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Post by PurpleCareBear on Jun 12, 2011 22:19:45 GMT 1
1ST MAY -ONE STEP FURTHER- Bardo (1 week).... it does seem like a Bucks Fizz B-Side or album filler. The demo of One Step Further was sung by Andy Hill with Mike Nolan and Bobby G,so I thought that would make it sound even more like a Fizz song...but it doesn't. I'm not keen on Andy's voice. Just looked at Wiki and it has the Bardo B side as 'Lady of the Night' - Bucks Fizz have a song with that title on their first album, so it could well be the same (fabulous) song.
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vya
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Post by vya on Jun 12, 2011 23:53:54 GMT 1
I've read elsewhere on the web, in the writings of a clearly extremely knowledgeable and tasteful pop music critic, that the top 40 of 29 May 1982 is the finest ever...
It was certainly a really good time for pop music; although as it when when I (aged 7) was only just becoming aware of the stuff, I am not a neutral observer.
I LOVE that Imagination song. "Body Talk" and "Music and Lights" were great too. Have to agree that "Ain't No Pleasin' You" is a cracker, also - but those piano ties they are wearing are dreadful!!!. I saw Chas and Dave about 3 or 4 years ago, and it was still the highlight of their set then.
I might also suggest that the Scottish World Cup Squad team song from '82 is marginally better than the England one... it does have some proper singers on, that's why...
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vastar iner
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Post by vastar iner on Jun 13, 2011 7:22:57 GMT 1
I've read elsewhere on the web, in the writings of a clearly extremely knowledgeable and tasteful pop music critic, that the top 40 of 29 May 1982 is the finest ever... The top five of the following week consists of five bona fide music classics, certainly. Within weeks Thriller was released and pop moguls realized you needn't bother with music if you just throw enough hype.
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Jun 13, 2011 13:20:42 GMT 1
22ND MAY- ONLY YOU- Yazoo (1 week)Post Depeche Mode, and pre Erasure, Vince Clarke was one half of Yazoo who met up with Alison Moyet through the small ads (those were the days). The relationship between the two has long since passed into pop legend but let's just say they didn't record together Clarke writing the tunes during the day and Moyet laying down vocals in the evening, the pair were both so shy that communication became a problem and after just 18 months and 2 albums the pair went their seperate ways. This was their biggest hit, made bigger by being covered by the Flying Pickets and made into a christmas Number one in 1983, the original however is soooo much better! A synthpop ballad of a relationship falling apart (not exactly the stuff of christmas chart toppers) it feels much more multi layered than it is as a track, Moyet's vocals are powerful and definant in an odd way as though the heroine knows the relationship is doomed as much as she wants to fight for it. It is in short a record as frought with tension as the relationship between the duo themselves....
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Jun 13, 2011 13:21:35 GMT 1
19TH JUNE- TORCH- Soft Cell (1 week)
Meanwhile the new romantic bandwagon rolls on and here are Marc Almond & Dave Ball, who as soft cell placed their first 5 hits all in the top 5 including the million selling "Tainted Love". "Torch" was their fourth hit and the closest they came to repeating the success of that, and Almond sells the song as a kind of kitchen sink drama that he does so well. Part of the success of the band in the 81-83 period was just that sense of high drama and theatricality which created the impression that these songs were vignettes of Almond's real life.
A female voice sings on the record "see the stars coming out tonight" which easily be a coda for the new romantic period but for all its charm "Torch" for me underperforms. "Say Hello Wave Goodbye" or "Where The Heart Is" are far more convincing or more pleasurable sniplets of life if you prefer with stronger narratives. Having said all that it's far from the worse that 1982 has to offer....
