Plenty of very good stuff here but “Temptation” is a one of a kind song.

9	Heaven 17	Temptation	1st and biggest Top 40 after some misses for this UK act with a soulful, genre bending and utterly electrifying song
8	Tears For Fears	Pale Shelter	A re-recording of an earlier flop giving them their 3rd Top 5 in just a few months, and it's another excellent song
8	Eurythmics	Love Is A Stranger {1983}	Another earlier flop re-released: this has a much gentler feel to it than "Sweet Dreams…" but is also mesmerising
8	Bauhaus	She's In Parties	Shame that most of their singles missed the Top 40: this is their last single and a great menacing piece of goth rock
7	The Human League	(Keep Feeling) Fascination	A 2nd straight #2 hit for them unusually including vocals from 4 of the band, and a delightful catchy upbeat number
7	Men At Work	Overkill	A #1 follow up missing the Top 20, which is a pity as it's a lovely track, suitably about the pressure of sudden fame
6	Fun Boy Three	Our Lips Are Sealed	Another Top 10 hit after which they will suddenly split: this is a Go Gos cover but a strong single to end with for them
6	Toto	Rosanna	A Top 20 follow up to "Africa": it doesn't have any of the sparkle of that but it is a sweet well produced soft rock song
6	Spandau Ballet	True	520th #1: I apprecaite how different in style this is from their earlier hits and it's well performed but not that exciting
5	Thompson Twins	We Are Detective	Their 2nd Top 10 in quick succession with a humorous song, though it doesn't have the quality of "Love On Your Side"
5	Iron Maiden	Flight Of Icarus	Based on the Greek myth, this is a big and bold track in their usual style: not one of their best but I quite like it
4	Galaxy Featuring Phil Fearon	Dancing Tight	1st hit for this group featuring British Jamaican producer Phil Fearon: it's a not bad but forgettable post disco song
4	Sweet Dreams {1983}	I'm Never Giving Up	The UK's Eurovision entry that came 6th and the only hit for this trio: it's quite a nice jolly pop song but not great
3	Chill Fac-Torr	Twist (Round 'N' Round)	Only hit for this US group based on "The Twist" by Chubby Checker: not a terrible reimagination but it goes on a bit
2	Cliff Richard And The London Philharmonic Orchestra	True Love Ways	A cover of the beautiful Buddy Holly song also covered by Peter and Gordon: this version doesn't bring anything
2	The Kids From 'Fame'	Friday Night (Live Version)	Performed by actor Carlo Emparto and the last hit with this credit: it's a good performance but rather grating song

1983 Group 8:

#1046	09/04/1983	Julio Iglesias	Hey!	31	61-44-48-35-{31}-48-50->7
#1047	23/04/1983	The Creatures	Miss The Girl	21	51-37-26-{21}-23-42-70->7
#1048	23/04/1983	Saxon	Power And The Glory	32	66-38-{32}-46-58->5
	23/04/1983	The Beatles	From Me To You {1983}	40	45-{40}-46-74->4
#1049	07/05/1983	Blancmange	Blind Vision	10	28-12-{10}-14-20-35-51-68->8
#1050	30/04/1983	The Beat	Can't Get Used To Losing You	3	50-29-10-5-{3}-5-10-22-28-36-55->11
#1051	16/04/1983	New Edition	Candy Girl	1	70-49-44-30-7-3-{1}-3-5-17-31-39-65->13
#1052	07/05/1983	Pink Floyd	Not Now John	30	33-{30}-32-63->4
#1053	30/04/1983	Daryl Hall And John Oates	Family Man	15	67-35-24-{15}-22-31-50->7
#1054	30/04/1983	Kiss	Creatures Of The Night	34	45-36-{34}-51->4
#1055	07/05/1983	Thin Lizzy	Thunder And Lightning	39	{39}-42->2
#1056	16/04/1983	The Belle Stars	Sweet Memory	22	55-46-43-40-29-{22}-29-52-72->9
#1057	07/05/1983	Modern Romance	Don't Stop That Crazy Rhythm	14	43-26-{14}-21-33-49->6
#1058	07/05/1983	D Train	Music (Part 1)	23	51-32-27-{23}-24-44-67->7
#1059	07/05/1983	Bob Marley And The Wailers	Buffalo Soldier	4	56-33-17-11-6-{4}-7-14-24-31-47-69->12
#1060	07/05/1983	Hot Chocolate	What Kinda Boy You're Looking For (Girl)	10	64-35-13-{10}-12-20-28-38-61->9
#1061	30/04/1983	David Grant	Stop And Go	19	65-41-36-34-27-{19}-26-35-64->9

