Off The Chart

There we go then, thanks for listening, sorry about the no.1, do stick around for some better 1985 hits and join us next week when the dexy starts again and we're back to 1988! G'bu! #OffTheChart #NoiseboxRadio

Yes, this was the fourth of five weeks at no.1 for Jennifer "No" Rush with "The Power of Love", spending its 20th week on the chart. It became the biggest selling single of 1985 and made her the first female solo artist to have a million selling single in the UK. #OffTheChart #NoiseboxRadio

Peaking at no.2, "Take On Me" was finally a hit at the third time of asking for a-ha. It was first released in 1984 as an entirely different recording, produced by Tony Mansfield; this was the second release of the re-recorded version produced by Alan Tarney. #OffTheChart #NoiseboxRadio

Peaking at no.3, and also produced by Richard James Burgess who seems to have single handedly invented house music, "Trapped" was by far the biggest hit for Colonel Abrams, not a Colonel. #OffTheChart #NoiseboxRadio

Up to no.4, "Nikita" was the lead single from Elton John's 19th studio album "Ice on Fire". It features George Michael on backing vocals and Nik Kershaw on guitar, and the video was directed by Ken Russell. #OffTheChart #NoiseboxRadio

Down a place to no.5, "Gambler" was Madonna's second hit from the soundtrack of the movie "Vision Quest" and her seventh of eight UK top five hits in 1985 alone. #OffTheChart #NoiseboxRadio

Best known for their 1984 top five hit version of "Nellie The Elephant", the Toy Dolls formed in Sunderland in 1979 and are still going today. They were no.44 on the indie chart today in 1985 with "James Bond Lives Down Our Street". #OffTheChart #NoiseboxRadio

No.7 in Japan this week in 1985, "Namaiki" ("Saucy") , the second single release by Miho Nakayama and her first of thirty-one top ten hits in Japan, a run which included eight no.1s. #OffTheChart #NoiseboxRadio

Up to 15, "The Taste Of Your Tears" was the fourth of five top 30 hits in the space of a year for King, produced by Richard James Burgess off of Landscape as was one of the records in the top five. #OffTheChart #NoiseboxRadio

Meanwhile, peaking at 21 this week, "Bring On The Dancing Horses", a new song written for Echo & The Bunnymen's first best-of album "Songs To Learn And Sing" and the John Hughes movie "Pretty In Pink". #OffTheChart #NoiseboxRadio

Up 13 places to 23, "Cities In Dust" was the lead single and biggest hit from Siouxsie and the Banshees' seventh studio album "Tinderbox". It peaked at 21 and was later covered by Garbage. #OffTheChart #NoiseboxRadio

New at 36 on the Disco & Dance Chart, the awkwardly titled "Knees" by Howard Johnson, not Howard Jones, and not the North American hotel chain but a singer from Miami. #OffTheChart #NoiseboxRadio

Peaking at 45, "Profoundly In Love With Pandora", the theme from the TV adaptation of "The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Age 13 3/4" was Ian Dury's first top 50 hit in five years but also his last. #OffTheChart #NoiseboxRadio

Up to 58 this week, it sounds like Wee Boaby Prince but in fact "Oh Sheila" was the biggest hit for Ready For The World, a six-piece band from Flint, Michigan. It made no.1 in the US but only no.50 in the UK. #OffTheChart #NoiseboxRadio

Peaking at 66, "Who's That Girl (She's Got It)" was also the last hit for A Flock of Seagulls. Lead singer Mike Score no longer has the hairdo, but he still fronts a version of the band who released their most recent album in December 2024. #OffTheChart #NoiseboxRadio

New at a peak of 87, "Hard Magic" was the last of seven UK hit singles for Divine, aka Harris Glenn Milstead, described on Wikipedia simply as "performer". Divine's biggest hit was "You Think You're A Man" which made no.16 in 1984. #OffTheChart #NoiseboxRadio

New at no.1, "Once Upon a Time", the seventh album by Simple Minds which saw them adopting a more stadium rock sound. It spent just this one week at no.1 in the UK but it went Triple Platinum, spending a total of 84 weeks on the chart. #OffTheChart #NoiseboxRadio

