It is time to reveal my favourite songs for each year of the 1980's.

Let's start with 1980. I'm much into post-punk, new wave and Ska, so it is no wonder that this kind of stuff tops my chart for the biggest songs of 1980. However, some other styles also found it's way into my Top 50. My favourite band of the year is Joy Division, who appear three times and have my favourite album of the year. It is so sad that Ian Curtis died that early - he was such a genius and his voice was so remarkable and unique. Song of the year is "Enola Gay" by OMD, such a groundbreaking song for Synth-Pop and among my Top 10 of all time.

Playlist

I will also put the top 50 as countdown on mixcloud sourced from my CD collection, but this will take some time.

Hope you like this compilation - more to come! All comments are welcome!

Here is the mixcloud countdown from 50 to 1

Great selection for 1980, one of my favourite years for music. 'Enola Gay', 'Love Will Tear Us Apart', 'Going Underground' and 'Atomic' are all in my top 10 too. I only included UK Top 40 hits, but nice to see some representation from Closer, 'Isolation' is my favourite track from it.

Fantastic start, we share seven of the same top ten for this year - my own looks like this:

1. Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart

2. Blondie - Atomic

3. The Jam - Going Underground

4. ABBA - The Winner Takes It All

5. The Cure - A Forest

6. Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - Enola Gay

7. David Bowie - Ashes to Ashes

8. Blondie - Call Me

9. Martha and the Muffins - Echo Beach

10. Adam and the Ants - Antmusic

So consider me part of the Joy Division appreciation society forming in this thread.

Hyped for your 1981 list as I'm particularly fond of that year.

32 minutes ago, jimwatts said:

Great selection for 1980, one of my favourite years for music. 'Enola Gay', 'Love Will Tear Us Apart', 'Going Underground' and 'Atomic' are all in my top 10 too. I only included UK Top 40 hits, but nice to see some representation from Closer, 'Isolation' is my favourite track from it.

1980 indeed is fantastic. I mainly also focussed my charts on UK Top 40 hits, but Closer is such a masterpiece, that I had to include some further songs from the album.

15 minutes ago, Jade said:

Fantastic start, we share seven of the same top ten for this year - my own looks like this:

1. Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart

2. Blondie - Atomic

3. The Jam - Going Underground

4. ABBA - The Winner Takes It All

5. The Cure - A Forest

6. Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - Enola Gay

7. David Bowie - Ashes to Ashes

8. Blondie - Call Me

9. Martha and the Muffins - Echo Beach

10. Adam and the Ants - Antmusic

So consider me part of the Joy Division appreciation society forming in this thread.

Hyped for your 1981 list as I'm particularly fond of that year.

That is a great intersection. "A Forest" also appears in my charts. Unfortunately I got a bit tired of "The Winner Takes It All", so that it ended up outside my Top 50. Somehow I don't feel "Antmusic" that much , but I really like Adam's later stuff particularly "Stand And Deliver".

1980 is my all time favourite year for music! So I’m joining in with my top 40. I’m allowing one song per artist:-

1. Ashes to Ashes – David Bowie

2. Going Underground – The Jam

3. It’s Different for Girls – Joe Jackson

4. Love Will Tear Us Apart – Joy Division

5. The Tide Is High – Blondie

6. Hands Off... She’s Mine – The Beat

7. Don’t Stand So Close to Me – The Police

8. Funkytown – Lipps, Inc.

9. Ace of Spades – Motörhead

10. Embarrassment – Madness

11. Talk of the Town – Pretenders

12. Too Much Too Young – The Specials

13. So Good to Be Back Home Again – The Tourists

14. Geno – Dexys Midnight Runners

15. Bankrobber – The Clash

16. Antmusic - Adam & The Ants

17. Echo Beach – Martha and the Muffins

18. Games Without Frontiers – Peter Gabriel

19. Use It Up and Wear It Out – Odyssey

20. The Spirit of Radio – Rush

21. The Winner Takes It All – ABBA

22. Whip It – Devo

23. King – UB40

24. Babe – Styx

25. We Are Glass – Gary Numan

26. Three Little Birds – Bob Marley & The Wailers

27. Upside Down – Diana Ross

28. I Can’t Stand Up for Falling Down – Elvis Costello & The Attractions

29. Enola Gay – Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark

30. Turning Japanese – The Vapors

31. A Forest – The Cure

32. Another Nail in My Heart – Squeeze

33. Eighth Day – Hazel O’Connor

34. Master Blaster (Jammin’) – Stevie Wonder

35. Someone’s Looking at You – The Boomtown Rats

36. Special Brew – Bad Manners

37. Runaway Boys -Stray Cats

38. To Cut A Long Story Short - Spandau Ballet

39. Another One Bites The Dust - Queen

40. I Hear You Now - Jon & Vangelis

49 minutes ago, Jaz13music said:

