December 18 - 31, 1985

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siliconchipsuperstar

siliconchipsuperstar, the debut album by Peter Fitzpatrick​'s Circuit 3, featuring a collaboration with me on the track Ghost Machine, is now available to buy!

Order the limited edition vinyl LP/2xCD set and / or digital download here.

You can watch a video for Ghost Machine here.

December 4 - 17, 1985

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November 20 - December 3, 1985

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November 6 - 19, 1985

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Dear Mr. Kershaw: A Pensioner Writes

Derek Philpott's book of hilarious letters to pop stars and their genuine replies is now available from Plane Groovy and Amazon!

Happy Halloween - Ghost Machine!

I wrote the lyric for Ghost Machine, a song on the upcoming album Siliconchipsuperstar by Circuit3; it has an early-eighties snythpop vibe, so I hope readers of Smash Hits will enjoy it.

You can listen to Ghost Machine and download it for free here.

And you can watch a video for the song here.

I should be *extremely* grateful if you can spare a few minutes to listen to this track - and share it with your friends.

Ghost Machine: a song I co-wrote

I wrote the lyric for Ghost Machine, a song on the upcoming album Siliconchipsuperstar by Circuit3; it has an early-eighties snythpop vibe, so I hope readers of Smash Hits will enjoy it.

You can listen to Ghost Machine and download it for free here.

And you can watch a video for the song here.

I should be *extremely* grateful if you can spare a few minutes to listen to this track - and share it with your friends.

October 23 - November 5, 1985

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October 9 - 22, 1985

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September 25 - October 8, 1985

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September 11 - 24, 1985

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August 28 - September 10, 1985

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August 14 - 27, 1985

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July 31 - August 13, 1985

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July 17 - 30, 1985

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No More Heroes contest - prize draw!

Click the photo to see me drawing the winners of the No More Heroes contest!

July 3 - 16, 1985

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Cover: Howard Jones
Centrespread: Dead Or Alive - In Too Deep
Back cover: Green
Interviews: Howard Jones; Duran Duran; Vince Clarke & Paul Quinn; Max Headroom; Jim Kerr; Simply Red
Lyrics: That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore - Smiths; Act Of War - Elton John & Millie Jackson; Come To Milton Keynes - Style Council; The Shadow Of Love - The Damned; The Broken Years - Hipsway; In Too Deep - Dead Or Alive; Bring It Down! (This Insane Thing) - Redskins; N-n-nineteen Not Out - The Commentators; There Must Be An Angel (Playing With My Heart) - Eurythmics; You And Your Heart So Blue - Bucks Fizz
Personal File: Feargal Sharkey
Bitz: Talking Heads; Virgin Records wax figures: Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Dolly Parton, Meat Loaf, Michael Jackson; Cocteau Twins; Colour Box, "The Moon Is Blue", "Colourbox"; Philip Oakey, Giorgio Moroder, "Goodbye Bad Times", Human League; "A View To A Kill", Roger Moore, Christopher Walken, Grace Jones, Tanya Roberts, Duran Duran; A Flock Of Seagulls; John Foxx, "Stars On Fire"; King, "Alone Without You"; Tears For Fears; Alvin Stardust, "Sleepless Nights", Puff the Owl; Burmoe Brothers, Guy Chambers, "Skin", Marc Almond; Humpe Humpe, Anete and Inge Humpe, "3 Of Us", Martin Gore; Those Tender Virtues, "Waltz"; Doctor & the Medics, "Happy But Twisted"; Paul Hardcastle, "Rainforest"; Kid Creole and the Coconuts, "In Praise Of Older Women And Other Crimes"; Feargal Sharkey, Dave Stewart; Billy Idol, "White Wedding"; Dire Straits, Prince's Trust, Bruce Springsteen, Wembley Stadium; David Cassidy; "London version of Dynasty": Elizabeth Taylor, Brigitte Bardot, Martin Kemp, Simon Napier-Bell, John McLaren, Allan Soh, Andrew Ridgeley; Boy George's 24th birthday party: Marilyn, Madonna, Andy Warhol, Rupert Everett, Cornelia Guest, Arif Mardin, Philip Sallon, Billy Idol; "Mega Pop Trivia Quiz Game Book"; Hipsway, Skin, Graham Skinner, Pim, Harry Travers, Johnny McElhone, The Very Essence Of Kites, Dixon And The Crocodiles, The Moroccan Corselets; "Internationalists", Andrea Olceses, Style Council; "Axel F.", Eddie Murphy, "Beverly Hills Cop", Harold Faltermeyer; Marillion; Duran Duran; "Jobs For The Boys", Merseyside County Council, Style Council, Stephen "Tin Tin" Duffy; Madonna, John "Jellybean" Benitez, Prince, David Lee Roth, Sean Penn, Don Johnson, John F Kennedy Jr.
Single reviews (Tom Hibbert): Bonzo Goes To Bitburg - Ramones; Faron Young - Prefab Sprout; Made In Heaven - Freddie Mercury; You And Your Heart So Blue - Bucks Fizz; All Night Holiday - Russ Abbot; That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore - Smiths; Would You Dance With A Stranger - Mari Wilson; Change - Sparks; You're Only Human (Second Wind) - Billy Joel; Some People - Belouis Some; Square Rooms - Al Corley; Can't Get There From Here - R.E.M. / Shoot You Down - True West / You Are My Friend - Rain Parade / Shop It Around - Jason & The Scorchers; There Must Be An Angel (Playing With My Heart) - Eurythmics; Excitable - Amazulu; Opportunities (Let's Make Lots Of Money) - Pet Shop Boys; Secret - OMD
Album reviews (Simon Mills / Ian Cranna / Neil Tennant / Maureen Rice / Sally Gethin): History - Mai Tai; In Praise Of Older Women…And Other Crimes - Kid Creole; Live - Gregory Isaacs; The Beach Boys - The Beach Boys; A Secret Wish - Propaganda; Fly On The Wall - AC/DC; A Dub Experience - Sly And Robbie; Wild Child - Untouchables
Nights Out: Knebworth Fayre - Meat Loaf, Scorpions, Deep Purple; Glastonbury: CND Festival - Working Week, Untouchables, Midnight Oil, Style Council; Milton Keynes: The Longest Day - Faith Brothers, Spear Of Destiny, Billy Bragg, Ramones, REM; Marc Almond
Other: Live Aid preview

