'The Freeze' definitely my favourite of this bunch - displaying the mix of disco, indie guitar (a bit like The Smiths) and synths that New Romantic and 80s New Wave music often was.

....but Rainbow's 'I Surrender' is a good song too certainly way better than 'All Night Long'.

Edited October 4Oct 4 by TheSnake

Joe Dolce Music Theatre	Shaddap You Face	475th #1: the most successful Australian single ever apparently and a 1 hit wonder; it's quite fun novelty apart from the talking

most successful Australian single ever? I thought that would be Dance Monkey by Tones and I or John Farnham - You're The Voice.

I used to think Shaddap You Face was good fun.

I'll do a quick top 40 of 1980 too

1. Martha and the Muffins - Echo Beach

2. Lipps Inc. - Funkytown

3. Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - Enola Gay - Remastered 2003

4. Queen - Another One Bites The Dust - Remastered 2011

5. ABBA - The Winner Takes It All

6. Blondie - Atomic

7. The Cure - A Forest

8. Sky - Toccata

9. Rush - The Spirit Of Radio

10. Blondie - Call Me

11. Olivia Newton-John - Xanadu

12. Michael Jackson - Rock With You

13. The Korgis - Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime

14. John Foxx - Underpass

15. Split Enz - I Got You

16. Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart

17. Barbra Streisand - Woman in Love

18. Bob Marley & The Wailers - Could You Be Loved

19. Fleetwood Mac - Sara

20. Diana Ross - Upside Down

21. M*A*S*H - Suicide Is Painless

22. The Specials - Too Much Too Young

23. Kate Bush - Babooshka - 2018 Remaster

24. George Benson - Give Me the Night

25. Jona Lewie - Stop The Cavalry

26. Madness - Baggy Trousers - 2010 Remaster

27. Diana Ross - I'm Coming Out

28. Electric Light Orchestra - All Over the World

29. Kool & The Gang - Celebration

30. Peter Gabriel - Games Without Frontiers

31. Jon & Vangelis - I Hear You Now - Remastered

32. David Bowie - Ashes to Ashes - 2017 Remaster

33. Odyssey - Use It Up and Wear It Out

34. Ottawan - D.I.S.C.O.

35. Randy Crawford - One Day I'll Fly Away

36. Diana Ross - My Old Piano

37. ABBA - Super Trouper

38. The Whispers - And the Beat Goes On

39. The Jam - Going Underground

40. Ultravox - Sleepwalk - 2008 Remaster

Shaddap Your Face >>>>>>> Vienna.

On 29/09/2025 at 12:17, Julian_ said:

I get 17 in all 3 of @Jade , @jimwatts and my Top 40s:

Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart

Blondie - Atomic

The Jam - Going Underground

ABBA - The Winner Takes It All

The Cure - A Forest

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - Enola Gay

David Bowie - Ashes to Ashes

Blondie - Call Me

Martha and the Muffins - Echo Beach

Motörhead - Ace of Spades

Jona Lewie - You'll Always Find Me In The Kitchen At Parties

The Korgis - Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime

Spandau Ballet - To Cut A Long Story Short

New Musik - Living By Numbers

John Foxx - Underpass

Lipps Inc. - Funkytown

Ultravox - Sleepwalk

I wonder how many would survive if you added say @King Rollo and @Brer to the mix.

I can say which ones wont make the top 40 for my top of 1980 😄John Foxx, Spandau, Ultravox, Cure, OMD, Jona Lewie, Call Me, Echo Beach, Funkytown, New Musik would all be top 100, but prob just fall short in favour of other tracks by OMD, Jona, New Musik and other faves and album tracks.

After a pretty stark Christmas following Lennon's murder and being part of the 3m unemployed, and my grandma starting to get over her heart attack while living with us short-time, a rare bit of sunshine was the sudden rush of classics, spoilt for choice:

10/10 from me for In The Air Tonight peaked at 2 in my charts too, but was very unlucky having to wait to 1988 for that top spot its a total classic, dark, stark, and passionately sung and produced. Vienna too peaked at 2 in my charts and hit the top spot in 1993. Slow, classy, synthy with a banger of a chorus and another 10/10. Both have an epic quality to them. The two that kept them off the top spot were Fade To Grey and still my fave of the 4, the melody and those whispered sections, the synth arrangements all genius - Midge Ure suddenly demonstrating in a double whammy that he was more than a boyband frontman and proto pop-punk wannabe. 10/10 and the video also suddenly became a key part of a cultural pop movement after early gems from Beatles, Abba, Queen, Bowie, Bush as special effects gave much more creativity, such as in Fade To Grey.

