Top of the Pops 12 July 1990

 

Words: Chris Arnsby

 Anthea Turner: “Well hullo! And welcome to Top of the Pops on BBC1 and Radio 1! Tonight in the studio, amongst others, we've got the River City People, Thunder, and Blue Pearl but we're going to start off tonight's show with a group who've been supporting the Rolling Stones on their recent tour! The Gun! At thirty five!”

 [35] GUN: Shame On You. 1990 was the year I took my A-Levels. It was also the year I stopped watching Top of the Pops on a weekly basis (thus contributing to the ratings drop which would result in the notorious “year zero” revamp, sorry about that). I was still watching the Chart Show on ITV, I was still listening to Radio 1, so I hadn't completely lost touch with pop culture (that would come with the arrival of Steve Wright and his posse on the Radio 1 Breakfast Show*). The point of all this background** is to just explain how chunks of this edition feel like dipping into a parallel universe. Gun? Who are they?

 

I've now read the relevant Wikipedia page. Nice work Gun going from being formed in 1987 to supporting The Rolling Stones on their Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle tour in 1990.
POP NEWS FACT! Gun were due to support*** the Rolling Stones at their Wembley Stadium shows on 13/07 and 14/07/1990 but those dates had to be postponed after Keith Richards cut his finger.

*So, if you get frustrated by how disinterested in music these reviews are now, then wait until around 2029.

** Obviously it also helps to establish my key brand identifiers and build a parasocial relationship with the reader; remember the consumer must feel like an ally not a target!

*** Probably. I haven't actually looked this up or anything but it seems logical that Gun would be the UK support****.

**** The support for the German leg of the tour were called Die Toten Hosen – The Kill Trousers? And that's enough Footnotes.

(John, Talking of Footnotes, I can tell you that Gun's drummer Scott Shields has gone on to become a record producer and more recently creating film music soundtracks)

[27] RIVER CITY PEOPLE: California Dreamin'/Carry The Blame. Apparently I'm still trapped in a parallel universe. Which explains why the Statue of Liberty is copper coloured. River City People are well known here and people understand Anthea Turner's comment about knowing “how hard they've worked to get here!”
It's possible Anthea Turner is just referring to River City People's efforts to make the Film Strip stage look all flower powered with plastic vines running all over the place.

The link from Gun to River City People is directed almost identically to the one used on14/06/1990 show between Guru Josh and Maureen. The camera crane pulls back from the Main Stage to find the host on the Triangle Stage. Then the camera pans round the host and the picture cuts to another crane that moves across the studio towards the second act on the Film Strip stage. The cut from Anthea Turner to River City People stands out to me as much as the earlier one from Bruno Brookes to Maureen, and gives the impression that the second band are pre-recorded; but they are not.

CHARTS: 40 TO 31

[34] BLUE PEARL: Naked In The Rain. Thank goodness. A band and song I've heard of. I must have temporarily phased with my home reality (Alternative 257 for those keeping records).

[13] GLEN MEDEIROS featuring BOBBY BROWN: She Ain't Worth It. Promo VT.

[38] THUNDER: Gimme Some Lovin'. And I'm back in a parallel universe. Who are Thunder? Why is Anthea Tuner so delighted to have them in the studio? “We're feeling very honoured on Top of the Pops tonight! Because Thunder have flown in all the way from LA! Just to be with us!”

Wikipedia tells me Thunder are an “English hard rock band from London,” which doesn't explain why they've flown in from LA; unless they were chased out by people with taste.

While I can whine about Top of the Pops featuring a whole bunch of songs I don't remember that haven't stood the test of time (although Thunder appear to be still going, may god bless them and all who sail in them), it at least it shows Paul Ciani is expanding the remit of the show beyond the obvious chart hits and popular genres.
CHARTS: 30 to 11

[28] THE SOUP DRAGONS featuring JUNIOR REID: I'm Free. There's some dynamic handheld camera shots as Junior Reid does his bit. Junior Reid is very bouncy and prone to unexpectedly waving his arms around so the camera operator has to move fast, but carefully, to get close ups while also paradoxically keeping to a safe distance.

[4] THE STONE ROSES: One Love. Promo VT.

TOP 10

[1] ELTON JOHN: Sacrifice/Healing Hands. BBC VT. Another repeat of the 22/06/1990 performance. Another chance to see the studio audience demonstrate their lack of ability to wave their arms in time to a beat.

[26] TECHNOTRONIC featuring YA KID K: Rockin' Over The Beat. Mark Goodier next week. A quick word of praise for the last few shots of the programme. The floor manager has carefully arranged the studio audience into several groups; one around Anthea Turner; some on the Neon stage behind; and the rest on the stairs and studio bridges. It's a well composed and lit shot and makes the studio seem full of people having a great time.

 Performance of the week: The Soup Dragons, I'm Free.