GATW: UKT40 June 1, 1980

Late spring 1980. Britain enters a recession, but the bands, as always, play on.  And these were the hits.

40 - "Body Language," The Spinners
The Detroit soul luminaries just slipped in to the 40 here with this bit of disco-by-numbers that borrows from the Michael Zager band's "Let’s All Chant."  They'd follow this up by borrowing even more from other songs on their next two, more successful singles. Oh well, they're still great.

39 - "Ne Ne Na Na Na Na Nu Nu," Bad Manners
The ska band's debut single was this perfect-for-skanking number over which Buster Bloodvessel growls out nonsense.  Buster Bloodvessel, still a fantastic name.

38 - "This World of Water," New Musik 
The second of this London synth outfit's three hits was this tune that compares life to swimming in rough waters.  Some interesting electronic voice manipulation, but not much more to recommend it.

37 - "Chinatown," Thin Lizzy 
The Lizz's tenth Top 40 was this grinding rocker about getting lost in a city's grimy underbelly.  That's what a lot of their songs are about, and they cover that ground well.  Jake Gittes would be proud.

36 - "Nobody’s Hero"/"Tin Soldiers," Stiff Little Fingers
This punk band formed in Belfast in 1977, and never shied away from The Troubles in their lyrics.  The A side of their second and last hit is a song about not letting others define you.  The B depicts a young man who joins the army at 17 and finds that he's been molded into something he never want to be.  Both songs are emboldened by the snarling rasp of singer Jake Burns.  This was my introduction to them, and I immediately have them as one of the unsung heroes of the scene.

35 - "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles," Cockney Rejects
The second hit for this East End purveyors of the "Oi!" punk subgenre was this version of a 1919 American song that was adopted by supporters of West Ham United football club in the late 20s.  The Rejects recorded this to mark the Hammers appearance in the FA Cup final, which they would go on to win. An enthusiastic performance, though I'm not sure why they also included bits of the Liverpool theme "You'll Never Walk Alone."  They met Arsenal in the final.

34 - "Silver Dream Machine," David Essex 
Essex's first hit of the 80s was this theme from the movie Silver Dream Racer, in which he played a motorcycle racer whose main rival was an underhanded American played by Beau Bridges.  Haven't seen the film, but the song I would describe as a overly sincere positive rock song.  It's like Neil Diamond singing a number written by Ricky Gervais as David Brent.

33 - "No Self Control," Peter Gabriel 
Petey G's third solo hit was this jagged rock song about compulsive, paranoid, and destructive behavior.  Compellingly dark.

32 - "Teenage," UK Subs
One of the early London punk bands, these guys scored six Top 40s, the fifth being this loud fast tune about being young and rebellious.  It sounds like the typical song that would be featured in an American news report of the day about this dangerous new music, with a deadpan voiceover talking about "the ear-splitting guitars, and the singer snarling about being chased by the police, while the young and impressionable adolescents engage in a violent ritual called 'slam dancing.'"  You can almost hear the monocle dropping in horror.  Fun fact: the band's current drummer is named Jamie Oliver, but it's not the chef.

31 - "Everybody’s Got to Learn Sometime," Korgis 
This was their second of two home hits, but the only one that impacted internationally was this fantastic ballad about the need for compassion and understanding. A certified classic, and also notable for its use of a Chinese string instrument called a guzheng.  If I ran the world, they would be mandatory for all school music programs.  The song, too.

30 - "Breathing," Kate Bush 
The great Kate's fourth hit was this epic ballad sung from the point of view of a fetus in the womb of a survivor of a nuclear apocalypse.  Unusual pop subject matter, to be sure, but she gets the point across while still being musically arresting.  The description of nuclear explosions by a voice so serious it borders on Pythonesque parody was a genius touch.  Another wonderful work by a unique artist, and also this chart's Uneasy Rider.

29 - "Twilight Zone/Twilight Tone," The Manhattan Transfer 
The New York jazz vocal quartet is here with a reworking of the iconic theme to Rod Serling's classic science fiction anthology series, with lyrics that tell appropriately odd tales.  Kinda catchy.  I like it better than "Boy from New York City," for what it's worth.

28 - "Golden Years EP," Motorhead
Lemay and company's first Top Ten was a four-song live EP.  The first track, "Leaving Here," is an energetic cover of a 1963 Eddie Holland song about women departing a town where men don't treat them right.  "Stone Dead Forever" warns those who live evil lives that judgment will be upon them in the end.  "Dead Men Tell No Tales" is about having to give up on someone unwilling to be rescued from heroine addiction.  And "Too Late Too Late" is about seeing through a duplicitous person.  All are performed with passion and urgency, and were certainly great advertisements for the band's concerts.  I'd have been tempted had I heard this at the time.

