Featured song:
Duran Duran – The Reflex
This is a series of articles looking at pop music from 1955 when in my opinion proper pop music began up to 1999 when they stopped making it. One article for each year.
I am only going to select one featured song for each article, which makes it hard. I am going to try and select a different artist for each year.
For many people, and I include myself, you tend to still like the tunes you heard during childhood, which your parents often played. So rather than just pick the top 10 hits of each year, I shall let you know what they were, but also the tunes of that year not necessarily in the top 10 or so, what were in my view classics. I also add a couple of events in history for that year, it helps bring back memories, and hopefully happy ones.
Not everyone will like my choices of course, and you may remember some from each particular year that you feel should have been included, so do please post a link to the song.
So, on we go with memories from 1984: (Thank you Wiki)
This year was about: Miners strike. Torvill & Dean (link in the last song below), WPC Yvonne Fletcher murdered. Maggie doing a good job of fighting back the unions. Frankie says Relax tee-shirts everywhere. Agadoo.
What was I doing in this year? – I was 28, still in Germany, pretty quiet really.
TV programmes included:
Elsie Tanner leaves Corrers for the last time. Winter Olympics with Torvill & Dean, Colin Baker takes over from Peter Davison as Dr Who. The Price is Right, Danger Mouse, Crimewatch. The Australian soap Prisoner Cell Block H started, I liked that. The Bill started, did not finish till 2010. Alas Smith & Jones also started, good comedy that.
One of the saddest things I have had to witness on telly came on 15 April when Tommy Cooper dies from a fatal heart attack on live television at the age of 63, during Live From Her Majesty’s.
Events:
Prime Minister – Margaret Thatcher (Conservative)
15 January – Left-wing MP Tony Benn wins the Labour Party’s nomination for the Chesterfield by-election, eight months after losing his seat as Member of Parliament (MP) for Bristol in the General Election.
14 February – Torvill and Dean win a gold medal for ice skating at the Winter Olympics
1 March – Labour MP Tony Benn is returned to parliament after winning the Chesterfield by-election, having lost his previous seat at the general election last year.
12 March – Miners’ strike begins and pits the National Union of Mineworkers against Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government intent on free market reform of the nationalised industries, which includes plans for the closure of most of Britain’s remaining coal pits.
21 March – European Economic Community summit breaks down over disagreement over Britain’s budget rebate with Margaret Thatcher threatening to veto any expansion of spending plans.
9 April – More than 100 pickets are arrested in violent clashes at the Creswell colliery in Derbyshire and the Babbington colliery in Nottinghamshire. It is estimated that 46 out of 176 British coal mines are currently active as miners fight government plans to close 20 coal mines across Britain.
12 April – Arthur Scargill, the leader of the National Union of Mineworkers, rules out a national ballot of miners on whether to continue their strike, which has already lasted five weeks.
15 April – The comedian Tommy Cooper, 63, collapses and dies on stage from a heart attack during a live televised show, Live from Her Majesty’s.
17 April – WPC Yvonne Fletcher is shot and killed by a secluded gunman during a siege outside the Libyan Embassy in London in the event known as the 1984 Libyan Embassy Siege. 11 other people are also shot but survive.
30 May – Arthur Scargill is arrested and charged with obstruction at Orgreave.
7 June – 120 people are arrested when fighting breaks out outside the Houses of Parliament during a mass lobby by striking miners.
18 June – Battle of Orgreave confrontation between picketing miners and police.
26 July – Trade Union Act prohibits unions from striking without a ballot
11 August – Barefoot South African runner Zola Budd, controversially granted British citizenship earlier in the year, collides with Mary Decker in the 3000 meters final at the Olympics, neither finishing as medallists.
28 September – The High Court rules that the miner’s strike is unlawful.
10 October – The High Court fines the NUM £200,000 and Arthur Scargill £1,000 for contempt of court.
12 October – The Provisional Irish Republican Army attempts to assassinate the Conservative cabinet in the Brighton hotel bombing. Margaret Thatcher escapes unharmed, but MP Anthony Berry and four other people are killed, whilst Norman Tebbit is trapped among the rubble and his wife Margaret is seriously injured.
