I remember watching this episode of TOTP and Orange Crush has been in my top 5 songs of all time ever since. Although the performances weren't live, TOTP was such a treat every week - it was at it's peak for me around this time :)
Just like Morrissey did in 1983 with the Smiths when he went on stage and sang with no mic, Stipe hides behind a megaphone to show disapproval with lip syncing. Awesome.
That's not the reason at all.. It's because part of the song's studio version / LP record is sang thru a 📣 megaphone, namely the refrain and the bridge both so.. That's the reason but nice attempt at making this seem cooler than it is
Whenever I listen to this song I think of when I was 18, in 1989, blasting it on my car stereo as I drove to do my own gig at a local high school. It really created the energy for the evening.
If this was the episode of TOTP hosted by Mark Goodier then it's missing the classic introduction along the lines of "Mmmn, now it's REM with Orange Crush. Who wouldn't like a nice glass of refreshing Orange squash right now!!!".
@DerseyLaBoosh he said "Especially nice on a hot day, Orange Crush" apparently the band took extreme offense to this,seeing as the song is about the chemical Agent Orange used during the Vietnam War. They didnt go on Top Of The Pops again until 1995.
The studio was just never cut out for live performance anyway. At least we got some great spoof moments out of it. Oasis switched the Gallagher brothers on a track in good fun, but the idea was lost since both of them sang on different tracks, so people just naturally assumed it was one or the other.
This was the best Tour REM ever did! The Green Tour when they were becoming huge and Headliners! That Album along with Murmur is still their best! If people only knew that a few years earlier they were playing pizza parlors and bowling alleys. You could see early REM for practically nothing and up close. They had Radio Free Europe as their best song but it was only played on college radio so it wasn’t really a hit song. Nobody knew who they were except the hip college kids or college crowd. Ah, the good old days!
I remember watching this .Then i remember my disappointmen at taping over it.I think fuzzbox were on before them..pink pink sunshine.saw them in Dubling on June 24th that year. Immense
Hang on, what does the presenter say at the end? It cuts off too soon to hear, I think. The orange refers to agent orange, the chemical used in the vietnam war. Thank you for posting and sharing with the rest of us REM fans. The band is gone but not forgotten.
I'm surprised people on here are bemoaning the fact it's not a live performance. The producers expected bands to lip sync on TotPs, even accomplished bands like REM. The show had a high turnover of acts and it wouldn't be practical to play live for just one song. TotPs was a cheaply made entertainment vehicle reflecting current single sales. There were rare exceptions, New Order and, I think, Nirvana.
KingProne No. He’s purposefully exaggerating the fact that he’s lip syncing because he thought it was lame. As for New Order, according to Peter Hook it was their manager Rob Gretton who insisted they play live. Integrity etc. And supposedly every time they played live on TOTP their singles did worse on the charts. So there’s that.
@AndyAufAnglo HI Andy its been a year since your post and like me, you probably did it after a few beers. But the point I am making is that the more accomplished Bands would happily sing live, as a way of sorting the wheat from the chaff, one memorable performance when playing and singing live was Simply Reds holding back the years from 1985 which stood out to me because compared to his fellow peers he actually could and did sing live and sounded like his released recording,
+Pykadon that were infamous but it will go down in tv history as one of the best protests they did against the BBC. the whole point of going on TV is to play live to see how well you can play and what the audience think. the BBC wouldnt let musicians play live because they claimed that setting up a studio or stage for live performances took too long so they made people mime. even now you still cant play fully live at the BBC studios yet. many countries around europe make people mime but people always play live in the U.S
I’d say it was because he didn’t know what it was about. How many people know enola gay is about the aeroplane that dropped the bomb on Hiroshima. It’s not obvious is it
I have never liked the clips from that show. It was so stupid how they ask the bands to go on stage to perform with playback. Arrgh! hated it. R.E.M: was one of the most memorable bands of all time and you ask them to be on stage with playback??? I'm absolutely sure that neither Michael, Peter, Mike nor Bill liked doing it. Thank God, Morrissey (The Smiths) told them once: I'm not doing it and if I do so, I'll make it look so ridiculous;)
They were well-received among rock music fans because they played good-sounding rock music. That's *ALL* there is to it, hipster. It's a shame that artsy-fartsy self-indulgent musico-types just don't get it yet--especially since it started in the early 50s. Music is not, and never has been, a medium for discussing "important" things. It has to sound *good*. Not sound "important".
