More TV Memories – The Chart Show 1986 Special.

The Chart Show 1986 Special (Channel 4, 1986)

This is something that I have wanted to review for a while, so I am pleased to have tracked it down. This is the first end-of-year review special of The Chart Show, that was shown on Channel 4 on 30 December 1986, coming in at a whopping 80 minutes! The opening sequence has been amended to feature different music videos, and I think that I am right in saying that this was the final edition until May 1987.

I also think that this was the final edition to feature the sludge green-coloured captions, and the rather impenetrable HUD graphics. There were a few awards, along with the charts of the year. First off is Best New Act, which goes to The Housemartins. The fourth best band in Hull did indeed have a great year, including the chart-topping “Caravan Of Love”. Then it’s the Dance Chart, which has to be among my favourites.

Played are Billy Ocean’s “When The Go And Get Stuffed”, Janet Jackson’s “What Have You Done For Me Lately”, Gwen Guthrie’s “Ain’t Nothin’ Goin’ On But The Rent”, and Number One is Cameo with “Word Up”. Great songs all. Best Foreign Video goes to Prince with “Kiss”. Next is the Heavy Metal Chart, a genre that I am not hugely interested in.

Played are AC/DC, Iron Maiden, Van Halen, and Number One is Bon Jovi. After the break, The One That Got Away is Inxs with “What You Need”. They would eventually break through to the big time though. Then it’s the Album Chart. Played are Run DMC’s “Walk This Way” (which was on “Now 8” when compilations were still on the main chart), Madonna’s “Open Your Heart” (from “True Blue”), and the Number One is Dire Straits with “Brothers In Arms” (“Money For Nothing” is played). You play the guitar on The Chart Show.

The Worst Video Of The Year goes to “Rage Hard” by Frankie Goes To Hollywood. A little harsh perhaps, but their return was considered to be rather disappointing, and couldn’t live up to the hype. The Indie Chart is next. Played are We’ve Got A Fuzzbox And We’re Gonna Use It’s “Rules And Regulations”, The Mission’s “Serpent’s Kiss”, Erasure’s (of course) “Sometimes” (“Vince used to be in Yazoo”), and Number One is The Smiths with “Panic”.

Next is a 1987 Preview. Big things are predicted for new singles by Thrashing Doves, Eric Clapton, and World Party. On to part three, and Best Reggae goes to Smiley Culture. Then it’s the Network Chart Top 20. Yes, 20! These are the biggest hits of the year. Played are Wham’s “The Edge Of Heaven”, Falco’s “Rock Me Amadeus”, The Communards’ “Don’t Leave Me This Way” (Number 2 on this chart, but actually the biggest-seller of the year), Doctor And The Medics’ “Spirit In The Sky”, and Diana Ross’s “Chain Reaction”.

But the Number One is Nick Berry with “Every Loser Wins”, an all-time classic if ever there was one. Then there’s another 1987 Preview, with Heaven 17 (they were still going?), Europe, Was Not Was, and Swing Out Sister. Finally, The Best Video Of The Year is revealed, which maybe not too surprisingly is “Sledgehammer” by Peter Gabriel. Well done, Peter.

More TV Memories – The Chart Show 1987 Special.

The Chart Show 1987 Special (Channel 4, 1987)

This is another The Chart Show end-of-year special, back in the days when this was shown on Channel 4. This was a longer than usual edition, featuring the Top Tens of the year in the five main charts that featured at the time, with a few awards as well. I’m not sure of the exact date that this was shown, but obviously it would be around December 1987/January 1988.

We begin with the Best New Act award, which goes to Wet Wet Wet, who narrowly beat Rick Astley. And then we have the Dance chart of the year. There is no video to “I Found Lovin'” by The Fatback Band, so the opening sequence to the Dance chart is shown again, but with an additional girl spinning on a ball whilst playing the cymbals, who was never seen before or since, how strange.

The videos that are played are by Living In A Box, Madonna, Levert, and Whitney Houston. The Number One is by Rick Astley, who isn’t played which gives a hint that we might be seeing some more of him later on. Then there is Best Foreign Video, which goes to Crowded House. Next is the Heavy Metal chart (which hadn’t been renamed Rock yet).

Played are Kiss, Whitesnake, Def Leppard, and the Number One by Heart. And then, almost half-an-hour into the show, we get the first advert break! Then we have The One That Got Away, which is by Inxs, although I get the feeling that they will have a big hit in this country eventually. Then we go on to the Albums chart. This was when compilations were still in the main chart, before being placed into a chart of its own.

Played are Terence Trent D’Arby (featured on the compilation “Hits 6”), Michael Jackson, Paul Simon, and the Number One is “The Joshua Tree” by U2. Next is the Worst Video of the year, which goes to Anita Dobson with “Talking Of Love”. This really is rather rotten. The runners-up were Sheena Easton and Samantha Fox. Next we go on into the Indie chart.

Played are The Sugarcubes (a song in Icelandic by a band barely anybody had heard of at the time being shown on Channel 4 in primetime is rather remarkable), Erasure, Nina Simone, and the Number One by M/A/R/R/S. Then there’s a preview of some videos coming in 1988, and the next advert break. The Tip For 1988 is REM, just ahead of Big Pig and The La’s. Again, give them a few more years and they’ll reach the top.

Finally, there’s the Top Ten singles of the year. Played are The Bee Gees, Starship, Curiosity Killed The Cat, Bruce Willis, and the Number One is indeed Rick Astley. After another 1988 preview (including Bananarama), the Best Video of the year is revealed as “True Faith” by New Order, a worthy winner. The runners-up were “Faith” by George Michael, and “Don’t Dream It’s Over” by Crowded House.

More TV Memories – The Chart Show 1996 Special.

The Chart Show 1996 Special (ITV, 1996)

This is the end of year special of The Chart Show that was shown on 28 December 1996, taking a look back at the biggest hits of the year. This was the first special after the big relaunch in May, and I found some of the graphics and sounds (“music” might not be the right word in this case) rather eerie at times. This was also sponsored by Twix in some of the most blatant product placement that I have ever seen. I wonder how they got away with their name appearing so big in the opening and closing sequences?

