1983 in music

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1983.

Specific locations

• 1983 in British music
• 1983 in Japanese music
• 1983 in Norwegian music

Specific genres

• 1983 in country music
• 1983 in heavy metal music
• 1983 in hip hop music
• 1983 in jazz

Trends

• CDs become popular among classical music listeners. ^[1]

Events

January–April

• January 1
  • ZTT Records is founded.
  • The Merchant Ivory film Heat and Dust is released. On the soundtrack, composed by Zakir Hussain, Ivory is featured on tanpura with Hussain (who also appears in the film) on tabla.
• January 8 – The UK singles chart is tabulated from this week forward by The Gallup Organization. In 1984 electronic terminals will be used in selected stores to gather sales information, and the old "sales diary" method will be gradually phased out over the next few years.
• January – Surtitles are first used in a live opera performance at a Canadian Opera Company production of Elektra . ^[2]
• February 2 – "Menudomania" comes to New York as 3,500 screaming girls crowd Kennedy Airport to catch a glimpse of Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, who are playing six sold-out shows at the Felt Forum.
• February 11 – The Rolling Stones concert film Let's Spend the Night Together opens in New York.
• February 13 – Marvin Gaye performs "The Star-Spangled Banner" before the NBA All-Star Game.
• February 23 – The 25th Annual Grammy Awards are presented in Los Angeles, hosted by John Denver. Toto win both Album of the Year (for Toto IV ) and Record of the Year (for "Rosanna"), while Willie Nelson's cover of "Always on My Mind" wins Song of the Year. Men at Work win Best New Artist.
• February 26 – Michael Jackson's Thriller album hits #1 on the US charts, the first of thirty-seven (non-consecutive) weeks it would spend there on its way to becoming the biggest-selling album of all time.
• February 28 – U2 release their 3rd album War which debuts at #1 in the UK and produces the band's first international hit single.
• March 2 – Compact discs go on sale in the United States. They had first been released in Japan the previous October.
• March 4 – Neil Young cancels the remainder of his tour after collapsing backstage in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, after playing for seventy-five minutes.
• March 5 – Thompson Twins have their first chart success as "Love on Your Side" enters the Top 10 in the UK. ^[3]
• March 26
  • Duran Duran enter the UK Singles Chart at number 1 with their first UK number 1 single "Is There Something I Should Know?". ^[4]
  • Tears for Fears debut album The Hurting reaches number 1 on the UK Albums Chart. ^[5]
• April 5
  • A Generative Theory of Tonal Music by Fred Lerdahl and Ray Jackendoff is published.
  • US Interior Secretary James G. Watt causes controversy when he effectively bans the Beach Boys from a return performance at the Fourth of July festivities in Washington, announcing that Wayne Newton would perform instead. Watt claims that rock bands attract "the wrong element". That same week President Reagan, himself an avowed Beach Boys fan, presents Watt with a plaster foot with a hole in it. ^[6]
• April 9 – David Bowie achieves his fourth UK number 1 single with "Let's Dance". ^[7]
• April 11 – Dave Mustaine is dismissed from Metallica just as the band is set to begin recording its début album. He is replaced by Kirk Hammett.^{[ citation needed ]}
• April 14 – David Bowie releases Let's Dance , his first album since parting ways with RCA Records and his fifteenth studio album overall. With its deliberate shift to mainstream dance-rock, it would become Bowie's biggest commercial success, at 10.7 million copies sold worldwide.^{[ citation needed ]}
• April 18 – Ellen Taaffe Zwilich becomes the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music.
• April 23 – French singer Corinne Hermès, representing Luxembourg, wins the 28th annual Eurovision Song Contest, held at Rudi-Sedlmayer-Halle in Munich, with the song "Si la vie est cadeau". ^[8]

May–August

• May 16
  • Singer Anna Vissi marries composer Nikos Karvelas.
  • The Motown 25 Special airs on NBC, celebrating a quarter century of Motown Records. Michael Jackson unveils his moonwalk dance move during a performance of "Billie Jean".
• May 28 – June 4 – The second US Festival is held at Glen Helen Park in California.
• June 3 – American rock drummer Jim Gordon commits matricide during a schizophrenic episode.
• June 18–19 – Menudo make their second visit to New York. The band plays four shows at Madison Square Garden and all 80,000 tickets sell out within three days of going on sale.
• June 20 – Catalunya Ràdio begins broadcasting.
• July 1 – Chilean Band Los Prisioneros debut at the Miguel Leon Prado High School Song festival. They will come to personify the rebellion of young Chileans leading to protests against Augusto Pinochet. ^[9]
• July 6 – As a statement of protest against music piracy in the form of home taping, Jean-Michel Jarre releases only one pressing of his latest album "Music for Supermarkets", which is sold at an auction to a French real estate dealer for 69,000 francs (about US$8960). The auction is broadcast live on Radio Luxembourg which also plays the album in full for the first and only time.
• July 19 – Simon and Garfunkel begin their North American summer tour in Akron, Ohio.
• July 21 – Diana Ross performs a filmed concert in Central Park in heavy rain; eventually the storm forces her to postpone the rest of the concert until next day.
• July 29 – Friday Night Videos is broadcast for the first time on NBC.
• August 16
  • Johnny Ramone suffers a near-fatal head injury during a fight over a girl in front of his East Village apartment.
  • Singer Paul Simon marries actress Carrie Fisher.
• August 20 – The Rolling Stones sign a new $28 million contract with CBS Records, the largest recording contract in history up to this time.

September–December

• September 1 – Joe Strummer and Paul Simonon of The Clash issue a press statement announcing Mick Jones has been dismissed from the group.^{[ citation needed ]}
• September 4 – Phil Lynott performs his final show with Thin Lizzy in Nuremberg, Germany.
• September 18 – The members of Kiss show their faces without their makeup for the first time on MTV, simultaneously with the release of their album Lick It Up .
• September 20 – The first ARMS Charity Concert is held at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
• November 12 – Duran Duran start their SING BLUE SILVER World Tour. The tour begins with sold-out shows in Australia
• November 26 – Quiet Riot's Metal Health album tops the US album charts, the first heavy metal album to hit #1 in America.
• December 2
  • The Uday-Ustav Festival, a tribute to Uday Shankar, is staged at the instigation of Uday's younger brother, Ravi Shankar.
  • Michael Jackson's 14-minute music video for Thriller is premiered on MTV.
  • Phish play their first show. ^[10]
• December 25 – Marvin Gaye gives his father, as a Christmas present, an unlicensed Smith & Wesson .38 special caliber pistol so that Gaye could protect himself from intruders. ^[11] A few months later, Gaye Sr would use it to shoot his son dead.
• December 31 – The twelfth annual New Year's Rockin' Eve special airs on ABC, with appearances by Culture Club, Rick James, Laura Branigan, Barry Manilow, Mary Jane Girls and David Frizzell.

Bands formed

• See Musical groups established in 1983

Bands disbanded

• See Musical groups disestablished in 1983

Bands reformed

• The Animals
• The Everly Brothers

Albums released

January

Day	Album	Artist	Notes
4	Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)	Eurythmics	-
10	ExtendedancEPlay	Dire Straits	EP
	Trans	Neil Young	-
14	Feline	The Stranglers	-
	Nena	Nena	-
17	Trouble in Paradise	Randy Newman	-
18	Cuts Like a Knife	Bryan Adams	-
20	American Made	The Oak Ridge Boys	-
	Pyromania	Def Leppard	-
21	The Law of Devil's Land	Loudness	-
28	Never Surrender	Triumph	-
31	Money and Cigarettes	Eric Clapton	US
	Another Page	Christopher Cross	-
?	Making Contact	UFO	-
	The Art of Falling Apart	Soft Cell	-
	Live Evil	Black Sabbath	Live
	Touch the Sky	Smokey Robinson	-
	What Makes a Man Start Fires?	Minutemen	-
	What's Funk?	Grand Funk	-
	G Force	Kenny G	-

February

Day	Album	Artist	Notes
3	Powerlight	Earth, Wind & Fire	-
4	All the Best	Stiff Little Fingers	-
	Porcupine	Echo & The Bunnymen	-
8	Michael W. Smith Project	Michael W. Smith	Debut
11	Lucky	Marty Balin	-
18	Somewhere in Afrika	Manfred Mann's Earth Band	UK
22	Kilroy Was Here	Styx	-
23	Subterranean Jungle	Ramones	-
28	Metal Health	Quiet Riot	-
	War	U2	-
	So Fired Up	Le Roux	-
	The Key	Joan Armatrading	-
?	Frontiers	Journey	-
	Confusion Is Sex	Sonic Youth	Debut
	Kihnspiracy	The Greg Kihn Band	-
	Quick Step and Side Kick/Side Kicks	Thompson Twins	-
	Rock Goddess	Rock Goddess	-
	Seal in Red	Rufus	-
	Strong Stuff	Hank Williams Jr.	-
	Waiting	Fun Boy Three	-
	Youngblood	Carl Wilson	-

