A Concise Guide To Eighties' Music by Karl Vorderman (smallest ebook reader TXT) 📕

The song of the month for October 1983
Uptown Girl by Billy Joel (peak chart position: No.1)
Billy Joel came along with an unlikely dancefloor favourite which succeeded in terminating Karma Chameleon's six week occupation of the British Number One position. In the process, Joel found he had created the second biggest-selling UK single of 1983. Not just a great reason for swaying your feet and hips to, 'Uptown Girl' featured Joel's model girlfriend Christie Brinkley in a video that included a brilliant choreography routine.

The song of the month for November 1983
Thank You For The Music by Abba (peak chart position: No.33)
The turbulent singing career of Abba drew to a close with the appropriate 'Thank You For The Music'. The fab four may have enjoyed phenomenal success, but they paid for it with the price of relationship turmoil. Thus when the greatest singles act of the 1970s took their bow, they were heartily sick of one another, and judging by the song's uncharacteristic failure in the hit parade, their once devoted public were tired of them too. Ironically, this is one of their best compositions sung by Agnetha, the "bit of a bore" "with the golden hair".

The song of the month for December 1983
Many Rivers To Cross by UB40 (peak chart position: No.16)
Not content with treating British music lovers to the year's third biggest-selling single, 'Red Red Wine', UB40 returned in mid-winter with a less successful incursion into the Yuletide charts. 'Many Rivers To Cross' had previously been performed by Jamaican reggae legend Jimmy Cliff on the movie, 'The Harder They Come'. UB40 recorded a magnificent soulful version which deserved a much bigger splash in the hit parade than it achieved.

ALBUM OF THE YEAR FOR 1983:
Labour Of Love by UB40 (released in September)
Side 1: Side 2:
1. Cherry Oh Baby; 3:18 1. Red Red Wine; 5:21
2. Keep on Moving; 4:37 2. Guilty; 3:16
3. Please Don't Make Me Cry; 3:26 3. She Caught the Train; 3:17
4. Sweet Sensation; 3:42 4. Version Girl; 3:27
5. Johnny Too Bad; 4:57 5. Many Rivers To Cross; 4:31
Birmingham's finest octet had begun to flounder after the initial successes of 'Signing Off' and the trio of hit singles which richly contributed to the airwaves in 1980. By 1983 the group went back to their roots and recorded an album entirely of covers in tribute to the Jamaican artists who had provided them with joy and pleasure in their youth. The mysterious Dr.X explains this perfectly eloquently on the album sleeve. Forsaking their political stance, the lads concentrate on the well-worn formula of songs about falling in and out of love. The magnificent 'Guilty', the Top Ten hit single 'Please Don't Make Me Cry', and 'She Caught The Train' all visit the familiar pop territory of unrequited love, but their own reggae input is most refreshing. Above all, the combo actually benefit from prominent keyboards on the likes of 'Johnny Too Bad' and 'Keep On Moving'. Regrettably the band subsequently allowed their sound to be suffocated by an over-reliance on brass instruments. Meanwhile, 'Red Red Wine' is not only a peach of a recording, but the accompanying black and white video merits repeated viewing, even if the rest of the 'Labour Of Love' film is mediocre.

1984
The song of the month for January 1984
What Difference Does It Make? by The Smiths (peak chart position: No.12)
A new pop phenomenon invaded the airwaves in 1983 when the Smiths reached out to the disillusioned youth with their own jangly guitar anthems which were frequently provocative, sometimes humorous, and never dull. The frontman Morrissey projected himself as the very antithesis of the teen pop idol, selling himself as a celibate and loveless individual. Against this background the Smiths issued the typically downbeat 'What Difference Does It Make?' In actual fact, Manchester's fab four did make a big difference over the next 4 years.

The song of the month for February 1984
Michael Caine by Madness (peak chart position: No.11)
Ever since 'The Prince' had wandered into the British Top Twenty in the autumn of 1979, Madness had been a constant presence in the UK hit parade with their fast-paced observations of the modern world, helped by eye-catching videos that revealed their own playfulness and sense of humour. By their own high standards, the admirable 'Michael Caine' was something of a commercial failure, even though the great man contributes a spoken part in the hit. Unfortunately for Madness, Mike Barson, their main songwriter, had departed the group and the remaining six soldiered on with decreasing success without him until they too decided to become sane.

The song of the month for March 1984
Nelson Mandela by The Special AKA (peak chart position: No.9)
Aside from being a fine dance track that deservedly sneaked into the British Top Ten, this historic anti-apartheid anthem was firm proof that music can change the world. Who in the youth market after all had ever heard of Nelson Mandela, incarcerated twenty years earlier? Not only did this commendable song bring renewed attention to the plight of Mandela, but the assembled cast of musicians including Elvis Costello and Dave Wakeling from The Beat were a prototype Band Aid several months before it too impacted upon the world.

The song of the month for April 1984
I Want To Break Free by Queen (peak chart position: No.3)
Scarcely a year elapsed without Queen making their considerable presence felt in pop world. 1984 was especially fruitful for Freddie and his gang as first 'Radio Ga Ga' climbed into the British Top Three and then not to be outdone, the memorable 'I Want To Break Free' did likewise. This belting tune profited from a superb instrumental break as well as a video in which the foursome camp it up in drag as a spoof of Coronation Street.

The song of the month for May 1984
Wake Me Up Before You Go Go by Wham! (peak chart position: No.1)
George Michael and the apparently less talented Andrew Ridgeley succeeded in becoming the new heart-throbs of planet pop and were consequently guaranteed a large volume of record sales from young females. As a result Wham! achieved a string of hits on both sides of the Atlantic as they acted as the perfect antidote to the artists who took themselves too seriously. The duo peaked with the popular 'Wake Me Up Before You Go Go.'

The song of the month for June 1984
Two Tribes by Frankie Goes To Hollywood (peak chart position: No.1)
If 1976 belonged to Abba, and 1981 was the year of Adam And The Ants, then 1984 was the twelve months when Frankie Goes To Hollywood could do no wrong. First they had the supreme good fortune of having their single 'Relax' banned by the BBC thus guaranteeing it Number One status and a lengthy residence in the charts and then Liverpool's latest sensations sat at the singles summit for a mere nine weeks with 'Two Tribes' which was their own tongue-in-cheek assessment of the Cold War. Such was their phenomenal success that the rest of us had to suffer the 'Frankie Says' tee-shirts for many months thereafter, so they had a lot to answer for.

The song of the month for July 1984
A Hole In My Shoe by Neil (peak chart position: No.2)
While the formidable 'Two Tribes' fought off all comers, some British record buyers found relief in yet another novelty record. 'A Hole In My Shoe' had originally appeared in the British singles chart in the late 'sixties for Traffic. This time around it was re-interpreted by Neil, alternatively known as Nigel Planer. Neil formed one quarter of the cult comedy outfit, 'The Young Ones' as the conscientious but morose hippie. What a pop idol!

The song of the month for August 1984
Careless Whisper by George Michael (peak chart position: No.1)
If Frankie's Holly Johnson and Paul Rutherford were dominating the UK singles chart in 1984, George Michael was staking his own valid claim to superstardom. George stepped away from his collaboration with Andrew and promptly delivered not only one of the great love songs of its era but also one of the best chart-toppers of the 1980s. It was clear from this offering that George could deliver mature, soulful ballads which would enable him to extend his musical career a long way beyond the limitations of Wham's no nonsense pop formula.

The song of the month for September 1984
Purple