Wtorek 5 Sie 2008, 18:35

Artist: Sarah Brightman & Hot Gossip
Track: I Lost My Heart To A Starship Trooper
Tags: 70s, disco, dance, streamable track wants, my gang rotw

http://i.ytimg.com/vi/b_zMU2tX5n8/default.jpg YouTube

I was going to recommend something serious and cerebral, along the lines of Gabriel Fauré's Pie Jesu but a funny thing happened on the way to the forum…

I found an old video of Sarah Brightman performing the now definitive version of Pie Jesu, by Andrew Lloyd Webber. As lovely as it was and as much as I enjoy listening to Sarah, unfortunately I am old enough to remember when she first made it big. Unfortunately or fortunately? Because this is one of my all-time favourites.

http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/images/starshiptrooper_2.jpg

Hot Gossip were ITV's response to Pan's People, the dance troupe on BBC 1's Top of the Pops. Hot Gossip were camp, raunchy and most of all, didn't take themselves too seriously. It might interest some people to know they were created by Arlene Philips, who also choreographed all those naughty routines. I knew them from The Kenny Everett Video Show, which as we know, was all done in the best possible taste.

http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/_/273042.jpg

So when Sarah Brightman, one of the Hot Gossip dancers and someone most of us hadn't heard of, appeared with the group with 'I Lost My Heart To A Starship Trooper' you can imagine the impact. The song makes references to Flash Gordon, which was still being repeated on BBC 2 in the 70s, there's a quick reference to the intergalactic music from Close Encounters of The Third Kind, which is also referenced in the line "What my body needs is close encounter three", and last but not least, Star Wars was absolutely huge and all things space related were being devoured by us.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/medialibrary/images/main-promo/s4_00_wal_07.jpg

The song went to number six in the UK charts in November 1978. Thirty years later and we are still space obsessed, although perhaps it's more of a space/time continuum. 2008 is definitely David Tennant's year as Doctor Who. If we were devouring all things Star Wars in 1978, we are doing the same with all things Doctor Who now. Recent reports suggest Tennant has been offered £1.5 million to return as The Doctor in the next series. Back in the 70s, it was Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith, the good Doctor's assistant, who was this loved.

http://www.themindrobber.co.uk/images/k9-sarah-jane.jpg

I hope you enjoyed this ramble into nothing in particular. More silly nonsense next week, I promise. It's August, what can I say…

Babs My Gang

http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/_/4667041.jpg
Sarah Brightman, standing, left.

Admin - Stats as of today:

Video:
Date Added to YouTube: July 20, 2007
Views: 175,633, Ratings: 441, Responses: 0, Comments: 359, Favorited: 1,423 times

Last.fm listeners of this track - 164 (not available)
No. of plays scrobbled in Last.fm - 713
Position in Last 7 Days: 2 / 5
Position in Last 6 Months: 2 / 57

NB: The incorrect title, 'Starship Trooper' is more common : 427 listeners : 1,819 plays

Stats after 7 days:

Video:
Views: 180,672, Ratings: 452, Responses: 0, Comments: 365, Favorited: 1,451 times

Last.fm listeners of this track - 171 (not available)
No. of plays scrobbled in Last.fm - 729
Position in Last 7 Days: 1 / 13
Position in Last 6 Months: 1 / 105

300 Unique Visitors
356 Page Views

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