1980 in music
All you want to know about 1980 in music
| List of years in music (Table) |
|---|
| … 1970 • 1971 • 1972 • 1973 • 1974 • 1975 • 1976 • 1977 • 1978 • 1979 – 1980 – 1981 • 1982 • 1983 • 1984 • 1985 • 1986 • 1987 • 1988 • 1989 • 1990 … |
| Related time period or subjects |
| … 1977 • 1978 • 1979 – 1980 – 1981 • 1982 • 1983 … … 1950s • 1960s • 1970s – 1980s – 1990s • 2000s • 2010s … … 19th century – 20th century – 21st century … |
| Art Archaeology Architecture Literature Music Science more |
Contents |
Events
January
- January 1 - The year begins with a strong disco backlash, which causes the majority of musicians to abandon the use of acoustic and analog instruments in an attempt to distance themselves from anything related to disco (with the exception of, ironically enough, the drum machine). The decade will be dominated by digitally synthesized music and numerous musicians who had played in disco orchestras find themselves unemployed. Cliff Richard is appointed an MBE by Queen Elizabeth II. The only other pop music acts to be created MBEs are the Beatles and Elton John.
- January 1 The Melbourne Music scene explodes with independent bands, with various influences from US and UK Punk/New Wave. The Zorros audition Drummer Greg Pedley on new years day.
- January 7 - At the age of 45, songwriter Larry Williams is found dead in his Los Angeles, California home of a gunshot wound to the head. Investigators are never able to determine whether his death was a murder or suicide.
- January 13 - The Beach Boys, Grateful Dead, and Jefferson Starship perform at a benefit concert at Oakland Coliseum for the people of Kampuchea.
- January 16 - Paul McCartney is arrested in Tokyo for possession of a half pound of marijuana. The remaining part of McCartney's tour had to be canceled.
- January 25 - Paul McCartney is released from a Japanese jail and is kicked out of the country by Japanese authorities.
- January - Daniel Amos and Randy Stonehill wrap up the first part of the Amos and Randy Tour in Toronto. Both artists are joined on stage by Larry Norman for an encore. The event makes the news on local television and newspapers.
- January - The Buggles created their Music video for their song Living in the Plastic Age.
February
- February 8 - David Bowie and his wife of nearly 10 years, Angie, file for divorce. Bowie gets custody of their 9 year old son, Zowie
- February 14 - Lou Reed marries Sylvia Morales in New York City's Greenwich Village
- February 19 - Bon Scott, lead singer of AC/DC, dies in London. Although common folklore cites pulmonary aspiration of vomit as the cause of his death, the official cause was listed as "Acute alcohol poisoning" and "Death by Misadventure".
- February 29 - Buddy Holly's trademark eyeglasses and the Big Bopper's wristwatch are "rediscovered" in old police files by the Mason City, Iowa Sheriff. Holly and the Big Bopper were killed in a plane crash on February 3, 1959 along with singer Ritchie Valens.
March
- March 1 - Patti Smith marries former MC5 member Fred "Sonic" Smith
- March 3 - Sotheby's Auction house in London auctions off a Rivera Hotel, Las Vegas napkin signed by Elvis Presley for 500 pounds. Other items auctioned included four American dollar bills autographed by the Beatles, for 220 pounds and a collection of personal letters belonging to the Rolling Stones, also for 220 pounds
- March 8-March 16 - Tbilisi Rock Festival (1980): the first state-sanctioned rock music festival in the Soviet Union.
- March 14 - Record producer Quincy Jones receives a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame
- March 19 - Elvis Presley's autopsy is subpoenaed during the trial of Dr. George Nichopoulous, who would later be found guilty of overprescribing drugs to Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and other clients.
April–December
- April 13 - The Broadway musical Grease closes its run of 3,388 performances, making it the longest running show on Broadway up until that time.
- April 14 - A member of the New Jersey State assembly introduces a resolution to make Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run" the official state song.
- April 17 - As the "official guests of State", Bob Marley and the Wailers perform at Zimbabwe's Independence festival. Marley calls the event the "greatest honor of my life."
- April 30 - The Roger Daltrey film, McVicar, opens in London.
- May 4 - America's Top 10, the television version of radio's American Top 40 and hosted by Casey Kasem, debuts this week in syndication.
- May 18 - Ian Curtis, vocalist of pioneering post-punk group Joy Division, hangs himself in his Macclesfield home. His death comes just days before Joy Division are scheduled to begin their first U.S. tour.
- June - Rock and Roll pioneer Bill Haley performs for the last time during a tour of South Africa. After this tour, his health deteriorates and he dies in February 1981. July 1980 marks the 25th anniversary of Haley's "Rock Around the Clock" reaching No. 1 on the American singles charts.
- July 11 - Ringo Starr steps back into recording a new studio album.
- August 23 – The Heatwave festival near Toronto featured The B-52's, the Talking Heads, The Pretenders, Elvis Costello and many others.
- August 31 - Karen Carpenter marries Thomas Burris in their shortly-lived marriage of three years. "Because We Are in Love" is played at their wedding.
- September 20 - Ozzy Osbourne's breakthrough debut album Blizzard of Ozz is released in the UK.
- September 25 - Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham found dead at age 32.
- November 21 - The Eagles' Don Henley is arrested when cocaine, Quaaludes, and marijuana were found in his hotel room after a nude 16 year old prostitute had drug-related seizures. Henley is also subsequently charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
- December - Duran Duran signs with EMI after finalizing its lineup and touring as a support act for Hazel O'Connor.
- December 4 - Led Zeppelin disbands after John Bonham dies.
- December 7 - Darby Crash, leader of seminal L.A. punk band The Germs dies of a heroin overdose in a suicide pact.
