Alternate List of Billboard #1 Hits: Katarn Edition

[Miss Teri]

August 16th, 1980: "The Heart To Break The Heart"- France Joli
August 23rd, 1980: "Another Brick in the Wall (Part. II)"- Spectrum Five

Event: August 2nd, 1980: The National Lampoon Television Variety Hour changes its name to National Lampoon Television, or NLTV. Along with this change is a new cast, including comedians Eddie Murphy, Robin Williams, and Gilbert Gottfried.

 

[ImSadCauseImAlone]

September 13th, 1980: "Upside Down" - Diana Ross
September 20th, 1980: "Time" - Alan Parsons Project

Event: Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment have announced their upcoming cable music channel All-Music Network (AMN), scheduled to launch in May 1981. Carol Burnett Show producer Bob Banner will be head of programming for the network. Through an agreement with Dick Clark Productions, AMN will be the exclusive home for American Bandstand reruns (ABC retains first-run rights at the moment), and a new variety series from the company will premiere on AMN during the summer.

 

[Katarn]

It is quite odd that "Another Brick in the Wall Part II" was #1 in January 1980 and then again in August. Not implausible, just odd.

That would be implausible. It might not be what happened though, the one in January might have been Part I. Part I hitting number one is kind of weird though.

September 27th, 1980: "Start!" - The Jam
October 4th, 1980: "Start!" - The Jam

Event: High Voltage release their first album since the death of singer Bon Scott on October 2nd. The album features a re-write and re-recording of one of the band's earlier songs Ride On, which the album is named for. The band has not hired a new singer to replace Bon Scott, and instead longtime bassist and secondary songwriter Lemmy Kilmister has become the band's lead vocalist in addition to playing bass. The album is a double album, and in addition to new tracks written primarily by Kilmister, the album features many tracks written by Scott before his death including the standouts Highway to Hell and Touch Too Much. Overall the album is intended to be a tribute to Scott, and features a picture of Scott on his motorcycle on the cover. The album was a massive commercial success and was even well received by critics who appear to have finally warmed up to the band. The album briefly tops the Billboard 200, would ultimately be certified 20x Platinum (or 2x Diamond) in the U.S. alone, and would remain on the Billboard 200 for a non-consecutive total of 391 weeks, over seven years. This makes Ride On one of the best selling albums of all time, and by far the best-selling album of the band's career.

-------------------------

High Voltage - Ride On

All songs sung by Kilmister.

Side A

Have a Drink On Me (Scott/Young/Kilmister)
The Chase is Better Than the Catch (Kilmister/Young)
Fast and Loose (Kilmister/Young)
Stay Clean (Scott/Young/Kilmister)
If You Want Blood (You've Got It) (Scott/Young/Kilmister)

Side B

Jailbait (Kilmister/Young)
Girls Got Rhythm (Scott/Young/Kilmister)
Touch Too Much (Scott/Young/Kilmister)
Poison (Kilmister/Young)
Over the Top (Kilmister/Young)
Fire Fire (Kilmister/Young)

Side C

Dead Men Tell No Tales (Kilmister/Young)
Like a Nightmare (Kilmister/Young)
Shot Down in Flames (Scott/Young/Kilmister)
No Class (Scott/Young/Kilmister)
Love Me Like a Reptile (Kilmister/Young)

Side D

Highway to Hell (Scott/Young/Kilmister)
Ace of Spades (Kilmister/Young)
Bomber (Kilmister/Young)
Beating Around the Bush (Scott/Young/Kilmister)
Ride On (Scott/Young/Kilmister) (New lyrics and re-recorded)

 

[Miss Teri]

October 25th, 1980: "Ashes to Ashes"- The Diamond Dogs
November 1st, 1980: "Ashes to Ashes"- The Diamond Dogs

Event: November 4th, 1980: President Mo Udall, riding on good economic conditions and a series of foreign policy successes with Secretary of State Robert Kennedy (including leveling sanctions on South Africa and pressuring reforms in Iran) and Vice President Lawton Chiles win re-election over Republican nominee former Texas Governor John Connally and Connecticut Senator Lowell Weicker.

