As
regular readers and people who follow me on X will know, I am partial to
running the odd poll here and there (via my X account). I've been doing it for a couple of years now.
In the beginning the
questions mainly focussed on songs by The Jam, which will I’m sure come as no
surprise! You’ll see references to these polls dotted throughout The Jam
scrapbooks on this blog and I also dedicated a couple of pages of my 40th
anniversary fanzine to listing the winners in certain categories. The
biggest undertaking was a poll to find out people’s favourite Weller-penned lyrics
spanning the whole of his career. I don’t mind admitting I thought I’d bitten
off more than I could chew with that one!
It wasn’t just Paul who came under the spotlight either. Bruce Foxton and the late Rick Buckler have also had polls dedicated to them. Well actually, Rick had an entire tribute post dedicated to him, which you can read here.
When I felt I’d exhausted the subject of The Jam’s material I moved over to running another series of polls to find out people’s favourite singles from 1978, 1979 and 1980. Once we were done with them, it seemed only natural to move forward one year and ask the same question about 1981. I handed over to the good people in the music community to suggest songs they would like to see included. The only criteria was that the single was released in 1981. In some cases, this stretched to non-UK releases.
The response was amazing! From the start of August through to the end of September 2025 we worked our way through an incredible 200 songs!
As a bit of an experiment, whilst running the polls I decided to record things on a daily basis here on my blog for the first time. Now the polls have finished I’ve shuffled things around, rewound to the beginning and worked my way through to the end to make the post more of a permanent fixture.
I
hope you will enjoy reading what has turned out to be a celebration of 1981 music
and the artists who were behind some of the vinyl grooves. We have everything
from The Exploited to Joe Dolce, The Fall to Shakin' Stevens, Discharge to
Bucks Fizz and lots more in between. At the foot of the page is a top 200 style "chart" of all the singles.
A big thank you to everyone who contributed in some way.
Throughout
the first round, for some of the lesser known songs and forgotten gems I added a series of links to YouTube videos to help refresh
people’s memories. In some cases, the videos acted as an introduction. How many
of these do you remember?
George Harrison – 'All Those Years Ago'
The Chords – 'One More Minute'
Japan – 'The Art of Parties'
The Undertones – 'Julie Ocean'
Tony Capstick – 'Capstick Comes Home' I did warn you there was an eclectic mix!
Gang of Four - 'To Hell With Poverty'
Tom Tom Club - 'Wordy Rappinghood'
Heaven 17 - '(We Don't Need) This Fascist Groove Thang'
Saxon - 'And The Bands Played On'
Sugar Minott - 'Good Thing Going'
The Beat - 'Drowning'
Foreigner - 'Juke Box Hero'
Dexys Midnight Runners - 'Show Me'
Material With Nona Hendryx - 'Bustin' Out'
Whitesnake - 'Don't Break My Heart Again'
Rick Springfield – 'Jessie’s Girl'
Ultravox – 'The Voice'
Roger Taylor – 'Future Management'
Dolly Mixture – 'Been Teen'
Genesis – 'No Reply At All'
The Selecter – 'Celebrate The Bullet'
Cheap ‘n’ Nasty - 'Covergirl'
Gillan – 'New Orleans'
Gary Wright – 'Really Wanna Know You'
New Order – 'Everything’s Gone Green'
Bow Wow Wow - 'W.O.R.K.(N.O. Nah No! No! My Daddy Don't)'
John Foxx – 'Europe AfterThe Rain'
Rush – 'Tom Sawyer'
Genesis – 'Abacab'
Bauhaus – 'The Passion of Lovers'
The Jones Girls –'Nights Over Egypt'
Gary Numan & Dramatis - 'Love Needs No Disguise'
Kate Bush - 'Sat in Your Lap'
Showaddywaddy – 'Footsteps'
Stiff Little Fingers – 'Silver Lining'
Kraftwerk – 'Computer Love'
Simple Minds - 'The American'
ELO – 'Twilight'
Killing Joke - 'Follow the Leaders'
D.A.F. - 'Der Mussolini'
Theatre of Hate - 'Rebel Without A Brain'
Elaine Page – 'Memory'
Heaven 17 – 'Play to Win'
Roger Taylor – 'My Country'
The Members – 'Working Girl'
Mobiles – 'Drowning in Berlin'
Ultravox – 'The Thin Wall'
Styx – 'The Best of Times'
The Fall – 'Lie Dream of a Casino Soul'
ELO – 'Ticket to the Moon'
Japan - 'Visions of China'
Greg Kihn Band – 'The Breakup Song (They Don’t Write ‘Em)'
The Associates – 'White Car in Germany'
Stevie Nicks/Tom Petty - 'Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around'
Central Line – 'Walking Into Sunshine'
Ramones – 'The KKK Took my Baby Away'
Dexys Midnight Runners – 'Plan B'
Tom Tom Club - 'Genius of Love'
Divinyls - 'Boys in Town'
The Sound - 'Sense of Purpose (What are we going to do?)'
