Good to see you back Rich Tea, we were getting a bit worried
I bought the Tusk double album on the strength of 2 songs, Storms and Sara, both Stevie Nicks songs of course. Didn't actually like the song Tusk though.:
Well remembered R. I'd forgotten this but something niggled about possibly having sold a few copies before it was a hit, so looked it up. It was on the 'Pleasure and Pain' LP from September/October 1978, and issued as a single around then. Didn't do anything until discos picked it up and then ...
One of those songs that I had the satisfaction of saying a year earlier, 'that's a hit' and, a year later, was eventually proved right!
If Dr Hook’s records were a person, they’d be very loving, pretty good in bed and most of all you’d never be too far away from a belly laugh. Anybody who doesn’t know their earlier, more comic material should check it out. Much of it was written by the late Shel Silverstein – cartoonist, children’s author and the writer of not only their first hit “Sylvia’s Mother” but also “A Boy Named Sue” and the Junior Choice favourite “Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout (Who Would Not Take The Garbage Out)”.
Dr Hook announced themselves with titles like “You Make My Pants Want To Get Up and Dance” or “Don’t Give A Dose To The One You Love Most” and lines like “They got groupies for their bands / and all I got is my right hand” (“Everybody’s Making It Big But Me”) or “I got all this here money / but I’m a pretty ugly guy” (“The Millionaire”). It’s a sense of humour that prevents even their love ballads from getting too gloopy – “A Little Bit More” stayed at No 2 for five weeks behind Elton and Kiki in 1976, and WYILWABW and many other Hook songs are among my guilt-free pleasures.
And my impression of them as people rests on some cracking interviews with the likes of Rolling Stone, Sounds and Record Mirror.
On a TV appearance where they changed behind a revealingly backlit screen: “I believe they use the expression “No big thing” – but hey, it was cold in that studio.”
On the whole band playing a gig with one guitar and one mic when the tour organisers had fouled up: “We had to stand there and say, “The equipment went to Helsinki. Yeah, it sounds a lot like Philadelphia y’know.”
On meeting Geldof and pals on TOTP: “We didn’t know what to expect from a new wave band. I mean the Sex Pistols kept flushing people down lavatories and spitting at secretaries, and the Boomtown Rats isn’t a friendly name.”
On their attitude to success: “And we’ve had more f---in’ FUN than any other band in the history of the universe. And you know why? When we had our first [US] Number 1 we sat down and talked and decided that if we had fifty Number 1s in a row there were still 900 million Chinese who didn’t give a f---. The world is bigger than rock’n’roll!”
I always liked the cut of the Doctor’s jib – even if there are probably more Chinese who’d give a f--- nowadays.
I'm watching the late edition of TOTP - and The Headboys sound absolutely brilliant.
Were they trying to hypnotise people with the swirly thing after the credits finished but the song kept playing for ages, because that was a bit weird.
I only noticed this in recent years... So if they were signed to different contracts how come they sang in the same group?
Both recorded at Rockfield Studios in Monmouth (Edmunds lived almost next door), and were mates from the pub rock days. They both played regularly on each others records for some years (certainly at least from Edmunds 'Subtle as a flying mallet' LP in 1975), so Rockpile were technically together as a studio band long before they were official.
Both recorded at Rockfield Studios in Monmouth (Edmunds lived almost next door), and were mates from the pub rock days. They both played regularly on each others records for some years (certainly at least from Edmunds 'Subtle as a flying mallet' LP in 1975), so Rockpile were technically together as a studio band long before they were official.
Interesting. Well you learn something new everyday!
I watched the show last night...not vintage. It was great to see Dr Hook, I absolutely love them. Seen Dennis in concert twice (solo) and he's an ace guy, still very handsome too.
And it was the unedited version! I'd forgotten that TOTP played this version rather than the radio version played at the time that replaced "son of a bitch" with "son of a gun",
I haven't had chance to watch the unedited version in full - just the two performances that were cut. That Headboys songs was okay, and I definitely think they did the right thing cutting the Charlie Daniels Band from the earlier showing.
I thought Andy did a decent job presenting, and am not sure why he wasn't added to the rota.
