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’
Barbra Streisand – ‘Woman In Love’
1 November 1980 I must say, I'm pleasantly surprised; this is better than I remembered, or at least not as bad as I feared. It's still a Bee Gees joint, of course, so as a composition 'Woman In Love' is as bland and workmanlike as its title. But at least it doesn't have the trademark … Continue reading Barbra Streisand – ‘Woman In Love’
The Police – ‘Don’t Stand So Close To Me’
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’
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!’
