Lower Gardens Bournemouth
4th September 1984
Stevie gets his 4th Number One, and keeps on with the tradition of those topping my chart not actually being his best records. Ah well, it’s still very popular though I’m well over it now. At 3, fluttering up the charts, it’s Malcolm McLaren getting his biggest hit to date, and at 7 Bucks Fizz return to the top 10 for a 3-year run of great pop singles. Elton also adds to his massive haul of Top 10 hits with another record I’m largely over these days, more annoying than fun.
Highest new entry at 19 is Depeche Mode getting well into bondage, presumably of the industrial-sounding type, and sneaking up on a high-flying Spandau track. The Smiths climb 28 places to 22, Morrissey claiming it was really nothing, but it actually was something – it stays ahead of Agadoo! Morrissey’s announcement he has been having cancer treatment explains a lot, such as the cancelled show I had tickets for, and I wish him well as soon as possible.
At 24, Heaven 17 are all about Sunset Now, one that sounded good enough for a high new entry, and then got promptly forgotten. The Jacksons join Michael, and mate Rockwell, inside the Top 40, and it really looks like Torture. Depeche I’m sure would approve. At 53, The Specials deliciously sly What I Like Most About You, so sweet-sounding, so back-stabbing! Lyndsey Buckingham has a solo break again, after his 1982 Number 1 with the gorgeous Trouble, and much like Jameela feels a bit insane. Junior’s back with somebody at 59 – no not Kim Wilde, that’s in the future. OMD keep up the run of great singles at 67 with T T T Tesla Girls, and The Bluebells get a good follow-up with Cath, and Sade’s Smooth Operator slides smoothly in at 74. oooerrr missus!
On TV, Star Trek delight, and a new TV series called The Black Adder, with Rowan Atkinson, Tony Robinson and Brian Blessed, and which I really liked! Oldies? Laurel & Hardy. If you’re under 35 you may not be familiar with them as they were from the 1930’s, slapstick galore, and loveable. Once upon a time they were all over TV, but they were filmed in black and white and as such have now been banished all television stations along with all other black and white product. Youngsters whinge about it not being coloured, I say they are just racist!
In the miserable real world, hypochondria continued as part of my depression symptoms. I started writing up my 1979 American holiday diaries which I’d never got round to finishing – some of it was still fairly clear in my memory, some of it not so. Considered doing a one-year teaching course, made investigations, though not really suited to be a teacher I was well out of options. On Pop Quiz, old clips from 1974 led me to the conclusion that “my” era was 1971 to 1974, age 13 through 16 – I think that’s everybody’s era age-wise. That’s my theory, what is mine, that is the theory that, cough, is mine, and which is my theory, cough. cough. Sorry, Python movie this week on TV.
1 ( 2 ) I JUST CALLED TO SAY I LOVE YOU Stevie Wonder
2 ( 1 ) CARELESS WHISPER George Michael
3 ( 35 ) MADAME BUTTERFLY Malcolm McLaren
4 ( 6 ) BIG IN JAPAN Alphaville
5 ( 4 ) TWO TRIBES Frankie Goes To Hollywood
6 ( 27 ) TALKING IN YOUR SLEEP Bucks Fizz
7 ( 8 ) SOME GUYS HAVE ALL THE LUCK Rod Stewart
8 ( 3 ) WHATEVER I DO (WHEREVER I GO) Hazell Dean
9 ( 5 ) SELF CONTROL Laura Branigan
10 ( 17 ) PASSENGERS Elton John
11 ( 13 ) DR. BEAT Miami Sound Machine
12 ( 12 ) THE GIRL FROM IPANEMA Astrud Gilberto
