Popchartfreak

I preferred the Manics single to Beautiful Liar, but it's a good track. I would have it lower than The Way I Are, Ruby, and others, but it would be in the middle area of the list over-all I expect, as it just seems to take a while to get going. The last 2 minutes are pretty good though and I like the video, not sure Ive seen that before!

Duran's "Beatles" moment when they could have dropped anything and it would have entered at 1 - on the plus side, this had more guts to it than anything they had done since Girls On Film, and was pretty upbeat, but their later career has so much more to it, Simon learned how to sing better as the years went by, and they got way more interesting from this point onwards, right up to Danse Macabre, that's chock full of great tracks, most of 'em better than Is There Something I Should Know. This would be maybe above Too Shy, cos it's got a bit of oomph, but below Uptown Girl and a couple of others. The nuclear war line could have been worse - there are worse words that rhyme with it they could have opted for, and at least it's memorable, I suppose :)

well done on the round 1 39 Rollo, I was hovering 2000 or 2001 and went the wrong way😄 round 1: 39 round 2: 39 3 in 10: Bright Side of the road, brown eyed girl, have i told you lately

30th December 1980 It's the final chart of the year and John Lennon takes Happy Xmas to a 4th christmas as a number one song, and for a 5th week in total, knocking himself off the top spot as Imagine is the highest new entry at 3 - 1 place lower than it peaked in 1975 when it was already originally out in 1975 as an album track. Happy Xmas came out that year too in the USA, but the UK had to wait another year to get it. Over the Christmas and January birthday season I would get record tokens to spend on Double Fantasy, Zenyatta Mondatta and Absolutely albums - so that'll be a boost for Lennon, Police and Madness in the New Year, maybe. The Specials grab a 4th top 10, Neil Diamond is threatening his first since 1972, and Heatwave return with a new album and single, Rod Temperton keeping some of his own songs for his own band, and Johnny Wilder Jr now having to record while paralysed from the neck down following his 1979 car crash. So all things considered, Gangsters Of The Groove was a triumphal comeback of sorts at 36, and a great disco-funk track with more of an 80's vibe than the classic Boogie Nights and co. Not The 9'Clock News topical comedy show starred Rowan Atkinson long before Black Adder and Mr Bean, Mel Smith, and Pamela Stephenson, future Mrs Billy Connolly, so there's at least 3 hit records amongst that lot (see future Mel & Kim Rocking Around The Christmas Tree, with Kim Wilde, and Billy's 1975 chart-topper and follow-up) - but here there is a spin-off from the TV show as they parody the new Iran Ayotollah at 43. Sadly it wasnt hilarious enough to depose the overthrowers and save the population from 45 years of repression and terrorism funding, but there is a poorly reported uprising currently going on in 2025 from the population belatedly. In a quiet week, Elvis manages to chart one of his old christmas album track songs, Santa Claus Is Back In Town, proving being 3-years dead no drawback to having hits. New at 63, and quite 50's Bluesy actually, and much preferable to the Usual Crooners blocking up the annual Christmas charts in the 21st century. If you'd said Perry Como, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Burl Ives, Dean Martin, Andy Williams, and Bobby Helms would be in the top 40 every bloody year in the 2015 to 2025 period I would have called you insane. Now, Wizzard, Slade, John & Yoko, Elton, Greg Lake, Jona Lewie, Paul McCartney, Boney M would have been far less surprising to me. Not that I dont love Andy, Dean & co - but they just seemed so ancient and not relevant by 1980 that anything other than White Christmas charting would have been unthinkable. 1 ( 9 ) HAPPY XMAS (WAR IS OVER) John & Yoko & The Harlem Community Choir 2 ( 1 ) (JUST LIKE) STARTING OVER John Lennon 3 ( NEW ) IMAGINE John Lennon 4 ( 2 ) SUPER TROUPER ABBA 5 ( 4 ) ANTMUSIC Adam & The Ants 6 ( 3 ) EMBARRASSMENT Madness 7 ( 7 ) FLASH Queen 8 ( 5 ) DE DO DO DO DE DA DA DA The Police 9 ( 11 ) DO NOTHING The Specials 10 ( 10 ) STOP THE CAVALRY Jona Lewie 11 ( 6 ) RUNAWAY BOYS The Stray Cats 12 ( 16 ) LOVE ON THE ROCKS Neil Diamond 13 ( 8 ) DECEMBER WILL BE MAGIC Kate Bush 14 ( 18 ) LADY Kenny Rogers 15 ( 19 ) WHAT YOUR MAMA DON’T SEE Gary Glitter 16 ( 12 ) DO YOU FEEL MY LOVE Eddy Grant 17 ( 17 ) LOOKING FOR CLUES Robert Palmer 18 ( 14 ) THE TIDE IS HIGH Blondie 19 ( 13 ) BANANA REPUBLIC The Boomtown Rats 20 ( 15 ) LIES Status Quo 21 ( 23 ) TOO NICE TO TALK TO The Beat 22 ( 27 ) THERE’S NO-ONE QUITE LIKE GRANDMA St. Winifred’s School Choir 23 ( 28 ) GUILTY Barbra Streisand & Barry Gibb 24 ( 25 ) HUNGRY HEART Bruce Springsteen 25 ( 20 ) KISS ON MY LIST Daryl Hall & John Oates 26 ( 31 ) OVER THE RAINBOW/YOU BELONG TO ME Matchbox 27 ( 33 ) WHO’S GONNA ROCK YOU The Nolans 28 ( 29 ) LOVE ME TO SLEEP Hot Chocolate 29 ( 21 ) CELEBRATION Kool & The Gang 30 ( 53 ) THIS WRECKAGE Gary Numan 31 ( 39 ) HARD TO BE HUMBLE Mac Davis 32 ( 37 ) LORRAINE Bad Manners 33 ( 22 ) TO CUT A LONG STORY SHORT Spandau Ballet 34 ( 30 ) DON’T WALK AWAY E.L.O. 35 ( 34 ) LONELY TOGETHER Barry Manilow 36 ( NEW ) GANGSTERS OF THE GROOVE Heatwave 37 ( 24 ) FASHION David Bowie 38 ( 38 ) I AIN’T GONNA STAND FOR IT Stevie Wonder 39 ( 63 ) IF I COULD ONLY MAKE YOU CARE Mike Berry 40 ( 35 ) WOMAN IN LOVE Barbra Streisand 41 ( 41 ) ASHES TO ASHES David Bowie 42 ( 36 ) BLUE MOON Showaddywaddy 43 ( NEW ) AYATOLLAH SONG Not The 9 O’Clock News 44 ( 26 ) NOBODY TAKES ME SERIOUSLY ANYMORE Split-Enz 45 ( 49 ) I AM THE BEAT The Look 46 ( RE ) A WOMAN IN WINTER The Skids 47 ( 45 ) DON’T STAND SO CLOSE TO ME The Police 48 ( 48 ) THE WINNER TAKES IT ALL Abba 49 ( 40 ) ENOLA GAY Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark 50 ( 66 ) RUNAROUND SUE Racey 51 ( 32 ) I LIKE (WHAT YOU’RE DOING TO ME) Young & Co 52 ( 52 ) WHAT A FOOL BELIEVES Aretha Franklin 53 ( 44 ) BAGGY TROUSERS Madness 54 ( 59 ) HEARTBREAK HOTEL The Jacksons 55 ( 46 ) DREAMER Supertramp 56 ( 68 ) CLUBLAND Elvis Costello 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 ( 42 ) SAME OLD SCENE Roxy Music 59 ( 51 ) WONDERFUL LAND Mike Oldfield 60 ( 56 ) ALL OUT OF LOVE Air Supply 61 ( 47 ) THE EARTH DIES SCREAMING UB40 62 ( 50 ) THE CALL-UP The Clash 63 ( NEW ) SANTA CLAUS IS BACK IN TOWN Elvis Presley 64 ( 43 ) BOOM BOOM Black Slate 65 ( 62 ) ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST Queen 66 ( 55 ) WHIP IT Devo 67 ( 60 ) SPECIAL BREW Bad Manners 68 ( 71 ) BACK ON THE ROAD AGAIN Earth, Wind & Fire 69 ( 64 ) ROCK’N’ROLL AIN’T NOISE POLLUTION AC/DC 70 ( 61 ) MASTERBLASTER (JAMMIN’) Stevie Wonder 71 ( 72 ) NEVER MIND THE PRESENTS The Barron Knights 72 ( 65 ) RABBIT Chas & Dave 73 ( 73 ) I’M IN LOVE AGAIN Sad Cafe 74 ( 58 ) PASSION Rod Stewart 75 ( 54 ) ISRAEL Siouxsie & The Banshees TV 27th Dec- Jan 2nd 1976 In which the top slot into the new year is from the team bringing us the talking gorilla, and Constable Savage. 1 Not The 9 O’Clock News 2 Film ’80 3 The Making Of The Empire Strikes Back 4 Kenny Everett New Year Daze Show 5 Top Of The Pops 6 Best of ’80 7 film: BUGSY MALONE 8 Clapperboard 9 TISWAS 10 film: PAPILLION 11 film: NICKELODEON 12 Birth Of The Beatles 13 Mork In Wonderland 14 The Good Life 15 The Return Of Wonder Woman (TV movie) 16 Wimbledon Men’s Final 17 Some Mother’s Do ‘Ave ‘Em 18 Dennis Norden 19 The Professionals 20 Dad’s Army

