REMEMBER WHEN - 17TH MAY 1980

1980
Week 20
WEEK ENDING 17TH MAY 1980

TOP 40 SINGLES

TW	LW
1	2	Johnny Logan	What's Another Year
2	1	Dexy's Midnight Runners	Geno
3	3	Paul McCartney	Coming Up
4	17	Beat	Mirror In The Bathroom
5	25	Michael Jackson	She's Out Of My Life
6	9	Hot Chocolate	No Doubt About It
7	14	Jimmy Ruffin	Hold On To My Love
8	11	Narada Michael Walden	I Shoulda Loved Ya
9	10	Undertones	My Perfect Cousin
10	5	David Essex	Silver Dream Machine
11	7	Rodney Franklin	The Groove
12	8	Motorhead	Golden Years (EP)
13	15	Nolans	Don't Make Waves
14	4	Blondie	Call Me
15	6	Sky	Tocatta
16	12	Bobby Thurston	Check Out The Groove
17	28	Average White Band	Let's Go Round Again
18	NEW	Roxy Music	Over You
19	26	Kate Bush	Breathing
20	21	Whitesnake	Fool For Your Loving
21	23	Cockney Rejects	The Greatest Cockney Rip Off
22	27	Ruts	Staring At The Rude Boys
23	NEW	Mash	Theme From Mash (Suicide Is Painless)
24	30	Mystic Merlin	Just Can't Give You Up
25	35	Crown Heights Affair	You Gave Me Love
26	36	Four Bucketeers	The Bucket Of Water Song
27	20	Saxon	Wheels Of Steel
28	19	Leon Hayward	Don't Push It Don't Force It
29	33	Bad Manners	Ne-Ne-Na-Na-Na-Na-Nu-Nu
30	NEW	Jona Lewie	You'll Always Find Me In The Kitchen At Parties
31	32	Cure	A Forest
32	31	New Musik	This World Of Water
33	NEW	Matchbox	Midnight Dynamos
34	16	Dr. Hook	Sexy Eyes
35	13	UB40	King / Food For Thought
36	22	Pretenders	Talk Of The Town
37	NEW	Jermaine Jackson	Let's Get Serious
38	39	Junior Murvin	Police And Thieves
39	NEW	UK Subs	Teenage
40	NEW	Don McLean	Crying

Johnny Logan

What's Another Year

This was the Eurovision Song Contest winner of 1980 and was the first of three consecutive years where the Eurovision winning song was to go on to top the UK charts. This was on top for (you've guessed it) two weeks. I have to admit that I like this song and it doesn't really sound like a typical Eurovision thing.

Dexy's Midnight Runners

Geno

Dexy's Midnight Runners had been to number 40 in February with their previous single "Dance Stance". This time they made it to the opposite end of the top 40 and spent two weeks there. A strange fact about 1980 is that 14 of the 24 number ones this year resided at the top for two weeks.

Paul McCartney

Coming Up

Paul McCartney was having his biggest hit since the 1977 number one "Mull Of Kintyre". Surprisingly, despite climbing from number 62 to number 7, and then climbing to two, it progressed no further. The B side of this single was a live version of the A side and was released as the A side in the States, where it climbed to number one. Note that Paul was now solo and not going under the banner of 'Wings'.
It has been reported that this song prompted John Lennon to return to recording as Paul had finally "done something good".

Beat

Mirror In The Bathroom

Another song that reminds me of Saturday afternoons in the Duke Of Wellington pub. It's also (in my opinion) the best single that the Beat released. It reached number four, and a re-mix hit number 44 in 1996.

Michael Jackson

She's Out Of My Life

First things first, yes, it is a good song and deserved to reach number three. BUT, Michael's performance in the promo made me cringe. Were we really expected to believe that he was genuinely crying because of the song ?
It wasn't as if it would have been the first time he heard the song would it ?

Hot Chocolate

No Doubt About It

Hot Chocolate had failed to make the top 40 at all in 1979 (they'd stopped just short a couple of times though) for the first year since they made their first appearance in 1970. "No Doubt About It" put them back in the picture with it's eventual number two placing. It was apparently written after vocalist 'Errol Brown' had an encounter with visitors from outer space. I'm only repeating what he said, besides I personally know someone who's also seen a UFO, so there :-P.

Jimmy Ruffin

Hold On To My Love

Jimmy Ruffin was on the comeback trail with this Bee Gees produced, Robin Gibb/Blue Weaver written song. This first hit in six years reached number seven, but no further singles charted.
The women allways selected this on the Duke Jukebox.

Narada Michael Walden

I Shoulda Loved Ya

Narada Michael Walden was having his second top 40 hit of the year, and climbed to number eight with "I Shoulda Loved Ya". Personally I preferred his previous single "Tonight I'm Alright".
He would have to wait eight years for his next hit. He was still kept busy with a lot of production work for other artists throughout that time.

