Reviewed by Chris
Arnsby. Simon Bates: "It's 7.30. Right welcome to Television Centre's
studio two. It's Top of the Pops. Slightly different because we've had a few
problems, but just as big as ever. Right?" Richard Skinner: "Packed
with stars, it's entirely live, and our first act, Paul Young and the Love of
the Common People."
[5] Paul Young: Love Of The Common People. The live editions of Top of the Pops are coming thick
and fast as 1983 ends. Three of the four November 1983 shows were broadcast
live; the exception was the 17/11/1983 edition (Gary Davies and J**** S*****,
so not shown on BBC4). Human metronome Simon Bates is on hand to tell the time
although 7.30 sounds like a rough estimate compared to his previous
pronouncements of 7.27 (19/05/1983) and 7.25 (07/04/1983). Yet another example
of falling BBC standards. What are these "few problems" he mentions?
Have The Dooley's got into the cable ducts? The BBC scene-shifters were getting
truculent in late 1983 but their strike hit in early 1984. Maybe Simon Bates'
watch has stopped? In pop news, Paul Young is back with his backing singers The
Fabulous Wealthy Tarts (no, honestly). Their syncopated movements overshadowed
Paul Young when he performed Come Back & Stay (08/09/1983). This time Paul
Young joins in with a rotating hand-wringing movement during the chorus.
[16] Tina Turner: Let's Stay Together. Simon Bates is
branching out from telling the time and getting into birthday reminders.
"It's Tina Turner's birthday on Saturday," but "she's in Dubai."
Oh no! That means she'll miss The Five Doctors tomorrow (1983 time).
Still, here's here latest video. Happy birthday Tina for 35 years ago.
[30] The Smiths: This Charming Man. The Gladioli
brandishing performance.
[14] Thompson Twins: Hold Me
Now. Okay. I'll do The Smiths properly.
[30] The Smiths: This Charming
Man. In 1983 I was too young for The
Smiths. When I think back to the bands that stick in my memory it's an eclectic
collection; Queen, The Human League, Madness, Adam & The Ants, Blondie, and
David Bowie (whose career began with Let's Dance). I also remember a disturbing
number of novelty songs like The Oldest Swinger In Town, Arthur Daley E's
Alright, and The Smurfs. BBC4 hasn't got to the Chicken Song yet but I've got a
nasty suspicion I could recite that song from memory. After that I got into
computers and endless arguments about whether the ZX Spectrum was better than
the Commodore 64 (it was), trying to POKE Jet Set Willy, and searching
for all the alchiems in Nodes of Yesod. I read Crash, not Smash
Hits. John Peel was just one of rotating series of Top of the Pops
presenters and Radio One ended with Newsbeat at 5.30. Only one of
my friends was really into music and he made a doomed attempt to get me to like
Frank Zappa, which did at least leave me with an appreciation for the cover of Weasels
Ripped My Flesh. NB, that's the cover, not the contents. I've always felt
that actually listening to the album would spoil things. The Smiths just passed
me by. Watching them now is with 35 years of hindsight; the royalty dispute;
Morrissey's increasingly desperate attempts to stay in the news by saying
controversial things; and so on, and so on. The trouble is, I'm aware The
Smiths mean a lot to people who aren't me and I don't know what to write except
for a whinging self-justification about why I have nothing to write. I thought
This Charming Man was good. It's rotten of Morrissey to chuck those Gladioli on
the floor for someone else to pick up.
This might be one of those
occasions when John ends up writing a proper comment in brackets. Over to you
John? (John- Errrrrrr......no.)
[14] Thompson Twins: Hold Me
Now. Morrissey's performance of This
Charming Man is a good example of how to be disruptive and stand out without
sending up the programme or being contemptuous of the viewers. Madness used to
manage this effortlessly, fuelled by the contents of the BBC bar. Kate Bush
looked and sounded like nothing anyone had seen before. Boy George provoked
identity confusion. New Order turned in a diabolical version of Blue Monday
(because they're proper musicians who play live and don't mime like those
phonies) but it didn't seem to do any real harm. The exception to this rule is
of course The Stranglers whose every appearance boiled with contempt for Top
of the Pops, the studio audience, the viewers at home, and in short
anyone who wasn't in The Stranglers. They got round this by being frightening
and hard. Anyway, Morrissey's Gladioli waving performance is a textbook way to
get the "did you see," "what was that all about"
conversation going the next day and I mention it only because it manages to
make The Thompson Twins seem very staid.
[9] Marilyn: Calling Your Name. Simon Bates is getting frisky. He chuckles like Doctor
Hibbert and says "it's turning into a loony night," at some zany off
screen antics the viewer isn't allowed to see; someone had probably put on a
hat or something. "It's only 15 minutes to eight," he adds.
Continuing his woeful series of vague time checks. Marilyn's on the same stage
used by The Smiths and it's a good demonstration of how the BBC could quickly
make a few lighting tweaks and change the appearance of a set. Bert
Postlethwaite (Lighting) coloured The Smiths an appropriate murky purple. He
dials back the purple for Marilyn, brings in a bit of white to highlight the
set, and lights the disco ball more prominently. The set has also been cleared
of Gladioli. This is good because it reduces the potential for slip hazards and
also allows the viewer to see Top of the Pops' new floor effect. It's a
series of lights under glass that can be set to different patterns. For The
Smiths it was a display of boring squares. For Marilyn it's more dynamic. A
flashing pattern that looks like the kind of LED graphic equalizer you find on
a cheap hifi.
[25] Simple Minds: Waterfront. Drummer Mel Gaynor starts the song seated, but towards
the end he stands up and pounds those drums as if it's the only thing stopping
them from leaping up and attacking him.
[11] The Style Council: A Solid
Bond In Your Heart. The promo film, shot
on location at the glamorous Woking Football Club.
[1] Billy Joel: Uptown Girl. Week four of five at number one.
[15] Eurythmics: Right By Your
Side. And that's it. Crowd dancing shots
and credits.
No comments:
Post a Comment