Printable version of thread

Posted by: popchartfreak 24th January 2015, 09:57 AM

1st January 1980

New Years Day and very little chart movement, 2 new entries, 1 re-entry and not much else, but happily the first new number of the 80’s is a bonafide classic, as Pink Floyd find Another Brick In The Wall presiding over a chart that included David Bowie peaking at 4 again, second-time around with John I’m Only Dancing (the Again version is no great shakes), and The Skids getting their 3rd top 10 with the characteristically catchy punkpop Yankee Dollar.

Macca continues to hang about outside the 10, as Styx, Sheila and Mike Oldfield creep into the 20, or Blue Peter Babe Spacer. Anne Murray re-enters with a bang at 25, Broken-Hearted Me, pleasant of course, cos Anne’s middle name was “nice”. Happily, I like nice, even if not’s cool to admit it. Let’s skip over that Bangor day trip going up, and instead comment on Stevie Wonder managing to get another top 40 song for over 11 years continuously, give or take. Earth Wind and Fire also grab another for 5 years of hits, they just Can’t Let Go. Highest actual new entry benefits from following up a good pop record, as Dr. Hook make it 8 years of hits at 48. Truth to tell the new bland version was not an improvement on the original quirky Medicine Show version, and Better Love Next Time is most definitely not up to the cover version of The Ballad Of Lucy Jordan a bit lower down for Marianne Faithful. Dennis Locorriere, voice of Hook, has much the same opinion these days and he avoids the singles from 1980 mostly, in concert (resident in England, he’s worth catching for his regular UK tours).

The rest: classic London Calling only up to 50 (I didn’t warm to it right away), Kurtis Blow up to 67 (I just bought it at long last, downloaded and on my current playlist), and new at 71 it’s The Inmates with The Walk. Both this and Dr Hook were on Top Of The Pops, so that may or may not have influenced them entering my chart. The Inmates? A bluesy 50’s styled jaunty romp. I like it. Apart from Floyd, though, the videos this week are MOR, so put your feet up, relax, soak in the lazy vibes and just enjoy...!



1 ( 2 ) ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL (PART 2) Pink Floyd
2 ( 3 ) WALKING ON THE MOON The Police
3 ( 1 ) I HAVE A DREAM Abba
4 ( 5 ) JOHN I’M ONLY DANCING (1972)/JOHN I’M ONLY DANCING (AGAIN) (1975) David Bowie
5 ( 4 ) NIGHTS IN WHITE SATIN The Moody Blues
6 ( 6 ) BRASS IN POCKET The Pretenders
7 ( 7 ) I ONLY WANT TO BE WITH YOU The Tourists
8 ( 10 ) PLEASE DON’T GO KC and The Sunshine Band
9 ( 8 ) CONFUSION/ LAST TRAIN TO LONDON E.L.O.
10 ( 12 ) WORKING FOR THE YANKEE DOLLAR The Skids



11 ( 11 ) WONDERFUL CHRISTMASTIME Paul McCartney
12 ( 16 ) OFF THE WALL Michael Jackson
13 ( 9 ) ONE STEP BEYOND Madness
14 ( 15 ) MOONLIGHT AND MUSAK M
15 ( 20 ) I WANNA HOLD YOUR HAND Dollar
16 ( 13 ) IS IT LOVE YOU'RE AFTER Rose Royce
17 ( 29 ) BABE Styx
18 ( 14 ) QUE SERA MI VIDA (IF YOU SHOULD GO) The Gibson Brothers
19 ( 21 ) SPACER Sheila and B. Devotion
20 ( 23 ) BLUE PETER Mike Oldfield



21 ( 28 ) TEARS OF A CLOWN The Beat
22 ( 19 ) COMPLEX Gary Numan
23 ( 17 ) DIAMOND SMILES The Boomtown Rats
24 ( 37 ) MY FEET KEEP DANCING Chic
25 ( RE ) BROKEN-HEARTED ME Anne Murray
26 ( 32 ) DAY TRIP TO BANGOR Fiddler’s Dram
27 ( 18 ) SING CHILDREN SING Lesley Duncan
28 ( 25 ) GIMME GIMME GIMME (A MAN AFTER MIDNIGHT) Abba
29 ( 26 ) WHEN YOU'RE IN LOVE WITH A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN Dr. Hook
30 ( 27 ) TUSK Fleetwood Mac



31 ( 24 ) RAPPER’S DELIGHT The Sugarhill Gang
32 ( 33 ) IT’S MY HOUSE Diana Ross
33 ( 22 ) UNION CITY BLUE Blondie
34 ( 34 ) IT’S MY HOUSE Storm
35 ( 46 ) SEND ONE YOUR LOVE Stevie Wonder
36 ( 35 ) MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE The Police
37 ( 40 ) I’M BORN AGAIN Boney M
38 ( 30 ) KNOCKED IT OFF B.A. Robertson
39 ( 55 ) CAN’T LET GO Earth Wind & Fire
40 ( 39 ) NO MORE TEARS (ENOUGH IS ENOUGH) Donna Summer & Barbra Streisand

41 ( 38 ) LIVING ON AN ISLAND Status Quo
42 ( 42 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty
43 ( 43 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.
44 ( 31 ) MONKEY CHOP Dan-I
45 ( 41 ) RISE Herb Alpert
46 ( 48 ) SARA Fleetwood Mac
47 ( 45 ) VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR The Buggles
48 ( NEW ) BETTER LOVE NEXT TIME Dr. Hook
49 ( 49 ) IT WON’T SEEM LIKE CHRISTMAS WITHOUT YOU Elvis Presley
50 ( 62 ) LONDON CALLING The Clash

51 ( 36 ) BOMBER Motorhead
52 ( 44 ) MY SIMPLE HEART The Three Degrees
53 ( 53 ) CARS Gary Numan
54 ( 52 ) DON'T STOP TILL YOU GET ENOUGH Michael Jackson
55 ( 47 ) BIRD SONG Lene Lovich
56 ( 57 ) ESCAPE (THE PINA COLADA SONG) Rupert Holmes
57 ( 59 ) BAKER STREET Gerry Rafferty
58 ( 58 ) DREADLOCK HOLIDAY 10CC
59 ( 54 ) SAD EYES Robert John
60 ( 60 ) VOULEZ VOUS/ ANGEL EYES Abba

61 ( 63 ) ROCKABILLY REBEL Matchbox
62 ( 56 ) HOLD ON Ian Gomm
63 ( 51 ) SHE’S NOT THERE The UK Subs
64 ( 68 ) REET PETITE Darts
65 ( 50 ) TIRED OF TOEING THE LINE Rocky Burnette
66 ( 66 ) THE BALLAD OF LUCY JORDAN Marianne Faithful
67 ( 75 ) CHRISTMAS RAPPIN’ Kurtis Blow
68 ( 71 ) WE DON'T TALK ANYMORE Cliff Richard
69 ( 69 ) JUST WHEN I NEEDED YOU MOST Randy Vanwarmer
70 ( 70 ) ETON RIFLES The Jam

71 ( NEW ) THE WALK The Inmates
72 ( 72 ) SAIL ON The Commodores
73 ( 61 ) STILL The Commodores
74 ( 74 ) SINCE YOU'VE BEEN GONE Rainbow
75 ( 65 ) MELLOW MELLOW RIGHT ON Lowrell


XMAS 1979 AND NEW YEAR 1980 TV CHART
1. The Poseidon Adventure: film
2. Help!: film
3. Top Of The Pops 1979 part 2
4. A Hard Day’s Night: film
5. Solid Gold Top 20
6. Soap
7. Play It Again Sam: film
8. Top Of The Pops 1979 part 1
9. Fawlty Towers
10. A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum: film
11. The Three Musketeers: film
12. Goldfinger: film
13. Not The least Of The 9 O’clock News
14. Yellow Submarine: film
15. The Beatles At Shea Stadium
16. The Best Of Dean Martin
17. Let It Be; Film
18. Happy Days
19. Doctor Who
20. Parkinson at Christmas


TV charts, well TOTP part 2 beats part 1, and there’s a host of blockbuster movies, and it’s Beatles galore week, sprinkled throughout my expanded chart. The only TV shows that can compete with that are Soap (yes it really was that good), and Fawlty Towers (ditto). Meanwhile, still in Gravesend with family friends Joe and Sandra, I went to see Star Trek at the cinema again, concluding the music score needed a bit more oomph to up the pacing but I was dazzled by having my cast of heroes back and the special effects, still, and it wouldn’t wear off for another decade or so, by which time the film seemed slow and ponderous, if charming at times.

More Board games in Gravesend, then back for New Year in Mansfield, with Mark & Sue, popping in on grandparents, and finally buying Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours. Did some babysitting for lil cousins Rachel and Lisa. Mostly, though, college work to do. Emphasis on “to do” though as New Years Day Radio 1 had a bonanza 1970’s Top 100 all day long which I just could not (obviously) not listen to and write down. By the time it got to the top 10, the presence of Showaddywaddy as one of the big sellers of the 70’s had me doubting it’s accuracy, and then some. Turns out now, it’s a million seller with downloads after all, but even so, top 10 is not accurate. These things matter to chart-list-freaks...!

So, for the end of the 70’s and start of the 80’s? How did I celebrate it? Partying? Pub? Nah. Mum wasn’t well so I stayed in with her while Dad Mark and Sue went round to Aunty Eileen’s party, so that meant I got to see the hilarious “Will Kenny Everett Make It To 1980 Show” with Cliff, Bowie, Boomtown Rats, Roxy Music as guests. The last record I heard in the 70’s? A Merry Jingle by The Greedies, with my parting words “Well hope 1980’s as good as 1979’s been (on the whole). Doubt it somehow, but keep fingers crossed nothing too bad will happen.” That’s me always glass half-empty! 1979 was a fabulous year for me. 1980 was a year of two halves, the first half fab, the second half a slippery slope downwards - at least that’s how I remember it, let’s see if the diary bears it out (I’ve not looked at these ever before, so this is a real trip down memory lane for me..)!

Posted by: popchartfreak 24th January 2015, 04:44 PM

8th January 1980

Back up on top for a second week, Abba have a dream, and it’s a kiddie-singing sweet one, enough to keep The Pretenders off the top spot. Paul McCartney, well after christmas festivities have faded, finally gets into the top 10 giving him his first actual solo Top 10 hit since 1971 chart-topper Another Day. Of course he worked in the interim as Wings and when he wasn’t having a number one he was at least Top 10 in each of those years. Not to mention The Beatles...

Talking of The Beatles, Billy Preston hit the Top 5 in 1969 with The Fabs credited “with Billy Preston” on Get Back, and charted again in 1974, and again in 1976, with it. On his own he’d grabbed a top 10 slot in 1969 with That’s The Way God Planned It on The Beatles Apple label before branching out on solo funk hit instrumentals and non-instrumentals in the USA from 1972 onwards, which were chart ineligible in my charts (UK only charts in 1972/3) but Outa Space and Will It Go Round In Circles, among others, would otherwise have charted. So it was great to have him back duetting with Syreeta (also returning after a 5 year-gap) on the lovely With You I’m Born Again, a touching, sentimental song given class by the two vocalists.

Chic at last make the top 20, My Feet Keep Dancin’ knocking out another Chic hit, Spacer, while the fourth title track single from the album Spirits Having Flown enters at 23 for The Bee Gees, underperforming chart-wise in the UK and USA by their standards, but then it had been out a year already. One of my favourite Bee Gees records, I love the melody, the vocals and the arrangement, top notch and under-rated.

The Greedies belatedly get their christmas track in at 38, after a New Years Eve performance on TV - that’s Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzy and the non-singing half of the Sex Pistols - A Merry Jingle combining christmas standards in a medley, and fun. At 47 Madness get a 3rd hit, the terrific My Girl (who’s mad at them apparently), Joe Jackson gets a 2nd hit It’s Different For Girls, a pretty good ballad, at 64, and one of the songs that grew to annoy me greatly from saturation plays, and it’s simple catchiness, I’m In The Mood For Dancing in at 71, The Nolans having dropped a Sisters and added an “s” and going for the wholesome disco pop market. Amusingly, nestling next to Motorhead and Bomber. Well it amuses me, at any rate, Bomber still sounds good (just downloaded it) and as is far away as you can get from The Nolans.

1 ( 3 ) I HAVE A DREAM Abba
2 ( 6 ) BRASS IN POCKET The Pretenders
3 ( 1 ) ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL (PART 2) Pink Floyd
4 ( 4 ) JOHN I’M ONLY DANCING (1972)/JOHN I’M ONLY DANCING (AGAIN) (1975) David Bowie
5 ( 2 ) WALKING ON THE MOON The Police
6 ( 5 ) NIGHTS IN WHITE SATIN The Moody Blues
7 ( 8 ) PLEASE DON’T GO KC and The Sunshine Band
8 ( 10 ) WORKING FOR THE YANKEE DOLLAR The Skids
9 ( 7 ) I ONLY WANT TO BE WITH YOU The Tourists
10 ( 11 ) WONDERFUL CHRISTMASTIME Paul McCartney



11 ( 12 ) OFF THE WALL Michael Jackson
12 ( 9 ) CONFUSION/ LAST TRAIN TO LONDON E.L.O.
13 ( NEW ) WITH YOU I’M BORN AGAIN Billy Preston and Syreeta
14 ( 14 ) MOONLIGHT AND MUSAK M
15 ( 16 ) IS IT LOVE YOU'RE AFTER Rose Royce
16 ( 17 ) BABE Styx
17 ( 13 ) ONE STEP BEYOND Madness
18 ( 24 ) MY FEET KEEP DANCING Chic
19 ( 21 ) TEARS OF A CLOWN The Beat
20 ( 20 ) BLUE PETER Mike Oldfield



21 ( 19 ) SPACER Sheila and B. Devotion
22 ( 18 ) QUE SERA MI VIDA (IF YOU SHOULD GO) The Gibson Brothers
23 ( NEW ) SPIRITS HAVING FLOWN The Bee Gees
24 ( 26 ) DAY TRIP TO BANGOR Fiddler’s Dram
25 ( 27 ) SING CHILDREN SING Lesley Duncan
26 ( 25 ) BROKEN-HEARTED ME Anne Murray
27 ( 15 ) I WANNA HOLD YOUR HAND Dollar
28 ( 39 ) CAN’T LET GO Earth Wind & Fire
29 ( 32 ) IT’S MY HOUSE Diana Ross
30 ( 28 ) GIMME GIMME GIMME (A MAN AFTER MIDNIGHT) Abba



31 ( 33 ) UNION CITY BLUE Blondie
32 ( 22 ) COMPLEX Gary Numan
33 ( 31 ) RAPPER’S DELIGHT The Sugarhill Gang
34 ( 30 ) TUSK Fleetwood Mac
35 ( 29 ) WHEN YOU'RE IN LOVE WITH A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN Dr. Hook
36 ( 23 ) DIAMOND SMILES The Boomtown Rats
37 ( 37 ) I’M BORN AGAIN Boney M
38 ( NEW ) A MERRY JINGLE The Greedies
39 ( 36 ) MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE The Police
40 ( 49 ) IT WON’T SEEM LIKE CHRISTMAS WITHOUT YOU Elvis Presley

41 ( 50 ) LONDON CALLING The Clash
42 ( 47 ) VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR The Buggles
43 ( 42 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty
44 ( 43 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.
45 ( 48 ) BETTER LOVE NEXT TIME Dr. Hook
46 ( 41 ) LIVING ON AN ISLAND Status Quo
47 ( NEW ) MY GIRL Madness
48 ( 45 ) RISE Herb Alpert
49 ( 38 ) KNOCKED IT OFF B.A. Robertson
50 ( 67 ) CHRISTMAS RAPPIN’ Kurtis Blow



51 ( 46 ) SARA Fleetwood Mac
52 ( 40 ) NO MORE TEARS (ENOUGH IS ENOUGH) Donna Summer & Barbra Streisand
53 ( 56 ) ESCAPE (THE PINA COLADA SONG) Rupert Holmes
54 ( 53 ) CARS Gary Numan
55 ( 54 ) DON'T STOP TILL YOU GET ENOUGH Michael Jackson
56 ( 35 ) SEND ONE YOUR LOVE Stevie Wonder
57 ( 44 ) MONKEY CHOP Dan-I
58 ( 57 ) BAKER STREET Gerry Rafferty
59 ( 58 ) DREADLOCK HOLIDAY 10CC
60 ( 60 ) VOULEZ VOUS/ ANGEL EYES Abba

61 ( 34 ) IT'S MY HOUSE Storm
62 ( 55 ) BIRD SONG Lene Lovich
63 ( 59 ) SAD EYES Robert John
64 ( NEW ) IT’S DIFFERENT FOR GIRLS Joe Jackson
65 ( 52 ) MY SIMPLE HEART The Three Degrees
66 ( 62 ) HOLD ON Ian Gomm
67 ( 71 ) THE WALK The Inmates
68 ( 61 ) ROCKABILLY REBEL Matchbox
69 ( 69 ) JUST WHEN I NEEDED YOU MOST Randy Vanwarmer
70 ( 68 ) WE DON'T TALK ANYMORE Cliff Richard

71 ( NEW ) I’M IN THE MOOD FOR DANCING The Nolans
72 ( 51 ) BOMBER Motorhead
73 ( 72 ) SAIL ON The Commodores
74 ( 70 ) ETON RIFLES The Jam
75 ( 64 ) REET PETITE Darts



TV Dec 29th 1979 - Jan 4th 1980

1. Will Kenny Everett Make It To 1980 Show
2. Logan’s Run: Crypt
3. Paint Your Wagon: film
4. Soap
5. Murder On The Orient Express: film
6. Mork And Mindy
7. The Recorded Jasper Carrott
8. The Odessa File: film
9. Film ’80
10. Top Of The Pops

11. Fawlty Towers
12. Victor Borge
13. Nationwide
14. Doctor Who
15. The Night They Took Miss Beautiful
16. The Odd Couple
17. Parkinson
18. My Wife Next Door
19. Up A Gum Tree
20. Mork And Mindy




On TV, Kenny Everett’s New Years show rules, but note another great comic on the list - no not Jasper Carrott (though he’s good too), it’s Victor Borge. A Danish classical pianist and conductor taught by a former pupil of Liszt. He gave his first concert in 1926, escaped from the Nazi’s in WW2 after years of telling anti-nazi jokes, and eventually became a big TV star thanks to his great comic timing and amiable accent and manner, sat at his piano. I used to regularly (not literally) piss myself laughing at him, he was great, and already 70 (he died in 2000) as with so many of my comedy heroes, being of retirement age is meaningless. If you got it you got it! The other TV note is for Logan’s Run episode Crypt, at 2, written by Harlan Ellison (Star Trek: City On The Edge Of Forever writer and sci-fi novelist) which was the best episode by far of the short-lived series. Age is a big thing in Logan’s Run, of course, as you get to exit the world at age 30 one way or another. A bit like Radio One.

Tuesday, January 1st: I started 1980 doing College work, and the first record of the decade? My Simple Heart (Three Degrees)...oh, well! Barry Norman listed Alien and Life Of Brian as 2 of his dozen films of the year. Spot on, there! Turned 22 on Thursday, freezing and icy, and no prezzies to mark my new adult status. Well, a coat from mum & dad. Cousins Rachel & Lisa round saturday morning babysitting, with Sue, and off to see (again!) Star Trek at the cinema. This time some 11 & 12 year old’s decided it was boring and just talked and broke things and made noises, my brother threatened them to no avail, so I said “Do you wanna get chucked out?! Be Quiet!” They got worse, and bruv was in danger of getting physical with the little bleeders so I went for the usher and got them thrown out of the cinema. Ruined the film, of course. I’m mild-mannered, but nobody spoils Star Trek without consequences! Not a film for children, obviously, though.

Back to Lincoln College, Mark saw my college room for the first time, before he and ailing mum and dad left for home, and fab catch up chats with Joe, Sue, Julie and Ian. Julie and I discussed topics: Afghanistan situation (Russian troops), Nostradamus (!), WW2... Pete popped round, they both liked the Trek movie “slow but good” (J) and “brilliant, knocked out” (P). My new coat seemed to go down well with everyone. Pity I don’t remember it now. Never was bothered with fashion! caught up with Jane, Bev and Paul the next day, but Jane thoughtfully brought me an electric fire as my room was freezing - heating not working.

Posted by: popchartfreak 28th January 2015, 10:42 PM

15th January 1980

The Pretenders get to the top, as I seem to be holding the same chart-topper opinions as the UK record-buyer (plus Abba), and Brass In Pocket was a worthy number one, New Wave with a 60’s vibe, Chrissie Hynde fronting a great British band, like Suzi Quatro before her, an American with British success, and based in the UK. It also sounded pretty original. KC meanwhile gets his first top 5 hit since 1975, Syreeta her first top 10 since 1975, and Billy Preston his first new top 10 since 1969. The Bee Gees fly up into the upper layers too, with their 8th consecutive top 10, plus several as songwriters, and all inside 3 years. Bung in another, ooh, 10 or so since appearing in the very first chart in 1968, and things were looking very good for them. Appearances can be very deceptive in the music biz though!

Madness take My Girl to 9, and a second top 10 hit, just ahead of The Beat who copy Smokey Robinson by going top 10, albeit ska-stylee. Highest new entry is a UK non-hit instrumental classic from the early 60’s, the groovy, moody Green Onions, giving Booker T his first hit in 11 years. It was to be an incredible 34 years before he got his 3rd! Or if you like, 45 years between new recordings charting. It’s hard to see that record being beaten! Fleetwood Mac at last start to get moving with the truly wondrous Sara, at 26, and The Clash finally get London Calling into the 40. So does Kurtis Blow, and so do The Nolans. I guess I must have liked it for a while!

New entries between 41 and 75: The Boomtown Rats return with another hit, Someone’s Looking At You, which was a little more sprawling than previous singles, but did the job, while at 53 there’s a new duo, Jon and Vangelis. I say new. What I mean is Vangelis gets a follow-up hit to his 1975 reissued chart entry of a 1972 single from Greek band Aphrodite’s Child, the fabulous Break. In the interim, bandmate Demis Roussos had had a number one with Forever And Ever, so can he do what the late Demis did? All shall be revealed. Jon Anderson, meanwhile, is back after a couple of hits with Yes, including the fab top 10 Wondrous Stories from 1977.

New Musik get their second hit, Living By Numbers being another delicious perfect synth pop confection. Terrific. Talking earlier of Suzi Quatro, her Mama’s Boy joins her in the charts for a sweet 7 years of regular chart entries, but sadly never a number one. This one was pretty decent. Sister Sledge were winding down their initial run of chart action with the OK Got To Love Somebody, unique out of their early tracks in not ever making the charts again in following decades, again and again. It wasn’t bad, but not up to the classics standard.



1 ( 2 ) BRASS IN POCKET The Pretenders
2 ( 1 ) I HAVE A DREAM Abba
3 ( 3 ) ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL (PART 2) Pink Floyd
4 ( 7 ) PLEASE DON’T GO KC and The Sunshine Band
5 ( 5 ) WALKING ON THE MOON The Police
6 ( 13 ) WITH YOU I’M BORN AGAIN Billy Preston and Syreeta
7 ( 6 ) NIGHTS IN WHITE SATIN The Moody Blues
8 ( 23 ) SPIRITS HAVING FLOWN The Bee Gees
9 ( 47 ) MY GIRL Madness
10 ( 19 ) TEARS OF A CLOWN The Beat



11 ( 4 ) JOHN I’M ONLY DANCING (1972)/JOHN I’M ONLY DANCING (AGAIN) (1975) David Bowie
12 ( 14 ) MOONLIGHT AND MUSAK M
13 ( 20 ) BLUE PETER Mike Oldfield
14 ( 9 ) I ONLY WANT TO BE WITH YOU The Tourists
15 ( 16 ) BABE Styx
16 ( 8 ) WORKING FOR THE YANKEE DOLLAR The Skids
17 ( 15 ) IS IT LOVE YOU'RE AFTER Rose Royce
18 ( 18 ) MY FEET KEEP DANCING Chic
19 ( 27 ) I WANNA HOLD YOUR HAND Dollar
20 ( 12 ) CONFUSION/ LAST TRAIN TO LONDON E.L.O.

21 ( 21 ) SPACER Sheila and B. Devotion
22 ( 24 ) DAY TRIP TO BANGOR Fiddler’s Dram
23 ( 11 ) OFF THE WALL Michael Jackson
24 ( 17 ) ONE STEP BEYOND Madness
25 ( NEW ) GREEN ONIONS Booker T. and The MG’s
26 ( 51 ) SARA Fleetwood Mac
27 ( 10 ) WONDERFUL CHRISTMASTIME Paul McCartney
28 ( 40 ) IT WON’T SEEM LIKE CHRISTMAS WITHOUT YOU Elvis Presley
29 ( 41 ) LONDON CALLING The Clash
30 ( 22 ) QUE SERA MI VIDA (IF YOU SHOULD GO) The Gibson Brothers




31 ( 37 ) I’M BORN AGAIN Boney M
32 ( 30 ) GIMME GIMME GIMME (A MAN AFTER MIDNIGHT) Abba
33 ( 71 ) I’M IN THE MOOD FOR DANCING The Nolans
34 ( 28 ) CAN’T LET GO Earth Wind & Fire
35 ( 50 ) CHRISTMAS RAPPIN’ Kurtis Blow
36 ( 25 ) SING CHILDREN SING Lesley Duncan
37 ( 34 ) TUSK Fleetwood Mac
38 ( 45 ) BETTER LOVE NEXT TIME Dr. Hook
39 ( 39 ) MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE The Police
40 ( 35 ) WHEN YOU'RE IN LOVE WITH A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN Dr. Hook

41 ( 33 ) RAPPER’S DELIGHT The Sugarhill Gang
42 ( 29 ) IT’S MY HOUSE Diana Ross
43 ( 64 ) IT’S DIFFERENT FOR GIRLS Joe Jackson
44 ( 31 ) UNION CITY BLUE Blondie
45 ( 32 ) COMPLEX Gary Numan
46 ( 36 ) DIAMOND SMILES The Boomtown Rats
47 ( 44 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.
48 ( 43 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty
49 ( 53 ) ESCAPE (THE PINA COLADA SONG) Rupert Holmes
50 ( NEW ) SOMEONE’S LOOKING AT YOU The Boomtown Rats

51 ( 42 ) VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR The Buggles
52 ( 67 ) THE WALK The Inmates
53 ( NEW ) I HEAR YOU NOW Jon And Vangelis
54 ( 26 ) BROKEN-HEARTED ME Anne Murray
55 ( 48 ) RISE Herb Alpert
56 ( 46 ) LIVING ON AN ISLAND Status Quo
57 ( NEW ) LIVING BY NUMBERS New Musik
58 ( 54 ) CARS Gary Numan
59 ( 55 ) DON'T STOP TILL YOU GET ENOUGH Michael Jackson
60 ( 58 ) BAKER STREET Gerry Rafferty



61 ( 59 ) DREADLOCK HOLIDAY 10CC
62 ( 49 ) KNOCKED IT OFF B.A. Robertson
63 ( 60 ) VOULEZ VOUS/ ANGEL EYES Abba
64 ( 38 ) A MERRY JINGLE The Greedies
65 ( NEW ) QUOTE GOODBYE QUOTE Carolyn Mas
66 ( 62 ) BIRD SONG Lene Lovich
67 ( 63 ) SAD EYES Robert John
68 ( NEW ) MAMA’S BOY Suzi Quatro
69 ( 57 ) MONKEY CHOP Dan-I
70 ( 52 ) NO MORE TEARS (ENOUGH IS ENOUGH) Donna Summer & Barbra Streisand

71 ( 69 ) JUST WHEN I NEEDED YOU MOST Randy Vanwarmer
72 ( 65 ) MY SIMPLE HEART The Three Degrees
73 ( 70 ) WE DON'T TALK ANYMORE Cliff Richard
74 ( NEW ) GOT TO LOVE SOMEBODY Sister Sledge
75 ( 56 ) SEND ONE YOUR LOVE Stevie Wonder



Jan 5-11 TV
1. Soap
1. Clapperboard
1. Fawlty Towers
4. The Mary Tyler Moore Show
5. MASH
6. The Rockford Files
7. Top Of The Pops
8. The Hot Rock: film
9. Logan’s Run
10. My Wife Next Door

11. Film 80
12. Barney Miller
13. Blake’s 7
14. West Side Story: film
15. Parkinson (sat)
16. Doctor Who
17. Thunderbolt and Lightfoot: film
18. Hollywood
19. Nationwide
20. Parkinson (wed)



On TV: lots of films, many of them rarely ever on TV, if at all for some decades, but 1972’s forgotten The Hot Rock was a heist movie I was fond of under it’s 1972 title, How To Steal A Diamond In Four Uneasy Lessons. Bad title change there! It was a fun Robert Redford movie that I saw first time round. Soap heads the US sitcoms, Fawlty Towers the UK, but there’s not that many actual 1979/80 new sitcoms or series in the list, bar MASH, Rockford, Blake’s 7, and Doctor Who.

At College (or Uni as it’s now renamed), I found my lecturer hated Edgar Allen Poe, so fundamentally disagreed with everything I wrote in my assignment, giving me bad marks. He thought Poe was Poo and could not accept any other viewpoint, however well argued. Dick. Lots of happy socialising with the gang in various combinations, in the breaks and evenings, chez moi. Got invited to 2 birthday parties on the same day which gave me (and invited Julie) a dilemma, never one for wanting to hurt people’s feelings, either of us. Doh! On telly, we laughed at Basil The Hamster in Farty Towels, and tried to hold back the tears at West Side Story’s climax. As we played snooker on Thursday I marvelled at my quick-wit banter, at least Jane and Pete appreciated it anyway, which led me to think I was “quite hilarious at times”. Oooo get ‘er! I do love banter though, and people who love banter.

Sue, as practical as always, sorted out the clashing parties dilemma diplomatically - and they didn’t clash anyway, so Julie and I had angst for nothing! It snowed heavily on Monday, it was cold and I was in a foul mood with a lecturer who kept me waiting for 45 minutes, then droned on needlessly about William Golding stuff I already knew, while simultaneously wafting his aroma all over the place. At least that’s how I choose to describe him these many years later, as the “smelly twat” I put in my diary seems a tad unkind. Still, Pete and Julie cheered me up by ambushing me with snowballs later on. On TV the new Blake’s 7 was much improved, with new cast members, and Avon now the star character. Actor Paul Darrow and I shared an intimate moment 25 years later. I say intimate. He said “Hello mate” while he grabbed a ciggie outside the Starfleet Ball in Bournemouth. I always view a star talking me as special....

Posted by: popchartfreak 30th January 2015, 10:02 PM

22nd January 1980

2 weeks for Brass In Pocket at 1, Chrissie not moving. Styx get their first (and last) Top 10, as Babe blubs it’s way up to 8, and Dollar finally get their Beatles cover into the top 10 - the 60’s fab gear clothes on their Top Of The Pops performance didn’t hurt! Suddenly I was 6 years old again! Jon And Vangelis meanwhile positively rocket up to 12, I Hear You Now, oh yes, as another sublime record hits 14 for Fleetwood Mac, and Stevie Nicks gorgeous Sara.

Rupert Holmes also downs his Pina Colada in one and bursts upwards and into the 20 for the first time since 1975. Lower down, The Rats and New Musik go top 40, and there’s very few new entries: The Buggles follow-up Video with Plastic, and it’s pretty good, albeit forgotten these days, we do indeed live in The Plastic Age. Sad Cafe have a strange little follow-up to a plain ballad, the quirky little girl at 52 is quite odd, but endearing after a few plays. Amii Stewart flies her sweet Paradise Bird to 57, and The Regents unusual 7 Teen is in at 68, very downbeat and 60’s inspired, if not actually sounding. Herb Alpert ain’t Rise-ing, but he is Rotating, at 74, another funky sax instrumental (mostly), and still classy.

1 ( 1 ) BRASS IN POCKET The Pretenders
2 ( 2 ) I HAVE A DREAM Abba
3 ( 4 ) PLEASE DON’T GO KC and The Sunshine Band
4 ( 3 ) ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL (PART 2) Pink Floyd
5 ( 8 ) SPIRITS HAVING FLOWN The Bee Gees
6 ( 9 ) MY GIRL Madness
7 ( 5 ) WALKING ON THE MOON The Police
8 ( 15 ) BABE Styx
9 ( 19 ) I WANNA HOLD YOUR HAND Dollar
10 ( 10 ) TEARS OF A CLOWN The Beat



11 ( 6 ) WITH YOU I’M BORN AGAIN Billy Preston and Syreeta
12 ( 53 ) I HEAR YOU NOW Jon And Vangelis
13 ( 7 ) NIGHTS IN WHITE SATIN The Moody Blues
14 ( 26 ) SARA Fleetwood Mac
15 ( 49 ) ESCAPE (THE PINA COLADA SONG) Rupert Holmes
16 ( 16 ) WORKING FOR THE YANKEE DOLLAR The Skids
17 ( 17 ) IS IT LOVE YOU'RE AFTER Rose Royce
18 ( 14 ) I ONLY WANT TO BE WITH YOU The Tourists
19 ( 18 ) MY FEET KEEP DANCING Chic
20 ( 25 ) GREEN ONIONS Booker T. and The MG’s



21 ( 12 ) MOONLIGHT AND MUSAK M
22 ( 20 ) CONFUSION/ LAST TRAIN TO LONDON E.L.O.
23 ( 21 ) SPACER Sheila and B. Devotion
24 ( 13 ) BLUE PETER Mike Oldfield
25 ( 11 ) JOHN I’M ONLY DANCING (1972)/JOHN I’M ONLY DANCING (AGAIN) (1975) David Bowie
26 ( 33 ) I’M IN THE MOOD FOR DANCING The Nolans
27 ( 22 ) DAY TRIP TO BANGOR Fiddler’s Dram
28 ( 38 ) BETTER LOVE NEXT TIME Dr. Hook
29 ( 43 ) IT’S DIFFERENT FOR GIRLS Joe Jackson
30 ( 29 ) LONDON CALLING The Clash

31 ( 32 ) GIMME GIMME GIMME (A MAN AFTER MIDNIGHT) Abba
32 ( 24 ) ONE STEP BEYOND Madness
33 ( 23 ) OFF THE WALL Michael Jackson
34 ( 50 ) SOMEONE’S LOOKING AT YOU The Boomtown Rats
35 ( 57 ) LIVING BY NUMBERS New Musik
36 ( 39 ) MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE The Police
37 ( 37 ) TUSK Fleetwood Mac
38 ( 30 ) QUE SERA MI VIDA (IF YOU SHOULD GO) The Gibson Brothers
39 ( 52 ) THE WALK The Inmates
40 ( 40 ) WHEN YOU'RE IN LOVE WITH A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN Dr. Hook



41 ( 36 ) SING CHILDREN SING Lesley Duncan
42 ( 28 ) IT WON’T SEEM LIKE CHRISTMAS WITHOUT YOU Elvis Presley
43 ( 47 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.
44 ( 48 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty
45 ( 27 ) WONDERFUL CHRISTMASTIME Paul McCartney
46 ( 34 ) CAN’T LET GO Earth Wind & Fire
47 ( 45 ) COMPLEX Gary Numan
48 ( 46 ) DIAMOND SMILES The Boomtown Rats
49 ( 44 ) UNION CITY BLUE Blondie
50 ( NEW ) THE PLASTIC AGE The Buggles



51 ( 51 ) VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR The Buggles
52 ( NEW ) STRANGE LITTLE GIRL Sad Cafe
53 ( 41 ) RAPPER’S DELIGHT The Sugarhill Gang
54 ( 60 ) BAKER STREET Gerry Rafferty
55 ( NEW ) WE GOT THE FUNK Positive Force
56 ( 65 ) QUOTE GOODBYE QUOTE Carolyn Mas
57 ( NEW ) PARADISE BIRD Amii Stewart
58 ( 55 ) RISE Herb Alpert
59 ( 61 ) DREADLOCK HOLIDAY 10CC
60 ( 68 ) MAMA’S BOY Suzi Quatro

61 ( 58 ) CARS Gary Numan
62 ( 59 ) DON'T STOP TILL YOU GET ENOUGH Michael Jackson
63 ( 63 ) VOULEZ VOUS/ ANGEL EYES Abba
64 ( 31 ) I’M BORN AGAIN Boney M
65 ( 35 ) CHRISTMAS RAPPIN’ Kurtis Blow
66 ( 42 ) IT’S MY HOUSE Diana Ross
67 ( 74 ) GOT TO LOVE SOMEBODY Sister Sledge
68 ( NEW ) 7 TEEN The Regents
69 ( 54 ) BROKEN-HEARTED ME Anne Murray
70 ( 71 ) JUST WHEN I NEEDED YOU MOST Randy Vanwarmer

71 ( 66 ) BIRD SONG Lene Lovich
72 ( 67 ) SAD EYES Robert John
73 ( 62 ) KNOCKED IT OFF B.A. Robertson
74 ( NEW ) ROTATION Herb Alpert
75 ( NEW ) YOUNG BLOOD U.F.O.


TV JAN 12-18
1. Soap
2. The Goodies
3. The Mary Tyler Moore Show
4. Logan’s Run
5. The Hallelujah Trail: film
6. Blake’s 7
7. Mork And Mindy
8. Barney Miller
9. Ray Bradbury - The Illustrated Man
10. Top Of The Pops

11. The New Avengers
12. Wildlife On One
13. Doctor Who
14. The Two Ronnies
15. The Odd Couple
16. The High Chapparal
17. My Wife Next Door
18. Film 80
19. Sporting Superstars
20. Most Wanted



On TV, sci-fi writer hero of mine (one of my top 3) Ray Bradbury gets a profile, his writings are poetically nostalgic in a futuristic social-commentary fashion, and I especially adore the short stories, The Martian Chronicles most of all. The Goodies are back with a bang, various sporting superstars compete for entertainment in a variety of events, the fab Western The Hallelujah Trail is on again, and The Two Ronnies must have a good show, as they didn’t generally end up in my list by this time.

At college I breakfasted with Pauline and some more American students on my course, while mates Pete and Ian popped in for a morning cuppa and chat having got the day off teaching practice - their bus didn’t turn up. Result! Snooker with Pete after Art lectures, I won 84 to 39 it says here. It’s not the winning that counts, I honestly care not either way! Though I enjoy winning. It was a great day, Pete chuffed to be off school-work, me chuffed having someone to talk to during the day, yay! I cheered up the glum T.P. returnees later on, then they all beat me at snooker in gratitude. Win some lose some! Talked to Jane for an hour, lately quite rundown, but feeling better now. Hooray!

Went home at the weekend, as my pet budgie (still had a white one in the house) was ill, as were brother Mark & soon-to-be sis-in-law. I bought a fave John Wyndham novel that I read at school in 1972, The Chrysalids. I re-read it not long ago, it’s still pretty good, still relevant in showcasing intolerance of people (genetic-defects some generations following a nuclear holocaust). Mark showed us all his latest toy, movies of all of us on his film recorder, actual old-fashioned film, including one scene of me playing The Police Walking On The Moon in my bedroom - tragically this film is long gone walkabout. Popped in on various relations, and dad, mum and Mark took me back on Sunday to Lincoln via RAF Swinderby (where dad still worked) - I’d bought a cassette tape deck for £15 off someone, which meant I could now tape all of the songs off the radio to tape. Still have them!

Posted by: AH Gold 2nd February 2015, 01:29 AM

Some fantastic stuff here like Pretenders, Madness and Sheila & B Devotion especially. Also quite like a couple that I hadn't heard prior to watching TOTP 1980 a few days ago like the Sad Café one, very ELO in places I thought and Amii Stewart.

Much prefer Straight Lines over Living By Numbers by New Muzik, the former should have been a massive hit.

Posted by: popchartfreak 2nd February 2015, 07:49 AM

QUOTE(AH Gold @ Feb 2 2015, 01:29 AM)

Posted by: popchartfreak 2nd February 2015, 08:07 PM

29th January 1980

3 weeks on top for The Pretenders as 12 new entries finally kick-start 1980, many of them great. The Bee Gees get yet another runners-up medal with the fab Spirits Having Flown, as Madness get their first Top 3 with the very British charms of My Girl. Fleetwood Mac’s classic Sara also goes top 10, despite not being huge in the UK. It should have been massive! Meanwhile Sheila’s Chic-tastic Spacer’s yo-yoing up and down the charts almost takes her into orbit as it peaks at 13.

The Boomtown rats and New Musik leap into the 20, just ahead of the highest new entry, yes it’s Matchbox following up a very minor chart entry with an instant smash - Buzz Buzz A Diddle It! I love it, British rockabilly in the style of classic cowboy novelty song Three Wheels On My Wagon, and it beats out: Michael Jackson’s classic Rock With You at 24, exquisite soulfunk mellow disco, and still great; Prince, debuting at 54 with a dance track largely forgotten, I Wanna Be Your Lover. It’s pretty good, and there is a youtube link someone put on 2 months ago, but I won’t bother listing it as it’ll be removed before long, Prince being obsessive about people not listening to his music for free and all, even if you want to check it out to buy (which I do as I never bought it at the time). Minus one sale, then.

The Buggles and Suzi Quatro make the top 40, while 60‘s hippie band Jefferson Airplane suffer a pop metal morphing into Jefferson Starship, and the rock anthem Jane riffs in at 67. 70‘s Prog Rock band Barclay James Harvest also do a spot of morphing, adding some 80’s-stylee synths to terrific effect at 73, with Love On The Line. At 34, The Specials get a 3rd hit with future UK chart-topper Too Much Too Young, the lead track on an EP, live version, and one to pogo along to. Kool And The Gang return with the pleasant Too Hot at 55, the theme tune to American TV’s classic Soap sitcom jaunts in at 70, mostly cos I loved the show, it was a total departure for American sitcoms, with a stunningly huge talented cast, controversial themes which had all kinds of self-righteous narrow-minded groups up in arms, and basically took the piss out of TV, and soaps in particular, pretty much all episodes written by one writer Susan “Golden Girls” Harris.

Others: a bit of jazz funk (Azymuth), a bit of country (Kenny Rogers soon-to-be-annoying Coward Of The County, as it hits number one and suffers overdose-fatigue), The Captain and Tennille are back with a gentle ballad 5 years after topping my chart, the sweetly naughty Do That To Me One More Time (I wonder what Toni means?), and The Ramones cover Phil Spector’s Ronettes classic Baby I Love You, produced by the actual warped genius himself, and sounding much weedier and less Wall Of Sound than Dave Edmunds self-produced definitive version which topped my chart in 1973.


1 ( 1 ) BRASS IN POCKET The Pretenders
2 ( 5 ) SPIRITS HAVING FLOWN The Bee Gees
3 ( 6 ) MY GIRL Madness
4 ( 2 ) I HAVE A DREAM Abba
5 ( 8 ) BABE Styx
6 ( 12 ) I HEAR YOU NOW Jon And Vangelis
7 ( 3 ) PLEASE DON’T GO KC and The Sunshine Band
8 ( 4 ) ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL (PART 2) Pink Floyd
9 ( 9 ) I WANNA HOLD YOUR HAND Dollar
10 ( 14 ) SARA Fleetwood Mac

11 ( 20 ) GREEN ONIONS Booker T. and The MG’s
12 ( 7 ) WALKING ON THE MOON The Police
13 ( 23 ) SPACER Sheila and B. Devotion
14 ( 15 ) ESCAPE (THE PINA COLADA SONG) Rupert Holmes
15 ( 34 ) SOMEONE’S LOOKING AT YOU The Boomtown Rats
16 ( 13 ) NIGHTS IN WHITE SATIN The Moody Blues
17 ( 10 ) TEARS OF A CLOWN The Beat
18 ( 35 ) LIVING BY NUMBERS New Musik
19 ( 11 ) WITH YOU I’M BORN AGAIN Billy Preston and Syreeta
20 ( NEW ) BUZZ BUZZ A DIDDLE IT Matchbox



21 ( 68 ) 7 TEEN The Regents
22 ( 18 ) I ONLY WANT TO BE WITH YOU The Tourists
23 ( 28 ) BETTER LOVE NEXT TIME Dr. Hook
24 ( NEW ) ROCK WITH YOU Michael Jackson
25 ( 29 ) IT’S DIFFERENT FOR GIRLS Joe Jackson
26 ( 22 ) CONFUSION/ LAST TRAIN TO LONDON E.L.O.
27 ( 19 ) MY FEET KEEP DANCING Chic
28 ( 17 ) IS IT LOVE YOU'RE AFTER Rose Royce
29 ( 16 ) WORKING FOR THE YANKEE DOLLAR The Skids
30 ( 50 ) THE PLASTIC AGE The Buggles



31 ( 31 ) GIMME GIMME GIMME (A MAN AFTER MIDNIGHT) Abba
32 ( 27 ) DAY TRIP TO BANGOR Fiddler’s Dram
33 ( 32 ) ONE STEP BEYOND Madness
34 ( NEW ) TOO MUCH TOO YOUNG The Special AKA
35 ( 52 ) STRANGE LITTLE GIRL Sad Cafe
36 ( 57 ) PARADISE BIRD Amii Stewart
37 ( 21 ) MOONLIGHT AND MUSAK M
38 ( 55 ) WE GOT THE FUNK Positive Force
39 ( 60 ) MAMA’S BOY Suzi Quatro
40 ( 36 ) MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE The Police

41 ( 24 ) BLUE PETER Mike Oldfield
42 ( 37 ) TUSK Fleetwood Mac
43 ( 26 ) I’M IN THE MOOD FOR DANCING The Nolans
44 ( 25 ) JOHN I’M ONLY DANCING (1972)/JOHN I’M ONLY DANCING (AGAIN) (1975) David Bowie
45 ( 43 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.
46 ( 44 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty
47 ( 33 ) OFF THE WALL Michael Jackson
48 ( 51 ) VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR The Buggles
49 ( 40 ) WHEN YOU'RE IN LOVE WITH A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN Dr. Hook
50 ( 38 ) QUE SERA MI VIDA (IF YOU SHOULD GO) The Gibson Brothers

51 ( 56 ) QUOTE GOODBYE QUOTE Carolyn Mas
52 ( 39 ) THE WALK The Inmates
53 ( 67 ) GOT TO LOVE SOMEBODY Sister Sledge
54 ( NEW ) I WANNA BE YOUR LOVER Prince
55 ( NEW ) TOO HOT Kool And The Gang
56 ( 47 ) COMPLEX Gary Numan
57 ( 54 ) BAKER STREET Gerry Rafferty
58 ( 59 ) DREADLOCK HOLIDAY 10CC
59 ( 30 ) LONDON CALLING The Clash
60 ( 74 ) ROTATION Herb Alpert

61 ( 58 ) RISE Herb Alpert
62 ( 61 ) CARS Gary Numan
63 ( 63 ) VOULEZ VOUS/ ANGEL EYES Abba
64 ( 48 ) DIAMOND SMILES The Boomtown Rats
65 ( 62 ) DON'T STOP TILL YOU GET ENOUGH Michael Jackson
66 ( 49 ) UNION CITY BLUE Blondie
67 ( NEW ) JANE Jefferson Starship
68 ( 70 ) JUST WHEN I NEEDED YOU MOST Randy Vanwarmer
69 ( 41 ) SING CHILDREN SING Lesley Duncan
70 ( NEW ) THEME FROM ‘SOAP” George Aliceson Tipton



71 ( NEW ) JAZZ CARNIVAL Azymuth
72 ( NEW ) COWARD OF THE COUNTY Kenny Rogers
73 ( NEW ) LOVE ON THE LINE Barclay James Harvest
74 ( NEW ) DO THAT TO ME ONE MORE TIME Captain and Tennille
75 ( NEW ) BABY I LOVE YOU The Ramones




TV JAN 19-26
1. Live And Let Die: film
2. Soap
3. Logan’s Run
3. The Mary Tyler Moore Show
5. Disaster On The Coastliner: TV film
6. The New Avengers
7. Play Misty For Me: film
8. Barney Miller
9. MASH
10. Top Of The Pops
11. Blake’s 7
12. The Rockford Files
13. The Two Ronnies
14. The Goodies
15. Wonder Woman


College: another snowstorm, another awkward bus driver, another day off from Teaching Practice for Pete, Alan and Ian who instead popped to my room for some laughs instead. yay! Helped me avoid William Golding work. I later looked at some schoolbooks from me at 6, stories of what I did, liked and drew at that time: sci-fi, pop music, TV, animals. Not much change there then. Still. Tuesday was English Lit: School For Scandal. Wednesday I socialised in the art-room while I finished my screen-prints - I enjoy art students company. Thursday Pete off ill, so we hung about a lot in between lectures, and the evenings had the usual gang coming and going. Friday was Elaine’s birthday bash from 11pm, a drunken gangster’s moll tried to get me to dance (fancy dress, not real!) and laughs and jokes with Ian and Julie till 1.

Posted by: popchartfreak 3rd March 2015, 08:57 PM

5th February 1980

Jon And Vangelis get that chart-topper with the gorgeous, ethereal, gentle synth-friendly I Hear You Now. Jon Anderson had been the voice of 1977 Top 3 Wondrous Stories (with Yes) and Vangelis had been behind the fantastic Aphrodite’s Child belated 1975 biggie Break (though would have charted in 1972, if eligible). Up 30 places to 4, hard on their heels it’s The Specials second Top 10 hit, Too Much Too Young, outdoing even the way better Gangsters. Booker T gets those Green Onions to 6, and the Rats get a 5th consecutive Top 10, and 8th Top 20, as Someone’s Looking At You at 9. New Musik get their first top tenner, clearly Living By Numbers.

There’s a Jazz Carnival parading through the charts to 26, as shhh The Whispers get the highest new entry at 29, And The Beat Goes On, a pretty good soul funk dance groove, though they seemed to be getting more smooth and less funky as disco booms before the Disco Sucks movement killed them all off en masse. At 34, it’s John Foxx, not always a barrel of laughs, ex-Ultravox-man who went solo with initial success before Midge Ure somewhat overshadowed his career. Underpass was OK, though to me it always sounded like Underpants when he sang the chorus. I sent a lampoon cartoon of pet peeves of the time (John Foxx, Doctor Hook etc) to Record Mirror, the Editor actually replied and told me they weren’t very good and perhaps Art College would help. Errr I was doing an art course at College, at the time. Oops! Never mind, I’m now spouting my opinions on the internet and Record Mirror alas is no more.

