1983: the year it all went wrong?

1983 was the year of Let's Dance. While not an egregiously bad album, it kind of symbolises the idea of a blanding out in 83.

whereas every record released in 1982 was mind-shattering genius, of course.

That Circle Jerks album is pretty shit, really.

top albums of 1983 on rateyourmusic.com
http://rateyourmusic.com/charts/top/album/1983

aztec camera - high land, hard rain
the dickies - stukas over disneyland
afrika bambaataa & soul sonic force - PLANET ROCK

Planet Rock was 1982, no?

It didn't just STOP then.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:SabbathBorn.jpg

we've discussed this before elsewhere, but it should be pointed out that there's a big diff between the u.s. and the u.k. in 1983

in america, for instance, you had:

"she works hard for the money" - donna summer
"sweet dreams (are made of this)" - eurythmics
"twilight zone" - golden earring
"billie jean" - michael jackson
"lucky star" - madonna
"maneater" - hall & oates
"maniac" - michael sembello
"total eclipse of the heart" - bonnie tyler
"come on eileen" - dexy's midnight runners
"electric avenue" - eddie grant
"der kommissar" - after the fire
"back on the chain gang" - pretenders
"puttin on the ritz" - taco
"1999" - prince
"(keep feeling) fascination" - human league
"stray cat strut" - stray cats
"stand back" - stevie nicks
"rock the casbah" - the clash
"is there something i should know" - duran duran
"pass the dutchie" - musical youth
"photograph" - def leppard

i mean.. best year for pop music ever?? i'm biased though - 1983 was the year i started listening to casey kasem's top 40 religiously..

Was that before or after his Fucking Dead Dog outburst?

Tracer Hand OTM: 1983 in the US was fantastic, as we've talked about many times on here. It's funny for me, because that was the year I was old enough to be aware of pop music, so my whole sensibility is shaped by 1983 and 1984. I call nonsense on those who say it's the music you love at age 20 that shapes you; age 10 more like.

I'm confused, almost half of those songs are by British acts!

And half of them were hits in Britain in 1982.

About a quarter, more like. Unless yr counting US acts that hit in the UK first (Stray Cats, Pretenders) or even Falco....

For the actual story:

The UK Top 50 of 1983 Poll

eurythmics
bonnie tyler
dexy's midnight runners
eddie grant
human league
the clash
duran duran
musical youth
def leppard

9 out of 22 seems like almost half to me. YMMV.

the real question is, why did british audiences prefer those pisspoor acts instead of the dynamic and eclectic songs found in the united states?

No problems with Bonnie, Dexy's, Eddy Grant, the League, Musical Youth or Def Leppard.

Casbah has been battered to death by Virgin Radio.

Eurythmics and Duran are suckers of Satan's cock.

getting all aspie up in this bitch

Short answer to Tracer's query: Radio 1 policy at the time exemplified by Andy Peebles who often wondered how hard the unemployed really tried to find work and Derek Chinnery who said only dolescum and criminals listened to John Peel.

Plenty of good, interesting stuff around in 1983, but a definite feeling that the lunatics who'd taken over the asylum were being reined in and it was getting back to business as usual for the record companies.

Back to having to dig a little deeper to find it, instead of it being showcased on totp every week.

I'm with Tracer here -- down to the Kasey part, though I first heard his show the year before. Obv. it's also to do with youthful memories etc. but 1983 (and 1984!) were both stellar years. In contrast 1986 into 1987 for the most part felt *really* flat.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:75954310fca08c89d17a7010.L.jpg

Is that a case for the defence or the prosecution?

