1979 – the greatest year in singles history
For years when people asked “what type of music are you into”, I would answer – “1979”. Everything. It was a truly great year that shaped my lifetime musical taste. Amazingly, reading histories of popular music, what is relayed from those times is utterly different from what I remember. In the United States 1979 was the peak and the end of the disco era. In the UK and Ireland, it was a transition time – the last remnants of punk rock – often referred to as “new wave”, the rise of ska (retromania), the continued popularity of reggae, touches of dated US AOR music (like Billy Joel), the best disco hits (Chic and Gloria Gaynor) and the beginnings of electro-pop. Along with this there were the 1950s revivalists – like Darts, the mom and pop family bands – like the Doolies, Nolans, Cliff Richard, Dana and Dollar and the beginnings of the New Age of British Heavy Metal. It is wonderful to enjoy all of this, again, through the same medium that I experienced it in 1979 – Top of the Pops (BBC 4 Friday 02.00).
I have been enjoying lots of records that I bought on 45rpm vinyl single back then – “Oliver’s Army” – Elvis Costello, “Heart of Glass & Sunday Girl” – Blondie, “Hit me with your rhythm stick” – Ian Dury, “C’mon everybody” – Sex Pistols, “Into the Valley” – the Skids, “Is she really going out with him*” – Joe Jackson, “I don’t like Mondays” – Boomtown Rats etc. etc. etc. But, beyond doubt, the song that changed everything, that heralded the 1980s, that changed the way records were made – how artists performed, dressed and styled themselves – appears to have been forgotten in pop history. That song was “Are Friends Electric” by Gary Numan – under the cool moniker of “Tubeway Army.” The driving bass synthesiser riff, the funky guitars, the androgynous vocals – the appearance in black jumpsuits and then black military uniforms (replete with shoulder pads) – it all created a template for music for the following half decade.
It is curious to me that, at the time, the intelligensia (music critics) hated Numan – and he was considered derivative (read here) because of his “obvious” debt to Krautrock, Bowie and Brian Eno. For us kids, at the time, Eno was – well who the hell was he? – Bowie was a dinosaur of the glam era, and we had never heard of krautrock. Numan, to us, opened a window to a whole new world of electronic music – and through this came Depeche Mode, Ultravox, Yazoo, Soft Cell, Heaven 17, New Order, Pet Shop Boys, Leftfield, Chemical Brothers, Auterche, Groove Armada, Timbre Timbre etc.
For what it’s worth – Sparks’ “No.1 Song in Heaven” (followed by “Beat the Clock”) – had as big an impact on me as the Tubeway Army song. The 12 inch version is still terrific.
Here are the number 1 songs of 1979. Nearly all crackers except for the godawful Lena Martell version of “One day at a time” and, of course, Cliff Richard
06/01/1979 VILLAGE PEOPLE Y.M.C.A. 3
27/01/1979 IAN AND THE BLOCKHEADS HIT ME WITH YOUR RHYTHM STICK 1
03/02/1979 BLONDIE HEART OF GLASS 4
03/03/1979 BEE GEES TRAGEDY 2
17/03/1979 GLORIA GAYNOR I WILL SURVIVE 4
14/04/1979 ART GARFUNKEL BRIGHT EYES 6
26/05/1979 BLONDIE SUNDAY GIRL 3
16/06/1979 ANITA WARD RING MY BELL 2
30/06/1979 TUBEWAY ARMY ARE ‘FRIENDS’ ELECTRIC? 4
28/07/1979 BOOMTOWN RATS I DON’T LIKE MONDAYS 4
25/08/1979 CLIFF RICHARD WE DON’T TALK ANYMORE 4
22/09/1979 GARY NUMAN CARS 1
29/09/1979 POLICE MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE 3
20/10/1979 BUGGLES VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR 1
27/10/1979 LENA MARTELL ONE DAY AT A TIME 3
17/11/1979 DR. HOOK WHEN YOU’RE IN LOVE WITH A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN 3
08/12/1979 POLICE WALKING ON THE MOON 1
15/12/1979 PINK FLOYD ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL (PART II) 5
* This is one of the great songs – I particularly enjoy the first lines (has anyone ever bettered them): “Pretty women out walking with gorillas down my street
From my window I’m staring while my coffee grows cold”
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