It's the start of a new chart year, I've still got 1976 and 1977 to digitise but as there's a lot of 80's stuff going on let's crack on with 1981 too! It's my 23rd birthday, I'm unemployed, 3 million on the dole, and my hero John Lennon has just been murdered, and my grandma has gone back to Liverpool after recovering from her heart attack after coming down for my brother's wedding. Some old people like to look at the past through rose-tinted specs, but happily/unhappily I remember things as they were, by and large.

3rd January 1981

It's a hat-trick of posthumous number one's for John Lennon as Imagine takes over the top spot, and the next single from Double Fantasy isbeing lined-up for release - Woman, Lennon in his lovey-dovey happy family guy melodic mode, and given Yoko had to watch him die it made it poignant at the time, even though it seems a bit slushy these days. New at 14, just ahead of a last-minute return from Slade with their annual radio staple. Merry Christmas Everybody had managed to slip into the UK charts over Christmas, and thus becomes eligible for my chart - it's the 4th time or so it did it to date.

With exciting new records thin on the ground, Neil Diamond and Kenny Rogers sneak into the top 10, The Specials go top 5, and Darts return with Shboom and Rod Stewart's cover of My Girl pops in at 75. New fresh ones are restricted to Susan Fassbender at 49 with Twilight Cafe, and a catchy one-off pop minor hit that I rather like still, and at 70, quietly debuting a classic from Midge Ure and Steve Strange aka Visage and the brilliant Fade To Grey. I think I had heard it just the once at this point... but that will change as it picks up Radio One airplay. If not for John Lennon's murder my new year chart would be Madness at 1, Specials 2, Adam & The Ants 3 with ABBA down from 1 after a long run on top. If I had allowed album tracks Lay All Your Love On Me or The Piper would be up there top end with all the other Super Trouper album tracks lower down.

1 ( 3 ) IMAGINE John Lennon

2 ( 2 ) (JUST LIKE) STARTING OVER John Lennon

3 ( 1 ) HAPPY XMAS (WAR IS OVER) John & Yoko & The Harlem Community Choir

4 ( 6 ) EMBARRASSMENT Madness

5 ( 9 ) DO NOTHING The Specials

6 ( 5 ) ANTMUSIC Adam & The Ants

7 ( 4 ) SUPER TROUPER ABBA

8 ( 12 ) LOVE ON THE ROCKS Neil Diamond

9 ( 7 ) FLASH Queen

10 ( 14 ) LADY Kenny Rogers

11 ( 8 ) DE DO DO DO DE DA DA DA The Police

12 ( 11 ) RUNAWAY BOYS The Stray Cats

13 ( 10 ) STOP THE CAVALRY Jona Lewie

14 ( NEW ) WOMAN John Lennon

15 ( 21 ) TOO NICE TO TALK TO The Beat

16 ( NEW ) MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY Slade

17 ( 13 ) DECEMBER WILL BE MAGIC Kate Bush

18 ( 19 ) BANANA REPUBLIC The Boomtown Rats

19 ( 20 ) LIES/ DON'T DRIVE MY CAR Status Quo

20 ( 18 ) THE TIDE IS HIGH Blondie

21 ( 16 ) DO YOU FEEL MY LOVE Eddy Grant

22 ( 17 ) LOOKING FOR CLUES Robert Palmer

23 ( 38 ) I AIN'T GONNA STAND FOR IT Stevie Wonder

24 ( 27 ) WHO'S GONNA ROCK YOU The Nolans

25 ( 31 ) HARD TO BE HUMBLE Mac Davis

26 ( 30 ) THIS WRECKAGE Gary Numan

27 ( 36 ) GANGSTERS OF THE GROOVE Heatwave

28 ( 15 ) WHAT YOUR MAMA DON'T SEE Gary Glitter

29 ( 26 ) OVER THE RAINBOW/YOU BELONG TO ME Matchbox

30 ( 32 ) LORRAINE Bad Manners

31 ( 34 ) DON'T WALK AWAY E.L.O.

