Top Of The Pops 1978 - BBC4

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  • Rich Tea.Rich Tea. Posts: 22,048
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    player1 wrote: »
    was fortunate enough to see Darts live in their heyday. My favourite of theirs was one of their lesser hits "Don't let it fade away" ( although Den Hegarty had left by that point )
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iecqlfhgOg

    "If I had words" is one of my all time favourite songs, still sounds good today

    My mother bought If I Had Words, and I informed her it was on TOTP 1978 last Thursday. In the summer that year I got my first ever basic tape recorder, and it was one of about 4 tracks I recorded from the record player onto my tape. One of the others was No Charge! I played these to death, but not because I especially liked them! But also in her collection is Scott Fitzgerald's next most noted song, Go, from ten years later at the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest, when he came 2nd to the winner sung by Celine Dion by one point on the final vote, with quite a decent track written by Sir Bruce Forsythe's daughter. Can still recall the shocked reaction to that loss at the final gasp.

    Yvonne Keeley I checked out and she still looks fabulous, and apparently she is Dutch. As for Scott Fitzgerald there is not a lot of recent information about him. Listening to the track again I almost thought If I Had Words sounded a bit like a "white reggae" kind of style, which is interesting considering the No1 by Althea & Donna was a fully fledged reggae tune, and they were both Top 4 same week.


    Regarding Darts, who I just about remember, when I saw their first hit Daddy Cool a while back I was wondering why the other chap with less hair was not singing, as he was the one I always remembered singing lead with them. He was on Come Back My love though. I had no idea they swapped over the male lead vocals.
  • Robbie01Robbie01 Posts: 10,417
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    The arrangement of 'If I Had Words' was based around part of Symphony No. 3, a classical piece of music written by Camille Saint-Saëns.

    Of course back then I didn't know that, I found this out when Classic FM launched in the early 90s and they would frequently play the part of Symphony No. 3 that features this piece of music.
  • footygirlfootygirl Posts: 35,171
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    Robbie01 wrote: »
    The arrangement of 'If I Had Words' was based around part of Symphony No. 3, a classical piece of music written by Camille Saint-Saëns.

    Of course back then I didn't know that, I found this out when Classic FM launched in the early 90s and they would frequently play the part of Symphony No. 3 that features this piece of music.

    I remember Scott Fitzgerald from Eurovision 88 in Dublin, and he would have won had it not been for the votes from the final jury, which if I remember correctly was Yugoslavia
  • Robbie01Robbie01 Posts: 10,417
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    I can't even remember seeing Scott Fitzgerald or even Celine Dion on Eurovision 88 but I must have heard the songs as I can recall the Hothouse Flowers performing 'Don't Go' during the interval. Unless I just caught that particular performance by accident and didn't see the rest of the programme of course. By 1988 I'd more or less grown out of watching the competition and in fact the last one I can remember watching in full was in 1984.
  • footygirlfootygirl Posts: 35,171
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    Robbie01 wrote: »
    I can't even remember seeing Scott Fitzgerald or even Celine Dion on Eurovision 88 but I must have heard the songs as I can recall the Hothouse Flowers performing 'Don't Go' during the interval. Unless I just caught that particular performance by accident and didn't see the rest of the programme of course. By 1988 I'd more or less grown out of watching the competition and in fact the last one I can remember watching in full was in 1984.

    Scott Fitzgerald had a song called Go
    Celine Dion's was Ne Partis Pas te Moi(Don't you leave without me) - she had a brown bubble perm:eek:
  • RichuptonRichupton Posts: 940
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    footygirl wrote: »
    Scott Fitzgerald had a song called Go
    Celine Dion's was Ne Partis Pas te Moi(Don't you leave without me) - she had a brown bubble perm:eek:

    And did not celine and her manager consummate their love for the first time that night ?!
  • Rich Tea.Rich Tea. Posts: 22,048
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    Robbie01 wrote: »
    I can't even remember seeing Scott Fitzgerald or even Celine Dion on Eurovision 88 but I must have heard the songs as I can recall the Hothouse Flowers performing 'Don't Go' during the interval. Unless I just caught that particular performance by accident and didn't see the rest of the programme of course. By 1988 I'd more or less grown out of watching the competition and in fact the last one I can remember watching in full was in 1984.

    Ah, you've just reminded me of another track I could not get on iTunes Robbie! Our great 1984 entry Love Games by Belle & The Devotions, a catchy little number that was/is. Made No11 in the charts, came about 7th in the contest and I feel sure the girls got booed for some reason at one point. I cannot believe you are unable to recall the Scott Fitzgerald 1988 entry Go. I recall Celine, but not the song! Scott's song was a pretty decent track, written by Brucie's daughter and Bruce was actually there on the night going through the agony with her, and the rest of us. :( I think the track crept briefly to about No52.

