Silver discs(August 1980) [part 2]
A monthly look back at the top singles of 25 years ago
The three best records from the Top 10 (5th August 1980) ABBA - The Winner takes It All: It just wouldn't have been 1980 without ABBA, although this song hinted that the group might not be around for much longer. The lyrics explored the recent divorce between Björn and Agnetha, and the light fluffy Euro-disco of Voulez Vous was very much a thing of the past. Anybody not got this somewhere in their record collection?
"I've played all my cards and that's what you've done too, nothing more to say, no more ace to play, the winner takes it all" DianaRoss - Upside Down: I never liked this song at the time, but it's amazing how over-familiarity mellows the musical palate. Now I can recognise its catchy disco brilliance, but I still wouldn't say I loved it. Produced by Nile Rodgers, don't you know, for Diana's eponymous album which also included the legendary I'm coming out.
"Instinctively you give to me the love that I need, I cherish the moments with you. Respectfully I say to thee I'm aware that you're cheatin', when no one makes me feel like you do" Sheena Easton - 9 To 5: That's the ever-so-hooky 'Morning Train' song, not Dolly Parton's workplace ballad. Surely this was feminism's lowest ebb - a song about a winsome housewife who only feels whole when her hubby comes home - but I bet you're humming it right now. I remember the Not The Nine O'Clock News gang mocked it mercilessly at the time, and rightly so. We have Esther Rantzen to blame for Sheena Easton's emergence into "The Big Time", plucked from Scottish innocence and delivered to Prince's bedroom in the blink of an eye. This was an early success for reality TV, rapidly delivering two simultaneous Top 10 hits - something Michelle McManus can only dream of.
"My baby takes the morning train, he works from nine till five, and then he takes another home again to find me waiting for him."
20 other hits from 25 years ago: Oh Yeah (On The Radio) (Roxy Music), Private Life (Grace Jones), Bankrobber (Clash), More Than I Can Say (Leo Sayer), Give Me The Night (George Benson), Funkin For Jamaica (Tom Browne), Are You Getting Enough Of What Makes You Happy (Hot Chocolate), All Over The World (Electric Light Orchestra), The Sunshine Of Your Smile (Mike Berry), Can't Stop The Music (Village People), It's Still Rock And Roll To Me (Billy Joel), C30 C60 C90 Go (Bow Wow Wow), Modern Girl (Sheena Easton), Free Me (Roger Daltrey), A Walk In The Park (Nick Straker Band), Marie Marie (Shakin Stevens), Biko (Peter Gabriel), Circus Games (Skids), Paranoid (Black Sabbath), Magic (Olivia Newton John) ...which one would you pick?
Silver discs (August 1980) [part 2]
ABBA - The Winner takes It All: It just wouldn't have been 1980 without ABBA, although this song hinted that the group might not be around for much longer. The lyrics explored the recent divorce between Björn and Agnetha, and the light fluffy Euro-disco of Voulez Vous was very much a thing of the past. Anybody not got this somewhere in their record collection?
