ALAN:
1980 is, for anyone with the remotest clue about how time works, bloody ages
ago. Nearly thirty years, in fact, and I can't believe I've just typed that, as it makes me feel older that God, or Dio (whichever came
first). I’ll always have a special fondness for 1980, And not because both
JR & John Lennon got shot, or that CNN was launched, but because 1980 was
the year I got into rock music.
I was a pretty normal kid, musically, inasmuch as I followed blindly whatever my older brother liked. This was because he was older than
me, and therefore I craved his approval, and also because when he was out I
could play his records. That's good old vinyl, by the way. Phillips released the first ever CD player in 1980, but it was pretty much a
novelty item, and you saw plenty of news items featuring presenters
smearing jam on the discs of wiping their bottoms with them to show how 'indestructible' they were. Oh, how little they knew…
So throughout the late Seventies I liked Ska music, then punk music, then Heavy
Metal, with me and my brother adorning our denim jackets with patches sewn on by our Mum. He would later go on to discover the
greatness of Madonna, but I obviously stuck with metal, partly because Madonna is
shit, but mainly because rock music, well, rocks.
1980 was brilliant, really, because we were in the grip of NWOBHM, possibly the world's most unwieldy
acronym. The New Wave Of British Heavy
Metal was quite frankly a silly name for some of the hungry young Brit metal acts that had taken over from the likes of Zeppelin and brought
loud, guitar orientated music up to date and in your face.
Iron Maiden released their self titled debut, deservedly cracking the UK top 5 and
performing 'Running Free' live on perennial shit fest 'Top of The Pops'.
This was a rarity, as miming was the order of the day, but Maiden refused
to go on unless they were allowed to play live, and so play live they did,
and they sounded great, even though the single only got to number 34.
Maiden weren’t the only British band to make waves in 1980, as throughout
Europe long haired oiks handed over their dole money for albums that would
no doubt turn them all into Satan worshipping child molesters who did a bit of murder on weekends and bank holidays. Judas Priest upped their game
with the mighty 'British Steel', accompanied by the hilariously naff video
for 'Breaking the Law'.
Ozzy Osbourne was still talented, a factdemonstrated by
'Blizzard of Ozz', an album that will forever be known as
Randy Rhodes finest hour or so, partially ruined by some mad old Brummie whining along to some great guitar. Mind you, Sabbath weren’t
slouching, trumping Ozzy's brilliant guitarist by recruiting a proper vocalist by the
name of Ronnie James Dio and releasing the cracking 'Heaven & Hell'.
Personally, I prefer 'Mob Rules', but you can't listen to the likes of 'Neon Nights' and
'Children Of the Sea' without feeling a small glow of
admiration for the band. Elsewhere, Motorhead thundered on without giving any sort of a toss with their seminal
'Ace Of Spades' album, which
followed Maiden’s lead by making the top five.
Finally, we had
Saxon, another band releasing an utter classic album with 'Wheels Of Steel', an
album so British it came with a free plate of egg and bacon and a pamphlet
boasting about the fact we won 'Two world wars and one world cup'. Notable
for the unique style of front man Biff 'Fookin' Byford, Saxon may not have
been pretty boys but they were first rate, head down metal for the masses,
infused with enough melody to catch the eye of the charts. Fookin' brill.
Although all of the above mentioned albums managed to crack the UK top ten, and in most cases the top five, another band released their debut to
about as much acclaim as Joseph Frtizl's babysitting service. Sheffield
wannabes Def Leppard were included by the blanket of NWOBHM, but although
'On Through The Night' made it into the top twenty, many believed they
were trying a bit hard to appeal to foreign shores with the likes of 'Hello America'.
This accusation was fuelled perhaps by the fact that the
album went platinum in both the US and Canada, places known for containing
far too many foreigners than is deemed necessary. In fact, it took until 'Hysteria' in 1987 for us to forgive them, with even
'Pyromania' failing
to reach our top 10 whilst in the US and Canada it sold more than that picture of a cat dangling from a branch with the caption
'Hang In
There'. And that’s a LOT.
Even though the Brits were ruling the airwaves as far as rock was
concerned, we let Johnny Foreigner have a go sometimes, which meant that
AC/DC were allowed to release 'Back In Black', and that my brother got to
see them in Bristol. I will forever hate him for this, as I was too young to go. As I was quite unaffected by fashion at 12, I got my Mum to knit me
a black jumper with the AC/DC logo on it in red. I loved that jumper, but
can now appreciate that I probably looked dafter than Tom Cruise on Oprah.
The album saw the introduction of Geordie growler Brian Johnson, and
unsurprisingly shot to the top in Australia and New Zealand, as well as the UK and Canada. Everyone was
amazed at how good the band were without Bon Scott, although no one realised that this would be the last album full
of decent tracks they would make for twenty eight years. I don't want any
arguments here, because I’m right, and anyone who disagrees is a liar and
a communist.
