Popular '80

A 17-7 victory for the songs I like, though I seem to have accidentally not ticked The Specials’ box. Probably fewer exceptional songs than in 1979, though.

16 cor – v generous to a couple but slightly harsh on one or two others

Only 8 from me too (and almost all of them from the first half of the year); a real disappointment after 1979’s excellent set of #1s!

15-9 for me, after a late decision to allow Fern Kinney into the corral because I’m feeling mellow.

Sounds’ critics poll for 1980 (Melody Maker had no time for singles of the year);

1. C30 C60 C90 Go! – Bow Wow Wow
2. Love Will Tear Us Apart – Joy Division
3. Going Underground – The Jam
4. Biko – Peter Gabriel
5. Talk Of The Town – The Pretenders
6. Can’t Stand up For Falling Down – Elvis Costello
7. Holiday In Cambodia – Dead Kennedys
8. King/Food For Thought – UB40
9. You Better Scream – Wah! Heat
10. Staring At The Rude Boys – The Ruts
11. To Cut A Long Story Short – Spandau Ballet
12. Two Pints Of Lager – Splodgenessabounds
13. 747 (strangers In The Night) – Saxon
14. Circus Games – The Skids
15. West One (Shine On Me) – The Ruts
16. My Number – Girl
17. Seven Minutes To Midnight – Wah! Heat
18. A Forest – The Cure
19. Commercial Single – The Residents
20. Lights – Styx
21. Heyday – The Sound
22. Games Without Frontiers – Peter Gabriel
23. Give Me Back My Man – B52s
24. Mirror In The bathroom – The Beat
25. Dark Companion – Tuxedo Moon
26. Girls Talk – Dave Edmunds
27. Simply Thrilled Honey – Orange Juice
28. Totally Wired – The Fall
29. Dog Eat Dog – Adam And The Ants
30. I’m Coming Out – Diana Ross

Those Beat singles were/are fantastic – as was Private Life by Grace Jones (and the flipside She’s lost control) – – heard her new single: ‘Williams blood’ today and it sounds absolutely wonderful

I saw “Food for Thought” on TOTP2, and remembered UB40 were good once. Just the once though.

Here are the same charts seen upside down – ie the records that peaked at number 40 (“the anchor position” Dale Winton) in 1980

26 Jan Wonderland – The Commodores – 1 week
9 Feb Dance Stance – Dexy’s Midnight Runners – 1
16 Feb Maybe Tomorrow – The Chords – 1
26 Apr All For Lenya – Billy Joel – 1
31 May Body Language – The Detroit Spinners – 1
25 Oct Don’t Say I Told You So – The Tourists – 1
29 Nov Girls Can Get It – Dr. Hook – 1
6 Dec The Call Up – The Clash – 1

Dance Stance and The Call Up both considerably better than almost every number one of this year.

According to Record Mirror which I read at the time the Police were voted the naff act of the year,followed closely by Bad Manners, it was the era of Tiswas.

Re: #8 I only very very vaguely remember that Subterraneans single but I’m sure I thought it was rather good at the time.

The NME list is amazing, out of 50 records there’s only about 3 I can say I don’t care for. So I’m sticking to my guns that 1980 was better than 1979 overall.

It occurred to me that I was 18 in 1980 so do I have a warped sense of how good pop music should be? Being that age in a year like that?

that nme list, while it contains some great songs, is typically too cool for school, the same problem that blights all rock press lists – journalists chosing tracks/albums that they think they should be championing (or showing appreciation of)*

I mean, A Certain Ratio. Really, this kind of non-rhythmic take on funk was only ever viable in the minds of a select coterie of writers.

* plenty of genuine choices too no doubt.

I see that, I just think there’s a tendency for writers to be a bit disingenuous in the compilation of such lists.

Re 25: I’m not sure about that at all. I’ve known plenty of critics in my time, and I think a lot of them were people who would listen to ACR for fun (or settle down for a thrilling weekend of films set in Turkish villages without the slightest sense of duty). For one thing, those are the kind of people (men) who tend to become critics in the first place, and secondly, you’ve moved into circles where people will say “The Pop Group are Pop!” and mean it. The more time you spend with them, the more your baseline can shift – until and unless you flip back the other way and cry “Let me listen to some number one singles!” As totally inexplicable as I find that idea that anyone could have ever enjoyed the music of Tortoise, for instance, my assumption is that if they say they do, they do.

acr were fun! of the dourest kind!

NME Readers Poll 1980;

1. The Jam – Going Underground
2. Joy Division – Love Will Tear Us Apart
3. David Bowie – Ashes To Ashes
4. Joy Division – Atmosphere
5. The Jam – Start!
6. David Bowie – Fashion
7. The Clash – Bankrobber
8. OMD – Enola Gay
9. Peter Gabriel – Games Without Frontiers
10. Adam & The Ants – Dog Eat Dog
11. The Dead Kennedys – Holiday In Cambodia
12. The Cure – A Forest
13. The Police – Don’t Stand So Close To Me
14. UB40 – Food For Thought
15. The Beat – Mirror In The Bathroom
16. The Stray Cats – Runaway Boys
17. The Stranglers – Who Wants The World?
18. Dexy’s Midnight Runners – Geno
19. Siouxsie & The Banshees – Christine
20. Madness – Baggy Trousers

An awful lot of people didn’t want Then Play Long to die, so I have brought it back: http://nobilliards.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/paul-mccartney-mccartney-ii.html

And, just to keep things up to date, here’s the latest post: http://nobilliards.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/gary-numan-telekon.html

Happy Old Year!

