Dodgy autocue, which threw up the "let's see what's at no 11" line one link too early?

Gary Davies will be kissing himself soon - in any available reflective surface!

Yes - I agree here! It must be - no one could write in that many blunders!!

Yes, I forgot all about Gary Davies!!

If we get to 1987, all fingers and toes crossed, he presents, or co-presents 23 of the editions that year. Simon Bates still presenting too, and presumably still making the usual gaffes,

Awww Ursula, we do! Normally... we both (if I am right, I can't always keep up around here) loved Toyah's Good Morning Universe (panned around here) n Adrian Gurtvitz's Classic, 'Classic' (even less popular than Tight Fit's sleeping lion it seems). It's not that I don't like our Billy and PF2, I do and I would certainly dance Clare Grogan pointy toe, wavy arm style at a disco should it come on, I just don't feel the love for it that most do. However if it makes you feel any better I love Club Country!

Phew!!

Ok I'll let you off!!

HI all

Can I just ask a question for anyone that regularly records and archives the TOTP BBC4 repeats...

Previously, I had been recording all editions onto my DVD recorder HDD and then transferring these recordings to a Blu-Ray disc direct from the recorder. I can usually fit around 20 editions per Blu-Ray disc - simply transferred at the original SD quality. So, transferred a direct copy of the BBC4 SD channel broadcast (i.e. no re-codiing or drop in quality).

However, maybe because of the Olympic coverage and Freeview channel changes, I suddenly have acquired BBC4 HD. (This wasn't possible in my area previously).

I recorded both the SD BBC4 version last week as well as the BBC4 HD channel version. Whilst I fully appreciate the original broadcast is of course, only SD, it still looks far crisper and better definition on the BBC4 HD channel.

Does anyone have any idea how much more difference this is in say, file size - what I would like to do is to record the BBC4 HD versions and transfer these to Blu-Ray, but if I can't fit nearly as many on the disc as the SD channel version, I won't bother!

Just wondered if anyone had any ideas if there was much difference in file size? I can't seem to tell directly from the DVD recorder...

Cheers for any help

Fun fact - When Gary Davies looks at his reflection in the back of a spoon his face looks almost normal.

...

Is this new to any other Numanoids?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZF4Z6smOrZw

The record label states that 'Classic' was co-produced by Adrian and Paul Gurvitz (seen alongside his brother on TOTP sporting a beard and bouffant a la Barry Gibb circa 1979) but according to Wikipedia it is the last charting single that Phil Wainman ever worked on so presumably PW was the studio engineer.


In between The Tokens (1961) and Tight Fit (1981) 'Opportunity Knocks' winner Dave Newman released a version of 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight' in April 1972 which sounds quite similar to the eighties chart topper.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9knvWBDzMk

I suppose it is arguable the record buying public of the early seventies had more discerning taste as despite the fact Dave Newman won the high profile ITV talent show for five consecutive weeks his record peaked at a more modest No. 34 on the chart.

I wonder if there is any other example(s) where a particular song became a Top Forty hit in three successive decades for three different artists.

I understand that Dave Newman passed away on 12th June this year aged 75.


Must have been a while ago judging by how Alan Rankine's appearance has changed since his interview for that documentary.

http://i3.dailyrecord.co.uk/incoming...JS89073436.jpg

Here's a reminder of how he looked in the Associates.

http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/502MHa_iDjg/hqdefault.jpg

I can think of a near miss with a song being a hit for three different acts in three successive decades, "Unchained Melody" in 1990, 1995 and 2002, if only the first one had been a year earlier! And not only that, all Number 1s!

Associates latest : Still fabulous

Make that 4 artists and all No1's - you forgot Jimmy Young who hit the top for 3 weeks in June/July 1955 too.

Infact the Jimmy Young version knocked Eddie Calvert off the top spot with a song that we will doubtless see sometime soon covered in late summer 1982 from Modern Romance - Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White.

Eh up Rich, I see you're on the night shift again. Have you seen them Commodores about?

I love that Eddie Calvert track & enjoyed POTP from 1958 on Saturday. Some fabulous crooned magic on that show (Dean Martin, Vic Damone, Platters & the beautiful Connie Francis).

"ohhhhhhhh the tower-ring feeeeeeling" etc.

