All in All

During an otherwise unproductive lunchbreak, I hit upon the wonderful site http://www.everyhit.com/, which as the name suggests lists every UK top 40 single or album release from 1956 onwards, subject to your criteria. After playing with it for a bit, I decided to pick a year at random and see what albums I bought, and any other points of interest. (I say albums because I’ve never really been a single person, although I remember religiously sitting with my finger poised over the pause button every Sunday night recording any single that took my fancy. Home taping kills, kids, just remember that!)

Anyway. I have picked 1983, for no better reason than this was the year I left school and started earning more money to buy more and more records. What were my tastes like?

Joe Jackson - Night and Day. Now, technically I didn’t buy this in 1983 because I only have it on CD and didn’t get my first CD player until around 1990, but I’ll include it here for the sake of things. I love this album, and Joe Jackson, and the eventual follow-up (Night and Day II, released in 2000) is in my all time top 10.

Aztec Camera – High Land Hard Rain. I’ll be honest and say once again that I can’t guarantee that this was bought in 1983, but I’ve waxed lyrical before about my love for Roddy Frame and it all started here.

Imagination – Nightdubbing. Now I reckon that this, along with the Human League’s Love and Dancing, was one of the first ever re-mix albums, which must say something. I used to love Imagination, and their first two albums were played to death. Amazingly, this remix album got to Number 9, which is pretty good considering what it was (and in fairness too, I seem to recall it was pretty crappy)

Agnetha Faltskog – Wrap Your Arms Around Me. Definitely not bought at the time, but now in my collection due to my Abba completist. Probably the best of her solo albums but that’s really not saying anything.

Donna Summer – She Works Hard For the Money. Includes the dreadful duet with Musical Youth. Frankly nothing she did after about 1980 (ie the post-Moroder stuff) was any good, but this is still better than the Cats Without Claws follow-up. I stopped buying her after this so I can’t comment on later albums.

Culture Club – Colour By Numbers. Whatever else you say about Boy George, this was their moment of perfect pop. I liked it so much I also bought 'Victims' as a 12" single. As a 12" single it was a bit of a waste as it wasn't extended or anything, but it did have an extra track called 'Colour By Numbers' which wasn't on the album and was (if I recall albeit with possible rose coloured glasses) a rather nice little ballad.

Lionel Ritchie – Can’t Slow Down. It was like ‘Thriller’, everybody bought this. That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it (but ‘Hello’ is a bit of a guilty pleasure, and I could go on about the video for hours)

Imagination – Scandolous. The end of the line for them, I think the public got a bit bored of them and their risqué dress sense. Not a good album to boot, but they really went downhill fast because although this only came out a few months after Nightdubbing, it only reached Number 25, which is quite a shock seeing as it was a real album instead of a remix one.

U2 – Live Under A Blood Red Sky. I think the Tube televised part of it, that’s why I felt the need to buy it. 22 years later I saw them live in a huge stadium and although I have not real fault with the 2005 concert, I can't help wishing I'd seen this smaller one instead.

So, 1983. An important year in some ways for me, but not necessarily the best for my musical tastes. Maybe one day I'll pick a later year to compare and contrast how tastes change.

BTW, also worth noting in 1983, the Kids from Fame released no less than three albums! Talk about milking it for all it was worth.