Well without wanting to needlessly prolong the discussion about this song, I did think that it was a song where they were trying to point out that everyone matters, no matter where you are on the demographic ladder. Or at least that's how I viewed it. Basically a ballad to the forgotten folks who often are the main fabric of a society. Now, did I care for it's OTT presentation, not really - but there's no denying that it was a real anthemic song. It's actually fairly easy to see why it was popular, I think a lot of people could identify with the lyrics TBH and the chorus is easy to sing. Back to the rest of the Top 100. I've already raved about "Homosapien" elsewhere. What a classic song - I have no idea why I responded to this song. I mean as a fairly sheltered 12 year old, there's just no points of correspondence with my life. But man, what a song. Also to highlight a few others that I haven't yet... Earth, Wind and Fire - Let's Groove Tonight. I just love it with the horns and well, groove. George Benson - Turn Your Love Around. Actually just listened to that song today on the drive home. It's smooth, it's jazzy. It's just very cool. I seem to recall seeing George Benson like at the Hilton or something in the 90s. He did play this song and it was great. I want to say it may have been a double bill with Nancy Wilson (the jazz singer, not the Heart singer). Our Lips are Sealed - what a great opening riff. Love Song (Simple Minds) You've Got Nothing I Want - great piano playing by Don Walker and a great vocal performance. 1982 is one of my favorite years for music.
In every one of these early-80s charts there are always a few songs that I don't think I know but then I play them and remember them almost instantly. In this chart it's 'China Blue' by Julie Anthony (which would have been a big hit if ONJ was singing it), Colleen Hewitt's 'Gigolo' and 'Hold Me' by B.A. Robertson & Maggie Bell. I probably only heard them a few times 42 years ago but there they are, stored away in the darkest recesses of my brain. Amazing. There are a lot more I don't know (or don't think I do) from 51-100, but those three stuck out within the Top 50.
Of late, I've had that happen a lot, not just with '80's. In my case, inability to connect a song title to the song itself and/or who did it. And playing videos or clips on YouTube seems more often than not to put them all together.
The studio version of "Just Can't Get Enough" wasn't a hit in the Netherlands. A live version of this song was released in 1985 and it became their second Top 10 hit. The highest position of this live version was number 10.
Oh, wow — that's quirky. I just read about it on Wikipedia: The Schizo mix live version recorded at the London Hammersmith Odeon on October 25 in 1982 that is featured on the 1983 'Love, In Itself' 12″ single became a hit in the Netherlands and Belgium in its own right in 1985. It was never released as a single A-side, but was played extensively on Radio Veronica by various DJs and entered the Dutch and Belgian charts, making the Top 10 (even though the "Love, in Itself" 12″ officially did not qualify for the singles chart, as it was labelled a mini-album) Am I right in thinking it was this version that was the hit in the Netherlands (and Belgium)?
Yes, it was this version that was a hit in the Netherlands and in Belgium It was even a bigger hit in Belgium than in the Netherlands, it reached number 8!
THE "UNLUCKY" #11 HITS OF THE 80s All of these singles peaked at #11 on the Australian singles chart during the 80s — almost achieving a Top 10 hit, but not quite. And 18 of them remained stalled at #11 for multiple weeks (five weeks at #11 for the Pointer Sisters and Phil Collins!!!) 1980 Hot Town – Jon English Sara – Fleetwood Mac (2 weeks) Money – The Flying Lizards Skinny Girls – Alan O’Day (2 weeks) Private Idaho – The B52’s Everybody’s Got To Learn Sometime – The Korgis He’s So Shy – Pointer Sisters (5 weeks) 1981 Vienna – Ultravox (4 weeks) Things Don’t Seem – Australian Crawl (2 weeks) Girls On Film – Duran Duran (2 weeks) 1982 Castles In The Air – Don McLean The Lion Sleeps Tonight – Tight Fit Baby Makes Her Blue Jeans Talk – Dr. Hook (2 weeks) No Time – Mondo Rock Taxi Mary – Jo Jo Zep (2 weeks) Back On The Chain Gang – The Pretenders It’s Raining Again – Supertramp (4 weeks) 1983 Ain’t No Pleasing You – Chas and Dave Shoop Shoop Diddy Wap Cumma Cumma Wang Dang – Monte Video & The Cassettes We’ve Got Tonight – Kenny Rogers & Sheena Easton Jeopardy – Greg Kinh Band (2 weeks) 1984 Sticky Music – Sandii and the Sunsetz Saturday Night – Cold Chisel (2 weeks) The Glamorous Life – Sheila E. (3 weeks) Out of Touch – Daryl Hall & John Oates 1985 Dr. Beat – Miami Sound Machine Skin Deep – The Stranglers (2 weeks) You’re So Strong – Mental As Anything Things Can Only Get Better – Howard Jones Pleasure and Pain – Divinyls 1986 Walk of Life – Dire Straits Russians – Sting Kyrie – Mr Mister Peter Gunn – The Art of Noise feat. Duane Eddy I Can’t Wait – Nu Shooz Don’t You Love Me Anymore – Joe Cocker Bad Moon Rising – The Reels (2 weeks) 1987 Rooms For The Memory – Michael Hutchence Real Wild Child (Wild One) – Iggy Pop Holiday Rap – MC Miker “G” & Deejay Sven At This Moment – Billy Vera & The Beaters 1988 Celebration – Dragon (2 weeks) Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again? (Live) – The Angels Anything For You – Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine Theme From S’Express – S’Express As the Days Go By – Daryl Braithwaite Sweet Child o’ Mine – Guns N’ Roses I Still Love You (Je ne sais pas pourquoi) – Kylie Minogue (2 weeks) 1989 I Drove All Night – Cyndi Lauper (4 weeks) Onion Skin – Boom Crash Opera Too Much – Bros Another Day In Paradise – Phil Collins (5 weeks)