35? Kool And The Gang, dang, it’s Too Hot. One of their better tracks actually. Barclay James Harvest go top 40, laying their Love On The Line, very nicely. Other newies: Billy Ocean’s back at 47, Are You Ready? I’ve been ready for 6 years of his hits (starting with Scorched Earth stomping fabulousness On The Run)! Don’t recall this one, yoohootube (it’s OK Jacko-stylee disco)! I do recall 51, Captain Beaky, and Keith Michell is back 9 years on from I’ll Give You The Earth, with kiddie classic written by the late Jeremy Lloyd, he of Laugh-In fame, and sitcom scripter a la Are You Being Served. It’s actually pretty good really for a novelty song. Leaving The Shadows back at 56 with an instrumental cover of classic cowboy song Riders In The Sky, a childhood fave with all of it’s yippee-aye-ey’s and fab toon. 5 years on from Eurovision too! Queen, 63, Save Me, quite nice but a bit on the slow slow quick quick slow side. The Selecter prove they aren’t Three Minute Hero’s at 70, their second ska hit, and I regret missing Pauline the other saturday in Southampton, I had to cancel to look after my parents.




1 ( 6 ) I HEAR YOU NOW Jon And Vangelis
2 ( 2 ) SPIRITS HAVING FLOWN The Bee Gees
3 ( 3 ) MY GIRL Madness
4 ( 34 ) TOO MUCH TOO YOUNG The Special AKA
5 ( 1 ) BRASS IN POCKET The Pretenders
6 ( 11 ) GREEN ONIONS Booker T. and The MG’s
7 ( 4 ) I HAVE A DREAM Abba
8 ( 5 ) BABE Styx
9 ( 15 ) SOMEONE’S LOOKING AT YOU The Boomtown Rats
10 ( 18 ) LIVING BY NUMBERS New Musik



11 ( 8 ) ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL (PART 2) Pink Floyd
12 ( 21 ) 7 TEEN The Regents
13 ( 25 ) IT’S DIFFERENT FOR GIRLS Joe Jackson
14 ( 7 ) PLEASE DON’T GO KC and The Sunshine Band
15 ( 9 ) I WANNA HOLD YOUR HAND Dollar
16 ( 20 ) BUZZ BUZZ A DIDDLE IT Matchbox
17 ( 14 ) ESCAPE (THE PINA COLADA SONG) Rupert Holmes
18 ( 13 ) SPACER Sheila and B. Devotion
19 ( 12 ) WALKING ON THE MOON The Police
20 ( 30 ) THE PLASTIC AGE The Buggles

21 ( 10 ) SARA Fleetwood Mac
22 ( 39 ) MAMA’S BOY Suzi Quatro
23 ( 24 ) ROCK WITH YOU Michael Jackson
24 ( 19 ) WITH YOU I’M BORN AGAIN Billy Preston and Syreeta
25 ( 16 ) NIGHTS IN WHITE SATIN The Moody Blues
26 ( 71 ) JAZZ CARNIVAL Azymuth
27 ( 22 ) I ONLY WANT TO BE WITH YOU The Tourists
28 ( 17 ) TEARS OF A CLOWN The Beat
29 ( NEW ) AND THE BEAT GOES ON The Whispers
30 ( 35 ) STRANGE LITTLE GIRL Sad Cafe



31 ( 26 ) CONFUSION/ LAST TRAIN TO LONDON E.L.O.
32 ( 23 ) BETTER LOVE NEXT TIME Dr. Hook
33 ( 38 ) WE GOT THE FUNK Positive Force
34 ( NEW ) UNDERPASS John Foxx
35 ( 67 ) JANE Jefferson Starship
36 ( 31 ) GIMME GIMME GIMME (A MAN AFTER MIDNIGHT) Abba
37 ( 33 ) ONE STEP BEYOND Madness
38 ( 55 ) TOO HOT Kool And The Gang
39 ( 28 ) IS IT LOVE YOU'RE AFTER Rose Royce
40 ( 73 ) LOVE ON THE LINE Barclay James Harvest



41 ( 29 ) WORKING FOR THE YANKEE DOLLAR The Skids
42 ( 27 ) MY FEET KEEP DANCING Chic
43 ( 40 ) MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE The Police
44 ( 42 ) TUSK Fleetwood Mac
45 ( 54 ) I WANNA BE YOUR LOVER Prince
46 ( 36 ) PARADISE BIRD Amii Stewart
47 ( NEW ) ARE YOU READY Billy Ocean
48 ( 53 ) GOT TO LOVE SOMEBODY Sister Sledge
49 ( 45 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.
50 ( 46 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty

51 ( NEW ) CAPTAIN BEAKY Keith Michell
52 ( 44 ) JOHN I’M ONLY DANCING (1972)/JOHN I’M ONLY DANCING (AGAIN) (1975) David Bowie
53 ( 32 ) DAY TRIP TO BANGOR Fiddler’s Dram
54 ( 48 ) VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR The Buggles
55 ( 41 ) BLUE PETER Mike Oldfield
56 ( NEW ) RIDERS IN THE SKY The Shadows
57 ( 49 ) WHEN YOU'RE IN LOVE WITH A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN Dr. Hook
58 ( 75 ) BABY I LOVE YOU The Ramones
59 ( 37 ) MOONLIGHT AND MUSAK M
60 ( 72 ) COWARD OF THE COUNTY Kenny Rogers

61 ( 58 ) DREADLOCK HOLIDAY 10CC
62 ( 57 ) BAKER STREET Gerry Rafferty
63 ( NEW ) SAVE ME Queen
64 ( 51 ) QUOTE GOODBYE QUOTE Carolyn Mas
65 ( 50 ) QUE SERA MI VIDA (IF YOU SHOULD GO) The Gibson Brothers
66 ( 56 ) COMPLEX Gary Numan
67 ( 62 ) CARS Gary Numan
68 ( 63 ) VOULEZ VOUS/ ANGEL EYES Abba
69 ( 60 ) ROTATION Herb Alpert
70 ( NEW ) THREE MINUTE HERO The Selecter

71 ( 65 ) DON'T STOP TILL YOU GET ENOUGH Michael Jackson
72 ( 68 ) JUST WHEN I NEEDED YOU MOST Randy Vanwarmer
73 ( NEW ) MOTOR BIKE BEAT The Revillos
74 ( 47 ) OFF THE WALL Michael Jackson
75 ( 61 ) RISE Herb Alpert

25th jan - 1st Feb TV chart
1 The Mary Tyler Moore Show
2 Soap
3 Blake’s 7
4 Barney Miller
5 MASH
6 Parkinson
7 Mork And Mindy
8 The Rockford Files
9 Top Of The Pops
10 The Two Ronnies
11 Parkinson (Wed)
12 Logan’s Run
13 Hart To Hart
14 TISWAS
15 Nationwide (Thurs)
16 Hawaii 5-0
17 The New Avengers
18 My Wife Next Door
19 The Legend Of Hell House (film)
20 Hollywood
21 Chopper Squad
22 If It’s Tuesday It Must Be Belguim (film)
23 Film 80
24 A Boy Named Charlie Brown
25 The Muppet Show


In College Life, I was studying Pope and School For Scandal in literature, socialising in my TV bedroom with various friends, and one of my parents fave actor’s Jimmy Durante, or Schnozzel, died. I knew him best for literally kicking the bucket in It’s A Mad Mad Mad Mad World, and Morecombe & Wise’s ongoing “sat at my piano” plastic cup over the nose gag. In artwork I was doing Silver Queen cowboy screen prints (based on Calico ghost-town saloon), The Two Ronnies had the timeless “got any o’s?” sketch on TV, with an “excellent” Parkinson (my quote of the day!) - he had Alan Alda (yay!), Rene Cutforth (who?) and Jimmy Saville (errr...). Yes, well, that one would be interesting to re-view...

On Thursday I was complaining of a dull day. I dream of dull days. I haven’t had a dull day in years, because you only get them when you are content with nothing pressing, nothing urgent, nothing stressful, and that concept died a long time ago in my life. True sad fact. I must have been bored as I marked some kids Maths schoolwork for Paul to save him getting so tired staying up late with loads of marking. Teachers DO work late, it’s true! I quite enjoyed it actually, the power! Friday? Still snow. Chatted in art lectures to mature students, good fun. Dad picked me up and home to Mansfield for the weekend, where brother had got his first home-movie back, with me briefly on it. Apparently, I thought I was “giving my own charming smile”. Oooohh get ‘im! What I really meant was I had a nice smile despite the slightly (and soon to be much) crooked teeth. Yes that American cliche about the Brits is true for me! Bought some tropical fish for my tank, loads of vinyl records, visited Ernie now in “death row” care home (as they called it), and Polish WW2 refugee Renie (Renata Modelefski) popped round to say hello 3 times, now widowed and at a loose end, and lonely. So, yes, Polish people were here long ago and we have a long mutual history. Get over it UKIP-lovers.

Posted by: popchartfreak 4th March 2015, 05:27 PM

12th February 1980

2 weeks for Jon & Vangelis, and The Specials hit number 2 as they hit 1 in the UK singles chart. At 6, The Regents slow climb into the 10 with 7 Teen culminates in a spot of Human League-ish girlie backing singers stylee Top Of The Pops, in a sort of miserable fashion. I could imagine Morrissey covering it, with a few rewritten longer words in there. Queen take a rocket to Save Me, to 21, leapfrogging Jefferson Starship, as the highest new entry is Cliff at 24, with his terrific and dark Carrie, written by BA Robertson and Terry Britten, of Bang Bang and Devil Woman previous songs each respectively. Cliff, with this single, started a long run of quality pop singles for some years without a single duffer amongst them, and his best period really. The Shadows, at 27, on the other hand were coming to the end of their singles career. Doh!

New entries: The Tourists consider it so good to be back home again, at 54, not one of their best, while future UK chart-topper Fern Kinney covers Together We Are Beautiful a 1979 chart entry for Steve Allen (in my charts), and does it way better, her unusual voice and cantering rhythms making it much more commercial. Rocky Sharpe and The Replays return with a cover of the 1963 Ran-Dells American hit, Martian Hop. My brother had played the original as the Ted revival scene was pretty big business in Mansfield, and it had been doing the rounds, sort of Northern Soul-wise (old obscure tracks getting discovered by a new generation). Dave Edmunds also whacks out a cover, this time Singing The Blues the 1950’s Guy Mitchell number one, and in at 74, but definitely going higher it’s Turning Japanese by The Vapors - a fabulous New Wave bit of fun, which is less than PC these days in intent, if not in actual lyric. I can’t possibly say what the subject matter is, but suffice to say it involves a favourite pastime of boys and men sat on their own.

1 ( 1 ) I HEAR YOU NOW Jon And Vangelis
2 ( 4 ) TOO MUCH TOO YOUNG The Special AKA
3 ( 3 ) MY GIRL Madness
4 ( 2 ) SPIRITS HAVING FLOWN The Bee Gees
5 ( 6 ) GREEN ONIONS Booker T. and The MG’s
6 ( 12 ) 7 TEEN The Regents
7 ( 9 ) SOMEONE’S LOOKING AT YOU The Boomtown Rats
8 ( 5 ) BRASS IN POCKET The Pretenders
9 ( 10 ) LIVING BY NUMBERS New Musik
10 ( 8 ) BABE Styx



11 ( 16 ) BUZZ BUZZ A DIDDLE IT Matchbox
12 ( 7 ) I HAVE A DREAM Abba
13 ( 13 ) IT’S DIFFERENT FOR GIRLS Joe Jackson
14 ( 20 ) THE PLASTIC AGE The Buggles
15 ( 34 ) UNDERPASS John Foxx
16 ( 11 ) ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL (PART 2) Pink Floyd
17 ( 23 ) ROCK WITH YOU Michael Jackson
18 ( 14 ) PLEASE DON’T GO KC and The Sunshine Band
19 ( 22 ) MAMA’S BOY Suzi Quatro
20 ( 29 ) AND THE BEAT GOES ON The Whispers



21 ( 63 ) SAVE ME Queen
22 ( 15 ) I WANNA HOLD YOUR HAND Dollar
23 ( 35 ) JANE Jefferson Starship
24 ( NEW ) CARRIE Cliff Richard
25 ( 19 ) WALKING ON THE MOON The Police
26 ( 18 ) SPACER Sheila and B. Devotion
27 ( 56 ) RIDERS IN THE SKY The Shadows
28 ( 17 ) ESCAPE (THE PINA COLADA SONG) Rupert Holmes
29 ( 25 ) NIGHTS IN WHITE SATIN The Moody Blues
30 ( 26 ) JAZZ CARNIVAL Azymuth




31 ( 51 ) CAPTAIN BEAKY Keith Michell
32 ( 27 ) I ONLY WANT TO BE WITH YOU The Tourists
33 ( 38 ) TOO HOT Kool And The Gang
34 ( 30 ) STRANGE LITTLE GIRL Sad Cafe
35 ( 24 ) WITH YOU I’M BORN AGAIN Billy Preston and Syreeta
36 ( 21 ) SARA Fleetwood Mac
37 ( 31 ) CONFUSION/ LAST TRAIN TO LONDON E.L.O.
38 ( 28 ) TEARS OF A CLOWN The Beat
39 ( 47 ) ARE YOU READY Billy Ocean
40 ( 70 ) THREE MINUTE HERO The Selecter

41 ( 36 ) GIMME GIMME GIMME (A MAN AFTER MIDNIGHT) Abba
42 ( 32 ) BETTER LOVE NEXT TIME Dr. Hook
43 ( 37 ) ONE STEP BEYOND Madness
44 ( 60 ) COWARD OF THE COUNTY Kenny Rogers
45 ( 44 ) TUSK Fleetwood Mac
46 ( 43 ) MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE The Police
47 ( 39 ) IS IT LOVE YOU'RE AFTER Rose Royce
48 ( 58 ) BABY I LOVE YOU The Ramones
49 ( 49 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.
50 ( 50 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty

51 ( 33 ) WE GOT THE FUNK Positive Force
52 ( 41 ) WORKING FOR THE YANKEE DOLLAR The Skids
53 ( 40 ) LOVE ON THE LINE Barclay James Harvest
54 ( NEW ) SO GOOD TO BE BACK HOME AGAIN The Tourists
55 ( 64 ) QUOTE GOODBYE QUOTE Carolyn Mas
56 ( 52 ) JOHN I’M ONLY DANCING (1972)/JOHN I’M ONLY DANCING (AGAIN) (1975) David Bowie
57 ( 42 ) MY FEET KEEP DANCING Chic
58 ( 54 ) VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR The Buggles
59 ( NEW ) TOGETHER WE’RE BEAUTIFUL Fern Kinney
60 ( NEW ) MARTIAN HOP Rocky Sharpe and the Replays




61 ( 61 ) DREADLOCK HOLIDAY 10CC
62 ( 62 ) BAKER STREET Gerry Rafferty
63 ( 57 ) WHEN YOU'RE IN LOVE WITH A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN Dr. Hook
64 ( 53 ) DAY TRIP TO BANGOR Fiddler’s Dram
65 ( 45 ) I WANNA BE YOUR LOVER Prince
66 ( 46 ) PARADISE BIRD Amii Stewart
67 ( 67 ) CARS Gary Numan
68 ( 66 ) COMPLEX Gary Numan
69 ( NEW ) SINGING THE BLUES Dave Edmunds
70 ( 68 ) VOULEZ VOUS/ ANGEL EYES Abba

71 ( 73 ) MOTOR BIKE BEAT The Revillos
72 ( 75 ) RISE Herb Alpert
73 ( 72 ) JUST WHEN I NEEDED YOU MOST Randy Vanwarmer
74 ( NEW ) TURNING JAPANESE The Vapors
75 ( 71 ) DON'T STOP TILL YOU GET ENOUGH Michael Jackson


Feb 2nd-8th1980
1 MASH
2 Soap
3 The Mary Tyler Moore Show
4 Blake’s 7
5 Top Of The Pops
6 The Two Ronnies
7 The Scalphunters (film)
8 The Goodies
9 Logan’s Run
10 Hart To Hart

11 The Last Of Sheila (film)
12 Film 80
13 Sporting Superstars
14 The New Avengers
15 Wildlife On One
16 The Incredible Rocky Mountain Race
17 What’s On Next
18 My Wife Next Door
19 Parkinson (wed)
20 The Sky At Night


On TV Blake’s 7 was getting better, thanks to the scriptwriting, while the Goodies were doing a pastiche of Close Encounters, I was reading William Golding for English Lit, chatting to friends, and having a dream featuring Danno from Hawaii 5-0, though quite what James MacArthur was doing inside a cave in the dream I have no idea nor memory of! In another one I was golf caddie for 2nd year student Brian - at night. Now I may not have played golf at the time, but I suspected finding balls might be a challenge at night...

In Art Max, my tutor was encouraging me to try for artistic jobs at the course end - I wish I wish I wish I had. Not that there were many about, of course. Meanwhile I had to give my first ever talk on my work, embarrassingly bright red, stuttering, forgot what I was saying, a disaster! I found I can handle Q&A but not giving speeches, and nothing has changed 35 years on! On TV The Two Ronnies my fave song sketch was on( “sod off sod off sod off so duff your cap to me...poor cow poor cow pour cowslip dew into your cup”): classic.

Posted by: popchartfreak 4th March 2015, 08:08 PM

19th February 1980


3 weeks at 1, I Hear You Now, 2 weeks at 2 Too Much Too Young and My Girl 4 weeks at 3. That concludes the top 3 results. The Rats get their 3rd biggest hit at 4, as Synth music makes inroads into the top 10, with John Foxx and Buggles joining New Musik, with Cliff and Jacko giving some veteran quality into the bargain. Queen and Jefferson Starship rock into the 20, and highest of many great new entries is Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s fab Take That Look Off Your Face, from Evita girl Marti Webb showcasing Tell Me On A Sunday. It’s a great song.

At 22, Blondie return with 3rd track off Eat To The Beat, and it’s the best track, Atomic, quite probably their best ever record (and they had already had 3 chart-toppers). More punky, but ab fab. At 34, The Gibson Brothers reactivate first minor hit Cuba, and it sounds even better, love those latin disco rhythms and the chorus is great. 35, I Can’t Stand Up For Falling Down, Elvis is back. Costello, that is, it’s OK but not one of his greats. Dexy’s debut at 49, as Dance Stance gets moving a bit, and the horn section was a breath of fresh air at the time, 60’s retro soul but kinda rock-based, I loved it.

At 58, Peter Gabriel finally gets a second terrific solo hit as Games Without Frontiers, with added Kate Bush vocals, follows up Solsbury Hill 3 years on. Chuck in Brass Construction and The Flying Lizards making a minor return, and skip on to The Police giving up an old track, So Lonely, coming after 3 chart-toppers in a row, each better than the last, it was the least of their five hits to date, and of course they really sing Sue Lawley, Nationwide presenter. Still good though. At 73, it’s another great amusing and clever record from BA Robertson, Kool In The Kaftan starting the hippie backlash, but also sort of affectionately 60‘s retro in sound and references. BA is a great lyricist, witness Carrie in the top 10 this very week, one of his. Finally, and rather tragically, AC/DC get a second hit as Touch Too Much enters at 75. The following day Bon Scott, great lead singer, was dead from booze abuse. From AC/DC’s point of view the death-inspired Back In Black album and hiring of the ex-Geordie singer Brian Johnson was the start of a looooong beloved career, and I approved cos I loved a lot of Geordie singles, but for me they just weren’t the same afterwards, Bon was such a great singer, and early AC/DC were sort of punk Led Zep, as opposed to later bombastic Led Zep. Touch Too Much is fantastic.


1 ( 1 ) I HEAR YOU NOW Jon And Vangelis
2 ( 2 ) TOO MUCH TOO YOUNG The Special AKA
3 ( 3 ) MY GIRL Madness
4 ( 7 ) SOMEONE’S LOOKING AT YOU The Boomtown Rats
5 ( 17 ) ROCK WITH YOU Michael Jackson
6 ( 11 ) BUZZ BUZZ A DIDDLE IT Matchbox
7 ( 14 ) THE PLASTIC AGE The Buggles
8 ( 9 ) LIVING BY NUMBERS New Musik
9 ( 24 ) CARRIE Cliff Richard
10 ( 15 ) UNDERPASS John Foxx

11 ( 4 ) SPIRITS HAVING FLOWN The Bee Gees
12 ( 6 ) 7 TEEN The Regents
13 ( 8 ) BRASS IN POCKET The Pretenders
14 ( 21 ) SAVE ME Queen
15 ( 5 ) GREEN ONIONS Booker T. and The MG’s
16 ( 20 ) AND THE BEAT GOES ON The Whispers
17 ( 23 ) JANE Jefferson Starship
18 ( 10 ) BABE Styx
19 ( 13 ) IT’S DIFFERENT FOR GIRLS Joe Jackson
20 ( 12 ) I HAVE A DREAM Abba

21 ( NEW ) TAKE THAT LOOK OFF YOUR FACE Marti Webb
22 ( NEW ) ATOMIC Blondie
23 ( 27 ) RIDERS IN THE SKY The Shadows
24 ( 16 ) ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL (PART 2) Pink Floyd
25 ( 54 ) SO GOOD TO BE BACK HOME AGAIN The Tourists
26 ( 31 ) CAPTAIN BEAKY Keith Michell
27 ( 18 ) PLEASE DON’T GO KC and The Sunshine Band
28 ( 40 ) THREE MINUTE HERO The Selecter
29 ( 25 ) WALKING ON THE MOON The Police
30 ( 33 ) TOO HOT Kool And The Gang

31 ( 19 ) MAMA’S BOY Suzi Quatro
32 ( 29 ) NIGHTS IN WHITE SATIN The Moody Blues
33 ( 22 ) I WANNA HOLD YOUR HAND Dollar
34 ( NEW ) CUBA The Gibson Brothers
35 ( NEW ) I CAN’T STAND UP FOR FALLING DOWN Elvis Costello
36 ( 59 ) TOGETHER WE ARE BEAUTIFUL Fern Kinney
37 ( 32 ) I ONLY WANT TO BE WITH YOU The Tourists
38 ( 60 ) MARTIAN HOP Rocky Sharpe and the Replays
39 ( 28 ) ESCAPE (THE PINA COLADA SONG) Rupert Holmes
40 ( 48 ) BABY I LOVE YOU The Ramones



41 ( 26 ) SPACER Sheila and B. Devotion
42 ( 44 ) COWARD OF THE COUNTY Kenny Rogers
43 ( 30 ) JAZZ CARNIVAL Azymuth
44 ( 37 ) CONFUSION/ LAST TRAIN TO LONDON E.L.O.
45 ( 41 ) GIMME GIMME GIMME (A MAN AFTER MIDNIGHT) Abba
46 ( 36 ) SARA Fleetwood Mac
47 ( 34 ) STRANGE LITTLE GIRL Sad Cafe
48 ( 39 ) ARE YOU READY Billy Ocean
49 ( NEW ) DANCE STANCE Dexy’s Midnight Runners
50 ( 45 ) TUSK Fleetwood Mac



51 ( 46 ) MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE The Police
52 ( 49 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.
53 ( 50 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty
54 ( 69 ) SINGING THE BLUES Dave Edmunds
55 ( 56 ) JOHN I’M ONLY DANCING (1972)/JOHN I’M ONLY DANCING (AGAIN) (1975) David Bowie
56 ( 43 ) ONE STEP BEYOND Madness
57 ( 35 ) WITH YOU I’M BORN AGAIN Billy Preston and Syreeta
58 ( NEW ) GAMES WITHOUT FRONTIERS Peter Gabriel
59 ( 38 ) TEARS OF A CLOWN The Beat
60 ( NEW ) TV The Flying Lizards



61 ( 61 ) DREADLOCK HOLIDAY 10CC
62 ( 62 ) BAKER STREET Gerry Rafferty
63 ( 58 ) VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR The Buggles
64 ( 47 ) IS IT LOVE YOU'RE AFTER Rose Royce
65 ( 52 ) WORKING FOR THE YANKEE DOLLAR The Skids
66 ( NEW ) MUSIC MAKES YOU FEEL LIKE DANCING Brass Construction
67 ( RE ) DO THAT TO ME ONE MORE TIME Captain and Tennille
68 ( NEW ) SO LONELY The Police
69 ( 68 ) COMPLEX Gary Numan
70 ( NEW ) FAN MAIL The Dickies




71 ( 57 ) MY FEET KEEP DANCING Chic
72 ( 70 ) VOULEZ VOUS/ ANGEL EYES Abba
73 ( NEW ) KOOL IN THE KAFTAN B.A. Robertson
74 ( 63 ) WHEN YOU'RE IN LOVE WITH A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN Dr. Hook
75 ( NEW ) TOUCH TOO MUCH AC/DC




Feb 9 - 15 TV charts
1 Soap
2 The Mary Tyler Moore Show
3 MASH: film
4 Blake’s 7
5 MASH
6 Airport: film
7 Logan’s Run
8 Mork And Mindy
9 Barney Miller
10 Film 80
11 The Goodies
12 The Rockford Files
13 Hawaii 5-0
14 Top Of The Pops
15 Hollywood



In College days, poetry raised it’s head (sigh), a long list of friends dropping by chez John, outside the inner group too, and Hollywood featured Rudolf Valentino and Gloria Swanson - I was fascinated by then-ancient movie stars from long before I was born, it was like looking back in distant history: well, silent movies looked ancient, even if they were only 50 years or so earlier! A bit like a college student looking back to the 60’s now. I’m suddenly old! The Winter Olympics started this week, but it was overshadowed by the sudden death of David Janssen, an actor hero of mine, star of The Fugitive and Harry O, and the narrator of the epic-scaled Centennial mini-series. Only 49, he was just SO cool with that perfectly-phrased gravelly-voice. I was shocked.

Had an American geography exam, sat through a great John Davis lecture afterwards, and Max in Art was encouraging me to frame my latest prints and try and sell some. I had forgotten what a gem of encouragement Max was, given I spent years on the dole anyway I might as well have gone in for art rather than entirely waste my time applying for crap, soul-destroying tedious jobs. If only I knew then what I know now... The weekend I was glum in Mansfield, babysat for my little cousins, rachel letting it out that all of my budgies were dead (donated to Clipstone school) which didn’t make me happier as I was leaned on to get rid of them in the first place. Really, I think it was the realisation that my little glorious bubble-world of College was drawing to a close and I really didn’t like that thought at all.

Posted by: popchartfreak 5th March 2015, 07:50 PM

26th February 1980

Blondie, boom, Atomic! 4th number one, after Denis, Heart Of Glass and Sunday Girl. One of those instances, like Baker Street, where the single edit is the classic version, the album version meanders in the middle and loses the sheer power and urgency of the track, proving conclusively that sometimes less is more. Debbie Harry was never better than on Atomic, and as the world got very nervous about nuclear war just having Atomic as the title (it wasn’t really the hook, it was the only part of the track that wasn’t a hook!) gave it that extra topical zing. At 3 rockabilly rules, buzz buzz a diddle it, parp! Such fun! At the other end of the chart rockabilly future arrives as Shakin’ Stevens brings a Hot Dog into the chart. I would have preferred the much better song with that title by the Archies, mind you.

The Buggles peak at 4 for the second time, John Foxx hits 7, The Whispers 8, and showtune time at 10 with Marti Webb - no, take that look off your face, it’s fab! Peter Gabriel shows no frontiers can hold him back, chanting Jeux Sans Frontiers and beating the competition up to 16 from 58. Little bit of politics nod’s as good as a wink, eh, squire? Call the police! So Lonely? 40 places up to 28 and leapfrogging the Ramones quietly climbing to 30. The late Bon Scott leads AC/DC to 34, Touch Too Much, and The Flying Lizards get a second top 40, TV. Highest new entry, Rainbow are back with another pop metal singalong All Night Long, not quite as good as Since You’ve Been Gone, but Blackmore and Glover equals good enough for Deep Purple.

Hands off - she’s mine, exclaim The Beat at 48. OK, if you say so lads, the prettier face of ska and now not doing covers. Donna Summer’s back on the radio with a sprawling ballad/disco track at 60, Liquid Gold dance themselves dizzy (do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-dizzy!) with a bit of cheesy fun at 66, Joan Armatrading gets Rosie at 73 4 years after her classic Love And Affection, and Iron Maiden announce themselves while Running Free. At 75, part of the New Wave of British Heavy Music, sort of, and I certainly wouldn’t have put money on them churning out much the same stuff for the next 3 decades to a loyal fanbase. Hey ho.




1 ( 22 ) ATOMIC Blondie
2 ( 1 ) I HEAR YOU NOW Jon And Vangelis
3 ( 6 ) BUZZ BUZZ A DIDDLE IT Matchbox
4 ( 7 ) THE PLASTIC AGE The Buggles
5 ( 5 ) ROCK WITH YOU Michael Jackson
6 ( 9 ) CARRIE Cliff Richard
7 ( 10 ) UNDERPASS John Foxx
8 ( 16 ) AND THE BEAT GOES ON The Whispers
9 ( 2 ) TOO MUCH TOO YOUNG The Special AKA
10 ( 21 ) TAKE THAT LOOK OFF YOUR FACE Marti Webb



11 ( 4 ) SOMEONE’S LOOKING AT YOU The Boomtown Rats
12 ( 3 ) MY GIRL Madness
13 ( 8 ) LIVING BY NUMBERS New Musik
14 ( 14 ) SAVE ME Queen
15 ( 25 ) SO GOOD TO BE BACK HOME AGAIN The Tourists
16 ( 58 ) GAMES WITHOUT FRONTIERS Peter Gabriel
17 ( 17 ) JANE Jefferson Starship
18 ( 13 ) BRASS IN POCKET The Pretenders
19 ( 11 ) SPIRITS HAVING FLOWN The Bee Gees
20 ( 23 ) RIDERS IN THE SKY The Shadows



21 ( 28 ) THREE MINUTE HERO The Selecter
22 ( 35 ) I CAN’T STAND UP FOR FALLING DOWN Elvis Costello
23 ( 12 ) 7 TEEN The Regents
24 ( 36 ) TOGETHER WE ARE BEAUTIFUL Fern Kinney
25 ( 15 ) GREEN ONIONS Booker T. and The MG’s
26 ( 20 ) I HAVE A DREAM Abba
27 ( 18 ) BABE Styx
28 ( 68 ) SO LONELY The Police
29 ( 24 ) ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL (PART 2) Pink Floyd
30 ( 40 ) BABY I LOVE YOU The Ramones

31 ( 19 ) IT’S DIFFERENT FOR GIRLS Joe Jackson
32 ( 34 ) CUBA The Gibson Brothers
33 ( 29 ) WALKING ON THE MOON The Police
34 ( 75 ) TOUCH TOO MUCH AC/DC
35 ( 49 ) DANCE STANCE Dexy’s Midnight Runners
36 ( 32 ) NIGHTS IN WHITE SATIN The Moody Blues
37 ( 60 ) TV The Flying Lizards
38 ( 26 ) CAPTAIN BEAKY Keith Michell
39 ( 67 ) DO THAT TO ME ONE MORE TIME Captain and Tennille
40 ( NEW ) ALL NIGHT LONG Rainbow



41 ( 27 ) PLEASE DON’T GO KC and The Sunshine Band
42 ( 30 ) TOO HOT Kool And The Gang
43 ( 44 ) CONFUSION/ LAST TRAIN TO LONDON E.L.O.
44 ( 33 ) I WANNA HOLD YOUR HAND Dollar
45 ( 37 ) I ONLY WANT TO BE WITH YOU The Tourists
46 ( 42 ) COWARD OF THE COUNTY Kenny Rogers
47 ( 38 ) MARTIAN HOP Rocky Sharpe and the Replays
48 ( NEW ) HANDS OFF - SHE’S MINE The Beat
49 ( 54 ) SINGING THE BLUES Dave Edmunds
50 ( 45 ) GIMME GIMME GIMME (A MAN AFTER MIDNIGHT) Abba

51 ( 52 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.
52 ( 51 ) MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE The Police
53 ( 53 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty
54 ( 50 ) TUSK Fleetwood Mac
55 ( 31 ) MAMA’S BOY Suzi Quatro
56 ( 39 ) ESCAPE (THE PINA COLADA SONG) Rupert Holmes
57 ( 55 ) JOHN I’M ONLY DANCING (1972)/JOHN I’M ONLY DANCING (AGAIN) (1975) David Bowie
58 ( 41 ) SPACER Sheila and B. Devotion
59 ( 46 ) SARA Fleetwood Mac
60 ( NEW ) ON THE RADIO Donna Summer

61 ( 61 ) DREADLOCK HOLIDAY 10CC
62 ( 62 ) BAKER STREET Gerry Rafferty
63 ( NEW ) TONIGHT Zane Griff
64 ( 56 ) ONE STEP BEYOND Madness
65 ( 73 ) KOOL IN THE KAFTAN B.A. Robertson
66 ( NEW ) DANCE YOURSELF DIZZY Liquid Gold
67 ( 63 ) VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR The Buggles
68 ( 72 ) VOULEZ VOUS/ ANGEL EYES Abba
69 ( NEW ) MAYBE TOMORROW The Chords
70 ( 43 ) JAZZ CARNIVAL Azymuth

71 ( NEW ) HOT DOG Shakin’ Stevens
72 ( 69 ) COMPLEX Gary Numan
73 ( NEW ) ROSIE Joan Armatrading
74 ( 57 ) WITH YOU I’M BORN AGAIN Billy Preston and Syreeta
75 ( NEW ) RUNNING FREE Iron Maiden



TV feb 16-22
1 Thoroughly Modern Millie: film
2 The Kenny Everett Video Show
3 The Mary Tyler Moore Show
4 Soap
5 MASH
6 Top Of The Pops
7 Blake’s 7
8 The Rockford Files
9 Film 80
10 Wonder Woman
11 Barney Miller
12 World’s Apart
13 Parkinson (sat)
14 Police Story
15 The Blue Knight


In lectures, it was Great Expectations, outside lectures it was Blondie in at 3 on the UK charts (hooray!), lotsa socialising and laughs, and good TV (Blake’s 7, Rockford Files etc). I finally got around to developing the Paris art trip negatives, and printing my b&w USA prints in the darkroom. Some snooker, some Winter Olympics, some laughs and then Pete, Julie, Bev & I went to see The Exorcist in the Uni lounge. Some parts were sickening and disturbing, and I didn’t enjoy it anywhere near as much as Alien, but the others were more impressed. The ending was quite shocking, though, and it left a disturbing after-memory...

Got my Geog exam results, which were good, and John Davies hinted my grades for American Studies were good for my degree. My expectations were optmistic based on what lecturers were telling me, for a Grade 1. If I’ve learnt anything in life, though, it’s to not bother being optimistic, it just leads to disappointment! The main problem being my tutors all liked me, and outside examiners didn’t know me from Adam. Drama in snooker: Bev wanted to join in on a game Pete, Sue Julie & I were already playing, but she didn’t want to start on the lowest score, which caused conflict and ill feeling, which I don’t deal well with, so I sent all the balls flying forcing a new game. Cue sulks from some parts. Top Of The Pops, I noted, was very good. Saturday evening Paul and Dave drove the gang in two cars to Nottingham for Pauline’s 21st birthday party, much laughter and dancing, I even did the hokey cokey, not something I ever planned to do! I was quite extrovert, for me, had a great time, and we drove back to Lincoln at midnight. On Sunday sci-fi drama with David Janssen in, Marooned, gave me an opportunity to repeat more than once the old gag about a ship carrying blue paint colliding with one carrying red paint, the crew were Marooned....ouch!

Posted by: popchartfreak 9th April 2015, 08:39 PM

4th March 1980

2 weeks Atomic blasting for Blondie on top, with Peter Gabriel (plus Kate) climbing big-ly to 3 with a bit of political commentary, and Cliff managing another top 5 to add to his list - actually only his 6th in 12 years! The Gibson brothers get another top 10 (Cuba) and The Police make it 5 in a row as So Lonely hits 10. Highest new entry is Sammy Hagar at 18, who has done, it seems, everything for you, and presides over a mini-metal invasion as AC/DC hit 19 and Rainbow return to the 20 a second time with All Night Long.

The Beat return to the 40 with a second single, and Bowie’s back with a bizarre cover of Kurt Weil’s 1927 Alabama Song and a stark cover of his own Space Oddity tucked away on the B side. 36 is quite generous for what you might call Bowie’s least-commercial single outside of Tin Machine. At 43, The Vapors re-enter a bit higher this time, and at 46, the very pleasant Take A Little Rhythm, very US-radio-friendly pop from Ali Thompson. Squeeze have another nail for my heart new at 59, uptempo, clever pop as always, even if they tended not to have big hits from here on.

At 64, a fondly-recalled Canadian new-wave classic for Martha And The Muffins, Echo Beach just seems to have struck a chord with that generation including me. The Detroit Spinners enter at 66 with a cover of a little-known Four Seasons single (at that time) Working My Way Back To You, and they do it justice, on it’s way to the UK number one 7 years after debuting with the fab Could It Be I’m Falling In Love. At 70 it’s Kenny Loggins, and it’s not Footloose (still 4 years in the future), at 71 the absolutely gorgeous Longer, from Dan Fogelberg, gentle, classy, imacculate balladry. The Lambrettas mod-ify 50’s classic Poison Ivy at 72, The Eagles go out on a minor hit, but one of their best singles, I Can’t Tell You Why, a lovely country-rock ballad at 73, and M grab a 3rd chart entry at 75 - that’s the way the money goes!

1 ( 1 ) ATOMIC Blondie
2 ( 2 ) I HEAR YOU NOW Jon And Vangelis
3 ( 16 ) GAMES WITHOUT FRONTIERS Peter Gabriel
4 ( 5 ) ROCK WITH YOU Michael Jackson
5 ( 6 ) CARRIE Cliff Richard
6 ( 10 ) TAKE THAT LOOK OFF YOUR FACE Marti Webb
7 ( 3 ) BUZZ BUZZ A DIDDLE IT Matchbox
8 ( 4 ) THE PLASTIC AGE The Buggles
9 ( 32 ) CUBA The Gibson Brothers
10 ( 28 ) SO LONELY The Police



11 ( 7 ) UNDERPASS John Foxx
12 ( 8 ) AND THE BEAT GOES ON The Whispers
13 ( 24 ) TOGETHER WE ARE BEAUTIFUL Fern Kinney
14 ( 15 ) SO GOOD TO BE BACK HOME AGAIN The Tourists
15 ( 9 ) TOO MUCH TOO YOUNG The Special AKA
16 ( 22 ) I CAN’T STAND UP FOR FALLING DOWN Elvis Costello
17 ( 11 ) SOMEONE’S LOOKING AT YOU The Boomtown Rats
18 ( NEW ) I’VE DONE EVERYTHING FOR YOU Sammy Hagar
19 ( 34 ) TOUCH TOO MUCH AC/DC
20 ( 40 ) ALL NIGHT LONG Rainbow

21 ( 12 ) MY GIRL Madness
22 ( 17 ) JANE Jefferson Starship
23 ( 18 ) BRASS IN POCKET The Pretenders
24 ( 19 ) SPIRITS HAVING FLOWN The Bee Gees
25 ( 13 ) LIVING BY NUMBERS New Musik
26 ( 14 ) SAVE ME Queen
27 ( 30 ) BABY I LOVE YOU The Ramones
28 ( 39 ) DO THAT TO ME ONE MORE TIME Captain and Tennille
29 ( 21 ) THREE MINUTE HERO The Selecter
30 ( 48 ) HANDS OFF - SHE’S MINE The Beat

31 ( 26 ) I HAVE A DREAM Abba
32 ( 29 ) ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL (PART 2) Pink Floyd
33 ( 33 ) WALKING ON THE MOON The Police
34 ( 66 ) DANCE YOURSELF DIZZY Liquid Gold
35 ( 20 ) RIDERS IN THE SKY The Shadows
36 ( NEW ) ALABAMA SONG/ SPACE ODDITY David Bowie
37 ( 27 ) BABE Styx
38 ( 25 ) GREEN ONIONS Booker T. and The MG’s
39 ( 23 ) 7 TEEN The Regents
40 ( 36 ) NIGHTS IN WHITE SATIN The Moody Blues

41 ( 35 ) DANCE STANCE Dexy’s Midnight Runners
42 ( 43 ) CONFUSION/ LAST TRAIN TO LONDON E.L.O.
43 ( RE ) TURNING JAPANESE The Vapors
44 ( 31 ) IT’S DIFFERENT FOR GIRLS Joe Jackson
45 ( 65 ) KOOL IN THE KAFTAN B.A. Robertson
46 ( NEW ) TAKE A LITTLE RHYTHM Ali Thompson
47 ( 41 ) PLEASE DON’T GO KC and The Sunshine Band
48 ( 45 ) I ONLY WANT TO BE WITH YOU The Tourists
49 ( 60 ) ON THE RADIO Donna Summer
50 ( 53 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty

51 ( 51 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.
52 ( 52 ) MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE The Police
53 ( 54 ) TUSK Fleetwood Mac
54 ( 50 ) GIMME GIMME GIMME (A MAN AFTER MIDNIGHT) Abba
55 ( NEW ) AT THE EDGE Stiff Little Fingers
56 ( 38 ) CAPTAIN BEAKY Keith Michell
57 ( 44 ) I WANNA HOLD YOUR HAND Dollar
58 ( 57 ) JOHN I’M ONLY DANCING (1972)/JOHN I’M ONLY DANCING (AGAIN) (1975) David Bowie
59 ( NEW ) ANOTHER NAIL FOR MY HEART Squeeze
60 ( 75 ) RUNNING FREE Iron Maiden




61 ( 61 ) DREADLOCK HOLIDAY 10CC
62 ( 62 ) BAKER STREET Gerry Rafferty
63 ( 49 ) SINGING THE BLUES Dave Edmunds
64 ( NEW ) ECHO BEACH Martha And The Muffins
65 ( 42 ) TOO HOT Kool And The Gang
66 ( NEW ) WORKING MY WAY BACK TO YOU The Detroit Spinners
67 ( 64 ) ONE STEP BEYOND Madness
68 ( 68 ) VOULEZ VOUS/ ANGEL EYES Abba
69 ( 37 ) TV The Flying Lizards
70 ( NEW ) THIS IS IT Kenny Loggins



71 ( NEW ) LONGER Dan Fogelberg
72 ( NEW ) POISON IVY The Lambrettas
73 ( NEW ) I CAN’T TELL YOU WHY The Eagles
74 ( 46 ) COWARD OF THE COUNTY Kenny Rogers
75 ( NEW ) THAT’S THE WAY THE MONEY GOES M






TV Feb 22-29
1 The Kenny Everett Video Show
2 The Mary Tyler Moore Show
3 British Rock and Pop Awards
4 Top Of The Pops
5 Blake’s 7
6 MASH
7 The Rockford Files
8 Film 80
9 Marooned
10 The Two Ronnies




College days, and the usual crowd for chats, quizzes, snooker and lectures. Fab! Had to read out a poem, called Pastoral, which went down rather well in English Lit, surprisingly. I didn’t even get embarrassed once. The new UK charts, I noted, were “excellent”: I stand by that opinion! Kenny Everett & Rockford Files were good on TV. The BRITS (aka British Rock & Pop Awards) were fab: The Police, Boomtown rats, Cliff, Macca, Specials, Gary Numan, Kate Bush. On Thursday I slaughtered all-comers at lunchtime snooker and crowed about it, I must have been giddy at it all as that’s just not me! In art I was working on supasized photos cut up and glued together on raised blocks for a 3D effect. Seemed like a good idea at the time....

The weekend was a hired car, and a group off for another 21st birthday bash (Jane Deacey), with a band playing, and with a group of college girl friends of hers, which would have been in Wolverhampton. Apparently. I actually have no memory of it, which is very sad to contemplate, I seem to have lost a day, even with photos I took - I must have them somewhere, but that might take a bit of researching! We stopped off for Nottingham shopping on the way back to Lincoln, which was eventful: I finally got hold of a copy of Zager & Evans’ In The Year 2525 after 11 years of trying, and also found a copy of a long-lost Legion of Super heroes comic I’d stupidly sold in 1972 - Adventure Comics 375. Hooray! The ten-pin bowling alley was closed, though, so doh! Back in my dorm room, my tape recorder and my record player turntable were on the joint failure, double disaster for me - at least I now had a cassette recorder player as back-up, I do believe in spares as a motto in life....

Posted by: popchartfreak 14th April 2015, 08:55 PM

11th March 1980

3 weeks for Blondie bombing the competition, and Rock With You hits 2 for Michael Jackson. They both have returned to the singles charts in the years since, so I feel justified, yay! I look at the top 10 and I see a complete range of genres and styles that would be inconceivable in the current UK charts - New Wave, disco soul, showtune, carribbean, progrock, metal, reggaerock, synthballad, band pop, MOR pop. Awesome. The Tourists get a second top 10 hit, and AC/DC their first, the fabulous Touch Too Much.

Captain & Tennille return to the 20 for the first time in 4 years, their third trip to date, while the Beat get a second visit, and Liquid Gold a first. The Vapours finally start making moves, to 21, and Echo Beach crashes upwards in waves to 25, just ahead of Scotland’s Ali Thomson, Squeeze, B.A. Robertson and The Detroit Spinners. Few new entries this week, just Secret Affair’s best single at 48, the storming My World (play loud!), Rupert Holmes classy MOR Him at 58 (his 3rd hit) and another ska band debuting at 67 - the ever-fun and loveable Bad Manners, fronted by the unforgettable Buster Bloodvessel, and the tongue-twistingly funtastic Ne-Ne-Na-Na-Na-Na-Nu-Nu. The final new entry is a return for the Brothers Johnson, 3 or 4 years on from the fantastic Strawberry Letter 23, the almost-as-good Stomp. Fab.


1 ( 1 ) ATOMIC Blondie
2 ( 4 ) ROCK WITH YOU Michael Jackson
3 ( 6 ) TAKE THAT LOOK OFF YOUR FACE Marti Webb
4 ( 9 ) CUBA The Gibson Brothers
5 ( 3 ) GAMES WITHOUT FRONTIERS Peter Gabriel
6 ( 10 ) SO LONELY The Police
7 ( 2 ) I HEAR YOU NOW Jon And Vangelis
8 ( 13 ) TOGETHER WE ARE BEAUTIFUL Fern Kinney
9 ( 14 ) SO GOOD TO BE BACK HOME AGAIN The Tourists
10 ( 19 ) TOUCH TOO MUCH AC/DC

11 ( 20 ) ALL NIGHT LONG Rainbow
12 ( 28 ) DO THAT TO ME ONE MORE TIME Captain and Tennille
13 ( 5 ) CARRIE Cliff Richard
14 ( 30 ) HANDS OFF - SHE’S MINE The Beat
15 ( 18 ) I’VE DONE EVERYTHING FOR YOU Sammy Hagar
16 ( 16 ) I CAN’T STAND UP FOR FALLING DOWN Elvis Costello
17 ( 7 ) BUZZ BUZZ A DIDDLE IT Matchbox
18 ( 34 ) DANCE YOURSELF DIZZY Liquid Gold
19 ( 8 ) THE PLASTIC AGE The Buggles
20 ( 11 ) UNDERPASS John Foxx

21 ( 43 ) TURNING JAPANESE The Vapors
22 ( 15 ) TOO MUCH TOO YOUNG The Special AKA
23 ( 17 ) SOMEONE’S LOOKING AT YOU The Boomtown Rats
24 ( 12 ) AND THE BEAT GOES ON The Whispers
25 ( 64 ) ECHO BEACH Martha And The Muffins
26 ( 46 ) TAKE A LITTLE RHYTHM Ali Thomson
27 ( 23 ) BRASS IN POCKET The Pretenders
28 ( 21 ) MY GIRL Madness
29 ( 59 ) ANOTHER NAIL FOR MY HEART Squeeze
30 ( 24 ) SPIRITS HAVING FLOWN The Bee Gees



31 ( 66 ) WORKING MY WAY BACK TO YOU The Detroit Spinners
32 ( 22 ) JANE Jefferson Starship
33 ( 36 ) ALABAMA SONG/ SPACE ODDITY David Bowie
34 ( 32 ) ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL (PART 2) Pink Floyd
35 ( 31 ) I HAVE A DREAM Abba
36 ( 33 ) WALKING ON THE MOON The Police
37 ( 25 ) LIVING BY NUMBERS New Musik
38 ( 27 ) BABY I LOVE YOU The Ramones
39 ( 29 ) THREE MINUTE HERO The Selecter
40 ( 45 ) KOOL IN THE KAFTAN B.A. Robertson

41 ( 55 ) AT THE EDGE Stiff Little Fingers
42 ( 40 ) NIGHTS IN WHITE SATIN The Moody Blues
43 ( 42 ) CONFUSION/ LAST TRAIN TO LONDON E.L.O.
44 ( 35 ) RIDERS IN THE SKY The Shadows
45 ( 37 ) BABE Styx
46 ( 26 ) SAVE ME Queen
47 ( 38 ) GREEN ONIONS Booker T. and The MG’s
48 ( NEW ) MY WORLD Secret Affair
49 ( 50 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty
50 ( 51 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.



51 ( 39 ) 7 TEEN The Regents
52 ( 52 ) MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE The Police
53 ( 53 ) TUSK Fleetwood Mac
54 ( 54 ) GIMME GIMME GIMME (A MAN AFTER MIDNIGHT) Abba
55 ( 75 ) THAT’S THE WAY THE MONEY GOES M
56 ( 60 ) RUNNING FREE Iron Maiden
57 ( 72 ) POISON IVY The Lambrettas
58 ( NEW ) HIM Rupert Holmes
59 ( 61 ) DREADLOCK HOLIDAY 10CC
60 ( 58 ) JOHN I’M ONLY DANCING (1972)/JOHN I’M ONLY DANCING (AGAIN) (1975) David Bowie

61 ( 62 ) BAKER STREET Gerry Rafferty
62 ( 47 ) PLEASE DON’T GO KC and The Sunshine Band
63 ( 48 ) I ONLY WANT TO BE WITH YOU The Tourists
64 ( 71 ) LONGER Dan Fogelberg
65 ( 49 ) ON THE RADIO Donna Summer
66 ( 44 ) IT’S DIFFERENT FOR GIRLS Joe Jackson
67 ( NEW ) NE-NE-NA-NA-NA-NA-NU-NU Bad Manners
68 ( 70 ) THIS IS IT Kenny Loggins
69 ( 41 ) DANCE STANCE Dexy’s Midnight Runners
70 ( 73 ) I CAN’T TELL YOU WHY The Eagles




71 ( 57 ) I WANNA HOLD YOUR HAND Dollar
72 ( 68 ) VOULEZ VOUS/ ANGEL EYES Abba
73 ( NEW ) STOMP The Brothers Johnson
74 ( 67 ) ONE STEP BEYOND Madness
75 ( 56 ) CAPTAIN BEAKY Keith Michell





1st-7th march 1980 TV
1 The Kenny Everett Video Show
2 Soap
3 Blake’s 7
4 The Mary Tyler Moore Show
5 Butterflies
6 Holocaust (part 4)
7 Top Of The Pops
8 The Phil Silvers Show
9 Chopper Squad
10 Film 80
11 Tomorrow’s World
12 Barney Miller
13 New Maverick
14 Hanging By A Thread
15 Dallas


On TV Kenny Everett was still ruling the comedy world (with a fab assist from Cliff Richard being game for a laugh), followed by ground-breaking madcap sitcom Soap, Blake’s 7 was topping British drama for me, Dallas was building and building towards it’s classic year, and a remake of classic 50’s western Maverick, which made the brilliant James Garner a star, debuts with him returning along with the next generation of Maverick’s.

