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Post by Steve Austin on Feb 10, 2018 14:32:25 GMT
I'm finding it pretty difficult not to have the fast forward permanently on so far but I did enjoy The Killing Joke & Glenn Frey who had a hit around the time I left school so that brought back some happy memories. I think I'd prefer to battle with the M25 than have to watch these all the way through but there is the odd gem, such as Love Like Blood as mentioned.
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Post by Arthur Pringle on Feb 10, 2018 18:06:49 GMT
I have a good memory of seeing Killing Joke on The Tube as my brother recorded it, still have the VHS in fact. I was struck by the facial expressions & antics of the singer, Jaz Coleman, who bears a certain resemblance to Wayne Winston Norris. A highly influential band, everyone from Motley Crue to Nirvana have 'borrowed' from them. Love Like Blood is the second song on this clip which begins with an unlikely guest.
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Post by Steve Austin on Feb 10, 2018 19:37:28 GMT
Nice post Arthur. Pelle Almqvist of The Hives was probably another lead singer influenced by Jaz, definitely more than one similarity. I don't mind Cliff either
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Post by Frank Spencer on Feb 23, 2018 18:20:17 GMT
Ha ha ! My girlfriend is a big fan of Cliff - I am going to have to forward here that clip, just so she can see his two seconds with Paula Yates !! Meanwhile, it's deja vu today - been halfway round the M25 on business and back and now only fit for the sofa and TOTP85 ! Two interesting "in the studio" acts on the 7th March episode (I won't say "live" as both mimed rather unconvincingly !) - two male singers from the States who both came to prominence as part of young family groups in the 70s. Jermaine Jackson's gorgeous "Do What You Do" was the biggest of his three solo hits, but although his first two came as a result of him staying with Motown when the rest of the Jackson 5 signed to Philadalephia International, this song was recorded for Arista when he switched to that label. I think I have most of his 7 solo albums from the 80s in my record library , some really good soul tracks on them but very few hit singles. The other chap of course was the recently passed David Cassidy with a comeback hit out of nowhere ten years after his last UK success. Seeing him on TOTP in 85 was NOT the image of him I had in my mind that's for sure ! The hair, the jacket, the shirt, the high waist trousers all very bang on trend ... then ! And another classic example of an artist running with every single fashion to keep popular, sometimes they pull it off, sometimes not -you watch and decide ... the song was a big hit though. Finally on this episode , Madonna's "Material Girl" video coming soon after the enjoyable but slightly less polished "Like A Virgin" again hinted at world domiation to come - she looked absolutely the star in this one ! More to follow after I've had me tea ...
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Post by Frank Spencer on Feb 23, 2018 19:29:16 GMT
Hmmmm ... I seem to have missed a "Read & Wright" show from 21st march 1985, the one where Billy Bragg played and sang live in the studio as highlighted in "The Story Of ..." over Xmas. Well I have been very busy, mistakes do happen - I must have wiped it before watching it !!! Anyway, completing my triple bill this evening were an episode hosted by Simon Bates & Richard Skinner, kcked off by Don Henley performing "The Heat Is On" with a guitar and a sax-man, as opposed to being in a band like his fellow Eagle Glenn Frey earlier this year ! And apart from some nice soul music I personally enjoyed from the three other studio acts, it was all about Batesy being Batesy - how did he get away with it ?! ... The other episode I watched saw Janice Long & John Peel in top form exchanging constant cheeky banter of a mildly sexual nature on a live TOTP ! By now, even I was starting to lose interest in 1985's popsters although I did enjoy trying to name everyone who sang a line in "We Are The World" - I amde it Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder, James Ingram, Paul Simon, Kenny Rogers, Tina Turner, Billy Joel, Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, Dionne Warwick, Willie Nelson, Al Jarreau, Bruce Springsteen, Kenny Loggins, ??????????, Daryl Hall, Huey Lewis, Cyndi Lauper, Kim Carnes and Bob Dylan with Quincy Jones conducting - phew !! But does anyone know who "?????????" was straight after Mr Loggins ?? Fantastic to see all those US stars together in one place ! ... Oh and The RAH Band were on as well, a track that going by my tastes in music I should have liked but frankly found it rather embarrassing - and it hasn't aged well !! The group looked as embarrassing as the track sounded, but they did some very credible jazz-funk tunes in the years before, led by the "RAH" Richard (Anthony) Hewson who wisely hid behind his stack of keyboards in a quiet dark corner of the set, having created a "naff hit" that would help pay back the record label for all the good tunes he'd created that sold very few copies !!! Now for dessert ....
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Post by Arthur Pringle on Feb 23, 2018 20:35:33 GMT
That's Steve Perry from Journey, Frank. Who remembers the Spitting Image version?
