Posted November 18, 20213 yr The third and fourth books in The Music Chronicle series are now available. To buy The Music Chronicle Christmas & The Music Chronicle 1982 together, saving money on postage, follow this link:- https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/133609252190 The Music Chronicle Christmas is available here:- https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/133265515801 The Music Chronicle 1982 is available here:- https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/133587645081 If you missed The Music Chronicle 1980 and The Music Chronicle 1981, then you can buy all four books together here:- https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/133938581613
November 18, 20213 yr Author The Music Chronicle Christmas The British public adores Christmas music. In the past 80 years there have been over 400 seasonal singles and 200 festive albums, and The Music Chronicle Christmas tells the story of every one of them. It presents the background, the facts and the trivia behind the songs you know well, and unearths those records that have long been consigned to history. From Vera Lynn and Bing Crosby to Jess Glynne and Justin Bieber, chronologically, and from Wham! and Mariah Carey to the most obscure one-hit wonders, every Christmas-, New Year- and winter-themed hit is here. This informative, entertaining and meticulously researched 412 page book is illustrated with over 100 specially prepared lists, charts and graphics. It sets out the best sellers, the oldest songs and the multiple hit makers, identifies historic trends and passing fads, and tells heart-breaking and heart-warming stories. Which million selling Christmas single was first issued as a B-side ? Which popular favourite had to be released six times before it became a hit ? What alternative names were considered for Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer ? Which popular carol’s lyricist is the model in a Tate Gallery painting ? Which number one started life in a musical performed above a London pub ? Who came up with one of the catchiest lyrics while having a shower in Memphis ? Which was the most star-studded Band Aid line-up ? Which big hit was written by a former radar engineer ? Whose first release was as an uncredited singer on R2D2 We Wish You A Merry Christmas ? Who grew up on a Christmas tree farm ? Which Christmas hit makers were born on Christmas Day ? Which 1970s hit was supposedly composed by dancing angels ? Which hits were created by the people who also wrote the themes for Grandstand, Gladiators and Who Wants To Be A Millionaire ? Edited November 18, 20213 yr by Music Chronicle
November 18, 20213 yr Author The Music Chronicle 1982 The third book in the highly acclaimed series looks in detail at 1982, documenting the best sellers, the major festivals and tours, the award winners, the films and television shows, the industry’s financials, the headline news stories and the unlikely trivia which go together to create the vibrant and diverse British music scene. With 26 more pages than The Music Chronicle 1981, the latest edition in the series presents over 200 lists, graphics and short articles collecting everything you need to know about the British music scene and its place in music history. In time for the 40th anniversary, The Music Chronicle 1982 shines a spotlight on Dexys Midnight Runners, ABC, Yazoo, The Kids From Fame, Elkie Brooks, WOMAD, Iron Maiden, The Tube, Madness, Duran Duran’s videos, Survivor, Eddy Grant, Shalamar, Pigbag, German music, Discline, The Jam’s split, legal disputes, Haircut One Hundred, Clive Langer & Alan Winstanley, ZE Records, the launch of the compact disc, The Young Ones, pioneer rappers, Our Price, chart manipulation, The Falklands War, fitness records, Julien Temple and much more, in this entertaining, informative and detailed book. Who were the biggest selling songwriters and producers of 1982 ? Which tours and festivals attracted the most attention ? What were the critics’ favourite albums of the year ? What were the biggest American hits that failed to chart in the UK ? What were the biggest British hits abroad ? Which artists sold more records in 1982 than they did in any other year ? What breakthrough technologies were launched that year ? Who was involved in legal disputes in 1982 ? Which Greatest Hits album contained the most hits ? Which big rock hit was a recycled sitcom theme tune ? Which chart topping performer had to be tracked down to a north London sweet shop ? Who scored their first hit single with their 23rd release ? Which former chart topper issued a single to welcome the Pope to Britain ? Which German cities have produced the most chart stars ? What proportion of the first 20 rappers to appear on a British hit came from New York ? Who links Starship and Heart to A Song For Europe ? What mishaps occurred while Duran Duran were shooting their exotic videos ? Which music star is the most successful motor racer ? Who bit the head off Ozzy Osbourne ? All of these questions are answered amongst the wealth of information that builds to tell the complete story of popular music in 1982. Edited November 18, 20213 yr by Music Chronicle
November 18, 20213 yr Author Here are some of the comments we received about The Music Chronicle 1980 and The Music Chronicle 1981, on this forum and others:- “The Music Chronicles for 1980 and 1981 are brilliant.” “Received today and they really are superb.” “Well researched and well worth the price! It's full of good facts” “You've done great work with those Sean, a real labour of love. I've learnt a lot.” “…genuine social history matters inside… causing me to take a fresh look at things.” “A great addition to my music book library. The content is outstanding. I'll happily recommend it to people.” “I just thought I would get in touch to say how much I enjoyed the music chronicle from 1980 and 1981. They are both fantastic books I keep returning to, time and again, and I find something new every time I do!” “Sean seems to have covered all the important and interesting musical facts and events of the year very well. I get the feeling I may be referring to this book often in the future and look forward to seeing other years in the series.” “It's great for browsing through, and it's the little things that make you go wtf?” “I’m very impressed with the detail and work that has gone into these books.” “I think what I like best about it is not the pure stats. The book eschews what you can find on the internet. The joy is in the value added. So some rather intriguing lists.” “I study the UK Charts avidly, but there were many details in the book that I was unaware of. I cannot praise the book enough.” “Well done Sean on such well constructed books.” “It really is a fantastic source of information for the price.” “Amazing value and hours of reading and digesting! Couldn't even begin to imagine how much work went into this!” “Keep up the fantastic work and look forward to hopefully more of these books being published which I will certainly buy.” “The 1980 Book is excellent. I highly recommend it, as it is well worth its price. I urge every UK chart fan to buy the 1980 book. It is a great addition to any chart books collection.” Edited November 18, 20213 yr by Music Chronicle
November 18, 20213 yr Author Do you just write these yourself from info gathered all over? Hi Steve, The sources and credits in the book list over 80 different publications, including music papers and magazines written at the time, reference books printed over the past 40 years, and websites. BuzzJack is credited as follows:- "...especially strong on British popular music, contains a wealth of fascinating information and hosts some healthy conversations." A number of posters here at BuzzJack are thanked by name. Despite drawing from a wealth of sources, every word of the books is written by me, and all of the hundreds of tables, charts and graphs have been prepared by me, exclusively for The Music Chronicles. The 1980, 1981 and 1982 books are a labour of love, take many months to write, and aim to present the most accurate, detailed and expansive summary of each year ever compiled. I believe The Music Chronicle Christmas book is unique, in the way it examines every single seasonal-themed hit single and album there has ever been, and tells the story of each alongside a rigorously researched set of facts. I'd like to think that even the most knowlegeable pop music enthusiastics might say to themselves "I never knew that", or "I didn't realise they were linked", or "I've never seen this data analysed and presented that way". Edited November 18, 20213 yr by Music Chronicle
November 18, 20213 yr Thanks for the reply, I would def be interested in the Christmas book as that’s my charts passion!