I think that this was the final edition to be sponsored by Twix after about 3½ years too. The first of the awards is Best Solo Artist, which is won by Louise, who had left Eternal the previous year, and she would go on to have hits on her own for a while yet. Also featuring throughout is Star Choice, where various pop stars reveal their favourite videos of the year (as part of the 1996 relaunch, brief interviews would be featured).

Then we have the Top Ten of The Best Videos Of The Year (this had been done as a Top Ten since the 1993 special). This just seems to be calculated by a few votes by the production team in the office (a more thorough poll was taken for the 1997 special when viewers were invited to vote via email). Among those played are “Something For The Weekend” by The Divine Comedy, “Everything Must Go” by Manic Street Preachers, and “The Day We Caught The Train” by Ocean Colour Scene.

But the winner, and seemingly by some margin, is “Virtual Insanity” by Jamiroquai. Next is Best Indie Video, although there are no equivalents for Rock and Dance curiously. The winner is “On A Rope” by Rocket From The Crypt. Then, there are more Star Choices. Next is Best New Act, which inevitably goes to Spice Girls. Even though they only came on to the scene in July, they dominated the pop music scene in 1996, even by this point they seemed to be everywhere.

After another Star Choice, it’s The Worst Video Of The Year, which goes to “I Am A Clown” by Peter Ebdon, the snooker player’s attempt at pop stardom. Then it’s The Biggest Singles Of 1996, which is a Top 20, instead of the usual Top Ten. I don’t know how this was calculated though, as the official chart wasn’t usually used. Played are “Fastlove” By George Michael, and “Cecelia” by Suggs, one of the more unlikely big successes of the year.

Then there are some more Star Choices, including the bloke from Dodgy, who chooses his own song, how great. And finally, Ant And Dec reveal their fondness for The Presidents Of The United States Of America. On we go into the Top Ten of the biggest singles, and played are “Three Lions” by The Lightning Seeds, “Mysterious Girl” by Peter Andre (eventually a chart-topper in 2004, it’s a long story), “Killing Me Softly” by The Fugees, and “Wannabe”, by Spice Girls.

It seems rather unlikely that anybody could’ve outsold that one, but it seems that they did, and the winner, by a rather small margin, is “Return Of The Mack” by Mark Morrison. And we end with a Sneak Preview of a video that’s sure to be a hit in 1997, and it’s by East 17. This turned out to be their final hit single with this line-up, as although they didn’t know it yet they were rather spectacularly about to split, but that’s a story for another year…

The YouTube Files – Rewind.

Rewind (Channel 4, 1986)

This is yet another rather curious moment in British TV. I always enjoyed watching The Chart Show over the years, as this was where music videos were shown, and lots of groups were given their brief moment of exposure. But its success almost didn’t happen, because about two months after the launch, this was rather abruptly taken off the screen by Channel 4.

In June 1986, the British Phonographic Industry’s agreement with broadcasters on the payment of music in videos had come to an end. The Musician’s Union also got involved, and this ended up affecting things rather badly, as essentially they were unable to show many videos. Their pioneering idea had been scuppered by record industry politics.

Channel 4 had little choice but to pull The Chart Show until this was resolved, which resulted in the awkward situation of a hole in the Friday evening schedule. The short-notice replacement was Rewind, a new show that was made by the same production team, which instead of music videos, featured live studio performances from groups that were taken from shows in the Channel 4 archive, including Ear Say and Switch.

As usual, there was no host, and everything was linked by computer-generated graphics. There were a lot performances shown, and they were all assigned numbers (such as E7 or N1), as if they were being selected on a jukebox. This meant that there was a lot of rewinding and fast-forwarding through the choices. There would be no HUD offering extra information though, and there were no references to what was happening on the current Top 40 chart either.

The captions were still a sludge-green colour, but in a more legible font than usual. Another notable thing was that the production team’s names in the credits appeared as anagrams. Rewind ended up filling the gap for about seven or eight weeks, when in August 1986 an agreement with the BPI had finally been made. The Chart Show then returned to the screen, and ended up running for another 12 years.

The YouTube Files – 35 Years Of The Chart Show.

This piece is late because the actual 35th anniversary was in April, but I wanted to take another look back at The Chart Show, as some of the earliest editions turned up online recently. The Chart Show was originally shown on Channel 4 on Friday afternoons, and famously had no hosts, with everything being introduced by computer graphics that were impressive for the time (Top Of The Pops launched their first computer-generated opening sequence around the same time, I wonder if it was a response to this, or a coincidence).

It is always interesting seeing the early days of a show before it is properly defined and settles down into a regular format, and it is clear from these editions that there were too many charts mixed in with some bizarre choices for exclusive videos, although at least it gave some lesser-known acts their three minutes of TV fame. At this point as well as the familiar Heavy Metal (later Rock), Indie, and Dance Charts, there is much more.

These include the Reggae Chart, and the Euro Singles Chart, which featured the biggest hits across Europe, including Sandra, a German singer who never really found fame in the UK, and Stephanie (“is this a duff video or what?”). Then there’s the Compact Disc Chart (albums sold on CD) and The Music Video Chart (compilations of videos and concerts released on VHS).

Then there was the UK Hits In The USA Chart, featuring some successful acts during what was called “The Second British Invasion”. One played was “Addicted To Love” by Robert Palmer that was indeed a chart-topper in America (“can you believe the follow-up to this video is just as bad!”), which in the final edition on ITV in 1998 was rather oddly claimed to be the first video ever shown, when it was actually about halfway through the fourth edition (that honour goes to “What You Need” by Inxs).

And then there was the Network Album Chart, and The Chart File (later Chart File Update), which once featured Cherry Bombz, a rock group fronted by Anita, who used to be in Toto Coelo. Er, yes. The exclusive videos (called Video Reveal at this point) were a rather odd mix, including “World Domination” by The Belle Stars (“these girls used to be shy until they started using hair gel”), the failed attempt to reinvent themselves as a trio (that doesn’t even feature on their best-of).

And there was even Tom Watt (who was best-known at the time as Lofty off EastEnders) and his baffling take on Bob Dylan’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues”, where we are informed that “members of The Fall and New Order appear in this vid” and “a big hi to Dick Robins from all at The Chart Show!”. No idea what this was all about, but I’m sure it went down well at his local The Queen Vic.

