TOTP on BBC4

[historyman]

TOTP on BBC4

Jah Womble wrote:

Anyway back to the thread, Liverpool Express, are they the worlds biggest bunch of puffs ever?

I see we're even adopting the attitudes and phraseology of the time?

Anyway, must stop defending Liverpool Express on here - I wouldn't want people thinking I'm a fairy or summink.

Do we really have to discuss inverts and degenerates on this thread?

[historyman]

TOTP on BBC4

So I watched 'The Story of 1977' as a warm up for the year ahead and was absolutely appalled that there was no reference whatsoever to the most significant event of the year.

We're talking about Scotland's 2-1 victory over England at Wembley of course, and the Tartan Army's original crossbar challenge in football's sacred temple.

But no matter. 1977 was supposedly the year when TOTP 'regained its mojo', and we had the first appearance of Punk and New Wave acts. The Stranglers were first, it seems, with 'Go Buddy Go', the other song on the Double A side single 'Peaches, which as expected was banned by the Beeb.

The Jam duly showed up with 'In The City', memorably introduced by Kid Jensen as their 'new effervescent 45'.

It was the Queen's Silver Jubilee in June, of course, so we had the usual conspiracy theories about the chart being rigged so as to keep the Sex Pistols off the No.1 spot and Rod Stewart on it. Interspersed throughout, naturally, by archive footage of young MsD lookalikes putting on their bondage gear.

I don't know if there'll ever be any hard evidence to prove those rumours one way or the other.

Britt Eckland was no doubt grateful that Roderick was on top of the chart - it gave her a break from him being on top of her.

Northern Ireland was also big in the news as The Troubles continued to make the headlines. So who better to highlight the tragedy in Ulster than er... Boney M?

Nothing like a bit of disco funk, an afro and some exotic headgear to make troubled teens in Norn Iron stop in their tracks and question what's going on. Although not even Boney M would dream of making love on wasteland...

So lots to look forward to in the months ahead... even the sombre news of Elvis' recent passing can't prevent Legs and Co from penning their own tribute.

[Jah Womble]

TOTP on BBC4

Just to quantify, I was talking in the venacular of the, having grown up on Teesside, the term "puff" refered to the wimpy lads who wouldn't climb trees, play footie because it was raining etc. Obviously on Teesside in the 70's there were no homosexuals!

From what I recall, it all added up to much the same thing. (I wasn't being entirely serious, however.)

Do we really have to discuss inverts and degenerates on this thread?

Eh?

[Sean of the Shed]

TOTP on BBC4

Anyone who still doubted whether it was Frank Farian who sang the male vocals on Boney M tracks will have been convinced otherwise by Bobby Farrell's contribution to their performance of Daddy Cool. The man could dance, but he couldn't sing a fucking note.

[Commodore]

TOTP on BBC4

Straight into the countdown without the god-awful introduction, although being greeted with the less than gorgeous features of Dr Hook's frontman at No. 30 was a bit startling. And Kid Jensen (no David in the titles, so I expect Diddy to replace another David in Hamilton next time he presents) undoubtedly brought the average age of TOTP's presenters down significantly. His delivery was also concorde-like in its speed and eloquence compared to cumbersome ramblings of Savile & Co.

With Sheer Elegance kicking off, never was a band so inappropriately named based on their get-up, flowing without presenter interruption to one of 10cc's more catchy efforts. Intrigued by the spider's web lighting above Tina Charles, who I didn't know sang a song much catchier in its pre-recorded form than this performance. Speaking of which, my appreciation for Daddy Cool in its recorded form has also greatly increased after that performance.

The less said about Smokie the better; a dismal song made more so by the chavvy addition of Who the Fuck is. But what a voice Gladys Knight had, followed by an unexpected turn from Tull who made a re-appearance for a song that could not have gone up the chart. The Kid may have shown some clairvoyance on predicting David Soul's chart success, but as Telly Savalas had set the bar then it seems as if any popular cop on the telly was pre-destined for chart success.

In any case, Jensen could not have foretold the impact his guest would have on 77. Donna Summer's Winter Melody was nice enough, but a world away from what would be the song of the year in I Feel Love.

[historyman]

TOTP on BBC4

Commodore wrote:

The less said about Smokie the better; a dismal song made more so by the chavvy addition of Who the Fuck is.

The Kid may have shown some clairvoyance on predicting David Soul's chart success, but as Telly Savalas had set the bar then it seems as if any popular cop on the telly was pre-destined for chart success.

It was a toss-up between Smokie and David Soul for the song that you least want to hear over the next few weeks.

Smokie have left a wider legacy, though. Not too many duff cover bands attempt to play David Soul to the inebriated grannies and knackers of West Ulster.

Sorry, I should add that 'knacker' is an Irish equivalent of 'chav'.

[Come along, Min]

TOTP on BBC4

I was always under the impression that the Who-the-Fuck-is-Alice part was a German thing.

Wonder what's German for chav?

[treibeis]

TOTP on BBC4

Wonder what's German for chav?

"Proll" is one possibility (the adjective would be "prollig").

There's also the (relatively) highbrow phrase "Mitglied der bildungsfernen Schichten" (member of the uneducated classes), which is not the same thing as "Proll", but is sometimes used to mean the same.