Rapture topped my chart, the first Blondie track since Atomic to do it, I loved the rap getting a push to the genre as it would evolve over the next few years from Rapper's Delight to The Message. 9/10. Romeo And Juliet is sweet, it was nice to see Dire Straits getting another decent single after Sultans Of Swing, and I still count it among my top 5 Dire Straits tracks, 8/10. Scary Monsters was the least of the 4 singles off the album, but the screeching guitars are great 8/10.

I Am The Beat is catchy, a bit of New Wave pop fun but as I bought the vinyl single it's hard not to get slightly annoyed by the never-ending-loop on the final "Beat!" and having to lift the stylus off. 7/10. Guilty is pure Barry Gibb and a good MOR gift to Babs, 8/10. As old record labels started cashing in on Adam Ant I was less than bovvered about Young Parisians but it was OK 5/10. I Ain't Gonna Stand For It very much a Stevie-does-Country release, the song was pretty good but the previous and forthcoming tracks were better singles choices 8/10.

Don't Stop The Music sounded fresh at the time, the production was new-sounding and it's a sultry soul goodie in the vein of Gap Band stuff but with added vocal-distortions 8/10. Sad Cafe I havent heard in decades, but my memory of it is "bit dull" 5/10. Woman I was mad on at the time, feeling still-Lennon-bereaved and all, and it's a perfectly nice love song for Yoko, duly topping my charts, but it always felt under-produced to me, like a work-in-progress needing tidying up in parts. The real heart-warming/heart-breaking gem on the album is Beautiful Boy and that should have been a single. I have enough residue fondness for this to give it 8/10.

James Brown, meh by this stage for me and I really cant remember this at all but I expect 3 or 4/10. Rod was a bit dull on My Girl so ditto, but the Gap Band was a goodie, the bpm was better for me than the biggie and rated Burn Rubber On Me, 8/10.

The freeze came over as a weak follow-up to me at the time, and as Ive not heard it much bar the odd Spandau concert across the years, I still prob think it's a 6/10. Playing it now yes it still irritates me slightly, though the backdrop beats I like. I'm a fan of The Passions' one-off hit, as my recent plugging of a cover it suggests, always been a 9/10 for me. Evocative and moody. Twilight Cafe was another minor-hit fave at the time, but is less well remembered than The Passions' minor hit. I still like it, nice n catchy. 8/10.

I'd bought the Madness album so it was nice to see the instrumental coming out as a 3rd single for a hat-trick of goodies. Return Of The Los Palmas 7 topped by charts, and I still pop to Las Palmas in Gran Canaria, so that's still a near-enough reference I wouldnt have dreamed of being able to make in 1981. 9/10. I Surrender was minus the mighty vocals of Graham "The Marbles' Only One Woman" Bonnet, and it was indeed nowhere near as classic as the Russ Ballard song Since You've Been Gone, so I was never that much a fan of this one: 6/10.

Ooh Honey Bane not heard that in 40-odd years! I recall the quirkiness, being catchy and engaging, one I need to revisit when I re-do 1981 and digitise my charts, I'm assuming a 7/10 here. A Little In Love is pleasant Alan Tarney-era Cliff, not as memorable as the best they did together (see later in 1981), but still catchy and inoffensive 8/10. The Boomtown Rats had managed a great run but it all came a cropper with Elephant's Graveyard, another I havent heard in decades. I'm guessing around 6/10.

Heatwave return with Paralysed singer Johnnie Wilder Jr, their first since the car-crash that changed his life and eventually killed him, so I had great sympathy for this album and the singles - and I already loved Rod temperton's songs, now nicked by Michael Jackson and George Benson at the top of the line - Gangsters Of The Groove seemd to be a bit more synth-based than earlier funkier hits, but smooth as always. One could quite easily see this on Off The Wall. 8/10.

