List of UK Independent Albums Chart number ones of the 1980s
These are the UK Official Indie Chart number-one albums of the 1980s, as compiled by MRIB.[1]
Artist | Album | Record label | Date first reached number one | Total number of weeks[2] | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1980 | |||||
Adam and the Ants | Dirk Wears White Sox | Do It | 19 January 1980 | 13* | |
Crass | Stations of the Crass | Crass | 26 January 1980 | 5* | |
Joy Division | Unknown Pleasures | Factory | 9 February 1980 | 1 | |
Toyah | Sheep Farming in Barnet | Safari | 23 February 1980 | 3 | |
The Cramps | Songs the Lord Taught Us | Illegal | 29 March 1980 | 1 | |
The Pop Group | For How Much Longer Do We Tolerate Mass Murder? | Y | 5 April 1980 | 3 | |
The Slits | Bootleg Retrospective | Y | 26 April 1980 | 3 | |
The Fall | Totale's Turns | Rough Trade | 17 May 1980 | 5 | |
Toyah | The Blue Meaning | Safari | 21 June 1980 | 2 | |
Black Sabbath | Live at Last | NEMS | 5 July 1980 | 3 | |
Joy Division | Closer | Factory | 26 July 1980 | 8 | |
UB40 | Signing Off | Graduate | 20 September 1980 | 11* | |
Bauhaus | In the Flat Field | 4AD | 22 November 1980 | 2 | |
The Fall | Grotesque (After the Gramme) | Rough Trade | 6 December 1980 | 3 | |
1981 | |||||
Theatre of Hate | He Who Dares Wins | Burning Rome Records | 4 April 1981 | 5 | |
A Certain Ratio | To Each... | Factory | 9 May 1981 | 1 | |
The Exploited | Punks Not Dead | Secret | 16 May 1981 | 2 | |
Au Pairs | Playing with a Different Sex | Human | 30 May 1981 | 2 | |
UB40 | Present Arms | DEP International | 13 June 1981 | 11* | |
Crass | Penis Envy | Crass | 11 July 1981 | 5 | |
Anti-Pasti | The Last Call | Rondelet | 22 August 1981 | 2 | |
Cabaret Voltaire | Red Mecca | Rough Trade | 26 September 1981 | 1 | |
Joy Division | Still | Factory | 24 October 1981 | 1 | |
Depeche Mode | Speak & Spell | Mute | 21 November 1981 | 7* | |
New Order | Movement | Factory | 5 December 1981 | 4* | |
1982 | |||||
A Certain Ratio | Sextet | Factory | 30 January 1982 | 4* | |
23 Skidoo | Seven Songs | Fetish | 6 March 1982 | 1 | |
Pigbag | Dr Heckle and Mr Jive | Y | 13 March 1982 | 10* | |
The 4-Skins | The Good, The Bad & The 4-Skins | Secret | 15 May 1982 | 1 | |
Anti-Nowhere League | We Are...The League | WXYZ | 29 May 1982 | 5* | |
The Exploited | Troops of Tomorrow | Secret | 26 June 1982 | 3 | |
Cabaret Voltaire | 2x45 | Rough Trade | 24 July 1982 | 1 | |
The Birthday Party | Junkyard | 4AD | 31 July 1982 | 4 | |
Crass | Christ - The Album | Crass | 28 August 1982 | 1 | |
Yazoo | Upstairs at Eric's | Mute | 4 September 1982 | 12* | |
UB40 | UB44 | DEP International | 16 October 1982 | 3* | |
Depeche Mode | A Broken Frame | Mute | 30 October 1982 | 2 | |
Toyah | Warrior Rock: Toyah on Tour | Safari | 20 November 1982 | 2 | |
1983 | |||||
Various artists | Pillows & Prayers | Cherry Red | 15 January 1983 | 5 | |
Flux of Pink Indians | Strive to Survive Causing Least Suffering Possible | Spiderleg | 19 February 1983 | 2 | |
The Meteors | Wreckin' Crew | ID Records | 5 March 1983 | 3 | |
Sex Gang Children | Song and Legend | Illuminated | 26 March 1983 | 2 | |
Conflict | It's Time to See Who's Who | Corpus Christi | 9 April 1983 | 3 | |
Aztec Camera | High Land, Hard Rain | Rough Trade | 30 April 1983 | 2 | |
New Order | Power, Corruption & Lies | Factory | 14 May 1983 | 7* | |
Crass | Yes Sir, I Will | Crass | 18 June 1983 | 3 | |
The Cramps | ...Off the Bone | Illegal | 9 July 1983 | 2 | |
