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

[hitman531ph]

Music of the 80s...

 

The decade started with Depeche Mode, B-52's, Soft Cell and Devo

 

Somewhere in between was Bruce Springsteen, Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, Tina Turner and Culture Club, Eurythmics

 

It ended with Guns N Roses, Swing Out Sister, Salt N Pepa and Boy Meets Girl

 

Gender benders, bands formed & disbanded and chart-toppers & chart-bombers...

Edited September 12, 2008 by hitman531ph

[hitman531ph]

One of the flamboyant gender bender bands that came out of the 80s was Culture Club.

 

Culture Club was comprised of George "Boy George" O'Dowd, Mikey Craig, Jon Moss and Roy Hay

 

This band had 4 albums and a string of hits in its heyday from 1982-86

 

In 1982, after releasing some not-so-successful singles, "Do you Really Want to Hurt Me" became the first top 10 hit for Culture Club from the album "Kissing to be Clever"

 

In 1983, a single called "Time (Clock of the Heart)" became the second top 10 hit that came out of an EP of the same title.

 

In late 1983, Culture Club released an album called "Colour by Numbers" which produced their third top 10 hit "Church of the Poison Mind". By early 1984, the single "Karma Chameleon" zoomed all the way to the top of the charts. This became their first and only #1 hit. The following single "Miss Me Blind" made it to the top 10. The next single "It's a Miracle" went to the top 20. The last single from the same album "Victims" made it again to the top 10 but only in the UK.

 

In late 1984, the band was showing signs of weariness and showed its eccentric side with the album cover and title called "Waking Up With the House on Fire". This album produced a UK top 10 hit called "The War Song". "The War Song", however, managed only a top 20 spot. The second single "Mistake No. 3" made it to the US Top 40 but no higher.

 

By 1985, a song called "Love is Love" made it to the top 10 in Japan, but was a minor hit in US and Europe. The song was featured in the soundtrack of "Electric Dreams".

 

In 1986, the band members were no longer in good terms with one another and just finished off the album and went their separate ways months after the release of the album "From Luxury to Heartache". The album came up with a UK Top 10 (US Top 20) hit "Move Away". A second single called "God Thank You Woman" failed to follow the success of the band's previous hits. This was the time when Boy George appeared in the 80s TV series The A-Team

 

By 1987, Culture Club was gone.

Edited August 10, 2005 by hitman531ph

[hitman531ph]

Who could forget the scam of the decade, perhaps the scam of the 20th Century, at the close of the 80s?

 

The scam that even got the group a Grammy Award which they later had to return...

 

Milli Vanilli

 

Two guys appear on the album, and lip-synching their way in the music videos and concert performances...

 

Girl You Know It's True was their first hit in the latter half of 1989...

Baby, Don't Forget My Number was the follow-up hit...

 

Girl, now you know it's not true and baby, you won't forget the number they did on everybody back then

[Guest airmax]

Ang favorite ko dati e ung mga new wave bands tulad ng The Care, Strawberry Switchblade, Pale Fountains, Blue Zoo, Seona Dancing, The Cure, Lotus Eaters. Ok silang lahat kaso nawala ang new wave around 1986 napalitan ng disco music tulad nila Mike Francis, Timex Social Club, Amy Stewart, Club Noveau etc.

[hitman531ph]

Tom Jones.

 

An artist who made it big in the 60s and 70s, doing covers of other artists hits.

 

He did it again in 1988 with his one and only hit in the 80s "Kiss", a cover of Prince and the Revolutions's 1986 chart-topper

 

His cover was done in collaboration with a group called The Art of Noise. Tom Jones's "Kiss" appeared on a Kim Basinger movie called "My Stepmother is an Alien" which gained Tom Jones a new recognition in the world of music

[Guest airmax]

For the Punk Era eto ang mga fave ko: B52's, Devo, Flock of Seagulls, Taco, Men without hats, Men at Work, Modern English, the Go go's, Joe Jackson, Sheena Easton (Telephone), Gary Numan etc.

[Guest airmax]

i download nyo ugn radio netscape tapos may radio channel doon na panay new wave ang tugtog :cool:

[Batabatuta™]

Here are my fave 80's artists:

 

Level 42

Cyndi Lauper

Pet Shop Boys

Duran Duran

Aztec Camera

Mister Mister

Heart

Joe Jackson

Huey Lewis and the News

Human League

Tears for Fears

OMD

Depeche Mode

Erasure

Eurythmics

 

hayyyyyy.......