Ah need a Baker caught a few out I think, as they pronounce it in "no letter T's" USA! See Bart Simpson Amanda Hugnkiss at Moe's for similar. round 1: 36 one year out round 2: 39 3 in 10: Angels, Millennium, Strong

The Way I Are is fab, great dance track, cool and insistent, big fave of mine at the time and since, and a recent cover version underlined how good it still is. A contender for top track in this list (bearing in mind I cant remember what's left to come!) 😄

Yazoo's Only You was a great chart-topping (for me) debut, take the catchy bits of early Depeche and get a great singer in to give the songs a bit more emotion and depth. Only You outdid the earlier then-more-famous Only You song from The Platters and many more. The Flying Pickets pushed it into overdose for quite a long while, but there's no denying it's a great record 9/10. I Love Rock n Roll is rifftastic and it was great seeing Arrows have some sort of legacy and songwriting royalties thanks to Joan. Arrows were UK-based Americans and Glam Rock, and Joan was influenced by US Suzi Quatro, also RAK Records Chinn-Chapman Glam Rocker, so I always felt America was a decade late to the party having missed out on all the great stuff, but this one's a goodie 8/10. Cat People Moroder hit version is a hard-to-get track (I still dont have it) and thus havent heard it in decades, but for me it was a solid 8/10. The Let's Dance Chictastic album cover of it wasnt quite as interesting, but that's the one more likely to be heard. PhD was another chart-topper for me, great song, Jim Diamond's finest moment by some distance, and it didn't really sound like anything else around, so that was a plus 9/10. Promised You A Miracle broke Simple Minds into the charts at last, and a strong early song from Jim Kerr 8/10. Private Eyes, not that big a UK hit, as was usually the case with Hall & Oates, but the USA was much more appreciative of the soul-flavoured, polished pop, as was I 9/10. View From A Bridge, not quite as inspiring as earlier hits, but still quality stuff from Kim, Ricky & Marty 8/10. Instinction was an improvement on recent singles, thanks to the production, but the underlying song was as meh as usual, raised up as per by Tony Hadley. 6/10. Freeze-Frame was fun, but not as iconic as Centrefold, 8/10. We Have A Dream was more interesting, as you say, though that's a low bar for football songs! 4/10. Body Language may well be the worst Queen single, it was a mess and Freddie def barking up the wrong tree around this time. 5/10. One Step Further, Eurovision template for the UK still intact (for the final time) but never a fave either though it's jolly enough 6/10. Girl Crazy was a bit of a comeback hit for Hot Choc, they'd had a minor hit with a dark Ricky Wilde/Marty Wilde song (all being on RAK Records) in 1981 but this got them back proper with a singalong fun track, it's good but not one that gets much play compared to much of their massive back catalogue of hits 8/10. Shout Shout is 50's silliness, and it got on my nerves a bit at the time as did most 50's/60's rockabilly covers after a few weeks of radio play, but I'm much more predisposed to enjoy it these days, it's fun! 7/10. Shirley OTOH, was everything I still find annoying about 50's covers, and to be honest the song isn't that great anyway. 3/10. Shaky could do better!

