25 minutes ago, Julian_ said:

This thread started at the very beginning and will hopefully make it to 1979 eventually, but I ran out of steam in 1972! 😔

Wow thanks! I’ve now got some reading to do to catch up with you, though I’m not surprised you ran out of steam for a bit, that’s a huge undertaking!

1979 is a key year, I think it should be challenging any year for top of the pops. the lowpoints will be 75/76 (bar some notables like ABBA and Queen, 10cc, Sparks. KC etc) but it picks up after that....🙂

11 hours ago, Julian_ said:

This thread started at the very beginning and will hopefully make it to 1979 eventually, but I ran out of steam in 1972! 😔

Not much of a glam rock fan?

I can see why the hits at the end of the year are often slightly worse than average but not why those at the beginning of the year seem to be so good, especially in these ‘80s years. Anyway it’s not eaay separating the top few and “Relax” ends up being the casualty as it’s a record I admire rather than love. “Here Comes The Rain Again” I think I like even more than “Sweet Dreams…”, and the China Crisis song I didn’t know but is a sublime discovery.

9	Eurythmics	Here Comes The Rain Again	From the intro with the plucked straings to the bubbling synths, this is a sublime, sensual and ethereal track
9	China Crisis	Wishful Thinking	Their biggest chart success: this is a big warm hug of a track, where every second of listening is a sheer joy
8	The Icicle Works	Love Is A Wonderful Colour	Only Top 40 for this UK band whose other 6 chart entries will all miss, and it's a very thrilling and rousing song
8	Frankie Goes To Hollywood	Relax	531st #1: this has a much harder edge than the other high scorers here, but is certainly a hugely significant hit
8	The Police	King Of Pain	Amazingly this is already their last totally new hit: an excellent 4th single about Sting's separation from his wife
7	Snowy White	Bird Of Paradise	Only Top 40 for this former Thin Lizzy member, with a lovely understated prog rock track with great guitar work
7	Big Country	Wonderland	Another well performing and really strong single from them, with big lush production and soaring heartfelt vocals
7	Lionel Richie	Running With The Night	Another unusually good Lionel single: the guitar parts and production here are really very rich and atmospheric
6	Gloria Gaynor	I Am What I Am	Her last Top 40 which originally appeared in the musical "La Cage Aux Folles": it's a lovely self affirming anthem
6	Eartha Kitt	Where Is My Man	Her 1st hit since 1955 incredibly: I find this on the one hand silly but also quite a fun song done in her unique style
5	John Lennon	Nobody Told Me	From John And Yoko's final new album and originally intended for Ringo, it's quite a nice song but nothing more
4	Whitesnake	Give Me More Time	Another Whitesnake hit that I struggle to remember how many times I hear it: it's not bad but just standard rock
3	Shaky And Bonnie	A Rockin' Good Way	This is certainly more in Shaky than Bonnie's style: a jolly but throwaway duet that doesn't leave much impression
2	Joe Fagin	That's Livin' Alright (From 'Auf Wiedershen Pet')	Only Top 40 for this UK singer used as the Sitcom theme: I'm sure it works in context but here I find it a little grating

1983 Group 2:

#1282	14/01/1984	Cyndi Lauper	Girls Just Want To Have Fun	2	50-23-10-{2}-3-4-8-13-20-32-41-67->12
#1283	14/01/1984	Fiction Factory	(Feels Like) Heaven	6	56-28-12-{6}-8-16-26-34-55->9
#1284	21/01/1984	Matthew Wilder	Break My Stride	4	31-14-5-{4}-5-6-12-18-25-34-58->11
#1285	21/01/1984	The Alarm	Where Were You Hiding When The Storm Broke	22	34-{22}-22-28-48-71->6
#1286	14/01/1984	Musical Youth	Sixteen	23	55-35-34-27-{23}-30-41-62->8
#1287	14/01/1984	Rick Springfield	Human Touch	23	47-39-31-{23}-24-40-56->7
#1288	14/01/1984	Madonna	Holiday	6	53-40-29-13-7-{6}-13-18-26-35-56->11
#1289	28/01/1984	Echo And The Bunnymen	The Killing Moon	9	17-{9}-11-25-40-66->6
#1290	28/01/1984	Simple Minds	Speed Your Love To Me	20	{20}-21-35-56->4
#1291	28/01/1984	The Smiths	What Difference Does It Make?	12	26-20-13-{12}-18-21-30-39-53->9
#1292	21/01/1984	The Manhattan Transfer	Spice Of Life	19	68-33-26-{19}-22-30-36-54->8
#1293	21/01/1984	Thomas Dolby	Hyperactive!	17	45-35-29-20-{17}-22-29-46-72->9
#1294	21/01/1984	ABC	S.O.S.	39	44-{39}-40-53-72->5
#1295	14/01/1984	Elbow Bones And The Racketeers	A Night In New York	33	66-47-40-{33}-33-33-33-41-56->9

