This trip Down Under is in place of our regularly scheduled Mixtape Monday, which will return soon. Scout's Honor. Until then, why not reach down between your legs and ease your seat back. What, that's not how it works on planes? Never mind. Have the helpful steward(ess) ease your seat back, lower your tray table and enjoy these tunes, some of which may have actually been released in the single Greatest Year in Pop Music History, 1982, which I have on good authority was every bit as wonderful South of the Equator as it was up North.
I think I have the provenance and chronological order of these first four albums figured out. EMI lays claim to manufacturing and distribution on all four albums and all four titles were made possible through a unique co-operation of five to nine record companies. 1982... In The Sun (catalog# GIVE 1982) appears to be the first one out of the box with all but five of the eighteen tracks peaking on the Melbourne charts between August and December 1981, including a pair of Number Ones. The album is also available as a cassette.
For more information on the songs on 1982... In The Sun, including their peak chart position in Australia, click HERE.
To see album cover and label scans for 1982... In The Sun, click HERE.
Next came 1982... With A Bullet (catalog# GIVE 2005), which topped the chart for five weeks in the Winter of 1982 which you quick-thinking global citizens will have deduced was the equivalent of our Summer on the top half of the world. All but five of the eighteen songs peaked during the three months January through March 1982. Despite my inability to find a suitable image of the j-card, the album was also available as a cassette.
For more information on the songs on 1982... With A Bullet, including their peak chart position in Australia, click HERE.
To see album cover and label scans for 1982... With A Bullet, click HERE.
Third out the gate was 1982... Out Of The Blue (catalog# RML 50003). Featuring eighteen Top 20 singles, fifteen of which were Top 10s including four Number Ones, this album features mostly songs that peaked on the charts in May, June and July 1982. It is interesting to note that the three lowest charting songs are all imports from the U.S.A. (Click the first link below to see what they are.) 1982... Out Of The Blue also topped the charts for a five week span in September and October 1982. Is it me or is this just an extremely busy cassette insert? The track listing is given in three different places! Too many words, not enough graphics and images.
For more information on the songs on 1982... Out Of The Blue, including their peak chart position in Australia, click HERE.
To see album cover, inner sleeve and label scans for 1982... Out Of The Blue, click HERE.
The fourth and final release under the EMI/Festival banner for the year was 1982... Up In Lights (catalog# GIVE 2006), which upped the ante by including twenty tracks instead of eighteen, which had been the norm. Fourteen of the twenty are Top 10s though none made it all the way up to the pinnacle. Predictably, most of the songs peaked in their chart runs during the period between August and November 1982. Once again, the cassette's j-card is a busy design, more about the songs on the tape than the artwork though the latter is featured slightly more prominently this time around.
For more information on the songs on 1982... Up In Lights, including their peak chart position in Australia, click HERE.
To see album cover, inner sleeve and label scans for 1982... Up In Lights, click HERE.
Polystar's first hit-filled compilation for 1982 was Hitwave '82 or Hit Wave '82 (catalog# HIT 082) featuring eighteen songs that mostly peaked on the charts during the first quarter of 1982, including eleven Top 10s and a pair of #1s. Did anyone else notice that two song titles were truncated on the cover and rear artwork for Side 2? It's not printed that way on the cassette insert which is very colorful.
For more information on the songs on Hit Wave '82, including their peak chart position in Australia, click HERE.
To see album cover, sticker sheet and label scans for Hit Wave '82, click HERE.
Polystar's The Winners 1982 (catalog# 6878 207) features songs that peaked during the third quarter of 1982. It features nine Top 10s and two Number Ones among its eighteen songs. I enjoy the swimming pool-themed front cover and think the back cover, like the album above, is very effective at giving song and artist credit as well as feeding possible up sell. Even the j-card from the cassette looks good don't you think?
For more information on the songs on The Winners 1982, including their peak chart position in Australia, click HERE.
To see album cover and label scans for The Winners 1982, click HERE.
All signs point to CBS's Rocktrip '82 (catalog# R 001) being released just after mid-year 1982, in the third quarter. One of the album's eighteen songs peaked in March but the rest all peaked in the second quarter or shortly thereafter. All but one song is Top 20 and all but two songs are Top 10 with three going all the way to the top of the chart. Even more importantly, Rocktrip '82 is blessed with eleven of my All-Time Favorite Songs! (I'm looking you tracks 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14 and 16!) The cassette insert is clean and uncluttered though the guy with the sweet orange foam headphones on the cover doesn't seem to be feeling well.
For more information on the songs on Rocktrip '82, including their peak chart position in Australia, click HERE.
To see album cover and label scans for Rocktrip '82, click HERE.
| peak pos (wks) | 1982 year-end rank | title | score on Aussified K-Tel Scale | |
| 1 (5) | 31 | 1982... Out Of The Blue | 35.17 | |
| 3 | 48 | Rocktrip '82 | 35.17 | |
| 1 (5) | 13 | 1982... With A Bullet | 33.39 | |
| 2 | 38 | Hit Wave '82 | 32.28 | |
| N/A | - | 1982... Up In Lights | 30.70 | |
| N/A | - | The Winners 1982 | 28.67 | |
| 5 | 51 | 1982... In The Sun | 28.39 | |
| 4 | 92 | 1981 Over The Top | 31.44 |
The Super-Sized Spotify playlist below contains the songs from the seven albums above, making for a great seven-hour 1982 flashback with some Aussie imports peppered amongst the usual suspects.
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