Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 21: The final notes

If I’d thoroughly thought through this series, I’d have planned it better. I don’t merely mean that I could’ve written all the posts in advance, but rarely did, I also could’ve planned its end better. If I’d thought about it, I would’ve made this past Sunday’s Part 20 the final in this series, rather than choosing the following Tuesday (for a “Weekend” Diversion post…). And yet, here we are.

The weekend-on-Tuesday thing aside, the real issue is that my original vague idea turned out to be unworkable, and that would’ve been obvious if I’d written posts in advance. I’d originally intended to list the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1984 without ever realising that listing 100 songs is, well, a bit much—especially when I had so many blogging loose ends I wanted to tie up before midnight.

My original idea was to include the entire list, with links to my posts for the  songs that were Number One, and then—well, it turns out I never thought past that point. So, instead I suggest following the link and looking at the list yourself. The links to all my posts on Number One songs of 1984 are at the bottom of this post, and the Wikipedia article has links to the songs that weren’t Number One. That’s the thing that I thought was interesting, and why I was originally going to talk about it: There are songs that did well enough to end up on the Year-End Hot 100 even though they never reached Number One during the year. Obviously, this happens all the time.

So, instead of what I’d “planned” to do with this post, I thought I’d talk about the series overall, and what’s coming in the 1985 series next year. Blogger’s prerogative or something.

What I enjoy about these series is revisiting songs that were a part of a very important time in my life—the early to mid-1980s. However, it’s also true that any given year can also be an important time in our lives too, so I suppose we have our own “Hot 100” chart of our months and years. In any case, revisiting those songs means revisiting memories, and that’s both interesting and fun for me. It’s possible others may think so, too—or not—but I wouldn’t do the series if I didn’t enjoy doing it. Besides, it gives me something to talk about other than mowing my lawns and not clearing/organising my house or garage.

In 1985, twenty-seven songs hit Number One, though one of those was also the last Number One of 1984, and I already talked about that in Part 19—one less post to write! Still, 26 posts is a lot to research and write, but the multi-week runs of some songs will give me a chance to write in advance (and no, I’m not secretly laughing at myself…).

What all of this teaches me is that, first, planning is good, and second, actually thinking before planning is even better. For example, the final Number One of 1985 reached the position on the penultimate Sunday of the year, and that, like this year, leaves the final Sunday open for me to add something else, like a final post in the series. I didn’t realise that until today.

Next year’s series, then, ought to be better planned than this year’s was, which has got to be a good thing, I think. And the fact that I didn’t truly think about this post until today? It’s not all bad. This post gave me the chance to use three different “ough” words in a row in my opening sentence. I got something new from this post after all.

The first post in next year’s 1985 series will be on February 2, 2025.

Previously in the “Weekend Diversion – 1984” series:

Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 1 – January 21, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 2 – February 4, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 3 – February 25, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 4 – March 31, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 5 – April 21, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 6 – May 12, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 7 – May 26, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 8 – June 9, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 9 – June 23, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 10 – July 7, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 11 – August 11, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 12 – September 1, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 13 – September 22, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 14 – September 29, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 15 – October 13, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 16 – November 3, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 17 – November 17, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 18 – December 8, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 19 – December 22, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 20: Seasonal songs – December 29, 2024

Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 20: Seasonal songs

Every year, there are plenty of pop songs that never make it to Number One on the Billboard “Hot 100”, despite being popular, like in the Top 10 for weeks, for example. Because these series are about the pop songs that reach Number One, that means some pretty big hits are left out entirely unless I add extra posts. This post is about two of those songs of 1984.

In December 1984, two Christmas songs were released that both became Number One hits in the UK and other countries, though not on the “Hot 100”. Both songs were loved by some, and loathed by others, but both are still played on pop radio at Christmas. On December 4, 1984, the first of the two songs was released: ”Last Christmas” by British duo Wham!. Three days later, December 7, 1984, saw the release of the charity single ”Do They Know It's Christmas?” by a mostly UK and Irish supergroup Band Aid. The two songs endure to this day.

I’ll talk about the two songs in the order they were released, beginning with “Last Christmas”:



“Last Christmas” spent five consecutive weeks at Number 2 on the UK chart, being kept from Number One by “Do They Know It's Christmas?”, a song on which George Michael was also a featured singer. So, he sang on the Number One song in the UK, but it wasn’t his own. After fans streamed the song a record number of times, George Michael's dream was finally fulfilled in 2023 when the  song was finally the Christmas Number One.

The song is essentially about the ex-girlfriend of George Michael's character, and the music video has a visual allusion to the lyrics, one it’d be easy to miss—as I did until I read about the video at the ink. There’s a scene where Andrew Ridgeley's character is wearing a jewelled brooch, and it's upside down. Later in the video there’s a flashback scene in which Michael gives the broach to the woman who apparently “gave it away” to Ridgeley. According to the music video director, Andrew Morahan, the brooch originally belonged to Ridgeley's grandmother

I was as aware of this song back in the day as I am now, and I appreciated (and still do) the strong 1980s pop vibe of the song, and the power in George Michael’s voice. However, I became fully aware of the song in the social media age, in 2010, when folks began taking part in “Whammagedon”, the object of which is to avoid hearing the original version of “Last Christmas” until Christmas Day (remixes and covers are allowed). It was intended as a bit of fun, but it's kind of negative, really, so some folks invented different versions. I was aware of one called “Reverse Whammagedon” in which the object is to gain points by hearing the original version, and that means no worries about hearing it on the radio or in shopping malls—in fact, if someone does hear it, it helps them. I prefer that version.

This year, the BBC released a documentary about the song called “Last Christmas Unwrapped”, to celebrate the song’s 40th anniversary. That documentary was shown by TVNZ, though it was either Christmas Eve or Day, so I didn’t see it (it may be on TVNZ+, the broadcaster’s streaming service; I haven’t checked). People I know who did see it thought it was good. Update: This evening, after I published this post, I watched the documentary and thought it was very, very good. They talked about the video, and how most of the cast in the video were their real-life friends, which is why they all seemed so comfortable around each other, and why they seemed like they were genuinely having fun )(and, also, the wine was real…). Basically, the video reminded me once again why I loved the music of Wham! and George Michael so much.

The song “Last Christmas” reached Number 2 in Australia (7x Platinum), 2 in Canada (9x Platinum), Number One in New Zealand (2x Platinum), 2 in the UK (7x Platinum), as well as 3 on the USA’s Billboard “Hot 100” and their “Dance Club Songs” charts, and was also Number 7 on Rolling Stone “Top 100”. It was also certified 7x Platinum in the USA. (it’s worth mentioning that certifications are cumulative, in this case, 1984-2024).

