The ridiculous level of scores so far this year was never you g to last and there’s nothing quite at the 9 level here. There’s still a lot to enjoy though, especially a couple of very fine ballad discoveries from Billy and Howard.

8	Billy Joel	An Innocent Man	This is a rather excellent ballad as well as an outstanding vocal performance: what a contrast with "Uptown Girl"
8	Van Halen	Jump	1st Top 40 for this US rock band and a Stateside #1 about a suicidal jumper: it's anthemic with an incredible riff
8	Howard Jones	Hide And Seek	His only Top 10 miss in his 1st 7, but very undeservedly as it's another beautifully intense and striking ballad
7	Re-Flex	The Politics Of Dancing	Only hit for this UK new wave band about people coming together and letting go: this has a great energy to it
7	The Style Council	My Ever Changing Moods	Another big hit for them: this reflects on life's highs and lows and has a lovely, gently flowing and soulful feel to it
7	Henry Mancini And His Orchestra	Main Theme From 'The Thorn Birds'	Mancini's 2nd and last Top 40, also from this drama: a beautiful track with the theme led by guitars and violins
6	Matt Bianco	Get Out Of Your Lazy Bed	1st hit for this band whose name is a fictional spy: this is an enjoyable slice of jazz with a throwback feel to it
6	Carmel	More More More	Their 2nd and last Top 40: this doesn't have the uniqueness of "Bad Day" but is another enjoyable throwback
5	Kool And The Gang	Joanna/Tonight	Their highest peaking hit coming deep into their career: both tracks are good but very much in the MOR lane
5	Richard Hartley And The Michael Reed Orchestra	The Music Of Torvill And Dean EP	I'm not a fan of Ravel's "Bolero", but otherwise this is a fun collection of pop and classical skating related tracks
4	Soft Cell	Down In The Subway	Their last hit before their split although they will eventually be back: Marc's vocals almost feel too full on here
4	Hot Chocolate	I Gave You My Heart (Didn't I)	Their last new hit though they'll have some reissues: I find this breaks no new ground and is on the boring side
3	Alexei Sayle	'Ullo John! Gotta New Motor?	Only hit for this UK comedian: it is rather grating but has a certain rhythmic power and isn't the worst of novelty
2	Marilyn	Cry And Be Free	He's clearly trying for something epic here with the gospel choir and big emotive style, but it ends up being turgid

1984 Group 5:

#1324	18/02/1984	The Fraggles	Fraggle Rock Theme	33	74-46-37-{33}-36-44-64-73->8
#1325	03/03/1984	Julia And Company	Breakin' Down (Sugar Samba)	15	38-19-{15}-19-24-35-46-71->8
#1326	18/02/1984	Mel Brooks	To Be Or Not To Be (The Hitler Rap)	12	67-57-39-31-17-{12}-18-24-42-66->10
#1327	10/03/1984	Lionel Richie	Hello	1	25-5-{1}-1-1-1-1-1-4-10-15-29-39-47-60->15
#1328	10/03/1984	Phil Fearon And Galaxy	What Do I Do	5	27-13-7-{5}-8-11-23-37-51-75->10
#1329	03/03/1984	Tracey Ullman	My Guy's Mad At Me	23	46-32-24-{23}-34-63->6
#1330	28/01/1984	Wang Chung	Dance Hall Days	21	73-55-56-46-43-42-34-26-{21}-22-28-53->12
#1331	27/08/1983	The Weather Girls	It's Raining Men	2	73-74-73-47R(25)-36-11-5-{2}-6-8-18-27-42-61->14
#1332	25/02/1984	Sade	Your Love Is King	6	59-43-37-20-9-{6}-10-15-30-42-61-75R(2)->12
#1333	03/03/1984	Bananarama	Robert De Niro's Waiting	3	48-38-22-8-{3}-3-5-12-23-39-64->11
#1334	10/03/1984	Afrika Bambaataa And The Soul Sonic Force	The Renegades Of Funk	30	39-{30}-32-54->4
#1335	25/02/1984	Tina Turner	Help	40	54-49-{40}-40-40-47->6
#1336	03/03/1984	Kajagoogoo	The Lion's Mouth	25	50-41-37-{25}-25-38-65->7
#1337	24/03/1984	Culture Club	It's A Miracle	4	14-{4}-7-7-16-28-44-63-66->9

Van Halen 'Jump' and its riff are great. Love a 80s synth rock track Marillion Incommunicado is another one that's great.