Undertones

My Perfect Cousin

The Undertones were having their biggest ever hit with the number nine peaking "My Perfect Cousin". As many will know, John Peel was a very big fan of this band. I thought that to be quite unusual considering how lightweight I considered the band to be (not that I think there's anything wrong with being lightweight), but hey John liked Sheena Easton too !
A unique thing about this particular song was the fact that the 'Human League' were mentioned in the lyrics even though they had only made their top 75 debut this very week with the "Holiday 80" double single, which would fail to reach the top 40.

David Essex

Silver Dream Machine

David Essex was back with his first top ten hit in almost two years with the title song from his latest movie "Silver Dream Racer". This one peaked at number four. These days David seems to concentrate solely on cover versions, his recent albums being collections of such. If only David was a skinhead with a few scars on his face and spoke about his music being his 'art', instead of being a happy pretty loveable chappy, then he may still have been having hits today.

Rodney Franklin

The Groove

Rodney Franklin won the battle of the 'Groove' records when his single "The Groove" peaked at number seven. If my memory isn't playing tricks, this single was connected to a short lived dance craze called 'The Freeze' (as was the Bobby Thurston single).

Motorhead

Golden Years (EP)

Motorhead entered at their highest chart position to date (#23) with "Golden Years EP", and they rose to number eight the following week before falling. The lead track was "Dead Men Tell No Tales". I've never been a buyer of Motorhead albums, but have liked a few of their singles. So when they toured in the Spring of '82, I went along to Deeside Leisure Centre to see them (ticket cost 4 pounds). The support bands, 'Tank' & 'Raven' were quite good (I think 'Budgie' were on too), but apart from the familiar songs Motorhead were just an endless barrage of noise. I spent most of their set in the refreshment area.

Nolans

Don't Make Waves

This was the third of the eight top 40 hits enjoyed by the Nolans. "Don't Make Waves" reached number 12, but wasn't a patch on "I'm In The Mood For Dancing"

Blondie

Call Me

This was their second number one of the year and fourth in total. This one only stayed on top for a week, but managed six weeks in the USA. It was produced and co-written by Giorgio Moroder, and taken from the soundtrack of the awful film 'American Gigolo. They would complete their hat trick for the year in November.

Sky

Tocatta

Sky were a band of mainly ex session men. The band included Classical Guitarist John Williams,Bassman Herbie Flowers and Guitarist Kevin Peek. They fused Classical music with rock, and this number five peaking track was their only hit single. They had four top ten albums though, including the number one "Sky 2".

Bobby Thurston

Check Out The Groove

Bobby Thurston was having his only hit with the number ten peaking "Check Out The Groove". A popular song in discos, but nothing too special about it otherwise.

Average White Band

Let's Go Round Again

Average White Band were in the top 40 for the first time in Four years. "Let's go Round Again" got as high as number 12, then they vanished again. This song was later a hit all over again when recorded by 'Louise' in 1997.

Roxy Music

Over You

Adequate single from the 'Flesh And Blood' album. Best listened to in the summertime, reached number five.

Kate Bush

Breathing

This was Kate's first new material in 18 months and I found it slightly disappointing. It reached number 16.

Whitesnake

Fool For Your Loving

Whitesnake were making their top 40 debut with this, and it peaked at number 13 . This sounded not unlike the recent Rainbow hit "All Night Long". I wonder why this was so :>
In a Record Mirror interview at the time, Whitesnake leader "David Coverdale" said something along the lines of "If I ever see Ritchie Blackmore (Rainbow) again, I'll kick his head in".
I mentioned this to Rainbow fan Martin Roberts (one day older than me) in the Vaults pub one Saturday afternoon. He replied that Rainbow were better than Whitesnake. No, I didn't get it either.

Cockney Rejects

The Greatest Cockney Rip Off

The Cockney Rejects growled about "The Greatest Cockney Rip Off" as they climbed to number 21. I think I got it, they were ripping off Sham 69 weren't they ?
Bloody awful anyway.

Ruts

Staring At The Rude Boys

The Ruts were having the last of their three hits in the 79/80 period. "Staring At The Rude Boys" peaked at number 22 and wasn't a bad song at all.

Mash

Theme From Mash (Suicide Is Painless)

I didn't like the film, I didn't like the TV show either, but this was alright. There didn't seem to be a good reason for releasing it as a single some ten years after the event, but it turned out to be a very wise decision. Two weeks after entering at number 23, it was spending the first of three weeks at number one.
But they were lying. I tried to cut my wrists with broken glass and it hurt. Explanation - I was drunk and on/off girlfriend Bridget wouldn't speak to me at a party, so I left and found some broken glass. YES, I still feel a bit of a dickhead when I think about that incident. It was three years later before I tried it for real.

Mystic Merlin

Just Can't Give You Up

This was just another of those disco songs that happened to be there and that was it. It sounds ok now, but I'd probably have a different opinion if I was hearing it everyday. It reached number 20.

Crown Heights Affair

You Gave Me Love

And this was another of those great disco singles sounded good on the radio, great in the clubs and made you feel happy. It reached number ten.
This song was sampled by Utah Saints on "Believe In Me" in 1993 (I liked that too).

