As much as I don't mind a few of his other covers and hits, Blue Christmas is one of those songs that for me has only been done well by 2 artists: Elvis and Dean Martin. I tend to listen to Elvis's version more often too.

Its such a huge hit, would have thought they'd cut and paste the performance onto the upcoming 1983 - Big Hits show next week.

Abba - I think that's the first time i've ever heard this song - and the drop off in quality from their usual standards is significant... was it known that it would be their last ABBA song at the time (in the same way they all knew it was the last Jam single)?


The Bowie and Bing video - in the clip we normally see, I don't think Bing ever actually acknowledges him, it looks like they could've been in different studios and had it pasted together afterwards! Wouldn't mind having seen Bowie's "Heroes" from the same show as the clip for POE/LDB (from Bing's 1977 Xmas special)....
https://youtu.be/DyXA67zfte8

...or the full Bing Xmas show, with the Bowie/Bing chat prior to their singing (from 10:20), which looks much better than the clip we normally get... https://youtu.be/ndPY9OjIF7A

Shakin' Stevens previous 1982 hits were not as good as those from 1980/81, but they were still not bad, even if they seemed a little less cutting. ''Blue Christmas'' suffers considerably in that it doesn't seem distinctly different from the Elvis version, and especially the vocal line (the arrangement otherwise is a little different), but Shaky definitely comes off as nowhere near as good as Elvis in terms of the richness of his vocal delivery. If i had been him i would have steered clear of any prompting in regards to Elvis voice comparisons, as in parodying him too directly. Shaky did a marvelous job of taking off Elvis when he played him in the late seventies stage show, but during his own successful solo career, he was wise up to this point to steer clear of recording the same material. However, no doubt the 'Blue Christmas' EP proved extremely successful, reaching No 2 in the charts, and which also included a live take of another popular Elvis track, ''Lawdy Miss Clawdy''.

The 9/12 episode generally had its moments, although for me the highlights were definitely Culture Club's ''Time (Clock Of The Heart)'' and the David Bowie/Bing Crosby duet ''Peace On Earth - Little Drummer Boy'', the latter of which i think was an inspiring choice to have dug up from Bing's 1977 Christmas special. David and Bing worked very well together, and in its own way i think their reading of those songs worked as well as some of their more celebrated own solo work. I think David had always been a bit of a crooner at heart!

Soft Cell's ''Where The Heart Is'' didn't work as well as a single release as much of their previous material, because it very much lacks accessible 'pop' appeal. However, i do think it is a very good track, even if it is arguably a touch overwrought in its delivery, and it offers much, but it is perhaps more for the Soft Cell connoisseur, and serious listeners, than the general singles buying chart audience. However, there was no surprise that the song marked a downturn in the group's fortunes, as they began to want to be taken increasingly more seriously.

Shalamar's 1982 singles strike me as catchy, but perhaps a little too featherlight for me to take them to heart. ''I Can Make You Feel Good'' and ''A Night To Remember'' perhaps worked best, and especially the latter, in conjunction with Jeffrey Daniels dance moves, but i can't say i'm a fan of their output from this period. ''Friends'' doesn't lack appearing infectious, but i do get the feeling that by this point they were scraping the barrel, somewhat. Works fine as an album track, mind.

Yazoo and The Jam have both recorded better single material, although ''The Other Side Of Love'' really isn't such a bad track. The Jam's ''Beat Surrender'' then or since, has never truly convinced me as being up to much, beneath the surface sounds of brass, and general exuberance, although in the context of, say, the sounds from the mid eighties chart period, it may have proved a highlight. I am certainly no fan of the Lionel track ''Truly'', either, as he descends into appearing increasingly mushy. Lionel, during the 1982/83 period, acted as a good indicator as to where pop was beginning to lose some of its edge, or vitality. ''All Night Long'' from the latter half of 1983, was a very slick offering, but for me, its glossy musical/visual presentation represented the moment that i first began to feel a strong sense of disillusionment for the direction music more generally was beginning to take.

Blancmange ''Living On The Ceiling'' was a good closing track, but there was only perhaps, the Culture Club and David/Bing tracks i can say i liked excessively.