Next, the second song released, “Do They Know It's Christmas?”:



This song had a who’s who of mid-1980s pop music artists from the UK and Ireland, and the sound definitely reflected that. There was a lot of criticism of the song, both about some of the lyrics, and the well-off white people deigning to help black Africans. The first had some merit (even in 1984 I thought some lyrics were a bit cringey), the second I understood, but didn’t fully agree with: When there’s great need, those who are best positioned to raise money and awareness—like pop music artists—should do so. However, more serious criticism was that the song reinforced negative stereotypes about Africa, leading to lost opportunities to make money to help end the crises the songs several versions were intending to help ease. The sequels were Band Aid 2 (1989), Band Aid 20 (2004), Band Aid 30 (2014—with some of the most contentious lyrics re-written), and Band Aid 40 (2024), the latter a remix of earlier versions.

I bought the 12-inch single of the 1984 song back in the day, and part of it featured spoken word recordings from various artists, including a charity message from David Bowie. I made Bowie's recording the outgoing message on the phone answering machine my partner at the time and I had in December 1984—and I have absolutely NO memory of how I did that in those analog days.

Still, the original version raised a lot of money, some £8 million in its first year—including, it turns out, the royalties from "Last Christmas" which George Michael chose to donate to famine relief. That’d be some £24,248,000 in today’s money (today, roughly NZ$54,104,562, or US$30,484,585).

Ultimately, the song “Do They Know It's Christmas?” reached Number One in Australia, Canada, New Zealand (Platinum), the UK (Silver), but in 1984 it only reached Number 13 on the USA’s Billboard “Hot 100”, though it would eventually achieve Number One. It was also ultimately certified 4x Platinum in the USA.

It’s certainly true that every year there are plenty of pop songs that never make it to Number One, despite being popular. Many of them are more interesting to me than maybe these two are, and if it hadn’t been for my malaise and ennui this year, and the neglect it caused for this blog, I may have talked about some of those other songs. However, things are as they are, and it’s it’s still true that these two songs both took off in unconventional ways. They’re still part of pop music culture forty years after they were first released, and that’s pretty good for what were essentially very specific songs associated with Christmas.

I’ll publish the finale for this year’s series on December 31 (NZDT, of course).

Previously in the “Weekend Diversion – 1984” series:

Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 1 – January 21, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 2 – February 4, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 3 – February 25, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 4 – March 31, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 5 – April 21, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 6 – May 12, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 7 – May 26, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 8 – June 9, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 9 – June 23, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 10 – July 7, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 11 – August 11, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 12 – September 1, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 13 – September 22, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 14 – September 29, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 15 – October 13, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 16 – November 3, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 17 – November 17, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 18 – December 8, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 19 – December 22, 2024

Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 19

This week forty years ago, on December 22, 1984, a new song became the final Number One of the year. That week, ”Like a Virgin” (video above) by American singer Madonna became the new Number One, the first for Madonna. The song was the lead single from her second studio album, also called Like a Virgin. The song—spoiler alert!—would stay at the top of the Billboard “Hot 100” for six weeks.

Like many of the other Number Ones of 1984, this song was played on the radio a lot and was also part of MTV and other video music programming, but it wasn’t her first hit: In 1983, “Lucky Star” reached Number 4 on the Billboard “Hot 100”, and it and her previous single, “Holiday”, both went to Number One on the Billboard “Dance Club Songs” chart. I first became familiar with her because of those two 1983 songs, probably from going to gay clubs.

In those days, there was a stereotype that if a boy or young man liked Madonna, he had to be gay, and so, many of them wouldn’t admit to liking her music, whether they were gay or not. It would be a long time before young men and adolescents would say that they liked an artist like Madonna not just despite the perception among some that she appealed to The Gays, but even because of it. She helped usher in a time in which young gay men and youth could start to feel a bit safer to be who they were, and they first started exploring that by openly liking Madonna. I was mostly an observer to all that: I was still in the “young man” category when I first heard of her (24, to be exact), and I became aware of the stereotype somewhere around the time “Like A Virgin” was released, but by then I was a grassroots gay activist, so I was past hiding anything.

I well remember the music video for “Like a Virgin” from various music video shows on broadcast TV at the time, but especially in—surprise!—the gay clubs in Chicago, the video bars in particular.
I liked Madonna back in the day, and over time I both admired and was fascinated by her ability to reinvent herself and take on new approaches to pop music. That appealed to in the same way it appealed to me when David Bowie did that: It kept their work fresh and interesting. Over time, I may have paid less attention to her, but that didn’t change how I felt about her earlier work. Madonna is around five months older than me, and I think it’s safe to say that we’ve probably both changed a lot since the early-to-mid 1980s.

The song “Like a Virgin” reached Number One in Australia, Number One in Canada, 2 in New Zealand (Platinum–Digital, meaning it wasn't certified before the digital era), 3 in the UK (Gold), as well as Number One on the USA’s Billboard “Hot 100” and their “Dance Club Songs” charts, and was also Number One on Cash Box “Top 100 Singles”, Radio & Records “CHR & Pop Chart”, as well as Number One on the “Disco” chart from Music Week”. It was also certified Gold in the USA.

The album Like a Virgin reached Number 2 in Australia (7x Platinum), 3 in Canada (Diamond), Number One in New Zealand (5x Platinum), Number One in the UK (3x Platinum), and Number One on the USA’s “Billboard 200”, as well as Number 3 on the Cash Box “100 Albums” chart. It was Certified Diamond in the USA.

This is the final post about the Number One songs of 1984, however, there will be a series finale on December 31, and perhaps one more between now and then. The first post in the 2025 series will be published on February 2, due to the fact that “Like a Virgin” remained Number One throughout January. I guess I get a “Holiday”, but probably not “Like a Virgin”.

Previously in the “Weekend Diversion – 1984” series:

Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 1 – January 21, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 2 – February 4, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 3 – February 25, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 4 – March 31, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 5 – April 21, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 6 – May 12, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 7 – May 26, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 8 – June 9, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 9 – June 23, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 10 – July 7, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 11 – August 11, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 12 – September 1, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 13 – September 22, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 14 – September 29, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 15 – October 13, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 16 – November 3, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 17 – November 17, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 18 – December 8, 2024

Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 18

This week forty years ago, on December 8, 1984, a new song went to Number One, and became the penultimate chart topper of the year. That new Number One was ”Out of Touch” (video above) by American duo Daryl Hall & John Oates (generally known colloquially as “Hall and Oates”, though the duo preferred the long name). The song—the duo’s last Number One in the USA—was the lead single from their twelfth studio album, Big Bam Boom. The song, which would stay at the top of the Billboard “Hot 100” for two weeks, was also the duo’s fourteenth consecutive Top 40 hit in the since 1980.