March

Day	Album	Artist	Notes
4	Dazzle Ships	Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark	-
	Thunder and Lightning	Thin Lizzy	-
	True	Spandau Ballet	-
7	Cool Kids	Kix	-
	The Hurting	Tears For Fears	Debut
	Deep Sea Skiving	Bananarama	-
11	No Rest for the Wicked	Helix	-
14	Europe	Europe	Debut
	Script for a Jester's Tear	Marillion	Debut
16	Outside Inside	The Tubes	-
21	The Final Cut	Pink Floyd	-
23	Eliminator	ZZ Top	-
28	Baby Snakes	Frank Zappa	Soundtrack
	Jarreau	Al Jarreau	-
	The Man from Utopia	Frank Zappa	-
31	Dancing With Danger	Streetheart	-
?	Power & the Glory	Saxon	-
	Legendary Hearts	Lou Reed	-
	If You Leave Me Now	Chicago	Compilation
	Local Hero	Mark Knopfler	Soundtrack
	The Abominable Showman	Nick Lowe	-
	Branigan 2	Laura Branigan	-
	Dig That Groove Baby	Toy Dolls	-
	The High Road	Roxy Music	Live EP
	Inarticulate Speech of the Heart	Van Morrison	-
	Julio	Julio Iglesias	-
	Naked Eyes	Naked Eyes	Titled "Burning Bridges" in the UK
	No Guts...No Glory	Molly Hatchet	-

April

Day	Album	Artist	Notes
1	Havana Moon	Carlos Santana	-
8	Faster Than the Speed of Night	Bonnie Tyler	-
	The Luxury Gap	Heaven 17	-
11	Let's Dance	David Bowie	-
	Flashdance	Various Artists	Soundtrack
	Sirens	Savatage	-
	Style	Cameo	-
12	Murmur	R.E.M.	Debut
13	Mary Jane Girls	Mary Jane Girls	Debut
	Violent Femmes	Violent Femmes	-
15	Rock for Light	Bad Brains	-
18	It	Pulp	Debut
	White Feathers	Kajagoogoo	Debut
25	Headhunter	Krokus	-
27	Whammy!	The B-52s	-
29	Cargo	Men At Work	-
	Listen	A Flock of Seagulls	-
	Hootenanny	The Replacements	-
?	You Can't Stop Rock 'n' Roll	Twisted Sister	UK; US release in June
	Midnight at the Lost and Found	Meat Loaf	-
	Fastway	Fastway	-
	High Land, Hard Rain	Aztec Camera	-
	In Outer Space	Sparks	-
	Information	Dave Edmunds	-
	It's Only Rock & Roll	Waylon Jennings	-
	Living in Oz	Rick Springfield	-
	Madness	Madness	US Compilation
	Michael Bolton	Michael Bolton	-
	Out of Step	Minor Threat	-
	Pride	Robert Palmer
	Scoop	Pete Townshend	Compilation of unreleased tracks
	Take It to the Limit	Willie Nelson with Waylon Jennings	-
	Steve Miller Band Live!	Steve Miller Band	Live

May

Day	Album	Artist	Notes
2	Burlap & Satin	Dolly Parton	-
	Power, Corruption & Lies	New Order	-
3	"Weird Al" Yankovic	"Weird Al" Yankovic	-
10	With Sympathy	Ministry	-
11	Zig-Zag Walk	Foghat	-
16	Piece of Mind	Iron Maiden	-
18	In Your Eyes	George Benson	-
23	Confrontation	Bob Marley & The Wailers	-
25	Holy Diver	Dio	-
27	Crises	Mike Oldfield	-
	Duck Rock	Malcolm McLaren	-
31	Too Low for Zero	Elton John	-
	Wrap Your Arms Around Me	Agnetha Fältskog	-
?	Another Perfect Day	Motörhead	[12]
	Private Collection	Jon and Vangelis	-
	Feast	The Creatures	-
	Reach the Beach	The Fixx	-
	Who's Greatest Hits	The Who	US Compilation
	Ring of Changes	Barclay James Harvest	-
	You Bought It, You Name It	Joe Walsh	-
	Life's a Riot with Spy vs Spy	Billy Bragg	debut
	Back to Mystery City	Hanoi Rocks	-
	Bruiseology	The Waitresses	-
	C'est C Bon	Carlene Carter	-
	The Eleventh Hour	Magnum	-
	The First Flower	Play Dead	-
	Head First	Uriah Heep	-
	Learning to Cope with Cowardice	Mark Stewart	-
	Mama Africa	Peter Tosh	-
	The Net	Little River Band	-
	Siogo	Blackfoot	-

June

Day	Album	Artist	Notes
1	Speaking in Tongues	Talking Heads	-
3	Your Move	America	-
6	Plays Live	Peter Gabriel	Live
	Allies	Crosby, Stills & Nash	Live +2 new studio tracks
9	London Symphony Orchestra, Vol. 1	Frank Zappa	-
	Ross	Diana Ross	-
10	Body Wishes	Rod Stewart	-
	Metal Magic	Pantera	debut
	Mommy's Little Monster	Social Distortion	-
	Oil on Canvas	Japan	Live
	State of Confusion	The Kinks	-
	This Means War	Tank	-
	The Wild Heart	Stevie Nicks	-
13	Texas Flood	Stevie Ray Vaughan	debut
	She Works Hard for the Money	Donna Summer	-
15	Escapade	Tim Finn	-
16	Old Wave	Ringo Starr	-
17	Synchronicity	The Police	-
24	Secret Messages	Electric Light Orchestra	-
30	Keep it Up	Loverboy	-
?	Works	Pink Floyd	Compilation
	Diamond Jack and the Queen of Pain	Kevin Ayers	-
	Farewell Tour	Doobie Brothers	Live
	Field Day	Marshall Crenshaw	-
	The Fugitive	Tony Banks	-
	Girl at Her Volcano	Rickie Lee Jones	EP
	Hand of Kindness	Richard Thompson	-
	Sound Elixir	Nazareth	-
	Staying Alive	Bee Gees	Soundtrack
	You Gotta Say Yes to Another Excess	Yello	-
	Variations on a Theme	David Thomas & the Pedestrians	-

July

Day	Album	Artist	Notes
1	Fantastic	Wham!	Debut
	Into Glory Ride	Manowar	-
4	You and Me Both	Yazoo	-
5	Suicidal Tendencies	Suicidal Tendencies	-
11	The Look	Shalamar	-
14	Get It Right	Aretha Franklin	-
15	The Principle of Moments	Robert Plant	-
	Burning from the Inside	Bauhaus	-
	Fire Dances	Killing Joke	-
	The Waterboys	The Waterboys	Debut
21	Burning Farm	Shonen Knife	-
22	No Parlez	Paul Young	Debut
25	Kill 'em All	Metallica	Debut
26	Good for Your Soul	Oingo Boingo	-
27	Everybody's Rockin'	Neil Young and the Shocking Pinks	-
	It's Your Night	James Ingram	Debut
	Madonna	Madonna	Debut
29	The Crossing	Big Country	Debut
	Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks	Brian Eno	-
?	Album	Joan Jett	-
	All of the Good Ones Are Taken	Ian Hunter	-
	Close to the Bone	Tom Tom Club	-
	Butthole Surfers	Butthole Surfers	Debut EP
	Drastic Measures	Kansas	-
	Outta Hand	Coney Hatch	-
	Out For Blood	Lita Ford	-
	The Real Macaw	Graham Parker	-
	Salute	Gordon Lightfoot	-
	Works	Status Quo	Compilation

August

Day	Album	Artist	Notes
1	No Frills	Bette Midler	-
2	Lawyers in Love	Jackson Browne	-
5	Cold Blooded	Rick James	-
	Punch the Clock	Elvis Costello and the Attractions	-
8	An Innocent Man	Billy Joel	-
	Script of the Bridge	The Chameleons	-
9	Ark	The Animals	-
10	Stompin' at the Savoy	Rufus	Live
12	Alpha	Asia	-
	Queensrÿche	Queensrÿche	EP
15	Next Position Please	Cheap Trick	-
	Rant N' Rave with the Stray Cats	The Stray Cats	-
19	Flick of the Switch	AC/DC	-
22	Construction Time Again	Depeche Mode	-
23	Ratt	Ratt	EP
26	Standing in the Light	Level 42	[13]
30	Mummer	XTC	-
31	Eyes That See in the Dark	Kenny Rogers	-
	Hello Big Man	Carly Simon	-
?	The Present	Moody Blues	-
	All for One	Raven	-
	Passionworks	Heart	-
	Dirty Looks	Juice Newton	-
	Future Shock	Herbie Hancock	-
	The Crackdown	Cabaret Voltaire	-
	Torment and Toreros	Marc and the Mambas	-