'My Everchanging Moods' is good too, a topic that is easily relatable.

'The Politics of Dancing' is good too.

Billy Joel with another of his great run of singles.

One of Howard Jones most underrated songs.

Jump is a great euphoric stadium synth rock.

Politics Of Dancing is really unique sounding

My Ever Changing Moods is probably my favourite of these, a lovely jazzy summery sound.

Get Out Of Your Lazy Bed is also jazzy, but this time more uptempo and energetic.

I have a bit of a soft spot for Joanna too, with its lovely lilting melody.

An Innocent Man is a good song from a good album, by a great songwriter, but oddly never been one of my faves of his 7/10. Jump is rifftastic and Van Halen's best record by some stretch. Pity about the David Lee Roth leaving immediately afterwards. 8/10. Hide And Seek is brilliant, Howard's finest moment in a good long run of good singles, haunting and moving 9/10.

The Politics Of Dancing is OK, again never a favourite though but decent 7/10. Style Council in summery laid-back jazzsoul vibe is always going to appeal to me, My Ever Changing Moods 8/10. The Thorn Birds I remember not at all. Don't think I bothered to chart it though. Matt Bianco going for old-skool jumping Jive, catchy but annoys on overplay 6/10. More More More one I aint heard in yonks 7/10 sounds about right.

That Bolero routine was amazing and I love the tune 8/10. Joanna and Tonight both decent tracks, Phase 2 Kool & The Gang never excite, but pleasant enough with Tonight the better side 6/10. Down In The Subway, dark Soft Cell, and starker than previous but I rather like it 7/10. Errol and the boys settling for catchy pop ditty when they really needed another abrupt musical change to keep it interesting but I Gave You My Heart is sweet enough 7/10.

'Ullo John really got on my nerves very quickly 2/10. Cry And Be Free is OK, a bit dull but at least trying something different 5/10.

Lots of very good tracks here but only one I think is unusual enough to reach the outstanding level.

9	Afrika Bambaataa And The Soul Sonic Force	The Renegades Of Funk	1st Top 40 for this US rapper and producer: an incredible avant garde and genre fusing electronic hip hop track
8	Sade	Your Love Is King	1st and highest peaking hit for this UK band: a gorgeous, beautifully delivered and soulful piece of smooth jazz
8	Wang Chung	Dance Hall Days	Only hit for this UK group whose name means "yellow bell" in Chinese: an excellent Simple Minds-esque song
7	The Weather Girls	It's Raining Men	Only hit for this US duo and a camp classic with a lyrical theme, arrangement and dynamism that really work
7	Bananarama	Robert De Niro's Waiting	After 4 hits peaking at #4 or #5 they finally reach #3 with a very strong pop song with quite dark lyrical content
6	Tracey Ullman	My Guy's Mad At Me	An interesting gender reversal of the Madness song: as always Tracey's covers are striking and well produced
6	Lionel Richie	Hello	533rd #1: one of the biggest hits of the year and much maligned for its cheesiness, but I quite enjoy it really
5	Kajagoogoo	The Lion's Mouth	Last of their 5 Top 40s as the follow up will miss: while not hugely distinctive this is a rather enjoyable track
5	Julia And Company	Breakin' Down (Sugar Samba)	Only Top 40 for US R&B singer Julia Nixon and the band she formed, and a nice Latin inspired post disco track
4	Phil Fearon And Galaxy	What Do I Do	Another big hit for Phil and his group: it's pleasant enough to listen to but an unremarkable post disco track
4	Culture Club	It's A Miracle	I love the intense drama of "Victims" so much that the light R&B style of this was never going to do much for me
3	Tina Turner	Help	A slowed version of the Beatles song, which doesn't work for me as the song needs to be urgent and desperate
2	The Fraggles	Fraggle Rock Theme	Written for the Jim Henson TV series, this is barely a minute in length but nice enough for a children's theme
2	Mel Brooks	To Be Or Not To Be (The Hitler Rap)	Only hit for this US comedian with a novelty track from Hitler's perspective: the song itself is actually quite dull