13 ( 7 ) LIKE TO GET TO KNOW YOU WELL Howard Jones
14 ( 9 ) THE MORE YOU LIVE THE MORE YOU LOVE A Flock Of Seagulls
15 ( 26 ) GHOSTBUSTERS Ray Parker Junior
16 ( 11 ) EYES WITHOUT A FACE Billy Idol
17 ( 10 ) LOVE SONGS ARE BACK AGAIN Band Of Gold
18 ( 45 ) I’LL FLY FOR YOU Spandau Ballet
19 ( NEW ) MASTER AND SERVANT Depeche Mode
20 ( 21 ) I NEED YOU The Pointer Sisters
21 ( 14 ) WHEN DOVES CRY Prince
22 ( 50 ) WILLIAM IT WAS REALLY NOTHING The Smiths
23 ( 33 ) AGADOO Black Lace
24 ( NEW ) SUNSET NOW Heaven 17
25 ( 16 ) CLOSEST THING TO HEAVEN The Kane Gang
26 ( 19 ) WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT Tina Turner
27 ( 15 ) JUST THE WAY YOU LIKE IT SOS Band
28 ( 46 ) TAXMAN Rockwell
29 ( 47 ) GIRL YOU’RE SO TOGETHER Michael Jackson
30 ( 18 ) SHE’S THE ONE Jamie Rae
31 ( 22 ) DOWN ON THE STREET Shakatak
32 ( 20 ) SUNGLASSES Tracey Ullman
33 ( 30 ) WHITE LINES (DON’T DON’T DO IT) Grandmaster Flash And Melle Mel
34 ( 48 ) ARE YOU READY Break Machine
35 ( NEW ) TORTURE The Jacksons
36 ( 23 ) EVERYBODY’S LAUGHING Phil Fearon and Galaxy
37 ( 24 ) IT’S A HARD LIFE Queen
38 ( 41 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
39 ( 28 ) STUCK ON YOU Trevor Walters
40 ( 34 ) YOUNG AT HEART The Bluebells
41 ( 25 ) HOLE IN MY SHOE neil
42 ( 36 ) BREAKIN’…THERE’S NO STOPPIN’ US Ollie and Jerry
43 ( 32 ) A HARD DAY’S NIGHT The Beatles
44 ( 37 ) COME BACK The Mighty Wah!
45 ( 40 ) WAITING IN VAIN Bob Marley And The Wailers
46 ( 58 ) MOTHER’S TALK Tears For Fears
47 ( 31 ) TOSSING AND TURNING Windjammer
48 ( 72 ) SHE BOP Cyndi Lauper
49 ( 54 ) DON’T TAKE MY COCONUTS Kid Creole And The Coconuts
50 ( 44 ) LIFE ON YOUR OWN Human League
51 ( 43 ) LOVE RESURRECTION Alison Moyet
52 ( 42 ) JUMP (FOR MY LOVE) The Pointer Sisters
53 ( NEW ) WHAT I LIKE MOST ABOUT YOU (IS YOUR GIRLFRIEND) The Special AKA
54 ( 49 ) I WANNA BE LOVED Elvis Costello
55 ( 29 ) VIDEO Jeff Lynne
56 ( 52 ) THINKING OF YOU Sister Sledge
57 ( 39 ) TOUR DE FRANCE Kraftwerk
58 ( NEW ) I GO INSANE Lyndsey Buckingham
59 ( NEW ) SOMEBODY Junior
60 ( 60 ) BILLIE JEAN Michael Jackson
61 ( 38 ) YOU THINK YOU’RE A MAN Divine
62 ( 57 ) TALKING LOUD AND CLEAR OMD
63 ( 53 ) TIME AFTER TIME Cyndi Lauper
64 ( 56 ) I WON’T LET THE SUN GO DOWN ON ME Nik Kershaw
65 ( 66 ) THE ONLY FLAME IN TOWN Elvis Costello
66 ( 65 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
67 ( NEW ) TESLA GIRLS OMD
68 ( 64 ) THE LEBANON Human League
69 ( NEW ) CATH The Bluebells
70 ( 61 ) SMALLTOWN BOY Bronski Beat
71 ( 71 ) LET’S DANCE David Bowie
72 ( 62 ) INFATUATION Rod Stewart
73 ( 63 ) DANCE ME UP Gary Glitter
74 ( NEW ) SMOOTH OPERATOR Sade
75 ( 70 ) WHEN AM I GOING TO MAKE A LIVING Sade
TV
1 Star Trek: Menagerie Part 1
1 Star Trek: The Motion Picture
3 And Now For Something Completely Different.. : film
4 The Black Adder
5 Rhoda
6 The Mary Tyler Moore Show
7 Laurel & Hardy
8 Soap
9 Pop Quiz
10 Taxi
11 Top Of The Pops
12 The Invaders
13 WKRP In Cincinatti
14 The Rockford Files
15 Upstairs Downstairs
11th September 1984
A new number one and it’s Malcolm McLaren doing what the Sex Pistols never managed – and with rap opera, sort-of. I’ve sat through Madame Butterfly, performed by a Russian opera group, and was bored witless at the inanity of the lyrics, the plot and the lack of tunes. This record is all you need, trust me. Highest new entry, exactly 5 years after peaking at 5, and it’s back at 5: it’s Sister Sledge following up their own B Side Top 10 with the classic A Side. Lost In Music? Too right!
