Yes its my favourite addition this week too, very good track, a song I have liked for a long time, and the start of the 80s sophisti-pop genre.

 

I can kind of see how Goombay had a MOR/older audience appeal. Its a bit annoying they call themselves a 'dance band' when 'Seven Tears' isn't very dancey at all.

Edited October 6, 2024Oct 6 by TheSnake

Poison Arrow is certainly the best of that week's new entries. Don't forget you can vote for it in the Trevor Horn rate.

 

I like Go Wild In The Country a lot as well.

Poison Arrow is an 80's and Trevor Horn classic from one of the greatest albums of all time, the immaculate Lexicon Of Love. Martin Fry still great and still touring with an orchestra, the voice is still there. Lexicon Of Love 2 was also fab in the 2010's.

 

7 Tears I quite like actually, has a sort of Boney M singalong appeal. Pure cheese of course, and very European/German in appeal. Iron maiden's finest moment is Run To The Hills, if one can call anything Maiden do "finest". Least-annoying is more my take on them. Possibly the most consistently samey band of all time, they found their niche and never varied from it. At least Bruce Dickinson's solo stuff was a bit more Glam Rock-y and he could fly a commercial airline jet when he had spare time.

 

Bow Wow Wow always made me feel a bit ripped-off, McLaren nicking the Ants and their sound for a start, then opting for a schoolgirl to front them, and I was never a fan of their singles much. There's a cover to come which is their best record, but this and others are just pale imitations of Adam & The Ants pretty much.

20TH MARCH

 

 

Another week at the top beckons for Tight Fit whose "Lion Sleeps Tonight" sells a further 94,000 copies last week, a still impressive total though the rest of the pack inch closer every week. The single is now the biggest selling of the year so far- and it's still No 1!

 

 

Tight Fit will be hard pushed to make a fourth week as Goombay Dance Band broke through the ranks this week to spiral 8-2 (81,000) and could threaten for the top in 7 days time.

 

 

After 3 top 20 hits Imagination are back with a new album "In The Heat Of The Night" which is due in a couple of months, lead single "Just An Illusion" this week charges 18-8 (41,000) to become their second top 10 hit for the colourful trio.

 

 

 

Also returning to the top 10 is Adrian Gurvitz. Who? Well he was in the lead vocalist in the group Gun who scored a No 8 hit back in 1968 with "Race With The Devil", the group split some 12 years ago and Gurvitz has been involved with other groups but nothing of note chart wise, until recent hit "Classic" which this week soars 12-10 (38,000) .

 

 

To make way for the Goombay Dance Band the rest of the top 5 all move back one spot, and all lose sales so can't really grumble, Toni Basil reneges 2-3 (80,000), Haircut 100 drop 3-4 (63,000) and Bananarama and Fun Boy Three recede 4-5 (57,000), to further note J Geils Band also drop 5-9 (40,000) on their way out. In amongst them all two climbers, ABC propel 10-6 (56,000) and Bow Wow Wow are right behind them 9-7 (51,000)

 

1- THE LION SLEEPS TONIGHT- Tight Fit (94,000)

2- SEVEN TEARS- Goombay Dance Band (81,000)

3- MICKEY- Toni Basil (80,000)

4- LOVE PLUS ONE- Haircut 100 (63,000)

5- IT AINT WHAT YOU DO IT’S THE WAY THAT YOU DO IT- Fun Boy Three & Bananarama (57,000)

6- POISON ARROW- ABC (56,000)

7- GO WILD IN THE COUNTRY- Bow Wow Wow (51,000)

8- JUST AN ILLUSION- Imagination (41,000)

9- CENTERFOLD- J Geils Band (40,000)

10- CLASSIC- Adrian Gurvitz (38,000)

 

'Just an Illusion' is a good song, probably Imagination's best song, interesting lyrical themes.

Seven Tears :manson:

 

Agree with Jester that it's one of the worst songs of the 80s, really naff.

Don't think I've ever registered the existence of that Adrian Gurvitz song before - there can't be many more 1980s Top 10 hits where that's still the case!

