GATW: UKT40 February 19, 1983

The business end.

20 - "The Story of the Blues," Wah!

Wah! was essentially Liverpudlian Pete Wylie, a New Wave scene fixture whose biggest hit was this bit o' synthpop about feeling bad.  Not nearly as interesting as the credited name.

19 - "Twisting by the Pool," Dire Straits 

Mark Knopfler's crew had their fifth home Top 40 with this aytipically exuberant rock song about getting away from it all at some warm holiday destination.  Just happiness and fun from an unlikely source.

18 - "The Cutter," Echo and the Bunnymen 

Their first of three Top Tens was this gothy number about...um, not wanting to be cut, I think.  Doesn't matter, it's these guys doing what they do best.

17 - "You Can't Hurry Love," Phil Collins 

His first of three Number Ones here was this Supremes cover.  Again, it's surprisingly good.

16 - "Never Gonna Give You Up," Musical Youth 

This Birmingham reggae boy band is known only for first hit "Pass the Dutchie," in the U.S., but back home they had five more Top 40s, including this loping pledge of teenage romantic devotion.  Definitely better than that Rick Astley song.  It rolls right over it.

15 - "Love on Your Side,"  Thompson Twins 

The second Top Ten for the unrelated trio was this burbly popper about trying to start a relationship with someone who isn't cooperating.  Or something like that.  My lyric interpretation software may need an upgrade.  Good song, regardless.

14 - "The Tunnel of Love," Fun Boy Three 

The first of two Bananarama-free Top Tens for these ex-Specials was this cool slice of tango-pop about how young romance is doomed to end in heartbreak and divorce.  Bleak worldview aside, this is fantastic stuff.

13 - "Last Night a DJ Saved My Life," Indeep

The only hit for this New York funk outfit was this dance classic about how a woman was spared from dwelling on her cheating man by a disc jockey playing just the right song.  I wish there wasn't a problem I couldn't fix because of my ability to do so in the mix.  Life would be so much easier.

12 - "Christian," China Crisis 

From the Liverpool suburb of Kirkby, this band scored their first of five Too 40s with this enigmatic synth ballad about losing oneself in honesty.  At least that's what the  most repeated lyric says.  Don't know what it has to do with Christians, or China for that matter.

11 - "Gloria," Laura Branigan

The late New York belter only charted twice in Britain, but she went Top Ten both times.  The first was this dance-rock soap opera masterpiece.  Just perfect.

When I hear that Top Ten bling, it can only mean one thing.

10 - "Electric Avenue," Eddy Grant

I would have thought his homeland would have let him "take it higher" than he did in America, but no, it stopped at #2 here too.  Oh well, Canada did right by Eddy.  You're welcome.

9 - "Oh Diane," Fleetwood Mac

Surprisingly, the slick later version of this band that conquered America wasn't that much more successful in Britain than the original, more blues-oriented version.  This was only the second U.K. Top Ten of the Buckingham/Nicks eradicated, and it didn't even chart in America.  Which is a shame, because it's a nice little Buckingham-sung love song that's a throwback to late-50s/early-60s sock hop slowdanceballads.  A forgotten gem.

8 - " Wham Rap (Enjoy What You Do)," Wham!

Before the London heartthrob duo broke through in the U.S. in '84, they scored five Brit hits, the second being this hip-hop homage about the fun and splendor of unemployment.   Surprisingly, George Michael does a more than adequate job of aping the early rap style of artists like The Sugarhill Gang and Kurtis Blow, and he one-ups a lot of future rappers by singing the hook as well.  I can honestly say I enjoyed what they did here.  And in a field lacking in real strangeness, this gets an Uneasy Rider.

7 - "Up Where We Belong," Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes

Only got this high here, but the iconic An Officer and a Gentleman ballad was a U.S. #1 and won an Oscar.  Movie producer Don Simpson wanted it cut from the movie, insisting it was awful and would never be a hit, and he remained unmoved by it's success.  I can't say I love it either, but I recognize the commercial sweet spots it hits.

6 - "Africa," Toto 

They blessed a continent's rains.  I don't know if that had any effect, but hey, if a flapping butterfly can...

5 - "Billie Jean," Michael Jackson 

The only better strutting song in the world than "Staying Alive."

4 - "Change," Tears for Fears 

Another duo with hits here at home before breaking America.  The second Top Five for these Bath boys was this smooth new waver about relationship evolution.  It might be my favorite of theirs.

3 - "Sign of the Times," The Belle Stars

The third and biggest of four Top 40s for these eight women from London was this bouncy pop song about a relationship that can't last due to incompatibility.  Head-bobbingly fun.  But their best hit was their first, an amazing cover of the Mardi Gras song "Iko Iko" that would later become their only American hit after its use in the movie Rain Man.

2 - "Down Under," Men at Work 

I don't care how many times I hear this song, I'm still never trying Vegemite.

And your U.K. charttopper of 34 years ago was...

1 - "Too Shy," Kajagoogoo 
The nonsensically-named ones actually had four more hits after this here.  But does the rest of the world care?  Uh...that's a kajanono.  This is quite enough, thanks.

Tune in next time to see what month and year I'll land in next.  