November 20, 20213 yr Author Note to anyone who might want to buy any of the Music Chronicles, but lives outside the UK and Ireland. The international postage rates are set by eBay and not by me. I've just learnt, from a comment on another forum, that the price quoted to the USA looks really high. If the postage rate looks exorbitant to you, please send me an e-mail at musicchronicle@yahoo.com and I will propose an alternative.
November 21, 20213 yr 1982 was one of the best years for chart music in the 80s I think, you have the well known songs like Yazoo, Duran Duran and ABC but then also lesser known great new wave dancefloor tunes from Blue Zoo and Classix Nouveaux. There was also a forgotten disco tune I really like, Cheri - Murphy's Law. Some very unusual songs made the top 20 like the Mobiles - Drowning In Berlin, Japan - Ghosts and Associates - Club Country. The number 1s tended to be quite MOR, still good but not quite as fun, Seven Tears and I've Never Been To Me being examples.
November 21, 20213 yr Agreed, it was before the record companies had plasticified the new wave bands!
November 24, 20213 yr I have all four of these books. They are fantastic. I was gathering information to prepare my own Christmas music book, but the best I can say is that the book covers everything I want to know - and I like to know lots when it comes to the charts (and particularly Christmas charts). So I've thrown all my notes away! The information in the book is really interesting and congratulations to Sean - already looking forward to the next one!
November 25, 20213 yr Author I have all four of these books. They are fantastic. I was gathering information to prepare my own Christmas music book, but the best I can say is that the book covers everything I want to know - and I like to know lots when it comes to the charts (and particularly Christmas charts). So I've thrown all my notes away! The information in the book is really interesting and congratulations to Sean - already looking forward to the next one! Very kind of you to say this Scazzman. But I'm sorry I've stymied your own Christmas book, I'm sure it would have been excellent.
November 26, 20213 yr The '82 edition looks tremendous as per its predecessors, although I can't yet say I've had sufficient time to really dive deep into the numerous facts, figures and analysis that Sean presents in his very rigorously-researched tomes. It's something one has to dip into over a longer period to really appreciate, but it'll be worth it in the end. Anyone with either a penchant for historical music information (not just charts and sales data), and/or a love for the year in question (happily I have both - what 30 Spells Shakey says above about this year is completely correct BTW - '82 should be so much more Blue Zoo and Classix Nouveaux than Goombay Dunce Band or Charlene!) should invest what is a very small sum for this book. The only regret here is that it'll take many years for Sean to gather the similarly vast mass of material needed to present annuals for the remainder of the eighties; as a slightly OCD sort who prefers to collect all or not at all, it's annoying I don't yet have '83 to '89 on my shelf alongside '80 to '82!! But patience is a virtue and all that. Keep up the hard work mate and thank God it's a labour of love as hopefully you won't get halfway in and decide to give it all up!
November 27, 20213 yr Author The '82 edition looks tremendous as per its predecessors, although I can't yet say I've had sufficient time to really dive deep into the numerous facts, figures and analysis that Sean presents in his very rigorously-researched tomes. It's something one has to dip into over a longer period to really appreciate, but it'll be worth it in the end. Anyone with either a penchant for historical music information (not just charts and sales data), and/or a love for the year in question (happily I have both - what 30 Spells Shakey says above about this year is completely correct BTW - '82 should be so much more Blue Zoo and Classix Nouveaux than Goombay Dunce Band or Charlene!) should invest what is a very small sum for this book. The only regret here is that it'll take many years for Sean to gather the similarly vast mass of material needed to present annuals for the remainder of the eighties; as a slightly OCD sort who prefers to collect all or not at all, it's annoying I don't yet have '83 to '89 on my shelf alongside '80 to '82!! But patience is a virtue and all that. Keep up the hard work mate and thank God it's a labour of love as hopefully you won't get halfway in and decide to give it all up! The encouragement that you, and many others, have given me will keep me going ! Thanks very much for your comments Gambo.
December 1, 20213 yr They really are fantastic books. Have ordered the new ones today and can’t wait to get them
December 3, 20213 yr Author They really are fantastic books. Have ordered the new ones today and can’t wait to get them Thank you very much. I hope you enjoy the two new ones as much as the 1980 and 1981 books.
December 16, 20213 yr I've been thumbing through both books (particularly the Christmas one) and they are both excellent.
Create an account or sign in to comment