I'll always remember it for the two lines:

 

Got to write a classic

Got to write it in an attic :P

Baby I'm an addict.....

 

 

Somewhere Des'ree was making notes...

Imagination ❤️ Britfunk is here!!

Not of a fan of Imagination or that top 2

Just An Illusion is fabulous, Imagination had a great run of camp brit-soul-funk singles and Leee John was a character strong enough to get invited into starring in some Doctor Who episodes :lol: Classic was ironic, as it was tedious rubbish, unlike the brilliant Race With The Devil, one I've often toyed with entering into BJSC - but I don't see it getting a big support in the same way Motorhead didn't :lol:

27TH MARCH

 

 

Just 7 weeks after Kraftwerk became the first West German band to make No 1 in the UK we now have a second West German act to make the books as Goombay Dance Band make the expected move 2-1 (119,000) and it's an easy victory for the band as well as they were clear from the off with little doubt that they would triumph. That of course means that Tight Fit relinquish the top spot but as they slide 1-2 (73,000) which brings their total to 674,000, easily now the biggest hit of the year, though it looks it won't be passing "Tainted Love" as the decade's biggest seller!

 

 

 

Although a long way off the top, history suggests not writing off Julio Iglesias just yet. His last single "Begin The Beguine" topped the charts for a week in December 1981, now follow up "Quiereme Mucho (Yours)" powers 12-3 (71,000) this week, the title translates as "Love Me Much" and it seems the UK public currently wants to indulge Iglesias- could he sneak another No 1?

 

 

 

Though only together for under 2 years Derek and The Dominoes produced one album in their time and from that the track "Layla" made No 7 in 1972. Co-written by Eric Clapton about his unrequited love for George Harrison's then wife Pattie Boyd it has gone on to become something of a classic and for proof Boyd and Clapton of course married in 1978, the re-issue this year is the full version not the heavily edited cut which was made into a single in 1972 and is used to promote the re-release of "Time Pieces- The Best of".

 

 

 

Scottish pop is back this time courtesy of the Associates who have been knocking around since 1979 without troubling the charts but as they move onto Album No 3 "Sulk" due in May they find the magic bullet. "Party Fears II" this week floats 15-9 (46,000) for the northerners backed with an eccentric TOTP performance.

 

 

Outside of the new entries there are climbers for Imagination 8-4 (58,000) and Adrian Gurvitz 10-8 (46,000) whilst ABC hold at No 6 (53,000), falling down the listings however are Toni Basil 3-5 (58,000) and Haircut 100 4-10 (43,000).

 

 

1- SEVEN TEARS- Goombay Dance Band (119,000)

2- THE LION SLEEPS TONIGHT- Tight Fit (73,000)

3- QUIEREME MUCHO (YOURS)- Julio Iglesias (71,000)

4- JUST AN ILLUSION- Imagination (58,000)

5- MICKEY- Toni Basil (58,000)

6- POISON ARROW- ABC (53,000)

7- LAYLA- Derek & The Dominoes (47,000)

8- CLASSIC- Adrian Gurvitz (46,000)

9- PARTY FEARS TWO- The Associates (46,000)

10- LOVE PLUS ONE- Haircut 100 (43,000)

 

 

Ooooo great to see the fabulous Party Fears Two making the top 10, it's by far my favourite in that top 10 :wub:

Yes 'Party Fears Two' is very good and yes, very eccentric is a good description of the Associates' vocalist's singing style. Apart from that some more synthpop and jangle pop guitars.

 

The guy repeatedly striking the gong in the second half of the video is humourous in that Layla live 1984 video. The song itself is very good anyway especially for 1972.

Edited October 9, 2024Oct 9 by TheSnake

That top 3 :drama: I think we commented on this in one of our Sunday sessions. The top end was packed with so much quality just a few weeks earlier!

