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Posted by: popchartfreak 4th February 2015, 10:20 AM

1st January 1985

Back up to Number One for a second week for Wham! and their classic Last Christmas, while christmas songs elsewhere rise to new peaks: Gary Glitter at 6, Captain Sensible at 22, Queen at 37, Alvin Stardust at 38. Tears For Fears brilliant Shout hits a new peak of 3, as Strawberry Switchblade’s brilliant Since Yesterday hits 4. Alison Moyet gets her 2nd solo top 10, Invisible at 8, and Bob Marley returns to the top 10 Could You Be Loved back in for the first time in over 4 years.

Ashord and Simpson hit a new peak of 16, Paul Young’s changing at 20, and Kim Wilde’s touching 40, but really not much post-christmas movement and only 3 new entries: another quick new one from Stevie Wonder while his last single hangs about in flight, he’s also advising for the new year Don’t Drive Drunk. Good advice at 43. The Art Of Noise re-enter at 66, Close To The Edit all Trevor-Horned-up. Finally, Meatloaf is going Nowhere Fast at 75.


1 ( 2 ) LAST CHRISTMAS Wham!
2 ( 1 ) I WISH IT COULD BE CHRISTMAS EVERYDAY Wizzard
3 ( 9 ) SHOUT Tears For Fears
4 ( 12 ) SINCE YESTERDAY Strawberry Switchblade
5 ( 4 ) DO THEY KNOW IT’S CHRISTMAS Band Aid
6 ( 7 ) ANOTHER ROCK AND ROLL CHRISTMAS Gary Glitter
7 ( 3 ) WE ALL STAND TOGETHER Paul McCartney and The Frog Chorus
8 ( 11 ) INVISIBLE Alison Moyet
9 ( 13 ) COULD YOU BE LOVED Bob Marley And The Wailers
10 ( 5 ) ONE NIGHT IN BANGKOK Murray Head

11 ( 6 ) THE POWER OF LOVE Frankie Goes To Hollywood
12 ( 8 ) LIKE A VIRGIN Madonna
13 ( 20 ) I WANT TO KNOW WHAT LOVE IS Foreigner
14 ( 18 ) LAY YOUR HANDS ON ME The Thompson Twins
15 ( 14 ) SEX CRIME (1984) Eurythmics
16 ( 29 ) SOLID Ashford and Simpson
17 ( 31 ) GHOSTBUSTERS Ray Parker Junior
18 ( 17 ) I FEEL FOR YOU Chaka Khan
19 ( 15 ) THE RIDDLE Nik Kershaw
20 ( 26 ) EVERYTHING MUST CHANGE Paul Young

21 ( 10 ) MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY Slade
22 ( 39 ) ONE CHRISTMAS CATALOGUE Captain Sensible
23 ( 19 ) I FEEL FINE The Beatles
24 ( 25 ) SHARP DRESSED MAN Z.Z. TOP
25 ( 16 ) FRESH Kool And The Gang
26 ( 21 ) LOUISE Human League
27 ( 23 ) ALL JOIN HANDS Slade
28 ( 33 ) SAN DAMIANO (HEART AND SOUL) Sal Solo
29 ( 22 ) I WON’T RUN AWAY Alvin Stardust
30 ( 32 ) IT AIN’T NECESSARILY SO Bronski Beat



31 ( 36 ) NELLIE THE ELEPHANT The Toy Dolls
32 ( 28 ) HARD HABIT TO BREAK Chicago
33 ( 35 ) STRANGER IN TOWN Toto
34 ( 27 ) ROUND AND ROUND Spandau Ballet
35 ( 43 ) BIG DEAL (THEME) Bobby G
36 ( 30 ) THE WILD BOYS Duran Duran
37 ( 37 ) THANK GOD IT’S CHRISTMAS Queen
38 ( 40 ) SO NEAR TO CHRISTMAS Alvin Stardust
39 ( 24 ) TEARDROPS Shakin’ Stevens
40 ( 47 ) THE TOUCH Kim Wilde




41 ( 34 ) TREAT HER LIKE A LADY The Temptations
42 ( 50 ) SOUL DEEP The Council Collective
43 ( NEW ) DON’T DRIVE DRUNK Stevie Wonder
44 ( 41 ) LET IT ALL BLOW The Dazz Band
45 ( 38 ) SEND MY HEART The Adventures
46 ( 57 ) THE ROSE IS SOWN Big Country
47 ( 60 ) I WOULD DIE 4 U Prince
48 ( 68 ) OUT OF TOUCH Daryl Hall and John Oates
49 ( 44 ) CARIBBEAN QUEEN (NO MORE LOVE ON THE RUN) Billy Ocean
50 ( 64 ) SEE THAT GLOW This Island Earth




51 ( 46 ) NO MORE LONELY NIGHTS Paul McCartney
52 ( 48 ) RESPECT YOURSELF The Kane Gang
53 ( 53 ) DO THE CONGA Black Lace
54 ( 55 ) VALOTTE Julian Lennon
55 ( 42 ) THE MEDAL SONG Culture Club
56 ( 59 ) I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER Jim Diamond
57 ( 54 ) DRIVE The Cars
58 ( 45 ) LOVE LIGHT IN FLIGHT Stevie Wonder
59 ( 51 ) THE VOICE The Moody Blues
60 ( 56 ) THE NEVER ENDING STORY Limahl

61 ( 52 ) PRIVATE DANCER Tina Turner
62 ( 49 ) YOU MIGHT THINK The Cars
63 ( 63 ) LOST IN MUSIC Sister Sledge
64 ( 61 ) HALF A MINUTE Matt Bianco
65 ( 69 ) WE BELONG Pat Benatar
66 ( RE ) CLOSE (TO THE EDIT) The Art Of Noise
67 ( 62 ) WARNING SIGN Nick Heyward
68 ( 58 ) STRUT Sheena Easton
69 ( 71 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
70 ( 73 ) SEPTEMBER SONG Ian McCulloch




71 ( 66 ) NO MERCY The Stranglers
72 ( 70 ) MADAME BUTTERFLY Malcolm McLaren
73 ( 65 ) I’M A LITTLE CHRISTMAS CRACKER The Bouncing Czecks
74 ( 74 ) NEVER LET HER SLIP AWAY Trevor Walters
75 ( NEW ) NOWHERE FAST Meatloaf

TV: Dec 29 1984 - Jan 4 1985
1. Star Wars: film
2. Superman II: film
3. Another Audience With Dame Edna
4. Gallipoli: film
5. The Towering Inferno: film
6. The Wizard Of Oz: film
7. Duck Soup: film
8. The Deer Hunter: film
9. Morecambe & Wise Classics
10. Top Of The Pops
11. Diced Carrott
12. Dr. No: film
13. The Incredible Shrinking Woman: film
14. Dallas
15. Kramer vs Kramer: film


TV over the holiday period is pure domination of classic movies, and of course Star Wars is on top, just ahead of Superman II. More surprisingly, quite high is the Australian war movie Gallipoli, one I’ve not seen since I think, and should check out again. In the TV comedian stakes, Dame Edna comes out on top, being as Barry Humphries was at his peak, ahead of Morecambe & Wise and Jasper Carrott.

Christmas in Blidworth turned out to be a series of family arguments, tiffs, sulks and storming-off’s. Happy days. Back to Poole, and some time to myself as I developed a cold from the cold North and stress. New Years Eve was spent with parents on the Marines camp, though they went to a party and I at last said “good riddance” to a rotten year on my own.

Posted by: popchartfreak 4th February 2015, 03:35 PM

8th January 1985

I hit 27 years old with nothing much achieved, and nothing much on the horizon, but at least Wham! have Everything She Wants at number one, as radio flips from playing Last Christmas to the sultry other A side that had been overshadowed so far. In the USA both tracks were released separately and Everything She Wants topped on it’s own merits. In the UK 2-fer-1, hooray! Foreigner go top 5 for the first ever time, Ashford & Simpson go top 10 for the first time as artists, and plenty of tracks go back up or re-enter after the year-end run-downs, but I’ll ignore all of them and look at the new...

Sal Solo’s traditional-hymn-sounding San Damiano is up to 13, Bronski Beat’s actual old It Ain’t Necessarily So is at 20, and highest new entry is an immaculate Bucks Fizz, the recovering Mike Nolan after brain surgery following their coach crash, and one spot ahead of Bobby G’s TV theme. I Hear Talk is one of their best records and picked up a fair bit of good-will at the time, classy and beautifully-produced. Smiley Culture is in at 40, meanwhile, with Police Officer and his Cockney-Jamaican reggae vocal style, ending up influencing later much bigger cockney-rap stars. Smiley killed himself during a police raid in 2011, which sort of removes the upbeat mood somewhat from the record.

60’s and 70’s soul/Philly greats The Intruders have a welcome return at 45 with Who Do You Love, some 11 years since their last chart entry, Win Place Or Show (She’s A Winner). Also starting his chart career in 1974, Billy Ocean confirms his revival as the guitar-riffed funky Loverboy pops in at 48, complete with great aliens video (for the time). Melle Mel appears to have promoted himself to Grandmaster for his solo follow-up to the classic White Lines, Step Off. I think Bud in brilliant blue-collar sitcom Married:With Children also promoted himself to the Grandmaster B some years later, so it must have caught on.



1 ( 1 ) LAST CHRISTMAS/EVERYTHING SHE WANTS Wham!
2 ( 4 ) SINCE YESTERDAY Strawberry Switchblade
3 ( 3 ) SHOUT Tears For Fears
4 ( 5 ) DO THEY KNOW IT’S CHRISTMAS Band Aid
5 ( 13 ) I WANT TO KNOW WHAT LOVE IS Foreigner
6 ( 6 ) ANOTHER ROCK AND ROLL CHRISTMAS Gary Glitter
7 ( 2 ) I WISH IT COULD BE CHRISTMAS EVERYDAY Wizzard
8 ( 12 ) LIKE A VIRGIN Madonna
9 ( 10 ) ONE NIGHT IN BANGKOK Murray Head
10 ( 16 ) SOLID Ashford and Simpson

11 ( 11 ) THE POWER OF LOVE Frankie Goes To Hollywood
12 ( 17 ) GHOSTBUSTERS Ray Parker Junior
13 ( 28 ) SAN DAMIANO (HEART AND SOUL) Sal Solo
14 ( 14 ) LAY YOUR HANDS ON ME The Thompson Twins
15 ( 15 ) SEX CRIME (1984) Eurythmics
16 ( 7 ) WE ALL STAND TOGETHER Paul McCartney and The Frog Chorus
17 ( 8 ) INVISIBLE Alison Moyet
18 ( 20 ) EVERYTHING MUST CHANGE Paul Young
19 ( 18 ) I FEEL FOR YOU Chaka Khan
20 ( 30 ) IT AIN’T NECESSARILY SO Bronski Beat

21 ( 19 ) THE RIDDLE Nik Kershaw
22 ( 22 ) ONE CHRISTMAS CATALOGUE Captain Sensible
23 ( 9 ) COULD YOU BE LOVED Bob Marley And The Wailers
24 ( 24 ) SHARP DRESSED MAN Z.Z. TOP
25 ( 25 ) FRESH Kool And The Gang
26 ( 40 ) THE TOUCH Kim Wilde
27 ( 26 ) LOUISE Human League
28 ( 27 ) ALL JOIN HANDS Slade
29 ( 33 ) STRANGER IN TOWN Toto
30 ( 31 ) NELLIE THE ELEPHANT The Toy Dolls

31 ( 23 ) I FEEL FINE The Beatles
32 ( NEW ) I HEAR TALK Bucks Fizz
33 ( 35 ) BIG DEAL (THEME) Bobby G
34 ( 34 ) ROUND AND ROUND Spandau Ballet
35 ( 48 ) OUT OF TOUCH Daryl Hall and John Oates
36 ( 43 ) DON’T DRIVE DRUNK Stevie Wonder
37 ( 21 ) MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY Slade
38 ( 32 ) HARD HABIT TO BREAK Chicago
39 ( 29 ) I WON’T RUN AWAY Alvin Stardust
40 ( NEW ) POLICE OFFICER Smiley Culture



41 ( 36 ) THE WILD BOYS Duran Duran
42 ( 42 ) SOUL DEEP The Council Collective
43 ( 41 ) TREAT HER LIKE A LADY The Temptations
44 ( 68 ) STRUT Sheena Easton
45 ( NEW ) WHO DO YOU LOVE The Intruders
46 ( 38 ) SO NEAR TO CHRISTMAS Alvin Stardust
47 ( 44 ) LET IT ALL BLOW The Dazz Band
48 ( NEW ) LOVERBOY Billy Ocean
49 ( 50 ) SEE THAT GLOW This Island Earth
50 ( 54 ) VALOTTE Julian Lennon



51 ( RE ) WHITE LINES (DON’T DON’T DO IT) Grandmaster Flash and Melle Mel
52 ( 49 ) CARIBBEAN QUEEN (NO MORE LOVE ON THE RUN) Billy Ocean
53 ( 47 ) I WOULD DIE 4 U Prince
54 ( 37 ) THANK GOD IT’S CHRISTMAS Queen
55 ( 39 ) TEARDROPS Shakin’ Stevens
56 ( 66 ) CLOSE (TO THE EDIT) The Art Of Noise
57 ( NEW ) STEP OFF Grandmaster Melle Mel and The Furious Five
58 ( 51 ) NO MORE LONELY NIGHTS Paul McCartney
59 ( 56 ) I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER Jim Diamond
60 ( RE ) FREEDOM Wham!




61 ( 57 ) DRIVE The Cars
62 ( 71 ) NO MERCY The Stranglers
63 ( 63 ) LOST IN MUSIC Sister Sledge
64 ( 60 ) THE NEVER ENDING STORY Limahl
65 ( 45 ) SEND MY HEART The Adventures
66 ( 46 ) WHERE THE ROSE IS SOWN Big Country
67 ( RE ) AGADOO Black Lace
68 ( 55 ) THE MEDAL SONG Culture Club
69 ( 69 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
70 ( 72 ) MADAME BUTTERFLY Malcolm McLaren

71 ( RE ) I JUST CALLED TO SAY I LOVE YOU Stevie Wonder
72 ( 53 ) DO THE CONGA Black Lace
73 ( 59 ) THE VOICE The Moody Blues
74 ( 62 ) YOU MIGHT THINK The Cars
75 ( NEW ) TELL ME GIRL Scary Thieves

TV: Jan 5-11th
1. Star Trek: The Squire Of Gothos
2. It’ll Be Alright On The Night 4
3. Another Audience With Dame Edna
4. Gregory’s Girl: film
5. Top Of The Pops
6. Doctor Who
7. The Mary Tyler Moore Show
8. The Phil Silvers Show
9. The Addams Family
10. Spitting Image


Back to work for me, still stressed about the driving of my car-share driver and trying to tactfully tell her to slow down, then when that didn’t work tried the more direct “I may have to get alternative arrangements” hinting. Bob at work was good fun, and I generally came to the conclusion I needed to go out and socialise, missing my college friends a LOT, and also I needed to come up with some sort of goals to aim for, including getting my own transport. My first nephew was born the day after my birthday, Gavin just missed it by an hour and a half! Anything to be awkward, though he did hit my Aunty’s birthday, and mum and dad hot-footed up to Mansfield to see him while I verbally snapped at my boss at work. He got his own back, making me work outside in the freezing cold for hours, hands frozen to the computer, to teach me a lesson. I already knew he was a so and so, though, so didn’t learn anything new. He also kept quiet about us needlessly putting in annual leave for New Years Eve, so Bob and I both lost a days pay for nothing. Our fault apparently....

Posted by: popchartfreak 4th February 2015, 09:04 PM

15th January 1985


First new number of 1985 is the fabulous Strawberry Switchblade, there’s nothing not to love about the record, from the girls polka-dot obsessed video and image, to the 80’s-production values on a great melodic song. Upbeat, positive and joyous, I don’t see how anyone can not like it! The only downside is the equally great Shout peaks at 2 for a 2nd Tears For Fears classic falling short at the final hurdle. Or Durdle (Dore) video-wise. Salo Solo does what Classix Nouveau never managed, meanwhile - he gets into the 10!

The charts finally get some action as This Island Earth rocket to 21, Dead Or Alive re-enter even higher after a short break out the chart, with the exciting You Spin Me Round, and Imagination return with Thank You My Love for 4 years of chart entries, it’s pleasant enough. The better stuff is lower down though, as Abba jump in at 31 - well, again it’s Bjorn and Benny, and Chess, and two musical dependables, Barbara Dickson (giving her 9 years since Answer Me hit 2) and Elaine Paige (6 years since Evita), duetting the great I Know Him So Well. It could have been awesome though if the boys had got Frida and Agnetha duetting instead, oh, and just called it an Abba record. Doh!

Springsteen’s Dancing In The Dark again, after going top 40 in the summer of 84, Yah Mo B There is also back a year or so on, at 38, for James Ingram and Michael McDonald, while buzz act of January 1985 (ie most-hyped by the record industry) were King, long-hair and coloured Doc Martens. Love And Pride wasn’t bad though, and in at 44, ahead of Eurythmics 1984 movie ballad, Julia, at 52, and Amii Stewart’s return after a gap of 5 years with Friends at 56. Best of all though it’s Bryan Adams giving it some Canadian rock oomph as he debuts at 59 with the frankly wonderful, exciting Run To You, still his best record. Ol’ Bry went on to mega success of course, and mega-hate thanks to THAT record, but if you need convincing he’s all right, take a gander at the guitar work, the shouty growled chorus, and the ominous, frantic mood of this track.

Others: Chaka Khan’s back, Malcolm McLaren’s still in an opera groove, The Colourfield debut (aka Terry Hall’s third band, he just can’t seem to settle down, having left The Specials at their peak, and the Fun Boy Three at their peak. Not a problem with The Colourfield, as they never peaked at anything), and finally Lou Reed pops in briefly with Suzanne some 12 years after taking a much more impressive Walk On The Wild Side.



1 ( 2 ) SINCE YESTERDAY Strawberry Switchblade
2 ( 3 ) SHOUT Tears For Fears
3 ( 5 ) I WANT TO KNOW WHAT LOVE IS Foreigner
4 ( 4 ) DO THEY KNOW IT’S CHRISTMAS Band Aid
5 ( 1 ) LAST CHRISTMAS/EVERYTHING SHE WANTS Wham!
6 ( 13 ) SAN DAMIANO (HEART AND SOUL) Sal Solo
7 ( 10 ) SOLID Ashford and Simpson
8 ( 8 ) LIKE A VIRGIN Madonna
9 ( 9 ) ONE NIGHT IN BANGKOK Murray Head
10 ( 6 ) ANOTHER ROCK AND ROLL CHRISTMAS Gary Glitter

11 ( 17 ) INVISIBLE Alison Moyet
12 ( 14 ) LAY YOUR HANDS ON ME The Thompson Twins
13 ( 7 ) I WISH IT COULD BE CHRISTMAS EVERYDAY Wizzard
14 ( 20 ) IT AIN’T NECESSARILY SO Bronski Beat
15 ( 11 ) THE POWER OF LOVE Frankie Goes To Hollywood
16 ( 15 ) SEX CRIME (1984) Eurythmics
17 ( 12 ) GHOSTBUSTERS Ray Parker Junior
18 ( 24 ) SHARP DRESSED MAN Z.Z. TOP
19 ( 19 ) I FEEL FOR YOU Chaka Khan
20 ( 16 ) WE ALL STAND TOGETHER Paul McCartney and The Frog Chorus

21 ( 49 ) SEE THAT GLOW This Island Earth
22 ( 18 ) EVERYTHING MUST CHANGE Paul Young
23 ( 21 ) THE RIDDLE Nik Kershaw
24 ( 32 ) I HEAR TALK Bucks Fizz
25 ( RE ) YOU SPIN ME ROUND (LIKE A RECORD) Dead Or Alive
26 ( NEW ) THANK YOU MY LOVE Imagination
27 ( 25 ) FRESH Kool And The Gang
28 ( 23 ) COULD YOU BE LOVED Bob Marley And The Wailers
29 ( 30 ) NELLIE THE ELEPHANT The Toy Dolls
30 ( 40 ) POLICE OFFICER Smiley Culture



31 ( NEW ) I KNOW HIM SO WELL Barbara Dickson and Elaine Paige
32 ( NEW ) DANCING IN THE DARK Bruce Springsteen
33 ( 31 ) I FEEL FINE The Beatles
34 ( 42 ) SOUL DEEP The Council Collective
35 ( 22 ) ONE CHRISTMAS CATALOGUE Captain Sensible
36 ( 36 ) DON’T DRIVE DRUNK Stevie Wonder
37 ( 27 ) LOUISE Human League
38 ( NEW ) YAH MO B THERE James Ingram and Michael McDonald
39 ( RE ) WE BELONG Pat Benatar
40 ( 57 ) STEP OFF Grandmaster Melle Mel and The Furious Five



41 ( 41 ) THE WILD BOYS Duran Duran
42 ( 26 ) THE TOUCH Kim Wilde
43 ( 48 ) LOVERBOY Billy Ocean
44 ( NEW ) LOVE AND PRIDE King
45 ( 45 ) WHO DO YOU LOVE The Intruders
46 ( 29 ) STRANGER IN TOWN Toto
47 ( 28 ) ALL JOIN HANDS Slade
48 ( 51 ) WHITE LINES (DON’T DON’T DO IT) Grandmaster Flash and Melle Mel
49 ( 50 ) VALOTTE Julian Lennon
50 ( 38 ) HARD HABIT TO BREAK Chicago

51 ( 39 ) I WON’T RUN AWAY Alvin Stardust
52 ( NEW ) JULIA Eurythmics
53 ( 33 ) BIG DEAL (THEME) Bobby G
54 ( 44 ) STRUT Sheena Easton
55 ( 37 ) MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY Slade
56 ( NEW ) FRIENDS Amii Stewart
57 ( 35 ) OUT OF TOUCH Daryl Hall and John Oates
58 ( 47 ) LET IT ALL BLOW The Dazz Band
59 ( NEW ) RUN TO YOU Bryan Adams
60 ( 74 ) YOU MIGHT THINK The Cars




61 ( 34 ) ROUND AND ROUND Spandau Ballet
62 ( 53 ) I WOULD DIE 4 U Prince
63 ( 56 ) CLOSE (TO THE EDIT) The Art Of Noise
64 ( 63 ) LOST IN MUSIC Sister Sledge
65 ( 61 ) DRIVE The Cars
66 ( 67 ) AGADOO Black Lace
67 ( 71 ) I JUST CALLED TO SAY I LOVE YOU Stevie Wonder
68 ( 58 ) NO MORE LONELY NIGHTS Paul McCartney
69 ( NEW ) THIS IS MY NIGHT Chaka Khan
70 ( 69 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba

71 ( 52 ) CARIBBEAN QUEEN (NO MORE LOVE ON THE RUN) Billy Ocean
72 ( 70 ) MADAME BUTTERFLY Malcolm McLaren
73 ( NEW ) CARMEN Malcolm McLaren
74 ( NEW ) THINKING OF YOU The Colourfield
75 ( NEW ) I LOVE YOU SUZANNE Lou Reed


Jan 12-18th
1. Star Trek: Return Of The Archons
2. Hill Street Blues
3. The Addams Family
4. The Phil Silvers Show
5. The Avengers
6. Top Of The Pops
7. Doctor Who
8. The Mary Tyler Moore Show
9. Dallas
10. The New Avengers



At work in Dorset, I find I just can’t resist answering back when I don’t agree with someone. Ego? Yes. Plus, I’m right. Snowy roads around Blandford this time, cold but at least sunny outside. I did my charts, happy to see plenty of faves from 1984 that never made it at last getting some UK chart action and Radio 1 airplay. It’s important to me they become hits...! Bob popped round with his new Scirocco car, snazzy, as he left to welcome his mum and dad to Bournemouth, they’d moved down, and I’d get to know them fairly well over the years to my pleasure. Mum and dad bought a Yorkie terrier dog from friends of theirs, and Picket (as she was called) turned out to have a big impact on the family until, and including, the traumatic day she died. On Sunday we went to visit our Singapore friends The Wainwright’s again in Chippenham, where Jamie had morphed into trendy James, and we had a nice National Trust pub meal. It was good to see Doreen laugh a little at old times, but we all wished Dale could have been there. I still get annoyed he missed so much life.

Posted by: popchartfreak 5th February 2015, 08:08 PM

22nd January 1985

Another new number one, it’s the UK/US smash gospel-flavoured rock anthem classic that is I Want To Know What Love Is giving Foreigner a number one 7 years since they first charted. It’s glorious, especially that climactic Jennifer Holliday fade out, she’s the one that did the spine-tingling definitive version of And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going, top 10 in my charts 1982. Highest new entry is Prince - I say new, it’s actually the UK catching up on his 2 minor 1983 hits bundled together, both peaked at 9 in my chart, and together they hit 6, my initial preference was for Little Red Corvette, but 1999 became the main track.

Babs and Elaine overtake the Abba boys other song at 8 and 9, while Amii Stewart’s Friends collectively jump to 14, and Bucks Fizz overhear rumours at 15. The Limit say “yeah” as they enter at 27, a smooth bit of jazz funk, while the rougher side of dance-rock (in comparison, only) takes Billy Ocean’s Loverboy to 24. King aren’t doing quite as well as Prince, as royalty Pride comes after Love. There’s loads of new entries, but let’s not mention Russ Abbott! Especially not when Elvis has a medley of some of his finest moments at 48 - 4 minutes to learn about the fuss: think Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra...and then boom! Elvis. Icon.

Some US pop heart-throbs arrive, Corey Hart and the growing-up New Edition, not to mention Phil Collins in a Prince 1999 groove, Sussudio doesn’t fool me, nor is it quite as good. Chicago are back, uninspiring, actually, despite what they say. Heaven 17...and that’s no lie, get a low entry at 72 but it’s not bad, nor is John Lydon and Afrika Bambaata aka Time Zone, punk funking it up synth style. Johnny Rotten was a mere 8 years earlier! Which leaves the jewell in the pop crown, as the much-missed fantastic Kirsty MacColl gets two appearances: her brilliant version of Billy Bragg’s A New England at 61, and Tracey Ullman’s pretty good version of Kirsty’s Terry, Tracey already having wonderfully covered Kirsty’s They Don’t Know.



1 ( 3 ) I WANT TO KNOW WHAT LOVE IS Foreigner
2 ( 1 ) SINCE YESTERDAY Strawberry Switchblade
3 ( 6 ) SAN DAMIANO (HEART AND SOUL) Sal Solo
4 ( 2 ) SHOUT Tears For Fears
5 ( 7 ) SOLID Ashford and Simpson
6 ( NEW ) LITTLE RED CORVETTE/ 1999 Prince
7 ( 4 ) DO THEY KNOW IT’S CHRISTMAS Band Aid
8 ( 31 ) I KNOW HIM SO WELL Barbara Dickson and Elaine Paige
9 ( 9 ) ONE NIGHT IN BANGKOK Murray Head
10 ( 5 ) LAST CHRISTMAS/EVERYTHING SHE WANTS Wham!

11 ( 8 ) LIKE A VIRGIN Madonna
12 ( 14 ) IT AIN’T NECESSARILY SO Bronski Beat
13 ( 10 ) ANOTHER ROCK AND ROLL CHRISTMAS Gary Glitter
14 ( 56 ) FRIENDS Amii Stewart
15 ( 24 ) I HEAR TALK Bucks Fizz
16 ( 18 ) SHARP DRESSED MAN Z.Z. TOP
17 ( 26 ) THANK YOU MY LOVE Imagination
18 ( 15 ) THE POWER OF LOVE Frankie Goes To Hollywood
19 ( 17 ) GHOSTBUSTERS Ray Parker Junior
20 ( 16 ) SEX CRIME (1984) Eurythmics

21 ( 11 ) INVISIBLE Alison Moyet
22 ( 13 ) I WISH IT COULD BE CHRISTMAS EVERYDAY Wizzard
23 ( 21 ) SEE THAT GLOW This Island Earth
24 ( 43 ) LOVERBOY Billy Ocean
25 ( 19 ) I FEEL FOR YOU Chaka Khan
26 ( 32 ) DANCING IN THE DARK Bruce Springsteen
27 ( NEW ) SAY YEAH The Limit
28 ( 44 ) LOVE AND PRIDE King
29 ( 20 ) WE ALL STAND TOGETHER Paul McCartney and The Frog Chorus
30 ( 38 ) YAH MO B THERE James Ingram and Michael McDonald

31 ( 12 ) LAY YOUR HANDS ON ME The Thompson Twins
32 ( 59 ) RUN TO YOU Bryan Adams
33 ( 63 ) CLOSE (TO THE EDIT) The Art Of Noise
34 ( 23 ) THE RIDDLE Nik Kershaw
35 ( 39 ) WE BELONG Pat Benatar
36 ( 40 ) STEP OFF Grandmaster Melle Mel and The Furious Five
37 ( 69 ) THIS IS MY NIGHT Chaka Khan
38 ( 27 ) FRESH Kool And The Gang
39 ( 25 ) YOU SPIN ME ROUND (LIKE A RECORD) Dead Or Alive
40 ( 33 ) I FEEL FINE The Beatles

41 ( 28 ) COULD YOU BE LOVED Bob Marley And The Wailers
42 ( 41 ) THE WILD BOYS Duran Duran
43 ( 22 ) EVERYTHING MUST CHANGE Paul Young
44 ( NEW ) ATMOSPHERE Russ Abbott
45 ( 42 ) THE TOUCH Kim Wilde
46 ( 35 ) ONE CHRISTMAS CATALOGUE Captain Sensible
47 ( 30 ) POLICE OFFICER Smiley Culture
48 ( NEW ) THE ELVIS MEDLEY Elvis Presley
49 ( 37 ) LOUISE Human League
50 ( 36 ) DON’T DRIVE DRUNK Stevie Wonder



51 ( NEW ) NEUTRON DANCE The Pointer Sisters
52 ( 52 ) JULIA Eurythmics
53 ( 46 ) STRANGER IN TOWN Toto
54 ( NEW ) IT AIN’T ENOUGH Corey Hart
55 ( 29 ) NELLIE THE ELEPHANT The Toy Dolls
56 ( NEW ) COOL IT NOW New Edition
57 ( 34 ) SOUL DEEP The Council Collective
58 ( 51 ) I WON’T RUN AWAY Alvin Stardust
59 ( 74 ) THINKING OF YOU The Colourfield
60 ( 57 ) OUT OF TOUCH Daryl Hall and John Oates



61 ( NEW ) A NEW ENGLAND Kirsty MacColl
62 ( 50 ) HARD HABIT TO BREAK Chicago
63 ( NEW ) SUSSUDIO Phil Collins
64 ( 64 ) LOST IN MUSIC Sister Sledge
65 ( 65 ) DRIVE The Cars
66 ( 48 ) WHITE LINES (DON’T DON’T DO IT) Grandmaster Flash and Melle Mel
67 ( NEW ) YOU’RE THE INSPIRATION Chicago
68 ( 55 ) MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY Slade
69 ( 68 ) NO MORE LONELY NIGHTS Paul McCartney
70 ( 70 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba

71 ( 47 ) ALL JOIN HANDS Slade
72 ( NEW ) ... AND THAT’S NO LIE Heaven 17
73 ( 45 ) WHO DO YOU LOVE The Intruders
74 ( NEW ) TERRY Tracey Ullman
75 ( NEW ) WORLD DESTRUCTION Time Zone





TV 19-25th Jan
1. Star Trek: Operation Annihilate
2. The Phil Silvers Show
3. Hill Street Blues
4. Top Of The Pops
5. The Other Side Of The Tracks: Abba
6. The Twilight Zone
7. The New Avengers
8. The Rockford Files
9. Dallas
10. Doctor Who


On TV, Paul Gambaccini’s excellent pop profile show The Other Side Of The Tracks was on with a Benny & Bjorn interview, while Hill Street Blues, Doctor Who and Dallas are the only new dramas still doing it for me. Watched an episode of The Avengers with mum and dad, it was the one they filmed on an RAF base, dad watched Diana Rigg & Patrick Macnee re-do takes quite a few times from his work window. In my work: quite snowy again in the wilds of Dorset, Bob was off ill, on the coldest day in 20 years, culminating in a big-ish friday snowfall, which meant slow bus to work as I marvelled at how quickly the south of England grinds to a halt at the drop of a snowflake. Bournemouth and Poole are still the same, drivers have no idea to how to deal with snow on the road and it quickly slows to walking pace, or they start calling in for the day off work cos it takes a bit longer. Wimps. If they only knew that the northerners at work always talk about them, the snowfall in Dorset is never more than an inch. Of our section, only Paul (from Sheffield) and me (Mansfield/Lincoln) made it in.

Posted by: popchartfreak 6th February 2015, 08:08 PM

29th January 1985

Foreigner hold for a second week as 16 new entries give the chart a real clear-out, though the top end is more sedate, with Bucks Fizz’ I Hear Talk at 4 giving them 4 years of top 5 hits, at least one a year, usually 2. Amii Stewart’s pleasant Friends, and Bronski Beat’s retro It Ain’t Necessarily So grab a top 10 slot before the onslaught lower down - Springsteen outdoes his 1984 chart high at 12, King at 13 are still quite proud, but highest new entry at 16 is the fabulous This Is Not America, David Bowie’s collaboration with Jazz act The Pat Metheny Band and back on form to boot.

At 19, The Commodores are back, minus Lionel Richie, and show they don’t really need him on this classy sad soul tribute to the then-recently late Marvin Gaye and Jackie Wilson: Nightshift. Slade don’t hang about, a third hit in 3 months, as 7 Year Bitch brings them in at 25 for a singalong chant that never really caught on (probably the title!). Also back for a spot of spelling lesson, M.E.T.H.O.D. of Modern Love gives Hall & Oates yet another great pop entry at 35, while The Honeydrippers cover Phil Phillips’ 50’s doo-wop era classic, Sea Of Love at 36. Who are the Honeydrippers? Heard of Robert Plant? Jimmy Page? Led Zeppelin? Nile Rodgers? He’s had a hit or 2? How about Jeff Beck? Hi Ho Silver Lining? No? Pretty much a supergroup, and all pretty much still very active. It’s terrific, too.




Then there’s two masterpiece classics a bit lower down: The Smiths How Soon Is Now was under-appreciated in the UK charts, and in mine too, at the time, it’s pure genius, the Johnny Marr guitar is especially stunning, but this remains a record to bring joy - as I’m hoping Morrissey will grace us in 2 months when I see him, fingers-crossed. But there’s another: Don Henley had been pretty damn fine with his Dirty laundry and other solo stuff since The Eagles split in 1980, but nothing to match up to One Of These Nights - till now! Boys Of Summer is very 80’s-sounding, great lyrics, great sound, great song, so good, like The Smiths How Soon Is Now, they both had to come back again and chart in the 90’s. 58 and 67 respectively, though, for now.

Others: Howard Jones full of optimism a good 10 years before D:Ream, opining Things Can Only Get Better. Bronski Beat might disagree though. Sheila E’s in at 70, better known as a protege of Prince. Prince had lots of short lithe female protoges: he insisted he preferred the company of women to men, I’m sure that’s the main reason. The Belle Of St Mark is very Prince-sounding, and pretty good. Dan Hartman’s back again; Jermaine Jackson gets another solo hit as brother Michael takes a break from Thriller album tracks to release; The Boomtown Rats have yet another decent single completely ignored, at 75, the good A Hold Of Me from the decent album In The Long Grass.


1 ( 1 ) I WANT TO KNOW WHAT LOVE IS Foreigner
2 ( 2 ) SINCE YESTERDAY Strawberry Switchblade
3 ( 8 ) I KNOW HIM SO WELL Barbara Dickson and Elaine Paige
4 ( 15 ) I HEAR TALK Bucks Fizz
5 ( 3 ) SAN DAMIANO (HEART AND SOUL) Sal Solo
6 ( 6 ) 1999/LITTLE RED CORVETTE Prince
7 ( 5 ) SOLID Ashford and Simpson
8 ( 4 ) SHOUT Tears For Fears
9 ( 14 ) FRIENDS Amii Stewart
10 ( 12 ) IT AIN’T NECESSARILY SO Bronski Beat



11 ( 7 ) DO THEY KNOW IT’S CHRISTMAS Band Aid
12 ( 26 ) DANCING IN THE DARK Bruce Springsteen
13 ( 28 ) LOVE AND PRIDE King
14 ( 10 ) LAST CHRISTMAS/EVERYTHING SHE WANTS Wham!
15 ( 11 ) LIKE A VIRGIN Madonna
16 ( NEW ) THIS IS NOT AMERICA David Bowie and The Pat Metheny Group
17 ( 17 ) THANK YOU MY LOVE Imagination
18 ( 24 ) LOVERBOY Billy Ocean
19 ( NEW ) NIGHTSHIFT The Commodores
20 ( 30 ) YAH MO B THERE James Ingram and Michael McDonald



21 ( 9 ) ONE NIGHT IN BANGKOK Murray Head
22 ( 27 ) SAY YEAH The Limit
23 ( 33 ) CLOSE (TO THE EDIT) The Art Of Noise
24 ( 32 ) RUN TO YOU Bryan Adams
25 ( NEW ) 7 YEAR BITCH Slade
26 ( 18 ) THE POWER OF LOVE Frankie Goes To Hollywood
27 ( 35 ) WE BELONG Pat Benatar
28 ( 13 ) ANOTHER ROCK AND ROLL CHRISTMAS Gary Glitter
29 ( 20 ) SEX CRIME (1984) Eurythmics
30 ( 16 ) SHARP DRESSED MAN Z.Z. TOP

31 ( 19 ) GHOSTBUSTERS Ray Parker Junior
32 ( 22 ) I WISH IT COULD BE CHRISTMAS EVERYDAY Wizzard
33 ( 37 ) THIS IS MY NIGHT Chaka Khan
34 ( 25 ) I FEEL FOR YOU Chaka Khan
35 ( NEW ) METHOD OF MODERN LOVE Daryl Hall and John Oates
36 ( NEW ) SEA OF LOVE The Honeydrippers
37 ( 21 ) INVISIBLE Alison Moyet
38 ( 29 ) WE ALL STAND TOGETHER Paul McCartney and The Frog Chorus
39 ( 61 ) A NEW ENGLAND Kirsty MacColl
40 ( NEW ) CAN I Cashmere

41 ( 23 ) SEE THAT GLOW This Island Earth
42 ( 63 ) SUSSUDIO Phil Collins
43 ( 44 ) ATMOSPHERE Russ Abbott
44 ( 59 ) THINKING OF YOU The Colourfield
45 ( 34 ) THE RIDDLE Nik Kershaw
46 ( 42 ) THE WILD BOYS Duran Duran
47 ( 48 ) THE ELVIS MEDLEY Elvis Presley
48 ( 40 ) I FEEL FINE The Beatles
49 ( 54 ) IT AIN’T ENOUGH Corey Hart
50 ( 51 ) NEUTRON DANCE The Pointer Sisters

51 ( 31 ) LAY YOUR HANDS ON ME The Thompson Twins
52 ( 67 ) YOU’RE THE INSPIRATION Chicago
53 ( 43 ) EVERYTHING MUST CHANGE Paul Young
54 ( 72 ) ... AND THAT’S NO LIE Heaven 17
55 ( 38 ) FRESH Kool And The Gang
56 ( 39 ) YOU SPIN ME ROUND (LIKE A RECORD) Dead Or Alive
57 ( 75 ) WORLD DESTRUCTION Time Zone
58 ( NEW ) HOW SOON IS NOW The Smiths
59 ( 36 ) STEP OFF Grandmaster Melle Mel and The Furious Five
60 ( NEW ) “20/20” George Benson



61 ( NEW ) JUST A SHADOW Big Country
62 ( 52 ) JULIA Eurythmics
63 ( 49 ) LOUISE Human League
64 ( 58 ) I WON’T RUN AWAY Alvin Stardust
65 ( NEW ) THINGS CAN ONLY GET BETTER Howard Jones
66 ( 64 ) LOST IN MUSIC Sister Sledge
67 ( NEW ) THE BOYS OF SUMMER Don Henley
68 ( 65 ) DRIVE The Cars
69 ( 70 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
70 ( NEW ) THE BELLE OF ST. MARK Sheila E



71 ( NEW ) IN THE EVENING Sheryl Lee Ralph
72 ( NEW ) WE ARE THE YOUNG Dan Hartman
73 ( 56 ) COOL IT NOW New Edition
74 ( NEW ) DO WHAT YOU DO Jermaine Jackson
75 ( NEW ) A HOLD OF ME The Boomtown Rats


TV 26 Jan-1st Feb
1. Star Trek: Assignment Earth
2. Hill Street Blues
3. The Mary Tyler Moore Show
4. Top Of The Pops
5. Dallas
6. The Addams Family (2 eps)
7. The Avengers
8. The Rockford Files
9. Doctor Who
10. Newhart


On TV, Hill Street Blues still rules the new shows, though sitcom Newhart and it’s great hillbilly and other supporting cast of characters was getting better and better. Bob Newhart is SO funny. Always. Frankie Goes To Hollywood released tickets for Bournemouth gigs this week: sold out. Damn! I didn’t get one. I got a new spiky-gel haircut for £7 (I pay £7 for a haircut 30 years later, bear in mind). Bob took the piss out of it on Monday, calling me a hedgehog. I don’t recall the haircut lasting the week to be honest, and there are no photos in existence, so I’ll just have to put it down to experience, and there was only one more Bad 80’s Hair experience ahead of me (yes, it was a permed nightmare), before I decided once and for all that trendy hairdo’s were not for me. Phew!

Posted by: popchartfreak 6th March 2015, 08:48 PM

5th February 1985

It’s...It’s...A Sweet Chart-topper from nowhere, as my love and nostalgia for the manic glam-rockers propels a megamix of their biggest hits on top to give them a 6th number one, following on from 5-in-a-row from Wig Wam Bam in 1972 to Teenage Rampage in 1974. Fab! The originals that is, the megamix has nothing good to add to them, it’s purely an exercise in nostalgia. Meanwhile, a year late, Bruce takes Dancing In The Dark into the top 10, at 7, rather stunningly his first ever, having just missed out with all previous classic singles. King also are have Pride in being at 8, and Bowie gets another at 9, to add to his very long list by this time, since Starman first turned the trick in 1972.

Meanwhile Slade also add another top 20 (Bitch!) to their 14-year-run of them, since Coz I Luv You almost topped my chart in 1971. 14 for 14 years, how apt. Say Yeah? That’s The Limit, jazzfunk smoothstyle at 15, ahead of some noisy Art. Don Henley is driving at great speed with his Deadhead stickers on his cadillac, as The Boys Of Summer surge to 25, as the highest “actual” new track is This House, from Big Sound Authority, very much in a Style Council groove at 30, but they never really broke big sadly. The Colourfield takes Terry Hall back into the top 40, ditto Eurythmics’ Julia, Phil Collins’ Sussidio, and Time Zone’s John Lydon and Afrika Bambaata’s World Destruction.

New entries from Sam Harris at 51, Hearts On Fire, and Flash And The Pan get one of their irregular entries, Midnight Man at 54 giving the Aussies another flash in the pan 7 years on from And The Band Played On. They are always good, and should be better remembered than they are. David Lee Roth meantime feels he can do OK without the Van Halen boys, and covers the Beach Boys’ California Girls. Not that well, actually, though it’s a bit of fun to pop in at 56. MUCH better is 57, and it’s another 70’s pop star making a comeback, as Partridge Family teen idol David Cassidy is back 14 years on from I Think I Love You topping my charts. I still loved his singing style, enough for The Last Kiss to enter on one listen - and with George Michael on backing vocals (also a fan) it had that extra selling point. It’s breathy, builds, and is atmospheric, and I got all misty-eyed to have David back in the spotlight after a gap of 9 years. Aaahhh.

At 66, Mick Jagger finally gets that solo hit as the dancerock of Just Another Night does what Bill Wyman managed 11 years earlier, charting without the rest of the Rolling Stones. A much more succesful, and even more veteran, solo singer singer keeps his looooooooong run of chart entries going at 72. No I don’t remember Heart User much either! Cliff, of course, was there when my charts began in 1968, was there through glam, disco and punk, happily revived during New Wave and New Romantic, and to be honest, had I had been charting as a toddler he would have featured then too, cos I can’t recall a time in my life when there wasn’t Cliff. I hope these current police allegations evaporate, certainly the various prosecuting authorities have seemed far less concerned (than the American authorities) in putting actual terrorists and organised gangs of paedophiles away than they are now chasing juicy expensive celebrity headline cases. I digress. At 75 it’s the Fink brothers chasing some Mutants from Mega-City One. That’ll be a disguised Suggs and Carl from Madness going all clubby Judge Dredd then!



1 ( NEW ) IT’S...IT’S...THE SWEET MIX The Sweet
2 ( 1 ) I WANT TO KNOW WHAT LOVE IS Foreigner
3 ( 3 ) I KNOW HIM SO WELL Barbara Dickson and Elaine Paige
4 ( 4 ) I HEAR TALK Bucks Fizz
5 ( 2 ) SINCE YESTERDAY Strawberry Switchblade
6 ( 6 ) 1999/LITTLE RED CORVETTE Prince
7 ( 12 ) DANCING IN THE DARK Bruce Springsteen
8 ( 13 ) LOVE AND PRIDE King
9 ( 16 ) THIS IS NOT AMERICA David Bowie and The Pat Metheny Group
10 ( 8 ) SHOUT Tears For Fears



11 ( 5 ) SAN DAMIANO (HEART AND SOUL) Sal Solo
12 ( 19 ) NIGHTSHIFT The Commodores
13 ( 18 ) LOVERBOY Billy Ocean
14 ( 25 ) 7 YEAR BITCH Slade
15 ( 22 ) SAY YEAH The Limit
16 ( 23 ) CLOSE (TO THE EDIT) The Art Of Noise
17 ( 7 ) SOLID Ashford and Simpson
18 ( 9 ) FRIENDS Amii Stewart
19 ( 17 ) THANK YOU MY LOVE Imagination
20 ( 20 ) YAH MO B THERE James Ingram and Michael McDonald



21 ( 11 ) DO THEY KNOW IT’S CHRISTMAS Band Aid
22 ( 14 ) LAST CHRISTMAS/EVERYTHING SHE WANTS Wham!
23 ( 24 ) RUN TO YOU Bryan Adams
24 ( 27 ) WE BELONG Pat Benatar
25 ( 67 ) THE BOYS OF SUMMER Don Henley
26 ( 15 ) LIKE A VIRGIN Madonna
27 ( 39 ) A NEW ENGLAND Kirsty MacColl
28 ( 10 ) IT AIN’T NECESSARILY SO Bronski Beat
29 ( 40 ) CAN I Cashmere
30 ( NEW ) THIS HOUSE Big Sound Authority

31 ( 21 ) ONE NIGHT IN BANGKOK Murray Head
32 ( 36 ) SEA OF LOVE The Honeydrippers
33 ( 35 ) METHOD OF MODERN LOVE Daryl Hall and John Oates
34 ( 44 ) THINKING OF YOU The Colourfield
35 ( 26 ) THE POWER OF LOVE Frankie Goes To Hollywood
36 ( 62 ) JULIA Eurythmics
37 ( 29 ) SEX CRIME (1984) Eurythmics
38 ( 42 ) SUSSUDIO Phil Collins
39 ( 57 ) WORLD DESTRUCTION Time Zone
40 ( 30 ) SHARP DRESSED MAN Z.Z. TOP

41 ( 31 ) GHOSTBUSTERS Ray Parker Junior
42 ( 33 ) THIS IS MY NIGHT Chaka Khan
43 ( 32 ) I WISH IT COULD BE CHRISTMAS EVERYDAY Wizzard
44 ( 50 ) NEUTRON DANCE The Pointer Sisters
45 ( 60 ) “20/20” George Benson
46 ( 34 ) I FEEL FOR YOU Chaka Khan
47 ( 28 ) ANOTHER ROCK AND ROLL CHRISTMAS Gary Glitter
48 ( 65 ) THINGS CAN ONLY GET BETTER Howard Jones
49 ( 38 ) WE ALL STAND TOGETHER Paul McCartney and The Frog Chorus
50 ( 37 ) INVISIBLE Alison Moyet

51 ( NEW ) HEARTS ON FIRE Sam Harris
52 ( 52 ) YOU’RE THE INSPIRATION Chicago
53 ( 46 ) THE WILD BOYS Duran Duran
54 ( NEW ) MIDNIGHT MAN Flash And The Pan
55 ( 45 ) THE RIDDLE Nik Kershaw
56 ( NEW ) CALIFORNIA GIRLS David Lee Roth
57 ( NEW ) THE LAST KISS David Cassidy
58 ( 58 ) HOW SOON IS NOW The Smiths
59 ( RE ) TERRY Tracey Ullman
60 ( 41 ) SEE THAT GLOW This Island Earth



61 ( 71 ) IN THE EVENING Sheryl Lee Ralph
62 ( 48 ) I FEEL FINE The Beatles
63 ( 72 ) WE ARE THE YOUNG Dan Hartman
64 ( 56 ) YOU SPIN ME ROUND (LIKE A RECORD) Dead Or Alive
65 ( 59 ) STEP OFF Grandmaster Melle Mel and The Furious Five
66 ( NEW ) JUST ANOTHER NIGHT Mick Jagger
67 ( 43 ) ATMOSPHERE Russ Abbott
68 ( 74 ) DO WHAT YOU DO Jermaine Jackson
69 ( 70 ) THE BELLE OF ST. MARK Sheila E
70 ( 66 ) LOST IN MUSIC Sister Sledge

71 ( 69 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
72 ( NEW ) HEART USER Cliff Richard
73 ( 64 ) I WON’T RUN AWAY Alvin Stardust
74 ( 63 ) LOUISE Human League
75 ( NEW ) MUTANTS IN MEGA CITY ONE The Fink Brothers

TV: Feb 2nd - 8th 1985
1 Star Trek: Amok Time
2 Cheers
3 Sleeper: film
4 Hill Street Blues
5 Star Trek: Return Of The Archons
6 Top Of The Pops
7 The Mary Tyler Moore Show
8 Dallas
9 Spitting Image
10 Bewitched


In the week that Leonard Nimoy died, it’s entirely fitting that I should be reviewing my TV chart for February 1985 when yet another re-run of Star Trek’s Spock highlight episode, Amok Time, was shown. Spock was a major hero of mine from age 11, and Leonard Nimoy equally as much, so it’s very sad to have to say goodbye, but if you want to see Leonard at his best, and a great Spock-centric TV episode, this is the one to go for. Spock gets struck by Pon-farr, the irresistible 7-year-mating-itch that becomes unscratchable for Vulcans. This is the one also featuring T’pau, High Priestess of the ceremony, and future UK chart-toppers. true fact. Elsewhere, Cheers and Hill Street Blues were firing on all-cylinders, both of them influentially, and Spitting Image was taking the pee out of politicians and celebrities. I hear it’s on the way back....

In my life: Bob & I had our merry banter on the Dorset highways at work, I decided to get a moped on HP so I could free myself from being a passenger, not quite having enough cash for Bob’s second-hand car and not keen to go into debt. In retrospect that was a big mistake, but hey ho, hindsight is a marvelous thing. Had another argument with the supervisor over his change of plans as to who was out on the road and who was driving, followed by me sulking and us nearly getting hit by a skidding car on the road-bend we were working on, Bob holding back from the bend in the van with warning lights. Kind of reinforced my question really! I got a sort-of apology. Bob & I decided to speed-up the job application exodus among colleagues.

At home family problems I won’t mention (I pretty much never not have family issues), but mum and dad’s friends brought round a sweet little yorkie puppy, which they bought off them, pedigree and all. She was SO nervous being taken away from her mother, shaking like a leaf which upset me. Her name was Picket, in honour of the striking coal miners, of which my brother was one still. She gave mum and dad something good they could mutually focus on together, and did bring some joy, as well as being a constant pain in the arse when she got older for anyone babysitting through all the howling when mum and dad left her at home for any time. Win some lose some.

Posted by: popchartfreak 9th March 2015, 07:57 PM

12th February 1985

2 weeks for Sweet on top as another oldie bangs in at 2, courtesy of a re-entry into the UK top 75 singles chart: Soft Cell and Tainted Love, a number one from 1981, and a genuine synth classic cover of the Gloria Jones northern soul track. It was a classic in 1981, in 1985, and still is. Marc Almond was into his solo career by this time, and Soft Cell alas were no more, as they had some right gems together. I saw Marc live the other year, and he wasn’t overly generous with the back-catalogue classics, which was a pity. Had I known he was going to do that I would have grabbed him in Gran Canaria about 10 years back when he stuck his head in the door of the bar I was sitting in, and suggested a) do your big hits in concert and b) do a cover of I’m Gonna Be Strong.

After meandering up and down the chart for over 2 months Dead Or Alive suddenly rocket up 60 places to 4 with future club classic, and the real start of the big time for Stock Aitken Waterman as producers, You Spin Me Round. The tempo was unbelievably exciting, so frenetic was it. Fab. Not to be outdone, the late great Kirsty MacColl takes her wonderful version of Billy Bragg’s A New England to 5 with a big leap. Leaving Billy Ocean to grab his 4th top 10 hit in 10 years, and Trevor Horn his umpteenth in 10 months, as Art Of Noise hit 10.

