Now that is one TOTP that I will be actively avoiding like the plague. I can't be alone on here by doing that, surely? Last watched it in 2008.
Sadly, at my sister's place for Xmas, and her kids will insist on watching it. My sister will join in as she likes to think she's down with the kids. Me and the Brother-In-Law will tut loudly and drink.
This edition was the version of 1978 in which New Wave never happened.
Good point, but it was based purely on the size of the hit singles rather than the genres wasn't it. Which meant it didn't manage to convey the full all rounded reality of British pop music in 1978 that was appearing on TOTP week after week, not to mention elsewhere beyond those studios. I'd have liked it to veer away from almost exclusively featuring just the 1's and 2's to the wider top ten at least.
The highlight of all that was Kate Bush. Weird and wonderful. I feel positively ancient now knowing that those tunes are from 1978. I have no idea what's coming up in 1979 either...
I'm curious to know what has been no. 1 this year as the kids mention names I don't know.... Apart from Wand Erection, of course
Probably the best No1 in 2013 was back in May with Chic's Nile Rodgers aiding the French duo Daft Punk to No1 for 4 weeks, in collaboration with Pharrell Williams, who himself is currently the Christmas No2 with Happy, right now. (The real Xmas No1 if you ignore yet another tiresome X Factor stitch up)
Probably the best No1 in 2013 was back in May with Chic's Nile Rodgers aiding the French duo Daft Punk to No1 for 4 weeks, in collaboration with Pharrell Williams, who himself is currently the Christmas No2 with Happy, right now.
Probably the best No1 in 2013 was back in May with Chic's Nile Rodgers aiding the French duo Daft Punk to No1 for 4 weeks, in collaboration with Pharrell Williams, who himself is currently the Christmas No2 with Happy, right now.
There must have been a second Christmas TOTP with Boomtown Rats, 10CC, Althia and Donna, Blondie, Rod Stewart etc. If not odd that Boney M were on three times.
There was only one Christmas TOTP produced in 1978. As has been mentioned the one shown tonight was badly affected by industrial action at the BBC and it was presumably because of this industrial action that no further Christmas edition was made in 1978.
Looking at the Noel Edmund's Zmas 1978 TOTP special tonight, well, not one of Edmund's greatest moments. Yet the show did offer some insight into the pop year of 1978.
Those records that made it to the top or nearly did not really reflect stirrings and undercurrents of British society of that year. There were some patterns all the same.
There was more tacky pop: the Smurfs (likethe Wombles and Edmunds did pick that up well), and Brotherhood of Man whose Figaro could easily be the worst record ever to make it to number one, except I absolutely love it, and always have done. It is just so-o tacky. So tscky it is great.:o
There was also Northern nostalgia: Brian and Michael serenade in broad dialect the wonderful Lowry ("Lorry": pathetic non-joke). Or across the Pennines, the Floral Dance.:o
There are some fascinating links to pop's past too. Showaddywaddy and Darts were reviving doo-wop and older rock'n'roll, but doing it in a very British way. Showaddywaddy's performance of I Wonder Why was excellent. Forget about the original by Dion and the Belmonts. They really reclaim this as an English record. I often found them plodding and also naff, but here they are funny and enjoying all the doo waps. Dave Bartram is a superb frontman here. He is really enjoying himself. The Darts always had more cred, but their version of the Ad Libs Boy from New York City is one of their best moments and again they are having fun and not taking it too seriously. There is no comparison to the US original (or to the Manhattan Transfer's 1981 US top ten version). It is just a great record on its own terms.:)
There is also more nostalgia. Or at least more past references. Three Times a Lady is a great late Motown record, one of the best, and Rose Royce's Love Don't Live Here Anymore was produced (and written?) by Norman Whitfield, one of the great Motown writers who took the group over after he left Motown following the Temptations 1990 album in 1974.:)
Of course the year was dominated by two great nostalgia films and the music from them. Saturday Night Fever and Grease, obviously; although the songs had a contemporary feel.Olivia Newton John had strong links to the Shadows and to Cliff Richard and then to the early years of UK rock. I think she was still working with John Farrar who was in the then current version of the Shadows.:)
There are also two huge hits by one of the greatest bands of all time--Abba; and by Paul McCartney of the greatest pop group of all time.:)
Well where is the future? On this basis the future is Kate Bush, a real innovator. And Boney M. But Bush had strong links to Pink Floyd (via her mentor Dave Gilmour). While Boney M have links to Sixties bands via their engineer, Geoff Gill, who had been in the Smoke.:cool:
Of course, further down the charts there are lots of disco records and more and more New Wave records. However, I think that 1979 will show even more influence of these movements. I do not think the really top selling songs really reflected what was new and innovative in 1978. They may do in 1979. Let's see.:)
Watching this show for the first time--I remembered that I had not seen it because I spent Xmas Day 1978 with my family at the old people's home where Mum worked. A great memory, saddened only by the fact that Mum is no longer with us.:(
Well done to BBC4 for repeating this. Merry Xmas and a drink to 1979 and whatever that will bring.:o
I've just watched Sounds of the 70s on Yesterday channel. Yes it's been on umpteen times before but who cares, The Who, Bowie, Chic, to name but three, I couldn't resist.