32 ( 24 ) HUNGRY HEART Bruce Springsteen

33 ( 28 ) LOVE ME TO SLEEP Hot Chocolate

34 ( 23 ) GUILTY Barbra Streisand & Barry Gibb

35 ( 29 ) CELEBRATION Kool & The Gang

36 ( 22 ) THERE'S NO-ONE QUITE LIKE GRANDMA St. Winifred's School Choir

37 ( 25 ) KISS ON MY LIST Daryl Hall & John Oates

38 ( 33 ) TO CUT A LONG STORY SHORT Spandau Ballet

39 ( 39 ) IF I COULD ONLY MAKE YOU CARE Mike Berry

40 ( 50 ) RUNAROUND SUE Racey

41 ( 37 ) FASHION David Bowie

42 ( 35 ) LONELY TOGETHER Barry Manilow

43 ( 43 ) AYATOLLAH SONG Not The 9 O'Clock News featuring Pamela Stephenson

44 ( 41 ) ASHES TO ASHES David Bowie

45 ( 45 ) I AM THE BEAT The Look

46 ( 40 ) WOMAN IN LOVE Barbra Streisand

47 ( 56 ) CLUBLAND Elvis Costello

48 ( 48 ) THE WINNER TAKES IT ALL Abba

49 ( NEW ) TWILIGHT CAFE Susan Fassbender

50 ( 47 ) DON'T STAND SO CLOSE TO ME The Police

51 ( 42 ) BLUE MOON Showaddywaddy

52 ( 54 ) HEARTBREAK HOTEL The Jacksons

53 ( 53 ) BAGGY TROUSERS Madness

54 ( 49 ) ENOLA GAY Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark

55 ( 44 ) NOBODY TAKES ME SERIOUSLY ANYMORE Split-Enz

56 ( 55 ) DREAMER Supertramp

57 ( 57 ) MONKEES EP (LAST TRAIN TO CLARKSVILLE/ I'M A BELIEVER/ A LITTLE BIT ME A LITTLE BIT YOU/ DAYDREAM BELIEVER) The Monkees

58 ( RE ) SHBOOM (LIFE COULD BE A DREAM) Darts

59 ( 52 ) WHAT A FOOL BELIEVES Aretha Franklin

60 ( 46 ) A WOMAN IN WINTER The Skids

61 ( 51 ) I LIKE (WHAT YOU'RE DOING TO ME) Young & Co

62 ( 60 ) ALL OUT OF LOVE Air Supply

63 ( 63 ) SANTA CLAUS IS BACK IN TOWN Elvis Presley

64 ( 58 ) SAME OLD SCENE Roxy Music

65 ( 65 ) ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST Queen

66 ( 59 ) WONDERFUL LAND Mike Oldfield

67 ( 64 ) BOOM BOOM Black Slate

68 ( 68 ) BACK ON THE ROAD AGAIN Earth, Wind & Fire

69 ( 61 ) THE EARTH DIES SCREAMING UB40

70 ( NEW ) FADE TO GREY Visage

71 ( 69 ) ROCK'N'ROLL AIN'T NOISE POLLUTION AC/DC

72 ( 73 ) I'M IN LOVE AGAIN Sad Cafe

73 ( 67 ) SPECIAL BREW Bad Manners

74 ( 72 ) RABBIT Chas & Dave

75 ( NEW ) MY GIRL Rod Stewart

TV 3rd Jan - 9th Jan 1981

On TV in the new year it was back to the regular shows, and Star Trek was still my biggest love - so much so that I was careful to name the episodes. On sitcom's the ground-breaking Soap was runner-up, ahead of the niceness of Mork & Mindy, the main appeal still being Robin Williams being Robin Williams. A series that needs repeating for new generations is 25 Years Of Rock'n'Roll, a trawl through the key music and key news items of the last 25 years. It needs an update for 1981 through 2025. TV makers? Cheap, historic, and the only issues would be rights to footage. None of this modern obsession with celebrities giving opinions endlessly or getting all rose-tinted nostalgic. The news items speak for themselves and the music makes it more powerful.

A good episode of Top Of The Pops, Joanna Lumley and David mcCallum on Sapphire & Steel sci-fi oddity, quirky Douglas Adams comedy, a Westworld sequel that everyone has forgotten, and Doctor Who, which nobody has forgotten, make up the rest of my TV highlights at the time.