The top 20 gets a bit Adult Rock-ish with Pat Benatar, Bryan Adams and Don Henley all entering slowly, and rather less rapidly than they deserved. Flash And The Pan go top 30, as Midnight Man burns the midnight oil just ahead of an optimistic Howard Jones, and a welcome top 40 return from David Cassidy 9 years since the last time. Sam Harris meanwhile has an American hit, and enters my Top 40 with the Motown track Hearts On Fire. Classic Smiths also gets in at 40, How Soon Is Now also under-performing so far, so many great tracks to compete with.

At 47, The Associates return 3 years after topping with the epic Party Fears Two, having a spot of Breakfast, ahead of returning Grandmaster Flash and Kool And The Gang, who confirm to me that that mysterious verb I read in books as a pre-teen, to misle, I misle, they misled me, wasn’t a verb at all, and it was pronounced Miss-Led. Harrumph! Willy Finlayson is a Scottish singer who’s guested with Manfred Mann’s Earthband, and is still a gigging musician, but he closest he got to the charts was in at 68, On The Air Tonight, a laid-back European hit. 4 years on since she immortalised Bette Davis’ eyes, Kim Carnes is also back at 71 with an invitation to dance, while a much less-friendly Killing Joke announce they have love like blood at 74. Ewww! On TV, the BRITS were on, for an evening of awards for Prince and the like, a bit shorter in those days I think. The show, not Prince.



1 ( 1 ) IT’S...IT’S...THE SWEET MIX The Sweet
2 ( NEW ) TAINTED LOVE Soft Cell
3 ( 8 ) LOVE AND PRIDE King
4 ( 64 ) YOU SPIN ME ROUND (LIKE A RECORD) Dead Or Alive
5 ( 27 ) A NEW ENGLAND Kirsty MacColl
6 ( 2 ) I WANT TO KNOW WHAT LOVE IS Foreigner
7 ( 3 ) I KNOW HIM SO WELL Barbara Dickson and Elaine Paige
8 ( 9 ) THIS IS NOT AMERICA David Bowie and The Pat Metheny Group
9 ( 13 ) LOVERBOY Billy Ocean
10 ( 16 ) CLOSE (TO THE EDIT) The Art Of Noise



11 ( 5 ) SINCE YESTERDAY Strawberry Switchblade
12 ( 12 ) NIGHTSHIFT The Commodores
13 ( 14 ) 7 YEAR BITCH Slade
14 ( 4 ) I HEAR TALK Bucks Fizz
15 ( 6 ) 1999/LITTLE RED CORVETTE Prince
16 ( 7 ) DANCING IN THE DARK Bruce Springsteen
17 ( 24 ) WE BELONG Pat Benatar
18 ( 10 ) SHOUT Tears For Fears
19 ( 23 ) RUN TO YOU Bryan Adams
20 ( 25 ) THE BOYS OF SUMMER Don Henley

21 ( 11 ) SAN DAMIANO (HEART AND SOUL) Sal Solo
22 ( 17 ) SOLID Ashford and Simpson
23 ( 20 ) YAH MO B THERE James Ingram and Michael McDonald
24 ( 30 ) THIS HOUSE Big Sound Authority
25 ( 18 ) FRIENDS Amii Stewart
26 ( 19 ) THANK YOU MY LOVE Imagination
27 ( 54 ) MIDNIGHT MAN Flash And The Pan
28 ( 48 ) THINGS CAN ONLY GET BETTER Howard Jones
29 ( 29 ) CAN I Cashmere
30 ( 34 ) THINKING OF YOU The Colourfield



31 ( 15 ) SAY YEAH The Limit
32 ( 22 ) LAST CHRISTMAS/EVERYTHING SHE WANTS Wham!
33 ( 33 ) METHOD OF MODERN LOVE Daryl Hall and John Oates
34 ( 45 ) “20/20” George Benson
35 ( 38 ) SUSSUDIO Phil Collins
36 ( 57 ) THE LAST KISS David Cassidy
37 ( 21 ) DO THEY KNOW IT’S CHRISTMAS Band Aid
38 ( 51 ) HEARTS ON FIRE Sam Harris
39 ( 26 ) LIKE A VIRGIN Madonna
40 ( 58 ) HOW SOON IS NOW The Smiths

41 ( 31 ) ONE NIGHT IN BANGKOK Murray Head
42 ( 39 ) WORLD DESTRUCTION Time Zone
43 ( 66 ) JUST ANOTHER NIGHT Mick Jagger
44 ( 52 ) YOU’RE THE INSPIRATION Chicago
45 ( 35 ) THE POWER OF LOVE Frankie Goes To Hollywood
46 ( 37 ) SEX CRIME (1984) Eurythmics
47 ( NEW ) BREAKFAST The Associates
48 ( NEW ) SIGN OF THE TIMES Grandmaster Flash
49 ( 56 ) CALIFORNIA GIRLS David Lee Roth
50 ( NEW ) MISLED Kool And The Gang

51 ( 32 ) SEA OF LOVE The Honeydrippers
52 ( 28 ) IT AIN’T NECESSARILY SO Bronski Beat
53 ( 36 ) JULIA Eurythmics
54 ( 41 ) GHOSTBUSTERS Ray Parker Junior
55 ( 63 ) WE ARE THE YOUNG Dan Hartman
56 ( 43 ) I WISH IT COULD BE CHRISTMAS EVERYDAY Wizzard
57 ( 42 ) THIS IS MY NIGHT Chaka Khan
58 ( 55 ) THE RIDDLE Nik Kershaw
59 ( 68 ) DO WHAT YOU DO Jermaine Jackson
60 ( 53 ) THE WILD BOYS Duran Duran

61 ( 40 ) SHARP DRESSED MAN Z.Z. TOP
62 ( 44 ) NEUTRON DANCE The Pointer Sisters
63 ( 47 ) ANOTHER ROCK AND ROLL CHRISTMAS Gary Glitter
64 ( 50 ) INVISIBLE Alison Moyet
65 ( 72 ) HEART USER Cliff Richard
66 ( 49 ) WE ALL STAND TOGETHER Paul McCartney and The Frog Chorus
67 ( 69 ) THE BELLE OF ST. MARK Sheila E
68 ( NEW ) ON THE AIR TONIGHT Willy Finlayson
69 ( 75 ) MUTANTS IN MEGA CITY ONE The Fink Brothers
70 ( 70 ) LOST IN MUSIC Sister Sledge




71 ( NEW ) INVITATION TO DANCE Kim Carnes
72 ( NEW ) OPERATOR Floy Joy
73 ( 71 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
74 ( NEW ) LOVE LIKE BLOOD Killing Joke
75 ( NEW ) PERSONALITY Eugene Wilde





TV Feb 9th to 15th
1 Star Trek: Who Mourns For Adonis
2 Cheers
3 Hill Street Blues
4 The Phil Silvers Show
5 The Mary Tyler Moore Show
6 Television
7 The BRITS
8 Bewitched
9 The Addams Family
10 Top Of The Pops

Work along Dorset highways was much improved, as the boss was off sick, and I was getting all misty eyed for hits from 1973, wishing I could go back and do it right this time (eg, life). That I feel the same about my life generally still is a tad sad, lost opportunities and all that. Hey ho. Put me in the mood, though, for a trip in dad’s car to my old nostalgic haunting ground Gloucester, and Innsworth, where we moved in 1973, en route to Birmingham Bull Ring centre. I was fascinated by the cosmopolitan nature of kids in the comics shop there, and found big cities exciting and also a little daunting. Then I spent the weekend with Sue and Joe in Wolverhampton, catching up on stuff since we’d last met up in 1983. It snowed on and off all weekend, and especially heavily when I drove home, gale force freezing winds making it all a bit treacherous, not helped by unmarked diversions down minor country roads passing many motorists stuck in snowdrifts near Gillingham. Poole, of course, was snow free. It virtually never snows significantly round Poole harbour....

Posted by: popchartfreak 10th March 2015, 08:55 PM

19th February 1985


Dead Or Alive finally get on top, after months of meandering up and down the charts, the longest run to date before getting to number one (excluding reissues and re-entries), and it’s well-deserved for You Spin Me Round. Relax is back again, too, as Frankie Goes To Hollywood enter at 3, or re-enter, depending on how you view it. I see it as a completely new chart run though, it’s a new year, and it originally entered in 1983 before getting to 1 in 1984. Don Henley meanwhile gets his classic Boys Of Summer to 9, as his ex-band-mate Glen Frey enters with The Heat Is On at 69, while The Commodores hit 10, their first non-Lionel song to do that since Machine Gun in 1974.

Highest proper new entry is The Boomtown Rats at 17, and the under-rated A Hold Of Me, one of their best singles in an 8-year run, and certainly not one of their biggest hits outside my charts. Mick Jagger goes top 40, as Prince grabs another double-A-sided hit, amazingly bundling two of the 3 best tracks on Purple Rain together, which means Let’s Go Crazy is back after a short run on it’s own in my charts, and Take Me With U debuts. Crazy is manic rock genius, Take Me With U is almost a non-Prince girlie chorus pop gem, catchy strings and all. Sadly, of course, no youtube videos so you’ll just have to take my word, and buy the album, which is a classic worthy of anyone’s collection.

At 52, one of pop music’s unlikely collaborations, it’s Bill Sharpe of jazz-funk Shakatak and Gary Numan of decreasing commercial-pop-star fame experimental, melody-lite synth music. Well, waddya know, it’s fabulous, a career highlight for both, and high-time it was re-evaluated and pushed again in a film or advert. New Edition are back again, with the twee Mr. Telephone Man, at 56, and 14 years on Shaft returns to my charts - sadly not Isaac Hayes classic though, it’s an 80’s dance cover by Van Twist which pales in comparison even to the forthcoming rival hit cover version. ZZ Top are also back with the rocking Legs - that’ll be shapely lady legs of course, plus hot rod - at 65, while Cyndi Lauper is running out of album tracks to release as singles, Money Changes Everything not being the strongest, in at 70. Junior is back at 75, 3 years after debuting, with yet another Beverley Hills Cop soundtrack hit, and oh yes, there’s a Material Girl Marilyn Monroe wannabee at 73, getting her 5th chart hit. A bit of a departure for disco diva Madonna, can her career survive it? Stay tuned....!




1 ( 4 ) YOU SPIN ME ROUND (LIKE A RECORD) Dead Or Alive
2 ( 2 ) TAINTED LOVE Soft Cell
3 ( NEW ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
4 ( 8 ) THIS IS NOT AMERICA David Bowie and The Pat Metheny Group
5 ( 3 ) LOVE AND PRIDE King
6 ( 1 ) IT’S...IT’S...THE SWEET MIX The Sweet
7 ( 5 ) A NEW ENGLAND Kirsty MacColl
8 ( 7 ) I KNOW HIM SO WELL Barbara Dickson and Elaine Paige
9 ( 20 ) THE BOYS OF SUMMER Don Henley
10 ( 12 ) NIGHTSHIFT The Commodores

11 ( 6 ) I WANT TO KNOW WHAT LOVE IS Foreigner
12 ( 10 ) CLOSE (TO THE EDIT) The Art Of Noise
13 ( 17 ) WE BELONG Pat Benatar
14 ( 9 ) LOVERBOY Billy Ocean
15 ( 19 ) RUN TO YOU Bryan Adams
16 ( 28 ) THINGS CAN ONLY GET BETTER Howard Jones
17 ( NEW ) A HOLD OF ME The Boomtown Rats
18 ( 11 ) SINCE YESTERDAY Strawberry Switchblade
19 ( 15 ) 1999/LITTLE RED CORVETTE Prince
20 ( 27 ) MIDNIGHT MAN Flash And The Pan




21 ( 16 ) DANCING IN THE DARK Bruce Springsteen
22 ( 18 ) SHOUT Tears For Fears
23 ( 24 ) THIS HOUSE Big Sound Authority
24 ( 22 ) SOLID Ashford and Simpson
25 ( 14 ) I HEAR TALK Bucks Fizz
26 ( 40 ) HOW SOON IS NOW The Smiths
27 ( 34 ) “20/20” George Benson
28 ( 43 ) JUST ANOTHER NIGHT Mick Jagger
29 ( NEW ) LET’S GO CRAZY/ TAKE ME WITH U Prince
30 ( 35 ) SUSSUDIO Phil Collins

31 ( 13 ) 7 YEAR BITCH Slade
32 ( 36 ) THE LAST KISS David Cassidy
33 ( 33 ) METHOD OF MODERN LOVE Daryl Hall and John Oates
34 ( 38 ) HEARTS ON FIRE Sam Harris
35 ( 21 ) SAN DAMIANO (HEART AND SOUL) Sal Solo
36 ( 49 ) CALIFORNIA GIRLS David Lee Roth
37 ( 50 ) MISLED Kool And The Gang
38 ( 44 ) YOU’RE THE INSPIRATION Chicago
39 ( 25 ) FRIENDS Amii Stewart
40 ( 23 ) YAH MO B THERE James Ingram and Michael McDonald




41 ( 26 ) THANK YOU MY LOVE Imagination
42 ( 42 ) WORLD DESTRUCTION Time Zone
43 ( 29 ) CAN I Cashmere
44 ( 32 ) LAST CHRISTMAS/EVERYTHING SHE WANTS Wham!
45 ( 37 ) DO THEY KNOW IT’S CHRISTMAS Band Aid
46 ( 48 ) SIGN OF THE TIMES Grandmaster Flash
47 ( 31 ) SAY YEAH The Limit
48 ( 30 ) THINKING OF YOU The Colourfield
49 ( 65 ) HEART USER Cliff Richard
50 ( 45 ) THE POWER OF LOVE Frankie Goes To Hollywood

51 ( 39 ) LIKE A VIRGIN Madonna
52 ( NEW ) CHANGE YOUR MIND Bill Sharpe and Gary Numan
53 ( 46 ) SEX CRIME (1984) Eurythmics
54 ( 55 ) WE ARE THE YOUNG Dan Hartman
55 ( 59 ) DO WHAT YOU DO Jermaine Jackson
56 ( NEW ) MR. TELEPHONE MAN New Edition
57 ( 47 ) BREAKFAST The Associates
58 ( 68 ) ON THE AIR TONIGHT Willy Finlayson
59 ( 41 ) ONE NIGHT IN BANGKOK Murray Head
60 ( 69 ) MUTANTS IN MEGA CITY ONE The Fink Brothers




61 ( 74 ) LOVE LIKE BLOOD Killing Joke
62 ( 75 ) PERSONALITY Eugene Wilde
63 ( NEW ) SHAFT Van Twist
64 ( 60 ) THE WILD BOYS Duran Duran
65 ( NEW ) LEGS ZZ Top
66 ( 56 ) I WISH IT COULD BE CHRISTMAS EVERYDAY Wizzard
67 ( 67 ) THE BELLE OF ST. MARK Sheila E
68 ( 58 ) THE RIDDLE Nik Kershaw
69 ( NEW ) THE HEAT IS ON Glen Frey
70 ( NEW ) MONEY CHANGES EVERYTHING Cyndi Lauper

71 ( NEW ) WHO COMES TO BOOGIE Little Benny And The Masters
72 ( 70 ) LOST IN MUSIC Sister Sledge
73 ( NEW ) MATERIAL GIRL Madonna
74 ( 73 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
75 ( NEW ) DO YOU REALLY (WANT MY LOVE) Junior



TV Feb 16-22
1 The Young Ones: Nasty
2 Cheers
3 Hill Street Blues
4 The Phil Silvers Show
5 An American Werewolf In London: film
6 The Mary Tyler Moore Show
7 Bewitched
8 Doctor Who: The Two Doctors
9 Newhart
10 Top Of The Pops
11 The Addams Family
12 Grange Hill
13 The Bill Cosby Show
14 My World And Welcome To It
15 The Rockford Files


On TV, a great horror movie, An American Werewolf In London, John Landis and state of the art effects, while my fave Doctor Who Patrick Troughton makes his final appearance as guest return with new Doctor Colin Baker (sadly it was a bit gruesome in subject-matter, though compensated for by Frazier Hines returning as Jamie, a little). Oh, and My world And Welcome To It gets it’s final ever broadcast on TV, a great arty gentle sitcom based on the cartoons and humour of James Thurber, with a great cast and long list of guest stars despite lasting only one season in 1969/70, and despite winning two Emmy’s. It was a show I liked a lot in Singapore.

In life, Bob came round for an evening of pop chat, (BRITS awards on the Monday, with Bob Geldof giving politicians what-for no-holds-barred). This was appropriate because I went to my first concert alone: The Boomtown Rats at Poole Arts Centre Feb 14th 1985. A young crowd, male-biased, and late teens, early 20’s, and chose to avoid back-ache standing by getting a seat upstairs. Bob and the Rats did mostly new stuff from the In The Long Grass album, and a sprinkling of hits, the highlights were Someone’s Looking At You, Rat Trap, Drag Me Down, Dave, A Hold Of Me and Elephant’s Graveyard as they set off on a furious pace, despite poor sound quality in a 1hour 20 minute set. The final encore, Do They Know It’s Christmas, was introduced by Bob suggesting anyone who hadn’t bought it “ought to be ashamed of themselves”. Happily I had. Phew! I was very impressed, Bob never let up “carrying the whole shebang with wit and charisma, his new songs sounding good, and just a shame hardly any oldies. The Rats were perfectly wonderful. Energetic, lively show.” I got home at 10.30 and kicked the puppy across the room. Not deliberately, I hasten to add, I just didn’t see her come to welcome me - not used to having a dog in the house!

Posted by: popchartfreak 12th March 2015, 07:54 PM

26th February 1985

2 weeks for Dead Or Alive at 1, as yet another (superior) dance cover of Isaac Hayes classic Shaft pops in at 3, outdoing the original’s peak first time round (second time round it hit 1 on my oldies charts). It’s not bad, but not as good as supercool Isaac obviously. Meanwhile David Cassidy (and George Michael) shoots up to 4, his highest chart position since I’m A Clown hit 3 in 1973, showing he was firmly back emoting a ballad in his own unique endearing style. Howard Jones adds to his growing list of top 10’s, as well, ooh, must be his 6th in a row!

Prince and Mick Jagger go top 20, Hall and Oates, and Sharpe and Numan go top 30, and second highest new entry is Philip’s Bailey and Collins at 37, with Easy Lover. That concludes the list of male duos. Easy Lover was essentially Earth Wind & Fire (Bailey being co-lead-vocalist) done Collins funk style, and was a huge hit, though I’ve never really warmed back to it since I overdosed on it in 1985. Pleasant enough though. Other new entries: The Stranglers are back, 8 years on, Tina Turner covers Ann Peebles, and becomes the second cover to chart, after Eruption’s much-better eurodisco thumper hit my 3 in 1978. Elton also sneaks in, with a ballad, Breaking Hearts tail-ending the album’s run of singles and giving him 14 years of chart activity, consecutive years too.


1 ( 1 ) YOU SPIN ME ROUND (LIKE A RECORD) Dead Or Alive
2 ( 3 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
3 ( NEW ) SHAFT Eddy And The Soul Band
4 ( 32 ) THE LAST KISS David Cassidy
5 ( 5 ) LOVE AND PRIDE King
6 ( 9 ) THE BOYS OF SUMMER Don Henley
7 ( 4 ) THIS IS NOT AMERICA David Bowie and The Pat Metheny Group
8 ( 7 ) A NEW ENGLAND Kirsty MacColl
9 ( 2 ) TAINTED LOVE Soft Cell
10 ( 16 ) THINGS CAN ONLY GET BETTER Howard Jones



11 ( 8 ) I KNOW HIM SO WELL Barbara Dickson and Elaine Paige
12 ( 15 ) RUN TO YOU Bryan Adams
13 ( 6 ) IT’S...IT’S...THE SWEET MIX The Sweet
14 ( 20 ) MIDNIGHT MAN Flash And The Pan
15 ( 28 ) JUST ANOTHER NIGHT Mick Jagger
16 ( 29 ) LET’S GO CRAZY/ TAKE ME WITH U Prince
17 ( 17 ) A HOLD OF ME The Boomtown Rats
18 ( 10 ) NIGHTSHIFT The Commodores
19 ( 12 ) CLOSE (TO THE EDIT) The Art Of Noise
20 ( 14 ) LOVERBOY Billy Ocean



21 ( 13 ) WE BELONG Pat Benatar
22 ( 11 ) I WANT TO KNOW WHAT LOVE IS Foreigner
23 ( 19 ) 1999/LITTLE RED CORVETTE Prince
24 ( 18 ) SINCE YESTERDAY Strawberry Switchblade
25 ( 27 ) “20/20” George Benson
26 ( 26 ) HOW SOON IS NOW The Smiths
27 ( 42 ) WORLD DESTRUCTION Time Zone
28 ( 33 ) METHOD OF MODERN LOVE Daryl Hall and John Oates
29 ( 52 ) CHANGE YOUR MIND Bill Sharpe and Gary Numan
30 ( 24 ) SOLID Ashford and Simpson

31 ( 23 ) THIS HOUSE Big Sound Authority
32 ( 37 ) MISLED Kool And The Gang
33 ( 21 ) DANCING IN THE DARK Bruce Springsteen
34 ( 34 ) HEARTS ON FIRE Sam Harris
35 ( 22 ) SHOUT Tears For Fears
36 ( 36 ) CALIFORNIA GIRLS David Lee Roth
37 ( NEW ) EASY LOVER Philip Bailey and Phil Collins
38 ( 38 ) YOU’RE THE INSPIRATION Chicago
39 ( 30 ) SUSSUDIO Phil Collins
40 ( 25 ) I HEAR TALK Bucks Fizz

41 ( 65 ) LEGS ZZ Top
42 ( 71 ) WHO COMES TO BOOGIE Little Benny And The Masters
43 ( 61 ) LOVE LIKE BLOOD Killing Joke
44 ( 55 ) DO WHAT YOU DO Jermaine Jackson
45 ( 35 ) SAN DAMIANO (HEART AND SOUL) Sal Solo
46 ( 56 ) MR. TELEPHONE MAN New Edition
47 ( 45 ) DO THEY KNOW IT’S CHRISTMAS Band Aid
48 ( 50 ) THE POWER OF LOVE Frankie Goes To Hollywood
49 ( 62 ) PERSONALITY Eugene Wilde
50 ( 60 ) MUTANTS IN MEGA CITY ONE The Fink Brothers



51 ( 40 ) YAH MO B THERE James Ingram and Michael McDonald
52 ( 44 ) LAST CHRISTMAS/EVERYTHING SHE WANTS Wham!
53 ( 39 ) FRIENDS Amii Stewart
54 ( 67 ) THE BELLE OF ST. MARK Sheila E
55 ( 31 ) 7 YEAR BITCH Slade
56 ( 69 ) THE HEAT IS ON Glen Frey
57 ( 53 ) SEX CRIME (1984) Eurythmics
58 ( 41 ) THANK YOU MY LOVE Imagination
59 ( 73 ) MATERIAL GIRL Madonna
60 ( NEW ) LAY ME DOWN EASY The Stranglers



61 ( 43 ) CAN I Cashmere
62 ( NEW ) CONTRACT OF THE HEART Spelt Like This
63 ( 51 ) LIKE A VIRGIN Madonna
64 ( 49 ) HEART USER Cliff Richard
65 ( 59 ) ONE NIGHT IN BANGKOK Murray Head
66 ( 70 ) MONEY CHANGES EVERYTHING Cyndi Lauper
67 ( 75 ) DO YOU REALLY (WANT MY LOVE) Junior
68 ( 68 ) THE RIDDLE Nik Kershaw
69 ( NEW ) I CAN’T STAND THE RAIN Tina Turner
70 ( 64 ) THE WILD BOYS Duran Duran

71 ( NEW ) BREAKING HEARTS Elton John
72 ( 63 ) SHAFT Van Twist
73 ( 72 ) LOST IN MUSIC Sister Sledge
74 ( 46 ) SIGN OF THE TIMES Grandmaster Flash
75 ( 74 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba



TV 26th Feb - 1st Mar
1 Cheers
2 Hill Street Blues
3 The Phil Silvers Show
4 Rising Damp
5 The Mary Tyler Moore Show
6 Invasion Of The Body Snatchers: film
7 Top Of The Pops
8 Bewitched
9 Doctor Who: The Two Doctors
10 The Addams Family


At work, our boss supervisor was becoming increasingly paranoid about everyone, mostly because he was useless, and one of the few people I’ve met in my life that I have little sympathy for. Colin and Monic were part of the exodus of employees as others were applying elsewhere for jobs. Madman critcised Bob for being slow, which annoyed him and me. Pot calling kettle. Parents went to Mansfield for the weekend and took the cat and dog. Started my back catalogue trawling for non-succesful USA pop bands of the 60’s buying 20 Greatest Hits of Gary Lewis and The Playboys, son of Jerry Lewis, and little-known gems on there too. Played it a lot.

Posted by: AH Gold 22nd March 2015, 03:33 PM

YES!!!!! Dead Or Alive at 1 probably my all time favourite record. Quite like the Shaft cover as well. I seem to recall my parents having the 12 inch. Also, Kirsty's A New England never dates for me, a true gem.

Posted by: popchartfreak 22nd March 2015, 09:45 PM

QUOTE(AH Gold @ Mar 22 2015, 03:33 PM)

YES!!!!! Dead Or Alive at 1 probably my all time favourite record. Quite like the Shaft cover as well. I seem to recall my parents having the 12 inch. Also, Kirsty's A New England never dates for me, a true gem.

Posted by: popchartfreak 18th April 2015, 03:32 PM

5th March 1985

New number one for David Cassidy (and uncredited George Michael), The last Kiss being his 4th in total and first solo number one since his 3 toppers with The Partridge Family in 1971 and 1972 (it counts because they were all “featuring David Cassidy” credits). George’s doesn’t count, sadly, otherwise it would have been his 3rd. It’s very George Michael ballad-style, it has to be said, but the way it builds to a iamspamspamamisink and all climax is terrific. Prince gets his 4th or 5th or 6th Top 10, depending on how you judge the reissued single of 2 previous top tenners, and the double A delight of Take Me With U and Let’s Go Crazy, both of which are strong enough to have had independent runs in the 10. Then there’s Chaka Khan’s I Feel For You, and new at 75 it’s a Prince song and production for UK sweetheart Sheena Easton, and UK flop because it’s very very naughty lyrically, going on as it does about the spending night inside Sheena’s Sugar Walls. Turns out she IS a Modern Girl after all (and Sugar Walls is fab).

Jagger gets his one and only solo top 10 track, Just Another Night, in which he moves like Jagger in the dance video, and gives him actual 16 years of top 10’s (the rest with The Stones or Bowie). John Lydon is also back in the top 20 under another name, Time Zone, with Afrika Bambaata, and some World Destruction, a sort of rock/hip-hop fusion ahead of it’s time, just ahead of a synth/jazz fusion from Sharpe & Numan. This one was less influential, sadly, as it’s great. At 20 the Smiths How Soon Is Now under-performs again, as it’s brilliance takes time to sink in properly, those riffs, oohhhh just magic.

Highest new entry is Shaky. 31. I feel I should have some exclamation marks attached, as it’s not one anyone recalls, and it’s not from the 50’s or 60’s, but actually it’s not bad at all. Matt Bianco enter with another cool jazz number at 38, and it’s not more than I can bear, and although I may not want to kiss Stephen Duffy, it’s a good pop track at 40. The classic is at 44, though, the GORGEOUS Cry, from Godley & Creme, ex-10CC members and video innovators, on the single where it all came together as they morphed a world of faces into each other in the video showcasing a brilliant affecting synth ballad that was even better than previous topper Under Your Thumb (1981) and most of 10CC’s brilliant output. Alvin Stardust is back again, 12 years in, with Got A Little Heartache at 58, The Bluebells are new at 59 with one I’ve forgotten, David Essex is also 12 years in and singing of Fallen Angels Riding at 65, while British soul shows it’s as good as the US with Loose Ends terrific Hanging On A String at 68. Finally Eddy Grant is back again with Baby Come Back, sadly he never did get the UK number one with his own reggae version of his own band’s UK 1968 number one - that was to be years away, and Pato Banton with UB40 who did that.




1 ( 4 ) THE LAST KISS David Cassidy
2 ( 1 ) YOU SPIN ME ROUND (LIKE A RECORD) Dead Or Alive
3 ( 3 ) SHAFT Eddy And The Soul Band
4 ( 6 ) THE BOYS OF SUMMER Don Henley
5 ( 16 ) LET’S GO CRAZY/ TAKE ME WITH U Prince
6 ( 5 ) LOVE AND PRIDE King
7 ( 2 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
8 ( 10 ) THINGS CAN ONLY GET BETTER Howard Jones
9 ( 15 ) JUST ANOTHER NIGHT Mick Jagger
10 ( 7 ) THIS IS NOT AMERICA David Bowie and The Pat Metheny Group

11 ( 8 ) A NEW ENGLAND Kirsty MacColl
12 ( 11 ) I KNOW HIM SO WELL Barbara Dickson and Elaine Paige
13 ( 14 ) MIDNIGHT MAN Flash And The Pan
14 ( 27 ) WORLD DESTRUCTION Time Zone
15 ( 29 ) CHANGE YOUR MIND Bill Sharpe and Gary Numan
16 ( 9 ) TAINTED LOVE Soft Cell
17 ( 13 ) IT’S...IT’S...THE SWEET MIX The Sweet
18 ( 18 ) NIGHTSHIFT The Commodores
19 ( 20 ) LOVERBOY Billy Ocean
20 ( 26 ) HOW SOON IS NOW The Smiths

21 ( 12 ) RUN TO YOU Bryan Adams
22 ( 28 ) METHOD OF MODERN LOVE Daryl Hall and John Oates
23 ( 19 ) CLOSE (TO THE EDIT) The Art Of Noise
24 ( 23 ) 1999/LITTLE RED CORVETTE Prince
25 ( 37 ) EASY LOVER Philip Bailey and Phil Collins
26 ( 38 ) YOU’RE THE INSPIRATION Chicago
27 ( 22 ) I WANT TO KNOW WHAT LOVE IS Foreigner
28 ( 32 ) MISLED Kool And The Gang
29 ( 17 ) A HOLD OF ME The Boomtown Rats
30 ( 24 ) SINCE YESTERDAY Strawberry Switchblade




31 ( NEW ) BREAKING UP MY HEART Shakin’ Stevens
32 ( 30 ) SOLID Ashford and Simpson
33 ( 42 ) WHO COMES TO BOOGIE Little Benny And The Masters
34 ( 21 ) WE BELONG Pat Benatar
35 ( 33 ) DANCING IN THE DARK Bruce Springsteen
36 ( 41 ) LEGS ZZ Top
37 ( 44 ) DO WHAT YOU DO Jermaine Jackson
38 ( NEW ) MORE THAN I CAN BEAR Matt Bianco
39 ( 46 ) MR. TELEPHONE MAN New Edition
40 ( NEW ) KISS ME Stephen ‘Tintin’ Duffy

41 ( 31 ) THIS HOUSE Big Sound Authority
42 ( 35 ) SHOUT Tears For Fears
43 ( 43 ) LOVE LIKE BLOOD Killing Joke
44 ( NEW ) CRY Godley And Creme
45 ( 59 ) MATERIAL GIRL Madonna
46 ( 56 ) THE HEAT IS ON Glen Frey
47 ( 40 ) I HEAR TALK Bucks Fizz
48 ( 62 ) CONTRACT OF THE HEART Spelt Like This
49 ( 34 ) HEARTS ON FIRE Sam Harris
50 ( 36 ) CALIFORNIA GIRLS David Lee Roth

51 ( 39 ) SUSSUDIO Phil Collins
52 ( 48 ) THE POWER OF LOVE Frankie Goes To Hollywood
53 ( 25 ) “20/20” George Benson
54 ( 54 ) THE BELLE OF ST. MARK Sheila E
55 ( 71 ) BREAKING HEARTS Elton John
56 ( 47 ) DO THEY KNOW IT’S CHRISTMAS Band Aid
57 ( 45 ) SAN DAMIANO (HEART AND SOUL) Sal Solo
58 ( NEW ) GOT A LITTLE HEARTACHE Alvin Stardust
59 ( NEW ) ALL I AM (IS LOVING YOU) The Bluebells
60 ( 60 ) LAY ME DOWN EASY The Stranglers

61 ( 52 ) LAST CHRISTMAS/EVERYTHING SHE WANTS Wham!
62 ( 69 ) I CAN’T STAND THE RAIN Tina Turner
63 ( 57 ) SEX CRIME (1984) Eurythmics
64 ( 66 ) MONEY CHANGES EVERYTHING Cyndi Lauper
65 ( NEW ) FALLEN ANGELS RIDING David Essex
66 ( 53 ) FRIENDS Amii Stewart
67 ( 51 ) YAH MO B THERE James Ingram and Michael McDonald
68 ( NEW ) HANGING ON A STRING Loose Ends
69 ( 65 ) ONE NIGHT IN BANGKOK Murray Head
70 ( NEW ) BABY COME BACK Eddy Grant




71 ( 58 ) THANK YOU MY LOVE Imagination
72 ( NEW ) NO FOOL (FOR LOVE) Hazell Dean
73 ( 73 ) LOST IN MUSIC Sister Sledge
74 ( NEW ) STARVATION Starvation
75 ( NEW ) SUGAR WALLS Sheena Easton




TV Mar 2nd-8th
1 Airplane: film
2 Cheers
3 Top Of The Pops
4 The Phil Silvers Show
5 Hill Street Blues
6 Calamity Jane: film
7 Bewitched
8 The Addams Family
9 Grange Hill
10 QED




At work, the paranoia of our boss was coming out in all sorts of odd stroppy unreasonable behaviour, all based on insecurity. Psychiatrists would have had a field day with him. I think he was terrified we would apply for the supervisor job which was now vacant and which he was going for. To be fair, I was so pissed off with him, I also DID apply for it just to stir things up for being such a tw*t. Hey ho, I react badly anyone ordering me to do things - I’ll go out of my way if someone asks nicely, but I have no respect for command-statements or anyone making them.

On sunday, the Miner’s strike ended. This meant my brother could have a job again - temporarily until they closed his pit, along with every other single coal mine in the Mansfield area. Essentially, it was a community of scabs and strikers forever more, Thatcher won because the miners were split by Scargill’s confrontational attitude and lack of democracy, and Thatcher’s bold-faced lies and promises not close all pits. That’s exactly what happened, and as a consequence the UK’s unions were pretty much made toothless from here on, the government and the rich manipulating political elite had won, and in the long run (despite periods of prosperity for large parts of the nation, but not all) the seeds were sown for the catastrophic policies which led to the crash of 2008, and the rich who had caused it laughing their tits off at the poor who ended up paying for it (quite literally). Moral: greedy rich people will always take opportunities to line their own pockets even if it’s illegal, immoral and devastating to the well-being of others. This is why, we have checks and balances on them. The ones that Thatcher removed as big banks turned into nation-shafting mega-corporations, and everything came down to short-term profit, not long-term usefulness. Of course, I may be biased....

Posted by: popchartfreak 20th April 2015, 06:57 PM

12th March 1985

2 weeks for David on top, as Shakin’ Stevens gets his 3rd Top 10 record, Breaking Up My Heart not being one of his best-remembered, so judge for yourself on youtube...! Sharpe & Numan hit 8, Gary’s first top 10 since 1980 and his 6th in total, Bill’s 2nd. Matt Bianco get their first, surprisingly, with one of their minor hits, which is More Than I Can Bear, as do ZZ Top, proving they have Legs. I know I’m repeating myself, there, but hey, repeat till you get a laugh is my motto.

After pottering around the lower end, suddenly Madonna leaps to 11 with Material Girl and her 3rd biggest hit to date, while Earth, Wind & Genesis hit 12 - sort of - with Easy Lover. Highest new entry is Nik Kershaw, back with his 4th top 20, a bit of a Wide Boy it seems, but he was on a streak after seeing him in concert a few months previous. New Edition also get a top 20 entry again, 2 years since Candy Girl, while Alison Moyet covers a blues standard, an abrupt change in musical direction that worked for her, That Ole Devil Called Love entering at 26 for a 4th solo hit.

New at 35, Go West debut with the memorable We Close Our Eyes, while Starvation go up to 37 - as it sounds, it’s a charity regage single by members of the Specials, UB40, The Pioneers and Madness. In the case of The Pioneers that’s the first new stuff to chart since 1972. David Essex has less problems charting regularly, as his run of top 40 hits hits 12 years, Fallen Angels Riding at 38, Sheila E hits 40 with a little help from her friend (Prince), and Diana Ross enters at 39 with her Lionel Richie-written Missing You, a tribute to her late former Motown singing partners, Marvin Gaye, Florence Ballard and Paul Williams (of The Supremes, and The Temptations). In a nice bit of timing, Ali Campbell of UB40 does the bulk of the vocals on the Starvation record, and this week (April 2015) enters my chart with his version of the Diana Ross track.

That leaves new tracks from Eric Clapton (13 years on from Layla), The Cars (7 years on from My Best Friend’s Girl), Joan Armatrading (9 years since Love And Affection), and newer acts Paul Young, The fab Kane Gang track Gun Law, REO Speedwagon (former chart-toppers in 1981), Bryan Adams, China Crisis, and Julian Lennon.

1 ( 1 ) THE LAST KISS David Cassidy
2 ( 2 ) YOU SPIN ME ROUND (LIKE A RECORD) Dead Or Alive
3 ( 3 ) SHAFT Eddy And The Soul Band
4 ( 5 ) LET’S GO CRAZY/ TAKE ME WITH U Prince
5 ( 4 ) THE BOYS OF SUMMER Don Henley
6 ( 31 ) BREAKING UP MY HEART Shakin’ Stevens
7 ( 9 ) JUST ANOTHER NIGHT Mick Jagger
8 ( 15 ) CHANGE YOUR MIND Bill Sharpe and Gary Numan
9 ( 38 ) MORE THAN I CAN BEAR Matt Bianco
10 ( 36 ) LEGS ZZ Top



11 ( 45 ) MATERIAL GIRL Madonna
12 ( 25 ) EASY LOVER Philip Bailey and Phil Collins
13 ( 6 ) LOVE AND PRIDE King
14 ( 11 ) A NEW ENGLAND Kirsty MacColl
15 ( 22 ) METHOD OF MODERN LOVE Daryl Hall and John Oates
16 ( 8 ) THINGS CAN ONLY GET BETTER Howard Jones
17 ( NEW ) WIDE BOY Nik Kershaw
18 ( 10 ) THIS IS NOT AMERICA David Bowie and The Pat Metheny Group
19 ( 39 ) MR. TELEPHONE MAN New Edition
20 ( 18 ) NIGHTSHIFT The Commodores



21 ( 7 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
22 ( 12 ) I KNOW HIM SO WELL Barbara Dickson and Elaine Paige
23 ( 37 ) DO WHAT YOU DO Jermaine Jackson
24 ( 40 ) KISS ME Stephen ‘Tintin’ Duffy
25 ( 17 ) IT’S...IT’S...THE SWEET MIX The Sweet
26 ( NEW ) THAT OLE DEVIL CALLED LOVE Alison Moyet
27 ( 14 ) WORLD DESTRUCTION Time Zone
28 ( 33 ) WHO COMES TO BOOGIE Little Benny And The Masters
29 ( 19 ) LOVERBOY Billy Ocean
30 ( 48 ) CONTRACT OF THE HEART Spelt Like This

31 ( 16 ) TAINTED LOVE Soft Cell
32 ( 13 ) MIDNIGHT MAN Flash And The Pan
33 ( 24 ) 1999/LITTLE RED CORVETTE Prince
34 ( 68 ) HANGING ON A STRING Loose Ends
35 ( NEW ) WE CLOSE OUR EYES Go West
36 ( 26 ) YOU’RE THE INSPIRATION Chicago
37 ( 74 ) STARVATION Starvation
38 ( 65 ) FALLEN ANGELS RIDING David Essex
39 ( NEW ) MISSING YOU Diana Ross
40 ( 54 ) THE BELLE OF ST. MARK Sheila E



41 ( 27 ) I WANT TO KNOW WHAT LOVE IS Foreigner
42 ( 30 ) SINCE YESTERDAY Strawberry Switchblade
43 ( 44 ) CRY Godley And Creme
44 ( 21 ) RUN TO YOU Bryan Adams
45 ( 32 ) SOLID Ashford and Simpson
46 ( 46 ) THE HEAT IS ON Glen Frey
47 ( 23 ) CLOSE (TO THE EDIT) The Art Of Noise
48 ( NEW ) FOREVER MAN Eric Clapton
49 ( 58 ) GOT A LITTLE HEARTACHE Alvin Stardust
50 ( 55 ) BREAKING HEARTS Elton John

51 ( 20 ) HOW SOON IS NOW The Smiths
52 ( 72 ) NO FOOL (FOR LOVE) Hazell Dean
53 ( 35 ) DANCING IN THE DARK Bruce Springsteen
54 ( 75 ) SUGAR WALLS Sheena Easton
55 ( 28 ) MISLED Kool And The Gang
56 ( 34 ) WE BELONG Pat Benatar
57 ( NEW ) WHY CAN’T I HAVE YOU The Cars
58 ( 29 ) A HOLD OF ME The Boomtown Rats
59 ( 70 ) BABY COME BACK Eddy Grant
60 ( 52 ) THE POWER OF LOVE Frankie Goes To Hollywood

61 ( 42 ) SHOUT Tears For Fears
62 ( NEW ) TEMPTATION Joan Armatrading
63 ( 47 ) I HEAR TALK Bucks Fizz
64 ( NEW ) EVERY TIME YOU GO AWAY Paul Young
65 ( NEW ) GUN LAW The Kane Gang
66 ( NEW ) CAN’T FIGHT THIS FEELING REO Speedwagon
67 ( 63 ) SEX CRIME (1984) Eurythmics
68 ( 43 ) LOVE LIKE BLOOD Killing Joke
69 ( 62 ) I CAN’T STAND THE RAIN Tina Turner
70 ( 56 ) DO THEY KNOW IT’S CHRISTMAS Band Aid




71 ( NEW ) SOMEBODY Bryan Adams
72 ( NEW ) BLACK MAN RAY China Crisis
73 ( 69 ) ONE NIGHT IN BANGKOK Murray Head
74 ( 61 ) LAST CHRISTMAS/EVERYTHING SHE WANTS Wham!
75 ( NEW ) SAY YOU’RE WRONG Julian Lennon

TV March 9th-15th
1 Cheers
2 Hill Street Blues
3 Bewitched
4 Top Of The Pops
5 The Phil Silvers Show
6 The Addams Family
7 The Bill Cosby Show
8 The Other Side Of The Tracks
9 Entertainment USA
10 Night Court


At work, my rather depressed and stressed state not helped by our flashing lights on the van not stopping a lady driver having an accident (pulling out of a junction into an oncoming car) by not taking care in the vicinity of our surveying on a bendy country road. Thursday was interview day at Dorchester County Council for a computing job, which was heavily maths based (failed the tough 1 hour algebra exam along with some other candidates). Watched Calamity Jane on TV as consolation! My other consolation was to buy myself a new spanky MSX music computer, the £529 clearing out my savings, but I saw it as a way of trying to get into creating music. Unfortunately I hadn’t reckoned on MSX computers flopping, on having no way of saving any recordings except onto pitiful slow cassette tape (as computer signals, NOT quality audio recordings), and me having no real training or obsession with learning how to play keyboards. Total waste of money, as I was pretty much 20 years too early for bedroom knob twiddling. Hey ho.

Posted by: popchartfreak 20th April 2015, 09:48 PM

19th March 1985


3 weeks for Dave on top, now equalling his Partridge Family runs at 1, and straight in at 2, it’s a re-issue of the fab 1978 reggae cover of the O’Jays Now That We’ve Found Love, in one swoop out-peaking it’s previous top 10 run. In at 5, though, and an instant 4th top 5 hit, it’s the epic Tears For Fears track, Everybody Wants To Rule The World, for my money a perfect pop song, there is no way it can be improved on (as was shown by the charity remix in 1986). The chords, the melody, the multiple hooks, the guitar, the synths, the vocals, perfect perfect perfect start to finish, I still love, and have never ever stopped loving, every second of it. Overshadowing another classic, though, Godley & Creme get a third top 5 record outside of 10CC, as Cry rockets to 4, and Madonna makes it 3 top 10’s.

in at 31, Frankie are back with the 4th great single in a row, the title track from Welcome To The Pleasure Dome, and it seemed as though their Trevor Horn epics could do no wrong, and the world was theirs. Sadly, they decided Trevor Horn wasn’t essential. Bad choice. Into the 40, The Kane Gang and Sheena Easton are up, not to mention Eric, Paul and The Cars. At 47, it’s a cover of Bruce’s still-charting Dancing In The Dark - done 50’s harmony style by Big Daddy, a band who made a habit of covering modern songs in old music styles, to great effect. It’s a great cover, and nothing like the original in any way! At 60, another great cover, albeit very like the original Detroit Spinners 1972/3 hit, Could It Be I’m Falling In Love had already charted in 1973 and 1977 and David Grant, ex-Linx, and Jaki Graham do a fab smooth 80’s soul version version.

Elsewhere: Billy Bragg, Barry Manilow and Dionne Warwick (both a decade on from debuting), a fab Slade song 14 years on, Junior, and The Power Station (Robert Palmer plus Duran) all enter.

1 ( 1 ) THE LAST KISS David Cassidy
2 ( NEW ) NOW THAT WE’VE FOUND LOVE Third World
3 ( 4 ) LET’S GO CRAZY/ TAKE ME WITH U Prince
4 ( 43 ) CRY Godley And Creme
5 ( NEW ) EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD Tears For Fears
6 ( 6 ) BREAKING UP MY HEART Shakin’ Stevens
7 ( 10 ) LEGS ZZ Top
8 ( 9 ) MORE THAN I CAN BEAR Matt Bianco
9 ( 2 ) YOU SPIN ME ROUND (LIKE A RECORD) Dead Or Alive
10 ( 11 ) MATERIAL GIRL Madonna



11 ( 17 ) WIDE BOY Nik Kershaw
12 ( 12 ) EASY LOVER Philip Bailey and Phil Collins
13 ( 3 ) SHAFT Eddy And The Soul Band
14 ( 5 ) THE BOYS OF SUMMER Don Henley
15 ( 24 ) KISS ME Stephen ‘Tintin’ Duffy
16 ( 8 ) CHANGE YOUR MIND Bill Sharpe and Gary Numan
17 ( 7 ) JUST ANOTHER NIGHT Mick Jagger
18 ( 19 ) MR. TELEPHONE MAN New Edition
19 ( 26 ) THAT OLE DEVIL CALLED LOVE Alison Moyet
20 ( 23 ) DO WHAT YOU DO Jermaine Jackson

21 ( 34 ) HANGING ON A STRING Loose Ends
22 ( 15 ) METHOD OF MODERN LOVE Daryl Hall and John Oates
23 ( 14 ) A NEW ENGLAND Kirsty MacColl
24 ( 40 ) THE BELLE OF ST. MARK Sheila E
25 ( 13 ) LOVE AND PRIDE King
26 ( 30 ) CONTRACT OF THE HEART Spelt Like This
27 ( 35 ) WE CLOSE OUR EYES Go West
28 ( 39 ) MISSING YOU Diana Ross
29 ( 38 ) FALLEN ANGELS RIDING David Essex
30 ( 37 ) STARVATION Starvation



31 ( NEW ) WELCOME TO THE PLEASURE DOME Frankie Goes To Hollywood
32 ( 16 ) THINGS CAN ONLY GET BETTER Howard Jones
33 ( 20 ) NIGHTSHIFT The Commodores
34 ( 18 ) THIS IS NOT AMERICA David Bowie and The Pat Metheny Group
35 ( 66 ) GUN LAW The Kane Gang
36 ( 54 ) SUGAR WALLS Sheena Easton
37 ( 25 ) IT’S...IT’S...THE SWEET MIX The Sweet
38 ( 48 ) FOREVER MAN Eric Clapton
39 ( 65 ) EVERY TIME YOU GO AWAY Paul Young
40 ( 57 ) WHY CAN’T I HAVE YOU The Cars

41 ( 71 ) SOMEBODY Bryan Adams
42 ( 22 ) I KNOW HIM SO WELL Barbara Dickson and Elaine Paige
43 ( 63 ) TEMPTATION Joan Armatrading
44 ( 21 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
45 ( 50 ) BREAKING HEARTS Elton John
46 ( 33 ) 1999/LITTLE RED CORVETTE Prince
47 ( NEW ) DANCING IN THE DARK Big Daddy
48 ( 31 ) TAINTED LOVE Soft Cell
49 ( 52 ) NO FOOL (FOR LOVE) Hazell Dean
50 ( 72 ) BLACK MAN RAY China Crisis



51 ( 29 ) LOVERBOY Billy Ocean
52 ( 41 ) I WANT TO KNOW WHAT LOVE IS Foreigner
53 ( 42 ) SINCE YESTERDAY Strawberry Switchblade
54 ( 67 ) CAN’T FIGHT THIS FEELING REO Speedwagon
55 ( 49 ) GOT A LITTLE HEARTACHE Alvin Stardust
56 ( 27 ) WORLD DESTRUCTION Time Zone
57 ( 46 ) THE HEAT IS ON Glen Frey
58 ( 59 ) BABY COME BACK Eddy Grant
59 ( 28 ) WHO COMES TO BOOGIE Little Benny And The Masters
60 ( NEW ) COULD IT BE I’M FALLING IN LOVE David Grant and Jaki Graham



61 ( 32 ) MIDNIGHT MAN Flash And The Pan
62 ( 60 ) THE POWER OF LOVE Frankie Goes To Hollywood
63 ( 44 ) RUN TO YOU Bryan Adams
64 ( 53 ) DANCING IN THE DARK Bruce Springsteen
65 ( NEW ) BETWEEN THE WARS Billy Bragg
66 ( NEW ) RUN TO ME Dionne Warwicke and Barry Manilow
67 ( 36 ) YOU’RE THE INSPIRATION Chicago
68 ( 68 ) SEX CRIME (1984) Eurythmics
69 ( NEW ) MYZSTERIOUS MIZSTER JONES Slade
70 ( 70 ) DO THEY KNOW IT’S CHRISTMAS Band Aid

71 ( 61 ) SHOUT Tears For Fears
72 ( NEW ) EVERY SECOND OF THE DAY The Roaring Boys
73 ( NEW ) SOME LIKE IT HOT The Power Station
74 ( NEW ) INNER CITY BLUES Working Week
75 ( NEW ) DO YOU REALLY (WANT MY LOVE) Junior


TV 16-22 March
1 The Young Ones
2 Cheers
3 Hill Street Blues
4 The Phil Silvers Show
5 Top Of The Pops
6 Bewitched
7 The Bill Cosby Show
8 Newhart
9 Spitting Image
10 Television

On my MSX computer I was learning basic programming, lending records for copying to Bob, and my brother was down for a break fresh from returning to work at Blidworth pit after the endless strike, and to have a go on my new computer. Getting fed up with the very long bus trip to and from work - 9 miles but it took (and still takes) 90 minutes by bus door to door. I killed a bird driving the work van - it hit the windscreen and I felt awful about it. Most importantly, I got to see my new nephew (born the day after my birthday) Gavin, wide-eyed, tongue sticking out, and very quiet. 18-month-old Vicki had me up and down the stairs all day (kids always take to me cos I give them the attention they want), I predicted she was going to be an extrovert when she grew up. When you’re right you’re right!

Posted by: popchartfreak 21st April 2015, 07:28 PM

26th March 1985

It’s a second brilliant number for Godley & Creme, as Cry does what Under Your Thumb did in 1981, and indeed what Donna did in 1972, Wall Street Shuffle in 1974, I’m Not In Love in 1975 and I’m Mandy Fly Me in 1976 for 10CC. My fave under-rated act of the 70’s. Frankie get a 4th top 5 in a row, and Pat Benatar returns with her 1984 top 20 track Love Is A Battlefield, at last a UK hit as well. David Grant and Jaki Graham get a big climb to 16, and in at 20, it’s a classic debut for Dream Academy and their awesome atmospheric Life In A Northern Town, so good it was to become the basis of a future dance sample hit with those Hail Mama’s. Fab!

At 24, it’s the USA response to Band Aid, a sentimental mish mash of big names created mostly by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie. We Are The World was a who’s who of big names (and the one everyone in the UK went “who he?”: Steve Perry. yes him of Journey and the 21st century million-seller anthem Don’t Stop Believin’ that had stiffed a few years before in the UK. Last laugh, eh, Steve? At 32, Brooce is back with Cover Me, staying ahead of the Big Daddy cover of Dancing In The Dark, while Joan Armatrading and Slade add to their list of top 40 hits. Sarah Brightman is in the classical world for Pie Jesu, at 41, and 7 years since topping a Starship Trooper, while Al Green soul great is back 14 years on with Never Met Nobody Like You at 62.



