The best of the 1980's

[Cylob]

I know some people here still love the 80's. What were your highlights?

For me, the pinnacle was 1984, Frankie Goes to Hollywood ruled.

http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drf400/f487/f48788xbvry.jpg

[OutlawJim]

1986, Bon Jovi - Slippery When Wet
:D:D:D

[pukkaboy]

Level 42!! If you find a faster bassist, i'll eat my hat. and then eat it again after i crap it out.

[anubis2003]

Kiss.

[WomanOfHeart]

1983 and 1984. I graduated from High School (yes, I'm showing my age, here...) Def Leppard and Pat Benatar were at the top of their game, and MTV was changing the face of music as we knew it. They definitely didn't suck back then!

[ShyShy]

yeah, the early years of MTV ruled, now it just sucks. and i just like the whole era music wise, you saw a lot of musical shifts in a short period of time. but the most memorable would be when i discovered alternative music! The Cure, Depeche Mode, New Order, etc., definite musical jump for me!

[ripe]

I'll join your 80s party, as long as I can spin

Indeep - Last Night A DJ Saved My Life
Gwen Guthrie - Ain't Nothin Goin On But The Rent
MARRS - Pump Up The Volume
Eric B & Rakim - Paid in full (coldcut remix)
Public Enemy - Fight The Power
Art of Noise - Moments In Love
De La Soul - Buddy
Double D and Steinski - Lesson Three
The Specials - Guns Of Navarone
Pig Bag - Papa's Got a Brand New Pig Bag
Humanoid - Stakker Humanoid (Snowman Mix)
Together - Hardcore Uproar

Thankyou for helping me to choose my playlist for this morning :D

[ÇhäötïÇLüñätïÇ]

http://www.vh1.com/shared/media/images/covers/170/120/127535.jpg

http://www.fye.com/catalog/images/amg/large/drd600/d665/d66528c4qnf.jpg

http://www.progpages.com/albumcovers%5CPowerslave.jpg

[Cylob]

ripe, that's one fine selection man.

[Twilightseer]

Cylob,

I totally agree with you about FGTH, what an awesome band. Trevor Horn's producer talents in all their glory...

I love the 80s mostly because some of my fave bands were at the height of their powers at that time : The Cure, New Order, FGTH, The Smiths, and more generally, I love the synth pop/new wave stuff of that period. :)

[Cylob]

I loved new wave & later house. It's head & shoulders above today's mainstream. The good thing is 80's style synth-pop is very much alive in the form of electroclash (the blueprint being Soft Cell - Non Stop Erotic Cabaret).

The 80's are coming back!

[Mattress]

Back during the 80's I liked 80's rock like GnR, White Lion, Bon Jovi, Poison, White Snake, etc..

Now I don't really care for that crap but among 80's bands I do like are Dire Straits, New Order, Frankie Goes To Hollywood

[Triton4]

Originally posted by Cylob
I know some people here still love the 80's. What were your highlights?

For me, the pinnacle was 1984, Frankie Goes to Hollywood ruled.

http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drf400/f487/f48788xbvry.jpg

I totally agree with Cylob.

Frankie goes to Hollywood is one of the best music artists ever - their all-time hit single 'Relax' is still rated as the best song ever composed by any artist to date, IMO.

Other than FGTH, some of my favourite 80s artists would be:
1. Tears for Fears
2. Pet Shop Boys
3. Alphaville

[Cylob]

What would your ultimate 80's compilation tape include? I'll have a stab:

A-Side
Human League - Love Action
Frankie Goes To Hollywood - Relax
Tears For Fears - Shout
Depeche Mode - Master & Servant
Thompson Twins - Love on Your Side
Howard Jones - What Is Love
New Order - Blue Monday
Soft Cell - Tainted Love
ABC - Poison Arrow
Dead or Alive - You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)

B-Side
The Cure - Love Cats
Rock Steady Crew - Hey You
M/A/R/R/S - Pump Up The Volume
Pet Shop Boys - Domino Dancing
U2 - With Or Without You
Ultravox - The Thin Wall
Haircut 100 - Fantastic Day
Def Leppard - Animal
Duran Duran - Planet Earth
Sisters of Mercy - Lucretia (My Reflection)
Scarlet Fantastic - No Memory

[Merlin]

Well, let's see. A good pop/rock combo should do the trick:


