Reviewed by Chris
Arnsby. [John Peel and David Jensen are both wearing Mexican mariachi hats]
John Peel: "Hello. We're on a five pounds a man bonus for wearing these
hats. Welcome to another Top of the Pops. We're the Burke and Hare of British
broadcasting. I'm John, he's the likeable Canadian." David Jensen:
"And this week we're going to kick off, amigos, with Incantation and
Cacharpaya."
It's a new year on Top of the Pops. Michael Hurll (now
credited with Production, rather than as Producer for some reason) has
resurrected the dual presenter format. Wisely he's gone for two Radio 1 DJs
instead of the terrible DJ plus guest format used in 1980 that gave us such
combinations as Peter Powell and BA Robertson, or Tommy Vance and Roger
Daltrey. Also different, weirdly, are the Top of the Pops titles. The
23/12/1982 edition introduced a modified version where the Top of the Pops logo
was superimposed over the flying records rather than being on its own slide
with a black background. This week we're back to the original film which
strobes as it rapidly cuts between the logo and the records. Three editions of
Top of the Pops have just been skipped by BBC4 and a quick check of Youtube
shows all these (25/12/1982, 30/12/1982, and 6/1/1983) used the old titles. Was
the new version done as a one-off technical demo, or did Michael Hurll hate it,
or was it just lost in the Christmas hangover? Lets see what version gets used
next week.
[14] Incantation:Cacharpaya (Andes Pumpsa Desi). Incantation's
appearance on the 24/12/1982 show was one of the highlights. It's not a great
song but that performance benefited massively from the scale and energy of the
live broadcast. Seen here without the sweeping camera shots of the audience,
and the studio and all the dancers it falls a bit flat.
[7] Men At Work: Down Under. John Peel has ditched
the hat, and also David Jensen, to introduce Men at Work who appear via the
medium of film. There's an audible bang towards the end of the promo which
isn't on the official version (for anyone who really cares- turn up the sound
for the line "can't you hear, can't you hear the thunder" on the shot
of the group walking across the sand with the pallbearers and coffin). It
sounds like someone has burst a balloon in the studio. The studio microphones
must have been turned on so that the audience can cheer as the song ends. (Obscure John- This song was the first time
I’d ever heard of a vegemite sandwich though for ages I thought he was singing
a “bet you might sandwich” which of course makes no sense!)
[53] Sharon Redd: In The Name Of Love. Now it's David
Jensen's turn to do an introduction. Sharon Redd has got some sort of prop
feathered shawl which she caresses and drapes across herself before dropping it
onto the floor. The second time she goes looking for the shawl it's lost under
a covering of dry ice. Luckily Sharon Redd is employing a very eccentric
staccato style of dancing so when she crouches down and sweeps her hands through
the fog it looks like part of the routine. Still no sign of the shawl, where
can it be? She stands up, scuttles across the stage, and crouches again; no
luck. After a short step to one side she spots the shawl, crouches down, and
grabs it. Then it's discarded and lost in the fog again after only a brief
moment of clutching it, and stroking it, and draping it over her shoulders. Was
it really worth all the effort?
[4] Keith Harris & Orville: Orville’s Song. Watch
David Jensen's face after John Peel introduces Keith Harris & Orville. He
assembles his expression into something resembling an actual human smile but
the eyes are so sad and full of pain. This is a repeat from the 23/12/1982
edition of Top of the Pops and it's just as lousy second time around.
[51] The Belle Stars: Sign Of The Times. Obvious
things I've only just realised #1. The group that sang The Clapping Song also
did Sign Of The Times. Sign Of The Times would do well at the start of the
programme but I wonder if it's placing here was to try and pick up the show
after Keith Harris' musical prolapse. The song is more than good enough to do
that but surely all eyes are on the Eidophor screen behind the group. This is
normally used to display footage from one of the cameras -see Incantation's
performance earlier- but for a change it's used to cycle through the captions
which will appear on screen when The Belle Stars finish.
LP Top 10: A new feature! It's the LP top 10. Pretty
much what you'd expect. Number 1 is Raiders Of The Pop Charts Part 1 by Various
Artists. I was given a copy of this on tape for Christmas. You got part 2 free
with part 1. There was no part 3.
[17] John Williams: Theme From E.T. This Way Up's
Social Media Team keep reminding me that childhood reminiscences are an ideal
way to focus customer engagement and strengthen brand loyalty with today's
nostalgia hungry audience. I remember standing outside the ABC cinema in
Chatham with my mum and younger brother around Christmas 1982. He wanted to see
Tron, and I wanted to watch E.T. My mum compromised and took us
both to see Mother Goose at the Chatham Central Theatre. I subsequently
saw E.T. on a pirate VHS (that should stop the MD of Strategic Marketing
emailing me for a couple of hours). The promo for Theme From E.T. is a blurry
collection of film clips. It's a bit dull but it shows how big E.T. was at the
time. John Williams didn't get his themes for Superman, or Star Wars
into the charts.
[22] Eddy Grant : Electric Avenue. Eddy's in the
space time continuum in Barbados, so he appears on video.
[15] The Maisonettes: Heartache Avenue. The good
looking, mini skirted, polo neck sweater wearing, backing singers seem to get
more camera time than the lead singer. What's that all about? Fortunately this
focus allows us to see the backing singer on the right coolly bat away the
balloon launched at her by some dire fiend in the audience.
[1] Phil Collins: You Can't Hurry Love. On video with
multiple Phil Collinses.
[21] Donna Summer: I Feel Love. The audience dance
out the show to some proto-house music from Donna Summer. John Peel and David
Jensen famously had a good working relationship and that's visible on screen.
Watch how John Peel says something to David Jensen which makes him double up
with laugher during the big camera pull back at the end of the show.
Michael Hurll for a day. An intermittent feature in
which I play around with the running order of Top of the Pops.
 |
| Michael Hurll- Not sure if he likes this idea or not.. |
Michael Hurll
[14] Incantation: Cacharpaya
(Andes Pumpsa Desi)
[7] Men At Work: Down Under
[video]
[53] Sharon Redd: In The Name Of
Love
[4] Keith Harris & Orville:
Orville’s Song [repeat]
[51] The Belle Stars: Sign Of The
Times
[17] John Williams: Theme From
E.T. [film clips]
[22] Eddy Grant: Electric Avenue
[video]
[15]The Maisonettes: Heartache
Avenue
[1] Phil Collins: You Can’t Hurry
Love [video]
[21] Donna Summer: I Feel Love
[audience dancing]
Me
[51] The Belle Stars: Sign Of The
Times
[7] Men At Work: Down Under
[video]
[15]The Maisonettes: Heartache
Avenue
[4] Keith Harris & Orville:
Orville’s Song [repeat]
[53] Sharon Redd: In The Name Of
Love
[17] John Williams: Theme From
E.T. [film clips]
[14] Incantation: Cacharpaya
(Andes Pumpsa Desi)
[22] Eddy Grant: Electric Avenue
[video]
[1] Phil Collins: You Can’t Hurry
Love [video]
[21] Donna Summer: I Feel Love
[audience dancing]
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