The most telling of all was how this demonstrated the Old Brigade like Robin Nash trying to stick their heads in the sand and ignore the exciting new music that had been born BECAUSE of the ghastly tripe that filled this episode of TOTP. In the chart rundown at the start were The Boomtown Rats, Blondie, Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe - and that's just from memory - yet not a solitary new music track on the whole show.
I bemoan the autotuned urban tripe and sickly RnB that packs the chart these days, but this was a stark reminder of just how much worse things were in those days.
Ah, but as you say, the charts had room for both the rubbish and the brilliant, something that sadly is no longer the case.
I dozed off post pub, and woke up with this on and was transfixed. I was 18 in 1978, and it made me come out in a cold sweat.
I can only assume they broadcast this to remind us all how mind numbingly, bone crushingly, awful was the whole show. Terrible, terrible effluent passing for music, Amateur Hour production, and Blackburn at his most nauseatingly crass. Hated him then, hate him now.
The most telling of all was how this demonstrated the Old Brigade like Robin Nash trying to stick their heads in the sand and ignore the exciting new music that had been born BECAUSE of the ghastly tripe that filled this episode of TOTP. In the chart rundown at the start were The Boomtown Rats, Blondie, Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe - and that's just from memory - yet not a solitary new music track on the whole show.
I bemoan the autotuned urban tripe and sickly RnB that packs the chart these days, but this was a stark reminder of just how much worse things were in those days.
I can only assume this is the first of the TOTP repeats you've seen as all the artists you complain about not being on that edition have previously been featured.
Punk/new wave wasn't the only exciting new music at that time, nor was it so dominant that it would automatically feature every week - and TOTP reflected what was in the singles charts with the rule that no act would appear in consecutive weeks unless it was number one, and had to be climbing or a non-mover. The artists you wanted to see didn't fit the bill that week. And, let's be real, watching TOTP was never about every featured act being brilliant: it was about variety, and some weeks were better than others.
Robin Nash may have been old school BBC Light Entertainment but he put Eddie & The Hot Rods and Generation X on TOTP when they didn't feature in the Top 30, so your argument doesn't really stand up to that much scrutiny. 1978 is a year of transition, not only in the number of new artists coming through, but also in those acts' own musical evolution (Blondie being a prime example). If you want to miss out on that journey and listen to One Direction and will.i.am instead, feel free ... I know what I'd rather do.
I wonder if it's something to do with the age 16? I turned 16 in 1986, and I mark that as the year things really started going downhill, or at least the last really great year for popular chart music.
Not convinced its wholly an age thing, I turned 16 in 1981 but had been into music and the charts since 1976/7. In my opinion 1979 was the best year music wise but many great years immediately followed and I enjoyed pop music right up until I was 21 (1986).
Its not that I wanted to stop liking it, something seemed to happen with musical output almost overnight, it didn't seem to have any meaning or credibility, created mostly by faceless producers - gone were real bands and decent songwriters, the charts littered with SAW proteges, TV stars, charity records and crap bands like Curiousity Killed The Cat.
I find it interesting that those younger than me feel the same.
Any idea when DLT's court case is? The next DLT episode is a crucial one with Manfred Mann Davy's On The Road Again, Sham 69, Thin Lizzy and Blondie. I really hope DLT gets let off without charge soon and his episodes resumed.
I wonder if it's something to do with the age 16? I turned 16 in 1986, and I mark that as the year things really started going downhill, or at least the last really great year for popular chart music.
I also turned 16 in 1986. However, my preferences are almost the mirror image of yours.
I love 1974-1980, primarily as a fan of disco music, but I also love the pop music of the time. I still liked a lot of 1981-3, but as the influence of disco/dance music waned, so did my enjoyment of the music at the time. I find the mid-80s music so cold and clinical - the period 1984-7 was the worst for me.
Then in 1987/8, dance music made a revival, with the sampling of a number of disco tunes for a new generation; notably the Theme from S-Express, and my interest increases again, peaking around 1991 with all the rave music, carrying on until about 1995.
The message here is that we all have different likes and dislikes, it would be boring if there was a consensus on what was good and what wasn't. This discussion could carry on for ever but wouldn't be resolved.
So I'm going to return to immersing myself in the joys of 1978 and the great music that I know we will be seeing soon.
I can only assume this is the first of the TOTP repeats you've seen as all the artists you complain about not being on that edition have previously been featured.
Punk/new wave wasn't the only exciting new music at that time, nor was it so dominant that it would automatically feature every week - and TOTP reflected what was in the singles charts with the rule that no act would appear in consecutive weeks unless it was number one, and had to be climbing or a non-mover. The artists you wanted to see didn't fit the bill that week. And, let's be real, watching TOTP was never about every featured act being brilliant: it was about variety, and some weeks were better than others.