Kajagoogoo, much like Bucks Fizz and Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky Mick & Tich, got noticed using a band name that turned out to be an albatross for street cred, but unlike the other 2, they had just one decent track and that was it, implosion. Limahl's solo career was better than Kaj, as they tried to go by, and Too Shy has turned out better than I gave it credit for at the time, the bass bits especially, but as Snakey says, it's essentially Imagination-lite with a pinch of Duranromantic, and it's not as good as Body Talk, Just An Illusion or Flashback for me. It's not one I've got fed up hearing though, so it would be nicely mid-table, hovering around the top 10.

1966 was the year mum, my brother and I lived in Liverpool while dad was in Aden, 2 schools, my dog, and a one-bed flat with mice, shared bathroom facilities with 4 other flats, and poverty pretty much. But we had TV, and I loved Ingerland Swings, still catchy and fun, Roger Miller a Disney fave to boot it turned out. Ive never heard of Bye Bye Blues, but the tune is familiar, who knew?! I think it cropped up on TV behind stuff like Morecambe & Wise. Farewell Angelina passed me by without notice, as did Joan Baez until 1971, it's very Dylan. Girls! Girls! Girls! and I think of Sailor's 1976 hit, this song is another that glided by unnoticed, but I do actually know the song it turns out, and of course all kids loved Pinky & Perky, so pretty sure this would have been a fave if I'd heard it properly. When we moved to Liverpool we first lived with my grandma, her partner, and his dad Pop, so I would have had no input onto TV and radio, sadly. I Hear A Symphony for me too as ROTW, though, that run of hits was unstoppable Motown quality.