1 Star Trek: The Cloud Minders

2 Soap

3 Mork & Mindy

4 25 Years Of Rock'n'Roll

5 Top Of The Pops

6 Sapphire & Steel (Tues)

7 TV Film: Orphan Train

8 Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy

9 TISWAS

10 Sapphire & Steel (Thurs)

11 Doctor Who

12 Beyond Westworld

13 The Professionals

14 Mini-series: Beulah Land

15 Nationwide (Wed)

10th January 1981

It's 2 weeks on top for the standard that peaked at 2 first time round in 1975, though Imagine was a US single in 1971, but bizarrely not a UK single at all. Parlophone/Apple made ongoing terrible choices in the UK in the 60's and 70's. Woman, meanwhile climbs to 3 giving John Lennon the entire top 4, something that had never happened in my charts - except for the 1976 catalogue reissues of the Beatles singles which forced me to create an entire chart of them - but they would have easily outdone that if I hadn't done that.

The new music scene hadnt quite got off the mark yet, there's just the synth-funk goodie Don't Stop The Music from Yarborough & Peoples at 24, Split Enz on single 3 Poor Boy at 48 and sounding good, David Bowie's album title track Scary Monsters new at 56 complete with great screeching guitar riffs, Steely Dan back again at 64 for 9 years of charting on Hey Nineteen as smooth, cool, jazz-rock as ever, Cliff back with another Alan Tarney goodie, A Little In Love at 59 for 13 years of charting, and an Adam & The Ants oldie pushed out again in Young Parisians.

That leaves just the monster classic debut from Phil Collins, In The Air Tonight, a pounding, haunting break-up song - and in one fell swoop he outdoes any Genesis track to date in terms of quality and global success, in at 29 and the main rival together with highest climber Visage, to end the John Lennon monopoly at the top end of the charts. Not to worry if it doesn't though as it'll be back in 1988 thanks to a remix and in the 21st century thanks to a gorilla.

1 ( 1 ) IMAGINE John Lennon

2 ( 3 ) HAPPY XMAS (WAR IS OVER) John & Yoko & The Harlem Community Choir

3 ( 14 ) WOMAN John Lennon

4 ( 2 ) (JUST LIKE) STARTING OVER John Lennon

5 ( 5 ) DO NOTHING The Specials

6 ( 8 ) LOVE ON THE ROCKS Neil Diamond

7 ( 7 ) SUPER TROUPER ABBA

8 ( 6 ) ANTMUSIC Adam & The Ants

9 ( 9 ) FLASH Queen

10 ( 4 ) EMBARRASSMENT Madness

11 ( 11 ) DE DO DO DO DE DA DA DA The Police

12 ( 13 ) STOP THE CAVALRY Jona Lewie

13 ( 12 ) RUNAWAY BOYS The Stray Cats

14 ( 15 ) TOO NICE TO TALK TO The Beat

15 ( 23 ) I AIN'T GONNA STAND FOR IT Stevie Wonder

16 ( 10 ) LADY Kenny Rogers

17 ( 24 ) WHO'S GONNA ROCK YOU The Nolans

18 ( 27 ) GANGSTERS OF THE GROOVE Heatwave

19 ( 19 ) LIES/ DON'T DRIVE MY CAR Status Quo

20 ( 18 ) BANANA REPUBLIC The Boomtown Rats

21 ( 26 ) THIS WRECKAGE Gary Numan

22 ( 30 ) LORRAINE Bad Manners

23 ( 20 ) THE TIDE IS HIGH Blondie

24 ( NEW ) DON'T STOP THE MUSIC Yarbrough & Peoples

25 ( 21 ) DO YOU FEEL MY LOVE Eddy Grant

26 ( 16 ) MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY Slade

27 ( 17 ) DECEMBER WILL BE MAGIC Kate Bush

28 ( 45 ) I AM THE BEAT The Look

29 ( NEW ) IN THE AIR TONIGHT Phil Collins

30 ( 31 ) DON'T WALK AWAY E.L.O.

