49 Fun Facts About 1981 Music

Which newly signed solo singer bit the head off a dove during a CBS Records meeting in Los Angeles?

Ozzy Osbourne had planned to release doves as a peace gesture, but grabbed one and bit its head off instead. The notorious bat incident came a year later, on stage in Des Moines.

Which Dolly Parton song, with a typewriter rhythm tapped out on acrylic fingernails, topped the Hot 100 in February 1981?

9 to 5 loomed so large that Sheena Easton's own hit of the same name was retitled 'Morning Train' in America to avoid confusion, and both songs went to number one that year.

Which Blondie single, the first US number one to feature hip-hop verses, name-checks pioneer Fab 5 Freddy?

Rapture has Debbie Harry herself delivering the rhymes, and Jean-Michel Basquiat appears in its video only because Grandmaster Flash failed to turn up for the shoot.

Which estranged duo reunited in September 1981 for a free Central Park concert before some 500,000 people?

Simon & Garfunkel had split after Bridge over Troubled Water in 1970, and their Great Lawn reunion, staged as a benefit for the run-down park, became a live album and a TV special.

Which band's ballad 'Waiting for a Girl Like You' sat a record ten weeks at number two without reaching the top?

Foreigner were held off the top for nine weeks by Olivia Newton-John's 'Physical', and when that finally slipped, Hall & Oates leapfrogged them to number one instead.

Which metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1981 after a Danish drummer advertised for bandmates in The Recycler?

Metallica began when James Hetfield answered Lars Ulrich's Recycler ad, which asked for players into Tygers of Pan Tang, Diamond Head and Iron Maiden. Their debut Kill 'Em All followed in 1983.

Which John Lennon single, a two-week UK number one, knocked his own re-released 'Imagine' off the top?

Woman came out weeks after Lennon's murder, which had already sent the reissued 'Imagine' to number one; he had called the song a grown-up version of the Beatles' 'Girl'.

Which Specials single was UK number one for three weeks in 1981 as riots broke out across English cities?

Ghost Town could not hold the band together: at the Top of the Pops recording for their number one, several members announced they were leaving.

Which Adam and the Ants single, its video a 'dandy highwayman' romp, debuted at UK number one and stayed five weeks?

Stand and Deliver debuted at the top of the UK chart on 3 May and became the year's third best-selling single, passing a million copies. Its video nods to Monty Python's 'Dennis Moore' sketch.

Which album, ABBA's last studio release for four decades, was recorded soon after both couples in the quartet split?

The Visitors was begun in March 1981, weeks after Benny and Frida announced their divorce, and Björn wrote 'When All Is Said and Done' about it; no ABBA album followed until Voyage in 2021.

Which hit 1970s band effectively ended in April 1981 when long-serving guitarist Denny Laine walked out?

Wings, Paul and Linda McCartney's band since 1971, had been on hold since Paul's 1980 cannabis arrest in Japan scrapped their tour, and a disgruntled Laine, seeing no tour plans, quit.

Which George Harrison single, a tribute to John Lennon, had Ringo Starr on drums and Paul McCartney on backing vocals?

All Those Years Ago began as a song Harrison wrote for Ringo Starr to sing; after Lennon's murder he took it back and rewrote the lyrics as a tribute to his old bandmate.

Which AC/DC album, the follow-up to Back in Black, gave the band a first US number one?

For Those About to Rock borrows the salute of Roman gladiators, an idea Angus Young took from a book about the arena, and it gave the band their first US chart-topping album.

Which Kool & the Gang single, the band's only Hot 100 number one, held the top for two weeks in February 1981?

Celebration was climbing the chart when the 52 American hostages came home from Iran in January 1981, and radio stations played it to mark their release.

Which Stevie Wonder single was issued to push for a US national holiday honouring Martin Luther King Jr?

Happy Birthday became the anthem of Wonder's campaign, which brought a rally to Washington on King's birthday in January 1981, and Ronald Reagan signed the holiday into law in 1983.

Which Bette Midler ballad won her the Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in February 1981?

The Rose was not written for the film: Amanda McBroom had dashed it off at her piano a year or two earlier, and Midler fought to get it onto the soundtrack.

Which Welsh singer, the UK's top singles seller of the 1980s, took 'This Ole House' and 'Green Door' to number one?