The Exploited - 'Dead Cities'
Slim Dusty - 'Duncan'
UK Subs - 'Keep on Runnin' (Til You Burn)'
The Stranglers - 'Let Me Introduce You To The Family'
In my 40th anniversary fanzine I shared memories of seeing Discharge play at the Tower in Hull. It was the loudest gig I have ever been to in my life! As the years have passed, the band has been cited as an inspiration by Metallica, Anthrax and Neurosis to name a few. 'Never Again' was one of the earliest second wave of punk singles I recall hearing. It also inspired the piece below featured in issue three of Kindred Spirit, which if my memory serves me correctly was written by a fellow fanzine writer from the south bank of the Humber.
Mobiles - 'Drowning in Berlin'
Several people posted highly complimentary comments about this stirring slice of synth pop which I always assumed was about the Berlin Wall, though I stand corrected. The video had a kind of goth feel about it and was the perfect partner for the song. Following the break up of the band in 1984, singer Anna Maria and guitarist Russ Madge went on to form The Avengers. They recorded two singles, neither of which charted.
The Tweets - 'The Birdie Song'
It will come as no surprise that we had a few laughs over this song. Several disbelieving and irate voters demanded to know who the 1.9% were who voted for it, but nobody actually owned up. Can't say I blame them. However, whilst Kevin had stiff words to say to whoever nominated the song, he did confess to having been known to do "that" dance on more than one occasion. I'm sure he wasn't alone. It was probably a blessing it was voted out in the first round!
Dolly Mixture - 'Been Teen'
Several people commented on female trio Dolly Mixture, whose 1981 single ‘Been Teen’ was the first to be released on Paul Weller’s Respond label. My earliest memory of DM was seeing them playing 'Been Teen' on an episode of ‘Something Else’ broadcast in October 1981. Paul Weller and friends wrote the content of that particular show. There’s a little piece dedicated to it on this page of my blog. Barry also recalled the show and said he recorded it on a VHS tape, which subsequently got played to death. He has fond memories of seeing Dolly Mixture supporting The Jam and is a fan of their version of ‘Walk Away Renée'.
I learned something new from Billion Dollar Brain about Dolly Mixture. "They provided the backing vox on Captain Sensible's Number one 'Happy Talk', as well as 'Glad It's All Over' and 'Wot'. And they were once supported by U2 on tour. Yes, U2 supported Dolly Mixture. And of course Rachel married the Captain.'
This got me digging further and I came across something Rachel and the Captain's son Fred Burns posted on Instagram last March. He was singing the praises of his mum's latest album saying he believes it's the best things she's done since Dolly Mixture. It looks like it was a family affair too, because her other sons provided backing vocals.
It's a great tune and was certainly a dance floor filler back in the day.
Somehow or the other, Joe managed to scrape through into round two resulting in a mixture of interesting comments and even a gif of him singing! Several people expressed disappointment that he didn't come up against Ultravox's 'Vienna'. The latter was famously kept off the number one slot back in 1981 by Mr Dolce. I can confidently say if he'd come up against Midge Ure and co. in my poll the score would have been settled!
The Selecter - 'Celebrate the Bullet'
One of the lesser known songs by The Selecter. Tyneside Tiger had words of praise for it and an explanation as to why it might not have attracted the attention previous singles did. "Celebrate the Bullet is an excellent song. Even better album. The single failed commercially due to its release date coinciding with John Lennon’s murder and so Radio One banned it. Album was then released weeks later but coincided with Ronald Reagan’s attempted assassination. Cruel timing." Not that it has held them back in the grand scheme of things. Richard Watson caught up with The Selecter on a recent tour and he shared the photo below.
The Exploited - 'Dead Cities'
Another early second wave punk single which made an impression at the time. At this point I have to give a special mention to Michael Hirst. From beginning to end he shared a fantastic gif to accompany every poll. I particularly liked the one of The Exploited as it brought back fantastic memories of my fanzine writing days. I will never shake the image from my head of going backstage at Spring Street theatre in Hull to interview the band and marvelling at Wattie's incredible red Mohican.
If you're a fan and you haven't already read this page dedicated to the band, here's the link.
Slade - 'We'll Bring the House Down'
Kevin was particularly sad to see Slade voted out. His uncle went to school with Noddy Holder and played in a band with him when they were kids. They used to practice in Kevin's nan's lounge. An early version of Slade maybe? It must have been where the foundations were laid, because he got a mention in Noddy's autobiography.
Berlin - 'Metro'
Shakin' Stevens - 'Green Door'
The mention of Shakin' Stevens' name instantly prompted a mix of comments and confessions. I was laughing out loud at some of them! (Sorry Shakey!) I shouldn't knock him really as he was the UK's biggest selling singles artist of the 1980s and who remembers a (then) relatively unknown Vic Reeves appearing in the video for 'What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me for?'
