Chart Music Episode 2

"When You Want To Suck And Chew It".

The second edition of the podcast which asks: who would win in a massive cage fight amongst Radio 1 DJs of the 70s and 80s?

This episode, we enter the late winter of George Orwell’s visionary magnum opus – but not even in his worst nightmares would he have imagined the Ministry of Pop Telly trying (and failing) to throw the No.1 single down the memory hole. And a Top 40 with two Thompson Twins entries.

Thankfully, we’re spared both of them, but what we actually get is cow-heavy and laden with the musk of the lower reaches of the charts, heavily influenced by the Channel Fourification of pop music, and overseen by Dave Lee Travis and his YTS lad Gary Davies. The Smiths make their second appearance, Nik Kershaw models the 2048 Little Chef uniform, Madness give up doing the Bummer Conga and go all serious, and we’re shocked to learn that Madonna isn’t black. And Marillion see fit to bring eight synths into the studio when there’s really no need.

Al Needham is joined by David Stubbs and Taylor Parkes for a serious pick amongst the brightly-coloured rags of the mid-Eighties, checking for stains along the way. Sorry for the delay on this: there’s been technical mither we need not go into.

(loads of swearing and explicit descriptions of what eleven year-olds think Paul McCartney does)

DATE: 16th January 2017

FEATURING: Al Needham David Stubbs Taylor Parkes

TOTP Transmission date: 9th February 1984

TOTP Presenter(s): Gary Davies Dave Lee Travis

ACTS:

The Smiths - What difference does it make?

Nik Kershaw - Wouldn't it be good?

Marillion - Punch & Judy

Elbow Bones & The Racketeers - A night in New York