The Blue Nile - Tinseltown in the rain | The Story Behind The Song | Top 2000 a gogo

Paul Buchanan of The Blue Nile tells us the story of 'Tinseltown in the rain' en shows us his house in Glasgow where he wrote the song. A short documentary by Top 2000 a gogo from 2013 (Dutch Public Television).

[@colindickson697]

As a glaswegian this song is like a national anthem for me. Dark pishing rain on the bus home from work with this in your earphones. Joy and sadness.

[@bengunns9500]

Thanks for that Colin, makes you think

[@johnmcdonnellakacarljunglebhoy]

Paul Buchanan is so brilliant they named the main pedestrianised street in the centre of Glasgow after him. Nah. Naw they didnae .. there’s still traffic on West Nile Street 😏

[@eightiesmusic1984]

It is atmospheric and evocative. Raintown ( album and song) by Deacon Blue is also quintessentially what I imagine Glasgow to be in many respects. I love the directness, realism and common sense of Scots and the humour is great too. I live near Liverpool and cannot comprehend why Burniston is not one of the most popular comedy programmes of the last few decades across the whole of the UK. Me and my wife once had a conversation with a French vet in South west France who is a fan yet most people in the UK have never heard of it.

[@HIERONYMAS]

Great song, hopes and memories sadly beautiful. Poignant, the most beautiful word…

[@Astronurd]

SAME

[@crusher525official2]

3:42 His look after saying how it has changed...longing,sadness and acceptance in one look. Plus this fantastic song in the background - goosebumps!

[@MrJeanBaguette]

And that was 10 years ago… can you imagine his look now?

[@HIERONYMAS]

Poignant smile, times have changed and he knows it will never be that good again

[@jessejohanni]

Beautiful, yes. But then again, in the early 80s some older person thought the same about the (then newly built?) scenery that Paul might feel nostalgic about in this clip. The bittersweet reality of urban life.

[@84edsl]

I had just broken up with what i thought was the love of my life and i heard this song. It's rhythm and lyrics actually pulled my out of of the downward spiral I was in. Since then it is in my all time favourite bands list. Not too many of my friends knew about them but it was my little secret. Listening to it now and looking back at my life, all I can say is I made it here 37 years later in one piece. I wished great music like this was around for these younger kids to hear instead of the "music" out there now. It would bring some civility.

[@mattking1094]

@@eightiesmusic1984 You're just not looking hard enough or in the right places.

[@mattking1094]

@@eightiesmusic1984 oh, I thought it was arrogant to say that there was a depth and integrity in music from one particular time when compared to another. There was just as much vacuous and shameless music made in 1984 as there is being made now, just as there is deep and honest music being made today.

[@mattking1094]

@@eightiesmusic1984 What am I being called out on? My scepticism of your proclamation about the depth and integrity of contemporary music? Look man, you are allowed to have your opinion just as I am allowed to tell you that your opinion is incorrect.

[@mattking1094]

@@eightiesmusic1984 sure, as long as we're clear that your subjective opinion is objectively false.

[@finney2011]

This music has so much more than what garbage is pushed out there today. To the retards who question.the original comment. Go fk yourselves for being such azz holes to the person who commented first. Ok

[@waa-art]

No voiceover, no explanation. I love this. A short movie that becomes a kind of poetry by itself.

[@iiphase]

The ghost of yourself there is a song right there

[@bengunns9500]

absolutely

[@andrewpinner3181]

Thanks for posting this, I've loved this band since buying their first album 'Walk Across the Rooftops' ! (l think it was in '83). Their music is so beautiful & haunting, especially & of course with Paul's voice.

[@007therealjamesbond]

I accidentally came across this song a few years ago changing channels on the car radio. I loved it immediately and even more after this little documentary. Just brilliant all round, thanks for posting.

[@audiogob9392]

The blue nile are criminally underrated, another underappreciated Scottish band is orange juice & blue nile ofcourse.

[@johnmiller7684]

How is Paul Buchanan buying a lottery ticket --- guy should be a gazillionaire. So talented. Sad that more people didn't hear and appreciate him and the Blue NIle.

[@Grana2020]

😂😂😂 I know that was so shocking when I see that. Oh my God it was hilarious. It really shows that how his music is so natural ordinary just like him. He's just like any one of us, one of the most humble person ever I'll say

[@LostwaveObsession]

Not sure how they did it, but with A Walk... and Hats they just managed SO many tunes that mean the world to me. An eternal thank you to The Blue Nile.

