Top of the Pops 23rd & 30th November 1989

 

Words by Chris Arnsby

23/11/1989

Jakki Brambles: “Hello and welcome along to the UK's top music show. Amongst others tonight we've got three great British bands and Jenny Powell.”
Jenny Powell: “Yeah pleased to meet you Jakki...
Jakki Brambles: [overlapping] “You too my love...
Jenny Powell: “… put it there. [They shake hands]. First things first. Three lovely lads. They're called Big Fun. Song's called Can't Shake The Feeling. And they're at number twenty seven this week.”

 [27] BIG FUN: can't shake the feeling. What are Big Fun wearing on their feet? Awful clumpy khaki boots which look a couple of sizes too big. Doctor Frankenstein would reject these for his monster. Unfortunately the lads have been coached in a dance routine which often involves them wiggling on the spot. The result, it look like the shoes have been nailed to the stage and the trio have stepped into them for the performance.

[29] BOBBY BROWN: roni. Promo VT.

CHARTS FROM 40 TO 31

[21] FINE YOUNG CANNIBALS: i'm not the man i used to be. Everyone is wearing sensible shoes, for starters.

The Fine Young Cannibals have jazzed up their performance by bringing three dancers on stage with them. Unfortunately Stanley Appel doesn't like the idea. He shoots round them in a way that could almost be described as spiteful. You'll catch an occasional glimpse of the dancers in wide shots, or you might see someone's bum wiggling behind a close up of a keyboard.

It gets the point where it seems unfair. The dancers are really going for it. They do that Terence Trent D'Arby drop-into-a-hurdle-split-and-spring-back-up move in the background of a shot that mainly features the drummer's elbow and the back of the trumpet player.

[24] BEN LIEBRAND REMIX: eve of the war. Promo VT. This video is footage from the 1978 promo for Jeff Wayne's The War Of The Worlds. Even the bits that look like rubbish rave-era attempts to jazz up old film footage turn out to be rubbish disco-era bits of the original.

The original was, I think, shown on Swap Shop and haunted my imagination for years. It leads a ghost-like existence flitting on and off Youtube, but it is currently there and can be watched at https://youtu.be/WCYiND0ER2k

[13] THE STONE ROSES: fools gold. And suddenly I feel unqualified. The Stone Roses are proper music for grown ups and I don't know what to say. I like Ian Brown's top. A scarlet Nehru Jacket. Slightly overlong and cut to just below the belt. It has a slightly military look and looks vaguely sixties.

CHARTS FROM 30 TO 11

[30] THE HAPPY MONDAYS: hallelujah. Featuring Kirsty MacColl on hallelujahs. More music for grown ups. My real star of the performance is Bez, obviously. Frankie Goes to Hollywood's Paul Rutherford, for the next generation. He looks almost resentful when the music finishes and he has to stop dancing.

[25] LINDA RONSTADT featuring AARON NEVILLE: don't know much. “Live on Top of the Pops,” says Jakki Brambles. Live in the sense that this is a live vocal played back from BBC VT from 09/11/1989.

TOP 10

[1] NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK: you got it (the right stuff). Promo VT.

[31] PRINCE with SHEENA EASTON: the arms of orion. Promo VT. Gary Davies next week.

 Performance of the week: The Happy Mondays, Hallelujah.

 30/11/1989

 Gary Davies: “Hello. Very good evening to you. Welcome to an action packed Top of the Pops. So much going on, tell you more about that later on. Gonna start off tonight with a song that's been number one in every country in Europe bar one. That's this one. Mind you, after tonight, who knows? It's all about a dance called Lambada. Will you welcome Kaoma.”

 [7] KAOMA: lambada. Obviously I'm going to stress test Gary Davies' claim this song has been number one in every country in Europe.

Finland? Yes. Netherlands? Yes. Italy? Yes.

Gary Davies claim checks out so far.

Denmark? Number two. Oh and [4] in Ireland. But apart from these exceptions, Gary Davies is 100% correct. (Also, if you define Europe by the Risk board in which Iceland counts as part of Europe then it only go to [2] there are as well).

The main stage is packed with the assorted members of Koama and dancers. The women are wearing short skirts and there are buttock and thong shots galore as they spin round. I'm sure this tape was kept for frequent technical review by the BBC VT department. More importantly. What's going on with the main stage? It's hard to tell with the dancing throng filling the picture but it looks like a couple of panels have been removed to leave a gap. Is this a new thing?

[12] INNER CITY: whatcha gonna do with my lovin'. Promo VT.

CHARTS FROM 40 TO 31

[10] 808 STATE: pacific – 707. A return visit for 808 State. Pretty much indistinguishable from their appearance on the 14/11/1989 show, except Graham Massey has left his baseball cap in the dressing room.

[23] GLORIA ESTEFAN: get on your feel. Promo VT.

[14] JIMMY SOMERVILLE feat. JUNE MILES KINGSTON: comment te dire adieu. Two more people making a return visit from the 16/11/1989 edition. Once again, Jimmy and Miles' caption is almost too long for the screen.

Jimmy Somerville is wearing an ACT UP sweatshirt, promoting the group AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power. This appearance comes the week after he was found guilty of causing an obstruction while taking part in a demonstration outside the Australian High Commission in London; against the Australian government's proposed compulsory HIV tests for immigrants. He was conditionally discharged and ordered to pay £20 costs.

CHARTS FROM 30 TO 11

[32] ROB 'N' RAZ featuring LEILA K: got to get. Winning the award for most remarkably dressed group. Rob 'n' Raz are two clots wearing, a gold lame parka jacket, and a Prussian blue bomber jacker and trilby with hooped stripes. Leila K looks almost sensibly dressed in comparison (and she's wearing a short green skirt, enormous belt (with an enormous buckle) and a shiny tight PVC top cropped at the midriff). All three are clearly having a tremendous time. (John- I've always felt that "Got to get and get again and again, And I'll get you got, so you remain the same" is a mantra for our times)

BREAKERS:

[30] KATE BUSH: this women's work

[26] TEARS FOR FEARS: woman in chains

You know what's not a Breaker this week? It Takes Two by Liz Kershaw, Bruno Brookes, Jive Bunny [*spits*] and Londonbeat in at [53]. All proceeds to Children in Need. Haven't they suffered enough? Listen to it here, if you dare, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-Uuw8hawe8

[33] TINA TURNER: i don't wanna lose you. Back to the main stage. Now the Lambada-ing hordes have moved on it's possible to get a better look at the changes. It looks as if the two wings of the main stage have been set up further back than usual and this leaves a visible gap between the end of the wings and the central column, which hides the steps leading up to the Crow's Nest.

The main stage hasn't been featured for a couple of weeks; except for repeat performances it hasn't been seen since 09/11/1989. Is it simply that the scenery shifters have forgotten how to set it up or is this a permanent change? Let's see what happens next week.

It would make sense if this was a permanent change. The gaps allow for easier access for camera operators to dash around the studio and they make good spaces to get shots from the back of the stage. During Kaoma's performance there's at least one shot which is taken from one of the new angles.

TOP 10

[1] NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK: you got it (the right stuff). Promo VT.

[6] UB40: homely girl. Promo VT. Mark Goodier next week.

 Performance of the week: Rob 'n' Raz featuring Leila K, Got To Get.