We're rolling back the clocks to 1981 in the latest set of music polls, running on X. From the beginning of August, 200 singles released that year will be battling it out. There is a real eclectic mix, reflecting the music scene of the time. We have everything from The Exploited to Joe Dolce, The Fall to Shakin' Stevens, Discharge to Bucks Fizz and lots more in between.
Whilst the polls are running, I will be updating this page so please do bookmark and revisit.
If you're following the polls on X remember to use the hashtag #1981singlespoll so you don't miss out. And if you're reading this and you would like to follow me I can be found by tapping on the icon below.
Day 45 - Friday 19th September
Oof! The first two polls of round eight have just kicked off and things are already getting heated! The 16 songs left in the contest are all gems of the highest quality!
Tonight we said goodbye to:
Roxy Music - 'Jealous Guy'
Go-Gos - 'Our Lips Are Sealed'
This seems the perfect point to share some awesome photos of Belinda Carlisle taken only recently by What She Said.
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."
I'm taking a short break from the polls until Monday. See you then and do keep on sharing your stories about the songs left to battle it out.
Day 44 - Thursday 18th September
We have officially entered "pick your favourite child" territory!
For almost the full 24 hours poll two was active Siouxsie & The Banshees - 'Spellbound' and Blondie - 'Rapture' battled for second place. 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 with different styles for sure. In the end, Siouxie pushed ahead.
Poll one wasn't as much of a nail biter. Fans of Squeeze and early UB40 came out in force, resulting in 'Tempted' and 'One in Ten' securing their places in round eight.
Voted out tonight were:
Funboy Three - The Lunatics (Have Taken Over the Asylum)
Blondie - Rapture
The last batch of songs in round seven has got off to a fiery start! Stay tuned!
Day 43 - Wednesday 17th September
It was another close call in one of tonight's polls! New Order and OMD pushed each other about back and forth throughout the entire poll. In the end 'Joan of Arc' sneaked ahead but it was another nail biter! I know a lot of people were mega disappointed about Squeeze's exit, but fear not, I've just had a quick peak and it looks as though their other remaining song ('Tempted') is doing rather well.
The two songs voted out tonight were:
New Order - 'Ceremony'
Squeeze - 'Is That Love'
Day 42 - Tuesday 16th September
A fantastic 2425 votes were cast across the first two polls of round seven! A big thank you to everyone who is getting involved.
As we're now down to just 24 songs, there aren't any weak tracks left in the contest. I know this is causing some headaches for people. Hope you will stick with it right to the end.
Over in poll one, The Specials' 'Ghost Town' dominated as it has done from the word go. I can see the words "grand final" stamped all over this chilling masterpiece. There has been a lot of love for Teardrop Explodes' 'Reward' all the way through too and yesterday was no exception. It rolled into second place.
After the disappointment of saying goodbye to 'Doors of Your Heart' last night, it was another triumph for The Beat tonight with 'Too Nice To Talk To' sailing ahead in poll two. The Who's 'You Better You Bet' nudged into second place.
The two songs voted out tonight were:
Soft Cell - 'Tainted Love'
The Human League ' The Sound of the Crowd'
Day 41 - Monday 15th September
The last two songs to be voted out of round six were:
The Beat - Doors of Your Heart
Duran Duran - Planet Earth
Day 40 - Sunday 14th September
Gosh! The penultimate set of polls in round six were dramatic! Over in poll one, with a little help from Dave Wakeling and The Beat's army of fans, 'Too Nice To Talk To' went from being in last place to winning... even overtaking the mighty 'Funeral Pyre'! It was a very tight race for third place between 'Our Lips Are Sealed' and 'Absolute Beginners' all the way through. It certainly had me on the edge of my seat!
In poll two, it was clear from the get go The Teardrop Explodes' 'Reward' was going to storm ahead of the rest. The order of the remaining three, namely Funboy Three - 'The Lunatics...', 'Blondie - 'Rapture' and Kraftwerk - 'The Model' wasn't quite so cut and dried.
In the finish we said goodbye to these two tracks:
The Jam - 'Absolute Beginners'
Kraftwerk - 'The Model'
The final set of polls in this round has just kicked off and it's looking like it's going to be another lively one!
Day 39 - Saturday 13th September
Just a quick update today. I need a lie down in a dark room after the battle that was going on between New Order's 'Ceremony' and Phil Collins' 'In the Air Tonight'! It wasn't until the poll was drawing to a close that New Order sneaked in front. The end result pleased some but not others.
There were only two polls again last night and the songs voted out were...
Phil Collins - 'In The Air Tonight'
Elvis Costello - 'A Good Year for the Roses'
I have my tin hat on ready for tonight's polls! Both songs by The Jam are in the same poll! Say no more!
