

1983
Week 6
WEEK ENDING 5TH FEBRUARY 1983
TOP 40 SINGLES
| TW | ..... | LW | ...... | ...... | ||
| 1 | 1 | Men At Work | Down Under | |||
| 2 | 3 | Eddy Grant | Electric Avenue | |||
| 3 | 2 | Phil Collins | You Can't Hurry Love | |||
| 4 | 5 | Belle Stars | Sign Of The Times | |||
| 5 | 10 | Kajagoogoo | Too Shy | |||
| 6 | 8 | Laura Branigan | Gloria | |||
| 7 | 4 | Wah | The Story Of The Blues | |||
| 8 | 11 | Echo And The Bunnymen | The Cutter | |||
| 9 | 6 | Joe Jackson | Steppin' Out | |||
| 10 | 12 | U2 | New Year's Day | |||
| 11 | 34 | Wham | Wham Rap (Enjoy What You Do) | |||
| 12 | 25 | Joe Cocker & Jennifer Warnes | Up Where We Belong | |||
| 13 | 7 | Maisonettes | Heartache Avenue | |||
| 14 | 17 | Dire Straits | Twisting By The Pool | |||
| 15 | 24 | Indeep | Last Night A DJ Saved My Life | |||
| 16 | 18 | Fleetwood Mac | Oh Diane | |||
| 17 | 19 | Billy Griffin | Hold Me Tighter In The Rain | |||
| 18 | 9 | Keith Harris | Orville's Song | |||
| 19 | NEW | Tears For Fears | Change | |||
| 20 | NEW | Michael Jackson | Billie Jean | |||
| 21 | 37 | Jam | Going Underground / Dreams Of Children | |||
| 22 | NEW | China Crisis | Christian | |||
| 23 | 16 | Malcolm McLaren And The World Famous Supreme Team | Buffalo Gals | |||
| 24 | 22 | Melba Moore | Mind Up Tonight | |||
| 25 | 35 | Level 42 | The Chinese Way | |||
| 26 | 14 | Incantation | Cacharpaya (Andes Pumpsa Daesi) | |||
| 27 | 40 | Central Line | Nature Boy | |||
| 28 | 13 | Stranglers | European Female | |||
| 29 | 15 | David Essex | A Winter's Tale | |||
| 30 | 36 | Jam | Down In The Tube Station At Midnight | |||
| 31 | 29 | Beatles | Please Please Me | |||
| 32 | NEW | Rockers Revenge | The Harder They Come | |||
| 33 | NEW | Prince | 1999 | |||
| 34 | 23 | Dionne Warwick | All The Love In The World | |||
| 35 | 21 | Madness | Our House | |||
| 36 | NEW | Haysi Fantayzee | Shiny Shiny | |||
| 37 | 31 | Sharon Redd | In The Name Of Love | |||
| 38 | NEW | Thompson Twins | Love On Your Side | |||
| 39 | NEW | Toto | Africa | |||
| 40 | 20 | Renee And Renato | Save Your Love |
| 1 | Men At Work | Down Under |
| I
knew of these through their previous single, the number
45 peaking "Who Can It Be Now?" (much better
single in my opinion). This one sounded as I imagine the
Police would have sounded had they a sense of humour more
often. We thought that they were taking the mick out of
Australia, but they claimed that they were taking the
mick out of our view of Australia, or was it the other
way around ? It gave them their sole top twenty hit anyway. Oh yeah, it spent three weeks at the very top of the pile. Hardly deserved, so I suppose that it was a trendsetter for what began to occur on a regular basis ten years and a couple of weeks later. |
| 2 | Eddy Grant | Electric Avenue |
| It
was a real street you know, a street where Eddy grew up
in Brixton or something. We have an Electric Avenue here
in Nottingham, it leads to Toys'R'us ! All of Edward's previous singles sounded pretty much the same (or maybe that's just a problem that I have with reggae), so this was a nice change and gets my vote for his best ever effort. It also included his original version of the recent Rocker's Revenge hit "Walking On Sunshine" on the flip (but RR's version was better). It reached number two and his next hit came along five years later. And, the one after that was a remix of this one in 2001. |
| 3 | Phil Collins | You Can't Hurry Love |
| This
cover of the Supremes hit surprisingly gave Phil the
first number one single of his career. But rarely have
four words rang more true than the four that make up the
title of this song. I was going out with (dating) Sue when she bought this. I'd first met Sue at the Legion Disco in November. She was the sister of Richard, who was the boyfriend of a girl from the village named Marcia. Sue was short, shy, very pretty, but never wore a skirt. I like women to look feminine, so she wasn't really my type. But I thought that she was really sweet, and liked her a lot. I'd sat and chatted to her and even indirectly asked her out when I had more than a little Dutch courage, but she'd declined, something to do with my hair being too long. So I thought that was that. Somehow on Christmas Eve, I'd found myself leaving the Legion Disco at the same time as Richard, Marcia and Sue. Marcia suggested