1983 in British music

This is a summary of 1983 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts from that year.

Events

• 8 January – The UK singles chart is tabulated from this week forward by The Gallup Organization and the BMRB manual diary method was ended. Electronic dataport machines were used in selected stores and Gallup would automatically dial up the terminals via telephone lines to gather the sales information.
• 10 February – John McCabe's Concerto for Orchestra is given its first performance by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Sir Georg Solti.
• 14 May – The Symphony No 2 Summer Music by William Mathias is performed for the first time by the Liverpool Philharmonic Society
• 30 May – Elton John releases his album Too Low for Zero, marking the beginning of his mid-1980s comeback after several albums disappointed in sales.
• 31 May – Nigel Osborne's Sinfonia No 2 is performed for the first time by the Leicestershire Schools Symphony Orchestra.
• 3 June – The opera Raleigh's Dream by Iain Hamilton is performed for the first time in Durham, North Carolina
• 17 July – The Cello Concerto by Lennox Berkeley, composed in 1939, is performed for the first time in Manchester.
• 27 July – The Piano Concerto by Dominic Muldowney is performed for the first time in London.
• 20 August – The Rolling Stones sign a new $28 million contract with CBS Records, the largest recording contract in history up to this time.
• 1 September – Joe Strummer and Paul Simonon of The Clash issue a press statement announcing that Mick Jones has been fired from the group.
• 20 September – The first ARMS Charity Concert is held at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
• 3 October – The first performance of the opera Marching Song by Benjamin Frankel, left in short score at the time of the composer's death ten years earlier, is broadcast by the BBC.
• 8 November – the first performance of Benjamin Britten's An American Overture (composed in 1941) by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra conducted by Simon Rattle.
• 9 November – The Blue Guitar for solo guitar by Michael Tippett is performed for the first time, at the Ambassador Auditorium, Pasadena, California.
• 28 November – The first Now album is released.
• 15 December – The broadcast premiere of Elisabeth Lutyens’ Music for Orchestra 1V is given by the City of London Sinfonia, conducted by Richard Hickox.

Charts

Number one singles

^[1]

Chart date (week ending)	Song	Artist(s)	Weeks
1 January	"Save Your Love"	Renée and Renato	2
8 January
15 January	"You Can't Hurry Love"	Phil Collins	2
22 January
29 January	"Down Under"	Men at Work	3
5 February
12 February
19 February	"Too Shy"	Kajagoogoo	2
26 February
5 March	"Billie Jean"	Michael Jackson	1
12 March	"Total Eclipse of the Heart"	Bonnie Tyler	2
19 March
26 March	"Is There Something I Should Know?"	Duran Duran	2
2 April
9 April	"Let's Dance"	David Bowie	3
16 April
23 April
30 April	"True"	Spandau Ballet	4
7 May
14 May
21 May
28 May	"Candy Girl"	New Edition	1
4 June	"Every Breath You Take"	The Police	4
11 June
18 June
25 June
2 July	"Baby Jane"	Rod Stewart	3
9 July
16 July
23 July	"Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home)"	Paul Young	3
30 July
6 August
13 August	"Give It Up"	KC and the Sunshine Band	3
20 August
27 August
3 September	"Red Red Wine"	UB40	3
10 September
17 September
24 September	"Karma Chameleon"	Culture Club	6
1 October
8 October
15 October
22 October
29 October
5 November	"Uptown Girl"	Billy Joel	5
12 November
19 November
26 November
3 December
10 December	"Only You"	The Flying Pickets	4
17 December
24 December
31 December

Number one albums

^[2]

Chart date (week ending)	Album	Artist(s)	Weeks
1 January	The John Lennon Collection	John Lennon	2
8 January
15 January	Raiders of the Pop Charts	Various Artists	2
22 January
29 January	Business as Usual	Men at Work	5
5 February
12 February
19 February
26 February
5 March	Thriller	Michael Jackson	1
12 March	War	U2	1
19 March	Thriller	Michael Jackson	1
26 March	The Hurting	Tears for Fears	1
2 April	The Final Cut	Pink Floyd	2
9 April
16 April	Faster Than the Speed of Night	Bonnie Tyler	1
23 April	Let's Dance	David Bowie	3
30 April
7 May
14 May	True	Spandau Ballet	1
21 May	Thriller	Michael Jackson	5
28 May
4 June
11 June
18 June
25 June	Synchronicity	The Police	2
2 July
9 July	Fantastic	Wham!	2
16 July
23 July	You and Me Both	Yazoo	2
30 July
6 August	The Very Best of the Beach Boys	The Beach Boys	2
13 August
20 August	18 Greatest Hits	Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5	3
27 August
3 September
10 September	The Very Best of the Beach Boys	The Beach Boys	1
17 September	No Parlez	Paul Young	1
24 September	Labour of Love	UB40	1
1 October	No Parlez	Paul Young	2
8 October
15 October	Genesis	Genesis	1
22 October	Colour by Numbers	Culture Club	3
29 October
5 November
12 November	Can't Slow Down	Lionel Richie	1
19 November	Colour by Numbers	Culture Club	2
26 November
3 December	Seven and the Ragged Tiger	Duran Duran	1
10 December	No Parlez	Paul Young	1
17 December	Now 1	Various Artists	3
24 December
31 December