All timeless & sung purely with plenty of gusto. Gorgeous

'In other news, Countdown Capers will be available at a forum very near you soon'

Hi Andy. I really should not be up shifting through the night. I can barely keep awake and I've got to be up early, so it's 4 hours sleep for me tonight. I've just read your PM to me, thanks for that and I'll reply tomorrow evening some point when I have time and am fully alert. This Richard the Lionheart needs to sleep tonight! Zzzz

I suppose they were scripted primarily so the show's timing is precise, so it doesn't overrun or underrun. However, you would think the accuracy in what the DJ's were saying would have been checked. Simon Bates is actually a very competent host in terms of having the ability of holding the show together, and in being relaxed and authoritative, he easily outclasses the likes of Steve Wright. He's a pretty fine interviewer too, when he has to be, but for lack of accuracy, he's has to be the worst DJ ever on the show. You would have thought he would have done a little homework first, to verify he's got his facts right, instead of talking any old cobblers. More importantly, perhaps, you would have thought his Top Of The Pops colleagues would have picked him up on his mistakes. Many of those blunders were very obvious, indeed. I suppose the one bonus is we get to see the DJ's being themselves, and expressing their own personalities, which could have been taken away a little, had the words they used had come from elsewhere.

The likes of DLT and Kid Jensen, especially, come across very competent in what they say. DLT seems to thrive in the more fun atmosphere Michael Hurll has introduced, and may just be the standout presenter for me at this time, but Kid, doesn't come over nearly so good. He was better back in the late seventies, when the atmosphere was slightly more subdued, and he had the space to impart the odd useful piece of trivia along the way. He impressed me greatly at that point, because he really did seem very genuine in his appreciation of the music. I thought he turned presenting the show into a fine art, which i don't think anyone since has quite managed to match.

I appreciate ''Party Fears Two'' because it does go that extra step. Same in a sense with Soft Cell's ''Say Hello, Wave Goodbye'', where the vocals, as in ''Party Fears Two'', aren't quite so conventional, and so adds a little to the authenticity, and originality. If i have a problem with 1982, it is that the music is getting a little too glossy, and safe, and conservative, more generally, for my liking. The music isn't reaching out so much above and beyond, so to speak. The likes of Haircut 100 and Duran Duran, make perfectly reasonable music, but i am looking for something a little extra, that transcends the usual limitations on what is more generally termed as pop, under that rather broad banner.

In the early seventies, i found a significant proportion of the sounds, had more of an emphasis on appearing a little more lyrical and poetic, probably which was an influence of Bob Dylan, from the mid sixties initially, which was to make the words more of an art form in themselves. You can hear it in the likes of Don McLean's two massive hits, ''American Pie'', and ''Vincent'', and a number of songs recorded by the likes of Jim Croce. I'd argue you can also hear it even a little in Lobo's ''Me And You And A Dog Named Boo'', even though on the surface that song may not appear particularly deep. That influence cut pretty deep across many of the different genres of music, also during that period. That is one of the main reasons i find the music from the early seventies era, perhaps, the most enduring.

Post punk/new wave offered something a little more too, in the songs sometimes appearing perhaps more angry, with also rather more of a political edge too at times, and not to mention, occasionally more arty.

I was on the night shift too between 1am & 3am - another sleepless one - but don't think anyone was posting then.

I think you'll find his correct title is Ooh Gary Davies!

https://soundcloud.com/tony-manero/o...-davies-jingle

Don't think I've been on here in '1982'.

Can't be bothered with this who said what malarkey ... so just a few musings on my part.
Lots of controversy thrown in naturellement.

1.To the poster who said the Land of Make Believe benefited from the untimely editing of the song's conclusion - utter tosh! The last 20 seconds of the song is part of charm of this pop classic.

2.Why is it that when a decent song reaches number one half of the forum pipe up 'I'm getting fed up with song X'? Human League, Dave Stewart, Adam Ant have all been victims of the low tolerance on this usually wonderful forum

3.Totally agree about the quality of video sound from our American cousins. Hall /Oates and Foreigner were both excruciatingly bad quality recordings for 2 top quality singles. We deserved better lads!

4.Loved Being Boiled by the Human League. Did any poster comment on its similarity to the sublime Fade to Grey? I appreciate BB preceded FTG by a good few months.