Stiff Little Fingers - 'Silver Lining'
John Winn shared an interesting nugget. 'Silver Lining' had a different feel to many of the band's other tracks which probably had something to do with it featuring the Q Tips' brass section. An additional piece of info is Q Tips were formed from the remnants of Streetband. (Remember 'Toast'?) Paul Young was a former member.
Pete Shelley - 'Homosapien'
I know quite a few people were disappointed to see this brilliant track voted out so early in the contest, including me. I remember it was one of the songs Paul Weller played when he turned deejay and stood in for Kid Jensen on Radio One in October 1982.
Here's what he said when he introduced it: "The next track up is off Pete Shelley's LP of last year. Homosapien. This is the title track. I went to see him this year. I think the man's improved. I think he's ten times better than he was with Buzzcocks and he's got less limitations." An interesting viewpoint.
Ian Dury - 'Spasticus Autisticus'
When Ian Dury wrote 'Spasticus Autisticus' it was as a kick back against the Year of the Disabled. He found the whole idea patronising and offensive. He wanted to produce a record that he knew would be banned. He certainly achieved his aim. The irony of the lyrics was completely lost on the BBC, who banned it soon after its release. Sadly it didn't go beyond round three in the polls, but I would prefer to remember the rapturous reception Ian received when he played the song at the London Palladium shortly before his death. I would say that painted a more accurate picture of the level of support there was/is for it.
John Foxx - 'Europe After the Rain'
Another song I don't recall hearing too much about back in the day. JG recalls going on holiday to Majorca the following year and it being played everywhere. It would be interesting to know how well received it was in other countries.
Sheena Easton - 'For Your Eyes Only'
Lou shared an interesting little nugget about the above song, which was the theme song to the James Bond film of the same name. Sheena was apparently the only Bond theme artist to appear in the opening credits.
Scritti Politti - 'The Sweetest Girl'
To coincide with it being John Peel's 86th birthday, Brian F shared a wonderful photo of three cassette tapes featuring John's 1981 Festive 50.
Although not all the songs were released in 1981, there are a few mentioned that featured in the polls, one of which was Scritti Politti's 'The Sweetest Girl'. Sadly it didn't feature in the top 50 here.
The Clash - 'Hitsville UK'
It was touch and go whether this song or 'Doors of Your Heart' by The Beat would go through to the next round, but Dave Wakeling and others managed to rally the troops and The Beat survived to fight another day.
This could have posed a dilemma for Mick Jones, because Dave Wakeling told us Mick had told him that 'Doors...' is his favourite song by The Beat. As a sidenote, Dave's favourite song by The Clash is 'Lost in the Supermarket'.
All was not lost however, because an interesting little story emerged sparked by 'Hitsville UK', which I'd like to share.
Back in the noughties Mick Jones teamed up with Tony James to form rock duo Carbon/Silicon. Early in 2008 they played a run of shows at the Inn on the Green in London, which they named 'The Carbon Casino'. These intimate events increased in popularity quickly, and a host of artists joined the onstage party. Andy recalled how during one of the shows, Mick and his daughter Lauren performed a fine version of 'Hitsville UK'.
At this point, Mama J joined in the conversation. She remembered the Carbon Casino days fondly and added that Lauren now works in Mick's Rock & Roll Public Library.
Then things took on a life of their own! Andy mentioned how he had visited the R&R Library earlier this year. Mama J asked if he remembered seeing a Snoopy phone whilst he was there. She had apparently given it to Mick and believed it was one of the exhibits. She lives in the US and has so far been unable to visit any of the exhibitions. Andy made her day by sharing the photo below. For more info about the library, check this link.
Also on the subject of 'Hitsville UK', Richard reminded us how Mick's former girlfriend Ellen Foley, (who Mick duetted with on the track) had previously collaborated with Meat Loaf to provide vocals on the 'Bat Out of Hell' album.
Madness - 'The Return of the Los Palmas 7'
Russell Cox shared an awesome little comic issued with the 12" version of 'Los Palmas'. Strawberry Switchblade Fan Site added the disc included an alternate take of 'My Girl' that wasn't available anywhere else. What a piece of treasure!
Madness - 'Shut Up'
Who remembers those compilation albums quite often given out as Christmas and birthday gifts like the ones below, shared by Sean? I'd forgotten about 'Stars on 45'. Those Beatles medleys used to drive me bananas! There are however, some little gems tucked away in the track list, one of them being the above song.
I read an interesting piece on the Seven Ragged Men website with some background info about the song and the making of the video. Would you believe Chris Foreman was aiming for "an ABBA-type feel" with the piano sound when he created the song?
There's also a hilarious story about how when Madness were preparing to film the video, they burst into a half derelict place where The Clash were recording. They were wearing police uniforms. Not sure how true it is but it makes good reading!