23rd December 1980 It's 2 weeks on top as the late John Lennon dominates into the Christmas period, Starting Over sounding bitterly sad after what happened. There is a sprinkle of new Christmas with Kate Bush getting her 8th top 10 in a row, and one of the greatest christmas records ever made is back in at 9 for John & Yoko. It is invariably in the top 20 each year in the 2020's, but that version isn't the original that was still charting for me in 1980, having topped my charts in 1972, when I first bought it, 1974, 1975 and now threatening a 4th run on top. This version has the lovely whispered intro from John and Yoko to their children from previous marriages. That added a charm that the remixed and edited version lacks. The Specials miss out on a top 10 slot at 11, as other ska acts climb too, and Mac Davis gets his first chart action since 1972 with the novelty song Hard To Be Humble, which is minor amusing at 39. Gary Numan debuts This Wreckage at 53, as he clearly signals he's had enough of pop song hits and goes for a more obscure vibe with nary a hook in sight. It'll be 5 years till the next great tune, and apart from that it'll mostly be core-fan-appeal Indie Synth/Metal non-commercial vibes for the next 45 years. In other new entry news: Mike Berry has a pleasant soundalike follow-up, Racey resort to covering Dion's Runaround Sue for a hit, Elvis Costello drops the long-forgotten Clubland, not quite up there with New Amsterdam or other 1980 hits, Earth, Wind & Fire stop having hits for now with Back On The Road Again at 71, and Sad Cafe scrape another new entry at 73 with I'm In Love Again. 1 ( 1 ) (JUST LIKE) STARTING OVER John Lennon 2 ( 2 ) SUPER TROUPER ABBA 3 ( 3 ) EMBARRASSMENT Madness 4 ( 9 ) ANTMUSIC Adam & The Ants 5 ( 6 ) DE DO DO DO DE DA DA DA The Police 6 ( 5 ) RUNAWAY BOYS The Stray Cats 7 ( 10 ) FLASH Queen 8 ( 12 ) DECEMBER WILL BE MAGIC Kate Bush 9 ( NEW ) HAPPY XMAS (WAR IS OVER) John & Yoko & The Harlem Community Choir 10 ( 4 ) STOP THE CAVALRY Jona Lewie 11 ( 40 ) DO NOTHING The Specials 12 ( 7 ) DO YOU FEEL MY LOVE Eddy Grant 13 ( 8 ) BANANA REPUBLIC The Boomtown Rats 14 ( 11 ) THE TIDE IS HIGH Blondie 15 ( 19 ) LIES Status Quo 16 ( 25 ) LOVE ON THE ROCKS Neil Diamond 17 ( 22 ) LOOKING FOR CLUES Robert Palmer 18 ( 17 ) LADY Kenny Rogers 19 ( 23 ) WHAT YOUR MAMA DON’T SEE Gary Glitter 20 ( 13 ) KISS ON MY LIST Daryl Hall & John Oates 21 ( 18 ) CELEBRATION Kool & The Gang 22 ( 14 ) TO CUT A LONG STORY SHORT Spandau Ballet 23 ( 46 ) TOO NICE TO TALK TO The Beat 24 ( 16 ) FASHION David Bowie 25 ( 20 ) HUNGRY HEART Bruce Springsteen 26 ( 15 ) NOBODY TAKES ME SERIOUSLY ANYMORE Split-Enz 27 ( 36 ) THERE’S NO-ONE QUITE LIKE GRANDMA St. Winifred’s School Choir 28 ( 32 ) GUILTY Barbra Streisand & Barry Gibb 29 ( 35 ) LOVE ME TO SLEEP Hot Chocolate 30 ( 24 ) DON’T WALK AWAY E.L.O. 31 ( 39 ) OVER THE RAINBOW/YOU BELONG TO ME Matchbox 32 ( 21 ) I LIKE (WHAT YOU’RE DOING TO ME) Young & Co 33 ( 56 ) WHO’S GONNA ROCK YOU The Nolans 34 ( 28 ) LONELY TOGETHER Barry Manilow 35 ( 30 ) WOMAN IN LOVE Barbra Streisand 36 ( 29 ) BLUE MOON Showaddywaddy 37 ( 54 ) LORRAINE Bad Manners 38 ( 60 ) I AIN’T GONNA STAND FOR IT Stevie Wonder 39 ( NEW ) HARD TO BE HUMBLE Mac Davis 40 ( 31 ) ENOLA GAY Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark 41 ( 41 ) ASHES TO ASHES David Bowie 42 ( 27 ) SAME OLD SCENE Roxy Music 43 ( 45 ) BOOM BOOM Black Slate 44 ( 37 ) BAGGY TROUSERS Madness 45 ( 42 ) DON’T STAND SO CLOSE TO ME The Police 46 ( 26 ) DREAMER Supertramp 47 ( 38 ) THE EARTH DIES SCREAMING UB40 48 ( 49 ) THE WINNER TAKES IT ALL Abba 49 ( 63 ) I AM THE BEAT The Look 50 ( RE ) THE CALL-UP The Clash 51 ( 51 ) WONDERFUL LAND Mike Oldfield 52 ( 52 ) WHAT A FOOL BELIEVES Aretha Franklin 53 ( NEW ) THIS WRECKAGE Gary Numan 54 ( 33 ) ISRAEL Siouxsie & The Banshees 55 ( 34 ) WHIP IT Devo 56 ( 50 ) ALL OUT OF LOVE Air Supply 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 ) PASSION Rod Stewart 59 ( 72 ) HEARTBREAK HOTEL The Jacksons 60 ( 47 ) SPECIAL BREW Bad Manners 61 ( 64 ) MASTERBLASTER (JAMMIN’) Stevie Wonder 62 ( 59 ) ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST Queen 63 ( NEW ) IF I COULD ONLY MAKE YOU CARE Mike Berry 64 ( 48 ) ROCK’N’ROLL AIN’T NOISE POLLUTION AC/DC 65 ( 74 ) RABBIT Chas & Dave 66 ( NEW ) RUNAROUND SUE Racey 67 ( 44 ) ACE OF SPADES Motorhead 68 ( NEW ) CLUBLAND Elvis Costello 69 ( 58 ) DOG EAT DOG Adam & The Ants 70 ( 65 ) STEREOTYPES The Specials 71 ( NEW ) BACK ON THE ROAD AGAIN Earth, Wind & Fire 72 ( 73 ) NEVER MIND THE PRESENTS The Barron Knights 73 ( NEW ) I’M IN LOVE AGAIN Sad Cafe 74 ( 71 ) I GOT YOU Split-Enz 75 ( 69 ) I NEED YOUR LOVING Teena Marie TV 20th Dec-26th Dec 1980 Christmas TV top shows in my view then. In Festive TV viewing blockbuster films in those days didn't get TV slots for 5 years from release, so the big holiday films were all from 1974 and 1975, and big faves like Towering Inferno, Earthquake, Airport '75 for the Disaster-movie genre which was dying out by 1980, The Bond fave The Man With The Golden Gun, The Wizard Of Oz (of course, though it had only been 11 years since I last saw it at the cinema), a great Billy Wilder comedy The Fortune Cookie, and the sad X-rated Midnight Cowboy. 1 Film: THE TOWERING INFERNO 2 Film: THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN 3 Film: THE FORTUNE COOKIE 4 Film: THE WIZARD OF OZ 5 Film: MIDNIGHT COWBOY 6 Film: EARTHQUAKE 7 An Audience With Dame Edna Everage 8 Fawlty Towers 9 Film: AIRPORT ’75 10 Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads 11 Top Of The Pops 12 The Morecambe & Wise Christmas Special 13 Film: FREEBIE AND THE BEAN 14 TISWAS 15 Film: ARE YOU BEING SERVED