As a comics fan, Sgt Rock should have appealed to me, but it just strayed too far into annoying novelty for me and wasn't worthy to be mentioned in the same breath as Making Plans For Nigel. 5/10. It's My Tern could have been a tribute to seagulls, but instead it was Ms Ross back with the bland ballads as she got ready for EMI and ex-Motown. 5/10. Slade had been laid pretty low till a festival appeareance in 1980 reminded everyone how much fun they were, so they got a new record deal and hey presto chanting rock back in the charts. I like it. 7/10.

I don't hate Shaddap You Face - it's a sort of take of Chico Marx' movie classic comedy movie character, good-natured and quite tuneful. I mean, on radio rotation it can grate, but as a one-off it's fine. Plus, Chico Marx using this "dumb-sounding" accent and outwitting smart-ass cynic brother Groucho will never not be funny. 6/10.

Hang Together was a bit low-key after Native New Yorker and Use It Up, but no worries still more great singles to come 5/10. Light Of The World were party of the new wave of Jazz-funk that took in 1981 UK, I think, and I Shot The Sherrif is a good song, so I quite liked this. 6/10. The Oldest Swinger In Town was a pet hate at the time 1/10. Swinger in those days was more related to fashion and image I think, rather than the modern wife-swapping associations, but it was still rubbish. It's fair to say I have never paid close attention to fashions in appearance, I just wait for them to come back round again and call myself ahead of the time 😇

This batch is somewhere between the 1st and 2nd overall with a brilliant winner.

9	Talking Heads	Once In A Lifetime	1st hit for the group: an incredible track with a mesmerising chorus, sermon style spoken verses and twinkling accompaniment
8	The Jam	That's Entertainment	This only peaked at #21 because it was an import single: a marvellous simple and psychedelic track about working class life
8	Adam And The Ants	Kings Of The Wild Frontier {1981}	This was re-released following the success of other singles: a great pulsing track that has a feel of being about to go into battle
7	The Pretenders	Message Of Love	This isn't as immediate as the likes of "Brass In Pocket" but it's a lovely and wistful track with a driving rhythm and sweet lyrics
7	Gillan	Mutually Assured Destruction	Not a big hit but a really great apocalyptic track from the hard rock band with big production and slow dramatic vocal lines
7	Adam And The Ants	Cartrouble	"Kings Of The Wild Frontier" may have impeded the chart performance for this, which is another great pulsing track from them
6	Freeez	Southern Freeez	1st hit for this UK group: the instrumental elements of this and the gentle vocals are lovely, but it' more pleasant than great
6	Roxy Music	Jealous Guy	476th #1: they added this cover to their set following John's death and it's very well done but I prefer John's more raw version
6	Motorhead/Girlschool	St Valentine's Day Massacre EP	The 2 rock bands came together to record this EP with the 1st track together and then covering each other: it's a fun listen
5	Stray Cats	Rock This Town	I assumed this was a '50s cover but it's an original rockabilly song: it's a very decent example of its genre but not remarkable
5	Sheila Hylton	The Bed's Too Big Without You	Only Top 40 for this British Jamaican singer with a cover of the Police song: it's well performed but fairly similar to the original
4	Barbara Jones	Just When I Needed You Most	Only hit for this Jamaican singer: it's a very mellow ballad that isn't really my thing but she has a sweet voice and performs well
4	Coast To Coast	(Do) The Hucklebuck	Originally from 1949, it's a dance craze style rock and roll song giving this UK band their only big hit: it's quite a fun novelty
3	Beggar And Co	(Somebody) Help Me Out	1st hit for this UK jazz funk group: I quite like the trumpet parts and it's well sung but doesn't have a hook or anything memorable
3	Kelly Marie	Hot Love	Her last Top 40 and it's a very similar kind of high energy pop track for the 3rd time though with bagpipes this time: fairly naff
2	Barry Manilow	I Made It Through The Rain	Originally by Gerald Kenny, it's an easy listening song in any form but the original has more character and this does little for me

 