1984 Group 6:

#1338	24/03/1984	Shakin' Stevens	A Love Worth Waiting For	2	22-7-{2}-2-3-6-15-27-39-57->10
#1339	17/03/1984	UB40	Cherry Oh Baby	12	42-28-15-{12}-16-28-44-71->8
#1340	24/03/1984	Depeche Mode	People Are People	4	29-9-5-{4}-6-9-20-36-50-74->10
#1341	17/03/1984	Madonna	Lucky Star	14	47-30-27-16-{14}-20-34-37-65->9
#1342	24/03/1984	Siouxsie And The Banshees	Swimming Horses	28	33-{28}-33-52->4
#1343	24/03/1984	Simple Minds	Up On The Catwalk	27	36-30-{27}-31-53->5
#1344	17/03/1984	The Special AKA	Nelson Mandela	9	68-38-29-14-{9}-9-16-22-34-55->10
#1345	17/03/1984	John Lennon	Borrowed Time	32	51-39-33-{32}-43-69->6
#1346	31/03/1984	Thompson Twins	You Take Me Up	2	13-4-3-{2}-4-10-21-34-55->9
#1347	31/03/1984	Michael Jackson	P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)	11	20-{11}-12-21-32-40-48-58->8
#1348	24/03/1984	Captain Sensible	Glad It's All Over/Damned On 45	6	72-36-15-{6}-7-8-16-29-37-68->10
#1349	31/03/1984	Rufus And Chaka Khan	Ain't Nobody	8	37-18-13-{8}-12-13-19-26-38-54-62-61->12
#1350	10/03/1984	Scritti Politti	Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin)	10	50-43-43-38-25-17-{10}-14-23-33-49-72->12
#1351	24/03/1984	Dead Or Alive	That's The Way (I Like It)	22	54-40-30-25-{22}-24-35-53-74->9

Another really good set of songs and I agree with your choices at the top too!

Renegades Of Funk is definitely outstanding, I love a lot of the rap records of this era when you can see the rapid evolution of the genre.

Dance Halls Days is quirky and excellent.

Gorgeous is the right description of Your Love Is King, I hear a lot of Sade in what Olivia Dean is currently getting so much success with.

It’s Raining Men is undeniable isn’t it.

Robert De Nero’s Waiting is close to being my favourite Bananarama single, brilliant pop music with a message.

The Renegades Of Funk didnt get much radio play from what I remember, and I really havent heard it much since either, so needed to play it to remind myself of it. Afrika was pretty innovative in his mashing up of Euro-synth, funk and rap and cast a long shadow. That said, the track lacks focus, nothing much stands out as a clip I could point to as a hook. The production is fine though 7/10. Wang Chung another one that passed me by at the time, got on my nerves a bit after a while, 6/10.

Your Love Is King a laid-back classy jazz-zoul debut from an album of the same, but I preferred other tracks, including her Timmy Thomas cover Why Can't We Live Together. 8/10. It's Raining Men a gay anthem that's also in ya face for those less svelt than media-obsessions, but one that's been overplayed - still a great record though, and Homer Simpsons all-time fave song for at least one episode, a stroke of genius. 8/10. Robert De Niro's Waiting prob the second-best track from their shambolic Jolly & Swain era, after Cruel Summer. 8/10.

Tracey's cover not quite up to Madness standard, but pleasant enough 6/10. Hello, and that infamous video, really did outstay its' welcome. It started out mildly pleasant and ended up a laughing stock and underlined that Lionel's ballads since his last good one (Sail On) were formulaic slush. 5/10. The Lion's Mouth was OK, but Limahl's solo hits were better 6/10. Not heard Julia & Company's in yonks and yonks but at least it was fun and upbeat, I rather like the rhythms 7/10.

Phil Fearon's Philly-inspired Brit-soul was always enjoyable and What Do I Have To Do is a goodie 8/10. My rating is not biased by the onstage back-flips and overall hotness, honest. It's A Miracle is record of the batch for me 9/10. Not as classic as Victims or Church Of The Poison Mind, but less annoying than Karma Chameleon. It's biggest crime is that it wasn't the US single choice Miss Me Blind and that blinding guitar solo that got George annoyed when Roy added it behind his back - but was wise enough to keep! That's a 10/10.

Tina's Help cover didnt do her or the song any favours 5/10. Too slow, indeed! I was not Target Audience for Fraggle Rock 3/10. Mel Brooks, aged 100, is a legend and much of his career has been spent making Nazi's look ridiculous. To Be Or Not To Be might be looked on as a fun tester for his later musical versions of his classic movies, which are fab: The Producers and Young Frankenstein. This one was sort of a free plug for his To Be Or Not To Be WW2 comedy movie re-make starring his wife, Anne Bancroft and Mel. As novelties go this is fun and more repeat-playable than many novelties. And the video was even funnier than Hello's 😇7/10.

It was going to be “Ain’t Nobody” topping this group, which I do love but “Wood Beez” has crept up the more listens I’ve given it.

