Top of the Pops 3 Dec 1987

 

Reviewed by Chris Arnsby. Gary Davies: “Hi, good evening. Welcome to Britain's number one pop show. In the studio tonight we have T'Pau, we've got the Proclaimers, and Paul McCartney.”

Janice Long: “And, interrupting their world tour to be with us, at twenty two, it's The Hooters, Satellite.”

 [22] THE HOOTERS: satellite. The Hooters perform on the redesigned main stage. Finally a chance to get an eyeful of the new look. Except... Geoff Beech, on Lighting, has decided to take inspiration from the twinkly synthesiser riff so he's put two flickering white lights right behind singer Eric Bazilian and they shine down into the lens into the camera. It's a great effect when the camera is lined up properly, Eric appears against a moving white backdrop. It looks fantastic. When the camera isn't lined up properly (which it isn't, most of the time) the picture just looks washed out and a bit flickery. And, here's the important bit, it stops me getting a good look at the new scenery.

Last week I was whining that I thought the join between the new scenery and the old (but probably quite expensive elements that need to be kept so the cost can be properly amortised) looked untidy; I'm thinking of the big colour screen and the neon logo. Does it look untidy? I can't tell. Maybe Geoff wasn't taking inspiration from the song. Maybe Brian Whitehouse said, “those bits look rubbish, do what you can to cover them up,” and Geoff did.

[4] ALEXANDER O'NEAL: criticize. On video.

TOP 40. Songs recorded off the radio; [39] MEL & KIM, Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree; [30] ALISON MOYET, Love Letters.

Meanwhile at [21] THE TAMS unexpectedly get their song named in full, Ain't Nothing Like Shaggin.

[3] THE PROCLAIMERS: letter from america. Gary Davies is waving around The Proclaimers' gold disc for their album THIS IS THE STORY. Towards the end of the song Charlie Reid breaks a guitar string. Sadly the actual moment of breaking is lost because the camera is close in on Charlie, but the broken string can be spotted swinging loose and catching the light in all subsequent shots. 

TOP 40 BREAKERS: [26] DEF LEPPARD, hysteria; [24] CUTTING CREW, i've been in love before; [18] JELLYBEAN FEATURING ELISA FIORILLO, who found who; [16] MICHAEL JACKSON, the way you make me feel.

[14] PAUL McCARTNEY, once upon a long ago. It's only been a year since Paul was last on Top of the Pops, although that was to join in one of the links and lark around with Janice Long; who by coincidence was also hosting the week of 11/12/1986. His last actual performance appears to be 21/11/1974 with Wings and Junior's Farm.

George Harrison's been at [2] for the past four weeks, is Mr McCartney feeling the pressure to do something to make his own single more successful? Or, is it he taking the opportunity to feature on both Top of the Pops on both sides of the Atlantic? Or, did he just feel like performing?

Janice Long name checks Linda McCartney first in her introduction, followed by violinist and Spurs fan Nigel Kennedy “with his footy scarf tied to his violin” (two years away from the Four Seasons recording which would make him famous), and Paul gets third billing.

How does the boy Paul do? Well, it's a bit of a dull performance because of the way the song is broken up into bits, and nobody knows what to do when it's not their bit. The saxophonist shuffles awkwardly when he's not playing. Nigel Kennedy does the same, although he lights up when he gets a chance to, well, mime obviously but let's not split hairs. He leans right into the camera, making sure his football scarf is at the front of the shot and the camera operator reaches out and gives it a matey tug. The only person who looks genuinely pleased to be there all the time is the other guitar player (who is making the most of his slight resemblance to Val Kilmer with a Top Gun-esque hair style). He can't stop grinning, and why should he? He's on stage with Paul McCartney.

TOP 10.

[1] T'PAU: china in your hand. T'Pau are back in the studio to perform on one of the new-look stages. This is why The Hooters could be shown on the main stage. In the event that T'Pau stay at Number 1, Top of the Pops now has a repeatable performance which doesn't use the old scenery.

T'Pau have thought about how they want their performance to look, unlike lazy old Paul McCartney. They don't want their saxophonist shuffling around on stage waiting for the sax break to kick in (it was the late eighties, there were a lot of sax breaks). Instead they've stood him up on one of the studio bridges and the camera crane pans nicely away from (flame-haired songstress) Carol Decker to him in a single move. They've even remembered to give the saxophonist the black leather jacket which is compulsory for all the not-Carols in T'Pau.

[12] MAXI PRIEST: some guys. “We must thank readers of Smash Hits for voting Top of the Pops number one television programme again,” boasts Gary Davies before the goodbyes. Who's hosting next week? No idea. Janice won't tell. All she can reveal is that the show is live. Which means it will probably be hosted by Mike Smith.

 Performance of the week:  The Proclaimers, Letter from America.

 The Roxy Playlist (01/12/1987):Studio Performances: Labi Siffre, Nothin's Gonna Change; The Proclaimers, Letter from America; ABC, King without a Crown; T'Pau, China in Your Hand. On video; Michael Jackson, The Way You Make Me Feel; Alison Moyet, Love Letters; Shakin' Stevens, What Do You Want To Make Those Eyes at Me For.