So funny that Michael Stipe is pretending to use a megaphone while lip syncing.. Is he also wearing a fake ponytail? I have never seen pictures of him with long hair.
So just because you've never seen pics of him with long hair that's a fake ponytail? It's actually real hair he had his hair long in 88 and 89 on the green world tour
I hope this is a sarcastic commentupthebracket26 cause this song is about "agent Orange" and the vietnam bullshit occupation so many shamfull years ago....
That show was one of the worst shows ever!!! I can't believe they even agreed to do this...totally not their style @DerseyLaBoosh I think "that's gotta feel nice on a hot day"
![R.E.M. • "Orange Crush" • LIVE 1989[Reelin' In The Years Archive]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/yQ34kVqgUPc/mqdefault.jpg)
I think Stipe is on record as saying that he didn't want to lip sync, but was forced to. Hence the megaphone.
Like Queen
@@Shade571 yes
Well that’s part of it
He turns away at points and makes it so obvious he isn't singing. Amusing. Good man.
I heard they told him he had to lip sync but he had no idea how to do he thought he'd hide his lips
I remember watching this episode of TOTP and Orange Crush has been in my top 5 songs of all time ever since. Although the performances weren't live, TOTP was such a treat every week - it was at it's peak for me around this time :)
Just like Morrissey did in 1983 with the Smiths when he went on stage and sang with no mic, Stipe hides behind a megaphone to show disapproval with lip syncing. Awesome.
Not really just disrespectful
@@humanchannel7825 You must have been one of the BBC executives pulling their hair out backstage during this performance.
That's not the reason at all.. It's because part of the song's studio version / LP record is sang thru a 📣 megaphone, namely the refrain and the bridge both so.. That's the reason but nice attempt at making this seem cooler than it is
@@88_TROUBLE_88 If he only used a megaphone during the refrain, then why is he holding the megaphone to his face during this entire performance? lol
@@88_TROUBLE_88 From what I heard, he was uncomfortable/unconfident lip syncing so 'hid' behind the megaphone.
The crowd was really into this song! They were great back then and Green was one of their best albums. The Green Tour was fantastic!
Wow. It sounds exactly like the studio version.
😆 🤣 😂 amazing
Enjoyed this performance, Mr Stipe at his crazy best!
I can't imagine being 18 or so in 1988 and being exposed to that for the first time...a genuine classic song and band with that pop disguise
I was 15 yrs old when this album came out. It was definitely incredible.
Whenever I listen to this song I think of when I was 18, in 1989, blasting it on my car stereo as I drove to do my own gig at a local high school. It really created the energy for the evening.
I love Stipe's dancing here!
Burning 10,000 calories in 3 minutes is impossible.
Michael Stipe: watch this!
The best comment I've ever read 🤣🤣🤣
😂😂😂
If this was the episode of TOTP hosted by Mark Goodier then it's missing the classic introduction along the lines of "Mmmn, now it's REM with Orange Crush. Who wouldn't like a nice glass of refreshing Orange squash right now!!!".
Always loved the bass!!!
Iconic. I remember watching this on Top of the Pops as a 13 year old and being transfixed.
You know when you’ve made it featuring Tops of the Pops to sell out arenas…. Truly brilliant song and group and up there with the best ❤️
I was at this show and they were fantastic.
knew it wouldn't be live, yet welcome the opportunity to SEE them
Thank you for posting and sharing with the rest of us REM fans. The band is gone but not forgotten.
@DerseyLaBoosh he said "Especially nice on a hot day, Orange Crush" apparently the band took extreme offense to this,seeing as the song is about the chemical Agent Orange used during the Vietnam War. They didnt go on Top Of The Pops again until 1995.
