New Zealand’s Split Enz are partially responsible for my love of new wave music. Not only because the Finn brothers wrote some great songs but also because their videos were some of the first I recall from the early days of MTV. Known for their theatrical stage performances, they were a natural fit for the video age. “One Step Ahead” is a single from their sixth album, Waiata, released in 1981. With it’s penetrating bass line and carnival-like keyboards, it sounded unlike anything else at the time. Shown on MTV’s historic debut back on August 1, 1981, the video features keyboardist Eddie Raynor doing a pretty good “moonwalk” (albeit forward). You can catch it around the two minute mark.
It’s always fun to stumble across 1980s music “best of” lists. I’ve never attempted to make a list of my own. It’s too daunting, especially as I continue to discover new bands. Following are some of the lists I’ve returned to more than a few times in my search for ‘80s gems. See if your favorite songs or albums made the cut.
A critical and box office failure upon its release in 1984, the movie Streets of Fire has since gone on to obtain cult status, mainly due to the film’s soundtrack. Taking place in an “unknown” place and time and promoted as a rock & roll fable, the movie has a futuristic retro look. There was high hopes for the film and with its fast pace and musical performances that jumped off the screen, it was certain to be a success with the MTV crowd. In the end, it might have been a case of the music being more than the movie.
Directed by Walter Hill, the film stars Michael Pare as the stone-faced hero, a very young Diane Lane as the rock star in distress, and Willem Dafoe as the slithery villain. The soundtrack is an odd mix of rock & roll, Motown, and over-the-top operatic power pop, which adds to the timeless feel of the film. The soundtrack did produce one major hit, Dan Hartman’s “I Can Dream About You.” The song reached #6 on the Billboard charts and had heavy rotation on MTV. Other artists who contributed to the soundtrack include Stevie Knicks, The Fixx, The Blasters as a bar band (they forwent the opportunity to perform in the movie 48 Hours to be in the film), Ry Cooder, and Maria McKee of the band Lone Justice.
“Nowhere Fast” is the first track of the film, and features Diane Lane at her rock & roll best. It’s a pulsating, energetic song written by Jim Steinman. The song is performed by Fire Incorporated, a studio band put together for the movie.
The final performance of the movie is another Jim Steinman number, “Tonight Is What It Means to Be Young,” also performed by Fire Incorporated. The song is bursting with all the melodrama you’d expect from Steinman and provides the perfect ending to the film.
The Abecedarians are another great find I came across in my late-night internet searches. They have the distinction of being the only American band to have recorded under the legendary Factory Records label, the company that produced records for such artists as Joy Division, New Order, Happy Mondays, and Orchestral Maneuverers in the Dark. Having a haunting-like quality to their music that reminded me of the new wave bands from England of the time, I was surprised to discover that the trio hail from Los Angeles. They also have a big sound, which belies the fact that there are only three members in the group.
Forming in 1983, the Abecedarians released their first single, “Smiling Monarchs,” under the Factory label in 1985. It was mixed by New Order’s Bernard Sumner and is a pounding, synth-heavy track. After leaving Factory, their music moved to more of a dark, atmospheric sound. It was the work off of their 1986 mini LP Eureka that captured my attention, and made me wonder how I could have missed them back in the day.
“Beneath the City of Hedonistic Bohemians” is a single off the mini LP Eureka. It’s an energetic, drum-driven track with pleasing guitar work throughout. It’s the song that first piqued my interest in the group and feel it’s one of their best tracks.
Having a darker but more melodic sound, “Misery of Cities” is another single off the Eureka LP.
I recently went to see the Duran Duran concert film, Duran Duran: Unstaged. The film was released on September 10th, showing for one night only at over 300 theaters across the U.S. Directed by David Lynch, it captures the band in concert at the Mayan Theatre in Los Angeles in 2011. In light of this event, I’ve decided to highlight Duran Duran’s “Planet Earth” as the first in a series of classic videos.
