Way back in 2017 I issued the first volume in my Decade series, the 1950’s, showcasing each decade of the UK charts as a single volume. Today I launch the next – the 1980’s. This volume is the biggest yet – partially explained by the huge increase in chart size. In 1960 we had a Top 50, 1978 a Top 75, and in 1981 a Top 100 (sort of as we got a ‘Next 25’ below the main Top 75) and finally 1983 saw the start of the Top 100 (okay Top 75 and Next 25 Compressed).
The huge delay between the two volumes – 1970 issued in 2018 and 1980 issued in 2022 – has in part been because I completely re-wrote the database in the intervening 4 years. This was needed due to the huge number of mistakes and missing information. This volume includes missing information as well – well gaps were this should be – but it is significantly less due to the research I have undertaken.
I want to take a moment here to mention that I am largely one person doing this all on my own, and while I do have help and assistance for the internet and from the wonderful people on UKMix (Thank you Robbie and kobyhadrian in particular) it is still a project driven by myself. Joel Whitburn’s company Record Research have a team of people (or had in the 1980’s and 1990’s) to put their books together. So if things are wrong I do apologise, and hope that you will gently remind me and I will amend.
The 1980’s are a particularly important decade to me – I was born then and some fantastic songs appear, disappear and careers are made. Simon Cowell’s hit factory of the early 2000’s is foreshadowed by the Stock-Atkin-Waterman hit factory of the late 1980’s and we see the start of Mariah, Madonna and Kylie. Elvis may be gone but Cliff lives on and finishes the decade on a high (as he almost does for the 1990’s as well!)
I’ve enjoyed imensly putting this volume together, painstakingly going over every entry and every record, ensuring I have a cover of almost all of them and verifying as much information as I can. This is the first book anywhere to list the composers and the B-Sides, as well as the duration of the singles and EP’s. While some of this is missing, it’s the first publication to draw all of this together.
I’m working my way through the 1990’s volume now and it won’t be as long before that comes out. Both the 1990’s and 1980’s volumes will eventually come in two versions. Currently, the 1980’s is available as a Top 100 volume. A Top 200 volume will be issued next year and I anticipate that to be a huge volume. I had hoped to include the full weekly charts in it, but that may have to wait for a separate volume due simply to size. The 1990’s will also be issued in two varieties – a Top 100 and a Top 200.
Hope you enjoy the 1980’s volume, if you do purchase. All subscribers to the 1980’s decade of the 70 Years Series get a free copy, so if you are not a subscriber to that, do check it out.