The Smiths get another Top 10, hooray, and Astrud Gilberto and Miami Sound Machine keep a double-latin presence high joining them in the 10. A big leap for Kraftwerk, a year after charting first, up to 17 – obviously all that cycling gives it stamina. Lyndsey Buckingham gets another solo Top 20, as he goes insane at 19, up 39 places. Pity it wasn’t a hit. Highest new record to enter is The Adventures with their 2nd hit, Another Silent Day – another silent non-hit, sadly. Ditto The Specials at 29, as my chart starts to depart from the hits a little. Robin Gibb had a few big chart hits (for me) so here’s Barry with his own, Shine Shine at 33. Bowie follows up his Chic-tastic dance hat-trick of number ones with the more Bowie-esque Blue Jean at 40, thought to be disappointing at the time, but I liked it!
Level 42 are back at 42, Sade’s up to 43, Diana Ross has another minor hit (15 years into her run), Black Uhuru pose a serious question, to which I reply, don’t ask me! Prince’s signature dirge, I mean, TUNE, follows up the sublime When Doves Cry and plugs his movie nicely. I still don’t get the appeal…! Animal Nightlife were a smooth jazzsoul Brit band who had posters for the single splashed everywhere. Or rather posters of the fetching lead singer showing his asset off. A good record regardless, if largely forgotten these days. The Associates keep up the chart entries, Tom Robinson covers Steely Dan, and U2 enter with a top-notch passionate epic, the one that catapulted them from indie rock to stadium rock: Pride (In The Name Of Love) is classic. No less.
In my life: baby Vicki keeping me awake in the middle of the night (poorly), striking miner brother working where he could, dentist (a nightmare! Total dentist coward, that’s me, childhood traumas), friends Paul & Sheila invited me to Rotherham for their engagement do. NAAFI interview at Amesbury, popped into Stonehenge on the way. As you do. They wanted me to move to Amesbury (said I would, my body language prob said I wouldn’t). Family argument, drinking in the pub and lack of money the root cause, everyone upset. Not happy times at all…..
1 ( 3 ) MADAME BUTTERFLY Malcolm McLaren
2 ( 1 ) I JUST CALLED TO SAY I LOVE YOU Stevie Wonder
3 ( 2 ) CARELESS WHISPER George Michael
4 ( 4 ) BIG IN JAPAN Alphaville
5 ( NEW ) LOST IN MUSIC Sister Sledge
6 ( 6 ) TALKING IN YOUR SLEEP Bucks Fizz
7 ( 5 ) TWO TRIBES Frankie Goes To Hollywood
8 ( 11 ) DR. BEAT Miami Sound Machine
9 ( 12 ) THE GIRL FROM IPANEMA Astrud Gilberto
10 ( 22 ) WILLIAM IT WAS REALLY NOTHING The Smiths
11 ( 9 ) SELF CONTROL Laura Branigan
12 ( 15 ) GHOSTBUSTERS Ray Parker Junior
13 ( 7 ) SOME GUYS HAVE ALL THE LUCK Rod Stewart
14 ( 10 ) PASSENGERS Elton John
15 ( 8 ) WHATEVER I DO (WHEREVER I GO) Hazell Dean
16 ( 13 ) LIKE TO GET TO KNOW YOU WELL Howard Jones
17 ( 57 ) TOUR DE FRANCE (REMIX) Kraftwerk
18 ( 19 ) MASTER AND SERVANT Depeche Mode
19 ( 58 ) I GO INSANE Lyndsey Buckingham
20 ( 35 ) TORTURE The Jacksons
21 ( 24 ) SUNSET NOW Heaven 17
22 ( 16 ) EYES WITHOUT A FACE Billy Idol
