Advent Calendar 2021 Day 18: Saturday Superstore, 1984

A solid 102 minute wodge of the Mike Read-enabled pre-Christmas party in Studio 7 and the place is so packed out even Cheggers' Swaporama in Warrington is overstuffed, with Tom O'Connor, Slade, the local male voice choir and Salvation Army band, a massive yule log and a traffic cone giftwrapping contest. Neil (as in Nigel Planer), who'd had a tumultuous relationship with both Superstore and Geldof, tries to bring in his second single referencing white bicycle and ends up in the basement with Sarah and Roy Wood. An initially reticent four year old Natalie Casey follows her Chick Chick Chicken breakthrough with her difficult second single, her reward being getting to meet Basil Brush, who takes calls having just finished his/its last BBC series in original Ivan Owen form. There's also Britain's second best ice skating duo Karen Barber and Nicky Slater, the Toy Dolls taking the whole studio by storm, John Craven grilling Bill Giles about the likelihood of a white Christmas, some sawing a woman in half, the Thompson Twins and Cantable and their oh so clever carol rewordings. Most of the above are pressed into Pop Panel service, including Rondo Veneziano and Prince's I Would Die 4 U ("a video I know at least two of us like") - and just as you think that's more than enough for one morning, here's Bob Geldof to reinforce the message of the then new Do They Know It's Christmas? Actually the obvious highlight is the video for Two Left Feet, the Superstore equivalent of I Wanna Be A Winner but without, as far as we can tell, ever actually being released.