• Rising up to the challenge of an old chart from 1982

    From Chris Brown@extreme_rice@yahoo.com to uk.music.charts on Sun Sep 13 18:00:23 2020
    From Newsgroup: uk.music.charts

    Bit of a late addition, following the death of Ronald Bell from Kool &
    The Gang. But 1982 is an acknowledged Classic pop year and there are
    some real gems in here, and some dodgy cover versions. I suppose the
    title of Number 40 could be considered topical.

    Playlists are here. Sadly two of the singles I own aren't on Spotify,
    and you'll also need to use YouTube if you want to see Simon Cowell in a
    dog costume. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0lJYirRGZiXQWF82dc3YF8?si=JTHriDlJRdGjuxFtvQNzYA
    https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdiUvgvgpgNoCNsbh9g4mGe0bfVkS4Stq

    Chart dated: 18th September 1982

    1. (1) Survivor Eye Of The Tiger
    2. (4) Dire Straits Private Investigations
    3. (2) Duran Duran Save A Prayer
    4. (5) Rocker's Revenge Walking On Sunshine
    5. (NE) The Jam The Bitterest Pill (I Ever Had To Swallow)
    6. (8) ABC All Of My Heart
    7. (6) The Kids From "Fame" featuring Valerie Landsberg Hi Fidelity
    8. (13) Grandmaster Flash And The Furious Five The Message
    9. (3) Dexys Midnight Runners With The Emerald Express Come On Eileen 10. (17) Shalamar There It Is
    11. (11) Shakin' Stevens Give Me Your Heart Tonight
    12. (19) David Christie Saddle Up
    13. (9) Toto Coelo I Eat Cannibals (Part 1)
    14. (14) Talk Talk Today
    15. (7) Soft Cell What?
    16. (12) Haircut 100 Nobody's Fool
    17. (24) Carly Simon Why
    18. (29) Evelyn King Love Come Down
    19. (10) Boystown Gang Can't Take My Eyes Off You
    20. (15) Modern Romance ft John Du Prez Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White
    21. (16) Sting Spread A Little Happiness
    22. (NE) Adam Ant Friend Or Foe
    23. (21) Depeche Mode Leave In Silence
    24. (28) Shakatak Invitations
    25. (22) Tom Tom Club Under The Boardwalk
    26. (18) Haysi Fantayzee John Wayne Is Big Leggy
    27. (27) UB40 So Here I Am
    28. (38) Simple Minds Glittering Prize
    29. (20) Irene Cara Fame
    30. (23) Kool And The Gang Big Fun
    31. (40) Wonder Dogs Ruff Mix
    32. (31) Thomas Dolby Windpower
    33. (46) Chicago Hard To Say I'm Sorry
    34. (41) Jennifer Holliday And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going
    35. (33) Associates 18 Carat Love Affair/Love Hangover
    36. (61) Mari Wilson Just What I Always Wanted
    37. (25) Gary Numan White Boys And Heroes
    38. (37) Showaddywaddy Who Put The Bomp (In The Bompa-A-Bomp-A-Bomp)
    39. (32) Wavelength Hurry Home
    40. (NE) Fat Larry's Band Zoom

    41. (26) Captain Sensible Wot!
    42. (30) Yazoo Don't Go
    43. (70) Sylvester With Patrick Cowley Do Ya Wanna Funk
    44. (63) Odyssey Magic Touch
    45. (47) Howard Johnson So Fine
    46. (44) Natasha The Boom Boom Room
    47. (55) Aretha Franklin Jump To It
    48. (35) Hot Chocolate It Started With A Kiss
    49. (72) Journey Who's Crying Now
    50. (42) Rush New World Man
    51. (50) Gillan Living For The City
    52. (69) Michael Schenker Group Dancer
    53. (48) Frida I Know There's Something Going On
    54. (75) The Sugarhill Gang The Lover In You
    55. (52) The Steve Miller Band Keeps Me Wondering Why
    56. (75) Dennis Brown Halfway Up, Halfway Down
    57. (62) Billy Fury Love Or Money
    58. (68) Billy Idol Hot In The City
    59. (NE) Dollar Give Me Some Kinda Magic
    60. (54) Fashion Love Shadow
    61. (39) The Stranglers Strange Little Girl
    62. (NE) Pinkees Danger Games
    63. (64) Tygers Of Pan Tang Paris By Air
    64. (NE) The Beat Jeanette
    65. (58) Irene Cara Out Here On My Own Tonight
    66. (NE) Culture Club Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?
    67. (67) Diamond Head In The Heat Of The Night
    68. (NE) Cava Cava Where's Romeo?
    69. (49) Pete Townshend Uniforms
    70. (NE) The Animals House Of The Rising Sun {1982 reissue}
    71. (34) The Fun Boy Three Summertime
    72. (36) Donna Summer Love Is In Control (Finger On The Trigger)
    73. (NE) Stiff Little Fingers Bits Of Kids
    74. (NE) Asia Only Time Will Tell
    75. (45) Kid Creole And The Coconuts Stool Pigeon

    Chris
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  • From Vidcapper@vidcapper1@yahoo.co.uk to uk.music.charts on Mon Sep 14 06:47:20 2020
    From Newsgroup: uk.music.charts

    On 13/09/2020 18:00, Chris Brown wrote:


    Chart dated: 18th September 1982

    1. (1) Survivor Eye Of The Tiger
    2. (4) Dire Straits Private Investigations
    3. (2) Duran Duran Save A Prayer

