Top of the Pops 30 Oct 1980

Shown on BBC4. Watched by Chris Arnsby

[A big wide shot of the Top of the Pops studio filled with a heaving throng waving balloons around and dancing to Ottawan's D.I.S.C.O. No, hang on a minute, the Top of the Pops copy of  D.I.S.C.O has been worn flat by constant repetition and instead the crowd are shuffling to the Stephanie Mills song Never Knew Love Like This Before].

Peter Powell: "Hello! Welcome to another edition of Top of the Pops! You're very welcome, as always, and to present the show with me... one Colin Berry!

Colin Berry: "Nice to be here Peter."

Peter Powell: "And you've been up early in the morning's haven't you?!"

Colin Berry: "Yes, I've been sitting in for Terry Wogan all week."

Peter Powell: "What else do you do?! Do you go around Europe with a jury?!"

Colin Berry: "Yes I do European pop jury once a month."

Peter Powell: "But this music in Europe is nothing like the music in Britain! Let's face it!"

Colin Berry: "Oh, you're so right."

Peter Powell: "Just look at our charts, for instance!"

Colin Berry: "Which I'll be doing later on."
Peter Powell: "Good! And meanwhile,we'll tell you exactly who's on the show, or just some of the acts you can see on tonight's edition of Top of the Pops!"

 Adam & The Ants: Dog Eat Dog [13]. BBC4 have skipped another week. D*** L** T**** presented two editions in October 1980 (Mike Read was unable to appear due to tennis commitments and being mistaken for the presenter of Runaround) and so we've jumped over the 23/10/80 show which accounts for a degree of repetition in some of the bands. Still, who cares when the first repeated band is Adam & The Ants. On the downside it does mean we missed 60 seconds of awkward chat between the H**** C***F**** and Matthew Waterhouse who was there to plug Doctor Who and show the cover of the theme music single to the wrong camera. Adam & The Ants first appearance was recorded to an empty studio during rehearsals. This time they've been allowed to appear before the Top of the Pops 

Odyssey:  If You’re Looking For A Way Out audience. Unfortunately some berk has forgotten to fade down the studio microphones so audience noise spills over into the soundtrack, and Adam & The Ants sound like they're appearing in the corner of a noisy room. [6]. Someone called Claire Hewiston is namechecked and dragged on screen to model the new Top of the Pops t-shirt; available in colours red, navy, and Simon Bates. Look out for the Radio Times advert in the next couple of weeks. Then it's on to Odyssey, who are dressed just as flamboyantly as Adam & The Ants. The difference between the two groups is that Odyssey are definitely wearing stage clothes whereas Adam & The Ants manage to give the impression that this is what they wear all the time.

Odyssey: They don't look thrilled with their costumes do they? No wonder they're looking for a way out

Bad Manners: Special Brew [5]. "You're the right size!" says Peter Powell to the audience member standing next to him. Careful Peter! In around 35 years time people like me will be reading whole universes of innuendo into that throwaway comment. Bad Manners' performance is repeated from the 16/10/80 edition.

David Bowie: Fashion [20]. Colin Berry reads some pop news! You could look out for a glimpse of the new Abba single, or you could watch the bloke in the background who seems less than impressed with Colin Berry. My lip reading skills are not top notch but he seems to say some variant of "what a prat," and follows this with a quick display of belming. After the charts Legs & Co dance to Fashion by David Bowie. It's a swing and a miss performance. Flick Colby and Laura Ergis eschew the obvious (stalking around on a catwalk in haute coture) in favour of some generic jiggling. The studio microphones are left turned up again. Maybe it's not a mistake? Did someone think this would help generate a party atmosphere? It sounds terrible.

Sheena Easton: One Man Woman [17]. Sheena Easton is in a photographic studio in the promo video for One Man Woman. Is the photographer the one man? We never find out.

Olivia Newton-John & Cliff Richard: Suddenly [25] Cliff Richard and Olivia Newton-John stand on a balcony in this promo video. The director of the video is very sensible and has realised that people would much rather look at  Olivia Newton-John than Cliff Richard. When Cliff turns to sing at Olivia  we get to see his ear, and Olivia full face. Just as it appears the video is going to be three minutes of Cliff Richard's lughole the couple walk off the balcony into their hideously decorated city apartment. Who puts a chaise lounge by the fireplace? Unexpectedly we fade back to the Top of the Pops studio for a shocking display of mixed dancing. Down in the bottom left hand-corner of the screen someone in a blue shirt is manhandling the audience and pushing them around. Is it the floor manager? No, it's Peter Powell clearing a bit of space for his next link.

Showaddywaddy:  Why Do Lovers Break Each Other’s Hearts [22]. A repeat of the wig performance from the 6/10/80 show.

Number One: Barbra Streisand,  Woman In Love. Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark is represented by a still photo in the top ten while every other band gets a proper clip. Woman In Love is a dull song and it has a dull promo film. Here's a clip of Barbra Streisand riding a horse across a grassy plain and canoodling with Kris Kristofferson. Here's a boring sequence of still photos with each still held just long enough to be really tedious. Here's some more film clips. Here's a still photo of  Barbra Streisand wearing a terrible hat. Zzz.

Closing Titles: Stephanie Mills,  Never Knew Love Like This Before [26]. Radio 1 is going to Birmingham burbles Peter Powell. According to BBC Genome this meant a whole week of the Radio 1 Roadshow in the Bull Ring Market, assorted DJ's appearing in the window of Top Shop, and a discussion at Pebble Mill between pupils from Small Heath School and Adrian Love. The subject? Marriage! Just imagine. The show closes with a joke involving Peter Powell pretending to toss a coin to get first choice of the two birds posing with him and Colin Berry. Stay classy Peter.

Performance of the week:  Adam & The Ants: Dog Eat Dog again. Not just because it's a great song, but they are the only band to have appeared live in the studio this week.