UK Singles Chart: 1981

In 1981 for the first time in 25 years, we have no Elvis Presley singles in the top 40. The honour of having the longest current streak of top 40 hits every year went to Rod Stewart, who's streak began in 1971.

Cliff Richard did however have three hits this year bringing his total to 76 and was the only 50s debutant to have a top 40 hit this year. Frank Sinatra remained third place with 31, Lonnie Donegan remained fourth with 30, but joining Frankie Vaughan, Everly Brothers, Nat 'King' Cole and Supremes in fifth place with 29 was David Bowie who's hits this year included his third number one "Under Pressure" with Queen.

There were two acts who could claim to be the success story of 1981. Shakin Stevens had number ones with "This Ole House" and "Green Door", a number two with "You Drive Me Crazy" and a number ten with "It's Raining"

Then there was Adam & the Ants who had number ones with "Stand And Deliver" and "Prince Charming", a number two with "Kings of the Wild Frontier", a number three with "Ant Rap" and a not so successful number 33 with "Cartrouble". There would only be one further Adam & the Ants hits beyond this year before Adam Ant went solo.

"Ant Rap" was as close as you'd get to rap music being in the top 40 this year, but it wasn't alone. We also had "Rapture" by Blondie and "The Magnificent Seven" by the Clash charting this year, both raps records in a loose sense from groups from the Punk/New Wave scene. Then there was "Wikka Wrap" by the Evasions, a novelty rap record in the charts this year.

Liverpool was putting itself back on the music map this year with the debuts of Teardrop Explodes and Echo & the Bunnymen. Teardrop Explodes hit the charts in January with their best known hit "Reward" and followed up with "Treason (It's Just A Story)" and "Passionate Friend". These would be the only top 40 efforts of the group, but singer Julian Cope would return as a solo artist. Echo & the Bunnymen has just the one hit this year with "Crocodiles" but would have many more hits to come.

Whilst new wave was still going strong in the charts, the music you would consider simply punk was on its way out. By my reckoning, the only two purely punk records in the charts this year were "Dead Cities" by the Exploited and "Too Drunk to Fuck" by Dead Kennedys.

There was also less Heavy Metal this year, with Iron Maiden, Motorhead and Saxon keeping it going with five hits between them. There was a greater presence of hard rock though with the like of Gillan, Whitesnake and Rainbow having multiple hits. There was also the return of Slade to the charts with "We'll Bring The House Down" and "Lock Up Your Daughters" which both had a more hard rock sound than their 70s material.

Michael Jackson had his first solo number one this year with "One Day In Your Life". He probably didn't celebrate it though as this was released by Motown who were seemingly chashing in on his success by releasing music from his time at the label. There was another Motown number one this year, "Being With You" by Smokey Robinson which would also be the last time we would see him in the top 40. We also had a couple of hits from Stevie Wonder and Diana Ross from the label. The second hit from Diana Ross was "Endless Love" with Lionel Richie. This would be the final Diana Ross top 40 hit for Motown and the first for Lionel Richie as a solo artist. The last Diana Ross hit of the year "Why Do Fools Fall In Love" was with her new label , Capitol Records.

Although there was as many disco record this year as there had been the previous year, it still had a strong presence on the charts with records like "Can You Feel It" by the Jacksons, "Let's Groove" by Earth Wind & Fire and "Get Down On It" by Kool & the Gang all charting this year and all records I was surprised to learn were from the 80s rather than the 70s.

There was the rise of Synth Pop on the charts this year. It started with the infamous moment where "Vienna" by Ultravox stalled at number two being held off the top by "Shaddap You Face" by Joe Dolce Music Theatre. Then March saw the debut of New Order with "Ceremony", though this record wasn't as synth driven as their later hits.

Human League made their debut in May with "The Sound Of The Crowd" and they would go on to have the Christmas number one with "Don't You Want Me". They also had hits with "Love Action (I Believe In Love)" and "Open Your Heart" in between.

Depeche Mode made their debut in June with "New Life" and followed up in September by their best known 80s record "Just Can't Get Enough". Also in September we had the debut of Japan with "Quiet Life" which they followed up in November with "Visions Of China". September also saw Soft Cell reach number one with their debut "Tainted Love" and they followed this up in November with "Bed Sitter".

From the Jazz Funk would, 1981 would be the only year we would see Light of the World in the charts with "I Shot The Sheriff" and "I'm So Happy", Beggar & Co with "(Somebody) Help Me Out" and "Mule (Chant No2)", Arthur Adams with "You Got The Floor" and Blue Rondo A La Turk with "Me And Mr Sanchez".

We also saw the debut of Freeez with "Southern Freeez" followed up with "Flying High" and also the debut of Shakatak with "Easier Said Than Done". Also coming from that scene was Level 42 who made their chart debut that year with "Love Games".

From the 2-tone world we had the Specials have a number one with their final hit "Ghost Town" with the three front men who would go on to form Fun Boy Three later in the year and debut with "The Lunatics (Have Taken Over the Asylum)". There were no hits for Selecter, but the Beat, Madness and Bad Manners would all continue to have hits this year.

Shakin Stevens had plenty of company with 50s style music in the 80s with groups like Coast To Coast, Stray Cats, Polecats and Jets all having hits. There was also a return to the charts for Alvin Stardust with the hit "Pretend", whilst Showaddywaddy were still going and had a hit with "Footsteps".

If we had to pick a music style to associate with 1981 though, it would be the medley. It began in April with Starsound who had a hit with "Stars On 45" and had later hits with volumes 2 and 3. Then in May came Enigma with "Ain't No Stopping" and followed up in August with "I Love Music". Then July we had Gidea Park with "Beachboy Gold" a medley of Beach Boys songs which they followed up in September with "Seasons Of Gold", a medley of Four Seasons hits.

Also in July came Tight Fit with "Back To The Sixties" and followed up in September with volume 2. Then we had Royal Philharmonic Orchestra with "Hooked On Classics". August saw Startrax chart with "Startrax Club Disco". Also in August we saw a return to the charts for the Hollies with their medley of hits called "Holliedaze (medley)". In September we had the rather bizarre "Classical Muddley" by Portsmouth Sinfonia.

After September it looked like the medley era was over, but it came back via a couple of records at Christmas. There was Chas & Dave with "Stars Over 45" and there was Holly & the Ivys with "Christmas On 45".

So that was 1981. Will 1982 be the year David Bowie will overtake Frank Sinatra and Lonnie Donegan in terms of number of hits? Will somebody else? and will we have some proper rap music back in the charts?