20TH SEPTEMBER- ONE DAY I'LL FLY AWAY- Randy Crawford (2 weeks)

 

http://www.chartstats.com/images/artwork/5724.jpg

 

If anyone should have been bigger than they ever really were then there is a good case for Randy Crawford to be made. She led the band called "Crusaders" on their first UK hit and UK top 10 hit "Streetlife" back in 1979 and used that as a launchpad for her solo career. Her main hits int hsi country occured in the 80s she provided the original "You Might Need Somebody" which Shola Ama covered and more successfully so in 1997, and the utterly sublime "Almaz" in 1987, but this was her biggest hit.

 

It took just four weeks from a debut at No 55 to hit the No 2 spot here and looked No 1 bound but for the Police with "Don't Stand So Close To Me". It featured in the film "Moulin Rouge" some 21 years after it's release but it's a truly beautiful record in it's original form, and tells the tale of a scarred lover desperate to move on in her life but not having the strength yet! Wonder what happened to ballads?

 

Edited June 1, 201114 yr by gezza76

4TH OCTOBER- MASTER BLASTER (JAMMIN)- Stevie Wonder (1 week)

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/0e/Master_Blaster_Jammin.jpg

 

Stevie Wonder had long been star by the time we get to 1980, but the album that "Master Blaster (Jammin)" comes from was to be his biggest seller of the decade. "Hotter Than July" contained 4 straight top 10 hits and returned Wonder to the kind of stardom back in his mid 70's heyday, none bigger than this one. Now for people of my age Stevie Wonder in the 80's will forever be associated with the evil "I Just Called To Say I Love You" which spent 6 weeks at number one in 1984, and that's a shame, as he's one of music greats certainly for periods in his career. A Browse through a greatest hits compilation of his will reveal more songs you know than you think you do, and some are blinders, i'd much rather be writing about "Lately" (on the same album as "Master Blaster") than this song but hey ho. It's Stevie's brush with Reggae and is allegedly a song in praise of Bob Marley and his music, and whilst it's not a bad record I loathe Reggae (I blame for Shaggy for that) so that taints any review, but it is substantially better than IJCTSILY, and it's certainly not the last time we'll meet Stevie on this thread.....

 

Edited June 1, 201114 yr by gezza76

Some great songs there, my favourite so far has been "Upside Down" i'm not familiar with Master Blaster but I love most of his other songs so I shall look it up on YouTube

Just click on the link on my post for the video! :D

11TH OCTOBER- D.I.S.C.O- Ottawan (3 Wks)

 

http://www.chartstats.com/images/artwork/5742.jpg

 

There's no easy way to say this to i'll get to the point- I LOVE THIS SONG. It reminds me instantly of summer holidays spent in Spain at various locations over the years. Yes back in the 80's my parents were living the Thatcher dream and that meant a 2 week break in Spain every year from 1978-1986 before they discovered other parts of Europe, that's not to say we went to the same place, all the costa's got covered and Ibiza (way before it was a clubbing destination) and the Canary Islands. All of this is leading to the point that back in the 80s most people went abroad once a year and it was an excuse to burn to a pulp on the beach, and in the evening it was down the local disco for a bit of dancing. What was heard in the continental disco's sometimes got packed in the suitcase back to old blighty and bingo it became an instant memory of the holiday, this happened many times over the 80's though the tradition stretched back to the 70's with things like "Y Viva Espana" but we'll meet other eamples of this type of hit as we get further into the thread.

 

For this reason I love this song- it's catchy, poppy, and takes me back to slapping on the camomile lotion on my shoulders- ah childhood!

 

Incidently it's been covered in every decade since it's release N-Trance taking the song to No 11 in 1997 and Chico adapted it for his follow up to "It's Chico Time" and got to No 24 in 2006 but the less said about that....

 

Edited June 2, 201114 yr by gezza76

1ST NOVEMBER- WHAT YOU'RE PROPOSING- Status Quo (2 Weeks)

 

http://www.chartstats.com/images/artwork/5769.jpg

 

It's easy enough to knock the Quo. True, i'm no great fan and some of the songs are just dire. "What You're Proposing" marked the beginning of the end for the band as providers of consistent top 10 hits and more would follow the 80's and beyond were not as kind as the 70's were to the band. It's a song I don't recall from the time, not terrible but if I never heard it again in my life I wouldn't be sorry for it and stuck behind Barbara Striesand for two weeks should tell you all you need to know about it but listen if you will......

 

That's 1980 done- now for 1981!