No More Heroes - CDs to be won!

I have to confess that I didn’t have a particularly big record collection growing up. My parents couldn’t afford a lot of pocket money, so I didn’t have a lot of disposable income for singles – and certainly not for albums; it was easier to spare 25p or 30p for Smash Hits every fortnight than to buy records on a regular basis, which is why I have been able to spend the last six years sharing my collection on this archive.

Ever since I first dived into my Smash Hits collection and began reliving those times, the question I have asked repeatedly has been: "Did we realise how lucky we were?" We were spoiled. During my formative years, the charts were bursting with great music; there was so much variety and invention in the British top 40 of the late seventies and early eighties – an explosion of talent that has never been repeated to such a degree.

No More Heroes tackles the well-nigh impossible task of distilling the spirit of those heady days into three discs. Listening to its sixty tracks is a whirlwind spin through the golden age of punk, post-punk and new wave. Chart-toppers from The Jam, The Specials and Ian Dury rub shoulders with classics from Madness, Buzzcocks and Adam and the Ants; American acts like the Ramones, Modern Lovers and Talking Heads pogo with Generation X, XTC and X Ray Spex. Alongside the more familiar titles are things you might have forgotten: I am particularly excited by the inclusion of Back Of My Hand by the Jags – why wasn’t that a bigger hit?!!?

From calls to action by the likes of Sham 69 and Secret Affair to the endearing goofiness of the Toy Dolls and Tenpole Tudor, this is a reminder of that incredible outpouring of energy. Some of these acts cast long shadows; others crashed and burned spectacularly, but from the unmistakable opening of Teenage Kicks to Jona Lewie’s anthem for wallflowers, there’s hardly a dull moment here.

No More Heroes is an ideal way to fill some of the gaps in your collection – or a great introduction to the great sounds of a great moment in musical history. It doesn’t claim to be all-inclusive, but what it does include is good enough for me: Blondie, The Fall, Echo and the Bunnymen, Bow Wow Wow, Dr. Feelgood....Realising that some of these songs were recorded forty years ago should make me feel old, but listening to them puts a spring in my step. So go ahead, open up a copy of Smash Hits, crank up the stereo and enjoy!

