When I started going to dance clubs in the late ’80s, I’d regularly pester the deejays to play The Damned‘s “Alone Again Or.” It never failed to elicit the best goth moves from the dance floor. A remake of the 1967 song by the group Love, it’s quite faithful to the original version. (The band acknowledged Love as one of their influences). The single is off the album Anything, released in 1986. It didn’t have any chart success in the US, but hit #27 on the UK charts. The video is a surreal mix of desert landscape, horses, motorcycles, trucks, and flamenco dancers.
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.
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.
The Call was an American band that had mediocre chart success in the eighties. Their lyrics were politically charged and there was a passionate, anthem-like quality to their music. They were considered rock but there was definite new wave influences. The Call were critically acclaimed and admired by some of the biggest acts of the time but for whatever reason they were never able to achieve commercial success. Maybe it was because lead singer Michael Been just didn’t have the look that the MTV generation wanted. He was stout and scruffy and wasn’t the flashiest of front men, but he could sure belt out a song with as much emotional sincerity as the best of them.
They also had quite a long run, having been active from 1980 to 2000. Their biggest chart success was with the single “Let the Day Begin,” which reached No. 51 on the Billboard Charts in 1989. (Side note, this was Al Gore’s campaign song for his run in 2000). But it was their earlier material that made me a fan. Sadly, Michael Been died in 2010 at the age of 60. He was on tour as a soundman for his son’s band Black Rebel Motorcycle Club when he had a heart attack at a show in Hasselt, Belgium. I’ve always regretted not seeing them in concert, as I hear they were a pretty great live band.
One of my favorites from the group is “The Walls Came Down.” A song that combines biblical references with an anti-war message. The year was 1984, after all. It’s a pulsating, urgent song with plenty of Michael Been howls.
“Everywhere I Go” is a single off of the 1986 album Reconciled. It was no secret that Michael Been was deeply religious, and it’s on full display on this track. Another guitar and drum-driven tune with Been at his growling best. Listen closely and you can hear Jim Kerr of Simple Minds and Peter Gabriel on background vocals.
Living In Oblivion 