Yet another strong group.

After New Order, another fantastic Temptation, especially love the gospel inspired vocals.

Tears For Fears and Eurythmics re releasing great songs that deserved better first time around.

Great to see the very underrated Bauhaus getting some success.

One of Human League’s most pop outings and one of my favourite singles of theirs.

Always admired but never loved True.

Our Lips Are Sealed is probably my favourite of this set though, a rare great cover version.

Rosanna may be the Toto song I enjoy most

Utterly Electrifying is a great summary of Temptation, what a genius classic and the contribution of Carol Kenyon cannot be under-estimated either 10/10 and spine-tingling. Love Pale Shelter, and glad it was a hit finally, 9/10. And ditto Love Is A Stranger, incredible record 9/10. Bauhaus and She's In Parties did not move me much at the time nor since, though I havent heard this in 40 years so that might explain the latter. Until I do I'll stick with 4/10.

Human League I went mad on (again) and topped my chart, bought it, joyous and upbeat with everyone getting to contribute to the vocals 10/10. Overkill I always rated, boosted by seeing Men At Work do it in Nottingham around the time 8/10. Our Lips Are Sealed is a Terry Hall co-write so I don't really see it as a cover, just his take on the Go-Go's version (which was good, but not as brilliant as this moodier one). Love it 10/10. Classics galore in this batch.

Rosanna not a patch on Africa nor Hold The Line, always was merely pleasant jazz-rock 7/10. True, so sick of it I can't bear listening to it these days, but I did like it at the time. Set Adrift On Memory Bliss anyday. 4/10. Flight Of Icarus one of Maiden's least-bad singles 4/10. Dancing Tight works better with fit Phil Fearon doing on-stage back-flips but it's a good tune - saw him not flipping the other year and still fond. 8/10.

We Are Detective is quirky, decent enough but it doesnt have long-term appeal 6/10. Sweet Dreams did well for a formulaic pop ditty at Eurovision, but it's 5/10 at best. Chil Fac-Tor I've forgotten, not a radio hit I think and can't rate it until I've done my 1983 re-visit. True Love Ways was quite nice, introduced the tune to the 80's generation, but Buddy is the best, still. 7/10. Kids From Fame: Grating is pretty accurate. 3/10.

The first group of 1983 where I’m not quite moved to give a 9, but happy to give Bob a win nonetheless.

