I've been called "young man" three times this year oddly enough. That had not happened to me for a long time prior to this year. It feels weird at 47. I got it from a lady at a checkout who was likely only a decade older than me. I was flattered. Then a few days ago a gentleman about 75 asked me directions and walked up saying "young man I wonder if you can help me out". On that day, that really hot one last week it was, for the first time ever in my life I was going about my business with a baseball cap on my head to keep the sun off me, so maybe it made me look younger, I don't know. I was wearing it the right way around too. If I wear it back to front I can suddenly knock 20 years off myself, it's weird how it does that. When I got chatting to my mum I asked her if she thought 47 was still a young age and she said yes. I think G12th had it right with his "young(ish)" description. But it's frame of mind as much as physical looks.

Interesting post from G12th there earlier. The "swap shop generation" getting a shoutout again. Thanks. As for the possible inclusion of DLT in the next year of TOTP showings from 1983 that is interesting (how many did he do that year?) because doesn't his suspended sentence come to an end in a couple of months so he will have effectively paid his dues? After that I see no issue with him appearing with his editions, after all they showed Jonathan King after he served his prison time and the far worse Gary Glitter once his original prison sentences in the UK and Vietnam had been served, and before he was re-arrested, convicted and sent down again.

IIRC it was 'Golden Brown'.


I found two clips on YouTube - one from the German 'Beat Club' series in early 1969 and another which I think may be from a French show - AFAIK the 1968 TOTP appearance is wiped and has not re-surfaced.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaSxvL5QiVw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hj716pc1fC0

I wonder if Mungo Jerry's Ray Dorset modelled his early 70s hairstyle on Adrian Gurvitz's voluminous afro - the equally bouffant bass player is his brother Paul Gurvitz who appeared on both TOTP performances of 'Classic' in 1982.


The Tokens had the original UK a cappella hit with 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight' in 1961.

Does anyone else know which male singer who has featured on these 1982 repeats covered a song originally recorded by The Tokens earlier in his career.

- Surely not!!! - Boz - if you're out there - was it really 'Golden Brown' ?!!!

Looking at Adrian Gurvitz in that 1968 clip he instantly reminded me of Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka!

One of my favourite 70s TOTP clip was seeing the wonderful Alex Harvey doing 'The Boston Tea Party' in 1976. Noel presented it - but my video cut off just as he was explaining what Alex was holding in his hand.

So if anyone can remember what Noel did say Alex was holding in his hand - feel free to let me know. - Clean answers only please!!

They played this week in 1976 on Pick Of The Pops on Saturday just gone. It so reminded me of the early days of the repeats of TOTP. The Boston Tea Party was in that top twenty and got a play. I really grew to like both the song and the TOTP performance. Coincidentally the lead singer of the group, Alex Harvey, actually passed away on the very date of one of the recent TOTP episodes from 4th February 1982 the day before his.......47th birthday.

Can't remember, but could well have been as it has been on TOTP 1982 recently. I stand by my original comments, dreadful song.

Yes, both song and performance very good. I remember when Alex died. Tragic family, his brother Les, of Stone the Crows, had been electrocuted on stage in the early 70s.

I have to admit to enjoying "Long Haired Lover From Liverpool" and "Young Love" from your list too, although probably my favourite Osmonds track, was Donny's version of "The Twelfth Of Never", where i believe he did a very effective job. I just prefer the production values more in the early seventies. There is a freshness about those songs, whether they truly reflect my personal taste or not. Peters & Lee's "Welcome Home" is another No 1 i particularly like, from the same era. It was always difficult to make out Dianne Lee's exact role. Her lips used to move at the right time, but you had to listen very hard to distinguish any of her singing. Maybe she acted as a guide for Lenny Peters (to get him on and off stage), as he was blind. I read somewhere he was the uncle of Rolling Stones drummer, Charlie Watts.

About the same age as the Swap Shop gang now!


Aww bless.

For some reason I thought he was early 40s when he died. However, he must've been early 40s when he was on TOTP instead. Shows pop stars can be of all ages!

...I have no words...

That may be true, but i still believe acts in the seventies were given a little more space, and time, to express themselves, without the prospect of being dumped quite so readily. There existed enormous variety in popular music during the seventies, and probably in a more extreme and experimental sense, too. Music became more fragmented during the seventies, as the industry got bigger and bigger. The germ of many ideas, like reggae, the concept album, and expermental rock, may have taken their inspirations from what was happening during the sixties, but they were greatly expanded upon during the seventies. Each path, or avenue, was explored more thoroughly, and sometimes taken to its furthest extreme. In the eighties, the opposite started to happen, and record companies goals did become primarily profit based like never before. The artistry began to go out of music, and much of it, whatever the genre, started to display certain rather more similar, and identifiable characteristics, or sounds. The tidy pop video package was also instrumental in bringing a new uniformity to pop, which really didn't exist in the second half of the sixties, and throughout the seventies.

The answer to that question was a 'drell spoon', which acted as a link to Archie Bell And The Drell's ''Soul City Walk''. Paul Gambaccini actually described ''The Boston Tea Party'' as 'sensational', on Pick Of The Pops at the weekend. He also made reference to Tony Blackburn in the process, as it was one of his favourite catchphrases.

I second your comments, I've never liked 'Golden Brown'.

Six. If we get these back there would only be 5 JS shows skipped from the run.

