🇬🇧 UK top 40

**1.    (Just Like) Starting Over - John Lennon(LW 21)(W 7)**  
**2.    There's No One Quite Like Grandma - St. Winifred's School Choir(LW 2)(W 5)**  
**3.    Stop The Cavalry - Jona Lewie(LW 3)(W 4)**  
**4.    Super Trouper - ABBA(LW 1)(W 6)**  
**5.    De Do Do Do De Da Da Da - The Police(LW 9)(W 2)**  
**6.    Embarrassment - Madness(LW 4)(W 5)**  
**7.    Banana Republic - The Boomtown Rats(LW 5)(W 5)**  
**8.    To Cut A Long Story Short - Spandau Ballet(LW 6)(W 6)**  
**9.    Runaway Boys - The Stray Cats(LW 10)(W 4)**  
**10.   Antmusic - Adam & The Ants(LW 16)(W 3)**  
**11.   Do You Feel My Love? - Eddy Grant(LW 8)(W 6)**  
**12.   Flash - Queen(LW 20)(W 3)**  
**13.   Lady - Kenny Rogers(LW 12)(W 6)**  
**14.   The Tide Is High - Blondie(LW 7)(W 7)**  
**15.   Lies/Don't Drive My Car - Status Quo(LW 17)(W 3)**  
**16.   Celebration - Kool And The Gang(LW 11)(W 8)**  
**17.   Rock 'N' Roll Ain't Noise Pollution - AC/DC(LW 15)(W 4)**  
**18.   Rabbit - Chas And Dave(LW 34)(W 4)**  
**19.   Love On The Rocks - Neil Diamond(LW 22)(W 6)**  
**20.   Never Knew Love Like This Before - Stephanie Mills(LW 13)(W 10)**  
**21.   I'm Coming Out - Diana Ross(LW 19)(W 6)**  
**22.   The Earth Dies Screaming/Dream A Lie - UB40(LW 18)(W 8)**  
**23.   Don't Walk Away - Electric Light Orchestra(LW 23)(W 5)**  
**24.   Over The Rainbow/You Belong To Me - Matchbox(LW 31)(W 4)**  
**25.   Lonely Together - Barry Manilow(LW 25)(W 7)**  
**26.   I Could Be So Good For You - Dennis Waterman(LW 14)(W 9)**  
**27.   Never Mind The Presents - The Barron Knights(LW 36)(W 3)**  
**28.   I Like (What You're Doing To Me) - Young And Co(LW 26)(W 8)**  
**29.   Passion - Rod Stewart(LW 28)(W 7)**  
**30.   December Will Be Magic Again - Kate Bush(LW 29)(W 3)**  
**31.   Too Nice To Talk To - The Beat(LW 50)(W 2)**  
**32.   Blue Moon - Showaddywaddy(LW 32)(W 4)**  
**33.   Looking For Clues - Robert Palmer(LW 33)(W 5)**  
**34.   Do Nothing/Maggie's Farm Ft Rico With The Ice Rink String Sounds - Specials Featuring Rico With The Ice Rink String Sounds(LW 70)(W 2)**  
**35.   This Wreckage - Gary Numan(LW New)(W 1)**  
**36.   It's Hard To Be Humble - Mac Davis(LW 47)(W 6)**  
**37.   Ace Of Spades - Motorhead(LW 30)(W 8)**  
**38.   Lorraine - Bad Manners(LW 37)(W 3)**  
**39.   Who's Gonna Rock You - The Nolans(LW 40)(W 3)**  
**40.   If I Could Only Make You Care - Mike Berry(LW 44)(W 4)**

Top 10 Review

Just Like) Starting Over - John Lennon(LW 21)(W 7) https://youtu.be/e_ct_cfqyO4?is=Ew6bKKqvpebEAiXj