23 ( NEW ) ANOTHER SILENT DAY The Adventures
24 ( 14 ) THE MORE YOU LIVE THE MORE YOU LOVE A Flock Of Seagulls
25 ( 29 ) GIRL YOU’RE SO TOGETHER Michael Jackson
26 ( 18 ) I’LL FLY FOR YOU Spandau Ballet
27 ( 26 ) WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT Tina Turner
28 ( 21 ) WHEN DOVES CRY Prince
29 ( 53 ) WHAT I LIKE MOST ABOUT YOU (IS YOUR GIRLFRIEND) The Special AKA
30 ( 17 ) LOVE SONGS ARE BACK AGAIN Band Of Gold
31 ( 23 ) AGADOO Black Lace
32 ( 20 ) I NEED YOU The Pointer Sisters
33 ( NEW ) SHINE SHINE Barry Gibb
34 ( 34 ) ARE YOU READY Break Machine
35 ( 28 ) TAXMAN Rockwell
36 ( 67 ) TESLA GIRLS OMD
37 ( 69 ) CATH The Bluebells
38 ( 38 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
39 ( 33 ) WHITE LINES (DON’T DON’T DO IT) Grandmaster Flash And Melle Mel
40 ( NEW ) BLUE JEAN David Bowie
41 ( 25 ) CLOSEST THING TO HEAVEN The Kane Gang
42 ( NEW ) HOT WATER Level 42
43 ( 74 ) SMOOTH OPERATOR Sade
44 ( 27 ) JUST THE WAY YOU LIKE IT SOS Band
45 ( 31 ) DOWN ON THE STREET Shakatak
46 ( 46 ) MOTHER’S TALK Tears For Fears
47 ( 65 ) THE ONLY FLAME IN TOWN Elvis Costello
48 ( 48 ) SHE BOP Cyndi Lauper
49 ( 36 ) EVERYBODY’S LAUGHING Phil Fearon and Galaxy
50 ( 39 ) STUCK ON YOU Trevor Walters
51 ( 30 ) SHE’S THE ONE Jamie Rae
52 ( 42 ) BREAKIN’…THERE’S NO STOPPIN’ US Ollie and Jerry
53 ( 40 ) YOUNG AT HEART The Bluebells
54 ( 44 ) COME BACK The Mighty Wah!
55 ( 45 ) WAITING IN VAIN Bob Marley And The Wailers
56 ( 32 ) SUNGLASSES Tracey Ullman
57 ( NEW ) TOUCH BY TOUCH Diana Ross
58 ( 54 ) I WANNA BE LOVED Elvis Costello
59 ( 43 ) A HARD DAY’S NIGHT The Beatles
60 ( NEW ) WHAT IS LIFE Black Uhuru
61 ( 60 ) BILLIE JEAN Michael Jackson
62 ( 50 ) LIFE ON YOUR OWN Human League
63 ( NEW ) PURPLE RAIN Prince And The Revolution
64 ( 37 ) IT’S A HARD LIFE Queen
65 ( NEW ) MR. SOLITAIRE Animal Nightlife
66 ( 56 ) THINKING OF YOU Sister Sledge
67 ( 66 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
68 ( NEW ) WAITING FOR THE LOVE BOAT The Associates
69 ( 51 ) LOVE RESURRECTION Alison Moyet
70 ( 52 ) JUMP (FOR MY LOVE) The Pointer Sisters
71 ( 59 ) SOMEBODY Junior
72 ( 41 ) HOLE IN MY SHOE neil
73 ( NEW ) PRIDE (IN THE NAME OF LOVE) U2
74 ( 71 ) LET’S DANCE David Bowie
75 ( NEW ) RIKKI DON’T LOSE THAT NUMBER Tom Robinson
TV
1 Star Trek: Menagerie Part 2
1 Blackadder
3 The Mary Tyler Moore Show
4 The Addams Family
5 Rhoda
6 Top Of The Pops
7 Taxi
8 The Rockford Files
9 High Anxiety: film
10 The Invaders
18th September 1984
Another week another new number one, this time the 5-year-old Lost In Music, giving Sister Sledge their only number one, and Nile Rodgers first and last chart-topping song for 29 years. No rush then! Ghostbusters goes up to 6 in the first of several chart runs, and Ray Parker Junior’s biggest hit 6 years into his hit-career. Kraftwerk get their 3rd Top 10 9 years after their first (Autobahn), and OMD go up 26 places TTTT Tesla Girls-in with another Top 10 – it’s unusual for them NOT to make my top 10, to be honest, in the 80’s.
