The Fixx - "Saved By Zero"

(Debuted May 28, 1983, Peaked #20, 16 Weeks on the Chart)

The first Top 40 hit for the British group The Fixx featured a memorable (and oft-repeated) guitar and bass riff and echoing reverberated backing lyrics that lent it an ethereal quality. It fit in nicely with much of the moody, dark material coming out in its day by synthesizer-based acts.

Written by the group's members, the title refers to a Buddhist philosophy where "zero" represents a point where all material possessions are gone, as well as the corresponding debt and the bills needed to maintain those things. In effect, having nothing is seen as not only having nothing to lose but also nothing owed to anybody.

The video for the song (shown below) features a frustrated artist who is torn by his childhood rejections and his fear of "selling out" by his fans. As an added bonus, there is imagery galore: a woman falls through a ceiling window, singer Cy Curnin smears paint over his body, wine spills, a pair of hands in shackles rips through a canvas and a blind man shows up at an art show. And a lot of paint gets splashed around.

Billy Joel - "Allentown"

(Debuted November 27, 1982, Peaked #17, 21 Weeks on the Chart)

Among all of Billy Joel's albums, The Nylon Curtain is perhaps one of his best conceptual statements, as well as one that is easily forgotten amongst bigger and poppier statements like Glass Houses and An Innocent Man. One of the themes explored in that album is the one that leads it off in "Allentown," which is about the death of the steel industry and its effect on those who rely on it to make a living.

It's a message I definitely picked up on, as a kid who grew up in a Northern town that had been largely built around one industry (in my case, paper mills). I watched those mills around me shut down, one at a time, until most of them were gone. When our parents were growing up, it wasn't uncommon for them to be told to try and get a job in one of the mills and seeking the certainty of a regular check and the protection of the union. However, that same advice wasn't given to me and my peers as it became obvious that the jobs there were drying up. Instead, I was encouraged to seek my fortune elsewhere, and that's what I did.

Today, there is a lot of talk about jobs and workers, not only from the politicians but from the voters as well. If anything, it's not a new concept; here are lines of a song from 30 years ago that explains the same situation as others are living through now.

Berlin - "The Metro"

(Debuted May 28, 1983, Peaked #58, 10 Weeks on the Chart)

Despite having the name of a German city and featuring other European locales in this song, Berlin was one of the many groups to emerge from the Los Angeles scene in the late 1970s. Founded by bass guitarist John Crawford, the band was influenced by keyboard-driven acts like Kraftwerk and Ultravox rather than the "skinny tie" guitar-based power-pop of many of its contemporaries.

"The Metro" was one of the band's highlights. A synth-heavy, atmospheric tour de force, the song features random images from what appears to be a sudden breakup and the train ride back. It also was a great use of singer Terri Nunn's vocal range. The video (shown below) made use of Nunn's good looks and was a staple of MTV programming in 1983, which might surprise those who see the song only peaked at #58 on the pop chart.

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra - "Hooked on Classics"

(Debuted October 31, 1981, Peaked #10, 18 Weeks on the Chart)

When Stars on 45 took a medley of Beatles songs to #1, it began a short-lived craze of merging a number of songs together into a single track united by an electronic drum beat. Stars on 45 released followup singles honoring Stevie Wonder and ABBA, and medleys of Elvis, the Beach Boys and one featuring the real Beatles (a mash-up of songs from their movies) appeared from those artists' record companies.

And then there was a series of "Hooked On..." records that saluted different styles. Swing had an album, as did country, but the first of them was called Hooked on Classics. It was essentially a medley of classical music set to a disco beat and was arranged by Louis Clark, who once directed the backing musicians for The Electric Light Orchestra. This time, he directed the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London. The album and single were so successful they spawned four more sequel LPs.

Surprising those who may have guessed there would be a limited interest in classical music by casual fans, the single made the Top 10 on the pop chart. In the case of younger listeners like me, it helped me to realize that some of it was already familiar from cartoons and movies. If anything, it gave me another musical outlet to look into, even if I didn't bother looking too deep into it.

Jeffrey Osborne - "I Really Don't Need No Light"

(Debuted June 5, 1982, Peaked #39, 15 Weeks on the Chart)

After singing on a number of hits in the late 1970s as the singer of the group L.T.D., Jeffrey Osborne went his own way in 1982. His first solo single was "I Really Don't Need No Light," which Allmusic describes as "moody and rhythmic." It features a pulsing synth line, which lends it a contemporary feel, to go with a string arrangement that gives it a fuller sound.