    5. (NE) The Jam The Bitterest Pill (I Ever Had To Swallow)
    6. (8) ABC All Of My Heart
    7. (6) The Kids From "Fame" featuring Valerie Landsberg Hi Fidelity
    8. (13) Grandmaster Flash And The Furious Five The Message
    9. (3) Dexys Midnight Runners With The Emerald Express Come On Eileen

    11. (11) Shakin' Stevens Give Me Your Heart Tonight

    13. (9) Toto Coelo I Eat Cannibals (Part 1)

    16. (12) Haircut 100 Nobody's Fool

    18. (29) Evelyn King Love Come Down

    20. (15) Modern Romance ft John Du Prez Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White

    25. (22) Tom Tom Club Under The Boardwalk
    26. (18) Haysi Fantayzee John Wayne Is Big Leggy

    28. (38) Simple Minds Glittering Prize
    29. (20) Irene Cara Fame

    33. (46) Chicago Hard To Say I'm Sorry

    36. (61) Mari Wilson Just What I Always Wanted

    38. (37) Showaddywaddy Who Put The Bomp (In The Bompa-A-Bomp-A-Bomp)

    40. (NE) Fat Larry's Band Zoom

    42. (30) Yazoo Don't Go

    48. (35) Hot Chocolate It Started With A Kiss

    61. (39) The Stranglers Strange Little Girl
    62. (NE) Pinkees Danger Games

    66. (NE) Culture Club Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?

    70. (NE) The Animals House Of The Rising Sun {1982 reissue}

    75. (45) Kid Creole And The Coconuts Stool Pigeon


    Quite a lot I remember here, although some I wish I didn't! :P
    --

    Paul Hyett, Cheltenham
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  • From Chris Brown@extreme_rice@yahoo.com to uk.music.charts on Mon Sep 14 23:11:34 2020
    From Newsgroup: uk.music.charts

    On 14/09/2020 06:47, Vidcapper wrote:
    On 13/09/2020 18:00, Chris Brown wrote:


    Chart dated: 18th September 1982

    1.-a-a (1) Survivor-a-a-a Eye Of The Tiger
    2.-a-a (4) Dire Straits-a-a-a Private Investigations
    3.-a-a (2) Duran Duran-a-a-a Save A Prayer

    5.-a (NE) The Jam-a-a-a The Bitterest Pill (I Ever Had To Swallow)
    6.-a-a (8) ABC-a-a-a All Of My Heart
    7.-a-a (6) The Kids From "Fame" featuring Valerie Landsberg-a-a-a Hi Fidelity
    8.-a (13) Grandmaster Flash And The Furious Five-a-a-a The Message
    9.-a-a (3) Dexys Midnight Runners With The Emerald Express-a-a-a Come On
    Eileen

    Well, I feel sorry for Rocker's Revenge now.

    11. (11) Shakin' Stevens-a-a-a Give Me Your Heart Tonight

    I don't remember this one. I wonder whether Shaky does.


    Quite a lot I remember here, although some I wish I didn't! :P

    Any you want to admit to?


    Anyway, quite a few songs have other versions, to wit:

    3. (2) Duran Duran Save A Prayer {sampled on 'Save It Til The Mourning After' by Shut Up And Dance}
    9. (3) Dexys Midnight Runners With The Emerald Express Come On Eileen {later the basis for the football single 'Come On England'}
    15. (7) Soft Cell What? {cover of a song originally recorded by Melissa Marx, daughter of Groucho}
    17. (24) Carly Simon Why {covered by Glamma Kis, SoundGirl and others,
    also sampled many times}
    18. (29) Evelyn King Love Come Down {covered by Alison Limerick}
    19. (10) Boystown Gang Can't Take My Eyes Off You {originally recorded
    by Frankie Valli, also a hit for Andy Williams on his own and as a due
    with Denise Van Outen; covered by Pet Shops Boys in a medley with 'Where
    The Streets Have No Name'}
    20. (15) Modern Romance ft John Du Prez Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom
    White {cover of the instrumental made famous by Perez Prado}
    21. (16) Sting Spread A Little Happiness
    25. (22) Tom Tom Club Under The Boardwalk {originally recorded by the Drifters, later a hit for Bruce Willis}
    29. (20) Irene Cara Fame {covered by Naturi Naughton for the remake of
    the film}
    33. (46) Chicago Hard To Say I'm Sorry {later a hit for boyband Az Yet} 34. (41) Jennifer Holliday And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going {later covered by every talent show contestant ever}
    35. (33) Associates /Love Hangover {cover of the Diana Ross hit}
    38. (37) Showaddywaddy Who Put The Bomp (In The Bompa-A-Bomp-A-Bomp)

    Chris
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  • From Mark Goodge@usenet@listmail.good-stuff.co.uk to uk.music.charts on Fri Sep 18 20:52:31 2020
    From Newsgroup: uk.music.charts

    On Sun, 13 Sep 2020 18:00:23 +0100, Chris Brown <extreme_rice@yahoo.com>
    wrote:

    Bit of a late addition, following the death of Ronald Bell from Kool &
    The Gang. But 1982 is an acknowledged Classic pop year and there are
    some real gems in here, and some dodgy cover versions. I suppose the
    title of Number 40 could be considered topical.

    Playlists are here. Sadly two of the singles I own aren't on Spotify,
    and you'll also need to use YouTube if you want to see Simon Cowell in a
    dog costume. >https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0lJYirRGZiXQWF82dc3YF8?si=JTHriDlJRdGjuxFtvQNzYA
    https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdiUvgvgpgNoCNsbh9g4mGe0bfVkS4Stq

    Chart dated: 18th September 1982

    It may be a classic pop year, but this isn't particularly a classic pop
    chart. There are some good songs in here, but possibly not as many as
    you'd expect.