Highest new entry is a major classic, Drive, in at 14 for The Cars 6 years on from debut hit My Best Friend’s Girl, and very different: this one is hauntingly gorgeous, with a disturbing video about mental illness which sent shivers up my spine, and still does. Brilliant record. The Bluebells meanwhile take Cath into the 20 for 3 in a row, The Specials make it 5 years of Top 20 hits, and U2 rocket to 24 from 73 with the awesome Pride.
Sade and Animal Nightlife break into the 40, along with Prince and Level 42, and new tracks include Aztec Camera, Shakatak, Nik Kershaw following-up hits, while Shaky gets an occasional chart-entry they tend to be minor ones: A Letter To You is 73. Jethro Tull is 74 in the lap of luxury, but that makes it a nice round 15 years since Living In The Past first hit my charts. Queen keep up the run of hits (never failed to chart in the 10 years since 7 Seas Of Rhye topped my chart in 1974) as Hammer To Fall slams in at 55. Which leaves the 2nd-best new entry: Together In Electric Dreams, Giorgio Moroders hit with Human Leaguer Phil Oakey. I’ve seen Human League do it live 6 or 7 times (always brilliant), and 3 weeks back I was dancing and singing along madly to it in a Spanish Opera House, for Duckies In Sitges. Fab!
TV? Mike Read’s Pop Quiz, two of my all-time classic fave comedies, Mel Brooks Young Frankenstein and James Garner in Support Your Local Sherrif, Star Trek doing a Shakespeare-themed episode (and rather fine too), and brand new sitcom Blackadder continues to delight me. A US mini-series repeat The Martian Chronicles is a poetic and evocatively nostalgic brilliant science fiction Ray Bradbury novel (or rather collection of short stories), the TV series much less-so but it has loads of big stars in it. When I first bought and read the book age 13 in Singapore it was called The Silver Locusts – which I still think suits it more, even though they are stories based on Mars.
Life? Saw Romancing The Stone at the cinema (a good adventure movie). Signed on at the DHSS, as always I was stupidly honest (I’m such a dick) and told the guestapo woman interrogating me about working a few hours at NAAFI. She got snotty, and stopped benefits to the tune of £4.50 when I’d earned a grand total of £4. So, the moral and message given out? Don’t bother trying to get work experience for pay as you’ll be financially worse-off. Still trying to work out the logic of that one…..Lesson learned, there were, I later found, ways around the system. Babysat tantrumming Vicki while Mark & Sue had a pub break, told ‘em to go anyway and she was fine with me till she went to sleep, kids are almost always mellow with me. I must remind of her that later this week Helped at youth club again, after a break away (more adults than kids though, which was more like a social club for grown-ups!) and fumed over a massive gas bill I was having to pay (£172!!) That was an effing fortune in those days and I was unemployed. I turned the heating and hot water off when I was in the house alone.
1 ( 5 ) LOST IN MUSIC Sister Sledge
2 ( 2 ) I JUST CALLED TO SAY I LOVE YOU Stevie Wonder
3 ( 1 ) MADAME BUTTERFLY Malcolm McLaren
4 ( 4 ) BIG IN JAPAN Alphaville
5 ( 3 ) CARELESS WHISPER George Michael
6 ( 12 ) GHOSTBUSTERS Ray Parker Junior
7 ( 8 ) DR. BEAT Miami Sound Machine
8 ( 6 ) TALKING IN YOUR SLEEP Bucks Fizz
9 ( 17 ) TOUR DE FRANCE (REMIX) Kraftwerk
10 ( 36 ) TESLA GIRLS OMD
11 ( 7 ) TWO TRIBES Frankie Goes To Hollywood
