Not sure it was ever covered, but Shakatak had a very similar backing track on stuff like Easier Said Than Done and Night Birds. Laid back jazz funk was a mini-boom in the UK in 1981/82.

That Johnny Logan track is abysmal- 'Hold Me Now' despite being very cheesy was a lot better.

 

When I first heard 'No Doubt About It' would never have thought it wasHot Chocolate, especially the verse. Very diverse band!

 

Only hearing 'My Perfect Cousin' for first time. What a riff!

oh The Groove is great! sounds so familiar, did it re-chart later or someone covered it?

 

Surprised someone didn't try and turn it into a house hit in the late 80s or 90s, it would just need a bit more of a beat.

17TH MAY

 

 

In a week when sales were impacted by the bank holiday, it looked good to hold the No 1 spot but in the end "Geno" just didn't have the legs needed and lost out on the top slot though the track can console itself with crossing the 400,000 mark (421,000 to be exact) to put Dexy's Midnight Runners in the top 10 singles of the year so far. It lost out in the end to Johnny Logan who won the Eurovision Song Contest for Ireland last month.

 

"What's Another Year" duplicates the feat of Ireland's only other Eurovision Winner Dana a decade ago with "All Kinds Of Everything", it sold 88,000 copies last week (2,000 more than "Geno") so we'll see if it has genuine appeal now that Eurovision is over and memories fade . In total it's the 10th new chart topper of the year making it the fastest turnover at the top in UK Chart history, last year it took until 22nd July to reach our tenth No 1, a reminder that only The Jam have managed a three week chart topper so far in 1980.

 

 

 

Making it three top 10 hits from three releases it's been a pretty flawless 6 months for the Beat who become the first act of the 80s to get the hat-trick as "Mirror In The Bathroom" jumps 17-4 (46,000) and becomes in the process their highest peaking single.

 

 

 

Meanwhile "Off The Wall" continues to yield hits for Michael Jackson as a fourth single from it, "She's Out Of My Life" leaps 25-5 (44,000). Written by Tom Bahler, some say about his relationship with Karen Carpenter, Jackson becomes the first act to lift 4 top 10 singles from the same studio album.

 

 

 

Six years after his last hit Jimmy Ruffin returns to the charts with "Hold On To My Love" his first hit after he left Motown and had a helping hand from Robin Gibb who co-wrote the track. He moves 14-7 (41,000).

 

 

 

After "Tonight I'm Alright" made No 34 earlier this year Narada Michael Walden scores an even bigger hit with follow up "I Shoulda Loved Ya" which bounds up three spots 11-8 (31,000) but with the Undertones lifting 10-9 (30,000) and David Essex drifting 5-10 (25,000) we can see how that day of trading affected sales. Paul McCartney holds at No 3 (61,000), Hot Chocolate improve 9-6 (33,000) despite losing sales.

 

 

1- WHAT’S ANOTHER YEAR- Johnny Logan (88,000)

2- GENO- Dexy’s Midnight Runners (86,000)

3- COMING UP- Paul McCartney (61,000)

4- MIRROR IN THE BATHROOM- The Beat (46,000)

5- SHE’S OUT OF MY LIFE- Michael Jackson (44,000)

6- NO DOUBT ABOUT IT- Hot Chocolate (33,000)

7- HOLD ON TO MY LOVE- Jimmy Ruffin (31,000)

8- I SHOULDA LOVED YA- Narada Michael Walden. (31,000)

9- MY PERFECT COUSIN- The Undertones (30,000)

10- SILVER DREAM MACHINE- David Essex (25,000)

 

'Call Me' dropping from #4 to out of the top 10? Aww :( I see it managed 7 weeks in the top 40 just like 'Atomic', shame they didn't stick around for a bit longer!

 

Pretty poor Eurovision winner but I do much prefer the next one... those thoughts can be expanded on when we hit 1982 of course :P

Well the top 10 certainly isn't stale as after a week with 5 newies we get one with 4, and an all male top 10 to boot. Not really blown away by any of these new ones. The Beat and Jimmy Ruffin are fine but always found 'She's Out of My Life' a really boring Michael Jackson song. The Narada song isn't my genre either so can't really persevere with that one.

oh really liked Mirror in the Bathroom, love those singles from The Beat even though thats not really my style of music

the Jacko single is good too

Peaking this week at no.31 was the debut top 40 hit for one of the classic alternative/goth groups of all time. This is actually my favourite Cure single - so haunting and mysterious but with THAT amazing riff. And we see Robert Smith before he applied tonnes of make up and ruffed up his hair! :o

 

24TH MAY

 

 

It may still be No 1 but it's more through the lack of a strong opponent rather than strong sales, and this week Johnny Logan is struggling with sales dipping to 83,000 copies even with a full week of sales to support it, it managed to have a more comfortable week at the top than last week even though Hot Chocolate storm from 9-2 with "No Doubt About It" (69,000) which must be a favourite to take over in 7 days time and give the band a second UK No 1 single.

