The AT40 Blog/July 23, 1983: The world was overwhelming the Americans

A sense of what was going on started taking place in the winter of 1982-83 when a number of foreign musical acts began to invade the Top 40 on a regular basis.

By the time the Summer of 1983 arrived, the world was here, imports that were making their existence everyday, whether on the radio or on music videos supplied by MTV or other video music outlets, such as Radio 1990 on USA Network or the weekly Night Tracks on another cable network outlet, TBS.

A lot of these music acts, especially from the United Kingdom, were mere secrets in this country unless you followed the music scene through periodicals such as Cashbox or Billboard. Then you had a major ticket to what was happening.

The British Wave was having a second appearance with good-looking, young artists who were taking advantage of the television and the synthesized sound at the time.

The Summer of '83 was a happy haven for most of these artists ... and we simply didn't get enough of it. By July of 1983, the artists were coming over to this country in enormous numbers, invading the Hot 100 chart. And on the week of July 23, 1983, 25 of the 40 songs in the countdown -- I know math wasn't going to be brought up in this blog, but that's 62.5 percent -- were by foreign acts. So let's run down what was going on and start with the acts from continental Europe:

No. 33. Puttin' On The Ritz--Taco: The Dutch act born 28 years ago this particular week in Jakarta, Indonesia, had worked hard for eight years to make it in the entertainment business in Germany. Signing a record deal in 1981, he recorded "Puttin' On The Ritz" in 1982 and later that year, RCA Records in this country picked the song up for release. It took a while to get people to notice, but this Irving Berlin classic made its Top 40 debut this week and would ultimately peak at No. 4, his one and only Top 40 hit here.

OK, that's the one and only continental European. We will save the Brits for last. Let's go to South America:

No. 4 Never Gonna Let You Go--Sergio Mendes: A superstar of the 1960s with such hits as "Fool On The Hill" and "The Look Of Love," this Brazilian band leader came back in 1983 in a big way with the No. 4 hit "Never Gonna Let You Go," sung in a duet by Joe Pizzulo and Leeza Miller. It was in a holding pattern at No. 4 on this particular week.

Now let's jet set to the other side of the world ... to Australia:

No. 40 Human Touch--Rick Springfield: Rick Springfield was born in Australia, but by 1983, he had not only settled down as a television actor in the United States as Dr. Noah Drake on the soap opera General Hospital, but he had worked with a speech therapist to rid himself completely of his Aussie accent. "Human Touch" debuted at No. 40 on this countdown, the second hit to come from an album called ... ironically ... "Living In Oz." The song's tale of humans living among computers in the modern world would peak at No. 18.

No. 20 It's A Mistake--Men At Work: The band led by Scottish-born Colin Hay that based in Melbourne had made it in a big way in 1982 with the album "Business As Usual" and the No. 1 hits "Who Can It Be Now?" and "Down Under." The second single from the band's newest album, "Cargo" was a look at what happens when the wrong people, drunk on war, have control. "It's A Mistake," a protest song to the highest regard, moved up five places from No. 25 to No. 20 and would ultimately peak at No. 6 a month later.

Off to the Great White North ... Canada:

No. 19 Hot Girls In Love--Loverboy: The band had scored three Top 40 hits between 1981-82 and in 1983, were back with a new album, "Keep It Up," with "Hot Girls In Love," a hard-rocking, '80s-style pounder, as the first single from it. "Hot Girls In Love" bounced up from No. 21 to No. 19 and a month later, would find its way to a peak position of No. 11, the biggest hit the band had at that time

No. 16 Cuts Like A Knife--Bryan Adams: Up from No. 20 the week before was the second Top 40 hit for 23-year-old Bryan Adams, who looked every bit the part of the Canadian artist, even wearing warm clothes on warm days. But this rocker from Vancouver was beginning to carve his niche as a superstar with this pile-driving smash that would peak at No. 15 the next week.

Now the artists representing Great Britain:

No. 37 The Salt In My Tears--Martin Briley: This studio musician would only have this one Top 40 hit, but boy was it a song that lasts for a long time about a woman who does him wrong and he makes it worth his while to just antagonize her for all the bad things she represents. The London-based solo act moved up from No. 39 the week before, and would peak the next week at No. 36.

No. 32 Wishing (If I Had A Photograph Of You)--A Flock Of Seagulls: The band led by Mike Score and included Paul Reynolds, Ali Score, Mike's brother, and Frank Maudsley had three Top 40 hits, starting in 1982 with the Top 10 hit, "I Ran." But this piece of synth-pop heaven was filled to the hilt with keyboards and synthesizers and was the last image/sound of the band when it came to their Top 40 career. "Wishing" dropped from its peak of No. 26 the week before to No. 32.

