Editing 1981 in music (section)

===September–December===
*[[5 September]] – [[Soft Cell]] tops the UK Singles Chart with "[[Tainted Love]]". The song also tops the chart the following week and becomes the second best selling single in the UK in 1981.<ref name="best selling" /> 
*[[11 September]] – [[Iron Maiden]] fires lead singer [[Paul Di'Anno]].
*[[19 September]] 
**[[Simon & Garfunkel]] perform [[The Concert in Central Park|a free reunion concert]] in New York City's [[Central Park]] attended by over 500,000 fans.
**[[Adam and the Ants]] have their second chart-topping single of the year as "[[Prince Charming (Adam & the Ants song)|Prince Charming]]" reach number 1 on the UK Singles Chart. It remains at number one for four consecutive weeks and becomes the years fourth best selling single in the UK.<ref name="best selling" />   
*[[25 September]] – [[The Rolling Stones]] open their US tour in [[Philadelphia]], Pennsylvania.
*[[26 September]] – [[Iron Maiden]] hires [[Samson (band)|Samson]] lead singer Bruce Bruce AKA [[Bruce Dickinson]] to replace [[Paul Di'Anno]]. [[Bruce Dickinson|Dickinson]] will finish off the last 7 dates of the [[Killer World Tour]].
*[[16 October]] – [[The Human League]] release ''[[Dare (album)|Dare]]''. A huge commercial and critical success, it would spend 69 weeks on the UK Albums Chart including four weeks at number 1<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/18435/human-league/ |title=The Human League |publisher=Official Charts }}</ref> and be certified platinum in the UK,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bpi.co.uk/award/ |title=The Human League Dare |publisher=BPI |access-date=June 18, 2022 |archive-date=May 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210507201753/https://www.bpi.co.uk/award/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> and gold in the US.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/#search_section |title=The Human League Dare |publisher=RIAA }}</ref> 
*[[26 October]] – [[Iron Maiden]] plays its first show with [[Bruce Dickinson]] as the new lead singer in [[Bologna, Italy]].
*[[27 October]] – The [[British Phonographic Industry]] takes out newspaper ads unveiling its new slogan: "[[Home Taping Is Killing Music]]". The ads advocate a levy on blank cassette tapes.<ref name="Rock Yearbook 1983">{{cite book |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=The Rock Yearbook 1983 |location=New York |publisher=Virgin Books Ltd. |page=9 |date=1982 |isbn=0-312-68785-0}}</ref> 
*[[31 October]] – Punk band [[Fear (band)|Fear]] makes a memorable appearance on ''[[Saturday Night Live]]''. A group of fans storm the stage and damage TV equipment while [[moshing]], resulting in the show cutting to commercial.
*[[18 November]] – While sitting in Tom's Restaurant in New York City, [[Suzanne Vega]] composes the song "[[Tom's Diner]]".
*[[21 November]] – [[Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark]] hits number 3 on the UK Albums Chart with their third album ''[[Architecture & Morality]]''. Including three UK top-5 singles, "[[Souvenir (song)|Souvenir]]", "[[Joan of Arc (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark song)|Joan of Arc]]" and "[[Maid of Orleans (The Waltz Joan of Arc)|Maid of Orleans]]", it will remain on the chart for 37 weeks<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/18250/orchestral-manoeuvres-in-the-dark/ |title=OMD |publisher=Official Charts}}</ref> and be certified platinum in the UK.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bpi.co.uk/award/ |title=OMD Architecture & Morality |publisher=BPI |access-date=June 18, 2022 |archive-date=May 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210507201753/https://www.bpi.co.uk/award/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
*[[11 December]] – [[The Human League]] reach number one on the UK Singles Chart with [[Don't You Want Me]]. The song remains at number one for five consecutive weeks and become the years  best selling single in the UK.<ref name="best selling">{{cite web |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/the-official-top-50-best-selling-songs-of-1981__32604/ |title=The Official Top 50 best-selling songs of 1981 |publisher=Official Charts |date=5 March 2021 }}</ref> 
*[[18 December]] – An estimated 35 million people around the world watch a live satellite transmission of a [[Rod Stewart]] concert at the [[Los Angeles Forum]]. It is the first broadcast of its kind since Elvis Presley's "[[Aloha from Hawaii]]" special in 1973.
*[[31 December]] – The tenth annual [[Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest|New Year's Rockin' Eve]] special airs on ABC, with appearances by [[Four Tops]], [[Rick Springfield]], [[Barry Manilow]], [[Alabama (American band)|Alabama]] and [[Rick James]].