Tag Archives: Howard Jones

Off The Chart: 23 March 1985

Off The Chart: 23 March 1985

We’re stopping off in 1985 on this week’s Off The Chart for another two hour examination of the week’s UK singles chart. We’ll have the usual selection of obscure and forgotten hits, three of the week’s new albums, a round-up of the day’s goings-on, a sneaky peek at the Italian chart, and we’ll be back home for the top five in full before you know it.

  • Which singer-songwriter’s two biggest hits were both charity collaborations with other acts?
  • Who inspired the decade’s most successful producers to become songwriters too?
  • And which goth legends split up after their plans to cover an ABBA song fell through?

Tune in and find out!


Listen to Off The Chart on Mad Wasp Radio at 9pm every Tuesday! You can stream Mad Wasp Radio via their website, their apps for iOS or Android, or through TuneIn and MyTuner, or ask your smart speaker to “play Mad Wasp Radio” – and don’t forget to tweet along using the hashtag #OffTheChart. If you’re not around, you can hear the show again on Mad Wasp Radio at 10am on Friday, or catch up on Mixcloud after that.

Get the Extended Mix!

If you enjoy Off The Chart but find it’s just not long enough, why not join us on Patreon or Mixcloud Select? For a small monthly subscription you get access to the exclusive Extended Mix of the show every week with bonus 12″ mixes, additional chatter and the week’s top ten singles in full!

Our subscribers also get access to exclusive shows including Further Off The Chart in which we play some of the records that come up in conversation on the regular shows. You can even download shows to listen offline in the Mixcloud app! Please consider backing us – we really appreciate it and your subscription allows us to keep producing a new episode every single week.

There’s a podcast too!

For those of you who enjoy the nonsense we talk but don’t have time to listen to the music, we’ve put the talky bits together with some exclusive extras to make a podcast! This week’s episode sounds very strange due to, ahem, “technical issues”, but please stick with it because there’s an absolute bombshell about Phil Collins at the end.

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Spotify playlists

If you’ve missed a previous edition they’re all on our Mixcloud page, or for a taster of the music we play, listen to our Spotify playlist Way Off The Chart including one track from each show!

We also have a Spotify playlist for our #ICEOTWF feature, including all (well, most) of the international hits we’ve played since the feature began in March 2017. There are all sorts of oddities in here, all of which were hits somewhere in the world but not in the UK!

Off The Chart: 9 March 1984

Off The Chart: 9 March 1984

Beware the Ninth of March! Or something like that. Anyway, we’re off back to 1984 on this week’s Off The Chart with the usual full load of obscure and half-remembered hits, three of the week’s new albums, a round-up of … read more

Off The Chart: 12 January 1985

Off The Chart: 12 January 1985

It’s the 250th edition of Off The Chart this week, and they said it wouldn’t last! Despite everything we’re still here, revisiting the chart of this week in 1985 and dredging up the usual mix of obscure hits, tracks from … read more

Off The Chart: 17 March 1989

Off The Chart: 17 March 1989

Everything else might be cancelled but the show must go on at Off The Chart Towers! We’re here as usual with a look back at this day in 1989, including a brace of less familiar hits, three of the week’s … read more

Off The Chart: 14 January 1984

Off The Chart: 14 January 1984

We’re halfway through January already, but the remnants of Christmas 1983 are still hanging around as we revisit this week in 1984 on another Off The Chart! Join us for two hours of forgotten and half-remembered hits, plus tracks from … read more

Off The Chart: 10 December 1986

Off The Chart: 10 December 1986

It’s not quite Christmas, but we’re getting there! Join us for a trip back to 1986 on this week’s Off The Chart as we sift through another stack of forgotten and half-remembered hits, as well as three of the week’s … read more

Off The Chart: 22 October 1983

Off The Chart: 22 October 1983

Whether you’re painting a picture, playing cards or firing up the barbie, make sure you’re listening to this week’s Off The Chart! We’re going back to this day in 1983 for a load of forgotten and unremembered hits, three of … read more

Off The Chart: 27 August 1984

Off The Chart: 27 August 1984

After last week’s shenanigans, Steve and Julian are back in the relative safety of the studio for this week’s Off The Chart! Join them for a trip back to this day in 1984 with two hours of forgotten and half-remembered … read more

Sound of the Crowd – a Discography of the ’80s: Fourth Edition available now!

Sound of the Crowd - 4th Edition cover

Sound Of The Crowd: a Discography of the ’80sΒ is the ultimate record collector’s guide to the 1980s. In the era of multi-formatting, picture discs, coloured vinyl, multiple remixes, funny shaped records and tiny CDs you could lose down the back … read more

Off The Chart: 13 October 1986

Off The Chart: 13 October 1986

Come back to this day in 1986 for another two hours of hits, headlines and happy-ever-afters on this week’s Off The Chart! As always Steve and Julian scour the week’s UK singles chart for half-remembered hits, plus three tracks from … read more

Off The Chart: 8 September 1984

Off The Chart: 8 September 1984

Come back to this week in 1984 as Off The Chart takes another look at some less obvious hits! There’s also three tracks from one of the week’s biggest (and most controversial) albums, a look at the day’s events, a … read more

Rewind Scotland, Scone Palace, 20-22 Jul 2018

A Flock of Seagulls at Rewind Scotland 2018

Everyone’s favourite retro festival turned ten this year, so I expected Rewind to pull out all the stops. And they did just that. Regular gig pals Sarah and Pete joined me again for a jaunt to sunny Perth, where we … read more