Thanks. Has anyone seen a decent copy of the 30/12/82 show as well?

Apparently there is a change of schedule this Friday on BBC4 for a tribute to George Michael night.

Does anyone know if TOTP was meant to be shown?

I have gone through life not hearing anything by The Mixtures other than... you know, that one.

I don't know when the George Michael night is meant to be starting, but there are two TOTP episodes scheduled: 9th Dec at 7pm and 23rd Dec at 7.30 pm. The schedule on the BBC website hasn't yet been updated.

I have a feeling that Top Of The Pops won't be shown on Friday. Instead I can foresee BBC4 showing something like "George Michael At The Beeb" which would include some TOTP clips.

Still no update to the schedules have been published as yet. I assume the BBC are still making some of the special programming they will be showing.

Also sad to read that Carrie Fisher's mum, Debbie Reynolds, has died just 24 hours after Carrie died. It's almost as if she's died of a broken heart.

My mum owned a lot of 78 records from the 1950s which I grew up listening to as a child. In particular I loved the following which was Debbie's only UK chart entry and which made number 2 in 1957.

'Tammy'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ew3mtNZFrMY

It's a bit sentimental but it's a lovely song.

I hope you are wrong … as that could either create an awkward knock-on with the start of 1983, or mean we won't even see those last episodes from 1982.

Having looked at the schedule, I would have been surprised if the TOTPs were going to be moved, as there are two very obvious contenders to be pulled and replaced with GM material - a repeat of a documentary about British sitcoms, and Strictly Ballroom.

I'm just hoping my theory is right!

It will soon be 1983. The year I started school, and the year Boy George really kicked off. Also the emergence of The Smiths and Wham!

Re Pop Quiz (with Mike REID as it said in my TV listing), a treat for the Fizzers amongst us, as next week's contestants are:-

Nick Heyward
Carol Decker
Cheryl Baker
Jay Aston
David Grant
Ranking Roger

I'm sure Roger's grateful Jonathan Ross never presented Pop Quiz, as rumours like that can be career suicide less he renames himself as just 'Roger' & performs no Ranking.

He's got 20/20 vision so I've heard.

The first edition of Top of the Pops that I remember watching at the time (when I was four years old) was one that featured the video for Malcolm McLaren's Double Dutch. I guess that was probably some time in July or August 1983.

I hope so too. The schedules still haven't been updated as yet. But I forgot about BBC4 needing to show what remains of TOTP 1982 that can be shown by the end of next week. So yes, it makes sense just to pull the two programmes you mentioned and then we will still get to see TOTP.

1983 was the year I started school as well.

My earliest music memory (it may have been shown on an edition of TOTP) was the video for Rockit by Herbie Hancock where loads of objects, dolls and mannequins moved about in time to the music and proper freaked me out at the time.

In fact for a few years after this any videos that featured dolls or mannequins used to scare me including the bald headed dolls in the Duran Duran Wild Boys video and the mannequins in the The Sun Always Shines On TV video by A-Ha

I'd left school by then.

#insanelyjealous

The TOTP episodes are untouched by the changes for the George Micheal evening - a TOTP2 is added as a Wham! special.

Where are the revised schedules? There's nothing showing on the BBC4 schedules on the iPlayer pages and my Sky planner still shows the same information too.

There is no better way to tribute a recently deceased celebrity than to show an old TOTP2 complete with piss taking captions about hairstyles and fashion !

Totally agree with this. The first time I heard the 'Bad' LP, Smooth Criminal was easily the stand-out track for me. The video which accompanied the track was probably my favourite ever video.

Loving the appreciation for 'Off The Wall'. Carol Bayer Sager wrote the wonderful 'It's the falling in love' but my favourite Michael Jackson track was on this album but not deemed good enough to be a single : 'Get on the floor'.

What made 'Thriller' such a popular album was the fact that not every track was a BillieJean copy. There is plenty of variety on Thriller - something for everyone.

Friday's BBC4 schedule update:
9pm George Michael: A Different Life
10.30pm TOTP2: Wham! Special
11pm George Michael Live at the Palais Garnier

Exactly …

I wish someone at the BBC had thought about that - but never mind!

Oh that's a shame they are just repeating the TOTP2 Wham! special. I suppose he didn't do many solo appearances but they could at least have included some other BBC performances.. Parkinson only one that springs to mind though.

I might have missed the answer in the preceding pages, but does anyone know why the following Pops episode is missing from the BBC4 schedule & if it was a compilation job?

December 30, 1982 - Gary Davies & Pat Sharp (1st Totp)

I must admit I did wonder after his passing when he actually performed in the TOTP studio solo because I couldn't think of any instances - certainly from when he really made it big as a solo artist.

It turned out that after appearing with 'A Different Corner' in 1986, he didn't come onto the show again until 2003 to perform a new release entitled 'The Grave'.


Savile appears on it.

But those compilations are usually called '… at the BBC' - meaning it could be any BBC show. Did he never do Wogan (as Kate Bush frequently did, even though she was seldom seen on TOTP)?

Having said that, his dispute with Sony in the late 80s meant that he wouldn't even appear in promo videos …*so that period may be lacking in archive material in general.

Tonight's Top of the Pops is going to be an emotional one as it's The Jam and ABBA making their final appearance on the show.

Here's my 1982 top 30 from my original top 150 of 1982 written when I was 21 years old.

1.I can make you feel good - Shalamar ( still makes me feel good today! )
2.Save a prayer - Duran Duran ( easily my favourite group at this time)
3.Music and lights - Imagination ( the most impressive start to a music career ever)
4.Let's start II Dance again - Hamilton Bohanon ( best dance track ever ! )
5.Inside out - Odyssey ( their best)
6.Don't go - Yazoo
7.Get down on it - Kool and the Gang (kids today still love this track)
8.Maid of Orleans - OMD (I was living in Rouen at the time - no surprise then)
9.Deadringer for love - Meatloaf (superb rock combo/ track and video)
10.I can't go for that - D Hall / J Oates ( still sounds good 34 years on )
11.Do I do - Stevie Wonder (one of his very best and there's plenty to choose from )
12.Hungry like the wolf - Duran Duran (surprised I had this one as high as 12 tbh)
13.African and white - China Crisis ( so underrated! )
14.Just an illusion - Imagination
15.The damned don't cry - Visage
16.The day before you came - Abba
17.Party fears 2 - Associates
18.Mickey - Toni Basil
19.I'll be satisfied - Shakin Stevens ( no sniggering, please! )
20.Never give you up - Sharon Redd
21.Jackie Wilson said - Dexy's
22.Take a chance with me - Roxy Music ( brilliant intro)
23.Stool pigeon - Kid Creole
24.Mama used to say - Junior
25.Living on the ceiling - Blancmange
26.Private Investigations - Dire Straits
27.Love come down - Evelyn King
28.Work that body - Diana Ross
29.Try Jah love - Third World
30.State of independence - Donna Summer

Here are a few others which rarely got a mention on the TOTP 82 thread

36.A Celebration - U2
49. You got the power - War
51. Temptation - New Order
68. Back chat - Queen
72.Move on - Fashion
81. Loving you - Chris Rea
98. Urgent - Foreigner

When I read through the entire list of 150 tracks it makes me realise how privileged I was to be (reasonably) young and growing up fast with all that wonderful music surrounding me. 1982 was a great year for music.