Frank Boeijen had a top 10 hit for the first time with Zwart Wit.

It was February 11, 1984. The Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia had begun this week! For the Netherlands, it turned out to be a sham, as for the first time since 1956, they failed to win a medal. The best performance was given by 19-year-old skater Yvonne van Gennip, who finished fifth in the 3,000 meters. It turned out to be a precursor to many more, as in 1988 Van Gennip would win no less than three gold medals.

There was more Dutch success in the Top 40. Frank Boeijen scored his first (and last) top 10 hit with his group Zwart Wit. The bottom two spots in the top 10 were each occupied by. Vanessa (stage name Connie Witteman) and her duet Bread/Friend. The Golden Earring is at number 23 with the evergreen When The Lady Smiles, which became the legendary Hague band’s fifth and final number 1 hit. A striking detail is that one place below Gold Earrings Another number 1 hit debuted. Pat Benatar coming in at number 24 with Love Is A Battlefield.

The top 10 is very dynamic. Numbers 3 through 8 are all rungs. Queen stormed into the top 5 with Radio Gaga and marked a new year of success. Beautiful has now disbanded, but the American disco formation still scored a top 10 hit with You Are Beautiful. Stevens trembled And Bonnie Tyler join A Rockin’ Good Way, with which the Welsh artists scored a new top 10 hit. Number 1 is still intact. Young Paul is at the top for a third week with Love Of The Common People.

Complete Top 40 as of February 11, 1984 look here.

1 (1) LOVE OF THE COMMON PEOPLE – Paul Young
Even though the majority only know Paul Young’s Love Of The Common People, that is just a cover. The original version was by The Four Preps, who released the song in 1967 to no avail. The most successful cover was initially by reggae singer Nicky Thomas, who scored a top 10 hit in the UK in 1970. But then along came Paul Young, the blue-eyed soul singer from Luton who had a huge hit in the autumn of 1983 with Come Back And Stay. His version of Love Of The Common People was an even bigger success, as Young was at number 1 for four weeks.

3 (6) LISTEN TO THE RADIO (ATMOSPHERY) – Tom Robinson
British singer and LGBT rights activist Tom Robinson scored a hit with his Tom Robinson Band in 1977 with 2-4-6-8 Motorway, after which the band went bankrupt. Robinson became David Bowie and emigrated to Germany to get his life and career back on track. In Hamburg he recorded Listen To The Radio (Atmospherics), which was not a hit anywhere in the world. Except in the Netherlands, where it became Tom Robinson’s biggest hit! It reached number three in the Top 40.

4 (20) RADIO GA GA – Queen
Queen are back and the super band let us know it! Radio Ga Ga was written by drummer Roger Taylor and it is no surprise that the drum machine plays a major role in the song. The notes describe how television won the competition with radio. It became Queen’s fourth number 1 hit, making it the first single from The Works a huge success. The second single I Want To Break Free also reached number one. Lady Gaga named her stage name after Radio Ga Ga.

5 (11) BLACK AND WHITE – Frank Boeijen Group
On the night of 20-21 August 1983, Kerwin Duinmeijer was murdered at the age of 15. According to eyewitnesses, the perpetrator Nico Bodemeijer (then 16) shouted messages such as ‘dirty fool’ and ‘go back to your own country’ at the Curaçao-born man. The racist murder became the reason Frank Boeijen wrote an anti-racism song. His message ‘Don’t think white, don’t think black, don’t think black and white, but in the color of your heart’ was accepted, as Zwart Wit became Frank Boeijen Groep’s biggest hit and reached number four in the Top 40.

7 (13) YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL – Beautiful
In 1979, Gruppo Sportivo reached number eleven with Disco Really Works (Empty And I Hate It). It was part of the ongoing anti-disco movement, which greatly reduced the popularity of disco. This led to the breakup of the previously successful disco band, Chic, who conquered the Top 40 in 1979 with Le Freak. This formation broke up in 1983, but a year later a second top 10 hit became a fact! You Are Beautiful was taken from the 1983 album Believer. The song reached number 6 in the Top 40 in 1984.

(02/08/2020)