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Post by PurpleCareBear on Jun 13, 2011 14:05:19 GMT 1
In the 80's ,I didn't know that it wasn't an original Flying Pickets song,and didn't hear Moyet singing it,'til many years later
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Post by evansabove on Jun 13, 2011 17:52:03 GMT 1
Yazoo & Soft Cell are 2 classics. Early 80s really is my favourite era ever
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Post by rubcale on Jun 13, 2011 18:31:02 GMT 1
12TH DECEMBER- DADDY'S HOME- Cliff Richard (4 weeks)What's going on? Cliff has a christmas hit and he only ends up at No 2? It's true whilst the Human League were ruling the roost at No 1 Cliff lay in waiting for 4 weeks with his cover of Shep & The Limelights 1961 US hit "Daddy's Home" which bombed over here so was relatively unknown when Cliff got his hands on it. It's a typical piece of syrupy pop from him, but what is disappointing is that, in general, Cliff was pouring out some pretty good stuff 79-82 the great "We Don't Talk Anymore", "Wired For Sound" "Carrie" are all cracking good records, and the latter probably deserved to do better and maybe be on this list, but they aren't. 60s Americana is actually something we lapped up in the UK in the 80s, Percy Sledge, Ben E King, Marvin Gaye, Sam Cooke, admittedly all utilised by Levis, were used to push a certain type of America which proved lucrative through the decade so perhaps Cliff was onto something, but all in all far too sacharine for my taste buds and just a whiff of Cliff on autopilot.... Good to see some "realistic" comments about Cliff on Haven. Ugh for Daddy's Home but certainly the three records you mention plus Dreamin' from the same era were all excellent pop songs.
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vastar iner
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Post by vastar iner on Jun 13, 2011 19:57:11 GMT 1
The female voice on "Torch" was Cindy Ecstasy from Almond's side project Marc & The Mambas. And before that she was basically their New York drug hookup...
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vya
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Post by vya on Jun 13, 2011 20:42:47 GMT 1
I've read elsewhere on the web, in the writings of a clearly extremely knowledgeable and tasteful pop music critic, that the top 40 of 29 May 1982 is the finest ever... The top five of the following week consists of five bona fide music classics, certainly. Certainly does. It's a cracking top....nine, actually. No 10 does let the side down somewhat, though.
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Post by evansabove on Jun 13, 2011 21:20:11 GMT 1
The top five of the following week consists of five bona fide music classics, certainly. Certainly does. It's a cracking top....nine, actually. No 10 does let the side down somewhat, though. What song is that?
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vya
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Post by vya on Jun 13, 2011 22:04:26 GMT 1
The Eurovision Winner! Nicole - A Little Peace
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Post by evansabove on Jun 14, 2011 7:30:04 GMT 1
The Eurovision Winner! Nicole - A Little Peace Ah yes a little cheesy. I quite like it though
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Jun 14, 2011 12:40:50 GMT 1
10TH JULY- ABRACADABRA- Steve Miller Band (2 weeks)God Bless Steve Miller, he's been going strong since the 60's and not without some considerable success, especially in the USA during the 70s, and here we meet him in the long hot summer of 1982 with his US chart topper "Abracadabra". It's a song that you probably don't recall ever hearing until you play it. A jaunty little number it's hard to dislike, but it's equally hard to love, what is interesting is how times have changed, it's easy to forget what a producer of good pop the US once was before the R N B revolution took it over in the 90s and they have pretty much produced just that for the last 10 years. So "Abracadabra" is a kind of memo from the past to what the US used to be- filled with variety and a multitude of popular genres which seems to have been lost. Whilst none of his 70s hits made the top 10 here, this remained his nearest brush with the top until that famous incident in 1990....
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Jun 14, 2011 12:41:38 GMT 1
24TH JULY- DA DA DA- Trio (1 week)
German Band Trio hit it big with "Da Da Da" which is best summed up by the word dire. Repetitive, uninspiring, annoying, I could go on but you get the idea. It's a song that had been used on many adverts over the year probably because of its simplicity and the ability to climb inside your head, that I don;t doubt.
I can honestly say I don't remember this song from the time, as a 6 yr old I can assume I was out playing (thank god) but I can see no redeeming features to this song, their only UK hit and quite rightly so.......