Meanwhile, new at 91, Robert Wyatt and the SWAPO Singers with "The Wind of Change", produced by Jerry Dammers who was on a roll after the success of "Nelson Mandela" and wanted to draw attention to the political situation in Namibia. #OffTheChart #NoiseboxRadio

So, no.93, a charity cover of "All Or Nothing" by a load of people calling themselves Spectrum. It includes Steve Marriott, P.P. Arnold, members of the Lambrettas and Secret Affair, Ed Ball of The Times, and the whole thing was produced by Kenny Lynch. #OffTheChart #NoiseboxRadio

A non-album single, following the disappointing performance of their third album "Perhaps", "Take Me To The Girl" inexplicably peaked at no.95 for the Associates. #OffTheChart #NoiseboxRadio

G'mu! 1985 on Off The Chart this week and we kick off with "Can You Feel The Beat", peaking at 97 for Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force, but recently used as the title for a biographical TV movie about Lisa in which she plays her own mother. #OffTheChart #NoiseboxRadio

Talking away, we don’t know what to say about these records but we’ll say it anyway, today’s another Off The Chart! Join us at 9pm on @noiseboxradio.com as we go back to this day in 1985 for two hours of hits, headlines and histrionics. offthechart.show/27-october-1...

And that brings us to the end of another show! Thanks for listening, hang around for another hour of 1980 hits in Off The Chart Too, and join us next week when we'll do... oh, 1985. Oh well. G'bu! #OffTheChart #NoiseboxRadio

Unexpected item in the no.1 area: Ottawan's "D.I.S.C.O." spent a week at no.1 on the Record Business chart but only made no.2 on the Official Chart. #OffTheChart #NoiseboxRadio

Down a place after three weeks at no.1, "Don't Stand So Close To Me" was the lead single from the Police's third album "Zenyatta Mondatta" and the biggest selling single of 1980. #OffTheChart #NoiseboxRadio

Peaking at no.3 on both charts, Madness's "Baggy Trousers" was written by Suggs who was attempting to write in the style of Ian Dury, making a list of things he remembered from his schooldays. #OffTheChart #NoiseboxRadio

Already at no.1 on the Official Chart, "Woman in Love" was no.4 on the RB chart for Barbra Streisand but would climb to no.1 next week. Written by Barry and Robin Gibb, it's Barbra's only UK no.1 hit. #OffTheChart #NoiseboxRadio

Up to no.5, going on to reach no.2 on both charts, "What You're Proposing" was the lead single from Status Quo's 13th album "Just Supposin'", which they recorded at the same time as their 14th album "Never Too Late" which was released just five months later. #OffTheChart #NoiseboxRadio

A bit of a 1970s soul legend, Willie Hale gained the nickname "Little Beaver" as a child due to his prominent teeth. "Groove On" was at no.25 on the Disco chart this week in 1980, a track from his album "Beaver Fever". #OffTheChart #NoiseboxRadio

"Cry Like a Baby", originally a hit for the Box Tops in 1968, whose version went to no.2 in the US and no.15 in the UK. This version is by Kim Carnes, who took it to no.44 on the Billboard Hot 100. #ICEOTWF #OffTheChart #NoiseboxRadio

Peaking at 17 on the Record Business chart and 15 on the Official Chart, "You're Lying" was the first of six hits for Linx, led by TV's David Grant; at this time the group also included future solo hitmaker Junior Giscombe. #OffTheChart #NoiseboxRadio

Up a whopping 60 places to no.30 on the RB chart, XTC's "Towers of London" peaked at 31 on the Official Chart this week while their previous single was still in the top 75, but at least it made the top 40 unlike lots of their other singles. #OffTheChart #NoiseboxRadio

Ultravox had seventeen top 75 hits between 1980 and 1986; "Passing Strangers" was the second of them and the least successful, peaking at 49 on the Record Business chart and only no.57 on the Official Chart. #OffTheChart #NoiseboxRadio