Relax would definitely be a 10 for me. An incredibly exciting groundbreaking sonic explosion, announcing the true arrival of the wonderful ZTT label. What a wonderful year they, Trevor Horn and FGTH would have. T shirt mission statements, fantastic videos, the whole package was brilliant and this was the just the start.

There’s a lot of other great songs here too. Here Comes The Rain again is one of the Eurythmics best, really moody perfect synth pop.

King Of Pain is one of my favourite Police singles, fantastic melody and harmonies.

Wishful Thinking was indeed beautiful, while being perfectly understated.

Love Is A Wonderful Colour is great, if not quite as brilliant as Birds Fly.

Pleased to see those China Crisis and Icicle Works songs so high - both songs I discovered from 80s compilation CDs and was struck by their respective warm and dramatic qualities. I'd also wondered how so many great songs ended up charting at the start of some of these 80s years, and we're coming to one of the best sequences yet - I remember from Gezza's thread for 1984 when the week came up that 'Here Comes The Rain Again' and 4 songs still to be covered all entered the Top 10 at once, a combination of chart turnover and memorable song quality that may rarely have been seen again, before or since.

Re early-year freshness - it had started becoming obvious that the Christmas period was a tricky period for non-Christmas/slushy ballads and easy to get lost in the mix as radio swamped xmas oldies, so much safer to wait for the new year as optimum radio plays for new hot singles after everyone had tossed out the turkeys and got over the hangovers.

Eurythmics were hot in 1984 (I caught the tour that year) and Here Comes The Rain Again was a highlight, atmospheric and delicious 9/10. There was an even darker track on the album that should have been a single - No Fear No Hate No Pain. That came over great in concert. Wishful Thinking remains lovely and China Crisis were consistently listenable in the 80's 9/10. Love Is A Wonderful Colour, "thrilling" is pretty much what it is MIke Read was a big fan at the time 8/10. Talking of Mike, Relax was like a bomb going off in pop culture as gay-pop moved from Boystown club hits to mainstream pop, having been set up by Boy George and Marilyn as primers. Frankie took no prisoners and didnt need to talk about preferring a cup of tea to stay loveable. They didn't care. 10/10 in-ya-face banned classic.

Wonderland was an OK widescreen ballad 7/10, Running With The Night may well be my fave solo Lionel track, it has more to it than the usual turgid ballads and just seems darker and edgier 8/10. Eartha Kitt did some promo on The Tube at the time, as purring and claws-out as ever when needed from the former Catwoman. Great to have her back in the charts and a gay club biggie, camp video and all 8/10.

King Of Pain was bigger in the US as 3rd single off the album there, mightve done better as 3rd in the UK too, but Synchronicity was better 8/10. Bird Of Paradise was sweet and perfectly nice 7/10. Gloria Gaynor gay anthem, I Am What I Am I have never liked much until Aqua changed the mood entirely a few years back, and it's not in the same class as Never Can Say Goodbye or I Will Survive! 5/10. My mate worked in a gay club in Manchester around that time, and Gloria did a PA with just her handbag backstage. All she had in it was the Good Book. Thats minimal.

Nobody Told Me would have been great for Ringo, well within his vocal range and a comeback hit maybe. This record was sad for me (still, at the time) but I took it as an unexpected bonus 8/10. Whitesnake so forgettable I've forgotten it. A Rockin' Good Way was a bit of retro fun from Shaky and Bonnie 7/10. Bonnie has just come out of her medically-induced coma not at all well after falling ill in Portugal, hoping she improves asap. That's Livin Alright still a pet hate, good writing and relevant scripts is no excuse for inflicting this on me! 2/10