Saturday 28 January 2012

28th January

1965: With its shadows and big studio it doesn't look like a Pops performance, this, but it is one. Experimental setting, perhaps. The Righteous Brothers and their insatiable fingerclicking is mighty enough whatever the location.

1971: A fine mix of short shorts and synthetic fibres, and a variety of hot stepping greets The Mixtures and their banjo. The woman at 1:30 - what's her story? You'll see which one.

1982: For their first two singles Tight Fit had been one of those session medley groups; for the third they suddenly became a bloke and two girls in a fashion magazine idea of cartoon explorer gear. Good to see the Jungle Rock outfits come out of storage for one last hurrah. Pop fact: the single was recorded and produced by Tim Friese-Greene, who would go on to help mastermind Talk Talk's move from electropop also-rans to avant-ambient jazz.

1988: Andy Cox and David Steele's 2 Men, A Drum Machine & A Trumpet seems the sort of project that could only have come about in the nascent days of the house pop crossover. Required for promotion they take the natural ingredients of the club hit on telly - expressive dancers, pretend musicians - and add a pretend gumshoe.

1993: In contrast, 2 Unlimited pare it down to her, him and the requisite bank of TVs. What really makes it is the camera attached to Ray's unconvincingly played keytar, not recommended to those cursed with common motion sickness. Speaking of unlikely instrumentation, one of East 17 has been given a bass. You'd think having a set specially built for their whims, bubble machine, female hanger-on who looks long before the halfway mark like she really should have handed this off to her friend and having a night's hire on waiter's jackets would be enough visual representation. Note that Tony Dortie has to stress he's making a joke at the start.

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