All Japan’s hits are great but they really perfected their style with this one.

9	Japan	Ghosts	Only the 3rd single from "Tin Drum" but their biggest and likely best hit; a wonderfully minimalist, personal and arresting track
8	Classix Nouveaux	Is It A Dream	This UK band had 7 Top 75s but only this Top 40 which reached a frustrating #11: a powerful piece of music with tortured lyrics
8	Visage	Damned Don't Cry	Named after a 1950 film, this is another beautifully artistic piece of synth pop from them: my favourite after "Fade To Grey"
8	Dollar	Give Me Back My Heart	Another big hit for them: this is really emotionally strong and the Trevor Horn production gives the track a powerful intensity
7	Pluto	Your Honour	Last appearance for this Jamaican reggae singer: this took a few listens to hit but I think it's an excellent song with great lyrics
7	Chas And Dave	Ain't No Pleasing You	By far their biggest hit and one of their more serious ones but still with the Mockney style: a lovely, sincere and charming track
6	Bucks Fizz	My Camera Never Lies	498th #1: it's another well written quite complex song from them that's catchy, endearing and stays just the right side of naff
6	Bill Wyman	A New Fashion	His 2nd and final solo hit: like the other this has a rather deadpan feel to it which I enjoy, and it's a rather catchy little number
5	Barbra Streisand	Memory	She does a dramatic performance here, but we didn't need another hit version so soon after Elaine's and it doesn't eclipse that
5	Derek And The Dominos/Eric Clapton	Layla/Wonderful Tonight (Live Version)	It's a classic love song certainly and I feel the need to give some credit for that, but this live version is rather slow and plodding
4	Leo Sayer	Have You Ever Been In Love	This is his last Top 10 hit this century: it's not bad and he gives it plenty of welly, but it's a rather syrupy and overblown song
3	Status Quo	Dear John	They've had a few pleasantly surprising singles lately but this one is back to their usual cheery sound that doesn't do a lot for me
3	Kool And The Gang	Take My Heart (You Can Have It If You Want It)	They have a few big classics but I find their lesser known songs not very distinctive or memorable: this one just passes me by
2	The Nolans	Don't Love Me Too Hard	Their last Top 40: unfortunately I feel that after a strong debut they became stuck with this one style without much development
2	Foster And Allen	A Bunch Of Thyme	1st hit for this Irish duo that topped their home chart: it's a traditional folk style ballad that sounds rather out of place in 1982

1982 Group 6:

#709	27/03/1982	Altered Images	See Those Eyes	11	41-17-17-{11}-19-27-58->7
#710	03/04/1982	Roxy Music	More Than This	6	18-{6}-6-7-14-28-58-72->8
#711	20/03/1982	The Boomtown Rats	House On Fire	24	66-44-30-{24}-26-29-42-71->8
#712	27/03/1982	Elton John	Blue Eyes	8	60-31-23-17-{8}-10-19-28-38-70->10
#713	03/04/1982	Motorhead	Iron Fist	29	33-{29}-30-38-68->5
#714	27/03/1982	Shalamar	I Can Make You Feel Good	7	57-35-27-20-10-{7}-9-16-25-44-65->11
#715	03/04/1982	Shakatak	Night Birds	9	37-16-15-{9}-15-24-32-67->8
#716	10/04/1982	Paul McCartney With Stevie Wonder	Ebony And Ivory	1	19-3-{1}-1-1-2-9-25-40-62->10
#717	03/04/1982	Pigbag	Papa's Got A Brand New Pigbag	3	50-30-9-{3}-3-7-17-27-40-53-70->11
#718	10/04/1982	Haircut One Hundred	Fantastic Day	9	32-19-12-{9}-10-14-23-51-59->9
#719	03/04/1982	Rainbow	Stone Cold	34	42-{34}-37-44->4
#720	10/04/1982	England World Cup Squad	This Time (We'll Get It Right)	2	35-25-11-4-{2}-8-15-26-37-43-70-64-57->13
#721	10/04/1982	Bananarama With Fun Boy Three	Really Saying Something	5	37-24-17-{5}-5-6-12-23-39-51->10
#722	03/04/1982	Monsoon	Ever So Lonely	12	57-39-28-18-16-{12}-20-29-38->9

Strong top 3. 'Ghosts' is a very unusual top 5 hit, very good storytelling in it too.

