Top of the Pops 5 October 1989

 

Words: Chris Arnsby

Steve Wright: “Hi!! Hello and good evening and welcome to another Top of the Pops!! This is Jakki Brambles!! I'm Steve Wright!!”

Jakki Brambles: “Okay we've got a brilliant show coming up for you. This is the second hit for Double Trouble and the Rebel MC. We are talking a wicked tune. A winning collaboration. This is Street Tuff.”

[12] REBEL MC DOUBLE TROUBLE: street tuff. The song which inspired one of the few bits of the Steve Wright in the Afternoon show that stick in my memory. “Is he a Yankee. No he's a pratt.” That was part of the jingle for Steve Wright's character Mr. Spoons. I have no idea what Mr. Spoons did but I'm sure he was wicked zany to the max.

In the write up for the 28/09/1989 show I talked about how Stanley Appel likes a nice clear this-is-the-end-of-this-performance shot. There's a really clunky example here. The camera pulls back until we see Steve Wright standing on one on the studio bridges waiting for his cue to start speaking. At this point you might expect the camera to pivot and zoom in on Steve Wright for the next link. Instead, Vision Mixer Hilary Briegel cuts to a different camera which then zooms on on Steve Wright, etc, etc. It jars. I wonder if the crane might have pulled back too far on the final shot, maybe we weren't supposed to see Mr. Wright. 
(John- I should point out that the Rebel MC is not a Yankee. Nope, he is Londoner as he informs us in this song. Thought you might need to know that)

18] CHER: if i could turn back time. Promo VT.

CHARTS FROM 40 TO 31.

[14] CURIOSITY KILLED THE CAT: name and number. Lead singer Ben Volpeliere-Pierrot has a little model answering machine fitted to the top of a microphone. You get a good look at it in the Promo, where the machine's tiny tape reels spin.

The tape reels don't spin when the microphone/answering machine appears at the start of this performance. In fact BV-P has been given, and is using, a standard BBC wireless microphone. While his own piece of kit stands unused on stage.

Is this demarcation? Consider, is the microphone/answering machine a prop, in which case it needs to be handed and started by a prop master, or is it electrical, and must be plugged in and turned on by an electrician? Or, if it's a microphone then shouldn't responsibility be given to the people who do studio sound? Strikes have started over less. Curiosity Killed the Cat also performed this song on Blue Peter, something which is currently missing from the internet.
(John- Saw this recently and was surprised by how good a single it is but it was to be Ben VP and co's last substantial hit. Shame)

[11] BILLY JOEL: we didn't start the fire. Promo VT.

CHARTS FROM 30 TO 11

[27] SONIA: can't forget you. Sonia's in the studio for the kind of interview that Brian Walden longed for on Weekend World.

Is Sonia going on tour, “Yeah! Er, this Monday. Woo!”
Is she looking forward to it. “Ah! Definitely! It's going to be brilliant!”
Will she be singing a song? “I'll be singing this song 'cause I can't forget you!”
Does Sonia favour Trafalgar House or P&O to be the private sector group appointed to build the high-speed link between London and the Channel Tunnel, and how will she control cost over-runs estimated at £2 billion? Oh, we've run out of time.

Sonia dances down the steps from the bridge to the Record Needle stage where she performs a song. I assume it's Can't Forget You. (John- She can't forget you though)

BREAKERS:

[31] LIVING IN A BOX: room in your heart
[28] BELINDA CARLISLE: leave a light on
[24] MILLI VANILLI ERASURE: girl i'm gonna miss you
[9] BROS: chocolate box. Promo VT.
TOP 10
[1] BLACK BOX: ride on time. BBC VT, from the 14/09/1989 show.
[21] S'EXPRESS: mantra for a state of mind. Promo VT. Gary Davis will host next week but Steve Wright seems more excited to tell us that Eastenders is next. BBC Genome's summary: “'Wicksy, she's carrying my nipper. If she ain't in no hurry to get married, it's gotta mean something's up'.”

Performance of the week: Double Trouble & The Rebel MC, Street Tuff