16th December 1980 It's back up to a new peak for John Lennon's Starting Over, his 4th number one outside the Beatles, as I buy the single and edge out the brillaince that is the ABBA Supertrouper album. Had I allowed album tracks, it's quite likely that most of the top 20 would have included tracks like Happy New Year, Me & I, Lay All Your Love On Me, The Way Old Friends Do, and The Piper. three of them will go on to top my charts anyway. John Lennon demand, meanwhile, did not apply to me beyond the new album, as I already had all of his singles bar Mind Games, Power To The People, Instant Karma and Cold Turkey. Paul McCartney remained ahead of John in post-Beatles chart-toppers for now (5). Adam & The Ants make it 2 in a row for top 10's, and Queen do the same with their 7th top 10, The Beat add to the ska new singles out and about at 45 with Too Nice To Talk To, Stevie follows up his Marley banger with a slow Country & Western-vibed ballad - still one of his songs, but an unexpected genre-addition that I liked more at the time than I do now, at 60. The Skids keep the second year of charting going with a track I don't remember at all, A Woman In Winter. Not a hit, and more of a morphing into the future Big Country sound than punk, once Stuart Adamson moves on. New at 66. Saxon's brand of New Wave Metal is still going at 70, Strong Arm Of The Law, not quite 747 quality, but riffy enough. The Jacksons have a new album out, Michael is back on board from his mega-Off The Wall success, and Heartbreak Hotel is not the Elvis classic, it's a decent dance track that was an odd choice for first single given the stone-classic they had in reserve saved up - the best thing they ever released under the Jacksons name, but that'll wait for 1981. In at 73 ahead of The Barron Knights' 3rd christmas piss-take of popular songs - or is it 4th? The equally silly and annoying Rabbit drops in for Chas & Dave just behind. It was a quiet week for new records obviously. 1 ( 9 ) (JUST LIKE) STARTING OVER John Lennon 2 ( 1 ) SUPER TROUPER ABBA 3 ( 2 ) EMBARRASSMENT Madness 4 ( 4 ) STOP THE CAVALRY Jona Lewie 5 ( 7 ) RUNAWAY BOYS The Stray Cats 6 ( 11 ) DE DO DO DO DE DA DA DA The Police 7 ( 5 ) DO YOU FEEL MY LOVE Eddy Grant 8 ( 3 ) BANANA REPUBLIC The Boomtown Rats 9 ( 30 ) ANTMUSIC Adam & The Ants 10 ( 13 ) FLASH Queen 11 ( 8 ) THE TIDE IS HIGH Blondie 12 ( 34 ) DECEMBER WILL BE MAGIC Kate Bush 13 ( 10 ) KISS ON MY LIST Daryl Hall & John Oates 14 ( 6 ) TO CUT A LONG STORY SHORT Spandau Ballet 15 ( 19 ) NOBODY TAKES ME SERIOUSLY ANYMORE Split-Enz 16 ( 12 ) FASHION David Bowie 17 ( 18 ) LADY Kenny Rogers 18 ( 14 ) CELEBRATION Kool & The Gang 19 ( 28 ) LIES Status Quo 20 ( 26 ) HUNGRY HEART Bruce Springsteen 21 ( 15 ) I LIKE (WHAT YOU’RE DOING TO ME) Young & Co 22 ( 22 ) LOOKING FOR CLUES Robert Palmer 23 ( 40 ) WHAT YOUR MAMA DON’T SEE Gary Glitter 24 ( 17 ) DON’T WALK AWAY E.L.O. 25 ( 36 ) LOVE ON THE ROCKS Neil Diamond 26 ( 31 ) DREAMER Supertramp 27 ( 16 ) SAME OLD SCENE Roxy Music 28 ( 32 ) LONELY TOGETHER Barry Manilow 29 ( 27 ) BLUE MOON Showaddywaddy 30 ( 23 ) WOMAN IN LOVE Barbra Streisand 31 ( 21 ) ENOLA GAY Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark 32 ( 75 ) GUILTY Barbra Streisand & Barry Gibb 33 ( 38 ) ISRAEL Siouxsie & The Banshees 34 ( 20 ) WHIP IT Devo 35 ( 51 ) LOVE ME TO SLEEP Hot Chocolate 36 ( 39 ) THERE’S NO-ONE QUITE LIKE GRANDMA St. Winifred’s School Choir 37 ( 33 ) BAGGY TROUSERS Madness 38 ( 24 ) THE EARTH DIES SCREAMING UB40 39 ( 49 ) OVER THE RAINBOW/YOU BELONG TO ME Matchbox 40 ( 57 ) DO NOTHING The Specials 41 ( 41 ) ASHES TO ASHES David Bowie 42 ( 37 ) DON’T STAND SO CLOSE TO ME The Police 43 ( 25 ) PASSION Rod Stewart 44 ( 43 ) ACE OF SPADES Motorhead 45 ( 55 ) BOOM BOOM Black Slate 46 ( NEW ) TOO NICE TO TALK TO The Beat 47 ( 35 ) SPECIAL BREW Bad Manners 48 ( 52 ) ROCK’N’ROLL AIN’T NOISE POLLUTION AC/DC 49 ( 50 ) THE WINNER TAKES IT ALL Abba 50 ( 44 ) ALL OUT OF LOVE Air Supply 51 ( 69 ) WONDERFUL LAND Mike Oldfield 52 ( 74 ) WHAT A FOOL BELIEVES Aretha Franklin 53 ( 29 ) I’M COMING OUT Diana Ross 54 ( 68 ) LORRAINE Bad Manners 55 ( 46 ) I BELIEVE IN YOU Don Williams 56 ( 61 ) WHO’S GONNA ROCK YOU The Nolans 57 ( 58 ) MONKEES EP (LAST TRAIN TO CLARKSVILLE/ I’M A BELIEVER/ A LITTLE BIT ME A LITTLE BIT YOU/ DAYDREAM BELIEVER) The Monkees 58 ( 45 ) DOG EAT DOG Adam & The Ants 59 ( 56 ) ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST Queen 60 ( NEW ) I AIN’T GONNA STAND FOR IT Stevie Wonder 61 ( 47 ) SUDDENLY Cliff Richard & Olivia Newton-John 62 ( 54 ) WHAT YOU’RE PROPOSING Status Quo 63 ( 71 ) I AM THE BEAT The Look 64 ( 62 ) MASTERBLASTER (JAMMIN’) Stevie Wonder 65 ( 60 ) STEREOTYPES The Specials 66 ( NEW ) A WOMAN IN WINTER The Skids 67 ( 48 ) SHBOOM (LIFE COULD BE A DREAM) Darts 68 ( 63 ) YOU’RE LYING Linx 69 ( 64 ) I NEED YOUR LOVING Teena Marie 70 ( NEW ) STRONG ARM OF THE LAW Saxon 71 ( 67 ) I GOT YOU Split-Enz 72 ( NEW ) HEARTBREAK HOTEL The Jacksons 73 ( NEW ) NEVER MIND THE PRESENTS The Barron Knights 74 ( NEW ) RABBIT Chas & Dave 75 ( 66 ) ARMY DREAMERS Kate Bush TV 13th-19th Dec 1980 1 Film: THE LAST PICTURE SHOW 2 Parkinson 3 Star Trek: The Way To Eden 4 The Outer Limits 5 The Professionals 6 TISWAS 7 Horizon 8 Not The 9 O’Clock News 9 Film ’80 10 Top Of The Pops 11 The Goodies & The Beanstalk 12 The Stanley Baxter Picture Show 13 Question Time 14 Doctor Who 15 The Two Ronnies