    I haven't seen any of these acts play live. I don't have any other
    mildly amusing anecdotes about any of them, either.

    1. (1) Survivor Eye Of The Tiger

    This is sort of a classic, although it's not one that's ever featured on
    my own 80s playlists.

    2. (4) Dire Straits Private Investigations

    This isn't really a classic at all. I'm surprised it did so well in the
    charts, to be honest.

    3. (2) Duran Duran Save A Prayer

    This is more of a classic, although it's a bit of a curate's egg of a
    song. There are some lines in here that are absolutely classic Duran
    Duran, but they're wrapped up in a rather dull song.

    4. (5) Rocker's Revenge Walking On Sunshine

    This seems to have disappeared from collective memory without a trace.

    5. (NE) The Jam The Bitterest Pill (I Ever Had To Swallow)

    Not one of their best.

    6. (8) ABC All Of My Heart

    This, though, is a classic of the era, if not of all time. One of my
    favourites at the time.

    7. (6) The Kids From "Fame" featuring Valerie Landsberg Hi Fidelity

    Very much of its era, for obvious reasons. Fame was one of my favourite
    TV programmes at the time, although not to the extent that I'd have
    bought the spin-off music.

    8. (13) Grandmaster Flash And The Furious Five The Message

    Another one that's very evocative of the era. Listening now, the rap
    sounds very unpolished.

    9. (3) Dexys Midnight Runners With The Emerald Express Come On Eileen

    One of the few genuine all-time classics in this chart.

    Triva point: the video was mostly recorded on the corner of Brook Drive
    and Hayles Street, Kennington. The shop which features in the video is
    still there, but it doesn't advertise Silk Cut any more:

    https://goo.gl/maps/2vxKLGq1DmQFz5uq7

    10. (17) Shalamar There It Is

    This sounds like it was five years after its time.

    11. (11) Shakin' Stevens Give Me Your Heart Tonight

    Unmemorable, even by his standards.

    12. (19) David Christie Saddle Up

    Just plain unmemorable.

    13. (9) Toto Coelo I Eat Cannibals (Part 1)

    Slightly odd.

    14. (14) Talk Talk Today

    Bland.

    15. (7) Soft Cell What?

    Their last top ten hit (excluding re-releases). In retrospect it's
    surprising it got that high.

    16. (12) Haircut 100 Nobody's Fool

    I quite liked this at the time.

    17. (24) Carly Simon Why

    Another one that's very evocative of the era, possibly because it hasn't
    found its way onto many Gold playlists.

    20. (15) Modern Romance ft John Du Prez Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White

    I preferred them when they were the Leyton Buzzards.

    21. (16) Sting Spread A Little Happiness

    One to file in the "What in earth was he thinking?" category.

    22. (NE) Adam Ant Friend Or Foe

    Probably his only decent solo hit after the Ants disbanded. This
    actually sounds more like Kings of the Wild Frontier era Adam and the
    Ants than either their later stuff or his solo material. Given that it
    was written by Ant and his Ants collaborator, Marco Pirroni, I wonder if
    it may have actually been based on an earlier composition that never got recorded by the band.

    28. (38) Simple Minds Glittering Prize

    From their breakthrough era, although this wasn't the biggest hit from
    that period.

    29. (20) Irene Cara Fame

    This song has worn better than the series which spawned it.

    42. (30) Yazoo Don't Go

    Classic of the era.

    Mark
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  • From Mark Goodge@usenet@listmail.good-stuff.co.uk to uk.music.charts on Sat Sep 19 12:34:31 2020
    From Newsgroup: uk.music.charts

    On Sat, 19 Sep 2020 00:27:10 +0100, Chris Brown <extreme_rice@yahoo.com>
    wrote:

    On 18/09/2020 20:52, Mark Goodge wrote:
    On Sun, 13 Sep 2020 18:00:23 +0100, Chris Brown <extreme_rice@yahoo.com>
    wrote:

    2. (4) Dire Straits Private Investigations

    This isn't really a classic at all. I'm surprised it did so well in the
    charts, to be honest.

    Do you think there was any element of people buying itjust because it
    didn't sound like a typical hit?

    Possibly.

    Surely it was never as popular a song as 'Sultans Of Swing' or Money For >Nothing'.

    Despite peaking at number 2, it was only certified Silver - unlike, for example, Sultans of Swing, which peaked at 8 and went Platinum and Money
    For Nothing which peaked at 4 and went Gold. Part of that is that it
    didn't have a very long chart run - just eight weeks, compared to 11 for Sultans of Swing and 16 for Money For Nothing. So maybe this one had a relatively small cohort of fans who all bought it at much the same time.

    7. (6) The Kids From "Fame" featuring Valerie Landsberg Hi Fidelity

    Very much of its era, for obvious reasons. Fame was one of my favourite
    TV programmes at the time, although not to the extent that I'd have
    bought the spin-off music.

    Plenty of people did. This was the only one I really remembered though.

    It was fairly obviously sung by someone who wasn't a professional
    singer, though. I don't know to what extent the cast were expected to be
    able to actually sing, dance and play instruments, and how much could be
    faked in the edit, but short of using a voice double it would be hard to
    fake it for a genuine single release.

    9. (3) Dexys Midnight Runners With The Emerald Express Come On Eileen >>
    One of the few genuine all-time classics in this chart.

    If one that we could all go a decade or two without hearing.

    It can suffer from being overplayed, yes.