1 ( 4 ) CRY Godley And Creme
2 ( 1 ) THE LAST KISS David Cassidy
3 ( 5 ) EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD Tears For Fears
4 ( 2 ) NOW THAT WE’VE FOUND LOVE Third World
5 ( 31 ) WELCOME TO THE PLEASURE DOME Frankie Goes To Hollywood
6 ( 3 ) LET’S GO CRAZY/ TAKE ME WITH U Prince
7 ( NEW ) LOVE IS A BATTLEFIELD Pat Benatar
8 ( 11 ) WIDE BOY Nik Kershaw
9 ( 15 ) KISS ME Stephen ‘Tintin’ Duffy
10 ( 12 ) EASY LOVER Philip Bailey and Phil Collins



11 ( 8 ) MORE THAN I CAN BEAR Matt Bianco
12 ( 9 ) YOU SPIN ME ROUND (LIKE A RECORD) Dead Or Alive
13 ( 21 ) HANGING ON A STRING Loose Ends
14 ( 6 ) BREAKING UP MY HEART Shakin’ Stevens
15 ( 7 ) LEGS ZZ Top
16 ( 60 ) COULD IT BE I’M FALLING IN LOVE David Grant and Jaki Graham
17 ( 10 ) MATERIAL GIRL Madonna
18 ( 18 ) MR. TELEPHONE MAN New Edition
19 ( 13 ) SHAFT Eddy And The Soul Band
20 ( NEW ) LIFE IN A NORTHERN TOWN Dream Academy



21 ( 20 ) DO WHAT YOU DO Jermaine Jackson
22 ( 24 ) THE BELLE OF ST. MARK Sheila E
23 ( 14 ) THE BOYS OF SUMMER Don Henley
24 ( NEW ) WE ARE THE WORLD USA For Africa
25 ( 27 ) WE CLOSE OUR EYES Go West
26 ( 40 ) WHY CAN’T I HAVE YOU The Cars
27 ( 29 ) FALLEN ANGELS RIDING David Essex
28 ( 39 ) EVERY TIME YOU GO AWAY Paul Young
29 ( 16 ) CHANGE YOUR MIND Bill Sharpe and Gary Numan
30 ( 17 ) JUST ANOTHER NIGHT Mick Jagger

31 ( 19 ) THAT OLE DEVIL CALLED LOVE Alison Moyet
32 ( NEW ) COVER ME Bruce Springsteen
33 ( 35 ) GUN LAW The Kane Gang
34 ( 47 ) DANCING IN THE DARK Big Daddy
35 ( 36 ) SUGAR WALLS Sheena Easton
36 ( 43 ) TEMPTATION Joan Armatrading
37 ( 70 ) MYZSTERIOUS MIZSTER JONES Slade
38 ( 41 ) SOMEBODY Bryan Adams
39 ( 22 ) METHOD OF MODERN LOVE Daryl Hall and John Oates
40 ( 30 ) STARVATION Starvation



41 ( NEW ) PIE JESU Sarah Brightman and Paul Miles-Kingston
42 ( 26 ) CONTRACT OF THE HEART Spelt Like This
43 ( 74 ) SOME LIKE IT HOT The Power Station
44 ( 66 ) BETWEEN THE WARS Billy Bragg
45 ( 37 ) IT’S...IT’S...THE SWEET MIX The Sweet
46 ( 23 ) A NEW ENGLAND Kirsty MacColl
47 ( 28 ) MISSING YOU Diana Ross
48 ( 32 ) THINGS CAN ONLY GET BETTER Howard Jones
49 ( 34 ) THIS IS NOT AMERICA David Bowie and The Pat Metheny Group
50 ( 50 ) BLACK MAN RAY China Crisis

51 ( 57 ) THE HEAT IS ON Glen Frey
52 ( 38 ) FOREVER MAN Eric Clapton
53 ( 54 ) CAN’T FIGHT THIS FEELING REO Speedwagon
54 ( 25 ) LOVE AND PRIDE King
55 ( 46 ) 1999/LITTLE RED CORVETTE Prince
56 ( 44 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
57 ( 48 ) TAINTED LOVE Soft Cell
58 ( NEW ) WON’T YOU HOLD MY HAND NOW King
59 ( NEW ) LET HER GO Strawberry Switchblade
60 ( 53 ) SINCE YESTERDAY Strawberry Switchblade

61 ( 52 ) I WANT TO KNOW WHAT LOVE IS Foreigner
62 ( NEW ) NEVER MET NOBODY LIKE YOU Al Green
63 ( 33 ) NIGHTSHIFT The Commodores
64 ( 42 ) I KNOW HIM SO WELL Barbara Dickson and Elaine Paige
65 ( 63 ) THE POWER OF LOVE Frankie Goes To Hollywood
66 ( 55 ) GOT A LITTLE HEARTACHE Alvin Stardust
67 ( 67 ) RUN TO ME Dionne Warwicke and Barry Manilow
68 ( NEW ) THAT WAS YESTERDAY Foreigner
69 ( 51 ) LOVERBOY Billy Ocean
70 ( NEW ) GRIMLY FIENDISH The Damned

71 ( 69 ) SEX CRIME (1984) Eurythmics
72 ( 49 ) NO FOOL (FOR LOVE) Hazell Dean
73 ( 72 ) SHOUT Tears For Fears
74 ( NEW ) LUCKY The Greg Kihn Band
75 ( 45 ) BREAKING HEARTS Elton John



TV 23-29 Mar
1 The Young Ones: Oil
2 Cheers
3 Hill Street Blues
4 The Pink Panther Strikes Back
5 Top Of The Pops
6 Bewitched
7 Spitting Image
8 The Phil Silvers Show
9 The Addams Family
10 Newhart

Work was a week without boss-git, and it was bliss, just me and Bob able to get more work done and have a pleasant working environment along the country roads, even if Bob was throwing up ill on Tuesday. Had a meal at his parents which was nice of them, and I met his mum for the first time. It was Roy’s last day on friday, so we met up in the Westbourne pub for a goodbye drink. Roy had referred to our absent boss as “our venereal friend” so no love lost there! At home, I got frustrated being unable to save any synth sounds I created on the MSX, on the stupid sh*tty little tape recorder back up. That, I daresay, was the reason MSX computers failed miserably.

Posted by: popchartfreak 25th May 2015, 08:32 PM

2nd April 1985

2 weeks on top for Cry, and Godley And Creme, as Tears For Fears hit 2 for the third time, and Frankie hit 3 with their Pleasuredome, and looking like the hat-trick of chart-toppers is about the end of it. David Grant and Jaki Graham, meanwhile take Could It Be I’m Falling In Love into the top 10 and match the Detroit Spinners original, while Dream Academy hit 10 with the utterly brilliant Life In A Northern Town. Into the 20? USA For Africa, Sheena Easton, Jermaine Jackson, The Kane Gang, and for the last time with a new single (apart from that xmas song!) Slade call it a day with the Myzsterious Mizster Jones, 14 years, 2 number ones and a long long run of big hits. TV was calling Noddy and he never went back to singing, doh!

China Crisis go top 40, as does Glen Frey snuggling up to former Eagles co-vocalist Don Henley, and ahead of Robert Palmer and Duranies. King join Prince in the 40, and The Damned get a decent return to the 40 6 years since they first did the trick, Grimly Fiendishly. Ditto Sarah Brightman, Pie Jesu-ing at 39, and Strawberry Switchblade return with Let her Go. New entries from cool Brit soul The Cool Notes, Spend The Night at 49, Phil Collins in ballad mode, One More Night at 52, Phyllis Nelson’s soulful great Move Closer at 60, The Smiths with a tribute to Bananarama vocalist Siobhan, Shakespear’s Sister at 75, and 5 years of chart entries for Change at 74.

1 ( 1 ) CRY Godley And Creme
2 ( 3 ) EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD Tears For Fears
3 ( 5 ) WELCOME TO THE PLEASURE DOME Frankie Goes To Hollywood
4 ( 4 ) NOW THAT WE’VE FOUND LOVE Third World
5 ( 2 ) THE LAST KISS David Cassidy
6 ( 7 ) LOVE IS A BATTLEFIELD Pat Benatar
7 ( 16 ) COULD IT BE I’M FALLING IN LOVE David Grant and Jaki Graham
8 ( 8 ) WIDE BOY Nik Kershaw
9 ( 9 ) KISS ME Stephen ‘Tintin’ Duffy
10 ( 20 ) LIFE IN A NORTHERN TOWN Dream Academy



11 ( 13 ) HANGING ON A STRING Loose Ends
12 ( 10 ) EASY LOVER Philip Bailey and Phil Collins
13 ( 6 ) LET’S GO CRAZY/ TAKE ME WITH U Prince
14 ( 11 ) MORE THAN I CAN BEAR Matt Bianco
15 ( 24 ) WE ARE THE WORLD USA For Africa
16 ( 12 ) YOU SPIN ME ROUND (LIKE A RECORD) Dead Or Alive
17 ( 21 ) DO WHAT YOU DO Jermaine Jackson
18 ( 33 ) GUN LAW The Kane Gang
19 ( 35 ) SUGAR WALLS Sheena Easton
20 ( 37 ) MYZSTERIOUS MIZSTER JONES Slade



21 ( 17 ) MATERIAL GIRL Madonna
22 ( 14 ) BREAKING UP MY HEART Shakin’ Stevens
23 ( 28 ) EVERY TIME YOU GO AWAY Paul Young
24 ( 32 ) COVER ME Bruce Springsteen
25 ( 25 ) WE CLOSE OUR EYES Go West
26 ( 22 ) THE BELLE OF ST. MARK Sheila E
27 ( 15 ) LEGS ZZ Top
28 ( 34 ) DANCING IN THE DARK Big Daddy
29 ( 19 ) SHAFT Eddy And The Soul Band
30 ( 18 ) MR. TELEPHONE MAN New Edition



31 ( 50 ) BLACK MAN RAY China Crisis
32 ( 23 ) THE BOYS OF SUMMER Don Henley
33 ( 51 ) THE HEAT IS ON Glen Frey
34 ( 43 ) SOME LIKE IT HOT The Power Station
35 ( 38 ) SOMEBODY Bryan Adams
36 ( 58 ) WON’T YOU HOLD MY HAND NOW King
37 ( 31 ) THAT OLE DEVIL CALLED LOVE Alison Moyet
38 ( 70 ) GRIMLY FIENDISH The Damned
39 ( 41 ) PIE JESU Sarah Brightman and Paul Miles-Kingston
40 ( 59 ) LET HER GO Strawberry Switchblade



41 ( 26 ) WHY CAN’T I HAVE YOU The Cars
42 ( 29 ) CHANGE YOUR MIND Bill Sharpe and Gary Numan
43 ( 30 ) JUST ANOTHER NIGHT Mick Jagger
44 ( 44 ) BETWEEN THE WARS Billy Bragg
45 ( 27 ) FALLEN ANGELS RIDING David Essex
46 ( 53 ) CAN’T FIGHT THIS FEELING REO Speedwagon
47 ( 36 ) TEMPTATION Joan Armatrading
48 ( 45 ) IT’S...IT’S...THE SWEET MIX The Sweet
49 ( NEW ) SPEND THE NIGHT The Cool Notes
50 ( 40 ) STARVATION Starvation

51 ( 46 ) A NEW ENGLAND Kirsty MacColl
52 ( NEW ) ONE MORE NIGHT Phil Collins
53 ( 39 ) METHOD OF MODERN LOVE Daryl Hall and John Oates
54 ( 42 ) CONTRACT OF THE HEART Spelt Like This
55 ( 62 ) NEVER MET NOBODY LIKE YOU Al Green
56 ( 56 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
57 ( 57 ) TAINTED LOVE Soft Cell
58 ( 49 ) THIS IS NOT AMERICA David Bowie and The Pat Metheny Group
59 ( 55 ) 1999/LITTLE RED CORVETTE Prince
60 ( NEW ) MOVE CLOSER Phyllis Nelson

61 ( 48 ) THINGS CAN ONLY GET BETTER Howard Jones
62 ( 52 ) FOREVER MAN Eric Clapton
63 ( 47 ) MISSING YOU Diana Ross
64 ( 60 ) SINCE YESTERDAY Strawberry Switchblade
65 ( 61 ) I WANT TO KNOW WHAT LOVE IS Foreigner
66 ( 68 ) THAT WAS YESTERDAY Foreigner
67 ( 65 ) THE POWER OF LOVE Frankie Goes To Hollywood
68 ( 54 ) LOVE AND PRIDE King
69 ( 74 ) LUCKY The Greg Kihn Band
70 ( 73 ) SHOUT Tears For Fears

71 ( 71 ) SEX CRIME (1984) Eurythmics
72 ( 66 ) GOT A LITTLE HEARTACHE Alvin Stardust
73 ( 64 ) I KNOW HIM SO WELL Barbara Dickson and Elaine Paige
74 ( NEW ) LET’S GO TOGETHER Change
75 ( NEW ) SHAKESPEAR’S SISTER The Smiths

TV 30th Mar-5th Apr
1 The Young Ones: Bomb
2 Cheers
3 The Phil Silvers Show
4 Newhart
5 Top Of The Pops
6 Bewitched
7 The Cosby Show
8 Dallas
9 Entertainment USA
10 Doctor Who

At the cinema: 2010 A Space Odyssey, based on the fabulous sci-fi sequel novel by Arthur C.Clarke, my hero writer, and following-on from the groundbreaking Kubrick movie 2001, which remains the definitive statement on space exploration realism (albeit with fantasy tagged on). “great effects, intelligent, though-provoking, refreshingly different angle on Soviet/U.S. relations and not overlong. More human relations would have been nice, more Europa (the moon of Jupiter) too, but nitpicking. An entertaining movie, much better than Dune, not as entertaining as Ghostbusters and Indiana Jones and Return Of The Jedi, but probably on a par in a different way. More straightforward than 2001, more human, more accessible, I’d rate it higher (for that reason).” I’d still rather watch 2010 than 2001, but 2001 remains a classic and 2010 isn’t, sadly.

At work we got the great news that the boss would be moving over to the other team of surveyors and we were getting a new driver. Hooray! Got rid of him at last, we had a lunchtime drink in a pub in rural Dorset village Childe Okeford where the locals, bar one friendly guy who played pool with us, appeared to have been taken over by alien pods from Invasion Of The Bodysnatchers, they said nothing, just sat there and gave the odd mild yokel ooaarrr occasionally. On sunday I bought my first (second-hand) moped from the army camp, and tried to ride it home, it just kept cutting out though and didn’t go above 25 mph, so back for a service. It wasn’t very powerful, but just about got me about in my sports helmet on a pathetic titchy moped. The helmet was a good buy, it turned out though, so who cares what I looked like.

Posted by: popchartfreak 27th May 2015, 12:46 PM

9th April 1985

17 new entries and a new all-time classic number one as Tears For Fears finally get higher than 2 in my chart with the awesome Everybody Wants To Rule The World. Roland Orzabal always said he co-wrote it deliberately as a commercial American hit record, but that does it a disservice - OK it’s more upbeat than previous TFF singles, but oh my word it’s a perfect creation. Almost everything about it is a hook, there are multiple melodies, all great, all hooky, and Curt Smith’s vocals were perfect for the song, light and harmonic to contrast Roland’s darker deeper injections. I got, and still get, goosebumps when I hear it - it’s one of those rare perfect records where it can’t be improved on (witness the less-good Everybody Wants To Run The World a year later), it just sounds so right from start to finish, the sexual chords, the synths, the shuffling beat. Perfection!

Highest new entry at 4 is a mash-up of classic T.Rex singles, the late Marc Bolan having had a majestic run of glam-rock monsters that rated very high on my nostalgia-ometer, and still do. Megarex 1 did the trick for me, and gave T.Rex their first top 5 since Telegram Sam had been reissued in 1982 and hit my number one. Phyllis Nelson moves closer to the 10, up from 60 to 14, Go west slot in behind eyes closed, with a China Crisis on their heels, and the heat is on at 20 as Glen Frey gets his first solo top 20 a decade after hitting 2 with The Eagles.

So, new entry invasion, ABC return at 33, Be Near Me is a good addition to the classy ballads they excel at, while at 35, the American version of a ska invasion that climaxed with No Doubt and Gwen Stefani a decade or so later starts with The Untouchables, and Free Yourself. 70’s funk band War return at 38 10 years on with a slick version of The Young Rascals fabulously cool and laid-back 60’s hit Groovin’, as Sal Solo is at 39 with his follow-up to San Damiano, Music And You. Lower down there’s Howard Jones extending his pop hit run - Look Mama! - at 49, while The Rah Band have their best hit since topping my chart in 1977 with The Crunch, and it’s a jazz-funk smooth sci-fi styled dance goodie, staying just the right side of cheese for me, and in at 50.
At 52, Narada’s back (minus his Michael Walden) after a 5-year gap, in combo with Patti austin for Gimme Gimme Gimme (not to be Abba confused) it’s pop souldance, and at 53 it’s the under-rated fabulous Bangles debut hit Going Down To Liverpool, a cover of a Katrina And The Waves song, with a 60’s flavour and fab harmonies. As if that wasn’t enough my hero Leonard “Spock” Nimoy is in the video. What’s not to love?! Check it out. That’s an order. Should have been big!

Pause for breath, and the invasion continues, as a version of Flower Duet from Lakme adds some classy opera to the chart at 55, thanks to it’s use in advert, and at 56 it’s a future monster American chart-topper from a huge movie, catapulting Simple Minds into world stadium rockers for a while, and critical derision, but Don’t You Forget About Me is a good record anyway. They ain’t the only act going stadium rock either, Eurythmics do the same at 59 - Would I Lie To You? No. Don Henley has a laid-back sunset grill tale at 60, which is also fab, as is the lovely synth instrumental Moments In Love as Art Of Noise return at 65 - if you have 10 minutes to spare check out the gorgeous youtube video and try and work out how you know the tune so well (answer: sampled so often, chill-out compilations etc). That leaves Chris Rea back, Tom Petty back, both 1977/1978 veterans, and Dead Or Alive with a 3rd chart entry. Phew!



1 ( 2 ) EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD Tears For Fears
2 ( 1 ) CRY Godley And Creme
3 ( 3 ) WELCOME TO THE PLEASURE DOME Frankie Goes To Hollywood
4 ( NEW ) MEGAREX 1 T.Rex
5 ( 7 ) COULD IT BE I’M FALLING IN LOVE David Grant and Jaki Graham
6 ( 10 ) LIFE IN A NORTHERN TOWN Dream Academy
7 ( 4 ) NOW THAT WE’VE FOUND LOVE Third World
8 ( 6 ) LOVE IS A BATTLEFIELD Pat Benatar
9 ( 11 ) HANGING ON A STRING Loose Ends
10 ( 5 ) THE LAST KISS David Cassidy

11 ( 15 ) WE ARE THE WORLD USA For Africa
12 ( 9 ) KISS ME Stephen ‘Tintin’ Duffy
13 ( 8 ) WIDE BOY Nik Kershaw
14 ( 60 ) MOVE CLOSER Phyllis Nelson
15 ( 25 ) WE CLOSE OUR EYES Go West
16 ( 31 ) BLACK MAN RAY China Crisis
17 ( 19 ) SUGAR WALLS Sheena Easton
18 ( 12 ) EASY LOVER Philip Bailey and Phil Collins
19 ( 24 ) COVER ME Bruce Springsteen
20 ( 33 ) THE HEAT IS ON Glen Frey

21 ( 13 ) LET’S GO CRAZY/ TAKE ME WITH U Prince
22 ( 18 ) GUN LAW The Kane Gang
23 ( 21 ) MATERIAL GIRL Madonna
24 ( 36 ) WON’T YOU HOLD MY HAND NOW King
25 ( 16 ) YOU SPIN ME ROUND (LIKE A RECORD) Dead Or Alive
26 ( 14 ) MORE THAN I CAN BEAR Matt Bianco
27 ( 38 ) GRIMLY FIENDISH The Damned
28 ( 17 ) DO WHAT YOU DO Jermaine Jackson
29 ( 49 ) SPEND THE NIGHT The Cool Notes
30 ( 35 ) SOMEBODY Bryan Adams



31 ( 23 ) EVERY TIME YOU GO AWAY Paul Young
32 ( 20 ) MYZSTERIOUS MIZSTER JONES Slade
33 ( NEW ) BE NEAR ME ABC
34 ( 34 ) SOME LIKE IT HOT The Power Station
35 ( NEW ) FREE YOURSELF The Untouchables
36 ( 22 ) BREAKING UP MY HEART Shakin’ Stevens
37 ( 27 ) LEGS ZZ Top
38 ( NEW ) GROOVIN’ War
39 ( NEW ) MUSIC AND YOU Sal Solo
40 ( 29 ) SHAFT Eddy And The Soul Band



41 ( 46 ) CAN’T FIGHT THIS FEELING REO Speedwagon
42 ( 37 ) THAT OLE DEVIL CALLED LOVE Alison Moyet
43 ( 32 ) THE BOYS OF SUMMER Don Henley
44 ( 30 ) MR. TELEPHONE MAN New Edition
45 ( 52 ) ONE MORE NIGHT Phil Collins
46 ( 26 ) THE BELLE OF ST. MARK Sheila E
47 ( 39 ) PIE JESU Sarah Brightman and Paul Miles-Kingston
48 ( 28 ) DANCING IN THE DARK Big Daddy
49 ( NEW ) LOOK MAMA Howard Jones
50 ( NEW ) CLOUDS ACROSS THE MOON The Rah Band



51 ( 48 ) IT’S...IT’S...THE SWEET MIX The Sweet
52 ( NEW ) GIMME GIMME GIMME Narada and Patti Austin
53 ( NEW ) GOING DOWN THE LIVERPOOL The Bangles
54 ( 40 ) LET HER GO Strawberry Switchblade
55 ( NEW ) FLOWER DUET FROM LAKME Mady Mesple and Danielle Millet
56 ( NEW ) DON’T YOU (FORGET ABOUT ME) Simple Minds
57 ( 41 ) WHY CAN’T I HAVE YOU The Cars
58 ( 47 ) TEMPTATION Joan Armatrading
59 ( NEW ) WOULD I LIE TO YOU Eurythmics
60 ( NEW ) DOWN AT THE SUNSET GRILL Don Henley



61 ( 51 ) A NEW ENGLAND Kirsty MacColl
62 ( 66 ) THAT WAS YESTERDAY Foreigner
63 ( 42 ) CHANGE YOUR MIND Bill Sharpe and Gary Numan
64 ( 43 ) JUST ANOTHER NIGHT Mick Jagger
65 ( NEW ) MOMENTS IN LOVE The Art Of Noise
66 ( 59 ) 1999/LITTLE RED CORVETTE Prince
67 ( 74 ) LET’S GO TOGETHER Change
68 ( NEW ) STAINSBY GIRLS Chris Rea
69 ( 67 ) THE POWER OF LOVE Frankie Goes To Hollywood
70 ( 70 ) SHOUT Tears For Fears



71 ( 44 ) BETWEEN THE WARS Billy Bragg
72 ( NEW ) DON’T COME AROUND HERE NO MORE Tom Petty
73 ( 71 ) SEX CRIME (1984) Eurythmics
74 ( NEW ) LOVER COME BACK TO ME Dead Or Alive
75 ( 75 ) SHAKESPEARE’S SISTER The Smiths

TV 6th - 12th Apr
1 Blazing Saddles: film
2 Cheers
3 The Monkees
4 Alias Smith And Jones
5 The Phil Silvers Show
6 The Abba Story
7 Top Of The Pops
8 The Cannonball Run: film
9 The Muppet Movie: film
10 The Cosby Show



On TV the final episode of Are You Being Served aired, I was reading Douglas Adams’ Restaurant At The End Of The Universe on the bus to work, and we had a new van driver, big Bob, chatty, sweary, fag-smokey, and amiable. In those days people used to smoke in vans, pubs and the office, which frankly left me with a sort throat, stinking clothes and pissed off with them. Three cheers for the Smoking Ban! Grandma (mum’s mum) was down to stay with me and Aunty Eileen was down en route to my Auntie at Weymouth, fresh after Uncle Tony had moved out, the other half arrived a bit later, grandad (dads dad), Ann, Geoff, and cousins Neil and Claire. Busy day.

Posted by: popchartfreak 28th May 2015, 07:56 PM

16th April 1980

2 weeks for Tears For Fears ruling the world, with T.Rex stalking them at 2. Phyllis Nelson and USA For Africa, 2 UK chart-toppers, make my top 10, while Don Henley goes for a 2nd consecutive top 40, down at the sunset grill, and other big USA hits from Phil Collins and REO Speedwagon join him. Plus Howard Jones, look ma no hands, and Simple Minds famously not forgetting.

Very few new entries, just Sheila E getting a second quick Prince-led hit, The Glamorous Life for her at 60, Robin George, coulda-been rockstar enters at 62 with Heartline, Marilyn’s back again in the cold at 67, and there’s a debut at 68 which is notable: not for DeBarge but for songwriter Diane Warren, one-woman songwriting power-house, Rhythm Of The Night. At 71 Toyah has a last fab pop single, Don’t Fall In Love (I Said) wasn’t one of her biggest hits, but it was one of her best singles. Love comes to Gary Glitter at 74. Yes, well, no comment, bar 13 years of chart entries.


1 ( 1 ) EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD Tears For Fears
2 ( 4 ) MEGAREX 1 T.Rex
3 ( 3 ) WELCOME TO THE PLEASURE DOME Frankie Goes To Hollywood
4 ( 2 ) CRY Godley And Creme
5 ( 5 ) COULD IT BE I’M FALLING IN LOVE David Grant and Jaki Graham
6 ( 6 ) LIFE IN A NORTHERN TOWN Dream Academy
7 ( 8 ) LOVE IS A BATTLEFIELD Pat Benatar
8 ( 14 ) MOVE CLOSER Phyllis Nelson
9 ( 11 ) WE ARE THE WORLD USA For Africa
10 ( 7 ) NOW THAT WE’VE FOUND LOVE Third World



11 ( 10 ) THE LAST KISS David Cassidy
12 ( 9 ) HANGING ON A STRING Loose Ends
13 ( 16 ) BLACK MAN RAY China Crisis
14 ( 17 ) SUGAR WALLS Sheena Easton
15 ( 15 ) WE CLOSE OUR EYES Go West
16 ( 24 ) WON’T YOU HOLD MY HAND NOW King
17 ( 29 ) SPEND THE NIGHT The Cool Notes
18 ( 13 ) WIDE BOY Nik Kershaw
19 ( 19 ) COVER ME Bruce Springsteen
20 ( 12 ) KISS ME Stephen ‘Tintin’ Duffy



21 ( 20 ) THE HEAT IS ON Glen Frey
22 ( 18 ) EASY LOVER Philip Bailey and Phil Collins
23 ( 23 ) MATERIAL GIRL Madonna
24 ( 33 ) BE NEAR ME ABC
25 ( 30 ) SOMEBODY Bryan Adams
26 ( 27 ) GRIMLY FIENDISH The Damned
27 ( 34 ) SOME LIKE IT HOT The Power Station
28 ( 60 ) SUNSET GRILL Don Henley
29 ( 50 ) CLOUDS ACROSS THE MOON The Rah Band
30 ( 35 ) FREE YOURSELF The Untouchables



31 ( 21 ) LET’S GO CRAZY/ TAKE ME WITH U Prince
32 ( 45 ) ONE MORE NIGHT Phil Collins
33 ( 25 ) YOU SPIN ME ROUND (LIKE A RECORD) Dead Or Alive
34 ( 39 ) MUSIC AND YOU Sal Solo
35 ( 31 ) EVERY TIME YOU GO AWAY Paul Young
36 ( 41 ) CAN’T FIGHT THIS FEELING REO Speedwagon
37 ( 38 ) GROOVIN’ War
38 ( 49 ) LOOK MAMA Howard Jones
39 ( 22 ) GUN LAW The Kane Gang
40 ( 56 ) DON’T YOU (FORGET ABOUT ME) Simple Minds



41 ( 32 ) MYZSTERIOUS MIZSTER JONES Slade
42 ( 28 ) DO WHAT YOU DO Jermaine Jackson
43 ( 26 ) MORE THAN I CAN BEAR Matt Bianco
44 ( 62 ) THAT WAS YESTERDAY Foreigner
45 ( 74 ) LOVER COME BACK TO ME Dead Or Alive
46 ( 37 ) LEGS ZZ Top
47 ( 40 ) SHAFT Eddy And The Soul Band
48 ( 36 ) BREAKING UP MY HEART Shakin’ Stevens
49 ( 52 ) GIMME GIMME GIMME Narada and Patti Austin
50 ( 54 ) LET HER GO Strawberry Switchblade

51 ( 42 ) THAT OLE DEVIL CALLED LOVE Alison Moyet
52 ( 59 ) WOULD I LIE TO YOU Eurythmics
53 ( 53 ) GOING DOWN THE LIVERPOOL The Bangles
54 ( 55 ) FLOWER DUET FROM LAKME Mady Mesple and Danielle Millet
55 ( 51 ) IT’S...IT’S...THE SWEET MIX The Sweet
56 ( 72 ) DON’T COME AROUND HERE NO MORE Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers
57 ( 43 ) THE BOYS OF SUMMER Don Henley
58 ( 67 ) LET’S GO TOGETHER Change
59 ( 65 ) MOMENTS IN LOVE The Art Of Noise
60 ( NEW ) THE GLAMOROUS LIFE Sheila E

61 ( 47 ) PIE JESU Sarah Brightman and Paul Miles-Kingston
62 ( NEW ) HEARTLINE Robin George
63 ( 68 ) STAINSBY GIRLS Chris Rea
64 ( 48 ) DANCING IN THE DARK Big Daddy
65 ( 75 ) SHAKESPEARE’S SISTER The Smiths
66 ( 44 ) MR. TELEPHONE MAN New Edition
67 ( NEW ) BABY U LEFT ME (IN THE COLD) Marilyn
68 ( NEW ) RHYTHM OF THE NIGHT DeBarge
69 ( 46 ) THE BELLE OF ST. MARK Sheila E
70 ( 69 ) THE POWER OF LOVE Frankie Goes To Hollywood

71 ( NEW ) DON’T FALL IN LOVE (I SAID) Toyah
72 ( 61 ) A NEW ENGLAND Kirsty MacColl
73 ( 70 ) SHOUT Tears For Fears
74 ( NEW ) LOVE COMES Gary Glitter
75 ( 73 ) SEX CRIME (1984) Eurythmics



TV 13th-19th Apr
1 Star Trek: Where No Man Has Gone Before
2 The Young Ones: Boring
3 Cheers
4 Star Trek: The Corbomite Manoever
5 Terrahawks: Stu Dapples episode
6 Dallas
7 Taxi
8 Top Of The Pops
9 The Cosby Show
10 The Phil Silvers Show

Grandma was down for a week with me, but didn’t look at all well and spent weekdays on her own while I was at work, all of which worried me. In the van there was a new daily B.O. problem to put up with (not me) which got very wearying eventually. Now reading Douglas Adams’ Life The Universe And Everything. I wrote a computer program designed to input my pop chart position data and automatically generate “sales”. Never did get round to perfecting it as a quick fix, it was more of a glorified calculator. Still, writing simple programs, hey!

Posted by: popchartfreak 29th May 2015, 06:37 PM

23rd April 1985

The unthinkable - Tears For Fears knocked off after only 2 weeks on top, but at least it’s teen faves T.Rex that do it, with a mix of their great EMI singles, Megarex, giving them a 6th chart-topper. After 3 weeks at 3, Frankie get frustratingly close to a 4th number one, but peak no higher than 2, I’m afraid. Pat Benatar battles up to 4, and The Fabs are back with another 20th anniversary oldie, Ticket To Ride in at 6, and the jangly indiepop template was firmly laid down here. The Smiths were the cool band of the day, but they had roots in The Beatles, among others. The Rah Band get their first top 20 entry since The Crunch in 1977, and Diana Ross re-enters with her tribute ballad, Missing You, hitting the top 20 for the first time, and her biggest single in a few years.

Into the 40 go The Bangles down to Liverpool, while the writer enters herself at 50, the still-fab still-played Walking On Sunshine from Katrina And The Waves. Dead Or Alive are into the 40, replacing themselves, and Eurythmics, Art Of Noise and DeBarge join them in the big 40. At 48, Bronski Beat and Marc Almond join forces on a cover of I Feel Love, only 3 years since it was last a hit for Donna Summer. It was a big UK hit, and interesting having two male diva voices, but, yeah, not the game-changing Giorgio Moroder-produced original for me. Talking of male divas, Freddie Mercury gets a second solo hit at 58, I Was Born To Love You being a bit jollier than Love Kills, Chaka Khan is also back, eye to eye with Freddie, Ashford And Simpson have given birth to a new entry at 75, and best of all the synth pop delight of the under-rated Imagination from Belouis Some, in at 68.





1 ( 2 ) MEGAREX 1 T.Rex
2 ( 3 ) WELCOME TO THE PLEASURE DOME Frankie Goes To Hollywood
3 ( 1 ) EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD Tears For Fears
4 ( 7 ) LOVE IS A BATTLEFIELD Pat Benatar
5 ( 4 ) CRY Godley And Creme
6 ( NEW ) TICKET TO RIDE The Beatles
7 ( 5 ) COULD IT BE I’M FALLING IN LOVE David Grant and Jaki Graham
8 ( 8 ) MOVE CLOSER Phyllis Nelson
9 ( 6 ) LIFE IN A NORTHERN TOWN Dream Academy
10 ( 9 ) WE ARE THE WORLD USA For Africa



11 ( 13 ) BLACK MAN RAY China Crisis
12 ( 17 ) SPEND THE NIGHT The Cool Notes
13 ( 10 ) NOW THAT WE’VE FOUND LOVE Third World
14 ( 29 ) CLOUDS ACROSS THE MOON The Rah Band
15 ( 30 ) FREE YOURSELF The Untouchables
16 ( 11 ) THE LAST KISS David Cassidy
17 ( 40 ) DON’T YOU (FORGET ABOUT ME) Simple Minds
18 ( 38 ) LOOK MAMA Howard Jones
19 ( 14 ) SUGAR WALLS Sheena Easton
20 ( RE ) MISSING YOU Diana Ross

21 ( 12 ) HANGING ON A STRING Loose Ends
22 ( 53 ) GOING DOWN THE LIVERPOOL The Bangles
23 ( 24 ) BE NEAR ME ABC
24 ( 15 ) WE CLOSE OUR EYES Go West
25 ( 45 ) LOVER COME BACK TO ME Dead Or Alive
26 ( 28 ) SUNSET GRILL Don Henley
27 ( 16 ) WON’T YOU HOLD MY HAND NOW King
28 ( 18 ) WIDE BOY Nik Kershaw
29 ( 20 ) KISS ME Stephen ‘Tintin’ Duffy
30 ( 37 ) GROOVIN’ War

31 ( 19 ) COVER ME Bruce Springsteen
32 ( 32 ) ONE MORE NIGHT Phil Collins
33 ( 68 ) RYTHYM OF THE NIGHT DeBarge
34 ( 36 ) CAN’T FIGHT THIS FEELING REO Speedwagon
35 ( 25 ) SOMEBODY Bryan Adams
36 ( 52 ) WOULD I LIE TO YOU Eurythmics
37 ( 23 ) MATERIAL GIRL Madonna
38 ( 21 ) THE HEAT IS ON Glen Frey
39 ( 44 ) THAT WAS YESTERDAY Foreigner
40 ( 59 ) MOMENTS IN LOVE The Art Of Noise

41 ( 31 ) LET’S GO CRAZY/ TAKE ME WITH U Prince
42 ( 56 ) DON’T COME AROUND HERE NO MORE Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers
43 ( 33 ) YOU SPIN ME ROUND (LIKE A RECORD) Dead Or Alive
44 ( 49 ) GIMME GIMME GIMME Narada and Patti Austin
45 ( 63 ) STAINSBY GIRLS Chris Rea
46 ( 22 ) EASY LOVER Philip Bailey and Phil Collins
47 ( 60 ) THE GLAMOROUS LIFE Sheila E
48 ( NEW ) I FEEL LOVE Bronski Beat and Marc Almond
49 ( 35 ) EVERY TIME YOU GO AWAY Paul Young
50 ( NEW ) WALKING ON SUNSHINE Katrina And The Waves



51 ( 27 ) SOME LIKE IT HOT The Power Station
52 ( 26 ) GRIMLY FIENDISH The Damned
53 ( 58 ) LET’S GO TOGETHER Change
54 ( 46 ) LEGS ZZ Top
55 ( 34 ) MUSIC AND YOU Sal Solo
56 ( 39 ) GUN LAW The Kane Gang
57 ( 62 ) HEARTLINE Robin George
58 ( NEW ) I WAS BORN TO LOVE YOU Freddie Mercury
59 ( 47 ) SHAFT Eddy And The Soul Band
60 ( 55 ) IT’S...IT’S...THE SWEET MIX The Sweet

61 ( NEW ) EYE TO EYE Chaka Khan
62 ( 74 ) LOVE COMES Gary Glitter
63 ( 43 ) MORE THAN I CAN BEAR Matt Bianco
64 ( 42 ) DO WHAT YOU DO Jermaine Jackson
65 ( 41 ) MYZSTERIOUS MIZSTER JONES Slade
66 ( 48 ) BREAKING UP MY HEART Shakin’ Stevens
67 ( 67 ) BABY U LEFT ME (IN THE COLD) Marilyn
68 ( NEW ) IMAGINATION Belouis Some
69 ( 57 ) THE BOYS OF SUMMER Don Henley
70 ( 70 ) THE POWER OF LOVE Frankie Goes To Hollywood

71 ( 71 ) DON’T FALL IN LOVE (I SAID) Toyah
72 ( 72 ) A NEW ENGLAND Kirsty MacColl
73 ( 61 ) PIE JESU Sarah Brightman and Paul Miles-Kingston
74 ( 50 ) LET HER GO Strawberry Switchblade
75 ( NEW ) BABIES Ashford And Simpson




TV 20th-26th Apr
1 The Young Ones: Interesting
2 Cheers
3 Hill Street Blues
4 The Phil Silvers Show
5 Lou Grant
6 Top Of The Pops
7 Newhart
8 The Bill Cosby Show
9 Dallas
10 Television



At work, my mate Bob had an interview for another Council, which I knew he’d get and wasn’t looking forward to him leaving, as he very much was the one I got on with - the boss came over from Dorchester to try and persuade him to stay (Bob was applying for a temp post which had more opportunities, so no chance of that). I bemoaned my shit wages (which they were). On Saturday, ailing grandma decided she wanted to go home on Sunday to Liverpool, but still obviously flushed and upset when I picked her up from the NAAFI, as she hated goodbyes even more than I do, I think. It was a 6-hour trip there, obviously not feeling good but not complaining (which worried me even more), and when I left her at home with a neighbour friend, setting off she hinted that she’d like to move down to live with me which put me on the spot and I made excuses about her having no friends (like me) in Poole. You can’t change the past, but it would have been good for her to live with her family and she would certainly have lived longer. I still feel guilty.

Posted by: popchartfreak 30th May 2015, 07:12 PM

30th April 1985

Back up to the top of the chart, quite rightly, for a 3rd week at 1, Everybody Still Wants To Rule The World. Brilliant. Pat Benatar has to make do with the runners-up Battlefield medal, sadly, cos it’s certainly good enough to be on top, as The Beatles Ticket To Ride at 3. Aside from the time in 1976 when the Beatles entire singles back catalogue reissues had to have their own chart (there would have been no room for any new stuff, so it was just a practical solution) that’s the highest-placed Beatles oldie to date.

Lots of new entries, headed by a synthpop American classic, finally catching up with the UK music scene, at 18 it’s Animotion and the fabulous Obsession. One-hit wonders, pretty much, but an actual pop wonder. Kim Wilde returns for the 4th year of continuous chart entries, as she has a Rage To Love at 27. Still good, too. Latin Quarter had a gentle cool reggae rock style, and a great social commentary single in Radio Africa in at 32. It eventually made the UK singles chart in 1986, but I liked it right off and was annoyed it flopped. 46, Divine’s back, camp as ever, but this time destroying a Four Seasons classic. It’s a much better record than You Think You’re A Man, cos the song is a great song, and western pop video theme didn’t hurt, Divine as a right madam. Great fun. Scritti Politti also return, at 60, with a slow reggae dub groove, The Word Girl is cool pop, but then Green Gartside was always cool. New at 65, a debut for Steve Arrington and one of the great 80’s soul dance tracks that by now were incorporating the new synth sounds more than the traditional funk dance set up. Feel So Real is a terrific record. In at 70, Haywoode brings Roses into my chart, and another future UK 1986 hit that shamefully flopped, relatively, first time round.


1 ( 3 ) EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD Tears For Fears
2 ( 4 ) LOVE IS A BATTLEFIELD Pat Benatar
3 ( 6 ) TICKET TO RIDE The Beatles
4 ( 1 ) MEGAREX 1 T.Rex
5 ( 5 ) CRY Godley And Creme
6 ( 2 ) WELCOME TO THE PLEASURE DOME Frankie Goes To Hollywood
7 ( 7 ) COULD IT BE I’M FALLING IN LOVE David Grant and Jaki Graham
8 ( 14 ) CLOUDS ACROSS THE MOON The Rah Band
9 ( 11 ) BLACK MAN RAY China Crisis
10 ( 15 ) FREE YOURSELF The Untouchables

11 ( 9 ) LIFE IN A NORTHERN TOWN Dream Academy
12 ( 25 ) LOVER COME BACK TO ME Dead Or Alive
13 ( 17 ) DON’T YOU (FORGET ABOUT ME) Simple Minds
14 ( 18 ) LOOK MAMA Howard Jones
15 ( 22 ) GOING DOWN THE LIVERPOOL The Bangles
16 ( 8 ) MOVE CLOSER Phyllis Nelson
17 ( 10 ) WE ARE THE WORLD USA For Africa
18 ( NEW ) OBSESSION Animotion
19 ( 12 ) SPEND THE NIGHT The Cool Notes
20 ( 20 ) MISSING YOU Diana Ross

21 ( 13 ) NOW THAT WE’VE FOUND LOVE Third World
22 ( 26 ) SUNSET GRILL Don Henley
23 ( 36 ) WOULD I LIE TO YOU Eurythmics
24 ( 16 ) THE LAST KISS David Cassidy
25 ( 33 ) RYTHYM OF THE NIGHT DeBarge
26 ( 48 ) I FEEL LOVE Bronski Beat and Marc Almond
27 ( NEW ) RAGE TO LOVE Kim Wilde
28 ( 58 ) I WAS BORN TO LOVE YOU Freddie Mercury
29 ( 21 ) HANGING ON A STRING Loose Ends
30 ( 50 ) WALKING ON SUNSHINE Katrina And The Waves



31 ( 19 ) SUGAR WALLS Sheena Easton
32 ( NEW ) RADIO AFRICA Latin Quarter
33 ( 47 ) THE GLAMOROUS LIFE Sheila E
34 ( 23 ) BE NEAR ME ABC
35 ( 24 ) WE CLOSE OUR EYES Go West
36 ( 40 ) MOMENTS IN LOVE The Art Of Noise
37 ( 28 ) WIDE BOY Nik Kershaw
38 ( 39 ) THAT WAS YESTERDAY Foreigner
39 ( 45 ) STAINSBY GIRLS Chris Rea
40 ( 29 ) KISS ME Stephen ‘Tintin’ Duffy



41 ( 30 ) GROOVIN’ War
42 ( 27 ) WON’T YOU HOLD MY HAND NOW King
43 ( 41 ) LET’S GO CRAZY/ TAKE ME WITH U Prince
44 ( 61 ) EYE TO EYE Chaka Khan
45 ( 32 ) ONE MORE NIGHT Phil Collins
46 ( NEW ) WALK LIKE A MAN Divine
47 ( 42 ) DON’T COME AROUND HERE NO MORE Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers
48 ( 37 ) MATERIAL GIRL Madonna
49 ( 43 ) YOU SPIN ME ROUND (LIKE A RECORD) Dead Or Alive
50 ( 62 ) LOVE COMES Gary Glitter

51 ( 31 ) COVER ME Bruce Springsteen
52 ( 35 ) SOMEBODY Bryan Adams
53 ( 71 ) DON’T FALL IN LOVE (I SAID) Toyah
54 ( 38 ) THE HEAT IS ON Glen Frey
55 ( 57 ) HEARTLINE Robin George
56 ( 49 ) EVERY TIME YOU GO AWAY Paul Young
57 ( NEW ) SO FAR AWAY Dire Straits
58 ( 34 ) CAN’T FIGHT THIS FEELING REO Speedwagon
59 ( 54 ) LEGS ZZ Top
60 ( NEW ) THE WORD GIRL Scritti Politti



61 ( 68 ) IMAGINATION Belouis Some
62 ( 60 ) IT’S...IT’S...THE SWEET MIX The Sweet
63 ( 56 ) GUN LAW The Kane Gang
64 ( 59 ) SHAFT Eddy And The Soul Band
65 ( NEW ) FEEL SO REAL Steve Arrington
66 ( NEW ) LUCKY IN LOVE Mick Jagger
67 ( 52 ) GRIMLY FIENDISH The Damned
68 ( 46 ) EASY LOVER Philip Bailey and Phil Collins
69 ( NEW ) PUT MY ARMS AROUND YOU Kevin iamspamspamamibr />70 ( NEW ) ROSES Haywoode



71 ( 70 ) THE POWER OF LOVE Frankie Goes To Hollywood
72 ( 69 ) THE BOYS OF SUMMER Don Henley
73 ( 44 ) GIMME GIMME GIMME Narada and Patti Austin
74 ( NEW ) BABY COME AND GET IT The Pointer Sisters
75 ( NEW ) I WANT YOUR LOVIN’ Curtis Hairston


TV 27th Apr-May 3rd
1 The Young Ones: Flood
2 Cheers
3 Hill Street Blues
4 The Phil Silvers Show
5 Lou Grant
6 Bob Monkhouse Meets Joan Rivers
7 Top Of The Pops
8 The Max Headroom Show
9 Taxi
10 Newhart

On TV, Bob Monkhouse met Joan Rivers and Joan was now into the big comedy league, and Bob was going through a career re-evaluation, from trashy gameshow host, to the comic’s comic, a gag-writer supreme. Max Headroom became the first computer animated TV star (sort of), hosting a new pop music show, a place to see loads of new music videos, hooray! He was also on his way to getting a chart hit before long.

At work, Bob handed his notice in, which was gutting, and a kick up the ass reminder that I needed to start applying for more jobs too. So I did, lab assistant in a school, computer programmer trainee - damn, neither one came in trumps! On the plus side, I finally got all my records listed in an A to Z file as my collection was getting to be quite a size and I couldn’t always recall what records I had or didn’t have tucked away on compilation albums. 2,282 records in my collection. Got an invite to Paul and Sheila’s wedding in Rotherham, the last of my college friends to take the plunge, which was great news. I also wrote a song on my music computer this week. It was called Old Song On The Radio. Yes, well, maybe I should have sent it to Eurovision!

Posted by: popchartfreak 30th June 2015, 11:06 AM

7th May 1985

Another week on top for Tears For Fears, so perfect it’s held off the brilliant Ticket To Ride 20th anniversary reissue from The Beatles! Highest new entry is 19, or rather at 4 it’s 19 - Paul Hardcastle’s great Vietnam footage anti-war dance mash-up with dialogue, which came out of nowhere and was an instant sensation, sounding like something new and exciting at the time. Up 60 places, Steve Arrington really shows off those baggy robes and rockets to 5 with the terrific dance track Feel So Real. Also up, to 6, Animotion are getting even more of an obsession. Dead Or Alive also grab another top 10 hit, Lover Come Back To Me.


David Cassidy enters at 30, nestling behind his number one, with the similarly-moody Romance (Let Your Heart Go), while good climbs into the 40 for Toyah, Scritti Politti, Haywoode and Divine, with U2 being all sweeping strings drama as the fab title track to The Unforgettable Fire enters at 39. New Edition are back with Cool It Now, The Power Station cover T.Rex, and Jimmy Nail, actor big on UK TV at the time on TV dramas, has a go at covering Rose Royce’s classic 1978 Love Don’t Live Here Anymore, and it’s not bad despite singing wrong lyrics. It’s Eurovision Song Contest time, and Vikki represents the UK, in at 65. She didn’t win. Propaganda return with a track nearly as good as Dr. Mabuse, Duel, in at 66, ZTT were still cool as labels go. At 70, Go West follow-up a big hit with a single I preferred, Call Me is pretty good. Imagination are also back at 75, Found My Girl, and John Fogerty, he of 1960’s greats Creedence Clearwater Revival returns with Rock And Roll Girls, giving him a sweet 16 years of chart entries since Proud Mary.

1 ( 1 ) EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD Tears For Fears
2 ( 3 ) TICKET TO RIDE The Beatles
3 ( 4 ) MEGAREX T.Rex
4 ( NEW ) “19” Paul Hardcastle
5 ( 65 ) FEEL SO REAL Steve Arrington
6 ( 18 ) OBSESSION Animotion
7 ( 5 ) CRY Godley And Creme
8 ( 2 ) LOVE IS A BATTLEFIELD Pat Benatar
9 ( 6 ) WELCOME TO THE PLEASURE DOME Frankie Goes To Hollywood
10 ( 12 ) LOVER COME BACK TO ME Dead Or Alive



11 ( 8 ) CLOUDS ACROSS THE MOON The Rah Band
12 ( 7 ) COULD IT BE I’M FALLING IN LOVE David Grant and Jaki Graham
13 ( 13 ) DON’T YOU (FORGET ABOUT ME) Simple Minds
14 ( 14 ) LOOK MAMA Howard Jones
15 ( 10 ) FREE YOURSELF The Untouchables
16 ( 9 ) BLACK MAN RAY China Crisis
17 ( 22 ) SUNSET GRILL Don Henley
18 ( 25 ) RYTHYM OF THE NIGHT DeBarge
19 ( 23 ) WOULD I LIE TO YOU Eurythmics
20 ( 26 ) I FEEL LOVE Bronski Beat and Marc Almond

21 ( 16 ) MOVE CLOSER Phyllis Nelson
22 ( 53 ) DON’T FALL IN LOVE (I SAID) Toyah
23 ( 11 ) LIFE IN A NORTHERN TOWN Dream Academy
24 ( 27 ) RAGE TO LOVE Kim Wilde
25 ( 15 ) GOING DOWN THE LIVERPOOL The Bangles
26 ( 30 ) WALKING ON SUNSHINE Katrina And The Waves
27 ( 28 ) I WAS BORN TO LOVE YOU Freddie Mercury
28 ( 21 ) NOW THAT WE’VE FOUND LOVE Third World
29 ( 24 ) THE LAST KISS David Cassidy
30 ( NEW ) ROMANCE (LET YOUR HEART GO) David Cassidy



31 ( 32 ) RADIO AFRICA Latin Quarter
32 ( 60 ) THE WORD GIRL Scritti Politti
33 ( 19 ) SPEND THE NIGHT The Cool Notes
34 ( 75 ) I WANT YOUR LOVIN’ Curtis Hairston
35 ( 20 ) MISSING YOU Diana Ross
36 ( 39 ) STAINSBY GIRLS Chris Rea
37 ( 46 ) WALK LIKE A MAN Divine
38 ( 17 ) WE ARE THE WORLD USA For Africa
39 ( NEW ) THE UNFORGETTABLE FIRE U2
40 ( 70 ) ROSES Haywoode



41 ( 44 ) EYE TO EYE Chaka Khan
42 ( 33 ) THE GLAMOROUS LIFE Sheila E
43 ( 61 ) IMAGINATION Belouis Some
44 ( 29 ) HANGING ON A STRING Loose Ends
45 ( 57 ) SO FAR AWAY Dire Straits
46 ( 43 ) LET’S GO CRAZY/ TAKE ME WITH U Prince
47 ( 31 ) SUGAR WALLS Sheena Easton
48 ( 40 ) KISS ME Stephen ‘Tintin’ Duffy
49 ( 38 ) THAT WAS YESTERDAY Foreigner
50 ( 37 ) WIDE BOY Nik Kershaw

51 ( 34 ) BE NEAR ME ABC
52 ( 49 ) YOU SPIN ME ROUND (LIKE A RECORD) Dead Or Alive
53 ( 55 ) HEARTLINE Robin George
54 ( 35 ) WE CLOSE OUR EYES Go West
55 ( 66 ) LUCKY IN LOVE Mick Jagger
56 ( 36 ) MOMENTS IN LOVE The Art Of Noise
57 ( NEW ) COOL IT NOW New Edition
58 ( 45 ) ONE MORE NIGHT Phil Collins
59 ( NEW ) GET IT ON The Power Station
60 ( NEW ) LOVE DON’T LIVE HERE ANYMORE Jimmy Nail

61 ( 42 ) WON’T YOU HOLD MY HAND NOW King
62 ( 52 ) SOMEBODY Bryan Adams
63 ( 59 ) LEGS ZZ Top
64 ( 62 ) IT’S...IT’S...THE SWEET MIX The Sweet
65 ( NEW ) LOVE IS Vikki
66 ( NEW ) DUEL Propaganda
67 ( 64 ) SHAFT Eddy And The Soul Band
68 ( 63 ) GUN LAW The Kane Gang
69 ( 48 ) MATERIAL GIRL Madonna
70 ( NEW ) CALL ME Go West



71 ( 71 ) THE POWER OF LOVE Frankie Goes To Hollywood
72 ( NEW ) ROCK AND ROLL GIRLS John Fogerty
73 ( NEW ) NO REST New Model Army
74 ( 50 ) LOVE COMES Gary Glitter
75 ( NEW ) FOUND MY GIRL Imagination


TV 4th-10th May
1 The Main Event: film
2 The Poseidon Adventure: film
3 Cheers
4 Top Of The Pops
5 The Phil Silvers Show
6 Hill Street Blues
7 Lou Grant
8 Eurovision Song Contest
9 The Bill Cosby Show
10 Dallas

In My Life, as a Beatle once said, I wrote half a song and some naff lyrics, twiddling on my synth-computer. At work, Bob was hyped up as he neared the end of the surveying road, and his proper job approached. I was still having so many laughs with Bob, not everyone gets my sense of humour, but when they do it’s fab! The closer it got the more depressed about it I became, and quite choked on his last day. Things were just not the same after he finished even if I was getting lined up to take over team leader job. New lad Jason started work for the other team, Heavy Metal fan, affable and pleasant - and 4 years later he, Bob and I all went to New York and the North-East USA, and I went to his wedding in the 90‘s, so it all turned out OK. Yay! On TV top TV show was Cheers, and top non-sit-com was Top Of The Pops.