I interpret 'Is It A Dream' as a synth dance anthem with the production and bassline but yes it is a bit dark and atmospheric and powerful too at the same time when it builds up. That and the melancholy sounding Visage track with the almost trance-like production both peaking at #11 - two of the best #11 peaking hits ever definitely for me.

I am more used to 90's chart reggae but 'Your Honour' is good storytelling.

And for Derek/Eric, Layla is way better than 'Wonderful Tonight' but the latter was obviously a big inspiration for Ed Sheeran's song 'Perfect'.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

For the week earlier the top 2 are great, Poison Arrow would be my favorite, ABC's best single imo too and I would say one of the early anthems of what would become the 80s sophistipop sound.

Not much of a fan of the Bow Wow track, it is interesting and memorable though, it would almost certainly influence Haysi Fantayzee too!

Edited December 31, 2025Dec 31 by TheSnake

Pleased 'Ghosts' came out on top for you as it's the case for me too! It's remarkable that something so left-field was their biggest hit, although anything is possible, with some of the other oddities we've encountered in these '80s chart so far. Love the haunting, dissonant synths and the rather heartbreaking rug pull conveyed in the chorus.

That Visage song would be my next favourite... more sad synth goodness. Agreed that it's their best since the incomparable all-timer that is 'Fade to Grey', fingers crossed that does well in the #8s rate. Classix Nouveaux would be on my podium as well, so same three songs slightly shuffled!

Something a bit more serious from Chas and Dave now following 'Stars Over 45' as mentioned on SyncTube it reminds me so much of '(Just Like) Starting Over'!

Ghosts is far and away Japan's best track under that name, though Sylvian-Sakamoto came close 9/10 and haunting, so to speak. Is It A Dream is a goodie, and their best track too, 8/10. Sal Solo had a bigger hit, though, with San Damiano as he moved more into Christian-based music. Oddly, Damned Don't Cry never gets played. never! It's a Visage goodie, 8/10. Dollar still getting the Horn magic touch, 8/10 even on a ballad.

Your Honour is fun, and more re-listenable than his big 70's reggae hit Dat. 7/10. Ain't No Pleasing You is one of the few Chas & Dave tracks I actively enjoy listening to, a lush proper ballad, 8/10. My Camera never Lies is pop perfection, a justifiable chart-topper and 10/10, the song construction is not so typical for an ABBA-styled group and take over the mantle from the Masters from this point on, bar The Day Before You Came.

A New fashion is OK, Bill worth a 6/10, and I agree about Elaine Page's better version of Memory, though Babs can be great when she moves out of her comfort zone. This one is firmly comfortable 6/10. Layla was the chart-topping (for me) 10/10 this time round, and the other side was pretty ropey, a song I'd never rated in the original version 3/10.

Have You Ever Been In Love a bit dull, I;m afraid 4/10, Leo will be back with a fab ballad before too long. Dear John should in theory get my approval, but Quo by the numbers was becoming more and more the norm of late 6/10. Ditto Kool & The Gang, not unpleasant but nothing new 6/10. The Nolans, I enjoyed Don't Love Me Too Hard 7/10, but that was about that for them I think. Foster & Allen championed by Terry Wogan, all very pleasant Celtic folky but they never meant a lot to me, 3/10.

A very contrasting Top 3 here that I found hard to order. A lot of Roxy Music’s hits aren’t anything special but I think this one really nails its style.