9	Scritti Politti	Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin)	1st Top 40 after a few misses for this UK group: a track that's hard to describe as it fuses genres, but wonderful
9	Rufus And Chaka Khan	Ain't Nobody	Only UK hit for the US funk band Rufus, and 2nd for Chaka: a wonderful R&B track with a distinctive synth riff
8	Siouxsie And The Banshees	Swimming Horses	A big comedown in chart performance from "Dear Prudence" but a beautiful, atmospheric piano driven song
8	The Special AKA	Nelson Mandela	Their last Top 40 this decade: a notable protest song with South African influences and their usual ska charm
7	Simple Minds	Up On The Catwalk	Like many of their songs this has a really inescapable rhythm: their 1st Top 10 eludes them but that will change
7	Thompson Twins	You Take Me Up	Their 5th Top 10 with each peaking higher than the last: this has a lovely tune but isn't so compelling overall
6	Depeche Mode	People Are People	Their joint highest peaking hit but not a favourite: it is musically compelling as ever but I find the lyrics clunky
5	Michael Jackson	P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)	The 6th and last hit from "Thriller" until "Human Nature" enters belatedly: this is decent but lacks a strong hook
5	John Lennon	Borrowed Time	His last new solo Top 40: this has a slight reggae style to it and a nice carefree feel, but doesn't stand out
4	Madonna	Lucky Star	After this Top 20 she'll have 35 Top 10s in a row: she's beginning to find her style but this isn't a very strong song
3	Captain Sensible	Glad It's All Over/Damned On 45	Their last Top 40 with quite an interesting anti war song paired with a lengthy spoof medley we didn't need
3	Shakin' Stevens	A Love Worth Waiting For	An original song from Shaky and his 7th Top 3 hit, but it's the usual not partciularly endearing rock n roll fodder
2	UB40	Cherry Oh Baby	A cover of a 1971 song by Jamaican singer Eric Donaldson: this version ceratainly doesn't bring the song to life
2	Dead Or Alive	That's The Way (I Like It)	1st hit for this UK group: this is a rather messy and not very enjoyable cover, but they'll be back with a bang

1984 Group 7:

#1352	07/04/1984	Phil Collins	Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now)	2	26-10-4-{2}-2-2-3-8-10-22-28-39-51-70->14
#1353	07/04/1984	The Cure	The Caterpillar	14	31-20-{14}-19-26-37-70->7
#1354	31/03/1984	Cliff Richard	Baby You're Dynamite	27	44-34-{27}-31-41-66->6
#1355	31/03/1984	Cameo	She's Strange	37	42-{37}-41-43-58-74-56-67->8
#1356	31/03/1984	The Psychedelic Furs	Heaven	29	62-39-{29}-33-50-62->6
#1357	31/03/1984	The Gap Band	Someday	17	56-40-22-{17}-25-34-45-63->8
#1358	14/04/1984	Queen	I Want To Break Free	3	18-5-{3}-3-3-4-5-9-15-22-28-41-50-64-70->15
#1359	07/04/1984	Shannon	Give Me Tonight	24	44-{24}-24-26-32-41-54->7
#1360	07/04/1984	The S.O.S. Band	Just Be Good To Me	13	50-26-{13}-17-17-20-20-30-33-44-55->11
#1361	14/04/1984	Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark	Locomotion	5	28-19-10-6-{5}-7-12-18-28-41-63->11
#1362	14/04/1984	Kool And The Gang	(When You Say You Love Somebody) In The Heart	7	30-11-{7}-12-15-23-37-65->8
#1363	14/04/1984	Blancmange	Don't Tell Me	8	32-15-11-{8}-8-9-15-26-40-65->10
#1364	17/03/1984	Propaganda	Dr Mabuse	27	66-47-43-46-34-{27}-33-43-68->9
#1365	14/04/1984	Nik Kershaw	Dancing Girls	13	35-25-18-14-{13}-14-27-37-50->9
#1366	24/03/1984	The Bluebells	I'm Falling	11	65-49-41-36-26-15-{11}-14-19-33-51-74->12

I think 'The Politics Of Dancing' is my favourite from its relevant section. I agree there's nothing truly outstanding from that bunch but this was a cool Now 2 discovery back in the day. It was early exposure of lower peaking tracks in the series for me, with it only making #28. A world away from how they include many top 40 misses nowadays!