No More Heroes is available from Amazon UK and iTunes....but keep reading to find out how you could win a copy for yourself in our very first competition!



The makers of No More Heroes have given us three copies of the boxset to give away to fans of this Smash Hits archive. To have a chance of winning, go to our Facebook page and leave a comment listing your three favourite tracks from the compilation and three songs which you think should have been included. Everybody who posts a comment listing six titles will be entered into a draw - three names will be selected and those winners will get the CDs.

Disc: 1
1. Teenage Kicks - The Undertones
2. Going Underground - The Jam
3. Sheena Is A Punk Rocker – Ramones
4. If The Kids Are United - Sham 69
5. No More Heroes – Stranglers
6. Public Image – PIL
7. Do Anything You Wanna Do - Eddie And The Hot Rods
8. Ever Fallen In Love - The Buzzcocks
9. Turning Japanese - The Vapors
10. Neat Neat Neat - The Damned
11. Germ Free Adolescents - X Ray Spex
12. Automatic Lover - The Vibrators
13. Swords of A 1,000 Men - Tenpole Tudor
14. Go Wild In The Country - Bow Wow Wow
15. Into The Valley - The Skids
16. Top Of The Pops – Rezillos
17. 2 4 6 8 Motorway - Tom Robinson
18. Blank Generation - Richard Hell and The Voidoids
19. Ca Plane Pour Moi - Plastic Bertrand
20. Is Vic There? - Department S

Disc: 2
1. Hanging On The Telephone – Blondie
2. Lust For Life - Iggy Pop
3. Pretty In Pink - Psychedelic Furs
4. The Killing Moon - Echo and the Bunnymen
5. Time For Action - Secret Affair
6. Shake Some Action - Flamin' Groovies
7. I Got You - Split Enz
8. Brass In Pocket - The Pretenders
9. Back Of My Hand - The Jags
10. Making Plans For Nigel – XTC
11. Sound of The Suburbs - The Members
12. Kings Of The Wild Frontier - Adam And The Ants
13. I Think We're Alone Now - The Rubinoos
14. Lucky Number - Lene Lovich
15. Another Girl, Another Planet - The Only Ones
16. A New England - Kirsty MacColl
17. Ghost Town - The Specials
18. 7teen - The Regents
19. Drowning In Berlin - The Mobiles
20. One Step Beyond – Madness

Disc: 3
1. Road To Nowhere - Talking Heads
2. Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick - Ian Dury And The Blockheads
3. Roadrunner (Twice) - Jonathan Richman And The Modern Lovers
4. Rich Kids - Rich Kids
5. Babylons Burning - The Ruts
6. Jimmy Jimmy - The Undertones
7. Hersham Boys - Sham 69
8. Miss The Girl – Creatures
9. New Rose - The Damned
10. The Day The World Turned Day Glo - X Ray Spex
11. Drummer Man – Tonight
12. King Rocker - Generation X
13. Butcher Baby - The Plasmatics
14. Homicide – 999
15. Cherry Bomb - The Runnaways
16. Nellie The Elephant - The Toy Dolls
17. Get Rhythm - Dr Feelgood
18. Whole Wide World - Wreckless Eric
19. It's The New Thing - The Fall
20. You'll Always Find Me In The Kitchen At Parties - Jona Lewie

The Return of Zitty Ben!

Strange Tales From A Music Paper was the comic strip that ran in Smash Hits 1980 - 1981. The strip's creator, Mark Casto, believed that all his work was lost until he discovered this archive and was able to read his strips for the first time in thirty years.

Mark's new blog collects The Adventures Of Zitty Ben in one place - and he has taken up his pens and pencils to draw the first new Zitty Ben strips since the early eighties.

As if that weren't exciting enough, I am delighted to find that yours truly makes an appearance in this cartoon - as the angelic being who reawakens Zitty from his slumbers!

Soul Boys Of The Western World

Last night we attended a screening of Soul Boys Of The Western World in Hollywood; it's a great documentary about Spandau Ballet in particular - and the eighties music scene in general. Fans of Smash Hits will enjoy the movie - and will recognise a lot of familiar faces.

At the post-screening Q&A, we learned that the Spandau Ballet boys are still *really* upset about their Pop Quiz loss to Duran Duran. Certain allegations of impropriety - which I shall not repeat here - were made....