8	Bob Marley And The Wailers	Buffalo Soldier	Surprisingly #4 for this makes it his highest peaking hit and it's not one of my very favourites but again marvellous
8	Blancmange	Blind Vision	Another wonderful song here, though doesn't quite have the majesty of "Waves" or the quirkiness of "Living…"
8	The Creatures	Miss The Girl	Another dark and very strong single from this Siouxsie led group: I love the xylophone and it's short and snappy
7	Thin Lizzy	Thunder And Lightning	Their last Top 40 for a long time: this is quite thrilling and I much prefer it to the other heavy metal tracks here
7	Pink Floyd	Not Now John	Their last hit for more than a decade: an interesting track where Gilmour and Waters play different characters
6	The Belle Stars	Sweet Memory	Their last Top 40 and much less successful than "Sound Of The Times", but a very good slice of slightly jazzy pop
6	Modern Romance	Don't Stop That Crazy Rhythm	Their 7th hit in less than 2 years and one of their more successful ones: the jazzy salsa style comes together well
5	D Train	Music (Part 1)	An 8 minute soul track: all in all it's not a bad track with some interesting disco style production and punchy lines
5	Hot Chocolate	What Kinda Boy You're Looking For (Girl)	The last time they'll make the Top 10 with new material: this is very much their usual style but nicely performed
5	The Beat	Can't Get Used To Losing You	Their last and biggest Top 40 with a decent reggae cover of a song that reached #2 for Andy Williams 20 years ago
4	Kiss	Creatures Of The Night	1st Top 40 for this US band: I enjoy this a little more than the heavy metal track just below but still find it ordinary
4	Daryl Hall And John Oates	Family Man	This is the last time they'll make the Top 20: this is a Mike Oldfield cover and the original has more of a punch to it
3	Saxon	Power And The Glory	Their last Top 40 though they'll be releasing misses for a while: it's rousing but for me this is generic heavy rock
3	David Grant	Stop And Go	1st solo hit for this UK singer who had led Linx: their material was rather more interesting and this passes me by
3	New Edition	Candy Girl	521st #1: only really big hit for this US teen group which seems to be a Jackson 5 imitation and is slightly grating
2	Julio Iglesias	Hey!	Both Spanish and English versions of this mid tempo ballad in his usual style, which as ever is twee and saccharine

1983 Group 9:

#1062	14/05/1983	Wham!	Bad Boys	2	37-12-5-{2}-2-3-5-9-16-24-36-45-54-75->14
#1063	21/05/1983	Yazoo	Nobody's Diary	3	20-8-4-{3}-5-9-20-28-35-57-71->11
#1064	14/05/1983	Forrest	Feel The Need In Me	17	69-28-20-{17}-21-30-45-63->8
#1065	14/05/1983	Al Jarreau	Mornin'	28	58-33-{28}-28-40-53->6
#1066	21/05/1983	Manchester United FC	Glory, Glory, Man United	13	35-{13}-13-25-49->5
#1067	07/05/1983	Rush	Countdown/New World Man	36	48-50-{36}-38-50->5
#1068	07/05/1983	Robert Wyatt	Shipbuilding	35	74-45-37-{35}-42-47->6
#1069	21/05/1983	JoBoxers	Just Got Lucky	7	38-16-{7}-7-12-22-34-50-74->9
#1070	28/05/1983	The Police	Every Breath You Take	1	7-{1}-1-1-1-2-9-20-28-40-58->11
#1071	28/05/1983	The Style Council	Money Go Round (Part One)	11	12-{11}-13-26-47-74-74R(7)->7
#1072	28/05/1983	Booker Newberry III	Love Town	6	19-8-{6}-8-13-25-35-52->8
#1073	21/05/1983	George Benson	Lady Love Me (One More Time)	11	57-25-15-{11}-11-11-19-25-37-61->10
#1074	21/05/1983	Flash And The Pan	Waiting For A Train	7	48-33-21-12-10-{7}-11-18-25-37-54->11
#1075	28/05/1983	Big Country	In A Big Country	17	34-18-{17}-21-26-37-57->7
#1076	14/05/1983	Mtume	Juicy Fruit	34	59-44-40-{34}-36-38-40-54-71->9

I think D Train - Music is very good, its electronic and has almost got an early house music vibe. 8 minutes is a bit long though!

Blind Vision by Blancmange iss a bit of an epic new wave/dance tune with female vocal like Heaven 17 - Temptation.

Edited Monday at 23:244 days by TheSnake

Buffalo Soldier is a surprise from-the-vaults goodie, but not quite up there with Bob's best of the 70's 8/10. Blind Vision is a frantic synth track I under-rated at the time, considering how much I rated Waves and Ceiling 9/10. Miss The Girl was a quirky side project for Siouxsie, always liked it 8/10. Thunder And Lightning is one I've forgotten even existed, so I assume it would get my average Lizzy rating of about 6/10.

