Reviewed by Chris Arnsby. John Peel: “Hi there, and welcome to the one thousand, one hundred and eighty eighth edition of Top of the Pops.” Janice Long: “A man filled with facts. Tonight on the show we've got glam demi-gods Boni Jovi.” John Peel: “We're gonna start though with Europe.”
[5] Europe: The Final Countdown.
Europe would like it to be generally known that they are a great bunch of crazy
pop mates. Check out their grinning, and pointing, and lots of microphone stand
work by lead singer Joey Tempest; not his real name, his real name is James
Tempest. A round of applause also for the old Status Quo standby of putting an
arm round your bandmates' shoulders, for a manly hug. Plus, there's enough
headbanging to dislodge even the most stubborn of nits. They are indeed, as
Janice Long describes them, “a big bunch of Swedes.” Must be the leather
trousers. Patrick Moore would also just
like to have a quick word and point out that if your trip to Venus has “so many
light years to go,” you're heading the wrong way and need to turn around when
it's safe.
[13] Simple Minds: Ghostdancing. On video.
[4] Swing Out Sister: Breakout. Last time, 06/11/1986, Corinne Drewery's suit made me reconsider my understanding of Euclidean geometry. Fortunately this time she's dressed in a much more straightforward way; a black leather trench coat and a bowler hat, with the bowler hat is thrown into the crowd at the start of the song. Hopefully someone, somewhere still owns it, although it wouldn't be as exciting as having one of Darryl Pandy's shoes. (John- But more useful probably) Meanwhile, it's orange jumpsuits for the men although the suits are missing elasticated ankle and wrist ties, which means they don't comply with British standards EN 13982-1 and EN 13034.
Top 40 Charts.
[16] Erasure: Sometimes. Vince
Clarke's third attempt to stick with a group, after Depeche Mode and Yazoo.
Will this one be for keeps? Stay tuned. (John Spoiler- He stays for thirty
five years at least). He doesn't look like he's having fun, in fact he's
absolutely stone-faced as he strums the guitar, but fortunately Andy Bell is
there to do all the pop star stuff. There's also a trumpet player, who steps
out from behind a pillar for the trumpet bit (obviously) and then disappears as
mysteriously as he arrived.
Top 40 Breakers: [19] Anita
Baker, Sweet Love; [12] Nick Kamen, Each Time You Break My Heart; [11]
Debbie Harry, French Kissing In The USA.
[7] Bon Jovi: Livin' On A Prayer. Bon Jovi seem slightly more subdued this time round. Is the grind
of the Slippery When Wet tour getting to them? Look at this itinerary;
Bradford, Ipswich, Sheffield, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Manchester, Newcastle,
London, Liverpool, Hanley, Leicester, London. What's up with that route?
Ipswich between Bradford and Sheffield? Birmingham to Edinburgh, followed by
Manchester? London in between Newcastle and Liverpool? Who planned this tour,
the Marquis de Sade? (John- Its actually a common thing if you look at any
touring itinerary of the UK, I think it has something to do with availability
of venues)
Top 10 Charts.
[1] Berlin: Take My Breath Away.
On video.
[10] Red Box: For America. What's
this? Janice and John have been joined by Gary Davies and Howard Stableford
from Tomorrow's World? Oh, it's not Howard Stableford, it's Smiley Miley
from radio's Radio One Roadshow's Smiley Miley's Mileage Game. He and
Gary Davies are on “the Radio One initiative test for Children In Need.”
How did they do? We'll never know. But if part of the challenge involved
working out how far Bon Jovi travelled across the UK, then the answer will be
in the thousands of miles. Gary's hosting Top of the Pops next week, so
hopefully he'll tell us how he did. The background to the closing credits is
still the same freeze frame from the title sequence.
Performance of the Week:
Erasure: Sometimes
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