 

[Katarn]

November 15th, 1980: "Breaking the Law" - Judas Priest
November 22nd, 1980: "Yearning for Your Love" - The Gap Band

Event: George Harrison has come out of seclusion for the first time since the death of Eric Clapton. His sudden return is not a pleasant one however, Harrison has returned to the spotlight in order to sue punk band The Jam for alleged plagiarism of the hit Budgies song Taxman. Harrison alleges that the main bass and guitar riffs of The Jam's song Start! are near identical copies of the bass and guitar riffs from Taxman.

Reckless Records artist and ad exec Cherry Vanilla, speaking on behalf of the label has said "The day I first heard that song something was wrong about it, but I couldn't place it. I definitely think I can hear Taxman now that I think about it. The Jam directly copied it, it's a bad vibe, it's like if Frank Sinatra came back as a ghost. I mean sure he's back, but he doesn't have the same charisma you know. It's hard to be close and emotional when you're green and transparent. Anyway, Iggy won't stand for it and I agree with him. A lot of the board wanted to keep The Jam, but they are getting dropped from the label. I guess The Jam is on toast." Her bizarre interview is published just about everywhere, making Vanilla somewhat of a celebrity.

 

[Katarn]

I know you guys probably think Judas Priest being so popular is ASB. Can you please listen to this song if you hold that opinion? Also Take On the World and United and Living After Midnight and Before the Dawn, etc.

February 28th, 1981: "One Hundred Ways" - Quincy Jones ft. Morris Day
March 7th, 1981: "Heading Out to the Highway" - Judas Priest

Event: Judas Priest release Troubleshooter on February 20th. The album is a large commercial success, and is eventually certified 6x Platinum. The album receives mixed reactions from critics, many of whom are finally beginning to warm up to the heavy metal style and are disappointed at Judas Priest's consistently more melodic and pop-oriented direction. The album features Queen's Brian May as a guest guitarist on two tracks: We Will Rock You and All the Way. The album also features a song originally written by May for Queen that was shelved, We Will Rock You, continuing Priest's close association with Queen.

Spotify

Judas Priest - Troubleshooter

Side A

Troubleshooter
We Will Rock You (Queen Cover)
All the Way
Desert Plains
Heading Out to the Highway
Running Wild

Side B

Rapid Fire
Saints in Hell
Killing Machine
You Say Yes
Turning Circles

 

[ImSadCauseImAlone]

April 18th, 1981: "In the Dark" - Billy Squier
April 25th, 1981: "In the Dark" - Billy Squier

Event:

The All-Music Network (AMN), the first 24-hour channel entirely dedicated to music, debuts on May 1st, 1981 in the New York metropolitan area. A countdown played during stock footage of Neil Armstrong placing a flag on the moon before the first video played, Santana's "Winning".

The channel played music videos from all the major labels bar MCA Records (which planned its own music video show on USA Networks, an MCA subsidiary) and EMI/Capitol Records. In addition, it played clips from over 20 years of American Bandstand. That show's host Dick Clark and Soul Train host Don Cornelius each filmed many introduction clips for the network, which were repeated constantly before "VJ's" were hired in August.

Lineup for first hour:

"Winning" - Santana
"Drivin' My Life Away" - Eddie Rabbitt
"Being with You" - Smokey Robinson
"Turn Me Loose" - Loverboy
Don Cornelius introduces Lakeside and Shalamar
"Fantastic Voyage" - Lakeside
"Full of Fire" - Shalamar
"Ain't Even Done with the Night" - John Cougar
"9 to 5" - Dolly Parton
Dick Clark presents clips from American Bandstand
"Baby, You're a Rich Man" - The New Moondogs (live on American Bandstand, 1967)
"Take on the World" - Judas Priest (live on American Bandstand, 1978)
"All out of Love" - Air Supply
"Killer on the Loose" - Thin Lizzy
"Jessie's Girl" - Rick Springfield

Aided by a $2 million marketing campaign, AMN was a huge success during its first year. While other TV execs denigrated the concept of a "music video channel" upon its first broadcast, they changed their tune (har har har) when it had a great impact on record sales even when radio wasn't playing the music. Two unknowns at the time who credited their eventual stardom to play on the network were the rock singer John Cougar, whose album Heartland Angel rose to #1 on Billboard on September 12, and the R&B trio Shalamar, whose album This Is For the Lover in You reached #1 three weeks later on October 3.

(Thanks to Katarn for the Thin Lizzy song)

 

[Katarn]

May 2nd, 1981: "In the Dark" - Billy Squier
May 9th, 1981: "Killer on the Loose" - Thin Lizzy

As featured on AMN...