NME's very curious Top 50 singles list of 1983:

1. Billie Jean - Michael Jackson
2. Bring It On - James Brown
3. Pills & Soap - The Imposter
4. The Bad Seed (EP) - The Birthday Party
5. Blue Monday - New Order
6. Lean On Me - The Redskins
7. All Night Long (All Night) - Lionel Richie
8. Church Of The Poison Mind - Culture Club
9. This Charming Man - The Smiths
10. Gimme All Your Lovin' - Zz Top
11. 1999 - Prince
12. Everyday I Write The Book - Elvis Costello & the Attractions
13. Looking For The Perfect Beat - Afrika Bambaataa & the Soul Sonic Force
14. The Cutter - Echo And The Bunnymen
15. Juicy Fruit - M'tume
16. Hand In Glove - The Smiths
17. I Love You - Yello
18. Who's That Girl - Eurythmics
19. Soweto - Malcolm Mclaren
20. A Paris (EP) - The Style Council
21. Let's Dance - David Bowie
22. Right By Your Side - Eurythmics
23. Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home) - Paul Young
24. Men Like Monkeys - Three Johns
25. I'm Still Standing - Elton John
26. Synchro System - King Sunny Ade & his African Beats
27. Every Breath You Take - The Police
28. Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' - Michael Jackson
29. Bad Day - Carmel
30. Oblivious - Aztec Camera
31. Go Deh Yaka (Go To The Top) - Monyaka
32. Cold Steel Gang - High Five
33. Tour De France - Kraftwerk
34. One More Shot - C-Bank
35. It's Raining Men - Weather Girls
36. Mutiny EP - Birthday Party
37. Between The Sheets - Lsley Brothers
38. Little Red Corvette - Prince
39. Money-Go-Round - Style Council
40. You Brought The Sunshine Into My Life - Clark Sisters
41. Lost Again - Yello
42. Dark Is The Night - Shakatak
43. Karma Chameleon - Culture Club
44. Hot Hot Hot - Arrow
45. Never Stop - Echo And The Bunnymen
46. Alice - Sisters Of Mercy
47. New Year's Day - U2
48. Everything Counts - Depeche Mode
49. Racist Friend - Special AKA
50. This Is Not A Love Song - PiL

Bubbling Under
Cutty Sark - John Barry Seven
Walkin' The Line - Brass Construction
Revolution - Dennis Brown
The Crown - Gary Byrd & the GB Experience
Time (Clock Of The Heart) - Culture Club (1982!)
Kicker Conspiracy/Wings - The Fall
Man O' Sand To Child O' Sea - Go-Betweens
White Lines - Grandmaster & Melle Mel
Rockit - Herbie Hancock
Beat It - Michael Jackson
Just Got Lucky - JoBoxers
Let's Stay Together - Bobby M & Jean Carn
Hip Hop Be Bop (Don't Stop) - Man Parrish
Calling Your Name - Marilyn
Buffalo Soldier - Bob Marley And The Wailers
Rip It Up - Orange Juice
Lions In My Garden (Exit Someone) - Prefab Sprout
Revolution Times - Red London
War Baby - Tom Robinson
Soul Inside - Soft Cell

"Is that a case for the defence or the prosecution?"

Defense. '83 kicked ass

Never heard these three records, guess they're soul/hip-hop?

32. Cold Steel Gang - High Five
34. One More Shot - C-Bank
40. You Brought The Sunshine Into My Life - Clark Sisters

What a daft thread title. Summer and fall '83 were GREAT radio periods in the US.

High Five were a Liverpool indie group, a bit like the early Farm.

"One More Shot" would have been in my personal EOY '83 top ten; fantastic record, produced by John Robie, vocals by Jenny Burton, like a hardcore variant on Robie's more popist "IOU" by Freeez.

"You Brought The Sunshine Into My Life" - gospel-ish American nu-soul, very fine single.