31 ( 25 ) HARD TO BE HUMBLE Mac Davis

32 ( 29 ) OVER THE RAINBOW/YOU BELONG TO ME Matchbox

33 ( 22 ) LOOKING FOR CLUES Robert Palmer

34 ( 49 ) TWILIGHT CAFE Susan Fassbender

35 ( 32 ) HUNGRY HEART Bruce Springsteen

36 ( 70 ) FADE TO GREY Visage

37 ( 40 ) RUNAROUND SUE Racey

38 ( 39 ) IF I COULD ONLY MAKE YOU CARE Mike Berry

39 ( 37 ) KISS ON MY LIST Daryl Hall & John Oates

40 ( 48 ) THE WINNER TAKES IT ALL Abba

41 ( 28 ) WHAT YOUR MAMA DON'T SEE Gary Glitter

42 ( 42 ) LONELY TOGETHER Barry Manilow

43 ( 44 ) ASHES TO ASHES David Bowie

44 ( 36 ) THERE'S NO-ONE QUITE LIKE GRANDMA St. Winifred's School Choir

45 ( 41 ) FASHION David Bowie

46 ( 34 ) GUILTY Barbra Streisand & Barry Gibb

47 ( 47 ) CLUBLAND Elvis Costello

48 ( NEW ) POOR BOY Split Enz

49 ( 35 ) CELEBRATION Kool & The Gang

50 ( 38 ) TO CUT A LONG STORY SHORT Spandau Ballet

51 ( 33 ) LOVE ME TO SLEEP Hot Chocolate

52 ( 51 ) BLUE MOON Showaddywaddy

53 ( 53 ) BAGGY TROUSERS Madness

54 ( 50 ) DON'T STAND SO CLOSE TO ME The Police

55 ( 46 ) WOMAN IN LOVE Barbra Streisand

56 ( NEW ) SCARY MONSTERS David Bowie

57 ( 57 ) MONKEES EP (LAST TRAIN TO CLARKSVILLE/ I'M A BELIEVER/ A LITTLE BIT ME A LITTLE BIT YOU/ DAYDREAM BELIEVER) The Monkees

58 ( 43 ) AYATOLLAH SONG Not The 9 O'Clock News featuring Pamela Stephenson

59 ( NEW ) A LITTLE IN LOVE Cliff Richard

60 ( 54 ) ENOLA GAY Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark

61 ( 62 ) ALL OUT OF LOVE Air Supply

62 ( 75 ) MY GIRL Rod Stewart

63 ( 56 ) DREAMER Supertramp

64 ( NEW ) HEY NINETEEN Steely Dan

65 ( 64 ) SAME OLD SCENE Roxy Music

66 ( 65 ) ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST Queen

67 ( 52 ) HEARTBREAK HOTEL The Jacksons

68 ( 55 ) NOBODY TAKES ME SERIOUSLY ANYMORE Split-Enz

69 ( 61 ) I LIKE (WHAT YOU'RE DOING TO ME) Young & Co

70 ( 59 ) WHAT A FOOL BELIEVES Aretha Franklin

71 ( 58 ) SHBOOM (LIFE COULD BE A DREAM) Darts

72 ( 72 ) I'M IN LOVE AGAIN Sad Cafe

73 ( NEW ) YOUNG PARISIANS Adam & The Ants

74 ( 68 ) BACK ON THE ROAD AGAIN Earth, Wind & Fire

75 ( 63 ) SANTA CLAUS IS BACK IN TOWN Elvis Presley

Jan 10th -16th

It's the same shows at the top again. Spectre Of The Gun is based around the Gunfight At The OK Corral legend-based-on-fact - bit involving aliens. This episode of Trek is a key moment stuck in my mind from September 1971 after returning to the UK with my mum and brother and visiting relatives and old friends in Mansfield. We called in on Dennis and his mum Mona who lived on Cliff Street, the same street that mum, my brother & I were born on, in grandma's house (now rented out). It was the first time I had seen a colour TV, football was on on Saturday, but we came back on the Wednesday evening to watch this episode, which blew my mind. The only thing more colourful than Star Trek, already my fave TV show despite not having seen any episodes for 2 years in Singapore (but buying the book novelisations), was Top Of The Pops. Google and Radio Times tells me the date was 7.25pm on 15th September 1971. So almost 10 years later I got to see it again on it's second re-run 5 years after the last re-run!

