June 3, 20232 yr I don't believe Girls Aloud did a version, but I remember the (rather fab) Ace of Base rendition of it :wub: I think I’m confusing my summer songs!
June 3, 20232 yr my 2 favs couldn't be more different, Bananarama and Sade! Robert de Niro's Waiting is another great single from them, and #3 must be their highest charting single ever loved Sade too, this was their only top 10 ever, after that they became an album's band.
June 3, 20232 yr I'm kicking around in the womb (the wrong way up) at this point Edited June 3, 20232 yr by JulianT
June 4, 20232 yr Author 7TH APRIL Lionel Richie didn’t face any serious threat this week and he holds the No 1 spot on both charts, sales of “Hello” cooled but only slightly at 7% to 140,641 which brings the tracks total UK sales to 428,077 copies and places Richie at No 3 on the YTD list which, as it’s now the end of the first quarter, it seems appropriate to recap on: 1- RELAX- Frankie Goes To Hollywood 896,359 2- 99 RED BALLOONS- Nena 462,519 3- HELLO- Lionel Richie 428,077 4- RADIO GAGA- Queen 356,235 5- DOCTOR DOCTOR- Thompson Twins 337,841 6- GIRLS JUST WANNA HAVE FUN- Cyndi Lauper 337,705 7- THAT’S LIVIN ALRIGHT- Joe Fagin 316,880 8- JOANNA/ TONIGHT- Kool & The Gang 309,128 9- WOULDN’T IT BE GOOD- Nik Kershaw 295,188 10- BREAK MY STRIDE- Matthew Wilder 287,827 Sales overall for 1984 are well down on 1983, at the same point last year the biggest three songs of the year had all done over 500,000 though “Relax” has sold more than the title that was at the top at the end quarter 1 1983, Men At Work’s “Down Under”, which had done 586,000 copies. Incidentally if you include “Relax”’s 1983 sales then it has just crossed the 900,000 mark. mHONNcZbwDY Shakin’ Stevens ended up provided the competition this week with “A Love Worth Waiting For” moving 7-2 but it sold just 43,010 copies, that’s the 3rd lowest sale for a No 2 track this year, but better than the Weather Girls which was the 2nd lowest tally just last week. Hope instead turns to the Thompson Twins who are currently on tour supporting their first No 1 album “Into The Gap”. A third single plucked from it, “You Take Me Up” became their highest debuting single when it entered at No.13 last week and this week flies to No 4 on a sale of 39,763, their last two singles have peaked at No’s 4 and 3 so could this be on for No 2? The single comes in the now obligatory picture disc format but the record company have issued three of them which fit together to form a picture of the band- it’s a symbol of how inventive they are getting in targeting fanbases. K7ssLvcmLQs Richard Hartley returns to the top 10 moving 14-9 (28,781) to reach a new peak thanks to Torvill & Dean reprising their Olympic winning routine on TV last weekend but other than that it’s a slightly stale chart with Bananarama holding at No 3 (40,069) but good news for Depeche Mode who leap 9-5 (37,570) and score their first ever top 5 single but everything else is falling. The Weather Girls get caught in a rainstorm and drift 2-6 (37,451) but it’s worth recalling there is only 6,000 copies between No’s 2 and 6 so it’s not as bad as it sounds! Culture Club are also falling surprisingly as “It’s A Miracle” becomes their first single since they hit it big to fail to go Top 3, they drop 4-7 (35,581) Phil Fearon & Galaxy tumble 5-8 (32,963) and Sade move 6-10 (27,047). 1- HELLO- Lionel Richie (140,641) 2- A LOVE WORTH WAITING FOR- Shakin Stevens (43,010) 3- ROBERT DE NERO’S WAITING- Bananarama (40,069) 4- YOU TAKE ME UP- Thompson Twins (39,763) 5- PEOPLE ARE PEOPLE- Depeche Mode (37,570) 6- IT’S RAININ MEN- Weather Girls (37,451) 7- IT’S A MIRACLE- Culture Club (35,581) 8- WHAT DO I DO- Phil Fearon & Galaxy (32,963) 9- TORVILL AND DEAN E.P- Richard Hartley (28,781) 10- YOUR LOVE IS KING- Sade (27,047)