Year-end charts

Note: The year-end charts published in Music Week on 7 January 1984 only covered the period 4 January to 17 December 1983 – the BPI Year Book 1984 included the complete charts to the end of 1983.

Best-selling singles

^[3]

No.	Title	Artist	Peak position
1	"Karma Chameleon"	Culture Club	1
2	"Uptown Girl"	Billy Joel	1
3	"Red Red Wine"	UB40	1
4	"Let's Dance"	David Bowie	1
5	"Total Eclipse of the Heart"	Bonnie Tyler	1
6	"True"	Spandau Ballet	1
7	"Down Under"	Men at Work	1
8	"Billie Jean"	Michael Jackson	1
9	"Only You"	The Flying Pickets	1
10	"All Night Long (All Night)"	Lionel Richie	2
11	"Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)"	Eurythmics	2
12	"You Can't Hurry Love"	Phil Collins	1
13	"Too Shy"	Kajagoogoo	1
14	"Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home)"	Paul Young	1
15	"Love of the Common People"	Paul Young	2
16	"Every Breath You Take"	The Police	1
17	"Is There Something I Should Know?"	Duran Duran	1
18	"Blue Monday"	New Order	9
19	"Give It Up"	KC and the Sunshine Band	1
20	"I.O.U."	Freeez	2
21	"Baby Jane"	Rod Stewart	1
22	"Say Say Say"	Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson	2
23	"They Don't Know"	Tracey Ullman	2
24	"Tonight I Celebrate My Love"	Peabo Bryson and Roberta Flack	2
25	"Words"	F.R. David	2
26	"Bad Boys"	Wham!	2
27	"Flashdance... What a Feeling"	Irene Cara	2
28	"New Song"	Howard Jones	3
29	"Moonlight Shadow"	Mike Oldfield	4
30	"My Oh My"	Slade	2
31	"Sign of the Times"	The Belle Stars	3
32	"Hold Me Now"	Thompson Twins	4
33	"Candy Girl"	New Edition	1
34	"Temptation"	Heaven 17	2
35	"Cry Just a Little Bit"	Shakin' Stevens	3
36	"Church of the Poison Mind"	Culture Club	2
37	"Electric Avenue"	Eddy Grant	2
38	"Mama"	Genesis	4
39	"Beat It"	Michael Jackson	3
40	"Double Dutch"	Malcolm McLaren	3
41	"Africa"	Toto	3
42	"Club Tropicana"	Wham!	4
43	"(Keep Feeling) Fascination"	The Human League	2
44	"Gold"	Spandau Ballet	2
45	"Modern Love"	David Bowie	2
46	"Let's Stay Together"	Tina Turner	6
47	"Come Back and Stay"	Paul Young	4
48	"Victims"	Culture Club	3
49	"I'm Still Standing"	Elton John	4
50	"(Hey You) The Rock Steady Crew"	The Rock Steady Crew	6

Best-selling albums

^[4]

