Del Boy
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Post by Del Boy on Jan 7, 2016 22:52:18 GMT
Oh yes of course Stars on 45 At the time a very successful project. It sold very well. I remember my parents loving this and having the records. The guy who sings John Lennon's parts has a voice that really sounds close to the former Beatle. I don't know about others but I find the relentless unchanging beat on the medley tends to grate after a couple of minutes But overall I like what they done
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Del Boy
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Post by Del Boy on Jan 9, 2016 22:39:49 GMT
Well I was very pleased with the Story of 1981 Documentary, it was very enjoyable . It was a packed hour with so much change from the year to get through.
Strange how the dominating story in early January namely the John Lennon tribute re-issues wasn't covered. I noticed the mistake about Legs&Co re-the length of time they served on the program. Things like this should be picked in when edited, surely ? I found it disappointing that a relatively short space of time and only one member "Sue" was representing the girls. Legs&Co's contribution to the show and the fact they were departing was so much more deserving of coverage seeing as it really was an end of a era.
Amazing to see the amount of change both on the show and musically throughout 1981 and I suppose this year could have easily filled a hour and a half program.
All in all though a great watch.
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Post by Windy Miller on Jan 10, 2016 12:06:35 GMT
The Story Of 1981
Most parts of The Story Of 1981 were interesting. The fact that Top Of The Pops changed in many ways was covered, and I enjoyed the bit about how they made the Yellow Pearl title opening sequence by throwing records at a camera and then playing the film backwards. I was also reminded of the cold snowy winter of 1981 which brought back memories of being off school and going sledging with my mates. Predictably we got the Royal Wedding story against the backdrop of urban rioting in places like Liverpool.
What wasn’t so good were all the inaccuracies and rewrites of history. The Legs & Co segment was introduced by the Narrator saying “The dance troupe had been a staple on the show for the last seven years”. Really? Legs & Co first appeared in 1976, so that means they were on Top Of The Pops for five years.
Carrie Fisher then appears to slag Legs & Co off, referring to them as “soft porn”!!! Eh ? What a ridiculous and one track mind she must have, and totally unnecessary. She then went on to make a big deal of Hot Gossip being the new thing, and “in control”. Well, Hot Gossip were on The Kenny Everett show which went out after the watershed. They could do whatever they wanted / wear whatever they wanted. At that time TOTPs was aired before the watershed – different shows… different dance troupes.
And then there was the stuff about Zoo being the first dance group on TOTPs to have male dancers, and, OMG, they were black male dancers. Well, they weren’t. Ruby Flipper were the first back in 1976, and Ruby Flipper were on TOTPs before Legs & Co.
Also, there was sadly no mention of thanks or appreciation to Flick Colby who had worked as choreographer on the show for the last 8 years. She worked with Pans People, Ruby Flipper and Legs & Co, and I think she deserved some praise for this achievement.
There’s no point in nik picking through the entire programme however and highlighting every inaccuracy and inane comment. Some bits of the show worked, and bands like The Specials and Kim Wilde had good opportunities to speak about their part in 1981. So in that respect, the show delivered on that level ... Not so sure about some of the other bits …
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Post by Steve Austin on Jan 10, 2016 14:09:56 GMT
I wasn't aware that Midge Ure was so involved with other projects such as Visage and Yellow Pearl with Phil Lynott. I prefer that to Vienna which I couldn't stand and thought it a bit too artsy fartsy even back then and was pleased that Joe Dolce kept them off top spot.
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Post by Windy Miller on Jan 10, 2016 21:00:47 GMT
I wasn't aware that Midge Ure was so involved with other projects such as Visage and Yellow Pearl with Phil Lynott. I prefer that to Vienna which I couldn't stand and thought it a bit too artsy fartsy even back then and was pleased that Joe Dolce kept them off top spot. Midge Ure has an incredible cv :- 1976 - A member of the No 1 hit makers Slik 1977 - A member of The Rich Kids 1979 - A member of Thin Lozzy 1980 - A member of Ultravox 1981 - Songwriter for Visage 1981 - involved in the new TOTP theme tune 1984 - Co writer for Do They Know It's Christmas. "Woman" also kept Vienna off the No.1 spot - something Midge doesn't talk about as much as the Joe Dolce Music Theatre record.
