Chris Rea - I Can Hear Your Heart Beat (Magnet)

He's tried to have a hit more times than I've had hot dinners. This all rather sounds like Dire Straits meeting Bob Seger. A fairly traditional rock song, but poor old Rea can't quite Pull it off. (Robin Smith, Record Mirror, June 18, 1983)

Suze De Marchi - Young Hearts (EMI)

A pretty face and an average-sounding single are in evidence. The looks belong to 21-year-old platinum blonde Suze, who hails from deepest Western Australia. The song on the other hand, hasn't got as much going for it, as it sounds alarmingly like a Pat Benatar or Laura Brannigan, for that matter, cast off. Thankfully, it's all over before you know it. (Anna Martin, No 1, May 14, 1986)

Pepsi And Shirlie - Goodbye Stranger (Polydor)

Far be it from me to grudge Thingmy And Wotsit their moment in the sun after so many years thankless labouring as Wham! stage props but this bright, brassy and breathless piece of frantic froth is not what you would call a "good" record. It will however - cruel but true - be played to death by Radio One because (a) they're girls and (b) they're the next best thing to Wham! for the moment (this does sound rather like them). (Ian Cranna, Smash Hits, May 6, 1987)

The Dream Academy - Life In A Northern Town (Blanco Y Negro)

Supposing it did exist, a dream academy would be a place to learn all there is to know about dreams. But there isn't one. Is there? Maybe the two boys and one girl in The Dream Academy know something, as the reason why this record is so damned good eludes me like a dream. It could be the haunting, almost-choral arrangement of this atmospheric song, or perhaps the lyrical content which triggers off a barrage of romantic images. Whatever makes it such a dream of a single, more please. (Adrian Tierney-Jones, No 1, March 9, 1985)

Stephen 'Tin Tin' Duffy - She Makes Me Quiver (10 Records)

There's probably some perverse logic behind having such an unwieldy name, but if I were Stephen I'd drop the Tin Tin bit, pronto. That aside, the quest for the hit solo single by the Duran that got away continues. I'm not sure if this is the one though. It's got the right ingredients, but it doesn't make the impression it should. Could have something to do with all those rhyming lyrics. Narcotic/ neurotic/gothic/exotic . . . it all gets a bit wearing after a while. (Karen Swayne, No 1, September 22, 1984)

The Lucy Show - Undone (A&M)

Guitars nip and chatter while a singer with the sleepy drawl of a British Jack Nicholson gets all sardonic about hanging out on the corner with his stinky friends. Not much of a song tune-wise, but the sound is dashingly gloomy. You can dance to it, you can call it "art" if you so wish - either way it's shimmeringly cool. Single Of The Fortnight. (Tom Hibbert, Smash Hits, November 6, 1985)

The Chant Of Barry Flynn - The Smile And The Kiss (Ensign)

This originally came out under the name of Bonk. I mean, BONK!!! And if you don't know what that means, I'm certainly not going to tell you. It flopped, so Bonk, who is actually Barry Flynn, decided to give it another go under his real but equally uncharismatic moniker. It's still pretty unexciting. (Sunie, No 1, April 21, 1984)

Almost a hit last year and deservedly re-released. Bas has dropped the awful Bonk moniker which must have affected his chances before. A rousing sixties soul stomp chorus and not too much else, but a hit. (Andy Strickland, Record Mirror, April 28, 1984)

Freur - Matters Of The Heart (CBS)

If your name looks like a worm and is pronounced like the sound of someone being a little unwell ("freur"), you should have no chance, but this is a suede-skinned, juicy peach of a record. A blissfully romantic song, graced by an arresting vocal and an arrangement that hugs like loving arms at a windy bus-stop. The best electro-ballad since "Vienna". (Mark Steels, Smash Hits, June 9, 1983)

Those silly sods from Splottland are back. once more the sub-Sylvian drone erodes my little brain cells. (Robin Smith, Record Mirror, June 18, 1983)

Bruce Willis - Under The Boardwalk (Motown)

Bruce Willis, oh yes, I loved "Respect Yourself", I'm a big fan! This is a really nice treatment, although as a singer I've already found a couple of things that grind, but it's still a lovely, sweaty, vocal sound. The B-side's an instrumental of "Respect Yourself", I'd be interested in that alright! I could see myself buying this, and I'd put it on in the evening and drink wine. I love the real strings, and it's surprisingly good for an actor. (Johnny Logan, No 1, May 30, 1987)

Hot House - The Way We Walk (RCA)

Lacking in subject matter, my son. Not enough information about the position of the upper body on this one. Still, walking is an instinctive thing, except for Derrick. Nice to hear a prominent Joanna having its ivories tinkled. Good brassy bits. They'll dig it in clubland. (Gilbert*, No 1, August 15, 1987)

Trivia: Hot House featured Heather Small, who would later go on to achieve great success with M People and as a solo singer.

Scott Walker - Track Three (Virgin)

A lot of people have been waiting for this record. Scott Walker – one-time half of the legendary Walker Brothers – hasn't released a record for six years, but interest in him as a cult figure, musical maverick and all-round enigma has never died. As a fan myself, I found 'Track Three' disappointing. It's a capable modern pop song, and the old Walker voice is as wonderful as ever. But there are dozens of songs in his back-catalogue that knock spots off this one. And dozens of new pop records that do that particular job a lot better. The B-side, "Blanket Roll Blues", is a better indication of his real nature – dark and honestly strange. (Maureen Rice, No 1, March 3, 1984)

Hurrah - How Many Rivers? (Kitchenware)

You might well remember seeing a video of Hurrah on the sadly defunct Tube. it consisted of them frantically strumming their mean guitars while attempting to walk in straight lines between pillars (ie not very successfully). This lot obviously have a lot of talent but this single certainly doesn't show it. Sorry! (Anita Strymowicz, No 1, August 8, 1987)

D: They've certainly changed a lot since I saw them supporting Aztec Camera. This is certainly a lot more American.
S: Yawn! I wonted it to end after about 30 seconds 'cause I knew it wasn't going to do anything surprising. It was so predictable.
Dom: I liked it. At least it's got a chorus that will stick in my mind.
M: I'd like to see them do it live, 'cause I bet they can't. (The Chesterfields, Record Mirror, August 1, 1987)

Big Country - East Of Eden (Mercury)

The guitars take something of a back seat here, as Stuart Adamson delivers a tuneful and competent vocal. Trouble is, Big Country are at a bit of a loss when they're not going hell for leather and bouncing around on one foot. Maybe the odd piano on your gentler moments might add something, boys. (Andy Strickland, Record Mirror, September 22, 1984)

The production on this record is truly awful. The instruments blur into one muddy, thrashing mass, completely submerging any hapless tune which might be struggling to escape. (It sounds the same on the radio, so I know it's not my stylus.) The B-side, a brutally massacred version of Roxy Music's wonderful "Prairie Rose", is even worse. Yuk! (Vici MacDonald, Smash Hits, September 27, 1984)

Blue Zoo - Loved One's An Angel (Magnet)

Regent's Park and Whipsnade could do better. A feeble joke that. Almost as feeble as this record. Only Magnet Records' seeming ability to gain an above-average amount of air-play prevents me from totally writing it off. (Fred Dellar, Smash Hits, February 3, 1983)