REMEMBER WHEN - 11TH APRIL 1981

1981
Week 15
WEEK ENDING 11TH APRIL 1981
TOP 40 SINGLES

TW	LW
1	1	Shakin' Stevens	This Ole House
2	5	Bucks Fizz	Making Your Mind Up
3	4	Stevie Wonder	Lately
4	2	Kim Wilde	Kids In America
5	8	Landscape	Einstein A Go-Go
6	3	Tony Capstick And The Carlton Main Frickley Colliery Band	Capstick Comes Home / The Sheffield Grinder
7	10	Linx	Intuition
8	6	Toyah	Four From Toyah (EP)
9	11	Whispers	It's A Love Thing
10	12	Hazel O'Connor	D-Days
11	23	Jacksons	Can You Feel It
12	26	Graham Bonnet	Night Games
13	17	Dave Stewart & Colin Blunstone	What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted
14	31	Sugar Minott	Good Thing Going
15	21	Nolans	Attention To Me
16	13	Visage	Mind Of A Toy
17	9	Coast To Coast	(Do) The Hucklebuck
18	7	Roxy Music	Jealous Guy
19	NEW	Ennio Morricone	Chi Mai
20	29	Bad Manners	Just A Feeling
21	15	Teardrop Explodes	Reward
22	16	Duran Duran	Planet Earth
23	14	Who	You Better You Bet
24	25	Gillan	New Orleans
25	20	Kool And The Gang	Jones VS Jones
26	18	Adam And The Ants	Kings Of The Wild Frontier
27	NEW	Saxon	And The Bands Plyed On
28	19	Kiki Dee	Star
29	NEW	Spandau Ballet	Musclebound / Glow
30	24	Phil Collins	I Missed Again
31	NEW	Public Image Limited	Flowers Of Romance
32	32	David Bowie	Up The Hill Backwards
33	NEW	John Lennon	Watching the Wheels
34	35	Heatwave	Jitterbuggin'
35	36	Polecats	John I'm Only Dancing / Big Green Car
36	NEW	Shalamar	Make That Move
37	NEW	Dire Straits	Skateaway
38	NEW	Light Of The World	I'm So Happy / Time
39	NEW	Keith Marshall	Only Crying
40	33	Ultravox	Slow Motion

Shakin' Stevens

This Ole House

I was never over keen on Shaky, though most of his singles seem much better now than they did at the time. I suppose he did what he did very well, but I didn't like what he did (if you get my drift). I hated this one with a passion, so naturally it became his first major hit and spent three weeks at number one.

Bucks Fizz

Making Your Mind Up

The Eurovision winner of that year Bucks Fizz, spent three weeks at the top. They were formed especially for the Eurovision song contest, but continued to chart for seven years. Cheryl Baker said in a late '90s interview that having been with Euro hopefuls Coco in 1978, she had given up the music biz and gone back to being a secretary (I think), but then came out of retirement for one last crack. She said that if they had not won the contest, the band would have immediately split. She also said that she hadn't seen former member Jay Aston for many years, and doesn't care ! In my opinion Bucks Fizz were treated very unfairly by the music fascists. They had some brilliant catchy tunes. And so what if they couldn't play instruments, I could name quite a few 'music fascist approved' acts who can't sing (see UK newsgroups circa 1997), and unfortunately do not take the wise option of recruiting session singers *lol*
Anyway, Bobby Gee is the only original member still with the group, I saw them perform at the 'What A Weekend' festival in Wollaton Park, here in Nottingham in May 1998.

Stevie Wonder

Lately

A third single from the wonderful "Hotter Than July" album, and the second of three top three hits from it. This spent two weeks at number three and spent ten weeks in the top 40.
There was also a reggae cover of this out at this time by Rudy Grant. It only reached number 58, but this was still better than his cover of "Space Oddity" which didn't chart at all.