June 4, 20232 yr so Raining Men peaked at #2 it seems for some reason I thought it had been a #1 also thought Sade had been top 5
June 4, 20232 yr Bit late to the party, first week of the year sales were traditionally low due to very few shopping days in the olden days and everyone out looking for shopping bargains when shops were open. Well I like Pipes Of Peace, the video suited the Xmas season and these were days of Cold War nuclear anxiety. Not his greatest record ever, maybe, but he'd just had Say Say Say with Jacko and this was the follow-up to a biggie. As for solo Paul generally he was part of Wings, but his previously rare solo stuff is pretty much rated these days, the first solo album having invented the sparse indie guitarist (hi to all the current crop) and McCartney II was experimental synth pop, and the sublime Waterfalls the key moment, and it's still regarded well. The next one had masterful Tug Of war and Lennon-tribute Here Today but they weren't hits and the awful Ebony & Ivory was huge, just no justice! From hereon though, it all goes a bit downhill till the end of the decade....! Frankie became a sensation but it wasn't immediate - but it was effectively the first sign that 1984 was going to be an exciting year for music. sales boomed after it got banned (oh yes it did get banned) cos people like me were incensed at being told what to listen to. I know I rushed out to buy it cos it was brilliant as well as just to snub the Beeb. The tame video is much more appealing than the crowd-pissing-on video... I also rushed out to buy John Lennon's last gift, Nobody Told Me. I was disappointed it didn't do better, but then I was and am a Beatles acolyte. Wistful China Crisis and energetic Cyndi all welcome top tenners. Lionel's best solo single too.
June 4, 20232 yr February 1984 and the last big record for me to buy in Mansfield before I moved to Poole was Radio Ga Ga, a major change for Queen and my favourite thing from them since Bo Rap. Love that Metropolis video. Touch and Thriller were both great albums, love that Eurythmics single, Here Comes The rain Again, and The Killing Moon was a huge fave too, peaked at 2 for me, and has grown even more in the years since after seeing Donnie Darko. Classic. Madonna, Holiday, on The Tube, her hot brother dancing with her, and she burst out looking so cool and self-assured. I bought the Train single cover version in the bargain bin in the newsagent at Poole Bus Station. I bought most chart singles in bargain bins weekly after they dropped out the chart. Even though I had no job and not much money. I rather liked Union Of The Snake it was darker than their usual singalong ditties which I never rated that highly, bar save A Prayer, Planet Earth, Girls On Film. I liked the new direction.... Rockwell was my first big new single purchase of Poole, Somebody's Watching Me was the start of my new chart era in my new home. No friends, no job, no car (it died soon as I drove it here) the music kept me going...for a few months anyway. The record is still spooky and Michael Jackson is a major part of it. Heard Wouldnt It be Good the other day, still sounds fab, and I loved the sci-fi video. Nik was the first concert I went to when I got a job and could afford to go again later in the year.