It barely reached into the pop Top 40, but was a solid #3 hit on the R&B chart and crossed over to the adult contemporary chart as well.  It would quickly be overshadowed by its followup single "On the Wings of Love," but Jeffrey Osbourne made it clear he was striking out on his own right out of the box.

Glenn Frey - "The One You Love"

(Not Available on iTunes)

(Debuted August 21, 1982, Peaked #15, 17 Weeks on the Chart)

When The Eagles broke up in 1980, it wasn't long before its members were releasing solo material. Since Joe Walsh had already recorded solo material, it was natural for him. Former member Randy Meisner also appeared late in 1980 with a hit single, but the main creative members of the band didn't get started right away. In Glenn Frey's case, he released his first solo LP No Fun Aloud in 1982.

"The One You Love" was the second single from that album and the one that charted the highest. Frey's style with The Eagles had been described as "laid back," but his rendition of "The One You Love" is a little too laid back in places. The song is a lamentation about being on the wrong end of a love triangle, so its low-key mood is appropriate. However, the saxophone solo by Jim Horn that glides throughout makes the song even better.

Joan Jett & the Blackhearts - "Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)"

(Debuted July 31, 1982, Peaked #20, 14 Weeks on the Chart)

One of the biggest hits of 1982 was "I Love Rock & Roll," which seemed to be everywhere that spring. After spending six weeks at #1 on the pop charts, Joan Jett was suddenly a bigger star than even she probably expected to be. As a result of this sudden newfound fame, a single was issued from her previous Bad Reputation LP, which received little attention when it came out in 1981.

"Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)" was -- like many of Jett's singles -- a remake. It originally was a #2 U.K.  hit for Gary Glitter in 1973 but wasn't a hit in the U.S. With its straightforward beat and crunching guitar riff, it was a perfect match for her style. For its second wind, it made the Top 40; not bad for an "old" song that was overlooked the first time around.

Sparks - "I Predict"

Debuted May 15, 1982, Peaked #60, 7 Weeks on the Chart

Sparks was a duo made up of brothers Russell and Ron Mael. They were Los Angeles natives but moved to England in the early 1970s when they began to attract a cult following that weren't able to get in their home country. Despite a handful of hit singles in the U.K., they never had their first American hit until 1982 when "I Predict" was tagged as the only single from their Angst in My Pants LP.

The reason for their decade-long drought in the U.S. is apparent in "I Predict": they have a quirky nature and a twisted sense of humor. Neither of those qualities will make friends among American radio programmers, but the English audience clued in on it quickly.  Despite their short list of hit songs on this side of the Atlantic, the brothers are still recording as Sparks and still have a rabid fan base.

The Rovers - "Wasn't That a Party"

(Debuted February 21, 1981, Peaked #37, 17 Weeks on the Chart)

This is an appropriate song to take into the weekend. Explaining the happenings of a party where many of the participants probably aren't likely to remember what happened the next day, it was nice for somebody to put down the words so they knew what had happened when they woke up in the cooling tank at the local jail.

The Rovers were originally known as The Irish Rovers and had three hit singles in 1968 including the #7 song "The Unicorn." The band was formed in Canada but consisted entirely of members who had been born in Ireland or Northern Ireland. "Wasn't That a Party" was a song written and originally recorded by Tom Paxton, who had even more lyrics to describe the action.

The version of the song in the video below (as well as in the Amazon and YouTube links) is a new recording made after it was a hit. For some reason, the original version is hard to find in a video.

Jim Photoglo - "Fool in Love With You"

(Not Available on iTunes)

(Debuted April 18, 1981, Peaked #25, 16 Weeks on the Chart)

Jim Photoglo (who sometimes recorded simply as Photoglo) was a singer/songwriter from the Los Angeles area. He charted two Top 40 singles in the early 1980s, and "Fool in Love With You" was the second and higher-charting one. His material wasn't much different from other L.A.-based material of its era, so his career fizzled out rather quickly. He would move on to Nashville and write country music, but returned to his solo career in the 1990s.

"Fool in Love With You" isn't likely to change anybody's outlook on whether it deserved a better shot (in fact, #25 is probably right where it should have gone) but it's not a bad song at all. In fact, I don't understand why it doesn't get played over the sound systems at supermarkets today. It has that inoffensive vibe to it.