Now that is one TOTP that I will be actively avoiding like the plague. I can't be alone on here by doing that, surely? Last watched it in 2008.
I have not watched it in years as i can't stand watching or listening to Reggie Yates and Fearne Cotton! When the BBC decide to give the presenters job to different people for a change then i'll watch it again
THIS performance is what makes classic TOTP great for me.
Colourful on screen presentation
Cheesiness
Classic presenters
Classic hits
Classic on-screen presentation and theme
A wild participating audience featured dancing around the performers.
THIS performance is what makes classic TOTP great for me.
Colourful on screen presentation
Cheesiness
Classic presenters
Classic hits
Classic on-screen presentation and theme
A wild participating audience featured dancing around the performers.
Anyone care to say what they got for Christmas in 1978 as their main presents? Mine was a red Raleigh Grifter. I was still riding it almost 10 years later to my first ever proper job a mile from home in the late 80's! :cool:
I have been reminded today that I got a Raleigh Chopper for xmas in 1978. Only lasted 'til summer 82 when I got me racer. As cool as the Chop was I don't think you'd look very handy riding one about in your late teens back then!
Reminiscing about christmas bikes now, the Grifter was the 'senior' model to the 'Striker' (mostly seen in metallic green) and the 'Boxer' (often yellow). The next one down from the Chopper was the 'Tomahawk' and then more usually the 'Budgie', although a 'Chipper' did exist - never saw one. One thing I can never forget about my trusty Chopper (ooer) was the 'T' bar gear lever which, when faced with a speed-wobble induced crash, never failed to connect with both testicles.
Caught some of the TOTP Xmas Special on BBC One this afternoon. Just awful. New logo which looks like it's been knocked up on a computer in five minutes and they have brought back the Whole Lotta Love theme but the same one as was used in 1998! Fearne and Reggie are still the same but don't exactly fill me with enthusiasm. Think they have been presenting the show for far too long now! Maybe they should get some guest presenters for next year? The set looks very dull and pretty much the same as it did last year. Every song is sung on the same stage and I'm sure there used to be loads of different stages? Although it is now filmed at Riverside Studios which is very small compared to BBC TV Centre. The music this year has also been abysmal! If that's the best of the year, god help us. I've heard more decent songs on a random weekly addition from 1978. Thank god for the 1978 Xmas Special. I would rather watch that anyday, even if it does have Noel stuck in an office.
Anyone care to say what they got for Christmas in 1978 as their main presents? Mine was a red Raleigh Grifter. I was still riding it almost 10 years later to my first ever proper job a mile from home in the late 80's! :cool:
Christmas 1978 I got Subbuteo. That Christmas me and a few of my friends got Subbuteo and we formed our own wee league between ourselves. I got the World Cup 1978 edition which came with floodlights and a scoreboard with cards with the participating teams from the 78 World Cup. Over the next few years I added more teams, special players that could take throw ins and corners and stands that went around the pitch. All bought from a toy shop that sat on the corner of Brandon Street in Hamilton, which is sadly gone now.
Last Christmas my wife and daughters bought me Subbuteo
I have been reminded today that I got a Raleigh Chopper for xmas in 1978. Only lasted 'til summer 82 when I got me racer. As cool as the Chop was I don't think you'd look very handy riding one about in your late teens back then!
