13th June 1981 for two weeks

Another Morrisons tune. I remember hearing it many times over the tannoy back when I worked there. I honestly thought it was a woman’s voice on the record.

It’s a nice record. That’s the best word I can find to describe it – nice.

It was the perfect record for the ‘late night love hour’ that would be on the radio in the Nineties and Noughties.

5/10

9th May 1981 for five weeks

Stand And Deliver is a million seller. I can’t quite comprehend that. This was before the days of streaming… before the days of downloading. This was when people actually had to make the effort to go to the shops to buy a record. One million people did that, for this record. WTF?

I cannot understand the appeal of this record. It is crap.

I’ve really tried to like it and I’m trying to like it more, the more I listen to it. But I can’t. It gets worse if anything.

1/10

18th April 1981 for three weeks

I remember Cheryl Baker quite clearly as the host of Record Breakers and then presenting Eggs ‘n’ Baker when I was a child. I’m sure that she sang at some point. But I don’t remember it registering that she was once part of a pop group.

So I must have become aware of Making Your Mind Up at some point after that. Perhaps it was in 1997 when Love Shine A Light won Eurovision that it was highlighted as the previous time that UK won the competition.

The song is actually a really fun, happy pop song, but I think the Eurovision factor has made it feel very cheesy. It was the skirt rip in the Eurovision performance that everyone hones in on and so the rest of the song is often overlooked.

The song hasn’t improved with age – still sounding like a total cheese fest, including all the hall marks of a cheese pop classic.

6/10

28th March 1981 for three weeks

I get the feeling that it’s not cool to like this song. That it’s almost a bit wrong to even hint at knowing it.

Well, if that’s the case, I’m in trouble. I think it’s brilliant. Catch and fun! Brilliant for a cheesy disco. In fact, that’s probably where I heard it.

Shakin’ Stevens’ most well known song is probably his Christmas hit (wait until 1985 for this absolute classic) but This Ole House should be held in higher regard.

8/10

14th March 1981 for two weeks

After being distracted by Joe Dolce, the UK was back in tribute to John Lennon with Jealous Guy. Roxy Music released this Lennon cover in tribute to him (as shown on the record sleeve).

It’s a pretty good song and the saxophone solo sticks in your head. It’s one of those stop and listen songs, with a sing out loud chorus. I don’t remember when I first heard this. I think I’ve heard it on the radio at some point.

6/10

21st February 1981 for three weeks

It seems almost insulting that this novelty record knocked Lennon off the Number 1 spot. To add insult to injury, Shaddap You Face also kept Ultravox’s Vienna off the top spot.

It’s quite catchy and I could imagine that, as a child, I would have loved it. There you go – I found some positives.

4/10

7th February 1981 for two weeks

Woman’s ascent to the top spot meant that John Lennon became the first artist to replace themself at Number 1 since… The Beatles! That time She Loves you replaced I Want To Hold Your Hand in December 1963. No artist would ever do this again until Elvis Presley did it in 2005 with his posthumous single re-releases.

Woman is a Morrisons tune. I’d hear it over the tannoy about three times a week for five and a half years. As a result, it’s tunneled its way into my consciousness as a song I love.

Later in life, I realised that it is a song all about his love for Yoko Ono. I’m not her biggest fan, so it kind of spoiled the song a little bit.

Still, it’s a classic. It was to be Lennon’s last time at Number 1.

8/10

10th January 1981 for four weeks

I believe that back in the day, there was no chart published the week after Christmas. Therefore the Christmas week chart was simply duplicated the following week. That’s why it took until the week ending 10th January for John Lennon to return to the top spot after his sad murder.

Imagine is generally considered to be one of the finest songs ever written and has sold well over a million copies in the UK.

It’s a song that I’ve loved but one that I’ve become less appreciative of since I realised that it’s clearly promoting hippy ideals. Nonetheless, it is a brilliant song. The moment you hear those chords at the start you simply stop and listen.

“Above us only sky” is a lyric used in the logo for Liverpool John Lennon Airport.

Over the years I’ve heard it thousands of times. I can’t really remember hearing it during my childhood but as an adult it has been high profile, and it’s been covered many times by different artists. I clearly remember Emile Sande singing it at the end of the 2012 London Olympics.

I also remember it was re-released in 1999, at the end of the millennium as it was considered ‘the best song of the millennium’. It reached Number 3.

9/10