This song was, of course, played on the radio a lot back in the day, so I know it well enough. However, I don’t think I ever bought any of their music directly, just on compilation CDs. There’s no particular reason for that, except that in the mid-1980s, money was often tight, and so, I only bought music that I loved, and while I liked their most of their hits well enough, it’s probably fair to say that I didn’t love their music, or, at least, not enough to buy any when I had to prioritise my purchases.

I only vaguely remembered the music video for “Out of Touch”. Maybe it was edited for TV? It’s a perfectly solid music video for the time, and one of the sort that people can merely listen to rather than watch. As so many were in those days.

Clearly, I wasn’t exactly a super-fan of the group, but neither did I hate their music. I quite liked some of their songs, wasn’t keen on others, and was indifferent to other songs. Not for the first time. Even so, I was kind of sad to find out that the two had a huge falling out last year when Oates sued Hall over selling publishing rights. They both announced that they’d never perform together again, and I’ve read that they won’t even speak to each other. Still, they’re not the first pop music act to fall apart spectacularly, and they’re unlikely to be the last.

”Out of Touch” reached Number 11 in Australia, 4 in Canada (Gold), 27 in New Zealand, 48 in the UK (Silver), as well as Number One on the USA’s Billboard “Hot 100” and their “Dance Club Songs” charts, and was also Number 3 on Cash Box. It didn’t receive any certification in the USA.

The album Big Bam Boom reached Number 20 in Australia, 12 in Canada (2x Platinum), 12 in New Zealand, 28 in the UK (Silver), and 5 on the USA’s “Billboard 200”. It was Certified 2x Platinum in the USA.

The post on the final Number One of 1984 will be published on December 22, though there’s likely to be a finale post a day or two later.

Previously in the “Weekend Diversion – 1984” series:

Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 1 – January 21, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 2 – February 4, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 3 – February 25, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 4 – March 31, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 5 – April 21, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 6 – May 12, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 7 – May 26, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 8 – June 9, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 9 – June 23, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 10 – July 7, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 11 – August 11, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 12 – September 1, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 13 – September 22, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 14 – September 29, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 15 – October 13, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 16 – November 3, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 17 – November 17, 2024

Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 17

On November 17, 1984, a new song went to Number One, and it was one of my favourites of the year. This week 40 years ago, ”Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” (video above) by English pop duo Wham! went to Number One. The song—the duo’s first Number One in the USA—was the lead single from their second album, Make It Big, and it would stay at the top of the Billboard “Hot 100” for three weeks.

I don’t know when, precisely, I first became aware of Wham!, but it was probably through a video. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, in the mid-1980s, “video bars”, that is, bars that played music videos, were quite popular, and there were several gay bars in Chicago that featured them. It could be that the reason I saw the video for their single ”Club Tropicana” was because of the success of “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go”, since that song the album it was on marked the beginning of their success in the USA.

Regardless of what the timeline actually was, I distinctly remember going to a long gone video bar called “Take One” with one of my childhood friends, and that video was played. I loved that video, not the least because the band’s lead singer, George Michael, was definitely my type at the time, and I thought he was hot (for the record, I was around four years older than him, though I didn’t know that at the time). That bar played several videos that have stuck in my mind for decades, also including We Close Our Eyes by another English pop duo, Go West, mainly because at the time I thought their video was visually interesting. There were plenty of others that seared themselves into my brain, too, but it was those two songs most of all.

The music video for “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” was directed by Andy Morahan, and was a very energetic performance video. What I remember most about it to this day are clothes. First, the “Choose Life” t-shirts (designed by English fashion designer Katharine Hamnett). By the mid-1980s, that slogan was being adopted by US anti-abortion activists, and even in 1984 it was kind of confronting—in fact, I briefly wondered if the Wham! were righwingers, which is hilarious to me now, of course, especially because of the US-centric assumptions about what the shirt's words meant. The second memorable clothing was at a little more than a minute into the video when their outfits suddenly changed, and George’s shorts! I’m pretty sure I swooned.

When I was a teenager, I didn’t have the chance to have crushes on pop stars, because they would’ve been male. Even so, I remember that in the 1960s, when I was probably too young to realise the significance (or danger…) of it, I thought that Davy Jones of The Monkees was really cute—when he was in his early 20s, actually—though my age wasn't even in double digits yet. He was probably my first celebrity crush.

I think that George Michael was among my first celebrity crushes after I came out, and since then I’ve certainly appreciated the beauty of famous men (singers, actors, etc), but it was all innocent. In the 1980s, I formed my first relationships, none of which lasted very long until 1984 (though even that one only lasted around four years). So, for me, crushing on George Michael and others was all just part of me figuring out who I was was. I had no idea back then that figuring out would be a lifelong process—nor that pop music would always be the backing track to my story. George Michael and Wham! were definitely part of that soundtrack. Skimpy shorts were always optional, though.

“Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” reached Number One in Australia (2x Platinum), 2 in Canada (Platinum), 2 in New Zealand, Number One in the UK (Gold), as well as Number One on the USA’s Billboard “Hot 100”, and was also Number One on Cash Box, and on the “Contemporary Hit Radio” chart from Radio & Records. It was certified Platinum in the USA.

The album Make It Big reached Number One in Australia (Platinum), Canada (6x Platinum), New Zealand (Platinum), in the UK (4x Platinum), and on the USA’s “Billboard 200”. It was Certified 6x Platinum in the USA.

Back on December 8 with the next Number One song of 1984.

Previously in the “Weekend Diversion – 1984” series:

Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 1 – January 21, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 2 – February 4, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 3 – February 25, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 4 – March 31, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 5 – April 21, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 6 – May 12, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 7 – May 26, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 8 – June 9, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 9 – June 23, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 10 – July 7, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 11 – August 11, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 12 – September 1, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 13 – September 22, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 14 – September 29, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 15 – October 13, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 16 – November 3, 2024

Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 16

A new song went to Number One on November 3, 1984: ”Caribbean Queen (No More Love on the Run)” by Trinidadian-British singer Billy Ocean. The song was the lead single from Ocean’s fifth studio album, Suddenly, and it would stay at the top of the Billboard “Hot 100” for two weeks. The song won Ocean the 1985 Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance, making him the first British artist to win in that category.