Reminiscing about christmas bikes now, the Grifter was the 'senior' model to the 'Striker' (mostly seen in metallic green) and the 'Boxer' (often yellow). The next one down from the Chopper was the 'Tomahawk' and then more usually the 'Budgie', although a 'Chipper' did exist - never saw one. One thing I can never forget about my trusty Chopper (ooer) was the 'T' bar gear lever which, when faced with a speed-wobble induced crash, never failed to connect with both testicles.
Brilliant post this, even though it's got nothing to do with TOTP itself, although as it's 1978 it counts!
I could get away with riding a Grifter into the late 80's because it actually looked like a mountain bike to some extents. I had it until 1991 infact. You mention a couple of other "junior" bikes that me and my brother had too. I had the Chipper in orange for a birthday one year, and my brother had the Budgie! Until you mentioned it I'd forgotten about the latter bike entirely. I still own a Raleigh mountain bike to this day, having owned it 18 years and put in about 12,000 miles according to its computer. But the bikes of the 70's are certainly iconic and memorable.
Really annoyed to have missed the 1977 Christmas TOTP last night. I think I must have missed it last year too at the end of the TOTP 1977 run. Will watch on catch up.
As for the Christmas Day TOTP such as yesterday, well I cannot abide that double act of Yates & Cotton either. Not sure what it is that makes them so un-appealing. What annoys me more is that they axed a weekly TOTP on BBC1, after demoting it to BBC2 for a year, yet suddenly at Christmas deem it a must show on BBC1 all over again, despite the fact that they have no interest in showing any kind of music, or current pop music on BBC1 at any other time of the year. It's hugely hypocritical infact. >:(
Comments
Sadly, at my sister's place for Xmas, and her kids will insist on watching it. My sister will join in as she likes to think she's down with the kids. Me and the Brother-In-Law will tut loudly and drink.
Good point, but it was based purely on the size of the hit singles rather than the genres wasn't it. Which meant it didn't manage to convey the full all rounded reality of British pop music in 1978 that was appearing on TOTP week after week, not to mention elsewhere beyond those studios. I'd have liked it to veer away from almost exclusively featuring just the 1's and 2's to the wider top ten at least.
I'm curious to know what has been no. 1 this year as the kids mention names I don't know.... Apart from Wand Erection, of course
I know Blurred Lines.
Well, I'm familiar with the video.
And that Icona Pop song 'I Don't Care' is one of the best pop records in years.
Ah, good one, I forgot that track.
Totally agree.:)
Those records that made it to the top or nearly did not really reflect stirrings and undercurrents of British society of that year. There were some patterns all the same.
There was more tacky pop: the Smurfs (likethe Wombles and Edmunds did pick that up well), and Brotherhood of Man whose Figaro could easily be the worst record ever to make it to number one, except I absolutely love it, and always have done. It is just so-o tacky. So tscky it is great.:o
There was also Northern nostalgia: Brian and Michael serenade in broad dialect the wonderful Lowry ("Lorry": pathetic non-joke). Or across the Pennines, the Floral Dance.:o
There are some fascinating links to pop's past too. Showaddywaddy and Darts were reviving doo-wop and older rock'n'roll, but doing it in a very British way. Showaddywaddy's performance of I Wonder Why was excellent. Forget about the original by Dion and the Belmonts. They really reclaim this as an English record. I often found them plodding and also naff, but here they are funny and enjoying all the doo waps. Dave Bartram is a superb frontman here. He is really enjoying himself. The Darts always had more cred, but their version of the Ad Libs Boy from New York City is one of their best moments and again they are having fun and not taking it too seriously. There is no comparison to the US original (or to the Manhattan Transfer's 1981 US top ten version). It is just a great record on its own terms.:)
There is also more nostalgia. Or at least more past references. Three Times a Lady is a great late Motown record, one of the best, and Rose Royce's Love Don't Live Here Anymore was produced (and written?) by Norman Whitfield, one of the great Motown writers who took the group over after he left Motown following the Temptations 1990 album in 1974.:)