September

Day	Album	Artist	Notes
1	Swordfishtrombones	Tom Waits	-
2	Built to Destroy	Michael Schenker Group	-
9	Born Again	Black Sabbath	-
12	Labour of Love	UB40	-
14	Commodores 13	Commodores	-
15	Sports	Huey Lewis and the News	-
16	Warriors	Gary Numan	-
	Little Robbers	The Motels	-
22	Lick It Up	Kiss	[14]
26	Shout at the Devil	Mötley Crüe	-
	The Golden Section	John Foxx	-
	Into Battle with the Art of Noise	Art of Noise	EP
	Live in Tokyo	Public Image Ltd.	Live
28	DaDa	Alice Cooper	-
	How Many Times Can We Say Goodbye	Dionne Warwick	-
	Righeira	Righeira	Debut
29	Caught in the Game	Survivor	-
	Heads or Tales	Saga	-
?	Bent Out of Shape	Rainbow	-
	Breaking the Chains	Dokken	US Remix
	Born to Laugh at Tornadoes	Was (Not Was)	-
	Canterbury	Diamond Head	-
	Hard	Gang of Four	-
	In Heat	The Romantics	-
	Johnny 99	Johnny Cash	-
	Land	The Comsat Angels	-
	Mean Streak	Y & T	-
	Mike's Murder	Joe Jackson	Soundtrack
	More Fun in the New World	X	-
	Once a Rocker, Always a Rocker	The Joe Perry Project	-
	One Particular Harbour	Jimmy Buffett	-
	Pitt Street Farmers	The Reels	EP
	Subject...Aldo Nova	Aldo Nova	-
	Windows in the Jungle	10cc	-
	What's New	Linda Ronstadt	-

October

Day	Album	Artist	Notes
3	Genesis	Genesis	-
6	Right or Wrong	George Strait	-
10	Colour by Numbers	Culture Club	-
13	She's So Unusual	Cyndi Lauper	Debut
	Whodini	Whodini	-
14	Can't Slow Down	Lionel Richie	-
	Snap!	The Jam	Compilation
18	Rock 'n Soul Part 1	Hall & Oates	Compilation
	Voice of the Heart	The Carpenters	-
20	Deliver	Oak Ridge Boys	-
21	Silver	Cliff Richard	-
	Soul Mining	The The	-
24	Head over Heels	Cocteau Twins	-
	Without a Song	Willie Nelson	-
25	Uh-Huh	John Cougar Mellencamp	-
27	Midnight Madness	Night Ranger	-
	Infidels	Bob Dylan	-
28	North of a Miracle	Nick Heyward	-
	Zones	Hawkwind	-
31	Pipes of Peace	Paul McCartney	-
	Star Fleet Project	Brian May + Friends	EP
	Working with Fire and Steel – Possible Pop Songs Volume Two	China Crisis	-
?	Live from Earth	Pat Benatar	Live +2 new studio tracks
	No Parole from Rock 'n' Roll	Alcatrazz	-
	Life	Thin Lizzy	Live
	Ziggy Stardust – The Motion Picture	David Bowie	Live 1973
	Melissa	Mercyful Fate	-
	Feel My Soul	Jennifer Holliday	-
	1st	Streets	-
	Alive, She Cried	The Doors	Live
	Hell Hath No Fury	Rock Goddess	-
	Man of Steel	Hank Williams Jr.	-
	Metal Circus	Hüsker Dü	EP
	Never Let You Go	Rita Coolidge	-

November

Day	Album	Artist	Notes
1	Break Out	Pointer Sisters	[15]
2	What a Feelin'	Irene Cara	-
4	Electric Universe	Earth, Wind & Fire	-
	Have You Ever Been In Love	Leo Sayer	-
	Hearts and Bones	Paul Simon	-
7	90125	Yes	[16]
	Undercover	The Rolling Stones	-
	Strip	Adam Ant	-
8	Play Dirty	Girlschool	-
	The Revölution by Night	Blue Öyster Cult	-
	Yentl	Barbra Streisand	Soundtrack
10	Rebel Yell	Billy Idol	-
11	First Offense	Corey Hart	-
14	Beauty Stab	ABC	-
	Believer	Chic	-
	Touch	Eurythmics	-
15	It's About Time	John Denver	-
18	Walk Into Light	Ian Anderson	-
21	Seven and the Ragged Tiger	Duran Duran	-
	Under a Blood Red Sky	U2	Live
25	Back to Back	Status Quo	-
	I'm in Love Again	Patti LaBelle	-
	Nocturne	Siouxsie and the Banshees	Live
	You Broke My Heart in 17 Places	Tracey Ullman	-
28	Now That's What I Call Music	Various Artists	Compilation
30	Into the Unknown	Bad Religion	-
?	Cloak and Dagger	Witchfynde	-
	Conflicting Emotions	Split Enz	-
	Greatest Hits Volume II	Barry Manilow	Compilation
	Music For Films Volume 2	Brian Eno	-
	Clics Modernos	Charly Garcia	-
	The Politics of Dancing	Re-Flex	-
	Treeless Plain	The Triffids	-

December

Day	Album	Artist	Notes
2	The Amazing Kamikaze Syndrome	Slade	-
	Show No Mercy	Slayer	-
	Bark at the Moon	Ozzy Osbourne	-
5	Balls to the Wall	Accept	-
12	Earth A.D./Wolfs Blood	Misfits	-
	Perverted By Language	The Fall	-
14	Service	Yellow Magic Orchestra	-
16	Japanese Whispers	The Cure	Compilation
20	You Shouldn't-Nuf Bit Fish	George Clinton	-
?	Statues In Motion	Statues In Motion	-

Release date unknown

• 21 Years On – The Dubliners (live)
• Ageless Medley EP – Amy Grant
• Ain't It Good to Be Free – Bo Diddley
• All Alone with Friends – Hank Marvin
• Amore – The Hooters
• Angstlos – Nina Hagen
• Bad Influence – Robert Cray
• Bay of Kings – Steve Hackett
• Beat Street – Prism
• Before Hollywood – The Go-Betweens
• Behind the Scenes – Reba McEntire
• The Belle Stars – The Belle Stars (debut)
• The Blasting Concept – Various Artists
• The Brightest Smile in Town (Dr. John Plays Mac Rebennack, Vol. 2) – Dr. John
• Buzz or Howl Under the Influence of Heat – Minutemen
• A Call to Us All – Teri Desario
• Catch as Catch Can – Kim Wilde
• Chazablanca – Chaz Jankel
• A Child's Adventure – Marianne Faithfull
• Chimera – Bill Nelson
• A Christmas Album – Amy Grant
• Come Away with ESG – ESG
• Crystal Logic – Manilla Road
• Dagger and Guitar – Sort Sol
• Dancing for Mental Health – Will Powers (actually Lynn Goldsmith)
• David Grisman's Acoustic Christmas – David Grisman
• Dawg Jazz/Dawg Grass – David Grisman
• Desperate – Divinyls
• Dressed for the Occasion – Cliff Richard and The London Philharmonic Orchestra (Live)
• Doot-Doot – Freur
• Emergency Third Rail Power Trip – Rain Parade
• Even the Strong Get Lonely – Tammy Wynette
• Everywhere at Once – The Plimsouls
• Fall in a Hole – The Fall
• Feeding the Flame – Sad Lovers and Giants
• The First Four Years – Black Flag
• The Fittest of the Fittest – Burning Spear
• The Fugitive – Tony Banks
• Forged in Fire – Anvil
• Fortune 410 – Donnie Iris
• Friends of Hell – Witchfinder General
• Golden Shower of Hits – Circle Jerks
• Good as Gold – Red Rockers
• Good Love & Heartbreak – Tammy Wynette
• Heart to Heart – Merle Haggard
• Ich halt zu Dir – Die Flippers
• Imagination – Helen Reddy
• Introducing The Style Council – The Style Council
• Jonathan Sings! – Jonathan Richman
• Killer Dwarfs – Killer Dwarfs (Debut)
• The Kitchen Tapes – The Raincoats
• Klass – Bad Manners
• Lesson Well Learned EP – Armored Saint
• Let's Go – Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
• Let's Start a War – The Exploited
• Love Is the Law – Toyah
• Merry Twistmas – Conway Twitty
• Music for the Hard of Thinking – Doug and the Slugs
• Naked – Kissing the Pink
• Night Dubbing – Imagination
• Not of this World – Petra
• One Night with a Stranger – Martin Briley
• Over the Edge – Wipers
• Party Tonight – Modern Romance
• Passionfruit – Michael Franks
• Platinum Blonde – Platinum Blonde (debut EP)
• Playback – SSQ
• Privilege – Ivor Cutler
• Prodigal Sons – The Dubliners
• Neruda – Red Rider
• Riding with the King – John Hiatt
• Secretos – José José
• Shine On – George Jones
• Shock Troops – Cock Sparrer
• Sleep in Safety – 45 Grave
• Song and Legend – Sex Gang Children
• The Southern Death Cult – Southern Death Cult
• Speeding Time – Carole King
• The Spell – Syreeta Wright
• Stages – Elaine Paige
• Star People – Miles Davis
• Steeler – Steeler (Yngwie Malmsteen & Ron Keel's 1st band, This band's only release)
• Strive to Survive Causing Least Suffering Possible – Flux of Pink Indians
• Struggle for Pleasure – Wim Mertens
• Sub Pop 9 – Various Artists
• Syncro System – King Sunny Ade and his African Beats
• Tales from the Lush Attic – IQ
• Thank You for the Music – ABBA – compilation
• That's the Way Love Goes – Merle Haggard
• Third Generation – Hiroshima
• A Todo Rock – Menudo
• Tougher Than Leather – Willie Nelson
• Travels – The Pat Metheny Group
• Trick of the Light – Modern Romance
• Urban Dancefloor Guerillas – P-Funk All-Stars
• Visions (Gladys Knight & the Pips album) – Gladys Knight & the Pips
• Water Sign – Chris Rea
• We Are One – Maze featuring Frankie Beverly
• Weeds & Water – Riders in the Sky
• We've Got Tonight – Kenny Rogers
• When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going – Bow Wow Wow
• Words and Music – Tavares
• XXV – The Shadows
• Yes Sir, I Will – Crass
• Yokan (Hunch) – Miyuki Nakajima
• You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet – Bachman–Turner Overdrive – compilation
• Zeichnungen des Patienten O. T. (Drawings of Patient O. T.) – Einstürzende Neubauten

Biggest hit singles

The following songs achieved the highest chart positions in the charts of 1983.