1 Star Trek: Spectre Of The Gun

2 Soap

3 M*A*S*H*

4 Barney Miller

5 Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy

6 Beyond Westworld

7 Lou Grant

8 The Outer Limits

9 Sapphire & Steel (Thurs)

10 Top Of The Pops

11 Doctor Who

12 TISWAS

13 Taxi

14 Parkinson (Sat)

15 Sapphire & Steel (Tues)

16 The World About Us

17 Question Time

18 Hawaii 5-0

19 The Benny Hill Show

20 Dallas

17th January 1981

It's four consecutive number ones for John Lennon, two them oldies, and one of them returning to the spot. Woman is the second single off the album but my preference would have been for Beautiful Boy as single 2, and Woman single 3 off the comeback album. Both of the tracks were heartbreaking though, given his murder. Stevie Wonder, meanwhile, makes it two top 10's in a row, not having done that since 1977, and Phil Collins gets his first solo top 10 with the classic In The Air Tonight, and 3rd in total including Genesis. The Beat make it 3 top 10's too.

HIghest new entry is from Blondie, Rapture featuring yet another genre shift from the unpredictable band - this time Rap and back more in the Heart Of Glass dance groove at 19. They havent missed the top 20 since Denis debuted. Madness also debut another instrumental, Return Of The Los Palmas Seven, the best non-single track off their album, very catchy nutty boy ska as per. Ultravox make it a 3rd charter with the grandiose synth epic Vienna, 3 places behind Madness at 24. That gives Midge Ure 5 years of hits under 4 guises to date, starting with Slik in 1976.

Christopher Cross follows up his rockier hit Ride Like The Wind with the lovely ballad Sailing, not the Sutherland Brothers song as done by Rod Stewart. In at 26, while The Motels are back at 40 with Days Are OK. Light Of The World cover Bob Marley where Eric Clapton has been before, at a pleasant funky 48. Donna Summer finds the run of hits is pretty much ended with Cold Love entering at 59, but she'll be back, and Diana Ross goes turgid ballad again on the dull It's My Turn, and number 63 is generous from me.

The fickle pop biz strikes again at 65 as The Boomtown's Rats' run suddenly runs aground in the UK charts, Elephant's Graveyard very much below par, but Dire Straits at 66 hit the ballad stream with the nice Romeo And Juliet. XTC have another hit with Sgt Rock Is Going To Help Me - on the one hand featuring a DC Comics character gets plus points, but on the other hand it's no Making Plans For Nigel. I found it a tad annoying after a few weeks. In at 69, as we go to one I don't recall at all - UFO's Lonely Heart. 45 years on I'm playing for the first time since as far as I recall and I find it fairly formulaic Rock. That leaves the returning Gap Band on the rather good Burn Rubber On Me at 75, funkalicious.

