Thanks for the info, I'd forgotten he'd introduced a record on the Christmas 81 TOTP. I didn't know he'd co-hosted one in the 60s.
BIB - in 1979 I overheard the late John Peel and his producer, the late John Walters being interviewed on an early evening Radio One broadcast. There was a phone-in and one girl caller asked Peel why he never presented TOTP. Peel said he did co-host one edition in 1968 with Jimmy Savile but he wasn't asked back because he forgot the name of the group 'Amen Corner' as he introduced their performance of 'Bend Me Shape Me'. He referred to this incident again on the Christmas Day 1981 TOTP as he introduced the Human League.
According to Popscene the next complete episode he presented was on 4 February 1982 (as stated in your post) so that is probably right. My memory could be playing tricks but I distinctly remember him hosting the 1 April 1982 show and seem to recall him saying at the start that it was 14 years since he last presented the programme and just before the final credits he said something like "I might see you again in another 14 years" or words to that effect (as if he had stood in as a one-off and wasn't expecting to host again any time soon). With any luck all will be revealed on BBC Four in four years time.
I've always thought 'Pump It Up' was a great song.
'Pump It Up' and '(I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea' have superb basslines and sharp lyrics IMO and 'This Year's Model' is probably my favourite album of 1978.
It's a pity the BBC didn't have the foresight to substitute Costello's TOTP performance of 'Pump It Up' in place of '(I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea' on their 'Big Hits: 1978' compilation as 'Pump It Up' only features once on a Jimmy Savile hosted episode.
BIB - in 1979 I overheard the late John Peel and his producer, the late John Walters being interviewed on an early evening Radio One broadcast. There was a phone-in and one girl caller asked Peel why he never presented TOTP. Peel said he did co-host one edition in 1968 with Jimmy Savile but he wasn't asked back because he forgot the name of the group 'Amen Corner' as he introduced their performance of 'Bend Me Shape Me'. He referred to this incident again on the Christmas Day 1981 TOTP as he introduced the Human League.
According to Popscene the next complete episode he presented was on 4 February 1982 (as stated in your post) so that is probably right. My memory could be playing tricks but I distinctly remember him hosting the 1 April 1982 show and seem to recall him saying at the start that it was 14 years since he last presented the programme and just before the final credits he said something like "I might see you again in another 14 years" or words to that effect (as if he had stood in as a one-off and wasn't expecting to host again any time soon). With any luck all will be revealed on BBC Four in four years time.
I think Peel would have fitted well as a 70s TOTP host. Better late than never I suppose.
I love Sweet too. Their biggest Country/Market was Germany.
The UK gave them several Top 2 Hits, (5), but 'Blockbuster' was their
only UK No.1. (5 Weeks, in 1973).
They had 8 German No.1 Hits, (the same as Boney M), & spent 36 Weeks
at No.1. Even more than ABBA's 33 No.1 Weeks, from 9 No.1's.
The 3 Groups with the most Top 10, (Singles), Weeks in Germany, are
The Beatles, (302), ABBA, (239), & Sweet, (187).
Sweet could not really sell Albums, despite their harmonies etc. being
as good as Queen's.
Queen were far bigger with Albums in Germany, (4 No.1's), than Singles.
They never had a German No.1 Single. 'Radio Ga Ga' was their biggest
Hit there - No.2. (Queen only spent 59 Weeks in the German Top 10).
Andy Williams looks out of place on TOTP '78 - he would be better suited to TOTP '71 instead! :rolleyes:
agreed - seeing williams out of his depth here along with dusty springfield and lulu the other week made me think that 1978 has to be the end of a golden era when many of these big established stars from the 60's and early 70's would be granted an appearance on TOTP with songs that surely had no hope of charting - novelty/charity hits and collaborations aside of course (pet shop boys/dusty, take that/lulu etc)?
I suppose Andy Williams' appearance could be partly justified in that his then current album, a compilation called 'Reflections, was at number 2 in the album chart, he had just released a track from the album as a single and he was presumably in the UK promoting either or both releases.
But I think that as long as Robin Nash remained in charge of the programme it would still have an element of being a family entertainment show. I'm not sure if he was the only person who chose the acts who appeared but his background and approach must have had some effect on those who did the choosing, if it wasn't all down to him.
I love Sweet too. Their biggest Country/Market was Germany.
The UK gave them several Top 2 Hits, (5), but 'Blockbuster' was their
only UK No.1. (5 Weeks, in 1973).
They had 8 German No.1 Hits, (the same as Boney M), & spent 36 Weeks
at No.1. Even more than ABBA's 33 No.1 Weeks, from 9 No.1's.
The 3 Groups with the most Top 10, (Singles), Weeks in Germany, are
The Beatles, (302), ABBA, (239), & Sweet, (187).
