1981
| Artist | Song | |
| X | The Once Over Twice | |
| Depeche Mode | New Life | |
| OMD | Souvenir | |
| Television Personalities | I Know Where Syd Barrett Lives | |
| The Specials | Ghost Town | |
| Teardrop Explodes | Reward | |
| Robyn Hitchcock | Brenda's Iron Sledge | |
| Squeeze | In Quintessence | |
| The Barracudas | ( I Wish It Could Be ) 1965 Again | |
| The dB's | Cycles Per Second | |
| Rolling Stones | Start Me Up | |
| The Replacements | Takin' A Ride | |
| Tom Tom Club | Wordy Rappinghood | |
| Japan | Visions Of China | |
| The Jam | That's Entertainment | |
| New Order | Ceremony | |
| The Raincoats | Odyshape | |
| The Fall | Middle Mass | |
| The Human League | The Things That Dreams Are Made Of | |
| Gang Of Four | Paralysed | |
| The Cure | All Cats Are Grey | |
Comment:
U.S. President Ronald Reagan is shot in the chest outside a Washington, D.C. hotel by John Hinckley, Jr. Bucks Fizz win the Eurovision Song Contest 1981 with the song, Making Your Mind Up.Peter Sutcliffe, the Yorkshire Ripper, is imprisoned for life for 13 counts of murder.
Lady Diana Spencer marries Charles, Prince of Wales. MTV (Music Television) is launched ( the first video they played was??? ). Egyptian president Anwar Sadat is assassinated during a parade by army members who were part of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad organization.
We said hello to Justin Timberlake, Elijah Wood, Paris Hilton, Jessica Alba, Natalie Portman & Beyonce Knowles.
We said goodbye to Bill Haley, Samuel Barber, Joe Louis, Harry Chapin, William Holden, Natalie Wood & Bob Marley.
And the music? Well, if you only ever listen to one 1981 mix, make it this!
Part 1
Part 2
Feedback:
Hard to believe Start Me Up was that long ago. And the Raincoats ... time ... she passes by.
Wow. I thought that 1981 was pretty worthless until I saw the tracks that you fellas have assembled. Nice work!
Great mix, despite the fact I know the answer to the MTV question - "Video Killed the Radio Star". Thanks for the links!!
I believe I was still listening to Zeppelin, Yes and Genesis in '81, just gettin over the Southern Rock craze. Had just discovered Waits and was deep in a Zappa binge. Saw MTV on a road trip that year .... Madness and about 4 other videos on constant rotation with no VeeJays. Took me awhile to get into the bands above (other than the Stones and Squeeze).
I made one of these a few years back, and we ended up with a lot of overlap. This is when the whole post-punk, college radio scene really started to pick up, and there was tons of great stuff just skirting the edges of the mainstream. Nicely done.
Nice work, Wonder Boys. Hey, for once I would have gotten the quiz right, but Sport got there first. But I have wondered what was the last video they played on MTV, before it converted to full time beach parties and stuff?
Post punk strikes. No doubt about it, these are good songs but in general not a great year.
This was the year I returned to Manchester. And tracks 14-21 prove that my timing was impeccable. Another poignant reminder, chaps. This series is better than a scrapbook.
i'm with robby -- i was never much a fan of the 80's, but this definitely states its case. what a great closer you've got, & i love the 'mats, jam & stones tracks as well. still haven't dropped the ball yet, fellas
Just wonderful. That's probably my fave TVPs cut and yeah, being a teenager, listening to the Replacements - that was good times.
81 was a great year for music (as was every year if you look hard enough). I was spinning records at night in the bars back then and scouring the record shops during the day looking for gems like these. Nice collection.
Ahh, 1981...and I walk into a dance joint with 2 of my fraternity brothers (right after final exams), swearing off women (@ least for awhile, I think)...see a drop-dead gorgeous young thing @ the bar (talking to her girlfriend), break down, approach her, ask her to dance (The Human League's Don't You Want Me was playing) and get rejected(!). . .
. . .and marry her 3 years later ;-)
Thanks for the memory(ies)!
. . .and marry her 3 years later ;-)
Thanks for the memory(ies)!
Congrats fer coming up with some gems in what ws a shit year!
For whatever reason, I tend to look at 80's music with far less excitment than other decades. This proves that approach to be wrong. VERY well done.
Thanks for the time-machine link!
That's a clever move with track 9, you nailed two wonder years with one stone!
That's a clever move with track 9, you nailed two wonder years with one stone!
Not such a bad year after all. Well done.
1981 was a blast for me..., what was to be a long-and thus far non-ending, string of 'em. That Squeeze LP was *it*! (Barracudas didn't suck either.) Great job!
really great stuff. the only thing wrong with '81 is that i wasn't born until '82. :P
fantastic year for music, I did this myslef a couple of years ago, maybe 1 or 2 songs are the same, cool
Some of the best artists that the early 80s had to offer can be found right here. But no Bucks Fizz? ;)
Excellent, excellent picks. Ceremony is one of my favourite New Order songs - if not my absolute favourite - and love the Replacements, Specials, dBs and the whole 15-21 stretch too. Well done!
This is my fave of the series maybe. I also wanted to mention just how impressive the research, knowledge and taste that goes into these is. Starting to realize just how ignorant I am of the New Wave canon.
i love this. some of my favorite songs ever are in here
the year i was born. especially love the jam pick here.
but where's Sheena Easton's 'Morning Train?' [just kidding. it was my favorite at the time.] but lots of current favorites here, esp. Tom Tom Club and Human League. Raincoats pick is great, as is the 5-7 bit, which are all new to me. great work!