Fades in Slowly

Hi all, sorry for the extended absence, I’ve been fairly busy putting in a shift at the John Peel wiki (about time, I know). I’ve been concentrating on the curious cases of Peel’s appearances on Top of the Pops. I’m almost done now, just a few shows from his halcyon years of the early eighties left to fill in. For a full picture of those magical TV appearances, click here.

The main reason it’s taken me so long is that every time I trawl through the youtube archives, I stop and watch all the clips I find. So, I’ve decided to share some of the highlights with you. Today you’ll be enjoying The Cure performing ‘The Walk’ in July, 1983, in a show that also featured the talents of Iron Maiden, ELO, Eurythmics, Rod Stewart and Mike Oldfield, as well as JP and Kid Jensen in ‘ska’ outfits.

I remember watching this one as it was the first time I’d ever heard Iron Maiden. For more info on this show, click here.

Second in notoriety only to the ‘shake and vac‘ lady are those poor souls who, for better or worse, volunteered their dancing services to Top of the Pops. Remember young ‘uns to look out for your mum or dad in these clips. I apologize profusely for the appearance of Spender at the beginning.

Peel and faithful sidekick Kid Jensen make an appearance at about 8:45 into this televisual delight. I never watched this but I’m guessing mid ’90s, based on the fact that Danny Baker is considerably less fat and unkempt than he is now.

Download and cherish forever?

This is the Christmas Day edition of Top Of The Pops from 1981, presented by Andy Peebles, Paul Burnett, Paul Gambaccini, Dave Lee Travis, Adrian Juste, Simon Bates, David Kid Jensen,Tony Blackburn, Steve Wright, Peter Powell, Jimmy Saville, Richard Skinner, Mike Read and John Peel making his first appearance since 1968. Happy Christmas everyone!

Lamentably, the audio to parts 1, 6 and 7 has been disabled by internet bastards.