ABC - 'Tears Are Not Enough'
Jezza shared this fantastic photo of ABC taken at the Rewind festival, Henley in August this year. Apparently they are "still going strong and superb". Having checked the line-up for the entire weekend, I notice there are one or two other names on the bill that we saw in the 1981 poll. Soft Cell, Tenpole Tudor and Heaven 17 to name a few.
And the cool sketch below from August 1984 of Martin Fry is the creation of Jules.
Depeche Mode - 'New Life'
AJ has particularly fond memories of this track. She said, "It featured on the first LP I bought with my first paper round. I was paid £4 for a weeks labour. LP's at the time were £3.99. I bought an LP per week most weeks for at least a year. The foundations of my album collection. Straight down to 'Our Price' after payday. Happy days."
Kim Wilde - 'Kids in America'
What She Said turned 13 the year this song was released and also went to Florida for the first time. So she really was one of the original kids in America! Fast forward to 2023, she went along to watch the lovely Kim at the O2 Academy in Glasgow and took these fantastic photos.
Toyah - It's a Mystery
Yet more wonderful photos from What She Said of Toyah on stage in Dundee in July this year
Fans of The Clash were vocal in their disappointment at the demise of 'The Magnificent Seven'. Had it not been up against Blondie and Madness in this round it could well have been a different outcome. Thankfully Russell Cox came to the rescue to soften the blow again. He kindly shared the rare clip below taken from The Clash's own 'Armagideon Times' fanzine.
Heaven 17 - '(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang
In a bid to push things forward for Heaven 17, Martyn Ware was brought into the arena. The gap narrowed a little after he reposted, but sadly it was not enough to carry the wonderful '(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang' past 'A Good Year for the Roses', which I personally thought was a travesty.
I knew of Martyn's involvement with Heaven 17 and The Human League, but I did not know he also co-produced Terence Trent D'Arby's magnificent debut album. A man of many talents.
Odyssey - 'Going Back to My Roots'
I learned something new about this song courtesy of AJ and Strawberry Switchblade Fan Site. I did not realise it was in fact a cover version. If you, like me weren't aware of this, do check out the original by Lamont Dozier, it will blow you away!
Hazel O'Connor - 'Will You?' I know it hurt a lot of people saying goodbye to such a beautiful track. For me it highlighted what a multifaceted artist Hazel is. I love the lyrics so much I wrote a poem of my own based on them. It's on this page of my poetry blog if you fancy having a gander. Dave Wakeling kindly shared another interesting snippet relating to the song. "The sax solo on 'Will You' was played by Wesley McGoogan, who also played on the Beat's third album, and toured with us. I suggested him 'cos of his solo on Will You." Dave further told us how Wesley's career was tragically cut short after he cut his hand on a bandsaw. Following on from this, Russell Cox once again dug deep in his box of memorabilia and shared the page below from the Special Beat Service tour programme.
The Passions - 'I'm in Love with a German Film Star'
There was such a lot of love for this atmospheric track from the word go. I remember hearing it ringing out from jukeboxes everywhere in 1981, but I didn't know the fascinating little backstory shared by Tomorrow Never Knows. "The German 'film star' who inspired The Passions' song was actually a roadie called Roadent who had worked for The Pistols & The Clash! He had some connection with Germany and had had a few minor parts in films over there. Totally different to what the song conjures for me. Also, the guitarist from The Passions, Clive Timperley, had been in The 101ers with Joe Strummer; maybe how the connection was made?"
It puts a different spin on it for me too.
Queen/David Bowie - 'Under Pressure'
My 12 year old nephew is already an excellent drummer. He's also a massive fan of David Bowie. He contributed a review of 'The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars' to my 40th anniversary fanzine. Prior to starting the poll I asked him if he wanted to nominate any songs. He amongst others suggested the above.
Queen and Bowie never got to perform the song live together, but I was fortunate to see Queen perform it live in 1982. Within seconds of that iconic bass line ringing out, the crowd erupted. It was a magical moment.
Duran Duran - 'Girls on Film'
At one stage in the contest, someone ended up asking
Grok to make an assessment of the songs in a poll that included the above track. For those unaware, Grok is a generative artificial intelligence chat bot developed by Elon Musk's company xAI. It deemed that 'Girls on Film' "defines 80s synth-pop glamour." Then went on
to say, "If I had to pick I'd vote Duran Duran for its iconic edge."
This provoked mixed reactions! Some people saw the funny side, others were offended. Martin said something that I could relate to. "We're talking about really good live music from over 40 years ago, and now we need AI verification that our gut feelings and love of whatever we listened to now needs analysing...by a computer!" It brought to mind a memory of when I first started writing my fanzine. I caused great offence by comparing one of the local bands I reviewed to Duran Duran. And I know a lot of people who took part in the polls will understand why. Call me old fashioned, but somehow I don't think a chatbot ever could.
The Jam - 'Absolute Beginners'
It has been said on more than one occasion that even if I was to run a poll of songs from the 1950s, The Jam would still win. Not on this occasion! Paul Weller described 1981 as an "orribble year for songs" (for The Jam). I think he was being rather harsh, but there certainly wasn't as much love for Absolute Beginners as there was for songs by certain other bands in this poll.
