Seeing as we have threads for the 90's,00's and 10's let's see how an 80's one goes?
Reaching No.6 here and No.5 in the UK in 1989
Kon Kan - I Beg Your Pardon
Anything to Michael?
Del Amitri's first charting single, "Kiss This Thing Goodbye".
Just at the very tail- end of the 80s and did well here and in certain European countries. Released about 9/10 months after Simple Minds' Belfast Child. Another Beatbox favourite.
I've seen them as a support act a couple of times and they're still great.
For the 1982 World cup songwriter B.A. Robertson and actor John Gordon Sinclair teamed up with the Scottish squad to record this No.5 UK hit.
Scotland 82 - We Have a Dream.
Originally released in 1985 reaching No.7 here and 30 in the Uk it was re-released in 1987 hitting 7 here again but going to 21 in the UK charts. I remember the 87 video better but there isn't a great copy of it on YT.
The Communards - You Are My World.
Paid In Full was one of my early hip hop purchases and will always remind me of tennis and summer 1987. A highlight of the golden age and loaded with Rakim’s pioneering rhyming patterns. I Know You Got Soul was first released towards the end of the year but made little impression on the charts. Then came the inevitable remix by Danny D & Norman Cook under the pseudonym Double Trouble & it took the UK by storm, complete with I Want You Back sample. The track gets housed-up with complimentary beats, a filtered intro and chunky percussion that really moved the crowd. “The story continues…”
Eric B. & Rakim - I Know You Got Soul (The Double Trouble Remix)
Jason Nevins remixed it in 2003 as well.
Belouis Some - Imagination
Reached 16 in Ireland & 17 in the U.K.
Banger
Thought this was David Bowie the first time I heard it!
'After the Fire's' English version of Falco's 'Der Kommissar' made the top 5 in America in 1983, and reached #1 in Canada that same year, but surprisingly, even though it had ample radio play upon its release in 1982, it didn’t manage to chart at all either here or in the UK.
Full video is a tad racy..... I remember Channel 4 showed 2 videos either before or after the Brookside Omnibus in Saturday evening and this one managed to slip in one evening.
Raven Maize - "Together Forever" (1989)
Only reached #67 in Britain that year but upon reviving the Raven Maize name, Dave Lee scored a #12 hit in 2001.
Trans-X - Living On Video. 83.
Great song.
It was also sampled by Dutch dance band Bingo Players on "Cry (Just a Little)".
I have this on Telstar's Deep Heat 4 double CD.
Max Q was a short-lived Australian band formed in ’89. It consisted of Michael Hutchence & Ollie Olsen (Whirlywirld, Dogs in Space soundtrack) plus a number of people from the Australian post-punk scene. Named after Ollie’s dog Max. I didn’t hear Way Of The World until 1990, shortly before the INXS gig at The Point Depot. The song is an indictment against tyranny of any kind, be it government, religion or racial discrimination. It was passed on to me by a DJ on the Waterford pirate scene who said he played it lots in late '89. Underappreciated. Max Q - Way Of The World
'My Oh My' by Sad Café. Recorded in 1979, Its got more of a 70's (Rollling Stones-ish) vibe to it. Released as a single in March 1980, it reached #14 on the UK Chart, and #29 here.
Slade - "My Oh My"
Probably remembered more for the video with Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders, it reached No.6 here and 4 in the UK in 1987. Having an Elvis Tattoo and an Alison Moyet song as my wedding song this was a perfect match.
Another Nick Heyward track the featured on a Chart Hits album, I think. Great sound off this from 1983.
Co-written in a dream by Bono and later The Edge int reached No.5 here but only 27 in the UK.
Roy Orbison - She's a Mystery To Me
. . Oops. Already done
Tim Pope - "I Want to Be a Tree"
Hi Steve,
What radio station(s) were playing that song, out of curiosity?
Harden My Heart by Quarterflash. Big hit in the US, It didn't chart here, but reached #49 in UK in 1981.
I can't think of any!
I remember John Peel playing that a fair bit on his on BBC - Radio 1 show back in the day. He always found the weirdest stuff to champion.
Peel knew his stuff!
I was asking because the thread title suggests "forgotten…radio hits".
