Top Of The Pops 1978 - BBC4 (Part 3)
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Continuation of: Top Of The Pops 1978 - BBC4 (Part 2)
Neil_Harris wrote: »Why on earth would you want to end the repeats at any point in time? Let the series run till the end.
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Which will lead to the golden year of 1979. Punk fizzled out after the death of Sid Vicious, but what came in its place was even better, 2 Tone, NWOBHM, the start of synthesiser music, the mod revival, post punk. Can't wait for these repeats.
Just wanted to respond to Ursula's post on the previous part...http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showpost.php?p=69152754&postcount=5717
I was thinking only last week how The Associates track Party Fears Two is such an archetypal 80s song. It's one of those songs that is just defined by the time it was made. When you hear it you're instantly transported to that era, even pinpointing that specific mid-80s period. It's a great track.
I think it could be argued that punk in its originally recognised form was already dying in 1978. The Sex Pistols' singles post-Lydon's exit consist of either Sid Vicious, repackaged as a cartoon parody of himself to disguise his heroin addiction, or Jones and Cook's sub-heavy metal (laced, in '78, with Ronnie Biggs) ... all attempts by Malcom McLaren and Virgin to make money from a group which no longer existed in its most potent form.
By the end of 1979, most of the groups that emerged in the Pistols' wake had either imploded (X-Ray Spex), fizzled out (Buzzcocks), or lost the plot (Sham 69), and their apparent successors (the Ruts, the Members) failed to consolidate on their initial success ... leaving The Clash, The Jam, Siouxsie & The Banshees, Ian Dury and Blondie as leaders of the pack who matured and experimented with their sound and trasncended their original 'punk' label.
By 1979, the most 'punk' band in the charts were the UK Subs, who looked tired and jaded. What punk triggered - giving a platform for powerful women performers, the DIY ethic, the politics - had kicked in and the flurry of musical changes were continuing at such a pace that the year is exhilerating ... with even more change to come in 1980/1981. Exciting times - let's hope lovely Sue is right and the repeats keep coming!
Another vote from me for 'Party Fears Two' - sheer brilliance and so sad The Associates never maintained their momentum after the fantastic parent album Sulk ... :cool::(
But in reply to Faversham Saint:-
1) I think I would draw the line at The Bay City Rollers being a classic band!!
and
2) Re: OMD - I always thought Andy McClusky was a most unlikely looking popstar - I think it was the curly hairdo & Charlie Chaplin trousers!!
There's this appearance on Top Of The Pops of them doing 'Party Takes Two'. Billy McKenzie can't stop looking at himself in the studio monitor. I can't quite work out if it's vanity, childlike excitement of seeing himself on TV or just pure realisation that he was on TOTP overwhelming him slightly. It's possibly all three.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZSMDaewz2A
Yes Littlegirl ( and Servalan too) - I would go as far as saying Party Fears Two is probably my most favourite single of the 1980s! - It certainly is one of the most unique! - (It was 1982 by the way - so more early than mid 80s! - The songs weren't as class in the mid 80s!!!
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Ooh wow - haven't seen that one - lets hope it's not a JS/DLT episode! - But I'm sure I saw a glimpse of Simon Bates so we should be ok!
Ok thanks! - (not sure what an url is either)!
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SB did host it's second performance but DLT still did it's first.
Brilliant clip, never seen that before. He looks full of nervous energy.
Was listening to the Associates 'Popera' singles collection earlier. Always loved their 'Heart of Glass' cover from later in his (all too sadly short) career. Should have been huge but I think it flopped. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfqca97AnDI
:mad: Typical!! - Unless - of course - he is exonerated by then!
Looked it up, it was 82: until recently I'd never heard of The Associates, but I was only 5 then. But somehow, the instrumental bit seemed familiar on 'Party Fears Two' - was it used as a tv theme in the mid 80s, possibly a holiday type programme or maybe even an advert? I definitely remember being familiar with it even though I don't remember the charts of 82.
Did you ever listen to Radio 4? It was on there.
I remember my dad listened to it a lot when I was at home - and one programme (can't remember which) had Party Fears Two as it's theme music!! :eek: - I couldn't believe it when I first heard it!! - Wonderful!!
The story of Billy MacKensie is one of the saddest in the history of rock, up there with that of Badfinger even. William you were really something.:(
Far from being minor this shop, while it was certainly quite small in size, was probably the best place to get punk music south of London. It carried huge clout in the Sussex area and commanded respect that the big chains simply could not attain as the punk revolution developed.:)
RIP:(.
Entirely sound.:)
Just an anecdote to illustrate. I saw the Buzzcocks in New castle, supported by Joy Division no less, in October 1979. They were ranting and rowing on stage, and theirs was a frustrating performance. They were simply losing momentum.:eek:
Actually it probably was! I know my mum would sometimes put Radio 4 on if she was going through one of her self-improvement phases.
So would I
I always thought 'Orchestral Manoevres In The Dark' was an unlikely name for a pop group but I doubt Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys would have secured a slot on TOTP if they had stuck with their original band name 'Hitlerz Underpantz'.
It's very doubtful we will get to see the Associates second performance of their follow-up single 'Club Country' from June 1982 as it was introduced by Jimmy Savile:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4SYf9wocNk
The blonde violinist in the skimpy black swimming costume and shades is Martha Ladly, the Canadian keyboard player with Martha and the Muffins who had a UK hit two years earlier with 'Echo Beach'.
I saw them both in Leeds on the same tour!
I don't recall any rowing onstage, but I'm guessing either the Buzzcocks and/or their record company may have been brought up short by their dwindling singles success in 1979 following their bonanza year in '78 (five chart entries, the latter two in the Top 20). A prime example of the rate of change taking place in music then.
My abiding memory of that evening was Joy Division and Ian Curtis' performance. Obviously nobody knew then what was to follow ... or what was going on behind the scenes.