Phil Collins - 'In the Air Tonight'
Of all the contests I've run there were more scarily close moments in this one than in any other! An example is when Phil Collins came up against New Order's 'Ceremony' in round six. I have to say some of the comments about Mr Collins that surfaced from New Order fans were harsh. Although I may have missed the point when someone compared him to a gorilla. Have a look at a certain TV advert for Cadburys chocolate and you'll see what I mean.
To try and balance things out I saw a poignant post on Instagram not long ago showing a video of Phil revisiting his iconic drum kit. It is so obvious his health is declining. The outpouring of love in the many comments was heart warming. And he did play in both the UK and America on the same day for Live Aid in 1985 too, which was no mean feat.
Soft Cell - 'Tainted Love'
Memories of trying to dance to 'Tainted Love' and stay looking cool (unsuccessfully I might add) is the first personal memory to spring to mind when I think of this song. Fortunately Paisley Power had something much more interesting to say about it. "Soft Cell's ground breaking version of 'Tainted Love' was the 11th best-selling UK single of the 80s, and it holds a record for the longest-ever run on the Billboard Hot 100, spending an unprecedented 43 weeks on the chart." I must admit, I expected it to go through to the final rounds but I think the fact that it was a cover version didn't go in its favour. Blondie - 'Rapture' A lot of people commented on how much of a bold move it was for Blondie to release this single. It proved they weren't afraid to experiment. 'Rapture' was the song that introduced hip hop to a mainstream audience and the accompanying video was the first rap video to be broadcast on MTV.
I must be honest here and I hope I don't offend any Blondie fans, but I always thought the lyrics in the rap section seemed as though they'd been thrown together as opposed to thought out, but the fact that it opened things up for a whole new genre of artists is something to be applauded. Wu Tang and Mobb Deep named it as the first rap song they heard as kids. Chris Stein - who went on to co-produce the soundtrack to the classic 1982 hip-hop film 'Wild Style' - had praise for KRS-One's take on 'Rapture' too.
Go-Gos - 'Our Lips Are Sealed'
On 'Our Lips Are Sealed', which was also a hit for Funboy Three the following year, Paisley Power said "I love the fact that 'Our Lips Are Sealed' was written by Terry Hall and Jane Wiedlin about their secret affair. Both versions are amazing. I saw the Go-Go’s supporting the Specials in Southend in 1980 so I think they were having their affair during that tour which resulted in the song."
This seems the perfect point to share some more of What She Said's awesome photos of Belinda Carlisle, who is still looking as beautiful as ever.
The Who - 'You Better You Bet'
Mixed feelings were expressed about the song that turned out to be the last single by The Who to reach the top 10 in the UK singles charts. I am in the camp of thinking it isn't a patch on their earlier material, but in an interview with Uncut magazine in 2001, Roger Daltrey described it as “A wonderful, wonderful song. The way the vocal bounces, it always reminds me of Elvis." He went on to say it was one of his favourite songs of all. Can't argue with that.
Altered Images - 'Happy Birthday'
Confessions about teenage crushes on Clare Grogan emerged on more than one occasion when this song appeared. But Ms Grogan's snub shattered any illusions Anybassdrum might have had when they crossed paths in 1981. He told me, "Altered Images was my first gig in December 81 as a snotty 14 year old. I was obsessed with the band. Met them afterwards and asked Clare for her hair ribbon and she said no. Think I just went red and skulked off. It was The Jam and The Smiths from that point on."
Psst... I think you made the right choice! (Sorry Clare!)
UB40 - 'One in Ten'
A lot of people who like me, were fans of early UB40 were really sad to see this unnerving masterpiece of a song voted out. AJ described it as "a kind of soundtrack of the times", which sums it up perfectly.
Although she was not named directly in the song, it was a protest against then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. It was released when the gap between rich and poor was widening and unemployment figures were rising. I always link it with The Beat's 'Stand Down Margaret'. The sad part is if you read back over the lyrics, it could have been written in 2025.
Tenpole Tudor 'The Swords of a Thousand Men'
Saleiron shared a video of TV presenter and former companion of Basil Brush, Roy North's version on one of the TV programmes he hosted called 'Get it Together'. Umm.. What do you think?
Mark was lucky enough to be at the Son of Stiff tour in October 1980, where Tenpole Tudor were on the bill. He shared his ticket from the gig. Check the price!
The Beat - 'Too Nice To Talk To'
Dave Wakeling shared a lovely story when the drama reached a peak for the above song in round eight. He said, "Phew, this is tougher than when we used to wait for the BBC Chart results on a Tuesday morning. I would call from the phone box on the corner, just after 9!"
I hope the fact that The Beat made the top 10 in my polls was some consolation. Judging by the army of fans who rallied around every time without exception, I'd say they are number one in a lot of people's books.
