List of years in British music
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This is a summary of 1981 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts from that year.

Events

Charts

Number-one singles

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

Number-one albums

Issue DateTitleArtist(s)
3 JanuarySuper TrouperABBA
10 January
17 January
24 JanuaryKings of the Wild FrontierAdam and the Ants
31 January
7 FebruaryDouble FantasyJohn Lennon and Yoko Ono
14 February
21 FebruaryFace ValuePhil Collins
28 February
7 March
14 MarchKings of the Wild FrontierAdam and the Ants
21 March
28 March
4 April
11 April
18 April
25 April
2 May
9 May
16 May
23 MayStars on 45Starsound
30 May
6 June
13 June
20 June
27 JuneNo Sleep 'til HammersmithMotörhead
4 JulyDisco Daze and Disco NitesVarious Artists
11 JulyLove SongsCliff Richard
18 July
25 July
1 August
8 August
15 AugustThe Official BBC Album
of the Royal Wedding
Various Artists
22 August
29 AugustTimeElectric Light Orchestra
5 September
12 SeptemberDead RingerMeat Loaf
19 September
26 SeptemberAbacabGenesis
3 October
10 OctoberGhost in the MachineThe Police
17 October
24 October
31 OctoberDareThe Human League
7 NovemberShakyShakin' Stevens
14 NovemberGreatest HitsQueen
21 November
28 November
5 December
12 DecemberChart Hits '81Various Artists
19 DecemberThe VisitorsABBA
26 December

Year-end charts

The tables below include sales between 1 January and 31 December 1981: the year-end charts reproduced in the issue of Music Week dated 26 December 1981 and played on Radio 1 on 3 January 1982 only include sales figures up until 12 December 1981.

Best-selling singles

At the end of 1981, the official year-end charts provided by the UK's chart provider, the British Market Research Bureau, stated that the best-selling single of the year was "Tainted Love" by Soft Cell.[1][2] However, in March 2021, the Official Charts Company announced that new research had shown that "Don't You Want Me" by the Human League, previously thought to be the year's 21st-biggest seller, was in fact the biggest-selling single of 1981 with over one million sales, and the year-end charts were adjusted accordingly.[3]

No. Title Artist Peak
position
1 "Don't You Want Me" The Human League 1
2 "Tainted Love" Soft Cell 1
3 "Stand and Deliver" Adam and the Ants 1
4 "Prince Charming" 1
5 "This Ole House" Shakin' Stevens 1
6 "Vienna" Ultravox 2
7 "One Day in Your Life" Michael Jackson 1
8 "Making Your Mind Up" Bucks Fizz 1
9 "Shaddup You Face" Joe Dolce Music Theatre 1
10 "The Birdie Song (Birdie Dance)" The Tweets 2
11 "You Drive Me Crazy" Shakin' Stevens 2
12 "Ghost Town" The Specials 1
13 "It's My Party" Dave Stewart with Barbara Gaskin 1
14 "Being with You" Smokey Robinson 1
15 "Happy Birthday" Altered Images 2
16 "Hands Up (Give Me Your Heart)" Ottawan 3
17 "Woman" John Lennon 1
18 "Stars on 45" Starsound 2
19 "Begin the Beguine (Volver a Empezar)" Julio Iglesias 1
20 "Green Door" Shakin' Stevens 1
21 "Imagine" John Lennon 1
22 "Jealous Guy" Roxy Music 1
23 "Kids in America" Kim Wilde 2
24 "Japanese Boy" Aneka 1
25 "Daddy's Home" Cliff Richard 2
26 "Chi Mai" Ennio Morricone 2
27 "Hooked on Classics" Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, arranged and conducted by Louis Clark 2
28 "Souvenir" Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark 3
29 "Can Can" Bad Manners 3
30 "Antmusic" Adam and the Ants 2
31 "(Do) The Hucklebuck" Coast to Coast 5
32 "Hold On Tight" ELO 4
33 "More Than in Love" Kate Robbins and Beyond 2
34 "Love Action (I Believe in Love)" The Human League 3
35 "Body Talk" Imagination 4
36 "Stars on 45 (Volume 2)" Starsound 2
37 "Lately" Stevie Wonder 3
38 "In the Air Tonight" Phil Collins 2
39 "Under Pressure" Queen and David Bowie 1
40 "Going Back to My Roots" Odyssey 4
41 "Under Your Thumb" Godley and Creme 3
42 "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" The Police 1
43 "Happy Birthday" Stevie Wonder 2
44 "Kings of the Wild Frontier" Adam and the Ants 2
45 "I Surrender" Rainbow 3
46 "Pretend" Alvin Stardust 4
47 "How 'Bout Us" Champaign 5
48 "Endless Love" Diana Ross and Lionel Richie 7
49 Four from Toyah (EP) Toyah 4
50 "Let's Groove" Earth, Wind & Fire 3