The show didn’t conclude with The Top Ten, but The Network Chart, showing us some of the hits currently on the up (and not using the official chart like Top Of The Pops did), and The Chart Race, where you had to write in and predict where a few songs would enter the chart. Add to all this the famous video recorder-style graphics, some sludgy-green captions, and the HUD that told us facts that wasn’t on the screen long enough and almost impossible to read anyway.

And then, in June 1986, after barely two months, The Chart Show was rather abruptly cancelled by Channel 4, and replaced by Rewind. Wait, what? Well, there was a return eventually of course, but lots of ideas tried out in the early days were dropped quickly, with the majority of the extra charts featured gone by the end of 1986, and the more familiar format that would run for another 12 years began to take shape.

A Return To The Mysterious World Of Danielle Dax.

As it’s the 60th birthday of Danielle Dax (yes, really), I thought that I would take the opportunity to have another look at her interesting career. Think of this piece as a sort-of deluxe extended version of the one that I did on here about a year ago, as I have found out some more things. Although it won’t ever be 100% comprehensive, I have tried to put together some more information that is worth sharing about Danielle’s TV appearances and magazine interviews in the 80s and early-90s. 

pre-1983: Danielle started her music career in a group called The Lemon Kittens who made three albums, “Spoonfed And Writhing” (1979), “We Buy A Hammer For Daddy” (1980), and “The Big Dentist” (1982). The earliest magazine interview that I have found with Danielle is from Sounds as early as January 1981. She then decided to launch a solo career…

1983: Around this time Danielle performed regularly at the Batcave club in London, and in June she was featured in an article in No. 1 magazine checking out the current goth scene. 

In October Danielle appeared on BBC2’s Riverside‘s Halloween special in what I presume is her first TV appearance to perform “Pariah”. When I found this on YouTube I was very surprised by her striking look of heavy make-up and bright red waist-length hair. It was a remarkable moment, and it is definitely one of my favourite songs by her. When I searched for Danielle on the BBC Genome, this was her earliest mention. I thought that it was good for her to get a namecheck in Radio Times.

I then found the page on a Twitter account that uploads old Radio Times pages, and I was very surprised to discover that there was also a picture of Danielle. Radio Times was Britain’s biggest-selling magazine at this time, I never expected her to feature. I even went so far as to buy this Radio Times online, and then I scanned the picture to feature in my first piece. I still get pleased when I see it appear in an online image search for Danielle, hopefully seeing the picture has brought more people wanting to find out about her career to my site. Also in this year Danielle’s first solo album “Pop-Eyes” was released. 

1984: Danielle appeared in horror film The Company Of Wolves (shown on BBC2 in December 1993 and November 1997, and BBC1 in September 1996), it was a shame that she wasn’t in more films, as it was a memorable performance. In November Danielle had what I’m fairly sure is her one and only reference in Smash Hits. There is a video on YouTube of Danielle performing “Bed Caves” in Holland, I’m not sure what year it’s from but it seems to be from around this time. In December Danielle performed “Hammerheads” on Channel 4’s The Tube. Also in this year her second solo album “Jesus Egg That Wept” was released. 

1985: Some more of Danielle’s TV appearances have turned up on YouTube since my last piece. Firstly, a performance of “Evil Honky Stomp” on TV in Norway… 

…and a performance of “Yummer Yummer Man” on TV in France. She definitely travelled around the world a lot. Danielle was also interviewed in NME, although I’m fairly sure that she never appeared on the cover of a music magazine in the UK, but she did also feature in a few fanzines. 

1986: There is a video on YouTube of Danielle’s concert at a small club in Switzerland, featuring performances of “Evil Honky Stomp”, “Hammerheads”, and “Pariah”. The compilation album “Up Amongst The Golden Spires” was also released in this year. 

In November Danielle was interviewed in No. 1 magazine talking about her spooky observations on life. So there was a picture of Danielle in No. 1 but not Smash Hits? Maybe No. 1 wasn’t such a bad magazine after all. 

1987: I thought that I would try and find out the exact date of when Danielle’s concert at the Camden Palace in September 1985 was shown on TV (as part of the Live From London series). It seems that it was planned to be shown on LWT in May at 1am just before closedown, but then it was postponed (I’m not sure why), and it was eventually shown in June (only in the LWT region I think). It has been released on DVD. There is also an hour-long concert of Danielle in Tokyo that was shown on Japanese TV online. Another compilation album “The Chemical Wedding” was released. 

Danielle never appeared on BBC1’s Top Of The Pops, but in July her video for “Big Hollow Man” was shown on The Chart Show on Channel 4, along with some facts that insisted that Danielle was huge in Japan. The video was also featured on the Indie Chart but it wasn’t played. She also performed this on TV in Germany. Also in this year Danielle’s third solo album “Inky Bloaters” was released. 
In December Danielle appeared on ITV’s Night Network to review the latest singles along with snooker star Steve Davis. I found an interview online where Danielle was asked what it was like to meet Steve, and she said that he was great, and he also phoned her granddad to say hello which made his day. Well my life was definitely enhanced for learning that piece of information. 

1988: In April the video for “Cathouse” was featured on The Chart Show‘s Indie Chart and Chart File Update (it was also Single Of The Week in Sounds). This led to more interviews in various magazines including Record Mirror and NME (with a picture in colour!). “Cathouse” is also Danielle’s most viewed video on YouTube with about 356,000 views. Another compilation album “Dark Adapted Eye” was also released. 

1989: It seems that around this time Danielle was beginning to be pushed in the American market a little more, and she signed to a major label. An article appeared about her in Billboard magazine where she was described as “one woman with the imaginative bravery to break loose”.

In April the video to “White Knuckle Ride” was played on The ITV Chart Show‘s Indie Chart. This video was the first time that I came across Danielle’s music while I was watching some old clips of The ITV Chart Show on YouTube, and I presumed that as much as I liked the song she was just some random here today/gone tomorrow indie woman trying to have a go, but it turned out that I was totally wrong about that. 

In July Danielle was interviewed by the computer on Channel 4’s Star Test. Although she was often portrayed as somewhat eccentric and mysterious (as Radio Times memorably put it), many people have commented that on this show she does come across as rather sensible and grounded, offering some interesting answers. I’m not really sure what motivated her to take part (apart from having a single to promote of course), but I’m glad she did. 

