all the hits

The new this-week-in-1981 issue of Smash Hits is out now, as ever thanks to the tirless collecting, scanning and posting of Brian McCloskey's Like Punk Never Happened blog/flickr page.

With features on Gary Numan, Simple Minds, Heaven 17, and,er, Meat Loaf it's a bumper issue, not least for the adverts for albums which are almost as exciting as the rest, and in some cases more so.

Here's a few for you to check out:

NB interesting to see an early picture of Boy George on p.13 where he's referred to as 'clothes seller George'! The article in question is a not-so-light-hearted dig and the spate of 'medley' singles which were all the rage at the time.