GATW: UKT40 February 19, 1983

February 1983.  This month, a by-election in the London district of Bermondsey marked the first candidacy of a representative of the Official Monster Raving Loony Party.  They didn’t win, of course.  No one would be silly enough to vote a monster raving loony into power.  If they did, that would be Sad!  Anyway, these were the song's of the British moment.

40 - "She Means Nothing to Me," Phil Everly and Cliff Richard 
The younger of the legendary Iowa brother act scored a U.K. Top Ten teaming up with Sir Cliff on this country-rocker about self- defeating romantic denial.   The voices blend well, but it was still for the best that Phil and Don soon reunited.

39 - "He Knows You Know," Marillion 
The first of two dozen Top 40s for this Buckinghamshire prog outfit was this rocker about drug abuse, described using the almost humorously abstract language of Scottish singer/lyricist Derek "Fish" Dick.  I mean, why say "vomiting" when you can call it "Singing psychedelic praises to the depths of a China bowl?"  It's kind of catchy, but maybe too self-indulgent by half.  Although that describes prog rock in general, doesn't it?  And is anyone surprised that the name is  Tolkien reference?

38 - "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)," Eurythmics 
Just the fucking best.  How did it only hit #2 here?  America knew better.

37 - "Genetic Engineering," Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark 
Their sixth hit was this dark new waver about fooling with dna and stuff.  Apparently, they weren't really against it, but more resigned to its inevitability.  A cool little bit of sci-fi po

36 - "Going Underground," The Jam
Three years ago, this became their first Number One, and here it had another chart run in the wake of their breakup.  It's a fantastic rock rejection of societal norms that will have a place on my playlist any time.

35 - "Baby Come to Me," Patti Austin and James Ingram 
Bland U.S. #1 that missed the Top Ten here.  Doesn't make up for the Eurythmics injustice though.

34 - "Hey Little Girl," Icehouse 
The biggest U.K hit by the Australian band originally known as Flowers was this synth rocker about either sympathizing with or stalking a lonely woman.  I'm not sure which.  Good song, but "Crazy" is so much better.

33 - "Communication," Spandau Ballet 
Their eighth hit was this jazzy strut about a breakdown in contact.  These guys are so much more than "True."  And the world should know this much.

32 - "The Harder They Come," Rockers Revenge 
A dance-funk cover of Jimmy Cliff's 1972 reggae classic about street life in Jamaica, produced by emerging American studio whiz Arthur Baker and sung capably by Donnie Calvin.  Won't make you forget the original, but still worth a spin.

31 - "Hold Me Tighter in the Rain," Billy Griffin
Maryland native Griffin replaced Smokey Robinson in The Miracles in 1972, and sang on their smash "Love Machine."  He would find his biggest solo success with this midtempo love song.  Above average soul from the period.

30 - "Steppin' Out," Joe Jackson 
The Staffordshireman's biggest transatlantic hit.  Still slick, cool, and sensational.

29 - "The Chinese Way," Level 42
The second hit for the men from the Isle of Wight was this mild synth tune that fetishists "Oriental" wisdom.  Nothing special.  It does remind me that in my lifetime, Beijing was known in the west as "Peking."

28 - "Cold Sweat," Thin Lizzy 
The first single from the band's final studio album was this hard rock grinder aboutique the thrill of gambling.  Some fine guitar shredding, and a solid 4 out of 5 on the headbangometer.  Another fun discovery.

27 - "Jailhouse Rock," Elvis Presley 
The peak of a brief '83 chart run for the classic tale of a prison party so good that it sparked up a shocking romance between inmates #47 and #3, quashed a jailbreak, and gave us all the immortal advice "If you can't find a partner, use a wooden chair."  Maybe the pinnacle of the man's rock brilliance.

26 - "1999," Prince 
The apocalyptic jam of all apocalyptic jams was Mr. Nelson's first Brit hit.  I wonder if he was actually dreaming when he wrote this.

25 - "Nature Boy," Central Line
The only hit for this London funk band was this covereturn of a 1948 Nat King Cole classic about a "strange, enchanted boy," who wanders the world imparting such pearls of wisdom as "The greatest thing you'll ever learn is to love and be loved in return."  Cole's version is transcendent.  This is just crap disco. Hear Nat, don't cross this Line.

24 - "Tomorrow's (Just Another Day)/Madness (Is All in the Mind)," Madness 
The ska stars' 12th Top Ten was this double-sided, double-bracketed single.  The A is a loping track about trying to remain hopeful.  The B is a bluesy strut about being happy with oneself despite what anyone says,  Flip sides in more ways than one.  I like the B better

23 - "Shiny Shiny," Haysi Fantayzee
The second and last hit for this New Wave trio was this bouncy, nonsensical ode to positivity.  A fun lost gem.  If you want to hear more songs in the vein of "Come on Eileen," look here.

22 - "Get the Balance Right," Depeche Mode 
Their fifth hit was this moody synth number about finding the proper balance in life between living for others and taking care of yourself.  We all have that, don't we?

21 - "New Year's Day," U2
Bono and Co.'s first U.K. Top Ten was this love song-turned-ode to Poland's Solidarity labor movement.  This is as good an encapsulation as any of the sound that made them famous, and it just might be their best song.

In Part Two: dancing near water, amorous rides, and a heroic record spinner.