[@user-xj9pz9tu6c]

Just made me cry Thank you The blue nile

[@simonlockwood914]

One of my favourite singles of all time🎸🎸🎸🎸

[@BjoernLewin]

the melancholy of The Blue Nile is by far unparalleled! ... and hard to take in at times ;)

[@reinpost]

I've never heard the song, but look at the camera work! E.g. 3:18-3:44, how they keep filming after the sentence ends. Poetry.

[@Meowbay]

Most of that, except for the camerawork itself, is done by my cousin; facebook.com/henszimmerman

[@apollomemories7399]

I was more impressed with the break in the singing on the track where Paul spoke a little and when he stopped speaking the singing picks up again on the track.

[@reuireuiop0]

Also known as Space Geek Didn't know he did TV edits as well ! (Despite the nickname, Hens' radio column is Dutch only -thou anyone can hear there's a brilliant editor at work there)

[@kevinsmall3336]

It's changed...its changed now...we all know that feeling.

[@francisgutierrez9674]

So true, it made me teary but laugh from joy at the same time. What a beautiful track.

[@thepodiatrist]

He might never have had the commercial success he deserved. However his influence is vast. He inspired so many great bands. Adam Duritz of the mighty counting crows just one example.

[@danielmarshall4587]

Oh thank you this is solid gold

[@John-rr9nq]

Take me back please to the 1980,s Paul said a thing I always said We were skint but we were HAPPY

[@victorvondoom6176]

In de top tien coolste nummers ooit gemaakt.

[@lesleystewart6925]

Takes me back to my youth . Seen them in Glasgow- fantastic night.

[@peterg8118]

Brilliant stuff.......Great music, Great characters...Hangout there every summer when I arrive from Oz......Mother Glasgow just like New York.

[@johnmcintosh5413]

Times have changed just as we do Paul not surprised your feeling emotional on returning to a simpler space in time

[@GerryScullion]

Amazing!!!

[@facesvoicesofrecoveryuk8988]

Beautiful

[@gaelicstatesman]

genius magic sublime beautiful

[@starchildandthenewromantic]

greatest song ever

[@nicck]

Lived in Glasgow for 6 months. It's all I could bear because it's a cripplingly depressing place to be. When he says "it's changed" you can see the sadness. I never knew what it was like before...but circa 2017... No way

[@nobordersnoflags9905]

nonsense. I've lived there for decades and it is full of joy if you look right.

[@younglock5499]

That's my home town your talking about.I think the city instantly got better the moment you left. Your the type of guy who'd be on a beach in fuckin Hawaii and still be cripplingly depressed.

[@nicck]

@@younglock5499 it's a shit hole. Been all around the UK - Glasgow took the fucking biscuit. Dogshit and empty bottles all over the place. Not to mention south of the river. It's desolate. They built a highway on stilts right on top of it, and below that it's as if a nuclear weapon went off. If the west side is the best, some of the worst England has to offer is topping it.

[@Spookieham]

Look I spent half my life in Glasgow. I've lived all over the world and now live in the sun next to the Indian Ocean. I was back 2 years ago and I couldn't get away fast enough. The place is even more run down and a lot of the fantastic buildings replaced by terrible cheap student flats. The best thing about the city was, is, and always will be the people.

[@hearditman]

Graeme Hill So you were there for six years?

[@Spookieham]

I hear this and I'm transported 10,000 miles and 36 years back in time to Glasgow in 1984 and the bars in Byres Road and Renfield St where I hung out as a 17 year old. Sigh...looking at the city centre now on Google maps it looks really shitty and run down.

[@MrBoss1]

My grandad is in this lol at 2:35

[@cornellwaters9089]

🏨 Thank You!

[@simonwolfe2237]

Sountrack to my time at university

[@alandunnachie9792]

Cmon Ken Bruce please play this

[@tommyross5959]

Doing the lottery, what's that about? I first heard this song 40 years ago, one day driving in Glasgow, bought the album on the strength of it, I thought I'd won the lottery!

[@_Grensgeval_]

All this talking is only bravado,yeah!

[@jackjude]

Why was Glasgow the capital of sophisti-pop?

