The 25 best indie songs of 1981

21 March 2025, 22:16

Take a trip back to the year of Ceremony, Rapture, Don't You Want Me, Once In A Lifetime and more...

By Radio X

@RadioX

1. The Passions - I'm In Love With A German Film Star: release date 23rd January 1981

   After briefly being labelmates with The Cure on Fiction Records, the Shepherd's Bush-based group signed to major Polydor and hit the big time with this, their fourth single, which made Number 25 in February 1981.

   

   The Passions - I'm in Love With a German Film Star

2. Landscape - Einstein A Go Go: release date 23rd January 1981

   Deeply weird hit single from a New Wave act which had released their debut album back in 1979; it made Number 5 for two weeks in April 1981. Bassist Andy Pask later wrote the theme tune to the TV show The Bill!

   

   Landscape - Einstein a Go Go (1981)

3. XTC - Sgt Rock (Is Going To Help Me): release date 16th January 1981

   Frontman Andy Patridge wrote this song, but later admitted "Of all the tunes that I've written, this makes me cringe the worst". Nevertheless, the track peaked at Number 16 in February 1981 and was XTC's highest charting single until Senses Working Overtime the following year.

   

   XTC - Sgt. Rock (Is Going To Help Me)

4. Blondie - Rapture: release date 23rd January 1981

   Debbie Harry can lay claim to one of the first "rap" records with this progressive tune, influenced by New York's burgeoning hip-hop scene. The second single from the Autoamerican album after the chart-topping Tide Is Hight, Rapture peaked at Number 5 for two weeks in February 1981.

   

   Blondie - Rapture (Official Music Video)

5. The Teardrop Explodes - Reward: release date 23rd January 1981

   The Liverpool post-punk act featuring the charismatic Julian Cope on vocals had their biggest UK hit with this epic standalone single, which made Number 6 in March 1981.

   

   The Teardrop Explodes | Reward | Original Promo Restored | 1981

6. Talking Heads - Once In A Lifetime: release date 30th January 1981

   "Same as it ever was". This classic single was accompanied by an iconic video that saw frontman David Byrne and choreographer Toni Basil develop the singer's "nerd" persona. Despite not charting in the band's USA, after gaining plenty of TV and radio airplay in the UK, the single peaked at Number 14 for two weeks in March '81.

   

   Talking Heads - Once in a Lifetime (Official Video)

7. New Order - Ceremony: release date 6th March 1981

   Before singer Ian Curtis took his own life in May 1980, Joy Division had worked on two final songs: Ceremony and In A Lonely Place. When the surviving members formed New Order later that year, they worked on these tracks with an eye to them making their first release under the new name. The initial pressing featured Bernard Sumner on vocals and guitar, Peter Hook on bass and Stephen Morris on drums, but later in 1981, New Order re-recorded the track with new recruit Gillian Gilbert.

   

   New Order - Ceremony (HQ)

8. Heaven 17 - We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang: release date 13th March 1981

   While their former colleagues Phil Oakey and Phillip Adrian Wright took on the name (and the debts) of The Human League and still struggled to find chart success, Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh had formed a collective called the British Electric Foundation and then a band called Heaven 17 with vocalist Glenn Gregory. This was their debut single, which would later appear on the first Heaven 17 album Penthouse & Pavement.

   

   [We Don't Need This] Fascist Groove Thang

9. The Cure - Primary: release date 27th March 1981

   Keyboard player Matthieu Hartley quit The Cure after an Australian tour in the summer of 1980, stripping the band down to the core trio of frontman Robert Smith, bassist Simon Gallup and drummer Lol Tolhurst. Their third album Faith saw their music become even darker, but this powerful single made the bottom end of the Top 50, while its parent LP was popular around the world, even topping the charts in New Zealand!

   

   The Cure - Primary

10. Department S - Is Vic There?: release date 3rd April 1981

    Originally released at the tail end of 1980, this was the British post-punk band's biggest hit, with a re-release peaking at Number 22 in May 1981.

    

    Department S - Is Vic There (Remastered)

11. The Undertones - It's Going To Happen!: release date 17th April 1981

    Taken from the Northern Irish punk band's third album Positive Touch, this sprightly tune made Number 18 in May 1981.

    

    The Undertones - It's Going to Happen! (Official HD Video)

12. Madness - Grey Day: release date 17th April 1981

    The seventh Top 10 hit in a row for the Nutty Boys, this is one of the Camden ska band's darker tunes - they'd see out the year with their evergreen cover of It Must Love.

    

    Madness - Grey Day (Official Video)

13. Siouxsie & The Banshees - Spellbound: release date 22nd May 1981

    The Banshees' fourth outing JuJu saw the group make one of the early "goth" albums with guitarist John McGeoch. This was the lead single, which made Number 22 on the British chart. McGeoch's work on Spellbound influenced a young Mancunian guitarist called Johnny Marr.

