Top of the Pops 4th July 1991

 Words: Chris Arnsby

Gary Davies: “Hello. Very good evening to you. Welcome to Top of the Pops. We are in stereo on Radio 1 97 to 99 FM and we have a terrific show for you tonight. In the studio we have Cola Boy and Kim Appleby, but we start off with this week’s highest climber. It’s called Always There, Incognito and Jocelyn Brown.”

 [9] INCOGNITO Featuring JOCELYN BROWN: ALWAYS THERE. I’ve just noticed another small tweak to the title sequence. The little sprite chased by the camera through the title sequence has gone. It was added on the 13/06/1991 and lasted all of one week. It was replaced by some less abstract but more dull numbers; 5,2,4,1. It’s probably Stanley Appel’s PIN.

Another small change this week, Gary Davies introduces the show from the Stonehenge Stage, not up on on one of the studio bridges. He’s still isolated from the audience but at a lower altitude.

Finally, check out Terry Brett’s lighting behind Gary Davies. He’s set the white spotlights at angles which creates a jagged effect in the background. It looks like a crack in space.

[26] NATALIE COLE & NAT ‘KING’ COLE: UNFORGETTABLE. Promo VT and charts from [40] to [2]. Green screen places Gary Davies over a wide shot of the Top of the Pops studio as usual for links into videos. Previously the wide shot has come from somewhere above the Main Stage. This time its looking down from the bridge joining the Neon and Stonehenge stages. The green screen is visible off in the distance, in it’s usual location between the Film Strip and Main stages. It stands out against the dark studio because it’s lit up for Gary Davies to use. So, you can see the green screen used to place the picture behind Gary Davies in the picture behind Gary Davies.

Oh, and brace yourself, Bryan Adams is up to [2]. This is the last time for, ooh, ages you won’t hear that song and Top of the Pops is going to look very different by the time there is a new Number 1. (John - Cola Boy were really two members of St Etienne)

[17] COLA BOY: 7 WAYS TO LOVE. Cola Boy has brought along a trio of vaguely sixties-styled dancers. Two dressed in very mod black and white short dresses and the other in a tight gold sequenced dress. Gold dress is also modelling a pile of hair that looks like a collapsed beehive hairdo.

Next to the three dancers is a vertical xylophone on a stand. Any time a prop is added to the stage I become obsessed by it. Will it get used? Yes! Gold dress wanders over and stands next to it and hits it in a way that looks complete wrong for the scales and notes we hear. If I didn’t know better I’d suspect she was just hitting it at random.

At the end of the song, Gary Davies drops a 1991 POP FACT: Andrew from Cola Boy still works at the tax office in Peterborough. Is this still true in 2026? Andrew from Cola Boy, please update This Way Up readers.

[22] ANTHRAX Featuring CHUCK D: BRING THE NOISE. Promo VT.

[35] KIM APPLEBY: MAMA. A nice enough song but I’m much more impressed by the composition of the shot of Gary Davis as he links into Kim Appleby’s song. He’s in the foreground leaning on one of the balcony rails like a cool person. Behind him on the Film Strip stage, Kim Appleby waits for her cue. She is framed by the silhouettes of studio lights hanging from the ceiling. The different elements of the picture come together in a way that is visually satisfying.

When Kim Appleby’s song ends we are just about halfway into the programme but it’s basically all over from my perspective. Everything after this is videos. Did a band drop out at the last minute?

[30] HEAVY D & THE BOYZ: NOW THAT WE FOUND LOVE. Promo VT.

BREAKERS

[36] QUEENSRYCHE: BEST I CAN.

[33] C&C MUSIC FACTORY/WILLIAMS: THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO HMMM…

[31] BILLY BRAGG: SEXUALITY.

[37] JESUS LOVES YOU: GENERATIONS OF LOVE. Promo VT.

[27] VANILLA ICE: ROLLIN’ IN MY 5.0. Promo VT.

[1] JASON DONOVAN: ANY DREAM WILL DO. Promo VT.

[32] WHITNEY HOUSTON: MY NAME IS NOT SUSAN: Promo VT. Bruno Brookes next week.

 Countdown to Year Zero revamp: 13

Ratings: Aargh. Forgot to update them before writing this review. Next week. Promise!

Performance of the week: Weird isn’t it. Last week I couldn’t choose between three of the songs features. This week, none of the three songs did anything much for me. I’m tempted to say none of them but… Cola Boy, 7 Ways To Love for the xylophone.