Germany had a good go at world domination (not for the first time) with The
Scorpions’ 7th album 'Animal Magnetism', which featured a cover that
had a woman and a dog suggestively looking at a man’s crotch. Still, it was about fifty billion times more subtle than the paedophilic
'Virgin
Killer', so we didn’t mind. It sold reasonably well, riding almost as high
in the UK charts than their big breakthrough 'Love At First Sting' would
four years later. Mind you, it wasn't a great album, although I still have
a soft spot for 'Make It Real', but 'The Zoo' still makes me want to saw
my head off with a spoon. Oh, and MSG appeared as well, so that was nice.
America, as ever, was not to be left behind as a new decade was entered. Europe didn't hate them too much yet, as Reagan was still a year away and
the nice, smiley Jimmy Carter was in charge. Whilst Europe was all
slobbery over proper metal, America happily embraced wimp rock, which isn’t a bad thing because even back then they were doing it bloody
well.
'Hi Infidelity' made REO Speedwagon into household names, and Journey’s
‘Departure’ inched them ever closer to being at the top of their game,
with their mega breakthrough 'Escape' only a year away. Slightly north,
Triumph came up trumps with 'Progressions Of Power', Rush trundled on with
'Permanent Waves', and even Loverboy made a splash with their self titled
debut.
Sure, it’s hard to completely wibble on about such a seminal year in this
short a space, but hopefully this article will have encouraged some of you
to get into your metal time machine ('catch you later, Bill and Ted') and
revisit some of the superb music that turned me into a metalhead and kept me that way.
And I didn’t even mention Whitesnake’s 'Ready And Willing'. Oops.…
URBAN:
The year of the 'original' and first 'black album'. I'm obviously talking about AC/DC and their magical comeback release merely months after the tragic death of their frontman on Febuary 20, 1980. Bon Scott, a notorious drinker was found dead after yet another heavy drinking session and a night spent asleep in a friend's car. It didn't stop Acca Dacca from finding a new vocalist (Brian Johnson) and recording their most successful
album, 'Back In Black'.
This was also the year of the first and original 'Monsters of Rock' at Castle Donington, U.K. Argh, one should only have been older or rather 'born earlier' as it must have been a blast watching the rather ill-matched line-up of: Touch, Riot, Saxon, April Wine, Scorpions, Judas Priest and headliners, Rainbow. The latter being 'top of the bill' was a rather strange choice in my opinion.
However, the first 'Monsters' was actually the creation of promoter Paul Loadsby who was also responsible for organising Rainbow's summer UK tour of-80 and Donington was merely to be the final show of the tour plus special guests.
Thus why the "obvious" choice of Rainbow. Opening act, US pomp group, Touch, and bassist/vocalist Doug Howard (Stun Leer) managed to swollow a bee on stage while performing and had to be rushed to hospital for treatment and that's pretty much their legacy and place in the history of hard rock. The little bugger stung Howard inside the throat and poor Dougie was puking all over the place. Not a laughing matter (even though it may sound like "fun") as it could quickly turn ugly and fatal.
Check out what Howard had to say about the matter in a much later interview by yours truly at RockUnited. " What happened was I picked up a beer with a bee inside of it and the little fucker stung me in the throat on the way down. I'm allergic to insect bites to begin with so I started puking all over the back stage area and then my throat closed up so I couldn't breathe.
Having someone shove
a plastic tube down your throat in an ambulance is a pretty crappy way to celebrate a great show
like that. So any over the hill publicity starved has been who thinks that was staged should
suggest that directly to my face and I'll gladly hand them their teeth in a bag. Believe me... it
may have been funny afterwards.... but when it happened it was horrid".
Another weird Donington story is the one about Cozy Powell's firework. Not sure if it had something to do with Cozy leaving after the show (the first 'Monsters' was the last Rainbow gig for
Cozy), however, the PA was damaged by an explosion caused by the crew who were testing drummer Cozy Powell’s pyrotechnics and fireworks the day prior to the
gig. £18,000 down the sink and the stage set-up was damaged beyond repair.
Did someone say Spinal Tap? Exploding drummers? You betcha'!!!
Choose a year:
[ 1980 ]
[1980] [1981]
[1982] [1983]
[1984] [1985]
[1986] [1987]
[1988] [1989]
Alan,
Bandi, Kimmo, Martien, & yours truly, Urban of RockUnited.Com have been spending weeks,
months, wading
through a bunch of weird looking artcovers and albums of the eighties!