9TH JANUARY 1981- HAPPY XMAS (WAR IS OVER)- John Lennon & Yoko Ono & The Plastic Ono Band (1 week)

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/04/Xmas81.JPG

 

What started out as a protest song against the Vietnam War has now turned into a Xmas standard on most christmas compilations, and although released originally back in 1972 when it peaked at No 4 it was re-released in the light of Lennon's death on Dec 8th 1980 and acheived a new high of No 2 in January 1981.

 

The story goes that John & Yoko rented out billboards in 11 major cities in the USA over Xams 1969 and put an advert on them stating "WAR IS OVER IF YOU WANT IT, HAPPY CHRISTMAS FROM JOHN & YOKO" and that that inspired the record which last charted in the top 75 over Xmas 2007, but acheived it's highest chart position in the noughties after being covered by the Pop Idol Finalists in 2003 and hitting No 5.

 

All the pre-requesites of a xmas classic are here, peace, love, wishing a merry xmas, and of course a nice Kids led chorus to make us all feel festive. Such was the fervour over Lennon's death in the aftermath that "(Just Like) Starting Over", "Imagine" and "Woman" all hit number one within 2 months and indeed this track was only denied a No 1 thanks to Lennon's own "Imagine". I have to confess I rather like the record as christmas records go- it's one of the less over played tunes in the shops/ Clinton Cards when i'm in doing my December shopping and it's all the better for it, and had it gone to No 1 it would probably have been a better representative of Lennon and his philosophy on life than "(Just Like) Starting Over" but sadly was the only available track in the direct aftermath...

 

Edited June 3, 201114 yr by gezza76

16TH JANUARY- ANTMUSIC- Adam & The Ants (2 weeks)

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/ec/Antmusic.jpg

 

THIS, for me, is when the 80s began. There is an argument that directly appealing to the pre pubescent audience started with the Spice Girls but for me it started with Adam & The Ants and the pure pantomime that they were. Watching the video for "Antmusic" is clear to see why the band exploded into a phenomenon- the outfit, the costumes, the beat, there is something that just screams "we're good, and we're now". The use of the Burundi Beat in their records provided the distinctive beat and the theatrical eye ensured the headlines.

 

The confidence of the band is easy to see and the records sounded like nothing else that came before it, couple that with the wealth of knowledge that Ant clearly possessed about pop history and it was a toxic heady mix. The use of Diana Dors, Lulu etc in the video's which were to mark the pop landscape of 1981 propelling Adam & The Ants to superstardum, and effortlessly mixed the worlds of TV and pop which pre-empted the advent of MTV later in 1981, crucial for a star who depended so much on the visual media. The band started out as a punk band but after several disappointments and line-up changes they struck it big in 1980 and made 1981 THEIR year!

 

The song itself is catchy as hell, light, fun, and unashamedly attempting to rip up the past he understands so well and create something new for a new decade, it's a record which deserved probably to make the No 1 spot. It's precisely the kind of irreverance for the past which is soooo 80s, it was a decade which was keen to be individual and day glo'd- and in way that's everything that Adam & The Ants bought to the table....Great track.

 

Edited June 3, 201114 yr by gezza76

7TH FEBRUARY- IN THE AIR TONIGHT- Phil Collins (1 week)

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c9/Phil_Collins_InTheAirTonight.jpg

 

Ok now it's more remembered as the song used in the Cadbury's advert with the drumming gorilla, but back in 1981 it was Collins' first solo single outside of Genesis. It's a dark song concerning his divorce from his then Wife Andrea, and the atmosphere of the song is designed to be laden with gloom and melancholy, and moreover anger. Indeed in my opinion it truely is the best thing Phil ever did in his solo capacity though as a 5 yr old at the time I confess I have no memory of the track.

 

Certain urban myths have evolved around the sing which involve Collins seeing a man drowning and later recognising the guy who didn't help him in the crowd at one of his concerts, it's this myth that Eminem refers to in his 2000 No 1 "Stan". All told it's a very engaging song not only for it's ominous dark undertones, but from a voyeuristic view of the sight of a marriage falling apart which is always engrossing. The song maintained it's popularity throughout the decade being used in "Miami Vice" and indeed hitting the top 5 all over again in 1988.

 

 

Edited June 4, 201114 yr by gezza76

14TH FEBRUARY- VIENNA- Ultravox (4 weeks)

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/39/Ultravox-Vienna_single.png

 

OK so this is perhaps one of the most famous No 2 hits of all time for two reasons. Firstly because it was kept off No 1 for 3 weeks by the dreadful "Shuddup Ya Face" by Joe Dolce and secondly for the various threats issued by the band to Joe should they ever have met.

