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Post by Ray Langstone (was saintsray) on Feb 27, 2015 13:38:53 GMT
With respect to Pan's People memories, one week they did a routine to Carly Simon's You're So Vain, which would place it around late 1972 - early 1973. The following week, due to public demand, they did the same routine again (to the same song, naturally). I believe this was the only time this happened. The routine included them drinking imaginary cups of coffee for the line "clouds in my coffee...". Pans people also did a missing routine for 'jean genie' at that time. I didn't see it in colour but assume the main subject might have been painted green as in 'monster mash'. One of th girls was dressed up Angie Bowie style.The background was one of those non descript studio bits which look black with various beams and triangular type shapes.The first shot was of their interpretation of jean genie as presumably an alien girl. The camera started on the boots not unlike Bowies whistle test from '72 then panning up the body. She was dressed in glitter platform boots and a glitter catsuit which has a darker colour with silvery trim. I seem to think she was wearing a permed wig again in probably a weird colour. Also big sunglasses bit like a cross between Bette Davis style and x ray specs beach type ones. She may have had a false insect antennae headset like the one Chicory tip used for GOOD GRIEF CHRISTINA. I don't recall how or where the other dance troupe members came in. Pans people donned gangster suits for a film for THE PERSUADERS tv theme and seem to recall them reusing them with a machine gun prop painted in a bright colour for 'armed and extremely dangerous' in 1973. The routine for that was the oft used standing in a line one behind the other each making a move before going off to reveal the next girl behind. ""21-12-72: Presenter: Tony Blackburn (Wiped) (7) ELTON JOHN – Crocodile Rock (crowd dancing) (and charts) (14) GLADYS KNIGHT & THE PIPS – Help Me Make It Through The Night ® * WATCH (24) ELVIS PRESLEY – Always On My Mind (video) (13) ROYAL SCOTS DRAGOON GUARDS – Little Drummer Boy (video) (37) CAT STEVENS – Can’t Keep It In (NEW) DICK EMERY – You Are Awful (16) DAVID BOWIE – The Jean Genie (danced to by Pan’s People) (NEW) MALCOLM ROBERTS – Happy Song (19) LYNSEY DE PAUL – Getting A Drag (29) WIZZARD – Ball Park Incident (1) LITTLE JIMMY OSMOND – Long Haired Lover From Liverpool (video) (3) T-REX – Solid Gold Easy Action (crowd dancing) (and credits) * although this show is wiped, this performance still exists""
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Post by Ray Langstone (was saintsray) on Feb 27, 2015 13:39:31 GMT
""25-12-72: Presenters: Jimmy Savile O.B.E. & Ed Stewart (Wiped)
(-) ELTON JOHN – Rocket Man (I Think It’s Going To Be A Long Long Time) (25) GILBERT O’SULLIVAN – Clair ® * (-) DAVID CASSIDY – How Can I Be Sure (video) (50) HOT BUTTER – Popcorn (danced to by Pan’s People) (-) ROYAL SCOTS DRAGOON GUARDS – Amazing Grace (video) (-) SLADE – Take Me Bak ’Ome (-) DON McLEAN – Vincent ® (-) THE MOVE – California Man (-) T-REX – Telegram Sam (-) ROD STEWART – You Wear It Well (-) THE NEW SEEKERS – I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing (In Perfect Harmony) ® (-) LYNSEY DE PAUL – Sugar Me (1) LITTLE JIMMY OSMOND – Long Haired Lover From Liverpool (video) (-) HAWKWIND– Silver Machine (crowd dancing) (and credits)
* although this show is wiped, this performance still exists""
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Post by williammcgregor on Feb 27, 2015 23:56:17 GMT
Disc and Music Echo dated 19th April 1969
If you saw "Top of the Pops" last Thursday and thought Desmond Dekker looked a little off form,Desmond's grimaces were because of a touch of the missing teeth agony. He'd been suffering with toothache for some days and was eventually persuaded to see a dentist on Thursday morning. His verdict:out with three wisdom teeth! No wonder he was'nt looking too well!
Desmond did'nt have much luck as I saw another story that a puppy he bought and took to TOTP was stolen the same day!
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Post by johnstewart on Feb 28, 2015 13:25:52 GMT
Thanks for identifying the dates, great.