1981 Group 4:

#373	28/02/1981	Status Quo	Something 'Bout You Baby I Like	9	19-{9}-9-12-22-28-54->7
#374	14/02/1981	Toyah	Four From Toyah EP	4	59-42-26-16-11-8-{4}-6-8-16-27-33-58-58->14
#375	31/01/1981	The Teardrop Explodes	Reward	6	61-43-45-41-29-25-13-{6}-8-15-21-42-51->13
#376	21/02/1981	Kool And The Gang	Jones Vs Jones/Summer Madness/Funky Stuff	17	64-39-31-21-{17}-18-20-25-27-52-67->11
#377	21/02/1981	Kiki Dee	Star	13	55-40-27-17-{13}-15-19-28-51-67->10
#378	21/02/1981	Kim Wilde	Kids In America	2	62-43-18-6-3-{2}-2-4-11-14-23-43-60->13
#379	28/02/1981	Shakin' Stevens	This Ole House	1	64-29-7-2-{1}-1-1-2-3-7-19-28-41-50-65-56-71->17
#380	28/02/1981	The Jacksons	Can You Feel It	6	57-34-31-28-26-23-11-8-7-{6}-8-11-27-39-56->15
#381	07/03/1981	The Who	You Better You Bet	9	35-16-{9}-9-14-23-44-64->8
#382	28/02/1981	Yoko Ono	Walking On Thin Ice	35	50-37-{35}-40-64->5
#383	07/03/1981	Phil Collins	I Missed Again	14	45-20-{14}-17-24-30-66-75->8
#384	21/02/1981	Duran Duran	Planet Earth	12	67-52-47-26-20-{12}-16-22-23-40-47->11
#385	07/03/1981	Stevie Wonder	Lately	3	57-27-18-6-4-{3}-3-5-10-25-35-59-73->13
#386	14/03/1981	Visage	Mind Of A Toy	13	32-24-14-{13}-16-21-32-52->8
#387	28/02/1981	Sharon Redd	Can You Handle It	31	60-43-37-33-{31}-38-56-74->8

 

Once In A Lifetime is climbing my charts this very week, cos it's timeless, exciting, and I can't put it better than you have 10/10. That's Entertainment should have been an official single, better than a good number of actual Jam singles with hints at the more melodic Style Council future 9/10. Kings Of The Wild Frontier is good, but not as good as the last 2 Ants singles, but it did deserve to be a hit 8/10.

I sw The Pretenders around this time, and they were cracking. Message Of Love tends to be forgotten these days, but it's a goodie 8/10. Never got Gillan the band, and I barely recall MAD at all so I'm guessing 5/10. Cartrouble I wasnt fussed about, 5/10. Southern Freeez was a spot of jazzfunk that sounded cool 8/10.

When Roxy covered Jealous Guy I hadnt heard the original before, so this is the original for me and the one I got to love. I like John's starker version but this has more twiddly bits going on to keep my interest and Bryan does a good job on vocals. 8/10. The airplay track of Girlschool/Motorhead ws Please Dont Touch and that was a romp and yet another 8/10 here.

Rock This Town was a disappointing follow-up to Runaway Boys, but great production as expected 7/10. Not heard Sheila's Beds Too Big Without You since 1981, but I remember liking it 7/10. OTOH I dont recall Barbara Jones' Randy Vanwarmer cover, but I like reggae and I like the song so I would guess it'll be a 6 or 7.

Do The Hucklebuck is a great cover, fun and amusing on TOTP in full-on 50's pastiche, 8/10. Beggar & Co was decent, I liked that one and have the single 7/10. Hot Love was a slice of cheese too far 4/10. Bazza had a hit with I Made It Through The Rain, I'd forgotten that! Never liked it much, but I'm a little more tolerant these days 6/10.

Maybe it’s because I’ve heard it less and it’s fresher but “Reward” just pips the better known “Kids In America” for me here, though they’re both brilliant.

