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Conference marvin::uk_music

Title:The UK Music Conference
Notice:Welcome (back) to UK_MUSIC on node MARVIN.
Moderator:RDGENG::CROOK
Created:Mon Mar 28 1988
Last Modified:Fri Jun 06 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:1381
Total number of notes:39269

203.0. "TOTPee" by HLDG02::OCONNOR () Fri Sep 16 1988 12:35

Did anyone see Top of the Pops last night ? It was the greatest feast of 
anti-music I've ever seen (a dada dream-come-true). Apart from the
rootsy Proclaimers and the (curiousity-item) Hollies (Where's Graham Nash
gone ???? -;), the rest of the music came with a bar code.

I suppose I can't blame the readers of this conference for what the
Great British public are buying. The show itself though is still as 
cheerful and enthusiastic as ever ("Fab sounds from great guys").
It should be banned...plying all those 14-year-olds with 7-UP and
cakes...I s'pose I was a worse fool to watch it...blah blah blah...



- Tim     who_obviously_had_nothing_better_to_do
    
T.RTitleUserPersonal
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203.1KERNEL::JWILLIAMSFri Sep 16 1988 13:4110
    No I didn't (I'm "working" at DECworld).
    
    There used to be a time when I would look forward to Thursday evening
    viewing, but alas not now.  The majority of the groups all look
    and sound exactly the same.  God knows how house music came into
    being.
    
    And the DJ's are so false as well.  Bring back the Tube.
    
    Disappointed_of_Cannes/Farnborough
203.2TOTP? Ignore it!WELMTS::GREENBLife? Dont talk to me about lifeFri Sep 16 1988 14:0922
    I found the Tube degenerated from a good platform for lesser known
    bands into a record company sponsored promo device for their latest
    hypeworthy act. I did with the Tube what I did with TOTP years ago;
    I stopped watching it!
    Anyway, TOTP is the best program of its kind - it shows whats in
    and around the charts, you cant fault the program itself. Its not
    the fault of TOTP that modern pop is in such a lamentable state
    re -.1 
    >> the majority of the groups all look and sound exactly exactly
    the same - sounds like you gettin old, boy! :-) :-)
    >> God knows how house music came into being
    Same way as every other new form of music down the years - jazz,
    in all its forms, R&R, all that late 60's progressive stuff, punk,
    psychedelia, whatever - its down to a lack of
    individuality/creativity/progression in other areas of music, a
    desire to express *your*self in a way thats relevant to *your* feelings
    (That doesnt mean to say Im into house particularly, I just recognise
    it as the next wave)
    
    Just keepin my ears open
    
    Bob
203.3Terrible, Ohhhhhh Terrible PoseursMUNTRA::TOWNSHENDMy Doctor says...Fri Sep 16 1988 14:3218
    Shirley the singles charts are for under sixteens, either phyically
    or mentally, therfore the program is only representative of the
    type of viewer they expect !?!
    
    Any teenyboppers out there to comment ????
    
    My 6 month old cousin realllly likes RA and Madonna and thinks TOTP
    is the best !!! (He can *really* get his teeth (?) into the heavy
    journalistic style of the presenters & can't wait to get a greasy
    quiff with bum-freezer two piece nappy - designer of course)
    
    Aha...are not all things designed by somebody or something. Is TOTP
    a designer show ??? Why are all Radio 1 Y-fronts soooooo ugly ??
    
    PS. I'm too old to get into TOTP, unless i'm a member of the program
    team or a "musician" !!!!
    
    re:.-1 At least most of the bands played live !!!!!
203.4Don't call me Shirley !!!MUNEDU::LACEYThis is Stranger than i thoughtFri Sep 16 1988 14:4913
    
    
    
    	Its that producer person, whats his face, you know, the same
     one thats responsible for that other load of twaddle, that one 
     where everyone mimes the instruments but sometimes actually sing
     the words, The Montraeueaergggghhh popy festival, but i can't think
     of the Ba*t*rds name......he's got alot to answer for.
    
    
    
    
    	Grub....
203.5My brain hurts...WELMTS::GREENBLife? Dont talk to me about lifeFri Sep 16 1988 15:0418
    Ive never been able to suss that one - there you are, watching what
    is supposed to be a live band when suddenly, it appears that what
    the drummer is doing has got nothing to do with what youre hearing,
    or the singers mouth doesnt move in time with the words.
    Understandable, you say, in the TOTP studio, but what about broadcasts
    of supposedly 'live' gigs...?
     I find it unnerving at times, how TV can manipulate your senses;
    after all, who's to say that the band are nothing more than a clever
    computer generated image (a la Max Headroom) miming to a pre recorded
    song, introduced by a Hologram DJ
     Who knows what is real.....???
    Babble     splutter   Paranoia is taking over
    
    Still, its got its good side - maybe Thatcher is only a hologram,
    if we stopped believing in her, She might disappear :-) :-)
    
    Bob
    
203.6Help...heeeeeelllppppp ?MUNTRA::TOWNSHENDMy Doctor says...Fri Sep 16 1988 15:265
    Reality is only a figment of Monday morning imagination !!!
    