Day 38 - Friday 12th September
Round six started with an impressive 2396 votes, spread across two polls of four songs. Because three from each poll were due to go through, thankfully there weren't too many tense moments. Tonight's polls seem to have got off to an equally level start also. The calm before the storm methinks, because tomorrow's polls are both stinkers!
The two songs below were voted out tonight. There was relief expressed in some quarters over Duran Duran's exit but disappointment over saying goodbye to Dead Kennedys. I have to give a mention to Stephen at this point, who is not only still wearing his TDTF tee shirt with pride, but can still fit in it!
Duran Duran - 'Girls on Film'
Dead Kennedys - 'Too Drunk to Fuck'
Day 37 - Thursday 11th September
Round five finished in dramatic style! It was touch and go all the way through, but The Beat's 'Doors of Your Heart' finally managed to nudge out Landscape's 'Einstein A Go-Go', with a little help from friend of the polls Dave Wakeling.
The Jam, The Teardrop Explodes, New Order and Tenpole Tudor (closely followed by Kraftwerk) were the winners of the day. The six songs below were voted out.
The Police - 'Invisible Sun'
Landscape - 'Einstein A Go-Go'
Queen/David Bowie - 'Under Pressure'
Ultravox - 'Vienna'
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.
Hazel O'Connor - 'Will You?'
I know it will have hurt a lot of people saying goodbye to such a beautiful track. For me it highlighted what a multifaceted artist Hazel is.
Dave Wakeling kindly shared another interesting little nugget 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.
Day 36 - Wednesday 10th September
The penultimate batch of songs in round four was an interesting mix. I learned something new about Odyssey's 'Going Back to My Roots' courtesy of AJ and Strawberry Switchblade Fan Site. I did not realise the song 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!
Someone ended up asking Grok to make an assessment of the songs in poll two. It deemed that Duran Duran's '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. Duran Duran did in fact go through to the next round, but were overtaken by Squeeze - 'Tempted'.
We said goodbye to these songs tonight:
Odyssey - 'Going Back to My Roots'
ELO - 'Hold on Tight'
OMD - 'Souvenir'
Day 35 - Tuesday 9th September
There were yet more disappointments over the three songs voted out tonight, but I'm afraid we have reached that difficult point in the contest.
In a bid to push things forward for Heaven 17, Steve brought Martyn Ware into the arena. The gap narrowed a little in poll one after Martyn reposted, but sadly it was not enough to carry the wonderful 'Fascist Groove Thang' past 'A Good Year for the Roses'.
Roxy Music's 'Jealous Guy' sneaked into second place by a whisker in poll two. The Beat once again stole the show, leading to suggestions by Nige of brown envelopes being exchanged across the pond and comparisons to dodgy dealings Arthur Daley style being drawn!
Over in poll three, fans of The Clash were vocal in their disappointment at the demise of 'The Magnificent Seven'. Had they not been up against Blondie and Madness it could well have been a different outcome. I hope the clip below taken from The Clash's own 'Armagidion Times' fanzine kindly shared by Russell Cox will soften the blow.
The three songs voted out tonight were:
Heaven 17 - '(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang'
The Undertones - 'It's Going to Happen'
The Clash - 'The Magnificent Seven'
Day 34 - Monday 8th September
Thankfully things weren't quite as close in yesterday's polls. I don't think my nerves could have taken another nail biter! A number of people expressed shock and disappointment at Phil Collins usurping Stiff Little Fingers. I guess it could be because 'Just Fade Away' isn't one of SLF's better known singles, whereas 'In the Air Tonight' has stayed current through the decades. I seem to think it was the backdrop to a Cadbury's chocolate ad some years ago.
The clear winners were Go-Gos - 'Our Lips Are Sealed', The Human League - 'Don't You Want Me' and (surprise surprise) The Jam - 'Funeral Pyre'.
The three songs we said goodbye to tonight were:
Soft Cell - 'Bedsitter'
Rainbow - 'I Surrender'
Stiff Little Fingers - 'Just Fade Away'
Day 33 - Sunday 7th September
Round five got off to a dramatic start! Once again we had another of those polls that gives me a sleepless night! The votes were split almost evenly between The Clash, The Human League and The Police all the way through poll three. I really thought I was going to have to step in and make a decision about which two songs should go through. Thankfully things shifted at the 11th hour, when 'Radio Clash' and 'The Sound of the Crowd' nudged ahead by a hair's breadth.
There were three polls yesterday. We said goodbye to the following songs:
Toyah - It's a Mystery
Spandau Ballet - Chant No 1 (I Don't Need This Pressure On)
The Police - Every Little Thing She Does is Magic
Day 32 - Saturday 6th September
Round five has kicked off and it looks like it's going to be another dramatic one! We are now down to 50 songs.
Round four finished tonight with a total of five polls. Poll three saw Kraftwerk and Dead Kennedys jostling for second place from beginning to end. DK managed to sneak ahead just before reaching the finish line.