8	Roxy Music	More Than This	The lead single from their final album as their chart fortunes start to fade, but this is a fabulous piece of melancholy synth pop
8	Monsoon	Ever So Lonely	Only Top 40 for this British Indian trio after a re-release: a wonderful East and West track with great instrumentation and vocals
8	Pigbag	Papa's Got A Brand New Pigbag	1st Top 40 for this instrumental post punk band: the brass melody and bassline are iconic and it's inspired many other tracks
7	Bananarama With Fun Boy Three	Really Saying Something	Originally a 1964 Motown song, turned into a second successful and enjoyable new wave collaboration from these two acts
7	Shalamar	I Can Make You Feel Good	They've been around for a while but their biggest hits are all this year: this is a very strong and well remembered funk song
7	Elton John	Blue Eyes	His first big hit of the decade: it's a slow ballad but a lovely tender one and there aren't many lyrics but they're quite powerful
6	Altered Images	See Those Eyes	Another really pretty track from them in the usual style: I think it isn't particularly memorable but I enjoy it while it's playing
6	Shakatak	Night Birds	This is rather understated but I do enjoy it: the sung chorus has an effortless timeless feel to it and it's a very nice jazz track
5	The Boomtown Rats	House On Fire	Last Top 40 from them: it's an interesting quirky and bubbly reggae track, but lacks anything to make it really memorable
5	Haircut One Hundred	Fantastic Day	3rd Top 10 for them: this does have a certain charm to it and a nice chorus well sung, but the song doesn't really develop
4	Rainbow	Stone Cold	Their last Top 40: this is rather a re-tread of their usual sound; it's not bad but doesn't quite hit the spot and feels slightly stale
4	Motorhead	Iron Fist	Their last new Top 40 though they'll have more Top 75s: this has the usual frenetic energy but is a bit shouty and passes me by
3	England World Cup Squad	This Time (We'll Get It Right)	Almost matching their chart topping 1970 effort, I find this relatively decent for a football song, or at least not too obnoxious
2	Paul McCartney With Stevie Wonder	Ebony And Ivory	499th #1: the lyrical theme is rather tokenistic and the song is turgid and  plodding; rather a wasted star power collaboration

1982 Group 7:

#723	10/04/1982	Bardo	One Step Further	2	43-16-6-{2}-6-21-33-61->8
#724	10/04/1982	David Bowie	Cat People (Putting Out Fire)	26	45-32-{26}-28-29-37->6
#725	10/04/1982	The J. Geils Band	Freeze-Frame	27	41-34-{27}-29-33-34-74->7
#726	10/04/1982	Simple Minds	Promised You A Miracle	13	59-40-28-19-15-{13}-18-22-30-40-75->11
#727	24/04/1982	Shakin' Stevens	Shirley	6	22-{6}-11-23-36-64->
#728	17/04/1982	Kim Wilde	View From A Bridge	16	44-30-18-{16}-25-32-66->7
#729	10/04/1982	Spandau Ballet	Instinction	10	63-42-31-22-17-{10}-16-18-23-26-72->11
#730	03/04/1982	PhD	I Won't Let You Down	3	74-48-48-34-13-{3}-3-3-7-9-15-34-47-61->14
#731	17/04/1982	Hot Chocolate	Girl Crazy	7	73-35-26-18-9-{7}-11-13-19-40-55->11
#732	10/04/1982	Daryl Hall And John Oates	Private Eyes	32	68-47-36-{32}-37-54-71->7
#733	24/04/1982	Joan Jett And The Blackhearts	I Love Rock 'N' Roll	4	39-17-{4}-4-4-10-16-33-58-69->10
#734	01/05/1982	Scotland World Cup Squad	We Have A Dream	5	24-13-{5}-6-13-18-36-45-53->9
#735	17/04/1982	Yazoo	Only You	2	72-48-31-14-7-{2}-3-4-8-13-21-37-53-70->14
#736	01/05/1982	Queen	Body Language	25	33-{25}-31-41-62-69->6
#737	17/04/1982	Rocky Sharpe And The Replays	Shout Shout (Knock Yourself Out)	19	63-41-34-21-22-{19}-20-26-31->9

'Golden Brown', 'Say Hello, Wave Goodbye' and 'More Than This' are superb top pick choices. Admittedly I don't think I know much of Japans music enough so will check that out!