Before moving on any further, I would like to give my own special vote of thanks to Dave for getting so involved in the polls. There are many musicians who don't take the time to interact with fans on social media, but Dave does not fall into that category. His involvement added to both the fun and drama of it all, and some wonderful little snippets emerged as a result of it. If you are reading this Dave, then thank you! It means an awful lot to us fans of 80s music.
And for anyone who picked up on the fact that 'Too Nice...'was released in 1980. I make no apologies for including it, because according to Discogs, it was released in 1981 in South Africa... and it was somehow missed off the 1980 poll.
The Jam - 'Funeral Pyre'
As we embarked on the semi-finals, we were well and truly into pick your favourite child territory. Sadly for fans of The Jam it was clear from the outset 'Funeral Pyre' was not going to make it through. I know there will be many who were disappointed at the outcome. Rick's drumming on 'Funeral Pyre' takes things into another stratosphere. Quite a lot of people were counting on this underrated single picking up pace in his memory. If it's any consolation, when I ran the Rick Buckler polls earlier this year, Funeral Pyre was the runaway winner.
It did however, give Slapjaw Johnson a chance to turn to a rather cool Rockola Jukebox to help with the decision making The Jam won his/her vote, but check out the other selections too!
Siouxsie and the Banshees - 'Spellbound'
In third place was a genre defining song, which in my opinion has one of the finest intros of all time!
John McGeoch's distinctive guitar sounds dominate throughout as acknowledged by no other than Johnny Marr in a 2008 interview on BBC Radio 2.
To quote Johnny... “It’s so clever… in three ways he’s attacking it. He’s got the sound of a 12-string acoustic, which is a great thing you didn’t really hear very much on records. And then he’s got this really good picking thing going on which was very un-rock’n’roll. And this actual tune he’s playing is really quite mysterious.”
Perfectly said Mr Marr!
The Teardrop Explodes - 'Reward'
There was so much love for the worthy runner up from the word go. Who else but Julian Cope could have penned the opening lyrics of "Bless my cotton socks I'm in the news"? It's an outstanding track in every respect, that sweeps you along from the first note to the last drumbeat.
Ian S remembers arriving at a Donnington scooter rally in the mid eighties late at night, to hear this song blasting out. It brings back some great memories for him.
Jason still has his copy tucked away in his record collection. It has a special place in his heart because it was the first single he bought with pocket money given to him by his mum. It was also one of the songs he nominated. I hope he's pleased with where it ended up in the poll.
It was also the first single Doofnick bought for the princely sum of 99 pence.
Catherine Arthur relayed a funny little story I can relate to, having learned audio typing around the same time as her myself. She said "So many memories. Mainly college, as I switched my audio typing cassette for Kilimanjaro to feed my obsession with Julian Cope, and typed out the lyrics instead.
Dear Sir,
Re: Bless my cotton socks..."
I bet the single had a special place in Dave The Buzzard's mum's record collection too. Dave says "I remember seeing them on TOTP and asking my mum if she liked it. Luckily she said yes - so I had her Mother’s Day gift sorted early 
. Great video too - the brass section was amazing."
Angela Barrs also nominated 'Reward' for inclusion in the poll. She expressed how happy she was to see it do so well. It brought back happy memories of the time she saw The Teardrop Explodes at Sheffield City Hall in June 1981.
Nick Blake thought the song should have been the winner. He said, "In 1981 this was one of the most innovative songs out there. Cope was a genius."
Billion Dollar Brain shared another memory. "I love they flew back from a tour in the US to do Top of the Pops when it went top six, and then did an -in-concert for Radio 1 (which I still have on a cassette)."
I was lucky enough to see TTE just once, supporting Queen at Elland Road football stadium in 1982. I was so far away from where they were playing they seemed very distant, because in those days we didn't have big screens all over the place to give you a better view. My overriding memory is of Julian lunging across the stage continuously and the crowd reacting strongly when they played 'Reward'. The guy I went with was a huge fan and I think seeing them was more of a highlight for him than seeing Queen.
The Specials - 'Ghost Town'
Prior to the grand final starting, Steve gave a clue as to what he thought the winner might be. And he was absolutely right. But let's be honest, there was never any doubt about which song was going to take the crown - and with good reason.
Although the song wasn't specifically written about the summer riots of 1981, there were connections and it will forever be associated with them for those of us who were around at the time. The timing of its release was as eery as the instantly recognisable intro.
In an interview with Byline Times in 2021, Jerry Dammers spoke in detail about how he came to write what became an era defining song. "It was inspired by what we saw touring. We saw old ladies on the streets of Glasgow selling cups and saucers and household goods. We went to Liverpool and saw all the shops boarded up and lots of homeless on the streets. There was almost three million unemployed and the previous year, in 1980, there had been a big riot in the St Paul's district of Bristol."
No other song so perfectly summed up the unrest and social decay of the time. But the sad part is I've lost count of how many people commented on how the sentiments of the song are still relevant, albeit in some cases for slightly different reasons.