1990: A video was made for “Tomorrow Never Knows”, a cover of The Beatles song (I don’t know if this one was shown on The ITV Chart Show though). Also in this year Danielle’s fourth and final solo album “Blast The Human Flower” was released, which might have been a final attempt to have some commercial success. However, despite good reviews from critics the album seemed to fall into the Catch-22 of being too unusual to be mainstream, but too mainstream to be unusual. 

1991: I couldn’t find much for this year, apart from a few concert pictures, and a magazine article about Danielle visiting a radio station in America where she was described as a “sultry siren”. Unfortunately, this was around the time that Danielle left the music business, despite much praise from critics and fans, her hard work over the past decade and unique approach to music had brought her no hits. There isn’t much known about what she did next, even her official website has little information about her career post-1991, but here’s a few things that I have found out.

post-1991: Danielle’s most high-profile release since “Blast The Human Flower” has been the 1995 best-of “Comatose Non-Reaction”, which was released on her own record label Biter Of Thorpe. Isn’t it about time that all her albums were re-released in a big nice shiny boxset? I’d buy it. Away from music, Danielle has worked as a home and garden designer, and in May 1997 she appeared on BBC2’s Home Front and won their design competition. This edition hasn’t turned up on YouTube, I would very much like to see it, if anyone does upload it I will be your friend.

Also around the late-90s there were various shows about home design on ITV including Des Res and Our House, and it seems that Danielle might have contributed to these too (again I think these were only shown in the Carlton/LWT region), along with various magazine articles about her design work. I have also seen people say that Danielle was on the team of various TV makeover shows including BBC1’s Changing Rooms and ITV1’s 60 Minute Makeover, but again I don’t know if that’s right.

This all leads to when I found an article online about Danielle doing a small-time gig (her first for a very long time) about a year or two ago at a club in Dalston in London, which is only about a mile from where I live, I was very surprised to say the least. The article also featured some pictures of Danielle on stage, the first that I’ve seen of her for about 25 years, and she now seems to have bright blue hair and big red lips, and I couldn’t help but think that she looked like Stormer from 80s cartoon Jem. 

You’ll never believe what Danielle Dax looks like now!

I should conclude by saying that I have noticed that many people still seem to have a lot of admiration and fondness for Danielle’s work, and although I only really discovered her myself about a year or two ago, I can clearly see why. And the amount of times that I’ve seen people say “she should’ve been bigger than Madonna” and regret that it didn’t work out for her is remarkable. Thanks for lots of great memories!

The YouTube Files – The Spooky World Of Shakespear’s Sister Part 2.

Here’s a question for you. Who holds the record for having the longest-running Number One single by an all-female group in UK chart history? Little Mix? All Saints maybe? It’s got to be the Spice Girls hasn’t it? Well actually it’s none of those, it’s Shakespear’s Sister. Everyone who enters the music business must hope that they can write that once in a lifetime song that will bring them fame and fortune, and it appears that they had done it with “Stay”, so it became the second single to be released off the second album. 

There was little indication of what was to come when “Stay” entered the singles chart at a modest no. 27 in January 1992, actually one place lower than “You’re History” did in 1989. One of their earliest performances of the song was on Jonathan Ross’s Channel 4 show. But what really gave the song a boost was when the video started to be shown on TV. People were stunned by Marcella’s emotion and Siobhan’s rather crazed performance as they battled it out somewhere in space. “I Heard A Rumour” it ain’t. It is remarkable to think that Siobhan successfully left her girl group days behind and became a terrific goth rocker, what a transformation! 

What would the public’s response to all this be? They wouldn’t go anywhere near all this strangeness, wouldn’t they? Well incredibly… they loved it. “Stay” spent eight consecutive weeks at Number One and ended up as the fourth biggest-selling single of 1992 in the UK, behind “I Will Always Love You”, “Rhythm Is A Dancer”, and “Would I Lie To You”, and it was the fourth longest-running UK Number One single of the 1990s decade, behind “Everything I Do (I Do It For You)”, “Love Is All Around”, and “I Will Always Love You”. “Stay” also made the Top Five in the US and was featured on “Now 21”. “Stay” was also one of two 1990s UK Number One singles co-written by Siobhan, the other one was 1993’s “Young At Heart” by The Bluebells. It still stirs feelings in me 25 years later and to think that all of this actually happened and it wasn’t all a dream I had really is terrific. 

In February 1992 the second album “Hormonally Yours” was released which reached no. 3 and spent over a year on the chart. They were now one of the biggest bands around. But how do you follow “Stay”? In May 1992 the next single “I Don’t Care” was released which reached no. 7, becoming their third and final Top Ten hit single. This was another terrific song accompanied by a classic video, the highlight being the moment when Siobhan’s head appears on a theatre stage to recite a nonsense poem from the 19th century. They don’t make them like that any more. 

It’s very difficult to pick my favourite single by them, but “I Don’t Care” is definitely up there with the best. They also performed this on Top Of The Pops, American TV’s The Late Show With David Letterman, and best of all, BBC1’s Bruce’s Guest Night, an entertainment show hosted by Bruce Forsyth. I’m sure that he was a big fan. In June 1992 they performed in front of a huge crowd on the Pyramid Stage at the Glastonbury festival. 

In July 1992 “Goodbye Cruel World” was given a second chance, and this time it did make the Top 40, reaching no. 32. Around this time Siobhan was interviewed live on TV-am by Lorraine Kelly. They were also interviewed on CBBC’s The O Zone and performed on Parallel 9. It seems that they didn’t make many children’s TV appearances, but to discover that they appeared on the first series of Parallel 9 which is one of my favourite Saturday Morning shows is something of a dream double. Also around this time they appeared on the cover of The Face magazine. 

In November 1992 the next single “Hello (Turn Your Radio On)” was released, which reached no. 14. This is a song that’s so downbeat as to make “Stay” seem a right old knees-up by comparison. Once again, it had an eye-catching video and they really were making songs that sounded like no-one else on the scene at the time. Around this time they appeared on BBC2’s Later With Jools Holland and they were also scheduled to play at the Royal Albert Hall which would have been their most high-profile concert to date, but Siobhan pulled out and it was cancelled. Also in 1992 a VHS was released containing the videos for the singles from “Hormonally Yours”. 

