Top of the Pops 13 December 1990

 Words: Chris Arnsby

Simon Mayo: “Hello. Welcome to the Pops. If you're sitting at home wondering as to what the Christmas Number One might be, well study the form over the next half hour. We have for you performing tonight Chris Isaak, we have Black Box, and we also have INXS appearing later. First of all, at thirty four, with his thirty fourth hit, Shaky is back.”

 [34] SHAKIN' STEVENS: The Best Christmas Of Them All. I'm not going to let a statistic like that go unchallenged. How are we defining a hit? Let's say, it's a single that gets into the Top 40. Well, starting from Shaky's first Top 40 single, Hot Dog (1980), I make the total twenty nine. The short answer is, I can't really make the numbers work without going all the way out to singles which entered the Top 75. Still, thirty four Top 75 singles is an impressive number. The Beatles only have thirty two Top 75 hits. Conclusive proof that Shaky> The Beatles. Where's his Anthology series?

Jingle Bell Heist (2025)

 Its time for Mooshy Fox...

One of a raft festive films that pop up on streaming platforms each year, Jingle Bell Heist is better than most offering something slightly different from the Crimbo romcom. The title may suggest some kind of elaborate seasonal operation yet the reality is a small film with just enough warmth and surprises to keep you interested. Plus it’s a film whose second half is better than it’s first.

Violent Night (2022)

Tis the season to be bloody...

A knowing cross between Home Alone and Die Hard, this movie manages to have its Christmas cake and eat it. As the title suggests it is as violent as possible yet it also manages to sneak in a soupcon of seasonal magic at the same time. Played by David Harbour, this Santa drinks too much, is bitterly resentful at the way Xmas has turned yet still lights up when he sees a child’s delight opening presents. In relation to the recent online debate as to whether Die Hard is a Christmas movie, I can state that Violent Night (a title that made me laugh when I first heard it) most definitely is a Christmas movie only maybe for people who don’t enjoy the season as much.

 

Top of the Pops 6 December 1990

 Words: Chris Arnsby

Mark Goodier: “Good evening if you're watching on BBC1 or if you're listening on Radio 1 in FM stereo. It's the weekly hit countdown. Top of the Pops. Tonight we may well see the song which is the Christmas Number One, so stay tuned. And we start with a song by a band who have been in the top forty twice in the last three months, Twenty Four Seven.”

 [25] TWENTY 4 SEVEN / CAPTAIN HOLLYWOOD: Are You Dreaming? A dynamic start to the show when Twenty 4 Seven/Captain Hollywood march on stage from all points of the compass. Someone comes down the stairs and onto the Triangle Stage. Two come up from the back. And the other one steps out from where they were lurking behind a triangle.

Rod Litherland has taken over Lighting this week and he's using all the colours that Chris Kempton hates, green and yellow mainly. The lighting of the Triangle stage looks very much like how the the Film Strip stage was lit last week for Run-DMC and their prerecorded performance of What's It All About.