What I didn’t know until I researched this post is that the song was originally released in the UK in May 1984 as "European Queen (No More Love on the Run)", but the song didn’t succeed. According to the Wikipedia article for the song (linked to above), people at the record company suggested it be re-recorded for different parts of the world, and there were also two other versions "African Queen" and the hit, "Caribbean Queen".

”Caribbean Queen (No More Love on the Run)” was released in the USA in August 1984, and some ten weeks later it hit Number One. Ocean said about it:

The song was released in Europe as "European Queen" and nobody was interested in it. When we changed the name to "Caribbean Queen" and released it in the U.S., it took off and started snowballing and they started playing it in Europe. I guess it had more appeal as "Caribbean Queen" because Europe conjures up a vision of rain and snow and cold, but Caribbean sounds like sunshine and blue skies. It's much more exotic.

I probably saw the video at the time, though I apparently didn’t pay much attention to it, because when I watched it for this post I realised that I didn’t remember much about it. The song, however, I remember very well. It may have been Number One for only two weeks, but it was a popular song for much longer than that. I had the song on a Time-Life compilation disc for 1984, and I may actually have heard the song more when listening to that.

I was kind of indifferent to this song in 1984. I thought it was bouncy and catchy, but it just didn’t manage to catch me. I certainly didn’t DISlike it, it just wasn’t one of my favourites from that era. C’est la vie, and all that. Nigel liked Billy Ocean’s music generally much more than I did; our pop music tastes didn’t align all the time—just most of the time.

”Caribbean Queen (No More Love on the Run)” reached Number 2 in Australia, 8 in Canada (Gold), Number One in New Zealand (Gold), 6 in the UK (Gold), as well as Number One on the USA’s Billboard “Hot 100”, “Hot Black Singles”, and “Hot Dance Club Play” charts, and was also Number 2 on Cash Box. It was certified Gold in the USA.

The album Suddenly reached Number 13 in Australia, 14 in Canada (3x Platinum), 35 in New Zealand, 9 in the UK (Gold), and Number 9 on the USA’s “Billboard 200” and 3 on the Billboard “Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums” charts. It was Certified 2x Platinum in the USA.

Back in two weeks with the next Number One song of 1984.

Previously in the “Weekend Diversion – 1984” series:

Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 1 – January 21, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 2 – February 4, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 3 – February 25, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 4 – March 31, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 5 – April 21, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 6 – May 12, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 7 – May 26, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 8 – June 9, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 9 – June 23, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 10 – July 7, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 11 – August 11, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 12 – September 1, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 13 – September 22, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 14 – September 29, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 15 – October 13, 2024

Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 15

On October 13, 1984, a new song went to Number One: ”I Just Called to Say I Love You” (audio-only video up top, about which, more later) by American singer/songwriter/producer Stevie Wonder began its three week run at Number One on the Billboard “Hot 100”. The song was the lead single from the 1984 movie soundtrack album, The Woman in Red, which was the second Number One in a row to feature in a movie. It was Stevie Wonder’s biggest hit overall, not the least because it went to Number One in many countries (including his first Number One in the UK), and it won a Golden Globe and an Oscar for “Best Original Song” from a movie.

The video above is from Wonder’s official YouTube Channel, and that makes it more likely to remain available long-term. Unofficial videos are far more likely to be taken down, which is a problem for blog posts like this one. However, there was an official music video, about which the Wikipedia article for the song (linked to above) says:

A music video of the song has Wonder, during a concert, singing into a telephone receiver while seated at a piano. By the end of the song, he and the audience are standing and swaying to the music. The video features concert footage recorded in Rotterdam Ahoy, in the Netherlands, on August 10, 1984.

I don’t remember whether I saw the official video at the time—which, of course, doesn’t mean that I didn’t see it. After all, the song was a huge hit, and so I could well have seen it. However, the official video, if that's what it is, was difficult to find on YouTube, though I eventually found one that appears to be it. I’ve included it at the very end of this post in case the video is taken down at some point.

I never saw the film The Woman in Red, and I’m not sure whether I knew at the time that this song was used in the film—maybe I did? It wouldn’t have mattered to me either way, though, since I wasn’t interested in the movie. It’s a little unusual for music videos for songs from movies to not use any footage from the film it was in, but that wasn’t unheard of, either, of course.

Now, about the song itself. I have to be brutally honest here: I never liked this song. I found the melody bland and soporific, at least in part because in that era I liked uptempo music. I also absolutely loathed the way the song ends, though I couldn’t articulate why it bothered me so much. My reaction to it wasn’t improved by advertisers using it in far too many sappy, and even twee, TV commercials over the years, removing the emotional resonance that was in the original song and reducing it to what would now be called cringe.

Having said all of that, it was really just that one song. I’ve liked a lot of Wonder’s work over the years, especially, his legendary 1976 album, Songs in the Key of Life. This song simply was not one I liked, and, despite how it may sound, I didn't hate it, either.

All up, “I Just Called to Say I Love You” topped 19 charts, and among the national charts for countries I write about, it reached Number One in Australia, Canada (3x Platinum), New Zealand (Gold), and the UK (Platinum), as well as Number One on the USA’s Billboard “Hot 100”, “Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs”, and “Adult Contemporary” charts, and was also Number One on the Cash Box “Top 100” chart. It was certified Gold in the USA.

The soundtrack album The Woman in Red reached Number 4 in Australia, Canada (2x Platinum), and New Zealand (Gold), Number 2 in the UK (Platinum), and Number 4 on the USA’s “Billboard 200” chart. It was Certified Platinum in the USA.

This series will return November 3 with the next Number One song of 1984.

Previously in the “Weekend Diversion – 1984” series:

Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 1 – January 21, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 2 – February 4, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 3 – February 25, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 4 – March 31, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 5 – April 21, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 6 – May 12, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 7 – May 26, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 8 – June 9, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 9 – June 23, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 10 – July 7, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 11 – August 11, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 12 – September 1, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 13 – September 22, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 14 – September 29, 2024

Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 14

A new song went to Number One this week in 1984: On September 29, 1984, ”Let's Go Crazy” (video up top) by American musician/singer/songwriter/produce /etc. Prince, together with his band, The Revolution, went to Number One, and it would stay there for two weeks. The song was the second single from Prince’s sixth studio album, Purple Rain, which was the soundtrack album for the film of the same name. It was Prince’s second Number One on the USA’s Billboard “Hot 100” chart, a couple months after “Let’s Go Crazy” (the subject of Part 10 in this series) topped the charts, eventually becoming the Number One song of 1984.

