From the last batch, my favourites are Xanadu, Play The Game, Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps Please and To Be Or Not To Be.

Two more great #1 picks, 'New Amsterdam' was a fab rediscovery (wish it were a bit longer but still!) and 'No Self Control' is one of my best new discoveries from the series so far even if I did think the instrumental sounded a bit like a Nokia ringtone

Poor brave Cockney Rejects x

New Amsterdam is one of Elvis' best tunes, great melody, nice lyrics, 9/10. Had a proper record sleeve, unlike one of his previous that was deliberately inside out, plain white outside, picture inside (Accidents Will Happen). Xanadu is fabulous, 10/10, an unlikely collab that worked, and my fave single and number one as I left Uni for the last time - sad it was all over, and misery awaited for the next few years. No rose-tinted spectacles for me... The film is just a bit dull, by and large, as opposed to being bad as such. Gene Kelly's last fling really.

Who Wants The World is decent Stranglers, 7/10, and we had no idea about the golden brown future. I've always found Play The Game a bit dull apart from the random synth bit 6/10. Splodgenessabounds though, the anthem of anyone that's been in a packed pub and can't get bloody served, great fun and amusing social observation 9/10 for Two Pints, Simon templar's a bit of fun and 7/10. 747 is Saxon's best record, Metalpop as it should be 9/10. A bit dangerous, a bit dark, a bit threatening, but catchy riffs and vocals.

Bed's Too Big Without You is largely forgotten but the single version is pretty good, uptempo and urgent, 9/10. Waterfalls I adore, moving, atmospheric, synthy, minimalist 9/10. I also love that Paul's chosen singing style is emotional not pub singer. Jump To The Beat is great disco soul and better than subsequent cover versions. 9/10. There's a lot 9's in this bunch for me! Stacy did great for 13! I'm Not Your Steppin Stone is a comedy version from The Great Rock n Roll Swindle, I think, and they were scraping the very dead barrel by this stage but at least the song became a hit at last. The Monkees B side drips venom, ironically, and is a 10/10, while the Sex Pistols' is manufactured money-grabbing cash-in 6/10. That might seem the wrong-way round to some but it's true....

Odyssey's biggie is still popular, and a firm 8/10 from me, but they had classics before and after that were better, but not better-known. B.A.'s was quite sweet, he did enjoy his word-play, much like the Bard did, but I preferred the previous 3 bangers. Nice 7/10. My Way Of Thinking was a bit of a 4/10 snoozefest, but the Randy Newman cover was better, 6/10. Let's Hang On is not as good as The Four Seasons original, but it's OK as Darts career was about to fizzle. It is however better than a future Barry manilow version. 7/10. Rod's soul cover sucks all the soul out of it in favour of tedium. It was boring at the time, and it still is. 3/10 Makes Sailing and This Old Heart Of Mine, previous inferior attempts at covers, sound positively lively in comparison.

'Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime' is my favourite of either of the previous batches, and I'd put 'Jump To The Beat' on higher than 5 though it may have sounded a little dated by 1980. My favourite discovery of either was 'New Amsterdam', it's not from one of Elvis Costello's most critically acclaimed albums so not something I'd thought to seek out before, but now I've heard it a couple of times it would make my top 5 of the week's three batches if I voted again.

3 huge classics here but Kate falls slightly short of the top level for me on this occasion, though I know it is very well regarded.

We’re also getting our 2nd 10 of the year. The fact that “Love Will Tear Us Apart” deals with the problems Ian Curtis had and he took his life shortly afterwards certainly adds to the meaning of the record, but even that it’s a perfect mix of message, melody, and production.

