Spring 1981. The Thatcher government was cutting spending, which wasn't winning them any popularity contests. Meanwhile, these were the leaders in a different sort of popularity contest.
40 - "Fade to Grey," Visage
The first and biggest hit for these London New Romantics was this haunting synth track about loneliness and alienation. The lyrics, sung in English but also spoken in French, add to the atmosphere. New Wave Nirvana (the Buddhist kind).
39 - "Ceremony," New Order
After the suicide of singer Ian Curtis, the remaining members of Joy Division, Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook and Stephen Morris, continued on with a new name and the addition of Morris' girlfriend Gillian Gilbert. Their debut single is a Joy Division leftover, and sounds like it: dark rock with a view of love that doesn't seem quite right. Excellent, but more of a Joy Division epilogue than a preview of what was to come from this band.
38 - "Einstein a-Go-Go," Landscape
The first and biggest hit by these English synth purveyors was this somewhat Teutonic sounding tune about a guy who ominously pledges to right all the wrongs in the world, possibly by using the theory of relativity. Would it have been better if it had been about Albert in a minidress dancing The Swim in a cage? Maybe not. But I'd listen to that version too.
37 - "Can You Handle It," Sharon Redd
After a career that saw her go to Australia to be in that country's first production of Hair, and later do a stint in Better Midler's backing ensemble The Harlettes, New Yorker Redd had a solo career that saw her pick up five British hits, the first being this bit of boastful disco/funk. I could handle it, and she made me want to. A good effort from someone who could have entered a higher rank of diva with the right connections.
36 - "Sgt. Rock (Is Going to Help Me)," XTC
The fourth hit for testing Swindon boys was this rocker about a man requesting military assistance in winning "the battle of the sexes" and invading the foreign and strange territory known as romance. It's not clear if the soldier in the title is the long running DC Comics character or an identically named British one, but regardless, it's more great Andy Partridge wordplay, poppily delivered.
35 - "Walking on Thin Ice," Yoko Ono
Born in Tokyo, Ono had established herself as an up and coming avant-garde artist when she met John Lennon in 1966. She was unfairly blamed for the Beatles' breakup in 1970, and through the next decade she clearly emerged as the love of Lennon's life. When he was shot, John was holding a tape containing the final mix of this song, a cool dance-rocker about the fleeting nature of life. This made its release as a single particularly poignant, and cast a new light on lines like "I may cry someday." And yes, Yoko is not known for being a, shall we say, conventional singer, but what she does on this works very well. A surprise gem.
34 - "I'm in Love with a German Film Star," The Passions
The one hit by these London New Wavers was this cool tune about being enamored by a foreign actor. Great strutting music. It really did move me.
33 - "Romeo and Juliet," Dire Straits
The Straits' second Top Ten was this epic ballad about star crossed lovers. It's tender, tough, romantic and sad. Possibly Knopfler's artistic high point
32- "Mind of a Toy," Visage
These guys' second appearance this week is with this song that compares a jilted lover to a discarded plaything. Another winner.
31 - "Can You Feel It," The Jacksons
The fourth Top Ten here for their post-Motown incarnation was this sweet bit of Utopian funk. Randy does okay with the verses, but Michael, to no one's surprise, takes the choruses to another level. Before MTV existed (not to mention their early unofficial ban on black artists) the group made an expensive, special effects-laden video for this, featuring giant versions of the brothers sprinkling stardust on the world below and Michael lifting a rainbow up to the sky and setting it on fire. Not surprisingly, this was all Michael's idea. You really should look it up, if you've never seen it.
30 - "We'll Bring the House Down," Slade
The 70s icons returned to the Top Ten for the first time in six years with this rollicking, chant-based ode to the exhilaration of a loud concert. Wonderfully evocative, and it gives them their first register on the Headbangometer, a solid 4.
29 - "Message of Love," Pretenders
Their fifth hit was this stuttery rocker about the universal need to love and be loved. It's good good good, like...Catherine Deneuve, or some other famous French actress.
28 - "Antmusic," Adam and the Ants
Another spin for their defining smash. Keep the jukebox plugged in.
27 - "Lately," Stevie Wonder
This sophisticated ballad of romantic doubt has become one of Stevie's standards, but it initially flopped in the States. But Britain pulled it up to the Top Five. That's the superior taste I know and love.
26 - "Planet Earth," Duran Duran
The Duranies' debut single was this song about, I don't know, feeling like an alien or something. Regardless, it's funky, it's meta (the lyrics contain the term "New Romantic," referring to the emerging genre they were considered part of), it's a fine launch to a remarkable career.
25 - "That's Entertainment," The Jam
This song was not released officially in the U.K. as a single, but sales of the import powered it as high as #21. It could have been a #1 otherwise, because it's an acoustic slice of city life's grimness and small pleasures that moves the soul. It's so much more than mere entertainment.
24 - "The Oldest Swinger in Town," Fred Wedlock
Bristol comedy folksinger Wedlock (his real name) had his biggest hit with this country romp about a middle aged man still trying to live the nightlife. Funnier and less groanworthy than I had expected.
23 - "Woman," John Lennon
John's passionate ode to Yolo was denied a Triple Crown by the U.S., where it hit #2. Regardlesss, a personal, intimate, lovely love song.
22 - "Hot Love," Kelly Marie
The Scot's third and last hit was this mild bit of sex disco, enlivened by some surprise bagpipes in the middle. A few degrees above room temperature.
21 - "Jones vs. Jones/Summer Madness/Funky Stuff," Kool and the Gang
The A side is a blah number about divorce, which is probably why two older tracks were added to the record: the latter a 1973 party jam, the former an evocative instrumental ballad that DJ Jazzy Jeff would sample to great effect ten years after this. Why would you even play the A if you bought this?
In Part Two: we visit the U.S.A., Austria, and Italy.
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