NOW Yearbook – THE VAULT: 1980 (4CD)

1980 was a huge year in pop music with every genre competing for hits. We have already included more than 150 tracks on the CDs of the 1980 Yearbook, the 80-84 Final Chapter, and their extras so far in our appreciation of the year…

Those tracks were generally the bigger hits of the year, with their chart achievement a factor in their inclusion – however – that’s not the whole singles story of the year, and our celebration of 1980 wouldn’t be complete without shining a light on some of the years’ singles that have been compiled much less frequently over the years.

Welcome to THE VAULT for 1980… Some of the 80 tracks included were Top 40 hits, some missed the chart completely. Some were representative of massive selling albums, and some were big hits in the U.S. and not in the U.K… but all are part of the wonderful pop story of 1980.

CD1 opens with established superstars with big U.S, hits: Bruce Springsteen (with ‘Hungry Heart’), Billy Joel (with ‘You May Be Right’) and Blondie with ‘The Hardest Part’ – a single in the U.S. but not in the U.K. 

New-wave with a retro feel from The Ramones and The Revillos lead into singles before the hits came for Echo & The Bunnymen and The Teardrop Explodes… Synth-driven pop would become the dominant genre in the charts over the next year, and this first disc features artists including Ultravox, The Human League and Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark that would be among the most successful of the next five years.

Sparks, The B-52’s, Robert Palmer and The Buggles also feature – whilst the disc draws to its close with follow-ups to huge hits from M and The Flying Lizards – and with a song familiar to anyone who was glued to the tv show ‘Tiswas’ on a Saturday morning in 1980 – with some of the shows regulars performing on ‘The Bucket Of Water Song’…

Opening CD2 – ‘Dance Stance’ from Dexys Midnight Runners – the single that came a few months before ‘Geno’ took them to #1. Great guitar pop from Secret Affair and Squeeze leads into post-punk from The Stranglers, The Ruts and The Clash, ahead of reggae and ska from Junior Murvin and The Bodysnatchers, and hugely influential early hip-hop from Kurtis Blow with ‘The Breaks’. Tracks fusing genres are up next including soul & jazz from The Manhattan Transfer, Earth Wind & Fire, Tom Browne, and the superb collaboration between Wilton Felder and Bobby Womack on ‘Inherit The Wind’. Jazz influenced pop from Shakatak and Level 42 leads to chilled soul from Kool & The Gang, Brenda Russell and finishing with The Manhattans U.S. Top 5 smash ‘Shining Star’…

CD3 opens with a stellar run of dance pop : Donna Summer with ‘Sunset People’, Amii Stewart’s cover of ‘The Letter’, Shalamar with ‘Right In The Socket’ and Stacy Lattisaw  with ‘Dynamite!’, a Top 10 single and dancefloor smash in the U.S. Great vocalists Gladys Knight, Joan Armatrading and Phil Lynott with his first solo hit ‘Dear Miss Lonely Hearts’ follow ahead of an explosive run of 1980’s rock from Judas Priest, Saxon, Girlschool and the debut single from Iron Maiden. New-wave pop from The Tourists, XTC, Skids and Hazel O’Connor comes ahead of closing tracks from Gerry Rafferty with ‘The Royal Mile’ and a vintage ballad ‘Sartorial Eloquence’ from Elton John…

The final disc focusses on singles that found chart success in the U.S. - opening with huge musical icons Paul Simon (‘Late In The Evening’), Linda Ronstadt (‘Hurt So Bad’) and Carly Simon (‘Jesse’).

Great pop-rock vocals from Kim Carnes, Pat Benatar and Journey feature ahead of slick soul cuts from Jermaine Jackson and Aretha Franklin’s cover of ‘What A Fool Believes’…. Daryl Hall & John Oates, Christopher Cross, Boz Scaggs and Kenny Loggins had huge success in the U.S. with softer rock classics – and the collection closes with a Top 5 U.S. hit for Eddie Rabbitt, and a hit for Joe Walsh from the soundtrack of the movie ‘Urban Cowboy’ , whilst the final word is given to the legendary ZZ Top – they were 4 years away from a U.K. chart single, but ‘Cheap Sunglasses’ hit the U.S. chart in 1980.

NOW Yearbook – The Vault: 1980 – A continued celebration of this magical year in pop!