 

"Vienna" itself is a synpop ballad, a symbol of the emerging new romantic phenomenon which was beginning to dominate the UK Charts at the time. I'm sure it's a very deep record and all that but i'll be damned if I can find any meaning behind the lyrics but maybe that's the point- it's a beautiful record without meaning? It's a record which builds gradually to it's peak and is certainly a better record than either Joe Dolce or John Lennon's "Woman" which also held them off, a fact which is proved by the fact that both records were outsold by Ultravox come the end of the year. For me, the record is a hard record to love, it's too full of knowingness, of it's own mysteriousness, trying to acheive the indefinable and thusly suffering from a shade of pomposity.

 

The video itself was filmed in the main in Covent Garden with outside shots being filmed in Vienna (of course) and sheds little if any light on the song meaning. Along with Adam & The Ants however it denotes the beginning of the 80s proper and as the Jam proclaimed in their 1980 No 1 "Going underground" "the public gets what the public wants" so I have to guess that they just wanted Joe Dolce a little bit more!

 

Edited June 4, 201114 yr by gezza76

14TH MARCH- KINGS OF THE WILD FRONTIER- Adam & The Ants (1 week)

 

http://www.chartstats.com/images/artwork/5905.jpg

 

Within 18 months it was all over of course but in early 1981 the Ant Machine looked unstoppable. "Kings Of The Wild Fontier" was the title track of the debut Adam & The Ants album and had first resulted in a poor No 48 hit when released in 1980, but after three top 10 hits in a row it was re-released and soon matched the peak of "Antmusic". It was a clarrion call to arms for the ant fans containing the lines "No method in our madness/ just pride in our manners/Antpeople are the warriors/ Antmusic is the banner" yes the bandwagon was on a role. I have to confess it's nowhere near as catchy as "Antmusic" but two massive No 1's were to follow this ("Stand And Deliver" and "Prince Charming") before the ants became a victim of their own success and the backlash kicked in. KOTW is full of the double drum sound which was the bands trademark sound, and by the end of 81 the band were so big they were performing before royalty at the Royal Variety Performance that November- a long way from their punk roots, but it was a symbol of what Adam & The Ants had become- a mainstream pop act with a young audience- a fact which didn't suit several members of the band who felt that the roots of the band had been betrayed.

 

Adam went solo in 1982 securing a debut solo No 1 with "Goody Two Shoes" before sliding into pop's dumper with the occasional hit, and being in the headlines for all the wrong reasons come the 90s and 00s.

 

Edited June 4, 201114 yr by gezza76

28TH MARCH- KIDS IN AMERICA- Kim Wilde (2 weeks)

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/27/Kid_in_America.jpg

 

Kim Wilde (Daughter of 50s/60s rock n roller Marty Wilde) was the poster girl of the "New Wave" movement back in the beginning of the 80s along with Claire Grogan. Her debut hit "Kids In America" became one of only two records in her career to get as high as No 2 and takes as it's theme what would become a major theme of the 80s- the persuit of a good time. 1981 was a great time for the Briitish Music with music poised to not only dominate the UK Charts but also the "second invasion" of the US charts was just around the corner, and it remains one of the most creative times in UK Chart history and Kim Wilde is definitely part of this movement.

 

Wilde's image of playful toyboy chimed perfectly with the new "androgynous" philosophy of new romanticism as well and so stricking was Wilde's looks that I'm sure it didn't hurt sales. In my opinion KIA is a great record, very of it's time and all the better for it, the nagging synth line keeps you spellbound as Wilde's vocals seem to drift over it, the record more dominated by the mixture of backing male vocals chanting "We're the kids", how great music should sound....

 

Edited June 5, 201114 yr by gezza76

25TH APRIL- CHI MAI (THEME FROM "THE LIFE AND TIMES OF DAVID LLOYD GEORGE")- Ennio Morricone (2 weeks)

 

http://www.chartstats.com/images/artwork/5958.jpg

 

No-one can accuse the accuse the 80s of being boring as the list of No 2's starts to get quite bizarre. Ennio Morricone is an Italian composer famous for providing soundtracks to famous westerns "A Fistful of Dollars" "The Good, the Bad, & The Ugly" as well as such films as "Untouchables" amongst others. Come 1981 Morricone was asked to provide the music for the BBC One series "The Life and Times of David Lloyd George" and he duly obliged. Once released it surprised many by becoming a hit, it's true it wasn't exactly a riveting topic recalling the story of Britain's last Liberal Prime Minister who steered the country though the first World War, but as themes go it's not too bad.