Great to see some performances I don't think I've seen before - like the Dooleys (a guilty pleasure) and Cats UK. I'm still trying to work out which one was Deena Payne, as none of them looked liked her. Maybe she just sang on the record.
Some excellent disco stuff from Chic, Michael Jackson and Viola Wills, although it seemed liked Gonna Get Along Without You Now was speeded up a bit. I don't know how she got through it without losing her breath.
Loved all the various hats that Errol Dunkley and band were sporting. I thought the bearded guy wearing the one with flaps on was DLT in disguise!
I suppose since One Day At Time got to number one then there's no reason why Dana's effort couldn't have been a big hit - though it was really dated and very disappointing considering she'd had the excellent Fairytale a few years earlier.
I'm sick of that Police video now, and looking forward to new No. 1.
Haven't watched last night's edition yet but looking forward to seeing how Andy Peebles got on, my Dad remembered him taking over from Tony Blackburn. This must have been when Tony moved to the Top 40 on Sundays. We'll be seeing Simon Bates & Steve Wright soon & Tommy Vance I think freshening the roster up a bit. This helps us get a nice uninterrupted run as we get into 1980.
Haven't watched last night's edition yet but looking forward to seeing how Andy Peebles got on, my Dad remembered him taking over from Tony Blackburn. This must have been when Tony moved to the Top 40 on Sundays. We'll be seeing Simon Bates & Steve Wright soon & Tommy Vance I think freshening the roster up a bit. This helps us get a nice uninterrupted run as we get into 1980.
1980 is looking good - we get an uninterrupted run of nine episodes to start the year, and only lose three episodes in total before the long enforced hiatus due to the Musicians Union strike in June/July. Some great songs in there too.
Recorded this last night as I was out and I have to say I fast-forwarded through most of it. Absolutely terrible (Dana, Cats UK, Errol Dunkley, Dooleys, Viola Wills) to just about bearable (Dr Hook - sorry to go against the grain here but I can't stand them) to moderately listenable (Jacko and a truly terrible dance routine against an awful white screen; Dave Edmunds channelling Buddy Holly like it's TOTP 1956; Chic by numbers) and finally to the odd song I can listen to (Police, Fleetwood Mac).
After some fantastic editions this is really one to forget.
Viola Wills, although it seemed liked Gonna Get Along Without You Now was speeded up a bit. I don't know how she got through it without losing her breath.
That's interesting - I still have a tape with that on from around the mid-80s that is clearly too fast. Taken from an unknown radio show (no way of telling now, it's just the music). I just assumed that it was the deck playing up when I recorded it, but now I'm not sure, and the other songs are right.
Anyone know if there's different takes?
Just thought I'd share with you my letter written to the BBC with some suggestions, and their response with a standard cut & paste letter with most points raised ignored in favour of platitudes and management waffle....
My next letter will be to complain about the complaints department!
Enjoy!
16th October 2014
Re: Top of the Pops repeats (BBC4 Thurs/Fri/Sat)
Dear Sir/Madam,
Whilst it is appreciated this must be a sensitive subject for the BBC regarding the repeated episodes of Top of the Pops (Thurs BBC4), I like many other music fans are wondering why the BBC have not simply removed the Dave Lee Travis and Jimmy Savile links between the acts featured on the programmes for the Top of the Pops episodes, replacing the links with captions or stills of the chart positions for the acts in that particular week’s Top 30.
Top of the Pops is a snapshot of the gradual change in culture, fashion and the progression of music, and as such the acts should be afforded a showing regardless of the presenters’ misdemeanours, which is neither the fault of the artists who appeared on these shows, nor the licence fee payers who have paid for the programmes to be made (and repeated).
If BBC editors are already able to pre-cut the earlier Thursday (7.30 pm) showing to satisfy the BBC4 schedule so it always runs to 8.00 pm, it cannot be too difficult in this digital age for clever editing to take place to satisfy the delicacy of the situation.
If the editing option is unacceptable, an additional BBC4 compilation programme of 1979/1980 etc. TOTP performances featuring just the artists who were unlucky enough to be featured on a DLT or Savile episode would be extremely popular as far as fans of the show are concerned.
There are some legendary performances within these episodes (Madness, The Selecter, The Greedies, The Specials, The Undertones and many more), and it would be a shame for music lovers if some of these TOTP performances were not shown in some form.