No.	Title	Artist	Peak position
1	Thriller	Michael Jackson	1
2	No Parlez	Paul Young	1
3	Colour by Numbers	Culture Club	1
4	Let's Dance	David Bowie	1
5	Fantastic	Wham!	1
6	True	Spandau Ballet	1
7	Now That's What I Call Music	Various Artists	1
8	Stages	Elaine Paige	2
9	Genesis	Genesis	1
10	Can't Slow Down	Lionel Richie	1
11	Synchronicity	The Police	1
12	Labour of Love	UB40	1
13	Business as Usual	Men at Work	1
14	18 Greatest Hits	Michael Jackson and The Jackson 5	1
15	Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)	Eurythmics	3
16	Too Low for Zero	Elton John	7
17	The Luxury Gap	Heaven 17	4
18	Snap!	The Jam	2
19	The Hurting	Tears for Fears	1
20	Rio	Duran Duran	3 [a]
21	The Very Best of the Beach Boys	The Beach Boys	1
22	In Your Eyes	George Benson	3
23	The Crossing	Big Country	3
24	Seven and the Ragged Tiger	Duran Duran	1
25	An Innocent Man	Billy Joel	4 [b]
26	War	U2	1
27	Introducing Richard Clayderman	Richard Clayderman	2
28	Chas 'n' Dave's Knees Up: Jamboree Bag No. 2	Chas & Dave	7
29	Hello, I Must Be Going!	Phil Collins	3 [c]
30	The John Lennon Collection	John Lennon	1
31	Faster Than the Speed of Night	Bonnie Tyler	1
32	Quick Step and Side Kick	Thompson Twins	2
33	Pipes of Peace	Paul McCartney	4
34	Under a Blood Red Sky	U2	2
35	The Final Cut	Pink Floyd	1
36	Touch	Eurythmics	8 [d]
37	You and Me Both	Yazoo	1
38	Voice of the Heart	Carpenters	6
39	Toto IV	Toto	4
40	Crises	Mike Oldfield	6
41	Raiders of the Pop Charts	Various Artists	1
42	Formula 30	Various Artists	6
43	Body Wishes	Rod Stewart	5
44	Chart Hits '83	Various Artists	6
45	Twice as Kool: The Hits of Kool & the Gang	Kool & the Gang	4
46	Heartbreaker	Dionne Warwick	4 [e]
47	The Essential Jean Michel Jarre	Jean Michel Jarre	14
48	Lionel Richie	Lionel Richie	9
49	The Two of Us	Various Artists	3
50	Kissing to Be Clever	Culture Club	10 [f]

Notes:

1. Reached number 2 in 1982
2. Reached number 2 in 1984
3. Reached number 2 in 1982
4. Reached number 1 in 1984
5. Reached number 3 in 1982
6. Reached number 5 in 1982

Classical music

New works

• David Bedford
  • Five Diversions, for two flutes
  • The Valley Sleeper, the Children, the Snakes and the Giant, for orchestra
• Richard Rodney Bennett
  • Concerto for Wind Quintet
  • Guitar Sonata
  • Letters to Lindbergh, for female voices and piano duet
  • Memento, for flute and string orchestra
  • Seachange, for unaccompanied chorus
• Michael Berkeley
  • Cello Concerto
  • Or Shall We Die, oratorio
• Harrison Birtwistle
  • Deowa, for soprano and clarinet
  • Duets for Storab, for two flute
• David Blake – Rise, Dove, for baritone and orchestra
• Edward Cowie
  • Ancient Voices, for four voices
  • Missa Brevis
  • String Quartet No. 3, Creative Arts Quartet
  • String Quartet No. 4, Australia II
• Gordon Crosse – Wave Songs, for cello and piano
• Peter Maxwell Davies
  • Birthday Music for John, trio for flute, viola and cello
  • Into the Labyrinth, cantata
  • Sinfonietta Accademica, for chamber orchestra
• Brian Ferneyhough – Adagissimo, for string quartet
• Michael Finnissy
  • Australian Sea Shanties, for voices, recorders and piano
  • Ouraa, for ensemble (1982–83)
  • Soda Fountain, for voices and cymbals
  • Vaudeville, for mezzo, baritone and ensemble
• Alun Hoddinott – Quodlibet on Welsh Nursery Tunes – arr. for brass quintet
• Robin Holloway
  • Second Idyll for small orchestra
  • Serenade in E flat, for wind quintet and string quintet
• Elizabeth Maconchy
  • L'Horloge, for soprano, clarinet and piano
  • Tribute, for violin and woodwinds
• William Mathias
  • Alleluja! Christ is Risen!, anthem
  • Angelus, for women's voices
  • Horn Concerto
  • Let us Now Praise Famous Men, for chorus and orchestra
  • Missa Brevis
  • Organ Concerto
  • Symphony No. 2, Op.90 (Summer Music)
  • Tantum Ergo, for choir and organ
  • Violin Sonata No. 2
• Dominic Muldowney
  • The Duration of Exile, for mezzo and ensemble
  • Piano Concerto
  • A Second Show, for contralto and ensemble
• Paul Patterson – Mass of the Sea, for soli, chorus and orchestra
• John Pickard – Nocturne in Black and Gold
• Priaulx Rainier – Grand Duo for cello and piano
• John Tavener
  • He Hath Entered the Heven, for unaccompanied trebles
  • To a Child Dancing in the Wind, for soprano, flute, harp and viola
• Michael Tippett
  • Festal Brass with Blues, for brass ensemble
  • The Mask of Time (1980–83) for soli, chorus and orchestra

