Printable version of thread

Posted by: popchartfreak 16th January 2014, 07:39 PM

4th JAN 1984

A new year and my parents were selling the house I was born in, my mother was born in, my brother was born in (Cliff Street Mansfield) which meant I had to get a flat, stay in declining Mansfield just as the pits were on strike and put up with a dead-end factory job, or else jack it in and move South to Poole and join my parents (they were running a NAAFI) and look for a new job, leave my relatives and friends behind. After 4 years of disappointment, 2 years on the dole, 2 in a factory, and no chance of my degree ever looking remotely useful for anything in Mansfield, I took a chance and opted for Dorset.

For now though, it was a wintry hello to the New Year, video-recording classic oldies TV from Channel 4 onto Betamax (oops!), alternative comedy (Comic Strip and Whoops Apocalypse) and not much happening in the charts, save a high new entry from Police (their last-ever single as it happened), newcomer Cyndi Lauper and her fab quirky new toon, and HiNRG camp dance from Be-skirted ample Divine, and a bit of climbing for Lionel Richie and Icicle Works.

1 ( 1 ) MY OH MY Slade
2 ( 2 ) I BELIEVE IN FATHER CHRISTMAS Greg Lake
3 ( 3 ) VICTIMS Culture Club
4 ( 4 ) WHAT IS LOVE Howard Jones
5 ( 5 ) MARGUERITA TIME Status Quo
6 ( 6 ) PIPES OF PEACE Paul McCartney
7 ( 10 ) THRILLER Michael Jackson
8 ( 8 ) HOLD ME NOW The Thompson Twins
9 ( NEW ) KING OF PAIN The Police
10 ( 14 ) READ 'EM AND WEEP Barry Manilow




11 ( 9 ) LOVE OF THE COMMON PEOPLE Paul Young
12 ( 12 ) 2000 MILES The Pretenders
13 ( 7 ) MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY Slade
14 ( 20 ) COLD AS CHRISTMAS Elton John
15 ( 17 ) TELL HER ABOUT IT Billy Joel
16 ( 13 ) MANY RIVERS TO CROSS UB40
17 ( 11 ) PLEASE DON'T FALL IN LOVE Cliff Richard
18 ( NEW ) GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN Cyndi Lauper
19 ( 22 ) I CAN HELP Elvis Presley
20 ( 15 ) THANK YOU FOR THE MUSIC Abba




21 ( 16 ) LET'S STAY TOGETHER Tina Turner
22 ( 28 ) DUCK FOR THE OYSTER Malcolm McLaren
23 ( 19 ) MOVE OVER DARLING Tracey Ullman
24 ( 21 ) HEART AND SOUL Huey Lewis & The News
25 ( 27 ) TIME (aka ARRIVAL) Frida and B.A. Robertson
26 ( 18 ) ISLANDS IN THE STREAM Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton
27 ( 32 ) STRAIGHT AHEAD Kool And The Gang
28 ( 26 ) CRY JUST A LITTLE BIT Shakin' Stevens
29 ( 24 ) CALLING YOUR NAME Marilyn
30 ( 37 ) INSIDE LOVE George Benson

31 ( 31 ) UPTOWN GIRL Billy Joel
32 ( 29 ) CHRISTMAS SPECTRE The Jingle Belles
33 ( 25 ) ONLY YOU The Flying Pickets
34 ( 38 ) WHERE IS MY MAN Eartha Kitt
35 ( 49 ) RUNNING WITH THE NIGHT Lionel Richie
36 ( 36 ) THIS CHARMING MAN The Smiths
37 ( 39 ) THEME FROM TERRAHAWKS Terrahawks
38 ( 35 ) THE LOVE CATS The Cure
39 ( 40 ) THE WAY YOU ARE Tears For Fears
40 ( 23 ) TWIST OF FATE Olivia Newton-John




41 ( 30 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
42 ( 43 ) OWNER OF A LONELY HEART Yes
43 ( 74 ) LOVE IS A WONDERFUL COLOUR The Icicle Works
44 ( 33 ) I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND The Beatles
45 ( 58 ) SWEET SURRENDER Rod Stewart
46 ( 52 ) BILLIE JEAN Michael Jackson
47 ( 42 ) SAY SAY SAY Paul McCartney & Michael Jackson
48 ( 45 ) THEY DON'T KNOW Tracey Ullman
49 ( 61 ) RAT RAPPING Roland Rat
50 ( 34 ) ON A SUNDAY Nick Heyward

51 ( 41 ) THE RULES OF THE GAME Bucks Fizz
52 ( 55 ) UNION OF THE SNAKE Duran Duran
53 ( 53 ) LET'S DANCE David Bowie
54 ( 56 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
55 ( 48 ) KARMA CHAMELEON Culture Club
56 ( 47 ) THE SUN AND THE RAIN Madness
57 ( 44 ) SYNCHRONICITY II The Police
58 ( 63 ) I AM WHAT I AM Gloria Gaynor
59 ( 54 ) DEAR PRUDENCE Siouxsie & The Banshees
60 ( 59 ) DEAR SANTA The Weather Girls

61 ( 46 ) SAY IT ISN'T SO Daryl Hall & John Oates
62 ( 50 ) LOVE WILL TEAR US APART Joy Division
63 ( 64 ) CLUB FANTASTIC MEGAMIX Wham!
64 ( 72 ) BIRD OF PARADISE Snowy White
65 ( 51 ) UNDERCOVER OF THE NIGHT The Rolling Stones
66 ( 60 ) OBLIVIOUS Aztec Camera
67 ( 65 ) WATERFRONT Simple Minds
68 ( 68 ) STEAMHAMMER SAM Interferon
69 ( 57 ) MAXINE Raf Ravenscroft
70 ( 69 ) MAMA Genesis

71 ( NEW ) SHAKE IT UP Divine
72 ( 62 ) THAT'S LOVE THAT IT IS Blancmange
73 ( 67 ) A SOLID BOND IN YOUR HEART The Style Council
74 ( 71 ) ONLY FOR LOVE Limahl
75 ( 66 ) TRUE LOVE Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly




TV
1 Cheers
2 Comic Strip Presents: Dirty Movie
3 REVENGE OF THE PINK PANTHER (film)
4 Whoops Apocolypse!
5 MASH
6 Soap
7 The Twilight Zone
8 Top Of The Pops
9 Bewitched
10 The Goodies
11 The Avengers
12 The Munsters
13 The Dick Van Dyke Show
14 Dallas
15 The Other Side Of The Tracks
16 Reamington Steele
17 A Kick Up The 80's
18 The Prisoner
19 Doctor Who (2 eps)
20 Grange Hill (2 eps)

Posted by: popchartfreak 19th January 2014, 11:12 AM

11th JAN 1984

Straight in at 2 from nowhere a catchy unexpected bonus from the late John Lennon. Tracks he had been working on before his shocking murder by an evil lunatic, as one of my huge heroes he manged to outdo Beatlemate Paul’s latest UK chart-topping single. Bad news for Paul, as in retrospect his single is the better one. Will either one get to Number one? Tune in…

Massive leap at last for Relax, of course you know it even though it was banned by the BBC in the 80’s, one of the biggest-selling singles of all time in the UK. The Beeb do enjoy getting it wrong sometimes… Of course John, Paul and Frankie are all Scousers, or Liverpool-born as it’s more polite to say these days. My grandma lived in Liverpool until 1989, and I lived there for a year in 1966/67, so I knew it well.

Malcolm McLaren gets another quirky Top 20 hit, Flying Pickets belatedly grab a number 18 place, and two great new entries from Pat Benatar (a year ahead of becoming a hit with her fabulous Battlefield track covered lower down by Smokie’s Chris Norman) and Eurythmics last single off the fab album Touch, the haunting Here Comes The Rain Again. Lower down, ABC‘s S.O.S.(not the Abba track, it‘s a great synthpop ballad) and Shaky & Bonnie (a Welsh 50’s retro-cover doubler) sneak in while the gentle Bird Of Paradise goes Top 40 for Snowy “Thin Lizzy” White.


1 ( 1 ) MY OH MY Slade
2 ( NEW ) NOBODY TOLD ME John Lennon
3 ( 2 ) I BELIEVE IN FATHER CHRISTMAS Greg Lake
4 ( 6 ) PIPES OF PEACE Paul McCartney
5 ( 9 ) KING OF PAIN The Police
6 ( 41 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
7 ( 5 ) MARGUERITA TIME Status Quo
8 ( 3 ) VICTIMS Culture Club
9 ( 7 ) THRILLER Michael Jackson
10 ( 4 ) WHAT IS LOVE Howard Jones

11 ( 12 ) 2000 MILES The Pretenders
12 ( 11 ) LOVE OF THE COMMON PEOPLE Paul Young
13 ( 18 ) GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN Cyndi Lauper
14 ( 19 ) I CAN HELP Elvis Presley
15 ( 10 ) READ 'EM AND WEEP Barry Manilow
16 ( 8 ) HOLD ME NOW The Thompson Twins
17 ( 22 ) DUCK FOR THE OYSTER Malcolm McLaren
18 ( 33 ) ONLY YOU The Flying Pickets
19 ( 13 ) MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY Slade
20 ( 15 ) TELL HER ABOUT IT Billy Joel

21 ( 17 ) PLEASE DON'T FALL IN LOVE Cliff Richard
22 ( 14 ) COLD AS CHRISTMAS Elton John
23 ( 16 ) MANY RIVERS TO CROSS UB40
24 ( 24 ) HEART AND SOUL Huey Lewis & The News
25 ( 51 ) THE RULES OF THE GAME Bucks Fizz
26 ( 20 ) THANK YOU FOR THE MUSIC Abba
27 ( 27 ) STRAIGHT AHEAD Kool And The Gang
28 ( 21 ) LET'S STAY TOGETHER Tina Turner
29 ( 35 ) RUNNING WITH THE NIGHT Lionel Richie
30 ( 26 ) ISLANDS IN THE STREAM Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton




31 ( 25 ) TIME (aka ARRIVAL) Frida and B.A. Robertson
32 ( 28 ) CRY JUST A LITTLE BIT Shakin' Stevens
33 ( 49 ) RAT RAPPING Roland Rat
34 ( 23 ) MOVE OVER DARLING Tracey Ullman
35 ( 57 ) I AM WHAT I AM Gloria Gaynor
36 ( 31 ) UPTOWN GIRL Billy Joel
37 ( NEW ) LOVE IS A BATTLEFIELD Pat Benatar
38 ( 45 ) SWEET SURRENDER Rod Stewart
39 ( NEW ) HERE COMES THE RAIN AGAIN Eurythmics
40 ( 64 ) BIRD OF PARADISE Snowy White




41 ( 32 ) CHRISTMAS SPECTRE The Jingle Belles
42 ( 30 ) INSIDE LOVE George Benson
43 ( 43 ) LOVE IS A WONDERFUL COLOUR The Icicle Works
44 ( RE ) BLUE MONDAY New Order
45 ( 29 ) CALLING YOUR NAME Marilyn
46 ( 46 ) BILLIE JEAN Michael Jackson
47 ( 36 ) THIS CHARMING MAN The Smiths
48 ( 38 ) THE LOVE CATS The Cure
49 ( 39 ) THE WAY YOU ARE Tears For Fears
50 ( 34 ) WHERE IS MY MAN Eartha Kitt

51 ( 52 ) LET'S DANCE David Bowie
52 ( 53 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
53 ( 48 ) THEY DON'T KNOW Tracey Ullman
54 ( 47 ) SAY SAY SAY Paul McCartney & Michael Jackson
55 ( NEW ) SIXTEEN Musical Youth
56 ( 44 ) I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND The Beatles
57 ( 37 ) THEME FROM TERRAHAWKS Terrahawks
58 ( 54 ) KARMA CHAMELEON Culture Club
59 ( NEW ) A ROCKIN' GOOD WAY Shaky and Bonnie (Stevens & Tyler)
60 ( 40 ) TWIST OF FATE Olivia Newton-John




61 ( NEW ) LOVE IS A BATTLEFIELD Chris Norman
62 ( 42 ) OWNER OF A LONELY HEART Yes
63 ( 51 ) UNION OF THE SNAKE Duran Duran
64 ( 63 ) CLUB FANTASTIC MEGAMIX Wham!
65 ( 58 ) DEAR PRUDENCE Siouxsie & The Banshees
66 ( 74 ) ONLY FOR LOVE Limahl
67 ( NEW ) S.O.S. ABC
68 ( 50 ) ON A SUNDAY Nick Heyward
69 ( 55 ) THE SUN AND THE RAIN Madness
70 ( 56 ) SYNCHRONICITY II The Police




71 ( NEW ) BREAK MY STRIDE Matthew Wilder
72 ( 60 ) SAY IT ISN'T SO Daryl Hall & John Oates
73 ( 70 ) MAMA Genesis
74 ( 59 ) DEAR SANTA The Weather Girls
75 ( RE ) ALL NIGHT LONG (ALL NIGHT) Lionel Richie

TV
1 Cheers
2 Comic Strip Presents: Susie
3 MASH
4 The Twilight Zone
5 Bewitched
6 Doctor Who (2 eps)
7 Whoops Apocalypse
8 The Phil Silvers Show (Bilko)
9 Top Of The Pops
10 Grange Hill (2 eps)
11 Barney Miller
12 Soap
13 The Living Planet
14 The Avengers
15 The Prisoner

Posted by: popchartfreak 19th January 2014, 11:15 AM

18th JAN 1984

John beats Paul 1 and 2, and both beat Frankie at 3 for an all-Scouse Top 3. Eurythmics rocket up to 4 to keep the Top 10 run going, veteran 50’s diva Eartha “Catwoman” Kitt camps it up to 7, Pat Benatar rocks up to 17, with Shaky & Bonnie both rockin’ up a good 1983 to 18. At this point I’ll ignore Roland Rat, I have NO idea what that’s doing in the Top 20! A moment of madness!

Great wistful synthpop new entries from Fiction Factory and China Crisis, a bit of Scot-rock from Big Country, 40’s retro from Kid Creole (as Elbow Bones & The Racketeers) and his gorgeous A Night In New York, and some dirge from a TV show at 75. Better TV was Comic Strip’s A Fistful Of Traveller’s Cheques, some great Spaghetti Western one-liners in it. “John Paul George and Gringo!” “I think I’m getting a suntan” Trust me, it’s funny in context..




1 ( 2 ) NOBODY TOLD ME John Lennon
2 ( 4 ) PIPES OF PEACE Paul McCartney
3 ( 6 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
4 ( 39 ) HERE COMES THE RAIN AGAIN Eurythmics
5 ( 5 ) KING OF PAIN The Police
6 ( 1 ) MY OH MY Slade
7 ( 50 ) WHERE IS MY MAN Eartha Kitt
8 ( 3 ) I BELIEVE IN FATHER CHRISTMAS Greg Lake
9 ( 9 ) THRILLER Michael Jackson
10 ( 10 ) WHAT IS LOVE Howard Jones

11 ( 13 ) GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN Cyndi Lauper
12 ( 7 ) MARGUERITA TIME Status Quo
13 ( 29 ) RUNNING WITH THE NIGHT Lionel Richie
14 ( 14 ) I CAN HELP Elvis Presley
15 ( 8 ) VICTIMS Culture Club
16 ( 12 ) LOVE OF THE COMMON PEOPLE Paul Young
17 ( 37 ) LOVE IS A BATTLEFIELD Pat Benatar
18 ( 59 ) A ROCKIN' GOOD WAY Shaky and Bonnie (Stevens & Tyler)
19 ( 33 ) RAT RAPPING Roland Rat
20 ( 27 ) STRAIGHT AHEAD Kool And The Gang




21 ( 15 ) READ 'EM AND WEEP Barry Manilow
22 ( 16 ) HOLD ME NOW The Thompson Twins
23 ( 35 ) I AM WHAT I AM Gloria Gaynor
24 ( NEW ) (FEELS LIKE) HEAVEN Fiction Factory
25 ( 25 ) THE RULES OF THE GAME Bucks Fizz
26 ( 22 ) CRYSTAL/ COLD AS CHRISTMAS Elton John
27 ( 20 ) TELL HER ABOUT IT Billy Joel
28 ( NEW ) WISHFUL THINKING China Crisis
29 ( 11 ) 2000 MILES The Pretenders
30 ( 17 ) DUCK FOR THE OYSTER Malcolm McLaren




31 ( 26 ) THANK YOU FOR THE MUSIC Abba
32 ( 71 ) BREAK MY STRIDE Matthew Wilder
33 ( 40 ) BIRD OF PARADISE Snowy White
34 ( 30 ) ISLANDS IN THE STREAM Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton
35 ( 28 ) LET'S STAY TOGETHER Tina Turner
36 ( 19 ) MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY Slade
37 ( 44 ) BLUE MONDAY New Order
38 ( 38 ) SWEET SURRENDER Rod Stewart
39 ( 24 ) HEART AND SOUL Huey Lewis & The News
40 ( 43 ) LOVE IS A WONDERFUL COLOUR The Icicle Works

41 ( 23 ) MANY RIVERS TO CROSS UB40
42 ( 18 ) ONLY YOU The Flying Pickets
43 ( 36 ) UPTOWN GIRL Billy Joel
44 ( 21 ) PLEASE DON'T FALL IN LOVE Cliff Richard
45 ( 32 ) CRY JUST A LITTLE BIT Shakin' Stevens
46 ( 46 ) BILLIE JEAN Michael Jackson
47 ( 67 ) S.O.S. ABC
48 ( 34 ) MOVE OVER DARLING Tracey Ullman
49 ( RE ) NEW SONG Howard Jones
50 ( 55 ) SIXTEEN Musical Youth

51 ( 42 ) INSIDE LOVE George Benson
52 ( 51 ) LET'S DANCE David Bowie
53 ( 52 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
54 ( 47 ) THIS CHARMING MAN The Smiths
55 ( 53 ) THEY DON'T KNOW Tracey Ullman
56 ( 54 ) SAY SAY SAY Paul McCartney & Michael Jackson
57 ( 48 ) THE LOVE CATS The Cure
58 ( 61 ) LOVE IS A BATTLEFIELD Chris Norman
59 ( 45 ) CALLING YOUR NAME Marilyn
60 ( 31 ) TIME (aka ARRIVAL) Frida and B.A. Robertson

61 ( 49 ) THE WAY YOU ARE Tears For Fears
62 ( NEW ) WONDERLAND Big Country
63 ( 63 ) UNION OF THE SNAKE Duran Duran
64 ( 58 ) KARMA CHAMELEON Culture Club
65 ( 56 ) I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND The Beatles
66 ( NEW ) A NIGHT IN NEW YORK Elbow Bones and The Racketeers
67 ( 60 ) TWIST OF FATE Olivia Newton-John
68 ( 62 ) OWNER OF A LONELY HEART Yes
69 ( 65 ) DEAR PRUDENCE Siouxsie & The Banshees
70 ( 70 ) SYNCHRONICITY II The Police




71 ( NEW ) HUMAN TOUCH Rick Springfield
72 ( NEW ) WHERE WERE YOU HIDING WHEN THE STORM BROKE The Alarm
73 ( NEW ) HYPERACTIVE Thomas Dolby
74 ( 57 ) THEME FROM TERRAHAWKS Terrahawks
75 ( NEW ) THAT'S LIVING ALRIGHT Joe Fagin

TV
1 Comic Strip Presents: A Fistful Of Traveller's Cheques
2 Cheers
3 Hill Street Blues
4 The Young Ones: Bomb
5 Whoops Apocalypse
6 Twilight Zone
7 MASH
8 Doctor Who (2 eps)
9 Bewitched
10 Avengers
11 Soap
12 Grange Hill ( 2 eps)
13 Top Of The Pops
14 The Phil Silvers Show (Bilko)
15 The Other Side Of The Tracks
16 The Living Planet
17 Chocky
18 A Kick Up The 80's
19 Hollywood Legends
20 The World At War

Posted by: popchartfreak 19th January 2014, 11:18 AM

25th JAN 1984

Relax gets it’s first week at the top. I had to buy it to get to hear it, but it was such a classic pop record, Trevor Horn’s epic production had notched pop music up and set a new standard. Being a bit naughty, and dragging gay culture into the mainstream didn’t hurt either. This wasn’t a pretty media-friendly version of being gay, this was down n dirty and it was making a point that hadn’t been made before. Flash on 30 years and pop music is much about graphic sex acts and swearwords, but mostly it’s about making cash because sex sells (rather than to be shocking or outrageous). When something becomes the norm it becomes a cliché..

Queen were back with a bang! Not the Queen ewe were used to, this was all synth and Fritz Lang, and was terrific. Freddie had hit a creative block as far as singles were concerned for most of the early 80’s, but happily his bandmates took up the slack and came up with some corkers. Into the Top 40 from nowhere a white dance act strutting her stuff on The Tube, brother dancing behind her and dressed in her own style. She was called Madonna and looked like a one-hit-wonder with a great catchy pop single. I wonder what happened to her?

Dave Stewart and Barbara Gaskin follow-up It’s My Party into the Top 40 3 years on with a bonafide flop, Matthew Wilder inexplicably breaks into my Top 5 (actually I’d got the single in a bargain bin and it seemed better than it was), China Crisis glide into the Top 10, and Cyndi bops her way in too, at last, whiler new at the lower end a massive classic from Echo & The Bunny men (later used to brilliant effect in movie Donnie Darko) and future 1985 hit (and much-sampled) Yah Mo Be There.




1 ( 3 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
2 ( 1 ) NOBODY TOLD ME John Lennon
3 ( 2 ) PIPES OF PEACE Paul McCartney
4 ( 4 ) HERE COMES THE RAIN AGAIN Eurythmics
5 ( 32 ) BREAK MY STRIDE Matthew Wilder
6 ( 5 ) KING OF PAIN The Police
7 ( 7 ) WHERE IS MY MAN Eartha Kitt
8 ( NEW ) RADIO GA GA Queen
9 ( 28 ) WISHFUL THINKING China Crisis
10 ( 11 ) GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN Cyndi Lauper

11 ( 13 ) RUNNING WITH THE NIGHT Lionel Richie
12 ( 6 ) MY OH MY Slade
13 ( 24 ) (FEELS LIKE) HEAVEN Fiction Factory
14 ( 9 ) THRILLER Michael Jackson
15 ( 10 ) WHAT IS LOVE Howard Jones
16 ( 18 ) A ROCKIN' GOOD WAY Shaky and Bonnie (Stevens & Tyler)
17 ( 17 ) LOVE IS A BATTLEFIELD Pat Benatar
18 ( 12 ) MARGUERITA TIME Status Quo
19 ( 15 ) VICTIMS Culture Club
20 ( 8 ) I BELIEVE IN FATHER CHRISTMAS Greg Lake




21 ( 16 ) LOVE OF THE COMMON PEOPLE Paul Young
22 ( 23 ) I AM WHAT I AM Gloria Gaynor
23 ( 62 ) WONDERLAND Big Country
24 ( 21 ) READ 'EM AND WEEP Barry Manilow
25 ( 40 ) LOVE IS A WONDERFUL COLOUR The Icicle Works
26 ( 26 ) CRYSTAL/ COLD AS CHRISTMAS Elton John
27 ( NEW ) HOLIDAY Madonna
28 ( NEW ) LEIPZIG Dave Stewart and Barbara Gaskin
29 ( 50 ) SIXTEEN Musical Youth
30 ( 19 ) RAT RAPPING Roland Rat

31 ( 14 ) I CAN HELP Elvis Presley
32 ( 22 ) HOLD ME NOW The Thompson Twins
33 ( 33 ) BIRD OF PARADISE Snowy White
34 ( 20 ) STRAIGHT AHEAD Kool And The Gang
35 ( 27 ) TELL HER ABOUT IT Billy Joel
36 ( 47 ) S.O.S. ABC
37 ( 31 ) THANK YOU FOR THE MUSIC Abba
38 ( 25 ) THE RULES OF THE GAME Bucks Fizz
39 ( 71 ) HUMAN TOUCH Rick Springfield
40 ( 29 ) 2000 MILES The Pretenders

41 ( 34 ) ISLANDS IN THE STREAM Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton
42 ( 49 ) NEW SONG Howard Jones
43 ( 39 ) HEART AND SOUL Huey Lewis & The News
44 ( 66 ) A NIGHT IN NEW YORK Elbow Bones and The Racketeers
45 ( 36 ) MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY Slade
46 ( 46 ) BILLIE JEAN Michael Jackson
47 ( 35 ) LET'S STAY TOGETHER Tina Turner
48 ( 37 ) BLUE MONDAY New Order
49 ( 54 ) THIS CHARMING MAN The Smiths
50 ( 30 ) DUCK FOR THE OYSTER Malcolm McLaren

51 ( 72 ) WHERE WERE YOU HIDING WHEN THE STORM BROKE The Alarm
52 ( 45 ) CRY JUST A LITTLE BIT Shakin' Stevens
53 ( 52 ) LET'S DANCE David Bowie
54 ( 53 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
55 ( 43 ) UPTOWN GIRL Billy Joel
56 ( 41 ) MANY RIVERS TO CROSS UB40
57 ( 73 ) HYPERACTIVE Thomas Dolby
58 ( 38 ) SWEET SURRENDER Rod Stewart
59 ( 56 ) SAY SAY SAY Paul McCartney & Michael Jackson
60 ( 55 ) THEY DON'T KNOW Tracey Ullman

61 ( 44 ) PLEASE DON'T FALL IN LOVE Cliff Richard
62 ( NEW ) THE COLOUR FIELD The Colour Field
63 ( NEW ) GIVE ME MORE TIME Whitesnake
64 ( 48 ) MOVE OVER DARLING Tracey Ullman
65 ( NEW ) CRIME OF PASSION Mike Oldfield
66 ( 51 ) INSIDE LOVE George Benson
67 ( 57 ) THE LOVE CATS The Cure
68 ( 59 ) CALLING YOUR NAME Marilyn
69 ( 42 ) ONLY YOU The Flying Pickets
70 ( 64 ) KARMA CHAMELEON Culture Club




71 ( NEW ) YAH MO BE THERE James Ingram and Michael McDonald
72 ( 63 ) UNION OF THE SNAKE Duran Duran
73 ( 69 ) DEAR PRUDENCE Siouxsie & The Banshees
74 ( NEW ) THE KILLING MOON Echo And The Bunnymen
75 ( NEW ) SPICE OF LIFE Manhattan Transfer




TV
1 Comic Strip Presents: Gino
2 Cheers
3 Hill Street Blues
4 Mary Tyler Moore Show
5 Twilight Zone
6 Phil Silvers Show
7 MASH
8 Top Of The Pops
9 Whoops Apocalypse
10 Soap
11 Bewitched
12 Chocky
13 Grange Hill (2)
14 Tucker's Luck
15 Rockford Files
16 Other Side Of The Tracks
17 Avengers
18 Munsters
19 Doctor Who (2)
20 The Living Planet

Posted by: steve201 20th January 2014, 01:13 PM

Love the 1984 charts the new era of acts were really hitting their peak leaving the 70s long behind. I know its your personal charts but why did Greg Lake do so well in xmas 83?

Posted by: popchartfreak 21st January 2014, 07:50 AM

Hi Steve, thanks for the comment! It was a great year for music. Greg Lake sneaked into the bottom of the UK charts in 82 and 83 xmas so I just used that as an excuse to rechart my 2nd-fave all-time xmas song (after Happy Xmas War Is Over). It's odd that in those days it was one of the regular xmas songs to chart but it's been overtaken by more jolly xmas classics these days, and the more cynical xmas records don't get radio play. I was amazed that few on Buzzjack know it!

cheers
john

Posted by: steve201 21st January 2014, 03:21 PM

Ah right was this just from copies available in record stores at the time? I know as you said Wizzard & Slade reguarly made appearences esp when Slade regained 'coolness' to chart in the early 1980s. Im like yourself I believe in Father Christmas is my all time favourite xmas song - reminds me of xmas eve or something with the carol style melody. Beautiful stuff.

Im glad to say radio 1 had it on their xmas music playlist this yr and gave it a few spins

Posted by: popchartfreak 21st January 2014, 06:42 PM

Yes I think it was just re-entries rather than re-issues, but that meant only the specialist music stores stocked it, HMV, Our Price, Virgin, Revolver and other local stores, Smiths, Boots, Woolies, Martins etc tended to just do the chart stuff. RIP half of them....!

Great to hear R1 playlisted Greg, warms the cockles of me heart it do

cheers!

Posted by: popchartfreak 12th February 2014, 07:06 PM

31st JAN 1984

2nd Week at 1 for Frankie, dance act Madonna climbs quickly to 11, leapfrogging rock chick Pat’s Battlefield. I don’t think I’m giving too much away when I say both records return in 1985 and become even bigger hits (in the UK charts and in mine). Meanwhile Icicle Works finally break into the Top 20, and Lionel Ritchie into the 10, and highest new entry is The Pretenders, a single that flopped in the UK but scored with me - I especially loved the whoo-oohs whooping 60’s stylee from something in my childhood that had a haunting effect on me (TV Theme I think) which I’m still struggling to identify!

Thomas Dolby gets another Top 40 hit, Manhattan Transfer get their last, and Hot Chocolate also get their last hit (barring remixes and re-entries) underlining that things were coming to an end in my life too, as I prepared to leave the friendlier north for the indifferent south. Happily The Smiths 2nd hit nestles by the still-strong 1st, Shannon pops in with an important dance stomper (influencing not just Pet Shop Boys but dance music in general), a bit of indie from This Mortal Coil (that’s Indie 80’s style, not an alternative name for “rock or synth-based music” a la 2014), bit of Jazz from Matt Bianco, a solo Bee Gee, a solo Carol Kenyon (she of the stunning vocals in Heaven 17’s Temptation), and Simple Minds firmly moving from Indie to Rock with the fab Speed Your Love To Me.

1 ( 1 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
2 ( 2 ) NOBODY TOLD ME John Lennon
3 ( 4 ) HERE COMES THE RAIN AGAIN Eurythmics
4 ( 8 ) RADIO GA GA Queen
5 ( 5 ) BREAK MY STRIDE Matthew Wilder
6 ( 9 ) WISHFUL THINKING China Crisis
7 ( 3 ) PIPES OF PEACE Paul McCartney
8 ( 13 ) (FEELS LIKE) HEAVEN Fiction Factory
9 ( 11 ) RUNNING WITH THE NIGHT Lionel Richie
10 ( 10 ) GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN Cyndi Lauper

11 ( 27 ) HOLIDAY Madonna
12 ( 17 ) LOVE IS A BATTLEFIELD Pat Benatar
13 ( 7 ) WHERE IS MY MAN Eartha Kitt
14 ( 25 ) LOVE IS A WONDERFUL COLOUR The Icicle Works
15 ( 6 ) KING OF PAIN The Police
16 ( 23 ) WONDERLAND Big Country
17 ( 14 ) THRILLER Michael Jackson
18 ( 12 ) MY OH MY Slade
19 ( 15 ) WHAT IS LOVE Howard Jones
20 ( 22 ) I AM WHAT I AM Gloria Gaynor

21 ( 36 ) S.O.S. ABC
22 ( 19 ) VICTIMS Culture Club
23 ( 18 ) MARGUERITA TIME Status Quo
24 ( 24 ) READ 'EM AND WEEP Barry Manilow
25 ( 28 ) LEIPZIG Dave Stewart and Barbara Gaskin
26 ( 16 ) A ROCKIN' GOOD WAY Shaky and Bonnie (Stevens & Tyler)
27 ( 39 ) HUMAN TOUCH Rick Springfield
28 ( 29 ) SIXTEEN Musical Youth
29 ( 21 ) LOVE OF THE COMMON PEOPLE Paul Young
30 ( 20 ) I BELIEVE IN FATHER CHRISTMAS Greg Lake

31 ( 26 ) CRYSTAL/ COLD AS CHRISTMAS Elton John
32 ( 44 ) A NIGHT IN NEW YORK Elbow Bones and The Racketeers
33 ( 74 ) THE KILLING MOON Echo And The Bunnymen
34 ( NEW ) MIDDLE OF THE ROAD The Pretenders
35 ( 35 ) TELL HER ABOUT IT Billy Joel
36 ( 57 ) HYPERACTIVE Thomas Dolby
37 ( 75 ) SPICE OF LIFE Manhattan Transfer
38 ( 38 ) THE RULES OF THE GAME Bucks Fizz
39 ( 37 ) THANK YOU FOR THE MUSIC Abba
40 ( 51 ) WHERE WERE YOU HIDING WHEN THE STORM BROKE The Alarm



41 ( 46 ) BILLIE JEAN Michael Jackson
42 ( 30 ) RAT RAPPING Roland Rat
43 ( 40 ) 2000 MILES The Pretenders
44 ( 31 ) I CAN HELP Elvis Presley
45 ( 34 ) STRAIGHT AHEAD Kool And The Gang
46 ( 32 ) HOLD ME NOW The Thompson Twins
47 ( NEW ) THE POLITICS OF DANCING Re-Flex
48 ( NEW ) JOANNA Kool And The Gang
49 ( 45 ) MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY Slade
50 ( NEW ) I GAVE YOU MY HEART (DIDN'T I) Hot Chocolate

51 ( 43 ) HEART AND SOUL Huey Lewis & The News
52 ( 65 ) CRIME OF PASSION Mike Oldfield
53 ( 53 ) LET'S DANCE David Bowie
54 ( 54 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
55 ( 49 ) THIS CHARMING MAN The Smiths
56 ( NEW ) WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE The Smiths
57 ( 41 ) ISLANDS IN THE STREAM Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton
58 ( 33 ) BIRD OF PARADISE Snowy White
59 ( 42 ) NEW SONG Howard Jones
60 ( NEW ) DOCTOR DOCTOR Thompson Twins



61 ( 48 ) BLUE MONDAY New Order
62 ( 62 ) THE COLOUR FIELD The Colour Field
63 ( NEW ) LET THE MUSIC PLAY Shannon
64 ( 60 ) THEY DON'T KNOW Tracey Ullman
65 ( 47 ) LET'S STAY TOGETHER Tina Turner
66 ( 71 ) YAH MO BE THERE James Ingram and Michael McDonald
67 ( 55 ) UPTOWN GIRL Billy Joel
68 ( 68 ) CALLING YOUR NAME Marilyn
69 ( 52 ) CRY JUST A LITTLE BIT Shakin' Stevens
70 ( NEW ) GET OUT OF YOUR LAZY BED Matt Bianco



71 ( NEW ) SONG TO THE SIREN This Mortal Coil
72 ( 59 ) SAY SAY SAY Paul McCartney & Michael Jackson
73 ( NEW ) ANOTHER LONELY NIGHT IN NEW YORK Robin Gibb
74 ( NEW ) SPEED YOUR LOVE TO ME Simple Minds
75 ( NEW ) WARRIOR WOMAN Carol Kenyon

Posted by: fiesta 13th February 2014, 12:04 PM

I love Thompson Twins, one of my fave 80's bands, but Hold Me Now was not one of their best.

1984 was a good year for music but radio spoils it as alot of those songs are overplayed on radio today and kill the songs completley for me. I m Thinking Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, Radio Ga Ga etc

Posted by: popchartfreak 13th February 2014, 07:33 PM

7th Feb 1984

MY final Mansfield chart and the music scene goes electric with excitement, video in particular affecting my enjoyment of singles - they were getting creatively arty in their own right, and special effects were getting pretty sophisticated. Witness Queen: Brilliant video, brilliant Roger Taylor song and synth clappy sound, the sentiment is nonsense of course, pop music was fabulous. Queen’s first topper since 1981, and fifth since 1974.

My charts, meanwhile go mad with movement, huge climbers, huge drops, and 13 new entries, almost all of which deserve a you tube link. Great stuff, and lookit that awesome Top 7! Madonna! The Killing Moon, brilliance as used in the fab Donnie Darko, from Echo & The Bunnymen, Relax (many times a hit and million seller). Elton’s single flips for Crystal as the main track now, shoulda been a hit and hits 8 here, ABC get a 5th Top 10, and Nik Kershaw gets highest new entry with the fab Wouldn’t It Be Good.

Ultravox go rock, just like Simple Minds, and get an instant Top 20 hit (not always something they managed in synth-vibe), Hot Choc go Top 20, Duran enter at 28 with the New Moon, Shannon dances into the 40, just ahead of The Smiths, Slade rockin bagpipes at 38, and solo Robin Gibb 15 years after his first chart hit, and 29 years before his last. Time flies.

New lower down? Excellent Rockwell (actually Berry “Motown” Gordy’s shirtless son and Michael Jackson) setting up a 21st Century sampled-hit; Nena’s worldwide German hit, for some reason in English Language in the UK; Van Halen’s well-known Jump, just before they lost the plot when David Lee Roth went solo; Madness’ subtle and gorgeous Michael Caine, one of their best records;; The one-hit wonders Swansway with a retro-groove Soul Train (fab); Stewart “Police” Copeland back almost-solo after 6 years, with Stan(ward) Ridgeway, who Camouflaged himself into the charts in 1986.

TV? Like Pixar movies? Well, they use wonderful actors, especially comic actors like Ed Asner (“Up”) from Mary Tyler Moor Show, Billy Crystal (Monsters Inc) here in Soap, John Ratzenberger (every single Pixar film to date) here as Cliff in Cheers. I love US sitcoms, still do. Top of my list this week though, quite rightly back on top after 20 years of love from me, Doctor Who and some Daleks…



1 ( 4 ) RADIO GA GA Queen
2 ( 1 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
3 ( 33 ) THE KILLING MOON Echo And The Bunnymen
4 ( 3 ) HERE COMES THE RAIN AGAIN Eurythmics
5 ( 8 ) (FEELS LIKE) HEAVEN Fiction Factory
6 ( 6 ) WISHFUL THINKING China Crisis
7 ( 11 ) HOLIDAY Madonna
8 ( 31 ) CRYSTAL/ COLD AS CHRISTMAS Elton John
9 ( 2 ) NOBODY TOLD ME John Lennon
10 ( 21 ) S.O.S. ABC



11 ( 7 ) PIPES OF PEACE Paul McCartney
12 ( 5 ) BREAK MY STRIDE Matthew Wilder
13 ( 16 ) WONDERLAND Big Country
14 ( NEW ) WOULDN'T IT BE GOOD Nik Kershaw
15 ( 10 ) GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN Cyndi Lauper
16 ( 37 ) SPICE OF LIFE Manhattan Transfer
17 ( NEW ) ONE SMALL DAY Ultravox
18 ( 17 ) THRILLER Michael Jackson
19 ( 9 ) RUNNING WITH THE NIGHT Lionel Richie
20 ( 50 ) I GAVE YOU MY HEART (DIDN'T I) Hot Chocolate



21 ( 12 ) LOVE IS A BATTLEFIELD Pat Benatar
22 ( 13 ) WHERE IS MY MAN Eartha Kitt
23 ( 15 ) KING OF PAIN The Police
24 ( 18 ) MY OH MY Slade
25 ( 27 ) HUMAN TOUCH Rick Springfield
26 ( 28 ) SIXTEEN Musical Youth
27 ( 19 ) WHAT IS LOVE Howard Jones
28 ( NEW ) NEW MOON ON MONDAY Duran Duran
29 ( 32 ) A NIGHT IN NEW YORK Elbow Bones and The Racketeers
30 ( 36 ) HYPERACTIVE Thomas Dolby



31 ( 22 ) VICTIMS Culture Club
32 ( 48 ) JOANNA Kool And The Gang
33 ( 14 ) LOVE IS A WONDERFUL COLOUR The Icicle Works
34 ( 34 ) MIDDLE OF THE ROAD The Pretenders
35 ( 63 ) LET THE MUSIC PLAY Shannon
36 ( 74 ) SPEED YOUR LOVE TO ME Simple Minds
37 ( 24 ) READ 'EM AND WEEP Barry Manilow
38 ( NEW ) RUN RUNAWAY Slade
39 ( 73 ) ANOTHER LONELY NIGHT IN NEW YORK Robin Gibb
40 ( 56 ) WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE The Smiths

41 ( 20 ) I AM WHAT I AM Gloria Gaynor
42 ( 70 ) GET OUT OF YOUR LAZY BED Matt Bianco
43 ( 23 ) MARGUERITA TIME Status Quo
44 ( 30 ) I BELIEVE IN FATHER CHRISTMAS Greg Lake
45 ( 39 ) THANK YOU FOR THE MUSIC Abba
46 ( 41 ) BILLIE JEAN Michael Jackson
47 ( 47 ) THE POLITICS OF DANCING Re-Flex
48 ( 29 ) LOVE OF THE COMMON PEOPLE Paul Young
49 ( 60 ) DOCTOR DOCTOR Thompson Twins
50 ( 40 ) WHERE WERE YOU HIDING WHEN THE STORM BROKE The Alarm

51 ( NEW ) SOMEBODY'S WATCHING ME Rockwell
52 ( 26 ) A ROCKIN' GOOD WAY Shaky and Bonnie (Stevens & Tyler)
53 ( NEW ) 99 RED BALLOONS Nena
54 ( 55 ) THIS CHARMING MAN The Smiths
55 ( 66 ) YAH MO BE THERE James Ingram and Michael McDonald
56 ( 54 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
57 ( 53 ) LET'S DANCE David Bowie
58 ( 25 ) LEIPZIG Dave Stewart and Barbara Gaskin
59 ( NEW ) CRY AND BE FREE Marilyn
60 ( 38 ) THE RULES OF THE GAME Bucks Fizz




61 ( 35 ) TELL HER ABOUT IT Billy Joel
62 ( NEW ) AN INNOCENT MAN Billy Joel
63 ( 43 ) 2000 MILES The Pretenders
64 ( NEW ) JUMP Van Halen
65 ( 46 ) HOLD ME NOW The Thompson Twins
66 ( 49 ) MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY Slade
67 ( 71 ) SONG TO THE SIREN This Mortal Coil
68 ( 64 ) THEY DON'T KNOW Tracey Ullman
69 ( NEW ) MICHAEL CAINE Madness
70 ( 42 ) RAT RAPPING Roland Rat



71 ( 51 ) HEART AND SOUL Huey Lewis & The News
72 ( NEW ) DANCE HALL DAYS Wang Chung
73 ( 68 ) CALLING YOUR NAME Marilyn
74 ( NEW ) SOUL TRAIN Swans Way
75 ( NEW ) DON'T BOX ME IN Stewart Copeland and Stanard Ridgeway




TV
1 Doctor Who - Daleks!
2 MASH
3 Hill Street Blues
4 Cheers
5 Comic Strip Presents: Eddie Monsoon
6 Mary Tyler Moore Show
7 Soap
8 Whoops Apocalypse
9 Bewitched
10 The Rockford Files
11 Top Of The Pops
12 Chocky
13 Alas Smith And Jones
14 Grange Hill (2)
15 Life On Earth

Posted by: popchartfreak 13th February 2014, 07:46 PM

Hi Fiesta, Cyndi is a regular radio played track yes, Queen sometimes, I'd pick Its Raining Men as the track that seems to be everywhere these days, even back in the charts last week! The funniest Guilty Pleasure for it is Homer Simpson loving-it. Now that's funny

cheers
john

Posted by: popchartfreak 14th February 2014, 07:41 PM

14th Feb 1984

This was the week I waved goodbye to Mansfield, got in my Austin 1800 (dad’s old car) and drove down south to anew life, most precious records onboard, along with a fish tank full of goldfish (hey I kept tropical fish for 14 years and am proud of it!). The rest of the stuff went by lorry, mum and dad already in Poole, wouldn’t you know it, the car developed engine trouble but limped to the newly-built house and then gave up. I was upset when it went to the scrap yard, not just out of sentiment, I was also stuck on a new housing estate, no buses, no job, no friends and no transport. Suddenly I felt very cut off from my old life…

Musically, lots of new entries, all of them obscure this week in contrast to last week’s influx. Queen reigned again, just keeping off The Killing Moon (damn!), and Madness really do leap up from 69 to 7! Madonna gets her first top 5 hit and one really, honestly, truly would not have put money on her becoming a phenomenon, never mind having 30 years of hits nearly! You never know, eh? Big Country get another Top 10 track, ditto Ultravox, and Kool & The Gang get one of their irregular Top 20 hits with the pleasant Joanna.

Elsewhere Smiths at 22, Nena climbs high, Rockwell was being watched, Van Halen Jump-ed up, and Marillion punched their way to 40 and highest new entry. Poor old Judy, always loathed them actually (the Puppets, not Marillion). Cow-punk newcomers Yip Yip Coyote yee-ha into the charts, the Boomtown Rats chart-hits dwindle in the real charts, but still enter mine, and Bette Midler covers the Rolling Stones and places higher in the charts as both enter. Juan Martin, Spanish flamenco guitarist, sneaks in at the rear with his instrumental (with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra)…

On TV some Slags! Top my viewing chart, MASH is the first show I watch in Poole, and The Other Side Of The Tracks slips in , perfectly written and presented by the Encyclopedia of Rock and Pop, Paul Gambaccini, a personal hero of mine. By this time he’d already sent me a letter when I’d spotted some typos and missing tracks in the first edition of the Guinness Hit Singles book. I sincerely hope his enforced “garden leave” goes the same way as DLT’s. People’s memories of what may or may not happened 40 years ago is unreliable (according to the jury), especially when there’s the prospect of large sums of cash for the alleged victims (as noted by me)…

1 ( 1 ) RADIO GA GA Queen
2 ( 3 ) THE KILLING MOON Echo And The Bunnymen
3 ( 2 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
4 ( 4 ) HERE COMES THE RAIN AGAIN Eurythmics
5 ( 7 ) HOLIDAY Madonna
6 ( 14 ) WOULDN'T IT BE GOOD Nik Kershaw
7 ( 69 ) MICHAEL CAINE Madness
8 ( 5 ) (FEELS LIKE) HEAVEN Fiction Factory
9 ( 17 ) ONE SMALL DAY Ultravox
10 ( 13 ) WONDERLAND Big Country



11 ( 6 ) WISHFUL THINKING China Crisis
12 ( 8 ) CRYSTAL/ COLD AS CHRISTMAS Elton John
13 ( 10 ) S.O.S. ABC
14 ( 16 ) SPICE OF LIFE Manhattan Transfer
15 ( 36 ) SPEED YOUR LOVE TO ME Simple Minds
16 ( 32 ) JOANNA Kool And The Gang
17 ( 29 ) A NIGHT IN NEW YORK Elbow Bones and The Racketeers
18 ( 15 ) GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN Cyndi Lauper
19 ( 12 ) BREAK MY STRIDE Matthew Wilder
20 ( 20 ) I GAVE YOU MY HEART (DIDN'T I) Hot Chocolate

21 ( 9 ) NOBODY TOLD ME John Lennon
22 ( 40 ) WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE The Smiths
23 ( 28 ) NEW MOON ON MONDAY Duran Duran
24 ( 53 ) 99 RED BALLOONS Nena
25 ( 11 ) PIPES OF PEACE Paul McCartney
26 ( 51 ) SOMEBODY'S WATCHING ME Rockwell
27 ( 64 ) JUMP Van Halen
28 ( 18 ) THRILLER Michael Jackson
29 ( 30 ) HYPERACTIVE Thomas Dolby
30 ( 35 ) LET THE MUSIC PLAY Shannon



31 ( 21 ) LOVE IS A BATTLEFIELD Pat Benatar
32 ( 38 ) RUN RUNAWAY Slade
33 ( 34 ) MIDDLE OF THE ROAD The Pretenders
34 ( 26 ) SIXTEEN Musical Youth
35 ( 24 ) MY OH MY Slade
36 ( 19 ) RUNNING WITH THE NIGHT Lionel Richie
37 ( 23 ) KING OF PAIN The Police
38 ( 42 ) GET OUT OF YOUR LAZY BED Matt Bianco
39 ( 22 ) WHERE IS MY MAN Eartha Kitt
40 ( NEW ) PUNCH AND JUDY Marillion



41 ( 31 ) VICTIMS Culture Club
42 ( 74 ) SOUL TRAIN Swans Way
43 ( 39 ) ANOTHER LONELY NIGHT IN NEW YORK Robin Gibb
44 ( 49 ) DOCTOR DOCTOR Thompson Twins
45 ( 37 ) READ 'EM AND WEEP Barry Manilow
46 ( 27 ) WHAT IS LOVE Howard Jones
47 ( 46 ) BILLIE JEAN Michael Jackson
48 ( NEW ) ADVENTURES IN SUCCESS Will Powers
49 ( 55 ) YAH MO BE THERE James Ingram and Michael McDonald
50 ( 45 ) THANK YOU FOR THE MUSIC Abba



51 ( 25 ) HUMAN TOUCH Rick Springfield
52 ( NEW ) DREAM OF THE WEST Yip Yip Coyote
53 ( 44 ) I BELIEVE IN FATHER CHRISTMAS Greg Lake
54 ( 41 ) I AM WHAT I AM Gloria Gaynor
55 ( 47 ) THE POLITICS OF DANCING Re-Flex
56 ( 33 ) LOVE IS A WONDERFUL COLOUR The Icicle Works
57 ( 56 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
58 ( 57 ) LET'S DANCE David Bowie
59 ( 59 ) CRY AND BE FREE Marilyn
60 ( 54 ) THIS CHARMING MAN The Smiths



61 ( NEW ) TONIGHT The Boomtown Rats
62 ( 62 ) AN INNOCENT MAN Billy Joel
63 ( NEW ) MORE MORE MORE Carmel
64 ( 43 ) MARGUERITA TIME Status Quo
65 ( 48 ) LOVE OF THE COMMON PEOPLE Paul Young
66 ( NEW ) ORGANISE David Grant
67 ( 52 ) A ROCKIN' GOOD WAY Shaky and Bonnie (Stevens & Tyler)
68 ( NEW ) BEAST OF BURDEN Bette Midler
69 ( 50 ) WHERE WERE YOU HIDING WHEN THE STORM BROKE The Alarm
70 ( 68 ) THEY DON'T KNOW Tracey Ullman

71 ( 60 ) THE RULES OF THE GAME Bucks Fizz
72 ( NEW ) SHE WAS HOT The Rolling Stones
73 ( 63 ) 2000 MILES The Pretenders
74 ( 66 ) MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY Slade
75 ( NEW ) LAST FAREWELL Juan Martin

TV
1 Comic Strip Presents: Slags
2 Hill Street Blues
3 Mary Tyler Moore Show
4 MASH
5 Soap
6 The Avengers
7 Chocky
8 Doctor Who
9 Top Of The Pops
10 Grange Hill (2)
11 Bewitched
12 The Other Side Of The Tracks
13 The Phil Silvers Show
14 Barney Miller
15 The Living Planet

Posted by: popchartfreak 15th February 2014, 02:22 PM

21st Feb 1984

So, first chart in Poole and astonishingly here I still sit 30 years on. Where did the years go…?