Robin Nash may have been old school BBC Light Entertainment but he put Eddie & The Hot Rods and Generation X on TOTP when they didn't feature in the Top 30, so your argument doesn't really stand up to that much scrutiny. 1978 is a year of transition, not only in the number of new artists coming through, but also in those acts' own musical evolution (Blondie being a prime example). If you want to miss out on that journey and listen to One Direction and will.i.am instead, feel free ... I know what I'd rather do.
It's the first TOTP I've seen for some time, and I am aware that in later years a lot more new wave, even punk artists appeared I need no reminders of how The Establishment tried to ignore punk/new wave at the time, as I was a "weekend punk" myself. The BBC was better than ILR, which ignored it completely.
This was obviously a dire example. And that gives a new meaning to the word "dire". There several new releases, and how they were deemed worthy of inclusion I can't think. Tbh, the only artist that actually had any spunk at all was Suzi Quattro (never a favourite of mine). Most of it was plain embarrassing - I assume this was the spell during which they made them sing live?
No - I detest One Direction and all the X-Factor tripe, but it does at least have a veneer of competence and professionalism. TOTP looked like an end-of-the-pier show with a budget of fifty quid.
It's the first TOTP I've seen for some time, and I am aware that in later years a lot more new wave, even punk artists appeared I need no reminders of how The Establishment tried to ignore punk/new wave at the time, as I was a "weekend punk" myself. The BBC was better than ILR, which ignored it completely.
This was obviously a dire example. And that gives a new meaning to the word "dire". There several new releases, and how they were deemed worthy of inclusion I can't think. Tbh, the only artist that actually had any spunk at all was Suzi Quattro (never a favourite of mine). Most of it was plain embarrassing - I assume this was the spell during which they made them sing live?
No - I detest One Direction and all the X-Factor tripe, but it does at least have a veneer of competence and professionalism. TOTP looked like an end-of-the-pier show with a budget of fifty quid.
As a vinyl jukebox enthusiast, I believe for the most part that popular music really declined when CDs took over from vinyl.
Good point, but not completely convinced, CD singles were in the minority and expensive, the 7" was still king until about 1990/1.
The CD single cannot really be blamed for the decline post circa 1986 (a date most seem to agree on) the first CD player for the masses, the Amstrad CDX400 of 1987 was expensive and not something a pop music loving teenager would have had in his bedroom at that time.
However something was lost with the arrival of the CD, the artwork, the coloured vynil and the free posters, something much more tangible about vynil!
It's the first TOTP I've seen for some time, and I am aware that in later years a lot more new wave, even punk artists appeared I need no reminders of how The Establishment tried to ignore punk/new wave at the time, as I was a "weekend punk" myself. The BBC was better than ILR, which ignored it completely.
This was obviously a dire example. And that gives a new meaning to the word "dire". There several new releases, and how they were deemed worthy of inclusion I can't think. Tbh, the only artist that actually had any spunk at all was Suzi Quattro (never a favourite of mine). Most of it was plain embarrassing - I assume this was the spell during which they made them sing live?
No - I detest One Direction and all the X-Factor tripe, but it does at least have a veneer of competence and professionalism. TOTP looked like an end-of-the-pier show with a budget of fifty quid.
BIB - the budget for a single edition of TXF is probably the equivalent of what it cost to put TOTP on air throughout 1978. All the acts are scripted, styled and choreographed and the entire thing is driven by who can make SImon Cowell the most money, rather than a reflection of public tastes. There's no substance or artistry to any of it.
I have to say I find it hugely ironic that someone with a professed interest in punk/new wave can offer even a half-hearted defence of One Direction after their appalling mash-up of Blondie and the Undertones. Give me Dee D. Jackson or Rafaella Cara any day - at least they didn't take themselves seriously!
Give me Dee D. Jackson or Rafaella Cara any day - at least they didn't take themselves seriously!
Yep, real purveyors of substance and artistry. :rolleyes:
I'm 53 in August - it was my era. I'm not a kid who has no appreciation of the time, and of course I find the naivety of the time endearing in our instant gratification age. I'm just saying that what passed for "pop" on that show was actually pure MOR and everything was like a nursery rhyme (possible exception of the few seconds of Genesis).
Capital FM is one of my pet hates, but I'd put even the bilge they play up against what was on that TOTP.
Yep, real purveyors of substance and artistry. :rolleyes:
I'm 53 in August - it was my era. I'm not a kid who has no appreciation of the time, and of course I find the naivety of the time endearing in our instant gratification age. I'm just saying that what passed for "pop" on that show was actually pure MOR and everything was like a nursery rhyme (possible exception of the few seconds of Genesis).
Capital FM is one of my pet hates, but I'd put even the bilge they play up against what was on that TOTP.
