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
Chart date(week ending) Song Artist(s) Weeks Sales 1 January "Save Your Love" Renée and Renato 2 8 January 111,826 15 January "You Can't Hurry Love" Phil Collins 2 84,286 22 January 124,865 29 January "Down Under" Men at Work 3 128,078 5 February 110,466 12 February 79,152 19 February "Too Shy" Kajagoogoo 2 76,738 26 February 78,472 5 March "Billie Jean" Michael Jackson 1 97,580 12 March "Total Eclipse of the Heart" Bonnie Tyler 2 121,159 19 March 134,249 26 March "Is There Something I Should Know?" Duran Duran 2 108,137 2 April 132,889 9 April "Let's Dance" David Bowie 3 110,789 16 April 100,521 23 April 86,717 30 April "True" Spandau Ballet 4 95,268 7 May 149,022 14 May 107,440 21 May 80,988 28 May "Candy Girl" New Edition 1 65,025 4 June "Every Breath You Take" The Police 4 81,736 11 June 88,536 18 June 74,885 25 June 56,423 2 July "Baby Jane" Rod Stewart 3 68,000 9 July 75,497 16 July 56,848 23 July "Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home)" Paul Young 3 58,973 30 July 74,817 6 August 62,764 13 August "Give It Up" KC and the Sunshine Band 3 56,525 20 August 88,944 27 August 77,622 3 September "Red Red Wine" UB40 3 71,536 10 September 129,438 17 September 144,347 24 September "Karma Chameleon" Culture Club 6 168,164 1 October 239,598 8 October 199,648 15 October 143,378 22 October 119,187 29 October 90,950 5 November "Uptown Girl" Billy Joel 5 109,446 12 November 147,254 19 November 127,993 26 November 86,088 3 December 67,592 10 December "Only You" The Flying Pickets 4 96,934 17 December 119,493 24 December 122,587 31 December
Number one albums
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
Title Artist Peakposition 1 "Karma Chameleon" Culture Club 1 2 "Uptown Girl" 1 3 "Red Red Wine" UB40 1 4 "Let's Dance" 1 5 "Total Eclipse of the Heart" 1 6 "True" Spandau Ballet 1 7 "Down Under" Men at Work 1 8 "Billie Jean" 1 9 "Only You" 1 10 "All Night Long (All Night)" 2 11 "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" Eurythmics 2 12 "You Can't Hurry Love" 1 13 "Too Shy" Kajagoogoo 1 14 "Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home)" 1 15 "Love of the Common People" 2 16 "Every Breath You Take" 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" 1 22 "Say Say Say" and Michael Jackson 2 23 "They Don't Know" 2 24 "Tonight I Celebrate My Love" and Roberta Flack 2 25 "Words" 2 26 "Bad Boys" Wham! 2 27 "Flashdance... What a Feeling" 2 28 "New Song" 3 29 "Moonlight Shadow" 4 30 "My Oh My" Slade 2 31 "Sign of the Times" 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" 3 36 "Church of the Poison Mind" Culture Club 2 37 "Electric Avenue" 2 38 "Mama" Genesis 4 39 "Beat It" 3 40"Double Dutch" 3 41 "Africa" Toto 3 42 "Club Tropicana" Wham! 4 43 "(Keep Feeling) Fascination" 2 44 "Gold" Spandau Ballet 2 45 "Modern Love" 2 46 "Let's Stay Together" 6 47 "Come Back and Stay" 4 48 "Victims" Culture Club 3 49 "I'm Still Standing" 4 50 "(Hey You) The Rock Steady Crew" 6
Best-selling albums Scaping (1984). "Top 100 LPs: 1983". pp. 44–45 Title Artist Peakposition 1 Thriller 1 2 No Parlez 1 3 Colour by Numbers Culture Club 1 4 Let's Dance 1 5 Fantastic Wham! 1 6 True Spandau Ballet 1 7 Now That's What I Call Music Various Artists 1 8 Stages 2 9 Genesis Genesis 1 10 Can't Slow Down 1 11 Synchronicity 1 12 Labour of Love UB40 1 13 Business as Usual Men at Work 1 14 18 Greatest Hits and The Jackson 5 1 15 Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) Eurythmics 3 16 Too Low for Zero 7 17 The Luxury Gap Heaven 17 4 18 Snap! 2 19 The Hurting Tears for Fears 1 20 Rio Duran Duran 3 21 The Very Best of the Beach Boys 1 22 In Your Eyes 3 23 The Crossing Big Country 3 24 Seven and the Ragged Tiger Duran Duran 1 25 An Innocent Man 4 26 War U2 1 27 Introducing Richard Clayderman 2 28 Chas 'n' Dave's Knees Up: Jamboree Bag No. 2 Chas & Dave 7 29 Hello, I Must Be Going! 3 30 The John Lennon Collection 1 31 Faster Than the Speed of Night 1 32 Quick Step and Side Kick Thompson Twins 2 33 Pipes of Peace 4 34 Under a Blood Red Sky U2 2 35 The Final Cut Pink Floyd 1 36 Touch Eurythmics 8 37 You and Me Both Yazoo 1 38 Voice of the Heart Carpenters 6 39 Toto IV Toto 4 40 Crises 6 41 Raiders of the Pop Charts Various Artists 1 42 Formula 30 Various Artists 6 43 Body Wishes 5 44 Chart Hits '83 Various Artists 6 45 Twice as Kool: The Hits of Kool & the Gang Kool & the Gang 4 46 Heartbreaker 4 47 The Essential Jean Michel Jarre 14 48 Lionel Richie 9 49 The Two of Us Various Artists 3 50 Kissing to Be Clever Culture Club 10
Notes:
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