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The Music Of The 80s - Favorites, Classics And Rarities


hitman531ph

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U2

 

This Irish band made up of Bono, Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr were formed in the late 70s and released their first album in 1980 called Boy. They were successful in Ireland and the UK. Their second album was not so successful and produced minor hits in the UK and Ireland. Their second album was called October in 1982.

 

Their third album War came out in 1983 and became an even bigger success in UK and Ireland but not so much impact in the US. From War came the U2 classic New Year's Day.

 

Their fourth album came out in late 1983 called Under A Blood Red Sky which was a concert album featuring their previous hits in the UK and Ireland.

 

Their fifth album got recognition in the US in 1984 with the release of The Unforgettable Fire. Pride (In the Name of Love) entered the US Top 40 and a smash hit in the UK. Their follow up single which was the title track made it big in the UK as well but not in the US.

 

In 1986, U2 released the album that skyrocketed them to supergroup status with the release of The Joshua Tree. The album produced hit after well into 1987. There was an apparent change in their sound with The Joshua Tree. With Or Without You and I Still Haven't Found Wht I'm Looking For both went to US #1 and Where the Streets Have No Name went to the US Top 5.

 

In 1988, U2 released their last album for the 1980s called Rattle and Hum. The album was a mix of new songs and previous concert performances in the US. Concert versions of Pride (In the Name of Love) and I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For are included in the album while a single Desire went to the US#1. Sometime in the 90s, another single from Rattle and Hum became a hit. The song was called All I Want is You.

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Aztec Camera had a bunch of UK hits in 1983-85

 

Some of their hits were Oblivious, Still on Fire and All I Need is Everything and their own acoustic version of the Van Halen hit Jump

 

In 1988, Aztec Camera released an album called Love. The single that gave them American recognition is the song Deep and Wide and Tall. It was a deviation of their melancholic style of the 83-85 singles. They hit the US charts but not strong enough to land in the Top 10. Another single off the album didn't really hit it off but is popular among new wavers called How Men Are

 

Aztec Camera disappeared in the 90s and not much is known nor heard from them nowadays.

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INDUSTRY

 

Nobody really knows whatever happened to Industry. After surfing the web, this band that made new wavers rush to the dancefloor and made it to the pop mainstream in house parties and broadcasts back in 1984-85. The band was made up of Jon Carin, Mercury Caronia, Rudy Perrone and Brian Unger. The band released its one and only album Stranger to Stranger in 1984 under Capitol Records.

 

Considered as a new wave anthem, State of the Nation was actually a message about the Vietnam War. New wavers also liked the other tracks in the album Romantic Dreams, Still of the Night, Communication, All I Need is You and Shangri-la

 

The band made it to the charts in Europe but not in the US.

 

Some say the band members all died in a plane crash. Some say they died in a car crash. There has been no confirmation about this, although nothing has been heard from them for 21 years.

 

[The rumor was that The Cascades all died in a plane crash and the Philippines simply got shocked when the aging Cascades came to the Philippines recently for a concert... Got my point?]

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Australia produced a classic ballad group called Air Supply which made significant success in the first half of the 1980s.

 

With their heavily orchestrated, sweet ballads, the Australian soft rock group Air Supply became a staple of early-'80s radio, scoring a string of seven straight Top Five singles. Air Supply, for most intents and purposes, was the duo of vocalists Russell Hitchcock and Graham Russell; other members came through the group over the years, yet they only functioned as backing musicians and added little to the group's sound. Hitchcock and Russell met while performing in a Sydney, Australia, production of Jesus Christ Superstar in 1976. The two singers formed a partnership and with the addition of four supporting musicians -- keyboardist Frank Esler-Smith, guitarist David Moyse, bassist David Green, and drummer Ralph Cooper -- Air Supply was born.