Shakin' Stevens had been performing since the 1960s when he was cast as Elvis in the 1977 West End musical Elvis!, three years before the hits began.

Which novelty dance hit, later voted the most annoying record of all time, reached UK number two in 1981?

The Birdie Song, a hit for the Tweets, began as 'Der Ententanz', a duck dance that Swiss accordionist Werner Thomas wrote in the 1950s and played in restaurants for years before it swept the world.

Which Adam and the Ants album, the UK's best seller of the year, won Best British Album at the 1982 Brits?

Kings of the Wild Frontier was made by a rebuilt band: Malcolm McLaren had lured the original Ants away to form Bow Wow Wow, so Adam returned with two drummers and a Burundi beat.

Which band, formed by Martyn Ware and Ian Marsh on quitting the Human League, released Penthouse and Pavement?

Heaven 17 took its name from a fictional band in A Clockwork Orange, and singer Glenn Gregory had been Ware and Marsh's first choice to front the Human League. Philip Oakey got that job instead.

Which Genesis album was the first recorded at the Farm, the Surrey studio the trio bought in 1980?

Abacab takes its name from the title track's early running order, sections A-B-A-C-A-B, a sequence the song had left behind by the time it was finished.

Which hit-making duo split in June 1981, one half moving to Maui to become a self-described 'avocado rancher'?

Steely Dan went quiet for more than a decade after Gaucho, with Walter Becker farming in Hawaii and Donald Fagen going solo with The Nightfly, until the pair reunited to tour in 1993.

Which synth-pop star announced his retirement from touring with farewell concerts at Wembley Arena in April 1981?

Gary Numan played three sold-out farewell nights at Wembley at the height of his fame, but the retirement proved short-lived and he was soon back on stage.

The Human League's 1981 album Dare was designed to look like an issue of which fashion magazine?

Vogue supplied the name as well as the look: Philip Oakey admitted lifting the title from a one-word Vogue cover line, and the album's fourth single became that year's Christmas number one.

Which Depeche Mode debut album, released on Mute, was the only one to feature founding member Vince Clarke?

Speak & Spell was released by Mute in the UK and Sire in the US, and Vince Clarke quit soon after, going on to form Yazoo with Alison Moyet. Martin Gore then took over the songwriting.

Which group did singer Terry Hall form on quitting the Specials at their 1981 peak?

Fun Boy Three took Hall, Neville Staple and Lynval Golding from ska to a sparse sound built on percussion, and they launched Bananarama by sharing a hit with them.

Which U2 album was written in a rush after a briefcase holding Bono's lyrics went missing at a Portland show?

October was hurried out with improvised lyrics after the loss in Portland, and the briefcase finally found its way back to Bono in 2004, 23 years after it went missing.

Which New Order debut single was among the last songs written by Joy Division, with lyrics by Ian Curtis?

Ceremony carried Joy Division into New Order: the survivors re-recorded it without Ian Curtis to launch the new band, then released a second version later in 1981.

Which performance artist's 'O Superman', championed by DJ John Peel, reached number two on the UK singles chart?

Laurie Anderson first pressed only 1,000 copies and posted them out from her own apartment; after John Peel's airplay a British distributor asked for 80,000 and Warner Bros. stepped in.

Madness's UK number four hit 'It Must Be Love' was a cover of a 1971 single by which singer-songwriter?

Labi Siffre makes a cameo in the Madness video as a violinist in a white tuxedo; his own version had reached number 14 a decade earlier.

Which newly recruited Squeeze keyboardist sang lead on 'Tempted', at the suggestion of producer Elvis Costello?

Paul Carrack got the vocal by accident: the band replayed the song in a slow Motown groove during studio downtime, and Costello rushed in to tape it and told him to sing.

Which Elvis Costello album of country covers was recorded in Nashville with a reluctant producer, Billy Sherrill?

Almost Blue went on sale with a tongue-in-cheek sticker warning that it contained country and western music and might upset the narrow-minded, as Costello expected a backlash from his own fans.

Which Visage single, fronted by Steve Strange with a French spoken-word part, peaked at number eight in the UK?

Fade to Grey began as an instrumental, and its French lines were spoken by Brigitte Arendt, then the girlfriend of drummer Rusty Egan; it went on to top the chart in West Germany.