12 ( 9 ) THE GIRL FROM IPANEMA Astrud Gilberto
13 ( 11 ) SELF CONTROL Laura Branigan
14 ( NEW ) DRIVE The Cars
15 ( 19 ) I GO INSANE Lindsey Buckingham
16 ( 10 ) WILLIAM IT WAS REALLY NOTHING The Smiths
17 ( 37 ) CATH The Bluebells
18 ( 29 ) WHAT I LIKE MOST ABOUT YOU (IS YOUR GIRLFRIEND) The Special AKA
19 ( 14 ) PASSENGERS Elton John
20 ( 20 ) TORTURE The Jacksons
21 ( 18 ) MASTER AND SERVANT Depeche Mode
22 ( 15 ) WHATEVER I DO (WHEREVER I GO) Hazell Dean
23 ( 16 ) LIKE TO GET TO KNOW YOU WELL Howard Jones
24 ( 73 ) PRIDE (IN THE NAME OF LOVE) U2
25 ( 13 ) SOME GUYS HAVE ALL THE LUCK Rod Stewart
26 ( 25 ) GIRL YOU’RE SO TOGETHER Michael Jackson
27 ( 23 ) ANOTHER SILENT DAY The Adventures
28 ( 43 ) SMOOTH OPERATOR Sade
29 ( 26 ) I’LL FLY FOR YOU Spandau Ballet
30 ( 22 ) EYES WITHOUT A FACE Billy Idol
31 ( 27 ) WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT Tina Turner
32 ( 65 ) MR. SOLITAIRE Animal Nightlife
33 ( 33 ) SHINE SHINE Barry Gibb
34 ( 40 ) BLUE JEAN David Bowie
35 ( 21 ) SUNSET NOW Heaven 17
36 ( 28 ) WHEN DOVES CRY Prince
37 ( 63 ) PURPLE RAIN Prince And The Revolution
38 ( 38 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
39 ( 39 ) WHITE LINES (DON’T DON’T DO IT) Grandmaster Flash And Melle Mel
40 ( 42 ) HOT WATER Level 42
41 ( 60 ) WHAT IS LIFE Black Uhuru
42 ( NEW ) ALL I NEED IS EVERYTHING Aztec Camera
43 ( NEW ) DON’T BLAME IT ON LOVE Shakatak
44 ( 34 ) ARE YOU READY Break Machine
45 ( 57 ) TOUCH BY TOUCH Diana Ross
46 ( 24 ) THE MORE YOU LIVE THE MORE YOU LOVE A Flock Of Seagulls
47 ( 31 ) AGADOO Black Lace
48 ( NEW ) HUMAN RACING Nik Kershaw
49 ( 32 ) I NEED YOU The Pointer Sisters
50 ( NEW ) TOGETHER IN ELECTRIC DREAMS Giorgio Moroder and Philip Oakey
51 ( 30 ) LOVE SONGS ARE BACK AGAIN Band Of Gold
52 ( 41 ) CLOSEST THING TO HEAVEN The Kane Gang
53 ( 48 ) SHE BOP Cyndi Lauper
54 ( 35 ) TAXMAN Rockwell
55 ( NEW ) HAMMER TO FALL Queen
56 ( 45 ) DOWN ON THE STREET Shakatak
57 ( 68 ) WAITING FOR THE LOVE BOAT The Associates
58 ( 52 ) BREAKIN’…THERE’S NO STOPPIN’ US Ollie and Jerry
59 ( 58 ) I WANNA BE LOVED Elvis Costello
60 ( 54 ) COME BACK The Mighty Wah!
61 ( 55 ) WAITING IN VAIN Bob Marley And The Wailers
62 ( 53 ) YOUNG AT HEART The Bluebells
63 ( 61 ) BILLIE JEAN Michael Jackson
64 ( NEW ) BURNING BUSH Savage Progress
65 ( 59 ) A HARD DAY’S NIGHT The Beatles
66 ( 62 ) LIFE ON YOUR OWN Human League
67 ( 67 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
68 ( 46 ) MOTHER’S TALK Tears For Fears
69 ( 49 ) EVERYBODY’S LAUGHING Phil Fearon and Galaxy
70 ( 75 ) RIKKI DON’T LOSE THAT NUMBER Tom Robinson
71 ( NEW ) YOU CAN’T GET WHAT YOU WANT Joe Jackson
72 ( 44 ) JUST THE WAY YOU LIKE IT SOS Band
73 ( NEW ) A LETTER TO YOU Shakin’ Stevens
74 ( NEW ) LAP OF LUXURY Jethro Tull
75 ( 74 ) LET’S DANCE David Bowie
TV
1 Star Trek: The Conscience Of The King
1 Young Frankenstein: film
3 Blackadder
4 Support Your Local Sherrif: film
5 The Mary Tyler Moore Show
6 Top Of The Pops
7 The Addams Family
8 The Martian Chronicles
9 The Rockford Files
10 Pop Quiz
25th September 1984
2 weeks for Sister Sledge at 1, and Alphaville finally go top 3 after weeks at 4, but the big news is new at 4 – War War is stupid, and people are stupid: yes Boy George got a lot of stick for those simplistic lyrics, but I loved the sentiment (still do) and the record is sort-of oddly joyous, one of Culture Club’s final goodies as they unexpectedly hit a drug-influenced career-stopping brick wall. Sad!
