Comments on: ROBIN BECK – “First Time”

By: the pinefox

the pinefox — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 10:24:55 +0000

I see that Ewing and others don’t remember this song, whereas they remember most other hits. I can’t identify with this experience: this song was big, I heard it a lot, I have never forgotten it, and indeed I have always quite liked it, or assumed that I quite like it. As #1s go I would want to give it at least 6 or 7. (I probably don’t like most #1s.)

Admittedly I now haven’t heard the track in years.

I think I like it also cos the girl in the picture on the cover is pretty, and indeed the boy looks OK also.

As far as I can tell, no one here has talked about the fact that the record and the track on the advert are different – the advert says ‘coke is it’ and the record doesn’t. Or is my memory now the one going wrong?

I don’t agree that this + Deacon Blue on totp makes ‘grim times for pop’ as Ewing says, because I find this tolerable or probably a bit nostalgically likeable and I like Deacon Blue, not least ‘real gone kid’ which was presumably the relevant track and which I think is quite magnificent as chart 45s go. That sounds like good times for pop to me. But in truth, I’m not sure most of us can ever really approve of a whole pop moment or era, rather than individual records and trends.

By: punctum

punctum — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 08:59:56 +0000

20 Dynamic Hits innit.

By: punctum

punctum — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 11:17:03 +0000

#62: hahah, I’ve variously also heard that gag being told about Kevin Rowland and Julian Cope!

By: punctum

punctum — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 09:32:46 +0000

To be fair Herr Last has appeared on TPL as the co-author of “Happy Heart,” as essayed by Andy Williams and Wee Neil Reid, but as an artist his best chart performance was Last The Whole Night Long, #2 in June ’79.

It’s mainly going to be TARGO with a substantial side-order of OY and certainly MFTC won’t be disregarded. I get to write about 1968′s O&O too (featuring the singer on OY) thanks to K-Tel but more about that when I get there.

By: wichita lineman

wichita lineman — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 19:43:19 +0000

Re 62: Oh yes. Blimey, now I feel like Morrissey championing Herman’s Hermits over S&TFS… I think I’d still rather listen to the Move’s Message From The Country or Colin Blunstone’s One Year, though. Maybe Marcello will draw a parallel between TARGO and Slim Whitman – biggest selling yodeling records since Frank Ifield’s heyday.

By: Billy Smart

Billy Smart — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 18:27:07 +0000

Re 61. Surely the hugely important album must be TARGO!

Old joke – What’s the difference between The James Last Orchestra and a cow? A cow has the horns at the front and the arsehole at the back.

By: wichita lineman

wichita lineman — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 18:15:52 +0000

Ahh… good, I was surprised that you were thinking of laying into 20 Dynamic Hits (Vol 1). Would the initials for the Hugely Important Album be MFTC or OY?

I’ve got a lot of time for Slim’s slim list of hit 45s but must confess I’ve never sat down for a whole album session with him. As with popular I’m avoiding sneaking a peek at what’s next on thenplaylong. So I’m still somewhat in the (self imposed) dark over these TV advertised horrors.

By: Jimmy the Swede

Jimmy the Swede — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 17:03:56 +0000

Oh? I was under the impression that Lasty had number one albums by the score. Perhaps he was uncharted on a technicality (ie outselling everyone else but his albums costing only half a crown). I’m probably wrong but you never had to look too far in the Woolies record section to find the c**t.

By: punctum

punctum — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 16:56:25 +0000

Happily, or unhappily, James Last will not be troubling Then Play Long.

By: Jimmy the Swede

Jimmy the Swede — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 16:51:54 +0000

I had that James Last in the back of my cab the other day. James Last – the man with only one facial expression.

By: punctum

punctum — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 09:23:43 +0000

Oh no, I didn’t mean the K-Tel etc. ORIGINAL RECORDINGS BY ORIGINAL ARTISTS sets – I’m very much looking forward to tackling these, especially 20 Dynamic Hits, which allows me to sneak in discussion on a Hugely Important Album Of The Era (whose lead single is featured) – I meant more the old school entertainers who get to dominate the lists round about ’75-’77 time at the expense of likelier contenders. I have plans, though; for instance, I can guarantee that my piece on Slim Whitman’s Red River Valley will be, um, unique.

By: wichita lineman

wichita lineman — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 17:54:31 +0000

It seems like those TV albums, far from being comparable to the TOTP cash-ins, were a gateway drug for quite a lot of people on Popular. Me aged 14: “who is this Laurie Styvers with her fantastic non-hit Beat The Reaper? I must dig deeper and find out. I must.” K-Tel, Ronco, Arcade. Very important to me.