#	Artist	Title	Year	Country	Chart Entries
1	Irene Cara	"Flashdance... What a Feeling"	1983		US Billboard 1 - Apr 1983 (25 weeks), US CashBox 1 of 1983, US Radio 1 of 1983 (peak 1 16 weeks), Canada 1 - May 1983 (13 weeks), Sweden (alt) 1 - May 1983 (28 weeks), France (SNEP) 1 - Sep 1983 (4 months), France 1 - Jul 1983 (5 weeks), Switzerland 1 - Jun 1983 (26 weeks), Switzerland 1 of 1983, Norway 1 - Jun 1983 (20 weeks), Italy 1 of 1983, Italy 1 for 9 weeks - Nov 1983, Canada RPM 1 for 3 weeks - May 1983, New Zealand 1 for 6 weeks - Jul 1983, Japan 1 for 2 weeks - Aug 1983, Australia 1 for 7 weeks - Jul 1983, Springbok 1 - Jul 1983 (18 weeks), France 1 for 7 weeks - Oct 1983, Oscar in 1983 (film 'Flashdance'), Golden Globe in 1983 (film 'Flashdance'), UK 2 - Jun 1983 (14 weeks), ARC 2 of 1983 (peak 1 21 weeks), Australia 2 of 1983, Grammy in 1983 (Nominated), US BB 3 of 1983, ODK Germany 3 - Jul 1983 (31 weeks) (14 weeks in top 10), POP 3 of 1983, Austria 4 - Aug 1983 (7 months), Germany 4 - Jun 1983 (6 months), Canada 4 of 1983, US Gold (certified by RIAA in Jun 1983), Japan 7 of all time (international songs) (sales 0.75), France (InfoDisc) 9 of the 1980s (peak 1, 28 weeks, 1,365k sales estimated, 1983), South Africa 9 of 1983, Holland 13 - Apr 1983 (6 weeks), Belgium 20 - May 1983 (4 weeks), Poland 21 - Jul 1983 (6 weeks), Brazil 23 of 1983, nuTsie 26 of 1980s, Billboard 50th song 26, 55th Billboard 100 30 (1983), Billboard100 31, Scrobulate 31 of gay, AFI 55, Germany 57 of the 1980s (peak 3 22 weeks), OzNet 243, RIAA 256, UK Silver (certified by BPI in Jul 1983), RYM 121 of 1983
2	The Police	"Every Breath You Take"	1983		UK 1 - May 1983 (11 weeks), US Billboard 1 - Jun 1983 (22 weeks), US BB 1 of 1983, ARC 1 of 1983 (peak 1 20 weeks), Canada 1 - May 1983 (17 weeks), Eire 1 for 4 weeks - May 1983, Canada RPM 1 for 2 weeks - Jun 1983, Canada 1 of 1983, Springbok 1 - Jul 1983 (22 weeks), Spain 1 for 1 week - Aug 1983, Top Song of 1983 of the Billboard 50th list, US CashBox 2 of 1983, US Radio 2 of 1983 (peak 1 16 weeks), Sweden (alt) 2 - Jun 1983 (28 weeks), Norway 2 - Jun 1983 (15 weeks), nuTsie 2 of 1980s, Grammy in 1983 (Nominated), MTV Video of the year 1984 (Nominated), KROQ 3 of 1983, US Gold (certified by RIAA in Aug 1983), Poland 5 - Jun 1983 (12 weeks), South Africa 5 of 1983, Holland 6 - May 1983 (9 weeks), Switzerland 6 - Jul 1983 (6 weeks), Brazil 7 of 1983, Austria 8 - Aug 1983 (3 months), Belgium 8 - Jun 1983 (7 weeks), Germany 8 - Jun 1983 (4 months), ODK Germany 8 - Jun 1983 (19 weeks) (6 weeks in top 10), France (SNEP) 9 - Sep 1983 (1 month), France 10 - May 1983 (1 week), Australia 10 of 1983, Italy 10 of 1983, Virgin 12, Scrobulate 13 of 80s, DMDB 16 (1983), Billboard 50th song 25, 55th Billboard 100 28 (1983), Billboard100 29, Holland free40 33 of 1983, Europe 33 of the 1980s (1983), Acclaimed 38 (1983), OzNet 38, Japan (Tokyo) 41 - Nov 1988 (3 weeks), RIAA 44, POP 49 of 1983, Poland 68 of all time, TheQ 76, Rolling Stone 84, 90 in 2FM list, Vinyl Surrender 97 (1983), Belgium 110 of all time, WXPN 216, UK Silver (certified by BPI in May 1983), RYM 16 of 1983, BBC Rich Song 8 (songwriter royalties $22.3M), one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 500
3	Michael Jackson	"Billie Jean"	1983		UK 1 - Jan 1983 (30 weeks), US Billboard 1 - Jan 1983 (24 weeks), Canada 1 - Feb 1983 (16 weeks), Sweden 1 - Jul 2009 (15 weeks), Switzerland 1 - Mar 1983 (33 weeks), Belgium 1 - Feb 1983 (12 weeks), Italy 1 for 7 weeks - May 1983, Eire 1 for 2 weeks - Feb 1983, Canada RPM 1 for 2 weeks - Mar 1983, Australia 1 for 5 weeks - Apr 1983, Europe 1 for 3 weeks - Mar 1983, France 1 for 3 weeks - May 1983, nuTsie 1 of 1980s, US BB 2 of 1983, Holland 2 - Jan 1983 (19 weeks), Sweden (alt) 2 - Mar 1983 (22 weeks), France (SNEP) 2 - Feb 1983 (4 months), France 2 - Jan 1983 (2 weeks), Brazil 2 of 1983, ODK Germany 2 - Feb 1983 (40 weeks) (11 weeks in top 10), Springbok 2 - Apr 1983 (17 weeks), US Platinum (certified by RIAA in Feb 1989), US CashBox 3 of 1983, ARC 3 of 1983 (peak 1 18 weeks), Austria 3 - Apr 1983 (5 months), Poland 3 - Feb 1983 (14 weeks), Germany 3 - Mar 1983 (4 months), Australia 4 of 1983, UK Gold (certified by BPI in Mar 1983), POP 4 of 1983, Norway 5 - Apr 1983 (17 weeks), US Radio 7 of 1983 (peak 1 12 weeks), Switzerland 7 of 1983, Italy 8 of 1983, Canada 9 of 1983, US Songs 2014-23 peak 14 - Jun 2014 (1 week), South Africa 15 of 1983, 15 in 2FM list, Scrobulate 16 of pop, DMDB 23 (1983), Vinyl Surrender 30 (1982), Acclaimed 33 (1982), Europe 40 of the 1980s (1983), Rolling Stone 58, Billboard 50th song 71, 55th Billboard 100 81 (1983), Billboard100 83, France (InfoDisc) 96 of the 1980s (peak 1, 22 weeks, 1,089k sales estimated, 1983), Germany 139 of the 1980s (peak 2 15 weeks), OzNet 249, WXPN 620, RYM 4 of 1983, Guardian Pop 63, Global 33 (5 M sold) - 1983, Party 53 of 2007, one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 500
4	Culture Club	"Karma Chameleon"	1983		UK 1 - Sep 1983 (21 weeks), US Billboard 1 - Dec 1983 (21 weeks), Canada 1 - Dec 1983 (13 weeks), Holland 1 - Sep 1983 (11 weeks), Sweden (alt) 1 - Oct 1983 (20 weeks), Switzerland 1 - Oct 1983 (14 weeks), Norway 1 - Oct 1983 (18 weeks), Belgium 1 - Oct 1983 (11 weeks), Eire 1 for 4 weeks - Sep 1983, Canada RPM 1 for 3 weeks - Jan 1984, New Zealand 1 for 6 weeks - Oct 1983, Australia 1 for 5 weeks - Oct 1983, Springbok 1 - Dec 1983 (22 weeks), Europe 1 for 12 weeks - Oct 1983, Spain 1 for 2 weeks - Dec 1983, Brit best song 1984, ODK Germany 2 - Sep 1983 (20 weeks) (9 weeks in top 10), UK Platinum (certified by BPI in Oct 1983), ARC 3 of 1984 (peak 1 16 weeks), France (SNEP) 3 - Nov 1983 (4 months), Austria 3 - Nov 1983 (4 months), Germany 3 - Jan 1984 (4 months), US Gold (certified by RIAA in Feb 1984), Switzerland 5 of 1983, Canada 5 of 1984, UK sales 7 of the 1980s (1,400 k in 1983), South Africa 7 of 1984, Poland 8 - Sep 1983 (6 weeks), Australia 8 of 1983, US BB 10 of 1984, US Radio 13 of 1984 (peak 1 12 weeks), US CashBox 14 of 1984, POP 15 of 1984, Italy 16 of 1983, KROQ 25 of 1983, Brazil 34 of 1984, Scrobulate 71 of 80s, nuTsie 89 of 1980s, Holland free40 93 of 1983, UKMIX 148, Germany 159 of the 1980s (peak 2 14 weeks), France (InfoDisc) 227 of the 1980s (peak 5, 29 weeks, 720k sales estimated, 1983), OzNet 979, RYM 49 of 1983
5	Michael Jackson	"Beat It"	1983		US Billboard 1 - Feb 1983 (25 weeks), Holland 1 - Apr 1983 (11 weeks), France (SNEP) 1 - Jun 1983 (4 months), France 1 - May 1983 (4 weeks), Belgium 1 - Apr 1983 (12 weeks), Canada RPM 1 for 3 weeks - Apr 1983, New Zealand 1 for 5 weeks - May 1983, Europe 1 for 1 week - Jun 1983, Grammy in 1983, Canada 2 - Mar 1983 (17 weeks), Switzerland 2 - May 1983 (24 weeks), Germany 2 - May 1983 (3 months), ODK Germany 2 - May 1983 (35 weeks) (7 weeks in top 10), US Platinum (certified by RIAA in Feb 1989), UK 3 - Apr 1983 (21 weeks), US BB 5 of 1983, US Radio 6 of 1983 (peak 1 15 weeks), Austria 6 - Jul 1983 (3 months), US CashBox 7 of 1983, ARC 8 of 1983 (peak 1 19 weeks), Brazil 8 of 1983, Norway 8 - Sep 1983 (10 weeks), Canada 8 of 1983, Springbok 8 - Jul 1983 (12 weeks), Australia 9 of 1983, Poland 13 - Apr 1983 (5 weeks), Scrobulate 13 of pop, Germany 2000s 14 - Jul 2009 (26 weeks), POP 17 of 1983, Sweden (alt) 19 - Aug 1983 (2 weeks), nuTsie 23 of 1980s, Sweden 37 - Oct 2009 (2 weeks), France (InfoDisc) 63 of the 1980s (peak 2, 27 weeks, 1,182k sales estimated, 1983), Europe 68 of the 1980s (1983), Italy 71 of 1983, RIAA 76, Acclaimed 154 (1982), OzNet 158, Germany 280 of the 1980s (peak 2 12 weeks), Rolling Stone 337, UK Silver (certified by BPI in Apr 1983), RYM 14 of 1983, one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 500