Here's the Peel Festive 50 for 1983:

New Order - Blue Monday
Smiths - This Charming Man
New Order - Age Of Consent
This Mortal Coil - Song To The Siren
Cocteau Twins - Musette and Drums
Smiths - Reel Around The Fountain (Peel Session version)
Billy Bragg - A New England
The Fall - Eat Y'self Fitter
Smiths - Hand In Glove
Naturalites and Realistics - Picture On The Wall
Red Guitars - Good Technology
P.I.L - This Is Not A Love Song
X-Mal Deutchland - Incubus Succubus
Cocteau Twins - Sugar Hiccup
Cure - Lovecats
Cocteau Twins - From the Flagstones
Echo and the Bunnymen - Never Stop
New Order - Your Silent Face
Sisters of Mercy - Temple of Love
Siouxie and the Banshees - Dear Prudence
The Fall - The Man Whose Head Expanded
Echo and the Bunnymen - The Cutter
The Assembly - Never Never
The Imposter - Pills and Soap
New Order - Leave Me Alone
10000 Maniacs - My Mother The War
Sisters of Mercy - Alice
Cocteau Twins - Peppermint Pig
Aztec Camera - Oblivious
Redskins - Lean on Me
Chameleons - Second Skin
X-Mal Deutchland - Qual
Smiths - Handsome Devil (Peel Session version)
Tools You Can Trust - Working and Shopping
The Fall - Kicker Conspiracy
Luddites - Doppleganger
Sophie and Peter Johnston - Television
Cocteau Twins - Hithertoo
SPK - Metal Dance
The Fall - Wings
U2 - New Year's Day
Danse Society - Somewhere
Birthday Party - Deep in the Woods
Caberet Voltaire - Fascination
New Order - The Village
Birthday Party - Sonny's Burning
Strawberry Switchblade - Trees and Flowers
Elvis Costello - Shipbuilding
Cure - The Walk
Tom Robinson - War Baby

'83 was very different in America.

I guess the argument - which I partially subscribe to - was that in the UK in the early eighties it was possible to be a little bit experimental and yet still ride to the top of the charts. But by '83 or thereabouts it was a bit more difficult.

As exemplified by the entirely ill-conceived in-house go-go dancers who danced to everything and I mean everything on TOTP in '83, including "First Picture Of You" by the Lotus Eaters where they succeeded in (a) obscuring the group completely and (b) causing the record to go down the chart the following week, and "The Walk" by the Cure where they clutched their heads and frothed as though, you know, Not Quite Right In The Head because "visiting time is over" innit.

On the bright side, Bruce Foxton did ascend to #23 with his first solo outing, the heartrending "Freak."

It probably was different in America since, with the aid of MTV, they essentially got our 1982 a year late.

otm.

yeah, to go along with all the other incredible american songs we had

I guess the argument - which I partially subscribe to - was that in the UK in the early eighties it was possible to be a little bit experimental and yet still ride to the top of the charts. But by '83 or thereabouts it was a bit more difficult.

-- Zelda Zonk, Friday, March 7, 2008 3:52 PM (5 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

even if this is true -- i don't think it is -- how long did this supposed drought last? and how long had been the good times before it? the whole thing is nonsense.

I remember the b-side, "Writing's on the wall" or "Nights in white satin as rewroter by Bruce Foxton"

It probably was different in America since, with the aid of MTV, they essentially got our 1982 a year late.

Yes, agreed. Weirdly for a Brit, 1983 was also the year that *I* started regularly listening to Casey Kasem - courtesy of AFN radio in Berlin, whose weekly R&B chart countdown show was just awesome: Mtume, SOS Band etc. And it was also the peak of that whole open-minded electro/funk/soul/new wave/hi-energy melting pot culture, that I loved so much. My single of the year was C-Bank's "One More Shot", which I bought on white label before they'd even finished playing it in the shop - a rare case of a record grabbing me by the balls from the first listen and never, ever letting go.

American R&B was shit-hot in '82 and part of '83.

too many great pop singles from this year (not inc the ones originally released in '82 but inc. the ones that were more successful in '84 etc.) to take the thread question at all seriously

On the bright side, Bruce Foxton did ascend to #23 with his first solo outing, the heartrending "Freak."

Nothing about this sentence makes any sense.