going to church for midnight mass. It isn't something I would normally do, but I thought "Why Not ?" I remember the church being packed with people, but not much more about it, except that we didn't stay long. After that the four of us walked down the road towards home. I decided to walk their way down Albert Grove and on to Stanley Grove where Marcia lived (Richard and Sue were staying there for the night). Somehow, Sue and myself ended up linking arms, just messing about really. But we were walking much slower than the other two and soon fell behind. We were laughing and joking as we got to Marcia's gate and I felt a little sad that the night was over. I said to Sue "I'll see you again sometime then, Merry Christmas". I didn't expect what happened next (remember I said that she was shy). She leaned forward and kissed me. A little shocked, I responded and we snogged for a few minutes. I then asked her if that meant we could start seeing each other, she replied "Yes, if you want to". So that was how it started. It was another significant moment, maybe THE most significant moment in my life. It diverted me from which ever road I was taking in life. Things were never the same after this. She lifted me out of the doldrums, made me happier than I'd ever been in my life, but I was left at my lowest ebb when it was over. |
| 4 | Belle Stars | Sign Of The Times |
| The biggest of the four hits enjoyed by this girl group. They were only around for a year as far as the top forty was concerned, but what they did in that time was fairly good, I really liked the album. They had been around since their debut single "Hiawatha" had flopped in 1981, but before that, they had been members of the Bodysnatchers. They hadn't actually left the Bodysnatchers, it was Rhoda & Nicky that had left after the others refused to sing politics. So, they just recruited a few more members, changed their name to the Belle Stars and made the best music of their career. |
| 5 | Kajagoogoo | Too Shy |
| Discovered/Produced/whatever
by Duran Duran's Nick Rhodes, this debut single by the
band shot quickly up the chart to spend two weeks at
number one. Though they have been much derided in later
years, this was a great pop single and fully deserved
it's success. After two further hits, lead vocalist
Limahl left for a solo career and Nick Beggs took over
the vocals. But they only managed two hits without Limahl
and exactly a year after their debut hit fell out of the
chart, their final hit was spending it's last week in the
chart. Now, about what I said above: I may have only liked it because Sue liked it, so it may not have been that great a pop single. |
| 6 | Laura Branigan | Gloria |
| This
was a continental foreign language hit for someone. Then
Jonathan King got hold of it, wrote his own English
lyrics, and failed to have a hit with it. Laura then
recorded a completely different English version, and she
DID have a hit. Great voice, great song and a lot of fuss
was made over Laura's tight outfit, especially when she
appeared on Noel Edmond's 'Late Late Breakfast Show'. It
was the first of only two top forty hits for her, but we
live in a far from perfect world anyway. It peaked at
number six. Personally, I think that Mr King's lyrics were just as good. |
| 7 | Wah | Story Of The Blues |
| I
wasn't sure about this to begin with, but it eventually
grew on me and sounds even better today. Still don't
think much of the B side though. It was part 2, and was a
daft talking over the music thing, not really a rap,
just, a talky thingl, OK ? After entering at number 34, it climbed to number 6, then 3, and then fell for the remainder of it's eight chart weeks. |
| 8 | Echo And The Bunnymen | The Cutter |
| Didn't like this one bit, I would have put it in the pile with Orville, total annoyance. But I quite like it now, not a bad track at all. It reached number eight. |
| 9 | Joe Jackson | Steppin' Out |
| This
WAS a surprise. Three years previous, Joe released two
excellent singles that both became major hits. But he
seemed to ahve faded away since that time. He hadn't
stopped recording, in fact a new Joe single could be
heard on the radio every now and then. They just hadn't
been commercial enough, nothing there to catch the
public's imagination. But this one did it and reached
