1984

 

1983 has been a fairly predictable year, one of continuation with both familiar indie names (New Order, Depeche Mode and Vince Clarke doing whatever he feels like doing in any given week) and familiar old hands who were IPC critical favourites joining the amateur leagues for various reasons of their own (Elvis Costello, Robert Wyatt, Tom Robinson). 

There's also been a lot of fury in the racks as well with the anti-Falklands War sentiment seeping over from 1982, and the punk movement continuing to have its say lower down the charts, although there's been a clear weakening of the grip in this respect. Beyond that, it's hard to point towards unique trends or unexpected developments which aren't in the shape of Morrissey's ambitious quiff. It's hard not to get the feeling that The Smiths weren't just damn good at what they did, the hysteria around their arrival was due to the fact that they were also introducing something fresh to a scene which was beginning to become trapped in a predictable post-punk holding pattern. 

1984 approaches, and without introducing too many spoilers, it does feel as if huge changes occur in the indie charts ahead, many of them practical rather than stylistic. 

For one thing, a sluggishness sets in which feels unfamiliar. The indie charts have always been a place where the big sellers have hogged the top ten for weeks on end while the culty new releases buzz beneath them, but given the growing number of dominant groups with long sales tails - yer New Orders, Smiths, Cocteaus and Depeches - it feels more pronounced in 1984 and contributes to a much more static chart overall. The number of new entries each week feels proportionately very low by comparison, and there are a couple of weeks where there are none whatsoever and the rest of the chart is just a shuffling of the previous week's pack. 

This isn't the only thing that's contributed to a less populated Spotify playlist than usual, though. There's also the small matter of the IPC strike which took place over the summer of 1984, knocking out production of the NME and also (logically enough) publication of the NME Chart. What might have occurred during that period is a problem we may have to confront later - but in reality, we'll never truly know what might have been number one throughout that summer period unless somebody turns up with a batch of unpublished information. The odds of that happening are close to zero. 

There were also bigger business problems in 1984 which saw Pinnacle entering a period of crisis towards the tail end of the year, poor sales for the valve electronics aspect of their business causing the receiver to be called in. While Windsong eventually rescued their distribution side, this led to a number of artists and labels temporarily shifting distribution away from the indie sector and towards major labels, also creating a sense of stasis in the indie chart for a brief period. 

Stylistically though, it's possible to sense a shift occurring. The first few Creation releases make their presence felt in 1984 (spoiler - The Legend! does not chart) and while only one makes a major impression, some of the others show McGee was very astute about where underground pop might be going next, even if the records he offered up initially were seldom more than "quite good". Indeed, elsewhere it's also possible to spot a few groups who would later be seen as none-more-1986 indie acts just starting to build a fanbase and make a bit of headway, no doubt influenced by The Smiths sudden appearance as the biggest new name on the chart. 

But that's what's up ahead. For your last chance to kiss goodbye to 1983, dig into the Spotify playlist below. The 1984 list of all available Top 30 tunes is to your right. 

Meanwhile... I've also published some handy data and indexing for the number ones over here. Now you have a map, you lucky people. 

Furthermore, as we're now 42 singles deep into this project, it feels logical (and less onerous on any sane reader) to produce an overall playlist of the actual number ones. This can also be found on the right hand side of the page. To avoid spoilers, I'll add to this gradually after we've covered each new number one.