3rd week for Queen on top, highest new entry from Men At Work with an actual UK flop (I’d bought it as a maxi-pack single with previous hits included), it wasn’t bad though. Nena of the Noine noine Luftballons hits 10, and a great newie emotive ballad and fab video for Howard Jones at 19, just ahead of classy Style Council’s mood-changing new one. My number one TV show that week (Cheers) had a great TV theme which became a minor hit cos, we all wanted to be where everybody knows your name (NORM!).

Dance music had started to get a bit more street urban, and Street Dance body-popped it’s way into the Top 40, Will Powers popped in for the second time, this time without Carly Simon, but still trying to sound like a computer-generated man (despite being decidedly female), and Hall & Oates had yet another Top 40 in a long run. They only sporadically charted in the UK, but as they were consistently good my charts reflected their US success more…

Lower end titbits: UB40 with another reggae cover, The Romantics pop in with a track that Bucks Fizz had a hit with later in the year in the UK (US hit original here though), Mel Brooks Director-actor-comedian-writer of the genius Blazing Saddles & more has an unlikely rap dance novelty hit roughly based on his latest comedy movie, and it’s still fun to listen to! By way of Illustration, and nothing to do with bragging, just note that I’ve seen 25 of this week’s chart acts in concert….in contrast to only 3 of this week’s UK Top 75 (0r 13 of my 75). Booooo!


1 ( 1 ) RADIO GA GA Queen
2 ( 2 ) THE KILLING MOON Echo And The Bunnymen
3 ( 6 ) WOULDN'T IT BE GOOD Nik Kershaw
4 ( 3 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
5 ( 7 ) MICHAEL CAINE Madness
6 ( 5 ) HOLIDAY Madonna
7 ( NEW ) BE GOOD JOHNNY Men At Work
8 ( 26 ) SOMEBODY'S WATCHING ME Rockwell
9 ( 9 ) ONE SMALL DAY Ultravox
10 ( 24 ) 99 RED BALLOONS Nena



11 ( 20 ) I GAVE YOU MY HEART (DIDN'T I) Hot Chocolate
12 ( 4 ) HERE COMES THE RAIN AGAIN Eurythmics
13 ( 16 ) JOANNA Kool And The Gang
14 ( 17 ) A NIGHT IN NEW YORK Elbow Bones and The Racketeers
15 ( 27 ) JUMP Van Halen
16 ( 30 ) LET THE MUSIC PLAY Shannon
17 ( 8 ) (FEELS LIKE) HEAVEN Fiction Factory
18 ( 22 ) WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE The Smiths
19 ( NEW ) HIDE AND SEEK Howard Jones
20 ( NEW ) MY EVER CHANGING MOODS The Style Council



21 ( 38 ) GET OUT OF YOUR LAZY BED Matt Bianco
22 ( 12 ) CRYSTAL/ COLD AS CHRISTMAS Elton John
23 ( 23 ) NEW MOON ON MONDAY Duran Duran
24 ( 13 ) S.O.S. ABC
25 ( 42 ) SOUL TRAIN Swans Way
26 ( 11 ) WISHFUL THINKING China Crisis
27 ( 32 ) RUN RUNAWAY Slade
28 ( NEW ) THEME FROM CHEERS Gary Portnoy
29 ( 10 ) WONDERLAND Big Country
30 ( NEW ) STREET DANCE Break Machine



31 ( 19 ) BREAK MY STRIDE Matthew Wilder
32 ( 63 ) MORE MORE MORE Carmel
33 ( 29 ) HYPERACTIVE Thomas Dolby
34 ( 18 ) GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN Cyndi Lauper
35 ( 14 ) SPICE OF LIFE Manhattan Transfer
36 ( 21 ) NOBODY TOLD ME John Lennon
37 ( 44 ) DOCTOR DOCTOR Thompson Twins
38 ( 28 ) THRILLER Michael Jackson
39 ( 48 ) ADVENTURES IN SUCCESS Will Powers
40 ( NEW ) ADULT EDUCATION Daryl Hall & John Oates



41 ( 15 ) SPEED YOUR LOVE TO ME Simple Minds
42 ( 25 ) PIPES OF PEACE Paul McCartney
43 ( NEW ) IT'S MY LIFE Talk Talk
44 ( 35 ) MY OH MY Slade
45 ( 40 ) PUNCH AND JUDY Marillion
46 ( 52 ) DREAM OF THE WEST Yip Yip Coyote
47 ( 41 ) VICTIMS Culture Club
48 ( 37 ) KING OF PAIN The Police
49 ( 49 ) YAH MO BE THERE James Ingram and Michael McDonald
50 ( 47 ) BILLIE JEAN Michael Jackson

51 ( 33 ) MIDDLE OF THE ROAD The Pretenders
52 ( 39 ) WHERE IS MY MAN Eartha Kitt
53 ( 50 ) THANK YOU FOR THE MUSIC Abba
54 ( 31 ) LOVE IS A BATTLEFIELD Pat Benatar
55 ( 34 ) SIXTEEN Musical Youth
56 ( 61 ) TONIGHT The Boomtown Rats
57 ( 57 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
58 ( 36 ) RUNNING WITH THE NIGHT Lionel Richie
59 ( 59 ) CRY AND BE FREE Marilyn
60 ( 58 ) LET'S DANCE David Bowie

61 ( 62 ) AN INNOCENT MAN Billy Joel
62 ( 45 ) READ 'EM AND WEEP Barry Manilow
63 ( 72 ) SHE WAS HOT The Rolling Stones
64 ( 66 ) ORGANISE David Grant
65 ( 53 ) I BELIEVE IN FATHER CHRISTMAS Greg Lake
66 ( NEW ) CHERRY OH BABY UB40
67 ( NEW ) TALKING IN YOUR SLEEP The Romantics
68 ( 46 ) WHAT IS LOVE Howard Jones
69 ( 68 ) BEAST OF BURDEN Bette Midler
70 ( NEW ) TO BE OR NOT TO BE Mel Brooks



71 ( 60 ) THIS CHARMING MAN The Smiths
72 ( RE ) DANCE HALL DAYS Wang Chung
73 ( 43 ) ANOTHER LONELY NIGHT IN NEW YORK Robin Gibb
74 ( NEW ) NAUGHTY MIRANDA Indians In Moscow
75 ( 65 ) LOVE OF THE COMMON PEOPLE Paul Young

TV
1 Cheers
2 Comic Strip Presents: Bad News
3 MASH
4 Soap
5 Top Of The Pops
6 The Mary Tyler Moore Show
7 Reamington Steele
8 Play For Today: Billy
9 Bewitched
10 Doctor Who (2 eps)

Posted by: popchartfreak 15th February 2014, 05:58 PM

28th Feb 1984

All change at the top, Rockwell (and Michael Jackson) on top. As he gets no billing, MJ doesn’t get any credit for this (but it’s his 8th to date). In those days superstars were happy to lend more than a hand as a favour, without getting label credit, and generally without needing songwriting armies too. There are two videos, both a bit spooky, one very 80's clothes! Howard Jones jumps high to 2, in contrast stylistically, and ditto Break Machine at 5. Hot choc get their final Top 10 single after a long run of 15 consecutive years, more or less.

Very few punk or New Wave bands around by this time, but the Rats go up to 31, Tracey Ullman covers Madness for the highest new entry, Scritti Politti enter with a classic, Green Gartside’s vocals very other-worldly and sweet, the record unusual, and the same could be said of Was (Not Was) a cool American act, almost retro-soul in an 80’s stylee. Tina Turner covers the Beatles, The Beat split and half-reappear as General Public, George McRae’s back after 9 years away, and Roger Daltrey pops in with one of his occasional solo hits (Who?!)

A lot of records drop, most criminally Talk Talk’s classic It’s My Life. Of course it eventually became a hit in the 90’s, but it wasn’t getting a lot of airplay in the UK, I think, as I don’t recall hearing it much… TV-chart increases as I allow video recordings in now. Yes, I owned a (persistently faulty) Betamax machine, and the rubbish Channel 4 reception in Dorset got on my nerves when I wanted to record stuff, and I eventually had to buy loads of VHS tapes to copy over as Betamax was killed off. Booo! To date, I have yet to find time to copy over to DVD all those fab 80’s TV shows and videos. Boooooo!




1 ( 8 ) SOMEBODY'S WATCHING ME Rockwell
2 ( 19 ) HIDE AND SEEK Howard Jones
3 ( 4 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
4 ( 1 ) RADIO GA GA Queen
5 ( 30 ) STREET DANCE Break Machine
6 ( 3 ) WOULDN'T IT BE GOOD Nik Kershaw
7 ( 7 ) BE GOOD JOHNNY Men At Work
8 ( 20 ) MY EVER CHANGING MOODS The Style Council
9 ( 11 ) I GAVE YOU MY HEART (DIDN'T I) Hot Chocolate
10 ( 5 ) MICHAEL CAINE Madness



11 ( 2 ) THE KILLING MOON Echo And The Bunnymen
12 ( 6 ) HOLIDAY Madonna
13 ( 15 ) JUMP Van Halen
14 ( 10 ) 99 RED BALLOONS Nena
15 ( 25 ) SOUL TRAIN Swans Way
16 ( 16 ) LET THE MUSIC PLAY Shannon
17 ( 13 ) JOANNA Kool And The Gang
18 ( 28 ) THEME FROM CHEERS Gary Portnoy
19 ( 21 ) GET OUT OF YOUR LAZY BED Matt Bianco
20 ( 9 ) ONE SMALL DAY Ultravox



21 ( 32 ) MORE MORE MORE Carmel
22 ( 12 ) HERE COMES THE RAIN AGAIN Eurythmics
23 ( 14 ) A NIGHT IN NEW YORK Elbow Bones and The Racketeers
24 ( 40 ) ADULT EDUCATION Daryl Hall & John Oates
25 ( 27 ) RUN RUNAWAY Slade
26 ( 23 ) NEW MOON ON MONDAY Duran Duran
27 ( 17 ) (FEELS LIKE) HEAVEN Fiction Factory
28 ( 39 ) ADVENTURES IN SUCCESS Will Powers
29 ( 18 ) WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE The Smiths
30 ( 37 ) DOCTOR DOCTOR Thompson Twins

31 ( 56 ) TONIGHT The Boomtown Rats
32 ( 24 ) S.O.S. ABC
33 ( 31 ) BREAK MY STRIDE Matthew Wilder
34 ( 34 ) GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN Cyndi Lauper
35 ( 22 ) CRYSTAL/ COLD AS CHRISTMAS Elton John
36 ( 61 ) AN INNOCENT MAN Billy Joel
37 ( 33 ) HYPERACTIVE Thomas Dolby
38 ( 66 ) CHERRY OH BABY UB40
39 ( 26 ) WISHFUL THINKING China Crisis
40 ( 64 ) ORGANISE David Grant

41 ( 38 ) THRILLER Michael Jackson
42 ( 36 ) NOBODY TOLD ME John Lennon
43 ( 41 ) SPEED YOUR LOVE TO ME Simple Minds
44 ( 29 ) WONDERLAND Big Country
45 ( 70 ) TO BE OR NOT TO BE Mel Brooks
46 ( 35 ) SPICE OF LIFE Manhattan Transfer
47 ( NEW ) MY GUY'S MAD AT ME Tracey Ullman
48 ( 49 ) YAH MO BE THERE James Ingram and Michael McDonald
49 ( NEW ) WOOD BEEZ (PRAY LIKE ARETHA FRANKLIN) Scritti Politti
50 ( 50 ) BILLIE JEAN Michael Jackson

51 ( 42 ) PIPES OF PEACE Paul McCartney
52 ( NEW ) OUT COME THE FREAKS Was (Not Was)
53 ( 44 ) MY OH MY Slade
54 ( 47 ) VICTIMS Culture Club
55 ( 53 ) THANK YOU FOR THE MUSIC Abba
56 ( 59 ) CRY AND BE FREE Marilyn
57 ( 67 ) TALKING IN YOUR SLEEP The Romantics
58 ( 57 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
59 ( NEW ) HELP Tina Turner
60 ( 60 ) LET'S DANCE David Bowie



61 ( 52 ) WHERE IS MY MAN Eartha Kitt
62 ( 48 ) KING OF PAIN The Police
63 ( 43 ) IT'S MY LIFE Talk Talk
64 ( NEW ) THE LION'S MOUTH Kajagoogoo
65 ( 62 ) READ 'EM AND WEEP Barry Manilow
66 ( NEW ) THINK OF LAURA Christopher Cross
67 ( 51 ) MIDDLE OF THE ROAD The Pretenders
68 ( 63 ) SHE WAS HOT The Rolling Stones
69 ( 72 ) DANCE HALL DAYS Wang Chung
70 ( NEW ) GENERAL PUBLIC General Public

71 ( NEW ) DIN DAA DAA (TROMMERHANZ) George Kranz
72 ( 45 ) PUNCH AND JUDY Marillion
73 ( NEW ) WALKING IN MY SLEEP Roger Daltrey
74 ( 71 ) THIS CHARMING MAN The Smiths
75 ( NEW ) ONE STEP CLOSER (TO LOVE) George McRae

TV
1 Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan (film)
2 Star Trek: Mirror Mirror
3 Cheers
4 Comic Strip Presents: 5 Go Mad On Mescalin
5 MASH
6 The Twilight Zone: Roddy McDowell
7 Soap
8 Mary Tyler Moore Show
9 Bewitched
10 Reamington Steele
11 Top Of The Pops
12 The Other Side Of The Tracks: The Pretenders
13 Here's Lucy
14 The Avengers
15 The Phil Silvers Show (Bilko)
16 Grange Hill
17 Dallas
18 The Beverley Hillbillies
19 Doctor Who (2 eps)
20 The Munsters

Posted by: steve201 17th February 2014, 01:03 PM

A load of quick fallers there by Slade, Cyndi Lauper & Paul McCartney - and were those songs ABBAs last hits leaving the chart?

Posted by: popchartfreak 17th February 2014, 07:26 PM

Hi Steve, yes the Abba songs were their last hits until 1992 when Dancing Queen was re-issued to promote Abba Gold. I think that proved to be a good decision Then they had other re-issues and lots of unreleased stuff chart, and eventually album tracks that would have charted had I allowed them at the time

cheers!
john

Posted by: popchartfreak 17th March 2014, 07:02 PM

5th March 1984

2 weeks at 1 for Rockwell, while Van Halen Jump to 4 (ho ho) and Nena floats back up to 7. Cheers theme is at 11 in the singles chart, and 4th in my TV chart. I’ve set myself a task to spot music links to the TV list. OK here goes, Comic Strip: French & Saunders had a few hits, as did neil, and The Young Ones. MASH was a number one record. Norm in Cheers was in a Michael Jackson video. Billy Crystal from Soap had a US hit with You Look Marvellous, and another cast member was a Pink Lady in Grease. The Rockford Files theme was a US hit, Patrick MacNee & Honor Blackman had a hit with Kinky Boots (Avengers), The Twilight Zone theme has been featured in many hits, Kylie starred in Aussie soap The Sullivans, Howard Keel (musical star) was in Dallas, and the Doctor Who theme has been a hit and pop stars featured, such as Leee John and others.

Show-off. I had a lot of unemployed TV time on my hands in those days.

Back in chartland, Highest new entries from three former chart-toppers, Culture Club going for the wrong single (the USA went for the right one off the album, Miss Me Blind, never a UK single), but it was still good enough to beat late hero John Lennon’s posthumous and sad Borrowed Time and Soft Cell’s slap-clappy synth Subway song, a bit of a change in sound for them.

The Nana’s were back with one of their best self-written songs, all about Robert de Niro. You talking to me?! A bit of Ravel pops in, courtesy of a bit of fancy ice-skating. OK a bit of perfect ice-skating. Fleetwood Mac’s Christine gets a solo hit of sorts, she’s fab and rejoining them in 2014, yay! Let’s not mention the Fraggle Rock theme, I was, after all, 26 years old and should have known better!


1 ( 1 ) SOMEBODY'S WATCHING ME Rockwell
2 ( 2 ) HIDE AND SEEK Howard Jones
3 ( 6 ) WOULDN'T IT BE GOOD Nik Kershaw
4 ( 13 ) JUMP Van Halen
5 ( 5 ) STREET DANCE Break Machine
6 ( 3 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
7 ( 14 ) 99 RED BALLOONS Nena
8 ( 4 ) RADIO GA GA Queen
9 ( 9 ) I GAVE YOU MY HEART (DIDN'T I) Hot Chocolate
10 ( 10 ) MICHAEL CAINE Madness

11 ( 18 ) THEME FROM CHEERS Gary Portnoy
12 ( 15 ) SOUL TRAIN Swans Way
13 ( 8 ) MY EVER CHANGING MOODS The Style Council
14 ( 17 ) JOANNA Kool And The Gang
15 ( 12 ) HOLIDAY Madonna
16 ( 24 ) ADULT EDUCATION Daryl Hall & John Oates
17 ( 21 ) MORE MORE MORE Carmel
18 ( 25 ) RUN RUNAWAY Slade
19 ( 11 ) THE KILLING MOON Echo And The Bunnymen
20 ( 7 ) BE GOOD JOHNNY Men At Work




21 ( NEW ) IT'S A MIRACLE Culture Club
22 ( 19 ) GET OUT OF YOUR LAZY BED Matt Bianco
23 ( 52 ) OUT COME THE FREAKS Was (Not Was)
24 ( 16 ) LET THE MUSIC PLAY Shannon
25 ( NEW ) BORROWED TIME John Lennon
26 ( 28 ) ADVENTURES IN SUCCESS Will Powers
27 ( NEW ) DOWN IN THE SUBWAY Soft Cell
28 ( 38 ) CHERRY OH BABY UB40
29 ( 20 ) ONE SMALL DAY Ultravox
30 ( 40 ) ORGANISE David Grant



31 ( 47 ) MY GUY'S MAD AT ME Tracey Ullman
32 ( 45 ) TO BE OR NOT TO BE Mel Brooks
33 ( 36 ) AN INNOCENT MAN Billy Joel
34 ( 22 ) HERE COMES THE RAIN AGAIN Eurythmics
35 ( NEW ) BREAKIN' DOWN Julia & Co.
36 ( 23 ) A NIGHT IN NEW YORK Elbow Bones and The Racketeers
37 ( NEW ) ROBERT DE NIRO'S WAITING Bananarama
38 ( 33 ) BREAK MY STRIDE Matthew Wilder
39 ( 26 ) NEW MOON ON MONDAY Duran Duran
40 ( 56 ) CRY AND BE FREE Marilyn




41 ( 32 ) S.O.S. ABC
42 ( 41 ) THRILLER Michael Jackson
43 ( 43 ) SPEED YOUR LOVE TO ME Simple Minds
44 ( 35 ) CRYSTAL/ COLD AS CHRISTMAS Elton John
45 ( RE ) THE POLITICS OF DANCING Re-Flex
46 ( 34 ) GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN Cyndi Lauper
47 ( 49 ) WOOD BEEZ (PRAY LIKE ARETHA FRANKLIN) Scritti Politti
48 ( 29 ) WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE The Smiths
49 ( NEW ) BOLERO (MUSIC OF TORVILL AND DEAN) Richard Hartley/ Michael Reed Orchestra
50 ( 50 ) BILLIE JEAN Michael Jackson

51 ( 27 ) (FEELS LIKE) HEAVEN Fiction Factory
52 ( 39 ) WISHFUL THINKING China Crisis
53 ( 42 ) NOBODY TOLD ME John Lennon
54 ( RE ) BEAST OF BURDEN Bette Midler
55 ( 55 ) THANK YOU FOR THE MUSIC Abba
56 ( 30 ) DOCTOR DOCTOR Thompson Twins
57 ( 73 ) WALKING IN YOUR SLEEP Roger Daltrey
58 ( 69 ) DANCE HALL DAYS Wang Chung
59 ( 58 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
60 ( 60 ) LET'S DANCE David Bowie

61 ( 53 ) MY OH MY Slade
62 ( 54 ) VICTIMS Culture Club
63 ( 31 ) TONIGHT The Boomtown Rats
64 ( 64 ) THE LION'S MOUTH Kajagoogoo
65 ( 51 ) PIPES OF PEACE Paul McCartney
66 ( 44 ) WONDERLAND Big Country
67 ( 57 ) TALKING IN YOUR SLEEP The Romantics
68 ( 59 ) HELP Tina Turner
69 ( 65 ) READ 'EM AND WEEP Barry Manilow
70 ( 46 ) SPICE OF LIFE Manhattan Transfer

71 ( NEW ) GOT A HOLD ON ME Christine McVie
72 ( 37 ) HYPERACTIVE Thomas Dolby
73 ( 61 ) WHERE IS MY MAN Eartha Kitt
74 ( 62 ) KING OF PAIN The Police
75 ( NEW ) FRAGGLE ROCK THEME The Fraggles

TV
1 Star Trek: Turnabout Intruder
2 MASH
3 Comic Strip Presents: War
4 Cheers
5 Star Trek: Alternative Factor
6 Mary Tyler Moore Show
7 Soap
8 Reamington Steele
9 Rockford Files
10 Bewitched
11 Top Of The Pops
12 The Avengers
13 The Twilight Zone
14 The Thin Man: film
15 The Sullivans
16 Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
17 Dallas
18 The Munsters
19 Here's Lucy
20 Doctor Who (2 eps)

Posted by: popchartfreak 19th March 2014, 07:03 PM

12th March 1984

3 Weeks for Jacko & Gordy Jnr at 1, and Jonesy at 2, poor Howard never did get that number one. Joining such unlucky acts in my charts (of those that have deserved number ones) such as Pink, The Sex Pistols and others. Van Halen hit 3, Nena hits funf, Kool and The Gang get the second of only 2 top 10’s they ever had (Celebration, of course, being the first) and Slade extend their run of top 10 hits to 13 years.

A big climber for Robert De Niro, waiting, and Julia & Co, while 1983 entry It’s Raining Men pops back bigger at 28. Hallelujah! Highest new entry is the cool jazzy sounds of Sade heralding cocktail album music huge sales for many-an 80’s act. Phil Fearon keeps British dance music going, head-flipping during singing and dancing. He was quite fit, you know. Bottom end (shock!) entries for future anthem and protest song Nelson Mandela, influential Afrika Bambaata Funking Renegades and the sound of the next decade, Lionel Richie’s hilarious Hello (video), and err The Alan Parsons Project, punchline of many an Austin Powers gag set-up.


1 ( 1 ) SOMEBODY'S WATCHING ME Rockwell
2 ( 2 ) HIDE AND SEEK Howard Jones
3 ( 4 ) JUMP Van Halen
4 ( 5 ) STREET DANCE Break Machine
5 ( 7 ) 99 RED BALLOONS Nena
6 ( 9 ) I GAVE YOU MY HEART (DIDN'T I) Hot Chocolate
7 ( 3 ) WOULDN'T IT BE GOOD Nik Kershaw
8 ( 14 ) JOANNA Kool And The Gang
9 ( 6 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
10 ( 18 ) RUN RUNAWAY Slade

11 ( 8 ) RADIO GA GA Queen
12 ( 10 ) MICHAEL CAINE Madness
13 ( 16 ) ADULT EDUCATION Daryl Hall & John Oates
14 ( 21 ) IT'S A MIRACLE Culture Club
15 ( 25 ) BORROWED TIME John Lennon
16 ( 32 ) TO BE OR NOT TO BE Mel Brooks
17 ( 37 ) ROBERT DE NIRO'S WAITING Bananarama
18 ( 13 ) MY EVER CHANGING MOODS The Style Council
19 ( 35 ) BREAKIN' DOWN Julia & Co.
20 ( 31 ) MY GUY Tracey Ullman

21 ( 11 ) THEME FROM CHEERS Gary Portnoy
22 ( 15 ) HOLIDAY Madonna
23 ( 23 ) OUT COME THE FREAKS Was (Not Was)
24 ( 28 ) CHERRY OH BABY UB40
25 ( 12 ) SOUL TRAIN Swans Way
26 ( 19 ) THE KILLING MOON Echo And The Bunnymen
27 ( 27 ) DOWN IN THE SUBWAY Soft Cell
28 ( RE ) IT'S RAINING MEN The Weather Girls
29 ( 26 ) ADVENTURES IN SUCCESS Will Powers
30 ( 17 ) MORE MORE MORE Carmel

31 ( 33 ) AN INNOCENT MAN Billy Joel
32 ( 22 ) GET OUT OF YOUR LAZY BED Matt Bianco
33 ( 24 ) LET THE MUSIC PLAY Shannon
34 ( 45 ) THE POLITICS OF DANCING Re-Flex
35 ( 49 ) BOLERO (MUSIC OF TORVILL AND DEAN) Richard Hartley/ Michael Reed Orchestra
36 ( NEW ) YOUR LOVE IS KING Sade
37 ( 20 ) BE GOOD JOHNNY Men At Work
38 ( 47 ) WOOD BEEZ (PRAY LIKE ARETHA FRANKLIN) Scritti Politti
39 ( NEW ) WHAT DO I DO Phil Fearon & Galaxy
40 ( 34 ) HERE COMES THE RAIN AGAIN Eurythmics




41 ( 64 ) THE LION'S MOUTH Kajagoogoo
42 ( 42 ) THRILLER Michael Jackson
43 ( 43 ) SPEED YOUR LOVE TO ME Simple Minds
44 ( 29 ) ONE SMALL DAY Ultravox
45 ( 38 ) BREAK MY STRIDE Matthew Wilder
46 ( 58 ) DANCE HALL DAYS Wang Chung
47 ( 39 ) NEW MOON ON MONDAY Duran Duran
48 ( 36 ) A NIGHT IN NEW YORK Elbow Bones and The Racketeers
49 ( 46 ) GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN Cyndi Lauper
50 ( 50 ) BILLIE JEAN Michael Jackson

51 ( 41 ) S.O.S. ABC
52 ( 30 ) ORGANISE David Grant
53 ( 68 ) HELP Tina Turner
54 ( 40 ) CRY AND BE FREE Marilyn
55 ( 44 ) CRYSTAL/ COLD AS CHRISTMAS Elton John
56 ( 54 ) BEAST OF BURDEN Bette Midler
57 ( 57 ) WALKING IN YOUR SLEEP Roger Daltrey
58 ( 59 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
59 ( 55 ) THANK YOU FOR THE MUSIC Abba
60 ( 60 ) LET'S DANCE David Bowie

61 ( 53 ) NOBODY TOLD ME John Lennon
62 ( 48 ) WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE The Smiths
63 ( 51 ) (FEELS LIKE) HEAVEN Fiction Factory
64 ( 52 ) WISHFUL THINKING China Crisis
65 ( NEW ) NELSON MANDELA The Special A.K.A.
66 ( 61 ) MY OH MY Slade
67 ( NEW ) DON'T ANSWER ME The Alan Parsons Project
68 ( 62 ) VICTIMS Culture Club
69 ( 69 ) READ 'EM AND WEEP Barry Manilow
70 ( 56 ) DOCTOR DOCTOR Thompson Twins



71 ( NEW ) RENEGADES OF FUNK Afrika Bambaata & The Soul Sonic Force
72 ( NEW ) HANNA HANNA China Crisis
73 ( NEW ) SHATTERPROOF Billy Bremner
74 ( 65 ) PIPES OF PEACE Paul McCartney
75 ( NEW ) HELLO Lionel Richie



TV
1 Soap
2 Cheers
3 MASH
4 It'll Be Alright On The Night 4
5 Mary Tyler Moore Show
6 Reamington Steele
7 Rockford Files
8 Bewitched
9 The Professionals
10 The Sullivans
11 Dr Who: Caves Of Androzani
12 The Other Side Of The Tracks
13 Film: 9 To 5
14 Top Of The Pops
15 Munsters

Posted by: popchartfreak 24th March 2014, 06:29 PM

19th March 1984

A big leap to the top for Culture Club’s catchy Miracle, it looked like there was no stopping Boy George at this stage, 4 number ones in and all very different. John Lennon’s last big posthumous release hits 3, and Jacko goes further than anyone in history - in drawing yet another hit single off one mega-album, the 6th. With it the birth of the “flogging it to death, bonus tracks (also Jackson to blame for that) and special editions (ditto) it’s all about milking it rather than doing new stuff” syndrome. It WAS good, of course, and in at 5.

Was (Not Was) get a top 10 hit debut, Hall & Oates get yet another of many, and Mel Brooks gets a rare novelty Top 10 hit. Scritti Politti leap up, the Weather Girls storm (geddit?) the 20, and Lionel Richie greets us all at 30. To be honest it wasn’t him I was looking for, but he could see it my eyes, and it sounded OK for a few weeks. New in: yes, it’s Yes, Trevor Horn acapella fab, Icicle Works tell us Birds Fly, as I found out yesterday when I was on the M27 doing 70 and a pigeon flapped down onto my windscreen. Sadly, he only briefly held the world record for the fastest bird somersault.

Siouxsie swims with horses, Lulu has one of her periodic comebacks in my charts, and Chris Rea has the latest in a very long list of minor chart entries. On TV Joan Rivers was hot and her material still fresh, and TV sitcoms and soaps loomed large in my world as the long days of job applications was too tedious to stand for more than a few hours. It’s soul destroying and anyone doing it now has my sympathy!


1 ( 14 ) IT'S A MIRACLE Culture Club
2 ( 1 ) SOMEBODY'S WATCHING ME Rockwell
3 ( 15 ) BORROWED TIME John Lennon
4 ( 4 ) STREET DANCE Break Machine
5 ( NEW ) PYT (PRETTY YOUNG THING) Michael Jackson
6 ( 3 ) JUMP Van Halen
7 ( 7 ) WOULDN'T IT BE GOOD Nik Kershaw
8 ( 23 ) OUT COME THE FREAKS Was (Not Was)
9 ( 13 ) ADULT EDUCATION Daryl Hall & John Oates
10 ( 16 ) TO BE OR NOT TO BE Mel Brooks



11 ( 2 ) HIDE AND SEEK Howard Jones
12 ( 17 ) ROBERT DE NIRO'S WAITING Bananarama
13 ( 38 ) WOOD BEEZ (PRAY LIKE ARETHA FRANKLIN) Scritti Politti
14 ( 8 ) JOANNA Kool And The Gang
15 ( 5 ) 99 RED BALLOONS Nena
16 ( 9 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
17 ( 24 ) CHERRY OH BABY UB40
18 ( 11 ) RADIO GA GA Queen
19 ( 28 ) IT'S RAINING MEN The Weather Girls
20 ( 6 ) I GAVE YOU MY HEART (DIDN'T I) Hot Chocolate



21 ( 12 ) MICHAEL CAINE Madness
22 ( 39 ) WHAT DO I DO Phil Fearon & Galaxy
23 ( 19 ) BREAKIN' DOWN (SUGAR SAMBA) Julia & Co.
24 ( 10 ) RUN RUNAWAY Slade
25 ( 18 ) MY EVER CHANGING MOODS The Style Council
26 ( 41 ) THE LION'S MOUTH Kajagoogoo
27 ( 35 ) BOLERO (MUSIC OF TORVILL AND DEAN) Richard Hartley/ Michael Reed Orchestra
28 ( 20 ) MY GUY Tracey Ullman
29 ( 36 ) YOUR LOVE IS KING Sade
30 ( 75 ) HELLO Lionel Richie

31 ( 22 ) HOLIDAY Madonna
32 ( 26 ) THE KILLING MOON Echo And The Bunnymen
33 ( 46 ) DANCE HALL DAYS Wang Chung
34 ( 34 ) THE POLITICS OF DANCING Re-Flex
35 ( 21 ) THEME FROM CHEERS Gary Portnoy
36 ( 27 ) DOWN IN THE SUBWAY Soft Cell
37 ( 31 ) AN INNOCENT MAN Billy Joel
38 ( 25 ) SOUL TRAIN Swans Way
39 ( NEW ) JESSIE'S GIRL Rick Springfield
40 ( 57 ) WALKING IN YOUR SLEEP Roger Daltrey

41 ( 33 ) LET THE MUSIC PLAY Shannon
42 ( 32 ) GET OUT OF YOUR LAZY BED Matt Bianco
43 ( 43 ) SPEED YOUR LOVE TO ME Simple Minds
44 ( 42 ) THRILLER Michael Jackson
45 ( 40 ) HERE COMES THE RAIN AGAIN Eurythmics
46 ( 56 ) BEAST OF BURDEN Bette Midler
47 ( 29 ) ADVENTURES IN SUCCESS Will Powers
48 ( 65 ) NELSON MANDELA The Special A.K.A.
49 ( 30 ) MORE MORE MORE Carmel
50 ( 50 ) BILLIE JEAN Michael Jackson

51 ( 53 ) HELP Tina Turner
52 ( 72 ) HANNA HANNA China Crisis
53 ( 37 ) BE GOOD JOHNNY Men At Work
54 ( NEW ) BIRDS FLY (WHISPER TO A SCREAM) Icicle Works
55 ( 45 ) BREAK MY STRIDE Matthew Wilder
56 ( NEW ) LEAVE IT Yes
57 ( 58 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
58 ( 49 ) GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN Cyndi Lauper
59 ( 60 ) LET'S DANCE David Bowie
60 ( 59 ) THANK YOU FOR THE MUSIC Abba



61 ( 51 ) S.O.S. ABC
62 ( 44 ) ONE SMALL DAY Ultravox
63 ( 71 ) RENEGADES OF FUNK Afrika Bambaata & The Soul Sonic Force
64 ( 48 ) A NIGHT IN NEW YORK Elbow Bones and The Racketeers
65 ( 55 ) CRYSTAL/ COLD AS CHRISTMAS Elton John
66 ( NEW ) SWIMMING HORSES Siouxsie & The Banshees
67 ( 73 ) SHATTERPROOF Billy Bremner
68 ( 47 ) NEW MOON ON MONDAY Duran Duran
69 ( NEW ) IS THAT SO Lulu
70 ( NEW ) DO YOU WANNA DANCE Toni Basil

71 ( NEW ) THE KID'S AMERICAN Matthew Wilder
72 ( 69 ) READ 'EM AND WEEP Barry Manilow
73 ( NEW ) I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS Chris Rea
74 ( NEW ) GHOST OF LOVE Fiction Factory
75 ( 66 ) MY OH MY Slade

TV
1 Blade Runner: film
2 An Audience With Joan Rivers
3 Hill Street Blues
4 Doctor Who: The Five Doctors
5 Soap
6 Cheers
7 MASH
8 Doctor Who: 2 eps
9 The Twilight Zone
10 Mary Tyler Moore Show
11 Top Of The Pops
12 Outlands: film
13 Comic Strip Presents: Beat Generation
14 Bewitched
15 Phil Silvers Show (Bilko)
16 The Professionals
17 The Sullivans
18 The Beverley Hillbillies
19 The Munsters
20 It Ain't Half Hot Mum

Posted by: popchartfreak 25th March 2014, 06:24 PM

26th March 1984

2 weeks on top for Culture Club, and a new challenge from sweet-voiced Green Gartside at 3 with what would be termed EDM these days, and rather pioneering in sound. Lionel gets his 3rd solo top 10 - there aren’t many more after this one though. Name dropping is all the vogue, the Nana’s with Robert De Niro joining Scritti’s Aretha Franklin and Madness’ Michael Caine, not to mention The Specials Nelson Mandela hitting the Top 40. Biggest leap? Siouxsie & The Banshees’ horses! Obviously not on the flat, must be jumpers.

It’s all about an invasion of brilliant new entries though - The Beatles with childhood key 45 Can’t Buy Me Love (one of my dad’s first singles) at 15, one-hit-wonder Madonna showing she ain’t with Lucky Star, rival cyndi does the same with Time After Time, Depeche Mode come back with a new influential industrial sound, Captain Sensible nips in with a bit of nice pop, Simple Minds chart one of their most exciting records of all, Up On The Catwalk, Billy Idol gives a Rebel Yell a year ahead of getting a hit with it, Dead Or Alive debut with a KC & The Sunshine Band cover that in no way comes close to the classic original, Weird Al has a funny video to take the Michael out of Jacko, and finally, Propaganda chart the brilliant Dr Mabuse, a Trevor Horn epic that never got the success it deserved, Brilliant.


1 ( 1 ) IT'S A MIRACLE Culture Club
2 ( 3 ) BORROWED TIME John Lennon
3 ( 13 ) WOOD BEEZ (PRAY LIKE ARETHA FRANKLIN) Scritti Politti
4 ( 5 ) PYT (PRETTY YOUNG THING) Michael Jackson
5 ( 2 ) SOMEBODY'S WATCHING ME Rockwell
6 ( 8 ) OUT COME THE FREAKS Was (Not Was)
7 ( 4 ) STREET DANCE Break Machine
8 ( 12 ) ROBERT DE NIRO'S WAITING Bananarama
9 ( 7 ) WOULDN'T IT BE GOOD Nik Kershaw
10 ( 30 ) HELLO Lionel Richie

11 ( 6 ) JUMP Van Halen
12 ( 19 ) IT'S RAINING MEN The Weather Girls
13 ( 17 ) CHERRY OH BABY UB40
14 ( 22 ) WHAT DO I DO Phil Fearon & Galaxy
15 ( NEW ) CAN'T BUY ME LOVE The Beatles
16 ( 26 ) THE LION'S MOUTH Kajagoogoo
17 ( 10 ) TO BE OR NOT TO BE Mel Brooks
18 ( 29 ) YOUR LOVE IS KING Sade
19 ( 66 ) SWIMMING HORSES Siouxsie & The Banshees
20 ( 16 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood



21 ( 21 ) MICHAEL CAINE Madness
22 ( 9 ) ADULT EDUCATION Daryl Hall & John Oates
23 ( 18 ) RADIO GA GA Queen
24 ( 15 ) 99 RED BALLOONS Nena
25 ( 11 ) HIDE AND SEEK Howard Jones
26 ( 14 ) JOANNA Kool And The Gang
27 ( NEW ) EAT IT Wierd Al Yankowicz
28 ( NEW ) LUCKY STAR Madonna
29 ( 33 ) DANCE HALL DAYS Wang Chung
30 ( 39 ) JESSIE'S GIRL Rick Springfield

31 ( 20 ) I GAVE YOU MY HEART (DIDN'T I) Hot Chocolate
32 ( 23 ) BREAKIN' DOWN (SUGAR SAMBA) Julia & Co.
33 ( 48 ) NELSON MANDELA The Special A.K.A.
34 ( 24 ) RUN RUNAWAY Slade
35 ( 25 ) MY EVER CHANGING MOODS The Style Council
36 ( 32 ) THE KILLING MOON Echo And The Bunnymen
37 ( NEW ) PEOPLE ARE PEOPLE Depeche Mode
38 ( NEW ) GLAD IT'S ALLOVER Captain Sensible
39 ( 31 ) HOLIDAY Madonna
40 ( NEW ) UP ON THE CATWALK Simple Minds



41 ( 28 ) MY GUY Tracey Ullman
42 ( 27 ) BOLERO (MUSIC OF TORVILL AND DEAN) Richard Hartley/ Michael Reed Orchestra
43 ( 35 ) THEME FROM CHEERS Gary Portnoy
44 ( 38 ) SOUL TRAIN Swans Way
45 ( 44 ) THRILLER Michael Jackson
46 ( 37 ) AN INNOCENT MAN Billy Joel
47 ( 43 ) SPEED YOUR LOVE TO ME Simple Minds
48 ( 34 ) THE POLITICS OF DANCING Re-Flex
49 ( 50 ) BILLIE JEAN Michael Jackson
50 ( 36 ) DOWN IN THE SUBWAY Soft Cell

51 ( 41 ) LET THE MUSIC PLAY Shannon
52 ( 42 ) GET OUT OF YOUR LAZY BED Matt Bianco
53 ( 40 ) WALKING IN YOUR SLEEP Roger Daltrey
54 ( 45 ) HERE COMES THE RAIN AGAIN Eurythmics
55 ( 56 ) LEAVE IT Yes
56 ( NEW ) A LOVE WORTH WAITING FOR Shakin' Stevens
57 ( 57 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
58 ( 59 ) LET'S DANCE David Bowie
59 ( NEW ) TUESDAY SUNSHINE The Questions
60 ( 60 ) THANK YOU FOR THE MUSIC Abba

61 ( 46 ) BEAST OF BURDEN Bette Midler
62 ( 67 ) SHATTERPROOF Billy Bremner
63 ( 54 ) BIRDS FLY (WHISPER TO A SCREAM) Icicle Works
64 ( 55 ) BREAK MY STRIDE Matthew Wilder
65 ( 58 ) GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN Cyndi Lauper
66 ( 53 ) BE GOOD JOHNNY Men At Work
67 ( 61 ) S.O.S. ABC
68 ( NEW ) TIME AFTER TIME Cyndi Lauper
69 ( 71 ) THE KID'S AMERICAN Matthew Wilder
70 ( NEW ) DOCTOR MABUSE Propaganda



71 ( NEW ) THAT'S THE WAY (I LIKE IT) Dead Or Alive
72 ( 65 ) CRYSTAL/ COLD AS CHRISTMAS Elton John
73 ( NEW ) THE DECEIVER The Alarm
74 ( 49 ) MORE MORE MORE Carmel
75 ( NEW ) REBEL YELL Billy Idol




TV
1 Cheers
2 Hill Street Blues
3 Twilight Zone: Markie
4 Soap
5 MASH
6 Bewitched
7 Mary Tyler Moore Show
8 Doctor Who (2 eps)
9 Top Of The Pops
10 Beverley Hillbillies
11 Reamington Steele
12 Avengers
13 Simon: film
14 Munsters
15 Comic Strip Presents: Summer School
16 Dallas
17 It Ain't Half Hot Mum
18 The Sullivans (2 eps)
19 Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
20 Tucker's Luck

Posted by: popchartfreak 18th April 2014, 06:20 PM

3rd April 1984

A new number one for Scritti Politti, and the fab Wood Beez. The 20-year-old and still Fab Four up to 7, not quite the number one it would have had back in the day, but not bad given the busy music scene. Depeche Mode’s new sound goes down well, as they shoot up to 9, and a new singalong retro chaingang gospel sound for the Thomspon Twins gets them new at 17, just ahead of the African-flavoured Nelson Mandela.

Madonna gets her 2nd Top 20 hit, and Yes their 3rd top 40. New at 33, The Pointer Sisters comeback is a major departure as the girls switch lead singing sister to dramatic effect - one of the deepest female vocals to ever chart, assisted by a very 80’s synthy vibe and lyric. Rufus were also back, 10 years after debuting in my charts, and this time Chaka Khan was getting a soulful credit, long-overdue. The Alan Parsons Project also popped straight into the 40, just so Mike Myers could reference them in Austin Powers 15 years later. Hooray!

TV charting, Hill Street Blues was the TV drama of the day, far-reaching in influence and quality, part comedy, part drama, part soap, and a new “reality” style of filming and very large ongoing cast, all top-notch. Not far behind the hilarious Enid Blyton piss-take 5 Go mad In Dorset, appropriately for me, as that’s where I was, and I was slowly in the process of going mad. Or at least drifting into a very quiet depression for the first time in my life, unaware of what was wrong with me. No job, no friends, 4 years after College and no prospects, no money, no self-respect, feeling like an abject failure. Can’t think why I started spiralling down at all!

Thanks to Thatcher and Scargill, my brother and sister-in-law and baby niece were also to join me soon, as the miner’s strike took it’s toll. You can only spend so long on a picket line before you need money to live, so they moved south like the rest of us while the community back home split into scabs and strikers and ultimately both were sacked by the lovely politicians who showed just how much they appreciated those who kept on working - by treating them no different and closing all the pits despite assurances to the contrary. Happy days. Still, at least we have no industry anymore to trouble all those bankers destroying our economy, eh?



1 ( 3 ) WOOD BEEZ (PRAY LIKE ARETHA FRANKLIN) Scritti Politti
2 ( 1 ) IT'S A MIRACLE Culture Club
3 ( 2 ) BORROWED TIME John Lennon
4 ( 4 ) PYT (PRETTY YOUNG THING) Michael Jackson
5 ( 8 ) ROBERT DE NIRO'S WAITING Bananarama
6 ( 10 ) HELLO Lionel Richie
7 ( 15 ) CAN'T BUY ME LOVE The Beatles
8 ( 5 ) SOMEBODY'S WATCHING ME Rockwell
9 ( 37 ) PEOPLE ARE PEOPLE Depeche Mode
10 ( 16 ) THE LION'S MOUTH Kajagoogoo




11 ( 13 ) CHERRY OH BABY UB40
12 ( 19 ) SWIMMING HORSES Siouxsie & The Banshees
13 ( 14 ) WHAT DO I DO Phil Fearon & Galaxy
14 ( 7 ) STREET DANCE Break Machine
15 ( 18 ) YOUR LOVE IS KING Sade
16 ( 6 ) OUT COME THE FREAKS Was (Not Was)
17 ( NEW ) YOU TAKE ME UP Thompson Twins
18 ( 33 ) NELSON MANDELA The Special A.K.A.
19 ( 11 ) JUMP Van Halen
20 ( 28 ) LUCKY STAR Madonna



21 ( 9 ) WOULDN'T IT BE GOOD Nik Kershaw
22 ( 40 ) UP ON THE CATWALK Simple Minds
23 ( 55 ) LEAVE IT Yes
24 ( 38 ) GLAD IT'S ALLOVER Captain Sensible
25 ( 12 ) IT'S RAINING MEN The Weather Girls
26 ( 20 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
27 ( 26 ) JOANNA/ TONIGHT Kool And The Gang
28 ( 23 ) RADIO GA GA Queen
29 ( 29 ) DANCE HALL DAYS Wang Chung
30 ( 21 ) MICHAEL CAINE Madness



31 ( 17 ) TO BE OR NOT TO BE Mel Brooks
32 ( 27 ) EAT IT Wierd Al Yankowicz
33 ( NEW ) AUTOMATIC The Pointer Sisters
34 ( 56 ) A LOVE WORTH WAITING FOR Shakin' Stevens
35 ( 25 ) HIDE AND SEEK Howard Jones
36 ( 30 ) JESSIE'S GIRL Rick Springfield
37 ( 24 ) 99 RED BALLOONS Nena
38 ( 22 ) ADULT EDUCATION Daryl Hall & John Oates
39 ( NEW ) DON'T ANSWER ME The Alan Parsons Project
40 ( NEW ) AIN'T NOBODY Rufus and Chaka Khan



41 ( 32 ) BREAKIN' DOWN (SUGAR SAMBA) Julia & Co.
42 ( 36 ) THE KILLING MOON Echo And The Bunnymen
43 ( 44 ) SOUL TRAIN Swans Way
44 ( 31 ) I GAVE YOU MY HEART (DIDN'T I) Hot Chocolate
45 ( 39 ) HOLIDAY Madonna
46 ( 35 ) MY EVER CHANGING MOODS The Style Council
47 ( 71 ) THAT'S THE WAY (I LIKE IT) Dead Or Alive
48 ( 45 ) THRILLER Michael Jackson
49 ( 68 ) TIME AFTER TIME Cyndi Lauper
50 ( 49 ) BILLIE JEAN Michael Jackson

51 ( 34 ) RUN RUNAWAY Slade
52 ( 47 ) SPEED YOUR LOVE TO ME Simple Minds
53 ( 70 ) DOCTOR MABUSE Propaganda
54 ( 51 ) LET THE MUSIC PLAY Shannon
55 ( 43 ) THEME FROM CHEERS Gary Portnoy
56 ( 42 ) BOLERO (MUSIC OF TORVILL AND DEAN) Richard Hartley/ Michael Reed Orchestra
57 ( 69 ) THE KID'S AMERICAN Matthew Wilder
58 ( 57 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
59 ( 58 ) LET'S DANCE David Bowie
60 ( 62 ) SHATTERPROOF Billy Bremner

61 ( 60 ) THANK YOU FOR THE MUSIC Abba
62 ( 46 ) AN INNOCENT MAN Billy Joel
63 ( 41 ) MY GUY Tracey Ullman
64 ( NEW ) BABY YOU'RE DYNAMITE Cliff Richard
65 ( 54 ) HERE COMES THE RAIN AGAIN Eurythmics
66 ( 48 ) THE POLITICS OF DANCING Re-Flex
67 ( 59 ) TUESDAY SUNSHINE The Questions
68 ( NEW ) FOOTLOOSE Kenny Loggins
69 ( 73 ) THE DECEIVER The Alarm
70 ( 50 ) DOWN IN THE SUBWAY Soft Cell

71 ( 67 ) S.O.S. ABC
72 ( NEW ) I SCARE MYSELF Thomas Dolby
73 ( NEW ) TV DINNERS ZZ Top
74 ( 75 ) REBEL YELL Billy Idol
75 ( 64 ) BREAK MY STRIDE Matthew Wilder

TV
1 Hill Street Blues
2 MASH
3 Comic Strip Presents: 5 Go Mad In Dorset
4 Cheers
5 Soap
6 Reamington Steele
7 Beverley Hillbillies
8 The Professionals
9 The Munsters
10 The Sullivans

Posted by: popchartfreak 19th April 2014, 04:05 PM

10th April 1984

2 weeks for Green Gartside at 1. Thompson Twins take 2 weeks to get to 2 and hold off Simple Minds who walk the catwalk from 22 to 3. 3 corkers keeping my fab Beatles at 4, who knocks John Lennon himself down. Meanwhile Specials get their first Top 10 in 3 years, and Captain Sensible in 2 years with the poptastic Glad It’s All Over, a world away from the Damned.

The Cure enter at 18, with a staccato-flavoured romp, Propaganda menace their way up to 20, and SOS Band enter at 24, announcing new dance-producers about to rule the roost. Since Chic’s Nile Rodgers came along he had no real competition for Class Soul King Producer (or dance or disco or urban or rnb or whatever be the trendy name of the day) - well now he did, and it be Jam & Lewis, producer-writers of Just Be Good To Me, a future 90’s number one for Norman Cook. The crescendo of synths in the original, however, can not be beaten, a brilliant dance single and the start of many a hit record for Jam & Lewis.

Cameo arrive with a Strange soul record tune, harmony and melody strong and minus codpiece, in at 28 and still their best record. Then there’s a bit of an invasion of new entries: Lulu’s back; The Psychedelic Furs go straight into the 40; Billy Joel’s run of offtakes from An Innocent Man continues; Matt Bianco jazz it up again; Queen, at 59, a bit low for such a great record and video. Yes the one in drag hoovering, the one that killed their American career dead-ish. Middle America not that keen on rock bands being a tad gay.

Sandie Shaw is back. Worth repeating. 2 years on from her BEF single making my charts, Morrissey made her an offer she couldn’t refuse and got her to cover Hand In Glove with The Smiths more or less duetting. Brilliant idea, and seeing long-time fave Sandie writhing on TOTP was an event. Sneaking in below her, Julian Cope, and at 72 the fab Don’t Look Any Further featuring Siedah Garrett, her of Man In The Mirror songwriting fame. Lastly Shalamar enter at 74 just ahead of former Shalamar Jeffery Daniel body-popping in at 75. Who’ll win that chart battle? Who Cares?