number six. Now I don't know whether it's down to the happiness in my life at that time, but I thought this was a really good single. This was the last hit for Joe apart from the odd uncredited appearance on other act's singles. |
| 10 | U2 | New Year's Day |
| U2's
big breakthrough, after this single there was no looking
back. They'd spent a couple of years on the fringes of
success with 1981's "Fire" being their biggest
success with a lowly number 35 peak. But this one went
all the way to number ten and helped it's parent album
'War' to enter the album chart at the top. If you're anywhere near a radio at a couple of minutes after midnight on New Year's Eve/Day, flick through the stations and you'll find this playing somewhere. As mentioned in the commentary for "E.T.", I was nowhere near a radio that night, I was in the lounge of the Great Western Inn with Sue. But this song reminds me of that New Year's Day all the same. Early that afternoon I got on my Kawasaki KC 100 and rode the short distance to Marcia's house. A few minutes later, Sue, Marcia & Richard got into Marcia's Dad's (Dennis) car and I followed them to Sue's home. It seemed a hell of a long way on that freezing cold day, but it was only about six miles to that cottage up in the mountains. I met just about all the (very nice) family (loads of siblings), and there was that nice aroma that you get from those wood stove things. I stayed until about 9pm and we then said our very long goodbyes outside. We saw each other every day after that (while it lasted). By a week or so later we'd got into a routine. On Monday and Wednesday, I would go to her house and spend the evening there with her and her family until about 10:00pm. That wasn't as bad as you may think, her Dad John, was a really nice man with a good sense of humour. For some reason he liked to call me "Harry Fenton", never quite sure why. Tuesdays and Thursdays, I would pick her up approx 5:30pm, take her to my house and then take her home about 10:00pm. On Fridays I would pick her up and we'd spend the weekend together until I took her back home on Sunday evening. So we spent a hell of a lot of time together in this particular New Year. |
| 11 | Wham | Wham Rap (Enjoy What You Do) |
| Much better than "Young Guns", it seemed lyrically quite good at the time. I'm not so sure these days though. Still catchy all the same and still gets my vote as a better than average single. Reached number eight. |
| 12 | Joe Cocker And Jennifer Warnes | Up Where We Belong |
| As most of us know this number seven peaking single was from the movie 'An Officer And A Gentleman'. It was Joe's first hit since 1970, and only his third top ten hit overall. What I remember most about this song though is the performance where Joe's arms were more animated than I've ever seen them, and I'm sure that watching his limb movements sent Jennifer cross eyed. |
| 13 | Maisonettes | Heartache Avenue |
| This band sort of evolved from City Boy (remember "5705" & "What A Night" ?). The singer 'Lol Mason' had a brother (twin I think), acting in the soap Crossroads at the time. The song was a very pleasant one with a sixties feel to it and it spent a couple of weeks at number seven. Nice follow up "Where I Stand" too, but that failed to chart. |
| 14 | Dire Straits | Twisting By The Pool |
| It actually sounded as though the band were standing up when they recorded this track, quite different from the usual laid back stuff. It was also surprising that they had released this instead of taking a second single from their 'Love Over Gold' album. There again, the said album only contained five tracks (all better than this one). This was the last new Dire Straits track we'd hear before April 1985, so it's a pity that it was a little disappointing, reached number 14. |
| 15 | Indeep | Last Night A DJ Saved My Life |
| I
liked this one. Yes, I know that it was wrong and I ought
to be thoroughly ashamed of myself, but I did. It was
just a simple disco song with a bit of a rap in there,
but I found it highly infectious. Not only that, but the
12 inch had an a cappela version and also the isolated
sound effects of a car screeching, a phone ringing, and a