 

For several years, the group gained no attention outside of Australia, earning one significant hit single, "Love and Other Bruises." Their first international exposure came in the late '70s, when Rod Stewart had them as his opening act on a North American tour. Air Supply signed a record contract with Arista in 1980, releasing their first album by the end of the year. Lost in Love, their debut, was a major success in the U.S., selling over two million copies and spawning the hit singles "Lost in Love," "All Out of Love," and "Every Woman in the World." The following year they released their second album, The One That You Love. The title track became their only number one hit and it also featured two other Top Ten hits, "Here I Am (Just When I Thought I Was Over You)" and "Sweet Dreams." With their third album, 1982's Now and Forever, their popularity dipped slightly -- it only had one Top Ten hit, "Even the Nights Are Better," and the other two singles, "Young Love" and "Two Less Lonely People in the World," scraped the bottom of the Top 40. Air Supply released a Greatest Hits collection in 1983, featuring a new single, "Making Love Out of Nothing at All." The single spent two weeks at number two while the album peaked at number seven and eventually sold over four million copies.

 

Two years later, they released Air Supply, their fourth album. It featured the number 19 single "Just As I Am," but it was clear that their audience was shrinking -- the album was their first not to go platinum. Hearts in Motion (1986) was even less successful, peaking at number 84 and spending only nine weeks on the charts. After its disappointing performance, Air Supply broke up.

 

Air Supply eventually reunited in 1991 but never replicated their early 80s success

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THE EAGLES

 

The band was considered a supergroup in the 70s. In 1980, the band released their concert album called EAGLES LIVE. Soon after, the band broke up. When asked if the group will ever come back together again, Don Henley replied "When Hell freezes over".

 

However, the demise of The Eagles in 1980. Two of the group's members pursued solo careers and successful careers at that.

 

Glenn Frey began a solo career in 1982 with No Fun Aloud, notching a pair of Top 40 hits with "I Found Somebody" and "The One You Love." 1984's The Allnighter spawned the hit "Smuggler's Blues," which subsequently inspired an episode of the hit TV series Miami Vice on which Frey guest-starred. More successful was Frey's continued musical career which reached its peak in 1985 with the Top Ten smash "The Heat Is On," a single released from the soundtrack to the Eddie Murphy comedy Beverly Hills Cop. Frey's contribution to the Miami Vice soundtrack, "You Belong to the City," was also a blockbuster, narrowly missing the top of the charts. However, his next solo LP, Soul Searchin,' did not follow until 1988, notching only one Top 40 entry, "True Love; " Strange Weather, issued four years later, missed the charts altogether.

 

Don Henley

 

Out of all of the Eagles, Don Henley had the most successful solo career. After the group broke up in 1982, Henley released his first solo album, I Can't Stand Still. Although it wasn't as successful as an Eagles record, the album performed respectably, launching the number three single "Dirty Laundry" and going gold. Building the Perfect Beast followed two years later and established Henley as a solo star in his own right. Featuring the Top Ten hits "Boys of Summer" and "All She Wants to Do Is Dance," as well as the Top 40 singles "Not Enough Love in the World" and "Sunset Grill," the album sold over two million copies and stayed on the charts for over a year. Henley's third album, 1989's The End of the Innocence, was his most ambitious record yet, as well as his most commercially successful. The album sold over three million copies and stayed on the charts for nearly three years, launching the hit singles "The End of the Innocence," (featuring Bruce Hornsby on the piano) "Heart of the Matter," "New York Minute," "How Bad Do You Want It?," and "The Last Worthless Evening." Don Henley reunited with The Eagles for one album in 1994, therefore the album title "Hell Freezes Over" which featured some new studio tracks and their previous hits recorded live and acoustic.