    Regarding If I Had Words, and your above comment about it's influences all I can say is.....I guess it ain't reggae then. :o
  • vauxhall1964vauxhall1964 Posts: 10,334
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    Rich Tea. wrote: »
    Ah, you've just reminded me of another track I could not get on iTunes Robbie! Our great 1984 entry Love Games by Belle & The Devotions, a catchy little number that was/is. I cannot believe you are unable to recall the Scott Fitzgerald 1988 entry Go. I recall Celine, but not the song! Scott's song was a pretty decent track, written by Brucie's daughter and Bruce was actually there on the night going through the agony with her, and the rest of us. :( I think the track crept briefly to about No52.

    Regarding If I Had Words, and your above comment about it's influences all I can say is.....I guess it ain't reggae then. :o

    Brucie harbours a grudge still. When he was on Room 101 he put "Yugoslavia" into Room 101 in revenge!
  • Rich Tea.Rich Tea. Posts: 22,048
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    Brucie harbours a grudge still. When he was on Room 101 he put "Yugoslavia" into Room 101 in revenge!

    Whatever next!

    Yugoslavia wasn't even a proper country was it. Not only that but Celine Dion was a French Canadian singing for Switzerland! The travesty of it all. I bet Scott is still recovering, hence his apparent absence from anything notable in recent times! :D

    If He & Brucie Had Words they'd likely be F*** Yugoslavia & F*** Switzerland too. I won't go as far as to say the same for Celine for decency sake! :p
  • HughJasssHughJasss Posts: 153
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    If you want Love Games by Belle & The Devotions but cannot get it anywhere,

    Get this

    http://www.dvdvideosoft.com/products/dvd/Free-YouTube-to-MP3-Converter.htm

    Paste the Youtube URL of that song in there -

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIkZX7viv_4

    there you go.

    Sorry if that comes across as a spambot, but it really is easy to use.
  • ServalanServalan Posts: 10,167
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    Rich Tea. wrote: »
    Ah, you've just reminded me of another track I could not get on iTunes Robbie! Our great 1984 entry Love Games by Belle & The Devotions, a catchy little number that was/is. Made No11 in the charts, came about 7th in the contest and I feel sure the girls got booed for some reason at one point. I cannot believe you are unable to recall the Scott Fitzgerald 1988 entry Go. I recall Celine, but not the song! Scott's song was a pretty decent track, written by Brucie's daughter and Bruce was actually there on the night going through the agony with her, and the rest of us. :( I think the track crept briefly to about No52.

    Both 'Love Games' and Celine Dion's track feature on this 1997 Eurovision complilation ...

    http://www.amazon.co.uk/This-Is-Eurovision-Various/dp/B000024RG3

    You might find it cheaper on GEMM - if you still want that track ... ;)
  • pedrokpedrok Posts: 16,758
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    According to Wiki, Brian Connolly's foster father Jim McManus was Mark McManus's uncle.

    I grew up in Blantyre in Lanarkshire. Nothing much happened in Blantyre, although David Livingstone was born there.

    During their glam rock period, and during an appearence on TOTP, I remember my mum telling me that the lead singer, Brian Connolly, came from Blantyre. For a youngster like me, having a pop star like Connolly coming from my little home town was just fantastic!!

    Blantyre wasn't a big place but I don't remember any fuss, or even an acknowledment, that this big star of the 70's came from Blantyre.

    Years later I remember a story that both were 'related' and they were half brothers, although it appears they were not exactly half brothers.

    Anyway 'Love is like Oxygen' is a great song.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 973
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    Rich Tea. wrote: »
    Whatever next!

    Yugoslavia wasn't even a proper country was it. Not only that but Celine Dion was a French Canadian singing for Switzerland! The travesty of it all. I bet Scott is still recovering, hence his apparent absence from anything notable in recent times! :D

    If He & Brucie Had Words they'd likely be F*** Yugoslavia & F*** Switzerland too. I won't go as far as to say the same for Celine for decency sake! :p

    I was still at school in 1988 but after hearing the previews, I bet £10 on Switzerland to win, so I was quite excited when she won on the last jury vote. It is more than fair to say that history has proven that the correct entrant won that contest. "Ne partez pas sans moi" shows off Celine's voice perfectly and remember she was just a teenager at the time. I should also commend RTE for terrific production values on that contest, really modernised it at the time.
  • faversham saintfaversham saint Posts: 2,535
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    pedrok wrote: »
    I grew up in Blantyre in Lanarkshire. Nothing much happened in Blantyre, although David Livingstone was born there.

    During their glam rock period, and during an appearence on TOTP, I remember my mum telling me that the lead singer, Brian Connolly, came from Blantyre. For a youngster like me, having a pop star like Connolly coming from my little home town was just fantastic!!