toilet flushing ! This nice little compendium of sounds reached number 13. There were fairly unsuccessful covers of this by Cold Jam (1990 #64) & SYLK 130 (1998 #33). Boyband 5ive more or less covered it with their 1999 number two hit "If Ya Gettin' Down" (even covered the rap). Finally, Mariah Carey covered it on her 2001 album 'Glitter' and it will no doubt see single release sometime in 2002. |
| 16 | Fleetwood Mac | Oh Diane |
| After "Hold Me" and the magnificent "Gypsy" had failed to make the top forty, there was no way that this weak effort was going to do it. But after appearing on various TV shows, including a live satellite link-up on 'The Late Late Breakfast Show', it went all the way to number nine. It was only their second top twenty hit with the classic Rumours line up. |
| 17 | Billy Griffin | Hold Me Tighter In The Rain |
| Former
singer with the Miracles with his sole UK top 40 solo
hit. Well at least it was a good one, worthy of a top ten
place in my opinion, though it only reached number 17.
Billy also had a good single out in early '84 titled
"Serious", that should have been a hit too. Billy also said that he likes my website, so he's an all round good bloke ! |
| 18 | Keith Harris & Orville | Orville's Song |
| Too
late to be a big Christmas hit, we had surely been saved.
But alas no, this Bobby Crush written ditty shot up the
chart in the new year and peaked at number four. For
those of you lucky enough not to know anything about
Orville, let me explain. Orville is a green duck wearing
a nappy (diaper). I hate him. Keith Harris' other famous
puppet Cuddles the monkey also hates him. Many years later in the late Summer of 1995, I met Keith Harris. I was in the Blackpool nightclub at a special function where many celebrities were in attendance. Those twins from Neighbours were there (very nice they were too), Joe Pasquale, Les Dennis, Su Pollard, quite a few actually. Alex Higgins literally bumped into me and we chatted with him for a long time, great character, even let us take photos. Keith had done a bit of his act on the stage with Orville, but it was different than usual as he made the duck say things that he wouldn't normally say (and wouldn't be allowed to on kids TV). I eventually got to speak with Keith and we chatted for quite a while. He was quite an interesting person and once more I had my photo taken that night. But when he asked me what I thought about Orville's performance that night, I replied, "I like your monkey, but I can't stand that duck". I wasn't being serious (well, not much), but I don't think that he was very pleased. He went off to find someone else to talk to. |
| 19 | Tears For Fears | Change |
| The follow up to "Mad World" was nowhere near as good, and for me didn't really sounded too cheerful compared to the rest of 'The Hurting' album (despite the lyrics not being that cheerful at all). It reached number four. |
| 20 | Michael Jackson | Billie Jean |
| Michael Jackson had his second UK number one single with this. His previous chart topper had been "One Day In Your Life" in 1981 (he had also hit the top in 1977 as one of the Jacksons with "Show You The Way"). It was the second single to be lifted from the 'Thriller' album, which after a slow start was now beginning to sell in vast quantities. |
| 21 | Jam | Going Underground / Dreams Of Children |
| IN
1980, this was the first single to enter the chart at
number one since Slade had done it in 1973 with
"Merry Xmas Everybody". With the exception of
the very first number one in 1952, this was the very
first time that a new entry at the top had been by a band
that had achieved no previous number ones at all. Having
said that, this was only the tenth single to enter the
chart at the top since the UK charts began, and the Jam
were only the seventh act to do it. The first eight Jam
singles had all failed to reach the top ten, while the
