Freddie and Queen at Live Aid

This 60 – 41 of the Top 100 of the 80’s – in reverse order –
[41] LAND OF MAKE BELIEVE – Bucks Fizz (740,000)
[42] NOTHING’S GONNA STOP US NOW – Starship (740,000)

[43] VIENNA – Ultravox (735,000) notable for spending 4 consecutive weeks at #2 in the UK singles chart without ever getting to #1. “Vienna” was kept off the UK #1 slot by John Lennon’s “Woman” for a week, and then by Joe Dolce’s novelty hit, “Shaddap You Face”, for a further 3 weeks, although “Vienna” did sell more copies than either of these records and ranked as the 5th best selling UK single for 1981.

[44] SEVEN TEARS – Goombay Dance Band (735,000) was a major hit across Europe in the winter and spring of 1982. The song spent 3 weeks at #1 on the UK Singles Chart[1] being only the second time a German act had topped the UK chart

[45] FREEDOM – Wham! (735,000)

[46] ONE DAY IN YOUR LIFE – Michael Jackson (730,000)

[47] MAKING YOUR MIND UP – Bucks Fizz (730,000) the winner of the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest and a UK Number-one single. Released in March 1981, it was Bucks Fizz’s debut single, the group having been formed just two months earlier.

[48] SUPER TROUPER – ABBA (730,000) was a yet another successful single for ABBA. It topped the charts in Belgium, West Germany, Great Britain (their 9th and final #1 in the UK),

[49] BIRDIE SONG – Tweets (725,000) It didn’t even have any lyrics but the Birdie Song – the maddening tune which prompted displays of appalling dancing throughout the 1980s, has been voted the most annoying song of all time.

[50] 19 – Paul Hardcastle (725,000) “19” topped the pop charts in the UK for five weeks, and reached the top twenty in the US, where it also topped the dance chart. For a while, it was the top selling single in thirteen countries (helped by the fact that versions of the song were recorded in French, Spanish, German and Japanese), and it received the Ivor Novello award for Bestselling Single Of 1985.

[51] EVERY LOSER WINS – Nick Berry (725,000)

[52] SHADDUP YOU FACE – Joe Dolce Music Theatre (720,000) went to Number 1 on the Australian pop charts in 1980. It reached Number 1 in the UK Singles Chart on 21 February 1981 and stayed there for three weeks until 14 March 1981.

[53] LIKE A VIRGIN – Madonna (720,000)

[54] I WANT TO WAKE UP WITH YOU – Boris Gardiner (720,000)

[55] REETE PETITE – Jackie Wilson (715,000) It was his first solo hit after leaving the legendary R&B group The Dominoes and, over the years, has become one of his biggest international chart successes.

[56] D.I.S.C.O. – Ottawan (715,000) was first recorded in 1979 and reached number 2 in the UK singles chart the following year. The song’s name comes from the lyrics in its chorus, in which a woman is claimed to be ‘DISCO’, with each letter of the word standing for a certain quality, except O which simply leads to singing ‘oh, oh, oh!’

[57] FRANKIE – Sister Sledge (715,000) The song was written by Joy Denny, after dreaming the song while on a flight. Despite the success of Frankie Goes to Hollywood at the time it was not about them as commonly thought but singer Frank Sinatra. The song was produced by Chic’s Nile Rodgers. The Sisters suggested the song to him, but he hated it on first hearing. A week later he went back to them saying he couldn’t stop singing it and so he insisted the band record it.

[58] I WANT TO KNOW WHAT LOVE IS – Foreigner (710,000)

[59] THE TIDE IS HIGH – Blondie (710,000) “The Tide Is High” is a 1967 song written by John Holt, originally performed by the Jamaican group The Paragons, with John Holt as lead singer. The song was rediscovered in 1980, when it became a US/UK number one hit for the American band Blondie.

[60] LET’S DANCE – David Bowie (710,000)

Sales figures in brackets.

We also heard an excerpt from Queen’s fabulous live performance at the Live Aid Concert in July 1985

Continuing next week from no. 40 and including an 80’s Christmas hit from Cliff… Well it’ll only be a month away by then!