Event: After two years of apparently running the label despite his depression, Iggy Pop reveals to the Reckless Records board what many of them had already suspected: Cherry Vanilla has been secretly managing the entire company. Pop officially steps down and requests that Vanilla takes his place. The board outright refuses to accept Vanilla, and instead replaces Pop with [INSERT STEREOTYPICAL RECORD INDUSTRY GOON HERE]. Pop is naturally furious but there's nothing he can do.

Yeah I need your help here guys. This event needed to be posted now so I had no choice but to post it unfinished. I need suggestions for a greedy record industry exec type, that would still be plausible for Reckless to hire as Iggy's replacement (keep in mind Reckless is pretty corporate at this point, it kind of got out of Iggy's control).

 

[Miss Teri]

July 4th, 1981: "Believe It or Not"- Joe Scarbury*

*Theme to the tv program The Greatest American Hero, starring Mark Hamill as superhero Ralph Hinkley

Event: July, 1981: The "Rock Against Racism" campaign is revived, this time targeting the increasing number of artists performing at the Sun City Casino in the South African apartheid "bantustan" of Bophuthatswana (in spite of the artistic boycott of the country) and continued ties between the United Kingdom and South Africa ( in light of the US imposing sanctions)


-------------------------------------

I realized that we haven't really gone into British politics. Who might be the PM at this point?

 

[Katarn]

July 25th, 1981: "Stand and Deliver" - Adam Ant
August 1st, 1981: "Stand and Deliver" - Adam Ant

Event: New Wave band Cosmic Lovers forms in Liverpool. The band features Mike Score as Lead Vocalist/Keyboardist, Paul Reynolds on Lead Guitar, Bernie Darracott on Bass Guitar, Alan Prendergast on Drums and Cynthia Gage as a secondary drummer who also serves as the band's percussionist. The band got their name from the lyrics of the Zolar X song Space Age Love.

(This one's a little weird, it's a mixture of Flock of Seagulls and a very obscure band called VHF)

 

[Mad Bad Rabbit]

Event: Quincy Jones puts together pop-rock band "The Ring-Stones", with brothers Jim and Danny "England" Seals, Darrell Crofts, and brothers Steve and Jeff Porcaro.

(Basically "Seals and Toto" ; since there's no MJ for the latter to work with, and since they've all done session work together)

 

[Miss Teri]

October 17th, 1981: "Arthur's Theme"- Christopher Cross
October 24th, 1981:"Private Eyes"- Hall and Oates

Event: October 31st: On National Lampoon Television , musical guest metal group Fear (invited by former cast member John Belushi after seeing them in the documentary The Decline of Western Civilization) gives a particularly raucous performance, resulting in $20,000 in damage. ABC executives force showrunner Doug Kenney off the show.

 

[Katarn]

November 14th, 1981: "Tainted Love" - Soft Cell [R]

Event: In mid-November 1981, newly appointed Reckless Records President Mike Chapman* begins a purge of less successful or waning Reckless Records acts. Among these acts are Sweet, Blue Oyster Cult, The B-52s and Electric Masons among others. All four of the above acts gain new contracts with other labels (though it took Electric Masons 7 months to find a new label), but many of their now former label-mates are furious. This purge begins a massive chain reaction that results in the entire label picking a side, with every act having to decide whether they are staying or quitting, including the label's biggest acts. Judas Priest quits on the spot, as does Queen (after Rob Halford convinced Freddie Mercury to quit). The Runaways also quit, and soon afterwards break up after years of infighting. Other acts are divided on the issue, to the point of breaking up over it. Dead End Losers break up, Joey and Dee Dee sided with the label whereas the rest of the band wanted to quit. High Voltage breaks up, Lemmy supported staying with the label, while the Young brothers supported quiting. Lemmy, Joey and Dee Dee all sign solo contracts with the label. Many suspect the entire purge was set off by Chapman as a way to get revenge against Sweet for firing him years earlier (he was their producer for a while). The label's image is irreperably tarnished as a result of these events.