Eurovision 1985:

Norway won with a lot of sympathy votes for all the nul points, I think, cos I didn’t rate it that high: Let It Swing (Bobbysocks). My faves: 1. West Germany 2. UK 3. Italy (Tyrone Power’s daughter) 4. Luxembourg (UK 60’s star Malcolm Roberts and 1974’s Irene Shears) 5. Norway/Sweden/Switzerland. Pretty close to the results actually, just shuffled a bit round and Israel and Ireland added in instead of Switzerland and Luxembourg.

Posted by: popchartfreak 1st July 2015, 02:21 PM

14th May 1985

Paul Hardcastle bags his first and last chart-topper as the still rather good 19 denies the equally still good Feel So Real the top slot. Poor Steve Arrington! Top 10 spaces are newly occupied by Toyah, 2 years since her last one Rebel Run and her 5th in 4 years; Bronski Beat and Marc Almond covering I Feel Love and making it sound much more dated than the original genius Giorgio Moroder game-changer. Not the finest moment for either act, and Bronski Beat split soon after. Simple Minds also add to their run of top 10’s with the great Don’t You Forget About Me, and Diana Ross reverses direction yet again and hits a new peak of 11.

Bryan Ferry is at 20 with his first solo single since Roxy Music ended for the second and final time (recording-wise), though you’d be hard-pressed to tell the difference sound-wise as it was business as usual, Slave To Love being latter-Roxy classy laid-back vibes, though not exactly exciting. Go West have a great leap into the 40, Call Me has a great very 80’s video and some very 80’s movements going on that would bring very odd looks these days!

New entries: Style Council, Walls Came Tumbling Down, one of their better singles at 42; Loose Ends have that Magic Touch - well enough to get a second single entry at 45; Duran Duran do a one-off single for the James Bond theme, View To A Kill, and produce a video and song that’s actually better then the film, one of their best 80’s tracks and typically Bond-ian at 47; a new brother and sister act from the UK start their own brand of UK sweet soul-dance at 50, Five Star, All Fall Down. Popular with the kiddies for a couple of years, and occasionally the odd-single with older folk; Stephen Duffy also gets a quick follow-up at 58, which must have been the icing on the cake for him - at least until he started working with Robbie Williams 2 decades later; Depeche Mode try to shake the disease at 62, and try to shake a career as a singles band into the bargain as they start to morph into a sombre influential albums act; Marvin Gaye has a posthumous single, Strawberry Switchblade pop in with a 3rd single, and Philip Bailey is walking on the Chinese Wall.




1 ( 4 ) “19” Paul Hardcastle
2 ( 5 ) FEEL SO REAL Steve Arrington
3 ( 1 ) EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD Tears For Fears
4 ( 6 ) OBSESSION Animotion
5 ( 3 ) MEGAREX T.Rex
6 ( 7 ) CRY Godley And Creme
7 ( 15 ) FREE YOURSELF The Untouchables
8 ( 20 ) I FEEL LOVE Bronski Beat and Marc Almond
9 ( 22 ) DON’T FALL IN LOVE (I SAID) Toyah
10 ( 13 ) DON’T YOU (FORGET ABOUT ME) Simple Minds

11 ( 35 ) MISSING YOU Diana Ross
12 ( 2 ) TICKET TO RIDE The Beatles
13 ( 18 ) RYTHYM OF THE NIGHT DeBarge
14 ( 14 ) LOOK MAMA Howard Jones
15 ( 19 ) WOULD I LIE TO YOU Eurythmics
16 ( 30 ) ROMANCE (LET YOUR HEART GO) David Cassidy
17 ( 17 ) SUNSET GRILL Don Henley
18 ( 12 ) COULD IT BE I’M FALLING IN LOVE David Grant and Jaki Graham
19 ( 9 ) WELCOME TO THE PLEASURE DOME Frankie Goes To Hollywood
20 ( NEW ) SLAVE TO LOVE Bryan Ferry



21 ( 11 ) CLOUDS ACROSS THE MOON The Rah Band
22 ( 37 ) WALK LIKE A MAN Divine
23 ( 8 ) LOVE IS A BATTLEFIELD Pat Benatar
24 ( 24 ) RAGE TO LOVE Kim Wilde
25 ( 34 ) I WANT YOUR LOVIN’ Curtis Hairston
26 ( 10 ) LOVER COME BACK TO ME Dead Or Alive
27 ( 27 ) I WAS BORN TO LOVE YOU Freddie Mercury
28 ( 60 ) LOVE DON’T LIVE HERE ANYMORE Jimmy Nail
29 ( 32 ) THE WORD GIRL Scritti Politti
30 ( 39 ) THE UNFORGETTABLE FIRE U2

31 ( 26 ) WALKING ON SUNSHINE Katrina And The Waves
32 ( 16 ) BLACK MAN RAY China Crisis
33 ( 43 ) IMAGINATION Belouis Some
34 ( 70 ) CALL ME Go West
35 ( 21 ) MOVE CLOSER Phyllis Nelson
36 ( 23 ) LIFE IN A NORTHERN TOWN Dream Academy
37 ( 29 ) THE LAST KISS David Cassidy
38 ( 41 ) EYE TO EYE Chaka Khan
39 ( 31 ) RADIO AFRICA Latin Quarter
40 ( 40 ) ROSES Haywoode



41 ( 36 ) STAINSBY GIRLS Chris Rea
42 ( NEW ) WALLS COME TUMBLING DOWN The Style Council
43 ( 28 ) NOW THAT WE’VE FOUND LOVE Third World
44 ( 53 ) HEARTLINE Robin George
45 ( NEW ) MAGIC TOUCH Loose Ends
46 ( 25 ) GOING DOWN THE LIVERPOOL The Bangles
47 ( NEW ) VIEW TO A KILL Duran Duran
48 ( 59 ) GET IT ON The Power Station
49 ( 33 ) SPEND THE NIGHT The Cool Notes
50 ( NEW ) ALL FALL DOWN Five Star



51 ( 38 ) WE ARE THE WORLD USA For Africa
52 ( 46 ) LET’S GO CRAZY/ TAKE ME WITH U Prince
53 ( 44 ) HANGING ON A STRING Loose Ends
54 ( 55 ) LUCKY IN LOVE Mick Jagger
55 ( 52 ) YOU SPIN ME ROUND (LIKE A RECORD) Dead Or Alive
56 ( 45 ) SO FAR AWAY Dire Straits
57 ( 57 ) COOL IT NOW New Edition
58 ( NEW ) ICING ON THE CAKE Stephen ‘Tintin’ Duffy
59 ( 42 ) THE GLAMOROUS LIFE Sheila E
60 ( NEW ) SHAKE THE DISEASE Depeche Mode

61 ( 47 ) SUGAR WALLS Sheena Easton
62 ( NEW ) THE CHINESE WALL Philip Bailey
63 ( 51 ) BE NEAR ME ABC
64 ( 48 ) KISS ME Stephen ‘Tintin’ Duffy
65 ( 50 ) WIDE BOY Nik Kershaw
66 ( 64 ) IT’S...IT’S...THE SWEET MIX The Sweet
67 ( 66 ) DUEL Propaganda
68 ( 54 ) WE CLOSE OUR EYES Go West
69 ( 63 ) LEGS ZZ Top
70 ( NEW ) WHO KNOWS WHAT LOVE IS Strawberry Switchblade

71 ( 71 ) THE POWER OF LOVE Frankie Goes To Hollywood
72 ( 58 ) ONE MORE NIGHT Phil Collins
73 ( 65 ) LOVE IS Vikki
74 ( 67 ) SHAFT Eddy And The Soul Band
75 ( NEW ) SANCTIFIED LADY Marvin Gaye



TV 11th-17th MAY
1 The Young Ones: Bambi
2 Star Trek: Mudd’s Women
3 Hill Street Blues
4 Cheers
5 Lou Grant
6 Top Of The Pops
7 The Bill Cosby Show
8 Dallas
9 The Max Headroom Show
10 Taxi


Got my moped at last. No more buses to work, thankfully! On the news the Bradford football ground fire disaster scenes were horrific, very very upsetting seeing people on fire, mum burst into tears, and I was reminded again of Dale’s tragic death. Coming back from Bulbarrow, via Hurn Airport, at work one day, the van got stuck in traffic due to an airplane crash near Ringwood, 2 police pilots killed. I took mum to Bulbarrow at the weekend to see the carpets of bluebells covering the woodland floor near the top of the hill, the scent was just gorgeous - there aren’t many things that smell better than thousands of bluebells en masse. Heaven! Less heavenly were the squealing pigs at the slaughterhouse the work van passed by, which reminded me of an early childhood upset when we lived in rural Norfolk nearby a slaughterhouse so got to hear them whenever we passed. I swore to turn vegetarian one day. Took me many years, but I did it in the early 90’s, better late than never!

Posted by: popchartfreak 1st July 2015, 07:54 PM

21st May 1985

2 weeks for 19, another one held at 2, this time it’s Animotion and their fab Obsession, which was my obsession for a time. Toyah goes top 5, and Bryan Ferry gets a top 10 with Slave To Love for a nice dozen years of ‘em. Eurythmics, meanwhile, have a mere 2 years, albeit quite a massive run of top 10 singles, though if you include The Tourists (and I do) it’s 6 years-worth. David Cassidy gets a second top 10 in a row with some Romance, which fits nicely in with his 14 years-old I Think I Love You chart-topper with The Partridge Family. Divine pouts in his dress at some cowboys in the video, and grabs a number 10 Hi Energy (as they called it then) dance track with The Four Seasons classic. I bet Frankie Valli didn’t imagine that one coming along....

Belouis Some uses his Imagination and enters the 20, as Go West call me about them doing the same, and let’s not forget U2’s fire burning at 18, and Kim Wilde raging at 19 - it had taken her so long to climb there she must have been livid. The Style Council knock down the walls of the top 40, and Duran Duran are just behind at 27 thanks to James Bond. Highest new entry is an oldie from 1978, A Taste Of Honey are boogie and oogie and oogie-ing back in at 32, I presume in remixed form as was the forthcoming obsession of the late 80’s. Nothing punters enjoyed more than having a 70’s dance classic messed about with, some synthy beeps and renta-rhythm and toots added, and hey presto an excuse for it to sound all fresh and current. For about 5 years, at which point is began to sound horribly dated and opportunistic, and the original version classy.

Other top 40 climbers: Depeche Mode, Mick Jagger, Loose Ends, Five Star, Philip Bailey and The Power Station all bang a gong, getting it on. New entries outside the 40 include, REO Speedwagon having one lonely night with yet another MOR rock ballad at 42, US soap actor, Australian Rick Springfield returning with his UK breakthrough hit, Celebrate Youth. I wish that I had Jessie’s Girl in my charts instead though. At 47, it’s an Elvis Costello oldie getting a single release, Green Shirt, while China Crisis are literally besides themselves to be at 48 and 49, with King In A Catholic Style. At 53 Gary Moore and Phil Lynott get together for the final time outside Thin Lizzy, a few short months before Phil’s unexpected death at a young age. Out In The Fields was a great single. Marillion also return with their best single, Kayleigh, at 57, and also not that long before Fish bailed out of the boat.

At 59, Prince keeps his run of hits going, fresh from his new album Around The World In A Day, full of 60’s psychedelic musical freshness, courtesy of Paisley Park. He, to coin an already used phrase, is also beside himself to be at 58 too with the last 2 tracks off Purple Rain. He was nothing if not prolific and inventive. Dan Hartman is also back again, at 60, it being second nature to him by now, having 7 years of experience. At 62, Kool And The Gang cherish the moment they manage to grab an entry with a bland ballad, a huge hit but not their finest moment, while at 64, having a solo duo moment, Francis Rossi leaves the status quo for a tick, and has a modern romance. At least he’s not IN Modern Romance! At 67, Jermaine Jackson makes it 5 years of Dynamite solo hits, though I want him back with The Jackson 5 myself, but as he married the Motown boss’ daughter I guess he had no option when his brothers left Motown. At 70 it’s Skipworth and Turner. Google here I come! Ah, American dance hit. Watch Me Catch Fire by Big Heat was produced (and had vocals from) Elvis Costello, removed from the BBC playlist due to the Bradford football stadium fire disaster, and it’s not on youtube or itunes, so it will doubtless remain obscure forever more. At 74, old hero Roy Wood marks one of his occasional blink-before-you-miss-it singles chart for-old-times-sake entries, Under Fire. I assume it had no chance of being playlisted for the same reason. Finally, 75, Pennye Ford, Dangerous, another US dance hit.

1 ( 1 ) “19” Paul Hardcastle
2 ( 4 ) OBSESSION Animotion
3 ( 2 ) FEEL SO REAL Steve Arrington
4 ( 9 ) DON’T FALL IN LOVE (I SAID) Toyah
5 ( 3 ) EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD Tears For Fears
6 ( 7 ) FREE YOURSELF The Untouchables
7 ( 20 ) SLAVE TO LOVE Bryan Ferry
8 ( 15 ) WOULD I LIE TO YOU Eurythmics
9 ( 16 ) ROMANCE (LET YOUR HEART GO) David Cassidy
10 ( 22 ) WALK LIKE A MAN Divine



11 ( 6 ) CRY Godley And Creme
12 ( 13 ) RYTHYM OF THE NIGHT DeBarge
13 ( 5 ) MEGAREX T.Rex
14 ( 11 ) MISSING YOU Diana Ross
15 ( 33 ) IMAGINATION Belouis Some
16 ( 8 ) I FEEL LOVE Bronski Beat and Marc Almond
17 ( 34 ) CALL ME Go West
18 ( 30 ) THE UNFORGETTABLE FIRE U2
19 ( 24 ) RAGE TO LOVE Kim Wilde
20 ( 12 ) TICKET TO RIDE The Beatles



21 ( 29 ) THE WORD GIRL Scritti Politti
22 ( 10 ) DON’T YOU (FORGET ABOUT ME) Simple Minds
23 ( 28 ) LOVE DON’T LIVE HERE ANYMORE Jimmy Nail
24 ( 25 ) I WANT YOUR LOVIN’ Curtis Hairston
25 ( 14 ) LOOK MAMA Howard Jones
26 ( 42 ) WALLS COME TUMBLING DOWN The Style Council
27 ( 47 ) VIEW TO A KILL Duran Duran
28 ( 19 ) WELCOME TO THE PLEASURE DOME Frankie Goes To Hollywood
29 ( 31 ) WALKING ON SUNSHINE Katrina And The Waves
30 ( 18 ) COULD IT BE I’M FALLING IN LOVE David Grant and Jaki Graham

31 ( 27 ) I WAS BORN TO LOVE YOU Freddie Mercury
32 ( NEW ) BOOGIE OOGIE OOGIE A Taste Of Honey
33 ( 45 ) MAGIC TOUCH Loose Ends
34 ( 48 ) GET IT ON The Power Station
35 ( 50 ) ALL FALL DOWN Five Star
36 ( 40 ) ROSES Haywoode
37 ( 60 ) SHAKE THE DISEASE Depeche Mode
38 ( 21 ) CLOUDS ACROSS THE MOON The Rah Band
39 ( 62 ) THE CHINESE WALL Philip Bailey
40 ( 54 ) LUCKY IN LOVE Mick Jagger

41 ( 17 ) SUNSET GRILL Don Henley
42 ( 23 ) LOVE IS A BATTLEFIELD Pat Benatar
43 ( NEW ) ONE LONELY NIGHT REO Speedwagon
44 ( 37 ) THE LAST KISS David Cassidy
45 ( NEW ) CELEBRATE YOUTH Rick Springfield
46 ( 36 ) LIFE IN A NORTHERN TOWN Dream Academy
47 ( NEW ) GREEN SHIRT Elvis Costello
48 ( 32 ) BLACK MAN RAY China Crisis
49 ( NEW ) KING IN A CATHOLIC STYLE China Crisis
50 ( 43 ) NOW THAT WE’VE FOUND LOVE Third World



51 ( 26 ) LOVER COME BACK TO ME Dead Or Alive
52 ( 58 ) ICING ON THE CAKE Stephen ‘Tintin’ Duffy
53 ( NEW ) OUT IN THE FIELDS Gary Moore and Phil Lynott
54 ( 35 ) MOVE CLOSER Phyllis Nelson
55 ( 39 ) RADIO AFRICA Latin Quarter
56 ( 46 ) GOING DOWN THE LIVERPOOL The Bangles
57 ( NEW ) KAYLEIGH Marillion
58 ( 52 ) LET’S GO CRAZY/ TAKE ME WITH U Prince
59 ( NEW ) PAISLEY PARK Prince
60 ( NEW ) SECOND NATURE Dan Hartman



61 ( 55 ) YOU SPIN ME ROUND (LIKE A RECORD) Dead Or Alive
62 ( NEW ) CHERISH Kool And The Gang
63 ( 49 ) SPEND THE NIGHT The Cool Notes
64 ( NEW ) MODERN ROMANCE Rossi & Frost
65 ( 38 ) EYE TO EYE Chaka Khan
66 ( 53 ) HANGING ON A STRING Loose Ends
67 ( NEW ) DYNAMITE Jermaine Jackson
68 ( 66 ) IT’S...IT’S...THE SWEET MIX The Sweet
69 ( 41 ) STAINSBY GIRLS Chris Rea
70 ( NEW ) THINKING ABOUT YOUR LOVE Skipworth & Turner

71 ( NEW ) WATCH ME CATCH FIRE Big Heat
72 ( 75 ) SANCTIFIED LADY Marvin Gaye
73 ( 71 ) THE POWER OF LOVE Frankie Goes To Hollywood
74 ( NEW ) UNDER FIRE Roy Wood
75 ( NEW ) DANGEROUS Pennye Ford



TV 18th-24th May
1 Star Trek: The Enemy Within
2 Hill Street Blues
3 Cheers
4 The Phil Silvers Show
5 The Young Ones
6 Lou Grant
7 Top Of The Pops
8 Dallas
9 Newhart
10 The Bill Cosby Show




I had my first moped accident less than 2 weeks after getting it, sliding off as I turned on wet roads to the right, and the moped remained sliding to the left. Banged all my right side, went head over heels, tore a hole in my gloves, and was SO thankful I bought a very big helmet which cushioned my head, and that no car was coming the other way. I also felt an idiot afterwards after retrieving the revving bike and having to try and pick up all my money which had scattered everywhere, in between passing cars. My indicator light also smashed, which wasn’t helpful as I had to continue on to work for an achy day.

Posted by: popchartfreak 3rd July 2015, 09:49 AM

28th May 1985

3rd week on top for Paul Hardcastle as Toyah gets her biggest single at 3 and Belouis Some and Go West get their first top 10 hits. Scritti Politti have a third top 20 and Gary Moore and Phil Lynott a second, Out In The Fields rocketing up to 14 and beating quite a few Thin Lizzy singles peaks to boot. The Style Council, Jimmy Nail and Duran Duran also hit the 20.

Highest new entry is OMD, So In Love at 26, and one of their most melodic singles, such a great tune and a mystifyingly low UK chart peak, though they were very much on the up in the USA by this point. 5 years on since they had their first number one with Messages and yet to fail to make my charts. Into the 40 go Prince, Rick Springfield, REO Speedwagon and Stephen ‘Tin Tin’ Duffy, along with a new entry at 36 for Mai Tai, and a great dance track, History.

Lower down, Propaganda pop back in after a brief exit, 52 with Duel, Gary Numan does a live version of Are ‘Friends’ Electric, Ian Dury is hitting his rhythm stick again at 57, 7 years on, and Bryan Adams gets his 3rd hit with Heaven, a song that came back big-time as a dance cover almost 2 decades later, but the original live ballad version is still good at 66. There’s a brace of classic soul stars around the bottom of the chart, joining Marvin Gaye, as Edwin Starr enters at 68 with It Ain’t Fair for 15 years of chart entries, Bill Withers says Oh Yeah at 74 for 13 years-worth, and Billy Ocean is Suddenly in at 75 for 11 years in total since Scorched Earth debuted (the band was effectively Billy under another name). That leaves at 70 Alien-loving David Bowie’s 13 year-run of chart entries, bar a couple of forgettable singles, generally live versions. I’m not a fan of live versions of old songs for the most part, but quite happy with new ones - hello Bryan Adams again.


1 ( 1 ) “19” Paul Hardcastle
2 ( 2 ) OBSESSION Animotion
3 ( 4 ) DON’T FALL IN LOVE (I SAID) Toyah
4 ( 3 ) FEEL SO REAL Steve Arrington
5 ( 9 ) ROMANCE (LET YOUR HEART GO) David Cassidy
6 ( 15 ) IMAGINATION Belouis Some
7 ( 7 ) SLAVE TO LOVE Bryan Ferry
8 ( 5 ) EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD Tears For Fears
9 ( 17 ) CALL ME Go West
10 ( 6 ) FREE YOURSELF The Untouchables

11 ( 8 ) WOULD I LIE TO YOU Eurythmics
12 ( 21 ) THE WORD GIRL Scritti Politti
13 ( 10 ) WALK LIKE A MAN Divine
14 ( 53 ) OUT IN THE FIELDS Gary Moore and Phil Lynott
15 ( 23 ) LOVE DON’T LIVE HERE ANYMORE Jimmy Nail
16 ( 19 ) RAGE TO LOVE Kim Wilde
17 ( 11 ) CRY Godley And Creme
18 ( 26 ) WALLS COME TUMBLING DOWN The Style Council
19 ( 13 ) MEGAREX T.Rex
20 ( 27 ) VIEW TO A KILL Duran Duran



21 ( 12 ) RYTHYM OF THE NIGHT DeBarge
22 ( 37 ) SHAKE THE DISEASE Depeche Mode
23 ( 18 ) THE UNFORGETTABLE FIRE U2
24 ( 33 ) MAGIC TOUCH Loose Ends
25 ( 29 ) WALKING ON SUNSHINE Katrina And The Waves
26 ( NEW ) SO IN LOVE OMD
27 ( 14 ) MISSING YOU Diana Ross
28 ( 59 ) PAISLEY PARK Prince
29 ( 57 ) KAYLEIGH Marillion
30 ( 34 ) GET IT ON (BANG A GONG) The Power Station

31 ( 16 ) I FEEL LOVE Bronski Beat and Marc Almond
32 ( 32 ) BOOGIE OOGIE OOGIE A Taste Of Honey
33 ( 22 ) DON’T YOU (FORGET ABOUT ME) Simple Minds
34 ( 28 ) WELCOME TO THE PLEASURE DOME Frankie Goes To Hollywood
35 ( 39 ) THE CHINESE WALL Philip Bailey
36 ( NEW ) HISTORY Mai Tai
37 ( 20 ) TICKET TO RIDE The Beatles
38 ( 45 ) CELEBRATE YOUTH Rick Springfield
39 ( 43 ) ONE LONELY NIGHT REO Speedwagon
40 ( 52 ) ICING ON THE CAKE Stephen ‘Tintin’ Duffy



41 ( 70 ) THINKING ABOUT YOUR LOVE Skipworth & Turner
42 ( 31 ) I WAS BORN TO LOVE YOU Freddie Mercury
43 ( 30 ) COULD IT BE I’M FALLING IN LOVE David Grant and Jaki Graham
44 ( 25 ) LOOK MAMA Howard Jones
45 ( 24 ) I WANT YOUR LOVIN’ Curtis Hairston
46 ( 44 ) THE LAST KISS David Cassidy
47 ( 35 ) ALL FALL DOWN Five Star
48 ( 49 ) KING IN A CATHOLIC STYLE China Crisis
49 ( 38 ) CLOUDS ACROSS THE MOON The Rah Band
50 ( 60 ) SECOND NATURE Dan Hartman

51 ( 40 ) LUCKY IN LOVE Mick Jagger
52 ( RE ) DUEL Propaganda
53 ( NEW ) ARE ‘FRIENDS’ ELECTRIC Gary Numan
54 ( 36 ) ROSES Haywoode
55 ( 42 ) LOVE IS A BATTLEFIELD Pat Benatar
56 ( 50 ) NOW THAT WE’VE FOUND LOVE Third World
57 ( NEW ) HIT ME WITH YOUR RHYTHM STICK Ian Dury And The Blockheads
58 ( 62 ) CHERISH Kool And The Gang
59 ( 47 ) GREEN SHIRT Elvis Costello
60 ( 46 ) LIFE IN A NORTHERN TOWN Dream Academy



61 ( 41 ) SUNSET GRILL Don Henley
62 ( 58 ) LET’S GO CRAZY/ TAKE ME WITH U Prince
63 ( 48 ) BLACK MAN RAY China Crisis
64 ( 61 ) YOU SPIN ME ROUND (LIKE A RECORD) Dead Or Alive
65 ( 51 ) LOVER COME BACK TO ME Dead Or Alive
66 ( NEW ) HEAVEN (LIVE) Bryan Adams
67 ( 64 ) MODERN ROMANCE Rossi & Frost
68 ( NEW ) IT AIN’T FAIR Edwin Starr
69 ( NEW ) EVERYTHING I NEED Men At Work
70 ( NEW ) LOVING THE ALIEN David Bowie



71 ( 56 ) GOING DOWN THE LIVERPOOL The Bangles
72 ( 72 ) SANCTIFIED LADY Marvin Gaye
73 ( 68 ) IT’S...IT’S...THE SWEET MIX The Sweet
74 ( NEW ) OH YEAH Bill Withers
75 ( NEW ) SUDDENLY Billy Ocean


TV 25th-31st May
1 Top Of The Pops
2 Cheers
3 Lou Grant
4 The Bill Cosby Show
5 Bewitched


On friday I drove to Mansfield to stay with my brother, sister in law Sue, hyper toddler niece Vicki who was all over me, and baby Gavin. Mum rang upset over the death of a Marine on camp she knew. On Saturday 25th I drove to pick up Jane and Dave, College friends, and we went to the wedding of Paul and Sheila in Rotherham. A fab day, great to see College friends and Paul’s school mates who I knew quite well, though the high-class reception hall was a bit above my experiences and I put my foot in it a few times with my quips. Hey ho, posh people have no sense of humour! We prettied up the honeymoon car with toilet paper and lipstick, as Paul & Sheila were setting off for Paris in it the next day. Very thoughtful of us, I thought.


My interest in TV shows reaches a new low in 1985, as US genre and sitcom imports decline and UK shows mirror the huge big Soap obsession of the time. I had no interest in Eastenders, Neighbours, Coronation Street and Dynasty, and even the sometimes amusing Dallas was past it’s best. Oldie re-runs had also declined, so that leaves Top Of The Pops as the best show on TV and my TV chart down to a pathetic list of 5, and not long before I gave up on it altogether.

Posted by: popchartfreak 14th August 2015, 07:08 PM

4th June 1985

1st week on top for American EDM act Animotion, or synthpop as was. It had taken The Americans a few years to catch up with the pop movement, but this one was on a par with a great Human League track. Fab. Rocketing up to 3 with their 8th top 5 hit in 5 years, it’s the wonderful OMD and a terrific record that mysteriously was only a minor UK hit, and I can only put it down to them being in the States as they belatedly took off there 5 years late and with most of their great 80‘s records behind them. Happily there were great ones in subsequent decades too. Scritti Politti get a 3rd top 10, Word Girl, as Phil Lynott and Gary Moore go top 10 for the first time since Yellow Pearl in 1982 (Phil), or KIller On The Loose (Thin Lizzy) in 1980 depending on how you look at it.

Up to 13, Mai Tai’s terrific History beats strongly upwards, just ahead of the even greater leaping of Duel, as Propaganda get that 2nd top 20. History will show which one wins the Duel! Stephen Duffy gets a 2nd top 20, which must be the icing on the cake for him, and Depeche Mode add to their long list of top 20 tracks, a disease they just can’t shake off. Highest new entry is the theme to a big Eddie Murphy movie Beverley Hills Cop, the instrumental synth novelty of Axel F from German Howard Faltemeyer, in at 22. I say novelty, I mean catchy, the real novelty nightmare came 20 years later when an obnoxious and irritating cartoon frog covered it. It’s the closest I’ve ever come to wanting to exterminate an amphibian.

At 23, new in and debuting it’s Modern Talking another German pop act, this time a synth duo with a gorgeously cheesy EDM tune which flopped in the UK, though they hit with their next record. This was the better song though, You’re My Heart You’re My Soul. Bryan Adams gets a 3rd top 40, he’s in heaven about it, as are Five Star all falling down while loving David Bowie’s alien, all together with new entries from New Order (give us a Perfect Kiss, then) at 39, and at 40 The Beach Boys return with their best record of the 80’s Getcha Back giving them a clear run of 17 years of top 40 singles, since they appeared in my very first chart ever with Do It Again.

Elsewhere, Nick Heyward keeps the run of solo singles charting with Laura at 53, The Crowd cover You’ll Never Walk Alone to raise money for victims of the Bradford City FC terrible fire disaster. The main man was still Gerry Marsden, of Gerry And The Pacemakers who hit the UK number one with it in 1963 as part of their famous chart debut hat-trick, still the best version of the show tune and musical offcut from Carousel. It’s still rousing and eventually topped my chart on one if it’s UK chart re-entries in the 21st century, and pretty much would have topped my chart in 1963 along with I Like It and How Do You Do, and also Ferry Cross The Mersey, cos I loved them all, and the River Mersey and Liverpool was a constant in in my life on and off for the first 30 years or so. This was a well-meaning version, with a choir of pop stars and celebrities such as Colin Blunstone, Tony Christie, Kiki Dee, Graham Gouldman of 10CC and Phil Lynott getting his second simultaneous chart hit, and UK chart-topper, months before his early death.

At 60, Roy Wood, me old fave, is back at 60 Under Fire, as Bruce is back and he’s actually On Fire at 63 with a fab ballad and an over-rated anthem Born In The USA which went over the heads of many people who took it literally as a patriotic flag-waving opportunity and ruined the social commentary of US politics, the Viet-Nam war veteran treatment, and the working man under the foot of the rich right-wing. Just shows people don’t always listen to the lyrics, not even President Reagan who missed the point completely. At 67, Sister Sledge are back with an actual non-Chic new track. Sadly, it’s the monster UK hit Frankie which doesn’t take many repeat listens to annoy. Pat Benatar also drops by again, and so Elton John (14 years and counting) and Millie Jackson who rather amazingly debuts some 13 years late, as My Man Is A Sweet Man and other early 70’s singles didn’t chart. Act Of War is a good vocal battle though, and Millie wins on a knockout, you don’t mess with her!



1 ( 2 ) OBSESSION Animotion
2 ( 1 ) “19” Paul Hardcastle
3 ( 26 ) SO IN LOVE OMD
4 ( 6 ) IMAGINATION Belouis Some
5 ( 5 ) ROMANCE (LET YOUR HEART GO) David Cassidy
6 ( 9 ) CALL ME Go West
7 ( 3 ) DON’T FALL IN LOVE (I SAID) Toyah
8 ( 12 ) THE WORD GIRL Scritti Politti
9 ( 4 ) FEEL SO REAL Steve Arrington
10 ( 14 ) OUT IN THE FIELDS Gary Moore and Phil Lynott

11 ( 8 ) EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD Tears For Fears
12 ( 7 ) SLAVE TO LOVE Bryan Ferry
13 ( 36 ) HISTORY Mai Tai
14 ( 52 ) DUEL Propaganda
15 ( 15 ) LOVE DON’T LIVE HERE ANYMORE Jimmy Nail
16 ( 18 ) WALLS COME TUMBLING DOWN The Style Council
17 ( 40 ) ICING ON THE CAKE Stephen ‘Tintin’ Duffy
18 ( 11 ) WOULD I LIE TO YOU Eurythmics
19 ( 22 ) SHAKE THE DISEASE Depeche Mode
20 ( 10 ) FREE YOURSELF The Untouchables

21 ( 17 ) CRY Godley And Creme
22 ( NEW ) AXEL F Harold Faltemeyer
23 ( NEW ) YOU’RE MY HEART YOU’RE MY SOUL Modern Talking
24 ( 13 ) WALK LIKE A MAN Divine
25 ( 39 ) ONE LONELY NIGHT REO Speedwagon
26 ( 29 ) KAYLEIGH Marillion
27 ( 19 ) MEGAREX T.Rex
28 ( 28 ) PAISLEY PARK Prince
29 ( 16 ) RAGE TO LOVE Kim Wilde
30 ( 66 ) HEAVEN (LIVE) Bryan Adams



31 ( 21 ) RYTHYM OF THE NIGHT DeBarge
32 ( 20 ) VIEW TO A KILL Duran Duran
33 ( 47 ) ALL FALL DOWN Five Star
34 ( 23 ) THE UNFORGETTABLE FIRE U2
35 ( 35 ) THE CHINESE WALL Philip Bailey
36 ( 38 ) CELEBRATE YOUTH Rick Springfield
37 ( 24 ) MAGIC TOUCH Loose Ends
38 ( 70 ) LOVING THE ALIEN David Bowie
39 ( NEW ) THE PERFECT KISS New Order
40 ( NEW ) GETCHA BACK The Beach Boys

41 ( 41 ) THINKING ABOUT YOUR LOVE Skipworth & Turner
42 ( 25 ) WALKING ON SUNSHINE Katrina And The Waves
43 ( 53 ) ARE ‘FRIENDS’ ELECTRIC (LIVE) Gary Numan
44 ( 34 ) WELCOME TO THE PLEASURE DOME Frankie Goes To Hollywood
45 ( 31 ) I FEEL LOVE Bronski Beat and Marc Almond
46 ( 27 ) MISSING YOU Diana Ross
47 ( 57 ) HIT ME WITH YOUR RHYTHM STICK Ian Dury And The Blockheads
48 ( 48 ) KING IN A CATHOLIC STYLE China Crisis
49 ( 33 ) DON’T YOU (FORGET ABOUT ME) Simple Minds
50 ( 68 ) IT AIN’T FAIR Edwin Starr

51 ( 46 ) THE LAST KISS David Cassidy
52 ( 37 ) TICKET TO RIDE The Beatles
53 ( NEW ) LAURA Nick Heyward
54 ( 58 ) CHERISH Kool And The Gang
55 ( 30 ) GET IT ON (BANG A GONG) The Power Station
56 ( NEW ) YOU’LL NEVER WALK ALONE The Crowd
57 ( 32 ) BOOGIE OOGIE OOGIE A Taste Of Honey
58 ( RE ) GIMME GIMME GIMME Narada Michael Walden and Patti Austin
59 ( 43 ) COULD IT BE I’M FALLING IN LOVE David Grant and Jaki Graham
60 ( NEW ) UNDER FIRE Roy Wood



61 ( 56 ) NOW THAT WE’VE FOUND LOVE Third World
62 ( 49 ) CLOUDS ACROSS THE MOON The Rah Band
63 ( NEW ) BORN IN THE USA/ I’M ON FIRE Bruce Springsteen
64 ( 44 ) LOOK MAMA Howard Jones
65 ( 75 ) SUDDENLY Billy Ocean
66 ( 64 ) YOU SPIN ME ROUND (LIKE A RECORD) Dead Or Alive
67 ( NEW ) FRANKIE Sister Sledge
68 ( NEW ) SHADOWS OF THE NIGHT Pat Benatar
69 ( 59 ) GREEN SHIRT Elvis Costello
70 ( NEW ) ACT OF WAR Elton John and Millie Jackson



71 ( 50 ) SECOND NATURE Dan Hartman
72 ( 62 ) LET’S GO CRAZY/ TAKE ME WITH U Prince
73 ( NEW ) JET SET Alphaville
74 ( 60 ) LIFE IN A NORTHERN TOWN Dream Academy
75 ( NEW ) REMEMBER I LOVE YOU Jim Diamond


This week in 1985 I recorded myself singing, curious to hear what I sound like. As it turns out, I sung all the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order. Anything vocally demanding turned into the flattest thing created since the crispy pizza. I mused I could cope with mellow songs like Love Hurts (Jim Capaldi version, not the impossible-to-match Roy Orbison) Tie A Yellow Ribbon, or laid-back Cat Stevens songs. I have never done Karaoke in public, but if I got drunk one night I would insist on Tie A Yellow Ribbon as it’s the least-demanding song vocally I can come up with. I would need two mates dressed in mini-skirts as back up though for the female fade-out, Morecambe & Wise stylee. Or dressed as Nana Mouskouri, one or t’other.

In Belgium, some Liverpool football hooligans killed over 38 people and made us all ashamed to be British, as they made football matches a nightmare for everyone on an ongoing fascist racist aggressive regime. In my life, my moped rear light fell off, I went back to pick it up just as a car ran over it. Doh! I felt a bit depressed and sorry for myself all week, whining about not having enough time for all my interests and ambitions. Actually, compared to my life now, I had bags of time, didn’t know how good I had it! Whinger! Babysat for our yorkie for 2 hours, it just wouldn’t stop crying, so I guess a bit like me then.

Posted by: popchartfreak 15th August 2015, 01:19 PM

11th June 1985

2 weeks for Animotion at 1, the top 3 all static as Mai Tai and Propaganda go top 5. Modern Talking and Marillion jump into the top 10, and Axel F do-do-de-d-d-d-do-do’s it’s way into the 20. REO Speedwagon get another top 20 entry 4 years on from chart-topper Keep On Loving You, helped in no small part by the ambitious amusing Arthur/Merlin-inspired video. One Lonely “knight” in the 20th century as it were. Another good video from Bowie helps Loving The Alien hit the 20 for a 13th year, and Five Star fall down while going up, a good trick if you can do it.

The Crowd enter the top 40, and Narada Michael Walden gets a very 1985-sounding Gimme Gimme Gimme at 30, and it’s nothing to do with the classic Abba single. Happily. The sweet Laura hits 32 for Nick Heyward, and the rocking Bruce 33, and theirs a great chart debut from Fine Young Cannibals, essentially half of The Beat plus new singer Roland Gift and a lot of style. Johnny Come Home is pretty fine and doesn’t sound dated. Skipworth And Turner finally break into the 40 after meandering about just outside, ditto China Crisis’s King, and it’s a fast-pass for Frankie and Sister Sledge to 39.

New at 47, Madonna chalks up another chart entry with the famous Crazy For You, a film theme tune and a rather ponderous ballad who’s ongoing appeal passes me by, by far my least-fave Madonna single to date. Also back with another in their run of hits, and coming off the back of 2 big singles (the previous single being one of my all-time faves), tears For Fears are at 66 with the under-rated (by me) Head Over Heels. It all changed after it was used very effectively in the fantastic film Donnie Darko, I love it now. At 68, Nils Lofgren, steady working musician who never quite broke through enters with some street secrets, At 70 Paul Young is back with the rather good Tomb Of Memories, while Dollar’s Thereze Bazar gets a solo entry with another of 3 “Kiss” titles in the chart, at 72 and some 10 years since she was first a Doll in Guys And Dolls, from Doll to Dollar. Squeeze are back 7 years on from first and biggest single Take Me I’m Yours, at 75 with Last Time Forever. The lads are back together this very week with new material as I type (August 2015), hooray!

1 ( 1 ) OBSESSION Animotion
2 ( 2 ) “19” Paul Hardcastle
3 ( 3 ) SO IN LOVE OMD
4 ( 13 ) HISTORY Mai Tai
5 ( 14 ) DUEL Propaganda
6 ( 6 ) CALL ME Go West
7 ( 8 ) THE WORD GIRL Scritti Politti
8 ( 10 ) OUT IN THE FIELDS Gary Moore and Phil Lynott
9 ( 23 ) YOU’RE MY HEART YOU’RE MY SOUL Modern Talking
10 ( 26 ) KAYLEIGH Marillion



11 ( 5 ) ROMANCE (LET YOUR HEART GO) David Cassidy
12 ( 17 ) ICING ON THE CAKE Stephen ‘Tintin’ Duffy
13 ( 25 ) ONE LONELY NIGHT REO Speedwagon
14 ( 4 ) IMAGINATION Belouis Some
15 ( 38 ) LOVING THE ALIEN David Bowie
16 ( 22 ) AXEL F Harold Faltemeyer
17 ( 11 ) EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD Tears For Fears
18 ( 9 ) FEEL SO REAL Steve Arrington
19 ( 19 ) SHAKE THE DISEASE Depeche Mode
20 ( 33 ) ALL FALL DOWN Five Star



21 ( 7 ) DON’T FALL IN LOVE (I SAID) Toyah
22 ( 12 ) SLAVE TO LOVE Bryan Ferry
23 ( 40 ) GETCHA BACK The Beach Boys
24 ( 30 ) HEAVEN (LIVE) Bryan Adams
25 ( 15 ) LOVE DON’T LIVE HERE ANYMORE Jimmy Nail
26 ( 28 ) PAISLEY PARK Prince
27 ( 16 ) WALLS COME TUMBLING DOWN The Style Council
28 ( 56 ) YOU’LL NEVER WALK ALONE The Crowd
29 ( 18 ) WOULD I LIE TO YOU Eurythmics
30 ( 58 ) GIMME GIMME GIMME Narada Michael Walden and Patti Austin

31 ( 21 ) CRY Godley And Creme
32 ( 53 ) LAURA Nick Heyward
33 ( 63 ) BORN IN THE USA/ I’M ON FIRE Bruce Springsteen
34 ( NEW ) JOHNNY COME HOME Fine Young Cannibals
35 ( 20 ) FREE YOURSELF The Untouchables
36 ( 27 ) MEGAREX T.Rex
37 ( 24 ) WALK LIKE A MAN Divine
38 ( 41 ) THINKING ABOUT YOUR LOVE Skipworth & Turner
39 ( 67 ) FRANKIE Sister Sledge
40 ( 48 ) KING IN A CATHOLIC STYLE China Crisis



41 ( 54 ) CHERISH Kool And The Gang
42 ( 42 ) WALKING ON SUNSHINE Katrina And The Waves
43 ( 32 ) VIEW TO A KILL Duran Duran
44 ( 31 ) RYTHYM OF THE NIGHT DeBarge
45 ( 50 ) IT AIN’T FAIR Edwin Starr
46 ( 29 ) RAGE TO LOVE Kim Wilde
47 ( NEW ) CRAZY FOR YOU Madonna
48 ( 34 ) THE UNFORGETTABLE FIRE U2
49 ( 37 ) MAGIC TOUCH Loose Ends
50 ( 70 ) ACT OF WAR Elton John and Millie Jackson

51 ( 44 ) WELCOME TO THE PLEASURE DOME Frankie Goes To Hollywood
52 ( 35 ) THE CHINESE WALL Philip Bailey
53 ( 51 ) THE LAST KISS David Cassidy
54 ( 39 ) THE PERFECT KISS New Order
55 ( 46 ) MISSING YOU Diana Ross
56 ( 65 ) SUDDENLY Billy Ocean
57 ( 36 ) CELEBRATE YOUTH Rick Springfield
58 ( 68 ) SHADOWS OF THE NIGHT Pat Benatar
59 ( 52 ) TICKET TO RIDE The Beatles
60 ( 69 ) GREEN SHIRT Elvis Costello

61 ( 43 ) ARE ‘FRIENDS’ ELECTRIC (LIVE) Gary Numan
62 ( 45 ) I FEEL LOVE Bronski Beat and Marc Almond
63 ( 49 ) DON’T YOU (FORGET ABOUT ME) Simple Minds
64 ( 61 ) NOW THAT WE’VE FOUND LOVE Third World
65 ( 59 ) COULD IT BE I’M FALLING IN LOVE David Grant and Jaki Graham
66 ( NEW ) HEAD OVER HEELS Tears For Fears
67 ( 47 ) HIT ME WITH YOUR RHYTHM STICK (REMIX) Ian Dury And The Blockheads
68 ( NEW ) SECRET IN THE STREET Nils Lofgren
69 ( 66 ) YOU SPIN ME ROUND (LIKE A RECORD) Dead Or Alive
70 ( NEW ) TOMB OF MEMORIES Paul Young



71 ( 62 ) CLOUDS ACROSS THE MOON The Rah Band
72 ( NEW ) THE BIG KISS Thereze Bazaar
73 ( 55 ) GET IT ON (BANG A GONG) The Power Station
74 ( 60 ) UNDER FIRE Roy Wood
75 ( NEW ) LAST TIME FOREVER Squeeze


With the reduced TV charts I’m adding in my occasional oldies playlist short-list, topped by 60’s then-new discovery form Gary Lewis & The Playboys, This Diamond Ring. Son of movie actor Jerry Lewis, I went a bundle on their Greatest Hits and especially this 20-year-old track at the time. Had I allowed random oldies it would have topped my chart.



Went to see Starman at the cinema, a sweet sci-fi movie starring Jeff Bridges, a bit of a love story between an alien in human form and Karen Allen, fresh-ish from Raiders Of The Lost Ark. Jeff stole the film with his choice of unusually stilted but endearing style, and directed (amazingly) by John Carpenter not his usual style at all. I rated it as the best film I’d seen since Star Trek III and among my top 40 faves of all-time (since dropped out as it never gets shown on TV and I haven’t seen it in decades). It spawned a decent TV series starring Robert Hayes (from Airplane).

Posted by: popchartfreak 16th August 2015, 08:45 PM

18th June 1985

OMD get their 3rd number one 5 years since the first one, Messages, the under-rated So In Love. The Beach Boys go top 10 for the first time in 6 years, and Bowie keeps his run going 13 years on from Starman doing it first, Starman to Alien, and still loving them. Bryan Adams gets another top 20, it’s Heaven, and Springsteen makes it 10 years of top 20’s, and Prince makes it 3 years of top 20’s, with his Paisley Park going through a continuing purple patch, so to speak. Fine Young Cannibals still call fro Johnny at 20.

Into the 40 Madonna is Crazy For You, and Cherish that cos Kool And The Gang also go top 40 with a title she liked so much she re-used it 4 years later, to much better effect. All the new entries are low in the chart, from a Paul Hardcastle recent track, a debut from new band Simply Red, the great Money’s Too Tight (To mention), and that ginger-haired lead singer has quite the soul voice. Mick Hucknall, of course! Steve Harley is back with the Rebels and he’s still irresistible 11 years on from Judy Teen, and look who’s back too - Roy Orbison.

That needs several exclamation marks!!! Roy had been far-too-long absent from the music scene charts, and incredibly makes a chart debut in mine for the simple reason that all of his great records pre-date my charts - Roy, and I say this without over-stating the case, was the greatest male vocalist in pop music of the 20th Century. He just was, so there! His run of singles comprise the greatest batch of heart-breaking tortured dramatic lost love songs. Wild Hearts wasn’t a hit, but it did turn on his 1992 posthumous album of leftovers following his major comeback with Traveling Wilbury’s and Jeff Lynne-produced Mystery Girl album, and tragic death in between those two projects.

Also new, Jesus And Mary Chain bring low-fi 60’s-influenced Velvet Underground sounds into the 80’s You Trip Me Up, and Sting offers some good advice, directly to make up for Every Breath You Take’s creepy controlling message (which passed most people by). It wasn’t as good, though, sadly.




1 ( 3 ) SO IN LOVE OMD
2 ( 1 ) OBSESSION Animotion
3 ( 4 ) HISTORY Mai Tai
4 ( 5 ) DUEL Propaganda
5 ( 2 ) “19” Paul Hardcastle
6 ( 10 ) KAYLEIGH Marillion
7 ( 9 ) YOU’RE MY HEART YOU’RE MY SOUL Modern Talking
8 ( 7 ) THE WORD GIRL Scritti Politti
9 ( 23 ) GETCHA BACK The Beach Boys
10 ( 15 ) LOVING THE ALIEN David Bowie

11 ( 12 ) ICING ON THE CAKE Stephen ‘Tintin’ Duffy
12 ( 13 ) ONE LONELY NIGHT REO Speedwagon
13 ( 6 ) CALL ME Go West
14 ( 16 ) AXEL F Harold Faltemeyer
15 ( 24 ) HEAVEN (LIVE) Bryan Adams
16 ( 8 ) OUT IN THE FIELDS Gary Moore and Phil Lynott
17 ( 33 ) BORN IN THE USA/ I’M ON FIRE Bruce Springsteen
18 ( 26 ) PAISLEY PARK Prince
19 ( 20 ) ALL FALL DOWN Five Star
20 ( 34 ) JOHNNY COME HOME Fine Young Cannibals

21 ( 17 ) EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD Tears For Fears
22 ( 39 ) FRANKIE Sister Sledge
23 ( 11 ) ROMANCE (LET YOUR HEART GO) David Cassidy
24 ( 28 ) YOU’LL NEVER WALK ALONE The Crowd
25 ( 47 ) CRAZY FOR YOU Madonna
26 ( 14 ) IMAGINATION Belouis Some
27 ( 43 ) VIEW TO A KILL Duran Duran
28 ( 18 ) FEEL SO REAL Steve Arrington
29 ( 32 ) LAURA Nick Heyward
30 ( 42 ) WALKING ON SUNSHINE Katrina And The Waves

31 ( 21 ) DON’T FALL IN LOVE (I SAID) Toyah
32 ( 19 ) SHAKE THE DISEASE Depeche Mode
33 ( 22 ) SLAVE TO LOVE Bryan Ferry
34 ( 41 ) CHERISH Kool And The Gang
35 ( 31 ) CRY Godley And Creme
36 ( 29 ) WOULD I LIE TO YOU Eurythmics
37 ( 40 ) KING IN A CATHOLIC STYLE China Crisis
38 ( 27 ) WALLS COME TUMBLING DOWN The Style Council
39 ( 25 ) LOVE DON’T LIVE HERE ANYMORE Jimmy Nail
40 ( 44 ) RYTHYM OF THE NIGHT DeBarge

41 ( 36 ) MEGAREX T.Rex
42 ( 45 ) IT AIN’T FAIR Edwin Starr
43 ( 75 ) LAST TIME FOREVER Squeeze
44 ( 37 ) WALK LIKE A MAN Divine
45 ( 50 ) ACT OF WAR Elton John and Millie Jackson
46 ( 30 ) GIMME GIMME GIMME Narada Michael Walden and Patti Austin
47 ( 58 ) SHADOWS OF THE NIGHT Pat Benatar
48 ( 35 ) FREE YOURSELF The Untouchables
49 ( 48 ) THE UNFORGETTABLE FIRE U2
50 ( 66 ) HEAD OVER HEELS Tears For Fears

51 ( 51 ) WELCOME TO THE PLEASURE DOME Frankie Goes To Hollywood
52 ( 52 ) THE CHINESE WALL Philip Bailey
53 ( NEW ) RAIN FOREST Paul Hardcastle
54 ( 38 ) THINKING ABOUT YOUR LOVE Skipworth & Turner
55 ( 53 ) THE LAST KISS David Cassidy
56 ( 56 ) SUDDENLY Billy Ocean
57 ( 49 ) MAGIC TOUCH Loose Ends
58 ( NEW ) MONEY’S TOO TIGHT (TO MENTION) Simply Red
59 ( 70 ) TOMB OF MEMORIES Paul Young
60 ( NEW ) IRRESISTIBLE Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel



61 ( 55 ) MISSING YOU Diana Ross
62 ( 46 ) RAGE TO LOVE Kim Wilde
63 ( 59 ) TICKET TO RIDE The Beatles
64 ( 64 ) NOW THAT WE’VE FOUND LOVE Third World
65 ( 68 ) SECRETS IN THE STREET Nils Lofgren
66 ( 57 ) CELEBRATE YOUTH Rick Springfield
67 ( NEW ) LIFE IN ONE DAY Howard Jones
68 ( NEW ) WILD HEARTS Roy Orbison
69 ( NEW ) EL VINO COLLAPSO Black Lace
70 ( 65 ) COULD IT BE I’M FALLING IN LOVE David Grant and Jaki Graham



71 ( NEW ) WHERE OUR LOVE BEGINS David Grant
72 ( NEW ) YOU TRIP ME UP Jesus And Mary Chain
73 ( 69 ) YOU SPIN ME ROUND (LIKE A RECORD) Dead Or Alive
74 ( NEW ) IF YOU LOVE SOMEONE SET THEM FREE Sting
75 ( NEW ) SOUL PASSING THROUGH SOUL Toyah



TV 15th-22nd June
1 Star Trek: The Man Trap
2 The Young Ones
3 MASH
4 Lou Grant
5 Top Of The Pops
6 The Phil Silvers Show
7 Ready Steady Go
8 Dallas
9 Bewitched
10 Taxi

On TV classic 60’s ITV pop show Ready Steady Go was being repeated to my great joy, and at work I got a young new assistant, 18-year-old Nick, who turned up, very good-looking, fit and outward-going, and in a suit - which I suggested might not work in a van in the countryside, but he did make the effort! Bob the driver was also back after a week off with twisted err, thingies. I taught Nick the main codes and technique of the hand-held husky computer and we went out measuring near Stalbridge. He was very keen to get started, so let him, mostly mistake-free which put the other team’s noses out-of-joint who were slow-going about stuff like that. Nick was lively and into pop music, and brightened up my fairly now-dull work-life. His main hobbies were girls, girls, girls....and cars.

