List of UK Independent Albums Chart number ones of the 1980s

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These are the UK Official Indie Chart number-one albums of the 1980s, as compiled by MRIB. [1]

ArtistAlbumRecord labelDate first reached number oneTotal number of weeks [2]
1980
Adam and the Ants Dirk Wears White Sox Do It 19 January 198013*
Crass Stations of the Crass Crass 26 January 19805*
Joy Division Unknown Pleasures Factory 9 February 19801
Toyah Sheep Farming in Barnet Safari 23 February 19803
The Cramps Songs the Lord Taught Us Illegal 29 March 19801
The Pop Group For How Much Longer Do We Tolerate Mass Murder? Y 5 April 19803
The Slits Bootleg Retrospective Y 26 April 19803
The Fall Totale's Turns Rough Trade 17 May 19805
Toyah The Blue Meaning Safari 21 June 19802
Black Sabbath Live at Last NEMS5 July 19803
Joy Division Closer Factory 26 July 19808
UB40 Signing Off Graduate20 September 198011*
Bauhaus In the Flat Field 4AD 22 November 19802
The Fall Grotesque (After the Gramme) Rough Trade 6 December 19803
1981
Theatre of Hate He Who Dares WinsBurning Rome Records4 April 19815
A Certain Ratio To Each... Factory 9 May 19811
The Exploited Punks Not Dead Secret 16 May 19812
Au Pairs Playing with a Different Sex Human30 May 19812
UB40 Present Arms DEP International 13 June 198111*
Crass Penis Envy Crass 11 July 19815
Anti-Pasti The Last CallRondelet22 August 19812
Cabaret Voltaire Red Mecca Rough Trade 26 September 19811
Joy Division Still Factory 24 October 19811
Depeche Mode Speak & Spell Mute 21 November 19817*
New Order Movement Factory 5 December 19814*
1982
A Certain Ratio Sextet Factory 30 January 19824*
23 Skidoo Seven Songs Fetish 6 March 19821
Pigbag Dr Heckle and Mr Jive Y 13 March 198210*
The 4-Skins The Good, The Bad & The 4-Skins Secret 15 May 19821
Anti-Nowhere League We Are...The League WXYZ29 May 19825*
The Exploited Troops of Tomorrow Secret 26 June 19823
Cabaret Voltaire 2x45 Rough Trade 24 July 19821
The Birthday Party Junkyard 4AD 31 July 19824
Crass Christ - The Album Crass 28 August 19821
Yazoo Upstairs at Eric's Mute 4 September 198212*
UB40 UB44 DEP International 16 October 19823*
Depeche Mode A Broken Frame Mute 30 October 19822
Toyah Warrior Rock: Toyah on Tour Safari 20 November 19822
1983
Various artists Pillows & Prayers Cherry Red 15 January 19835
Flux of Pink Indians Strive to Survive Causing Least Suffering Possible Spiderleg 19 February 19832
The Meteors Wreckin' CrewID Records5 March 19833
Sex Gang Children Song and Legend Illuminated26 March 19832
Conflict It's Time to See Who's Who Corpus Christi 9 April 19833
Aztec Camera High Land, Hard Rain Rough Trade 30 April 19832
New Order Power, Corruption & Lies Factory 14 May 19837*
Crass Yes Sir, I Will Crass 18 June 19833
The Cramps ...Off the Bone Illegal 9 July 19832
Yazoo You and Me Both Mute 23 July 19838*
Depeche Mode Construction Time Again Mute 3 September 19835*
Cocteau Twins Cocteau Twins 4AD 5 November 19834
The Cramps Smell of Female Big Beat 3 December 19833
The Fall Perverted by Language Rough Trade 24 December 19834
1984
Billy Bragg Life's a Riot with Spy vs Spy Go! Discs 21 January 19846
The Smiths The Smiths Rough Trade 3 March 198412
New Model Army Vengeance Abstract26 May 19841
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds From Her to Eternity Mute 2 June 19846
Xmal Deutschland Tocsin 4AD 14 July 19843
Various artistsRockabilly Psychosis and the Garage Disease Big Beat 4 August 19841
23 Skidoo Urban GamelanIlluminated11 August 19841
Theatre of Hate RevolutionBurning Rome Records18 August 19846
Skeletal Family Burning Oil Red Rhino 29 September 19842
Depeche Mode Some Great Reward Mute 13 October 19842
This Mortal Coil It'll End in Tears 4AD 27 October 19844
The Smiths Hatful of Hollow Rough Trade 24 November 198413
1985
The Smiths Meat is Murder Rough Trade 23 February 198512
The Long Ryders Native Sons Frontier 18 May 19852
New Order Low-Life Factory 1 June 19858
The Men They Couldn't Hang Night of a Thousand Candles Demon 27 July 19854
Colourbox Colourbox 4AD 24 August 19854
Guana Batz Held Down to Vinyl .... At Last!ID Records21 September 19852
