention (not all of it welcome) as they sort to rebel against the laddishness of Britpop culture. Talking of which, I always assumed Placebo were a US band but they formed in London and Molko was born in Belgium though his father was American.

In an interesting parallel with the storm engulfing East 17 at the time, Molko would give an interview to Kerrang magazine in this year where he said the only drug on the planet he hadn’t tried was heroin before later admitting he’d had that too. I don’t recall nationwide outrage to that confession like Harvey’s interview generated but then maybe the two incidents aren’t comparable. East 17, for all their ‘street’ claims were still a boy band and boy bands weren’t meant to behave in the way Harvey had admitted to. Molko was openly bisexual and had a counter culture image. Was it a case of dismissing him as ‘other’ and therefore anything he did or said would be perceived within those preconceptions? Whatever the truth, we’ll be seeing much more of Placebo in future TOTP repeats.

Tori Amos is No 1 with “Professional Widow (It’s Got To Be Big)” although really all the plaudits should have gone to Armand van Helden as the remixer responsible for this creation. Interestingly, the other dance remix in the charts featured on this show earlier does give equal billing to the remix team and the original artist as “People Hold On” is credited to Lisa Stansfield versus the Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Was this a case of record label interference or that theme that we started the post with – artist ego?

Order of appearanceArtistTitleDid I buy it?
1Lightning SeedsSugar Coated IcebergsNope
2East 17Hey ChildI did not
3Lisa Stansfield versus the Dirty Rotten ScoundrelsPeople Hold OnNah
4No MercyWhere Do You GoHell no
5TexasSay What You WantNo but I had a promo copy of the album
6MadonnaDon’t Cry For Me ArgentinaNegative
7Backstreet BoysQuit Playing Games (With My Heart)Never
8PlaceboNancy BoyNo but I think I had it on one of those Best Album Ever compilations
9Tori AmosProfessional Widow (It’s Got To Be Big)Liked it, didn’t buy it

Disclaimer

I make no claim to the rights of this show and all ownership and contents including logos and graphics belongs totally to the BBC or copyright holder(s).

All opinions on the music and artists featured are my own. Sorry if you don’t agree.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p00fsvjy/top-of-the-pops-17011997?seriesId=unsliced

TOTP 09 SEP 1993

Posted on by 80stastic

We’re well into September 1993 here at TOTP Rewind and the Top 40 continues to be completely batshit in its make up. Look at the running order for this TOTP. We’ve got Eurodance, grunge, a singer-songwriter, some Scottish rock/pop, perhaps the ultimate in bonkers artists from Iceland and f*****g Motörhead! Like I said, batshit!

We start with someone who may or may not be full on batshit but whom I have certainly found to be a curious figure at the very least. In 1993, Moby was yet to be catapulted into the celebrity stratosphere due to the ubiquity of his “Play” album but he was still a pioneering name in dance music circles and had already brought his take on it to the mainstream via 1991 Top 10 hit “Go”. A second entry into the charts had been a minor affair when “I Feel It / Thousand” scraped in at No 38. However, he would go much higher with “Move – The EP” from which this track “Move (You Make Me Feel So Good)” came.

Like Black Box and Marky Mark And The Funky Bunch before it, the track sampled “Love Sensation” by Loleatta Holloway but that isn’t what is keeping my attention in this performance. No, it’s the inverting of roles that we normally see from a dance act on TOTP. How many times have we witnessed an anonymous bloke at the back of the stage twiddling with some keyboards with a female vocalist belting out the (usually limited amount of) vocals upfront whilst trying to live thugs up with some dance moves? Well, it’s loads of times I can tell you but that template wasn’t for Moby. No, his female singer stands rigidly still with her arms behind her back for the entire performance. Meanwhile, it’s Moby who hogs the spotlight, leaping about and energetically pounding his synth drums. At one point he crouches Gollum- like on his keyboards before standing fully erect and then jumping down onto the stage! Like I said about him earlier, a bit odd.

“The Move EP” peaked at No 21.

There have been some famous princes over the years. How about Prince Charming for a start? Then there’s our new King who was Prince Charles for years (don’t mention Andrew – I said don’t mention…never mind). More recently there’s the villainous Prince Hans from Frozen and…erm…yes, Prince of course (as in the genius recording artist RIP). The best rapping Prince though? This guy must be in with a shout. I refer to The Fresh Prince (of Bel-Air), one half of the rap duo DJ Jazzy Jeff And The Fresh Prince.

The last time these two (Will Smith and Jeff Townes obviously) were in our charts was two years prior when “Summertime” went Top 10. Now they were back with the biggest hit of their career with *SPOILER* future No 1 “Boom! Shake The Room”. Seriously, who couldn’t like this hook laden platter of rap, hip-hop and a massive shout-a-long chorus? A perfect antidote to all that Eurodance nonsense – was it the record that knocked “Mr. Vain” of the top of the charts? I certainly hope so.