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Post by johnstewart on Feb 28, 2015 13:27:29 GMT
Just looking through a batch of Melody Makers from 1972 and came across a readers letter from the 19th August 1972 about Top of the Pops, the reader was querying why the visually exciting bands were virtually ignored and that most of the people who played on the show were so unexciting that it might just have well been on the radio! She went on to say What was so visually exciting as Donny Osmond floating around a kids playground with such a moronic expression My question is, was this a special film made for TOTP?... has a forum member any idea I'm not a Donny Osmond fan but I would'nt knock him either, I'm just curious. I would imagine then that the reader was probably speaking about the TOTP show on the 10/08/72 does that show exist? as I believe 1972 is one of the worst years for anything surviving? Another thing is that if this was a special film going around at the time maybe it's on Ron's tape number 41 in a "Lift Off" show? From the reader's comment, previous forum info on the song and the 28/12/72 footage, it turns out that Top of the Pops featured at least 3 different pieces of film footage for Puppy Love. The song debuted on Top of the Pops on 29/06/72, which is a TOTP film that doesn't feature Donny in the footage: missingepisodes.proboards.com/thread/7968?page=1It's very likely that the viewer was commenting on the 03/08/72 edition. Although this footage isn't known to exist, from your description, what the viewer saw may have been an official promo, as there could have been one made, but I'm not aware of Top of the Pops ever showing 2 different TOTP films for the same songs. In the absence of available footage, I'd say that Puppy Love seen by the viewer was either a promo film or film footage made exclusively for another programme. Hopefully one of the others will know more to clarify this. I seemed to recall the Donny lookalike walking around a rose garden in tank top possibly also light coloured Bob Dylan cap.
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Post by jerryg on Feb 28, 2015 13:38:24 GMT
Great work once again William in finding out these great reviews of totp ,and of course to all the members on here with their memories 'especially the ones with pans people memories
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Post by David Saunders on Feb 28, 2015 17:35:13 GMT
Oh, just to add I also recall they did a routine to POPCORN by hot butter. Apart from jerky toy like movements & a dark background can't recall much about that one I'm afraid. It was slightly disturbing. The Pan's People routines and Chicory Tip performance sounded a lot of fun.
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Post by williammcgregor on Mar 1, 2015 14:37:21 GMT
Disc and Music Echo 3rd September 1966
A film of The Four Tops is planned for Top of the Pops if the group's "Loving You is Sweeter than Ever" gets higher in the chart. Producer Johnnie Stewart told Disc and Music Echo that the film is already "in the can"
I've looked to see if that The Four Tops film appeared on Top of the Pops but can find no evidence does any forum member know if it did? and if so does it exist?
I don't suppose it would have been this?
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Post by johnstewart on Mar 1, 2015 18:26:50 GMT
I've got to add what may have been another Pans people, early 1970s. For 'Bridget the midget', Ray Stevens, a minaturised girl in a mini skirt and wet look plastic boots was seen in a 'freak out' style dance in the middle of the TOTP audience. It was probably pre-taped as they used chromakey to minaturise the image and make her knee or waist high. I think the audience were also shot from a low angle to make them look taller. There were stripes somewhere in the design, maybe a striped skirt or a target design in the centre of the floor.
Occured to me later that was probably a member of Pans people?
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Post by johnstewart on Mar 1, 2015 18:29:55 GMT
Also the Donny type figure I recall in the promo I thought I saw may have been wearing a waistcoat, not a tank top like the real Donny.Recall my friends older sister went out immediately and bought the record. When I heard it at that time I thought it was a girl singing at first. The Saturday morning Osmonds cartoon on ITV brought boys into the equation later on, i think before the whole band had any U.K. hits.
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Post by Ray Langstone (was saintsray) on Mar 2, 2015 11:44:16 GMT
Fascinating news on Bridget the Midget. I don't think the Four Tops peformance was the TOTP film, but I have been known to be wrong, so any views....