June 5, 20232 yr Author 14TH APRIL “Hello” remains the best selling single in the land for a fourth week, and for another week it was out in the front from the start. The track sold a further 77,911 copies last week to bring its total to 505,988 and moving 3-2 on the YTD list with Frankie Goes To Hollywood some way in front. He no longer has a chart double as “Now 2” replaces “Can’t Slow Down” at the top of the album charts. mHONNcZbwDY The news further down the charts isn’t good with nothing selling in any kind of the amount needed to pose a threat to Richie. Shaky holds at No 2 and only has a 19% sales increase to 51,408, the gap between the top 2 is virtually 1/4 of what it was last week though! Shaky in turn was well clear of the rest of the field, The Thompson Twins lift (4-3, 42,347) and Depeche Mode surge (5-4, 33,473) but are off at retail and were lucky to reach so high as the lowest tally for a No 4 track since the first week of the year! Captain Sensible is of course most remembered for his 1982 No 1 single “Happy Talk” but he’s back in the top 10 with the anti-Falkland themed “Glad It’s All Over”. It’s the first song from his second album “The Power Of Love” out in a few weeks and it gets the perfect promotion with the song climbing 15-6 (22,304) but that's the lowest sale for a No 6 track in the 80s! 3AAzwGsFBhs It’s been a turbulent old time for The Specials and band founder Jerry Dammers, when three members left the group at the height of the group’s commercial success in 1981 it threw the band into a succession of line-up changes and poor chart performance. They’ve reverted back to their original name Special AKA (under which they scored the first hit “Gangsters” back in 1979) for their current single “Nelson Mandela EP” which progresses 14-9 (21,182) this week and highlights the plight of the imprisoned South African politician. dT3mE_dMER0 Written explicitly for the new film of the same name “Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now)” is the new single from Phil Collins. I say new but it was originally penned back in 1981 for the recording sessions of his debut album “Face Value” but was not completed in time to be included, Collins was asked to be involved in the film and contribute a song but as he was currently on tour with Genesis he didn’t have time to compose a new song so dusted this down. Title changed from “How Can You Just Sit There?” it burns 26-10 (20,281) this week to become only Collins’ third top 10 solo hit but the other two both made the top 2- don’t bet against this one following in the same mold! OQ_fMt0dt48 Culture Club hold at No 7 (21,641), heading down are Bananarama 3-5 (27,387) and The Weather Girls are gloomy as they continue to deflate 6-8 (21,369) 1- HELLO- Lionel Richie (77,911) 2- A LOVE WORTH WAITING FOR- Shakin Stevens (51,408) 3- YOU TAKE ME UP- Thompson Twins (42,347) 4- PEOPLE ARE PEOPLE- Depeche Mode (33,473) 5- ROBERT DE NERO’S WAITING- Bananarama (27,387) 6- GLAD IT’S ALL OVER- Captain Sensible (22,304) 7- IT’S A MIRACLE- Culture Club (21,641) 8- IT’S RAININ MEN- Weather Girls (21,369) 9- NELSON MANDELA EP- Special AKA (21,182) 10- AGAINST ALL ODDS (TAKE A LOOK AT ME NOW)- Phil Collins (20,281)
June 5, 20232 yr For some reason, 'It's Raining Men' feels a lot older than 1984. Feels like it existed around the 'I Will Survive'/'YMCA' era. Agreed, I assumed it was a cover when watching the TOTP episodes originally!
June 5, 20232 yr Just how amazing is ‘People Are People’ by the fantastic Depeche Mode, just unreal synths, you’d never hear anything as interesting as that in the top 10 in 2023!
June 5, 20232 yr The chorus of 'Glad It's All Over' melodically so reminds me of 'Living By Numbers' by New Musik from back in 1980. Both great tracks and 'Glad It's All Over' is way better than 'Happy Talk'.
June 5, 20232 yr The video to 'Hello' was always rather creepy for my liking. Impressive sales though for that and for most of the year with the #1's!
June 6, 20232 yr The chorus of 'Glad It's All Over' melodically so reminds me of 'Living By Numbers' by New Musik from back in 1980. Both great tracks and 'Glad It's All Over' is way better than 'Happy Talk'.So it does - I'd only recently heard it and thought the tune sounded like something else! Depeche Mode may have had low sales at #4 but were only 2,500 sales away from the Top 3 the week before. 'Nelson Mandela' is fabulous.