Er - and where exactly did I say that Dee D. Jackson or Rafaella Cara were purveyors or substance or artistry? :rolleyes: At least they didn't have delusions about themselves, unlike Cowell, with his demands that One Direction are given a Brit Award.
Everything was like a nursery rhyme? No more so than what's in the charts now (and on Capital FM) - actually probably a lot less so.
Any idea when DLT's court case is? The next DLT episode is a crucial one with Manfred Mann Davy's On The Road Again, Sham 69, Thin Lizzy and Blondie. I really hope DLT gets let off without charge soon and his episodes resumed.
The banned episodes are really starting to bite now. He better be cleared by November as it's when he hosts The Skids sole performance of The Saints Are Coming.
I wonder if it's something to do with the age 16? I turned 16 in 1986, and I mark that as the year things really started going downhill, or at least the last really great year for popular chart music.
Yeah I was 16 in '86 also - and by then - was more into your alternative music scene rather than the Top 40 - although the 1986 Top 40 did still have some decent tunes......but not for long - as the decent tunes started to decline rather rapidly by the end of the 80s!
The banned episodes are really starting to bite now. He better be cleared by November as it's when he hosts The Skids sole performance of The Saints Are Coming.
Aaarrgh - I like that song! - Don't tell me what I'm gonna be missing! - I'm still hurting that they've cut 1978 by about a quarter!! :mad:
Aaarrgh - I like that song! - Don't tell me what I'm gonna be missing! - I'm still hurting that they've cut 1978 by about a quarter!! :mad:
I'd say there's an increasingly strong case for a compilation to be made featuring all the performances that have been missed because of DLT-hosted episodes being excluded.
I heard a rumour today about a possible future arrest in the Saville operation that would be a much bigger tabloid story and swing the pendulum well away from TOTP ... which would only be a good thing as far as the repeats go.
I heard a rumour today about a possible future arrest in the Saville operation that would be a much bigger tabloid story and swing the pendulum well away from TOTP ... which would only be a good thing as far as the repeats go.
:rolleyes: Will it ever end? - I still can't believe Rolf Harris has now been pulled in - I mean the guy is 83 - surely something would have come out before now!!
BIB - not being funny, but BBC Four is a niche channel. It doesn't need to compete for audiences in the same way that BBC One or ITV do ... so I don't actually see why the unedited versions couldn't be shown in primetime.
I rather suspect that this has rather more to do with TOTP being less of a priority than other shows for the channel. :rolleyes:
Don't forget that the BBC's formal complaints process is there, if you have concerns about such things as editing down of episodes, and missing out episodes altogether. It's your BBC as much as anyone else's!
Comments
Ah, but as you say, the charts had room for both the rubbish and the brilliant, something that sadly is no longer the case.
I can only assume this is the first of the TOTP repeats you've seen as all the artists you complain about not being on that edition have previously been featured.
Punk/new wave wasn't the only exciting new music at that time, nor was it so dominant that it would automatically feature every week - and TOTP reflected what was in the singles charts with the rule that no act would appear in consecutive weeks unless it was number one, and had to be climbing or a non-mover. The artists you wanted to see didn't fit the bill that week. And, let's be real, watching TOTP was never about every featured act being brilliant: it was about variety, and some weeks were better than others.
Robin Nash may have been old school BBC Light Entertainment but he put Eddie & The Hot Rods and Generation X on TOTP when they didn't feature in the Top 30, so your argument doesn't really stand up to that much scrutiny. 1978 is a year of transition, not only in the number of new artists coming through, but also in those acts' own musical evolution (Blondie being a prime example). If you want to miss out on that journey and listen to One Direction and will.i.am instead, feel free ... I know what I'd rather do.
Not convinced its wholly an age thing, I turned 16 in 1981 but had been into music and the charts since 1976/7. In my opinion 1979 was the best year music wise but many great years immediately followed and I enjoyed pop music right up until I was 21 (1986).
Its not that I wanted to stop liking it, something seemed to happen with musical output almost overnight, it didn't seem to have any meaning or credibility, created mostly by faceless producers - gone were real bands and decent songwriters, the charts littered with SAW proteges, TV stars, charity records and crap bands like Curiousity Killed The Cat.
I find it interesting that those younger than me feel the same.
I was 22 in 1986 and I thought music went downhill from then on, so it's not just an age thing.
The peak time for me was 1975 to 1981.
1982 - 1986 was worse but still had some gems, then it progressively got worse ever since.
As a vinyl jukebox enthusiast, I believe for the most part that popular music really declined when CDs took over from vinyl.
I also turned 16 in 1986. However, my preferences are almost the mirror image of yours.
I love 1974-1980, primarily as a fan of disco music, but I also love the pop music of the time. I still liked a lot of 1981-3, but as the influence of disco/dance music waned, so did my enjoyment of the music at the time. I find the mid-80s music so cold and clinical - the period 1984-7 was the worst for me.