Four Bucketheads

The Bucket Of Water Song

Put Chris Tarrant, Sally James, John Gorman (of the Scaffold), and Bob Carolgees (with Spit The Dog) together, and you're hardly likely to come up with "Nights In White Satin" are you ?
Most novelty singles such as "Agadoo", "Y Viva Espania", "The Birdie Song", etc whether we like them or not, are excellent songs in their given field, and we can understand how they became such big hits. But this wasn't very good in any field and it's difficult to understand why it was even released, let alone reach number 26.
And yes Chris, that is my final answer.

Saxon

Wheels Of Steel

Saxon were one of the 'New Wave' of metal bands and were having their very first hit, with the number 20 peaking "Wheels Of Steel". The identically titled album wasn't bad either.

Leon Hayward

Don't Push It Don't Force It

Leon Hayward was someone else having his one and only hit, with "Don't Push It, Don't Force It". He peaked at 12 with yet another good disco sound, but lyrics that didn't tax the mind too much.

Bad Manners

Ne-Ne-Na-Na-Na-Na-Nu-Nu

Bad Manners were having the first of nine top 40 hits they would have over a two year period, and peaked at number 28. It was predominantly an instrumental track with ne-ne etc. repeated many times by a bald fat bloke, complete rubbish really.

Jona Lewie

You'll Always Find Me In The Kitchen At Parties

I don't know whether I should call this number 16 peaking hit a novelty record or not. It was bearable anyway. It was also the first time that many will have seen Kirsty MacColl on Top Of The Pops as she was one of Jona's backing singers. I don't know whether she was on the actual recording though.
Kirsty and the other girl backing singer used to do a funny dance about two thirds of the way through the song. Steven Jones used to take great delight in persuading me to do it after a few pints as it played on the Vaults jukebox (maybe that was the real reason for the "Mash" thing).

Cure

A Forest

The Cure made their top 40 debut with this enjoyable song. "A Forest" only reached number 31, and it was three long years before they bettered that position.

New Musik

This World Of Water

New Musik were having the second of their three top 40 hits this year, but this one only reached number 31, a far cry from the number 13 peak of their previous hit "Living By Numbers". I preferred this one myself.

Matchbox

Midnite Dynamos

They claimed to be the "Midnite Dynamos". Can't think of a much better place for them, than dangerously close to the spokes of the back wheel of a bike. It reached number 14, but they did get better after this one.

Dr. Hook

Sexy Eyes

Dr. Hook went to number four with their third top ten hit in 6 months. But after this they said goodbye to the top ten for good, as they never had a single advance any further than number 40 after this effort.

UB40

King / Food For Thought

Over two decades later and UB40 have still not released a better single than this one have they ?
Even though "King" (about Martin Luther) was listed first, and was a damn good song, "Food For Thought" was the one that had most of the airplay. It took a while to decipher the lyrics (Ali Campbell has one of those voices, usually sounds as though he's crying), and discover that he wasn't singing "I Believe In Donna", but it was worth it in the end.
After entering at number 40, it halved it's position for the next three weeks and then climbed one place to number four for a two week stay (Now that's what I call a real chart run).
UB40 remained quite good for about three years, but they then went into the dodgy cover version business. As a result, their original material seemed to suffer and I don't like any of the original songs that they've released since 1986.

Pretenders

Talk Of The Town

The Pretenders were following up the number one single "Brass In Pocket" with this extremely inferior single. It got as high as number eight, and they only hit the top ten again on one occasion during the next five years.

Jermaine Jackson

Let's Get Serious

One of the biggest disco singles of a great year for disco. It sounded great on the radio, and magnificent in the clubs, especially the 12 inch. It beat anything by Michael that year hands down. Reached number eight.

Junior Murvin

Police And Thieves

I wasn't very keen on the version that the Clash did on their debut album. I liked this even less. It reached number 23.

UK Subs

Teenage

Yes, they were still around. This ws the fifth time in less than a year that the UK Subs had a single peak in the lower half of the forty (#32 this time). I don't remember how this goes, but I'm almost certain I liked it. I think it's time that I bought that UK Subs compilation CD.

Don McLean

Crying

Excellent cover of the Roy Orbison minor hit from 1961, but I did get fed up of it after a while. It spent three weeks at number one.

This was in the top 50 this week, but failed to reach the top 40.

Squeeze

Pulling Mussels From the Shell

This was the second time in three releases that a Squeeze single failed to reach the top 40. lthough it has to be said, this was their weakest release since they first charted with "Take Me I'm Yours" two years earlier. It stalled at number 44.

Genesis

Duchess

One of the highlights of the 'Duke' album, but never really sounded like a single. It reached number 46.

Prelude

Platinum Blonde

Quite a good single that almost gave Prelude a return to the top 40 six years after they had made their debut with "After The Goldrush". But they stopped short at number 45.

Disclaimer All comments concerning the quality of the songs in this and any other chart, are purely my opinion and not a statement of fact. I believe that we are all equal when it comes to deciding what makes a good song. I do not believe that good songs have to be serious or dull. I am of the opinion that if a single sells many copies, then many people like it, so it must be good whether I like it or not. Good music is everything YOU like, and it's also everything I like.

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Email: nige@innotts.co.uk

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