Top 40 Chart hit singles

See also: Hot 100 No. 1 Hits of 1983

Song title	Artist(s)	Release date(s)	US	UK	Highest chart position	Other Chart Performance(s)
"1999"	Prince	January 1983	12	25	2 (Australia)	See chart performance entry 1982 overlap
"2000 Miles"	The Pretenders	November 1983	n/a	15	11 (Belgium)	13 (Netherlands [Single Top 100]) – 14 (Ireland) – 30 (Australia) – 36 (New Zealand)
"99 Luftballons"	Nena [17]	March 1983	2	n/a	(11 countries)	See chart performance entry
"The One Thing"	INXS	March 1983	30	n/a	14 (Australia)	2 (U.S. Billboard Top Tracks) – 30 (U.S. Cash Box Top 100) – 31 (Canada) 1982 overlap
"All Night Long (All Night)"	Lionel Richie	September 1983	1	2	1 (6 countries)	See chart performance entry
"All Time High"	Rita Coolidge	June 1983	36	75	36 (United States)	1 (U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary) – 1 (Canada Adult Contemporary) – 38 (Canada) – 80 (Australia)
"Almost Over You"	Sheena Easton	December 1983	25	89	23 (United States)	1 (Canada RPM Adult Contemporary) – 4 (U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary) – 23 (U.S. Cash Box Top 100) – 35 (Canada) – 68 (Australia) – 86 (U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs)