The June Brides There Are Eight Million Stories... Pink5 October 19854
Hüsker Dü Flip Your Wig SST 2 November 19851
Depeche Mode The Singles 81→85 Mute 9 November 19853*
Microdisney The Clock Comes Down The Stairs Rough Trade 23 November 19851
Scraping Foetus Off The Wheel Nail Self Immolation/Some Bizzare 7 December 19852
Dead Kennedys Frankenchrist Alternative Tentacles 21 December 19855
1986
Half Man Half Biscuit Back in the DHSS Probe Plus 25 January 19866*
The Cramps A Date with Elvis Big Beat 1 March 19864*
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry Paint Your Wagon Red Rhino 22 March 19861
Depeche Mode Black Celebration Mute 5 April 19862
Cocteau Twins Victorialand 4AD 26 April 19864
That Petrol Emotion Manic Pop Thrill Demon 24 May 19855
The Smiths The Queen Is Dead Rough Trade 21 June 19868*
Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction High Priest of Love Food 16 August 19861
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds Kicking Against the Pricks Mute 30 August 19864
Elvis Costello and the Attractions Blood & Chocolate Demon 27 September 19862
New Order Brotherhood Factory 11 October 19866
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds Your Funeral... My Trial Mute 22 November 19862
Harold Budd, Elizabeth Fraser, Robin Guthrie and Simon Raymonde The Moon and the Melodies 4AD 6 December 19862
Dead Kennedys Bedtime for Democracy Alternative Tentacles 20 December 19867
1987
Wiseblood Dirtdish K 4227 February 19873
The Smiths The World Won't Listen Rough Trade 28 February 19875
The Railway Children Reunion Wilderness Factory 4 April 19871
Erasure The Circus Mute 11 April 198716*
The Woodentops Live Hypnobeat Live Rough Trade 9 May 19871
Wire The Ideal Copy Mute 16 May 19872
Fields of the Nephilim Dawnrazor Situation Two 30 May 19872
Sonic Youth Sister Blast First 13 June 19873
Dead Kennedys Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death Alternative Tentacles 4 July 19875
Conflict Turning Rebellion into MoneyMortarhate8 August 19872
New Order Substance 1987 Factory 22 August 19875
Big Black Songs About Fucking Touch and Go 26 September 19871
The Smiths Strangeways, Here We Come Rough Trade 3 October 19875*
The Wedding Present George Best Reception24 October 19875*
The Fall Palace of Swords Reversed Rough Trade 5 December 19872
The Stupids Jesus Meets The Stupids Vinyl Solution 19 December 19872
1988
The Woodentops Wooden Foot Cops on the Highway Rough Trade 5 March 19884
Erasure The Innocents Mute 30 April 19885*
The Sugarcubes Life's Too Good One Little Indian 21 May 19882
The House of Love The House of Love Creation 4 June 19884
The Weather Prophets Judges, Juries and Horsemen Creation 25 June 19881
A. R. Kane 69 Rough Trade 9 July 19881
Joy Division Substance Factory 23 July 19883
The Wedding Present Tommy Reception13 August 19881
Various artistsDoing It for the Kids Creation 20 August 19884
The Smiths Rank Rough Trade 17 September 19882
Cocteau Twins Blue Bell Knoll 4AD 1 October 19883
Dinosaur Jr. Bug Blast First 22 October 19881
Sonic Youth Daydream Nation Enigma 29 October 19883
Napalm Death From Enslavement to Obliteration Earache 19 November 19882
My Bloody Valentine Isn't Anything Creation 3 December 19883
Kylie Minogue Kylie PWL 24 December 19884
1989
Loop Fade Out Head4 February 19891
New Order Technique Factory 11 February 19895
Spacemen 3 Playing with Fire Fire 18 March 19892
De La Soul 3 Feet High and Rising Tommy Boy 1 April 19892
Pixies Doolittle 4AD 29 April 19893
Jason Donovan Ten Good Reasons PWL 20 May 19894*
The Stone Roses The Stone Roses Silvertone 3 June 198919*
Mega City Four TranzophobiaDecoy24 June 19891
Fugazi Margin Walker Dischord 29 July 19892
The Primitives Lazy 86–88Lazy9 September 19891
Primal Scream Primal Scream Creation 30 September 19892
The Sugarcubes Here Today, Tomorrow Next Week! One Little Indian 14 October 19892
Erasure Wild! Mute 28 October 19893
Mudhoney Mudhoney Sub Pop 18 November 19892

See also

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References

  1. "Indie Hits". Archived from the original on 16 October 2007 via Cherry Red Records.
    • indicates total weeks of non-consecutive runs at number one