Every UK #1 Single of The 1980's Discussion Thread.

Adam Ant - GOODY TWO SHOES

Everything a good single should be. Commercially it was downhill from here, but he still had the knack of writing good pop songs.
4/5

 

I'm more interested in New Entries.....
wk1
Week Ending 12 June 1982

 

wk2
Week Ending 19 June 1982

Along with Hand Held In Black And White...my fav Dollar single.

 

Another excellent single with highly memorable lyrics.

Don't drink, don't smoke, what do you do?

 

Goody two shoes
I like it the best of the Ant number ones. A strong rockabilly influence, could be on a Matchbox album. A lot of fun hooks. I like the guitar sound and the horns. I'd dance to this!

 

As is so often the case, all I can do is agree with your choices.

I bought the Steve Miller Band album, and it must have been at this stage that I bought the 12" single of Free Bird. This gave me the studio version, as back in 1982 I only had the live version from One More From The Road. This oversight has since been rectified by the purchase of "Pronounced".





In tribute to Ronnie, Steve and Cassie.

 

In the U.S., "Goody Two Shoes" was issued on Epic with a different B side, "Crackpot History":

 

From what I'd have in my collection from this stretch, would be . . .

As one of the titles will be a future Number One on the "other" (read: NME) chart, I will be holding off on showing that label. But the labels from this lot. First, the Flock Of Seagulls number (with pic sleeve):

Then, this tribute by Mr. John to John Lennon:

The Lynyrd Skynyrd oldie was cut down to manageable length for Top 40 radio in the States in 1974:

 

Now for other U.S. labels (if any), week by week (this one may have to be split in two or more):

 

As I said . . .

 

Now moving ahead . . .

See from "My Camera Never Lies" #1 run for Canadian labels.

 

So Empty Garden is yet another example of the excellent production work of Chris Thomas.

 

Next...

26th June 1982
Charlene - I've Never Been To Me

1 Week At No 1

12th No 1 of 1982 and No 503 in total.




"I've Never Been to Me" is a ballad, written and composed by Ron Miller and Kenneth Hirsch, which is best known via a recording by American pop singer Charlene. Its original release in 1977 barely registered on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, but its re-release in 1982 hit #3 in the U.S. and earned her a Gold certification in Australia.[1] In addition, the song topped the charts in Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom[2] and Ireland.
Content
The song is best known as lyrically formatted for a female vocalist and as such is addressed to a desperate wife and mother who would like to trade her prosaic existence for the jet setting lifestyle the song's narrator has led. The narrator alludes to various hedonistic episodes in her life, concluding that while she's "been to paradise," she's ultimately failed to find self-fulfillment expressing this with the line, "I've never been to me." There is also an alternative set of lyrics for the song formatted for a male singer, in which the narrator is an elderly man, destined to die the very next day, begging for a dime for a cup of coffee, addressing a younger man who is "raising hell" the way the old man used to do.

Early versions
Charlene had recorded "I've Never Been to Me" in 1976 for her debut album, the self-titled Charlene, a Prodigal release (P6 10015S1), and the ballad contained a controversial spoken section. Songs of Love (P610018S1) came out six months later in 1977 and was essentially a re-issue of Charlene, having a slightly different track listing but retaining "I've Never Been to Me" without the spoken bridge. In October 1977, "I've Never Been to Me" became Charlene's third consecutive single to stall in the lowest part of Billboard's Hot 100. From the Charlene LP, the first single, "It Ain't Easy Comin' Down," went to #97 in March 1977 (and #23 on the AC). The following single, "Freddie" from the Songs of Love album, made it to #96 in the Hot 100 in May 1977 (and #40 on the AC). The Hot 100 peak of "I've Never Been to Me" in its original formal release without the monologue was #97[3], and while Charlene's precedent two singles had both reached Billboard's Easy Listening chart, "I've Never Been to Me" failed to appear on the AC.

The earliest version of "I've Never Been to Me" to be released was that by Randy Crawford and appeared on her 1976 album release, Everything Must Change. Besides Charlene's version, 1977 also saw the release of versions of the song by Nancy Wilson and Walter Jackson: Nancy Wilson's version served as the title track of her June 1977 album release and was the first version of the song to be released as a single, reaching #47 on the Billboard's R&B chart, while Walter Jackson's version - featuring the lyric formatted from a male perspective - was featured on his I Want To Come Back As A Song album released in the spring of 1977.

In February 1978, a mid-tempo recording of "I've Never Been to Me" by Mary McGregor was released as the advance single from her In Your Eyes album: this single reached #29 on Billboard's Easy Listening and Canada's Adult Contemporary charts.[4] A modified version of MacGregor's version was sent out to radio stations with the possibly controversial line in the final chorus: "I spent my life exploring the subtle whoring that costs too much to be free", amended to "I thought my heart would wait but I learned too late that it costs too much to be free." Also in 1978 Marti Caine recorded "I've Never Been to Me" for her album release Behind the Smile from which it was issued as a single, and Mary Roos recorded the German rendering by lyricist Michael Kunze entitled "Doch mich selber kenn ich nicht" (But I do not know myself) for her album Maryland.