9	The Teardrop Explodes	Reward	1st and biggest hit for this UK band: a wonderfully frenetic and bolshy track with a driving rhythm and brass accompaniment
9	Kim Wilde	Kids In America	Written by her brother who was inspired by OMD and Gary Numan, her 1st and biggest hit and a very powerful synth pop track
8	Yoko Ono	Walking On Thin Ice	Recorded just a few hours before John's death and her only solo hit, it's a unique and fragile sounding song and very artistic
8	Duran Duran	Planet Earth	1st single for the UK new wave band and it's a bold sounding and dramatic statement of intent from their eponymous debut
8	The Jacksons	Can You Feel It	The most dynamic hit from them for a while with a great riff that has been sampled and used in adverts: it's a very strong track
7	Toyah	Four From Toyah EP	1st hit for the Toyah Wilcox fronted band: the vocals are unusual but it's a strong and very interesting collection of 4 tracks
7	Visage	Mind Of A Toy	This was banned by "Top Of The Pops" for being frightening for children and it is slightly sinister, but a good 2nd hit for them
6	Kiki Dee	Star	Her last solo Top 40 though she'll be back with Elton: this will be the theme show for "Opportunity Knocks" and it's a strong track
5	Kool And The Gang	Jones Vs Jones/Summer Madness/Funky Stuff	"Summer Madness" is a fabulous instrumental that would get an 8 alone, but the other 2 tracks are quite forgettable bits of RnB
5	Stevie Wonder	Lately	A big emotive ballad from Stevie well performed, but it doesn't quite have enough happening musically to maintain my interest
4	The Who	You Better You Bet	Impressive that they managed another Top 10 so late in their career: it's a well composed track but I find the lyrics a little silly
4	Phil Collins	I Missed Again	It's extraordinary that such a light and matter of fact track came after the brooding "In The Air Tonight", although it's not too bad
3	Shakin' Stevens	This Ole House	477th #1:the 2nd time the song topped the charts, and while this isn't terrible I think Rosemary's version has more character
2	Status Quo	Something 'Bout You Baby I Like	This is very similar to their other cheery upbeat hits like "Rockin' All Over The World", and feels quite throwaway in any case
2	Sharon Redd	Can You Handle It	1st hit for this US singer with a disco song with quite a memorable melody but unfortunately I find it rather repetitive and grating

1981 Group 5:

#388	28/02/1981	Landscape	Einstein A-Go-Go	5	70-56-38-21-11-8-{5}-5-6-9-20-34-48->13
#389	14/03/1981	New Order	Ceremony	34	39-{34}-39-46-65->5
#390	07/03/1981	Linx	Intuition	7	65-41-25-13-10-{7}-10-11-19-40-52->11
#391	14/03/1981	The Whispers	It's A Love Thing	9	43-26-20-11-{9}-9-9-11-14-36-47->11
#392	14/03/1981	Dave Stewart With Colin Blunstone	What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted	13	57-30-19-17-{13}-13-19-21-46-64->10
#393	14/03/1981	Iron Maiden	Twilight Zone/Wrathchild	31	55-{31}-32-43-66->5
#394	14/03/1981	The Nolans	Attention To Me	9	64-35-29-21-15-14-10-12-{9}-12-20-41-47->13
#395	07/03/1981	The Polecats	John I'm Only Dancing/Big Green Car	35	69-45-39-36-36-{35}-50-57->8
#396	21/03/1981	Tony Capstick And The Carlton Main/Frickley Colliery Band	Capstick Comes Home/The Sheffield Grinder	3	54-10-{3}-6-17-24-45-57->8
#397	21/03/1981	Hazel O'Connor	D-Days	10	42-23-12-{10}-12-16-20-33-61->9
#398	28/03/1981	Bucks Fizz	Making Your Mind Up	1	24-5-2-{1}-1-1-4-6-16-26-37-53->12
#399	21/03/1981	Heatwave	Jitterbuggin'	34	72-{34}-35-34-49-56-69->7
#400	28/03/1981	Ultravox	Slow Motion	33	35-{33}-40-61->4
#401	21/03/1981	Gillan	New Orleans	17	44-37-25-24-20-18-{17}-23-33-45->10
#402	21/03/1981	Elton John Band Featuring John Lennon And The Muscle Shoals Horns	I Saw Her Standing There	40	47-{40}-40-58->4

