Vienna is an excellent #1 on your list, emotive and epic song. I do like Adam and the Ants for their quirkiness and they arguably led to quite a few other very quirky alternative sounding hits that made the charts by 1982 such as Associates - Club Country (which is certainly one of the weirdest sounding songs to ever make the chart imo), Blue Zoo - Cry Boy Cry and Classix Nouveaux - Is It A Dream. I actually prefer Stand and Deliver to Prince Charming, because of the very new wave backing vocals in the verses and guitar solo and also because its more energetic, both songs are good though. Soft Cell's version of Tainted Love I really like too, the synthpop era had really started once it made #1, Making Your Mind Up is good from Bucks Fizz but I do prefer Land of Make Believe. Yes the Michael Jackson song does remind me a bit of The Carpenters in style but without Karen Carpenter's excellent deep vocal.

 

Blondie - Tide Is High is OK but not one of their best - the Atomic Kitten cover being overplayed back in the early 00s kind of makes me like it less sadly. I like Geno by Dexy's Midnight Runners but not as much as Kelly Marie Feels Like I'm in Love, Fern Kinney - Together We Are Beautiful and Barbra Streisand - Woman In Love, the latter two are really nice songs with great vocals - Fern Kinney sounds rather like early Diana Ross. The Kelly Marie tune is a fun hi-NRG disco tune, pity she didn't have many other hits in the UK, she could have came back to the charts in 1984 when the hi-NRG sound became popular again but alas it wasn't to be. And yes Super Trooper's highlight is the backing vocals.

Edited October 5, 20204 yr by Вuzzjack user

From 1981,Vienna is definitely the best out of those 10,followed by Tainted Love and Stand And Deliver.

for me: 1 Tainted Love and 2 Vienna

the lyrics of Tainted Love are genious! The rest I dislike them all especially Shakin'Stevens

ooh we're going to differ about 1981 an abfab year for music and some great and weedy number ones. Of course the real biggest-seller is Don't You want Me, just had its sales split over Xmas/New Year.

 

Tainted Love is top for me, Vienna 2, both 10/10's, One Day In Your Life is a 1975 track just after his voice broke, hence the Carpenters style to it, I loved it then I love it now 10/10, then Stand & Deliver & Prince Charming good 9/10's. Shaky's You Drive Me Crazy is a decent 7/10, and then there's the rest.....!

 

I was helping in a youth club that year while gainfully unemployed along with 3 million others, and the kids absolutely loved Adam & The Ants, Shaky, Bucks Fizz, Birdie Song. I don't hate them, I'm sort of fond of them all for that reason, but I wouldn't call them faves. Birdie Song bottom, annoying if heard too often (say 2 times a year), Shaddup ya face is unplayable these days but it didn't have any malice to it, and was quite sweet, it just got annoying if you heard it too often (say, 3 times a year). Bucks Fizz, jolly & fun & ultimately quickly annoying. I don't mind it these days, actually, but I'd rather hear ANY other Bucks Fizz single, it was all uphill from here, they got seriously good. This Ole House was OK just got a bit overplayed after a few weeks. At least it wasn;t Green Door, which was number one for 4 weeks and was an inhuman torture to endure. :lol:

 

One of the most popular of all-time, Imagine topped the chart, Smokey Robinson's lovely Being With You, the brilliant Ghost Town (as everyone went rioting) for The Specials, & the now-still-fab Under Pressure, and It's My Party also a goodie.

 

All missing, but at least so were these ones: Begin The Beguine, Japanese Boy, There's No One Quite Like Grandma....

 

 

1982

10th place - Goombay Dance Band - Seven Tears

 

4.1

 

 

I've been struggling with 1982 for a few days now. It's not got anything that I hate but the bottom 7 are "ok" songs for me.

 

First off this one-hit-wonder (if we discount the follow up that made number 50), it's the most uninspiring of the 10. I assumed this it was a Christmas hit all these years but it turns out it was a hit in February 82.

It was only the 4th time a German band topped the singles chart and they were only the third band to do so - Kraftwerk were there a few weeks before and Boney M took the top spot twice in 1978.

 

Eighth best seller of the year.

Edited October 10, 20204 yr by Colm

1982

9th place - Tight Fit - The Lion Sleeps Tonight

 

5.0

 

 

This isn't that bad. Obviously we all know it.

