SHAKEDOWN, 1979 (April)

I trust that the first three months of this series has helped to convince any of you who happened to be non-believers that 1979 was very much the greatest year for hit singles in the UK.  So, what did April shower upon us??

While I wasn’t overly keen on the Sex Pistols singles on which Sid Vicious took on the duty of lead vocals, (which is why Something Else was left out previously and C’Mon Everybody will not appear in future), the cash-in this month did hold some appeal.

mp3: Sex Pistols – Silly Thing

Virgin Records really didn’t care too much about facts when it came to Sex Pistols.   The info attached to the 45 states that it’s from the album The Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Swindle, when in fact it’s a totally different version.  The album track has Paul Cook on lead vocals and had been recorded in mid-1978.  The single version has Steve Jones on lead vocals, and had been recorded in March 1979, with Bill Price on production duties.

It entered the charts in the first week of April 1979 at #24, and in due course climbed up to #6 as part of what proved to be an eight-week stay in the Top 75.

mp3: The Members – Offshore Banking Business

The wonderful follow-up to Sound of The Suburbs was a reggae-tinged attack on white-collar crime.  Sadly, things have only got worse with the passing of time.

Offshore Banking Business was, in comparison to ‘Suburbs’, a minor hit, only reaching #31, and it would prove to be the last time that The Members troubled the chart compilers.

mp3: M- Pop Muzik

Some folk will argue that this was a novelty number and a bit of an annoyance.   I’ll accept that it did become over-exposed somewhat back in the day and became a bit of an irritant, but the passage of time has more than convinced me that it’s a bona-fide pop classic.

M was the recording name taken by Robin Scott, a man with a fascinating backstory in that he’d been in and around the creative industries for much of the 70s as a singer, recording artist and record producer, as well as being a friend of Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood. He also worked with the then emerging film director Julian Temple.

Pop Muzik came into the charts at #53, and would go on to spend 14 weeks in the Top 75, peaking at #2.  It was also a huge hit in many other countries, and probably sold enough copies that ensured its composer would never again have to have any financial concerns, and enabled him to indulge in various creative projects over the next forty-plus years.

mp3: Sparks – The Number One Song In Heaven

I’ve previously written at length about this song, back in December 2016. I summed it up by saying that it was where prog met glam met disco met film soundtrack on one piece of 7″ black vinyl. I also declared it as the celestial song which cleared the decks for the likes of Soft Cell, Pet Shop Boys, Human League and Heaven 17 (as well as many other inferior versions of electro-pop) to come along in the 80s and make a fortune.  The one difference from 2016 and now is that I have since picked up a second-hand copy of the 45, having been without one for more than 30 years.  This one entered the charts at #60 on 21 April 1979.  It peaked at #14 in June 1979 while spending a total of 12 weeks in the Top 75.

mp3: X-Ray Spex – Highly Inflammable

Highly Inflammable was the first new song from X-Ray Spex since the release of the debut album Germ Free Adolescents at the end of the previous year.  It turned out to be their last piece of music for almost 16 years, as the group came to an end when lead singer Poly Styrene announced her departure shortly afterwards.  They would reform for live shows in 1991 and a second and final album would appear in 1995.  Highly Inflammable was their fourth chart 45, but where each of The Day The World Turned Dayglo, Identity and Germ Free Adolescents had all hit at least the Top 30, the final single stalled at #45.

mp3: The Police – Roxanne

Yup, it’s now 45 years since Sting & co. first tasted fame.    If they had had their way, it would have been a full year earlier, as Roxanne was initially released in April 1978 to great indifference.  But America went nuts for the song in early 79 and this led to A&M Records giving it a re-release over here.  The rest, as you might say, is history.

Roxanne came into the charts at #42 on 22 April.   It hung around for 9 weeks and peaked at #12.  I bought the re-released version of the single and that same time, having convinced my parents that going to new wave/post-punk gigs at the Glasgow Apollo wasn’t as dangerous as some tabloid papers would have you believe, I bought a ticket for my first ever live show.

The Police.  Thursday 31 May 1979.  There were two support acts.  Bobby Henry, followed by The Cramps.   I haven’t kept count, but I reckon I’ve been to over 1,000 gigs all-told now.  I still very much remember the first time.

mp3: The Undertones – Jimmy Jimmy

Get Over You had been a flop, so there was quite a lot riding on the next single from Derry’s finest.  Thankfully, the radio stations and record-buying public really took to Jimmy Jimmy over the spring and summer of 79.  It came in at #57, spent 10 weeks in the chart, and peaked at #16.    For all that it’s such an upbeat and anthemic number, it really is a very sad lyric.  One of the band’s finest three minutes, if you don’t mind me saying.

mp3: David Bowie – Boys Keep Swinging

I wasn’t quite at the stage where I was acquainting myself with David Bowie albums.  For now, I was more than happy to make do with the singles.   I had liked most of what I heard on daytime radio, but had never actually bought anything of his until Boys Keep Swinging.  It’s one of those that I can’t quite really put my finger on exactly why this really appealed to the then 15-year-old me, but there’s no denying that seeing it performed on the Kenny Everett TV show proved to be what would now be described as a water-cooler moment, albeit in may case it was in a school playground the next day when a fair bit of homophobic language was involved.  Little did we know the official video would create even more of a buzz.

Boys Keep Swinging came in at #31 on 29 April.  It climbed all the way to #7, and in doing so, gave Bowie his first Top 10 hit since Sound and Vision some two years previously.

mp3: The Damned – Love Song

Another of the new entries on 29 April.  This was the sixth single by The Damned, but proved to be the first time they hit the charts, and is all the evidence you need that the post-punk/new wave sounds had really become part of the mainstream.  It came in at #44, and before too long it had cracked the Top 20.

As I said earlier, and the whole point of this series, 1979 was a great year for singles (albeit the really big sellers were dreadful).

JC