(Credits: Far Out / NASA / Uwe Conrad)
Mon 12 January 2026 0:00, UK
The impact of the 1980s as a whole, but particularly in early years like 1981, is an odd thing to quantify. On one hand, it was the peak of pop and rock music. On the other, it was beefed out with a load of utter garbage.Â
That sounds overly harsh, so allow me to explain. The decade in itself was a revolution between the electrifying shores of new wave, synth pop, and glam metal commanding the saddle of the mainstream juggernaut. That element isn’t being questioned – more so what came in between it, lost and thankfully confined to the era’s graveyard.
Think of the neon palette, the leg warmers, the hair that looked like you’d stuck your fingers in a plug socket: that kind of vibe. There’s no point in trying to claim that this somehow wasn’t popular at the time, but it simply proved that the ‘80s, supposedly the best era ever made, also fell victim to the fads and fashions that were better left to die once the moment had passed.
In this spirit, without wanting to crush anyone’s heady ‘80s memories too much, it’s time that we acknowledged some clangers of the era. There is no better place to start than 1981: still close to the start of the era, but just off the starting block enough that the sonic remnants of the ‘70s were beginning to be left behind.Â
To be fair to the charts of 1981, it doesn’t make all that bad a listen. You had a commemorative stint for the dearly departed John Lennon that lasted six weeks, split between ‘Imagine’ and ‘Woman’, and there were also era-defining hits such as ‘Tainted Love’ by Soft Cell and ‘Stand and Deliver’ by Adam and the Ants.Â
But in between all that glory you do find a dud, namely in the form of ‘Begin the Beguine’ by Julio Iglesias, topping the chart for only one week, starting from December 5th. To be fair, we can’t apportion all of the blame to Iglesias – the song was written by Cole Porter in 1935, and he only covered it – but even still, the crime had already been committed.
If you were to imagine a tired cruise line for old age pensioners that goes sailing around the Mediterranean for two weeks in the height of July, this song is not far off what you anticipate the so-called entertainment to sound like. But with a bit of romance, way too much fake tan, and a bossa nova twirl, it became the making of a hit.
It was maybe a reminder of that continental air that attracted the British masses to ‘Begin the Beguine’ so much, especially as they were in the dark depths of winter and coming up to Christmas. The song does take the prize for the first Spanish-language track to ever top the UK charts – but when you realise it knocked ‘Under Pressure’ by Queen and David Bowie off number one, its offences keep stacking up.
In fairness, there are far worse crimes against music than just this singular Spanish affair, but putting it in the context of the seismic hits which the rest of the year produced, as well as the decade as a whole, there’s no point in pretending that it doesn’t pale in comparison. Iglesias was only bringing a taste of the Mediterranean to the world, but that holiday was probably best left out of the memory book.
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