'The Renegades Of Funk' is an excellent choice of top pick in group 5. That felt like it was blowing the doors down when it was played on SyncTube, very ahead of its time. It would be between that and 'Robert De Niro's Waiting' for me. Much like 'Cruel Summer', this is another 'sad banger' sound they seem to nail.

'Your Love Is King' is another good one, what a classy debut. I was shocked to learn this is currently not in their top 10 popular songs on Spotify as it'd easily come into my head if I attempted to quickly reel off Sade songs.

'People Are People' is another commanding moment from Depeche Mode but I do love 'Ain't Nobody' as well, so this week's SyncTube tiebreak was a tough one for me. The latter feels incredibly timeless, particularly its riff, so it's unsurprising that it has been sampled / interpolated to death. Delilah's 'Go' was my favourite reworking of it back in 2011 <3

In my opinion, the Scritti Politti vocalist sounds like Darren Hayes from Savage Garden. Good song. Chaka and Rufus' Ain't Nobody is a very good, and snappy R&B dance tune.

You Lift Me Up by Thompson Twins may be their biggest hit but it isn't their best, very middle of the road.

I like Glad It's All Over melodically its very New Musik Living By Numbers.

Nelson Mandela good protest song.

Madonna - Lucky Star is a good pop song from her but she has better 80s hits to come.

Edited July 15Jul 15 by TheSnake

I’m agreeing with your top choice, Wood Beez is excellent forward thinking pop music.

Ain’t Nobody is classy funk that I like and admire, but don’t quite love.

Nelson Mandela is a fantastic song in its own right, but the power of its message was a rallying cry for change that’s easy to underestimate with the passage of time.

You Take Me Up is one of my favourite Thomson Twins singles, literally uplifting pop.

People Are People is musically typically great Depeche Mode, though I agree not one of their very best with awkward lyrics.

I also have a soft spot for Glad It’s All Over, though the medley it was paired with is awful

Wood Beez sounded like no-one else when Scritti dropped it and an instant number one for me, love it still. 10/10. Ain't Nobody it was great having Rufus and Chaka back, Rufus having never really broken the UK despite some good singles, and Chaka just the one hit so better late than never with a soul classic 9/10. Chaka's got a goodie out right now with Snoop Dogg 42 years on!

Siouxsie occasionally dropped a less-good single, and Swimming Horses was more of a 7/10 than the more usual 9 or 10. Nelson Mandela was an exercise in how to do a protest song right - catchy, upbeat and very very singalong and fab to have Jerry Dammers back for a last hurrah. 8/10. Up On The Catwalk was the best Simple Minds record to date, a total banger, inisistent and exciting much! 10/10.

You Take Me Up was the Thompsons doing a Gospel/Blues chain gang song with roots going back to the 19th century in style albeit through a synth sheen and is easily their most joyous song. It's not even close. 9/10. People Are People sounded great but I also was never entirely onboard with the lyrics, though I was with the sentiment. I still prefer some earlier singles and especially some later ones. 8/10.

PYT is nice but Human Nature was obviously the better song and it was good enough for the USA to release as a single.. 8/10. It is, however, better then The Lady In My Life and Baby Be Mine, along with The Girl Is Mine to underline that Thriller isn't really as good as Bad as an album but it does have 2 career highs in Billie Jean and Thriller and being a phenomenon and all that.

Borrowed Time was enormously sad, given the lyrics, but it's never been a happy listen either way. 7/10. Lucky Star was good (8/10) where Holiday was great but Wikipedia distorts chart facts by quoting later chart peaks and ignoring original runs! In the olden days of Guinness Book Of Hit Records every chart re-entry and re-issue was noted separately - Borderline fell short of the top 40 next at 56, so it needs an "eventually" (in 1986) on the sentence, as it took Like A Virgin to break her properly.

I played Captain Sensible to the family on a Saturday BarBQ and they tended to agree with you within seconds (! fair's fair I was subjected to Scream metal and Shouty Rap and even had to request ElectricCallboy with The Offspring to quieten things down slightly for the neighbours :) ). I put it down to temporary madness brought on by excess heat as Glad It's All Over is a charming New Musik-esque melodic pop ditty darker lyrically than it appears. 9/10.

Shaky's A Love Worth Waiting For was much less annoying than his bland covers at the time, and it didn't annoy me nearly as much 6/10. Cherry Oh Cherry was all right, quite tuneful, but more of the same from Labour Of Love really 6/10, not that he needed the songwriting royalties, but another under-rated Neil Diamond song called Cherry Cherry they didnt cover would have been more interesting (and bigger hit).

