MY LIFE WITH MUSIC - 1981 - BEST 20 ALBUMS

A big year for me, and my musical explorations continue. Some fabulous albums here.

[@PedroOhPedro]

Fantastic half hour in your great company. Never get tired of that fabulous accent. Keep the videos coming friend 🎉

[@fierytybalt4534]

What an amazingly eclectic list!

[@jeffhartley1989]

Love the story of your first hi-fi. We've all been there David. Great video as always.

[@cosmicdrifter287]

Hi David Atkinson.I Really like this channel,great music room as well.

[@gavaxemanspins]

Another great video and I understand know the importance of doing this series - hopefully your health will stay good for many years to come 🎉

[@richevans609]

You are a charismatic guy. Great list and a better story. I wish you well buddy. 😊

[@davidatkinson-lifematters4826]

Thank you. That's very nice of you.

[@JohnnyRecently]

Mentors are invaluable to young men.

[@MGKBOSTON]

Hi David! That sounds like a terrible bike crash. Patty had a nasty one too during her triathlon days in the 90s involving a dog. Hopefully you two can talk cycling next July. Your mentor sounds like a great one. I have one too, and it’s really everything that leads us to where we are. My first year at university in the dorm was like a contest to see who could party louder. Very cool you still have some of your original equipment. I’m the same buying second hand gear/kit. Motley Crue! Let’s party! Who else was on that triple bill that you saw? Essential Van Halen LP. Unchained is a wicked track. ABBA was not a surprise here. I listened to that UB40 album tonight! I love it! University days for that one. Agreed on “One in Ten”..I love all the Police records. Agree with you on “Demolition Man”…”October” is so good. As you said, no grandiosity there. I have a few King Crimson albums including that one. I was really into Peter Gabriel at that time and the Tony Levin connection led me to those 80s King Crimson releases. Those early Simple Minds albums look mint. I have a very perfect original 12” Love Song I picked up at the time. Agreed on Phil Collins. Very cool B52s collection. I have a copy of “Dare”…love it. Of its time though as you said.

[@davidatkinson-lifematters4826]

Hi Mike, Oh yes, that crash was a belter! I'll post a pic and a video about it sometime (I made a couple of videos soon afterwards to make sure I didn't forget anything in case I was required to go to court (the driver was prosecuted). Your university partying would definitely put me in the shade. I'll bet it was a blast in your place! That Motley Crue gig was a 3 for the price of 1. Headliners were Def Leppard (a bit too slick for my taste, although (like everyone else) I love 'Hysteria'. The second support was the one that got me and a pal buying tickets. It was the great Steel Panther. What a hoot!

[@paulsimister944]

I left Newcastle University in June 1981 and started work as a trainee accountant in the September. Very much a culture shock and it diverted my attention from music for several years. I wasn't helped by the growth in synth music and the decline of many of the bands I loved. I'll be back with my favourite albums from 1981. Sorry to hear about your bike accident and the potential implications.

[@davidatkinson-lifematters4826]

Thanks a lot, Paul.

[@twofromthetrunk9932]

Im glad that you survived the crash. Hope all remains well.

[@davidatkinson-lifematters4826]

Thanks. I'm well, hoping it stays that way!

[@Fastnbulbous1969]