 

 

 

Here's an oddity- The film "MASH" is 10 years old, the book 12 years old, and the TV series has just finished its 8th series in the US so quite why the theme from the show should be a hit now is a mystery, Until that is you consider that it is currently being championed by Noel Edmonds on his Radio 1 show, a campaign that seems to be paying off as the song "Theme From MASH (Suicide Is Painless)" moves from 23-6 (52,000) and has an outside chance at the top next week.

 

 

 

Back to the top 10 for a seventh time are Roxy Music who debuted at No 18 last week (their highest debut ever) and rockets to No 7 this week (52,000). It's the first release from forthcoming album "Flesh & Blood" which is released next month.

 

 

 

From an act with a new album next month to one who's certainly taking his time to release his 4th. Gary Numan (AKA Tubeway Army) pumped out his first three albums in 10 months but it's been 8 months since "The Pleasure Principle" and no album is currently pencilled into the release schedule. All of which means that a "new" Numan single is a big deal, and an indication of his fan base allows "We Are Glass" to debut at No 10 (38,000) which means he's only the third act this decade to manage this feat after Blondie (No 3) and The Jam (No 1). Previous hits have debuted at No 20, then No 15 so the odds are he should secure a top 5 debut next time around!

 

 

The only climber this week (Hot Chocolate aside) is Michael Jackson 4-3 (62,000) and in the process leaps over the Beat who stall at No 4 despite sales spiralling 33% to 61,000. Former No 1 "Geno" slides 2-5 (61,000), Jimmy Ruffin 7-8 (45,000) and Narada Michael Walden 8-9 (42,000)

 

1- WHAT’S ANOTHER YEAR- Johnny Logan (83,000)

2- NO DOUBT ABOUT IT- Hot Chocolate (69,000)

3- SHE’S OUT OF MY LIFE- Michael Jackson (62,000)

4- MIRROR IN THE BATHROOM- The Beat (61,000)

5- GENO- Dexy’s Midnight Runners (61,000)

6- THEME FROM M.A.S.H- M.A.S.H (52,000)

7- OVER YOU- Roxy Music (52,000)

8- HOLD ON TO MY LOVE- Jimmy Ruffin (45,000)

9- I SHOULDA LOVED YA- Narada Michael Walden (42,000)

10- WE ARE GLASS- Gary Numan (38,000)

 

I've never seen M*A*S*H before but have always felt quite drawn to 'Suicide Is Painless'. The Johnny Mandel composition is beautiful, then the added choral harmonies of the session singers and dark lyrics, written by the 15-year-old son of the movie director, make for quite a haunting experience. I wasn’t aware that Noel Edmonds was the reason behind it becoming a hit in 1980 though, so that was very interesting to learn!

 

I quite like that Gary Numan song as well and adore 'A Forest' that was posted from outside the top 10, one of The Cure's best :wub:

Love the theme for MASH, first time I heard it was the Manics version from the early 90s, which I prefer cos of its faster tempo

 

the Roxy Music one I also like

The Theme from MASH becoming a hit so long after it first aired seems really RANDOM - guess it's one of those first Radio DJ campaigns. The title and subject of the song is certainly one that would not fly nowadays (well in the sense of getting airplay) as the perception of suicide has changed so much. Weird track tbh - not bad though.

 

Reaching a peak position of #16 and just has to be mentioned (let's face it virtually all of her early singles are legendary) is the first single from Kate Bush's third album 'Never For Ever'. 'Breathing' was her attempt at producing a Pink Floyd style epic and has the heavy subject matter of a new born baby in a nuclear fall out/post apocalyptic world who also is addicted to nicotine from her mother. With a very memorable video too - brave choice for lead single but that's always been Kate.

 

31ST MAY

 

 

Errol Brown may very well be less than impressed with the BBC this week as he and his group are denied a second chart topper after leading the list all week with "No Doubt About It". The song that swanned past it at the last minute is the theme from M*A*S*H which benefitted from constant plays on radio 1 coupled with a TOTP video slot which wasn't afforded to Hot Chocolate sees the track sell 74,000 copies this week, Hot Chocolate by contrast lost sales slightly to 68,0000.