Smithpeteralb commented "The lyrics are a prophecy of most High Streets 44 years later. Many have become GHOST TOWNS saved only by betting shops, charity shops coffee houses and eateries...most of which are chains so one high street looks much the same as any other. The price we pay for online shopping. We used to have a small parade of five independent shops nearby, they have long gone and one large Co-op now occupies all of that space. Our High Street has no greengrocers, butchers, hardware store and only one shoe shop. Even pubs are closing down and they are now building flats."
Ruby also made a comment that will resonate with a lot of people "Ghost Town was an anthem of the summer 1981. Britain was burning and this song epitomised that time for me as a young kid. A song that is as relevant today. The much missed Terry Hall was a genius."
And Tyneside Tiger made another. "Ghost Town is 1981 and 1981 was Ghost Town. Only one winner."
Andy Plantes has memories of a different kind. "Ghost Town was a great song of my youth. I ended up living not too far away from the Albany Pub on Albany Road where Two Tone started and played many of their first gigs. There's a plaque on a rather plain looking 1920s house about 100m from the pub that was the label's headquarters.
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| Photo from Wikimedia |
Kevin Nicholls got to sit in the car that featured in the iconic video when he visited the Coventry Music Museum.
Another artistic creation from Jules.
I featured some of the excellent artwork of Paul Halmshaw in a previous post about The Jam. He has kindly given me permission to share the piece below dedicated to 'Ghost Town'. His work is available to buy on eBay.
And I was chuffed to bits when WestHamVan shared this fantastic 1981 Spotify playlist. It features 90 of the finest singles of the year, all of which featured at some point in the poll. I will be listening to it over the coming days/weeks for sure. Hope you will too.
So that brings us to the end of our celebration of all things 1981. I hope you've enjoyed the latest ride on the nostalgia train. Thank you to everyone who took part in this and all of my polls.
- The Specials Ghost Town
- The Teardrop Explodes Reward
- Siouxsie & The Banshees Spellbound
- The Jam Funeral Pyre
- The Human League Don’t You Want Me
- Depeche Mode Just Can’t Get Enough
- The Beat Too Nice To Talk To
- Tenpole Tudor The Swords of a Thousand Men
- Squeeze Tempted
- The Psychedelic Furs Pretty in Pink
- Madness It Must Be Love
- OMD Joan of Arc
- UB40 One in Ten
- The Clash Radio Clash
- Altered Images Happy Birthday
- The Who You Better You Bet
- Blondie Rapture
- The Go-Gos Our Lips Are Sealed
- The Human League The Sound of the Crowd
- Roxy Music Jealous Guy
- Funboy Three The Lunatics (Have Taken Over the Asylum
- New Order Ceremony
- Soft Cell Tainted Love
- Squeeze Is That Love?
- The Jam Absolute Beginners
- Phil Collins In the Air Tonight
- Kraftwerk The Model
- The Beat Doors of Your Heart
- Duran Duran Girls on Film
- Elvis Costello Good Year for the Roses
- Dead Kennedys Too Drunk to Fuck
- Duran Duran Planet Earth
- The Police Every Little Thing She Does is Magic
- The Undertones It’s Going to Happen
- Soft Cell Bedsitter
- Hazel O’Connor Will You?
- Heaven 17 (We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thang
- The Clash The Magnificent Seven
- Landscape Einstein A Go-Go
- Queen/David Bowie Under Pressure
- Spandau Ballet Chant No One (I Don’t Need This Pressure On)
- The Passions I’m in Love With a German Film Star
- Ultravox Vienna
- ELO Hold on Tight
- Odyssey Going Back to My Roots
- Stiff Little Fingers Just Fade Away
- The Police Invisible Sun
- Rainbow I Surrender
- Toyah It’s a Mystery
- OMD Souvenir
- Haircut One Hundred Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl)
- ABC Tears Are Not Enough
- Madness Shut Up
- Kraftwerk Computer Love
- Madness Grey Day
- Grace Jones Pull Up to the Bumper
- New Order Procession
- Madness The Return of the Los Palmas 7
- Kim Carnes Bette Davis Eyes
- The Police Spirits in the Material World
- Ultravox The Voice
- Billy Idol Dancing With Myself
- Kim Wilde Kids in America
- Depeche Mode New Life
- Stray Cats Stray Cat Strut
- Dexys Midnight Runners Show Me
- Motörhead Motörhead
- Echo & The Bunnymen A Promise
- Journey Don’t Stop Believin’