Other Chart hit singles

• "A Volar" – Menudo
• "Australiana" – Austen Tayshus ^[18] (# 1 Australia)
• "Baby Jane" – Rod Stewart
• "Bad Boys" – Wham!
• "Beat It" – Michael Jackson
• "Big Log" – Robert Plant
• "Billie Jean" – Michael Jackson
• "Blue Monday" – New Order
• "Bop Girl" – Pat Wilson ^[19]
• "Boxerbeat" – JoBoxers
• "Breakaway" – Tracey Ullman
• "Buffalo Soldier" – Bob Marley & The Wailers
• "Burning Down the House" – Talking Heads
• "Calling Your Name" – Marilyn
• "Candy Girl" – New Edition ^[20]
• "Can't Get Used to Losing You" – The Beat
• "Change" – Tears for Fears
• "China Girl" – David Bowie
• "Church of the Poison Mind" – Culture Club
• "Club Tropicana" – Wham!
• "Come Back and Stay" – Paul Young
• "Come On Eileen" – Dexys Midnight Runners (released in 1982)
• "Communication" – Spandau Ballet
• "Countdown/New World Man" – Rush
• "Crumblin' Down" – John Mellencamp
• "Dancing in the Dark" – Kim Wilde
• "Dead Giveaway" – Shalamar
• "Dear Prudence" – Siouxsie and the Banshees
• "Delirious" – Prince
• "Der Alpen-Rap" – Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung
• "Der Kommissar" – After the Fire
• "Din Daa Daa" – George Kranz ^[21]
• "Dirty Laundry" – Don Henley ^[22]
• "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" – Culture Club
• "Don't Let It End" – Styx
• "Double Dutch" – Malcolm McLaren
• "Down Under" – Men at Work
• "Dr. Heckyll & Mr. Jive" – Men At Work
• "Drop the Pilot" – Joan Armatrading
• "Electric Avenue" – Eddy Grant
• "Every Breath You Take" – The Police
• "Everything Counts" – Depeche Mode
• "Family Man" – Hall & Oates
• "Faithfully" – Journey
• "Femme" – Dalida
• "Gimme All Your Lovin'" – ZZ Top
• "Give It Up" – KC and the Sunshine Band
• "Gloria" – Laura Branigan (released in 1982)
• "Gold" – Spandau Ballet
• "Guardian Angel" – Masquerade ^[23]
• "Heart and Soul" – Huey Lewis and the News
• "High Life" – Modern Romance
• "Holiday" – Madonna
• "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" – Laura Branigan
• "Human Nature" – Michael Jackson
• "Hungry Like the Wolf" (1982) – Duran Duran
• "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues" – Elton John (feat. Stevie Wonder)
• "I'm Still Standing" – Elton John
• "In a Big Country" – Big Country
• "I.O.U." – Freeez
• "Is There Something I Should Know?" – Duran Duran
• "Islands in the Stream" – Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton
• "It's a Mistake" – Men At Work
• "Jeopardy" – The Greg Kihn Band
• "Johnny B. Goode" – Peter Tosh
• "Karma Chameleon" – Culture Club
• "King of Pain" – The Police
• "Kiss the Bride" – Elton John
• "Let The Music Play" – Shannon
• "Let's Dance" – David Bowie
• "Little Red Corvette" – Prince
• "Long Hot Summer" – The Style Council
• "The Love Cats" – The Cure
• "Love Is a Battlefield" – Pat Benatar
• "Love Is a Stranger" – Eurythmics
• "Love of the Common People" – Paul Young
• "Love On Your Side" – Thompson Twins
• "Mad World"- Tears For Fears
• "Major Tom (Coming Home)" – Peter Schilling
• "Mama" – Genesis
• "Maniac" – Michael Sembello
• "Many Rivers to Cross" – UB40
• "Marguerita Time" – Status Quo
• "Modern Love" – David Bowie
• "Mon ami m'a quittée" – Celine Dion
• "Moonlight Shadow" – Mike Oldfield
• "Mr. Roboto" – Styx
• "My Oh My" – Slade
• "Nasty Girl" – Vanity 6
• "Never Gonna Let You Go" – Sergio Mendes
• "New Song" – Howard Jones
• "New Year's Day" – U2
• "Nobody's Diary" – Yazoo
• "Oblivious" – Aztec Camera
• "One on One" – Hall & Oates
• "One Thing Leads to Another" – The Fixx
• "Only for Love" – Limahl
• "Only You" – Various
• "Our House" – Madness
• "Our Lips Are Sealed" – Fun Boy Three
• "Over and Over" – Shalamar
• "Overkill" – Men at Work
• "Owner of a Lonely Heart" – Yes
• "Pale Shelter" – Tears for Fears
• "Photograph" – Def Leppard
• "Physical Attraction"- Madonna
• "Pink Houses" – John Mellencamp
• "Pipes Of Peace" – Paul McCartney
• "Power and the Passion" – Midnight Oil
• "Pride and Joy" – Stevie Ray Vaughan
• "Promises, Promises" – Naked Eyes
• "Puttin' on the Ritz" – Taco
• "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" (1982) – Michael Jackson
• "Queen of the Broken Hearts" – Loverboy
• "Radio Free Europe" (I.R.S. version) – R.E.M.
• "Rainbow in the Dark" – Dio
• "Rio" (1982) – Duran Duran
• "Rip It Up" – Orange Juice
• "Rock 'n' Roll Is King" – Electric Light Orchestra
• "Rock of Ages" – Def Leppard
• "Rock the Casbah" – The Clash (released in 1982)
• "Rockit" – Herbie Hancock
• "Run Runaway" – Slade
• "Runaway" – Bon Jovi
• "The Safety Dance" – Men Without Hats
• "Saved by Zero" – The Fixx
• "Say Say Say" – Michael Jackson & Paul McCartney
• "Screaming for Vengeance" (1982) – Judas Priest
• "Send Her My Love" – Journey
• "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" – Journey
• "Sex (I'm a ...)" – Berlin
• "Shame on the Moon" – Bob Seger
• "Sharp Dressed Man" – ZZ Top
• "She Blinded Me with Science" – Thomas Dolby (released in 1982)
• "She Works Hard for the Money" – Donna Summer
• "She's a Beauty" – The Tubes
• "Shipbuilding" – Robert Wyatt
• "Should I Stay or Should I Go" – The Clash
• "Shout at the Devil" – Mötley Crüe
• "Si la vie est cadeau" – Corinne Hermès ^[24]
• "Solitaire" – Laura Branigan
• "Speak Like a Child" – The Style Council
• "Stand Back" – Stevie Nicks
• "Steppin' Out" – Joe Jackson
• "Straight from the Heart" – Bryan Adams
• "Suddenly Last Summer" – The Motels
• "The Sun and the Rain" – Madness
• "The Sun Goes Down (Living It Up)" – Level 42
• "Sunday Bloody Sunday" – U2
• "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" – Eurythmics
• "Synchronicity II" – The Police
• "Talking in Your Sleep" – The Romantics
• "Tell Her About It" – Billy Joel
• "Tell Her No" – Juice Newton
• "Temptation" – Heaven 17
• "Tender Is the Night" – Jackson Browne
• "Thank You For The Music" – ABBA (released in 1977)
• "That's All" – Genesis
• "That's Love" – Jim Capaldi
• "Always Something There to Remind Me" – Naked Eyes
• "They Don't Know" – Tracey Ullman
• "This Charming Man" – The Smiths
• "This Time" – Bryan Adams
• "Thunder And Lightning" – Thin Lizzy
• "Time (Clock of the Heart)" – Culture Club
• "Tonight I Celebrate My Love" – Peabo Bryson and Roberta Flack
• "Too Low For Zero" – Elton John (in US & Australia; not released in the rest of UK and Europe until 1985/86)
• "Too Shy" – Kajagoogoo
• "Total Eclipse of the Heart" – Bonnie Tyler
• "Tour de France" – Kraftwerk
• "The Trooper" – Iron Maiden
• "True" – Spandau Ballet
• "Twilight Zone" – Golden Earring (released in 1982)
• "Twist of Fate" – Olivia Newton-John
• "Twisting by the Pool" – Dire Straits
• "Under Attack" – ABBA
• "Undercover of the Night" – The Rolling Stones
• "Union of the Snake" – Duran Duran
• "Up Where We Belong" – Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes
• "Uptown Girl" – Billy Joel
• "Vamos a la playa" – Righeira
• "Walking in the Rain" – Modern Romance
• "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" (1982) – Michael Jackson
• "The Way He Makes Me Feel" – Barbra Streisand
• "We Are Detective" – Thompson Twins
• "We've Got Tonight" – Kenny Rogers and Sheena Easton
• "What Is Love?" – Howard Jones
• "Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home)" – Paul Young
• "White Lines (Don't Don't Do It)" – Grandmaster and Melle Mel
• "Why Me?" – Irene Cara
• "Wings of a Dove" – Madness
• "Wishing on a Star" – Rose Royce
• "The Word Is Out" – Jermaine Stewart
• "Wrapped Around Your Finger" – The Police
• "You Are" – Lionel Richie
• "You Can't Hurry Love" – Phil Collins (released in 1982)
• "Gravity Talks" – Green On Red
• "Seance" – The Church
• "Fervor" – Jason & The Scorchers

Notable singles

Song title	Artist(s)	Release date(s)	Other Chart Performance(s)
"Cattle and Cane"	The Go-Betweens	February 1983	4 (UK INdie Charts)
"Original Sin"	INXS	December 1983	See chart performance entry
"Radio Free Europe"	R.E.M.	April 1983	25 (U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock) – 78 (U.S. Billboard Hot 100)
"Rip It Up"	Orange Juice	February 1983	8 (UK Single Charts) – 23 (Ireland) – 42 (New Zealand)
"Sunday Bloody Sunday"	U2	March 1983	3 (Netherlands [Dutch Top 40]/[Single Top 100]) – 7 (U.S. Billboard Top Tracks) – 11 (Belgium)
"Synchronicity II"	The Police	October 1983	12 (Ireland) – 15 (U.S. Cashbox) – 16 (U.S. Billboard Hot 100) – 17 (UK Singles Chart) – 21 (Canada)
"Temptation"	Heaven 17	April 1983	See chart performance entry
"This Charming Man"	The Smiths	October 1983	1 (UK Indie Charts) – 15 (New Zealand) – 25 (UK Singles Chart) – 52 (Australia)

Other Notable singles

• "Crafty Fag" b/w "How to Age" – The Nightingales
• "Hope (I Wish You'd Believe Me)" b/w Sleep" – Wah!
• "I Hear Motion" – Models
• "Listening" – Pseudo Echo
• "Nag" b/w "Bits and Pieces" – Joan Jett and the Blackhearts

Published popular music

• "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues" w. Bernie Taupin m. Elton John
• "An Innocent Man" w.m. Billy Joel
• "Karma Chameleon" w.m. George O'Dowd, Jon Moss, Roy Hay, Mikey Craig & Phil Rickett
• "Uptown Girl" w.m. Billy Joel
• "Total Eclipse of the Heart" – w.m. Jim Steinman

Classical music

Premieres

Sortable table

Composer	Composition	Date	Location	Performers
Ligeti, György	Sonata for Solo Cello	1983-10-24	Paris	Stilz [25]

Compositions

• Vyacheslav Artyomov – Tristia for solo piano, organ, trumpet, vibraphone and strings
• Jean-Baptiste Barrière – Chreode I
• John Cage – Thirty Pieces for String Quartet
• Friedrich Cerha – Requiem für Hollensteiner
• George Crumb – Processional for piano
• Jean Daetwyler – Concerto for Alphorn, Flute, Saxophone and Strings No. 2
• Mario Davidovsky – Romancero, for soprano, flute (piccolo, alto flute), clarinet (bass clarinet), violin and violoncello
• Lorenzo Ferrero
  • Ellipse for flute
  • Onde for guitar
• Karel Goeyvaerts – Aquarius I (Voorspel)—L'ère du Verseau , for orchestra
• Jacques Hétu – Clarinet Concerto
• Simeon ten Holt – Lemniscaat, for keyboard (1982–1983)
• Wojciech Kilar – fanfare Victoria for mixed choir and orchestra
• Witold Lutosławski – Symphony No. 3 (1972–83)
• Krzysztof Penderecki – Viola Concerto
• John Pickard – Nocturne in Black and Gold
• Peter Sculthorpe – Piano concerto
• Karlheinz Stockhausen – Luzifers Tanz , for wind orchestra
• Iannis Xenakis – Shaar
• Morton Feldman – Crippled Symmetry

Opera

• Robert Ashley – Perfect Lives (An opera for television)
• Leonard Bernstein – A Quiet Place
• Oliver Knussen – Where the Wild Things Are (children's)
• Olivier Messiaen – Saint François d'Assise
• Per Nørgård – Det guddommelige Tivoli (The Divine Circus)

Jazz

Main article: 1983 in jazz

Musical theater

• La Cage aux Folles – Broadway production opened at the Palace Theatre and ran for 1781 performances
• Doonesbury – Broadway production opened at the Biltmore Theatre and ran for 104 performances
• Mame (Jerry Herman) – Broadway revival
• Merlin – Broadway production opened at the Mark Hellinger Theatre and ran for 199 performances
• Oliver! (Lionel Bart) – London revival
• On Your Toes – Broadway revival
• My One and Only – Broadway production opened at the St. James Theatre and ran for 767 performances
• Singin' in the Rain – London production
• The Tap Dance Kid – Broadway production opened at the Broadhurst Theatre and ran for 699 performances
• Zorba – Broadway revival

