Why do they need to eat their hearts out? Tom Jones was at Number 1 and so were they.

Except, as we all know, it isn't.

Both are classics, and both deserved to be Number 1s. In fact, this weekend was the first chart I can remember for a long time when both the Number 1s were so good.

IMO The Who - Happy Jack and Small Faces - My Mind's Eye were the best songs played.

Totally disagree here Boz. About time we had a clear difference of views I think. Paul Gambaccini is a master at certain nuances and sometimes can be too clever with them so that they likely go over the heads of most people who do not grasp his style and persona. I don't think I'm over analysing him.

If you remember 1982 you will probably know that the Renee and Renato record was regarded as a bit of a novelty. Not a classic at all.

You calling me thick?

I remember The Best Christmas of Them All but think it was from 1990. I usually partake in the Music Games, but am giving these a rest for Christmas, and mentioned this song in my most recent Music Game - the one about a word being mentioned in 2 or more hits by an artist.

I incidentally have another reason for cutting my Music Games participation for now. I have a reason for wanting my 15000th post to be on a specific date just after Christmas.

I was interested to hear Gimme Some Loving and Friday On My Mind both from the same chart. I have long associated these songs together without even knowing they were hits together. I think What Becomes of the Broken Hearted? was my favourite song from yesterday's POTP show.

A little bit of pop trivia just in case anyone is interested - and doesn't already know.

'Friday On My Mind' (1966) was written by Harry Vanda and George Young of The Easybeats.
'Waiting For A Train' (1983) was written by Harry Vanda and George Young aka Flash & The Pan.

Stevie Wright, the lead singer of The Easybeats performed lead vocals on both records (although George Young mimed to Stevie Wright's vocal on the official 'Waiting For A Train' video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUB1VPjLGvk).

George Young, The Easybeats rhythm guitarist is of course the older brother of Angus and Malcolm Young of AC/DC.

I wouldn't dare try!

I'm 99% sure you are being honest in your opinion of Save Your Love but there is a 1% doubt I have that you might just be being a rascal asserting your love for it. Although clearly there was a lot of love for it because it held No1 for a month at the heaviest sales time, no mean feat. Maybe if it had been a duet between Luciano Pavarotti and Montseratt Caballe instead it might have endured as a far more credible piece of work?

Isn't it a shame we don't get major hit songs like this recently. Chart music has become far too soporific with nothing either quirky, plain fun or even particularly challenging, never mind an almost instant hummable tune which, whatever you think of the Christmas No1 in 1982 it sure had that, and at that Christmas there would have been few people of any age in the entire country who didn't know that song while it was a No1 hit.

You don't have to actually buy them but No1 hits in the UK are no longer collective national experiences in the memory such as this one was.

The success of Save Your Love was pretty much down to Radio Luxembourg who gave the song excessive airplay, in fact if I remember righty, bizarrely the song was a 208 Powerplay!

I'm sure the Two Ronnies did a sketch on the Renee and Ranato song.

Just checked and you, Sir, are correct. 1990 and his other one in '91. My mistake.

I know Kenny Everett did a really funny sketch on it.

Kenny Everett: 'Save Your Love':
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72M_4GfvVLM

Ah, the Radio Luxembourg Powerplay, now there's a blast from the past.
Coincidentally, Joe Dolce's 'Shaddap Ya Face' was also a Powerplay in '81.

Cheers for that. Knew it was spoofed.

I am sure i have heard Gambo stating in the past that ''Dead End Street'' was a great piece of 60s social commentary, where he related it to the Aberfan mining disaster that happened in October 1966, which was around that same period. Paul was referring to the enormous profiles of both ''Sunny Afternoon'' and ''Waterloo Sunset'' in the show, and not making any reference to ''Dead End Street'' being inferior in quality, by comparison. ''Dead End Street'' is widely regarded as one of The Kinks very best tracks, but it isn't perhaps so accessible in terms of mood to be among their most played. That is the key difference between it, and those other two hits. In terms of quality, it is right up there.

I am not sure Paul's nuances are that clever really. He has a very good way of stringing associations between songs/or acts etc. together, but i don't think beneath it all the meaning is really that hard to understand, or fathom. Rich Tea may be guilty of looking for things that really aren't there.

I recall TOTP even adding a "whistle" sound to the video as Rene through the rose up to Renato on the balcony About 2 minutes in

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0gryfllhhI

Yes, they played the Powerplay every hour IIRC. Is there a list of them anywhere?

There used to be but the site which used to list them no longer has them up online, which is a shame.

The Luxy charts for the 1970s are online at that same site though

http://hitnoteringen.nl/hitlijsten/

(in Dutch, you need to scroll down to Radio Luxembourg).

I've checked a few pages on the Wayback Machine but none of the Radio Luxembourg Powerplay pages appear to be archived. Hopefully some of them are.

https://web.archive.org/web/20140209...urg-powerplay/

^
Hopefully you can use the above to search around the archive to see if any of the Powerplay pages have been archived.