9th December 1980 It's a 5th week at number for ABBA as John Lennon is shockingly murdered on 8th December. My chart week is earlier than the week-end date used here so my chart won't reflect my reaction for a week and Starting Over actually drops to 9, but my TV chart covers that period with The Beatles' Help! showed in tribute along with a hastily-bunged-together TV special. The world was in shock, and so was I, one of my heroes had been brutally murdered by some immortality-seeking gargoyle, and that was the official end of any chance of The Beatles ever getting back together. So, pending John Lennon records selling ahead of older singles getting enough copies to chart, Madness peak at 2, behind only Night Boat To Cairo in chart position, while The Boomtown Rats fall short of Rat Trap and I Don't Like Mondays chart-toppers too, at 3. Jona Lewie leaps to 4 before the murder of Lennon ruins christmas songs for me, and Eddy Grant gets his first top 5 since Viva Bobby Joe in 1969 with The Equals. The Stray Cats bound up to 7 with Runaway Boys, and Hall & Oates grab a first top 10 with Kiss On My List. Biggest climber is Queen's Flash to 13, the film out any day now for some camp fun at the pictures, and ELO peak at 17, their lowest-charting single since Strange Magic in 1976 (though that hit 2 in 1978 on the EP, so really since Daybreaker in 1974). Quo have a double-A side out, the side that grabs my attention is Lies, new at 28, though Don't Drive My Car will crop up soon as it's the more memorable. Adam & The Ants get a second chart entry with Antmusic, the soon to be iconic hit for the biggest act of 1981. New at 30. Kate Bush has a 4th single of 1980 as her December Will Be Magic enters at 34 - it sounded like a good Kate Bush single, but never really got that Christmas vibe right, which is why it's not in the regular Christmas playlists, and why the 2025 Christmas chart has Running Up That Hill in it instead (thanks to Stranger Things) on a 5th occasion over the decades. At 39, and I am surprised to find out I actually liked the Christmas number one of 1980 (though it was really Happy Xmas War Is Over, if not for the lack of chart compiled) - There's No-One Quite Like Grandma was a bit too twee for my grandma, who didnt think much of it. St Winifred's School Choir are the culprits. The Clash drop in at 42 with The Call-Up, not one I have much memory of, Bankrobber being the one I rated, but it's OK. Matchbox go for Judy Garland, but mash it up with another lesser song at 49, oddly, and The Wizard Of Oz wont be cropping up again in the charts until Margaret Thatcher dies. And it's a last hurrah for Matchbox. Judy's original is better. Hot Chocoltae are still not guaranteed a hit after over a decade of consistency, Love Me To Sleep not being as great as No Doubt About It, and new in at 51, but it's quite good still. One place lower and AC/DC are still having residual sympathy from me for Bon Scott's death and feeling good about Geordie's Brian Johnson being out of the wilderness, Rock 'n' Roll Ain't Noise Pollution being flattered at 52. Black Slate's newie is much better, at 55 with Boom Boom - not not Basil Brush - but going one boom up on Lulu's 1969 Eurovision smash. And setting up the competition for Boom Boom Boom (Outhere Brothers) and Boom Boom Boom Boom (Venga Boys) in later years. In at 57, The Specials have Do Nothing bringing in some 60's-ish organ sounds on the latest ska goodie, and ahead of Bad Manners singing about Lorraine, their least-catchy song to date, but it's fun enough. Just behind, Mike Oldfield returns from his Blue Peter revamp with another instrumental re-imagining, the Shadows' fab Wonderful Land. This one does it slower and more folkie, but that tune is a winner anyway. The Nolans keep churning out the hits at pace, Who's Gonna Rock Me in at 61, The Look get a one-off New Wave chanter with I Am The Beat, the single that never ends until you lift off the record arm, Babs Streisand gets another Barry Gibb gift in Guilty at 75, Aretha covers the Doobie Brothers at 74, (both of them are decent) and Jerome debuts with a forgotten dance track, If You Walk Out That Door, which turns out to be quite good actually. 