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Level 42

Born: 1980

 

At the beginning of their career, Level 42 was a jazz-funk fusion band, following in the footsteps of such pioneers as Stanley Clarke. By the end of the '80s, they were a pop-R&B band with a number of hit singles to their credit. Featuring Mark King (bass, vocals), Phil Gould (drums), Boon Gould (guitar), and Mike Lindup (keyboards), the band formed in 1980. Before they released their first single, "Love Meeting Love," the band was pushed to add vocals to their music in order to give it a more commercial sound; they complied, with King becoming the lead singer. Released in 1981, their self-titled debut album was a slick soul-R&B collection that charted in the U.K. Top 20, resulting in the release of The Early Tapes by their former record label, Polydor. Level 42 had several minor hit singles before 1984's "The Sun Goes Down (Living It Up)" hit the British Top Ten. Released in late 1985, World Machine broke the band worldwide; "Lessons in Love" hit number one in Britain and "Something About You" hit number seven in America. Their next two records, Running in the Family (1987) and Staring at the Sun (1988), were a big success in the U.K., yet only made some headway in the U.S. Both of the Gould brothers left the band in late 1987; they were replaced by guitarist Alan Murphy and drummer Gary Husband. Murphy died of AIDS-related diseases in 1989

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SHAKATAK

 

While New Wave was on the rise in the 80s, a new kind of music emerged in the early 80s called Jazz Fusion. And for those who remember, Shakatak was one of the most successful jazz fusion groups that saw popular broadcast in the early 80s.

 

British jazz-funk combo Shakatak formed in London in 1980; originally comprising keyboardists Bill Sharpe and Nigel Wright, guitarist Keith Winter, bassist Steve Underwood and drummer Roger Odell, the group quickly scored an underground hit with its debut single "Steppin'," cracking the British Top 50 the following year with the singles "Livin' in the UK" and "Brazilian Dawn." Their debut LP Drivin' Hard was also well-received, and with the 1982 follow-up Nightbirds, Shakatak (which replaced Underwood with bassist George Anderson) scored their first Top 20 hit in "Easier Said Than Done"; the disc's title track also rocketed into the Top Ten. Nightbirds also introduced singer Jill Saward, who emerged as Shakatak's lead vocalist with the band's fifth album, 1984's Down on the Street, which notched the hit "Watching You"; 1985's Live preceded the release of the group's next studio effort, Day by Day which featured Al Jarreau on the title track and a jazz fusion hit City Rhythm. A series of largely instrumental albums including Into the Blue, Golden Wings, Da Makani and Niteflite were then issued exclusively in Japan, where Shakatak enjoyed immense popularity; in the meanwhile 1988's Manic and Cool was released internationally, highlighted by the singles "Mr. Manic and Sister Cool" and "Something Special."

 

Is this where the NBA phrase SHAQ ATTACK came from???

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PRINCE

 

Prince was born Prince Roger Nelson.

 

Few artists have created a body of work as rich and varied as Prince. During the '80s, he emerged as one of the most singular talents of the rock & roll era, capable of seamlessly tying together pop, funk, folk, and rock. Not only did he release a series of groundbreaking albums, he toured frequently, produced albums and wrote songs for many other artists, and recorded hundreds of songs that still lie unreleased in his vaults. With each album he has released, Prince has shown remarkable stylistic growth and musical diversity, constantly experimenting with different sounds, textures, and genres. Occasionally, his music can be maddeningly inconsistent because of this eclecticism, but his experiments frequently succeed; no other contemporary artist can blend so many diverse styles into a cohesive whole.

Prince's first two albums were solid, if unremarkable, late-'70s funk-pop. With 1980's Dirty Mind, he recorded his first masterpiece, a one-man tour de force of sex and music; it was hard funk, catchy Beatlesque melodies, sweet soul ballads, and rocking guitar pop, all at once. Prince's "I Feel For You" included in the Dirty Mind album, was remade successfully by Chaka Khan and a rapping Grandmaster Funk reaching #1 in 1985. The follow-up, Controversy, was more of the same and produced a minor hit featuring the title track. 1999 was brilliant. The album was a monster hit, selling over three million copies, and spawing the hits Little Red Corvette, Delirious, 1999, Let's Pretend We're Married. But his previous successes were nothing compared to 1984's Purple Rain.

