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47 albums · 1981

Radio 1981: the albums whose songs were on the radio in 1981

· 3 min read · by 1001 Albums

In 1981 the radio played Kim Carnes's Bette Davis Eyes, Hall & Oates's Private Eyes and I Can't Go for That (No Can Do), Foreigner's Urgent and Waiting for a Girl Like You, Journey's Don't Stop Believin' and Who's Crying Now, Rick Springfield's Jessie's Girl, Stevie Nicks's Stop Draggin' My Heart Around and Edge of Seventeen, Phil Collins's In the Air Tonight, Genesis's Abacab, the Police's Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic, Olivia Newton-John's Physical, Electric Light Orchestra's Hold On Tight, Kim Wilde's Kids in America, the Go-Go's' Our Lips Are Sealed, the Human League's Don't You Want Me, Soft Cell's Tainted Love, Depeche Mode's Just Can't Get Enough, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark's Souvenir and Joan of Arc, Duran Duran's Girls on Film, Adam and the Ants' Stand and Deliver and Prince Charming and Madness's It Must Be Love. The Rolling Stones' Start Me Up, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts' I Love Rock 'n Roll and AC/DC's For Those About to Rock (We Salute You) were the year's rock, Earth, Wind & Fire's Let's Groove, Kool & the Gang's Get Down On It, Rick James's Super Freak, Luther Vandross's Never Too Much and Tom Tom Club's Genius of Love its soul and funk, UB40's One in Ten its reggae, and Alabama's Feels So Right came from country.

Beyond Britain and America it was the year of Kraftwerk's Computer Love, BAP's Verdamp lang her and the Spider Murphy Gang's Skandal im Sperrbezirk, of ABBA's One of Us and Stars on 45's medley of Beatles songs from the Netherlands, of Michel Sardou's Les lacs du Connemara and Alain Bashung's Vertige de l'amour, of Franco Battiato's Centro di gravità permanente and Vasco Rossi's Siamo solo noi, of Julio Iglesias's De niña a mujer, Miguel Bosé's Te diré and Rocío Jurado's Como una ola, of Roberto Carlos's Emoções, of Rush's Tom Sawyer from Canada, Men at Work's Who Can It Be Now? from Australia and Split Enz's History Never Repeats from New Zealand, and of Akira Terao's Ruby no Yubiwa from Japan.

The list has 47 albums that came out in 1981, chosen from memory of what was played, not from a chart. It leaves out the hits of 1981 whose albums came out the year before, REO Speedwagon's Keep On Loving You, Blondie's The Tide Is High, John Lennon's Woman, Kenny Rogers's Lady, Dolly Parton's 9 to 5, Stevie Wonder's Lately, Ultravox's Vienna, Visage's Fade to Grey and Joachim Witt's Goldener Reiter among them. About 32 hours of music, 5 days of a few albums each.

By genre

Rock 36%Pop 29%Soul & R&B 11%Other 24%
  • Rock 36%
  • Pop 29%
  • Soul & R&B 11%
  • Other 24%

The genres named most: pop, rock, new wave, pop rock, disco, hard rock.

The colours of the covers

A stripe for each cover, in the colour Tidal picks from it, sorted by hue; the greys at the end.

Where the music comes from

Music from 12 countries: United Kingdom 14, United States 12, Australia 4, Germany 3, Spain 3 and 7 more. The deeper the colour, the more albums: one, two to four, five to nine, ten and more.

The 1980s

More lists

Lists of On the radio first, then others; all of them on the blog. The blog.

46 albums · 1970

Radio 1970: the albums whose songs were on the radio in 1970

· 2 min read

In 1970 the radio played Simon & Garfunkel's Bridge over Troubled Water and Cecilia, the Beatles' Let It Be, George Harrison's My Sweet Lord, the Carpenters' (They Long to Be) Close to You and We've Only Just Begun, Bread's Make It with You, James Taylor's Fire and Rain, Elton John's Your Song, Neil Diamond's Cracklin' Rosie, Elvis Presley's I Just Can't Help Believin', Badfinger's No Matter What, the Kinks' Lola and Van Morrison's Moondance.

