The WhimWham

Being born in 1978, I’m pretty much a child of the ’80s. I grew up with the radio playing at every opportunity, loved going to the movies and couldn’t get enough of Star Wars, He-Man and The Muppet Show. (Yes, there was bleed-through from the ’70s, as you’ll soon discover.)

Each week, I’m going to make an effort to present the pop-culture events of a very specific period of time in the ’80s. Today, it’s summer ’79/’80, as seen Down Under.

This was the period when Bon Scott, the lead singer for AC/DC, died of alcohol poisoning; it was also the period when Kingswood Country debuted on Australian TV…

Nothing beats classic Aussie TV! Prisoner was also popular at the time, as was the ever-popular Paul Hogan Show (now on Channel 9), but we’ll look at those later.

Despite the good times, there was a darkness calling as well. We’d already had Mad Max, but now, after the euphoria of Star Wars in 1977 and Close Encounters of the Third Kind in 1978, there was suddenly the realisation that In space, no one can hear you scream…

In music, The Police’s Reggatta de Blanc was the only non-compilation album to peak at #1 (with its first single being the hit “Message in a Bottle” in ’79). But the charts weren’t as dominated by New Wave pseudo-punk rockers as you’d think. Here are some other songs you were likely to hear on the radio at the time:

• Christie Allen – “He’s My Number One” (#18 in ’80 End-of-Year chart)
• Edith Bliss – “If It’s Love You Want”
• Buggles – “Video Killed the Radio Star” (#1 Dec. ’79 – Jan. ’80, #18 in ’79 End-of-Year chart)
• Captain & Tennille – “Do That to Me One More Time”
• Johnny Chester & Hot Spur – “I Love You So, Rebecca”
• The Clash – “London Calling”
• Neil Diamond – “September Morn”
• Charlie Dore – “Pilot of the Airwaves”
• Fiddler’s Dram – “Day Trip to Bangor”
• Fleetwood Mac – “Sara”
• Steve Forbert – “Romeo’s Tune”
• Andy Forray – “Drac’s Back”
• Colleen Hewett – “Dreaming My Dreams With You” (#14 in ’80 End-of-Year chart)
• Janis Ian – “Fly Too High”
• Jackie – “Under Fire”
• Michael Jackson – “Rock With You”
• KC and the Sunshine Band – “Please Don’t Go” (#1 Feb. ’80, #10 in ’80 End-of-Year chart)
• M – “Moonlight and Muzak”
• Mi-Sex – “Computer Games” (#1 Dec. ’79, #19 in ’79 End-of-Year chart)
• Bette Middler – “My Knight in Black Leather”
• Monty Python – “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life”
• Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – “Refugee”
• Pink Floyd – “Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)” (#4 in ’80 End-of-Year chart)
• Player (1) – “Space Invaders” (#7 in ’80 End-of-Year chart)
• The Police – “Walking on the Moon”
• Pretenders – “Brass in Pocket” (#5 in ’80 End-of-Year chart)
• Cliff Richard – “Carrie”
• Kenny Rogers – “Coward of the County”
• Linda Ronstadt – “How Do I Make You”
• Rosebud – “Have a Cigar”
• The Sports – “Strangers on a Train”
• The Sugarhill Gang – “Rapper’s Delight”

That last track is of particular note, being the first song to popularise hip-hop to a wider audience.

But #1 from 26/01/80 – 16/02/80 was this song, reaching #12 in the End-of-Year charts: Michael Jackson with “Don’t Stop ’til You Get Enough”…

Suddenly Michael was more than just a member of The Jacksons. He was fresh, vibrant, cool and all grown up.

Now, just because 1980 appeared doesn’t mean that the ’70s suddenly disappeared, of course. For proof of how ’70s the early ’80s really were, look no further than this performance by John Stewart on the debut episode of America’s best pop/disco/cabaret TV series, Solid Gold, from back in January 1980…

(If you listen carefully, you can hear Stevie Nicks singing in the background. Gold, indeed!)

At the movies, you had the aforementioned Alien, as well as Escape from Alcatraz, Love at First Bite, The Rose and Star Trek: The Motion Picture, all playing over the summer.

And then there was this…

Finally, for that true, authentic late ’70s/early ’80s feel, here’s a Kit Kat ad from 1979…