    Triva point: the video was mostly recorded on the corner of Brook Drive
    and Hayles Street, Kennington. The shop which features in the video is
    still there, but it doesn't advertise Silk Cut any more:

    Are they still allowed to?

    I don't think so, no.

    https://goo.gl/maps/2vxKLGq1DmQFz5uq7

    The other famous thing about that video is that the lineup seems to
    change during the filming.

    I suppose continuity wasn't really a big thing.

    15. (7) Soft Cell What?

    Their last top ten hit (excluding re-releases). In retrospect it's
    surprising it got that high.

    Perhaps because it's repeating the formula of 'Tainted Love'?
    In some ways it feels strange in retrospect how big Soft Cell were; or
    maybe that's just because radio stations don't seem to know they
    released more than one record.

    A lot of the seminal bands from the late 70s/early 80s had a pretty
    brief flowering, even if they carried on releasing material after they'd stopped topping the charts. But this one does sound like their attempt
    to write an original Tainted Love (given that Tainted Love itself was a
    cover). It didn't really work, and this was their last top ten hit
    (other than a 1991 re-release which I presume was linked to a "best of"
    album release).

    22. (NE) Adam Ant Friend Or Foe

    Probably his only decent solo hit after the Ants disbanded.

    Are you not counting 'Goody Two Shoes'?

    I'm not counting that as a decent solo hit, no.

    This
    actually sounds more like Kings of the Wild Frontier era Adam and the
    Ants than either their later stuff or his solo material. Given that it
    was written by Ant and his Ants collaborator, Marco Pirroni, I wonder if
    it may have actually been based on an earlier composition that never got
    recorded by the band.

    Possibly, although Pirroni did co-write the whole album (other than the >cover version).

    Yes, but retaining the same songwriting team does increase the
    probability that at some point, one of them will say "We've got a decent
    song already mostly written that we never finished off, how about giving
    it a polish?".

    I didn't think it appropriate to use this on my YouTube playlist of the >chart, but whenever this song is mentioned I can't help thinking of the >Radio 1 DJs dancing to it on Top Of The Pops. Some of them weren't even
    sex offenders:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEERLXmKKyU

    The thing is, we all danced like that, back then.

    42. (30) Yazoo Don't Go

    Classic of the era.

    Almost as good as 'Only You'

    But not as good as Nobody's Diary, which was (and still is) hugely
    underrated.

    Mark
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  • From Robbie@ngrobbieuk@hotmail.com to uk.music.charts on Sun Sep 20 12:15:22 2020
    From Newsgroup: uk.music.charts

    On 13/09/2020 18:00, Chris Brown wrote:
    Bit of a late addition, following the death of Ronald Bell from Kool &
    The Gang. But 1982 is an acknowledged Classic pop year and there are
    some real gems in here, and some dodgy cover versions. I suppose the
    title of Number 40 could be considered topical.

    Playlists are here. Sadly two of the singles I own aren't on Spotify,
    and you'll also need to use YouTube if you want to see Simon Cowell in a
    dog costume. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0lJYirRGZiXQWF82dc3YF8?si=JTHriDlJRdGjuxFtvQNzYA

    https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdiUvgvgpgNoCNsbh9g4mGe0bfVkS4Stq

    Chart dated: 18th September 1982

    A scan of Record Mirror for this week is available at https://www.flickr.com/photos/57779449@N02/sets/72157693875449034/

    1.-a-a (1) Survivor-a-a-a Eye Of The Tiger

    I hated this record at the time. Now I don't mind it.

    2.-a-a (4) Dire Straits-a-a-a Private Investigations

    This is a strange record. It's not very commercial yet at the time it
    gave Dire Straits their biggest chart hit. I quite liked it.

    3.-a-a (2) Duran Duran-a-a-a Save A Prayer

    1982 was the year when Duran Duran moved into teen hearthrob territory
    and so their singles sales increased. I bought this one at the time and
    still quite like it.

    4.-a-a (5) Rocker's Revenge-a-a-a Walking On Sunshine

    Bought this on 12". Good single but the sound is very much of its time.

    5.-a (NE) The Jam-a-a-a The Bitterest Pill (I Ever Had To Swallow)

    I bought this one too, the last ever Jam single I bought. I thought it
    was an improvement on 'A Town Called Malice' which I was never keen on. Backing vocals are by Jenny Mathias who was lead singer of The Belle Stars.

    6.-a-a (8) ABC-a-a-a All Of My Heart

    I bought 'The Lexicon Of Love' album. Very slick single from a very
    slick (in fact a bit too polished) album.

    7.-a-a (6) The Kids From "Fame" featuring Valerie Landsberg-a-a-a Hi Fidelity
    I wasn't a fan of the TV series nor of this song. I did like 'Starmaker' though.

    8.-a (13) Grandmaster Flash And The Furious Five-a-a-a The Message

    I bought this on 7" single. The single was intended to be a 12" only
    release but the record label eventually gave in to dealer demand to
    release a 7" and that was enough to push the single into the top 10. The
    7" version is exactly the same as the 12" version. To me this was the
    first proper rap hit, records like 'Rapper's Delight' were more like
    novelty hits. This was the first to actually deal with a serious subject.

    9.-a-a (3) Dexys Midnight Runners With The Emerald Express-a-a-a Come On Eileen

    Bought this on 7". The single version still seems to be hard to find on streaming services.

    10. (17) Shalamar-a-a-a There It Is

    Another Shalamar single I bought. Owned this on 12". Decent enough song.