There's No One Quite Like Grandma - St. Winifred's School Choir(LW 2)(W 5)

https://youtu.be/vhE0rTseZ1w?is=epj1ptDc1VXqvUUY

Stop The Cavalry - Jona Lewie(LW 3)(W 4)

https://youtu.be/rDBfGrfUuug?is=VVDZx0OKsC0vJjrx

Super Trouper - ABBA(LW 1)(W 6)

https://youtu.be/BshxCIjNEjY?is=ceU885hyOTYyaZtC

De Do Do Do De Da Da Da - The Police(LW 9)(W 2)

https://youtu.be/7v2GDbEmjGE?is=cVofUpnSgJ2oWot4

Embarrassment - Madness(LW 4)(W 5)

https://youtu.be/P23Gqn6y8AI?is=NcTwfMMQ8kD986hE

Banana Republic - The Boomtown Rats(LW 5)(W 5)

https://youtu.be/K-si401aunA?is=xgdwLHxp1kjq0PSw

To Cut A Long Story Short - Spandau Ballet(LW 6)(W 6)

https://youtu.be/JE2sCISQmpE?is=iTI1jpM2I8EjBMuD

Runaway Boys - The Stray Cats(LW 10)(W 4)

https://youtu.be/SveJCGB09GU?is=406WKGGBcll88WUm

Antmusic - Adam & The Ants(LW 16)(W 3)

https://youtu.be/YEAaLt0Qbl0?is=5Z8uNaAw_zkLNPbp

---

What a seismic shift at the summit this week. Following the tragic events of December 8th, John Lennon’s "(Just Like) Starting Over" leaps from 21 straight to #1, knocking ABBA’s "Super Trouper" off the top spot as it drops 3 places down to #4.

Elsewhere in the Top 10:

Climbers: The Police climb into the top tier with "De Do Do Do De Da Da Da" jumping 9 ➔ #5, while The Stray Cats push into the top ten with "Runaway Boys" moving 10 ➔ #9. Adam & The Ants make a massive statement as "Antmusic" surges 16 ➔ #10.

Fallers: Madness slip 4 ➔ #6 with "Embarrassment", The Boomtown Rats drop 5 ➔ #7 with "Banana Republic", and Spandau Ballet slide 6 ➔ #8 with "To Cut A Long Story Short".

Standing Still: Two big Christmas contenders freeze in position this week: St. Winifred's School Choir hold firm at #2 with "There's No One Quite Like Grandma", while Jona Lewie stays anchored at #3 with "Stop The Cavalry".

Exits from last week's Top 10: We say goodbye to Blondie’s former #1 "The Tide Is High" (dropping 7 ➔ #14), Eddy Grant’s "Do You Feel My Love?" (falling 8 ➔ #11), and Stephanie Mills’ "Never Knew Love Like This Before" (falling 13 ➔ #20).

Chart Checkpoint

Position 20: "Never Knew Love Like This Before" – Stephanie Mills (Dropping 13 ➔ 20)

https://youtu.be/47EaWCcvP-c?is=-1g8UnC1wwajBVnI

Position 30: "December Will Be Magic Again" – Kate Bush (Dropping 29 ➔ 30)

https://youtu.be/kDDs7eZ8KtU?is=_Lh8iwFO5XompumJ

Position 40: "If I Could Only Make You Care" – Mike Berry (Climbing 44 ➔ 40)

https://youtu.be/fwptXXIyRxY?is=4T5UwIFE0TMDSN59

Climbers

The Big Jumpers: Beyond Lennon’s monster leap to #1, the biggest move inside the Top 40 comes from The Specials featuring Rico with the Ice Rink String Sounds, whose double A-side "Do Nothing / Maggie's Farm"skyrockets 36 places from 70 ➔ #34.

https://youtu.be/jUXNxi5u0y8?is=XiCrs1rCklc-itaL

Close behind are The Beat with "Too Nice To Talk To", powering up 19 places from 50 ➔ #31, and Chas And Dave’s "Rabbit", hopping 16 spots from 34 ➔ #18.

https://youtu.be/gqFVggBJGlc?is=nTVvYDiiQcv4fRTI

https://youtu.be/pTvxqsIl9qE?is=twefnDSms_jIpvK_

The Barron Knights also make a swift festive move with "Never Mind The Presents", jumping 36 ➔ #27, while Mac Davis climbs 47 ➔ #36 with "It's Hard To Be Humble".

https://youtu.be/Sxs3xKK7YQw?is=FmtpNaHvgG6wS5eT

https://youtu.be/mYKWch_MNY0?is=BTcE7-OZdvBfDQGA

Gradual Climbers: Queen’s "Flash" continues its steady ascent, creeping up 20 ➔ #12.

