25 April 1981 More '50s throwing-back here, this time bubblegum popcorn something-or-other, which means it may still have been a hit and topped the charts even if it hadn't, of course, won that year's Eurovision. The line-up included a Dublin-born Nolan—though he's not related to The Nolans—and the contest was held in Dublin too, so … Continue reading Bucks Fizz – ‘Making Your Mind Up’
Author: Aidan Curran
Shakin’ Stevens – ‘This Ole House’
4 April 1981 I thought three solo John Lennon number ones in a row was bad enough, but now the plague year of 1981 serves up three chart toppers in five months from Shakin' Stevens. If the Lennon experience has taught us anything, it's that even if someone had shot him it would have made … Continue reading Shakin’ Stevens – ‘This Ole House’
Joe Dolan – ‘More And More’
28 March 1981 Roxy Music's version of 'Jealous Guy' (a marked improvement on John Lennon's original) was a March 1981 UK number one that didn't top the charts in Ireland, but why bother with Bryan Ferry when we had Joe Dolan? Okay, so Ferry was a musical trendsetter who had things like lounge lizard charm, … Continue reading Joe Dolan – ‘More And More’
Ultravox – ‘Vienna’
21 March 1981 So it got to number one after all! When Keeley Hawes' character wakes up to her big 'I'm-in-the-80s-WTF?' moment in time-travelling TV police drama Ashes To Ashes, the accompanying musical cue is not the titular David Bowie track but the chorus from Ultravox's 'Vienna'. How has this track, less popular in 1981 … Continue reading Ultravox – ‘Vienna’
Joe Dolce Music Theatre – ‘Shaddap You Face’
28 February 1981 Not so fast. Yes, it's a terrible record, but I'm going to cut Joe Dolce a break here. First, his family is Italian. This may be a moot point and scant consolation for the millions of native and heritage Italians who probably had to put up with this as bantz for most … Continue reading Joe Dolce Music Theatre – ‘Shaddap You Face’
John Lennon – ‘Woman’
7 February 1981 Yoko Ono has been dealt atrocious racism, sexism, tragedy, scorn, and Beatle-fan opprobrium pretty constantly since the mid-'60s, all for the heinous crimes of [checks notes] being married to John Lennon and sitting beside him in the studio. These days her public profile mostly comprises her kindly, slightly cosmic, occasionally performance-arty tweets, … Continue reading John Lennon – ‘Woman’
John Lennon – ‘Imagine’
11 December 1975 and 31 January 1981 I've been to Strawberry Fields, the area of Central Park in New York that is now a memorial to John Lennon. (Call me morbid, but I had first popped across the street to the outside of the Dakota building, where he was shot.) Its main feature is a … Continue reading John Lennon – ‘Imagine’
John Lennon – ‘(Just Like) Starting Over’
10 January 1981 '(Just Like) Starting Over', the first single off John Lennon and Yoko Ono's 'comeback' album Double Fantasy, went top ten in Ireland and the UK in November 1980. Into the following month it was still at number four in the Irish singles chart, but had dropped outside the top twenty of the … Continue reading John Lennon – ‘(Just Like) Starting Over’
St Winifred’s School Choir – ‘There’s No One Quite Like Grandma’
20 December 1980 John Lennon had been shot dead on the street in New York by a crazed fan just a few weeks before, so maybe people were craving some cosy escapism. (The flood of Lennon solo number ones awaits us like a Chapman in early 1981.) I also suspect the dread hand of some … Continue reading St Winifred’s School Choir – ‘There’s No One Quite Like Grandma’
ABBA – ‘Super Trouper’
29 November 1980 Granted, it's not as pretentiously awful as Sting's "Nabokov" and "shake and cough" from a few weeks back, and to be fair it's not their native language either. Still, listening to 'Super Trouper' always requires me to first overcome the pretty rotten contrivance of "Glasgow" being rhymed with "last show". There's more … Continue reading ABBA – ‘Super Trouper’
