75. DONNA SUMMER (1,669,400)

10 TOP 40 HITS

BIGGEST SELLER: THIS TIME I KNOW IT’S FOR REAL (314,000)

 

Here’s another act you probably didn’t expect in the top 100!  Given she is known more for her 70s work Summer did rather well in the 80s accruing medium sized hits regularly throughout the decade before a very good 1989 once she teamed up with S/A/W.  Her reputation took a hit after she allegedly made comments about the gay community and the AIDS epidemic which she would later deny but not until long after it had affected her main fanbase.

74. IRON MAIDEN (1,671,300)

18 TOP 40 HITS

BIGGEST SELLER: RUN TO THE HILLS (333,000)

 

By a stretch, the biggest heavy metal group of the 80s were this lot, as singles sales dropped towards the end of the decade their dedicated fanbase allowed them to get bigger and bigger chart hits regularly making the top 10.  They were one of the biggest bands to come from the “New wave of British heavy metal” movement of the early 80s.

No favs there

Iron Maiden is my least fav heavy metal band, and never got the appeal of Dire Straits either 😱

73. ROXY MUSIC (1,761,300)

7 TOP 40 HITS

BIGGEST SELLER: JEALOUS GUY (496,000)

 

70s Glam Rock act who successfully transitioned into progressive rock and pop, the group actually split in 1976 before reforming two years later.  That incarnation lasted until 1983 during which time they were strong sellers topping the charts with their Lennon cover and tribute “Jealous Guy”.

72. GENESIS (1,762,300)

11 TOP 40 HITS

BIGGEST SELLER: MAMA (305,000)

 

Talking of prog rock here’s Genesis, they (much like Roxy Music) changed over the course of the 70s into a stadium rock act that could shift the albums too.  Of course lead singer Phil Collins would have an even more successful solo career in the decade and therefore this is the first of  two appearances for him.

71. HOT CHOCOLATE (1,769,200)

9 TOP 40 HITS

BIGGEST SELLER: NO DOUBT ABOUT IT (422,0000)

 

More 70s survivors here, a group more known for their disco hits remained big in the first half of the decade before splitting in 1986.  They were back a year later with some remixes of prior hits including “You Sexy Thing” which was the only song to be a top 10 hit in the 70s, 80s and 90s.

I'm more of a late '70s Donna Summer fan but 'She Works Hard For the Money' is a great 80s single from her!

ABC and Genesis are my favourites from the last few days. Dire Straits also have some good singles from the 80s.

was expecting Genesis to be higher

insane how much they change their sound along the way

70. ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA (1,788,100)

9 TOP 40 HITS

BIGGEST SELLER: XANADU (397,000)

 

And they keep coming, although the ELO’s biggest hit did at least come in the 80s when they hit the top with “Xanadu”, which despite the film itself getting universally panned, spawned a very successful soundtrack.  A few more hits followed before the inevitable split in 1986 but not before they’d stacked up the sales.

69. STYLE COUNCIL (1,788,700)

15 TOP 40 HITS

BIGGEST SELLER: A PARIS (261,000)

 

Weller will of course be back later in the countdown but here’s his second most successful outfit of the 80s, trivia wise they never had a single climb for 2 weeks in a row- an unusual pattern in the 80s. That was to some extent due to their tendency to debut inside the top 20 thanks to an established fanbase post Jam, despite the fact that the outfit was formed by Weller to explore a different musical direction.  The hits had dried up by 1987 and the pair parted ways before the 80s was out.

68. NEW ORDER (1,800,900)

13 TOP 40 HITS

BIGGEST SELLER: BLUE MONDAY (772,000)

 

And talking of groups rising from the ashes of other groups here’s New Order who of course were, in the main, Joy Division prior to Ian Curtis’ death.  Hailed as one of the most influential indie bands of the decade they are of course most recalled for the best selling 12” single of all time “Blue Monday” which was a hit twice over within the 80s.

I was never keen on Style Council when they were around.

New Order's Blue Monday is obviously such a classic though.

oh New Order <3 actually Blue Monday I never got it, much preferred other songs like True faith, Bizarre love triangle, Regret, 1963.

never got The Style Council either, cannot recall a single song by them, much prefer Weller solo or as The Jam

Maiden and Roxy for me.

Can't bear Collins fronted Genesis (except Mama) and feel much the same about Style Councile, again they have one track I like - Walls Come Tumbling Down.

As for New Order, no matter how much I've tried I just can't find a way in. I recognise their influence, I can see they have a bunch of good songs but besides enjoying, and even loving a few tracks, I just cannot see why they were so popular. I feel they are hugely overrated as much now, as I thought they were then.

I need to explore New Order more past the singles but 'Blue Monday' is an all-time favourite, one of the classics that got me hooked on dark 80s synth-pop

I wasn't sure if ELO would appear here as most of their biggest sellers were in the 1970s, I didn't expect them to be as high as 70th place. They split up in 1986, after the Balance Of Power album, not 1983.

New Order are also one of the best 80s bands.

67. EDDY GRANT (1,851,300)

6 TOP 40 HITS

BIGGEST SELLER: I DON’T WANNA DANCE (720,000)

 

Grant of course was one of the vocalists of 60s group The Equals who hit No 1 in 1968 with “Baby Come Back” but had left the outfit by the early 70s and by the early 80s started to become a semi chart regular.   He’s certainly the highest placed Guyanese on this list and was last seen in litigation with Trump over the latter’s use of “Electric Avenue” in his 2020 election campaign without consent.

66. TINA TURNER (1,859,900)

10 TOP 40 HITS

BIGGEST SELLER: WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT (412,000)

 

Surely one of the most instantly recognisable pop stars ever let alone the 80s should be higher than No 66?  But alas she only scored five top 10 hits throughout the decade but did shift more albums than singles in her defence.  Strange to think now that it wasn’t until her 1984 album “Private Dancer” that her solo career really got into top gear but she was an established solo star by the end of the 80s.

65. THE NOLANS (1,867,600)

6 TOP 40 HITS

BIGGEST SELLER: I’M IN THE MOOD FOR DANCING (446,000)

                     

The original Irish girl group?  Certainly this sister act graduated from light entertainment TV in the 70s to fully fledged popstars by 1980.  The vast majority of these sales were accumulated between 1980 and 1982 whereafter the hits stopped though the sisters did appear on The Crowd’s “You’ll Never walk alone” and Ferry Aid’s “Let It Be” so arguably did play a part in a few chart toppers.