Hehe I remembered that at the time too! I'm not a fan of REM however.
holy shit! I think the guest at 2:57 interviewed Michael and Bill in the capitol theatre 1984
The studio was just never cut out for live performance anyway. At least we got some great spoof moments out of it. Oasis switched the Gallagher brothers on a track in good fun, but the idea was lost since both of them sang on different tracks, so people just naturally assumed it was one or the other.
oh my word thats gotta be the most funny dancing iv ever seen lol rock on!
The orange refers to agent orange, the chemical used in the vietnam war.
Check out mud's "Lonely this Christmas" on TOTP. He had a ventriloquist dull doing parts of it!
This was the best Tour REM ever did!
The Green Tour when they were becoming huge and Headliners! That Album along with Murmur is still their best!
If people only knew that a few years earlier they were playing pizza parlors and bowling alleys. You could see early REM for practically nothing and up close.
They had Radio Free Europe as their best song but it was only played on college radio so it wasn’t really a hit song. Nobody knew who they were except the hip college kids or college crowd.
Ah, the good old days!
Why would anyone pay to see REM? 😆 🤣 😂
I remember watching this .Then i remember my disappointmen at taping over it.I think fuzzbox were on before them..pink pink sunshine.saw them in Dubling on June 24th that year. Immense
Que locazo mi querido Stipe
Hang on, what does the presenter say at the end? It cuts off too soon to hear, I think.
The orange refers to agent orange, the chemical used in the vietnam war.
Thank you for posting and sharing with the rest of us REM fans. The band is gone but not forgotten.
"especially nice on a hot day"
Nice on a hot day . . . most likely refering to the soda Orange Crush.
Interesting dancing...
Stipe was a whirling dervish on stage I love all of his dance moves
Guaranteed they vowed never to let anyone make them lip sync again
The Mikes are far too good as live singers for that shit. Do it live or don't bother
Peter really rocks that les paul
Love the megaphone
wow. never knew they did this
Yep, New Order and Nirvana both did live singing. And if you watch their performances you can understand why other acts didn't.
I'm surprised people on here are bemoaning the fact it's not a live performance. The producers expected bands to lip sync on TotPs, even accomplished bands like REM. The show had a high turnover of acts and it wouldn't be practical to play live for just one song. TotPs was a cheaply made entertainment vehicle reflecting current single sales. There were rare exceptions, New Order and, I think, Nirvana.
"TotPs"? Did you not mean "TopPs" (short for "Top of the Pops")?
i think REM was actually struggeling to lip sync, hence he shows his back all the time and hides behind the megaphone all the time
KingProne No. He’s purposefully exaggerating the fact that he’s lip syncing because he thought it was lame.
As for New Order, according to Peter Hook it was their manager Rob Gretton who insisted they play live. Integrity etc. And supposedly every time they played live on TOTP their singles did worse on the charts. So there’s that.
Iron Maiden played live. They basically told them, "We're doing it live or we're not doing it at all".
Seriously what was the point of the megaphone if he won't use it?? Could have done it live had he turned it on.
I think he used it to make fun of the fact that they were miming.
Oh the humanity….🤦🏻♂️
Yes, they are. Everything was playback, including the instruments.
I was searching for this comment lmao
@AndyAufAnglo HI Andy its been a year since your post and like me, you probably did it after a few beers. But the point I am making is that the more accomplished Bands would happily sing live, as a way of sorting the wheat from the chaff, one memorable performance when playing and singing live was Simply Reds holding back the years from 1985 which stood out to me because compared to his fellow peers he actually could and did sing live and sounded like his released recording,
I can't believe they even agreed to do this...totally not their style
I never understood why Top of the Pops made bands lip-synch to the album track. I mean, the band's there, the stage is there, just have them do it.
Love how all artist just say fuck Top of the Pops and just don’t try to make it look believable lol
It’s a tradition! Nirvana, Stone Roses, REM, Oasis probably many others 🤣
What happened to the neon boxes set (1983-88), the program had?