By: Billy Smart

Billy Smart — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 17:05:15 +0000

I must say that I’m particularly looking forward to the TV toppers, especially at the end of a few years of Deep Purple and The Moody Blues. I know all of these albums well, and each one has a few neglected fantastic songs, however flimsy the package they came in.

By: punctum

punctum — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 16:57:22 +0000

(two albums by the Script, though; Jesus H Corbett…)

By: punctum

punctum — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 16:56:12 +0000

My policy on TPL is to be as fair and open-minded as possible about every album I have to listen to, even unto three George Mitchell Minstrels discs. Some of the stuff coming up in the seventies is going to present a challenge – predominantly the TV-advertised chart-toppers – but if I can make it through three soundalike covers albums then I’m ready for anything. After all, the “Lady In Red”/”Patricia The Stripper” man did have that Nick Drake in his school band once. There’s always a way.

By: Mark G

Mark G — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 16:46:49 +0000

You’ve been very even-handed about every Number one album so far, but I have wondered what’s going to happen when you get to those “o buggr” albums, the likes of which I could list but won’t…

(so far there haven’t been any, have there?)

By: punctum

punctum — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 16:40:52 +0000

Chart also featured on Saturday’s POTP; then, as now, bore little if any relation to November ’88 as I knew and experienced it musically but overall not a bad chart. Four of the top five were by female artists, which is something to be noted. “Can You Party” and “We Call It Acieed” not played, but we are talking Radio 2. I fell asleep to Chris de Burgh’s “Missing You,” though. From a number one album oh bugger.

By: wichita lineman

wichita lineman — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 14:06:55 +0000

Flymo versus Qualcast

By: thefatgit

thefatgit — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 12:51:36 +0000

Swanstep, I’m guessing Coca Cola and AT&T are similar in wanting to retain a loyal customer base in a competitive market. What better way to achieve this retention, than by encouraging an emotional response to reinforce that loyalty. Not so much winning over the undecided or new customers, but keeping those that you already have. AT&T vs Bell and Coke vs Pepsi are perhaps the best known examples. In the UK, the only set of ads that came close to this kind of rivalry were the Lawnmower Wars between Qualcast and Flymo. Neither of these brands relied on an emotive campaign, but a series of one-upmanship ads that almost forced you to take sides (that is if you were in the market for a new lawnmower in the first place).

I’m wondering just how effective this song actually was in relation to how many more units of Coca Cola were shifted during the period of this campaign?

By: Paytes

Paytes — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 11:49:23 +0000

As others have said Need You Tonight really should have made it to the top rather than this bilge …

By: swanstep

swanstep — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 00:01:39 +0000

Sorry for hijacking this thread (last post I promise!): this blog post confirms that Fincher had nothing to do with the audio and music for the ads. The zing of the ads comes from having Fincher’s Blade Runner-ish images be lightened by the bubbling up music.

By: swanstep

swanstep — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 23:05:52 +0000

According to wiki, AT&T’s ‘You Will’ ads were directed by David Fincher. Figures. Good mash-up possibilities with the ends of Se7en and Fight Club perhaps?

By: swanstep

swanstep — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 22:22:52 +0000

One thing that’s a little odd about this #1 is that the ultra-sentimental, US advertizing tradition it emerges out of doesn’t really have much of place in the UK. When I moved to the US at the end of 1988 I was *very* struck by all the ads on tv that were explicitly designed to make you very emotional or even tear up all in about 30 seconds flat – distilled essence of capra, spielberg and zemeckis perhaps. AT&T’s ads were consistently like this, often plaintively imploring you to ‘reach out and touch somebody’ or whatever, e.g., here’s a 1988 example, and here’s the 1993 ‘you will’ series that perfected the form (which is worth watching in any case – I predict at least one in the series will still get ya).

First Time definitely suffers from being the musical end of one of these 30 second manipulative/inspirational fragments, and (as Tom emphasized) the structure they’ve devised to pad it out to 3+ minutes just doesn’t work.

In answer to LondonLee’s question: ‘C’mon, what was the real #1?’ Sweet Child of Mine seems easily the best of the US #1′s from around this time (Axl in his short-lived snaky pomp), and so gets my vote.

By: LondonLee

LondonLee — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 18:14:52 +0000

Christ, even with the songs I’ve “forgotten” there’s some buried trace of them in my brain that hearing a few bars will bring back, but this? Nothing. Even watching the video I’m still at a loss. Come on Tom, joke’s over, what was the real Number One that week?

It’s terrible, of course.

By: pˆnk s lord sükråt cunctør

pˆnk s lord sükråt cunctør — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 15:58:40 +0000

Yes, i actually meant “means the same as what the lyric actually means (not what it says)” (but didn’t in fact say this) :(