 

Purple Rain made Prince a superstar; it eventually sold over ten million copies in the U.S. and spent 24 weeks at number one. Partially recorded with his touring band the Revolution, the record featured the most pop-oriented music he has ever made. The smash album produced When Doves Cry (#1 for 6 weeks), Let's Go Crazy (#1 for 2 weeks), I Would Die 4 U (#8), Take Me With U (a top 40 hit with Apolonia Kotero). Instead of continuing in this accessible direction, he veered off into the bizarre psycho-psychedelia of Around the World in a Day (1985), which nevertheless sold over two million copies. The album produced two hits including Raspberry Beret (#3). In 1986, he released the even stranger Parade, which was in its own way was as ambitious and intricate as any art rock of the '60s; however, no art rock was ever grounded with a hit as brilliant as the spare funk of Kiss (#1 for two weeks) and Mountains (#24)

 

By 1987, Prince's ambitions were growing by leaps and bounds, resulting in the sprawling masterpiece Sign o' the Times. The album spawned hits including the title track, U Got the Look (duet with Sheena Easton) and I Would Never Take the Place of Your Man. Prince was set to release the hard funk of The Black Album by the end of the year, yet he withdrew it just before its release, deciding it was too dark and immoral. Instead, he released the confused Lovesexy in 1988, which was a commercial disaster. With the soundtrack to 1989's Batman he returned to the top of the charts with Batdance (#1 for 1 week) and Partyman (#20, which was heard in the scene where The Joker was partying around Gotham City), even if the album was essentially a recap of everything he had done before. The following year he released Graffiti Bridge, the sequel to Purple Rain, which turned out to be a considerable commercial disappointment.

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Back in the 80s, the term used to describe R&B is the word SOUL. And when you talk about soul music, it has to Motown Records.

 

And the 80s Motown had its share of soul artists. One such soul artist was the group DeBarge.

 

They were a soul chart success but not too successful at the pop charts when they began. They had two minor pop hits I Like It (Nelly's My Place has portions of "I Like It" in it) and All This Love. Both songs went to the Top 40. Then they did a song called Single Heart for the 1983 movie DC Cab which was met with little enthusiasm.

 

The next album chalked up Time Will Reveal which also reached the Top 40 in 1984. Another mild success for DeBarge.

 

The next album brought DeBarge international fame with the song Rhythm of the Night which was propelled by a movie called The Last Dragon. The song went to #3 in the US. The next song they released off the same album was Who's Holding Donna Now. It became the second Top 10 hit Who's Holding Donna Now. The next two releases, however, did not make it to the Top 40, You Wear It Well and The Heart is Not So Smart.

 

By 1986 the group were showing signs of a breakup as in-fighting plagued the group. Soon after, two member went solo but did not find success. The lead singer Eldra "El" DeBarge soon went solo with a mildly successful Someone Else in 1988.

 

And then, DeBarge and all of its members never made a hit again.

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CLIFF RICHARD

 

This singer began his career in the 60s. But unlike Tom Jones, Cliff Richard had his own hits in the 80s. In 1980 he had two Top 40 hits called Dreaming and We Don't Talk Anymore. In 1981, he remade an old song and made it back to the Top 40. In 1984, he had a Philippine radio ballad hit called Ocean Deep, although it never entered the US Top 40. And finally, in 1989, Cliff Richard had another hit with the trio of Stock/Aitken/Waterman, the dancefloor hits producers. And true enough, his single I Just Don't Have the Heart was a big dancefloor hit in 1989 into 1990.

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IRENE CARA

 

This singer rose to fame in 1980 when she sang the title theme song of the movie "Fame". She was also in the movie as she played a student in the Academy of the Performing Arts. She had another hit from the movie called Out Here On My Own.

 

After Fame, Irene Cara released her own album in 1983 and had a Top 10 hit called Why Me. She also had one minor hit from the same album which is heard on the movie and soundtrack of DC Cab.