1 ( 1 ) SUPER TROUPER ABBA 2 ( 5 ) EMBARRASSMENT Madness 3 ( 8 ) BANANA REPUBLIC The Boomtown Rats 4 ( 17 ) STOP THE CAVALRY Jona Lewie 5 ( 11 ) DO YOU FEEL MY LOVE Eddy Grant 6 ( 6 ) TO CUT A LONG STORY SHORT Spandau Ballet 7 ( 18 ) RUNAWAY BOYS The Stray Cats 8 ( 3 ) THE TIDE IS HIGH Blondie 9 ( 2 ) (JUST LIKE) STARTING OVER John Lennon 10 ( 20 ) KISS ON MY LIST Daryl Hall & John Oates 11 ( 9 ) DE DO DO DO DE DA DA DA The Police 12 ( 4 ) FASHION David Bowie 13 ( 60 ) FLASH Queen 14 ( 7 ) CELEBRATION Kool & The Gang 15 ( 14 ) I LIKE (WHAT YOU’RE DOING TO ME) Young & Co 16 ( 10 ) SAME OLD SCENE Roxy Music 17 ( 21 ) DON’T WALK AWAY E.L.O. 18 ( 25 ) LADY Kenny Rogers 19 ( 26 ) NOBODY TAKES ME SERIOUSLY ANYMORE Split-Enz 20 ( 28 ) WHIP IT Devo 21 ( 12 ) ENOLA GAY Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark 22 ( 35 ) LOOKING FOR CLUES Robert Palmer 23 ( 16 ) WOMAN IN LOVE Barbra Streisand 24 ( 13 ) THE EARTH DIES SCREAMING UB40 25 ( 15 ) PASSION Rod Stewart 26 ( 33 ) HUNGRY HEART Bruce Springsteen 27 ( 39 ) BLUE MOON Showaddywaddy 28 ( NEW ) LIES Status Quo 29 ( 23 ) I’M COMING OUT Diana Ross 30 ( NEW ) ANTMUSIC Adam & The Ants 31 ( 31 ) DREAMER Supertramp 32 ( 38 ) LONELY TOGETHER Barry Manilow 33 ( 27 ) BAGGY TROUSERS Madness 34 ( NEW ) DECEMBER WILL BE MAGIC Kate Bush 35 ( 19 ) SPECIAL BREW Bad Manners 36 ( 62 ) LOVE ON THE ROCKS Neil Diamond 37 ( 30 ) DON’T STAND SO CLOSE TO ME The Police 38 ( 44 ) ISRAEL Siouxsie & The Banshees 39 ( NEW ) THERE’S NO-ONE QUITE LIKE GRANDMA St. Winifred’s School Choir 40 ( 56 ) WHAT YOUR MAMA DON’T SEE Gary Glitter 41 ( 37 ) ASHES TO ASHES David Bowie 42 ( NEW ) THE CALL-UP The Clash 43 ( 34 ) ACE OF SPADES Motorhead 44 ( 29 ) ALL OUT OF LOVE Air Supply 45 ( 22 ) DOG EAT DOG Adam & The Ants 46 ( 36 ) I BELIEVE IN YOU Don Williams 47 ( 32 ) SUDDENLY Cliff Richard & Olivia Newton-John 48 ( 52 ) SHBOOM (LIFE COULD BE A DREAM) Darts 49 ( NEW ) OVER THE RAINBOW/YOU BELONG TO ME Matchbox 50 ( 49 ) THE WINNER TAKES IT ALL Abba 51 ( NEW ) LOVE ME TO SLEEP Hot Chocolate 52 ( NEW ) ROCK’N’ROLL AIN’T NOISE POLLUTION AC/DC 53 ( 24 ) FALCON The Rah Band 54 ( 40 ) WHAT YOU’RE PROPOSING Status Quo 55 ( NEW ) BOOM BOOM Black Slate 56 ( 45 ) ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST Queen 57 ( NEW ) DO NOTHING The Specials 58 ( 58 ) MONKEES EP (LAST TRAIN TO CLARKSVILLE/ I’M A BELIEVER/ A LITTLE BIT ME A LITTLE BIT YOU/ DAYDREAM BELIEVER) The Monkees 59 ( 67 ) LIFE IS FOR LIVING Barclay James Harvest 60 ( 47 ) STEREOTYPES The Specials 61 ( NEW ) WHO’S GONNA ROCK YOU The Nolans 62 ( 48 ) MASTERBLASTER (JAMMIN’) Stevie Wonder 63 ( 46 ) YOU’RE LYING Linx 64 ( 54 ) I NEED YOUR LOVING Teena Marie 65 ( 43 ) ONE MAN WOMAN Sheena Easton 66 ( 51 ) ARMY DREAMERS Kate Bush 67 ( 61 ) I GOT YOU Split-Enz 68 ( NEW ) LORRAINE Bad Manners 69 ( NEW ) WONDERFUL LAND Mike Oldfield 70 ( 50 ) SHARING THE NIGHT TOGETHER Dr. Hook 71 ( NEW ) I AM THE BEAT The Look 72 ( 72 ) RISE AND SHINE Linx 73 ( NEW ) IF YOU WALK OUT THAT DOOR Jerome 74 ( NEW ) WHAT A FOOL BELIEVES Aretha Franklin 75 ( NEW ) GUILTY Barbra Streisand & Barry Gibb Dec 6th-12th TV ratings What I Liked Note: Chopper Squad is Australian air rescue helicopter-based, but choppers were also involved in the appeal, I believe. 1 Film: HELP! 2 Top Of The Pops 3 Tribute To John Lennon 4 Soap 5 M*A*S*H 6 Film ’80 7 Starsky & Hutch 8 Strangeways 9 Stone 10 Chopper Squad 11 Parkinson (Wed) 12 Steptoe & Son 13 The Goodies 14 Rising Damp 15 Not The 9 O’Clock News