On a similar issue, I’m not alone in being confused regarding the BBC4 TOTP non-broadcasts in relation to the inclusion of Jonathan King in the BBC2 documentary (Sat 14 October) regarding the history of Genesis. A BBC’s spokesperson, when justifying the move, said “(Jonathan King's) inclusion in the film reflected the significant role he played in the history of Genesis”.
If this editorial rule of thumb is being adopted by the BBC, can we expect to see a reinstatement (post-watershed?) of unedited DLT TOTP episodes following the expiration of his sentence (c.27th December), as his inclusion in these programmes certainly reflected the significant role he played in the history of Top of the Pops?
I look forward to hearing from you...
Yours faithfully etc. etc.
If this is representative of what kind of letters/emails the BBC receives on a daily basis it's no wonder they give withering replies.
TV doesn't happen by magic. There is a lot of work, effort and time put into making and broadcasting 100s of shows across the network with 10 times as many decisions on each being made. Do you even realise what it is you're asking for? Do you have any understanding of what video editing entails, not least editing something that has already been edited without losing its basic context?
If BBC4 just cut out the links of individual shows and put captions up it would simply be a clunky mess. This is why the BBC would rather shelve them than turn them into something that looked like a 10-year-old had made for a school project. As it is, whoever does edit the early evening broadcasts of Top Of The Pops for purely time constraints does a very good job.
The compilation show idea doesn't really have legs on the basis that TOTP2 already exists and the 'lost' performances (some of which can be found on You Tube anyway) may yet appear on future editions, depending on editorial decisions. It would be pointless creating another show specifically made up of clips from certain unrepeated editions of Top Of The Pops as it would involve time and effort - as well as licence fee money - being spent on something that only serves the whim of a tiny proportion of viewers.
And let's be honest. If the BBC had omitted Jonathan King from the Genesis documentary there would've been people going, "Ooh, they didn't mention Jonathan King's role with the band when they started. The BBC is airbrushing history. My god we're living in the end of days!"
It's impossible to please all of the people all of the time.
If this is representative of what kind of letters/emails the BBC receives on a daily basis it's no wonder they give withering replies.
TV doesn't happen by magic. There is a lot of work, effort and time put into making and broadcasting 100s of shows across the network with 10 times as many decisions on each being made. Do you even realise what it is you're asking for? Do you have any understanding of what video editing entails, not least editing something that has already been edited without losing its basic context?
If BBC4 just cut out the links of individual shows and put captions up it would simply be a clunky mess. This is why the BBC would rather shelve them than turn them into something that looked like a 10-year-old had made for a school project. As it is, whoever does edit the early evening broadcasts of Top Of The Pops for purely time constraints does a very good job.
The compilation show idea doesn't really have legs on the basis that TOTP2 already exists and the 'lost' performances (some of which can be found on You Tube anyway) may yet appear on future editions, depending on editorial decisions. It would be pointless creating another show specifically made up of clips from certain unrepeated editions of Top Of The Pops as it would involve time and effort - as well as licence fee money - being spent on something that only serves the whim of a tiny proportion of viewers.
And let's be honest. If the BBC had omitted Jonathan King from the Genesis documentary there would've been people going, "Ooh, they didn't mention Jonathan King's role with the band when they started. The BBC is airbrushing history. My god we're living in the end of days!"
It's impossible to please all of the people all of the time.
We've long exhausted the idea of presenters being edited out and captions start to appear next year anyway albeit only in the end of songs initially.
If this is representative of what kind of letters/emails the BBC receives on a daily basis it's no wonder they give withering replies.
TV doesn't happen by magic. There is a lot of work, effort and time put into making and broadcasting 100s of shows across the network with 10 times as many decisions on each being made. Do you even realise what it is you're asking for? Do you have any understanding of what video editing entails, not least editing something that has already been edited without losing its basic context?
If BBC4 just cut out the links of individual shows and put captions up it would simply be a clunky mess. This is why the BBC would rather shelve them than turn them into something that looked like a 10-year-old had made for a school project. As it is, whoever does edit the early evening broadcasts of Top Of The Pops for purely time constraints does a very good job.
