Top of the Pops: most notorious moments

[Up the Junction]

This episode flashed up on my twitter timeline and it just so happened to be one of the most memorable... for all the wrong reasons...

TotP had many infamous moments during its long run, but few were more excruciating that when All Above Eve were on this 1988 show to perform the glorious Martha's Harbour. As quickly became clear, the band couldn't hear the audio at all, which led to this... you had to feel for them.

And many bands have taken the piss out of the show while on air, but Nirvana's performance of Smells Like Teen Spirit - sung live by Cobain - was a benchmarker as Kurt sang in completely the wrong octave.

What else you got?

[pablo jaye]

Who can forget the appearance of Scottish darts ace, Jocky Wilson on the backdrop of Dexy’s performance of ‘Jackie Wilson Said’.

Apparently it was Kevin Rowland’s idea, rather than a ToTP cock-up

[Metal Hammer]

Employing Jimmy Saville?

[-DL-]

The TOTP performance that garnered the most complaints - somewhere in the region of 25000.

[Up the Junction]

I'm fairly sure I read an interview with him once in which he insisted he wasn't under the influence, but I can't recall ever seeing anyone look at blitzed as Ian Anderson did during this mesmerising performance of The Witch's Promise back in 1970...

[-DL-]

Kurt Cobain getting the hump that Nirvana were only allowed to do the vocals live, so not taking it quite as seriously perhaps they could have

Load up on drugs, and kill your friends...

[Cockneyboy311]

Not TOTP but on the BBC nonetheless. Power cut leaving Ian Brown less than impressed

[prophet:marginal]

Which would be fair enough if totally non-amateur Ian Brown could hold a note for longer than a couple of milliseconds.

[smuts]

New Order doing Blue Monday totally live which I think was a first for a band on TOTP.

In the 80s they always veered between being amazing or totally awful live depending on Sumner's Pernod/drug consumption so it was always a gamble...



I think they said they were about the only band who appeared on TOTP and their sales went down as a result.

My all time fave is the Nirvana appearance. Just absolutely superb.

[dasnutnock3]

Bowie & Tin Machine were on once in the late 80s or early 90s, playing live. At the end of their set, the camera swung round to the drummer, who flashed his knuckles at the lens, and he clearly had C NT written on his fingers.

[vietnammer]

Recall Family appearing and Roger Chapman giggled his way through the song with his hand over his mouth while the vocal track played on. Probably stoned.

UTJ mentioned Ian Anderson. That eyes-bulging and pirouetting act was just that, an act. Anderson was famously abstemious and didn't do drugs.

[Korea Hammer]

Why did people complain about that Manic Street Preachers racket? Apart from the obvious reason

[-DL-]

Because they reckoned the balaclava was in reference to The IRA....

[Samba]

I love this from Christmas totp 1975. An out of shot Lol Creme, the little b*stard , making Eric Stewart nearly piss himself laughing. At one point, Stewart can barely mime & later, glares at Creme to stop doing whatever he's doing...

[Toulouse_Iron]

Hope you don't mind if I go slightly off topic..
Here are The Stranglers generally taking the pish on Dutch TV in 77 with a rendition of No More Heroes.
No-one is miming with the right instruments:
Hugh Cornwell (usually vocals and guitar) on keyboards
J-J Burnel (bass) beating the crap out of the drum kit
Jet Black (drums) with a novel technique on guitar
The late, great Dave Greenfield (keyboards) on bass and lead vocals.

No effort being made to keep up the pretence that it was live. Epic mickey-taking/ cocking about.

* Can't remember how to do a proper link to YouTube