27 - "Police and Thieves," Junior Murvin 
Jamaican Murvin recorded this reggae protest of abuse of power by law enforcement in 1976, and the next year The Clash covered it for their debut album.  The original finally charted when it appeared on the soundtrack of the movie Rockers.  It's affecting, powered by a falsetto inspired by one of Murvin's major influences, Curtis Mayfield.  Terrific.

26 - "Messages," Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark 
The band's first home hit was this okay synthpop tune about being houneed by an ex.  Good introduction, but they had much better in them.

25 - "I'm Alive," Electric Light Orchestra 
The first of their four Xanadu hits was this song that accompanied Greek muse Olivia Newton-John's emergence from a painting on the side of a building.  Again, I'm amazed that this was greenlit by a major studio and expected to be a big hit.  If they ever have a film festival made up of works clearly powered by cocaine, this will be a centrepiece.

24 - "Coming Up," Paul McCartney 
Paul's first 80s hit was this optimistic new waver that featured sped up vocals and harmony contributions from Linda.  Britain liked the new direction, and made it a #2.  America preferred the live version on the flip side, featuring horns instead of synths and Paul's unaltered voice, and they made that a #1.  I used to prefer the live one, but the original continues to grow on me.

23 - "Just Can't Give You Up," Mystic Merlin 
This New York funk band was known for live performances that actually included magic tricks, but their only major success on record was with this disco tune with very few lyrics.  So lifeless I can barely imagine anyone dancing to it.  On this evidence, they needed the magic gimmick.

22 - "Back Together Again," Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway 
This was one of two songs recorded for what was to be a full collaboration between these two, but sadly, Hathaway committed suicide in January of 1979.  This eventual Top Five is joyous reunion funk that makes you lament for the further music that might have been.

21 - "Let's Get Serious," Jermaine Jackson 
The #2 Jackson brother finally scored a U.K. hit with this strutter about wanting to take a relationship to the next level.  Except for the track he did with Devo, this is probably his best work.  And a cameo from Stevie Wonder doesn't hurt either.

In Part Two: running, hiding, and thinking about ending it all.

GATW: UKT40 May 2, 1987 Part Two

Finishing off our trip to Spring of '87 in the U.K.  A time when Everton won what was then known as the First Division of football, and these songs made up the First Division of pop.

20 - "Wanted Dead or Alive," Bon Jovi
Third hit here for Jon and the boys was the power ballad about how being a touring rock musician is like being a Western outlaw.  I assume there's less gunfire involved, burn you never know.

19 - "April Skies," The Jesus and Mary Chain
Scottish brothers Jim and William Reid formed a band in the early 80s, and by the time they scored their first and biggest Top 40 hit, they had already gained a reputation for their incendiary live performances.  This is a nice little bit of catchy doom-pop.  Gloomy, but you can still sing along.

18 - "With or Without You," U2
Their American #1 only hit #4 here.  Honestly, I have no problem with either position.

17 - "Let it Be," Ferry Aid
This all-star charity version of the Beatles classic was put together by the Sun newspaper in the wake of the capsizing of the Dover-based ferry MS Herald of Free Enterprise in Zeebrugge, Belgium, which killed 193 people.  Paul McCartney participated, along with Boy George, Kate Bush, Mark Knopfler,  and many more.  Like most efforts of this kind, the performance was secondary to he spectacle and the cause.

16 - "(Something Inside) So Strong," Labi Siffre 
Born in London with Barbadian and Nigerian roots, Siffre had a trio of early-70s hits before taking a musical hiatus, the returned with this ballad about overcoming obstacles and oppression.  It was inspired in part by both the growing anti-apartheid movement in South Africa and Siffre's own experiences with homophobia.  The words are strident, and the delivery is soulful lyrics defiant.  Yet another pleasant discovery.

15 - "Let's Wait Awhile," Janet Jackson 
This ballad of carnal forbearance matched "What Have You Done for Me Lately" as her highest-charting U.K. hit to that point.  One of her deeper and more nuanced performances.

14 - "To Be With You Again," Level 42
These guys again with their fifth Top Ten, another but of romantic synthpop.  The more I hear of them, the more homogeneous they sound.

13 - "Ever Fallen in Love," Fine Young Cannibals 
In 1984, former Beat members Andy Cox and David Steele teamed up with singer Roland Gift and took a name from a 1960 Robert Wagner/Natalie Wood movie.  Their third hit (and second that was a cover, following a version of Elvis' "Suspicious Minds,") was a funk-pop take on a 1978 Buzzcocks hit about romantic regret.  The contrast between the urgent speed of the original andidn't the laid-back lamenting of this I find jarring, and therefore I think I like this less than it deserves.