ninth had made number three, this was the tenth. So why did it go straight into number one, after all there always used to be a very good reason when a single did that ? The popular theory would be that the Jam were loved by the 'new mods', and so were hugely popular enough to get all those mods running to the shops at the weekend to send it soaring straight to the top (the extra disc with the live recordings may have helped too). This would be partly true, but there is a bigger reason. It was common practice for singles to be released towards the end of the week, Thursdays & Fridays. So, they only had 2-3 days sales in their first chart week. That's why so many big hit singles entered at a low chart position and then took a massive climb the following week, look at how many of Abba's top five singles entered below number 20. Polydor normally released all of their singles on Fridays, but switched to Mondays at the time of this release. This ensured optimum first week sales and a higher chart debut debut. I doubt that they expected a debut so high though. At the time, Music Week, BMRB, Polydor, and the daily newspapers and TV all reported that this single was the first to enter at number one since Gary Glitter's "I Love You Love Me Love" in November 1973. Very embarrassing for Polydor considering that the Slade single in December 1973 had been released by them ! These events seemed to be quickly forgotten about, but I assure you that they are true, even down to Record Mirror (who got their facts right) predicting that Monday releases would become standard procedure. Anyway, it spent three weeks at number one, which was still at that time the minimum number of weeks that any number one debuting single had stayed on top. So, three years later it was back with a more modest debut at 37. It reached number 21 this time. |
| 22 | China Crisis | Christian |
| Good debut hit, though I wasn't too keen on it begin with. It reached number 12 and was the first of only five top forty hits the band achieved in four years. Very under-rated band in my opinion. |
| 23 | Malcolm McLaren & The World Famous Supreme Team | Buffalo Gals |
| The first solo (ish) hit from Malcolm introduced us to scratching. Well, at least it did as far as chart hits are concerned (Grandmaster Flash had been having his adventures on the wheels of steel a full year previous). After slowly climbing for a few weeks, it finally peaked at number nine in it's seventh week. The B.side featured a bizarre square dance version of the song. |
| 24 | Melba Moore | Mind Up Tonight |
| Nothing special, but neither was her previous one. There was still a little in the way of good stuff to come from the disco stable, but it was getting harder to find. Melba had given us her lot in the Seventies with "This Is It", "The Greatest Feeling" and "Pick Me Up I'll Dance". This final top forty hit for her reached number 22. |
| 25 | Level 42 | The Chinese Way |
| I thought that this was very boring. There was nothing here to suggest that they were going to be very successful for the remainder of the decade. Biggest hit to date, reached number 24. |
| 26 | Incantation | Cacharpaya (Andes Pumpsa Daesi) |
| I don't care what they were catching, I hated it and it seemed to be around for much longer than the eight weeks it actually did spend in the chart. It peaked at number 12, and I believe that "Andes Pumpsa Daesi" means "Music Of The Andes". What I find odd is that the band were British, I thought they were from Peru or somewhere like that. |
| 27 | Central Line | Nature Boy |
| This was quite a good cover and it gave them their only top 40 entry. Reached number 21. |
| 28 | Stranglers | European Female |
| After
going into easy listening territory with "Golden
Brown" and "Strange Little Girl" the
previous year, I did expect the Stranglers to revert back
to their noisy selves in 1983. But no, they kept with the
smooth kind of sound that wouldn't have seemed out of
place on 'then unfashionable' Radio Two. It was the first
of three acceptable singles from the 'Feline' album. The
album was better than the previous 'La Folie' album, but
it can't really be compared with the previous albums, as
they had a totally different sound and could easily have
been recorded by a totally different band. The single hit number nine to become their sixth top ten hit. They had to wait five years for the seventh. |
| 29 | David Essex | A Winter's Tale |
| This often appears on Christmas compilations, but I've never regarded it as a Christmas song. For a start, it didn't peak at number two until the middle of January. And another thing is that it reminds me of my relationship with Sue, that really was "A "Winter's Tale". |
| 30 | Jam | Down In The Tube Station At Midnight |
| The
Jam had split a couple of months ago, so just like when
they finally had a number one three years previous,
Polydor decided that it would be a good idea to re-issue
all of their singles. So, I'm going to also re-issue my
