12th December 1981 for five weeks

And here we are – right at the end of 1981 we reach the best song of the year. Possibly the best song of the Eighties.

Don’t You Want Me is pop perfection. It’s a get up on the dance floor, listen to the radio, sing out loud in the car complete classic.

I defy anyone to not find something to love about Don’t You Want Me. It has aged brilliantly and is still exciting to listen to in 2019 as it was in 1981. I don’t think I’ll ever tire of it.

10/10

5th December 1981 for one week

WTAF. This is total crap.

How did this reach the chart at all, never mind Number One. The video makes it look like a business man doing karaoke.

I’ve never heard this before and hope I never do again.

1/10

21st November 1981 for two weeks

Ok, so this is hard to admit. I am honestly disappointed when I hear the riff for Under Pressure start and it doesn’t turn into Ice Ice Baby.

Having not really been of the Eighties era, I clearly remember Ice Ice Baby and was surprised to learn that the riff was based on another song.

So I guess I have only learned to appreciate Under Pressure in later years. I love the crescendo and even the part that David Bowie sings (considering that I think his music was rubbish).

It has probably always been considered a classic, but, at 40, I now agree.

9/10

14th November 1981 for one week

It’s hard to comprehend how this gem of a song by The Police spent just one week at the top after It’s My Party was at the top for four weeks!

Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic is a classic song. It retains a familiar Police sound, but it has something distinctive about it which makes it sounds fresh and different. It’s one of the best songs of 1981 to reach the top!

I can’t remember when I first became aware of the song but it has been used many times in TV shows and I do recall hearing it on the radio when I was younger. It still sounds great, 39 years later.

9/10

17th October 1981 for four weeks

This is a song that you are bound to have heard over the years. It’s only when writing this that it actually occurred to me that it must have been a hit at one point. And then you wonder how and why it was a hit?

Although this isn’t the most popular version you must wonder why a cover version was ever needed. It’s a weird choice. And there’s that word again – weird. Weird seems to be the theme for 1981.

2/10

5th September 1981 for two weeks

Tainted Love is an absolute classic! It is a song that stays with you. It sounds great on the dance floor, in the car or just when you’re chilling.

It’s hard not to like and that is reflected in the diverse range of artists that have covered it. It has been turned into a dance music classic and a rock song.

9/10

29th August 1981 for one weeks

I don’t know whether I’ve heard this before now. The title sounded racist. Both the song and the title have not aged well really.

Despite the references to Japan, the singer was Scottish. Of course. It was the Eighties.

2/10

1st August 1981 for four weeks

A four week Number 1 record for Shaky.

I can’t explain it, but there’s barely a mention for his version of the song on Wikipedia, despite it being the most successful one. It’s almost like people don’t want to remember Shakin’ Stevens.

The song is ok; not very exciting. It’s not This Ole House – it won’t stay in your head. In fact, I’ve already forgotten it.

310

11th July 1981 for three weeks

Somehow this song sounds instantly familiar so I must have heard it over the years. It was Number 1 for three weeks and it is hard to understand how. It doesn’t feel like it ever gets going. It just plods along. It neither makes you want to sing nor dance.

2/10

27th June 1981 for two weeks

As I type this I am listening to this. It’s another song that would have been perfect for the later night love hour on the radio. The teenagers of 1981 must have been horny.

I have heard it once or twice but it’s a Michael Jackson record that I can’t recall clearly. I have probably heard it very little over the years.

Just like Smokey Robinson last time, it’s just a nice record. That’s it. It’s a song I will forget hearing within minutes.

There are better Michael Jackson songs that I will write about in the future.

5/10