Jona Lewie - I Think I'll Get My Hair Cut (Stiff)

Love it. Another one of the man's wonderful demented shuffles with ultra-catchy piano bits and hooks where you least expect them. Jona's still having trouble with the opposite sex but this time he decides the barnet's to blame. Relax and enjoy. (Red Starr, Smash Hits, February 11, 1982)

Madness - Wings Of A Dove (Stiff)

The one we've all been waiting for, yes? The new improved Maddy Boys soar off on a delightful tangent, crossing over their Camden Town roots to accommodate Afro horns, a Pentecostal church choir and some delirious Trini steel drums. They said this was going to be uplifting and it is - religious even. How the Born Again Soul Boys have prospered. Good old Madness, they'll be socking it to the Yanks when this is number one at home. (Max Bell, No 1, August 13, 1983)

With their loony ranks swollen by a steel band and a gospel choir, the "chasps" (as they call themselves on the sleeve) charge along regardless and a good time is had by all. Bags of jollity and, no matter what they throw into the mix, the end result is always distinctively Madness. Can't help but like it. Best Of The Bunch though it's definitely not one of their most memorable songs. (Johnny Black, Smash Hits, August 18, 1983)

Jane Aire - I Close My Eyes And Count To Ten (Stiff)

When Martin Fry delivered his singles reviews the other week, I said to him, "Mark my words, young Fry, afore this year is out we shall have a Dusty Springfield revival on our hands." And at that instant the earth shook and a great darkness did come over Carnaby Street and a mighty voice did speak: "Funny you should say that. Here's the new Jane Aire single; a pretty wretched, ham-fisted rendering of Dusty's finest hour, full-to-bursting of modern bonks and thunks and entirely lacking in the required sensitivity." (David Hepworth, Smash Hits, May 27, 1982)

The Pogues Featuring Kirsty MacColl - Fairytale Of New York (Stiff)

Just the very thing, you might think, to slap on if you're feeling tired, emotional and melancholy of a Christmas Eve is a slab of Shane MacGowan groaning charmingly off-key, lonely and drowning (literally, probably) in has sorrows as he props his weary body over his winnings on the horses. But not quite. Up pops Kirsty MacColl (whose dad wrote "Dirty Old Town" for the Pogues), along with a pile of accordions and what not and together they enter into a spirited duel, with Kirsty chucking insults such as "You scumbag/You maggot/You cheap lousy faggot." Quite magnificent. (Lola Borg, Smash Hits, December 2, 1987)

Kirsty MacColl - He's On The Beach (Stiff)

A sad tale from Kirsty about a boy who takes off on holiday and ends up in Australia. Still, he's happy there. Kirsty will be happy too when the single marches up the charts. It's even better than "A New England", more bouncy and with a chorus that stays in your brain after just one listen. (Anne Lambert, No 1, June 15, 1985)

Even though Kirsty wrote this herself it sounds very like her last single, Billy Bragg's "A New England" - lots of shiny guitars above which a million Kirsty MacColls breathlessly sing the tune. I just don't quite understand why she's bothered to write a song about an old drinking partner who's gone to Australia, spends all his time on the beach and isn't coming back. (Chris Heath, Smash Hits, June 19, 1985)

The lovely Kirsty is always worth a lot of anybody's time. Her appreciation of the finer aspects of pop construction are enough to warm even the coldest discaphile's heart. All the usual ingredients are there - sometime bittersweet but ultimately optimistic lyric, hefty, pacey backbeat, just the right amount of memorable jangling and those trebly harmonised vocals. A tribute to lost love? A yearning for sunnier climes? A summer hit? All these, and more. (Graham K Smith, Record Mirror, June 15, 1985)

Kirsty MacColl - Terry (Stiff)

Kirsty McColl wrote and originally recorded 'They Don't Know'. Kirsty doesn't pull as many faces as Tracey Ullman but she possesses a sly wit and Tracey's love of low-rent '60s rockers. 'Terry' - not the old Twinkle song - is a predictable rocker with a tongue in its head but no other distinguishing features. People don't seem to be called Terry anymore but I suppose fashion can be unkind to names as well as singers. (Mark Cooper, No 1, November 5, 1983)

