1981 in music
See also: 1980 in music, other events of 1981, 1982 in music, 1980s in music and the list of 'years in music'
Contents |
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Events
- January 10 - Revival of the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta The Pirates of Penzance opens at Broadway's Uris Theatre, starring Linda Ronstadt and Rex Smith
- February 14 - Billy Idol leaves the band Generation X to begin a solo career
- February 15 - Blues guitarist Mike Bloomfield is found dead in San Francisco. The cause of death was ruled an accidental drug overdose
- March 14 - Suffering from bleeding ulcers, Eric Clapton is admitted to United Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota. Clapton's 60 city tour of the US is canceled.
- April 7 - Former Who manager Kit Lambert dies after falling down a flight of stairs in his mother's home in London. Lambert managed the band between 1964 and 1967.
- April 11 - Van Halen's lead guitarist Eddie Van Halen marries actress Valerie Bertinelli.
- April 17 - Eric Clapton is released from St. Paul's Hospital in Minnesota following a month-long treatment for bleeding ulcers.
- April 18 - Yes announces that they're breaking up. (They would however reunite frequently in years to come).
- April 20 - The Mamas and the Papas' John Phillips is sentenced to five years in jail after pleading guilty to drug possession charges. Phillips' sentence would be suspended after thirty days in exchange for 250 hours of community service.
- April 22 - Eric Clapton is taken to the hospital suffering from bruised ribs and a lacerated shin, following a car accident in Seattle, Washington.
- April 25 - Paul McCartney's backing band, Wings, breaks up
- May 11 - The musical Cats begins its 8949 performance run on London's West End.
- August 1 - MTV debuts on cable television, playing music videos 24 hours a day.
- August, UK - the success of Stars On 45 leads to a short-lived medley craze. The most successful imitator of the Stars On 45 format is, rather unexpectedly, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra whose "Hooked On Classics (Parts 1&2)" reaches number two in the charts.
- September 19 - Simon and Garfunkel perform a free reunion concert in New York City's Central Park attended by over 500,000 fans.
- November 18 - While sitting in Tom's Restaurant in New York City, Suzanne Vega composes the song "Tom's Diner".
- Menudo's golden era (1981-1985) begins in Latin America, parts of Europe and Asia.
- U2 appears on the Tomorrow show with Tom Snyder, their first U.S. television appearance
- Phil Collins releases his first solo album (although he won't leave the band Genesis until 1995)
- Joe Walsh leaves the Eagles
- Culture Club forms
- Hunters & Collectors forms
- Sonic Youth forms
- Throbbing Gristle split up
- Social Distortion's career starts
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Albums released
- Alphabetized by artist
- Wild-Eyed Southern Boys - .38 Special
- The Visitors - ABBA
- Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheep - AC/DC
- For Those About to Rock We Salute You - AC/DC
- Breaker - Accept
- Hard N' Heavy - Anvil
- Playing With A Different Sex - The Au Pairs
- Precious Time - Pat Benatar
- Prayers On Fire - The Birthday Party
- Damaged - Black Flag
- The Mob Rules - Black Sabbath
- Red - Black Uhuru
- Autoamerican - Blondie
- Best of Blondie - Blondie
- Fire of Unknown Origin - Blue Oyster Cult
- The Ascension - Glenn Branca
- My Life in the Bush of Ghosts - David Byrne & Brian Eno
- Mistaken Identity - Kim Carnes
- Made in America - Carpenters
- Face Value - Phil Collins
- Special Forces - Alice Cooper
- Trust - Elvis Costello & the Attractions
- Penis Envy - Crass
- Faith - The Cure
- Olympia 81 - Dalida
- Cool Night - Paul Davis
- High 'N' Dry - Def Leppard