6/10

the maisonettes - heartache avanue - more 60's then anything from the 60's! great track

incantation - cacharpaya (andese pumsa desi) - love it! can you imagine a pan pipe song in the charts now?

Tomorrow is the anniversary of the first TOTP broadcast live from BBC Studio A, Dickenson Road, Manchester, on January 1, 1964.Presented by Jimmy Savile and Alan Freeman it featured the Rolling Stones, Hollies and Dusty Springfield among others.

I enjoyed the Bing and Bowie video, and I even like the updated Children In Need version with Aled Jones and Terry Wogan. Spooky that half of each duo died this year.

https://youtu.be/8AWdrUUMsYU

I really enjoyed both and think I haven't heard either since the 80s.

I'm no Culture Club fan but this single is superb and a good TOTP performance, why this was not shown on the early edition is criminal.
This episode wasn't too bad, Soft Cell were good too with nice 'work to camera' going on, I think some posters are being a bit hard with their marks out of 10 although I agree that apart from the Maisonettes and Bowie/Crosby the next episode was shite

I first became aware of Heartbreak Avenue by The Maisonettes when it was sampled in this 2005 rap song by Roll Deep. It reached No.11 in the charts.

https://youtu.be/K5jkgt9H9oE

I have just watched the Jimmy Savile presented 16/12 edition, and i have to say i found it pretty mediocre all round.

Madness ''Our House'' may not be such a bad single release, but the visual presentation really didn't endear me to the song especially. I don't think that the studio reconstruction of a typical room had me appreciating the song any more, and i get a sense with the group, that they were most definitely embracing the more glossy aspects of pop marketing most cooperatively. On one level, perhaps, that helps to sell the song, of course, but by late 1982, there was little hint with many of the acts of danger, or appearing rebellious, or edgy. Madness visual accompaniment represented pop appearing a little too neutred for my liking, in its sophistication. Sometimes i just find myself looking for a fly in the ointment, so to speak, which i feel is especially true for this episode, as to make it exciting and give it some spark.

Phil Collins ''You Can't Hurry Love'', Dionne Warwick's ''All The Love In The World'', Cliff Richard's ''Little Town'' and David Essex ''A Winter's Tale'' are certainly not among the worst tracks we are likely to ever hear, but putting them side by side, and alongside Renee And Renato's ''Save Your Love'', the culumative effect for me, is severe boredom. Malcolm McLaren's ''Buffalo Gals'' crops up along the way too, and at the time i never liked it, and i don't like it particularly today, either. All the scratching really holds no appeal to me, or the sentiments of the lyric. I think Trevor Horn is in there somewhere too. I have to hand it to Malcolm, though, for keeping his ears close to the ground, and being among the first, like with punk, to adopt a style which had yet to fully take off in the UK.

Bucks Fizz ''If You Can't Stand The Heat'' and Ultravox ''Hymn'' are ok, but they also don't represent anything especially significant, within those acts general output. They have both done much better, in my opinion.

No doubt it would be possible to take many of these individual tracks, and slot them into a combination with other songs from the period, and they would contribute quite effectively to a half decent episode, However, i think on this occasion the songs just don't compliment each other too well at all.

3.5/10

Ahh cool. I recall two songs from '83 'uptown girl' by billy Joel and 'Karma Cameleon' I didn't really start watching TOTP till 1984 though. I know this cause I used to love the video for Paul Mccartney's 'No more lonely Nights' which came out in 84, so next years is going to be very nostalgic for me.

I DO intend keeping an eye on & posting on the 1985 one actually (that's if Rich returns to start one off)!! - 1985 had some very memorable moments - not as good as the early 80s though!!

Yes, it has been very interesting watching this year's selection from 1981 and 82. I would say 81 was significantly the better year of the two.

Marks for each year would be:

1981 7.5/10

1982 5/10

Wait until Jenson compares Orville to ET in the second episode heh

Abba's ''Under Attack'' may not be one of their most effective tracks, but i still believe it was one of the better songs from the 23/12 episode. Abba's late career output certainly lacked the instant pop appeal of their earlier material, but at the same time i think they embraced new technology, and the more contemporary sounds of the day, pretty well. By the period of 'The Visitors' album their personal relationships had deteriorated sufficiently, that their musical style had begun to lose its joyous quality. However, outside the context of their previous more accessible musical sounds, 'The Visitors' from late 1981, actually works very well on its own terms. It is a memorable album.

