80s HiNRG Disco

THE world of 1980s hi nrg

In July 1984, I started going to nightclubs in Scotland and began a voyage of discovery into Hi-NRG dance music. That summer saw the explosion of High Energy music into mainstream commercial success in the UK. Records such as Self Control by Laura Branigan, Jump by The Pointer Sisters, Searchin’ by Hazell Dean, You Think You’re A Man by Divine, and the eponymous High Energy by Evelyn Thomas all became Top 10 hits.

This style of music had remained largely underground in gay clubs since the dying days of disco in 1979–1980, but in 1983 and 1984 it finally “came out” in style. You can read about the beginnings of my journey into the world of Hi-NRG and Italo Disco on my blog post here:
My Journey Into The World Of 80s Disco

This blog is an attempt to chronologically document the development of the Hi-NRG sound in the UK, from its closeted roots in the gay clubs to the worldwide success of producers such as Stock, Aitken & Waterman towards the end of the 1980s. The blog will also try to bring some coherence to the many influences behind the music: from 1970s disco and early-80s boogie, through San Francisco Boystown disco, and on to Eurodisco and Italo Disco.

The blog is based on my own thoughts, reflections, and experiences from the 1980s, of dancing to, and collecting, these records. This blog is not intended to be an academic treatise.

The posts now include every weekly Boystown Disco, Hi-NRG, and later Eurobeat chart compiled by James Hamilton and Alan Jones for Record Mirror magazine from July 1982 to March 1989, helping to explain the evolution of Hi-NRG in the UK. These charts were a lifeline for discovering new releases, as well as American, Canadian, and European 12-inch singles that were setting dancefloors alight. The Record Mirror chart posts have been augmented with associated charts from magazines such as Dance Music Report’s HiNRG Charts, as well as chart returns from clubs, discos and specilast record shops of the time.

Here are all the Record Mirror charts year by year
RECORD MIRROR BOYS TOWN CHARTS 1982
RECORD MIRROR BOYS TOWN & Hi-NRG CHARTS 1983
RECORD MIRROR HI-NRG CHARTS 1984
RECORD MIRROR Hi-NRG & EUROBEAT CHARTS 1985
RECORD MIRROR EUROBEAT CHARTS 1986
RECORD MIRROR EUROBEAT & HI-NRG CHARTS 1987
RECORD MIRROR Hi-NRG CHARTS 1988
RECORD MIRROR CHARTS 1989

Here ia list of every single track entry into the Record Miror Hi-NRG charts from 1982 – 1989:
RECORD MIRROR BOYSTOWN DISCO, Hi NRG AND EUROBEAT CHART ENTRIES FROM 1982 TO 1989

You can find all of James Hamilton’s weekly Disco Columns for Record Mirror, starting in 1969, here:
James Hamilton’s Disco Page

Although the Hi-NRG sound began to decline from 1987 onwards, and was replaced in clubs by House, Techno, Italo Dance, and Trance, there remains worldwide interest in the original 1980s tracks, especially in Mexico, Japan, and Eastern Europe. Singers and artists from the era still record and perform today, while huge clubs continue to play these records at packed events. There are also many online radio shows dedicated to 80s Hi-NRG and Italo Disco that attract audiences from around the world.

Over the last 40-plus years, I have built up a vast collection of original 1980s Hi-NRG and Italo Disco 12-inch records, many of which I have uploaded to my YouTube channel – JamieJ80sDisco YouTube Channel – and this page has charts of the most popular tracks by each year of the 1980s by likes and views on my YouTube channel
Hi-NRG HITS OF THE 1980s

I also post mixes using records from my collection on my Mixcloud channel here:
JamieJ80sDisco Mixcloud Channel
There is also a page on this website to all my mixes
Hi-NRG MIXES

In the meantime, here is one of those 80s Hi-NRG mixes I’ve created to start readers on this journey into the world of Hi-NRG.!