    11. (11) Shakin' Stevens-a-a-a Give Me Your Heart Tonight

    Believe it or not I bought this! I onbviosuly liked it back then but it
    sounds very dull now.

    12. (19) David Christie-a-a-a Saddle Up

    A bit generic and very reminiscent of 'You Can Do It' by Al Hudson from
    two years previously.

    13.-a (9) Toto Coelo-a-a-a I Eat Cannibals (Part 1)

    Typical 1982 glossy production. I think one of Bob Holness' daughters
    was in the group.

    14. (14) Talk Talk-a-a-a Today

    Back when EMI were trying to pitch them at the Duran Duran audience.
    Same producer too. Good song but much better was to follow in the coming years.

    15.-a (7) Soft Cell-a-a-a What?

    I quite liked this one.

    16. (12) Haircut 100-a-a-a Nobody's Fool

    Their last top 10 (and top 40) hit. I think Nick Heyward left around
    this time.

    17. (24) Carly Simon-a-a-a Why

    Great song, the last great Chic track.

    18. (29) Evelyn King-a-a-a Love Come Down

    This was a massive dancefloor hit. I bought the 7".

    19. (10) Boystown Gang-a-a-a Can't Take My Eyes Off You

    Much played in clubs at the time.

    20. (15) Modern Romance ft John Du Prez-a-a-a Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White

    Dreadful. Modern Romance had launched as a supposedly credible dance act
    but by now they'd obviously decided to give up on that.

    31. (40) Wonder Dogs-a-a-a Ruff Mix

    When simon Cowell literally had to baeg (or should that be bark) for his dinner.

    36. (61) Mari Wilson-a-a-a Just What I Always Wanted

    She's in the Record Mirror issue I've linked to. From Neasden and styled
    "The Neasden Queen Of Soul". Neasden must be one of the most soulless
    places to hail from! The RM interview also mentions that she's in the
    video for 'What!' by Soft Cell, something i can't remember noticing
    until now.

    49. (72) Journey-a-a-a Who's Crying Now

    I bought this single for the B side - 'Don't Stop Believin'' which had
    been released as a single in its own right several months earlier.

    60. (54) Fashion-a-a-a Love Shadow

    This one still sounds quite good.

    BUBBLING UNDER

    DANCE FLOOR Zapp
    DON'T LOOK BACK Korgis
    DON'T WANNA LOSE Y & T
    EVEN THE NIGHTS ARE BETTER Air Supply
    FROM HEAD TO TOE Elvis Costello & the Attractions
    GIVE ME I Level
    GRACE Band AKA
    HEAD OVER HEELS Galaxy
    HIGHWAY SONG Blackfoot
    HI HO SILVER LINING Jeff Beck
    LORRAINE Explainer
    NEVER GIVE YOU UP Sharon Redd
    NIGHT NURSE Gregory Isaacs
    NO SUBSTITUTES David Essex
    ONLY THE LONELY Motels
    PASS THE DUTCHIE Musical Youth
    RIBBON IN THE SKY Stevie Wonder
    ROCK 'N' ROLL FOREVER WILL LAST Spider
    RUNAWAY Tokyo Charm
    SHOCK THE MONKEY Peter Gabriel
    SLEEPWALKING Gerry Rafferty
    STAND BY YOUR MAN Wendy & Lemmy
    TOTAL ERASURE Philip Jap
    VOYEUR Kim Carnes
    WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? Cliff Richard


    -a-a-a-aChris

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  • From Chris Brown@extreme_rice@yahoo.com to uk.music.charts on Sun Sep 20 16:34:00 2020
    From Newsgroup: uk.music.charts

    On 19/09/2020 12:34, Mark Goodge wrote:
    On Sat, 19 Sep 2020 00:27:10 +0100, Chris Brown <extreme_rice@yahoo.com> wrote:

    On 18/09/2020 20:52, Mark Goodge wrote:
    On Sun, 13 Sep 2020 18:00:23 +0100, Chris Brown <extreme_rice@yahoo.com> >>> wrote:

    2. (4) Dire Straits Private Investigations

    This isn't really a classic at all. I'm surprised it did so well in the
    charts, to be honest.

    Do you think there was any element of people buying itjust because it
    didn't sound like a typical hit?

    Possibly.

    Surely it was never as popular a song as 'Sultans Of Swing' or Money For
    Nothing'.

    Despite peaking at number 2, it was only certified Silver - unlike, for example, Sultans of Swing, which peaked at 8 and went Platinum and Money
    For Nothing which peaked at 4 and went Gold.

    Nice of Phonogram to certify the singles so we can make that comparison.

    Part of that is that it
    didn't have a very long chart run - just eight weeks, compared to 11 for Sultans of Swing and 16 for Money For Nothing. So maybe this one had a relatively small cohort of fans who all bought it at much the same time.

    That makes a degree of sense (I know Sultans was released more than one
    but I presume not many people would have bought it repeatedly) though it doesn't fully explain why they were doing so with this particular single.

    7. (6) The Kids From "Fame" featuring Valerie Landsberg Hi Fidelity

    Very much of its era, for obvious reasons. Fame was one of my favourite
    TV programmes at the time, although not to the extent that I'd have
    bought the spin-off music.

    Plenty of people did. This was the only one I really remembered though.

    It was fairly obviously sung by someone who wasn't a professional
    singer, though. I don't know to what extent the cast were expected to be
    able to actually sing, dance and play instruments, and how much could be faked in the edit, but short of using a voice double it would be hard to
    fake it for a genuine single release.

    I suppose it's not that it would be any more or less difficult, just
    that any shortcomings would be more obvious on repeated plays (and for
    that matter, with the better sound quality of a stereo compared to most people's TV sets in those days).