No. 30 Stop In The Name Of Love--The Hollies: A band fully recognized from the first British Wave was back after a nine-year absence from the Top 40. With Allan Clarke on lead vocals and Graham Nash back in the fold (for that time) on guitar and backing vocals, the Hollies remade the Supremes' 1965 No. 1 hit and made it into more a plea for nuclear disarmament and worldwide peace. It moved up from No. 32 to No. 30 on this week and would peak at No. 29 the next week.

No. 29 I'll Tumble 4 Ya--Culture Club: The first of two songs in the countdown for Boy George, Mikey Craig, Jon Moss and Roy Hay, "I'll Tumble 4 Ya" was just a simple song about loyalty. It was on its way up the chart to a peak of No. 9, but the third hit from the group's "Kissing To Be Clever" moved from No. 35 to No. 29 on this week. When it did hit the Top 10, Culture Club became the first band to have three Top 10 hits from a debut album since another British band that had a bigger impact in music did in 1964 ... The Beatles.

No. 27 China Girl--David Bowie: The second single from Bowie's huge-selling album "Let's Dance," this one was originally co-written with and recorded by Iggy Pop in 1977 for his album called "The Idiot." Seeing the potential of a big hit and working alongside talented guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughn, Bowie decided to dust off "China Girl" and record it himself with Chic's Nile Rodgers doing the production honors. It moved up from No. 31 to No. 27 and would peak at No. 10 a month later.

No. 26 Rock 'N' Roll Is King--ELO: Up four places from No. 30 the week before, the band formerly known as Electric Light Orchestra had decided to get away from the classical-based music that made them stars in the 1970s. Group leader Jeff Lynne was relying more on guitars and a sound that came straight from the 1950s, as was the case of "Rock 'N' Roll Is King," which would ultimately get as high as No. 19.

No. 24 Saved By Zero--The Fixx: The London-based group, led by charismatic lead singer (and chest shower) Cy Curnin, hit the Top 40 for the first time with "Saved By Zero," another synthesizer-happy hit on our radios that summer. Still together in their hit-making years form today, The Fixx moved up from No. 26 to No. 24 and would reach No. 20 as the first hit single from the album "Reach The Beach."

No. 23 Time (Clock Of The Heart)--Culture Club: While "I'll Tumble 4 Ya" was beginning its climb up the chart, the second single for Culture Club, "Time (Clock Of The Heart)" was beginning its downward spiral on that chart, slipping from No. 10 to No. 23. Once again, the song featured the smoky vocals of Boy George, who when the act first came out, many thought the lead vocalist was black.

No. 22 Rock Of Ages--Def Leppard: The heavy metal-hard rock band from Sheffield had been kicking it around since 1977. Then in 1983 came the album "Pyromania" and the first Top 40 hit that spring, the Top 15 "Photograph." The follow-up would be not as big a hit as "Photograph," but it'd be a lot more legendary, especially for the opening line, "Gunter glieben glauchen globen," which the band admits really was a "nonsense line," though they've joked about its meaning for years. "Rock Of Ages" would peak at No. 16 after it moved up a strong seven places from No. 29 to No. 22. It would be the title of both a Broadway play and a 2012 movie which featured plenty of hard-rockin', arena rock classics of that era.

No. 21 I'm Still Standing--Elton John: The return of the songwriting team of Elton John and Bernie Taupin was a memorable one with "I'm Still Standing," the debut hit from John's newest album, "Too Low For Zero." John's 32nd Top 40 hit, slipped from its No. 12 peak back down to No. 21 on this week in 1983.

No. 18 (Keep Feeling) Fascination--The Human League: Another British band heavy on the synthesizers, The Human League first made it big in 1982 with the No. 1 smash "Don't You Want Me." Their second Top 40 hit was this synth-laden single that featured not one, not two, not three, but four different group members taking turns on a line in the song. Backing singers Joanne Catherall and Susan Sulley have a line, as does keyboaridst Jo Callis, a rarity for him, and Callis' co-writer of "(Keep Feeling) Fascination," lead vocalist Philip Oakey, has the rest of the song. It would peak at No. 8, but moved up from No. 24 to No. 18 on this week in 1983.