[orionpax]

the 80's :boo:

 

The Cure

OMD

The Clash

Depeche Mode

Information Society

The Police

Dire Straits

Lotus Eaters

Poison

The Alarm

Tears For Fears

GNR

Mister Mister

U2

Fra Lippo Lippi

Pet Shop Boys

Duran Duran

Spandau Ballet

Heart

The Bangles

The Smiths

Wham!

Hall & Oates

Prince

Genesis

[hitman531ph]

THE POLICE

 

This band of three, Andy Summers, Stewart Copeland and Gordon "Sting" Sumner already had some hits in the late 80s. Their album Zenyatta Mondatta was recorded in 1979 but the hits it produced crossed over into 1980.

 

DE DOO DOO DOO DE DA DA DA and DON'T STAND SO CLOSE TO ME were hits and considered as classics today.

 

1981 saw The Police release the album GHOST IN THE MACHINE. It produced lesser known hits INVISIBLE SUN and SPIRITS IN THE MATERIAL WORLD. But GHOST IN THE MACHINE also produced a big hit (which has been remade by several artists) EVERY LITTLE THING SHE DOES IS MAGIC

 

The Police then came up with the monster album SYNCHRONICITY. It produced 3 Top 10 hits and 1 Top 20 hit. The first hit is a hit still recognized and well known today- EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE. It spent 8 weeks at #1. The second hit came up slightly short - KING OF PAIN peaked at #3. WRAPPED AROUND YOUR FINGER peaked at #8. The 4th single SYNCHRONICITY II peaked at #17.

 

MURDER BY NUMBERS appears in a movie of the same title sometime in the late 90s or 2000.

 

THE POLICE were already in-fighting after the release of SYNCHRONICITY. By the time the group was supposed to record their next album, Sting, Copeland and Sumers had a severe quarrel that Sting and Copeland walked out of the recording studio and the band was finished. They were able to record a rehash of their own hit DON'T STAND SO CLOSE TO ME '86 which was included in a compilation album EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE-THE SINGLES

 

By 1985, Sting released his first solo album THE DREAM OF THE BLUE TURTLES which came up with 2 Top 10 hits and 2 Top 40 hits. IF YOU LOVE SOMEBODY, SET THEM FREE, FORTRESS AROUND YOUR HEART, RUSSIANS, LOVE IS THE SEVENTH WAVE

 

In 1987, Sting released another album called NOTHING BUT THE SUN which had 3 hits WE'LL BE TOGETHER and AN ENGLISHMAN IN NEW YORK and FRAGILE

[hitman531ph]

BOY MEETS GIRL

 

This band had only two hits in the 80s, perhaps even in their career...

 

Their first hit was OH GIRL in 1985 which made it in the Top 40 but never got any higher than #33.

 

Their second hit is what the duo will be remembered for. WAITING FOR A STAR TO FALL went up to the Top 5 in 1989. This was their biggest break and unfortunately no other hits came after that.

 

But they should credit Whitney Houston for the duo's biggest hit. WAITING FOR A STAR TO FALL was originally offered to Whitney Houston to record. Whitney didn't like it, didn't record it and trashed it. The songwriter felt that the song should probably be offered to an artist with lesser fame. Boy Meets Girl accepted the song and recorded it and had their 15 minutes of fame.

[hitman531ph]

STRAWBERRY SWITCHBLADE

 

I wonder what happened to them? They never came up with a second album. With New Wave classics LET HER GO, SINCE YESTERDAY and the cool WHO KNOWS WHAT LOVE IS, 1985 was the year we first and last saw and heard about this female duo

[Guest airmax]

Romeo Void

Everything but the girl

INXS

Duran Duran

The Re-flex

Red Rockers

[hitman531ph]

DURAN DURAN started the 80s with minor hits PLANET EARTH, CARELESS MEMORIES and GIRLS ON FILM which appeared in their self titled debut album in 1981. At the time, MTV was starting out and the band released a music video featuring mud-wrestling girls showing their breast on camera. The title of the song on the video is GIRLS ON FILM. Duran Duran found itself in a controversy and had to agree that MTV cut out the portions with breast exposure.

 

The original 5 members were Simon Le Bon, John Taylor, Andy Taylor, Roger Taylor and Nick Rhodes.

 

In 1982, the band released an album called RIO and produced a minor hit RIO and the band's first Top 5 hit called HUNGRY LIKE THE WOLF. In the album was a UK Top 10 hit SAVE A PRAYER.