OMD go top 5, The Cars get a 3rd top 10, and Adam Ant is back with a jolly spaceman tune – how could I not like it?! In at 20 for Apollo 9, the one he did at Live Aid to everyone’s disgust. Freddie Mercury gets his first solo hit with Love Kills at 27, and leapfrogs Queen’s latest rocker with a bit of camp disco. Also grim, politically, UB40 threaten to leave the country if Maggie gets in again: oh yeah? Great record though, and I agreed with every word in at 28, and a 4 years non-stop run of singles.
John Waite’s back at 34 with a well-known MOR rock ballad, Missing You, 6 years after hitting my number one in The Baby’s with Isn’t It Time: that’s a classic record, albeit obscure these days, and Missing You is merely quite good. Glen Frey joins in the solo fray, Sexy Girl at 50 and looking like The Eagles will get back together only when hell freezes over. Hey, it did….! Bronski have a shrill follow-up, can you tell me why? Marc Almond is yet another solo hitster with You Have at 55, Soft Cell sadly no more, Tina Turner’s back at 57 so you better be good to her, or else! One-time Be Bop Deluxe man Bill Nelson accelerates to 58, 8 years since Ships In The Night lit up my charts. The Mighty Wah! keep the hits coming, Frida has another shining solo hit at 71, Abba tragically no-more, though we didn’t know it then. Stephanie Mills get a follow-up hit 4 years late, and finally The Everley Brothers get their first chart hit with new material (being as they pre-dated my charts) thanks to Paul McCartney who donated a song. Thumbs-up Macca!
TV: Must mention Terrahawks again, loved Zelda and her Tina Turner fright-wig, and her idiot son. Loved the great little plot parodies of shakespeare (“a zeaf? a zeaf? My kingdom for a zeaf!”) and The Beatles (the cavern puts in an appearance). Under-rated, and frankly, over the heads of kids, most of the scripts! This was also Tony Blackburn’s last radio 1 show this week, Flowers In The Rain his first and last track – of course he’s still on radio 2 these days.
Life? Well, a big moment turned up in a letter from Dorset County Council: the job I didn’t get surveying highways, turns out someone dropped out before starting and they wanted me to start next week. This was a letter that did actually change my life, actually. It led to me being where I am now, and the start of the end of the depression, but of course it sent me into instant panic. As if that wasn’t enough drove to Winchester, Nottingham, Hucknell to friends Dave & Jane’s to stay, which was great and enjoyed Jane’s new paintings. Saturday was fun, then in the evening with mutual friend Julie off to Paul & Sheila’s in Rotherham for a gathering of fun games with their friends and relations – charades, pass the parcel, a great party and I didn’t want to go back to my life down south. Had to though, first day at work Monday…
1 ( 1 ) LOST IN MUSIC Sister Sledge
2 ( 3 ) MADAME BUTTERFLY Malcolm McLaren
3 ( 4 ) BIG IN JAPAN Alphaville
4 ( NEW ) THE WAR SONG Culture Club
5 ( 10 ) TESLA GIRLS OMD
6 ( 6 ) GHOSTBUSTERS Ray Parker Junior
7 ( 14 ) DRIVE The Cars
8 ( 2 ) I JUST CALLED TO SAY I LOVE YOU Stevie Wonder
