80’s UK Soul Playlist for International Womens Day 2026
Happy International Women’s day 2026!
Five years after the original entry in this series that gave flowers to 90’s artists; I’m back with part two and a truckload of flowers for prominent female voices of the 80s UK soul scene.
Hanging on a String – Loose Ends (Vocalist: Jane Eugene)
This is the probably the most commercially successful song in today’s list (I haven’t confirmed that it sold more than the second song in the list, so let me know in the comments if I’m wrong).
This song was a huge hit in the U.S.A., and was simultaneously not that well supported by the UK music industry of the 80s. And, let’s be frank: the UK music industry of the 80s (and 90’s) excelled at not really supporting anything that wasn’t three (or more) white males with guitars playing 3-chord rock. This song has a timeless feel, probably because it has been sampled to death (that last link goes to a Goldie tune with vocals from Diane Charlemagne, more from them later …) so it’s almost always around. I often tell myself that I hear echos of Loose Ends in some of Pink Pantheress‘ music.
Anecdotal information (AKA: gossip) the lyrics from this song: ‘…You got me hanging on a string / I’m not your plaything…’, were a reflection of the romantic relationship between the lead singers: Jane Eugene and Carl Mcintosh. I know this thanks to Simon Phillips’s excellent podcast on the story of UK soul.
Love and Affection – Joan Armatrading
I’m not sure if Joan has ever labelled her music as ‘soul’, and furthermore this song was released in the late 70’s.”So, what is it doing in a playlist about 80’s soul music?” I hear you ask. Well, dear reader, this song is here, because Joan was there.
This song had a very long UK radio shelf-life, something that was rare for black music in the 80’s unless it was music released by Michael Jackson, Prince or Tina Turner. Joan was a true pioneer, and she’s still recording / touring.
Round and Around – Jaki Graham
Birmingham native Jaki Graham’s biggest hit was a cover of Could It be I’m Falling in Love, but I’m listing Round And Around because it feels far more 80’s. Catchiest chorus EVER, electronic/synthesised sound – but still using lots of real instruments, music video shot in the recording studio, bass player wearing sleeveless t-shirt. It ticks every box.
Tell Me (How it Feels) – 52nd Street (Vocalist: Dianne Charlemagne)
Years after this song was released (the debut single with her first band), Dianne Charlemagne went on to sing lead vocals for Urban Cookie Collective (biggest hit: I’ve got the Key, I’ve Got the Secret). Later still, Diane took lead vocals on Goldie’s Timeless album (yes, it is Dianne’s voice on Inner City Life and on Believe).
From the 80’s through to the late 2010’s, Dianne recorded and performed live with a ton of well known producers. Yet, somehow it seems that Dianne’s name is nowhere near as widely known as the songs/the producers that she collaborated with.
So, dear reader, it is up to us to change that: tell someone (anyone) about Dianne Charlemagne (today!)
Southern Freez – Freez (Vocalist: Ingrid Mansfield-Allman)
This song (and video) embodies many things that I loved about London in the 80’s.
Listen to that melody. Happy, infectious, simple enough to be heard clearly on even the worst sound system. I have vivid memories of this song playing, from a bedroom window in our flat, on the 13th floor of a East London tower block, on my Mum’s cassette/radio – one of those portable Hitachi’s that was made almost entirely of black plastic, that could only be tuned with kitchen utensils (because the dial had fallen off) and would overheat and switch off if you left it on for too long. And then, there’s that dance floor friendly groove, the kind that inspired terms like: Jazz Step and Rare Groove.
Look at the dancing in the video. Most of it is so wrong, it somehow becomes right.
Then there’s Ingrid’s vocals, that appear to channel chord progressions from Coltrane’s Giant Steps, (a connection that was revealed to me by one of my daughters in the ultimate: ‘In your face, Dad! I heard something that you missed!’ moment).
I’m not being very objective, but this song is everything.
Gonna Make You Mine – Loose Ends (Vocalist: Jane Eugene)
Second listing for Loose Ends, primarily because the contribution they made to UK soul is worthy of a double drop, and secondarily because this song Gonna Make You Mine was later covered by naughties UK Soul Jazz outfit J-Live (lead vocals by Julie Dexter) – a future International Women’s Day list will look at the noughties (although I might have to split that into two or three lists to account for the extra space created by Soulful House, New Jazz and BrokenBeat).
Who is missing from my list? Let me know in the comments.
Finally: an extra shout-out to Simon Phillips’s excellent podcast on the story of UK soul – every artist listed here was mentioned/profiled in Simon’s podcast, it’s a true treasure trove . Sadly it seems that the Rayo website has removed the episodes (as of 8 March 2026), but I hope they will be available again sometime soon.
Ooh, lovely Yomi. This was both a nostalgic trip and an education. I remember Jaki Graham was a much bigger deal in her heyday, yet it’s as if she was instantly forgotten when the 80s closed out. As for Diane, definitely a case for me of knowing the repertoire better than the name. I had no idea she was the voice behind ‘Tell Me How it Feels’. She evolved a lot vocally between the decades. Truth be told, I didn’t know this track was recorded by a British band.
I’m curious to know which Pink Pantheress tunes remind you of Loose Ends.
If your Gen-Alpha daughters are picking out ‘Giant Steps’ chords – one of the most notoriously difficult Jazz tunes – it’s both a credit to you and them. I do recall Gilles Peterson produced a downtempo samba version of ‘Southern Freez’ for his follow-up Brazilian project ‘Sonzeira’ circa early-mid 2010s. That slowed down BPM seemed to fit the vibe of the song better, I think.
Missing from the list…The first track that springs to mind is Princess’ ‘Say I’m Your Number One’. Serious tunage that no longer gets the credit it should, IMHO. Fun Fact: It was produced by Pete Waterman (which I discovered decades later) when he was still a pure soulman at heart and before the ultra-produced guilty pleasures of his late 1980s SAW days. I remember ‘Say…’ being massive when I was in nursery. When she performed live, Princess would wear earrings in the shape of a big number one. It did go to number one if I’m not mistaken [CORRECTION: it peaked at UK number 7], even with its fiendish modulations. That’s the thing, there was room for a lot of harmonic sophistication in 1980s pop.
I also think some Mica Paris and Lisa Stansfield wouldn’t go amiss, albeit more obvious and of course the queen, Sade Adu.
If you do a noughties special, there should also be a 90s Part II- what with Dina Carroll, Truce, early Beverley Knight, Eternal and (more) Mica in the mix.
Yes Tola! Glad you enjoyed this list, I agree that Dianne’s voice evolved (almost beyond recognition) across the decades, really feel that she should have been given tons more flowers.
With Pink Pantheress, it’s less of a specific song, and more of the way that she produces beats that reminds me of “Hangin’ on a string”. She often leaves a lot of space in her music (you could even say that sometimes her sound is sparse) and she’s fond of throwing in unexpected “video game sound effects” too.
Thanks for the heads-up on the Gilles Peterson version of ‘Southern Freez’, I’m going to search for that as soon as I finish typing this!
And: yes indeed, “Princess – Say I’m your number one” should have been here!!!!!!!
Haven’t heard this song for decades, but it all come flooding back when I youtube’d it a few moments ago. The hat, the earings, the moves, the docks! Priceless.
I think I had Sade and Mica on the 90’s list, but perhaps they are more 80’s than 90’s…? 90s part II is a very good idea! And thank you for mentioning Dina Carrol and Truce (two more names that I had forgotten about)..