5.Golden brown has caused much debate on here. I'm going to sit on the fence and say it's OK. They've done a lot better .. (Somethin better change, Duchess, European female, Nice n sleazy and Always the sun par exemple)

6.Maid of Orleans - OMD. Great to hear the incomparable John Peel get the pronunciation of 'Orleans' correct. Never heard a DJ get it right before! Also to the poster who disliked the lengthy introduction ... I agree with those who claim it to be part and parcel of a wonderfully constructed 4 minute pop song. Unfortunately TOTP applied the brutal edit during its second appearance. Poor taste indeed. By the way Joan of Arc fans, Orleans is not worth a visit but Rouen is.

7.Love both precious and Town called Malice. Anyone spot the spelling mistake on the Jam's blackboard? Wondered if it was deliberate.or just 'complaceny'?

8.Arthur's theme only took 20 years to sink into the good taste partition of the consciousness. I remember thinking when it was riding high in the UK top 10, this is pish compared to both 'Sailing' and 'Ride like the wind'. Today I admit the error of my immature ways.

9.The lion sleeps tonight. When I arrived back in the UK after a year in la belle France my mother greeted me with the most unwelcome 'welcome home' present imaginable : a 7 inch copy of Tight Fit's TLST!! I feigned delight and resolved never to allow the plastic to hit my newly acquired Duel turntable ...ever. Apparently I used to sing Karl Denver's Wimoweh with great gusto when I was a nipper. My mother therefore assumed (incorrectly) that I a timely reminder of my formative years was in order thus the 'gift'. It's still better than both Nicole's number 1 and Goombay dance band's excruciatingly bad 'effort'. By the way Faversham Saint ... what was the answer to your teaser about an artiste who covered a Tokens song earlier in his career?

10.Say hello, wave goodbye - Soft Cell It's goodbye from me regarding this one.

11.Drowning in Berlin - Mobiles. Loved it and the weird performances on TOTP. Have to agree with the good taste poster who recommended the follow up single Amour Amour which is so good I bought it twice ( by mistake ) on the same day. That's another story.

12.Easier said than done : Shakatak. To the poster who said Shakatak were superior to Shalamar... prepare to eat your words when the utterly sublime I can make you feel good hits the Pops next month. The divine Jodie Watley 's posse nails Bill Sharpe's lot every time.

13.Mickey was kept off the top by Wimoweh.on the week of my 21st birthday. What a coincidence - a song with my name as its title runner up to a pile of pish which I sang badly as a needy child.

14.Another 'Classic' disser here. As Sgt Rock stated : after the first 2 lines I'm looking for the fast forward on the remote.

15.Faversham Saint again - Could it be I'm falling in love was a hit in the 70s, David Grant and Jackie Graham in the 80s and unfortunately a hit for the easily forgettable Worlds Apart in the 90s.

16.Just an illusion - Imagination. Quite simply has anyone in the history of music ever started with such brilliant songs as Imagination? Body Talk, In and out of love, Burnin up/Flashback, Just an illusion and Music and lights are the best opening gambit to a career in music I have ever heard. Obviously no-one will agree with me. So what would you say are the best 5 consecutive opening singles by an artiste to their career?

17.Party Fears 2.- The Associates : wait for it .... I love it. Whenever we get a song which seems to unite the forum in adulation ( e.g Wuthering heights , Vienna , Say hello etc ) I always seem to be the 'cuckoo in the nest.' But with PFT I am going to have to give up my role of party (fears) pooper. I enjoyed the classic as much as the majority on here.

18.Agree with the comments about LMSO, Craig Fairbrass and the shocking zoo and the lack of good quality dance music.

19.So far 1982 has not been that impressive. With the advent of Odyssey, Kid Creole, Imagination, Shalamar and Stevie Wonder the summer is a significant improvement on the first 3 months of the year.

20. Much appreciation to Andy who does the wonderfully eloquent resumes of TOTP. They are a superb read : admiring your work lad!

I can't think of an example with consecutive decades (I'm sure there must be loads) but 3 different versions of "With a little help from my friends" all reached number 1 in different decades - Joe Cocker in 1968, Wet Wet Wet in 1988 and Sam & Mark in 2004.

Edit: I have just thought of one. Axel F - Harold Faltermeyer 1985, Clock 1995 and Crazy Frog 2005. I'm not proud of knowing this at all

No didn't forget that, the 50s is not consecutive with the 80s, 90s or 00s!

Lean on me : 70s Mud / Bill Withers
80s : Club Nouveau
90s : Michael Bolton

I'm sure there must be others.

Spirit in the sky was a near miss. Decades not consecutive.

Interesting stuff there ramraider