More Than This was all very easy-listening pleasant, but my heart is with challenging Roxy 8/10, Ever So Lonely I loved, 10/10, the vibes took me back to being 12 years old in the Far East, only much more of a banger with a tune. Pigbag was a a great instrumental, in ya face, at a time when instrumentals could still make the charts. Not any more! 8/10. Really Saying Something is fun, but not up to the first collab 7/10. Shalamar were huge in the UK, the US not so much, and this was the start of their purple patch 9/10.

Elton goes all Frank Sinatra to good effect, and giving a taste of Future Elton following the voice operation 9/10. See Those Eyes, fun Altered Images, but better was to come 7/10. Shakatak sounded effortlessly classy low-key jazz-funk, Night Birds was amongst their best moments 8/10. House On Fire was good Rats 8/10, sadly they couldnt shift any albums or singles after this, not even after Band Aid, which means good stuff like Dave remains obscure.

Fantastic Day was more jangly guitar pop with catchy hooks, but not as good as previous 8/10, Rainbow without Graham "The Marbles" Bonnet on lead were never very interesting or inspiring, Stone Cold being example number one 5/10. Motorhead too had peaked by 1982, the riffs and songs not quite as good 4/10. This Time, the more you heard it the more annoying it got 4/10. Ebony And Ivory plus points: well-intentioned; 2 music legends; they both deserved a solo number one by 1982 and hadn't had one. So there was a lot of good-will towards the song. Pity it's fairly mundane though 6/10.

'See Those Eyes' is my favourite of that lot, I prefer it to the earlier Altered Images songs.

'Night Birds' is very good, nice to have a dancefloor piano-based track in the charts several years before the advent of piano house music.

'Ever So Lonely' is influential, for example, Jakatta in the early 00s sampled it.

'Pigbag' is fun and very dance sounding, the beat didn't need to be changed much for the Perfecto Allstarz version in 1995.

'Fantastic Day' is quite good but I prefer 'Love Plus One'. They went quite indie sounding after their funky debut.

'More Than This' is quite a nice track, reminds me of a more toned down and not as good version of ABC - All This Love.

Edited Sunday at 20:575 days by TheSnake

I appreciate Bryan Ferry's place in pop culture history (so many New Romantics era artists cite him and Bowie as influences) but haven't really managed to get into Roxy Music much either. However, I concur that 'More Than This' is one of their better songs. I think 'Ever So Lonely' would top this group for me though I knew it first in Jakatta form and then my mind was blown to discover the original, which really stands out as a hit single. There are a few songs here that I knew first in other versions actually, with the.... not so great Kavana and Buffalo G iterations of 'I Can Make You Feel Good' and 'Really Saying Something', respectively

I couldn't put a name to 'Papa's Got A Brand New Pigbag' for a while but knew the melody as my dad and brother are diehard Queen's Park Rangers supporters. I remember Alex Gaudino sampling it on 'Watch Out' growing up but I didn't know the Perfecto Allstarz version until the '90s TOTP repeats. A timeless riff in whatever form.

A friend and her sister sang “Only You” to each other at the friend’s post wedding karaoke a few years ago, and it was very touching. I decided at that point it’s one of the best songs of its kind ever written - the melody and lyrics are just so perfect. I know it’s evolved a long way beyond its original synth-pop version but this is still definitive for me.

And second place goes to one of the all time great covers - it’s been overused and further covered less well but it’s still brilliant.

