oof, very tough group. think it's got to be Indeep, but Sylvester/Cowley is going to be fighting for my bonus as well

Sharon Redd and Evelyn "Champagne" King both warm my heart by allowing themselves to indulge in Teena Marie jazzisms, Evelyn going for Teena's high-climbing reaches and swoops, Sharon also for Teena's reaches and for her quick-note vocal fills.

going to assume "Sexual Healing" is safe and vote for the other song about ass

The Randomizer making nobody happy here, I suspect. But so great to see Francis Bebey in a PPP finally (he really should have featured in the 1975 poll) and this may be his best 80s effort. Bonus vote goes to King Sunny Ade’s 📞song meets afrodub-in-space jam.

for years I thought Shalamar were British because of this record, it's totally chicken in a basket

I asked Rick to play me Stool Pigeon while doing the washing up just now. Banger

SO HAPPY to see Braxton & Teitelbaum in a PPP

Only in the People's Pop Polls can 13 minutes of minimalist skronking noises go up against a novelty Eddie Murphy rap song (I voted for that menacing Cybertron track though).

Me reading about Lori Vambe

It was fantastic hearing “Electric Avenue” in the context of the rest of this playlist—like hearing it for the first time!

“Electric Avenue”: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2 “Inside Out”: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “Forget Me Nots”: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️- “Play At Your Own Risk”: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (to think that I barely ever heard PAYOR - it does explain “I.O.U.”)

The best set of songs so far! A very hard decision

Horrific draw for my ‘82 pick, up against a Brits At It anthem and two transatlantic pop smashes. But vote anyway for Tommy Boy’s finest moment. Voting form here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

GB nod and vote to "Highlife" which is incredible. Many thanks to the nominator. Had to give The Peech Boys my bonus.

Weirdly, your YT playlist version of King Sunny Adé's "365 Is My Number" just went dark in America, but this is one that still works here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HVR...

Flash (I know he's not on it..)

Brixton, November 2020

this group is none more death

any time there’s some baffling obscure-to-me track in these polls, u can bet ur bottom dollar it’s a Daft Punk-pilfered one. Evelyn: omg Kashif’s “I Just Gotta Have You (Lover Turn Me On)" should have been in this! I’m so sorry! anyway, this is Imagination (shouldn’t Bluesky ban their picture too?)

Having disowned my own pick I am 100% throwing my weight behind Sister Nancy. What a bam bam.

Oh man. Toughest group yet

ESG: not their classickest; Gwen: there’s (even) better to come in ‘83; Shalamar: one of my most beloved acts of the era, but this was never my favourite of theirs; so I’m putting my full weight behind the Sister. Bam! Bam!

Love the combination of smooth R&B voice on pure reggae on "Night Nurse", but so far "Stool Pigeon" is my favourite new find of the poll. Feels like it could stand in as a summary of so much of the poll, between the funk and the early rap vocal delivery.

Gonna make this a vote to rememnber... it's the second half of 1982 in #BPHM8285 - the BLACK POP HISTORY 1982-1985 poll As before, vote in the matches and you also have TWO bonus votes - one for our A Side selections, one for the Bs docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

I love the space on the Beat track. As great a funk jam as "Let It Whip" is, though, it's not "Atomic Dog".

Gotta vote for Aretha as one of my bonuses, love how sleek and minimalist it is. Any other group, "Nuclear War" would have been i. I just can't hear "Sexual Healing" with fresh ears, and I always have trouble with Stevie, even when he's tearing the joint down, it's always at least a little corny.

Did not expect to be saying “these songs are too damn long” so early in this poll!

I've used my top-notch photoshopping skills to seamlessly put Brenda & Susan into some lovely autumn-appropriate sweaters

also, Sun Ra has the best song in this group by a distance, it's the only one that I just wanted to carry on for ages

OK let's do this! #BPHM8285 NEW POLL! BLACK POP HISTORY 1982-1985 Hip-hop, pop, disco, post-disco, soul, electro, black rock, reggae, and a host of global musics, nominated and voted on by YOU Vote in the matches, use your TWO bonus votes, deadline Friday! docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

One of the first playlists I made on Spotify was one of every artist mentioned in "Losing My Edge", which is how I was introduced to the majesty of "I Need A Freak". The whole endeavour was worth it just for that.