    Triva point: the video was mostly recorded on the corner of Brook Drive
    and Hayles Street, Kennington. The shop which features in the video is
    still there, but it doesn't advertise Silk Cut any more:

    Are they still allowed to?

    I don't think so, no.

    I remembered at one point that sort of Point Of Sale advertising was the
    last bit available for cigs.
    And you tell the kids of today that you thought the local newsagent was
    called "BENSON & HEDGES" because that was what the sign in front said,
    but will they believe you?

    https://goo.gl/maps/2vxKLGq1DmQFz5uq7

    The other famous thing about that video is that the lineup seems to
    change during the filming.

    I suppose continuity wasn't really a big thing.

    I doubt anyone expected people to be watching the video 38 years later.

    15. (7) Soft Cell What?

    Their last top ten hit (excluding re-releases). In retrospect it's
    surprising it got that high.

    Perhaps because it's repeating the formula of 'Tainted Love'?
    In some ways it feels strange in retrospect how big Soft Cell were; or
    maybe that's just because radio stations don't seem to know they
    released more than one record.

    A lot of the seminal bands from the late 70s/early 80s had a pretty
    brief flowering, even if they carried on releasing material after they'd stopped topping the charts.

    True, but it's notable that they had so many big hits in a relatively
    brief period, most of which will be unknown to anyone under 40. Whereas
    Adam & the Ants get to be remembered for a few songs at least.

    But this one does sound like their attempt
    to write an original Tainted Love (given that Tainted Love itself was a cover).

    As is this though - it's another attempt to go back to the well of
    Northern Soul tracks that would presumably not be well-known to more
    casual listeners.

    It didn't really work, and this was their last top ten hit
    (other than a 1991 re-release which I presume was linked to a "best of"
    album release).

    Yes, 'Tainted Love 91' is a partly re-recorded version from a Soft
    Cell/Almond singles compilation.

    22. (NE) Adam Ant Friend Or Foe

    Probably his only decent solo hit after the Ants disbanded.

    Are you not counting 'Goody Two Shoes'?

    I'm not counting that as a decent solo hit, no.

    Some copies even credit the Ants anyway.

    This
    actually sounds more like Kings of the Wild Frontier era Adam and the
    Ants than either their later stuff or his solo material. Given that it
    was written by Ant and his Ants collaborator, Marco Pirroni, I wonder if >>> it may have actually been based on an earlier composition that never got >>> recorded by the band.

    Possibly, although Pirroni did co-write the whole album (other than the
    cover version).

    Yes, but retaining the same songwriting team does increase the
    probability that at some point, one of them will say "We've got a decent
    song already mostly written that we never finished off, how about giving
    it a polish?".

    I suppose it might even increase the chances of them doing it accidentally.

    I didn't think it appropriate to use this on my YouTube playlist of the
    chart, but whenever this song is mentioned I can't help thinking of the
    Radio 1 DJs dancing to it on Top Of The Pops. Some of them weren't even
    sex offenders:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEERLXmKKyU

    The thing is, we all danced like that, back then.

    Yes, but I had the excuse of being 4 years old.
    Did you do the freeze-frames?

    42. (30) Yazoo Don't Go

    Classic of the era.

    Almost as good as 'Only You'

    But not as good as Nobody's Diary, which was (and still is) hugely underrated.

    I agree, and will go further by saying they're all better than 'The
    Other Side Of Love', which is rightly ignored.

    Chris
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  • From Robbie@ngrobbieuk@hotmail.com to uk.music.charts on Sun Sep 20 19:02:19 2020
    From Newsgroup: uk.music.charts

    On 20/09/2020 16:34, Chris Brown wrote:
    On 19/09/2020 12:34, Mark Goodge wrote:

    2.-a-a (4) Dire Straits-a-a-a Private Investigations

    This isn't really a classic at all. I'm surprised it did so well in the >>>> charts, to be honest.

    Do you think there was any element of people buying itjust because it
    didn't sound like a typical hit?

    Possibly.

    Surely it was never as popular a song as 'Sultans Of Swing' or Money For >>> Nothing'.

    Despite peaking at number 2, it was only certified Silver - unlike, for
    example, Sultans of Swing, which peaked at 8 and went Platinum and Money
    For Nothing which peaked at 4 and went Gold.

    Nice of Phonogram to certify the singles so we can make that comparison.

    The Platinum (and Gold) certifications for 'Sultans Of Swing' are from
    the past of couple of years and were automatically awarded by the BPI
    based on downloads and streams. The single did go Silver on physical
    sales though it wasn't certified until 1982 and after 'Private
    Investigations' was certified Silver. 250,000 sales back then. As
    'Sultans Of Swing' is Platinum (600,000) on digital sales it means,
    along with its original Silver award, it is on at least 850,000
    downloads / streams / physical shipments.

    42. (30) Yazoo-a-a-a Don't Go

    Classic of the era.

    Almost as good as 'Only You'

    But not as good as Nobody's Diary, which was (and still is) hugely
    underrated.

    I agree, and will go further by saying they're all better than 'The
    Other Side Of Love', which is rightly ignored.

    'The Other Side Of Love' is almost like a throwaway single when compared
    to the rest of their singles output from the time (which admittedly was
    only the other 3 singles).

