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 John's 1984 Charts, A year of strikes, unemployment, depression and sunshine |
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 Jan 12 2015, 10:08 PM
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#61
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 BuzzJack Legend
Joined: 18 July 2012
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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. |
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Jan 13 2015, 09:24 PM
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#62
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BuzzJack Legend
Joined: 18 July 2012
Posts: 22,812 User: 17,376
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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.... |
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