I like your stories, including your gear journey -- the classic NAD 3020 and Mission! I have a few NAD pieces, and actually wanted some Mission speakers, but they weren't available in the U.S. so I got the Zu Omen Dirty Wknd II. Curious how the Utah-made Zu ended up available used in the UK! Look forward to that video. Given your picks of The Cure and Echo & the Bunnymen (coincidentally Heaven Up Here has been on my turntable all week), I mentioned the following two bands in your 1980 video, but with each on their second album, both The Sound and The Comsat Angels were absolutely at their peak, and fit right between Bunnymen's melody and drama, and The Cure's darkness. The Sound were on Korova with the Bunnymen, but got the short end of the promotional budget, and absolutely deserved much more acclaim. Their story has been well documented in the film Walking in the Opposite Direction (2016) and the new book by Simon Heavisides, Destiny Stopped Screaming. Their first three albums are being reissued by Rhino on colored vinyl on Nov 29 (preorders are on Piccadilly and Rough Trade sites), and anyone who loves The Cure and Bunnymen absolutely needs to hear them. Another album that I think would be up your alley is Martha & the Muffins - This is the Ice Age, produced by Daniel Lanois, who serves an Eno type role in adding creative ideas and sound design. 1. The Sound - From The Lions Mouth 2. The Comsat Angels - Sleep No More 3. Rush - Moving Pictures 4. The Raincoats - Ody Shape 5. Siouxsie & the Banshees - Juju 6. Echo & the Bunnymen - Heaven Up Here 7. Japan - Tin Drum 8. Electric Light Orchestra - Time 9. The Cure - Faith 10. Iron Maiden - Killers 11. The Police - Ghost In The Machine 12. Modern Eon - Fiction Tales 13. The Method Actors - Little Figures 14. The Suburbs - Credit In Heaven 15. The Au Pairs - Playing With A Different Sex 16. Simple Minds - Sons And Fascination/Sister Feelings Call 17. The Birthday Party - Prayers On Fire 18. Martha & The Muffins - This Is The Ice Age 19. King Crimson - Discipline 20. X - Wild Gift 21. The Gun Club - Fire Of Love 22. Wipers - Youth Of America 23. Yellow Magic Orchestra - Technodelic 24. Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - Architecture & Morality 25. Opposition - Breaking The Silence 26. Grace Jones - Nightclubbing 27. The Psychedelic Furs - Talk Talk Talk 28. Yellow Magic Orchestra - BGM 29. Kraftwerk - Computer World 30. David Byrne/Brian Eno - My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts Bubblin' under: dB's, Scars, Sabbath, Teardrop Explodes, Scientist, Associates, This Heat, Gang Of Four, Mission Of Burma.

[@davidatkinson-lifematters4826]

Thanks so much for your comment. That's a great list of albums, but I'll hold my hand up: The Sound came and went, and I never bought that album. I'm going to seek it out after such a strong recommendation. Surprisingly (for me) that ELO album 'Time' is getting some love too. I have a copy, and will be digging that out. I also have a Comsat Angels 12' picture disc that I'm going to sample, but I see why they didn't register as strongly as The Bunnymen and others fighting for attention at that time. On the hifi front, the ZUs are lovely. So much so, I have two pairs! I bought my first from a hi-end dealer and loved them, mainly because I was trying-out valve (tube) amps at the time. I even upgraded them with some new drivers from Utah. They were in the matt black finish, and I still have them on a second hifi. When a pair of piano black ones appeared I was on it straight away. They're a but monolithic and dominate the room, but they are so lively.

[@Fastnbulbous1969]

@@davidatkinson-lifematters4826 Which models are your Zus? I love the look, the woofers are like the eyes of a baleful speaker monster. It was a 30+ year journey for me with The Sound and Comsat Angels inching up my list past U2, The Cure and Echo, so they're growers! But when I did find copies in the late 80s and spun them on my post-punk radio show, I always got calls like, "who the F is THAT and why haven't I heard of them before???"

[@Harrispilton22]

Blimey David. I deal with Catastrophic loss in PI. Many involving cyclist, so i have a good idea what youve been through, i've read enough medicals! 1981 was a great year. Alot of my picks would be american guitar alternative, but they were discovered around 88. Stuff I listened to at the time 'Madness 7' ELO 'Time' Teardrops 'Kilimanjaro' Lovely that someone put an arm around you & gave some life changing. advise.I can say in total honesty at that age I wouldnt have listened & done the exact opposite😆..been my achilles heel all my life! Brilliant video.

[@davidatkinson-lifematters4826]

Morning HP, and thanks! But dammit, did I miss out 'Kilimanjaro'? Definitely would have been there or thereabouts. As for that bike accident, who knows what will happen in the future? It's far from certain whether that statistical risk elevation comes true. Hopefully not. The good news is that the driver admitted liability at the scene (and was prosecuted - although I haven't been called as a witness), and their insurance company paid out a PI claim. One day I'll tell you how much, but it was more than a few quid!

