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

Edited March 25, 201411 yr by popchartfreak

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

Edited April 18, 201411 yr by popchartfreak

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

Edited April 19, 201411 yr by popchartfreak

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

Edited April 19, 201411 yr by popchartfreak

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

Edited April 20, 201411 yr by popchartfreak

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

Edited May 21, 201411 yr by popchartfreak

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

Edited May 21, 201411 yr by popchartfreak

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

Edited May 23, 201411 yr by popchartfreak

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

Edited May 24, 201411 yr by popchartfreak

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

Edited May 24, 201411 yr by popchartfreak

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

Edited June 14, 201411 yr by popchartfreak

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

Edited June 14, 201411 yr by popchartfreak

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

Edited June 16, 201411 yr by popchartfreak

 

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

Edited June 18, 201411 yr by popchartfreak

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

Edited July 28, 201410 yr by popchartfreak

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.

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.

 

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! B-)

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

Edited July 29, 201410 yr by popchartfreak

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

Edited July 30, 201410 yr by popchartfreak

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

Edited August 1, 201410 yr by popchartfreak