Rats on Tiswas

noelindublin · Loudmouth

Rats on Tiswas

Laibach · Someone's Looking At You

I have quite a few episodes of Tiswas, the only one featuring the Rats has a screening of The Elephants Graveyard video. I do remember the episode with Sally James interviewing Geldof and Fingers and at the end Bob gets a custard pie in the face, can't remember if Fingers got away with it or not.

noelindublin · Loudmouth

Geldof getting a custard pie in the face- that would be worth seeing again! Some of the episodes indicate that the Boomtown Rats were the main stars eg one episode says "featuring Sarah Brightman, Darts , Boomtown Rats" while another gives the main billing as "Dollar, Classix Nouveaux, Boomtown Rats".

I presume the main stars actually turned up in studio rather than just playing a video by the band. Nice if Tiswas or more properly ITN were to make these available on dvd or the Internet ,

Mark L · Loudmouth

I have the one with the Elephants Graveyard screening too on betamax from Jan '81. It ends with Chris Tarrant saying 'Ah, good to see TBR taking a leaf out of our book then' directly after the bucket of water shot. From Nov '81, I think somewhere in the loft I have the Swap Shop show where Noel Edmonds, after the Million Years video, turns to Geldof (who looks uncharacteristically uncomfortable) and says, 'so it's dancing poodles then now, is it?'

From '85, after Mike Read has taken over Saturdays with Superstore, I have the band performing A Hold of Me and Simon and Bob take phone calls. Noone asks Simon anything. Mike Read thinks AHOM is very good and so does one of the callers but personally, I think it's their joint worst single along with Charmed Lives.

Dug out a tape with them doing the Oxford Roadshowthe other day (from '84) with Peter Powell who always really liked them. Their performance of Drag Me Down was brilliant and the crowd seemed to love it. It was sung mid-way between the UK and US version with a downwards inflection at the end of the 'tuck me up' line if that makes sense and improves the song IMHO.

Laibach · Someone's Looking At You

I'd love to see that Swap Shop appearence again, time can play tricks but I seem to remember Noel Edmonds being a bit off hand with Bob and at one point Bob claiming he was a superstar in an American accent. The Record Mirror had a photograph of Bob from the Never In The Million Years video with the caption Heres ridiculous old paddy Bob Geldof hamming it up in his latest video, and then something about slimy second hand gas cooker sales man Noel Edmonds putting him in his place on Swap Shop. The music press seemed to really hate Geldof around this time, the Record Mirrors singles reviewer, a woman called Sunnie if I remember correctly was scathing of every Rats release.

noelindublin · Loudmouth

Laibach wrote:
I'd love to see that Swap Shop appearence again, time can play tricks but I seem to remember Noel Edmonds being a bit off hand with Bob and at one point Bob claiming he was a superstar in an American accent. The Record Mirror had a photograph of Bob from the Never In The Million Years video with the caption Heres ridiculous old paddy Bob Geldof hamming it up in his latest video, and then something about slimy second hand gas cooker sales man Noel Edmonds putting him in his place on Swap Shop. The music press seemed to really hate Geldof around this time, the Record Mirrors singles reviewer, a woman called Sunnie if I remember correctly was scathing of every Rats release.

Something tells me that Never In a Million Years did not get much airplay but I would put it in my top ten Rats songs. I think that radio stations can get tired of any act pretty quickly, figuring that once a band has hit the top the natural thing do to is knock them off their perch.

With any reviewer it's just one individuals opinion and taste being expressed- it can work either way depending on the critic. Sunnie was probably secretly pining for the days of Tom Jones and Englebert Humperdinck.

I have on old interview on tape with Geldof where he says he was surprised Never In a Million Years was not a hit. I've always found the song to have a strong emotional appeal with a slight Bowie flavour than always worked for me. Apart from the poodles the video is quite good too.

noelindublin · Loudmouth

Mark L wrote:
I have the one with the Elephants Graveyard screening too on betamax from Jan '81. It ends with Chris Tarrant saying 'Ah, good to see TBR taking a leaf out of our book then' directly after the bucket of water shot. From Nov '81, I think somewhere in the loft I have the Swap Shop show where Noel Edmonds, after the Million Years video, turns to Geldof (who looks uncharacteristically uncomfortable) and says, 'so it's dancing poodles then now, is it?'
From '85, after Mike Read has taken over Saturdays with Superstore, I have the band performing A Hold of Me and Simon and Bob take phone calls. Noone asks Simon anything. Mike Read thinks AHOM is very good and so does one of the callers but personally, I think it's their joint worst single along with Charmed Lives.
Dug out a tape with them doing the Oxford Roadshowthe other day (from '84) with Peter Powell who always really liked them. Their performance of Drag Me Down was brilliant and the crowd seemed to love it. It was sung mid-way between the UK and US version with a downwards inflection at the end of the 'tuck me up' line if that makes sense and improves the song IMHO.