Not Now John, nice to have John in a song title again, they were all over the place in the 50's and 60's until Alexei Sayle kills it dead in 1984. Quite liked the Floyd song but never loved it 6/10. Sweet Memory quite ordinary really after Sign Of The Times 6/10. Modern Romance another I've forgotten 5/10. D Train underlining that I've never really revisited 1983 again, so many tracks I didnt buy that remain half-forgotten, but I think I Liked Music 6/10.

Hot Chocolate is however one of the catchy pop hits of the era, What Kind Of Boy a decent 8/10, The Beat's album track from 2 years earlier was never released as a single, annoyingly, as I loved it - the original Andy song and their ska cover. It had a bit of radio coverage which helped it belatedly drop when the hits had started to dry up. One of their best 9/10.

Kiss, no idea, no memory, no interest. I agree the original Family Man was a bit better than Hall & Oates', but that hadnt been a hit and this was, so it all worked out and it's not as if Daryl Hall needed to do a cover or anything at that time. 8/10. Saxon had lost the edge by this time, and another I dont recall. David Grant by and large was better in Linx, sadly, but Stop And Go was OK 6/10. Candy Girl was very much a Jackson 5 pastiche, but the kiddies singing would go on to have solo success, especially Bobby Brown, and the nostalgia was strong for 1970-71 for me. Too many plays and it gets annoying though 7/10.

Hey! I have no memory of, but expect it would sound about a 4/10. If a group of friends meet up with a low-key "Hey" each:

Hey!

Hey!

Hey?

Hey.

Hey!!

Hey....

Hey

I know it must be Spring and they have come down with Hey Fever.

Delighted to see 'Blue Monday' receiving a 10 as it's a contender for my favourite song of the '80s. I can understand why people might tire of the plaudits and exposure it gets when New Order have other great material too, but it's worthy of its beloved status for me. That TOTP performance was admittedly not their finest moment though...

I think I first discovered 'Let's Dance' through Craig David interpolating it in 2007 *_* a classic Bowie track even if not one of my absolute favourites of his. How impressive that he was reaching new commercial highs into the '80s though.

I've trawled the archives a decent amount over the years but these SyncTube sessions are still throwing up amazing discoveries nevertheless, with 'Last Film' a prime example. Utterly captivating storytelling, vocals, heavy synths and percussion. I'd find it difficult to choose between that and 'Beat It' as the latter has been embedded into my life for so much longer. What a classic, still impacting the charts to this day. MJ had some great rocky tracks up his sleeve with the likes of this, 'Dirty Diana' and 'Give Into Me'. The fluid choreography in the music video is some of his finest too and with the deeper layer of uniting feuding gang members, as touched upon by your commentary of the song itself.

'Temptation' is a riot, love the contrast between the male and female vocals. A Clockwork Orange is one of my favourite movies so I'll always have a soft spot for Heaven 17's band name too. There is some other fabulous stuff in that batch, with Tears for Fears, Bauhaus and Human League particularly standing out. My gothic heart immediately needed to delve into Bauhaus after discovering 'Bela Lugosi's Dead' during lockdown and I wasn't disappointed. I slightly regret not sending them to the retro 'One Hit Wonder' contest, as they were my back-up choice under the 'only had one top 20 hit' option, but I wanted to stay as true to the concept of a 'One Hit Wonder' as possible. Shame they didn't have more top 40 hits indeed!

Rollo's ranking thread definitely made me realise that 'Candy Girl' is the weakest #1 of 1983, from an overall great bunch.

Temptation is great it is based on the Northern Soul fast beat but that and the female vocal make it sound a bit like a precursor to late 80s dance like Yazz.

Love Is A Stranger is very good, quite dark though!