When the screening was over, Gary Kemp invited us to the after party at the Chateau Marmont, where he took time to chat about Smash Hits; he’s a big fan of the archive – and he was surprised to learn that he's the first pop star that I've ever met!

All in all....not a bad night!

"Morrissey does not sing, he groans. He should have been drowned at birth. Rubbish."

Every so often the internet rediscovers Morrissey's singles reviews from October 1984, but I have always thought that the most memorable page of reviews in the history of Smash Hits came a few months later, when twelve-year-old Marshall O'Leary reviewed the new releases on March 14, 1985:



I'm sure a lot of us have wondered about Marshall since this issue was published: thirty years later, he has been reunited with his moment in the spotlight - check out the comments on our Facebook page!

I think this is the most exciting thing to have happened as a result of this archive....we're going out in style!

The Ricki Lake Show - June 7, 2013

Click the photo to see Debbie 'n' me on the Ricki Lake show!

February 28 - March 13, 1985

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Cover: Frankie Goes To Hollywood
Centrespread: Dead Or Alive - You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)
Back cover: sticker collection
Interviews: Julian Lennon; Frankie Goes To Hollywood; Killing Joke; The Monochrome Set; Starvation; Alison Moyet; Roaring Boys; Spelt Like This
Lyrics: Material Girl - Madonna; Method Of Modern Love - Hall & Oates; Heart User - Cliff Richard; Do You Really (Want My Love) - Junior; Just Another Night - Mick Jagger; Change Your Mind - Sharpe and Numan; The Theme From Shaft - Eddie & the Soulband; You Spin Me Round (Like A Record) - Dead Or Alive; Some Like It Hot - Power Station; Starvation - Starvation; Who Comes To Boogie? - Little Benny & the Masters; Money Changes Everything - Cyndi Lauper; The Boys Of Summer - Don Henley; Every Time You Go Away - Paul Young
Personal File: Rose McDowall
Bitz: Billy Bragg, Neil Kinnock, Jobs For Youth Tour; Billy Connolly, "Super Gran"; New Edition, "Mr Telephone Man", Ray Parker Jr.; Paul Young, "Every Time You Go Away", Hall & Oates; Thompson Twins; Spandau Ballet sue Chrysalis; "Feed The World" festival a hoax; Zerra 1; Prince, "Let's Go Crazy", "Take Me With You", "Erotic City (Make Love Not War / Erotic City Comes Alive"); The Fall, "Hip Priests And Camerads"; Test Dept, South Wales Striking Miners Choir, "Shoulder To Shoulder"; Madonna; Julian Lennon, "Say You're Wrong"; Cocteau Twins, "Aikea-Guinea", "Kookaburra", "Quisquose", "Rococo"; UB40, "The Pillow" / "I'm Not Fooled"; The Monochrome Set; Simple Minds, "Don't You (Forget About Me)", "The Breakfast Club, Keith Forsey; Tina Turner, "I Can't Stand The Rain"; Shakatak, "Live"; Phil Collins, "No Jacket Required", Peter Gabriel, Helen Terry Sting; Amii Stewart, "Try Love"; Working Week; "Working Nights", "Inner City Blues"; Bryan Adams, "Run To You", "Reckless"; Barrington Levy, "Here I Come"; David Cassidy, Alan Tarney; Art Of Noise, "Moments In Love"; David Bowie, "Into The Night", John Landis, "Absolute Beginners", Julian Temple; Tears For Fears, "Songs From The Big Chair"; King; Propaganda, "P-Machinery", Paul Morley; Nik Kershaw, "Wide Boy"; Star Hits Readers Poll results; Smash Hits Australia Readers Poll results
Single reviews (Andy Kershaw): Never Understand - Jesus And Mary Chain; Legs - ZZ Top; Radioactive - The Firm; Let's Go Crazy - Prince; Sugar Walls - Sheena Easton; Say You're Wrong - Julian Lennon; Money Changes Everything - Cyndi Lauper; Jealousy EP - Boothill Foot-Tappers; Clothes Shop - Terry And Gerry; Contract Of The Heart - Spelt Like This; Every Second Of The Day - Roaring Boys; Starvation - Starvation
Album reviews (Vici MacDonald / Ian Cranna / Chris Heath / Josephine Hocking / Linda Duff / Simon Mills): Meat Is Murder - Smiths; Songs From The Big Chair - Tears For Fears; Zerra I - Zerra I; They Said It Couldn't Be Done - Grandmaster Flash; The Firm - The Firm; No Jacket Required - Phil Collins; Building The Perfect Beast - Don Henley; VU - Velvet Underground; Night Time - Killing Joke; Nightshift - Commodores
Nights Out: 
Other: Beginner's Guide To Go-Go; British Record Industry Awards

