On this day in 1980: Pink Floyd’s ‘Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2)’ started a four week run at #1 on the U.S. singles chart. The track, which was the group’s only U.S. chart topper, was also a #1 in the UK, Germany, Australia, Italy and in many other countries around the world. Pink Floyd received a Grammy nomination for Best Performance by a Rock Duo or Group for the song, but lost to Bob Seger’s ‘Against The Wind.’
The three parts of “Another Brick in the Wall” appear on Pink Floyd’s 1979 rock opera album ‘The Wall’. During “Part 1”, the protagonist, Pink, begins building a metaphorical wall around himself following the death of his father. In “Part 2”, traumas including his overprotective mother and abusive schoolteachers become metaphorical bricks in the wall. Following a violent breakdown in “Part 3”, Pink dismisses everyone he knows as “just bricks in the wall”.
Bassist Roger Waters wrote “Part 2” as a protest against rigid schooling, particularly boarding schools. “Another Brick in the Wall” appears in the film based on the album. In the “Part 2” sequence, children enter a school and march in unison through a meat grinder, becoming “putty-faced” clones, before rioting and burning down the school.
Here’s a look at the Top 20 on the U.S. singles chart from this day back in 1980:
1 3 ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL (Part 2) –•– Pink Floyd (Columbia)-10 (1 week at #1) (1)
2 2 LONGER –•– Dan Fogelberg (Epic / Full Moon)-15 (2)
3 1 CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE –•– Queen (Elektra)-14 (1)
4 4 DESIRE –•– Andy Gibb (RSO)-9 (4)
5 6 WORKING MY WAY BACK TO YOU / FORGIVE ME GIRL (Medley) –•– The Spinners (Atlantic)-15 (5)
6 5 ON THE RADIO –•– Donna Summer (Casablanca)-11 (5)
7 8 HIM –•– Rupert Holmes (MCA)-10 (7)
8 9 THE SECOND TIME AROUND –•– Shalamar (Solar)-16 (8)
9 10 TOO HOT –•– Kool and the Gang (De-Lite)-10 (9)
10 11 HOW DO I MAKE YOU –•– Linda Ronstadt (Asylum)-8 (10)
11 12 CALL ME –•– Blondie (Chrysalis)-6 (11)
12 7 YES, I’M READY –•– Teri DeSario with K.C. (Casablanca)-19 (2)
13 14 SPECIAL LADY –•– Ray, Goodman and Brown (Polydor)-9 (13)
14 17 RIDE LIKE THE WIND –•– Christopher Cross (Warner Brothers)-6 (14)
15 15 REFUGEE –•– Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (Backstreet)-9 (15)
16 18 I CAN’T TELL YOU WHY –•– Eagles (Asylum)-5 (16)
17 20 OFF THE WALL –•– Michael Jackson (Epic)-6 (17)
18 19 GIVE IT ALL YOU GOT –•– Chuck Mangione (A&M)-10 (18)
19 24 FIRE LAKE –•– Bob Seger (Capitol)-5 (19)
20 22 THREE TIMES IN LOVE –•– Tommy James (Millennium)-9 (20)
On this day in 1984: Queen filmed the video for ‘I Want To Break Free’ at Limehouse Studio in London, England. Directed by David Mallet, it was a parody of the northern British soap opera Coronation Street with the band members dressed in drag. Guitarist Brian May later said the video ruined the band in America, and was initially banned by MTV in the US.