*Finally picked somebody to be president of Reckless... the poor bastard

(I don't have as much time to work on this anymore, so I'm going to be quite a bit less in-depth with my events. I also won't be listing every change to the Reckless Records roster and will instead denote singles released by the label with this [R] next to the song title)

 

[Mad Bad Rabbit]

February, 1982: SWASH reforms as HARSH: Roger Hodgson (singer, guitar), Rod Argent (keyboard), Trevor Rabin (singer/songwriter), Chris Slade (drums), Steve Howe (bass)

(The name's a bit of an inside joke; their new sound is anything but. Strongly geared towards pop audiences, it gets a lot more airplay than SWASH's delightful but way-too-long-for-top-40 prog tracks)

 

[Miss Teri]

April 17th, 1982: "Pac-Man Fever"- Buckner and Garcia
April 24th, 1982: "Pac-Man Fever"- Buckner and Garcia

Event; May 1st, 1982: Dispatches, based on the novel by Cameron Crowe, is released, to positive critical reception, and minor box office success. The film stars 17 year old Rob Lowe in the lead role.

 

[TRH]

May 15th, 1982: "Steppin' Out" - Joe Jackson
May 22nd, 1982: "Steppin' Out" - Joe Jackson

Event, May 1982: Songwriter/Producer Jim Steinman teases a new concept album, a full rock opera starring several of the big name performers he works with. The tentative list of guest artists includes Meatloaf, Bonnie Tyler, Karla Devito, Todd Rundgren, Ian Hunter, and Billy Squier.

 

[Mad Bad Rabbit]

(Hmm, in OTL that was written by Paich who's not in the Ring-Stones; but it's reportedly about Steve Porcaro dating Rosanna Arquette, so he could've written it himself)

June 1982
Event: The Ring-Stones release their first album, "Ninety Nine", which includes the hit "Rosanna".

 

[TRH]

1983 and 1984 here:

January 1st, 1983: "New Year's Day" - U2
January 8th, 1983: "Walking in the Air" - Aled Jones
January 15, 1983: "Walking in the Air" by Aled Jones
January 22, 1983: "Mickey" by Toni Basil
January 29th, 1983: "Mickey" - Toni Basil
February 5th, 1983: "Mickey"- Toni Basil
February 12th, 1983: "On The Loose" - Saga
February 19th, 1983: "Rock The Casbah" - The Clash
February 26th, 1983: "On The Loose" - Saga
March 5th, 1983: "Freak-A-Zoid" - Midnight Star
March 12, 1983: Only Time Will Tell - Asia
March 19, 1983: Fun With Ropes - The Go-Go's
March 26, 1983: "Mr. Roboto" - Styx
April 2, 1983: "Mr. Roboto" - Styx
April 7, 1983: "Hungry Like a Wolf" - Tau City
April 14th, 1983: "Hungry Like a Wolf"- Tau City
April 21st, 1983: "Sexual Healing"- Marvin Gaye
April 28, 1983: "Back on the Chain Gang" - Children of Rubber
May 5, 1983: "Electric Avenue" - Eddy Grant
May 14th, 1983: "Looks That Kill" - Mottley Cru
May 21st, 1983: "Looks That Kill" - Mottley Cru
May 28th, 1983: "Der Kommissar (The Commissioner)" - Falco
June 4th, 1983: "Der Kommissar (The Commissioner)"- Falco
June 11th, 1983: "Call of the West"- Wall of Voodoo
June 18, 1983 - "Come Dancing" - The Kinks
June 25, 1983 - "I and I Survive" - The Bad Brains
July 1st, 1983: "Slipping Away" - Dave Edmunds
July 9th, 1983: "Slipping Away" - Dave Edmunds
July 16th, 1983: "Eyes Without a Face" - Billy Idol
July 23rd, 1983: "Eyes Without a Face" - Billy Idol
July 30th, 1983: "Eyes Without a Face" - Billy Idol
August 6, 1983: "Save it for Later" - The English Beat
August 13, 1983: "Over My Head" by Toni Basil
August 20, 1983: "Please, Please, Tell Me Now" - Tau City
August 27th, 1983: "Know You" - Steve Perry and Todd Rundgren
September 3rd, 1983: "Know You" - Steve Perry and Todd Rundgren
September 10th, 1983: "Know You"- Steve Perry and Todd Rundgren
September 17th, 1983: "Burning Down the House"- The Talking Heads
September 24, 1983 - "Burning Down the House" - Talking Heads
October 1, 1983 - "Uptown Girl" - The Four Seasons
October 8th, 1983: "Uptown Girl" - The Four Seasons
October 15th, 1983: "Here Comes the Rain Again" - Eurythmics
October 22nd, 1983: "Here Comes the Rain Again" - Eurythmics
October 29th, 1983: "Here Comes the Rain Again" - Eurythmics
November 5th, 1983: "Here Comes the Rain Again" - Eurythmics
November 12th, 1983, "Age of Consent" - New Order
November 19th, 1983: "Shooting Shark" - Blue Oyster Cult
November 26th, 1983: "Shooting Shark" - Blue Oyster Cult
December 3, 1983: "All You Zombies" - The Hooters
December 10, 1983: "In a Big Country" - Big Country
December 17th, 1983: "Stay with Me Tonight" - Jeffrey Osborne
December 24th, 1983: "Stay with Me Tonight" - Jeffrey Osborne
December 31, 1983: "Stay with Me Tonight" - Jeffrey Osborne