In December 1992 they performed at the Smash Hits Poll Winners’ Party live on BBC1 at the Olympia Arena. Siobhan looked rather exhausted and unhappy, performing “Stay” for what must have felt like the 500th time, it had been a relentless year for them, they had successfully toured around the world and crowds always enjoyed them, and they were hardly ever off MTV, but there were rumours growing around this time that Siobhan and Marcella no longer enjoyed working with one another. Indeed, this would turn out to be their final performance together. 

In February 1993 the final single off the album which had been milked somewhat by that point was an EP featuring “My 16th Apology”, “Catwoman”, their cover of T-Rex’s “Hot Love”, and a live version of “Dirty Mind” which reached no. 61. There were no new videos as such. The video for “My 16th Apology” was compiled from highlights and outtakes from the other second album videos, and the “Catwoman” video was a compilation of some live performances. They also performed “Hot Love” alongside Tom Jones on his ITV music show The Right Time. Also around this time was the memorable parody by French And Saunders. 

Also in February 1993, they won the Brit Award for Best Video for “Stay”, could any other video have won it? Marcella accepted the award at the ceremony shown on ITV, but Siobhan was absent. In May 1993, they won an Ivor Novello award for their songwriting work on “Hormonally Yours”. Again, Marcella made an acceptance speech. An announcement was then made on Siobhan’s behalf (who was absent again) that Marcella was leaving the band. This was the first that she had heard of it, essentially meaning that she was sacked live on stage. Marcella was reported to be unhappy with how her departure was handled, and went off to resume her solo career. Siobhan and Marcella haven’t seen or spoken to one another since. 

In April 1993 Siobhan contributed a guest vocal to “Walk Into The Wind”, a song by Vegas, a duo consisting of her husband Dave Stewart and her old Fun Boy Three mate Terry Hall, it reached no. 65. A video was made and they also performed this live on Channel 4’s Saturday Zoo. And at the end of 1993 the video for “Stay” was parodied by the Christmas Number One by Mr Blobby! 

In March 1994 Marcella’s second solo album “Jewel” was released which reached no. 15. Also in 1994 she had hit singles with “I Believe” (no. 11, which she also performed on BBC1’s Pebble Mill and Top Of The Pops), “Ain’t Nothing Like The Real Thing”, (no. 24, a duet with Elton John), and “I’m No Angel” (no. 33). In June 1994 Shakespear’s Sister were imitated on ITV’s Stars In Their Eyes. 

In 1994 Siobhan contributed “Prehistoric Daze” to the soundtrack of the first film of The Flintstones, so if you’ve ever wanted to hear her say “yabba-dabba-doo” then it was good news for you. She also appeared on a short musical film called Jiggery Pokery which was directed by Sophie Muller and was shown on BBC2 a couple of years later in a post-midnight slot. 

In July 1994 Marcella appeared as a panellist on BBC1’s Pop Quiz alongside Jarvis Cocker and Chesney Hawkes. She also appeared on CITV’s Saturday Morning show Gimme 5 to promote “I’m No Angel” where she got more than she was expecting. First of all she spoke to our old friend Nobby The Sheep, and then played Tweak The Beak. I do remember this game, but I didn’t realise that she had played it. She failed to get the answers right and the end result was that she was gunged. I suppose it was good that she was game but she looked so embarrassed. That’s the perils of live children’s TV, you go on the show to promote your single and you end up being interviewed by a puppet sheep and having green stuff thrown over you. She probably sacked her management afterwards. 

In June 1996, with Shakespear’s Sister now a solo project again, Siobhan finally returned with what was planned to be the first single from the third album “I Can Drive”, which reached no. 30. She performed this song on various shows including Top Of The Pops, Channel 4’s TFI Friday, and Richard And Judy’s prime-time show on ITV. I also remember watching the video on The Chart Show and it really was great seeing Siobhan back on the scene doing her thing again. Unfortunately the label weren’t too impressed with the content of the third album “#3” and refused to realise it. At this point a somewhat disillusioned Siobhan decided to bring the project to an end. 

Marcella released some more singles in the mid-90s which made a minor impact on the chart, “Perfect World” (1995, no. 100), “I Hate You Now…” (1996, no. 96), and “Boy” (1996, no. 83), followed in September 1996 by her third solo album “Feeler” which didn’t chart. In November 1996 Marcella appeared as a panellist on BBC2’s comedy music show Never Mind The Buzzcocks, and in December 1996 she appeared in two episodes of BBC1 sitcom Absolutely Fabulous. 

Siobhan and Marcella have gone to release many more interesting singles and albums separately in the 20+ years after 1996. Of course I have already told the story of when I discovered that Siobhan lived in the same part of London as me and invited Keren and Sara round her house here one night a few years ago for a party which led to their reunion, I almost fainted when I found out. One thing’s for sure though, Siobhan won’t be inviting Marcella round for a cup of coffee any time soon. Reading that story reminded me how much I enjoyed Shakespear’s Sister and it made me want to discover more extrovert women who made quirky records in the 80s and 90s, leading me to do the pieces about Alisha’s Attic, Danielle Dax, Fuzzbox, Shampoo and Strawberry Switchblade that I really enjoyed putting together, their stories are worth telling and they all deserve more acclaim for their contribution to pop music over the years.

The YouTube Files – The Spooky World Of Shakespear’s Sister Part 1.

After writing about Shakespear’s Sister a lot on here, I have decided to do a piece looking back at their career. Not only did they make some great records, but their rise to fame was an incredible story. It’s similar to what happened to Strawberry Switchblade who I wrote about on here recently, they were also a female duo with a distinctive look who suddenly found success which caused tension between the pair of them, but this all happened to Shakespear’s Sister on a much larger scale.

In 1988 Siobhan Fahey (born in Dublin in 1958) left the successful pop group Bananarama to work on a new solo project. After a while she was joined by the American singer/songwriter Marcy Levy (born in Detroit in 1952) and they made an intriguing double act. Marcella had already been in the music business for a long time, working alongside the likes of Eric Clapton in the 1970s, having a US hit single in a duet with Robin Gibb in 1980, and releasing her first solo album “Marcella” in 1982, although this wasn’t a success. This will be a look back at some of their various TV appearances and music videos on YouTube from 1988-1996 and it will be in two parts. 