Rock 40%Pop 24%Soul & R&B 13%Other 23%
  • Rock 40%
  • Pop 24%
  • Soul & R&B 13%
  • Other 23%

Read and see the list

46 albums · 1971

Radio 1971: the albums whose songs were on the radio in 1971

· 2 min read

In 1971 the radio played Carole King's It's Too Late and I Feel the Earth Move, James Taylor's You've Got a Friend, Rod Stewart's Maggie May, John Lennon's Imagine, Paul and Linda McCartney's Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey, Cat Stevens's Peace Train and Moonshadow, Don McLean's American Pie, Nilsson's Without You, the Bee Gees' How Can You Mend a Broken Heart, Three Dog Night's An Old Fashioned Love Song, the Carpenters' Rainy Days and Mondays and Superstar, Cher's Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves, Melanie's Brand New Key, Carly Simon's Anticipation, Elton John's Tiny Dancer and Levon, Gilbert O'Sullivan's Nothing Rhymed and Mungo Jerry's Baby Jump.

Rock 47%Pop 25%Soul & R&B 14%Other 14%
  • Rock 47%
  • Pop 25%
  • Soul & R&B 14%
  • Other 14%

Read and see the list

46 albums · 1972

Radio 1972: the albums whose songs were on the radio in 1972

· 2 min read

In 1972 the radio played Neil Young's Heart of Gold, America's Ventura Highway, Elton John's Rocket Man and Honky Cat, the Eagles' Take It Easy, Carly Simon's You're So Vain, Paul Simon's Mother and Child Reunion, Chicago's Saturday in the Park, the Doobie Brothers' Listen to the Music, Steely Dan's Do It Again, Gilbert O'Sullivan's Clair, Rod Stewart's You Wear It Well, Michael Jackson's Ben and the Rolling Stones' Tumbling Dice.

Rock 47%Soul & R&B 20%Pop 12%Other 21%
  • Rock 47%
  • Soul & R&B 20%
  • Pop 12%
  • Other 21%

Read and see the list

45 albums · 1973

Radio 1973: the albums whose songs were on the radio in 1973

· 3 min read

In 1973 the radio played Elton John's Crocodile Rock, Daniel, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting), Paul McCartney and Wings' My Love, Pink Floyd's Money, the Rolling Stones' Angie, Led Zeppelin's D'yer Mak'er, Roberta Flack's Killing Me Softly with His Song, Jim Croce's Bad, Bad Leroy Brown, Tony Orlando and Dawn's Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree, Paul Simon's Kodachrome and Loves Me Like a Rock, Ringo Starr's Photograph and You're Sixteen, Diana Ross's Touch Me in the Morning, the Steve Miller Band's The Joker, the Doobie Brothers' Long Train Runnin' and China Grove, the Allman Brothers Band's Ramblin' Man, the Eagles' Tequila Sunrise and Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells.

Rock 46%Soul & R&B 20%Pop 18%Other 16%
  • Rock 46%
  • Soul & R&B 20%
  • Pop 18%
  • Other 16%

Read and see the list

46 albums · 1974

Radio 1974: the albums whose songs were on the radio in 1974

· 3 min read

In 1974 the radio played Eric Clapton's I Shot the Sheriff, Steely Dan's Rikki Don't Lose That Number, Supertramp's Dreamer and Bloody Well Right, Queen's Killer Queen, Elton John's The Bitch Is Back and Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me, Joni Mitchell's Help Me and Free Man in Paris, Olivia Newton-John's I Honestly Love You, John Denver's Annie's Song, Gordon Lightfoot's Sundown, Harry Chapin's Cat's in the Cradle, John Lennon's Whatever Gets You thru the Night, the Eagles' Best of My Love, Terry Jacks's Seasons in the Sun, Paper Lace's Billy Don't Be a Hero and The Night Chicago Died, the Bay City Rollers' Shang-a-Lang, the Rubettes' Sugar Baby Love and Billy Swan's I Can Help.

Rock 42%Pop 17%Soul & R&B 14%Other 27%
  • Rock 42%
  • Pop 17%
  • Soul & R&B 14%
  • Other 27%

Read and see the list

47 albums · 1975

Radio 1975: the albums whose songs were on the radio in 1975

· 3 min read

In 1975 the radio played Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody, Fleetwood Mac's Over My Head, the Eagles' One of These Nights and Lyin' Eyes, 10cc's I'm Not in Love, Elton John's Someone Saved My Life Tonight, Paul Simon's My Little Town, Wings' Listen to What the Man Said, Rod Stewart's Sailing, David Bowie's Fame and Young Americans, Roxy Music's Love Is the Drug, Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel's Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me), the Bay City Rollers' Bye Bye Baby, Captain & Tennille's Love Will Keep Us Together, Janis Ian's At Seventeen, Linda Ronstadt's Heat Wave and Hot Chocolate's You Sexy Thing.

Rock 38%Pop 19%Soul & R&B 18%Other 25%
  • Rock 38%
  • Pop 19%
  • Soul & R&B 18%
  • Other 25%

Read and see the list