1984 in British music explained

This is a summary of 1984 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts from that year.

Summary

1984 was a year of several huge selling releases, including at the time the biggest selling single ever. Six singles this year sold over a million copies, the joint highest number ever along with 1998. Out of the top 10 biggest selling songs of the 1980s, six of them all peaked in 1984 including the entire top 4.

One of the biggest bands of the year was Frankie Goes to Hollywood, a five-piece from Liverpool fronted by Holly Johnson. Their debut single "Relax" was banned by the BBC for sexually suggestive content, and was number 1 for five weeks. Their second single "Two Tribes" referenced the ongoing cold war and featured a music video of lookalikes of American president Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Konstantin Chernenko violently fighting, and was number 1 for nine weeks in the summer, both songs selling over a million. In November they made chart history when their third single, "The Power of Love", also made number 1. They were only the second band in chart history to have their first three releases all go to number 1, following Gerry & The Pacemakers twenty years earlier; however, it would be their last. Their album "Welcome to the Pleasuredome" also reached number 1.

Wham! had their first number 1 single this year after four earlier top 10 hits, the upbeat "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go". This would soon be followed by their second, "Freedom" later in the year, and their second album Make It Big also reached the top. One of the members of the band, George Michael, also released a solo single this year, the ballad "Careless Whisper" co-written by his bandmate Andrew Ridgeley. It was number 1 for three weeks and sold over a million.

A big-selling singer who would go on to have many hits over the next two decades first appeared this year, American singer Madonna. Her debut hit "Holiday" reached number 6, and "Like a Virgin" charted three places higher at number 3. From the same country came Prince, who had his first two top 10 hits with "When Doves Cry" and "Purple Rain". For both artists, 1985 would bring even more hits as would the rest of the decade.

After eighteen years, Stevie Wonder achieved his first solo number 1 single with "I Just Called to Say I Love You", from the soundtrack of the film The Woman in Red, selling over a million. He had first charted at the age of 15 with "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" in 1966, and had previously had a number 1 in 1982 with a duet with Paul McCartney, "Ebony and Ivory". In 1984 his harmonica playing featured in Chaka Khan's number one hit "I Feel for You" and in 1985 Eurythmics' number 1 hit "There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)".

The Christmas number one single featured more than 40 artists. "Do They Know It's Christmas?", written by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure, was made in response to ongoing famine in Ethiopia, so the supergroup Band Aid was formed to sing a charity record about it, all proceeds from the song going to the charity to raise money for help. Popular acts of the day such as Wham!, U2, Spandau Ballet, Duran Duran and Boy George sung on the record.

Not only did the song become the Christmas number one, it sold over three million copies and became the biggest selling single of all time, a record that held for the next thirteen years. The song at number 2, Wham!'s Last Christmas, sold over a million and proceeds from that also went to the charity. Further Band Aid singles would be released in 1989 (Band Aid II) and 2004 (Band Aid 20), both also Christmas number one.

The classical year was kicked off by the first complete performances of Oliver Knussen's one act fantasy opera Where the Wild Things Are, based on Maurice Sendak's 1963 children's book of the same title. Knussen composed the music from 1979 to 1983 and an earlier version was first heard in Brussels in 1980. The other major classical music event of the year was the first performances (in the US, then in the UK) of The Mask of Time, the longest and most ambitious of Michael Tippett's late works, written in 1982 by the then 77 year-old composer. Wilfrid Mellers called it "a mind-boggling cosmic history of the universe", while Paul Driver wrote that the Mask revealed "the authentic early Tippett", with a return to the lyricism of The Midsummer Marriage and multiple acknowledgements of his early compositions.