It all started so quietly. In October 1988 the first single the double A-side “Break My Heart (You Really)”/”Heroine” was released, but it wasn’t a hit. All of the videos from this era (with the exception of “Dirty Mind”) were directed by the award-winning Sophie Muller, and they were all marvellous, with a lot of hard work put in to make sure that their image was as striking as their sound. At this point it seemed highly unlikely that Siobhan would transform into someone trying to beat Siouxsie Sioux at her own game but that’s how it turned out. One of Siobhan’s earliest TV appearances talking about her new project was on ITV’s Night Network where she was interviewed by Pat Sharp’s mate Mick Brown. 

Also around the end of 1988 a 15-minute film was made of their visit to the USSR which featured some bizarre behind the scenes action along with performances live on stage in Leningrad of “Dirty Mind” and “Heroine” (where Siobhan looked uncannily like Jessie J oddly). 

In July 1989 the big breakthrough came when “You’re History” became their first Top Ten hit single, reaching no. 7, and leading to their first appearances on Top Of The Pops and The Chart Show. This was the first video to feature Marcella who was now a full-time member and by this point she had changed her surname to the city of her birth. What was noted by many people was the contrast between Siobhan’s low voice (her vocal style was once described by Q magazine as “honking from the bowels of Hades”) and Marcella’s high voice. 

Also in July 1989 Siobhan appeared as a guest on Channel 4’s Star Test. This was a great  show so it’s very good to know that Siobhan once sat in the chair to be interviewed by the disembodied voice. She revealed some interesting things about herself including the first single that she ever bought was “Ain’t No Sunshine” by Michael Jackson, she does believe in ghosts, and she is totally fascinated by world events. When asked to promote “You’re History”, she said that making the video was “a scream to do”, and concluded “it’s fabulous actually, I just love it”. 

In September 1989 the first album “Sacred Heart” was released which reached no. 9. In October 1989 the next single “Run Silent” was released which reached no. 54, and the video was shown on The ITV Chart Show. It was also around this time that Siobhan appeared on the cover of music magazines Record Mirror and Smash Hits, where we were given a chance to enter her spooky world. A VHS containing the videos of the singles from “Sacred Heart” (plus the Russian film) was released in 1989. 

In March 1990 the final single from the first album “Dirty Mind” was released, but it reached a rather disappointing no. 71. This was a remixed version which was totally different to what was on the album and it featured a rap from Marcella! Also in 1990 they were nominated for a Brit Award in the Best British Newcomer category, but they didn’t win. 

When work began on the second album “Hormonally Yours”, they must have decided although they had done well they wanted to take their success to the next level. Some of the album’s songs and videos were influenced by the unintentionally bad low-budget 1953 science-fiction film Cat-Women Of The Moon. There was a song that was beginning to stand out and look like it had the best chance to finally take them into the upper end of the chart. Siobhan didn’t want this song to be released as a single though, saying that she felt that it wasn’t representative of the band’s sound as a whole (and possibly because it the only song where Marcella took the lead vocal). So instead, the first single off the second album was chosen to be “Goodbye Cruel World”. 

In October 1991 “Goodbye Cruel World” was released and it was accompanied by another great video that was influenced by such classic films as Sunset Boulevard and Whatever Happened To Baby Jane? and featured some marvellous acting by Siobhan. It was also 1991’s Best Video Of The Year on The ITV Chart Show. However, it didn’t get the second album off to the high-profile start that they wanted and it only reached no. 59. 

After this setback, it was at this point that the decision was made that they would now have to release this song with potential as the second single off the album, they were practically sat on a Number One single and it was felt that people would enjoy it and it would finally bring them huge success, but Siobhan was still rather reluctant. Would this song revive their faltering career? Well as we’ll discover in part two, at the beginning of 1992, a phenomenon was born…

The YouTube Files – The Cathy Dennis Story.

Time for a look back at another pop star’s career. Cathy Dennis was born in Norwich in March 1969, she made a lot of great dance-pop records (most of which she wrote herself) and she also had a distinctive bright red hairstyle. Unlike others that I have reviewed on here recently, Cathy never had a look or sound that was particularly “weird”, but as far as mainstream pop stars go she is one of my favourites, I remember enjoying a lot of her singles from first time round in the early-90s and she was one of the earliest singers that I became a fan of, and my memories of seeing her on TV and in magazines now go back over 25 years so I wanted to share her story. Although Cathy was never really an A-list pop star in this country, she was popular and had success around the world, particularly in America. This will be a piece looking back at her 13 hit singles in the UK from 1989-1997 and her various TV appearances and music videos on YouTube. In October 1989 Cathy had her first hit single with the dance act D-Mob (of “We Call It Acieed” and “It Is Time To Get Funky” fame) as the lead vocalist on their single “C’Mon And Get My Love” which reached no. 15, and she made her first of ten appearances on BBC1’s Top Of The Pops. This was also Cathy’s first of four Top Ten hits in the US, I was surprised to discover that she had more Top Ten singles in the US than she did in the UK. In December 1989 Cathy’s first solo single “Just Another Dream” was first released which reached no. 93. 

In April 1990 Cathy’s second single with D-Mob “That’s The Way Of The World” was released, but this was less successful, reaching no. 48. In November 1990 “Just Another Dream” was released for a second time, this time reaching no. 95. 

1991 would turn out to be Cathy’s most successful year. In May 1991 “Touch Me (All Night Long)” was released. This was a cover version of the 1984 disco classic by Fonda Rae (with some rewritten lyrics). I am a real fan of both versions and I would have to say that this is my favourite single by Cathy and the one that really got me into her. Cathy put a lot of hard work into promoting her songs and “Touch Me” became her most successful single, reaching no. 5 to become her only Top Ten hit single in the UK. It was also her second Top Ten hit in the US and her biggest, spending two weeks at no. 2. Cathy also performed this song on Top Of The Pops and CITV’s Ghost Train! Also in May 1991 Cathy appeared on the cover of Smash Hits, everything was going right for her. 