12 - "Diamond Lights," Glenn and Chris 
Similarly-named footballers Glenn Hoddle and Chris Waddle were teammates on both Tottenham Hotspur (COYS!) and the English national team when a producer decided,to take them to a studio to cut this new-wavish pop song about the boys' need for the attention high-level football granted them.  Between the lyrics and music, it's the aural equivalent of Depeche Mode substituting for one of the teams in the FA Cup final.  Thankfully, neither man darkened a recording studio door again.

11 - "Respectable," Mel and Kim 
London sisters Melanie and Kim Appleby hit #1 with their second hit, a decent dance-pop number about living to dance and party.  They would score two more Top Tens within a year, but sadly, Melanie Appleby would be diagnosed with cancer and would succumb in January 1990.  Kim had a couple subsequent solo hits, but one wonders how much more the sisters would have accomplished together.

The Top Ten...why does it always have to be the Top Ten?

10 - "Sheila Take a Bow," The Smiths
Morrissey's gang found the Top Ten for the second and last time during their existence with this song in which Mozart seems to counsel a young lady to go out and find romance.  That seems uncharacteristic.  Maybe I'm missing something.   Honestly, I think it's better if I'm not.

9 - "Another Step (Closer to You)," Kim Wilde and Junior
The second generation pop star teamed with soul man Junior Giscombe on a dance-rocker about treading lightly into love.  Pretty much what you'd imagine a typical mid-80s pop song would sound like.

8 - "If You Let Me Stay," Terence Trent D'Arby 
Born Terence Howard in New York in 1962, this guy was a champion amateur boxer before joining the army and being shipped out to Germany.  He would soon be discharged for going AWOL, then relocated to London, where he got a record deal and immediately went Top Ten with his debut single, a terrific soul reconciliation plea.  Most people remember him for "Wishing Well," but for me, this is the jam.  This is in Marvin/Otis/Levi Stubbs territory.

7 - "A Boy from Nowhere," Tom Jones
The Welshman's biggest 80s hit was this dramatic ballad about a Spanish youth who dreams of being a bullfighter.  Very much a song out of its time that somehow connected, which is why it gets an Uneasy Rider.

6 - "Living in a Box," Living in a Box
The Sheffielders' eponymous hit about isolation.  Still a rung below Go West on the British electro-pop-funk ladder

5 - "Lean on Me," Club Nouveau
#3 here, #1 in the States, still OK but nowhere near Bill Withers.

4 - "The Slightest  Touch," Five Star
Last of six Top Tens for these Essex siblings.  Dance-pop about sexual desire.  Basically, their a slightly better version of The Jets.

3 - "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now," Starship 
I still really, really wish something would have.  Like maybe 1967 Grace Slick finding a time machine and slapping some sense into her future self.

2 - "Can't Be With You Tonight," Judy Boucher 
From the Caribbean island of St. Vincent, Boucher had been singing professionally for over a decade when this song caught the ear of Lizzie Webb, a fitness instructor who led exercise routines on a morning TV show.  Webb began doing her routines to the song, and public interest in the tune made it a hit.  It's a nice little reggae ballad about being torn between two lovers.   And a cool story.  Kind of like a Brit equivalent of what happened with Billy Vera and the Beaters.

And on top over there 30 years ago was...
1 - "La Isla Bonita," Madonna 
Madge's fourth charttopper in her future adopted homeland was this Latin-flavored ode to the town of San Pedro, Belize.  Just her making effortless radio pop at the peak of her powers.

Until the next spin of the time machine, farewell.

GATW: UKT40 May 2, 1987

40 - "Shattered Dreams," Johnny Hates Jazz

Transatlantic Top Five for these Londoners.  Didn't hit #1, unlike singer Clark Datchler's father Fred, who did it twice in the 50s with the group The Stargazers.  Maybe matching his father's achievement is one of the dreams that got shattered.

39 - "Wishing I was Lucky," Wet Wet Wet

The breakthrough hit for these Scots was this bit of slick blue-eyed soul about having dreams but not doinguaranteed anything to realize them.  I actually like this quite a bit.  It's got a nice little groove.

38 - "Let Yourself Go," Sybil

New Jersey singer Sybil Lynch had just one Top 40 at home, a 1989 cover of the Dionne Warwick hit "Don't Make Me Over."  Here, she quintupled that total, beginning with this okay soul/dance come-on.  Of its time, not much now.