I disliked that destruction of KC's disco classic, 3/10 and it took me a while to forgive Dead Or Alive by being won round (eventually) on the next one and buying it. At this point in time I was still unemployed in my parents new home in Dorset, no friends, my car broke down and scrapped, no job prospects, no bus services on the new housing estate, a brother and pregnant sister-in-law and baby niece trying to survive here while the Miners' strike carried on endlessly in Mansfield bitterly, and I was about to go into a deep dark depression for the first time in my life as the world contemplated Nuclear War, forthcoming local nuclear waste pollution from Chernobyl and mass starvation in Africa. Happy times....

So music was desperately important to me 👍

All my favourites from the Sunday session before last appear in this latest batch: 'Wood Beez' is so bright and quirky, 'Ain't Nobody' a classic 80s soul performance, and 'Swimming Horses' is brooding but tuneful. 'Nelson Mandela' is one the great protest songs, it's now hard to fathom how pop music could have such a political reach into the public conscience. 'People Are People' is far from Depeche Mode's best and I concur with the lyrical clunkiness, but it was forward thinking in the use of samples and its ambition was befitting of it being their joint highest charter.

After a slight dip we’re back with another wonderful group here. I’ve decided to dust off my 10 paddle for the first time this year: I may be biased as it was #3 in my birth week and feels appropriate for a Caesarean. But “The Caterpillar” is a wonderful discovery here,’and very different in style from “The Love Cats”. And I can’t give the thrilling “Dr Mabuse” lower than 9 either.

10	Queen	I Want To Break Free	Incredible vocal and instrumental performances and a unique song with a sense of repressed energy releasing
9	The Cure	The Caterpillar	Another animal themed hit for them: this is utterly charming and I love the effect it creates of many feet scuttling
9	Propaganda	Dr Mabuse	1st hit for this German synth pop band, and an exciting and terrifying track with relentless, driving production
8	Phil Collins	Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now)	This has not 1 but 2 subsequent awful chart topping covers, but it remains a great and emotionally intense song
8	The Psychedelic Furs	Heaven	1st of only a couple of Top 40s for this UK band: this has a really lovely sound world and is beautifully performed
8	The S.O.S. Band	Just Be Good To Me	1st Top 40 for this US band: there will be a later version which will elevate the track but this is really great too
7	Nik Kershaw	Dancing Girls	A really grown up song here which has all the exuberance of good pop but sophisticated writing and production
7	Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark	Locomotion	Most of their hits so far have been stunning, and this jollier track with steel drums is not up there but very good
6	Shannon	Give Me Tonight	A good follow up to "Let The Music Play" with a dramatic chorus and plenty of synth, but not quite as compelling
6	Cliff Richard	Baby You're Dynamite	This one definitely goes in Cliff's good pile: it's still in his standard radio friendly lane but a very well written song
5	Blancmange	Don't Tell Me	Their 3rd Top 10: it has all their usual features but somehow doesn't quite manage to draw me in like earlier hits
5	The Bluebells	I'm Falling	1st Top 40 for this Scottish new wave group: it's quite a nice song but lacks anything to make it really exciting
4	Cameo	She's Strange	1st hit for this US band: this starts off sounding mysterious and intriguing but becomes a standard funk track
3	Kool And The Gang	(When You Say You Love Somebody) In The Heart	Hot on the heels of the "Joanna" success this is their 6th Top 10 hit, but it's nothing new and rather forgettable
2	The Gap Band	Someday	They're back after a few Top 40 misses: this is a very repetitive slice of RnB with none of their original charm

