I got Duran Duran straight away but had to think about the others - guessing Culture Club and Wham!

I'd switch out Culture Club for Frankie.

Cc were in the decline by then but i guess it could be.

Edited June 26Jun 26 by Severin

It was indeed Duran Duran, Wham and culture club between 82 and 86 roughly. Those years contain virtually all the respective bands top 10 singles (certainly in the 80s). FGTH, whilst huge in 84, struggled to make much impact outside of that year so were too fleeting to be considered in the same league I guess.

16. THE JAM (3,719,800)

13 TOP 40 HITS

BIGGEST SELLER: A TOWN CALLED MALICE/ PRECIOUS (623,000)

 

For a group which split in 1982 and didn’t release any new singles thereafter, The Jam’s position here illustrates how phenomenally popular they were in the early 80s.  Weller status as the a writer of snappy writer of pop music reflecting the social ills of the day meant they got considerable critical acclaim as well as sales and helped him go on to form The Style Council who themselves are on this list at No 69.  They debuted at No 1 on three occasions in the decade- the only act to do so! They sold a million in both 1980 and 1982 and even sold over half a million of their back catalogue in 1983!

15. CULTURE CLUB (3,898,000)

10 TOP 40 HITS

BIGGEST SELLER: KARMA CHAMELEON (1,268,000)

BEST SELLING ACT OF 1983

 

The second of the “Big 4”, Culture Club were another act to come from the New Romantic movement of the early 80s.  Boy George’s appearance on TOTP in 1982 sparked headlines and intense press coverage which never really relented as the decade wore on and George found himself in the tabloids for less positive reasons.  They managed to crack the US too topping the charts with the all- conquering “Karma Chameleon” which was for a time the best selling single of the decade.  They disbanded in 1986 as relations in the band deteriorated and George launched a moderately successful solo career.

Tomorrow we cross the 4 million mark- time for the big boys!

It's difficult to convey just how popular The Jam were back in the day. I didn't know anyone at school who didn't like them. Although they probably split at the right time. Weller's writing was moving in a very different direction and Style Council were nowhere near as well liked.

Culture Club weren't so broadly popular, failing to capture the attention of the more alternatively minded. However, their more openly commercial pop soul reggae Mix won many fans too. They sort of ballsed it up in '84 when they half-arsed their third album and the band fell apart fast. After that the press had a field day with Boy George's personal life.

Loved The Jam but never liked Culture Club, although George has a great voice and the 2nd best bit in Do They Know It's Christmas.

hated Culture Club with a passion, maybe that's why I'm not that keen on the early 80s, those big 4 are the big 4 from hell for me :D

14. ADAM & THE ANTS (4,144,200)

9 TOP 40 HITS

BIGGEST SELLER: STAND AND DELIVER (866,000)

BEST SELLING ACT OF 1981

 

The first real phenomenon of the decade, we move over the 4 million mark with Adam & the Ants who famously formed when former manager Malcolm McLaren convinced his old band to leave Ant and form Bow Wow Wow.  Ant Recruited again and struck it big selling a jaw dropping 3.1 million singles in 1981 alone (the second highest yearly total of the decade) and placed 4 singles in the top 40 at one point, quite something in the physical age.  Ant disbanded the band in early 1982 having done its job and went on to solo success but never replicated this level of 1981.

13. PAUL MCCARTNEY (4,174,900)

16 TOP 40 HITS

BIGGEST SELLER: WE ALL STAND TOGETHER (614,000)

 

In the 60s he was a Beatle and in the 70s he had Wings but in the 80s McCartney finally went truly solo. He actually had an impressive 80s scoring No 1 hits as a soloist, a duo, and a group (Ferry Aid and Scouse Aid) though they were all outsold by the Frog Song!  But at 4 million sales he was certainly the most successful ex-Beatle of the 80s.

What were Adam Ant’s sales as a solo artist in the 1980s please Gezza?

8 hours ago, chartjack2 said:

What were Adam Ant’s sales as a solo artist in the 1980s please Gezza?

1.188m

Adam & the Ants were my first official favourite band (there have only been 8 since 1980). I first fell in love with them when my brother came home with the original release of the Kings of the Wild Frontier single. Here was this fascinating tribal Post Punk track that sounded like nothing else. A couple of months later and Dog Eat Dog sealed the deal. By the end of the year Antmusic made them the nations latest stars. I remember a big split in junior school between those who loved the Ants and those who loved Madness as they seemed to be the two hot new acts and apparently you couldn't be a fan of both - nonsense of course.

The first Ants album, Dirk Wear White Sox is an underrated Post Punk classic. It was after that and the Zerox single that McLaren nicked both Adam's band and his Burundi drumming idea for Bow Wow Wow. Worth mentioning too that the Ants Mk II featured guitarist Marco Pirroni of the original line up of Siouxsie & the Banshees , bassist Gary Tibbs who would record Roxy Music between 1978-81 and Drummer Merrick, who became better known as Chris Hughes and produced for the likes of Tears for Fears, Def Leppard, Peter Gabriel, Paul McCartny and many more. Of those that McLaren stole to form Bow Wow Wow - Dave Barbarossa was in the original line up of Republica and Leigh Gorman's most notable moments came when he produced Soho's Hippychick and Silver Bullet's Twenty Seconds to Comply.