In #BPHM8285 ADMIN excitement all the Spotify playlists are now in match order!

'Sexual Healing' is Pester Pop, a style of song that tries too hard to be sexy, becoming the aural equivalent of guys who sit far too close, leaving acres of space at the other end of the sofa. He nearly gets away with it, but the tersely spat "Can't you do it right!" is an instant passion killer

Here's the 12-inch on YouTube (hoping this version plays in Europe etc.; there are others if this doesn't) www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNOI...

“The Moment Of My Life” featuring MVP of Dance Jocelyn Brown (we’ll meet her again in ‘84 - and she should have been in ‘85 too, but I digress) is my fav here, but I might gamble on it being safe and vote for Francky, who started out in a band called Tabou #2 - nuff said (the other two, not so much)

Oof first group of death here, there's not much that would make me vote ahead of Grace, but Patrick & Sylvester both on absolutely blistering form here, this feels like the proper bridge between Disco & Hi-NRG, and what a lot of later 80s pop would sound like

I kinda regret nominating Bambaataa (in all honesty I'd totally forgotten all about that ... stuff) so I'm delighted its in a group where I would have probably been voting against it anyway!!! Indeep has that groove so it's got my vote.

the nahawa doumbia track cuts off about 18 seconds before the actual end on the youtube playlist: here's a hissier but complete copy youtu.be/BLOg7S4vbyc

some sentimental faves here, however… 🇲🇱Nahawa Doumbia is a Golden Beat as well, but I gotta stay on the 🇭🇹Haitian konpa track that I set off on in the 1975 poll with Tabou Combo. “Mr Magic” is New York City - The Sequel: now let’s get me something to ~get into~

Took me ages to find this post due to adult tag 🙄 I’m staying loyal to Rip Rig, who were my fave band in ‘82 along with A Certain Ratio. YMKoC is their stab at pop and I was sniffy about it at the time for that reason*. Love it now though. Vanity 6 with a memorable addition to the 📞 Songs genre.

You should listen to these and vote! But even if you don't, you've got some major playlists here.

“She Can’t Love You” is my nom, a one-off disco/boogie project of jazz guy Ronald Muldrow and Rickie Byars (Georgia Anne Muldrow is their daughter!) #39 US *club* hit, small pop hit in NL (nowhere else, I think?) such a sly, funky jam. love the desperation masked as confidence vibe of lyric & vocal

toughest choice yet (a bonus might be in order): one of Grace’s best (it bites hard in every way, not a single punch is being pulled) vs Sylvester at his most vulnerable, desperate even (ear of the beholder perhaps, but simply calling this ‘horny’ is selling it very short).

Bad Brains were a fantastically visceral live band in a way that no recording was ever able to capture. So going w/ the ridiculous Vanity 6: "Tramp, I'm dating yo' dad!" "Oh, well, he died about seven years back, Now ain't that just too bad!" "Well, that's how we like 'em – tall, stiff and ready."

surprisingly easy vote for “Outstanding”. that groove, that percussion, those hooks! - and Charlie’s vocal lines and adlibs of course. (re: “Night Nurse” - I love it, but I have never been able to **love love love** Gregory Isaacs they way I always thought I would)

It feels appropriate in a Black Pop History poll to vote for the song that draws an explicit throughline from Dizzy Gillespie to hip-hop. Either instance might not make a top ten list of best moments in the song too.

The other day I heard a song coming from the other room. "ooh that's good", I thought, "let's see what it is". Turns out it was ATOMIC DOG, which usually irritates me, but turns out from a room away I like it. Cool story, Custard. (voted Dazz anyway)

Easy vote for Nahawa Dumbia here. More recognition in the PPPs for the sterling work of Awesome Tapes From Africa in digging up and preserving important recordings of this era.

Not really a big fan of any, but went with Sun Ra, sure this was in another poll but was my favourite here