There’s nothing about the music video on the Wikipedia article for the song (linked to above), but that’s no doubt because it’s basically taken from the film Purple Rain. This was fairly common for songs taken from movies, including Number One songs I’ve talked about previously. Nevertheless, the section of the song's Wikipedia titled ”Musical Style” talks about its relation to the film, and it's relevant to the visuals, too.

I remember seeing the film Purple Rain back in the day, probably rented on VHS tape. I liked the film, though it wasn’t one of my all-time favourites. The same could be said of the song “Let's Go Crazy”: I liked it well enough, but it wasn’t one of my favourites, including among songs by Prince. Because of all that, this song doesn’t connect with me with my life in that era—though there aren’t all that many 1984 Number One songs that did. In fact, many of the songs that resonated with me the most intensely at that time didn’t necessarily do well on the “Hot 100”, and that’s something that’s been true for pretty much my entire pop-music-listening life. Even so, I’m always pleased when the song I’m talking about isn’t one I disliked, because there have been plenty of those over the years, too.

“Let's Go Crazy” reached Number 10 in Australia, 2 in Canada, 13 in New Zealand, 7 in the UK (Silver), and Number One on the USA’s Billboard “Hot 100”, “Dance Club Songs”, and “Hot Black Singles” charts, and Number 19 on Billboard’s “Mainstream Rock” chart. It was also certified Gold in the USA.

The album Purple Rain reached Number One in Australia (3x Platinum) and in Canada (6x Platinum), Number 2 in New Zealand (5x Platinum), Number 7 in the UK (2x Platinum), and Number One on the USA’s “Billboard 200” chart (13x Platinum). In 2016, the album charted again, hitting Number 5 in Australia, Number 7 in Canada, Number 4 in the UK, and Number 2 on the “Billboard 200” chart, as well as hitting Number One on their US “Soundtrack Albums” chart. A remastered version of the album was released in 2017 (the first of his albums to to be remastered), and hit Number 4 in the USA.

This series will return October 13 with the next Number One song of 1984. Will it be one I liked, loathed, or maybe somewhere in between? I haven’t written the post yet, so even I don’t know what answer that post will reveal.

Previously in the “Weekend Diversion – 1984” series:

Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 1 – January 21, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 2 – February 4, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 3 – February 25, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 4 – March 31, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 5 – April 21, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 6 – May 12, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 7 – May 26, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 8 – June 9, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 9 – June 23, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 10 – July 7, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 11 – August 11, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 12 – September 1, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 13 – September 22, 2024

Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 13

Forty years ago today, a new song went to Number One, and it became the only Number One in 1984 to stay at the top of the chart for a single week. On September 22, 1984, the new Number One song was ”Missing You” (video up top) by English musician John Waite. The song, originally released in June 1984, was the first single from his second album, No Brakes. As I said in Part 12 of this series this was “a song that I frankly never think of when I think of 1984”, and I think part of it is that it was its one week at Number One—and there were a lot of big, dominant songs that year.

The song is about a man thinking about a distant lover who left, and he’s trying to pretend that “I ain't missing you at all”. At the time, I thought the song was a nice enough, even though I couldn’t personally relate to the lyrics—at the time; times change. It’s kind of funny to me that the song went Number One forty years ago today, because this past Friday was the fifth anniversary of my Nigel’s death. Over those five years there were definitely times I tried to lie to myself that I wasn’t still missing Nigel as keenly as in the aftermath of that horrible day in 2019. I wasn’t any more successful than Waite was in “Missing You”. I’m always interested in the way a pop song that I once didn’t feel any personal connection to when I first became aware of it can later—even much later—become very relevant indeed. That’s actually happened to me a lot over the past five years. I have a copy of the song on the 1984 CD in the Time-Life series of CDs of 1980s music called Sounds Of The Eighties. Because of that, I think I heard it more after 1984 than I did in the year.

The music video was written, directed, and produced by Kort Falkenberg III—whoever that is? It’s certainly not a name I’ve familiar with. In any case, it’s okay—not one of my favourites from that era, but also not one I disliked. A lot of 1984's mid-tempo/slower songs had similar looks in their videos, and I suppose that could be why it didn’t stand out for me at the time. In any event, it was pleasant enough.

“Missing You” reached Number 5 in Australia, 4 in Canada (Platinum), 18 in New Zealand, 9 in the UK (Silver), and Number One on the USA’s Billboard “Hot 100” and on the Billboard “Mainstream Rock” charts.

The album No Brakes reached Number 27 in Australia, 8 in Canada (Platinum), 64 in the UK, and 10 on the USA’s “Billboard 200” chart (Gold). It didn’t chart in New Zealand.

This series will return next week (!) with another new Number One, this time a song that I knew very well at the time. Only a week from now, huh? You won’t be missing me at all.

Previously in the “Weekend Diversion – 1984” series:

Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 1 – January 21, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 2 – February 4, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 3 – February 25, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 4 – March 31, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 5 – April 21, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 6 – May 12, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 7 – May 26, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 8 – June 9, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 9 – June 23, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 10 – July 7, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 11 – August 11, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 12 – September 1, 2024

Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 12

A new month, and a new Number One: On September 1, 1984, ”What's Love Got to Do with It” (video up top) performed by singer, songwriter, and actress Tina Turner went to Number One. The song, her only Number One single in the USA, was the third single from her fifth solo studio album, Private Dancer.

One would probably have to have been living under a rock in 1984 to have missed the cultural phenomenon this song and its video were. Turner was 44 when the song was released, making her, at the time, the oldest solo female artist to top the top of the Billboard “Hot 100” (the current “oldest woman to reach Number One” is Brenda Lee, who, at age 78 went to Number One the week of December 9, 2023, with a re-release of her 1958 song, ”Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree”). Back in 1984, I liked the song and video both, and I still do. But one of the things that's stuck with me is that at the time I also noticed that there seemed to be a lot of folks—men in particular—who were surprised that a woman in her mid 40s could be seen as sexy. Mind you, that particular appeal was obviously lost on me, but I nevertheless understood and it frankly baffled me that some men were surprised.

This song was important for Turner because it made her a successful solo artist, something that she’d struggled to achieve until then. The beginning chords of the song were distinctive enough to instantly let listeners know what it was, and the chorus title/became something of a catch phrase, and it was for me, too: I referenced the title (in a different context) in a blog post way back in 2006. The song has stuck with me for 40 years, something that’s not necessarily true of other songs from 1984. The song received three awards at the 1985 Grammy Awards: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

Similarly, the music video, directed by Mark Robinson, was also iconic for its time. It went on to win “Best Female Video” at the 1985 MTV Video Music Awards.