1984 Group 8:

#1367	21/04/1984	Echo And The Bunnymen	Silver	30	32-{30}-30-39-57->5
#1368	21/04/1984	Bob Marley And The Wailers	One Love/People Get Ready	5	35-22-9-6-{5}-6-12-24-34-47-65->11
#1369	07/04/1984	Julio Iglesias And Willie Nelson	To All The Girls I've Loved Before	17	48-47-36-35-24-{17}-21-31-49-67->10
#1370	21/04/1984	The Flying Pickets	When You're Young And In Love	7	37-13-{7}-7-10-16-32-53->8
#1371	14/04/1984	The Pointer Sisters	Automatic	2	59-38-20-5-4-{2}-2-4-14-24-32-48-62-66-71->15
#1372	21/04/1984	Jocelyn Brown	Somebody Else's Guy	13	40-31-25-16-{13}-20-27-42-50->9
#1373	28/04/1984	Duran Duran	The Reflex	1	5-{1}-1-1-1-3-4-19-27-35-40-53-61-66->14
#1374	28/04/1984	New Order	Thieves Like Us	18	21-{18}-22-38-59->5
#1375	21/04/1984	Sandie Shaw	Hand In Glove	27	44-36-{27}-31-43->5
#1376	28/04/1984	Cocteau Twins	Pearly-Dewdrops' Drops	29	38-{29}-30-35-69->5
#1377	21/04/1984	Belle And The Devotions	Love Games	11	48-39-21-12-{11}-24-46-69->8
#1378	07/04/1984	'Weird Al' Yankovic	Eat It	36	62-49-42-40-{36}-47-62->7
#1379	05/05/1984	The Human League	The Lebanon	11	19-{11}-12-22-36-48-75R(2)->7
#1380	28/04/1984	Kenny Loggins	Footloose	6	53-28-9-{6}-7-14-21-32-43-73->10
#1381	28/04/1984	Billy Joel	The Longest Time	25	46-33-{25}-27-35-47-51-67->8

Some superb stuff here, topped off by The Caterpillar, an absolutely unique song. One of my favourites from the Cure and that’s definitely saying something.

I Want To Break Free, one of later day Queen’s best.

Dr Mabuse is fantastically dark, they have another later single (next year I think) which is one of my absolute favourites of the 80s. They were very underrated.

Against All Odds is beautiful/emotional.

The Psychedelic Furs were an excellent band, another that were under appreciated, Heaven is lovely.

Just Be Good To Me is great but I agree the later version is just fantastic.

NIk Kershaw and OMD both continue their incredibly consistent output, if not their absolute best

I Want To Break Free is great fun, and Freddie dropping hints in the great video - bound to be his idea and helping to end their US singles chart career to boot. 9/10. The Caterpillar was a new Cure highlight for me at the time, playful and original 9/10 and Dr Mabuse was epic in every way, just brilliant 10/10.

Against All Odds not a huge Phil fave but it is a good example of that sort of film theme slushy ballad in the 80's 8/10. It's been so long since I heard Heaven I have no clear memory of it, so I'm having a guess it's more of a 6/10. S.O.S. Band dropping the new dance-pop sound of the 80's in Just Be Good To me as forthcoming from Janet Jackson and Alexander O'Neal, and a classic production too from Jam & Lewis 9/10.

Dancing Girls not quite up to previous singles off the first Nik album, but not bad 7/10. Locomotion getting that railway train rhythm nicely for a bit of light fun but not quite as great as most previous singles 8/10. Give Me Tonight a decent follow-up but not as memorable as the ground-breaking debut 8/10. Baby You're Dynamite another I dont recall much, because it was a double A and ballad Ocean Deep got all the airplay, that was more of a 6/10 for me.

Don't Tell Me keeping the big Blancmange sound but not as classic as 1983 singles 8/10. I'm Falling was a nice debut for The Bluebells, quite melodic 8/10. She's Strange was unusual at the time, and under-rated chart-wise so it got a second run after Cameo broke through proper after or just before THAT Larry Blackmon TOTP performance cod-piece, I really love the vibes on this one 9/10.

Kool & The Gang keeping that formula going 6/10, and the Gap Band comeback is one I've mostly forgotten too so vaguely offering up 5/10 as a likely rating.

“One Love / People Get Ready” is one of those songs my parents played to me when I was about 5. There was no way I was ever going to forget something so profoundly joyful. Listening to the original 1977 track I think he definitely gave it much more gravitas by working it in the way he did.