This was a watershed moment for Will Smith’s recording career as it just about brought the curtain down on DJ Jazzy Jeff And The Fresh Prince as a recording artist with future releases coming under his own name. I’m pretty sure that Townes continued to work with Smith on his solo artist output though. It would prove to be a commercially successful decision with Smith racking up eight Top 5 singles including the No 1 “Men In Black“. The Prince is dead, long live…erm…Will Smith?

Next to that bonkers artist from Iceland I mentioned earlier. I’m not a big Björk fan on account of her voice. I may have even gone as far as to state on occasion that she just can’t sing. I was wrong about that on reflection – she can sing it’s just that I don’t like it. Her performance here on “Venus As A Boy” being a case in point. The track itself I don’t mind. It’s got a tinkling charm to it that draws you in somehow but then Björk starts singing and it all becomes about her and that voice. Maybe I’m missing the point.

The performance here isn’t quite as out there as I would have expected with Björk giving a fairly orthodox delivery (I can’t believe she was out-bonkered by Moby!) albeit with an outfit that looked highly flammable. Here’s host Tony Dortie with an insight:

But…but…you couldn’t see her feet under that outfit so what was the point?! What we could see though was her clearly Space 1999 influenced eyebrows:

Oh and what were the model ships on plinths all about? Her backing band look like they are expecting something to kick off with her at any point but then she could be volatile…

Finally a live by satellite performance that is interesting! First there’s a little to camera intro from the band and then the execution of the song is simple yet somehow bewitching. I talk, of course, of James. You can always rely on the poetic Tim Booth to provide some high brow drama.

After finally becoming a bona fide chart act with the re-release of “Sit Down” going to No 2 in 1991, the band consolidated on their success with the well received “Seven” album and its attendant four singles. Not people to rest on their laurels, they were back in 1993 with fifth studio album “Laid” of which “Sometimes (Lester Piggott)” was the lead single. I think I may have been guilty at the time of thinking that their output was starting to stick to a formula and lumped “Sometimes” in with that but it’s actually a superbly crafted song with striking imagery in its lyrics of a child facing a monsoon wanting to be hit by lightning. It deserved a higher peak than its ultimate No 18 resting place.

I really like the staging of the performance here with the band proving that all they needed was an empty space to work in to come up with something interesting. The static five band members behind Booth strumming their guitars in unison creates an hypnotic effect although the guy on the end with the long hair (sorry, not up on all the members of James) who can’t resist swaying his head along to the beat is distracting. It’s sort of like a gender-reversed Robert Palmer backing band for “Addicted To Love” but without the pouting. Meanwhile, Tim Booth dances with a Spanish looking lady dressed entirely in black. I would have expected nothing less. Almost perfect.

Oh and that Lester Piggott suffix in the song title? Here’s Tim courtesy of @TOTPFacts:

Back in the studio we find Stone Temple Pilots performing their single “Plush”. I know I made the comparison in a previous post but this is just “Alive” by Pearl Jam isn’t it? Not that that’s a bad thing (I like “Alive”) but the similarities are quite stark.

The guitarist Dean DeLeo looked a bit like a young John Bishop on first glance but having sought out more images of him online, he actually looks like someone I used to work with at the Civil Service. And yes, I realise that comment won’t mean anything to the vast majority of you reading this but he does so there. “Plush” peaked at No 23 in the UK.

The Breakers are next starting with Guru featuring N’Dea Davenport. Now I find all this very confusing. Why? Well, while I don’t remember this single “Trust Me”, I do recall the album that it came from which was “Guru’s Jazzmatazz Vol 1 (An Experimental Fusion Of Hip-Hop And Jazz)”. So why my confusion? Wikipedia tells me that the album only got to No 58 in the UK charts and yet I remember selling loads of it in the Our Price store in Altrincham where I was working at the time. How can this be? I refuse to believe that a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester with a population of 52,419 was/is the centre of the hip-hop/ jazz fusion world!

N’Dea Davenport was of course the on-off singer with acid jazzers the Brand New Heavies with whom Guru (real name Keith Elam) collaborated on their second album “Heavy Rhyme Experience Vol 1”. Do you think Keith nicked not only the band’s singer but also the idea for his album title off them?

In my head, Texas didn’t have any chart success between their debut single “I Don’t Want A Lover” in 1989 and their Chris Evans championed resurrection in 1997 with “Say What You Want” but that isn’t the case. I was aware that they released two whole albums in the intervening years but I erroneously thought that neither yielded any Top 40 hits. “Mother’s Heaven” supplied No 32 hit “Alone With You” in 1992 and now here was “So Called Friend” from third album “Rick’s Road” which made it to No 30*

*They also had a non-album single, a cover of Al Green’s “Tired Of Being Alone” go to No 19 in 1992.

https://youtu.be/qHcwrFj3xGU

“So Called Friend” is pleasant enough without being anywhere near approaching exceptional although it was considered special enough to be the theme tune to US sitcom Ellen from series three onwards.