“Planet Earth,” released in 1981, was the band’s first single and quickly became a hit in the UK and Australia. It was included on their self-titled album released later that year. This was the first collaboration with director Russell Mulcahy, who would go on to direct several more videos for the group. The band is costumed in full “New Romantic” frilly fashion. The video also features some of their club friends prancing around barefoot in some pretty outrageous outfits. This is one of my favorites from the group and still has heavy rotation on my playlists.
Liquid Liquid is responsible for arguably the most well-known bass line and sampling in hip hop history. Their most recognized song, “Cavern,” was used as the backing track to Grandmaster Mell Mel’s 1983 single “White Lines (Don’t Do It).” (The lawsuit from the unauthorized sampling ultimately resulted in the downfall of both bands’ record labels). The song has been sampled and referenced by a diverse range of artists, such as the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Moby, LL Cool J, Mobb Deep, and De La Soul. It was also featured prominently in the film 25th Hour (2002) and more recently in the movie Chef (2014).
It’s quite a legacy for a band that only produced actively from 1980 to 1983, releasing just three EPs. They are labeled as a post-punk, post-disco band but have influences of reggae and funk. Liquid Liquid formed in New York in the late ‘70s as Liquid Idiot with a more punk sound. Their sound changed over the years to being more groove-based with their intention of getting people to “want to move.” The band reunited in 2008 and made an appearance on the Jimmy Fallon show in 2010. For LCD Soundsystem’s 2011 farewell show, they invited the band to be the opening act, stating that Liquid Liquid was their greatest influence and “heroes.”
“Cavern” is a single off of their third EP, Optimo, released in 1983.
The single “Optimo” is another release from the EP of the same name. Another heavy percussion, groove-based track.
There were some bands I unjustly dismissed in the eighties. One of those bands was Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD). This was mostly due to the fact that I had little affection for the song “If You Leave” from the 1986 Pretty in Pink soundtrack. The whining vocals and the slow melody just didn’t resonate with me. After doing some research, I discovered that this was not the original song OMD picked for the John Hughes flick. After receiving negative feedback from test audiences on the ending of the movie (which had Andie choosing Duckie over Blane) and the song (“Goddess of Love”), they were asked to come up with a song for the new ending landing Andie with Blane. The new ending explains the bad wig Andrew McCarthy sported in the prom scene. They came up with “If You Leave” within 24 hours. The song reached No. 4 on the U.S. charts, their greatest U.S. success, and was pretty much all I knew of OMD until I came across their earlier material in a late night internet search for best synth-pop songs of the eighties.
In my quest for the ultimate synth-pop songs, I kept coming across OMD and their highly lauded first album. Surely this couldn’t be the same band I so easily rejected in the mid-eighties. I decided to give the album a listen and was glad I did. The self-titled album, released in 1980, was not what I expected and made me understand why they were hailed as synth-pop pioneers, influencing artists such as Erasure, Howard Jones, the Pet Shop Boys, Nine Inch Nails, and more recently bands such as Radiohead, The Killers, Glasvegas, and LCD Soundsystem. OMD formed in England in 1978 and founding members Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys were referred to as the Lennon-McCartney of synth-pop. They were considered experimental and intellectual, which didn’t fare well in the mainstream. Retrospectively, the band has received critical praise for their melodic and innovative sound.
“Electricity” was the first single off of the self-titled album released in 1980. It was originally recorded in 1979 but was included on the 1980 release. It’s a frantic swirl of synth-pop inspiration, and led one critic to call it the “perfect electro-pop number.”
My favorite song off the debut album is “Messages.” It features a prominent rhythm, emotional lyrics, and a great melody. This is the song that really grabbed my attention and made me eager to explore the rest of their catalog.
I’m also a fan of their later work, especially the single “(Forever) Live and Die.” It was the first single released from their 1986 album, The Pacific Age, and peaked at #19 on the U.S. charts. It’s a slower-paced song with a notable bassline, and harmonies that mesh so well with the lovely synth backdrop.