10	Joy Division	Love Will Tear Us Apart	Will chart on several occasions and deserves its reputation as one of the best indie records ever, with added poignancy
9	Bob Marley And The Wailers	Could You Be Loved	One of his most streamed songs: it's a brilliant soulful and simple chorus, but it's the infectious bassline that makes it
8	Kate Bush	Babooshka	One of her biggest hits and has great storytelling, but I actually prefer its more musically stunning predecessor "Breathing"
7	Joan Armatrading	Me Myself I	She had 10 hits but only 3 Top 40s: this is a lovely track that she delivers with great power and genuine emotion
7	The Undertones	Wednesday Week	I wasn't convinced by "My Perfect Cousin" but this is very good, and the anguish of the protagonist comes over very well
6	Yellow Magic Orchestra	Computer Game ('Theme From The Invaders')/Firecracker	Only hit for this experimental Japanese band: the 1st part is quite bizarre but "Firecracker" a lovely Oriental instrumental
6	Phil Lynott	King's Call	Another intriguing track from him with a broody and intense feeling to it, but overall think he does better with the band
6	Black Sabbath	Neon Knights	Their 1st hit without Ozzy and Ronnie James Dio does well on vocals: it's a really good but not outstanding metal track
5	Change	A Lover's Holiday/Glow Of Love	Debut hit for this Italian American group: the 1st side is quite dull but "The Glow Of Love" with Luther Vandross is great
5	The Rolling Stones	Emotional Rescue	A different style for them with the falsetto vocals and saxophone: it's quite good and feels like the style Prince will develop
4	Bad Manners	Lip Up Fatty	About their large frontman Buster Bloodvessel: it's slightly on the grating side but with some good ska elements to it
4	AC/DC	Whole Lotta Rosie	The 2nd song here about an oversized person: not keen on the song itself but I was impressed by the guitar work
4	Gerard Kenny	Fantasy	Only Top 40 for this US singer songwriter who will become known for the "Minder" theme: it's a sincere but slow ballad
3	Leo Sayer	More Than I Can Say	Originally written by Crickets members just after Buddy's death: this cover did well but I find a little boring and soulless
3	The Detroit Spinners	Cupid/I've Loved You For A Long Time	Their last hit and again it's a '60s song with some extra bits: I don't get much from it and would rather hear Sam Cooke

1980 Group 13:

#182	12/07/1980	Dexy's Midnight Runners	There, There My Dear	7	45-20-12-{7}-11-19-16-46-70->9
#183	19/07/1980	Diana Ross	Upside Down	2	31-8-3-{2}-2-5-7-14-23-33-47-71->12
#184	12/07/1980	The Whispers	My Girl	26	60-35-{26}-29-38-66->6
#185	12/07/1980	The Gap Band	Oops Upside Your Head	6	59-38-19-18-7-{6}-7-9-15-19-31-36-49-53->14
#186	28/06/1980	Gene Chandler	Does She Have A Friend?	28	71-47-43-39-32-{28}-30-36-61->9
#187	12/07/1980	The Gibson Brothers	Mariana	11	72-40-23-23-14-{11}-15-21-38-65->10
#188	19/07/1980	Hot Chocolate	Are You Getting Enough Of What Makes You Happy	17	47-25-27-21-{17}-29-36->7
#189	19/07/1980	Sheena Easton	9 To 5	3	50-29-20-5-{3}-4-3-4-6-11-17-31-40-53-75->15
#190	12/07/1980	New Musik	Sanctuary	31	51-46-{31}-33-31-38-45->7
#191	19/07/1980	Tom Browne	Funkin' For Jamaica (NY)	10	74-33-24-16-{10}-12-16-23-31-51-70->11
#192	12/07/1980	George Duke	Brazilian Love Affair	36	54-44-{36}-38-51-65->6
#193	19/07/1980	John Foxx	Burning Car	35	64-38-36-{35}-43-59-72->7
#194	05/07/1980	Ultravox	Sleepwalk	29	74-63-49-39-34-33-{29}-31-29-30-55->11
#195	02/08/1980	Abba	The Winner Takes It All	1	9-{1}-1-2-4-8-16-30-41-74->10
#196	26/07/1980	George Benson	Give Me The Night	7	47-22-10-{7}-10-12-16-28-38-56->10
#197	02/08/1980	Roxy Music	Oh Yeah (On The Radio)	5	30-9-{5}-6-11-19-33-56->8
#198	26/07/1980	Grace Jones	Private Life	17	55-31-25-24-{17}-24-28-41->8

Love Will Tear Us Apart, acknowledged classic, and I liked it a lot when it came out, but after his death it became even darker for me. I wish there were cures for mental health problems, it's a curse for so many loved ones. 9/10. Bob Marley seemed to be alive and well when Could You Be Loved came out, and it was obviously one of his greatest tracks to that point. 9/10. I wish there were cures for all cancer too, another curse for so many loved ones.

Babooshka was her most commercial single since Wuthering Heights, and the video was very popular with male students at Uni, def a big fave for me at the time, but not quite so mad on it these days 8/10. Joan Armatrading was always under-represented in the singles chart, but Me Myself I is a great catchy pop track, bangs along nicely 9/10. Wednesday Week is one of The Undertones best tracks, more wistful than they usually opt for 9/10.