And speaking of McCartney - not a fan of his '80s work is probably the politest way to put it

^agree on Faul :D

12. PHIL COLLINS (4,178,700)

13 TOP 40 HITS

BIGGEST SELLER: YOU CAN’T HURRY LOVE (694,000)

 

Counting his blessings for going solo, Collins managed to run a successful solo career in conjunction with his group work with Genesis for most of the decade- the group ending up at No 72 on this list.   Although more an album seller in truth he did get 3 chart toppers in the 80s and was an even bigger success in the US.

11. FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD (4,363,600)

7 TOP 40 HITS

BIGGEST SELLER: RELAX (1,704,000)

BEST SELLING ACT OF 1984

 

Here’s the act with the fewest single releases in the top 20 and the act who sold more than any other within a 12 month period- an eye watering 3.6 million singles in 1984.  Struggling to make much impact initially it was the production talents of Trevor Horn coupled with marketing by Paul Morley transformed their compositions in chart topping anthems that spent 15 cumulative weeks at No 1 that year helped by a big splash of controversy taking weighty subjects (gay sex, politics, and religion) and eye catching promo’s all helped by the “ban” on their first single “Relax”.  Once the decade was  over they had two of the top 5 best selling singles of the 80s but had split after just 2 albums.

So tomorrow we start on the top 10 best selling singles act of the 80s!

The Jam were the first act my mum saw live! Not a bad start to concert-going.

I had a massive Adam and the Ants hyperfixation during the height of the pandemic. I was watching a lot of old TOTP episodes / compilations while we were stuck inside most of the time and thought their performances were electric, so needed to know more. I particularly fell in love with the Kings of the Wild Frontier album but also agree with Severin that their more punk-leaning debut Dirk Wears White Sox is an underrated gem. I found their third album disappointing but do enjoy the two #1s it produced and their accompanying music videos, ushering in the potential of the colourful new MTV era. Shame they didn't last too long as a group but what incredible heights they reached in the U.K. during 1981 especially.

Speaking of a lot of success largely concentrated to one year... love those three massive Frankie #1s, particularly 'Two Tribes'.

Not a huge fan of '80s McCartney either but am rather fascinated by the existence of the polarising 'Temporary Secretary', will give him that

Oh would have bet Phil was gonna be top 10! Always kinda liked him except a few stinkers

FGTH were not my thing, was too young I reckon

The Jam were pretty good, I even went to see them at a banging concert in Bingley Hall, Stafford, in 1981, standing on a coke can to be able to see. I do still get annnoyed by tall people shuffling and squeezing in front of you and making sure you cant see anything when you picked your spot early so you could see. That said, I've seen Weller twice since and he's self-indulgent and on the dull side, too much of an "artist" to want to do a Greatest Hits set. He's had his classics in all guises, but I prefer the Style Council era, so that makes one of me. Best Jam track: Going Underground.

Culture Club were popular across the board (my mum was a fan), and their influence on popular culture shouldnt be ignored. Colour by Numbers is a great album and tracks like Miss Me Blind and Church Of The Poison Mind top notch pop. The Jam only topped my charts once, but CC did it 4 times - and then drugs came in and the pop fizziness was replaced by blandness and it was all over. Saw Culture Club in the 90's return when someone pissed George off throwing a coin, and a glitter ball fell on him. Oops. that was still better than his Jesus Loves You era gig, hippy trippy, terminally long jams that had people leaving to catch the last bus home. Great back catalogue, but not that exciting in a live setting.

Adam & The Ants were huge in 1981, kiddies at the Youth Club I helped at were into Shaky, Bucks Fizz, Madness, Birdie Song, but Adam most of all. Tribal drums and costume changes what's not to like! Saw Adam maybe 20 years ago now, and I dont recall much about it, but it's fair to say Adam was past his best by 1984 and has just popped up infrequently since. My fave track is Antrap. Yes, someone has to be a fan of it, and it's me. Stand & Deliver is the one that topped my chart though.

Macca is a living legend, and of course the 60's was the decade for The Beatles (who had re-issued and revamped hits in the 80's too) and the 70's for classic Wings, but the 80's had it's moments as Paul dabbled with synths pretty early on, Coming Up, Waterfalls are fab, Temporary Secretary mad, before he settled into collabs, MOR hits, frogs, classical, dance anything that took his fancy. I caught him in a fab concert at Wembley Arena in 1989. Hey Jude was such a moment a woman further down passed out and interrupted the otherworldly vibes. I took my mum to see him, not shamed at all. He might be here for the big ballad hits, but his best stuff is the lesser known: Tug Of War, Here Today, Take It Away, This One. And the Frog Chorus. That TV video cartoon is still heart-warming and life-affirmingly sweet. Paul had one chart-topper for me in the 80's: My Brave Face.

Phil Collins is surprisingly low. Add albums and he'd be way up the top end. I saw Phil once - sat down the row from me at Elton John's Wembley Arena show in 1989-ish. Never saw in concert, I'd prob nod off with all the ballads. When he wanted to be he could brilliant (In The Air Tonight), fun (You Can't Hurry Love) or nostalgically touching (Groovy Kind Of Love) or soulful (Take Me Home) but most of the time it was ballad overdrive.

Frankie were as expected higher than their back catalogue justified. 4 brilliant singles is not a substantial career, but what a great 1984 they had, like a mallet on the pop industry, a year of huge single sales. 3 eternal singles in Relax, Two Tribes and The Power Of Love, with Welcome To The Pleasuredome not far behind, and a good version of Born To Run to boot. Take away Trevor Horn, though, and there wasn't much left, sadly.