    Blantyre wasn't a big place but I don't remember any fuss, or even an acknowledment, that this big star of the 70's came from Blantyre.

    Years later I remember a story that both were 'related' and they were half brothers, although it appears they were not exactly half brothers.

    Anyway 'Love is like Oxygen' is a great song.

    I was surprised when I first heard that Brian Connolly was born and raised north of the border as I could detect no trace of a Scottish accent whenever I heard him interviewed.

    I first saw Mark McManus in 1973 playing the role of Sam in the eponymous TV drama serial set in a Yorkshire coal mining town. When he began playing the TV detective Taggart 10 years later I assumed his thick Glaswegian accent was testament to his acting skills.

    It would seem the two are not blood-related and any facial resemblance is purely coincidental.
  • faversham saintfaversham saint Posts: 2,535
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    Rich Tea. wrote: »
    Adverts lead singer was trying his best, and failing miserably to look angry in my view. I'd descibe them as "faux punk". :p

    Johnny Rotten may have been thinking along similar lines when he said on the radio in 1977 that "bands that are making it after us are like the nicety-nice, cleaned-up version... the middle-class, rich kids... and that's like the most disgusting thing... I've created a monster - and I don't like it".
  • ServalanServalan Posts: 10,167
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    Johnny Rotten may have been thinking along similar lines when he said on the radio in 1977 that "bands that are making it after us are like the nicety-nice, cleaned-up version... the middle-class, rich kids... and that's like the most disgusting thing... I've created a monster - and I don't like it".

    I'd hazard a guess that comment might have been aimed at Joe Strummer of The Clash, who was a diplomat's son and went to boarding school, then re-invented himself through punk.

    There was real emnity between the Clash and the Pistols, centred on Strummer and Mick Jones attacking Sid Vicious for sporting Nazi regalia. While Lydon certainly wasn't symathetic to the likes of the National Front, he remained defensive of Sid - possibly because he brought him into the group - and Strummer's past made for useful ammunition.

    I rather doubt the likes of The Adverts even registered on his radar ... ;)
  • pinkyponk34pinkyponk34 Posts: 1,244
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    I hadn't seen The Sweet in their later less glam period with an extra guitarist and " serious " face fuzz., was that the original drummer ? The song was OK but not a patch on the early stuff.

    What was the story about Connolly in an altercation that ruined his voice ? I thought his mega booze intake was the cause of that, and his eventual death.
    Raunchy routine from Legs and Co, but as usual, far too few close ups of their fleshly parts.
  • bryemycazbryemycaz Posts: 11,735
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    I hadn't seen The Sweet in their later less glam period with an extra guitarist and " serious " face fuzz., was that the original drummer ? The song was OK but not a patch on the early stuff.

    What was the story about Connolly in an altercation that ruined his voice ? I thought his mega booze intake was the cause of that, and his eventual death.
    Raunchy routine from Legs and Co, but as usual, far too few close ups of their fleshly parts.

    Some guys picked on him becaue of who he was, he ended up with a slashed throat from a broken bottle. Not sure if anyone was charged but the incident acellerated his drinking habit.
  • ServalanServalan Posts: 10,167
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    I hadn't seen The Sweet in their later less glam period with an extra guitarist and " serious " face fuzz., was that the original drummer ? The song was OK but not a patch on the early stuff.

    What was the story about Connolly in an altercation that ruined his voice ? I thought his mega booze intake was the cause of that, and his eventual death.

    That was indeed the late and appallingly underrated Mick Tucker on drums.

    The story about Connolly's voice is as follows:
    But in early 1974, in the midst of session for a new album that was to showcase a harder rock direction, came the incident that changed everything. Connolly was beaten up outside a pub in Staines, Surrey. Scott says Connolly was trying to protect his Mercedes from a couple of local vandals. Priest's version is much more sinister. Connolly's car was tailed by persons unknown who waited until he stopped at the pub to buy cigarettes. "It was a set-up job," Priest says. "He'd annoyed someone. There were three guys attacking him and one of them kicked him in the throat. Brian heard him say, 'That should do the job.' The only one who knows the truth is an ex-roadie of ours, and he won't tell."

    The assault on Connolly changed the destiny of Sweet. As well as damaging his vocal cords, it shattered his confidence and he began drinking heavily. It also meant cancelling the most important concert of Sweet's career. Pete Townshend had invited them to support the Who at Charlton Athletic's football ground in May 1974, where Scott believes they would have proved to critics and fans alike that they were serious rock contenders, not a superficial glam machine.