Kim Wilde

Kids In America

Most people of my age would not have known of the existence of Kim's father 'Marty Wilde'. I did because my Mum had been a fan of his and had even seen im perform live a couple of times. She had three of his singles "Donna", "Sea Of Love" and his unbeatable version of "Endless Sleep". Marty's son "Ricky" attempted to make it as a singer in the mid '70s, but had failed miserably. So he turned his talents to helping his father write songs for his younger sister "Kim" (Actually, I can think of quite a few talented songwriters who ought to follow his example and give their songs to someone who can actually sing. But people seem to tolerate this, even if they are just looking ).

And so Kim just seemed to explode onto the chart and seemed to be a permanent resident in the chart for well over a year. Naturally, when we all saw what she looked like, we either loved or hated her. The women hated her (at least to begin with) and many wrote angry letters to the Record Mirror letters page. One such letter sticks in my mind as the nasty wench in question wrote "I bet she's never even been to America". As it turned out she was right, as Kim recently revealed in a TV interview. But what did that matter anyway, I bet Midge Ure had never been to Vienna ?
Kim spent two weeks at number two with this and followed it with a further 16 top 40 hits before the decade ended, more than any other British female soloist in the eighties. She is now apparently a gardener, just as I was when she first hit big.

Landscape

Einstein A Go-Go

Landscape had been around for a while before this first hit. Their first single "U2XME1X2MUCH" had been released in February 1978, and had been followed by an album and four other singles before they finally achieved this hit. One of those singles "The Electronic Bride" needed a guitar, but none of the band could play one. So they improvised with an electric trombone, and it made a damn good guitar.
This single was taken from the album "From The Tearooms Of Mars To The Hellholes Of Uranus", the first album where a member of Landscape actually sang. Richard Burgess was chosen to handle the vocals as he was the only one with any experience.
This single began with a recording of phone calls they made trying to get in touch with the then US president "Ronald Reagan". It was the biggest of their two hit singles and reached number five.
Thanks to Peter Bibbs for most of the Landscape history.

Tony Capstick And The Carlton Main Frickley Colliery Band

Capstick Comes Home / The Sheffield Grinder

The first time that I ever heard this was while travelling on the Barton's bus between Chester and Nottingham. I was with my friend Trevor Pugh and we were on our way to my Mother's in Mansfield. Upon arriving at Nottingham's Victoria Centre (I now live five minutes from there), we had to catch another bus to Mansfield. I was eager for Trev to hear the local accent as it amused me. He had known my Mum for many years, but during the course of the twenty years she'd spent as an 'English Outsider' in North Wales, she had lost much of her accent. So I couldn't wait to see his reaction to being called "Duck" or "Duckie" by a bloke, as in "Ay Up Me Duck". As we sat down on the Mansfield bus, I quietly said to Trev "Listen to this", then asked a man sitting a few seats back if he knew what time the bus left. He gave his reply in very broken English, I think that he was Russian, Polish or something like that. So the duck had to wait.
Back to Capstick, and neither of were quite sure what we were listening to that afternoon. It was someone telling a story about walking forty odd miles home from work after working a 72 hour shift, not being impressed by the brown bread and butter being offered, grabbing his wife by the throat as he called her a "Parrot faced wassack" before throwing her on the fire, and then talking about the old days when you could buy out your local Harrods for a farthing. It went as high as number three, but only remained in the top 40 for five weeks.
Yes it was funny at the time, and my memory of it told me that I liked it then, but wouldn't now. So I had a listen to it, and surprisingly, it still is amusing. So if anyone wants it, I've made an MP3 of it.

Linx

Intuition

Hopelessly catchy single that seemed a world away from their debut "You're Lying", entertaining video too. It was their highest charting single in reaching number 7, and while they had their moments after this, they never matched it.

Toyah

Four From Toyah (EP)

She'd had a number one in the Indie chart with "Sheep Farming In Barnet", and it was now time for Toyah to appeal to the majority, have a few hits, well ok, make some money. The lead track from this "It's A Mystery" is the one that most associate Toyah with. It was her biggest ever hit, reaching number four and spending ten weeks in the top 40.

Whispers

It's A Love Thing

Almost as good as 1980's "As The Beat Goes On", but it fell seven places short of the number two peak enjoyed by their biggest hit. That was almost it for the Whispers. All they managed afterwards was a brief ttop 40 appearance in 1987 with "Rock Steady".

