Ursula has mentioned that we should not give up on radio quite yet, and to an extent, I do agree, but for me, radio died in about 1993, because of the high repeat rotation of tunes which I loved when I was younger, but due to being played again and again and again.......and again............and again


and again







and again

I had to stop listening for my own sanity's sake.

Okay, you can make a date to listen to Radio 1 at such and such a time and day to hear this and that, and the same with Radio 2, 3 and 4 and some of the more decent commercials, but with me, I think that you can waste a lot of you life listening to cac just on the offchance of hearing something you might like a little. That is why I have spent a little more money on equipment, just to listen to what I want to listen to, not what some radio programmer thinks I should listen to.

Having said that, I think that DAB radio has come along in leaps and bounds over the last cupla years. It still depends where you live. I live not too far from Tonbridge in Kent and I can pick up the nationals, the BBC mux, the Londons, the Sussexes, Kents, East Surreys, and the choice is really good. Encore for musicals, Golden for decent Oldies and far right wing preachers, Mi Soul when I want to get down with the kids, and Jazz FM when the last thing I want to listen to is real proper Jazz

But ultimately, radio is all about other people trying to sell you music which "they think that you should like" and when it comes to it, I would rather listen to what I want to listen to - thank you v much.

In the end though, I still listen to a bit of Long Wave these days. Atlantic 252 died in 2002 but was replaced eventually by RTE Radio Erin, and it is nice to hear the GAA results on a Sunday night and the cattle prices at 6 am in the morning to remind me why I left Ireland in the first place, and have no desire to return.

Cloudbusting was her final encore at the Apollo gigs in September 2014. To be standing 8 rows from the front waving my arms and shouting "Yay ey o" was one of the best experiences of my life!

Oh stop it. Youre gonna make me cry - and only my wife is allowed to do that.

// slaps dermott's back//...well if you can't beat the trolling, sock puppeting old boy network you might as well join it

BIB - How did you twig what my wife does to keep me in line?

enjoyed reading your posts about Bowie. I think most would agree his seventies period is far and ahead his best work. I thought Let's Dance was a bit of a let down other than the singles lifted from it. In fact I thought Tonight was a better album even though it didn't do half as well as Let's Dance.

For me the one track that pulls Bowie back from the abyss of 80s mediocrity is 'This is Not America'. His singing on that is amazing and is still one of my favourites.

I'm just catching up on the last TOTP and Simple Minds has just come on with Glittering Prize. Just to keep in with the Bowie connection!

Forget the Travelling wilbury's

feast yourself on this

IMO one of the best pieces of music ever composed

https://www.google.co.uk/webhp?sourc...at%20is%20life

Certainly was a good start although I personally preferred the sublime 'Shame'.
Evelyn just never fulfilled the potential which 'Love come down' hinted at.
Pity.

Another thumbs up here. Although not a big DS fan (Dire Straits not Digital Spy obviously) I loved Private Investigations. Yes it does go on a bit but it is a single where you need to hear the full version to appreciate it and not the ridiculous snippet we heard on last week's Pops. File with Bohemian Rhapsody and Paranoid Android.

You've summed it up pretty well. A waste of 2 minutes if ever there was one.

Indeed I think 'I'm In Love' is a real gem! And I think I prefer ever so slightly to 'Love Come Down' mainly cos you don't hear it as much but boy what an irresistible groove!! Yeah a real shame Top of the Pops ignored this, a promo video existed to and makes me laugh though with those camp dancers around Evelyn slightly dancing out of sync - very of its time!!

Nor did I remember this abomination of a cover. I actually liked Gillan's cover of New Orleans but this is pushing it.

Naughty Straker. I know full well that I should not have laughed at your comment - but I did.

I thoroughly recommend the 'Friends' album. There are a couple of wonderful album tracks to discover : 'Help me' and 'Playing to win'. Aural nectar.

How can you be when I love it?
As Powell suggested ... very French.
Zut alors

Snap ... my favourite 4 as well.
Must be a Jock thing.

