Apart from the horrendous hair; the tracks were fantastic and it was fun seeing Simon Fuller's career begin as Paul Hardcastle stayed at the top for 5 weeks with N..N..Nineteen.
And Annie Lennox began her career with the Eurythmics. Feargal, boss of UK Music today, was a solo No1.
And, thanks to No Limits, Baltimora and Tarzan Boy.
Mind you; we also had to put up with those bloody charity tracks; amusing how the US We Are The World release featured real superstars where the Bob Aid video showed some very B Grade Brit celebs.

I missed the Ch5 showing on Boxing Day but was alerted by dozens of E-Mails that the show did, indeed, feature JK from America so I've just watched the Bank Holiday Monday repeat at lunch time. I do hope the sight of me in a fetching Ent USA T shirt helped you digest your turkey leftovers.
Four decades of JK on the shows - Top 5 in the 60s with Everyone's Gone To The Moon; in the 70s with Una Paloma Blanca and others; in the 80s from America (with Entertainment USA peaking at 9.7 million viewers on BBC2) with the regular American chart rundowns - and in the 90s when, as Producer of the Brits, I put together a dance montage medley which went Top 3 and had to use me handing vinyl platters to the DJ to stitch together as there was, of course, no video.

I never appeared in the first decade of this century and, as a direct result, the show got cancelled!

I wonder how Ch5 obtained the rights and I bet the ratings were great; surely someone, somewhere, can understand that a weekly series of repeats would be great (and cheap) TV - as would re-showings of Ent USA - and No Limits come to that (5.9 million viewers and top of the BBC2 charts).

Sad when something so obvious escapes the schedulers.

Yet 25 years ago I was deemed a hot enough property to appear twice in the Christmas show - introducing Paul Young and Everytime You Go Away.

Actually I like to think I'm an even hotter property today.

Happy New Year Tipsters.

Bono/George Michael/Paul Weller/Sting

These are not B list celebs. We all know you hate Sir Bob Geldof but it doesn't do you any favours being so petty and inaccurate with your attacks.

Give it up - It was over 25 years ago and Bob was and continues to be much more famous and liked than you. He won, accept it and move on!


"....and, as a direct result, the show got cancelled" - Very funny!

I have to agree, I loved the Band Aid track and video and the stars weren't b-listers. It featured U2 (the biggest band of the last 30 years), George Michael (one of the biggest solo artists of the last 30 years), Duran and Spandau (still going strong after 30 years), and countless others. It featured the biggest acts of the time. So please jonathon don't let personal differences get in the way of facts.

and who the hell was Dixie Peach?

I am the first to slate charity records, but the Band Aid track - primarily due to it's unorthodox birth and musical construction - still stands up as a record in spite of everything. Whereas We Are The World represents everything that was bad about 80's music: over-produced, overwrought, contrived and thus dripping in insincerity. And yes: Ray Charles, Paul Simon, Billy Joel, Lionel, MJ, Ms.Ross, Bruce, Stevie, Willie, Dylan & Tina - superstars of the highest order... Kenny Loggins, Al Jarreau, Jeffrey Osborne, Steve Perry, Sheila E, Kim Carnes etc - supporting cast. Several tiers of musical stars, as per the UK effort.

1985 was actually the year when the TOTP producers started to lose the plot format-wise, it became more of a 'video show' as they tried to compete with the music channels. If someone had the foresight & the balls to stick with an update of the Chart/Studio Audience/Studio Performance whilst it was still a ratings-topper then it might still be with us (it took until 1994 & Ric Blaxill until they got a grip, and then let Andii Peters screw it up in 2003)
In the early 80s, the UK music scene didn't really need much input from America, and in the event our synth-pop & new romantic acts forged that magnifficent "second British Invasion" of the US charts in 1982 and it often took something really special to break into our charts from America (Hall & Oates, Toto, the odd 'power ballad' etc, or something rather Anglocised or left-of-centre), 1985 was when the scores started to even up

I did a show with Dixie Peach in 1985 !!! he was a very nice guy. He was a DJ on Radio One but seemed to be only around for a couple of years and generally on the very early show before the Bkfst Show and weekend slots. Never made the main shows.

I personally think JK has done far more for music than Sir Bob - and you obviously have not met Sir Bob from the tone of the comments on here

Yes more repeats of the great 80s TOTP shows would be awesome. TOTP2 is ok but I would prefer the real deal with the superstar DJs ( and Dixie Peach )

I haven't met either Sir Bob or JK so my views are based solely on published reports and known achievements. Sir Bob wins based on the international influence he has had from the Band Aid and Live Aid work. I visit this board because I admire what JK has done but his fame and work was mainly based in the UK, Geldof's influence is worldwide. It doesn't make me think any the less of JK because I believe that Sir Bob has done more for the music industry.