Poll one was the toughest of the five. There was a lot of love for Kim Wilde's 'Kids in America', but it was up against two 1981 giants, namely Tenpole Tudor's 'The Swords of a Thousand Men' and Depeche Mode's 'Just Can't Get Enough'.
I hope these photos of the lovely Kim taken at the O2 Academy in Glasgow two years ago will help soften the blow for all those who voted for her.
The last five songs voted out of round four were:
Kim Wilde - 'Kids in America'
Ultravox - 'The Voice'
Kraftwerk - 'Computer Love'
Randy Crawford - 'Rainy Night in Georgia'
Rick Springfield - 'Jessie's Girl'
We're into the last batch of songs of round four can you believe?
There was some debate over whether The Who deserved to win poll one. Quite a few people did not consider 'You Better You Bet' to be their finest hour. I must admit I was surprised to see it overtake Madness. It really hasn't been their round. Three of their four songs have fallen by the wayside, leaving only 'It Must Be Love' to fight another day.
In poll three, 'I'm in Love With a German Film Star' by The Passions squeezed ahead of The Police and made its way into round five. There is such a lot of love for this ethereal sounding track! It deserves to do well.
These four songs were voted out tonight:
Madness - 'Shut Up'
Billy Idol - 'Dancing With Myself'
The Police - 'Spirits in the Material World'
Dexys Midnight Runners - 'Plan B'.
See you tomorrow for the start of round five!
Day 30 - Thursday 4th September
The results of one of yesterday's polls was the closest and most dramatic yet. From the outset, there was barely a whisker between 'Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl)', 'Good Year for the Roses' and 'It's Going to Happen', and it continued that way! In the finish, The Undertones sneaked ahead, finishing with 34.7% of the votes. Elvis Costello managed 32.7% and... wait for it... Haircut One Hundred 32.6%!
Poll three featured Ultravox, Rainbow and Journey and attracted the highest number of votes. However, strong views were expressed about the mix of songs by several people, as they were over Siouxsie & The Banshees being outdone by Roxy Music and The Human League in poll one.
Voted out tonight were:
Siouxsie & The Banshees - 'Arabian Knights'
Kim Carnes - 'Bette Davis Eyes'
Journey - 'Don't Stop Believin''
Haircut One Hundred - 'Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl)'
Day 29 - Wednesday 3rd September
Well well well... yesterday's poll results threw up a few surprises! The biggest was seeing 'Grey Day' by Madness fall by the wayside. It was left behind by UB40's 'One in Ten' and Duran Duran's 'Girls on Film'. This upset quite a few fans of the Nutty Boys, several of who believe 'Grey Day' is one of their finest singles.
Poll two caused the most headaches. The way the cards fell, 'The Magnificent Seven' by The Clash and 'The Lunatics (Have Taken Over the Asylum)' by Funboy Three ended up pitted against the atmospheric 'A Promise' by Echo & The Bunnymen. I know a lot of people were sad to see the Bunnymen voted out.
One of the clear winners was The Beat's 'Too Nice To Talk To'. I was really touched when Dave Wakeling commented saying he would be playing the song in Portland Oregon later in the evening and thinking about all the people who were voting for him as he did so. Your positive thought vibes clearly worked Dave!
We said goodbye to these four songs tonight:
Dexys Midnight Runners - 'Show Me'
Echo & The Bunnymen - 'A Promise'
Depeche Mode - 'New Life'
Madness - 'Grey Day'
Day 28 - Tuesday 2nd September
There was some good news for New Order fans tonight. After the disappointment of Procession being voted out yesterday, 'Ceremony' sailed ahead comfortably into the next round.
Unfortunately the same can't be said for those who voted for ABC's debut single. Jezza shared this fantastic photo of the band taken at the Rewind festival in Henley only the other week. Apparently they are "still going strong and superb".
The big winners of the night were Squeeze, Soft Cell, New Order and The Specials. The four tracks below were voted out:
The Pretenders - 'I Go to Sleep'
ABC - 'Tears Are Not Enough'
Simple Minds - 'Love Song'
Grace Jones - 'Pull Up to the Bumper'
Day 27 - Monday 1st September
Round four got off to a fantastic start last night! There were a couple of very close polls, the most nail biting being poll four. Motörhead and Toyah battled it out for second place from the outset. There was 0.2% between them in the finish.
Over in poll three there were a lot of disappointed Madness fans as 'The Return of the Los Palmas 7' was overtaken by OMD's 'Souvenir'. I hope this awesome little comic shared by Russell Cox will soften the blow. It was 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!
The clear winners of the night were The Jam, Go-Gos, Psychedelic Furs and Kraftwerk.
Here's a rundown of the four songs voted out:
Stray Cats - 'Stray Cat Strut'
New Order - 'Procession'
Madness - 'The Return of the Los Palmas 7'
Motörhead - 'Motörhead'
Day 26 - Sunday 31st August
Round four has officially kicked off! Out of the original 200 songs, we are now down to 75.