 

Irene Cara's success somehow came with movies as she went to the US #1 spot with the theme song of Flashdance which starred Jennifer Beals. The title was actually Flashdance (What A Feeling)

 

Irene Cara never came back to the charts as the album she released thereafter bombed out and her career of fame suddenly ended like a bad plane crash and never took off again.

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Out of all the bands that emerged in the immediate aftermath of punk rock in the late '70s, the Cure was one of the most enduring and popular. Led through numerous incarnations by guitarist/vocalist Robert Smith (born April 21, 1959), the band became notorious for their slow, gloomy dirges and Smith's ghoulish appearance. But the public image often hid the diversity of the Cure's music. At the outset, they played jagged, edgy pop songs and they slowly evolved into a more textured outfit. As one of the bands that laid the seeds for goth rock, the group created towering layers of guitars and synthesizers, but by the time goth caught on in the mid-'80s, the Cure had moved away from the genre. By the end of the '80s, the Cure had crossed over into the mainstream not only in their native England, but also in the United States and in various parts of Europe.

Originally called the Easy Cure, the band was formed in 1976 by schoolmates Robert Smith (vocals, guitar), Michael Dempsey (bass), and Laurence "Lol" Tolhurst (drums). Initially, the group was playing dark, nervy guitar pop with pseudo-literary lyrics, as evidenced by the Albert Camus-inspired "Killing an Arab." A demo tape, featuring "Killing an Arab," arrived in the hands of Chris Parry, an A&R representative at Polydor Records; by the time he received the tape, the band's name had been truncated to the Cure. Parry was impressed with the song and arranged for its release on the independent label Small Wonder in December 1978. Early in 1979, Parry left Polydor to form his own record label, Fiction, and the Cure was one of the first bands he signed to the label. "Killing an Arab" was re-released in February of 1979, and the Cure set out on their first tour of England. The Cure's debut album, Three Imaginary Boys, was released in May 1979 to good reviews in the British music press. Later that year, the group released the non-LP singles "Boys Don't Cry" and "Jumping Someone Else's Train." That same year, the Cure embarked on a major tour with Siouxsie & the Banshees. During the tour, the Banshees' guitarist, John McKay, left the group and Robert Smith stepped in for the missing musician; for the next decade or so, Smith would frequently collaborate with members of the Banshees.

 

At the end of 1979, the Cure released a single, "I'm a Cult Hero," under the name the Cult Heroes. Following the release of the single, Dempsey left the band to join the Associates. Dempsey was replaced by Simon Gallup at the beginning of 1980. At the same time, the Cure added a keyboardist, Matthieu Hartley, to their lineup. The band's second album, Seventeen Seconds, was released in the spring of 1980. The addition of a keyboardist expanded the group's sound; it was now more experimental, and frequently they would immerse themselves in slow, gloomy dirges. Nevertheless, the band still wrote pop hooks, as demonstrated by the group's first U.K. hit single, "A Forest," which peaked at number 31. After the release of Seventeen Seconds, the Cure began their first world tour. Following the Australian leg of the tour, Matthieu Hartley left the band and the group chose to continue without him. In 1981, they released their third album, Faith, which peaked at number 14 in the charts and spawned the minor hit single "Primary." The Cure's fourth album, the doom-laden, introspective Pornography, was released in 1982. Pornography expanded their cult audience even further and it cracked the U.K. Top Ten. After the Pornography tour was completed, Simon Gallup quit the band and Lol Tolhurst moved from drums to keyboards. At the end of 1982, the Cure released a new single, the dance-tinged "Let's Go to Bed."

