REMEMBER WHEN - 16TH AUGUST 1980

TW	.......	LW	.......		.......
1		1		Abba		The Winner Takes It All
2		2		Diana Ross		Upside Down
3		5		Sheena Easton		9 To 5
4		NEW		David Bowie		Ashes To Ashes
5		9		Roxy Music		Oh Yeah (On The Radio)
6		7		Gap Band		Oops Upside Your Head
7		10		George Benson		Give Me The Night
8		4		Leo Sayer		More Than I Can Say
9		3		Odyssey		Use It Up Wear It Out
10		16		Tom Browne		Funkin' For Jamaica (N.Y.)
11		14		Gibson Brothers		Marianna
12		6		Kate Bush		Babooshka
13		26		Piranhas		Tom Hark
14		8		Bob Marley & The Wailers		Could You Be Loved
15		15		Bad Manners		Lip Up Fatty
16		29		Kelly Marie		Feels Like I'm In Love
17		21		Hot Chocolate		Are You Getting Enough Of What Makes You Happy
18		24		E.L.O.		All Over The World
19		11		Dexy's Midnight Runners		There There My Dear
20		13		Olivia Newton John & E.L.O.		Xanadu
21		18		Darts		Let's Hang On
22		37		Mike Berry		The Sunshine Of Your Smile
23		12		Undertones		Wednesday Week
24		25		Grace Jones		Private Life
25		28		Joan Armatrading		Me Myself I
26		36		Black Sabbath		Neon Knights
27		NEW		Village People		Can't Stop The Music
28		27		Yellow Magic Orchestra		Theme From The Invaders
29		33		Ultravox		Sleepwalk
30		40		Sue Wilkinson		You Gotta Be A Hustler
31		NEW		Clash		Bank Robber
32		17		Stacy Lattisaw		Jump To The Beat
33		NEW		Billy Joel		It's Still Rock And Roll To Me
34		NEW		Bow Wow Wow		C30 C60 C90 Go
35		NEW		Sheena Easton		Modern Girl
36		30		Gene Chandler		Does She Have A Friend
37		20		Detroit Spinners		Cupid-I've Loved You For A Long Time
38		31		New Musik		Sanctuary
39		39		Roger Daltrey		Free Me
40		NEW		Nick Straker Band		A Walk In The Park

As a lot of the regular visitors to my site will know, I have reservations about a lot of Abba's work and also about the way in which they were regarded as being something special and the horrible way in which they would 'sing with 'that' accent'. But, I have to admit, this was a great single, one of the best of the '80s. Their previous attempts at ballads usually sucked, but this time they got it right and deserved their two weeks at number one. It's a pity the same couldn't be said about the video which looked like one of those awful subtitled films that Channel 4 often shows in the early hours of the morning (I half expected Benny or Bjorn to suddenly acquire a pair of breasts and then start chasing a dog which just happened to have a bra between it's teeth). But, Abba never did master the art of video anyway, apart from '82's "Head Over Heels".

This was Diana's biggest hit for nine years, and peaked at number two. It was also her first visit to the top twenty for over four years, but she couldn't fail this time. The parent album had been written and produced by Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers who'd been responsible for all those Chic and Sister Sledge hits of the last couple of years. This set Diana up for another two year run of hits, before the next fallow period followed. Strangely, this happy upbeat single reminds me of my first real experience of death, as my grandmother died while it was charting.

Sheena Easton was having one of the biggest hit singles of the year with her number three peaking first hit single. This was retitled "Morning Train" when released in the USA, where it sped to number one. A strange bit of trivia about Sheena is that John Peel used to regularly play her new singles as they were released right in the middle of all his Indie stuff, and Christened himself and his listeners the 'Sheena Barmy Army'.

This single was complimented by one of the best video promos ever made. This single also saw a considerable upturn in fortunes for him after his last single "Alabama Song" had only reached number 23. This one spent two weeks at the top. But David is no stranger to this type of behavior. He's had three solo number one singles, and each one of them has been the follow up to a single that hasn't really done 'that' well (18, 23, 26).
There's something else about this single though. My Nana (Grandmother) passed away on Saturday August 9th 1980. Just three days later, this single entered the chart. As if that wasn't enough, two weeks later the highest new entry was Gary Numan's "I Die You Die", and two weeks later the highest new entry honours went to Queen with "Another One Bites the Dust". Conspiracy ?
Or did Black Sabbath get it right when "Paranoid" re-entered the chart the week after Bowie ?

On first listen, "What a crap single !". Later, "Hey, this is ok", and it was. It went to number six and started a new dance craze, rowing. It was a fun thing to do in discos at the time, and this song was usually followed by the Black Slate single "Amigo" to carry on the rowing dance. It must be said though, that there was more to the Gap Band than novelty hits. They released quite a few good singles over the next seven years, some of which charted, some didn't. Their chart career ended with a remix of this reaching number 20.