Musical films

• Carmen
• Eddie and the Cruisers
• Flashdance
• Le Bal
• Mangammagari Manavadu
• Narcissus
• Neti Bharatam
• The Pirates of Penzance
• Rock & Rule
• Staying Alive
• Yentl

Musical television

• Salad Days

Births

Births
January–April births  · May–August births  · September–December births  · Date unknown

January–April births

January

• 1 January – Jona Weinhofen, Australian musician
• January 6 - Darja Schabad, Latvian actress and singer
• January 7 – Tosin Abasi, Nigerian-American musician (Animals As Leaders)
• January 7 - Hayley Jensen, Australian singer and songwriter
• January 11 – Seun Kuti, Nigerian musician and singer
• January 13 – William Hung, American musician
• January 14 – Takako Uehara, Japanese singer
• January 16 – SYML, SYML is the solo venture of Brian Fennell,
• January 18
  • Samantha Mumba, Irish singer and actress
  • Mike Ezay, American R&B singer (Git Fresh)
  • Katie White, British singer (The Ting Tings)
• January 19 – Hikaru Utada, Japanese singer and songwriter
• January 20 – Mari Yaguchi, Japanese singer (Morning Musume) and host
• January 21 – Rapsody, American rapper
• January 24 – Frankie Grande, American actor, singer, and dancer
• January 25 – Andrée Watters, Canadian singer
• January 27 – John Lundvik, British-Swedish singer-songwriter
• January 30 – Ella Hooper, Australian rock singer-songwriter, musician, radio presenter and TV personality (Killing Heidi + The Verses)

February births

• February 1 – Andrew VanWyngarden, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (MGMT)
• February 3
  • Gilad Hekselman, Israeli guitarist and composer
  • Linus Wiklund, Swedish songwriter and music producer
• February 5 – Baby K, Singaporean-Italian singer-songwriter
• February 8 – Jim Verraros, American singer
• February 10 – Bless, Canadian rapper
• February 13 – Joel Little, New Zealand record producer, musician and Grammy Award-winning songwriter (Lorde, Taylor Swift)
• February 14 – Davidior, a Korean-American record producer, audio engineer, musician, songwriter and singer.
• February 17 – Kevin Rudolf, American record producer and musician
• February 17 - Shaya, Greek singer (Hi-5)
• February 19 – Mika Nakashima, Japanese singer and actress
• February 28 – Linda Király, Hungarian-American singer-songwriter

March births

• March 8 – Piano Squall, American pianist
• March 9 – Mayte Perroni, Mexican singer and actress
• March 10
  • Carrie Underwood, American singer/songwriter
  • Che'Nelle, Malaysian R&B singer
• March 11 – Thiaguinho, Brazilian singer-songwriter
• March 14 – Taylor Hanson American band member (Hanson)
• March 15 – Florencia Bertotti, Argentine actress and singer
• March 19 – Ana Rezende (Cansei de Ser Sexy), Brazilian
• March 20 - Jenni Vartiainen, Finnish pop singer
• March 29
  • Luiza Sá (Cansei de Ser Sexy), Brazilian
  • Jamie Woon, British singer, songwriter and record producer,
• March 30
  • Hebe Tian, member of the Taiwanese girl-group S.H.E
  • Scott Moffatt, Canadian guitarist and singer (The Moffats)
• March 31
  • 40, Canadian record producer, songwriter, record executive, advocate, and former child actor from Toronto, Ontario.
  • Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, American trumpeter

April births

• April 4 – Tei, Korean ballad singer
• April 8 - Jay, South Korean singer (TRAX)
• April 15 – Margo Price, American singer-songwriter
• April 16 – Marié Digby, American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and pianist
• April 18

• Ameerah, Belgian singer-songwriter
• Reeve Carney, American singer-songwriter and actor

• April 20 – Sebastian Ingrosso, Swedish DJ, actor and record producer
• April 21 – Lily Chan, Chinese singer

May–August births

May births

• May 8
  • Bondan Prakoso, Indonesian singer
  • Matt Willis, British musician (Busted) and presenter
• May 10 – Moshe Peretz, Israeli musician
• May 11 – Holly Valance, Australian actress, singer and model.
• Park Hee-von, South Korean singer (Milk)
• May 14 – Anahí, Mexican singer and actress
• May 15 – Devin Bronson, American guitarist, songwriter and producer
• May 21 - Robert Harvey, English singer, DJ, musician and songwriter (The Streets)
• May 23 - Heidi Range, English singer
• May 27 – Sean Douglas, American songwriter and record producer
• May 31
  • David Hernandez, American singer
  • Michael Lynche, American singer

June births

• June 2 – Brooke White, American singer
• June 3 – Kelela, American singer and songwriter.
• June 7 – Indiggo, Romanian-born American twin sisters, singer-songwriters, and reality TV personalities
• June 8 – Lee Harding, Australian singer
• June 9 – Marina Lizorkina, Russian singer
• June 10 – Jason Evigan, American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer.
• June 15 – Laura Imbruglia, Australian indie rock singer-songwriter.
• June 16 – Jen Majura, German guitarist, bassist and singer.
• June 17
  • Connie Fisher, British actress and singer
  • Lee Ryan, British singer
  • Magnus Skylstad, Norwegian musician and record producer (Frequent collaborator with Aurora)
• June 24 – Shermain Jeremy, Antiguan singer and beauty pageant contestant
• June 27 – Evan Taubenfeld, American guitarist, singer, and songwriter (Avril Lavigne)
• June 30
  • Patrick Wolf, English singer-songwriter
  • Cheryl, former member of Girls Aloud, British singer-songwriter and television personality
  • Jamie Morrison, English drummer (Stereophonics)

July births

• July 1
  • Leeteuk, South Korean singer-songwriter and actor.
  • Marit Larsen, Norwegian musician (M2M)
  • Jang Jin-young, South Korean singer (Black Beat)
• July 2 – Michelle Branch, American singer-songwriter and musician (The Wreckers)
• July 3
  • Matt Papa, American singer-songwriter
• July 4
  • Ben Jorgensen, American singer, guitarist, member of Armor For Sleep
  • Andrew Mrotek, American drummer (The Academy Is...)
  • Melanie Fiona, Canadian singer-songwriter
• July 7 – Ciara Newell, Irish singer (Bellefire)
• July 9 – Lucia Micarelli, American violinist and actress
• July 10 – Heechul, South Korean singer, songwriter
• July 11
  • Megan Marie Hart, American opera singer
  • Marie Serneholt, Swedish singer and model (A*Teens)
• July 14 – Khalil Fong, Hong Kong singer/songwriter and producer (d. 2025)
• July 17 – Joker Xue, Chinese singer-songwriter
• July 18 – Aaron Gillespie, American drummer (Underoath)
• July 20 – Jason Chan, Hong Kong Canadian singer and actor
• July 21 – Eivør Pálsdóttir, Faroese singer and composer
• July 22 – Sharni Vinson, Australian dancer, actor and television personality
• July 22 - Arsenium, Moldovan singer (O-Zone)
• July 23 – Bec Hewitt, Australian singer, dancer, and actor
• July 24 – Morgan Sorne, American singer-songwriter and multi-media artist
• July 31 – Yola, English singer-songwriter, musician, and actress

August births

• August 7 – Christian Chávez, Mexican singer and actor
• August 8 – Vanessa Amorosi, Australian singer/songwriter
• August 9 – Ashley Johnson, American actress and singer
• August 14 – Sunidhi Chauhan, playback singer
• August 18
  • Danny!, American record producer/recording artist
  • Mika, British singer
  • Emma McKenna, Canadian singer-songwriter
• August 19
  • Tammin Sursok, South African-born Australian actress and singer.
  • Missy Higgins, Australian singer-songwriter, musician and actress.
• August 21 – Brody Jenner, American dj
• August 25 – James Righton, English musician, multi instrumentalist
• August 28 – Alfonso Herrera, Mexican singer and actor ^[26]
• August 30 – Jun Matsumoto, Japanese singer and actor

September–December births

September births

• September 2 – Aimee Osbourne, English actress and singer
• September 12
  • Frank Dukes, Canadian record producer and dj
  • Carly Smithson, Irish singer
• September 14 – Amy Winehouse, English soul, jazz, blues and rnb singer-songwriter (died 2011)
• September 17 – Jennifer Peña, American singer and actress
• September 20 – A-Lin, Taiwanese singer
• September 25 – Donald Glover, American actor, comedian, writer, director, rapper, and DJ
• September 30 – T-Pain, American rapper & singer-songwriter

October births

• October 7 – Flying Lotus, American rapper and producer, founded Brainfeeder
• October 10
  • Alyson Hau, Hong Kong radio DJ
  • Jack Savoretti, English acoustic artist (Kylie Minogue)
  • Lzzy Hale, American singer, songwriter, and musician. (Halestorm)
• October 16 – Loreen, Swedish singer-songwriter and two time winner of Eurovision Song Contest
• October 20 – Alona Tal, Israeli singer and actress.
• October 22 – Plan B, English hip hop rapper
• Byul, South Korean singer
• October 24 – Adrienne Bailon, American singer and actress
• October 26 – Houston, American R&B singer
• October 29
  • Amit Sebastian Paul, Swedish singer (A-Teens)
  • Richard Brancatisano, Australian actor/musician
• October 30 – Diana Karazon, Jordanian singer