    -a-a-a-aChris

    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Chris Brown@extreme_rice@yahoo.com to uk.music.charts on Mon Sep 21 23:47:54 2020
    From Newsgroup: uk.music.charts

    On 20/09/2020 19:02, Robbie wrote:
    On 20/09/2020 16:34, Chris Brown wrote:
    On 19/09/2020 12:34, Mark Goodge wrote:

    2.-a-a (4) Dire Straits-a-a-a Private Investigations

    This isn't really a classic at all. I'm surprised it did so well in >>>>> the
    charts, to be honest.

    Do you think there was any element of people buying itjust because it
    didn't sound like a typical hit?

    Possibly.

    Surely it was never as popular a song as 'Sultans Of Swing' or Money
    For
    Nothing'.

    Despite peaking at number 2, it was only certified Silver - unlike, for
    example, Sultans of Swing, which peaked at 8 and went Platinum and Money >>> For Nothing which peaked at 4 and went Gold.

    Nice of Phonogram to certify the singles so we can make that comparison.

    The Platinum (and Gold) certifications for 'Sultans Of Swing' are from
    the past of couple of years and were automatically awarded by the BPI
    based on downloads and streams.

    Ah, that makes slightly more sense now.

    The single did go Silver on physical
    sales though it wasn't certified until 1982 and after 'Private Investigations' was certified Silver. 250,000 sales back then.

    I'm guessing it won't have added much with the later reissue.

    As
    'Sultans Of Swing' is Platinum (600,000) on digital sales it means,
    along with its original Silver award, it is on at least 850,000
    downloads / streams / physical shipments.

    Not bad going but I guess it's a bit of a crossover one for people who
    would otherwise not be interested in Dire Straits.

    42. (30) Yazoo-a-a-a Don't Go

    Classic of the era.

    Almost as good as 'Only You'

    But not as good as Nobody's Diary, which was (and still is) hugely
    underrated.

    I agree, and will go further by saying they're all better than 'The
    Other Side Of Love', which is rightly ignored.

    'The Other Side Of Love' is almost like a throwaway single when compared
    to the rest of their singles output from the time (which admittedly was
    only the other 3 singles).

    I kind of imagine that somebody (record company? management?) insisted
    they release a single at that point, rather than them being enthusiastic
    about that song. Notably they didn't put that one on the album but they
    used the B-side, and Alison Moyet later redid that as an A-side.

    Chris
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Chris Brown@extreme_rice@yahoo.com to uk.music.charts on Mon Sep 28 23:42:28 2020
    From Newsgroup: uk.music.charts

    On 20/09/2020 12:15, Robbie wrote:
    On 13/09/2020 18:00, Chris Brown wrote:
    Bit of a late addition, following the death of Ronald Bell from Kool &
    The Gang. But 1982 is an acknowledged Classic pop year and there are
    some real gems in here, and some dodgy cover versions. I suppose the
    title of Number 40 could be considered topical.

    Playlists are here. Sadly two of the singles I own aren't on Spotify,
    and you'll also need to use YouTube if you want to see Simon Cowell in
    a dog costume.
    https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0lJYirRGZiXQWF82dc3YF8?si=JTHriDlJRdGjuxFtvQNzYA

    https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdiUvgvgpgNoCNsbh9g4mGe0bfVkS4Stq

    Chart dated: 18th September 1982

    A scan of Record Mirror for this week is available at https://www.flickr.com/photos/57779449@N02/sets/72157693875449034/

    Thanks.

    1.-a-a (1) Survivor-a-a-a Eye Of The Tiger

    I hated this record at the time. Now I don't mind it.

    I think I liked it then. It's still quite fun now.

    2.-a-a (4) Dire Straits-a-a-a Private Investigations

    This is a strange record. It's not very commercial yet at the time it
    gave Dire Straits their biggest chart hit. I quite liked it.

    I have no memory of hearing it at the time, or until much later.
    Even when I heard of it it took me a long time to realise it was the
    snooker scores music.

    3.-a-a (2) Duran Duran-a-a-a Save A Prayer

    1982 was the year when Duran Duran moved into teen hearthrob territory
    and so their singles sales increased. I bought this one at the time and still quite like it.

    Yeah, it's quite wistful.

    4.-a-a (5) Rocker's Revenge-a-a-a Walking On Sunshine

    Bought this on 12". Good single but the sound is very much of its time.

    It's like it's the only dance sound that hasn't really been revived.

    5.-a (NE) The Jam-a-a-a The Bitterest Pill (I Ever Had To Swallow)

    I bought this one too, the last ever Jam single I bought.

    There weren't many more, of course.

    I thought it
    was an improvement on 'A Town Called Malice' which I was never keen on. Backing vocals are by Jenny Mathias who was lead singer of The Belle Stars.

    Apparently she's a bit of nutter now. But then, it seems like most
    pre-2000 popstars are.

    6.-a-a (8) ABC-a-a-a All Of My Heart

    I bought 'The Lexicon Of Love' album. Very slick single from a very
    slick (in fact a bit too polished) album.

    I think it's OK when you lean into it.

    7.-a-a (6) The Kids From "Fame" featuring Valerie Landsberg-a-a-a Hi Fidelity

    Turns out the correct spelling is "Landsburg". That'll teach me to trust
    the OCC website etc.

    I wasn't a fan of the TV series nor of this song. I did like 'Starmaker' though.

    I only remember the programme being on, and this is the only song I
    remembered at all from it (apart from the theme tune).

    8.-a (13) Grandmaster Flash And The Furious Five-a-a-a The Message

    I bought this on 7" single. The single was intended to be a 12" only
    release but the record label eventually gave in to dealer demand to
    release a 7" and that was enough to push the single into the top 10. The
    7" version is exactly the same as the 12" version.

    But quieter, I suppose.