There was a lot of disappointment tonight over 'Hitsville UK' by The Clash being voted out. At one point it was touch and go whether this 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 propel The Beat into third place.
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 is 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.
Over 5700 votes were cast in yesterday's polls. Here are the songs we said goodbye to:
The Clash - 'Hitsville UK'
Phil Collins - 'I Missed Again'
Christopher Cross - 'Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)'
Abba - 'One of Us'
Ozzy Osbourne - 'Crazy Train'
Day 25 - Saturday 30th August
We're into the final batch of songs in round three. A fantastic 5905 votes were cast in yesterday's polls. It's fantastic to see so many people getting involved!
Seeing as it would have been John Peel's 86th birthday today it seems like the perfect point to post this wonderful photo shared by Brian F of John's 1981 Festive 50.
Although not all the songs were released in 1981, there are a few mentioned that have featured in the polls, one of which was Scritti Politti's 'The Sweetest Girl'. Sadly it won't be featuring in the top 50 here.
Just when I didn't think things could get any more nail biting, we came the closest we've come so far to needing a tiebreaker. ABC - 'Tears Are Not Enough', Siouxsie and the Banshees - 'Arabian Knights' and Stray Cats - 'Rock This Town' raced side by side throughout the whole of poll one. It wasn't until the final hour that Stray Cats dropped slightly behind the other two. However, fans of Stray Cats need not feel too despondent because over in poll four, 'Stray Cat Strut' strutted comfortably into the next round.
The five songs we said goodbye to tonight were:
Stray Cats - 'Rock This Town'
Scritti Politti - 'The Sweetest Girl'
Michael Jackson - 'One Day in Your Life'
The Chords - 'One More Minute'
The Damned - 'Limit Club'
Day 24 - Friday 29th August
A fantastic 5746 votes were cast across yesterday's five polls and tensions were once again running high! I have a feeling this is how things are going to be through to the end of the contest.
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 and a ban put in place by the BBC soon after its release. Sadly it will not be going any further in the polls beyond today either, but the rapturous reception Ian received when he played the song at the London Palladium shortly before his death spoke volumes.
Another song voted out tonight that I don't recall hearing too much about back in the day was John Foxx's 'Europe After the Rain'. 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.
A summary of all the tracks voted out tonight is as follows:
Ian Dury - 'Spasticus Autisticus'
John Foxx - 'Europe After the Rain'
Smokey Robinson - 'Being With You'
The Rolling Stones - 'Start Me Up'
Bucks Fizz - 'Making Your Mind Up'
Day 23 - Thursday 28th August
These five songs were voted out tonight:
Sheena Easton - 'For Your Eyes Only'
The Associates - 'White Car in Germany'
Toyah Wilcox - 'Thunder in the Mountains'
Japan - 'Quiet Life'
Simple Minds - 'The American'
Day 22 - Wednesday 27th August
A fantastic 5318 votes were cast in the first set of polls of round three! Many thanks to everyone!
One of the songs voted out was the brilliant 'Homosapien' by Pete Shelley. I know quite a few people were disappointed to see it go, 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.
Things got nail biting-ly close in poll two. 'The Voice' by Ultravox and 'It's a Love Thing' by The Whispers battled back and forth throughout. Ultravox scraped through in the finish, but there was only 0.2% in it.
Echo and the Bunnymen's 'A Promise' was lagging behind in poll five to begin with, but picked up pace overnight.
The first five songs to go in round three were:
Pete Shelley - 'Homosapien'
The Whispers - 'It's a Love Thing'
Adam & the Ants - 'Prince Charming'
The Beat - 'Drowning'
Meat Loaf - 'Dead Ringer for Love'
Day 21 - Tuesday 26th August
There were some tense moments in the last batch of polls in round two.
I know many were willing New Order's 'Everything's Gone Green' to nudge out Odyssey's 'Going Back to My Roots' but alas it wasn't to be. It was mighty close though.
Poll three caused the most headaches especially for fans of The Human League. Soft Cell's 'Tainted Love' gave The Jam's 'Funeral Pyre' a run for its money. This is almost unheard of in one of my polls! It has been said before that even if my polls were for songs from the 1950s The Jam would still win.
Poll four was another nail-biter with Phil Collins and The Associates riding neck and neck all the way through.
The final batch of songs to be voted out in round two were as follows:
New Order - 'Everything's Gone Green'
Whitesnake - 'Don't Break My Heart Again'
The Human League - 'Love Action (I Believe in Love)'
Phil Collins - 'If Leaving Me Is Easy'
Gillan - 'New Orleans'
Hope you enjoy round three!