Yellow magic Orchestra was quite unusual at the time, it was quite good 7/10, but I dont know the other side, Firecracker. Phil's dark reference to Elvis was OK too, but preferred Lizzy, they have a real Killer coming up. 7/10. Neon Knights not exactly Paranoid, but then it set up said song for a hit re-issue so job done. 4/10. Change's double A, radio and me went for the Chic-channelling Lover's Holiday, 8/10. Glow Of Love I've never played much, and I bought the single!

Emotional Rescue very much sounds like future Prince, but who influenced who?! I'm guessing earlier soul acts in both cases! 7/10. Lip Up Fatty another fun Bad Manners track, the sax is great. They were just warming up at this stage. 8/10. AC/DC's Whole Lotta Rosie is an older track finally hitting after Bon Scott died - at this point the band were more punk metal and Bon's vocals were great. 8/10. Gerard Kenny's Fantasy I never bought and recall it as a dull ballad but havent heard it in decades. 3/10.

Bobby Vee had the original hit version in the UK and one of his great early 60's hits. He got his break after standing in for The Crickets when Holly died, so very appropriate he covered it, Leo's version is nice enough, but slowed down too much. 6/10. Leo is great in concert though, a bundle of enthusiastic energy. Detroit Spinners again on an un-needed mash-up, Cupid was covered reggae-style and way-better by Johnny Nash, keeping the Sam Cooke vibe. This was a little on the formulaic side. 6/10.

'Love Will Tear Us Apart' is easily my favourite of this batch and now an established classic, the swirly synth riff in the chorus is undercut by the darkness in the lyrics which unravels slowly with Ian Curtis' deadpan delivery. 'Could You Be Loved' would be next for me too, the streaming era has been good to it as it seemed fairly under the radar in the Bob Marley catalogue for a while, and it was one of his few big hits I didn't know until I got the Legend album in 1998.

On 21/07/2025 at 12:10, Popchartfreak said:

Yellow magic Orchestra was quite unusual at the time, it was quite good 7/10, but I dont know the other side, Firecracker.

It's a pretty confusing release but if I am understanding correctly 'Firecracker' is probably the song you know - it's tagged as if it's a double A-Side but there were 3 tracks on the UK CD release, 'Computer Game (Theme From 'The Invaders')' is a ~1 minute interlude track from the album that effectively just serves as an intro to 'Firecracker' with both being on the same side (and then it has an actual B-Side 'Technopolis').

8 hours ago, Brer said:

It's a pretty confusing release but if I am understanding correctly 'Firecracker' is probably the song you know - it's tagged as if it's a double A-Side but there were 3 tracks on the UK CD release, 'Computer Game (Theme From 'The Invaders')' is a ~1 minute interlude track from the album that effectively just serves as an intro to 'Firecracker' with both being on the same side (and then it has an actual B-Side 'Technopolis').

Ah yes that makes sense, just played it - the computer game intro wasnt the main appeal it was the retro vibes of Firecracker that appealed to me, very 60's tuneful and without the intro more of an 8/10. Thanks Bre!

An easy snap favourite here as 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' is one of the all-time greats. I nominated 5 songs from each decade for that mammoth 'BuzzJack's Favourite Song' rate that we had on here and it made the cut for my 80s picks. So an utter classic birthed so early on in the decade. The lyrics and vocal delivery are so haunting and that synth riff is evergreen.

'Babooshka' is wonderfully wacky from Kate and I've always been drawn to how commanding she is in the video.

Fab to have Yellow Magic Orchestra in the charts, also. I think I first got into them off the back of Kraftwerk.

This is the 1st time I’m reviewing an ABBA track here. As I was about 4 when I was introduced to ABBA’s hits it’s quite hard for me to be totally objective about them. But I really think “The Winner Takes It All” deserves its 10: it’s an incredible performance from Agnetha and also the others in the midst of their real life emotional turmoil.

Diana’s classic deserved highlighting here too: this may be the only time she gets as high as 9 from me with a solo hit, and I think it’s one of the best ever tracks of its genre.