At college, lectures, snooker, various gang member combo chats as everyone still came, went, stayed, returned from teaching practice, while my world remained static and they revolved around me (from my point of view!) Pete, Ian, Sue, Julie, Paul, Jane, Bev, Alan and lesser peripheral friends. Jane, one night late, stayed to chat, and she’s such a good listener I admitted all my freaky obsessive pop-chart-compiling and other hobbies. Which I now post here!

This was also the week I hypochondriac’d myself to the college matron in the middle of the night with chronic stomache pains, panicking it was appendicitis, when it was most likely stress from running to get a deposit back to the garage we hired the weekend car from, and other stuff, like being faced with talking about looking for gainful employment before long. Wuss! The doctor called it a mild attack of gastro-enteritis. Didn’t feel mild!

Posted by: popchartfreak 16th April 2015, 08:38 PM

18th March 1980

Lots of connections in the new chart, starting off with Daydream Believer entering twice, in at 1 as part of the Monkees EP of 4 big 60’s hits, I’m A Believer (already topped my chart in 1974 reissued), Last Train To Clarksville and A Little Bit Me A Little Bit You, and also in at 74 as covered by Anne Murray. Both acts are long-time faves, Anne for 10 years since I went mad on Snowbird, and The Monkees since 1967, when their groundbreaking pop group madcap sitcom was a huge fave of mine. I loved all of their records, almost all of them would have hit the top spot in charts I hypothetically might have compiled while passing happy days at RAF Valley on the glorious Isle Of Anglesey, through to RAF Swinderby near Lincoln. By 1974 when I bought their hits albums, there were many many album tracks which would have done the same. So it was only right this should have jumped in at 1, being a UK hit all over again. As John Peel commented on Roundtable at the time, in the late 60’s like most of the hippie rock fraternity and British media, The Monkees were regarded as manufactured and dismissed. By 1980, he admitted they’d dated way better than his beloved hippie records, and to boot had been influential on the next gen of rock stars. They also played their own instruments and wrote their own songs, admittedly after the initial batch of success. All four tracks are 10/10 brilliant, two of them Neil Diamond songs.

Captain And Tennille get a 3rd Top 10, Brothers Johnson stomp their way into it, and The Vapors even turn Japanese to break into the Top 10. Squeeze go up to 19, which lets me mention a future temporary member of Squeeze, Paul Carrack (Tempted), who was to later become a part of Mike + The Mechanics along with Sad Cafe lead singer Paul Young. Sad cafe get a 3rd hit in at 63, my oh my! Just to round it off, Mike himself is in at 70 with a solo entry just one spot of ahead of his band Genesis and their fabulous Turn It On Again. Former member of Genesis Peter gabriel is at 13, and Phil Collins was only months away from a solo classic. That concludes the Genesis Family Tree.

Some good disco at 23, Narada Michael Walden’s Tonight I’m Alright, Earth Wind & Fire at 50 are written in the stone, Suzi Quatro grabs another quick chart entry and Rush debut with classic metal anthem Spirit Of Radio at 56. Babs Dickson is back after a gap, for 4 years of hits with the sweet January February at 60, there’s Bodysnatchers girlgroup ska going Rocksteady at 61, and Jimmy Buffet debuts his Carribbean rock stylee at 62, as the Volcano blows, though it would be Maragaritaville that would become the karaoke classic, and he’s still going strong in Florida, having had a recent US hit with It’s 5 O’clock Somewhere. Pat Benatar also debuts with Heartbreaker, UB40 debut with the first of a very very long run of hits (see this weeks chart as I write March 2015) the double A King and the fantastic Food For Thought. Finally The Dooleys are back with a decent pop track, and Siouxsie has a happy house, and proves it by sounding distinctly unhappy at 75, but always good.



1 ( NEW ) MONKEES EP (LAST TRAIN TO CLARKSVILLE/ I’M A BELIEVER/ A LITTLE BIT ME A LITTLE BIT YOU/ DAYDREAM BELIEVER) The Monkees
2 ( 1 ) ATOMIC Blondie
3 ( 4 ) CUBA The Gibson Brothers
4 ( 6 ) SO LONELY The Police
5 ( 12 ) DO THAT TO ME ONE MORE TIME Captain and Tennille
6 ( 11 ) ALL NIGHT LONG Rainbow
7 ( 3 ) TAKE THAT LOOK OFF YOUR FACE Marti Webb
8 ( 8 ) TOGETHER WE ARE BEAUTIFUL Fern Kinney
9 ( 73 ) STOMP The Brothers Johnson
10 ( 21 ) TURNING JAPANESE The Vapors



11 ( 2 ) ROCK WITH YOU Michael Jackson
12 ( 18 ) DANCE YOURSELF DIZZY Liquid Gold
13 ( 5 ) GAMES WITHOUT FRONTIERS Peter Gabriel
14 ( 14 ) HANDS OFF - SHE’S MINE The Beat
15 ( 7 ) I HEAR YOU NOW Jon And Vangelis
16 ( 31 ) WORKING MY WAY BACK TO YOU The Detroit Spinners
17 ( 13 ) CARRIE Cliff Richard
18 ( 25 ) ECHO BEACH Martha And The Muffins
19 ( 29 ) ANOTHER NAIL FOR MY HEART Squeeze
20 ( 9 ) SO GOOD TO BE BACK HOME AGAIN The Tourists



21 ( 16 ) I CAN’T STAND UP FOR FALLING DOWN Elvis Costello
22 ( 10 ) TOUCH TOO MUCH AC/DC
23 ( NEW ) TONIGHT I’M ALRIGHT Narada Michael Walden
24 ( 33 ) ALABAMA SONG/ SPACE ODDITY David Bowie
25 ( 17 ) BUZZ BUZZ A DIDDLE IT Matchbox
26 ( 48 ) MY WORLD Secret Affair
27 ( 22 ) TOO MUCH TOO YOUNG The Special AKA
28 ( 64 ) LONGER Dan Fogelberg
29 ( 15 ) I’VE DONE EVERYTHING FOR YOU Sammy Hagar
30 ( 58 ) HIM Rupert Holmes

31 ( 19 ) THE PLASTIC AGE The Buggles
32 ( 20 ) UNDERPASS John Foxx
33 ( 23 ) SOMEONE’S LOOKING AT YOU The Boomtown Rats
34 ( 26 ) TAKE A LITTLE RHYTHM Ali Thomson
35 ( 27 ) BRASS IN POCKET The Pretenders
36 ( 24 ) AND THE BEAT GOES ON The Whispers
37 ( 57 ) POISON IVY The Lambrettas
38 ( NEW ) HOLDIN’ ON Tony Rallo
39 ( 41 ) AT THE EDGE Stiff Little Fingers
40 ( 36 ) WALKING ON THE MOON The Police

41 ( 35 ) I HAVE A DREAM Abba
42 ( 28 ) MY GIRL Madness
43 ( 30 ) SPIRITS HAVING FLOWN The Bee Gees
44 ( 34 ) ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL (PART 2) Pink Floyd
45 ( 32 ) JANE Jefferson Starship
46 ( NEW ) I’VE NEVER BEEN IN LOVE Suzi Quatro
47 ( 67 ) NE-NE-NA-NA-NA-NA-NU-NU Bad Manners
48 ( 42 ) NIGHTS IN WHITE SATIN The Moody Blues
49 ( 43 ) CONFUSION/ LAST TRAIN TO LONDON E.L.O.
50 ( NEW ) IN THE STONE Earth Wind And Fire

51 ( 55 ) THAT’S THE WAY THE MONEY GOES M
52 ( 39 ) THREE MINUTE HERO The Selecter
53 ( 49 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty
54 ( 50 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.
55 ( 37 ) LIVING BY NUMBERS New Musik
56 ( NEW ) SPIRIT OF RADIO Rush
57 ( 52 ) MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE The Police
58 ( 53 ) TUSK Fleetwood Mac
59 ( 54 ) GIMME GIMME GIMME (A MAN AFTER MIDNIGHT) Abba
60 ( NEW ) JANUARY FEBRUARY Barbara Dickson



61 ( NEW ) LET’S DO ROCK STEADY The Bodysnatchers
62 ( NEW ) VOLCANO Jimmy Buffet
63 ( NEW ) MY OH MY Sad Cafe
64 ( 60 ) JOHN I’M ONLY DANCING (1972)/JOHN I’M ONLY DANCING (AGAIN) (1975) David Bowie
65 ( 45 ) BABE Styx
66 ( NEW ) HEARTBREAKER Pat Benatar
67 ( 59 ) DREADLOCK HOLIDAY 10CC
68 ( 61 ) BAKER STREET Gerry Rafferty
69 ( NEW ) WARHEAD The UK Subs
70 ( NEW ) WORKING IN LINE Mike Rutherford

71 ( NEW ) TURN IT ON AGAIN Genesis
72 ( NEW ) LOVE PATROL The Dooleys
73 ( NEW ) FOOD FOR THOUGHT/ KING UB40
74 ( NEW ) DAYDREAM BELIEVER Anne Murray
75 ( NEW ) HAPPY HOUSE Siouxsie And The Banshees






TV 8th Mar - 14th Mar
1 The Kenny Everett Video Show
2 The Mary Tyler Moore Show
3 MASH
4 Blake’s 7
5 Butterflies
6 Top Of The Pops
7 Film 80
8 Barney Miller
9 The Phil Silvers Show
10 Happy Days
11 Life On Earth
12 Fuzz: film
13 Parkinson: Robert Redford
14 Hollywood
15 Harry O: Such Dust As Dreams Are Made Of

On TV a brilliant Kenny Everett episode, Panorama on the very topical nuclear issues, a growing concern for all sane people, had a discussion with Pete & Ian over whether films can be called good or bad, or whether it’s just a personal response. I say a crap film is crap by any assessment! Jane round to watch Life On Earth, David Attenborough’s ground-breaking series on life, the planet and everything. Fantastic. Had to fight to watch MASH during an evening of Ice Skating finals that everyone had come round to watch, on my TV - funny! Bumped into old schoolmate Pete Lambert in town, chat to catch up on stuff and others from school - one was in a band, some had failed their degree, some were working. I’d missed their company actually, I decided.

Posted by: Sword of Justice 17th April 2015, 06:11 PM

John, will I see Sue Wilkinson's classic hit in your chart ?

Posted by: popchartfreak 17th April 2015, 07:13 PM

QUOTE(Sword of Justice @ Apr 17 2015, 07:11 PM)

Posted by: popchartfreak 17th April 2015, 07:18 PM

25th March 1980


2 weeks on top for the Monkees, track featured this time being Neil Diamond’s under-rated A Little Bit Me A Little Bit You, and Davy’s terrific vocals atop a classy pop production. Fab. Highest new entry, though, is The Jam, Going Underground at 10 and already outdoing all previous Jam singles bar Down In The Tube Station At Midnight, cos it was fab and they were on fire. The Detroit Spinners get their first top 10 since the reissue of Could It Be I’m Fallin’ In Love in 1977, also their first top 10 in 1973. Rush, literally, rush to 7, from 56 as Spirit Of Radio strikes a chord with me, a metal chord. From one Canadian act to another: Martha & The Muffins also pop in at 8, Echo Beach still fab.

The Bodysnatchers rocket-steady up pronto to 14, ah-hah, ah-hah, as the gorgeous Longer by Dan Fogelberg falls in just behind, and Barbara Dickson also belatedly for March, sings about January february at 25. BA Robertson is back in his Kaftan at 30, after inexplicably dis-robing for a week, and UB40’s sultry stylish reggae is fresh at 32. Bad Manners ne ne na na new new in the top 40 at 35, Genesis Turn it On Again at 39, and Suzi Quatro is at 37, I’ve Never Been In Love she says, I don’t believe you, says I as The Dooleys patrol a bit around about 40. Leaving few new entries, but Gerry Rafferty scrapes in at 75, bringing it home again and his 3rd in the chart, and The Motors return 2 years after Airport topping, Love And Loneliness not quite as classic, but decent enough.



1 ( 1 ) MONKEES EP (LAST TRAIN TO CLARKSVILLE/ I’M A BELIEVER/ A LITTLE BIT ME A LITTLE BIT YOU/ DAYDREAM BELIEVER) The Monkees
2 ( 2 ) ATOMIC Blondie
3 ( 10 ) TURNING JAPANESE The Vapors
4 ( 5 ) DO THAT TO ME ONE MORE TIME Captain and Tennille
5 ( 16 ) WORKING MY WAY BACK TO YOU The Detroit Spinners
6 ( 9 ) STOMP The Brothers Johnson
7 ( 56 ) SPIRIT OF RADIO Rush
8 ( 18 ) ECHO BEACH Martha And The Muffins
9 ( 12 ) DANCE YOURSELF DIZZY Liquid Gold
10 ( NEW ) GOING UNDERGROUND The Jam

11 ( 3 ) CUBA The Gibson Brothers
12 ( 6 ) ALL NIGHT LONG Rainbow
13 ( 4 ) SO LONELY The Police
14 ( 61 ) LET’S DO ROCK STEADY The Bodysnatchers
15 ( 28 ) LONGER Dan Fogelberg
16 ( 19 ) ANOTHER NAIL FOR MY HEART Squeeze
17 ( 7 ) TAKE THAT LOOK OFF YOUR FACE Marti Webb
18 ( 14 ) HANDS OFF - SHE’S MINE The Beat
19 ( 8 ) TOGETHER WE ARE BEAUTIFUL Fern Kinney
20 ( 13 ) GAMES WITHOUT FRONTIERS Peter Gabriel



21 ( 23 ) TONIGHT I’M ALRIGHT Narada Michael Walden
22 ( 11 ) ROCK WITH YOU Michael Jackson
23 ( 26 ) MY WORLD Secret Affair
24 ( 15 ) I HEAR YOU NOW Jon And Vangelis
25 ( 60 ) JANUARY FEBRUARY Barbara Dickson
26 ( 17 ) CARRIE Cliff Richard
27 ( 30 ) HIM Rupert Holmes
28 ( 50 ) IN THE STONE Earth Wind And Fire
29 ( 37 ) POISON IVY The Lambrettas
30 ( RE ) KOOL IN THE KAFTAN B.A. Robertson

31 ( 24 ) ALABAMA SONG/ SPACE ODDITY David Bowie
32 ( 73 ) FOOD FOR THOUGHT/ KING UB40
33 ( 38 ) HOLDIN’ ON Tony Rallo
34 ( 39 ) AT THE EDGE Stiff Little Fingers
35 ( 47 ) NE-NE-NA-NA-NA-NA-NU-NU Bad Manners
36 ( 27 ) TOO MUCH TOO YOUNG The Special AKA
37 ( 46 ) I’VE NEVER BEEN IN LOVE Suzi Quatro
38 ( 20 ) SO GOOD TO BE BACK HOME AGAIN The Tourists
39 ( 71 ) TURN IT ON AGAIN Genesis
40 ( 72 ) LOVE PATROL The Dooleys




41 ( 21 ) I CAN’T STAND UP FOR FALLING DOWN Elvis Costello
42 ( 35 ) BRASS IN POCKET The Pretenders
43 ( 40 ) WALKING ON THE MOON The Police
44 ( 41 ) I HAVE A DREAM Abba
45 ( 25 ) BUZZ BUZZ A DIDDLE IT Matchbox
46 ( 63 ) MY OH MY Sad Cafe
47 ( 44 ) ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL (PART 2) Pink Floyd
48 ( 36 ) AND THE BEAT GOES ON The Whispers
49 ( 33 ) SOMEONE’S LOOKING AT YOU The Boomtown Rats
50 ( 69 ) WARHEAD The UK Subs

51 ( 22 ) TOUCH TOO MUCH AC/DC
52 ( 49 ) CONFUSION/ LAST TRAIN TO LONDON E.L.O.
53 ( 48 ) NIGHTS IN WHITE SATIN The Moody Blues
54 ( 43 ) SPIRITS HAVING FLOWN The Bee Gees
55 ( 32 ) UNDERPASS John Foxx
56 ( 31 ) THE PLASTIC AGE The Buggles
57 ( 66 ) HEARTBREAKER Pat Benatar
58 ( 53 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty
59 ( 54 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.
60 ( 42 ) MY GIRL Madness

61 ( 62 ) VOLCANO Jimmy Buffet
62 ( 59 ) GIMME GIMME GIMME (A MAN AFTER MIDNIGHT) Abba
63 ( 58 ) TUSK Fleetwood Mac
64 ( 57 ) MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE The Police
65 ( 29 ) I’VE DONE EVERYTHING FOR YOU Sammy Hagar
66 ( 75 ) HAPPY HOUSE Siouxsie And The Banshees
67 ( 70 ) WORKING IN LINE Mike Rutherford
68 ( NEW ) DON’T PUSH IT DON’T FORCE IT Leon Haywood
69 ( 68 ) BAKER STREET Gerry Rafferty
70 ( 67 ) DREADLOCK HOLIDAY 10CC




71 ( NEW ) LOVE AND LONELINESS The Motors
72 ( 64 ) JOHN I’M ONLY DANCING (1972)/JOHN I’M ONLY DANCING (AGAIN) (1975) David Bowie
73 ( 34 ) TAKE A LITTLE RHYTHM Ali Thomson
74 ( 74 ) DAYDREAM BELIEVER Anne Murray
75 ( NEW ) BRING IT ALL HOME Gerry Rafferty



TV 15th - 22nd Mar
1 Soap
2 The Kenny Everett Video Show
3 Monte Carlo Or Bust: film
4 Barney Miller
5 Not The Least Of The 9 o’clock News
6 TISWAS
7 Top Of The Pops
8 The Phil Silvers Show
9 Blake’s 7
10 Friday Night Saturday Morning
11 Wonder Woman
12 Mork And Mindy
13 Film 80
14 Life On Earth
15 Butterflies
16 Chopper Squad
17 Private Eye
18 British Academy Awards
19 Tomorrow’s World
20 The World About Us


In the real world, it snowed all day on Monday, as I received careers advice on how to get into radio - to be honest it’s still the only job I want to do, and still waiting (but not presenting)! In college, we had a gang snow-ball fight, soon-to-be teachers and me, and it was fun. Oh yes it was! In art I was cutting up my mega Eiffel Tower print, in the UK chart world The Jam entered at 1, first time anyone had done that for 7 years, so that was news. Denise, one of the mature art students gave a talk on her friend Carla Lane - of The Liver Birds and Butterflies sitcom writer fame. Wish I’d tried to get sitcom writing advice through her now, another ambition never realised! At the Uni movie night it was One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest, a powerful drama, and I got to get to know better Paul’s new first-year friend Jane, not a shy girl, but likeable. She died within a very few years, which was so tragic and unexpected. I have a photo of her smiling sat on my bed from around this time, my lasting image of her. For some sadistic reason the college decided to hold a 6.45 am fire drill, the gits, so it was an early breakfast on friday. Chatted a lot with Ian who was missing his school days, athletics featuring big for him. He was kinda left out a lot as he was a day student, even though he only lived round the corner that was enough to miss out on a lot of socialising and I think he regretted that for the whole 3 years. Then it was home for easter break, mum and dad fetching me in the car, me reverting back into stroppy morose ungrateful teenager for a weekend in Mansfield with mum, dad, Mark, Sue and my tropical fish and budgies, and babysitting for lil’ cousins Rachel & Lisa saturday night. On Sunday the topic of Christening came up (ie for me), not sure why but maybe related to brothers forthcoming wedding, but in any case I put a firm, and short “No!” boot in the idea of that. Never had been, and it would have been hypocritical to do it now when I had no religious convictions one way or another. Happy to respect others convictions, but my views of the universe are more large-scale and generalised.

Posted by: popchartfreak 18th May 2015, 07:59 PM

1st April 1980




3 weeks for The Monkees at 1 as The Jam get their biggest hit at 2 and Martha has some beach muffins at 3, both climbing, but not in the climbing league of Genesis who rocket up to 4, Turn It On Again being their second top 5 hit, after Follow You Follow Me peaked at 3. One of those 3 climbers will knock off the Monkees next week! Meanwhile the lovely Longer lingers longingly at 8 for Dan Fogelberg, it deserved higher, and UB40 make the top 20 for the first time with their double A fabbie King and Food For Thought. If anyone had said this new band would have a worldwide career for 2 decades, and beyond, it would have sounded a good bet to take on against it being accurate, they just didn’t seem to have mass appeal in the early days with their laid-back social and political reggae.

Siouxsie And The Banshees have a happy house inside the top 40 for the fourth time, and Stevie Wonder is the highest new entry in a quiet week, at 36 with Outside My Window - presumably not Siouxsie’s Happy House though. Leon Haywood doesn’t push his way into the 40, and I didn’t force that sentence. Honest. Back at 42, 11-year-oldie The Liquidator, the instrumental reggae track is back thanks to the ska revival which referred back to early reggae classics like this one. The Buggles get a 3rd entry with Clean Clean, another forgotten minor goodie at 47, while at 55 Madness are still on a roll with 4th hit Night Boat To Cairo - it’s part of an EP technically, one I bought, but this was the track I loved so I exclude the others and focus on the nutty boys saxtastic ska romp, just brilliant. John Foxx is back again, but No-One’s Driving, another EP, and ditto the main track was the best track. That leaves Dr. Hook still heading downwards in quality and upward in sales, and Bette Bright new at 68 with Hello I Am Your Heart and another on the ska pop train.




1 ( 1 ) MONKEES EP (LAST TRAIN TO CLARKSVILLE/ I’M A BELIEVER/ A LITTLE BIT ME A LITTLE BIT YOU/ DAYDREAM BELIEVER) The Monkees
2 ( 10 ) GOING UNDERGROUND The Jam
3 ( 8 ) ECHO BEACH Martha And The Muffins
4 ( 39 ) TURN IT ON AGAIN Genesis
5 ( 2 ) ATOMIC Blondie
6 ( 5 ) WORKING MY WAY BACK TO YOU The Detroit Spinners
7 ( 7 ) SPIRIT OF RADIO Rush
8 ( 15 ) LONGER Dan Fogelberg
9 ( 3 ) TURNING JAPANESE The Vapors
10 ( 6 ) STOMP The Brothers Johnson

11 ( 11 ) CUBA The Gibson Brothers
12 ( 14 ) LET’S DO ROCK STEADY The Bodysnatchers
13 ( 32 ) FOOD FOR THOUGHT/ KING UB40
14 ( 12 ) ALL NIGHT LONG Rainbow
15 ( 4 ) DO THAT TO ME ONE MORE TIME Captain and Tennille
16 ( 16 ) ANOTHER NAIL FOR MY HEART Squeeze
17 ( 23 ) MY WORLD Secret Affair
18 ( 25 ) JANUARY FEBRUARY Barbara Dickson
19 ( 29 ) POISON IVY The Lambrettas
20 ( 13 ) SO LONELY The Police



21 ( 30 ) KOOL IN THE KAFTAN B.A. Robertson
22 ( 9 ) DANCE YOURSELF DIZZY Liquid Gold
23 ( 17 ) TAKE THAT LOOK OFF YOUR FACE Marti Webb
24 ( 35 ) NE-NE-NA-NA-NA-NA-NU-NU Bad Manners
25 ( 18 ) HANDS OFF - SHE’S MINE The Beat
26 ( 27 ) HIM Rupert Holmes
27 ( 19 ) TOGETHER WE ARE BEAUTIFUL Fern Kinney
28 ( 66 ) HAPPY HOUSE Siouxsie And The Banshees
29 ( 40 ) LOVE PATROL The Dooleys
30 ( 24 ) I HEAR YOU NOW Jon And Vangelis

31 ( 20 ) GAMES WITHOUT FRONTIERS Peter Gabriel
32 ( 21 ) TONIGHT I’M ALRIGHT Narada Michael Walden
33 ( 22 ) ROCK WITH YOU Michael Jackson
34 ( 46 ) MY OH MY Sad Cafe
35 ( 26 ) CARRIE Cliff Richard
36 ( NEW ) OUTSIDE MY WINDOW Stevie Wonder
37 ( 37 ) I’VE NEVER BEEN IN LOVE Suzi Quatro
38 ( 36 ) TOO MUCH TOO YOUNG The Special AKA
39 ( 68 ) DON’T PUSH IT DON’T FORCE IT Leon Haywood
40 ( 28 ) IN THE STONE Earth Wind And Fire

41 ( 31 ) ALABAMA SONG/ SPACE ODDITY David Bowie
42 ( NEW ) THE LIQUIDATOR Harry J and The All Stars
43 ( 43 ) WALKING ON THE MOON The Police
44 ( 42 ) BRASS IN POCKET The Pretenders
45 ( 44 ) I HAVE A DREAM Abba
46 ( 47 ) ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL (PART 2) Pink Floyd
47 ( NEW ) CLEAN CLEAN The Buggles
48 ( 38 ) SO GOOD TO BE BACK HOME AGAIN The Tourists
49 ( 41 ) I CAN’T STAND UP FOR FALLING DOWN Elvis Costello
50 ( 71 ) LOVE AND LONELINESS The Motors



51 ( 52 ) CONFUSION/ LAST TRAIN TO LONDON E.L.O.
52 ( 53 ) NIGHTS IN WHITE SATIN The Moody Blues
53 ( 57 ) HEARTBREAKER Pat Benatar
54 ( 48 ) AND THE BEAT GOES ON The Whispers
55 ( NEW ) NIGHT BOAT TO CAIRO Madness
56 ( NEW ) SEXY EYES Dr. Hook
57 ( 45 ) BUZZ BUZZ A DIDDLE IT Matchbox
58 ( 58 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty
59 ( 59 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.
60 ( 54 ) SPIRITS HAVING FLOWN The Bee Gees

61 ( 34 ) AT THE EDGE Stiff Little Fingers
62 ( 49 ) SOMEONE’S LOOKING AT YOU The Boomtown Rats
63 ( 63 ) TUSK Fleetwood Mac
64 ( 62 ) GIMME GIMME GIMME (A MAN AFTER MIDNIGHT) Abba
65 ( 64 ) MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE The Police
66 ( 67 ) WORKING IN LINE Mike Rutherford
67 ( 60 ) MY GIRL Madness
68 ( NEW ) HELLO I AM YOUR HEART Bette Bright
69 ( 69 ) BAKER STREET Gerry Rafferty
70 ( 70 ) DREADLOCK HOLIDAY 10CC

71 ( 55 ) UNDERPASS John Foxx
72 ( 75 ) BRING IT ALL HOME Gerry Rafferty
73 ( 56 ) THE PLASTIC AGE The Buggles
74 ( 72 ) JOHN I’M ONLY DANCING (1972)/JOHN I’M ONLY DANCING (AGAIN) (1975) David Bowie
75 ( NEW ) NO-ONE DRIVING John Foxx



TV 22-28th Mar

1 Parkinson
2 The Outer Limits
3 Blake’s 7
4 Soap
5 The Kenny Everett Video Show
6 The Mary Tyler Moore Show
7 Top Of The Pops
8 Barney Miller
9 Tiswas
10 The Phil Silvers Show
11 Life On Earth
12 The Muppet Show
13 The British Eurovision Song Contest
14 Film 80
15 Happy Days
16 Mork And Mindy
17 Dallas
18 Private Eye
19 Hawaii 5-0
20 Wonder Woman


March 25th was a big day for me - at home in Mansfield for holidays, and it was dad’s last day in the RAF, and the end of the main part of my life, really - 22 years of constant moving, always new places, or returning to old places, never anywhere longer than 2 years in one go. Life was never quite the same again for me, and certainly much-less interesting being in civvie street. On TV Kenny Everett and Blake’s 7 were fab. Uncle Tony bought his mate Tony round, sports coach I think for Notts Forest FC or something, I’d not seen him in 5 years (an old RAF mate of dad’s both round to celebrate his joining them in the real world - or offer condolences, depends how you see it).

UK Eurovision song contest was on, I liked one which lost in a tie with the eventual Stephanie De Sykes Guys & Dolls clone winner, and another one I liked did badly (Midnite). Clive James was terrific on Parkinson, sadly Clive is currently terminally ill but battling on, and even better was a new American nutter comic who was “totally HILARIOUS”. His name was Steve Martin, and it was the funniest show I’d seen in ages. I became an instant fan. The wacky Carol Channing was on the Muppets, I always liked her. Did a cartoon of John Foxx to celebrate 2 tracks in my charts, and mum’s cousin Pauline rang with medical problems news, and I hoped it wasn’t serious as it sounded (she got through it all, thankfully). As I was in full 1970 Singapore nostalgia mode, I rescued some table coasters for drinks we bought there which were now tatty and old and in the bin. I still have them.

On saturday, Pete, Helen and Alan, college friends arrived to pick me up to travel to Julie’s for her 21st birthday bash in Camberbach, near Northwich. Her parents house was lovely and large, we took the micke out of poor JUlie sweating from rushing about, how cruel! Sue and Joe, Jane and Dave arrived, the disco started, and a fun evening had by all. Shared a room with the lads overnight, and back to Mansfield on Sunday by bus - at least that was the plan, so much dithering about by others meant it pulled out as we arrived. So I caught one to Derby, then to Mansfield. I arrived mid-chart-show right in the middle of new entry Ne Ne Na Na Na Na Nu Nu, so only got half on tape. Pah!

Posted by: popchartfreak 20th May 2015, 06:52 PM

8th April 1980

The Jam get their first chart-topper as the unstoppable Going Underground shoves off The Monkees, and stops Genesis getting a first number one. Chuck in Madness rocketing up the Cairo aboard a Nightboat to 4, and a third consecutive top 5, and you have a pretty exciting top 4. Not to mention the smooth fab UB40 (soon to be my unemployment signing on UB40-form stylee signature tune) at 5, B.A. Robertson getting a hat-trick of top 10’s in his Kaftan, and the highest new entry at 7 from The Selecter, outdoing even debut On My Radio for a touch of sad melodic ska.

New at 26, Dexy’s second top 40, the classic sax riffs of the brilliant Geno, and their tribute to 60’s soul star Geno Washington. Just behind at 27, The Pretenders are the talk of the town, following up a chart-topper, and grabbing a 4th top 40, as John Foxx drives up to 32 for his 2nd top 40, and David Essex drives in from nowhere at 38 in his silver dream machine, looking like he’s going to overtake John Foxx on a bend. David had the advantage of starring in the movie about car racing, and he tots up a non-stop run of largely fab hits for 7 years. At 54, it’s Blondie in Giorgio Moroder stomping disco film theme mode as Call Me follows Atomic into the charts and Rose Royce are back with Ooh Boy - excuse the grammar when I refer to bands as “they” rather than “it”, I know they are viewed as an entity, but I see them as a group of individuals under a single name, in much the same way as 4 people not in band would be a “they”. So at 57, they are back for 3 years of hits!

Boys Cry, meanwhile, as Liverpool band Original Mirrors are at 61, and Manchester-based 10CC are back 8 years on with 125 at 72 - lotsa numbers, it’s really about one hundred and twenty five beats per minute and dancing. The Undertones keep their run of great chart entries coming as they reminisce about their perfect cousin at 74 and reference the soon-to-be-big Human League, as Judas Priest sneak in at 75 Living After Midnight, though I don’t know how as it wasn’t one I liked much to start with, then grew to hate with airplay. Hey ho!



1 ( 2 ) GOING UNDERGROUND The Jam
2 ( 4 ) TURN IT ON AGAIN Genesis
3 ( 1 ) MONKEES EP (LAST TRAIN TO CLARKSVILLE/ I’M A BELIEVER/ A LITTLE BIT ME A LITTLE BIT YOU/ DAYDREAM BELIEVER) The Monkees
4 ( 55 ) NIGHT BOAT TO CAIRO Madness
5 ( 13 ) FOOD FOR THOUGHT/ KING UB40
6 ( 21 ) KOOL IN THE KAFTAN B.A. Robertson
7 ( NEW ) MISSING WORDS The Selecter
8 ( 17 ) MY WORLD Secret Affair
9 ( 3 ) ECHO BEACH Martha And The Muffins
10 ( 5 ) ATOMIC Blondie



11 ( 12 ) LET’S DO ROCK STEADY The Bodysnatchers
12 ( 19 ) POISON IVY The Lambrettas
13 ( 24 ) NE-NE-NA-NA-NA-NA-NU-NU Bad Manners
14 ( 6 ) WORKING MY WAY BACK TO YOU The Detroit Spinners
15 ( 10 ) STOMP The Brothers Johnson
16 ( 18 ) JANUARY FEBRUARY Barbara Dickson
17 ( 7 ) SPIRIT OF RADIO Rush
18 ( 8 ) LONGER Dan Fogelberg
19 ( 9 ) TURNING JAPANESE The Vapors
20 ( 11 ) CUBA The Gibson Brothers

21 ( 16 ) ANOTHER NAIL FOR MY HEART Squeeze
22 ( 22 ) DANCE YOURSELF DIZZY Liquid Gold
23 ( 14 ) ALL NIGHT LONG Rainbow
24 ( 15 ) DO THAT TO ME ONE MORE TIME Captain and Tennille
25 ( 26 ) HIM Rupert Holmes
26 ( NEW ) GENO Dexy’s Midnight Runners
27 ( NEW ) TALK OF THE TOWN The Pretenders
28 ( 28 ) HAPPY HOUSE Siouxsie And The Banshees
29 ( 20 ) SO LONELY The Police
30 ( 34 ) MY OH MY Sad Cafe



31 ( 23 ) TAKE THAT LOOK OFF YOUR FACE Marti Webb
32 ( 75 ) NO-ONE DRIVING John Foxx
33 ( 37 ) I’VE NEVER BEEN IN LOVE Suzi Quatro
34 ( 56 ) SEXY EYES Dr. Hook
35 ( 36 ) OUTSIDE MY WINDOW Stevie Wonder
36 ( 39 ) DON’T PUSH IT DON’T FORCE IT Leon Haywood
37 ( 30 ) I HEAR YOU NOW Jon And Vangelis
38 ( NEW ) SILVER DREAM MACHINE David Essex
39 ( 31 ) GAMES WITHOUT FRONTIERS Peter Gabriel
40 ( 29 ) LOVE PATROL The Dooleys

41 ( 27 ) TOGETHER WE ARE BEAUTIFUL Fern Kinney
42 ( 42 ) THE LIQUIDATOR Harry J and The All Stars
43 ( 47 ) CLEAN CLEAN The Buggles
44 ( 33 ) ROCK WITH YOU Michael Jackson
45 ( 35 ) CARRIE Cliff Richard
46 ( 53 ) HEARTBREAKER Pat Benatar
47 ( 38 ) TOO MUCH TOO YOUNG The Special AKA
48 ( 44 ) BRASS IN POCKET The Pretenders
49 ( 45 ) I HAVE A DREAM Abba
50 ( 46 ) ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL (PART 2) Pink Floyd

51 ( 43 ) WALKING ON THE MOON The Police
52 ( 50 ) LOVE AND LONELINESS The Motors
53 ( 25 ) HANDS OFF - SHE’S MINE The Beat
54 ( NEW ) CALL ME Blondie
55 ( 51 ) CONFUSION/ LAST TRAIN TO LONDON E.L.O.
56 ( 52 ) NIGHTS IN WHITE SATIN The Moody Blues
57 ( NEW ) OOH BOY Rose Royce
58 ( 58 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty
59 ( 59 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.
60 ( 32 ) TONIGHT I’M ALRIGHT Narada Michael Walden

61 ( NEW ) BOYS CRY Original Mirrors
62 ( 60 ) SPIRITS HAVING FLOWN The Bee Gees
63 ( 63 ) TUSK Fleetwood Mac
64 ( 64 ) GIMME GIMME GIMME (A MAN AFTER MIDNIGHT) Abba
65 ( 65 ) MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE The Police
66 ( 54 ) AND THE BEAT GOES ON The Whispers
67 ( 72 ) BRING IT ALL HOME Gerry Rafferty
68 ( 69 ) BAKER STREET Gerry Rafferty
69 ( 70 ) DREADLOCK HOLIDAY 10CC
70 ( 57 ) BUZZ BUZZ A DIDDLE IT Matchbox

71 ( 48 ) SO GOOD TO BE BACK HOME AGAIN The Tourists
72 ( NEW ) 125 10CC
73 ( 49 ) I CAN’T STAND UP FOR FALLING DOWN Elvis Costello
74 ( NEW ) MY PERFECT COUSIN The Undertones
75 ( NEW ) LIVING AFTER MIDNIGHT Judas Priest




TV 29th mar - 5th apr
1 Blake’s 7
2 The Kenny Everett Video Show
3 Butterflies
4 The Outer Limits
5 Top Of The Pops
6 Jan And Dean: TV film
7 Question Time
8 Tiswas
9 Film 80
10 Not The 9 O’Clock News
11 Police Story
12 The Muppet Show: Diana Ross
13 Private Eye
14 Life On Earth
15 S.P.Y.


On TV: little bit of politics with Question Time and I raved about one guest, the young black NUS president Trevor Phillips (and future Peter Mandelson mate and controversial policy critic); some kiddie slapstick with Tiswas, a biopic on 60‘s surfer pop duo Jan And Dean, and a classic sci-fi season end Blake’s 7 episode on top. Fab! I had a day in Nottingham, with Aunty Eileen, Uncle Tony, and mum and dad, and bought some DC comics, and got some back issues from the comic shop, and was amazed at how familiar Wonder Woman issue 93 was, considering I’d not read it for 10 years (in Singapore). Got a Leif Garrett picture disc single, I Got You Babe and Telegram Sam, and a pair of jeans that were far too tight to wear when I got them home (I felt obliged to take them after the assistant went up and down ladders about 10 times trying to find a pair that fit me. Idiot!). Watched a Eurovision TV preview of the contest and rated Austria and Luxembourg as bing bang bong oldstyle winners. Happily wrong there...

Posted by: popchartfreak 21st May 2015, 09:40 PM

15th April 1980

Madness get their first chart-topper, as Night Boat To Cairo sails away ahead of the rest for a terrific bit of nutty-boy ska, which is bad news for UB40 stuck at 2. UB40 have never managed to beat this peak position, despite coming close many times, quite probably the most successful act never to top my charts, though lead singer Ali Campbell did at least manage it solo in 1995. Dexy’s Geno leaps into the top 10, outdoing Dance Stance, as another ska track from The Bodysnatchers joins the reggae top 10 party.

Blondie rocket to 11, overtaking Atomic, as American Gigolo dance theme races to the top of the UK and US charts. Into the 20: Siouxsie, The Pretenders, David Essex, not a bad list. At 36, highest new entry is a bit of Bach - better late than never - as Sky do a pumped-up version of Toccata and Fugue, John Williams of the band following-up his 1979 version of The Deer Hunter. Meanwhile, The Undertones go top 40 with their Cuz, ahead of a bunch of new entries: Smokie at 54 doing a reasonable version of the much better Bobby Vee original Take Good Care Of My Baby, as their 5-year-run of singles was about to run out of steam. At 58, Pete Townsend finally gets a solo hit 7 years after Roger Daltrey managed it with Townsend’s own I’m Free and Leo Sayer’s Giving It All away: Rough Boys is his best solo single, still.

Tom Petty has Refugee enter at 61, which extends his run to 3 years, and Graham Gouldman from 10CC has a solo entry from movie Animalympics, and some 14 years since he started his teenage hit-songwriting career for The Hollies and The Yardbirds. Lene Lovich entries seem to be getting smaller, but Billy Joel says it’s for Lene. I mean Leyna. Elvis Costello is in Hi-Fidelity, years before he was in Austin Powers, and Saxon debut with some metal wheels of steel. Sounds like a bumpy ride.



1 ( 4 ) NIGHT BOAT TO CAIRO Madness
2 ( 5 ) FOOD FOR THOUGHT/ KING UB40
3 ( 2 ) TURN IT ON AGAIN Genesis
4 ( 3 ) MONKEES EP (LAST TRAIN TO CLARKSVILLE/ I’M A BELIEVER/ A LITTLE BIT ME A LITTLE BIT YOU/ DAYDREAM BELIEVER) The Monkees
5 ( 6 ) KOOL IN THE KAFTAN B.A. Robertson
6 ( 7 ) MISSING WORDS The Selecter
7 ( 1 ) GOING UNDERGROUND The Jam
8 ( 26 ) GENO Dexy’s Midnight Runners
9 ( 11 ) LET’S DO ROCK STEADY The Bodysnatchers
10 ( 8 ) MY WORLD Secret Affair



11 ( 54 ) CALL ME Blondie
12 ( 9 ) ECHO BEACH Martha And The Muffins
13 ( 27 ) TALK OF THE TOWN The Pretenders
14 ( 16 ) JANUARY FEBRUARY Barbara Dickson
15 ( 10 ) ATOMIC Blondie
16 ( 12 ) POISON IVY The Lambrettas
17 ( 28 ) HAPPY HOUSE Siouxsie And The Banshees
18 ( 14 ) WORKING MY WAY BACK TO YOU The Detroit Spinners
19 ( 13 ) NE-NE-NA-NA-NA-NA-NU-NU Bad Manners
20 ( 38 ) SILVER DREAM MACHINE David Essex



21 ( 17 ) SPIRIT OF RADIO Rush
22 ( 25 ) HIM Rupert Holmes
23 ( 15 ) STOMP The Brothers Johnson
24 ( 30 ) MY OH MY Sad Cafe
25 ( 34 ) SEXY EYES Dr. Hook
26 ( 19 ) TURNING JAPANESE The Vapors
27 ( 20 ) CUBA The Gibson Brothers
28 ( 43 ) CLEAN CLEAN The Buggles
29 ( 32 ) NO-ONE DRIVING John Foxx
30 ( 22 ) DANCE YOURSELF DIZZY Liquid Gold

31 ( 18 ) LONGER Dan Fogelberg
32 ( 21 ) ANOTHER NAIL FOR MY HEART Squeeze
33 ( 35 ) OUTSIDE MY WINDOW Stevie Wonder
34 ( 42 ) THE LIQUIDATOR Harry J and The All Stars
35 ( 46 ) HEARTBREAKER Pat Benatar
36 ( NEW ) TOCCATA Sky
37 ( 23 ) ALL NIGHT LONG Rainbow
38 ( 29 ) SO LONELY The Police
39 ( 74 ) MY PERFECT COUSIN The Undertones
40 ( 24 ) DO THAT TO ME ONE MORE TIME Captain and Tennille

41 ( 31 ) TAKE THAT LOOK OFF YOUR FACE Marti Webb
42 ( 36 ) DON’T PUSH IT DON’T FORCE IT Leon Haywood
43 ( 37 ) I HEAR YOU NOW Jon And Vangelis
44 ( 39 ) GAMES WITHOUT FRONTIERS Peter Gabriel
45 ( 40 ) LOVE PATROL The Dooleys
46 ( 41 ) TOGETHER WE ARE BEAUTIFUL Fern Kinney
47 ( 49 ) I HAVE A DREAM Abba
48 ( 48 ) BRASS IN POCKET The Pretenders
49 ( 47 ) TOO MUCH TOO YOUNG The Special AKA
50 ( 51 ) WALKING ON THE MOON The Police

51 ( 50 ) ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL (PART 2) Pink Floyd
52 ( 44 ) ROCK WITH YOU Michael Jackson
53 ( 45 ) CARRIE Cliff Richard
54 ( NEW ) TAKE GOOD CARE OF MY BABY Smokie
55 ( 55 ) CONFUSION/ LAST TRAIN TO LONDON E.L.O.
56 ( 33 ) I’VE NEVER BEEN IN LOVE Suzi Quatro
57 ( 56 ) NIGHTS IN WHITE SATIN The Moody Blues
58 ( NEW ) ROUGH BOYS Pete Townsend
59 ( 58 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty
60 ( 59 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.

61 ( NEW ) REFUGEE Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers
62 ( NEW ) LOVE’S NOT FOR ME (from ANIMALYMPICS) Graham Gouldman
63 ( 52 ) LOVE AND LONELINESS The Motors
64 ( 63 ) TUSK Fleetwood Mac
65 ( 64 ) GIMME GIMME GIMME (A MAN AFTER MIDNIGHT) Abba
66 ( 65 ) MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE The Police
67 ( 62 ) SPIRITS HAVING FLOWN The Bee Gees
68 ( NEW ) WHAT WILL I DO WITHOUT YOU Lene Lovich
69 ( NEW ) ALL FOR LEYNA Billy Joel
70 ( 68 ) BAKER STREET Gerry Rafferty

71 ( 69 ) DREADLOCK HOLIDAY 10CC
72 ( 57 ) OOH BOY Rose Royce
73 ( 75 ) LIVING AFTER MIDNIGHT Judas Priest
74 ( NEW ) HIGH-FIDELITY Elvis Costello
75 ( NEW ) WHEELS OF STEEL Saxon




5-11th April TV
1 Support Your Local Sheriff: film
1 Some Like It Hot: film
1 Soap
4 Where Angels Go Trouble Follows: film
5 Tiswas
6 The Sound Of Music: film
7 Top Of The Pops
8 Parkinson: Bette Midler
9 The Outer Limits
10 Not The 9 O’Clock News

11 Omnibus: Chuck Jones (Road Runner & co)
12 Barney Miller
13 Butterflies
14 Plaza Suite: film
15 The Risk Business
16 They Shoot Horses Don’t They: film
17 James Burke
18 Dallas
19 Mork And Mindy
20 Bee Gees Special


On TV lots of holiday movie faves, one of them not been on since I think (Where Angels Go Trouble Follows, a comedy nun movie and sort of early Sister Act with the fab Stella Stevens, Susan Saint James and Rosalind Russell, and also Dolores Sutton who actually WAS in Sister Act as well as a nun). Bette Midler was manic and hilarious on Parkinson, while Omnibus gave Road Runner & Wile E Coyote creator Chuck Jones the in-depth appreciation (and well-deserved). On the radio, Ian Dury was on Rosko’s Roundtable reviewing the latest single releases. On classic sitcom Soap, there were flying saucers, possessed babies, an insulting puppet, and more. What’s not to love!?! On saturday kiddies show TISWAS there was John Peel, The Bodysnatchers, The Specials and Cozy Powell. Meanwhile on Dallas, the villainous JR Ewing, as played by the fab Larry Hagman, had me smirking throughout. Dallas always knew it was part-comedy, rival Dynasty mistakingly thought it was a sitcom. Went to see LIfe OF Brian again at the cinema, convinced it was an all-time classic. Malcolm Muggeridge was on TV blasting the movie, calling it inconsequential and that it would be forgotten fairly quickly. “I think it’ll last and outlive him for sure” I ventured correctly, if bitterly. Finally, the second Eurovision preview was on TV, and I tipped Greece and Austria, Italy, Ireland and Switzerland. Ireland won, of course, Switzerland 4th.

Posted by: popchartfreak 23rd May 2015, 02:28 PM

22nd April 1980

2 weeks for Madness on their Nightboat To Cairo, as Dexy’s and Blondie threaten, 2 UK chart-toppers but only one will top my chart too. Place your bets... Highest new entry is the late great Errol Brown with Hot Chocolate, in at 10 for 10 years of top 10 hits, with the spooky, moody, synthy No Doubt About It, all very much about UFO’s. While I don’t believe for a single second in actual alien visitors (I’ll do an essay on it one day, but basically people don’t really grasp how mindbogglingly MASSIVE the universe is) I do very much love the idea of it, and always will. I love this record, one of their great ones.

The Buggles get a third top 20, clean, cleaning the charts, and Rupert Holmes gets a third top 20, too. Ooh, get Him. In at 19, Macca is back with a bang, the amusing popstar video pastiche (all of them Paul in disguise, including as his young Beatles self) didn’t hurt the delightful riffy, poppy, synthy, catchy Coming Up, a sudden change in direction for his first real solo album in a decade, as Wings had started to get a bit plodding, give or take the odd single. America, though, didn’t know what to make with the new Macca and opted for a Live Wings B-side version as the A side. It’s just not as good, I’m afraid, but that didn’t stop it topping the US Hot 100. Motown’s Jimmy Ruffin is also back after a 5-year lay-off, and ten years after debuting, with his first proper new recording in years, a Robin Gibb song gift as The Bee Gees backlash started to take hold, and they started writing songs for others. The Gibbs, like Jimmy, drifted in and out of fashion, but it made no difference to me whether they sold or didn’t, they were still good throughout, and usually brilliant. Hold On To My Love is merely OK though it was great to have Jimmy back.

Elsewhere: Elvis Costello in the 40 again, lots of dance tracks, The Nolans return with a decent pop song, Phil Lynott leaves Lizzy for a bit again, for a spot of lonely heart letter-writing, The Beach Boys revival helps Oh Darling into the chart, off the new album Keepin’ The Summer Alive (frankly not nearly as good as LA (Light Album), Godley And Creme join their ex-10CC chums in the chart with White Boys, their second entry since leaving the band, and a few spot behind Graham Gouldman’s solo movie track. Finally, at 63, a great storming pop debut from Christopher Cross, and his best record by far, the terrific Ride Like The Wind.