and let's try and finish 1980 5 years late...! 2nd December 1980 It's another week on top for Super Trouper as ABBA now see off John Lennon who almost did it with his comeback single, peaking at 2 as did the last single, Imagine. Madness make it 5 top 5's in a row, with Embarrassment up to 5, and The Boomtown Rats make it 6 top 10's in a row with Banana Republic up to 8. That leaves a top 10 debut as Spandau leap to 6. In a relatively quiet week for new tracks, Jona Lewie enters at 17 with his Christmas perennial, the World War 1 vibing Stop The Cavalry, his second top 20 of the year, and the one that charted yet again for me 45 years later the other week. Still a classic. In at 20, in one fell swoop Hall & Oates get a new career peak with Kiss On My List, as their 70's white soul sounds morph into 80's dance-soul pop, and still classy with it. Barry Manilow has a ballad hitting the UK charts, and Lonely Together debuts at a surprisingly high 38 - it's not one of his better records, and I barely recall it at all - while Showaddywaddy inevitably cover Blue Moon, the old doo-wop version, but where previous hits had gone for lesser-known vintage songs, this one remained too well-known to catch on much. The Marcels' is better. They do get 6 years of hits, though, while Bazza extends his chart run to 5 years. Darts are also facing the same problem with covers, and opt for the well-known Shboom - Sha Na Na couldnt get a hit with it in 1974, and Darts did little better - new at 52, 3 years into their run, leaving a lacklustre Dr Hook at 73 - Girls Can Get It is no When You're In Love, nor Sharing The Night Together which remains higher up the list. 1 ( 1 ) SUPER TROUPER ABBA 2 ( 3 ) (JUST LIKE) STARTING OVER John Lennon 3 ( 2 ) THE TIDE IS HIGH Blondie 4 ( 4 ) FASHION David Bowie 5 ( 17 ) EMBARRASSMENT Madness 6 ( 19 ) TO CUT A LONG STORY SHORT Spandau Ballet 7 ( 8 ) CELEBRATION Kool & The Gang 8 ( 13 ) BANANA REPUBLIC The Boomtown Rats 9 ( 9 ) DE DO DO DO DE DA DA DA The Police 10 ( 5 ) SAME OLD SCENE Roxy Music 11 ( 15 ) DO YOU FEEL MY LOVE Eddy Grant 12 ( 7 ) ENOLA GAY Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark 13 ( 6 ) THE EARTH DIES SCREAMING UB40 14 ( 21 ) I LIKE (WHAT YOU’RE DOING TO ME) Young & Co 15 ( 10 ) PASSION Rod Stewart 16 ( 12 ) WOMAN IN LOVE Barbra Streisand 17 ( NEW ) STOP THE CAVALRY Jona Lewie 18 ( 45 ) RUNAWAY BOYS The Stray Cats 19 ( 14 ) SPECIAL BREW Bad Manners 20 ( NEW ) KISS ON MY LIST Daryl Hall & John Oates 21 ( 34 ) DON’T WALK AWAY E.L.O. 22 ( 11 ) DOG EAT DOG Adam & The Ants 23 ( 26 ) I’M COMING OUT Diana Ross 24 ( 28 ) FALCON The Rah Band 25 ( 29 ) LADY Kenny Rogers 26 ( 32 ) NOBODY TAKES ME SERIOUSLY ANYMORE Split-Enz 27 ( 16 ) BAGGY TROUSERS Madness 28 ( 36 ) WHIP IT Devo 29 ( 18 ) ALL OUT OF LOVE Air Supply 30 ( 25 ) DON’T STAND SO CLOSE TO ME The Police 31 ( 31 ) DREAMER Supertramp 32 ( 20 ) SUDDENLY Cliff Richard & Olivia Newton-John 33 ( 49 ) HUNGRY HEART Bruce Springsteen 34 ( 23 ) ACE OF SPADES Motorhead 35 ( 71 ) LOOKING FOR CLUES Robert Palmer 36 ( 39 ) I BELIEVE IN YOU Don Williams 37 ( 33 ) ASHES TO ASHES David Bowie 38 ( NEW ) LONELY TOGETHER Barry Manilow 39 ( NEW ) BLUE MOON Showaddywaddy 40 ( 30 ) WHAT YOU’RE PROPOSING Status Quo 41 ( 35 ) BOURGIE BOURGIE Gladys Knight & The Pips 42 ( 24 ) INHERIT THE WIND Wilton Felder 43 ( 27 ) ONE MAN WOMAN Sheena Easton 44 ( 67 ) ISRAEL Siouxsie & The Banshees 45 ( 42 ) ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST Queen 46 ( 37 ) YOU’RE LYING Linx 47 ( 41 ) STEREOTYPES The Specials 48 ( 44 ) MASTERBLASTER (JAMMIN’) Stevie Wonder 49 ( 48 ) THE WINNER TAKES IT ALL Abba 50 ( 22 ) SHARING THE NIGHT TOGETHER Dr. Hook 51 ( 38 ) ARMY DREAMERS Kate Bush 52 ( NEW ) SHBOOM (LIFE COULD BE A DREAM) Darts 53 ( 47 ) ROCK CITY The Helicopters 54 ( 40 ) I NEED YOUR LOVING Teena Marie 55 ( 43 ) ELSTREE (REMEMBER ME) Buggles 56 ( 69 ) WHAT YOUR MAMA DON’T SEE Gary Glitter 57 ( 50 ) WHEN YOU ASK ABOUT LOVE Matchbox 58 ( 58 ) MONKEES EP (LAST TRAIN TO CLARKSVILLE/ I’M A BELIEVER/ A LITTLE BIT ME A LITTLE BIT YOU/ DAYDREAM BELIEVER) The Monkees 59 ( 51 ) THEME FROM “MIDNIGHT COWBOY” John Barry (Original Soundtrack) 60 ( 75 ) FLASH Queen 61 ( 56 ) I GOT YOU Split-Enz 62 ( NEW ) LOVE ON THE ROCKS Neil Diamond 63 ( 53 ) KILLER ON THE LOOSE Thin Lizzy 64 ( 64 ) JESSE Carly Simon 65 ( 57 ) TOUCH AND GO The Cars 66 ( 54 ) D.I.S.C.O. Ottawan 67 ( 73 ) LIFE IS FOR LIVING Barclay James Harvest 68 ( 62 ) NEVER KNEW LOVE LIKE THIS BEFORE Stephanie Mills 69 ( 65 ) DON'T BRING ME DOWN E.L.O. 70 ( 66 ) GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME Gerry Rafferty 71 ( 55 ) LEAVING ON THE MIDNIGHT TRAIN Nick Straker Band 72 ( 72 ) RISE AND SHINE Linx 73 ( NEW ) GIRLS CAN GET IT Dr. Hook 74 ( 74 ) TELEGRAM SAM Bauhaus 75 ( 63 ) WOMEN IN UNIFORM Iron Maiden TV Nov 29th-Dec 5th 1 Star Trek: All Our Yesterdays 2 Soap 3 M*A*S*H 4 Soap (Thurs) 5 Top Of The Pops 6 Barney Miller 7 The Goodies 8 Film ’80 9 Starsky & Hutch 10 Steptoe & Son 11 Parkinson (Wed) 12 Tomorrow’s World 13 Not The 9 O’Clock News 14 Dallas 15 Great Railway Journeys Of The World

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.

I follow Mary Hopkin on social media which is something that would have seemed like Star Trek science-fiction magic when I went mad on Those Were The Days and Goodbye and Temma Harbour! 😮