What would the eighties have been without protest songs? Just as every decade prior, and since, the eighties were filled with protest songs. There were protest songs about nuclear war, oppressive regimes, gang violence, and anyone who was president at the time. The whole of 1982’s Combat Rock album from The Clash was pretty much a protest to all things wrong in the world. Besides the videos of the impending doom of a nuclear holocaust, the ones that readily come to mind had to do with anti-apartheid.
For all its faults, one good thing that came out of MTV was bringing awareness to causes outside my small world. Before being exposed to these videos, I wasn’t even aware of apartheid or Nelson Mandela. Musicians from all genres were getting involved. Artists such as Stevie Wonder, Peter Gabriel, The Specials, and the whole eclectic mix of musicians in Artists United Against Apartheid all participated in this effort and it was hard to not take notice.
One of the first references I have of Nelson Mandela, and apartheid, was the video “Nelson Mandela” by The Special A.K.A. The song was released in 1984 and became a hit around the world, except the U.S. where it didn’t chart. With its upbeat African rhythms and catchy beats it’s easy to see why this became a hit. Some say this song was focal in the anti-apartheid movement, largely due to its mass appeal.
Recorded under the name Artists United Against Apartheid, and led by Steven Van Zandt, the song “Sun City” brought together the likes of Bruce Springsteen, The Fat Boys, Bob Dylan, Ringo Starr, Lou Reed, Afrika Bambaataa, U2, George Clinton, Stiv Bators, Keith Richards, Hall & Oates, and Joey Ramone among many others. Released in 1985, the song was a pledge by these artists to not perform at this large resort town. The song is a fusion of hip hop, rock, and African beats. It peaked at #38 on the U.S. charts with only half of radio stations giving it airplay – the other half having issues with its anti-Reagan sentiments.
Then there is Peter Gabriel’s song “Biko,” a song about Steve Biko, a well-known anti-apartheid activist who was arrested and jailed in South Africa in 1977. He died in police custody a month later. Released in 1980, the single was off of Gabriel’s self-titled album. It reached #38 on the British charts but didn’t get much airplay in the U.S. until its promotional use for the 1987 film Cry Freedom.
Some of my favorite bands in the eighties were from the goth genre. Bands such as The Sisters of Mercy, The Mission, The Cure, Siouxsie & the Banshees, and T.S.O.L. These bands had heavy rotation on MTV and had plenty of airplay on college radio. This was a genre I thought I was well-versed in until recently when I decided to dive in and take another look and see what I had missed back in the goth heyday. Zero Le Creche is a band I stumbled upon while scouring the internet for “the best goth songs ever.” I kept seeing the single “Last Year’s Wife” on many best of lists and decided to seek them out.
It turns out that I couldn’t find much on this band, for good reason – they only released two singles. An English band formed in the early eighties, Zero Le Creche were just taking off when the lead singer, Andy Nkanza, left the band and inexplicably disappeared. They quickly got a new lead singer and released one more single in 1985 before disbanding. They were categorized as goth because there was no other genre that really fit. The band was said to bridge the gap between the Psychedelic Furs and Bauhaus. A record company cobbled together enough studio recordings to release an album in 2008, which pays tribute to how much interest there still is in the band. I plan on purchasing this album in the near future and I suggest you give it a listen. You won’t be disappointed.
“Last Year’s Wife” was the first single released by the band in 1984. With soaring vocals and a catchy guitar hook, it had me from the beginning. Considered one of the great goth classics of the eighties, it makes you wonder what else this short-lived band could have accomplished. I wasn’t able to track down any footage of the band and not sure if any exists.
The second (and last) single was 1985’s “Falling,” featuring a new lead singer sounding very much like Richard Butler. It’s another catchy tune with an irresistible chorus that matches anything put out by the Psychedelic Furs, the band which they are so often compared.
Living In Oblivion 