Day 20 - Monday 25th August
I can't believe we're into the final batch of songs of round two tonight. Time flies when you're having fun! There were some shock exits and disappointments yesterday, and some close calls too. A lot of people expected Pigbag to go through to the final rounds and many people commented on how much they enjoyed 'Southern Freeez', a cool little jazz funk number which I for one was glad to be reminded of. Phil Collins and Elvis Costello battled it out for second place in poll four, with Elvis falling by the wayside in the final hours.
Voted out were these five songs:
Abba - 'Lay All Your Love on Me'
Pigbag - 'Papa's Got a Brand New Pigbag'
Freeez - 'Southern Freeez'
Elvis Costello - 'Watch Your Step'
Divinyls - 'Boys in Town'
Day 19 - Sunday 24th August
Phew! We had the closest result of the contest so far in one of yesterday's polls! Rainbow's 'I Surrender' and Earth Wind & Fire's 'Let's Groove' jostled for second place in poll three. In the last few minutes, Rainbow sneaked ahead with 25.3% of the vote whilst EW&F finished on 24.5%.
One of the winning songs was Tenpole Tudor's 'Swords of a Thousand Men'. Saleiron shared a video of TV presenter and former companion of Basil Brush, Roy North's version on TV programme 'Get it Together'. Umm..
John Winn shared an interesting nugget about SLF's 'Silver Lining'. The song had a different feel to many of the band's other tracks which probably had something to do with it featuring the brass section of Q Tips. An additional piece of info is Q Tips were formed from the remnants of Streetband. (Remember 'Toast'?) Paul Young was a former member.
A summary of the songs voted out tonight...
The Tom Tom Club - 'Wordy Rappinghood'
Stevie Wonder - 'Lately'
Earth Wind & Fire - 'Let's Groove'
Bauhaus - 'The Passion of Lovers'
Stiff Little Fingers - 'Silver Lining'
Day 18 - Saturday 23rd August
A few interesting little nuggets emerged from yesterday's polls, some of which will be included at a later stage so stay tuned. Please do keep them coming! My aim is that the finished post will be an overall celebration of 1981 music.
One of the songs nominated that I personally had forgotten about was Berlin's 'Metro'. Having refreshed my memory and with the benefit of hindsight I can see it was something of a forerunner. What I didn't know is US punks The Alkaline Trio did a rather cool cover of it on their 2007 compilation album 'Remains'. They certainly put their own spin on it! Have a listen and see what you think.
The inclusion of Shakin' Stevens once again 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 relatively unknown Vic Reeves appearing in the video for 'What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me for?'
Kevin was particularly sad to see Slade voted out tonight. 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? Apparently he got a mention in Noddy's autobiography.
The clear winners of the night were:
Madness - 'Grey Day'
The Police - 'Spirits in the Material World'
The Human League - 'Don't You Want Me?'
The Clash - 'Hitsville UK' closely followed by Smokey Robinson - 'Being With You' The Specials - 'Ghost Town'.
We said goodbye to:
Slade - 'We'll Bring the House Down'
Stevie Nicks/Tom Petty - 'Stop Draggin' My Heart Around'
Shakin' Stevens - 'Green Door'
Berlin - 'Metro'
U2 - 'Gloria'
Day 17 - Friday 22nd August
Just a brief update with the five songs voted out tonight.
Au Pairs - 'Inconvenience'
Kim Wilde - 'Cambodia'
The Rolling Stones - 'Waiting on a Friend'
The Undertones - 'Julie Ocean'
Heaven 17 - 'Play to Win'
Day 16 - Thursday 21st August
There was a great response to the polls yesterday. 5000+ votes were cast.
In poll four, mixed feelings were expressed over Ultravox's atmospheric classic 'Vienna' and there were waves of disappointment over the lack of support for the dandy highwayman.
The clear winners were Queen and David Bowie's 'Under Pressure', Toyah's 'Thunder in the Mountains' and Kim Wilde's 'Kids in America'.
Tonight we said goodbye to...
Bruce Springsteen - 'The River'
Jon & Vangelis - 'I'll Find My Way Home'
Theatre of Hate - 'Rebel Without A Brain'
Adam and the Ants - 'Stand And Deliver'
Genesis - 'No Reply At All'
Day 15 - Wednesday 20th August
Wow! I didn't realise how many headaches I was going to cause with last night's polls, especially #2, which saw The Teardrop Explodes' 'Reward', Squeeze's 'Labelled With Love' and 'It Must Be Love' by the Nutty Boys vying for a place in the next round. The Teardrops ruled supreme in the end with Madness just nudging ahead of Squeeze.
Over in poll #4 quite a few people expressed disappointment at Godley and Creme's 'Under Your Thumb' falling behind OMD's 'Joan Of Arc' and Hazel O'Connor's 'Will You?'