The compilation show idea doesn't really have legs on the basis that TOTP2 already exists and the 'lost' performances (some of which can be found on You Tube anyway) may yet appear on future editions, depending on editorial decisions. It would be pointless creating another show specifically made up of clips from certain unrepeated editions of Top Of The Pops as it would involve time and effort - as well as licence fee money - being spent on something that only serves the whim of a tiny proportion of viewers.
And let's be honest. If the BBC had omitted Jonathan King from the Genesis documentary there would've been people going, "Ooh, they didn't mention Jonathan King's role with the band when they started. The BBC is airbrushing history. My god we're living in the end of days!"
It's impossible to please all of the people all of the time.
We've long exhausted the idea of presenters being edited out and captions start to appear next year anyway albeit only in the end of songs initially.
Instead of showing whole episodes with links edited out, I think a better way to get round the problem is to edit the performances that are missed into the next episode shown. Obviously wouldn't work on the early evening showing, but the late night edition could be just a bit longer, so for instance Straight Lines by New Musik would be slipped into next week's late night edition. They would only have to slip the ones in that have been missed entirely. As there's not a huge amount of performances missed from the skipped episodes, it won't make them much longer.
Instead of showing whole episodes with links edited out, I think a better way to get round the problem is to edit the performances that are missed into the next episode shown. Obviously wouldn't work on the early evening showing, but the late night edition could be just a bit longer, so for instance Straight Lines by New Musik would be slipped into next week's late night edition. They would only have to slip the ones in that have been missed entirely. As there's not a huge amount of performances missed from the skipped episodes, it won't make them much longer.
A fantastic compromise, and IMO a compromise which would be satisfactory to 'suits', purists and casual viewers alike....
No, it was a different point. The early evening broadcasts are edited for time, not content. My point was that it was awkward enough to edit a programme that has already been edited without too much audio or visual disruption to fit into a different time frame. In that case the editor does that very well, which is what viewers pick up on.
However, editing it further to remove specific content and paste in different images/footage may technically be done competently by the same editor but the overall effect would be unavoidably clunky for the viewer. If anything, it would only draw more attention to the missing presenter than if the original edit had been left as it was. It would be a pointless exercise.
Comments
I bought the Tusk double album on the strength of 2 songs, Storms and Sara, both Stevie Nicks songs of course. Didn't actually like the song Tusk though.:
Dr Hook announced themselves with titles like “You Make My Pants Want To Get Up and Dance” or “Don’t Give A Dose To The One You Love Most” and lines like “They got groupies for their bands / and all I got is my right hand” (“Everybody’s Making It Big But Me”) or “I got all this here money / but I’m a pretty ugly guy” (“The Millionaire”). It’s a sense of humour that prevents even their love ballads from getting too gloopy – “A Little Bit More” stayed at No 2 for five weeks behind Elton and Kiki in 1976, and WYILWABW and many other Hook songs are among my guilt-free pleasures.
And my impression of them as people rests on some cracking interviews with the likes of Rolling Stone, Sounds and Record Mirror.
On a TV appearance where they changed behind a revealingly backlit screen: “I believe they use the expression “No big thing” – but hey, it was cold in that studio.”
On the whole band playing a gig with one guitar and one mic when the tour organisers had fouled up: “We had to stand there and say, “The equipment went to Helsinki. Yeah, it sounds a lot like Philadelphia y’know.”
On meeting Geldof and pals on TOTP: “We didn’t know what to expect from a new wave band. I mean the Sex Pistols kept flushing people down lavatories and spitting at secretaries, and the Boomtown Rats isn’t a friendly name.”
On their attitude to success: “And we’ve had more f---in’ FUN than any other band in the history of the universe. And you know why? When we had our first [US] Number 1 we sat down and talked and decided that if we had fifty Number 1s in a row there were still 900 million Chinese who didn’t give a f---. The world is bigger than rock’n’roll!”
I always liked the cut of the Doctor’s jib – even if there are probably more Chinese who’d give a f--- nowadays.
(Reposted from the Popular discussion at http://freakytrigger.co.uk/ft/2008/10/dr-hook-when-youre-in-love-with-a-beautiful-woman/comment-page-1/#comments )
I only noticed this in recent years... So if they were signed to different contracts how come they sang in the same group?