Yazoo | You and Me Both | Mute | 23 July 1983 | 8* | |
Depeche Mode | Construction Time Again | Mute | 3 September 1983 | 5* | |
Cocteau Twins | Cocteau Twins | 4AD | 5 November 1983 | 4 | |
The Cramps | Smell of Female | Big Beat | 3 December 1983 | 3 | |
The Fall | Perverted by Language | Rough Trade | 24 December 1983 | 4 | |
1984 | |||||
Billy Bragg | Life's a Riot with Spy vs Spy | Go! Discs | 21 January 1984 | 6 | |
The Smiths | The Smiths | Rough Trade | 3 March 1984 | 12 | |
New Model Army | Vengeance | Abstract | 26 May 1984 | 1 | |
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds | From Her to Eternity | Mute | 2 June 1984 | 6 | |
Xmal Deutschland | Tocsin | 4AD | 14 July 1984 | 3 | |
Various artists | Rockabilly Psychosis and the Garage Disease | Big Beat | 4 August 1984 | 1 | |
23 Skidoo | Urban Gamelan | Illuminated | 11 August 1984 | 1 | |
Theatre of Hate | Revolution | Burning Rome Records | 18 August 1984 | 6 | |
Skeletal Family | Burning Oil | Red Rhino | 29 September 1984 | 2 | |
Depeche Mode | Some Great Reward | Mute | 13 October 1984 | 2 | |
This Mortal Coil | It'll End in Tears | 4AD | 27 October 1984 | 4 | |
The Smiths | Hatful of Hollow | Rough Trade | 24 November 1984 | 13 | |
1985 | |||||
The Smiths | Meat is Murder | Rough Trade | 23 February 1985 | 12 | |
The Long Ryders | Native Sons | Frontier | 18 May 1985 | 2 | |
New Order | Low-Life | Factory | 1 June 1985 | 8 | |
The Men They Couldn't Hang | Night of a Thousand Candles | Demon | 27 July 1985 | 4 | |
Colourbox | Colourbox | 4AD | 24 August 1985 | 4 | |
Guana Batz | Held Down to Vinyl .... At Last! | ID Records | 21 September 1985 | 2 | |
The June Brides | There Are Eight Million Stories... | Pink | 5 October 1985 | 4 | |
Hüsker Dü | Flip Your Wig | SST | 2 November 1985 | 1 | |
Depeche Mode | The Singles 81→85 | Mute | 9 November 1985 | 3* | |
Microdisney | The Clock Comes Down The Stairs | Rough Trade | 23 November 1985 | 1 | |
Scraping Foetus Off The Wheel | Nail | Self Immolation/Some Bizzare | 7 December 1985 | 2 | |
Dead Kennedys | Frankenchrist | Alternative Tentacles | 21 December 1985 | 5 | |
1986 | |||||
Half Man Half Biscuit | Back in the DHSS | Probe Plus | 25 January 1986 | 6* | |
The Cramps | A Date with Elvis | Big Beat | 1 March 1986 | 4* | |
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry | Paint Your Wagon | Red Rhino | 22 March 1986 | 1 | |
Depeche Mode | Black Celebration | Mute | 5 April 1986 | 2 | |
Cocteau Twins | Victorialand | 4AD | 26 April 1986 | 4 | |
That Petrol Emotion | Manic Pop Thrill | Demon | 24 May 1985 | 5 | |
The Smiths | The Queen Is Dead | Rough Trade | 21 June 1986 | 8* | |
Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction | High Priest of Love | Food | 16 August 1986 | 1 | |
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds | Kicking Against the Pricks | Mute | 30 August 1986 | 4 | |
Elvis Costello and the Attractions | Blood & Chocolate | Demon | 27 September 1986 | 2 | |
New Order | Brotherhood | Factory | 11 October 1986 | 6 | |
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds | Your Funeral... My Trial | Mute | 22 November 1986 | 2 | |
Harold Budd, Elizabeth Fraser, Robin Guthrie and Simon Raymonde | The Moon and the Melodies | 4AD | 6 December 1986 | 2 | |
Dead Kennedys | Bedtime for Democracy | Alternative Tentacles | 20 December 1986 | 7 | |
1987 | |||||
Wiseblood | Dirtdish | K 422 | 7 February 1987 | 3 | |