On Wogan Abba’s Benny & Bjorn were with Tim Rice talking about Chess (the Musical) and Bob geldof was on about Live Aid tickets, his new project for Band Aid charity cash. I bought myself baggy jeans, after years of tight drainpipe jeans and before that tight oxford bags and flares, and before that tight bell-bottoms. Boys fashions were pretty tight, really, then for the next 20 years it was all about baggy...

Posted by: popchartfreak 19th August 2015, 04:40 PM

25th June 1985

2 weeks for OMD on top, holding off Mai Tai at 2 to make History. Hall & Oates make a swift reissued comeback with a record that was massive in the USA and not in the UK, while the lesser follow-up was a UK hit. It still didn’t work, though, Out Of Touch just didn’t connect with the UK charts, but it did with me, so is the highest new entry at 4, their 4th Top 5. Elton & Millie War their way into the 20, and Madonna also gets another one, as Crazy For You scrapes in. Paul Young’s good Tomb Of Memories hits the 40, along with the great Tears For Fears Head Over Heels, and Edwin Starr’s retro sounds of It Ain’t Fair, and Simply Red’s soulful Money’s Too Tight.

1 ( 1 ) SO IN LOVE OMD
2 ( 3 ) HISTORY Mai Tai
3 ( 9 ) GETCHA BACK The Beach Boys
4 ( NEW ) OUT OF TOUCH Daryl Hall and John Oates
5 ( 2 ) OBSESSION Animotion
6 ( 4 ) DUEL Propaganda
7 ( 7 ) YOU’RE MY HEART YOU’RE MY SOUL Modern Talking
8 ( 6 ) KAYLEIGH Marillion
9 ( 5 ) “19” Paul Hardcastle
10 ( 14 ) AXEL F Harold Faltemeyer

11 ( 18 ) PAISLEY PARK Prince
12 ( 8 ) THE WORD GIRL Scritti Politti
13 ( 17 ) BORN IN THE USA/ I’M ON FIRE Bruce Springsteen
14 ( 22 ) FRANKIE Sister Sledge
15 ( 10 ) LOVING THE ALIEN David Bowie
16 ( 13 ) CALL ME Go West
17 ( 11 ) ICING ON THE CAKE Stephen ‘Tintin’ Duffy
18 ( 45 ) ACT OF WAR Elton John and Millie Jackson
19 ( 20 ) JOHNNY COME HOME Fine Young Cannibals
20 ( 25 ) CRAZY FOR YOU Madonna

21 ( 12 ) ONE LONELY NIGHT REO Speedwagon
22 ( 16 ) OUT IN THE FIELDS Gary Moore and Phil Lynott
23 ( 30 ) WALKING ON SUNSHINE Katrina And The Waves
24 ( 24 ) YOU’LL NEVER WALK ALONE The Crowd
25 ( 34 ) CHERISH Kool And The Gang
26 ( 15 ) HEAVEN (LIVE) Bryan Adams
27 ( 19 ) ALL FALL DOWN Five Star
28 ( 21 ) EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD Tears For Fears
29 ( 59 ) TOMB OF MEMORIES Paul Young
30 ( 23 ) ROMANCE (LET YOUR HEART GO) David Cassidy



31 ( 37 ) KING IN A CATHOLIC STYLE China Crisis
32 ( 50 ) HEAD OVER HEELS Tears For Fears
33 ( 27 ) VIEW TO A KILL Duran Duran
34 ( 29 ) LAURA Nick Heyward
35 ( 28 ) FEEL SO REAL Steve Arrington
36 ( 36 ) WOULD I LIE TO YOU Eurythmics
37 ( 35 ) CRY Godley And Creme
38 ( 42 ) IT AIN’T FAIR Edwin Starr
39 ( 26 ) IMAGINATION Belouis Some
40 ( 58 ) MONEY’S TOO TIGHT (TO MENTION) Simply Red



41 ( 31 ) DON’T FALL IN LOVE (I SAID) Toyah
42 ( 32 ) SHAKE THE DISEASE Depeche Mode
43 ( 43 ) LAST TIME FOREVER Squeeze
44 ( 33 ) SLAVE TO LOVE Bryan Ferry
45 ( 41 ) MEGAREX T.Rex
46 ( 75 ) SOUL PASSING THROUGH SOUL Toyah
47 ( 47 ) SHADOWS OF THE NIGHT Pat Benatar
48 ( NEW ) IN TOO DEEP Dead Or Alive
49 ( 53 ) RAIN FOREST Paul Hardcastle
50 ( 51 ) WELCOME TO THE PLEASURE DOME Frankie Goes To Hollywood



51 ( 38 ) WALLS COME TUMBLING DOWN The Style Council
52 ( 40 ) RYTHYM OF THE NIGHT DeBarge
53 ( 60 ) IRRESISTIBLE Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel
54 ( 44 ) WALK LIKE A MAN Divine
55 ( 39 ) LOVE DON’T LIVE HERE ANYMORE Jimmy Nail
56 ( 74 ) IF YOU LOVE SOMEBODY SET THEM FREE Sting
57 ( NEW ) WAYS TO BE WICKED Lone Justice
58 ( 55 ) THE LAST KISS David Cassidy
59 ( NEW ) GOODBYE BAD TIMES Philip Oakey and Giorgio Moroder
60 ( 67 ) LIFE IN ONE DAY Howard Jones



61 ( 49 ) THE UNFORGETTABLE FIRE U2
62 ( 48 ) FREE YOURSELF The Untouchables
63 ( NEW ) BEN Marti Webb
64 ( NEW ) LOVING YOU Feargal Sharkey
65 ( 64 ) NOW THAT WE’VE FOUND LOVE Third World
66 ( NEW ) YOU DON’T NEED A REASON Phil Fearon & Galaxy
67 ( 57 ) MAGIC TOUCH Loose Ends
68 ( 61 ) MISSING YOU Diana Ross
69 ( NEW ) LIVE IS LIFE Opus
70 ( 63 ) TICKET TO RIDE The Beatles

71 ( 46 ) GIMME GIMME GIMME Narada Michael Walden and Patti Austin
72 ( NEW ) MY TOOT TOOT Denise La Salle
73 ( 56 ) SUDDENLY Billy Ocean
74 ( 70 ) COULD IT BE I’M FALLING IN LOVE David Grant and Jaki Graham
75 ( NEW ) ENDICOTT Kid Creole And The Coconuts


OLDIES PLAYLIST
1. MARRAKESH EXPRESS - Crosby, Stills & Nash
2. THIS DIAMOND RING - Gary Lewis & The Playboys
3. RANDY - Blue Mink

TV 22nd-28th June

1 Star Trek: The Naked Time
2 The Young Ones
3 Cheers
4 Rhoda
5 Ready Steady Go
6 Dallas
7 Batman
8 Top Of The Pops
9 Taxi


At work, young Nick’s fairly extreme views came out while travelling on and off sites in Dorset, though also he’d been in hospital over 2 years in a life and death situation, with the scars to prove it, and ongoing medication. Of course, when I hear views I don’t agree with I have to butt in. I just do! Going home, I came off my moped again, in the rain, starting to really piss me off at how lethal it is. Nick & Bob tried to get me to join them clubbing for girl-chasing. I semi-politely declined...

Marvelled at how dated the fashions of the 60’s looked on Ready Steady Go (though the music energetic and exciting), after only 2 decades. On Sunday I met mate Bob’s fiancee Annette, pleasant and chatty I thought, as she was looking for a place and job nearer Bournemouth.

Posted by: popchartfreak 2nd November 2015, 07:30 PM

2nd July 1985

The Beach Boys getcha back on top of the charts after a 9-year break since Good Vibrations topped on reissue in 1976. Despite great singles peaking at 2 in 1968, 1969 and 1979 the one that went all the way was a total flop - but it had that classic surfer harmony sound, and a great song written by Mike Love and Terry Melcher, Doris Day’s son. More importantly for me, it was the first record released by the band after the death of Dennis Wilson in a drowning accident, which gave it an added pathos, being as I was and am a huge fan of the Beach Boys. Bad news for Hall & Oates who almost get a second chart-topper, with reactivated Out Of Touch at 2, while Sister Sledge, Prince and Bruce Springsteen all get another new top 10 single to add to their tallies.

Paul Young and Dead Or Alive go up into the top 20, as highest new entry You And Your Heart So Blue is in at 19 for Bucks Fizz, another great single which inexplicably flopped, especially given the general goodwill for Mike Nolan recovering after his near-death band coach crash. Howard Jones gets yet another top 40 track, as Denise LaSalle waves her toot toot in as well, and ex-Undertones vocalist Feargal Sharkey does the same, 7 years on from Teenage Kicks. Toyah also pops into the 40, and Marti Webb’s cover of Michael Jackson’s Ben, while there’s a new entry for Don Henley at 28 with his 1982 chart hit (for me at least) Dirty Laundry, an under-rated fabulously bitter and cynical single - it still wasn’t a hit in the UK, sadly.

New entries outside the 40, The Adventures at 48 with Feel The Raindrops, another great single that flopped for the lads, while at 55 The Cult debut with a classic rock track She Sells Sanctuary, a track with attitude and swagger, just brilliant. At 60, The Damned make a pleasant single, The Shadow Of Love, as they belatedly get some deserved UK singles success, while future UK chart-topper There Must Be An Angel is in at 64 for Eurythmics, by far their most joyous single, if tongue-in-cheek video, and with a bonus Stevie Wonder harmonica solo to boot. Perfect pop. At 72, it’s another early 80’s UK flop back again, though this time Billy Idol actually gets a well-deserved big UK hit out of it: White Wedding is almost as fab as his 1984 number one in my charts - Eyes Without A Face - but this one is Billy at his sneeringest rocktastic best.



1 ( 3 ) GETCHA BACK The Beach Boys
2 ( 4 ) OUT OF TOUCH Daryl Hall and John Oates
3 ( 1 ) SO IN LOVE OMD
4 ( 7 ) YOU’RE MY HEART YOU’RE MY SOUL Modern Talking
5 ( 2 ) HISTORY Mai Tai
6 ( 10 ) AXEL F Harold Faltemeyer
7 ( 14 ) FRANKIE Sister Sledge
8 ( 6 ) DUEL Propaganda
9 ( 11 ) PAISLEY PARK Prince
10 ( 13 ) BORN IN THE USA/ I’M ON FIRE Bruce Springsteen

11 ( 5 ) OBSESSION Animotion
12 ( 29 ) TOMB OF MEMORIES Paul Young
13 ( 9 ) “19” Paul Hardcastle
14 ( 18 ) ACT OF WAR Elton John and Millie Jackson
15 ( 8 ) KAYLEIGH Marillion
16 ( 12 ) THE WORD GIRL Scritti Politti
17 ( 20 ) CRAZY FOR YOU Madonna
18 ( 19 ) JOHNNY COME HOME Fine Young Cannibals
19 ( NEW ) YOU AND YOUR HEART SO BLUE Bucks Fizz
20 ( 48 ) IN TOO DEEP Dead Or Alive

21 ( 32 ) HEAD OVER HEELS Tears For Fears
22 ( 16 ) CALL ME Go West
23 ( 60 ) LIFE IN ONE DAY Howard Jones
24 ( 15 ) LOVING THE ALIEN David Bowie
25 ( 25 ) CHERISH Kool And The Gang
26 ( 17 ) ICING ON THE CAKE Stephen ‘Tintin’ Duffy
27 ( 31 ) KING IN A CATHOLIC STYLE China Crisis
28 ( NEW ) DIRTY LAUNDRY Don Henley
29 ( 21 ) ONE LONELY NIGHT REO Speedwagon
30 ( 72 ) MY TOOT TOOT Denise La Salle



31 ( 24 ) YOU’LL NEVER WALK ALONE The Crowd
32 ( 28 ) EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD Tears For Fears
33 ( 64 ) LOVING YOU Feargal Sharkey
34 ( 22 ) OUT IN THE FIELDS Gary Moore and Phil Lynott
35 ( 30 ) ROMANCE (LET YOUR HEART GO) David Cassidy
36 ( 40 ) MONEY’S TOO TIGHT (TO MENTION) Simply Red
37 ( 46 ) SOUL PASSING THROUGH SOUL Toyah
38 ( 63 ) BEN Marti Webb
39 ( 27 ) ALL FALL DOWN Five Star
40 ( 37 ) CRY Godley And Creme

41 ( 33 ) A VIEW TO A KILL Duran Duran
42 ( 26 ) HEAVEN (LIVE) Bryan Adams
43 ( 36 ) WOULD I LIE TO YOU Eurythmics
44 ( 56 ) IF YOU LOVE SOMEBODY SET THEM FREE Sting
45 ( 35 ) FEEL SO REAL Steve Arrington
46 ( 59 ) GOODBYE BAD TIMES Philip Oakey and Giorgio Moroder
47 ( 39 ) IMAGINATION Belouis Some
48 ( NEW ) FEEL THE RAINDROPS The Adventures
49 ( 45 ) MEGAREX T.Rex
50 ( 53 ) IRRESISTIBLE Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel



51 ( 34 ) LAURA Nick Heyward
52 ( 23 ) WALKING ON SUNSHINE Katrina And The Waves
53 ( 50 ) WELCOME TO THE PLEASURE DOME Frankie Goes To Hollywood
54 ( 41 ) DON’T FALL IN LOVE (I SAID) Toyah
55 ( NEW ) SHE SELLS SANCTUARY The Cult
56 ( 58 ) THE LAST KISS David Cassidy
57 ( 38 ) IT AIN’T FAIR Edwin Starr
58 ( 69 ) LIVE IS LIFE Opus
59 ( 44 ) SLAVE TO LOVE Bryan Ferry
60 ( NEW ) THE SHADOW OF LOVE The Damned



61 ( 43 ) LAST TIME FOREVER Squeeze
62 ( 49 ) RAIN FOREST Paul Hardcastle
63 ( 42 ) SHAKE THE DISEASE Depeche Mode
64 ( NEW ) THERE MUST BE AN ANGEL (PLAYING WITH MY HEART) Eurythmics
65 ( 57 ) WAYS TO BE WICKED Lone Justice
66 ( 66 ) YOU DON’T NEED A REASON Phil Fearon & Galaxy
67 ( 54 ) WALK LIKE A MAN Divine
68 ( 65 ) NOW THAT WE’VE FOUND LOVE Third World
69 ( NEW ) TURN IT UP The Conway Brothers
70 ( 75 ) ENDICOTT Kid Creole And The Coconuts

71 ( 61 ) THE UNFORGETTABLE FIRE U2
72 ( NEW ) WHITE WEDDING Billy Idol
73 ( 70 ) TICKET TO RIDE The Beatles
74 ( 68 ) MISSING YOU Diana Ross
75 ( 47 ) SHADOWS OF THE NIGHT Pat Benatar




TV 29th Jun-5th Jul
1 Star Trek: Charlie X
2 The Young Ones: Summer Holiday
3 Cheers
4 The Bill Cosby Show
5 Ready Steady Go


In my oldies playlist, 2 future 80‘s reissued UK chart entries for Fleetwood Mac's Hold Me and Lulu's Shout (hey, when you’re right you’re right) though I’m still waiting on Gary Lewis & The Playboys’ Jill, appropriately Beach Boys-influenced 1967 single.




In the media, I bought Paperback Writer (Beatles) and How Soon Is Now (Smiths), watched The Young Ones and LIfe On Earth, and a crap edition of Top Of The Pops, while at work, my young new cheeky assistant got ever bolder and cheekier as we surveyed the roads of Blandford and Gillingham. It got the stage where I was arguing with him and having to use reason to get him to stop going OTT and making errors in the data. Rang grandma, who was worryingly out of breath.

In the DC Comics Crisis On Infinite Earths megablockbuster series with every superhero on the books and more, they carried out a shock: Supergirl was killed off. Punishment for a flop movie more than likely, but genuinely shocking as superheroes with their own comics who had been around for 30 years just didn’t get killed. It’s sort of killing the golden goose (and so it turned out until the new re-telling TV version which has just debuted 30 years on) as all reinventions of alternative characters using the name were pretty useless and floppy. The repercussions also hit the Legion Of Super Heroes, as she’d been a time-travelling member since I first picked up the comic in 1969, and of course my comic of choice was at it’s peak at this time, creatively and pretty big sales-wise.

Posted by: popchartfreak 11th November 2015, 04:01 PM

9th July 1985

2 weeks for The Beach Boys on top, as I revisit LA (Light Album) in my oldies playing, and a leap to 2 for Dead Or Alive and In Too Deep, and a third top 10 in a row for them. Propaganda hit a new peak of 3 with Duel, and Bucks Fizz are pondering you and your heart so blue at 7, for a 4th year of top 10 tracks, with only the odd single peaking lower down the chart. Paul Young also keeps them coming for over 2 years, as Tomb Of Memories digs it way slowly up.

Huge climbs for The Cult and The Damned into the 20 to challenge the upper chart pop domination, with Tears For Fears fabulous sombre Head Over Heels also scraping into the 20 (and very much under-rated by me at the time), along with Howard Jones more jaunty Life In One Day. Eurythmics joyous classic angels are playing with my heart into the 30, with Sting, Phil Oakey & Giorgio Moroder, and The Adventures all hitting the 40 along with highest new entry, left-wing band Redskins and Bring It Down (This Insane Thing) in at 37. Left-wing politics in music was very much the vogue in 1985, and the video had the bonus of Alexei Sayle, left-wing comedian to underline the point.

New entries: Amazulu return a bit excitable at 46, Glen Frey joins ex and future band mate from The Eagles Don Henley in the chart, at 47, and Adam Ant starts to run out of steam at 49, Vive Le Rock, after a 5-year run. Jaki Graham turns up minus David Grant, and she’s round and round at 60, a good British dancepop track, while OMD are at a lowly 64 with a secret (the secret is they are following up a chart-topper and not doing so well) 5 years on from debut chart-topper Messages. Radio 1 DJ Mike Read has another go at becoming a pop star at 71, covering 1969 Number 1 Dizzy, and peaks a full deserved 70 places lower than either Tommy Roe’s classic original, or Vic Reeves & The Wonder Stuff’s future UK chart cover version. Supertramp pop in briefly with a cannonball a decade after they started with a classic Dreamer, and The Style Council give a bit of publicity for Milton Keynes, symbol town for blandness in the eighties.

1 ( 1 ) GETCHA BACK The Beach Boys
2 ( 20 ) IN TOO DEEP Dead Or Alive
3 ( 8 ) DUEL Propaganda
4 ( 4 ) YOU’RE MY HEART YOU’RE MY SOUL Modern Talking
5 ( 2 ) OUT OF TOUCH Daryl Hall and John Oates
6 ( 6 ) AXEL F Harold Faltemeyer
7 ( 19 ) YOU AND YOUR HEART SO BLUE Bucks Fizz
8 ( 10 ) BORN IN THE USA/ I’M ON FIRE Bruce Springsteen
9 ( 5 ) HISTORY Mai Tai
10 ( 12 ) TOMB OF MEMORIES Paul Young



11 ( 3 ) SO IN LOVE OMD
12 ( 7 ) FRANKIE Sister Sledge
13 ( 23 ) LIFE IN ONE DAY Howard Jones
14 ( 55 ) SHE SELLS SANCTUARY The Cult
15 ( 60 ) SHADOW OF LOVE The Damned
16 ( 21 ) HEAD OVER HEELS Tears For Fears
17 ( 13 ) “19” Paul Hardcastle
18 ( 11 ) OBSESSION Animotion
19 ( 9 ) PAISLEY PARK Prince
20 ( 15 ) KAYLEIGH Marillion




21 ( 14 ) ACT OF WAR Elton John and Millie Jackson
22 ( 16 ) THE WORD GIRL Scritti Politti
23 ( 18 ) JOHNNY COME HOME Fine Young Cannibals
24 ( 28 ) DIRTY LAUNDRY Don Henley
25 ( 17 ) CRAZY FOR YOU Madonna
26 ( 25 ) CHERISH Kool And The Gang
27 ( 30 ) MY TOOT TOOT Denise La Salle
28 ( 36 ) MONEY’S TOO TIGHT (TO MENTION) Simply Red
29 ( 33 ) LOVING YOU Feargal Sharkey
30 ( 64 ) THERE MUST BE AN ANGEL (PLAYING WITH MY HEART) Eurythmics

31 ( 22 ) CALL ME Go West
32 ( 48 ) FEEL THE RAINDROPS The Adventures
33 ( 26 ) ICING ON THE CAKE Stephen ‘Tintin’ Duffy
34 ( 24 ) LOVING THE ALIEN David Bowie
35 ( 35 ) ROMANCE (LET YOUR HEART GO) David Cassidy
36 ( 38 ) BEN Marti Webb
37 ( NEW ) BRING IT DOWN (THIS INSANE THING) Redskins
38 ( 32 ) EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD Tears For Fears
39 ( 44 ) IF YOU LOVE SOMEBODY SET THEM FREE Sting
40 ( 46 ) GOODBYE BAD TIMES Philip Oakey and Giorgio Moroder

41 ( 27 ) KING IN A CATHOLIC STYLE China Crisis
42 ( 34 ) OUT IN THE FIELDS Gary Moore and Phil Lynott
43 ( 58 ) LIVE IS LIFE Opus
44 ( 40 ) CRY Godley And Creme
45 ( 29 ) ONE LONELY NIGHT REO Speedwagon
46 ( NEW ) EXCITABLE Amazulu
47 ( NEW ) SMUGGLER’S BLUES Glen Frey
48 ( 41 ) A VIEW TO A KILL Duran Duran
49 ( NEW ) VIVE LE ROCK Adam Ant
50 ( 39 ) ALL FALL DOWN Five Star

51 ( 43 ) WOULD I LIE TO YOU Eurythmics
52 ( 37 ) SOUL PASSING THROUGH SOUL Toyah
53 ( 45 ) FEEL SO REAL Steve Arrington
54 ( 49 ) MEGAREX T.Rex
55 ( 53 ) WELCOME TO THE PLEASURE DOME Frankie Goes To Hollywood
56 ( 56 ) THE LAST KISS David Cassidy
57 ( 69 ) TURN IT UP The Conway Brothers
58 ( 31 ) YOU’LL NEVER WALK ALONE The Crowd
59 ( 66 ) YOU DON’T NEED A REASON Phil Fearon & Galaxy
60 ( NEW ) ROUND AND ROUND Jaki Graham



61 ( 42 ) HEAVEN (LIVE) Bryan Adams
62 ( 47 ) IMAGINATION Belouis Some
63 ( 54 ) DON’T FALL IN LOVE (I SAID) Toyah
64 ( NEW ) SECRET OMD
65 ( 50 ) IRRESISTIBLE Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel
66 ( 59 ) SLAVE TO LOVE Bryan Ferry
67 ( 67 ) WALK LIKE A MAN Divine
68 ( 68 ) NOW THAT WE’VE FOUND LOVE Third World
69 ( 52 ) WALKING ON SUNSHINE Katrina And The Waves
70 ( 72 ) WHITE WEDDING Billy Idol

71 ( NEW ) DIZZY The Rock-olas
72 ( 51 ) LAURA Nick Heyward
73 ( NEW ) CANNONBALL Supertramp
74 ( NEW ) COME TO MILTON KEYNES The Style Council
75 ( 63 ) SHAKE THE DISEASE Depeche Mode

TV 6th-12th July
1 Star Trek: Balance Of Terror
2 Another Audience With Dame Edna
3 Batman: Shame
4 Hill Street Blues
5 The Phil Silvers Show
6 Lou Grant
7 It’ll Be Alright On The Night
8 Dallas
9 Top Of The Pops
10 Ready Steady Go


At work out in the streets of Blandford Forum, driver Bob noticed young Nick’s tendency to admire himself in any passing mirrors and quipped a great one-liner: “if we put mirrors on all access covers and manholes he wouldn’t miss any” (off the computer survey data list). Bob also fixed our flat tyre on the spot, good for him. I got a lot of stick from Jason, in the other team, and Nick, when they got together, both seemingly-obsessed with my never-mentioned (and none-existent) sex life and persuasion, which wound me up.

At Wimbledon, McEnroe went out, and young lad Becker went through, all a bit of a surprise. Womens final was fave Chrissie Lloyd sadly lost (I saw it as her last chance) to Martina Navratilova who I was also a fan of. 17-year-old Boris Becker amazingly won the men’s final. I bought a new T shirt, and wore it. It’s worth mentioning that because I also wore it to mum’s surprise, as my skinny arms hadn’t seen the light of day (bar the USA holiday in 1979) since 1971, I think! My self-image was skinny.

At 3 in my oldies chart, Ready Steady Go was being repeated 20 years on, a TV show that was the coolest (yes it’s true) on British TV in the mid-60’s, and I was now old enough to have 20-year-old memories, like Sandie Shaw (who I loved as a child) and was now cool all over again thanks to Morrissey. This is a great old clip of a song I’m still waiting to chart...

Posted by: popchartfreak 17th November 2015, 07:33 PM

16th July 1985


This was Live Aid week, the huge world concert (lots of local versions to go with the 2 main events at Wembley and Philadelphia) and a host of megastars on show for charity, bullied into it by Bob Geldof for a great cause, to help the starving in Ethiopa as the politicians sat on their arses as always. Band Aid, as a charity, ran for 2 decades, and kept people alive. Cynics (and there were plenty of them) can piss off, I don’t care what everybody’s motives were or weren’t for the concert, the bottom line is it saved lives and Geldof managed to do what politicians wouldn’t. So. In my chart on the day of Live Aid, The Beach Boys topped for a third week with Getcha Back, and played at Live Aid on Saturday13th July with a buncha classic tunes. Eurythmics shoot up to 4, There Must Be An Angel sadly not on show at Live Aid cos Annie had lost her voice, happily they did Net Aid in 1998 and Live8 in the noughties, 2 out of 3 ain’t bad.

The Damned, years into their career, finally get a top 10 single with the spooky Shadow Of Love at 7, while Howard Jones keeps his tally going with Life In One Day at 10. Adam Ant shoots up to 17 with new track Vive Le Rock, and pisses off viewers at Live Aid by doing it instead of one of his hits. Adam was miffed (and still is) he had only the one song slot, but should have accepted it gracefully and done Stand And Deliver which would have been far more appropriate and memorable: “Your money or your life” would have taken on new meaning. It wasn’t designed to be a plug for the new single, after all. Highest new entry at 20 is Sparks, back with a bang, for a Change, and a gem it is too, floppy yes, but sprawling and adventurous and delightful. 11 years on they may not be charting, but they carry on their own quirky way then and now, and never fail to charm.

Jaki Graham leaps into the 30, round and round, with Glen Frey, Amazulu and Opus (or ‘Opeless as I sometimes called them) all sneak into the 40, while The Conway Brothers arrive with a bit more force, and Billy Idol’s White Wedding finally starts moving and Bill catches the bouquet at 39 from 70. Another early 80’s track pops in at 59, Trans X and the very dated sounding (for 1985 - synth pop had really moved on in leaps and bounds) Living On Video, but it was fine for 1980/1981. Animal Nightlife get another chart entry with a very 1940’s stylee Love Is Just The Great Adventure, Animotion follow-up a fab chart-topper with a much less fab Let Him Go, Tina Turner is back on fire with the theme tune to Mad Max: Thunderdome, We Don’t Need Another Hero, and her best solo record to date, Aretha Franklin’s Freeway Of Love is in at 73, Steve Arrington’s dancin’ at 71, and slipping in with a Stevie Wonder song written for the Jackson 5, Buttercup, it’s Carl Anderson debuting. I say debut - had I allowed movie tracks in my charts (and I wish I had) his version of Superstar, as Judas from Jesus Christ Superstar, would easily have topped my chart in 1973, or later, cos it’s a spine-tingling passionate vocal performance of a brilliant Lloyd-Webber/Rice song. Still an absolute show-stopper, and still waiting to chart it.


1 ( 1 ) GETCHA BACK The Beach Boys
2 ( 2 ) IN TOO DEEP Dead Or Alive
3 ( 4 ) YOU’RE MY HEART YOU’RE MY SOUL Modern Talking
4 ( 30 ) THERE MUST BE AN ANGEL (PLAYING WITH MY HEART) Eurythmics
5 ( 7 ) YOU AND YOUR HEART SO BLUE Bucks Fizz
6 ( 3 ) DUEL Propaganda
7 ( 15 ) SHADOW OF LOVE The Damned
8 ( 9 ) HISTORY Mai Tai
9 ( 10 ) TOMB OF MEMORIES Paul Young
10 ( 13 ) LIFE IN ONE DAY Howard Jones



11 ( 6 ) AXEL F Harold Faltemeyer
12 ( 16 ) HEAD OVER HEELS Tears For Fears
13 ( 5 ) OUT OF TOUCH Daryl Hall and John Oates
14 ( 14 ) SHE SELLS SANCTUARY The Cult
15 ( 8 ) BORN IN THE USA/ I’M ON FIRE Bruce Springsteen
16 ( 12 ) FRANKIE Sister Sledge
17 ( 49 ) VIVE LE ROCK Adam Ant
18 ( 27 ) MY TOOT TOOT Denise La Salle
19 ( 11 ) SO IN LOVE OMD
20 ( NEW ) CHANGE Sparks



21 ( 24 ) DIRTY LAUNDRY Don Henley
22 ( 17 ) “19” Paul Hardcastle
23 ( 29 ) LOVING YOU Feargal Sharkey
24 ( 20 ) KAYLEIGH Marillion
25 ( 18 ) OBSESSION Animotion
26 ( 28 ) MONEY’S TOO TIGHT (TO MENTION) Simply Red
27 ( 25 ) CRAZY FOR YOU Madonna
28 ( 19 ) PAISLEY PARK Prince
29 ( 60 ) ROUND AND ROUND Jaki Graham
30 ( 23 ) JOHNNY COME HOME Fine Young Cannibals

31 ( 22 ) THE WORD GIRL Scritti Politti
32 ( 32 ) FEEL THE RAINDROPS The Adventures
33 ( 37 ) BRING IT DOWN (THIS INSANE THING) Redskins
34 ( 21 ) ACT OF WAR Elton John and Millie Jackson
35 ( 47 ) SMUGGLER’S BLUES Glen Frey
36 ( 46 ) EXCITABLE Amazulu
37 ( 43 ) LIVE IS LIFE Opus
38 ( 57 ) TURN IT UP The Conway Brothers
39 ( 70 ) WHITE WEDDING Billy Idol
40 ( 40 ) GOODBYE BAD TIMES Philip Oakey and Giorgio Moroder

41 ( 38 ) EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD Tears For Fears
42 ( NEW ) LOVE IS JUST THE GREAT ADVENTURE Animal Nightlife
43 ( 31 ) CALL ME Go West
44 ( 44 ) CRY Godley And Creme
45 ( 35 ) ROMANCE (LET YOUR HEART GO) David Cassidy
46 ( 59 ) YOU DON’T NEED A REASON Phil Fearon & Galaxy
47 ( 33 ) ICING ON THE CAKE Stephen ‘Tintin’ Duffy
48 ( 34 ) LOVING THE ALIEN David Bowie
49 ( NEW ) LET HIM GO Animotion
50 ( 74 ) COME TO MILTON KEYNES The Style Council

51 ( 26 ) CHERISH Kool And The Gang
52 ( 64 ) SECRET OMD
53 ( 39 ) IF YOU LOVE SOMEBODY SET THEM FREE Sting
54 ( 45 ) ONE LONELY NIGHT REO Speedwagon
55 ( 56 ) THE LAST KISS David Cassidy
56 ( 54 ) MEGAREX T.Rex
57 ( 55 ) WELCOME TO THE PLEASURE DOME Frankie Goes To Hollywood
58 ( 36 ) BEN Marti Webb
59 ( NEW ) LIVING ON VIDEO Trans X
60 ( 50 ) ALL FALL DOWN Five Star



61 ( 41 ) KING IN A CATHOLIC STYLE China Crisis
62 ( 42 ) OUT IN THE FIELDS Gary Moore and Phil Lynott
63 ( 51 ) WOULD I LIE TO YOU Eurythmics
64 ( 48 ) A VIEW TO A KILL Duran Duran
65 ( 63 ) DON’T FALL IN LOVE (I SAID) Toyah
66 ( 52 ) SOUL PASSING THROUGH SOUL Toyah
67 ( NEW ) WE DON’T NEED ANOTHER HERO (THUNDERDOME) Tina Turner
68 ( 53 ) FEEL SO REAL Steve Arrington
69 ( 67 ) WALK LIKE A MAN Divine
70 ( 68 ) NOW THAT WE’VE FOUND LOVE Third World



71 ( NEW ) DANCING IN THE KEY OF LIFE Steve Arrington
72 ( 61 ) HEAVEN (LIVE) Bryan Adams
73 ( NEW ) FREEWAY OF LOVE Aretha Franklin
74 ( 62 ) IMAGINATION Belouis Some
75 ( NEW ) BUTTERCUP Carl Anderson



TV 15th-22nd June
1 Star Trek: What Are Little Girls Made Of
2 Dallas
3 LIVE AID
4 Cheers
5 Hill Street Blues
6 Batman: Shame part 2
7 The Abba Story
8 Lou Grant
9 Top Of The Pops
10 I Dream Of Jeannie




OLDIES CHART
1 TUG OF WAR Paul McCartney
2 MARRAKESH EXPRESS Crosby Stills & Nash
3 LIVING EYES Bee Gees


Overall, I pondered that with only 23 of the UK top 40 in my top 40 it was the worst UK chart since the mid-70’s, while at work, Nick calmed down a bit and had some good talks in the week at lunchtimes, and it was so warm out on the rural Dorset roads I stuck with my T shirts. The boys back in the office, Jason and Nick, teased friendly Terry with a fake phone call, she took it with good nature as I’d tipped her off what they were going to do. On “Wogan” Sparks popped up looking good, and in my appearance I shaved off my moustache - I’d had one since I was in my teens, and it was hard to get used to!

LIVE AID DAY: Bob Geldof rightly demanding money for the cause; The Cars’ Drive recent number one for me was used with footage of the famine, which was immensely powerful, even though it shouldn’t have worked it did. Billy Connolly was in tears. Who wasn’t....!? My personal highlights of the UK end: Boomtown Rats, Bowie, Queen, Elton John (& Kiki & George Michael), Elvis Costello doing All You Need Is Love, and Paul McCartney’s Let It Be, and the collective Do They Know It’s Christmas. In the USA Madonna was the top act for me, but I only managed to stay up till 2am. The finale didn’t record on my video either, doh! I may not have got hold of tickets, but I have seen most of the UK performers since (or before) Live Aid, hey ho.

Posted by: popchartfreak 23rd November 2015, 08:14 PM

23rd July 1985

Eurythmics get a second chart-topper, a year after 1984 (Sex Crime) did it first, and the life-affirming, tongue-in-cheek There Must Be An Angel is nothing like the dark synths of the former. Dead Or Alive are sadly stuck at 2 for the 3rd week, but the Damned hit 5 as The Cult leap to 6 for a fab bit of Goth Rock double delight. Sparks enter the top 10 with Change, their first in 6 years and 8th in total, as Jaki Graham circles the top 10 round at 11. Simply Red and Feargal Sharkey grab a top 20 spot, and the highest new entry is another Goth goodie, The Cure at 19 with In Between Days, the terrific first single off The Head On The Door and 5 years on from their first top 20.

In at 22, Prince is back, also 5 years on from his debut, with Raspberry Beret, still in his pyschedelic pop period, as Trans X hit the 40, and The Cool Notes enter with the catchy Brit-soul of In Your Car at 29. Tina Turner thunders into the 40, while a bit more low-key OMD have a secret, Style Council divert from Milton Keynes, and Animal Nightlife grab a second top 40. New at 49, The Goonies movie theme tune from Cyndi Lauper - have to say I’ve yet to see the film though, shockingly! Dare Me, demand the Pointer Sisters at 52, on of their better records after 6 years of chart action, though I probably would have charted Yes We Can Can in 1973 if my charts had allowed non-UK-chart singles.

In at 60, UB40 have paired up with Chrissie Hynde, having a Pretenders-break, for a UK chart-topper cover of Sonny & Cher’s I Got You Babe, reggae style. Not got the magic of the original but it wasn’t bad, and it gave them an excuse to tour together in the 90’s, and an excuse for me to go and see both The Pretenders (for the 3rd time) and UB40. At 61, Nik Kershaw I saw in concert the other week (that’s November 2015) and new entry Don Quixote sounded much better than I gave it credit for at the time. At 66 Loose Ends cover Bowie’s 1975 number one Golden Years, plastic Glam soul funk to Brit soul. Divine sneaks in with another camp cover, Twistin’ The Night away, and just above it’s Sting. Actually it’s Dire Straits, but his vocal assist is enough for a featuring credit really, and one of their top tunes in Money For Nothing, and THAT groundbreaking music video and guitar riffs. Also 6 years since first charting, for both.




1 ( 4 ) THERE MUST BE AN ANGEL (PLAYING WITH MY HEART) Eurythmics
2 ( 2 ) IN TOO DEEP Dead Or Alive
3 ( 3 ) YOU’RE MY HEART YOU’RE MY SOUL Modern Talking
4 ( 1 ) GETCHA BACK The Beach Boys
5 ( 7 ) SHADOW OF LOVE The Damned
6 ( 14 ) SHE SELLS SANCTUARY The Cult
7 ( 5 ) YOU AND YOUR HEART SO BLUE Bucks Fizz
8 ( 8 ) HISTORY Mai Tai
9 ( 11 ) AXEL F Harold Faltemeyer
10 ( 20 ) CHANGE Sparks

11 ( 29 ) ROUND AND ROUND Jaki Graham
12 ( 6 ) DUEL Propaganda
13 ( 18 ) MY TOOT TOOT Denise La Salle
14 ( 17 ) VIVE LE ROCK Adam Ant
15 ( 26 ) MONEY’S TOO TIGHT (TO MENTION) Simply Red
16 ( 9 ) TOMB OF MEMORIES Paul Young
17 ( 15 ) BORN IN THE USA/ I’M ON FIRE Bruce Springsteen
18 ( 10 ) LIFE IN ONE DAY Howard Jones
19 ( NEW ) IN BETWEEN DAYS The Cure
20 ( 23 ) LOVING YOU Feargal Sharkey



21 ( 12 ) HEAD OVER HEELS Tears For Fears
22 ( NEW ) RASPBERRY BERET Prince
23 ( 16 ) FRANKIE Sister Sledge
24 ( 13 ) OUT OF TOUCH Daryl Hall and John Oates
25 ( 19 ) SO IN LOVE OMD
26 ( 59 ) LIVING ON VIDEO Trans X
27 ( 37 ) LIVE IS LIFE Opus
28 ( 38 ) TURN IT UP The Conway Brothers
29 ( NEW ) IN YOUR CAR The Cool Notes
30 ( 39 ) WHITE WEDDING Billy Idol



31 ( 22 ) “19” Paul Hardcastle
32 ( 32 ) FEEL THE RAINDROPS The Adventures
33 ( 24 ) KAYLEIGH Marillion
34 ( 67 ) WE DON’T NEED ANOTHER HERO (THUNDERDOME) Tina Turner
35 ( 25 ) OBSESSION Animotion
36 ( 36 ) EXCITABLE Amazulu
37 ( 52 ) SECRET OMD
38 ( 42 ) LOVE IS JUST THE GREAT ADVENTURE Animal Nightlife
39 ( 27 ) CRAZY FOR YOU Madonna
40 ( 50 ) COME TO MILTON KEYNES The Style Council

41 ( 28 ) PAISLEY PARK Prince
42 ( 30 ) JOHNNY COME HOME Fine Young Cannibals
43 ( 49 ) LET HIM GO Animotion
44 ( 41 ) EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD Tears For Fears
45 ( 21 ) DIRTY LAUNDRY Don Henley
46 ( 44 ) CRY Godley And Creme
47 ( 34 ) ACT OF WAR Elton John and Millie Jackson
48 ( 31 ) THE WORD GIRL Scritti Politti
49 ( NEW ) THE GOONIES ‘R’ GOOD ENOUGH Cyndi Lauper
50 ( 71 ) DANCING IN THE KEY OF LIFE Steve Arrington



51 ( 35 ) SMUGGLER’S BLUES Glen Frey
52 ( NEW ) DARE ME The Pointer Sisters
53 ( 43 ) CALL ME Go West
54 ( 65 ) DON’T FALL IN LOVE (I SAID) Toyah
55 ( 55 ) THE LAST KISS David Cassidy
56 ( 45 ) ROMANCE (LET YOUR HEART GO) David Cassidy
57 ( 56 ) MEGAREX T.Rex
58 ( 48 ) LOVING THE ALIEN David Bowie
59 ( 47 ) ICING ON THE CAKE Stephen ‘Tintin’ Duffy
60 ( NEW ) I GOT YOU BABE UB40 and Chrissie Hynde



61 ( NEW ) DON QUIXOTE Nik Kershaw
62 ( 57 ) WELCOME TO THE PLEASURE DOME Frankie Goes To Hollywood
63 ( 33 ) BRING IT DOWN (THIS INSANE THING) Redskins
64 ( 54 ) ONE LONELY NIGHT REO Speedwagon
65 ( 70 ) NOW THAT WE’VE FOUND LOVE Third World
66 ( NEW ) GOLDEN YEARS Loose Ends
67 ( 51 ) CHERISH Kool And The Gang
68 ( 40 ) GOODBYE BAD TIMES Philip Oakey and Giorgio Moroder
69 ( 60 ) ALL FALL DOWN Five Star
70 ( 69 ) WALK LIKE A MAN Divine

71 ( NEW ) GENIE B B & Q
72 ( 64 ) A VIEW TO A KILL Duran Duran
73 ( NEW ) I CAN’T LEAVE YOU ALONE Tracie
74 ( NEW ) MONEY FOR NOTHING Dire Straits
75 ( NEW ) TWISTIN’ THE NIGHT AWAY Divine


TV 20th - 26th July
1 The Young Ones: Sick
2 Star Trek: Dagger Of The Mind
3 Cheers
4 The Young Ones: Boring
5 The Mary Tyler Moore Show: pilot
6 Hill Street Blues
7 Lou Grant
8 Top Of The Pops
9 Batman
10 The Phil Silvers Show


At work Nick got inspired to put words and sing to any tunes I come up with on my music computer, I wish I’d taken him up on it really, missed opportunity he would have made a great pop star, sadly my tunes were crap and technology just wasn’t there without big cash in those days to get a decent sound. I would have done better with an electric guitar or piano frankly! Doh! Mum appeared to have a liver infection, at home, which caused me anxiety. On TV Patrick Duffy’s Bobby Ewing got bumped off, pure emotion, pure corn but engrossing and tongue-in-cheek Dallas season climax. It was all downhill from here really...

On saturday we got the bad news that mum’s mum, grandma in Liverpool had gone blind in one eye thanks to a burst blood clot - this was actually a good thing as she had had another minor heart attack the other week and not told us, and would otherwise have likely died. We made plans to go up to Liverpool.

Posted by: popchartfreak 25th November 2015, 02:21 PM

30th July 1985

2 weeks for Eurythmics at 1, and The Cure shoot up to 2 for the second time, with In Between Days. Jaki Graham gets a second top 10, her first solo, and Tina Turner gets her 4th, or 3rd solo, with the Mad Max song. Highest new entry at 10 is the latest in the anniversary reissue and recharting hits for The Beatles - Help! It had made my charts for the first time in 1976 (when it again made the UK singles chart), but had long been a fave since I went to the cinema as a boy of 7 to watch the movie, a glorious colourful light-hearted romp packed with great songs. Culturally, The Beatles were everything in the 60’s, and Help! was only 3 years into their chart career, and yet seemed instantly as if the record had always existed. Tina Turner, just above them, had then-recently done her best to turn the urgent manic begging of the classic original into a self-pitying plodder, so it’s only fair the original should be nipping at her heels with one of her best records. Billy Idol, still looking for a White Wedding, hits the top 20 at long last, as Prince’s Raspberry Beret squeezes in too. Fruity!

Madonna gets both the highest current new entry, with US-12inch B side the excellent Into The Groove mystifyingly never a single, given it’s still Madonna’s biggest UK hit, in at 16, her 7th chart entry since Holiday debuted in the top 10 the previous year - and back again at 19, Madonna having gone from just another female popdisco act, to superstar, allowing her new legion of fans who hadn’t noticed it first time round to buy it again, as it went all the way to 2 in the UK singles chart, behind Into The Groove which hit 1. Quite big then, and having already jumped into a big movie, desperately seeking Susan, didn’t hurt at all! Meanwhile UB40 and Chrissie Hynde make the top 30, as Mainframe enter at 33, with a not-Stranglers 5 Minutes, quite exciting dance track. The Pointer Sisters are still daring me to mention they have made the 40 along with Cyndi Lauper’s Goonies, as a gentle Phil Collins minor UK hit, Take Me Home, enters at 38 outdoing some of his bigger hits for me, cos it’s pretty nice.

Five Star get Let Me Be The One for a second chart entry at 52, and Arrow do the same at 59, with the catchy Long Time. Which leaves follow-ups from The Untouchables, Gary Moore and Broooce and another Born In The USA single, Glory Days.

1 ( 1 ) THERE MUST BE AN ANGEL (PLAYING WITH MY HEART) Eurythmics
2 ( 19 ) IN BETWEEN DAYS The Cure
3 ( 2 ) IN TOO DEEP Dead Or Alive
4 ( 3 ) YOU’RE MY HEART YOU’RE MY SOUL Modern Talking
5 ( 6 ) SHE SELLS SANCTUARY The Cult
6 ( 11 ) ROUND AND ROUND Jaki Graham
7 ( 10 ) CHANGE Sparks
8 ( 4 ) GETCHA BACK The Beach Boys
9 ( 34 ) WE DON’T NEED ANOTHER HERO (THUNDERDOME) Tina Turner
10 ( NEW ) HELP! The Beatles



11 ( 15 ) MONEY’S TOO TIGHT (TO MENTION) Simply Red
12 ( 8 ) HISTORY Mai Tai
13 ( 29 ) IN YOUR CAR The Cool Notes
14 ( 7 ) YOU AND YOUR HEART SO BLUE Bucks Fizz
15 ( 30 ) WHITE WEDDING Billy Idol
16 ( NEW ) INTO THE GROOVE Madonna
17 ( 5 ) SHADOW OF LOVE The Damned
18 ( 22 ) RASPBERRY BERET Prince
19 ( NEW ) HOLIDAY Madonna
20 ( 20 ) LOVING YOU Feargal Sharkey



21 ( 12 ) DUEL Propaganda
22 ( 9 ) AXEL F Harold Faltemeyer
23 ( 13 ) MY TOOT TOOT Denise La Salle
24 ( 27 ) LIVE IS LIFE Opus
25 ( 37 ) SECRET OMD
26 ( 26 ) LIVING ON VIDEO Trans X
27 ( 17 ) BORN IN THE USA/ I’M ON FIRE Bruce Springsteen
28 ( 16 ) TOMB OF MEMORIES Paul Young
29 ( 18 ) LIFE IN ONE DAY Howard Jones
30 ( 60 ) I GOT YOU BABE UB40 and Chrissie Hynde

31 ( 14 ) VIVE LE ROCK Adam Ant
32 ( 36 ) EXCITABLE Amazulu
33 ( NEW ) 5 MINUTES (ONE DAY - LIES LIES..) Mainframe
34 ( 52 ) DARE ME The Pointer Sisters
35 ( 31 ) “19” Paul Hardcastle
36 ( 25 ) SO IN LOVE OMD
37 ( NEW ) TAKE ME HOME Phil Collins
38 ( 21 ) HEAD OVER HEELS Tears For Fears
39 ( 49 ) THE GOONIES ‘R’ GOOD ENOUGH Cyndi Lauper
40 ( 24 ) OUT OF TOUCH Daryl Hall and John Oates



41 ( 23 ) FRANKIE Sister Sledge
42 ( 35 ) OBSESSION Animotion
43 ( 28 ) TURN IT UP The Conway Brothers
44 ( 44 ) EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD Tears For Fears
45 ( 46 ) CRY Godley And Creme
46 ( 50 ) DANCING IN THE KEY OF LIFE Steve Arrington
47 ( 33 ) KAYLEIGH Marillion
48 ( 55 ) THE LAST KISS David Cassidy
49 ( 66 ) GOLDEN YEARS Loose Ends
50 ( 57 ) MEGAREX T.Rex

51 ( 32 ) FEEL THE RAINDROPS The Adventures
52 ( NEW ) LET ME BE THE ONE Five Star
53 ( 39 ) CRAZY FOR YOU Madonna
54 ( 43 ) LET HIM GO Animotion
55 ( 54 ) DON’T FALL IN LOVE (I SAID) Toyah
56 ( 38 ) LOVE IS JUST THE GREAT ADVENTURE Animal Nightlife
57 ( 41 ) PAISLEY PARK Prince
58 ( 74 ) MONEY FOR NOTHING Dire Straits
59 ( NEW ) LONG TIME Arrow
60 ( 61 ) DON QUIXOTE Nik Kershaw



61 ( 42 ) JOHNNY COME HOME Fine Young Cannibals
62 ( 56 ) ROMANCE (LET YOUR HEART GO) David Cassidy
63 ( 40 ) COME TO MILTON KEYNES The Style Council
64 ( 68 ) GOODBYE BAD TIMES Philip Oakey and Giorgio Moroder
65 ( 58 ) LOVING THE ALIEN David Bowie
66 ( 62 ) WELCOME TO THE PLEASURE DOME Frankie Goes To Hollywood
67 ( 65 ) NOW THAT WE’VE FOUND LOVE Third World
68 ( 48 ) THE WORD GIRL Scritti Politti
69 ( NEW ) GLORY DAYS Bruce Springsteen
70 ( 47 ) ACT OF WAR Elton John and Millie Jackson

71 ( 53 ) CALL ME Go West
72 ( 45 ) DIRTY LAUNDRY Don Henley
73 ( NEW ) EMPTY ROOMS Gary Moore
74 ( 70 ) WALK LIKE A MAN Divine
75 ( NEW ) I SPY (FOR THE FBI) The Untouchables


TV 27th July- 2nd Aug
1 Star Trek: Conscience Of The King
2 Hill Street Blues
3 The Phil Silvers Show
4 Cheers
5 Lou Grant
6 Top Of The Pops
7 Batman
8 Taxi
9 Bewitched
10 I Dream Of Jeannie


At home good news about grandma’s blood-clotted eye, she wasn’t blind in it, and it should hopefully improve. Hot sunny weather helped the country roads surveying, and on friday Nick, Bob and I all played pool at lunchtime in a pub, all winning, great fun. Bought Boomtown Rats & Stranglers albums after work, and my brother arrived with Sue & the kids at home, he took the piss out of my moped (but still had a go). Baby Gav was very quiet, Vicki a very noisy active toddler by now. These days I like reminding Vicki of the olden days when chatting about toddler William, who takes after his mum

Posted by: popchartfreak 27th December 2016, 08:21 PM

6th August 1985

Following Live Aid and the heartbreaking video accompanying the news footage played along to the Cars' Drive, the record was given a new boost with proceeds for charity. Already spine-tinglingly sad and poignant with it's original video, it now became enormously powerful and duly enters on top of my chart 9 months after getting a week on top in 1984. That's bad news for Madonna, as she becomes a post-Live-Aid-obsession with teens and older, and her 1984 top 10 debut is kept off the top by another 1984 oldie. Just to rub it in, her non-American single (what!?) Into The Groove peaks almost as high as Holiday did first time round (so far).

Another oldie also hits 7 - yes, the year of reactivated non-hits is 1985 - for Billy Idol, the fabulous White Wedding taking advantage of his chart-topper in, yes, 1984 to chart 2 or 3 years late. Tina Turner gets a first solo top 5 hit, with the Mad Max sequel theme song, as Brit-soul band Cool Notes go top 10. OMD, UB40 and Chrissie Hynde go top 20, and in at 28, the highest new song is Kate Bush and her classic Running Up That Hill, returning her to the top 40 for the first time in over 4 years with a bang and a big comeback album, The Hounds Of Love.