commentaries from when these songs were hits the first
time around. For many (myself included), this was the Jam's finest moment. Prior to this, it seemed that most could take or leave them, but this one made people sit up and take notice of Paul Weller's songwriting ability. This was the first of 12 consecutive top twenty hits (up until they disbanded), but only reached number 15. When re-issued in 1983 it charted again and peaked at number 30. |
| 31 | Beatles | Please Please Me |
| In
January 1963 this was the second official release by the
Beatles and the last one not to hit number one for four
years when it peaked at number two. It did top some
charts, but in the chart now recognised as the official
one, it didn't. It was now re-released on picture disc on it's Twentieth Anniversary, but fell short of expectations by only reaching number 29. |
| 32 | Rockers Revenge | The Harder They Come |
| Great cover of the Jimmy Cliff song that surpassed the original, yet only reached number 30. I'm glad that this bunch got hold of it before UB40 decided that it may be a good idea. Almost ten years later Madness had a go at it, but only reached number 44. |
| 33 | Prince | 1999 |
| Prince
finally made the top 40 this time around. It was his
first top 75 entry since his debut hit "I Wanna Be
Your Lover" reached number 41 in 1980. This sounded
a big hit all the way, but inexplicably stalled at number
25. But that wasn't the end of it. Once Prince had finally really arrived, it was re-issued with his other '83 single "Little Red Corvette" on the B side and went to number two in early 1985. He only ever surpassed that chart position once, and that was in 1994 with "The Most Beautiful Girl In The World". It was re-issued again in January 1999 (11 months early in my opinion) and reached number ten. This re-issue did re-enter the chart 11 months later but failed to even make the top 40. Had it not been for the Jan '99 release, I feel that it would have had a very good chance of being the last number one of the century. |
| 34 | Dionne Warwick | All The Love In The World |
| Another track from the Gibb produced "Heartbreaker" album, and I preferred this to the title track. It peaked at number ten in January. |
| 35 | Madness | Our House |
| This single spent four weeks at number five and I must admit that the first time I heard it, I thought that it was the 'Jam'. It may seem unbelievable to you, but I thought that Suggs' vocals on certain parts of this did sound remarkably similar to Paul Weller's. As mentioned earlier, Tommy Vance was the host of the Top 40 show at that time (I would say the last truly great host, but Bruno wasn't too bad). Every so often Tommy would play a 12 inch version that he considered worthwhile, that is if it added something different to the song. He did such a thing to this particular song. The beginning of it contained a montage of Madness songs, rather like small 'samples'. It was enough to make me go out and buy it. |
| 36 | Hayzi Fantayzee | Shiny Shiny |
| After
stalling at number 51 with the cheerful "Holy
Joe", it seemed as though these were destined to
remain one hit wonders. But then they bounced back with
this number 16 hit. It isn't the best track they ever
recorded, but it wasn't too bad. I even found the album
'Battle Hymns For Children Singing' quite a pleasant
surprise when I took a chance after finding it at half
price a year or so after release. I remember reading an interview with ex-model singer Kate Garner in the Record Mirror. She said that women used to spit in her face because of her being a model, bloody feminists ! The said album included a book of some of Kate's photographs, and after giving up the music biz, she went on to become a professional photographer. I wonder if she's still doing that. Jeremy Healy meanwhile, went on to form Bon Ventura and released a strange sounding thing called "When Malindy Sings", and later became a DJ. What I always wondered was, why the Barry Manilow lookalike in the videos ? |
| 37 | Sharon Redd | In The Name Of Love |
| It wasn't "Never Give You Up", but it was pretty good all the same. Another classic for the dance floors. Only number 31 though. |
| 38 | Thompson Twins | Love On Your Side |