1 ( 1 ) WOOD BEEZ (PRAY LIKE ARETHA FRANKLIN) Scritti Politti
2 ( 17 ) YOU TAKE ME UP Thompson Twins
3 ( 22 ) UP ON THE CATWALK Simple Minds
4 ( 7 ) CAN'T BUY ME LOVE The Beatles
5 ( 3 ) BORROWED TIME John Lennon
6 ( 18 ) NELSON MANDELA The Special A.K.A.
7 ( 2 ) IT'S A MIRACLE Culture Club
8 ( 9 ) PEOPLE ARE PEOPLE Depeche Mode
9 ( 5 ) ROBERT DE NIRO'S WAITING Bananarama
10 ( 24 ) GLAD IT'S ALLOVER Captain Sensible



11 ( 4 ) PYT (PRETTY YOUNG THING) Michael Jackson
12 ( 12 ) SWIMMING HORSES Siouxsie & The Banshees
13 ( 20 ) LUCKY STAR Madonna
14 ( 23 ) LEAVE IT Yes
15 ( 33 ) AUTOMATIC The Pointer Sisters
16 ( 8 ) SOMEBODY'S WATCHING ME Rockwell
17 ( 10 ) THE LION'S MOUTH Kajagoogoo
18 ( NEW ) THE CATERPILLAR The Cure
19 ( 6 ) HELLO Lionel Richie
20 ( 53 ) DOCTOR MABUSE Propaganda



21 ( 13 ) WHAT DO I DO Phil Fearon & Galaxy
22 ( 14 ) STREET DANCE Break Machine
23 ( 16 ) OUT COME THE FREAKS Was (Not Was)
24 ( NEW ) JUST BE GOOD TO ME SOS Band
25 ( 15 ) YOUR LOVE IS KING Sade
26 ( 11 ) CHERRY OH BABY UB40
27 ( 19 ) JUMP Van Halen
28 ( NEW ) SHE'S STRANGE Cameo
29 ( 25 ) IT'S RAINING MEN The Weather Girls
30 ( 26 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood



31 ( 21 ) WOULDN'T IT BE GOOD Nik Kershaw
32 ( 30 ) MICHAEL CAINE Madness
33 ( 28 ) RADIO GA GA Queen
34 ( 34 ) A LOVE WORTH WAITING FOR Shakin' Stevens
35 ( 64 ) BABY YOU'RE DYNAMITE Cliff Richard
36 ( NEW ) HEAVEN The Psychedelic Furs
37 ( 40 ) AIN'T NOBODY Rufus and Chaka Khan
38 ( 49 ) TIME AFTER TIME Cyndi Lauper
39 ( NEW ) THE LONGEST TIME Billy Joel
40 ( RE ) IS THAT SO Lulu

41 ( 31 ) TO BE OR NOT TO BE Mel Brooks
42 ( 43 ) SOUL TRAIN Swans Way
43 ( 32 ) EAT IT Wierd Al Yankowicz
44 ( 29 ) DANCE HALL DAYS Wang Chung
45 ( 42 ) THE KILLING MOON Echo And The Bunnymen
46 ( NEW ) SNEAKIN' OUT THE BACK DOOR Matt Bianco
47 ( 27 ) JOANNA/ TONIGHT Kool And The Gang
48 ( 45 ) HOLIDAY Madonna
49 ( 35 ) HIDE AND SEEK Howard Jones
50 ( 38 ) ADULT EDUCATION Daryl Hall & John Oates

51 ( 50 ) BILLIE JEAN Michael Jackson
52 ( 48 ) THRILLER Michael Jackson
53 ( 39 ) DON'T ANSWER ME The Alan Parsons Project
54 ( 37 ) 99 RED BALLOONS Nena
55 ( 69 ) THE DECEIVER The Alarm
56 ( 46 ) MY EVER CHANGING MOODS The Style Council
57 ( 47 ) THAT'S THE WAY (I LIKE IT) Dead Or Alive
58 ( 58 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
59 ( NEW ) I WANT TO BREAK FREE Queen
60 ( 59 ) LET'S DANCE David Bowie



61 ( 41 ) BREAKIN' DOWN (SUGAR SAMBA) Julia & Co.
62 ( NEW ) SOMEDAY The Gap Band
63 ( 61 ) THANK YOU FOR THE MUSIC Abba
64 ( NEW ) BELIEVIN' IT ALL Steve Levine
65 ( 36 ) JESSIE'S GIRL Rick Springfield
66 ( NEW ) HAND IN GLOVE Sandie Shaw
67 ( NEW ) THE GREATNESS AND PERFECTION OF LOVE Julian Cope
68 ( 52 ) SPEED YOUR LOVE TO ME Simple Minds
69 ( NEW ) I DIDN'T KNOW I LOVE YOU Rock Goddess
70 ( 44 ) I GAVE YOU MY HEART (DIDN'T I) Hot Chocolate



71 ( NEW ) AGAINST ALL ODDS Phil Collins
72 ( NEW ) DON'T LOOK ANY FURTHER Dennis Edwards and Siedah Garrett
73 ( 51 ) RUN RUNAWAY Slade
74 ( NEW ) DEADLINE U.S.A. Shalamar
75 ( NEW ) AC/DC Jeffrey Daniel

TV
1 Star Trek: All Our Yesterdays
2 Cheers
3 Reamington Steele
4 Soap
5 Top Of The Pops
6 Hill Street Blues
7 Twilight Zone: Willoughby
8 MASH
9 Professionals
10 Beverley Hillbillies
11 The Wrong Box (film)
12 Munsters
13 Sullivans (3 episodes)
14 Living Planet
15 Some MOthers Do 'Ave 'Em

Posted by: popchartfreak 19th April 2014, 06:10 PM

17th April 1984

Top Of The Pops was my fave TV show of the week, which shows just how good the music scene was, and explains why my chart was so volatile, dramatic leaps and drops of records that deserved not to fall at all. 3 weeks for Scritti, but a new leap to 2 again, this time for The Cure, all quirky and endearing. Cameo leap to 6, Pointer Sisters, after 12 years, finally get a Top 10 hit. Yay! 1983 John-chart-hit Peter Schilling is back with his Bowie sequel, and 30-years-on I still can’t buy the bloody thing on itunes, much as I want to. So many old tracks still to appear...

Yes, Yes get their 2nd Top 10 hit 7 years on from Wondrous Stories, though Jon Anderson (with Vangelis) topped the chart in between with I Hear You Now. Blancmange new at 23, Queen break free up at 32, OMD locomote in at 36 and The Bluebells lie - new at 40, not Fallin’ at all. Tenuous verbs copyright Popchartfreaktionary. The late Bob Marley starts as he means to go on, proving that his cast-offs, unfinished tracks or album tracks make better singles than most acts new ones, and enters at 46. Nile Rodgers proves he still has it, producing Duran Duran this time, in at 63 with the marvellous Reflex action. Finally, of the one’s worth mentioning, Dolly Parton suggests that Here You Come Again. How rude!



1 ( 1 ) WOOD BEEZ (PRAY LIKE ARETHA FRANKLIN) Scritti Politti
2 ( 18 ) THE CATERPILLAR The Cure
3 ( 2 ) YOU TAKE ME UP Thompson Twins
4 ( 10 ) GLAD IT'S ALLOVER Captain Sensible
5 ( 6 ) NELSON MANDELA The Special A.K.A.
6 ( 28 ) SHE'S STRANGE Cameo
7 ( 15 ) AUTOMATIC The Pointer Sisters
8 ( 3 ) UP ON THE CATWALK Simple Minds
9 ( NEW ) MAJOR TOM (COMING HOME) Peter Schilling
10 ( 14 ) LEAVE IT Yes



11 ( 8 ) PEOPLE ARE PEOPLE Depeche Mode
12 ( 7 ) IT'S A MIRACLE Culture Club
13 ( 9 ) ROBERT DE NIRO'S WAITING Bananarama
14 ( 20 ) DOCTOR MABUSE Propaganda
15 ( 13 ) LUCKY STAR Madonna
16 ( 11 ) PYT (PRETTY YOUNG THING) Michael Jackson
17 ( 24 ) JUST BE GOOD TO ME SOS Band
18 ( 5 ) BORROWED TIME John Lennon
19 ( 4 ) CAN'T BUY ME LOVE The Beatles
20 ( 19 ) HELLO Lionel Richie

21 ( 35 ) BABY YOU'RE DYNAMITE Cliff Richard
22 ( 16 ) SOMEBODY'S WATCHING ME Rockwell
23 ( NEW ) DON'T TELL ME Blancmange
24 ( 17 ) THE LION'S MOUTH Kajagoogoo
25 ( 12 ) SWIMMING HORSES Siouxsie & The Banshees
26 ( 46 ) SNEAKIN' OUT THE BACK DOOR Matt Bianco
27 ( 30 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
28 ( 36 ) HEAVEN The Psychedelic Furs
29 ( 21 ) WHAT DO I DO Phil Fearon & Galaxy
30 ( 37 ) AIN'T NOBODY Rufus and Chaka Khan

31 ( 34 ) A LOVE WORTH WAITING FOR Shakin' Stevens
32 ( 59 ) I WANT TO BREAK FREE Queen
33 ( 39 ) THE LONGEST TIME Billy Joel
34 ( 22 ) STREET DANCE Break Machine
35 ( 23 ) OUT COME THE FREAKS Was (Not Was)
36 ( NEW ) LOCOMOTION OMD
37 ( 26 ) CHERRY OH BABY UB40
38 ( 62 ) SOMEDAY The Gap Band
39 ( 33 ) RADIO GA GA Queen
40 ( NEW ) I'M FALLING The Bluebells



41 ( 25 ) YOUR LOVE IS KING Sade
42 ( 32 ) MICHAEL CAINE Madness
43 ( 27 ) JUMP Van Halen
44 ( 29 ) IT'S RAINING MEN The Weather Girls
45 ( 66 ) HAND IN GLOVE Sandie Shaw
46 ( NEW ) ONE LOVE Bob Marley & The Wailers
47 ( 38 ) TIME AFTER TIME Cyndi Lauper
48 ( 31 ) WOULDN'T IT BE GOOD Nik Kershaw
49 ( NEW ) DANCING GIRLS Nik Kershaw
50 ( 71 ) AGAINST ALL ODDS Phil Collins



51 ( 42 ) SOUL TRAIN Swans Way
52 ( 51 ) BILLIE JEAN Michael Jackson
53 ( 48 ) HOLIDAY Madonna
54 ( 52 ) THRILLER Michael Jackson
55 ( 55 ) THE DECEIVER The Alarm
56 ( 45 ) THE KILLING MOON Echo And The Bunnymen
57 ( 57 ) THAT'S THE WAY (I LIKE IT) Dead Or Alive
58 ( 41 ) TO BE OR NOT TO BE Mel Brooks
59 ( 67 ) THE GREATNESS AND PERFECTION OF LOVE Julian Cope
60 ( 58 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba

61 ( 40 ) IS THAT SO Lulu
62 ( 60 ) LET'S DANCE David Bowie
63 ( NEW ) THE REFLEX Duran Duran
64 ( NEW ) GIVE ME TONIGHT Shannon
65 ( 72 ) DON'T LOOK ANY FURTHER Dennis Edwards and Siedah Garrett
66 ( 50 ) ADULT EDUCATION Daryl Hall & John Oates
67 ( 64 ) BELIEVIN' IT ALL Steve Levine
68 ( 56 ) MY EVER CHANGING MOODS The Style Council
69 ( NEW ) WHEN YOU'RE YOUNG AND IN LOVE The Flying Picketts
70 ( RE ) FOOTLOOSE Kenny Loggins



71 ( NEW ) HERE YOU COME AGAIN Dolly Parton
72 ( 63 ) THANK YOU FOR THE MUSIC Abba
73 ( NEW ) YOU DON'T LOVE ME Marilyn
74 ( NEW ) SOUL'S ON FIRE Tracie
75 ( NEW ) SUCH A SHAME Talk Talk

TV
1 Top Of The Pops
2 Reamington Steele
3 Wogan
4 Cheers
5 Beverley Hillbillies
6 Soap
7 Phil Silvers Show
8 Hill Street Blues
9 Sullivans (3 eps)
10 Avengers

Posted by: popchartfreak 20th April 2014, 12:29 PM

24th April 1984

4 weeks for Scritti, and the final week on top of a static upper chart. Holiday season on TV, lots of films, including Mel Gibson’s first and best role in a low-budget Aussie movie, charming it was, Tim. It was all downhill after this. Even better though Jane Fonda and Lee Marvin head a fabulous cast in brilliant comedy western Cat Ballou. Loved it since I first saw it in a cinema on Southport Promenade.

It’s a German-flavoured Top 10 with Propaganda and Peter Schilling in it, and Jonathan King pops in with a cover of Major Tom, spliced together with Space Oddity. Wot a lark! Queen shoot up to 9, 10 years on from their debut in my top 10, OMD chug up to 16, Bob Marley loves us at 17 and Echo & The Bunnymen follow-up the epic Killing Moon with Silver at 19. Sandie Shaw goes Top 20 for the first time in 15 years though, so yip yip yippee.

Other newies: Kool & The Gang and a fairly high entry for one I barely recall! Alvin’s back after 2 years with a new MOR Mike Batt-written ballad. Pleasant but I’ll take earlier Alvin’s and Shane’s. Eurovision makes it mark, with the UK’s retropop entry at 55, Deniece Williams gets a great comeback from Footloose, her first for 6 years or so. Elvis Costello & New Order sneak in a bit low, but not for long..


1 ( 1 ) WOOD BEEZ (PRAY LIKE ARETHA FRANKLIN) Scritti Politti
2 ( 2 ) THE CATERPILLAR The Cure
3 ( 3 ) YOU TAKE ME UP Thompson Twins
4 ( 7 ) AUTOMATIC The Pointer Sisters
5 ( 5 ) NELSON MANDELA The Special A.K.A.
6 ( 14 ) DOCTOR MABUSE Propaganda
7 ( 9 ) MAJOR TOM (COMING HOME) Peter Schilling
8 ( 4 ) GLAD IT'S ALLOVER Captain Sensible
9 ( 32 ) I WANT TO BREAK FREE Queen
10 ( 6 ) SHE'S STRANGE Cameo



11 ( 17 ) JUST BE GOOD TO ME SOS Band
12 ( 23 ) DON'T TELL ME Blancmange
13 ( 8 ) UP ON THE CATWALK Simple Minds
14 ( 30 ) AIN'T NOBODY Rufus and Chaka Khan
15 ( 15 ) LUCKY STAR Madonna
16 ( 36 ) LOCOMOTION OMD
17 ( 46 ) ONE LOVE Bob Marley & The Wailers
18 ( 11 ) PEOPLE ARE PEOPLE Depeche Mode
19 ( NEW ) SILVER Echo And The Bunnymen
20 ( 45 ) HAND IN GLOVE Sandie Shaw



21 ( 13 ) ROBERT DE NIRO'S WAITING Bananarama
22 ( 10 ) LEAVE IT Yes
23 ( 12 ) IT'S A MIRACLE Culture Club
24 ( 20 ) HELLO Lionel Richie
25 ( 40 ) I'M FALLING The Bluebells
26 ( 26 ) SNEAKIN' OUT THE BACK DOOR Matt Bianco
27 ( 16 ) PYT (PRETTY YOUNG THING) Michael Jackson
28 ( 69 ) WHEN YOU'RE YOUNG AND IN LOVE The Flying Picketts
29 ( 19 ) CAN'T BUY ME LOVE The Beatles
30 ( NEW ) IN THE HEART Kool And The Gang

31 ( 33 ) THE LONGEST TIME Billy Joel
32 ( 18 ) BORROWED TIME John Lennon
33 ( 22 ) SOMEBODY'S WATCHING ME Rockwell
34 ( NEW ) I FEEL LIKE BUDDY HOLLY Alvin Stardust
35 ( 50 ) AGAINST ALL ODDS Phil Collins
36 ( 21 ) BABY YOU'RE DYNAMITE Cliff Richard
37 ( 61 ) IS THAT SO Lulu and B.A. Robertson
38 ( 38 ) SOMEDAY The Gap Band
39 ( 27 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
40 ( 49 ) DANCING GIRLS Nik Kershaw

41 ( 39 ) RADIO GA GA Queen
42 ( 29 ) WHAT DO I DO Phil Fearon & Galaxy
43 ( 34 ) STREET DANCE Break Machine
44 ( 75 ) SUCH A SHAME Talk Talk
45 ( 31 ) A LOVE WORTH WAITING FOR Shakin' Stevens
46 ( 35 ) OUT COME THE FREAKS Was (Not Was)
47 ( 64 ) GIVE ME TONIGHT Shannon
48 ( 42 ) MICHAEL CAINE Madness
49 ( 24 ) THE LION'S MOUTH Kajagoogoo
50 ( 63 ) THE REFLEX Duran Duran

51 ( NEW ) SPACE ODDITY/ MAJOR TOM Jonathan King
52 ( 28 ) HEAVEN The Psychedelic Furs
53 ( 52 ) BILLIE JEAN Michael Jackson
54 ( 25 ) SWIMMING HORSES Siouxsie & The Banshees
55 ( NEW ) LOVE GAMES Belle And The Devotions
56 ( 54 ) THRILLER Michael Jackson
57 ( 51 ) SOUL TRAIN Swans Way
58 ( 43 ) JUMP Van Halen
59 ( 59 ) THE GREATNESS AND PERFECTION OF LOVE Julian Cope
60 ( 60 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba

61 ( 37 ) CHERRY OH BABY UB40
62 ( 62 ) LET'S DANCE David Bowie
63 ( NEW ) HAPPY ENDING Joe Jackson
64 ( 53 ) HOLIDAY Madonna
65 ( 47 ) TIME AFTER TIME Cyndi Lauper
66 ( 70 ) FOOTLOOSE Kenny Loggins
67 ( 48 ) WOULDN'T IT BE GOOD Nik Kershaw
68 ( NEW ) LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE BOY Deniece Williams
69 ( 56 ) THE KILLING MOON Echo And The Bunnymen
70 ( NEW ) THE FLAME Annabel Lamb



71 ( 73 ) YOU DON'T LOVE ME Marilyn
72 ( 44 ) IT'S RAINING MEN The Weather Girls
73 ( NEW ) THIEVES LIKE US New Order
74 ( NEW ) PEACE IN OUR TIME The Imposter (aka Elvis Costell)
75 ( NEW ) SOMEBODY ELSE'S GUY Jocelyn Brown




TV
1 Cheers
2 Tim: Film
3 Cat Ballou: film
4 Top Of The Pops
5 Chariots Of Fire: film
6 Hill Street Blues
7 Avengers
8 Soap
9 Twilight Zone
10 Everything You Wanted To Know About Sex: film
11 Entertainment USA
12 Dallas
13 Sullivans (3 eps)
14 It Ain't Hot Mum
15 Return Of The Man From U.N.C.L.E.: TV film

Posted by: popchartfreak 21st May 2014, 02:46 PM

1st May 1984

My unemployed and increasingly depressed lifestyle started to have an effect on my music tastes around now as nearly all cheerful records drop and moody ones do all the moving, notably Human League’s comeback record The Lebanon, straight in at 1. My fave band since Abba disappeared, they had released 2 singles, both gems, since Dare in 1981 but no sign of an album. In those days 3 years away was a big deal for a pop band. No-one saw the sudden move away from synths and into electric guitars, and few liked the anti-war political message stance of the album’s lead single, but I loved it instantly, a rare case of in at 1, their 5th chart-topper in a row.

Moody Propaganda meantime go up to 2, sell him your soul lyric not very cheerful at all, but brilliant. SOS band’s also beautifully sombre but danceable hit rises to 6 and Sandie Shaw & The Smiths’ Hand In Glove gives them both their 2nd Top 10 hit, 15 years on since the last one for Sandie. Rufus and Chaka at 9, and 2 cheerful pop tunes at 4 (Queen) and 10 (OMD’s 7th top 10) all keeping out Bob Marley at 11.

Lower down, New Order steal up to 20 from 73, Duran go Top 40 with The Reflex, and new hits for Jeffrey Osbourne, the fabulous Womack & Womack’s Love Wars and the lovely Cocteau Twins Dewdrops - and nothing else! TV, though was taking refuge in romcom fantasy horror spoof Love At First Bite, a forgotten goodie starring fave actress Susan Saint James. The Rock n Roll Years series hit 1966 and started to get seriously good. Long in need of repeating and extending to the 90’s and 21st century, the series took the major news events of a year, mixed them with affecting important hits of the year, and showed a few key pop star performances, usually debuts. Quite a powerful mix.



1 ( NEW ) THE LEBANON Human League
2 ( 6 ) DOCTOR MABUSE Propaganda
3 ( 4 ) AUTOMATIC The Pointer Sisters
4 ( 9 ) I WANT TO BREAK FREE Queen
5 ( 1 ) WOOD BEEZ (PRAY LIKE ARETHA FRANKLIN) Scritti Politti
6 ( 11 ) JUST BE GOOD TO ME SOS Band
7 ( 2 ) THE CATERPILLAR The Cure
8 ( 20 ) HAND IN GLOVE Sandie Shaw
9 ( 14 ) AIN'T NOBODY Rufus and Chaka Khan
10 ( 16 ) LOCOMOTION OMD

11 ( 17 ) ONE LOVE Bob Marley & The Wailers
12 ( 19 ) SILVER Echo And The Bunnymen
13 ( 8 ) GLAD IT'S ALLOVER Captain Sensible
14 ( 3 ) YOU TAKE ME UP Thompson Twins
15 ( 7 ) MAJOR TOM (COMING HOME) Peter Schilling
16 ( 12 ) DON'T TELL ME Blancmange
17 ( 25 ) I'M FALLING The Bluebells
18 ( 28 ) WHEN YOU'RE YOUNG AND IN LOVE The Flying Picketts
19 ( 5 ) NELSON MANDELA The Special A.K.A.
20 ( 73 ) THIEVES LIKE US New Order



21 ( 34 ) I FEEL LIKE BUDDY HOLLY Alvin Stardust
22 ( 30 ) IN THE HEART Kool And The Gang
23 ( 10 ) SHE'S STRANGE Cameo
24 ( 15 ) LUCKY STAR Madonna
25 ( 18 ) PEOPLE ARE PEOPLE Depeche Mode
26 ( 24 ) HELLO Lionel Richie
27 ( 35 ) AGAINST ALL ODDS Phil Collins
28 ( 13 ) UP ON THE CATWALK Simple Minds
29 ( 22 ) LEAVE IT Yes
30 ( 31 ) THE LONGEST TIME Billy Joel

31 ( 21 ) ROBERT DE NIRO'S WAITING Bananarama
32 ( 26 ) SNEAKIN' OUT THE BACK DOOR Matt Bianco
33 ( 23 ) IT'S A MIRACLE Culture Club
34 ( 50 ) THE REFLEX Duran Duran
35 ( 47 ) GIVE ME TONIGHT Shannon
36 ( 27 ) PYT (PRETTY YOUNG THING) Michael Jackson
37 ( 74 ) PEACE IN OUR TIME The Imposter (aka Elvis Costello)
38 ( 33 ) SOMEBODY'S WATCHING ME Rockwell
39 ( 29 ) CAN'T BUY ME LOVE The Beatles
40 ( 44 ) SUCH A SHAME Talk Talk

41 ( 39 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
42 ( 75 ) SOMEBODY ELSE'S GUY Jocelyn Brown
43 ( 41 ) RADIO GA GA Queen
44 ( NEW ) STAY WITH ME TONIGHT Jeffrey Osbourne
45 ( 40 ) DANCING GIRLS Nik Kershaw
46 ( 51 ) SPACE ODDITY/ MAJOR TOM Jonathan King
47 ( 32 ) BORROWED TIME John Lennon
48 ( 37 ) IS THAT SO Lulu and B.A. Robertson
49 ( 55 ) LOVE GAMES Belle And The Devotions
50 ( 36 ) BABY YOU'RE DYNAMITE Cliff Richard

51 ( 38 ) SOMEDAY The Gap Band
52 ( 63 ) HAPPY ENDING Joe Jackson
53 ( 53 ) BILLIE JEAN Michael Jackson
54 ( 43 ) STREET DANCE Break Machine
55 ( 46 ) OUT COME THE FREAKS Was (Not Was)
56 ( 48 ) MICHAEL CAINE Madness
57 ( NEW ) LOVE WARS Womack & Womack
58 ( 68 ) LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE BOY Deniece Williams
59 ( 45 ) A LOVE WORTH WAITING FOR Shakin' Stevens
60 ( 60 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba



61 ( 56 ) THRILLER Michael Jackson
62 ( 62 ) LET'S DANCE David Bowie
63 ( 42 ) WHAT DO I DO Phil Fearon & Galaxy
64 ( 66 ) FOOTLOOSE Kenny Loggins
65 ( NEW ) PEARLY DEWDROPS' DROPS The Cocteau Twins
66 ( 57 ) SOUL TRAIN Swans Way
67 ( 64 ) HOLIDAY Madonna
68 ( 71 ) YOU DON'T LOVE ME Marilyn
69 ( 49 ) THE LION'S MOUTH Kajagoogoo
70 ( 70 ) THE FLAME Annabel Lamb



71 ( 54 ) SWIMMING HORSES Siouxsie & The Banshees
72 ( 52 ) HEAVEN The Psychedelic Furs
73 ( 69 ) THE KILLING MOON Echo And The Bunnymen
74 ( 59 ) THE GREATNESS AND PERFECTION OF LOVE Julian Cope
75 ( 58 ) JUMP Van Halen

TV
1 Love At First Bite (film)
2 Cheers
3 Reamington Steele
4 Soap
5 Rock n Roll Years: 1966
6 Porridge
7 Top Of The Pops
8 Avengers
9 Dallas
10 It Ain't Half Hot Mum

Posted by: popchartfreak 21st May 2014, 03:38 PM

8th May 1984

Eurovision week, and Belle & The Devotions UK entry reaches the lofty heights of 40. No other entries in the chart though, as was the usual case in those days until they had official singles release (usually never). Human League 2 weeks on top, the top 10 shuffles a bit, barring Bob Marley getting his 4th posthumous Top 10, and 7th in total (though 2 of them did it twice, so 9th time). New Order up to 7, Duran at 12, Womacks at 19 up from 57, and Cocteua’s up to 31 from 65. Not one single big hit enters this week though, leaving room for obscure tracks: Edwin Starr’s tribute to late friend Marvin gaye highest new track at 57.

DJ Mike Read tried many times to get a hit, well he sort of got one in my chart at 65, Pink Floyder Roger Waters does a solo weighing up of the pro’s and con’s of thumbing a lift at 66, and the Shillelagh Sisters get their only hit at 67. Jacquie O’Sullivan of the band (sort of folkrockabilly) became better known when she joined Bananarama.

1 ( 1 ) THE LEBANON Human League
2 ( 3 ) AUTOMATIC The Pointer Sisters
3 ( 4 ) I WANT TO BREAK FREE Queen
4 ( 6 ) JUST BE GOOD TO ME SOS Band
5 ( 8 ) HAND IN GLOVE Sandie Shaw
6 ( 11 ) ONE LOVE Bob Marley & The Wailers
7 ( 20 ) THIEVES LIKE US New Order
8 ( 10 ) LOCOMOTION OMD
9 ( 2 ) DOCTOR MABUSE Propaganda
10 ( 5 ) WOOD BEEZ (PRAY LIKE ARETHA FRANKLIN) Scritti Politti

11 ( 12 ) SILVER Echo And The Bunnymen
12 ( 34 ) THE REFLEX Duran Duran
13 ( 23 ) SHE'S STRANGE Cameo
14 ( 17 ) I'M FALLING The Bluebells
15 ( 9 ) AIN'T NOBODY Rufus and Chaka Khan
16 ( 16 ) DON'T TELL ME Blancmange
17 ( 7 ) THE CATERPILLAR The Cure
18 ( 21 ) I FEEL LIKE BUDDY HOLLY Alvin Stardust
19 ( 57 ) LOVE WARS Womack & Womack
20 ( 15 ) MAJOR TOM (COMING HOME) Peter Schilling

21 ( 13 ) GLAD IT'S ALLOVER Captain Sensible
22 ( 14 ) YOU TAKE ME UP Thompson Twins
23 ( 26 ) HELLO Lionel Richie
24 ( 44 ) STAY WITH ME TONIGHT Jeffrey Osbourne
25 ( 19 ) NELSON MANDELA The Special A.K.A.
26 ( 35 ) GIVE ME TONIGHT Shannon
27 ( 27 ) AGAINST ALL ODDS Phil Collins
28 ( 30 ) THE LONGEST TIME Billy Joel
29 ( 18 ) WHEN YOU'RE YOUNG AND IN LOVE The Flying Picketts
30 ( 42 ) SOMEBODY ELSE'S GUY Jocelyn Brown

31 ( 65 ) PEARLY DEWDROPS' DROPS The Cocteau Twins
32 ( 32 ) SNEAKIN' OUT THE BACK DOOR Matt Bianco
33 ( 64 ) FOOTLOOSE Kenny Loggins
34 ( 40 ) SUCH A SHAME Talk Talk
35 ( 28 ) UP ON THE CATWALK Simple Minds
36 ( 22 ) IN THE HEART Kool And The Gang
37 ( 37 ) PEACE IN OUR TIME The Imposter (aka Elvis Costell)
38 ( 29 ) LEAVE IT Yes
39 ( 58 ) LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE BOY Deniece Williams
40 ( 49 ) LOVE GAMES Belle And The Devotions

41 ( 41 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
42 ( 25 ) PEOPLE ARE PEOPLE Depeche Mode
43 ( 68 ) YOU DON'T LOVE ME Marilyn
44 ( 46 ) SPACE ODDITY/ MAJOR TOM Jonathan King
45 ( 33 ) IT'S A MIRACLE Culture Club
46 ( 38 ) SOMEBODY'S WATCHING ME Rockwell
47 ( 36 ) PYT (PRETTY YOUNG THING) Michael Jackson
48 ( 24 ) LUCKY STAR Madonna
49 ( 31 ) ROBERT DE NIRO'S WAITING Bananarama
50 ( 43 ) RADIO GA GA Queen

51 ( 45 ) DANCING GIRLS Nik Kershaw
52 ( 39 ) CAN'T BUY ME LOVE The Beatles
53 ( 53 ) BILLIE JEAN Michael Jackson
54 ( 52 ) HAPPY ENDING Joe Jackson
55 ( 55 ) OUT COME THE FREAKS Was (Not Was)
56 ( 47 ) BORROWED TIME John Lennon
57 ( NEW ) MARVIN Edwin Starr
58 ( 60 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
59 ( 54 ) STREET DANCE Break Machine
60 ( 56 ) MICHAEL CAINE Madness

61 ( 61 ) THRILLER Michael Jackson
62 ( 62 ) LET'S DANCE David Bowie
63 ( 48 ) IS THAT SO Lulu and B.A. Robertson
64 ( 59 ) A LOVE WORTH WAITING FOR Shakin' Stevens
65 ( NEW ) TELL ME I'M WRONG Mike Read
66 ( NEW ) THE PRO'S AND CON'S OF HITCH-HIKING Roger Waters
67 ( NEW ) GIVE ME MY FREEDOM The Shillelagh Sisters
68 ( 50 ) BABY YOU'RE DYNAMITE Cliff Richard
69 ( 67 ) HOLIDAY Madonna
70 ( NEW ) AIN'T THAT PECULIAR Mari Wilson

71 ( 75 ) JUMP Van Halen
72 ( NEW ) STANDING IN THE SHADOW Whitesnake
73 ( 66 ) SOUL TRAIN Swans Way
74 ( NEW ) UPROCK The Rocksteady Crew
75 ( 63 ) WHAT DO I DO Phil Fearon & Galaxy


no decent new videos this week so here's University Challenge...sort of!



TV
1 The Young Ones: Bambi
2 Cheers
3 The Sugarland Express (film)
4 Soap
5 Carrott's Lib
6 Dallas
7 Top Of The Pops
8 Porridge
9 Hill Street Blues
10 Empire
11 Laurel & Hardy
12 Entertainment USA
13 Addams Family
14 Eurovision Song Contest
15 It Ain't Half Hot Mum

Posted by: popchartfreak 22nd May 2014, 06:41 PM

15th May 1984

3 weeks on top for The Lebanon, and 2 at 2 for Automatic, while Duran get the their biggest hit to date at 3 (The Reflex). Womacks go top 10 for the first time (and not the last) while Alvin gets his, ooh, 5th Top 10 in 11 years, and his first for 3 years. It's a Womble record, essentially. He's a Mansfield lad though, and our only pop star ever, so have to support him. Elsewhere, 2 Footloose tracks side by side (16, 17) which meant nothing to me as I never went to see it. Billy Joel gets another top 20 hit, the pleasant Longest Time, and highest new entry is a dance cover of a great Detroit Spinners non-hit from 1972, I'll Be Around.

Hazell Dean debuts with a gay club anthem of the time, Stock Aitken Waterman starting to make themselves chart regulars. That's about it, actually, below that it's just shuffling of positions and some bizarre new entries underline nothing much was happening on the music scene for the second week in a row. I mean, Roland Rat? Marillion? Kajagoogoo!? At least Boomtown Rats, Kane Gang, and Melody Makers (Bob Marley's kids joining him in the chart) add a tad more credibility...


1 ( 1 ) THE LEBANON Human League
2 ( 2 ) AUTOMATIC The Pointer Sisters
3 ( 12 ) THE REFLEX Duran Duran
4 ( 3 ) I WANT TO BREAK FREE Queen
5 ( 6 ) ONE LOVE Bob Marley & The Wailers
6 ( 4 ) JUST BE GOOD TO ME SOS Band
7 ( 19 ) LOVE WARS Womack & Womack
8 ( 18 ) I FEEL LIKE BUDDY HOLLY Alvin Stardust
9 ( 5 ) HAND IN GLOVE Sandie Shaw
10 ( 16 ) DON'T TELL ME Blancmange



11 ( 24 ) STAY WITH ME TONIGHT Jeffrey Osbourne
12 ( 7 ) THIEVES LIKE US New Order
13 ( 10 ) WOOD BEEZ (PRAY LIKE ARETHA FRANKLIN) Scritti Politti
14 ( 9 ) DOCTOR MABUSE Propaganda
15 ( 8 ) LOCOMOTION OMD
16 ( 39 ) LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE BOY Deniece Williams
17 ( 33 ) FOOTLOOSE Kenny Loggins
18 ( 15 ) AIN'T NOBODY Rufus and Chaka Khan
19 ( 28 ) THE LONGEST TIME Billy Joel
20 ( 30 ) SOMEBODY ELSE'S GUY Jocelyn Brown



21 ( 14 ) I'M FALLING The Bluebells
22 ( 13 ) SHE'S STRANGE Cameo
23 ( 20 ) MAJOR TOM (COMING HOME) Peter Schilling
24 ( 27 ) AGAINST ALL ODDS Phil Collins
25 ( 21 ) GLAD IT'S ALLOVER Captain Sensible
26 ( 17 ) THE CATERPILLAR The Cure
27 ( NEW ) I'LL BE AROUND Terri Wells
28 ( 23 ) HELLO Lionel Richie
29 ( NEW ) SEARCHING Hazell Dean
30 ( 11 ) SILVER Echo And The Bunnymen



31 ( 31 ) PEARLY DEWDROPS' DROPS The Cocteau Twins
32 ( 29 ) WHEN YOU'RE YOUNG AND IN LOVE The Flying Picketts
33 ( 22 ) YOU TAKE ME UP Thompson Twins
34 ( 25 ) NELSON MANDELA The Special A.K.A.
35 ( 41 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
36 ( 43 ) YOU DON'T LOVE ME Marilyn
37 ( 26 ) GIVE ME TONIGHT Shannon
38 ( 40 ) LOVE GAMES Belle And The Devotions
39 ( 32 ) SNEAKIN' OUT THE BACK DOOR Matt Bianco
40 ( 44 ) SPACE ODDITY/ MAJOR TOM Jonathan King

41 ( 37 ) PEACE IN OUR TIME The Imposter (aka Elvis Costell)
42 ( 35 ) UP ON THE CATWALK Simple Minds
43 ( 36 ) IN THE HEART Kool And The Gang
44 ( 38 ) LEAVE IT Yes
45 ( 34 ) SUCH A SHAME Talk Talk
46 ( 46 ) SOMEBODY'S WATCHING ME Rockwell
47 ( 45 ) IT'S A MIRACLE Culture Club
48 ( 48 ) LUCKY STAR Madonna
49 ( 50 ) RADIO GA GA Queen
50 ( 57 ) MARVIN Edwin Starr

51 ( 42 ) PEOPLE ARE PEOPLE Depeche Mode
52 ( 47 ) PYT (PRETTY YOUNG THING) Michael Jackson
53 ( 53 ) BILLIE JEAN Michael Jackson
54 ( 72 ) STANDING IN THE SHADOW Whitesnake
55 ( 49 ) ROBERT DE NIRO'S WAITING Bananarama
56 ( 65 ) TELL ME I'M WRONG Mike Read
57 ( 70 ) AIN'T THAT PECULIAR Mari Wilson
58 ( 58 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
59 ( NEW ) DON'T LET GO Wang Chung
60 ( 51 ) DANCING GIRLS Nik Kershaw

61 ( 62 ) LET'S DANCE David Bowie
62 ( 61 ) THRILLER Michael Jackson
63 ( 63 ) IS THAT SO Lulu and B.A. Robertson
64 ( NEW ) TURN YOUR BACK ON ME Kajagoogoo
65 ( 52 ) CAN'T BUY ME LOVE The Beatles
66 ( NEW ) SHE'S TROUBLE Musical Youth
67 ( 60 ) MICHAEL CAINE Madness
68 ( NEW ) DRAG ME DOWN The Boomtown Rats
69 ( NEW ) LOVE ME TENDER Roland Rat
70 ( NEW ) SWEETEST SWEETEST Jermaine Jackson




71 ( NEW ) ASSASSING Marillion
72 ( 55 ) OUT COME THE FREAKS Was (Not Was)
73 ( NEW ) MET HER ON A RAINT DAY The Melody Makers
74 ( NEW ) BREAK DANCE PARTY Break Machine
75 ( NEW ) SMALL TOWN CREED The Kane Gang

TV
1 Cheers
2 The Young Ones: Bambi
3 The Young Ones
4 Dallas
5 Hill Street Blues
6 Addams Family
7 Soap
8 Porridge
9 Man About The House
10 Top Of The Pops

11. Avengers
12. Professionals
13. Empire
14. Batman
15. Automan
16. Rockford Files
17. It Ain’t Half Hot Mum
18. Sullivans
19. Entertainment USA
20. 8 Days A week

Posted by: popchartfreak 24th May 2014, 02:25 PM

22nd May 1984

4th and final week on top for The Lebanon, 3rd week at 2 for Automatic, 2nd week at 3 for Reflex. Elsewhere, though, the lethargy is blown apart with 15 substantial new entries headed by Elton John at 10 with Sad Songs, his first single after his Too Low For Zero album success and a run of great singles off it. Pleasant enough, though the video helped it’s high chart placing a bit.

in at 17, an instant success for new jazzy-folk duo Everything But The Girl and their fab ballad Each And Every One, while Wham! shift up a pop gear and start sticking shuttlecocks in pants and gogoing, in at 20 for their 5th hit. Howard Jones gets his 4th, Ultravox their 4th year of chart hits, non-stop, and Chris De Burgh is actually back after his flirtation with a ferryman in 1977, telling us he’s high on emotion. His best record. By far. Not saying a great deal, I grant, but it’s true.

Style Council enter at 35 with the gorgeous, summery You’re The Best Thing, giving Paul Weller 7 years of hits non-stop, while Bruce Springsteen comes back again at 38 and Dancing In The Dark, his best record since Born To Run debuted in my chart in 1975, and certainly his most commercial and he finally gives in and does a great video with both Courtney Cox and some tight jeans. Others new in: Quo (over 10 years of hits), Bananarama, Nick Heyward, Imagination, Eddy Grant (15 years of hits, with the Equals) and a fun movie soundtrack theme song in Romancing The Stone, Helen Terry ex of Culture Club backing singering, Evelyn “No Champaign” King back after 5 years with a new club sound that was hitting big - HiNRG. The BPM’s were set to max and a new genre stretching through to 2014 influences was chartborn.

Finally, Rod’s back, 11 years on from Maggie May and hitting the right dancerock buttons with Infatuation, and Sade’s follow-up to their (or her) debut is even better, sultry jazz was back in fashion. Or cocktail music, if you’re less enamoured of it. On TV, with Dallas only beaten by Cheers, I’m assuming this was the season end JR-shot episode where the scheming bitchy quips and ensuing camp hilarity were flying. I bet it was Kristin....


1 ( 1 ) THE LEBANON Human League
2 ( 2 ) AUTOMATIC The Pointer Sisters
3 ( 3 ) THE REFLEX Duran Duran
4 ( 7 ) LOVE WARS Womack & Womack
5 ( 8 ) I FEEL LIKE BUDDY HOLLY Alvin Stardust
6 ( 6 ) JUST BE GOOD TO ME SOS Band
7 ( 4 ) I WANT TO BREAK FREE Queen
8 ( 16 ) LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE BOY Deniece Williams
9 ( 11 ) STAY WITH ME TONIGHT Jeffrey Osbourne
10 ( NEW ) SAD SONGS (SAY SO MUCH) Elton John



11 ( 5 ) ONE LOVE Bob Marley & The Wailers
12 ( 10 ) DON'T TELL ME Blancmange
13 ( 29 ) SEARCHING Hazell Dean
14 ( 9 ) HAND IN GLOVE Sandie Shaw
15 ( 17 ) FOOTLOOSE Kenny Loggins
16 ( 20 ) SOMEBODY ELSE'S GUY Jocelyn Brown
17 ( NEW ) EACH AND EVERY ONE Everything But The Girl
18 ( 18 ) AIN'T NOBODY Rufus and Chaka Khan
19 ( 19 ) THE LONGEST TIME Billy Joel
20 ( NEW ) WAKE ME UP BEFORE YOU GOGO Wham!



21 ( 13 ) WOOD BEEZ (PRAY LIKE ARETHA FRANKLIN) Scritti Politti
22 ( 12 ) THIEVES LIKE US New Order
23 ( 27 ) I'LL BE AROUND Terri Wells
24 ( 15 ) LOCOMOTION OMD
25 ( 14 ) DOCTOR MABUSE Propaganda
26 ( 24 ) AGAINST ALL ODDS Phil Collins
27 ( 74 ) BREAK DANCE PARTY Break Machine
28 ( NEW ) PEARL IN THE SHELL Howard Jones
29 ( NEW ) DANCING WITH TEARS IN MY EYES Ultravox
30 ( 23 ) MAJOR TOM (COMING HOME) Peter Schilling



31 ( NEW ) HIGH ON EMOTION Chris De Burgh
32 ( 22 ) SHE'S STRANGE Cameo
33 ( 36 ) YOU DON'T LOVE ME Marilyn
34 ( 25 ) GLAD IT'S ALLOVER Captain Sensible
35 ( NEW ) YOU'RE THE BEST THING The Style Council
36 ( 71 ) ASSASSING Marillion
37 ( 28 ) HELLO Lionel Richie
38 ( NEW ) DANCING IN THE DARK Bruce Springsteen
39 ( 26 ) THE CATERPILLAR The Cure
40 ( NEW ) ROUGH JUSTICE Bananarama

41 ( 35 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
42 ( NEW ) GOING DOWNTOWN TONIGHT Status Quo
43 ( 21 ) I'M FALLING The Bluebells
44 ( 57 ) AIN'T THAT PECULIAR Mari Wilson
45 ( 69 ) LOVE ME TENDER Roland Rat
46 ( 42 ) UP ON THE CATWALK Simple Minds
47 ( 32 ) WHEN YOU'RE YOUNG AND IN LOVE The Flying Picketts
48 ( 50 ) MARVIN Edwin Starr
49 ( 46 ) SOMEBODY'S WATCHING ME Rockwell
50 ( 33 ) YOU TAKE ME UP Thompson Twins

51 ( 49 ) RADIO GA GA Queen
52 ( 59 ) DON'T LET GO Wang Chung
53 ( 53 ) BILLIE JEAN Michael Jackson
54 ( 64 ) TURN YOUR BACK ON ME Kajagoogoo
55 ( 47 ) IT'S A MIRACLE Culture Club
56 ( 68 ) DRAG ME DOWN The Boomtown Rats
57 ( NEW ) LOVE ALL DAY Nick Heyward
58 ( 34 ) NELSON MANDELA The Special A.K.A.
59 ( 66 ) SHE'S TROUBLE Musical Youth
60 ( NEW ) STATE OF LOVE Imagination

61 ( 58 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
62 ( 39 ) SNEAKIN' OUT THE BACK DOOR Matt Bianco
63 ( 61 ) LET'S DANCE David Bowie
64 ( 62 ) THRILLER Michael Jackson
65 ( NEW ) INFATUATION Rod Stewart
66 ( 44 ) LEAVE IT Yes
67 ( 31 ) PEARLY DEWDROPS' DROPS The Cocteau Twins
68 ( NEW ) WHEN AM I GOING TO MAKE A LIVING Sade
69 ( 70 ) SWEETEST SWEETEST Jermaine Jackson
70 ( 51 ) PEOPLE ARE PEOPLE Depeche Mode



71 ( 48 ) LUCKY STAR Madonna
72 ( 52 ) PYT (PRETTY YOUNG THING) Michael Jackson
73 ( NEW ) ROMANCING THE STONE Eddy Grant
74 ( NEW ) LOVE LIES LOST Helen Terry
75 ( NEW ) HIGH ENERGY Evelyn King

TV
1 Cheers
2 Dallas
3 Hill Street Blues
4 Scully
5 Soap
6 Addams Family
7 Professionals
8 Twilight Zone
9 Avengers
10 Top Of The Pops
11 Porridge
12 Entertainment USA
13 Empire
14 Spitting Image
15 Batman (film)
16 Rockford Files
17 Upstairs Downstairs
18 8 Days A Week
19 Automan
20 Sullivans

Posted by: popchartfreak 24th May 2014, 03:06 PM

29th May 1984

The chart goes bezerk, huge climbs, huge drops and I’d say it’s mood-related as sombre and aggressive gives way to mellow and sad, predominantly. Headed by The Style Council’s huge climb from 35 to 1, their one and only chart-topper having come close twice already, though of course Paul Weller did it with the Jam in 1980, Going Underground. EBTG get their first Top 5 hit (but not their last...) and Elton gets his 3rd in a year, and 13 years of them to date.

More surprising Marillion get a top 20 hit again, Evelyn King goes top 20 for the first time, Rod shoots up 40 places, Boomtown rats go Top 30 with a record that flopped everywhere (but I saw them do live in concert and it sounded great, just as they did), and the Pretenders are the highest new entry at 28 with an an obscure soul classic, the lovely Thin Line Between Love & Hate.

Sade and Jermaine Jackson both get big jumps into the 40, Jermaine’s first for 4 years, though of course he’d done it with the Jackson 5 many times in the 70’s. 70’s Philly soul legends the O’Jays get a return after a gap of a few years, as do Manfred Mann’s Earthband, both having had chart-toppers in the 70’s and a run of hits going back to 1972 and 1968 (as Manfred Mann) respectively. The Smiths 3rd single sneaks in, if only Morrissey had known the title would become his personal signature tune. Rumours that he will star in a remake of One Foot In The Grave are started here - I DON’T believe it! Sister Sledge meanwhile have a comeback 4 years on from their Chic-produced classic-era having come to a close...thanks to the B side of Lost In Music finally getting to be the hit it deserved to be in the first place. Yes, then, as now, Nile Rodgers was so prolific he could afford to give away some of his best songs...
Finally, it’s a number 75 peak for the Eurovision winner of 1984. That’s MUCH higher than it deserved!



1 ( 35 ) YOU'RE THE BEST THING The Style Council
2 ( 4 ) LOVE WARS Womack & Womack
3 ( 1 ) THE LEBANON Human League
4 ( 17 ) EACH AND EVERY ONE Everything But The Girl
5 ( 10 ) SAD SONGS (SAY SO MUCH) Elton John
6 ( 8 ) LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE BOY Deniece Williams
7 ( 3 ) THE REFLEX Duran Duran
8 ( 2 ) AUTOMATIC The Pointer Sisters
9 ( 5 ) I FEEL LIKE BUDDY HOLLY Alvin Stardust
10 ( 13 ) SEARCHING Hazell Dean



11 ( 6 ) JUST BE GOOD TO ME SOS Band
12 ( 20 ) WAKE ME UP BEFORE YOU GOGO Wham!
13 ( 28 ) PEARL IN THE SHELL Howard Jones
14 ( 7 ) I WANT TO BREAK FREE Queen
15 ( 29 ) DANCING WITH TEARS IN MY EYES Ultravox
16 ( 36 ) ASSASSING Marillion
17 ( 75 ) HIGH ENERGY Evelyn King
18 ( 9 ) STAY WITH ME TONIGHT Jeffrey Osbourne
19 ( 11 ) ONE LOVE Bob Marley & The Wailers
20 ( 23 ) I'LL BE AROUND Terri Wells




21 ( 38 ) DANCING IN THE DARK Bruce Springsteen
22 ( 12 ) DON'T TELL ME Blancmange
23 ( 27 ) BREAK DANCE PARTY Break Machine
24 ( 14 ) HAND IN GLOVE Sandie Shaw
25 ( 65 ) INFATUATION Rod Stewart
26 ( 18 ) AIN'T NOBODY Rufus and Chaka Khan
27 ( 57 ) LOVE ALL DAY Nick Heyward
28 ( NEW ) THIN LINE BETWEEN LOVE AND HATE The Pretenders
29 ( 15 ) FOOTLOOSE Kenny Loggins
30 ( 56 ) DRAG ME DOWN The Boomtown Rats



31 ( 31 ) HIGH ON EMOTION Chris De Burgh
32 ( 21 ) WOOD BEEZ (PRAY LIKE ARETHA FRANKLIN) Scritti Politti
33 ( 40 ) ROUGH JUSTICE Bananarama
34 ( 26 ) AGAINST ALL ODDS Phil Collins
35 ( 16 ) SOMEBODY ELSE'S GUY Jocelyn Brown
36 ( 25 ) DOCTOR MABUSE Propaganda
37 ( 68 ) WHEN AM I GOING TO MAKE A LIVING Sade
38 ( 42 ) GOING DOWNTOWN TONIGHT Status Quo
39 ( 24 ) LOCOMOTION OMD
40 ( 69 ) SWEETEST SWEETEST Jermaine Jackson

41 ( 41 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
42 ( 22 ) THIEVES LIKE US New Order
43 ( 32 ) SHE'S STRANGE Cameo
44 ( NEW ) TOO MUCH TROUBLE Limahl
45 ( 19 ) THE LONGEST TIME Billy Joel
46 ( NEW ) SUSANNA The Art Company
47 ( 34 ) GLAD IT'S ALLOVER Captain Sensible
48 ( 33 ) YOU DON'T LOVE ME Marilyn
49 ( 30 ) MAJOR TOM (COMING HOME) Peter Schilling
50 ( NEW ) THE RUNNER Manfred Mann's Earthband

51 ( 39 ) THE CATERPILLAR The Cure
52 ( 52 ) DON'T LET GO Wang Chung
53 ( 49 ) SOMEBODY'S WATCHING ME Rockwell
54 ( 53 ) BILLIE JEAN Michael Jackson
55 ( NEW ) HEAVEN KNOWS I'M MISERABLE NOW The Smiths
56 ( 51 ) RADIO GA GA Queen
57 ( NEW ) EXTRAORDINARY GIRL The O'Jays
58 ( 60 ) STATE OF LOVE Imagination
59 ( 59 ) SHE'S TROUBLE Musical Youth
60 ( 46 ) UP ON THE CATWALK Simple Minds

61 ( 61 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
62 ( 37 ) HELLO Lionel Richie
63 ( 63 ) LET'S DANCE David Bowie
64 ( 45 ) LOVE ME TENDER Roland Rat
65 ( 64 ) THRILLER Michael Jackson
66 ( 55 ) IT'S A MIRACLE Culture Club
67 ( 44 ) AIN'T THAT PECULIAR Mari Wilson
68 ( 43 ) I'M FALLING The Bluebells
69 ( 58 ) NELSON MANDELA The Special A.K.A.
70 ( 74 ) LOVE LIES LOST Helen Terry

71 ( 48 ) MARVIN Edwin Starr
72 ( 73 ) ROMANCING THE STONE Eddy Grant
73 ( 50 ) YOU TAKE ME UP Thompson Twins
74 ( NEW ) THINKING OF YOU Sister Sledge
75 ( NEW ) DIGGI LOO DIGGI LEY Hereys

TV
1 The Young Ones: Nasty
2 An Audience With Joan Rivers
3 Cheers
4 Soap
5 Scully
6 Hill Street Blues
7 Avengers
8 Addams Family
9 Private Benjamin (film)
10 Top Of The Pops
11 Morecambe & Wise Christmas Show 1971
12 Professionals
13 Porridge
14 Entertainment USA
15 Spitting Image

Posted by: popchartfreak 14th June 2014, 02:44 PM

5th June 1984

2 weeks for jazzy Style Council, heading a laid-back upper-chart, matching the sunny summer of ’84, and in contrast to my increasingly low self-worth, depression and feelings of failure, sitting in my lonely bedroom. I hadn’t quite started banging my head on the walls in frustration at my mental state, but it wasn’t far off. Happy days...