“Every Breath You Take” is a song I’d rush to listen to as it still feels so overexposed and indeed is currently in the 2026 year to date chart. But I do think it’s such a brilliant example of what it does it has to top this group. Behind it are a couple of wonderful discoveries, especially “Waiting For A Train” which has been in my head all day.

9	The Police	Every Breath You Take	522nd #1: one of the most played songs in radio history and a brilliant riff introducing a sinister stalker anthem
9	Flash And The Pan	Waiting For A Train	Only Top 40 for this Australian group and it's glorious: I love the chugging rhythm and spoken verses and synths
8	Robert Wyatt	Shipbuilding	His 2nd and last Top 40 written by Elvis Costello: the song has great storytelling and it's a beautiful version of it
8	Yazoo	Nobody's Diary	The last in their trilogy of great Top 3 hits with the usual synth work and a gorgeous heartfelt but restrained vocal
7	Rush	Countdown/New World Man	"Countdown" is a really exciting track about the Columbia space shuttle launch; the other side isn't quite so good
7	Big Country	In A Big Country	Another song in their Celtic rock style: this has a unique sound and a warm and hearty feel to it that's enjoyable
6	Wham!	Bad Boys	Their biggest and most accomplished hit so far: is fun and exuberant from the point of view of a rebellious teenager
6	The Style Council	Money Go Round (Part One)	Not the most catchy but a funky track: I enjoy the almost rapped lines and the jazzy instrumental contributions
5	JoBoxers	Just Got Lucky	Their 2nd hit and another big one: again it's catchy and has a carefree charm about it without being exceptional
4	Booker Newberry III	Love Town	As is often the case a lot of these soul and funk songs come low for me but this one is not bad: his only Top 40
4	George Benson	Lady Love Me (One More Time)	The multiple key changes might be the most interesting feature here: it's a fairly pleasant and smooth soul track
3	Forrest	Feel The Need In Me	His 2nd and last Top 40 and they've both been covers: this is more uptempo than the original but doesn't match it
3	Mtume	Juicy Fruit	Only Top 40 for this US soul group: I gather this track about oral sex was influential but I don't get much from it
2	Al Jarreau	Mornin'	1sr Top 40 for this US R&B singer: it's not unpleasant but very saccharine and has no real interesting features
2	Manchester United FC	Glory, Glory, Man United	A version of the age old terrace chant giving the club their 1st of a few Top 40 hits: it's bearable as these things go

1983 Group 10:

#1077	28/05/1983	David Joseph	Let's Live It Up (Nite People)	26	44-{26}-28-39-50->5
#1078	30/04/1983	Elton John	I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues	5	74-49-47-41-41-27-18-9-6-{5}-10-15-26-39-56->15
#1079	28/05/1983	Altered Images	Bring Me Closer	29	45-{29}-31-33-42-60->6
#1080	04/06/1983	Irene Cara	Flashdance... What A Feeling	2	30-9-4-4-3-{2}-5-8-13-17-25-34-48-71->14
#1081	04/06/1983	Ultravox	We Came To Dance	18	32-24-{18}-20-30-46-69->7
#1082	28/05/1983	Agnetha Faltskog	The Heat Is On	35	47-{35}-37-36-43-53->6
#1083	28/05/1983	Twisted Sister	The Kids Are Back	32	58-36-{32}-37-52-68->6
#1084	04/06/1983	Rod Stewart	Baby Jane	1	37-19-6-2-{1}-1-1-3-9-19-27-40-57-73->14
#1085	04/06/1983	Kajagoogoo	Hang On Now	13	39-15-{13}-18-27-39-71->7
#1086	21/05/1983	H2O	Dream To Sleep	17	68-46-40-27-19-{17}-18-22-31-59->10
#1087	11/06/1983	David Bowie	China Girl	2	8-{2}-3-6-17-27-49-64->8
#1088	11/06/1983	Imposter	Pills And Soap	16	29-{16}-27-46->4
#1089	04/06/1983	Shakatak	Dark Is The Night	15	51-30-{15}-15-21-27-40-75->8
#1090	11/06/1983	Shalamar	Dead Giveaway	8	33-20-12-{8}-8-11-22-32-44-70->10
#1091	04/06/1983	Imagination	Looking At Midnight	29	43-34-32-{29}-32-48-73->7
#1092	11/06/1983	Michael Jackson	Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'	8	38-14-{8}-13-21-28-50-53-70->9