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Post by williammcgregor on Mar 3, 2015 20:30:29 GMT
TV Critic John Gibson of The Edinburgh Evening News comments on the 05/12/74 edition of Top of the Pops
Guys and Gals,I've fallen in love all over again with Pan's People! I'd gone off them,you see.They'd gone stale...and that's not difficult if you're anything like a permanent fixture on this show. You've only got to look and listen to the deejays. But last night the girls,reserved for the finale,looked stunning in skin-hugging white,moving to Barry White's "You're My First,My Last,My Everything." Never seen them look better.
The white was effective,but this was a night on TOTP when black was beautiful. The programme began badly and was getting progressively worse from there until George Macrae, appeared to give it a bit of a boost The whole thing came alive,though,only when The Tymes,singing and moving professionally (there's never too much professionalism about in TOTP) did their thing Miss Grace.
We'd gone from a disgrace to Miss Grace, I should explain. Two or three records earlier we'd been subjected to a thoroughly grotty slab of film from the sates of American (sic) rock band Bachman-Turner Overdrive. Sound was ropey too. If the Americans can't send over respectable film DON'T entertain 'em!
Or do the BBC let their standards fly clean out of the window when it comes to dealing with American managements?
said Tony Blackburn introducing the Overdrive sludge:"If you think you've seen everything,you ain't seen nothing yet!" And how right dear old Tone was.
So to The Tymes and Flick Colby for the Pan'e People mirage,I extend a thousand thanks. They materialised just when total boredom was beginning to take a grip.
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Post by johnstewart on Mar 3, 2015 21:03:21 GMT
Fascinating news on Bridget the Midget. I don't think the Four Tops peformance was the TOTP film, but I have been known to be wrong, so any views.... On that motown sound type subject I recall Pans people danced to 'you want it you got it' in '71 which I think is the Detroit spinners. Don't really recall the routine though I liked the record.
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Post by johnstewart on Mar 3, 2015 21:05:50 GMT
Fascinating news on Bridget the Midget. I don't think the Four Tops peformance was the TOTP film, but I have been known to be wrong, so any views.... I do recall some people seemed to think they had seen the bridget clip again since the time (not forum members). There is I believe a surviving TOTP from the same weeks which has Ray Stevens doing what seems to be the 'B' side for some reason. Wonder if they used a similar set up which would explain it?
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Post by johnstewart on Mar 3, 2015 21:15:00 GMT
""25-12-72: Presenters: Jimmy Savile O.B.E. & Ed Stewart (Wiped) (-) ELTON JOHN – Rocket Man (I Think It’s Going To Be A Long Long Time) (25) GILBERT O’SULLIVAN – Clair ® * (-) DAVID CASSIDY – How Can I Be Sure (video) (50) HOT BUTTER – Popcorn (danced to by Pan’s People) (-) ROYAL SCOTS DRAGOON GUARDS – Amazing Grace (video) (-) SLADE – Take Me Bak ’Ome (-) DON McLEAN – Vincent ® (-) THE MOVE – California Man (-) T-REX – Telegram Sam (-) ROD STEWART – You Wear It Well (-) THE NEW SEEKERS – I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing (In Perfect Harmony) ® (-) LYNSEY DE PAUL – Sugar Me (1) LITTLE JIMMY OSMOND – Long Haired Lover From Liverpool (video) (-) HAWKWIND– Silver Machine (crowd dancing) (and credits) * although this show is wiped, this performance still exists"" Doesn't that Jimmy Osmond promo also exist? What about the existing version of 'Like to teach the world to sing'? I understand there is a version of Slade doing 'take me bak 'ome' presumably not this one then. Something exists for 'rocket man' but I think it's a VT performance on an ITV show. I've also seen spmething for 'Vincent' Don Mclean. The 'California man' must be the one I recalled from around Xmas, different to the existing one. Again the double bass player was rolling with their instrument on the floor but there may have been also a second with him. I do recall two people wheeled one of those ILEA type TV setes on stilts on and smashed it up. Obviously the screen must have been sugar glass or cellophane. I also recall the band had circular stickers with a logo on their guitars reading 'I'm off to see the WIZZARD'. when Jeff Lynne first appeared for 'Rollover Beethoven' he still had the stickers on his electric guitar.On that appearance he was wearing the teddy boy coat and flat captain style cap he wears on '2Gs and the pop people'. In the existing show he has what appears to be an in joke spoof of Roy Wood in a glitter wig on.
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