The gorgeous Everything But The Girl at 2 give a truly jazzy Top 10, with Sade leaping to 9 to underline it. A bit of raunchy dance was my other main theme of the time, Evelyn Thomas pushing up the bpm’s at 5, and Rod rockin’ it dance-wise with the under-rated Infatuation shooting up to 8. Howard Jones gets a 4th Top 10 in a row, The Smiths get 3 Top 20’s in a row as Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now (Oh how that was my anthem of the time!) shoots up to 16.

Bruce, Chrissie and Nick Heyward all get another Top 20 hit, Bruce’s first for 3 years, and 9 years on from Born To Run’s debut. Highest new entry meanwhile is Madness, uncharacteristically with a ballad, One Better Day at 32, just ahead of newie from Siouxsie and oldie from Jacko - yet another reissued Motown classic to join his other tracks. He was quite big in 1984. Sister Sledge’s oldie also joins him in the 40.

Elsewhere, a classic debut from Bronski Beat, and an outright in-ya-face gay-themed video and song, hi-NRG and fab, Smalltown Boy at 42. TV movie Sgt Matlovich was also a TV first based on a true story of a gay soldier getting booted out of the US Air Force for being gay. Ozzy’s a bit tired at 47, not surprising as he hadn’t stopped partying since Paranoid, 14 years earlier. Gary Glitter makes a comeback on the back of being a big live touring draw. I saw him most Christmas or New Years Eves in the 80’s, and a good time was had by all, it was a massive party. Dance Me Up was the most glam-sounding single he’d done for some years, though not up to the 70’s stuff.

OMD were also back with yet another great single, Talking Loud And Clear at 74, Scritti’s follow-up to a chart-topper, Absolutely at 69, and Spandau go all smooth (and largely bland) at 65 with Only When You Leave. Finally David “Japan” Sylvian has a red guitar at 75. On TV, dropping from last week’s number one, The Young Ones have guest Jennifer Saunders as a murderess (in reality Ade Edmonson’s other half), and I can’t let it go without comment on the tragic passing of Rik Mayall, comedy hero of the 80’s and 90’s, beloved of many of that generation. So sad.


1 ( 1 ) YOU'RE THE BEST THING The Style Council
2 ( 4 ) EACH AND EVERY ONE Everything But The Girl
3 ( 2 ) LOVE WARS Womack & Womack
4 ( 5 ) SAD SONGS (SAY SO MUCH) Elton John
5 ( 17 ) HIGH ENERGY Evelyn King
6 ( 3 ) THE LEBANON Human League
7 ( 6 ) LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE BOY Deniece Williams
8 ( 25 ) INFATUATION Rod Stewart
9 ( 37 ) WHEN AM I GOING TO MAKE A LIVING Sade
10 ( 13 ) PEARL IN THE SHELL Howard Jones



11 ( 7 ) THE REFLEX Duran Duran
12 ( 15 ) DANCING WITH TEARS IN MY EYES Ultravox
13 ( 10 ) SEARCHING Hazell Dean
14 ( 12 ) WAKE ME UP BEFORE YOU GOGO Wham!
15 ( 8 ) AUTOMATIC The Pointer Sisters
16 ( 55 ) HEAVEN KNOWS I'M MISERABLE NOW The Smiths
17 ( 21 ) DANCING IN THE DARK Bruce Springsteen
18 ( 9 ) I FEEL LIKE BUDDY HOLLY Alvin Stardust
19 ( 27 ) LOVE ALL DAY Nick Heyward
20 ( 28 ) THIN LINE BETWEEN LOVE AND HATE The Pretenders



21 ( 11 ) JUST BE GOOD TO ME SOS Band
22 ( 14 ) I WANT TO BREAK FREE Queen
23 ( 30 ) DRAG ME DOWN The Boomtown Rats
24 ( 31 ) HIGH ON EMOTION Chris De Burgh
25 ( 16 ) ASSASSING Marillion
26 ( 19 ) ONE LOVE Bob Marley & The Wailers
27 ( 74 ) THINKING OF YOU Sister Sledge
28 ( 18 ) STAY WITH ME TONIGHT Jeffrey Osbourne
29 ( 20 ) I'LL BE AROUND Terri Wells
30 ( 44 ) TOO MUCH TROUBLE Limahl

31 ( 26 ) AIN'T NOBODY Rufus and Chaka Khan
32 ( NEW ) ONE BETTER DAY Madness
33 ( 33 ) ROUGH JUSTICE Bananarama
34 ( 38 ) GOING DOWNTOWN TONIGHT Status Quo
35 ( 34 ) AGAINST ALL ODDS Phil Collins
36 ( 22 ) DON'T TELL ME Blancmange
37 ( NEW ) FAREWELL MY SUMMER LOVE Michael Jackson
38 ( 36 ) DOCTOR MABUSE Propaganda
39 ( 24 ) HAND IN GLOVE Sandie Shaw
40 ( NEW ) DAZZLE Siouxsie And The Banshees

41 ( 32 ) WOOD BEEZ (PRAY LIKE ARETHA FRANKLIN) Scritti Politti
42 ( NEW ) SMALLTOWN BOY Bronski Beat
43 ( 41 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
44 ( 29 ) FOOTLOOSE Kenny Loggins
45 ( 23 ) BREAK DANCE PARTY Break Machine
46 ( 46 ) SUSANNA The Art Company
47 ( NEW ) SO TIRED Ozzy Osbourne
48 ( 39 ) LOCOMOTION OMD
49 ( 35 ) SOMEBODY ELSE'S GUY Jocelyn Brown
50 ( 50 ) THE RUNNER Manfred Mann's Earthband



51 ( 43 ) SHE'S STRANGE Cameo
52 ( 52 ) DON'T LET GO Wang Chung
53 ( 42 ) THIEVES LIKE US New Order
54 ( 54 ) BILLIE JEAN Michael Jackson
55 ( NEW ) DANCE ME UP Gary Glitter
56 ( 53 ) SOMEBODY'S WATCHING ME Rockwell
57 ( 57 ) EXTRAORDINARY GIRL The O'Jays
58 ( 47 ) GLAD IT'S ALLOVER Captain Sensible
59 ( 49 ) MAJOR TOM (COMING HOME) Peter Schilling
60 ( 56 ) RADIO GA GA Queen

61 ( 61 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
62 ( 64 ) LOVE ME TENDER Roland Rat
63 ( 63 ) LET'S DANCE David Bowie
64 ( 51 ) THE CATERPILLAR The Cure
65 ( NEW ) ONLY WHEN YOU LEAVE Spandau Ballet
66 ( 65 ) THRILLER Michael Jackson
67 ( 40 ) SWEETEST SWEETEST Jermaine Jackson
68 ( 60 ) UP ON THE CATWALK Simple Minds
69 ( NEW ) ABSOLUTELY Scritti Politti
70 ( 70 ) LOVE LIES LOST Helen Terry

71 ( 45 ) THE LONGEST TIME Billy Joel
72 ( 66 ) IT'S A MIRACLE Culture Club
73 ( NEW ) TALKING LOUD AND CLEAR OMD
74 ( 62 ) HELLO Lionel Richie
75 ( NEW ) RED GUITAR David Sylvian




TV
1 Scully
2 The Young Ones: French & Saunders
3 The Addams Family
4 Sgt Matlovich vs The Air Force (TV film)
5 Cheers
6 The Twilight Zone
7 Hill Street Blues
8 Soap
9 Spitting Image
10 The Professionals
11 Film 84 Special: Stephen Spielberg
12 Top Of The Pops
13 Batman
14 Empire
15 WKRP In Cincinatti

Posted by: popchartfreak 14th June 2014, 06:55 PM

12th June 1984

3rd and final week on top for The Style Council, as the Top 10 gets volatile. The Smiths rocket up to 2, and Morrissey is still miserable about it. No change there then. Rod gets his biggest hit since Baby Jane as Infatuation goes up to 3, and new in at 7, follow-up to Relax, much-hyped and much-anticipated, it’s Frankie Goes To Hollywood with the soundtrack to the summer and future classic, Two Tribes, with that memorable video. Bronski Beat, though, beat them to the top 5, bounding up with their smalltown boy to 5, while Sade’s minor hit is a major hit here at 4.

Bruce up to 13, a year ahead of bigger UK success with it, and Madonna’s Borderline in at 50, 3rd hit, and 2 years ahead of her bigger UK hit success with it. Madness keep up their string of Top 20 hits, 5 years without a miss, Change (aka Luther Vandross, at times) enter with the dancetastic Change Of Heart and OMD get 4 years of Top 40 hits at 39.

Other new entries: Billy Idol at 50, with the oddly-titled, yet brilliant, Eyes Without A Face. It was his first real ballad, a million miles away from King Rocker. That’s not a bad thing. Debuting at 64, the fantastic Lloyd Cole & The Commotions and the fabulous Perfect Skin. One of the mysteries of life is Lloyd Cole never having huge success with his jangly indierock. Lastly, at 73, The Mighty Wah! (aka Wah!, Wah! Heat, and Pete Wylie) return chart-bound after a break since their number one Story Of The Blues, with the equally Spector-ish Come Back.

TV? It’s still The Young Ones dominating my TV world, such a shame they didn’t do another series, I know I was soooo sad they didn’t. Also must mention Scully, a UK show set in Liverpool (the setting was close to my heart, as I was still commuting there regularly to pick and return my grandma), it was amusing and well-written drama, and had an Elvis Costello theme tune Turning The Town Red (and he was in it). It fit in nicely with the mood of the times, and the number of Scousers in the chart, not to mention the local Dorset relocated Scouse community enjoying the beach weather. Elvis Costello meanwhile enters at 31 with his most-gorgeous ballad, the heart-melting I Wanna Be Loved, which also meant a lot to me that summer, and the video is juuuust wonderful.

1 ( 1 ) YOU'RE THE BEST THING The Style Council
2 ( 16 ) HEAVEN KNOWS I'M MISERABLE NOW The Smiths
3 ( 8 ) INFATUATION Rod Stewart
4 ( 9 ) WHEN AM I GOING TO MAKE A LIVING Sade
5 ( 42 ) SMALLTOWN BOY Bronski Beat
6 ( 5 ) HIGH ENERGY Evelyn King
7 ( NEW ) TWO TRIBES Frankie Goes To Hollywood
8 ( 10 ) PEARL IN THE SHELL Howard Jones
9 ( 3 ) LOVE WARS Womack & Womack
10 ( 2 ) EACH AND EVERY ONE Everything But The Girl



11 ( 4 ) SAD SONGS (SAY SO MUCH) Elton John
12 ( 6 ) THE LEBANON Human League
13 ( 17 ) DANCING IN THE DARK Bruce Springsteen
14 ( 7 ) LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE BOY Deniece Williams
15 ( 11 ) THE REFLEX Duran Duran
16 ( 27 ) THINKING OF YOU Sister Sledge
17 ( 32 ) ONE BETTER DAY Madness
18 ( 19 ) LOVE ALL DAY Nick Heyward
19 ( 18 ) I FEEL LIKE BUDDY HOLLY Alvin Stardust
20 ( 20 ) THIN LINE BETWEEN LOVE AND HATE The Pretenders

21 ( 12 ) DANCING WITH TEARS IN MY EYES Ultravox
22 ( 15 ) AUTOMATIC The Pointer Sisters
23 ( 13 ) SEARCHING (I GOTTA FIND A MAN) Hazell Dean
24 ( 33 ) ROUGH JUSTICE Bananarama
25 ( 46 ) SUSANNA The Art Company
26 ( 37 ) FAREWELL MY SUMMER LOVE Michael Jackson
27 ( 47 ) SO TIRED Ozzy Osbourne
28 ( 30 ) TOO MUCH TROUBLE Limahl
29 ( 14 ) WAKE ME UP BEFORE YOU GOGO Wham!
30 ( 55 ) DANCE ME UP Gary Glitter



31 ( NEW ) I WANNA BE LOVED Elvis Costello
32 ( 22 ) I WANT TO BREAK FREE Queen
33 ( 21 ) JUST BE GOOD TO ME SOS Band
34 ( 26 ) ONE LOVE Bob Marley & The Wailers
35 ( NEW ) CHANGE OF HEART Change
36 ( 31 ) AIN'T NOBODY Rufus and Chaka Khan
37 ( 24 ) HIGH ON EMOTION Chris De Burgh
38 ( 38 ) DOCTOR MABUSE Propaganda
39 ( 73 ) TALKING LOUD AND CLEAR OMD
40 ( 40 ) DAZZLE Siouxsie And The Banshees

41 ( 41 ) WOOD BEEZ (PRAY LIKE ARETHA FRANKLIN) Scritti Politti
42 ( 29 ) I'LL BE AROUND Terri Wells
43 ( 28 ) STAY WITH ME TONIGHT Jeffrey Osbourne
44 ( 43 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
45 ( 36 ) DON'T TELL ME Blancmange
46 ( 39 ) HAND IN GLOVE Sandie Shaw
47 ( 65 ) ONLY WHEN YOU LEAVE Spandau Ballet
48 ( 23 ) DRAG ME DOWN The Boomtown Rats
49 ( 25 ) ASSASSING Marillion
50 ( NEW ) EYES WITHOUT A FACE Billy Idol

51 ( 35 ) AGAINST ALL ODDS Phil Collins
52 ( 34 ) GOING DOWNTOWN TONIGHT Status Quo
53 ( NEW ) BORDERLINE Madonna
54 ( 54 ) BILLIE JEAN Michael Jackson
55 ( 51 ) SHE'S STRANGE Cameo
56 ( 69 ) ABSOLUTELY Scritti Politti
57 ( 48 ) LOCOMOTION OMD
58 ( 44 ) FOOTLOOSE Kenny Loggins
59 ( 56 ) SOMEBODY'S WATCHING ME Rockwell
60 ( 60 ) RADIO GA GA Queen



61 ( 61 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
62 ( 49 ) SOMEBODY ELSE'S GUY Jocelyn Brown
63 ( 63 ) LET'S DANCE David Bowie
64 ( NEW ) PERFECT SKIN Lloyd Cole And The Commotions
65 ( 53 ) THIEVES LIKE US New Order
66 ( 75 ) RED GUITAR David Sylvian
67 ( 59 ) MAJOR TOM (COMING HOME) Peter Schilling
68 ( 58 ) GLAD IT'S ALLOVER Captain Sensible
69 ( 66 ) THRILLER Michael Jackson
70 ( 45 ) BREAK DANCE PARTY Break Machine



71 ( 57 ) EXTRAORDINARY GIRL The O'Jays
72 ( 68 ) UP ON THE CATWALK Simple Minds
73 ( NEW ) COME BACK The Mighty Wah!
74 ( 64 ) THE CATERPILLAR The Cure
75 ( 50 ) THE RUNNER Manfred Mann's Earthband

TV
1 The Young Ones: colds
2 Cheers
3 Scully
4 Top Of The Pops
5 Soap
6 Hill Street Blues
7 The Addams Family
8 Bewitched
9 The Young Ones: french & saunders
10 Batman

Posted by: popchartfreak 16th June 2014, 06:12 PM

19th June 1984

My pop chart goes frantic, as another influx of classic tracks jostles with a host of big climbers and big fallers. Essentially, in retrospect, it’s fairly obvious depression hit me this week for the first time in my life, I had no idea what it was , how to deal with it, and the Doctor was of no use whatsoever just poo-poohing me to go away and stop bothering him (more or less) as there was nothing wrong with me. There was. I was in a permanent state of misery, life was joyless, and emotions were building up inside me with no outlet except music. Music kept me sane. Ish. My family were starting to notice the change, but as a family there other problems as my brother was looking for work while the pits were on strike and no money, my sister-in-law Sue was pregnant with my nephew, and mum and dad had a busy NAAFI bar and shop to run 7 days a week. My Top 10 says it all, really:

Two Tribes hit the top giving Frankie their second number one, and reflecting CND and east-west tensions of the time, keeping off The Smiths from the top. I think I was so miserable now, heaven knows I couldn’t bear to have it on top. Highest new entry, in at 3, another depressive anthem, the first one from the Human League (and their least successful UK chart hit to date since Dare), but it spoke to me a lot and followed on from 5 consecutive chart-toppers. Elvis Costello gets his biggest-ever hit as I Wanna Be Loved shoots up to 6, another song that meant a lot to me. Just to underline the down-moods, Pretenders get 5 years of Top 10’s with the sad Thin Line, and Madness do the same with the depressing One Better day. Bung in Ozzy’s So Tired at 12, Cyndi’s Time After Time entering at 14 and there wasn’t much to laugh at going on...

Most cheerful or upbeat tracks suffer big falls, and there’s a host of new tracks and a re-entry from Nik Kershaw finally making the Top 20 7 months after debuting. Robin Gibb was very much in solo single form in the absence of the Bee Gees, and the fab Boys Do Fall In Love has a bit more cheer at 23, and Alison Moyet’s moody solo debut Love Resurrection (complete with VERY naughty innuendo) charges in at 26.

A rap classic enters at 41 the awesome White Lines, back in the days when you could rap along to rappers comfortably, learn the words and the intonation meant something. A manic pace, incoherent vocabulary, and misogynistic cliched drivel not required. Even more classic, Prince is back, and When Doves Cry was a departure in sound, percussion-heavy, inventive and brilliantly exciting, in at 57. Party classic Jump (For My Love) is in at 59 for the Pointer Sisters, Tina Turner’s classic (and future movie-bio title) What’s Love Got To Do With It is in at 72, while Jim Steinman’s Streets Of Fire movie song enters at 71 for Fire Inc. Phew!

TV, it was still The Young Ones, as we waved goodbye forever this week (bar the single with Cliff), the week when Rik Mayall gets a top 10 hit thanks to goodwill from those like me who they meant a lot to, they really were a generation gap TV show.



1 ( 7 ) TWO TRIBES Frankie Goes To Hollywood
2 ( 2 ) HEAVEN KNOWS I'M MISERABLE NOW The Smiths
3 ( NEW ) LIFE ON MY OWN Human League
4 ( 3 ) INFATUATION Rod Stewart
5 ( 5 ) SMALLTOWN BOY Bronski Beat
6 ( 31 ) I WANNA BE LOVED Elvis Costello
7 ( 1 ) YOU'RE THE BEST THING The Style Council
8 ( 4 ) WHEN AM I GOING TO MAKE A LIVING Sade
9 ( 20 ) THIN LINE BETWEEN LOVE AND HATE The Pretenders
10 ( 17 ) ONE BETTER DAY Madness

11 ( 18 ) LOVE ALL DAY Nick Heyward
12 ( 27 ) SO TIRED Ozzy Osbourne
13 ( 6 ) HIGH ENERGY Evelyn King
14 ( NEW ) TIME AFTER TIME Cyndi Lauper
15 ( 12 ) THE LEBANON Human League
16 ( 11 ) SAD SONGS (SAY SO MUCH) Elton John
17 ( 8 ) PEARL IN THE SHELL Howard Jones
18 ( NEW ) I WON'T LET THE SUN GO DOWN ON ME Nik Kershaw
19 ( 26 ) FAREWELL MY SUMMER LOVE Michael Jackson
20 ( 25 ) SUSANNA The Art Company

21 ( 15 ) THE REFLEX Duran Duran
22 ( 10 ) EACH AND EVERY ONE Everything But The Girl
23 ( NEW ) BOYS DO FALL IN LOVE Robin Gibb
24 ( 24 ) ROUGH JUSTICE Bananarama
25 ( 16 ) THINKING OF YOU Sister Sledge
26 ( NEW ) LOVE RESURRECTION Alison Moyet
27 ( 39 ) TALKING LOUD AND CLEAR OMD
28 ( 35 ) CHANGE OF HEART Change
29 ( 9 ) LOVE WARS Womack & Womack
30 ( 30 ) DANCE ME UP Gary Glitter



31 ( 19 ) I FEEL LIKE BUDDY HOLLY Alvin Stardust
32 ( 13 ) DANCING IN THE DARK Bruce Springsteen
33 ( 22 ) AUTOMATIC The Pointer Sisters
34 ( 14 ) LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE BOY Deniece Williams
35 ( 50 ) EYES WITHOUT A FACE Billy Idol
36 ( 56 ) ABSOLUTE Scritti Politti
37 ( 21 ) DANCING WITH TEARS IN MY EYES Ultravox
38 ( 23 ) SEARCHING (I GOTTA FIND A MAN) Hazell Dean
39 ( 47 ) ONLY WHEN YOU LEAVE Spandau Ballet
40 ( 73 ) COME BACK The Mighty Wah!



41 ( NEW ) WHITE LINES (DON'T DON'T DO IT) Grandmaster Flash And Melle Mel
42 ( 32 ) I WANT TO BREAK FREE Queen
43 ( 36 ) AIN'T NOBODY Rufus and Chaka Khan
44 ( 33 ) JUST BE GOOD TO ME SOS Band
45 ( 38 ) DOCTOR MABUSE Propaganda
46 ( 41 ) WOOD BEEZ (PRAY LIKE ARETHA FRANKLIN) Scritti Politti
47 ( 44 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
48 ( 29 ) WAKE ME UP BEFORE YOU GOGO Wham!
49 ( 34 ) ONE LOVE Bob Marley & The Wailers
50 ( 64 ) PERFECT SKIN Lloyd Cole And The Commotions

51 ( 37 ) HIGH ON EMOTION Chris De Burgh
52 ( 53 ) BORDERLINE Madonna
53 ( 40 ) DAZZLE Siouxsie And The Banshees
54 ( 45 ) DON'T TELL ME Blancmange
55 ( 54 ) BILLIE JEAN Michael Jackson
56 ( 28 ) TOO MUCH TROUBLE Limahl
57 ( NEW ) WHEN DOVES CRY Prince
58 ( 46 ) HAND IN GLOVE Sandie Shaw
59 ( NEW ) JUMP (FOR MY LOVE) The Pointer Sisters
60 ( 43 ) STAY WITH ME TONIGHT Jeffrey Osbourne



61 ( 61 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
62 ( 60 ) RADIO GA GA Queen
63 ( 63 ) LET'S DANCE David Bowie
64 ( 59 ) SOMEBODY'S WATCHING ME Rockwell
65 ( 42 ) I'LL BE AROUND Terri Wells
66 ( 55 ) SHE'S STRANGE Cameo
67 ( NEW ) I LOVE YOU (WHEN YOU SLEEP) Tracie
68 ( 57 ) LOCOMOTION OMD
69 ( 51 ) AGAINST ALL ODDS Phil Collins
70 ( NEW ) TONIGHT IS WHAT IT MEANS TO BE YOUNG Jim Steinman and Fire Inc

71 ( 52 ) GOING DOWNTOWN TONIGHT Status Quo
72 ( NEW ) WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT Tina Turner
73 ( 69 ) THRILLER Michael Jackson
74 ( NEW ) SIGN ON THE DOTTED LINE JB's All Stars
75 ( 67 ) MAJOR TOM (COMING HOME) Peter Schilling

TV
1 Close Encounters Of The Third Kind (Special Edition)
2 The Young Ones: final episode
3 The Young Ones: colds
4 Scully
5 Top Of The Pops
6 Rhoda
7 Soap
8 The Addams Family
9 Hill Street Blues
10 Bewitched

Posted by: popchartfreak 18th June 2014, 04:37 PM

26th June 1984

Two Tribes two weeks on top. Elvis Costello has to be content with runners-up for the gorgeous I Wanna Be Loved, I’m sad to say that’s the highest he’s ever climbed in my chart in a very long chart career, though that also applies to the UK singles chart (only Oliver’s Army peaked at 2). Rocketing up to 4, and his biggest hit to date, for Billy Idol’s moody and mysterious Eyes Without A Face. Sad songs very much saying so much to me, as Cyndi Lauper gets her 2nd Top 10 with Time After Time, OMD get their 8th top 10, and Sister Sledge their 3rd.

New at 7, reissued Waiting In Vain gives Bob Marley a second top 10 hit with the 1977 classic, one of my fave Marley songs. The Pointer Sisters Jump to 13, Lloyd Cole is perfect at 16, leaping high, and Gary Glitter gets his 10th Top 20 hit. Prince flies high with his crying doves at 21, his 3rd Top 40 hit, and highest new song is Ollie and Jerry’s movie song Breakin’ in at 30. Tina Turner makes the Top 40 for the 3rd time solo (5th in total), and a second top 40 hit for the Bluebells, co-written with Bananarama and a 1980 track recorded by them first, and a future 90’s number one classic, Young At Heart. Barry Blue produced it, too.

The Associates are back, 2 years after their number one, at 49, Squeeze are back (more or less) with Difford & Tillbrook at 59, 6 years after debuting. The Gap Band are jamming at 64, The Jacksons are shocked to get a new entry at 66 with megastars Michael Jackson and Mick Jagger on vocals - well, shocked at how underwhelming it all was all things considered. Marc Almond shows he’s The Boy Who Came Back at 71, Tom Robinson’s back in the old country at 75, appropriately behind Lionel Richie’s old-sounding country song, Stuck On You, a record I ended up loathing. I still can’t bear hearing it, not for any musical reasons, more for the all-too-vivid reminders of how bad I felt, as I developed a lovely new psychological problem (it’s obvious now, but felt real at the time) with the sensation of something stuck in my throat around the top of my back and neck. It was clearly stress-induced, but in those poo-pooing doctors, and no internet, days (to google symptoms) who the hell knew what was wrong. Which starts off even more anxiety and stress and so it snowballs onwards... Anyway, Stuck = stuck in my throat to me, and it made me feel bad after it had been in the charts a few weeks.


1 ( 1 ) TWO TRIBES Frankie Goes To Hollywood
2 ( 6 ) I WANNA BE LOVED Elvis Costello
3 ( 3 ) LIFE ON MY OWN Human League
4 ( 35 ) EYES WITHOUT A FACE Billy Idol
5 ( 2 ) HEAVEN KNOWS I'M MISERABLE NOW The Smiths
6 ( 14 ) TIME AFTER TIME Cyndi Lauper
7 ( NEW ) WAITING IN VAIN Bob Marley And The Wailers
8 ( 5 ) SMALLTOWN BOY Bronski Beat
9 ( 27 ) TALKING LOUD AND CLEAR OMD
10 ( 25 ) THINKING OF YOU Sister Sledge



11 ( 11 ) LOVE ALL DAY Nick Heyward
12 ( 4 ) INFATUATION Rod Stewart
13 ( 59 ) JUMP (FOR MY LOVE) The Pointer Sisters
14 ( 7 ) YOU'RE THE BEST THING The Style Council
15 ( 8 ) WHEN AM I GOING TO MAKE A LIVING Sade
16 ( 50 ) PERFECT SKIN Lloyd Cole And The Commotions
17 ( 26 ) LOVE RESURRECTION Alison Moyet
18 ( 19 ) FAREWELL MY SUMMER LOVE Michael Jackson
19 ( 10 ) ONE BETTER DAY Madness
20 ( 30 ) DANCE ME UP Gary Glitter



21 ( 57 ) WHEN DOVES CRY Prince
22 ( 15 ) THE LEBANON Human League
23 ( 23 ) BOYS DO FALL IN LOVE Robin Gibb
24 ( 18 ) I WON'T LET THE SUN GO DOWN ON ME Nik Kershaw
25 ( 9 ) THIN LINE BETWEEN LOVE AND HATE The Pretenders
26 ( 12 ) SO TIRED Ozzy Osbourne
27 ( 36 ) ABSOLUTE Scritti Politti
28 ( 28 ) CHANGE OF HEART Change
29 ( 41 ) WHITE LINES (DON'T DON'T DO IT) Grandmaster Flash And Melle Mel
30 ( NEW ) BREAKIN'...THERE'S NO STOPPIN' US Ollie and Jerry




31 ( 16 ) SAD SONGS (SAY SO MUCH) Elton John
32 ( 21 ) THE REFLEX Duran Duran
33 ( 17 ) PEARL IN THE SHELL Howard Jones
34 ( 13 ) HIGH ENERGY Evelyn King
35 ( 40 ) COME BACK The Mighty Wah!
36 ( NEW ) YOUNG AT HEART The Bluebells
37 ( 22 ) EACH AND EVERY ONE Everything But The Girl
38 ( 31 ) I FEEL LIKE BUDDY HOLLY Alvin Stardust
39 ( 72 ) WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT Tina Turner
40 ( 52 ) BORDERLINE Madonna



41 ( 33 ) AUTOMATIC The Pointer Sisters
42 ( 20 ) SUSANNA The Art Company
43 ( 37 ) DANCING WITH TEARS IN MY EYES Ultravox
44 ( 24 ) ROUGH JUSTICE Bananarama
45 ( 38 ) SEARCHING (I GOTTA FIND A MAN) Hazell Dean
46 ( 34 ) LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE BOY Deniece Williams
47 ( 47 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
48 ( 29 ) LOVE WARS Womack & Womack
49 ( NEW ) THOSE FIRST IMPRESSIONS The Associates
50 ( 46 ) WOOD BEEZ (PRAY LIKE ARETHA FRANKLIN) Scritti Politti

51 ( 45 ) DOCTOR MABUSE Propaganda
52 ( 32 ) DANCING IN THE DARK Bruce Springsteen
53 ( 43 ) AIN'T NOBODY Rufus and Chaka Khan
54 ( 44 ) JUST BE GOOD TO ME SOS Band
55 ( 39 ) ONLY WHEN YOU LEAVE Spandau Ballet
56 ( 55 ) BILLIE JEAN Michael Jackson
57 ( 53 ) DAZZLE Siouxsie And The Banshees
58 ( 42 ) I WANT TO BREAK FREE Queen
59 ( NEW ) LOVE'S CRASHING WAVES Difford and Tillbrook
60 ( 48 ) WAKE ME UP BEFORE YOU GOGO Wham!

61 ( 49 ) ONE LOVE Bob Marley & The Wailers
62 ( 61 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
63 ( 63 ) LET'S DANCE David Bowie
64 ( NEW ) JAMMING IN AMERICA The Gap Band
65 ( 62 ) RADIO GA GA Queen
66 ( NEW ) STATE OF SHOCK The Jacksons
67 ( 51 ) HIGH ON EMOTION Chris De Burgh
68 ( 64 ) SOMEBODY'S WATCHING ME Rockwell
69 ( 58 ) HAND IN GLOVE Sandie Shaw
70 ( 54 ) DON'T TELL ME Blancmange

71 ( NEW ) THE BOY WHO CAME BACK Marc Almond
72 ( 67 ) I LOVE YOU (WHEN YOU SLEEP) Tracie
73 ( 73 ) THRILLER Michael Jackson
74 ( NEW ) STUCK ON YOU Lionel Richie
75 ( NEW ) BACK IN THE OLD COUNTRY Tom Robinson

TV
1 Star Trek: The Man Trap
2 Scully
3 Hill Street Blues
4 The Addams Family
5 Top Of The Pops
6 Bewitched
7 Soap
8 Batman
9 The Professionals
10 Upstairs Downstairs

Posted by: popchartfreak 28th July 2014, 06:28 PM

3rd July 1984

One of the longest (hot) summers of my life, as misery continues, years of job applications had become unbearable, just the thought of filling out a job application (no computers to help in those days, all tedious long-hand) still fills me with tedium and I’ll do anything to avoid it. That’s why (with one head-hunted-exception) I haven’t done any for 25 years. Exams, on the other hand, are a piece of piss in comparison and I carried on doing them for another 20 years on and off. Hey ho.

I think the lack of new entries was more of a reflection of my growing apathy and misery than the music scene, and sad songs still saying so much more than angry ones, so Frankie get knocked off after a mere 2 week run in favour of one of The Human League’s least-remembered hits, the sad Life On Your Own, which extended their run of consecutive toppers to 6 over 3 years. Only Abba had that degree of consistency to date.

Bob Marley outdoes his original chart position, at 5, the gorgeous Waiting In Vain, and the Pointer Sisters get a second Top 10 in a row jumping up with another pop gem. Robin Gibb’s synthypop flop gives him a 4th solo Top 10 15 years after his first one, inexplicably (well, explicably, actually, as The Bee Gees were persona non grata after the Saturday Night Fever backlash, which if nothing else proves the public hate mega-success, cos the Gibbs didn’t lose their ability to write great songs for the entirety of their career. They just went in and out of fashion at regular intervals.

Lloyd Cole gets a deserved Top 10 with his Perfect Skin, and The Bluebells fabulous Young At Heart leaps into the 20 along with Scritti’s Absolute, and Tina’s simmering biggie, What’s Love Got To Do With It, co-written by Lyle (of Gallagher And Lyle hitsters) was about to give her a career-biggest solo hit (in the UK charts at least - she’d already hit number one in mine with Ike in 1973). Highest new entry is the brilliant Self Control from the late Laura Branigan. I didn’t love Gloria much, but this record was another thing entirely, powerful and passionate, and full of Coldplay-styled woah-oh’s singalong fabulousness.

Leaving a Billy Joel album-scraper, and Mike Oldfield getting together with Moonlight Shadow vocalist Maggie Reilly again, but this time with credit. To France? Certainly not To the UK Top 40... TV, give or take 2 or 3 shows from 1984, was almost entirely devoted to 60’s and 70’s re-runs, as the extra TV channel (Channel 4) gave lots of opportunities to view popular oldies that hadn’t been around for years, and gave me a half-hour or so of nostalgia-filled relief from depression. I know now I was seriously depressed, but then all I saw was insomnia, and increasing misery and frustration with no idea what was going on in my head or why. Music, TV and Legion Of Super-Heroes comics (by now one of DC comics hottest and biggest-selling properties) kept me going. Mind you DC Comics had just grasped the money-maker and were about to wring it dry by increasing paper quality (and price) by killing off one of my boyhood character favourites, Karate Kid, quite dramatically.



1 ( 3 ) LIFE ON YOUR OWN Human League
2 ( 1 ) TWO TRIBES Frankie Goes To Hollywood
3 ( 4 ) EYES WITHOUT A FACE Billy Idol
4 ( 2 ) I WANNA BE LOVED Elvis Costello
5 ( 7 ) WAITING IN VAIN Bob Marley And The Wailers
6 ( 9 ) TALKING LOUD AND CLEAR OMD
7 ( 6 ) TIME AFTER TIME Cyndi Lauper
8 ( 13 ) JUMP (FOR MY LOVE) The Pointer Sisters
9 ( 23 ) BOYS DO FALL IN LOVE Robin Gibb
10 ( 16 ) PERFECT SKIN Lloyd Cole And The Commotions



11 ( 10 ) THINKING OF YOU Sister Sledge
12 ( 5 ) HEAVEN KNOWS I'M MISERABLE NOW The Smiths
13 ( 17 ) LOVE RESURRECTION Alison Moyet
14 ( 8 ) SMALLTOWN BOY Bronski Beat
15 ( 30 ) BREAKIN'...THERE'S NO STOPPIN' US Ollie and Jerry
16 ( 21 ) WHEN DOVES CRY Prince
17 ( 36 ) YOUNG AT HEART The Bluebells
18 ( 20 ) DANCE ME UP Gary Glitter
19 ( 39 ) WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT Tina Turner
20 ( 27 ) ABSOLUTE Scritti Politti



21 ( 12 ) INFATUATION Rod Stewart
22 ( 29 ) WHITE LINES (DON'T DON'T DO IT) Grandmaster Flash And Melle Mel
23 ( 28 ) CHANGE OF HEART Change
24 ( 14 ) YOU'RE THE BEST THING The Style Council
25 ( 15 ) WHEN AM I GOING TO MAKE A LIVING Sade
26 ( 26 ) SO TIRED Ozzy Osbourne
27 ( 11 ) LOVE ALL DAY Nick Heyward
28 ( 24 ) I WON'T LET THE SUN GO DOWN ON ME Nik Kershaw
29 ( 19 ) ONE BETTER DAY Madness
30 ( 22 ) THE LEBANON Human League

31 ( 18 ) FAREWELL MY SUMMER LOVE Michael Jackson
32 ( 35 ) COME BACK The Mighty Wah!
33 ( 47 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
34 ( NEW ) SELF CONTROL Laura Branigan
35 ( 31 ) SAD SONGS (SAY SO MUCH) Elton John
36 ( 32 ) THE REFLEX Duran Duran
37 ( 37 ) EACH AND EVERY ONE Everything But The Girl
38 ( 25 ) THIN LINE BETWEEN LOVE AND HATE The Pretenders
39 ( 34 ) HIGH ENERGY Evelyn King
40 ( 74 ) STUCK ON YOU Lionel Richie



41 ( 41 ) AUTOMATIC The Pointer Sisters
42 ( 33 ) PEARL IN THE SHELL Howard Jones
43 ( 38 ) I FEEL LIKE BUDDY HOLLY Alvin Stardust
44 ( 66 ) STATE OF SHOCK The Jacksons
45 ( 42 ) SUSANNA The Art Company
46 ( 59 ) LOVE'S CRASHING WAVES Difford and Tillbrook
47 ( 40 ) BORDERLINE Madonna
48 ( 43 ) DANCING WITH TEARS IN MY EYES Ultravox
49 ( 49 ) THOSE FIRST IMPRESSIONS The Associates
50 ( 46 ) LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE BOY Deniece Williams

51 ( 45 ) SEARCHING (I GOTTA FIND A MAN) Hazell Dean
52 ( 50 ) WOOD BEEZ (PRAY LIKE ARETHA FRANKLIN) Scritti Politti
53 ( 44 ) ROUGH JUSTICE Bananarama
54 ( 51 ) DOCTOR MABUSE Propaganda
55 ( 64 ) JAMMING IN AMERICA The Gap Band
56 ( 56 ) BILLIE JEAN Michael Jackson
57 ( 57 ) DAZZLE Siouxsie And The Banshees
58 ( 48 ) LOVE WARS Womack & Womack
59 ( 55 ) ONLY WHEN YOU LEAVE Spandau Ballet
60 ( NEW ) LEAVE A TENDER MOMENT ALONE Billy Joel

61 ( 58 ) I WANT TO BREAK FREE Queen
62 ( 63 ) LET'S DANCE David Bowie
63 ( 62 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
64 ( 53 ) AIN'T NOBODY Rufus and Chaka Khan
65 ( 54 ) JUST BE GOOD TO ME SOS Band
66 ( 65 ) RADIO GA GA Queen
67 ( NEW ) TO FRANCE Mike Oldfield and Maggie Reilly
68 ( 60 ) WAKE ME UP BEFORE YOU GOGO Wham!
69 ( 67 ) HIGH ON EMOTION Chris De Burgh
70 ( 52 ) DANCING IN THE DARK Bruce Springsteen

71 ( 61 ) ONE LOVE Bob Marley & The Wailers
72 ( 69 ) HAND IN GLOVE Sandie Shaw
73 ( 68 ) SOMEBODY'S WATCHING ME Rockwell
74 ( 75 ) BACK IN THE OLD COUNTRY Tom Robinson
75 ( NEW ) WE'RE NOT GONNA TAKE IT Twisted Sister

TV
1 Star Trek: Charlie X
2 The Young Ones: Summer Holiday
3 Hill Street Blues
4 Soap
5 Addams Family
6 Batman
7 Monkees
8 Along Came A Spider: film
9 Professionals
10 Top Of The Pops
11 Twilight Zone
12 Tenko
13 Sullivans
14 Rhoda
15 Upstairs Downstairs

Posted by: fiesta 29th July 2014, 01:21 PM

1984 such a good year for music, I was listening to two from this year the other day Simple Minds Waterfront and Julian Lennon Too Late For Goodbyes.

Posted by: popchartfreak 29th July 2014, 04:23 PM

Hi Fiesta, yes the music scene was booming, both of those are good. Best record of the year would be a real tough choice, there's so many!

thanks for stopping by appreciate it!

Posted by: popchartfreak 29th July 2014, 06:58 PM

10th July 1984

If you don’t want to read about bad times and misery, just skip to the chart rundown. I would! I think it’s worth self-indulgently putting it in though, as I have absolutely no rose-tinted spectacles about the Eighties, bar the music, films and some TV. For some it was pure hell!

I’ve found my diaries. In one sense it’s hooray (when I do other years) and in another it’s OMG!!!! I’ve not read them ever (cos I was an arrogant jumped-up smart arse and didn’t want to be reminded of how much of a dick I could be to my family), but I started writing up my thoughts and events in 1977 and kept going till about 2003 when it all went too pear-shaped to even try. I’ve just flicked through June/July 1984 which has reminded me that I wasn’t just dealing with unemployment, my family was fragmenting around me - it’s not fair to mention any of it here, but the root causes were the Miners Strike (bruv had no money for a looong time), my unemployment and unhappiness being cut off from my friends, and my parents worrying about my brother and his family, and me, while dealing with a stressful demanding short-staffed long-hours job. Throw in me threatening to leave the new home (I’d forgotten that one!) and look for jobs somewhere else, family bitterness, and hints about my still-obvious “celibacy” as it was phrased. I didn’t go out, I didn’t have friends in Poole, I’d never had any romantic flings, and I was 26. Lot of things to deal with! Poor me, poor everyone, a thoroughly miserable time for us all. People under stress tend to take it out on those closest and things just get worse. We all hated Thatcher, at least, that was for sure, so hey, look on the bright side....!

Anyways, rather than get any more depressing, here’s a few self-indulgent comments from that week starting on the Saturday 7th July:

“Ladies Wimbledon Singles Final - one of the best I’ve seen, I think. Chrissie playing brilliantly, but Martina just SO good, “best ever” they’re saying. If she hadn’t come along Chrissie would have dominated tennis for over 10 years, with over 8 or 9 titles. Martina won.” I was a huge Chris Evert (Lloyd) fan.

“In evening , in garden with mum and dad (day just too hot - a scorcher - garden drier every day)

Tuesday July 10th

Feeling tensed, but waxing lyrical about the repeat of Star Trek: Where No Man Has Gone Before, the huge Trek universe that followed it, and actor Gary Lockwood who was also in 2001: A space Odyssey the same day. I’ll deal with Star Trek in my August 1969 run-down though!

Thursday July 12th

It rained, at long last, hooray! The end of helping mum & dad being short-staffed at work (Marines camp NAAFI shop till) which I was very happy about, seeing it as a distraction from looking for proper jobs, and being all stroppy and resentful. Dick - it turned out to be one of the things keeping me sane and angry. One of the marines nicked an apple from the shop (again), being light-fingered seemed to go with the job, being as they were taught how to break into things and all.

Friday July 13th

My sister-in-law arrived from Mansfield with baby Vicki, told me Dianne, my old Colourcare Photo Lab boss had been made redundant. Only slightly older than me, and sometimes a bit officious, but efficient and mostly upbeat, I had nothing against her but noted she should have taken an earlier job offer. It seems as though I was partly to blame by leaving, giving them an excuse to job-shuffle. That was the last I heard of her till she died a young alcoholic-related death years following years of decline after a failed relationship. Colourcare eventually went bust and everybody lost their jobs. It’s worth mentioning, cos something as seemingly innocuous as unemployment can lead to tragedy, and no doubt is right now in 2014.
On a lighter note, I was doing next week’s charts and was having a tough time deciding between Billy Idol and Prince for number one. Wonder who won!

Charts: 2 weeks for Human League on top, Prince gets his 3rd Top 10 hit in a row, Gary Glitter his first for 10 years, and Alison Moyet her first solo one. Seen them all in concert. Mike Oldfield leaps up To France et trente-deux; Thompson Twins are the highest new entry at 34, and The Young One’s neil covers Traffic’s hippie classic Hole In My Shoe for a new entry at 35. Arrow are Hot Hot Hot at 54, a record that became well known without being much of a hit, John Lennon is Stepping Out at 59, and Radio 2 played Mind Games an hour ago, which makes me miss my hero all over again, 34 years dead this year.

1 ( 1 ) LIFE ON YOUR OWN Human League
2 ( 2 ) TWO TRIBES Frankie Goes To Hollywood
3 ( 3 ) EYES WITHOUT A FACE Billy Idol
4 ( 5 ) WAITING IN VAIN Bob Marley And The Wailers
5 ( 6 ) TALKING LOUD AND CLEAR OMD
6 ( 8 ) JUMP (FOR MY LOVE) The Pointer Sisters
7 ( 4 ) I WANNA BE LOVED Elvis Costello
8 ( 16 ) WHEN DOVES CRY Prince
9 ( 13 ) LOVE RESURRECTION Alison Moyet
10 ( 18 ) DANCE ME UP Gary Glitter

11 ( 7 ) TIME AFTER TIME Cyndi Lauper
12 ( 17 ) YOUNG AT HEART The Bluebells
13 ( 9 ) BOYS DO FALL IN LOVE Robin Gibb
14 ( 19 ) WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT Tina Turner
15 ( 15 ) BREAKIN'...THERE'S NO STOPPIN' US Ollie and Jerry
16 ( 10 ) PERFECT SKIN Lloyd Cole And The Commotions
17 ( 28 ) I WON'T LET THE SUN GO DOWN ON ME Nik Kershaw
18 ( 20 ) ABSOLUTE Scritti Politti
19 ( 14 ) SMALLTOWN BOY Bronski Beat
20 ( 11 ) THINKING OF YOU Sister Sledge



21 ( 12 ) HEAVEN KNOWS I'M MISERABLE NOW The Smiths
22 ( 22 ) WHITE LINES (DON'T DON'T DO IT) Grandmaster Flash And Melle Mel
23 ( 23 ) CHANGE OF HEART Change
24 ( 33 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
25 ( 21 ) INFATUATION Rod Stewart
26 ( 26 ) SO TIRED Ozzy Osbourne
27 ( 31 ) FAREWELL MY SUMMER LOVE Michael Jackson
28 ( 32 ) COME BACK The Mighty Wah!
29 ( 34 ) SELF CONTROL Laura Branigan
30 ( 25 ) WHEN AM I GOING TO MAKE A LIVING Sade



31 ( 24 ) YOU'RE THE BEST THING The Style Council
32 ( 67 ) TO FRANCE Mike Oldfield and Maggie Reilly
33 ( 30 ) THE LEBANON Human League
34 ( NEW ) SISTER OF MERCY The Thompson Twins
35 ( NEW ) HOLE IN MY SHOE neil
36 ( 29 ) ONE BETTER DAY Madness
37 ( 44 ) STATE OF SHOCK The Jacksons
38 ( 35 ) SAD SONGS (SAY SO MUCH) Elton John
39 ( 40 ) STUCK ON YOU Lionel Richie
40 ( 36 ) THE REFLEX Duran Duran



41 ( 60 ) LEAVE A TENDER MOMENT ALONE Billy Joel
42 ( 27 ) LOVE ALL DAY Nick Heyward
43 ( 49 ) THOSE FIRST IMPRESSIONS The Associates
44 ( 37 ) EACH AND EVERY ONE Everything But The Girl
45 ( 41 ) AUTOMATIC The Pointer Sisters
46 ( NEW ) LAMENT Ultravox
47 ( 38 ) THIN LINE BETWEEN LOVE AND HATE The Pretenders
48 ( 55 ) JAMMING IN AMERICA The Gap Band
49 ( NEW ) SWEET SOMEBODY Shannon
50 ( 39 ) HIGH ENERGY Evelyn King

51 ( 43 ) I FEEL LIKE BUDDY HOLLY Alvin Stardust
52 ( 46 ) LOVE'S CRASHING WAVES Difford and Tillbrook
53 ( 42 ) PEARL IN THE SHELL Howard Jones
54 ( NEW ) HOT HOT HOT Arrow
55 ( 52 ) WOOD BEEZ (PRAY LIKE ARETHA FRANKLIN) Scritti Politti
56 ( 56 ) BILLIE JEAN Michael Jackson
57 ( 54 ) DOCTOR MABUSE Propaganda
58 ( 50 ) LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE BOY Deniece Williams
59 ( NEW ) STEPPING OUT John Lennon
60 ( 45 ) SUSANNA The Art Company

61 ( 48 ) DANCING WITH TEARS IN MY EYES Ultravox
62 ( 63 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
63 ( 62 ) LET'S DANCE David Bowie
64 ( 47 ) BORDERLINE Madonna
65 ( 51 ) SEARCHING (I GOTTA FIND A MAN) Hazell Dean
66 ( 66 ) RADIO GA GA Queen
67 ( 61 ) I WANT TO BREAK FREE Queen
68 ( NEW ) SEVEN SEAS Echo And The Bunnymen
69 ( 72 ) HAND IN GLOVE Sandie Shaw
70 ( 74 ) BACK IN THE OLD COUNTRY Tom Robinson

71 ( 59 ) ONLY WHEN YOU LEAVE Spandau Ballet
72 ( 58 ) LOVE WARS Womack & Womack
73 ( 64 ) AIN'T NOBODY Rufus and Chaka Khan
74 ( 65 ) JUST BE GOOD TO ME SOS Band
75 ( 57 ) DAZZLE Siouxsie And The Banshees

TV
1 Star Trek: Where No Man Has Gone Before
2 2001: A Space Odyssey
3 The Addams Family
4 Rhoda
5 Soap
6 The Monkees
7 Batman
8 Hill Street Blues
9 Top Of The Pops
10 Tenko
11 Wimbledon Ladies Final
12 Taxi
13 WKRP IN Cincinatti
14 Upstairs Downstairs
15 Doctor Who

Posted by: popchartfreak 30th July 2014, 07:57 PM

17th July 1984

A new number one, and it’s Billy Idol and the gorgeous Eyes Without A Face, holding off the brilliant When Doves Cry from the days when Prince had fans. I used to buy his singles and albums (bit of a genius), but his ongoing attacking of his shrinking fanbase over the years and bizarre career moves, means I haven’t bought an album in nearly 20 years, and I’m not likely to.