[@davidram9511]

Hey “story behind the song” visit Sandra , and interview her, she is in Ibiza now, please , her best song is “will be together” Others are :freeze iou, philis Nelson I like you, Mike Mareen Love spy Lafever Mandolay Please please xxoo

[@DJDanceClassic]

Top2000 is a Dutch radio phenomenon. every year, listeners send in their votes for the 35 best records of all time and the resulting Top 2000 are broadcast from Boxing Day until the New Year. This clip is from a TV show that highlights some of the more remarkable entries. I like PN her song but people in Holland don't know it, they do know MOVE CLOSER , the cover version that is.

[@Ndlanding]

Ashtray-on-motorbike.

[@modifiedcontent]

We need a new Blue Nile album with this still unreleased masterpiece 'Meanwhile' - m.kzbin.info/www/bejne/hYiUg59mpaqpfcU

[@trueblue3719]

Glesga song

[@andrewmcfadyen4506]

The fact he puts the lottery on makes me sad. A genius such as his should have been rewarded financially as well as in our constant love for his music

[@DJDanceClassic]

exactly my thoughts, this song should have given him 2000 pounds each month for the rest of his life!

[@gibsonwilson7513]

I just choked when I read your comment, you read my mind.

[@illbu2]

Just to think some “artists” today record a crap track and will never have to work a day in their lives really f*ckin annoys me. This guy is brilliant.

[@markandrewhoran]

I have to say I quite like that, as well as the whole video. Its a bit sad yeah, getting older and all that. But it shows him as a human being, which is what made The Blue Niles music so moving and relatable.

[@antonystabielli5966]

i thought the same thing .

[@Spookieham]

Jesus the music coming out of Glasgow in the early eighties was absolutely stunning.

[@onealspence8548]

Bless you I hear from a Warwickshire point of view. Incredible music

[@richf6111]

@@onealspence8548 I’m from Warwickshire too buddy. I listened to their albums at Uni in London as a 18-21 year old. Many a journey was spent with a Walkman on a tube train going home late at night....my body warmed by alcohol, my heart breaking to their songs. This was my Tinseltown in the rain. 🙏

[@onealspence8548]

@@richf6111 stunning bud have been a fan to myself since the 90s. Listening now to Family life track is beyond beyond beyond emotional. Great band saw them in Birmingham symphony Hall 2005.

[@grizzadams2110]

I totally agree....amazing really

[@guyperry4010]

The Big Dish from Airdrie, Danny Wilson from Dundee plus Billy MacKenzie. Aztec Camera, Hue and Cry, Wet Wet Wet, amazing period for a Solihull scamp

[@nickywilks7928]

My god I adore this song...58 now, but when I hear it I'm 20 all over again.

[@wwonka52]

I'm 70 and still lovin' it from the USA .(Massachusetts)

[@leonardjames1048]

I was 35 when I got this song and played it to death. I still do, having made my own long-extended mix of it. I am 74 now in 2023.

[@JefW]

@@wwonka52 56 in Connecticut- it never loses its power in 2024

[@erahometv]

I'm from Siberia, so far away from all going around of this song, but so close to this emotionally. I've learned Tinseltown's lyrics and sang it for a hundreds of time: in voice when alone and drunk, in head when just walking. Cried almost everytime. Almost cried right now.

[@2msvalkyrie529]

Yes. Russians are emotional people. Sadness/ Joy / Laughter / Tears..... And sometimes both together ! I think they call it ...Life .!

[@patrickpb3353]

Poetry my Siberian friend 🙏🏼

[@johnnycooker5298]

Nice mate, this song has sung me to sleep for almost 25 years. Downtown Lights as well...

[@johnganiard7803]

Thank you, brother. Same.

[@andreyspish]

ты только не забывай)

[@Johnnybananass-_]

without overstating it one of the greatest writers and lyricists of the past 50 years.

[@jonathanhagerman1465]

Amen.

[@annettekelly89]

Hell, yeah!

[@terrydear4038]

Paul Buchanan’s mournful and achingly beautiful voice along with The Blue Nile’s songs and arrangements are the very finest to come out of the UK. How PB isn’t a revered national treasure is beyond me.

[@tommymas1]

His melancholy at the end weighs.....heavily.

[@maciejsochon]

I do know why but that was touching. This sadness and joy which where in the eyes Paul. He seems to be cool guy.

[@mastermaciek]

What a gentleman Paul is! Love this brilliant song and Love Glasgow! God bless Scotland.

[@mozdickson]

The Blue Nile, wow...so unique and true. Listened to them as I strolled Glasgow last sunny September. Loved always from New Zealand.

