Top of the Pops BBC4

[AcerBenII]

Looking down on Five Star for winning best group is not just snobbery, let's NOT simplify please. Looking down on housey stuff from the gay clubs picking up traction and thinking 'let's put more guitars on TV instead' isn't just snobbery. Trying to keep techno stuff from Europe isn't just snobbery it's a bit xenophobic too. Why are we excusing any moves that were intended to keep certain kinds of music off TV. It wasn't right, and had lots of phobias underneath.

I don't doubt for a moment that Five Star and other black artists were often victims of racism.

But that doesn't mean someone taking the decision that singers should actually sing on his show meant there was anything more to it than that.

UK labels when Haddaway kept having hit after hit: - Pah those immigrants taking our jobs! Stan Jimmy Nail instead! Leave 2Unlimited alone, we have Two 3hirds! Robin S? Here's Kelly Llorena my loves.

OK you've lost the plot now.

 

[Rooneyboy]

I always remember that Radio 1 just wouldn't play Sandra - despite her being one of Europe's biggest popstars. She literally had big hits in every Country in Europe bar the UK.
Even Smash Hits slated her. Yet she made amazing pop records. So bizarre.

 

[Vasilios]

I don't doubt for a moment that Five Star and other black artists were often victims of racism.

But that doesn't mean someone taking the decision that singers should actually sing on his show meant there was anything more to it than that.



OK you've lost the plot now.

It's not that serious dd

It was a reply to this post:

UK radio always had resistance to anything big in Europe. I remember seeing the very disparate music being broadcast on MTV Europe in the pre-1997 days (when MTV UK launched) compared to what was blanketing UK radio. If anything got through it had to be released in September so that UK holidaymakers would remember it from their holidays, or have crossed over to the USA first. Xenophobia of Europe is simply baked into UK boomer culture, conditioned into the generation that are convinced that they personally fought in a war that ended before they were born.

 

[Eric Generic]

I really just think it was a matter of preference, the european pop often had an element to it which, to UK ears, sometimes didn't have the appeal of UK/US. Some stylistic things cross over, some don't. The Americans didn't "get" a lot of our pop acts, even when to our ears they sounded just like the US contemporaries. I accept there was a general bias and attitude in the media/on radio towards European music of "oh look, how naff", but individuals (such as myself, or people I knew) tended to just like what they liked. We bought Falco or Alphaville or a-ha because we liked it, and didn't buy Modern Talking or Spagna because it didn't have whatever it was that drew us in to some non-British/American pop.

Even now I try and like Ace of Base or 2 Unlimited, I listen without prejudice, but it still isn't happening for me. Sometimes it's just how it is. I adore Roxette, Sandra, Mylene Farmer....loads of them. But just can't deal with that Haddaway/Dr Albarn/Technotronic stuff.

 

[Vasilios]

Having the chance to listen to a song and then decide to not buy it is not the same as completely blocking a type of music, and deciding it’s not gonna be on TV (or radio) back then, that’s all.

 

[Eric Generic]

Having the chance to listen to a song and then decide to not buy it is not the same as completely blocking a type of music, and deciding it’s not gonna be on TV (or radio) back then, that’s all.

I do think UK radio was very complicit in under-promoting (and ignoring) a lot of European based music, unless it fitted into their "holiday/novelty" snobbery. When we did get to hear it, we could at least make up our own minds. I hardly heard any Sandra tracks on UK radio/TV in the mid-80s.

 

[Fizzywhig]

Haven't seen the repeats on BBC4 for a while but caught Friday's shows.

Putting the 1994 show up against earlier TOTP repeats on the same evening does it no favours at all - it came across as very thin gruel indeed compared to the banger-heavy 1980 and 1987 shows.

Great (and unexpected) concert by The Police to conclude the evening though.

 

[SUGARPIE]

I always remember that Radio 1 just wouldn't play Sandra - despite her being one of Europe's biggest popstars. She literally had big hits in every Country in Europe bar the UK.
Even Smash Hits slated her. Yet she made amazing pop records. So bizarre.

I really like most of her songs, they're brilliant but to be honest she‘s not a really good singer, I don't think I've seen a single performance of hers where she's singing live and I'm talking about her heyday.

 

[Vasilios]

I really like most of her songs, they're brilliant but to be honest she‘s not a really good singer, I don't think I've seen a single performance of hers where she's singing live and I'm talking about her heyday.

So? Nobody sung live in 80s shows let alone perfectly. The songs were amazing.

 

[WhatKindOfKylie?]

Already slightly dreading the Wet Wet Wet domination at end of each episode for several weeks gotta say. Shall be on skip.

 

[idratherjack]

The 1987 episode shown on Friday featured one of my all time favourite TOTP performances



Sublime.

 

[WhatKindOfKylie?]

The 1987 episode shown on Friday featured one of my all time favourite TOTP performances



Sublime.

I love and yet laugh at this performance all at the same time. And always reminds me of this icon:

 

[idratherjack]

I love and yet laugh at this performance all at the same time. And always reminds me of this icon:

Queen of Pop! Or Jim's Cafe, anyway.

 

[letuinmybackdoor]

I love and yet laugh at this performance all at the same time. And always reminds me of this icon:

Wonder if SAW were inspired by the 'lucky, lucky' bits?!

 

[WhatKindOfKylie?]

Queen of Pop! Or Jim's Cafe, anyway.

Alma, Queen of everything my dear.

 

[Fizzywhig]

So? Nobody sung live in 80s shows let alone perfectly..

I'll just leave these performances here...

 

[Vasilios]

I'll just leave these performances here...

Congrats you found some live TV performances!

 

[Fizzywhig]

Congrats you found some live TV performances!

I know - quite the acheievement given that apparently no one sang live on 80s shows, let along perfectly(!).

 

[Vasilios]

Yes bands with ...bands would sometimes sing live since the band was already there. Big voice divas too.

Many solo singers who weren't touring at the time or didn't have the ARISTA machine behind them couldn't afford that or it wasn't possible or even needed. They sometimes didn't even use microphones to mime to for most of the 80s.









This was the norm for pop girls. Singing live on TV was a rarity.

 

[heartmightmelt]

A large part of the "mimed... this sucks" comments on YouTube come from Americans who grew up watching live vocals on SNL and late night television - peak time shows who could afford a live set up and studios big enough to accommodate guest backline/crew. They just don't realise that anything broadcast before 8pm in the UK (with a few exceptions... like TFI Friday) was more than likely going to be mimed because the TV shows just didn't allocate budget or space to accommodating true live performances, unless it was one of their respective shows USPs.

I've recently been engaged in a multi-comment argument with a guy who thinks it's a crime against artistry that the old T4 on The Beach shows (right next to the seashore) were playback. Dude, it's literally "Hey current pop act, come promote your newest singles in category 5 winds and blazing sunshine with 18 other current pop acts and 4 hours to do it in!"