    

    Siouxsie And The Banshees - Spellbound (Official Music Video)

14. The Jam - Funeral Pyre: release date 29th May 1981

    Written by all three members of The Jam - Paul Weller, Bruce Foxton and Rick Buckler - this was a standalone single released between the albums Sound Affects and their final offering The Gift. The track peaked at Number 4.

    

    The Jam - Funeral Pyre

15. Depeche Mode - New Life: release date 5th June 1981

    The second of the Basildon-based electronica outfit's singles - and their first Top 20 hit, peaking at Number 11. They followed it up with Just Can't Get Enough, which was even more popular, breaking the Top 10 - but it would be their last hit written by founding member Vince Clarke.

    

    Depeche Mode - New Life - TOTP 1981 [HD]

16. The Specials - Ghost Town: release date 12th June 1981

    A summer of unemployment, recession and civil unrest was given a suitable soundtrack by this superb single, which spent three weeks at Number 1. After an appearance on the BBC's Top Of The Pops to perform the song, members Terry Hall, Lynval Golding and Neville Staple told bandleader Jerry Dammers that they were leaving; they went on to form their own group, Fun Boy Three.

    

    The Specials - Ghost Town [Official HD Remastered Video]

17. R.E.M. - Radio Free Europe: release date 8th July 1981

    Michael Stipe and his alternative rock heroes began their musical career with this energetic single, issued as a one-off on the Hib-Tone label. By 1983, they were signed to IRS and re-recorded the song for their debut album, Murmur.

    

    R.E.M. - Radio Free Europe (Official Hib-Tone Single)

18. Soft Cell - Tainted Love: release date 17th July 1981

    First recorded by soul singer Gloria Jones in 1964, the Leeds-based electronic duo of Marc Almond and Dave Ball revamped the tune for the 1980s and spent two weeks at Number 1.

    

    Soft Cell Tainted Love (1981)

19. U2 - Fire: release date 24th July 1981

    The Irish post-punk band had their first UK chart hit with this track from their second album October. It peaked at Number 35 in the charts and gave them their debut Top Of The Pops appearance on TV.

    

    U2 - Fire (Live On BBC Top Of The Pops / 20th August 1981)

20. UB40 - One In Ten: release date 31st July 1981

    With a title that refers to the number of unemployed people in the band's West Midlands hometown, this was one of the British reggae band's most politically-charged songs. It made Number 7 in the charts.

    

    UB40 - One in Ten

21. Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - Souvenir: release date 21st August 1981

    A rare vocal from the electronic band's Paul Humphreys, this was the first single from their acclaimed third album Architecture And Morality. All three singles from the LP - which also included Maid Of Orleans and Joan Of Arc - made the UK Top 5.

    

    Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - Souvenir

22. Altered Images - Happy Birthday: release date 25th August 1981

    The Glasgow post-punk band fronted by Clare Grogan had their biggest hit when this tune made it to number 2; it was only kept off the top spot by the ironic remake of It's My Party by Dave Stewart and Barbara Gaskin, followed by Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic by The Police. Indie as we know it started here!

    

    Altered Images - Happy Birthday (Video)

23. Pretenders - I Go To Sleep: release date 6th November 1981

    Originally recorded as a demo by Ray Davies in 1965, this song was never recorded by his own band The Kinks, but there were versions by artists like Peggy Lee and Cher. Chrissie Hynde and co covered the song after she began dating Davies - the pair would have a daughter together in 1983. I Go To Sleep was the final Pretenders single to feature founding members James Honeyman-Scott, who would die in June 1982 and Pete Farndon, who died in April 1983. It made Number 7 in the UK charts.

    

    Pretenders - I Go To Sleep (Official Music Video)

24. Japan - Quiet Life: release date 28th August 1981

    Originally signed to German label Hansa (and "discovered" in the same talent contest as The Cure), Japan hailed from Catford in South London and featured the photogenic David Sylvian on vocals. Originally included on the 1979 album of the same name, Quiet Life was reissued by Hansa in the summer of 1981 after the band had enjoyed success with their first album for Virgin, Tin Drum. It was their first single to break the UK Top 20.

    

    Japan - Quiet Life

25. The Human League - Don't You Want Me: release date 27th November 1981

    After enlisting musicians Jo Callis and Ian Burden, plus vocalists Joanne Catherall and Susanne Sulley, The Human League's fortunes turned around after they began to collaborate with producer Martin Rushent on the album Dare. A series of singles in 1981 - The Sound Of The Crowd (April '81, Number 12), Love Action (August '81, Number 3) and Open Your Heart (October '81, Number 6) - saw the band's commercial success grow, and the year ended with Don't You Want Me as the Christmas Number 1and the album remaining in the Top 10 for an impressive 22 weeks.

    

    The Human League - Don't You Want Me (Official Music Video)