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Cartman
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Post by Cartman on Feb 26, 2018 13:46:03 GMT
1985 was slim pickings for me. There was no more than a handful of songs from the year that I liked, a few which spring to mind are
Dream academy Life in a Northern town
Kirsty McCall New England
Don Henley Boys of summer
i didn’t dislike West end girls or We built this city by Starship either
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Post by Frank Spencer on Feb 28, 2018 19:57:21 GMT
I am fully up to date with TOTP85 now ... mainly due to being somewhat snowed in today and having nothing much better to do than faff around on the PC and watch TV !! The 25th April episode was really dull, although the intriguing pairing of Bronski Beat & Marc Almond doing "I Feel Love" was an eye catching start to the show. After that, it was snooze all the way until Mike Read did the briefest of brief interviews with Vikki our UK Eurovision entry who although I had totally forgotten about her came 4th that year with "Love Is" - dizzy heights by todays standards !! The inteview was particularly brief as the mention of Mike Smith was (skillfully it has to be said) edited out so we miss the 2nd May edition and move on to the far more entertaining Peel & Long hosted episode of May 9th. The ever evolving Paul Weller with the Style Council kicked things off, then we had the amusing sight of Freddie Mercury hinting at heterosexuality in a video (!) and the grond breaking "faces" video for 'Cry' , still a breath-taker even now. Either side of that were two soul boys that I appreciated, the late Curtis Hairston, who tragically died in 1996 just 34 years old of diabetes related issues, and Steve Arrington, thankfully alive and well and still performing at 61, who sang live, dressed in the same unusual outfit he wore for the sleeve of the album from which the single "Feel So Real" came - although the sandals proved too difficult to dance in and got quickly kicked off before the second chorus !! I don't normally take much notice of the "Breakers" as they come and go too quickly to absorb, but Divine ?! WTF ???!!! As bizarre an act as you were likely to see in the 80s and you could drive a bus through the space in between his/her fist and their "victim" in the fake punches thrown in that video ! The show ended with that rare item (for me) a Top 40 song I had totally forgotten by a band I had totally forgotten - "Free Yourself" by The Untouchables .. anybody ??
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Post by Arthur Pringle on Feb 28, 2018 22:06:46 GMT
Divine ( aka Glenn Milstead ) must've been an unusual sight on tv back then, I remember seeing him on The Tube. He died only 3 years later in 1988 aged 42.
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Post by Frank Spencer on Mar 22, 2018 0:59:52 GMT
Looks like everybody has been as busy as me recently - no time to spend idling on the sofa watching old TOTP episodes ! lol ... I am now four shows behind and hope to re-acquaint myself with said sofa for a couple of hours over the weekend and get up to date (1985 wise at least!) after a crazy month of a tripled workload, mad weather and some time booked away in Scotland for the G/F's birthday treat. I am looking forward to seeing all our favourite Pops Presenters with their cheery chat, zany humours and optimistic chart predictions as I really enjoyed the last couple of shows. First of all Kim Wilde was on red-hot form with "Rage To Love" kicking off the 16/5/85 episode followed by cool vids from Bryan Ferry & Duran Duran, plus a bit of soul boy nostalgia for me courtesy of Loose Ends in the studio. Musically then things tapered off a bit, though I did think the show worked better with five "complete" songs followed by the "Breakers" and then the Top 10 rundown. Someone at TOTP HQ had the wackiest of ideas to put Mike READ and Steve WRIGHT together for the 23/5/85 - oh, how I chuckled at that one ! - and I've also realized why I liked these two shows a bit more than usual, as they were thew two either side of my 23rd birthday, so no doubt good memories of partying hard with these tunes playing as a soundtrack were being stirred somewhere at the back of my mind ... There were no particular strong standout tracks for me on this one, but it was good for a bit of trivia here and there. Fish of Marillion doing their big hit "Kayleigh" (also the name of the girl who sorted out our car hire at Glasgow Airport last week !!) looked exceptionally tall on stage - and I can confirm that from when I saw / met him peforming five years later on my one and only TOTP visit in 1990 - my neck still hurts from trying to talk to him face to face !! I don't know why Gary Moore & Phil Lynott (both no longer with us of course) got edited out after the painfully "arty" Power Station video for "Get It On" ( a rather naff T Rex cover) but maybe it's the same reason we don't see Mike Smith on the show !? Finally, if you have the show recorded or can get it on i-player, have a careful look out for the girl who randomly walks up on to the back of the stage during Dep Mode's appearance - on closer inspection it seems as if she has been asked to do it to "hide" the otherwise conspicuous cameraman getting a shot of the inside of one of the group's nostrils ! Well that failed then ...
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