Top of the Pops 19th September 1991

 Words: Chris Arnsby

Nicky Campbell: “Oh welcome to Top of the Pops and a classic show tonight. What more could you want? Great videos. Great music. Great live performances as well. What a great start. Brothers in Rhythm, both of whom have been DJs since about the age of thirteen, so they know a thing or two about infectious rhythm. Ah, one, two, three, four.”

 [25] BROTHERS IN RHYTHM: SUCH A GOOD FEELING. About two thirds of the way through this performance something small but significant happens. Dave Chapman, credited with video effects, and Hilary West, vision mixer, apply a reduced frame effect to give a strobe movement look to Brothers In Rhythm. Stanley Appel never uses electronic effects when he’s directing a performance. What’s going on?

The answer, Stanley Appel is no longer directing the show. He’s just the producer. This began last week, which I didn’t spot because I wasn’t paying attention to the closing credits. Thanks to regular commenter mumu03 who pointed out what I had missed. This wouldn’t be quite so embarrassing for me if last week’s write up hadn’t been full of praise for Stanley Appel’s direction, and how it was so good it turned round my opinion of him. Oops.

Last week’s show was actually directed by John Burrowes. You’ll know him best as the producer of the film Bow Wow Wow: Live Sefton Park 07/09/82. Or maybe as the production designer of the Doctor Who story The Green Death. Or maybe as the director, then producer, and then executive producer of The Old Grey Whistle Test. Sadly he’s only going to direct one more edition of Top of the Pops in 1993 but it’s something to look forwards to.

Presumably Stanley Appel has stood down as director to focus on setting up the new studio in Elstree and preparing for the now very quite imminent Year Zero relaunch,

[3] SALT-N-PEPA: LET’S TALK ABOUT SEX. Promo VT and charts from [40] to [2].

[10] UTAH SAINTS: WHAT CAN YOU DO FOR ME. This week’s director is Arch Dyson. What can I learn from IMDB? Directed Wogan, directed the first series of The Fast Show, and is apparently going to go on to direct another 70 episodes of Top of the Pops over the next three years.

Arch gets off to a good start. He’s making the handheld camera operators run all over the place, which is always a good sign as far as I’m concerned. He makes the same choice as Stanley Appel to intercut the What Can You Do For Me video with the studio performance, and I can’t work out if it’s to distinguish Utah Saints from Brothers In Rhyme and Oceanic, who are coming next, or because Utah Saints are regarded as being a bit dull (they are not although they are a bit lacking in the sexy dancing ladies quotient, which always seems an important part of TotP appeal).

Rod Litherland is doing the lighting this week and he floods the stage with solid red light. It looks really good, if a bit sinister.

[19] PRINCE & THE N.P,G./ : CREAM. Promo VT. I think that / might be in the caption by mistake.

[4] OCEANIC: INSANITY. More good handheld work courtesy of Arch Dyson. Singer Jorinde William goes on a jog around the Neon Stage and is followed by a handheld operator in a single shot which lasts nearly 45 seconds.

[18] BRYAN ADAMS: CAN’T STOP THIS THING WE STARTED. Promo VT. Not to spoil the song at Number 1 but this is the first of two Bryan Adams songs tonight. There can’t be many groups who’ve done this double, I’m guessing The Beatles did. The Jam managed it when the 18/02/1982 edition closed out with Precious followed by A Town Called Malice.

[16] SIMPLY RED: SOMETHING GOT ME STARTED. Clearly a pre-recorded performance. Arch Dyson has moved back to trying to start and end each studio performance with a single camera move from the host to the group, or vice versa. The Simply Red Performance begins with a big proscenium arch wide shot, which was Stanley Appel’s preferred style.

I always have to remind myself to watch Simply Red dispassionately whenever they appear on Top of the Pops because Mick Hucknall has accumulated a lot of baggage in the years in between. This might be a good performance even allowing for Mick Hucknall’s stupid coat and stupid hair.

[7] ERASURE: LOVE TO HATE YOU. Promo VT.

[21] NEDS ATOMIC DUSTBIN: TRUST. Promo VT.

BREAKERS

[38] BROS: TRY

[31] TINA TURNER: NUTBUSH CITY LIMITS

[28] R.E.M. : THE ONE I LOVE

[1] BRYAN ADAMS: EVERYTHING I DO (I DO IT FOR YOU). Promo VT.

[29] JULIAN LENNON. SALTWATER. Promo VT. Gary Davies next week for the last time. Nicky Campbell, aware his days are numbered, decides to go out in the manner in which he always presented the show, like an arsehole. “Leave you with John, Julian! Lennon.” Nice. It’s not unfair to point out how much this song leans on John Lennon’s style but Nicky Campbell’s comment seems particularly crass given, you know, Julian Lennon’s dad was murdered. Off you go Campbell and never darken my television set again.

 

Ratings: News of the Year Zero revamp was beginning to break and gave a boost to Top of the Pops’ last few weeks at Television Centre. This edition got to [26] in the charts with 7.69 million viewers. This was slightly better than the 1990 edition which must have been up against stronger competition because with 7.64 million viewers it only go to [29].

 Countdown to Year Zero revamp: 2.

 Performance of the week:  As much as it pains me, it is probably Simply Red, Something Got Me Started.