D. Train enter at 38 (later to be a hit all over in remixed form), Five Star and Nik Kershaw go top 40, and chart returns for Katrina & The Waves, Go West, Tracie, Belouis Some, a chart reissue for Elvis Presley's 1972 top 10 Always On My Mind at 76 (expanded for one week), a chart debut for cool indie band Prefab Sprout at 71, and their fab song based around referencing Faron Young's 1972 top 10 chart hit It's Four In The Morning, and inconspicuously in at 74 it's Bryan Adams and his future rock anthem, Summer Of '69, a song that regularly pops back into the 21st century charts, being as it's a regular seller. Not unrelated to his performance of it at Live Aid, actually, but it never charted highly in the UK singles chart (nor mine), being as it's nowhere near as great as Run To You and most of his other hits. hey ho!

1 ( NEW ) DRIVE The Cars
2 ( 19 ) HOLIDAY Madonna
3 ( 1 ) THERE MUST BE AN ANGEL (PLAYING WITH MY HEART) Eurythmics
4 ( 2 ) IN BETWEEN DAYS The Cure
5 ( 9 ) WE DON’T NEED ANOTHER HERO (THUNDERDOME) Tina Turner
6 ( 16 ) INTO THE GROOVE Madonna
7 ( 15 ) WHITE WEDDING Billy Idol
8 ( 6 ) ROUND AND ROUND Jaki Graham
9 ( 5 ) SHE SELLS SANCTUARY The Cult
10 ( 13 ) IN YOUR CAR The Cool Notes

11 ( 3 ) IN TOO DEEP Dead Or Alive
12 ( 8 ) GETCHA BACK The Beach Boys
13 ( 7 ) CHANGE Sparks
14 ( 4 ) YOU’RE MY HEART YOU’RE MY SOUL Modern Talking
15 ( 24 ) LIVE IS LIFE Opus
16 ( 18 ) RASPBERRY BERET Prince
17 ( 25 ) SECRET OMD
18 ( 10 ) HELP! The Beatles
19 ( 30 ) I GOT YOU BABE UB40 and Chrissie Hynde
20 ( 12 ) HISTORY Mai Tai

21 ( 11 ) MONEY’S TOO TIGHT (TO MENTION) Simply Red
22 ( 14 ) YOU AND YOUR HEART SO BLUE Bucks Fizz
23 ( 20 ) LOVING YOU Feargal Sharkey
24 ( 17 ) SHADOW OF LOVE The Damned
25 ( 26 ) LIVING ON VIDEO Trans X
26 ( 37 ) TAKE ME HOME Phil Collins
27 ( 32 ) EXCITABLE Amazulu
28 ( NEW ) RUNNING UP THAT HILL Kate Bush
29 ( 34 ) DARE ME The Pointer Sisters
30 ( 22 ) AXEL F Harold Faltemeyer

31 ( 52 ) LET ME BE THE ONE Five Star
32 ( 21 ) DUEL Propaganda
33 ( 33 ) 5 MINUTES (ONE DAY - LIES LIES..) Mainframe
34 ( 59 ) LONG TIME Arrow
35 ( 23 ) MY TOOT TOOT Denise La Salle
36 ( 39 ) THE GOONIES ‘R’ GOOD ENOUGH Cyndi Lauper
37 ( 27 ) BORN IN THE USA/ I’M ON FIRE Bruce Springsteen
38 ( NEW ) YOU’RE THE ONE FOR ME D. Train
39 ( 35 ) “19” Paul Hardcastle
40 ( 60 ) DON QUIXOTE Nik Kershaw

41 ( 28 ) TOMB OF MEMORIES Paul Young
42 ( 36 ) SO IN LOVE OMD
43 ( 29 ) LIFE IN ONE DAY Howard Jones
44 ( 69 ) GLORY DAYS Bruce Springsteen
45 ( 45 ) CRY Godley And Creme
46 ( 44 ) EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD Tears For Fears
47 ( 42 ) OBSESSION Animotion
48 ( 48 ) THE LAST KISS David Cassidy
49 ( 49 ) GOLDEN YEARS Loose Ends
50 ( 38 ) HEAD OVER HEELS Tears For Fears

51 ( 31 ) VIVE LE ROCK Adam Ant
52 ( 40 ) OUT OF TOUCH Daryl Hall and John Oates
53 ( 50 ) MEGAREX T.Rex
54 ( 47 ) KAYLEIGH Marillion
55 ( 58 ) MONEY FOR NOTHING Dire Straits
56 ( 41 ) FRANKIE Sister Sledge
57 ( 55 ) DON’T FALL IN LOVE (I SAID) Toyah
58 ( NEW ) SOME PEOPLE Belouis Some
59 ( 43 ) TURN IT UP The Conway Brothers
60 ( NEW ) GOODBYE GIRL Go West

61 ( 46 ) DANCING IN THE KEY OF LIFE Steve Arrington
62 ( 53 ) CRAZY FOR YOU Madonna
63 ( 57 ) PAISLEY PARK Prince
64 ( 73 ) EMPTY ROOMS Gary Moore
65 ( 61 ) JOHNNY COME HOME Fine Young Cannibals
66 ( NEW ) CAN’T LEAVE YOU ALONE Tracie Young
67 ( 67 ) NOW THAT WE’VE FOUND LOVE Third World
68 ( 66 ) WELCOME TO THE PLEASURE DOME Frankie Goes To Hollywood
69 ( 62 ) ROMANCE (LET YOUR HEART GO) David Cassidy
70 ( NEW ) DO YOU WANT CRYING Katrina And The Waves

71 ( NEW ) FARON YOUNG Prefab Sprout
72 ( 71 ) CALL ME Go West
73 ( 68 ) THE WORD GIRL Scritti Politti
74 ( NEW ) SUMMER OF ’69 Bryan Adams
75 ( 65 ) LOVING THE ALIEN David Bowie
76 ( NEW ) ALWAYS ON MY MIND Elvis Presley



TV Aug 3rd-9th
1 Hill Street Blues
2 Cheers
3 Top Of The Pops
4 The Phil Silvers Show
5 Batman

Posted by: popchartfreak 12th January 2017, 04:01 PM

13th August 1985

2 weeks for the heartbreaking Cars classic on top, as Kate Bush runs up that hill to 6 and her biggest track since Sat In Your Lap 4 years earlier. That obscure Mainframe track remains unavailable in 2017, but it's jolly enough technopop up to 16 for 5 minutes, and Amazulu get all excitable at grabbing a top 20. Dire Straits take their classic Money For Nothing up a whopping 32 spots, with an assist from Sting, who also enters at 43 with his own single - Love Is The Seventh Wave. Elvis' 1972 oldie, meanwhile, is back in the 40 some 12 years after dropping out, Always On My Mind was one of his better ballad-years songs. In at 36, we have Princess joining Prince inside the 40, new with Say I'm Your Number One, just ahead of Baltimora's fun (if cheesy) Tarzan Boy.

Other newies: Marc Almond and his good Stories Of Johnny in at 57, Mai Tai get a follow-up hit to History, the late Glen Frey is new at 62 with Sexy Girl, 60's legend Aretha Franklin returns back on form (of sorts, not exactly SOUL form, but pleasant enough) and Freeway Of Love, giving her a then-impressive 17 years of chart entries. Finally, in at 75, it's Tequila from No Way Jose and their version of The Champs classic 1958 Spanish-language hit, done 80's stylee. Suggs eventually borrowed it for his hit No More Alcohol, and not to be confused with the unrealted Terrorvision track of the same Tequila name which is just as fab.


1 ( 1 ) DRIVE The Cars
2 ( 2 ) HOLIDAY Madonna
3 ( 3 ) THERE MUST BE AN ANGEL (PLAYING WITH MY HEART) Eurythmics
4 ( 5 ) WE DON’T NEED ANOTHER HERO (THUNDERDOME) Tina Turner
5 ( 6 ) INTO THE GROOVE Madonna
6 ( 28 ) RUNNING UP THAT HILL Kate Bush
7 ( 7 ) WHITE WEDDING Billy Idol
8 ( 4 ) IN BETWEEN DAYS The Cure
9 ( 10 ) IN YOUR CAR The Cool Notes
10 ( 13 ) CHANGE Sparks

11 ( 8 ) ROUND AND ROUND Jaki Graham
12 ( 9 ) SHE SELLS SANCTUARY The Cult
13 ( 16 ) RASPBERRY BERET Prince
14 ( 17 ) SECRET OMD
15 ( 19 ) I GOT YOU BABE UB40 and Chrissie Hynde
16 ( 33 ) 5 MINUTES (ONE DAY - LIES LIES..) Mainframe
17 ( 27 ) EXCITABLE Amazulu
18 ( 18 ) HELP! The Beatles
19 ( 12 ) GETCHA BACK The Beach Boys
20 ( 11 ) IN TOO DEEP Dead Or Alive

21 ( 26 ) TAKE ME HOME Phil Collins
22 ( 14 ) YOU’RE MY HEART YOU’RE MY SOUL Modern Talking
23 ( 55 ) MONEY FOR NOTHING Dire Straits
24 ( 38 ) YOU’RE THE ONE FOR ME D. Train
25 ( 15 ) LIVE IS LIFE Opus
26 ( 29 ) DARE ME The Pointer Sisters
27 ( 31 ) LET ME BE THE ONE Five Star
28 ( 40 ) DON QUIXOTE Nik Kershaw
29 ( 34 ) LONG TIME Arrow
30 ( 20 ) HISTORY Mai Tai

31 ( 21 ) MONEY’S TOO TIGHT (TO MENTION) Simply Red
32 ( 76 ) ALWAYS ON MY MIND Elvis Presley
33 ( 22 ) YOU AND YOUR HEART SO BLUE Bucks Fizz
34 ( 23 ) LOVING YOU Feargal Sharkey
35 ( 30 ) AXEL F Harold Faltemeyer
36 ( NEW ) SAY I’M YOUR NUMBER ONE Princess
37 ( 44 ) GLORY DAYS Bruce Springsteen
38 ( 24 ) SHADOW OF LOVE The Damned
39 ( NEW ) TARZAN BOY Baltimora
40 ( 35 ) MY TOOT TOOT Denise La Salle

41 ( 32 ) DUEL Propaganda
42 ( 39 ) “19” Paul Hardcastle
43 ( NEW ) LOVE IS THE SEVENTH WAVE Sting
44 ( 37 ) BORN IN THE USA/ I’M ON FIRE Bruce Springsteen
45 ( 42 ) SO IN LOVE OMD
46 ( 25 ) LIVING ON VIDEO Trans X
47 ( 60 ) GOODBYE GIRL Go West
48 ( 45 ) CRY Godley And Creme
49 ( 48 ) THE LAST KISS David Cassidy
50 ( 46 ) EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD Tears For Fears

51 ( 58 ) SOME PEOPLE Belouis Some
52 ( 36 ) THE GOONIES ‘R’ GOOD ENOUGH Cyndi Lauper
53 ( 47 ) OBSESSION Animotion
54 ( 53 ) MEGAREX T.Rex
55 ( 41 ) TOMB OF MEMORIES Paul Young
56 ( 66 ) CAN’T LEAVE YOU ALONE Tracie Young
57 ( NEW ) STORIES OF JOHNNY Marc Almond
58 ( 43 ) LIFE IN ONE DAY Howard Jones
59 ( 74 ) SUMMER OF ’69 Bryan Adams
60 ( NEW ) BODY AND SOUL Mai Tai

61 ( 70 ) DO YOU WANT CRYING Katrina And The Waves
62 ( NEW ) SEXY GIRL Glenn Frey
63 ( 64 ) EMPTY ROOMS Gary Moore
64 ( 57 ) DON’T FALL IN LOVE (I SAID) Toyah
65 ( 54 ) KAYLEIGH Marillion
66 ( 67 ) NOW THAT WE’VE FOUND LOVE Third World
67 ( 52 ) OUT OF TOUCH Daryl Hall and John Oates
68 ( NEW ) FREEWAY OF LOVE Aretha Franklin
69 ( 56 ) FRANKIE Sister Sledge
70 ( 68 ) WELCOME TO THE PLEASURE DOME Frankie Goes To Hollywood

71 ( 63 ) PAISLEY PARK Prince
72 ( 50 ) HEAD OVER HEELS Tears For Fears
73 ( 62 ) CRAZY FOR YOU Madonna
74 ( 69 ) ROMANCE (LET YOUR HEART GO) David Cassidy
75 ( NEW ) TEQUILA No Way Jose

In which a classic Comic Strip episode almost tops a classic Star Trek episode. The Latter has the late under-rated Don Marshall as a cynical scientist who has it in for Spock, just before he took on Land Of The Giants I think. Rik Mayall is awesome in Comic Strip as a Clint Eastwood-ish cowboy-themed wannabe: "I think....I'm getting..a suntan" Beatles on a jukebox: "John Paul George and Gringo, hah ha hah". Betty White, now legendary Golden Girl, was also popping up in my faves immediately before she started with the other Gals.

TV 10th-16th Aug
1 Star Trek: Galileo Seven
2 Comic Strip Presents: A Fistful Of Travellers Cheques
3 Hill Street Blues
4 Top Of The Pops
5 The Betty White Show
6 Gun Shy
7 Batman
8 Bewitched
9 The Making Of Supergirl
10 The Rock ‘n’ Roll Years

Posted by: popchartfreak 12th January 2017, 07:41 PM

20th August 1985

3 weeks for the Cars, as Kate Bush gets her first number 2 since Wuthering Heights 7 years earlier. Tarzan Boy and Money For Nothing leap bigly into the 10. These days it would be Dire Straits featuring Sting, who goes top 40 elsewhere. Phil Collins under-rated Take Me Home makes the 20, and Princess leaps into the 20 as Prince falls out, but King enter at 30 with Alone Without You. Where's Queen when you want the complete Royal set?!

Highest new entry is Madness - Yesterday's Men at 28 being a somewhat subdued version of Madness - with hip hop dance making inroads at 29 for Lisa Lisa & co. It sounded a bit different in song structure style at the time, though I havent heard it in decades so not sure how it holds up. Hang on while I check.....well, the beats are a bit dated, and the lack of a big-hook is still somewhat charming. At 37, Bryan Ferry is back with his last great single, Don't Stop The Dance - it was all downhill after this sadly, after a good 13 years of Roxy and solo stuff.

Marc Almond & Belouis Some get another top 40 as new entries lower down include, Amii Stewart's 1979 disco banger Knock On Wood back again, a brilliant new pop goodie from Red Box, Lean On Me (Ah Li-Ayo) at 63, soooo catchy and chanty. At 67, Propaganda get a third hit with Trevor-Horn-produced P-Machinery, The Stylistics are back after a gap of 8 years with Love Is Not The Answer at 71, some 13 years after debuting, and Canadian pop star Corey Hart pops in again. Think Justin Bieber of the 80's....only a better singer, and not dance.

1 ( 1 ) DRIVE The Cars
2 ( 6 ) RUNNING UP THAT HILL Kate Bush
3 ( 5 ) INTO THE GROOVE Madonna
4 ( 2 ) HOLIDAY Madonna
5 ( 3 ) THERE MUST BE AN ANGEL (PLAYING WITH MY HEART) Eurythmics
6 ( 4 ) WE DON’T NEED ANOTHER HERO (THUNDERDOME) Tina Turner
7 ( 39 ) TARZAN BOY Baltimora
8 ( 23 ) MONEY FOR NOTHING Dire Straits
9 ( 7 ) WHITE WEDDING Billy Idol
10 ( 15 ) I GOT YOU BABE UB40 and Chrissie Hynde

11 ( 8 ) IN BETWEEN DAYS The Cure
12 ( 17 ) EXCITABLE Amazulu
13 ( 9 ) IN YOUR CAR The Cool Notes
14 ( 21 ) TAKE ME HOME Phil Collins
15 ( 36 ) SAY I’M YOUR NUMBER ONE Princess
16 ( 16 ) 5 MINUTES (ONE DAY - LIES LIES..) Mainframe
17 ( 10 ) CHANGE Sparks
18 ( 12 ) SHE SELLS SANCTUARY The Cult
19 ( 11 ) ROUND AND ROUND Jaki Graham
20 ( 28 ) DON QUIXOTE Nik Kershaw

21 ( 13 ) RASPBERRY BERET Prince
22 ( 24 ) YOU’RE THE ONE FOR ME D. Train
23 ( 19 ) GETCHA BACK The Beach Boys
24 ( 27 ) LET ME BE THE ONE Five Star
25 ( 14 ) SECRET OMD
26 ( 20 ) IN TOO DEEP Dead Or Alive
27 ( 32 ) ALWAYS ON MY MIND Elvis Presley
28 ( NEW ) YESTERDAY’S MEN Madness
29 ( NEW ) I WONDER IF I TAKE YOU HOME Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force
30 ( NEW ) ALONE WITHOUT YOU King

31 ( 22 ) YOU’RE MY HEART YOU’RE MY SOUL Modern Talking
32 ( 18 ) HELP! The Beatles
33 ( 25 ) LIVE IS LIFE Opus
34 ( 26 ) DARE ME The Pointer Sisters
35 ( 51 ) SOME PEOPLE Belouis Some
36 ( 37 ) GLORY DAYS Bruce Springsteen
37 ( NEW ) DON’T STOP THE DANCE Bryan Ferry
38 ( 30 ) HISTORY Mai Tai
39 ( 56 ) STORIES OF JOHNNY Marc Almond
40 ( 43 ) LOVE IS THE SEVENTH WAVE Sting

41 ( 31 ) MONEY’S TOO TIGHT (TO MENTION) Simply Red
42 ( 42 ) “19” Paul Hardcastle
43 ( 29 ) LONG TIME Arrow
44 ( 33 ) YOU AND YOUR HEART SO BLUE Bucks Fizz
45 ( 35 ) AXEL F Harold Faltemeyer
46 ( 59 ) SUMMER OF ’69 Bryan Adams
47 ( 63 ) EMPTY ROOMS Gary Moore
48 ( 45 ) SO IN LOVE OMD
49 ( 49 ) THE LAST KISS David Cassidy
50 ( 48 ) CRY Godley And Creme

51 ( 44 ) BORN IN THE USA/ I’M ON FIRE Bruce Springsteen
52 ( 50 ) EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD Tears For Fears
53 ( 38 ) SHADOW OF LOVE The Damned
54 ( 60 ) BODY AND SOUL Mai Tai
55 ( 40 ) MY TOOT TOOT Denise La Salle
56 ( 54 ) MEGAREX T.Rex
57 ( 41 ) DUEL Propaganda
58 ( RE ) DON’T YOU (FORGET ABOUT ME) Simple Minds
59 ( NEW ) KNOCK ON WOOD Amii Stewart
60 ( 47 ) GOODBYE GIRL Go West

61 ( 61 ) DO YOU WANT CRYING Katrina And The Waves
62 ( 62 ) SEXY GIRL Glen Frey
63 ( NEW ) LEAN ON ME (AH-LI-AYO) Red Box
64 ( 34 ) LOVING YOU Feargal Sharkey
65 ( 53 ) OBSESSION Animotion
66 ( 55 ) TOMB OF MEMORIES Paul Young
67 ( NEW ) P-MACHINERY Propaganda
68 ( 56 ) CAN’T LEAVE YOU ALONE Tracie Young
69 ( 66 ) NOW THAT WE’VE FOUND LOVE Third World
70 ( 75 ) TEQUILA No Way Jose

71 ( NEW ) LOVE IS NOT THE ANSWER The Stylistics
72 ( 46 ) LIVING ON VIDEO Trans X
73 ( NEW ) TAKES A LITTLE TIME Total Contrast
74 ( 64 ) DON’T FALL IN LOVE (I SAID) Toyah
75 ( NEW ) NEVER SURRENDER Corey Hart

A future movie franchise pops up (The Naked Gun) and a future court case (Bill Cosby) and 2 MTM productions at 2 and 3 from the 70's, a drama spin-off from a sitcom. Both starred the future voice of "Up" Ed Asner.

TV 17th-23rd Aug
1 Star Trek: Court Martial
2 The Mary Tyler Moore Show
3 Lou Grant
4 Comic Strip Presents: Gino
5 Hill Street Blues
6 Batman
7 Police Squad
8 Top Of The Pops
9 I Dream Of Jeannie
10 The Bill Cosby Show

Posted by: popchartfreak 16th January 2017, 06:49 PM

27th August 1985

It's Kate Bush getting her first chart-topper with the classic Running Up That Hill, so good it did it all over again for the London Olympics in 2012. That means Madonna's UK chart-topper (and biggest UK hit) Into The Groove is in runners-up.

Phil Collins gets another top 10, his 4th or so, with a minor UK hit, Dan Hartman is reactivated and I Can Dream About You is back at 13, a good single and 7 years on from his debut Instant Replay. Just behind is the Live Aid charity single (the main reason I bought it, though the video was fun, and it was good to see Bowie and Jagger together), the pedestrian cover of the Martha & The Vandellas classic Dancing In The Street which went top 10 in my charts in 1969. Bryan Ferry goes top 20, Amii Stewart is back in the 40 6 years on with Knock On Wood, also a cover of a 60's soul classic, and John Parr's movie theme tune megahit is in at 36, and Stevie Wonder's last UK big hit is at 40, Part Time Lover borrowing a Supremes 60's rhythm track (as did Hall & Oates) for a pop goodie.

That leaves follow-up hits for the Thompson Twins, Kim Carnes back after a gap, and 5 years after debut 60's soul cover More Love went top 20 in my charts (60's covers bit of a theme!), David Cassidy, Bananarama, and Odyssey (who get a span of 7 years).



1 ( 2 ) RUNNING UP THAT HILL Kate Bush
2 ( 3 ) INTO THE GROOVE Madonna
3 ( 1 ) DRIVE The Cars
4 ( 7 ) TARZAN BOY Baltimora
5 ( 8 ) MONEY FOR NOTHING Dire Straits
6 ( 4 ) HOLIDAY Madonna
7 ( 5 ) THERE MUST BE AN ANGEL (PLAYING WITH MY HEART) Eurythmics
8 ( 9 ) WHITE WEDDING Billy Idol
9 ( 6 ) WE DON’T NEED ANOTHER HERO (THUNDERDOME) Tina Turner
10 ( 14 ) TAKE ME HOME Phil Collins

11 ( 31 ) YOU’RE MY HEART YOU’RE MY SOUL Modern Talking
12 ( 15 ) SAY I’M YOUR NUMBER ONE Princess
13 ( NEW ) I CAN DREAM ABOUT YOU Dan Hartman
14 ( NEW ) DANCING IN THE STREET David Bowie & Mick Jagger
15 ( 11 ) IN BETWEEN DAYS The Cure
16 ( 12 ) EXCITABLE Amazulu
17 ( 30 ) ALONE WITHOUT YOU King
18 ( 29 ) I WONDER IF I TAKE YOU HOME Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force
19 ( 37 ) DON’T STOP THE DANCE Bryan Ferry
20 ( 10 ) I GOT YOU BABE UB40 and Chrissie Hynde

21 ( 13 ) IN YOUR CAR The Cool Notes
22 ( 22 ) YOU’RE THE ONE FOR ME D. Train
23 ( 28 ) YESTERDAY’S MEN Madness
24 ( 39 ) STORIES OF JOHNNY Marc Almond
25 ( 20 ) DON QUIXOTE Nik Kershaw
26 ( 18 ) SHE SELLS SANCTUARY The Cult
27 ( 27 ) ALWAYS ON MY MIND Elvis Presley
28 ( 17 ) CHANGE Sparks
29 ( 23 ) GETCHA BACK The Beach Boys
30 ( 19 ) ROUND AND ROUND Jaki Graham

31 ( 25 ) SECRET OMD
32 ( 16 ) 5 MINUTES (ONE DAY - LIES LIES..) Mainframe
33 ( 44 ) YOU AND YOUR HEART SO BLUE Bucks Fizz
34 ( 59 ) KNOCK ON WOOD Amii Stewart
35 ( 35 ) SOME PEOPLE Belouis Some
36 ( NEW ) ST. ELMO’S FIRE (MAN IN MOTION) John Farr
37 ( 26 ) IN TOO DEEP Dead Or Alive
38 ( 40 ) LOVE IS THE SEVENTH WAVE Sting
39 ( 47 ) EMPTY ROOMS Gary Moore
40 ( NEW ) PART TIME LOVER Stevie Wonder

41 ( 21 ) RASPBERRY BERET Prince
42 ( 46 ) SUMMER OF ’69 Bryan Adams
43 ( 42 ) “19” Paul Hardcastle
44 ( 24 ) LET ME BE THE ONE Five Star
45 ( NEW ) DON’T MESS WITH DR. DREAM The Thompson Twins
46 ( 33 ) LIVE IS LIFE Opus
47 ( 73 ) TAKES A LITTLE TIME Total Contrast
48 ( 49 ) THE LAST KISS David Cassidy
49 ( 38 ) HISTORY Mai Tai
50 ( 54 ) BODY AND SOUL Mai Tai

51 ( 48 ) SO IN LOVE OMD
52 ( 50 ) CRY Godley And Creme
53 ( 52 ) EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD Tears For Fears
54 ( 34 ) DARE ME The Pointer Sisters
55 ( 45 ) AXEL F Harold Faltemeyer
56 ( NEW ) CRAZY IN THE NIGHT Kim Carnes
57 ( 56 ) MEGAREX T.Rex
58 ( 60 ) GOODBYE GIRL Go West
59 ( 36 ) GLORY DAYS Bruce Springsteen
60 ( 43 ) LONG TIME Arrow

61 ( 63 ) LEAN ON ME (AH-LI-AYO) Red Box
62 ( 41 ) MONEY’S TOO TIGHT (TO MENTION) Simply Red
63 ( 75 ) NEVER SURRENDER Corey Hart
64 ( 67 ) P-MACHINERY Propaganda
65 ( 57 ) DUEL Propaganda
66 ( NEW ) POWER OF LOVE Huey Lewis & The News
67 ( 51 ) BORN IN THE USA/ I’M ON FIRE Bruce Springsteen
68 ( 58 ) DON’T YOU (FORGET ABOUT ME) Simple Minds
69 ( 69 ) NOW THAT WE’VE FOUND LOVE Third World
70 ( NEW ) SOMEONE David Cassidy

71 ( NEW ) BODY ROCK Maria Vidal
72 ( 61 ) DO YOU WANT CRYING Katrina And The Waves
73 ( NEW ) DO NOT DISTURB Bananarama
74 ( 53 ) SHADOW OF LOVE The Damned
75 ( NEW ) (JOY) I KNOW IT Odyssey

Everything coming up Star Trek, MTM shows, and the Comic Strip/Young Ones comics for me on TV, as Back To The Future gets some early promo with the Huey Lewis Power Of Love entering the chart.

TV 24th-30th Aug
1 Star Trek: Menagerie Pt 2
2 Star Trek: Menagerie Pt 1
3 Hill Street Blues
4 The Young Ones
5 Cheers
6 Comic Strip Presents: 5 Go Mad On Mescalin
7 The Munsters
8 Lou Grant
9 Top Of The Pops
10 Leonard Nimoy: Memories Of Star Trek
11 Police Squad
12 Bob Monkhouse Meets Joan Rivers
13 Doctor Who: Resurrection Of The Daleks
14 Comic Strip Presents: Slags
15 Bewitched

Posted by: popchartfreak 15th September 2017, 07:17 PM

2nd September 2017

having peaked at 5 and dropped, it's a sudden climb to top my charts for Bucks Fizz' chart-flop (but fab) You And Your Heart So Blue, their 4th time on top. I think I bought the record in the cut-price basket and got to play it loud, as it should be. Mick & Dave go top 10 along with Bry just behind, all 3 of 'em dad dancing. The Thompson Twins shoot up into the 20 with Don't Mess With Doctor Dream, not one of their bigger UK chart hits, but I liked it. Amii Stewart takes her 2 remixed 1979 top hits back into the 20, Red Box' fabness drives into the 30, and highest new entry is the obscure follow-up to the classic Life In A Northern Town from Dream Academy, at 29.

Bananarama ask not to be disturbed, just about the last of their Jolly Swainey jangletoons, as Mai Tai also drink to making the top 40, and a rock classic, err, limps up to 36 for Bryan Adams, possibly cos I recalled the Summer of '69 very well and it sounded much better than that! Blancmange are back, What's Your Problem? they ask - to which the answer is, no more big hits, sadly. Enjoyed them recently in concert though (2016). There's another well-recalled song from Bonnie Tyler popping in at 60, that was decent enough, but no Total Eclipse Of The Heart. Laura Branigan is also back, with a track I've forgotten, Dio rocks in, and best of all a ballad from Dusty Springfield brings her back into my chart, more in line with her 60's stuff than the fab gentle disco of Baby Blue in 1979.


1 ( 33 ) YOU AND YOUR HEART SO BLUE Bucks Fizz
2 ( 1 ) RUNNING UP THAT HILL Kate Bush
3 ( 2 ) INTO THE GROOVE Madonna
4 ( 4 ) TARZAN BOY Baltimora
5 ( 3 ) DRIVE The Cars
6 ( 14 ) DANCING IN THE STREET David Bowie & Mick Jagger
7 ( 6 ) HOLIDAY Madonna
8 ( 19 ) DON’T STOP THE DANCE Bryan Ferry
9 ( 8 ) WHITE WEDDING Billy Idol
10 ( 7 ) THERE MUST BE AN ANGEL (PLAYING WITH MY HEART) Eurythmics

11 ( 5 ) MONEY FOR NOTHING Dire Straits
12 ( 12 ) SAY I’M YOUR NUMBER ONE Princess
13 ( 13 ) I CAN DREAM ABOUT YOU Dan Hartman
14 ( 18 ) I WONDER IF I TAKE YOU HOME Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force
15 ( 17 ) ALONE WITHOUT YOU King
16 ( 45 ) DON’T MESS WITH DR. DREAM The Thompson Twins
17 ( 10 ) TAKE ME HOME Phil Collins
18 ( 9 ) WE DON’T NEED ANOTHER HERO (THUNDERDOME) Tina Turner
19 ( 34 ) KNOCK ON WOOD/ LIGHT MY FIRE Amii Stewart
20 ( 23 ) YESTERDAY’S MEN Madness

21 ( 22 ) YOU’RE THE ONE FOR ME D. Train
22 ( 24 ) STORIES OF JOHNNY Marc Almond
23 ( 20 ) I GOT YOU BABE UB40 and Chrissie Hynde
24 ( 40 ) PART TIME LOVER Stevie Wonder
25 ( 11 ) YOU’RE MY HEART YOU’RE MY SOUL Modern Talking
26 ( 15 ) IN BETWEEN DAYS The Cure
27 ( 61 ) LEAN ON ME (AH-LI-AYO) Red Box
28 ( 25 ) DON QUIXOTE Nik Kershaw
29 ( NEW ) THE LOVE PARADE Dream Academy
30 ( 16 ) EXCITABLE Amazulu

31 ( 73 ) DO NOT DISTURB Bananarama
32 ( 39 ) EMPTY ROOMS Gary Moore
33 ( 50 ) BODY AND SOUL Mai Tai
34 ( 29 ) GETCHA BACK The Beach Boys
35 ( 36 ) ST. ELMO’S FIRE (MAN IN MOTION) John Parr
36 ( 42 ) SUMMER OF ’69 Bryan Adams
37 ( 37 ) IN TOO DEEP Dead Or Alive
38 ( 38 ) LOVE IS THE SEVENTH WAVE Sting
39 ( 21 ) IN YOUR CAR The Cool Notes
40 ( 30 ) ROUND AND ROUND Jaki Graham

41 ( 26 ) SHE SELLS SANCTUARY The Cult
42 ( 28 ) CHANGE Sparks
43 ( 47 ) TAKES A LITTLE TIME Total Contrast
44 ( 31 ) SECRET OMD
45 ( 43 ) “19” Paul Hardcastle
46 ( NEW ) WHAT’S YOUR PROBLEM? Blancmange
47 ( 71 ) BODY ROCK Maria Vidal
48 ( 56 ) CRAZY IN THE NIGHT Kim Carnes
49 ( 48 ) THE LAST KISS David Cassidy
50 ( 66 ) POWER OF LOVE Huey Lewis & The News

51 ( 51 ) SO IN LOVE OMD
52 ( 52 ) CRY Godley And Creme
53 ( 53 ) EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD Tears For Fears
54 ( 49 ) HISTORY Mai Tai
55 ( 27 ) ALWAYS ON MY MIND Elvis Presley
56 ( 32 ) 5 MINUTES (ONE DAY - LIES LIES..) Mainframe
57 ( 44 ) LET ME BE THE ONE Five Star
58 ( 57 ) MEGAREX T.Rex
59 ( 35 ) SOME PEOPLE Belouis Some
60 ( NEW ) HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO Bonnie Tyler

61 ( 41 ) RASPBERRY BERET Prince
62 ( NEW ) SPANISH EDDIE Laura Branigan
63 ( 63 ) NEVER SURRENDER Corey Hart
64 ( 70 ) SOMEONE David Cassidy
65 ( 54 ) DARE ME The Pointer Sisters
66 ( 55 ) AXEL F Harold Faltemeyer
67 ( NEW ) ROCK ‘N’ ROLL CHILDREN Dio
68 ( 75 ) (JOY) I KNOW IT Odyssey
69 ( NEW ) SOMETIMES LIKE BUTTERFLIES Dusty Springfield
70 ( 58 ) GOODBYE GIRL Go West

71 ( 69 ) NOW THAT WE’VE FOUND LOVE Third World
72 ( 46 ) LIVE IS LIFE Opus
73 ( NEW ) UNKISS THAT KISS Stephen Duffy
74 ( 68 ) DON’T YOU (FORGET ABOUT ME) Simple Minds
75 ( 65 ) DUEL Propaganda

Posted by: popchartfreak 15th September 2017, 08:02 PM

w/e 10th September 1985

It's Dancing In The Live Aid Street as Bowie & Jagger outdo the Martha & The Vandellas original in my charts - though not in terms of quality! Red Box rocket to 2, catchy left-wing-pop, and The Twins get a 3rd or 4th top 10 and Dan Hartman a second, some 7 years after the first (Instant Replay). There's loads of new entries in a busy chart, and Blancmange jump into the 40 at 22, Bonnie Tyler to 29 for 9 years of hits, and 2 early 80's reissued Tears For Fears singles make the 40 belatedly - though Pale Shelter did it in 1982 in re-recorded form, a track used as the basis to the fab The Weeknd's Secrets, which topped my chart months back as I write (2017).

Highest actual new track - If I Was. Midge Ure's solo mini-masterpiece followed the Ultravox break-up, and gave him a first solo hit since his cover of No Regrets went top 10 in 1982, and 9 years since he was very young and Slik, Forever And Ever. Carly Simon, as ever in those days, back with the occasional minor hit at 38, her best since Will Powers' Kissing With Confidence hit 2 in my charts in 1983 (she did all the singing). Billy Idol's early 80's American hit finally also charts in the UK, and recharts here, as follow up to White Wedding: Rebel Yell!

Others, Marillion dilly-dillying, Bucks Fizz are Magical, though actually less magical than the track dropping from the top of my charts, Strawberry Switchblade cover a 1976 top 10 for Dolly Parton, that'll be Jolene then, Hipsway do a spot of gospel, the Frankie gals miss a perfect opportunity to retitle a song Dancing On The Jagged Sledge, Heaven 17 and Propaganda lease out their lead vocalists for a duet I've forgotten - though like the sound of it so I'm bound to youtube it and buy it as I didn't get it at the time. Scritti Politti are back with a laid-back Green sounding American hit, Lloyd Cole causes a mild commotion a year on from Perfect Skin, and China Crisis get a paper cut. Phew!

1 ( 6 ) DANCING IN THE STREET David Bowie & Mick Jagger
2 ( 27 ) LEAN ON ME (AH-LI-AYO) Red Box
3 ( 2 ) RUNNING UP THAT HILL Kate Bush
4 ( 4 ) TARZAN BOY Baltimora
5 ( 8 ) DON’T STOP THE DANCE Bryan Ferry
6 ( 3 ) INTO THE GROOVE Madonna
7 ( 1 ) YOU AND YOUR HEART SO BLUE Bucks Fizz
8 ( 16 ) DON’T MESS WITH DR. DREAM The Thompson Twins
9 ( 5 ) DRIVE The Cars
10 ( 13 ) I CAN DREAM ABOUT YOU Dan Hartman

11 ( 12 ) SAY I’M YOUR NUMBER ONE Princess
12 ( 15 ) ALONE WITHOUT YOU King
13 ( 7 ) HOLIDAY Madonna
14 ( 9 ) WHITE WEDDING Billy Idol
15 ( 19 ) KNOCK ON WOOD/ LIGHT MY FIRE Amii Stewart
16 ( 29 ) THE LOVE PARADE Dream Academy
17 ( 24 ) PART TIME LOVER Stevie Wonder
18 ( 11 ) MONEY FOR NOTHING Dire Straits
19 ( 22 ) STORIES OF JOHNNY Marc Almond
20 ( 20 ) YESTERDAY’S MEN Madness

21 ( 10 ) THERE MUST BE AN ANGEL (PLAYING WITH MY HEART) Eurythmics
22 ( 46 ) WHAT’S YOUR PROBLEM? Blancmange
23 ( 14 ) I WONDER IF I TAKE YOU HOME Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force
24 ( 21 ) YOU’RE THE ONE FOR ME D. Train
25 ( 17 ) TAKE ME HOME Phil Collins
26 ( 18 ) WE DON’T NEED ANOTHER HERO (THUNDERDOME) Tina Turner
27 ( NEW ) PALE SHELTER Tears For Fears
28 ( 31 ) DO NOT DISTURB Bananarama
29 ( 60 ) HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO Bonnie Tyler
30 ( 33 ) BODY AND SOUL Mai Tai

31 ( 23 ) I GOT YOU BABE UB40 and Chrissie Hynde
32 ( 35 ) ST. ELMO’S FIRE (MAN IN MOTION) John Parr
33 ( NEW ) IF I WAS Midge Ure
34 ( 50 ) POWER OF LOVE Huey Lewis & The News
35 ( NEW ) SUFFER THE CHILDREN Tears For Fears
36 ( 36 ) SUMMER OF ’69 Bryan Adams
37 ( 25 ) YOU’RE MY HEART YOU’RE MY SOUL Modern Talking
38 ( NEW ) MY BEST BOYFRIEND Carly Simon
39 ( 26 ) IN BETWEEN DAYS The Cure
40 ( NEW ) REBEL YELL Billy Idol

41 ( 34 ) GETCHA BACK The Beach Boys
42 ( 28 ) DON QUIXOTE Nik Kershaw
43 ( 43 ) TAKES A LITTLE TIME Total Contrast
44 ( 38 ) LOVE IS THE SEVENTH WAVE Sting
45 ( 47 ) BODY ROCK Maria Vidal
46 ( 37 ) IN TOO DEEP Dead Or Alive
47 ( 45 ) “19” Paul Hardcastle
48 ( 40 ) ROUND AND ROUND Jaki Graham
49 ( 39 ) IN YOUR CAR The Cool Notes
50 ( 69 ) SOMETIMES LIKE BUTTERFLIES Dusty Springfield

51 ( 49 ) THE LAST KISS David Cassidy
52 ( 51 ) SO IN LOVE OMD
53 ( 62 ) SPANISH EDDIE Laura Branigan
54 ( 44 ) SECRET OMD
55 ( NEW ) LAVENDER Marillion
56 ( 41 ) SHE SELLS SANCTUARY The Cult
57 ( NEW ) MAGICAL Bucks Fizz
58 ( 58 ) MEGAREX T.Rex
59 ( 67 ) ROCK ‘N’ ROLL CHILDREN Dio
60 ( NEW ) JOLENE Strawberry Switchblade

61 ( 52 ) CRY Godley And Creme
62 ( 53 ) EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD Tears For Fears
63 ( 42 ) CHANGE Sparks
64 ( NEW ) ASK THE LORD Hipsway
65 ( NEW ) DANCING ON THE JAGGED EDGE Sister Sledge
66 ( 32 ) EMPTY ROOMS Gary Moore
67 ( NEW ) WHEN YOUR HEART RUNS OUT OF TIME Glen Gregory and Claudia Brucken
68 ( 30 ) EXCITABLE Amazulu
69 ( 54 ) HISTORY Mai Tai
70 ( NEW ) PERFECT WAY Scritti Politti

71 ( NEW ) BRAND NEW FRIEND Lloyd Cole & The Commotions
72 ( NEW ) THE SHOW (THEME FROM CONNIE) Rebecca Storm
73 ( 71 ) NOW THAT WE’VE FOUND LOVE Third World
74 ( NEW ) YOU DID CUT ME China Crisis
75 ( 48 ) CRAZY IN THE NIGHT Kim Carnes

Posted by: popchartfreak 29th September 2017, 07:56 PM

18th September 1985

It's a new number one, thankfully knocking off Bowie & Jagger from the top after one week only - Red Box and the fab Lean On Me. Tears For Fears grab another top 5, their 5th, with oldie Suffer The Children rocketing up. Blancmange also grab another top 10, their 3rd, and Stevie Wonder hits 9, 17 years after his first (For Once In My Life, a cover of a Tony Bennett minor hit from 1967). Stevie's also back assisting uncredited on Cliff's new song from Dave Clark's musical album of the future musical Time, and Cliff is also 17 years in to his career.

Midge Ure shoots up to 12, If I Was, and it's a magical rise to 26 for Bucks Fizz, back in the UK album chart this very week after an absence of 30-odd years - albeit known as The Fizz, and only three-quarters of the original line-up. Highest new entry is Madonna, she's a UK singles chart Angel in 1985, totally her year, no question. Changing the face of megapop to female vocalists. In at 36, a future shoddy hit cover for Eric Clapton, but here the brilliant original from Greg Phillinganes, Behind The Mask. Featured on Jonathan King's Entertainment USA, and still not a hit.

Rene and Renata have split up, and he's with Angela now - just kidding, it's a smooth soul act newly in, as The Cure are back swiftly with the fab Wardrobe-on-a-cliff Close To Me. At 60, Diana Ross follows up a great single with one that should have been brilliant, written by 2 Gibb brothers and Michael Jackson, who helps more than a little on production and vocals. Di had to wait a few months for a proper Bee Gees classic song though, without Jacko to bring it down a notch (clearly saving his best efforts for Bad).

Know how we look back fondly on those childhood novelty songs? There's one at 70, I have no memory of it at all, prob because I was 27 and not 7. Sneaking in at 74, it's 70's rock divas Heart, at long last charting with the triff What About Love. Sadly it took another another 3 years to progress further as Heart became AOR late 80's UK faves a good decade after US success. The Damned are also back. Is It A Dream? It's not Classix Nouveaux at any rate...

1 ( 2 ) LEAN ON ME (AH-LI-AYO) Red Box
2 ( 1 ) DANCING IN THE STREET David Bowie & Mick Jagger
3 ( 3 ) RUNNING UP THAT HILL Kate Bush
4 ( 8 ) DON’T MESS WITH DR. DREAM The Thompson Twins
5 ( 35 ) SUFFER THE CHILDREN Tears For Fears
6 ( 5 ) DON’T STOP THE DANCE Bryan Ferry
7 ( 4 ) TARZAN BOY Baltimora
8 ( 22 ) WHAT’S YOUR PROBLEM? Blancmange
9 ( 17 ) PART TIME LOVER Stevie Wonder
10 ( 9 ) DRIVE The Cars

11 ( 19 ) STORIES OF JOHNNY Marc Almond
12 ( 33 ) IF I WAS Midge Ure
13 ( 15 ) KNOCK ON WOOD/ LIGHT MY FIRE Amii Stewart
14 ( 6 ) INTO THE GROOVE Madonna
15 ( 7 ) YOU AND YOUR HEART SO BLUE Bucks Fizz
16 ( 16 ) THE LOVE PARADE Dream Academy
17 ( 20 ) YESTERDAY’S MEN Madness
18 ( 11 ) SAY I’M YOUR NUMBER ONE Princess
19 ( 10 ) I CAN DREAM ABOUT YOU Dan Hartman
20 ( 13 ) HOLIDAY Madonna

21 ( 29 ) HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO Bonnie Tyler
22 ( 12 ) ALONE WITHOUT YOU King
23 ( 18 ) MONEY FOR NOTHING Dire Straits
24 ( 14 ) WHITE WEDDING Billy Idol
25 ( 32 ) ST. ELMO’S FIRE (MAN IN MOTION) John Parr
26 ( 57 ) MAGICAL Bucks Fizz
27 ( 27 ) PALE SHELTER Tears For Fears
28 ( 21 ) THERE MUST BE AN ANGEL (PLAYING WITH MY HEART) Eurythmics
29 ( NEW ) ANGEL Madonna
30 ( 34 ) POWER OF LOVE Huey Lewis & The News

31 ( 40 ) REBEL YELL Billy Idol
32 ( 23 ) I WONDER IF I TAKE YOU HOME Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force
33 ( NEW ) SOMEONE David Cassidy
34 ( 26 ) WE DON’T NEED ANOTHER HERO (THUNDERDOME) Tina Turner
35 ( 38 ) MY BEST BOYFRIEND Carly Simon
36 ( NEW ) BEHIND THE MASK Greg Phillinganes
37 ( 24 ) YOU’RE THE ONE FOR ME D. Train
38 ( 45 ) BODY ROCK Maria Vidal
39 ( 55 ) LAVENDER Marillion
40 ( 71 ) BRAND NEW FRIEND Lloyd Cole & The Commotions

41 ( 28 ) DO NOT DISTURB Bananarama
42 ( 25 ) TAKE ME HOME Phil Collins
43 ( 30 ) BODY AND SOUL Mai Tai
44 ( 65 ) DANCING ON THE JAGGED EDGE Sister Sledge
45 ( 31 ) I GOT YOU BABE UB40 and Chrissie Hynde
46 ( NEW ) I’LL BE GOOD Rene And Angela
47 ( 41 ) GETCHA BACK The Beach Boys
48 ( NEW ) CLOSE TO ME The Cure
49 ( 60 ) JOLENE Strawberry Switchblade
50 ( 70 ) PERFECT WAY Scritti Politti

51 ( 47 ) “19” Paul Hardcastle
52 ( 51 ) THE LAST KISS David Cassidy
53 ( 46 ) IN TOO DEEP Dead Or Alive
54 ( 37 ) YOU’RE MY HEART YOU’RE MY SOUL Modern Talking
55 ( 39 ) IN BETWEEN DAYS The Cure
56 ( 64 ) ASK THE LORD Hipsway
57 ( NEW ) SHE’S SO BEAUTIFUL Cliff Richard
58 ( 52 ) SO IN LOVE OMD
59 ( 58 ) MEGAREX T.Rex
60 ( NEW ) EATEN ALIVE Diana Ross

61 ( 50 ) SOMETIMES LIKE BUTTERFLIES Dusty Springfield
62 ( 49 ) IN YOUR CAR The Cool Notes
63 ( 48 ) ROUND AND ROUND Jaki Graham
64 ( 72 ) THE SHOW (THEME FROM CONNIE) Rebecca Storm
65 ( NEW ) I THOUGHT I’D NEVER SEE YOU AGAIN Working Week
66 ( 67 ) WHEN YOUR HEART RUNS OUT OF TIME Glen Gregory and Claudia Brucken
67 ( 61 ) CRY Godley And Creme
68 ( 62 ) EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD Tears For Fears
69 ( 36 ) SUMMER OF ’69 Bryan Adams
70 ( NEW ) WOODPECKERS FROM SPACE Video Kids

71 ( 42 ) DON QUIXOTE Nik Kershaw
72 ( 73 ) NOW THAT WE’VE FOUND LOVE Third World
73 ( 44 ) LOVE IS THE SEVENTH WAVE Sting
74 ( NEW ) WHAT ABOUT LOVE Heart
75 ( NEW ) IS IT A DREAM The Damned

OLDIES CHART
1 SAVE THE COUNTRY The Fifth Dimension
2 GOOD MORNING STARSHINE Oliver
3 WITHOUT YOU Nilsson

Posted by: King Rollo 29th September 2017, 10:18 PM

Lean On Me by Red Box is a wonderful pop song so it's great to see it top your chart.

Posted by: popchartfreak 30th September 2017, 07:53 AM

QUOTE(King Rollo @ Sep 29 2017, 11:18 PM)

Posted by: popchartfreak 3rd October 2017, 07:33 PM

24th September 1985

It's Red Box for a second week on top as Stevie Wonder shoots up to get his last top 3 with new material, after a 17 year-run. Midge Ure is up to 4, beating his 1982 No Regrets cover, Madonna makes it 5 top 10's in 1985 with Angel, and The Cure get a 5th top 10 up 32 places. Greg Phillinganes and David Cassidy stride into the 20, and the highest new entry is a classic at 37 as A-Ha debut with Take On Me. That spearheads a mass invasion of new tracks, many of them inspired by the new pop TV show Jonathan King's No Limits - the theme tune itself debuts at 75, as new young presenters win an X-Factor type race to host the show.

In at 38, The Style Council are back with one of their best tracks, The Lodgers, and Dead Or Alive make it 4 hits in a row at 40, My Heart Goes Bang. At 42, Colonel Abrams funky dance Trapped, 44 is a recharting 1982 hit from America, and Kim Carnes is back 5 years since her debut with More Love, in at 50 and she's crazy in the night. Aren't we all.

Journey are massive in the 21st Century thanks to Don't Stop Believin', but back in 1985 they meant very little in the UK, though they had a few charting hits for me starting with Anyway You Want It in 1980. Steve Perrie steps out here for a solo hit, at 57, Cameo bung in some Single Life funk to follow up the fab She's Strange, future monster hit in the UK (but not her home USA) Jennifer Rush enters with The Power Of Love, the 3rd song within 12 months to use the title.

The Smiths near the end of their chart journey as The Boy With The Thorn In His Side sneaks in at 64, and Twiggy returns 9 years on from her chart debut, and 20 years since she burst onto the iconic British fashion scene, Jennifer Holliday is back 3 years on from her show-stopping, and unsurpassable, version of And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going from Dream Girls - being sung these days by Amber Riley, former Glee star, Glee of course covering Journey's Don't Stop Believin' to huge success, and causing the original to finally chart big in the UK.

Elaine Page returns, 4 years since Memories started her showtune singles chart career, and fresh off her UK chart-topper with Babs Dickson. That leaves Lou Reed making a chart comeback after quite a gap of time, some 12 years since Walk On The Wild Side, and Hall & Oates also back with a cover - in this case a Temptations medley. Phew! Loads of drop outs!