1 ( 3 ) WOMAN John Lennon

2 ( 1 ) IMAGINE John Lennon

3 ( 2 ) HAPPY XMAS (WAR IS OVER) John & Yoko & The Harlem Community Choir

4 ( 5 ) DO NOTHING The Specials

5 ( 8 ) ANTMUSIC Adam & The Ants

6 ( 4 ) (JUST LIKE) STARTING OVER John Lennon

7 ( 7 ) SUPER TROUPER ABBA

8 ( 15 ) I AIN'T GONNA STAND FOR IT Stevie Wonder

9 ( 29 ) IN THE AIR TONIGHT Phil Collins

10 ( 14 ) TOO NICE TO TALK TO The Beat

11 ( 9 ) FLASH Queen

12 ( 6 ) LOVE ON THE ROCKS Neil Diamond

13 ( 10 ) EMBARRASSMENT Madness

14 ( 24 ) DON'T STOP THE MUSIC Yarbrough & Peoples

15 ( 11 ) DE DO DO DO DE DA DA DA The Police

16 ( 18 ) GANGSTERS OF THE GROOVE Heatwave

17 ( 17 ) WHO'S GONNA ROCK YOU The Nolans

18 ( 34 ) TWILIGHT CAFE Susan Fassbender

19 ( NEW ) RAPTURE Blondie

20 ( 12 ) STOP THE CAVALRY Jona Lewie

21 ( NEW ) RETURN OF THE LOS PALMAS SEVEN Madness

22 ( 22 ) LORRAINE Bad Manners

23 ( 28 ) I AM THE BEAT The Look

24 ( NEW ) VIENNA Ultravox

25 ( 13 ) RUNAWAY BOYS The Stray Cats

26 ( NEW ) SAILING Christopher Cross

27 ( 19 ) LIES/ DON'T DRIVE MY CAR Status Quo

28 ( 36 ) FADE TO GREY Visage

29 ( 16 ) LADY Kenny Rogers

30 ( 73 ) YOUNG PARISIANS Adam & The Ants

31 ( 31 ) HARD TO BE HUMBLE Mac Davis

32 ( 21 ) THIS WRECKAGE Gary Numan

33 ( 20 ) BANANA REPUBLIC The Boomtown Rats

34 ( 23 ) THE TIDE IS HIGH Blondie

35 ( 56 ) SCARY MONSTERS David Bowie

36 ( 46 ) GUILTY Barbra Streisand & Barry Gibb

37 ( 37 ) RUNAROUND SUE Racey

38 ( 32 ) OVER THE RAINBOW/YOU BELONG TO ME Matchbox

39 ( 48 ) POOR BOY Split Enz

40 ( NEW ) DAYS ARE OK The Motels

41 ( 25 ) DO YOU FEEL MY LOVE Eddy Grant

42 ( 40 ) THE WINNER TAKES IT ALL Abba

43 ( 26 ) MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY Slade

44 ( 30 ) DON'T WALK AWAY E.L.O.

45 ( 43 ) ASHES TO ASHES David Bowie

46 ( 27 ) DECEMBER WILL BE MAGIC Kate Bush

47 ( 35 ) HUNGRY HEART Bruce Springsteen

48 ( NEW ) I SHOT THE SHERIFF Light Of The World

49 ( 45 ) FASHION David Bowie

50 ( 59 ) A LITTLE IN LOVE Cliff Richard

51 ( 39 ) KISS ON MY LIST Daryl Hall & John Oates

52 ( 38 ) IF I COULD ONLY MAKE YOU CARE Mike Berry

53 ( 53 ) BAGGY TROUSERS Madness

54 ( 33 ) LOOKING FOR CLUES Robert Palmer

55 ( 64 ) HEY NINETEEN Steely Dan

56 ( 44 ) THERE'S NO-ONE QUITE LIKE GRANDMA St. Winifred's School Choir

57 ( 57 ) MONKEES EP (LAST TRAIN TO CLARKSVILLE/ I'M A BELIEVER/ A LITTLE BIT ME A LITTLE BIT YOU/ DAYDREAM BELIEVER) The Monkees

58 ( 41 ) WHAT YOUR MAMA DON'T SEE Gary Glitter

59 ( NEW ) COLD LOVE Donna Summer

60 ( 54 ) DON'T STAND SO CLOSE TO ME The Police

61 ( 58 ) AYATOLLAH SONG Not The 9 O'Clock News featuring Pamela Stephenson

62 ( 62 ) MY GIRL Rod Stewart

63 ( NEW ) IT'S MY TURN Diana Ross

64 ( 42 ) LONELY TOGETHER Barry Manilow

65 ( NEW ) ELEPHANT'S GRAVEYARD The Boomtown Rats

66 ( NEW ) ROMEO AND JULIET Dire Straits

67 ( 50 ) TO CUT A LONG STORY SHORT Spandau Ballet

68 ( 49 ) CELEBRATION Kool & The Gang

69 ( NEW ) SGT. ROCK IS GOING TO HELP ME XTC

70 ( 61 ) ALL OUT OF LOVE Air Supply

71 ( 55 ) WOMAN IN LOVE Barbra Streisand

72 ( 72 ) I'M IN LOVE AGAIN Sad Cafe

73 ( 63 ) DREAMER Supertramp

74 ( NEW ) LONELY HEART U.F.O.