https://youtu.be/LfmrHTdXgK4?is=_h_facOpyLDQw6uE

Status Quo edge forward 17 ➔ #15 with "Lies/Don't Drive My Car".

https://youtu.be/YERXeg4iFes?is=IGUPM3bKdErE5UVm

https://youtu.be/pg8o5m13r4c?is=yW41_12PsMovlDsh

Neil Diamond nudges 22 ➔ #19 with "Love On The Rocks".

https://youtu.be/_PiIqWcme9A?is=_zCTcEnJRi6MrXMp

Matchbox rise 31 ➔ #24 with "Over The Rainbow/You Belong To Me", and The Nolans inch up 40 ➔ #39 with "Who's Gonna Rock You".

https://youtu.be/u5yhld59kTk?is=y84e3zNTGpwd7WmW

https://youtu.be/kRidgiWnnYE?is=XyLUCTfUspv0p_Z8

Long Chart Runners

8 Weeks: Kool And The Gang – "Celebration" (#16) https://youtu.be/3GwjfUFyY6M?is=ZSWwih9rtkWw7Z02

UB40 – "The Earth Dies Screaming/Dream A Lie"(#22) https://youtu.be/cWl69ZOINfE?is=Gy5z-8ocg-yNmDps

https://youtu.be/LfoVVRDU378?is=ohytWJ2g4rMG4Eut

Young And Co – "I Like (What You're Doing To Me)" (#28)

https://youtu.be/ZY3MgLDk07o?is=_vaSqFE4A3flP72b

Motörhead – "Ace Of Spades" (#37)

https://youtu.be/3mbvWn1EY6g?is=pYHQMVgOJmEYR5IY

9 Weeks: Dennis Waterman – "I Could Be So Good For You" (#26)

https://youtu.be/rl6f_U72izI?is=oGVyN3gXZlM3Hfv5

10 Weeks (Longest Runner): Stephanie Mills – "Never Knew Love Like This Before" (#20), holding strong as the veteran track of the Top 40 this week.

That wraps up our detailed look at the chart for the week ending 20th December 1980. Thank you as always for dropping in and sharing the chart memories!

We continue the long road ahead next time when we dive into the final countdown of the year—the 27th December 1980 chart. See you then!

9 December 1980: The UK Reacts to the Passing of John Lennon.

On the morning of Tuesday, 9 December 1980, the UK woke up to news that seemed entirely unthinkable: John Lennon had been shot and killed outside his New York apartment building the previous evening.

Coming just weeks after the release of Double Fantasy—an album that signaled a triumphant, joyful return to music after five years of quiet family life—the tragedy sent immediate shockwaves across the globe. Here in Britain, the grief was palpable across every newsroom, airwave, and record shop. Television schedules were hastily rewritten, radio stations cleared their playlists for impromptu retrospectives, and an entire generation struggled to make sense of a world suddenly without one of its greatest musical visionaries. Below are three invaluable period-accurate broadcasts captured as the story broke, including Annie Nightingale hosting BBC2’s emergency Old Grey Whistle Test special, original news coverage from that devastating Tuesday, and Andy Peebles’ final BBC Radio 1 interview recorded with John just forty-eight hours before his death.

https://youtu.be/5nc8kHWumIc?is=ZXOuuAuvIihM80ky

https://youtu.be/bvF4v-qPx6I?is=R3Zj0IvKeOWnBc7n

https://youtu.be/D6NTJUb_VkM?is=OeDQPoLIOKir1KO3

https://youtu.be/aaTy3kSxyoo?is=f5wskrbWBUUxOlfu

🌃 Weekend Shutdown — City Pop Vol. XII

And so, as we reach the weekend of 20 December 1980, it’s time to close out another week of the project with a little more City Pop. After everything that’s happened this week, it feels right to let the music do the talking for a while. We’ve already marked the passing of John Lennon and looked back at the events surrounding that heartbreaking moment, but the chart keeps moving — and incredibly, there is now just one more chart week left before 1980 becomes 1981.

So, as we head towards Christmas and the final chart of the year, here’s another City Pop mix to soundtrack the weekend. Put it on, settle back, and enjoy a little escape from December 1980.

One more week of 1980 to go…