37 - "Real Fashion Reggae Style," Carey Johnson

The only major international hit from this Jamaican journeyman.  Not earth-shattering, but a solid, sunny listen.

36 - "Twilight World," Swing Out Sister

Third home hit for the Manchester smoothies.  Corinne Drewery is a voice that should be more well known than she is.  And you really shouldn't be fooled by love songs and lonely hearts.

35 - "Respect Yourself," Bruce Willis 

Ah, the days when this guy was just the star of Moonlighting who somehow thought he was the third Blues Brother.  At least June Pointer did a good enough chunk of the singing to make this Staples Singers cover somewhat listenable.  I wonder how much further he would have tried to carry on with this if Die Hard hadn't happened.

34 - "Still of the Night," Whitesnake

Though they hadn't cracked America yet, David Coverdale and company had their eighth hit here with lusty rocker that is very reminiscent of Led Zeppelin, right down  to a straight rip from "Whole Lotta Love."  There's a reason he acquired the nickname "David Coverversion."

33 - "The Irish Rover," The Pogues and The Dubliners

Formed in London by people of Irish extraction, and named for part of a Gaelic phrase meaning "kiss my ass," The Pogues combined punk attitude with traditional instrumentation to some success.  The first of their two Top Tens was this collaboration with folk veterans The Dubliners on a version of a traditional song about a doomed cargo ship.   Boisterous, rowdy fun that make you feel like you need a pint in your hand even if you don't drink.

32 - "Li'l Devil," The Cult

This Bradford's band evolved from a gothy group called Southern Death Cult, and they had their biggest U.K. hit when they went in a harder rock direction for their Rick Rubin-produced Electric LP.   This beat-heavy grinder on which Ian Astbury howls such Doorsy imagery as "scorpions child" and "lizard in a bottle" showcases arguably their best incarnation.  It warrants a solid 4 on the Headbangometer.

31 - "Let My People Go-Go," The Rainmakers 

This Kansas City band had their biggest success in the English-speaking world with this soul-rocker that entangles the Negro spiritual "Go Down Moses" with classic R&B lyrics.  Catchy fun.  Apparently they're still big in Norway.   Good for them.

30 - "Back and Forth," Cameo

The Atlanta funk stars' second-biggest U.K. hit (behind, of course, "Word Up") was this cool groove about love's unpredictability.  Bonus points for the guitar shredding near the end.

29 - "Boops (Here to Go)," Sly and Robbie 

Drummer Sly Dunbar and bassist Robbie Shakespeare emerged in the 70s as a powerhouse rhythm section and production team, to the point where Tina Weymouth mentioned them in the lyrics of Tom Tom Club's "Genius of Love."  Their biggest success  under their own name came with this slinky dance track that features rapper Shinehead performing, among other things, a Howard Cosell impression and a bit from the Rossinight opera The Barber of Seville.  So good, and so ahead of its time that I bestow an Uneasy Rider upon it.  It will awaken within you he desire to dance until you drop.

28 - "Alone Again Or," The Damned

The band's last Top 40 was this faithful cover of one of the best-known songs from  Love's 1967 album Forever Changes, a gorgeous loneliness lament.  Don't bother, just find the original.

27 - "Carrie," Europe

Big Swedish hair metal power balladry.  Only hit #22 here, where it was Top Five in America.  Also, "The Final Countdown" was #1 here, but only #8 there.  Huuuuuge win for the Brits.

26 - "Why Can't I Be You," The Cure

Their ninth Top 40 with this peppy, horn-drenched tune about being so attracted to someone you actually want to become them.  Fun song, and not surprisingly, their biggest hit in America to that point.

25 - "Keep Your Eye on Me," Herb Alpert 

The trumpeting mogul had his biggest U.K. hit to that point with this all-but-instrumental combination of jazz and the funk-pop style of producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.

24 - "Meet El Presidente," Duran Duran 

Hit number 16 for the boys was this song about a woman who seems to be some combination of con artist, spy, and mercenary.  Okay,  but it's clear why it wasn't one of their bigger hits.

23 - "Never Take Me Alive," Spear of Destiny

The second of two hits for this London band was this acoustic ballad about a murderer on the run.  Pretty good.  I like the singer's voice in particular.

22 - "Ordinary Day," Curiosity Killed the Cat

The sophistipoppers' second hit was this mediocre bit of lite funk.  What the word "meh" was invented for.

21 - "Big Love," Fleetwood Mac 
A big-beated transatlantic Top Ten for the Mac.  Just behind "Tusk" on my list of post-Rumours favorites.

I'm Part Two:  cardboard housing, precious illumination, and a nice little island.