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Post by Windy Miller on Jan 12, 2016 19:55:02 GMT
This Thursday, 14 January, it all kicks off again at 7.30pm with the repeat showing of Top Of The Pops from 8 January 1981, hosted by Richard Skinner. Pop news items and awkward guest interviews have been dropped, which means we get a healthy 12 acts appearing on the bill :- (29) Racey – Runaround Sue (4) Adam & The Ants – “Antmusic” (30) The Look – I Am The Beat (21) Barry Manilow – Lonely Together (20) The Beat – Too Nice To Talk To (59) Sad Café – I’m In Love Again (18) Matchbox – Over The Rainbow/You Belong To Me (11) Chas & Dave – Rabbit (15) The Specials – Do Nothing (24) The Nolans – Who’s Gonna Rock You? (33) Bad Manners – Lorraine (1) John Lennon – Imagine (10) Queen – Flash The Look have to be a strong contender for biggest One Hit Wonder from 1981.
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Post by Windy Miller on Jan 14, 2016 20:34:49 GMT
It's just like buses - you wait for ages and then two turn up one after the other. Top Of The Pops bus number 220181 follows directly behind bus 080181, with the next edition of TOTPs broadcast this Friday, 15 January. And to continue the bus analogy, bus number 150181 was withdrawn from service because of problems with the driver (DLT) The 22 January 1981 edition of TOTPs is presented by Peter Powell and featured on the show are :- (6) The Look – “I Am The Beat” (14) Blondie – “Rapture” (45) Spandau Ballet – “The Freeze” (13) Racey – “Runaround Sue” (54) XTC – “Sgt Rock (Is Going To Help Me)” (23) Visage – “Fade To Grey” (8) Yarbrough & Peoples – “Don’t Stop The Music" (2) Adam & The Ants – “Antmusic” (64) Honey Bane – “Turn Me On, Turn Me Off” (22) Bad Manners – “Lorraine” (1) John Lennon – “Imagine” (30) The Gap Band – “Burn Rubber On Me” On paper, this looks like a good show, despite the number of repeat acts appearing. Blondie's "Rapture" which explored the new Hip-Hop genre, Spandau Ballet's New Romantic anthem "The Freeze", Visage's synth pop and New Romantic anthem "Fade To Grey" with accompanying promotional video, and XTC's "Sgt Rock (Is Going To Help Me)" are all stand out acts. John Lennon continues his run at No. 1 with "Imagine". In fact, this is the mid point of his six week run, and the video for this is the white piano in the white room which also features Yoko by John's side.
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Del Boy
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Post by Del Boy on Jan 14, 2016 21:07:55 GMT
Yes i remember watching the Imagine video when it hit number 1 at the time. Strange how this early part of the chart with all the Lennon re-entries was omitted from the Story of 81. There was so much going on in 81 that they must of had to edit things down to fit the hour slot.
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Post by Arthur Pringle on Jan 15, 2016 20:09:17 GMT
One hit wonders The Look's frontman is a deadringer for a certain cretin it was my misfortune to once know, wonder if you can guess who? Anyway, I don't think I've heard this song since the 80's & what struck me was how similar it sounds to Elton John's 'I'm Still Standing'. Bad Manners 'Lorraine' was my favourite, superb ska number with a great bassline. No Racey, Adam And The Ants or XTC on this showing, 'Sgt Rock' was the first 7" I owned, I think my brother bought it for me as I liked it.
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Post by Gene Hunt on Jan 15, 2016 20:34:17 GMT
One hit wonders The Look's frontman is a deadringer for a certain cretin it was my misfortune to once know, wonder if you can guess who? Who's that then Arth ?
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