Sweet could not really sell Albums, despite their harmonies etc. being
as good as Queen's.
Queen were far bigger with Albums in Germany, (4 No.1's), than Singles.
They never had a German No.1 Single. 'Radio Ga Ga' was their biggest
Hit there - No.2. (Queen only spent 59 Weeks in the German Top 10).
Wow, those are impressive stats. I never had a clue Sweet were so big over there. If you know them, any chance of listing their 8 German Number 1's out of interest? I tried a google search to find this out but to no avail.
I presume it'd be:-
Ballroom Blitz
Blockbuster
Teenage Rampage
Fox On The Run
Love Is Like Oxygen
Getting stuck now, but...
Little Willy (?)
Wig Wam Bam (?)
Not sure what else? 'The Sixteens' maybe or one of the other earlier 'bubblegum' songs like CoCo?
I suppose Andy Williams' appearance could be partly justified in that his then current album, a compilation called 'Reflections, was at number 2 in the album chart, he had just released a track from the album as a single and he was presumably in the UK promoting either or both releases.
But I think that as long as Robin Nash remained in charge of the programme it would still have an element of being a family entertainment show. I'm not sure if he was the only person who chose the acts who appeared but his background and approach must have had some effect on those who did the choosing, if it wasn't all down to him.
Nash may have been in charge of the show but wasn't that predictable in his choices - he didn't have to feature Generation X or Eddie & The Hot Rods when they weren't in the Top 30 (or even the Top 50), but he still did.
I would imagine the inclusion of Williams may have been a deal done at a higher level. Nash wasn't given entirely free rein - he would have worked to superiors in the Light Entertainment department, and I would suspect they would have been the point of contact to get an artist of Williams' stature on the show. As per the inclusion of Cilla, Cliff and Lulu at the drop of a hat, I would wager Nash may not have had much option other than to agree - and probably not that much of a stretch for him given his own pedigree ... but it made TOTP look even more out of touch given the power of new wave/punk and disco by now.
The random spots given to very MOR artists with TV profiles continued into the early 80s. Check out this appearance by Lena Zavaroni from 1980 ...
Hard to credit it was even featured by the time the charts had changed so much that 1977's bright young things were routinely claiming number one singles ... :eek:
Thanks for the education Robbie. I always associate the wonderful singles and album 'I am' as belonging to 1979 - so I stand corrected on the year of issue for 'September' . I had checked out the B-side of the Hamilton Bohanon track before and although good - I feel the remix is significantly better.
September wasn't even on the wonderful LP 'I am' Ramraider!!
It was on a Best of compilation compilation. Stop getting EWF wrong ! Shades of Alan Partridge and James Bond movies here !
Think it's old age to blame - I'm even posting my own replies to my original posts. Well it saves other people doing it for me.
Am I the only person on the planet who finds 'Baker Street' overrated ?
September wasn't even on the wonderful LP 'I am' Ramraider!!
It was on a Best of compilation compilation. Stop getting EWF wrong ! Shades of Alan Partridge and James Bond movies here !
Think it's old age to blame - I'm even posting my own replies to my original posts. Well it saves other people doing it for me.
Am I the only person on the planet who finds 'Baker Street' overrated ?
I like 'Baker Street' but mainly because of the music rather than the vocal bits. Without the sax (and the guitar solo) it wouldn't be anywhere near as good. In that respect it's similar to 'Will You' by Hazel O'Connor, a good song made great because of excellent use of the saxophone.
Hard to credit it was even featured by the time the charts had changed so much that 1977's bright young things were routinely claiming number one singles ... :eek:
blimey, hats off for pulling this one out of the bag, like u say what a bizarre song to have been given a slot, even for 1980?! it sounds like something from the early to mid 70's to me :eek: after thinking about big MOR acts on TOTP gradually disappearing from 1978 onwards i delved a bit deeper and it seems 1979 was pretty much the last year where any uncharted acts at all got slots, maybe the odd eurovision entry being the exception, lena god rest her soul somehow slipped under the radar! :rolleyes:
definitely a case of too much time on my hands here but a quick scan of 1981 shows that only two acts were granted a slot on TOTP without a charting single....lena zavaroni again and...ken dodd :eek:
I love Sweet too. Their biggest Country/Market was Germany.
The UK gave them several Top 2 Hits, (5), but 'Blockbuster' was their
only UK No.1. (5 Weeks, in 1973).
They had 8 German No.1 Hits, (the same as Boney M), & spent 36 Weeks
at No.1. Even more than ABBA's 33 No.1 Weeks, from 9 No.1's.
The 3 Groups with the most Top 10, (Singles), Weeks in Germany, are
The Beatles, (302), ABBA, (239), & Sweet, (187).
