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> Random Top 20 20/06/84, Every single reviewed
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King Rollo
post Apr 24 2017, 05:56 PM
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I have now reached the 80s,my favourite decade for chart music,so I am hoping for some classics in this top 20. I am also expecting some dodgy music as the 80s had its share of horrors as well. Please add some comments if you like/hate any of these songs.
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King Rollo
post Apr 24 2017, 06:12 PM
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20. So Tired - Ozzy Osbourne

Peak position - 20

Not what you would expect from Ozzy,this is a ballad with piano and strings. It's a good song with an ELO sound to it,which is not a surprise as the strings were arranged by Louis Clark who did the same job on ELO albums. Both acts were managed by the fearsome Don Arden,Sharon Osbourne's dad.
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King Rollo
post Apr 24 2017, 06:29 PM
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19. Change Of Heart - Change

Peak position - 17

Italian/American post-disco group. They had two top 20 hits in 1980 and then nothing until this one. It's a decent song with the distinctive production skills of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. The group split up just a year later.
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King Rollo
post Apr 25 2017, 05:58 PM
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18. I Feel Like Buddy Holly - Alvin Stardust

Peak position - 7

A good song written by Mike Batt,nothing too complicated about it. Of the songs I know by Alvin Stardust,this is easily the best. It's one of three top 10 singles for him in the 80s,only one fewer than the 70s which you would think of as being his heyday.
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King Rollo
post Apr 25 2017, 06:15 PM
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17. You're The Best Thing/Big Boss Groove - The Style Council

Peak position - 5

I was never a fan of The Style Council. Compared to The Jam,they were a bit bland. 'You're The Best Thing' got all the airplay and is decent enough. I haven't heard 'Big Boss Groove' before. It's a jazzy thing with lots of brass.
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King Rollo
post Apr 26 2017, 06:07 PM
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16. Let's Hear It For The Boy - Deniece Williams

Peak position - 2

From the soundtrack to 'Footloose',this is a catchy pop song which still gets played on the radio. It was a bit of a comeback as she hadn't charted since 1978. She had one no.1 single,'Free',in 1977. The comeback was short lived. She had no further top 40 hits.
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King Rollo
post Apr 26 2017, 06:23 PM
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15. Searchin' (I Gotta Find A Man) - Hazell Dean

Peak position - 6

One of the early Hi-NRG songs. Hi-NRG became so popular,it had its own singles chart in the Record Mirror. This particular song sounds it bit dated now. It was one of three top 10 hits for her in the 80s. She became a gay icon and continues to release new music.


This post has been edited by King Rollo: Apr 26 2017, 06:24 PM
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DalekTurret32
post Apr 26 2017, 10:15 PM
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Favourites: Change Of Heart (remember hearing that on Heart FM back in October 2012. Love that track.), You're The Best Thing, Let's It Hear For The Boy, Searchin'.

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King Rollo
post Apr 27 2017, 09:24 PM
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14. Dancing With Tears In My Eyes - Ultravox

Peak position - 3

Great song. It's quite unusual in that it starts with the chorus. Ultravox had virtually dispensed with their synths by this stage and this has more of a guitar based sound to it. It was their first top 10 hit since 1981 and ended up as their last. I liked their most recent album 'Brilliant' which came out in 2012. Hopefully there is still more to come from them.
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King Rollo
post Apr 27 2017, 09:46 PM
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13. Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now - The Smiths

Peak position - 10

Another well known 80s band now,I was never a fan. I like Johnny Marr's guitar work on this song but Morrissey's vocals do nothing for me. The title was inspired by Sandie Shaw's single 'Heaven Knows I'm Missing Him Now'. This was one of three top 10 singles for The Smiths,the same number as Ultravox. I thought both groups would have had more. Their chart records are remarkably similar. They both had 17 hit singles,many of which just failed to make the top 10.
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DalekTurret32
post Apr 27 2017, 10:08 PM
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Dancing With My Tears In My Eyes is a great song. This and Vienna are probably my favourite Ultravox tracks from what I've heard (Fun Fact: I have a Vox song on 7". [We Came To Dance on clear vinyl])
Heaven Knows I'm Miserable is also an admirable track. I'm listening to the Peel Session version (Hatful of Hollow Edit) right now.

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King Rollo
post Apr 28 2017, 06:17 PM
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12. Susanna - The Art Company

Peak position - 12

This is really dreadful. It's five minutes long but it seemed like ten. I didn't like it at the time but it seems even worse now. The group are actually called VOF de Kunst,their name was changed for the UK only. They come from Holland and are still going. They now mainly release albums of childrens' songs.
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King Rollo
post Apr 28 2017, 06:33 PM
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11. Thinking Of You - Sister Sledge

Peak position - 11

Sister Sledge's first top 20 hit since 'Lost In Music' in 1979. But it's actually the B Side of that single. All their new songs were failing so they tried this one instead and it paved the way for their no.1 'Frankie' the following year. I like Nile Rogers' guitar on this one and the bongo drums,good song. Maureen Walsh and Paul Weller both had top 20 hits with cover versions of this song.
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King Rollo
post Apr 29 2017, 05:08 PM
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10. Pearl In The Shell - Howard Jones

Peak position - 7

The fourth single from his 'Human's Lib' album. The first three are all great songs,this one I don't like as much. It's still a decent pop song. The saxophone solo was played by one of Ian Dury's Blockheads.
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King Rollo
post Apr 29 2017, 05:23 PM
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9. High Energy - Evelyn Thomas

Peak position - 5

Another Hi-NRG track now. I said the Hazell Dean one sounded a bit dated but this one has aged much better. It still sounds good,an 80s dance classic. Evelyn Thomas had only two top 40 hits,the other one was way back in 1976.
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King Rollo
post Apr 30 2017, 07:14 PM
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8. Farewell My Summer Love - Michael Jackson

Peak position - 7

After releasing loads of singles from Thriller,Michael Jackson's record company were milking it even further by putting this out. It's one of his 'lost' recordings from 1973. The song is only average.
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King Rollo
post Apr 30 2017, 07:24 PM
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7. Sad Songs (Say So Much) - Elton John

Peak position - 7

One of seven top 10 singles for Elton in the 80s,this is not one of his better songs.
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King Rollo
post May 1 2017, 04:54 PM
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6. Only When You Leave - Spandau Ballet

Peak position - 3

Spandau Ballet were at their best from 1980-81 when they were New Romantics. By 1983,although they were selling lots of records,they had switched to a more mainstream sound and this song is quite bland. I like the 'Through The Barricades' song from 1986,though.
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King Rollo
post May 1 2017, 05:08 PM
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5. Relax - Frankie Goes To Hollywood

Peak position - 1

Relax's 33rd week on the chart,it's on its way back up. At the time,I bought the cassette single which had various mixes of the song. Trevor Horn spent many hours in the studio remixing the track. Relax is the sixth best selling single in the UK with sales of 2,030,000.


This post has been edited by King Rollo: May 1 2017, 05:09 PM
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Popchartfreak
post May 1 2017, 06:37 PM
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ooh yes that Susannah song was pretty bad, Spandau bland, MJ's not worthy of reissue (so many better tracks in his Motown back catalogue), I like the rest though, some of them classic (Smiths, Frankie, Sledge, Style Council)
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