- December 8 - John Lennon is shot dead outside of his apartment building in New York City.
Other events
- Record labels established in 1980
- Record labels disestablished in 1980
- The single "Groovy Ghost Show" by Casper is one of the first recorded hip hop music from Chicago
- The Hee Bee Gee Bees release cutting parody of Bee Gees' disco-style single. Though not a hit in the UK, it is a huge success elsewhere, particularly in Australia, and helps to encourage the Gibb brothers to diversify stylistically
- Network Riddum Band's Breaking Out is the first occurrence of the term
- Phil Collins signs a contract with Atlantic Records to distribute his solo records in the US and in Europe outside the UK (on WEA label).
Bands disbanded
This list of songs or music-related items is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.- Seals & Crofts
- Bachman-Turner Overdrive break up (they reform periodically over the years)
- The Eagles break up (they reform in 1994)
- The Germs (later reformed in 2005 with actor Shane West as their singer)
- George Clinton dissolves Parliament-Funkadelic
- Horslips
- Gentle Giant
- The Buggles (Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes join Yes)
- The Tourists disband and become Eurythmics
- Boys Next Door disband and become The Birthday Party
- Wire disband (they reform in 1985)
- Joy Division
- Led Zeppelin (Rejoin in 2007)
Bands formed
Albums released
- See also: :Category:1980 albums
Awards
- BBC Young Musician of the Year: Nicholas Daniel, oboist
- Boy Edgar Award: Rein de Graaff
- Country Music Association Awards
- Eurovision Song Contest 1980
- Grammy Awards of 1980
- Harriet Cohen International Music Award
Charts
List of Number 1 Hits
Biggest hit singles
The following songs achieved the highest chart positions in the charts of 1980.
| # | Artist | Title | Year | Country | Chart Entries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pink Floyd | Another Brick in the Wall (part 2) | 1980 |  |
UK 1 - Dec 1979, US BB 1 - Feb 1980, Canada 1 - Jan 1980, Sweden (alt) 1 - Feb 1980, France 1 - Feb 1980, Austria 1 - Feb 1980, Switzerland 1 - Jan 1980, Norway 1 - Jan 1980, Germany 1 - Jan 1980, Éire 1 - Dec 1979, Poland 1 of all time, US CashBox 3 of 1980, Holland 3 - Dec 1979, Australia 4 of 1980, KROQ 6 of 1980, POP 7 of 1980, South Africa 8 of 1980, Germany 9 of the 1980s, Europe 11 of the 1970s, Italy 12 of 1980, US BB 15 of 1980, RYM 18 of 1979, TheQ 28, Virgin 39, Belgium 50 of all time, Scrobulate 51 of live, RIAA 296, Rolling Stone 375, Acclaimed 392, OzNet 594 |
| 2 | Diana Ross | Upside Down | 1980 |  |
US BB 1 - Aug 1980, Sweden (alt) 1 - Aug 1980, France 1 - Aug 1980, Switzerland 1 - Aug 1980, Norway 1 - Aug 1980, New Zealand 1 for 3 weeks Oct 1980, Australia 1 for 4 weeks Aug 1981, UK 2 - Jul 1980, Holland 2 - Jul 1980, Austria 2 - Oct 1980, US CashBox 4 of 1980, Germany 4 - Sep 1980, Canada 8 - Sep 1980, Italy 8 of 1980, South Africa 11 of 1980, Australia 15 of 1980, POP 22 of 1980, US BB 30 of 1980, Scrobulate 42 of disco, RYM 83 of 1980, Germany 87 of the 1980s, Acclaimed 1364 |
| 3 | Barbra Streisand | Woman in Love | 1980 | |
UK 1 - Oct 1980, US BB 1 - Sep 1980, Holland 1 - Sep 1980, Sweden (alt) 1 - Oct 1980, Austria 1 - Dec 1980, Switzerland 1 - Oct 1980, Norway 1 - Nov 1980, Germany 1 - Jan 1981, Éire 1 - Oct 1980, Australia 1 for 2 weeks Sep 1981, South Africa 2 of 1980, Italy 3 of 1981, France 7 - Oct 1980, US CashBox 9 of 1980, Australia 21 of 1980, Germany 36 of the 1980s, RYM 157 of 1980 |
| 4 | Lipps Inc | Funkytown | 1980 | |
US BB 1 - Apr 1980, Holland 1 - Apr 1980, Austria 1 - Jul 1980, Switzerland 1 - May 1980, Norway 1 - Jul 1980, Germany 1 - Jun 1980, UK 2 - May 1980, Sweden (alt) 2 - Jun 1980, US BB 4 of 1980, POP 5 of 1980, Scrobulate 7 of disco, Australia 9 of 1980, US CashBox 10 of 1980, Germany 14 of the 1980s, Italy 30 of 1980, RYM 73 of 1979, Acclaimed 520 |
| 5 | John Lennon | (Just Like) Starting Over | 1980 | |
UK 1 - Nov 1980, US BB 1 - Nov 1980, Canada 1 - Nov 1980, Switzerland 1 - Dec 1980, Australia 1 for 4 weeks Dec 1981, Austria 2 - Feb 1981, Norway 2 - Dec 1980, Sweden (alt) 3 - Nov 1980, Germany 6 - Jan 1981, France 9 - Nov 1980, US BB 12 of 1980, Australia 18 of 1981, Italy 29 of 1981, RYM 32 of 1980, POP 49 of 1980, US CashBox 57 of 1980, Germany 298 of the 1980s, OzNet 683, Acclaimed 1637 |
US and UK #1 hit singles
(in chronological order)
Other significant singles
- See also: :Category:1980 singles
|