 

In the latter half of 1983, the band released SEVEN AND THE RAGGED TIGER and churned out three Top 5 hits UNION OF THE SNAKE, NEW MOON ON MONDAY and THE REFLEX (fle-fle-fle-fle-flex!). THE REFLEX was the band's first #1 hit.

 

By mid 1984, Duran Duran released an album called ARENA which featured (poorly recorded) concert performances of their previous hits. A new single (not a live performance) called THE WILD BOYS was included in the album. THE WILD BOYS eventually became Duran Duran's first US #1 hit.

 

By late 1984, John Taylor and Andy Taylor took a break from Duran Duran and joined in a project with (the late) Robert Palmer and Chris Thompson (of Chic). The project was called THE POWER STATION. The quartet produced 2 Top 10 hits SOME LIKE IT HOT and GET IT ON (BANG A GONG) and a Top 40 hit, a remake of HARVEST FOR THE WORLD

 

Simon, Roger and Nick, in the meantime felt abandoned and idle at the time and did their own project called ARCADIA. The title of the album was SO RED THE ROSE. Arcadia had 1 Top 10 hit ELECTION DAY (which was the theme song of the 1986 Philippine snap elections) and 3 Top 40 hits EL DIABLO, GOODBYE IS FOREVER and KEEP ME IN THE DARK. THE FLAME was a minor hit for ARCADIA

 

In 1985, the band got back together again as they were honored and eager to record the theme song for the 1985 James Bond movie A VIEW TO A k*ll. It was also the first time a James Bond theme song went to the #1 spot.

 

Duran Duran joined in Bob Geldof's LIVE AID and Simon Le Bon was kinda out-of-sync and out-of-tune when they performed A VIEW TO A k*ll

 

By late 1985, the band took a break to sort out things. Andy Taylor recorded and released an album in 1986 which had one Top 20 hit TAKE IT EASY

 

John Talylor did the same thing and had 1 Top 20 hit I DO WHAT I DO (JUST TO HAVE YOU)

 

By 1986, Duran Duran assembled again without Roger Taylor who quit the band and without Andy Taylor who felt he could go solo (he never made another chart hit again). The band released NOTORIOUS and the title track went to the Top 5 that year and the follow up single SKIN TRADE didn't quite reach the Top 10 but was a hit nevertheless

 

1988 saw the release of Duran Duran's album BIG THING which produced a very different sounding Duran Duran. Brit glam rock flavored with a little Americal soul minus the sleazy stretching vocals. The album came up with a hit I DON'T WANT YOUR LOVE that went to #1

 

Duran Duran came up with 2 more albums in the 90s

Edited August 10, 2005 by hitman531ph

[hitman531ph]

Australia had their own brand of music that rocked the 80s

 

MEN AT WORK came up with two albums BUSINESS AS USUAL (1982) and CARGO (1983). The first album chalked up two #1 hits WHO CAN IT BE NOW and DOWN UNDER. The second album was of lesser success and came up with two Top 20 hits IT'S A MISTAKE and OVERKILL

 

LITTLE RIVER BAND already had hits like Reminiscing and Cool Change in the late 70s and had one Top 5 hit in 1982 called THE OTHER GUY

 

THE HOOTERS was a one-hit wonder Aussie band that appeared in LIVE AID and performed their one and only Top 10 hit AND WE DANCED. The band was said to be a promising new band at the time but they failed to make good their promise.

 

CROWDED HOUSE was also a successful Aussie band although they came up short after their first, self-titled debut. Their first album produced 2 Top 10 hits DON'T DREAM IT'S OVER and SOMETHING SO STRONG in 1986.

 

Perhaps the most successful Australian act, INXS came up with a string of albums and chart successes. Their first album in 1980 SHABOOH SHOOBAH produced their first Top 40 hit ONE DAY. In 1983, the INXS album THE SWING produced 1 Top 40 hit ORIGINAL SIN and a cult classic I SEND A MESSAGE. In 1985, INXS released LISTEN LIKE THIEVES. The single LISTEN LIKE THIEVES missed the Top 40 but the following hit WHAT YOU NEED skyrocketed the band to international stardom as it went to the Top 10. The 3rd hit KISS THE DIRT made it to the Top 20. In 1986, INXS released KICK and produced two consecutive #1 hits NEED YOU TONIGHT and DEVIL INSIDE. The third single from KICK was NEW SENSATION went to the Top 5 and NEVER TEAR US APART made it to the Top 40. In 1988, INXS released an album called X, commemorative of their 10th year as a band. X came up with a Top 10 hit called SUICIDE BLONDE. The lead singer Michael Hutchence died of an apparent drug-induced suicide a few years later in the mid-90s