NOW Yearbook: The Vault 1980

1980 was a huge year in pop music, and we have already included a fabulous selection of tracks on the vinyl versions of the 1980 Yearbook, the 80-84 Final Chapter, and the Vinyl Extra 5-LP box-set as part of our appreciation of the year. Those tracks were generally the bigger hits of the year, with their chart achievement a factor in their inclusion. However, that's not the whole singles story of the year, and our celebration of 1980 wouldn't be complete without shining a light on some of the years' singles that have been compiled much less frequently over the years. Welcome to THE VAULT for 1980. Some of the tracks included were Top 40 hits, some missed the chart completely. Some were representative of massive selling albums, and some were big hits in the U.S. and not in the U.K. but all are part of the wonderful pop story of 1980. 45 tracks across 3-LPs - 'NOW Yearbook - THE VAULT: 1980' - pressed in beautiful clear transparent vinyl. LP1 kicks off with established superstars with big U.S, hits: Bruce Springsteen (with 'Hungry Heart'), Billy Joel (with 'You May Be Right') and Blondie with 'The Hardest Part' - a single in the U.S. but not in the U.K. New-wave with a retro feel from The Ramones, The Revillos and The B-52's lead into singles before the hits came for Echo & The Bunnymen and The Teardrop Explodes. flip the LP over for disco-pop from Donna Summer with 'Sunset People' and Shalamar with 'Right In The Socket' ahead of the fusion of soul & jazz from The Manhattan Transfer, and the superb collaboration between Wilton Felder and Bobby Womack on 'Inherit The Wind'. Jazz influenced pop from Level 42 leads to chilled soul from Brenda Russell with her timeless track 'In The Thick Of It' and finishing with the unmistakable vocals of Joan Armatrading. Synth-driven pop would become the dominant genre in the charts over the next year, and LP2 celebrates some of the formative singles of the genre from Sparks and John Foxx alongside Ultravox, The Human League and Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark who would be among the most successful groups of the next five years. More synth-pop from The Buggles and New Musik follows whilst the disc draws to its close with The Tourists with 'Don't Say I Told You So'.The second side opens with 'Dance Stance' from Dexys Midnight Runners - the single that came a few months before 'Geno' took them to #1. Great guitar pop from Squeeze and XTC leads into The Clash, ahead of reggae and ska from Junior Murvin and The Bodysnatchers, and hugely influential early hip-hop from Kurtis Blow with 'The Breaks'. A vintage ballad 'Sartorial Eloquence' from Elton John beautifully begins the final LP followed by more huge musical icons; Paul Simon ('Late In The Evening'), Linda Ronstadt ('Hurt So Bad') and Carly Simon ('Jesse'). Robert Palmer, Bill Nelson and The Cars complete the side with new-wave classics - whilst over on the flip stellar vocals from Pat Benatar and Journey kick off an explosive line up of 1980's rock from Saxon, Girlschool, UFO and the debut single from Iron Maiden. Phil Lynott features with his first solo hit 'Dear Miss Lonely Hearts', whilst the final word is given to the legendary ZZ Top - they were 4 years away from a U.K. chart single, but 'Cheap Sunglasses' hit the U.S. chart in 1980.