My Favourite 45s of the Year: 1983 Quiz

Answer: The Cure

Although I wasn't a Goth I really enjoyed a lot of the Cure's music, going back to "Boys Don't Cry" in 1979 and, in particular, the definitive "A Forest" in 1980. However "The Love Cats" (sometimes known as "The Lovecats") had a nice jazzy feel to it, especially with a double bass being used rather than an electric one. There's a pretty zany video as well!
It became the band's first top ten single when it got to number seven in the UK Singles Chart, but it didn't chart in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Answer: ZZ Top

I'd been vaguely aware of ZZ Top in the early to mid-1970s, with tracks like "Tush" striking a chord - the phrase "swamp rock" sprung to mind. However their reinvention of themselves unveiled in 1979 really added something to the band's output, and this cracker of a track, "Gimme All Your Lovin'" from the album "Eliminator", was the proof of it. It starts with a percussion introduction before a grinding guitar comes in - it really rocks.
There's a rather risque video that goes with it - I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be allowed now!
It went to number ten in the UK Singles Chart and to number 37 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Answer: Men Without Hats

First of all, I'm not sure I have the correct year of release for this track - the sources disagree as to whether it was 1982 or 1983. Whatever, it charted in the UK late in 1983 so I'll call it as a 1983 release.
So - "The Safety Dance" by the Canadian synth-pop band Men without Hats is one of the strangest-ever one-hit-wonders. Ostensibly it's a song about not being allowed to do the pogo dance - the crazy jumping up and down that used to be a feature at punk gigs. It has a strong riff and a good melody that's easy to sing along to.
But this is one of those songs that cannot be discussed without reference to its promotional video, which in this case is a true work of art - for me, in my top three of all time. It was shot in wonderful saturated colours, and features the band's lead singer, a beautiful blonde woman dancing and a dwarf actor playing a mandolin. It was filmed in the village of North Kington in rural Wiltshire, and features lots of British folk imagery: Morris dancers, Punch and Judy, and Mummers. For a long time nobody knew who the blonde woman was - she even had a Facebook page dedicated to her, "Fans of the Girl in the Safety Dance video". However it turns out that her name is Louise Court and that she grew up to be the Editor-in-Chief of "Cosmopolitan" magazine!
It went to number six in the UK Singles Chart and to number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Answer: New Order

"Blue Monday" by the Manchester band New Order is one of the all-time classic dance records. The band was formed from the ashes of Joy Division after the death of Ian Curtis, and the song was constructed using drum machines, synthesizers and samplers. Peter Hook plays a wonderful throbbing bass line, while vocalist Bernard Sumner sings in a strange, flat way.
It became the best-selling 12" single of all time with over 700,000 copies sold in the UK alone. Sadly the cost of the records' packaging was so high that the band actually lost money on each copy sold!
It went to number nine in the UK Singles Chart but didn't feature on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. A re-release in 1988, "Blue Monday 1988", went to number three in the UK Singles Chart and to number 68 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. It was also ranked at number 235 in the 2021 "Rolling Stone" list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.

Answer: Frankie Goes to Holywood

"Relax" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood was the product of hours of work by producer and ZZT Records co-founder Trevor Horn, who added synthesizers, keyboards and samples to a track recorded by what was essentially a guitar band. At the end of all the production work Holly Johnson was the only member of the band to perform on the record, and it's really worth watching the band's performance on "The Tube" (available on YouTube) to hear the difference between how the song originally sounded and what it later became.
Because of the sexual content of its lyrics the record became very controversial, and it was banned from daytime play by the BBC - a decision that had already been taken before the BBC Radio 1 DJ Mike Read said that he wouldn't play it. However due to the record's huge success the ban was later quietly dropped.
It went to number one in the UK Singles Chart and to number 67 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. A 1985 remix reached number ten on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, while a 1993 re-release got to number five in the UK Singles Chart. It sold more than two million copies in the UK alone.
My most vivid memory of this song is dancing to it in a club in Belfast and splitting the crotch of my trousers...!

Answer: Prince and the Revolution

I love this record. Prince describes how he meets a woman driving a red Corvette, and although he's clearly punching above his weight he manages to seduce her. Even though it's basically a record about sex, it's neither arrogant nor misogynistic.
I love the slow intro with the Linn-LM1 and synthesizer buildup. Dez Dickerson's guitar solo is brilliant, and Prince's dance routine to this on the video is stunning.
It went to number seven in the UK Singles Chart and to number six on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. A re-release in 1985 got to number two in the UK Singles Chart, and a posthumous re-release in 2016 went to number 20 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. It was also ranked at number 108 in the 2004 "Rolling Stone" list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.

Answer: Tom Robinson

The Tom Robinson Band split up in 1979, but Tom Robinson himself carried on writing and performing. He formed a new band, Sector 27, in 1980, but this fell apart after the management company went bankrupt; this led to Robinson having a nervous breakdown and then moving to Berlin to recuperate.
While there he wrote a lovely song, "War Bay", that got to number six in the UK Singles Chart, and then followed it with a collaborative effort with Peter Gabriel, "Atmospherics: Listen to the Radio". This is a wonderfully moody track focused on living in Berlin and just listening to late-night radio - it reminded me of listening to the John Peel show in the early hours of the morning.
It went to number 39 in the UK Singles Chart but wasn't released in the US.

Answer: Rufus and Chaka Khan

"Ain't Nobody" is a wonderful chunk of R&B/Funk, and is probably my favourite Rufus song. It starts with a wonderful, bubbling intro loop from a synthesizer and a Linn-LM1 drum machine which forms the backbone of the track. Chaka Khan's vocals are delicious, and she also looks beautiful in the moody, monochrome video. All-in-all, an excellent record.
It went to number eight in the UK Singles Chart and to number 22 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Answer: Will Powers

Like "The Safety Dance", "Kissing with Confidence" by Will Powers is one of those records that came totally out of left field but left an indelible mark on me. Will Powers was in fact a stage name used by the photographer Lynn Goldsmith in the creation of a spoof musical self-help album, "Dancing for Mental Health", which generated two singles, "Smile" and "Kissing with Confidence".
Goldsmith wrote the track with input from Nile Rogers, Todd Rundgren and Stevie Winwood, and it focuses on kissing and how to decrease any anxiety caused by it. Will Powers - in fact Goldsmith with the pitch of her voice lowered - talks about how to overcome these worries, while an uncredited Carly Simon (!) sings the song's lyrics. This is all set to a wonderful, up-tempo backing which is GREAT for dancing! - if I was going out for the evening I'd always prepare by putting this record on and have a little boogie around the sitting room.
It went to number 17 in the UK Singles Chart; it wasn't released in the US.
And remember, kids - if you're about to kiss someone for the first time, don't forget to check that you don't have spinach on your teeth!

Answer: Orange Juice

The early 1980s saw a marvelous proliferation of bands in Scotland, a lot of them featured on Postcard Records. Orange Juice were possibly the most important of these, notable for their "jangly" guitar sound and their Pop/Disco sound - they had an impact on bands such as Haircut One Hundred and possibly even The Smiths.

The singles released from their first album, "You Can't Hide You Love Forever", failed to chart, but their second album "Rip it Up" gave rise to the eponymous single which went to number eight in the UK Singles Chart; it wasn't released in the US. Sadly the band rather blotted their copybook when their second appearance on "Top of the Pops" resulted in them being banned from future shows because of alleged drunkeness, and the band split in 1985. Lead singer Edwyn Collins still performs and records, however, despite suffering from aphasia due to two cerebral haemorrhages.