Revival
In 1982 Scott Shannon, a disc jockey at Tampa radio station WRBQ-FM, began playing the "I've Never Been to Me" track off the Charlene album (with the original recitative), and response from local listeners was such as to motivate Shannon, a former Motown employee, to alert Motown president Jay Lasker to the track's hit potential. Lasker located Charlene who, discouraged by the poor performance of her 1977 Motown releases and by the label's decision not to release a second album she had recorded, had left the music industry and met and married an Englishman, subsequently accompanying him to his native land and taking a job at a sweet shop in Ilford. Lasker personally telephoned her with the invitation to re-sign with Motown Records to facilitate the re-release of her "I've Never Been To Me" single, which was done in the spring of 1982.

The Billboard Hot 100 dated March 6, 1982, showed "I've Never Been to Me" by Charlene debuting at #84 – already 13 places higher than its 1977 peak in its original release. It subsequently rose as high as #3 on the Hot 100, where it held for three weeks during May and June.[5] The track had even greater impact internationally, attaining #1 status in Australia (six weeks), Canada (four weeks), Ireland (three weeks), and the United Kingdom.[2] "I've Never Been to Me" also afforded Charlene a Top Ten hit in Belgium (Flemish Region) (#7), the Netherlands (#7), New Zealand (#5), and Norway (#5). In 1982, Charlene's "I've Never Been to Me" was also a Top 10 hit on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart (#7) and a minor C&W chart crossover (#60).

When the song was revived in 1982, the version being played on the radio was the take with the monologue (from the Prodigal LP Charlene, P6 10015S1), so this was the one that Motown re-issued, not the Songs of Love single version from 1977 (Prodigal, P610018S1).[6][7] The song was never actually re-recorded by Charlene in 1982.

As Charlene was unable to successfully follow up the success of "I've Never Been to Me" – her only subsequent Hot 100 entry "Used to Be" (a duet with Stevie Wonder) got as high as #46 – she remains a high-profile one-hit wonder. On the 2002 VH1 special 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders, "I've Never Been to Me" was ranked at #75.[8] In the program, it was stated that her entry "expresses the post-'70s hangover."

 

