Words: Chris Arnsby
Jakki
Brambles: “Hello, good evening, and welcome along to Top of the Pops. This is
the nation’s top TV music show and we’re linking up live with Radio 1FM to
broadcast across the nation some audio bliss into your living room. It’s a bit
of a groover tonight groovers and we’re starting off at thirty two. This is
N-Joi and Adrenalin.”
This
is a blistering performance with heaps of handheld camera work. At one point, I
think there are two handheld camera operators on stage and Vision Mixer Ian
Trill is cutting effortlessly between them with perfect timing. Check out the
moment where one camera operator runs down the front of the audience and for
just a couple of seconds, as the music changes, Ian Trill cuts to another
handheld operator who dashes around the two keyboard players before another
perfectly timed cut takes us onto one of the camera cranes. It looks so
effortless and yet it’s the product of the hard work of so many people spread
around different parts of the studio.
*And,
having gone back and checked, I’d forgotten that Phase IV, (set in 1992)
includes a brief sequence of Acid Archie on the 04/07/1992** edition of Top
of the Pops. “Audio-Active straight
in at number 17 for Yahoo Crew Plus Two featuring MC Acid Archie!”
**
A Saturday. Grant Morrison, I know you wanted to use that date for story
purposes but shame on you.
[18]
STEVIE B: BECAUSE I LOVE YOU (THE POSTMAN SONG). Promo VT. Why is this
subtitled The Postman Song? Kevin Costner’s terrible terrible film doesn’t come
out until 1997, so it’s not part of the soundtrack. There is, as far as I can
tell, no contemporary TV series or advertising campaign based around a postman.
WHY IS THIS CALLED THE POSTMAN SONG?
[8]
FREE: ALL RIGHT NOW. Promo film.
CHARTS:
New entries
and climbers only, from 40-12.
[31]
MASSIVE: UNFINISHED SYMPATHY. Massive (the Attack has been dropped because it’s an
unfashionable word at this point in 1991) have filled the Main Stage with a
string section with singer Shara Nelson in the middle. When she is singing,
Paul Ciani keeps a single camera on her which tracks and zooms but the only
time he cuts between cameras is during the instrumental sections, when he gets
a handheld camera operator to take a leisurely stroll around the orchestra. It
should be dull but it isn’t. It’s a completely different production style to
the one used for N-Joi but equally compelling.
[5]
THE CLASH: SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I GO. Promo VT. Used on a Levi’s advert. The one in
the Pool Hall.
BREAKERS
[40]
QUARTZ/DINA CARROLL: IT’S TOO LATE
[39]
MANTRONIX: Don’t Go Messin’ With My Heart (A drop into lower case because otherwise the
caption couldn’t cope with the length of the title).
[35]
THE ALMIGHTY: Free ‘N’ Easy (No idea why this is lowercase, unless the operator has forgotten
the style guide)
[34]
JESUS JONES: WHO? WHERE? WHY? David Lock is bouncing a lot of light off the metal elements of
the Film Strip stage. It looks good, all pale greens, cold blues and purples,
but it shows off all the dents in the metal elements of the stage. Its really
been knocked around by the constant cycle of being put up and taken down.
[4]
THE SOURCE featuring CANDI STATON: You Got The Love. Promo VT and back into
lowercase for the title. Maybe the Caps Lock key is stuck? Try jiggling it.
[2]
MADONNA: CRAZY FOR YOU. That’s better. Promo VT. Released as a single to promote The
Immaculate Collection.
TOP
10
[1]
THE SIMPSONS: DO THE BARTMAN: Yes, that’s fixed it. Promo VT.
[23] ROCKY V/JOEY B. ELLIS. GO FOR IT! Promo VT. Nicky Campbell next
week.
Ratings: Another week of not being in the BBC1 Top 30, so Top of the
Pops rated less than the 9.34 million who watched Holiday ‘91.
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