Sweet could not really sell Albums, despite their harmonies etc. being
as good as Queen's.
Queen were far bigger with Albums in Germany, (4 No.1's), than Singles.
They never had a German No.1 Single. 'Radio Ga Ga' was their biggest
Hit there - No.2. (Queen only spent 59 Weeks in the German Top 10).
Some great stats there Zeus. I'm also a big fan of Sweet.
It's sad but nice to see their final TOTP's performance and a Top 10 hit with 'Love Is Like Oxygen'. It's my fave Sweet single along with 'Fox(y) On The Run'!
I heard somewhere that Fox On The Run was not only No.1 in Australia but the biggest seller of 1975 down under!
I like 'Baker Street' but mainly because of the music rather than the vocal bits. Without the sax (and the guitar solo) it wouldn't be anywhere near as good. In that respect it's similar to 'Will You' by Hazel O'Connor, a good song made great because of excellent use of the saxophone.
I don't think there are many songs improved by saxophones, there's a lot more that would be better without them.
September wasn't even on the wonderful LP 'I am' Ramraider!!
It was on a Best of compilation compilation. Stop getting EWF wrong ! Shades of Alan Partridge and James Bond movies here !
Think it's old age to blame - I'm even posting my own replies to my original posts. Well it saves other people doing it for me.
Am I the only person on the planet who finds 'Baker Street' overrated ?
No you're not. Thought it was overrated when it came out and still do.
I like 'Baker Street' but mainly because of the music rather than the vocal bits. Without the sax (and the guitar solo) it wouldn't be anywhere near as good. In that respect it's similar to 'Will You' by Hazel O'Connor, a good song made great because of excellent use of the saxophone.
Same saxophonist wasn't it? Although I don't like "Baker Street" I do like "Will You".
I don't think there are many songs improved by saxophones, there's a lot more that would be better without them.
Careless Whisper is another good one.
I disagree, nothing enhances a song like a good sax break. Going a bit off topic, I always think that "All I Want for Christmas Is You" is crying out for a sax break in the middle. And I agree with UsulaU, "Embarrasment's" sax is sensational (but don't agree with her that "Baker Street is good - but it would be even worse without the sax).
The sax break in Embarassment by Madness is great too! (Atleast I think it's a sax! )
P.S - I think Baker Street is a gorgeous song - I never get sick of it!!
Agree with your 'Embarrassment' opinion. One of Madness' best songs.
I also like Will you ?
But regarding Baker Street - although I did not particularly like the single , the rest of the 'City to City' album is really good and I bought it. Great track called 'Home and Dry' on it.
I like sax solos in songs, though that tends to be more an 80s thing perhaps, the 70s of course are more famous for guitar solos.
BIB... maybe, although two "new wave" bands due to feature on TOTP later in 1978 had in-house saxophonists - X-Ray Spex and Ian Dury and the Blockheads.
Comments
BIB - in 1979 I overheard the late John Peel and his producer, the late John Walters being interviewed on an early evening Radio One broadcast. There was a phone-in and one girl caller asked Peel why he never presented TOTP. Peel said he did co-host one edition in 1968 with Jimmy Savile but he wasn't asked back because he forgot the name of the group 'Amen Corner' as he introduced their performance of 'Bend Me Shape Me'. He referred to this incident again on the Christmas Day 1981 TOTP as he introduced the Human League.
According to Popscene the next complete episode he presented was on 4 February 1982 (as stated in your post) so that is probably right. My memory could be playing tricks but I distinctly remember him hosting the 1 April 1982 show and seem to recall him saying at the start that it was 14 years since he last presented the programme and just before the final credits he said something like "I might see you again in another 14 years" or words to that effect (as if he had stood in as a one-off and wasn't expecting to host again any time soon). With any luck all will be revealed on BBC Four in four years time.
'Pump It Up' and '(I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea' have superb basslines and sharp lyrics IMO and 'This Year's Model' is probably my favourite album of 1978.
It's a pity the BBC didn't have the foresight to substitute Costello's TOTP performance of 'Pump It Up' in place of '(I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea' on their 'Big Hits: 1978' compilation as 'Pump It Up' only features once on a Jimmy Savile hosted episode.
I think Peel would have fitted well as a 70s TOTP host. Better late than never I suppose.
The UK gave them several Top 2 Hits, (5), but 'Blockbuster' was their
only UK No.1. (5 Weeks, in 1973).
They had 8 German No.1 Hits, (the same as Boney M), & spent 36 Weeks
at No.1. Even more than ABBA's 33 No.1 Weeks, from 9 No.1's.
