Top of the Pops 22nd August 1991

 Words: Chris Arnsby

Bruno Brookes: “Good evening and welcome to Top of the Pops. On the show tonight, Jason Donovan, Martika, Zoe, and also this fellow who’s locked himself away in a studio for the last couple of years making a terrific album and also sporting a hit single. Here in the Top of the Pops studio the one and only Midge Ure.”

 [19] MIDGE URE: COLD, COLD HEART. Three drummers? Do you think maybe that’s too much percussion? Midge Ure doesn’t. During the drum break, a handheld camera operator runs down the line of drummers to make sure we get a good look at them. Then the picture cuts to a Bodhrán being held by Midge Ure, and then the camera pulls back to reveal the guitarist standing next to Midge Ure also has a Bodhrán, and the keyboard player has a Bodhrán. Bodhráns for everyone!

Martin Kisner is back on Lighting. It’s mostly what I consider to be undistinguished bog-standard blue and purple Top of the Pops generic lighting, except for during the drum break. For this Martin cuts all the studio lights except for alternating white spotlights that flash in time to the beat and give a mock-strobe look. Very nice.

[9] PRODIGY: CHARLY. Promo VT and charts from [40] to [2].

[14] ZOE: SUNSHINE ON A RAINY DAY. Oh, it’s this. One of those songs I’ve heard played so many times but I would never have been able to guess the singer.

[26] UTAH SAINTS: WHAT CAN YOU DO FOR ME. Promo VT.

[12] JASON DONOVAN: HAPPY TOGETHER. Jason’s sparkly jacket is the best thing on display here. Another highlight is the quick cutting between cameras on the ba-ba-ba-ba bit. Take a bow Carol Abbott, doing the Vision Mixing with aplomb.

A potential Number One according to Bruno Brookes. I mean, come on.

[23] KARYN WHITE: ROMANTIC. Promo VT.

[21] OCEANIC: INSANITY. This has been a very generic edition of Top of the Pops so far. Very blue and purple. Clearly Martin Kisner wasn’t feeling inspired by the songs. Here is Oceanic to change all that. Suddenly everything is lifted, the lighting, the direction. Maybe this should have been the first song tonight?

There’s a lovely camera pan and pull back at the start of the performance. As Jorinde Williams sings “take me awaaaaaay” the camera pulls back and back and back, and the edge of the Stonehenge stage is bordered by the black of the studio.

There are two songs at [21] this week. Oceanic, going up, and Sophie Lawrence going down with Love’s Unkind.

[13] MARTIKA: LOVE… THY WILL BE DONE. Promo VT.

BREAKERS

[40] 808 STATE: LIFT/OPEN YOUR MIND

[39] TIN MACHINE: YOU BELONG IN ROCK N’ROLL 

[38] MARC BOLAN & T.REX: 20TH CENTURY BOY (Charting off the back of a Levi’s advert featuring Brad Pitt. Top of the Pops holds in its archive a cracking performance of this from the 01/03/1973 edition. I hope they remember to use this in forthcoming shows.

[1] BRYAN ADAMS: EVERYTHING I DO (I DO IT FOR YOU). Promo VT. Week seven and we’re not quite at the halfway point of its run. “The best record of the year,” according to Bruno Brookes.

[28] THE FARM: MIND. Promo VT. Mark Goodier next week.

 Countdown to Year Zero revamp: 6. This week in 1991 The Stage carried an advert. This advert.

 

Two things strike me. One, the advert is very low key. It’s small, maybe a sixteenth of a page size and on page 25; next to adverts seeking glamorous dancers (non-nude), and topless female dancers for an Istanbul nightclub (don’t worry, your flights to and from the UK are paid). You’d think the BBC would spring a little more cash to advertise in a more high class section. Thing two, the Year Zero launch is six weeks away. That seems like very little time to audition and employ someone and get them rehearsed and ready to go for something as important as the Top of the Pops relaunch. It’s almost as if this advert is a token gesture so they can claim they had an open audition process. 

 Ratings: Astonishingly good, [19] and 7.61 million. This was the day after the end of the Russian coup against Gorbachev. Either Top of the Pops at 7pm got a boost from people watching the Six O’Clock News and local news or maybe Eastenders was running a big storyline that pulled people in early. The equivalent week in 1990 saw Top of the Pops fail to chart so it was watched by fewer than the 6.40 million who saw Takeover Bid.

 Performance of the week: Oceanic, Insanity.