The Bluebells fab future 90’s UK Number One is at 6, Tina gets a second solo Top 10, Scritti get a second Top 10 with the sweet Absolute, and neil might be letting in water, but it washes him up to 12 ahead of some White Lines, blowing my mind with a classic rap record with a message and a reason to exist, other than “shake your booty b*tch” (that’s the cliche drivel version of rap). Mick Jagger gives the Jacksons a vocal assist, and my is he in a State Of Shock over his duet with Michael only being at 19 (for such a superstar comeback combo) while 20-year-old rivals The Fabs are at 20, the highest new entry being A Hard Day’s Night, a record and film 6-year-old me was very familiar with back in ’64.

Highest “New” new entry though is the lovely Closest Thing To Heaven from the Kane Gang, mellow as much pop was summer of 84. Others: Phil Fearon’s back with pleasant dancepop at 33; Band Of Gold (Dutch cover medley of 70’s sweet soul hits) slips in at 35 mainly due to some old faves being included in it rather than it being any good. Shakatak enter with a jazzdancepopMOR goodie; Divine enters to great disapproval on Top Of The Pops, what with being a big man in a dress who was happy to flaunt it; Dave and Barbara are back again 3 years on from It’s My Party - at least I hadn’t forgotten them, even if the charts had; Blancmange cover Abba with mixed results for me - it’s lower than the still-charting original, and is the first Blancmange record I was a bit disappointed with. Non-Abba fans, however, seemed to like it, despite it having none of the emotionless-but-emotional subtlety of the low-key ballad.

New at 68 an early folk/skiffle revival band in a style The Pogues took the crown for, Boothill Foot Tappers, at 70 John Cougar’s more Mellencamp than feline in his little Pink Houses, and ZZ Top pop in again a year ahead of chart bigness with those fabulous Legs at 74.

So, what tedium in my diary can I share? Stress, video-recorder acting up (catastrophe!), considered helping volunteer at the local Youth Club (more of a shack than a club), then had a to-do with the neighbour banging on the front door while I played my latest records (to try and ease my stress) with the windows open (it was hot) while he was slab banging in his garden (facing my bedroom window). I fumed, ignored him, took the record off, waited, then put Anarchy In The UK on full-blast. He applauded sarcastically when it finished. I’d waited all day, it was early evening, and oh my word the language I used Timothy ranting about the b*stard. I think I was Rik from the Young Ones for a moment. On the plus side, they sold the house a few months later, and happily some good friends ended up buying it years later, knowing full well and not minding my tendency to play loud music for half an hour in the summer window ajar. Hooray!

At the time though, next day, and I quote: “Me, I’m just pissed off being here, and I’m beginning to wish I’d moved to Nottingham instead. I’m going to start looking for jobs elsewhere, I’m just totally disenchanted with suburbia, with unemployment, with having no friends. “What a bummer” to quote neil.”

Just to rub it in, the next day I needed 6 fillings, left my driving licence and cheque cards on the bus after going into Poole to sign on (so had to ring police, banks etc), had a nightmare about my mum being overworked, donated £2 to Save The Children for the awful Ethiopian famine that was going on and upsetting me, I ranted about the “sick sick sick” individual who murdered 20 people (including kids) in Californian McDonalds, the news footage of dead children being shown on TV, and the useless American gun laws. Still, at least none of those sort of things happen these days, eh?

It wasn’t all misery though, I had a decent new haircut, my first ever. Wow!



1 ( 3 ) EYES WITHOUT A FACE Billy Idol
2 ( 8 ) WHEN DOVES CRY Prince
3 ( 2 ) TWO TRIBES Frankie Goes To Hollywood
4 ( 1 ) LIFE ON YOUR OWN Human League
5 ( 6 ) JUMP (FOR MY LOVE) The Pointer Sisters
6 ( 12 ) YOUNG AT HEART The Bluebells
7 ( 9 ) LOVE RESURRECTION Alison Moyet
8 ( 15 ) BREAKIN'...THERE'S NO STOPPIN' US Ollie and Jerry
9 ( 14 ) WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT Tina Turner
10 ( 18 ) ABSOLUTE Scritti Politti



11 ( 4 ) WAITING IN VAIN Bob Marley And The Wailers
12 ( 35 ) HOLE IN MY SHOE neil
13 ( 22 ) WHITE LINES (DON'T DON'T DO IT) Grandmaster Flash And Melle Mel
14 ( 5 ) TALKING LOUD AND CLEAR OMD
15 ( 17 ) I WON'T LET THE SUN GO DOWN ON ME Nik Kershaw
16 ( 10 ) DANCE ME UP Gary Glitter
17 ( 7 ) I WANNA BE LOVED Elvis Costello
18 ( 24 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
19 ( 37 ) STATE OF SHOCK The Jacksons featuring Mick Jagger
20 ( NEW ) A HARD DAY'S NIGHT The Beatles



21 ( 11 ) TIME AFTER TIME Cyndi Lauper
22 ( 28 ) COME BACK The Mighty Wah!
23 ( 13 ) BOYS DO FALL IN LOVE Robin Gibb
24 ( 20 ) THINKING OF YOU Sister Sledge
25 ( 29 ) SELF CONTROL Laura Branigan
26 ( 19 ) SMALLTOWN BOY Bronski Beat
27 ( 39 ) STUCK ON YOU Lionel Richie
28 ( 16 ) PERFECT SKIN Lloyd Cole And The Commotions
29 ( NEW ) CLOSEST THING TO HEAVEN The Kane Gang
30 ( 23 ) CHANGE OF HEART Change

31 ( 21 ) HEAVEN KNOWS I'M MISERABLE NOW The Smiths
32 ( 34 ) SISTER OF MERCY The Thompson Twins
33 ( NEW ) EVERYBODY'S LAUGHING Phil Fearon and Galaxy
34 ( 25 ) INFATUATION Rod Stewart
35 ( NEW ) LOVE SONGS ARE BACK AGAIN Band Of Gold
36 ( 33 ) THE LEBANON Human League
37 ( 31 ) YOU'RE THE BEST THING The Style Council
38 ( 68 ) SEVEN SEAS Echo And The Bunnymen
39 ( 49 ) SWEET SOMEBODY Shannon
40 ( 26 ) SO TIRED Ozzy Osbourne

41 ( 30 ) WHEN AM I GOING TO MAKE A LIVING Sade
42 ( 32 ) TO FRANCE Mike Oldfield and Maggie Reilly
43 ( NEW ) DOWN ON THE STREET Shakatak
44 ( 40 ) THE REFLEX Duran Duran
45 ( 46 ) LAMENT Ultravox
46 ( 41 ) LEAVE A TENDER MOMENT ALONE Billy Joel
47 ( 38 ) SAD SONGS (SAY SO MUCH) Elton John
48 ( 54 ) HOT HOT HOT Arrow
49 ( 36 ) ONE BETTER DAY Madness
50 ( 27 ) FAREWELL MY SUMMER LOVE Michael Jackson

51 ( 44 ) EACH AND EVERY ONE Everything But The Girl
52 ( 45 ) AUTOMATIC The Pointer Sisters
53 ( NEW ) YOU THINK YOU'RE A MAN Divine
54 ( 50 ) HIGH ENERGY Evelyn King
55 ( NEW ) I'M IN A DIFFERENT WORLD Dave Stewart and Barbara Gaskin
56 ( 56 ) BILLIE JEAN Michael Jackson
57 ( 55 ) WOOD BEEZ (PRAY LIKE ARETHA FRANKLIN) Scritti Politti
58 ( 47 ) THIN LINE BETWEEN LOVE AND HATE The Pretenders
59 ( 59 ) STEPPING OUT John Lennon
60 ( 57 ) DOCTOR MABUSE Propaganda

61 ( 42 ) LOVE ALL DAY Nick Heyward
62 ( 62 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
63 ( NEW ) 80'S ROMANCE The Belle Stars
64 ( 63 ) LET'S DANCE David Bowie
65 ( 51 ) I FEEL LIKE BUDDY HOLLY Alvin Stardust
66 ( 66 ) RADIO GA GA Queen
67 ( NEW ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Blancmange
68 ( NEW ) GET YOUR FEET OUT OF MY SHOES Boothill Foot Tappers
69 ( 58 ) LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE BOY Deniece Williams
70 ( NEW ) PINK HOUSES John Cougar Mellencamp

71 ( 53 ) PEARL IN THE SHELL Howard Jones
72 ( 43 ) THOSE FIRST IMPRESSIONS The Associates
73 ( 69 ) HAND IN GLOVE Sandie Shaw
74 ( NEW ) LEGS ZZ Top
75 ( 67 ) I WANT TO BREAK FREE Queen




TV
1 Star Trek: The Naked Time
2 Comic Strip Presents: War
3 The Addams Family
4 Hill Street Blues
5 Top Of The Pops
6 Casablanca: film
7 Batman
8 The Monkees
9 Soap
10 The Mary Tyler Moore Show
11 Tenko
12 Doctor Who (liver Birds guest)
13 Taxi
14 Automan
15 Upstairs Downstairs

Posted by: popchartfreak 1st August 2014, 06:30 PM

24th July 1984

Back on top for Two Tribes, for a third week, while there’s a hole in my shoe at 4 and The Mighty Wah! get a second Top 10 hit a year and a half after hitting the top spot. The classic White Lines - so don’t do it! - finally breaks into the 10, and Divine positively rockets up to 20, proving if nothing else that a big bloke in a dress rasping over a manic bpm dance track is something to celebrate.

Shakatak smoothly glide to 22, a good jazzdance track, while Blancmange keep up their Top 40 run with that Abba cover at 29. Once again the highest new entry is a classic oldie - last week Beatles, this week Rolling Stones. It’s actually a chart debut though, as Brown Sugar was too naughty for Singapore radio in 1971 and it had taken 13 years to grow on me from occasional oldie listens. Talking about the most ridiculous haircut of all-time, A Flock Of Seagulls are back with a good track at 47, and Rod is back with a cover of Robert Palmer’s 1982 hit Some Guys Have All The Luck. Jeff Lynne and Dave Edmunds also keep up the 60’s veterans brigade with new singles.

So, Alien and Trek on top of TV viewing, I was raving about the latest Legion and Titans DC Comics, creatively hitting a peak that was matched commercially with big comic sales. At home, still not happy, a Vicar dropped by for a chat, newly esconced in brand new church, I think, looking for a new flock. I didn’t volunteer. The 15th anniversary of the Moon Landing TV shows casued me to reminisce on how much important stuff (to me) was happening in the Summer of ’69. Bryan Adams even wrote me a song about it! Honest!

By Monday I was getting seriously hypochondriac-al, worrying about symptoms that wouldn’t go away (and which I know now are stress-related), but tried youth club volunteering that evening to get me out, there were nearly as many helpers as kids, few facilities, and promised to come back Sept 3rd (summer break) after helping pack away and playing table football with kids. It didn’t give me an energy boost though, like the Mansfield Folkhouse did when I worked there, sadly.

Other things I tried to try and cheer myself up: Radio Luxembourg chart run-down; video arcade games in Bournemouth; went to cinema to see Supergirl movie (packed with kids on holiday being noisy): “..a good cast, all well OTT, mildly amusing, predictable, escapist fun, really. I’d go to see a sequel...” Hah! As if! Wishful thinking there. My College mate Paul rang and wanted to visit in August, which would have been brilliant for me - but the family announced they were all on holiday that week and would be back in the house then, so no room for Paul (felt awful telling him). None of them worked, though, increasingly depressed as the week went on. Oh dear!


1 ( 3 ) TWO TRIBES Frankie Goes To Hollywood
2 ( 1 ) EYES WITHOUT A FACE Billy Idol
3 ( 2 ) WHEN DOVES CRY Prince
4 ( 12 ) HOLE IN MY SHOE neil
5 ( 7 ) LOVE RESURRECTION Alison Moyet
6 ( 6 ) YOUNG AT HEART The Bluebells
7 ( 22 ) COME BACK The Mighty Wah!
8 ( 8 ) BREAKIN'...THERE'S NO STOPPIN' US Ollie and Jerry
9 ( 5 ) JUMP (FOR MY LOVE) The Pointer Sisters
10 ( 13 ) WHITE LINES (DON'T DON'T DO IT) Grandmaster Flash And Melle Mel

11 ( 11 ) WAITING IN VAIN Bob Marley And The Wailers
12 ( 4 ) LIFE ON YOUR OWN Human League
13 ( 20 ) A HARD DAY'S NIGHT The Beatles
14 ( 9 ) WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT Tina Turner
15 ( 15 ) I WON'T LET THE SUN GO DOWN ON ME Nik Kershaw
16 ( 19 ) STATE OF SHOCK The Jacksons featuring Mick Jagger
17 ( 29 ) CLOSEST THING TO HEAVEN The Kane Gang
18 ( 25 ) SELF CONTROL Laura Branigan
19 ( 14 ) TALKING LOUD AND CLEAR OMD
20 ( 53 ) YOU THINK YOU'RE A MAN Divine



21 ( 21 ) TIME AFTER TIME Cyndi Lauper
22 ( 43 ) DOWN ON THE STREET Shakatak
23 ( 33 ) EVERYBODY'S LAUGHING Phil Fearon and Galaxy
24 ( 10 ) ABSOLUTE Scritti Politti
25 ( 18 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
26 ( 32 ) SISTER OF MERCY The Thompson Twins
27 ( 27 ) STUCK ON YOU Lionel Richie
28 ( 17 ) I WANNA BE LOVED Elvis Costello
29 ( 67 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Blancmange
30 ( 16 ) DANCE ME UP Gary Glitter



31 ( 24 ) THINKING OF YOU Sister Sledge
32 ( 26 ) SMALLTOWN BOY Bronski Beat
33 ( 39 ) SWEET SOMEBODY Shannon
34 ( 38 ) SEVEN SEAS Echo And The Bunnymen
35 ( 35 ) LOVE SONGS ARE BACK AGAIN Band Of Gold
36 ( 45 ) LAMENT Ultravox
37 ( 23 ) BOYS DO FALL IN LOVE Robin Gibb
38 ( 28 ) PERFECT SKIN Lloyd Cole And The Commotions
39 ( NEW ) BROWN SUGAR The Rolling Stones
40 ( 59 ) STEPPING OUT John Lennon



41 ( 31 ) HEAVEN KNOWS I'M MISERABLE NOW The Smiths
42 ( 30 ) CHANGE OF HEART Change
43 ( 36 ) THE LEBANON Human League
44 ( 34 ) INFATUATION Rod Stewart
45 ( 37 ) YOU'RE THE BEST THING The Style Council
46 ( 48 ) HOT HOT HOT Arrow
47 ( NEW ) THE MORE YOU LIVE THE MORE YOU LOVE A Flock Of Seagulls
48 ( 41 ) WHEN AM I GOING TO MAKE A LIVING Sade
49 ( 44 ) THE REFLEX Duran Duran
50 ( NEW ) TOSSING AND TURNING Windjammer



51 ( 42 ) TO FRANCE Mike Oldfield and Maggie Reilly
52 ( 40 ) SO TIRED Ozzy Osbourne
53 ( 55 ) I'M IN A DIFFERENT WORLD Dave Stewart and Barbara Gaskin
54 ( 47 ) SAD SONGS (SAY SO MUCH) Elton John
55 ( 70 ) PINK HOUSES John Cougar Mellencamp
56 ( 56 ) BILLIE JEAN Michael Jackson
57 ( 50 ) FAREWELL MY SUMMER LOVE Michael Jackson
58 ( 49 ) ONE BETTER DAY Madness
59 ( 57 ) WOOD BEEZ (PRAY LIKE ARETHA FRANKLIN) Scritti Politti
60 ( NEW ) SOME GUYS HAVE ALL THE LUCK Rod Stewart

61 ( 62 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
62 ( 46 ) LEAVE A TENDER MOMENT ALONE Billy Joel
63 ( 52 ) AUTOMATIC The Pointer Sisters
64 ( 51 ) EACH AND EVERY ONE Everything But The Girl
65 ( 64 ) LET'S DANCE David Bowie
66 ( NEW ) VIDEO Jeff Lynne
67 ( 63 ) 80'S ROMANCE The Belle Stars
68 ( 60 ) DOCTOR MABUSE Propaganda
69 ( 66 ) RADIO GA GA Queen
70 ( NEW ) ON THE WINGS OF LOVE Jeffrey Osbourne

71 ( 68 ) GET YOUR FEET OUT OF MY SHOES Boothill Foot Tappers
72 ( NEW ) MY MALE CURIOSITY Kid Creole And The Coconuts
73 ( 54 ) HIGH ENERGY Evelyn King
74 ( NEW ) SOMETHING ABOUT YOU BABY Dave Edmunds
75 ( 65 ) I FEEL LIKE BUDDY HOLLY Alvin Stardust

TV
1 Alien: film
1 Star Trek: The Enemy Within
3 Hill Street Blues
4 Rhoda
5 Mary Tyler Moore Show
6 Soap
7 Tenko
8 Monkees
9 Top Of The Pops
10 Addams Family

Posted by: popchartfreak 1st August 2014, 08:00 PM

31st July 1984

4 weeks for Frankie as they were heading for 9 on top of the UK singles chart, and The Beatles keep those reissued Top 10 hits coming as A Hard Day’s Night hits 6. Shakatak are down in the streets but up in the charts, at 10, and everybody might be laughing at Phil Fearon, but he’s at 12 in the charts that count so he has the last laugh. Windjammer sail up to 22, with a track I’ve utterly forgotten - I’m guessing that’s not a good sign! Hazell Dean gets a second hit, though, with the even better Whatever I Do, and the sound of Stock Aitken Waterman has 2 in the 30 (Divine, t’other one, I think). Better get used to multiple entries in the singles chart, eh lads?

Queen get a third Top 40 hit of 1984, Rod gets a 2nd one, and Dave Edmunds has a welcome (floptastic) Top 40 hit yet again in my charts. I’m so loyal! Arrow finally prove it’s Hot Hot Hot at 40, as a major classic enters at 42. My sis-in-law Sue, then 24, loved George Michael, and Careless Whisper especially, and the new mature pop sound was a big surprise (especially after all the furore over his video expensive haircut obsession), but as we now know a huge hit and the start of a new solo career (eventually). I can’t listen to it these days, not since it was played at Sue’s funeral.

On TV sci-fi miniseries V started, but just as the Lionel Richie record falls dramatically because it reminded me of feeling ill, so this series has the same effect since the scene of the rodent-swallowing. By now I felt like I was on the verge of bursting into tears all the time, something I’d not done for a decade or so. Mum & dad knew something was up, I wasn’t eating properly, but I couldn’t explain it to them. Or to the doctor. So I stayed on camp for a few days with everyone so they could keep an eye on me. I hope this has a happy ending!


1 ( 1 ) TWO TRIBES Frankie Goes To Hollywood
2 ( 2 ) EYES WITHOUT A FACE Billy Idol
3 ( 4 ) HOLE IN MY SHOE neil
4 ( 3 ) WHEN DOVES CRY Prince
5 ( 6 ) YOUNG AT HEART The Bluebells
6 ( 13 ) A HARD DAY'S NIGHT The Beatles
7 ( 7 ) COME BACK The Mighty Wah!
8 ( 10 ) WHITE LINES (DON'T DON'T DO IT) Grandmaster Flash And Melle Mel
9 ( 8 ) BREAKIN'...THERE'S NO STOPPIN' US Ollie and Jerry
10 ( 22 ) DOWN ON THE STREET Shakatak

11 ( 5 ) LOVE RESURRECTION Alison Moyet
12 ( 23 ) EVERYBODY'S LAUGHING Phil Fearon and Galaxy
13 ( 17 ) CLOSEST THING TO HEAVEN The Kane Gang
14 ( 18 ) SELF CONTROL Laura Branigan
15 ( 9 ) JUMP (FOR MY LOVE) The Pointer Sisters
16 ( 12 ) LIFE ON YOUR OWN Human League
17 ( 11 ) WAITING IN VAIN Bob Marley And The Wailers
18 ( 14 ) WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT Tina Turner
19 ( 29 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Blancmange
20 ( 20 ) YOU THINK YOU'RE A MAN Divine



21 ( 15 ) I WON'T LET THE SUN GO DOWN ON ME Nik Kershaw
22 ( 50 ) TOSSING AND TURNING Windjammer
23 ( 21 ) TIME AFTER TIME Cyndi Lauper
24 ( 19 ) TALKING LOUD AND CLEAR OMD
25 ( NEW ) WHATEVER I DO (WHEREVER I GO) Hazell Dean
26 ( 16 ) STATE OF SHOCK The Jacksons featuring Mick Jagger
27 ( 35 ) LOVE SONGS ARE BACK AGAIN Band Of Gold
28 ( 34 ) SEVEN SEAS Echo And The Bunnymen
29 ( 33 ) SWEET SOMEBODY Shannon
30 ( 40 ) STEPPING OUT John Lennon



31 ( 25 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
32 ( NEW ) IT'S A HARD LIFE Queen
33 ( 31 ) THINKING OF YOU Sister Sledge
34 ( 28 ) I WANNA BE LOVED Elvis Costello
35 ( 32 ) SMALLTOWN BOY Bronski Beat
36 ( 26 ) SISTER OF MERCY The Thompson Twins
37 ( 60 ) SOME GUYS HAVE ALL THE LUCK Rod Stewart
38 ( 74 ) SOMETHING ABOUT YOU BABY Dave Edmunds
39 ( 39 ) BROWN SUGAR The Rolling Stones
40 ( 46 ) HOT HOT HOT Arrow



41 ( 24 ) ABSOLUTE Scritti Politti
42 ( NEW ) CARELESS WHISPER George Michael
43 ( 36 ) LAMENT Ultravox
44 ( 30 ) DANCE ME UP Gary Glitter
45 ( 37 ) BOYS DO FALL IN LOVE Robin Gibb
46 ( 47 ) THE MORE YOU LIVE THE MORE YOU LOVE A Flock Of Seagulls
47 ( NEW ) SUNGLASSES Tracey Ullman
48 ( 38 ) PERFECT SKIN Lloyd Cole And The Commotions
49 ( 43 ) THE LEBANON Human League
50 ( 44 ) INFATUATION Rod Stewart



51 ( 66 ) VIDEO Jeff Lynne
52 ( 27 ) STUCK ON YOU Lionel Richie
53 ( 41 ) HEAVEN KNOWS I'M MISERABLE NOW The Smiths
54 ( NEW ) HAND ON MY HEART Shriekback
55 ( 45 ) YOU'RE THE BEST THING The Style Council
56 ( 72 ) MY MALE CURIOSITY Kid Creole And The Coconuts
57 ( 56 ) BILLIE JEAN Michael Jackson
58 ( 58 ) ONE BETTER DAY Madness
59 ( 48 ) WHEN AM I GOING TO MAKE A LIVING Sade
60 ( 70 ) ON THE WINGS OF LOVE Jeffrey Osbourne

61 ( 49 ) THE REFLEX Duran Duran
62 ( 61 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
63 ( NEW ) WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ONE Matt Bianco
64 ( 59 ) WOOD BEEZ (PRAY LIKE ARETHA FRANKLIN) Scritti Politti
65 ( NEW ) STATE OF INDEPENDANCE Jon And Vangelis
66 ( NEW ) THERE ARE MORE SNAKES THAN LADDERS Captain Sensible
67 ( 65 ) LET'S DANCE David Bowie
68 ( 51 ) TO FRANCE Mike Oldfield and Maggie Reilly
69 ( 42 ) CHANGE OF HEART Change
70 ( 69 ) RADIO GA GA Queen

71 ( 68 ) DOCTOR MABUSE Propaganda
72 ( 63 ) AUTOMATIC The Pointer Sisters
73 ( NEW ) COULDN'T STAND A DAY Re-Flex
74 ( 54 ) SAD SONGS (SAY SO MUCH) Elton John
75 ( NEW ) BE THANKFUL FOR WHAT YOU'VE GOT Sunset Gun

TV
1 Star Trek: Mudd's Women
2 Cheers
3 Mary Tyler Moore Show
4 Rhoda
5 Soap
6 Addams Family
7 Hi De Hi
8 V
9 Top Of The Pops
10 Tenko

Posted by: popchartfreak 28th August 2014, 03:37 PM

7th August 1984

After a record-equalling modern-era 9 weeks on top of the UK chart it was 5 weeks on top for Frankie, the longest run since Abba’s Day Before You Came in 1982, with neil at 2 and the Kane Gang giving chase at 4 with the lovely Closest Thing To Heaven. Laura Branigan’s brilliant Self-Control surpasses my own in real life at 7, but it’s George’s Careless Whisper rocketing to 9 that is the big news, as sad songs continue to dominate.

Queen get a third top 20 hit of the year, and new in at 27 it’s Alphaville who are, apparently, Big In Japan. Must be the catchy synths! A Flock Of Seagulls fly up to perch at 32, just out of reach of Captain sensibles snakes at 34. Tracey Ullman manages a 5th Top 40 hit just ahead of leaving the country for pastures anew. Doh! And...at 46...it’s a mega-famous song. Agadoo. Push that effing pineapple, shake that blanking tree? Actually, it’s by far the best Black Lace record. Admittedly, not that much of a compliment...

What about the dreary life of John? Depression-symptoms continue, and affected my judgement so much that I though Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom was better than Raiders Of The Lost Ark (after seeing it a second time). Oh no it’s not! Richard Burton died, meanwhile, and still not eating much. Even going to the Radio One Roadshow on Bournemouth beach, with sis-in-law and baby niece on a glorious hot summer day didn’t cheer me up much. Just a bit. Gary Davies DJ’d, I took some photos of the crowds and cliffs, then the live broadcast started at 11, with Hazell Dean’s current hit. I marvelled at all the gorgeous fit young people in speedos and bikinis while I had my coat on. Nerd! Sue, heavily-preganant, didn’t complain about rushing back to the car in the crowds, bless her, cos the parking ticket had expired.


1 ( 1 ) TWO TRIBES Frankie Goes To Hollywood
2 ( 3 ) HOLE IN MY SHOE neil
3 ( 2 ) EYES WITHOUT A FACE Billy Idol
4 ( 13 ) CLOSEST THING TO HEAVEN The Kane Gang
5 ( 6 ) A HARD DAY'S NIGHT The Beatles
6 ( 4 ) WHEN DOVES CRY Prince
7 ( 14 ) SELF CONTROL Laura Branigan
8 ( 10 ) DOWN ON THE STREET Shakatak
9 ( 42 ) CARELESS WHISPER George Michael
10 ( 12 ) EVERYBODY'S LAUGHING Phil Fearon and Galaxy




11 ( 9 ) BREAKIN'...THERE'S NO STOPPIN' US Ollie and Jerry
12 ( 5 ) YOUNG AT HEART The Bluebells
13 ( 25 ) WHATEVER I DO (WHEREVER I GO) Hazell Dean
14 ( 7 ) COME BACK The Mighty Wah!
15 ( 8 ) WHITE LINES (DON'T DON'T DO IT) Grandmaster Flash And Melle Mel
16 ( 11 ) LOVE RESURRECTION Alison Moyet
17 ( 27 ) LOVE SONGS ARE BACK AGAIN Band Of Gold
18 ( 20 ) YOU THINK YOU'RE A MAN Divine
19 ( 18 ) WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT Tina Turner
20 ( 32 ) IT'S A HARD LIFE Queen

21 ( 15 ) JUMP (FOR MY LOVE) The Pointer Sisters
22 ( 22 ) TOSSING AND TURNING Windjammer
23 ( 16 ) LIFE ON YOUR OWN Human League
24 ( 17 ) WAITING IN VAIN Bob Marley And The Wailers
25 ( 19 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Blancmange
26 ( 21 ) I WON'T LET THE SUN GO DOWN ON ME Nik Kershaw
27 ( NEW ) BIG IN JAPAN Alphaville
28 ( 37 ) SOME GUYS HAVE ALL THE LUCK Rod Stewart
29 ( 23 ) TIME AFTER TIME Cyndi Lauper
30 ( 24 ) TALKING LOUD AND CLEAR OMD



31 ( 31 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
32 ( 46 ) THE MORE YOU LIVE THE MORE YOU LOVE A Flock Of Seagulls
33 ( 33 ) THINKING OF YOU Sister Sledge
34 ( 65 ) THERE ARE MORE SNAKES THAN LADDERS Captain Sensible
35 ( 35 ) SMALLTOWN BOY Bronski Beat
36 ( 47 ) SUNGLASSES Tracey Ullman
37 ( 39 ) BROWN SUGAR The Rolling Stones
38 ( 38 ) SOMETHING ABOUT YOU BABY Dave Edmunds
39 ( 40 ) HOT HOT HOT Arrow
40 ( 34 ) I WANNA BE LOVED Elvis Costello

41 ( 30 ) STEPPING OUT John Lennon
42 ( 26 ) STATE OF SHOCK The Jacksons featuring Mick Jagger
43 ( 29 ) SWEET SOMEBODY Shannon
44 ( 36 ) SISTER OF MERCY The Thompson Twins
45 ( 51 ) VIDEO Jeff Lynne
46 ( NEW ) AGADOO Black Lace
47 ( 54 ) HAND ON MY HEART Shriekback
48 ( 28 ) SEVEN SEAS Echo And The Bunnymen
49 ( 65 ) STATE OF INDEPENDANCE Jon And Vangelis
50 ( 56 ) MY MALE CURIOSITY Kid Creole And The Coconuts




51 ( 41 ) ABSOLUTE Scritti Politti
52 ( 45 ) BOYS DO FALL IN LOVE Robin Gibb
53 ( 50 ) INFATUATION Rod Stewart
54 ( 49 ) THE LEBANON Human League
55 ( 63 ) WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ONE Matt Bianco
56 ( 44 ) DANCE ME UP Gary Glitter
57 ( 48 ) PERFECT SKIN Lloyd Cole And The Commotions
58 ( 57 ) BILLIE JEAN Michael Jackson
59 ( 60 ) ON THE WINGS OF LOVE Jeffrey Osbourne
60 ( 55 ) YOU'RE THE BEST THING The Style Council

61 ( 43 ) LAMENT Ultravox
62 ( 75 ) BE THANKFUL FOR WHAT YOU'VE GOT Sunset Gun
63 ( 62 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
64 ( 58 ) ONE BETTER DAY Madness
65 ( 59 ) WHEN AM I GOING TO MAKE A LIVING Sade
66 ( NEW ) SHE'S THE ONE Jamie Rae
67 ( 66 ) LET'S DANCE David Bowie
68 ( 64 ) WOOD BEEZ (PRAY LIKE ARETHA FRANKLIN) Scritti Politti
69 ( NEW ) IN THE COUNTRY Farmer's Boys
70 ( 73 ) COULDN'T STAND A DAY Re-Flex

71 ( 67 ) TO FRANCE Mike Oldfield and Maggie Reilly
72 ( NEW ) STUCK ON YOU Trevor Walters
73 ( NEW ) BANANA BANANA King Kurt
74 ( 53 ) HEAVEN KNOWS I'M MISERABLE NOW The Smiths
75 ( NEW ) I GO WILD Suzi Quatro

TV
1 Star Trek: What Are Little Girls Made Of
2 The Young Ones: Summer Holiday
3 Soap
4 Rhoda
5 Mary Tyler Moore Show
6 The Addams Family
7 Outlands: film
8 Top Of The Pops
9 WKRP In Cincinatti
10 Hi De Hi

Posted by: popchartfreak 29th August 2014, 01:42 PM

14th August 1984

6 weeks for Frankie, and Laura Branigan is in runners-up spot. From the point of view of 2014 it should have been the other way around, Self Control deserved to get a least a week on top. Hazell Dean gets her first and last top 5 hit Rod gets a 13th year of Top 20 hits, and Jeff Lynne does the same with his Electric Dreams single.

Stevie Wonder, 16 years of big hits in my charts, and so many under-performing classics that should have gone all the way, and two that did in 1977 (I Wish and Sir Duke) and one in 1981 (Lately), and it’s the highest new entry with a telephone song that finally gave him his first solo UK chart-topper: I Just Called To Say I Love You at 19. Will it give him a 4th chart-topper? Meanwhile long-forgotten wannabe popstar Jamie Rae shoots up to 28 with She’s The One, not the Robbie song, it’s a pleasant pop song.

Lots of new entries: Elton John’s string of hits carries on, with Passengers, very much his prep homework for The Lion King, I think, and in at 36. The SOS Band also get a follow-up instant top 40 hit, with the Jam & Lewis Just The Way You Like It. It was. Martha And The Muffins have a comeback, albeit using Eminem’s name (but not spelling) 15 years earlier than he did. The funky Black Stations White Stations even had a dancing on the ceiling video and line that Lionel Richie “borrowed” 2 years later.

If ever there was a band that should have been bigger it was The Adventures, a great Northern Irish band who enter here with the fab Another Silent Day at 47, even beating out Howard Jones latest good hit at 50, Rockwell’s Beatles cover follow-up Taxman at 60, and Kid Creole’s ebbing run of singles at 62, as he worries that someone’s going to take his coconuts. Black Uhuru get a rare chart entry at 72, there’s a bit of spare Change at 73, Yes, It Can Happen - check out 75 - and call me a doctor! Doctor Beat? Doc Doc Doc Doc Doctor Beat! It’s Gloria Estefan and hubby debuting as Miami Sound Machine at 74, with the fab whimsical latin-rhythmed track that launched a pretty successful career.

At home I was marched off to the doctors as I still wasn’t eating much. His expert opinion was it was a viral infection and nerves. Next patient please! I bought a prezzie for my niece’s first birthday, and her mum did the house cleaning for me as some college friends were calling for a few days, Jane and Dave, two of my good friends just back from Italy where Dave’s relations come from. We went out to the pub, though it can’t have been much fun for them me not being at my best by any means. Next day I showed them the highlights of Poole Quay, then they took me to Swanage for my first ever visit, which was quaint, before leaving for home. Sunday, a family outing to Poole Park, everyone forcing me to get involved in life, and then on Monday waiting for more good College friends, Paul and Sheila to arrive. I’d forgotten how often people used to visit me, I must say...

Daley Thompson retained his Olympic title, meanwhile, on TV, and Mary Decker sobbed about her crash with Zola Budd on the track: talk about media manipulation!



1 ( 1 ) TWO TRIBES Frankie Goes To Hollywood
2 ( 7 ) SELF CONTROL Laura Branigan
3 ( 3 ) EYES WITHOUT A FACE Billy Idol
4 ( 4 ) CLOSEST THING TO HEAVEN The Kane Gang
5 ( 13 ) WHATEVER I DO (WHEREVER I GO) Hazell Dean
6 ( 9 ) CARELESS WHISPER George Michael
7 ( 8 ) DOWN ON THE STREET Shakatak
8 ( 6 ) WHEN DOVES CRY Prince
9 ( 17 ) LOVE SONGS ARE BACK AGAIN Band Of Gold
10 ( 10 ) EVERYBODY'S LAUGHING Phil Fearon and Galaxy

11 ( 5 ) A HARD DAY'S NIGHT The Beatles
12 ( 2 ) HOLE IN MY SHOE neil
13 ( 19 ) WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT Tina Turner
14 ( 28 ) SOME GUYS HAVE ALL THE LUCK Rod Stewart
15 ( 11 ) BREAKIN'...THERE'S NO STOPPIN' US Ollie and Jerry
16 ( 12 ) YOUNG AT HEART The Bluebells
17 ( 22 ) TOSSING AND TURNING Windjammer
18 ( 45 ) VIDEO Jeff Lynne
19 ( NEW ) I JUST CALLED TO SAY I LOVE YOU Stevie Wonder
20 ( 20 ) IT'S A HARD LIFE Queen

21 ( 16 ) LOVE RESURRECTION Alison Moyet
22 ( 14 ) COME BACK The Mighty Wah!
23 ( 15 ) WHITE LINES (DON'T DON'T DO IT) Grandmaster Flash And Melle Mel
24 ( 18 ) YOU THINK YOU'RE A MAN Divine
25 ( 27 ) BIG IN JAPAN Alphaville
26 ( 38 ) SOMETHING ABOUT YOU BABY Dave Edmunds
27 ( 21 ) JUMP (FOR MY LOVE) The Pointer Sisters
28 ( 66 ) SHE'S THE ONE Jamie Rae
29 ( 32 ) THE MORE YOU LIVE THE MORE YOU LOVE A Flock Of Seagulls
30 ( 24 ) WAITING IN VAIN Bob Marley And The Wailers

31 ( 23 ) LIFE ON YOUR OWN Human League
32 ( 36 ) SUNGLASSES Tracey Ullman
33 ( 34 ) THERE ARE MORE SNAKES THAN LADDERS Captain Sensible
34 ( 29 ) TIME AFTER TIME Cyndi Lauper
35 ( 31 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
36 ( NEW ) PASSENGERS Elton John
37 ( 25 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Blancmange
38 ( 26 ) I WON'T LET THE SUN GO DOWN ON ME Nik Kershaw
39 ( NEW ) JUST THE WAY YOU LIKE IT SOS Band
40 ( 35 ) SMALLTOWN BOY Bronski Beat



41 ( 33 ) THINKING OF YOU Sister Sledge
42 ( 46 ) AGADOO Black Lace
43 ( 40 ) I WANNA BE LOVED Elvis Costello
44 ( 30 ) TALKING LOUD AND CLEAR OMD
45 ( NEW ) BLACK STATIONS WHITE STATIONS M & M
46 ( 62 ) BE THANKFUL FOR WHAT YOU'VE GOT Sunset Gun
47 ( NEW ) ANOTHER SILENT DAY The Adventures
48 ( 72 ) STUCK ON YOU Trevor Walters
49 ( 49 ) STATE OF INDEPENDANCE Jon And Vangelis
50 ( NEW ) LIKE TO GET TO KNOW YOU WELL Howard Jones



51 ( 70 ) COULDN'T STAND A DAY Re-Flex
52 ( 39 ) HOT HOT HOT Arrow
53 ( 53 ) INFATUATION Rod Stewart
54 ( 59 ) ON THE WINGS OF LOVE Jeffrey Osbourne
55 ( 42 ) STATE OF SHOCK The Jacksons featuring Mick Jagger
56 ( 37 ) BROWN SUGAR The Rolling Stones
57 ( 56 ) DANCE ME UP Gary Glitter
58 ( 54 ) THE LEBANON Human League
59 ( 58 ) BILLIE JEAN Michael Jackson
60 ( NEW ) TAXMAN Rockwell



61 ( 41 ) STEPPING OUT John Lennon
62 ( NEW ) DON'T TAKE MY COCONUTS Kid Creole And The Coconuts
63 ( 43 ) SWEET SOMEBODY Shannon
64 ( 52 ) BOYS DO FALL IN LOVE Robin Gibb
65 ( 63 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
66 ( 51 ) ABSOLUTE Scritti Politti
67 ( 69 ) IN THE COUNTRY Farmer's Boys
68 ( 67 ) LET'S DANCE David Bowie
69 ( 64 ) ONE BETTER DAY Madness
70 ( 60 ) YOU'RE THE BEST THING The Style Council

71 ( 65 ) WHEN AM I GOING TO MAKE A LIVING Sade
72 ( NEW ) WHAT IS LIFE Black Uhuru
73 ( NEW ) YOU ARE MY MELODY Change
74 ( NEW ) DR. BEAT Miami Sound Machine
75 ( NEW ) IT CAN HAPPEN Yes



TV
1 Star Trek: Dagger Of The Mind
2 Soap
3 Rhoda
4 What's Up Doc?: film
5 Mary Tyler Moore Show
6 The Addams Family
7 Top Of The Pops
8 The Likely Lads: film
9 Doctor Who: The Five Doctors
10 The Monkees

Posted by: popchartfreak 30th August 2014, 01:34 PM

21st August 1984

Careless Whisper gets to the top and gives George Michael his first number one. The sax is gorgeous and the conviction of the song written when he was a lad is surprisingly sincere. It was like a leap forward in sophistication for Wham!, and people viewed George with a lot more credibility from here on. Sadly for Laura Branigan, she gets stuck at 2 and Stevie (the third UK Number One million-seller in a row) leaps to 4, so it’s not looking good for her!

A sudden leap for the Seagulls to 12, Howard Jones to 24, Miami Sound Machine to 39, and The Pointer Sisters announce they need you at 29. A Jacko oldie sneaks in at 47, not one of his best, while The Smiths make it 4 in a row with William. It was really nothing. Oh that’s Morrissey being modest. For the first and last time. Dan Hartman, 5 years on, pops back into the charts with a future 1985 UK hit, I Can Dream About You, pleasant enough. Elvis is back (Costello) with his latest flame. The only flame in town in fact. At 67, also 5 years on, having dumped his band name (Raydio) Ray Parker Junior pops in with a halloween song from a movie. Who ya gonna call? I suggest Harold Ramis and Bill Murray, Groundhog Day, my all-time fave movie. If you can’t find it, settle for Ghostbusters. You might have heard of it...

Life? Don’t talk to me about life! Despite my friends Paul and Sheila visiting and taking me out, and having a proper laugh for the first time in months over some hairy balls (you had to be there), I was still depressed to be doing job applications, and mum tried to get me to go to Liverpool with them. Went to the cinema to see a Star Trek movies extravaganza, 1 I downgraded, Khan I upgraded in opinion, and Search For Spock, the new movie which had a few minuses (no Kirstie Alley, Christopher Lloyd being too lovable to be a Klingon, killing of David) and some pluses, the cast without Spock had more of a chance to shine, and inject some warm humour. After much indecision I went to Southport with mum and dad, and a day trip to Blackpool. A roller-coaster ride is usually guaranteed to bring me joy, best I could manage was a smile. Then to Liverpool to see grandma, who was quite flustered by the hot weather and us visiting, but did a meal before we went to New Brighton. I’ll leave it there, and comment that while I recall all the depressing stuff fairly vividly, the nice stuff I’ve almost entirely forgotten, no memories of the funfair, video games, going to see Star Trek III again. None of it. Now THAT’S depressing!




1 ( 6 ) CARELESS WHISPER George Michael
2 ( 2 ) SELF CONTROL Laura Branigan
3 ( 1 ) TWO TRIBES Frankie Goes To Hollywood
4 ( 19 ) I JUST CALLED TO SAY I LOVE YOU Stevie Wonder
5 ( 5 ) WHATEVER I DO (WHEREVER I GO) Hazell Dean
6 ( 3 ) EYES WITHOUT A FACE Billy Idol
7 ( 4 ) CLOSEST THING TO HEAVEN The Kane Gang
8 ( 8 ) WHEN DOVES CRY Prince
9 ( 9 ) LOVE SONGS ARE BACK AGAIN Band Of Gold
10 ( 14 ) SOME GUYS HAVE ALL THE LUCK Rod Stewart

11 ( 7 ) DOWN ON THE STREET Shakatak
12 ( 29 ) THE MORE YOU LIVE THE MORE YOU LOVE A Flock Of Seagulls
13 ( 13 ) WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT Tina Turner
14 ( 10 ) EVERYBODY'S LAUGHING Phil Fearon and Galaxy
15 ( 39 ) JUST THE WAY YOU LIKE IT SOS Band
16 ( 18 ) VIDEO Jeff Lynne
17 ( 17 ) TOSSING AND TURNING Windjammer
18 ( 28 ) SHE'S THE ONE Jamie Rae
19 ( 12 ) HOLE IN MY SHOE neil
20 ( 20 ) IT'S A HARD LIFE Queen

21 ( 11 ) A HARD DAY'S NIGHT The Beatles
22 ( 16 ) YOUNG AT HEART The Bluebells
23 ( 25 ) BIG IN JAPAN Alphaville
24 ( 50 ) LIKE TO GET TO KNOW YOU WELL Howard Jones
25 ( 33 ) THERE ARE MORE SNAKES THAN LADDERS Captain Sensible
26 ( 15 ) BREAKIN'...THERE'S NO STOPPIN' US Ollie and Jerry
27 ( 32 ) SUNGLASSES Tracey Ullman
28 ( 36 ) PASSENGERS Elton John
29 ( NEW ) I NEED YOU The Pointer Sisters
30 ( 23 ) WHITE LINES (DON'T DON'T DO IT) Grandmaster Flash And Melle Mel

31 ( 21 ) LOVE RESURRECTION Alison Moyet
32 ( 22 ) COME BACK The Mighty Wah!
33 ( 24 ) YOU THINK YOU'RE A MAN Divine
34 ( 27 ) JUMP (FOR MY LOVE) The Pointer Sisters
35 ( 48 ) STUCK ON YOU Trevor Walters
36 ( 30 ) WAITING IN VAIN Bob Marley And The Wailers
37 ( 26 ) SOMETHING ABOUT YOU BABY Dave Edmunds
38 ( 31 ) LIFE ON YOUR OWN Human League
39 ( 74 ) DR. BEAT Miami Sound Machine
40 ( 35 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood

41 ( 34 ) TIME AFTER TIME Cyndi Lauper
42 ( 42 ) AGADOO Black Lace
43 ( 43 ) I WANNA BE LOVED Elvis Costello
44 ( 41 ) THINKING OF YOU Sister Sledge
45 ( 40 ) SMALLTOWN BOY Bronski Beat
46 ( 38 ) I WON'T LET THE SUN GO DOWN ON ME Nik Kershaw
47 ( NEW ) GIRL YOU'RE SO TOGETHER Michael Jackson
48 ( 60 ) TAXMAN Rockwell
49 ( 49 ) STATE OF INDEPENDANCE Jon And Vangelis
50 ( 37 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Blancmange




51 ( 47 ) ANOTHER SILENT DAY The Adventures
52 ( 44 ) TALKING LOUD AND CLEAR OMD
53 ( 54 ) ON THE WINGS OF LOVE Jeffrey Osbourne
54 ( 73 ) YOU ARE MY MELODY Change
55 ( 45 ) BLACK STATIONS WHITE STATIONS M & M
56 ( 53 ) INFATUATION Rod Stewart
57 ( 57 ) DANCE ME UP Gary Glitter
58 ( NEW ) WILLIAM IT WAS REALLY NOTHING The Smiths
59 ( 59 ) BILLIE JEAN Michael Jackson
60 ( NEW ) I CAN DREAM ABOUT YOU Dan Hartman



61 ( 58 ) THE LEBANON Human League
62 ( 51 ) COULDN'T STAND A DAY Re-Flex
63 ( 71 ) WHEN AM I GOING TO MAKE A LIVING Sade
64 ( 67 ) IN THE COUNTRY Farmer's Boys
65 ( 65 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
66 ( NEW ) THE ONLY FLAME IN TOWN Elvis Costello
67 ( NEW ) GHOSTBUSTERS Ray Parker Junior
68 ( 68 ) LET'S DANCE David Bowie
69 ( 69 ) ONE BETTER DAY Madness
70 ( 56 ) BROWN SUGAR The Rolling Stones



71 ( 62 ) DON'T TAKE MY COCONUTS Kid Creole And The Coconuts
72 ( 64 ) BOYS DO FALL IN LOVE Robin Gibb
73 ( NEW ) SUMMER HOLIDAY Kevin The Gerbil
74 ( NEW ) MOTHER'S TALK Tears For Fears
75 ( 55 ) STATE OF SHOCK The Jacksons featuring Mick Jagger

Posted by: popchartfreak 30th August 2014, 02:23 PM

28th August 1984

2 weeks for Georgie, and Alphaville suddenly leap to 6, and Howard Jones to 7, his 5th Top 10 in a row. Highest new entry though is a 60’s MOR jazz classic from Astrud Gilberto, The Girl From Ipanema - originally a hit without any credit for her in 1964, Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto getting the credit. Just as well Joao was her husband then, as she became a big Brazilian bossa nova star as a result. It’s gorgeous whoever’s on the label though.

In at 27, Bucks Fizz cover the Romantics hit from earlier in the year, and do a damn fine job too, getting the UK hit version. Happily I’ve seen them both do it live. At 35, Malcolm McLaren tries fusing Opera and Hip Hop, with the lovely Madame Butterfly re-imagining. I appreciate it all the more having since been forced to endure the whole tedious opera. I think the translation of the lyrics on a screen were a bad decision, being as they were romantic drivel suited better to the times they were written in.

Kraftwerk show they still have something to show, cycling into the top 40 9 years after they first drove in, having catwalked their way into the 40 in the interim. Tour De France is a good track. Less good, is the pleasant I’ll Fly For You, keeping up the run of middle-period “pleasant but OK-ish” hits for Spandau Ballet. I’ve seen them in concert several times, and that applies to them live too. The last time was at the O2 sat at the far back. Honestly, might as well have been on a mountain in the next country for all you could see on stage. I wouldn’t say the stage was far away but several planes from Heathrow flew past my head.

Finally, in the novelty section, Agadoo goes Top 40, Kevin The Gerbil drops out the chart and is replaced by Iron Maiden. Not quite sure which of the 3 is funnier.

Meanwhile, back in Liverpool 1984, visited grandma, found a comic shop, and watched some lads break-dancing, bit of a rage at the time. Then the drive home so I could go for a job interview, tensed-up and stressed. The stop-off in Gloucester though reminded me of happier times and I remembered it all perfectly well, 9 years on, hadn’t changed much at all. According to Googlemap, it still hasn’t! I may go back next weekend as I’m feeling the need to revisit my youth. Mum and dad didn’t remember much, rather shockingly, I noted: “It proves to me that memory can’t be trusted, but mine seems to be better than most people’s as I like to remember the past as best I can - one photograph as a reminder makes the difference between remembering and forgetting forever.” I stand by that comment, and especially when dealing with memories 3 decades old and no evidence whatsoever. I’ve watched people embroider factual stories over a long period of time till the story becomes part-fiction accepted as fact, just because it’s funnier or more exciting, and become “remembered” that way.

Back at home my brother was in A&E after getting a bad head cut from a falling iron, and still on strike and stressed and irritable. “It never rains but it pours” I mused wondering if 1984 would ever get any better. The interview was for a surveyor (temporary) position with Dorset County Council, based in Bournemouth, but travelling the county with a state-of-the-art hand computer (ie less memory than a pocket calculator these days) measuring roads and verges, and signs and white lines ready for the tendering of contracts, as plans were afoot to privatise council staff. Unusually for me, I came out of it thinking I stood a good chance of getting it “not that I want it but it’ll do till a better one comes along”. More fun, my parents were waiting for me in Boscombe which had a record shop and comic shop. Hooray!