In July 1991 it was third time lucky for “Just Another Dream” when it finally became a hit single, reaching no. 15 in the UK, and it was Cathy’s third Top Ten single in the US. It was accompanied by a new video and appearances on CBBC’s The 8:15 From Manchester and Top Of The Pops. In August 1991 Cathy’s first album “Move To This” was released in the UK which reached no. 3. 

In October 1991 the next single “Too Many Walls” was released which reached no. 17 in the UK and was her fourth and final Top Ten hit in the US. She also performed this song on BBC1’s Wogan and Top Of The Pops, and the video was featured on the “Now 20” VHS compilation. One notable thing about the TOTP performance was that it was just after the relaunch of the long-running show where a rule was introduced that performers had to sing live, and she definitely impressed and showed off her voice. Also in October 1991 she appeared on the cover of Number One magazine. 

I know I am bringing it back to Bid TV again but I remember watching Andy Hodgson one day about a decade ago when he said that when he was working at a local radio station he once met Cathy around the time she was promoting “Too Many Walls”. It was just nice to hear someone talking about her on the TV again and it was good to discover that he was a fan too. Also in October 1991 Cathy performed at the Smash Hits Poll Winners’ Party live on BBC1 from the London Arena. I’m fairly sure that my sister went to this one, so she has seen Cathy perform live on stage and I haven’t? Pah! 

In December 1991 the final single off the first album “Everybody Move” was released which reached no. 25, and it was accompanied by an amusing video. She performed this song on Des O’Connor’s ITV show, along with yet another Top Of The Pops appearance. Also in December 1991 Cathy appeared on the cover of Time Out magazine. 

In August 1992 the first single off Cathy’s second album “You Lied To Me” was released which reached no. 34. Also around this time Cathy appeared on the CBBC shows The O Zone and one of my favourites Parallel 9. Also in 1992 there was a big sign that she had made her mark on the pop scene when she was done on ITV’s Stars In Their Eyes! 

In November 1992 the next single “Irresistible” was released which reached no. 24 and there was another Top Of The Pops appearance for Cathy. In the early-90s my sister set the video for a lot of music shows that were shown late-night on ITV. One of them was The Beat which was hosted by Gary Crowley. On one edition that she recorded there was a feature where the latest singles were reviewed, “Irresistible” was one of them, and I remember that Gary said he didn’t like it. I do though! 

In January 1993 Cathy’s second album “Into The Skyline” was released which reached no. 8, and in February 1993 the next single “Falling” was released which reached no. 32. This was accompanied by what has to be Cathy’s strangest video which is rather different to her other ones, it was great. Also in 1993 she appeared in an episode of the US drama series Beverly Hills 90210. 

It was also around this time that one of the more unusual moments in Cathy’s career happened. The computer games magazine Sega Power ran an article in issue 35 about how much they liked her, this led to her being interviewed in issue 38, and issue 40 (dated March 1993) included a free gift of a cassette which featured some of Cathy’s songs including “Falling” plus some messages specially recorded for the magazine of her reading some tips and cheats for various Sega games. This might be something of an in-joke as Cathy does sound a little bemused, presumably this was organised to satisfy the writers who seemingly had a fantasy of her talking about Sonic The Hedgehog while tracks from her new album played in the background. So if you’re a gamer and you’d ever wanted to hear Cathy say things like “press the up button” it was your lucky day. However, it seems that Cathy actually might be into her games because also in 1993 she appeared on Channel 4’s GamesMaster where she tried to complete a computer game challenge by playing Global Gladiators, but she failed and caused the end of the world (in the game at least) which was rather disappointing, much to the amusement of host Dominik Diamond. 

In February 1994 Cathy’s third and final single with D-Mob (and the final single off the second album) “Why” was released which reached no. 27. Along with Top Of The Pops, Cathy also performed this song on CBBC’s Live & Kicking and CITV’s What’s Up Doc. I watched a lot of Saturday Morning children’s TV in the 90s and it was always great seeing Cathy turn up on these shows. 

After releasing no singles in 1995, Cathy returned in August 1996 with the first single from her third album “West End Pad”, which reached no. 25. Cathy also moved away from the dance-pop sound of her early singles. I remember watching the video on The Chart Show, it was great seeing her back on the scene after a couple of years away. Also around this time she appeared on ITV’s This Morning, Channel 4’s The Big Breakfast and CBBC’s Fully Booked and The O Zone where she spoke about her enthusiasm for rally driving (women rally drivers? Insert Alan Partridge/The Day Today reference). In November 1996 Cathy appeared as a panellist on the first series of BBC2’s comedy music show Never Mind The Buzzcocks. In March 1997 the next single “Waterloo Sunset” was released which became her second-biggest hit in the UK, reaching no. 11. This was a cover of the classic 1967 song by The Kinks which was endorsed by the writer of the song Ray Davies who also appeared in the video. Cathy performed this on Top Of The Pops and BBC1’s The National Lottery Live when it had high ratings which helped give the song a boost. Also in March 1997 her third and final album “Am I The Kinda Girl” was released, but it reached a very disappointing no. 78. After performing on several editions, Cathy hosted an edition of Top Of The Pops in May 1997, introducing the likes of Robbie Williams, Kenickie, D:Ream and Republica. In June 1997 Cathy had what turned out to be her final hit single in the UK with “When Dreams Turn To Dust”, which reached no. 43. I remember her appearing on lots of shows around this time to promote this song. One of them was 5’s Company, a live daytime entertainment show in the very early days of Channel 5 where she was interviewed by various hosts including Steve Allen and John Barrowman. 

After leaving her pop star career behind, Cathy went on to become a hugely successful songwriter, writing many hits for a wide variety of singers, and she has contributed to eight UK Number One singles. They are “Never Had A Dream Come True” by S Club 7 (2000), “Can’t Get You Out Of My Head” by Kylie Minogue (2001, widely regarded as one of the best chart-toppers of its era), “Have You Ever” by S Club 7 (2001), “Anything Is Possible” by Will Young (2002), “Toxic” by Britney Spears (2004), “About You Now” by Sugababes (2007), “I Kissed A Girl” by Katy Perry (2008, a transatlantic chart-topper), and “Once” by Diana Vickers” (2010). Cathy has also won several awards including Grammys and Ivor Novellos and her songwriting work has been hugely acclaimed.

The YouTube Files – The Exuberant World Of Fuzzbox.