I had a copy of Private Dancer on vinyl back in the day, though I think my then-boyfriend may have bought it (that’s the sort of detail I don’t tend to remember). At rate, I no longer have it and haven’t heard the album in many years. It makes me wonder how many other albums I once had and have never replaced.

At any rate, in this case, I liked the song, the album, and the music video—and, in fact, I still do. It’s kind of rare for me to have such a trifecta for a pop song, particularly one that endures for four decades. Tina Turner died on May 24, 2023 aged 83.

“What's Love Got to Do with It” reached Number One in Australia, Number One in Canada (Platinum), 3 in New Zealand (Platinum), 3 in the UK (Silver), and Number One on the USA’s Billboard “Hot 100” and Number 2 on the Billboard “Hot Black Singles” charts, having been blocked from Number One on the latter chart by Prince’s “When Doves Cry” (the subject of Part 10 of this series back in July; Turner’s song was also the Number 2 single of the year, with Prince’s song at Number One). The song was also certified Gold in the USA.

The album Private Dancer reached Number 7 in Australia (Platinum), 2 in Canada (7x Platinum), 2 in New Zealand (Platinum), 2 in the UK (3x Platinum), and 3 on the USA’s “Billboard 200” chart (5x Platinum).

This series will return September 22 with another new Number One, a song that I frankly never think of when I think of 1984. That’s not a reflection on or judgement of the song, it’s just an odd little fact about me. It turns out that I'm a fan of my own trivia. I probably should’ve realised that ages ago.

Previously in the “Weekend Diversion – 1984” series:

Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 1 – January 21, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 2 – February 4, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 3 – February 25, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 4 – March 31, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 5 – April 21, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 6 – May 12, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 7 – May 26, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 8 – June 9, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 9 – June 23, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 10 – July 7, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 11 – August 11, 2024

Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 11

The appeal of pop music, like so many other things, often depends on an individual's taste, and the new Number One this week in 1984 is an example of that. On August 11, 1984, ”Ghostbusters” (video up top), the theme song to the movie of the same name, went to Number One. It was written and performed by American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer Ray Parker Jr.. It was Parker’s only Number One in the USA. The song was the lead single from the film’s soundtrack album.

This song, and the video for it, are both examples of how the appeal of anything in pop culture is personal. I saw the movie Ghostbusters, and enjoyed it as something that was fun and entertaining. However, I wasn’t a huge fan of the song, and that was probably partly because it was played so heavily when it was a hit. But there was also something about the song that seemed, well, off, though at the time I couldn’t put my finger on what it was.

Parker was sued for plagiarism by Huey Lewis who alleged the melody, especially the baseline, were taken from his 1983 hit, "I Want a New Drug". I don’t remember hearing anything about the lawsuit at the time, but when I hear about such lawsuits I’m often indifferent at best, and sometimes extremely sceptical. However, in this situation, the similarity is too close for even me to remain sceptical. Lewis won an undisclosed amount in 1985, but was later sued by Parker when Lewis talked about the settlement in breach of the confidentiality clause in the settlement. So, yeah: Very messy. But the fact I’d heard the Huey Lewis and the News song so much the previous year—and wasn’t all that keen on it, either—maybe that made me less receptive to the “Ghostbusters” song?

Still, the song is definitely a big part of its era, a genuine cultural phenomenon (for a time), and that “who ya gonna call?” line was repeated a lot in many contexts. Similarly, the music video, directed by Ivan Reitman, who also directed the film, was filled with cameos by celebrities of the time: Chevy Chase, Irene Cara, John Candy, Melissa Gilbert, Ollie E. Brown, Jeffrey Tambor, George Wendt, Al Franken, Danny DeVito, Carly Simon, Peter Falk and Teri Garr. According to Wikipedia, “none of the actors were paid for participating but did so as a favor to Reitman”.

I watched the video above when I began this post, and I realised I hadn’t seen it in possibly/probably decades. Watching it again in 2024, I was struck by how very 1984 it is, and the celebrity cameos are certainly part of that feeling. I kept wondering why the celebs were there at all (apart from the fact they were familiar at the time). However, I also knew who each celeb was, so maybe the cameos sort of centred the video in its time? Or, maybe now that so much time has passed, and so have some of the celebs, maybe I should say they anchored it in 1984. The other thing in the video that jumped out at me was all the neon lights—they positively screamed 1984.

Once again, this was a song I wasn’t fond of, the music video probably even less so, but I did enjoy the movie. And so it goes.

“Ghostbusters” reached Number 2 in Australia, Number One in Canada (Platinum), 2 in New Zealand, 2 in the UK (Platinum), and Number One on the USA’s Billboard “Hot 100” and on the Billboard “Hot Black Singles” charts; the song was also Gold in the USA.

The album Ghostbusters: Original Soundtrack Album reached Number 6 in Canada (Platinum), 18 in New Zealand, 24 in the UK (Gold), and 6 on the USA’s “Billboard 200” chart (Platinum). The album didn’t chart in Australia.

This series will return September 1 with another new Number One, and it’s a song that, like “Ghostbusters”, had a three-week run at the top of the charts and was the only Number One for the artist. Obviously, I'm a fan of trivia, too.

Previously in the “Weekend Diversion – 1984” series:

Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 1 – January 21, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 2 – February 4, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 3 – February 25, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 4 – March 31, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 5 – April 21, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 6 – May 12, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 7 – May 26, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 8 – June 9, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 9 – June 23, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 10 – July 7, 2024

Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 10

Number One songs come and go, and some hang around longer than others. This week in 1984, yet new song went to Number One and began the year’s second five-week run in the top spot, but this one was especially significant for that year. On July 7, 1984, “When Doves Cry” by American musician/singer/songwriter/produce /etc. Prince (his full name was Prince Rogers Nelson) went to Number One. The song was the lead single from Prince’s sixth studio album, Purple Rain, which was the soundtrack album for the film Purple Rain. “When Doves Cry” was Prince’s first Number One on the USA’s Billboard “Hot 100” chart.

“When Doves Cry” was was the second single of 1984 to stay at Number One for five consecutive weeks (I talked about the first, Van Halen’s “Jump”, in Part 3 of this series, back on February 25), however, “When Doves Cry” was even more significant because it went on to become the Number One song for 1984 on Billboard’s “Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1984”. “Jump” was Number 6 on the same year-end list.