1 ( 1 ) LEAN ON ME (AH-LI-AYO) Red Box
2 ( 9 ) PART TIME LOVER Stevie Wonder
3 ( 3 ) RUNNING UP THAT HILL Kate Bush
4 ( 12 ) IF I WAS Midge Ure
5 ( 2 ) DANCING IN THE STREET David Bowie & Mick Jagger
6 ( 8 ) WHAT’S YOUR PROBLEM? Blancmange
7 ( 4 ) DON’T MESS WITH DR. DREAM The Thompson Twins
8 ( 29 ) ANGEL Madonna
9 ( 5 ) SUFFER THE CHILDREN Tears For Fears
10 ( 48 ) CLOSE TO ME The Cure

11 ( 7 ) TARZAN BOY Baltimora
12 ( 6 ) DON’T STOP THE DANCE Bryan Ferry
13 ( 10 ) DRIVE The Cars
14 ( 16 ) THE LOVE PARADE Dream Academy
15 ( 17 ) YESTERDAY’S MEN Madness
16 ( 36 ) BEHIND THE MASK Greg Phillinganes
17 ( 15 ) YOU AND YOUR HEART SO BLUE Bucks Fizz
18 ( 33 ) SOMEONE David Cassidy
19 ( 14 ) INTO THE GROOVE Madonna
20 ( 26 ) MAGICAL Bucks Fizz

21 ( 13 ) KNOCK ON WOOD/ LIGHT MY FIRE Amii Stewart
22 ( 31 ) REBEL YELL Billy Idol
23 ( 21 ) HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO Bonnie Tyler
24 ( 20 ) HOLIDAY Madonna
25 ( 18 ) SAY I’M YOUR NUMBER ONE Princess
26 ( 40 ) BRAND NEW FRIEND Lloyd Cole & The Commotions
27 ( 19 ) I CAN DREAM ABOUT YOU Dan Hartman
28 ( 11 ) STORIES OF JOHNNY Marc Almond
29 ( 38 ) BODY ROCK Maria Vidal
30 ( 39 ) LAVENDER Marillion

31 ( 46 ) I’LL BE GOOD Rene And Angela
32 ( 24 ) WHITE WEDDING Billy Idol
33 ( 23 ) MONEY FOR NOTHING Dire Straits
34 ( 28 ) THERE MUST BE AN ANGEL (PLAYING WITH MY HEART) Eurythmics
35 ( 35 ) MY BEST BOYFRIEND Carly Simon
36 ( 32 ) I WONDER IF I TAKE YOU HOME Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force
37 ( NEW ) TAKE ON ME A-Ha
38 ( NEW ) THE LODGERS The Style Council
39 ( 75 ) IS IT A DREAM The Damned
40 ( NEW ) MY HEART GOES BANG Dead Or Alive

41 ( 25 ) ST. ELMO’S FIRE (MAN IN MOTION) John Parr
42 ( NEW ) TRAPPED Colonel Abrams
43 ( 34 ) WE DON’T NEED ANOTHER HERO (THUNDERDOME) Tina Turner
44 ( NEW ) THE BORDER America
45 ( 22 ) ALONE WITHOUT YOU King
46 ( 30 ) POWER OF LOVE Huey Lewis & The News
47 ( 50 ) PERFECT WAY Scritti Politti
48 ( 57 ) SHE’S SO BEAUTIFUL Cliff Richard
49 ( 49 ) JOLENE Strawberry Switchblade
50 ( NEW ) CRAZY IN THE NIGHT Kim Carnes

51 ( 47 ) GETCHA BACK The Beach Boys
52 ( 52 ) THE LAST KISS David Cassidy
53 ( 51 ) “19” Paul Hardcastle
54 ( 27 ) PALE SHELTER Tears For Fears
55 ( 66 ) WHEN YOUR HEART RUNS OUT OF TIME Glen Gregory and Claudia Brucken
56 ( 37 ) YOU’RE THE ONE FOR ME D. Train
57 ( NEW ) OH SHERRIE Steve Perry
58 ( 60 ) EATEN ALIVE Diana Ross
59 ( 59 ) MEGAREX T.Rex
60 ( 53 ) IN TOO DEEP Dead Or Alive

61 ( NEW ) SINGLE LIFE Cameo
62 ( NEW ) THE POWER OF LOVE Jennifer Rush
63 ( 58 ) SO IN LOVE OMD
64 ( NEW ) THE BOY WITH THE THORN IN HIS SIDE The Smiths
65 ( 43 ) BODY AND SOUL Mai Tai
66 ( NEW ) FEEL EMOTION Twiggy
67 ( NEW ) YOU DID CUT ME China Crisis
68 ( 54 ) YOU’RE MY HEART YOU’RE MY SOUL Modern Talking
69 ( NEW ) HARD TIME FOR LOVERS Jennifer Holliday
70 ( NEW ) LOVE TAKE OVER Five Star

71 ( 45 ) I GOT YOU BABE UB40 and Chrissie Hynde
72 ( NEW ) HEAVEN HELP MY HEART Elaine Page
73 ( NEW ) SEPTEMBER SONG Lou Reed
74 ( NEW ) THE WAY YOU DO THE THINGS YOU DO/MY GIRL Daryl Hall & John Oates
75 ( NEW ) NO LIMITS Jonathan King

Posted by: toffonews 4th October 2017, 08:08 AM

oh great memories here!
actually thought behind the mask was an eric clapton song, but i see this is the original?

good stuff!

Posted by: Good Old Days 6th October 2017, 07:51 AM

Twiggy is very underrated pop singer, the one from the best in 70s decade.
"Angel" will be your next # 1 or I'm wrong. Best year in all long Madonna's career.

Posted by: popchartfreak 10th October 2017, 07:09 PM

QUOTE(toffonews @ Oct 4 2017, 09:08 AM)

Posted by: popchartfreak 10th October 2017, 07:11 PM

QUOTE(Good Old Days @ Oct 6 2017, 08:51 AM)

Posted by: popchartfreak 10th October 2017, 07:27 PM

1st October 1985

3 weeks on top for Red Box, as The Style Council rocket up to 2 with the great melody of the otherwise a bit political The Lodgers, their 4th top 3, and Paul Weller's 4th. Amii Stewart makes the top 10 as airplay starts favouring Light My Fire a bit more (the better track), and Dead Or Alive make it 4 top 10's in a row, and Billy Idol 3 out of 4.

A-ha shoot up into the top 20 as the classic video starts to get TV plays, Colonel Abrams is trapped just outside the 20, and Jolene takes Strawberry Switchblade and Dolly Parton's song back into the 40. Marc Bolan is the highest new entry at 36 with a rare early song given a release as his loyal fans kept the T.Rex legend living on. It's a Brilliant song at 45, a cover of the James Brown 60's classic done female vocal stylee by the cool future KLF member Jimmy Cauty and ex-Killing Joke and future record producer Youth, drafting in the terrific vocalist JUne Montana. Their A&R Manager was Bill Drummond (the other half of KLF), and they were produced by err Stock Aitken Waterman who also had a hand in the songwriting. It can be NO coincidence that the KLF had a fab song called Kylie Said To Jason, just before the Timelords alter-ego took them to the top of the charts.

14 years of chart entries and Elton is in with his pretty ballad Nikita - yes it is a boys name, wonder if he was trying to tell us something at the time.... Meanwhile Depeche are back, ditto The Cars, Level 42 and Matt Bianco.

1 ( 1 ) LEAN ON ME (AH-LI-AYO) Red Box
2 ( 38 ) THE LODGERS The Style Council
3 ( 4 ) IF I WAS Midge Ure
4 ( 2 ) PART TIME LOVER Stevie Wonder
5 ( 10 ) CLOSE TO ME The Cure
6 ( 21 ) KNOCK ON WOOD/ LIGHT MY FIRE Amii Stewart
7 ( 8 ) ANGEL Madonna
8 ( 3 ) RUNNING UP THAT HILL Kate Bush
9 ( 40 ) MY HEART GOES BANG Dead Or Alive
10 ( 22 ) REBEL YELL Billy Idol

11 ( 6 ) WHAT’S YOUR PROBLEM? Blancmange
12 ( 14 ) THE LOVE PARADE Dream Academy
13 ( 12 ) DON’T STOP THE DANCE Bryan Ferry
14 ( 11 ) TARZAN BOY Baltimora
15 ( 7 ) DON’T MESS WITH DR. DREAM The Thompson Twins
16 ( 5 ) DANCING IN THE STREET David Bowie & Mick Jagger
17 ( 20 ) MAGICAL Bucks Fizz
18 ( 37 ) TAKE ON ME A-Ha
19 ( 13 ) DRIVE The Cars
20 ( 26 ) BRAND NEW FRIEND Lloyd Cole & The Commotions

21 ( 9 ) SUFFER THE CHILDREN Tears For Fears
22 ( 42 ) TRAPPED Colonel Abrams
23 ( 49 ) JOLENE Strawberry Switchblade
24 ( 17 ) YOU AND YOUR HEART SO BLUE Bucks Fizz
25 ( 31 ) I’LL BE GOOD Rene And Angela
26 ( 19 ) INTO THE GROOVE Madonna
27 ( 15 ) YESTERDAY’S MEN Madness
28 ( 29 ) BODY ROCK Maria Vidal
29 ( 16 ) BEHIND THE MASK Greg Phillinganes
30 ( 44 ) THE BORDER America

31 ( 18 ) SOMEONE David Cassidy
32 ( 24 ) HOLIDAY Madonna
33 ( 25 ) SAY I’M YOUR NUMBER ONE Princess
34 ( 39 ) IS IT A DREAM The Damned
35 ( 27 ) I CAN DREAM ABOUT YOU Dan Hartman
36 ( NEW ) SUNKEN RAGS Marc Bolan
37 ( 48 ) SHE’S SO BEAUTIFUL Cliff Richard
38 ( 62 ) THE POWER OF LOVE Jennifer Rush
39 ( 36 ) I WONDER IF I TAKE YOU HOME Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force
40 ( 61 ) SINGLE LIFE Cameo

41 ( 41 ) ST. ELMO’S FIRE (MAN IN MOTION) John Parr
42 ( 23 ) HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO Bonnie Tyler
43 ( 34 ) THERE MUST BE AN ANGEL (PLAYING WITH MY HEART) Eurythmics
44 ( 33 ) MONEY FOR NOTHING Dire Straits
45 ( NEW ) IT’S A MANS MANS MANS MANS WORLD Brilliant
46 ( 32 ) WHITE WEDDING Billy Idol
47 ( 47 ) PERFECT WAY Scritti Politti
48 ( 57 ) OH SHERRIE Steve Perry
49 ( 64 ) THE BOY WITH THE THORN IN HIS SIDE The Smiths
50 ( 70 ) LOVE TAKE OVER Five Star

51 ( 28 ) STORIES OF JOHNNY Marc Almond
52 ( NEW ) NIKITA Elton John
53 ( 52 ) THE LAST KISS David Cassidy
54 ( 58 ) EATEN ALIVE Diana Ross
55 ( 53 ) “19” Paul Hardcastle
56 ( 59 ) MEGAREX T.Rex
57 ( 46 ) POWER OF LOVE Huey Lewis & The News
58 ( 30 ) LAVENDER Marillion
59 ( 43 ) WE DON’T NEED ANOTHER HERO (THUNDERDOME) Tina Turner
60 ( 67 ) YOU DID CUT ME China Crisis

61 ( 51 ) GETCHA BACK The Beach Boys
62 ( 35 ) MY BEST BOYFRIEND Carly Simon
63 ( RE ) SHE SELLS SANCTUARY The Cult
64 ( 69 ) HARD TIME FOR LOVERS Jennifer Holliday
65 ( NEW ) IT’S CALLED A HEART Depeche Mode
66 ( 63 ) SO IN LOVE OMD
67 ( 50 ) CRAZY IN THE NIGHT Kim Carnes
68 ( NEW ) I BELIEVE (A SOULFUL RECORDING) Tears For Fears
69 ( 60 ) IN TOO DEEP Dead Or Alive
70 ( NEW ) RUGGED AND MEAN Pee Bee Squad

71 ( 68 ) YOU’RE MY HEART YOU’RE MY SOUL Modern Talking
72 ( 65 ) BODY AND SOUL Mai Tai
73 ( NEW ) HEARTBEAT CITY The Cars
74 ( NEW ) YEH YEH Matt Bianco
75 ( NEW ) SOMETHING ABOUT YOU Level 42

Posted by: popchartfreak 14th October 2017, 01:10 PM

8th October 1985

It's a first week on top for Midge Ure, rather appropriately cos I saw him perform this wonderful song last night as I write (14th Oct 2017) heading a triple bill of fab Clare Crogan's Altered Images, still in fine voice, and ditto The Christians smooth rocksoul. Great to hear them all with more hits than you think you know!

Jennifer Rush powers into the 10, The Smiths make a thorny dash into the 20, and Level 42 have something about going top 40. Highest new entry is the brilliant Trevor Horn-produced Grace Jones Slave To The Rhythm, at 44, The Cult follow-up with Rain, Sade keeps the jazzsoul coming, Prince has another psychedelic-soul single off Around The World In A Day, and a classic Simple Minds movie song pops in. One to have a Breakfast Club to.

Woodpeckers From Space? No, I don't remember it either, but I had fond movies of being in the Micky Mouse club in Singapore (Woody Woodpecker shorts on film shown to RAF kids in Siglap, presumably unable to finance Disney shorts). Certainly no other excuse for charting it. One place higher than Erasure's debut of a flop single first time round, the former Depeche Mode Vince is also lower than his ex-bandmates. Bobby Womack follows his brother and sister-in-law into my charts, Kaja have dropped the googooo - they needent have bothered - The Alarm are strong at 75, and The Jesus And Mary Chain are just like honey at 74. Sweet.

1 ( 3 ) IF I WAS Midge Ure
2 ( 1 ) LEAN ON ME (AH-LI-AYO) Red Box
3 ( 2 ) THE LODGERS The Style Council
4 ( 5 ) CLOSE TO ME The Cure
5 ( 6 ) KNOCK ON WOOD/ LIGHT MY FIRE Amii Stewart
6 ( 4 ) PART TIME LOVER Stevie Wonder
7 ( 10 ) REBEL YELL Billy Idol
8 ( 9 ) MY HEART GOES BANG Dead Or Alive
9 ( 38 ) THE POWER OF LOVE Jennifer Rush
10 ( 22 ) TRAPPED Colonel Abrams

11 ( 18 ) TAKE ON ME A-Ha
12 ( 7 ) ANGEL Madonna
13 ( 8 ) RUNNING UP THAT HILL Kate Bush
14 ( 20 ) BRAND NEW FRIEND Lloyd Cole & The Commotions
15 ( 23 ) JOLENE Strawberry Switchblade
16 ( 11 ) WHAT’S YOUR PROBLEM? Blancmange
17 ( 12 ) THE LOVE PARADE Dream Academy
18 ( 25 ) I’LL BE GOOD Rene And Angela
19 ( 49 ) THE BOY WITH THE THORN IN HIS SIDE The Smiths
20 ( 41 ) ST. ELMO’S FIRE (MAN IN MOTION) John Parr

21 ( 13 ) DON’T STOP THE DANCE Bryan Ferry
22 ( 28 ) BODY ROCK Maria Vidal
23 ( 14 ) TARZAN BOY Baltimora
24 ( 19 ) DRIVE The Cars
25 ( 24 ) YOU AND YOUR HEART SO BLUE Bucks Fizz
26 ( 17 ) MAGICAL Bucks Fizz
27 ( 15 ) DON’T MESS WITH DR. DREAM The Thompson Twins
28 ( 30 ) THE BORDER America
29 ( 40 ) SINGLE LIFE Cameo
30 ( 36 ) SUNKEN RAGS Marc Bolan

31 ( 16 ) DANCING IN THE STREET David Bowie & Mick Jagger
32 ( 50 ) LOVE TAKE OVER Five Star
33 ( 26 ) INTO THE GROOVE Madonna
34 ( 64 ) HARD TIME FOR LOVERS Jennifer Holliday
35 ( 54 ) EATEN ALIVE Diana Ross
36 ( 37 ) SHE’S SO BEAUTIFUL Cliff Richard
37 ( 21 ) SUFFER THE CHILDREN Tears For Fears
38 ( 75 ) SOMETHING ABOUT YOU Level 42
39 ( 32 ) HOLIDAY Madonna
40 ( 52 ) NIKITA Elton John

41 ( 27 ) YESTERDAY’S MEN Madness
42 ( 39 ) I WONDER IF I TAKE YOU HOME Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force
43 ( 29 ) BEHIND THE MASK Greg Phillinganes
44 ( NEW ) SLAVE TO THE RHYTHM Grace Jones
45 ( 45 ) IT’S A MANS MANS MANS MANS WORLD Brilliant
46 ( 35 ) I CAN DREAM ABOUT YOU Dan Hartman
47 ( NEW ) RAIN The Cult
48 ( 43 ) THERE MUST BE AN ANGEL (PLAYING WITH MY HEART) Eurythmics
49 ( 31 ) SOMEONE David Cassidy
50 ( 33 ) SAY I’M YOUR NUMBER ONE Princess

51 ( NEW ) SWEETEST TABOO Sade
52 ( 53 ) THE LAST KISS David Cassidy
53 ( 46 ) WHITE WEDDING Billy Idol
54 ( 44 ) MONEY FOR NOTHING Dire Straits
55 ( 65 ) IT’S CALLED A HEART Depeche Mode
56 ( 56 ) MEGAREX T.Rex
57 ( 55 ) “19” Paul Hardcastle
58 ( 70 ) RUGGED AND MEAN Pee Bee Squad
59 ( 34 ) IS IT A DREAM The Damned
60 ( 57 ) POWER OF LOVE Huey Lewis & The News

61 ( NEW ) POP LIFE Prince
62 ( 68 ) I BELIEVE (A SOULFUL RECORDING) Tears For Fears
63 ( 47 ) PERFECT WAY Scritti Politti
64 ( 61 ) GETCHA BACK The Beach Boys
65 ( 74 ) YEH YEH Matt Bianco
66 ( NEW ) DON’T YOU (FORGET ABOUT ME) Simple Minds
67 ( NEW ) WOODPECKERS FROM SPACE Video Kids
68 ( NEW ) WHO NEEDS LOVE LIKE THAT Erasure
69 ( 69 ) IN TOO DEEP Dead Or Alive
70 ( 66 ) SO IN LOVE OMD

71 ( NEW ) I WISH HE DIDN’T TRUST ME SO MUCH Bobby Womack
72 ( 59 ) WE DON’T NEED ANOTHER HERO (THUNDERDOME) Tina Turner
73 ( NEW ) SHOULDN’T DO THAT Kaja
74 ( NEW ) JUST LIKE HONEY The Jesus And Mary Chain
75 ( NEW ) STRENGTH The Alarm

Posted by: Pumpkin Rollo 14th October 2017, 06:34 PM

If I Was is a great song and a well deserved no.1 (on the real chart as well as yours). Wastelands from the same album only got to no.46. It should have been a top 40 hit.

I agree Slave To The Rhythm is brilliant.

Posted by: popchartfreak 14th October 2017, 07:49 PM

QUOTE(Pumpkin Rollo @ Oct 14 2017, 07:34 PM)

Posted by: toffochews 18th October 2017, 07:47 AM

i'll have to dig out my 1985 charts, but from memory most of your top20 was in my top 20!
you may be aware, midge was in a group called slik with billy mcisaac who just happens to be the missus' cousin...

Posted by: Chop-part-freak 18th October 2017, 08:00 AM

QUOTE(toffochews @ Oct 18 2017, 08:47 AM)

Posted by: Chop-part-freak 25th October 2017, 08:09 PM

15th October 1985

2 weeks on top for Midge as a-ha challenge at 2. Brilliant vault up to 12 with their utterly different James Brown cover (sung from the point of view of a woman), Jennifer Holliday grabs a second top 20 hit, Grace Jones gets her second top 20 too - 5 years after the first - and ditto The Cult 5 weeks after the first (or so). Simple Minds are the highest of a pile of new tracks as the autumn pre-xmas deluge gets biting, with the great Alive And Kicking. In 1985 Madonna could fart into a microphone and get a hit, and sure enough The Gambler enters at 30, The Three Degrees return after a 5-year gap, Talking Heads after a 4-year gap (with the fab Road To Nowhere), The Clash after a 2-year rest, and The Thompson Twins keep the run of singles coming.

Kate Bush chucks out another winner, the one with the Donald Sutherland video, the great Cloudbusting, following a chart-topper as do The Cars and Godley & Creme. A Miami Vice theme track charts for Jan Hammer, better than the TV show at any rate (though it did have Sheena Easton in it), and some of Duran Duran decide it's time for an Election Day. Duran without the rhythm oomph, effectively. Modern Talking and Pat Benatar follow-up great singles with much less great tracks....

1 ( 1 ) IF I WAS Midge Ure
2 ( 11 ) TAKE ON ME A-Ha
3 ( 3 ) THE LODGERS The Style Council
4 ( 2 ) LEAN ON ME (AH-LI-AYO) Red Box
5 ( 4 ) CLOSE TO ME The Cure
6 ( 9 ) THE POWER OF LOVE Jennifer Rush
7 ( 10 ) TRAPPED Colonel Abrams
8 ( 7 ) REBEL YELL Billy Idol
9 ( 5 ) KNOCK ON WOOD/ LIGHT MY FIRE Amii Stewart
10 ( 6 ) PART TIME LOVER Stevie Wonder

11 ( 8 ) MY HEART GOES BANG Dead Or Alive
12 ( 45 ) IT’S A MANS MANS MANS MANS WORLD Brilliant
13 ( 12 ) ANGEL Madonna
14 ( 19 ) THE BOY WITH THE THORN IN HIS SIDE The Smiths
15 ( 20 ) ST. ELMO’S FIRE (MAN IN MOTION) John Parr
16 ( 18 ) I’LL BE GOOD Rene And Angela
17 ( 34 ) HARD TIME FOR LOVERS Jennifer Holliday
18 ( 13 ) RUNNING UP THAT HILL Kate Bush
19 ( 44 ) SLAVE TO THE RHYTHM Grace Jones
20 ( 47 ) RAIN The Cult

21 ( 38 ) SOMETHING ABOUT YOU Level 42
22 ( NEW ) ALIVE AND KICKING Simple Minds
23 ( 15 ) JOLENE Strawberry Switchblade
24 ( 16 ) WHAT’S YOUR PROBLEM? Blancmange
25 ( 40 ) NIKITA Elton John
26 ( 14 ) BRAND NEW FRIEND Lloyd Cole & The Commotions
27 ( 32 ) LOVE TAKE OVER Five Star
28 ( 22 ) BODY ROCK Maria Vidal
29 ( 29 ) SINGLE LIFE Cameo
30 ( NEW ) THE GAMBLER Madonna

31 ( 17 ) THE LOVE PARADE Dream Academy
32 ( 24 ) DRIVE The Cars
33 ( NEW ) THE HEAVEN I NEED The Three Degrees
34 ( 25 ) YOU AND YOUR HEART SO BLUE Bucks Fizz
35 ( 26 ) MAGICAL Bucks Fizz
36 ( 61 ) POP LIFE Prince
37 ( 23 ) TARZAN BOY Baltimora
38 ( 21 ) DON’T STOP THE DANCE Bryan Ferry
39 ( 27 ) DON’T MESS WITH DR. DREAM The Thompson Twins
40 ( 51 ) THE SWEETEST TABOO Sade

41 ( 30 ) SUNKEN RAGS Marc Bolan
42 ( 33 ) INTO THE GROOVE Madonna
43 ( NEW ) ROAD TO NOWHERE Talking Heads
44 ( NEW ) HOT FUN Seventh Heaven
45 ( NEW ) THIS IS ENGLAND The Clash
46 ( 39 ) HOLIDAY Madonna
47 ( NEW ) KING FOR A DAY The Thompson Twins
48 ( 31 ) DANCING IN THE STREET David Bowie & Mick Jagger
49 ( NEW ) CLOUDBUSTING Kate Bush
50 ( 36 ) SHE’S SO BEAUTIFUL Cliff Richard

51 ( 35 ) EATEN ALIVE Diana Ross
52 ( 62 ) I BELIEVE (A SOULFUL RECORDING) Tears For Fears
53 ( 52 ) THE LAST KISS David Cassidy
54 ( 48 ) THERE MUST BE AN ANGEL (PLAYING WITH MY HEART) Eurythmics
55 ( 42 ) I WONDER IF I TAKE YOU HOME Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force
56 ( 28 ) THE BORDER America
57 ( 65 ) YEH YEH Matt Bianco
58 ( 46 ) I CAN DREAM ABOUT YOU Dan Hartman
59 ( 56 ) MEGAREX T.Rex
60 ( 57 ) “19” Paul Hardcastle

61 ( 37 ) SUFFER THE CHILDREN Tears For Fears
62 ( NEW ) HEARTBEAT CITY The Cars
63 ( 41 ) YESTERDAY’S MEN Madness
64 ( 53 ) WHITE WEDDING Billy Idol
65 ( 50 ) SAY I’M YOUR NUMBER ONE Princess
66 ( NEW ) MIAMI VICE THEME Jan Hammer
67 ( 54 ) MONEY FOR NOTHING Dire Straits
68 ( 49 ) SOMEONE David Cassidy
69 ( 64 ) GETCHA BACK The Beach Boys
70 ( NEW ) GOLDEN BOYS Godley & Creme

71 ( 60 ) POWER OF LOVE Huey Lewis & The News
72 ( NEW ) ELECTION DAY Arcadia
73 ( 70 ) SO IN LOVE OMD
74 ( NEW ) YOU CAN WIN IF YOU WANT Modern Talking
75 ( NEW ) INVINCIBLE Pat Benatar

Posted by: Chop-part-freak 25th October 2017, 08:11 PM

22nd October 1985

It's a first week on top for a-ha's timeless Take On Me, as one fab creative video knocks off another one - from Midge's pin-cushion effect to a-ha's animation-strip style. Grace JOnes gets her biggest-ever hit as Slave To The Rhythm jumps to 5, and The Clash rocket almost 30 places to 6 for their first top 10 since Bankrobber in 1980. Elton John's Nikita saunters into the 10 to give Reg 15 consecutive years of top 10 hits, while the highest new entry is Mrs Cretu, German singer Sandra who's hubbie was to become mega as Enigma (and he often brought in the missus to help): in at 16 Maria Magdalena was a huge European smash (and UK flop) owing more than a bit to Laura Branigan's Self Control. I recently entered it into the Buzzjack Song Contest as an obscure oldie amongst a host of new tracks and it did spectacularly well with a new younger generation of music fans. It sounds very relevant in 2017, obviously....!

Talking Heads rocket into the 20, ditto Kate Bush (later to be sampled by Utah Saints to great effect), as Bucks Fizz singer Bobby G leads an inrush of ex-group singers to the chart: Roger Daltrey gets 12 years of solo hits, or 16 years including The Who; Sting enters Police-less with a lesser track; Feargal Sharkey gets another solo hit, his best ever record (written by Maria McKee), and I include the classic Teenage Kicks Undertones debut from 1978 in that; Jimmy Somerville pops in with The Communards, a Bronski Beat nevermore, as You Are My World turns out to be the best thing he's done since Smalltown Boy. It got to be a hit eventually in 1987. 

UB40 enter right into the 40 with one of their great singles 5 years into their non-stop run of hits, and Siouxsie enters with her greatest single 7 years into her career, Cities In Dust still sounds fabulous. Twiggy's back 9 years on, and Tina Turner keeps the Mad Max coming.

1 ( 2 ) TAKE ON ME A-Ha
2 ( 1 ) IF I WAS Midge Ure
3 ( 3 ) THE LODGERS The Style Council
4 ( 6 ) THE POWER OF LOVE Jennifer Rush
5 ( 19 ) SLAVE TO THE RHYTHM Grace Jones
6 ( 45 ) THIS IS ENGLAND The Clash
7 ( 12 ) IT’S A MANS MANS MANS MANS WORLD Brilliant
8 ( 15 ) ST. ELMO’S FIRE (MAN IN MOTION) John Parr
9 ( 4 ) LEAN ON ME (AH-LI-AYO) Red Box
10 ( 25 ) NIKITA Elton John

11 ( 8 ) REBEL YELL Billy Idol
12 ( 7 ) TRAPPED Colonel Abrams
13 ( 20 ) RAIN The Cult
14 ( 5 ) CLOSE TO ME The Cure
15 ( 22 ) ALIVE AND KICKING Simple Minds
16 ( NEW ) (I’LL NEVER BE) MARIA MAGDALENA Sandra
17 ( 30 ) THE GAMBLER Madonna
18 ( 43 ) ROAD TO NOWHERE Talking Heads
19 ( 10 ) PART TIME LOVER Stevie Wonder
20 ( 21 ) SOMETHING ABOUT YOU Level 42

21 ( 13 ) ANGEL Madonna
22 ( 9 ) KNOCK ON WOOD/ LIGHT MY FIRE Amii Stewart
23 ( 49 ) CLOUDBUSTING Kate Bush
24 ( 14 ) THE BOY WITH THE THORN IN HIS SIDE The Smiths
25 ( 18 ) RUNNING UP THAT HILL Kate Bush
26 ( 33 ) THE HEAVEN I NEED The Three Degrees
27 ( 27 ) LOVE TAKE OVER Five Star
28 ( 11 ) MY HEART GOES BANG Dead Or Alive
29 ( NEW ) BIG DEAL Bobby G
30 ( 16 ) I’LL BE GOOD Rene And Angela

31 ( 17 ) HARD TIME FOR LOVERS Jennifer Holliday
32 ( 40 ) THE SWEETEST TABOO Sade
33 ( 29 ) SINGLE LIFE Cameo
34 ( 47 ) KING FOR A DAY The Thompson Twins
35 ( 66 ) MIAMI VICE THEME Jan Hammer
36 ( 36 ) POP LIFE Prince
37 ( NEW ) DON’T BREAK MY HEART UB40
38 ( NEW ) A GOOD HEART Feargal Sharkey
39 ( 24 ) WHAT’S YOUR PROBLEM? Blancmange
40 ( 34 ) YOU AND YOUR HEART SO BLUE Bucks Fizz

41 ( 32 ) DRIVE The Cars
42 ( NEW ) FORTRESS AROUND MY HEART Sting
43 ( 57 ) YEH YEH Matt Bianco
44 ( NEW ) CITIES IN DUST Siouxsie & The Banshees
45 ( 28 ) BODY ROCK Maria Vidal
46 ( 38 ) DON’T STOP THE DANCE Bryan Ferry
47 ( 23 ) JOLENE Strawberry Switchblade
48 ( 39 ) DON’T MESS WITH DR. DREAM The Thompson Twins
49 ( 52 ) I BELIEVE (A SOULFUL RECORDING) Tears For Fears
50 ( 46 ) HOLIDAY Madonna

51 ( 37 ) TARZAN BOY Baltimora
52 ( 31 ) THE LOVE PARADE Dream Academy
53 ( 42 ) INTO THE GROOVE Madonna
54 ( 35 ) MAGICAL Bucks Fizz
55 ( 53 ) THE LAST KISS David Cassidy
56 ( 26 ) BRAND NEW FRIEND Lloyd Cole & The Commotions
57 ( NEW ) FEEL EMOTION Twiggy
58 ( 55 ) I WONDER IF I TAKE YOU HOME Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force
59 ( 54 ) THERE MUST BE AN ANGEL (PLAYING WITH MY HEART) Eurythmics
60 ( NEW ) THE TASTE OF MY TEARS King

61 ( 59 ) MEGAREX T.Rex
62 ( NEW ) ONE OF THE LIVING Tina Turner
63 ( 60 ) “19” Paul Hardcastle
64 ( NEW ) YOU ARE MY WORLD The Communards
65 ( NEW ) THEY SAY IT’S GONNA RAIN Hazell Dean
66 ( NEW ) BRING ON THE DANCING HORSES Echo & The Bunnymen
67 ( 41 ) SUNKEN RAGS Marc Bolan
68 ( 44 ) HOT FUN Seventh Heaven
69 ( 48 ) DANCING IN THE STREET David Bowie & Mick Jagger
70 ( 62 ) HEARTBEAT CITY The Cars

71 ( 58 ) I CAN DREAM ABOUT YOU Dan Hartman
72 ( 72 ) ELECTION DAY Arcadia
73 ( 51 ) EATEN ALIVE Diana Ross
74 ( 75 ) INVINCIBLE Pat Benatar
75 ( NEW ) AFTER THE FIRE Roger Daltrey

Posted by: Popchartfreak 3rd November 2017, 09:31 PM

29th October 2017



A-ha on top in a busy week, for a second week. I had a long chart rundown but Virgin is playing up and erased it all the b*st*rds won’t even answer the bloody calls about the rubbish connections. So, I don’t have time to run down on returning legends Aretha & Johnny Nash Class of 68, the manic leaps and drops of numerous tracks as Oct 1985 turns out to be magnificently fab.

Stairway To Heaven is the highest new entry, Siouxsie rockets to 2, and OMD are in at 30 (I’m off to see them next week in Southampton).

1 ( 1 ) TAKE ON ME A-Ha
2 ( 44 ) CITIES IN DUST Siouxsie & The Banshees
3 ( NEW ) STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN Far Corporation
4 ( 5 ) SLAVE TO THE RHYTHM Grace Jones
5 ( 10 ) NIKITA Elton John
6 ( 16 ) (I’LL NEVER BE) MARIA MAGDALENA Sandra
7 ( 2 ) IF I WAS Midge Ure
8 ( 6 ) THIS IS ENGLAND The Clash
9 ( 13 ) RAIN The Cult
10 ( 8 ) ST. ELMO’S FIRE (MAN IN MOTION) John Parr

11 ( 3 ) THE LODGERS The Style Council
12 ( 18 ) ROAD TO NOWHERE Talking Heads
13 ( 17 ) THE GAMBLER Madonna
14 ( 37 ) DON’T BREAK MY HEART UB40
15 ( 4 ) THE POWER OF LOVE Jennifer Rush
16 ( 66 ) BRING ON THE DANCING HORSES Echo & The Bunnymen
17 ( 7 ) IT’S A MANS MANS MANS MANS WORLD Brilliant
18 ( 20 ) SOMETHING ABOUT YOU Level 42
19 ( 9 ) LEAN ON ME (AH-LI-AYO) Red Box
20 ( 23 ) CLOUDBUSTING Kate Bush

21 ( 38 ) A GOOD HEART Feargal Sharkey
22 ( 15 ) ALIVE AND KICKING Simple Minds
23 ( 11 ) REBEL YELL Billy Idol
24 ( 29 ) BIG DEAL Bobby G
25 ( 12 ) TRAPPED Colonel Abrams
26 ( 35 ) MIAMI VICE THEME Jan Hammer
27 ( 14 ) CLOSE TO ME The Cure
28 ( 19 ) PART TIME LOVER Stevie Wonder
29 ( 34 ) KING FOR A DAY The Thompson Twins
30 ( 32 ) THE SWEETEST TABOO Sade

31 ( NEW ) LA FEMME ACCIDENT OMD
32 ( 25 ) RUNNING UP THAT HILL Kate Bush
33 ( 21 ) ANGEL Madonna
34 ( 36 ) POP LIFE Prince
35 ( 43 ) YEH YEH Matt Bianco
36 ( 64 ) YOU ARE MY WORLD The Communards
37 ( 60 ) THE TASTE OF MY TEARS King
38 ( 42 ) FORTRESS AROUND MY HEART Sting
39 ( 22 ) KNOCK ON WOOD/ LIGHT MY FIRE Amii Stewart
40 ( NEW ) SISTERS ARE DOING IT FOR THEMSELVES Eurythmics and Aretha Franklin

41 ( 41 ) DRIVE The Cars
42 ( 33 ) SINGLE LIFE Cameo
43 ( 57 ) FEEL EMOTION Twiggy
44 ( 24 ) THE BOY WITH THE THORN IN HIS SIDE The Smiths
45 ( 40 ) YOU AND YOUR HEART SO BLUE Bucks Fizz
46 ( 72 ) ELECTION DAY Arcadia
47 ( 26 ) THE HEAVEN I NEED The Three Degrees
48 ( 39 ) WHAT’S YOUR PROBLEM? Blancmange
49 ( NEW ) SLEEPING BAG ZZ Top
50 ( 28 ) MY HEART GOES BANG Dead Or Alive

51 ( 30 ) I’LL BE GOOD Rene And Angela
52 ( 75 ) AFTER THE FIRE Roger Daltrey
53 ( 31 ) HARD TIME FOR LOVERS Jennifer Holliday
54 ( 27 ) LOVE TAKE OVER Five Star
55 ( 55 ) THE LAST KISS David Cassidy
56 ( 50 ) HOLIDAY Madonna
57 ( 46 ) DON’T STOP THE DANCE Bryan Ferry
58 ( NEW ) OH SHEILA Take On The World
59 ( NEW ) LOVE LETTER Marc Almond
60 ( 59 ) THERE MUST BE AN ANGEL (PLAYING WITH MY HEART) Eurythmics

61 ( 61 ) MEGAREX T.Rex
62 ( 62 ) ONE OF THE LIVING Tina Turner
63 ( 48 ) DON’T MESS WITH DR. DREAM The Thompson Twins
64 ( 63 ) “19” Paul Hardcastle
65 ( 58 ) I WONDER IF I TAKE YOU HOME Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force
66 ( 51 ) TARZAN BOY Baltimora
67 ( NEW ) LOST WEEKEND Lloyd Cole & The Commotions
68 ( 53 ) INTO THE GROOVE Madonna
69 ( 65 ) THEY SAY IT’S GONNA RAIN Hazell Dean
70 ( NEW ) ROCK ME BABY Johnny Nash

71 ( 52 ) THE LOVE PARADE Dream Academy
72 ( 54 ) MAGICAL Bucks Fizz
73 ( NEW ) THE WIND OF CHANGE Robert Wyatt & The Swapo Singers
74 ( NEW ) UNCLE SAM Madness
75 ( NEW ) WHO’S THAT GIRL A Flock Of Seagulls



FAVE OLDIES OF THE WEEK
1 EVERYTHING IS BEAUTIFUL Ray Stevens
2 IT’S FOR YOU Cilla Black
3 GET DOWN TONIGHT KC & The Sunshine Band

Posted by: Popchartfreak 8th November 2017, 08:09 PM

3rd November 1985

It's a first week on top for Cities In Dust, Siouxsie's 2nd chart-topper, and a relatively unknown corker. UB40 climb to 4 - their 2nd highest charting single to date, after debut Food For Thought peaked at 2. Talking Heads get a 2nd top 10, Feargal Sharkey leaps to 9, and his first solo top 10 and goes where 3 Undertones singles have been. Kate Bush completes a fabulous top 10 - as usual in her case, it's more remarkable if she doesn't go top 10.

Lloyd Cole has a mighty quantum leap into the 40, as he searches for a Lost Weekend and his best track that isn't called Perfect Skin. Marc Almond keeps the long run of top 40's going and ZZ Top make it 4 in a row. After the previous week invasion of new entries, it's a bit calmer this time, but still room for some classics: The Waterboys enter at 66 with future 1991 Number 1 in my chart (on reissue) The Whole Of The Moon, a track I heard in a record store in 1989 in a College town in Vermont, and it still sounded fab. Music is memories....

Prefab Sprout have a good return single as the highest new entry, Paul Hardcastle disappoints following up a unique huge single, Tina Turner & Bryan Adams cap of a good year for them both with a rocky duet, Patsy Kensit debuts with Eighth Wonder, better times lie ahead chartwise (cough, Pet Shop Boys, cough), Dee C. Lee ex-of Wham! backing singers, and Paul Weller's better-half of the time brings a lush fab ballad into the lower reaches and on it's way up - though one I grew to love more in later years. There's also Shaky.

1 ( 2 ) CITIES IN DUST Siouxsie & The Banshees
2 ( 1 ) TAKE ON ME A-Ha
3 ( 3 ) STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN Far Corporation
4 ( 14 ) DON’T BREAK MY HEART UB40
5 ( 5 ) NIKITA Elton John
6 ( 6 ) (I’LL NEVER BE) MARIA MAGDALENA Sandra
7 ( 4 ) SLAVE TO THE RHYTHM Grace Jones
8 ( 12 ) ROAD TO NOWHERE Talking Heads
9 ( 21 ) A GOOD HEART Feargal Sharkey
10 ( 20 ) CLOUDBUSTING Kate Bush

11 ( 18 ) SOMETHING ABOUT YOU Level 42
12 ( 16 ) BRING ON THE DANCING HORSES Echo & The Bunnymen
13 ( 7 ) IF I WAS Midge Ure
14 ( 9 ) RAIN The Cult
15 ( 8 ) THIS IS ENGLAND The Clash
16 ( 22 ) ALIVE AND KICKING Simple Minds
17 ( 29 ) KING FOR A DAY The Thompson Twins
18 ( 15 ) THE POWER OF LOVE Jennifer Rush
19 ( 10 ) ST. ELMO’S FIRE (MAN IN MOTION) John Parr
20 ( 11 ) THE LODGERS The Style Council

21 ( 24 ) BIG DEAL Bobby G
22 ( 17 ) IT’S A MANS MANS MANS MANS WORLD Brilliant
23 ( 26 ) MIAMI VICE THEME Jan Hammer
24 ( 40 ) SISTERS ARE DOING IT FOR THEMSELVES Eurythmics and Aretha Franklin
25 ( 13 ) THE GAMBLER Madonna
26 ( 19 ) LEAN ON ME (AH-LI-AYO) Red Box
27 ( 46 ) ELECTION DAY Arcadia
28 ( 31 ) LA FEMME ACCIDENT OMD
29 ( 23 ) REBEL YELL Billy Idol
30 ( 36 ) YOU ARE MY WORLD The Communards

31 ( 25 ) TRAPPED Colonel Abrams
32 ( 67 ) LOST WEEKEND Lloyd Cole & The Commotions
33 ( 37 ) THE TASTE OF MY TEARS King
34 ( 38 ) FORTRESS AROUND MY HEART Sting
35 ( 35 ) YEH YEH Matt Bianco
36 ( 28 ) PART TIME LOVER Stevie Wonder
37 ( 32 ) RUNNING UP THAT HILL Kate Bush
38 ( 59 ) LOVE LETTER Marc Almond
39 ( 62 ) ONE OF THE LIVING Tina Turner
40 ( 49 ) SLEEPING BAG ZZ Top

41 ( 27 ) CLOSE TO ME The Cure
42 ( 33 ) ANGEL Madonna
43 ( 41 ) DRIVE The Cars
44 ( 58 ) OH SHEILA Take On The World
45 ( 52 ) AFTER THE FIRE Roger Daltrey
46 ( 30 ) THE SWEETEST TABOO Sade
47 ( 34 ) POP LIFE Prince
48 ( 39 ) KNOCK ON WOOD/ LIGHT MY FIRE Amii Stewart
49 ( 42 ) SINGLE LIFE Cameo
50 ( 45 ) YOU AND YOUR HEART SO BLUE Bucks Fizz

51 ( NEW ) WHEN LOVE BREAKS DOWN Prefab Sprout
52 ( 43 ) FEEL EMOTION Twiggy
53 ( NEW ) JUST FOR THE MONEY Paul Hardcastle
54 ( 44 ) THE BOY WITH THE THORN IN HIS SIDE The Smiths
55 ( 55 ) THE LAST KISS David Cassidy
56 ( 48 ) WHAT’S YOUR PROBLEM? Blancmange
57 ( 56 ) HOLIDAY Madonna
58 ( NEW ) IT’S ONLY LOVE Tina Turner & Bryan Adams
59 ( 61 ) MEGAREX T.Rex
60 ( 50 ) MY HEART GOES BANG Dead Or Alive

61 ( 60 ) THERE MUST BE AN ANGEL (PLAYING WITH MY HEART) Eurythmics
62 ( 57 ) DON’T STOP THE DANCE Bryan Ferry
63 ( 73 ) THE WIND OF CHANGE Robert Wyatt & The Swapo Singers
64 ( 74 ) UNCLE SAM Madness
65 ( 64 ) “19” Paul Hardcastle
66 ( NEW ) THE WHOLE OF THE MOON The Waterboys
67 ( 47 ) THE HEAVEN I NEED The Three Degrees
68 ( 65 ) I WONDER IF I TAKE YOU HOME Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force
69 ( NEW ) HIT AND RUN Total Contrast
70 ( 70 ) ROCK ME BABY Johnny Nash

71 ( 51 ) I’LL BE GOOD Rene And Angela
72 ( 63 ) DON’T MESS WITH DR. DREAM The Thompson Twins
73 ( NEW ) STAY WITH ME Eighth Wonder
74 ( NEW ) SEE THE DAY Dee C. Lee
75 ( NEW ) LIPSTICK POWDER AND PAINT Shakin’ Stevens

OLDIES PLAYLIST OF THE WEEK:
1 IT’S FOR YOU Cilla Black
2 LIVERPOOL LULLABY Cilla Black
3 ELENORE The Turtles

Posted by: Popchartfreak 17th November 2017, 08:22 PM

10th NOVEMBER 1985

Feargal Sharkey does what the Undertones never managed - he tops my chart, with the fab A Good Heart. Meanwhile Huey Lewis is back with a bang with his 1982 non-hit in the UK, the terrific Heart & Soul, outdoing his most-famous song Power Of Love in my charts. Lloyd Cole rockets up to 11, and The Waterboys go into orbit seeing the Whole Of The Moon up 48 places to 18. Classic! The Communards hit the 20 for the first time, and in at 27 it's a significant chart debut for them and for me: West End Girls is still their most famous song, and kick-started a glorious career for the Pet Shop Boys which continues to this day. Far and away easily my top fave act of the last 32 years, on record and in concert, and one of my Big Three along with The Beatles and Abba.

Wham! crack back with the great I'm Your Man, while a bunch of pop stars do an anti-Apartheid track (Ringo Starr, Bob Dylan, Lou Reed, Bob Geldof, Jackson Browne, Bono, some Temptations, Afrika Bambaata, Hall & Oates, Bobby Womack and many many more) and it's pretty good. In at 36 and 37 respectively as at 38 Dire Straits make it 6 years of top 40 hits with the atmospheric Brothers In Arms title track, as the new-format CD took off big-time spearheaded by this album.

Fine Young Cannibals are a bit blue, Queen notably didn't play on Sun City as they had recently actually played Sun City and sparked the protest, having just the one vision, and Starship drop the Jefferson and the Airplane and the quality, coming back 5 years on from Jane to build a city. An annoying one by the time it dropped out of the charts. A bunch of follow-up's enter lower, the most notable being David & Jaki's 70's-soul-styled Mated, a bit Philly and a bit fab.

1 ( 9 ) A GOOD HEART Feargal Sharkey
2 ( 1 ) CITIES IN DUST Siouxsie & The Banshees
3 ( 3 ) STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN Far Corporation
4 ( 4 ) DON’T BREAK MY HEART UB40
5 ( 8 ) ROAD TO NOWHERE Talking Heads
6 ( 5 ) NIKITA Elton John
7 ( 2 ) TAKE ON ME A-Ha
8 ( 11 ) SOMETHING ABOUT YOU Level 42
9 ( 16 ) ALIVE AND KICKING Simple Minds
10 ( NEW ) HEART AND SOUL Huey Lewis & The News

11 ( 32 ) LOST WEEKEND Lloyd Cole & The Commotions
12 ( 7 ) SLAVE TO THE RHYTHM Grace Jones
13 ( 18 ) THE POWER OF LOVE Jennifer Rush
14 ( 17 ) KING FOR A DAY The Thompson Twins
15 ( 10 ) CLOUDBUSTING Kate Bush
16 ( 6 ) (I’LL NEVER BE) MARIA MAGDALENA Sandra
17 ( 13 ) IF I WAS Midge Ure
18 ( 66 ) THE WHOLE OF THE MOON The Waterboys
19 ( 30 ) YOU ARE MY WORLD The Communards
20 ( 24 ) SISTERS ARE DOING IT FOR THEMSELVES Eurythmics and Aretha Franklin

21 ( 21 ) BIG DEAL Bobby G
22 ( 12 ) BRING ON THE DANCING HORSES Echo & The Bunnymen
23 ( 27 ) ELECTION DAY Arcadia
24 ( 22 ) IT’S A MANS MANS MANS MANS WORLD Brilliant
25 ( 14 ) RAIN The Cult
26 ( 15 ) THIS IS ENGLAND The Clash
27 ( NEW ) WEST END GIRLS Pet Shop Boys
28 ( 20 ) THE LODGERS The Style Council
29 ( 33 ) THE TASTE OF MY TEARS King
30 ( 19 ) ST. ELMO’S FIRE (MAN IN MOTION) John Parr

31 ( 31 ) TRAPPED Colonel Abrams
32 ( 23 ) MIAMI VICE THEME Jan Hammer
33 ( 53 ) JUST FOR THE MONEY Paul Hardcastle
34 ( 51 ) WHEN LOVE BREAKS DOWN Prefab Sprout
35 ( 28 ) LA FEMME ACCIDENT OMD
36 ( NEW ) I’M YOUR MAN Wham!
37 ( NEW ) SUN CITY Artists United Against Apartheid
38 ( NEW ) BROTHERS IN ARMS Dire Straits
39 ( 26 ) LEAN ON ME (AH-LI-AYO) Red Box
40 ( 45 ) AFTER THE FIRE Roger Daltrey

41 ( 25 ) THE GAMBLER Madonna
42 ( 58 ) IT’S ONLY LOVE Tina Turner & Bryan Adams
43 ( 37 ) RUNNING UP THAT HILL Kate Bush
44 ( 36 ) PART TIME LOVER Stevie Wonder
45 ( 43 ) DRIVE The Cars
46 ( NEW ) BLUE Fine Young Cannibals
47 ( 29 ) REBEL YELL Billy Idol
48 ( 34 ) FORTRESS AROUND MY HEART Sting
49 ( NEW ) ONE VISION Queen
50 ( 35 ) YEH YEH Matt Bianco

51 ( 39 ) ONE OF THE LIVING Tina Turner
52 ( 38 ) LOVE LETTERS Marc Almond
53 ( 50 ) YOU AND YOUR HEART SO BLUE Bucks Fizz
54 ( 41 ) CLOSE TO ME The Cure
55 ( 55 ) THE LAST KISS David Cassidy
56 ( 64 ) UNCLE SAM Madness
57 ( 42 ) ANGEL Madonna
58 ( NEW ) WE BUILT THIS CITY Starship
59 ( 40 ) SLEEPING BAG ZZ Top
60 ( 57 ) HOLIDAY Madonna

61 ( 59 ) MEGAREX T.Rex
62 ( 61 ) THERE MUST BE AN ANGEL (PLAYING WITH MY HEART) Eurythmics
63 ( NEW ) THAT CERTAIN SMILE Midge Ure
64 ( 48 ) KNOCK ON WOOD/ LIGHT MY FIRE Amii Stewart
65 ( 56 ) WHAT’S YOUR PROBLEM? Blancmange
66 ( 65 ) “19” Paul Hardcastle
67 ( NEW ) LOSE YOUR LOVE Blancmange
68 ( 44 ) OH SHEILA Take On The World
69 ( 74 ) SEE THE DAY Dee C. Lee
70 ( 62 ) DON’T STOP THE DANCE Bryan Ferry

71 ( NEW ) GET OUTTA TOWN Dan Hartman
72 ( 68 ) I WONDER IF I TAKE YOU HOME Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force
73 ( NEW ) MATED David Grant & Jaki Graham
74 ( 60 ) MY HEART GOES BANG Dead Or Alive
75 ( NEW ) EMERGENCY Kool & The Gang

CLASSIC OLDIES FAVES OF THE WEEK

1 HIGH FLY John Miles
2 THE SUN AIN’T GONNA SHINE ANYMORE The Walker Brothers
3 NO. 9 DREAM John Lennon

Posted by: toffochews 21st November 2017, 01:20 PM

Nice chart again john!

Waterboys where actually my #1 this week in 1985...

Hope you don't mind the hi-jack, here's my full chart from 1985 for w/e 23 November 1985...

frs top 30 w/e 23 november 1985

1 1 The Whole Of The Moon - The Waterboys 3
2 4 A Good Heart - Feargal Sharkey 6
3 3 Alive And Kicking - Simple Minds 7
4 5 Don't Break My Heart - UB40 5
5 7 Brothers In Arms - Dire Straits 5
6 6 Taste Of Your Tears - King 6
7 2 The Power Of Love - Jennifer Rush 16
8 10 Road To Nowhere - Talking Heads 4
9 26 That Certain Smile - Midge Ure 2
10 8 Cloudbusting - Kate Bush 5
11 9 Take On Me - A-ha 9
12 14 Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves - Eurythmics 4
13 12 Trapped - Colonel Abrahms 8
14 11 Slave To The Rhythm - Grace Jones 6
15 18 Blue - Fine Young Cannibals 3
16 22 Lost Weekend - Lloyd Cole & The Commotions 2
17 16 Nikita - Elton John 6
18 13 Gambler - Madonna 7
19 23 Say You Love Me - Lionel Richie 2
20 17 Something About You - Level 42 9
21 15 King For A Day - Thompson Twins 6
22 20 You Are My World - The Communards 5
23 27 See The Day - Dee C Lee 2
24 19 Lean On Me (Ah Li Ayo) - Red Box 10
25 28 When Love Breaks Down - Prefab Sprout 2
26 NEW I'm Your Man - Wham! 1
27 NEW Saving All My Love For You - Whitney Houston 1
28 NEW One Vision - Queen 1
29 29 Sub Culture - New Order 3
30 NEW Don't Look Down - Go West 1
--- The Next 10 Bubblers
31 - Sun City - Artists United Against Apartheid
32 40 Mated - David Grant & Jaki Graham
33 37 Howards Way Theme - Simon May Orchestra
34 - Your Personal Touch - Eveyln 'Champagne' King
35 - The Highest High - China Crisis
36 - Go Home - Stevie Wonder
37 - Please Please Let Me Get What I Want - Dream Academy
38 - That's What Friends Are For - Dionne Warwick
39 32 Stairway To Heaven - Far Corporation
40 34 Just For Money - Paul Hardcastle

Posted by: Popchartfreak 23rd November 2017, 07:53 AM

QUOTE(toffochews @ Nov 21 2017, 01:20 PM)

Posted by: Popchartfreak 24th November 2017, 08:47 PM

17th November 1985

2 weeks on top for Feargal Sharkey, as Stairway To Heaven climbs to 2, and Wham! shoot up 30 to 6 with I'm Your Man. The Waterboys & Eurythmics both go top 10, giving Aretha Franklin a 2nd top 10 of the year after a 14 year gap since her previous - Spanish Harlem. My boys climb into the 20 for the first time, and never long absnet from it ever since, Neil & Chris and West End Girls. Sun City climbs fast, as do ones they protest, Queen , hot off Live Aid's show-stopping set.

Highest new entry is a debut, a promising (largely unfulfilled, if hugely successful) classy start from Whitney Houston, cousin of Dionne Warwick, who brings her pop friends along (such as Elton, Stevie & Gladys) a charity record for the rapidly-spreading new deadly disease AIDS. Written by Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager, it was the first time Burt & Dionne had hit together since the 60's, and That's What Friends Are For enters lower at 64.

Tina Turner is beside herself with Mad Max joy, literally, along with Bryan Adams. David Grant & Jaki Graham are mated (not really, cos I saw David Grant on TV this morning on a serious news item with his actual wife on behalf of children with learning difficulties) at 29, while Fine Young Cannibals, Midge Ure and Dee C. Lee (no longer backing Wham! she's backing her own man, Paul Weller, who's one place above her at 37).