Go to 5:40

WHO??!!! Zhané (pronounced Jah-Nay which was actually the title of their debut album) were a US dance duo who scored a massive hit over there with “Hey Mr. DJ” which got to No 6 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was one of those tracks that never really crossed over here where it peaked at No 26. I’m not sure why that would be when American RnB acts like Jade and SWV were having Top 10 hits over here in this year but there you go. They would have two other minor UK chart hits in the 90s before disbanding in 1999. I, obviously, don’t remember it.

YES! It’s Motörhead which means I get to tell my Lemmy story! Well, it’s not actually mine but rather my friend Robin’s who has given me clearance to use it here. This is it. A few years back whilst living in London, Robin had some friends from his student days (including my wife but not me) stay over at his gaff in Marylebone. It turned out to be a heavy night and unfortunately one of those staying was sick in the bed of one of his flat mates who was away at the time. Feeling guilty and knowing his flat mate was returning that day, the following morning he took the sick-covered duvet to the local dry cleaners. On the way there, he was approached by a man asking the way to a boozer (The Angel In The Fields on Marylebone High Street for all you London pub enthusiasts out there). That man was Lemmy. Despite the weird experience of meeting a rock legend unexpectedly whilst carrying a bag containing a sick-splattered duvet, Robin managed to keep his wits about him and say to Lemmy that he’d been to a Motörhead gig the other week and told him how great they’d been. Lemmy’s reply? “Keep The Faith”. Now that’s definitely perfect.

Why was “Ace Of Spades” back in the charts? I think it was to promote a Best Of album released by Castle Communications hence the single actually being called “Ace Of Spades – The CCN Remix 1993”.

I have posited a theory in past posts that there were clues hiding in plain sight that Siobahn Fahey was bound to leave Bananarama because she always had a slightly different outfit to Sarah and Keren when appearing on TOTP. While the other two would match sartorially, Siobahn would shake things up a bit by customising her version of the chosen ensemble. Talking of ‘the other two’ (a reference for the New Order super fans there), here are Barney, Hooky and…erm…the other two with their “World (The Price Of Love)” single.

That ‘other two’ reference isn’t the only connection to the Nanas though as I think that clothes theory is visible again. Look at Hooky with his mane of hair, his leather trousers and his ‘rock god’ posturing and compare him to the rest of them – of course he would end up leaving the band! “World (The Price Of Love)” peaked at No 13.

1993 saw the return of Beverley Craven but nobody really noticed. I mean, judging by the chart performance of this single “Love Scenes” that seems to be true as it struggled to a peak of No 34. After the dizzy heights reached by “Promise Me” two years prior, this surely wasn’t what her record label Epic were hoping for from the lead single of a new album (also called “Love Scenes”).

But then watch Beverley’s performance here and my claim that nobody noticed her return is blown out of the water. What was going on here?! Who decided to plonk her in a chair with a microphone centre stage wearing a dress that gives a new definition to the word ‘revealing’?! My God! Sharon Stone would have been embarrassed! No wonder Beverley looks like she’s on the edge of a cliff knowing any moment a gust of wind could blow her over (or indeed up her dress)! Where was her trusty piano that she always performed with?

As for the song itself, it’s a curious thing both in its sound and as a choice of single. It kind of reminds me of the theme tune to 70s action-comedy series The Persuaders!. Beverley would never return to the UK Top 40 after this single and retired from the music industry to bring up her three daughters. She returned to the recording studio in 1999 for the largely ignored “Mixed Emotions” album before embarking on another ten year hiatus. After battling cancer she has both recorded and toured with Julia Fordham and Judie Tzuke under the Woman To Woman banner and are currently playing live at a venue near you this month with special guest Rumer.

Culture Beat are still going strong at the top of the charts with “Mr. Vain”. There are a lot of links between them and Snap! Both made Eurodance music, both had UK No 1 singles, both had a rapper in their ranks who did their US military service in Germany (Jay Supreme and Turbo B) and both had a revolving door policy for female vocalists. And they were both crap of course.

Order of appearanceArtistTitleDid I buy it?
1MobyMove (You Make Me Feel So Good)No
2DJ Jazzy Jeff And The Fresh PrinceBoom! Shake The RoomLiked it, didn’t buy it
3BjörkVenus As A BoyI did not
4JamesSometimes (Lester Pigott)No but I have it on their Best Of album
5Stone Temple PilotsPlushNah
6Guru featuring N’Dea DavenportTrust MeNegative
7TexasSo Called FriendNope
8ZhanéHey Mr. DJNot likely
9MotörheadAce Of SpadesI must have it on something surely?
10New OrderWorld (The Price Of Love)No
11Beverley CravenLove ScenesDidn’t happen
12Culture BeatMr. VainAnd no

Disclaimer

I make no claim to the rights of this show and all ownership and contents including logos and graphics belongs totally to the BBC or copyright holder(s).

All opinions on the music and artists featured are my own. Sorry if you don’t agree.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001d09x/top-of-the-pops-09091993