Songs of 1983 That Should Have Been Bigger Hits

[olflatop]

A lot of these songs are not bad, but the 80's production values just killed 'em.

[ImprovedNewShimmer]

I really love this set of videos that you've put together. Obviously you put a lot of thought into these selections. Your production values are excellent. The sound is very crisp. The record companies that sent copyright notices on other videos are idiots. You only post portions of the songs, and the purpose is to both praise the songs and educate the public. Furthermore, most of these songs aren't otherwise available. I think you have a pretty strong argument for fair use here.

[unscrewthis1]

This was, is a geat song. escalater of life

[badmoonryzn]

I wonder how much money Robert Hazard got in royalties for the song Girls just wanna have fun from Cindy Lauper and the 30 other people who covered the song. I hope tons of money. I liked his version better anyway.

[nccvball]

@badmoonryzn

Not sure. I was walking in a BJ's Wholesale Club last night and they a slow tempo version of "Girls" by Cyndi. The royalties should have been good (I hope) if his management was good.

[brabon1]

armatrading is brilliant

too smart for most music fan

[sfmuscleboy2006]

Warner BROS, you SUCK for removing Zebra's, "Who's Behind The Door."

[TEverettReynolds]

+2 for Robert Hazard, + 1 Zebra

[KAblam124]

Wow! You're absolutely right this song should've made it further. It should of made it right into the TRASH!!! His producer should have kicked his ass for putting this kind of crap out.

[seriousbe]

"Message to my girl" by Split Enz is one of the most underrated song ever....

[CesMan83]

I didn't realize Robert Hazard passed away years ago. I also realize he's from SE Pennsylvania (writing from Allentown here!). "Escalator of Life" is a great song...RIP Robert Hazard

[4everinthe80s]

I think the U.S. is biased towards Canadian artists. At least Canada knows when they have a good thing.

[Laras420]

all touch by rough trade was huge downunder, to this very day i still love it, so was drop the pilot by joan A. Belle stars too, i only say this cos i remember them fondly

[bvg83]

1983 really ROCKS!

[donnydcyclops]

nice job! 

[lurch321]

Joan Armatrading also should've had a bigger hit with Kind Words in 1986.

[majorsynth]

My friend was the guitar player for Robert Hazard. Song did have MTV airplay, and was a big club hit as well.

[cornsnakey1]

Zebra will forever be one of my all-time favorite bands. Too bad Warner removed their clip from this.

[plusone19]

"Sign Of The Times" was a big hit in Canada... allthough it was a virtually identical version by "Mens Room" that was a hit thanks to Cancon regulations.

[TheViralSBK]

This might seem strange to you but actually Drop the pilot was kind of a hit in Italy and it can be heard on oldies radio even these days

[plusone19]

@TheViralSBK It was top 10 in Australia,New Zealand and the UK and well as #1 in South Africa but flopped in the States.

"All Touch" got to #12 in Canada and spent over 40 weeks in the Australian charts but only got as high as #40

[danycam1]

wow, some great songs, i have the 45 to escalator of life. You should do a rock and roll or metal forgotten list. I think that would be a lot of fun. Thanx for some great memories. I was young in the 70's and 80's and remember hearing the songs, but, have no clue who they were. i just recently found one more year with daddy's little girl by Dr hook, what a sad sad song.

[nccvball]

@danycam1

Thank you. I have some plans to do a hard rock/metal set of videos if I get the time. If you check out some of my videos for the late 1980's you will see some metal mixed in there. It's funny how metal from the 80's and 90's is now considered "old school" and gets played on VH1. Headbanger's Ball was on late night during the weekends and now it seems so quaint.

[howardtheman]

Could you do Motown hits that were never hits? Thanks NCC.

[nccvball]

@howardtheman

Hmmm... good idea. Unfortunately, what little Motown I have is from this era. I will look through my collection and see what might be done.

[howardtheman]

@nccvball Thanks so much.

[TheboiwhocouldfLY]

kool

[risky725]

Thanks for the compilation, but seriously, except for Zebra, the songs all stink, are hard to listen to, and they weren't hits for a reason. There are MANY more punk/new wave/rock songs that should have been on the list but these? Nope.