After looking back at the careers of Danielle Dax and Strawberry Switchblade, I thought to myself are there any more women with strange-coloured hair who made terrifically quirky records in the 1980s… and there are! (We’ve Got A) Fuzzbox (And We’re Gonna Use It) formed in Birmingham in 1985 and originally consisted of frontwoman Vickie “Vix” Perks, along with Jo Dunne (1968-2012), Maggie Dunne and Tina O’Neill. They didn’t have any Top Ten hit singles but they made lots of great songs which brightened up pop music in the mid/late-80s. This is a piece telling their story through their various TV appearances and music videos on YouTube (plus some magazine covers) from 1986-1990. 

In April 1986 they had their first hit single, an EP featuring “Rules And Regulations”, “XX Sex”, “Do I Want To?”, and “She” which reached no. 41. They made one of their earliest TV appearances on a show in Belgium. This consisted of an interview where they were sat on the floor, followed by oddly-framed performances of “She” and “XX Sex” where one of them was up a ladder and another one was down a hole. 

Before I started putting this piece together, I would never have had any idea that they appeared on TV in Belgium, never mind it being as odd as this, YouTube really is the gift that keeps on giving. And also, if my maths is correct it seems that most of them including Vickie would only have been 17 years old at the time of this performance, and I didn’t realise that they started out as young as that. 

Also around this time the video for “Rules And Regulations” was played on the first-ever Indie Chart on Channel 4’s The Chart Show, and they were also interviewed on CITV’s Splash and CBBC’s Lift Off, as we’ll discover they seemed to be very fond of appearing on children’s TV shows. Also around this time they appeared on BBC2’s Whistle Test where they were described by Radio Times as “exuberant” and performed a couple of songs including their cover of “Spirit In The Sky”. 

In May 1986 they appeared on the cover of music magazines Record Mirror and Melody Maker. Fame at last!  

In July 1986 they took part in the single “Rockin’ With Rita (Head To Toe)” as part of the Vindaloo Summer Special, a supergroup consisting of various acts on that record label which reached no. 56. They performed this on CITV’s Razzmatazz, part of the 1980s Tyne Tees music show trilogy along with The Tube and The Roxy, and afterwards they were interviewed by David Jensen. Also around this time they played at the Glastonbury festival. 

In November 1986 their next single was released which became their first Top 40 hit, another EP featuring “Love Is The Slug”, “Console Me”, “Spirit In The Sky”, and “Justine”. It reached no. 31 and earned them their first mention on Top Of The Pops! 

They also performed “Love Is The Slug” on TV-am’s Wide Awake Club, where they were then interviewed by Tommy Boyd as Garfield looked on. In December 1986 their first album “Bostin’ Steve Austin” was released but this wasn’t a hit. Also in this month they performed a lively concert at the Astoria Theatre in London which has turned up on YouTube. 

In February 1987 the final single off the album “What’s The Point” was released which reached no. 51. They also performed this song when they appeared on German TV and American TV’s The Late Show where they were interviewed during the brief time that their frontwoman was Christina Aguilera (well not really of course but Vickie really does look like her there don’t you think?). They never really made the breakthrough in America though. 

They also performed this song on CITV’s No. 73 and none other than Neil Buchanan could be seen clapping along in the crowd to their performance, you only see things like that happen on children’s TV. “What’s The Point” had a great video too. 

After a break in 1988, Fuzzbox returned in 1989 for what would turn out to be their most successful year. They also had a new look, no more pink hair for these ladies, and frontwoman Vickie had become something of a flame-haired sex symbol. In February 1989 the first single off their second album was released, the Thunderbirds-influenced “International Rescue” which featured Adrian Edmondson in the video and became their biggest hit, reaching no. 11, and this earned them their first Top Of The Pops appearance. 

Also around this time they were interviewed on CITV’s Motormouth. Most excitingly though, in April 1989 they appeared on the cover of Lookin magazine for the first time alongside the likes of Kylie Minogue and Scally the dog! 

In May 1989 their next single “Pink Sunshine” was released which reached no. 14, and although it’s a tough decision I would have to say that this is my favourite single of theirs. I remember watching the video to this on the “Hits 10” VHS compilation, and I also enjoyed their Top Of The Pops performance. 

They also performed this song on ITV’s My Secret Desire and live on CITV’s Ghost Train which featured something of a mishap when the backing tape began to rewind that revealed that they were miming and they laughed for about the final two minutes of the performance. Also around this time they were interviewed on BBC Midlands Today in a report about the Birmingham music scene, and they also appeared on CBBC’s On The Waterfront and met Andrew O’Connor! 

In August 1989 the next single “Self!” was released which earned them another Top Of The Pops appearance and reached no. 24. Also in this month the second album “Big Bang!” was released which made the Top Five. They also appeared on CBBC’s The O Zone where they were interviewed by Andi Peters at a fairground, and we found out some great facts about them including “Jo thinks that Tom Jones is the best-dressed man in pop!”, “Maggie’s favourite book is Simon And Schuster’s Guide To Cats“, and that they are big fans of the Reynolds Girls, but then who wasn’t at the time? 

Also around this time they appeared on lots more magazine covers including NME, Jackie, Lookin and Record Mirror again, and Smash Hits for the first and only time. 

In November 1989 the final single released from the second album was a cover of “Walking On Thin Ice” which reached a very disappointing no. 76. They performed this on TV-am’s WAC ’90 (and again they were interviewed by Tommy Boyd), plus CBBC’s The Satellite Show and CITV’s The Disney Club. The video was also featured on the “Monster Hits” VHS compilation (essentially “Hits 11”) although it wasn’t a monster hit. Indeed, it wasn’t a hit at all. 

In June 1990 what was planned to be the first single from the third album “Your Loss My Gain” was released. They performed this on ITV’s The James Whale Show and Cannon And Ball’s Casino, along with appearances on CBBC’s The 8:15 From Manchester and CITV’s Ghost Train where they met Nobby the sheep. However, it reached a miserable no. 100, and after this disappointment work on the third album (which was to be called “Out Of This World”) was abandoned and Fuzzbox split, and they didn’t perform together again for 20 years, although in 2004 a best-of album was released called “Look At The Hits On That” which featured all their big ones.