I have never ever bought any music from a supermarket. It may sound antiquated of me but I just think music/records should be sold in music/record stores primarily, or online equivalents and not treat music like grabbing a loaf of bread or a packet of biscuits (Rich Tea's of course) off the shelves as part of the weekly grocery shopping. It's far more special to go into a proper record store as was, or even the likes of Woolworths or even WHSmith when they did records, rather than walk along the aisles past the sausages and suddenly come across a rack of albums.

Hard to believe that the Electric Light Orchestra have hit the No1 position in the new album chart this week. Very classy. To think their last chart topping album was with Time in September 1981 at the same time Tainted Love was No1 in the singles chart for Soft Cell and the week I began at senior school. Quite amazing, and Jeff Lynne looks exactly the same too. Good to see continued appreciation, maybe more so now than initially years back. Like Abba, the ELO collection of hits have now become standards.

Proving that the album charts are mostly now the grown up chart for the discerning listener while the singles chart is the kiddie chart for the one track minded type and hard of hearing. It would please me if some of the more longer established artists could still be managing to grab the top singles positions but they seem permanently shut out now and I fail to see quite why that has happened to the extent it has. The Official UK Singles Chart has become far too narrow and niche and in no way do I relate to it as a mainstream chart anymore.

As for Drake's 15 weeks at No1 until tonight, if he walked past me I'd have no idea who he was. Still have not heard the track either. Not hard to avoid, unlike Wet Wet Wet in 1994 or Bryan Adams in 1991. So how many weeks is this new No1 going to last? Until November? What a joke. There is absolutely no genuine comparison between the charting statistics now compared to even just a handful of years ago. The slowness of the charts as they now are would have totally killed off TOTP if it was still on air today, viewers turned off with mind numbing repetitive tedium.

Which reminds me, today is 10 years since the final ever edition of the weekly TOTP on Sunday 30th July 2006.

I too would like an ID on LMSO, there's a resemblance but defo not Corinne -

with Zoo _ (at 0.35 seconds ) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUIe8eZ9gl0
backing Jellybean _ (girl on left) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rD3Hf6l8ipM
in ACDC Vid _ (1.44) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWCINQn6k0s

Oddy enough, I think it's become clear over the last year's episodes that there was a point where thry were content to be be called Depech-eh

Although his earlier shows on ITV were much funnier, especially in being able to hear the studio crew's reactions. I do find it a bit frustrating that, whenever they are shown on TV now, it always seems to be the BBC shows rather than the ITV ones.

Theres a guy on youtube called Shaun Purchase who uploads the weekly episodes but why does he keep editing the episodes on his channel?

Is that how its been airing on BBC4?

In truth, i'd say, the Drake song above anything else is indistinctive, and difficult to remember. There's just nothing that grabs me. It just sounds like a lot of other pop these days, just knocked off by computer. If that song has been No 1 for 15 weeks, what does that tell us about the state of music today?

I've never heard the Drake song, although I think I'd have a pretty good guess at what it sounds like. Unlike many of the other current top 40 songs, you can't play a 30-second snippet of it without signing up to Spotify, which I won't.

I might be more indignant about Drake taking chart records if it was taking them from a much-loved no.1 of the golden era, but I'd find it hard to get worked up about defending Bryan Adams or Wet Wet Wet.

Incidentally, those of you that record the TOTP episodes and save them - have you checked that your recording of this week's has worked? BBC Four HD has moved on Freeview for the Olympics, and my recording from Thursday night didn't work as I hadn't retuned. One more chance to capture it with tonight's repeat!

Richy Rich, am finally listening to Classic through headphones. Sounds amazing.

1982 was an interesting year for music, the trends from the late seventies were almost dead by then( punk and disco) and you had a heap of new trends such as synth pop, jazz funk, New Romanticism, the second generation of heavy metal and British adult rock like Dire Straits doing very well. Also British acts were conquering America thanks to MTV and one in three records sold in America was by British acts. I'd think of all the eighties years, possibly 1981 and 1984 come close, 1982 was the best.

I don't think she's Corinne, either. or any Page 3 girl. I think there was another one seen in The Story Of 1982 (tall, in a weird white dress that looked like a reject from Blake's 7), in reference to a commentary from Clive Clarke about Hurll introducing them as cheerleaders when they couldn't actually dance.

If LMSO had even achieved Page 3 status, I can't believe she would have been behaving in such an overtly desperate, OTT way to be seen and get her face on screen. The cheerleaders were wannabes - like Mr Fairbrass was back then - and LMSO is clearly making the most of the opportunity she has.

I have to say that the whole freaks (cheerleaders) vs frumps (rest of the audience) thing was in full effect in that episode. It's getting so distracting!

When I was watching Thursday's TOTP about three quarters of the way through I suddenly wished a really good disco or dance track would come along as I'm missing them and they do seem to have dried up quite suddenly. Although one of my favourites will be along in the near future when the last major hit for Odyssey gets to No3, the very disco Inside Out.

Not a bad edition on Thursday night, despite the plethora of Batesisms throughout. Particularly enjoyed him looking forward to what was at No.11 when it was the Top 20 countdown and didn't even get to that position. Mind you, he covered completely blanking on Haircut 100's without missing a beat. You have to give it to him, he's very professional when being unprofessional.

Song of the night was obviously Party Fears Two by The Associates. I heroically sang along. Granted, I sounded like Garfield in blender but nevermind. It's a shame Billy had to mime it as he had a set of lungs on him quite capable of doing it live in the studio.