 

Robert Smith devoted most of the beginning of 1983 to Siouxsie & the Banshees, recording the Hyaena album with the group and appearing as the band's guitarist on the album's accompanying tour. Smith also formed a band with Banshees bassist Steve Severin called the Glove that same year. The Glove released their only album, Blue Sunshine, later in 1983. By the late summer of 1983, a new version of the Cure -- featuring Smith, Tolhurst, drummer Andy Anderson, and bassist Phil Thornalley -- was assembled and they recorded a new single, the jaunty "The Lovecats." The song was released in the fall of 1983 and became the group's biggest hit to date, peaking at number seven on the U.K. charts. The new lineup of the Cure released The Top in 1984. Despite the pop leanings the number 14 hit "The Caterpillar," The Top was a return to the bleak soundscapes of Pornography. During the world tour supporting The Top, Anderson was fired from the band. In early 1985, following the completion of the tour, Thornalley left the band. The Cure revamped their lineup after his departure, adding drummer Boris Williams, guitarist Porl Thompson, and bassist Simon Gallup. Later in 1985, the Cure released their sixth album, The Head on the Door. The album was the most concise and pop-oriented record the group had ever released, which helped send it into the U.K. Top Ten and to number 59 in the U.S., the first time the band had broken the American Hot 100. "In Between Days" and "Close to Me" -- both pulled from The Head on the Door -- became sizable U.K. hits, as well as popular underground and college radio hits in the U.S.

 

The Cure followed the breakthrough success of The Head on the Door in 1986 with the compilation Standing on a Beach: The Singles. Standing on a Beach reached number four in the U.K., but more importantly it established the band as a major cult act in the U.S.; the album peaked at number 48 and went gold within a year. In short, Standing on a Beach set the stage for 1987's double album Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me. The album was eclectic but it was a hit, spawning four hit singles in the U.K. ("Why Can't I Be You," "Catch," "Just Like Heaven," "Hot Hot Hot!!!") and the group's first American Top 40 hit, "Just Like Heaven." Following the supporting tour for Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, the Cure's activity slowed to a halt. Before the Cure began working on their new album in early 1988, the band fired Lol Tolhurst, claiming that relations between him and the rest of the band had been irrevocably damaged. Tolhurst would soon file a lawsuit, claiming that his role in the band was greater than stated in his contract and, consequently, he deserved more money.

 

In the meantime, the Cure replaced Tolhurst with former Psychedelic Furs keyboardist Roger O'Donnell and recorded their eighth album, Disintegration. Released in the spring of 1989, the album was more melancholy than its predecessor, but it was an immediate hit, reaching number three in the U.K. and number 14 in the U.S., and spawning a series of hit singles. "Lullaby" became the group's biggest British hit in the spring of 1989, peaking at number five. In the late summer, the band had their biggest American hit with "Lovesong," which climbed to number two. On the Disintegration tour, the Cure began playing stadiums across the U.S. and the U.K. In the fall of 1990, the Cure released Mixed Up, a collection of remixes featuring a new single, "Never Enough."

 

Following the Disintegration tour, Roger O'Donnell left the band and the Cure replaced him with their roadie, Perry Bamonte. In the spring of 1992, the band released Wish. Like Disintegration, Wish was an immediate hit, entering the British charts at number one and the American charts at number two, as well as launching the hit singles "High" and "Friday I'm in Love." The Cure embarked on another international tour after the release of Wish. One concert, performed in Detroit, was documented on a film called Show and on two albums, Show and Paris. The movie and the albums were released in 1993.

 

Porl Thompson left the band in 1993 to join Jimmy Page and Robert Plant's band. After his departure, Roger O'Donnell rejoined the band as a keyboardist, and Perry Bamonte switched from synthesizers to guitars. During most of 1993 and early 1994, the Cure was sidelined by the then-ongoing lawsuit from Lol Tolhurst. Following the settlement in the band's favor in the fall of 1994, the group was set to record a follow-up album to Wish, but drummer Boris Williams quit just as they were about to begin the record. The Cure recruited a new drummer through advertisements in the British music papers; by the spring of 1995, Jason Cooper had replaced Williams. Throughout 1995, the Cure recorded their tenth proper studio album, pausing to perform a handful of European musical festivals in the summer. The album, titled Wild Mood Swings, was finally released in the spring of 1996. A second singles collection, 1997's Galore, yielded the new "Wrong Number"; Bloodflowers followed in early 2000. An all-encompassing Cure retrospective entitled Greatest Hits, which included two brand new songs, was issued in fall 2001

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Anybody out there who is old enough to remember the Fusion Jazz craze of the 80's, when Tom Scott, Bob James, David Benoit, Ronnie Laws, Seawind, Chuck Mangione were kings? 101.9 was THE F.M. radio station back then. Seemed like there was a major artist coming to MNL every month. Anyody know where to obtain CDs from that long-ago era?

