Comments on: ALTHEA AND DONNA - “Uptown Top Ranking”

By: Malice Cooper

Malice Cooper — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 19:53:08 +0000

brilliant clip thanks Pete :-) George Berry was obviously better at football than singing along with the BBC concert orchestra!

By: DJ Punctum

DJ Punctum — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 15:16:19 +0000

with tedious ~~TOTP2~~ Elvis Costello ~~fact~~ There, fixed.

By: Pete Baran

Pete Baran — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 15:12:20 +0000

I think this is that Top Of The Pops performance with tedious TOTP2 Elvis Costello fact (since I’m on Youtube duty today).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iD_qZ3hTDo

By: Malice Cooper

Malice Cooper — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 13:43:49 +0000

the “Top of the pops” performance, singing live with the BBC Orchestra was hilarious. The one who resembled a chi-lite missed her cue at least 4 times. It is a great single

By: mike

mike — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 15:07:59 +0000

I don’t remember Peel championing Lene Lovich, either - and I was an almost nightly listener in the late 1970s. However, my trusty Garner guide tells me that Lene did in fact record a Peel session in November 1978, followed by a second session in December 1979 (i.e. well after her chart breakthrough).

By: Waldo

Waldo — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 12:03:56 +0000

You MUST have remembered it. You’ve just quoted it word for word.

By: Drucius@home

Drucius@home — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 17:34:53 +0000

“For John, people were only worthy if they remained in the shadows as far away from the chart (which he despised as much as its champion Tony Blackburn) as possible. There were exceptions but Peely was happier on the fringe. I remember him championing the embryonic Lena Lovich to the rafters only to drop her like a hot coal once she broke through, although her star shone only briefly.”

Oddly, I can’t remember any of this.

By: DJ Punctum

DJ Punctum — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 15:02:44 +0000

Not me, pal. The real Spoiler Bunny has yet to wreak untold havoc on Popular, but it’s coming, it’s coming…

By: Waldo

Waldo — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:54:27 +0000

Bunnykins is gonna do the pair of you. He’s hard like that. Any excuse will serve a tyrant.

By: Mark G

Mark G — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:11:58 +0000

ah now you have pointed out something I did not.

By: DJ Punctum

DJ Punctum — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 11:26:03 +0000

The Bunny wants a word with yous.

By: Mark G

Mark G — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 11:19:22 +0000

“I don’t feel like dancin with the captain”, its just a matter of time…

By: DJ Punctum

DJ Punctum — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 10:52:45 +0000

You gotta give Paul Nicholas props for inventing the Scissor Sisters on “Dancing With The Captain” though.

By: The Intl

The Intl — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 10:47:13 +0000

Not too long after this one, Althea herself (sans Donna) put out “Downtown Thing”, sounding much more, er, “experienced”, even talking about “me drink up de Heineken”. Strictly roots indeed.

By: Waldo

Waldo — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 20:47:12 +0000

# 47 - Mike! What’s the matter with you, rass clat? “Reggae Like It Used To Be” is a seminal Joe Gibbs classic and Paul Nicholas the most important reggae artist to emerge…er…to emerge…er…in fact a pioneer…yes, that’s it - a PIONEER… “Let Your Yeah Be Yeah”…that was him! Errrmm…he…er…er…he…

Continued on Page 94

By: mike

mike — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 18:21:49 +0000

Here are a couple of the more, erm, singular comments made by readers of my blog, when this cropped up on this year’s Which Decade Is Tops For Pops:

“Obviously it’s jumping on the bandwagon of Reggae Like It Used To Be by Paul Nicholas.”

“I recognise that this is regarded by some as a seminal track, but I’ve never really liked it very much. I suppose I don’t like the reggae-disco fusion. Be one or the other, not both.”

By: Tracer Hand

Tracer Hand — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 14:57:00 +0000

As soon as this song comes on, everyone is overcome with an irresistible desire to sing the words to one another, but no one knows what they actually are! (And even if they do, they can’t remember what order they come in - the ostensible verses and chorus wind around each other like fractals.)

By: Mark G

Mark G — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 14:17:31 +0000

na na na na nah.

I wouldn’t care.

By: DJ Punctum

DJ Punctum — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:38:14 +0000

#40: unless you’re Gilbert O’Sullivan.

By: SteveM

SteveM — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:13:40 +0000

Mobb Deep should never have followed up ‘Shook Ones’ with that cover of ‘The Puppy Dog Song’

By: pink champale

pink champale — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:48:32 +0000

actually, R2 and capital do play quite a lot of the obvious motown and stax stuff along with a smattering of disco and funk. but yes, not much reggae unless it’s ‘jamming’ or by eric clapton. you do sometimes hear the israelites though. i think it may be a while before mobb deep are playlisted.

By: mike

mike — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:40:06 +0000

Like others upthread, I was aware of UTR from the summer of 1977, when Peel was heavily championing it. I taped it off the radio, where it sat next to The Clash’s “Complete Control” and the first Slits session on the same side of the same C90. Happy days.

What’s remarkable about UTR is the way that the “Three Piece Suit” backing track (featuring an early outing for Sly and Robbie) sounds tailor-made for Althea & Donna’s vocals: as if it had been expressly composed and recorded with the girls in mind.

What’s equally remarkable is the way that A&D’s standard two-note toasting melody in the verses (that particular interval was used time and time again as I recall - Ranking Trevor to thread?) sit so light and fresh within the context of the tune, transcending the restrictions of their convention.

Predictably, A&D’s misfortunes started with their new label Virgin’s disastrous choice of follow-up single “The Puppy Dog Song”: a banal reggae-fication of the “frogs and snails and puppy dogs’ tails” nursery rhyme, complete with an introductory piano figure lifted directly from “Chopsticks”. As Brotherhood Of Man could have told them, it’s really never a good idea to follow a Number One single with a song about a cute little puppy dog.

By: pink champale

pink champale — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:38:45 +0000

or “sweet soul music”

By: mike

mike — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:24:02 +0000

By: DJ Punctum

DJ Punctum — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:19:02 +0000

Radio 2 and Capital Gold don’t like black music unless it’s Dock Of The Bay or Move On Up.