June 6, 20232 yr Author 21ST APRIL It’s starting to flag badly now but “Hello” makes it a fifth week at the top as it sold another 63,648 copies. Part of Richie’s ability to hold the top spot is that he has had little competition with no other track getting near him sales wise and there is no better illustration of that fact than this week’s runner up. The Thompson Twins, in a neat chart trajectory, move 3-2 to mean that their last three singles have peaked at No’s 4, 3, and now 2 so they should be on for a No 1 next time out but they increased sales by just 1% to achieve the feat. “Hold Me Now” sold 59,194 at No 4 whilst “Doctor Doctor” sold 66,606 at No 3 but “You Take Me Up” sold just 42,704 last week to make the runner up spot. Hopefully the Easter school holidays will buck sales up next week. mHONNcZbwDY With a cross dressing video which has caused some controversy over in the states Queen return this week to the top 10 for a 13th time with “I Want To Break Free”. Parent album “The Works” peaked at No 2 last month behind The Thompson Twins and stages a slight recovery 12-8 this week, a move which is dwarfed by the single which powers from its debut position last week 18-5 (34,187). cw0tGVxUIbg An established disco funk act Rufus were popular in their native US without making any impression on the UK charts though their former frontwoman Chaka Khan certainly did with her solo hit “I’m Every Woman” (No 11, 1978). The group released their final album last year and recorded some tracks with Khan who returned to the fold for a final time and one of those songs “Ain’t Nobody” finds itself climbing 13-8 (25,262) this week, dwarfing its original position of 111 last November on first release. It’s featured in the soon to be released film “Breakin’” which is another breakdance film which should light up the cinema screen soon and provide further promo for this track. oTYRGBu6xvM With a name taken from a corruption of the Italian for "political writings" Scritti Politti are also new to the top 10 this week. Hailing from Leeds the band are another find by John Peel who started to play them back in 1979 and enabled them to get a deal with Rough Trade, the band charted with three singles though nothing that dented the top 40 before their current release “Wood Beez (“Pray Like Aretha Franklin)”. The connection between the track and the Queen Of Soul, in case you wondered, is that both were produced by Arif Mardin, the track shoots from 17-10 (17,782) this week and will be taken from the band’s second album due sometime this year, incidentally their debut album was, until the release of the recent Smiths album, the best seller on the rough trade label. it's sales figure incidentally a new low for the top 10 in the 80s. zQ-mjp2Yko0 Phil Collins is looking like a real threat for No 1 as he rises 10-4 (36,771) almost catching a falling Shakin’ Stevens 2-3 (39,916) whilst Special AKA hold at No 9 (21,539). Heading south are Depeche Mode 4-6 (30,345) and Captain Sensible 6-7 (29,257). 1- HELLO- Lionel Richie (63,648) 2- YOU TAKE ME UP- Thompson Twins (42,704) 3- A LOVE WORTH WAITING FOR- Shakin Stevens (39,916) 4- AGAINST ALL ODDS (TAKE A LOOK AT ME NOW)- Phil Collins (36,771) 5- I WANT TO BREAK FREE- Queen (34,187) 6- PEOPLE ARE PEOPLE- Depeche Mode (30,345) 7- GLAD IT’S ALL OVER- Captain Sensible (29,257) 8- AIN’T NOBODY- Chaka Khan & Rufus (25,262) 9- NELSON MANDELA EP- Special AKA (21,539) 10- WOOD BEEZ (PRAY LIKE ARETHA FRANKLIN)- Scritti Politti (17,782)
June 6, 20232 yr Ain't Nobody is fantastic, Wood Beez is also a great synth-led one, and I Want To Break Free makes it another stellar full house of new additions!
June 6, 20232 yr Scritti Politti's 'Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin)' and their vocalist's singing style remind me of Savage Garden. Ain't Nobody - what a tune, its mid tempo but mid tempo was clearly very popular on the dance floors in the mid 80s despite the occasional hi-NRG hit. Edited June 6, 20232 yr by TheSnake
June 7, 20232 yr Didnt know Rufus was a band, always imagined it was a guy have to check that Scritti Politti song, I love their 1988 song Oh Patti or something but don't know any old songs from them two big singles in a row for Queen, wonder where will this peak it's funny for me cos I have no clue where this Queen song or Phil Collins ended up peaking so it's like following the charts live I assume a new FGTH single must be out soon (Two Tribes)
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