A word of advice: never muse if any given year is going to get better. On saturday Sue got a phone call from her Uncle Paul telling us her grandma had died. Mum looked after Sue who was crying a lot.

I didn’t get offered the job.

1 ( 1 ) CARELESS WHISPER George Michael
2 ( 4 ) I JUST CALLED TO SAY I LOVE YOU Stevie Wonder
3 ( 5 ) WHATEVER I DO (WHEREVER I GO) Hazell Dean
4 ( 3 ) TWO TRIBES Frankie Goes To Hollywood
5 ( 2 ) SELF CONTROL Laura Branigan
6 ( 23 ) BIG IN JAPAN Alphaville
7 ( 24 ) LIKE TO GET TO KNOW YOU WELL Howard Jones
8 ( 10 ) SOME GUYS HAVE ALL THE LUCK Rod Stewart
9 ( 12 ) THE MORE YOU LIVE THE MORE YOU LOVE A Flock Of Seagulls
10 ( 9 ) LOVE SONGS ARE BACK AGAIN Band Of Gold

11 ( 6 ) EYES WITHOUT A FACE Billy Idol
12 ( NEW ) THE GIRL FROM IPANEMA Astrud Gilberto
13 ( 39 ) DR. BEAT Miami Sound Machine
14 ( 8 ) WHEN DOVES CRY Prince
15 ( 15 ) JUST THE WAY YOU LIKE IT SOS Band
16 ( 7 ) CLOSEST THING TO HEAVEN The Kane Gang
17 ( 28 ) PASSENGERS Elton John
18 ( 18 ) SHE'S THE ONE Jamie Rae
19 ( 13 ) WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT Tina Turner
20 ( 27 ) SUNGLASSES Tracey Ullman



21 ( 29 ) I NEED YOU The Pointer Sisters
22 ( 11 ) DOWN ON THE STREET Shakatak
23 ( 14 ) EVERYBODY'S LAUGHING Phil Fearon and Galaxy
24 ( 20 ) IT'S A HARD LIFE Queen
25 ( 19 ) HOLE IN MY SHOE neil
26 ( 67 ) GHOSTBUSTERS Ray Parker Junior
27 ( NEW ) TALKING IN YOUR SLEEP Bucks Fizz
28 ( 35 ) STUCK ON YOU Trevor Walters
29 ( 16 ) VIDEO Jeff Lynne
30 ( 30 ) WHITE LINES (DON'T DON'T DO IT) Grandmaster Flash And Melle Mel



31 ( 17 ) TOSSING AND TURNING Windjammer
32 ( 21 ) A HARD DAY'S NIGHT The Beatles
33 ( 42 ) AGADOO Black Lace
34 ( 22 ) YOUNG AT HEART The Bluebells
35 ( NEW ) MADAME BUTTERFLY Malcolm McLaren
36 ( 26 ) BREAKIN'...THERE'S NO STOPPIN' US Ollie and Jerry
37 ( 32 ) COME BACK The Mighty Wah!
38 ( 33 ) YOU THINK YOU'RE A MAN Divine
39 ( NEW ) TOUR DE FRANCE Kraftwerk
40 ( 36 ) WAITING IN VAIN Bob Marley And The Wailers



41 ( 40 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
42 ( 34 ) JUMP (FOR MY LOVE) The Pointer Sisters
43 ( 31 ) LOVE RESURRECTION Alison Moyet
44 ( 38 ) LIFE ON YOUR OWN Human League
45 ( NEW ) I'LL FLY FOR YOU Spandau Ballet
46 ( 48 ) TAXMAN Rockwell
47 ( 47 ) GIRL YOU'RE SO TOGETHER Michael Jackson
48 ( NEW ) ARE YOU READY Break Machine
49 ( 43 ) I WANNA BE LOVED Elvis Costello
50 ( 58 ) WILLIAM IT WAS REALLY NOTHING The Smiths

51 ( 25 ) THERE ARE MORE SNAKES THAN LADDERS Captain Sensible
52 ( 44 ) THINKING OF YOU Sister Sledge
53 ( 41 ) TIME AFTER TIME Cyndi Lauper
54 ( 71 ) DON'T TAKE MY COCONUTS Kid Creole And The Coconuts
55 ( 64 ) IN THE COUNTRY Farmer's Boys
56 ( 46 ) I WON'T LET THE SUN GO DOWN ON ME Nik Kershaw
57 ( 52 ) TALKING LOUD AND CLEAR OMD
58 ( 74 ) MOTHER'S TALK Tears For Fears
59 ( 60 ) I CAN DREAM ABOUT YOU Dan Hartman
60 ( 59 ) BILLIE JEAN Michael Jackson

61 ( 45 ) SMALLTOWN BOY Bronski Beat
62 ( 56 ) INFATUATION Rod Stewart
63 ( 57 ) DANCE ME UP Gary Glitter
64 ( 61 ) THE LEBANON Human League
65 ( 65 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
66 ( 66 ) THE ONLY FLAME IN TOWN Elvis Costello
67 ( 50 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Blancmange
68 ( 37 ) SOMETHING ABOUT YOU BABY Dave Edmunds
69 ( 53 ) ON THE WINGS OF LOVE Jeffrey Osbourne
70 ( 63 ) WHEN AM I GOING TO MAKE A LIVING Sade

71 ( 68 ) LET'S DANCE David Bowie
72 ( NEW ) SHE BOP Cyndi Lauper
73 ( 69 ) ONE BETTER DAY Madness
74 ( NEW ) TWO MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT Iron Maiden
75 ( NEW ) THE INK IN THE WELL David Sylvian

TV
1 Mary Tyler Moore Show
2 Rhoda
3 Carrott Live
4 The Monkees
5 Soap
6 Batman
7 The Twilight Zone
8 Rock Around The Clock
9 WKRP IN Cincinatti
10 Top Of The Pops

Posted by: popchartfreak 8th October 2014, 04:41 PM

4th September 1984

Stevie gets his 4th Number One, and keeps on with the tradition of those topping my chart not actually being his best records. Ah well, it’s still very popular though I’m well over it now. At 3, fluttering up the charts, it’s Malcolm McLaren getting his biggest hit to date, and at 7 Bucks Fizz return to the top 10 for a 3-year run of great pop singles. Elton also adds to his massive haul of Top 10 hits with another record I’m largely over these days, more annoying than fun.

Highest new entry at 19 is Depeche Mode getting well into bondage, presumably of the industrial-sounding type, and sneaking up on a high-flying Spandau track. The Smiths climb 28 places to 22, Morrissey claiming it was really nothing, but it actually was something - it stays ahead of Agadoo! Morrissey’s announcement he has been having cancer treatment explains a lot, such as the cancelled show I had tickets for, and I wish him well as soon as possible.

At 24, Heaven 17 are all about Sunset Now, one that sounded good enough for a high new entry, and then got promptly forgotten. The Jacksons join Michael, and mate Rockwell, inside the Top 40, and it really looks like Torture. Depeche I’m sure would approve. At 53, The Specials deliciously sly What I Like Most About You, so sweet-sounding, so back-stabbing! Lyndsey Buckingham has a solo break again, after his 1982 Number 1 with the gorgeous Trouble, and much like Jameela feels a bit insane. Junior’s back with somebody at 59 - no not Kim Wilde, that’s in the future. OMD keep up the run of great singles at 67 with T T T Tesla Girls, and The Bluebells get a good follow-up with Cath, and Sade’s Smooth Operator slides smoothly in at 74. oooerrr missus!

On TV, Star Trek delight, and a new TV series called The Black Adder, with Rowan Atkinson, Tony Robinson and Brian Blessed, and which I really liked! Oldies? Laurel & Hardy. If you’re under 35 you may not be familiar with them as they were from the 1930’s, slapstick galore, and loveable. Once upon a time they were all over TV, but they were filmed in black and white and as such have now been banished all television stations along with all other black and white product. Youngsters whinge about it not being coloured, I say they are just racist!

In the miserable real world, hypochondria continued as part of my depression symptoms. I started writing up my 1979 American holiday diaries which I’d never got round to finishing - some of it was still fairly clear in my memory, some of it not so. Considered doing a one-year teaching course, made investigations, though not really suited to be a teacher I was well out of options. On Pop Quiz, old clips from 1974 led me to the conclusion that “my” era was 1971 to 1974, age 13 through 16 - I think that’s everybody’s era age-wise. That’s my theory, what is mine, that is the theory that, cough, is mine, and which is my theory, cough. cough. Sorry, Python movie this week on TV.



1 ( 2 ) I JUST CALLED TO SAY I LOVE YOU Stevie Wonder
2 ( 1 ) CARELESS WHISPER George Michael
3 ( 35 ) MADAME BUTTERFLY Malcolm McLaren
4 ( 6 ) BIG IN JAPAN Alphaville
5 ( 4 ) TWO TRIBES Frankie Goes To Hollywood
6 ( 27 ) TALKING IN YOUR SLEEP Bucks Fizz
7 ( 8 ) SOME GUYS HAVE ALL THE LUCK Rod Stewart
8 ( 3 ) WHATEVER I DO (WHEREVER I GO) Hazell Dean
9 ( 5 ) SELF CONTROL Laura Branigan
10 ( 17 ) PASSENGERS Elton John

11 ( 13 ) DR. BEAT Miami Sound Machine
12 ( 12 ) THE GIRL FROM IPANEMA Astrud Gilberto
13 ( 7 ) LIKE TO GET TO KNOW YOU WELL Howard Jones
14 ( 9 ) THE MORE YOU LIVE THE MORE YOU LOVE A Flock Of Seagulls
15 ( 26 ) GHOSTBUSTERS Ray Parker Junior
16 ( 11 ) EYES WITHOUT A FACE Billy Idol
17 ( 10 ) LOVE SONGS ARE BACK AGAIN Band Of Gold
18 ( 45 ) I'LL FLY FOR YOU Spandau Ballet
19 ( NEW ) MASTER AND SERVANT Depeche Mode
20 ( 21 ) I NEED YOU The Pointer Sisters




21 ( 14 ) WHEN DOVES CRY Prince
22 ( 50 ) WILLIAM IT WAS REALLY NOTHING The Smiths
23 ( 33 ) AGADOO Black Lace
24 ( NEW ) SUNSET NOW Heaven 17
25 ( 16 ) CLOSEST THING TO HEAVEN The Kane Gang
26 ( 19 ) WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT Tina Turner
27 ( 15 ) JUST THE WAY YOU LIKE IT SOS Band
28 ( 46 ) TAXMAN Rockwell
29 ( 47 ) GIRL YOU'RE SO TOGETHER Michael Jackson
30 ( 18 ) SHE'S THE ONE Jamie Rae

31 ( 22 ) DOWN ON THE STREET Shakatak
32 ( 20 ) SUNGLASSES Tracey Ullman
33 ( 30 ) WHITE LINES (DON'T DON'T DO IT) Grandmaster Flash And Melle Mel
34 ( 48 ) ARE YOU READY Break Machine
35 ( NEW ) TORTURE The Jacksons
36 ( 23 ) EVERYBODY'S LAUGHING Phil Fearon and Galaxy
37 ( 24 ) IT'S A HARD LIFE Queen
38 ( 41 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
39 ( 28 ) STUCK ON YOU Trevor Walters
40 ( 34 ) YOUNG AT HEART The Bluebells

41 ( 25 ) HOLE IN MY SHOE neil
42 ( 36 ) BREAKIN'...THERE'S NO STOPPIN' US Ollie and Jerry
43 ( 32 ) A HARD DAY'S NIGHT The Beatles
44 ( 37 ) COME BACK The Mighty Wah!
45 ( 40 ) WAITING IN VAIN Bob Marley And The Wailers
46 ( 58 ) MOTHER'S TALK Tears For Fears
47 ( 31 ) TOSSING AND TURNING Windjammer
48 ( 72 ) SHE BOP Cyndi Lauper
49 ( 54 ) DON'T TAKE MY COCONUTS Kid Creole And The Coconuts
50 ( 44 ) LIFE ON YOUR OWN Human League

51 ( 43 ) LOVE RESURRECTION Alison Moyet
52 ( 42 ) JUMP (FOR MY LOVE) The Pointer Sisters
53 ( NEW ) WHAT I LIKE MOST ABOUT YOU (IS YOUR GIRLFRIEND) The Special AKA
54 ( 49 ) I WANNA BE LOVED Elvis Costello
55 ( 29 ) VIDEO Jeff Lynne
56 ( 52 ) THINKING OF YOU Sister Sledge
57 ( 39 ) TOUR DE FRANCE Kraftwerk
58 ( NEW ) I GO INSANE Lyndsey Buckingham
59 ( NEW ) SOMEBODY Junior
60 ( 60 ) BILLIE JEAN Michael Jackson




61 ( 38 ) YOU THINK YOU'RE A MAN Divine
62 ( 57 ) TALKING LOUD AND CLEAR OMD
63 ( 53 ) TIME AFTER TIME Cyndi Lauper
64 ( 56 ) I WON'T LET THE SUN GO DOWN ON ME Nik Kershaw
65 ( 66 ) THE ONLY FLAME IN TOWN Elvis Costello
66 ( 65 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
67 ( NEW ) TESLA GIRLS OMD
68 ( 64 ) THE LEBANON Human League
69 ( NEW ) CATH The Bluebells
70 ( 61 ) SMALLTOWN BOY Bronski Beat




71 ( 71 ) LET'S DANCE David Bowie
72 ( 62 ) INFATUATION Rod Stewart
73 ( 63 ) DANCE ME UP Gary Glitter
74 ( NEW ) SMOOTH OPERATOR Sade
75 ( 70 ) WHEN AM I GOING TO MAKE A LIVING Sade

TV
1 Star Trek: Menagerie Part 1
1 Star Trek: The Motion Picture
3 And Now For Something Completely Different.. : film
4 The Black Adder
5 Rhoda
6 The Mary Tyler Moore Show
7 Laurel & Hardy
8 Soap
9 Pop Quiz
10 Taxi
11 Top Of The Pops
12 The Invaders
13 WKRP In Cincinatti
14 The Rockford Files
15 Upstairs Downstairs

Posted by: popchartfreak 9th October 2014, 07:21 PM

11th September 1984

A new number one and it’s Malcolm McLaren doing what the Sex Pistols never managed - and with rap opera, sort-of. I’ve sat through Madame Butterfly, performed by a Russian opera group, and was bored witless at the inanity of the lyrics, the plot and the lack of tunes. This record is all you need, trust me. Highest new entry, exactly 5 years after peaking at 5, and it’s back at 5: it’s Sister Sledge following up their own B Side Top 10 with the classic A Side. Lost In Music? Too right!

The Smiths get another Top 10, hooray, and Astrud Gilberto and Miami Sound Machine keep a double-latin presence high joining them in the 10. A big leap for Kraftwerk, a year after charting first, up to 17 - obviously all that cycling gives it stamina. Lyndsey Buckingham gets another solo Top 20, as he goes insane at 19, up 39 places. Pity it wasn’t a hit. Highest new record to enter is The Adventures with their 2nd hit, Another Silent Day - another silent non-hit, sadly. Ditto The Specials at 29, as my chart starts to depart from the hits a little. Robin Gibb had a few big chart hits (for me) so here’s Barry with his own, Shine Shine at 33. Bowie follows up his Chic-tastic dance hat-trick of number ones with the more Bowie-esque Blue Jean at 40, thought to be disappointing at the time, but I liked it!

Level 42 are back at 42, Sade’s up to 43, Diana Ross has another minor hit (15 years into her run), Black Uhuru pose a serious question, to which I reply, don’t ask me! Prince’s signature dirge, I mean, TUNE, follows up the sublime When Doves Cry and plugs his movie nicely. I still don’t get the appeal...! Animal Nightlife were a smooth jazzsoul Brit band who had posters for the single splashed everywhere. Or rather posters of the fetching lead singer showing his asset off. A good record regardless, if largely forgotten these days. The Associates keep up the chart entries, Tom Robinson covers Steely Dan, and U2 enter with a top-notch passionate epic, the one that catapulted them from indie rock to stadium rock: Pride (In The Name Of Love) is classic. No less.

In my life: baby Vicki keeping me awake in the middle of the night (poorly), striking miner brother working where he could, dentist (a nightmare! Total dentist coward, that’s me, childhood traumas), friends Paul & Sheila invited me to Rotherham for their engagement do. NAAFI interview at Amesbury, popped into Stonehenge on the way. As you do. They wanted me to move to Amesbury (said I would, my body language prob said I wouldn’t). Family argument, drinking in the pub and lack of money the root cause, everyone upset. Not happy times at all.....



1 ( 3 ) MADAME BUTTERFLY Malcolm McLaren
2 ( 1 ) I JUST CALLED TO SAY I LOVE YOU Stevie Wonder
3 ( 2 ) CARELESS WHISPER George Michael
4 ( 4 ) BIG IN JAPAN Alphaville
5 ( NEW ) LOST IN MUSIC Sister Sledge
6 ( 6 ) TALKING IN YOUR SLEEP Bucks Fizz
7 ( 5 ) TWO TRIBES Frankie Goes To Hollywood
8 ( 11 ) DR. BEAT Miami Sound Machine
9 ( 12 ) THE GIRL FROM IPANEMA Astrud Gilberto
10 ( 22 ) WILLIAM IT WAS REALLY NOTHING The Smiths

11 ( 9 ) SELF CONTROL Laura Branigan
12 ( 15 ) GHOSTBUSTERS Ray Parker Junior
13 ( 7 ) SOME GUYS HAVE ALL THE LUCK Rod Stewart
14 ( 10 ) PASSENGERS Elton John
15 ( 8 ) WHATEVER I DO (WHEREVER I GO) Hazell Dean
16 ( 13 ) LIKE TO GET TO KNOW YOU WELL Howard Jones
17 ( 57 ) TOUR DE FRANCE (REMIX) Kraftwerk
18 ( 19 ) MASTER AND SERVANT Depeche Mode
19 ( 58 ) I GO INSANE Lyndsey Buckingham
20 ( 35 ) TORTURE The Jacksons



21 ( 24 ) SUNSET NOW Heaven 17
22 ( 16 ) EYES WITHOUT A FACE Billy Idol
23 ( NEW ) ANOTHER SILENT DAY The Adventures
24 ( 14 ) THE MORE YOU LIVE THE MORE YOU LOVE A Flock Of Seagulls
25 ( 29 ) GIRL YOU'RE SO TOGETHER Michael Jackson
26 ( 18 ) I'LL FLY FOR YOU Spandau Ballet
27 ( 26 ) WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT Tina Turner
28 ( 21 ) WHEN DOVES CRY Prince
29 ( 53 ) WHAT I LIKE MOST ABOUT YOU (IS YOUR GIRLFRIEND) The Special AKA
30 ( 17 ) LOVE SONGS ARE BACK AGAIN Band Of Gold

31 ( 23 ) AGADOO Black Lace
32 ( 20 ) I NEED YOU The Pointer Sisters
33 ( NEW ) SHINE SHINE Barry Gibb
34 ( 34 ) ARE YOU READY Break Machine
35 ( 28 ) TAXMAN Rockwell
36 ( 67 ) TESLA GIRLS OMD
37 ( 69 ) CATH The Bluebells
38 ( 38 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
39 ( 33 ) WHITE LINES (DON'T DON'T DO IT) Grandmaster Flash And Melle Mel
40 ( NEW ) BLUE JEAN David Bowie



41 ( 25 ) CLOSEST THING TO HEAVEN The Kane Gang
42 ( NEW ) HOT WATER Level 42
43 ( 74 ) SMOOTH OPERATOR Sade
44 ( 27 ) JUST THE WAY YOU LIKE IT SOS Band
45 ( 31 ) DOWN ON THE STREET Shakatak
46 ( 46 ) MOTHER'S TALK Tears For Fears
47 ( 65 ) THE ONLY FLAME IN TOWN Elvis Costello
48 ( 48 ) SHE BOP Cyndi Lauper
49 ( 36 ) EVERYBODY'S LAUGHING Phil Fearon and Galaxy
50 ( 39 ) STUCK ON YOU Trevor Walters

51 ( 30 ) SHE'S THE ONE Jamie Rae
52 ( 42 ) BREAKIN'...THERE'S NO STOPPIN' US Ollie and Jerry
53 ( 40 ) YOUNG AT HEART The Bluebells
54 ( 44 ) COME BACK The Mighty Wah!
55 ( 45 ) WAITING IN VAIN Bob Marley And The Wailers
56 ( 32 ) SUNGLASSES Tracey Ullman
57 ( NEW ) TOUCH BY TOUCH Diana Ross
58 ( 54 ) I WANNA BE LOVED Elvis Costello
59 ( 43 ) A HARD DAY'S NIGHT The Beatles
60 ( NEW ) WHAT IS LIFE Black Uhuru

61 ( 60 ) BILLIE JEAN Michael Jackson
62 ( 50 ) LIFE ON YOUR OWN Human League
63 ( NEW ) PURPLE RAIN Prince And The Revolution
64 ( 37 ) IT'S A HARD LIFE Queen
65 ( NEW ) MR. SOLITAIRE Animal Nightlife
66 ( 56 ) THINKING OF YOU Sister Sledge
67 ( 66 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
68 ( NEW ) WAITING FOR THE LOVE BOAT The Associates
69 ( 51 ) LOVE RESURRECTION Alison Moyet
70 ( 52 ) JUMP (FOR MY LOVE) The Pointer Sisters

71 ( 59 ) SOMEBODY Junior
72 ( 41 ) HOLE IN MY SHOE neil
73 ( NEW ) PRIDE (IN THE NAME OF LOVE) U2
74 ( 71 ) LET'S DANCE David Bowie
75 ( NEW ) RIKKI DON'T LOSE THAT NUMBER Tom Robinson





TV
1 Star Trek: Menagerie Part 2
1 Blackadder
3 The Mary Tyler Moore Show
4 The Addams Family
5 Rhoda
6 Top Of The Pops
7 Taxi
8 The Rockford Files
9 High Anxiety: film
10 The Invaders

Posted by: popchartfreak 13th October 2014, 06:28 PM

18th September 1984

Another week another new number one, this time the 5-year-old Lost In Music, giving Sister Sledge their only number one, and Nile Rodgers first and last chart-topping song for 29 years. No rush then! Ghostbusters goes up to 6 in the first of several chart runs, and Ray Parker Junior’s biggest hit 6 years into his hit-career. Kraftwerk get their 3rd Top 10 9 years after their first (Autobahn), and OMD go up 26 places TTTT Tesla Girls-in with another Top 10 - it’s unusual for them NOT to make my top 10, to be honest, in the 80’s.

Highest new entry is a major classic, Drive, in at 14 for The Cars 6 years on from debut hit My Best Friend’s Girl, and very different: this one is hauntingly gorgeous, with a disturbing video about mental illness which sent shivers up my spine, and still does. Brilliant record. The Bluebells meanwhile take Cath into the 20 for 3 in a row, The Specials make it 5 years of Top 20 hits, and U2 rocket to 24 from 73 with the awesome Pride.

Sade and Animal Nightlife break into the 40, along with Prince and Level 42, and new tracks include Aztec Camera, Shakatak, Nik Kershaw following-up hits, while Shaky gets an occasional chart-entry they tend to be minor ones: A Letter To You is 73. Jethro Tull is 74 in the lap of luxury, but that makes it a nice round 15 years since Living In The Past first hit my charts. Queen keep up the run of hits (never failed to chart in the 10 years since 7 Seas Of Rhye topped my chart in 1974) as Hammer To Fall slams in at 55. Which leaves the 2nd-best new entry: Together In Electric Dreams, Giorgio Moroders hit with Human Leaguer Phil Oakey. I’ve seen Human League do it live 6 or 7 times (always brilliant), and 3 weeks back I was dancing and singing along madly to it in a Spanish Opera House, for Duckies In Sitges. Fab!

TV? Mike Read’s Pop Quiz, two of my all-time classic fave comedies, Mel Brooks Young Frankenstein and James Garner in Support Your Local Sherrif, Star Trek doing a Shakespeare-themed episode (and rather fine too), and brand new sitcom Blackadder continues to delight me. A US mini-series repeat The Martian Chronicles is a poetic and evocatively nostalgic brilliant science fiction Ray Bradbury novel (or rather collection of short stories), the TV series much less-so but it has loads of big stars in it. When I first bought and read the book age 13 in Singapore it was called The Silver Locusts - which I still think suits it more, even though they are stories based on Mars.

Life? Saw Romancing The Stone at the cinema (a good adventure movie). Signed on at the DHSS, as always I was stupidly honest (I’m such a dick) and told the guestapo woman interrogating me about working a few hours at NAAFI. She got snotty, and stopped benefits to the tune of £4.50 when I’d earned a grand total of £4. So, the moral and message given out? Don’t bother trying to get work experience for pay as you’ll be financially worse-off. Still trying to work out the logic of that one.....Lesson learned, there were, I later found, ways around the system. Babysat tantrumming Vicki while Mark & Sue had a pub break, told ‘em to go anyway and she was fine with me till she went to sleep, kids are almost always mellow with me. I must remind of her that later this week Helped at youth club again, after a break away (more adults than kids though, which was more like a social club for grown-ups!) and fumed over a massive gas bill I was having to pay (£172!!) That was an effing fortune in those days and I was unemployed. I turned the heating and hot water off when I was in the house alone.




1 ( 5 ) LOST IN MUSIC Sister Sledge
2 ( 2 ) I JUST CALLED TO SAY I LOVE YOU Stevie Wonder
3 ( 1 ) MADAME BUTTERFLY Malcolm McLaren
4 ( 4 ) BIG IN JAPAN Alphaville
5 ( 3 ) CARELESS WHISPER George Michael
6 ( 12 ) GHOSTBUSTERS Ray Parker Junior
7 ( 8 ) DR. BEAT Miami Sound Machine
8 ( 6 ) TALKING IN YOUR SLEEP Bucks Fizz
9 ( 17 ) TOUR DE FRANCE (REMIX) Kraftwerk
10 ( 36 ) TESLA GIRLS OMD

11 ( 7 ) TWO TRIBES Frankie Goes To Hollywood
12 ( 9 ) THE GIRL FROM IPANEMA Astrud Gilberto
13 ( 11 ) SELF CONTROL Laura Branigan
14 ( NEW ) DRIVE The Cars
15 ( 19 ) I GO INSANE Lindsey Buckingham
16 ( 10 ) WILLIAM IT WAS REALLY NOTHING The Smiths
17 ( 37 ) CATH The Bluebells
18 ( 29 ) WHAT I LIKE MOST ABOUT YOU (IS YOUR GIRLFRIEND) The Special AKA
19 ( 14 ) PASSENGERS Elton John
20 ( 20 ) TORTURE The Jacksons



21 ( 18 ) MASTER AND SERVANT Depeche Mode
22 ( 15 ) WHATEVER I DO (WHEREVER I GO) Hazell Dean
23 ( 16 ) LIKE TO GET TO KNOW YOU WELL Howard Jones
24 ( 73 ) PRIDE (IN THE NAME OF LOVE) U2
25 ( 13 ) SOME GUYS HAVE ALL THE LUCK Rod Stewart
26 ( 25 ) GIRL YOU'RE SO TOGETHER Michael Jackson
27 ( 23 ) ANOTHER SILENT DAY The Adventures
28 ( 43 ) SMOOTH OPERATOR Sade
29 ( 26 ) I'LL FLY FOR YOU Spandau Ballet
30 ( 22 ) EYES WITHOUT A FACE Billy Idol

31 ( 27 ) WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT Tina Turner
32 ( 65 ) MR. SOLITAIRE Animal Nightlife
33 ( 33 ) SHINE SHINE Barry Gibb
34 ( 40 ) BLUE JEAN David Bowie
35 ( 21 ) SUNSET NOW Heaven 17
36 ( 28 ) WHEN DOVES CRY Prince
37 ( 63 ) PURPLE RAIN Prince And The Revolution
38 ( 38 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
39 ( 39 ) WHITE LINES (DON'T DON'T DO IT) Grandmaster Flash And Melle Mel
40 ( 42 ) HOT WATER Level 42

41 ( 60 ) WHAT IS LIFE Black Uhuru
42 ( NEW ) ALL I NEED IS EVERYTHING Aztec Camera
43 ( NEW ) DON'T BLAME IT ON LOVE Shakatak
44 ( 34 ) ARE YOU READY Break Machine
45 ( 57 ) TOUCH BY TOUCH Diana Ross
46 ( 24 ) THE MORE YOU LIVE THE MORE YOU LOVE A Flock Of Seagulls
47 ( 31 ) AGADOO Black Lace
48 ( NEW ) HUMAN RACING Nik Kershaw
49 ( 32 ) I NEED YOU The Pointer Sisters
50 ( NEW ) TOGETHER IN ELECTRIC DREAMS Giorgio Moroder and Philip Oakey



51 ( 30 ) LOVE SONGS ARE BACK AGAIN Band Of Gold
52 ( 41 ) CLOSEST THING TO HEAVEN The Kane Gang
53 ( 48 ) SHE BOP Cyndi Lauper
54 ( 35 ) TAXMAN Rockwell
55 ( NEW ) HAMMER TO FALL Queen
56 ( 45 ) DOWN ON THE STREET Shakatak
57 ( 68 ) WAITING FOR THE LOVE BOAT The Associates
58 ( 52 ) BREAKIN'...THERE'S NO STOPPIN' US Ollie and Jerry
59 ( 58 ) I WANNA BE LOVED Elvis Costello
60 ( 54 ) COME BACK The Mighty Wah!



61 ( 55 ) WAITING IN VAIN Bob Marley And The Wailers
62 ( 53 ) YOUNG AT HEART The Bluebells
63 ( 61 ) BILLIE JEAN Michael Jackson
64 ( NEW ) BURNING BUSH Savage Progress
65 ( 59 ) A HARD DAY'S NIGHT The Beatles
66 ( 62 ) LIFE ON YOUR OWN Human League
67 ( 67 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
68 ( 46 ) MOTHER'S TALK Tears For Fears
69 ( 49 ) EVERYBODY'S LAUGHING Phil Fearon and Galaxy
70 ( 75 ) RIKKI DON'T LOSE THAT NUMBER Tom Robinson

71 ( NEW ) YOU CAN'T GET WHAT YOU WANT Joe Jackson
72 ( 44 ) JUST THE WAY YOU LIKE IT SOS Band
73 ( NEW ) A LETTER TO YOU Shakin' Stevens
74 ( NEW ) LAP OF LUXURY Jethro Tull
75 ( 74 ) LET'S DANCE David Bowie

TV
1 Star Trek: The Conscience Of The King
1 Young Frankenstein: film
3 Blackadder
4 Support Your Local Sherrif: film
5 The Mary Tyler Moore Show
6 Top Of The Pops
7 The Addams Family
8 The Martian Chronicles
9 The Rockford Files
10 Pop Quiz

Posted by: popchartfreak 13th October 2014, 09:33 PM

25th September 1984

2 weeks for Sister Sledge at 1, and Alphaville finally go top 3 after weeks at 4, but the big news is new at 4 - War War is stupid, and people are stupid: yes Boy George got a lot of stick for those simplistic lyrics, but I loved the sentiment (still do) and the record is sort-of oddly joyous, one of Culture Club’s final goodies as they unexpectedly hit a drug-influenced career-stopping brick wall. Sad!

OMD go top 5, The Cars get a 3rd top 10, and Adam Ant is back with a jolly spaceman tune - how could I not like it?! In at 20 for Apollo 9, the one he did at Live Aid to everyone’s disgust. Freddie Mercury gets his first solo hit with Love Kills at 27, and leapfrogs Queen’s latest rocker with a bit of camp disco. Also grim, politically, UB40 threaten to leave the country if Maggie gets in again: oh yeah? Great record though, and I agreed with every word in at 28, and a 4 years non-stop run of singles.

John Waite’s back at 34 with a well-known MOR rock ballad, Missing You, 6 years after hitting my number one in The Baby’s with Isn’t It Time: that’s a classic record, albeit obscure these days, and Missing You is merely quite good. Glen Frey joins in the solo fray, Sexy Girl at 50 and looking like The Eagles will get back together only when hell freezes over. Hey, it did....! Bronski have a shrill follow-up, can you tell me why? Marc Almond is yet another solo hitster with You Have at 55, Soft Cell sadly no more, Tina Turner’s back at 57 so you better be good to her, or else! One-time Be Bop Deluxe man Bill Nelson accelerates to 58, 8 years since Ships In The Night lit up my charts. The Mighty Wah! keep the hits coming, Frida has another shining solo hit at 71, Abba tragically no-more, though we didn’t know it then. Stephanie Mills get a follow-up hit 4 years late, and finally The Everley Brothers get their first chart hit with new material (being as they pre-dated my charts) thanks to Paul McCartney who donated a song. Thumbs-up Macca!

TV: Must mention Terrahawks again, loved Zelda and her Tina Turner fright-wig, and her idiot son. Loved the great little plot parodies of shakespeare (“a zeaf? a zeaf? My kingdom for a zeaf!”) and The Beatles (the cavern puts in an appearance). Under-rated, and frankly, over the heads of kids, most of the scripts! This was also Tony Blackburn’s last radio 1 show this week, Flowers In The Rain his first and last track - of course he’s still on radio 2 these days.

Life? Well, a big moment turned up in a letter from Dorset County Council: the job I didn’t get surveying highways, turns out someone dropped out before starting and they wanted me to start next week. This was a letter that did actually change my life, actually. It led to me being where I am now, and the start of the end of the depression, but of course it sent me into instant panic. As if that wasn’t enough drove to Winchester, Nottingham, Hucknell to friends Dave & Jane’s to stay, which was great and enjoyed Jane’s new paintings. Saturday was fun, then in the evening with mutual friend Julie off to Paul & Sheila’s in Rotherham for a gathering of fun games with their friends and relations - charades, pass the parcel, a great party and I didn’t want to go back to my life down south. Had to though, first day at work Monday...


1 ( 1 ) LOST IN MUSIC Sister Sledge
2 ( 3 ) MADAME BUTTERFLY Malcolm McLaren
3 ( 4 ) BIG IN JAPAN Alphaville
4 ( NEW ) THE WAR SONG Culture Club
5 ( 10 ) TESLA GIRLS OMD
6 ( 6 ) GHOSTBUSTERS Ray Parker Junior
7 ( 14 ) DRIVE The Cars
8 ( 2 ) I JUST CALLED TO SAY I LOVE YOU Stevie Wonder
9 ( 9 ) TOUR DE FRANCE (REMIX) Kraftwerk
10 ( 24 ) PRIDE (IN THE NAME OF LOVE) U2



11 ( 5 ) CARELESS WHISPER George Michael
12 ( 7 ) DR. BEAT Miami Sound Machine
13 ( 8 ) TALKING IN YOUR SLEEP Bucks Fizz
14 ( 17 ) CATH The Bluebells
15 ( 12 ) THE GIRL FROM IPANEMA Astrud Gilberto
16 ( 28 ) SMOOTH OPERATOR Sade
17 ( 20 ) TORTURE The Jacksons
18 ( 11 ) TWO TRIBES Frankie Goes To Hollywood
19 ( 13 ) SELF CONTROL Laura Branigan
20 ( NEW ) APOLLO 9 Adam Ant



21 ( 18 ) WHAT I LIKE MOST ABOUT YOU (IS YOUR GIRLFRIEND) The Special AKA
22 ( 34 ) BLUE JEAN David Bowie
23 ( 32 ) MR. SOLITAIRE Animal Nightlife
24 ( 15 ) I GO INSANE Lindsey Buckingham
25 ( 19 ) PASSENGERS Elton John
26 ( 23 ) LIKE TO GET TO KNOW YOU WELL Howard Jones
27 ( NEW ) LOVE KILLS Freddie Mercury
28 ( NEW ) IF IT HAPPENS AGAIN UB40
29 ( 16 ) WILLIAM IT WAS REALLY NOTHING The Smiths
30 ( 40 ) HOT WATER Level 42



31 ( 21 ) MASTER AND SERVANT Depeche Mode
32 ( 22 ) WHATEVER I DO (WHEREVER I GO) Hazell Dean
33 ( 33 ) SHINE SHINE Barry Gibb
34 ( NEW ) MISSING YOU John Waite
35 ( 43 ) DON'T BLAME IT ON LOVE Shakatak
36 ( 29 ) I'LL FLY FOR YOU Spandau Ballet
37 ( 37 ) PURPLE RAIN Prince And The Revolution
38 ( 25 ) SOME GUYS HAVE ALL THE LUCK Rod Stewart
39 ( 41 ) WHAT IS LIFE Black Uhuru
40 ( 50 ) TOGETHER IN ELECTRIC DREAMS Giorgio Moroder and Philip Oakey

41 ( 30 ) EYES WITHOUT A FACE Billy Idol
42 ( 31 ) WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT Tina Turner
43 ( 55 ) HAMMER TO FALL Queen
44 ( 38 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
45 ( 45 ) TOUCH BY TOUCH Diana Ross
46 ( 36 ) WHEN DOVES CRY Prince
47 ( 27 ) ANOTHER SILENT DAY The Adventures
48 ( 48 ) HUMAN RACING Nik Kershaw
49 ( 39 ) WHITE LINES (DON'T DON'T DO IT) Grandmaster Flash And Melle Mel
50 ( NEW ) SEXY GIRL Glen Frey

51 ( 42 ) ALL I NEED IS EVERYTHING Aztec Camera
52 ( 35 ) SUNSET NOW Heaven 17
53 ( NEW ) WHY Bronski Beat
54 ( 26 ) GIRL YOU'RE SO TOGETHER Michael Jackson
55 ( NEW ) YOU HAVE Marc Almond
56 ( 47 ) AGADOO Black Lace
57 ( NEW ) BETTER BE GOOD TO ME Tina Turner
58 ( NEW ) ACCELERATION Bill Nelson
59 ( 59 ) I WANNA BE LOVED Elvis Costello
60 ( NEW ) WEEKENDS The Mighty Wah!



61 ( 46 ) THE MORE YOU LIVE THE MORE YOU LOVE A Flock Of Seagulls
62 ( 58 ) BREAKIN'...THERE'S NO STOPPIN' US Ollie and Jerry
63 ( 52 ) CLOSEST THING TO HEAVEN The Kane Gang
64 ( 60 ) COME BACK The Mighty Wah!
65 ( 70 ) RIKKI DON'T LOSE THAT NUMBER Tom Robinson
66 ( 63 ) BILLIE JEAN Michael Jackson
67 ( 67 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
68 ( 74 ) LAP OF LUXURY Jethro Tull
69 ( 73 ) A LETTER TO YOU Shakin' Stevens
70 ( 56 ) DOWN ON THE STREET Shakatak

71 ( NEW ) SHINE Frida
72 ( 61 ) WAITING IN VAIN Bob Marley And The Wailers
73 ( 65 ) A HARD DAY'S NIGHT The Beatles
74 ( NEW ) ON THE WINGS OF A NIGHTINGALE The Everley Brothers
75 ( NEW ) THE MEDICINE SONG Stephanie Mills

TV
1 Star Trek: Balance Of Terror
2 Black Adder
3 Rhoda
4 The Mary Tyler Moore Show
5 The Addams Family
6 Terrahawks
7 Taxi
8 The Martian Chronicles
9 Top Of The Pops
10 The Rockford Files

Posted by: popchartfreak 3rd November 2014, 07:55 PM

3rd October 1984

Culture Club get their 5th number one, 4th in a row, with the under-rated The War Song, as The Cars get their biggest hit with Drive at 3, and U2 are proud to be at 6, also their biggest to date. The Bluebells make it 2 in a row with Cath in the top 10 too. Bowie takes his Blue Jean to 16, and Barry Gibb breaks into the 30 with one on my current playlist (having finally bought it the other week) - Shine Shine - and ditto Black Uhuru at 36. Stephanie Mills and Glen Frey go top 40, leaving the highest new entry at 37: Paul McCartney’s old-fashioned sweeping ballad taken from his Give My Regards To Broadway film, No More Lonely Nights. The single was fine, the film, err Magical Mystery Tour looks very good in comparison.

ZZ Top get a great new entry at 47, Gimme All Your Loving, complete with girls and car and guitars sexist video, paving the way for a zillion copycat variation videos. In at 60, George is back with Andrew as Wham! get that Freedom at 60, all Motown delight. At 63 it’s the Higsons with a cover of a song originally a hit for the recently late Bob Crewe - him of Four Seasons co-writer fame, Lady Marmalade co-write fame, and as featured heavily in the Jersey Boys musical. Before Andy Williams became the best-known (and best) reissued version of the song it was covered by UK punk-funk band The Higsons. Yes, you guessed it Charlie Higson, later well-known comedian of The Fast Show fame and others, take a bow, you made it in my charts first! At 65, Billy Ocean makes it 10 years of hits, and a major comeback record that catapulted him into the world-star class after only a decade of trying, the terrific Caribbean Queen.

In the real world, I started work this week, my first proper job, 4 years on from getting my degree. It still wasn’t well-paid, but as luck would have it I started the same day as Bob, who quickly became a great mate, for 30 years so far mutual laughs and support through bad times. At one of the low points of my life, Bob was a bright, happy beacon that helped me to feel normal again. The job, well I got to see a lot of Dorset, surveying roads on a hand-held brick (aka state-of-the-art data-input computer that the crappiest mobile phone would put to shame). As we headed into wet cold autumn that wasn’t quite so great being outside much, but it kept me busy. We worked in two teams of three, our team boss being a bit of what I termed “an old dab hand skiver” regaling us of tales of the days he worked for Radio Caroline as a DJ, and was a member of an army hit-squad flown in to Cyprus to take out baddies. Yes, that’s right, a total bullshitter. Spotted it right away, the vagueness and lack of specific details on questioning a bit of a giveaway. The first Survey location: Blandford Forum - or as Douglas Adams preferred a dull radio 4 talk show. After hideous long journeys by bus to Bournemouth from the outskirts of Poole (no change to that in 2014) I decided to get a moped. Happily (sort of) I ended up car sharing next day with Monic, who lived nearby and worked in Dorset house too, and was getting married the next week, all hyper and excited. She drove like that too...

The rest of the week was spent learning the driving rules for a van, warning signs, learning codes for verges (341, yes still remember the bloody things), street signs, lamp-posts, drains and so on. Using measuring wheel, getting wet, learning the art of pissing in woodland and hedges when there are no public loos anywhere (a first for me!). Bob had an argument with Boss-man over the national speed limit: it’s 60, we all know it’s 60mph, but Boss-man insisted it be 50. That was, I realised, fairly typical of the level of knowledge, and he resented us jumped-up smart-arses who learnt the work pretty quickly and had opinions not shared by him. hey ho! Got to have Radio 1 on while travelling and lunchtimes, so that’s me sorted anyway! Bob too, it turned out, he was a big pop music fan. Yay! The big boss from Dorchester, Peter, came out with us Thursday, so I of course drove the van into a bumpy kerb. Tch!





1 ( 4 ) THE WAR SONG Culture Club
2 ( 1 ) LOST IN MUSIC Sister Sledge
3 ( 7 ) DRIVE The Cars
4 ( 5 ) TESLA GIRLS OMD
5 ( 2 ) MADAME BUTTERFLY Malcolm McLaren
6 ( 10 ) PRIDE (IN THE NAME OF LOVE) U2
7 ( 3 ) BIG IN JAPAN Alphaville
8 ( 6 ) GHOSTBUSTERS Ray Parker Junior
9 ( 14 ) CATH The Bluebells
10 ( 9 ) TOUR DE FRANCE (REMIX) Kraftwerk

11 ( 8 ) I JUST CALLED TO SAY I LOVE YOU Stevie Wonder
12 ( 16 ) SMOOTH OPERATOR Sade
13 ( 11 ) CARELESS WHISPER George Michael
14 ( 12 ) DR. BEAT Miami Sound Machine
15 ( 20 ) APOLLO 9 Adam Ant
16 ( 22 ) BLUE JEAN David Bowie
17 ( 23 ) MR. SOLITAIRE Animal Nightlife
18 ( 13 ) TALKING IN YOUR SLEEP Bucks Fizz
19 ( 18 ) TWO TRIBES Frankie Goes To Hollywood
20 ( 15 ) THE GIRL FROM IPANEMA Astrud Gilberto

21 ( 19 ) SELF CONTROL Laura Branigan
22 ( 28 ) IF IT HAPPENS AGAIN UB40
23 ( 27 ) LOVE KILLS Freddie Mercury
24 ( 21 ) WHAT I LIKE MOST ABOUT YOU (IS YOUR GIRLFRIEND) The Special AKA
25 ( 17 ) TORTURE The Jacksons
26 ( 25 ) PASSENGERS Elton John
27 ( 33 ) SHINE SHINE Barry Gibb
28 ( 24 ) I GO INSANE Lindsey Buckingham
29 ( 37 ) PURPLE RAIN Prince And The Revolution
30 ( 53 ) WHY Bronski Beat

31 ( 40 ) TOGETHER IN ELECTRIC DREAMS Giorgio Moroder and Philip Oakey
32 ( 75 ) THE MEDICINE SONG Stephanie Mills
33 ( 34 ) MISSING YOU John Waite
34 ( 26 ) LIKE TO GET TO KNOW YOU WELL Howard Jones
35 ( 50 ) SEXY GIRL Glen Frey
36 ( 39 ) WHAT IS LIFE Black Uhuru
37 ( NEW ) NO MORE LONELY NIGHTS Paul McCartney
38 ( 32 ) WHATEVER I DO (WHEREVER I GO) Hazell Dean
39 ( 31 ) MASTER AND SERVANT Depeche Mode
40 ( 43 ) HAMMER TO FALL Queen

41 ( 30 ) HOT WATER Level 42
42 ( 35 ) DON'T BLAME IT ON LOVE Shakatak
43 ( 38 ) SOME GUYS HAVE ALL THE LUCK Rod Stewart
44 ( 44 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
45 ( 41 ) EYES WITHOUT A FACE Billy Idol
46 ( 48 ) HUMAN RACING Nik Kershaw
47 ( NEW ) GIMME ALL YOUR LOVIN' ZZ Top
48 ( 72 ) WAITING IN VAIN Bob Marley And The Wailers
49 ( 42 ) WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT Tina Turner
50 ( 29 ) WILLIAM IT WAS REALLY NOTHING The Smiths



51 ( 36 ) I'LL FLY FOR YOU Spandau Ballet
52 ( 45 ) TOUCH BY TOUCH Diana Ross
53 ( 57 ) BETTER BE GOOD TO ME Tina Turner
54 ( 49 ) WHITE LINES (DON'T DON'T DO IT) Grandmaster Flash And Melle Mel
55 ( 46 ) WHEN DOVES CRY Prince
56 ( 58 ) ACCELERATION Bill Nelson
57 ( 59 ) I WANNA BE LOVED Elvis Costello
58 ( 69 ) A LETTER TO YOU Shakin' Stevens
59 ( 60 ) WEEKENDS The Mighty Wah!
60 ( NEW ) FREEDOM Wham!



61 ( 56 ) AGADOO Black Lace
62 ( 47 ) ANOTHER SILENT DAY The Adventures
63 ( NEW ) MUSIC TO WATCH GIRLS BY The Higsons
64 ( 51 ) ALL I NEED IS EVERYTHING Aztec Camera
65 ( NEW ) CARIBBEAN QUEEN (NO MORE LOVE ON THE RUN) Billy Ocean
66 ( 62 ) BREAKIN'...THERE'S NO STOPPIN' US Ollie and Jerry
67 ( 67 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
68 ( 66 ) BILLIE JEAN Michael Jackson
69 ( 64 ) COME BACK The Mighty Wah!
70 ( 52 ) SUNSET NOW Heaven 17



71 ( 71 ) SHINE Frida
72 ( 63 ) CLOSEST THING TO HEAVEN The Kane Gang
73 ( NEW ) ALL YOU PRETTY GIRLS XTC
74 ( 55 ) YOU HAVE Marc Almond
75 ( NEW ) EAST OF EDEN Big Country

TV
1 Star Trek: Shore Leave
2 Comic Strip Presents: Gino
3 Black Adder
4 Rhoda
5 Mary Tyler Moore Show
6 Top Of The Pops
7 The Martian Chronicles
8 Terrahawks
9 The Rockford Files
10 Pop Quiz

Posted by: popchartfreak 6th November 2014, 08:07 PM

10th October 1984:

2 weeks for Culture Club, U2 up to 4, Ghostbusters goes top 5, and Sade gets a second Top 10 hit cos she’s a Smooth Operator. Macca rockets to 14, UB40, Freddie Mercury, Giorgio Moroder and Phil Oakey all get more top 20 notches to their substantial belts. Which leaves the new entries, highest being The Stranglers melodic and rather catchy Skin Deep at 23, for a cool 7 and a half years of hits. John Lennon’s eldest boy Julian shows he can not only do a great impression of his dad, but he can make a great pop record to boot, as Too Late For Goodbyes reggaes for it now at 29.

Billy Ocean gets his first Top 40 entry for 6 years, and ZZ Top get their first, as meanwhile Chaka Khan follows up her remixed old hits recharting with a Prince song: I Feel For You was fresh-sounding state of the art dancerappop at the time, and it still sounds great - I think it’s fair to say it was influential mixing dance pop singers with rapping from Melle Mel. It may not have been the first to do it, but it was likely the first massive hit to do it. Yes, you can blame Chaka for the 21st century pop cliche obligatory rap break. Probably. Feargal Sharkey joins the list of solo-charting band frontmen, as he debuts with a bit of how’s your father, err listen, I mean! More follow-ups trot in from Laura Branigan, Spandau, Glitter & Idol. Billy Idol’s current singles (2014) are actually better than Flesh For Fantasy, which was OK at 75.

Back at my new job, pop music chatting to Bob on the way to the rural Blandford area, and Dorchester for a new works van to meet our (better-looking) counterpart team. I got a bit arrogant (to myself) about how quickly I picked up the computer and codes and work, which frankly was a doddle for me. Big-head! Just as well as I heard from NAAFI - didn’t get that job. Bemused at how crap I am at interviews. Got my latest Legion comic, shocked at the death of Karate Kid, and his widow leaving (Princess Projectra) after executing the baddie Nemesis Kid. Great stuff, trust me, very adult nearly 20 years on from debuting all 3 characters.

Friday at Milton Abbas for lunch, I had half a pint of lager and got quite light-headed from it. I didn’t like the taste, neither did Bob who had a cider - Bob enjoys a pint these days, though. I still don’t enjoy it (but have one socially). Had the weekend to myself, sitting for Suki, our cat with the plastic hip joint. Sadly, Leonard Rossiter died, so watched the tribute TV show for him, he was great in Rising Damp. Sad.

