Top of the Pops 3 May 1990

 

Words: Chris Arnsby

Simon Mayo: “Welcome to the programme. A local election edition of the programme. Music to elect your councillor to. We'll start with a song that was a hit in 1969 for a band called Vanity Fair. They disappeared down the plug hole of rock and roll but they left behind an important song. Hitchin a Ride, it's a hit for Sinitta.”

 [26] SINITTA: Hitchin' A Ride. The legs of Simon Mayo get the programme off to a poor start. He's wearing white shorts that make his calves look spindly. An image not helped by Priscilla Hoadley, Vision Mixer. She makes the unwise choice to cut to Simon Mayo via a Quantel zoom in. It gives the impression Simon Mayo's knees are lunging for you.

Speaking of poor starts, here's Sinitta. I was going to say this seemed like a rerun of her last performance, but it turned out I was thinking of Sonia and Counting Every Minute, from 19/04/1990.

In fact Sinitta has really rung the changes. Last time, 12/10/1989, she and her dancers all wore school uniforms (given the song was Love On A Mountain Top the effect was exactly as unintentionally queasy as you are imagining). This time the frantic backing dancers wear black jackets and white capri pants. It's a whole different look. Last time Sinitta had three dancers. This time, two. See. 33% different (John, please check my maths). (John- I don't know maths) It's all changed.

[8] SOUL II SOUL: A Dreams A Dream. Promo VT.

CHARTS: 40 TO 31. The charts still look rubbish.

[12] MORRISSEY: November Spawned A Monster. Geoff Beech is wrangling the photons this week and he makes the studio look amazing. When the camera pans from Simon Mayo to Morrissey all the lights and neon tubes are faded down until the space is entirely lit by blue floodlights, with occasional white spotlights picking out detail and highlighting the studio smoke. Geoff Beech has also placed a new piece of kit behind Morrissey, a horizontal lighting rig which shines columns of pale blue light vertically. When the camera hits the right angle it gives the illusion of insubstantial bars behind Morrissey. Geoff Beech also keeps the blue neon tubes lit on the far side of the studio which gives scale and suggests a vast, cold, space.

And Morrissey knows how to look good on camera. Here he's made the unusual decision to perform without a microphone. OK kids, we all know everyone is miming to a backing track but Top of the Pops likes to keep up the illusion that people are singing. It's common practice for everyone* to have a microphone nearby so they can pretend they are singing but here it's just Morrissey. He's not so much miming as acting.

*actually, I've just realised Sinitta also sings without a microphone (and so did Sonia) but their constant movement stopped me from noticing.

[5] ADVENTURES OF STEVIE V: Dirty Cash. Promo VT.

BREAKERS

[33] EN VOGUE: Hold On

[34] BILLY IDOL: Cradle of Love

[38] MICHAEL BOLTON: How Can We Be Lovers

[28] BBG featuring DINA TAYLOR: Sappiness ×Sweet Inspiration Edit×. Cutting back from Michael Bolton to Simon Mayo, we get a striking shot of him looking through a curved piece of scenery. “Now what you are experiencing is living art being created by camera one,” it's a deliberately self-deprecating remark but it does look good. I like the fact that Paul Ciani and the camera operators take the time to find and use interesting nooks of the studio. It shows they care about their work.

Another nice moment comes as the camera pans across the studio during the introduction, Priscilla Hoadley cross-fades with a close up of the piano to add movement to what could otherwise be quite a lengthy and dull tracking shot. Also, watch out for an unusual, non-Quantel, split-screen that mixes another close up of the piano with a head shot of Dina Taylor.

CHARTS: 30 to 11

[18] BRUCE DICKINSON: Tatooed Millionaire. Promo VT. Simon Mayo takes time to introduce the new Radio 1 logo. It's fine. If I have any feedback, the word One is rendered in an achingly fashionable handwritten font. It's not easy to read on the proper logo and on the studio version it looks like a neon doodle. If pressed I might guess it reads gNAK.

[4] ADAMSKI: Killer. Hold everything, the Record Needle stage has been redesigned. The giant record needle bit has gone, replaced with the crinkly bit of scenery that Simon Mayo was looking through earlier. This new element looks more like a coil of film, so henceforth this shall be known as the Film Strip stage.

Here's a good demonstration of the difference lighting can make. Last time, 19/04/1990, Chris Kempton flooded Adamski's performance with harsh purple, blue, and white light. Everyone on stage was wearing white and the lighting made them glow as if they'd just stepped out of Tron.

Adamski, Seal, and the dancer, have all come dressed as if they expect the same effect to be used this week but Geoff Beech lights them much more conventionally. It's fine but it's surprising how flat the performance feels. Adamski in particular is hard done by. He's wearing specially reflective clothing which under more standard Top of the Pops lighting makes him look like one of the kids from Back to the Future Part II.

TOP 10

[1] MADONNA: Vogue. Promo VT.

EMMA: Eurovision Song Contest Entry. Gary Davies next week and “on Saturday” it's the Eurovision Song Contest so Top of the Pops plays out with Emma's bland Give a Little Love Back to the World. It's not going to win but it does come sixth, between Spain's Bandido and Yugoslavia's Hajde da ludujemo. Next week Emma will graze the Top 40 and eventually rise to the dizzying heights of [33].

 Performance of the week: Morrissey, November Spawned A Monster.