REMEMBER WHEN - 25th October 1980

1	Barbra Streisand	Woman In Love
Barbra had been around making music and taking it into our chart since she first hit with "Second Hand Rose" back in 1966. It's number 14 peak wasn't bettered until she reached number 3 with "Evergreen" 11 years later. 1978 and 1979 had seen her have two more top five singles with duets (one with Neil Diamond, one with Donna Summer). In 1990 she turned to the successful songwriting and production skills of the Bee Gees, and this single was the first glimpse of the resulting album, 'Guilty'. After entering at number 22, it climbed to number nine and then to the very top, to become her biggest ever hit, spending three weeks on top. Strangely, the promo film seemed to consist entirely of clips from her 1977 film 'A Star Is Born'.

2	Ottawan	D.I.S.C.O.
This song did not stay in the top 40 for as long as you may think it did. This 11 week charting single quickly climbed for a three week stay at number two, but wasn't around for too long afterwards. I think one of the reasons for people thinking that it was around for much longer, was that until it started falling, it was played in the background between songs on Top Of The Pops every week. On a Channel Four show called Disco Inferno that was broadcast in 1998, Ottowan were included in a small section of acts that were described as Disco Criminals. I feel that this was completely without justification. This (and their 1981 hit) were perfect disco singles that filled the dance floor every time that they were played. It appears that musical snobbery even found it's way into the place where you'd least expect to find it, the disco scene.

3	Police	Don't Stand So Close To Me
After all those re-issues, the boys in blue were back with a brand new song. No more sillyness about legs breaking on the moon, being shipwrecked, or even female newscasters (Sue Lawley). This time Sting was having fantasies about going back to teaching, and having a crush on one of his female pupils (whom also had a crush on him). If you thought that was a strange subject for the most popular band in the land to sing about, listen to the B side. "Friends" told how they liked to eat their friends (and make no bones about it). This single was the second one this year to debut on the chart at number one. It stayed there for four weeks, and was number one of the year on the year end countdown.

4	Status Quo	What You're Proposing
Another winner for the Quo in chart terms, but not so in the lyric stakes (they really shouldn't have rhymed "Proposing" with "Runny Nosing") Anyway, it quickly sped up the chart to number two where it was kept off the top by Ms. Streisand for 2 weeks.

5	Madness	Baggy Trousers
I was going to be rude about this, but I can't because I like it really. It's just that I got so fed up of hearing it at the time, talk about overkill. It went on to spend two weeks at number three and become their biggest hit so far spending 11 weeks in the 40. If I remember correctly it was the ninth best selling single of the year.

6	Matchbox	When You Ask About Love
I didn't like the first three hits by Matchbox at all. So, I was pleasantly surprised when they released this cover of a 'Crickets' song. I'm not saying that it was one of the best singles of the year or anything like that, but it was a really pleasant song that peaked at number four and spent nine weeks in the top 40.

7	Odyssey	If You're Lookin' For A Way Out
And here's the one that remained on the chart for a week longer than Ottawan. This was a lovely song with beautiful vocals. After spending three weeks at number seven, it took a climb to number six, decided it didn't like it there so dropped back to seven before taking a steady slide down the chart.

8	Sweet People	Et Les Oiseaux Chantaient (And The Birds Were Singing)
This is one of those singles that surprised most by even charting at all. It comprised some of the most gentle music that you are ever likely to hear, with the whistling of birds thrown in. No one of your own age group would have liked it, but your parents and grandparents would have loved it. It's number four peak proves a point that Maizie Williams of Boney M once made, "In Cold Facts, A Record Sale Is Equally Valid From Anyone"