Side A:
Blondie - Atomic
Japan - Quiet Life
Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart
Eurythmics - Sweet Dreams (are made of this)
Autograph - Turn Up The Radio
Teardrop Explodes - Treason
New Order - World in Motion
Talk Talk - Life's What You Make It
Spandau Ballet - To Cut A Long Story Short
Human League - Don't You Want Me
Aha - Take On Me
Adam and the Ants - Kings of the Wild Frontier
Dead or Alive - You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)
Grandmaster Flash - The Message
Peter Gabriel - Slegehammer

Side B:
G n' R - Welcome To The Jungle
The Cult - She Sells Sanctuary
U2 - Where the Streets Have No Name
Van Halen - Aint Talkin' 'bout Love
Queen - Hammer To Fall
Echo And The Bunnymen - Killing Moon
Stone Roses - I Am The Resurrection
Metallica - Ride The Lightning
ACDC - You Shook Me All Night Long
Iron Maiden - Rime of the Ancient Mariner


And a few others. Obviously nothing by Kylie, Rick Astley, Jason Donovan, Cyndi Lauper (I hate her voice), Bros, Yazz, or Bananarama...

[Triton4]

My 80s compilation tape would be mostly New Wave:


SIDE A:

Alphaville - Big in Japan
PSB - Suburbia
Tears for Fears - Everybody wants to rule the world
New Order - Blue Monday
Baltimora - Tarzan Boy
Depeche Mode - Dangerous
FGTH - Relax
Tears for Fears - Shout
Duran Duran - Wild Boys
Van Halen - Right now

SIDE B:

FGTH - Two Tribes
The Cutting Crew - I just died in your arms
New Order - True Faith
Murray Head - One night in Bangkok
Europe - The Final Countdown
Alphaville - Forever Young
PSB - Go West
Van Halen - Jump
PSB - Always on my mind
Duran Duran - Ordinary World


I agree that it's a bit repetitive in terms of the artists, but this is what my 80s collection would look like.

[ÇhäötïÇLüñätïÇ]

As far as Im concerned, Iron Maiden takes the cake for 80s. They pretty much evolved that type of music in a decade or so! Hands down... all their albums kicked ass!

[Cylob]

Didn't Iron Maiden release an album a year? I was big on Def Leppard myself, High N Dry, Pyromania, Hysteria. When I bought my kids a hi-fi last year I gave them just 1 CD - High N Dry. Lesson 1: Rock N Roll.
http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drc300/c336/c33611803mp.jpg
I believe for the Saudi release they had to put water in the swimming pool. They may have plenty of oil, but not alot of h2o.

[ripe]

a few more off the top of my head/HardDisc
The Family Stand - Ghetto Heaven
Cookie Crew - Got To Keep On
Mantronix - Got To Have Your Love
De La Soul - Eye Know
Stetsasonic - Talking All That Jazz
Happy Mondays - W.F.L.
Joyce Sims - All And All (The UK Remix)
Bomb The Bass - Beat Dis
Royal House - Can You Party
Soul II Soul - Keep On Movin
Beats International - Dub Be Good To Me
Rhythim Is Rhythim - Strings Of Life
Lil Louis - French Kiss
The Style Council - Promised Land
Sueno Latino - Sueno Latino
S'Express - Hey Music Lover......
arghh LIST MANIA!!

Have to agree that Trevor Horn worked wonders on the Pleasuredome album (well the first half at least :p :D ).

Also I recommend checking out some of the 12" Frankie mixes of the day - "Two Tribes (Annihilation)" is fantastic, complete with extended Ronnie Reagan clips, voiced, I think, by Chris Barrie.


Also, an artist getting something of a reappraisal in my house is
PRINCE! The Minneapolis Midget!
He wrote some awesome tunes in the 80s :up: :up:

[Semantics]

The Safety Dance owns all....

[j0ck3]

Electric Light Orchestra - Out Of The Blue
http://www.cdon.com/images/static/?id=88896&ctype=image/jpeg&servicename=nn4it_cdon

[Mr_007]

How update albums!