Hazel O'Connor

D-Days

Not a terribly good single from Hazel. It reached number ten.

Jacksons

Can You Feel It

This was a very slow climber, taking nine weeks to reach number six, and totalling 13 weeks in the chart. If the video had been completed in time for the chart run, it may have reached number one, but it wasn't shown on British TV until well after the single's demise. Such a shame that the 1998 bastardisation of the song peaked higher in the chart than the original, number one actually.

Graham Bonnet

Night Games

Having led Rainbow on the magnificant "Down To Earth" album before being sacked by Ritchie Blackmore, it was now time for Graham to make another Rainbow single, but without his former band mates. This was better than anything Rainbow did without him, and peaked at number six.
I always wondered about the line "He takes his pleasure in strange ways". I wondered if he was referring to someone who was maybe a bit of a perv, or was it someone who spends a lot of time in Strangeways prison ?
BTW - This song was available as a free flexi single with the magazine 'Flexipop' at the same time as it's release.

Dave Stewart & Colin Blunstone

What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted

This was Colin Blunstone's first appearance in the top 40 since 1972, and only his second ever inside the top 30 (with his name on the record). In reaching number 13, it also became his highest charting single.
Dave Stewart was a man with a synthesiser who liked to revamp old songs, and it worked a couple of times including this time.

Sugar Minott

Good Thing Going

"Good Thing Going" had previously been recorded by Michael Jackson and released on his 1972 album "Ben", and would turn up on the b side of Michael's next single. This reggae version grated after a while and reached number four.

Nolans

Attention To Me

A year on from their big breakthrough and a fifth top 12 hit. This was the alst to make the top ten though and it made hard work of getting there. It peaked at number nine in it's eighth chart week. It only stayed in the chart for a further two weeks after that.

Visage

Mind Of A Toy

It wasn't "Fade To Grey", but still had quite a pleasant sound to it. It should have been used in the computer games "Seventh Guest" or "Eleventh Hour", it would have fitted in nicely. It reached number 13.

Coast To Coast

(Do) The Hucklebuck

I hated this and was so disappointed when it leapt from 39 to number 14. But my fears of it getting to number one were forgotten a couple of weeks later when it stalled at number five.

Roxy Music

Jealous Guy

We'd had the John Lennon back catalogue in the chart, and now it was time for the tributes. This was more of a Bryan Ferry solo effort than a Roxy track, but it gave them the only number one single of their career. It spent two weeks on top.

Ennio Morricone

Chi Mai (Theme From The Life And Times Of Lloyd George)

This beautiful instrumental from the man who gave us the music in all the best spaghetti westerns, was a hit largely due to it being used as the title music for a TV series named 'The Life And Times Of David Lloyd George'. It reached number two.

Bad Manners

Just A Feeling

Boring single from Bad Manners. It reached number 13.

Teardrop Explodes

Reward

They looked ridiculous in the video, but it was a very good sixties sounding single. It was the only single by the band to reach the top ten, and peaked at number six.

Duran Duran

Planet Earth

Who would have believed that two years and two weeks after this made it's debut, Duran Duran would be entering the chart at number one ?
When this was charting, it was considered ok to like Duran Duran and they even appeared on 'The Old Grey Whistle Test'. It peaked at number 12 and twenty years later they were still around.

Who

You Better You Bet

I saw the Who perform live at Deeside Leisure Centre at the same time as this single gave them their last top ten hit (it reached number nine). They were bloody great and the support band 'Nine Below Zero' weren't bad either.

Gillan

New Orleans

Tragic rock cover of a classic rock 'n' roll song. It took six weeks to reach number 17.

Kool And The Gang

Jones Vs Jones

This dealt with divorce and Tony Blackburn played it to death. It was his way of reminding us about his split with Tessa Wyatt (she'd gone off with Richard O'Sullivan from 'Man About The House'). But we hardly needed reminding, he'd been going on about it for two years.
Once you got past the Tony Blackburn thing, this was a decent song. Even though it only reached number 17, it did spend eight weeks in the top 40.

