30th June 1979 for four weeks

This single has one of the weirdest names ever. But that bass line and synth are just so memorably fantastic. Sounding ahead of its time, it’s easy to understand how it caught people’s imagination.

The synth was later sampled in 2002 by Sugababes after producer Richard X mashed it up with Adina Howard’s Freak Like Me. In truth, Freak Like Me was probably a better tune. This is probably down to the Sugababes’ vocal being way better.

I cannot decipher half of the lyrics. But, it’s not about the lyrics, is it? It’s about that synth…

4/10

16th June 1979 for two weeks

Despite the incredible success of many of the Number 1s of 1979, Ring My Bell was the longest running Number 1 single of the year.

I find the song a bit unremarkable. The chorus is a bit of an ear worm and it will stick in your head for hours. Maybe that means the song is more memorable than I realise. But I re-listened to the song a minute a go and I cannot remember any of it apart from the chorus.

3/10

26th May 1979 for 3 weeks

I don’t know what to make of Sunday Girl. It’s not an unpleasant song to listen to. I think it’s that I don’t really feel anything when I listen to it.

It just feels like background music as it doesn’t seem to get anywhere.

Maybe it was a song of its time, but I don’t think it holds up well in 2019.

4/10

3rd March 1979 for 2 weeks

I have never seen the single cover for Tragedy before. Now I’ve seen it, all I can think about is that someone got their finger in front of the lens…

Unfortunately, for me, the original version of Tragedy by the Bee Gees will never sound as good as Steps’. The Steps version is so familiar these days that it’s as if the Bee Gees version is the cover version.

Steps made this into a fun song. The Bee Gees version is not fun – it sounds quite serious, almost taking itself too seriously.

In the days of flares and big hair, having never heard the Steps version, perhaps I would  have a different opinion. But, I find this hard to like.

3/10

3rd February 1979 for 4 weeks

Heart of Glass was another massive seller – selling well over 1.2 million copies. To be fair, it is a great song that still sounds just as exciting today as it probably did back then.

I’ll admit to not really knowing Blondie until they released Maria in 2001. At that point I think I tried out some of their music. Rapture, The Tide Is High, Sunday Girl, One Way Or Another, Dreaming, Call Me and Atomic are all corkers (as well as Maria).

It’s easy to see why Heart Of Glass was so successful. I imagine that Debbie Harry was adored by men and women. The beat is really catchy and makes you want to air drum immediately. It’s almost a 70s dance song. But I can’t help thinking that Blondie have done better songs.

6/10

It’s nice to be a lunatic. That’s the stand out line from Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick.

I can’t really understand why this ever went to Number 1. It’s average at best. It must have been one of those ‘of its time’ singles as I really don’t get it. It’s a little bit catchy, I suppose. Maybe the teenagers of the time got drawn into its shouty tone? Who knows.

Unbelievably it is a million seller! People are weird sometimes.

3/10