The UK Top 40 w/e 25th October 1980

[Nigel Jones]

1980
Week 43
WEEK ENDING 25th OCTOBER 1980

TOP 40 SINGLES

No. LW
1 9 Barbra Streisand Woman In Love
2 2 Ottawan D.I.S.C.O.
3 1 Police Don't Stand So Close To Me
4 5 Status Quo What You're Proposing
5 3 Madness Baggy Trousers
6 10 Matchbox Whan You Ask About Love
7 7 Odyssey If You're Lookin' For A Way Out
8 4 Sweet People Et Les Oiseaux Chantaient (And The Birds Were Singing)
9 14 Nolans Gotta Pull Myself Together
10 21 George Benson Love X Love
11 8 Diana Ross My Old Piano
12 18 O.M.D. Enola Gay
13 13 Coffee Casanova
14 6 Stevie Wonder Masterblaster (Jammin')
15 25 Bad Manners Special Brew
16 11 Black Slate Amigo
17 15 Linx You're Lyin'
18 12 Thin Lizzy KIller On THe Loose
19 37 Adam And The Ants Dog Eat Dog
20 24 Air Supply All Out Of Love
21 16 Change Searching
22 17 Bob Marley And The Wailers Three Little Birds
23 22 Specials Stereotype / International Jet Set
24 36 Showaddywaddy Why Do Lovers Break Each Others Hearts
25 20 Gillan Trouble
26 26 Kate Bush Army Dreamers
27 29 Gilbert O'Sullivan What's In A Kiss
28 34 Teena Marie I Need Your Lovin'
29 35 Earth Wind And Fire Let Me Talk
30 19 Randy Crawford One Day I'll Fly Away
31 NEW XTC Towers Of London
32 32 Gap Band Party Lights
33 NEW Stephanie Mills Never Knew Love Like This Before
34 27 Kelly Marie Feels Like I'm In Love
35 33 Rolling Stones She's So Cold
36 23 Queen Another One Bites The Dust
37 NEW Kelly Marie Loving Just For Fun
38 NEW Sheena Easton One Man Woman
39 30 Shalamar I Owe You One
40 NEW Tourists Don't Say I Told You So

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).

More next week including these new entries,
Something from the man of many fashions
A 'nice single' from some Triumphant brothers
A social security card with a vision of the future

Nige

Nigel's Golden Days
http://www.yearsofgold.org.uk