It's a shame that they were taken down when the site was revamped last year. You could always contact the site owner and ask him for the list he used to have online?

http://hitnoteringen.nl/contact/

(hopefully the site owner can also read / write in English!)

The website owner can be contacted at redactie@radiotrefpunt.nl or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/hitnoteringen where you can send him a message.

There's was the first record chart wasn't it, back when Jimmy Saville was on the station?

Really great to hear the 1982 chart and I can't wait to see a lot of them on the TOTP repeats. Here's the songs I didn't comment on when Tony did the chart from the previous week:

December 18 1982

27 ALL THE LOVE IN THE WORLD - DIONNE WARWICK - While I this is pleasant enough, I mean you can't really go wrong with a Bee Gees written tune, I can't understand why Dionne prefers this to Heartbreaker. The lyrics are far more interesting and the tune more memorable.
17 YOU CAN'T HURRY LOVE - PHIL COLLINS - I just absolutely love this and it will always be THE version of this song as far as I'm concerned. I didn't buy it at the time but did buy it much later when WH Smiths used to sell old singles.
10 PEACE ON EARTH/LITTLE DRUMMER BOY - DAVID BOWIE AND BING CROSBY - I'm not sure why this was released so long after it was recorded. Not one I'm that bothered about hearing at Christmas but would definitely rather hear it than a lot of other Bowie stuff.
04 THE SHAKIN' STEVENS EP - SHAKIN' STEVENS - I can't make my mind up what I think about Josephine being played. I do like Blue Christmas and it never gets played because of Merry Christmas Everyone but I suppose it was thinking outside the box. Maybe Phil Swern thinks Shaky could use the royalties as it's the only track he penned on the EP. I was interested to hear it, as I don't think I have before, but I've pretty much forgotten how it goes now.

Top 20 tracks skipped -
20 IF YOU CAN'T STAND THE HEAT - BUCKS FIZZ - I can't understand why this was skipped. Putting aside the fact I never mind hearing some Bucks Fizz it was a riser in the charts so no excuse really.
19 BUFFALO GALS - MALCOLM MCLAREN AND THE WORLD'S FAMOUS SUPREME TEAM - Now I was glad this was skipped even though I can appreciate how different it sounded at the time. I was only interested when he got involved with skipping and brought out Double Dutch!

Looking back at what was played when Tony did the chart from the week before this I noticed the same three tracks were skipped - Duran Duran - Rio, Yazoo - The Other Side Of Love and Hymn - Ultravox. Okay Rio is quite often played but I don't know what Phil Swern's got against the others. Hymn, in particular is fantastic but sadly I don't think its going to be on the TOTP repeats at all

Good resume above as always Clare. I think not playing Blue Christmas from the EP last week by Shaky was ridiculous actually, as it was the track that was selling and taking that release to Christmas No2 in 1982 and is virtually unheard now compared to his very familiar chart topping festive one three years later. By the way, Shaky is at No22 in this weeks Christmas 2016 chart with Merry Christmas Everyone and I noticed tonight on Top Of The Pops 1982 he was also at No22 with I'll Be Satisfied from November '82.

Bucks Fizz If You Can't Stand The Heat is a great pop record and they were seen doing it on TOTP 82 last night.

Bing Crosby recorded his part of the David Bowie duet of Peace On Earth/Little Drummer Boy just 6 weeks before his passing away in October 1977. Never been sure what prompted the release five years later but it is one of my favourite festive songs that I never get tired of hearing.

Disagree with you about that Malcolm McLaren track Buffalo Gals. Really ought to have been heard. I love it. I know my dad detested it big time when he heard it on TOTP early in 1983. I can still see his disgusted scrunched up face and me laughing saying it was good. That comment can be duplicated on the new TOTP 1983 thread at new year.

Back to this Christmas weekend....

Christmas Eve is our day on Pick Of The Pops with Gambo to hear the hits on this date back in 1967, 1972 and 1985 with an extra year in a three hour festive treat. Everybody Knows these songs with some Solid Gold Easy Action from singles that Hit That Perfect Beat and don't often See The Day.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Hour 1 - http://umdmusic.com/default.asp?Lang...hBand=&ChSong=
TOTP -
21-12-67: Presenters: Jimmy Savile & Keith Skues (Wiped)

(1) THE BEATLES – Hello Goodbye (and charts)
(NEW) CHRIS FARLOWE – Handbags And Gladrags
(5) GENE PITNEY – Something’s Gotten Hold Of My Heart ®
(16) THE FOUR TOPS – Walk Away Renée (video)
(2) VAL DOONICAN – If The Whole World Stopped Loving
(3) TOM JONES – I’m Coming Home
(23) GEORGIE FAME – The Ballad Of Bonnie And Clyde *
(13) SIMON DUPREE & THE BIG SOUND – Kites
(1) THE BEATLES – Hello Goodbye (video)

I like the beatles but cant stand hello goodbye, its the same thing over and over.goes on and on