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The Top 10 Songs of 1981 (UK)

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The UK's Top 10 Best Selling Songs of 1981

The UK's Top 10 best selling songs of 1981 certainly made for strange companions considering the music that was on offer during this particular year.

You probably could not create a list of ten songs as diverse as those that captured the attention of the record buying public during 1981. Who would have thought that Michael Jackson, The Tweets and Ultravox could end up appearing on the same countdown? But, that is exactly what happened.

Note that these songs have not been picked as my favourites of this year, but to show which records sold the most during 1981.

Contents at a Glance

1. Tainted Love: Soft Cell
2. Stand and Deliver: Adam and the Ants
3. Prince Charming: Adam and the Ants
4. This Ole House: Shakin' Stevens
5. Vienna: Ultravox
The Top 10 Best Selling UK Albums of 198...
6. Making Your Mind Up: Bucks Fizz
7. One Day in Your Life: Michael Jackson
8. Shaddup You Face: Joe Dolce

2. Stand and Deliver: Adam and the Ants

3. Prince Charming: Adam and the Ants

4. This Ole House: Shakin' Stevens

5. Vienna: Ultravox

The Top 10 Best Selling UK Albums of 1981

1Kings of the Wild Frontier - Adam & the Ants
2Queen: Greatest Hits - Queen
3Face Value - Phil Collins
4Shaky - Shakin' Stevens
5Ghost In The Machine - The Police
6Love Songs - Cliff Richard
7Dare - The Human League
8Double Fantasy - John Lennon & Yoko Ono
9The Jazz Singer (Original Songs from the Motion Picture) - Neil Diamond
10Stars on 45 - Star Sound

6. Making Your Mind Up: Bucks Fizz

7. One Day in Your Life: Michael Jackson

8. Shaddup You Face: Joe Dolce

9. The Birdie Song: The Tweets

10. You Drive Me Crazy: Shakin' Stevens

1981: UK No.1 Songs and Artists

3 January "There's No-One Quite Like Grandma" - St Winifred's School Choir
10 January "Imagine" - John Lennon
7 February "Woman" - John Lennon
21 February "Shaddap You Face" - Joe Dolce Music Theatre
14 March "Jealous Guy" - Roxy Music
28 March "This Ole House" - Shakin' Stevens
18 April "Making Your Mind Up" - Bucks Fizz
9 May "Stand and Deliver" - Adam and the Ants
13 June "Being With You" - Smokey Robinson
27 June "One Day In Your Life" - Michael Jackson
11 July "Ghost Town" - The Specials
1 August "Green Door" - Shakin' Stevens
29 August "Japanese Boy" - Aneka
5 September "Tainted Love" - Soft Cell
19 September "Prince Charming" - Adam and the Ants
17 October "It's My Party" - Dave Stewart and Barbara Gaskin
14 November "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" - The Police
21 November "Under Pressure" - Queen and David Bowie
5 December "Begin the Beguine" - Julio Iglesias
12 December "Don't You Want Me" - The Human League

More Top Selling Songs of 1981

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PS: The Best Selling Singles in the USA

1981 American Hits

The US Top 10 Best Selling Singles for 1981

1. Bette Davis Eyes

Kim Carnes

2. Endless Love

Diana Ross & Lionel Richie

3. Lady

Kenny Rogers

4. (Just Like) Starting Over

John Lennon

5. Jessie's Girl

Rick Springfield

6. Celebration

Kool & The Gang

7. Kiss On My List

Daryl Hall & John Oates

8. I Love A Rainy Night

Eddie Rabbitt

9. 9 To 5

Dolly Parton

10. Keep On Loving You

REO Speedwagon

AND:

Record of the Year: Bette Davis Eyes - Kim Carnes
Album of the Year: Double Fantasy - John Lennon and Yoko Ono
Song of the Year: Bette Davis Eyes - Donna Weiss & Jackie DeShannon, songwriters
Best New Artist: Sheena Easton

About Your Author

With each article, Richard invites you to step into his world of music, television and entertainment. He will introduce you to The Top 10 Albums in the UK, share The 20 Scariest Film Scores Ever? and even give you an up close look at some classic actors like Christopher Lee as Dracula.

For a complete list of Waxing-Lyrical's articles on Squidoo, please visit Waxing-Lyrical on Squidoo.

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Reply

Lemming13 Feb 15, 2012 @ 10:45 am | delete

Scary to think what awful dross got bought as much as excellent music. Of course, what is classed as dross and what excellent depends entirely on the listener! Thanks for a very entertaining lens.

Reply

thesuccess Oct 4, 2011 @ 3:25 pm | delete

The 80's a mixture of the really great and the really awful!!

Reply

spikey64 Aug 14, 2011 @ 4:54 am | delete

Great lens took me back to my youth. Oh happy days.

Reply

outsource123 Jan 30, 2011 @ 6:39 am | delete

Great selection. Good Job.

Reply

sandyspider Oct 15, 2009 @ 9:50 am | delete

The 80s had the best music. Nice selection.

Reply

clouda9 Oct 11, 2009 @ 11:40 pm | delete

Beautifully 80's...enjoyed the music and especially the eye candy ;)

Reply

lakern26 Oct 11, 2009 @ 2:18 pm | delete

Great lens - what a fun blast from the past! There are some great songs on those lists!

Reply

24websurf Oct 10, 2009 @ 8:43 pm | delete

Wow this brings back so many memories! Funny, I was playing Bette Davis Eyes the other day.. my son said "Who is Bette Davis?" Blasphemy! Amazing how some years the songs differ so much on opposite sides of the pond.