Cliff Richard's 'Wired for Sound' video, shot in a shopping centre, was filmed in which English new town?

Milton Keynes Shopping Centre gave the video its gleaming, futuristic backdrop, a good match for a song written as a tribute to the newly invented Sony Walkman.

Which singer's album Crimes of Passion won her first Grammy, for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance, in February 1981?

Pat Benatar retired the album's big hit, 'Hit Me with Your Best Shot', from her shows in 2022 in deference to the victims of America's mass shootings.

Which Go-Go's single was co-written by Jane Wiedlin and the Specials' Terry Hall, drawing on their brief affair?

Our Lips Are Sealed grew from lyrics Hall posted to Wiedlin after their tour romance; his own group's slower version later made the UK top ten, where the Go-Go's had stalled at 47.

Which Oak Ridge Boys hit, with bass singer Richard Sterban's 'oom papa mow mow' chorus, reached the pop top five?

Elvira was not inspired by a person at all: Dallas Frazier wrote it in 1965 after spotting the sign for Elvira Street while stopped at a junction in East Nashville.

Which Styx album, home to 'The Best of Times' and 'Too Much Time on My Hands', topped the US chart in 1981?

Paradise Theatre tells the story of a real Chicago movie palace, from grand opening to demolition, as a metaphor for America's changing fortunes.

Which Motörhead live album, despite its title recorded in Leeds and Newcastle, debuted at UK number one?

No Sleep 'til Hammersmith went straight in at number one while the band were away touring America; Lemmy, asleep in New York when the call came, told the caller to ring back before the news sank in.

Which fragrance brand became the exclusive sponsor of the Rolling Stones' 1981 US tour?

Jōvan Musk's maker paid the Stones a multimillion-dollar sum and had its name printed on every concert ticket, an early landmark in rock sponsorship.

Which Grace Jones album, home to 'Pull Up to the Bumper', was voted album of the year by the writers of NME?

Nightclubbing was cut in the Bahamas with Sly and Robbie, and its best-known single ran into trouble: the suggestive lyric of 'Pull Up to the Bumper' limited its radio airplay.

Which former backing singer on David Bowie's Young Americans made his solo debut with the album Never Too Much?

Luther Vandross was a busy backing and jingle singer until Roberta Flack urged him to start a career of his own, and his debut's title track topped the R&B chart.

Which single sung by Bill Withers but credited to saxophonist Grover Washington Jr. won the Grammy for Best R&B Song?

Just the Two of Us began with Ralph MacDonald and William Salter, who sent it to Withers; he agreed to sing it if he could dress up the words, and the writers shared the Grammy.

Which Lesley Gore hit topped the UK chart in 1981, remade by Dave Stewart and Barbara Gaskin?

It's My Party had never topped the UK chart in Gore's version, and the Stewart-Gaskin remake also hit number one in Ireland and New Zealand. This Dave Stewart is the ex-Hatfield and the North keyboardist, not the Eurythmic.

Which Black Flag debut album, with new singer Henry Rollins, did MCA refuse to distribute as 'anti-parent'?

Damaged had already been pressed when MCA's president Al Bergamo pulled out, so the band went to the plant and stuck his 'anti-parent record' verdict over the MCA logo.

Which island nation made its Eurovision debut with the song 'Monika', performed by a group called Island?

Cyprus held no televised final for its debut: the broadcaster invited songs from Cypriot composers, chose 'Monika' itself, and saw it finish sixth in Dublin.

Which Yoko Ono single, whose unmastered tape John Lennon was holding when he was shot, was released in February 1981?

Walking on Thin Ice was finished on 8 December 1980, hours before Lennon was murdered, and in 2003 a remix finally gave Ono her first number one on the US dance chart.

George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley played together in which short-lived ska band before forming Wham! in Bushey?

The Executive was a school-friends' band that also included David Mortimer, later known as David Austin; when it folded, Michael and Ridgeley carried on as a duo and wrote 'Wham Rap!'.

Which Def Leppard album, released in July 1981, was the first produced by Back in Black's producer Mutt Lange?

High 'n' Dry began the partnership with Lange, who sharpened the band's choruses and stacked backing vocals and stayed on to produce Pyromania and Hysteria.