The Smiths | The World Won't Listen | Rough Trade | 28 February 1987 | 5 | |
The Railway Children | Reunion Wilderness | Factory | 4 April 1987 | 1 | |
Erasure | The Circus | Mute | 11 April 1987 | 16* | |
The Woodentops | Live Hypnobeat Live | Rough Trade | 9 May 1987 | 1 | |
Wire | The Ideal Copy | Mute | 16 May 1987 | 2 | |
Fields of the Nephilim | Dawnrazor | Situation Two | 30 May 1987 | 2 | |
Sonic Youth | Sister | Blast First | 13 June 1987 | 3 | |
Dead Kennedys | Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death | Alternative Tentacles | 4 July 1987 | 5 | |
Conflict | Turning Rebellion into Money | Mortarhate | 8 August 1987 | 2 | |
New Order | Substance 1987 | Factory | 22 August 1987 | 5 | |
Big Black | Songs About Fucking | Touch and Go | 26 September 1987 | 1 | |
The Smiths | Strangeways, Here We Come | Rough Trade | 3 October 1987 | 5* | |
The Wedding Present | George Best | Reception | 24 October 1987 | 5* | |
The Fall | Palace of Swords Reversed | Rough Trade | 5 December 1987 | 2 | |
The Stupids | Jesus Meets The Stupids | Vinyl Solution | 19 December 1987 | 2 | |
1988 | |||||
The Woodentops | Wooden Foot Cops on the Highway | Rough Trade | 5 March 1988 | 4 | |
Erasure | The Innocents | Mute | 30 April 1988 | 5* | |
The Sugarcubes | Life's Too Good | One Little Indian | 21 May 1988 | 2 | |
The House of Love | The House of Love | Creation | 4 June 1988 | 4 | |
The Weather Prophets | Judges, Juries and Horsemen | Creation | 25 June 1988 | 1 | |
A. R. Kane | 69 | Rough Trade | 9 July 1988 | 1 | |
Joy Division | Substance | Factory | 23 July 1988 | 3 | |
The Wedding Present | Tommy | Reception | 13 August 1988 | 1 | |
Various artists | Doing It For The Kids | Creation | 20 August 1988 | 4 | |
The Smiths | Rank | Rough Trade | 17 September 1988 | 2 | |
Cocteau Twins | Blue Bell Knoll | 4AD | 1 October 1988 | 3 | |
Dinosaur Jr. | Bug | Blast First | 22 October 1988 | 1 | |
Sonic Youth | Daydream Nation | Enigma | 29 October 1988 | 3 | |
Napalm Death | From Enslavement to Obliteration | Earache | 19 November 1988 | 2 | |
My Bloody Valentine | Isn't Anything | Creation | 3 December 1988 | 3 | |
Kylie Minogue | Kylie | PWL | 24 December 1988 | 4 | |
1989 | |||||
Loop | Fade Out | Head | 4 February 1989 | 1 | |
New Order | Technique | Factory | 11 February 1989 | 5 | |
Spacemen 3 | Playing with Fire | Fire | 18 March 1989 | 2 | |
De La Soul | 3 Feet High and Rising | Tommy Boy | 1 April 1989 | 2 | |
Pixies | Doolittle | 4AD | 29 April 1989 | 3 | |
Jason Donovan | Ten Good Reasons | PWL | 20 May 1989 | 4* | |
The Stone Roses | The Stone Roses | Silvertone | 3 June 1989 | 19* | |
Mega City Four | Tranzophobia | Decoy | 24 June 1989 | 1 | |
Fugazi | Margin Walker | Dischord | 29 July 1989 | 2 | |
The Primitives | Lazy 86-88 | Lazy | 9 September 1989 | 1 | |
Primal Scream | Primal Scream | Creation | 30 September 1989 | 2 | |
The Sugarcubes | Here Today, Tomorrow Next Week! | One Little Indian | 14 October 1989 | 2 | |
Erasure | Wild! | Mute | 28 October 1989 | 3 | |
Mudhoney | Mudhoney | Sub Pop | 18 November 1989 | 2 |
See also[]
- List of UK Independent Singles Chart number ones of the 1980s
- 1980s in music
- List of UK Albums Chart number ones of the 1980s
References[]
- ^ "Indie Hits". Archived from the original on 16 October 2007 – via Cherry Red Records.
- ^ * indicates total weeks of non-consecutive runs at number one
Categories:
- Lists of number-one albums in the United Kingdom