75 ( NEW ) BURN RUBBER ON ME The Gap Band

TV 17th Jan - 23rd

1 Star Trek: Elaan Of Troyius

2 M*A*S*H*

3 Barney Miller

4 Soap

5 Lou Grant

6 film: THE MAN WHO LOVED CAT DANCING

7 Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy

8 The Phil Silvers Show - Bilko

9 Top Of The Pops

10 film: CARRY ON HENRY

11 film: HOSTAGE

12 Doctor Who

13 Taxi

14 The Outer Limits

15 Sapphire & Steel (Thurs)

16 Parkinson (Wed)

17 Sapphire & Steel (Tues)

18 Beyond Westworld

19 Parkinson (Sat)

20 Happy days

24th January 1981

It's 2 weeks on top for Woman, but John's 1969 peace anthem is back new at 5, Give Peace A Chance getting a 2nd run after topping my charts in the summer of '69, as Bryan Adams might say, not long before we moved to Singapore. So that's 5 number one tracks in the top 10 for the late great John Lennon. Fastest-rising new to the top tier is Blondie's Rapture for an 8th top 5 at 3, and ahead of Phil Collins' masterpiece at 4. Another masterpiece also climbs to 10 - Ultravox's Vienna. I may well go to see Midge Ure next week plugging his new album as I type in May 2026.

They topped my chart with Babe, but Styx havent done much since until this week, The Best Of Times new in at 34. It's not straying too far from their Soft Rock harmony formula. New at 47, Sheila Hylton gets her only chart moment with a reggae cover of The Police's recent hit Bed's Too Big Without You - a Sly & Robbie cool fresh production, and sadly forgotten these days, I havent heard it in 4 decades and it still sounds good. Odyssey return with Hang Together, a minor hit for them compared to then-recent form, and another I havent heard in decades. I prefer it to any single they did since Use It Up And Wear It Out.

Jane Kennaway never had a hit, but IOU I still recall, so how does it sound 45 years on? A sort of New Wave rock vibe, not bad and 64 is about right I think. I don't even remember Frankie Valli's Soul existing and yet here it is at 68, Frankie in disco-soul territory 2 or 3 years too late for that train I think but it's OK, nicely produced and anything Frankie sings is automatically improved. Andy Gibb is reaching the tail-end of his hits on Time Is Time, a co-write with big brother Barry so it's not going to be bad as such, and it isn't. Sadly, the Bee Gees/Disco Sucks movement included Andy's career collapsing along with his brothers'. It all ended tragically for Andy.

Spandau's The Freeze was not up to the standard set by To Cut A Long Story Short, but turns up at 70 anyway, ahead of another flop from M, aka Robin Scott, on Keep It To Yourself. A bit more Peter-Gabriel-sounding than upbeat synth dance charm of Pop Muzik. At 73, 60's soul legend James Brown is back with Rapp Payback, sounding as funky as always. I assume the double-p on Rapp is to make it more rap "to talk" than Rap "the new music form", but who knows! He's done worse tracks. He's done better tracks. He's always sounded like this, bar some ballads, when it comes to singing/rapping style. Finally the goodie While You See A Chance gives 60's frontman Steve Winwood a solo career boost for the 80's, very nicely too, still sounds very good and vocally on form.

1 ( 1 ) WOMAN John Lennon

2 ( 2 ) IMAGINE John Lennon

3 ( 19 ) RAPTURE Blondie

4 ( 9 ) IN THE AIR TONIGHT Phil Collins

5 ( NEW ) GIVE PEACE A CHANCE The Plastic Ono Band featuring John Lennon & Yoko Ono

