The UK top 40 of exactly two decades ago

Lots of great stuff in there, but yeah, #22 is the best.

Songs on that particular chart I wouldn't kick out of bed: 6, 14, 17, 34.

Song on that particular chart I worship: 38.

If I tell you that the first few acts in the "H" section include Bill Haley, Marvin Hamlisch and, if you will, George Harrison performing "Ding Dong," you'll agree that we were in a bit of a rut then.

Hmmm, what do I love about this... I love the spoken word bits in this, very much like a voice in a dream sequence, you're not entirely sure what level of reality it exists at; I love that chord progression (exactly the same one as 'Kayleigh' BTW), you can't go wrong with that really; I love those guitar sounds, very 80s, very John Waite, but I love the way they drip bright fresh colour into songs, same with those somewhat erotically-charged squelchy synthgasms too; most of all I like the wistfulness of her voice, sounds like a cross between Patti Smith and Kylie to me, and I like the way it builds and builds with each iteration of the chorus, but always ends in that same note of what... regret? sorrow? loss?

.....1985 - the year that music historians chose to ignore

Simon Reynolds Blissed Out book primarily starts in 1986

I remember this era well earlier in the month of April 85 was my Easter school trip to Germany.

Yes, not a good chart for the '85-defender. I was 12 and vividly remember most of this stuff in the charts. I touched it with a few bargepoles.

The song on this I listened to most recently was "Black Man Ray"

HE NO BIG DEAL HE JUST A WIDE BOY

Now there was rebellion for you!

I bought none of those singles.

Post-punk in '85?

Come on then, whose singles did you buy? Big Flame? Yeah Yeah Noh? Meat Whiplash? Chakk?

Later that year, two people saved me - my sister did me a few reggae/rocksteady tapes and my friend A played me some psych stuff from the 60's and I was off again.

(I played Slaughter Joe's "I'll follow you down" to a friend. Then I said "I'd play you the b-side but that's just a lot of noise". He just looked at me.)

Yep, discovered the VU the year before, thanks to the book "Uptight", bought one boring shopping expedition w/Mum in Harrods. Just early enough to be fashionable. One play of "Upside Down" and I was off buying as many early Creation records as I could find.

I did that last year - 20th Anniversary an' all that

They did indeed - "Never Understand" and "Just Like Honey" respectively. That's why I also included the NME end-of-year lists in my round-up, in an attempt to alleviate the agony of the mainstream chart as it stood.

How can you that? Classic. First trippy psychadelic electro / disco record I ever owned (a copy of)

It was also the year when white-socks-and-loafers Caister-weekender soul/funk went off the boil. That C4 "Soul Train" show didn't help matters, either. I ask you, the Cool Notes!

It was also the year I lost interest in most guitar bands. I used to have the same conversation over and over with friends, where we pronounced that the only guitar bands still worth listening to were The Smiths, JAMC and R.E.M. (Husker Du? Missed them completely.)

19 (the song not the chart position) was one of the first singles to get to number one in an 'advanced rush' of sales (although not directly to number 1 itself) where the artist hadn't had a hit before. Now, it happens all the time.

Anyway, My sister was in Turkey doing her cabaret dance troup, and asked me to tape the chart for her, so she had some up-to-date stuff to listen to. 19 was number one. So a certain nightclub in Bodrum got to hear it well in advance of everyone else....

So, most of these records would have been on that tape too.

Instead, what do we get? David Bleeding Grant and Jaki Sodding Graham! That cut-price two-bit hi-NRG diva Phyllis Nelson, fluking it with Move Chuffing Closer! Freddie Mercury doing his damndest to be a cut-price two-bit hi-NRG diva! Sexy Peter Cox in "that" vest! Exciting new classically-influenced British band the Dream Academy, as seen on "The Tube"! The twatting Cool Notes!

It's not right, I'm telling you.

The shops which sold cd's had them in displays which were locked like in a jewellers. So if you wanted to look at one you had to get the shop assistant to open it and watch over you as browsed the booklet, sweating nervously. Not that I could afford cd's, or a cd player, at the time. Maybe this was just in Dundee, where the light fingered elemet definitely existed.

Sod 'em. I've probably played it more than 95% of the St. Et songs I have (also, I prefer Dubstar anyway).

What the hell is a wide boy?

OI OI! SAVELOY!

To me this chart means going to the youth club when I was 11 and dancing to Debarge, which I'm not sure is something I want to be reminded of. I know most of this chart, but the only one I bought was the Loose Ends song.

NUMBER 6!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Aren't people singing its praises? I loved this at the time. A load of a camp old nonsense, to be sure, but a fine load of camp old nonsense.

For what its worth, I can't see it as a Saint Etienne record. Its too...clunky, perhaps even a little clumsy in parts - but that's what makes it so good. The Saint Etienne version would have been - I don't know what I'm trying to say here - perhaps a little neater somehow.

Err..can someone help me out or are you scratching your heads and thinking "he's talking out of his arse"?

Lowest of the many low points of the album The Riddle: "Save The Whale," specifically the bit where he wails "Jee-Sooos Christ Al-myeee-tee."