Events

• 9 January – first complete performance of Oliver Knussen's Where the Wild Things Are by Glyndebourne Touring Opera at the National Theatre, London.
• 11 January – BBC Radio 1 DJ Mike Read announces on air that he will not play the single "Relax" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood because of its suggestive lyrics. The BBC places a total ban on the record at about the same time.
• 21 January – "Relax" reaches number one in the UK singles chart, despite the BBC ban; it will spend a total of 42 weeks in the Top 40.
• 14 February – Elton John marries studio engineer Renate Blauel.
• 1 March – Sting plays his last concerts with the Police at the end of the Synchronicity tour; the band takes a "pause" after the tour and only play a few special events together after this until 2007, when they organise a reunion tour.
• 5 April – Michael Tippet's large scale choral work The Mask of Time for vocal soloists, chorus and orchestra is performed for the first time at the Symphony Hall, Boston. The work was commissioned to celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
• 1 May – Mick Fleetwood files for bankruptcy in the United States.
• 19 July – The first performance of Peter Racine Fricker’s String Quartet No 3, op 73, written between 1974 and 1976, takes place at the Cheltenham Festival, performed by the Chilingirian Quartet.
• 23 July – The Piano Concerto by Peter Dickinson (dedicated to the soloist Howard Shelley) has its first performance at the Cheltenham Festival with the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Edward Downes.
• 23 July – The first UK performance of Michael Tippett's Tee Mask of Time takes place at the Proms.
• 5 August – Now 3 becomes the 300th album to reach number one on the UK Albums Chart.
• 24 August – Oliver Knussen’s Second Symphony receives its premiere at the Proms, with the London Sinfonietta conducted by the composer.
• 23 October – A report on the Ethiopian famine by BBC journalist Michael Buerk is broadcast in the UK and receives an unprecedented public response. Among those watching is Bob Geldof, who is inspired to release a charity record to raise money to help with famine relief.
• 25 November – The Band Aid single "Do They Know It's Christmas?" is recorded at SARM Studios in Notting Hill, London, by a gathering of performers that includes Paul Young, Simon Le Bon, Bono, Phil Collins, Paul Weller, Sting, Boy George and Tony Hadley.
• 28 November – The Bring Me Sunshine charity concert at the London Palladium, in memory of Eric Morecambe, includes musical performances by Kenny Ball and His Jazzmen, Des O'Connor, and Ernie Wise.
• 2 December – Frankie Goes to Hollywood become the first act to take their first three singles to the UK number-one position since Gerry & The Pacemakers in 1963, when "The Power of Love" tops the chart.
• 3 December – Bob Geldof and Band Aid release the single "Do They Know It's Christmas?", which becomes the fastest-selling single of all time in the UK.
• 11 December – While on tour, Bucks Fizz's tour bus crashes. All members of the group are injured and member Mike Nolan suffers brain damage after falling into a coma.
• 13 December – George Harrison makes a rare public appearance, joining Deep Purple on stage in Sydney, Australia for their encore rendition of "Lucille".

Charts

Number one singles

^[1]

Chart date (week ending)	Song	Artist(s)	Weeks
7 January	"Only You"		1
14 January	"Pipes of Peace"		2
21 January
28 January	"Relax"		5
4 February
11 February
18 February
25 February
3 March	"99 Red Balloons"	Nena	3
10 March
17 March
24 March	"Hello"		6
31 March
7 April
14 April
21 April
28 April
5 May	"The Reflex"		4
12 May
19 May
26 May
2 June	"Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go"		2
9 June
16 June	"Two Tribes"	Frankie Goes to Hollywood	9
23 June
30 June
7 July
14 July
21 July
28 July
4 August
11 August
18 August	"Careless Whisper"		3
25 August
1 September
8 September	"I Just Called to Say I Love You"		6
15 September
23 September
30 September
6 October
13 October
20 October	"Freedom"	Wham		3
27 October
3 November
10 November	"I Feel for You"		3
17 November
24 November
1 December	"I Should Have Known Better"		1
8 December	"The Power of Love"	Frankie Goes to Hollywood	1
15 December	"Do They Know It's Christmas?"		3
22 December
29 December

Number one albums

^[2]

Chart date (week ending)	Album	Artist(s)	Weeks
7 January	Now 1	Various Artists	1
14 January	No Parlez		1
21 January	Now 1	Various Artists	1
28 January	Thriller		1
4 February	Touch		2
11 February
18 February	Sparkle in the Rain		1
25 February	Into the Gap		3
3 March
10 March
17 March	Human's Lib		2
24 March
31 March	Can't Slow Down		2
7 April
14 April	Now 2	Various Artists	5
21 April
28 April
5 May
12 May
19 May	Legend		12
26 May
2 June
9 June
16 June
23 June
30 June
7 July
14 July
21 July
28 July
4 August
11 August	Now 3	Various Artists	8
18 August
25 August
1 September
8 September
15 September
22 September
29 September
6 October	Tonight		1
13 October	The Unforgettable Fire		2
20 October
27 October	Steeltown		1
3 November	Give My Regards to Broad Street		1
10 November	Welcome to the Pleasuredome		1
17 November	Make It Big		2
24 November
1 December	Hits 1	Various Artists	5
8 December
15 December
22 December
29 December

