Tag Archives: Modern Romance

Off The Chart: 23 November 1981

Off The Chart: 23 November 1981

Not to make you feel old or anything, but we’re going back a full forty years on this week’s Off The Chart to revisit the UK singles chart from this day in 1981. Sorry about that. But we’ll attempt to make up for it with two hours of less obvious hits, tracks from three of the week’s new albums, a look at what was going on that day, an Italian hit from the Spanish chart, and concluding with the UK’s top five in full whether you want them or not.

  • Who released their first album without having decided on a lead singer?
  • Who became an overnight sensation in the UK after a decade of success in Europe?
  • And which iconic bassline came about because the bassist forgot what he’d been playing?

Tune in and find out!


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

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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.

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: 15 January 1983

Off The Chart: 15 January 1983

Are you getting the hang of the Tuesday evening slot for Off The Chart yet? Tune in tonight for a trip back to this day in 1983, with a brace of forgotten and half-remembered hits, three tracks from one of … read more

Let’s Rock Scotland – Steve’s festival diary

Let's Rock Scotland

“Are we on the right bus?” A question, seemingly genuine, from one of a gaggle of people attempting to board an already crowded vehicle while struggling with a picnic so vast the local Co-Op must have had to close early. … read more

Let’s Rock Scotland: Dalkeith Country Park, 23 June 2018

Billy Ocean at Let's Rock Scotland

Since Rewind is brilliant, I couldn’t resist giving another retro festival a go, especially with such a stellar lineup as Let’s Rock. Joining me in this new adventure was regular festival buddy Sarah, long-suffering husband Pete, and new gig pal … read more

Off The Chart: 10 March 1982

Off The Chart: 10 March 1982

Come back to 1982 with Steve and Julian as they uncover the week’s forgotten hits on another Off The Chart! There’s also three tracks from a featured album, a hit from the Billboard Hot 100, a look at the day’s … read more

Off The Chart: 18 November 1983

Off The Chart: 18 November 1983

Come back to this day in 1983 on Off The Chart as Steve and Julian cast an eye over the week’s UK singles chart. There’ll be some familiar hits, some vaguely familiar hits and hits you almost certainly haven’t heard … read more

Off The Chart: 12 August 1982

We’re going back 35 years on Off The Chart as Steve and Julian dismantle the chart of 12 August 1982! There are some forgotten hits, a look at the day’s events, three tracks from a featured album, a song from … read more

1982 Christmas Top 40

Keith Harris

You might have thought that by 1982 old-fashioned analogue music would be dead and the entire chart would be computer generated. Of course that scenario was still a good 25 years away. In fact synthpop was struggling, with the likes … read more

1981 Christmas Top 40

The Human League

1981 had been something of a transitional year. The past had been condensed into a series of bite-sized chunks thanks to a slew of medley singles – the works of the Beatles (Stars On 45), ABBA (Stars On 45 2), … read more