Adam And The Ants

Kings Of The Wild Frontier

I don't think that this deserved to reach number two. It was hard to spot a melody in there, never mind work out what the hell he was on about. Should have given it to Bow Wow Wow

Saxon

And The Bands Played On

Another great single from Saxon. This one was a tribute to the Castle Donnington Monsters Of Rock Festival, and their biggest hit, reaching number 12.

Kiki Dee

Star

A welcome return for Kiki with one of her best songs ever. The times I selected this one on the Jukebox in 'The Vaults', I must have paid for it many times over. It reached number 13, and unluckily for her, it was her last ever solo top 40 hit. I 'think' that it was later used as the theme song for a talent show.

Spandau Ballet

Musclebound / Glow

"Musclebound" was nothing special, but "Glow" wasn't a bad song at all. This third hit in less than five months took them into the top ten for a second time when it peaked at ten.

Phil Collins

I Missed Again

Oh yes, he is using the Earth Wind And Fire brass section isn't he ?
This was already receiving a lot of airplay for weeks before it's eventual release, but I've always considered it to be a very ordinary song, even a disappointment after "In The Air Tonight". It peaked at number 14 after just two weeks.

Public Image Limited

Flowers Of Romance

Doing something different is often considered a really good thing to do if you're in the music business. Unfortunately, just because something is different doesn't always mean that it isn't crap. Get all of your Black Lace, Joe Dolce, school choirs, Red Sovine, even Mr Blobby records, put them on a crapometer scale. Put this on the other side and it will drop with a thud. No, this three minutes or so of wailing wasn't very good at all.
It reached number 24, but did provide a few minutes amusement on one occasion. This was when my Grandad came to tea one Sunday and I switched on the top 40. When this was played, he stared at the radio in disbelief all the way through it.

David Bowie

Up The Hill Backwards

The fourth song to be taken from the "Scary Monsters" album and released as a single. One of the best songs on the album, but maybe not really a good choice for single release. It spent two weeks at number 32.

John Lennon

Watching The Wheels

This was the best track on the 'Double Fantasy' album for me. It was John telling us what he'd been doing during his five years away from the limelight. I was disappointed that it only reached number 30.

Heatwave

Jitterbuggin'

Much better than "Gangsters Of The Groove" thought I, but not so everyone else. It spent two weeks at number 34.

Polecats

John I'm Only Dancing / Big Green Car

Very horrible rockabilly cover of the David Bowie hit from 1972. It reached number 35.

Shalamar

Make That Move

Slightly better than average disco track, but slightly below average for Shalamar. I remember that it was naturally played a lot in discos, but only reached number 30.

Dire Straits

Skateaway

A second single lifted from side one of 'Making Movies', and this is the one that actually mentioned the album title. A disappointing chart performance as it peaked at number 37.

Light Of The World

I'm So Happy / Time

Two good tracks on one single, it didn't seem as though they could go wrong this time. Well, it did give them their highest ever chart position, but the bad news is, that was only number 35. They had no further top 40 hits.

Keith Marshall

Only Crying

Keith Marshall reached number 12 and spent nine weeks in the top 40 with this. Many think "Only Crying" was Keiths only hit, but they'd be slightly wrong. Keith was formerly the lead vocalist with Glam Rock band 'Hello', and had two top ten hits in the mid 70's with "Tell Him" & "New York Groove".

Ultravox

Slow Motion

The John Foxx led version of Ultravox were finally getting a hit. Their first three albums had been disected and the seemingly best tracks been compiled as the album "Three Into One". This had been released as a single, and while it was OK, it was also easy to understand why they didn't have any major hits before the arrival of Midge Ure. This made number 33.

These singles were in the top 50 this week, but failed to reach the top 40.

Cure

Primary

The follow up to "A Forest" failed to advance on it's number 31 peak as it stalled at number 43. That seems about right to me.

Matchbox

Babes In The Wood

Five top 40 hits before this and the most recent two hadn't been too bad. This one wasn't up to much though and only made number 46. Their top 40 days had come to an end.

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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BACK TO THE 1981 INDEX
THE REMEMBER WHEN ARCHIVES
GOLDEN DAYS INDEX

Email: nige@innotts.co.uk

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