10	Abba	The Winner Takes It All	463rd #1: melodically incredibly simple yet with extraordinary depth and each verse conveying a slightly different emotion
9	Diana Ross	Upside Down	Written by Nile Rodgers and his bandmate, this has an effortless brilliance to it and every line seems to slide into place
8	Ultravox	Sleepwalk	1st hit for this UK new wave band and an excellent synth laden track: I love the repeated rhythmic whispering of the title
8	George Benson	Give Me The Night	1st big hit for this US RnB singer with another of the best soul disco tracks of its time: effortlessly compelling again
7	John Foxx	Burning Car	His 3rd hit to peak in the 30s, and it's another quite sparse but very strong track with really arresting synth elements
7	Grace Jones	Private Life	1st hit for her with a Pretenders cover: it's a great song and this version gives more emphasis to some of the spoken parts
6	New Musik	Sanctuary	Last hit for them and it doesn't reach the level of the last 2 but it's still very charming and has an enjoyable and catch tune
6	Dexy's Midnight Runners	There, There My Dear	A Top 10 follow up to "Geno": it's very much their usual style with a hint of reggae, brass instruments and thumping energy
5	Roxy Music	Oh Yeah (On The Radio)	It's not hard to see why this was another big hit for them and it indeed works well on the radio, but it's nothing remarkable
5	Sheena Easton	9 To 5	Biggest hit for this Scottish star: it's a catchy stompy tune and all in all a fun listen, but does veer towards the cheesy side
5	Hot Chocolate	Are You Getting Enough Of What Makes You Happy	A track with a less other worldly theme from them: not such a memorable track but I enjoy the rhythm of the accompaniment
4	The Gap Band	Oops Upside Your Head	Quite an odd record with nursery rhyme and other strange lyrics, but it has some merit and has been widely covered
4	George Duke	Brazilian Love Affair	Only hit for this all round US musician: it's pleasant jazzy background noise but certainly not something I would seek out
3	Tom Browne	Funkin' For Jamaica (NY)	Only Top 40 for this US jazz trumpeter: the vocal parts on this sung by Toni Smith are nice but I don't get much from the rest
3	Gene Chandler	Does She Have A Friend?	"Can you set me up with a friend of your girlfriend?" isn't the most endearing of themes, and this is quite a plodding track
2	The Whispers	My Girl	The Temptations version wasn't yet a Top 40 at this point though Otis had made it: this cover doesn't bring much that's new
2	The Gibson Brothers	Mariana	Their last Top 40 which mystifyingly out peaked their previous double A: the main melody doesn't work and is quite grating

1980 Group 14:

#199	26/07/1980	Jermaine Jackson	Burnin' Hot	32	48-{32}-32-42-47-65->6
#200	19/07/1980	Amii Stewart And Johnny Bristol	My Guy/My Girl	39	61-41-{39}-41-59->5
#201	02/08/1980	Electric Light Orchestra	All Over The World	11	57-24-18-{11}-15-18-29-48->8
#202	02/08/1980	The Piranhas	Tom Hark	6	56-26-13-9-{6}-7-9-17-32-33-56-67->12
#203	02/08/1980	Kelly Marie	Feels Like I'm In Love	1	61-29-16-8-5-3-{1}-1-4-7-12-27-34-50-58-69->16
#204	02/08/1980	Mike Berry	The Sunshine Of Your Smile	9	48-37-22-13-10-{9}-11-12-18-30-43-61->12
#205	02/08/1980	Roger Daltrey	Free Me	39	68-{39}-39-42-58-65->6
#206	02/08/1980	Sue Wilkinson	You Gotta Be A Hustler If You Wanna Get On	25	70-40-30-26-{25}-29-37-74->8
#207	16/08/1980	David Bowie	Ashes To Ashes	1	4-{1}-1-2-3-7-15-36-57-71->10
#208	09/08/1980	Village People	Can't Stop The Music	11	64-27-21-17-{11}-14-13-23-39-58-75->11
#209	09/08/1980	The Clash	Bankrobber	12	60-31-24-19-{12}-13-16-26-50-66->10
#210	09/08/1980	Billy Joel	It's Still Rock And Roll To Me	14	68-33-30-20-20-15-15-{14}-16-28-46->11
#211	26/07/1980	Bow Wow Wow	C30, C60, C90, Go	34	75-47-47-{34}-36-42-62->7
#212	05/04/1980	Sheena Easton	Modern Girl	8	60-62-56-74R(16)-35-25-18-13-10-{8}-9-15-29-38-56->15
#213	02/08/1980	Nick Straker Band	A Walk In The Park	20	65-44-40-28-28-22-{20}-20-20-24-37-65->12
#214	23/08/1980	The Jam	Start	1	3-2-{1}-2-5-11-32-51->8

I love The Winner Takes It All (the one from the best their singles), but my 10/10 ABBA song is That's Me (album track from Arrival with official video, b-side of "Dancing Queen" in UK).