No. 15 Baby Jane--Rod Stewart: The first single from Mod Rod's 1983 album, "Body Wishes," the Stewart-Jay Davis composition would be a No. 1 hit in the UK. It moved up from No. 16 to No. 15 this week and would peak at No. 14. It had spent three weeks at No. 1 in the UK and was dumped out of the top spot this particular week by a Brit who was less than a year away from making his American Top 40 debut -- Paul Young with the Marvin Gaye song, "Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home)."

No. 13 Too Shy--Kajagoogoo: Also a former No. 1 hit, the band led by bass player Nick Beggs and lead vocalist Christopher Hamill (best known as Limahl) would only have this hit as a reminder of their time together in the Summer of '83. The song was co-produced by Duran Duran keyboardist/synthesizer whiz Nick Rhodes. It dropped from No. 7 to No. 13 this week in '83.

No. 11 Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)--Eurythmics: A former No. 2 hit earlier in 1983, "Sweet Dreams" was the work of lead singer Annie Lennox and multi-instrumental player David A. Stewart. The song was highlighted by a music video that was part weird and part intoxicating, thanks to Lennox's bright red orange hair and her androgynous look in a suit and tie. It moved up from No. 15 to No. 11 and would ultimately be the duo's lone No. 1 hit by the first weekend of September.

No. 8 Is There Something I Should Know?--Duran Duran: A song that debuted at No. 1 in March in their native UK, Duran Duran made it a "single" track in America, though it would ultimately be added on to the band's re-issued debut "Duran Duran" album from 1981. With Russell Mulcahy once again providing fans a music video with splashy colors and featuring the Birmingham, England-based band's good-looking members, "Is There Something I Should Know?" moved up from No. 9 to No. 8 and would peak at No. 4.

No. 7 Our House--Madness: Part of the ska movement that overwhelmed England at the start of the 1980s, the band Madness had fallen into more of a pop sound by 1983 with a bit of wackiness to it. Enter "Our House," the band's first Top 40 hit in this country that continues to be iconic 1980s radio material every chance it has to play the song. It moved up from No. 8 to No. 7 and that's where it would peak, the biggest hit ever for the band based in the Camden Town section of London.


No. 6 Come Dancing--The Kinks: It had been five year since one of the staples of the British Wave had a Top 40 hit. And with the second Wave in full effect, Ray Davies brought The Kinks back together to record a song that was filled with nostalgia and had a nostalgic sound to it called "Come Dancing." Davies reached back into his childhood to remember those days when the "dance hall" was the main place to be on a Saturday night. "Come Dancing," filled with the sounds of Big Band-era horns and the one guitar solo by Ray's brother Dave, held at No. 6 and would peak at that spot.

No. 2 Electric Avenue--Eddy Grant: Grant was born in British Guyana, but moved to London at the age of 12. A member of a group with a Top 40 hit here and a No. 1 hit in the UK in 1968 called The Equals, "Baby Come Back," Grant got topical on the smash hit "Electric Avenue," which had gotten to No. 2 in the UK, and was holding again at No. 2 in this country. That's unfortunately where it would peak because ...

No. 1 Every Breath You Take--The Police: The song of the Summer of '83 was in the top spot for the third straight week. Sting (born Gordon Sumner) wrote maybe one of the darkest tunes in the history of music as his bass guitar set the tone of this song about obsession and wanting someone very badly and that though they may be with you or someone else for that matter, he'll be "watching you." In the end, "Every Breath You Take" would spend eight solid weeks at No. 1, making it one of the biggest hits of the decade.

OK, I'm about equal time, so I will mention the 15 songs in this countdown by American acts ... this won't take long:

Journey's "After The Fall" (No. 39), The Tubes' "She's A Beauty" (No. 38), America's "The Border" (No. 36), Diana Ross' "Pieces Of Ice" (No. 35), Jackson Browne's "Lawyers In Love" (No. 34), Daryl Hall & John Oates' "Family Man" (No. 32), Styx's "Don't Let It End" (No. 28), Quarterflash's "Take Me To Heart" (No. 25), DeBarge's "All This Love" (No. 17), Michael Sembello's "Maniac" (No. 14), Prince's "1999" (No. 12), Donna Summer's "She Works Hard For The Money" (No. 10), Stevie Nicks' "Stand Back" (No. 9), Michael Jackson's "Wanna Be Startin' Something" (No. 5) and the biggest hit by an American, Irene Cara's No. 1 hit "Flashdance... What A Feeling" at No. 3.

This is what makes music so great. So many different artists from a bunch of countries, most notably from England.

Here's one very strong time where "immigration" was a good thing for us here.