February 19 - March 4, 1981

(click on the image to see the full issue)

Cover: Midge Ure
Centrespread: The Pretenders
Interviews: Ultravox; The Passions; Gen X
Lyrics: Once In A Lifetime – Talking Heads; Give Peace A Chance – Plastic Ono Band; Reward – Teardrop Explodes; Hot Love – Kelly Marie; I’m In Love With A German Film Star – Passions; Jealous Guy – Roxy Music; Southern Freeez – Freeez; That’s Entertainment – The Jam; Shaddup You Face - Joe Dolce; Oldest Swinger In Town – Fred Wedlock; Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me) – Cockney Rebel; We’ll Bring The House Down – Slade; Mutually Assured Destruction – Gillan; It’s My Turn – Diana Ross; Don’t Stop The Music – Yarborough and Peoples
Bitz: Human League; The Bureau; Charlie Gillet; Bowwowwow; all time top ten: Mark Bedford; Dave Wakeling; Dance Craze; John Lennon, Andy Peebles; Sheila Hylton; The Spizzies; Status Quo, The Photos; Teardrop Explodes; personal file: Julian Cope; The Selecter; Stray Cats; The Congos, Go-Feet; Steve Winwood; Minuskala, Maurice Bertolino; Gary Numan; Sting; The Look
Single reviews (David Hepworth): Four From Toyah – Toyah; Demolition Man – Grace Jones; Glad All Over – Suzy Quatro; Talking In The Canteen – Moondogs; So Hard – Aerial FX; Boys And Girls – Human League; Youth Coup – Holly and the Italians; Mutually Assured Destruction – Gillan; Don’t Go – Judas Priest; The Shuttered Palace – Ellen Foley; What Kind Of Fool – Barbra Streisand; Planet Earth – Duran Duran; Jealous Guy – Roxy Music
Album reviews (Robin Katz / David Hepworth / Steve Taylor / Fred Dellar / Bev Hillier): Diminished Responsibility – UK Subs; Drop Out With The Barracudas – Barracudas; Street Fever – Moon Martin; Jets – Jets; Children Of The Night – Nash The Slash; Surveillance – Walkie Talkies; Voices In The Rain – Joe Sample; Boys Only – The Boys; Celebrate The Bullet – Selecter; Don’t Point Your Finger – Nine Below Zero Independent Albums (Red Starr): Lubricate Your Li
ving Room – Fire Engines (Pop: Aural); A Factory Quartet – Durutti Column, Kevin Hewick, Blurt, The Royal Family & The Poor (Factory)
Independent Singles (Red Starr): Blown Away / Flight / And Then Again – A Certain Ratio; Nagasaki Nightmare / Big A Little A – Crass (Crass); I’m Falling / Flowers – Dead Or Alive (Inevitable); Euthenics / Waiting For The Cavalry – Modern Eon (Inevitable); Who’s Asking You? / Stand Alone – Roy White & Steve Torch (Open Eye / Rough Trade)
Other: Tales From A Music Paper

February 5 - 18, 1981

(click on the image to see the full issue)

Cover: Suggs
Centrespread: Adam Ant
Back cover: Debbie Harry
Interviews: Madness; Phil Collins; The Stranglers
Lyrics: Vienna – Ultravox; Romeo And Juliet – Dire Straits; Rock This Town – Stray Cats; Take My Time – Sheena Easton; In The Air Tonight – Phil Collins; Zerox – Adam and the Ants; The Best Of Times – Styx; Gangsters Of The Groove – Heatwave; Message Of Love – Pretenders; Turn Me On Turn Me Off – Honey Bane; Born To Run – Bruce Springsteen; Twilight Café – Susan Fassbender; I.O.U. – Jane Kennaway; Lonely Heart – U.F.O.; I Surrender - Rainbow
Bitz: Specials, Clash, Madness; Status Quo; all time top ten: Phil Collins; Stray Cats, Polecats, Blue Cats; John Lennon, Pretenders; Siouxsie and the Banshees; Graham Parker; Bob Marley; Jane Kennaway; Simple Minds, Undertones, UB40; Sting, Demolition Man, Grace Jones; Bruce Springsteen; personal file: Ranking Roger
Single reviews (Mike Stand): Some Boys – Going Red?; I’m In Love With The Girl On The Virgin Manchester Megastore Checkout Desk – Freshies; Return Of The Los Palmas 7 – Madness; Kids On The Street – Angelic Upstarts; World’s Greatest Lover – Cheap Trick; Luxury – New Musik; Tango In Mono – Expressos; Shaddup Your Face – Joe Dolce’s Music Theatre; Perfect Game – Thompson Twins; Just A Little – Regents; Golden Touch – Rose Royce; You Take My Breath Away – Dollar; What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted? – Dave Stewart / Colin Blunstone; The Farmer’s Daughter – Fleetwood Mac; I Can’t Pretend - Barracudas
Album reviews (Beverly Hillier / Steve Taylor / David Hepworth / Ronnie Gurr / Geoffrey Deane): Take My Time – Sheena Easton; Don’t Follow Me, I’m Lost Too – Pearl Harbour; Face Value – Phil Collins; Candles – Heatwave; The Meninblack – Stranglers; Waves – Mike Batt; Splodgenessabounds – Splodgenessabounds; Paradise Theatre – Styx; Stands For Decibels – The dB’s
Independent Singles (Steve Taylor): She’s In Love With Mystery – Thompson Twins
Other: Disc Jockeys – A Psychiatrist Reports; Strange Tails From A Music Paper