Ashes To Ashes with that amazing video was a bolt from the blue, Bowie reaping the rewards of his synth-based phase in the late 70's, 10/10 and sounding like nothing before, it knocked Abba from my top spot! My dad also bought a Philips 2000 videorecorder, the quality was amazing but the tape were £20 for 2 hours, a fortune in those days. So I bought a tape and taped Ashes to Ashes, the TOTP top 10 video rundown, and some Star Trek episodes. The future had arrived, though those Trek communicator/tricorders were still 20 years in the future.

Bow Wow Wow were OK, though the under-age lead singer was a decision some might have avoided. I never saw them as anything but an Adam Ant cash-in for Malcolm McLaren now the Sex Pistols had self-destructed. And I didnt like cassette tapes, reel-to-reel for me! 6/10 it was a bit of fun. I rated Bankrobber as the best Clash track to date, 8/10, A Walk In The Park was catchy and jolly but something about it seemed a bit annoying on repeat listen 6/10. It's Still RocknRoll To Me prob summed up the USA's bemusement with British records generally as they didnt proliferate like they once did in the Top 40 there, but that would change with MTV. The USA in 1980 had no video outlets, where the UK had loads of shows that aired them. 9/10.

Free Me is decent Daltrey, 7/10, but it's no I'm Free. Sue Wilkinson's has a quirky charm to it, but it got annoying after a while 5/10. All Over The World is ELO doing what they did well but falling slightly short on the classics - but not too much 9/10. I still feel like it was purpose-built for the movie. Welcome back Mike Berry, replacement star in Are You Being Served sit-com, I always loved the gentle sway of this ancient ballad, very old-fashioned but not sounding hopelessly dated like some songs from 1913 might! 9/10.

Start was still on-form Jam 9/10, though Weller's riff-nicking won't be the last time - see ELO's debut for another example. Tom Hark was Madness-vibes laddy fun updated fun-fifties tune, not hurt by one of the band going shirtless and greased up 9/10. My Guy/My Girl an obvious idea for a mash-up that everyone had avoided until now - both Smokey Robinson songs so he still gets all the royalties! 6/10. Feels Like I'm In Love is pure UK disco cheese, but great fun, Ray Dorset grabbing his 3rd UK number one and first outside Mungo Jerry as songwriter, and the two male backing dancers displayed in leotards that you couldnt get on TV these days, oops! 8/10.

The Village People lead singer had left by this point and this was plugging a very very gay movie with some scenes that appealed to some young boys of the time, so I'm assured by one of them, but this record was rubbish in comparison to YMCA 4/10. Modern Girl is a great little record that was a minor debut until the Esther Rantzen Big Time show screened. It's way better than 9 To 5, 8/10. John Peel was a huge fan of Sheena, had 2 copies of 9 To 5 in his very elite singles-box that he carried to gigs. She had way better records later in the 80's though, including one obscure Prince classic. Burnin' Hot was a follow-up hit pretty much, Jermaine rarely getting hits in the UK. S'OK 6/10.

Can't argue with a top 2 of 'The Winner Takes It All' and 'Upside Down' in the first batch, those being the actual Top 2 for a couple weeks too! The former is widely recognised as one of the all-time greats, I'm in awe of how close to home the lyrics must have felt and Agnetha's delivery to pull it off. 'Sleepwalk' would also make my top 10 of 1980 and is probably my favourite Ultravox single of all, there's a real momentum to it with the production swelling a little more in each verse.

From the next batch, Bowie seemed to be setting a marker for the decade early on, and 'Ashes To Ashes' ushered in what was for me his last truly great album era for multiple decades, while 'Bankrobber' is The Clash at their most assured in full-on reggae. 'You Gotta Be A Hustler...' is my favourite new discovery from either batch, a wonderfully quirky one-off.

7 minutes ago, jimwatts said:

'You Gotta Be A Hustler...' is my favourite new discovery from either batch, a wonderfully quirky one-off.

I'm glad that you like Sue single.

No huge classics that everyone knows in this group and a bit of a mixed bag, but some lovely discoveries all the same.