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Jun 14, 2011 12:43:17 GMT 1
11TH SEPTEMBER- SAVE A PRAYER- Duran Duran (1 week)Finally we arrive at the pin up boys of "New romanticism" which was, by late 1982, having its last stand. Frilly shirts and lipstick were just on their way out to make way for power dressing and overt conspicuous capitalism. However let's savor the moment for now, the duranies had been scoring bigger and bigger hits since "Planet Earth" back in early 1981 and had emerged as the house band at Birmingham's "Rum Runner" club ,which pioneered the "New Romantic" lifestyle and look beyond the confines of London. As the new movement became a chart force so too the hits got larger with "Girls On Film" and "Hungry like the wolf" hitting the top 5 before this track, and the band were acquiring a name for themselves as fine purveyors of expensive videos in exotic locations. "Save A Prayer"'s video was shot in Sri Lanka and apparently the scene where the elephant squirts water over Jon Taylor was a controversial one, none of the band keen to do it for its supposed homo erotic overtones. Anyway Duran Duran are, in my opinion, at their best between 1981-1984 when there is a genuine hub of creativity about the band, you can see the hunger behind the band in the videos- they want to be big, the biggest in the world, and another example of a group who perfectly understand how visual a medium music is. Naturally pretty boys making expensive video's is going to result in a big teenage female audience and Duran Duran were no exception, we'll meet them again when they are on their way down but for now they are in the ascent, the beginning of their "imperial phase". As a song "Save A Prayer" is essentially about loneliness, emotional repression, and the meaninglessness of "casual encounters". It's oddly haunting in a beautiful way, the synth line which pervades the record provides suitable bleakness in the landscape of the record. Lyrically it's actually a pretty dark song, "you wanted to dance so I asked you to dance/But fear is in your soul/ Some people call it a one night stand/ But we can call it paradise" I'd go as far to say it's probably one of the darkest things they did single wise. Mature and unsympathetic, it offers the listener no glimpse of joy at the end of this tale, just a temporary reprieve from the emotional starkness......in short bloody fantastic!
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Post by The Moose on Jun 14, 2011 17:30:22 GMT 1
Thanks for putting together this great topic. Enjoying it immensely. Another forum currently has a ranking of the No.2 hits of the 00's - this topic having only reached 1982, despite the odd mixture of No.2's, already shows up how bad the upper echelons of the chart has been since the millennium. 36 No.2's in 2003 and the majority of them forgetful. I would like therefore to add some of my own thoughts on the songs so far. 1977-82 was my favourite period for chart music and nearly every week there was several new songs which were at worst, decent. 1980 Billy Preston and Syreeta 'With You I'm Born Again' - always been very fond of this song. Underrated track. Paul McCartney 'Coming Up' - not his best. Held the record, I believe, for a long time of biggest climb into Top 10 (62 to 7) Hot Chocolate 'No Doubt About It' - fantastic track, one of my favourite intros of all time. Held off No.1 by Johnny Logan and MASH!!! Diana Ross 'Upside Down' - definitely her best period as a soloist, wasn't overly fussed either way with the disco/dance songs around this time. Randy Crawford 'One Day I'll Fly Away' - my Dad's favourite artist, wonderful voice (Randy that is, not my Dad!) Stevie Wonder 'MasterBlaster (Jammin')' - still love it. Ottawan 'D.I.S.C.O.' - always found this mildly amusing, certainly never took it too seriously. 1981John and Yoko 'Happy Xmas (War Is Over)' - even though I was only 7 at the time, I can still remember hearing the news of his death on the radio. Hated 'Imagine' but this is one of my fav Xmas songs. Adam and the Ants 'Antmusic' and 'Kings Of The Wild Frontier' - I was mad about Adam and the Ants when I was 7 (yes I did dress up, thankfully no photos exist) and 30 years on I still think the 'Kings Of The Wild Frontier' album is fantastic, much better than 'Prince Charming' which was obviously more commercial. The title track of 'Kings' is one of all time fav's. Phil Collins 'In The Air Tonight' - didn't particularly like this for a long time but have come to love it over time, even before the gorilla. Ultravox 