Not So Manic Now on Top of the Pops 1996

It was New Year’s Day 1996 when Dubstar learned that they would be making their first appearance on British television’s most prestigious music show, Top of the Pops. Not So Manic Now had a midweek chart position of 22, but despite stiff competition from Oasis, Michael Jackson, Madonna and even the Beatles(!) it would rise to 18 for the group’s first official Top 20 placement. Filming would take place two days later in Elstree, with the programme airing the following evening.

The personnel for the show was representative of the band’s touring lineup at that point. Only Sarah and Chris had appeared on the single itself, with drummer Paul Wadsworth having joined the band after the recording of Disgraceful. Steve Hillier’s keyboards had been replaced by Jon Kirby on the record, but since Sarah was the only member required to actually reproduce her part live on the show, the musicians would be miming their performance.

To celebrate the group’s TOTP debut, Andy Ross booked a room at Soho House for a party in the evening, which was attended by record company personnel from Food and EMI, as well as a collection of other musicians and celebrities. News of the party had reached the Groucho club, resulting in Keith Allen, Damien Hirst and Stephen Duffy crossing the street to seek entry. The stress of the day’s events had caused keyboard player Steve Hillier to become very intoxicated however, and he found himself verbally insulting Keith Allen and offering to fight Damien Hirst physically, before returning to his hotel room to be violently sick.

No rest for the wicked though, and the group were up bright and early the following morning for a punctual meeting with Geoff Travis (who had learned that Dubstar were without a manager at the time and wanted to throw his hat in the ring) followed by a trip to the Time Out offices on Tottenham Court Road for an interview with Pete Paphides. Phew!