As we all know, Prince’s life was complicated. In 1993, he had a dispute with his label, Warner Bros, and changed his name to a symbol, but was often referred to as “The Artist Formerly Known as Prince” (or “TAFKAP”, usually said as a word, as I recall) or was just called “The Artist”. In 1990, after moving to Arista Records, he began using his own name again. His personal life was also complicated, with some controversy. At the same time, though, he was hugely popular and sold more than 100 million records worldwide, which made him among the best-selling pop artists of all time. He was also clearly a gifted musician, songwriter, and performer, and all of that is quite a legacy.

I liked quite a lot of Prince’s songs, beginning with his 1983 song ”1999”, which peaked at Number 12 on the “Hot 100” (and was probably my favourite of his songs). I liked “When Doves Cry” when I first heard because its sound was so different from other songs at the time. In the years that followed, I liked more of his songs, but not necessarily all of them. Even so, I can’t think of any of his songs that I actively disliked, and that’s kind of unusual for me: When I like some songs by a musician or band I don’t consider myself a fan of, there are inevitably songs of theirs that I don’t particularly like. However, I also can’t think of a time I intensely disliked a song by a person/band I otherwise liked (for at least some songs, anyway).

“When Doves Cry” reached Number One in Australia and in Canada, Number 2 in New Zealand (Gold), 4 in the UK (Platinum), and it was Number One on the USA’s Billboard “Hot 100” and also on their “Hot Black Singles” and “Dance Club Songs” charts, as as well as Number One on Cash Box. The song was also Platinum in the USA. The song charted again after Prince died on April 21, 2016, reaching 8 on the Billboard “Hot 100”, the first time it was Top 10 since September of 1984.

The album Purple Rain reached Number One in Australia (3x Platinum) and in Canada (6x Platinum), Number 2 in New Zealand (5x Platinum), Number 7 in the UK (2x Platinum), and Number One on the USA’s “Billboard 200” chart (13x Platinum). In 2016, the album charted again, hitting Number 5 in Australia, Number 7 in Canada, Number 4 in the UK, and Number 2 on the “Billboard 200” chart, as well as hitting Number One on their US “Soundtrack Albums” chart. A remastered version of the album was released in 2017 (the first of his albums to to be remastered), and hit Number 4 in the USA.

The next post about a 1984 Number One song will be August 11.

Previously in the “Weekend Diversion – 1984” series:

Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 1 – January 21, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 2 – February 4, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 3 – February 25, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 4 – March 31, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 5 – April 21, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 6 – May 12, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 7 – May 26, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 8 – June 9, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 9 – June 23, 2024

Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 9

Another new song went to Number One this week in 1984, and, like the previous Number One, it also had a two-week run at the top spot. On June 23, 1984, ”The Reflex” (video up top) by English New Wave band Duran Duran became the new Number One song. It was the group’s eleventh single, and the first of two songs to reach Number One in the USA. The song was the third single from their third studio album, Seven and the Ragged Tiger.

Duran Duran is one of the groups I remember most from the mid-1980s, however, I wasn’t exactly a fan. In the US, it was fashionable among some people to hate the group, which I thought was silly. Mind you, I thought many of the lads were rather fetching, so maybe I was more willing to give them the benefit of the doubt? They were (and are, of course) all around my age; while most members are a year or two younger than me, lead singer Simon Le Bon is nearly three months older than me.

As with nearly every band played on radio and MTV at the time, I liked some Duran Duran songs, and other songs I didn't particularly like. For me, “The Reflex” was in the latter category. I certainly didn’t “hate” the song; as is so often the case with me, not liking a song doesn’t necessarily mean disliking it. What kept me from liking the song was the refrain that began, “Oh, why don't you use it?” because of the warbling on the word why. It was unique, sure, but for some reason it really annoyed me. I have no idea why. Still, that wasn’t enough to make me hate the song, so it wasn’t exactly a deal-breaker, either. I guess I had a kind of benign neutrality.

The music video was mostly footage shot at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on March 5, 1984 during the band’s Seven and the Ragged Tiger tour. The Wikipedia article linked to adds:

In keeping with the band's insistence that their music videos "never be ordinary", the video screen above the stage displayed bits of naked models wearing collars and chains illuminated with black light, occasionally interrupted by computerized video white noise. At one point, a computer graphics–generated waterfall appears to pour out of the video screen above the stage to soak the audience.

I’m always fascinated to find out, well, “what were they thinking?!” when a video is made, whether I like the result or not. In this case, my feelings about the video were pretty much the same as for the song itself: A kind of benign neutrality.

Like many songs form this era, and probably more so than was true for other Duran Duran songs, I think I may have become better acquainted with “The Reflex” over the years that followed, particularly because it remained in rotation for both pop radio and, especially, MTV.

“The Reflex” reached Number 4 in Australia, 3 in Canada (Platinum), 6 in New Zealand, Number One in the UK (Silver), and Number One on the USA’s Billboard “Hot 100” and on the Cash Box “Top 100 Singles” charts; the song was also Gold in the USA.

The album Seven and the Ragged Tiger reached 2 in Australia, 7 in Canada (3x Platinum), 11 in New Zealand (Platinum), Number One in the UK (Platinum), and 8 on the USA’s “Billboard 200” chart (2x Platinum).

This series will return July 7, when a huge hit reached Number One.

Previously in the “Weekend Diversion – 1984” series:

Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 1 – January 21, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 2 – February 4, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 3 – February 25, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 4 – March 31, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 5 – April 21, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 6 – May 12, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 7 – May 26, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 8 – June 9, 2024

Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 8

Forty years ago this week, a new song went to Number One, beginning another two-week run at the top spot. On June 9, 1984, ”Time After Time” (video up top) by American singer-songwriter Cyndi Lauper (co-written by Rob Hyman, who also provided backing vocals) became the new Number One song. The song was Lauper’s first Number One hit in the USA, and was the second single from her debut studio album, She's So Unusual. The first single from that album is the arguably better-known song ”Girls Just Want to Have Fun”.

I bought the album when it was released, and because of “Girls Just Want to Have Fun”, but I also loved this song. At the time, I had a partner who I often had to catch when he fell, but I don’t recall ever feeling I could rely on him to do the same for me. However, I definitely felt that kind of mutual certainty with Nigel, but I didn’t associate this song with that until after he’d died and I saw the video for this song on one of my many YouTube video sessions during the first Covid lockdown. The chorus encapsulated what I knew was true of Nigel and what he knew was true of me, too:

If you're lost, you can look and you will find me
Time after time
If you fall, I will catch you, I'll be waiting
Time after time

Those lyrics can still make me cry. Is there higher praise I could give to any song?