6 ( 6 ) (JUST LIKE) STARTING OVER John Lennon

7 ( 3 ) HAPPY XMAS (WAR IS OVER) John & Yoko & The Harlem Community Choir

8 ( 8 ) I AIN'T GONNA STAND FOR IT Stevie Wonder

9 ( 5 ) ANTMUSIC Adam & The Ants

10 ( 24 ) VIENNA Ultravox

11 ( 14 ) DON'T STOP THE MUSIC Yarbrough & Peoples

12 ( 18 ) TWILIGHT CAFE Susan Fassbender

13 ( 21 ) RETURN OF THE LOS PALMAS SEVEN Madness

14 ( 26 ) SAILING Christopher Cross

15 ( 7 ) SUPER TROUPER ABBA

16 ( 16 ) GANGSTERS OF THE GROOVE Heatwave

17 ( 4 ) DO NOTHING The Specials

18 ( 30 ) YOUNG PARISIANS Adam & The Ants

19 ( 28 ) FADE TO GREY Visage

20 ( 11 ) FLASH Queen

21 ( 23 ) I AM THE BEAT The Look

22 ( 13 ) EMBARRASSMENT Madness

23 ( 10 ) TOO NICE TO TALK TO The Beat

24 ( 15 ) DE DO DO DO DE DA DA DA The Police

25 ( 12 ) LOVE ON THE ROCKS Neil Diamond

26 ( 20 ) STOP THE CAVALRY Jona Lewie

27 ( 35 ) SCARY MONSTERS David Bowie

28 ( 22 ) LORRAINE Bad Manners

29 ( 37 ) RUNAROUND SUE Racey

30 ( 66 ) ROMEO AND JULIET Dire Straits

31 ( 27 ) LIES/ DON'T DRIVE MY CAR Status Quo

32 ( 17 ) WHO'S GONNA ROCK YOU The Nolans

33 ( 50 ) A LITTLE IN LOVE Cliff Richard

34 ( NEW ) THE BEST OF TIMES Styx

35 ( 25 ) RUNAWAY BOYS The Stray Cats

36 ( 31 ) HARD TO BE HUMBLE Mac Davis

37 ( 39 ) POOR BOY Split Enz

38 ( 48 ) I SHOT THE SHERIFF Light Of The World

39 ( 63 ) IT'S MY TURN Diana Ross

40 ( 32 ) THIS WRECKAGE Gary Numan

41 ( 34 ) THE TIDE IS HIGH Blondie

42 ( 42 ) THE WINNER TAKES IT ALL Abba

43 ( 33 ) BANANA REPUBLIC The Boomtown Rats

44 ( 59 ) COLD LOVE Donna Summer

45 ( 45 ) ASHES TO ASHES David Bowie

46 ( 29 ) LADY Kenny Rogers

47 ( NEW ) BED'S TOO BIG WITHOUT YOU Sheila Hylton

48 ( 55 ) HEY NINETEEN Steely Dan

49 ( 49 ) FASHION David Bowie

50 ( 75 ) BURN RUBBER ON ME The Gap Band

51 ( 41 ) DO YOU FEEL MY LOVE Eddy Grant

52 ( 43 ) MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY Slade

53 ( 36 ) GUILTY Barbra Streisand & Barry Gibb

54 ( 38 ) OVER THE RAINBOW/YOU BELONG TO ME Matchbox

55 ( 46 ) DECEMBER WILL BE MAGIC Kate Bush

56 ( 53 ) BAGGY TROUSERS Madness

57 ( 57 ) MONKEES EP (LAST TRAIN TO CLARKSVILLE/ I'M A BELIEVER/ A LITTLE BIT ME A LITTLE BIT YOU/ DAYDREAM BELIEVER) The Monkees

58 ( 47 ) HUNGRY HEART Bruce Springsteen

59 ( 69 ) SGT. ROCK IS GOING TO HELP ME XTC

60 ( NEW ) HANG TOGETHER Odyssey

61 ( 40 ) DAYS ARE OK The Motels

62 ( 51 ) KISS ON MY LIST Daryl Hall & John Oates

63 ( 60 ) DON'T STAND SO CLOSE TO ME The Police

64 ( NEW ) IOU Jane Kennway

65 ( 65 ) ELEPHANT'S GRAVEYARD The Boomtown Rats

66 ( 44 ) DON'T WALK AWAY E.L.O.

67 ( 74 ) LONELY HEART U.F.O.

68 ( NEW ) SOUL Frankie Valli

69 ( 56 ) THERE'S NO-ONE QUITE LIKE GRANDMA St. Winifred's School Choir

70 ( NEW ) TIME IS TIME Andy Gibb

71 ( NEW ) THE FREEZE Spandau Ballet

72 ( NEW ) KEEP IT TO YOURSELF M

73 ( NEW ) RAP PAYBACK James Brown

74 ( NEW ) WHILE YOU SEE A CHANCE Steve Winwood

75 ( 58 ) WHAT YOUR MAMA DON'T SEE Gary Glitter