Were they trying to hypnotise people with the swirly thing after the credits finished but the song kept playing for ages, because that was a bit weird.
Interesting. Well you learn something new everyday!
I thought Andy did a decent job presenting, and am not sure why he wasn't added to the rota.
Great to see some performances I don't think I've seen before - like the Dooleys (a guilty pleasure) and Cats UK. I'm still trying to work out which one was Deena Payne, as none of them looked liked her. Maybe she just sang on the record.
Some excellent disco stuff from Chic, Michael Jackson and Viola Wills, although it seemed liked Gonna Get Along Without You Now was speeded up a bit. I don't know how she got through it without losing her breath.
Loved all the various hats that Errol Dunkley and band were sporting. I thought the bearded guy wearing the one with flaps on was DLT in disguise!
I suppose since One Day At Time got to number one then there's no reason why Dana's effort couldn't have been a big hit - though it was really dated and very disappointing considering she'd had the excellent Fairytale a few years earlier.
I'm sick of that Police video now, and looking forward to new No. 1.
1980 is looking good - we get an uninterrupted run of nine episodes to start the year, and only lose three episodes in total before the long enforced hiatus due to the Musicians Union strike in June/July. Some great songs in there too.
After some fantastic editions this is really one to forget.
Anyone know if there's different takes?
If this is representative of what kind of letters/emails the BBC receives on a daily basis it's no wonder they give withering replies.
TV doesn't happen by magic. There is a lot of work, effort and time put into making and broadcasting 100s of shows across the network with 10 times as many decisions on each being made. Do you even realise what it is you're asking for? Do you have any understanding of what video editing entails, not least editing something that has already been edited without losing its basic context?
If BBC4 just cut out the links of individual shows and put captions up it would simply be a clunky mess. This is why the BBC would rather shelve them than turn them into something that looked like a 10-year-old had made for a school project. As it is, whoever does edit the early evening broadcasts of Top Of The Pops for purely time constraints does a very good job.
The compilation show idea doesn't really have legs on the basis that TOTP2 already exists and the 'lost' performances (some of which can be found on You Tube anyway) may yet appear on future editions, depending on editorial decisions. It would be pointless creating another show specifically made up of clips from certain unrepeated editions of Top Of The Pops as it would involve time and effort - as well as licence fee money - being spent on something that only serves the whim of a tiny proportion of viewers.
And let's be honest. If the BBC had omitted Jonathan King from the Genesis documentary there would've been people going, "Ooh, they didn't mention Jonathan King's role with the band when they started. The BBC is airbrushing history. My god we're living in the end of days!"
It's impossible to please all of the people all of the time.
Blimey, the wanderer returns! Was starting to think you'd gone off to hobnob elsewhere.
Heh, hobnob.
These aren't accidents, y'know.
We've long exhausted the idea of presenters being edited out and captions start to appear next year anyway albeit only in the end of songs initially.
Indeed it is....
Instead of showing whole episodes with links edited out, I think a better way to get round the problem is to edit the performances that are missed into the next episode shown. Obviously wouldn't work on the early evening showing, but the late night edition could be just a bit longer, so for instance Straight Lines by New Musik would be slipped into next week's late night edition. They would only have to slip the ones in that have been missed entirely. As there's not a huge amount of performances missed from the skipped episodes, it won't make them much longer.
A fantastic compromise, and IMO a compromise which would be satisfactory to 'suits', purists and casual viewers alike....
That was exactly the point.
In what way would it satisfy a purist to edit a performance from a different show into an edition it never originally appeared in?
That is a form of airbrushing history, which, as I understand it, people don't especially like the idea of.
No, it was a different point. The early evening broadcasts are edited for time, not content. My point was that it was awkward enough to edit a programme that has already been edited without too much audio or visual disruption to fit into a different time frame. In that case the editor does that very well, which is what viewers pick up on.
However, editing it further to remove specific content and paste in different images/footage may technically be done competently by the same editor but the overall effect would be unavoidably clunky for the viewer. If anything, it would only draw more attention to the missing presenter than if the original edit had been left as it was. It would be a pointless exercise.