| At last the three twins (???) had broken through onto the chart. This number nine peaking single was the first of five top ten hits for them in just over a year. It was also the first of nine successive top 40 hits. They haven't hit the top 40 at all since the ninth of those "King For A Day" was a number 22 hit in the Autumn of 1985. |
| 39 | Toto | Africa |
| Toto's only previous UK hit had been four years earlier when they had hit number 14 with their very first single "Hold The Line". They had released a further seven singles since then, but none of them charted. In April of 1982 they released their fourth album, rather lazily titled 'Toto IV', and the first two singles from it had flopped in the UK. But it was this third single that after hitting number one in the USA, finally restored them to the UK chart, and became their biggest hit here reaching number three, and also propelling it's parent album to number four. Toto never hit the top ten again. |
| 40 | Renee And Renato | Save Your Love |
| The favourites for the Christmas number one this year included 'The Jam', 'Culture Club', 'David Bowie and Bing Crosby', 'Madness', 'Human League', while the red hot favourite was 'Shakin' Stevens'. But like so many other years, a completely unknown act came along with what is usually described as a 'novelty record' and took the honours. In this particular year it was 'Renee And Renato' who managed a four week stay at the top, and although it seemed irritating for a while, it was a really good song that could have been a hit in any decade. Describing it as a 'novelty hit' probably isn't a fair description as it was just the type of song that would have topped the chart before 'Rock And Roll' kicked in. They followed it with "Just One More Kiss" the following February but just failed to secure a second hit. They were never heard of again. |
In the top 50
this week, but failing to reach the top 40.
| Lionel Richie | You Are |
| So
are you, cowardly lion face. If "Truly" deserved to reach number six, then this deserved to reach number five. A nice upbeat song that was a refreshing change from his usual nasal toned ballads. But it only reached number 43. |
In the top 75 this
week, but failing to reach the top 40.
| Jam | Start |
| In
1980, The Jam had finally got the commercial success they
deserved with the previous "Going Underground"
single, but then they released this. It used the exact
same riff as the Beatles' "Taxman", and while
that kind of thing may be considered the height of
creativity these days, it was considered a little naughty
back then. As far as the success of the single went, it didn't really matter. At that time they could record any old rubbish and it was sure to go to number one, and sure enough, it did manage a single week at the top. On the other hand, the B Side was a much better song titled "Liza Radley" (Eleanor Rigby anyone ?). When re-issued in 1983, it only made number 62. Manfred Mann's Earthband did a very good cover of this, but changed the title to "What You Give Is What You Get". |
| Jam | Eton Rifles |
| In 1979 this was the ninth hit single for the Jam, and in it's second chart week was their first top ten entry. It went on to reach number three and set the stage for the Jam to become the first act to enter the chart at number one for over six years the following March. It has been re-issued twice since then, it failed to even make the top 75 six months after it's original release, and then made number 54 in 1983.. |
| Jam | Town Called Malice / Precious |
| This
did shock me in February 1982. After the two very
disappointing singles they released the previous year,
the last thing I expected was for the Jam to enter the
chart at number one with their first release of 1982.
"A Town Called Malice" was nowhere near as good
as 1980's "Going Underground" and what had come
before it, But it was 'almost' worthy of it's number one
position anyway. The other track must have helped to keep
it there for three weeks. "Precious" introduced
a dance element to the Jam's music, and was a much better
track in my opinion. One historic week, they performed
both tracks on Top Of The Pops. The 1993 re-issue reached number 73. |
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.
ON TO THE FOLLOWING WEEK
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BACK TO THE 1983 INDEX
THE REMEMBER WHEN ARCHIVES
GOLDEN DAYS INDEX
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