Have not seen this ORS since it was transmitted back in the day. Their appearance was one of the first in a few years and I was quite emotional as the songs seems really great. I particularly remember them doing Tonight.

The had been out of the limelight since Summer 1982 and I was worried that they were going to call it a day. When I saw them on ORS it completely sealed the deal of how much I loved the band. The lyrics of A Hold Of Me seemed to be an attack on the music press-'Will they shoot you down/ bring you to your knees/ and when you hit the ground kick you in the teeth? or '"What did we do/ what are we guilty of?

The lines about 'they'll never never never get a hold of my heart' seemed to me to be about how the press tried to judge Geldof and put him in a box- basically ruin the bands career in the process through a lot of unjustified criticism of their music.

Also their manager Factna O' kelly had left after V Deep and Geldof took over as unoffical manager, trying to keep the whole thing together so the odds were stacked against the Rats ever making a full comeback. Needless to say they more than turned up with the goods with In The Long Grass.

ArrGee · Back To Boomtown

Laibach wrote:
The music press seemed to really hate Geldof around this time, the Record Mirrors singles reviewer, a woman called Sunnie if I remember correctly was scathing of every Rats release.

It was pretty bad that Record Mirror, which was the possibly the least opinionated, were anti along with Sounds and NME.

The only music paper in the UK with anything good to say was Melody Maker. Charles Sharr Murray and Allan Jones were positive about the band.

http://boomtownrats.activeboard.com/t38367454/nme-melody-maker-contemporary-album-reviews/

Anyway they are all history now, including the NME. with its 30,000 readers that remain. To put it into perspective Q has around 80,000 readers and Mojo a massive 90,000 readers. Most specialist magazines like Kerrang and Classic Rock also have larger circulation.

noelindublin · Loudmouth

There is so much music info in the Internet than the music press is almost redundant. I occasionally go to the NME website but I'm more likely to read Pitchfork. One of the last remaining reasons I had for buying the NME was for the free cd's but than was before downloading.

Anyway the music press is just a collection of individual's opinions and normally the editors have a lot of say in how any band is perceived- making and breaking careers almost as a cruel hobby.

In the words of the great song by Clinic, IPC Subeditors Dictate Our Youth.

ArrGee · Back To Boomtown

noelindublin wrote:
Something tells me that Never In a Million Years did not get much airplay...
I have on old interview on tape with Geldof where he says he was surprised Never In a Million Years was not a hit.
It did get a fair amount of radio play on BBC Radio 1 before it hits the charts, and then it stopped once they realised no one was buying it. But for Peter Powell making House on Fire his record of the week and playing it despite it resolutely staying outside the top 20, The Rats would have totally disappeared from view. Charmed Lives totally tanked despite having three separate edition (including the pretty decent double single).
Always strange how bands just go out of favour. Some come back but most don't. Slade after trying to break the US, came back to total disinterest in 1977, yet somehow four years later had a bit of a revival after playing Reading in 1980.
In those inbetween years, they were playing to audiences numbering in the tens rather than the hundreds, never mind the thousands and Geldof asked Noddy Holder why they bothered anymore...

-- Edited by ArrGee on Friday 4th of November 2011 02:04:38 PM

ArrGee · Back To Boomtown

noelindublin wrote:
One of the last remaining reasons I had for buying the NME was for the free cd's but than was before downloading.

The only reason I ever bought it. Q has an interesting cover CD this month with Achtung Baby re-recorded by various artists. (Franna - do you want a copy?)

Mark L · Loudmouth

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LF_cJ37YCc0

The Elephants Graveyard introduced by a young Chris Tarrant. Wonder where they got that idea from by Sally James became taking a leaf out of our book by Chris Tarrent. The tricks your memory plays on you, but the thrust of it was there!

Great that more and more is surfacing on You Tube. Wonder what the next ten years will bring?