[KGR]

TOTP on BBC4

I enjoyed the Kid Jensen-presented show this morning on the sky-plus machine with the kids (7, 4 & 4) after breakfast this morning. Daddy Cool was by some distance the only tune to have any staying power.

Am even interrupting my iPlayer's delivery of Tom Ravenscroft's show last Friday to play the Story of 1977.

Really looking forward to BBC Four continuing to show this throughout the year. The presence of 'The story of 1977' indicates that they know they have a cheap hit on their hands.

(That Lyndsey de Paul effort was on a Top Of The Pops compilation I had when I was 10 - you know, they were all bad cover version and a dolly bird on the front cover).

[KGR]

TOTP on BBC4

And no longer do I press 'submit' then Joy Sarney comes on. I always had trouble making anyone believe my explanation of why I use the phrase 'oh, what a pity' in such a way.

Aha, oh no you don't!

[Squarewheelbike]

TOTP on BBC4

Was watching this weeks, and was appalled by "Diddy's" highly sexist introduction of Legs & Co dancing to "Car Wash". For about 2 seconds till my brain thought "wow, them lasses have got some sturdy under-carrage!"

[Wyatt Earp]

TOTP on BBC4

Just watching the show now. The BBC Pops Orchestra torturing poor old Barry Biggs and his soul-reggae version of "Sideshow". The horror and the pity of it. They did him like they done Althea and Donna.

[Benjm]

TOTP on BBC4

Ha, lacking a picture of Rose Royce for the chart rundown the producers opt for one of a car wash instead, with what appears to be a brown Ford Granada coming through it.

So cheap it's priceless, unlike horrible Hamilton's 4 carat gold ingot necklace.

[Benjm]

TOTP on BBC4

Now Paul Calf is sticking the boot into Stevie Wonder.

Whither the cleansing flames of punk?

[Commodore]

TOTP on BBC4

After the Kid, Hamilton plunges us back into the world of light entertainment, getting down with the kids in his sports jacket/open shirt combo.

They went to town with that Car Wash routine though. Lights, brushes and everything. At least Legs and Co looked as though they enjoyed the experience as Car Wash is an easy song to dance to.

Strangely, I vaguely remember David Parton's rendition of Isn't She Lovely being catchy. This performance managed to reduce it to the realms of club singer though. And listen to Johnny Cash's Flushed from the Bathroom of your Heart (of his Folsom album) and Status Quo's Wild Side of Life. Same song, I promise you.

Every man must have a dream, a dream to smash Liverpool Express's pristine grand piano. And Pussycat reappear with a song that would not have seen the light of day if its wasn't for Mississippi.

Mad that Soul embarked on a comparatively falsetto style for his No.1. Word on the street was his jeans were too tight. And Hamilton getting accosted on stage? He wishes.

[Jah Womble]

TOTP on BBC4

'Wild Side of Life' is an old country standard, (I think) first recorded by Hank Thompson. So the likelihood is that it inspired Johnny C's tune.

And Pussycat reappear with a song that would not have seen the light of day if its wasn't for Mississippi.

Perm the majority of 1970s number one follow-ups.

[Benjm]

TOTP on BBC4

Don't Give Up On Us Baby is one of the weediest records ever made, up there with Primal Scream's first two singles.

Do we have Silver Lady, Soul's attempt to recast himself as the disco Glen Campbell, to look forward to later in the year?

[Jah Womble]

TOTP on BBC4

Yep, top of the charts for three weeks in October.

He somehow almost made it a trio with the dull-as-ditchwater 'Going in With My Eyes Open' peaking at #2 that Easter...

[Benjm]

TOTP on BBC4

Thing is, if you were going to pick someone from the Starsky and Hutch line-up to make an interesting record, he'd come in fourth; behind Huggy Bear, Starsky and Dobie but ahead of the water cooler.

Stewart Lee writes glowingly of his turn as Jerry Springer though.

[G-Man]

TOTP on BBC4

Jah Womble wrote:

'Wild Side of Life' is an old country standard, (I think) first recorded by Hank Thompson. So the likelihood is that it inspired Johnny C's tune.

Thompson had the hit with it, but someone else recorded it first (I forget who; I have the MP3 of it at home, if you really want to know). It inspired an answer record, "It wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels", with which Kitty Wells knocked Thompson of #1. That was a cover too.

"Silver Lady" is a damn fine song, by the way.But surely the moment to look forward to in 1977 is Baccara and their "Yes Sir, I Can Boogie". What a song!

[Petrovic]

TOTP on BBC4

"Yes Sir i can Boogie" was the first single i ever bought.

Carry on.

[George]

TOTP on BBC4

There's a beaten up old 45 copy of it on top of the wardrobe upstairs. Don't know why.

[Squarewheelbike]

TOTP on BBC4

Watched it again last night, must be said Diddy's multi-strand comb-over must've taken a while!

[George]

TOTP on BBC4

Barry Biggs having to work with gruel cooked up by the BBC Orchestra here. Deplorable stuff really, and probably even more insipid than what poor old Lee Garrett had to suffer a few months back.

Sideshow gets some stick for being a prime example of reggae-lite, but I've always thought it was a pretty good song. Wasn't it part of the soundtrack to the 'Long Hot Summer of 76®' anyway, whats it doing charting this late?

[N est à?]

TOTP on BBC4

Nice Golliwog sweater sported by John Christie at No.26.