Indeed, not an easy task, tracking back in space and time, especially
since some of us were almost still in diapers (sticky) at the early
days of this era of grand and fantastic music. Check out the left-side
border for our yearly write-up in 'black', and this is RockUnited's official
'Best-Of-Album Chart of 1980', calculated from the individual charts. No live-ones, EP's or
compilations are included, merely studio albums. You can find them all and
complain about our personal taste (or rather the complete lack of it) further down this page!
This is merely our humble and tiny celebration of the hairmetal days or
daze for that matter. Enjoy or not - this is the eighties: 1980.
THE ALBUMS OF
THE YEAR: 1980
40.
Girl - Sheer Greed
39. Witchfynde - Give 'Em Hell
38. Kansas - Audio Visions
37. Accept - I'm A
Rebel
36. Blackfoot - Tomcattin'
35. The Baby's - Union Jacks
34. Diamond Head - Lightning To The Nations
33. Frank Marino - What's Next
32. Van Halen - Women And Children First
31. Pat Benatar - Crimes Of Passion
30.
Rory Gallagher - Stage Stuck
29. Triumph - Progressions Of Power
28. Budgie - Power Supply
27. Loverboy - Loverboy
26. Angel Witch - Angel Witch
25. Heart - Babe Le Strange
24. MSG - Michael Schenker Group
23. Stiff Little Fingers - Nobodys Heroes
22. Krokus - Metal Rendez-Vous
21. Def Leppard - On Through The Night
20.
Saga - Silent Knight
Pompous,
Prog Rock, from Canada and Saga. Very artsy-fartsy as some would say.
Music defined by staccato guitar riffs, often in harmony with a synthesizer, and complex
keyboard arrangements, frequently featuring three players. Vocalist Sadler
would often double on bass and keys. Two of the songs are part of the
series 'Chapters', the story of Einstein.
19.
Queen - The Game
Another
One Bites The Dust - Indeed, they're giving the game away as Queen decided
to turn their backs on rock and focus more on pop from this point on.
Forgive us if we don't think of Queen as 'hard rock' in the 80's, but it's
difficult to say otherwise. This one had stabs at pop and disco, but it's
still a decent platter no matter what.
18.
Bryan Adams - Bryan Adams
The
debut didn't make a lot of waves across the pond, or anywhere else for
that matter. Adams' would however quickly learn how to master the art of
songwriting, together with his partner in crime, Jim Vallance. This was
merely a testrun for much better things to come throughout the entire
eighties and early nineties. Not too shabby really.
17.
Motorhead - Ace Of Spades
Ian
'Lemmy' Kilminster, 'Fast' Eddie Clarke, Philthy 'Animal' Taylor - the
ugliest, loudest, heavy metal trio of their time, and they certainly
proved it all on 1980's Ace Of Spades. You couldn't find a heavier platter
at the weightwatchers headquarters and the title track will forever be
recognized as one of the most influencial metal anthems. Respect!
16.
Saxon - Strong Arm Of The Law
Merely
the second best studio release by Saxon in this bugger old year of 1980.
Barnsley's pride and joy, at the mercy of the 'Strong Arm Of The Law'. Not
quite as impressive as 'Wheels Of Steel', but impressive enough to end up
at #16 at the RockUnited chart. Tracks like ' Heavy Metal Thunder' &
'Dallas 1 PM', are classic tunes, if ever.
15.
Ozzy Osbourne - Blizzard Of Ozz
Let's
go fuc*ing crazy!!! Indeed, heavy metal doesn't get any crazier than Ozzy
in '80 (or any other year for that matter). The daughter of Don Arden (Jet
Rec) managed to restart Ozzy's career by picking up the pieces and
convince 'dad to sign him to Jet. Ozzy repayed 'em both by finding Randy
Rhoades and record a smashing debut. All hail Sharon! not.
14.
Scorpions - Animal Magnetism
What
the hell? Is he seriously thinking about getting a bj from the dog in
favor of the woman? Well, I suppose that's porn made in Germany after all?
Featuring the soundtrack to 'saw your head of with a spoon', The Zoo (I
quite like the hypnotic beat of the song). Quite a disappointment
following the excellent 'Lovedrive'. Better efforts to come in the
80's.
13.
G-Force - G-Force
Gary Moore got sacked by Phil Lynott during the U.S. tour of '79 (allegendly due to speaking up against the band's heavy drug abuse) and decided to form another band project in late '79. Their one and only effort is a fine example of poppy hard rock tunes. 'You Kissed Me Sweetly' is so syrup, you could use it on your pancakes. Nice!
12.
Thin Lizzy - Chinatown
One of the least brightest moments in their discography. The fact it still ended up at
#11, should give you a insight about their other releases. Lynott recorded a solo album and had problems finding the replacement to Gary Moore. Midge Ure (Ultravox) didn't work out. The single 'Killer On The Loose' didn't go down too well due to the Yorkshire Ripper.
11.