1 ( 1 ) NIGHT BOAT TO CAIRO Madness
2 ( 8 ) GENO Dexy’s Midnight Runners
3 ( 2 ) FOOD FOR THOUGHT/ KING UB40
4 ( 11 ) CALL ME Blondie
5 ( 4 ) MONKEES EP (LAST TRAIN TO CLARKSVILLE/ I’M A BELIEVER/ A LITTLE BIT ME A LITTLE BIT YOU/ DAYDREAM BELIEVER) The Monkees
6 ( 6 ) MISSING WORDS The Selecter
7 ( 3 ) TURN IT ON AGAIN Genesis
8 ( 5 ) KOOL IN THE KAFTAN B.A. Robertson
9 ( 7 ) GOING UNDERGROUND The Jam
10 ( NEW ) NO DOUBT ABOUT IT Hot Chocolate

11 ( 13 ) TALK OF THE TOWN The Pretenders
12 ( 9 ) LET’S DO ROCK STEADY The Bodysnatchers
13 ( 28 ) CLEAN CLEAN The Buggles
14 ( 20 ) SILVER DREAM MACHINE David Essex
15 ( 22 ) HIM Rupert Holmes
16 ( 12 ) ECHO BEACH Martha And The Muffins
17 ( 24 ) MY OH MY Sad Cafe
18 ( 10 ) MY WORLD Secret Affair
19 ( NEW ) COMING UP Paul McCartney
20 ( 15 ) ATOMIC Blondie

21 ( 18 ) WORKING MY WAY BACK TO YOU The Detroit Spinners
22 ( 36 ) TOCCATA Sky
23 ( 29 ) NO-ONE DRIVING John Foxx
24 ( 17 ) HAPPY HOUSE Siouxsie And The Banshees
25 ( NEW ) HOLD ON TO MY LOVE Jimmy Ruffin
26 ( 14 ) JANUARY FEBRUARY Barbara Dickson
27 ( 25 ) SEXY EYES Dr. Hook
28 ( NEW ) CHECK OUT THE GROOVE Bobby Thurston
29 ( 16 ) POISON IVY The Lambrettas
30 ( 39 ) MY PERFECT COUSIN The Undertones

31 ( 23 ) STOMP The Brothers Johnson
32 ( 21 ) SPIRIT OF RADIO Rush
33 ( 19 ) NE-NE-NA-NA-NA-NA-NU-NU Bad Manners
34 ( 42 ) DON’T PUSH IT DON’T FORCE IT Leon Haywood
35 ( 30 ) DANCE YOURSELF DIZZY Liquid Gold
36 ( 35 ) HEARTBREAKER Pat Benatar
37 ( 27 ) CUBA The Gibson Brothers
38 ( 31 ) LONGER Dan Fogelberg
39 ( 74 ) HIGH-FIDELITY Elvis Costello
40 ( 26 ) TURNING JAPANESE The Vapors

41 ( 58 ) ROUGH BOYS Pete Townsend
42 ( 33 ) OUTSIDE MY WINDOW Stevie Wonder
43 ( 32 ) ANOTHER NAIL FOR MY HEART Squeeze
44 ( 37 ) ALL NIGHT LONG Rainbow
45 ( 40 ) DO THAT TO ME ONE MORE TIME Captain and Tennille
46 ( NEW ) LIVE EVERY MINUTE Ali Thomson
47 ( 54 ) TAKE GOOD CARE OF MY BABY Smokie
48 ( 43 ) I HEAR YOU NOW Jon And Vangelis
49 ( 34 ) THE LIQUIDATOR Harry J and The All Stars
50 ( 47 ) I HAVE A DREAM Abba

51 ( 48 ) BRASS IN POCKET The Pretenders
52 ( 51 ) ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL (PART 2) Pink Floyd
53 ( 50 ) WALKING ON THE MOON The Police
54 ( 38 ) SO LONELY The Police
55 ( 55 ) CONFUSION/ LAST TRAIN TO LONDON E.L.O.
56 ( 69 ) ALL FOR LEYNA Billy Joel
57 ( NEW ) DON’T MAKE WAVES The Nolans
58 ( 59 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty
59 ( 60 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.
60 ( 57 ) NIGHTS IN WHITE SATIN The Moody Blues

61 ( 62 ) LOVE’S NOT FOR ME (from ANIMALYMPICS) Graham Gouldman
62 ( 41 ) TAKE THAT LOOK OFF YOUR FACE Marti Webb
63 ( NEW ) RIDE LIKE THE WIND Christopher Cross
64 ( 75 ) WHEELS OF STEEL Saxon
65 ( 53 ) CARRIE Cliff Richard
66 ( NEW ) OH DARLING The Beach Boys
67 ( NEW ) ANOTHER MISS LONELY HEART Phil Lynott
68 ( 52 ) ROCK WITH YOU Michael Jackson
69 ( NEW ) WIDE BOY Godley And Creme
70 ( 67 ) SPIRITS HAVING FLOWN The Bee Gees

71 ( 49 ) TOO MUCH TOO YOUNG The Special AKA
72 ( 64 ) TUSK Fleetwood Mac
73 ( 44 ) GAMES WITHOUT FRONTIERS Peter Gabriel
74 ( 65 ) GIMME GIMME GIMME (A MAN AFTER MIDNIGHT) Abba
75 ( 66 ) MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE The Police


TV 12-18 Apr
1 Soap
2 The Kenny Everett Video Show
3 Tiswas
4 Not The 9 O’Clock News
5 The Phil Silvers Show
6 The Outer Limits
7 Top Of The Pops
8 Kelly Monteith
9 Halls Of Anger
10 Barney Miller
11 Whicker’s World
12 Butterflies
13 Taxi
14 Wonder Woman
15 Film 80
16 Young Maverick
17 Dallas
18 Happy Days
19 The Banana Splits
20 James Burke



At home I recorded grandma, down for a week from Liverpool, talking about her ancestors on reel-to-reel. Tragically, after she died in 1989 I couldn’t bring myself to listen to it again, and now the player doesn’t work. I need to find some professional with 4-track facilities to record it for me so I can save it onto CD/DVD. It would be very odd hearing her talk again after all these years.

Oh, and Eurovision Song Contest 1980 on the 19th:

My ratings:

1.Greece (Anna Vissi) and France (Profil) on 90%

3. Italy 89%
4. Ireland 88%
5. UK 87%
6. Netherlands 86%
7. Luxembourg
8. Sweden
9. Belguim
10. Austria
11. Portugal
12. Germany
13. Norway
14. Denmark
15. Turkey
16. Switzerland
17. Spain
18. Morocco
19. Finland

Results?
1. Ireland
2. Germany
3. UK
4. Switzerland
5. Netherlands
6. Italy
7. Portugal
8. Austria
9. Luxembourg
10. Sweden
11. France
12. Spain
13. Greece
14. Denmark
15. Turkey
16. Norway
17. Belguim
18. Morocco
19. Finland

So, not too far out, except Greece and France my two faves did badly. Just as well, as Johnny Logan was much better (the winner for Ireland)!

Posted by: popchartfreak 25th May 2015, 04:38 PM

29th April 1980

Dexy’s Midnight Runners take Geno to the top, back in ‘68 in a sweaty club - I was far too young to know Geno Washington, actually, but this punksoul single was fab. Blondie hit 3, Paul McCartney gets into the top 5 solo for the first time since Another Day hit 1 in 1971, though counting Wings singles he’d done it every year since 1971, and 1968 including Beatles singles. He’s still Coming Up with the goods 12 years on, or 17 years on since they would have made my top 5 had I been charting at age 5.

David Essex also gets virtually a top 10 hit each year, as he does it for the 10th time since Rock On debuted in 1973, Silver Dream Racer, though, remains his last really good single, he was merely good from here on. The Pretenders make it 3 top 10’s in a row, The Undertones go top 20, and Pete Townsend goes top 40 with some rough boys, Billy Joel does it too with Leyna, and Smokie with Bobby Vee’s oldie. The Jam, in re-issue fever, get several re-entries in the UK charts and also pop in with 4 older singles, led by Strange Town at 30.

Johnny Logan is in at 29, after his winning Eurovision performance for Ireland, What’s Another Year, though? New Musik get a 4th entry with the catchy This World Of Water, new electronic pop music to my ears, at 42, while Phil Spector helps The Ramones to chart at 53 with my fave Ramones single, Do You Remember Rock ‘n’ Roll Radio? No, I’m not that old, but with all the 50’s revivals in the 70’s and 80’s it felt like you were there. Michael Jackson has the 4th single off Off The Wall at 64, and the second best, the actual heart-breaking vocal performance of She’s Out Of My Life, and his most touching vocal since Ain’t No Sunshine in 1972. 2nd hits fro martha And The Muffins, Narada Michael Walden, a welcome return for Average White Band 5 years since Pick Up The Pieces, as the fab Let’s Go Round Again is in at 75, and Kate Bush sneaks in at 71 with the haunting Breathing, complete with nuclear fallout pregnancy video. Yes that old cliched deviant baby topic regularly crops up in pop songs, eh?



1 ( 2 ) GENO Dexy’s Midnight Runners
2 ( 1 ) NIGHT BOAT TO CAIRO Madness
3 ( 4 ) CALL ME Blondie
4 ( 19 ) COMING UP Paul McCartney
5 ( 3 ) FOOD FOR THOUGHT/ KING UB40
6 ( 14 ) SILVER DREAM MACHINE David Essex
7 ( 5 ) MONKEES EP (LAST TRAIN TO CLARKSVILLE/ I’M A BELIEVER/ A LITTLE BIT ME A LITTLE BIT YOU/ DAYDREAM BELIEVER) The Monkees
8 ( 9 ) GOING UNDERGROUND The Jam
9 ( 11 ) TALK OF THE TOWN The Pretenders
10 ( 10 ) NO DOUBT ABOUT IT Hot Chocolate

11 ( 8 ) KOOL IN THE KAFTAN B.A. Robertson
12 ( 7 ) TURN IT ON AGAIN Genesis
13 ( 13 ) CLEAN CLEAN The Buggles
14 ( 6 ) MISSING WORDS The Selecter
15 ( 17 ) MY OH MY Sad Cafe
16 ( 22 ) TOCCATA Sky
17 ( 30 ) MY PERFECT COUSIN The Undertones
18 ( 15 ) HIM Rupert Holmes
19 ( 12 ) LET’S DO ROCK STEADY The Bodysnatchers
20 ( 18 ) MY WORLD Secret Affair

21 ( 28 ) CHECK OUT THE GROOVE Bobby Thurston
22 ( 39 ) HIGH-FIDELITY Elvis Costello
23 ( 20 ) ATOMIC Blondie
24 ( 16 ) ECHO BEACH Martha And The Muffins
25 ( 25 ) HOLD ON TO MY LOVE Jimmy Ruffin
26 ( 34 ) DON’T PUSH IT DON’T FORCE IT Leon Haywood
27 ( 21 ) WORKING MY WAY BACK TO YOU The Detroit Spinners
28 ( 41 ) ROUGH BOYS Pete Townsend
29 ( NEW ) WHAT’S ANOTHER YEAR Johnny Logan
30 ( NEW ) STRANGE TOWN The Jam

31 ( 26 ) JANUARY FEBRUARY Barbara Dickson
32 ( 56 ) ALL FOR LEYNA Billy Joel
33 ( 31 ) STOMP The Brothers Johnson
34 ( 24 ) HAPPY HOUSE Siouxsie And The Banshees
35 ( 47 ) TAKE GOOD CARE OF MY BABY Smokie
36 ( NEW ) DAVID WATTS The Jam
37 ( 29 ) POISON IVY The Lambrettas
38 ( 33 ) NE-NE-NA-NA-NA-NA-NU-NU Bad Manners
39 ( 46 ) LIVE EVERY MINUTE Ali Thomson
40 ( 57 ) DON’T MAKE WAVES The Nolans

41 ( 32 ) SPIRIT OF RADIO Rush
42 ( NEW ) THIS WORLD OF WATER New Musik
43 ( 23 ) NO-ONE DRIVING John Foxx
44 ( 27 ) SEXY EYES Dr. Hook
45 ( 38 ) LONGER Dan Fogelberg
46 ( 35 ) DANCE YOURSELF DIZZY Liquid Gold
47 ( 37 ) CUBA The Gibson Brothers
48 ( 67 ) DEAR MISS LONELY HEART Phil Lynott
49 ( 66 ) OH DARLING The Beach Boys
50 ( 40 ) TURNING JAPANESE The Vapors

51 ( 63 ) RIDE LIKE THE WIND Christopher Cross
52 ( 50 ) I HAVE A DREAM Abba
53 ( NEW ) DO YOU REMEMBER ROCK ‘N’ ROLL RADIO The Ramones
54 ( 48 ) I HEAR YOU NOW Jon And Vangelis
55 ( 55 ) CONFUSION/ LAST TRAIN TO LONDON E.L.O.
56 ( 58 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty
57 ( 59 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.
58 ( NEW ) SAIGON Martha And The Muffins
59 ( 53 ) WALKING ON THE MOON The Police
60 ( 52 ) ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL (PART 2) Pink Floyd

61 ( 69 ) WIDE BOY Godley And Creme
62 ( 60 ) NIGHTS IN WHITE SATIN The Moody Blues
63 ( 51 ) BRASS IN POCKET The Pretenders
64 ( NEW ) SHE’S OUT OF MY LIFE Michael Jackson
65 ( 45 ) DO THAT TO ME ONE MORE TIME Captain and Tennille
66 ( 44 ) ALL NIGHT LONG Rainbow
67 ( NEW ) EASY STREET Sister Sledge
68 ( 43 ) ANOTHER NAIL FOR MY HEART Squeeze
69 ( 64 ) WHEELS OF STEEL Saxon
70 ( NEW ) I SHOULDA LOVED YA Narada Michael Walden

71 ( NEW ) BREATHING Kate Bush
72 ( 54 ) SO LONELY The Police
73 ( NEW ) ALL AROUND THE WORLD The Jam
74 ( 36 ) HEARTBREAKER Pat Benatar
75 ( NEW ) LET’S GO ROUND AGAIN Average White Band



TV 19-25 Apr
1 Soap
2 Terry Wogan Meets JR
3 The Outer Limits
4 Tiswas
5 Eurovision Song Contest
6 Profile: Mel Brooks
7 Butch Cassidy And The Sundance kid: film
8 Barney Miller
9 Taxi
10 Top Of The Pops
11 Not The 9 O’Clock News
12 Life On Earth
13 Love Story: film
14 The Banana Splits
15 Whicker’s World


It was back to College for my final term, which was enormously sad, but it was great to go back to Lincoln and my friends for now though I felt guilty leaving grandma and mum, both wanted me to stay home longer. When we met up for meals some of the girls had new hairdo’s. I made no comment. That’s not always the best course of action, I learned... Ian made a comment, which is worse than making no comment, we both learned.

For studies, read a book on LBJ, quite a unique admirable President in so many ways, then played snooker, chatted much on Eurovision, my new popstar cartoon attempts, and especially with Jane and some in-depth great topics (ie me!). Got an assignment back (“very good”) from English Lit, Max my tutor overheard my giving art advice to a second year (Anne) - I’m afraid I can’t do the whole “deep and significant” artist thing, as it’s just too pretentious for me and I cut through the bull. Anyway Max called me “anarchic”, which I choose to take as a compliment as Max was great!

Played tennis with Paul’s new girlfriend first year Jenny, and she joined me and the gang for Top Of The Pops in my room. In Art I had to give a lecture on my work, helped by some encouragement from the mature students, and Emma and Jo, then played tennis with Bev - and got beaten. Pah! On the news the Iran situation annoyed me - this one, of course, has just kept on going ever since. On TV Tiswas was hilarious and manic, and packed full of stars, while in Lincoln town I bumped into 2 school teachers from 6th form, Mr Dodd and Mr Cant and in the evening Saturday dave and jane had a Chinese-meal-themed party.

Posted by: popchartfreak 22nd June 2015, 10:01 PM

6th May 1980

Geno gets a 2nd week on top for Dexy’s, as Paul McCartney gets his 3rd number 2 with Coming Up, and Hot Chocolate go top 5 for the first time in 2 years. Sky and Sad Cafe sneak into the top 10, both with their most successful records, and New Musik shoot up the rapids of their world of water to 11, their 3rd top 40 in a row. Kate Bush is breathing heavily, meanwhile, at 22 after climbing 49 chart places. Phew!

Highest new entry is a 2-year-old track from Don McLean getting some UK chart action after a 5-year gap since the wonderful Wonderful Baby. Crying is an old Roy Orbison hit from before my time, but Don manages the impossible in doing a cover version that is as good as the original Roy version. Slowed-down drastically, it makes the climax even bigger when it comes. So to speak. Fantastic, and over 8 years since Don’s chart debut. The Ramones rock it big into my 30, let’s go! Saxon and Christopher Cross both go top 40 and more Groove-based funk dance tracks enter and climb - clearly, despite the hype in the States, rumours of the death of disco are a bit premature in the UK.

New entries: in at 27, The Beat’s best record, the brilliant Mirror In The Bathroom, the ska groove and the urgent sax both fab backdrops to a great song. At 32, it’s a debut for one of the key 80’s bands, The Cure, all goth New Wave in a Siouxsie kinda way, but a bit more acoustic and synthy both. A Forest was a great single, for me it sounded like nothing else, which is always a bonus. At 51, Man Tran are back and in a dancee-stylee a world away from the 1940’s-era beginnings - what they’d lost in retro charm they’d gained in using the theme tune to the fab Twilight Zone TV series as a backdrop to a disco tune.

At 70, Air Supply debut with the gorgeous ballad Lost In Love, an Aussie band who just went very well on American radio, the delicious melody of this track was just such a delight I still can’t believe this record flopped when the less-good follow-up hit. A good vocal performance didn’t hurt either. In the bottom 5, a clutch of lesser punk-new wave tracks, all a bit late for the punk party, including the old Jam track back again, and not for the last time.


1 ( 1 ) GENO Dexy’s Midnight Runners
2 ( 4 ) COMING UP Paul McCartney
3 ( 3 ) CALL ME Blondie
4 ( 2 ) NIGHT BOAT TO CAIRO Madness
5 ( 10 ) NO DOUBT ABOUT IT Hot Chocolate
6 ( 6 ) SILVER DREAM MACHINE David Essex
7 ( 5 ) FOOD FOR THOUGHT/ KING UB40
8 ( 7 ) MONKEES EP (LAST TRAIN TO CLARKSVILLE/ I’M A BELIEVER/ A LITTLE BIT ME A LITTLE BIT YOU/ DAYDREAM BELIEVER) The Monkees
9 ( 16 ) TOCCATA Sky
10 ( 15 ) MY OH MY Sad Cafe

11 ( 42 ) THIS WORLD OF WATER New Musik
12 ( 14 ) MISSING WORDS The Selecter
13 ( 12 ) TURN IT ON AGAIN Genesis
14 ( 11 ) KOOL IN THE KAFTAN B.A. Robertson
15 ( 17 ) MY PERFECT COUSIN The Undertones
16 ( 8 ) GOING UNDERGROUND The Jam
17 ( 29 ) WHAT’S ANOTHER YEAR Johnny Logan
18 ( 9 ) TALK OF THE TOWN The Pretenders
19 ( 25 ) HOLD ON TO MY LOVE Jimmy Ruffin
20 ( 21 ) CHECK OUT THE GROOVE Bobby Thurston




21 ( 13 ) CLEAN CLEAN The Buggles
22 ( 71 ) BREATHING Kate Bush
23 ( NEW ) CRYING Don McLean
24 ( 35 ) TAKE GOOD CARE OF MY BABY Smokie
25 ( 53 ) DO YOU REMEMBER ROCK ‘N’ ROLL RADIO The Ramones
26 ( 26 ) DON’T PUSH IT DON’T FORCE IT Leon Haywood
27 ( NEW ) MIRROR IN THE BATHROOM The Beat
28 ( 70 ) I SHOULDA LOVED YA Narada Michael Walden
29 ( 27 ) WORKING MY WAY BACK TO YOU The Detroit Spinners
30 ( 23 ) ATOMIC Blondie



31 ( 20 ) MY WORLD Secret Affair
32 ( NEW ) A FOREST The Cure
33 ( 19 ) LET’S DO ROCK STEADY The Bodysnatchers
34 ( NEW ) THE GROOVE Rodney Franklin
35 ( 18 ) HIM Rupert Holmes
36 ( 38 ) NE-NE-NA-NA-NA-NA-NU-NU Bad Manners
37 ( 40 ) DON’T MAKE WAVES The Nolans
38 ( 69 ) WHEELS OF STEEL Saxon
39 ( 39 ) LIVE EVERY MINUTE Ali Thomson
40 ( 51 ) RIDE LIKE THE WIND Christopher Cross



41 ( 28 ) ROUGH BOYS Pete Townsend
42 ( 31 ) JANUARY FEBRUARY Barbara Dickson
43 ( 30 ) STRANGE TOWN The Jam
44 ( 32 ) ALL FOR LEYNA Billy Joel
45 ( 24 ) ECHO BEACH Martha And The Muffins
46 ( NEW ) FOOL FOR YOUR LOVING Whitesnake
47 ( 64 ) SHE’S OUT OF MY LIFE Michael Jackson
48 ( 48 ) DEAR MISS LONELY HEART Phil Lynott
49 ( 33 ) STOMP The Brothers Johnson
50 ( 45 ) LONGER Dan Fogelberg

51 ( NEW ) TWILIGHT ZONE/TWILIGHT TONE Manhattan Transfer
52 ( 58 ) SAIGON Martha And The Muffins
53 ( 34 ) HAPPY HOUSE Siouxsie And The Banshees
54 ( 56 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty
55 ( 57 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.
56 ( 55 ) CONFUSION/ LAST TRAIN TO LONDON E.L.O.
57 ( 22 ) HIGH-FIDELITY Elvis Costello
58 ( 59 ) WALKING ON THE MOON The Police
59 ( 41 ) SPIRIT OF RADIO Rush
60 ( 52 ) I HAVE A DREAM Abba

61 ( 54 ) I HEAR YOU NOW Jon And Vangelis
62 ( 37 ) POISON IVY The Lambrettas
63 ( 36 ) DAVID WATTS The Jam
64 ( 60 ) ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL (PART 2) Pink Floyd
65 ( 75 ) LET’S GO ROUND AGAIN Average White Band
66 ( 62 ) NIGHTS IN WHITE SATIN The Moody Blues
67 ( 67 ) EASY STREET Sister Sledge
68 ( 47 ) CUBA The Gibson Brothers
69 ( 46 ) DANCE YOURSELF DIZZY Liquid Gold
70 ( NEW ) LOST IN LOVE Air Supply



71 ( NEW ) IN THE CITY The Jam
72 ( NEW ) STARING AT THE RUDE BOYS The Ruts
73 ( 50 ) TURNING JAPANESE The Vapors
74 ( NEW ) SOMETHING’S MISSING The Chords
75 ( NEW ) THE GREATEST COCKNEY RIP-OFF The Cockney Rejects


TV Apr 26 - May 2
1 Tiswas
2 Soap
3 Barney Miller
4 Top Of The Pops
5 Life On Earth
6 Not The 9’O Clock News
7 Taxi
8 The Outer Limits
9 Tribute To Alfred Hitchcock
10 Wonder Woman



Back in my world, I was still enjoying my random visits from friends on Teaching Practice while I was lecture-based and a bit bored at so much time to myself, especially Ian and Pete getting to go out to the same schools, leaving me feeling left-out. Oh poor me, get over it! I played tennis, snooker, and heard the news Alfred Hitchcock, horror-drama Director-extraordinaire had died. I grew up watching his TV series too, repeated in Singapore, and he was quite the character. I read Animal Farm, ooh little bit of social politics going on, and had an American Studies exam. I drew some animals for school work cards for Sue, and Jane and Pete and myself took the piss out of the piss-poor News At Ten scripts, depressing and trashy.

Mr Davies tried to persuade me to get into playwriting as a career, in Literature, really bigging me up. Pity I give up so easily....! More realistic he suggested teaching Secondary School, journalism and creative writing. I did try journalism and writing to be fair to me, for 2 years, before I realised I was getting nowhere. And so are dreams shattered! One of my school-teachers, Miss Goodrich, had called me “bright” - modesty aside, I am, but I have real flaws of character that stop me achieving. Doh! All that talk of careers gave me a bad night of stomach trouble. On TV the last of the series for Tiswas was a fab highlights episode. I AM bright, honestly, custard pies, flam flingers and celebrities up for a laugh, what’s not to love!

At the cinema, I saw Spielberg’s sprawling College comedy 1941: some good one-liners, some good scenes, impressive sets, but ultimately not in the same league as Animal House as the characters were insane, not rebellious. A lot of the humour came over a bit forced. I opined: “Belushi was a twat, Robert Stack stole the film without trying” and overall I was massively disappointed after my all-time fave film Close Encounters that we got this effort. I haven’t seen it in decades, much like the rest of the world, I think!

Posted by: popchartfreak 23rd June 2015, 08:10 PM

13th May 1980

One of my fave bands of the 70’s dabble with a UFO sci-fi-themed atmospheric synth-heavy-ballad - of course it was going to top my chart! Errol was a pop hero of mine, and a throughly ego-free varied talent, No Doubt About It - and this was Hot Chocolate’s 10th year of charting, a 9-year span of number ones, and yet only their 3rd chart-topper to date. Don McLean is up to 4, his highest chart position to date, and New Musik get a second top 10, and The Beat rocket to 10, with that mirror in the bathroom reflecting their achievement. Ouch!

Michael Jackson finally gets moving and She’s Out Of My Life leaps to 13, the fourth top 20 track off Off The Wall, Kate Bush, The Cure and errr Smokie, go top 20. By this stage Smokie had a good 5-year run of singles, few of them classic pop records, but always OK. The Cure were now starting a good run of singles themselves, many of them minor classics. Highest new entry is the VERY familiar theme tune from the brilliant MASH TV show - but the original ‘Suicide Is Painless’ vocal version from the anti-establishment anti-war 1970 movie cult classic, and which was quite old-fashioned easy-listening 60’s sounding but the odd lyrics gave it a depressing edge which I can’t listen to anymore. Not least bearing in mind the suicide of Ritchie from Manic Street Preachers who covered the song. In the movie Painless was a dentist who felt sorry for himself, and they dragged him out of his self-pity attempted suicide with comedy. In the real world, I can’t condone lyrics that might be taken to view it as an option for depression and mental illness.

In at 26, Mystic Merlin, a sort of magic show sultry soul act, I love the vocals and the sexy sax, and the slow-build to a great song with a great chorus climax. Just Can’t Give You Up, I can’t. A cut above most of the dance tracks in the UK chart at the time. In at 38, a great reggae social commentary song from Junior Murvin, Police And Thieves is still delicious, a great vocal, a fab groove, and good lyrics. TV’s Tiswas was a huge fave of mine. I also loved boyhood band fave The Scaffold, 60’s hitmakers of Lily The Pink fame. I can’t excuse The Four Bucketeers novelty hit at 40, though, Chris Tarrant, Bob Carolgees and Sally James, and Scaffold’s John Junkin notwithstanding!

At 44, a huge departure in sound from Jona Lewie, a subdued synth riff backdrop for a semi-novelty lyric that also hit home to shrinking violets like me, who often liked to move out of the front room in parties! Jona was previously known for his alter ego Terry Dactyl And The Dinosaurs and their retro-sounding Seaside Shuffle Top 3 hit in 1972, accordion-tastic novelty fun, so I was delighted to welcome him back on Top Of The Pops, backed (it became obvious in later years) by Kirsty MacColl.

2 brand new debuts, key bands of the 80’s for me, OMD at 55 with the awesome Messages, an exciting, frantic new synthpop sound that blew me away, it sounded faaaabulous loud. The other synth band had a lower-profile debut with an EP that centred around a synth version of Gary Glitter’s best record (far and away) Rock And Roll. It’s not as classic as the original, but has it’s charm and Phil Oakey was star-in-the-making when he popped up on Top Of The Pops, minus the girls, but plus future Heaven 17 members. It didn’t hurt getting name-checked in The Undertones My Perfect Cousin at 14, either...

Finally, at 70, Prelude were back 6 years on from covering Neil Young’s After The Goldrush a capella, and doing it beautifully. Platinum Blonde was more orthodox folkrockpop for the time, but was pleasant enough. Motorhead get a 3rd entry, as do Matchbox and their Midnite Dynamos, another slice of rockabilly rambling fun, after the fab Buzz Buzz A Diddle It. Look, it’s fun, OK!? Having a laugh! Kirsty MacColl also joined in on a single with them later in their career. Good enough for me! At 74, Boney M sneak in with My Friend Jack. Frank Farian obviously was a fan of obscure 60’s band The Smoke, and to be honest, so was I - my dad had got hold of a bunch of 45rpm singles stamped “Not For Sale” promo copies around 1966/67, and My Friend Jack was one of them, so it was a song I knew well. The psychedelic pop charm of the original was much better than Boney M’s version, though so that’s the version I’m featuring!



1 ( 5 ) NO DOUBT ABOUT IT Hot Chocolate
2 ( 1 ) GENO Dexy’s Midnight Runners
3 ( 2 ) COMING UP Paul McCartney
4 ( 23 ) CRYING Don McLean
5 ( 3 ) CALL ME Blondie
6 ( 4 ) NIGHT BOAT TO CAIRO Madness
7 ( 11 ) THIS WORLD OF WATER New Musik
8 ( 6 ) SILVER DREAM MACHINE David Essex
9 ( 8 ) MONKEES EP (LAST TRAIN TO CLARKSVILLE/ I’M A BELIEVER/ A LITTLE BIT ME A LITTLE BIT YOU/ DAYDREAM BELIEVER) The Monkees
10 ( 27 ) MIRROR IN THE BATHROOM The Beat

11 ( 7 ) FOOD FOR THOUGHT/ KING UB40
12 ( 9 ) TOCCATA Sky
13 ( 47 ) SHE’S OUT OF MY LIFE Michael Jackson
14 ( 15 ) MY PERFECT COUSIN The Undertones
15 ( 22 ) BREATHING Kate Bush
16 ( 12 ) MISSING WORDS The Selecter
17 ( 17 ) WHAT’S ANOTHER YEAR Johnny Logan
18 ( 19 ) HOLD ON TO MY LOVE Jimmy Ruffin
19 ( 32 ) A FOREST The Cure
20 ( 24 ) TAKE GOOD CARE OF MY BABY Smokie

21 ( 13 ) TURN IT ON AGAIN Genesis
22 ( 10 ) MY OH MY Sad Cafe
23 ( 14 ) KOOL IN THE KAFTAN B.A. Robertson
24 ( 16 ) GOING UNDERGROUND The Jam
25 ( 18 ) TALK OF THE TOWN The Pretenders
26 ( NEW ) THEME FROM M*A*S*H The MASH
27 ( 51 ) TWILIGHT ZONE/TWILIGHT TONE Manhattan Transfer
28 ( 28 ) I SHOULDA LOVED YA Narada Michael Walden
29 ( 34 ) THE GROOVE Rodney Franklin
30 ( NEW ) JUST CAN’T GIVE YOU UP Mystic Merlin



31 ( 37 ) DON’T MAKE WAVES The Nolans
32 ( 75 ) THE GREATEST COCKNEY RIP-OFF The Cockney Rejects
33 ( 72 ) STARING AT THE RUDE BOYS The Ruts
34 ( 20 ) CHECK OUT THE GROOVE Bobby Thurston
35 ( 30 ) ATOMIC Blondie
36 ( 29 ) WORKING MY WAY BACK TO YOU The Detroit Spinners
37 ( 26 ) DON’T PUSH IT DON’T FORCE IT Leon Haywood
38 ( NEW ) POLICE AND THIEVES Junior Murvin
39 ( 46 ) FOOL FOR YOUR LOVING Whitesnake
40 ( NEW ) BUCKET OF WATER SONG The Four Bucketeers



41 ( 25 ) DO YOU REMEMBER ROCK ‘N’ ROLL RADIO The Ramones
42 ( 21 ) CLEAN CLEAN The Buggles
43 ( 31 ) MY WORLD Secret Affair
44 ( NEW ) YOU WILL ALWAYS FIND ME IN THE iamspamspamamiAT PARTIES Jona Lewie
45 ( 40 ) RIDE LIKE THE WIND Christopher Cross
46 ( 39 ) LIVE EVERY MINUTE Ali Thomson
47 ( 43 ) STRANGE TOWN The Jam
48 ( 52 ) SAIGON Martha And The Muffins
49 ( 36 ) NE-NE-NA-NA-NA-NA-NU-NU Bad Manners
50 ( 65 ) LET’S GO ROUND AGAIN Average White Band



51 ( 38 ) WHEELS OF STEEL Saxon
52 ( 33 ) LET’S DO ROCK STEADY The Bodysnatchers
53 ( 35 ) HIM Rupert Holmes
54 ( 50 ) LONGER Dan Fogelberg
55 ( NEW ) MESSAGES Orchestral Manoevres In The Dark
56 ( 55 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.
57 ( 54 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty
58 ( 56 ) CONFUSION/ LAST TRAIN TO LONDON E.L.O.
59 ( NEW ) HOLIDAY EP (ROCK AND ROLL) Human League
60 ( 70 ) LOST IN LOVE Air Supply

61 ( 45 ) ECHO BEACH Martha And The Muffins
62 ( 42 ) JANUARY FEBRUARY Barbara Dickson
63 ( 58 ) WALKING ON THE MOON The Police
64 ( 60 ) I HAVE A DREAM Abba
65 ( 49 ) STOMP The Brothers Johnson
66 ( 71 ) IN THE CITY The Jam
67 ( 66 ) NIGHTS IN WHITE SATIN The Moody Blues
68 ( 61 ) I HEAR YOU NOW Jon And Vangelis
69 ( 64 ) ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL (PART 2) Pink Floyd
70 ( NEW ) PLATINUM BLONDE Prelude

71 ( NEW ) GOLDEN YEARS LIVE EP Motorhead
72 ( NEW ) MIDNITE DYNAMOS Matchbox
73 ( 41 ) ROUGH BOYS Pete Townsend
74 ( NEW ) MY FRIEND JACK Boney M
75 ( 69 ) DANCE YOURSELF DIZZY Liquid Gold


3rd-9th May TV
1 Soap
2 Tiswas
3 The Outer Limits
4 Barney Miller
5 Not The 9’O Clock News
6 Wonder Woman
7 Top Of The Pops
8 The Banana Splits
9 Taxi
10 Whicker’s World



In College, I lost at tennis to Joe, watched aTV tribute to the great James Stewart, and was half-way through John Wayne’s Rio Lobo movie when a newsflash about a hostage siege took over the media, hostages shot, SAS sent in, terrorists shot. All very horrifying. I called in on Alan and Helen one evening, Sue popped down another, Jane on Top Of The Pops thursday for an evenings in-depth discussion on all-sorts, Art lecturer Max took me to get some glass cut for my art prints frames, in his van, above and beyond, what a great lecturer! Back home for the weekend in Mansfield, I bought some 1960’s nostalgia first day covers of Battle Of Hastings and snowmen christmas stamps. It’s cool, honest, to collect stamps. In an alternate universe....

Posted by: popchartfreak 25th June 2015, 08:13 PM

20th May 1980

2 weeks for Hot Chocolate on top, as The Beat hit 3 in the Bathroom. Kate Bush makes it 5 top 10 out of 6 singles, as Breathing the fall-out in at 6 confirms she can do no wrong. Ditto Michael Jackson, a decade of top 10 hits with me, and still only 21, just like Kate. I was six months older, and not having many chart hits...!

Up 49 places to 11, Air Supply’s Lost In Love emotes beautifully upwards, Mystic Merlin abracadabra their way to 13, and in at 20 the highest new entry from Crown Heights Affair, 2 years on from Galaxy Of Love, and now You Gave Me Love, for a massive whooping, guitar riffing, minor disco great. It’s an exciting record, that chorus is just fantastic. In at 23 Roxy Music keep the comeback strong, as they exclaim gently that they are Over You. Well, get you! 8 years of chart entries though, and moving towards classy low-key ballads and wider appeal, but this wasn’t a move I generally approved of, give me early Roxy anyday.

Matchbox rockabilly it up into the 40, and entering at 37 it’s Gazza Numan back with a 4th chart hit, We Are Glass, catchy and synthtastic riffs still on form. At 39, the Average White Band finally get into the 40 with the terrif Let’s Go Round Again, and at 47 The Hollies return for the first time in 6 years with the touching ballad Soldier’s Song - a typically lovely orchestral Mike Batt song, and it was great having Allan Clarke’s vocals back, and giving the lads 12 years of chart entries. Others: Peter Gabriel has no self control, Jermaine Jackson is a little more serious thanks to an assist from Stevie Wonder, a reggae version of the TV western Bonanza theme is a bit of ska fun from Carlos Malcolm, Gerry Rafferty walks Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, and there’s a debut entry from Karel Fialka, the catchy The Eyes Have It, emphasis on the “it” - it was to be another 7 years before he got his first proper hit, with a bit of an assist from his own young son, the fab Hey Malcolm!


1 ( 1 ) NO DOUBT ABOUT IT Hot Chocolate
2 ( 4 ) CRYING Don McLean
3 ( 10 ) MIRROR IN THE BATHROOM The Beat
4 ( 2 ) GENO Dexy’s Midnight Runners
5 ( 3 ) COMING UP Paul McCartney
6 ( 15 ) BREATHING Kate Bush
7 ( 13 ) SHE’S OUT OF MY LIFE Michael Jackson
8 ( 5 ) CALL ME Blondie
9 ( 6 ) NIGHT BOAT TO CAIRO Madness
10 ( 7 ) THIS WORLD OF WATER New Musik

11 ( 60 ) LOST IN LOVE Air Supply
12 ( 9 ) MONKEES EP (LAST TRAIN TO CLARKSVILLE/ I’M A BELIEVER/ A LITTLE BIT ME A LITTLE BIT YOU/ DAYDREAM BELIEVER) The Monkees
13 ( 30 ) JUST CAN’T GIVE YOU UP Mystic Merlin
14 ( 8 ) SILVER DREAM MACHINE David Essex
15 ( 28 ) I SHOULDA LOVED YA Narada Michael Walden
16 ( 18 ) HOLD ON TO MY LOVE Jimmy Ruffin
17 ( 19 ) A FOREST The Cure
18 ( 11 ) FOOD FOR THOUGHT/ KING UB40
19 ( 26 ) THEME FROM M*A*S*H The MASH
20 ( NEW ) YOU GAVE ME LOVE Crown Heights Affair



21 ( 31 ) DON’T MAKE WAVES The Nolans
22 ( 12 ) TOCCATA Sky
23 ( NEW ) OVER YOU Roxy Music
24 ( 27 ) TWILIGHT ZONE/TWILIGHT TONE Manhattan Transfer
25 ( 40 ) BUCKET OF WATER SONG The Four Bucketeers
26 ( 44 ) YOU WILL ALWAYS FIND ME IN THE iamspamspamamiAT PARTIES Jona Lewie
27 ( 14 ) MY PERFECT COUSIN The Undertones
28 ( 38 ) POLICE AND THIEVES Junior Murvin
29 ( 39 ) FOOL FOR YOUR LOVING Whitesnake
30 ( 33 ) STARING AT THE RUDE BOYS The Ruts



31 ( 24 ) GOING UNDERGROUND The Jam
32 ( 32 ) THE GREATEST COCKNEY RIP-OFF The Cockney Rejects
33 ( 17 ) WHAT’S ANOTHER YEAR Johnny Logan
34 ( 29 ) THE GROOVE Rodney Franklin
35 ( 16 ) MISSING WORDS The Selecter
36 ( 72 ) MIDNITE DYNAMOS Matchbox
37 ( NEW ) WE ARE GLASS Gary Numan
38 ( 21 ) TURN IT ON AGAIN Genesis
39 ( 50 ) LET’S GO ROUND AGAIN Average White Band
40 ( 23 ) KOOL IN THE KAFTAN B.A. Robertson



41 ( 20 ) TAKE GOOD CARE OF MY BABY Smokie
42 ( 35 ) ATOMIC Blondie
43 ( 25 ) TALK OF THE TOWN The Pretenders
44 ( 36 ) WORKING MY WAY BACK TO YOU The Detroit Spinners
45 ( 22 ) MY OH MY Sad Cafe
46 ( 34 ) CHECK OUT THE GROOVE Bobby Thurston
47 ( NEW ) SOLDIER’S SONG The Hollies
48 ( 37 ) DON’T PUSH IT DON’T FORCE IT Leon Haywood
49 ( 49 ) NE-NE-NA-NA-NA-NA-NU-NU Bad Manners
50 ( NEW ) NO SELF CONTROL Peter Gabriel



51 ( 55 ) MESSAGES Orchestral Manoevres In The Dark
52 ( NEW ) LET’S GET SERIOUS Jermaine Jackson
53 ( 47 ) STRANGE TOWN The Jam
54 ( 54 ) LONGER Dan Fogelberg
55 ( 59 ) HOLIDAY EP (ROCK AND ROLL) Human League
56 ( 56 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.
57 ( 57 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty
58 ( 43 ) MY WORLD Secret Affair
59 ( 74 ) MY FRIEND JACK Boney M
60 ( 58 ) CONFUSION/ LAST TRAIN TO LONDON E.L.O.

61 ( 42 ) CLEAN CLEAN The Buggles
62 ( NEW ) BONANZA SKA Carlos Malcolm
63 ( 41 ) DO YOU REMEMBER ROCK ‘N’ ROLL RADIO The Ramones
64 ( 71 ) GOLDEN YEARS LIVE EP Motorhead
65 ( 63 ) WALKING ON THE MOON The Police
66 ( 64 ) I HAVE A DREAM Abba
67 ( 45 ) RIDE LIKE THE WIND Christopher Cross
68 ( NEW ) THE ROYAL MILE Gerry Rafferty
69 ( 67 ) NIGHTS IN WHITE SATIN The Moody Blues
70 ( 70 ) PLATINUM BLONDE Prelude

71 ( 53 ) HIM Rupert Holmes
72 ( NEW ) THE EYES HAVE IT Karel Fialka
73 ( 52 ) LET’S DO ROCK STEADY The Bodysnatchers
74 ( 69 ) ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL (PART 2) Pink Floyd
75 ( 68 ) I HEAR YOU NOW Jon And Vangelis


TV May 10th-16th
1 Catch-22: film
2 Soap
3 The Mary Tyler Moore Show
4 Mork And Mindy
5 Taxi
6 Not The 9’O Clock News
7 The Outer Limits
8 Top Of The Pops
9 Class Of 44
10 The Waltons
11 Happy Days
12 Hart To Hart
13 The Pink Panther Show
14 The Sky At Night
15 Tomorrow’s World



In College, I was feeding chicks for Julie, (yes actual baby hens). I played tennis with Jenny, the weather so hot I was forced to roll my shirt sleeves back which caused much comment at tea-time (I never bared my arms in public, the matchstick look would have caused too much mirth). On the sunny grass outside Julie took her chicks out for a spin, and they sheltered under my legs, sooooo cute! On TV The Waltons centered on black prejudice, something I felt strongly about (against it!), and in between stuff it was revision, more revision, and the ending of lectures from some of the duller ones (Hooray!).

In American Studies we had a mock exam paper, one about the Frontier which one wag chose to write about the Swedish frontier, as it wasn’t exactly specified to be the American frontier in the question. Funny, though. Found out my art work was to be put on exhibition in the Steep Hill art gallery for the course-end finale, out of the way and obscure, which didn’t impress me nor Max, my lecturer. We protested. On saturday, it was the big May Ball, so I danced till 1.45 with Sue. I could have danced all night - no not really. Actually I’d forgotten I used to dance at discos, could have sworn I mostly avoided it. The guest band were The Mandy Moreton Band a sort of west coast rock/folk fusion. Music of the night was chart heavy, current dance tracks. Mum and dad dropped by on their way home from Skegness, during a TV show on John Williams/Star Wars, so I was a bit rude trying to watch that.

Posted by: popchartfreak 27th June 2015, 04:12 PM

27th May 1980

3 weeks on top, No Doubt About It, which leaves Don still Crying at 2. Jacko and Kate Bush both go top 5 though, so hooray for good taste! Jona Lewie grabs a top 10 too, evading parties but hitting 6 in my charts. Gary Numan makes it 4 out of 4, as We Are Glass rushes up to 8, hopefully no more in danger of smashing than The Beat’s mirror at 3. The fab Crown Heights Affair is at 10, just behind the MASH theme tune. Rushing into the 40, it’s Karel Fialka, the eyes have IT.

New entries: The Specials are back with a Rat Race, a 4th top 40 in a row, as a million unemployed people were very much not working for the rat race at the time. Not working at all in fact, the economy was not rosy. ELO are at 31 with a Xanadu movie single - they did the soundtrack to the Gene Kelly and Olivia Newton-John film, but I’m Alive wasn’t one of their best singles. Elton is in laidback mode at 33, with the sweet Little Jeannie, as always bigger in the USA than the UK in those days. At 34 the puntastic Lipps Inc have a good ol’ Funky Town chanting up the charts, catchy and fun, still.

In at 48, The Korgis finally get a decent follow-up to the fab If I Had You, and the even-fabber Everybody’s Got To Learn Sometime, gentle, emotive and just wonderful. So wonderful it was rehashed by Marc Et Claude, and covered by numerous people, such as Yazz, Baby D and Erasure. The covers keep on coming and show no signs of slowing down. Cos it’s classic, a song that improves with age. At 52, the marvellous Roberta Flack lends her flawless vocal stylings to long-time friend and duet partner the then-recently-late Donny Hathaway. Both of them were great jazz-soul singers, and had won a grammy for the classy and melodic Where Is The Love in 1972, followed by many other awards for Roberta Flack for great solo singles. Donny wasn’t so lucky, suffering from paranoid schizophrenia and a troubled life, he eventually killed himself in 1979. His 1972 live album is critically rated as one of the best live albums of all-time on some lists, and his final 1973 album lyrically showed his troubled mind. Flack & Hathaway had been working together again, Back Together Again being one of the last songs they recorded before his death, and it was posthumously released to a poignant chart chart success. The circumstances around the recording made it a sad return.

At 53, B.A. Robertson can’t wait for his Kaftan to disappear before he’s back with some witty Shakespeare parody and punning, as the backdrop to an amusing love song. To Be Or Not To Be? Well, that is the question. The answer is B.A. was terrific. Squeeze are busy pulling mussels at 71 before an unavailable, obscure mega-OTT ballad UK-only single drops in at 73. You just can’t buy it unless you have a spare grand for a second-hand copy, and given Grace Slick is such a big, long-term rock-star from The 60’s Jefferson Airplane through 1980’s Jefferson Starship to 1985’s Starship, it’s a mystery to me why I can’t bloody download the show-stopping Dreams. It’s amazing, I want it on my ipod and I’m going to scream and scream until I get my way. Grace, can you please get your finger out, it’s fantastic and the album was a Grammy nominee for heavens sake!


1 ( 1 ) NO DOUBT ABOUT IT Hot Chocolate
2 ( 2 ) CRYING Don McLean
3 ( 3 ) MIRROR IN THE BATHROOM The Beat
4 ( 7 ) SHE’S OUT OF MY LIFE Michael Jackson
5 ( 6 ) BREATHING Kate Bush
6 ( 26 ) YOU WILL ALWAYS FIND ME IN THE iamspamspamamiAT PARTIES Jona Lewie
7 ( 4 ) GENO Dexy’s Midnight Runners
8 ( 37 ) WE ARE GLASS Gary Numan
9 ( 19 ) THEME FROM M*A*S*H The MASH
10 ( 20 ) YOU GAVE ME LOVE Crown Heights Affair

11 ( 11 ) LOST IN LOVE Air Supply
12 ( 5 ) COMING UP Paul McCartney
13 ( 13 ) JUST CAN’T GIVE YOU UP Mystic Merlin
14 ( 23 ) OVER YOU Roxy Music
15 ( 9 ) NIGHT BOAT TO CAIRO Madness
16 ( 8 ) CALL ME Blondie
17 ( 12 ) MONKEES EP (LAST TRAIN TO CLARKSVILLE/ I’M A BELIEVER/ A LITTLE BIT ME A LITTLE BIT YOU/ DAYDREAM BELIEVER) The Monkees
18 ( 24 ) TWILIGHT ZONE/TWILIGHT TONE Manhattan Transfer
19 ( 14 ) SILVER DREAM MACHINE David Essex
20 ( 15 ) I SHOULDA LOVED YA Narada Michael Walden

21 ( 10 ) THIS WORLD OF WATER New Musik
22 ( 39 ) LET’S GO ROUND AGAIN Average White Band
23 ( 28 ) POLICE AND THIEVES Junior Murvin
24 ( 25 ) BUCKET OF WATER SONG The Four Bucketeers
25 ( 16 ) HOLD ON TO MY LOVE Jimmy Ruffin
26 ( 18 ) FOOD FOR THOUGHT/ KING UB40
27 ( 72 ) THE EYES HAVE IT Karel Fialka
28 ( NEW ) RAT RACE The Specials
29 ( 21 ) DON’T MAKE WAVES The Nolans
30 ( 36 ) MIDNITE DYNAMOS Matchbox



31 ( NEW ) I’M ALIVE Electric Light Orchestra
32 ( 29 ) FOOL FOR YOUR LOVING Whitesnake
33 ( NEW ) LITTLE JEANNIE Elton John
34 ( NEW ) FUNKY TOWN Lipps Inc
35 ( 52 ) LET’S GET SERIOUS Jermaine Jackson
36 ( 17 ) A FOREST The Cure
37 ( 31 ) GOING UNDERGROUND The Jam
38 ( 51 ) MESSAGES Orchestral Manoevres In The Dark
39 ( 50 ) NO SELF CONTROL Peter Gabriel
40 ( 22 ) TOCCATA Sky

41 ( 27 ) MY PERFECT COUSIN The Undertones
42 ( 33 ) WHAT’S ANOTHER YEAR Johnny Logan
43 ( 47 ) SOLDIER’S SONG The Hollies
44 ( 42 ) ATOMIC Blondie
45 ( 40 ) KOOL IN THE KAFTAN B.A. Robertson
46 ( 38 ) TURN IT ON AGAIN Genesis
47 ( 35 ) MISSING WORDS The Selecter
48 ( NEW ) EVERYBODY’S GOT TO LEARN SOMETIME The Korgis
49 ( 70 ) PLATINUM BLONDE Prelude
50 ( 44 ) WORKING MY WAY BACK TO YOU The Detroit Spinners



51 ( 34 ) THE GROOVE Rodney Franklin
52 ( NEW ) BACK TOGETHER AGAIN Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway
53 ( NEW ) TO BE OR NOT TO BE B.A. Robertson
54 ( 62 ) BONANZASKA Carlos Malcolm
55 ( 43 ) TALK OF THE TOWN The Pretenders
56 ( 56 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.
57 ( 57 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty
58 ( 54 ) LONGER Dan Fogelberg
59 ( 49 ) NE-NE-NA-NA-NA-NA-NU-NU Bad Manners
60 ( 60 ) CONFUSION/ LAST TRAIN TO LONDON E.L.O.