1 ( 1 ) THE WAR SONG Culture Club
2 ( 3 ) DRIVE The Cars
3 ( 2 ) LOST IN MUSIC Sister Sledge
4 ( 6 ) PRIDE (IN THE NAME OF LOVE) U2
5 ( 8 ) GHOSTBUSTERS Ray Parker Junior
6 ( 4 ) TESLA GIRLS OMD
7 ( 9 ) CATH The Bluebells
8 ( 7 ) BIG IN JAPAN Alphaville
9 ( 5 ) MADAME BUTTERFLY Malcolm McLaren
10 ( 12 ) SMOOTH OPERATOR Sade

11 ( 15 ) APOLLO 9 Adam Ant
12 ( 17 ) MR. SOLITAIRE Animal Nightlife
13 ( 11 ) I JUST CALLED TO SAY I LOVE YOU Stevie Wonder
14 ( 37 ) NO MORE LONELY NIGHTS Paul McCartney
15 ( 16 ) BLUE JEAN David Bowie
16 ( 22 ) IF IT HAPPENS AGAIN UB40
17 ( 13 ) CARELESS WHISPER George Michael
18 ( 10 ) TOUR DE FRANCE (REMIX) Kraftwerk
19 ( 23 ) LOVE KILLS Freddie Mercury
20 ( 31 ) TOGETHER IN ELECTRIC DREAMS Giorgio Moroder and Philip Oakey



21 ( 30 ) WHY Bronski Beat
22 ( 14 ) DR. BEAT Miami Sound Machine
23 ( NEW ) SKIN DEEP The Stranglers
24 ( 33 ) MISSING YOU John Waite
25 ( 19 ) TWO TRIBES Frankie Goes To Hollywood
26 ( 29 ) PURPLE RAIN Prince And The Revolution
27 ( 21 ) SELF CONTROL Laura Branigan
28 ( 18 ) TALKING IN YOUR SLEEP Bucks Fizz
29 ( NEW ) TOO LATE FOR GOODBYES Julian Lennon
30 ( 40 ) HAMMER TO FALL Queen



31 ( 20 ) THE GIRL FROM IPANEMA Astrud Gilberto
32 ( 32 ) THE MEDICINE SONG Stephanie Mills
33 ( 26 ) PASSENGERS Elton John
34 ( 25 ) TORTURE The Jacksons
35 ( 24 ) WHAT I LIKE MOST ABOUT YOU (IS YOUR GIRLFRIEND) The Special AKA
36 ( 28 ) I GO INSANE Lindsey Buckingham
37 ( 65 ) CARIBBEAN QUEEN (NO MORE LOVE ON THE RUN) Billy Ocean
38 ( 35 ) SEXY GIRL Glen Frey
39 ( 56 ) ACCELERATION Bill Nelson
40 ( 47 ) GIMME ALL YOUR LOVIN' ZZ Top



41 ( 36 ) WHAT IS LIFE Black Uhuru
42 ( 34 ) LIKE TO GET TO KNOW YOU WELL Howard Jones
43 ( 27 ) SHINE SHINE Barry Gibb
44 ( 38 ) WHATEVER I DO (WHEREVER I GO) Hazell Dean
45 ( 44 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
46 ( 39 ) MASTER AND SERVANT Depeche Mode
47 ( 43 ) SOME GUYS HAVE ALL THE LUCK Rod Stewart
48 ( 60 ) FREEDOM Wham!
49 ( 45 ) EYES WITHOUT A FACE Billy Idol
50 ( NEW ) I FEEL FOR YOU Chaka Khan



51 ( 41 ) HOT WATER Level 42
52 ( 48 ) WAITING IN VAIN Bob Marley And The Wailers
53 ( 53 ) BETTER BE GOOD TO ME Tina Turner
54 ( 42 ) DON'T BLAME IT ON LOVE Shakatak
55 ( 63 ) MUSIC TO WATCH GIRLS BY The Higsons
56 ( NEW ) LISTEN TO YOUR FATHER Feargal Sharkey
57 ( 57 ) I WANNA BE LOVED Elvis Costello
58 ( 49 ) WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT Tina Turner
59 ( 46 ) HUMAN RACING Nik Kershaw
60 ( 75 ) EAST OF EDEN Big Country

61 ( 54 ) WHITE LINES (DON'T DON'T DO IT) Grandmaster Flash And Melle Mel
62 ( 55 ) WHEN DOVES CRY Prince
63 ( NEW ) THE LUCKY ONE Laura Branigan
64 ( 61 ) AGADOO Black Lace
65 ( 58 ) A LETTER TO YOU Shakin' Stevens
66 ( 50 ) WILLIAM IT WAS REALLY NOTHING The Smiths
67 ( 67 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
68 ( 68 ) BILLIE JEAN Michael Jackson
69 ( 51 ) I'LL FLY FOR YOU Spandau Ballet
70 ( NEW ) HIGHLY STRUNG Spandau Ballet

71 ( 73 ) ALL YOU PRETTY GIRLS XTC
72 ( NEW ) SHOUT SHOUT SHOUT Gary Glitter
73 ( 52 ) TOUCH BY TOUCH Diana Ross
74 ( 59 ) WEEKENDS The Mighty Wah!
75 ( NEW ) FLESH FOR FANTASY Billy Idol

TV
1 Star Trek: Galileo 7
2 Black Adder
3 MASH
4 It'll Be Alright On The Night 3
5 Bewitched
6 Tenko
7 Addams Family
8 Krull: film
9 Rising Damp
10 Top Of The Pops

Posted by: popchartfreak 13th November 2014, 08:36 PM

17th October 1984

3 weeks for George & co, letting U2 climb to 3, and Macca to 4. The Stranglers are Skin Deep at 7, 7 years after first getting a string of top 10 entries, albeit mellower. John Waite gets his first Top 10 since topping with the Baby’s in 1978 (Isn’t It Strange?!), Missing You being a song later covered by Tina Turner, up to 35 with Better Be Good To me this week. Phil & Giorgio at last get together in top 10 Electric Dreams - I never did bother seeing the film, though.

Bronski get a 2nd top 20, Billy Ocean runs up 20 places to 17, and Julian Lennon 11 to 19. New entries, though, galore: Hall & Oates are the highest at 24 with the sublime Out Of Touch, stretching the run of hits to 8 years, big in the USA, minor hit in the UK, still sounding great live when I saw them for the third time a few months ago (2014). Springsteen, frustratingly, I still haven’t seen live (he only does big city tours, of course), but has 9 years of entries with Cover Me at 26, while Style Council Shout To The Top about their entry at 30, a fine single following on from the number one earlier in the year.

Huey Lewis is back again with a jolly pop song at 34, Paul Young covers Ann peebles (I think) as he tears your playhouse down at 37, and does it nicely, while Kim Wild is back, very much not for The Second Time, at 40 and a great pop track. Lionel’s back with a ditty at 53, Elton shoe gazes at 57, Limahl warbles on with the sweet popular movie theme tune, The Never Ending Story at 67, Alison Moyet gets a follow-up solo hit, cos she’s All Cried Out about being only at 75, while Mike Post’s TV theme The A Team is in at 73 a full 9 years after Rockford Files theme tune (still in my TV chart) became a big hit in my charts, and 2 years on since Hill Street Blues Tv theme did the same. He’s a great TV theme tune writer! Lastly, Alvin’s final big hit enters at 66, the 50’s sounding I Won’t Run Away, and I’ll play it in tribute here...



On TV it’s still Star Trek and 60’s and 70’s sitcoms mostly, but also Tenko, a soap with drama, death and survival stories, set in a Japanese prison camp for female war prisoners. Gripping stuff at times.

At work, team leader Phil was standing in for ol’ holidaying storyteller-boss, commuting from Dorchester, and he was a real treat, our age and a real Dorset farmer-boy, good-looking and congenial, and a pleasure to work with for 2 weeks. Phil confirmed my tall-tale-telling boss suspicions. When not at work and occupied, I still drifted towards depression and tenseness, still trying to work out what I wanted to do career-wise, mulling over Post grad teaching courses, but musing “What the hell. I want to be a pop star anyway.” Ha! Pity about the lack of talent! Mum & dad returned from Mansfield and looked after me quite a bit at home.

News drama on the 12th - Tory conference IRA bomb blast. My reaction? “Unfortunately, Thatcher will become a hero”. Bloody terrorists, bad enough they kill people without making bad politicians even more popular. Much worse for us, we got a phone call from Bud and Doreen, our good Singapore family friends, telling us that Dale, boyhood/teen friend a year younger than me had been killed horribly in a car crash along with his girlfriend, aged 25. It was shocking sleeplessness-inducing news, I liked Dale more than a lot, and went through a growing up phase together moving into adolescence. I’m still angry he never got to have a family and a proper life, and still shocked at the manner of his death, burnt alive when his car hit a tree, knocking them both out, and bursting into flames, passers-by unable to get them out. Life can be terrible sometimes. Bud also died a few years ago, ringing us up for an old-time chat shortly before he passed away: I think he must have known.




1 ( 1 ) THE WAR SONG Culture Club
2 ( 2 ) DRIVE The Cars
3 ( 4 ) PRIDE (IN THE NAME OF LOVE) U2
4 ( 14 ) NO MORE LONELY NIGHTS Paul McCartney
5 ( 3 ) LOST IN MUSIC Sister Sledge
6 ( 5 ) GHOSTBUSTERS Ray Parker Junior
7 ( 23 ) SKIN DEEP The Stranglers
8 ( 24 ) MISSING YOU John Waite
9 ( 20 ) TOGETHER IN ELECTRIC DREAMS Giorgio Moroder and Philip Oakey
10 ( 10 ) SMOOTH OPERATOR Sade

11 ( 6 ) TESLA GIRLS OMD
12 ( 7 ) CATH The Bluebells
13 ( 21 ) WHY Bronski Beat
14 ( 16 ) IF IT HAPPENS AGAIN UB40
15 ( 9 ) MADAME BUTTERFLY Malcolm McLaren
16 ( 8 ) BIG IN JAPAN Alphaville
17 ( 37 ) CARIBBEAN QUEEN (NO MORE LOVE ON THE RUN) Billy Ocean
18 ( 29 ) TOO LATE FOR GOODBYES Julian Lennon
19 ( 13 ) I JUST CALLED TO SAY I LOVE YOU Stevie Wonder
20 ( 17 ) CARELESS WHISPER George Michael



21 ( 19 ) LOVE KILLS Freddie Mercury
22 ( 12 ) MR. SOLITAIRE Animal Nightlife
23 ( 11 ) APOLLO 9 Adam Ant
24 ( NEW ) OUT OF TOUCH Daryl Hall and John Oates
25 ( 15 ) BLUE JEAN David Bowie
26 ( NEW ) COVER ME Bruce Springsteen
27 ( 32 ) THE MEDICINE SONG Stephanie Mills
28 ( 18 ) TOUR DE FRANCE (REMIX) Kraftwerk
29 ( 22 ) DR. BEAT Miami Sound Machine
30 ( NEW ) SHOUT TO THE TOP The Style Council



31 ( 25 ) TWO TRIBES Frankie Goes To Hollywood
32 ( 56 ) LISTEN TO YOUR FATHER Feargal Sharkey
33 ( 48 ) FREEDOM Wham!
34 ( NEW ) IF THIS IS IT Huey Lewis and The News
35 ( 53 ) BETTER BE GOOD TO ME Tina Turner
36 ( 26 ) PURPLE RAIN Prince And The Revolution
37 ( NEW ) I'M GONNA TEAR YOUR PLAYHOUSE DOWN Paul Young
38 ( 27 ) SELF CONTROL Laura Branigan
39 ( 39 ) ACCELERATION Bill Nelson
40 ( NEW ) THE SECOND TIME Kim Wilde



41 ( 28 ) TALKING IN YOUR SLEEP Bucks Fizz
42 ( 31 ) THE GIRL FROM IPANEMA Astrud Gilberto
43 ( 35 ) WHAT I LIKE MOST ABOUT YOU (IS YOUR GIRLFRIEND) The Special AKA
44 ( 34 ) TORTURE The Jacksons
45 ( 40 ) GIMME ALL YOUR LOVIN' ZZ Top
46 ( 71 ) ALL YOU PRETTY GIRLS XTC
47 ( 50 ) I FEEL FOR YOU Chaka Khan
48 ( 45 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
49 ( 33 ) PASSENGERS Elton John
50 ( 30 ) HAMMER TO FALL Queen

51 ( 70 ) HIGHLY STRUNG Spandau Ballet
52 ( 44 ) WHATEVER I DO (WHEREVER I GO) Hazell Dean
53 ( NEW ) PENNY LOVER Lionel Richie
54 ( 49 ) EYES WITHOUT A FACE Billy Idol
55 ( 63 ) THE LUCKY ONE Laura Branigan
56 ( 42 ) LIKE TO GET TO KNOW YOU WELL Howard Jones
57 ( NEW ) WHO WEARS THESE SHOES Elton John
58 ( 47 ) SOME GUYS HAVE ALL THE LUCK Rod Stewart
59 ( 36 ) I GO INSANE Lindsey Buckingham
60 ( 38 ) SEXY GIRL Glen Frey

61 ( 57 ) I WANNA BE LOVED Elvis Costello
62 ( 52 ) WAITING IN VAIN Bob Marley And The Wailers
63 ( 46 ) MASTER AND SERVANT Depeche Mode
64 ( 61 ) WHITE LINES (DON'T DON'T DO IT) Grandmaster Flash And Melle Mel
65 ( 58 ) WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT Tina Turner
66 ( NEW ) I WON'T RUN AWAY Alvin Stardust
67 ( NEW ) THE NEVER ENDING STORY Limahl
68 ( 67 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
69 ( 68 ) BILLIE JEAN Michael Jackson
70 ( 41 ) WHAT IS LIFE Black Uhuru

71 ( NEW ) FEEL IT Feelabilia
72 ( 43 ) SHINE SHINE Barry Gibb
73 ( NEW ) THE A TEAM Mike Post
74 ( 75 ) FLESH FOR FANTASY Billy Idol
75 ( NEW ) ALL CRIED OUT Alison Moyet




TV
1 Star Trek: Arena
2 A Night At The Opera: film
3 MASH
4 The Young Ones
5 Terrahawks
6 Top Of The Pops
7 Mary Tyler Moore Show
8 Tenko
9 Rockford Files
10 Addams Family

Posted by: popchartfreak 14th November 2014, 09:51 PM

24th October 1984

4 weeks for Culture Club at 1, leaving The Cars at 2 for 3 weeks, with Phil and Giorgio hitting 4 - actually the lowest-placed Phil Oakey song since Sound Of The Crowd! It’s still a great live in concert show-stopper. Billy Ocean leaps to 6, his highest-placed record since he was On The Run (as Scorched Earth) in 1974. Julian Lennon gets his very own Top 10 hit months after his late dad, and The Style Council get a 4th Top 10 (or Paul Weller’s 10th or so).

Kim Wilde and Chaka Khan both leap into the 20, with Hall & Oates and Wham! taking a more leisurely-paced trip upwards. Highest new entry at 28, it’s Chicago with a 4th MOR-ballad, since topping the chart in 1976 with If You Leave Me Now. Alison Moyet has a 40-placed cried-out hurdle to 35, Limahl to 39 and Ultravox have a romping single with a great video at 40: Love’s Great Adventure. Meatloaf’s back with the fairly ordinary Modern Girl, at 54, while the utterly brilliant new-career-peak Nile-Rodgers-produced Mad-Max-epic-video of The Wild Boys takes Duran Duran up a step, and has the bonus of seeing Simon Le Bon dunked under water several times. I’m So Excited (say The Pointer Sisters, obviously having seen and heard it, at 65), Eddy Grant, Psychedelic Furs also pop in.

On TV a classic 60’s sci-fi movie - make that the first proper modern sci-fi classic movie, Planet Of The Apes, while new kids animated adventure series Dungeons And Dragons appealed to me. I had the board game, and no-one to play it with. So sad!

In My Life: I went along to the youth club, intending on telling them I was going to pack it in, and somehow got talked into committing more as the numbers of adults fell to 3, and I instead played darts with the kids. I’m such a pushover! Work: Milton Abbas, all thatched delight, Dorchester, guessing road widths before measuring them, space invaders at lunchtime in a pub. At home rang grandma in Liverpool who didn’t sound at all well, which caused me anxiety, and the next morning my pet budgie was in distress, which upset me as I’d seen the signs before. By the time I got home he was dead, the last of my many budgies (I had an aviary and used to breed them, I love animals what can I say!). He’d lived 8 years, was the first budgie born in my small aviary in April 1976, and outlived them all.

The weekend: took mum to see her friend from mansfield, Elsie, in Bournemouth, then drove to Poole on my own for a record fair, bought lots of singles I’d been after, then back to pick up mum. Got shown round Elsie and Keith’s hotel (very nice). Took mum to pick up some furniture and while parking touched the bumper of an old Rover in front, the even older driver jumped out and blew a fuse even though it was going at 2mph and caused no damage to either car. Had to swap insurance details anyway. Posh Git had me fuming inside!

Sunday we went to Chippenham, to see Bud and Doreen where young baby Jamie was now nearly-grown-up brainy James and we got the terrible whole story about Dale and his fiancee, and the events leading up to their death, out on a driving lesson doing 25 mph in a mini, which exploded when they hit a tree for some unknown reason. Dale’s room and fish tank was as he’d left it, quite some time later by now. Gary, the middle brother, also arrived with his wife to see us and we all went through some old Singapore photos and tapes of singing and laughing, I think the memories of happier times was both good and terribly sad. Bud said Dale would have loved being there that day, enjoying the memories. For both families, I think, Singapore was a time of great happiness, which can be a rare thing in life. Bud told me about his Falklands flights (still aircraft crew) and having enlisted again in the RAF now flying all over the world. Eventually we had to leave, wished everything could be made right for them all, I liked and admired them so much. I left thinking Dale dying was the most tragic thing to hit me personally, and I wished I could have been there to change events. I just did. Still having sleepless nights about it all.

As an aside, in my mind 1984 was my year from hell, and now I re-read events for the first time 30 years on from my diaries, it really WAS the year from hell for me. Sometimes in life there are long periods of mostly uneventful muddling along, and sometimes week after week after week there is no such thing as a nice quiet life. My life veers towards the latter quite often, and especially the last 16 or 17 years where many of the years make 1984 seem relatively bearable.


1 ( 1 ) THE WAR SONG Culture Club
2 ( 2 ) DRIVE The Cars
3 ( 4 ) NO MORE LONELY NIGHTS Paul McCartney
4 ( 9 ) TOGETHER IN ELECTRIC DREAMS Giorgio Moroder and Philip Oakey
5 ( 3 ) PRIDE (IN THE NAME OF LOVE) U2
6 ( 17 ) CARIBBEAN QUEEN (NO MORE LOVE ON THE RUN) Billy Ocean
7 ( 7 ) SKIN DEEP The Stranglers
8 ( 8 ) MISSING YOU John Waite
9 ( 18 ) TOO LATE FOR GOODBYES Julian Lennon
10 ( 30 ) SHOUT TO THE TOP The Style Council



11 ( 13 ) WHY Bronski Beat
12 ( 5 ) LOST IN MUSIC Sister Sledge
13 ( 24 ) OUT OF TOUCH Daryl Hall and John Oates
14 ( 40 ) THE SECOND TIME Kim Wilde
15 ( 47 ) I FEEL FOR YOU Chaka Khan
16 ( 6 ) GHOSTBUSTERS Ray Parker Junior
17 ( 33 ) FREEDOM Wham!
18 ( 10 ) SMOOTH OPERATOR Sade
19 ( 14 ) IF IT HAPPENS AGAIN UB40
20 ( 11 ) TESLA GIRLS OMD

21 ( 37 ) I'M GONNA TEAR YOUR PLAYHOUSE DOWN Paul Young
22 ( 15 ) MADAME BUTTERFLY Malcolm McLaren
23 ( 12 ) CATH The Bluebells
24 ( 16 ) BIG IN JAPAN Alphaville
25 ( 26 ) COVER ME Bruce Springsteen
26 ( 20 ) CARELESS WHISPER George Michael
27 ( 19 ) I JUST CALLED TO SAY I LOVE YOU Stevie Wonder
28 ( NEW ) HARD HABIT TO BREAK Chicago
29 ( 21 ) LOVE KILLS Freddie Mercury
30 ( 32 ) LISTEN TO YOUR FATHER Feargal Sharkey




31 ( 34 ) IF THIS IS IT Huey Lewis and The News
32 ( 25 ) BLUE JEAN David Bowie
33 ( 27 ) THE MEDICINE SONG Stephanie Mills
34 ( 23 ) APOLLO 9 Adam Ant
35 ( 75 ) ALL CRIED OUT Alison Moyet
36 ( 31 ) TWO TRIBES Frankie Goes To Hollywood
37 ( 22 ) MR. SOLITAIRE Animal Nightlife
38 ( 53 ) PENNY LOVER Lionel Richie
39 ( 67 ) THE NEVER ENDING STORY Limahl
40 ( NEW ) LOVE'S GREAT ADVENTURE Ultravox



41 ( 29 ) DR. BEAT Miami Sound Machine
42 ( 28 ) TOUR DE FRANCE (REMIX) Kraftwerk
43 ( 51 ) HIGHLY STRUNG Spandau Ballet
44 ( 36 ) PURPLE RAIN Prince And The Revolution
45 ( 45 ) GIMME ALL YOUR LOVIN' ZZ Top
46 ( 72 ) SHINE SHINE Barry Gibb
47 ( 38 ) SELF CONTROL Laura Branigan
48 ( 55 ) THE LUCKY ONE Laura Branigan
49 ( 35 ) BETTER BE GOOD TO ME Tina Turner
50 ( 57 ) WHO WEARS THESE SHOES Elton John

51 ( 48 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
52 ( 42 ) THE GIRL FROM IPANEMA Astrud Gilberto
53 ( 41 ) TALKING IN YOUR SLEEP Bucks Fizz
54 ( NEW ) MODERN GIRL Meatloaf
55 ( 46 ) ALL YOU PRETTY GIRLS XTC
56 ( 43 ) WHAT I LIKE MOST ABOUT YOU (IS YOUR GIRLFRIEND) The Special AKA
57 ( NEW ) THE WILD BOYS Duran Duran
58 ( 39 ) ACCELERATION Bill Nelson
59 ( 60 ) SEXY GIRL Glen Frey
60 ( 71 ) FEEL IT Feelabilia

61 ( 52 ) WHATEVER I DO (WHEREVER I GO) Hazell Dean
62 ( 54 ) EYES WITHOUT A FACE Billy Idol
63 ( 49 ) PASSENGERS Elton John
64 ( 44 ) TORTURE The Jacksons
65 ( NEW ) I'M SO EXCITED The Pointer Sisters
66 ( 56 ) LIKE TO GET TO KNOW YOU WELL Howard Jones
67 ( 50 ) HAMMER TO FALL Queen
68 ( 61 ) I WANNA BE LOVED Elvis Costello
69 ( 68 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
70 ( 69 ) BILLIE JEAN Michael Jackson

71 ( NEW ) BOYS IN THE STREET Eddy Grant
72 ( NEW ) HEARTBEAT The Psychedelic Furs
73 ( 62 ) WAITING IN VAIN Bob Marley And The Wailers
74 ( 58 ) SOME GUYS HAVE ALL THE LUCK Rod Stewart
75 ( NEW ) GOTTA GET YOU HOME TONIGHT Eugene Page

TV
1 Planet Of The Apes: film
1 Star Trek: Today Is Yesterday
3 MASH
4 Top Of The Pops
5 Addams Family
6 Mary Tyler Moore Show
7 Terrahawks
8 Rockford Files
9 Whistle Test
10 Dungeons And Dragons

Posted by: popchartfreak 15th November 2014, 04:03 PM

31st October 1984

After 3 weeks at 2, the sublime, hauntingly beautiful Drive parks at the top, The Cars getting a number one after 6 years of trying. Hot on their heels though, it’s Duran Duran’s Wild Boys punching their way to 2 from 57, their biggest record to date. Chaka Khan gets her third top 10 with a Prince song, and 10 years since her first (both previously with Rufus, so her first official solo top 10 hit). Kim Wilde is also back in the 10, just go for it, Kim! Not The Second Time, it’s her 4th, and first one since 1981.

Limahl is never ending at 13, while highest two new entries are UK flops, from Bucks Fizz (at 16 with Golden Days) and Cyndi Lauper (25 with another album single All Through The Night). Under-appreciated both. ZZ Top get a sudden reversal shooting up to 17, Heaven 17, like the seagulls in Finding Nemo say “Mine” at 34, a new entry, and Alvin really won’t run away as he re-enters at 39.

Quo are back covering Dion’s way better original version of The Wanderer at 47, Sheena Easton gets an early not-yet-released entry for her new raunchy image, as she struts her way to 67, strut, pah, put it out, that’s what you want from women. Apparently! Murray Head had a name in the first cast version of Jesus Christ Superstar, and is the brother of Anthony Head, who did some decent singing in Buffy The Vampire Slayer - the Abba boys obviously took notice as they got him to sing One Night In Bangkok for their new musical Chess. In the absence of Abba (forever, as it turned out) this was a mighty fine substitute, a tad seedy, a bit catchy, and very thumping. Lastly, at 71 it’s a good debut single from Rebbie Jackson, Michael’s oldest sister, then 34, and written by him and with him on backing vocals. Shame it’s obscure these days and wasn’t a UK hit - though it was big in the USA.

At home, mum dad and I still having problems getting over Dale’s death, which put other stuff into perspective, like the rejection letter I got from my old college (to do a postgrad teaching course), though I was getting quite stressed by now with the driving of Monic, still giving me lifts into work and I was sorta happy when the car stalled and forced her to slow down. I had a letter for an interview at Exeter, which made me worry at work asking for the day off after just starting. Doreen rang, Bud, James and her came down on Sunday, and showed them my room which made them think of Dale, as we liked a lot of the same stuff, music, fish tanks & animals, art, photography and so on. We took them to the marine camp and showed them round the NAAFI which they enjoyed I think. Popped to Sandbanks, let James play on my guitar while I listened to the charts rundown upstairs, and they left at 7. We all still wished we could do something to help in some way, but of course there isn’t really.






1 ( 2 ) DRIVE The Cars
2 ( 57 ) THE WILD BOYS Duran Duran
3 ( 1 ) THE WAR SONG Culture Club
4 ( 3 ) NO MORE LONELY NIGHTS Paul McCartney
5 ( 6 ) CARIBBEAN QUEEN (NO MORE LOVE ON THE RUN) Billy Ocean
6 ( 9 ) TOO LATE FOR GOODBYES Julian Lennon
7 ( 4 ) TOGETHER IN ELECTRIC DREAMS Giorgio Moroder and Philip Oakey
8 ( 15 ) I FEEL FOR YOU Chaka Khan
9 ( 7 ) SKIN DEEP The Stranglers
10 ( 14 ) THE SECOND TIME Kim Wilde

11 ( 5 ) PRIDE (IN THE NAME OF LOVE) U2
12 ( 10 ) SHOUT TO THE TOP The Style Council
13 ( 39 ) THE NEVER ENDING STORY Limahl
14 ( 17 ) FREEDOM Wham!
15 ( 13 ) OUT OF TOUCH Daryl Hall and John Oates
16 ( NEW ) GOLDEN DAYS Bucks Fizz
17 ( 45 ) GIMME ALL YOUR LOVIN' ZZ Top
18 ( 12 ) LOST IN MUSIC Sister Sledge
19 ( 8 ) MISSING YOU John Waite
20 ( 28 ) HARD HABIT TO BREAK Chicago




21 ( 35 ) ALL CRIED OUT Alison Moyet
22 ( 11 ) WHY Bronski Beat
23 ( 30 ) LISTEN TO YOUR FATHER Feargal Sharkey
24 ( 16 ) GHOSTBUSTERS Ray Parker Junior
25 ( NEW ) ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT Cyndi Lauper
26 ( 18 ) SMOOTH OPERATOR Sade
27 ( 31 ) IF THIS IS IT Huey Lewis and The News
28 ( 40 ) LOVE'S GREAT ADVENTURE Ultravox
29 ( 20 ) TESLA GIRLS OMD
30 ( 22 ) MADAME BUTTERFLY Malcolm McLaren

31 ( 19 ) IF IT HAPPENS AGAIN UB40
32 ( 26 ) CARELESS WHISPER George Michael
33 ( 27 ) I JUST CALLED TO SAY I LOVE YOU Stevie Wonder
34 ( NEW ) THIS IS MINE Heaven 17
35 ( 24 ) BIG IN JAPAN Alphaville
36 ( 21 ) I'M GONNA TEAR YOUR PLAYHOUSE DOWN Paul Young
37 ( 38 ) PENNY LOVER Lionel Richie
38 ( 23 ) CATH The Bluebells
39 ( RE ) I WON'T RUN AWAY Alvin Stardust
40 ( 43 ) HIGHLY STRUNG Spandau Ballet

41 ( 25 ) COVER ME Bruce Springsteen
42 ( 36 ) TWO TRIBES Frankie Goes To Hollywood
43 ( 29 ) LOVE KILLS Freddie Mercury
44 ( 48 ) THE LUCKY ONE Laura Branigan
45 ( 65 ) I'M SO EXCITED The Pointer Sisters
46 ( 33 ) THE MEDICINE SONG Stephanie Mills
47 ( NEW ) THE WANDERER Status Quo
48 ( 32 ) BLUE JEAN David Bowie
49 ( 34 ) APOLLO 9 Adam Ant
50 ( 50 ) WHO WEARS THESE SHOES Elton John

51 ( 41 ) DR. BEAT Miami Sound Machine
52 ( 37 ) MR. SOLITAIRE Animal Nightlife
53 ( 75 ) GOTTA GET YOU HOME TONIGHT Eugene Page
54 ( 54 ) MODERN GIRL Meatloaf
55 ( 51 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
56 ( 42 ) TOUR DE FRANCE (REMIX) Kraftwerk
57 ( 47 ) SELF CONTROL Laura Branigan
58 ( 44 ) PURPLE RAIN Prince And The Revolution
59 ( 46 ) SHINE SHINE Barry Gibb
60 ( 49 ) BETTER BE GOOD TO ME Tina Turner

61 ( 52 ) THE GIRL FROM IPANEMA Astrud Gilberto
62 ( 53 ) TALKING IN YOUR SLEEP Bucks Fizz
63 ( 56 ) WHAT I LIKE MOST ABOUT YOU (IS YOUR GIRLFRIEND) The Special AKA
64 ( 62 ) EYES WITHOUT A FACE Billy Idol
65 ( 61 ) WHATEVER I DO (WHEREVER I GO) Hazell Dean
66 ( 72 ) HEARTBEAT The Psychedelic Furs
67 ( NEW ) STRUT Sheena Easton
68 ( NEW ) ONE NIGHT IN BANGKOK Murray Head
69 ( 69 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
70 ( 70 ) BILLIE JEAN Michael Jackson




71 ( NEW ) CENTIPEDE Rebbie Jackson
72 ( 59 ) SEXY GIRL Glen Frey
73 ( 68 ) I WANNA BE LOVED Elvis Costello
74 ( 63 ) PASSENGERS Elton John
75 ( RE ) ON THE WINGS OF A NIGHTINGALE The Everly Brothers




TV
1 National Lampoon's Animal House: film
1 Star Trek: Court Martial
3 MASH
4 Top Of The Pops
5 Addams Family
6 Mary Tyler Moore Show
7 Terrahawks
8 The Professionals
9 Tenko
10 Entertainment USA

Posted by: popchartfreak 23rd December 2014, 09:03 PM

6th November 1984

Duran Duran get their first number one, the fabulous exciting The Wild Boys, a Mad Max video and Simon Le Bon getting dunked, what’s not to love. It had taken almost 4 years to get there, but in the end a great single persuaded me over. Chicago get their biggest hit in 8 years as Hard habit To Break climbs to 4, and Wham! return to Top 10 form with Freedom hitting 5, their 5th Top 10 and George’s 6th. Limahl also does what Kajagoogoo couldn’t, with a decent top 10 movie soundtrack single.

Heaven 17 exclaim “Mine!” at 17, which reminds me of the seagulls in Finding Nemo, and Murray Head rockets Abba upwards with One Night In Bangkok. Oh Chess he does. Oops! Bad pun alert. Highest new entry is album track Let’s Go Crazy from Prince at 26, a fabulous storming rockfunk workout making up for the relatively plodding Purple Rain single. Nik Kershaw gets a 4th hit with his best single, the great military-flavoured The Riddle, and mere weeks before seeing him live in concert where he sang a good album track called Bogart (should have been a single). rather appropriately Actual Bogart (and James Cagney) pop in at 73 with a gangster movie medley of scenes from their films. You Doity Rat!

Jim Diamond’s in at 33 with the UK chart-topper I Should Have Known Better. He really should have, being as he used to be a PhD and topped my charts in 1982 with I Won’t Let You Down. Ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay he did. Michael’s sis legs it into the 40 with Centipede, OMD have a middling ballad entry, Tracey Ullman keeps the run of hits Helplessly turning over, and a gem slides in lower down: Eurythmics 1984 movie single the glorious Sex Crime. S S S Sex at 54. Others: Iron Maiden, Cliff, Nick Heyward going funky, and ABC getting Millionaire stomping synth lessons. Talking Heads also Slippery in almost 4 years since biggie Once In A Lifetime.




1 ( 2 ) THE WILD BOYS Duran Duran
2 ( 1 ) DRIVE The Cars
3 ( 4 ) NO MORE LONELY NIGHTS Paul McCartney
4 ( 20 ) HARD HABIT TO BREAK Chicago
5 ( 14 ) FREEDOM Wham!
6 ( 6 ) TOO LATE FOR GOODBYES Julian Lennon
7 ( 5 ) CARIBBEAN QUEEN (NO MORE LOVE ON THE RUN) Billy Ocean
8 ( 8 ) I FEEL FOR YOU Chaka Khan
9 ( 3 ) THE WAR SONG Culture Club
10 ( 13 ) THE NEVER ENDING STORY Limahl



11 ( 7 ) TOGETHER IN ELECTRIC DREAMS Philip Oakey and Giorgio Moroder
12 ( 16 ) GOLDEN DAYS Bucks Fizz
13 ( 17 ) GIMME ALL YOUR LOVING Z.Z. TOP
14 ( 25 ) ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT Cyndi Lauper
15 ( 15 ) OUT OF TOUCH Daryl Hall and John Oates
16 ( 10 ) THE SECOND TIME Kim Wilde
17 ( 34 ) THIS IS MINE Heaven 17
18 ( 9 ) SKIN DEEP The Stranglers
19 ( 68 ) ONE NIGHT IN BANGKOK Murray Head
20 ( 21 ) ALL CRIED OUT Alison Moyet




21 ( 23 ) LISTEN TO YOUR FATHER Feargal Sharkey
22 ( 12 ) SHOUT TO THE TOP The Style Council
23 ( 11 ) PRIDE (IN THE NAME OF LOVE) U2
24 ( 28 ) LOVE’S GREAT ADVENTURE Ultravox
25 ( 18 ) LOST IN MUSIC Sister Sledge
26 ( NEW ) LET’S GO CRAZY Prince
27 ( 19 ) MISSING YOU John Waite
28 ( 39 ) I WON’T RUN AWAY Alvin Stardust
29 ( 53 ) GOTTA GET YOU HOME TONIGHT Eugene Wilde
30 ( NEW ) THE RIDDLE Nik Kershaw




31 ( 45 ) I’M SO EXCITED The Pointer Sisters
32 ( 36 ) I’M GONNA TEAR YOUR PLAYHOUSE DOWN Paul Young
33 ( NEW ) I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER Jim Diamond
34 ( 27 ) IF THIS IS IT Huey Lewis and The News
35 ( 24 ) GHOSTBUSTERS Ray Parker Junior
36 ( 22 ) WHY Bronski Beat
37 ( 40 ) HIGHLY STRUNG Spandau Ballet
38 ( 26 ) SMOOTH OPERATOR Sade
39 ( 47 ) THE WANDERER Status Quo
40 ( 71 ) CENTIPEDE Rebbie Jackson

41 ( 30 ) MADAME BUTTERFLY Malcolm McLaren
42 ( 33 ) I JUST CALLED TO SAY I LOVE YOU Stevie Wonder
43 ( 32 ) CARELESS WHISPER George Michael
44 ( 54 ) MODERN GIRL Meatloaf
45 ( 29 ) TESLA GIRLS OMD
46 ( NEW ) NEVER TURN AWAY OMD
47 ( 35 ) BIG IN JAPAN Alphaville
48 ( 38 ) CATH The Bluebells
49 ( NEW ) HELPLESS Tracey Ullman
50 ( 42 ) TWO TRIBES Frankie Goes To Hollywood

51 ( 37 ) PENNY LOVER Lionel Richie
52 ( 31 ) IF IT HAPPENS AGAIN UB40
53 ( 41 ) COVER ME Bruce Springsteen
54 ( NEW ) SEX CRIME (1984) Eurythmics
55 ( 46 ) THE MEDICINE SONG Stephanie Mills
56 ( NEW ) WARNING SIGN Nick Heyward
57 ( NEW ) SHOOTING FROM THE HEART Cliff Richard
58 ( 55 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
59 ( NEW ) HOW TO BE A MILLIONAIRE ABC
60 ( 57 ) SELF CONTROL Laura Branigan

61 ( NEW ) LET IT ALL BLOW The Dazz Band
62 ( 48 ) BLUE JEAN David Bowie
63 ( 51 ) DR. BEAT Miami Sound Machine
64 ( 56 ) TOUR DE FRANCE Kraftwerk
65 ( NEW ) ACES HIGH Iron Maiden
66 ( 59 ) SHINE SHINE Barry Gibb
67 ( 49 ) APOLLO 9 Adam Ant
68 ( 64 ) EYES WITHOUT A FACE Billy Idol
69 ( 69 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
70 ( 70 ) BILLIE-JEAN Michael Jackson

71 ( 62 ) TALKING IN YOUR SLEEP Bucks Fizz
72 ( 44 ) THE LUCKY ONE Laura Branigan
73 ( NEW ) THE GANGSTER SINGLE Humphrey Bogart and James Cagney
74 ( 43 ) LOVE KILLS Freddie Mercury
75 ( NEW ) SLIPPERY PEOPLE Talking Heads


In the real world, I was still having nightmares with late friend Dale turning up while I was at work, in them facially scarred and not alive but interested in my work, meanwhile his mum was distraught. Mind working overtime. At real work, we visited Bulbarrow Hill and Hurn Airport, and by now getting on really well with mate Bob, lots of joking about.

In the news the shock news that Mrs Ghandi had been assassinated, as I put it “one of the few world leaders it’s possible to have any respect for”. I’ve never been much of a fan of politicians, the great ones are few and far between. The nutters never get assassinated, sadly. At home Bob came round to see my record collection and meet my parents - he was due round tonight in 2014 actually (see previous comments about life being circular and linked in so many ways). A first this week: I used a cashpoint for the first time!! Yikes at the novelty of having new technology and cash!

Grandma and grandad arrived by coach in Poole, where parents hosted them at the NAAFI quarters for the weekend. Listening to old music charts, I came to the conclusion that 1972 was my fave musical year, pretty much from Oct 1971 through Oct 1972 - I think it may well still be, even though better years followed. Parents and grandparents round on Sunday for dinner and socialising, I was definitely in a better place emotionally these days.

TV:
1. Star Trek: Space Seed
2. The Phil Silvers Show
3. The Addams Family
4. Rising Damp
5. Hill Street Blues
6. Soap
7. Terrahawks
8. Comic Strip Presents: The Bullshitters
9. Tenko
10. MASH
11. The Mary Tyler Moore Show
12. The Avengers
13. Dallas
14. Top Of The Pops
15. The Rockford Files
16. Dungeons And Dragons

Posted by: popchartfreak 24th December 2014, 08:00 PM

13th November 1984

2 weeks at 1 for The Wild Boys, as Chaka feels for you at 4, and Eurythmics positively explode from 54 to 7 giving a run of unbroken Top 10’s since Sweet Dreams. Quality! Tim Rice gets his first song in the top 10 for 5 years, and the Abba boys do nicely with Murray Head at 8. His brother Tony could do a good job too, I expect, based on his Buffy TV singing.

OMD get a nice jump into the 40 for an unbroken run of almost 5 years. Quality!! Depeche Mode get the highest new entry at 29 - now I don’t want to start any Blasphemous Rumours but their days of being teenypop synth boyband were looking long ago! Slade are back with another great singalong Christmas and New Year ballad at 38, let’s All Join Hands! Going berserk at 40, it’s Gary Numan determined not to be in any way singalong, New Year or whatever.

At 49, Human League’s sweet ballad Louise enters fairly lowly for them, given they hadn’t failed to top my chart since Love Action just missed over 3 years earlier. Rather sadly I just missed seeing them in concert last week again as I was on holiday (Dec 2014). Also back: Scritti Politti, Lloyd Cole and The Commotions with the rather good Rattlesnakes, The Cars, Dennis De Young ex-Styx singer, Bananarama and Joan Jett covering Gary Glitter’s million-selling banished I Love You Love Me Love. As radio will never play it again, here’s a version you can listen to instead.


1 ( 1 ) THE WILD BOYS Duran Duran
2 ( 2 ) DRIVE The Cars
3 ( 4 ) HARD HABIT TO BREAK Chicago
4 ( 8 ) I FEEL FOR YOU Chaka Khan
5 ( 3 ) NO MORE LONELY NIGHTS Paul McCartney
6 ( 5 ) FREEDOM Wham!
7 ( 54 ) SEX CRIME (1984) Eurythmics
8 ( 19 ) ONE NIGHT IN BANGKOK Murray Head
9 ( 14 ) ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT Cyndi Lauper
10 ( 10 ) THE NEVER ENDING STORY Limahl

11 ( 6 ) TOO LATE FOR GOODBYES Julian Lennon
12 ( 13 ) GIMME ALL YOUR LOVING Z.Z. TOP
13 ( 7 ) CARIBBEAN QUEEN (NO MORE LOVE ON THE RUN) Billy Ocean
14 ( 9 ) THE WAR SONG Culture Club
15 ( 17 ) THIS IS MINE Heaven 17
16 ( 11 ) TOGETHER IN ELECTRIC DREAMS Philip Oakey and Giorgio Moroder
17 ( 15 ) OUT OF TOUCH Daryl Hall and John Oates
18 ( 20 ) ALL CRIED OUT Alison Moyet
19 ( 12 ) GOLDEN DAYS Bucks Fizz
20 ( 24 ) LOVE’S GREAT ADVENTURE Ultravox

21 ( 16 ) THE SECOND TIME Kim Wilde
22 ( 33 ) I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER Jim Diamond
23 ( 29 ) GOTTA GET YOU HOME TONIGHT Eugene Wilde
24 ( 26 ) LET’S GO CRAZY Prince
25 ( 28 ) I WON’T RUN AWAY Alvin Stardust
26 ( 46 ) NEVER TURN AWAY OMD
27 ( 31 ) I’M SO EXCITED The Pointer Sisters
28 ( 18 ) SKIN DEEP The Stranglers
29 ( NEW ) BLASPHEMOUS RUMOURS Depeche Mode
30 ( 30 ) THE RIDDLE Nik Kershaw

31 ( 39 ) THE WANDERER Status Quo
32 ( 59 ) HOW TO BE A MILLIONAIRE ABC
33 ( 23 ) PRIDE (IN THE NAME OF LOVE) U2
34 ( 25 ) LOST IN MUSIC Sister Sledge
35 ( 21 ) LISTEN TO YOUR FATHER Feargal Sharkey
36 ( 61 ) LET IT ALL BLOW The Dazz Band
37 ( 22 ) SHOUT TO THE TOP The Style Council
38 ( NEW ) ALL JOIN HANDS Slade
39 ( 40 ) CENTIPEDE Rebbie Jackson
40 ( NEW ) BERSERKER Gary Numan



41 ( 32 ) I’M GONNA TEAR YOUR PLAYHOUSE DOWN Paul Young
42 ( 42 ) I JUST CALLED TO SAY I LOVE YOU Stevie Wonder
43 ( 56 ) WARNING SIGN Nick Heyward
44 ( 49 ) HELPLESS Tracey Ullman
45 ( 41 ) MADAME BUTTERFLY Malcolm McLaren
46 ( 43 ) CARELESS WHISPER George Michael
47 ( 27 ) MISSING YOU John Waite
48 ( 34 ) IF THIS IS IT Huey Lewis and The News
49 ( NEW ) LOUISE Human League
50 ( 35 ) GHOSTBUSTERS Ray Parker Junior



51 ( 38 ) SMOOTH OPERATOR Sade
52 ( 36 ) WHY Bronski Beat
53 ( 45 ) TESLA GIRLS OMD
54 ( NEW ) THE CHANT HAS JUST BEGUN The Alarm
55 ( 51 ) PENNY LOVER Lionel Richie
56 ( 50 ) TWO TRIBES Frankie Goes To Hollywood
57 ( 57 ) SHOOTING FROM THE HEART Cliff Richard
58 ( 65 ) ACES HIGH Iron Maiden
59 ( 48 ) CATH The Bluebells
60 ( NEW ) HYPNOTISE Scritti Politti

61 ( 58 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
62 ( 47 ) BIG IN JAPAN Alphaville
63 ( NEW ) RATTLESNAKES Lloyd Cole And The Commotions
64 ( 37 ) HIGHLY STRUNG Spandau Ballet
65 ( 44 ) MODERN GIRL Meatloaf
66 ( 60 ) SELF CONTROL Laura Branigan
67 ( 69 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
68 ( NEW ) TAKE IT BACK The Pookah Makes Three
69 ( NEW ) YOU MIGHT THINK The Cars
70 ( 70 ) BILLIE-JEAN Michael Jackson



71 ( NEW ) I LOVE YOU LOVE ME LOVE Joan Jett And The Blackhearts
72 ( 64 ) TOUR DE FRANCE Kraftwerk
73 ( NEW ) DESERT MOON Dennis De Young
74 ( NEW ) HOTLINE TO HEAVEN Bananarama
75 ( 71 ) TALKING IN YOUR SLEEP Bucks Fizz




I had an interview on the Monday of this week, in Exmouth’s Rolle College, a teacher training course where I basically blew it (and knew it) as I’d done nothing to try and get observation experience in schools, and already had the chance of doing teaching at my previous College. Hey ho. Gave a lift back to Broadstone to one of the other candidates, whose parents happened to be teachers. Doh! Back at home, grandad was more chatty than he used to be in the olden days in his birthday week.

I got increasingly unhappy with the erratic speeding driving of my lift to work colleague, resolving to get my own transport. “On bus tomorrow thank God” I mused. At work got wet surveying roads at Anstey which was fun, honestly I enjoyed it! On TV Tenko was gripping drama, the female prisoners group fragmenting.

1. Star Trek: A Taste Of Armageddon
2. The Phil Silvers Show
3. MASH
4. Hill Street Blues
5. The Mary Tyler Moore Show
6. Tenko
7. Rising Damp
8. Top Of The Pops
9. Soap
10. The Addams Family
11. Terrahawks
12. Dallas
13. The Avengers
14. Carry On Up The Jungle: film
15. The Rockford Files

Posted by: popchartfreak 25th December 2014, 08:59 PM

20th November 1984

Eurythmics get a first chart-topper after coming close on pretty much most previous singles, this was sounding very of the moment and fresh with the computer-sampling repeats, though these days it’s not remembered as well as previous Annie n Dave songs. It was enough to keep off the very well-remembered Chaka Khan, rap and sampling I Feel For You from the top spot though.

Highest new entry at 4, giving them 3 in the chart and a third hit following on from two massive number ones, the fantastic Frankie Goes To Hollywood and the christmassy The Power Of Love. I recalled my boss listening to the track and calling it a dirge. I begged to differ quite strongly and rushed out to buy the fold-out sleeve version of the single. I was, of course, entirely correct, witness it’s subsequent numerous chart re-entries and recent cover UK chart-topper from Gabrielle Aplin. “I’ll protect you from the hooded claw” is one of my fave song lyric lines.

Slade shoot up 30 places to 8, giving them a cool 13 years of top 10 hits to date, Depeche Mode get a 6th top 10 with a spot of denial and some dark lyrics, and Nik Kershaw flutes his way up to 11. ABC take a sudden leap into the 20 as the drum-sounds impress, and the Dazz Band want to let it all blow. Well, it didn’t. The late Alvin gets a second top 20 hit of the year, for 11 years of hits, Sister Sledge get a third 1984 hit with a 1979 track, as We Are Family returns at 29. 5 years seems quite a long span of time when one is young, and a quite a short span of time when one is older. Records from 2009 making the chart in 2014 just seem like extended runs of long-running hits rather than actual oldies re-issues, as they were then.

Half A Minute, matt Bianco have a smooth jazz return to the 40, while Dave, inspiration for a great UK TV channel (well, perhaps the inspiration for Dave Lister, I ponder) gives the chart-flopping Boomtown Rats a great return to my top 40. I had faith in Bob Geldof even if no-one else seemed to! The Temptations are also back. Back! Almost 16 years since their debut run of hits, and well over 22 years since they started their American chart career, some of the original line-up pop back with a Motown soul track that’s very 80’s, but with nice 60’s harmonies. This was the line-up I saw in concert a few years later, minus the great Eddie Kendricks’ and David Ruffin’s vocals. Still good though.

Tina Turner becomes an albums artist with a bit of help from Mark Knopfler’s song and title track, a bit Dire Straits-ey, a bit hookers-ey, at 53 and future 1985 hit from the classic Motown songwriters Ashford & Simpson (Ain’t No Mountain High Enough and many others), husband and wife, get their own sparkling moment with the fabulous Solid. Solid as a rock, in fact, until Nick’s death a few years back. Steve Wright, DJ of the moment back then, was using American posse comedy format to great effect on radio 1. Sadly, he was also still basing a lot of his humour on camp 60’s cliches such as the pretty piss-poor The Gay Caballeros novelty hit. It was mildly amusing on listening once. Then not.