'Vienna' - the biggest injustice in chart history? Probably. Still sounds brilliant today. Kim Wilde 'Kids In America' - not a big fan of Ms.Wilde but still very memorable 30 years on. Of course all of Rihanna's No.2's (can't quite remember the names currently) will be just as memorable in 2041 Ennio Morricone 'Chi Mai' - classic gold. How brilliant were the charts back then. Starsound 'Stars On 45' - Jive Bunny eight years ahead of it's time! Shakin' Stevens 'You Drive Me Crazy' - not a shaky fan but can recall how huge he was in 1981. Actually this and 'Oh Julie' were the two of his I secretly liked. Kate Robbins 'More Than In Love' - the one so far I also could not remember how it went, even though I know I have it on vinyl (did buy a DJ's substantial collection when I was in my teens) Stevie Wonder 'Happy Birthday' - the lesser of the two Happy Birthday's. Much prefer 'Lately'. Royal Philharmonic Orchestra 'Hooked On Classics' - I did buy this (In defence I was 8)........but still think it's OK. Certainly made me more aware of classical music. Had a fascination for Glenn Miller around this time as well if I recall! Police 'Invisible Sun' - Loved most of the Police songs upto 1980 but this was start of the downhill slope for me which culminated in the dreadful and vastly overrated 'Every Breath You Take' in '83. Tweets 'Birdie Song' - even at 8 years old I found this deeply annoying. Laurie Anderson 'O Superman' - fantastic, can remember my elder brother buying this and the album 'Big Science' at the time. It is unusual but loved it at the time, still think it's great now. Altered Images 'Happy Birthday' - can understand why Vas is still a bit sore about this being denied by a poor Police song although it was on the decline, saleswise, by then. Not my fav of theirs, much prefer 'See Those Eyes' and the sublime 'Don't Talk To Me About Love'. Cliff Richard 'Daddy's Home' - yes was nice to see some positive comments about Cliff. This was rubbish mind, during his best period IMO. 'Carrie' is one of my all time favourite songs. 1982Stranglers 'Golden Brown' - another classic, which still sounds great. Toni Basil 'Mickey' - memorable hi-energy bubblegum pop, but wasn't keen at the time. Imagination 'Just An Illusion' - liked it, 'Body Talk' and 'In And Out Of Love' too. Chas and Dave 'Ain't No Pleasing You' - and I was thinking I would be the only one who liked this. Cracking sing-a-long tune. England World Cup Squad 'This Time' - ashamedly liked this also at the time, probably because I was a bit obsessed with my first real taste of a World Cup. England peaked in the first game but went out undefeated. Brazil were amazing, Zico, Socrates, Falcao, Eder, Junior.........wonderful memories. Even the football was better then too. Yazoo 'Only You' - Alison Moyet attended the same school as the four boys from Depeche Mode in Basildon. The best thing Vince did was to leave Depeche at the end of '81 as it freed Martin Gore to become the best songwriter of his generation - eventually. Not that I dislike Vince's material as I loved both Yazoo and Erasure also. 'Only You' was offered to Depeche as his parting gift but they turned it down, perhaps a mistake but they were to become one of the biggest bands in the world (just not in their own country strangely). Soft Cell 'Torch' - prefer this to 'Tainted Love' actually. Steve Miller Band 'Abracadabra' - great song. Duran Duran 'Save A Prayer' - what can I add, would most likely rank in my Top 10 of all time. Absolutely love it.
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Jun 14, 2011 17:54:32 GMT 1
Wow Thanks Moose, it's always good to add people's own thoughts on records here- more of it I say!!
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Post by evansabove on Jun 14, 2011 19:15:07 GMT 1
Abracadabra and Save A Prayer are classics. Da da da is best forgotten as an annoying novelty hit
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vastar iner
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Post by vastar iner on Jun 14, 2011 22:01:08 GMT 1
"Da Da Da" was a BRILLIANT record. So dry. I remember it screamed up the chart and then dropped quickly, I can only assume it was summer holiday purchasing. And yes, I did buy it. And I still adore it.
Duran Duran were so fed up of not getting a number one single that "Is There Something I Should Know?" was deliberately kept off an album - and they announced that it was going to be a standalone, so all those who were saving their £1.30 had to go out to buy it.
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