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DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES is a duo that was formed in the 70s. In the 80s, they had a string of hits.

 

1980 came with their Voices LP which featured the remake of YOU LOST THAT LOVIN' FEELING and EVERYTIME YOU GO AWAY which was remade by Paul Young in 1985.

 

1981 was the year when PRIVATE EYES came out. The LP featured the title track, DID IT IN A MINUTE, MANO A MANO (John Oates sings lead), YOUR IMAGINATION, I CAN'T GO FOR THAT (NO CAN DO)

 

1982 was when H2O came out which featured MANEATER, ONE ON ONE, FAMILY MAN and a minor hit CRIME PAYS

 

1983 saw the release of ROCK N SOUL PART 1 which was a compilation of past hits and two previously unreleased singles SAY IT ISN'T SO and ADULT EDUCATION

 

1984 was the year when BIG BAM BOOM came out. The album came up with hits OUT OF TOUCH, METHOD OF MODERN LOVE, SOME THINGS ARE BETTER LEFT UNSAID and POSSESSION OBSESSION.

 

In 1985, Hall & Oates collaborated with some of the members of The Temptations and came up with a concert album.

 

The duo suddenly took a break as Daryl Hall made a solo album called THREE HEARTS IN THE NEVER ENDING MACHINE. Hall had a hit DREAMTIME and a minor hit FOOLISH PRIDE in 1986. John Oates meanwhile had a song included in a 1986 movie with a track called SHE'S THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME which was a minor hit.

 

However, Hall & Oates left RCA records and signed up with Arista Records in 1988. Entitled OOH YEAH!, this album was the last album the duo would record in the 80s. The album came up with the hit EVERYTHING YOUR HEART DESIRES and minor hits DOWNTOWN LIFE, SOULOVE and I'M IN PIECES

 

The duo had one more hit in 1990 called SO CLOSE and even did an acoustic concert at the Araneta Coliseum in 1991.

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MADONNA

 

Her career in music began with a band called The Breakfast Club. She eventually left the group and Breakfast Club emerged with two hits Rico Mambo (1985) and Right On Track (1986).

 

But the success of The Breakfast Club was absolutely overshadowed by their former singer Madonna Louise Ciccone.

 

Madonna's first release was a minor hit and a dancefloor hit Everybody.

 

Sire Records (a Warner Bros. Records subsidiary) had signed her up and had not given up on her and went ahead to release her first album in 1982. Her first self-titled LP initially had a lukewarm public reception. Spawning minor hits Physical Attraction and Burning Up, Madonna became known as a dancefloor artist at the time. Her first big break is when Holiday entered the US Top 40 and peaked at #26. Then came her first US Top 10 hit Borderline (peaked at #10) which made her an MTV star. Soon after, Lucky Star was released and Madonna had a Top 5 hit peaking at #4.

 

Madonna, however, refused to be just a dancefloor artist. She totally repackaged herself in 1984 in a controversy-laden release of Like A Virgin. The album launched Madonna into superstardom with a string of Top 5 hits Like a Virgin (#1), Material Girl (#2), Dress You Up (#5), Angel (#5).

 

1985 was the year when she dabbled into movies. She had a cameo role in the movie Vision Quest where she did a song for the movie Crazy For You (#1) and a role in the movie Desperately Seeking Susan where the song Into The Groove (dance chart hit) is heard.

