Album Year: 1981
Bella Donna
Bella Donna is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter and Fleetwood Mac vocalist Stevie Nicks. Released on July 27, 1981, the album hit #1 on the U.S. Billboard charts in September of that year with sales of 297,000 copies, remaining there for one week. Bella Donna was awarded Platinum status by the RIAA on … Read more
A Collection of Great Dance Songs
A Collection of Great Dance Songs is a compilation album by Pink Floyd released on 23 November 1981 on Harvest/EMI in the United Kingdom and Columbia Records in the United States. The title is facetious, given that Pink Floyd are not known for making particularly danceable music. This is perhaps evidenced by the album art, … Read more
Juju
Juju is the fourth studio album by English post-punk band Siouxsie and the Banshees. It was recorded at Surrey Sound studio with Nigel Gray as co-producer, and was released on 6 June 1981 by record label Polydor. Two singles were released from Juju: “Spellbound” and “Arabian Knights”. The album was commercially successful in the UK. … Read more
Penthouse and Pavement
When synthesists Ian Craig Marsh and Martyn Ware left the Human League in 1980, the decision seemed iffy; after all, the League appeared on the way up and would achieve global fame the very next year with Dare!. The first album from Heaven 17, Marsh and Ware’s new trio with singer Glenn Gregory, wasn’t greeted … Read more
Memories
Memories is an album released by Barbra Streisand in 1981. It is primarily a compilation of previously released material, but includes three newly recorded songs. The album was certified 5× Platinum by the RIAA, reaching number 10 on the US albums chart. First released on Columbia, it was re-released under the CBS imprint in 1981 … Read more
Music From “The Elder”
Music from “The Elder” is the ninth studio album released by the American rock band Kiss. Album sales were so poor that Kiss did not embark on a supporting tour for the first time in its eight-year history, opting instead to make a handful of promotional appearances. Music from “The Elder” was the last Kiss … Read more
7
7 is the third album from the British ska/pop band Madness. Released in October 1981, it reached #5 in the UK album chart. All but one track was recorded at Compass Point Studios in Nassau, Bahamas in the summer of 1981, the exception being Grey Day which was recorded in London earlier in the year. … Read more
Lightning to the Nations
Lightning to the Nations is the debut album by British heavy metal band Diamond Head. The album was recorded in 1979 (after the 1977 and 1979 demos) and released in 1980 through Happy Face Records, a label owned by the producer Muff Murfin of The Old Smithy studio of Worcester, due to lack of interest … Read more