A lot of great songs in that list, it's hard to believe a song could spend 4 or 5 weeks at #11 and not break into the top 10, it must be a little frustrating for the artists. Money – The Flying Lizards Everybody’s Got To Learn Sometime – The Korgis Vienna – Ultravox (4 weeks) Girls On Film – Duran Duran (2 weeks) Castles In The Air – Don McLean Back On The Chain Gang – The Pretenders It’s Raining Again – Supertramp (4 weeks) Out of Touch – Daryl Hall & John Oates Skin Deep – The Stranglers (2 weeks) Pleasure and Pain – Divinyls Russians – Sting Peter Gunn – The Art of Noise feat. Duane Eddy I Can’t Wait – Nu Shooz Bad Moon Rising – The Reels (2 weeks) Real Wild Child (Wild One) – Iggy Pop Sweet Child o’ Mine – Guns N’ Roses All these songs are in regular rotation in my playlist, but the two highlighted in GREEN are real favourites of mine get played 2 or 3 times a week.
Good choices there, pretty much on par with most of my picks. I hate to say it but I never liked that Phil Collins song - total cringe but that's only my opinion. Can't deny it did well in the charts.
My second paragraph was something of a non sequitor. Phil would've stuck out like a sore thumb in your list.
Looking at the list, it's hard to believe that some of these stalled outside the Top 10. In particular 1981 looks particularly egregious. All 3 songs are pretty great and in my memory I thought they charted higher, like easily in the Top 10 but maybe it was the Countdown top 10 I'm thinking of. All 3 songs got pretty heavy rotation there. Taxi Mary! Skin Deep! Real Wild Child! I mean, I love this version. Best played super loud...
I know it's a bit silly — a #11 hit is still a big hit, after all — but having a single reach the Top 10 is an achievement that every artist must hope for. And to have a single rise up the chart and come so tantalisingly close to the Top 10 but never get there... I'm not going to feel too sorry for Sting because he had umpteen huge hits with The Police, but he never achieved a Top 10 single in Australia as a solo artist. He would have, though, if 'Russians' had climbed just one chart position higher. One of my favourites from this list that spent three unlucky weeks at #11 is this gem from Sheila E.:
More Australian histrionics will follow. If an American had recorded this in 1980 it would Have been a smash. We Aussies follow the don’t grumble mantra. The only people who can’t connect with the (admittedly) direct and inartistic lyric are today’s dinosaurs. Nothing wrong with whinging.
I have 89/100 of that excellent era. Suspect I will improve on that score - have some compilations that will be added by albums. What a period of music.
I know I’m doubling down on this but I really dislike the cultural cringe that accompanies some of this stuff. There are Australian successes that did not export and that is ok. However, having succeeded or not, to be criticised for what they did do is out of line. Someone like Kylie Minogue is not an Australian success. At a point where she was Uber-popular in Australia, she covered a bubblegum pop song and (woo-hoo) got to number one. She then went to the UK. I admire her success there and ever since even if I don’t love most of what I have heard. But an act like Moving Pictures? If the song was derivative it was derivative in the same was as You Got Nothing I Want (which was derivative of Moving Pctures if truthfully told). It was derivative of nothing in truth. It was the uncomfortable for people who thought something else mattered. And by that I mean that there was not some underlying credibility tick that some fans and critics felt entitled to impose. I read and heard it at the time. I rejected it then and I reject it now. And time is on my side…:
I also love The Stranglers "Skin Deep" and Iggy Pop "Real Wild Child (Wild One)" "Skin Deep" highest position in the Dutch Charts was number 21. Iggy Pop's "Real Wild Child (Wild One)" made it only to number 31 ... it deserved better! @KangaMom Turn up the volume ... here is Iggy Pop :
With the amount of touring they did in the early 80's I am sure a couple of tours to promote a new album like some great reward 1984 and black celebration 1986 would have helped dm stay more relevant in the australian charts
Yes, it's an excellent point. Depeche didn't venture down here until the 90s. For most of the 80s it felt like I was the only Depeche Mode fan in Australia! Nobody I knew liked them. They had a medium-sized hit in 1984 with 'People Are People' (#25) but it didn't translate into album sales (Some Great Reward didn't even crack the Top 100) and none of their subsequent singles were played on the radio or shown on Countdown (that I can remember, anyway). It's shocking that the first Depeche album to reach the Top 20 in Australia was Songs Of Faith and Devotion in 1993. Even Violator could only reach #42 here.
'Skin Deep' is my favourite Stranglers song, and that's saying something when they had so many brilliant numbers. Never tire of hearing it. It's easy to get lost in the 12" mix too.
