On 17/04/2017 23:16, Mark Goodge wrote:
On Sun, 16 Apr 2017 10:33:46 +0100, Chris Brown
<extreme_rice@yahoo.com> wrote:
I reckoned it was about time for another Spring 1980 chart, so here we
are. Coincidentally, one of the songs is from a film that was n the
telly last night.
Elsewhere some familiar early-80s classics, some songs I remember from
TotP repeats and some cover versions of varying usefulness. Also, spot
the guy charting both solo and as a group member.
Playlists here, and quite long thanks to the EPs
Chart dated 19th April 1980
2. (21) Blondie Call Me
This, on the other hand, is pure early 80s gold. Among Blondie fans
there are divided opinions as to whether their creative peak was their
earlier, punkier version or the later, poppier version, and this song
is firmly in the latter camp, so it doesn't meet with universal
approval. On the other hand, some people - including me - liked both
incarnations. I was a huge Blondie fan at the time - even had the
Debbie Harry poster on my bedroom wall - and this was one of my
favourite songs at the time.
Were Blondie ever really punk? They were more like a Sixties rock act
who formed in the Seventies.
13. (10) Genesis Turn It On Again
Good song. One of my favourites at the time.
Some people would doubtless claim the subject matter was ahead of its
time. They might be tiresome people though.
21. (15) Martha And The Muffins Echo Beach
Classic of the era. And something of a one-hit wonder, at least in the
UK.
More than something - they never charted anything sele, unless you count
the Top 75 hit by M+M.
31. (32) Rupert Holmes Him
Unmemorable.
And indeed few people do remember it.
46. (41) Blondie Atomic
There's a strong body of opinion which holds that this is Blondie's
best song. I'm not entirely sure I'd concur, although that's at least
partly because they had so many good songs that picking a best is
hard. What's possibly more plausible is the assertion that this was
their last great song - although the follow-up single, The Tide is
High, also reached number one it wasn't that good.
Surely 'Call Me' was the follow-up (and also Number One).
And it was downhill
from there on, even if Rapture was better than its chart peak
suggested. And of course, the band's demise was not far away at this
point. Not that I knew it then, being a huge Blondie fan (did I
mention I had the obligatgory teenage boy poster of Debbie Harry on
the wall?), I felt that this, the final single from Eat to the Beat,
indicated that they were riding the crest of a creative wave and could
do so for some time yet. How little did I know.
It's remarkable how fast they seemed to lose their way, although I don't
know whether the strained relationships between band members affected that.
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