 

In 1986, Madonna released True Blue where more controversy followed her with the song lyrics and video of Papa Don't Preach (#1), True Blue (#4), Open Your Heart (#1), La Isla Bonita (#6) and included a movie song of At Close Range (a then-husband Sean Penn starred in the bomb of a movie) called Live To Tell (#1)

 

In 1987, Madonna released a compilation of her past dance hits remixed plus a new song called Spotlight which bombed. Madonna has her share of bombs too. The album You Can Dance was not a commercial success. However, later in the year, Madonna returned to the movies with a role and theme song to the movie Who's That Girl? (#1).

 

November 1987 saw the release of even a more controversial Madonna album (and video) Like A Prayer. MTV went ahead and broadcast the video which drew howls of protests from Christians everywhere. But the song went straight to #1 anyway. Following Like A Prayer came Express Yourself (#2), Cherish (#5)

 

Madonna continued charting into the 90s but released The Immaculate Collection CD and Laserdisc (videos) which featured her non-ballad hits in the 80s in 1990 and featured a new song Vogue inspired by the movie Dick Tracy (where she starred as Breathless Mahoney)

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THE DOOBIE BROTHERS

 

After the rousing Grammy-winning Minute By Minute in 1979, The Doobie Brothers were sort of spoiled by super success and were at the verge of disintegrating. However, before breaking up, The Doobie Brothers had one more hit in 1980 called Real Love with Michael McDonald on lead vocals. The song peaked at #5. Months after, The Doobie Brothers came together once more for a farewell concert which was recorded live and went gold.

 

Michael McDonald went solo and pursued a successful music career spawning hits I KEEP FORGETTIN', PLAYING BY THE RULES, YAH MO B THERE (Duet with James Ingram), SWEET FREEDOM (theme from the movie Running Scared), ON MY OWN (Duet with Patti LaBelle), I'LL BE YOUR ANGEL.

 

Patrick Simmons also tried to go solo but produced one minor hit SO WRONG in 1983. His career never really took off after that.

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STEELY DAN was also on the verge of a breakup in 1980. Their 1980 album Gaucho came up with hits TIME OUT OF MIND, HEY NINETEEN, BABYLON SISTERS and GLAMOUR PROFESSION.

 

But the group went separate ways as Donald Fagen came up with a solo album in 1982 called The Nightfly. It came up with a hit IGY (What A Beautiful World) and a minor hit NEW FRONTIER. WALK BETWEEN RAINDROPS was a cult hit.

 

Walter Becker produced a China Crisis album Flaunt The Imperfection in 1985.

 

The group eventually reunited in 1994 and they called most of the eighties as their "dark ages".

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ONE HIT WONDER

 

In 1983, dancefloors everywhere, including house parties and the mobiles, were playing thie dancefloor smash hit LET THE MUSIC PLAY by Shannon. The song eventually crossed over to the pop charts and peaked at #8 of the US charts.

 

But no more hits were forthcoming for Shannon thereafter

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THE BLOW MONKEYS

 

In 1986, The Blow Monkeys hit it big in the UK and the US with a song called DIGGING YOUR SCENE. It entered the UK Top 10 and the US Top 20. The band's lead singer Dr Robert was a staunch anti-Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of UK during those days. Many of his songs (which were minor hits) were like commentaries against Thatcher's brand of government.

 

The Blow Monkeys had one more UK hit IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY in 1987. The song didn't make it to the US Top 40 but was a dancefloor hit during its day.

 

When Margaret Thatcher was out of government in the late 80s, the lead singer seemed to have lost a sense of purpose and wrote one last song which was a minor UK hit SPRINGTIME FOR THE WORLD. And just as Margaret Thatcher fades out into history, so did The Blow Monkeys.

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After a string of hits in the 70s, Rod Stewart's career slowed down in the 80s. Rod Stewart scored only a few hits in the 80s. Baby Jane (1983) was a US Top 20 hit (peaked #15), Infatuation (1984) went to the US Top 10 (peaked #6) and Love Touch (1987) went to the US Top 5 (peaked #2).

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