1980 in British music

Part of a series of articles on British music

BPI • OCC
Charts Singles chart (#1s; Records) Albums chart (#1s) Download chart (#1s)
Awards BRIT Awards • Mercury Prize NME Awards
Periods Pre-1950 • 1950s & 60s 1970s • 1980s 1990s - Present
Origins and influences Overview England • Scotland • Wales Ireland • Caribbean
Genres Classical • Britpop • Brithop Opera • Rock • Jazz
Major music publications NME • Melody Maker Music Week • Record Collector Record Mirror • Record Retailer Smash Hits • Sounds Q • Kerrang! • fRoots
Other links Bands • Musicians Festivals • Venues
Timeline 1991 • 1992 • 1993 • 1994 • 1995 1996 • 1997 • 1998 • 1999 • 2000 2001 • 2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005 2006 • 2007 • 2008 • (full list)
This box: view • talk • edit

This is a summary of 1980 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts from that year.

[edit] Charts

Date	Song Title	Artist	No. of Weeks
19 January	Brass in Pocket	The Pretenders	2
2 February	The Special AKA Live!	The Specials	2
16 February	Coward of the County	Kenny Rogers	2
1 March	Atomic	Blondie	2
15 March	Together We Are Beautiful	Fern Kinney	1
22 March	Going Underground/Dreams of Children	The Jam	3
12 April	Working My Way Back To You	The Detroit Spinners	2
26 April	Call Me	Blondie	1
3 May	Geno	Dexy's Midnight Runners	2
17 May	What's Another Year	Johnny Logan	2
31 May	Theme From M.A.S.H. (Suicide is Painless)	M.A.S.H.	3
21 June	Crying	Don McLean	3
12 July	Xanadu	Olivia Newton John & ELO	2
26 July	Use It Up and Wear It Out	Odyssey	2
9 August	The Winner Takes It All	Abba	2
23 August	Ashes to Ashes	David Bowie	2
6 September	Start!	The Jam	1
13 September	Feels Like I'm In Love	Kelly Marie	2
27 September	Don't Stand So Close To Me	The Police	4
25 October	Woman in Love	Barbra Streisand	3
15 November	The Tide Is High	Blondie	2
29 November	Super Trouper	Abba	3
20 December	(Just Like) Starting Over	John Lennon	1
27 December	There's No-One Quite Like Grandma	St. Winifred's School Choir	2

Position	Song Title	Artist	Highest Position
1	Don't Stand So Close To Me	The Police	1
2	Woman In Love	Barbra Streisand	1
3	Feels Like I'm In Love	Kelly Marie	1
4	D.I.S.C.O.	Ottawan	2
5	Geno	Dexy's Midnight Runners	1
6	Together We Are Beautiful	Fern Kinney	1
7	The Coward Of The County	Kenny Rogers	1
8	Working My Way Back To You	The Detroit Spinners	1
9	9 To 5	Sheena Easton	3
10	Ashes To Ashes	David Bowie	1
11	Baggy Trousers	Madness	3
12	Theme From MAS*H	MASH	1
13	The Tide Is High	Blondie	1
14	Going Underground / Dreams Of Children	The Jam	1
15	Crying	Don McLean	1
16	The Winner Takes It All	ABBA	1
17	Dance Yourself Dizzy	Liquid Gold	2
18	Atomic	Blondie	1
19	Upside Down	Diana Ross	2
20	Use It Up And Wear It Out	Odyssey	1
21	Start	The Jam	1
22	Master Blaster (Jammin')	Stevie Wonder	2
23	Funky Town	Lipps Inc.	2
24	I'm In The Mood For Dancing	The Nolans	3
25	One Day I'll Fly Away	Randy Crawford	2
26	If You're Looking For A Way Out	Odyssey	6
27	The Special A.K.A Live (EP)	The Specials	1
28	Super Trouper	ABBA	1
29	Take That Look Off Your Face	Marti Webb	3
30	No Doubt About It	Hot Chocolate	2
31	What You're Proposing	Status Quo	2
32	Brass In Pocket	The Pretenders	1
33	What's Another Year?	Johnny Logan	1
34	Xanadu	Olivia Newton-John & The Electric Light Orchestra	1
35	Oops Upside Your Head	The Gap Band	6
36	King / Food For Thought	UB40	4
37	And The Beat Goes On	The Whispers	2
38	Special Brew	Bad Manners	3
39	Turning Japanese	The Vapors	3
40	When You Ask About Love	Matchbox	4

Position	Album	Artist
1	Super Trouper	Abba
2	Zenyatta Mondatta	The Police
3	Greatest Hits	Rose Royce
4	Pretenders	The Pretenders
5	Regatta De Blanc	The Police
6	Flesh And Blood	Roxy Music
7	Off The Wall	Michael Jackson
8	Duke	Genesis
9	Guilty	Barbra Streisand
10	Sky 2	Sky

February 19 - Bon Scott, singer (AC/DC) (born 1946)
May 18 - Ian Curtis, musician and singer (Joy Division) (born 1956)
September 25 - John Bonham, drummer (Led Zeppelin) (born 1948)
December 8 - John Lennon, singer, songwriter, and guitarist (The Beatles) (murdered) (born 1940)