Rossmore Rd lies parallel to the #Marylebone Rd. My latent fascination with London, which I barely knew at 16, probably drew me to this song. Little did I know that I'd spend most of my uni years in NW1 ... and then my middle-aged years living in #WestNorwood, which is where Barry Andrews was born!

Most recently, the passing of Ozzy #Osbourne this summer saw “Paranoid” back in the UK charts for a month. TBH, it's not my fave style of Sabbath but that primal energy made it a pivotal track. There's a neat temporary exhibition devoted to working-class hero Ozzy in the central #Birmingham Museum.

1980 was surely the peak of Police-mania in the UK charts: all five of their previous major-label hits were put into this package 3 months after #SoLonely, a track on their debut album, became the 5th to chart. This came after their 2nd LP “Regatta de Blanc” had notched up six months in that Top 10.

In their shifting line-ups UFO, like other metallic bands with a long pedigree, had many an overlap with other groups—so much so that their 1983 compilation album “Headstone” included songs from 5 other acts (eg #Whitesnake)! Its gatefold showed an early example of Pete Frame's “Rock Family Trees”.

This is also a clever meta track: “It's the break in the song when...”. Oddly enough, this single and the album it was from, “Terminal Jive”, did almost nothing in the UK … but it spent 6 weeks atop the French singles chart and was apparently the only hit for #Sparks in Australia.
#Forgotten80s

#StopTheCavalry has also become a minor returning character in the present-day (I'd say too predictable) Christmas charts. In the streaming age, it's re-entered the Top 100 during 10 out of 11 Decembers since 2015, but never getting higher than #34 in 2021. There's more #JonaLewie coming up soon.

Ah that explains it - I thought that clip was the one I recalled seeing in 79-80. Thank you!

If that was the song's official video in 1979 (I'm no #PinkFloyd expert) then did any of its footage also feature in Alan Parker's 1982 feature film of The Wall, the rock opera from which this came? Maybe Gerald Scarfe's animations did, but were the kids shown the original "edu-kay-shun" singers?

Yes, I found a few quotes along the lines of "Our audience wants to hear Paul's real voice". And isn't that such a great video for the studio version anyway?

Interviewed for the London Standard this month, McCartney recalled that Coming Up was what got the long-dormant Lennon to record new songs in 1980. “I understand that John heard it on the radio and thought 'Paul's done a good song, and I've got to get working'” … and that led to track #229 below.

Formed in 1977 near the peak of the Troubles (capital T intended), SLF were apparently Northern Ireland's first punk band to release vinyl, but 1980 saw then at their own chart peak. The band had two Top 10 albums that year (one a live set) and At The Edge would be their only Top 20 hit.
#80sPunk

Coincidentally, Secret Affair's principal members, Ian Page and David Cairns, had supported The Jam on tour while in their previous band, New Hearts, who were signed by CBS during the brief punk era. Secret Affair would have two more minor hits, but this was their only placing on my 1980 chart.

Yes, that clip was from the 1977 Granada series “Marc”, recorded and shown just weeks before the T.Rex singer died. But I digress: in my teenage years, I thought #PaulWeller was “Looking for you” globally, but the lyric was of course about “Youth”. On its reissue in 1980, this single peaked at #43.