Top of the Pops 27 April 1989

 

Reviewed by Chris Arnsby
Gary Davies: “Hello. Good evening. I hope you're well. Welcome to an action-packed Top of the Pops. As you can see tonight I'm all on my own so they've enlisted a little bit of help. Who have we got in the studio tonight.”

Mystery Lady 1: “Beatmasters and De La Soul.”

Mystery Lady 2: “And the Fine Young Cannibals and Yazz.”

Gary Davies: “But to start off with, at number eleven in the charts, with a song called Requiem, the London Boys.”

 

[11] LONDON BOYS: requiem. Where were the London Boys hiding? Top of the Pops started, as is traditional these days, on a shot of the audience in front of the main stage which then pans up to the Crow's Nest. This shot is normally offset to one side of the stage, to avoid the viewer at home catching a glimpse of the first act, but tonight the pan went straight up the centre of the stage. The London Boys should have been easy to spot in their distinctive hats but there was no sign. The Floor Manager, Barrie Martin tonight, must have shuffled the crowd off the stage and the London Boys on while Gary Davies went through his audience participation bit.

There's some good handheld camera work, including a nice angle as one of the operators circles the London Boys during the song's introduction, but minus seventeen million points for missing the moment when (I assume) the two Boys do a Terence Trent D'Arby and drop into a hurdle split and then spring back up, to cheers from the crowd. Their big show-stopper is lost because the camera sits too low behind the heads of the audience. All we see are the London Boys bob out of view and then reappear. The camera is better positioned for the Boys' end of song acrobatics.

[24] NATALIE COLE: miss you like crazy. Promo VT.

CHARTS FROM 40 TO 31.

[23] DE LA SOUL: me myself and I. “Their second ever TV appearance,” according to Gary Davies. I find myself mildly surprised that Top of the Pops was able to lure De La Soul over the Atlantic and into the studio but it's easy to forget it was still the place to be seen if you wanted instant UK-wide exposure.

Once again, Paul Ciani gets good use out of his handheld cameras. It's possible to get a nice look around the studio during some of the wandering handheld shots because Mike Manning, Lighting, has got the studio lights turned up a lot brighter than normal. It's possible he's got them turned up too high because the picture looks quite washed out in places, and check out Gary Davies at the end of the link; he's definitely over-exposed.

[19] FINE YOUNG CANNIBALS: good thing. BBC VT. A repeat from the 13/04/1989 edition.

[9] MORRISSEY: interesting drug: Promo VT.

CHARTS FROM 30 TO 11. Tonight, Gary Davies' thing is getting the audience to join in. The crowd around him all shout the word “charts!”

[8] BEATMASTERS WITH MERLIN: who's in the house. Another showcase for all the clever things the BBC's Quantel box can do; split screen; three pictures in one; assorted dynamic wipes; and the rotating cube effect, as used to great effect on 02/03/1989 for Turn Up the Base, Tyree Featuring Kool Rock Steady.

[27] YAZZ: where has all the love gone. “She's here. It's Yazz,” lies Gary Davies. She was here. She was in the studio. This is the last of the additional performances recorded as part of the studio session for the 06/04/1989 edition.

TOP 10.

[1] BANGLES: eternal flame. Promo VT.

[26] POISON: your mama don't dance. Promo VT. Andy Crane and Jenny Powell next week. More audience shouting. A slightly lacklustre, “goodnight!”

 PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK: De La Soul, Me Myself and I.