A Concise Guide To Eighties' Music, Karl Vorderman [best thriller novels to read TXT] 📗

for a noteworthy seventeen weeks. 'Something About You' is something which merits inclusion on any 'eighties compilation disc. The keyboards, guitar and vocals all join ranks to cultivate a feel-good track. Level 42 released several decent singles but this was surely their best effort.

The song of the month for October 1985
Uncle Sam by Madness (peak chart position: No.21)
Now a sextet, Madness were experiencing something of an identity crisis as the decade unfolded. They perhaps felt they could only project their nutty image for so long, and they were keen to record music which was a bit more subtle than their early material. Consequently, the group lost some of their charm, yet they still contrived to offer very listenable items. 'Uncle Sam' revealed the band's political leanings as they poked fun at the gung-ho militarist nature of some American citizens. The accompanying video makes for amusing watching.

The song of the month for November 1985
West End Girls by The Pet Shop Boys (peak chart position: No.1)
A new sensation was coming to the surface towards the end of the year as the duo of Neil Tennant and the po-faced Chris Lowe launched a brilliant pop career with the tremendous dance song, 'West End Girls'. This techno-pop classic had to wait until the Yuletide season ran its course before it climbed to the top of the British singles chart in January 1986. From then on, the Pet Shop Boys proceeded to nourish their followers with a constant diet of outstanding and innovative recordings that remain worthy of mention many years later.

The song of the month for December 1985
The Sun Always Shines On T.V. by A-ha (peak chart position: No.1)
A-ha had exploded on to the television screens with a memorable video for 'Take On Me' which switched between animation and 'reality'. Norway's finest musical trio then built on this triumph with another marvellous pop song which topped the UK hit parade in early 1986. Morten Harket and his colleagues were also regarded as pin-up material, but this should not detract from the decent quality of 'The Sun Always Shines On T.V.'

ALBUM OF THE YEAR FOR 1985:
Hounds Of Love by Kate Bush (released in September)
Side 1 (Hounds Of Love): Side 2 (The Ninth Wave):
1. Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God); 5:03 1. And Dream of Sheep; 2:45
2. Hounds of Love; 3:02 2. Under Ice; 2:21
3. The Big Sky; 4:41 3. Waking the Witch; 4:18
4. Mother Stands for Comfort; 3:07 4. Watching You Without Me; 4:06
5. Cloudbusting; 5:10 5. Jig of Life; 4:04
6. Hello Earth; 6:13
7. The Morning Fog; 2:34
Kate Bush emerged from hibernation with an album that even exceeded the kudos that she had accumulated from her four previous admirable efforts. This new project was divided into a side one of commercially appealing chart material items while the reverse side focused on the nightmare scenario of drowning. Bush remained her own woman. She wrote and recorded what she wanted when she wanted. Her single-minded approach paid off handsomely here. Even Uncle Sam warmed to 'Running Up That Hill', although the wondrous title track is at least equally deserving of acclaim. 'Cloudbusting' featured the venerable Donald Sutherland in the video and it is difficult not to be swept along on the wave of ecstasy that Kate emotes at the song's joyful conclusion. 'Hounds Of Love' is quirky, just like its author, but it remains hugely listenable.

1986
The song of the month for January 1986
Chain Reaction by Diana Ross (peak chart position: No.1)
The great Diana Ross re-visited the British pop summit for the first time in more than fourteen years with the excellent 'Chain Reaction'. In the intervening decade and a half the talented chanteuse had unleashed a whole host of wondrous love songs and dance tunes for music lovers to feast themselves on, yet it took the likeable 'Chain Reaction' to land the popular lady back on once-familiar territory. 'Chain Reaction' was penned by the Bee Gees who also provided vocals.

The song of the month for February 1986
Eloise by The Damned (peak chart position: No.3)
The Damned sold their punk souls for a slice of pop fame when they abandoned their usual repertoire in favour of an excellent cover version of Barry Ryan's 'Eloise'. The single narrowly missed out on a British Number One, but it was obviously one of the highlights of 1986, albeit from an unlikely source. Quite clearly Rat Scabies and the gang had bills to pay, hence their surprising choice of recording. 'Eloise' had previously climbed to Number 2 back in 1968.

The song of the month for March 1986
A Kind Of Magic by Queen (peak chart position: No.3)
After the success of 'The Works', Queen were once more parading an exciting new array of tunes, that comprised the 'A Kind Of Magic' album. The long player was magical by name and magical by nature, with some of the songs forming the soundtrack to the new 'Highlander' movie. The singles from this LP were of the highest order, namely the poignant 'Who Wants To Live Forever' and the Top 10 hit 'One Vision'. However Roger Taylor's 'A Kind Of Magic' is in a class of its own.

The song of the month for April 1986
Live To Tell by Madonna (peak chart position: No.2)
Madonna cemented the sensational success of her previous two years with more triumphant forays into the British singles chart in 1986, courtesy of her new 'True Blue' album. Nevertheless my own preference is for the tremendous 'Live To Tell' hit in which our Madge bares her soul and forsakes her customary dance repertoire, confirming that she was more than a one trick pony. As long as she continued to vary her output, Madonna was assured of a sustained chart career.

The song of the month for May 1986
Bigmouth Strikes Again by The Smiths (peak chart position: No.26)
In an exercise of revisionism, the eminent historian Steven Patrick Morrissey made us all aware that Joan Of Arc had actually been the first proud owner of both a walkman and a hearing aid as well as being a temporary scourge of the English. Bigmouth himself, Mr Morrissey, was once more offering his alternate take on that old thing called love, as he sings from the point of view of an apologetic bloke who pleads with his "sweetness" that he was only joking when he said that by rights she "should be bludgeoned" in her bed. It did make a refreshing change from the "I'm lonely without you baby" drivel that usually invaded the charts.

The song of the month for June 1986
Higher Love by Steve Winwood (peak chart position: No.13)
'Sixties legend Stevie Winwood made a welcome return to the upper echelons of the British hit parade with 'Higher Love'. Having previously tasted chart-topping glory with the Spencer Davis Group as a teenage prodigy as well as further success with Traffic , the grown-up Winwood was back in vogue, especially in the United States where this new recording leapt to the peak position of the Billboard Hot 100 listings towards the end of the summer.

The song of the month for July 1986
Every Beat Of My Heart by Rod Stewart (peak chart position: No.2)
Scotland's greatest vocalist was back on the airwaves with another formidable composition, a mere three years after 'Baby Jane' had yielded him his fifth UK chart-topper. 'Every Beat Of My Heart' just failed to become Rod's sixth Number One, but it was a throwback to his seminal 'Sailing' recording as the old Mod gets all sentimental about his homeland with the accompaniment of bagpipes and forgets about his fun blondes for a few minutes.

The song of the month for August 1986