'The Winner Takes It All' is my second favourite ABBA song and would top this batch / rank as another 10/10 for me too, we're being spoilt at the moment ❤️ the storytelling is captivating and agree that Agnetha sells the hell out of it with that powerful vocal performance.

Sleepwalk is a great debut for Ultravox and the best song there, followed by Private Life and The Winner Takes It All.

On 24/07/2025 at 08:32, Last Dreamer said:

I love The Winner Takes It All (the one from the best their singles), but my 10/10 ABBA song is That's Me (album track from Arrival with official video, b-side of "Dancing Queen" in UK).

I love That's Me Too. 10/10 along with As Good As New.

“Ashes To Ashes” is right up there with Bowie’s best and I hadn’t realised that the lyrics continue the story of Major Tom.

9	David Bowie	Ashes To Ashes	464th #1: the lyrics are a sequel to "Space Oddity" and it's a stunning song with the most wonderful riff, rhythm and structure
8	Bow Wow Wow	C30, C60, C90, Go	1st hit for this new wave band and the 1st ever cassette single: a powerful track with tribal style drums and hypnotic rapping
8	The Clash	Bankrobber	A #12 peak actually makes this one of their biggest: a great song and the backing track with the mesmerising "ah" makes it
7	Nick Straker Band	A Walk In The Park	Only hit for this UK group whose membership overlapped with New Musik: a great track with a pre- Pet Shop Boys feel
7	Billy Joel	It's Still Rock And Roll To Me	A US #1 but here he still hasn't had a Top 10: as usual the lyrics are thoughtful and it's well performed with a retro charm
7	Roger Daltrey	Free Me	Last solo Top 40 for The Who lead singer: this is a big, passionate and dynamic rock track and he pulls it off very well
6	Sue Wilkinson	You Gotta Be A Hustler If You Wanna Get On	Only hit for this UK singer songwriter and a total one off with slapstick style lines and twinkling piano: it is rather enjoyable
6	Electric Light Orchestra	All Over The World	Another from "Xanadu: I don't feel like this is a standout in their discography but has all their usual sparkling elements
6	Mike Berry	The Sunshine Of Your Smile	His last hit was back in 1963 as Mike Berry And The Outlaws: this gentle ballad could be from much earlier but it is lovely
5	The Jam	Start	465th #1: they've only had re-releases since their last #1 and this lacks a big melody but has a strong rhythm and bassline
5	The Piranhas	Tom Hark	I love the chaotic 1958 hit version: this adds vocals and is less all over the place: enjoyable but missing the original charm
5	Amii Stewart And Johnny Bristol	My Guy/My Girl	An intriguing mash up of the classic songs "My Girl" and "My Guy" done as a boy-girl duet, but it doesn't entirely work
4	Kelly Marie	Feels Like I'm In Love	466th #1: this has been intended for Elvis before he died and it's a very catchy high octane number but really quite naff
4	Village People	Can't Stop The Music	Their last new Top 40 hit after quite a brief successful period: this is also on the naff side but it's quite an enjoyable tune
3	Sheena Easton	Modern Girl	Originally missed the Top 40 but became big on the back of the catchy "9 To 5": this one is rather prim and proper
2	Jermaine Jackson	Burnin' Hot	He won't have another Top 40 for a while: this has decent disco elements but is repetitive to the point of being grating

1980 Group 15 (quite the timing for a re-issue of “Paranoid” to come up, which received a 9 in my 1970 reviews).

Paranoid {1980}	14	71-37-27-24-17-{14}-19-19-30-39-58-70->12
Biko	38	{38}-40-47->3
Circus Games	32	44-39-33-33-{32}-40-52->7
Summer Fun	37	68-40-{37}-37-48-72->6
I Die, You Die	6	8-{6}-12-18-34-58-68->7
Magic	32	56-{32}-34-34-60-51-73->7
It's Only Love/Beyond The Reef	3	34-17-7-{3}-6-9-20-31-49-75->10
I Got You	12	69-43-38-35-27-25-22-{12}-18-28-45->11
I Want To Be Straight	22	39-25-25-{22}-28-35-73->7
One Day I'll Fly Away	2	55-26-4-{2}-2-5-8-19-30-42-62->11
United	26	57-49-31-{26}-29-39-56-72->8
I Owe You One	13	50-32-24-23-16-{13}-21-30-39-63->10
The Whisper	36	63-44-{36}-44-61->5

Yay 'Ashes to Ashes' would top this batch for me too Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) is right up there as one of my favourite Bowie albums so I'm glad he nabbed a #1 hit from the project. The music video, featuring faces from the Blitz club such as Steve Strange, was interesting to read about in a big New Romantics book that I couldn't put down last year.

