THE CONCRETE ROUNDABOUT (TCR)

Some extremely thoughtful soul has put every episode of early 80’s ‘the weekend starts here’ telly The Tube up on YouTube.

Now! Young folk can have absolutely no idea exactly how seminal this was. It was on about 6pm on a friday night, just before dashing young bucks like me went out. Hosted by Jools Holland, the fantastically flirty Paula Yates, and Glasgow face about town, Muriel Gray (who I fancied like fuck back in the day). The 60’s had Ready Steady Go, we had this. I remember seeing The Fall for the first time on the telly, and falling in lust with Brix Smith. REM made their UK debut on the exact same night as me and the current Mrs Gers had our first date. They played Talk About The Passion. My absolute favorite was when they sent Gray to a still segregated West Berlin, where she got astonishingly drunk on camera, while fucking about in various seedy night clubs with the likes of Einstürzende Neubauten. It was brilliant. Could you imagine that these days? Getting a young female presenter drunk, letting her loose with a load of musicians in various altered states. Never happen.

In all honesty, it’s not as good as I remember. For every Jesus And Mary Chain, there's fucking Whitesnake. For every fantastic exploration of fanzine culture (I ran my own at the time called ‘Still A Cowboy. Various editions still available on request), there’s an interview with Sting about his fledgling acting. But nonetheless, I got a Proustian rush when that neon sign burst forth from the telly.

Watch it, or you’re not a groovy fucker.

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They say don't kick a man when he's down. Show me a better time.

I liked it but I remember high brow music types calling it trashy compared to Old Grey Whistle Test

I used to love it but even then the shit to gold ratio was 25/75.

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I don't need your ill-informed, half-baked, idiotic opinions. I have plenty of those myself.

Which, of course, was entirely the point. And why that show dropped the ‘Old Gray’ from their title. Became simply ‘Whistle Test’, sacked off Whispering Bob Harris and got Smash Hits founders David Hepworth and Mark Ellen in to present, switched from half eleven on a Tuesday night to six, when everyone could watch, and had the aforementioned Mary Chain on. The Tube changed music telly for the better. And here’s that very clip of The Fall, featuring the outstandingly beautiful Brix on guitar…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1DaNWuMKNQ

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They say don't kick a man when he's down. Show me a better time.

Thanks for sharing this - I did watch one of the early episodes when you first posted at the end of Jan, to catch up again with a show I remembered enoying back in 82 which featured Simple Minds at the height of their brilliance.

Charlie Burchill & Jim Kerr were there of course, and Mel Gaynor had just arrived on drums, but seeing Derek Forbes on bass again, and Mick MacNeil performing some of my favourite tunes on his lovely Jupiter 8 & OBXa again was heaven.
After those two left the band, Simple Minds went downhill, imho.

I was impressed with the quality of the source material too - looked like it was possibly the original VT from Tyne Tees that had been uploaded, and the clip stayed with Someone Somewhere in Summertime, right past the end credits, to the very end of the song, iirc.

Unfortunately, I can't find that show to watch again anymore - I suspect the full show from the original VT has been taken down now due to some issue with copyright and/or where they came from.
Did you or anyone else bookmark any complete show from those uploaded by whoever it was uploaded them? Have they all gone now?

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140 grounds - 78/92

'Can I expect my team to stay in the Championship when they have to train at a school when the weather is bad?'
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Pete W

Yeah, looks like they've all gone, which is a pity. I watched the whole first episode at the weekend, The Jam were the featured act, a real moment in time. Is this the Simple Minds clip you are talking about?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KK-thT2IaaA&t=107s

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They say don't kick a man when he's down. Show me a better time.

That's indeed got what I've been looking for - Hunter & the Hunted, followed by Someone Somewhere in Summertime, New Gold Dream, & The American after the end credits - many thanks!
It's a shame all the other full shows have gone - hopefully they'll return someday.

_________________
APL Champion 2018 + 2025
APL Hall of Fame Champion 2024 + 2025
140 grounds - 78/92

'Can I expect my team to stay in the Championship when they have to train at a school when the weather is bad?'
'Every year we’re in League 1 is a year too long'
Pete W

Years ago, one of the first bands I was in that looked as if they were going to do something, as opposed to a bunch of idiots jumping around pretending to be Joe Strummer, went into a studio in Kilmarnock to do some demos. Before we went in we had a wee look at the place. It was a Saturday afternoon, and there was a band in there working. Their drummer was Mel Gaynor. I can still remember those big white trumpet shaped drums that he used set up in the studio.

I’ve no idea which band it was. It certainly wasn’t Simple Minds. I would’ve recognised them. They were already faces about town. I’m guessing late 81, or early 82. It was before I met my wife, which was the summer of 83, and I was in at least one, or perhaps two bands after that one split.

Small world.

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They say don't kick a man when he's down. Show me a better time.

He did lots of session work before joining Simple Minds I believe, so probably one of those sessions.
I remember those drums - like these toms?

Mike Ogletree (replaced by Mel Gaynor) used these wth Simple Minds to record Colours Fly And Catherine Wheel & New Gold Dream, before leaving to join Fiction Factory where he also recorded Feels (Like Heaven) with them too - all favourites of mine.
Small word indeed.

_________________
APL Champion 2018 + 2025
APL Hall of Fame Champion 2024 + 2025
140 grounds - 78/92

'Can I expect my team to stay in the Championship when they have to train at a school when the weather is bad?'
'Every year we’re in League 1 is a year too long'
Pete W

A really small world. A friend, and bandmate, bought a Fender from someone in Fiction Factory. The joke being that his guitar was more famous than him.

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They say don't kick a man when he's down. Show me a better time.