9	Nolans	Gotta Pull Myself Together
It really bugs me when people ridicule the Nolans. Many of these people would have been humming along to their songs Twenty years ago, but would no doubt deny it now. The Nolans recorded some of the best pop songs of the early '80s, and even though they didn't write their own material, they had the voices that made them such big hits. I have met and chatted to Linda Nolan on three occasions, and she is a lovely person, certainly no prima donna. My wife, as well as meeting Linda, has also met Bernie, Anne, Maureen and Colleen and teels me that they are nice too. Since the heady days of this reaching number nine in the chart, a lot has happened to the sisters. Linda left soon after the hits dried up and spent nine consecutive summer seasons starring on Blackpool's Central Pier, before moving to the South Pier for a couple of seasons. During that time, she also made regular appearances on James Whale's late Friday night TV show. Since then, she has continued to work the summer holiday circuit at various venues (usually near to her home town of Blackpool), and also appeared in Panto. Bernie and Colleen stayed with the group until the mid '90s, before Colleen retired from the business to be a full time mother. Bernie did some solo shows and appeared in the magnificant musical 'Oh What a Night' alongside Kid Creole (as well as other musicals, I think). Then in 2000 she joined the cast of the popular soap 'Brookside'. Hopefully, this will not be for long and she will get back to singing, as she is one of the best vocalists in the UK. As for Anne and Maureen, they are part of a new Nolans line up that also includes Anne's daughter 'Amy' and their niece 'Julia Sinclair' (Amy & Julia are also two thirds of a new group called 'Third Base' who are tipped for stardom). I was fortunate enough to see the new look Nolans at the Grand Theatre in Blackpool last Monday evening. The thing is, it was a new new look. Anne was unwell, so Colleen came out of retirement for the night. The new girls fitted in very well, Maureen is as beautiful as she ever was, and Colleen still has that cuteness about her that she had twenty years ago (she's my favourite).

10	George Benson	Love X Love
Another song that very much reminds me of the Erbistok club that I used to frequent so often in the early '80s. A good disco single, but I feel that it was a little too similar to the title track of it's parent album "Give Me The Night". It peaked at number ten.

11	Diana Ross	My Old Piano
Diana had just had her biggest hit for nine years with "Upside Down", peaking at number two. The parent album had been written and produced by Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers who had 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 another fallow period followed. "My Old Piano" was just more of the same and peaked at number five.

12	O.M.D.	Enola Gay
A song about a plane that caused so much suffering. Seems sick in retrospect, but not as sick as the act itself. Sad as it seems, most who bought the single probably didn't have a clue what it was about anyway. Even though O.M.D. had already had a smaller hit with "Messages", this was the one that really broke them and reached number eight.

13	Coffee	Casanova
This peaked at number 13, but I always thought of it as being a much bigger hit. It's probably due to hearing it so often on the radio. To be honest, I found it quite a boring record. I quite liked their follow up "Slip And Dip", but that only got as high as number 57.

14	Stevie Wonder	Masterblaster (Jammin')
After entering the chart at number 30, this single made a massive climb to number four. This didn't normally happen to Stevie Wonder singles, but in this case there is a simple explanation, it's because this song was pure class and just had to happen. A tribute to Bob Marley, this single peaked at number two a fortnight later. This was a great favourite on the jukebox at the Duke Of Wellington in Ruabon.

15	Bad Manners	Special Brew
I think that after their first two hits, Bad Manners were seen as a cheap imitation of Madness by many. Maybe some thought the same after this, but I changed my mind. It was one of the catchiest songs of the year and spent two weeks at number three, spending nine weeks in the top 40, dropping out in the week that the follow up "Lorraine" debuted. Buster Bloodvessel has said that he got the inspiration for this song from a can of the foul tasting 'Special Brew' lager, and composed it in a matter of minutes.

16	Black Slate	Amigo
A kind of psuedo reggae that caught on in discos as the "Oops Upside Your Head" rowing dance could be done to it. It peaked at number nine. The closest they got to charting again was when "Boom Boom" hit number 51 a couple of months later. Though one Sunday they were credited with recording Black Sabbath's "Paranoid" thanks to a mistake by Tony Blackburn on the Top 40 rundown.

17	Linx	You're Lyin'
What a boring song. This was the debut hit for David Grant's band and peaked at number 15. The best was yet to come.

18	Thin Lizzy	KIller On The Loose
The last classic single by Thin Lizzy was also their last top ten entry (peaking at number ten). It did attract a lot of controversy though. It's lyrics were said to be about mass murderer 'The Yorkshire Ripper'.