[@apollomemories7399]

Enjoy the memory as you may not have another opportunity!

[@juanaltredo2974]

If before we died just as we see pass our lives in front of our eyes, we could also hear the songs, this one would resonate for me perhaps more than any other. It has a nostalgic echo, like my youth stayed behind with that song. It is something very special

[@kennyturner583]

He made that album & still has to do the lottery 😪

[@robdean704]

No accounting for people's tastes I'm afraid. One of the best tracks of the 80s which was a bleak time in the UK especially Scotland

[@markofsaltburn]

I imagine the three members would have enjoyed modest royalties from legacy sales of their albums, the first two in particular, but that these would’ve been decimated by the rise of streaming. It must be galling to have written a handful of songs that still have enduring global appeal, but to get so little back from them. Streaming is great for music fans, but terrible for musicians.

[@johnpresnell]

What a beautiful, poetic segment about a terrific song. Well done!

[@Top2000agogo]

That's good to hear, spread the word!

[@ianabroad]

Thank you to the film makers for making this beautiful film. A fabulous insight into one of my all time favourite songs. Great to listen and see Paul too. I hope he is happy and content.

[@PrecociousFriand]

Still one of my favourite singles of all time, after 35 years of music.

[@ms8742]

Really nice. Thanks for doing this, it is very real to have the artist go back and revisit the locations and talk about the song. You rarely get to see something like that. I was in Glasgow for one day 3 years ago and walking the streets I was like "Maybe I'll run into Paul Buchanan!"...Much appreciated from the USA.

[@ainslieberrafella]

@5:10 - That little acoustic rendition is so poignant. my eyes got very misty watching it. One of the reasons the Blue Nile are so loved is they have a capacity to be both uplifting and melancholy, which is so uncommon. I was 19 when Tinseltown came out and their music been a large part of my life ever since. I wish they had made more music than they did. Paul is credited with the songwriting but they really were at their very best in the early days when their songs were full collaborative efforts. I think they would have stayed together and made more, better albums after Hats (which is their musical high point, IMO) if the songs were credited to all three rather than just Paul. I mean, he's clearly a great lyricist and singer but the arrangements and playing of PJ and Robert elevated their songs into the truly peerless category. I don't know, maybe that's why they became so fractured.

[@exactsame]

Beautifully put Couldn’t agree more They were just sublime

[@jamesgrimes066]

Awesome interview. Amazing song and album. One of the best ever. Thank you Paul.

[@telsutton]

Less is more. The Paul Buchanan way. There is only one.

[@Dianelt]

Fantastic song, a timeless classic

[@onealspence8548]

Will always be incredible

[@wendyhandley9463]

I'm back in Glasgow after years in new Orleans, and I walk the streets and remember my little life back then and my big dreams and the only thing I can recognize and hold onto is this song I hear playing in my head as i walk. How things have changed and dreams not been realized.

[@gordon141068]

My favourite song of all time! The sound of my youth

[@MemskiBobSki]

I was 20 when i first heard this. Nearly 40 years later I love this song even more. Thank you Mr Buchanan.

[@da5idnz]

3:35 "but it's changed now.. It's changed..." You can see the wistfulness in his eyes...

[@ImpartiallySpeaking]

How this guy isn’t worth £500 million with a private jet and a billion followers I have no idea. Without doubt one of the greatest singers of all time matched by one of the greatest songs ever recorded

[@nicknewey6152]

I love Tinseltown in the Rain, probably in my all time top 20

[@BLCKSQR]

this song is pure love

[@ArnoldVeeman]

So there you have it... Every great song started like a gentle lulleby Thank you so much for this gift 💝

[@ianskewisEditor]

I've met Paul a few times now as we live not too far from each other in Glasgow and he's always come across as a very nice, genuine person. I don't think anyone has captured Glasgow life in a song the way he has IMHO.

[@Grana2020]

There is no mother fucker Cooler and humble then the Boss Paul Buchanan he made me cry and joy so many times. It's like this shit don't exist anywhere else

[@barnseyb6031]

No matter how many times I hear this song it takes me straight back to the 80s and that time in my life. (I was 60 this week) As Paul said in the clip, I applied a lot of the lyrics to my own situation at the time. I still play the whole album a lot and always get that nostalgic feeling of being happy and sad at the same time.

[@colshythecomedian]

What an absolute gentle-man Paul is. Could see him reminiscing in his mind.