Back to the episode in question: i found it another poor one, although perhaps more watchable than the yewtreed Jimmy Savile presented previous show. I don't mind The Maisonettes ''Heartache Avenue'' and Incantation's ''Cacharpaya'' is at least something a little more untypical, and refreshingly different from the norm. It was good to see Lol Mason again, after a gap of four years, when he achieved the hit ''5705'' with City Boy. I did think at the time that his new group The Maisonettes, would prove more than one hit wonders.

Keith Harris' ''Orville's Song'' perhaps works very well on its own terms, as its only intent obviously is in existing as a novelty type song. However, i do find it one of the most cringe inducing hits we have seen since these BBC repeats started, in its sentimentality, although perhaps i'm being a little unfair, because it does have primarily an appeal that would primarily attract a certain different age group to mine. It is sad that Keith Harris is no longer with us, and that he struggled for work in the latter years of his career.

Imagination's ''Changes'', like ''In The Heat Of The Night'' does not appear to be of the calibre of their bigger earlier hits. There is always some distinctive vocals going on with their songs, and often an interesting groove, so they are never an unpleasant listen, only the song on this occasion does appear rather more forgettable than we had come to expect.

The highlight for me, once again, is the David Bowie/Bing Crosby duet.

4/10

I don't really understand the concentration on the visuals in judging music. Isn't that just falling into what you are suggesting in the first place, that people buy music according to whether they like the visuals or not. If the music is good I don't care what the visuals are. I liked the music off the radio. In most cases I either don't know or hardly remember the video. So if Spandau smile or frown I don't care, the melody and of course the performance of chart pop music is what matters to most people. So Lifeline or Wake Me Up Before You Go Go has great energy so people like them more. I don't think most are bothered if something is edgier or smoother, that's just a style.

And it doesn't really matter to me if something is considered significant in someone's output, being enjoyable for it's own sake is really what chart music is about. Trying to look in hindsight at things isn't that relevant to most people.


This feels contradictory to me as you often say you don't like people putting new technology in songs. Musically the chorus falls short for me, I definitely would prefer the Bucks Fizz song with it's energy and more characterful melody.

Haven't watched it yet, but all the songs I have highlighted are excellent and it sounds like the best TOTP 1982 in ages so a 9/10 from me.

I agree with you Jedikiah that the 80s are not as good as the 70s (IMO) and that 81 was better than 82, but I don't agree with your negativity towards 1983-6. I can understand some people not liking 1987 onwards as much as music did change significantly, but even then there were still plenty of good songs, in 1989 especially.

You are missing the point somewhat, starry. The visuals and the music begin influencing each other by a certain period more profoundly during the eighties, although admittedly ''Our House'' and pop more generally during 82 still managed to exist pretty well independently. However, the signs of change are most definitely there, which is the point i am making.

I think you are really overrating the visual's effect here. And let's not pretend visuals weren't used before, Bowie in the 70s or early Spandau to name just two. Some of Bowie's lesser music was probably bought as much because some of his fans bought into his whole style. Chart pop music if anything relies more on melody and radio play, while rock can often rely on image and some attitude associated with it.

What i am attempting to say, starry, is by the middle period of the eighties, even as the songs are only in their infancy, as in the early stages of being written, there exists an objective of wanting the words, and in some cases the musical rhythms, to fit with the potential of the visual video format. The writers etc. are already thinking ahead of the overall product/package (possible video storyboard etc.), even in the very formative stages of the songs development, which i think noticeably made a difference to the music, as the eighties progressed. There may have been exceptions in the years previously, but overall that didn't exist on such a scale in the period before, because the emphasis wasn't so greatly on video (and especially MTV) existing as primarily the means of promotion.

Starry, it is totally dependent on how the technology is used. A couple of my favourite songs from 82 are from Yazoo, and they were pretty contemporary sounding for the period.

One of the great things about these reruns is that it gives a better cross-section of the music which was popular at the time than our own memories, or indeed the "Story of..." and "...Big Hits" shows, do.

Yes I agree, there has been quite a few songs I haven't remembered.

Compilation shows and albums tend to feature the same songs or style of songs.