Step right up as we complete the last full playlist of 1981 and the back end of playlist 33. What an episode we have. Are the Rolling Stones going to break up? Do Foreigner know they have one of the most iconic ballads of the 80s? Are Altered Images happy?Will Jon & Vangelis find their way home? Does Rod Stewart want to be a young turk and do ABBA simply want to go their separate ways? We'll probably answer none of this but have a bloody good go at speculating based on the facts, opinions and fun stuff as we reach the denouement of the 2nd year of the decade.

Links to playlist 33:

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In case the playlist hyperlinks don't work on your podcast platform of choice, the songs are:

8. The Rolling Stones - Waiting On A Friend

9. Foreigner - Waiting For A Girl Like You

10. Altered Images -I Could Be Happy

11. Jon & Vangelis - I'll Find My Way Home

12. Rod Stewart - Young Turks

13. ABBA - One Of Us

This episode will transport you back to the land of make believe (or the 80s, same difference) as we hit December 1981. In playlist 33 we get a Christmas Number one which the band didnt even want to release but which becomes one of the legendary songs of the decade. Duran Duran fill time between their debut album and Rio with a disco throwback, Status Quo get all misty eyed about rock and roll and Madness write cover a love song which by 1994 has me crooning outside a balcony at 3am. Yes folks, playlist 33 is a monster, give it a listen now!

Links to playlist 33:

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In case the playlist hyperlinks don't work on your podcast platform of choice, the songs are:

1. Bucks Fizz - Land of Make Believe

2. Status Quo - Rock n Roll

3. Duran Duran - My Own Way

4. Sheena Easton - You Could Have Been With Me

5. Dramatis & Gary Numan - Love Needs No Disguise

6. Madness - It Must Be Love

7. The Human League - Don't You Want Me

Don't go to sleep on this episode! For one it ends with Meatloaf's Dead Ringer For Love, so you'll be wide awake again.

In the second half of playlist 32, we transport you back to the end of November 1981. The Pretenders kick off proceedings with a desperate lament about love in a song which would take on sadder meaning in their future. Soft Cell then transport us to a lonely Bedsit after the party has ended, before Queen and David Bowie release one of the greatest almost accidental duets ever (great story behind this one!). We then introduce those jazz funk pioneers SHAKATAK to the mix before hearing some wedding bells with Godley and Creme. And finally, as mentioned, we introduce Meatloaf and bring along Cher for the ride. Get ready for some rock and roll and brew as we end with Dead Ringer For Love!

Links to Playlist 32:

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In case the playlist hyperlinks don't work on your podcast platform of choice, the songs are:

8. Pretenders - I Go To Sleep

9. Soft Cell - Bedsitter

10. Queen - Under Pressure (Feat. David Bowie)

11. SHAKATAK - Easier Said Than Done

12. Godley and Creme - Wedding Bells

13. Meatloaf - Dead Ringer For Love (Feat. Cher)

A lunatic has taken over the podcast! (Frankly he was never away). Or rather Fun Boy Three do, as we move forward into deepest November 1981 with Playlist 32. Messrs Hall, Staples and Golding become FB3 and launch their debut single as we explore the messy split from the Specials and what came next. Modern Romance then continue their formulaic party song rise through the charts and Diane Ross breaks from Motown. Earth Wind and Fire reinvent themselves for the new decade, Dollar with the help of Trevor Horn turn mirrors into magic and George Benson creates Grammy success from a compilation track. And finally Kim Wilde continues her conquering march through an epic year.

Links to Playlist 32:

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In case the playlist hyperlinks don't work on your podcast platform of choice, the songs are:

1. Fun Boy Three - The Lunatics Have Taken Over The Asylum

2. Modern Romance - Ay Ay Ay Ay Moosey

3. Diana Ross - Why Do Fools Fall In Love

4. Earth, Wind & Fire - Let's Groove

5. Dollar - Mirror Mirror

6. George Benson - Turn Your Love Around

7. Kim Wilde - Cambodia

A modern day podcaster, mean mean stride, today's podcaster, mean, mean pride.