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/sep/23/sweet-strange-history

    The boozing spiralled out of that ... :( A sobering story of pop music, if ever there was one.
  • UrsulaUUrsulaU Posts: 7,239
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    Servalan wrote: »
    That was indeed the late and appallingly underrated Mick Tucker on drums.

    The story about Connolly's voice is as follows:



    http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/sep/23/sweet-strange-history

    The boozing spiralled out of that ... :( A sobering story of pop music, if ever there was one.

    Such a shame..I hate mindless violence - especially on talented people such as Brian C - it's just envy at the end of the day! :mad:

    I loved this song too - I was 8 when it came out and didn't know much about Sweet but when they were announced on TOTP I thought Tony Blackburn said they were "Swedes" (like Abba) not Sweet!! :D - Especially with his blond hair!! ;)

    It's funny how you mis-hear things when you are little!! :rolleyes:
  • Mrs MackintoshMrs Mackintosh Posts: 1,870
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    Towards the end of his life Brian was a gibbering wreck, he had several heart attacks and could barely speak with severe shakes. I felt so sorry for him, he used to be a tremendous looking guy with a great rock voice.
  • tortfeasortortfeasor Posts: 7,000
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    SgtRock wrote: »
    Just went back to see what Tony Blackburn said at the end of The Adverts - "hope his hand gets better!"

    Tony really didn't have any time for punk bands, did he?

    No, he didn't. It's something that I've found a lot of people remember from the time as well, and dare I say the fact that he didn't do a lot to conceal he thought punk was a load of rubbish didn't do a lot for how people perceived him to be. Radio 1 pretty much relegated him to weekends within a year or so of this episode being broadcast and some sources I've read suggested this was in some part because he was seen as being out of touch. Perhaps he was in some ways ahead of the game though considering he was championing soul, which became really big again during the 1980s.

    Mind you I think the breakdowns on air over his breakup with the first wife didn't do a lot for how people perceived him either. They had happened by the time the latest TOTP episode had been broadcast, presumably?
  • tortfeasortortfeasor Posts: 7,000
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    ...

    I seem to remember Abba squeezed out Eagle as a single in continental Europe after Take A Chance but, for some reason, it was never released in the UK - meaning a very long gap until Summer Night City came out as a single...

    'Eagle' should definitely have been released as a single here. It's one of their best recordings and still sounds great now. The gym I go to went through a phase of playing background music in the changing rooms at a pleasant level a few years ago, and one of the tunes on the CD they had made up was 'Eagle.' I had a hard time convincing one of the guys that it was an ABBA song for some reason. I think it's pretty obvious that it's them. As for 'Summer Night City,' it should have been another #1 for them here! Darn that other 'Summer Nights' song for selling so many copies! :D
  • tortfeasortortfeasor Posts: 7,000
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    jake1981 wrote: »
    I thought I would download the Greatest Hits. Totally different versions which weren't as good.
    Went back and got In Full Bloom instead which had the versions that I remember
    Played this album to death back in the day. Good memories

    A friend of mine had the same problem a few years ago.
    I bought the original Rose Royce Greatest Hits (I think it was released the first time around in 1980) on CD many moons ago and subsequently got 'The Very Best of Rose Royce,' which has the picture of a car on the front, too. Both were released by Warner/Rhino.

    The original records have appeared on quite a few compilations over the last few years - many on those 100 Hits compilations too - so it is surprising that it's harder to find a Rose Royce 'best of' with all of the original hits on it.
    Come on, Warner!

    Thankfully you can download the original albums! A special mention should be made to 'Ooh Boy' from the 'In Full Bloom' album, which is one of Gwen's finest moments.
  • tortfeasortortfeasor Posts: 7,000
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    Servalan wrote: »
    Thank you for these fantastic T Rex clips - the 'Hot Love' is particularly fab with the audience trying to copy the Pan's People routine and not quite keeping up! :D

    If this material is in the ZDF archive, then clearly ZDF had a bit more nouse that the BBC - but whether or not they sill have the original TOTP footage is another thing ... Either way, if the BBC won't buy it back or can't afford to, can't the BFI get their hands on it? Isn't that what their TV archive division facilitates?

    It has to be said that these clips also merit the fanfare that surrounded the rediscovery of 'The Jean Genie' ...

    I'm pretty sure the Beeb has known for a while that the footage exists purely because the clips have been released on both Video and DVD in the UK. If Auntie has chosen to not buy it back, I wouldn't be surprised that the fact the clips are or at least have been commercially available to buy (in a ZDF treated form) has had something to do with the reason why.

    I double checked the 'T. Rex on TV' DVD that was released a few years ago on the weekend and it also has the clips of 'Hot Love,' 'Metal Guru' and 'Solid Gold Easy Action,' which were from TOTP but broadcast by ZDF and which we've discussed on the thread.
    Thank Heavens that ZDF preserved the clips!
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