I do find it ironic that there's a bit of grumbling here about Drake having been at No.1 for 15 weeks while there's also grumbling about Tight Fit still being at No.1 for a fraction of the time. It wasn't that long ago people were bemoaning that songs don't stay at No.1 for as long as they did, 'In the good old days,' and now people get huffy if a song hangs around a while in these repeats.

Which generation/era are we taking pot shots at anyway?





Well, if that's how you get your kicks...(!).



Change the word 'Slight' to 'Inevitable'.


Line of the night for me.



It's a funny thing as this little moment seems to have passed under the radar completely over the last 34 years. Almost exactly 10 years before David Bowie put his arm round Mick Ronson on the show and people went into a tizz about the sexual connotations of the simple gesture. On the same show, there was this proper kiss on the lips between two blokes on prime time BBC TV and...apparently nothing. It went by without comment. It's arguably as seminal as Boy George's appearance later the same year but has somehow gone overlooked. Maybe because it was taken as being comedic at the time rather than something pop culturally significant.

Either way, I think it deserves its place in the history of LGBT friendly representation on mainstream TV. As such, I take back (almost) everything I've said about Simon Bates on this thread.

By the way, here's the edition of The Kenny Everett Television Show that followed Top Of The Pops that night...

Part 1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zU62x7Boy9A
Part 2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDieUkyNZ5s

I think you overstate it. There's nothing i've heard to suggest that Simon Bates is anything but straight. It was a spontaneous comedy moment, no more, no less. Not everything has to have such desperate deep meaning ascribed to it

I said LGBT friendly, meaning being positive towards gay people rather than mocking or sneering at them which was much more the norm on TV.

I wasn't suggesting Simon as gay himself, not that it matters either way. If anything, his being straight and initiating the kiss is what makes that moment refreshing and defines it as LGBT friendly.

The first thing I thought when I saw that kiss was:- "Aww how lovely" - and the reason being - Kenny Everett was such a lovely & warm personality that absolutely ANYONE would love to give him a big kiss or a hug - man, woman or beast! - Just wish I could've done the same when he was alive.

I agree with your earlier Simon Bates comment too - my opinion of Simes has gone up tenfold!!

One of my favourites too!

Totally agree. There was nothing sexual about the kiss so to suggest it was LGBT friendly seems a bit far fetched to me. It was like when all those people who love to be easily offended were up in arms about a mother kissing her five year old daughter on the lips a couple of weeks ago.

Regarding The Associates seeing just about everyone (except ClareB) enjoyed them the other night, I always felt if Billy had stuck with Alan Rankine for another year or two and toured more they would've been a lot bigger. Also Billy's songs would've been a lot stronger too, rather than the watered down singles we were getting later on after Sulk.

Unfortunately we have seen many budding talented & charismatic popstars lately eg Annabella from Bow Wow Wow and also XTC, whose careers could've gone a lot further had they been promoted better or toured more constantly.

The problem with XTC is that they did tour constantly, from 1978 to 1982 all over the world! By the time they reached their chart peak in early 1982, the constant touring had taken its toll on Andy Partridge, who succumbed to stage fright - they had to call off a world tour, and they never played live again!

I know - I meant touring more constantly after 1982. It was just a shame about Andy - it could happen to anyone I guess.

I could be wrong with this so I'm just saying it here to open up wider discussion, but in 1982 would I be correct in saying that few were generally aware of Kenny Everett's sexual orientation other than within maybe his close circle of friends and colleagues? Being 12 or 13 at the time myself his sexuality was neither here or there to me, he was just brilliantly funny and a delight to watch, as he still is looking back. Not that anybody's orientation should be an issue or the main thing that defines them. I don't think I've ever read a truly bad word said about him. I have a 1995 diary and on April 4th I put that he had passed. He was worth noting down. He was one of those people who affect you when you hear they have passed away.

Another BBC personality just a few months earlier on 2nd September 1994 I also wrote down who was very much part my and many others childhood was the very dear Roy Castle, he of Record Breakers, another man who literally had not a bad word ever said against him and was deeply loved. His lung cancer passing from passive smoking playing his trumpet in smoky clubs years earlier deeply saddened me. I can't exactly say there are many in the BBC that bring out those heartfelt emotions nowadays.

If you fancy a cancer donation or fundraising effort - https://www.roycastle.org/

Exactly!

That's what makes it LGBT fri-end-ly.

Why is this so difficult to understand for some people?

Perhaps because other people aren't so good at explaining what they mean? I've still got no idea of the point you are trying to make.

From Wikipedia:

Gay-friendly are the places, policies, people or institutions that are open and welcoming to gay people (to include all members of the LGBTQ community) to create an environment that is supportive of gay people and their relationships, respectful of all people, treat all people equally, and are non-judgmental.

Focusing in particular on the bolded part.

LGBT representation had been quite limited as far as mainstream TV was concerned at the time, representation of being LGBT friendly even more so. Simon Bates was quite happy to give another man a kiss on the lips without worrying about it being labelled gay or sexual. That in itself is being LGBT friendly. It says, 'You're free to be you, I won't judge you.' It's accepting and the total antithesis of Roger Daltrey's, 'Watch yer backs,' comment just a couple of years before.

Simon kissing Kenny on prime time TV says, either consciously or not, that straight men needn't fear showing affection to other men gay or straight. In turn, that shows a friendly and open attitude to gay people in general...hence it's an example of LGBT friendly representation on TV. Simon's kiss may not be either the first or only example but it's still important in terms of when it happened and showing the growth of a more equal representation of LGBT people on TV in overall.

Yes Roy Castle and Kenny Everett were two endearing people & big parts of our childhood TV. Sad they both went before their time. Roy's birthday was the day after mine!