 

I am shocked to learn that it started out like this in 1939

 

 

Different versions been recorded over 60 times. Wikipedia has a long list of them.

 

 

Fourth best seller of the year.

Edited October 10, 20204 yr by Colm

1982

8th place - Ebony and Ivory - Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder

 

5.2

 

 

I never realised that I don't like Paul McCartney's voice until now. It's a bit of a trudge through his parts. Stevie, however, is golden. :wub:

 

Ninth best seller of the year.

Edited October 10, 20204 yr by Colm

1982

7th place - Culture Club - Do You Really Want To Hurt Me

 

5.5

 

 

 

I'd forgotten about the court room and, er, minstrels in the video. Never been a huge fan of Culture Club - then again, I probably only know 3 of their songs. Their chart career started with 7 consecutive top 4 singles.

 

Fifth best seller of the year.

Do You Really Want To Hurt Me is superb! Eek at the minstrels though.

that Macca/Stevie Wonder duet is the snoozefest

I really liked the Culture Club song, although I'm not the biggest fan of Boy George

There's nothing awful in this 10.

1982

6th place - Musical Youth - Pass the Dutchie

 

5.7

 

 

This is pleasant enough - at least it's authentic reggae :D

 

This jumped from number 26 to number 1 :o

 

Sixth best seller of the year.

1982

5th place - Eddy Grant - I Don't Wanna Dance

 

5.8

 

 

This is the earliest song I remember seeing on Top of The Pop. I was 6. As such, it held a special place in my musical experience since then.

 

Seventh best seller of the year.

1982

4th place - Dexy's Midnight Runners and the Emerald Express - Come On Eileen

 

6.0

 

 

A song of 2 halves - the intro and first verse are excellent, as is the second verse. But the chorus just kills it - sounds like a pub full of pissed lads.

 

Best seller of the year.

Edited October 11, 20204 yr by Colm

1982

3rd place - Irene Cara - Fame

 

7.3

 

 

The empowerment of that chorus. :wub: Outstanding!

 

Second best seller of 1982

1982

2nd place - Survivor - Eye Of The Tiger

 

7.5

 

 

Now this is a revelation. I have always associated Eye of the Tiger with The Lion Sleep Tonight, given the animal connection and that they are both huge sellers from the same year, sitting consecutively in the top 10 best sellers. Both sort of one-hit-wonders.

The re-listen of this top 10 has allowed me to compare them on song quality and Eye of the Tiger is in a different league.

 

The verse is measured and restrained. I love the sudden stop of the music for the title at the end of the chorus. I will definitely be listening to this a lot more in the future.

 

Third best seller of the year.

 

1982

1st place - The Jam - A Town Called Malice

 

9.1

 

 

A clear favourite, as soon as I looked at the list. There are many, many great things about this song. One thing that I didn't appreciate is that this was their 16th hit single, well into their 5th year of chart action and a decade into the band's existence. Has any band sounded so exuberant this far into their career? Perhaps The Cure did.

 

And the song itself - it owes a debt to Motown, even down to the "ooooooooh" at 2:04 which pays homage to The Supremes Baby Love. The whole thing is so euphoric and intoxicating. It's no wonder it's an indie disco staple, where I come from.

 

Then there's influence - I hear Blur. I hear the Libertines. I hear Bloc Party.

Add to this, that they entered the chart at number (their third occasion of doing so) - not commonly done back then. It must have been amazing being a fan of the band, in those years.

 

Irresistible.

 

And the song itself - it owes a debt to Motown, even down to the "ooooooooh" at 2:04 which pays homage to The Supremes Baby Love. The whole thing is so euphoric and intoxicating. It's no wonder it's an indie disco staple, where I come from.

 

Funny enough, the bassline and drums always sounds similar to The Supremes “You Can’t Hurry Love” * which is what I love about it. Apparenty the song is about Woking - which I've travelled through on the train and seems like a town called malice to me. :lol:

 

*Then Phil ('I'm leaving the country if Labour get in' [1992]) Collins went and covered it. :nocheer:

Funny enough, the bassline and drums always sounds similar to The Supremes “You Can’t Hurry Love” * which is what I love about it. Apparenty the song is about Woking - which I've travelled through on the train and seems like a town called malice to me. :lol:

 

 

Joke lost on this Irish man :D

 

 

Fame would be my #1