Princess joins King and Queen, though not Prince sadly, with her 2nd hit, Glenn Frey flies solo from The Eagles with his best single, You belong To The City, The Cult make it a quick trio of hits, though not the Beatles' Revolution, B side to my first chart Number One Hey Jude - despite Paul McCartney also entering with a comedy movie theme: Spies Like Us was as good as the film. Spirited effort but not that great.

Lionel Richie somehow breaks into the bottom end with another dull ballad, Say Who? Say Me! New Order find themselves a bit subcultured, and Go West return with another goodie.

1 ( 1 ) A GOOD HEART Feargal Sharkey
2 ( 3 ) STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN Far Corporation
3 ( 4 ) DON’T BREAK MY HEART UB40
4 ( 5 ) ROAD TO NOWHERE Talking Heads
5 ( 2 ) CITIES IN DUST Siouxsie & The Banshees
6 ( 36 ) I’M YOUR MAN Wham!
7 ( 10 ) HEART AND SOUL Huey Lewis & The News
8 ( 18 ) THE WHOLE OF THE MOON The Waterboys
9 ( 20 ) SISTERS ARE DOING IT FOR THEMSELVES Eurythmics and Aretha Franklin
10 ( 11 ) LOST WEEKEND Lloyd Cole & The Commotions

11 ( 8 ) SOMETHING ABOUT YOU Level 42
12 ( 7 ) TAKE ON ME A-Ha
13 ( 6 ) NIKITA Elton John
14 ( 27 ) WEST END GIRLS Pet Shop Boys
15 ( 13 ) THE POWER OF LOVE Jennifer Rush
16 ( 19 ) YOU ARE MY WORLD The Communards
17 ( 12 ) SLAVE TO THE RHYTHM Grace Jones
18 ( 37 ) SUN CITY Artists Against Apartheid
19 ( 9 ) ALIVE AND KICKING Simple Minds
20 ( 49 ) ONE VISION Queen

21 ( 38 ) BROTHERS IN ARMS Dire Straits
22 ( 17 ) IF I WAS Midge Ure
23 ( 15 ) CLOUDBUSTING Kate Bush
24 ( 14 ) KING FOR A DAY The Thompson Twins
25 ( NEW ) SAVING ALL MY LOVE FOR YOU Whitney Houston
26 ( 16 ) (I’LL NEVER BE) MARIA MAGDALENA Sandra
27 ( 33 ) JUST FOR MONEY Paul Hardcastle
28 ( 24 ) IT’S A MANS MANS MANS MANS WORLD Brilliant
29 ( 73 ) MATED David Grant & Jaki Graham
30 ( 46 ) BLUE Fine Young Cannibals

31 ( 34 ) WHEN LOVE BREAKS DOWN Prefab Sprout
32 ( 23 ) ELECTION DAY Arcadia
33 ( 22 ) BRING ON THE DANCING HORSES Echo & The Bunnymen
34 ( 21 ) BIG DEAL Bobby G
35 ( 51 ) ONE OF THE LIVING Tina Turner
36 ( 42 ) IT’S ONLY LOVE Tina Turner & Bryan Adams
37 ( 28 ) THE LODGERS The Style Council
38 ( 69 ) SEE THE DAY Dee C. Lee
39 ( 58 ) WE BUILT THIS CITY Starship
40 ( 63 ) THAT CERTAIN SMILE Midge Ure

41 ( 26 ) THIS IS ENGLAND The Clash
42 ( 56 ) UNCLE SAM Madness
43 ( 30 ) ST. ELMO’S FIRE (MAN IN MOTION) John Parr
44 ( 25 ) RAIN The Cult
45 ( 45 ) DRIVE The Cars
46 ( 39 ) LEAN ON ME (AH-LI-AYO) Red Box
47 ( 43 ) RUNNING UP THAT HILL Kate Bush
48 ( NEW ) AFTER THE LOVE HAS GONE Princess
49 ( 31 ) TRAPPED Colonel Abrams
50 ( NEW ) YOU BELONG TO THE CITY Glenn Frey

51 ( NEW ) REVOLUTION The Cult
52 ( 32 ) MIAMI VICE THEME Jan Hammer
53 ( 29 ) THE TASTE OF MY TEARS King
54 ( 44 ) PART TIME LOVER Stevie Wonder
55 ( 55 ) THE LAST KISS David Cassidy
56 ( 53 ) YOU AND YOUR HEART SO BLUE Bucks Fizz
57 ( 67 ) LOSE YOUR LOVE Blancmange
58 ( 41 ) THE GAMBLER Madonna
59 ( 35 ) LA FEMME ACCIDENT OMD
60 ( NEW ) SPIES LIKE US Paul McCartney

61 ( 40 ) AFTER THE FIRE Roger Daltrey
62 ( 61 ) MEGAREX T.Rex
63 ( 60 ) HOLIDAY Madonna
64 ( NEW ) THAT’S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR Dionne Warwick & Friends
65 ( 62 ) THERE MUST BE AN ANGEL (PLAYING WITH MY HEART) Eurythmics
66 ( NEW ) SAY YOU SAY ME Lionel Richie
67 ( NEW ) SUBCULTURE New Order
68 ( 66 ) “19” Paul Hardcastle
69 ( NEW ) DON’T LOOK DOWN Go West
70 ( 57 ) ANGEL Madonna

71 ( 68 ) OH SHEILA Take On The World
72 ( 47 ) REBEL YELL Billy Idol
73 ( 54 ) CLOSE TO ME The Cure
74 ( 52 ) LOVE LETTERS Marc Almond
75 ( 65 ) WHAT’S YOUR PROBLEM? Blancmange

Posted by: The Diplomat 24th November 2017, 09:11 PM

Posted by: Popchartfreak 25th November 2017, 09:54 AM

QUOTE(The Diplomat @ Nov 24 2017, 09:11 PM)

Posted by: Popchartfreak 30th November 2017, 07:33 PM

26th November 1985

It's Wham! grabbing a first week on top for the second time (three for George Michael) on a change of chart-day-of-the-week compilation for me, and with the then-traditional 3rd-week-in-November deluge of record releases - 20 new entries! Huey Lewis hits his chart-peak of 4, Pet Shop Boys break into the 10 for the first time, and John & Yoko get the highest new entries. Not actually their Christmas classic, though, it's a track off Yoko's fab new album with a fab new video, Hell In Paradise, outdoing her late husband's single release of his original 14-year-old album track as taken to 1 by Roxy Music 4 years earlier. In fact it's a real family affair, as John's son Julian enters with Because - not the Beatles classic album track, though, it's another offcut from Dave Clark's Time musical. Talking of The Beatles, The Thompson Twins enter at 45 with a cover of Revolution, B side to Hey Jude. Talking of the Beatles, Paul McC, John's co-writer in the Fabs (as if anyone didn't know) enters the 40 with his movie theme.

Talking of movie themes, Phil Collins duets with Marilyn Mansun. I mean McCoo. No, I mean Martin. Talking of Revolution, The Cult are one place higher than the different song of the same name. It's 1985, so Madonna must be due another monthly hit - and here it is, dressing us up at 14 with her best effort since Into The Groove. Slade are back! 14 years of singles chart entries, and in at 25. A mere 6 years since Roxanne, Sting has another solo single, but for once this one is worthy of having a The Police moniker. The sentiments of Russians were quite worthy of the time, and the moody sweeping classical Russian backdrop was also worthy of entering at 29.

Another Propaganda goodie into the 40, and a host of lesser entries, from Doug E. Fresh, Nik Kershaw, Five Star, Amazulu and China Crisis. Dream Academy cover The Smiths, Aretha Franklin keeps the revival zoomin' hot, Elton John is also on the 14-year-bandwagon, dragging along an uncredited modest George Michael I think, though these days it would guarantee a "featuring" credit on Wrap Her Up, hot on the heels of his uncredited vocal backing to the late David Cassidy. Simon May returns 9 years on from his excruciating Top Of The Pops live vocal experience, wisely sticking with his Orchestral TV Theme, and The New Seekers are back - guess what, 14-years-on. Spirit of '71! Sadly, there was no Lyn Paul, Eve Graham or Peter Doyle in the line-up, leaving only Paul Layton & Marty Kristian from the original hit-making band.

1 ( 6 ) I’M YOUR MAN Wham!
2 ( 1 ) A GOOD HEART Feargal Sharkey
3 ( 3 ) DON’T BREAK MY HEART UB40
4 ( 7 ) HEART AND SOUL Huey Lewis & The News
5 ( 2 ) STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN Far Corporation
6 ( 14 ) WEST END GIRLS Pet Shop Boys
7 ( NEW ) HELL IN PARADISE Yoko Ono
8 ( 9 ) SISTERS ARE DOING IT FOR THEMSELVES Eurythmics and Aretha Franklin
9 ( NEW ) JEALOUS GUY John Lennon
10 ( 4 ) ROAD TO NOWHERE Talking Heads

11 ( 8 ) THE WHOLE OF THE MOON The Waterboys
12 ( 10 ) LOST WEEKEND Lloyd Cole & The Commotions
13 ( 5 ) CITIES IN DUST Siouxsie & The Banshees
14 ( NEW ) DRESS YOU UP Madonna
15 ( 18 ) SUN CITY Artists Against Apartheid
16 ( 11 ) SOMETHING ABOUT YOU Level 42
17 ( 12 ) TAKE ON ME A-Ha
18 ( 25 ) SAVING ALL MY LOVE FOR YOU Whitney Houston
19 ( 21 ) BROTHERS IN ARMS Dire Straits
20 ( 20 ) ONE VISION Queen

21 ( 31 ) WHEN LOVE BREAKS DOWN Prefab Sprout
22 ( 13 ) NIKITA Elton John
23 ( 15 ) THE POWER OF LOVE Jennifer Rush
24 ( 30 ) BLUE Fine Young Cannibals
25 ( NEW ) DO YOU BELIEVE IN MIRACLES Slade
26 ( 29 ) MATED David Grant & Jaki Graham
27 ( 27 ) JUST FOR MONEY Paul Hardcastle
28 ( 17 ) SLAVE TO THE RHYTHM Grace Jones
29 ( NEW ) RUSSIANS Sting
30 ( 64 ) THAT’S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR Dionne Warwick & Friends

31 ( 16 ) YOU ARE MY WORLD The Communards
32 ( 40 ) THAT CERTAIN SMILE Midge Ure
33 ( 38 ) SEE THE DAY Dee C. Lee
34 ( 22 ) IF I WAS Midge Ure
35 ( 19 ) ALIVE AND KICKING Simple Minds
36 ( 60 ) SPIES LIKE US Paul McCartney
37 ( NEW ) P-MACHINERY (REMIX) Propaganda
38 ( 28 ) IT’S A MANS MANS MANS MANS WORLD Brilliant
39 ( 39 ) WE BUILT THIS CITY Starship
40 ( 57 ) LOSE YOUR LOVE Blancmange

41 ( 26 ) (I’LL NEVER BE) MARIA MAGDALENA Sandra
42 ( 23 ) CLOUDBUSTING Kate Bush
43 ( NEW ) THE SHOW Doug E. Fresh
44 ( 51 ) REVOLUTION The Cult
45 ( NEW ) REVOLUTION The Thompson Twins
46 ( 37 ) THE LODGERS The Style Council
47 ( 45 ) DRIVE The Cars
48 ( 48 ) AFTER THE LOVE HAS GONE Princess
49 ( 24 ) KING FOR A DAY The Thompson Twins
50 ( 50 ) YOU BELONG TO THE CITY Glenn Frey

51 ( 42 ) UNCLE SAM Madness
52 ( 47 ) RUNNING UP THAT HILL Kate Bush
53 ( 46 ) LEAN ON ME (AH-LI-AYO) Red Box
54 ( 69 ) DON’T LOOK DOWN Go West
55 ( 55 ) THE LAST KISS David Cassidy
56 ( 34 ) BIG DEAL Bobby G
57 ( 66 ) SAY YOU SAY ME Lionel Richie
58 ( NEW ) BECAUSE Julian Lennon
59 ( 56 ) YOU AND YOUR HEART SO BLUE Bucks Fizz
60 ( NEW ) WHEN A HEART BEATS Nik Kershaw

61 ( 41 ) THIS IS ENGLAND The Clash
62 ( NEW ) R.S.V.P. Five Star
63 ( 36 ) IT’S ONLY LOVE Tina Turner & Bryan Adams
64 ( 62 ) MEGAREX T.Rex
65 ( 67 ) SUBCULTURE New Order
66 ( NEW ) SEPARATE LIVES Phil Collins & Marilyn Martin
67 ( NEW ) HOWARD’S WAY THEME The Simon May Orchestra
68 ( NEW ) PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE LET ME GET WHAT I WANT Dream Academy
69 ( NEW ) DON’T YOU JUST KNOW IT Amazulu
70 ( NEW ) LET THE BELLS RING OUT FOREVER The New Seekers

71 ( NEW ) WRAP HER UP Elton John
72 ( 32 ) ELECTION DAY Arcadia
73 ( NEW ) TIME AIN’T ENOUGH Green On Red
74 ( NEW ) THE HIGHEST HIGH China Crisis
75 ( NEW ) WHO’S ZOOMING WHO Aretha Franklin

Posted by: Popchartfreak 7th December 2017, 08:18 PM

3rd December 1985

2 weeks on top for Wham! just holding off another top British duo, and Pet Shop Boys hit 2 with the classic West End Girls. Yoko Ono gets her first top solo hit in 5 years, since Walking On Thin Ice topped my chart, the final record she & John were working on the night of his murder, and John goes up one to 8. Sun City protest song hits 6, Madonna ends the year with a 6th top 10, and Whitney Houston gets a debut top 10.

Grant n Graham just miss out on a 2nd top 10 together, 5 years since David first had his Lynx, and Dionne Warwick is back in the top 20 3 years on from the last time, Dee C. Lee finally scrapes into the 20 with a great ballad that took me time to warm to, and Slade make their run of top 20's 14 years. Julian Lennon follows his dad into the 40, The Cult make it a hat-trick, and highest new entry is a christmas classic, as done by Broooooce, at 32, Santa Clause Is Coming To Town. Brucie's sax player gets his own debut at 60, Clarence Clemons bringing along Jackson Browne who first made my charts 13 years earlier with Doctor My Eyes.

The Cars return for a 3rd hit of the year, at 40, while at 66 it's another pop duet, as Bonnie Tyler extends her run of chart entries to 9 years, in hand with the fab Todd Rundgren who first made my charts with the fab I Saw The Light in 1972. The song and production is a Jim Steinman epic, as they all are in his style, but only hit big in Portugal, though Meatloaf finally got around to doing his version with Jim in 2016.

Bronski Beat have a new lead singer, Junior keeps popping in, Evelyn King hasn't dropped the Champagne, 7 years on from her first Shame, and Mr. Mister debut with a great song Broken Wings.

1 ( 1 ) I’M YOUR MAN Wham!
2 ( 6 ) WEST END GIRLS Pet Shop Boys
3 ( 2 ) A GOOD HEART Feargal Sharkey
4 ( 3 ) DON’T BREAK MY HEART UB40
5 ( 7 ) HELL IN PARADISE Yoko Ono
6 ( 15 ) SUN CITY Artists Against Apartheid
7 ( 14 ) DRESS YOU UP Madonna
8 ( 9 ) JEALOUS GUY John Lennon
9 ( 18 ) SAVING ALL MY LOVE FOR YOU Whitney Houston
10 ( 10 ) ROAD TO NOWHERE Talking Heads

11 ( 26 ) MATED David Grant & Jaki Graham
12 ( 8 ) SISTERS ARE DOING IT FOR THEMSELVES Eurythmics and Aretha Franklin
13 ( 4 ) HEART AND SOUL Huey Lewis & The News
14 ( 5 ) STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN Far Corporation
15 ( 11 ) THE WHOLE OF THE MOON The Waterboys
16 ( 30 ) THAT’S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR Dionne Warwick & Friends
17 ( 21 ) WHEN LOVE BREAKS DOWN Prefab Sprout
18 ( 12 ) LOST WEEKEND Lloyd Cole & The Commotions
19 ( 25 ) DO YOU BELIEVE IN MIRACLES Slade
20 ( 33 ) SEE THE DAY Dee C. Lee

21 ( 13 ) CITIES IN DUST Siouxsie & The Banshees
22 ( 24 ) BLUE Fine Young Cannibals
23 ( 58 ) BECAUSE Julian Lennon
24 ( 17 ) TAKE ON ME A-Ha
25 ( 37 ) P-MACHINERY (REMIX) Propaganda
26 ( 36 ) SPIES LIKE US Paul McCartney
27 ( 29 ) RUSSIANS Sting
28 ( 44 ) REVOLUTION The Cult
29 ( 32 ) THAT CERTAIN SMILE Midge Ure
30 ( 39 ) WE BUILT THIS CITY Starship

31 ( 16 ) SOMETHING ABOUT YOU Level 42
32 ( NEW ) SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN Bruce Springsteen
33 ( 19 ) BROTHERS IN ARMS Dire Straits
34 ( 23 ) THE POWER OF LOVE Jennifer Rush
35 ( 43 ) THE SHOW Doug E. Fresh
36 ( 22 ) NIKITA Elton John
37 ( 54 ) DON’T LOOK DOWN Go West
38 ( 48 ) AFTER THE LOVE HAS GONE Princess
39 ( 28 ) SLAVE TO THE RHYTHM Grace Jones
40 ( NEW ) TONIGHT SHE COMES The Cars

41 ( 20 ) ONE VISION Queen
42 ( 45 ) REVOLUTION The Thompson Twins
43 ( 34 ) IF I WAS Midge Ure
44 ( 60 ) WHEN A HEART BEATS Nik Kershaw
45 ( 69 ) DON’T YOU JUST KNOW IT Amazulu
46 ( 38 ) IT’S A MANS MANS MANS MANS WORLD Brilliant
47 ( 57 ) SAY YOU SAY ME Lionel Richie
48 ( 71 ) WRAP HER UP Elton John
49 ( 35 ) ALIVE AND KICKING Simple Minds
50 ( 66 ) SEPARATE LIVES Phil Collins & Marilyn Martin

51 ( 47 ) DRIVE The Cars
52 ( 31 ) YOU ARE MY WORLD The Communards
53 ( 27 ) JUST FOR MONEY Paul Hardcastle
54 ( 55 ) THE LAST KISS David Cassidy
55 ( 42 ) CLOUDBUSTING Kate Bush
56 ( 68 ) PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE LET ME GET WHAT I WANT Dream Academy
57 ( 52 ) RUNNING UP THAT HILL Kate Bush
58 ( 53 ) LEAN ON ME (AH-LI-AYO) Red Box
59 ( 51 ) UNCLE SAM Madness
60 ( NEW ) YOU’RE A FRIEND OF MINE Clarence Clemons & Jackson Browne

61 ( 41 ) (I’LL NEVER BE) MARIA MAGDALENA Sandra
62 ( 46 ) THE LODGERS The Style Council
63 ( 40 ) LOSE YOUR LOVE Blancmange
64 ( 64 ) MEGAREX T.Rex
65 ( 59 ) YOU AND YOUR HEART SO BLUE Bucks Fizz
66 ( NEW ) LOVING YOU’S A DIRTY JOB (BUT SOMEBODY'S GOTTA
DO IT) Bonnie Tyler & Todd Rundgren
67 ( NEW ) HIT THAT PERFECT BEAT Bronski Beat
68 ( 74 ) THE HIGHEST HIGH China Crisis
69 ( 75 ) WHO’S ZOOMING WHO Aretha Franklin
70 ( 70 ) LET THE BELLS RING OUT FOREVER The New Seekers

71 ( NEW ) OH LOUISE Junior
72 ( 61 ) THIS IS ENGLAND The Clash
73 ( NEW ) YOUR PERSONAL TOUCH Evelyn ‘Champagne’ King
74 ( NEW ) WHAT’S GONE WRONG The Untouchables
75 ( NEW ) BROKEN WINGS Mr. Mister

PLAYLIST OLDIES OF THE WEEK

1 MOON RIVER Greyhound
2 EVERYTHING I OWN Ken Boothe
3 IF NOT YOU Dr. Hook

Posted by: Popchartfreak 7th December 2017, 08:55 PM

10th December 1985

On top for the first time, and the first of dozens, it's Chris & Neil - dum dum dum dum-de-dum-dum. Holding off a reissued 1984 Band Aid chart-topper, still fresh and undimmed by 30-odd years of never-ending Christmas overkill. Sting shoots up Russians to 4, a sort of dark christmassy mood and his biggest solo hit to date. Julian Lennon gets a second top 10 and knocks out his dad.

Cameo enter at 19 with strange, but fab, song, ahead of the codpiece - it would eventually chart in the UK. A Mick Jagger album track joins the Yoko album track - veterans were now starting to opt out of singles off new albums, something which became huge business in the States in the 90's as physical singles died out to push album sales to new heights. Money money money! Mick's missus, of course, used to go out with Bryan Ferry - and he is also in looking Windswept. Fortunately Rupert Murdoch doesn't feature in the chart, though I did tweet him this week when he commented unbelievingly on global warming while flying over ice-swept northern hemispheres - IN MID-WINTER. What a dick. At least I can only assume that's why Jerry married the ageing multibillionaire.

No memory whatsoever of the Spacelings - one to youtube! However another overplayed christmas classic debuts at 60 - it's Shaky, with one of his occasional chart entries (in my charts, that is, 5 years non-stop in the UK charts). You all know it. Sheena Easton also has 5 years of occasional chart entries continued but her best Prince-days were still ahead. Another Christmas UK number one enters at 71 - well the song at any rate, for the Isley Brothers (sort of) 16 years into a chart career, and one year pre-Housemartins. That leaves comebacks for Mike Oldfield (topped my chart two times in 1974 with two albums - allowed because they were one track, essentially), and Joni Mitchell (1974 was also her best chart year for me) 15 years on from Big Yellow Taxi.



1 ( 2 ) WEST END GIRLS Pet Shop Boys
2 ( NEW ) DO THEY KNOW IT’S CHRISTMAS? Band Aid
3 ( 1 ) I’M YOUR MAN Wham!
4 ( 27 ) RUSSIANS Sting
5 ( 6 ) SUN CITY Artists Against Apartheid
6 ( 7 ) DRESS YOU UP Madonna
7 ( 9 ) SAVING ALL MY LOVE FOR YOU Whitney Houston
8 ( 5 ) HELL IN PARADISE Yoko Ono
9 ( 23 ) BECAUSE Julian Lennon
10 ( 4 ) DON’T BREAK MY HEART UB40

11 ( 11 ) MATED David Grant & Jaki Graham
12 ( 10 ) ROAD TO NOWHERE Talking Heads
13 ( 8 ) JEALOUS GUY John Lennon
14 ( 16 ) THAT’S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR Dionne Warwick & Friends
15 ( 3 ) A GOOD HEART Feargal Sharkey
16 ( 12 ) SISTERS ARE DOING IT FOR THEMSELVES Eurythmics and Aretha Franklin
17 ( 19 ) DO YOU BELIEVE IN MIRACLES Slade
18 ( 20 ) SEE THE DAY Dee C. Lee
19 ( NEW ) SHE’S STRANGE Cameo
20 ( 15 ) THE WHOLE OF THE MOON The Waterboys

21 ( 17 ) WHEN LOVE BREAKS DOWN Prefab Sprout
22 ( 13 ) HEART AND SOUL Huey Lewis & The News
23 ( 28 ) REVOLUTION The Cult
24 ( 40 ) TONIGHT SHE COMES The Cars
25 ( 30 ) WE BUILT THIS CITY Starship
26 ( 26 ) SPIES LIKE US Paul McCartney
27 ( 35 ) THE SHOW Doug E. Fresh
28 ( 14 ) STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN Far Corporation
29 ( 38 ) AFTER THE LOVE HAS GONE Princess
30 ( 18 ) LOST WEEKEND Lloyd Cole & The Commotions

31 ( 37 ) DON’T LOOK DOWN Go West
32 ( 32 ) SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN Bruce Springsteen
33 ( 21 ) CITIES IN DUST Siouxsie & The Banshees
34 ( 24 ) TAKE ON ME A-Ha
35 ( 45 ) DON’T YOU JUST KNOW IT Amazulu
36 ( NEW ) HARD WOMAN Mick Jagger
37 ( 47 ) SAY YOU SAY ME Lionel Richie
38 ( 42 ) REVOLUTION The Thompson Twins
39 ( 67 ) HIT THAT PERFECT BEAT Bronski Beat
40 ( 48 ) WRAP HER UP Elton John

41 ( 33 ) BROTHERS IN ARMS Dire Straits
42 ( 25 ) P-MACHINERY (REMIX) Propaganda
43 ( 36 ) NIKITA Elton John
44 ( 44 ) WHEN A HEART BEATS Nik Kershaw
45 ( NEW ) WINDSWEPT Bryan Ferry
46 ( 50 ) SEPARATE LIVES Phil Collins & Marilyn Martin
47 ( 71 ) OH LOUISE Junior
48 ( 34 ) THE POWER OF LOVE Jennifer Rush
49 ( NEW ) LAST NIGHT I HAD THE STRANGEST DREAM The Spacelings
50 ( 22 ) BLUE Fine Young Cannibals

51 ( 60 ) YOU’RE A FRIEND OF MINE Clarence Clemons & Jackson Browne
52 ( 56 ) PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE LET ME GET WHAT I WANT Dream Academy
53 ( 39 ) SLAVE TO THE RHYTHM Grace Jones
54 ( 43 ) IF I WAS Midge Ure
55 ( 66 ) LOVING YOU’S A DIRTY JOB (BUT SOMEBODY'S GOT TO DO IT) Bonnie Tyler & Todd Rundgren
56 ( 54 ) THE LAST KISS David Cassidy
57 ( 51 ) DRIVE The Cars
58 ( 31 ) SOMETHING ABOUT YOU Level 42
59 ( 41 ) ONE VISION Queen
60 ( NEW ) MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE Shakin’ Stevens

61 ( 29 ) THAT CERTAIN SMILE Midge Ure
62 ( 75 ) BROKEN WINGS Mr. Mister
63 ( 46 ) IT’S A MANS MANS MANS MANS WORLD Brilliant
64 ( NEW ) HEART OF LOTHIAN Marillion
65 ( 69 ) WHO’S ZOOMING WHO Aretha Franklin
66 ( NEW ) LEAVING ME NOW Level 42
67 ( 57 ) RUNNING UP THAT HILL Kate Bush
68 ( 64 ) MEGAREX T.Rex
69 ( NEW ) DO IT FOR LOVE Sheena Easton
70 ( NEW ) FOREVER BE Sal Solo

71 ( NEW ) CARAVAN OF LOVE Isley Jasper isley
72 ( NEW ) PICTURES IN THE DARK Mike Oldfield
73 ( 55 ) CLOUDBUSTING Kate Bush
74 ( 62 ) THE LODGERS The Style Council
75 ( NEW ) GOOD FRIENDS Joni Mitchell

PLAYLIST OLDIES
1 KITES Simon Dupree & The Big Sound
2 LONELY THIS CHRISTMAS Mud
3 MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY Slade

Posted by: Popchartfreak 22nd December 2017, 08:29 PM

17th December 1985

It's only one week on top for West End Girls, as a recent Christmas Classic enters back on top, Wham! very nearly replacing themselves at 1 but for Pet Shop Boys. Cameo go top 10, She's Strange that one, and Shaky's xmas now-perennial leaps into the 40 for the first time. Lots of climbers due to a lack of new entries, which back in the day was the norm. Or now, in fact, bar the oldies xmas invasions that I used to do in my own charts and now happens in the actual official charts everywhere.

Amii Stewart has a new duetting partner for her old Johnny Bristol hit mash-up of 2 Smokey Robinson songs, My Guy My Girl and Sophie George is too Girlie Girlie, too. A forgotten xmas song from Bryan Adams, I doubt I've heard Christmas Time in 32 years....! On the other hand, Walking In The Air and Aled Jones were regular xmas airplay and TVplay oldies - and here they are - but not quite as you might guess. I never liked Aled's version of Walking In The Air, so it's the original TV "Snowman" soundtrack that enters, while Aled gives Mike Oldfield a festive hand. Mike, of course, has had several xmas hits, none of them actually mentioning xmas at all, preferring a more traditional solstice theme.


1 ( NEW ) LAST CHRISTMAS Wham!
2 ( 1 ) WEST END GIRLS Pet Shop Boys
3 ( 4 ) RUSSIANS Sting
4 ( 2 ) DO THEY KNOW IT’S CHRISTMAS? Band Aid
5 ( 3 ) I’M YOUR MAN Wham!
6 ( 7 ) SAVING ALL MY LOVE FOR YOU Whitney Houston
7 ( 6 ) DRESS YOU UP Madonna
8 ( 9 ) BECAUSE Julian Lennon
9 ( 19 ) SHE’S STRANGE Cameo
10 ( 11 ) MATED David Grant & Jaki Graham

11 ( 5 ) SUN CITY Artists Against Apartheid
12 ( 10 ) DON’T BREAK MY HEART UB40
13 ( 12 ) ROAD TO NOWHERE Talking Heads
14 ( 17 ) DO YOU BELIEVE IN MIRACLES Slade
15 ( 25 ) WE BUILT THIS CITY Starship
16 ( 18 ) SEE THE DAY Dee C. Lee
17 ( 27 ) THE SHOW Doug E. Fresh
18 ( 29 ) AFTER THE LOVE HAS GONE Princess
19 ( 8 ) HELL IN PARADISE Yoko Ono
20 ( 13 ) JEALOUS GUY John Lennon

21 ( 16 ) SISTERS ARE DOING IT FOR THEMSELVES Eurythmics and Aretha Franklin
22 ( 15 ) A GOOD HEART Feargal Sharkey
23 ( 20 ) THE WHOLE OF THE MOON The Waterboys
24 ( 24 ) TONIGHT SHE COMES The Cars
25 ( 32 ) SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN Bruce Springsteen
26 ( 14 ) THAT’S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR Dionne Warwick & Friends
27 ( 31 ) DON’T LOOK DOWN Go West
28 ( 39 ) HIT THAT PERFECT BEAT Bronski Beat
29 ( 60 ) MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE Shakin’ Stevens
30 ( 35 ) DON’T YOU JUST KNOW IT Amazulu

31 ( 26 ) SPIES LIKE US Paul McCartney
32 ( 22 ) HEART AND SOUL Huey Lewis & The News
33 ( 38 ) REVOLUTION The Thompson Twins
34 ( 21 ) WHEN LOVE BREAKS DOWN Prefab Sprout
35 ( 40 ) WRAP HER UP Elton John
36 ( 28 ) STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN Far Corporation
37 ( 37 ) SAY YOU SAY ME Lionel Richie
38 ( 47 ) OH LOUISE Junior
39 ( 46 ) SEPARATE LIVES Phil Collins & Marilyn Martin
40 ( 45 ) WINDSWEPT Bryan Ferry

41 ( 33 ) CITIES IN DUST Siouxsie & The Banshees
42 ( 34 ) TAKE ON ME A-Ha
43 ( 36 ) HARD WOMAN Mick Jagger
44 ( 42 ) P-MACHINERY (REMIX) Propaganda
45 ( 51 ) YOU’RE A FRIEND OF MINE Clarence Clemons & Jackson Browne
46 ( 23 ) REVOLUTION The Cult
47 ( 52 ) PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE LET ME GET WHAT I WANT Dream Academy
48 ( 49 ) LAST NIGHT I HAD THE STRANGEST DREAM The Spacelings
49 ( 30 ) LOST WEEKEND Lloyd Cole & The Commotions
50 ( 55 ) LOVING YOU’S A DIRTY JOB (BUT SOMEBODY'S GOT TO DO IT) Bonnie Tyler & Todd Rundgren

51 ( 62 ) BROKEN WINGS Mr. Mister
52 ( 43 ) NIKITA Elton John
53 ( NEW ) MY GUY MY GIRL Amii Stewart & Deon Estus
54 ( 64 ) HEART OF LOTHIAN Marillion
55 ( 65 ) WHO’S ZOOMING WHO Aretha Franklin
56 ( 56 ) THE LAST KISS David Cassidy
57 ( 66 ) LEAVING ME NOW Level 42
58 ( 57 ) DRIVE The Cars
59 ( 54 ) IF I WAS Midge Ure
60 ( 41 ) BROTHERS IN ARMS Dire Straits

61 ( 48 ) THE POWER OF LOVE Jennifer Rush
62 ( NEW ) GIRLIE GIRLIE Sophie George
63 ( 53 ) SLAVE TO THE RHYTHM Grace Jones
64 ( NEW ) CHRISTMAS TIME Bryan Adams
65 ( 59 ) ONE VISION Queen
66 ( 44 ) WHEN A HEART BEATS Nik Kershaw
67 ( 67 ) RUNNING UP THAT HILL Kate Bush
68 ( 68 ) MEGAREX T.Rex
69 ( 69 ) DO IT FOR LOVE Sheena Easton
70 ( NEW ) WALKING IN THE AIR Peter Auty & The Sinfonia Of London

71 ( 72 ) PICTURES IN THE DARK Mike Oldfield with Aled Jones
72 ( 73 ) CLOUDBUSTING Kate Bush
73 ( 58 ) SOMETHING ABOUT YOU Level 42
74 ( NEW ) RING OF ICE Jennifer Rush
75 ( 74 ) THE LODGERS The Style Council

Pre-Xmas Oldies playlist:

1 I’M GONNA BE STRONG Gene Pitney
2 LONELY THIS CHRISTMAS Mud
3 WE CAN WORK IT OUT The Beatles

Posted by: mdf 3rd January 2018, 02:09 PM

Hit That Perfect Beat is brill, fabulous energetic dance song at a time when there was little of what could be defined as electronic dance in the charts, didn't know it was a new singer for it though

1985 seems to have been an excellent year for music. Recently rediscovered 'If I Was' by Midge Ure and 'Tarzan Boy' by Baltimora, both amongst my favourite songs of the 80s definitely.

Are you doing 1986 soon?

Looking at the list of top 10 singles on wikipedia, its not quite as good a year as 1985 I think. Too many cheesy imo tracks making top 10 including 'Love Missile F1-11', 'The Chicken Song', 'Snooker Loopy', 'So Macho' and the Samantha Fox, Mel and Kim, Chris De Burgh and Cliff Richard songs.

Although there are a fair few excellent tracks making top 10 imo amongst the not so good, most notably those from The Communards, The Pretenders, A-ha, Europe, Pet Shop Boys, Cutting Crew, Farley 'Jackmaster' Funk, Kim Wilde, Jaki Graham and Tears for Fears.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 3rd January 2018, 03:21 PM

QUOTE(mdf @ Jan 3 2018, 02:09 PM)

Hit That Perfect Beat is brill, fabulous energetic dance song at a time when there was little of what could be defined as electronic dance in the charts, didn't know it was a new singer for it though

1985 seems to have been an excellent year for music. Recently rediscovered 'If I Was' by Midge Ure and 'Tarzan Boy' by Baltimora, both amongst my favourite songs of the 80s definitely.

Are you doing 1986 soon?

Looking at the list of top 10 singles on wikipedia, its not quite as good a year as 1985 I think. Too many cheesy imo tracks making top 10 including 'Love Missile F1-11', 'The Chicken Song', 'Snooker Loopy', 'So Macho' and the Samantha Fox, Mel and Kim, Chris De Burgh and Cliff Richard songs.

Although there are a fair few excellent tracks making top 10 imo amongst the not so good, most notably those from The Communards, The Pretenders, A-ha, Europe, Pet Shop Boys, Cutting Crew, Farley 'Jackmaster' Funk, Kim Wilde, Jaki Graham and Tears for Fears.

Posted by: mdf 3rd January 2018, 04:40 PM

I would like to see you do the mid 90s with this eventually, starting in 1993 or 1994. Interesting time especially for alternative and dance in the charts I think.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 3rd January 2018, 07:24 PM

24th December 1985

It's a new entry at 1 for a Xmas classic that charted in 1974 but never made my top 10. That was something of a shock for me as Mud had made my top 3 (and had 4 number ones) with all their previous singles, yet this Elvis pastiche ballad sorta disappointed me as a 16-year-old. Roll on 11 years and nostalgia and regular annual radio plays, and hey presto I love it. In fact so many Xmas classics come back my chart looks like the Xmas 2017 singles charts! Not saying I was ahead of the game....OK I am. That also explains why I don't usually rechart them, cos frankly after getting on for 30 to 45 years one gets over-familiar with most of them. Glad to see new generations love them though!

Bizarrely the Shaky Xmas classic is only 20, and it was brand new (well a year-old and held-back to avoid Band Aid and Wham!, rather wisely). Macca's back with his frogs, Bing's 40's standard is back having first charted in 1977, Slade are back again, by this time making it an annual event. Wizzard aren't but they did it the previous year. Nowadays they beat Slade every xmas in the UK charts. This year both were beaten by fellow '73 minor hit Step Into Xmas, as Elton gets a higher spot on the Spotify playlists.

Feargal Sharkey's follow-up single is actually the answer-song to A Good Heart, as the break-up song from the female half of a songwriting romantic duo is followed by the male reply. Benmont Tench (from Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers) wrote it, Eurythmics Dave Stewart produced it, and Maria McKee is the subject matter, writer of A Good Heart which had a pop at Tench.

1 ( NEW ) LONELY THIS CHRISTMAS Mud
2 ( 2 ) WEST END GIRLS Pet Shop Boys
3 ( 1 ) LAST CHRISTMAS Wham!
4 ( 3 ) RUSSIANS Sting
5 ( 6 ) SAVING ALL MY LOVE FOR YOU Whitney Houston
6 ( 4 ) DO THEY KNOW IT’S CHRISTMAS? Band Aid
7 ( 9 ) SHE’S STRANGE Cameo
8 ( 5 ) I’M YOUR MAN Wham!
9 ( NEW ) MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY Slade
10 ( 8 ) BECAUSE Julian Lennon

11 ( 7 ) DRESS YOU UP Madonna
12 ( 16 ) SEE THE DAY Dee C. Lee
13 ( 18 ) AFTER THE LOVE HAS GONE Princess
14 ( 12 ) DON’T BREAK MY HEART UB40
15 ( 17 ) THE SHOW Doug E. Fresh & The Get Fresh Crew
16 ( 24 ) TONIGHT SHE COMES The Cars
17 ( 10 ) MATED David Grant & Jaki Graham
18 ( NEW ) WE ALL STAND TOGETHER Paul McCartney
19 ( 13 ) ROAD TO NOWHERE Talking Heads
20 ( 29 ) MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE Shakin’ Stevens

21 ( 15 ) WE BUILT THIS CITY Starship
22 ( 11 ) SUN CITY Artists Against Apartheid
23 ( 28 ) HIT THAT PERFECT BEAT Bronski Beat
24 ( 25 ) SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN Bruce Springsteen
25 ( 31 ) SPIES LIKE US Paul McCartney
26 ( 14 ) DO YOU BELIEVE IN MIRACLES Slade
27 ( 21 ) SISTERS ARE DOING IT FOR THEMSELVES Eurythmics and Aretha Franklin
28 ( 22 ) A GOOD HEART Feargal Sharkey
29 ( 20 ) JEALOUS GUY John Lennon
30 ( 40 ) WINDSWEPT Bryan Ferry

31 ( 45 ) YOU’RE A FRIEND OF MINE Clarence Clemons & Jackson Browne
32 ( 23 ) THE WHOLE OF THE MOON The Waterboys
33 ( 39 ) SEPARATE LIVES Phil Collins & Marilyn Martin
34 ( 27 ) DON’T LOOK DOWN Go West
35 ( 35 ) WRAP HER UP Elton John
36 ( 19 ) HELL IN PARADISE Yoko Ono
37 ( 57 ) LEAVING ME NOW Level 42
38 ( 53 ) MY GUY MY GIRL Amii Stewart & Deon Estus
39 ( 51 ) BROKEN WINGS Mr. Mister
40 ( 55 ) WHO’S ZOOMIN' WHO Aretha Franklin

41 ( 26 ) THAT’S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR Dionne Warwick & Friends
42 ( 30 ) DON’T YOU JUST KNOW IT Amazulu
43 ( 36 ) STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN Far Corporation
44 ( 42 ) TAKE ON ME A-Ha
45 ( 41 ) CITIES IN DUST Siouxsie & The Banshees
46 ( 32 ) HEART AND SOUL Huey Lewis & The News
47 ( NEW ) WHITE CHRISTMAS Bing Crosby
48 ( 62 ) GIRLIE GIRLIE Sophia George
49 ( 38 ) OH LOUISE Junior
50 ( 34 ) WHEN LOVE BREAKS DOWN Prefab Sprout

51 ( 33 ) REVOLUTION The Thompson Twins
52 ( 44 ) P-MACHINERY (REMIX) Propaganda
53 ( 56 ) THE LAST KISS David Cassidy
54 ( 61 ) THE POWER OF LOVE Jennifer Rush
55 ( 74 ) RING OF ICE Jennifer Rush
56 ( 64 ) CHRISTMAS TIME Bryan Adams
57 ( 37 ) SAY YOU SAY ME Lionel Richie
58 ( 49 ) LOST WEEKEND Lloyd Cole & The Commotions
59 ( NEW ) IT’S IN EVERY ONE OF US Cliff Richard
60 ( 58 ) DRIVE The Cars

61 ( 46 ) REVOLUTION The Cult
62 ( 52 ) NIKITA Elton John
63 ( 59 ) IF I WAS Midge Ure
64 ( 47 ) PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE LET ME GET WHAT I WANT Dream Academy
65 ( 50 ) LOVING YOU’S A DIRTY JOB (BUT SOMEBODY'S GOT TO DO IT) Bonnie Tyler & Todd Rundgren
66 ( NEW ) WALKING IN THE AIR Aled Jones
67 ( 67 ) RUNNING UP THAT HILL Kate Bush
68 ( 68 ) MEGAREX T.Rex
69 ( 71 ) PICTURES IN THE DARK Mike Oldfield with Aled Jones
70 ( NEW ) WHAT’S YOUR NAME? Zinno

71 ( NEW ) GO HOME Stevie Wonder
72 ( 72 ) CLOUDBUSTING Kate Bush
73 ( NEW ) YOU LITTLE THIEF Feargal Sharkey
74 ( 63 ) SLAVE TO THE RHYTHM Grace Jones
75 ( NEW ) RAISE THE ROOF The Conway Brothers


Oldies Playlist
1 I’M GONNA BE STRONG Gene Pitney
2 WE CAN WORK IT OUT The Beatles
3 DAY TRIPPER The Beatles

Posted by: Popchartfreak 3rd January 2018, 07:39 PM

QUOTE(mdf @ Jan 3 2018, 04:40 PM)

Posted by: Popchartfreak 4th January 2018, 02:14 PM

31st December 1985

A second week on top for Mud, and a fourth week at 2 for Pet Shop Boys in total - if not for oldies it would have had 5 weeks on top. Had my chart rules been different though, it's likely Gene Pitney's I'm Gonna Be Strong would have topped for some of that as I was seriously mad on it. Wizzard would also have recharted and the Win single on my playlist I thought should be treated as an oldie, but it would chart in 1986.

A-ha are the highest new entry at 22 with a classic epic track that's even better than Take On Me, followed closely by a forgotten Eurythmics gem, It's Alright. Jon Anderson pops in, both missing Vangelis and bandmates Yes to get his debut solo entry some 8 years since Wondrous Stories made my top 10 for Yes.

1 ( 1 ) LONELY THIS CHRISTMAS Mud
2 ( 2 ) WEST END GIRLS Pet Shop Boys
3 ( 4 ) RUSSIANS Sting
4 ( 3 ) LAST CHRISTMAS Wham!
5 ( 9 ) MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY Slade
6 ( 7 ) SHE’S STRANGE Cameo
7 ( 5 ) SAVING ALL MY LOVE FOR YOU Whitney Houston
8 ( 8 ) I’M YOUR MAN Wham!
9 ( 13 ) AFTER THE LOVE HAS GONE Princess
10 ( 6 ) DO THEY KNOW IT’S CHRISTMAS? Band Aid

11 ( 10 ) BECAUSE Julian Lennon
12 ( 16 ) TONIGHT SHE COMES The Cars
13 ( 18 ) WE ALL STAND TOGETHER Paul McCartney
14 ( 11 ) DRESS YOU UP Madonna
15 ( 17 ) MATED David Grant & Jaki Graham
16 ( 25 ) SPIES LIKE US Paul McCartney
17 ( 20 ) MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE Shakin’ Stevens
18 ( 14 ) DON’T BREAK MY HEART UB40
19 ( 23 ) HIT THAT PERFECT BEAT Bronski Beat
20 ( 24 ) SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN Bruce Springsteen

21 ( 12 ) SEE THE DAY Dee C. Lee
22 ( NEW ) THE SUN ALWAYS SHINES ON TV A-ha
23 ( 21 ) WE BUILT THIS CITY Starship
24 ( 19 ) ROAD TO NOWHERE Talking Heads
25 ( NEW ) IT’S ALRIGHT (BABY’S COMING BACK) Eurythmics
26 ( 15 ) THE SHOW Doug E. Fresh & The Get Fresh Crew
27 ( 35 ) WRAP HER UP Elton John
28 ( 59 ) IT’S IN EVERY ONE OF US Cliff Richard
29 ( 38 ) MY GUY MY GIRL Amii Stewart & Deon Estus
30 ( 31 ) YOU’RE A FRIEND OF MINE Clarence Clemons & Jackson Browne

31 ( 26 ) DO YOU BELIEVE IN MIRACLES Slade
32 ( 47 ) WHITE CHRISTMAS Bing Crosby
33 ( 22 ) SUN CITY Artists Against Apartheid
34 ( 37 ) LEAVING ME NOW Level 42
35 ( 49 ) OH LOUISE Junior
36 ( 27 ) SISTERS ARE DOING IT FOR THEMSELVES Eurythmics and Aretha Franklin
37 ( 28 ) A GOOD HEART Feargal Sharkey
38 ( 39 ) BROKEN WINGS Mr. Mister
39 ( 40 ) WHO’S ZOOMIN' WHO Aretha Franklin
40 ( 48 ) GIRLIE GIRLIE Sophia George

41 ( 29 ) JEALOUS GUY John Lennon
42 ( 34 ) DON’T LOOK DOWN Go West
43 ( 32 ) THE WHOLE OF THE MOON The Waterboys
44 ( 30 ) WINDSWEPT Bryan Ferry
45 ( 54 ) THE POWER OF LOVE Jennifer Rush
46 ( 33 ) SEPARATE LIVES Phil Collins & Marilyn Martin
47 ( 55 ) RING OF ICE Jennifer Rush
48 ( 44 ) TAKE ON ME A-Ha
49 ( 43 ) STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN Far Corporation
50 ( 45 ) CITIES IN DUST Siouxsie & The Banshees

51 ( 42 ) DON’T YOU JUST KNOW IT Amazulu
52 ( 41 ) THAT’S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR Dionne Warwick & Friends
53 ( 53 ) THE LAST KISS David Cassidy
54 ( 46 ) HEART AND SOUL Huey Lewis & The News
55 ( 66 ) WALKING IN THE AIR Aled Jones
56 ( 56 ) CHRISTMAS TIME Bryan Adams
57 ( NEW ) EASIER SAID THAN DOWN Jon Anderson
58 ( 52 ) P-MACHINERY (REMIX) Propaganda
59 ( 75 ) RAISE THE ROOF The Conway Brothers
60 ( 60 ) DRIVE The Cars

61 ( 58 ) LOST WEEKEND Lloyd Cole & The Commotions
62 ( 50 ) WHEN LOVE BREAKS DOWN Prefab Sprout
63 ( 63 ) IF I WAS Midge Ure
64 ( NEW ) MR DJ The Concept
65 ( 51 ) REVOLUTION The Thompson Twins
66 ( 57 ) SAY YOU SAY ME Lionel Richie
67 ( 73 ) YOU LITTLE THIEF Feargal Sharkey
68 ( 68 ) MEGAREX T.Rex
69 ( 71 ) GO HOME Stevie Wonder
70 ( 61 ) REVOLUTION The Cult

71 ( 67 ) RUNNING UP THAT HILL Kate Bush
72 ( 62 ) NIKITA Elton John
73 ( 74 ) SLAVE TO THE RHYTHM Grace Jones
74 ( 72 ) CLOUDBUSTING Kate Bush
75 ( NEW ) ALICE I WANT YOU JUST FOR ME Full Force

FAVE OLDIES OF THE WEEK
1 I’M GONNA BE STRONG Gene Pitney
2 YOU’VE GOT THE POWER Win
3 I WISH IT COULD BE CHRISTMAS EVERYDAY Wizzard

Posted by: mdf 4th January 2018, 06:12 PM

I have listened to Love Missile F1-11 again and maybe I judged it too harshly. At least its a quite unique mix of Hi-NRG and glam rock which is an unusual combination.

Just listened to 'Mated' after seeing it in your top 20, really pales in comparison to Jaki Graham's 1986 song 'Set Me Free' imo which I am a big fan of.

Just noticed See The Day, by Dee C Lee great song, sounds more 60s than 80s though to me for some reason.

I agree also with you that 'The Sun Always Shines On TV' is better than Take On Me, although both are very good.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 4th January 2018, 06:42 PM

QUOTE(mdf @ Jan 4 2018, 06:12 PM)

Posted by: mdf 4th January 2018, 09:45 PM

QUOTE(Popchartfreak @ Jan 4 2018, 06:42 PM)

Oh Sigue Sigue was ultra-camp, but had an attitude I liked. Mated was sweet, but yes Set Me Free was much better - it will peak higher

Posted by: ChristmasEve201 4th January 2018, 10:51 PM

Enjoy reading these charts Pop but rarely comment - interesting to note classic Xmas songs peak higher in later years - hope Sia will chart in the future with some of her new tracks

Posted by: mdf 5th January 2018, 02:00 AM

As you have finished 1985, here's my.opinion briefly on the year for chart music.

Pop wise, 1985 certainly looks like one of the best years of the charts ever.

Any remaining relics of cheesy sounding pop rock from the early 80s like Bucks Fizz, early Kim Wilde etc. had mostly gone and we were left with excellent imo modern (for the time) sounding tunes such as Tarzan Boy (I know you said it was cheesy but I don't think it is), Everybody Wants To Rule The World, Dont You Forget About Me, Rhythm Of The Night, Kayleigh and If I Was. Some of the more sensible 80s classics By the late 80s pop seems to have become back to being cheesy again imo especially with the ballad overload.

There definitely should have been more electronic dance hits (considering the arrival of Hi-NRG and the industrial style dance from Depeche Mode in the charts in 1984) that's my only criticism of that year in the charts.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 5th January 2018, 09:32 AM

QUOTE(mdf @ Jan 4 2018, 09:45 PM)

Yes Set Me Free is my favourite of the many 80s post-disco genre songs that made the chart. I like Don't Stop The Music from Yarbrough and Peoples earlier in the 80s too, also post-disco.

If you wonder what my sudden interest/knowledge in 80s music is I have been looking at archive charts from the 80s (along with the 90s) on the OCC website quite a bit recently. Didn't know much about the UK charts in these decades so decided to find out.

Posted by: Popchartfreak 5th January 2018, 09:37 AM

QUOTE(ChristmasEve201 @ Jan 4 2018, 10:51 PM)

Enjoy reading these charts Pop but rarely comment - interesting to note classic Xmas songs peak higher in later years - hope Sia will chart in the future with some of her new tracks

Posted by: Popchartfreak 5th January 2018, 09:47 AM

QUOTE(mdf @ Jan 5 2018, 02:00 AM)

As you have finished 1985, here's my.opinion briefly on the year for chart music.

Pop wise, 1985 certainly looks like one of the best years of the charts ever.

Any remaining relics of cheesy sounding pop rock from the early 80s like Bucks Fizz, early Kim Wilde etc. had mostly gone and we were left with excellent imo modern (for the time) sounding tunes such as Tarzan Boy (I know you said it was cheesy but I don't think it is), Everybody Wants To Rule The World, Dont You Forget About Me, Rhythm Of The Night, Kayleigh and If I Was. Some of the more sensible 80s classics By the late 80s pop seems to have become back to being cheesy again imo especially with the ballad overload.

There definitely should have been more electronic dance hits (considering the arrival of Hi-NRG and the industrial style dance from Depeche Mode in the charts in 1984) that's my only criticism of that year in the charts.

Posted by: Steve201 12th January 2018, 11:29 PM

1985 was strange - most of the big pop groups of the early 80s seemed to fade by the end of this year, apart from Wham who continued to make huge records until the split up in mid 1986 but the Spandeus/Culture Clubs/Durans of the 1980-84 era started to lose ideas and we awaited newer sounds!

Posted by: The Snake 12th January 2018, 11:43 PM

QUOTE(Steve201 @ Jan 12 2018, 11:29 PM)

Posted by: Steve201 13th January 2018, 01:23 AM

Yeh Ultravox were back to their best in 84 with the release of Dancing with Tears in my Eyes after fading a bit between Vienna and 1983. Then Midge for some reason went solo after Band Aid for a year before returning pretty unsuccessfully in 1986 with ultravox.

Tears For Fears as we know go from strength to strength with more mainstream sounds!