5000 Volts and Top of the Pops

[darrens]

Hi all,

Hopefully all UK readers are aware of the re-run of Top of the Pops 1976, roughly 35 years ago to the week, that BBC FOUR have been showing since April (and will continue to show for at least a year, apparently). Of course, other non-disco music is available, but a pleasantly high proportion of the music shown is disco or disco related, since it is largely based on the pop charts.

This week's episode, featuring the Chi-Lites (You don't have to go), and the Stylistics (16 Bars) amongst others, was on yesterday at 7.30pm, and is repeated tomorrow (Saturday) evening at 11.40, or is available on iPlayer (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00704hg - UK viewers only).

Last week's episode featured "Dr. Kiss Kiss" from 5000 Volts. This song actually featured in four separate episodes through July and August 1976 due to its lengthy chart run. Of course, the group was famous for bringing Tina Charles into the public eye, but was famously replaced by Luan Peters miming to her vocals of "I'm on Fire" in 1975. By 1976, both had been replaced by Linda Kelly, who both sung on the record and appeared on Top of the Pops. Here's one of the four performances:



I've been watching the TOTP repeats religiously (well, recording them, actually) and looking at various internet forums and message boards to read the discussion about the episode. I recently found this discussion, where former 5000 Volts member Martin Cohen went into some considerable detail about the history of 5000 Volts, and the reasons why Tina left the band, and the personnel changed so much. The discussion starts halfway down the page of the link below.

http://missingepisodes.proboards.com...d=5467&page=32

[DannyBoy]

Eh up Darren,

Did you catch Jessie Green - Nice n Slow the other week? White Girl miming backing vocals, bad dancer but I had to watch her legs! Just like I did back on the original broadcast when I was all of twelve, and a classic track to boot.

Pre Video era, so if there was no Soul Train footage, it usually meant Ruby Flipper/Pan's People/Legs & Co doing their best. Have to say, I enjoyed them podium dancing to You Should Be Dancing this week.

We have to make the most of it, as Punk will kick in shortly towards the end of 76. Hopefully, they'll continue to broadcast through the Saturday Night Fever era. Whatever happens, I've scooped the original broadcasts of two of the most influential tracks on me when I was just a little one. Young Hearts Run Free, and Soul City Walk.

Hope it continues

[DISCODISK]

bbc 2 showed the totp2 one and a half hour disco special early last sun morning at 12.15 a.m so theres just under 24 hours to catch this on i player
bbc i player will soon be available to people outside the u.k but for $$$ forgot the price but it isnt cheap

[DISCODISK]

double post sorry

[darrens]

Eh up Darren,

Did you catch Jessie Green - Nice n Slow the other week? White Girl miming backing vocals, bad dancer but I had to watch her legs! Just like I did back on the original broadcast when I was all of twelve, and a classic track to boot.

I've still got that one on the hard disk, so I'll have another look at the white girl's legs.

We have to make the most of it, as Punk will kick in shortly towards the end of 76. Hopefully, they'll continue to broadcast through the Saturday Night Fever era.

There is this misconception, peddled by the modern music commentators, that there was a punk "explosion" in the UK charts. The reality is that disco was always much more popular than punk; and aside from a few Sex Pistols Top 10 singles, not much else charted very highly - until 1979 when diluted punk / new wave records made the Top 10 more frequently. There's also a misconception that Top of the Pops ignored punk - this was only the case because TOTP focussed on the charts and punk didn't sell very well!

So actually, the disco era was only getting started in 1976 in chart terms, and I desperately hope they keep going for the next 5 years at least because there's a hell of a lot to watch out for. For example in March 2015, they could be showing us the episode in which Tony Rallo and the Midnite Band performed "Holdin' On". I wonder if Sir Alec was on stage with him?

I managed to find a web forum containing the complete listing of every episode, ever - so you can see what I mean that there are plenty of disco performances on TOTP throughout the rest of the 1970s. What a shame that Donna Summer never made it over here to perform on the show (with the exception of the video to "I remember yesterday", all her other songs are danced to by Legs & Co).

http://z6.invisionfree.com/popscene/...p?showforum=66

[buckaroo]

There is this misconception, peddled by the modern music commentators, that there was a punk "explosion" in the UK charts. The reality is that disco was always much more popular than punk; and aside from a few Sex Pistols Top 10 singles, not much else charted very highly - until 1979 when diluted punk / new wave records made the Top 10 more frequently. There's also a misconception that Top of the Pops ignored punk - this was only the case because TOTP focussed on the charts and punk didn't sell very well!

I wish all these post-moronic programmes that UK TV channels make/broadcast, would actually tell the truth; ie, Punk DID NOT sweep everything away from the charts and save us all from the dreary pop pap and Prog Rock that was around in the late and mid '70s. Some of us, were listening to funk, disco, reggae, and a lot of it was charting. Quite high in fact.

Thank you darrens.

[SandraDee]

You're so right guys, that 'punk explosion' is an imaginary event that middle-class media types living in Hampstead like to think really happened.

[BrunoRepublic]

What absolutely kills me with red-hot irony is how certain punk "collectables" now command a fortune on the market. Methinks a few people have completely missed the point of punk music (if there was one at all).

[buckaroo]

You're so right guys, that 'punk explosion' is an imaginary event that middle-class media types living in Hampstead like to think really happened.

This could be the reason why, they only seem to champion Punk Rock, which was performed solely by straight, white men (Straight as far as we know anyways LOL!). Punk appeared to last about 18 months in the UK, meanwhile soul, reggae and disco music still continues on. There never seems to be any credit given to the many many British Soul and Funk bands/artists of that era. It's as though they never existed. Or, whenever they do attempt to explore the genre, we get programmes that are patronising, or full of inaccuracies like Soul Britannia for instance. We had a major underground soul music scene here, which was often covered by the media at the time, but not much since.

BTW,
All you lazy music journos that keeps harping on about the greatness that was punk, may I remind you that it was an AMERICAN invention? (Iggy Pop, New York Dolls, etc). Stop trying to make out that The Sex Pistols started Punk in 1977.

[Cdnbob]

Speaking of 5000 Volts, just picked up their album for $5 at a local record collectors fair here this past weekend. Up until now I only had all 3 singles that were released here in Canada, so it'll be nice to finally hear the album, (which I never did pick up when it was first released over here).