61 ( 41 ) TAKE GOOD CARE OF MY BABY Smokie
62 ( 68 ) THE ROYAL MILE Gerry Rafferty
63 ( 53 ) STRANGE TOWN The Jam
64 ( 45 ) MY OH MY Sad Cafe
65 ( 65 ) WALKING ON THE MOON The Police
66 ( 66 ) I HAVE A DREAM Abba
67 ( 30 ) STARING AT THE RUDE BOYS The Ruts
68 ( 46 ) CHECK OUT THE GROOVE Bobby Thurston
69 ( 69 ) NIGHTS IN WHITE SATIN The Moody Blues
70 ( 58 ) MY WORLD Secret Affair

71 ( NEW ) PULLING MUSSELS FROM A SHELL Squeeze
72 ( NEW ) TEENAGE U.K. Subs
73 ( NEW ) DREAMS Grace Slick
74 ( 75 ) I HEAR YOU NOW Jon And Vangelis
75 ( 74 ) ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL (PART 2) Pink Floyd




TV May 17th - 23rd
1 The Mary Tyler Moore Show
2 Soap
3 Top Of The Pops
4 The Outer Limits
5 Taxi
6 Star Wars - John Williams
7 Olivia Newton-John
8 Life On Earth
9 The Banana Splits
10 Question Time


My College lectures were entering their final week, some happily, some very unhappily to be no-more. I had breakfast in the cafeteria with Campion who told me his troubles getting out of Rhodesia to study, and quite emotionally, as things weren’t easy for Black Rhodesians (Zimbabwe these days). He wanted to go to the USA to study and work, I hope he made it.

Some snooker games silliness, and I playfully poked Ian’s stuffed badger round Petes’ room door for a minor laugh. Less amusing were the Miami race riots on the news. I marked some schoolwork for Jane, which I enjoyed. Made a point of attending the Student Union Hustings votes. Voted for all candidates. Legally, I hasten to add, there weren’t many fighting for the posts! On TV the award-winning episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show: Chuckles The Clown dies. It’s hilarious, based around people’s reaction to the manner of Chuckles death - Chuckles dressed as a giant peanut, an elephant on the same parade tried to shell him. It’s funny trust me, as Mary finds none of the remarks in good taste at all, and then it builds up to the funeral! Youtube it. Ed Asner and Betty White are in it, too, what more do you need!

Posted by: popchartfreak 7th August 2015, 09:24 PM

3rd June 1980

Don McLean gets his first number one 8 years after he grabbed his first USA and UK number ones, with American Pie and Vincent respectively, both top 10’s here. The Roy Orbison cover left me Crying though, just so great I even preferred it to the Big O’s version, and Roy is virtually impossible to improve on. The Mash-up at 2 is a peak for them - I’ll be honest though, I prefer the TV instrumental version of the theme song. Air Supply rise to 4, Lost In Love and gorgeous melody it is too, as Mystic Merlin magic into the top 10, Manhattan Transfer get their final top 10 4 years on from Tuxedo Junction, from 40’s to dance and various other styles along the way. OMD get their debut top 10, up 29 places with the blissful Messages.

Lipps Inc, ELO, Elton John, Average White Band all join new entry Theme From Midnight Cowboy inside the 20. The John Barry instrumental movie theme from 1969 is only slightly older than the theme from MASH, but MUCH better. One of the most hauntingly pathos-inducing beautiful movie themes of all time. Love it love that harmonica. These are all testament to the power of Noel Edmunds on Radio One, he seemed able to generate enthusiasm for all sorts of oddities. Rocketing into the 40, Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway get their biggest hit together since Where Is The Love went top 3 in 1972, and the Korgis get a second gorgeous top 40 track. The Hollies get their first top 40 track in 6 years and a sweet 12 year span of them, and B.A.Robertson makes it 4 in a row.

In at 29, Paul McCartney is back with his 3rd solo record of the year, and it’s a sparse and synthy ballad, the lovely Waterfalls giving Macca some consistency in quality releases missing for at least 4 years. At 38, The Lambrettas get a swift return, d-a-a-ancing, as do The Detroit Spinners, If I’m reading the Body Language right at 45, while none-hit-wonder Robbie Dupree has the fab Steal Away at 47, another one of those American radio hits that really should have charted in the UK - if the UK wasn’t so busy with various hot new music movements. Others: Sister Sledge, Thin Lizzy, Liquid Gold and Genesis all pop in with lesser tracks.



1 ( 2 ) CRYING Don McLean
2 ( 9 ) THEME FROM M*A*S*H The MASH
3 ( 1 ) NO DOUBT ABOUT IT Hot Chocolate
4 ( 11 ) LOST IN LOVE Air Supply
5 ( 10 ) YOU GAVE ME LOVE Crown Heights Affair
6 ( 6 ) YOU WILL ALWAYS FIND ME IN THE KITSCH TON AT PARTIES Jona Lewie
7 ( 8 ) WE ARE GLASS Gary Numan
8 ( 13 ) JUST CAN’T GIVE YOU UP Mystic Merlin
9 ( 38 ) MESSAGES Orchestral Manoevres In The Dark
10 ( 18 ) TWILIGHT ZONE/TWILIGHT TONE Manhattan Transfer

11 ( 4 ) SHE’S OUT OF MY LIFE Michael Jackson
12 ( 34 ) FUNKY TOWN Lipps Inc
13 ( 3 ) MIRROR IN THE BATHROOM The Beat
14 ( 14 ) OVER YOU Roxy Music
15 ( 7 ) GENO Dexy’s Midnight Runners
16 ( 31 ) I’M ALIVE Electric Light Orchestra
17 ( 33 ) LITTLE JEANNIE Elton John
18 ( 22 ) LET’S GO ROUND AGAIN Average White Band
19 ( 5 ) BREATHING Kate Bush
20 ( NEW ) THEME FROM MIDNIGHT COWBOY Original Soundtrack (John Barry)



21 ( 52 ) BACK TOGETHER AGAIN Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway
22 ( 28 ) RAT RACE The Specials
23 ( 15 ) NIGHT BOAT TO CAIRO (WORK REST & PLAY EP) Madness
24 ( 17 ) MONKEES EP (LAST TRAIN TO CLARKSVILLE/ I’M A BELIEVER/ A LITTLE BIT ME A LITTLE BIT YOU/ DAYDREAM BELIEVER) The Monkees
25 ( 12 ) COMING UP Paul McCartney
26 ( 16 ) CALL ME Blondie
27 ( 48 ) EVERYBODY’S GOT TO LEARN SOMETIME The Korgis
28 ( 35 ) LET’S GET SERIOUS Jermaine Jackson
29 ( NEW ) WATERFALLS Paul McCartney
30 ( 30 ) MIDNITE DYNAMOS Matchbox



31 ( 19 ) SILVER DREAM MACHINE David Essex
32 ( 39 ) NO SELF CONTROL Peter Gabriel
33 ( 20 ) I SHOULDA LOVED YA Narada Michael Walden
34 ( 23 ) POLICE AND THIEVES Junior Murvin
35 ( 27 ) THE EYES HAVE IT Karel Fialka
36 ( 43 ) SOLDIER’S SONG The Hollies
37 ( 25 ) HOLD ON TO MY LOVE Jimmy Ruffin
38 ( NEW ) DA-A-ANCE The Lambrettas
39 ( 21 ) THIS WORLD OF WATER New Musik
40 ( 53 ) TO BE OR NOT TO BE B.A. Robertson

41 ( 49 ) PLATINUM BLONDE Prelude
42 ( 26 ) FOOD FOR THOUGHT/ KING UB40
43 ( 37 ) GOING UNDERGROUND The Jam
44 ( 29 ) DON’T MAKE WAVES The Nolans
45 ( NEW ) BODY LANGUAGE The Detroit Spinners
46 ( 32 ) FOOL FOR YOUR LOVING Whitesnake
47 ( NEW ) STEAL AWAY Robbie Dupree
48 ( 44 ) ATOMIC Blondie
49 ( 40 ) TOCCATA Sky
50 ( 42 ) WHAT’S ANOTHER YEAR Johnny Logan



51 ( 36 ) A FOREST The Cure
52 ( 24 ) BUCKET OF WATER SONG The Four Bucketeers
53 ( 50 ) WORKING MY WAY BACK TO YOU The Detroit Spinners
54 ( 54 ) BONANZASKA Carlos Malcolm
55 ( 45 ) KOOL IN THE KAFTAN B.A. Robertson
56 ( 46 ) TURN IT ON AGAIN Genesis
57 ( 57 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty
58 ( 56 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.
59 ( 62 ) THE ROYAL MILE Gerry Rafferty
60 ( NEW ) SUBSTITUTE Liquid Gold

61 ( 47 ) MISSING WORDS The Selecter
62 ( 58 ) LONGER Dan Fogelberg
63 ( 60 ) CONFUSION/ LAST TRAIN TO LONDON E.L.O.
64 ( 73 ) DREAMS Grace Slick
65 ( NEW ) CHINATOWN Thin Lizzy
66 ( 41 ) MY PERFECT COUSIN The Undertones
67 ( 65 ) WALKING ON THE MOON The Police
68 ( 66 ) I HAVE A DREAM Abba
69 ( 71 ) PULLING MUSSELS FROM A SHELL Squeeze
70 ( 69 ) NIGHTS IN WHITE SATIN The Moody Blues

71 ( 59 ) NE-NE-NA-NA-NA-NA-NU-NU Bad Manners
72 ( 51 ) THE GROOVE Rodney Franklin
73 ( 55 ) TALK OF THE TOWN The Pretenders
74 ( NEW ) DUCHESS Genesis
75 ( NEW ) REACH YOUR PEAK Sister Sledge


TV 24th-30th May 1 Little Big Man: film
2 Top Of The Pops
3 The Mary Tyler Moore Show
4 The Producers: film
5 The Outer Limits
6 The Phil Silvers Show
7 Mork And Mindy
8 Oliver: film
9 Dallas
10 Taxi


On TV lots of 50’s and 60’s black & white classics, Phil Silvers and The Outer Limits, and movies, like the good (but long-forgotten) Little Big Man, an ambitious dark western vehicle for Dustin Hoffman, on the side of the Native Americans, Mel Brooks classic comedy The Producers, and musical Oliver, songs very much a part of my childhood as we had an EP of 4 of them. A great edition of Top Of The Pops, and top new show is Mork And Mindy, the late Robin Williams astounding as an alien.

Back at College, I finished off 3 screen prints to lots of compliments from some 2nd year girls sharing the art room with me - “Sad! It might be my last screen print for a helluva long time” I commented to myself after finishing the last one. Too right, tragically, it’s been 35 years so far and counting, and I’d still like to do some more.Had dinner with Paul and Jane, and David, the young Audio-Visual department College employee, chatting about holidays. I liked him, regretted not talking more to him over the 3 years. Julie helped me pick the best 3 of the screen prints in the evening. Ian and Paul came round for chats.

Tutor Max helped me decide which works to use for my exhibition, revision for exams, and my prints were quite the hit with everyone (it was based on a Close Encounters scene which appealed to all the soon-to-be teachers). I din’t feel I could sell it as the base photo was Spielberg not me. I loved it too, though. Close Encounters of The Third Kind was an obsession of mine, visually stunning. First exam up: American Studies. Snooker for light relief afterwards. Kid Jensen’s final Top Of The Pops show was brill, I opined, lots of old 70’s fave acts on it just for me. Friday, went to the Usher Art Gallery with Max, and Emma, Anne & Maureen to look at the walls, and back again later with the works ready to display in the rather posh Art Gallery on a hillside overlooking much of Lincoln. Max then got me to weed out some of my work, which rather upset me, and just use one wall for what was left. Less is more, is the theory.

Kid Jensen was also doing his last Rosko’s Roundtable new singles review show, with Elton John and Frankie Valli. Quite the line-up! Arthur C. Clarke, another hero of mine, was interviewed on a Time Out Of Mind TV special Sunday.

Posted by: popchartfreak 10th August 2015, 07:26 PM

10th June 1980

2 weeks for Crying on top as OMD hit 3, and Lipps Inc go top 10 with the infuriatingly catchy Funkytown. Joining them the sublime John Barry movie theme, and Roxy Music’s pleasantly laid-back Over You, their 8th, or Bryan Ferry’s 13th, depending on how you look at it. The highest new entry at 36 is Joan Armatrading, telling us all about Me Myself I almost a decade ahead of De La Soul adding an “and” and a different song to the title. Joan’s first bonafide hit since Love And Affection in 1976, it’s almost got a Pilot feel to it (as in Magic or January), rather appropriately as her next and last hit would be Drop The Pilot in 1983.

Into the 40, Robbie Dupree, Liquid Gold and The Detroit Spinners, as Bernadette Peters exclaims 1950’s stylee Gee Whiz! I miss that lost phrase, and this cover of a 16-years-of-age Carla (daughter of Rufus) Thomas song from 1960 has so much doo-wop charm, I still play it, though the original is just as good, if not better. Bernadette is a big star of musical theatre, one of the biggest award-winning Broadway stars, but I knew her from TV and films, parts in Ray Bradbury’s TV miniseries The Martian Chronicles, The Muppet Show, Mel Brooks’ Silent Movie, Steve Martin’s The Jerk, and other quirky roles.

At 46, Siouxsie And The Banshees return with their 5th chart entry, the fabulous Christine, a dark uptempo fave of mine, and their best record to date. At 47 Darts are also back looking for the bullseye with another UK chart hit with the latest in a long run of bands releasing Four Seasons covers - this time Let’s Hang On. It’s not bad, but not as good as Frankie & the lads. Elkie Brooks returns for 3 years of largely minor hits, bar a couple of goodies, with Why Don’t You Say It, rock band Journey debut with Anyway You Want It at 62, as I remain oblivious to their future status as best-selling 80’s track in the UK in the 21st century, the million-selling Don’t Stop Believing, future anthem and obscure minor 80’s hit in the UK.

Pete Townsend is back with another solo entry, and still doesn’t challenge Roger Daltrey’s solo career with Let My Love Open The Door at 65, Bad Manners get a 2nd fun-time ska entry with Lip Up Fatty at 73, and two great dance tracks (or disco if you will), as Odyssey finally get a big follow-up to the fantastic Native New Yorker, Use It Up And Wear It Out entering at 70, and Teena Marie’s very good Behind The Groove drops in at 68. The big news though is Olivia Newton-John’s duet with ELO on the movie theme Xanadu. The movie bombed, despite Gene Kelly co-starring, but the theme was huge, being very frantic-orchestral ELO-sounding, and which very-much suited Livvie’s luvverly tones, a terrific pop record with a fantastic tune.


1 ( 1 ) CRYING Don McLean
2 ( 2 ) THEME FROM M*A*S*H The MASH
3 ( 9 ) MESSAGES Orchestral Manoevres In The Dark
4 ( 3 ) NO DOUBT ABOUT IT Hot Chocolate
5 ( 7 ) WE ARE GLASS Gary Numan
6 ( 12 ) FUNKY TOWN Lipps Inc
7 ( 10 ) TWILIGHT ZONE/TWILIGHT TONE Manhattan Transfer
8 ( 14 ) OVER YOU Roxy Music
9 ( 20 ) THEME FROM MIDNIGHT COWBOY Original Soundtrack (John Barry)
10 ( 5 ) YOU GAVE ME LOVE Crown Heights Affair

11 ( 6 ) YOU WILL ALWAYS FIND ME IN THE iamspamspamamiAT PARTIES Jona Lewie
12 ( 16 ) I’M ALIVE Electric Light Orchestra
13 ( 4 ) LOST IN LOVE Air Supply
14 ( 21 ) BACK TOGETHER AGAIN Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway
15 ( 17 ) LITTLE JEANNIE Elton John
16 ( 11 ) SHE’S OUT OF MY LIFE Michael Jackson
17 ( 8 ) JUST CAN’T GIVE YOU UP Mystic Merlin
18 ( 28 ) LET’S GET SERIOUS Jermaine Jackson
19 ( 13 ) MIRROR IN THE BATHROOM The Beat
20 ( 18 ) LET’S GO ROUND AGAIN Average White Band

21 ( 15 ) GENO Dexy’s Midnight Runners
22 ( 22 ) RAT RACE The Specials
23 ( 27 ) EVERYBODY’S GOT TO LEARN SOMETIME The Korgis
24 ( 30 ) MIDNITE DYNAMOS Matchbox
25 ( 38 ) DA-A-ANCE The Lambrettas
26 ( 32 ) NO SELF CONTROL Peter Gabriel
27 ( 24 ) MONKEES EP (LAST TRAIN TO CLARKSVILLE/ I’M A BELIEVER/ A LITTLE BIT ME A LITTLE BIT YOU/ DAYDREAM BELIEVER) The Monkees
28 ( 29 ) WATERFALLS Paul McCartney
29 ( 23 ) NIGHT BOAT TO CAIRO (WORK REST & PLAY EP) Madness
30 ( 47 ) STEAL AWAY Robbie Dupree



31 ( 60 ) SUBSTITUTE Liquid Gold
32 ( 25 ) COMING UP Paul McCartney
33 ( 36 ) SOLDIER’S SONG The Hollies
34 ( 26 ) CALL ME Blondie
35 ( NEW ) ME MYSELF I Joan Armatrading
36 ( 34 ) POLICE AND THIEVES Junior Murvin
37 ( 19 ) BREATHING Kate Bush
38 ( 45 ) BODY LANGUAGE The Detroit Spinners
39 ( NEW ) GEE WHIZ Bernadette Peters
40 ( 40 ) TO BE OR NOT TO BE B.A. Robertson



41 ( 33 ) I SHOULDA LOVED YA Narada Michael Walden
42 ( 65 ) CHINATOWN Thin Lizzy
43 ( 31 ) SILVER DREAM MACHINE David Essex
44 ( 37 ) HOLD ON TO MY LOVE Jimmy Ruffin
45 ( 35 ) THE EYES HAVE IT Karel Fialka
46 ( NEW ) CHRISTINE Siouxsie And The Banshees
47 ( NEW ) LET’S HANG ON Darts
48 ( 42 ) FOOD FOR THOUGHT/ KING UB40
49 ( 43 ) GOING UNDERGROUND The Jam
50 ( 59 ) THE ROYAL MILE Gerry Rafferty



51 ( 39 ) THIS WORLD OF WATER New Musik
52 ( 48 ) ATOMIC Blondie
53 ( NEW ) WHY DON’T YOU SAY IT Elkie Brooks
54 ( NEW ) BIGGEST PART OF ME Ambrosia
55 ( 75 ) REACH YOUR PEAK Sister Sledge
56 ( NEW ) THE SCRATCH Surface Noise
57 ( 58 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.
58 ( 57 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty
59 ( 53 ) WORKING MY WAY BACK TO YOU The Detroit Spinners
60 ( NEW ) XANADU Olivia Newton-John & The Electric Light Orchestra

61 ( 46 ) FOOL FOR YOUR LOVING Whitesnake
62 ( NEW ) ANYWAY YOU WANT IT Journey
63 ( 62 ) LONGER Dan Fogelberg
64 ( 63 ) CONFUSION/ LAST TRAIN TO LONDON E.L.O.
65 ( NEW ) LET MY LOVE OPEN THE DOOR Pete Townsend
66 ( 56 ) TURN IT ON AGAIN Genesis
67 ( 55 ) KOOL IN THE KAFTAN B.A. Robertson
68 ( NEW ) BEHIND THE GROOVE Teena Marie
69 ( 50 ) WHAT’S ANOTHER YEAR Johnny Logan
70 ( NEW ) USE IT UP AND WEAR IT OUT Odyssey

71 ( 67 ) WALKING ON THE MOON The Police
72 ( 68 ) I HAVE A DREAM Abba
73 ( NEW ) LIP UP FATTY Bad Manners
74 ( 70 ) NIGHTS IN WHITE SATIN The Moody Blues
75 ( NEW ) BREAKING THE LAW Judas Priest



31st May-6th Jun
1 The Outer Limits
2 Reputations
3 Barney Miller
4 Broken Lance
5 Time Out Of Mind
6 Legend Of The Golden Gun
7 Hawaii 5-0
8 Barney Miller
9 Mork And Mindy
10 The Waltons


At College I was carrying two heavy glass and chip-board mounted large-sized screen-prints of mine to the Usher Art Gallery, a la all those comedy movies of two men carrying a plate of glass across a busy road, only on my own. My arms and hands suffered for my Art. Got my poetry exam question essay back: “Fine”. Pete slagged off my Don McLean obsession in fun, as I played the 45, so I slagged off his Eagles and Bob Seger which he played loudly in the evening to get me back (our rooms were adjacent). Hah! Snooker in the evening with the gang. Tennis, revision, chatting, hot weather, and a TV profile on Robert Kennedy, Reputations.

My final American Studies lecture ever was a combined 3-tutors mock exams results extravaganza. I got an A for geography, and mused I will miss their lectures (and I do). I got told one of my art pieces had fallen off the wall in the Usher Art Gallery overnight and set off the alarms! I rushed down in the heat of the day to find it wasn’t my work at all! I stuck more nails in mine anyway to be sure. Paul popped in with the fab news we were going to Knebworth Festival with Ian too, if he could get the tickets (he did!), yay! Mum & dad popped in on their way to Skeggy, Roundtable had Bev Bevan, DLT, Trevor Horn and Paul Gambaccini, then I left for the Usher open evening, chatting to some mature students, my Close Encounters piece really was the hit all round really. Pity it wasn’t mine in my eyes....

Posted by: popchartfreak 12th August 2015, 03:55 PM

17th June 1980

OMD, as they became known, get their first chart-topper as the fabulous Messages becomes the first EDM chart-topper since Donna Summer’s 1977 I Feel Love, and 8 years since Hot Butter’s Popcorn was the first. From here-on, though, they came thick and fast. John Barry outdoes his previous Top 5 theme tune from The Persuaders, though as writer/producer The Theme From Midnight Cowboy remains just behind another Donna Summer hit, the theme to The Deep, Down Deep Inside which peaked at 2, also in 1977. The highest new entry is also the highest old entry, as The Police, who were sizzling hot, decide to release an album track as a single, Bed’s Too Big Without You, revamped, more uptempo and extremely annoyingly only available by buying 5 Police singles I already had bought. As this was extortion by any other name, I started my policy of not buying any product I had already bought, and which these days applies to “deluxe” editions of albums designed to make you buy it twice. The record industry remains myopic when looking at the bigger picture of artist longevity, preferring always a quick buck. Hey ho, the single could have been a big hit instead of middling, but as the only track I charted it’s in at 7.

Roberta & Donny get a second top 10 single 8 years after the first, and Roberta rather shockingly only her 3rd in total, while The Korgis doggedly get their 2nd top 20, and The ratty Specials their 4th. Siouxsie & Co leap Christine into the 40, and Rod Stewart enters at 40 with a very long statement that didn’t quite catch on as much his previously long-titled double A Side cover in 1977. Hey ho, it’s a 1972 Luther Ingram song, and as usual I don’t go a bundle on his cover versions, though amiable enough. At 44, Queen are playing the game, or as I reflected at the time, safely hedging their bets with a fairly standard single. New at 59, New Zealander Shona Laing gets an entry with obscure decent track Don’t Tell Me, shortly before getting on the road with Manfred Mann’s Earthband, as Elvis Costello continues his run of chart entries (now at 3 years) with one of his most melodic, New Amsterdam being rather unappreciated - I’m guessing a bit more venom was expected, and the gorgeousness of the tune passed most fans by. At 71, Denny Laine gets a solo entry with Japanese Tears - a decade after I first noticed him as a solo act, with the lovely Say You Don’t Mind, later covered as a 1972 classy chart-topper for me in 1972 by Colin Blunstone, another 60’s band veteran. Denny, of course, had hit the top several times with Macca in Wings. At 73, and lastly, UB40 get that follow-up entry, My Way Of Thinking.



1 ( 3 ) MESSAGES Orchestral Manoevres In The Dark
2 ( 1 ) CRYING Don McLean
3 ( 9 ) THEME FROM MIDNIGHT COWBOY Original Soundtrack (John Barry)
4 ( 2 ) THEME FROM M*A*S*H The MASH
5 ( 5 ) WE ARE GLASS Gary Numan
6 ( 4 ) NO DOUBT ABOUT IT Hot Chocolate
7 ( NEW ) BED’S TOO BIG WITHOUT YOU (6 PACK) The Police
8 ( 6 ) FUNKY TOWN Lipps Inc
9 ( 14 ) BACK TOGETHER AGAIN Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway
10 ( 7 ) TWILIGHT ZONE/TWILIGHT TONE Manhattan Transfer



11 ( 8 ) OVER YOU Roxy Music
12 ( 12 ) I’M ALIVE Electric Light Orchestra
13 ( 10 ) YOU GAVE ME LOVE Crown Heights Affair
14 ( 15 ) LITTLE JEANNIE Elton John
15 ( 18 ) LET’S GET SERIOUS Jermaine Jackson
16 ( 11 ) YOU WILL ALWAYS FIND ME IN THE iamspamspamamiAT PARTIES Jona Lewie
17 ( 23 ) EVERYBODY’S GOT TO LEARN SOMETIME The Korgis
18 ( 13 ) LOST IN LOVE Air Supply
19 ( 22 ) RAT RACE The Specials
20 ( 16 ) SHE’S OUT OF MY LIFE Michael Jackson

21 ( 28 ) WATERFALLS Paul McCartney
22 ( 25 ) DA-A-ANCE The Lambrettas
23 ( 17 ) JUST CAN’T GIVE YOU UP Mystic Merlin
24 ( 24 ) MIDNITE DYNAMOS Matchbox
25 ( 46 ) CHRISTINE Siouxsie And The Banshees
26 ( 30 ) STEAL AWAY Robbie Dupree
27 ( 21 ) GENO Dexy’s Midnight Runners
28 ( 35 ) ME MYSELF I Joan Armatrading
29 ( 31 ) SUBSTITUTE Liquid Gold
30 ( 19 ) MIRROR IN THE BATHROOM The Beat

31 ( 20 ) LET’S GO ROUND AGAIN Average White Band
32 ( 33 ) SOLDIER’S SONG The Hollies
33 ( 27 ) MONKEES EP (LAST TRAIN TO CLARKSVILLE/ I’M A BELIEVER/ A LITTLE BIT ME A LITTLE BIT YOU/ DAYDREAM BELIEVER) The Monkees
34 ( 29 ) NIGHT BOAT TO CAIRO (WORK REST & PLAY EP) Madness
35 ( 40 ) TO BE OR NOT TO BE B.A. Robertson
36 ( 26 ) NO SELF CONTROL Peter Gabriel
37 ( 42 ) CHINATOWN Thin Lizzy
38 ( 68 ) BEHIND THE GROOVE Teena Marie
39 ( 39 ) GEE WHIZ Bernadette Peters
40 ( NEW ) IF LOVING YOU IS WRONG (I DON’T WANT TO BE RIGHT) Rod Stewart



41 ( 34 ) CALL ME Blondie
42 ( 54 ) BIGGEST PART OF ME Ambrosia
43 ( 32 ) COMING UP Paul McCartney
44 ( NEW ) PLAY THE GAME Queen
45 ( 65 ) LET MY LOVE OPEN THE DOOR Pete Townsend
46 ( 37 ) BREATHING Kate Bush
47 ( 62 ) ANYWAY YOU WANT IT Journey
48 ( 56 ) THE SCRATCH Surface Noise
49 ( 38 ) BODY LANGUAGE The Detroit Spinners
50 ( 36 ) POLICE AND THIEVES Junior Murvin

51 ( 43 ) SILVER DREAM MACHINE David Essex
52 ( 60 ) XANADU Olivia Newton-John & The Electric Light Orchestra
53 ( 53 ) WHY DON’T YOU SAY IT Elkie Brooks
54 ( 49 ) GOING UNDERGROUND The Jam
55 ( 55 ) REACH YOUR PEAK Sister Sledge
56 ( 52 ) ATOMIC Blondie
57 ( 48 ) FOOD FOR THOUGHT/ KING UB40
58 ( 47 ) LET’S HANG ON Darts
59 ( NEW ) DON’T TELL ME Shona Laing
60 ( 41 ) I SHOULDA LOVED YA Narada Michael Walden

61 ( 57 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.
62 ( 58 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty
63 ( 75 ) BREAKING THE LAW Judas Priest
64 ( 73 ) LIP UP FATTY Bad Manners
65 ( 64 ) CONFUSION/ LAST TRAIN TO LONDON E.L.O.
66 ( 63 ) LONGER Dan Fogelberg
67 ( 50 ) THE ROYAL MILE Gerry Rafferty
68 ( NEW ) NEW AMSTERDAM Elvis Costello
69 ( 51 ) THIS WORLD OF WATER New Musik
70 ( 44 ) HOLD ON TO MY LOVE Jimmy Ruffin



71 ( NEW ) JAPANESE TEARS Denny Laine
72 ( 59 ) WORKING MY WAY BACK TO YOU The Detroit Spinners
73 ( NEW ) MY WAY OF THINKING UB40
74 ( 74 ) NIGHTS IN WHITE SATIN The Moody Blues
75 ( 72 ) I HAVE A DREAM Abba



TV 7th -13th June
1 The Outer Limits
2 It’ll Be Alright On The Night 2
3 The Life And Times Of Judge Roy Bean: film
4 The Phil Silvers Show
5 The Likely Lads
6 Barney Miller
7 ChiPs
8 At The Mill
9 Tomorrow’s World
10 The Banana Splits


In between revising for exams I watched a film from 1972 I’d gone to see at the cinema with then-mate Andrew, The Life And Times Of Judge Roy Bean, a Paul Newman western Directed by John Huston, and with a dozen movie and TV stars in it. It was OK, but I don’t think I’ve seen it since, sadly, as I’d be curious to see young Victoria Principal, long-gone Roddy McDowell (always great) and a host of others again. Tuesday was exam day, cruelly cut-off mid-flow in the middle of an answer 2 minutes earlier than expected. Pah! I played table tennis with Bev and Pete afterwards as stress relief. Thursday another exam, one of the papers a swine, and got out to find mum and dad waiting with a new T shirt for me, on their way back home from Skeggy. Rest of the day I confidently avoided revising, fed up with it, and sure I already knew what I needed to know. The one area I didn’t prepare for much was the Art examiners, assuming it was just a formal discussion.

My last exam (for a few years at any rate) was on friday, and I found it hard to concentrate, annoyingly. Then in the afternoon was my interview with the external Nottingham University examiners at the Usher Art gallery. I went in smiling friendly-like. “What are you smiling for?” the younger “Art” turd demanded. That was the highlight of the grilling, it pretty much went downhill after that as I got crucified by the 2 examiners as they aggressively attacked all my work which left me stuttering and breathless, unable to defend myself of any of my work. I consoled myself outside with art student Anne who had also had a grilling, then moaned to my tutors about their attitude. My various friends helped to try and cheer me up in the evening. In fairness to them, some of my artwork (which I still have) wasn’t great, but in fairness to me Art “Experts” are conceited arrogant pretentious pricks trying to justify an opinion as if it’s an absolute. I should have got angry about it and ignored everything they said. The reality was I was so devastated by it I gave up totally anything to do with art, creativity, photography, screen printing, drawing for decades, not wanting to have anything to do with people like that and the bullying Art mafia, as I saw them. Pity, as I could do with meeting up with them now, I’m more than capable of saying what I think to anyone I see holding those sorts of attitudes towards other people and sod the consequences. At the weekend mum and dad came to see my artwork at the gallery, as I bumped in to Anne on her way in to officially complain about the external examiners. I should have done that....

Posted by: popchartfreak 12th August 2015, 08:28 PM

24th June 1980

2 weeks at 1 for OMD, as Roberta and Donny hit 3 equalling Where Is The Love in 1972. The Police get a 6th top 5 with the Bed’s Too Big, or 6-pack all in one go, whatever. ELO get 2 big leaps into the top 10 from Xanadu, I’m Alive at 6 and the infinitely better title track at 9. At this stage I was such an ELO fan that they could fart into a spaceship and I would like it - not that I’m Alive is that bad, but it’s their weakest single since, well, the last time they failed to make my top 10 in 1974: Daybreaker, and in retrospect the least-good single they did in their career up to this point. Xanadu was one of their best. Banging up to 7, Christine gives The Banshees their second top 10, and first in 2 years since debut Hong Kong Garden, Paul McCartney makes it two out 2 as he gets his 16th top 10 hit since the Fabs split-up, not to mention as many again and more inside The Beatles. Elton John also takes Little Jeannie into the 10 for a pleasantly sweet 14th top tenner.

Highest new entry at 23 is the funny and punkily odd Two Packets Of Lager, which definitely rang a bell - Time gentleman please! - with anyone waiting in vain to get served in a busy pub before it closed at 11. Yes in those days it was unheard of to stay open late! Splodgenessabounds is one of the great band names, to boot. The Stranglers pose a philosophical question at 26 - to which the answer seems to be “every ruthless twat on the planet” - as Elvis Costello rockets up to New Amsterdam inside the 40, as Darts fly up to 34 and UB40 think about it at 38. young Stacey Lattisaw proves that disco is not only not dead, it’s still pretty good, and Jumps To The Beat new in at 32.

The Beach Boys are Trying To Keep The Summer Alive, with a new album and tour headlining Knebworth - which was any day now for me. In at 39, flattered a bit as a consequence, as The Sex Pistols fizzle out with a reasonable cover of a Monkees B Side (Itself a cover of their main early songwriters Boyce & Hart’s song as recorded by Paul Revere And The Raiders). The Monkees version is pure 60‘s garage rock and spits venom and passion. For all the critical rubbish written about both bands, The Monkees is the perfect punk version and the The Sex Pistols version was merely a kitsch cash-in. So I’m posting the classic version....




Elsewhere, US band Spider pop in with the good New Romance, Odyssey re-enter with the future UK chart-topper Use It Up Wear It Out, still sounds good, let’s be honest, Donna Summer’s more laid-back Sunset People glides in at 66, and 2 nu-metal bands are back, one I don’t rate at all (it is Iron Maiden after all), and the other is pretty damn good (Saxon’s 747). I know metal fans seem to be under the delusion it’s the other way round, but hey Saxon rocks at 71. Phil Lynnot is back solo again for the 3rd time, and he doesn’t even have the decency to wait for Thin Lizzy to drop out of the 40 as his tribute to Elvis Presley pops in at 75, and finally it’s an oddly low new entry for a Bob Marley classic, as he notches up the reggae beats to Could You Be Loved, one of his best records, in at 73. Within months he’d be dead from cancer, refusing early treatment, and all I can wonder is how many great records we’ve lost from his far-too-early death.


1 ( 1 ) MESSAGES Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
2 ( 2 ) CRYING Don McLean
3 ( 9 ) BACK TOGETHER AGAIN Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway
4 ( 7 ) BED’S TOO BIG WITHOUT YOU (6 PACK) The Police
5 ( 4 ) THEME FROM M*A*S*H The MASH
6 ( 12 ) I’M ALIVE Electric Light Orchestra
7 ( 25 ) CHRISTINE Siouxsie And The Banshees
8 ( 21 ) WATERFALLS Paul McCartney
9 ( 52 ) XANADU Olivia Newton-John & The Electric Light Orchestra
10 ( 14 ) LITTLE JEANNIE Elton John



11 ( 5 ) WE ARE GLASS Gary Numan
12 ( 6 ) NO DOUBT ABOUT IT Hot Chocolate
13 ( 15 ) LET’S GET SERIOUS Jermaine Jackson
14 ( 17 ) EVERYBODY’S GOT TO LEARN SOMETIME The Korgis
15 ( 3 ) THEME FROM MIDNIGHT COWBOY Original Soundtrack (John Barry)
16 ( 13 ) YOU GAVE ME LOVE Crown Heights Affair
17 ( 22 ) DA-A-ANCE The Lambrettas
18 ( 10 ) TWILIGHT ZONE/TWILIGHT TONE Manhattan Transfer
19 ( 26 ) STEAL AWAY Robbie Dupree
20 ( 28 ) ME MYSELF I Joan Armatrading

21 ( 38 ) BEHIND THE GROOVE Teena Marie
22 ( 44 ) PLAY THE GAME Queen
23 ( NEW ) TWO PINTS OF LAGER AND A PACKET OF CRISPS Splodgenessabounds
24 ( 8 ) FUNKY TOWN Lipps Inc
25 ( 11 ) OVER YOU Roxy Music
26 ( NEW ) WHO WANTS THE WORLD The Stranglers
27 ( 68 ) NEW AMSTERDAM Elvis Costello
28 ( 24 ) MIDNITE DYNAMOS Matchbox
29 ( 35 ) TO BE OR NOT TO BE B.A. Robertson
30 ( 32 ) SOLDIER’S SONG The Hollies

31 ( 20 ) SHE’S OUT OF MY LIFE Michael Jackson
32 ( NEW ) JUMP TO THE BEAT Stacey Lattisaw
33 ( 16 ) YOU WILL ALWAYS FIND ME IN THE iamspamspamamiAT PARTIES Jona Lewie
34 ( 58 ) LET’S HANG ON Darts
35 ( 37 ) CHINATOWN Thin Lizzy
36 ( 45 ) LET MY LOVE OPEN THE DOOR Pete Townsend
37 ( 27 ) GENO Dexy’s Midnight Runners
38 ( 73 ) MY WAY OF THINKING UB40
39 ( NEW ) TRYING TO KEEP THE SUMMER ALIVE The Beach Boys
40 ( 42 ) BIGGEST PART OF ME Ambrosia



41 ( 48 ) THE SCRATCH Surface Noise
42 ( 33 ) MONKEES EP (LAST TRAIN TO CLARKSVILLE/ I’M A BELIEVER/ A LITTLE BIT ME A LITTLE BIT YOU/ DAYDREAM BELIEVER) The Monkees
43 ( 23 ) JUST CAN’T GIVE YOU UP Mystic Merlin
44 ( 18 ) LOST IN LOVE Air Supply
45 ( 19 ) RAT RACE The Specials
46 ( 34 ) NIGHT BOAT TO CAIRO (WORK REST & PLAY EP) Madness
47 ( NEW ) I’M NOT YOUR STEPPING STONE The Sex Pistols
48 ( 40 ) IF LOVING YOU IS WRONG (I DON’T WANT TO BE RIGHT) Rod Stewart
49 ( 30 ) MIRROR IN THE BATHROOM The Beat
50 ( 53 ) WHY DON’T YOU SAY IT Elkie Brooks

51 ( 43 ) COMING UP Paul McCartney
52 ( 29 ) SUBSTITUTE Liquid Gold
53 ( 41 ) CALL ME Blondie
54 ( 59 ) DON’T TELL ME Shona Laing
55 ( NEW ) NEW ROMANCE (IT’S A MYSTERY) Spider
56 ( 64 ) LIP UP FATTY Bad Manners
57 ( 31 ) LET’S GO ROUND AGAIN Average White Band
58 ( 54 ) GOING UNDERGROUND The Jam
59 ( 63 ) BREAKING THE LAW Judas Priest
60 ( 36 ) NO SELF CONTROL Peter Gabriel

61 ( 61 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.
62 ( 62 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty
63 ( 47 ) ANYWAY YOU WANT IT Journey
64 ( RE ) USE IT UP AND WEAR IT OUT Odyssey
65 ( 56 ) ATOMIC Blondie
66 ( NEW ) SUNSET PEOPLE Donna Summer
67 ( 67 ) THE ROYAL MILE Gerry Rafferty
68 ( 39 ) GEE WHIZ Bernadette Peters
69 ( NEW ) WRITTEN ON YOUR BODY Ronnie Bond
70 ( 51 ) SILVER DREAM MACHINE David Essex



71 ( NEW ) 747 (STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT) Saxon
72 ( 65 ) CONFUSION/ LAST TRAIN TO LONDON E.L.O.
73 ( NEW ) COULD YOU BE LOVED Bob Marley And The Wailers
74 ( NEW ) SANCTUARY Iron Maiden
75 ( NEW ) THE KING’S CALL Phil Lynott





TV 14th-20th June
1 Planet Of The Apes: film
2 Wonder Woman
3 The Outer Limits
4 The Phil Silvers Show
5 Taxi
6 Q9
7 The Banana Splits
8 The Waltons
9 Happy days
10 Knotts Landing


On TV, 60’s classic movie Planet Of The Apes and a Wonder Woman TV movie with alien bodysnatchers (fab cheese!). I psycho-analysed why whenever I see mum and dad (they popped in again) I got depressed - it was talk of the future and my total lack of preparedness for the onrushing end of College life. Tickets for Knebworth arrived, hooray! College Hustings meant voting for student body reps for the next year, so we listened and voted, and a fun evening with friends as Jane prepared a lesson on Islam for the kids, based on her artwork after we’d been to Tunisia.

I met up with tutor Max for an indication of my degree results. I was not surprised to hear it was going to be a division 2 (average) as my best work in Art was graded 2:2 but a lot was rated less than that. As I’d never been what you call a hard-worker I couldn’t really complain. One of our friends borrowed Sue’s bike (unbeknownst to Sue) to go to the Lincolnshire Show, they shall remain nameless but I did say “it’ll get nicked!”, and bumped into her later bursting into tears cos it had been nicked. Confession is good for the soul fortunately, and it was forthcoming to Sue who took the news rather well I thought.

Posted by: popchartfreak 12th August 2015, 08:29 PM

Saturday 21st June 1980: Knebworth Festival

Paul drove Ian and I to Stevenage, and a stop-off at a Little Chef for Paul to clean-up after his packet of sauce burst in his pocket (Ick!). Knebworth was BIG, lots of stalls, lots of current and recent music playing over speakers, and a mass of people were already there when we arrived. I didn’t like our early positions near the back of the crowd (sat down) so went scouting for photo positions and nearer spots. Found one! THE BLUES BAND (Manfred Mann’s Paul Jones) were on first, and the sound was better here (even if the view was a bit restricted). they were pretty good, actually even though I’d not rated what I’d heard from them before. The next up were LINDISFARNE, Paul’s faves, and the crowd crowded more towards the front. I got to recognise many in the crowd from my frequent trots to take photos: “weird woman in shorts and top” “topless hippie in shorts” “guy with swinging beer container” and so on. Lindisfarne went down well, fairly lively with greats Lady Eleanore, Meet Me On The Corner, Fog On The Tyne and Run For Home.

SANTANA were up next: Santana’s very laid-back groove got a couple of hippies in front of us dancing and grooving to it, as other stoned-hippies wandered about glassy-eyed. The day was getting hot and sunny. She’s Not There, Samba Pa Ti were good but largely it was fairly unexciting to me (and it would be another 20 years before I became converted) - the World War II yankee bomber displaying overhead to the Jackson 5’s Skywriter impressed me more. ELKIE BROOKS BAND up next, very much in a rock-chick blues stylee was a powerful singer, but did none of her singles disappointingly. Paul reported the toilet facilities were holes in the ground with planks to stand on, which didn’t impress me at all as my shy bladder would be in crisis. By the time I got home at 2 in the morning I was in agony and unable to pee, despite a roadside toilet stop on the way. Ouch!

MIKE OLDFIELD was next, a bit more laid back, and a pissed bloke with Rod Stewart hair-do tried to pee during the set without bothering to go to the toilets. Couldn’t blame him, but it was amusing to us. Guilty and Tubular Bells were up, we moved forward, very good sound and set, and a good view of the stage - which took ages to set up as it started to rain for the full British festival experience. Oldfield was “brilliant, best of the day, with Lindisfarne” and finished with Portsmouth and Blue Peter. As darkness drew in we decided to move forward for a great view of the headliners, and a long list of “hand-related records” to go with the blow-up hand bobbing about on stage, such as Angel Fingers (Wizzard). Dry-ice, lights, cameras (It was filmed) and...action!

THE BEACH BOYS were brilliant, and they even had Brian Wilson on stage with them, it was the classic line-up all together plus regular Beach-Boy friend Bruce Johnstone for a whole non-stop run of famous songs (plus a couple of new ones). “Classic, excellent, magic” and other superlatives dropped out of my mouth, as my jaw dropped to greats, and that was after a medley of tracks such as California Girls/Darlin’/Do It Again/Heroes And Villains - so many hits they can spare a few thrown away together. Lady Lynda, their big comeback hit, was done twice, before the non-stop dancing of Help Me Rhonda, Surfin USA, I Get Around and others which got the crowd going, and got me going. The encore, though, Good Vibrations, Barbara Ann and Fun Fun Fun were climactic, rather suitably. I’ve seen the video of the concert since, and it doesn’t capture the feeling of being there properly - Live concert experiences are never the same on TV, it’s so difficult to capture the mood and noise and feeling of being in the crowd. The sound isn’t explosive, and you’re not moving about living it. This was the concert that persuaded me going to concerts was well worth it. The finale was a big fireworks show, followed by a lesson in crowd-control: it’s useful to have some. Basically, the whole crowd tried to exit through one narrow entrance, you were swept along whether you like it or not, and it was getting to seriously piss me off as everyone squeezed in on me more and more. “Beam me up Scotty!” shouted one wag, which was amusing, but I could see how easily crowds can get ugly and unmanageable and decided to avoid getting inside one that big again without proper controlled exits and entrances. I was pissed off at the dumb-ass organisers.

Posted by: popchartfreak 1st October 2015, 06:40 PM

1st July 1980

3 weeks on top for OMD, as ELO and ONJ knock on their initialed door at 2. Not to mention PJM at 3. Macca’s 2nd of the year to go top 3, while ELO and Livvie repeat what they did in 1979, and 1978, and ELO did in 1977, 1976, 1973 and 1972 (going top 3). Splodgeness abound into the top 10 (arf!) with two pints of lager, with the Korgis snapping at their heels cos, you know, everybody’s gotta learn sometime, and a second magnificent top 10 for the lads.

Stacey Lattisaw jumps to the top 20 beat from 32, Teena Marie a little behind the groove at 18, and Queen scrape into the top 20 yet again as they continue to fall short of the 10 for 18 months-worth of singles, a far cry from 3 chart-toppers out of 4 in 1974/5. The Sex Pistols and Darts both climb with inferior covers, as Odyssey finally get cracking and Use It Up into the top 30, without wearing it out, and Saxon fly up to 28 in a 747 (feel free to groan at these links) as a bit of pop Nu-Metal agrees with me nicely. We were strangers in the night, but not anything to do with Frank Sinatra’s slightly better song. In at 38, The Blues Band take old song Diddy Wah Diddy into the 40 (not to be confused with Paul Jones Manfred Mann Do Wah Diddy Diddy, which is a better record, but fresh off Paul Jones’ Knebworth gig wot I saw), and Tavares return after a gap with I Don’t Want You Anymore for a 4th year of hits.

Daryl Hall & John Oates return running from paradise, and their first entry for 3 years, and 4 years on from the gorgeous She’s Gone. The soon-to-be solo Japanese musician Ryuichi Sakamoto debuts as the Yellow Magic Orchestra with a space invaders synth instrumental theme, which was quite catchy, but not one I’ve managed to buy yet, and proving beyond doubt that having a hit record is no guarantee you’ll be able to buy it or stream it decades down the line. New Musik are back with a 4th gem synthpop single, looking for Sanctuary at 53, Carlene Carter covers her dad’s Ring Of Fire at 55, Rupert Holmes extends his run of singles at 66 and The Detroit Spinners do the same at 68 as they cover Sam Cooke’s Cupid, and follow in Johnny Nash’s 1969 shoes in charting it. Janis Ian gets a 3rd chart entry flying too high, as per her previous entry, so much so that she reaches the other side of the sun, and very nice too, though not as memorable as 1975’s heart-breaking At Seventeen.