[k_rock923]

Originally posted by pukkaboy
Level 42!! If you find a faster bassist, i'll eat my hat. and then eat it again after i crap it out.

not sure about faster but cliff burton was the master of the bass. too bad hes dead now:(

[zootm]

Originally posted by k_rock923
not sure about faster but cliff burton was the master of the bass. too bad hes dead now:(
he wasn't the master of the bass. he was pretty good, though.

jaco pastorius (or however you spell it) is probably the master, and i suspect les claypool could play faster than the level 42 guy as well. could be wrong, though - the level 42 guy was really damned good...

[k_rock923]

song: anesthesia(pulling teeth) cliffs bass sounded like a regular guitar on that

[Cylob]

Don't forget zootm, the Level 42 guy (Mark King is it) has extra large fingers. He can slap that guitar alright. It's a shame they only ever wrote 1 good song.

[ShyShy]

Originally posted by Semantics
The Safety Dance owns all....

good one:D i love the 80's some of the greatest one hit wonders are from that era.



...gawd, i just made myself feel old, i automatically catagorized the 80's as an era:cry:

[Cylob]

My 80's playlist: http://www.geocities.com/cylob2003/80s

Almost perfected, just a few tracks to add. It beats the fiddly compilation CDs.

[Merlin]

System Addict by Five Star? You're 'aving a larf! That was terrible. You did pick some other gems though:
Musical Youth - Pass The Dutchie
<most of the stuff on my aforementioned 'tape'>
Kraftwerk - Tour de France
:D, :up:

[Cylob]

I know Five Star are crap, but for some reason I actually like System Addict (also 2 others). I can't help it! My older brother listens to Bros, now that is demented. He even had the haircut & ring-pull in the shoe-lace.

[Captain Bottles]

Ah, the 80's - the worst era EVER for fashion and mainstream rock, but possibly the best for alternative and indie. :D

20) The Cure - Disintegration
19) Dinosaur Jr. - You're Living All Over Me
18 ) Metallica - Master of Puppets
17) Sonic Youth - Sister
16) The Fall - Hex Enduction Hour
15) REM - Murmur
14) My Bloody Valentine - Isn't Anything
13) Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique
12) Pixies - Surfer Rosa
11) The Jesus & Mary Chain - Psychocandy
10) Tom Waits - Rain Dogs
9) The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses
8 ) Joy Division - Closer
7) Hüsker Dü - Zen Arcade
6) REM - Document
5) The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead
4) Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
3) Talking Heads - Remain In Light
2) Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation
1) Pixies - Doolittle

[Cylob]

Very class Cpt Bottles. I have 90% of the above (now), but I didn't own them at the time. So you weren't into New Wave then.

[Captain Bottles]

I didn't own them at the time

Neither did I. I wasn't even born when a few of those were released.

So you weren't into New Wave then.

Duran Duran's Rio almost made the list, as did Elvis Costello's Trust. Remain in Light, one of my favourite albums of all time, was sort of proto-new-wave.

These lists always bother me. Not enough room!

[Cylob]

You can always post your playlist so we can have a laugh. There's a playlist thread kicking about somewhere.

[Captain Bottles]

I'm a downloader and a purchaser, so my playlist is kinda empty right now.

[Cylob]

Ah well, would've been interesting to see what you have.

[ShyShy]

I just saw a preview of where they're coming with 3 DVD collection of "High School Reunion" with Pretty In Pink, The Breakfast Club, and Weird Science. I'd love to have the soundtracks to those. Great songs from those movies.

[taylormemer]

I dont know much on the 80's but here's some that I think are good.

Midnight Oil - Diesel and Dust
Slayer - Hell Awaits
Sepultura - Beneath The Remains.

[Cylob]

Originally posted by ShyShy
I just saw a preview of where they're coming with 3 DVD collection of "High School Reunion" with Pretty In Pink, The Breakfast Club, and Weird Science. I'd love to have the soundtracks to those. Great songs from those movies.

Them were the days.

[Triton4]

A few more 80s tracks I'd recomend listening to:

1. Pseudo Echo - Funkytown
2. Pet Shop Boys - It's a Sin
3. FGTH - Lunar Bay (very rare, but excellent none the less)

[primal scream]

well im gonna make a top 10 british indie album during the 80's

10.) New Order - Low Life
9.) Jesus And The Mary Chain - Physcocandy
8.) Cocteau Twins - Treasure
7.) Talking Heads - Remain In Light
6.) Echo And The Bunnymen - Crocodiles
5.) The Smiths - The Smiths
4.) New Order - Technique
3.) Joy Division - Closer
2.) The Stones Roses - The Stone Roses
1.) The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead

an intresting fact that in my top 10 most of the bands come from the north west of england espically manchester, well the 80's were a gloomy time for britian even if i only lived for 4yrs of it!