The music video is pretty straightforward story-telling. It includes her real-life boyfriend at the time as her boyfriend, as well as her mother and Lou Albano, both of whom had also appeared in the video for “Girls Just Want to Have Fun”. According to the portion of the Wikipedia post on the song that talks about the video, Lauper said, "It was important to me that we were natural and human in the video. I wanted to convey somebody who walked her own path and did not always get along with everyone and did not always marry the guy." The walking her own path part is a theme throughout songs on the album—even in the title.

Having said all that, I don’t remember seeing the video much at the time, and it was only in 2020 and beyond that I grew to appreciate it (that’s largely because once you watch a YouTube video of a song, their algorithms will serve it up again, and more frequently if you watch it, and then it'll turn up again and so on). Because of this, the video helped reinforce for me the power of the song’s lyrics, and it led me to appreciate them more than I did in back the day. This song, then, is one of those times when I liked the song and the video, but the video (eventually) helped me appreciate the song even more.

“Time After Time” reached Number 6 in Australia, Number One in Canada (Gold), 3 in New Zealand, 3 in the UK (Silver in 1984 physical sales, 2x Platinum digital sales since 2005), and Number One on the USA’s Billboard “Hot 100” and on their “Adult Contemporary” charts, as well as Number One on the Cash Box “Top 100” chart. The song was also 5x Platinum in the USA.

The album She's So Unusual reached Number 3 in Australia (Platinum), Number One in Canada (8x Platinum), 3 in New Zealand (Platinum), 16 in the UK (Gold), and 4 on the USA’s “Billboard 200” chart (7x Platinum).

It’s natural to become reflective as we move through life, looking back nostalgically or wistfully at our past, probably especially the time when we were just starting out in our adult lives. The album She's So Unusual (especially its singles) is one of the albums from such a time in my life that can make be reflective—not sad or melancholy, just kind of mindful. That reflection makes me feel grateful for all that was good about those days, and grateful, too, that I survived all that wasn’t. It seems to me, that’s not so unusual at all.

This series will return June 23 with another new Number One song beginning a two-week reign.

Previously in the “Weekend Diversion – 1984” series:

Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 1 – January 21, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 2 – February 4, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 3 – February 25, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 4 – March 31, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 5 – April 21, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 6 – May 12, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 7 – May 26, 2024

Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 7

Talk about a long time between drinks of water, this week in 1984 another song from the Footloose movie soundtrack reached Number One, eight weeks after the first song from the movie. On May 26, 1984, ”Let's Hear It for the Boy” (video up top) by American singer Deniece Williams became the new Number One song, where it would remain for two weeks. It was the second and last Number One from the movie soundtrack, and Williams’ second Number One in the USA (after "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late", her 1978 duet with Johnny Mathis). The song was released as a single both from the Footloose soundtrack, and also from Williams’ eighth studio album, also called Let's Hear It for the Boy.

Because I’ve still never seen the movie Footloose (either version), I was only aware of this song as a pop song. The song was released on February 17, 1984, a bit more than a month after the Kenny Loggins song “Footloose”, which went to Number one on March 31 (that song was the subject of Part 4 in this series). I heard “Let's Hear It for the Boy” on the radio, and I also heard it in the gay clubs that I went to in 1984. The video wasn’t released until mid-April 1984, well after I’d already heard the song. That may have been fortunate.

I love music videos as a specific artform in pop music, something I think I’ve made clear by now. I’ve also said that there have been times I didn’t like the video of a song I liked, and there have even been times I liked a video, but wasn’t too keen on the song itself. In the case of the video for “Let's Hear It for the Boy”, it wasn’t a time when it mattered whether I thought the video was good or bad, because it kind of creeped me out.

The video begins with a young boy sitting in a corner of a classroom wearing in a dunce cap, when Deniece enters, singing, and the boy ends up in a tux and dancing. All very cute, except for two things. First, the song is about her singing about her boyfriend/partner [LYRICS], and isn’t about chaste admiration for boys who we should cheer about. In that context, the little kisses the boy gives Deniece seem a bit… out of place.

This discomfort with the video needs its own context. In May 1984, I was at the height of my grassroots LGBT+ activism. It was still the first term of the Reagan regime, and we were fighting every single day against anti-gay bigots, all of whom spread vile slurs against LGBT+ people. In particular, they spread the defamatory lie that all gay men (and lesbians, too, when they could be bothered to note women existed) were child molesters. As a result, I was extra-sensitive to anything that appeared even remotely untoward, and the fact that the song was played in gay clubs only underscored that. The little boy kissing Deniece aside, all the other dancers are also young men, and even though the vast majority were very obviously well above the legal age of consent, for me the video took away the upbeat celebration of a boyfriend to a reminder of the evil we activists were fighting.

Time heals all wounds, they say, and I’m relaxed about the video now—though the opening scene still makes me squirm a little bit, quite possibly because the vile anti-LGBT+ slur has been resurrected as justification for anti-LGBT+ violence by a weird assortment of folks on the far-right, like fans of conspiracy theories, ardently anti-trans folks, and, maybe especially, far-right religious nutjobs, and their assorted fellow travellers. Sadly, that’s true here in New Zealand, too.

Some asides: That little boy was played by actor Aaron Lohr. Lohr, who is now 48 (!), is married to American actress and singer Idina Menzel, who Nigel and I really liked, particularly for her performance in the original Broadway cast of Wicked. Deniece Williams is now 73 (!).

“Let's Hear It for the Boy” reached Number 3 in Australia, Number One in Canada (Gold), 2 in New Zealand, 2 in the UK (Gold), and Number One on the USA’s Billboard “Hot 100”, and its “US Dance Club Songs” and “US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs” charts. The song was also Number One on the Cash Box “Top 100 Singles” chart. The song was certified Platinum in the USA.

Williams’ album Let's Hear It for the Boy peaked at Number 26 on the USA’s Billboard “Top 200” album chart, and reached Number 10 on their “Top Black Albums” chart. The Footloose soundtrack, as I mentioned back in March, reached Number 2 in Australia (5x Platinum), Number One in Canada (6x Platinum), Number One in New Zealand (Platinum), 7 in the UK (Gold), and Number One on the USA’s “Billboard 200” chart (9x Platinum).

This series will return June 9 with another new Number One, another time where I liked both the song and the video..

Previously in the “Weekend Diversion – 1984” series:

Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 1 – January 21, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 2 – February 4, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 3 – February 25, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 4 – March 31, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 5 – April 21, 2024
Weekend Diversion: 1984, Part 6 – May 12, 2024