The inexorable rise of we might justifiably call the ‘Great British Hit Single’ coincided with the beginning of Margaret Thatcher’s hugely divisive reign and was all but over in the year of her Falklands War. 1979-1982: Three years that I would like to crown the ‘Golden Era’ of the records that lit up the pop charts. Sure lots of great singles were released before then and many released since, but indulge me a while as I present the case for my theory: that those challenging recessional times were a truly wonderful time to be a teenager with pocket money rattling among the Spangles, looking for a cheap vinyl thrill that lasted about four minutes.
At the height of their creative powers were bands who took the restless, raw energy of punk into new and exciting areas and instilled in it a commercial sensibility ensuring a far wider audience than their forebears could have imagined. The Jam, Adam and the Ants, The Police, Siouxsie and the Banshees all had huge success with an almost uninterrupted run of fantastic singles. Those more directly involved in punk from the outset were enjoying chart success too including Stranglers, The Clash and The Damned.
Two-tone and the ska revival gave us The Specials their distinctive fusion of Jamaican ska rhythms and melodies with punk’s attitude and social commentary. Madness borne out of the same ‘second wave’ of ska released single after classic single. The Beat and The Selecter also scored critical and commercial acclaim.
And then there’s the (what we might justifiably call) the Electronic bands: Human League, Depeche Mode, Ultravox, Orchestral Manouevres in the Dark and Soft Cell all scored massive hits, in some cases eschewing guitars altogether and crafting perfect pop songs from sounds created entirely from keyboards with names like Roland.
You might not care to remember this, but the spandex-clad British Heavy Metal scene enjoyed by far its most commercially successful period between 1979 and 1982 with Iron Maiden, Motorhead (always punks with long hair really) and lesser lights such as Saxon regularly charting and jostling for space on Top of the Pops with Kid Creole and the Coconuts and Haircut 100.
And what of those bands who went on to be stadium massive and just a bit, well, crap? Step up Dire Straits and ‘Sultans of Swing’, ‘Private Investigations’ et al. Duran Duran started off as new romantics and ended up as preening stadium poseurs. But ‘Planet Earth’ is a pretty good debut single by anyone’s standards.
What about some of those more established artists? Just resting on their laurels perhaps? Pink Floyd scored their biggest hit with ‘Another Brick in the Wall’, Queen released ‘Don’t Stop Me Know’ and ‘Under Pressure’ with a certain David Bowie whose ‘Scary Monsters’ album spawned one of his most brilliant songs (and a number one single) ‘Ashes to Ashes’ in 1980.
Lest we forget those we might unkindly refer to as ‘one hit wonders’, such as Visage with ‘Fade to Grey’, ’The Vapours and their ‘Turning Japanese’ and The Passions’ ‘I’m in Love with a German Film Star’.
Who’ve I missed? Dexy’s Midnight Runners, ABC, Japan, Squeeze, Spandau Ballet, Kim Wilde, The Pretenders, ELO. And let’s not ever forget Kate Bush, how could we?
So as tempting as it might be to dismiss my ramblings as those of a nostalgia-obsessed old fart I’m afraid the evidence is unequivocal and overwhelming. There simply hasn’t been a more fertile time both in terms of prolific creativity and commercial success for the three minute pop song of British origin. ’79-’82 was the golden era of the Great British Single. The creative apex non pareil; the glory years; the halcyon days.
Sure the ‘60s must have been great, and the early ‘70s had its moments undoubtedly, but we not only had the music to enjoy but glorious colour televisions to see these wonderful new music video thingies on. And all that before MTV.
As if that wasn’t enough 7” singles cost about 79p too. In the words of the great Kate Bush: Wow!
Infinite Sparks 