Have to disagree Scott - but then again I haven't read a single negative comment about 'Just what I always wanted'. until now.

I hated the song back then and still do.

Shocking start to Friday's pops. The Jam is doing nothing for me either though it is preferable to the Wilsations.

Ramraider, you are spot on! Shalamar's 'Friends' is a stunningly good album, one of my soul highlights of 82 along with Aretha's 'Jump To It' & Patrice Rushen's 'Straight From the Heart'. That groove ballad you mention 'Help Me' is a gem, that impeccable gorgeous SOLAR (Sound of Los Angeles) production and those sweeping strings really make it something special & Howard Hewett's sweet vocals! 'Looking forward to seeing the band themselves in the studio soon

Totally agree - their best track from the LP.
Glittering prize I liked initially back in 82 when it was released - but I went off it quickly - and today I enjoyed hearing it again. Odd.

This edition so far has been underwhelming despite all the hype it was getting on here. I am prepared to eat my words although Shakatak are doing little to reverse the mediocrity.

Afterthought re the sources used in 'Walking On Sunshine' (and I don't know why it never occurred to me at the time - must be old age creeping in): the other element present in that track is 'Keep On' by D Train - the last single to be released from their 1982 debut album, but a US club hit prior to that as an LP track. I don't think it cracked the UK Top 75 but it may have featured in the 'Bubbling Under' lists that have been kindly supplied for recent charts.

It's this bit …


… obviously the, ahem, inspiration for this …


Especially as the melodies are so similar!

I don't mind the odd Zoo routine especially when they incorporate the funkier/street moves of the time into their routines (dancers like Clive Clarke, Wesley, Julie Brown, Tony, Pinkie, Grant Santino, Grant Aston, Eddie Kemp were fine dancers) but this an odd routine. Why they just didn't go with the promo video as there was one available.and a good one at that with Carly strutting around the streets of NYC miming the lyrics and going 'la-di-dah-di-dah' to complete strangers passing by

Indeed 'Walking on Sunshine' took and re-played all the best bets of D-Train's 'You're the One For Me' & 'Keep On' over a song written by Eddy Grant (Jeez, he must have got a lot of royalties in 82) and some clever Arthur Baker production techniques and you have the best selling dance single of the year! Although I like it, it's not in my favourites of the year, that has to go to aforementioned D-Train singles, Sharon Brown's 'I Specialise In Love' and the brilliant 'Do It To The Music' by Raw Silk

So it seems the 4/11/82 is not being shown. Confirmed by the official BBC Four listings. I hope they have got a good reason not to show it and are not simply missing out an episode because they are trying to cram all the episodes in before the end of the year. The Wham debut is a crucial episode and I'm hoping they repeated the same performance.

I'm also wondering if it is possible they may show the Xmas Day 1982 edition. Yes DLT is there but only for one link and providing he doesn't continuously pop his head up I'm hoping BBC Four may see fit just to edit out that one link. I'm doubtful but I don't see the harm in editing just one link.

Could Sarah Greene really have blocked the Mike Smith episodes?

Well, the 'Tonight' album had less dance influences than 'Let's Dance', and i could imagine a fair number of David's fans, may have been pleased that he'd moved away from the Nile Rodgers influenced sound. However, "Tonight', for me, lacks any real conviction, and the production sound seems rather flat. David's 'Let's Dance" album doesn't appear to have a great deal of musical substance outside of the singles, but it does have very attractive musicianship, and a great production sound (despite the rather inferior re-recording of "Cat People"). Whenever i listen to the album, i think it would be nice to listen to again, but there is never really enough there with the songs to keep me fully engaged as to draw me back. However, "Let's Dance" the title track, is easily a match for David's very best work, even if it may seem less cutting, or experimental than some of his material. It certainly wasn't a song on first listen, that i would have instantly thought showed David on the slide, and the musicianship was very effective, as was the overall presentation. "China Girl" worked well too, even if it had none of the raw edge or spontaneity of the Iggy original, which was much more a case of throwing caution to the wind. David was always more sophisticated than that, but it does highlight the difference between them.