Then in 1987/8, dance music made a revival, with the sampling of a number of disco tunes for a new generation; notably the Theme from S-Express, and my interest increases again, peaking around 1991 with all the rave music, carrying on until about 1995.
The message here is that we all have different likes and dislikes, it would be boring if there was a consensus on what was good and what wasn't. This discussion could carry on for ever but wouldn't be resolved.
So I'm going to return to immersing myself in the joys of 1978 and the great music that I know we will be seeing soon.
It's the first TOTP I've seen for some time, and I am aware that in later years a lot more new wave, even punk artists appeared I need no reminders of how The Establishment tried to ignore punk/new wave at the time, as I was a "weekend punk" myself. The BBC was better than ILR, which ignored it completely.
This was obviously a dire example. And that gives a new meaning to the word "dire". There several new releases, and how they were deemed worthy of inclusion I can't think. Tbh, the only artist that actually had any spunk at all was Suzi Quattro (never a favourite of mine). Most of it was plain embarrassing - I assume this was the spell during which they made them sing live?
No - I detest One Direction and all the X-Factor tripe, but it does at least have a veneer of competence and professionalism. TOTP looked like an end-of-the-pier show with a budget of fifty quid.
Not really sure why you are watching it then.
Good point, but not completely convinced, CD singles were in the minority and expensive, the 7" was still king until about 1990/1.
The CD single cannot really be blamed for the decline post circa 1986 (a date most seem to agree on) the first CD player for the masses, the Amstrad CDX400 of 1987 was expensive and not something a pop music loving teenager would have had in his bedroom at that time.
However something was lost with the arrival of the CD, the artwork, the coloured vynil and the free posters, something much more tangible about vynil!
....And complete and utter fabrication from the sob stories to the editing, 1978 time's were different and far more innocent.
I said earlier - back from the pub - fell asleep in armchair, woke up and didn't want to disturb the cat who was asleep on my lap:D
I was transfixed because of just how terrible it was. I couldn't quite believe it.
You can't seriously tell me it was an example of musical wonder and production value prowess?
BIB - the budget for a single edition of TXF is probably the equivalent of what it cost to put TOTP on air throughout 1978. All the acts are scripted, styled and choreographed and the entire thing is driven by who can make SImon Cowell the most money, rather than a reflection of public tastes. There's no substance or artistry to any of it.
I have to say I find it hugely ironic that someone with a professed interest in punk/new wave can offer even a half-hearted defence of One Direction after their appalling mash-up of Blondie and the Undertones. Give me Dee D. Jackson or Rafaella Cara any day - at least they didn't take themselves seriously!
Yep, real purveyors of substance and artistry. :rolleyes:
I'm 53 in August - it was my era. I'm not a kid who has no appreciation of the time, and of course I find the naivety of the time endearing in our instant gratification age. I'm just saying that what passed for "pop" on that show was actually pure MOR and everything was like a nursery rhyme (possible exception of the few seconds of Genesis).
Capital FM is one of my pet hates, but I'd put even the bilge they play up against what was on that TOTP.
Er - and where exactly did I say that Dee D. Jackson or Rafaella Cara were purveyors or substance or artistry? :rolleyes: At least they didn't have delusions about themselves, unlike Cowell, with his demands that One Direction are given a Brit Award.
Everything was like a nursery rhyme? No more so than what's in the charts now (and on Capital FM) - actually probably a lot less so.
The banned episodes are really starting to bite now. He better be cleared by November as it's when he hosts The Skids sole performance of The Saints Are Coming.
Me too!
Yeah I was 16 in '86 also - and by then - was more into your alternative music scene rather than the Top 40 - although the 1986 Top 40 did still have some decent tunes......but not for long - as the decent tunes started to decline rather rapidly by the end of the 80s!
Aaarrgh - I like that song! - Don't tell me what I'm gonna be missing! - I'm still hurting that they've cut 1978 by about a quarter!! :mad:
Aaarrggh - I like that song too! - It better be on another episode! :mad:
I'd say there's an increasingly strong case for a compilation to be made featuring all the performances that have been missed because of DLT-hosted episodes being excluded.
I heard a rumour today about a possible future arrest in the Saville operation that would be a much bigger tabloid story and swing the pendulum well away from TOTP ... which would only be a good thing as far as the repeats go.
Yes, Tidybeard edition on 8th June 1978
:rolleyes: Will it ever end? - I still can't believe Rolf Harris has now been pulled in - I mean the guy is 83 - surely something would have come out before now!!
Yay!
Don't forget that the BBC's formal complaints process is there, if you have concerns about such things as editing down of episodes, and missing out episodes altogether. It's your BBC as much as anyone else's!