11 December – Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” goes to the top of the UK Singles Chart.
The Top 10 Singles with a You Tube hyperlink on the title:
Top tip: Right-click and open in new tab
| Top Hits of 1984 | ||
| 1 | Band Aid | Do They Know It’s Christmas |
| 2 | Stevie Wonder | I Just Called To Say I Love You |
| 3 | Frankie Goes To Hollywood | Relax |
| 4 | Frankie Goes To Hollywood | Two Tribes |
| 5 | George Michael | Careless Whisper |
| 6 | Wham | Last Christmas / Everything She Wants |
| 7 | Lionel Richie | Hello |
| 8 | Black Lace | Agadoo |
| 9 | Wham! | Freedom |
| 10 | Ray Parker Junior | Ghostbusters |
Great year for Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Wham (well at least George, no one knew what the other one did, but I remember he got a million pounds to bugger off), Black Lace (Do not groan, we all did that dancing), The top tunes of the year are the above 10, but my featured song is from Duran Duran who did a lot of great stuff.
“The Reflex” became the band’s most successful single. It was their second single to top the UK Singles Chart, after “Is There Something I Should Know?” in 1983, topping the chart on 5 May, and would prove to be their last UK no. 1. It was a huge hit internationally. The remixes for both the 7″ and 12″ singles were created by Nile Rodgers, of Chic fame. It was his first work with the band, and he would later go on to produce “The Wild Boys” single as well as the album Notorious (1986) and several tracks on Astronaut (2004).
More writings on this band here: The Reflex
In my view the best songs of the year, after the featured track and most of the above top ten are below (best to right-click and open in a new tab)
I start off with a toe-tapper – Kenny Loggins – Footloose
Queen – Radio GaGa = Great live version this.
Duran Duran – Wild Boys
Bronski Beat – Smalltown Boy – Don’t care what you think, this is awesome.
Elton John – Sad Songs (Say So Much) – So many great songs from Elton, this for me one of his best.
Nena – 99 Red Balloons – Could not find the hirsute one, apologies to the fetishists,
Status Quo – The Wanderer – They could sing nursery rhymes and I would still love it.
Jim Diamond – I should have known better
The Weather Girls – It’s Raining Men – Pretty much mandatory this!
Queen – I Want To Break Free
Tina Turner – What’s Love Got To Do With It – Live version for you
The Pointer sisters – Automatic
Prince – When Doves Cry
Shakin’ Stevens, Bonnie Tyler – Rockin’ Good Way (To Mess Around And Fall In Love)
The Bluebells – Young At Heart – Always liked this
Alphaville – Big In Japan
Spandau Ballet – Only When You Leave
Thompson Twins – Doctor! Doctor!
Howard Jones – Like To Get To Know You Well
Thinking Of You – Sister Sledge
Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder – Together in Electric Dreams
OMD – Locomotion
Billy Ocean – Caribbean Queen (No More Love On The Run – Billy did some great music and still doing it today.
Madonna – Like A Virgin – You just knew when you saw and heard this that she was going to be big time.
Shakin’ Stevens – A Love Worth Waiting For
The Cars – Drive – A most pleasant little ditty.
Eurythmics – Sex Crime
ZZ Top – Gimme All Your Lovin’
Alison Moyet – All Cried Out
Alison Moyet – Love Resurrection
Hazell Dean – Searching (I Gotta Find A Man) – Ironic really, like her a lot then she came out as ghey.
Elton John – Passengers
Bob Marley – One Love – I have linked the vid with lyrics, I know you like to singalong.
Cyndi Lauper – Girls Just Want To Have Fun
Frankie Goes To Hollywood – The Power Of Love
Nik Kershaw – The Riddle
John Waite – Missing You
Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine – Dr. Beat
Bananarama – Robert De Niro’s Waiting
Sister Sledge – Lost In Music
Depeche Mode – People Are People
Jeffrey Osborne – On The Wings Of Love
Bolero (Ravel) – The Music of Torvill & Dean – I had to link the actual 1984 dance routine, great tune, great ice-dancing. I am reporting for anti-ghey training first thing in the morning.
Fun Song: Black Lace -.Agadoo
Fun Song: Neil – Hole In My Shoe
45 songs for 1984 in my favourite lists.
Hat tips to:
http://www.uk-charts.top-source.info/ these give the top 100 selling charts for each year
http://www.everyhit.com/chart1.html these give the top 10 songs for each year
https://www.youtube.com/ you know them.
Next Time 1985
Featured image: Brian Aris; Distributed by Capitol Records, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
© Phil the Ex test manager 2019 2025
The Goodnight Vienna Audio file