9 ( 9 ) TOUR DE FRANCE (REMIX) Kraftwerk
10 ( 24 ) PRIDE (IN THE NAME OF LOVE) U2
11 ( 5 ) CARELESS WHISPER George Michael
12 ( 7 ) DR. BEAT Miami Sound Machine
13 ( 8 ) TALKING IN YOUR SLEEP Bucks Fizz
14 ( 17 ) CATH The Bluebells
15 ( 12 ) THE GIRL FROM IPANEMA Astrud Gilberto
16 ( 28 ) SMOOTH OPERATOR Sade
17 ( 20 ) TORTURE The Jacksons
18 ( 11 ) TWO TRIBES Frankie Goes To Hollywood
19 ( 13 ) SELF CONTROL Laura Branigan
20 ( NEW ) APOLLO 9 Adam Ant
21 ( 18 ) WHAT I LIKE MOST ABOUT YOU (IS YOUR GIRLFRIEND) The Special AKA
22 ( 34 ) BLUE JEAN David Bowie
23 ( 32 ) MR. SOLITAIRE Animal Nightlife
24 ( 15 ) I GO INSANE Lindsey Buckingham
25 ( 19 ) PASSENGERS Elton John
26 ( 23 ) LIKE TO GET TO KNOW YOU WELL Howard Jones
27 ( NEW ) LOVE KILLS Freddie Mercury
28 ( NEW ) IF IT HAPPENS AGAIN UB40
29 ( 16 ) WILLIAM IT WAS REALLY NOTHING The Smiths
30 ( 40 ) HOT WATER Level 42
31 ( 21 ) MASTER AND SERVANT Depeche Mode
32 ( 22 ) WHATEVER I DO (WHEREVER I GO) Hazell Dean
33 ( 33 ) SHINE SHINE Barry Gibb
34 ( NEW ) MISSING YOU John Waite
35 ( 43 ) DON’T BLAME IT ON LOVE Shakatak
36 ( 29 ) I’LL FLY FOR YOU Spandau Ballet
37 ( 37 ) PURPLE RAIN Prince And The Revolution
38 ( 25 ) SOME GUYS HAVE ALL THE LUCK Rod Stewart
39 ( 41 ) WHAT IS LIFE Black Uhuru
40 ( 50 ) TOGETHER IN ELECTRIC DREAMS Giorgio Moroder and Philip Oakey
41 ( 30 ) EYES WITHOUT A FACE Billy Idol
42 ( 31 ) WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT Tina Turner
43 ( 55 ) HAMMER TO FALL Queen
44 ( 38 ) RELAX Frankie Goes To Hollywood
45 ( 45 ) TOUCH BY TOUCH Diana Ross
46 ( 36 ) WHEN DOVES CRY Prince
47 ( 27 ) ANOTHER SILENT DAY The Adventures
48 ( 48 ) HUMAN RACING Nik Kershaw
49 ( 39 ) WHITE LINES (DON’T DON’T DO IT) Grandmaster Flash And Melle Mel
50 ( NEW ) SEXY GIRL Glen Frey
51 ( 42 ) ALL I NEED IS EVERYTHING Aztec Camera
52 ( 35 ) SUNSET NOW Heaven 17
53 ( NEW ) WHY Bronski Beat
54 ( 26 ) GIRL YOU’RE SO TOGETHER Michael Jackson
55 ( NEW ) YOU HAVE Marc Almond
56 ( 47 ) AGADOO Black Lace
57 ( NEW ) BETTER BE GOOD TO ME Tina Turner
58 ( NEW ) ACCELERATION Bill Nelson
59 ( 59 ) I WANNA BE LOVED Elvis Costello
60 ( NEW ) WEEKENDS The Mighty Wah!
61 ( 46 ) THE MORE YOU LIVE THE MORE YOU LOVE A Flock Of Seagulls
62 ( 58 ) BREAKIN’…THERE’S NO STOPPIN’ US Ollie and Jerry
63 ( 52 ) CLOSEST THING TO HEAVEN The Kane Gang
64 ( 60 ) COME BACK The Mighty Wah!
65 ( 70 ) RIKKI DON’T LOSE THAT NUMBER Tom Robinson
66 ( 63 ) BILLIE JEAN Michael Jackson
67 ( 67 ) THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME Abba
68 ( 74 ) LAP OF LUXURY Jethro Tull
69 ( 73 ) A LETTER TO YOU Shakin’ Stevens
70 ( 56 ) DOWN ON THE STREET Shakatak
71 ( NEW ) SHINE Frida
72 ( 61 ) WAITING IN VAIN Bob Marley And The Wailers
73 ( 65 ) A HARD DAY’S NIGHT The Beatles
74 ( NEW ) ON THE WINGS OF A NIGHTINGALE The Everley Brothers
75 ( NEW ) THE MEDICINE SONG Stephanie Mills
TV
1 Star Trek: Balance Of Terror
2 Black Adder
3 Rhoda
4 The Mary Tyler Moore Show
5 The Addams Family
6 Terrahawks
7 Taxi
8 The Martian Chronicles
9 Top Of The Pops
10 The Rockford Files
This post has been edited by popchartfreak: 1 minute ago
——————–
popchartfreak 