 

 

Another couple of climbers this week come courtesy of Gary Numan whose "We Are Glass" climbs 10-5 (59,000) and Roxy Music who budge just one place 7-6 (44,000) despite losing sales of 15%.

 

 

It's the return of 2tone this week as The Specials return to the top 10 with their third straight top 10 hit and follow up to the No 1 "Too Much Too Young" back in February. A diatribe against intellectual snobbery it rises 18-8 (37,000) and heralds their second album due out later this year.

 

 

 

Number one in both Holland and the US this week is Lipps Inc, and here they climb 25-9 here with "Funky Town" (37,000). The song has already been atop of the US Dance chart and promises to replicate that feat here in a matter of weeks.

 

 

Elsewhere Michael Jackson drops one 3-4 (59,000), The Beat move 4-7 (40,000), and two former chart toppers both drop but with wildly different totals, Dexy's Midnight Runners slide 5-10 (36,000) but has now sold 518,336 copies (enough to be in the top 10 for the year so far) whilst Johnny Logan falls two places 1-3 with "What's Another Year" (60,000) but has less impressive total sales of 330,642.

 

1- THEME FROM M.A.S.H- M.A.S.H. (74,000)

2- NO DOUBT ABOUT IT- Hot Chocolate (68,000)

3- WHAT’S ANOTHER YEAR- Johnny Logan (60,000)

4- SHE’S OUT OF MY LIFE- Michael Jackson (59,000)

5- WE ARE GLASS- Gary Numan (59,000)

6- OVER YOU- Roxy Music (44,000)

7- MIRROR IN THE BATHROOM- The Beat (40,000)

8- RAT RACE/ RUDE BOYS OUTTA JAIL- The Specials (37,000)

9- FUNKY TOWN- Lipps Inc (37,000)

10- GENO- Dexy’s Midnight Runners (36,000)

 

Yessss loving that trade at the top, quite an unusual #1 hit. 'Funkytown' is of course a classic (first introduced to me as a kid via Shrek 2) - wonderful synth riff *.*

The Theme from MASH becoming a hit so long after it first aired seems really RANDOM - guess it's one of those first Radio DJ campaigns. The title and subject of the song is certainly one that would not fly nowadays (well in the sense of getting airplay) as the perception of suicide has changed so much. Weird track tbh - not bad though.

 

Reaching a peak position of #16 and just has to be mentioned (let's face it virtually all of her early singles are legendary) is the first single from Kate Bush's third album 'Never For Ever'. 'Breathing' was her attempt at producing a Pink Floyd style epic and has the heavy subject matter of a new born baby in a nuclear fall out/post apocalyptic world who also is addicted to nicotine from her mother. With a very memorable video too - brave choice for lead single but that's always been Kate.

 

I recently worked out what my #1s of the 1980s may have been if I had kept a personal chart then… and both of the songs you’ve highlighted so far were chart toppers!

yay much prefer the Mash theme to the Hot Chocolate song

 

Funky Town is also great

Definitely one of the worst #1s ever lyrically.

 

'Mirror In The Bathroom' is fab, very atmospheric.

 

'We Are Glass' is good, but Numan's 1979 songs were better.

 

The Roxy song is good not the most interesting though.

 

For Funkytown I enjoyed the stadium rock styled Pseudo Echo cover in the 1987 thread and the original is very good too, more electronic based than most disco at the time.

Edited April 12, 20241 yr by TheSnake

'Funkytown' is another timeless classic from 1980 - part disco and part electropop.

The Specials' double A-side is good, although I wouldn't say either song is in my top favourites by them.

The Theme From MASH Is surely one of the most depressing tracks to have got all the way to #1, it's very well composed though.

 

Funkytown is of course an undeniable classic and Rat Race is another decent one from the Specials.

I recently worked out what my #1s of the 1980s may have been if I had kept a personal chart then… and both of the songs you’ve highlighted so far were chart toppers!

 

Interesting! There was so much dark and mysterious music in the early 80s. I prefer it before it all went Live Aid/Stadium/Big superstars/Bright or whatever you want to call it.

 

The Specials were really a great band (my pet peeve re: Too Much Too Young lyric notwithstanding) - so much more than their signature song which is coming next year.

 

'FunkyTown' was fun and futuristic. When I first heard it at the end of the 80s I absolutely loved it for several decades although kind of 'over it' now.