1980 is my all time favourite year for music! So I’m joining in with my top 40. I’m allowing one song per artist:-

1. Ashes to Ashes – David Bowie

2. Going Underground – The Jam

3. It’s Different for Girls – Joe Jackson

4. Love Will Tear Us Apart – Joy Division

5. The Tide Is High – Blondie

6. Hands Off... She’s Mine – The Beat

7. Don’t Stand So Close to Me – The Police

8. Funkytown – Lipps, Inc.

9. Ace of Spades – Motörhead

10. Embarrassment – Madness

11. Talk of the Town – Pretenders

12. Too Much Too Young – The Specials

13. So Good to Be Back Home Again – The Tourists

14. Geno – Dexys Midnight Runners

15. Bankrobber – The Clash

16. Antmusic - Adam & The Ants

17. Echo Beach – Martha and the Muffins

18. Games Without Frontiers – Peter Gabriel

19. Use It Up and Wear It Out – Odyssey

20. The Spirit of Radio – Rush

21. The Winner Takes It All – ABBA

22. Whip It – Devo

23. King – UB40

24. Babe – Styx

25. We Are Glass – Gary Numan

26. Three Little Birds – Bob Marley & The Wailers

27. Upside Down – Diana Ross

28. I Can’t Stand Up for Falling Down – Elvis Costello & The Attractions

29. Enola Gay – Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark

30. Turning Japanese – The Vapors

31. A Forest – The Cure

32. Another Nail in My Heart – Squeeze

33. Eighth Day – Hazel O’Connor

34. Master Blaster (Jammin’) – Stevie Wonder

35. Someone’s Looking at You – The Boomtown Rats

36. Special Brew – Bad Manners

37. Runaway Boys -Stray Cats

38. To Cut A Long Story Short - Spandau Ballet

39. Another One Bites The Dust - Queen

40. I Hear You Now - Jon & Vangelis

Great Top 40 - lots of overlaps to my charts. I find it intersestin that you choose "The Tide Is High" over "Call Me" and "Atomic".

5 minutes ago, DaTilt said:

Great Top 40 - lots of overlaps to my charts. I find it intersestin that you choose "The Tide Is High" over "Call Me" and "Atomic".

Thank you, yours is brilliant too, and thanks for giving me the impetus to do the list!

Yes I really love all 3 Blondie songs and to be truthful the order might change from day to day depending on my mood, I just think Tide Is High is so joyous. But what a fantastic year they had in ‘80. My self imposed rule of having one song per artist (basically to try to squeeze more variety in) is working against me here. The Beat, Madness and Joy Division (as you highlighted) all had many great songs that year

Oh no, I just realised when talking about Joy Division in ‘80 I forgot about ‘Atmosphere’ an all time favourite of mine. How could I?!

On 26/04/2026 at 09:41, Jaz13music said:

Oh no, I just realised when talking about Joy Division in ‘80 I forgot about ‘Atmosphere’ an all time favourite of mine. How could I?!

Indeed another fine song from them. I don't like it as much as the three listed, but in a Top 100 of 1980 it would be definitely in as well as further songs from "Closer".

Great and varied top 50 there Da Tilt, nice graphics too of course 😎I pretty much like all of them bar two and love most of them - I have always struggled with Stiff Little Fingers and Cockney Rejects. I bought 30 of them as singles at the time, have about 40 of them on CD compilations I reckon, too, with just a couple pending downloads when I get round to it. 😄

4 hours ago, Popchartfreak said:

Great and varied top 50 there Da Tilt, nice graphics too of course 😎I pretty much like all of them bar two and love most of them - I have always struggled with Stiff Little Fingers and Cockney Rejects. I bought 30 of them as singles at the time, have about 40 of them on CD compilations I reckon, too, with just a couple pending downloads when I get round to it. 😄

I am a big Stiff Little Fingers fan. "Inflammable Material" is such a great album. Came to them through John Peel's Festive 50. You can't miss the Cockney Rejects as Hammers fan. 🙂