[IMattchewB]

I disagree. jk

[Paracel]

Yay for Rough Trade! That song was huge in Canada & still gets played all the time on radio!

[nccvball]

@Paracel

Rough Trade is still a well-respected band in Canada. The US missed out on them.

[TammiWayKewl]

There are several other '83 "Classics" that deserved to be bigger. "Midnight Blue" by Lousie Tucker, "Words" by F. R. David, and "State Of The Nation" by Industry.

[BigCoronaCowboy]

@TammiWayKewl State of the Nation is a great song...so shoulda been a big hit. Check it out all.

[beaglehowl]

Nice picks. I have a couple of these 45's still.

[hnksnw]

hey whats that song that goes pah pah pah pah pah pah pah pah?

[bentpolski]

YOU TOOK ZEBRA OFF BULLDSHIT!

[Runrome]

Thank's so much for enhancing my education

[nccvball]

@Runrome

My pleasure. If you like this format, check out the other videos.

[macprohawaii]

One song that seemed to have missed the boat in 1983 is "Smiling Islands" by Robbie Pattion with Stevie Nicks.

[MillBelater]

I've always wanted someone to do a mashup of "Star Trek" and I Love Lucy".

[jbaumhauer]

I disagree with all these except Zebra. But thanks for the memories. Who's behind the door is one of those "Wizard of Oz" songs that lives on and on.

[a7b7c78]

I do remember Drop the Pilot. I haven't heard this song in a long time.

[aleks1939]

Wow, they made you take Zebra down? WTF, it was just a snippet and could have exposed them to new audiences. Anyway, great work, and great sound quality. Takes me back to another time...sigh.

[nccvball]

@aleks1939

Sadly, yes... they had a problem with Zebra. Thanks for the compliment, 1987 will be posted soon.

[radiotubes]

Unusual Great sound quality? Most vidoes on her are crusty.Very interesting thanks.

[nccvball]

@radiotubes

My pleasure. Some of my old K-Tel/Ronco records are compressed but I try to provide the best quality recording that I can.

[elc1960]

The same goes for Kissing the Pink - a reference to female genitalia.

[elc1960]

Rough Trade was never picked up on by radio because the band's name is a euphemism for anal sex, and as a result radio was extremely reticent to play their music for fear of facing FCC fines and heavy amounts of listener complaints. Think about it - how would you like to be a 1980s parent and have your child ask you "May I have some money to buy the new record by Anal Sex?"

[nccvball]

@elc1960

What I find ironic is that they were well embraced in their homeland (Canada). So much so that the CBC recorded their final performance as a band for a TV special.

Canada is quite liberal in some cases but they have tight control over the broadcast content.

[TitaniumByFire]

Zebra is a great band with above average musicianship and songwriting, and a unique style that is a mix ironically of Zeppelin, Rush, Triumph, and the Beatles. Randy Jackson even reminds me of Frankie Valley at times on certain notes. They can be pretty heavy yet very melodic. Anyone who like any of the prementioned bands but hasn't heard this bands music should go check them out.

[elc1960]

@TitaniumByFire "Who's Behind the Door?" was huge on album rock radio in '83, but never cracked the top 40 because that chart was so filled with the early 1980s MTV hits and British synth-pop that MTV was so enamored with at the time. At that time, MTV wanted bands to do videos and the American acts were slow to do that. The British bands were so prevalent on MTV because they all had been making videos right along and that was why MTV featured so many British bands and singers back then.

[nccvball]

@elc1960

Absolutely correct !!!! That is why we had another British invasion in the 80's. Britain, and Europe in general, had figured out a long time ago that prerecorded performances of a performer or band were the best way to create exposure in visual media (TV, movie theaters, dance halls).

[tammyleawatson]

In the 80's the U.S. radio stations took the British invasion seriously & refused to play other countries bands Unless involved with an Americian Company or Forced by the young people! That is the story going around. Alot of great music came out from Britian & Canada during the 80's Sad Really!

[elc1960]

About Glenn Hughes - He also spent time with Gary Moore as bassist and co-lead vocalist, and was briefly lead singer for a version of Black Sabbath (he never toured with them - he entered a substance abuse rehab program and was replaced by the late Ray Gillen who was also in Badlands). He has recently done some recordings for West Coast indie hard rock label Shrapnel Records.