- Dexys Midnight Runners Plan B
- Simple Minds Love Song
- Siouxsie & The Banshees Arabian Knights
- Randy Crawford Rainy Night in Georgia
- Rick Springfield Jessie’s Girl
- The Pretenders I Go to Sleep
- Japan Quiet Life
- The Rolling Stones Start Me Up
- The Clash Hitsville UK
- Adam & the Ants Prince Charming
- Meat Loaf Dead Ringer for Love
- The Beat Drowning
- The Whispers It’s a Love Thing
- Pete Shelley Homosapien
- Simple Minds The American
- Sheena Easton For Your Eyes Only
- The Associates White Car in Germany
- Bucks Fizz Making Your Mind Up
- Scritti Politti The Sweetest Girl
- Christopher Cross Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do)
- Ian Dury Spasticus Autisticus
- Toyah Wilcox Thunder in the Mountains
- Stray Cats Rock This Town
- Ozzy Osbourne Crazy Train
- Michael Jackson One Day in Your Life
- Phil Collins I Missed Again
- The Chords One More Minute
- Abba One of Us
- Smokey Robinson Being with You
- John Foxx Europe After the Rain
- The Damned Limit Club
- The Teardrop Explodes Passionate Friend
- Pigbag Papa’s Got a Brand New Pigbag
- Adam & the Ants Stand and Deliver
- The Undertones Julie Ocean
- Bauhaus The Passion of Lovers
- Stiff Little Fingers Silver Lining
- Elvis Costello Watch Your Step
- Earth Wind & Fire Let’s Groove
- Squeeze Labelled With Love
- The Cure Primary
- New Order Everything’s Gone Green
- Abba Lay All Your Love on Me
- The Selecter Celebrate the Bullet
- Bruce Springsteen The River
- The Stranglers Let me Introduce you to the Family
- Stevie Nicks/Tom Petty Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around
- The Human League Love Action (I Believe in Love)
- Phil Collins If Leaving Me Is Easy
- The Tom Tom Club Wordy Rappinghood
- Killing Joke Follow the Leaders
- Laurie Anderson O Superman
- Freeez Southern Freeez
- Heaven 17 Play to Win
- Japan Visions of China
- Jon & Vangelis I’ll Find My Way Home
- Kim Wilde Cambodia
- Genesis No Reply at All
- Stevie Wonder Lately
- Kate Bush Sat in your Lap
- Godley and Crème Under Your Thumb
- The Exploited Dead Cities
- Jon & Vangelis State of Independence
- Slade We’ll Bring the House Down
- Au Pairs Inconvenience
- The Members Working Girl
- Angelic Upstarts Kids on the Street
- Japan The Art of Parties
- Whitesnake Don’t Break My Heart Again
- The Rolling Stones Waiting on a Friend
- The Fall Lie Dream of a Casino Soul
- Ultravox The Thin Wall
- Joe Dolce Shaddap You Face
- U2 Gloria
- Theatre of Hate Rebel Without a Brain
- Foreigner Urgent
- Shakin’ Stevens Green Door
- Gillan New Orleans
- Berlin Metro
- Black Sabbath Mob Rules
- Divinyls Boys in Town
- Motörhead/Girlschool Please Don’t Touch
- Mobiles Drowning in Berlin
- George Harrison All Those Years Ago
- ELO Twilight
- Tom Tom Club Genius of Love
- The Undertones When Saturday Comes
- Ramones The KKK Took My Baby Away
- The Cure Charlotte Sometimes
- Shakin’ Stevens This Ole House
- Sugar Minott Good Thing Going
- Rush Tom Sawyer
- Genesis Abacab
- Adam and the Ants Ant Rap
- Gang of Four To Hell With Poverty
- Dolly Mixture Been Teen
- ELO Ticket to the Moon
- The Who Don’t Let Go The Coat
- Orange Juice Poor Old Soul
- Discharge Never Again
- Saxon And The Bands Played On
- Magazine About The Weather
- Graham Bonnet Night Games
- Elaine Paige Memory
- Diana Ross/Lionel Richie Endless Love
- Slade Wheels Ain’t Coming Down
- UK Subs Keep on Runnin’ (Til You Burn)
- Linx Intuition
- Third World Dancing on the Floor (Hooked on Love)
- D.A.F. Der Mussolini
- Material/Nona Hendryx Bustin’ Out
- Foreigner Juke Box Hero
- Gary Numan & Dramatis Love Needs No Disguise
- Greg Kihn Band The Breakup Song (Don’t Write ‘em)
- Tony Capstick Capstick Comes Home
- Showaddywaddy Footsteps
- Bow Wow Wow W.O.R.K. (N.O. Nah No! No! My Daddy Don't)
- The Bureau Let Him Have It
- Styx The Best of Times
- Clock DVA 4 Hours
- The Sound Sense of Purpose (What are we going to do?)
- Central Line Walking Into Sunshine
- The Jones Girls Over Egypt
- Slim Dusty Duncan
- The Tweets Birdie Song
- Genesis Keep it Dark
- Gary Wright Really Wanna Know You
- Roger Taylor My Country
- Cheap ‘n’ Nasty Covergirl
- Roger Taylor Future Management
- Billy Squier In The Dark
Thank Jill. Great summary of an incredible well organised poll. Some fantastic memories of those bands and songs.
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