Lets not Rush (geddit?) through this episode, as we explore the back half of playlist 31. Yes folks, we enter November 1981 with an eclectic mix of funk, synthpop wizardry and more 80s flavours. Kool and the Gang kick off our show continuing their stretch of great 80s tunes with Steppin Out. We then pivot into introducing Saxon to the New Wave of British Heavy Metal picture with their steam powered song Princess of the Night. We then complete the Sheffield synth-triumvirate as we add the glamorous ABC to the mix alongside the Human League and Heaven 17, with their debut Tears are Not Enough. Rush then drop the iconic cultural behemoth Tom Sawyer - we really delve into that one, before we meet Pigbag with their funky sounds and Sunny Day. And we end today's show examining Japan's swansong, the album Tin Drum and the single, Visions of China.

Links to Playlist 31:

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In case the playlist hyperlinks don't work on your podcast platform of choice, the songs are:

8. Kool And The Gang - Steppin Out

9. Saxon - Princess Of The Night

10. ABC - Tears Are Not Enough

11. Rush - Tom Sawyer

12. Pigbag - Sunny Day

13. Japan - Visions Of China

It may be Autumn 1981 but you won't need your duffle coat where we're going! Hot holidays, hot driving in the california hills, hot reggae and hot funk all feature in the first half of playlist 31.

We start with perhaps one of the most polarising tracks of the decade, an art installation in its own right, O Superman by Laurie Anderson, raising questions about the purpose of the state and the superficial image of protection. Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band then rev up the convertible and take us on a joy ride with Hollywood Nights. We then fly over to Spain, forget the sun block and look like a lobster in a british bar while listening to Begin the Beguine by Julio Iglesias as we remember the era of the package holiday. Trevor Walters then entertains with some delicious lovers rock and the beautiful song Love Me Tonight. We then introduce those funky youngsters Haircut 100 to the mix for their flirty foray into the charts with Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl). OMD take us on a history lesson with the almost choral Joan of Arc and The Police end the episode with a song very special to the 80s Mixtaper, Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic. It's a biggie!

Links to Playlist 31:

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In case the playlist hyperlinks don't work on your podcast platform of choice, the songs are:

1. Laurie Anderson - O Superman

2. Bob Seger And The Silver Bullet Band - Hollywood Nights

3. Julio Iglesias - Begin The Beguine

4. Trevor Walters - Love Me Tonight

5. Hair Cut 100 - Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl)

6. OMD - Joan Of Arc

7. The Police - Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic

We're back with the back half of playlist 31 and stories of rock glory from the best decade in pop. In this episode we introduce arena rock giants Foreigner to the picture with their apocryphal tale of the fan who sees a concert and becomes a rock star in their single Jukebox Hero. We don our best spandex, head and wrist warmers and get Physical with Olivia Newton-John and send the 80 work out revolution into overdrive (who's mum went to a Jazz and Tap class?). We get one of the most under-appreciated singles from the Human League's Dare album in Open Your Heart. Lovers and fans of Dudley More will appreciate our next track, the epically beautiful Arthurs Theme by Christopher Cross. The Cure take up time skipping with Charlotte Sometimes and we end the episode with the Four Tops big comeback with When She Was My Girl.

Links to Playlist 30

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In case the playlist hyperlinks don't work on your podcast platform of choice, the songs are:

8. Foreigner - Juke Box Hero

9. Olivia Newton-John - Physical

10. Human League - Open Your Heart

11. Christopher Cross - Arthurs Theme

12. The Cure - Charlotte Sometimes

13. Four Tops - When She Was My Girl

Eclectic Much?

Yup playlist 30 continues to demonstrate that even towards the end of 1981, the new decade is still embryonic in it's flavours. We kick off with The Police pivoting away from the reggae punk style as they focus on their next album Ghost in the Machine and break out the single Invisible Sun. Next we don our stripper heels and swing on the pole to Billy Squier's Stroke Me, which actually is a song more aligned with greasy politicians and magnates! Elvis Costello goes country with Good Year For The Roses and pops up again in Squeeze's production of Labelled With Love at the end of the episode. And inbetween we get the Siouxie and Budgie side project The Creatures, more Toyah and more Tom Tom Club. It's gonna be an extravaganza! (Johnny Briggs quote).

Links to Playlist 30

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Apple Music

In case the playlist hyperlinks don't work on your podcast platform of choice, the songs are:

1. The Police - Invisible Sun

2. Billy Squier - The Stroke

3. Elvis Costello & The Attractions - Good Year For The Roses

4. Toyah - Thunder In The Mountains

5. The Creatures - Mad Eyed Screamer

6. Tom Tom Club - Genius Of Love

7. Squeeze - Labelled With Love