Of course the year was dominated by two great nostalgia films and the music from them. Saturday Night Fever and Grease, obviously; although the songs had a contemporary feel.Olivia Newton John had strong links to the Shadows and to Cliff Richard and then to the early years of UK rock. I think she was still working with John Farrar who was in the then current version of the Shadows.:)
There are also two huge hits by one of the greatest bands of all time--Abba; and by Paul McCartney of the greatest pop group of all time.:)
Well where is the future? On this basis the future is Kate Bush, a real innovator. And Boney M. But Bush had strong links to Pink Floyd (via her mentor Dave Gilmour). While Boney M have links to Sixties bands via their engineer, Geoff Gill, who had been in the Smoke.:cool:
Of course, further down the charts there are lots of disco records and more and more New Wave records. However, I think that 1979 will show even more influence of these movements. I do not think the really top selling songs really reflected what was new and innovative in 1978. They may do in 1979. Let's see.:)
Watching this show for the first time--I remembered that I had not seen it because I spent Xmas Day 1978 with my family at the old people's home where Mum worked. A great memory, saddened only by the fact that Mum is no longer with us.:(
Well done to BBC4 for repeating this. Merry Xmas and a drink to 1979 and whatever that will bring.:o
Happy Christmas fellow posters
I have not watched it in years as i can't stand watching or listening to Reggie Yates and Fearne Cotton! When the BBC decide to give the presenters job to different people for a change then i'll watch it again
Hopefully one day they will get to 2006 shame the final episode can never aired because of Jimmy Savile.>:(
I thought that after JS and DLT shows were skipped but i kept with it and it's a great trip down memory lane
So i reckon you should still watch them anyway
I will watch them but it is all new to me since I was born in 1996.
You will be in for a treat as 1979 is a FANTASTIC year!!
Colourful on screen presentation
Cheesiness
Classic presenters
Classic hits
Classic on-screen presentation and theme
A wild participating audience featured dancing around the performers.
and of course the house dance troupee!
Love this performance!!!
I have been reminded today that I got a Raleigh Chopper for xmas in 1978. Only lasted 'til summer 82 when I got me racer. As cool as the Chop was I don't think you'd look very handy riding one about in your late teens back then!
Reminiscing about christmas bikes now, the Grifter was the 'senior' model to the 'Striker' (mostly seen in metallic green) and the 'Boxer' (often yellow). The next one down from the Chopper was the 'Tomahawk' and then more usually the 'Budgie', although a 'Chipper' did exist - never saw one. One thing I can never forget about my trusty Chopper (ooer) was the 'T' bar gear lever which, when faced with a speed-wobble induced crash, never failed to connect with both testicles.
Christmas 1978 I got Subbuteo. That Christmas me and a few of my friends got Subbuteo and we formed our own wee league between ourselves. I got the World Cup 1978 edition which came with floodlights and a scoreboard with cards with the participating teams from the 78 World Cup. Over the next few years I added more teams, special players that could take throw ins and corners and stands that went around the pitch. All bought from a toy shop that sat on the corner of Brandon Street in Hamilton, which is sadly gone now.
Last Christmas my wife and daughters bought me Subbuteo
I could get away with riding a Grifter into the late 80's because it actually looked like a mountain bike to some extents. I had it until 1991 infact. You mention a couple of other "junior" bikes that me and my brother had too. I had the Chipper in orange for a birthday one year, and my brother had the Budgie! Until you mentioned it I'd forgotten about the latter bike entirely. I still own a Raleigh mountain bike to this day, having owned it 18 years and put in about 12,000 miles according to its computer. But the bikes of the 70's are certainly iconic and memorable.
Really annoyed to have missed the 1977 Christmas TOTP last night. I think I must have missed it last year too at the end of the TOTP 1977 run. Will watch on catch up.
As for the Christmas Day TOTP such as yesterday, well I cannot abide that double act of Yates & Cotton either. Not sure what it is that makes them so un-appealing. What annoys me more is that they axed a weekly TOTP on BBC1, after demoting it to BBC2 for a year, yet suddenly at Christmas deem it a must show on BBC1 all over again, despite the fact that they have no interest in showing any kind of music, or current pop music on BBC1 at any other time of the year. It's hugely hypocritical infact. >:(