I loathed the BBC 1 prime time evening chat shows, including Terry 'Wiggy' Wogan, though I will confess that his increasingly drunken commentary frequently lightened up an otherwise heavy going Eurovision Song Contest.
However, it was a family viewing staple in the 1980s, mainly with the dinner-on-a-tray, sat on the sofa set up, which at least promised the hope of finishing and escaping to my room before the soaps kicked in.
There was an occasional glimmer of hope with some of the guests, although the banal banter would often be excruciating to sit through. Better was the even more occasional music performance that was an artist or song that I actually liked.
Whoever was responsible for booking Julian Cope to perform Charlotte Anne in 1988 may not have got a promotion on the back of it (more likely the sack) but it was a rare gem in the muck.
It's an unusually restrained performance from the Arch Drude and his image at this point was about as 'mainstream' as it ever got, but it's a joy to see him, Donald Ross Skinner, James Eller, KR Frost, Rooster Cosby (RIP) and Mike Joyce on a BBC stage.
No surprise, though, that guest Auberon Waugh thought it was utter rubbish. Wogan's comments have been lost in the mists of time.
