Spring 1984. The big news in Britain was the miners' strike, with workers in Britain's coal mines taking action against the Thatcher government. The strike would last a year, but in the end, it was a victory for the Iron Lady. Meanwhile, on the charts:
40 - "Somebody Else's Guy," Jocelyn Brown
Originally from North Carolina, Brown has been a familiar voice on many disco and dance records (including Musique's "In the Bush" and Snap's "The Power"). Her biggest hit under her own name was this song about pining after someone who belongs to another. It's jazzy funk, and she sings the hell out of it. And a really cool synth solo. Very good.
39 - "S.O.S.," ABC
The sixth Top 40 for the laid-back Sheffield New Wavers was this ballad that seems to suggest a cure for loneliness with what a decade later might have been called an Indecent Proposal ("One cool million for one cool caress"). Maybe not quite as slick as Robert Redford, but not bad.
38 - "Automatic," The Pointer Sisters
The ladies' biggest U.K. hit, the song about lust turning one into malfunctioning machinery, featuring Ruth pointer singing very, very low. Maybe their best non-"Fire" hit.
37 - "When You're Young and in Love," The Flying Pickets
Predating Glee and the Pitch Perfect films, this group of left-wing theatre actors broke big in 1983 when their a capella cover of Yazoo's then recent "Only You," topped the U.K chart. They followed it up with an older cover of a 1964 Ruby and the Romantics R&B hit, which went Top Ten. It's decent, but not special. The group's fortunes declined, coincidentally or not, with their support of the miners' union during the strike, which may have caused mixed feelings for Thatcher, who was apparently a big fan of "Only You."
36 - "To All the Girls I've Loved Before," Julio Iglesias and Willie Nelson
Smooth Spanish lothario and rough-hewn American pothead country star sing about all the ladies they've bedded. I'm betting Julio wins that contest by a landslide. Plus he had bigger hits in Britain without Willie, while the opposite wasn't true.
35 - "One Love/People Get Ready," Bob Marley
This call to "give thanks and praise to the Lord" became a posthumous Top Five for Marley when it was re-released to promote the Legend compilation, which would become one of those records that winds up in almost everyone's collection. And there's no reason why it shouldn't be.
34 - "Street Dance," Break Machine
Following the death of disco, and by extension the relevance of their most famous creation, The Village People, French producers Jacques Morali and Henri Belolo were looking for the next big musical trend, and they found it in hip-hop. So they formed a group around New York disc jockey Keith Rogers, and they scored an international hit with this celebration of what would come to be known as breakdancing. It's sung rather than rapped, but it still captures the spirit of what was happening, if in a calculated commercial way. Better as an artifact of the time than as a song.
33 - "Heartbeat," The Psychedelic Furs
This London postpunk band led by brothers Richard and Tim Butler had more album than singles success on both sides of the Atlantic, but this one managed to get into the Top 40. Atmospheric rock that I think is about feeling connected to someone when you're physically isolated. And unlike in many cases in the 80s, the saxophone sounds like it belongs.
32 - "Silver," Echo and the Bunnymen
The second of three hits from the Ocean Rain album was this string laden alt-rocker about finding truth and love in a chaotic world. Sounds like them, and I mean that in a good way.
31 - "Baby You're Dynamite," Cliff Richard
Sir Cliff is here, as he so often is. Basic synth-rock about an explosive lover who has "the power of thunder and lightning." I don't hear it on this one. But in case I've never said so here, "Devil Woman" has grown on me quite a bit. She did indeed get me.
30 - "Your Love is King," Sade
The first single released in her adopted homeland by the Nigerian-born songstress and her eponymous band. Sultry jazz-soul that all but spells out that it's about really good sex (she even sings "I'm coming" a couple times. For the U.S., her label decided to launch her with "Smooth Operator," which seem to have been the right call, as it went Top Ten there while this missed the Top 40 for reasons I can't begin to fathom.
29 - "Relax," Frankie Goes to Hollywood
Here it is, the then-scandalous ode to delaying orgasm packaged in an S&M-depicting sleeve and accompanied by a video with men in leather, drag queens, and a debauched Roman emperor. It was doing ok, then the BBC banned it and, shockingly, turned it into a massive #1. Still holds up as a song. But I never had any of the T-shirts, or even a button.
28 - "Cherry Oh Baby," UB40
The Brit reggae stars again, this time with a cover of a sunny love song from Jamaican star Eric Donaldson. Happy stuff that makes me smile
27 - "Dr. Mabuse," Propaganda
The first of three U.K. hits by these synthpoppers from Dusseldorf, Germany way this tribute to a fictional hypnotist/criminal made famous in films by director Fritz Lang. The song seems to be in the voice of one of Mabuse's disciples, who tell the listener to "sell him your soul." Hauntingly cool.
26 - "I'm Falling," The Bluebells
These Scottish pop-rockers, led by and named after guitarist Bobby Bluebell, scored the first of three Top 40s with this song that seems to be about a couple that doesn't seem to be able to sufficiently help each other through hard times. Catchy and affecting.
25 - "Dancing Girls," Nik Kershaw
The second Top 40 for the synthpop star from Bristol, a burbly number about living a dull life and hoping for some excitement to come along. This song isn't quite it, though.
24 - "Give Me Tonight," Shannon
Washington, D.C. singer Shannon Greene had burst on the scene on both sides of the pond the previous year with the dance-funk classic "Let the Music Play." This follow-up is musically similar, and features Greene asking a lover for one no-strings-attached evening together. Not as good as "Let the Music Play," but that leaves plenty of room for it to be considered very, very good.
23 - "What Do I Do," Galaxy
This was the pseudonym used by Jamaican-born, London-raised producer and multi-instrumentalist Phil Fearon on his five U.K. Top 20s in the mid-80s. His second-biggest hit was this bit of pop-funk about trying to win over a lover. Pretty okay.
22 - "That's The Way (I Like It)," Dead or Alive
The future creators of "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" picked up their first Top 40 with this cover of the K.C. and the Sunshine Band disco staple. This version has a more aggressive sexuality to it, and I must say, I like it, uh huh uh huh.
21 - "P.Y.T.," Michael Jackson
The forgotten Thriller single. Relatively speaking, at least. Would be much more than an afterthought on anyone else's CV.
In Part Two: dessert, political protest, and some rather unusual precipitation.
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