19	Adam And The Ants	Dog Eat Dog
The first hit for Adam And The Ants had a strangely familiar sound to it. It was not unlike the sound of Bow Wow Wow. The reason for this was soon apparent when it was revealed that Adam's former manager had taken his original Ants, recruited Annabella Lewin and formed Bow Wow Wow. So here was Adam with the second release from his new line up giving him his first top 40 hit. It went all the way to number four and paved the way for a hugely successful 1981.

20	Air Supply	All Out Of Love
A good single that peaked at number eleven was the only hit this Australian band had in the UK, despite massive success in the USA. For some reason, this song reminds me of maintaining the shrub beds at a small housing complex called 'Meifod Place' in the Pen-Y-Bryn area of Wrexham. It also reminds me of Paul Burnett playing it on his Radio One lunchtime show, and then following it with his 'Fun At One' feature where he played a Barron Knights track called "Barron's Fun 40". This was a spoof on Tony Blackburn counting down the top 40, with plenty of "Sensational"s in there, and make believe singles such as "You Need Hands" by the Stranglers, "Turning Japanese" by Paul McCartney, and "Breathing" by Air Supply.

21	Change	Searching
Another single that reminds me of my early clubbing days. I hadn't thought their previous hit "A Lover's Holiday" was anything to write home about, but this was different. It had something about it that just 'walloped you on the head and said "I'm a classy song" '. Sadly it only climbed to number 11.

22	Bob Marley And The Wailers	Three Little Birds
This was a strange release. Bob had just had his biggest hit to date with "Could You Be Loved" taken from his latest album 'Uprising'. But this single was taken from his 1977 album 'Exodus', quite a strange choice. It spent three weeks at it's peak of number 17 and proved to be Bob's last hit during his lifetime, he was diagnosed with Lung Cancer during the single's chart run.

23	Specials	Stereotype / International Jet Set
Another great single by the Specials, and the third consecutive one to contain a message in his lyrics (4th if you want to be picky and include "A Message To You Rudy"). The Stereotype in question was someone who went out and got drunk every Saturday night. Funnily enough, I had been through that phase for a couple of months following the euphoria of turning 18, but just before this record was released I had come to my senses and realised that not only was I pissing my money up against a wall, but that pubs and the people who inhabited them were the most boring people in the world. I still went clubbing on occasions, but that was through a genuine love of the music. In hindsight, my train of thought back then was also a good one for health reasons. The single was not exactly banned by Radio One, but they didn't play it very often. As it struggled to number 25, it looked as though their run of consecutive top ten hits was about to end. But it then surprisingly shot up to number six before falling back to number 22.

24	Showaddywaddy	Why Do Lovers Break Each Others Hearts
Yuk ! Showaddywaddy had done a few good singles, particulary in their first two years of hit making. But they had by now become very annoying. Thankfully, it was almost two years since their last top ten hit, and they were never to grace the top twenty again. This one peaked at number 22 and none of their final four hits managed to breach the top 30.

25	Gillan	Trouble
Gillan released some good singles in the early '80s, this cover of the Elvis Presley hit wasn't one of them (actually, I don't like the original either). No matter what I thought, it still went to number 14.

26	Kate Bush	Army Dreamers
Kate's third single to be taken from the 'Never Forever' album, and it was another good 'un. A song that 'got at' people who joined the army. The video caused a little concern to it's explosions and apparent death scenes. Something of a slow climber, it peaked at number 16 and spent seven weeks in the top 40.

27	Gilbert O'Sullivan	What's In A Kiss
A nice comeback for Gilbert after five years away from the top 40. He'd now broken free from Gordon Mills' management and production, and was also in the process of sueing Gordon for unpaid royalties. This was his only hit on the CBS label and peaked at number 19. Gilbert won his court case, but never made the top 40 again. The closest he came was when his "So What" became a popular club record and made number 70 in 1990.

28	Teena Marie	I Need Your Lovin'
The follow up to her number six hit "Behind The Groove", and another big disco record. I preferred this one, but the public were not so impressed and it peaked at number 28.