She is the talented songwriter that wrote Tracey Ullman's last hit and so rightly deserves one in her own right. (Jools Holland and The Panel, Smash Hits, November 24, 1983)

The Freshies - Fasten Your Seatbelts (Stiff)

The good Mr. Sievey is at it again, this time doing a Yazoo by teaming up with Mancunian lady singer Barbara O'Donovan. Brilliantly and shamelessly conceived pop hit single, so well done it hardly matters that the song itself is a bit weak. (Johnny Black, Smash Hits, September 30, 1982)

Now down to a duo, the Freshies' pop vision has finally bottomed out at the level of Bucks Fizz. Where are the titles of yester-yore? Is this the man who wrote "(I Can't Get) "Bouncing Babies" By The Teardrop Explodes"? (Mark Cooper, Record Mirror, September 25, 1982)

Jakko - Who's Fooling Who (Stiff)

Jakko looks like a rather unattractive showroom dummy, so it's something of a surprise to find that this record is not a series of video games put to music but in fact a quite likeable little pop song. A bit Hall and Oates, a bit Kershaw and Jones, this is this week's winner of the quiet man of pop award. (Paul Simper, No 1, March 17, 1984)

Madness - Sun And The Rain (Stiff)

After their calypso outing on the "Wings Of A Dove", this is more typical Madness. The song trundles along merrily, carried by a jaunty pub piano that gives the song a slightly off-beat, lighthearted feel. There's also a touch of a Beatles-ish string section thrown in for good measure. A belter. (Peter Martin, Smash Hits, October 27, 1983)

It's raining nuttiness again. This is a shade more traditional than some of their previous works, boasting some particularly plaintive vocals and a neat shuffling back-up. This looks set to thunder up the charts to floods of appaws. but that's quite enough of that.* (Robin Smith, Record Mirror, October 29, 1983)

* Lots of cat jokes from Robin Smith this particularly week. See also "The Love Cats".

Madness - House Of Fun (Stiff)

With Thommo providing lusty impetus from the horn department and Barso weaving his customary keyboard magic, Suggs only has to knock out the lyric in the usual tongue-in-cheek fashion to make this slice of fairground reggae a worthy addition to the Madness catalogue and a definite hit. No fuss, no bother. (David Hepworth, Smash Hits, May 27, 1982)

The Firm - Long Live The National (Stiff)

As an ex-bookmaker, I wouldn't give any price on this breaking the mouldy top forty. Ethno-cockney romp that is a non-runner next to their previous and seminal "Arthur Daley ('E's Alright"). Mind you, the B-Side "London Is The Biz" is the real works. Move over Chas 'N' Dave. (Jim Reid, Record Mirror, March 26, 1983)

Bit of a non-runner in usual Chas 'N' Dave style cashing in on the Big Race. (Kimberley Leston, March 31, 1983)

King Kurt - Mack The Knife (Stiff)

Predictably oafish version of a sleaze classic, previously sung by Frank Sinatra and everyone who ever wanted to be him.
You know, it embarrasses me sometimes, having to play this sort of stuff at home. The neighbours must think I've got the worst taste in music since Mike Read. (Sunie, No 1, April 21, 1984)

A rather jazzed up version of an old song but it isn't very exciting. They should have tried it at twice the speed. By the way, you get a free flexi disc. (Dave Gahan, Smash Hits, April 26, 1984)

The Winterbabies - Bossa Nova Suicide (Stiff)

A scrupulously clean record, which sets Deborah King's unvarnished voice against Keith Bayley's bleak landscape of rhythmic tension. A Tracey Thorn scraped to the bone, a Carmel for the great outdoors. Clarity, brevity, poignancy - enough said. (Roger Morton, Record Mirror, November 16, 1985)

Language - We're Celebrating (Stiff)

Smart-arse white funk with a pompous vocal and a lot of corny wacka wacka guitar playing. No reason for cracking open a bottle of fizz. (Neil Tennant, Smash Hits, May 12, 1983)

Stiff go disco shock! Unfortunately, this is aimed at crippled penguins. (Robin Smith, Record Mirror, May 7, 1983)