RIP Steve Strange (1959 - 2015)

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January 31 - February 13, 1985

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Cover: Morrissey
Centrespread: Paul Young
Back cover: Annie Lennox
Interviews: King; Fink Brothers; Gary Kemp; Bruce Springsteen; Foreigner; Morrissey
Lyrics: New England - Kirsty MacColl; Thinking Of You - Colourfield; 1999 - Prince; 20/20 - George Benson; Solid - Ashford & Simpson; Run To You - Bryan Adams; Dancing In The Dark - Bruce Springsteen; I Know Him So Well - Elaine Paige & Barbara Dickson; Sussudio - Phil Collins; Things Can Only Get Better - Howard Jones; Lover Boy - Billy Ocean
Personal File: Leee John 
Bitz: Canute Edwards, "Amazing Mind"; Marc Almond; "Breakin' Two Is Electric Boogaloo"; "Van Halen: Jumpin' For The Dollar" - John Shearlaw, Iron Maiden: Running Free - Gary Bushell, Ross Halfin; The Church, "Remote Luxury"; Time U.K., Rick Buckler, "Playground Of Privilege"; Commodores, "Nightshift", "Thomas McLary"; Person To Person, "Reputation", David Palmer; Junior, "Do You Really Want My Love"; Floy Joy, "Operator Operator"; Torch Song, "Ode To Billy Joe", "Mothdoom Ecstasy"; The Limit, Bernard Oattes, Rob Van Schaik, "Say Yeah"; Merseyside City Council, "Jobs For The Boys", Cook Da Books, Afraid Of Mice, This Final Frame, The Faction, Ronnie Flood; Sheila E., "The Belle Of St Mark"; Kool & the Gang, "Misled"; Stephen "Tin Tin Duffy", "Too Fat To Breakdance"; Tina Turner; Amii Stewart, "Friends"; Gary Numan, Bill Sharpe, Shakatak, "Change Your Mind", David Bowie, Pat Metheny, "This Is Not America"; Boys Town Gang, "Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday"; David Hunter, Crossroads, David Crickmore, Fiat Lux, "Solitary Lovers"; 93 Current 93, "Dogs Blood Rising", "Raio No Terrasu (Jesus Wept)"; Russ Abbott, "Atmosphere"; Band Aid, "Video Aid"; Zerra 1, "Mountains And Water", Todd Rundgren; Bruce Springsteen, Lynn Goldsmith; National Jazz Centre, Alison Moyet, Jools Holland, Yehudi Menhuin, Helen Shapiro, Humphrey Lyttleton, Nigel Kennedy; Jean-Michel Jarre, "Zoolook", Charlotte Rampling
Single reviews (Chris Heath): We Are Ninja (not geisha) - Frank Chickens; A Hold Of Me - Boomtown Rats; Papa's Got A Brand New PigBag - Paul Hardcastle; Ode To Billy Joe - Torch Song; Sussudio - Phil Collins; Misled - Kool & the Gang; California Girls - David Lee Roth; Things Can Only Get Better - Howard Jones; Personality - Eugene Wilde; Change Your Mind - Bill Sharpe and Gary Numan; Operator - Floy Joy; Saskatchewan - Red Box; All I Am - Bluebells; Mutants In Mega-City One - Fink Brothers; Love Like Blood - Killing Joke; Midnight Man - Flash And The Pan; Method Of Modern Love - Daryl Hall & John Oates
Album reviews (Simon Braithwaite / Chris Heath / Ian Cranna): 20/20 - George Benson; Perhaps - The Associates; Breakdance 2 Is Electric Boogaloo - Various Artists
Nights Out: Alison Moyet; London Concert For The Miners: Everything But The Girl, Roddy Frame; Edwyn Collins