Well, it seems that it falls to me to review the first show of the year – the year being 1980, that is. Master Powell introduces the new decade in a yellow sweater. The Clash over the chart, which was generally as close as they ever got to being on the show (did they even make videos? I don’t recall one before ‘Casbah’). Anyway London Calling, a storming start.

Madness – I saw this lot at Brighton recently, a great night out. Original line-up of course, missing only Chas Smash, the original Bez. They’re in cream waiters’ jackets and bow ties doing ‘My Girl.’ Mike Barson playing a toy saxophone. Was ‘One Step Beyond’ on? I fear we missed it.

Paul McCartney – this went out on January 3rd – I’d have thought this was starting to pall by then. Nice vid though.

Peter Powell steals a kiss from a blue-topped lovely – Knacker alert! The Pretenders with their soon-to-be number one, maybe not their best single (and Chrissie has never liked doing it) but a corker nonetheless.

David Bowie – what’s this? I never knew there was a video for this. It’s the old version and of course, Bowie didn’t look like that in ’79. Was this a double A then? I suppose it must have been.

Boney M- surely their last ever appearance before being permanently pensioned off. I don’t remember this, it’s got a bit of a Mull of Kintyre tone to it. It’s OK, a vast improvement on ‘Holi-Holiday’ but the M were surplus to requirements in 1980.

The Beat – top notch cover from a band that ought to have stuck around longer. I’ve got the General Public single ‘Tenderness’ – now that should’ve been a hit.

Fiddler’s Dram – ‘Day Trip to Banger’ as PP introduces it. Different clip this time. The singer reminds me a little of the gorgeous actress Lucy Liemann (‘Rev’, ‘Reggie Perrin’), the guitarist might have been in the Hair Bear Bunch. Still in North Wales, as Jimmy informed us last time.

Kurtis Blow – Christmas Rapping – another one past its use-by but an entertaining period piece, and that shirt collar is something else.

Billy & Syreeta – a bit of live piano from Billy to start this. I was a sucker for this sort of thing at the time. Billy is a great bear of a man and Stevie’s ex-missus looks beautifully elegant. Easy to sneer at this now but I still think it’s rather lovely, especially when her voice soars over his. RIP both of course.

Chic/Legs & Co – their feet keep dancing, and so do our Legs. No Sue this time, but the gals are in outfits that they must have been poured into. And when the luscious Gill Clark shakes her booty at the camera all is well in Lazworld. The song’s fine, too.

Dr Hook – perfectly acceptable follow-up, I think I prefer this although it was sandwiched between two bigger hits. In the studio this time too, which I don’t think they did for their number 1.

PP still not short of female company … Pink Floyd still at number one. After the horror of the Ramblers, a kids’ choir with attitude! And Rose Royce to see us out.

Promising start …

It’s 1980 and Peter is excited. Good. Invisible Clash.

Great start. Madness. Peter predicts a top 10 placing for this and he’s right of course. After this performance they jumped 40 places. Dressed up as they are quite a few badges are on display, still a popular fashion accessory.

Wonderful Christmastime – seems a little late, but at its peak this week. The Fountain Inn features in the video and has another claim to fame – Sir Laurence Olivier’s local.

Back to the 80’s. Brass In Pocket -Peter again very positive about this. At the link he kisses the girl on his right, but the girl on his left rolling her eyes is far more entertaining. Badges.

Despite Peter’s claims for John I’m Only Dancing (Again), it’s not. Not sure of his ability to turn up, but the BBC banned the video for this version so no option really.

Boney M – as mentioned it’s Mull of Kintrye. Guess they were going for Mary’s Boy Child again. If Bobby’s doesn’t do a few 360 spins it’s not really Boney M.

Back to the 80’s – Think we’ve got a bit a run going on Totp at the moment with punkish bands doing speeded up covers. The Beat pull it off well. Badges.

Back to the 70’s – Fiddler’s Dram not a rpt but nearly.

Staying with the 70’s the clothes (must be!) and 80’s sound. Peter thinks he in a mash up with Kurtis Blow. Goes on a bit.

Billy Preston /Syreeta -Baroness Floella Benjamin did her hair. Good. Best performance of the week.

Chic/Legs and Co – One week in and it’s Swedeheaven. No room for any Christmas weight in those outfits.

Back to the 70’s – Better Love Next Time – looks so similar to the performance of WYILWABW. Maracas guy is more annoying and the Steve Wright look a like on guitar has put a jacket on.

Peter gets all tactile with the ladies again and introduces Pink Floyd. rpt vid.

Out to Theme From S-Express, well nearly.

Swede are you there?

Not my favourite but there has been worse.

Apologies Mark G- after trying to evidence the ban looks like it was an earlier video for the original version; although obviously not the one shown on Totp above. The banned one was produced by Mick Rock “featuring androgynous dancers from Lindsay Kemp’s mime troupe” this from Wiki . Some of the videos on you tube look like they may contain excerpts from this, can’t be certain; far too many fan videos.
Will come back if I can confirm and find more than a single source.

Well, the thing was, I watched it and thought to myself “Oh look, Lindsay Kemp and co”. I reckon this was the banned vid (although I do remember it from 72 or whenever but I don’t recall if the dancers were on it or not), its just that by 1980 it was ok to show dancers that were slightly (only slightly) sexy…