I don't know that album, but I've got the one before it (

I don't know that album, but I've got the one before it (Human Racing). There are some truly awful songs on that which I recall even though I haven't heard them for twenty years. "Hey there Bogart, uh!, if time and space allow, talk-uh to me Bogart, uh!, what would you do now?". The low point has one called something like 'I let the drums talk' or 'I let the drums do the talking' or something, where he demonstrates this phenomenon (talking drums) by chanting "um-da-byo-WEELA! um-da-byo-weela-oowa-oowa!" over and over.

My favourite from that list. Some things make sense at the time, then seem to become absurd or irrelevant, then come back into vogue.. but 'Hangin' on a String' has always sounded.. just right to me. Perhaps partly because it didn't overkill on the prevailing mid '80s production values which were later made to appear laughably obsolete during the breakbeat era.

Not the best on the list, just... I kinda like it.

I still kind of like this, and think it works well in its context. As a song, it is stronger than "Do They Know It's Christmas", and particularly Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder and Bob Dylan provide some great stuff towards the end.

2 Phyllis Nelson Move Closer

A one hit wonder, and I don't understand why she had that one hit either.

3 Tears For Fears Everybody Wants To Rule The World

A touch of the greatness they provided on "The Hurting", but they were never to be as great again as they were on their debut album.

4 Phil Collins One More Night

One of his better solo moments. His ballads got more boring throughout the years, but at this stage, he still did them in a great way.

5 Bronski Beat & Marc Almond I Feel Love (Medley)

Never liked this medley. "Smalltown Boy" was great, in spite of Sommerville's annoying voice. After that, they might as well have called it quits.

6 Rah Band Clouds Across The Moon

A forgotten classic of sorts. Great 80s synth sounds, and an "interesting" subject matter. My favourite so far in this particular list!

7 David Grant & Jaki Graham Could It Be I'm Falling In Love

OK, but David Grant had done better stuff on his own prior to this (his last major hit, I believe...)

8 Simple Minds Don't You (Forget About Me)

Simple Minds sounding like Billy Idol. Not at all nice, really. Shame this was their biggest wordldwide hit.

9 Paul Hardcastle 19

A funny little thing. I loved it back then, and I still find it quite enjoyable. Having an actually serious message does it good as well.

10 Howard Jones Look Mama

Among his last great moments. Classic mid 80s synthpop from an underrated act. Even though I am not quite the huge fan that I used to be back then.

11 Dead Or Alive Lover Come Back To Me

Not their best moment IMO. Prefer their two next singles.

12 Go West We Close Our Eyes

Synthpop meets soul, and I've come to appreciate this more and more.

13 China Crisis Black Man Ray

Never my favourite synth act. They did have their moments, but I don't think this is really among them.

15 Philip Bailey With Phil Collins Easy Lover

Again, Phil Collins was still quite decent in 1985. "Easy Lover" is a case of archetypical collins meeting EWF in a nice way. Catchy stuff.

16 Frankie Goes To Hollywood Welcome To The Pleasuredome

In its 15 minute version, the title track is the highlight of the "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" album. In its edited version, all of the fun disappears.

17 U2 The Unforgettable Fire

Must have been surprising for a lot of people hearing the archetypical "guitar band" doing such a synth oriented single. Eno was producing, and that is easily heard here.

19 Freddie Mercury I Was Born To Love You

I do actually like this, hardly his biggest hit. But I feel this was another great song in the same style as "Radio Ga Ga".

21 Dream Academy Life In A Northern Town

Beautiful verse, pointless chorus.

22 Pat Benatar Love is A Battlefield

Rather boring AOR.

23 Dire Straits So Far Away

To this day, 20 years later, I still don't see why they chose this as the leadoff single from the "Brothers In Arms" album. It is by no means even close to the strongest track on the album, and it didn't become anything close to the biggest hit from the album either. They have always been at their best when doing ballads.

24 Glenn Frey The Heat Is On

"Pop Muzik" Part 4. Way overplayed. No, thank you!

25 DeBarge Rhythm of the Night

Great song from an underrated band, even though I liked them even better when they did ballads.

26 REO Speedwagon Can't Fight This Feeling

This isn't all that bad, even though the rest of their output was mainly extremely boring.

29 Eurythmics Would I Lie To You

Following a couple of classic synthpop albums with this disappointed me heavily. I loved their synth bleeps, and naturally hated the guitars and brass dominated "rock'n'roll" of this single.

30 Alison Moyet That Ole Devil Called Love

A beautiful version of the Billie Holiday classic, that really proves she has a great voice. Considerably different from what she used to do with Yazoo, but still a classic.

31 Paul Young Every Time You Go Away

The best thing Laurie Latham ever did as a producer, besides "Everywhere I Lay My Hat". A great version of the Hall & Oates song, even though I still prefer Daryl Hall's vocal to Young's.

34 Godley & Creme Cry

The video is classic. The song is not. These two quirks suddenly made a rather ordinary AOR ballad, and I certainly prefer their earlier material.

36 Nik Kershaw Wide Boy

Another strong song from Kershaw, but sadly sort of the end of his string of greatness. After this, he lost it for a while, and never got back as a solo act. This is still a great song though.

40 King Won't You Hold My Hand Now

My least favourite song by him, I think. "The Taste Of Your Tears" was great tho.