| Festive Fifty |
| 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | ||||||
| 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 |
| 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 |
| 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
| 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
*Numbers 60-51 were not played, merely announced by JP in the final show before the number two entry. This final ten includes three tracks (by Fire Engines, Anti-Pasti and New Order) that never appeared in any other chart. In the list below, the version mentioned is the one that was then available and would in all likelihood have been played on the show.
Shows[]
- 23 December 1981: #50 - #41
- 24 December 1981: #40 - #31
- 28 December 1981: #30 - #21
- 29 December 1981: #20 - #11
- 30 December 1981: #10 - #01
The Festive Fifty Of 1981[]
Mentioned[]
- 60: Siouxsie & The Banshees: 'Hong Kong Garden (presumably 7 inch)' (Polydor)
- 59: Sex Pistols: 'Pretty Vacant (presumably from LP-Never Mind The Bollocks)' (Virgin)
- 58: Fire Engines: 'Candy Skin (7 inch)' (Pop Aural)
- 57: Special AKA: 'Gangsters (7 inch)' (2-Tone)
- 56: Fall: 'Totally Wired (7 inch)' (Rough Trade)
- 55: Anti-Pasti: 'No Government (LP-The Last Call)' (Rondelet)
- 54: New Order: 'In A Lonely Place (7 inch-B side of Ceremony, which at number 4 was the highest-placed new entry)' (Factory)
- 53: Magazine: 'Shot By Both Sides (presumably 7 inch)' (Virgin)
- 52: Bauhaus: 'Bela Lugosi's Dead (7 inch)' (Small Wonder)
- 51: Joy Division: 'She's Lost Control (7 inch)' (Factory)
Played[]
John Peel's All Time Festive Fifty - 1981
- 49: Siouxsie & The Banshees: 'Switch (LP-The Scream)' (Polydor)
- 48: New Order: 'Procession (7 inch-double A side with Everything's Gone Green)' (Factory)
- 47: Fall: 'Lie Dream Of A Casino Soul (7 inch)' (Kamera)
- 46: Echo And The Bunnymen: 'Over The Wall (LP-Heaven Up Here)' (Korova)
- 45: Killing Joke: 'Psyche (7 inch)' (E.G.)
- 44: Joy Division: 'Isolation (LP-Closer)' (Factory)
- 43: Joy Division: 'Twenty-Four Hours (LP-Closer)' (Factory)
- 42: Dead Kennedys: 'California Uber Alles (7 inch)' (Alternative Tentacles)
- 41: Only Ones: 'Another Girl, Another Planet (7 inch)' (CBS)
- 40: Siouxsie & The Banshees: 'Icon (LP-Join Hands)' (Polydor)
- 39: Pigbag: 'Papa's Got A Brand New Pigbag (7 inch)' (Y Records/Rough Trade)
- 38: Sex Pistols: 'God Save The Queen (LP-Never Mind The Bollocks)' (Virgin)
- 37: Siouxsie & The Banshees: 'Israel (7 inch)' (Polydor)
- 36: B-Movie: 'Remembrance Day (12 inch)' (Deram)
- 35: Siouxsie & The Banshees: 'Jigsaw Feeling (LP-The Scream)' (Polydor)
- 34: Laurie Anderson: 'O Superman (7 inch)' (One Ten)
- 33: Fall: 'How I Wrote Elastic Man (7 inch)' (Rough Trade)
- 32: Stiff Little Fingers: 'Suspect Device (7 inch)' (Rigid Digits)
- 31: Ruts: 'In A Rut (7 inch)' (People Unite)
- 30: Fall: 'Fiery Jack'
- 29: Heaven 17: 'No Fascist Groove Thang'
- 28: Killing Joke: 'Follow The Leaders'
- 27: Killing Joke: 'Requiem'
- 26: Public Image Ltd: 'Public Image'
- 25: Theatre Of Hate: 'Legion'
- 24: Stiff Little Fingers: 'Johnny Was'
- 23: Jam: 'Going Underground'
- 22: Scritti Politti: 'The Sweetest Girl'
- 21: Specials: 'Ghost Town'
- 20: Undertones: 'Get Over You (7 inch)' (Sire)
- 19: Birthday Party: 'Release The Bats (7 inch)' (4AD)
- 18: Clash: 'Complete Control (7 inch)' (CBS)
- 17: Sex Pistols: 'Holidays In the Sun (LP-Never Mind The Bollocks)' (Virgin)
- 16: Stiff Little Fingers: 'Alternative Ulster (presumably from LP-Inflammable Material)' (Rough Trade)
- 15: Altered Images: 'Dead Pop Stars (7 inch)' (Epic)
- 14: Joy Division: 'Transmission (7 inch)' (Factory)
- 13: Jam: 'Down In The Tube Station At Midnight (7 inch)' (Polydor)
- 12: Damned: 'New Rose (LP-Light At The End Of The Tunnel)' (MCA)
- 11: Joy Division: 'Dead Souls (LP-Still)' (Factory)
- 10: Clash: '(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais (7 inch)' (CBS)
- 09: Dead Kennedys: 'Holiday In Cambodia (7 inch)' (Alternative Tentacles)
- 08: Cure: 'A Forest (12 inch)' (Fiction)
- 07: Joy Division: 'Decades (LP-Closer)' (Factory)
- 06: Undertones: 'Teenage Kicks (EP-Teenage Kicks)' (Good Vibrations)
- 05: Joy Division: 'New Dawn Fades (LP-Unknown Pleasures)' (Factory)
- 04: New Order: 'Ceremony (7 inch)' (Factory)
- 03: Joy Division: 'Love Will Tear Us Apart (7 inch)' (Factory)
- 02: Sex Pistols: 'Anarchy In The U.K. (presumably from LP-Never Mind The Bollocks)' (Virgin)
- 01: Joy Division: 'Atmosphere (7 inch)' (Factory)
Availability[]
- The files below are part of the John Peel Torrent Compilation 1 of 17 (Festive Fifties 1992-2004 Plus Others) and are in good quality stereo. The first two cover the original broadcasts of the chart only, numbers 20-11 and 10-01.
- John Peel Festive Fifty 1981 Part 4.m4a
- John Peel Festive Fifty 1981 Part 5.m4a
- Torrent Compilation 2 of 17 contains all the tracks in the chart from 60-51: however, only numbers 20-01 are from the original broadcast (split mp3s of the above two files). The intervening show containing numbers 30-21 does not appear to be available at time of writing.
- Numbers 50-31 were made available in two good quality recordings via the Peel Mailing List. Please address any requests for re-uppping the recordings to the list.