Speaking of New Romantics... hearing that Adam and the Ants-esque drumming on the Bow Wow Wow single is getting me excited for Adam and co's eventual arrival. But in the mean time Bow Wow Wow did have a few standout singles of their own, this one included.

I'm also a fan of 'Start!', a welcome burst of energy, albeit one lifting very heavily from 'Taxman' - even if not a proper sample. The accompanying album is pretty Revolver inspired in general, with the guitar work on their next single being another glaring example for me. Apparently they were also inspired by Off The Wall at the time, so a good mix of influences.

It's a shame Bow Wow Wow had so few top 40 hits as from the songs I have heard from them they seem like such a fun and wacky band, this and 'Go Wild In The Country' are both great imo, but alas I'd need to be less lazy and seek out more of their songs of my own volition rather than waiting for them to pop up at the weekly SyncTubes haha.

Bowie is a great pick for #1 of that batch anyway ofc, poor Kelly Marie deserves more than a 4 though, naff in a fun way for me!

That's a great top 4 there. Beyond that, I would pick out Tom Hark and All Over The World. The latter has Shard End as one of the places mentioned in the lyrics which is the part of Birmingham that Jeff Lynne was born and raised in.

Th Winner Takes It All is a brilliant song and the one Abba are most proud of, I think - it ebbs and flows and is a cohesive whole throughout, and of course a heart-breaking representation of real life for them at the time 10/10 and one of the greatest records of all-time. I'll go with the Chic-tastic 9/10 for Upside Down too, though Diana had to interject with her ego and turn the Chic-throbbing down so her vocal was more upfront. It probably would have sounded more the follow-up's to 1979's massive disco Chic tracks that they should have had, but I think it would have been even more euphoric. Diana's best record in a club remains Love Hangover, though.

Sleepwalk was a good start for the Midge-era Ultravox 8/10, I caught them in Sheffield in 1981 when they had more hits behind them. Midge is still fab, I offer his Kim Wilde collab Sorrow Replaced from earlier this year as worthy. Give Me The Night is a goodie from George, he'd been tootling about with jazz-ballads for a while like Nature Boy and Greatest Love Of All but a big hit eluded him until Heatwave's Rod Temperton and Quincy Jones gifted an "Off The Wall"-vibed album/song. This could easily have been a missing Heatwave hit had lead singer Johnny Wilder not been paralysed in 1979 following a car accident. That goes for Michael Jackson's Temperton tracks too. 9/10.

Burning Car was OK 6/10, Private Life is the arrival of Ms. Grace as a cultural icon and it improves on the Pretenders original, it's fabulous 9/10. Sanctuary I loved too, maybe even my fave New Musik track 9/10. There There My Dear another quirky Dexys retro-soul gem, 9/10, lotta brass. I love brass. Oh Yeah was Roxy going for the mass MOR market for me, pleasant but not ground-breaking like their early stuff 7/10. The TV show was fascinating, but 9 To 5 was always cheesy, but more in an annoying way if you hear it for weeks on end. 5/10.

Adore Hot Choc but Are You Getting Enough was Errol back on comfy treading-water funk ground, which was always an option in between more interesting stuff 6/10, oops Upside Your Head was all about the Rowing-on-the-dancefloor-legs-spread-aside-the-person-in-front "dance" that got a lot of jeans and knickers grimy and sticky from alcohol in clubs. It's not bad a song but has nothing to do with the dance really. 8/10. Brazilian Love Affair is another I havent heard in decades and can't really mark except from fading memory, let's say 6/10.

Funkin' For Jamaica a fave of Lenny henry at the time, on Tiswas, and it's pretty good, 8/10, veteran Gene Chandler it was nice to see him still grabbing an occasional hit, Does She Have A Friend was pleasant enough 7/10, The Whispers nothing special 5/10, and Mariana wasnt as good as the previous hits but it was still a bop 8/10.