[somethingcar77]

where did you find this stuff?

[SurfieInACT]

Joan Armatrading was/is so great.. can't believe she wasn't bigger in the states!?

[nccvball]

I just read in the newspaper that she will be performing a show this summer a few towns over. I am going to try and make it if I can.

[elc1960]

@SurfieInACT Joan Armatrading is so very influential, especially to female vocalists. All you have to do is check out people like blues-rocker Deborah Coleman or Tracy Chapman to hear Joan's influence.

[ovicello61]

Obviously you do have a Joel Whitburn book from the Big Ric comment.

[nccvball]

@ovicello61

Oh, yes. I hesitate to say I have most of his books, but I have at least a dozen. Without his knowledge, these videos would probably not exist.

[ovicello61]

Joan Armatradin had "Love and Affection" in 1977, but didn't hit the Hot 100. nccvball, do you have any Joel Whitburn books? I just got the Top Pop Singles (from 1955 to 2008(bubbling under too!). In '78, Joan bubbled under at #110 with "Show Some Emotion",

[ovicello61]

How about Rough Trade. "Sacred and The Profane". Excellent Album. Picked it up in the clearance rack for a couple of bucks in the mid 80's.

[ovicello61]

I used to see this video on MTV back in 1982 when they actually played music videos(LOL). I like this song. I'm an eclectic who appreciates all music whether plastered all over the airwaves or obscure.

[DjJohnnyM68]

Slingshot had the much cleaner production of "do it again/billie jean"..yours is much cheesier...love it.

[khanlovr]

I like Joan Armatrading; she did a song called 'I Love it When You Call Me Names,' which had gruesome lyrics, but was awesome nonetheless.

[largetrunks]

Get real you fuckwit these songs are shite! you've got 1983 all wrong.

[DeathMetalDouglas68]

Your a douchbag. I could care less for more than half these songs, but there is interesting info here. Your comment was not needed nor appretiated. Fuck off!

[mercfan74]

Escalator or Life - I remember hearing this on the radio and thinking it sucked back then.

[StoogeWatcher]

Wait, After the Fire had another song besides "Der Komissar?"

[nccvball]

Yep, little known but they had one last hit.

[StoogeWatcher]

Have you ever thought about going to a radio station and planning a show of nothing but forgotten songs? In college, I found out about a Minnesota-based show called "Crap from the Past."

[nccvball]

@StoogeWatcher

In fact, I have thought about it. I have had offers from two Internet radio stations but I think I would prefer a terrestrial station... if I could find one. If anything happens, I will post it here.

[StoogeWatcher]

Either way, it takes a lot of courage to know quite a bit about some of the most obscure Top 100 songs in history.

[LolaCrazy222]

@StoogeWatcher Is that show still around? Is it on a station that I can hear on the Internet? If so what station is it on and what day and time?/

[nccvball]

@StoogeWatcher

Yep, they had one follow-up hit.

[kvxz]

Now I just accidentally ran across your feature again (looking for Shamus M'Cool), and while I appreciate your doing the various versions, do please vet your notes before you upload. You forgot Hughes/Thrall's peak position, it's "Maybe This Day" not Time, and my copy says "Do It Again/Billie Jean", though your version of the title is kinda funnier!

[mssuziecreamcheese]

Hey, I had that record! Robert Hazard!!

[headmark915]

And me who took it for granted that Joan Armatrading was and still is a big name in the US? Her music has always struck me (from Norway) as American in many ways.

[XXXXShelts]

All Touch is one my fav 80's songs, prob top 10

[7beers]

I remember this song! I'm sure I haven't heard it since 1983!!!!!! I also remember What's The Furor About The Fuhrer".

[KOSMICKEN09]

1983 was my year man, i was 13, i discovered both MTV and college radio music...basically ruined me ever becoming a good student in school....as springsteen once said, 'WE LEARNED MORE FROM A 3-MINUTE RECORD THEN WE EVER LEARNED IN SCHOOL'...

[rhkiii]

Doesn't Warner Music Group want promotion for Zebra?