1 ( 7 ) SEX CRIME (1984) Eurythmics
2 ( 4 ) I FEEL FOR YOU Chaka Khan
3 ( 1 ) THE WILD BOYS Duran Duran
4 ( NEW ) THE POWER OF LOVE Frankie Goes To Hollywood
5 ( 8 ) ONE NIGHT IN BANGKOK Murray Head
6 ( 3 ) HARD HABIT TO BREAK Chicago
7 ( 9 ) ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT Cyndi Lauper
8 ( 38 ) ALL JOIN HANDS Slade
9 ( 2 ) DRIVE The Cars
10 ( 29 ) BLASPHEMOUS RUMOURS Depeche Mode

11 ( 30 ) THE RIDDLE Nik Kershaw
12 ( 5 ) NO MORE LONELY NIGHTS Paul McCartney
13 ( 6 ) FREEDOM Wham!
14 ( 32 ) HOW TO BE A MILLIONAIRE ABC
15 ( 15 ) THIS IS MINE Heaven 17
16 ( 36 ) LET IT ALL BLOW The Dazz Band
17 ( 10 ) THE NEVER ENDING STORY Limahl
18 ( 25 ) I WON’T RUN AWAY Alvin Stardust
19 ( 13 ) CARIBBEAN QUEEN (NO MORE LOVE ON THE RUN) Billy Ocean
20 ( 12 ) GIMME ALL YOUR LOVING Z.Z. TOP



21 ( 11 ) TOO LATE FOR GOODBYES Julian Lennon
22 ( 16 ) TOGETHER IN ELECTRIC DREAMS Philip Oakey and Giorgio Moroder
23 ( 23 ) GOTTA GET YOU HOME TONIGHT Eugene Wilde
24 ( 14 ) THE WAR SONG Culture Club
25 ( 22 ) I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER Jim Diamond
26 ( 49 ) LOUISE Human League
27 ( 18 ) ALL CRIED OUT Alison Moyet
28 ( 40 ) BERSERKER Gary Numan
29 ( NEW ) WE ARE FAMILY Sister Sledge
30 ( 20 ) LOVE’S GREAT ADVENTURE Ultravox

31 ( 17 ) OUT OF TOUCH Daryl Hall and John Oates
32 ( 43 ) WARNING SIGN Nick Heyward
33 ( 27 ) I’M SO EXCITED The Pointer Sisters
34 ( 21 ) THE SECOND TIME Kim Wilde
35 ( NEW ) HALF A MINUTE Matt Bianco
36 ( 19 ) GOLDEN DAYS Bucks Fizz
37 ( 31 ) THE WANDERER Status Quo
38 ( 73 ) DESERT MOON Dennis De Young
39 ( NEW ) DAVE The Boomtown Rats
40 ( NEW ) TREAT HER LIKE A LADY The Temptations



41 ( 34 ) LOST IN MUSIC Sister Sledge
42 ( 48 ) IF THIS IS IT Huey Lewis and The News
43 ( 26 ) NEVER TURN AWAY OMD
44 ( 28 ) SKIN DEEP The Stranglers
45 ( 33 ) PRIDE (IN THE NAME OF LOVE) U2
46 ( 63 ) RATTLESNAKES Lloyd Cole And The Commotions
47 ( 42 ) I JUST CALLED TO SAY I LOVE YOU Stevie Wonder
48 ( 35 ) LISTEN TO YOUR FATHER Feargal Sharkey
49 ( 54 ) THE CHANT HAS JUST BEGUN The Alarm
50 ( 41 ) I’M GONNA TEAR YOUR PLAYHOUSE DOWN Paul Young

51 ( 45 ) MADAME BUTTERFLY Malcolm McLaren
52 ( 46 ) CARELESS WHISPER George Michael
53 ( NEW ) PRIVATE DANCER Tina Turner
54 ( 39 ) CENTIPEDE Rebbie Jackson
55 ( 57 ) SHOOTING FROM THE HEART Cliff Richard
56 ( 37 ) SHOUT TO THE TOP The Style Council
57 ( 60 ) HYPNOTISE Scritti Politti
58 ( 56 ) TWO TRIBES Frankie Goes To Hollywood
59 ( NEW ) SOLID Ashford and Simpson
60 ( 47 ) MISSING YOU John Waite



61 ( 44 ) HELPLESS Tracey Ullman
62 ( 61 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
63 ( 52 ) WHY Bronski Beat
64 ( 69 ) YOU MIGHT THINK The Cars
65 ( 50 ) GHOSTBUSTERS Ray Parker Junior
66 ( 53 ) TESLA GIRLS OMD
67 ( 67 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
68 ( 59 ) CATH The Bluebells
69 ( NEW ) THE GAY CABALLEROS Steve Wright
70 ( 70 ) BILLIE-JEAN Michael Jackson

71 ( 55 ) PENNY LOVER Lionel Richie
72 ( NEW ) WATCHING YOU Shakatak
73 ( 51 ) SMOOTH OPERATOR Sade
74 ( 74 ) HOTLINE TO HEAVEN Bananarama
75 ( 62 ) BIG IN JAPAN Alphaville



At home, by a strange co-incidence I found that my car-share driver was the cousin of the lady who’s place I’d filled in for at the NAAFI while she was ill over the summer. She had just passed away. On the way home from work I saw a moped accident which made me think twice about getting a moped to avoid the stress of being driven to work. Grandma and grandad popped in on their way back to Mansfield, telling me it was about time I got married. Pretty much expected to be married with kids at 19 in Mansfield in those days. They benefitted from me not getting married much later in life so all’s well etc...

My new TV character obsession was Stu Dapples on Terrahawks: “OK, ya, right, man, Miss Kestrel” You had to be there, trust me... I caught the latest “full of vitality” singles chart rundown in picturesque Milton Abbas, while the boss reckoned I’d grow out of it and “laugh when I get older”. Laugh again, old man! No chance of that now, I reckon, as I said to him at the time “I’ve heard all this before 15 years earlier, and it’s not declined with age (yet). More a way of life than a hobby”. He was really generally getting on my nerves by now. Not always. Only when he opened his mouth. So, a retrospective nur nur ne nur nur...

The weekend started with a classic batch of DC Comics, The Teen Titans at this stage a virtual top-selling artform, just brilliant. It ended with news that my car-share young driver’s dad had killed himself, so she was not in any state to go to work, fairly obviously, and her 3rd family death of the year. I also recalled one of the 1st year students from College who was great fun, and often popped round in the 3rd year, Jenny, had died from breast cancer. Life just not fair, barely over 22. The photo I have of her sat on my digs bed is of happier times when the world seemed bright and full of hope - 4 years earlier....



1. Star Trek: This Side Of Paradise
2. Tenko
3. Hill Street Blues
4. The Phil Silvers Show
5. MASH
6. Top Of The Pops
7. Dallas
8. Soap
9. The Twilight Zone
10. The Addams Family

Posted by: popchartfreak 26th December 2014, 06:32 PM

27th November 1984

It’s a hat-trick of debut number ones for Frankie Goes To Hollywood, equalling Mary Hopkin and Middle Of The Road. Frankie’s, however, are three bonafide acknowledged classics. Murray Head gets to 3, and Human League keep the top 10 hits run 100% since the girls joined the band for Dare singles.

The Dazz Band get their synthfunk dance into the 10, while Alvin falls just short with his 50’s-harmony great retro single. Highest new entry, just above his movie single, it’s a TV kiddies animated feature theme tune from Paul McCartney: We All Stand Together, supported ably by a chorus of frogs! It sounds unlikely, but it’s great fun unless one has no sense of humour or no child-like enjoyment of life.

Nick Heyward sends a sudden Warning Sign top-20-bound, while Culture Club sing of medals and enter into the 40 at 24 following up 4 chart-toppers in a row with a rather merely OK-ish single. Sheena Easton struts her way back into the 40 as Frankie’s genius producer Trevor Horn, and Buggles-man, hops into a spot of Art Of Noise dance-synth instrumental close-to-the-edit stuff at 46.

The Kane Gang cover The Staples Singers 3 years before Bruce Willis had a hit with Respect Yourself, at 48. Stock Aitken & Waterman arrive proper at 54, though, as Dead Or Alive spin me round, like a record baby, a fantastic hi-energy pop record. At 66, Madonna’s 4th hit is the one that changed everything: Like A Virgin? Don’t mind if I do, as the gag goes. Produced by Nile Rodgers, a man who could do no wrong in those days. I wonder what happened to him? Daft Punk anyone?

Kool And The Gang, The Jacksons, and Shaky all pop back with new singles, while Strawberry Switchblade enter at 73 with a corker of a single, the super-melodic, girl-band sounds of Since Yesterday, and a great image not a million miles away from current various indie popstars. Love it. Finally, ever wondered what happened to the Flying Lizards after their cover of a Beatles cover, Money? Well, in my world they came back with another cover of a Beatles cover, Dizzy Miss Lizzie 5 years later!



1 ( 4 ) THE POWER OF LOVE Frankie Goes To Hollywood
2 ( 1 ) SEX CRIME (1984) Eurythmics
3 ( 5 ) ONE NIGHT IN BANGKOK Murray Head
4 ( 2 ) I FEEL FOR YOU Chaka Khan
5 ( 8 ) ALL JOIN HANDS Slade
6 ( 3 ) THE WILD BOYS Duran Duran
7 ( 26 ) LOUISE Human League
8 ( 10 ) BLASPHEMOUS RUMOURS Depeche Mode
9 ( 16 ) LET IT ALL BLOW The Dazz Band
10 ( 6 ) HARD HABIT TO BREAK Chicago

11 ( 11 ) THE RIDDLE Nik Kershaw
12 ( 18 ) I WON’T RUN AWAY Alvin Stardust
13 ( 7 ) ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT Cyndi Lauper
14 ( 14 ) HOW TO BE A MILLIONAIRE ABC
15 ( 9 ) DRIVE The Cars
16 ( NEW ) WE ALL STAND TOGETHER Paul McCartney and The Frog Chorus
17 ( 12 ) NO MORE LONELY NIGHTS Paul McCartney
18 ( 32 ) WARNING SIGN Nick Heyward
19 ( 13 ) FREEDOM Wham!
20 ( 29 ) WE ARE FAMILY Sister Sledge



21 ( 19 ) CARIBBEAN QUEEN (NO MORE LOVE ON THE RUN) Billy Ocean
22 ( 17 ) THE NEVER ENDING STORY Limahl
23 ( 40 ) TREAT HER LIKE A LADY The Temptations
24 ( NEW ) THE MEDAL SONG Culture Club
25 ( 35 ) HALF A MINUTE Matt Bianco
26 ( 15 ) THIS IS MINE Heaven 17
27 ( 39 ) DAVE The Boomtown Rats
28 ( 21 ) TOO LATE FOR GOODBYES Julian Lennon
29 ( 38 ) DESERT MOON Dennis De Young
30 ( 20 ) GIMME ALL YOUR LOVING Z.Z. TOP

31 ( 22 ) TOGETHER IN ELECTRIC DREAMS Philip Oakey and Giorgio Moroder
32 ( 25 ) I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER Jim Diamond
33 ( 24 ) THE WAR SONG Culture Club
34 ( 27 ) ALL CRIED OUT Alison Moyet
35 ( RE ) STRUT Sheena Easton
36 ( 23 ) GOTTA GET YOU HOME TONIGHT Eugene Wilde
37 ( 30 ) LOVE’S GREAT ADVENTURE Ultravox
38 ( 53 ) PRIVATE DANCER Tina Turner
39 ( 42 ) IF THIS IS IT Huey Lewis and The News
40 ( 37 ) THE WANDERER Status Quo

41 ( 33 ) I’M SO EXCITED The Pointer Sisters
42 ( 31 ) OUT OF TOUCH Daryl Hall and John Oates
43 ( 28 ) BERSERKER Gary Numan
44 ( 46 ) RATTLESNAKES Lloyd Cole And The Commotions
45 ( 41 ) LOST IN MUSIC Sister Sledge
46 ( NEW ) CLOSE (TO THE EDIT) Art Of Noise
47 ( 34 ) THE SECOND TIME Kim Wilde
48 ( NEW ) RESPECT YOURSELF The Kane Gang
49 ( 59 ) SOLID Ashford and Simpson
50 ( 36 ) GOLDEN DAYS Bucks Fizz

51 ( 51 ) MADAME BUTTERFLY Malcolm McLaren
52 ( 47 ) I JUST CALLED TO SAY I LOVE YOU Stevie Wonder
53 ( 52 ) CARELESS WHISPER George Michael
54 ( NEW ) YOU SPIN ME ROUND (LIKE A RECORD) Dead Or Alive
55 ( 44 ) SKIN DEEP The Stranglers
56 ( 45 ) PRIDE (IN THE NAME OF LOVE) U2
57 ( NEW ) TEARDROPS Shakin’ Stevens
58 ( 69 ) THE GAY CABALLEROS Steve Wright
59 ( 74 ) HOTLINE TO HEAVEN Bananarama
60 ( 58 ) TWO TRIBES Frankie Goes To Hollywood

61 ( 48 ) LISTEN TO YOUR FATHER Feargal Sharkey
62 ( 50 ) I’M GONNA TEAR YOUR PLAYHOUSE DOWN Paul Young
63 ( NEW ) BODY The Jacksons
64 ( 64 ) YOU MIGHT THINK The Cars
65 ( 62 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
66 ( NEW ) LIKE A VIRGIN Madonna
67 ( 67 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
68 ( 43 ) NEVER TURN AWAY OMD
69 ( NEW ) DIZZY MISS LIZZIE The Flying Lizards
70 ( 70 ) BILLIE-JEAN Michael Jackson



71 ( 49 ) THE CHANT HAS JUST BEGUN The Alarm
72 ( 65 ) GHOSTBUSTERS Ray Parker Junior
73 ( NEW ) SINCE YESTERDAY Strawberry Switchblade
74 ( 66 ) TESLA GIRLS OMD
75 ( NEW ) FRESH Kool And The Gang





At work I was hating the long tedious bus journey between the outskirts of Poole and the centre of Bournemouth. 30 years on, there are more houses and no direct service at all for the 8 mile journey, so there’s progress for local authorities paying lip service to get people to abandon their cars. It’s cheaper and quicker and way more pleasant by car, fact, unless you live in London or on a direct bus route. Watched 28-Up on TV which sort of depressed me, watching young happy children grow up into unhappy adults, not least as I could relate, and it was a reminder of the passage of time speeding up.

We got a state of the art new hand-held computer to learn for data input. I took it as a challenge when presented with the “now try and crash that!” quip by the IT bloke. I managed to crash it and freeze the entire box in 2 minutes by trying to terminate something that wasn’t running (when you log the position of a grass verge you had to end it when the grass becomes road and I just decided to end a non-existent verge). I was quite proud of that, as it took some more programming to sort. Programmes have to be written to be idiot-proof, say I. 2nd time I was handed it, I succeeded in crashing it in 20 seconds. I was getting really good at this!




TV chart
1. Star Trek: The Devil In The Dark
2. The Young Ones: Bambi
3. Hill Street Blues
4. The Phil Silvers Show
5. The Mary Tyler Moore Show
6. MASH
7. Top Of The Pops
8. The Addams Family
9. The Avengers
10. The Sullivans
11. Dallas
12. Terrahawks
13. Entertainment USA
14. The Rockford Files
15. Whistle Test

Posted by: popchartfreak 7th January 2015, 09:20 PM

4th December 1984

2 weeks on top for Frankie, as Band Aid debut from out of nowhere really, Bob Geldof and Midge Ure organising the world-famous charity christmas record, about to become the UK’s biggest-selling single, pretty much overnight, convincing the biggest stars to turn up on the day. Still the best charity record, still the best version, and the money raised through this and Live Aid really did save lives in famine-stricken Ethiopa. Cynics whinge about pop stars doing stuff like this. Cynics of course doing f*ck-all themselves to help needy people, just slagging-off anyone with good intentions. The only ones in a position to criticise are those who DO actually work for charity organisations, or spend their voluntary time to do what they can, the rest are just mealy-mouthed hypocrites who can just go f*ck themselves. 30 years on and the record still makes the UK charts every year. So there!

In at 5, overshadowed, but it’s The Beatles and a record I bought in 1976 and was mad on: I Feel Fine was the single where The Beatles really started to experiment with sounds, and the songs started to become more sophisticated - still melodic, still love songs, but sounding more adult. 20 years old at the time, it’s breath-taking to me (cos I remember seeing them on TV at the time) to realise this is now 50 years old. Gulp! It also nicely keeps Paul McCartney’s frog chorus out of the top 5, is that irony or just me being realistic? Alvin Stardust gets his 6th top 10, Nik Kershaw his 3rd, and Madonna ponts on up to 12 from 66, cavorting most unlike a virgin. 30 years on as I write, and she’s topping my charts for the 20th time with Ghosttown. Not bad for a disposable dancepopstar, as she appeared to be at the time.

Big climbs for Kool And The Gang, Shaky (!), Dead Or Alive, The Cars and Strawberry Switchblade, with a high new entry for 1982 single The Voice, from The Moody Blues - saw them do it live 2013, and still fab. 14 years of hits. At 59, Ave Maria gets the Indian treatment, an unusual crossing of genres for an extended dance track, while at 66 Tears For Fears are back with a Shout! A fantastic record, and the video is SO appropriate to my life as it was filmed in and around scenic Lulworth Cove in Dorset, where I was working surveying roads, including the one running down to the cove. There be fossils in them thar cliffs, they be, as a local might (or might not) say. At 68 it’s a quick 3 out of 3 for Alison Moyet with the excellent Invisible, as other pop stars enter with more forgettable tracks.

1 ( 1 ) THE POWER OF LOVE Frankie Goes To Hollywood
2 ( NEW ) DO THEY KNOW IT’S CHRISTMAS Band Aid
3 ( 3 ) ONE NIGHT IN BANGKOK Murray Head
4 ( 2 ) SEX CRIME (1984) Eurythmics
5 ( NEW ) I FEEL FINE The Beatles
6 ( 16 ) WE ALL STAND TOGETHER Paul McCartney and The Frog Chorus
7 ( 7 ) LOUISE Human League
8 ( 12 ) I WON’T RUN AWAY Alvin Stardust
9 ( 5 ) ALL JOIN HANDS Slade
10 ( 11 ) THE RIDDLE Nik Kershaw



11 ( 4 ) I FEEL FOR YOU Chaka Khan
12 ( 66 ) LIKE A VIRGIN Madonna
13 ( 9 ) LET IT ALL BLOW The Dazz Band
14 ( 6 ) THE WILD BOYS Duran Duran
15 ( 10 ) HARD HABIT TO BREAK Chicago
16 ( 25 ) HALF A MINUTE Matt Bianco
17 ( 23 ) TREAT HER LIKE A LADY The Temptations
18 ( 18 ) WARNING SIGN Nick Heyward
19 ( 8 ) BLASPHEMOUS RUMOURS Depeche Mode
20 ( 24 ) THE MEDAL SONG Culture Club

21 ( 17 ) NO MORE LONELY NIGHTS Paul McCartney
22 ( 75 ) FRESH Kool And The Gang
23 ( 13 ) ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT Cyndi Lauper
24 ( 15 ) DRIVE The Cars
25 ( 21 ) CARIBBEAN QUEEN (NO MORE LOVE ON THE RUN) Billy Ocean
26 ( NEW ) THE VOICE The Moody Blues
27 ( 27 ) DAVE The Boomtown Rats
28 ( 22 ) THE NEVER ENDING STORY Limahl
29 ( 35 ) STRUT Sheena Easton
30 ( 38 ) PRIVATE DANCER Tina Turner



31 ( 14 ) HOW TO BE A MILLIONAIRE ABC
32 ( 57 ) TEARDROPS Shakin’ Stevens
33 ( 19 ) FREEDOM Wham!
34 ( 20 ) WE ARE FAMILY Sister Sledge
35 ( 46 ) CLOSE (TO THE EDIT) Art Of Noise
36 ( 54 ) YOU SPIN ME ROUND (LIKE A RECORD) Dead Or Alive
37 ( 64 ) YOU MIGHT THINK The Cars
38 ( 26 ) THIS IS MINE Heaven 17
39 ( 32 ) I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER Jim Diamond
40 ( 31 ) TOGETHER IN ELECTRIC DREAMS Philip Oakey and Giorgio Moroder

41 ( 28 ) TOO LATE FOR GOODBYES Julian Lennon
42 ( 29 ) DESERT MOON Dennis De Young
43 ( 30 ) GIMME ALL YOUR LOVING Z.Z. TOP
44 ( 44 ) RATTLESNAKES Lloyd Cole And The Commotions
45 ( 33 ) THE WAR SONG Culture Club
46 ( 73 ) SINCE YESTERDAY Strawberry Switchblade
47 ( 41 ) I’M SO EXCITED The Pointer Sisters
48 ( 48 ) RESPECT YOURSELF The Kane Gang
49 ( 37 ) LOVE’S GREAT ADVENTURE Ultravox
50 ( 45 ) LOST IN MUSIC Sister Sledge

51 ( 34 ) ALL CRIED OUT Alison Moyet
52 ( 42 ) OUT OF TOUCH Daryl Hall and John Oates
53 ( 59 ) HOTLINE TO HEAVEN Bananarama
54 ( NEW ) TROUBLE Rod Stewart
55 ( 40 ) THE WANDERER Status Quo
56 ( 51 ) MADAME BUTTERFLY Malcolm McLaren
57 ( NEW ) STRANGER IN TOWN Toto
58 ( 36 ) GOTTA GET YOU HOME TONIGHT Eugene Wilde
59 ( NEW ) AVE MARIA West India Company
60 ( 53 ) CARELESS WHISPER George Michael




61 ( NEW ) RIDDLE ME UB40
62 ( 63 ) BODY The Jacksons
63 ( 52 ) I JUST CALLED TO SAY I LOVE YOU Stevie Wonder
64 ( 39 ) IF THIS IS IT Huey Lewis and The News
65 ( 60 ) TWO TRIBES Frankie Goes To Hollywood
66 ( NEW ) SHOUT Tears For Fears
67 ( 58 ) THE GAY CABALLEROS Steve Wright
68 ( NEW ) INVISIBLE Alison Moyet
69 ( 67 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
70 ( 65 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood



71 ( NEW ) THANK YOU MY LOVE Imagination
72 ( 70 ) BILLIE-JEAN Michael Jackson
73 ( 47 ) THE SECOND TIME Kim Wilde
74 ( NEW ) DO THE CONGA Black Lace
75 ( NEW ) EVERYTHING MUST CHANGE Paul Young

TV:
1. Star Trek: Errand Of Mercy
2. Hill Street Blues
3. Logan’s Run: film
4. Tenko
5. The Phil Silvers
6. The Mary Tyler Moore Show
7. MASH
8. Top Of The Pops
9. Carry On Camping: film
10. Soap
11. The Rockford Files
12. The Avengers
13. The Addams Family
14. Dungeons And Dragons
15. Hardcastle and McKormick



At work, had an argument with Boss-man about flying saucers (!) - maybe it was that sparking a setback for me, but I fell into a depression of sorts again in the evening for the whole week. Bob helped, as we bantered quite a bit at work. On TV the Band Aid video debuted, Friday lunch was the pub at Anstey (The Fox) where Boss-man tried to convince me Bob had spiked my coke. Arse. Bob assured me he wouldn’t (and he wouldn’t I can say now with some confidence after 30 years of friendship) it was just an attempt to stop us getting on so well by the boss cos he was an arse. I ended the week still very down, mood-wise.

Posted by: popchartfreak 12th January 2015, 07:48 PM

11th December 1984

Band Aid get to number one with their christmas perennial, and guess what? The record it famously held at 2, the biggest-selling record never to top the UK charts, Last Christmas is new at 9, Wham!’s 6th top 10, and George’s 7th, and clearly his best record to date, it just punched all the right christmas buttons, had a fab tune, and George and Andrew donated profits to the Band Aid charity too.

The Beatles hit 3, not bad for a 20-year-old track, and I Feel Fine about it! Madonna gets her second top 10, after Holiday, it’s Like A Virgin. Touched for the very first time, indeed. Bob Marley’s 4-year-old Top 10 hit bounces back at 17, the great Could You Be Loved, as Alison Moyet makes it 3 in a row inside the 20, Invisible up 49 places to 19. Spandau are Round And Round, inoffensively at 39, and a host of christmas songs (yes actual NEW ones, no oldies!) drop in, one of them once upon a time a perennial xmas regular, and now banished forever: yes it must be Gary Glitter and the jolly Another Rock And Roll Christmas at 72, overshadowed for the moment by Queen’s middling try at a christmas song, and forgotten ones from Alvin Stardust and Captain Sensible.

The Stranglers are back, so is Ian McCulloch for the moment ex-of the Bunnymen, with September Song, Kurt Weil’s 1930’s standard. At 46, The Thompson Twins Lay Your Hands On Me is one of their not bad hits, while Prince’s brilliant Purple Rain track, I Would Die For U is in at 48, the 4th track to chart despite only 2 singles being released to date (and of course no youtube video for anything Prince-related). Bowie and Lennon (Julian) return with lesser follow-ups, and ditto Big Country and Stevie Wonder.



1 ( 2 ) DO THEY KNOW IT’S CHRISTMAS Band Aid
2 ( 1 ) THE POWER OF LOVE Frankie Goes To Hollywood
3 ( 5 ) I FEEL FINE The Beatles
4 ( 3 ) ONE NIGHT IN BANGKOK Murray Head
5 ( 6 ) WE ALL STAND TOGETHER Paul McCartney and The Frog Chorus
6 ( 12 ) LIKE A VIRGIN Madonna
7 ( 4 ) SEX CRIME (1984) Eurythmics
8 ( 10 ) THE RIDDLE Nik Kershaw
9 ( NEW ) LAST CHRISTMAS Wham!
10 ( 11 ) I FEEL FOR YOU Chaka Khan

11 ( 7 ) LOUISE Human League
12 ( 8 ) I WON’T RUN AWAY Alvin Stardust
13 ( 22 ) FRESH Kool And The Gang
14 ( 9 ) ALL JOIN HANDS Slade
15 ( 17 ) TREAT HER LIKE A LADY The Temptations
16 ( 14 ) THE WILD BOYS Duran Duran
17 ( NEW ) COULD YOU BE LOVED Bob Marley And The Wailers
18 ( 20 ) THE MEDAL SONG Culture Club
19 ( 68 ) INVISIBLE Alison Moyet
20 ( 15 ) HARD HABIT TO BREAK Chicago

21 ( 13 ) LET IT ALL BLOW The Dazz Band
22 ( 29 ) STRUT Sheena Easton
23 ( 26 ) THE VOICE The Moody Blues
24 ( 18 ) WARNING SIGN Nick Heyward
25 ( 25 ) CARIBBEAN QUEEN (NO MORE LOVE ON THE RUN) Billy Ocean
26 ( 21 ) NO MORE LONELY NIGHTS Paul McCartney
27 ( 16 ) HALF A MINUTE Matt Bianco
28 ( 32 ) TEARDROPS Shakin’ Stevens
29 ( 19 ) BLASPHEMOUS RUMOURS Depeche Mode
30 ( 37 ) YOU MIGHT THINK The Cars



31 ( 24 ) DRIVE The Cars
32 ( 35 ) CLOSE (TO THE EDIT) Art Of Noise
33 ( 28 ) THE NEVER ENDING STORY Limahl
34 ( 30 ) PRIVATE DANCER Tina Turner
35 ( 23 ) ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT Cyndi Lauper
36 ( 36 ) YOU SPIN ME ROUND (LIKE A RECORD) Dead Or Alive
37 ( 66 ) SHOUT Tears For Fears
38 ( 27 ) DAVE The Boomtown Rats
39 ( NEW ) ROUND AND ROUND Spandau Ballet
40 ( 39 ) I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER Jim Diamond

41 ( 34 ) WE ARE FAMILY Sister Sledge
42 ( 46 ) SINCE YESTERDAY Strawberry Switchblade
43 ( 33 ) FREEDOM Wham!
44 ( 52 ) OUT OF TOUCH Daryl Hall and John Oates
45 ( 48 ) RESPECT YOURSELF The Kane Gang
46 ( NEW ) LAY YOUR HANDS ON ME The Thompson Twins
47 ( 40 ) TOGETHER IN ELECTRIC DREAMS Philip Oakey and Giorgio Moroder
48 ( NEW ) I WOULD DIE 4 U Prince
49 ( 75 ) EVERYTHING MUST CHANGE Paul Young
50 ( 50 ) LOST IN MUSIC Sister Sledge



51 ( 45 ) THE WAR SONG Culture Club
52 ( 31 ) HOW TO BE A MILLIONAIRE ABC
53 ( 38 ) THIS IS MINE Heaven 17
54 ( 57 ) STRANGER IN TOWN Toto
55 ( NEW ) NO MERCY The Stranglers
56 ( NEW ) SO NEAR TO CHRISTMAS Alvin Stardust
57 ( NEW ) ONE CHRISTMAS CATALOGUE Captain Sensible
58 ( 56 ) MADAME BUTTERFLY Malcolm McLaren
59 ( 59 ) AVE MARIA West India Company
60 ( 71 ) THANK YOU MY LOVE Imagination

61 ( 54 ) TROUBLE Rod Stewart
62 ( NEW ) TONIGHT David Bowie
63 ( 41 ) TOO LATE FOR GOODBYES Julian Lennon
64 ( NEW ) VALOTTE Julian Lennon
65 ( 60 ) CARELESS WHISPER George Michael
66 ( NEW ) THANK GOD IT’S CHRISTMAS Queen
67 ( 74 ) DO THE CONGA Black Lace
68 ( 43 ) GIMME ALL YOUR LOVING Z.Z. TOP
69 ( NEW ) THE ROSE IS SOWN Big Country
70 ( 69 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba

71 ( 65 ) TWO TRIBES Frankie Goes To Hollywood
72 ( NEW ) ANOTHER ROCK AND ROLL CHRISTMAS Gary Glitter
73 ( NEW ) LOVE LIGHT IN FLIGHT Stevie Wonder
74 ( 61 ) RIDDLE ME UB40
75 ( NEW ) SEPTEMBER SONG Ian McCulloch




1. Tenko
2. Star Trek: The Alternative Factor
3. The Mary Tyler Moore Show (Monday)
4. Fame: film
5. MASH
6. Hill Street Blues
7. The Phil Silvers Show
8. Rising Damp
9. The Addams Family
10. The Betty White Show
11. The Mary Tyler Moore Show (wed)
12. Top Of The Pops
13. Soap
14. The Rockford Files
15. Entertainment USA



At work, my young car share driver was back following her dad’s suicide, and tried to help her talking about her terrible year: as bad as 1984 was for me, it was worse for her. Surveying the lovely hilly countryside at Bulbarro again, and a little more optimistic than the previous week moodwise. The boss took one of my light-hearted banter lunchtimes with Bob the wrong way and got nasty. Mum and dad were suffering from overwork and illness, looking tired. I had a dream about meeting Paul and Linda McCartney and getting an autograph! Well I hardly ever dream about celebrities, but if you gonna do it, may as well go for the top...! This weekend , went to Southampton, looking for music computers with ambitions to have a go at making demos. Optimist!

Thursday 6th December: Nik Kershaw at The BIC (Bournemouth International Centre), live in concert.

Went with Bob, and we marvelled at all the wacky haircuts in the audience, we felt well out of place and old, being over 21 as we were (but not by much) - but these days I’m glad we didn’t go the Flock Of Seagulls hair-gel route for the sake of old 80’s photos. The support band were Scary Thieves (impressive but lacked songs), but Nik got the girls screaming as he strode on, affable always, themed around the “excellent” (I noted) current hit The Riddle. Also good were Wouldn’t It Be Good, I Won’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me, and album track Bogart, which should have been a single. Some lesser tracks were a bit samey, or else it may have the back-ache developing from standing in the same position for so long - one of those “standing-concert” things you put up with, though happily less of a problem (very oddly) as I got older. Rating: “a nice change but not a classic gig” . Nik was in Christchurch the other month (2014) doing great low-key gigs by accounts I've heard from a friend who went. I saw Nik again in 1989, supporting Elton John.

Posted by: popchartfreak 12th January 2015, 10:08 PM

18th December 1984

Wham! get their first number one, the christmas classic Last Christmas knocking off Band Aid, and being chased by an 11-years-old 4th-time-round christmas classic I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday from Wizzard new in at 2, having previously topped my chart in 1973, 1974, and 1981. You can’t have Wizzard without Slade’s Merry Christmas Everybody, of course, in at 15 and charting for the 5th time, and yet to top the chart, Slade of course on a roll in 1984 with two top 10’s already. Wham! it should be remembered, was new, and George had already had a solo number one, and the other side of the double A side was hardly getting any airplay at all - Everything She Wants was completely overshadowed by Last Christmas.

Alison Moyet gets a 2nd solo top 10, and her 5th including Yazoo, Tears For Fears shout up into the 20 for the 4th time, Gary Glitter joins the xmas festivities rock and rolling for the 2nd-time in 1984, and umpteenth since his first hit the brilliant Rock And Roll Part 2 (on which he doesn’t actually sing) in 1972. The fab Strawberry Switchblade go top 40, as Dead Or Alive shock drop out of the 40 (it’ll be back!), and new entries come from Z.Z. Top’s Sharp Dressed Man, back after sneaking briefly in a year earlier, at a much more assertive 28, and just ahead of a bonafide rock ballad classic from Foreigner, 6 years after a decent run of 70’s rock singles, the gospel-tinged I Want To Know What Love Is.

Bronski Beat cover Gershwin, very bizarrely for a pop hit, but nicely, cos It Ain’t Necessarily So at 36. Bobby G, of Bucks Fizz, sings a TV show theme into 46th slot. Kim Wilde is touched at 60, hey, so is Madonna up to 5 for the very first time. Sal Solo, ex-Classix Nouveau singer is back with the good San Damiano, and Pat Benatar is back with We Belong, another decent single from her.




1 ( 9 ) LAST CHRISTMAS Wham!
2 ( NEW ) I WISH IT COULD BE CHRISTMAS EVERYDAY Wizzard
3 ( 1 ) DO THEY KNOW IT’S CHRISTMAS Band Aid
4 ( 5 ) WE ALL STAND TOGETHER Paul McCartney and The Frog Chorus
5 ( 6 ) LIKE A VIRGIN Madonna
6 ( 2 ) THE POWER OF LOVE Frankie Goes To Hollywood
7 ( 4 ) ONE NIGHT IN BANGKOK Murray Head
8 ( 8 ) THE RIDDLE Nik Kershaw
9 ( 7 ) SEX CRIME (1984) Eurythmics
10 ( 19 ) INVISIBLE Alison Moyet

11 ( 3 ) I FEEL FINE The Beatles
12 ( 13 ) FRESH Kool And The Gang
13 ( 17 ) COULD YOU BE LOVED Bob Marley And The Wailers
14 ( 37 ) SHOUT Tears For Fears
15 ( NEW ) MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY Slade
16 ( 11 ) LOUISE Human League
17 ( 10 ) I FEEL FOR YOU Chaka Khan
18 ( 12 ) I WON’T RUN AWAY Alvin Stardust
19 ( 14 ) ALL JOIN HANDS Slade
20 ( 72 ) ANOTHER ROCK AND ROLL CHRISTMAS Gary Glitter

21 ( 15 ) TREAT HER LIKE A LADY The Temptations
22 ( 16 ) THE WILD BOYS Duran Duran
23 ( 42 ) SINCE YESTERDAY Strawberry Switchblade
24 ( 18 ) THE MEDAL SONG Culture Club
25 ( 20 ) HARD HABIT TO BREAK Chicago
26 ( 28 ) TEARDROPS Shakin’ Stevens
27 ( 21 ) LET IT ALL BLOW The Dazz Band
28 ( NEW ) SHARP DRESSED MAN Z.Z. TOP
29 ( NEW ) I WANT TO KNOW WHAT LOVE IS Foreigner
30 ( 30 ) YOU MIGHT THINK The Cars



31 ( 46 ) LAY YOUR HANDS ON ME The Thompson Twins
32 ( 25 ) CARIBBEAN QUEEN (NO MORE LOVE ON THE RUN) Billy Ocean
33 ( 39 ) ROUND AND ROUND Spandau Ballet
34 ( 34 ) PRIVATE DANCER Tina Turner
35 ( 26 ) NO MORE LONELY NIGHTS Paul McCartney
36 ( NEW ) IT AIN’T NECESSARILY SO Bronski Beat
37 ( 22 ) STRUT Sheena Easton
38 ( 45 ) RESPECT YOURSELF The Kane Gang
39 ( 49 ) EVERYTHING MUST CHANGE Paul Young
40 ( 33 ) THE NEVER ENDING STORY Limahl

41 ( 23 ) THE VOICE The Moody Blues
42 ( 57 ) ONE CHRISTMAS CATALOGUE Captain Sensible
43 ( 31 ) DRIVE The Cars
44 ( 66 ) THANK GOD IT’S CHRISTMAS Queen
45 ( 24 ) WARNING SIGN Nick Heyward
46 ( NEW ) BIG DEAL (THEME) Bobby G
47 ( 27 ) HALF A MINUTE Matt Bianco
48 ( 48 ) I WOULD DIE 4 U Prince
49 ( 29 ) BLASPHEMOUS RUMOURS Depeche Mode
50 ( 62 ) TONIGHT David Bowie

51 ( 32 ) CLOSE (TO THE EDIT) Art Of Noise
52 ( 56 ) SO NEAR TO CHRISTMAS Alvin Stardust
53 ( 40 ) I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER Jim Diamond
54 ( 35 ) ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT Cyndi Lauper
55 ( 55 ) NO MERCY The Stranglers
56 ( 64 ) VALOTTE Julian Lennon
57 ( 44 ) OUT OF TOUCH Daryl Hall and John Oates
58 ( 69 ) THE ROSE IS SOWN Big Country
59 ( 50 ) LOST IN MUSIC Sister Sledge
60 ( NEW ) THE TOUCH Kim Wilde



61 ( 38 ) DAVE The Boomtown Rats
62 ( 47 ) TOGETHER IN ELECTRIC DREAMS Philip Oakey and Giorgio Moroder
63 ( 36 ) YOU SPIN ME ROUND (LIKE A RECORD) Dead Or Alive
64 ( NEW ) NELLIE THE ELEPHANT The Toy Dolls
65 ( 67 ) DO THE CONGA Black Lace
66 ( 73 ) LOVE LIGHT IN FLIGHT Stevie Wonder
67 ( NEW ) SAN DAMIANO (HEART AND SOUL) Sal Solo
68 ( 58 ) MADAME BUTTERFLY Malcolm McLaren
69 ( 51 ) THE WAR SONG Culture Club
70 ( RE ) GHOSTBUSTERS Ray Parker Junior

71 ( 70 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
72 ( NEW ) SEE THAT GLOW This Island Earth
73 ( 75 ) SEPTEMBER SONG Ian McCulloch
74 ( NEW ) WE BELONG Pat Benatar
75 ( 41 ) WE ARE FAMILY Sister Sledge




1. Star Trek: City On The Edge Of Forever
2. Tenko
3. MASH
4. Hill Street Blues
5. The Phil Silvers Show
6. The Mary Tyler Moore Show
7. Carry On...Don’t Lose Your Head
8. Murder By Death: film
9. The Addams Family
10. Top Of The Pops
11. Rising Damp
12. Terrahawks
13. Soap
14. Entertainment USA
15. The Rockford Files


On TV Star Trek still topping my weeklies lists, but this is THE Star Trek, the greatest episode, and the one that regularly featured in Cult TV Greatest Episodes of TV Shows lists, City On The Edge Of Forever, written by Harlan Ellison, a time-travel tragic love story starring Joan Collins, who was never better, and rather young-looking! Certainly a candidate still for my most-favoritist-episode-ever..
Also, the award-winning Chuckles The Clown hilarious episode of Mary Tyler Moore Show was on, Mary finds the unusual death of TV show work colleague Chuckles The Clown dressed as a peanut, killed by an elephant trying to shell him, not funny - till the funeral. Watch it! Also the final episode of the generally great Tenko, as the survivors leave the prison camp for home.

At work, I got exasperated at the torturously slow speed colleagues worked at (I just took to computers right away and have a good memory) but especially He Who Be In Charge. To brighten up my day, the van broke down which oddly cheered me up and tickled my funny bone to the annoyance of the other 2 - I was nominated to stay stuck on cold country roads with the van while they walked to Sturminster Newton. An hour later, nothing. So I got the van jerkily jumping sort-of working and rolled down the road till I found them and parked it in a pub car park. Much more civil place to wait for the garage man to arrive at 7.15, home by 8pm. The next day, my car-share driver nearly hit a car on a roundabout, still driving fast, and now on anti-depressants. I was not comfortable with the situation at all. At work, Paul downloaded our data to Dorchester via phone line and commented “I’m still waiting for my print-outs to arrive”. “Never mind,” I quipped “some day your prints will come.” Snow White? No? Please yourself, I thought it was funny!

On the news, the shock news of a coach crash which had left Mike Nolan of Bucks Fizz in critical condition with head injuries, when he hadn’t seemed that seriously injured earlier (along with Jay Aston, he’d gone through the windscreen). Touch and go for a few days, he recovered but was left with problems from hereon, and Bucks Fizz were never quite the unit they were again. Xmas shopping, and then new movie Dune at the cinema - visually stunning, good cast, characters lacking. I was not a fan of the actor (hero) Kyle MachLachlan, rather ironically given his future era-defining (and also David Lynch creation) TV series Twin Peaks. I saw it as a flawed film, as you don’t develop any love of the thinly defined characters. Next up, straight into the Ghostbusters film! The kids in the audience really got into it, I enjoyed it, some good gags and special effects, engaging cast,: rating: “good, well-made fun” but “maybe not classic stuff” but preferred it to Dune.

Posted by: popchartfreak 13th January 2015, 09:24 PM

25th December 1984

Wizzard take everyday Christmas wishing to the top for the 3rd time, and just to make the top 10 look like it’s Christmas 1973 again even more, Slade are at 10, Gary Glitter leaps to 7, and Paul McCartney is at 3 (both of them on the friday pub lunch jukebox at work in Anstey). To keep it all very festive, a bunch of christmas songs make the top 40 (none of them that great to be honest, at best OK), while forgotten naughty oddity I’m A Little Christmas Cracker whimsically bounces in for some alleged Czecks - it’s a pun. It’s actually quite sweet if you ignore the double-entendres, or amusing if you don’t.

Tears For Fears hit the 10, and Ashford and Simpson return with a solid record a few weeks after a short run, and hit a new height at 29. Seeing the movie obviously boosts Ghostbusters as it returns to the top 40 after dropping out my charts entirely, and Toto are also back again with Stranger In Town. The highest actual new record is The Adventures, as always still the bridesmaids of the UK charts, never the brides, with the good Send My Heart. Sal Solo brings some Latin christian cheer to the top 40, as The Toy Dolls update an early childhood toon: Nellie The Elephant was fondly remembered by those of who were first aware of music in the 60’s, so this stomping version was a bit of a larf. At least for the first few plays.

The Council Collective do some electioneering at 50, courtesy largely of Paul Weller and mates like Jimmy Ruffin, Junior, and missus Dee C. Lee. The Labour Party political party broadcast was OK, but it’s hard to see any current pop or rock stars doing a star-studded mini-gathering for, errr, ANY current political parties, except perhaps the SNP. This Island Earth go up a few places, a forgotten decent pop song that never really made it, sadly, and very very 1984-sounding.

On TV it’s a christmas bonanza of classic fave movies, recent and old, dotted about with some pop music shows (TOTP of course) and the final-ever episode of MASH, double-length and one of the biggest-ever non-sporting viewer ratings of all-time in the USA. It was a sad day when MASH ended, and the final episode was more disturbing than celebrating, but it had lasted 9 years longer than the actual Korean War did!



1 ( 2 ) I WISH IT COULD BE CHRISTMAS EVERYDAY Wizzard
2 ( 1 ) LAST CHRISTMAS Wham!
3 ( 4 ) WE ALL STAND TOGETHER Paul McCartney and The Frog Chorus
4 ( 3 ) DO THEY KNOW IT’S CHRISTMAS Band Aid
5 ( 7 ) ONE NIGHT IN BANGKOK Murray Head
6 ( 6 ) THE POWER OF LOVE Frankie Goes To Hollywood
7 ( 20 ) ANOTHER ROCK AND ROLL CHRISTMAS Gary Glitter
8 ( 5 ) LIKE A VIRGIN Madonna
9 ( 14 ) SHOUT Tears For Fears
10 ( 15 ) MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY Slade

11 ( 10 ) INVISIBLE Alison Moyet
12 ( 23 ) SINCE YESTERDAY Strawberry Switchblade
13 ( 13 ) COULD YOU BE LOVED Bob Marley And The Wailers
14 ( 9 ) SEX CRIME (1984) Eurythmics
15 ( 8 ) THE RIDDLE Nik Kershaw
16 ( 12 ) FRESH Kool And The Gang
17 ( 17 ) I FEEL FOR YOU Chaka Khan
18 ( 31 ) LAY YOUR HANDS ON ME The Thompson Twins
19 ( 11 ) I FEEL FINE The Beatles
20 ( 29 ) I WANT TO KNOW WHAT LOVE IS Foreigner

21 ( 16 ) LOUISE Human League
22 ( 18 ) I WON’T RUN AWAY Alvin Stardust
23 ( 19 ) ALL JOIN HANDS Slade
24 ( 26 ) TEARDROPS Shakin’ Stevens
25 ( 28 ) SHARP DRESSED MAN Z.Z. TOP
26 ( 39 ) EVERYTHING MUST CHANGE Paul Young
27 ( 33 ) ROUND AND ROUND Spandau Ballet
28 ( 25 ) HARD HABIT TO BREAK Chicago
29 ( RE ) SOLID Ashford and Simpson
30 ( 22 ) THE WILD BOYS Duran Duran

31 ( 70 ) GHOSTBUSTERS Ray Parker Junior
32 ( 36 ) IT AIN’T NECESSARILY SO Bronski Beat
33 ( 67 ) SAN DAMIANO (HEART AND SOUL) Sal Solo
34 ( 21 ) TREAT HER LIKE A LADY The Temptations
35 ( RE ) STRANGER IN TOWN Toto
36 ( 64 ) NELLIE THE ELEPHANT The Toy Dolls
37 ( 44 ) THANK GOD IT’S CHRISTMAS Queen
38 ( NEW ) SEND MY HEART The Adventures
39 ( 42 ) ONE CHRISTMAS CATALOGUE Captain Sensible
40 ( 52 ) SO NEAR TO CHRISTMAS Alvin Stardust



41 ( 27 ) LET IT ALL BLOW The Dazz Band
42 ( 24 ) THE MEDAL SONG Culture Club
43 ( 46 ) BIG DEAL (THEME) Bobby G
44 ( 32 ) CARIBBEAN QUEEN (NO MORE LOVE ON THE RUN) Billy Ocean
45 ( 66 ) LOVE LIGHT IN FLIGHT Stevie Wonder
46 ( 35 ) NO MORE LONELY NIGHTS Paul McCartney
47 ( 60 ) THE TOUCH Kim Wilde
48 ( 38 ) RESPECT YOURSELF The Kane Gang
49 ( 30 ) YOU MIGHT THINK The Cars
50 ( NEW ) SOUL DEEP The Council Collective

51 ( 41 ) THE VOICE The Moody Blues
52 ( 34 ) PRIVATE DANCER Tina Turner
53 ( 65 ) DO THE CONGA Black Lace
54 ( 43 ) DRIVE The Cars
55 ( 56 ) VALOTTE Julian Lennon
56 ( 40 ) THE NEVER ENDING STORY Limahl
57 ( 58 ) THE ROSE IS SOWN Big Country
58 ( 37 ) STRUT Sheena Easton
59 ( 53 ) I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER Jim Diamond
60 ( 48 ) I WOULD DIE 4 U Prince



61 ( 47 ) HALF A MINUTE Matt Bianco
62 ( 45 ) WARNING SIGN Nick Heyward
63 ( 59 ) LOST IN MUSIC Sister Sledge
64 ( 72 ) SEE THAT GLOW This Island Earth
65 ( NEW ) I’M A LITTLE CHRISTMAS CRACKER The Bouncing Czecks
66 ( 55 ) NO MERCY The Stranglers
67 ( 50 ) TONIGHT David Bowie
68 ( 57 ) OUT OF TOUCH Daryl Hall and John Oates
69 ( 74 ) WE BELONG Pat Benatar
70 ( 68 ) MADAME BUTTERFLY Malcolm McLaren



71 ( 71 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
72 ( 62 ) TOGETHER IN ELECTRIC DREAMS Philip Oakey and Giorgio Moroder
73 ( 73 ) SEPTEMBER SONG Ian McCulloch
74 ( NEW ) NEVER LET HER SLIP AWAY Trevor Walters
75 ( 49 ) BLASPHEMOUS RUMOURS Depeche Mode

TV

1. Raiders Of The Lost Ark: film
2. Airplane: film
3. MASH - Goodbye Farewell and Amen
4. The Man With The Golden Gun: film
5. The Mary Tyler Moore Show
6. Some LIke It Hot: film
7. Top Of The Pops
8. Wogan
9. The Best/ Worst of Entertainment USA
10. Star Wars to Jedi
11. Mary Poppins: film
12. Porridge
13. Pop Quiz
14. Dallas
15. Hi De Hi


At work had an argument with Him over the north/south divide (these things are still facts in the UK, and not really a matter of opinion - the South does much better, always has!), while my car share almost had a second accident driving far too fast. “Watch out!” I cried, and she carried on speeding. “I’ll be a nervous wreck if I don’t get my own transport” I noted. Next morning, talk about prophetic: she finally hit another vehicle, 70mph hitting a tractor moving into the fast lane of the dual carriageway. She just didn’t see it. I was breathless gasping with disbelief and couldn’t get a word out in warning, how on Earth anyone could NOT see two tractors indicating to pull out (granted they shouldn’t have till it was clear, but she assumed they were going past a bike!) and still keep on going before slamming the break on violently at the last minute so my side of the car was gouged by a tractor and the front wheel crushed! I tell you it was my first lesson (but not my last, sadly) on just how many people there are on the roads determined to do me (and others) in. I also learnt to trust my own instincts when it comes to people...

She cried a lot, the tractor driver actually knew her and changed her car wheel, she didn’t exchange details, I suggested she go home rather than drive to work in her current state, where she was very upset on the phone to work. I made her a cup of tea to try and calm her down, I was oddly calm throughout, and arranged to get picked up in the works van on it’s way on site, on my walk home I finally got a bit shaky about it all, but was also rather relieved that it wasn’t serious: “she had to have an accident sooner or later...” I decided I needed a moped/motorbike soonish. Bob and boss were sympathetic, and next morning she drove more like a normal driver, hooray! The other surveying team team had disappeared, though, with no info on whereabouts when asked by the Big Boss in Dorchester. This caused a major team blow-out in the afternoon, acrimony much! Seems they felt they didn’t need to keep colleagues up to date on whereabouts, bit of a health and safety issue at the least, hey ho, I was a bit more blase about stuff given the events of the previous day, though saw the Boss’ viewpoint as the right one, which he appreciated and was quite nice for a few days.

Saturday, off to Mansfield with mum, dad and the cat for christmas with my brother’s family, and seeing everybody after our 10 months away, both dad’s family, and sister-in-law’s family, before settling down in coal-mining Blidworth where they lived, coal fire, cold and damp house like going back “to the Dark Ages of Liverpool in the 60’s. No wonder they like to stay in Poole.” Niece, I noted, was very active, quick on her feet and clever (15 months old). She, of course, interrupted sleep later on - it became a bit of a habit for oooh the next 5 or 6 years! Christmas Eve? Christmas Day? Shopping madness in jampacked town, sat about smelling watching TV (no hot water bathroom facilities), off to grandparents again, and Aunty’s. Christmas prezzies with toddler Vicki all excited next morning, dinner, and then big movies on TV after christmas Top Of The Pops. And relax....