Best-selling albums

[4][5]

No. Title Artist Peak
position
1 Kings of the Wild Frontier Adam and the Ants 1
2 Greatest Hits Queen 1
3 Dare The Human League 1
4 Face Value Phil Collins 1
5 Shaky Shakin' Stevens 1
6 Ghost in the Machine The Police 1
7 Love Songs Cliff Richard 1
8 Chart Hits '81 Various Artists 1
9 Prince Charming Adam and the Ants 2
10 Double Fantasy John Lennon and Yoko Ono 1
11 The Jazz Singer Neil Diamond 3
12 Making Movies Dire Straits 4
13 Stars on 45 Starsound 1
14 Hotter than July Stevie Wonder 3[lower-alpha 1]
15 Vienna Ultravox 3
16 Secret Combination Randy Crawford 2
17 The Visitors ABBA 1
18 The Best of Blondie Blondie 4
19 Bat Out of Hell Meat Loaf 9
20 Manilow Magic: The Best of Barry Manilow Barry Manilow 4[lower-alpha 2]
21 Time Electric Light Orchestra 1
22 Pearls Elkie Brooks 5
23 Dead Ringer Meat Loaf 1
24 Anthem Toyah 2
25 Hooked on Classics Royal Philharmonic Orchestra 4
26 Guilty Barbra Streisand 3[lower-alpha 3]
27 Duran Duran Duran Duran 3
28 Present Arms UB40 2
29 Super Hits 1 & 2 Various Artists 2
30 This Ole House Shakin' Stevens 2
31 Wired for Sound Cliff Richard 4
32 Abacab Genesis 1
33 Disco Daze/Disco Nites Various Artists 1
34 Architecture and Morality Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark 3
35 Tattoo You The Rolling Stones 2
36 The Simon and Garfunkel Collection: 17 of Their All-Time Greatest Recordings Simon & Garfunkel 4
37 Hi Infidelity REO Speedwagon 6
38 If I Should Love Again Barry Manilow 5
39 The Best of Bowie David Bowie 3
40 Super Trouper ABBA 1
41 No Sleep 'til Hammersmith Motörhead 1
42 The Official BBC Album of the Royal Wedding Various Artists 1
43 Christopher Cross Christopher Cross 1
44 7 Madness 5
45 The River Bruce Springsteen 2
46 Tonight I'm Yours Rod Stewart 8
47 Greatest Hits Dr. Hook 2
48 Difficult to Cure Rainbow 3
49 Barry Barry Manilow 5
50 Signing Off UB40 2

Notes:

  1. Reached number 2 in 1980
  2. Reached number 3 in 1980
  3. Reached number 1 in 1980

Classical music: new works

Opera

Musical theatre

Musical films

Births

Deaths

See also

References

  1. Scaping, Peter, ed. (1982). "The Top 200 Singles: January–December 1981". BPI Year Book 1982 (5th ed.). London, England: The British Phonographic Industry Ltd. pp. 46–49. ISBN 0-906154-03-0.
  2. Jones, Alan; Lazell, Barry; Rees, Dafydd (1982). "The Top 200 Singles (UK)". Chart File 1982. London, England: Virgin Books. pp. 74–77. ISBN 0-907080-49-9.
  3. Copsey, Rob (5 March 2021). "The Official Top 50 best-selling songs of 1981". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 5 March 2021. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
  4. Scaping (1982). "The Top 200 LPs: January–December 1981". pp. 50–53.
  5. Jones; Lazell; Rees (1982). "The Top 200 Albums (UK)". pp. 78–81.
  6. Dean, Winton (1981). "Music in London: Anna Karenina". The Musical Times Vol. 122, No. 1661 (July 1981), p. 487. Retrieved 1 December 2010.
  7. Tracie Ratiner (May 2010). Contemporary Musicians: Profiles of the People in Music. Cengage Gale. p. 16. ISBN 978-0-7876-9617-7.
  8. "Miss Olive Gilbert", The Times, 20 February 1981, p. 16, col. G
  9. Gerald Norris (1981). A Musical Gazetteer of Great Britain & Ireland. David & Charles. p. 94. ISBN 978-0-7153-7845-8.
  10. Lone Eagle Publishing Co (2000). Film Composers Directory. Lone Eagle. p. 199.
  11. Nick Talevski (1999). The Encyclopedia of Rock Obituaries. Omnibus. p. 90. ISBN 978-0-7119-7548-4.
  12. Tilbury, John. Cornelius Cardew: A Life Unfinished Harlow: Copula, an imprint of Matchless Recordings and Publishing, 2008. ISBN 978-0-9525492-3-9
  13. Bierley, Paul E; Rehrig, William H (1991). The heritage encyclopedia of band music : composers and their music. Westerville, Ohio: Integrity Press. ISBN 0-918048-08-7.
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