The 1983 Disconet Top Tune Medley
17:30 104 BPM to 172 BPM

Mix by Mike Arato & John Matarazzo
Produced by Raul A. Rodriguez

Men Without Hats — The Safety Dance
The S.O.S. Band — Just Be Good To Me
Yaz — State Farm
Herbie Hancock — Rockit
Madonna — Holiday
Michael Jackson — Billie Jean
Freeez — I.O.U.
Shannon — Let The Music Play
Lime — Angel Eyes
Irene Cara — Flashdance… What A Feeling
Eurythmics — Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)
Thomas Dolby — She Blinded Me With Science
Thompson Twins — Lies
Donna Summer — She Works Hard For The Money
Michael Jackson — Beat It
Michael Sembello — Maniac
Pointer Sisters — I'm so Excited
Michael Jackson — Thriller

even if this is true -- i don't think it is -- how long did this supposed drought last? and how long had been the good times before it? the whole thing is nonsense.

Well I'm not sure if it's true - having lived through the period it feels true to me. It feels to me that 83, 84, 85 were semi-drought years, and then things started to be interesting again: hip-hop, house, etc.

It feels to me that in those early eighties, some slightly off the wall things could get in the top 20. A Joy Division or a Japan could not just get records released, but could also get top 20 hits.

yeah that one top twenty joy division single totally made all the difference. blergh -- this is entirely academic, rly. "the kind of music i like was marginally more popular for a two-year period a quarter of a century ago, therefore it was a golden age and the subsequent two-year period was terrible!" lol criticism.

Maybe you're right.

there was hip-hop in 83/84/85. i believe some of it may even have been interesting.

the dickies - stukas over disneyland

OTM OTM OTM !!!!

there was hip-hop in 83/84/85. i believe some of it may even have been interesting.

-- blueski, Friday, March 7, 2008 4:36 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Link

yeah. not much of it in the UK or US charts tho.

"i'm so excited"!
"holiday"!
"let the music play"!
"rockit"!

christ almighty! i suppose someone will come along and say these were actually WRITTEN in 1982 and so don't count?

Wow, quite some cultural diversity on that line-up!

Tony Denton must be rubbing his hands in glee.

I would start a different thread out of this question, but I'm too lazy.. which years (or time periods) were the most different between America and the UK? I'm guessing 1983 was one of those years.

David Van Day would be on this, but a) Dollar didn't release any records in 1983, and b) he's too busy being a wanker in Ant & Dec's jungle.

I've no recall of starting this thread, which is a bit disturbing since it was only earlier this year. Still, I think the argument kind of works, if you stick solely to UK chart music. In 80-82, postpunk had loosened things up a little, some unlikely things might make the charts, but by 1983 that was less likely. Can't be arsed to look through old charts to see if my hunch is correct though.

good songs from the top 40 25 years ago:

MaccaJacko - Say Say Say
The Cure - The Love Cats
Jacko - Thriller
Adam Ant - Puss N' Boots
Tina Turner - Let's Stay Together
Men Without Hats - The Safety Dance
Rocksteady Crew - Hey You
Yes - Owner Of A Lovely Heart
The Smiths - This Charming Man
Rogers & Partonstein - Islands In The Stream
Tracey Ullman - They Don't Know

but that's just out of the 25 i knew plus being harsh on 'That's All', 'Waterfront', 'Union Of The Snake' and one or two others (not including the re-release of 'Oblivious')

Back in 1983 Channel 4 had a show called Unforgettable in which old pre-Beatles Britpop stars came back for a lap of honour (I won't say bus pass lap of honour since most of them would only have been in their forties then), mostly singing their hits from 25 years earlier.

So nothing changes really; I'm assuming this is a tie-in with 25 Years of the Now! series and watching it is going to be for rubberneckers only.

Other things I like from the Top 40 of 19/11/83:

Cry Just A Little Bit - one of Shaky's best; his Rock 'n' Roll Part 2.
Never Never - Vince Clarke and Feargal Sharkey, both near their peak.
Calling Your Name - brilliant New Pop/Northern Soul forgery; fantastic Langer & Winstanley production. Even if Marilyn didn't necessarily sing it.
Undercover Of The Night - ludicrous in a lot of ways but about the last time the Stones showed any signs of real life.