The 3 Groups with the most Top 10, (Singles), Weeks in Germany, are
The Beatles, (302), ABBA, (239), & Sweet, (187).
Sweet could not really sell Albums, despite their harmonies etc. being
as good as Queen's.
Queen were far bigger with Albums in Germany, (4 No.1's), than Singles.
They never had a German No.1 Single. 'Radio Ga Ga' was their biggest
Hit there - No.2. (Queen only spent 59 Weeks in the German Top 10).
agreed - seeing williams out of his depth here along with dusty springfield and lulu the other week made me think that 1978 has to be the end of a golden era when many of these big established stars from the 60's and early 70's would be granted an appearance on TOTP with songs that surely had no hope of charting - novelty/charity hits and collaborations aside of course (pet shop boys/dusty, take that/lulu etc)?
http://www.officialcharts.com/archive-chart/_/3/1978-03-04/
But I think that as long as Robin Nash remained in charge of the programme it would still have an element of being a family entertainment show. I'm not sure if he was the only person who chose the acts who appeared but his background and approach must have had some effect on those who did the choosing, if it wasn't all down to him.
Wow, those are impressive stats. I never had a clue Sweet were so big over there. If you know them, any chance of listing their 8 German Number 1's out of interest? I tried a google search to find this out but to no avail.
I presume it'd be:-
Ballroom Blitz
Blockbuster
Teenage Rampage
Fox On The Run
Love Is Like Oxygen
Getting stuck now, but...
Little Willy (?)
Wig Wam Bam (?)
Not sure what else?
Nash may have been in charge of the show but wasn't that predictable in his choices - he didn't have to feature Generation X or Eddie & The Hot Rods when they weren't in the Top 30 (or even the Top 50), but he still did.
I would imagine the inclusion of Williams may have been a deal done at a higher level. Nash wasn't given entirely free rein - he would have worked to superiors in the Light Entertainment department, and I would suspect they would have been the point of contact to get an artist of Williams' stature on the show. As per the inclusion of Cilla, Cliff and Lulu at the drop of a hat, I would wager Nash may not have had much option other than to agree - and probably not that much of a stretch for him given his own pedigree ... but it made TOTP look even more out of touch given the power of new wave/punk and disco by now.
The random spots given to very MOR artists with TV profiles continued into the early 80s. Check out this appearance by Lena Zavaroni from 1980 ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62_ZPT4qbyc
Hard to credit it was even featured by the time the charts had changed so much that 1977's bright young things were routinely claiming number one singles ... :eek:
September wasn't even on the wonderful LP 'I am' Ramraider!!
It was on a Best of compilation compilation. Stop getting EWF wrong ! Shades of Alan Partridge and James Bond movies here !
Think it's old age to blame - I'm even posting my own replies to my original posts. Well it saves other people doing it for me.
Am I the only person on the planet who finds 'Baker Street' overrated ?
blimey, hats off for pulling this one out of the bag, like u say what a bizarre song to have been given a slot, even for 1980?! it sounds like something from the early to mid 70's to me :eek: after thinking about big MOR acts on TOTP gradually disappearing from 1978 onwards i delved a bit deeper and it seems 1979 was pretty much the last year where any uncharted acts at all got slots, maybe the odd eurovision entry being the exception, lena god rest her soul somehow slipped under the radar! :rolleyes:
Some great stats there Zeus. I'm also a big fan of Sweet.
It's sad but nice to see their final TOTP's performance and a Top 10 hit with 'Love Is Like Oxygen'. It's my fave Sweet single along with 'Fox(y) On The Run'!
I heard somewhere that Fox On The Run was not only No.1 in Australia but the biggest seller of 1975 down under!
I don't think there are many songs improved by saxophones, there's a lot more that would be better without them.
Careless Whisper is another good one.
The sax break in Embarassment by Madness is great too!
P.S - I think Baker Street is a gorgeous song - I never get sick of it!!
No you're not.
Same saxophonist wasn't it? Although I don't like "Baker Street" I do like "Will You".
I disagree, nothing enhances a song like a good sax break. Going a bit off topic, I always think that "All I Want for Christmas Is You" is crying out for a sax break in the middle. And I agree with UsulaU, "Embarrasment's" sax is sensational (but don't agree with her that "Baker Street is good - but it would be even worse without the sax).
Agree with your 'Embarrassment' opinion. One of Madness' best songs.
I also like Will you ?
But regarding Baker Street - although I did not particularly like the single , the rest of the 'City to City' album is really good and I bought it. Great track called 'Home and Dry' on it.
BIB... maybe, although two "new wave" bands due to feature on TOTP later in 1978 had in-house saxophonists - X-Ray Spex and Ian Dury and the Blockheads.
the sax solo in My Lovely Horse had to go though
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfrCzrlGQL4