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[AH Gold]

My Top 40 Fave Top 40 Hits Year By Year...

Thanks to lockdown and a whole lot of time on my hands, I thought I'd do something original. An idea, which I've absolutely not stolen from anyone else on Buzzjack (sorry Jade }. I've compiled my own lists of favourite Top 40 hits of each year starting from when I was born. UK Top 40 hits only (otherwise the lists would be much bigger) and the hit must have reached its peak position within the year. I also planned on doing in-depth commentary for every track, until I realised I couldn't be arsed.

So, 1981 then.

At the start of the year, my parents were busy preparing for my entrance into the world and were full of hope, dreams and optimism. Even in the womb I must have realised this and would go on to set out on a heroic journey of dashing all these hopes and dreams at every given opportunity. In June, after many hours of painful labour, I was expelled from my mother's womb, two months earlier than planned, screaming and crying my little eyes out. Mum and Dad were overjoyed. It's just as well, as I continued screaming and crying for the next five years. There were complications surrounding my birth, which explains a lot. Still, my parents' dreams of starting a family became a reality, and off we went to settle in Walthamstow of all places.
Mum and Dad loved music and followed the charts, a love I inherited early on. I also inherited IBS, psoriasis and bipolar, (I would have preferred money). Even today, my Dad will phone me, raving about a new Calvin Harris song and wondering if Heart FM has any records on its playlist not by Ed Sheeran. Pop, and Top Of The Pops especially, was something that bonded us, and without meaning to sound all soppy, they're memories I'll always cherish.

So, these are my favourite Top 40 hits of 1981

1. Human League - Don't You Want Me
2. Visage - Fade To Grey
3. Teardrop Explodes – Reward
4. Yoko Ono – Walking On Thin Ice
5. Tenpole Tudor – Swords Of A Thousand Men
6. Abba – One Of Us
7. Queen & David Bowie – Under Pressure
8. Tom Tom Club – Wordy Rappinghood
9. Blondie – Rapture
10. Godley & Crème – Under Your Thumb
11. Kim Wilde – Cambodia
12. Spandau Ballet – Musclebound
13. Adam & The Ants – Stand And Deliver
14. Soft Cell – Bedsitter
15. Human League – Love Action (I Believe In Love)
16. Roxy Music – Jealous Guy
17. Adam & The Ants – Kings Of The Wild Frontier
18. Talking Heads – Once In A Lifetime
19. Dollar – Hand Held In Black And White
20. Abba – Lay All Your Love On Me
21. Spandau Ballet – Chant No.1 (Don’t Need This Pressure On)
22. Ultravox – Vienna
23. Kim Carnes – Bette Davis Eyes
24. Toyah – Thunder In The Mountains
25. Kim Wilde – Chequered Love
26. Phil Collins – In The Air Tonight
27. Freeez – Southern Freeez
28. Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark – Souvenir
29. Human League – Sound Of The Crowd
30. Olivia Newton John – Physical
31. Odyssey – Going Back To My Roots
32. Landscape – Einstein A Go Go
33. Adam & The Ants – Prince Charming
34. Kim Wilde – Kids In America
35. Aneka – Japanese Boy
36. Madness - Grey Day
37. Kiki Dee - Star
38. Michael Jackson – One Day In Your Life
39. Specials – Ghost Town
40. Shalamar – Make That Move

This post has been edited by AH Gold: 16th September 2020, 05:35 PM