A lot of these "good" songs are people past their peak though: Stones, Adam Ant, The Cure, Tina Turner, Macca. Only the Smiths are really brand new here. I guess Jacko is arguably at his peak, although personally I much prefer the Off The Wall period.

If you look up the chart in question the 41-100 section is much more interesting.

It seems a bit harsh to say the Cure were past their peak in 1983!

I must admit I liked them better when they were miserable bastards and did go off them a bit after Pornography (and their current album is the first one I've really liked since Pornography).

Owner Of A Lovely Heart

lol my brane

Maybe the Cure weren't past their prime in 1983, but they became a different band with The Love Cats. For the postpunk generation, I guess 1983 was the transitional period from rock miserabilism to pop hedonism. Best exemplified by New Order's Power, Corruption & Lies.

Because nothing's more pop hedonist than an album with that name!

And a final song called "Leave Me Alone!"

"You've caught me at a bad time...
...so why don't you piss off."

"Transitional" is what I said! It's got some of the miserabilism of "Movement" and some of the hedonism of later New Order. "Our love is like the flowers" is not a line Ian Curtis was ever going to come up with! Age Of Consent is upbeat! etc.

yeah, upbeat with that extended fadeout of "I've lost you"...

x-post -- Fair enough, but for a sec I'm all, "Wait, WHAT?"

Because nothing's more pop hedonist than an album with that name!

'Hedon the Door'?

Blueski's list of good songs is impressive!

I really like 'owner of a lonely heart'.

thread is total bullshit. I mean, yeah interesting things weren't on the radio and a small group of bands in the UK started putting out crap, but so what? albums I still listen to from '83, some of 'em all-time favorites:

butthole surfers - a brown reason to live
sonic youth - confusion is sex
the fall - perverted by language
the fall - in a hole
glenn branca - symphony no 1
birthday party - mutiny / the bad seed
swans - filth
rem - murmur
einsturzende neubauten - drawing of patient o.t.
rudimentary peni - death church
the cramps - smell of female
misfits - earth ad
suicidal tendencies - s/t
minutemen - what makes a man start fires?
husker du - everything falls apart
creatures - feast
big black - bulldozer
the comes - no side

also stuff by jandek, the ex, daniel johnston, harmonic choir, etc etc

and this happened
http://static.rateyourmusic.com/album_images/s365578.jpg

You're missing the point. The point was that there were some quirky things getting into the UK charts in the early eighties, but then by 1983 or thereabouts that didn't happen so much. Which may or may not be true, but there is no parallel universe in which Jandek or Daniel Johnston were storming the charts in 1983.

In other words, none of the above was happening VISIBLY, whereas a year earlier they might have done.

In the US, I think the decline started a bit later - around 1985.

(I mean the decline in Top 40 radio - not talking about small, independent releases.)

A song like Ashes To Ashes is a good example I think. A number one in 1980. Could a song like that - with its Kafka-quoting lyrics, its ghostly, treated piano sound - have got to number one a few years later? Bowie obviously didn't think so when he released Let's Dance.

there is no parallel universe in which Jandek or Daniel Johnston were storming the charts in 1983

it's right here inside my head. also in this universe stan brakhage's the garden of earthly delights outgrosses return of the jedi.

When I look at the overall number of great releases, it was a slump for sure. But I certainly didn't think it at the time. As a tweener kid, I was was just discovering how much there was beyond Queen and Rush, but was enjoying a wide spectrum, from Iron Maiden, Metallica, Slayer, Def Leppard, Motley Crue, Accept, Dio, The Fixx and Cheap Trick on one end to R.E.M., Tom Waits, Bad Brains, U2, Violent Femmes, Social Distortion, Minutemen, Husker Du, X, The Fall, The Wipers, Big Black, Talking Heads, Kid Creole, Lou Reed, Suburbs, Pretenders, Shriekback, Big Country, Minor Threat, Birthday Party, James Blood Ulmer, King Sunny Ade, etc. on the other.

Boring Pazz & Jop results imo.