    TOTP is certainly a frightening example of some foul beast's nightmare
    of warped and twisted imagination.
             
203.7KERNEL::JWILLIAMSFri Sep 16 1988 15:482
    Re. 4
    Are you thinking of Michael Hurll?  I think that is his name
203.8Can/I/get/a/job/with/the/NMEWELMTS::GREENBLife? Dont talk to me about lifeFri Sep 16 1988 15:589
    no, no .6, its not the program, its the whole rotten stinking hype
    ridden ego driven corrupt/corrupting pile of fetid dingo's kidneys
    that is the music (sic) industry - all TOTP does is play whats selling.
    Whats selling is determined by the 'music' 'industry' in that they
    decide who to push/hype/plug all over the tv, radio etc.
       Mind you, the situation isnt helped by the dj's all being w*nkers
    :-) :-) 
    
    Bob
203.9LESLIE::LESLIESat Sep 17 1988 10:133
    If TOTP were really live, it might get better...
    
    Andy_who_saw_Marsha_Hunt_live_in_'69
203.10Groovy days....ERIC::SALLITTDave @LZOMon Sep 19 1988 14:1511
    re .9...
    "Andy_who_saw_Marsha_Hunt_live_in_'69"
    
    And Led Zepp., Free, Hendrix, the original Fleetwood Mac, Clapton
    with various bands.
    
    If I add more I'll get depressed.
    
    Sigh.
    
    Dave
203.11KERNEL::COHENKeep Music LiveMon Sep 19 1988 18:2924
203.12YEAHHHHH !MUNTRA::TOWNSHENDMy Doctor says...Mon Sep 19 1988 19:341
    REVOLVER and SO IT GOES...suuuuppppperrr !
203.13again, YEAHHHHH !WELMTS::GREENBFat Freddys cat, 140 this yearMon Sep 19 1988 21:208
    Another vote for So it Goes (didja catch The Way They Were recently?)
    
    TOTP did try an lp track slot about 1973/4 (?) - I remember seeing
    Fairport Convention and Yes, they may even have been playing live
    }gasp{ but needless to say, this slot was fairly short-lived.
    Does anybody else remember this milestone in TOTP history?
    
    Bob
203.14LESLIE::LESLIETue Sep 20 1988 02:127
    I saw Yes play "And you and I" from "Close to the Edge" and yes
    they were live.
    
    Personally I'd prefer to see the video's instead of lip-synch -
    or rather lip-unsynch.
    
    A
203.15KERNEL::COHENKeep Music LiveTue Sep 20 1988 16:1513
    
    "So it goes" sure was a great show ..... I recall seeing Elvis Costello
    on there, very early on, or it might have been on one of Tony Wilson's
    Granada Reports slots!!!
    
    RE: -1
    
    Agree .... espacially after watching some past Montreux Rock Festivals.
    I think they still have to re-record some of the backing tracks
    for TOTP, or at least they use to - anyone confirm this?
    
    David.
    
203.16This is why the Clash were never on TOTPWELMTS::GREENBFat Freddys cat, 140 this yearTue Sep 20 1988 17:319
    As far as I know, backing tracks have to be recorded, then the
    singer/band perform live vocals on TOTP
    Occasionally, the whole performance may be live, but.... when the
    DJ introduces an act "........live in the studio......." that only
    means the act is appearing in the studio on a *live* broadcast,
    not that they are really playing live.
    Confusing, isnt it?
    
    Bob
203.17ECCGY4::HAIGHMy dad's a moderatorTue Sep 20 1988 17:362
    Wern't Simply Red on live a few years ago?
    
203.18Silent protestRDGENG::MACFADYENRoderick MacFadyenTue Sep 20 1988 18:1115
    Did anyone see All About Eve on TOTP a month or two back, when their
    "Martha's Harbour" (was that it?) single was on the way up the charts?
    
    They simply refused to mime AT ALL for the first half of their record.
    The singer sat at her microphone, smiling, and the guitarist just let
    his hands rest on the strings. While this was going on, there were no
    close-ups of either of them, as if the producer was embarrassed.
    Eventually they relented and started to do the done thing; the studio
    audience gave them a round of applause at that point, I think in
    support. 

    It was very enjoyable to see the TOTP conventions being flouted
    so blatantly.
    