George had been having minor hits since 1975 never rising above number 26. But this was the big one, it rose majestically to number seven, and was one of the big disco hits of the year. This was a song that everytime I hear it, reminds me of a club I often went to at the time known as 'The Erbistock' (after the village where it was situated), or sometimes 'The Country Club' (because it was in the Country, not because of the type of music played).

After a hitless 1979, Leo was back with one of the biggest hits of his career. It was his fourth single to peak at number two, and his second consecutive hit to be a cover of a 'Crickets' song. He would have to wait two years for his next hit, even though he released a great follow up single to this, "Once In A While"(also recorded by Cliff Richard this year).

We all thought that Odyssey had disappeared following their brilliant number five hit "Native New Yorker" at the beginning of 1978. But they were back with a bang. Obviously, part of the reason for the size of the success for this single was the TOTP strike, just as George McCrae had taken advantage in much the same way six years previous. Heavy play in discos had given it a great advantage over it's competitors. Although Odyssey singles did not sound the same as one another, you always knew when you were listening to Odyssey by the lovely vocals of Lillian & Louise Lopez. This was number one for two weeks, in a year that had so far seen 10 out of the 15 number ones spend two weeks at the top.

Brilliant ! One of the singles of the year for me was this great dance track that also reminds me of the 'Country Club' (see elsewhere). It peaked at number Ten, got regular play in clubs for about 12 months, and just failed to chart again when re-mixed in 1992. He also just failed to chart with the follow up single "Thighs High" in October 1980.
Mariah Carey used this melody as the central theme to her track "Don't Stop" in 2001.

Kate peaked at five with her biggest hit since her debut "Wuthering Heights" had gone all the way to the top in 1978. This was a favourite on the Jukebox at the 'Duke Of Wellington' in Ruabon which was one of my regular haunts in those days. She looked good in the video too, but not as good as the woman who did her on "Stars In Their Eyes" twenty years later.

Great single that reached number five to become Bob's biggest hit to date. It reminds me of a party I went to, and how I was given the cold shoulder by someone called Bridget, who'd been a big part of my life for the previous two years. That night was virtually the 'final straw' as far as that relationship was concerned.

On Channel Four's Disco Inferno broadcast in 1998, Kelly was included in a small section of acts that were described as Disco Criminals. The facts are, this Ray Dorset composition spent two weeks at number one, spent 12 weeks in the 40, was third best selling single of the year, sounded a lot like Tina Charles, and the 12 inch was bloody good. Sadly for Kelly she would not become a superstar for two reasons,
1: She did not look anything like Debbie Harry or Olivia Newton John
2: NO ONE was going to take her seriously while she had those two male dancers in tow (ask the Boystown Gang !)
2 1/2: Oh Yeh, she had fake bagpipes on her third hit.

Their previous single "Geno" had gone all the way to number one. This time they only climbed as high as number seven, but it was still a great single, that in complete contrast to the previous one, rushed along at breakneck speed. It's another one that reminds me of the 'Duke' jukebox. Amazingly, neither of their next two singles made the top forty.

These acts were very grateful for the Top Of The Pops strike that summer. With it being the title track from a film, it got enough promotion to push it to number one for two weeks. It was a pretty good soundtrack as these things go, with a healthy number of E.L.O. songs, and Olivia collaborating with everyone else in the film. More singles from the soundtrack will be discussed later in the year.
Strange that after all those years of great singles, this was the only number one that E.L.O. achieved.

When Darts first appeared at the end of 1977, I wasn't keen. The last thing I wanted to see in the chart was another band playing covers of 50's hits, Showaddywaddy were already testing my patience far enough. But from their third single, they had started to cover 60's songs instead, and I could live with that. More than that, they were also very good at it, "Let's Hang On" was no exception. It reached number 11, but was sadly the last top 40 hit for a band that I now remember with fondness.

This was Mike's first hit for over 17 years, and he peaked at number nine with it. His only other appearance inside the top ten was when "Don't You Think It's Time" made number six in January 1963. This wasn't quite Mike's last chart hit, but I can't help feeling that he was better suited to his role in the TV Sitcom 'Are You Being Served'.

The Undertones were following their best and biggest hit "My Perfect Cousin" with this fun piece of pop that peaked at number eleven. I remember in those days that a group of lads about three years older than me and who always seemed to be in the same pubs as me, were keen followers of the Undertones and went to see them live quite regular. Unfortunately, I heard that one of the said lads fell victim to alcohol and died in 1998.

I've never rated Grace very highly. Her "Do Or Die" single from 1978 was good, but I've not been impressed with any of her other work (but I wouldn't tell her to her face *lol*). This was her first hit and Grace spoke/growled her way through a Pretenders album track taking it to number 17. She waited five years for her second hit.