10	Yazoo	Only You	1st hit for this UK duo: an incredibly heartfelt and lyrically beautiful song with a gently bubbling synth-pop accompaniment
9	Joan Jett And The Blackhearts	I Love Rock 'N' Roll	Only Top 40 for this US band though they'll have some more Top 75s: a fantastically executed powerful cover of a 1975 song
8	David Bowie	Cat People (Putting Out Fire)	Written for an erotic horror film, a very interesting Moroder produced track: I love the extended outro with backing vocals
8	PhD	I Won't Let You Down	Only hit for this Jim Diamond led UK duo: a great track and I find it very emotionally powerful with the striking riff and vocal
7	Simple Minds	Promised You A Miracle	They've had 4 Top 75s that missed and this is the Scottish duo's 1st Top 40: a strong track, especially the bouncy instrumental
7	Daryl Hall And John Oates	Private Eyes	A US #1: their usual bright and breezy style but with some slightly darker lyrics, and very enjoyable with an infectious chorus
6	Kim Wilde	View From A Bridge	Her 5th straight Top 20 with a dark song about suicide: not quite as musically interesting as its predecessors but still good
6	Spandau Ballet	Instinction	They'd had some underperforming singles and went down a more poppy route here: a very solid track but not hugely exciting
5	The J. Geils Band	Freeze-Frame	Their 2nd and last Top 40: a very similar bubbly style to "Centerfold" and quite enjoyable but nowhere near as distinctive
4	Scotland World Cup Squad	We Have A Dream	2nd and last hit for them: this feels more imaginative than the typical football song and is fairly intriguing as a novelty listen
4	Queen	Body Language	There are interesting vocal and instrumental effects in this, but overall it's quite disjointed and one of their weaker hits
3	Bardo	One Step Further	The UK Eurovision entry which finished 7th and a #2 hit: it's a catchy tune but it doesn't really do much for me beyond that
3	Hot Chocolate	Girl Crazy	Slightly frivolous and grating lyrics and it all has something of a Village People feel to it: very much not a highlight of theirs
2	Rocky Sharpe And The Replays	Shout Shout (Knock Yourself Out)	Last Top 40 for them with a 1962 rock and roll song: it's repetitive in the first place and this doesn't bring anything new
2	Shakin' Stevens	Shirley	A cover of a late 1950s rock and roll song from Shaky this time, done in his usual slightly smug and not very endearing way

1982 Group 8:

#738	17/04/1982	Barry Manilow	Stay	23	70-42-35-{23}-27-37-49-66->8
#739	24/04/1982	Stutz Bearcats And The Denis King Orchestra	The Song That I Sing (Theme From 'We'll Meet Again')	36	55-{36}-36-42-53-67->6
#740	24/04/1982	Patrice Rushen	Forget Me Nots	8	72-37-27-11-10-{8}-11-12-22-48-68->11
#741	17/04/1982	Sharon Brown	I Specialize In Love	38	60-45-{38}-40-39-43-46-67-65->
#742	08/05/1982	Nicole	A Little Peace	1	8-{1}-1-4-10-16-41-50-74->9
#743	01/05/1982	Tottenham Hotspur F.A. Cup Final Squad	Tottenham Tottenham	19	43-30-{19}-24-27-32-60->7
#744	24/04/1982	Junior	Mama Used To Say	7	67-41-31-18-14-9-{7}-7-12-17-36-51-72->13
#745	01/05/1982	Tight Fit	Fantasy Island	5	56-32-15-11-{5}-6-5-8-15-27-34-58->12
#746	08/05/1982	Depeche Mode	The Meaning Of Love	12	34-{12}-17-15-17-21-46-72->8
#747	08/05/1982	Associates	Club Country	13	35-30-22-17-14-{13}-16-29-39-75->10
#748	08/05/1982	Blondie	Island Of Lost Souls	11	39-24-21-14-12-{11}-20-30-62->9
#749	15/05/1982	ABC	The Look Of Love	4	26-13-6-5-{4}-4-6-18-23-44-64-71R(25)->12
#750	15/05/1982	Iron Maiden	The Number Of The Beast	18	33-26-19-20-{18}-26-49-58->8
#751	15/05/1982	Duran Duran	Hungry Like The Wolf	5	35-20-12-8-6-6-{5}-8-16-27-43-68->12
#752	24/04/1982	Candi Staton	Suspicious Minds	31	75-44-42-38-35-{31}-35-39-62->9

Yazoo's Only You was a great chart-topping (for me) debut, take the catchy bits of early Depeche and get a great singer in to give the songs a bit more emotion and depth. Only You outdid the earlier then-more-famous Only You song from The Platters and many more. The Flying Pickets pushed it into overdose for quite a long while, but there's no denying it's a great record 9/10. I Love Rock n Roll is rifftastic and it was great seeing Arrows have some sort of legacy and songwriting royalties thanks to Joan. Arrows were UK-based Americans and Glam Rock, and Joan was influenced by US Suzi Quatro, also RAK Records Chinn-Chapman Glam Rocker, so I always felt America was a decade late to the party having missed out on all the great stuff, but this one's a goodie 8/10.