- Speak & Spell - Depeche Mode
- Only Jesus - Dion DiMucci
- Breaking the Chains - Dokken
- Love Is Only Feeling - Donovan
- Duran Duran - Duran Duran
- Shot of Love - Bob Dylan
- In the Garden - Eurythmics
- Punk's Not Dead - The Exploited (debut)
- Bad Habits - Bily Field
- 4 - Foreigner
- The Electric Spanking of War Babies - Funkadelic
- Handful Of Earth - Dick Gaughan
- The Beauty and the Beat - The Go-Go's
- Amy Grant In Concert - Amy Grant
- In Concert Volume Two - Amy Grant
- Private Eyes - Daryl Hall & John Oates
- Standing Hampton - Sammy Hagar
- Bangkok shocks, Saigobn Shakes...Hanoi Rocks - Hanoi Rocks
- White Lace & Black Leather - Helix
- Dare - Human League
- Killers - Iron Maiden
- Maiden Japan EP - Iron Maiden
- Freeze Frame - J. Geils Band
- "Street Songs"- Rick James
- I Love Rock 'N Roll - Joan Jett & the Blackhearts
- The Fox Album - Elton John
- Captured - Journey
- Escape - Journey
- Point of Entry - Judas Priest
- Discipline - King Crimson
- Give The People What They Want - The Kinks
- Music From The Elder - KISS
- Kix - Kix
- Hardware - Krokus
- Computer World - Kraftwerk
- Get Lucky - Loverboy
- Chances Are - Bob Marley and the Wailers
- Quiero Ser - Menudo
- Too Fast For Love - Mötley Crüe
- No Sleep 'til Hammersmith - Motörhead
- M.S.G. II - The Michael Schenker Group
- One Night at Budokan - The Michael Schenker Group
- The Michael Schenker Group - The Michael Schenker Group
- Place Without a Postcard - Midnight Oil
- Minor Threat and In My Eyes - Minor Threat
- Juice - Juice Newton
- Physical - Olivia Newton-John
- Fiyou on the Bayou - The Neville Brothers
- Bella Donna - Stevie Nicks
- Movement - New Order
- Intensities In Ten Cities - Ted Nugent
- Great gonzos : the Best Of Ted Nugent - Ted Nugent
- Fancy Free - The Oak Ridge Boys
- Only a Lad - Oingo Boingo
- Architecture and Morality - Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
- Blizzard Of Ozz - Ozzy Osbourne
- Diary Of A Madman - Ozzy Osbourne
- 9 to 5 and Odd Jobs - Dolly Parton
- A Collection of Great Dance Songs - Pink Floyd
- Ghost In The Machine - The Police
- Controversy - Prince
- Talk, Talk, Talk - Psychedelic Furs
- Flowers of Romance - Public Image Ltd.
- Quarterflash - Quarterflash
- Difficult to Cure - Rainbow
- Rock Till You Drop - Raven
- Play Me Out - Helen Reddy
- Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash - The Replacements (debut)
- As Far as Siam - Red Rider
- The Best Of Minnie Riperton - Minnie Riperton
- Share Your Love - Kenny Rogers
- Tattoo You - The Rolling Stones
- For Those Who Think Young - Rough Trade
- Moving Pictures - Rush
- Exit...Stage Left (live album) - Rush
- Shock Tactics - Samson
- Denim And Leather - Saxon
- Torch - Carly Simon
- She Shot Me Down - Frank Sinatra
- Non-Stop Erotic Caberet - Soft Cell
- East Side Story - Squeeze
- Don't Say No - Billy Squier
- Teddy Boys Don't Knit - Vivian Stanshall
- Burning Blue Soul - The The
- The Time - The Time
- Tom Tom Club - Tom Tom Club
- October - U2
- Never Too Much - Luther Vandross
- Fair Warning - Van Halen
- Amarcord Nino Rota - Various artists
- Welcome to Hell - Venom
- Come an' Get It - Whitesnake
- Face Dances - The Who
- Earthshaker - Y&T
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Chronological Table of US and UK Number One Hit Singles
| US Number One Singles and Artist (Weeks at Number One) | UK Number One Singles and Artist (Weeks at Number One) |
|---|---|
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[edit] Other significant singles of the year
[edit] Published popular music
[edit] Classical music
[edit] Opera
[edit] Musical theater
[edit] Musical films[edit] Births
[edit] Deaths
[edit] Awards[edit] Grammy Awards[edit] Country Music Association Awards[edit] Eurovision Song Contest[edit] Charts[edit] List of No. 1 Hits[edit] KROQ |