I don't think anybody is suggesting that the music industry was a haven of total, unfettered artistic freedom before the 1980s. Of course it wasn't, and of course record companies did everything they could to package and control artists. The difference was, the options they had open to them were more limited then: songwriting/production teams such as Chinnichap, Coulter/Martin or Bickerton/Waddington could assemble groups aimed at a teen market and not even have the performers seen on TOTP play on the records. But, prolific as they may have been, those 'hit makers' were not so successful that they were seen as the only option … plus investing time and money in growing long term talent was seen as a viable business plan. Kate Bush is a prime example of this, signed to EMI two years before she even released anything (and given an advance she spent on working with Lindsay Kemp).

SAW presented the music industry with a new model at a time when it was failing to generate major new talent. With promo videos now cheap enough to use extensively (in contrast to the 60s and 70s), they had an apparently never-ending stream of songs that quickly dominated the singles chart. And, thanks to the TV tie-in with Neighbours, acts that could also sell albums, too. Acts who were compliant and did as they were told. Plus they didn't even have to pay any musicians - it could all be played/programmed electronically by the producers. As well as their own label, SAW were guns for hire to the majors. And, for every act they managed to sustain some sort of career for, there were multiple others that came and went as soon as they'd arrived. It was a new short-term profit model … in an era where money was deemed as more important than anything else by the government of the day.

And the legacy of that bled into the 90s, and so to today.

I'm not saying - and have never said - that this is all down to one person. Obviously there are a number of factors that have contributed to where we are now. But the mention of Thatcher came from a FM who seemed to be claiming that she was responsible for acts like ABC in some kind of positive way … when I'd argue the influence of her government had nothing to do with promoting British music and more to do with the money men taking control behind the scenes. They turned their backs on the business models of the 60s and 70s, which may have looked wasteful on a balance sheet, but actually reaped much more long term than the kind of short-termism now the hallmark of Simon Cowell and his wannabes.

Joe Dolce..'shaddup your face', personally for me the worst ever number one.

Yes, the Glorious 12th drew our attention to something really rather interesting there, and also in you being able to link those clips. I have long read about Adrian Gurvitz being a fine guitar player, but i have never actually taken any note of his abilities, or career. According to Wikipedia, Jimi Hendrix actually referenced his guitar riff to ''Race With The Devil'', at the Isle Of Wight festival in 1970. Also, Adrian, during the early seventies period, also collaborated with Jimi's ex Band Of Gypsies drummer, Buddy Miles, in addition to ex Cream drummer, Ginger Baker. Adrian was in esteemed company indeed, back in the day. However, like the discussion the other day concerning Paul Weller, when he decided to drop his original more raucous sound, when forming The Style Council, times change, and artists do start looking for fresh, and different challenges. Adrian reminds me very much of a young Clapton in those clips, with his distinctive electric blues sound, and it is worth remembering Eric himself, went for a more middle-of-the-road sound, during the seventies and beyond.

I often wonder about ex John Mayall's Bluesbreaker and ex Rolling Stone, Mick Taylor, and what he could perhaps have achieved over the longterm, when he joined the Jack Bruce Band in 1975, had they had not folded, before managing to get into the studio to record an album. That seemed like a fascinating collaboration on the surface, which failed to bear any fruit, except for a performance on The Old Grey Whistle Test:

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

Yes, the idea of less musicians = increased profits, is another very valid point, which rings true not just with the pop sounds of the day, but also within the BBC in the eighties, and their approach to making variety shows. I can well remember Val Doonican claiming that the BBC had dropped his show in the mid eighties, because it had become too expensive to produce. The BBC no longer wanted to pay for an orchestral backing. Looking from the perspective of today, i do believe tv variety most definitely seemed a cut above, back in the sixties, seventies, and early eighties (and that includes Top Of The Pops, whether relating to the quality of the music, or the production values of the show).

and also Japan's guitarist Rob Dean.

I can understand peoples dislike of Tight Fit or the Goombay Dance Band - but 'Golden Brown' by The Stranglers?!!

Have I suddenly logged on to the wrong forum here?

When do we get two DJS presenting one show?

Looking forward to seeING John Peel and Kid Jensen. They were a great double act. When do they first appear?

The Music for Chameleons performance features Gary Numan's new band: Pino Palladino, Chris Slade on drums (formerly with Uriah Heep at the time and now with AC/DC) and the guitar synth player on the right is Numan's adopted brother John Webb. Does anyone know who the other guitar synth player is? Roger Mason?

The B-side of MFC, 'Noise Noise', includes Thereza Bazar on backing focals and David Van Day with 'helpful hints' - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSK8fdwEsD8.

They are Staccato Drums - http://www.staccatodrums.com/history/. I remember Numan talking about them at the time when he formed his new band line-up, including Chris Slade seen playing those drums on TOTP.

I think there is a certain logic, though, in not liking ''Golden Brown'', but i'm not sure how strongly it would apply to the regular forum members, unless they were huge fans of the original Stranglers sound, back in their punk heyday. When an existing act suddenly changes its established sound, it is bound to cause an outcry from some of their fans, and especially when it relates to an original vision which appears as bold as Punk. It is possibly what is popularly described as 'selling out' for many fans, and especially if it proves extremely successful. I used to contribute to a Rolling Stones forum, and there appeared a very strong level of hate with some fans for the likes of ''Angie'' and ''Fool To Cry'', which i always believed to be really fine ballads. However, i am not sure i would say that is necessarily the case with Boz, and Robbie, with regards to ''Golden Brown'', who very likely just don't like the track. I think we have to accept we all have very differing tastes!

As i mentioned previously, ''Golden Brown'', alongside the likes of ''Say Hello, Wave Goodbye'', and ''Party Fears Two'', immediately captured my interest in the music of early 1982, back at the time.