Opera

• Oliver Knussen – Where the Wild Things Are

Musical films

• Monty Python's The Meaning of Life
• The Pirates of Penzance , starring Kevin Kline and Angela Lansbury

Births

• 18 January – Antony Brant, singer (V)
• 3 March – Katie White, singer (The Ting Tings)
• 8 May – Matt Willis, singer and musician (Busted)
• 16 May – Mince Fratelli, musician (The Fratellis)
• 23 May – Heidi Range, singer (Sugababes)
• 17 June – Lee Ryan, singer (Blue)
• 30 June
  • Cheryl Cole, singer (Girls Aloud)
  • Anton Gordon, singer (One True Voice)
  • Patrick Wolf, singer-songwriter
• 7 July – Aaron Buckingham, singer (V)
• 22 July – Jodi Albert, singer (Girl Thing)
• 18 August – Mika, singer
• 25 August – James Righton, musician (The Klaxons)
• 11 September – Matthew Halsall, jazz trumpeter and promoter
• 13 September – James Bourne, singer and musician (Busted), (Son of Dork)
• 14 September – Amy Winehouse, singer-songwriter
• 25 September – Hayden Powell, jazz trumpeter and composer
• 24 October – V V Brown, English singer-songwriter, model, and producer
• 26 October – Ant Scott-Lee, singer (3SL)
• 8 November – Mark Harle, singer (V)

Deaths

• 5 January – Amy Evans, operatic soprano, 98
• 6 January – Bernard Stevens, composer, 66
• 7 January – Edith Coates, operatic mezzo-soprano, 74
• 18 January – Cedric Thorpe Davie, composer, 69
• 28 January – Billy Fury, singer-songwriter, 42 (heart attack)
• 22 February – Sir Adrian Boult, conductor, 93
• 23 February – Herbert Howells, composer, 90
• 6 March – Howard McFarlane, jazz trumpeter, 89
• 8 March – Sir William Walton, composer, 80
• 23 March – David Wynne, composer, 82
• 14 April
  • Pete Farndon, bassist of the rock group the Pretenders, 30 (drug overdose)
  • Elisabeth Lutyens, composer, 76
• 17 April – Thomas L. Thomas, operatic baritone, 72
• 20 April – Sarah Makem, Northern Irish singer, 82
• 6 May – Pat Smythe, jazz pianist, 60
• 5 June – Anthony Lewis, musicologist, conductor and composer, 68
• 12 June – Ceinwen Rowlands, operatic soprano, 78
• 2 July – Jacqueline Townshend, violinist and pianist, 71
• 12 July – Chris Wood, founding member of Traffic, 39 (pneumonia)
• 16 July – David Ward, operatic bass, 61
• 31 August – Eve Taylor, music manager, 68
• 11 September – Brian Lawrance, bandleader, 74 ^[5]
• 19 September – Peter Mooney, conductor, 68
• 24 September
  • Isobel Baillie, operatic soprano, 88
  • John Bee, theatre organist, 87
• 19 November – Tom Evans, bassist of the rock group Badfinger, 36 (suicide)
• 7 December – Norah Blaney, pianist, composer and music hall performer, 90
• 8 December – Monica Harrison, operatic soprano, 86

Music awards

Brit Awards

The 1983 Brit Awards winners were:

• Best British producer: Trevor Horn
• Best classical recording: John Williams – Portrait
• Best international artist: Kid Creole and the Coconuts
• Best live act: U2
• Best selling album: Barbra Streisand – Love Songs (also released as Memories in the U.S.)
• British breakthrough act: Yazoo
• British female solo artist: Kim Wilde
• British group: Dire Straits
• British male solo artist: Paul McCartney
• British single: Dexys Midnight Runners – "Come On Eileen"
• Life achievement award: Pete Townshend
• Outstanding contribution: The Beatles
• Special Award: Chris Wright
• The Sony award for technical excellence: Paul McCartney

See also

• 1983 in British radio
• 1983 in British television
• 1983 in the United Kingdom
• List of British films of 1983

References

1. "1983 The Number One Singles". The Official Charts Company.
2. "1983 The Number One Albums". The Official Charts Company.
3. Scaping, Peter, ed. (1984). "Top 100 singles: 1983". BPI Year Book 1984. British Phonographic Industry. pp. 42–43. ISBN   0-906154-04-9.
4. Scaping (1984). "Top 100 LPs: 1983". pp. 44–45
5. "Obituary for Brian Vinrance LAWRANCE". The Sydney Morning Herald . 13 September 1983. p. 19. Retrieved 23 June 2025.

External links

• BBC Radio 1's Chart Show
• The Official Charts Company