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Many people like 80s pop, and many more like it in secret. In light of this, please be honest and name your favourite three.
NB. Rock does NOT count as pop, so no Tom Petty or Springsteen, or whomever you might be tempted to name just to remind us how cool you are. We already know.
Mine are:
1. Dexys Midnight Runners
2. Yazoo
3. The Communards
Runner Up: Split Enz
EDIT: I should add that, if you wish to post videos of their best pieces, that would be welcome.
4. pet shop boys
5. erasure
6. new order
do i win a cookie?
Just for the Karaoke lols
If the likes of Springsteen and Tom Petty are barred, New Order don't count as 80's pop either.
A-ha
FGTH
Duran Duran
Tears for Fears
Fun Boy Three
Depeche mode (If you don't think they're a pop band, try listening to their first single ''Dreaming of Me' )
Bananarama
Madonna
Duran Duran
they were, but they evolved.
Another vote for Tears For Fears
Echo & The Bunnymen
Haircut 100
Human League
UB 40
Blondie
Fleetwood Mac
Eurythmics
The Police
This list of mine may change many times within the next 15mins of permitted editing. 😉
Nick Kershaw
Howard Jones - Human’s Lib was a fantastic album.
I'll have a think about two more. (Random aside, last week I snagged a gig ticket to see Hue & Cry next year.)
This list of mine may change many times within the next 15mins of permitted editing.
Yeah, I'm having that problem.
Duran Duran
Depeche Mode
Wham
(although would like to put in Adam & the Ants as third equal).
Soft cell
adam & the ants
tight fit 😉
The Associates
Been playing "Heart & Soul" quite a lot recently, great track!
Missed my edit time limits, still not sure it's my top3, but they are up there...So a track from each...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5FPPoLqkCk
Are we talking PopUps or popups ?
There is a distinct difference...
Been playing “Heart & Soul” quite a lot recently, great track!
Did you ever see the original video?
Adam and the Ants (saw them live when I was 13)
The Police
Howard Jones
Christ, everything that was appalling about the 80s in one place! 🤪
Did you ever see the original video?
Nope, not seen that video version (think I prefer the other version, although I have to be honest that many videos don't do much for me), but there's still loads of songs I loved from the 80s that I've yet to see the video for. For example, I only watched the strange video for "Say say say" (McCartney & Jackson) for what I think was the first time earlier this yer!
We had MTV from ~'86 (ex- step dad was in electrical retail trade), but as teen I was rarely indoors if not doing schoolwork/eating/sleeping, I was sports mad! For a long time, I couldn't be indoors without having music CDs on in the background, but when my depression and SAD took hold I practically stopped playing music altogether at home. It's only in recent times that I sometimes (but still not that often considering how much time I spend with my pc when I'm at home) think to put Youtube on in the background
The Bangles
Prince and The Revolution (counts as a band for me!)
Men Without Hats
OMD - still going, producing great albums and touring.
More then just an 80s band.
Not a huge fan of 80's pop..apart from the first group ..who I still follow..
1.Tears For Fears .
2.Human League
3.Spandau Ballet .
???? Blondie and The Jam as ... Pop!?!?
Maybe not the Jam ..but 80's Blondie ..absolutely !
How would you describe it ?
Not sure if this counts as Human League, but anyway
Conflicted - are we talking favourite at the time or favourite now in hindsight with middle aged tastes? For example Tiffany (solo act ,not a band I appreciate) 'I think we're alone now' sounds dreadful now but in 1987 got me all afluster on my paper round. See also Transvision Vamp.
Tears for Fears would probably make it on either list, then it gets a bit tricky.
There's a lot here that is arguably late '70s - Fleetwood Mac, The Police and Blondie standing out.
What's the criteria? When the band was formed? When it was active? When the most popular album came out?
As an example, I love The Police. But my favourite albums are the first two, which both came out in the '70s. Would that make it onto the list?
I also wouldn't class any of the above as 'pop' either, but that's another discussion. 🙂
Fleetwood Mac released new material in at least the 60s, 70s and 80s. I love the Rumours album from 1977, but Gypsy was from 1982 IIRC, while later that decade they also released the likes of Little Lies, Everywhere etc. from Tango In The Night.
