The U.K. 80s Singles & Albums Chart General Discussion Thread.

No, it got a US, European and Australian release but wasn't issued in the UK. I have the Aussie 12" single. It looks like we had a unique cover down here.

 

Snot Rap? Don't think I'm familiar with this ditty

 

The Thompson Twins, in a way, remind me of the 1930's group The Raymond Scott Quintette (whose leader and namesake wrote many an instrumental piece that was woven into many classic Warner Bros. cartoons of the 1940's and '50's) - though implying a 5-piece, in fact it had six members including Scott himself.

 

Me either, but it sounds like it belongs on Disc 4. 'Star Trekkin' can move across, too.

 

Another ditty for the Oktoberfest. Brings east and west together, so more clever marketing.

 

Spandau from the first two albums is really very different from the Spandau it became after the release of True.
I think Instinction was actually the turning point.

But step back to the start of 1981 and listen to a single like The Freeze.
One simple repeating line and thats it. Everything else is about the instrumental part - and thats whats driving that track.

 

Do I agree it's a good one? No. It's not even a bad one. Give or take a handful of goodies, it's bottom of the pop barrel scrapings. Well, you did ask. And who's Owen Paul? He doesn't ring a bell at all.

 

Owen Paul was a one hit wonder from the mid 80s. The song was well known though. I’m surprised you don’t remember it.

 

Thompson Twins did perform The Gap on UK TV, at the time of the album's release, but it was never a single here. Probably a good decision; great as it is - there are no weak songs on that LP - it didn't fit the pop perfection journey they were on.

EG.

 

Top 100 of The 1980s

100 steve winwood - valerie
99 king - love and pride
98 aztec camera - oblivious
97 cabaret voltaire - i want you
96 a flock of seagulls - the more you live....
95 ian mcculloch - september song
94 duran duran - save a prayer
93 phil collins - against all odds
92 freiheit - keeping the dream alive
91 joe jackson - steppin`out
90 fairground attraction - perfect
89 freddie mercury & montserrat caballe - barcelona
88 shakin stevens - you drive me crazy
87 everything but the girl - each and every one
86 yello - lost again
85 kim carnes - bette davies eyes
84 all about eve - martha`s harbour
83 paul young - wherever i lay my hat...
82 belouis some - imagination
81 david cassidy - the last kiss
80 paul mccartney - no more lonely nights
79 u2 - sunday bloody sunday
78 billy idol - eyes without a face
77 marty webb & the simon may orchestra - always there
76 malcolm mc laren - madame butterfly
75 prince - purple rain
74 bananarama - cruel summer
73 art of noise - moments in love
72 the mission - tower of strength
71 wham! - last christmas
70 barbra streisand - woman in love
69 rod stewart - baby jane
68 alison moyet - love letters
67 dionne warwick & friends - thats what friends are for
66 the honeydrippers - sea of love
65 roxy music - avalon
64 killing joke - love like blood
63 this mortal coil - song to the siren
62 sarah brightman & paul miles kingston - pie jesu
61 kraftwerk - the model
60 double - the captain of her heart
59 culture club - time (the clock of my heart)
58 john foxx - your dress
57 ultravox - lament
56 simply red - holding back the years
55 nik kershaw - human racing
54 harold faltermeyer - axel f
53 simon may orchestra - howards way
52 visage - fade to grey
51 kim wilde - cambodia
50 thompson twins - love on your side
49 foreigner - i want to know what love is
48 gino vanellil - wild horses
47 mr.mister - kyrie
46 fiction factory - feels like heaven
45 the stranglers - midnight summer dream
44 elton john - sad songs (say so much)
43 yazoo - only you
42 cocteau twins - aikea guinea
41 soft cell - tainted love
40 ultravox - vienna
39 band aid - do they know its christmas
38 pet shop boys - west end girls
37 human league - dont you want me
36 the colour field - thinking of you
35 japan - ghosts
34 nana mouskury - only love
33 a-ha - hunting high and low
32 george michael - father figure
31 the smiths - the boy with the thorn in his side
30 billy bragg - levi stubbs tears
29 jim diamond - i should have known better
28 joe cocker & jennifer warnes - up where we belong
27 clannad - in a lifetime
26 elaine page & barbara dickson - i know him so well
25 daryll hall & john oates - maneater
24 wham! - wham rap
23 china crisis - wishful thinking
22 simple minds - someone somewhere in summertime
21 george michael - a different corner
20 the style council - long hot summer
19 human league - louise
18 the cure - a forest
17 cook da books - your eyes
16 whitney houston - saving all my love for you
15 sylvian & sakamoto - forbidden colours
14 abc - all of my heart
13 omd - forever (live and die)
12 the smiths - how soon is now
11 george michael - kissing a fool
10 the cars - drive
9 frankie goes to hollywood - the power of love
8 chris de burgh - the lady in red
7 spandau ballet - true
6 depeche mode -somebody
5 jennifer rush - the power of love
4 alphaville - forever young
3 richard sanderson - reality
2 howard jones - hide and seek
1 george michael - careless whisper