No, this isn't the same track that was a hit for De La Soul in 1989 (the title is slightly different anyway), but it is a great song. It was Joan's first hit for four years, and spent seven weeks in the top 40 despite peaking at a lowly 21. She followed it with another song that looked a sure fire hit "All The Way From America", but sadly it wasn't and she had to wait until 1983 for her third hit.

With a strong heavy metal/hard rock revival taking place, who better to have a few hit singles this year than Black Sabbath ?
This was the first single to be released since Ozzy Osbourne left the band to be replaced by Ronnie James Dio, and reached number 22. He proved a competent replacement and stayed in the band for three years, but the album this was taken from "Heaven And Hell" was the last Black Sabbath album that I bought until "Headless Cross" in 1989.

Surprisingly the Village People were not included in the 'Disco Criminals' section of Channel Four's 'Disco Inferno'. Maybe it's because the wally-like "YMCA" & "In The Navy" had been followed by "Go West" and this final hit. It was the title track from their film and not a bad song at all. It just failed to reach the top ten by peaking at number Eleven. Not sure about "Milkshake" on the B Side though.

As I previously mentioned, I had just become legally entitled to enter pubs and drink alcohol at this time. This coincided with Space Invader machines being introduced into pubs. Years previous I had been fascinated by the type of game where punters looked through a periscope and blasted ships on the horizon, but I had only seen those machines in amusement arcades at the seaside. But now, similar types of machines were everywhere. Personally, I thought the actual "Space Invaders" game was very boring, but some better, more exciting games such as "Galaxians", "Defender", "Astro Wars", and my favourite "Moon Cresta" soon followed, and all the pinball tables were taken out of the pubs.
Anyway, Ryuichi Sakamoto and his band used the music from the game as the central theme to this single which became their only UK hit reaching number 17. They followed it with "Behind The Mask" which although not charting for them (or Greg Phillingass:sp), was a hit when recorded by Eric Clapton in 1987.

First ever hit for Ultravox, and it reached number 29. Most of the band had been together since 1975 when they were known as Tiger Lily, but despite changing their name to Ultravox!, being name checked in every Gary Numan interview, and releasing three albums, had gained no chart success at all. It seems that John Foxx's decision to quit and go solo, along with the band's decision to appoint ex Slik singer (and one time member of Rich Kids & Thin Lizzy) 'Midge Ure' as new vocalist were very good decisions for both parties. Ultravox started a six year run of success, while John also had some minor chart hits.

For reasons that I can't remember, this was a long awaited release. Surprising then that there wasn't really anything special about it. It certainly didn't have me queuing outside Woollies on the day of release (I waited for it's debut in the bargain bin). Still, I suppose that we were getting spoilt in those days and in hindsight it was better than just OK. It peaked at number 12.

Thirteen year old Stacy released one of the finest singles of the disco era with this. She had previously been earmarked to record "Ring My Bell" , but that had instead been given to Anita Ward who took it to number one in 1979. So this was Stacey's debut and she took it to number three. Her follow up single "Dynamite" failed to make it past number 51, and Stacey was never heard of again in the UK. The same can't be said of the song though as Dannii Minogue took it to number eight in 1991.
The 1998 UK number one, "Because We Want To" by "Billie" reminds me of this song for no apparent reason. It just seems to have that 1980 sound about it.

It was very rare that Billy could get more than one big UK hit single from any of his albums, and this was his hit from the excellent 'Glass Houses' album. In the words of this song, Billy seemed to be saying that it doesn't matter what you call it, Punk, New Wave, Hard Rock or whatever, it's still Rock & Roll. I wonder what he thinks these days. Billy peaked at number 14.

Sheena hit the big time after being the subject of a TV show titled 'The Big Time'. Her first single had been this one, but it had only managed to get as high as number 56. But after the success of the second single, it had been re-promoted and had entered the top 40 the same week that "9 To 5" had reached number three. It went on to peak at number eight.

Having hit number one earlier in the year with a cover of "Working My Way Back To You" (two weeks at the top, naturally), the Spinners had followed it with "Body Language" which could only struggle to number 40. So, it was time to try another cover, and the trick worked as they rose to number four. This marked the end of their top twenty days though, and their only further appearance in the top 40 was when featured on the number 30 peaking "I'll Be Around" by '4-Tay' in 1995.

I have only seen one other act looking so chuffed with themselves that they were appearing on Top Of The Pops, that was Bass-O-Matic who hit with "Fascinating Rhythm" in 1990. Funny how neither act managed another top 40 hit. This was a good single that spent three weeks at number 20 and nine weeks inside the top 40. I preferred his follow up "Leaving On The Midnight Train" (I Know - yet another bloody midnight train).

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.