The NME in 1981 – at the height of its influence
Hard to imagine a time when the New Musical Express was a style and music bible we read voraciously from cover to cover. And yet it was. What the NME told us was good….we generally believed.
NME journalists polled themselves in July 1981 to see what they thought were the best tunes so far that year. Some of the songs I wouldn’t argue with while others seem a strange choice looking back.
1 – Me No Pop! Coati Mundi
2 – We Don’t Need This Fascist Groove Thang Heaven 17
3 – Being With You Smokey Robinson
4 – Walking on Thin Ice Yoko Ono
5 – Adventures on the Wheels of Steel Grandmaster Flash
6 – Reward Teardrop Explodes
7 – Chequered Love Kim Wilde
8 – Pull Up to the Bumper Grace Jones
9 – Birthday Party Grandmaster Flash
10 – Pocket Calculator Kraftwerk
Top album was Fresh Fruit in Foreign Places by Kid Creole and the Coconuts. Germanic misery merchants DAF came fourth with Alles ist Gut. Black Uhuru were deservedly in the chart and the Au Pairs.