Your top choice missing/wiped TOTP performances?

[Kev Hunter]

Well it's the weekend, and while perusing the recent Family TOTP thread, I wondered which missing / wiped TOTP performances would be at the top of your wish list? I'd be interested to know (although as John Peel once said, "Not very interested, but quite"), and for anyone who cares, here are my top six (whittled down from many more):
1. Slade - Shape Of Things To Come (2 Apr 1970) - there's a nice colour still of this inside Salvo's "Slade At The BBC" CD, incidentally.
2. Opus - Baby Come On (21 May 1970) - great rock track which owes more than a little to Zep's "Whole Lotta Love".
3. Caravan - If I Could Do It All Over Again, I'd Do It All Over You (20 Aug 1970)
4. Curved Air - Back Street Luv (15 July 1971)
5. Gypsy - Changes Coming (26 Aug 1971)
6. Esprit De Corps - If [Would It Turn Out Wrong] (19 Oct 1972)

Surprisingly, all with the exception of Gypsy are from editions hosted by Tony Blackburn.  Sadly there's slim to fat chance of these ever turning up but if Doctor Who fans can live in hope, then I suppose I can too.

[richardwoods]

Jul 22, 2017 11:57:46 GMT Kev Hunter said:

Well it's the weekend, and while perusing the recent Family TOTP thread, I wondered which missing / wiped TOTP performances would be at the top of your wish list? I'd be interested to know (although as John Peel once said, "Not very interested, but quite"), and for anyone who cares, here are my top six (whittled down from many more):
1. Slade - Shape Of Things To Come (2 Apr 1970) - there's a nice colour still of this inside Salvo's "Slade At The BBC" CD, incidentally.
2. Opus - Baby Come On (21 May 1970) - great rock track which owes more than a little to Zep's "Whole Lotta Love".
3. Caravan - If I Could Do It All Over Again, I'd Do It All Over You (20 Aug 1970)
4. Curved Air - Back Street Luv (15 July 1971)
5. Gypsy - Changes Coming (26 Aug 1971)
6. Esprit De Corps - If [Would It Turn Out Wrong] (19 Oct 1972)

Surprisingly, all with the exception of Gypsy are from editions hosted by Tony Blackburn.  Sadly there's slim to fat chance of these ever turning up but if Doctor Who fans can live in hope, then I suppose I can too.

I suppose that there's always the possibility of more missing clips lurking in a German archive?

[Kev Hunter]

Yes, I would think so Richard.. the fact that Black Sabbath, Status Quo, King Crimson and Juicy Lucy and others turned up in that way gives a bit of hope.

[Simon B Kelly]

With so many to choose from it's not easy narrowing it down. In fact, has anyone ever counted exactly how many unique performances are actually missing?

This article from 2003 mentions 3500 missing from the sixties, but what about 1970-1977? Presumably that would more than double the total!

Anyway, here are seven studio appearances I would most like to see:

Dusty Springfield - I Only Want To Be With You (January 1964) - This song supposedly opened the first show (or was it the Rolling Stones as Savile recalls) and was also featured on the second show too, so was it recorded or were there two separate performances?

Pete Wingfield - 18 With A Bullet (June 1975) - The first edition I ever saw of TOTP was around a neighbours house as there was no TV in my household growing up. I'd been invited over one evening to watch my friends uncle (Pete Wingfield) appearing on TOTP. Therefore, this must've been either on Thursday 26 June 1975 or Thursday 10 July 1975. Was the second appearance a repeat?

The Beatles - Paperback Writer / Rain (June 1966) - As a Beatles fan, their only live appearance on the show on Thursday 16 June 1966 is an obvious choice...

The Fourmost - I'm In Love (January 1964) - The only time I've seen them performing this McCartney penned tune was on Channel 4 in the eighties. There's very little surviving footage of them from the sixties, so their first TOTP appearance on Episode 3 would be another one for my collection...

Rolf Harris - Two Little Boys (November 1969) - This song was included on no less than EIGHT episodes of TOTP. My Mum would always turn it up when it was played on the radio. Would love to see how it was included in each episode. How many were repeat performances or just the crowd dancing to it?

Hot Chocolate - Brother Louie (May 1973) - A band that appeared on TOTP more times than the Quo! Only one performance in 1973, though, and that was this song about mixed-race relationships. The single features Cozy Powell and Alexis Korner - I don't suppose they appeared with Errol and the boys in the studio?

Television - Prove It (August 1977) - I started off with possibly the earliest missing performance so I'll end with one of the last. Apparently they performed this in the studio over the end credits?

Obviously, I'd be interested in seeing the DJ intros to these appearances as well...

The second episode of TOTP that I saw was around another friends house, this time during the summer holidays of 1979. I clearly remember seeing the video of "I Don't Like Monday's" by the Boomtown Rats and thinking how much better it was than the studio performances that had preceded it! As I was heavily into music at the time I really wished I had television at home to see the bands performing the songs I loved and used to imagine what the music videos would look like to accompany the hits. It wasn't until a year or so later that we got our first television - a 14 inch Ferguson black and white set that took pride of place in the front room...

[Tony Walshaw]

Great write-up Simon 

P.S: Is this true....?

Jul 22, 2017 22:34:56 GMT Simon B Kelly said:

Hot Chocolate - Brother Louie (May 1973) - A band that appeared on TOTP more times than the Quo! 

[Simon B Kelly]

Thanks, Tony. According to Neil's Popscene forum (the definitive TOTP listings site), in the A-Z section, Neil says that Status Quo have only managed 40 appearances on TOTP, whereas Hot Chocolate were on it no less than 45 times!

Quo's appearances would have spanned five decades, whereas Hot Chocolate would only have spanned two which makes their tally even more impressive!

I'm assuming these are all unique performances and don't include repeats or videos? Perhaps a more learned TOTP expert can help us out here?

There really should be a searchable TOTP database for these sort of queries...

[Richard Marple]

I hadn't realised Hot Chocolate managed to clock up that many performances, while being a regularly on the charts between 1970 & 84, they managed a few appearances from re-issues, presumably using videos & repeated performances.

[Tony Walshaw]

Jul 28, 2017 19:48:21 GMT Simon B Kelly said:

Thanks, Tony. According to Neil's Popscene forum (the definitive TOTP listings site), in the A-Z section, Neil says that Status Quo have only managed 40 appearances on TOTP, whereas Hot Chocolate were on it no less than 45 times!

That is a great site that I have visited numerous times

Looking at the Quo thread, in the years 1974-79 incl. they didn't really do TOTP appearances in the BBC studio with the audience. It seems to be promos only and IIRC they often featured just the band playing on a closed studio set.

As far as Quo were concerned, these would count as TOTP appearances and I can't argue with that, though strictly speaking Hot Chocolate probably did more studio appearances recorded on the day with the audience. 

[gabithompson730]

I also thinks like Richard, and I agree with him

[williammcgregor]

I'd like to see T.Rex "Ride a White Swan" when Marc was wearing the Roman Centurion armour thingy.

[richardwoods]

Aug 1, 2017 15:32:49 GMT williammcgregor said:

I'd like to see T.Rex "Ride a White Swan" when Marc was wearing the Roman Centurion armour thingy.

Wasn't our own Ray Langstone on the trail of this one at some point a few years ago? Presumably no joy Ray?

[williammcgregor]

Ray? Earth to Ray?