Yes, somebody at Judas Priest's old label Gull Records thought it would be fine to reissue an old song called "The Ripper" in 1980. It was no.8 on the Heavy Metal Chart this week but didn't trouble the Official Chart, either on first release in 1976 or this reissue. #OffTheChart #NoiseboxRadio

"Pretty Girl" from the only Peel session by Liggers, a Manchester band who contributed to two various artists compilations in 1980. They were filmed recording this session as part of a BBC Arena documentary about John Peel, "Today Carshalton Beeches... Tomorrow, Croydon". #OffTheChart #NoiseboxRadio

An instrumental piece which originally closed ABBA's "Arrival" album, this is a rival version of "Arrival" by Mike Oldfield. It peaked at 69 on the Record Business chart but didn't make the Official top 75. #OffTheChart #NoiseboxRadio

A new version of a song that was originally released in 1978, tarted up and released as the follow-up to Kelly Marie's huge no.1 hit "Feels Like I'm In Love", "Loving Just For Fun" was new at 77 this week on the RB chart. It peaked at 21 on both charts. #OffTheChart #NoiseboxRadio

The lead single from Joe Jackson's third album "Beat Crazy", unusually credited to the Joe Jackson Band, "Mad At You" peaked at 85 on the RB chart and didn't trouble the Official top 75 at all. #OffTheChart #NoiseboxRadio

"Two Hearts" from "The River", Bruce Springsteen’s fifth album, his third to reach the UK chart but the first to enter the top ten. New at no.2 this week, it didn't make no.1 but it did spend a total of 89 weeks on the chart. #OffTheChart #NoiseboxRadio

Up to 86 this week, "Requiem" was the fourth single by Killing Joke. It peaked at no.71 on the RB chart and no.1 on the indie chart but didn't make the Official top 75. #OffTheChart #NoiseboxRadio

Unexpected item in the bagging area: "I Like Chinese" by Monty Python, P̵e̵k̵i̵n̵g̵ peaking at 95 on the Record Business chart. #OffTheChart #NoiseboxRadio

Down a place from a dizzying peak of no.98, "Central Park" was one of numerous singles that missed the Official Charts for Athletico Spizz 80, or Spizzoil or indeed Spizzenergi, although their album "Do a Runner" did make the top 30. #OffTheChart #NoiseboxRadio

"Funk, where rhythm is life, and...." Oh, hang on. G'mu and welcome to 1980 on this week's Off The Chart! Kicking us off at no.100 on the Record Business Chart, Tom Browne's bafflingly titled "Thighs High (Grip Your Hips And Move)". #OffTheChart #NoiseboxRadio

Old records, the subject, of this week’s Off The Chart – much like every week then. They’re particularly old this week though, because we’re going all the way back to 1980 for two hours of obscure, forgotten and neglected hits. Join us at 9pm on @noiseboxradio.com! offthechart.show/20-october-1...

Thanks everyone, sorry about the top five, but do hang around for another hour of 1984 hits on @noiseboxradio.com , some of which are not terrible. 1980 next week, so could go either way. G'bu! #OffTheChart #NoiseboxRadio

This was the last of six weeks at no.1 for "I Just Called To Say I Love You", Stevie Wonder's only solo no.1 hit in the UK, Motown Records' biggest selling single in the UK and the second biggest selling single of 1984. #OffTheChart #NoiseboxRadio

Peaking at no.2, "The War Song" was Culture Club's last top five hit until their reunion single "I Just Wanna Be Loved" reached no.4 fourteen years later. #OffTheChart #NoiseboxRadio

Crashing in at no.3, "Freedom" became the third no.1 single from Wham!'s second album "Make It Big", following "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go" and "Careless Whisper". #OffTheChart #NoiseboxRadio

The theme from the movie "Ghostbusters" by Ray Parker Jr had already been no.2 and was down to no.4 this week in 1984, long before the film even opened in the UK. #OffTheChart #NoiseboxRadio

Up 10 places to no.5, "Drive" was The Cars' first top ten hit in the UK since 1978 when they crashed straight into the top ten on their first week on the chart with their first hit "My Best Friend's Girl". #OffTheChart #NoiseboxRadio