11. Uptown Girl - Billy Joel

Going into 1983, Billy Joel had never had a top 10 hit in the UK, even 'Just The Way You Are' had only got to number 19, and his highest position on the album chart was number 9 with 1980's 'Glass Houses'. All that changed with his album 'An Innocent Man' which was influenced by music from the late 50s and early 60s that he had grown up with. The first single from it, Uptown Girl, reached the top 40 in its third week on the chart and then quickly ascended to the top where it stayed for five weeks in November and December, ending the year as the second best selling single. The model Christie Brinkley appears with Billy in the video and they got married two years later. A cover version by Westlife also reached number 1 in 2001.

Two more songs from the album, 'Tell Her About It' and 'An Innocent Man', were top 10 hits. These were followed by two more: 'We Didn't Start The Fire' (1989) and 'The River Of Dreams' (1993). Billy then stopped releasing any new albums apart from an LP of classical music in 2001. He continues to tour now and then.

After the intro, this launches straight into the chorus. Even the next part, starting with "And when she knows" sounds like a chorus so you could say the whole song is one big chorus and that's maybe one way of writing a big selling record. It's a uncomplicated, catchy pop song but not quite good enough to make my top 10. I prefer three of the songs I've mentioned, 'An Innocent Man', 'We Didn't Start The Fire' and 'Just The Way You Are' as well as 'Goodnight Saigon'. Lyrically, you could almost see this song as being a sequel to Rod Stewart's 'Baby Jane' which we had earlier, maybe set a few years later and coming from the perspective of another man.

Not really a fan of 'Uptown Girl', overplay on radio/music channels of both the original and Westlife versions, and Billy Joel has better songs especially 'We Didn't Start The Fire'.

Its also very 60's revivalist which I am not really a fan of in the 80's charts, I prefer up to date production from the era.

Having said that it didn't keep anything that great off #1 for its five weeks, 'Say Say Say' by Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson wasn't great apart from the bit that was sampled by Hi-Tack in 2006. 'All Night Long' by Lionel Ritchie is a bit better, and I do prefer it to 'Uptown Girl'.

Edited Monday at 16:323 days by TheSnake

I too prefer Set Adrift On Memory Bliss to True. However, it is an 80s classic.

I irrationally hugely dislike Uptown Girl. Not sure why!

Uptown Girl and Karma Chameleon are similar to me - both huge sellers and I can see why they were so popular, but both feel slightly tacky these days.

I love "True" - stone-cold synth-pop classic - one of my favourite #1's of 1983.

"Give It Up" is a proper disco-stomper. Love it!!

The Flying Pickett's cover version is close to the bottom - Yazoo original is awesome.

"Uptown Girl" is flat for me - there are better songs from Billy.

Like but don't love 'Uptown Girl' or anything. It's catchy but yes Billy Joel does have plenty of better songs.

10. Red Red Wine - UB40

Named after an unemployment benefit attendance card, UB40 were formed in Birmingham in 1978 and already had eight top 40 hits by the time Red Red Wine was released. It was part of their fourth album, 'Labour Of Love', a collection of cover versions of songs by reggae artists from 1969 to 1972. Neil Diamond is certainly not a reggae artist but when they recorded Red Red Wine, they thought that Tony Tribe's version was the original, even after seeing the name N Diamond as the writer on the vinyl record. They thought that it might be a Jamaican called Negus Diamond. The single spent three weeks at number 1 in September and was the third best selling single of the year.

Five years later, UB40 performed Red Red Wine at the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Concert at Wembley Stadium which led to an American radio station playing the song. Interest grew and the re-issued single climbed to the top of the Billboard chart. The group's most recent top 40 hit was in 2005 but they are still going, with a new album due to be released this year. Ali Campbell, who sings lead on Red Red Wine, left in 2008 and started his own version of the band.

I liked this song at the time and it still holds up now. Like 'Uptown Girl', it goes straight to the chorus. As well as that persistent reggae beat, you've got the bass guitar, keyboards and drums all thrown in to the mix but still leaving room for Ali Campbell's vocal. Astro's rap, which I have heard on some versions of the song, was omitted from the single release. The keyboard sound at 1.34 and again at 2.28 bears a noticeable similarity to the one on the intro to Queen's single from the previous year, 'Las Palabras De Amor'. As for the lyrics, they are about drinking wine to forget your troubles so more suited to Neil Diamond's slower paced folk sounding original version.

Quite a sad song about depending on alcohol to get through hard times.

I still prefer 'One In Ten' though from them.

Karma Chameleon is my favourite so far, ubiquitous and overplayed but I still like it a lot. Uptown Girl is fun too for me.

Baby Jane is pretty good for Rod's 80s output, the chorus is strong. And Only You is charming and a nice version.

I think the last place is fair, not a song I ever seek out to listen to.

I really like the Flying Pickets version of Only You, I knew it before the original but have come to appreciate that more. I do think they do a good job and add a different somber tone. Pretty impressive for them still to be going albeit with no original members!