1 ( 1 ) MESSAGES Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
2 ( 9 ) XANADU Olivia Newton-John & The Electric Light Orchestra
3 ( 8 ) WATERFALLS Paul McCartney
4 ( 2 ) CRYING Don McLean
5 ( 3 ) BACK TOGETHER AGAIN Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway
6 ( 7 ) CHRISTINE Siouxsie And The Banshees
7 ( 4 ) BED’S TOO BIG WITHOUT YOU (6 PACK) The Police
8 ( 23 ) TWO PINTS OF LAGER AND A PACKET OF CRISPS Splodgenessabounds
9 ( 14 ) EVERYBODY’S GOT TO LEARN SOMETIME The Korgis
10 ( 5 ) THEME FROM M*A*S*H The MASH



11 ( 6 ) I’M ALIVE Electric Light Orchestra
12 ( 19 ) STEAL AWAY Robbie Dupree
13 ( 20 ) ME MYSELF I Joan Armatrading
14 ( 32 ) JUMP TO THE BEAT Stacey Lattisaw
15 ( 11 ) WE ARE GLASS Gary Numan
16 ( 12 ) NO DOUBT ABOUT IT Hot Chocolate
17 ( 16 ) YOU GAVE ME LOVE Crown Heights Affair
18 ( 21 ) BEHIND THE GROOVE Teena Marie
19 ( 22 ) PLAY THE GAME Queen
20 ( 17 ) DA-A-ANCE The Lambrettas

21 ( 13 ) LET’S GET SERIOUS Jermaine Jackson
22 ( 27 ) NEW AMSTERDAM Elvis Costello
23 ( 10 ) LITTLE JEANNIE Elton John
24 ( 24 ) FUNKY TOWN Lipps Inc
25 ( 34 ) LET’S HANG ON Darts
26 ( 47 ) I’M NOT YOUR STEPPING STONE The Sex Pistols
27 ( 64 ) USE IT UP AND WEAR IT OUT Odyssey
28 ( 71 ) 747 (STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT) Saxon
29 ( 18 ) TWILIGHT ZONE/TWILIGHT TONE Manhattan Transfer
30 ( 35 ) CHINATOWN Thin Lizzy



31 ( 38 ) MY WAY OF THINKING UB40
32 ( 15 ) THEME FROM MIDNIGHT COWBOY Original Soundtrack (John Barry)
33 ( 25 ) OVER YOU Roxy Music
34 ( 36 ) LET MY LOVE OPEN THE DOOR Pete Townsend
35 ( 29 ) TO BE OR NOT TO BE B.A. Robertson
36 ( 26 ) WHO WANTS THE WORLD The Stranglers
37 ( 39 ) TRYING TO KEEP THE SUMMER ALIVE The Beach Boys
38 ( NEW ) DIDDY WAH DIDDY The Blues Band
39 ( 31 ) SHE’S OUT OF MY LIFE Michael Jackson
40 ( NEW ) I DON’T WANT YOU ANYMORE Tavares

41 ( 55 ) NEW ROMANCE (IT’S A MYSTERY) Spider
42 ( 37 ) GENO Dexy’s Midnight Runners
43 ( 42 ) MONKEES EP (LAST TRAIN TO CLARKSVILLE/ I’M A BELIEVER/ A LITTLE BIT ME A LITTLE BIT YOU/ DAYDREAM BELIEVER) The Monkees
44 ( 28 ) MIDNITE DYNAMOS Matchbox
45 ( 33 ) YOU WILL ALWAYS FIND ME IN THE iamspamspamamiAT PARTIES Jona Lewie
46 ( 44 ) LOST IN LOVE Air Supply
47 ( 56 ) LIP UP FATTY Bad Manners
48 ( NEW ) RUNNING FOR PARADISE Daryl Hall & John Oates
49 ( 40 ) BIGGEST PART OF ME Ambrosia
50 ( NEW ) THEME FROM INVADERS Yellow Magic Orchestra



51 ( 45 ) RAT RACE The Specials
52 ( NEW ) SING OUT (BREAKING/ ATMOSPHERE) Voyager
53 ( NEW ) SANCTUARY New Musik
54 ( 46 ) NIGHT BOAT TO CAIRO (WORK REST & PLAY EP) Madness
55 ( NEW ) RING OF FIRE Carlene Carter
56 ( 53 ) CALL ME Blondie
57 ( 51 ) COMING UP Paul McCartney
58 ( 73 ) COULD YOU BE LOVED Bob Marley And The Wailers
59 ( 49 ) MIRROR IN THE BATHROOM The Beat
60 ( 66 ) SUNSET PEOPLE Donna Summer



61 ( 61 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.
62 ( 62 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty
63 ( 43 ) JUST CAN’T GIVE YOU UP Mystic Merlin
64 ( 54 ) DON’T TELL ME Shona Laing
65 ( 58 ) GOING UNDERGROUND The Jam
66 ( NEW ) PARTNERS IN CRIME Rupert Holmes
67 ( 41 ) THE SCRATCH Surface Noise
68 ( NEW ) CUPID - I’VE LOVED YOU FOR A LONG TIME The Detroit Spinners
69 ( 30 ) SOLDIER’S SONG The Hollies
70 ( 65 ) ATOMIC Blondie

71 ( 52 ) SUBSTITUTE Liquid Gold
72 ( 75 ) THE KING’S CALL Phil Lynott
73 ( NEW ) THE OTHER SIDE OF THE SUN Janis Ian
74 ( 72 ) CONFUSION/ LAST TRAIN TO LONDON E.L.O.
75 ( 59 ) BREAKING THE LAW Judas Priest



TV 21st - 27th June

1 The Mary Tyler Moore Show
2 The Outer Limits
3 Wimbledon (friday)
4 Wimbledon ’79
5 Animal Olympics


In my life, in the last full week of June, I was well into watching Wimbledon on TV, Borg and McEnroe both doing well in the first week of play. It was Pete’s 22nd birthday and 2 of our gang decided Pete needed a douse in the bath to celebrate, and tried to enlist me to do some heavy-mob impressions. No amount of cajoling, threats or persuasion convinced me it was a worthy endeavor (I don’t give in to peer-group pressure) so they had a mighty struggle with Pete, who threw up afterwards, before helping the same two give Julie a thoughtful bath too. Teachers all, you know, bar one.....!

College American Studies outside examiner interview on Tuesday before the goodbye’s to other students started gradually. One of my friends got the awful news she’d failed teaching practice, and hadn’t qualified after 3 years, upset and packing to leave the next day or two. Pete’s family were going back to Germany, and he would be joining them unless he got a summer job. I noted that we’d probably never see him again, if I knew Pete (which I did, being my best mate and all at College). So it was. He eventually married a Japanese girl, and moved to Japan, had a son and then lost touch sometime in the late 80’s. TP-failing, though, turned out not so tragic as she is now a Reverend, married to a Reverend, and living in a Parish in Wales. I didn’t like all this gang-breaking-up one bit, not at all, and predicted the next few months (at least) would be very depressing. I didn’t know the half of it....

I kept myself busy writing a fiction story and printing black & white photos in the College darkroom, as everyone gathered in my room wednesday evening for hysterical laughs watching TV. As we gathered Thursday evening I taped-recorded us all chatting and mucking about - and haven’t been able to listen to it since, with my reel-to-reel player having died, it’s a major loss to me that I didn’t convert it to mp3 years ago while it was just about working. I need to find someone to do it for me so I can hear how embarrassing I was at the time.

Friday, grandma and granddad dropped by with mum and dad, on their way through Lincoln, Paul took a few of us for a pub evening, Ian, Bev, Sue, which ended on a sour note thanks to an unfortunate comment, but otherwise was fun, Saturday was snooker (yet more), more bargain bin singles purchases in town, played Ian at tennis which was great fun, he was always a laugh, sorry I’ve lost touch these days. Then team table tennis after eating before an evening at Alan & Helen’s flat, where we had an Alan-guitar singalong and laughs with most of the gang there. From here to another goodbye party at Jo and Elaine’s, but not that many in attendance, so our smaller gang (Ian, Pete, Julie, Jane) just mucked about till 1-ish, and Charades till 2. It was so not a party, it was hilarious.

Posted by: popchartfreak 6th October 2015, 08:12 PM

8th July 1980

The first chart after my final week of College, and it’s Olivia Newton-John getting a second number one (following You’re The One That I Want) and ELO getting a 9th, leaving them behind only The Beatles and Abba for most chart-toppers, though old mucker Roy Wood also totals 9 in various guises, including one with ELO (10538 Overture). Co-incidentally Macca is at 3, and ELO themselves are also at 4 with another Xanadu single, I’m Alive. I over-rated it as I’d managed to get hold of a cut-price copy of the single and they were coming off the back of 3 chart-toppers in a row.

Joan Armatrading gets Me Myself I into the 10, her 2nd, as Stacy Lattisaw gets a jumping first. Saxon, Odyssey and The Hollies all go top 20, Odyssey’s 2nd, The Hollies 7th or so in a 12-year span. Into the top 40 go Yellow Magic Orchestra’s space invaders, Spider, Voyager, The Detroit Spinners and Bad Manners, not to mention classic Bob Marley. Lower down we find the new entries rushing in with many a classic: Kate Bush is back with the sensational video Russian babe of Babooshka, Joy Division debut with the timeless and influential Love Will Tear Us Apart, even though lead singer was already dead, having committed suicide in May. Both tracks remain brilliant. Almost as good: The Undertones bring Wednesday Week in at 74. a melodic gem and a welcome change of pace from the boys, Kim Carnes huskily covers Smokey Robinson to fabulous effect at 68 ahead of her UK breakthrough a year later with an even greater track, and Change debut with the Chic-ish delight of A Lover’s Holiday at 48.

Others: The Rolling Stones have a decent comeback with Emotional Rescue, still in disco groove mode at 57, Sad Cafe have a 5th entry with the terribly titled Nothing Left Toulouse, John Otway and Wild Willy Barrett get a second hit 3 years on from Really Free, with the abrupt-change of direction of DK 50-80, a quirky synthrock track that was ahead of it’s time, The Vapors get another entry (News At Ten) and Bill Nelson comes back without Be Bop Deluxe, 4 years after Ships In The Night hit my top 10, now dreaming in colour.



1 ( 2 ) XANADU Olivia Newton-John & The Electric Light Orchestra
2 ( 1 ) MESSAGES Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
3 ( 3 ) WATERFALLS Paul McCartney
4 ( 11 ) I’M ALIVE Electric Light Orchestra
5 ( 4 ) CRYING Don McLean
6 ( 6 ) CHRISTINE Siouxsie And The Banshees
7 ( 5 ) BACK TOGETHER AGAIN Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway
8 ( 8 ) TWO PINTS OF LAGER AND A PACKET OF CRISPS Splodgenessabounds
9 ( 13 ) ME MYSELF I Joan Armatrading
10 ( 14 ) JUMP TO THE BEAT Stacey Lattisaw

11 ( 9 ) EVERYBODY’S GOT TO LEARN SOMETIME The Korgis
12 ( 7 ) BED’S TOO BIG WITHOUT YOU (6 PACK) The Police
13 ( 28 ) 747 (STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT) Saxon
14 ( 10 ) THEME FROM M*A*S*H The MASH
15 ( 18 ) BEHIND THE GROOVE Teena Marie
16 ( 27 ) USE IT UP AND WEAR IT OUT Odyssey
17 ( 19 ) PLAY THE GAME Queen
18 ( 12 ) STEAL AWAY Robbie Dupree
19 ( 69 ) SOLDIER’S SONG The Hollies
20 ( 16 ) NO DOUBT ABOUT IT Hot Chocolate

21 ( 25 ) LET’S HANG ON Darts
22 ( 50 ) THEME FROM INVADERS Yellow Magic Orchestra
23 ( 31 ) MY WAY OF THINKING UB40
24 ( 26 ) I’M NOT YOUR STEPPING STONE The Sex Pistols
25 ( 35 ) TO BE OR NOT TO BE B.A. Robertson
26 ( 15 ) WE ARE GLASS Gary Numan
27 ( 34 ) LET MY LOVE OPEN THE DOOR Pete Townsend
28 ( 24 ) FUNKY TOWN Lipps Inc
29 ( 17 ) YOU GAVE ME LOVE Crown Heights Affair
30 ( 30 ) CHINATOWN Thin Lizzy

31 ( 20 ) DA-A-ANCE The Lambrettas
32 ( 41 ) NEW ROMANCE (IT’S A MYSTERY) Spider
33 ( 38 ) DIDDY WAH DIDDY The Blues Band
34 ( 52 ) SING OUT (BREAKING/ ATMOSPHERE) Voyager
35 ( 40 ) I DON’T WANT YOU ANYMORE Tavares
36 ( 68 ) CUPID - I’VE LOVED YOU FOR A LONG TIME The Detroit Spinners
37 ( 21 ) LET’S GET SERIOUS Jermaine Jackson
38 ( 47 ) LIP UP FATTY Bad Manners
39 ( 64 ) DON’T TELL ME Shona Laing
40 ( 58 ) COULD YOU BE LOVED Bob Marley And The Wailers

41 ( 48 ) RUNNING FROM PARADISE Daryl Hall & John Oates
42 ( 22 ) NEW AMSTERDAM Elvis Costello
43 ( 23 ) LITTLE JEANNIE Elton John
44 ( 43 ) MONKEES EP (LAST TRAIN TO CLARKSVILLE/ I’M A BELIEVER/ A LITTLE BIT ME A LITTLE BIT YOU/ DAYDREAM BELIEVER) The Monkees
45 ( 39 ) SHE’S OUT OF MY LIFE Michael Jackson
46 ( 42 ) GENO Dexy’s Midnight Runners
47 ( 29 ) TWILIGHT ZONE/TWILIGHT TONE Manhattan Transfer
48 ( NEW ) A LOVER’S HOLIDAY Change
49 ( 53 ) SANCTUARY New Musik
50 ( NEW ) BABOOSHKA Kate Bush



51 ( 33 ) OVER YOU Roxy Music
52 ( 55 ) RING OF FIRE Carlene Carter
53 ( 32 ) THEME FROM MIDNIGHT COWBOY Original Soundtrack (John Barry)
54 ( 46 ) LOST IN LOVE Air Supply
55 ( NEW ) NOTHING LEFT TOULOUSE Sad Cafe
56 ( 37 ) TRYING TO KEEP THE SUMMER ALIVE The Beach Boys
57 ( NEW ) EMOTIONAL RESCUE The Rolling Stones
58 ( 60 ) SUNSET PEOPLE Donna Summer
59 ( 36 ) WHO WANTS THE WORLD The Stranglers
60 ( 66 ) PARTNERS IN CRIME Rupert Holmes



61 ( 61 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.
62 ( 62 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty
63 ( 44 ) MIDNITE DYNAMOS Matchbox
64 ( 54 ) NIGHT BOAT TO CAIRO (WORK REST & PLAY EP) Madness
65 ( NEW ) LOVE WILL TEAR US APART Joy Division
66 ( 57 ) COMING UP Paul McCartney
67 ( 56 ) CALL ME Blondie
68 ( NEW ) MORE LOVE Kim Carnes
69 ( NEW ) DK 50-80 Otway & Barrett
70 ( 45 ) YOU WILL ALWAYS FIND ME IN THE iamspamspamamiAT PARTIES Jona Lewie



71 ( 71 ) SUBSTITUTE Liquid Gold
72 ( 73 ) THE OTHER SIDE OF THE SUN Janis Ian
73 ( NEW ) NEWS AT TEN The Vapors
74 ( NEW ) WEDNESDAY WEEK The Undertones
75 ( NEW ) DO YOU DREAM IN COLOUR Bill Nelson



TV June 28th - 4th July
1 Wimbledon
2 Q9
3 The Mary Tyler Moore Show
4 Mork and Mindy
5 Firecreek


On TV the striking BBC staff kept Top Of The Pops off the air for half the summer, which was a bummer, not to mention other TV shows, which, along with a week of partying hard as we all left College, meant I watched hardly any TV, unusually for me in those days. The last single I was playing to death was OMD, and the last single I bought at College was a gatefold sleeve version of Xanadu. I borrowed Julie’s camera flash and went to the Usher Art Gallery and took photos of my work on the wall, allowing myself a bit of sad ego-boosting amongst the crushing comments of the Uni examiners, then tutor Max helped me remove them and the helped shift piano’s and the like. American Studies tutor John Davies praised my writing, suggested further reading to widen my experience and gave me my marks in graph form for each year at College, rising steeply with The Immigrants, and stood up for me in the end results for marks, overall 65% (Grade 1). I always like John Davies and wish I could stayed as enthusiastic for myself as he was on my behalf!

Mum, dad, grandma & granddad dropped by with a new watch for me! I am still wearing it, a dozen batteries later, a scratched clock face, and 35 years on. I do like to take care of stuff! Ian, Sue, Paul Julie & Jane gathered, Alan came by, and off we went in a tie I borrowed from Sue for the goodbye dinner, a lecturer came over to chat to me and made a very unexpected personal comment out of the blue which I'm still not clear on what he saying but I went bright red! That left speeches from the Principal and Union Rep Mark, and then to the bar and union disco for SAVVY, College band of the day, and the final record of the disco was When Will I See You Again. How depressing. Next few days: Tennis, snooker, socialising, some exciting Wimbledon matches (Chris Lloyd beating Navratilova), and conversations on the inhumanity of man amongst all the laughs, and on the last evening we split into two groups, Sue, Bev, Pete, Julie stayed in watching TV, Ian, Jane, Paul, Dave went to a double movie feature: Saturday Night Fever (dull despite the fab music) and Grease (better than first time round) which with it’s final scenes of the ending of High School was sort of saying it all really. We gathered for a chat, and that was it, end of an era, College over, just the goodbye’s and the packing to do. I popped up to Sue’s room, she was as upset as me I think at it all ending, everyone handing in keys, and Pete disappeared in a rush without a proper goodbye. I asked Sue to say goodbye for me, because I kinda knew he wouldn’t be meeting up with the gang after college and that would be the last time I saw him, ever, and which gutted me somewhat. And so it was. Sue was the one that saw me off when Brother and dad came for me and my stuff. “See you in 6 weeks” was my goodbye, it helped knowing we were meeting up but I was fighting back tears the whole way home.

And that was the end of the good times for a decade or so...

Posted by: Chop-part-freak 28th October 2015, 04:47 PM

15th July 1980

2 weeks for Xanadu on top, as I start my 2-years job-search, living and breathing application forms. This had such a negative effect on me that I stay with crappy jobs rather than put in a job application, just to avoid the whole sorry stressful experience. Not a good career move, overall. Music, though, was fab: Macca gets his 2nd number 2 of the year, as Saxon get their first top 10, flying up with 747, Odyssey get a second, using it up and wearing it out, and Teena Marie gets behind the groove and pops up to 9.

Joy Division go up a whopping 50 places to 15 with the classic Love Will Tear Us Apart, and Kate up 33 with a classic babooshka to 17, and classic Marley at 18 with Could You be Loved. That’s a buncha classics! Change have a holiday at 23, and New Musik make it 4 top 40’s in a row as they look for Sanctuary. The Rolling Stones take an Emotional Rescue inside the 40, a funky falsetto groove miles away from their petulant earthy blues chart debut Honky Tonk Women 11 years earlier.

In at 39, Leo Sayer seems to have given up writing his own material, and opts for a great Bobby Vee 60’s oldie, More Than I Can Say, removes the charm and slows it down. Dexy’s make it 3 in a row at 46, There There My Dear! The Whispers cover My Girl, Hot Chocolate enquire about the amount of happiness I’m getting and is it enough, which is polite of them, and to which the answer was and is “No”. A bit of a disappointment for me, though, after No Doubt About It. In at 71, AC/DC get a 3rd entry, with reactivated flop Whole Lotta Rosie, the final Bon Scott vocals hit they had, and a Punk-Metal classic for me. From here on they were more Pomp-Metal. Finally Gene Chandler gets a good soul ballad ebtry at 74, Does She Have A Friend he asks, while Billy Joel is more positive stating (quite rightly) that it’s still rock ‘n’ roll to him at 75, no matter what new name it has. Clever lyrically, tuneful and catchy, as ol’ Billy tended to be when he was in the mood, and 5 years on now from The Piano Man debut.

1 ( 1 ) XANADU Olivia Newton-John & The Electric Light Orchestra
2 ( 3 ) WATERFALLS Paul McCartney
3 ( 2 ) MESSAGES Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
4 ( 10 ) JUMP TO THE BEAT Stacey Lattisaw
5 ( 9 ) ME MYSELF I Joan Armatrading
6 ( 13 ) 747 (STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT) Saxon
7 ( 6 ) CHRISTINE Siouxsie And The Banshees
8 ( 16 ) USE IT UP AND WEAR IT OUT Odyssey
9 ( 15 ) BEHIND THE GROOVE Teena Marie
10 ( 5 ) CRYING Don McLean

11 ( 7 ) BACK TOGETHER AGAIN Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway
12 ( 4 ) I’M ALIVE Electric Light Orchestra
13 ( 8 ) TWO PINTS OF LAGER AND A PACKET OF CRISPS Splodgenessabounds
14 ( 17 ) PLAY THE GAME Queen
15 ( 65 ) LOVE WILL TEAR US APART Joy Division
16 ( 22 ) THEME FROM INVADERS Yellow Magic Orchestra
17 ( 50 ) BABOOSHKA Kate Bush
18 ( 40 ) COULD YOU BE LOVED Bob Marley And The Wailers
19 ( 21 ) LET’S HANG ON Darts
20 ( 12 ) BED’S TOO BIG WITHOUT YOU (6 PACK) The Police



21 ( 11 ) EVERYBODY’S GOT TO LEARN SOMETIME The Korgis
22 ( 23 ) MY WAY OF THINKING UB40
23 ( 48 ) A LOVER’S HOLIDAY Change
24 ( 24 ) I’M NOT YOUR STEPPING STONE The Sex Pistols
25 ( 20 ) NO DOUBT ABOUT IT Hot Chocolate
26 ( 49 ) SANCTUARY New Musik
27 ( 14 ) THEME FROM M*A*S*H The MASH
28 ( 34 ) SING OUT (BREAKING/ ATMOSPHERE) Voyager
29 ( 57 ) EMOTIONAL RESCUE The Rolling Stones
30 ( 25 ) TO BE OR NOT TO BE B.A. Robertson



31 ( 18 ) STEAL AWAY Robbie Dupree
32 ( 19 ) SOLDIER’S SONG The Hollies
33 ( 33 ) DIDDY WAH DIDDY The Blues Band
34 ( 38 ) LIP UP FATTY Bad Manners
35 ( 36 ) CUPID - I’VE LOVED YOU FOR A LONG TIME The Detroit Spinners
36 ( 28 ) FUNKY TOWN Lipps Inc
37 ( 35 ) I DON’T WANT YOU ANYMORE Tavares
38 ( 26 ) WE ARE GLASS Gary Numan
39 ( NEW ) MORE THAN I CAN SAY Leo Sayer
40 ( 29 ) YOU GAVE ME LOVE Crown Heights Affair

41 ( 74 ) WEDNESDAY WEEK The Undertones
42 ( 55 ) NOTHING LEFT TOULOUSE Sad Cafe
43 ( 32 ) NEW ROMANCE (IT’S A MYSTERY) Spider
44 ( 27 ) LET MY LOVE OPEN THE DOOR Pete Townsend
45 ( 39 ) DON’T TELL ME Shona Laing
46 ( NEW ) THERE THERE MY DEAR Dexy’s Midnight Runners
47 ( 41 ) RUNNING FROM PARADISE Daryl Hall & John Oates
48 ( 44 ) MONKEES EP (LAST TRAIN TO CLARKSVILLE/ I’M A BELIEVER/ A LITTLE BIT ME A LITTLE BIT YOU/ DAYDREAM BELIEVER) The Monkees
49 ( 30 ) CHINATOWN Thin Lizzy
50 ( 68 ) MORE LOVE Kim Carnes



51 ( 52 ) RING OF FIRE Carlene Carter
52 ( 31 ) DA-A-ANCE The Lambrettas
53 ( 46 ) GENO Dexy’s Midnight Runners
54 ( 45 ) SHE’S OUT OF MY LIFE Michael Jackson
55 ( 56 ) TRYING TO KEEP THE SUMMER ALIVE The Beach Boys
56 ( 37 ) LET’S GET SERIOUS Jermaine Jackson
57 ( 54 ) LOST IN LOVE Air Supply
58 ( 75 ) DO YOU DREAM IN COLOUR Bill Nelson
59 ( 47 ) TWILIGHT ZONE/TWILIGHT TONE Manhattan Transfer
60 ( 60 ) PARTNERS IN CRIME Rupert Holmes

61 ( 61 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.
62 ( 62 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty
63 ( NEW ) MY GIRL The Whispers
64 ( 42 ) NEW AMSTERDAM Elvis Costello
65 ( 43 ) LITTLE JEANNIE Elton John
66 ( NEW ) ARE YOU GETTING ENOUGH HAPPINESS Hot Chocolate
67 ( 51 ) OVER YOU Roxy Music
68 ( 73 ) NEWS AT TEN The Vapors
69 ( 69 ) DK 50-80 Otway & Barrett
70 ( 64 ) NIGHT BOAT TO CAIRO (WORK REST & PLAY EP) Madness



71 ( NEW ) WHOLE LOTTA ROSIE AC/DC
72 ( NEW ) FANTASY Gerard Kenny
73 ( 53 ) THEME FROM MIDNIGHT COWBOY Original Soundtrack (John Barry)
74 ( NEW ) DOES SHE HAVE A FRIEND Gene Chandler
75 ( NEW ) IT’S STILL ROCK ‘N’ ROLL TO ME Billy Joel





TV 5th-11th July
1 Wimbledon Final
2 Soap
3 Mork and Mindy
4 The Phil Silvers Show
5 Taxi
6 Happy Days
7 Buona Sera Mrs Campbell: film
8 The Banana Splits
9 Are You Being Served
10 Dallas


In the real world I had the delight of standing in line at the Unemployment Office for 2 and a half hours to “sign on” as we used to say, and granddad came round to do some DIY. Grandma and Grandad were moving into their new council house in Mansfield, from Clipstone, which was the end of an era for me - they had only ever lived in the school caretakers house in Clipstone, and all the immediate family in Mansfield were round to help move in and with painting, wallpapering etc. This was followed by granddad getting the news his sister had cancer and 6 months to live, not a good start to a new house.

We also badgered mum into giving in and getting our first state-of-the-art £299 videorecorder (well, dad did at any rate). Tapes £20 for 2 hours!

Rest of the week painting walls and doors at home, as a prelude to the movie of the year, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back: “A treat! I didn’t guess Darth Vader’s secret and the muppet wasn’t so bad” (as expected, that’ll be Yoda then) “MUCH better than I’d anticipated: not the uniformity of plot-ending of Star Wars, and humour less apparent, therefore not as impressive. BUT effects were brilliant as before plus much originality and the characters weren’t two-dimensional this time” I opined, it was more a series of adventures and chase than an actual plot until half-way through, and I got pissed off at having to wait 3 years for the cliff-hangar resolution, that was a long time!

My top 8 sci-fi movies of all time after viewing?

Close Encounters of The Third Kind
Star Trek
Star Wars
Alien
The Empire Strikes Back
Superman
Planet Of The Apes
2001: A Space Odyssey

That order is substantially different these days and Star Trek, Superman have dropped out of my top 100 entirely, 2001 is classic but not a fave.

Posted by: Chop-part-freak 29th October 2015, 08:59 PM

22nd July 1980

3 weeks for Xanadu on top but with Abba’s brilliant, adult and sophisticated new ballad in at 2, it looks like The Winner Takes It All imminently. It signalled a new maturity after a pop disco phase, and critically as well as commercially Abba were getting appreciated. About time. Saxon at 3 give metal a boost, while at the lower end Whitesnake and Hawkwind join in. Dexy’s Midnight Runners shoot up 39 places to 7, for 3 out of 3 great singles, and are joined in the top 10 by classic Kate and brilliant Bob.

Change, New Musik, Rolling Stones, and The Sex Pistols all go top 20 but it’s The Undertones with a Wednesday Week rush to 19 who stand out with one of their best singles. Greedy ELO meanwhile get yet another Xanadu track All Over The World newly in, and while it’s not startlingly different from previous singles it ticks the pleasure box for me and drops in at 27. Diana Ross is back with a Chic-bang at 31, Upside Down in one fell swoop is her best single in 4 years, and by a long way. Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards effectively finished being pop stars with Chic, and moved over to writing and producing for bigger stars. Hey presto 35 years on and Nile Rodgers is quite rightly revered. Diana has a dozen years of chart activity, a chart veteran.

In at 30, another new single from The Beach Boys, Santa Ana Winds, pleasant enough, The Whispers go top 40 with My Girl, as Johnny Bristol enters with My Girl 6 years on since his last entry Hang On In There Baby - and it’s a mash-up with My Guy, and Amii Stewart continuing her cover version career. Both songs were conveniently written by Smokey Robinson, as was More Love nestling beautifully at 48 for Kim Carnes. The Gibson Brothers grab a 4th top 40 with Mariana at 40, keeping those fab latin rhythms going strong.

At 51, it’s a remarkable debut for model legend Grace Jones, who oozes style and attitude throughout her career, starting with a Sly & Robbie-produced cover of Chrissie Hynde’s Pretenders song Private Life. Slowed-down, half-spoken half-sung, sexy and throbbing, Chrissie gave it the compliment that Grace made it sound like she imagined it would sound. At 69, debuting with a new lead singer (John Foxx having been and gone) in the shape of Midge Ure, then of Slik and Rich Kids fame, it’s Ultravox and Sleepwalking joining the synthpop party, having been early pioneers of it. That leaves The Mo-Dettes covering the Rolling Stones Paint It Black at 70, as the Stones own Emotional Rescue is somewhat higher at 18.


1 ( 1 ) XANADU Olivia Newton-John & The Electric Light Orchestra
2 ( NEW ) THE WINNER TAKES IT ALL Abba
3 ( 6 ) 747 (STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT) Saxon
4 ( 5 ) ME MYSELF I Joan Armatrading
5 ( 2 ) WATERFALLS Paul McCartney
6 ( 3 ) MESSAGES Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
7 ( 46 ) THERE THERE MY DEAR Dexy’s Midnight Runners
8 ( 17 ) BABOOSHKA Kate Bush
9 ( 18 ) COULD YOU BE LOVED Bob Marley And The Wailers
10 ( 4 ) JUMP TO THE BEAT Stacey Lattisaw



11 ( 7 ) CHRISTINE Siouxsie And The Banshees
12 ( 8 ) USE IT UP AND WEAR IT OUT Odyssey
13 ( 15 ) LOVE WILL TEAR US APART Joy Division
14 ( 9 ) BEHIND THE GROOVE Teena Marie
15 ( 23 ) A LOVER’S HOLIDAY Change
16 ( 26 ) SANCTUARY New Musik
17 ( 10 ) CRYING Don McLean
18 ( 29 ) EMOTIONAL RESCUE The Rolling Stones
19 ( 41 ) WEDNESDAY WEEK The Undertones
20 ( 24 ) I’M NOT YOUR STEPPING STONE The Sex Pistols



21 ( 11 ) BACK TOGETHER AGAIN Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway
22 ( 16 ) THEME FROM INVADERS Yellow Magic Orchestra
23 ( 12 ) I’M ALIVE Electric Light Orchestra
24 ( 19 ) LET’S HANG ON Darts
25 ( 13 ) TWO PINTS OF LAGER AND A PACKET OF CRISPS Splodgenessabounds
26 ( 39 ) MORE THAN I CAN SAY Leo Sayer
27 ( NEW ) ALL OVER THE WORLD E.L.O.
28 ( 34 ) LIP UP FATTY Bad Manners
29 ( 33 ) DIDDY WAH DIDDY (BLUES BAND EP) The Blues Band
30 ( NEW ) SANTA ANA WINDS The Beach Boys



31 ( NEW ) UPSIDE DOWN Diana Ross
32 ( 22 ) MY WAY OF THINKING UB40
33 ( 20 ) BED’S TOO BIG WITHOUT YOU (6 PACK) The Police
34 ( 14 ) PLAY THE GAME Queen
35 ( 35 ) CUPID - I’VE LOVED YOU FOR A LONG TIME The Detroit Spinners
36 ( 25 ) NO DOUBT ABOUT IT Hot Chocolate
37 ( 37 ) I DON’T WANT YOU ANYMORE Tavares
38 ( 63 ) MY GIRL The Whispers
39 ( 71 ) WHOLE LOTTA ROSIE AC/DC
40 ( NEW ) MARIANA The Gibson Brothers



41 ( 36 ) FUNKY TOWN Lipps Inc
42 ( 21 ) EVERYBODY’S GOT TO LEARN SOMETIME The Korgis
43 ( 27 ) THEME FROM M*A*S*H The MASH
44 ( 32 ) SOLDIER’S SONG The Hollies
45 ( 31 ) STEAL AWAY Robbie Dupree
46 ( 40 ) YOU GAVE ME LOVE Crown Heights Affair
47 ( 51 ) RING OF FIRE Carlene Carter
48 ( 50 ) MORE LOVE Kim Carnes
49 ( 30 ) TO BE OR NOT TO BE B.A. Robertson
50 ( 28 ) SING OUT (BREAKING/ ATMOSPHERE) Voyager



51 ( NEW ) PRIVATE LIFE Grace Jones
52 ( 48 ) MONKEES EP (LAST TRAIN TO CLARKSVILLE/ I’M A BELIEVER/ A LITTLE BIT ME A LITTLE BIT YOU/ DAYDREAM BELIEVER) The Monkees
53 ( 38 ) WE ARE GLASS Gary Numan
54 ( 74 ) DOES SHE HAVE A FRIEND Gene Chandler
55 ( 66 ) ARE YOU GETTING ENOUGH HAPPINESS Hot Chocolate
56 ( 45 ) DON’T TELL ME Shona Laing
57 ( 75 ) IT’S STILL ROCK ‘N’ ROLL TO ME Billy Joel
58 ( 47 ) RUNNING FROM PARADISE Daryl Hall & John Oates
59 ( 68 ) NEWS AT TEN The Vapors
60 ( 53 ) GENO Dexy’s Midnight Runners

61 ( 62 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty
62 ( 61 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.
63 ( 57 ) LOST IN LOVE Air Supply
64 ( 72 ) FANTASY Gerard Kenny
65 ( 55 ) TRYING TO KEEP THE SUMMER ALIVE The Beach Boys
66 ( 42 ) NOTHING LEFT TOULOUSE Sad Cafe
67 ( 58 ) DO YOU DREAM IN COLOUR Bill Nelson
68 ( 43 ) NEW ROMANCE (IT’S A MYSTERY) Spider
69 ( NEW ) SLEEPWALKING Ultravox
70 ( NEW ) PAINT IT BLACK The Mo-Dettes

71 ( NEW ) MY GUY/MY GIRL Amii Stewart and Johnny Bristol
72 ( 49 ) CHINATOWN Thin Lizzy
73 ( NEW ) READY AND WILLING Whitesnake
74 ( NEW ) SHOT DOWN IN THE NIGHT Hawkwind
75 ( 54 ) SHE’S OUT OF MY LIFE Michael Jackson


TV 12th - 18th July
1 Rhoda
2 Soap
3 The Phil Silvers Show
4 Taxi
5 The Outer Limits
6 Q9
7 The Banana Splits
8 Ancient Astronauts
9 Hong Kong Beat
10 Space 1999
11 The Pink Panther
12 Happy Days
13 Superstar Profile: Roger Moore
14 Dallas
15 What’s On Wogan

At home, I got rid of some old clothes, which saddened me actually, as it was my teen life going in the bin. Mum found out she had to go into hospital yet again, which was worrying, though I was more happy to be able to give them half my new UB40 £20 a week, and have a bit left over for some new clothes (brown cords trousers). Did my first job application: the CHAD local newspaper (Artist/Visualiser): my expectations would eventually drift downwards and more realistically. My new chart was done on Friday 18th (but is still dated 22nd July as at that time it was still the week-ending date before the new chart was announced on Tuesdays). I think the day I did my chart varied more from here on, but tended to be after Top Of The Pops broadcasts so it could be up-to-date.

Posted by: Chop-part-freak 30th October 2015, 10:09 PM

29th July 1980

Abba get their 14th consecutive number one, and 15th in total, with the sublime The Winner Takes It All, heartbreak perfection. Only The Beatles could claim to be bigger - depending on whether you include a separate Beatles chart in 1976 as bonafide. I sorta do cos most of their career was pre-my-chart and singles and album tracks would have been just as chart-topper-y as Abba’s, who would have had considerably more chart-toppers had I allowed album tracks such as Eagle, Tiger, If It Wasn’t For The Nights and Hole In Your Soul to chart. Diana Ross meanwhile leaps upside to 3, her highest charting since 1976, and highest-charting new material since 1972. Kate Bush gets a 4th top 5, ELO keep the run of top 10 singles running to 5 years, and Change go top 10 too.

Gibson Brothers go top 20, Beach Boys blow up to 20, and Hall & Oates get a first top 20 entry four years on from the brilliant She’s Gone with Running From Paradise, up 39 places after pottering about a bit. Billy Joel adds another top 40 to his list, but it’s still rock ‘n’ roll to me, as The Gap Band turn sitting in a line on the floor into a rowing fad with Oops Upside Your Head entering at 28. Hot Choc hit the 40, Black Sabbath get a 3rd top 40 hit with Neon Knights, a decade since Paranoid premiered, and Grace Jones makes the 40 with her Private Life. Sheena easton debuts, a reality TV star, wholesome and shrill and Scottish, with a not-Dolly-Parton 9 To 5 song which went on to top the charts in the USA under it’s alternate title (in brackets here). Dolly is more famous these days, and Sheena shocked when she moved to the States and went all raunchy in the mid-80’s, but for now we had to make do with a fairly dated bland pop ditty.

Kim Carnes and Gene Chandler finally make the 40 with 2 minor gems that should have been bigger gems, and Racey return with a less chirpy pop song Rest Of Your Life at 47, it wasn’t bad, while a funk classic aiming for Jamaica is in at 54 for Tom Browne. Not the BBC singles UK Radio Chart rundown DJ Tom Browne, though. Pity! Bodysnatchers are back looking for an Easy Life, Roxy Music quip “Oh Yeah”? as they hit a new laid-back low (for me) at 63, and quirky Piranhas debut with 50’s cover, all cockernee-stylee, Tom Hark. Chirpy and catchy. Jacko gets his 5th single off Off The Wall, and it’s mate and future estranged-mate Macca’s song, Girlfriend, in at 66. Not a finest moment for either party, but pleasant enough. Finally, John Foxx joins his ex-bandmates Ultravox, in a Burning Car at 71.




1 ( 2 ) THE WINNER TAKES IT ALL Abba
2 ( 1 ) XANADU Olivia Newton-John & The Electric Light Orchestra
3 ( 31 ) UPSIDE DOWN Diana Ross
4 ( 8 ) BABOOSHKA Kate Bush
5 ( 7 ) THERE THERE MY DEAR Dexy’s Midnight Runners
6 ( 27 ) ALL OVER THE WORLD E.L.O.
7 ( 9 ) COULD YOU BE LOVED Bob Marley And The Wailers
8 ( 3 ) 747 (STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT) Saxon
9 ( 15 ) A LOVER’S HOLIDAY Change
10 ( 4 ) ME MYSELF I Joan Armatrading



11 ( 5 ) WATERFALLS Paul McCartney
12 ( 22 ) THEME FROM INVADERS Yellow Magic Orchestra
13 ( 16 ) SANCTUARY New Musik
14 ( 6 ) MESSAGES Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
15 ( 40 ) MARIANA The Gibson Brothers
16 ( 18 ) EMOTIONAL RESCUE The Rolling Stones
17 ( 10 ) JUMP TO THE BEAT Stacey Lattisaw
18 ( 19 ) WEDNESDAY WEEK The Undertones
19 ( 58 ) RUNNING FROM PARADISE Daryl Hall & John Oates
20 ( 30 ) SANTA ANA WINDS The Beach Boys



21 ( 12 ) USE IT UP AND WEAR IT OUT Odyssey
22 ( 26 ) MORE THAN I CAN SAY Leo Sayer
23 ( 57 ) IT’S STILL ROCK ‘N’ ROLL TO ME Billy Joel
24 ( 13 ) LOVE WILL TEAR US APART Joy Division
25 ( 28 ) LIP UP FATTY Bad Manners
26 ( 39 ) WHOLE LOTTA ROSIE AC/DC
27 ( 17 ) CRYING Don McLean
28 ( NEW ) OOPS UPSIDE YOUR HEAD The Gap Band
29 ( 55 ) ARE YOU GETTING ENOUGH HAPPINESS Hot Chocolate
30 ( 23 ) I’M ALIVE Electric Light Orchestra

31 ( 11 ) CHRISTINE Siouxsie And The Banshees
32 ( 14 ) BEHIND THE GROOVE Teena Marie
33 ( NEW ) NEON KNIGHTS Black Sabbath
34 ( 21 ) BACK TOGETHER AGAIN Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway
35 ( 51 ) PRIVATE LIFE Grace Jones
36 ( NEW ) 9 TO 5 (MY BABY TAKES THE MORNING TRAIN) Sheena Easton
37 ( 38 ) MY GIRL The Whispers
38 ( 25 ) TWO PINTS OF LAGER AND A PACKET OF CRISPS Splodgenessabounds
39 ( 48 ) MORE LOVE Kim Carnes
40 ( 54 ) DOES SHE HAVE A FRIEND Gene Chandler



41 ( 32 ) MY WAY OF THINKING UB40
42 ( 24 ) LET’S HANG ON Darts
43 ( 36 ) NO DOUBT ABOUT IT Hot Chocolate
44 ( 33 ) BED’S TOO BIG WITHOUT YOU (6 PACK) The Police
45 ( 29 ) DIDDY WAH DIDDY (BLUES BAND EP) The Blues Band
46 ( 69 ) SLEEPWALKING Ultravox
47 ( NEW ) REST OF YOUR LIFE Racey
48 ( 35 ) CUPID - I’VE LOVED YOU FOR A LONG TIME The Detroit Spinners
49 ( 37 ) I DON’T WANT YOU ANYMORE Tavares
50 ( 41 ) FUNKY TOWN Lipps Inc



51 ( 44 ) SOLDIER’S SONG The Hollies
52 ( 43 ) THEME FROM M*A*S*H The MASH
53 ( 34 ) PLAY THE GAME Queen
54 ( NEW ) FUNKIN’ FOR JAMAICA Tom Browne
55 ( 52 ) MONKEES EP (LAST TRAIN TO CLARKSVILLE/ I’M A BELIEVER/ A LITTLE BIT ME A LITTLE BIT YOU/ DAYDREAM BELIEVER) The Monkees
56 ( 20 ) I’M NOT YOUR STEPPING STONE The Sex Pistols
57 ( 45 ) STEAL AWAY Robbie Dupree
58 ( 59 ) NEWS AT TEN The Vapors
59 ( 46 ) YOU GAVE ME LOVE Crown Heights Affair
60 ( NEW ) EASY LIFE The Bodysnatchers

61 ( 61 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty
62 ( 62 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.
63 ( NEW ) OH YEAH Roxy Music
64 ( NEW ) TOM HARK The Piranhas
65 ( 53 ) WE ARE GLASS Gary Numan
66 ( NEW ) GIRLFRIEND Michael Jackson
67 ( 67 ) DO YOU DREAM IN COLOUR Bill Nelson
68 ( 71 ) MY GUY/MY GIRL Amii Stewart and Johnny Bristol
69 ( 60 ) GENO Dexy’s Midnight Runners
70 ( 56 ) DON’T TELL ME Shona Laing

71 ( NEW ) BURNING CAR John Foxx
72 ( 70 ) PAINT IT BLACK The Mo-Dettes
73 ( 73 ) READY AND WILLING Whitesnake
74 ( 63 ) LOST IN LOVE Air Supply
75 ( 42 ) EVERYBODY’S GOT TO LEARN SOMETIME The Korgis



TV 19th-25th July
1 Fawlty Towers
2 Olympics 1980
3 Soap
4 Rhoda
5 Q9
6 Horizon: The Bermuda Triangle
7 Porridge
8 Moviola: Garbo & Gilbert
9 The Good Life
10 Moviola: Scarlett O’Hara
11 Moviola: Marilyn Monroe
12 Space: 1999
13 What’s On Wogan
14 Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em
15 Fantasy Island

That leaves TV chat - mostly 70’s sitcoms, as it happens, plus the 1980 Olympics, a batch of Hollywood Golden Age greats on Moviola TV Biog miniseries, and also a bit of Spike Milligan. In my life, dad bought me a jacket in Nottingham, I bought myself some Legion Of Super-Heroes comics (even though I couldnt afford them, I had to have them), and mum’s cousin Pauline was out of hospital OK, though family life was tense and terse as mum waited anxiously to go into hospital herself. Various relations came round to visit during the week until mum went in on Sunday, anxious about her operation. To say the least, and so was I.

In the Olympics Duncan Goodhew won gold in the swimming, Ovett vs Coe, Alan Wells, Daley Thompson, loads of UK athletes doing the biz; Peter Sellers died far too young in shock news, I wrote: “A blow, too young, top of career etc. A damn funny man - it’s never fair. No wonder older people are cynical.” As indeed I am now. ON TV show Fantasy Island guest star was Marcia Wallace, of Bob Newhart Show USA fame, who I’d watched live on The Match Game in LA a year earlier - and I had no-one to tell! No-one had heard of her, or cared. I liked her, and she eventually gained TV immortality as Mrs Krabappel in the Simpsons. So now I can tell someone.

Posted by: popchartfreak 25th May 2016, 01:53 PM

5th August 1980

Abba stay on top with the classic classy The Winner Takes It All, as Nile Rodgers goes up to 2 with Diana Ross. That’s Upside Down isn’t it? ELO go top 5, and highest new entry is Olivia Newton-John’s fab moody ballad Magic - that’s just greedy, cos Xanadu from both of ‘em is still top 3! Such a shame the film wasn’t as good as the music. The Undertones tunefully marvellous Wednesday Week goes top 10, and Leo Sayer gets a top 20 for the first time in 3 years, Billy Joel his third, and Sheena Easton her first.

Roxy Music hit the top 30, Oh Yeah they do, while duetting Johnny Bristol and Amii Stewart take the old Motown classics into the 40 for a final chart time for Johnny and the last for a while for Amii. Ultravox sleepwalk into a debut top 40 entry, Racey get the last of their 4 or 5, and the Piranhas fun 50’s cover steams jollily up to 36, ooh hark at them! New in, well, 10 years late, Deep Purple’s Black Night overshadows other newer tracks, such as George Benson demanding the Night, his return after a couple of goodies in 1977 and another in 1975. Ray Gomez covers Lovin’ Spoonful’s 60‘s classic Summer In The City to lesser effect, at 50, and Don McLean covers the 50’s doowop classic Since I Don’t Have You a year after Art Garfunkel did the same, both versions sweet enough for me. Sue Wilkinson hustles in at 64, Nick Straker walks in at 69, and everything works for Cheap Trick’s 2nd hit at 72. It’s another old-sounding track, sort of punk surfer, and a spot of Summer Fun for the Barracudas, totally endearing at 73 while The Manhattans are smoothly back with Shining Star, 4 years on from Kiss And Say Goodbye.

1 ( 1 ) THE WINNER TAKES IT ALL Abba
2 ( 3 ) UPSIDE DOWN Diana Ross
3 ( 2 ) XANADU Olivia Newton-John & The Electric Light Orchestra
4 ( 4 ) BABOOSHKA Kate Bush
5 ( 6 ) ALL OVER THE WORLD E.L.O.
6 ( NEW ) MAGIC Olivia Newton-John
7 ( 9 ) A LOVER’S HOLIDAY Change
8 ( 5 ) THERE THERE MY DEAR Dexy’s Midnight Runners
9 ( 10 ) ME MYSELF I Joan Armatrading
10 ( 18 ) WEDNESDAY WEEK The Undertones



11 ( 13 ) SANCTUARY New Musik
12 ( 7 ) COULD YOU BE LOVED Bob Marley And The Wailers
13 ( 11 ) WATERFALLS Paul McCartney
14 ( 12 ) THEME FROM INVADERS Yellow Magic Orchestra
15 ( 15 ) MARIANA The Gibson Brothers
16 ( 20 ) SANTA ANA WINDS The Beach Boys
17 ( 22 ) MORE THAN I CAN SAY Leo Sayer
18 ( 8 ) 747 (STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT) Saxon
19 ( 23 ) IT’S STILL ROCK ‘N’ ROLL TO ME Billy Joel
20 ( 36 ) 9 TO 5 (MY BABY TAKES THE MORNING TRAIN) Sheena Easton



21 ( 35 ) PRIVATE LIFE Grace Jones
22 ( 16 ) EMOTIONAL RESCUE The Rolling Stones
23 ( 17 ) JUMP TO THE BEAT Stacey Lattisaw
24 ( 25 ) LIP UP FATTY Bad Manners
25 ( 24 ) LOVE WILL TEAR US APART Joy Division
26 ( 14 ) MESSAGES Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
27 ( 28 ) OOPS UPSIDE YOUR HEAD The Gap Band
28 ( 21 ) USE IT UP AND WEAR IT OUT Odyssey
29 ( 29 ) ARE YOU GETTING ENOUGH HAPPINESS Hot Chocolate
30 ( 63 ) OH YEAH Roxy Music



31 ( 33 ) NEON KNIGHTS Black Sabbath
32 ( 68 ) MY GUY/MY GIRL Amii Stewart and Johnny Bristol
33 ( 19 ) RUNNING FROM PARADISE Daryl Hall & John Oates
34 ( 46 ) SLEEPWALKING Ultravox
35 ( 47 ) REST OF YOUR LIFE Racey
36 ( 64 ) TOM HARK The Piranhas
37 ( 37 ) MY GIRL The Whispers
38 ( 40 ) DOES SHE HAVE A FRIEND Gene Chandler
39 ( 42 ) LET’S HANG ON Darts
40 ( 27 ) CRYING Don McLean

41 ( 26 ) WHOLE LOTTA ROSIE AC/DC
42 ( 31 ) CHRISTINE Siouxsie And The Banshees
43 ( 54 ) FUNKIN’ FOR JAMAICA Tom Browne
44 ( 34 ) BACK TOGETHER AGAIN Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway
45 ( 32 ) BEHIND THE GROOVE Teena Marie
46 ( 43 ) NO DOUBT ABOUT IT Hot Chocolate
47 ( NEW ) BLACK NIGHT Deep Purple
48 ( 30 ) I’M ALIVE Electric Light Orchestra
49 ( NEW ) GIVE ME THE NIGHT George Benson
50 ( NEW ) SUMMER IN THE CITY Ray Gomez



51 ( 44 ) BED’S TOO BIG WITHOUT YOU (6 PACK) The Police
52 ( 66 ) GIRLFRIEND Michael Jackson
53 ( 38 ) TWO PINTS OF LAGER AND A PACKET OF CRISPS Splodgenessabounds
54 ( 41 ) MY WAY OF THINKING UB40
55 ( 55 ) MONKEES EP (LAST TRAIN TO CLARKSVILLE/ I’M A BELIEVER/ A LITTLE BIT ME A LITTLE BIT YOU/ DAYDREAM BELIEVER) The Monkees
56 ( 51 ) SOLDIER’S SONG The Hollies
57 ( NEW ) SINCE I DON’T HAVE YOU Don McLean
58 ( 39 ) MORE LOVE Kim Carnes
59 ( 71 ) BURNING CAR John Foxx
60 ( 52 ) THEME FROM M*A*S*H The MASH

61 ( 62 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.
62 ( 61 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty
63 ( 48 ) CUPID - I’VE LOVED YOU FOR A LONG TIME The Detroit Spinners
64 ( NEW ) YOU GOTTA BE A HUSTLER Sue Wilkinson
65 ( 45 ) DIDDY WAH DIDDY (BLUES BAND EP) The Blues Band
66 ( 57 ) STEAL AWAY Robbie Dupree
67 ( 50 ) FUNKY TOWN Lipps Inc
68 ( 49 ) I DON’T WANT YOU ANYMORE Tavares
69 ( NEW ) A WALK IN THE PARK Nick Straker Band
70 ( 59 ) YOU GAVE ME LOVE Crown Heights Affair

71 ( 60 ) EASY LIFE The Bodysnatchers
72 ( NEW ) EVERYTHING WORKS Cheap Trick
73 ( NEW ) SUMMER FUN The Barracudas
74 ( 69 ) GENO Dexy’s Midnight Runners
75 ( NEW ) SHINING STAR The Manhattans



TV 26th Jul-2nd Aug

1 Olympics
2 Parkinson
3 The Phil Silvers Show
4 Soap
5 Rhoda
6 Guyana Tragedy
7 Des O’Connor
8 Taxi
9 Superstar Profile
10 The Banana Splits


In my world, I cleaned my tropical fish tank, and watched Alan Wells win silver at the Olympics and helped our Polish widow neighbour friend Renee with her TV trouble, all to keep myself busy while mum was in hospital for her operation and I was stressed and anxious about it, as was dad. The phone rang all evening from friends and relatives wanting to know how it went, and mum’s friend Pat, who was my age more or less, popped round. By Wednesday mum was sat up in hospital and looking much better. Dad took grandma to see her as a surprise, mum burst into tears straight away. As she did when my brother Mark and girlfriend Sue visited on Saturday and Sunday, emotional and still in pain in her stomache, but improving. Mark & Sue gave me a double album of Donna Summer greatest hits, out of nowhere and just because, which surprised me, I didn’t want to accept it as it was really for Sue. I still have it.

