Words: Chris
Arnsby.
Nicky Campbell: “Good evening. Welcome to another star-studded edition of Top
of the Pops we've got Tanita Tikaram, we've got Yaz, and let me tell you no
expense has been spared, we have got Mark Goodier.”
Mark Goodier:
“Oh-ho. And everything on Radio One in FM stereo. We start tonight with a
welcome back to the charts for Gloria Estefan, One Two Three.”
I don't really
have anything interesting or insightful to say about 1-2-3. It's one of those
songs I remember being played to death on the radio(in FM stereo, natch) but
the rhythms of Gloria Estefan, who now takes top billing over the Miami Sound
Machine, never really thrilled me.
Sound man
Graham Wilkinson is a bit slow fading up Gloria Estefan's microphone at the
start of the performance. The backing singers do their bit counting 1-2-3-4,
and then there's a cut to a close up of Gloria Estefan where her lips are
moving but no sound can be heard.
Bonus points to
the person working the caption generating machine (probably Margaret Horrocks
who is credited as Graphic Designer). They get the flashing of the end caption
to match the final rat-a-tat-tat of percussion which closes the song.
Graham
Wilkinson makes good. He's a bit slow, again, fading Mark's microphone up at
the end of the song with the result that Goodier's first few pearls of wisdom
are lost to time.
Keep up the
good work Graham.
[8] ROBERT
PALMER: she makes my day. On
video.
TOP 40 FROM
40 TO 31.
[26] TANITA
TIKARAM: twist in my sobriety. An
unexpectedly sombre and gloomy follow up to the more jolly Good Tradition. I
like it. A lot.
The disco ball
hung over the stage looks jaunty.
BREAKERS: [28
BRYAN FERRY let's stick together]; [17 ROBIN BECK first time].
[11]
KYLIE MINOGUE: je ne sais pas porquoi. Mark Goodier is confused. “Watch this next video, see if you can
work out how it's done 'cause I can't.” They used video effects Mark. I hope
that helps. Also (POP FACT!) it was filmed on the set of 'Allo 'Allo!.
Don't forget to add that to your book Unbelievable -Amazing True Stories from
the World of Rock 'n' Roll.
TOP
40 FROM 30 TO 11. The acid house moral panic continues. No one must know the name
of Jolly Roger's song at [23] or, later, D-Mob and Gary Haisman's at [7].
[4]
YAZZ: stand up for your love rights. Sorry Yazz. Nothing to say. So, instead let's talk about One
Day in the Life of Television, mentioned in last week's comments by mumu03.
It
was a two hour ITV documentary broadcast on 01/11/1989 made by Yorkshire
Television and recorded one year previously.
It's
got a lovely section on Top of the Pops which confuses me lightly
because 01/11/1988 was a Tuesday and I thought Top of the Pops recorded
on Wednesday. Anyway, you can see the TotP section here https://youtu.be/QTUbfsjVjVs?feature=shared&t=3248
It's
great. You get to see Brian Whitehouse and someone who I'm assuming is Vision
Mixer Priscilla Hoadley, plus possibly Production Assistant Karen Rosie. The
best bit -apart from how dangerous the studio looks at ground level with all
those heavy cameras flying around- is the gallery talkback as shots are timed
and directed for 1-2-3.
TOP
10.
[1]
ENYA: orinoco flow. A repeat of the 20/10/1988 performance.
[25]
GUNS N' ROSES: welcome to the jungle. Director (and Producer) Brian Whitehouse is trying something
different for the link into the closing credits. The audience have been parted
like the Red Sea and the camera pushes in towards the two hosts. It looks odd
but the direction of Top of the Pops has been a bit (what's the word?)
pedestrian recently and so I'll take anything new.
For
the past two weeks TotP has closed with a repeat performance, this week
it closes with a video. Is this a format change or not? I've already sounded
the gong Brian. It's going to be a real pig to unsound it.
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