Yes, I do have all the Sky albums. I never knew they were on TOTP. The audience look confused or have no idea what to do.

Johann Sebastian Bach really was the prog rock pioneer IMHO.

As the years progressed miming on TOTP became more blatant.

How do you mime crashing the cymbals? Always wondered that!

My father had SkyII and I played this track to bits at the time and for years afterwards.

Got to No5 as a single. Was played on Pick Of The Pops in late April, not sure if it also popped up on one of the recent TOTP repeats on BBC4 almost simultaneously as well about that time. One of these made you post this I think.

Another track on that album that used to amuse me both how it sounded and the title was Tuba Smarties by Herbie Flowers. Not bad listening for a ten year old.

Rich wrote:
How do you mime crashing the cymbals? Always wondered that!

My father had SkyII and I played this track to bits at the time and for years afterwards.

Got to No5 as a single. Was played on Pick Of The Pops in late April, not sure if it also popped up on one of the recent TOTP repeats on BBC4 almost simultaneously as well about that time. One of these made you post this I think.

Another track on that album that used to amuse me both how it sounded and the title was Tuba Smarties by Herbie Flowers. Not bad listening for a ten year old.

Don't have wired up mics near drum kits or have mics on.

Sky-The Great Balloon Race is their weakest album IMHO.It reminds of the music you will hear in the old Sega video games or arcade games boss stages.

Tuba Smarties is a waste of vinyl space, but it did make smile when I first heard it. It's like hearing a friend who has eaten a bad curry.

Cymbals were often gold-sprayed cardboard and were silent. JK could have explained that, he was on TOTP enough times.

LiaminOZ wrote:
Cymbals were often gold-sprayed cardboard and were silent. JK could have explained that, he was on TOTP enough times.

Really? I've never heard that before, that's a great explanation.

I remember when I was probably about 12 years old my father telling me that they were all miming on TOTP and having an argument with him insisting that they were all singing for real and I was so sure I was right. Laugh about it now, such innocence. How they hoodwinked us idealistic younger kids with that show. Even at that tender age we realised the absurdity of miming to a record. You soon wised up to the truth though.

But I have in recent years seen JK on TOTP in 1976 singing It Only Takes A Minute as One Hundred Ton And A Feather and thought he sounded like he was singing that one live. Was I right or wrong on that?

The JK vocal on this sounds live to me, possibly the instrumentation too. Infact the whole lot!

youtu.be/zM1Cu8h6mUk?si=EuE98H78gDTzGi_8

It was all mimed in the 60s then forced to be live then was allowed live singing to pre recorded backing tracks. Many of the You Tube etc are my recreations with the actual record dubbed onto the sound of TOTP performances (often quite hard to do - took me ages).