8	Hazel O'Connor	Eighth Day	1st and biggest hit for this UK singer: it's a thrilling powerhouse of a song with a fun "Frankenstein" style lyrical theme
8	Peter Gabriel	Biko	An anti apartheid song about Steve Biko's death: it's a great track that has a suitably African and ritualistic feel to it
7	Gary Numan	I Die, You Die	His 4th straight Top 10: this has a lovely sparkly keyboard riff and the usual futuristic synth feel and slightly robotic vocals
7	Skids	Circus Games	Last Top 40 for the Scottish group: it's a really interesting track and the stompy chorus with the children's choir works well
7	Split Enz	I Got You	Only Top 40 for this long standing band from New Zealand, and a really strong and well performed piece of new wave pop
6	Olivia Newton-John	Magic	Another from the "Xanadu" soundtrack and a US chart topper but less successful here: this has a really endearing melody
6	The Selecter	The Whisper	Their last hit aside from a '90s collaboration: this feels more explicitly reggae than it's predecessors and it's a good tune
5	Randy Crawford	One Day I'll Fly Away	This feels like it's from a Disney film and I can only give it so many points but it is sweet and an excellent vocal performance
5	The Beat	Best Friend/Stand Down Margaret (Dub)	"Best Friend" is really enjoyable and vigorous track; the other side is about the Prime Minister and isn't quite so punchy
4	Cliff Richard	Dreamin'	A step down from the darkly interesting "Carrie" and back to standard easy listening, but it's a perfectly pleasant track
4	Elvis Presley	It's Only Love/Beyond The Reef	"It's Only Love" is a very nice song, albeit it's quite similar to the BJ Thomas original, but "Beyond The Reef" is very plodding
3	Shakin' Stevens	Marie Marie	This very much feels like an Elvis cover but in fact it's a not very exciting original song in the old rock 'n' roll style
3	The Barracudas	Summer Fun	Only hit for this UK rock revival group including a 1960 advert excerpt: it's a jolly but not a very interesting song
2	Shalamar	I Owe You One	Biggest hit yet for them: this is one of those soul disco  tracks that doesn't have much of a hook or really go anywhere
2	Judas Priest	United	This seems like a football team anthem, presumably intentionally, but it doesn't move me and I find it tedious and turgid
1	Ian Dury And The Blockheads	I Want To Be Straight	Ian and his band have had some excellent stuff but I find this one terrible, with silly lyrics and a grating melody

1980 Group 16:

TBC

Eighth Day from Breaking Glass film, Hazel was in it I think, one I liked but never loved 7/10. Biko was quite stark, 6/10. I Die You Die was more to my taste, Gazza still good, 9/10. Circus Games was an under-rated goodie, The Skids were always fun, 8/10. The best record here, though, is my recent BJSC entry. Split Enz' fab I Got You, kicking off a great run of singles, none of which were big hits in the UK. Future Finn brothers Crowded House of course. 10/10.

Magic was under-rated in the UK, Olivia was always a bit random in which of her USA blockbuster hits made it in the UK - mostly I guess because her UK-base for promo had switched the USA and she only got hits when she popped back or had a huge movie out - Magic being more 70's Livvie than Xanadu. it's great though 9/10. The Whisper I dont think I recorded, and havent heard it hardly at all since, but I think I liked it 5/10. One Day I'll Fly Away was a touching jazz-vibed ballad, and it took off pretty quickly, though I dont love it quite as much these days 8/10.

Best Friend is def the best track of the 2, even though the sentiment of Stand Down appealed. 7/10. Dreamin' is Cliff on safe synthpop, catchy and likeable 8/10, Leo Sayer lyrics and Alan Tarney melody/production. It's Only Love was a minor US hit in 1970 that wasn't issued in the UK (or at least not a hit) but it was very early Vegas Presley and was a good one to push out again as sentiment for Elvis was still strong. It's a 6/10 really though I rated it much higher at the time. The other side got zero airplay. I have the 12-inch version of this release.

Talking of Elvis, the man who was playing him on stage is back with a better record than Hot Dog, but still not higher than a 5/10 from me. Summer Fun I rated a lot, I do sometimes like comic in music, and the intro tickled me, the track was upbeat 60's-surf-era-sounding fun 8/10. I Owe You One was Shalamar back for their annual minor hit but I never got hold of a copy so havent heard it that much since. Pleasant disco soul 7/10. United, as per Priest, was indeed turgid and annoying, 3/10. Ian Dury ditto, this lacked the charm of Reasons To Be Cheerful, let alone Hit Me or What A Waste. 2/10.