Reviewed by Chris Arnsby. Mike Smith: “A busy night tonight. We've got to cram it all. We've got Kim Wilde in the studio, Spandau Ballet are here, and on platform three waiting for a train [makes train noises] … Spandau and Kim Wilde coming later. Here's Madness.”
[20] Madness: Waiting For The Ghost Train. I'm not sure what happened to Mike Smith's introduction. It sounds
like a rare fluff from one of the more polished hosts. The second half of the
sentence is in voice over only and feels redundant. Did someone remind him he
hadn't said the name of the group? Or, was Smith about to accidentally
introduce Madness as Spandau Ballet before he made a last second correction?
The single sleeve names the song as (waiting for) the ghost
train, but in these parts we go by the Top of the Pops caption so
the title loses its brackets and gains some capitals. This is Madness' final
single, released shortly after the band announced they were splitting, and
guitarists Mark Bedford and Chris Foreman have written THE END on the backs of
their guitars. More writing is plastered over Madness' suits. Guardian headlines
about SWAPO and more eye-catchingly the repeated phrase Soweto Bloodbath
because this is a song about apartheid.
“Can that really be the end?” asks Mike Smith when it's all over.
Well, yes, until 1992 at least. It's been a long run since their first appearance
on the 06/09/1979 edition with The Prince when Suggs sang, “an earthquake is
erupting.” And it did. It really did.
[18] Shakin' Stevens: Because I Love You. On video.
[2] Kim Wilde. You Keep Me Hanging On. “Hoping to be number one next week,” says Mike Smith. I'm sure it
would be nice but Berlin aren't going anywhere. Speaking of European capitals,
Kim's flown in from Paris but I'm not sure it was worth the effort. I find
myself unmoved by this song, and I couldn't really explain why.
Top 40 Charts.
[8] Spandau Ballet. Have the
Spands become a duo? You could believe so for the first half of this
performance which focuses on Tony Hadley and Gary Kemp. Low lighting and close
shots keep the other three concealed until Steve Norman suddenly starts tootling
on his clarinet. He's in profile, with an overlaid close up of Gary Kemp's
guitar vignetted in the opposite corner of the picture. It' the sort of thing Top
of the Pops used to do a lot in the seventies, quite a dated effect, but it
works well.
Then the rockin' half of the song kicks in and all the lights are
turned on. There's everyone else. Spandau Ballet haven't split. Yet.
Top 40 Breakers: [22] Simple Minds, Ghostdancing; [14] Europe, The Final Countdown.
[25] Bob Geldof: This Is The World Calling. Nearly two years after Band Aid, Bob returns to his pop career. I remember at the time it seemed odd, like a backwards step, but what else is he going to do? Tonight's Top of the Pops has a sense of a wheel turning full circle; Madness, Spandau Ballet, and Bob Geldof all make their last appearances. They were once all staples of the programme but not anymore. Fortunately Shakey will still be around to guide us into this uncertain future. Meanwhile, some clever electrician has worked out how to slow the flashing of the neon tubes around the main stage. They don't quite flash in time with the beat of the song, but it's close enough.
Top 10 Charts.
[1] Berlin: Take My Breath Away.
On video.
[4] Mel & Kim: Showing Out. Top
of the Pops ends with a really odd joke. Mike Smith plugs another programme
from Michael Hurll's television empire, Entertainment USA. Produced and directed
by Gordon Elsbury who used to be Michael Hurll's representative on Top of
the Pops but is now reduced to going to Hawaii. Mike Smith is surrounded by
audience cheerleaders and when he mentions the star of the show, one J-n-th-n
K-ng, the cheerleaders all shriek and run away. It's a play on K-ng's then
reputation as the most hated man in pop but it's taken on a considerably
different meaning. Janice Long and John Peel host next week.
And we're on week six of using the title sequence still as a
background to the credits.
Performance of the Week: Madness: Waiting For The Ghost Train
No comments:
Post a Comment