I would say it's this one. Can you find another one with equal or greater embodiment of the 1980s?
https://youtu.be/F2T99YbxwWA?si=T8wcM3gEM1w7N1UH
Possibly one of the most iconic 80s songs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btPJPFnesV4
shareTotally 1980s....
The look , the sound, the production - this one couldn't have come from any other decade....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIpfWORQWhU
Ah yes. We could not have a 1980s thread without Flock of Seagulls, their hairdos or their use of sunglasses indoors. Excellent choice! π
shareThanks. I've got one more here - this band came and went, but were huge for a little bit in the mid 80s. The sound is "totally" 1980s - as the valley girls would say.....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oh4tHpUflDA
Totally, fer sure! I remember this one. With the typical 80s intensity I'm not sure it was actually a very relaxing song but nevertheless that's what he wanted us to do!
shareFor some reason whenever I hear 'I Ran (So Far Away)' I also think of
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WTdTwcmxyo
The whole decade was set up with this one song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSOp507HJMA
I did not know that one, but it doesn't hurt to share your worldview with a voice that sounds like you're coaxing someone gently to your sultry 70s-music-filled bedroom.
shareIt was followed up with a brilliant sequel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Cp4aihz6wc
Would we take Jesse Jackson?
Hell, we'd take Michael Jackson.
The voice was still there but he dropped the boudoir music.
I'm being silly of course. In reading about him very quickly just now it sounds like he did have a certain amount of influence and I'm actually surprised I've never heard of him.
He wasn't singing about puppies and broken hearts.
shareLaura Bradigan's Self-control, which is a cover of RAF's song of same name
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RP0_8J7uxhs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_TQjEn6cpQ
Also, Cyndi Lauper's She Bop, spirit of 80s in a short clip
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFq4E9XTueY
Two great ladies of the '80s! I always loved Laura Branigan's "Gloria," especially. I just heard it recently. So sad that she died so young.
shareYes, too bad she died so early. Satisfaction is another gem of her repertoire, much less known
https://youtu.be/bbAuVP0JMPQ
I did not remember that one but it was fun to watch the video, complete with dramatic fingers through the hair at just the right times. π
shareWhenever someone mentions Cyndi Lauper I like to post this appearance on the Tonight Show. 80s to the max!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBt6e3x1m28
So many great ones already mentioned... but I'll go with this one. One, it mentions MTV, which was such a huge part of the 1980s. Second, those drums and Mark Knopfler's guitar intro... nothing like hearing that on a boom box cranked up all the way to 10! π
"Money For Nothing" - Dire Straits. https://youtu.be/ZC1Pdsppch4?si=Zm3Tn4Mke5p8mtZ4
PS: Did you know that Sting got a songwriter's credit for this song? "I want my MTV" is close enough to the same melody as "Don't Stand So Close To Me" that he ended up getting a songwriter's credit out of it. I bet he made a mint out of that simple line he sang! π
This is a great addition to our list because MTV was an integral part of '80s music. I was glued to MTV every afternoon watching videos. I did not realize that Sting got a songwriting credit out of it. Interesting!
I'll trade you a factoid for a factoid now π, although I'm suspecting you'll already know this. Have you ever listened to much Chris Rea (of the song Fool [If You Think It's Over])? Dire Straits has been compared to him and you can hear why in a song like this:
https://youtu.be/v5k21U6hUeg?si=xQQEwsZdJ-EkcEKP
Yes! I love what little I've heard from Chris Rea. I never understood why he didn't have more success here in the U.S. than what he did...I thought his music was terrific when I first heard it (I think I was a college Junior when "The Road To Hell" came out...but I was first familiar with a song of his called "Working On It"...I just love the guitar playing in this song: https://youtu.be/xPR7RF2haDU?si=XBTa8NKsUK4tuhzq ).
I definitely hear some similarities between his music and Dire Straits' music. I think both of them are great. That is so cool that you know who Chris Rea is... awesome! πππ
I admittedly learned about Chris Rea through "Fool if you think it's over" on Yacht Rock radio, my favorite radio station. βΊ But a good friend of mine who knows far more about music than I do taught me more about him and I was shocked to learn he had this huge body of work and was so talented at guitar. It was his sexy voice that actually originally made me stop and take notice. ππ
shareYes...he has such a great singing voice for sure! π
I know he's been a lot more successful overseas than what he was here in the U.S. It seems like he should have made it big here also... it's always been strange how some artists make it big here while some (most) don't.
Walking in LA by Missing Persons
https://youtu.be/eQF7FDeUePA?si=OoYbyfP-10RgxQRx
Missing Persons is a great example of an '80s band that sounded very edgy and new age to me. I didn't know quite what to make of them at the time but from this vantage point they sound quintessentally 80s.
shareI loved them. I finally got to see them (I don't think original lineup but Dale Bozzio was there) at a 80s retro concert in 2006.
https://www.theatermania.com/shows/new-york-city-theater/the-awesome-80s-concert_127758/
Robert Plant: "In the Mood"!
shareGosh I had forgotten all about this song! It's interesting to hear singers who were big in the 70s with one sound switch gears and continue into the '80s with an 80s sound. Someone in the comments said Phil Collins was the drummer on this song which I did not know.
share