There was a lot of love for 'Stray Cat Strut', 'New Life' and 'Girls on Film', but not so much for the five songs below:
Angelic Upstarts - 'Kids on the Street'
Squeeze - 'Labelled with Love'
Killing Joke - 'Follow the Leaders'
Godley and Creme - 'Under Your Thumb'
Japan - 'The Art of Parties'
Day 14 - Tuesday 19th August
It was another interesting set of polls yesterday. If the support expressed for The Fall and Laurie Anderson in the comments had translated into votes 'Lie Dream of a Casino Soul' and 'O Superman' would have won hands down. As it was, the reverse happened.
Squeeze's 'Tempted', ELO's 'Hold on Tight', Kim Carnes' 'Bette Davis Eyes', Billy Idol's 'Dancing with Myself' and The Human Leagues 'The Sound of the Crowd' were the clear winners, whilst these songs were voted out tonight:
The Fall - 'Lie Dream of a Casino Soul'
The Stranglers - 'Let me Introduce you to the Family'
Laurie Anderson - 'O Superman'
The Cure - 'Primary'
The Members - 'Working Girl'
Day 13 - Monday 18th August
Yesterday's polls resulted in yet more lively debate and some excellent photos. There were some fantastic shots of Toyah Wilcox on stage in Dundee in July this year and a cool photo of The Selecter doing their stuff shared by Richard Watson.
In addition to this was the usual fine array of gifs to accompany each poll from Mike. I particularly liked the one of The Exploited as it brought back fantastic memories of my fanzine writing days. If you're a fan and you haven't already read this page dedicated to the band, here's the link.
The songs we said goodbye to tonight were...
The Exploited - 'Dead Cities'
Foreigner - 'Urgent'
Jon & Vangelis - 'State of Independence'
The Selecter - 'Celebrate the Bullet'
Kate Bush - 'Sat in your Lap'
Day 12 - Sunday 17th August
Round two got off to a great start yesterday. Over 4700 votes were cast and there were some lively discussions going on.
Joe Dolce's 'Shaddap You Face' featured in poll four, resulting in a mixture of interesting comments and even a gif of Joe singing! He was up against Bucks Fizz and The Undertones. The latter dominated from the get-go much to the relief of quite a few voters.
Depeche Mode's 'Just Can't Get Enough' stormed into the lead in poll three. There was a whisker between the other two songs, i.e. Sheena Easton's 'For Your Eyes Only' and Ultravox's 'The Thin Wall'. Sheena managed to sneak ahead... but only just! Lou shared an interesting little nugget about Sheena's song, which was the theme song to the James Bond film of the same name. She was the only Bond theme artist to appear in the opening credits.
And over in poll five, Black Sabbath's 'Mob Rules' didn't get a look in. It was up against The Clash's 'Radio Clash' and The Jam's 'Absolute Beginners' though. Say no more!
To summarise, we said goodbye to these songs tonight:
Japan - 'Visions of China'
The Teardrop Explodes - 'Passionate Friend'
Ultravox - 'The Thin Wall'
Joe Dolce - 'Shaddap You Face'
Black Sabbath - 'Mob Rules'
Day 11 - Saturday 16th August
Round two has kicked off. 50 songs were voted out in the first round, leaving 150 to battle it out.
The final five songs to be voted out in round one were...
Tom Tom Club - 'Genius of Love'
The Sound - 'Sense of Purpose (What are we going to do?)'
Slim Dusty - 'Duncan'
UK Subs - 'Keep on Runnin' (Til you Burn)'
Linx - 'Intuition'
Odyssey's 'Back to my Roots', The Human League's 'The Sound of the Crowd', Godley & Creme's 'Under Your Thumb', Haircut One Hundred's 'Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl)' and The Teardrop Explodes' 'Reward' were the winners of the night.
Day Ten - Friday 15th August
It's the last set of polls in the first round today, so now seems a good point to say thank you to everyone who has taken part so far. I hope you are enjoying it as much as I am!
We clocked up just short of 5000 votes yesterday and some amazing memorabilia was shared, which I will be adding to the blog in due course. It's a privilege to have Dave Wakeling of The Beat/The English Beat on board. He has shared some fascinating snippets of info which will also be featured a little further on down the line, so do stay tuned.
Ultravox, Madness, Squeeze and ELO were the clear winners in four of the polls. It was a closely fought battle for first place between The Clash and Adam and the Ants in the other.
The shock exit of the night was Ramones' 'The KKK Took My Baby Away'. One of the earliest second wave of punk singles was voted out also. Discharge's 'Never Again'. This song inspired a piece of artwork in one of my fanzines.
To summarise, we said goodbye to these five songs tonight:
Greg Kihn Band - 'The Breakup Song (They Don't Write 'em)'
Genesis - 'Keep it Dark'
Discharge - 'Never Again'
Central Line - 'Walking into Sunshine'
Ramones - 'The KKK Took my Baby Away'
The final set of You Tube links is as follows:
Poll One
Tom Tom Club - 'Genius of Love'
Poll Two
Divinyls - 'Boys in Town'
The Sound - 'Sense of Purpose (What are we going to do?)'
