Classic Pop April 2019

(^14)
I WOULD DIE 4 U
PRINCE AND
THE REVOLUTION
While four other tracks
from Prince’s 1984
Purple Rain album made
the Top 10, this one tanked, but
nevertheless encapsulated the
percussive funk of the Purple
One that belatedly made him a
global star, six albums into his
career. Under three minutes, it’s
a more basic Prince work, but
also heartfelt and sharp, and
it stayed on his live setlist for
years afterwards. It peaked at
No.58 in 1985.
1O
DANCING WITH
MYSELF
GENERATION X
Generation X was a
wasted opportunity; a
fleeting project toxified
by a perceived lack of punk
cred, which overshadowed their
big redeeming feature, the
sellability of charismatic
frontman Billy Idol, the man who
could smile and sneer in unison.
His caustic vocal tore through
this 1981 pop-punk song about
self-relief, which persisted as a
vital part of his solo set long after
his dying band took it to No.60.
(^13)
STAND
R.E.M.
R.E.M. had attracted
quite a large UK
following by 1989 but
still hadn’t reached the Top 40,
and the initial release of the
organ-led Stand (a pastiche of
60s bubblegum, cartoon pop
which they’d later label the most
stupid song that they ever wrote)
maintained the pattern, reaching
No.51. It qualifies here because
when Orange Crush then broke
them through, it received a
separate second release and got
to No.48.
O9
OUT OF TOUCH
DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES
Probably the 1980s’
most neglected act
in the UK, certainly
when compared with their
successes in America. The duo
enjoyed five No.1s in America in
the 80s, but none in Britain.
Out Of Touch – spruce, colourful,
melodic synth-pop with hooks in
abundance – was their final
chart-topper in the States but
worthy only of No.48 in the UK.
Scouse house duo Uniting
Nations did much better two
decades later, reaching No.7.
(^15)
FOREST FIRE
LLOYD COLE AND
THE COMMOTIONS
Fresh on the scene and
instantly categorised as
grumpy and pretentious,
Lloyd Cole nevertheless wrote a
superb debut album in 1984, but
by some hideous quirk of fate the
strongest song on Rattlesnakes
only got to No.41, stunting the
flying start given to them by
predecessor Perfect Skin.
Charming, tender and just on the
right side of serious, it has an
understated vocal and an
exquisite solo to fade.
(^11)
BIZARRE LOVE
TRIANGLE
NEW ORDER
The majority of New
Order’s releases in the
1980s made the Top
40, even if they didn’t climb
much once there, but Bizarre
Love Triangle was outrageous as
an exception, as one of the most
commercially accessible, tuneful
singles they ever did. There was
less iciness in the production and
Bernard Sumner even revealed
some emotional vulnerability in
his vocals, but despite this, it only
got to No.56 in 1986.
(^16)
HIP TO BE SQUARE
HUEY LEWIS AND
THE NEWS
A childlike (and very
catchy) offering to
follow their success on
Back To The Future’s soundtrack,
but in spite of its less serious
connotations, it is the unluckiest
track here, as it struggled
through two separate spells at
No.41 in 1986 (with a week at
46 in-between). Not an
intentional statement on the
band’s allegedly lowly place in
rock’s trendsetting league table,
but it ended up as that anyway.
(^12)
GYPSY
FLEETWOOD MAC
Stevie Nicks initially
wrote this for a
turn-of-the-decade solo
project but then donated it to
Fleetwood Mac’s sessions for
Mirage, eventually completing
it in 1982. The band were
productive in the early 80s but
had little impact on the Top 40
during the period, and despite
its budget-busting music video
and a superb outro solo from
Lindsey Buckingham, it only
made No.46 when issued in the
late summer of 1982.
TOP 40 GREATEST MISSES