[@前橋みき]

Paul and The Nile are one of my all time favourite bands -albums are very special

[@reuireuiop0]

Never knew they were are real band. Some joker on radio introduced them as studio musicians side project, but now I know Paul & co were for real !

[@bramkaal5662]

You know a song is beautiful when it gives you little tears every time you listen to it.. this is one of them..

[@joostvisser1124]

Best sound of a snare drum ever

[@thecroft6070]

Wow, he's trudging around the same streets in Glasgow's West End where I lived when obsessing over the album in '89. I knew they were from Glasgow, but no more than that. Glasgow was my Tinseltown back then. Sniff.

[@rederickfroders1978]

This remains to be unbeaten

[@alisonellis5774]

Tinseltown song has always been in life since I was 14 and now 51 I even got my x hubby into your music and he took me to the Glasgow concert hall for my 27th birthday a guy in the band had cut his honeymoon to play with you x hubby but me a sweat shirt with the blue nile wording on it when we were leaving the concert x I was lucky if I wore it twice cos he never had it off till if fell apart lolol I had got a poster to and took it to every move I had framed it and was heart broken when my flat flooded and it was wrecked x in my will Tinseltown is to be played when I go with the the this is the day the are my favourite songs ever thank you for your songs xxx

[@wendyhandley9463]

Oh Paul, this is nostalgic to me, shed a tear at the end there

[@Eric196910]

Probably the best short story behind a song i have ever seen. All comes together. Goosebumps all over. Almost 40 years ago. Man oh man.

[@Boriszuzu1]

The old guy outside the cafe, is Norman, who is an expert competitive 'Bridge' player for Scotland.

[@jamesgoforth1606]

just heard the song for the first time tonight. It is wonderful.

[@wwonka52]

I'm in USA, found Paul and The Blue Nile here by mistake about 10 years ago. Best thing ever. Check it all out. bill

[@cnfuzz]

Such a great moody song very unlike the rest of their output, has a very david sylvian/ japan tone in approach

[@sunkenindeaf]

"Like life, like a smile. Like the fall of a leaf. How sad, how lovely. How brief." ---Connie Converse Smiling and waving to you, dear Mr Buchanan, from a rainy night in Istanbul.

[@roddyb123]

Brilliant video. So simple and affecting. The last moment with Paul singing and reflecting on the lyrics of 'Tinseltown'. What a truly original artist he is. He has no reason to be anything but honest about his emotions and obviously fuels his writing. Great music, great guy.

[@monroeboy80]

Still hear this song played on SomaFm radio. I hope the band had a good publishing deal. My favorite song from them was Downtown Lights. Beautiful lyrics. The arrangement of the song is just magnificent. Coincidentally it was not from their version I fell in love with the song but by Ms Annie Lennox. I purchased a covers album by her when I was a teen and discovered the masterpiece that it is Downtown Lights.

[@Funkybassplayer]

This song has always a spot reserved in my greatest playlist. Love it. ❤️❤️❤️

[@johnomay3734]

Incredible album

[@747obrien]

The Blue Nile have provided a significant part of the soundtrack of my little life…and made it feel just slightly larger, with them in it.

[@stephenhall1607]

Mr Buchanan , saw u manchester , brilliant , pride of GLASGOW

[@andrewkeen7828]

Beautiful song, beautiful album, superbly written and produced. An outstanding band and man. Plus he went out with Roseanne Arquette.

[@GeorgeBeyond]

In my Top 10 songs of all time, lovely!

[@monkeyface6139]

C'mon Paul...just one more album. Scotland deserves that... Please.

[@albertagibinik3436]

We need 10 or twenty

[@markofsaltburn]

I think he’s given enough of himself. Just let him be a civilian.

[@rgbordini1]

4:12 Paul's joy at seeing the old rectangular room again

[@stuartmiller9648]

Love the Blue Nile...they sound like Glasgow for me. I stood next to Paul Buchananan once at a set of traffic lights in byres rd years ago,was too shy to talk to him....wish i had all these years later..!!!!!!!!

[@provocase]

What a fantastic album this song came from!

[@adrianonast3599]

Great song and interview

[@terjerendalsvik5461]

the blue nile is the group for me

[@rhettbroadby6472]

hes actually more handsome as an elderly man

[@Wrz2e]

Yes he's aged like wine.

[@stewarthannah7478]

Dont know how he managed to hold it together.

[@johndalglish440]

Fantastic song tinsel town my favourite