29	Earth Wind And Fire	Let Me Talk
Earth Wind And Fire had released some great singles during the last two years of the '70s, and the albums 'All 'N' All' and 'I Am' were two of the decade's best. But their first album of the Eighties was the double 'Faces'. It seemed apparent from just looking at the sleeve, something wasn't right. Gone were the pyramids and mystic symbols to be replaced by, well, faces. There was one outstanding track on the album called "And Love Goes On", but when issued as a single in 1981 it failed to chart. "Let Me Talk" was the first single pulled and even though it would have been a reasonable single by most acts, it was very below par for Earth Wind And Fire. It peaked at number 29 and spent just three weeks in the 40.

30	Randy Crawford	One Day I'll Fly Away
And on to someone who could so easily have been as big as Whitney Houston, but instead spent the next six years grabbing the occasional slice of success. This was the biggest of them all, and was taken from the under-rated 'Last Night At Danceland album'. It spent two weeks at number two and has either already spawned a dance remix, or it will soon enough.

31	XTC	Towers Of London
This track was featured very heavily in a documentary on XTC that was broadcast in the Autumn of 1980. It was released very soon after their previous single (the wonderful "Generals And Majors"), obviously to cash in on the documentary. It somehow reached number 31 and was one of the worst charting singles of the year, absolutely awful.

32	Gap Band	Party Lights
After the huge "Oops Upside Your Head" with it's novelty appeal, the Gap Band were soon back with a straight disco track. Very good it was too, even though it only reached number 30.

33	Stephanie Mills	Never Knew Love Like This Before
No, it wasn't Diana Ross, it just sounded like her. This was Stephanie's first hit and climbed slowly to peak at number four on it's sixth week. It stayed on the top 40 for 11 weeks. Surprisingly it was almost four years before Stephanie made the top 40 for a second time.

34	Kelly Marie	Feels Like I'm In Love
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.

35	Rolling Stones	She's So Cold
The second track to be pulled as a single from the 'Emotional Rescue' album, and once again, it appeared that the record buying public preferred the Stones doing disco to the Stones doing rock. After entering at number 33, it dropped to 35 and then dropped out.

36	Queen	Another One Bites The Dust
Seven of the previous eight Queen albums had all spawned a maximum of two single releases (Day At The Races belatedly spawned a third after the second failed to make the top thirty), but 'The Game' now boasted four top 20 hits. With this John Deacon written song, Queen had finally joined people like the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney & David Bowie in trying their hand at disco. This song laid the foundations for their under-rated 1982 album 'Hot Space'. Freddie and the boys would always bring the house down when performing this number seven peaking song live. But even though I'm a big Queen fan, I have to admit that the bass line owes more than a little to Chic's "Good Times".

37	Kelly Marie	Loving Just For Fun
Kelly's follow up to the massive "Feels Like I'm In Love", but maybe just a little too similar to "FLIIL" to make a big impact. It only reached number 21, but once again sounded great in clubs, particulary the 12 inch version.

38	Sheena Easton	One Man Woman
Sheena's third hit in a little over three months, and another great pop song. I thought that it was the best of her singles to date. It peaked at number 14 during a 6 week chart run.

39	Shalamar	I Owe You One
We could do with more like Shalamar around today. All of their singles were aimed at the clubs, but they were also good to just listen to. There was no aggression in them, it wouldn't annoy the neighbours too much if you played them too loud. Jody, Howard and Jeffrey were Angels sent from above to brighten up our little lives. They had amazingly failed to hit the top 40 earlier in the year with "The Second Time Around" & "Right In The Socket". But now they were having their biggest hit to date with this number 13 peaking single. They had to wait a further 18 months before they reached the top ten for the first time.

40	Tourists	Don't Say I Told You So
This was the fourth hit for the Tourists in just over a year. They were only an average band, and this was the most average of their singles. It spent one week at number 40 and then fell out. After this week, Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart had to wait until February '83 before they appeared in the 40 again (as the Eurythmics).

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.