Meanwhile, Alan from College rang me with his final grade results (same as me, surprisingly for us both) while other friends got the expected Grade 1. Paul meanwhile had got a teaching job in Rotherham, so he dropped by on Friday evening, excited about his new job, for a chat. We heard that Jane had got a job in Oxford, and went to the pub for an hour. It was terrific having a friend to talk to, it had been 5 weeks since College and I was feeling lonesome amongst the anxiety.

Posted by: popchartfreak 4th June 2016, 08:30 PM

12th August 1980

It’s a 3rd week at 1 for the Abba classic, and a Xanadu movie 3,4,5, as The Gibson Brothers get a 4th top 10 in a row, and New Musik make it 3 in a row. Billy Joel still thinks it Rock ‘n’ Roll to him, and grabs his first actual top 10 after 5 years of chart entries with his US chart-topper. Leaping into the 20 50’s oldie Tom Hark is revived by a fishy band, while Lip Up fatty displays Bad Manners in the top 20 for the 2nd time. Roxy, though, make it 8 years of top 20 entries, which is all of their singles to date, and most of Bryan Ferry’s solo singles. Oh Yeah!

George Benson gets his biggest chart peak since 1977, and highest new entry is veteran 60’s Brit pop star Mike Berry, starring then in sitcom Are You Being Served, in at 27 with oldie Sunshine Of Your Smile. He had previously covered a Billy Swan cover of an Elvis classic which had hit my top 10 in 1972 for The Berries (formerly Rockin’ Berries) - Don’t Be Cruel made my top 20 in 1975, and you will never ever hear the Berries cover, as it was a novelty cover featuring an impression of paedophile DJ Jimmy Savile. Not that they knew that then, as it wouldn’t have been that amusing. This song, though, was positively archaic, published in 1913 in the UK of British songwriters, covered by many from 1914 onwards, though not covered by anyone still-well-known until Frank Sinatra did it in 1941, almost 30 years later. So, this version was an amazing 67 years old, which was historical to me at that time, and I rather took to the sweet old-fashioned-ness of it.

At 28, Ray Dorset of Mungo Jerry returns a decade after In The Summertime and many others - well, at least his song returns him, as he donates it to Kelly Marie, Feels Like I’m In Love pure disco cheese, and a bit of fluff fun. Tom Browne funks into the 40, and Sheena Easton gets a 2nd top 40 with previous flop single Modern Girl entering at 35 as 9 to 5 goes up to 19. Modern Girl is better. Sue Wilkinson hustles into the 40, too, and Don McLean gets his 5th - Since I Don’t Have You does what Art Garfunkel’s did the year before. Finally Bowie is back with a bang, a hot new single and video and image, the Steve Strange-featuring New Romantic masterpiece that is Ashes To Ashes at 40.

Other new entries: The Clash at 50 with Bankrobber, all moody and dub reggae, and for me their best single to date - I was very much in the minority though, at the time, to think that. Another oldie song, Just Like Eddie, a tribute 60’s song from Heinz referencing Eddie Cochran, is covered synth-style by the Silicon Teens in a decent version at 63. Jermaine Jackson returns and he’s Burning Hot at 65 - well at least he was quite warm - and Elton is showing off his Sartorial Eloquence at 67, a decent ballad. Roger Daltrey gets his first solo entry in 3 years, and 7 years since his first outside of The Who, a song from a prison drama movie McVicar which he starred in, Free Me at 70. Girlschool debut at 73 with a cover of 60’s rock classic Race With The Devil, The Village People are back for the 4th time at 74, and a new lead singer, also from a movie of the same name: Can’t Stop The Music. I didn’t rate the record much, and the somewhat camp film (to understate the case) was directed by comic actor Nancy Walker, who I was a huge fan of in her roles in Rhoda (see my TV list she appears at 2) and McMillan & Wife. Finally, Late In The Evening, and sneaking in at 75, Paul Simon extends his run to 11 years of many classics with a jazzy mellow upbeat US hit.

1 ( 1 ) THE WINNER TAKES IT ALL Abba
2 ( 2 ) UPSIDE DOWN Diana Ross
3 ( 3 ) XANADU Olivia Newton-John & The Electric Light Orchestra
4 ( 5 ) ALL OVER THE WORLD E.L.O.
5 ( 6 ) MAGIC Olivia Newton-John
6 ( 15 ) MARIANA The Gibson Brothers
7 ( 4 ) BABOOSHKA Kate Bush
8 ( 11 ) SANCTUARY New Musik
9 ( 8 ) THERE THERE MY DEAR Dexy’s Midnight Runners
10 ( 19 ) IT’S STILL ROCK ‘N’ ROLL TO ME Billy Joel



11 ( 7 ) A LOVER’S HOLIDAY Change
12 ( 36 ) TOM HARK The Piranhas
13 ( 9 ) ME MYSELF I Joan Armatrading
14 ( 16 ) SANTA ANA WINDS The Beach Boys
15 ( 24 ) LIP UP FATTY Bad Manners
16 ( 30 ) OH YEAH Roxy Music
17 ( 10 ) WEDNESDAY WEEK The Undertones
18 ( 12 ) COULD YOU BE LOVED Bob Marley And The Wailers
19 ( 20 ) 9 TO 5 (MY BABY TAKES THE MORNING TRAIN) Sheena Easton
20 ( 21 ) PRIVATE LIFE Grace Jones



21 ( 49 ) GIVE ME THE NIGHT George Benson
22 ( 13 ) WATERFALLS Paul McCartney
23 ( 27 ) OOPS UPSIDE YOUR HEAD The Gap Band
24 ( 17 ) MORE THAN I CAN SAY Leo Sayer
25 ( 29 ) ARE YOU GETTING ENOUGH HAPPINESS Hot Chocolate
26 ( 32 ) MY GUY/MY GIRL Amii Stewart and Johnny Bristol
27 ( NEW ) SUNSHINE OF YOUR SMILE Mike Berry
28 ( NEW ) FEELS LIKE I’M IN LOVE Kelly Marie
29 ( 14 ) THEME FROM INVADERS Yellow Magic Orchestra
30 ( 18 ) 747 (STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT) Saxon



31 ( 43 ) FUNKIN’ FOR JAMAICA Tom Browne
32 ( 28 ) USE IT UP AND WEAR IT OUT Odyssey
33 ( 26 ) MESSAGES Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
34 ( 34 ) SLEEPWALKING Ultravox
35 ( NEW ) MODERN GIRL Sheena Easton
36 ( 23 ) JUMP TO THE BEAT Stacey Lattisaw
37 ( 22 ) EMOTIONAL RESCUE The Rolling Stones
38 ( 64 ) YOU GOTTA BE A HUSTLER Sue Wilkinson
39 ( 57 ) SINCE I DON’T HAVE YOU Don McLean
40 ( NEW ) ASHES TO ASHES David Bowie



41 ( 35 ) REST OF YOUR LIFE Racey
42 ( 33 ) RUNNING FROM PARADISE Daryl Hall & John Oates
43 ( 40 ) CRYING Don McLean
44 ( 25 ) LOVE WILL TEAR US APART Joy Division
45 ( 39 ) LET’S HANG ON Darts
46 ( 50 ) SUMMER IN THE CITY Ray Gomez
47 ( 47 ) BLACK NIGHT Deep Purple
48 ( 31 ) NEON KNIGHTS Black Sabbath
49 ( 46 ) NO DOUBT ABOUT IT Hot Chocolate
50 ( NEW ) BANKROBBER The Clash



51 ( 38 ) DOES SHE HAVE A FRIEND Gene Chandler
52 ( 73 ) SUMMER FUN The Barracudas
53 ( 42 ) CHRISTINE Siouxsie And The Banshees
54 ( 44 ) BACK TOGETHER AGAIN Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway
55 ( 55 ) MONKEES EP (LAST TRAIN TO CLARKSVILLE/ I’M A BELIEVER/ A LITTLE BIT ME A LITTLE BIT YOU/ DAYDREAM BELIEVER) The Monkees
56 ( 41 ) WHOLE LOTTA ROSIE AC/DC
57 ( 69 ) A WALK IN THE PARK Nick Straker Band
58 ( 51 ) BED’S TOO BIG WITHOUT YOU (6 PACK) The Police
59 ( 45 ) BEHIND THE GROOVE Teena Marie
60 ( 61 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.

61 ( 62 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty
62 ( 48 ) I’M ALIVE Electric Light Orchestra
63 ( NEW ) JUST LIKE EDDIE Silicon Teens
64 ( 56 ) SOLDIER’S SONG The Hollies
65 ( NEW ) BURNING HOT Jermaine Jackson
66 ( 53 ) TWO PINTS OF LAGER AND A PACKET OF CRISPS Splodgenessabounds
67 ( NEW ) SARTORIAL ELOQUENCE Elton John
68 ( 60 ) THEME FROM M*A*S*H The MASH
69 ( 37 ) MY GIRL The Whispers
70 ( NEW ) FREE ME Roger Daltrey

71 ( 52 ) GIRLFRIEND Michael Jackson
72 ( 72 ) EVERYTHING WORKS Cheap Trick
73 ( NEW ) RACE WITH THE DEVIL Girlschool
74 ( NEW ) CAN’T STOP THE MUSIC The Village People
75 ( NEW ) LATE IN THE EVENING Paul Simon

MY TV CHART
Aug 3- Aug 9
1 Soap
2 Rhoda
3 The Mary Tyler Moore Show
4 The New Avengers
5 Top Of The Pops
6 Doctor Who (Tues)
7 The Rockford Files
8 Taxi
9 Doctor Who (Fri)
10 The Kelly Monteith Show
11 Laverne & Shirley
12 Doctor Who (Thurs)
13 Newsnight (Fri)
14 Jupiter
15 Film Greats


On TV American sitcom heaven for me, plus some old episodes of Doctor Who featuring Lallah Ward’s debut. In my life I was getting stressed about getting nowhere in terms of deciding about career decisions, mum was improving in hospital, which was a relief, and granddad & grandma were round helping dad with a new loft-ladder, then we took them back and had tea. At the cinema to see The Black Hole, Disney’s attempt to cash-in on sci-fi blockbuster action. My review: “the good points: Roddy McDowell & the humour of the robot; some of the effects; a theoretically good cast. The bad points: the rest of it!!!” I ranted on for a while about it, but essentially concluded it was garbage. It’s not repeated much on TV these days...

I passed my time with Record Mirror, Smash Hits, and buying a load of cheap-ex-chart singles (as usual) and the new-look much-improved Top Of The Pops, and TV special on planet Jupiter, being as Voyager had amazing photos from the last year which had actually focused attention on the planet-sized Galilean moons, they were far more interesting than Jupiter, not least the tantalising ice-world Europa and it’s potential sub-surface ocean which was mind-bogglingly exciting. I also spent a whopping £19 (huge amount in those days) on a blank video to record Star Trek and The Martian Chronicles (the TV series based on my absolutely adored Ray Bradbury collection of short stories which I first read in 1970), both about to air on TV: that also meant I got to start my selective recording of pop music videos and TV clips from this day on, and re-watch fave TV shows many times. This was pure science-fiction joy! On friday Aunty Ann (my age) and my little cousins came round, my other grandma (mum’s mum) was stopping with us, down from Liverpool, and I was shopping for a suit for my brother’s wedding. Dad paid for much of it (£50). At last, on Saturday, mum came home from hospital - that meant cleaning up the house first, ready for her arrival with Aunty Eileen and my growing cousins (9 & 7 years old). This was the start of a very long list of family visitors while mum laid down on the sofa, not to mention Renie Modelefski, old neighbour friend and Polish war refugee. Aunty Ann then asked mum & dad, and me (!) to be godparents to baby cousin Neil. Unexpected but very nice to be asked, although I then worried about my brother’s feelings getting hurt at not being asked. Just to round off the week, the stress of the week caused me to be up with stomach pains half the night, my default anxiety reaction. On Sunday, Sue was poorly, so we got the doctor round (flu) and generally everybody was on top of everyone in an over-crowded stressed house, and bickering in between part 2 of the long-list of visitors from mum’s side of the family and her friends. Mum is loved by almost everyone in her life.

That’s a busy week for someone who should just be saying: Unemployed. Looked for job. My life has never been that simple, though, it’s been an ongoing soap opera, and even doing nothing is generally doing quite a lot in reality.

Posted by: popchartfreak 31st August 2016, 02:25 PM

19th August 1980


4 weeks on top for Abba’s classic, with ELO as so often in support at 2, from Xanadu and All Over The World. Shooting up to 3, though it’s Bowie’s Ashes To Ashes, his first top 3 since Sound And Vision in 1977, while Billy Joel hits a new peak of 7, and Tom Hark slips into the top 10. Highest new entry is an absolute stormer from New Zealand band Split-Enz, who featured among the line-up future members of Crowded House, brothers Tim Finn and Neil Finn. Split-Enz were sort of New Wave sounding and rockabilly looking, and were consistently good. I Got You remains their best record, and it’s epic and very under-rated.

Up into the 20 it’s Kelly Marie doing Mungo Jerry, and it feels like I’m in love in the summertime, George Benson demands the night, and Racey wish to be with someone for the rest of their life, a pretty decent song by Racey standards. New at 30, Cliff is back with a good Dreaming pop song that sounded like an old standard Cliff song done new-stylee, but wasn’t, while The Clash are robbin’ banks at 33 a couple of years on from fighting the law and calling London. There’s big climbs for both Roger Daltrey and Elton John into the 40, 7 years on from Giving It All Away for Rog (or 11 years on from Pinball Wizard if you count The Who records), and 9 years on for Elton from Your Song.

A measly 2 other new entries at 44, Hazel O’Connor debuting with the New Wave movie Breaking Glass soundtrack hit Eighth Day, and at 71 it’s Bow Wow Wow, fronted by 13-year-old Annabella Lwin and managed by Malcolm McLaren. Rather naughtily Malcolm nicked Adam & The Ants, minus Adam, and their drumbeat burundi sound, and took the rather young Annabella into the charts with a song pushing the latest teenage music format, the cassette, C-30 C-60 C-90 Go. Happily Adam re-grouped with new musicians and wasn’t far behind....

1 ( 1 ) THE WINNER TAKES IT ALL Abba
2 ( 4 ) ALL OVER THE WORLD E.L.O.
3 ( 40 ) ASHES TO ASHES David Bowie
4 ( 5 ) MAGIC Olivia Newton-John
5 ( 2 ) UPSIDE DOWN Diana Ross
6 ( 3 ) XANADU Olivia Newton-John & The Electric Light Orchestra
7 ( 10 ) IT’S STILL ROCK ‘N’ ROLL TO ME Billy Joel
8 ( 12 ) TOM HARK The Piranhas
9 ( 6 ) MARIANA The Gibson Brothers
10 ( 27 ) SUNSHINE OF YOUR SMILE Mike Berry



11 ( 8 ) SANCTUARY New Musik
12 ( NEW ) I GOT YOU Split-Enz
13 ( 7 ) BABOOSHKA Kate Bush
14 ( 9 ) THERE THERE MY DEAR Dexy’s Midnight Runners
15 ( 28 ) FEELS LIKE I’M IN LOVE Kelly Marie
16 ( 16 ) OH YEAH Roxy Music
17 ( 21 ) GIVE ME THE NIGHT George Benson
18 ( 15 ) LIP UP FATTY Bad Manners
19 ( 41 ) REST OF YOUR LIFE Racey
20 ( 20 ) PRIVATE LIFE Grace Jones



21 ( 35 ) MODERN GIRL Sheena Easton
22 ( 13 ) ME MYSELF I Joan Armatrading
23 ( 11 ) A LOVER’S HOLIDAY Change
24 ( 18 ) COULD YOU BE LOVED Bob Marley And The Wailers
25 ( 31 ) FUNKIN’ FOR JAMAICA Tom Browne
26 ( 38 ) YOU GOTTA BE A HUSTLER Sue Wilkinson
27 ( 17 ) WEDNESDAY WEEK The Undertones
28 ( 34 ) SLEEPWALKING Ultravox
29 ( 23 ) OOPS UPSIDE YOUR HEAD The Gap Band
30 ( NEW ) DREAMING Cliff Richard



31 ( 24 ) MORE THAN I CAN SAY Leo Sayer
32 ( 14 ) SANTA ANA WINDS The Beach Boys
33 ( 50 ) BANKROBBER The Clash
34 ( 22 ) WATERFALLS Paul McCartney
35 ( 32 ) USE IT UP AND WEAR IT OUT Odyssey
36 ( 25 ) ARE YOU GETTING ENOUGH HAPPINESS Hot Chocolate
37 ( 39 ) SINCE I DON’T HAVE YOU Don McLean
38 ( 19 ) 9 TO 5 (MY BABY TAKES THE MORNING TRAIN) Sheena Easton
39 ( 70 ) FREE ME Roger Daltrey
40 ( 67 ) SARTORIAL ELOQUENCE Elton John

41 ( 33 ) MESSAGES Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
42 ( 30 ) 747 (STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT) Saxon
43 ( 48 ) NEON KNIGHTS Black Sabbath
44 ( NEW ) EIGHTH DAY Hazel O’Connor
45 ( 29 ) THEME FROM INVADERS Yellow Magic Orchestra
46 ( 52 ) SUMMER FUN The Barracudas
47 ( 43 ) CRYING Don McLean
48 ( 63 ) JUST LIKE EDDIE Silicon Teens
49 ( 36 ) JUMP TO THE BEAT Stacey Lattisaw
50 ( 57 ) A WALK IN THE PARK Nick Straker Band



51 ( 42 ) RUNNING FROM PARADISE Daryl Hall & John Oates
52 ( 26 ) MY GUY/MY GIRL Amii Stewart and Johnny Bristol
53 ( 46 ) SUMMER IN THE CITY Ray Gomez
54 ( 49 ) NO DOUBT ABOUT IT Hot Chocolate
55 ( 55 ) MONKEES EP (LAST TRAIN TO CLARKSVILLE/ I’M A BELIEVER/ A LITTLE BIT ME A LITTLE BIT YOU/ DAYDREAM BELIEVER) The Monkees
56 ( 37 ) EMOTIONAL RESCUE The Rolling Stones
57 ( 45 ) LET’S HANG ON Darts
58 ( 75 ) LATE IN THE EVENING Paul Simon
59 ( 74 ) CAN’T STOP THE MUSIC The Village People
60 ( 44 ) LOVE WILL TEAR US APART Joy Division

61 ( 60 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.
62 ( 61 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty
63 ( 53 ) CHRISTINE Siouxsie And The Banshees
64 ( 54 ) BACK TOGETHER AGAIN Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway
65 ( 47 ) BLACK NIGHT Deep Purple
66 ( 58 ) BED’S TOO BIG WITHOUT YOU (6 PACK) The Police
67 ( 51 ) DOES SHE HAVE A FRIEND Gene Chandler
68 ( 64 ) SOLDIER’S SONG The Hollies
69 ( 59 ) BEHIND THE GROOVE Teena Marie
70 ( 62 ) I’M ALIVE Electric Light Orchestra

71 ( NEW ) C30 C60 C90 GO Bow Wow Wow
72 ( 56 ) WHOLE LOTTA ROSIE AC/DC
73 ( 73 ) RACE WITH THE DEVIL Girlschool
74 ( 68 ) THEME FROM M*A*S*H The MASH
75 ( 65 ) BURNING HOT Jermaine Jackson



MY Top TV 10th-15th Aug 1980
1 Star Trek: By Any Other Name
2 Soap
3 Top Of The Pops
4 The Martian Chronicles
5 Rhoda
6 Laverne & Shirley
7 The Mary Tyler Moore Show
8 The Outer Limits
9 The Awakening Land
10 Taxi
11 Carry On Up The Jungle
12 The Phil Silvers Show
13 Superstar Profile
14 CHIPS
15 Summer Holiday

In life, mum was still in bed a lot recovering from her op, while dad when stressed got argumentative and short-tempered and tactless with mum and everyone else. Grandma tried to stop the arguing, and failed. This made grandma burst into tears when she was alone with me “I feel so sorry for your mam” which is how mum felt about grandma and her partner Jack. I did my best to console her and assured her I’d look after mum, before taking her to catch the bus back to Liverpool. I’m still sticking to my word, looking after her, and dad.

Mum’s cousin Pauline & hubby Pete came to see mum, I printed some b&w photos in my “darkroom” curtains, blanket over my bedroom window, with chemical trays and portable negative enlarger. Other visitors; Auntie Ann & my little cousins, grandma & grandad, and meanwhile I went house-hunting with brother Mark & Sue, mum whittled about odd “dandruff-sores” in my hair around my head - still have them, so urging me to see the doctors not necessary, and it’s not lack of washing for sure! Might be the opposite though. Thursday I babysat for cousins Rachel & Lisa, and on Saturday, college friend Bev gave me a lift to Nottingham’s Victoria Centre, where I met college mate Ian - it was SO great having friends to talk to again away from home stresses, I was on a hyper-high all day as we met up with Paul, Jane & Dave, Julie, Joe & Sue.

Joe: “How are things?”
Me: “Fine. How are yours?”

Bit giddy I think! A pub drink, then we all went 10-pin bowling for a fun fun fun time, loved it. Out round Nottingham for a meal, then we lowered the tone in a posh bar, and then decided to go ice skating: well, Julie & I skated, Joe, Dave & Ian all learnt to skate, the others passed. I didn’t fall over during races. Result! Then, yet MORE 10-pin bowling, before going back to Dave’s place to look at my college slides and nostalgia for times past all of 2 months ago. Dave was keen on buying a new-fangled video-recorder-player - I sold him on the idea, Jane was less keen. Oops! Finally, a bus back to Mansfield and reality. Hey ho.

Posted by: popchartfreak 27th December 2016, 02:25 PM

back after a lay-off, it's the oldies charts...

26th August 1980

It’s a new number as David Bowie’s groundbreaking video for Ashes To Ashes takes him to the top of my charts for the 3rd time, 5 years since he last topped with Space Oddity. UK chart-topper Kelly Marie sneaks her Ray Dorset way into my top 10, The Clash rob da bank at 12, a new chart peak for them, for me, and Modern Girl outdoes 9 to 5 for Sheena.

Highest new entry is The Jam, and Start, in at 14 and off the back of a chart-topper, Going Underground, a great single following a fab single. Cliff is into the 20 for the umpteenth time in the week he appears on Rosko’s Roundtable to review new singles, and Bow Wow Wow’s cassette-single, a sign of the times, rockets up to 25. In at 32, Gary Numan makes it 5 top 40‘s in a row, as I Die You Die keeps him hot, a great single. In at 40, it’s the decade-old Paranoid: I’d missed the original run, out of the country, so this was like a new old gem and only the second chart hit for Black Sabbath, 2 years on from Neon Knights. Ozzy Osbourne’s biggest days, of course, still lay 25 years into the future. Who woulda thought!

New at 42, it’s Shaky’ second hit, Marie Marie, very singalongaElvis, as the Korgis lovely third hit, If It’s Alright With You Baby, pops in. At 53, The Selecter keep the short run of singles cracking out, this one The Whisper, shhhh don’t tell anyone! Best Friend, another ska hit, also keeps The Beat’s profile going at 59, and a good 4th single for Secret Affair is in at 65, Sound Of Confusion. The Skids run of hits is nearing an end as Circus Games scrapes in at 74, and Peter Gabriel’s song for South African activist Stephen Biko takes up the last new spot.



1 ( 3 ) ASHES TO ASHES David Bowie
2 ( 1 ) THE WINNER TAKES IT ALL Abba
3 ( 4 ) MAGIC Olivia Newton-John
4 ( 2 ) ALL OVER THE WORLD E.L.O.
5 ( 8 ) TOM HARK The Piranhas
6 ( 7 ) IT’S STILL ROCK ‘N’ ROLL TO ME Billy Joel
7 ( 15 ) FEELS LIKE I’M IN LOVE Kelly Marie
8 ( 6 ) XANADU Olivia Newton-John & The Electric Light Orchestra
9 ( 10 ) SUNSHINE OF YOUR SMILE Mike Berry
10 ( 5 ) UPSIDE DOWN Diana Ross



11 ( 12 ) I GOT YOU Split-Enz
12 ( 33 ) BANKROBBER The Clash
13 ( 21 ) MODERN GIRL Sheena Easton
14 ( NEW ) START The Jam
15 ( 9 ) MARIANA The Gibson Brothers
16 ( 16 ) OH YEAH Roxy Music
17 ( 20 ) PRIVATE LIFE Grace Jones
18 ( 30 ) DREAMING Cliff Richard
19 ( 14 ) THERE THERE MY DEAR Dexy’s Midnight Runners
20 ( 17 ) GIVE ME THE NIGHT George Benson



21 ( 11 ) SANCTUARY New Musik
22 ( 13 ) BABOOSHKA Kate Bush
23 ( 25 ) FUNKIN’ FOR JAMAICA Tom Browne
24 ( 28 ) SLEEPWALKING Ultravox
25 ( 71 ) C30 C60 C90 GO Bow Wow Wow
26 ( 26 ) YOU GOTTA BE A HUSTLER Sue Wilkinson
27 ( 50 ) A WALK IN THE PARK Nick Straker Band
28 ( 18 ) LIP UP FATTY Bad Manners
29 ( 22 ) ME MYSELF I Joan Armatrading
30 ( 46 ) SUMMER FUN The Barracudas



31 ( 24 ) COULD YOU BE LOVED Bob Marley And The Wailers
32 ( NEW ) I DIE YOU DIE Gary Numan
33 ( 44 ) EIGHTH DAY Hazel O’Connor
34 ( 23 ) A LOVER’S HOLIDAY Change
35 ( 29 ) OOPS UPSIDE YOUR HEAD The Gap Band
36 ( 40 ) SARTORIAL ELOQUENCE Elton John
37 ( 31 ) MORE THAN I CAN SAY Leo Sayer
38 ( 34 ) WATERFALLS Paul McCartney
39 ( 19 ) REST OF YOUR LIFE Racey
40 ( NEW ) PARANOID Black Sabbath



41 ( 32 ) SANTA ANA WINDS The Beach Boys
42 ( NEW ) MARIE MARIE Shakin’ Stevens
43 ( 41 ) MESSAGES Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
44 ( 37 ) SINCE I DON’T HAVE YOU Don McLean
45 ( 35 ) USE IT UP AND WEAR IT OUT Odyssey
46 ( 42 ) 747 (STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT) Saxon
47 ( 38 ) 9 TO 5 (MY BABY TAKES THE MORNING TRAIN) Sheena Easton
48 ( 47 ) CRYING Don McLean
49 ( 59 ) CAN’T STOP THE MUSIC The Village People
50 ( 39 ) FREE ME Roger Daltrey

51 ( NEW ) IF IT’S ALRIGHT WITH YOU BABY The Korgis
52 ( 27 ) WEDNESDAY WEEK The Undertones
53 ( NEW ) THE WHISPER The Selecter
54 ( 54 ) NO DOUBT ABOUT IT Hot Chocolate
55 ( 55 ) MONKEES EP (LAST TRAIN TO CLARKSVILLE/ I’M A BELIEVER/ A LITTLE BIT ME A LITTLE BIT YOU/ DAYDREAM BELIEVER) The Monkees
56 ( 49 ) JUMP TO THE BEAT Stacey Lattisaw
57 ( 58 ) LATE IN THE EVENING Paul Simon
58 ( 45 ) THEME FROM INVADERS Yellow Magic Orchestra
59 ( NEW ) BEST FRIEND The Beat
60 ( 51 ) RUNNING FROM PARADISE Daryl Hall & John Oates

61 ( 61 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.
62 ( 62 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty
63 ( 43 ) NEON KNIGHTS Black Sabbath
64 ( 57 ) LET’S HANG ON Darts
65 ( NEW ) SOUND OF CONFUSION Secret Affair
66 ( 48 ) JUST LIKE EDDIE Silicon Teens
67 ( 66 ) BED’S TOO BIG WITHOUT YOU (6 PACK) The Police
68 ( 63 ) CHRISTINE Siouxsie And The Banshees
69 ( 64 ) BACK TOGETHER AGAIN Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway
70 ( 56 ) EMOTIONAL RESCUE The Rolling Stones

71 ( 60 ) LOVE WILL TEAR US APART Joy Division
72 ( 53 ) SUMMER IN THE CITY Ray Gomez
73 ( 68 ) SOLDIER’S SONG The Hollies
74 ( NEW ) CIRCUS GAMES The Skids
75 ( NEW ) BIKO Peter Gabriel



TV 16th-22nd Aug

1 Star Trek: Return To Tomorrow
2 The Martian Chronicles
3 Top Of The Pops
4 Laverne & Shirley
5 The Awakening Land
6 Rhoda
7 Doctor Who (Tues)
8 The New Avengers
9 Taxi
10 Kelly Monteith
11 The Time Of Their Lives
12 The Outer Limits
13 WKRP In Cincinatti
14 Ray Bradbury Profile
15 Doctor Who (Mon)

On TV, The Martian Chronicles and Star Trek kept my sci-fi fixes going, while the writer of the brilliant sci-fi book of connected short stories The Martian Chronicles (or The Silver Locusts as I knew it), the poetic, dark, inventive, wistful and admirable Ray Bradbury gets a TV profile. There’s a great Top Of The Pops episode, and I’m into TV sitcom cheese as Laverne & Shirley get my chuckles.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 13th July 2019, 11:14 AM

2nd September 1980

OK, it's been a rather shocking 3 years since I added to my 1980 charts, and following a request from Snakey I thought I'd restart them, about time too! No more youtube links though they slow my laptop down to a crawl when I try to reopen the thread!

It's 2 weeks on top for Bowie's classic Ashes To Ashes, and that fab Steve Strange-featuring video, while Gazza Numan shoots up to 4 for a 4th top 5 with I Die You Die, The Clash get their first-ever top 5 with Bankrobber, and Split-Enz go top 10 with the brilliant I Got You, 7 years ahead of topping my charts as Crowded House (more or less) and 39 years ahead of Neil Finn standing in for the much-missed Lindsay Buckingham for Fleetwood Mac's 2019 tour. I didn't buy a ticket this time.

Big leaps for The Beat, and The Skids, into the top 20, joined by 10-year-old Paranoid for Ozzy & crew, and new entry It's Only Love lower down also of that vintage for the still fairly-recently-late Elvis as RCA worked that back catalogue of UK flops. Highest new entry is from Genesis, Misunderstanding at 22, in those days charting higher than later in their career, by and large, in my charts - the other way round in the UK charts.

Into the 40, The Selecter keeping the big ska acts going, Shaky gets his first top 40 with Marie Marie, Peter Gabriel gets political with Biko, and The Korgis get a 3rd with the forgotten lovely If It's Alright With You Baby. Newies: The Hee Bee Gee Bees taking the piss out of The Bee Gees to their not-surprising displeasure (it was unfair criticism, but it was the start of the anti-disco anti-Bee Gees backlash following World Domination). The man behind Meaningless Songs (Philip Pope) starred in minor roles in various UK comedy shows, and was also behind Spitting Image songs, and inflicted The Chicken Song on an unsuspecting world, for which he deserves a methaphorical slap. I know it was supposed to annoy with it's banality, Philip, but you didn't have to release it and become the thing it was mocking!

Randy Crawford enters with the fab cool One Day I'll Fly Away and kicks her solo jazz-soul career off a year since The Crusaders hit, Streetlife, Shalamar return for a 3rd year of chart hits and still ahead of their big phase - I Owe You One, guys; Ian Dury wants to be straight, 2 years on from What A Waste, and finally Irene Cara is heading for Fame, the title song from Alan Parker's good movie about wannabe stars at an academy. Quality, but it took 2 years and a watered-down soap TV series based on the film to top the UK charts.

What was on TV that week? Well I was still worshipping Star Trek, as I hadn't overdosed on the episodes in those days - repeats tended to be years later, once only, and we didn't have video-recorders - but actually dad bought an expensive VHS Phillips2000 around this time, one of the first things I recorded on my own £20 tape (an absolute fortune then) was the TOTP top 10 rundown leading down to Ashes To Ashes on top with the full video. The other thing I recorded were episodes of Star Trek, watched them more, then erased them as I didnt have the space to keep all but the best. US sitcoms were strong, Doctor Who still popped in, Buck Rogers was fluff, I was and am into science stuff with Arthur C. Clarke (a hero of mine) and Sky At Night with Patrick Moore, and errr Chopper Squad, the Aussie adventure rescue show. Let's just say it was an early version of Baywatch, only not quite as trashy, and people didn't watch for the plots. I was unemployed. That's my excuse!



1 ( 1 ) ASHES TO ASHES David Bowie
2 ( 2 ) THE WINNER TAKES IT ALL Abba
3 ( 3 ) MAGIC Olivia Newton-John
4 ( 32 ) I DIE YOU DIE Gary Numan
5 ( 12 ) BANKROBBER The Clash
6 ( 6 ) IT’S STILL ROCK ‘N’ ROLL TO ME Billy Joel
7 ( 11 ) I GOT YOU Split-Enz
8 ( 5 ) TOM HARK The Piranhas
9 ( 9 ) SUNSHINE OF YOUR SMILE Mike Berry
10 ( 4 ) ALL OVER THE WORLD E.L.O.

11 ( 14 ) START The Jam
12 ( 13 ) MODERN GIRL Sheena Easton
13 ( 8 ) XANADU Olivia Newton-John & The Electric Light Orchestra
14 ( 7 ) FEELS LIKE I’M IN LOVE Kelly Marie
15 ( 59 ) BEST FRIEND The Beat
16 ( 74 ) CIRCUS GAMES The Skids
17 ( 10 ) UPSIDE DOWN Diana Ross
18 ( 18 ) DREAMING Cliff Richard
19 ( 24 ) SLEEPWALKING Ultravox
20 ( 40 ) PARANOID Black Sabbath

21 ( 20 ) GIVE ME THE NIGHT George Benson
22 ( NEW ) MISUNDERSTANDING Genesis
23 ( 15 ) MARIANA The Gibson Brothers
24 ( 27 ) A WALK IN THE PARK Nick Straker Band
25 ( 36 ) SARTORIAL ELOQUENCE Elton John
26 ( 33 ) EIGHTH DAY Hazel O’Connor
27 ( 30 ) SUMMER FUN The Barracudas
28 ( 16 ) OH YEAH Roxy Music
29 ( 17 ) PRIVATE LIFE Grace Jones
30 ( 22 ) BABOOSHKA Kate Bush

31 ( 23 ) FUNKIN’ FOR JAMAICA Tom Browne
32 ( 19 ) THERE THERE MY DEAR Dexy’s Midnight Runners
33 ( 53 ) THE WHISPER The Selecter
34 ( 21 ) SANCTUARY New Musik
35 ( 25 ) C30 C60 C90 GO Bow Wow Wow
36 ( 26 ) YOU GOTTA BE A HUSTLER Sue Wilkinson
37 ( 42 ) MARIE MARIE Shakin’ Stevens
38 ( 75 ) BIKO Peter Gabriel
39 ( 37 ) MORE THAN I CAN SAY Leo Sayer
40 ( 51 ) IF IT’S ALRIGHT WITH YOU BABY The Korgis

41 ( 28 ) LIP UP FATTY Bad Manners
42 ( 38 ) WATERFALLS Paul McCartney
43 ( 43 ) MESSAGES Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
44 ( 31 ) COULD YOU BE LOVED Bob Marley And The Wailers
45 ( 34 ) A LOVER’S HOLIDAY Change
46 ( 39 ) REST OF YOUR LIFE Racey
47 ( 29 ) ME MYSELF I Joan Armatrading
48 ( 48 ) CRYING Don McLean
49 ( 57 ) LATE IN THE EVENING Paul Simon
50 ( 41 ) SANTA ANA WINDS The Beach Boys

51 ( 35 ) OOPS UPSIDE YOUR HEAD The Gap Band
52 ( 46 ) 747 (STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT) Saxon
53 ( NEW ) MEANINGLESS SONGS The Hee Bee Gee Bees
54 ( 54 ) NO DOUBT ABOUT IT Hot Chocolate
55 ( 55 ) MONKEES EP (LAST TRAIN TO CLARKSVILLE/ I’M A BELIEVER/ A LITTLE BIT ME A LITTLE BIT YOU/ DAYDREAM BELIEVER) The Monkees
56 ( 61 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.
57 ( 62 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty
58 ( NEW ) ONE DAY I’LL FLY AWAY Randy Crawford
59 ( 45 ) USE IT UP AND WEAR IT OUT Odyssey
60 ( 65 ) SOUND OF CONFUSION Secret Affair

61 ( 44 ) SINCE I DON’T HAVE YOU Don McLean
62 ( 49 ) CAN’T STOP THE MUSIC The Village People
63 ( 60 ) RUNNING FROM PARADISE Daryl Hall & John Oates
64 ( NEW ) IT’S ONLY LOVE Elvis Presley
65 ( 52 ) WEDNESDAY WEEK The Undertones
66 ( 56 ) JUMP TO THE BEAT Stacey Lattisaw
67 ( 50 ) FREE ME Roger Daltrey
68 ( NEW ) I OWE YOU ONE Shalamar
69 ( 47 ) 9 TO 5 (MY BABY TAKES THE MORNING TRAIN) Sheena Easton
70 ( NEW ) FAME Irene Cara

71 ( 58 ) THEME FROM INVADERS Yellow Magic Orchestra
72 ( 69 ) BACK TOGETHER AGAIN Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway
73 ( 68 ) CHRISTINE Siouxsie And The Banshees
74 ( 67 ) BED’S TOO BIG WITHOUT YOU (6 PACK) The Police
75 ( NEW ) I WANT TO BE STRAIGHT Ian Dury


TV Aug 30th to 5th Sept

1 Star Trek: Patterns Of Force
2 Soap
3 The New Avengers
4 Rhoda
5 The Mary Tyler Moore Show
6 Top Of The Pops
7 Goodbye Gutenberg
8 Mork And Mindy
9 The Morecambe & Wise Show
10 The Outer Limits
11 Chopper Squad
12 Doctor Who
13 Buck Rogers In The 25th Century
14 Arthur C. Clarke’s Mysterious World
15 The Sky At Night

Posted by: TheSnake 13th July 2019, 06:47 PM

Yay. Looking forward to these early 80s personal charts.

Just looked back at the last page: 'Coming Up' by Paul McCartney did well in your personal chart, I really liked it and its weird vocal effect from when I first discovered it a few years ago, it's my favourite Paul McCartney solo song (that I have heard anyway).

Other tracks from earlier in 1980 I like are New Musik - This World Of Water (a bit of a groundbreaker I think as its one of the first charting pop songs to have electronically pitched vocals in them - and pitched vocals have been everywhere in the charts this decade). John Foxx - Underpass is brilliant (and perhaps influential on later dance music) with its euphoric synths.

As for this chart, 'C30 C60 C90 GO' is a good mix of punk and hop hop. 'Paranoid' is great, definitively one of the best rock songs ever I think. 'Feels Like I'm In Love' - what a classic, great fun, and it sounds like a real precursor to the brief Hi-NRG trend in 1984.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 13th July 2019, 06:58 PM

QUOTE(TheSnake @ Jul 13 2019, 07:47 PM)

Posted by: King Rollo 13th July 2019, 07:12 PM

There are so many classic songs here. I was 15 in 1980 and bought my first transistor radio with my pocket money so I was able to listen to all these songs in my bedroom on Radio 1 or Radio Luxembourg.

Tom Hark by the Piranhas is currently one of the songs being played every day at the Cricket World Cup after a wicket falls or a boundary is scored (a few seconds of it anyway). It was also the Arsenal fans' chant for Thierry Henry when he was at the club as it has the right number of notes to fit his name.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 14th July 2019, 09:33 AM

QUOTE(King Rollo @ Jul 13 2019, 08:12 PM)

Posted by: TheSnake 26th July 2019, 04:09 PM

You have 'new romantic' in the title but that was more prevalent in 1981-1982 than 1980 I thought. It is however a difficult thing to define and those bands which have been defined as 'new romantic' seem to have been a mix of genres with Brit-funk, disco and synthpop influences.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 27th July 2019, 06:31 PM

QUOTE(TheSnake @ Jul 26 2019, 05:09 PM)

Posted by: dandy* 28th July 2019, 10:50 AM

Ashes to Ashes! Definitely one of the very best 80s songs.

I've cut out loads that I do quite like but these are all particularly great...

2 ( 2 ) THE WINNER TAKES IT ALL Abba
5 ( 12 ) BANKROBBER The Clash
11 ( 14 ) START The Jam
14 ( 7 ) FEELS LIKE I’M IN LOVE Kelly Marie
17 ( 10 ) UPSIDE DOWN Diana Ross
20 ( 40 ) PARANOID Black Sabbath
21 ( 20 ) GIVE ME THE NIGHT George Benson
29 ( 17 ) PRIVATE LIFE Grace Jones
30 ( 22 ) BABOOSHKA Kate Bush
44 ( 31 ) COULD YOU BE LOVED Bob Marley And The Wailers
47 ( 29 ) ME MYSELF I Joan Armatrading
59 ( 45 ) USE IT UP AND WEAR IT OUT Odyssey
69 ( 47 ) 9 TO 5 (MY BABY TAKES THE MORNING TRAIN) Sheena Easton

Posted by: Popchartfreak 28th July 2019, 02:08 PM

QUOTE(dandy* @ Jul 28 2019, 11:50 AM)

Ashes to Ashes! Definitely one of the very best 80s songs.

I've cut out loads that I do quite like but these are all particularly great...

2 ( 2 ) THE WINNER TAKES IT ALL Abba
5 ( 12 ) BANKROBBER The Clash
11 ( 14 ) START The Jam
14 ( 7 ) FEELS LIKE I’M IN LOVE Kelly Marie
17 ( 10 ) UPSIDE DOWN Diana Ross
20 ( 40 ) PARANOID Black Sabbath
21 ( 20 ) GIVE ME THE NIGHT George Benson
29 ( 17 ) PRIVATE LIFE Grace Jones
30 ( 22 ) BABOOSHKA Kate Bush
44 ( 31 ) COULD YOU BE LOVED Bob Marley And The Wailers
47 ( 29 ) ME MYSELF I Joan Armatrading
59 ( 45 ) USE IT UP AND WEAR IT OUT Odyssey
69 ( 47 ) 9 TO 5 (MY BABY TAKES THE MORNING TRAIN) Sheena Easton

Posted by: TheSnake 29th July 2019, 06:20 PM

QUOTE(Popchartfreak @ Jul 27 2019, 07:31 PM)

hi Snakey yes the new romantic explosion was 1981 but it's generally thought to be ashes to ashes that kicked it off though actual new acts it was Spandau and visage as the new year approached. Some might argue ultravox with midge ure joining human league Adam and the ants were also pseudo new romantic from this point on. Steve strange and the blitz kids were really the core though I think

Posted by: Popchartfreak 30th July 2019, 12:01 PM

QUOTE(TheSnake @ Jul 29 2019, 07:20 PM)

Posted by: TheSnake 30th July 2019, 06:15 PM

QUOTE(Popchartfreak @ Jul 30 2019, 01:01 PM)

Oh yes lots of synth inspirations like those you mention - Bowie went to the Blitz and met Steve Strange I think, and was directly influenced by the new movement on the video to Ashes To Ashes, and follow-up fashion. I also prefer pre-83 Spandau - I'd go so far as the say I prefer I Don't Need This Pressure On-era Spandau (Chant No 1) and everything that followed wasn't as good

Ooh I didnt look at the Legends entries, must find out what it was....! Pretty much all the New Romantics/synth bands of the 80's were big into Glam Rock, especially T.Rex and Bowie, and Adam had a tribal feel that was almost Glitter-esque, the most drum-based of all the glam rockers.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 31st July 2019, 06:55 AM

QUOTE(TheSnake @ Jul 30 2019, 07:15 PM)

Posted by: Popchartfreak 20th August 2019, 06:48 PM

9th September 1980

It's 2 weeks on top for the fab Ashes To Ashes as Randy Crawford flies up the chart in 7 days, not one, that'll be a fine 53 spots to 5 and a debut top 10 for her. The Jam are well into their peak era, Start-ing as they mean to go on - for 2 years at any rate, up to 7 and their 2nd top 10 in a row. Black Sabbath keep the spirit of 1970 alive, getting Paranoid at 8, and Elvis does the same, even though he's not keeping his own spirit alive, as It's Only Love shoots up to 23. The Beat also get a top 10 with Best Friend making it 2 in a row too for the ska lads.

Highest new entry is Queen going all Chic in the rhythm section, Another One Bites The Dust being an incredible change of style that was totally unexpected - John Deacon starting to affect hit singles now, and not just Freddie & Brian. In at 26, and fab. Irene Cara not only reaches the heights of Fame at 27, her touching ballad from the movie also enters at 60. It's quite possible I saw the film around this time! Shalamar get a second time around, and owe me one - or actually 3 under the name, or 2 with the hit-era lineup of Jeffrey, Howard & Jody.

Paul McCartney damages his own chances of a follow-up to the follow-up hit off his latest album, as the very quirky Temporary Secretary was released as a 25000 limited-edition 12" - a shame as it's very upbeat electro-pop and not what you'd expect from a Beatle at this stage in his career. In at 62 as my own "sales" charts are not limited-editions. The Cars are back again with a fourth hit, and it's Touch And Go. Literally. Judas Priest are United. I'm usually united in not rating Judas Priest, but there you go in at 69. Joan Armatrading is still all Me Myself I as she goes all the way to America at 73, leaving bottom rung a quiet early entry for a new track from Barbra Streisand, written by Barry Gibb, and called A Woman In Love. It drops out next week - but it'll be back once it gets some airplay....

Meanwhile on TV, cos I was unemployed and had time to watch lots of TV, and then rate it, Soap is the top show of the week, cos it was mad, irreverent and a huge piss-take, and enormously funny. I needed cheering up. I'm shocked to see how high I rated Laverne & Shirley! Then again their brand of amiable slapstick set in the 50's was adorable at times. Think French & Saunders in a US sitcom setting of dumb-but-loveable characters. TISWAS is at 4: back when Chris Tarrant took the pee out of kids, and was funny, and Lenny Henry did impressions and was funny, and pop stars turned up to get custard pies in the face and join in the fun. Abba and Marc Bolan had specials, TOTP wasn't as hugh-up as you might think, and Arthur C. Clarke analyses various phenomena (doot-doooo-de-do-do, Mah Na Mah Na...etc). I'm reading Dr Brian Cox at the mo, still a huge interest in the universe.



1 ( 1 ) ASHES TO ASHES David Bowie
2 ( 2 ) THE WINNER TAKES IT ALL Abba
3 ( 4 ) I DIE YOU DIE Gary Numan
4 ( 3 ) MAGIC Olivia Newton-John
5 ( 58 ) ONE DAY I’LL FLY AWAY Randy Crawford
6 ( 9 ) SUNSHINE OF YOUR SMILE Mike Berry
7 ( 11 ) START The Jam
8 ( 20 ) PARANOID Black Sabbath
9 ( 15 ) BEST FRIEND The Beat
10 ( 7 ) I GOT YOU Split-Enz

11 ( 8 ) TOM HARK The Piranhas
12 ( 6 ) IT’S STILL ROCK ‘N’ ROLL TO ME Billy Joel
13 ( 18 ) DREAMING Cliff Richard
14 ( 10 ) ALL OVER THE WORLD E.L.O.
15 ( 5 ) BANKROBBER The Clash
16 ( 16 ) CIRCUS GAMES The Skids
17 ( 12 ) MODERN GIRL Sheena Easton
18 ( 24 ) A WALK IN THE PARK Nick Straker Band
19 ( 22 ) MISUNDERSTANDING Genesis
20 ( 26 ) EIGHTH DAY Hazel O’Connor

21 ( 13 ) XANADU Olivia Newton-John & The Electric Light Orchestra
22 ( 17 ) UPSIDE DOWN Diana Ross
23 ( 64 ) IT’S ONLY LOVE Elvis Presley
24 ( 25 ) SARTORIAL ELOQUENCE Elton John
25 ( 14 ) FEELS LIKE I’M IN LOVE Kelly Marie
26 ( NEW ) ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST Queen
27 ( 70 ) FAME Irene Cara
28 ( 19 ) SLEEPWALKING Ultravox
29 ( 21 ) GIVE ME THE NIGHT George Benson
30 ( 23 ) MARIANA The Gibson Brothers

31 ( 33 ) THE WHISPER The Selecter
32 ( 27 ) SUMMER FUN The Barracudas
33 ( 40 ) IF IT’S ALRIGHT WITH YOU BABY The Korgis
34 ( 37 ) MARIE MARIE Shakin’ Stevens
35 ( 68 ) I OWE YOU ONE Shalamar
36 ( 28 ) OH YEAH Roxy Music
37 ( 31 ) FUNKIN’ FOR JAMAICA Tom Browne
38 ( 30 ) BABOOSHKA Kate Bush
39 ( 39 ) MORE THAN I CAN SAY Leo Sayer
40 ( 29 ) PRIVATE LIFE Grace Jones

41 ( 53 ) MEANINGLESS SONGS The Hee Bee Gee Bees
42 ( 34 ) SANCTUARY New Musik
43 ( 32 ) THERE THERE MY DEAR Dexy’s Midnight Runners
44 ( 60 ) SOUND OF CONFUSION Secret Affair
45 ( 42 ) WATERFALLS Paul McCartney
46 ( 49 ) LATE IN THE EVENING Paul Simon
47 ( 38 ) BIKO Peter Gabriel
48 ( 43 ) MESSAGES Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
49 ( 48 ) CRYING Don McLean
50 ( 36 ) YOU GOTTA BE A HUSTLER Sue Wilkinson

51 ( 46 ) REST OF YOUR LIFE Racey
52 ( 50 ) SANTA ANA WINDS The Beach Boys
53 ( 45 ) A LOVER’S HOLIDAY Change
54 ( 44 ) COULD YOU BE LOVED Bob Marley And The Wailers
55 ( 55 ) MONKEES EP (LAST TRAIN TO CLARKSVILLE/ I’M A BELIEVER/ A LITTLE BIT ME A LITTLE BIT YOU/ DAYDREAM BELIEVER) The Monkees
56 ( 56 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.
57 ( 57 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty
58 ( 54 ) NO DOUBT ABOUT IT Hot Chocolate
59 ( 35 ) C30 C60 C90 GO Bow Wow Wow
60 ( NEW ) OUT HERE ON MY OWN Irene Cara

61 ( 52 ) 747 (STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT) Saxon
62 ( NEW ) TEMPORARY SECRETARY Paul McCartney
63 ( 51 ) OOPS UPSIDE YOUR HEAD The Gap Band
64 ( 75 ) I WANT TO BE STRAIGHT Ian Dury
65 ( 47 ) ME MYSELF I Joan Armatrading
66 ( NEW ) TOUCH AND GO The Cars
67 ( 59 ) USE IT UP AND WEAR IT OUT Odyssey
68 ( 63 ) RUNNING FROM PARADISE Daryl Hall & John Oates
69 ( NEW ) UNITED Judas Priest
70 ( 66 ) JUMP TO THE BEAT Stacey Lattisaw

71 ( 62 ) CAN’T STOP THE MUSIC The Village People
72 ( 69 ) 9 TO 5 (MY BABY TAKES THE MORNING TRAIN) Sheena Easton
73 ( NEW ) ALL THE WAY FROM AMERICA Joan Armatrading
74 ( 41 ) LIP UP FATTY Bad Manners
75 ( NEW ) A WOMAN IN LOVE Barbra Streisand


fave TV Sept 5-12th
1 Soap
2 Star Trek: The Immunity Syndrome
3 Laverne & Shirley
4 TISWAS
5 Rhoda
6 Abba In Concert
7 The New Avengers
8 M*A*S*H
9 Top Of The Pops
10 Arthur C. Clarke’s Mysterious Worlds

11 Best Of Not The 9 O’Clock News
12 The Spikes Gang
13 Butterflies
14 Hong Kong Beat
15 Morecambe & Wise
16 WKRP In Cincinatti
17 The Rockford Files
18 Best Of Marc (Bolan’s TV Show)
19 Buck Rogers In The 25th Century
20 Doctor Who

Posted by: Popchartfreak 10th December 2020, 06:29 PM

16th September 1980

It's 4 weeks on top for David Bowie's Ashes To Ashes as his admirer Gary Numan is up to 2 with I Die You Die, the highest chart position since his Tubeway Army topped with Are 'Friends' Electric in 1979. Elvis hits the top 10 with his 1970 flop, It's Only Love being somewhat better than his various cover versions that were big hits in 1970, and Queen have a bit of a revival in my chart, and their first top 10 since Fat Bottomed Girls 2 years earlier, with the funky Chic-tastic Another One Bites The Dust at 10.