and 1984:

January 14th, 1984: "Owner of a Lonely Heart" - HARSH
January 21st, 1984: "Spellbound" - The Scream
January 28, 1984: "Suspense" by Toni Basil
February 4, 1984: "Suspense" by Toni Basil
February 11th, 1984: "Rock You Like a Hurricane" - Scorpions
February 18th, 1984: "Rock You Like a Hurricane" - Scorpions
February 25, 1984: "God Bless the USA" - Elvis Presley
March 3, 1984: "God Bless the USA" - Elvis Presley
March 10, 1984: "God Bless the USA" - Elvis Presley
March 17, 1984: "God Bless the USA" - Elvis Presley
March 24th, 1984: "(You Can Still) Rock in America" - Electric Masons
March 31st, 1984: "Hallelujah" - Leonard Cohen
April 7th, 1984: "Hallelujah" - Leonard Cohen
April 14th, 1984: "Smooth Operator" - Sade
April 21st, 1984: "Smooth Operator" - Sade
April 28th, 1984: "Smooth Operator" - Sade
May 5th, 1984: "Loved By You" - A.G.F.
May 12, 1984: "Let's Hear It for the Boy" by Deniece Williams
May 19, 1984: "Let's Hear It for the Boy" by Deniece Williams
May 26, 1984: "99 Red Balloons" - Nena
June 2nd, 1984: "99 Red Balloons" - Nena
June 9th, 1984: "Cool It Now" - New Edition
June 16, 1984: "Curly Shuffle" - Jump 'n' the Saddle
June 23, 1984: "Your Love Is King" - Sade
June 30th, 1984: "Your Love is King" - Sade
July 7th, 1984: "Your Love is King" - Sade
July 14th, 1984: "I'll Wait" - David Lee
July 21st, 1984: "I'll Wait" - David Lee
July 28th, 1984: "Olympic Fanfare and Theme" - John Williams
August 4th, 1984: "Olympic Fanfare and Theme" - John Williams
August 11, 1984: "Swamp" (live) - Talking Heads
August 18, 1984: "Only When You Leave" - Spandau Ballet
August 25th, 1984: "Only When You Leave"- Spandau Ballet
September 1st, 1984: "Ghostbusters"- Ray Parker, Jr.
September 8th, 1984: "She Bop" by Toni Basil
September 15th, 1984: "She Bop" by Toni Basil
September 22nd, 1984: "I Fell in Love Again Last Night" - The Forester Sisters
September 29th, 1984: "I Fell in Love Again Last Night" - The Forester Sisters
October 6, 1984: "Lovergirl" - Teena Marie
October 13, 1984: "Bad" - U2
October 20: "Bad" - U2
October 27: "Caribbean Queen" - Billy Ocean
November 3, 1984: "Carribean Queen" by Billy Ocean
November 10, 1984: "Carribean Queen" by Billy Ocean
November 17, 1984: "Attention Please" - The Antennas
November 24, 1984: "Mamma" - Luciano Pavarotti
December 1st, 1984: "Attention Please" - The Antennas
December 8th, 1984: "Do They Know It's Christmas?"[1] - Band Aid
December 15th, 1984: "Do They Know It's Christmas" by Band Aid
December 22nd, 1984: "Do They Know It's Christmas" by Band Aid
December 29th, 1984: "Do They Know It's Christmas" - Band Aid

And that brings us up to the current page.