AOMA: UKT40 January 14, 1984 Part One

January 1984. One of the big stories of this month was a certain song being banned by a certain radio station.  We will encounter that song on this chart, but it’ll be a while, so enjoy the ride until then.

40 - “Give Me More Time,” Whitesnake 

The sixth hit for the Coverdale gang is this serviceable rocker from Slide it In, the album that ultimately served as a bridge between their raw past and their slick future.  You can hear more polish, but it’s not drenched in synths like their American breakthrough hits are.

39 - “Where is My Man,” Eartha Kitt

Born in 1927 in the confusingly named town of North, South Carolina, Eartha Mae Keith became a barrier-breaking sex symbol in the 50s, known for her husky singing voice on songs like “C’est Si Bon” and the holiday standard “Santa Baby.”  Her career took a hit after anti-Vietnam remarks she made in the presence of President Johnson and his wife in 1968, but she recovered to once again be an acclaimed star on cabaret stage and Broadway.  Here, she even took a turn as a dance diva on this disco-funk number with a theme similar to both “Santa Baby” and “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend.”  Her voice comes off more cartoony than sexy in some places, but the attitude is enough to sell it.  She even does a more-than-credible job of rapping.  All in all, a fun effort from the only true Catwoman, an honor she shares with Lee Merriwether and Julie Newmar.

38 - “I Am What I Am,” Gloria Gaynor

The sixth and last British hit for the “I Will Survive” star was this strident call for people to be their true selves at all times, which was written for the musical version of the 1978 French film La Cage aux Folles (later remade in English as The Birdcage with Robin Williams).  It’s similar territory to her biggest hit, but she makes it its own chapter of the story rather than a rehash.

37 - “That’s All,” Genesis

This bouncy popper about a hot-and-cold relationship became the ‘Sis’ first Top Ten in America.  Here and in Canada it was held to Top Twenty.  I think all three placings are appropriate in total.

36 - “Wishful Thinking,” China Crisis

The only Top Ten for the Merseyside men was this midtempo ballad about not being able to change the past.  I think that’s it.  A nice new wave pop song.  Nothing more or less.

35 - “Karma Chameleon,” Culture Club
George and the other Boys with their Triple Crown dip into American soul, with a little echo of New Orleans Zydeco.  These guys had a string of six or seven singles that could be put up against anyone else’s best run and be competitive every time.

34 - “Read ‘Em And Weep,” Barry Manilow

Barry performs a Jim Steinman number, produced by Steinman himself.  Only two years earlier, Steinman had produced a version for Meat Loaf himself.  I haven’t heard Meat’s take, but Barry just isn’t capable of the mix of bombast and bitterness this requires.  I think this team could work if Jim had written something specifically for Barry, but this is just too awkward a fit.

33 - “Say Say Say,” Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson 

Once again, I am stunned by a song missing the Triple Crown by one place.  And more stunned that Britain threw up the block.  It’s not great, but it’s not the limp mush that “The Girl is Mine” was, so I truly can’t believe that the Macca/Jacko combo couldn’t go all the way.

32 - “King of Pain,” The Police

Only #17 here, but #3 in the States and #1 in Canada.  I give us credit for that.  It’s catchy pop, but it also captures how depression and loneliest can feel like a whirlwind surrounding you even when you’re staying still.

31 - “Calling Your Name,” Marilyn 
Jamaica-born, Hertfordshire-raises Peter Robinson was a former roommate of Boy George, and he shared George’s penchant for makeup and androgynous clothes.  Naturally, the trend-hopping music industry scooped Marilyn up once Culture Club hit, and his debut single, this energetic New Waver, cracked the Top Five.  It’s okay, but Marilyn is little more than an adequate singer rather than the transcendent vocal talent his friend/rival George is.  Marilyn had two more lesser hits, but then he faded into the sort of obscurity where “Where are They Now” pieces are done about you and occasionally writers and filmmakers want to talk to you because of your active yet peripheral role in a memorable sociocultural scene.

30- “I Can Help,” Elvis Presley

Another posthumous Elvis single, this time a cover of Billy Swan’s 1974 country crossover smash.  It’s done okay, in the King’s Vegas-era style, but it doesn’t do anything to make me forget the wonderfully stuttery original.

29 - “Cry Just a Little Bit,” Shakin’ Stevens

Shaky’s sixth Top Five sees him embracing more modern pop production.  Probably not coincidentally, this was his only single to crack the Hot 100 in America.  And I have to say it’s my favourite of his.  The synths complement his usual heartbreak CD-ROM.

28 - “Love is a Wonderful Colour,” The Icicle Works

These Liverpudlians are the rare group that had one Top 40 in Britain and one Top 40 in America...with different songs.  They went to #15 with this ABC-ish track about wanting to fall in love regardless of how it turns out.  I like it quite a bit, and I think I’ll give it a slight edge over their U.S. hit: the darker, more Tears for Fears-y “Whisper to a Scream (Birds Fly).”

27 - “Club Fantastic Megamix,” Wham!

George and Andrew’s fifth hit was a mashup of three tracks from their debut album that hadn’t been released as singles, including a cover of the Miracles’ 1975 smash “Love Machine.”  That part’s not bad, but the other two snippets don’t stand out.  And given that they had already put out four songs from an album that contained eight in total, this seemed a bit counterproductive.  But cash cows are to be milked bone dry, I guess.

26 - “Please Don’t Fall in Love,” Cliff Richard 

Sir Cliff is inescapable.  He brings a strong performance to this ballad about hoping that one’s ex doesn’t get serious with someone new, and it worked well enough to earn him another Top Ten to throw on the pile.  Better than I expected.

25 - “2000 Miles,” Pretenders

This pretty, poignant elegy for the band’s guitarist James Honeyman-Scott, who had died a year earlier from a drug overdose, makes multiple references to Christmas, and that, combined with the fact that it came out near the end of a year, has made it a staple of radio stations’ annual all-holiday playlists in November and December.  And I’m glad for that, as it provides a nice respite from the hoary old chestnuts and superstar festive cash-ins.

24 - “The Way You Are,” Tears for Fears

The Bath band’s fourth hit was this jagged, big-beated number about the futility of it all.  The band have since said it’s the worst thing they ever did, and I’m inclined to agree.  It’s ambitious noise, but noise all the same.

23 - “Sweet Surrender,” Rod Stewart 
Roddy is not so rowdy on this surprisingly good country ballad about giving your heart to someone who isn’t quite willing to reciprocate.  He even manages to sing a potentially cheeky line like “You’ve sucked me in, don’t spit me out” completely straight.  Good to hear a little oasis of sincerity among the plastic of his 80s output.

22 - “Running with the Night,” Lionel Richie

Liomel’s third solo Top Ten was this dance-rocker about a couple surrendering to the possibilities of life in the late evening.  I think it gets a little lost because it was released between the monsters that were “All Night Long” and “Hello,” but it’s a solid pop gem in it’s own right.

21 - “Move Over Darling,” Tracey Ullman
The third and last Top Ten for the singer/comedienne was this cover of the title song from a 1963 Doris Day film about a woman who was presumed dead who returns home to find her husband has married another woman.  It’s another charming retro performance, but it can’t top “They Don’t Know.”

In Part Two:  TV, booze, and double-dippers.