Poll Three
The Exploited - 'Dead Cities'
Slim Dusty - 'Duncan'
Poll Four
UK Subs - 'Keep on Runnin' (Til You Burn)'
Poll Five
The Stranglers - 'Let Me Introduce You To The Family'
Day Nine - Thursday 14th August
Yesterday's polls closed with a fantastic 4700+ votes.
It was mighty close between ELO's 'Ticket to the Moon' and The Fall's' 'Lie Dream of a Casino Soul', much to the annoyance of some fans of the latter. Hopefully sighs of relief were breathed all round, because The Fall managed to sneak into third place at the 11th hour.
Funboy Three, Meatloaf, The Undertones, The Beat and Altered Images were the clear favourites of day eight's polls. Memories of teenage crushes on Clare Grogan dominated poll one.
There was also a lot of support for Mobiles. 'Drowning in Berlin' was a stirring slice of synth pop which I always assumed was about the Berlin Wall, though I stand corrected. I wonder what happened to them. The song battled it out with Ultravox's 'The Thin Wall', but the love expressed for Mobiles' only hit sadly wasn't enough to get them through to the next round.
Here's a list of the songs voted out tonight:
Elaine Paige - 'Memory'
Roger Taylor - 'My Country'
Mobiles - 'Drowning in Berlin'
Styx - 'The Best of Times'
ELO - 'Ticket to the Moon'
And here are tonight's YouTube memory refreshers:
Poll One
Greg Kihn Band – 'The Breakup Song (They Don’t Write ‘Em)'
Poll Two
Poll Three
The Associates – 'White Car in Germany'
Poll Four
Stevie Nicks/Tom Petty - 'Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around'
Central Line – 'Walking Into Sunshine'
Poll Five
Ramones – 'The KKK Took my Baby Away'
Dexys Midnight Runners – ['Plan B'
Day
Eight – Wednesday 13th August
Voted out today were...
Gary Numan & Dramatis - 'Love Needs No Disguise'
Showaddywaddy - 'Footsteps'
The Tweets - 'Birdie Song' (It is now a closed chapter!)
ELO - 'Twilight'
D.A.F. - 'Der Mussolini'
Today's YouTube links are as follows:
Poll
One
Elaine Page – 'Memory'
Heaven 17 – 'Play to Win'
Poll
Two
Roger Taylor – 'My Country'
The Members – 'Working Girl'
Poll
Three
Mobiles – 'Drowning in
Berlin'
Ultravox – 'The Thin
Wall'
Poll
Four
Styx – 'The Best of
Times'
Poll
Five
The Fall – 'Lie Dream of
a Casino Soul'
ELO – 'Ticket to the
Moon'
Day
Seven – Tuesday 12th August
Phew!
One of yesterday’s polls was scarily close! Genesis, Toyah and Bauhaus jostled
for third place. It wasn’t until the 11th hour that 'Abacab' dropped into fourth place, with 10% of the vote, and 'Thunder in the Mountains' scraped into third place with 11.1%.
Madness, The Human League, Adam and the Ants and
The Jam stormed ahead from the get-go. You can’t think 1981 without thinking
Adam Ant, so a big thank you to everyone who shared a gif/photo of the inimitable
Mr Goddard.
These
songs were voted out tonight:
The
Jones Girls – 'Nights Over Egypt'
Genesis
– 'Abacab'
Rush
– 'Tom Sawyer'
Bow
Wow Wow - 'W.O.R.K. (N.O. Nah No! No! My Daddy Don't)'
Motorhead/Girlschool
– 'Please Don’t Touch'
Here
are today’s YouTube links.
Poll
One
Gary Numan &
Dramatis - 'Love Needs No Disguise'
Kate Bush - 'Sat in Your Lap'
Poll
Two
Showaddywaddy – 'Footsteps'
Stiff Little Fingers – 'Silver Lining'
Poll
Three
Kraftwerk – 'Computer Love'
Poll
Four
Simple Minds - 'The American'
ELO – 'Twilight'
Killing Joke - 'Follow the Leaders'
Poll
Five
D.A.F. - 'Der Mussolini'
Theatre of Hate - 'Rebel Without A Brain'
Day
Six – Monday 11th August
It was pretty
obvious from the outset which songs were going to go by the wayside in each of
yesterday’s polls. Romping ahead in style were tracks from Blondie, Pigbag and
Depeche Mode, with Phil Collins, The Selecter, The Teardrop Explodes, Stray Cats
and Smokey Robinson not far behind.
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'.
