TOTP on BBC4

[Benjm]

A Certain Ratio did appear as extras in the Rovers Return. I think it was some ruse of Tony Wilson's to keep his acts in beer without Factory actually paying them.

[Various Artist]

Inspired!

[Gangster Octopus]

I was well past being in touch with the Hit Parade by this time, so Cha Cha Heels was something of a delightful surprise..

[Gangster Octopus]

Was this Rawmarsh's finest's first hit? I can feel Nishlord spinning in his non-existent grave already?

[Jah Womble]

A Certain Ratio did appear as extras in the Rovers Return. I think it was some ruse of Tony Wilson's to keep his acts in beer without Factory actually paying them.

All the beer was cold tea back then, so ACR would’ve been disappointed.

[Benjm]

All the beer was cold tea back then, so ACR would’ve been disappointed.

I meant that they did it for beer money so should have edited the post to make that clearer.

[Walt Flanagans Dog]

I "watched" a really terrible episode this morning, largely fast forwarded. I did linger long enough on 'Liberian Girl' by Michael Jackson to be able to put it firmly in the "terrible videos I had previously not realised existed" category, and placed it far above the previously mentioned Macca one in its awfulness.

[longeared]

Was this Rawmarsh's finest's first hit? I can feel Nishlord spinning in his non-existent grave already?

Haven't watched that episode yet, but, yeah, it would have been.

Heard on the grapevine a little while back that they've formally complained to the BBC over the Story of 1989 documentary - they weren't happy that there was a short segment where several people criticised them when they weren't invited to participate in the programme at all.

[elguapo4]

That Transvision Vamp song tonight is a hell of a rip off of Kids in America.

[Diable Rouge]

Rather heavy on the dreck this week, apart from Lay Your Hands On Me, and that only seems decent quality by comparison, rather than absolutely.

[Diable Rouge]

Appropriately "crowned" by Jive Bunny.

[elguapo4]

Yeah, two fairly crap episodes, didn't notice Jakki Brambles at the time but she's the image of a friends wife.

[Satchmo Distel]

Jakki Shambles

[Walt Flanagans Dog]

I watch TV with subtitles by default, so on TOTP I often end up spotting lyrics I'd not noticed before. I was paying attention to the lyrics for "We Didn't Start the Fire" because there was a question about them on one of the Chart Music quizzes, and was amused that the thing that pushed Billy Joel over the table-flipping edge was "Rock and Roller Cola Wars". Handy guide to the lyrics here, in case anyone is confused over, for example, "British politician sex".

[steveeeeeeeee]

"Ride on Time" seems to hang on at No.1 for an eternity, it becomes more annoying each week. It's one of those songs that needs a bit of distance between plays, if it pops up on the radio a year or so after you last heard it, it's quite a good tune. But if you're listening to it every week, its charm soon wears thin. Back then, it must have been played every hour by Radio 1/Capital etc, no wonder I hated it.

[steveeeeeeeee]

I watch TV with subtitles by default, so on TOTP I often end up spotting lyrics I'd not noticed before..

Yes, watching TOTP with subtitles is a much better experience for that exact reason.

[Simon G]

"Ride on Time" seems to hang on at No.1 for an eternity, it becomes more annoying each week. It's one of those songs that needs a bit of distance between plays, if it pops up on the radio a year or so after you last heard it, it's quite a good tune. But if you're listening to it every week, its charm soon wears thin. Back then, it must have been played every hour by Radio 1/Capital etc, no wonder I hated it.

It's the first song I truly remember being huge. I turned 5 whilst it was number 1 and it was always being played. I think my mum (who would have been 25 at the time time) played it constantly. Like you say, when it first came on this run of TOTP it was great to hear it again for the first time in ages - now though I find myself turning over when it's announced as number 1.

[Jah Womble]

I never liked that record, and couldn't always put my finger on quite why: obviously hearing Loleatta Holloway's original (stolen) vocal reminded me why this was. (I gather that, for legal reasons, it had to be re-recorded by that foghorn Heather Small - which somehow makes it even worse.)

And - bloody hell - this is the first time on OTF that I've discovered I'm older than a poster's mother...

[Various Artist]

Hah, yes it's bad enough for me – I'm 5 or 6 years older than Simon, which makes his mum only about 14 years older than me by the sound of it.

Aside from all that I've just had the disconcerting experience of opening this thread to find the above discussion at the very same moment as a snippet of Ride On Time (for that was the answer) was being played as part of a question on Ken Bruce's Popmaster quiz, audible from a builder's radio outside.

[Benjm]

From odds and ends of TOTP repeats recently, Ride On Time was very enjoyable the first time but the returns diminish rapidly, with the clunkiness of the vocal collage becoming annoying. The two international men of eurodisco on keyboards are quite entertaining to watch, the front woman looks less engaged with her role than I remembered.

[longeared]

Don't worry, Ride On Time only has one more show at number one. Then it gets replaced by Jive Bunny.

[Simon G]

Don't worry, Ride On Time only has one more show at number one. Then it gets replaced by Jive Bunny.

I refuse to look up the charts from that time, because I quite like watching them as new (I even tell my wife when she gets in from work what number 1 is this week ).

Are you telling me that Jive Bunny was number 1, replaced by Ride on Time, then another Jive Bunny song replaces it (I know they had 3 number 1s)!!! What a shocking bloody year 1989 was. We've also had Sealed with a Kiss by Jason Donovan this year.

It's easy to see how Soul II Soul were number 1 for so long when this is the dirge that was available.

[Benjm]

The rest of the year is a bust for reasonable number ones, apart from Lisa Stansfield.

[Jah Womble]

Even that wasn't her best effort, by any stretch. (I'd go for Time to Make You Mine or People Hold On.)

But, yeah, 1989 was godawful in the UK charts. The following year saw a marked improvement, I'd wager.

Aside from all that I've just had the disconcerting experience of opening this thread to find the above discussion at the very same moment as a snippet of Ride On Time (for that was the answer) was being played as part of a question on Ken Bruce's Popmaster quiz, audible from a builder's radio outside.

Yep, I was listening too and that made me smile. (I got 36 in that round, for the record.)

[Various Artist]

Outstanding! I'd have to listen again properly on the Sounds app – I had the windows closed to muffle the noise of powertools so couldn't really hear the quiz, but Loleatta/Heather's siren call came through clearly enough.