Captain Sensible - Happy Talk (1982)

Before embarking on a solo career, Captain Sensible (real name Raymond Burns) was a bassist, lead guitarist, keyboardist, and eventually the main songwriter with The Damned, who he co-founded in 1976. However, ask anyone who remembers the 80s who Captain Sensible was, and they'll probably describe him as a beret-wearing lunatic!

After leaving The Damned Sensible had three Top 40 hits as a solo artist during the 80s. A cover of Happy Talk (featuring backing vocal by Dolly Mixture) was his biggest, reaching #1 for two weeks in the UK singles chart during the summer of 1982. The original version of the Rodgers and Hammerstein song featured in the 1949 movie South Pacific. His other two 80s hits were Wot (#26 in 1982) and Glad It's All Over (#6 in 1984). Captain Sensible rejoined The Damned in 1996, with whom he still tours today.

The video above features a performance of Happy Talk on the Christmas edition of Top Of The Pops and is introduced by DJ Peter Powell - whatever happened to him?

Ultravox - Dancing With Tears In My Eyes (1984)

Dancing With Tears In My Eyes was Ultravox's second most successful single of the 80s (Vienna was the band's biggest hit in 1980) reaching #3 in the UK in 1984. It was the second song to be released from the band's seventh studio album Lament. Of course, that video is just as relevant today as it was back in the 1980's and is about a possible nuclear reactor meltdown. The B-side was a piano ballad entitled Building.

Two other songs were released from the Lament album, One Small Day (#22) was released as the first single, and the third and final song was the title track reaching #22. Overall, Ultravox released 31 singles (17 making the Top 40, including a re-release of Vienna) and 10 studio albums.

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