SuggestiON-AIR: Best TV Performances
Two Door Cinema Club will be gacing our telly screens tomorrow night, as they continue their rise with a performance on BBC 2's Later with Jools Holland. The Bangor lads will feature alongside Bryan Ferry, Midlake and Jessie J on BBC 2 at 10pm, tomorrow.
But what has been your musical TV highlight? Perhaps that moment a band caught you by surprise as you ate your dinner? Or a tape you had that you watch one repeat? What live performance by a band has stuck with you?
Let us know your pick by shouting us here, on the ATL facebook or ATL twitter and we will give y'all a shout on the show tonight...
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Nirvana - Smells like Teen Spirit (Top of the Pops, 1991)
Rigsy - ATL Presenter
It can sometmies be a bit childish or cringe-tastic when a band rebel on a TV show (see Ian Brown losing his mind - 'amateurs!!') but Nirvana did it brilliantly on several occasions. The promised Jonathon Ross 'Lithium' (which he subsequently introduced) instead performing something much ruder and noiseier. On 'The Word' Kurt Cobain informed the entire room about a recent conquest ('Courtney Love of the sensational pop group Hole') but, best of all was the band on Top of the Pops. Forced to mime what they were playing, Dave, Kurt and Krist made ludicrous, unrelated gesures while Kurt sang the whole thing like a drunk opera star, making 'Smells like Teen Spirit' sound as daft as possible. Career suicide? Hardly. The world lapped it right up.
Jimi Plays Monterey
Paul McClean - ATL Producer
Sure I was aware of Voodoo Chile and Purple Haze, but until I caught the footage this performance of Jimi Hendrix at the Monterey festival in 1967, I had no real idea about him. It was transcendental. The hippy vibe was still alive and no doubt the audience were as in very high spirits but Hendrix was not too mashed to deliver one of the all-time rock guitar performances. So many later guitarists licks and tricks were exposed as blatant rip offs from Jimi's repertoire. Astonishing.
Joanna Newsom - Book of Right On (Jools Holland) (2006)
Amy McGarrigle - ATL Content Assistant
Because I've been banned from writing about Smashing Pumpkins (of which I had MANY to choose from), and a Birthday Party appearance on German TV which was just a little too much, I've decided to go full circle. Instead of the all out rock antics, gyrations and poses, crowd surfing and general 'in your face-ness' that sometimes makes rock n'roll TV appearances memorable, I've gone for the more sedate (if still loopers) Joanna Newsom.
Her performance on Jools Holland (2006 I think) included a live version of 'Book of Right On' with her sitting in the dark, alone with her harp and showing us all what the fuss was about. It was "one of those moments' where it all made sense for those who got it, but you can imagine it being marmite in the living rooms across the land. I'd never wiitnessed anybody playing pop songs on a harp, yet alone paired with lyrics like, 'I killed my dinner with karate, kick 'em in the face, taste the body'. It was no doubt partly responsible for me going to see her in the Olympia , Duiblin in 2007 and witnessing one of the best gigs I've ever been to.
Iggy Pop - 'Lust for Life' (Live on the White Room) (1995)
Steven Rainey - ATL Buddy
Amongst all of the numerous performances from Iggy Pop's mid-90s revival, his appearance on Channel 4's The White Room is perhaps the most notorious. Clad only in a pair of see-thru PVC trousers, he proceeded to kick 'Lust for Life' to death, disrobing himself in the process.
Now, if we push this aspect to one side (why on earth would he need to remove a pair of see-thru trousers?), what remains is an absolute legend of popular music, knowing that he's back in vogue again, setting out to remind people of why we needed him in the first place.
And for that: Iggy, we salute you.Just put your trousers back on again.
Arcade Fire – Keep The Car Running – Jonathan Ross - June 2007
Philip taggart - ATL Buddy
In June 2007 I lay prostrate, semi conscious on my sofa watching Pete Doherty awkwardly drool his way through an interview on Jonathan Ross’ couch of mirth anxiously awaiting the Arcade Fire performance that was still to come. It was to be my precursor of my first live experience of the guys at Oxegen later that year.
They blasted into then, latest single ‘Keep the Car Running’ and was typically indicative of the Arcade Fire live show. It was raucous, empowering and passionate and very quickly woke me from my Friday night daze. The brief soirée culminated in Win Butler belligerently thrashing a studio camera with his Mandolin and subsequently dumb founding and nearly, I stress nearly, silencing the ever gabbing Jonathan Ross. It still gives me goosebumps revisiting online.
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