[@7BobbyGaylor7]

Hey David. Great video. Glad you survived that bike accident and you had a mentor that changed your life's direction. I saw Nugent once on the Cat Scratch Fever tour, Uriah Heep were the opening act supporting their Firefly album. Bill Withers is amazing. Discipline and the Grace Jones are killer. Love that Cure album. Cheers

[@davidatkinson-lifematters4826]

Thanks very much Bobby. Really nice to see you admire Bill Withers.

[@jamieholmes4675]

​@@davidatkinson-lifematters4826How do you turn a duck into a soul singer??....pop it in the oven until its Bill Withers .

[@EmbryonicRobot]

I love Bragg's version of The World Turned Upside Down. I also love Bragg's version of Gaughan's Think Again, (far more than the original version). Though, that's from a different album. The only Peter Hammill I have is a cassette copy of Peter Hammill & The K Group - The Margin (Live). I will take your advice and have a listen to more. Nice to see you include Japan; that's a great album. Discipline might be my fav record from 81. I have a provisional ranking, but I have never done this year, yet. I do still like Face Value, but I am not sure it would break into my top twenty... . I have never ever heard about that Cure box. Now, I want it! (But, I just looked up the price 😔). Love you #1 pick. Fabulous records. Brilliant video from beginning to end 👍

[@davidatkinson-lifematters4826]

You're a kind man, Brian. Cheers. You should watch my Peter Hammill video before diving-in to his catalogue. 'The Margin - Live' is a bit of a dead-end in my judgement. Great (and edgy) though it is, I don't think it leads the curious listener anywhere else. I think Hammill is fantastic, and as you appreciate Crimson, I'm pretty sure you'd enjoy Hammill's work with VDGG too.

[@mikeh7262]

I'm hoping for a Sons n Fascination reissue.

[@skewiff11]

My school years in a nutshell,

[@paulsimister944]

Rather than picking 20 from each year, I took the view that I'd share the list of albums that are keeping for a position in my all-time top 500. This way, we can both see which are the great years, which are mediocre and which were dreadful. And 1981 was pretty awful from my perspective, as I'm only going to list six albums: 1 Maze - Live In New Orleans 2 The Sound - From the Lion's Mouth 3 Robyn Hitchcock - Black Snake Diamond Role 4 Electric Light Orchestra - Time 5 Bobby Womack - The Poet 6 King Crimson - Discipline We've only got one in common of the albums that I think are worth recommending. I have Face Value, but I only bought it a year or two ago. I probably need to give it more attention. I also have East Side Story, Dare, October (I liked back in 1981) and Heaven Up Here (which I bought back in 1981 based on critical reviews and didn't like). Probably my two favourite groups are The Who and Genesis and it's sad to see what they'd become by 1981, with Abacab and Face Dances amongst their worst albums. 1982 is quite a lot better for me.

[@Turrell_]

Great picks! Have you ever looked into the early European pressings of Heaven Up Here that apparently feature different mixes?

[@davidatkinson-lifematters4826]

I haven't actually. I have a reissue vinyl copy too, but I've not heard anything about different mixes. Intrigued.

[@Turrell_]

@@davidatkinson-lifematters4826 Heya, if you do a search for 'Heaven Up Here Hoffman' and find the thread called 'Was the Bunnymen's "Heaven Up Here" ever remixed?', you'll get the info, certainly very interesting.

[@jamieholmes4675]

I could listen to people talk about past events all day especially when it comes back to the music that shaped who you are 👍

[@moodlefyful]

No Prince Charming by the mighty Adam and the Ants?

[@davidatkinson-lifematters4826]

Ha! Good shout. A truly great singles band, but I could never tolerate a whole album.

[@richevans609]

Fair Warning... Full Stop!

[@NemseTuki]

Stranglers - La Folie ???