I seem to remember Nirvana saying they were given the choice to either play instruments and mime, or sing and pretend to play instruments.
+Pykadon that were infamous but it will go down in tv history as one of the best protests they did against the BBC. the whole point of going on TV is to play live to see how well you can play and what the audience think. the BBC wouldnt let musicians play live because they claimed that setting up a studio or stage for live performances took too long so they made people mime. even now you still cant play fully live at the BBC studios yet. many countries around europe make people mime but people always play live in the U.S
Omg. I'm watching MTV lol
American Bandstand
I wouldn't say the presenters comment was inappropriate, i'd say it was uneducated and ignorant.
Interesting dancing...
I’d say it was because he didn’t know what it was about. How many people know enola gay is about the aeroplane that dropped the bomb on Hiroshima. It’s not obvious is it
oh i think the comment was i'd be glad 2 hav u guys on a hot day lol!
Hello os It Ken Stringfellow on bass on the show ?
Hang on, what does the presenter say at the end? It cuts off too soon to hear, I think.
agent orange would be lovely on a hot day lol
@DerseyLaBoosh I think "that's gotta feel nice on a hot day"
Nice.
This looks so awkward for Stipe.
Sick
Lipsynching SUCKS.
wow. never knew they did this
Check out mud's "Lonely this Christmas" on TOTP. He had a ventriloquist dull doing parts of it!
I have never liked the clips from that show. It was so stupid how they ask the bands to go on stage to perform with playback. Arrgh! hated it. R.E.M: was one of the most memorable bands of all time and you ask them to be on stage with playback??? I'm absolutely sure that neither Michael, Peter, Mike nor Bill liked doing it. Thank God, Morrissey (The Smiths) told them once: I'm not doing it and if I do so, I'll make it look so ridiculous;)
didn't quite catch what the presenter said, someone mind clarifying for me?
gabriellaarroyo especially on a hot day he said
i thought the first video stipe ever lip synced in was loosing my religion? this is embarrassing
Nirvana did it better in 1991. Fortunately TOTP let REM play fully live in 2001 when they did Imitation Of Life.
green was the last rem's great album
New adventures was pretty great
Ridiculous comment.
Automatic For The People had some great tracks on it, but I agree, the earlier albums are incredible. All of them.
Always loved the bass!!!
That show was one of the worst shows ever!!!
Never understood why REM were so popular, so many important things to sing about and they do songs about orange juice and swimming at night. smh
Lol funny comment
Obviously you do not know of half of their songs!
They were well-received among rock music fans because they played good-sounding rock music.
That's *ALL* there is to it, hipster. It's a shame that artsy-fartsy self-indulgent musico-types just don't get it yet--especially since it started in the early 50s.
Music is not, and never has been, a medium for discussing "important" things.
It has to sound *good*.
Not sound "important".
A The Offspring fan doesn't like music with a message?
+Devil's Offspring great comment
So funny that Michael Stipe is pretending to use a megaphone while lip syncing.. Is he also wearing a fake ponytail? I have never seen pictures of him with long hair.
So just because you've never seen pics of him with long hair that's a fake ponytail? It's actually real hair he had his hair long in 88 and 89 on the green world tour
Ah sorry just read your post again you were asking if it was fake pony sorry bout that but no its a real pony
I hope this is a sarcastic commentupthebracket26 cause this song is about "agent Orange" and the vietnam bullshit occupation so many shamfull years ago....
God I hate Top of the Pops. Let my boy Michael Pipes sing!!
What the hell?
That show was one of the worst shows ever!!!
wow. never knew they did this
That show was one of the worst shows ever!!!
@DerseyLaBoosh I think "that's gotta feel nice on a hot day"
That show was one of the worst shows ever!!!
whos idea of making this top of the pop shit 😆😆
That show was one of the worst shows ever!!!
I can't believe they even agreed to do this...totally not their style
@DerseyLaBoosh I think "that's gotta feel nice on a hot day"
I’m guessing your american
This is lip-sync!!!
Terrible- hate lip syncing
Wow. That is just hilariously bad. Are they a comedy act?