Journey - Departure
The
1980 effort by the Gods of AOR included the smashing hit, 'Anyway You Want
It'. What about the rest? Hardly worth the trouble if you ask me,
especially considering the songs on next years' mega success (Escape). That
one hit the US number one spot, and ended up selling a ship load of copies.
Steve Perry sings incrediable well on this platter tho'.
10.
Whitesnake - Ready 'An Willing
'Ere's
a new song for ya'. Featuring the original version of, 'Fool For Your
Loving', also included on 1989's 'Slip Of The Tongue'. This is, according
to a bunch of old geezers, the real sound of Whitesnake. Featuring the
blues and ugly lookin' men, not too bothered about image and fluffy hair
(Marsden, Moody). 'Sweet Talker', etc. = old skool hard rock.
9.
Black Sabbath - Heaven And Hell
The
first of two great Sabbath albums to feature the vocals of the little, old,
elf, Ronnie James Dio (they would later record a third, not so great
reunion album). The prince of fuc*in' darkness had been replaced by a much
superior vocalist and a new Sab' era and style was born. An instant hit on
the other side of the pond and a milestone in/of metal.
8.
Saxon - Wheels Of Steel
To
quote Alan in our left-side story "an album so British it came with a
free plate of egg and bacon" end quote. I'd throw in some fish &
chips as well as poor dental work, but hey, that's just me. Smashing
NWOBHM or whatever you'd like to name it. Hi-pitched vocals by Biff and
tracks like: 747, Motorcycle Man, Street Fighting Man, Suzie Hold On, etc.
= classic.
7.
Judas
Priest - British Steel
One
thing's for sure, they had absolutely no idea about how to make british
steel last for another decade. The 1980's marks the end of industrial
England and merely this platter would sort of stand the test of time. Priest
managed to combine heaviness and melody with great effect and it's
difficult to resist headbanging along to the likes of 'Breaking The Law !!!
6.
Rush - Permanent Waves
This was a real turning point in the history of Rush' music. It's basically their first platter to feature "simplier", shorter, arrangements and songs. Sure enough, it still featured the odd epic (Natural Science). However, Permanent Waves is overall more easy accessible and dare I say, catchier, than their seventies material. Pretty brilliant schtuff.
5.
KISS - Unmasked
Nope,
they didn't unmask themselves. You had to wait until 1983 for that tragic
moment in history. This platter is however filled with catchy pop metal
which sadly didn't please their fan base at the time. Stanley as always
came up with the best songs: Is That You, What Makes The, Tomorrow, Easy
As It Seems. But, even Frehley and Simmons did good.
4.
Touch - Touch
Formed
from the ashes of American Tears, Touch set out to create an all-time
classic Pomp/AOR record of the year. Soaring synthesizers and marvelous
vocal harmonies by all members is their trademark. First band ever to play
Monsters Of Rock (left-side story). Mangold & Drive She
Said recorded 'Don't You Know What Love Is' once again in 89.
3.
REO Speedwagon - High Infidelity
'I
heard it from a friend, who heard it from a friend, who heard it from
another you've been messin' around'. Believe it or not, I didn't hear this
from a friend as I discovered the music of REO in the late 90's. This was
a smash hit album for the band as it worked magic as a cross-over between
pop, rock, and wimpy hardrock. Did someone say yacht music?
2.
Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden
The
real starting point for this thing called New Wave Of British Heavy Metal.
Acts like Saxon & Samson had started to make waves. However, noone
made such a impact as West Ham fanatic Steve Harris and co. Vocalist Paul
Di'Anno sort of had the attitude and performa of a punk rocker and thus
why you can pick up some punky vibes on the occasional track.
1.
AC/DC - Back In Black
Talk about classic
schtuff and sadly also the last (?) of the r-e-a-l-l-y classic albums by the
ozzies. Songs like 'Hells Bells', 'Shoot To Thrill', Given The Dog A Bone', Back In Black', You Shook Me All Night Long' and 'Rock And Roll Ain't Noise Pollution', gets you in the heart every time. Air guitar heroes
unite. This one's for all the rockers out there to get (all album comment nonsense
by: Urban)
INDIVIDUAL LISTS OF 1980 *Personal Stuff* | |
|
Urban (Wally):
1.
JUDAS PRIEST - British Steel 11. BLACK
SABBATH - Heaven & Hell 21. DEF
LEPPARD - On Through The Night |
Alan:
1.
AC/DC - Black In Black 11.Whitesnake - Ready & Willing |
|
Martien: 1. RUSH - Permanent Waves 11.IRON MAIDEN - Iron Maiden
|
Kimmo: 1. TOUCH - Touch
|
|
Bandi: 1. Queen - The Game
1980: Songs of the year: Judas Priest - Breaking The Law |
Urban
(Wally): POP/Rock albums of the year: Christopher Cross - S/T
|
|
|
|
