Punk Britannia at the BBC - BBC 4 Friday

ArrGee · Back To Boomtown

Punk Britannia at the BBC - BBC 4 Friday

suss · In the Long Grass

Guess it largely depends on how literally the producer takes 'Britannia' and/or 'Punk'. Given Joy Division and Dr Feelgood are listed that must up the Rats chances on latter qualification, and given the producer is probably about 30 there's a good chance he'll be oblivious of Rats origins, though possibly not Geldof's.

I'd be both surprised and delighted if they feature.

ArrGee · Back To Boomtown

suss wrote:
Guess it largely depends on how literally the producer takes 'Britannia' and/or 'Punk'. Given Joy Division and Dr Feelgood are listed that must up the Rats chances on latter qualification, and given the producer is probably about 30 there's a good chance he'll be oblivious of Rats origins, though possibly not Geldof's.
I'd be both surprised and delighted if they feature.

No mention of The Jam nor The Stranglers either, who would be more punk than Joy Division IMHO. Should be worth a watch regardless.

Jules · The biggest Geldof fan in the world, bar none!

They talked about American pub rock bands, maybe they'll talk about the Brits and then the invasion from Ireland of the Rats

suss · In the Long Grass

Am I going mad? Swear link says 10pm to 11.30pm. Just switched across (10pm) and it's been on an hour already cry .

Can I trust the repeat times?? confuse

suss · In the Long Grass

I am going mad...or blind. Was a different punk themed programme that preceded it.

ArrGee · Back To Boomtown

suss wrote:
I am going mad...or blind. Was a different punk themed programme that preceded it.

Two programmes.

9-10 Punk Britannia

10-11.30 Punk Britannia at the BBC

Rats appeared on second one with their TOTP appearance when Rat Trap made number 1. Slightly abridged. Catch it on iPlayer. Shame they didn't show them doing a proper live performance like Rock Goes To College. Good programme on the whole, but certainly first half better than second half.

suss · In the Long Grass

Managed to catch it in full when I realised it was separate programme. Really enjoyed it, so thanks for drawing attention.

Impressed by the continuous music and there being no Steve Wright style inane chat or, worse still, scripted talking heads, and also impressed with the selection of artists and, in the main, tracks selected.

Shame Rat Trap ended at '...caught!' but still was half expecting that to be the one track they faded out as it must be twice as long as anything else on the show. Bit miffed though that they subtitled virtually every other band as still touring with x,y,z original members but not Rats.

Can't believe Teenage Kicks never got higher than #31. Were there really thirty better songs at that time?? That said, nearly every track on the show brought back some fond memories. Still maintain we had a purple patch in our mid teens, musically speaking smile .

Even then, confess I've never heard of the Au Pairs, or at least have zero recollection. Mad, blind and er, what's the word? All in one night!

ArrGee · Back To Boomtown

suss wrote:
Shame Rat Trap ended at '...caught!' but still was half expecting that to be the one track they faded out as it must be twice as long as anything else on the show. Bit miffed though that they subtitled virtually every other band as still touring with x,y,z original members but not Rats.
Can't believe Teenage Kicks never got higher than #31. Were there really thirty better songs at that time??
Still maintain we had a purple patch in our mid teens, musically speaking .
Even then, confess I've never heard of the Au Pairs, or at least have zero recollection. Mad, blind and er, what's the word? All in one night!

At least they didn't mention Live Aid.

My wife couldn't believe that either, but you'd be surprised how poorly a lot of punk/new wave acts did overall in the singles charts. The Clash did not have a top ten hit until 1991 when Should I Stay was re-released on the back of the Levi ads. Even The Jam didn't have a top ten single until late 1979. The Stranglers, Pistols and The Rats were the only ones having big hits in 1977 and 1978. 1979 was the year many of the bigger punk/new wave bands started having their big chart hits.

I think in many cases the songs have come to be appreciated over time, unlike the Rats whose songs are less appreciated these days.

Definitely some good music at the time. Since then only the late 80s/early 90s, mid 90s and the mid 00s had as much. But I think the music did wane from 1980 onwards.

Only noticable omission for me was Elvis Costello. Also Squeeze would have made it in ahead of a lot of the lesser bands on the show. I hadn't heard of a number of them, and probably just as well. Some were pi$$ poor.

suss · In the Long Grass

Good point about Costello and Squeeze. "Insufficiently punk" doesn't wash else Rats wouldn't have featured. Selfishly was quite pleased that some airtime was given to likes of Xray Spex and ****ney Rejects though, irrespective of how good their songs were. Was just a massive nostalgia trip and almost like watching an extended TOTP without, mercifully, the slightly condescending R1 DJs of the time. The difference with hitting YouTube was the surprise element.

Talking of surprises did anyone else clock the Rats fan in audience during Gary Gilmore's eyes. Stripy shirt/PJ top with band name on back, obviously hand made. Anyone on here perchance who's keeping quiet?? smile

As for chart status, agree. Was aware of the lack of impact of acts mentioned (Jam and Clash in particular) but was still gobsmacked at Undertones, even if it was debut offering. Just always assumed it was somewhere between 20 and 10, without ever stopping to look it up. Truly a case of appreciated after the event, unless you were John Peel.