3 classics to kick off with here: Reward is still exciting, brash and in ya face, the brass especially belts out a wallop and I love it as much as I did at the time. I wish it was better known, but Julian Cope comes over as very Scott Walker in influenced by. Kids In America is little bro Ricky biding his time from his pre-teen Glam-flop Teen Wave and really grabbing Kim a line (with dad Marty) in synth-Glam, what a great song and it never fails to sound exciting at a Kim concert - seen her do it numerous times, and even though nowadays it's with a wry smile from over-50's collectively singing it, still fun. Yoko's single is brilliant, unique, tragic, and groundbreaking all in one: Yoko didn't shy away from John's murder, she placed it full centre. Watching a loved one die in front of your eyes is long-term trauma, but a murder is so many degrees worse and I felt for her at the time. I bought the single and it topped my charts, still rate it highly. this trio all 10/10.

Planet Earth, a good debut, and Duran showed promise - top 10 for me, though I've cooled a bit on it with time - they had loads way better to come for the next 45 years, and a fair bit not quite so good. 8/10. Can You Feel It also topped my charts, their most exciting and longlasting hit as The Jacksons, it sounded like a way forward for the decade, rather than a last hurrah - but that's what it was. One follow-up hit that did as well (but wasnt as good) 10/10. Toyah's EP, or It's a Mystery in terms of airplay and my charts, was quirky and engaging, still see Toyah on the tour circuit every few years, still energetic and enthusiastic as ever. 8/10.

Mind Of A Toy , another good Visage track that never gets airplay, 8/10 again, while Kiki's Star is a top song, so many hooks in on concise little package. It was too good for a TV theme show 9/10. Great she was having hits over a decade after getting signed to Motown (and flopping). Jones vs JOnes was the playlisted side, pleasant soul and a template they werent going to shift from 7/10. Summer Madness gets referenced in Fresh Prince/Jazzy Jeff's summer classic and was an early 70's instrumental that became a bit of a sampled classic, dreamy 8/10.

Lately is a sparse emotional Stevie Wonder classic, it's essentially his voice and piano with a few added bits in the background and that lets the song lyrics work well. Another chart-topper for me 10/10. You Better You Bet was a disappointment compared to past glories, and even compared to solo Townsend and Daltrey stuff, never thought much of it. 4/10. Phil does his first stab at funk, and I Missed Again is not bad, albeit nothing like one would have expected - but makes sense when one sees his US r'n'b popularity 7/10.

This Ole House was quite refreshing until it got overplayed, and way better than his previous 1980 singles, 7/10, Quo cover Tom Jones and move into Karaoke territory - it's OK, but not classic Quo. 6/10. Sharon Redd's was decent disco-hangover hitting, I liked it and it got remixed and covered down the line after she had died way too young, so I'm still well-disposed towards it 7/10.

My top 3 would be exactly the same as yours in that group 3 batch!

'Once In A Lifetime' stands out a lot in these charts and still feels influential even now. I remember being shocked to find out that it wasn't a top 10 hit.

'That's Entertainment' is sharp lyrically as ever from Weller and the production feels tailor-made for me to enjoy with the strong Revolver influences.

'Kings of the Wild Frontier' is inviting and such a thrill with those rich drum and guitar sounds. I do like 'Jealous Guy' too but how unlucky for Adam & co. to be blocked from #1 by actual Lennon and then a Lennon-adjacent chart topper. Perhaps their fortunes will change though...

I wasn't aware that 'Kids in America' was inspired by Numan and OMD but that makes total sense. LOVE it anyway, one of those songs that instantly uplifts.

'Planet Earth' and 'Reward' are great too. The session with 'Fade to Grey', 'Vienna' etc. was always going to be hard to top but still plenty to love in 1981.

'Planet Earth' is definitely my favourite Duran Duran track, a bit of an epic. Bass guitar and synths became a popular combination in 1981-2.

'Reward' is very good, it does kind of fit in with the early 80s new wave sound but is apparently more 60s influenced.

'Mind of a Toy' is not bad but definitely my least favourite of Visage's hits.

'Kids in America' by Kim Wilde is good, especially the bit after the chorus!

'Southern Freeez' is good and one of the hits of the 'Britfunk' movement and also has a Bananarama reminscent vocal in my opinion!

Edited 8 hours ago8 hr by TheSnake