 

It's an orchestral piece which is enjoyable on the ear- though I don't think it's bears too many re-runs!...

 

Edited June 5, 201114 yr by gezza76

9TH MAY- STARS ON 45- Starsound (1 week)

 

http://www.chartstats.com/images/artwork/5965.jpg

 

From the sublime to the ridiculous- Starsound was Dutch producer Jaap Eggermont's brainchild after hearing a disco medley in a record shop he got the idea of compiling something similar himself legitimately. The idea segued together a selection of Beatles hits with a disco beat, and unbeknownest to him kicked of an, admittedly, brief craze in the charts of the 1981. Such was his success that not only are there more of this kind of thing to come in 81 but this record also managed to make the US No 1 spot where each record had to be cited in full due to legal copyright laws and thusly became the longest worded title in US chart history to be a No 1.

 

The songs are not direct samples but session singers brought in to provide vocals as similar to the actual singers themselves to get as authentic a sound as possible, and you thought Jive Bunny were the ones to invent medly's? It's a truely dire record now but i'm pretty sure as a 5 yr old I was loving it.....

 

Edited June 5, 201114 yr by gezza76

16TH MAY- YOU DRIVE ME CRAZY- Shakin Stevens (4 Weeks)

 

http://www.chartstats.com/images/artwork/40280.jpg

 

This is gonna be a hard one to explain. Trying to explain why and how Shaky (the welsh Elvis) became a big star (with more weeks on the chart than any other star in the 80s) is a tricky one. It's not as if he was a youngster reliant on his looks, he was a 33 yr old man by the time fame came a knocking, and his contribution to the history of music is negligable, the vast majority of his cannon containing covers of 50's rock n roll songs. "You Drive Me Crazy" spent 4 weeks at the runner up spot all behind "Stand & Deliver" which I would call chart justice, and interrupted his run of chart toppers being bookended by "This Ole House" and "Green Door" in 1981.

 

Perhaps we can read the success of Shaky in a political context, in times of great turmoil and change (as Britain was in 1981 with a host of urban riots) we often resort to the safety of the past, nostalgia (the regurgitation of rock n roll), and the relative "safety" of the 50's, proved a decisive lure. There's nothing new or inspiring about Shaky, I'm sure he's a nice guy but he's not bringing anything new to the musical table, now that isn't unusual and it's an observation that can be levelled at 80% of acts but when a career consists of more covers than original recordings (and covers that don't improve/ change/ re-interpret the original) you have wonder what the point is. Presumably as a 5 yr old he was meant to be marketed at my peers (who weren't around for the originals) and possibly my gran but I don;t recall any love for Shaky.....

 

Edited June 5, 201114 yr by gezza76

Master Blaster! :o I had no idea it did well enough to reach #2, great track. Some other classics there too, especially Vienna and Kids In America. :wub:

Master Blaster! :o I had no idea it did well enough to reach #2, great track. Some other classics there too, especially Vienna and Kids In America. :wub:

Looking at the list of number two's for the decade it is actually a bloody good list filled with classics in a way i don't think the 00's does. Good to see someone is reading this- i thought i was all alone here! :dance:

13TH JUNE- MORE THAN IN LOVE- Kate Robbins (1 week)

 

We're in obscure territory here kind of. Now chartstats don't have a cover for this record, nor does wikipedia, and youtube hasn't got anything on it either so I had to spotify this one, it's a nice enough ballad, nothing special, so how did it get to No 2?

 

Well if you were around in the 80's you certainly knew who Kate Robbins was! She's a comedienne, singer and impressionist, who is a relation of Paul McCartney and represented the UK in Eurovision in 1980 as part of Prima Donna (we'll meet another member next year). She then landed a role in prime time 80's soap "Crossroads" as a singer that was recording a single iin the basement of the hotel (you couldn't make it up really- and presumably the record was made in between the near constant fires that started there!), and that song was "More Than In Love" which was duely given it's UK release. It was her only UK hit and spent just 10 weeks in the chart in total which accounts for it having no impression upon me at all.

 

All the interesting facts about this surround the non- musical elements of Robbins' career, she also provided nearly all of the female voices in "Spitting Image" come the late 80s/ early 90s, she wrote the theme to "Surprise Surprise", and provided the "hilarious" female voice over dubs on "Eurotrash"- perhaps I can forgive her for this song- let's just move on quickly!.....

Edited June 3, 201114 yr by gezza76

Ha! I love DISCO as well - I am sure I used to run round in circles to it at wedding evening dos when I was 4 or so :lol:

 

Vienna is an utter classic - easily one of the best songs of the 80s.