Top of the Pops 11 May 1989

 

Words: Chris Arnsby
This is a live edition, so the copy I'm watching has some background music to the BBC countdown clock, Good Thing by the Fine Young Cannibals. “Ooh oohh,” sings an unidentified mystery someone (might be Bruno Brookes), this is followed a few seconds later by an instruction to the audience, “c'mon, we want some more noise!” A few desultory cheers follow as the Floor Manager, Carmella Milne, starts a five second countdown into the opening titles. 

Bruno Brookes: “Good evening. How you doing. Thursday night means another Top of the Pops and we are live-er than live. In the studio a little bit later on we've got Hue and Cry and the London Boys to name a few, there's a brand new number one as well. First of all, down here at number twenty eight, Swing Out Sister, You Are My Life.”

 

[28] SWING OUT SISTER: you on my mind. The BBC is being affected by strikes again. The Broadcasting and Entertainment Trade Alliances union was asking for a 16% pay increase because, they said, BBC wages had substantially fallen behind those at ITV. UPI has an archive report (https://www.upi.com/Archives/1989/04/26/BBC-workers-threaten-new-strike/4890609566400/) from April 26 1989 detailing how 18,000 of 25,000 BBC employees took part in a strike which affected news and live programmes, and threatening “to stage a second 24-hour strike the week of May 8 unless their demand for new negotiations is met.”

That May strike did go ahead, and on Youtube you can see how it affected the BBC1 evening output (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UjQLHuZe44). It looks like the Tuesday evening strike also affected the Top of the Pops studio session that night, and a recorded programme became a live one at short notice. Or was this always planned as a live show?  It's difficult to tell because the Radio Times doesn't seem to be highlighting live editions in its listings. (Thanks to commenter mumu03 for the strike information).

By the end of the song, Bruno Brookes has raced down the stairs from the Crow's Nest and is on a stage on the other side of the studio. This leads to a nice spur of the moment piece of presenting from him as the camera tracks back at the end of the song and Bruno realises he's blocked from the camera by a woman in orange, he pops into view by stepping forwards and doing a quick wave. It could have looked awkward, but instead it's almost... dare I say it... charming? I've previously been unenthusiastic about Bruno Brookes as a presenter but this small moment makes me warm to him. A bit.

[8] CHAKA KHAN: i'm every woman. Promo VT.

CHARTS FROM 40 TO 31. Bruno is back in the Crow's Nest. “They've got me running everywhere tonight,” he notes wryly as the Bruno Brookes renaissance -the Brenaissance?- continues. Is it possible he works better alone, than as part of a pair of hosts?

[16] YAZZ: where has all the love gone. A minor lie from Bruno Brookes. Claiming Yazz is “interrupting her UK tour to be with us tonight on Top of the Pops.” Actually, Yazz is on BBC VT. This is a second outing for the post-show performance recorded on 04/04/1989. It's directed by Barbara Jones, but she doesn't get a credit this time.

[3] QUEEN: i want it all. Promo VT.

[29] HUE & CRY: violently. This must have been a pretty easy show to make. The eight minutes following Bruno Brookes' introduction of the Chaka Khan video -live links aside- have all been promos or old footage. It's time for the studio crew to earn their money so here's the second live performance of the night.

Keep one eye out for a Quantel effect variation. Previously we've seen the box of tricks display a rotating cube with the output of a different camera on each side (Tyree featuring Kool Rock Steady, Turn Up The Base, 02/03/1989). Now we've got a split screen variation. The lower half of the picture stays on a close up of the trumpet player, while the top half “rotates” between two different shots; the drummer and a left profile of the trumpet player.

CHARTS FROM 40 TO 31.

[5] NATALIE COLE: miss you like crazy. Promo VT. Add another 110 seconds to the pre-recorded footage total. At the end of this video we're about 19 minutes into the show, and it's just about a 50/50 split between actual real live footage and stuff made earlier.

[21] STEVE NICKS: rooms on fire. Bruno Brookes says Stevie Nicks is “over there,” followed by a cross-fade to her standing on stage. This is usually a dead giveaway that footage is being played in from VT. Another giveaway is the abrupt change in studio lighting, which I don't think they could pull off as quickly as it appears on screen. Also, I'm deeply suspicious when Bruno Brookes back announces the song with another “thanks to Stevie Nicks over there.” Now he's just being sarcastic. (John- In a way though Stevie Nicks is always `over there`. I mean what is that in her hair?)

That's another two minutes or so of programme to add to the non-live pile.

[4] LONDON BOYS: requiem. The London Boys are in the studio. Small flash charges send showers of sparks into the air throughout their performance. The air noticeably thickens with smoke and by the end of the song some of the more powerful lights are reflecting off the smoke and bleaching out the picture.

TOP 10.

[1] KYLIE MINOGUE: hand on your heart. Promo VT. Another two minutes of video. I think slightly more than half of this 30 minute programme was pre-recorded footage.

[22] STEFAN DENNIS: don't it make you feel good. Promo VT. Mark Goodier and Anthea Turner next week. Because this is a live edition, the end of the Stefan Dennis video is marked by more applause and cheers than the song deserves and then we here a man's voice announce, “right, we've got one more number to do... [inaudible] .... Mr Robert Palmer.” Then there's more cheers and applause and then, the tape cuts out. Drat. And double drat.

 PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK:  Stevie Nicks, Rooms On Fire.