[DjJohnnyM68]

apparently they don't cuz they're douchebags..

[lakebay972]

XM use to play "Escalator of Life" quite often on a channel called "Fred"; but when Sirius took over and changed the channel name to "First Wave," they don't play this much anymore.

[nccvball]

I had Sirius before the merger and I believe XM had a better mix of music. I have had a few YouTube subscribers tell me that XM had played a few of the songs you find in these videos.

[rayjr62]

Hughes Thrall got a boat-load of airplay in Austin, Texas, which was where I was living at the time their 1st LP came out- late summer of 1982 if memory serves me.

[noirdamecom]

@lakebay972 @nccvball It seems like every time I tune in to "First Wave" now (I was also a "Fred" listener on XM), it's an (overplayed) song by Morrissey or Depeche Mode. Not that I don't think they should be heard, but it's so nice to hear some new stuff - even if it's only "new to you". Thanks again for posting these videos, nccvball.

[nccvball]

@noirdamecom

I have not been an XM subscriber but I was a Sirius subscriber. Back in the day, First Wave would play some of the songs that are in my videos. But since the merger, First Wave's playlists are as homogenized as broadcast radio. It's a shame since they have the bandwidth to play just about any type of music at any time.

[thesmogmankills]

FUCK YOU WMG...ill never buy a cd from warner or any of their companies that they own FUCKING CHEAP ASS NICKEL HUNGRY PIECES OF SHIT FUCK UP EVERY GREAT SONG on youtube

[joeyvader]

Boycott them BITCHES!!!!!!!

[danastev924]

nccvball, this is a great recap on 1983 -- Its too bad the best song on the list was removed though (Zebra) -- Joan Armatrading was somewhat known with her "Love and Affection", but she should have had much bigger following. Thanks for the tracks I hadn't known (little nuggets)

[nccvball]

Joan Armatrading has a much bigger following in Europe. My understanding is that she is also shy or reclusive to some degree. Touring was still a vital method of building an audience in the 80's.

[poppinfresh79]

yes i had the cassette...

[karenburl]

what is up w/ warner recalling the rights to Zebra 26 years after the fact? Can't even listen??? If the band is finally getting their well-earned royalties after all of these years, I guess it's cool. I have the album, but it would take a day to find it in the massive stacks

[nccvball]

That is their choice. I see this as a good way to put these artists and their songs back into the minds of the record buying public.

[74sodapop]

Sorry to hear about Robert Hazard,what did he die from? A good artist

[nccvball]

To be honest, I am not sure. Wikipedia states pancreatic cancer but has no citation to back that up. The Philadelphia papers stated he died after surgery or "a brief illness". He did not look like the Robert Hazard I remember from the 80's when he played here last year.

[nccvball]

I remember that song getting heavy rotation as well. Even local radio stations played it quite a bit. I was surprised it only reached the bottom half of the chart. The group broke up soon after but Hoffman liked "Iko Iko" and had it used in "Rain Man".

[thered41car]

i absolutely loved the belle stars "sign of the times". i remember it being all over mtv [when they played videos]...thanks for reminding me how good it was.

[RecordWarped]

Another great collection of sadly forgotten singles! I was surprised that Joan Armatrading's "Drop the Pilot" didn't chart higher than 78 in the U.S. because it got better airplay than the rest of these tunes.

Zebra rocks -- but do you know there's dead air where their song should be?

Thanks for another great collection, nccvball!

[nccvball]

I had created an annotation but it was not published. Unfortunately, one of the songs I chose for the video is owned by a particular label that is enforcing the use of its copyright.

[RecordWarped]

Fortunately, I have Zebra on both vinyl and CD, so I wouldn't be getting anything for free. I can understand why record labels don't like people using their material, but when you just provide little snippets, it seems to be great promotion on their behalf. Keep it up!

[rin3guy]

I second that comment! These are so cool. Thank you so much, nccvball.

[nccvball]

You are welcome. I am not sure if I will start on 1974 next or start a new category.

[ProVoz]

Nice compilation again.

[nccvball]

Thanks. This compilation is one of the first that contains all tunes I remember first hand from that year. Only a few songs were new discoveries from my research.