Red Red Wine is definitely a victim of massive overplay, I can't really abide it these days and have never been a huge fan of them anyway. Uptown Girl and True are similarly overplayed, but I have a soft spot for them.

'Uptown Girl' is easily my favourite so far. I have good memories of going to 80s-themed club nights while at uni in 1998/99 when this would always get played, before Westlife had even had any hits - it's a fun 50s pastiche turned huge sounding pop song.

I quite like the Flying Pickets' #1 which I first heard on a Christmas compilation, but Yazoo's original remains some way ahead. I have a somewhat ironic appreciation for 'True' with how earnest it all is, the line about listening to Marvin, and the dramatic vocals - it does have a good riff, but I much prefer their first couple of hits. Everything else so far is in a similar place for me, mostly ubiquitous songs which I don't especially enjoy, but don't mind at the same time.

How high or low you could put "Save Your Love" in this ranking ?

I would have put it in bottom place, sorry.

Red Red Wine is another one that’s just okay for me. I’m not a huge fan of UB40 full stop though which doesn’t help. I definitely prefer their version of Can’t Help Falling In Love With You to this cover

Uptown Girl was pure Four Seasons affectionate parody, and that was and is fine by me, as was the huge success of it as it clearly appealed to those growing up in the 60's. The whole album was Billy's love letter to the 50s and 60s, and a such is a one-off in his career, but it did the job - it got him out of his cult status, and into the mega-league in the UK and other territories. These days Billy is regarded as a great, and I appreciate him way more than I did at the time - his back catalogue is varied and classically-influenced (trained in classical piano and all that) and saw him on his last date in the UK at Cardiff, where loads of young people were in the audience, including my teen nephew and niece, who knew the words to more songs than I did. Uptown Girl I was fine on though! Second to Baby Jane of those so far, for me.

UB40 tended to be better on their own material, I always thought, but like BIlly Joel, this album was an unexpected crossover to mainstream appeal as their love letter to reggae music of their youth, Red Red Wine unexpectedly giving Neil Diamond a well-deserved second UK number one as songwriter - the 60's and early 70's were his great period as songwriter, but like so many acts he had limited numbers of hits in the UK as a solo act, so this was a nice bonus. But like Sweet Caroline, overplay has taken the edge off my love. The former was literally done 2 or 3 times on karaoke on holiday, hard to believe once upon a time it was a fondly remembered great 60's pop gem that popped up now and then on radio! Now it's the bloody UK national anthem! If one has to listen to UB40 covers (and one should, they did loads for the original songwriters) then 1990's Kingston Town is the go-to classic, or their cover of the late Jimmy Cliff's Many Rivers To Cross 1972 cover off this 1983 same album. Both much better songs and records. Red Red Wine, behind Give It Up and ahead of Only You, I reckon.

It always annoys me that Billy Joel’s only no.1 here was Uptown Girl. I like it but it isn’t even nearly my favourite song by him and a lot of his best underperformed. He’s such a talented musician.

Red Red Wine is also not among my favourite songs. UB40 mostly put a bit too much cheese in their productions, eventhough I quite like a lot reggae. "One In Ten" is my favourite of them - that is a proppa one.

"Red Red Wine" definitely behind Spandau Ballet and Rod for me.

9. Too Shy - Kajagoogoo

Named after the first sound that many babies make, Kajagoogoo had already gone through a previous incarnation from 1978 to 1981 as Art Nouveau, recording avant-garde music. This was before Limahl had joined them as their lead singer. It was quite unusual in the 80s for a group to reach number 1 with their debut single but this is what happened with Too Shy, entering the chart at number 33 and then going 10-5-2-1. It spent a fortnight at number 1 in February and also topped the charts in Belgium, Ireland, Japan and Germany.

Everything quickly fell apart with Limahl being sacked by the other members a few months later and bass player Nick Beggs taking over as lead singer. A couple of more hits followed but unable to find any more, the group disbanded at the end of 1985. A couple of brief revivals happened in the 21st Century. Nick Beggs has been part of Steven Wilson's touring line-up since 2011, also contributing to his studio albums, and has even filled in for an injured Pete Trewavas on Marillion's 2024 tour.

This takes a different approach to Uptown Girl and Red Red Wine which went straight to the chorus by starting with a 39 second intro which highlights Nick Begg's bass guitar prowess. This is followed by Limahl warming up his voice with a long note but that part was kept in by the producer, Colin Thurston, who liked it. Elsewhere, we have synths, piano and more bass guitar. Limahl's vocal is competent but not outstanding. I do like the instrumental break and the song is well put together with Duran Duran's Nick Rhodes co-producing. The lyrics are self explanatory, I like the word 'dilate' being used as we don't often hear it in a song's lyrics. The repeated line "too shy, shy, hush-hush, eye to eye" is certainly the main hook.

'Red Red Wine' is smooth but wouldn't be my go to for UB40. They have a lot of great tracks though.

'Too Shy' is fun.