 

'Party Fears Two' however is a charismatic classic. That bit in the final verse where Billy Mackenzie's high voice gives way to a ghostly synth haunts me to this day, made even more poignant knowing he died so young, and now his bandmate Alan Rankine has passed too.

need to listen to the Associates, don't think I've heard it before

 

not a fan of Eric Clapton, kinda the anti-fan, but Layla is a great song

 

that top 3 is a top 3 from hell. Don't think I know that Julio song.

Party Fears Two was my chart-topper of the time, and one I rushed out to buy, such a classic - it was one of those WTAF moments musically, sounding like nothing before thanks to Billy MacKenzie's unique vocal style, and the full-bodied production was awesome.

 

Layla also topped my charts in '82, having gone top 5 in '72 - I'd already bought it in 1978-ish as a classic oldie, and it still excited. But that would be the single edit - it arrived with a classic guitar riff, it emoted, it powered into a passionate vocal and it left on a high. Perfect. The album version meanders too much for me, though it's great in it's own right. Clapton never bettered this record, not even close by a country mile.

 

Julio's didn't impress me much at the time, but it's mildly pleasant these days. Enrique is way better though on virtually any of his big UK or US hits.

Enrique? They're both terrible ;D the worst of the worst

3RD APRIL

 

 

"Seven Tears" is still atop of the charts this week but it's retreating sales wise almost immediately, it shifted a further 106,000 copies to bring the title's total to 413,000 after just 6 weeks, nothing to be sniffed at. Perhaps the fact that singles have increased by 10p affected sales? (that increase has been blamed on manufacturing picture discs which are increasingly popular by fans along with other gimmicks currently being employed by record labels to attract purchases).

 

 

The Goombay Dance Band climb into the YTD top 10 which we'll reveal next week but they are still way behind Tight Fit who trip over 700,000 as it slides 2-6 (52,000).

 

 

Also in the top 10 YTD are Bucks Fizz who are back in the weekly top 10 today with the follow up to "Land Of Make Believe" called "My Camera Never Lies". Debuting last week at No 33 it rockets to No 5 on a sale of 52,000 copies and becomes the second fastest selling single of their brief one year career so far naturally behind "Making Your Mind Up", their second album "Are You Ready" is due later this month and will contain both of their last two tracks. It seems the band are building on that initial Eurovision victory.

 

 

 

It's now been over a year since Chas & Dave scored their first top 10 hit with "Rabbit" but the wait is over as this week "Ain't No Pleasing You" jumps 14-7 (50,000) to beat their previous best chart position attained by the aforementioned "Rabbit" of No 8 in Jan 1981.

 

 

 

Knocking around since 1974 it took until 1980 for Japan to score their first hit single "Gentlemen Take Polaroids" (No 60) and now a further 2 years to score their first top 10 single "Ghosts" as it jolts 16-9 (43,000). The group have been garnering considerable press recently for their looks and presentation but there is clearly some good music on offer as well as we can see, the parent album "Tin Drum" peaked at No 12 upon release back in November but it re-climbs this week to No 13, tantalisingly close to re-peaking.

 

 

Away from the new entries and Imagination are now within touching distance of that elusive No 1 spot with "Just An Illusion" climbing 4-2 (73,000) thanks to TOTP, and a similar story for Derek & The Dominoes as "Layla" leaps 7-4 (60,000). Julio Iglesias meanwhile stumbles at No 3 (70,000) without TOTP whilst ABC tumble 6-8 (44,000) and the Associates drop 9-10 (41,000)

 

 

 

1- SEVEN TEARS- Goombay Dance Band (106,000)

2- JUST AN ILLUSION- Imagination (73,000)

3- QUIEREME MUCHO (YOURS)- Julio Iglesias (70,000)

4- LAYLA- Derek & The Dominoes (60,000)

5- MY CAMERA NEVER LIES- Bucks Fizz (52,000)

6- THE LION SLEEPS TONIGHT- Tight Fit (52,000)

7- AIN’T NO PLEASING YOU- Chas & Dave (50,000)

8- POISON ARROW- ABC (44,000)

9- GHOSTS- Japan (43,000)

10- PARTY FEARS II- The Associates (41,000)