[Cylob]

You have the Smiths in there twice. :up: I'd add:

The Close Lobsters - Headache Rhetorich
My Bloody Valentine - Isn't Anything
The Cure - Any album

[taylormemer]

Was Rush in the 1980's, if so then ill put them down.

[Cylob]

(excluding live albums & comps):

1980: Permanent Waves
1981: Moving Pictures
1982: Signals
1984: Grace Under Pressure
1985: Power Windows
1987: Hold Your Fire
1989: Presto

[taylormemer]

Thanks for that Cylob, Rush is great!

[music_man_mpc]

Originally posted by pukkaboy
Level 42!! If you find a faster bassist, i'll eat my hat. and then eat it again after i crap it out.

I have never heard of Level 42 (is the name a reference to The Hitchhikers Guide to The Galaxy, by any chance?) but I'll bet there is no way that he/their bass player is half as fast as Victor Wooten of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones.

[Cylob]

Come on - what's so special about playing your instrument fast??? I bet Victor Wooten can't beat my Casio.

[zootm]

fast bass sounds cool, at least in the case of mark king...

[Twilightseer]

Originally posted by Cylob
Come on - what's so special about playing your instrument fast???

Ditto, since when has music been a speed comptetition ?

[ShyShy]

Originally posted by ripe
Also, an artist getting something of a reappraisal in my house is
PRINCE! The Minneapolis Midget!
He wrote some awesome tunes in the 80s :up: :up:


I've been doing some reappraisal of Prince myself. I think his best work are from the 80's and very few of his songs from the 90's I like.

[corkhead0]

The big 4:

Metallica
Megadeth
Slayer
Anthrax

[orac]

Joe Dolce - Shaddup your face

and of course... The Tweets - The Birdie Song

[Cylob]

I have both of those. :)

[Triton4]

I discovered a couple more 80s artists:
1. Michael Cretu
2. Sandra

These German artists were massive successes in the mid-80s, but faded out in the 90s like the majority of the artists (although Michael married Sandra & they launched the Enigma project which was a massive hit worldwide)

[gaekwad2]

1. The Firm - Star Trekkin'
[end of list]

[Razzinno]

Originally posted by gaekwad2
1. The Firm - Star Trekkin'
[end of list]
What cd is that from? I thought they only had two, "The Firm" and "Mean Business".

[gaekwad2]

It's not the same band. :D
This Firm (http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:4s821vjozzza) was a novelty act (and yet another one hit wonder).

[Mr_007]

1987:U2 Joshua Tree
1988:U2 Rattle and Hum

[Michgelsen]

Originally posted by Triton4
I discovered a couple more 80s artists:
1. Michael Cretu
2. Sandra

These German artists were massive successes in the mid-80s, but faded out in the 90s like the majority of the artists (although Michael married Sandra & they launched the Enigma project which was a massive hit worldwide)

Interesting, I like Sandra. I was never aware of the connection with Enigma.

[Triton4]

Yep, Sandra is the female vocalist for Enigma's songs. The music composer is her husband, Michael Cretu.

Sandra on Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandra_Cretu)

The Enigma Project (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enigma_%28musical_project%29)

[DJ Egg]

I might as well contribute... here's a few off the top of my head
(though I've forgotten more about the 80's than most people remember)