    To me this was the
    first proper rap hit, records like 'Rapper's Delight' were more like
    novelty hits. This was the first to actually deal with a serious subject.

    I'm sure people had done it before, but I can't think of one that was a
    big hit before this.

    9.-a-a (3) Dexys Midnight Runners With The Emerald Express-a-a-a Come On
    Eileen

    Bought this on 7". The single version still seems to be hard to find on streaming services.

    Apparently it's only ever been released on CD once, on the CD version of
    a Kevin Rowland single that missed the Top 75 (in 1988, when even big
    hits wouldn't have sold many CDs). Even the "single" on the streaming
    services isn't the correct version.


    11. (11) Shakin' Stevens-a-a-a Give Me Your Heart Tonight

    Believe it or not I bought this! I onbviosuly liked it back then but it sounds very dull now.

    I won't put you down for his 19CD box set then?

    12. (19) David Christie-a-a-a Saddle Up

    A bit generic and very reminiscent of 'You Can Do It' by Al Hudson from
    two years previously.

    I'd never noticed that before.

    13.-a (9) Toto Coelo-a-a-a I Eat Cannibals (Part 1)

    Typical 1982 glossy production. I think one of Bob Holness' daughters
    was in the group.

    Ros Holness. Oddly enough, I bought a Toto Coelo CD from the Oxfam shop
    in Pinner, her home town.

    14. (14) Talk Talk-a-a-a Today

    Back when EMI were trying to pitch them at the Duran Duran audience.
    Same producer too.

    I wonder if it was his idea to have those massed backing vocals on the
    chorus? They're very effective.

    Good song but much better was to follow in the coming
    years.

    I've just seen this clip of Mark Hollis being interviewed. He doesn't
    have to voice you'd expect. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mTlYPEH3jI

    15.-a (7) Soft Cell-a-a-a What?

    I quite liked this one.

    Makes a change to hear a different Soft Cell song.

    16. (12) Haircut 100-a-a-a Nobody's Fool

    Their last top 10 (and top 40) hit. I think Nick Heyward left around
    this time.

    Yep. The rump band carried on but they were never able to have hits
    without him.

    17. (24) Carly Simon-a-a-a Why

    Great song, the last great Chic track.

    I think I'd agree, albeit that it's not the last great Nile Rodgers track.

    18. (29) Evelyn King-a-a-a Love Come Down

    This was a massive dancefloor hit. I bought the 7".

    For smaller dancefloors?

    19. (10) Boystown Gang-a-a-a Can't Take My Eyes Off You

    Much played in clubs at the time.

    Isn't there a version that's 20 minutes long?

    20. (15) Modern Romance ft John Du Prez-a-a-a Cherry Pink And Apple
    Blossom White

    Dreadful. Modern Romance had launched as a supposedly credible dance act
    but by now they'd obviously decided to give up on that.

    Nothing wrong with being silly, but they weren't even that good at it.

    31. (40) Wonder Dogs-a-a-a Ruff Mix

    When simon Cowell literally had to baeg (or should that be bark) for his dinner.

    The best bit was when he had to do interviews in the costume and he said
    his least favourite pop star was Cat Stevens.

    36. (61) Mari Wilson-a-a-a Just What I Always Wanted

    She's in the Record Mirror issue I've linked to. From Neasden and styled "The Neasden Queen Of Soul". Neasden must be one of the most soulless
    places to hail from!

    Ha, yeah, I always assumed there was a degree of self-mockery in her
    calling herself that.

    The RM interview also mentions that she's in the
    video for 'What!' by Soft Cell, something i can't remember noticing
    until now.

    Me neither but I guess it's not surprising.

    49. (72) Journey-a-a-a Who's Crying Now

    I bought this single for the B side - 'Don't Stop Believin'' which had
    been released as a single in its own right several months earlier.

    And deservedly flopped so luckily we never had to hear it again.

    60. (54) Fashion-a-a-a Love Shadow

    This one still sounds quite good.

    One of those nearly bands.

    BUBBLING UNDER

    In alphabetical order, I notice.
    I added them to the Spotify playlist, where possible.

    DANCE FLOOR Zapp

    Typical Zapp.

    EVEN THE NIGHTS ARE BETTER Air Supply

    A big hit in the rest of the world IIRC.

    FROM HEAD TO TOE Elvis Costello & the Attractions

    Not sure why they randomly covered an old Smokey Robinson song and
    didn't even put it on an album.


    HI HO SILVER LINING Jeff Beck

    I can't really remember why this was rereleased, if I ever knew in the
    first place.

    LORRAINE Explainer

    Not the Bad Manners song.

    NIGHT NURSE Gregory Isaacs

    Speaking of North West London, there's a plaque on his old house in
    Wealdstone now.

    NO SUBSTITUTES David Essex

    I presume this isn't about football.

    ONLY THE LONELY Motels

    Not the Roy Orbison song

    PASS THE DUTCHIE Musical Youth

    Obviously this ended up being a very big hit.

    RIBBON IN THE SKY Stevie Wonder

    One of his last really good singles.

    ROCK 'N' ROLL FOREVER WILL LAST Spider

    The order strange of words is.

    SHOCK THE MONKEY Peter Gabriel

    Apparently it's a metaphor.

    SLEEPWALKING Gerry Rafferty

    OK but not his most memorable.

    STAND BY YOUR MAN Wendy & Lemmy

    Well, this sounds *exactly* how I expected.

    VOYEUR Kim Carnes

    Another Kim Carnes song???

    WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? Cliff Richard

    Somewhat unremarkable.

    Chris
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