Year-end charts

Best-selling singles

^{[3] [4]}

scope=col		scope=col	Title	scope=col	Artist	scope=col	Peak position
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	1	"Do They Know It's Christmas?	Band Aid	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	2	"I Just Called to Say I Love You"		1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	3	"Relax"	Frankie Goes to Hollywood	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	4	"Two Tribes"	Frankie Goes to Hollywood	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	5	"Careless Whisper"		1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	6	"Last Christmas"/"Everything She Wants" (Remix)	Wham!	2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	7	"Hello"		1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	8	"Agadoo"	Black Lace	2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	9	"Ghostbusters"		2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	10	"Freedom"	Wham!	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	11	"Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go"	Wham!	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	12	"I Feel for You"		1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	13	"White Lines (Don't Don't Do It)"	Grandmaster Melle Mel	7
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	14	"We All Stand Together"	and the Frog Chorus	3
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	15	"99 Red Balloons"	Nena	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	16	"The Power of Love"	Frankie Goes to Hollywood	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	17	"The Reflex"	Duran Duran	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	18	"Like a Virgin"	Madonna	4
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	19	"Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)"		2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	20	"What's Love Got to Do with It"		3
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	21	"I Should Have Known Better"		1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	22	"No More Lonely Nights"		2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	23	"I Want to Break Free"	Queen	3
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	24	"Hole in My Shoe"	Neil	2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	25	"Time After Time"		3
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	26	"Radio Ga Ga"	Queen	2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	27	"Together in Electric Dreams"	with Philip Oakey	3
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	28	"When Doves Cry"	Prince	4
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	29	"Doctor! Doctor!"	Thompson Twins	3
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	30	"Self Control"		5
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	31	"The War Song"	Culture Club	2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	32	"Girls Just Want to Have Fun"		2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	33	"The Wild Boys"	Duran Duran	2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	34	"I Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me"		2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	35	"Like to Get to Know You Well"		4
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	36	"Nellie the Elephant"	Toy Dolls	4
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	37	"Pride (In the Name of Love)"	U2	3
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	38	"Automatic"		2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	39	"Joanna"	Kool & the Gang	2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	40	"That's Livin' Alright"		3
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	41	"Wouldn't It Be Good"		4
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	42	"Street Dance"	Break Machine	3
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	43	"Smalltown Boy"	Bronski Beat	3
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	44	"Break My Stride"		4
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	45	"The Riddle"		3
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	46	"Dr. Beat"	Miami Sound Machine	6
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	47	"Let's Hear It for the Boy"		2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	48	"The NeverEnding Story"	Limahl	4
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	49	"Caribbean Queen (No More Love on the Run)"		6
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	50	"Whatever I Do (Wherever I Go)"		4

Best-selling albums

^{[5] [6]}

scope=col		scope=col	Title	scope=col	Artist	scope=col	Peak position
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	1	Can't Slow Down		1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	2	Hits 1	Various Artists	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	3	Legend		1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	4	Make It Big	Wham!	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	5	Now 3	Various Artists	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	6	Thriller		1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	7	Diamond Life	Sade	2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	8	Now 4	Various Artists	2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	9	An Innocent Man		2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	10	Welcome to the Pleasuredome	Frankie Goes to Hollywood	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	11	The Collection	Ultravox	2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	12	Into the Gap	Thompson Twins	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	13	Now 2	Various Artists	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	14	The Works	Queen	2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	15	Alf		3
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	16	Human's Lib		1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	17	Eliminator	ZZ Top	3
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	18	Private Dancer		2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	19	Party Party: 16 Great Party Icebreakers	Black Lace	4
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	20	Parade	Spandau Ballet	2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	21	The Unforgettable Fire	U2	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	22	Human Racing		5
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	23	Greatest Hits		8
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	24	No Parlez		1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	25		Dire Straits	3
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	26	Touch	Eurythmics	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	27	Give My Regards to Broad Street		1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	28	Under a Blood Red Sky	U2	6
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	29	Now That's What I Call Music	Various Artists	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	30	The Woman in Red		2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	31	Arena	Duran Duran	6
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	32	Yesterday Once More	Carpenters	10
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	33	Breaking Hearts		2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	34	Break Out		9
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	35	Colour by Numbers	Culture Club	4
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	36	Café Bleu		2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	37	Born in the U.S.A.		2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	38	The Smiths		2
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	39	Cinema		12
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	40	The Crossing	Big Country	7
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	41	The Art Garfunkel Album		12
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	42	The Riddle		8
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	43	Purple Rain	Prince & the Revolution	9
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	44	Tonight		1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	45	Labour of Love	UB40	11
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	46	Sparkle in the Rain	Simple Minds	1
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	47	Greatest Hits	Queen	21
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	48	Footloose	Original Soundtrack	7
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	49	12 Gold Bars Volume II (And I)	Status Quo	12
scope=row style="text-align:center;"	50	The Age of Consent	Bronski Beat	4

Notes:

Classical music: new works

• Jonathan Harvey – Come, Holy Ghost
• Alun Hoddinott – String Quartet No. 2, Op. 113
• Robin Holloway – Viola Concerto, Op. 56
• Elizabeth Maconchy – String Quartet No. 13, Quartetto Corto

Musical theatre

• Mike Batt – The Hunting of the Snark given its first performance in the Barbican with the composer conducting the London Symphony Orchestra.
• Howard Goodall – The Hired Man^[7]

Musical films

• Give My Regards to Broad Street, with Paul McCartney

Births

• 17 January – Calvin Harris, singer-songwriter, record producer, DJ
• 25 February – Lovefoxxx, singer (CSS)
• 7 March – Kevin McDaid, singer (V)
• 27 March – Laura Critchley singer-songwriter
• 7 April – Yonah Higgins, singer (Cleopatra)
• 22 April – Amelle Berrabah, singer (Sugababes)
• 4 May – Victoria Hesketh (Little Boots), singer-songwriter, musician, DJ
• 10 May – Kristyna Myles, singer-songwriter and pianist
• 14 May – Olly Murs, singer-songwriter
• 23 June – Duffy, singer
• 12 July – Gareth Gates, singer
• 23 July – Matthew Murphy, singer and guitarist (The Wombats)
• 16 September – Katie Melua, singer and musician
• 22 September – Ross Jarman, musician (The Cribs)
• 26 September – Keisha Buchanan, singer, (Sugababes)
• 16 October – Shayne Ward, singer
• 27 October – Kelly Osbourne, singer and TV personality
• 25 December – Jessica Origliasso and Lisa Origliasso, singers (The Veronicas)

Deaths

• 1 January – Alexis Korner, blues musician, 55 (lung cancer)
• 10 January – Binnie Hale, actress and singer, 84
• 26 January – Grahame Clifford, singer and actor, 78
• 18 February – Paul Gardiner, bass guitarist, 25 (overdose)
• 3 March – Kathleen Richards, musicologist, pianist and composer, 88
• 9 March – Imogen Holst, conductor and composer, 76
• 6 April – Jimmy Kennedy, Irish-born British songwriter, 81
• 26 April – Barry Gray, composer, 75
• 30 April – Marcus Dods, composer, 66
• 1 May – Muriel Herbert, composer, 87
• 28 May – Eric Morecambe, entertainer, 58
• 8 June – Gordon Jacob, composer, 89
• 21 June – Webster Booth, tenor, 82
• 22 June – Dill Jones, jazz pianist, 60
• 8 July – Reginald Stewart, conductor, 84
• July – Gervase Hughes, composer, 78
• 14 August – Peter Wishart, composer, 63
• 17 August – Mostyn Thomas, operatic baritone, 88
• 3 September – Dora Labbette, operatic soprano, 86
• 16 October – Constance Warren, composer, 79
• 25 October – Stanford Robinson, conductor and composer, 80
• 5 November – Jessie Furze, pianist and composer, 81
• 22 November – Denis Rose, jazz pianist and trumpeter, 62
• 8 December – Razzle, rock drummer (Hanoi Rocks), 24 (road accident)
• 9 December – Ivor Moreton, singer, pianist and composer, 76
• date unknown – Arthur Fear, operatic bass-baritone

Music awards

BRIT Awards

The 1984 BRIT Awards winners were:

• Best British producer: Steve Levine
• Best classical recording: Kiri Te Kanawa – "Songs of the Auvergne"
• Best international artist: Michael Jackson
• British breakthrough act: Paul Young
• British female solo artist: Annie Lennox
• British group: Culture Club
• British male solo artist: David Bowie
• Best Selling Single: Culture Club – "Karma Chameleon"
• Outstanding contribution: George Martin
• The Sony award for technical excellence: Spandau Ballet

See also

• 1984 in British radio
• 1984 in British television
• 1984 in the United Kingdom
• List of British films of 1984

External links

• BBC Radio 1's Chart Show
• The Official Charts Company

Notes and References

1. Web site: 1984 The Number One Singles . The Official Charts Company.
2. Web site: 1984 The Number One Albums . The Official Charts Company.
3. Top 100 Singles . . Morgan-Grampian plc . London, England . 37 . 26 January 1985.
4. Book: Peter . Scaping . Top 100 singles: 1984 . BPI Year Book 1985 . . 7th . 46–47 . 1985 . 0-906154-06-5.
5. Top 100 Albums . Music Week . Morgan-Grampian plc . London, England . 42 . 26 January 1985.
6. Scaping (1985). "Top 100 albums: 1984". pp. 48–49.
7. http://www.howardgoodall.co.uk/works/musicals/the-hired-man Howard Goodall: Works