 

So.....here is, as announced, my personal Top-100 of the 80s.
I have compiled this chart on the 25th of December 1989.

I would, naturally, make numerous changes, with regard to positions (especially) and the choice of tracks
from this perspective, but this is just a snapshot how my 19 year old self looked at it at the very end of the decade.

 

I'm surprised there are so many ballads!

 

Yes......I did have a soft spot for ballads for as far as I can remember.......I still do.

Come to think of it, these below are really unusual choices from my current perspective:

70 barbra streisand - woman in love
67 dionne warwick & friends - thats what friends are for
66 the honeydrippers - sea of love
62 sarah brightman & paul miles kingston - pie jesu
53 simon may orchestra - howards way
34 nana mouskury - only love
17 cook da books - your eyes
3 richard sanderson - reality

The last two were very big movie soundtrack tunes back in the day.

 

I wish I'd made a similar list at the end of the 80s. It'd be super interesting to see if I still liked the same songs. Are there any in your Top 100 that you can't stand now?

 

"Woman In Love" is great. Wouldn't call myself a huge fan but a few of her songs are in my all time favorites list. The other two are "The Way We Were" and "Evergreen". The later would make my all time top 5 love songs.

 

It’s very poppy. I’d expected your list to have more oddities, if I’m honest.

No Olivia though, so you’re now banned from this thread.

 

If you’re going to like a Streisand song, it’s probably going to be Woman In Love.

 

"Somebody" is interesting, nice song but there are a lot of Mode songs I like better. "Power Of Love" (Frankie) I agree with, an incredibly powerful song

 

No.....not really.......although I do wonder especially about the Howards Way theme tune.
How did that capture my imagination that much ?

Remember......I those days the only way I could have heard that was on Radio Luxemourg......
and the sound of MW Radio Luxembourg use to be.......very unstable and fading in & out.......lets put in that way.
So its entirely possible that I could have misheard something or in my mind, it sounded better than it really was.

 

I just listened to the Guilty album yesterday for the first time in a decade and it sounds incredible- not 1 bad track.

 

I guess I had a thing about stripped down piano driven ballads in those days.......I guess I still do.

 

It was a perfect match. Barry Gibb didn’t Bee Gee her up too much and she managed to keep her stagey excesses to a minimum.

Welcome back to the thread, BTW.

 

Olivia & Cliff with Suddenly would have probably charted just outside of the Top-100.

I guess I could have easily added some Bauhaus, Sisters of Mercy etc.......but I guess - in my mind - this is my end of the decade 80s pop chart
with slight deviations towards the alternative (Cabaret Voltaire , Cocteau Twins)......

 

I like to add "How Do You Do!" to these two singles. But I am going a little bit of topic, because it isn't an 80's song. It was released in 1992.

 

I took a little break break- I was pissed as several of my honest opinions on Glastonbury performances by Macca & Diana Ross (both were awful and well past it) were deemed to hot to handle- rule no1 on this forum - NEVER criticise the Almighty Paul!