Highest new entry comes from a revitalised debut from Stevie Wonder at 19, going all Bob Marley with Masterblaster (Jammin') as the man himself gets his last chart entry during his lifetime at 75, with the sweet Three Little Birds. Close behind Stevie comes The Police and also the lead single from the forthcoming album, Don't Stand So Close To Me making it 7 top 20's in a row. Paul McCartney gets a big jump with his unusual flop (limited edition) Temporary Secretary, up to 26. In at 37 it's Madness' 5th chart entry with the wacky and wonderfully British Baggy Trousers.

XTC also debut top 40 with Generals & Majors, their first since the brilliant Making Plans For Nigel in 1979, and a host of new entries dot around the lower end, Gladys Knight having the taste of bitter love at 42, but the sweet taste of 8 years of chart entries; Roberta Flack & the late Donny Hathaway bring Don't Make Me Wait Too Long back 8 years after the gorgeous Where Is The Love went top 3, and weeks after Back Together Again gave them a big second top 10.

Splodgenessabounds take the Michael out of Rolf's Two Little Boys, a version radio can still play but chooses not to, Diana Ross' second Chic single debuts with My Old Piano at 48, Gilbert O'Sullivan returns after a gap of 5 years with What's In A Kiss, extending his run to a decade, Odyssey are looking for a way out, Buzzcocks are everything, both of them 2 years into their runs, and Chnage also return with a guest vocal from future star Luther Vandross, though not his first appearance as he'd done backing vocals on Bowie's Young Americans.

The Dooleys make it 3 years of singles as they start to fizzle out with Body language, The Lambrettas get a follow-up entry, Dr. Hook continue the pleasant MOR housewife-appealing hits with Years From Now 8 years on from the quirky and cooler Sylvia's Mother, AC/DC have a new Geordie vocalist to replace the late Bon Scott, so that's 2 years of entries for the band, and 8 years for Brian Johnson. Meanwhile, on TV this week, the best film was the Oscar-winning Paper Moon, giving it black & white 1930's depression-era nostalgia starring Ryan O'Neal, outgunned by his young daughter Tatum. Bear in mind how long ago it seemed in the 70's to people who weren't born then - and then realise the equivalent would be a film set in the late 1970's now....oops!



1 ( 1 ) ASHES TO ASHES David Bowie
2 ( 3 ) I DIE YOU DIE Gary Numan
3 ( 2 ) THE WINNER TAKES IT ALL Abba
4 ( 8 ) PARANOID Black Sabbath
5 ( 5 ) ONE DAY I’LL FLY AWAY Randy Crawford
6 ( 4 ) MAGIC Olivia Newton-John
7 ( 10 ) I GOT YOU Split-Enz
8 ( 7 ) START The Jam
9 ( 23 ) IT’S ONLY LOVE Elvis Presley
10 ( 26 ) ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST Queen

11 ( 9 ) BEST FRIEND The Beat
12 ( 13 ) DREAMING Cliff Richard
13 ( 6 ) SUNSHINE OF YOUR SMILE Mike Berry
14 ( 18 ) A WALK IN THE PARK Nick Straker Band
15 ( 27 ) FAME Irene Cara
16 ( 19 ) MISUNDERSTANDING Genesis
17 ( 11 ) TOM HARK The Piranhas
18 ( 12 ) IT’S STILL ROCK ‘N’ ROLL TO ME Billy Joel
19 ( NEW ) MASTERBLASTER (JAMMIN’) Stevie Wonder
20 ( NEW ) DON’T STAND SO CLOSE TO ME The Police

21 ( 16 ) CIRCUS GAMES The Skids
22 ( 25 ) FEELS LIKE I’M IN LOVE Kelly Marie
23 ( 14 ) ALL OVER THE WORLD E.L.O.
24 ( 17 ) MODERN GIRL Sheena Easton
25 ( 20 ) EIGHTH DAY Hazel O’Connor
26 ( 62 ) TEMPORARY SECRETARY Paul McCartney
27 ( 22 ) UPSIDE DOWN Diana Ross
28 ( 21 ) XANADU Olivia Newton-John & The Electric Light Orchestra
29 ( 35 ) I OWE YOU ONE Shalamar
30 ( 31 ) THE WHISPER The Selecter

31 ( 15 ) BANKROBBER The Clash
32 ( 24 ) SARTORIAL ELOQUENCE Elton John
33 ( 33 ) IF IT’S ALRIGHT WITH YOU BABY The Korgis
34 ( 34 ) MARIE MARIE Shakin’ Stevens
35 ( 32 ) SUMMER FUN The Barracudas
36 ( 41 ) MEANINGLESS SONGS The Hee Bee Gee Bees
37 ( NEW ) BAGGY TROUSERS Madness
38 ( 29 ) GIVE ME THE NIGHT George Benson
39 ( NEW ) GENERALS & MAJORS XTC
40 ( 46 ) LATE IN THE EVENING Paul Simon

41 ( 30 ) MARIANA The Gibson Brothers
42 ( NEW ) TASTE OF BITTER LOVE Gladys Knight
43 ( 38 ) BABOOSHKA Kate Bush
44 ( NEW ) DON’T MAKE ME WAIT TOO LONG Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway
45 ( 45 ) WATERFALLS Paul McCartney
46 ( 39 ) MORE THAN I CAN SAY Leo Sayer
47 ( NEW ) TWO LITTLE BOYS Splodgenessabounds
48 ( NEW ) MY OLD PIANO Diana Ross
49 ( 49 ) CRYING Don McLean
50 ( 48 ) MESSAGES Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark

51 ( 36 ) OH YEAH Roxy Music
52 ( 40 ) PRIVATE LIFE Grace Jones
53 ( NEW ) WHAT’S IN A KISS Gilbert O’Sullivan
54 ( 55 ) MONKEES EP (LAST TRAIN TO CLARKSVILLE/ I’M A BELIEVER/ A LITTLE BIT ME A LITTLE BIT YOU/ DAYDREAM BELIEVER) The Monkees
55 ( 66 ) TOUCH AND GO The Cars
56 ( 69 ) UNITED Judas Priest
57 ( 57 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty
58 ( 56 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.
59 ( 58 ) NO DOUBT ABOUT IT Hot Chocolate
60 ( 28 ) SLEEPWALKING Ultravox

61 ( 64 ) I WANT TO BE STRAIGHT Ian Dury
62 ( 51 ) REST OF YOUR LIFE Racey
63 ( 52 ) SANTA ANA WINDS The Beach Boys
64 ( NEW ) IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR A WAY OUT Odyssey
65 ( 42 ) SANCTUARY New Musik
66 ( NEW ) ARE EVERYTHING Buzzcocks
67 ( 37 ) FUNKIN’ FOR JAMAICA Tom Browne
68 ( NEW ) SEARCHING Change featuring Luther Vandross
69 ( 43 ) THERE THERE MY DEAR Dexy’s Midnight Runners
70 ( NEW ) BODY LANGUAGE The Dooleys

71 ( NEW ) ANOTHER DAY ANOTHER GIRL The Lambrettas
72 ( NEW ) YEARS FROM NOW Dr. Hook
73 ( NEW ) YOU SHOOK ME ALL NIGHT LONG AC/DC
74 ( 44 ) SOUND OF CONFUSION Secret Affair
75 ( NEW ) THREE LITTLE BIRDS Bob Marley And The Wailers



My TV faves 13th-19th Sept 1980

1 “Paper Moon”
2 Soap
3 Star Trek: The Omega Glory
4 Butterflies
5 Top Of The Pops
6 25 Years Of Not The 9 0'Clock News
7 “Return Of The Pink Panther”
8 Mork And Mindy
9 Rhoda
10 The Outer Limits

11 Arthur C. Clarke’s Mysterious World
12 M*A*S*H
13 Best of Marc (Bolan’s TV Show)
14 Buck Rogers In The 25th Century
15 Doctor Who
16 Panorama
17 Cooke & Co
18 Morecambe & Wise
19 Horizon
20 Where Are They Now

Posted by: Last Dreamer 10th December 2020, 08:04 PM

Sue Wilkinson She released only 5 singles and all were my # 1s.

"You Gotta Be A Hustler If You Wanna Get On" is the one from only 4 songs, which spent 10 or more weeks at # 1 in my chart.

Sadly she died too young.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 12th December 2020, 04:19 PM

QUOTE(Last Dreamer @ Dec 10 2020, 08:04 PM)

Sue Wilkinson She released only 5 singles and all were my # 1s.

"You Gotta Be A Hustler If You Wanna Get On" is the one from only 4 songs, which spent 10 or more weeks at # 1 in my chart.

Sadly she died too young.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 12th December 2020, 04:39 PM

23rd September 1980

It's a first week on top for the 4th chart-topper from The Police, Don't Stand So Close To Me. As a former school-teacher Sting knew what he was talking about, and this was peak Police (in the UK) as Sting was pin-up of the day. He was on my Uni wall at any rate. Queen get a first top 3 since Somebody To Love in 1976, and Stevie Wonder a first top 5 since 1977, while Madness make it 4 top 10's in a row as Baggy Trousers sprints to 9.

Diana Ross tinkles her piano up 33 places to 15, as Gary Glitter brings his debut instrumental back at 16, Rock & Roll Part 2 last heard in Joker, but it was fine to see it as an anthem in 1980. XTC get a second top 20, yes Sir! Generals & Majors. In at 24 Air Supply get a second instant top 40, following the fab Lost In Love with what they call a dollop of Soft Rock these days, for the Aussie band I was partial to.

Supertramp mine another Breakfast In America single, Take The Long Way Home in at 31, and the fab Johnny & Mary debuts at 36 for Robert Palmer, his 3rd chart entry in 3 years. Change, AC/DC & Bob Marley all rocket into the 40 in a very volatile week for climbers and fallers. At 56, William De Vaughan decides to re-record his 1974 minor soul classic, Be Thankful For What You've Got still sounding good anyway (I usually am not too fussed about re-recordings), and future biggie Woman In Love bounces back after a brief week in the chart for Barbra Streisand.

The Vapors return, Darts' run of hits starts to fade with Peaches scraping in (they never got over Den Hegarty buggering off, really), and Hall & Oates take on The Righteous Brothers classic - and lose. I mean, I love Hall & Oates, I love Cilla (who had a massive hit cover) but just NO. There is only one version, it will never be improved on so just don't even bother! It is, though, better than the Telly Savalas version from 1975. Who Loves Ya Baby? Not music fans! (Mid-70's Kojak topical reference for the over 60's)

1 ( 20 ) DON’T STAND SO CLOSE TO ME The Police
2 ( 1 ) ASHES TO ASHES David Bowie
3 ( 10 ) ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST Queen
4 ( 9 ) IT’S ONLY LOVE Elvis Presley
5 ( 19 ) MASTERBLASTER (JAMMIN’) Stevie Wonder
6 ( 2 ) I DIE YOU DIE Gary Numan
7 ( 3 ) THE WINNER TAKES IT ALL Abba
8 ( 7 ) I GOT YOU Split-Enz
9 ( 37 ) BAGGY TROUSERS Madness
10 ( 4 ) PARANOID Black Sabbath

11 ( 5 ) ONE DAY I’LL FLY AWAY Randy Crawford
12 ( 8 ) START The Jam
13 ( 6 ) MAGIC Olivia Newton-John
14 ( 16 ) MISUNDERSTANDING Genesis
15 ( 48 ) MY OLD PIANO Diana Ross
16 ( NEW ) ROCK AND ROLL PART 2 Gary Glitter
17 ( 11 ) BEST FRIEND The Beat
18 ( 14 ) A WALK IN THE PARK Nick Straker Band
19 ( 17 ) TOM HARK The Piranhas
20 ( 39 ) GENERALS & MAJORS XTC

21 ( 12 ) DREAMING Cliff Richard
22 ( 15 ) FAME Irene Cara
23 ( 13 ) SUNSHINE OF YOUR SMILE Mike Berry
24 ( NEW ) ALL OUT OF LOVE Air Supply
25 ( 22 ) FEELS LIKE I’M IN LOVE Kelly Marie
26 ( 26 ) TEMPORARY SECRETARY Paul McCartney
27 ( 24 ) MODERN GIRL Sheena Easton
28 ( 29 ) I OWE YOU ONE Shalamar
29 ( 68 ) SEARCHING Change featuring Luther Vandross
30 ( 36 ) MEANINGLESS SONGS The Hee Bee Gee Bees

31 ( NEW ) TAKE THE LONG WAY HOME Supertramp
32 ( 18 ) IT’S STILL ROCK ‘N’ ROLL TO ME Billy Joel
33 ( 25 ) EIGHTH DAY Hazel O’Connor
34 ( 28 ) XANADU Olivia Newton-John & The Electric Light Orchestra
35 ( 27 ) UPSIDE DOWN Diana Ross
36 ( NEW ) JOHNNY AND MARY Robert Palmer
37 ( 73 ) YOU SHOOK ME ALL NIGHT LONG AC/DC
38 ( 21 ) CIRCUS GAMES The Skids
39 ( 75 ) THREE LITTLE BIRDS Bob Marley And The Wailers
40 ( 42 ) TASTE OF BITTER LOVE Gladys Knight

41 ( 64 ) IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR A WAY OUT Odyssey
42 ( 23 ) ALL OVER THE WORLD E.L.O.
43 ( 31 ) BANKROBBER The Clash
44 ( 44 ) DON’T MAKE ME WAIT TOO LONG Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway
45 ( 34 ) MARIE MARIE Shakin’ Stevens
46 ( 32 ) SARTORIAL ELOQUENCE Elton John
47 ( 47 ) TWO LITTLE BOYS Splodgenessabounds
48 ( 45 ) WATERFALLS Paul McCartney
49 ( 38 ) GIVE ME THE NIGHT George Benson
50 ( 53 ) WHAT’S IN A KISS Gilbert O’Sullivan

51 ( 33 ) IF IT’S ALRIGHT WITH YOU BABY The Korgis
52 ( 55 ) TOUCH AND GO The Cars
53 ( 54 ) MONKEES EP (LAST TRAIN TO CLARKSVILLE/ I’M A BELIEVER/ A LITTLE BIT ME A LITTLE BIT YOU/ DAYDREAM BELIEVER) The Monkees
54 ( 57 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty
55 ( 58 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.
56 ( NEW ) BE THANKFUL FOR WHAT YOU’VE GOT (1980 VERSION) William De Vaughan
57 ( 49 ) CRYING Don McLean
58 ( 50 ) MESSAGES Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
59 ( 43 ) BABOOSHKA Kate Bush
60 ( 59 ) NO DOUBT ABOUT IT Hot Chocolate

61 ( 40 ) LATE IN THE EVENING Paul Simon
62 ( 30 ) THE WHISPER The Selecter
63 ( 35 ) SUMMER FUN The Barracudas
64 ( 46 ) MORE THAN I CAN SAY Leo Sayer
65 ( 66 ) ARE EVERYTHING Buzzcocks
66 ( 41 ) MARIANA The Gibson Brothers
67 ( 70 ) BODY LANGUAGE The Dooleys
68 ( RE ) A WOMAN IN LOVE Barbra Streisand
69 ( 63 ) SANTA ANA WINDS The Beach Boys
70 ( 62 ) REST OF YOUR LIFE Racey

71 ( 56 ) UNITED Judas Priest
72 ( NEW ) WAITING FOR THE WEEKEND The Vapors
73 ( NEW ) PEACHES Darts
74 ( NEW ) YOU’VE LOST THAT LOVIN’ FEELIN’ Daryl Hall & John Oates
75 ( NEW ) THE QUARTER MOON The V.I.P.’s



TV 20th-26th Sept
1 Star Trek: A Piece Of The Action
2 “The Sugarland Express”
3 Soap
4 The Worst Of It’ll Be Alright On The Night
5 Parkinson (Wed)
6 Top Of The Pops
7 Not The Lot Of The 9 O’Clock News
8 M*A*S*H
9 The New Avengers
10 Rhoda
11 The Outer Limits
12 Film ’80
13 Butterflies
14 Arthur C. Clarke’s Mysterious World
15 Best Of Marc (Bolan’s TV Show)

Posted by: Last Dreamer 12th December 2020, 05:36 PM

QUOTE(Popchartfreak @ Dec 12 2020, 07:19 PM)

Posted by: Road Salt Mixer 20th December 2020, 05:37 PM

I like Masterblaster Jammin, one of Stevie Wonder's best songs, the cover in 2000 by DJ Luck and MC Neat I like too.

XTC in the chart, I only know the excellent 'Senses Working Overtime' by them.

All Out Of Love is a very good ballad, there was a rather cheesy eurodance cover of it in 2003 which I quite like too but it only just made top 40.

Posted by: CHRIS-TMAS 20th December 2020, 05:57 PM

QUOTE(Road Salt Mixer @ Dec 20 2020, 05:37 PM)

Posted by: Popchartfreak 26th December 2020, 02:42 PM

QUOTE(Road Salt Mixer @ Dec 20 2020, 05:37 PM)

Posted by: Popchartfreak 26th December 2020, 03:02 PM

30th September 1980

It's 2 weeks on top for The Police as Split-Enz peak at 2 with the fab I Got You. The Brothers Finn would eventually top my chart with Don't Dream It's Over as Crowded House. Madness get a 3rd top 5 in a row, Diana Ross makes it two Chic top 10's, and Ottawan dance in at 8 with D.I.S.C.O, already a huge European hit. Cheesy in a fun way. In at 24, Black Slate bring some cool reggae in with Amigo, one of those many forgotten reggae tracks that never gets oldies plays. Unless your name is Bob Marley, pretty much it's like you don't exist anymore, very annoyingly. For instance, it's as good as Three Little Birds which is world famous and at 30 in my charts.

Man Tran make it 4 years of chart hits since Tuxedo Junction, in at 44 and there's nothing you can do about it, while I've gotta pull myself together as The Nolans start making decent pop tracks and enter at 45. At 50, The Specials return with their best track since Gangsters, the under-rated Stereotypes at 50, with the immortal line "he drinks his age in pints". Leo Sayer has a quick follow-up as one drops out, Kate Bush is beside herself with excitement as Army Dreamers pulls in ahead of Babooshka, both of them very different and very fab, and at 69, Thin Lizzy pull out their best single in 3 years with the menacing Killer On The Loose giving them a 7-year-run since Whisky In The Jar.

Showaddywaddy revamp another rock 'n' roll-era golden oldie, for a solid 5 years of doing the same after a year when they had original material (which I preferred). Donna Summer has a new track called The Wanderer (not The Dion song) but shoulda gone for a better album The Wanderer track I recently charted in remixed form, Grand Illusion, which sounds far more experimental, nothing like Donna Summer, and way more interesting. Linx debut at 74 with the utterly fab You're Lying, Brit soul as good as any American soul for the future pop star David Grant, and The Pointer Sisters are still looking for a proper UK breakthrough 8 years after their US career hit the bigger time, with He's So Shy at 75.


1 ( 1 ) DON’T STAND SO CLOSE TO ME The Police
2 ( 8 ) I GOT YOU Split-Enz
3 ( 3 ) ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST Queen
4 ( 9 ) BAGGY TROUSERS Madness
5 ( 5 ) MASTERBLASTER (JAMMIN’) Stevie Wonder
6 ( 2 ) ASHES TO ASHES David Bowie
7 ( 15 ) MY OLD PIANO Diana Ross
8 ( NEW ) D.I.S.C.O. Ottawan
9 ( 4 ) IT’S ONLY LOVE Elvis Presley
10 ( 7 ) THE WINNER TAKES IT ALL Abba

11 ( 11 ) ONE DAY I’LL FLY AWAY Randy Crawford
12 ( 6 ) I DIE YOU DIE Gary Numan
13 ( 16 ) ROCK AND ROLL PART 2 Gary Glitter
14 ( 12 ) START The Jam
15 ( 20 ) GENERALS & MAJORS XTC
16 ( 10 ) PARANOID Black Sabbath
17 ( 29 ) SEARCHING Change featuring Luther Vandross
18 ( 26 ) TEMPORARY SECRETARY Paul McCartney
19 ( 13 ) MAGIC Olivia Newton-John
20 ( 24 ) ALL OUT OF LOVE Air Supply

21 ( 22 ) FAME Irene Cara
22 ( 14 ) MISUNDERSTANDING Genesis
23 ( 31 ) TAKE THE LONG WAY HOME Supertramp
24 ( NEW ) AMIGO Black Slate
25 ( 28 ) I OWE YOU ONE Shalamar
26 ( 19 ) TOM HARK The Piranhas
27 ( 25 ) FEELS LIKE I’M IN LOVE Kelly Marie
28 ( 21 ) DREAMING Cliff Richard
29 ( 17 ) BEST FRIEND The Beat
30 ( 39 ) THREE LITTLE BIRDS Bob Marley And The Wailers

31 ( 18 ) A WALK IN THE PARK Nick Straker Band
32 ( 27 ) MODERN GIRL Sheena Easton
33 ( 23 ) SUNSHINE OF YOUR SMILE Mike Berry
34 ( 37 ) YOU SHOOK ME ALL NIGHT LONG AC/DC
35 ( 36 ) JOHNNY AND MARY Robert Palmer
36 ( 32 ) IT’S STILL ROCK ‘N’ ROLL TO ME Billy Joel
37 ( 41 ) IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR A WAY OUT Odyssey
38 ( 33 ) EIGHTH DAY Hazel O’Connor
39 ( 34 ) XANADU Olivia Newton-John & The Electric Light Orchestra
40 ( 56 ) BE THANKFUL FOR WHAT YOU’VE GOT (1980 VERSION) William De Vaughan

41 ( 35 ) UPSIDE DOWN Diana Ross
42 ( 68 ) A WOMAN IN LOVE Barbra Streisand
43 ( 30 ) MEANINGLESS SONGS The Hee Bee Gee Bees
44 ( NEW ) NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT Manhattan Transfer
45 ( NEW ) GOTTA PULL MYSELF TOGETHER The Nolans
46 ( 65 ) ARE EVERYTHING Buzzcocks
47 ( 47 ) TWO LITTLE BOYS Splodgenessabounds
48 ( 48 ) WATERFALLS Paul McCartney
49 ( 50 ) WHAT’S IN A KISS Gilbert O’Sullivan
50 ( NEW ) STEREOTYPES The Specials

51 ( 42 ) ALL OVER THE WORLD E.L.O.
52 ( 38 ) CIRCUS GAMES The Skids
53 ( 53 ) MONKEES EP (LAST TRAIN TO CLARKSVILLE/ I’M A BELIEVER/ A LITTLE BIT ME A LITTLE BIT YOU/ DAYDREAM BELIEVER) The Monkees
54 ( 54 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty
55 ( 55 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.
56 ( 75 ) THE QUARTER MOON The V.I.P.’s
57 ( 57 ) CRYING Don McLean
58 ( 58 ) MESSAGES Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
59 ( 46 ) SARTORIAL ELOQUENCE Elton John
60 ( 60 ) NO DOUBT ABOUT IT Hot Chocolate

61 ( 49 ) GIVE ME THE NIGHT George Benson
62 ( 72 ) WAITING FOR THE WEEKEND The Vapors
63 ( NEW ) ONCE IN A WHILE Leo Sayer
64 ( 40 ) TASTE OF BITTER LOVE Gladys Knight
65 ( 43 ) BANKROBBER The Clash
66 ( 44 ) DON’T MAKE ME WAIT TOO LONG Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway
67 ( NEW ) ARMY DREAMERS Kate Bush
68 ( 59 ) BABOOSHKA Kate Bush
69 ( NEW ) KILLER ON THE LOOSE Thin Lizzy
70 ( NEW ) WHY DO LOVERS BREAK EACH OTHERS HEARTS Showaddywaddy

71 ( 45 ) MARIE MARIE Shakin’ Stevens
72 ( NEW ) THE WANDERER Donna Summer
73 ( 52 ) TOUCH AND GO The Cars
74 ( NEW ) YOU’RE LYING Linx
75 ( NEW ) HE’S SO SHY The Pointer Sisters


TV 27th Sept- Oct 3rd
1 Star Trek: The Ultimate Computer
2 M*A*S*H
3 Soap
4 Parkinson (Sat)
5 TISWAS
6 Top Of The Pops
7 Parkinson (Wed)
8 Rhoda
9 Happy Days
10 Clapperboard
11 Film ’80
12 Arthur C. Clarke’s Mysterious World
13 Butterflies
14 “Carry On Girls”
15 Doctor Who

Posted by: CHRIS-TMAS 26th December 2020, 03:14 PM

I don't remember Gary Glitter being back in the Top 20 in 1980. Was it re-issued or something?

I actually preferred 1974 Showaddywaddy when they were doing their originals. You can't deny they were hugely popular with their re-makes though with one huge No.1, now a million-seller, and several No.2 and No.3's.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 26th December 2020, 04:34 PM

QUOTE(CHRIS-TMAS @ Dec 26 2020, 03:14 PM)

Posted by: CHRIS-TMAS 27th December 2020, 07:18 PM

QUOTE(Popchartfreak @ Dec 26 2020, 04:34 PM)

Posted by: Road Salt Mixer 27th December 2020, 07:27 PM

Of course a Gary Glitter song was covered in 1987 and made the charts with A Little Boogie Woogie (In the Back of My Mind) by Shakin' Stevens, I really like Shakin' Stevens version of the song.

Posted by: Sergej 27th December 2020, 11:21 PM

Hi there!

Nice to see "Don't Stand So Close To Me" at the top, as well as "D.I.S.C.O" in the top 10!

The big gain for "Woman In Love" is great, as are the debuts for "The Wanderer" and "He's So Shy"!

Great chart!

Posted by: Popchartfreak 28th December 2020, 10:17 AM

QUOTE(CHRIS-TMAS @ Dec 27 2020, 07:18 PM)

LOL. I keep confusing your chart with the official one.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 28th December 2020, 10:18 AM

QUOTE(Road Salt Mixer @ Dec 27 2020, 07:27 PM)

Posted by: Popchartfreak 28th December 2020, 10:19 AM

QUOTE(Sergej @ Dec 27 2020, 11:21 PM)

Posted by: Popchartfreak 29th December 2020, 11:56 AM

7th October 1980

It's 3 weeks on top for The Police as Queen move into runners-up slot and Ottawan are threatening the D.I.S.C.O. as Another One Bites The Dust. Black Slate get their only top 10 with Amigo, and Change get a 2nd, with Luther Vandross having to wait until the 90's to get his 2nd top 10 credit. Babs Streisand leaps in the top 20 courtesy Barry Gibb, Linx shoot into the 40, You're Lying, oh no I'm not! Thin Lizzy also get a huge climb with Killer On The Loose, and it's a quiet week for new entries:

Gillan debut with a cover of Trouble, the band headed by Ian Gillan formerly of Deep Purple and Jesus in the original Jesus Christ Superstar both doing well 10 years earlier, as Matchbox keep their terrific little run of rockabilly with When You Ask About Love, a Crickets cover dating from 1959. Sweet People bring some instrumental musak with tweeting on it. Clearly looking into the Internet future there, as tweeting was destined to get even more annoying than this record after a few plays. Dave Edmunds is also 10 years into his career, with Wrong Way, and The Motors return with Metropolis, both Dave & Motors former chart-toppers.


1 ( 1 ) DON’T STAND SO CLOSE TO ME The Police
2 ( 3 ) ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST Queen
3 ( 8 ) D.I.S.C.O. Ottawan
4 ( 5 ) MASTERBLASTER (JAMMIN’) Stevie Wonder
5 ( 7 ) MY OLD PIANO Diana Ross
6 ( 4 ) BAGGY TROUSERS Madness
7 ( 2 ) I GOT YOU Split-Enz
8 ( 24 ) AMIGO Black Slate
9 ( 17 ) SEARCHING Change featuring Luther Vandross
10 ( 6 ) ASHES TO ASHES David Bowie

11 ( 9 ) IT’S ONLY LOVE Elvis Presley
12 ( 23 ) TAKE THE LONG WAY HOME Supertramp
13 ( 10 ) THE WINNER TAKES IT ALL Abba
14 ( 18 ) TEMPORARY SECRETARY Paul McCartney
15 ( 20 ) ALL OUT OF LOVE Air Supply
16 ( 25 ) I OWE YOU ONE Shalamar
17 ( 15 ) GENERALS & MAJORS XTC
18 ( 42 ) A WOMAN IN LOVE Barbra Streisand
19 ( 16 ) PARANOID Black Sabbath
20 ( 11 ) ONE DAY I’LL FLY AWAY Randy Crawford

21 ( 12 ) I DIE YOU DIE Gary Numan
22 ( 30 ) THREE LITTLE BIRDS Bob Marley And The Wailers
23 ( 74 ) YOU’RE LYING Linx
24 ( 13 ) ROCK AND ROLL PART 2/I’M THE LEADER OF THE GANG EP Gary Glitter
25 ( 44 ) NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT Manhattan Transfer
26 ( 19 ) MAGIC Olivia Newton-John
27 ( 14 ) START The Jam
28 ( 49 ) WHAT’S IN A KISS Gilbert O’Sullivan
29 ( 45 ) GOTTA PULL MYSELF TOGETHER The Nolans
30 ( 37 ) IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR A WAY OUT Odyssey

31 ( 22 ) MISUNDERSTANDING Genesis
32 ( 27 ) FEELS LIKE I’M IN LOVE Kelly Marie
33 ( 69 ) KILLER ON THE LOOSE Thin Lizzy
34 ( 21 ) FAME Irene Cara
35 ( 40 ) BE THANKFUL FOR WHAT YOU’VE GOT (1980 VERSION) William De Vaughan
36 ( 26 ) TOM HARK The Piranhas
37 ( 36 ) IT’S STILL ROCK ‘N’ ROLL TO ME Billy Joel
38 ( 32 ) MODERN GIRL Sheena Easton
39 ( 28 ) DREAMING Cliff Richard
40 ( 50 ) STEREOTYPES The Specials

41 ( 29 ) BEST FRIEND The Beat
42 ( 31 ) A WALK IN THE PARK Nick Straker Band
43 ( 39 ) XANADU Olivia Newton-John & The Electric Light Orchestra
44 ( 41 ) UPSIDE DOWN Diana Ross
45 ( 33 ) SUNSHINE OF YOUR SMILE Mike Berry
46 ( 38 ) EIGHTH DAY Hazel O’Connor
47 ( NEW ) TROUBLE Gillan
48 ( NEW ) WHEN YOU ASK ABOUT LOVE Matchbox
49 ( 48 ) WATERFALLS Paul McCartney
50 ( 75 ) HE’S SO SHY The Pointer Sisters

51 ( 53 ) MONKEES EP (LAST TRAIN TO CLARKSVILLE/ I’M A BELIEVER/ A LITTLE BIT ME A LITTLE BIT YOU/ DAYDREAM BELIEVER) The Monkees
52 ( 54 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty
53 ( 55 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.
54 ( 35 ) JOHNNY AND MARY Robert Palmer
55 ( 67 ) ARMY DREAMERS Kate Bush
56 ( 63 ) ONCE IN A WHILE Leo Sayer
57 ( 60 ) NO DOUBT ABOUT IT Hot Chocolate
58 ( 57 ) CRYING Don McLean
59 ( 58 ) MESSAGES Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
60 ( NEW ) AND THE BIRDS WERE SINGING Sweet People

61 ( 51 ) ALL OVER THE WORLD E.L.O.
62 ( 34 ) YOU SHOOK ME ALL NIGHT LONG AC/DC
63 ( 59 ) SARTORIAL ELOQUENCE Elton John
64 ( 70 ) WHY DO LOVERS BREAK EACH OTHERS HEARTS Showaddywaddy
65 ( 72 ) THE WANDERER Donna Summer
66 ( 61 ) GIVE ME THE NIGHT George Benson
67 ( NEW ) WRONG WAY Dave Edmunds’ Rockpile
68 ( 43 ) MEANINGLESS SONGS The Hee Bee Gee Bees
69 ( 52 ) CIRCUS GAMES The Skids
70 ( 46 ) ARE EVERYTHING Buzzcocks

71 ( 47 ) TWO LITTLE BOYS Splodgenessabounds
72 ( NEW ) METROPOLIS The Motors
73 ( 62 ) WAITING FOR THE WEEKEND The Vapors
74 ( 68 ) BABOOSHKA Kate Bush
75 ( 65 ) BANKROBBER The Clash



TV Oct 4th - 10th

1 Star Trek: Friday’s Child
2 M*A*S*H
3 25 Years Of Rock ‘n’ Roll
4 Soap (Thurs)
5 Soap (Fri)
6 Top Of The Pops
7 Police In The East
8 Friday Night Saturday Morning: Tim Rice, Allan Clarke, David Bowie
9 At The Manor
10 Rhoda

11 Film ’80
12 Tomorrow’s World
13 Horizon
14 Butterflies
15 Arthur C. Clarke’s Mysterious World
16 Where Are They Now?
17 Buck Rogers In The 25th Century
18 Blankety Blank
19 Man Alive
20 Parkinson

Posted by: Popchartfreak 21st June 2021, 12:13 PM

it's a wet day so here's a new oldies chart..

14th October 1980

It's 4 weeks on top for The Police, leaving Queen biting the dust at 2 still, but Madness pull up their Baggy Trousers to 3 - I've been watching Youtube interviews of the lad reflecting on their life before and during this period, all fascinating. The Specials shoot up the Stereotypes to 4 for a bit of a ska-reggae top 5. Highest new entry is the 1969 classic theme from Midnight Cowboy, selling again in 1980 - John Barry's harmonica instrumental is just gorgeous, and in at 6. Thin Lizzy get a 4th top 10 as Killer On The Loose stalks, and Kate Bush's Army Dreamers also stalk at 15, up 40 places in a busy week.

Coffee have a disco Casanova in at 16, The Quo are back with another biggie as What You're Proposing takes my fancy at 29. Tha Cars are also driving back in, and it's Touch And Go, Bad Manners have a Special Brew and a big hit a few months ahead of me reviewing their gig in Lincoln for Record Mirror. OMD debut with a 2nd hit, Enola Gay being all about the Atomic Bomb plane, and it's back this very week (June 2021) in the Sales Chart following more vinyl re-issues after doing pretty well for OMD during lockdown this year, and online gigs and back-catalogue reviews.

George Benson is continuing his run of cool souldance, longtime friends Cliff & Livvie get together on the Xanadu soundtrack Suddenly, actually a lovely duet, tastefully subtle, and another soundtrack single from Irene Cara, Out Here On MY Own being an emotional piano ballad from a stark moment in Fame. Again, 2 years ahead of making the UK charts. Finally The Gap Band row back, and XTC sing the praises of a London landmark with ravens. Sort of.


1 ( 1 ) DON’T STAND SO CLOSE TO ME The Police
2 ( 2 ) ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST Queen
3 ( 6 ) BAGGY TROUSERS Madness
4 ( 40 ) STEREOTYPES The Specials
5 ( 3 ) D.I.S.C.O. Ottawan
6 ( NEW ) THEME FROM “MIDNIGHT COWBOY” John Barry
7 ( 5 ) MY OLD PIANO Diana Ross
8 ( 7 ) I GOT YOU Split-Enz
9 ( 8 ) AMIGO Black Slate
10 ( 33 ) KILLER ON THE LOOSE Thin Lizzy

11 ( 4 ) MASTERBLASTER (JAMMIN’) Stevie Wonder
12 ( 9 ) SEARCHING Change featuring Luther Vandross
13 ( 10 ) ASHES TO ASHES David Bowie
14 ( 15 ) ALL OUT OF LOVE Air Supply
15 ( 55 ) ARMY DREAMERS Kate Bush
16 ( NEW ) CASANOVA Coffee
17 ( 23 ) YOU’RE LYING Linx
18 ( 18 ) A WOMAN IN LOVE Barbra Streisand
19 ( 13 ) THE WINNER TAKES IT ALL Abba
20 ( 11 ) IT’S ONLY LOVE Elvis Presley

21 ( 12 ) TAKE THE LONG WAY HOME Supertramp
22 ( 48 ) WHEN YOU ASK ABOUT LOVE Matchbox
23 ( 60 ) AND THE BIRDS WERE SINGING Sweet People
24 ( 29 ) GOTTA PULL MYSELF TOGETHER The Nolans
25 ( 17 ) GENERALS & MAJORS XTC
26 ( 28 ) WHAT’S IN A KISS Gilbert O’Sullivan
27 ( 14 ) TEMPORARY SECRETARY Paul McCartney
28 ( 30 ) IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR A WAY OUT Odyssey
29 ( NEW ) WHAT YOU’RE PROPOSING Status Quo
30 ( 19 ) PARANOID Black Sabbath

31 ( 25 ) NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT Manhattan Transfer
32 ( 16 ) I OWE YOU ONE Shalamar
33 ( 47 ) TROUBLE Gillan
34 ( NEW ) TOUCH AND GO The Cars
35 ( 21 ) I DIE YOU DIE Gary Numan
36 ( 26 ) MAGIC Olivia Newton-John
37 ( NEW ) SPECIAL BREW Bad Manners
38 ( NEW ) ENOLA GAY Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
39 ( 22 ) THREE LITTLE BIRDS Bob Marley And The Wailers
40 ( 20 ) ONE DAY I’LL FLY AWAY Randy Crawford

41 ( 32 ) FEELS LIKE I’M IN LOVE Kelly Marie
42 ( 27 ) START The Jam
43 ( NEW ) AM I NORMAL? Eye To Eye
44 ( 35 ) BE THANKFUL FOR WHAT YOU’VE GOT (1980 VERSION) William De Vaughan
45 ( 24 ) ROCK AND ROLL PART 2/I’M THE LEADER OF THE GANG EP Gary Glitter
46 ( 50 ) HE’S SO SHY The Pointer Sisters
47 ( 43 ) XANADU Olivia Newton-John & The Electric Light Orchestra
48 ( 31 ) MISUNDERSTANDING Genesis
49 ( 37 ) IT’S STILL ROCK ‘N’ ROLL TO ME Billy Joel
50 ( NEW ) LOVE X LOVE George Benson

51 ( 34 ) FAME Irene Cara
52 ( 36 ) TOM HARK The Piranhas
53 ( NEW ) SUDDENLY Cliff Richard & Olivia Newton-John
54 ( NEW ) OUT HERE ON MY OWN Irene Cara
55 ( 51 ) MONKEES EP (LAST TRAIN TO CLARKSVILLE/ I’M A BELIEVER/ A LITTLE BIT ME A LITTLE BIT YOU/ DAYDREAM BELIEVER) The Monkees
56 ( 52 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty
57 ( 53 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.
58 ( 49 ) WATERFALLS Paul McCartney
59 ( 64 ) WHY DO LOVERS BREAK EACH OTHERS HEARTS Showaddywaddy
60 ( 65 ) THE WANDERER Donna Summer

61 ( 44 ) UPSIDE DOWN Diana Ross
62 ( 57 ) NO DOUBT ABOUT IT Hot Chocolate
63 ( 58 ) CRYING Don McLean
64 ( 59 ) MESSAGES Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
65 ( NEW ) DON’T LOOK DOWN The Planets
66 ( 38 ) MODERN GIRL Sheena Easton
67 ( 39 ) DREAMING Cliff Richard
68 ( 45 ) SUNSHINE OF YOUR SMILE Mike Berry
69 ( 72 ) METROPOLIS The Motors
70 ( NEW ) TOWERS OF LONDON XTC

71 ( 63 ) SARTORIAL ELOQUENCE Elton John
72 ( 42 ) A WALK IN THE PARK Nick Straker Band
73 ( 41 ) BEST FRIEND The Beat
74 ( NEW ) PARTY LIGHTS The Gap Band
75 ( 67 ) WRONG WAY Dave Edmunds’ Rockpile


TV Week Oct 11th-17th
1 Star Trek: Assignment Earth
2 Soap
3 M*A*S*H
4 Soap (Thurs)
5 Top Of The Pops
6 Rhoda
7 Best Of British
8 Tiswas
9 Arthur C. Clarke’s Mysterious World
10 Buck Rogers In The 25th Century

11 The Goodies
12 Film ’80
13 A Question Of Sex
14 Butterflies
15 Parkinson
16 It Ain’t Half Hot Mum
17 Question Time
18 THe Benny Hill Show
19 The Muppet Show
20 The Old Grey Whistle Test

Posted by: Popchartfreak 23rd June 2021, 06:41 PM

21st October 1980

It's a 5th and final week on top for The Police, but they'll be back with more chart-toppers - had I been charting album tracks back then, Canary In A Coalmine and When The World Is Running Down would be featuring too, along with a couple of Madness tracks. It's a second top 10 for Air Supply, as All Out Of Love hits 2, and Status Quo keep the top 10's going - What You're Proposing makes it one each year since 1973, except for 1978. Barbra Streisand meanwhile gets her 4th in 9 years with the Barry Gibb song, and Kate Bush gets her 6th.

Bad Manners make it 3 top 20's, OMD 2, and Gilbert O'Sullivan his first since 1974, his 7th. Highest new entry is Teena Marie's second fab disco track I Need Your Loving, just ahead of the Stones complaining She's So Cold. Turn up the heating then! It's a significant debut at 40 for growing pop sensation Adam Ant & His band, all Burundi drum beats with Dog Eat Dog. Malcolm McLaren had nicked his band and sound for Bow Wow Wow so I guess you could call this payback. New at 49, The Jacksons still have Michael to pull in the punters, with Lovely One, and Earth, Wind & Fire want to Let Me Talk. I agree.

Manfred Mann's Earthband start to reach the end of the chart road after 7 years, with Through The 80's not exactly being prophetic for them, so 7 years was about it, unless you count actual Manfred Mann in which case it's 12 official years, or 16 since I first liked one of their records - 5,4,3,2,1. The Tourists also draw in on the end of their chart run, but fret not, Eurythmics aren't too far away, and they were way better. The new Ultravox line-up debuts - with former Slik/Rich Kid Midge Ure on lead, Passing Strangers being the start of a very long run of success for Midge in the decade, some of them in further guises. Finally, The Kurtis Blow keeps a bit of rap in the chart at a time when it seemed like the novelty had already worn off and it was a passing fad. Think again!

1 ( 1 ) DON’T STAND SO CLOSE TO ME The Police
2 ( 14 ) ALL OUT OF LOVE Air Supply
3 ( 4 ) STEREOTYPES The Specials
4 ( 3 ) BAGGY TROUSERS Madness
5 ( 29 ) WHAT YOU’RE PROPOSING Status Quo
6 ( 2 ) ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST Queen
7 ( 10 ) KILLER ON THE LOOSE Thin Lizzy
8 ( 5 ) D.I.S.C.O. Ottawan
9 ( 18 ) A WOMAN IN LOVE Barbra Streisand
10 ( 15 ) ARMY DREAMERS Kate Bush

11 ( 7 ) MY OLD PIANO Diana Ross
12 ( 11 ) MASTERBLASTER (JAMMIN’) Stevie Wonder
13 ( 37 ) SPECIAL BREW Bad Manners
14 ( 17 ) YOU’RE LYING Linx
15 ( 8 ) I GOT YOU Split-Enz
16 ( 16 ) CASANOVA Coffee
17 ( 13 ) ASHES TO ASHES David Bowie
18 ( 12 ) SEARCHING Change featuring Luther Vandross
19 ( 38 ) ENOLA GAY Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
20 ( 26 ) WHAT’S IN A KISS Gilbert O’Sullivan

21 ( 24 ) GOTTA PULL MYSELF TOGETHER The Nolans
22 ( 6 ) THEME FROM “MIDNIGHT COWBOY” John Barry (Original Soundtrack)
23 ( 19 ) THE WINNER TAKES IT ALL Abba
24 ( 9 ) AMIGO Black Slate
25 ( 28 ) IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR A WAY OUT Odyssey
26 ( 50 ) LOVE X LOVE George Benson
27 ( 34 ) TOUCH AND GO The Cars
28 ( 23 ) AND THE BIRDS WERE SINGING Sweet People
29 ( 22 ) WHEN YOU ASK ABOUT LOVE Matchbox
30 ( NEW ) I NEED YOUR LOVING Teena Marie

31 ( NEW ) SHE’S SO COLD The Rolling Stones
32 ( 33 ) TROUBLE Gillan
33 ( 21 ) TAKE THE LONG WAY HOME Supertramp
34 ( 20 ) IT’S ONLY LOVE Elvis Presley
35 ( 54 ) OUT HERE ON MY OWN Irene Cara
36 ( 53 ) SUDDENLY Cliff Richard & Olivia Newton-John
37 ( 65 ) DON’T LOOK DOWN The Planets
38 ( 46 ) HE’S SO SHY The Pointer Sisters
39 ( 59 ) WHY DO LOVERS BREAK EACH OTHERS HEARTS Showaddywaddy
40 ( NEW ) DOG EAT DOG Adam & The Ants

41 ( 43 ) AM I NORMAL? Eye To Eye
42 ( 35 ) I DIE YOU DIE Gary Numan
43 ( 32 ) I OWE YOU ONE Shalamar
44 ( 39 ) THREE LITTLE BIRDS Bob Marley And The Wailers
45 ( 30 ) PARANOID Black Sabbath
46 ( 36 ) MAGIC Olivia Newton-John
47 ( 25 ) GENERALS & MAJORS XTC
48 ( 69 ) METROPOLIS The Motors
49 ( NEW ) LOVELY ONE The Jacksons
50 ( 40 ) ONE DAY I’LL FLY AWAY Randy Crawford

51 ( 27 ) TEMPORARY SECRETARY Paul McCartney
52 ( 31 ) NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT Manhattan Transfer
53 ( 47 ) XANADU Olivia Newton-John & The Electric Light Orchestra
54 ( 70 ) TOWERS OF LONDON XTC
55 ( NEW ) DRIVING MY LIFE AWAY Eddie Rabbit
56 ( NEW ) LET ME TALK Earth, Wind & Fire
57 ( 55 ) MONKEES EP (LAST TRAIN TO CLARKSVILLE/ I’M A BELIEVER/ A LITTLE BIT ME A LITTLE BIT YOU/ DAYDREAM BELIEVER) The Monkees
58 ( 56 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty
59 ( 57 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O.
60 ( 42 ) START The Jam

61 ( 60 ) THE WANDERER Donna Summer
62 ( 74 ) PARTY LIGHTS The Gap Band
63 ( NEW ) THROUGH THE 80’S Manfred Mann’s Earthband
64 ( 45 ) ROCK AND ROLL PART 2/I’M THE LEADER OF THE GANG EP Gary Glitter
65 ( 41 ) FEELS LIKE I’M IN LOVE Kelly Marie
66 ( 51 ) FAME Irene Cara
67 ( NEW ) DON’T SAY I TOLD YOU SO The Tourists
68 ( 62 ) NO DOUBT ABOUT IT Hot Chocolate
69 ( 64 ) MESSAGES Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
70 ( 63 ) CRYING Don McLean

71 ( 58 ) WATERFALLS Paul McCartney
72 ( 61 ) UPSIDE DOWN Diana Ross
73 ( NEW ) WHOSE PROBLEM? The Motels
74 ( NEW ) THE BREAKS Kurtis Blow
75 ( NEW ) PASSING STRANGERS Ultravox


TV 18th-24th Oct 1980
1 Star Trek: Mirror Mirror
2 The New Avengers
3 Soap (Thurs)
4 Soap (Fri)
5 Top Of The Pops
6 Buck Rogers In The 25th Century
7 The Phil Silvers Show (Bilko)
8 The Goodies
9 “A Killing Affair”: film
10 Parkinson
11 Film ’80
12 Tiswas
13 Rhoda
14 Here Comes Channel 8
15 The World About Us