Cat People Moroder hit version is a hard-to-get track (I still dont have it) and thus havent heard it in decades, but for me it was a solid 8/10. The Let's Dance Chictastic album cover of it wasnt quite as interesting, but that's the one more likely to be heard. PhD was another chart-topper for me, great song, Jim Diamond's finest moment by some distance, and it didn't really sound like anything else around, so that was a plus 9/10. Promised You A Miracle broke Simple Minds into the charts at last, and a strong early song from Jim Kerr 8/10.

Private Eyes, not that big a UK hit, as was usually the case with Hall & Oates, but the USA was much more appreciative of the soul-flavoured, polished pop, as was I 9/10. View From A Bridge, not quite as inspiring as earlier hits, but still quality stuff from Kim, Ricky & Marty 8/10. Instinction was an improvement on recent singles, thanks to the production, but the underlying song was as meh as usual, raised up as per by Tony Hadley. 6/10. Freeze-Frame was fun, but not as iconic as Centrefold, 8/10.

We Have A Dream was more interesting, as you say, though that's a low bar for football songs! 4/10. Body Language may well be the worst Queen single, it was a mess and Freddie def barking up the wrong tree around this time. 5/10. One Step Further, Eurovision template for the UK still intact (for the final time) but never a fave either though it's jolly enough 6/10. Girl Crazy was a bit of a comeback hit for Hot Choc, they'd had a minor hit with a dark Ricky Wilde/Marty Wilde song (all being on RAK Records) in 1981 but this got them back proper with a singalong fun track, it's good but not one that gets much play compared to much of their massive back catalogue of hits 8/10.

Shout Shout is 50's silliness, and it got on my nerves a bit at the time as did most 50's/60's rockabilly covers after a few weeks of radio play, but I'm much more predisposed to enjoy it these days, it's fun! 7/10. Shirley OTOH, was everything I still find annoying about 50's covers, and to be honest the song isn't that great anyway. 3/10. Shaky could do better!

I considerably prefer Bardo One Step Further to Bucks Fizz Making Your Mind Up. Promised You A Miracle is one of Simple Minds best and indeed it is built around a bouncy riff.

Private Eyes another creepy lyrics song like the Police's Every Breath You Take but its not as depressing musically or overplayed on radio as much as the Police song.

That's a lovely anecdote about 'Only You' and I'm pleased it's made your elusive club of 10s! I probably knew the Flying Pickets version first, as I was glued to the music channels as a kid and watched many 'Christmas #1' countdowns, but Yazoo have the definitive version for me too, even if I appreciate that an a capella chart-topper was quite unique. What a synth-pop classic, with production right up my street, plus a standout vocal performance and touching lyrics indeed. 'Situation' was the B-side so a killer double act.

I first knew 'I Won't Let You Down' via being heavily sampled in Armand Van Helden's 'Wings' about 10 years ago, a decidedly different vibe, but I appreciate the more mellow original now I'm used to it. I wish that had been Jim Diamond's #1 instead of his rather whiny solo one.

'I Love Rock 'N' Roll' feels terribly represented by cover versions, with that misguided Britney one and LadBaby turning it into a sausage fest, but at least the classic original is still popular.

21 hours ago, TheSnake said:

I considerably prefer Bardo One Step Further to Bucks Fizz Making Your Mind Up.

Although Bucks Fizz were my fave band in the 80s, and I do have a love for a bit of Mind Up, Bardo's One Step Further is brilliant and I still listen to it now. I also love the performance they did for it.

Deserved to do better than it did at Eurovision, but glad it was a decent sized hit.

"One Step Further" was 3rd in my ESC 1982 ranking.

For UK of that period (after wins in 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981) it was possibly a flop 🙂

Loved Nicole's Euro winner A Little Peace and bought it.

Green Door is my favourite Shaky track by far.