African Head Charge - Off The Beaten Track
Alan Parsons Project - Instrumental Works
Alice Cooper - Special Forces / Zipper Catches Skin
All About Eve - Scarlet and Other Stories
Andy Summers - XYZ
Aswad - New Chapter of Dub
Bauhaus - Mask
B.A.D. - This is Big Audio Dynamite
Bill Bruford - Gradually Going Tornado
Bill Nelson - Sounding The Ritual Echo
Black Uhuru - Red / Guess Who's Coming To Dinner
Bob Marley & The Wailers - Uprising
Bowie - Scary Monsters
Kate Bush - The Hounds of Love
Cabaret Voltaire - The Golden Moments of
The Chameleons - What Does Anything Mean Basically
The Clash - London Calling (oops, '79) / ok... "Sandinista" instead then
Cocteau Twins - Head Over Heels / Pink Opaque / Treasure
Cluster & Eno - Old Land
Coil - Scatology / Horse Rotorvator
Colourbox - The Singles
Comsat Angels - Waiting For A Miracle / Land
Creation Rebel / New Age Steppers - Threat to Creation
The Creatures - Wild Things EP / Feast
The Cure - 17 Seconds / Pornography
David Sylvian (w/ R. Fripp & B. Nelson) - Gone To Earth
David Vorhaus - White Noise 3 - Re-Entry
Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft - Für Immer
Dub Syndicate - Tunes from the Missing Channel
Durutti Column - The Guitar & Other Machines
Dylan - Empire Burlesque
Eno & Byrne - My Life in the Bush of Ghosts
Edie Brickell - Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars
The Enid - Something Wicked This Way Comes
Eurythmics - Touch
Francis Monkman - Dweller on the Threshold
Front 242 - Geography / Front By Front
Grace Jones - Slave to the Rhythm
Hawkwind - Levitation / Church of Hawkwind
Helios Creed - X-Rated Fairy Tales / Superior Catholic Finger
Here & Now - Fantasy Shift
Jah Shaka - Revelation 18 / Commandments of Dub (1-8)
Joe Satriani - Surfing with the Alien
Joni Mitchell - Wild Things Run Fast / Dog Eat Dog
Joy Division - Closer
Judie Tzuke - Ritmo
Killing Joke - Killing Joke / Whats This For
King Crimson - Discipline / Beat / Three of a Perfect Pair
KMFDM - Opium
Klaus Schulze - En=Trance
Kraftwerk - Computer World
Mad Professor - Under The Spell of Dub / Beyond The Realm of Dub / Dub Me Crazy...
Magazine - The Correct Use of Soap
Magic Mushroom Band - Politics of Ecstacy
Manfred Mann's Earth Band - Somewhere in Afrika
Mike Oldfield - Crises
New Order - Movement
Neil Young - Landing on Water
nin - pretty hate machine
Nitzer Ebb - That Total Age
OMD - OMD (1st album 1980)
Ozric Tentacles - Pungent Effulgent
Pat Metheny Group - As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls
Pat Metheny, Steve Reich, Kronos Quartet - Different Trains
Peter Gabriel - Passion
The Police - Synchronicity
Popol Vuh - Tantric Songs
Propaganda - A Secret Wish
PWEI - This Is The Day... This Is The Hour...
Psychic TV - Allegory and Self
Renegade Soundwave - Soundclash
Roger Waters - Radio K.A.O.S.
Roy Harper & Jimmy Page - Whatever Happened to Jugula +
Rush - Grace Under Pressure / Hold Your Fire / Power Windows
Scientist - Rids the World of the Evil Curse of the Vampires / Meets The Space Invaders / Heavyweight Dub Champion / Scientist & Jammy Strike Back
Severed Heads - Clifford Darling Please Don't Live In The Past
Shriekback - Oil & Gold / Big Night Music
Sinead O'Connor - I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got
Siouxsie - Juju / Kaleidoscope
Steel Pulse - Earth Crisis
Steve Hillage - Open
SLF - Nobody's Heroes
Stone Roses - Stone Roses
Talking Heads - Remain in Light / Speaking in Tongues
Tangerine Dream - Underwater Sunlight / Pergamon
Tear Garden - Tired Eyes Slowly Burning
Theatre of Hate - Westworld
This Mortal Coil - It'll End In Tears / Filigree & Shadow
Weather Report - Domino Theory / Procession
Webcore - The Great Unfolding / Cinematography
Wooden Baby - Forbidden Pastures
Yes - 90125
Zappa - You Are What You Is / Them Or Us

[Cylob]

As Neil Tennant said (this week), in the 80's people wanted to create, nowadays people just want to be famous. But fame alone has no substance. :(

People slag off the 80's because they fear it, basically...

[gaekwad2]

Or maybe he's just getting old. :p

Iirc the Pet Shop Boys weren't too happy with a lot of 80s bands' pathos, lack of irony and overall rockism either.
Back then they themselves were proud of being not just superficial but one-dimensional. :D

[Cylob]

It certainly worked though (the monotone image). Not many people think of the PSB's as political, but most of their 80's material was anti-thatcherist.

There's another thing lacking today, the political pop song.