4 October 1980 It's just the same vocal top-line repeated over and over, notwithstanding a trouser-tightening octave leap for added drama, plus there's the rhyming of 'shake and cough' with 'Nabokov'. But those are the least of the problems with 'Don't Stand So Close To Me'. Even hearing this as a kid in the late … Continue reading The Police – ‘Don’t Stand So Close To Me’
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Kelly Marie – ‘Feels Like I’m In Love’
2 October 1980 Trivia fans: you'll enjoy this, so bear with me. Since February 1980 the official Irish charts had been part of a strike action, so in its place was a fortnightly singles chart published by Hot Press, Ireland's equivalent to Rolling Stone magazine. That strike ended in October 1980; Hot Press published the … Continue reading Kelly Marie – ‘Feels Like I’m In Love’
The Jam – ‘Start!’
25 September 1980 Even the video (below) looks like '66 Beatles cosplay. I already own a perfectly good copy of Revolver, so I find it hard to work up any enthusiasm about this 'Taxman' recycling. I'm just surprised that George didn't have his legal people take Paul Weller to the cleaners on this one; perhaps … Continue reading The Jam – ‘Start!’
ABBA – ‘The Winner Takes It All’
10 September 1980 I love classic ABBA as much as the next sentient life-form, but I've never understood why there's such fawning adoration for 'The Winner Takes It All'. It seems to be based on the fact that the two couples were divorcing, and it's a song about divorce, so therefore they are baring their … Continue reading ABBA – ‘The Winner Takes It All’
Olivia Newton-John and ELO – ‘Xanadu’
30 July 1980 When I was around 6 years old I saw the last few minutes of the musical movie Xanadu on television. In what's probably the only positive review this movie has ever received, I thought Olivia Newton-John was lovely and the title song, reprised for the big finale, was good. Now, revisiting those … Continue reading Olivia Newton-John and ELO – ‘Xanadu’
Don McLean – ‘Crying’
16 July 1980 Don McLean: making every day The Day The Music Died. I can't say I like this maudlin sob-fest in any of its variants, but at least Roy Orbison's quivering voice and stock-in-trade of black velvet melodrama gives his version a bit of tension and stakes; we can well believe that this is … Continue reading Don McLean – ‘Crying’
The Mash – ‘Theme from M*A*S*H’
2 July 1980 Content warning: self-harm. This one needs a lot of context. M*A*S*H the TV series was hugely popular in 1980. I have a vague childhood memory of it being on but I've never seen an episode of it. Ten years earlier, Robert Altman had made M*A*S*H the movie, a Palme d'Or-winning cynical comedy … Continue reading The Mash – ‘Theme from M*A*S*H’
Johnny Logan – ‘What’s Another Year’
22 May 1980 It's 1980, and Charles Haughey, the most divisive Irish public figure of the time, has finally assumed power. The rest of the decade will see his many enemies try repeatedly to bring him down, but without success. Little could anyone in 1980 have imagined that the person eventually responsible for Haughey's downfall … Continue reading Johnny Logan – ‘What’s Another Year’
Detroit Spinners – ‘Working My Way Back To You’
8 May 1980 That's The Spinners, for those of you in America - an English folk group of that name required the US outfit to amend their name on this side of the Atlantic. Those opening oohs and handclaps are easy on the ear and set the scene for the rest of this record: working … Continue reading Detroit Spinners – ‘Working My Way Back To You’
Marti Webb – ‘Take That Look Off Your Face’
27 March 1980 Our first power ballad, a genre that really took off in the '80s and, like the poor or venereal disease, is still with us. This one, of the West End musical variant, is sung by Marti Webb and written by Andrew Lloyd Webber, which suggests the existence of a Webbest. A Lloyd … Continue reading Marti Webb – ‘Take That Look Off Your Face’