The
songs voted out today:
Gary
Wright – 'Really Wanna Know You'
Cheap
‘n’ Nasty – 'Covergirl'
Dolly
Mixture – 'Been Teen'
Roger
Taylor – 'Future Management'
Magazine
– 'About The Weather'
And
here are YouTube links corresponding to some of the songs in today’s polls
Poll
One
Scritti Politti – 'The Sweetest Girl'
New Order – 'Everything’s Gone Green'
Poll
Two
Bow Wow Wow - 'W.O.R.K.(N.O. Nah No! No! My Daddy Don't)'
Poll
Three
John Foxx – 'Europe AfterThe Rain'
Rush – 'Tom Sawyer'
Poll
Four
Genesis – 'Abacab'
Bauhaus – 'The Passion of Lovers'
Poll
Five
The Jones Girls –'Nights Over Egypt'
Things got pretty intense in yesterday’s polls! There were serious battles for third place going on in two of the polls.
The Cure’s ‘Charlotte Sometimes’ and Simple Minds’ ‘Love Song’ pushed each other back and forth for a place in the next round from start to finish, causing headaches for some. In the end 'Love Song' nudged ahead.
The other tussle was something I never thought I’d see. The Damned versus Shakin’ Stevens! ‘Limit Club’, taken from The Damned’s 'Friday 13th' EP overtook ‘This Ole House’ in the finish. But fear not fans of Shakey, because 'Green Door' has made it through.
There was a show of support for pioneers of 80s experimental music – Sheffield based Clock DVA, but alas it wasn’t enough to carry them through to round two. Digressing slightly, but through searching for a little background info about the band I discovered founding member Adi Newton is a gifted artist. It’s well worth seeking out his work when you have some time.
A summary of the tracks voted out today is as follows:
Clock DVA – '4 Hours'
Slade – 'Wheels Ain’t Coming Down'
Shakin’ Stevens – 'This Ole House'
Billy Squier – 'In The Dark'
The Cure – 'Charlotte Sometimes'
The YouTube links accompanying tonight’s polls are…
Poll One
Magazine – 'About The Weather'
Rick Springfield – 'Jessie’s Girl'
Poll Two
Ultravox – 'The Voice'
Roger Taylor – 'Future Management'
Poll Three
Dolly Mixture – 'Been Teen'
Genesis – 'No Reply At All'
Poll Four
The Selecter – 'Celebrate The Bullet'
Cheap ‘n’ Nasty - 'Covergirl'
Poll
Five
Gillan – 'New Orleans'
Gary Wright – 'Really
Wanna Know You'
Au Pairs - 'Inconvenience'
Poll Two
Elvis Costello - 'Watch Your Step'
Slade - 'Wheels Ain’t Coming Down'
Billy Squier - 'In The Dark'
Berlin - 'Metro'
Poll Five
New Order - 'Ceremony'
Simple Minds - 'Love Song'
Day Three - Friday 8th August
Well things got off to a fantastic start last night! Over 4600 votes were cast across all five polls and there was the usual sprinkling of lively comments. I can’t tell you how heart warming it is to see people getting behind the polls and riding the nostalgia train with me! Thank you to everyone who voted and interacted.
Rather than posting on X, I shall be updating here on my blog each day with the songs voted out the previous night. The first five casualties were:
Gang of Four – 'To Hell With Poverty'
Sugar Minott - 'Good Thing Going'
Foreigner – 'Juke Box Hero'
Material/Nona Hendryx – 'Bustin’ Out'
Here are today’s YouTube memory refreshers.
Poll One
Third World – 'Dancing on the Floor (Hooked on Love)' I defy you not to tap your feet to this!
Angelic Upstarts – 'Kids on the Street'
Poll Two
The Who – 'Don’t Let Go The Coat'
Depeche Mode – 'New Life'
Poll Three
Japan – 'Quiet Life' (I’d forgotten how good this one was!)
George Harrison – 'All Those Years Ago'
Poll Four
The Chords – 'One More Minute'
Japan – 'The Art of Parties'
Poll Five
The Undertones – 'Julie Ocean'
Tony Capstick – 'Capstick Comes Home' (I did warn you there was an eclectic mix of songs!)
Day One - Wednesday 6th August
For the next ten days I'll be posting five polls each night at around 19:00. There will be four songs in each poll. The three songs with the most votes will go through to round two. I've included YouTube links to some of the tracks, which I hope act as a memory refresh - or maybe even an introduction. All of the links open in new windows.
Poll One
Gang of Four - 'To Hell With Poverty'
Tom Tom Club - 'Wordy Rappinghood'
Poll Two
Heaven 17 - '(We Don't Need) This Fascist Groove Thang'
Saxon - 'And The Bands Played On'
Poll Three
Sugar Minott - 'Good Thing Going'
The Beat - 'Drowning'
Poll Four
Foreigner - 'Juke Box Hero'
Dexys Midnight Runners - 'Show Me'
Poll Five
Material With Nona Hendryx - 'Bustin' Out'
Whitesnake - 'Don't Break My Heart Again'
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