'Every Breath You Take' is depressing especially when you know the true meaning of the song. A really important song to be made to highlight the problem of stalking but yeah the song's been a bit overplayed on the radio. I really like that Forrest - Feel The Need In Me cover it sounds like a late 80s dance track. Big Country are very good and unique sounding. Booker Newberry III the first and only artist to chart with a Roman Numeral title?! Wham! continuing on their Brit-funk journey and 'Waiting For A Train' very Dire Straits influenced with the spoken word vocal. Money Go Round (Part One) a good political song.

Edited Thursday at 22:271 day by TheSnake

Every Breath You Take is a classic, albeit overplayed and badly re-written in the 90s by he who shall remain unmentionable, stalker-y male obsession being a first for a lyric of a pop record pretty much 10/10. Flash & The Pan should have had a hit in the 70's with Down Among The Dead Men, a forgotten gem by the duo from 60's Aussie hitmakers The Easybeats (Friday On My Mind) so Waiting For A Train was much-deserved very-80's hit 9/10.

Shipbuilding an affecting Falklands War commentary, nice to see Robert Wyatt still grabbing a hit too in his 40-odd year career, a pioneer example for those dependant on wheelchairs following his early 70's accident 9/10. Nobody's Diary written by Alison Moyet, and almost as good as Vince's hits at that time so not that surprising they would morph into two succesful acts for the next decade or 2. 8/10. Countdown I have no memory of, unlike the actual space shuttle - I was glued to the TV recording it all on my betamax video recorder.

In A Big Country is their best record, I reckon, and as rousing as The Skids run of hits 9/10. Bad Boys is great fun, though it was more of the same formula - or the final of the trio of laddy pop, depending on how you view it 8/10. Money Go Round a bit of a disappointment amongst their other 1983 gems, but it was OK 6/10. Just Got Lucky an upbeat Northern Soul-ish pop goodie 8/10.

Love Town was a club biggie and pretty decent 7/10, Lady Love Me at this stage sounding like identikit George Benson 3 years into his formula pleasant jazz-flavoured funk and if it sounds like Toto could have recorded it thatll be cos two of 'em wrote it rather than the whizz Rod Temperton. 6/10. No cover of Feel The Need In Me is as great as the original Detroit Emeralds, and that includes their own 1977 hit re-recording, Forrest's was very 80's 6/10.

Juicy Fruit a low-key sultry soul outlier, I quite like it 6/10. I had no idea it was naughty, I just had images of tropical fruit...! Mornin' I don't recall at all, but Al jarreau was always laid-back smooth jazz. Mercifully I have erased the Man U hit out of existence. much as I found I have REM's Drive in the music round of a pub quiz last night. Those brain cells have long gone.

Some really great songs in this section.

Every Breath You Take, despite its overexposure, is still such an unusual song with its dark theme smuggled in behind a fantastic pop rock ballad and that iconic melody.

I too love Waiting For A Train especially the rhythm, very clever song.

Shipbuilding is gorgeous with very emotive anti war sentiments, I think at the time even Elvis Costello admitted that the Robert Wyatt version was the definitive one.

Nobody’s Diary is another wonderful Yazoo single, I love all those early singles and, thanks to your thread, I finally got round to buying their 2 albums on vinyl!

In A Big Country is great euphoric rock, right up with the Skid’s best

Bad Boys is a great example of early Wham! energetic pop and social commentary, another example of George’s versatility.

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Edited 6 hours ago6 hr by TheSnake