    Rod
203.19UNIONSMUNTRA::TOWNSHENDMy Doctor says...Tue Sep 20 1988 18:118
    Yes, Hucknall sang live...but he can sing anyway.
    
    I heard on TV that there are sometimes a lot of problems with M.U.
    officals. This means that some of the Backing tracks, etc have to
    be redone or sung/played live. I believe the head of the M.U. has
    something of a nasty reputation for this !
    
    John
203.20Men in black !MUNTRA::TOWNSHENDMy Doctor says...Tue Sep 20 1988 18:163
    re .18
    
    Stranglers did it first !!!
203.21musicians union says KEEP MUSIC LIVEKERNEL::IMBIERSKIThree views of a secretTue Sep 20 1988 18:2510
    I believe the agreement with the MU is that any band appearing 'live'
    (ie not on video) on totp have to either really play live or re-record
    the music they're going to play during rehearsal and mime to that,
    the tapes being destroyed after. What most bands do is re-record
    the music during the rehearsal and then 'accidentally' replace the
    tape with one of the original single, so that they end up miming
    to the original single anyway, thereby making the re-recording a
    complete waste of time.
    
    Tony (MU member)
203.22No more heroes...AYOV28::MDONNELLYThe Alligator man is snap happyTue Sep 20 1988 18:5021
    
    
    re. 18  -  Sorry to destroy your notion of a TOTP rebellion Rod,
    but I understand what actually happened was neither the Duo nor
    the studio audience could hear the record as we could at home.
    Their monitors weren't working.
    
    By the start of the second verse, some bright spark in the gallery
    flicked the switch, and both the band and the audience thought it
    was the song's intro - hence the applause and the 'lip-synching'
    (I *hate* that expression).  In fact the female started to mime
    to the first verse.
    
    By way of a 'consolation' to the band for this techcockup, they
    were invited back the following week to mime all over again - an
    honour reserved only for No 1 status!
    
    
    Michael
    
     
203.23DITHER::COTTONTue Sep 20 1988 18:5618
    
    Whilst on the subject of live performances on TotP, who remembers
    New Order's attempts?  They did Blue Monday when it first came out
    and it was appauling.  Then more recently they did True Faith, and
    gave a really good rendition of the song.  Still, that's how they
    are, not the worlds most reliable live band...
    
    The thing to remember about Top of the Pops is that it's a kids
    show.  We all loved it during our youth.  It's just as we all get
    older we tend to look down on the under 16 commercial market, cynicism
    sets in with age.  The charts do seem to be in a bad way at the
    moment, but I'm sure they've always been pretty trite.
    
    Jeez, don't let it worry you.  It's a shame there isn't a particulary
    good muso-show on TV, but there are other ways of finding out what
    music is around.
    
    	Lee.
203.24Consider notion utterly destroyedRDGENG::MACFADYENRoderick MacFadyenTue Sep 20 1988 21:317
    Re .22:
    
    Talk about illusions being shattered! TOTP is utterly crap. All about
    Eve are utterly spineless. I am utterly disappointed. New levels
    of cynicism are required all round.
    
    Rod 
203.25$$$BISTRO::WARDTue Sep 20 1988 21:385
    When I was at school (primary school) we had a very heated discussion
    one day about how much bands were paid for appearing on TOTP.
    It was claimed that Mud (who were no.1 with "Tiger Feet" at the
    time) got 80 quid.   Does anyone know - are they getting rich
    quick - we should be told ?
203.26Wages of sinMALLET::BARKERPretty Damn CosmicWed Sep 21 1988 13:519
re -1

	Not to be too cynical but I think most acts would be delighted to pay 
the BBC to appear on TOTP. I would be surprised if they get any more than token 
expenses, same thing applies to chat shows if you are there to plug a product 
then you shouldn't expect a preformance fee as well.

Nigel

203.27Try The Chart Show...AYOU30::PAULCThat'll fix it, thought RonWed Sep 21 1988 16:4814
    The thing that annoys me most about TOTP is the audience - all the
    shouts and cheers ruin the enjoyment of most of the songs. I reckon
    the Beeb plants cheerleaders among them anyway.
    
    As regards playing live, I think some groups do actually play live
    during the show. Did anyone see Billy Bragg performing "She's Leaving
    Home"? It sounded so bad, it must have been live.
    
    For my money the best music programme on TV at the moment is The
    Chart Show on channel 4. There are no wittering DJs and despite
    the name it does feature non Top 40 material. Admittedly it's just
    a collection of videos, but there is a fair range to what they play.
    
    Paul
203.28TOT 'pops'AYOV28::MDONNELLYThe Alligator man is snap happyWed Sep 21 1988 16:5814
    
    
    On the TOTP audience, it used to be a queue_at_the_door effort,
    but now I believe it's by invitation only.
    
