They say bad news often comes in 3's, well after Ed Stewart's shocking and unexpected passing so rapidly after his Christmas Day show and Terry Wogan also catching everyone off guard having kept his illness private we sure do not want Tony Blackburn added to the list of radio departures for at least a few more decades! Pleased to see he is back on twitter again. Interesting how a twitter silence can give people the jitters nowadays. So hoping all's well, we should get a healthy and live Tony today when....

Pick Of The Pops will be playing the hits from this week back in 1957 and 1990 today at 1pm on Radio 2.

A rare 60's, 70's and 80's free show this weekend.

Is that '57 chart the earliest one ever played on his watch? Can't recall Tony playing 1956 like Alan Freeman did once or twice during his time.

Only on BBC4 nowadays - A-haaa!

I actually think ''Borderline'' may be Madonna's best ever single release. Although the song was only recorded in early 1983, and was released the following year, it sounds a world away from the likes of Billy Ocean, and Alexander O'Neal, in terms of its overall sound, in this early 1986 chart. Production techniques were moving pretty fast in the intervening years, and in my opinion, not for the better. ''Borderline'' sounds genuinely soulful, which isn't something i instantly feel for much of Madonna's music. I certainly prefer it to the bloated ''Like A Prayer'' at the end of the decade, which especially in terms of the video, found Madonna very much courting controversy to attract attention. They do say in showbusiness circles that all publicity is good publicity!

However, i think ''Borderline'' just stands on its own as a fine record.

HI all...
Late I know - but here we go.

Hour 1 - http://www.officialcharts.com/charts...570208/750140/
No TOTP

Oh yes - Green Door. And we'll have Shaky's version in the TOTP reruns before long.

Suddenly I've realised what a great version Shakin' Stevens did of Green Door! All I could hear was him while listening to that 1957 version.

Cant say that Shaky made a bad song between 80 & 86, he had a habit of recording the right songs. You Drive Me Crazy is on of my favourite songs from the 80's and his 1986 hit Turning Away is one of my favourite of his too.

That charts a bit strange, the previous week had a joint No. 1? Must be a typo surely?

Bing Crosby makes me feel like taking a nap. (Not meant in a negative way btw!). Extreme easy listening.

Hour 2- http://www.officialcharts.com/charts...900204/750140/
TOTP -
8-2-90: Presenter: Gary Davies

(10) YELL – Instant Replay WATCH
(27) JANET JACKSON – Come Back To Me (video)
(15) BEATS INTERNATIONAL feat. LINDY LAYTON – Dub Be Good To Me
(11) DEL AMITRI – Nothing Ever Happens ® WATCH
(19) LISA STANSFIELD – Live Together (video)
(24) THE BELOVED – Hello (video)
(7) PHIL COLLINS – I Wish It Would Rain Down ®
(12) SKID ROW – 18 And Life (video)
(1) SINEAD O’CONNOR – Nothing Compares 2 U (video)
(29) EURYTHMICS – The King And Queen Of America (video) (and credits)

It was a joint No1 the previous week between Frankie Vaughan and Guy Mitchell. The top of the charts at the beginning of 1957 seem a bit of a mess, with the chart topper of Guy Mitchell swapping places back and forth with Tommy Steele on the same record, Singing The Blues before then sharing top spot alongside Garden Of Eden.


Maybe Bing songs should be placed on prescription for sleep disorders instead of handing out pills.

Personally I think "Like a prayer" is far stronger song than "Borderline". Along with "Frozen" + "Ray of light" they are probably my three favourite Madge songs.

Oh dear God... Yel's cover is AWFUL compared to the Dan Hartman one...

1990 chart pretty awful today.

In agreement there Al. Some seriously rancid tracks on this 1990 chart such as that Yell! song and also that awful Bros vocal soundalike track The Face by awfully named And Why Not? I hated Del Amitri at the time and everything they did, such dreary stuff.

New Kids On The Block should never have got off the block in the first place. Hangin' Tough, yuck.

Thank God Donna Summer had her "hissy fit" and didn't record that Lonnie Gordon track.

This 1990 chart is full of songs I'd pretty much totally forgotten about!

Complain to Radio 2 that Mr Blackburn has now brought to the fore some memories you wished had been permanently discarded!

This week in 1991 would have been far better.

Mantronix featuring Wondress, Some Knickers A Pair Of Tights & High Heels!

Any more info on her "hissy fit", I've never heard the reason she didn't do the SAW follow up album? As for the track itself, such a shame Donna didn't record it, fantastic, might well have given her her 2nd UK Number 1.

Do you know what, I must just do that. Dreadful chart and now one of my least favourite number 1's ever!

Better ask Tony who mentioned that anecdote.

Should Donna Summer really have sold her soul simply to get a couple of hit records by a generic production line? By this time in 1990 clearly even she had come to the conclusion that she should not be doing so.

We've been here before haven't we.

As I was listening to the chart all I could keep thinking to myself is what the hell happened between 1981 and 1990? I blame Mrs Thatcher. I feel exactly the same about the songs in early '90 now as I did then. I bet it only gets played because of Sinead O'Connor at No1 because there is very little else to commend this chart period getting played, other than Phil Collins!

Indeed! But she didn't have much of a chart career after ditching SAW did she?

Today's 1990 POTP Number 1 is far better than the current 1981 TOTP Number 1. Overall, maybe 81 slightly better, but not by much. 81 is so overrated whilst 90 is underrated. As for your previous comment about Del Amitri, I did agree with you, but they changed my opinion in 1992 with the wonderful Always the Last to Know.

Totally and utterly agree Boz. Surely anyone who has rose-tinted glasses re the charts of 1981 will have had them removed by watching the TOTP repeats. Some great stuff, granted, but plenty of dross too.

I knew there'd be the usual moans about the 1990 chart. My only moan is that it always seems to be Feb, and I do think it is because of the number one

Re Donna Summer and Happening All Over Again, I've said before that I think she would not record it because she considered it bad luck to sing songs about relationship breakdowns. If that's true, it was her loss as its one of Stock, Aitken and Waterman's best songs.

I enjoyed reading the various comments re Borderline. I was listening to an unofficial remix on YouTube, but sadly it didn't have that excellent intro so a thumbs down from me. Reading through a thread on Haven forum about 80s number twos, I realised I'd overlooked her other one from 1986, Live To Tell. The consensus was it was a better ballad than Crazy For You, but I certainly don't agree with that!

That 1990 chart is not that exciting for sure. For me the only decent songs are Mantronix, Del Amitri, Phil Collins + Sinead O' Connor. Some really lame, inferior covers by Yell, Sybil + Jimmy Somerville..

"Walk on by" must be one of the most successful songs of all time with the number of hit versions. From memory there was the glorious original by Dionne Warwick (Bacharach + David at their very best), punky version by the Stranglers, funky one by Average White Band, Sybil's weak one + also Gabrielle which was a pale imitation of the original, though I think she was a fine singer..

More memorable songs in the 1957 chart from before I was born.

Tony played the exact same songs in the 1990 chart as last year when he played the exact same chart (on February 7th 2015 ) . can't see why pick of the pops can't have new charts every week - it's ridiculous when there are so few charts from the 90s aired on the show (we haven't even had anything from 1993 and nothing between 1996 and 1998)