Hot Chocolate - Girl Crazy: Home-grown funky disco from Errol Brown (MBE) and his Brixton-based band, who were still churning out deceptively simple singles after 12 years in the business. Pads out their Greatest Hits album nicely.
"I'm girl crazy, crazy for a girl who's boy crazy for a boy like me" Bardo - One Step Further: One of the very best UK Eurovision entries. Well I reckon so, anyway, although you may disagree (especially after watching their desperately twee Top of the Pops performance). Sally-Ann and Stephen's song and dance routine clearly owes much to the memory of Bucks Fizz's victory the previous year, but they couldn't quite deliver a barnstorming performance on the Harrogate stage and only came 7th. Nowadays the UK dreams of coming 7th. [ToTP] [Eurovision performance] [lyrics]
"All this time I didn't get anywhere, I could have taken one step further and I would have been there" Joan Jett and the Blackhearts - I Love Rock and Roll: Raw leather-jacketed rock from Philadelphia-born Joan, whose less than innocent tale of jukebox seduction struck a chord with hormonal record buyers worldwide. Many's the teenage bedroom that melted under her steely sneer. [video] [lyrics]
"I saw him dancing there by the record machine, I knew he must have been about 17" Yazoo - Only You: And then genius. Vince Clarke and Alison Moyet were an odd couple, he freshly escaped from Depeche Mode, she a larger-than-life disillusioned R&B singer. Together, however, they were exquisite. On this first single the arresting introductory arpeggio hinted at pure sweet synthpop, before a deep female vocal swooped in to create an exquisite blues-y confection. I adored it, and 25 years ago my cassette player was on repeated rewind. Vince and Alison went on to create two masterworkalbums, combining precision and sensuality, during an all-too-brief joint career spanning little over a year. This song still stands out as their first and maybe their best. But let's not mention the Flying Pickets, OK? [Cheggers Plays Pop] [lyrics]
"Looking from a window above it's like a story of love. Can you hear me?" Simple Minds - Promised You A Miracle: Another damned impressive first hit single, this time for Jim Kerr's seminal Scottish post-punk outfit. The band had shifted towards a more electronic sound, perfectly captured on the classic album New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84), but evolved into something rockier and more globally successful as the years passed (81-82-83-84). But I doubt that they'd have have got so far if they'd carried on calling themselves Johnny and the Self-Abusers. [video] [lyrics]
"Belief is a beauty thing, promises promises, as golden days break wondering" Nicole - A Little Peace: Let's face it, Bardo stood no chance. 17 year-old German schoolgirl Nicole Hohloch swept the board at the 1982 Eurovision Song Contest with this innocent guitar ballad, pleading with the nations of the world to be nice to one another. Good try, dear. For this post-Eurovision Top of the Pops performance she left her harpist behind, perched on a stool and sang in English. Within a fortnight this adolescent heart-tugger had become the UK's 500th Number One single, leapfrogging over such futile competition as Joan Jett, PHD and the England World Cup Squad. And Germany still loves her still. [Eurovision performance] [lyrics]
"Wie eine Blume am Winterbeginn, und so wie ein Feuer im eisigen Wind, wie eine Puppe die keiner mehr mag, fühl ich mich an manchem Tag" Spandau Ballet - Instinction: Trevor Horn rescued the band's fading career by remixing this song into gleaming chart-worthiness, complete with funky off-kilter melody and pretend brass section. Result - another top ten hit, and the beginning of the band's Gold-en period. [video]
"Stealing cake to eat the moon" Monsoon - Ever So Lonely: Typical, your first record hits the charts and you go down with appendicitis, just when you're about to appear on Top of the Pops, and they have to put dance group Zoo on instead. It happened to Sheila Chandra, poor girl. [ToTP (3 weeks later)]
"Ever so lo-lo-lo-nely without you... be my friend tonight" Paul McCartney & Stevie Wonder - Ebony and Ivory: Two musical superstars conspired to write this moral equality anthem, whose bland lyrics remain ideally suited to any school assembly. Perhaps it wasn't a good idea to relate skin colour to piano keys, there being rather more white keys than black (and often not "in perfect harmony" at all). Never mind you two, just keep grinning. [video] [lyrics]
"Ebony and Ivory live together in perfect harmony side by side on my piano keyboard. Oh Lord, why don't we?" Rocky Sharpe and the Replays - Shout Shout Knock Yourself Out: Doo wop, Butlins style. Nuff said. [ToTP]
"You gotta scream! Scream! You know what I mean! Put another dime in the record machine"
20 other hits from 25 years ago: My Camera Never Lies (Bucks Fizz), Papa's Got A Brand New Pigbag (Pigbag), Ain't No Pleasing You (Chas and Dave), More Than This (Roxy Music), Fantastic Day (Haircut 100), i Won't Let You DOwn (PHD), Give Me Back My Heart (Dollar), Dear John (Status Quo), Have You Ever Been In Love (Leo Sayer), Don't Love Me Too Hard (Nolans), Blue Eyes (Elton John), House On Fire (Boomtown Rats), I Can Make You Feel Good (Shalamar), This Time We'll Get It Right (England World Cup Squad), Really Saying Something (Bananarama and Funboy Three), Catpeople (David Bowie), Freeze Frame (J Geils Band), Shirley (Shakin Stevens), Private Eyes (Hall and Oates), Stone Cold (Rainbow) ...which hit's your favourite? ...which one would you pick?
Silver discs (April 1982)
Hot Chocolate - Girl Crazy: Home-grown funky disco from Errol Brown (MBE) and his Brixton-based band, who were still churning out deceptively simple singles after 12 years in the business. Pads out their Greatest Hits album nicely.