    I read somewhere that the beeb fill the place with up-and-coming
    nobodys - sorry actors.  Hence all the shouting, whooping, and jostling
    to get on camera.   I think this is supported by the fact that the
    average audience age seems to be about 35 - or if you include Simon
    Bates, 55.
    
    
    Michael
    
203.29TUBE RIPBISTRO::WARDWed Sep 21 1988 20:5946
    The Chart Show ... hmmm ...
    
    
    
    Some info here ..
    
    
    
    
    
    							.. and a little
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    bit here
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    						>>>>>STOP<<<<<<<
    
    
    It's tabloid TV.   If anyone saw the witty poke at such TV done
    by French and Saunders you'll know what I mean.   The music is
    good but
    
    
    
    
    					presentation
    
    
    
    
    			the
    
    
    	....
    
203.30.,.,.,.,.,.WELMTS::GREENBFat Freddys cat, 140 this yearFri Sep 23 1988 12:164
    Anyone see it last night...? 
    Any improvement on last week's  (I missed that one) ?
    
    Bob
203.31NRMACK::ULDREDave EdwardsFri Sep 23 1988 13:168
    I watched it for the first time in ages because of this
    note, and what a load of old ......
    
    The two presenters summed it up when they described Rick Astley
    as 'a musical genius' because he wrote his latest hit. As far as
    I'm concerned it sounds like all his others.
    
    Dave
203.32viet vettingHLDG00::OCONNORFri Sep 23 1988 13:488
    I actually found something *different* to do last night!
    
    I went to see "Good Morning Vietnam"...great film, great music.

    Now why can't Robin Williams host TOTP ??

    Tim (who_thinks_this_note_might_be_set_hidden_coz_it's_got_nothing_
    	 _to_do_with_totp_or_p*xy_radio_tv_shows)
203.33....and how dare they....!WELMTS::GREENBFat Freddys cat, 140 this yearFri Sep 23 1988 15:515
    re -2
    I thought the DJ's were being sarcastic about the musical genius
    of RA - or at least ironic
    
    Bob
203.34LESLIE::LESLIESun Oct 23 1988 08:4217
    
    I was unfortunate enough to encounter "The Hit man and Her" - which
    seems to be the Roxy taken into a sewer, killed and left to rot for a
    month. As far as I can tell, a prefrontal lobotomy would be preferable
    to watching this garbage for more than 20 seconds. 
    
    Then theres "Americas top 10" with Casey Kasem. Well, at least he
    doesn't pretend its interesting....
    
    I actually liked Wired quite a lot - is it gone forever?
    
    Not having seen Totp for a while I can't comment as to whether it
    competes, but I can only imagine it's still the same.
    
    Has anyone seen MTV Europe?
    
    Andy
203.35KERNEL::PARRYTrevor ParryFri Oct 18 1991 16:4217
Assuming this is "the" Top of The Pops note.

What new definition of the word "live" have they discovered that 
is used to describe the new Top of The Pops ?

Now I can see that the main vocals are being done live but what about 
the rest ?  I mean take last night, Enya with her fingers hovering stationary
above an acoustic grand piano, and all I could hear was a bunch of 
synthesizers and some backing vocals.  What's going on here ?
Then there was Slade, a band of excellent musicians, and Noddy screaming
out backing vocals with barely an expansion of the chest.

I've noticed that so far they have been using artists that are actually
skilled in the art of making music.  I wonder what happens when they
run out of suitable artists, which won't be long ;-)

Trev
203.36Anyone watch it last night?SUBURB::ODONNELLJJulie O'DonnellFri May 13 1994 13:3215
    I haven't seen TOTP for years (the whooping, squawking "fun" atmosphere
    got on my nerves), but last night I caught the end.
    
    Jack Dee (JACK DEE??!!!) was DJ, the no. 1 band seemed to be a metal
    band - not only did the vocals appear to be live, but the singer
    invaded the crowd whilst the band looked as though they were doing a
    watered-down Who-style trashing of their equipment. They finished by
    spraying the crowd with champagne (I think).
    
    What's HAPPENED to my pet hate?!!! And is this the norm now (I
    didn't see the rest)?
    
    BTW I did like the designer-audience attempts at headbanging.
    Brightened up my day, they did!
                                   
203.37That was Stiltskin ?UPROAR::WEBSTERMany old stringWed May 18 1994 19:485
    
    I heard that Stiltskin (SP?) are into trashing the stage. Maybe that's
    Scotish grunge or did Levi pay them too much ;-)
    
    Mike
203.38SUBURB::ODONNELLJJulie O'DonnellWed May 18 1994 20:502
    I think that's them - I know I heard the song the other week on the
    Saturday radio rock show. The singer looks a bit like Fish to me.