The Police are another band that were still big in the 70s and 80s. I never did get around to buying individual albums by them, but their US Greatest Hits version is littered with classics from the 80s, including singing about Rice Krispies in Syncronicity 2! 😆
"Pop" is simply popular music, it means different things to different people, where it becomes "rock" etc. will create different lines in the sand. For example, Def Leopard's "Let's Get Rocked," pop or rock? 😉
I think it's fair to say that for a lot of us 40+ on this forum and possibly some younger, there's a lot of music from bands of the 80s that has stood the test of time. I've got maybe a dozen (ish) CD albums from the 90s, but that drops down to maybe a handful from 2000 onwards... Especially in modern times where music is so accessible on Youtube and other digital mediums.
Pop. 80s.
Lloyd Cole
Associates
Prefab Sprout
I'm struggling a bit with the "pop not rock" stipulation at the moment, Duran Duran featured guitars (sometimes overdriven), Queen had a global hit that was basically a funk record (Another one Bites the Dust) and followed it with an album of mainly disco numbers, Adam and the Ants included some heavy riffage and the Damned's biggest hit of the decade was a cover of "Eloise".
What about rap? What about rap featuring heavy guitar samples?
Then there are the bands that started the decade as pop and went rockier - Depeche Mode? Eurythmics (a bit towards the end)?
Do the Cure count as pop or rock?
What about the Stone Roses and the rest of that crowd?
So, not necessarily my favourite three, but three I like that I'm fairly confident won't stray into "Oi! No! That's ROCK!" territory are:
WHAM!
Art of Noise
Thompson Twins
Thompson Twins
Deacon Blue
Fun Boy Three
Actually, if Siouxsie and the Banshees aren't "rock" I'd like to change one of mine to them - probably swap out the Thompson Twins since they've had at least one other nomination.
If their guitars are too hard (like that's a thing that could be) then The Creatures.
Not sure if they are pop bands etc ...
A flock of seagulls ... saw this funny bloke on the album cover with funny hairstyle so bought it for a laugh but turn out rather good.
Kool & The Gang - not sure how I stumbled upon this band but nice songs.
B-52's - friend introduced this band to me.
Cannot remember the rest ... 😀
p/s: also Euro pop Modern Talking with with current German football coach Joachim Löw as the lead singer. 😀
I like pretty much all of the above but the only band I think are timeless is Erasure.
By far my favourite artists from the 80s (albeit mid to late so not entirely on topic)
Can listen to any of their albums all the way through, where as most other 80s pop tastic is a bit washy and gets very monotonous when trying to listen to a whole album by the same artist.
edit. Some great 80s compilations though.
Pet shop boys are great too, but can only listen to two of their albums through - Introspective and Disco.
Pet shop boys are great too, but can only listen to two of their albums through – Introspective and Disco.
Surely Please and Actually were their finest moments?
Human league
Taylor Dayne
Climie Fisher
God there was some s**t about in the 80s!!
i like listening for reasons of nostalgia but get pretty bored with it quite quickly
If you think the 80's were shite try listening to Capital Radio for more than 5 minutes.
I still think this stands as a song today, unlike his trousers
and this
and heres another band that started pop then 'developed'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JN5_OK7PEC4
The Housemartins
Thompson Twins
Sabrina
I wouldn’t include Fleetwood Mac, The Police or Japan, and certainly not Ministry, they’re not ‘pop’ bands.
Ministry, they’re not ‘pop’ bands.
they were when they did 'work for love'
and here's another band that started pop then ‘developed’
That can't be the same band, surely?
I have been educated! Honestly never knew of their beginnings, thank you for the lesson.
Massive thanks to sweepy, here is what I know of Ministry, certainly a bit heavier:
Used to love my industrial metal. thanks again sweepy, I really was in a position of ignorance. I owe you a pint.
Haha! Funnily enough until recently I had no idea they had done anything else!
Soon I discovered that this rock thing was true
Jerry Lee Lewis was the devil
Jesus was an architect previous to his career as a prophet
All of a sudden, I found myself in love with the world
So there was only one thing that I could do
Was ding a ding dang my dang a long ling long
Nobody with a good car needs to be justified.
How about this gem
Michael Jackson (surprised no-one has mentioned him yet???)
Bowie
Kate Bush
INXS
INXS
+ another.
INXS ..were not a pop band ..even though Michael was giving the queen of pop a right good time ..
Definitely rock ..at least they were on the Kick tour when I saw them at Newcastle City Hall ..