9	Bob Marley And The Wailers	One Love/People Get Ready	A mashup of his faster original with Curtis Mayfield's "People Get Ready": an utterly joyous arresting single
8	Cocteau Twins	Pearly-Dewdrops' Drops	1st hit for this Scottish band who won't make the Top 40 again this decade, with a beautiful ethereal track
8	Duran Duran	The Reflex	534th#1: my birth chart topper and much better than their previous one; it's a storming and captivating track
8	Kenny Loggins	Footloose	A US #1 with more than 1 billion Spotify streams: it's a brilliantly written song with a catchy rockabilly flavour
7	New Order	Thieves Like Us	Another excellent single from them: this has interesting well delivered lyrics and very effective thick production
7	The Pointer Sisters	Automatic	Their highest peaker even though their best known hits are to come: it's a very strong and well produced song
7	Echo And The Bunnymen	Silver	This isn't quite "The Killing Moon" but it's very good, with a rich orchestral accompaniment and intriguing lyrics
6	Sandie Shaw	Hand In Glove	Her last Top 40 and first since 1969: an enjoyable Morrissey penned song in his usual punchy, driving style
6	Jocelyn Brown	Somebody Else's Guy	1st hit for this US singer: it's an excellent performance and a strong and soulful self written post disco song
6	The Human League	The Lebanon	A disappointing #11 lead after 6 straight Top 10s: it's a good synth song with unusually political lyrics for them
5	Belle And The Devotions	Love Games	7th place for this at Eurovision and the group's hit: this is very much a Supremes throwback but it is nicely done
5	Billy Joel	The Longest Time	A nice barbershop feel to this but I think the song itself isn't anything too special, and it breaks his big hit run
4	'Weird Al' Yankovic	Eat It	Only Top 40 for this US comedy musician: it is a genuinely funny parody though doesn't bear that many listens
3	The Flying Pickets	When You're Young And In Love	Their 2nd and last Top 40 covering a '60s song this time: this is a little dull and doesn't work like "Only You"
2	Julio Iglesias And Willie Nelson	To All The Girls I've Loved Before	Julio's last Top 40 for a while and Willie's only one: this moribund track doesn't represent the latter too well

1984 Group 9:

82	14/04/1984	Jeffrey Osborne	Stay With Me Tonight	18	75-45-43-38-24-{18}-19-25-38-47-72->11
#1383	05/05/1984	Deniece Williams	Let's Hear It For The Boy	2	41-18-8-3-{2}-2-9-16-26-38-51-62-75R(2)->13
#1384	12/05/1984	Marillion	Assassing	22	23-{22}-32-41-55->5
#1385	05/05/1984	Terri Wells	I'll Be Around	17	46-28-{17}-18-24-35-48->7
#1386	12/05/1984	Break Machine	Breakdance Party	9	32-16-{9}-13-20-30-37-54-65R(2)-74->10
#1387	28/04/1984	Womack And Womack	Love Wars	14	61-50-35-25-{14}-16-23-29-42-61->10
#1388	28/04/1984	Roland Rat Superstar!	Love Me Tender	32	67-45-38-{32}-36-57-65->7
#1389	21/04/1984	Hazell Dean	Searchin' (I Gotta Find A Man)	6	54-45-49-40-28-13-8-{6}-12-15-24-34-44-53-65->15
#1390	19/05/1984	Ultravox	Dancing With Tears In My Eyes	3	29-10-6-{3}-6-14-23-39-56-72-74R(2)->11
#1391	19/05/1984	Status Quo	Going Down Town Tonight	20	30-23-{20}-27-35-51->6
#1392	05/05/1984	Alvin Stardust	I Feel Like Buddy Holly	7	60-42-31-17-{7}-11-16-18-34-44-59->11
#1393	12/05/1984	Everything But The Girl	Each And Every One	28	49-33-{28}-31-32-44-62->7
#1394	21/04/1984	Evelyn Thomas	High Energy	5	67-73-53-51-36-26-11-9-{5}-9-14-23-25-37-40-53-73->17
#1395	21/04/1984	Marilyn	You Don't Love Me	40	59-56-54-44-{40}-40-60->7

Dr Mabuse is epic Gothic synthpop. I have known it for a long time, discovered it a long time ago on an 80s music channel.

Shannon Give Me Tonight is great and I sent it to a Club Bizarre contest on Buzzjack dance forum.

Nik Kershaw's Dancing Girls hasn't aged well lyrically but I like the production of the song.

The Reflex is a bit of a mess and rockier from Duran but it has a good chorus.

The Pointer Sisters Automatic is nice enough but very poppy for me.

Elsewhere, Jocelyn Brown is a name we will know more from the 90s!

Edited Monday at 23:205 days by TheSnake

'I Want To Break Free' is classic Queen with a classic video.

'The Reflex' is fab. My fave Duran Duran single!

Also like 'One Love' and 'Footloose'

Hard to argue with One Love’s great message.

Pearly Dewdrop’s Drop might be my favourite of these, gorgeous!

The Reflex is one of the best DD songs, especially the intro I absolutely love, maybe the rest of the song doesn’t live up to it but it has a chaotic charm

Footloose has lots of energy.

Thieves Like Us is excellent, like pretty much every early New Order single

I have a real soft spot for Automatic’s exuberant pop.

Hand In Glove is good but not quite as good as the Smith’s original debut single.

And ‘Weird Al’ is a genius in my eyes!