Week Ending 26 June 1982

07 - 03 - 01 - Charlene - I'VE NEVER BEEN TO ME
06 - 01 - 02 - Adam Ant - GOODY TWO SHOES
05 - 02 - 03 - Soft Cell - TORCH
07 - 07 - 04 - Kid Creole And The Coconuts - I'M A WONDERFUL THING (BABY)
07 - 06 - 05 - Duran Duran - HUNGRY LIKE THE WOLF
07 - 04 - 06 - ABC - THE LOOK OF LOVE
03 - 18 - 07 - Odyssey - INSIDE OUT
05 - 10 - 08 - Diana Ross - WORK THAT BODY
04 - 14 - 09 - Bow Wow Wow - I WANT CANDY
04 - 15 - 10 - Stevie Wonder - DO I DO
02 - 09 - 11 - Gary Numan - WE TAKE MYSTERY (TO BED)
02 - 38 - 12 - Steve Miller Band - ABRACADABRA
02 - 33 - 13 - Roxy Music - AVALON
06 - 05 - 14 - Madness - HOUSE OF FUN
09 - 08 - 15 - Tight Fit - FANTASY ISLAND
04 - 24 - 16 - Natasha - IKO IKO
10 - 12 - 17 - Junior - MAMA USED TO SAY
04 - 25 - 18 - Beatles - THE BEATLES MOVIE MEDLEY
03 - 27 - 19 - Midge Ure - NO REGRETS
06 - 11 - 20 - Genesis - 3 X 3 (EP)
11 - 13 - 21 - Yazoo - ONLY YOU
03 - 32 - 22 - Queen - LAS PALABRAS DE AMOR
05 - 19 - 23 - Echo And The Bunnymen - THE BACK OF LOVE
06 - 21 - 24 - Toyah - BRAVE NEW WORLD
03 - 30 - 25 - Shalamar - A NIGHT TO REMEMBER
03 - 28 - 26 - Rolling Stones - GOING TO A GO GO
08 - 17 - 27 - Fun Boy Three - THE TELEPHONE ALWAYS RINGS
02 - 39 - 28 - Cheri - MURPHY'S LAW
08 - 16 - 29 - Associates - CLUB COUNTRY
08 - 20 - 30 - Blondie - ISLAND OF LOST SOULS
1 - NEW - 31 - Imagination - MUSIC AND LIGHTS
05 - 23 - 32 - Siouxsie And The Banshees - FIREWORKS
1 - NEW - 33 - Captain Sensible - HAPPY TALK
03 - 36 - 34 - A Flock Of Seagulls - SPACE AGE LOVE SONG
06 - 29 - 35 - Prelude - AFTER THE GOLD RUSH
03 - 37 - 36 - Status Quo - SHE DON'T FOOL ME
02 - 65 - 37 - Bucks Fizz - NOW THOSE DAYS ARE GONE
02 - 73 - 38 - Leo Sayer - HEART (STOP BEATING IN TIME)
02 - 51 - 39 - Dollar - VIDEOTHEQUE
02 - 56 - 40 - Shakatak - STREETWALKIN'
04 - 35 - 41 - Belle Stars - IKO IKO
02 - 59 - 42 - Bauhaus - SPIRIT
02 - 48 - 43 - Lynyrd Skynyrd - FREE BIRD
02 - 69 - 44 - Teardrop Explodes - TINY CHILDREN
03 - 49 - 45 - Mike Oldfield - FAMILY MAN
06 - 31 - 46 - New Order - TEMPTATION
13 - 34 - 47 - PhD - I WON'T LET YOU DOWN
10 - 22 - 48 - Patrice Rushen - FORGET ME NOTS
07 - 26 - 49 - Iron Maiden - THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST
08 - 41 - 50 - Nicole - A LITTLE PEACE
03 - 57 - 51 - Elton John - EMPTY GARDEN
02 - 66 - 52 - Elvis Costello And The Attractions - YOU LITTLE FOOL
09 - 45 - 53 - Scotland World Cup Squad - WE HAVE A DREAM
03 - 53 - 54 - Temptations Featuring Rick James - STANDING AT THE TOP (PART 1)
11 - 40 - 55 - Hot Chocolate - GIRL CRAZY
07 - 42 - 56 - UB40 - LOVE IS ALL IS ALL RIGHT
02 - 68 - 57 - Paris - NO GETTING OVER YOU
04 - 43 - 58 - Cars - SINCE YOU'RE GONE
1 - NEW - 59 - Visage - NIGHT TRAIN
04 - 60 - 60 - Bertie Higgins - KEY LARGO
1 - NEW - 61 - David Essex - ME AND MY GIRL (NIGHT-CLUBBING)
1 - NEW - 62 - Four Tops - BACK TO SCHOOL AGAIN
1 - NEW - 63 - J. Geils Band - ANGEL IN BLUE
12 - 70 - 64 - England World Cup Squad - THIS TIME (WE'LL GET IT RIGHT)
03 - 55 - 65 - Blue Zoo - I'M YOUR MAN
03 - 61 - 66 - Adrian Gurvitz - YOUR DREAM
03 - 71 - 67 - Billy Field - YOU WEREN'T IN LOVE WITH ME
1 - NEW - 68 - Clash - ROCK THE CASBAH
10 - 58 - 69 - Joan Jett And The Blackhearts - I LOVE ROCK AND ROLL
05 - 54 - 70 - Quick - RHYTHM OF THE JUNGLE
06 - 44 - 71 - Japan - CANTONESE BOY
08 - 46 - 72 - Depeche Mode - THE MEANING OF LOVE
06 - 47 - 73 - Altered Images - PINKY BLUE
04 - 64 - 74 - Randy Crawford - ONE HELLO
1 - NEW - 75 - Elvis Presley With The Imperials Quartet - THE SOUND OF YOUR CRY

 

Charlene - I'VE NEVER BEEN TO ME

Pleasent enough I suppose. I won't comment on Charlene's good looks.....
2/5

 

New Entry Saviour's.....

Week Ending 26 June 1982

 

Both original and later ish's in the U.S. had different B sides.

First, the original 1977 Prodigal single, with the flip "It's Really Nice To Be In Love Again":

Then in 1982 when reish'd on Motown proper, the other side was the same as in the UK:

But there yuh go (as McCloud would say) - if it in some way sounded dated, as in the prior decade - that's because it was.

 

From what I'd have in my collection from this week . . .

The "new entry" as is within my collection, came out in the States thus:

 

I just noticed this thread. One thing that stands out is how incredibly lucky people were in the UK to have such awesome stuff as The Specials, The Jam, Madness, Adam Ant, Soft Cell, etc being able to top the charts. We weren't so lucky in the US. A lot of this music gave rise to radio stations in the US such as KROQ in Los Angeles, which would spend a decade or so (until grunge came around) being dominated by UK music.

The current song not being one of the greatest examples of this.

 

Now for a few other US labels (where applicable) from within the "newies" of this week:

(To be continued . . . )

 

You may've also noticed, if you see the rest of this thread, that a lot of the UK singles, including quite a few #1's, saw no U.S. release whatsoever. Especially from most of the lot you cited.

 

There are worse songs out there than I've Never Been to Me, that's for sure. Plenty of them.

 

I must have had a soft spot for this as I know I have the LP.

Pleasant song, but the album???