November births

• November 7 – Forrest Kline, American singer and songwriter (Hellogoodbye)
• November 10 – Miranda Lambert, American country musician
• November 14
  • Lil Boosie, American rapper
  • Chelsea Wolfe, American singer-songwriter
• November 16
  • Fallon Bowman, South African–born guitarist (Kittie)
  • K, South Korean singer
• November 17 – El Guincho, a Spanish musician, singer, and record producer
• November 20 – Future, American rapper
• November 22 – Xiao Yu, Taiwanese singer and songwriter
• November 23 – Tristen Gaspadarek, American singer-songwriter and musician
• November 24 – Adam22, American hip hop podcaster
• November 27 – Nyla, Jamaican singer and songwriter (Brick & Lace)
• November 28
  • Rostam Batmanglij, American record producer, musician, singer, songwriter, and composer (Vampire Weekend)
  • Tyler Glenn, American alternative singer (Neon Trees)

December births

• December 3 – Sherri DuPree, American singer-songwriter
• December 12 – Katrina Elam, American country singer-songwriter
• December 15 – Brooke Fraser, New Zealand singer-songwriter, musician
• December 17
  • Kosuke Saito, Japanese DJ
  • Domino Kirke, British-American singer, doula, and actress
• December 29 – Jessica Andrews, American country music singer
• December 31 – Sayaka Ichii, Japanese singer (Morning Musume)

Birth date unknown

• unknown
  • Dan Sultan, Australian alternative rock singer-songwriter-guitarist
  • Joseph Tawadros, Egyptian-born Australian oud virtuoso
  • Riopy, French-born British pianist and composer. (worked with Lana Del Rey)

Deaths

Deaths
January–April deaths  · May–August deaths  · September–December deaths  · Date unknown

January–April deaths

January deaths

• January 5 – Amy Evans, operatic soprano and actress, 98
• January 7 – Edith Coates, operatic mezzo-soprano, 74
• January 12 - Rebop Kwaku Baah, rock and jazz percussionist with Traffic and Can, 38
• January 28 – Billy Fury, singer, 42 (heart attack)
• January 31 – Lorraine Ellison, soul singer, 51

February deaths

• February 4 – Karen Carpenter, singer and drummer, 32 (cardiac arrest due to anorexia nervosa)
• February 8
  • Charles Kullman, operatic tenor, 80
  • Alfred Wallenstein, cellist, 84
• February 12 – Eubie Blake, pianist, 96
• February 18 – Leopold Godowsky, Jr., violinist and chemist, 82
• February 22 – Sir Adrian Boult, conductor, 93
• February 23 – Herbert Howells, organist and composer, 90
• February 28 – Winifred Atwell, Trinidadian pianist, 69

March deaths

• March 6 – Cathy Berberian, singer and composer, 57
• March 7
  • Igor Markevitch, Ukrainian composer and conductor, 70
  • William Walton, British composer, 80

April deaths

• April 4 – Danny Rapp (Danny and the Juniors), 41 (suicide by gunshot)
• April 5 – Cliff Carlisle, country and blues singer, 79
• April 13 – Dolo Coker, jazz pianist and composer, 55
• April 14 – Pete Farndon (The Pretenders), English bassist, 30 (drug overdose)
• April 17 – Felix Pappalardi, American producer and bassist, 43 (gunshot)
• April 23 – Earl Hines, American jazz pianist, 79
• April 30
  • Muddy Waters, blues singer and guitarist, 70 (heart attack)
  • George Balanchine, Russian-American choreographer, 79

May–August deaths

May deaths

• May 23
  • George Bruns, film composer, 68
  • Finn Mortensen, composer and music critic, 61
• May 25 – Paul Quinichette, saxophonist, 67

June deaths

• June 2 – Stan Rogers, folk musician, 33
• June 25 – Alberto Ginastera, Argentine composer, 67 ^[27]

July deaths

• July 4 – Claus Adam, cellist, 66
• July 5 – Harry James, bandleader, 67
• July 12 – Chris Wood, rock musician, 39
• July 23 – Georges Auric, French composer, member of Les Six , 84
• July 27 – Jerome Moross, composer, conductor and orchestrator, 69
• July 30 – Howard Dietz, lyricist, 86

August deaths

• August 2 – James Jamerson, bassist, 47
• August 3 – Helge Bonnén, pianist and composer, 87
• August 6 – Klaus Nomi, singer, 39 (complications from AIDS)
• August 13 – Zdeněk Liška, Czech film composer, 61
• August 14 – Omer Létourneau, pianist, organist, composer and conductor, 92
• August 17 – Ira Gershwin, American lyricist, 86
• August 24 – Arkady Filippenko, composer, 71

September–December deaths

September deaths

• September 5 – John Gilpin, dancer, 53 (heart attack)
• September 11 – Brian Lawrance, Australian bandleader, 74 ^[28]
• September 24 – Isobel Baillie, operatic soprano, 88
• September 25 – Paul Jacobs, American pianist, 53 (complications from AIDS)

October deaths

• October 16
  • Øivin Fjeldstad, violinist and conductor, 80
  • George Liberace, violinist and arranger, 72

November deaths

• November 3 – Alfredo Antonini, conductor, 82
• November 7 – Germaine Tailleferre, composer, only female member of Les Six, 88 ^[29]
• November 15 – John Grimaldi, English keyboard player and songwriter (Argent), 28
• November 19 – Tommy Evans, bassist of the rock group Badfinger, 36 (suicide)

December deaths

• December 6 – Lucienne Boyer, French singer, 80
• December 11 – Simon Laks, Polish composer and violinist, 82
• December 28 – Dennis Wilson, American singer, songwriter and drummer, 39 (drowned)

Death date unknown

• date unknown
  • Antonio Mairena, Andalusian flamenco singer, 73 or 74
  • Pat Smythe, Scottish-born jazz pianist, 59 or 60

Awards

Grammy Awards

• Grammy Awards of 1983

Country Music Association Awards

• 1983 Country Music Association Awards

Eurovision Song Contest

• Eurovision Song Contest 1983

Charts

• List of Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles of 1983
• 1983 in British music#Charts
• Category:Record labels established in 1983
• List of Oricon number-one singles of 1983

See also

• Ronald Reagan in music

References

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2. Reich, Howard (October 19, 1986). "Queen of captions". Chicago Tribune . pp.  12-13 . Retrieved November 23, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
3. "Thompson Twins". Official Charts.
4. "Official Singles Chart Top 100 20 March 1983 – 26 March 1983". Official Charts.
5. "Official Albums Chart Top 100 20 March 1983 – 26 March 1983". Official Charts.
6. Clines, Francis X. (April 8, 1983). "Watt Reverses Ban on Rock Music at Concert". The New York Times. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
7. "David Bowie". Official Charts.
8. "Official Eurovision Song Contest 1983 scoreboard". Eurovision Song Contest .
9. Illiano, Roberto; Sala, Massimiliano, eds. (2009). Music and dictatorship in Europe and Latin America. Turnhout: Brepols. pp. 671–684. ISBN   978-2-503-52779-6 . Retrieved October 11, 2014.
10. "Dec 02, 1983 Setlist". phish.net.
11. "The Domestic Dispute that ended the life of Marvin Gaye". trutv.com. Retrieved June 18, 2012.
12. Strong, Martin Charles (1995). The Great Rock Discography. Canongate Press. p. 569. ISBN   9780862415419.
13. "Level 42 albums".
14. "RIAA certifications". Recording Industry Association of America .
15. "RIAA". Recording Industry Association of America .
16. "90125" . Retrieved November 7, 2023.
17. Brent Mann (2003). 99 Red Balloons: And 100 Other All Time Great One-Hit Wonders. Citadel Press. p. 46. ISBN   978-0-8065-2516-7.
18. Fitzgerald, Ross (December 29, 2012). "Austen Tayshus sends a postcard from the edge". The Australian . Retrieved December 29, 2012.
19. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives: Australian Chart Book. p. 341. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
20. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 423. ISBN   1-904994-10-5.
21. "The Perfect Beats". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. October 17, 1998. p. 4.
22. Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 8th Edition. Billboard Publications. p. 282.
23. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
24. "Munich 1983". Eurovision Song Contest. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
25. |- Schott Music
26. "Entrevista: la travesía de Alfonso Herrera". Expansión. November 17, 2020. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
27. "Alberto Ginastera | Argentine composer | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
28. "Obituary for Brian Vinrance LAWRANCE". The Sydney Morning Herald . September 13, 1983. p. 19. Retrieved June 23, 2025.
29. Harnsberger, Lindsey C. (1997). Essential Dictionary of Music: The Most Practical and Useful Music Dictionary for Students and Professionals. Los Angeles: Alfred Publishing Co. p. 260. ISBN   978-0-88284-728-3.