For some, the attract of the last decade that gave us Adam Ant, Prince, Madonna and Wham! is simply as recent because the Jordache denims they as soon as wore whereas bouncing down the road to Loverboy’s “Working For The Weekend!” However these well-known pop staples weren’t the one anthems that dominated the Walkmans of the world. The 80s was a decade outlined by extra: from the frothiest pop to hair steel’s testosterone and the darker depths of post-punk. Dig deeper into the cassette racks of yesteryear and mud off among the forgotten 80s bands who possessed equal, if not higher expertise than the icons everyone knows and love as we speak.
Listed below are eight forgotten 80s bands you have to hear.
Johnny Hates Jazz
For those who don’t immediately begin bopping your head the second you hear the drum and keyboard intro to “Shattered Dreams” and its lament of misplaced love, then you definately higher test your pulse. In some ways, this tune epitomizes the 80s. Whereas Johnny Hates Jazz didn’t final lengthy as a band, they did handle to hold on for the latter half of the last decade.
In reality, Johnny Hates Jazz not solely spawned the traditional songs “My Foolish Heart,” “I Don’t Want To Be A Hero,” and “Turn Back the Clock,” additionally they helped to springboard the profession of then-burgeoning filmmaker David Fincher. When “Shattered Dreams” wanted a video to make a splash on the omnipotent MTV, the longer term director of Se7en and Zodiac stepped as much as the plate. The video was seen a number of instances a day by a public who simply couldn’t get sufficient of frontman/songwriter Clark Datchler and guitarist Mike Nocito’s coronary heart and soul.
Hear: “Shattered Dreams”
Enjoyable Boy Three
Shaped by Terry Corridor, Lynval Golding, and Neville Staple, after they give up the immensely profitable 2Tone ska band The Specials, the trio would take issues in a poppier route with their new group, Enjoyable Boy Three. Their debut single, “The Lunatics (Have Taken Over The Asylum),” could have sprung from The Specials’ sound, however their successive singles – “The Telephone Always Rings” and their greatest UK hit, “It Ain’t What You Do (It’s the Way That You Do It)” (with backing from Bananarama) provided jangly pop hits that had been barely left of heart. The group lacked endurance, however their affect lives on by way of the members subsequent facet initiatives, from Corridor’s work with Gorillaz to Neville’s collaborative work with The (English) Beat’s Rating Roger in Particular Beat.
Hear: “It Ain’t What You Do (It’s The Way That You Do It)”
Glass Tiger
Earlier than Canada had Céline, they’d Glass Tiger. Although some could bear in mind them by their former moniker, Tokyo, by the point the Canadian rock outfit recorded their debut album, The Skinny Crimson Line, they had been utilizing their new title. Whereas Glass Tiger don’t get pleasure from the identical enduring recognition as a Duran Duran, their 1986 debut album went quadruple-platinum in Canada, gold within the US, and produced two of the last decade’s high hits, “Someday” and “Don’t Forget Me (When I’m Gone),” the latter that includes backing vocals by Bryan Adams. Glass Tiger by no means turned a part of MTV’s common rotation and, in consequence, bought misplaced within the shuffle of nice 80s bands, however they had been a real power of pop nature, placing Canada on the cultural map and paving the best way for artists to return.
Hear: “Don’t Forget Me (When I’m Gone)”
Diesel Park West
Many have speculated why Diesel Park West by no means took off. Regardless of being extra critically adored than many 80s bands on this listing, for no matter purpose their distinctive mix of proto-Britpop and US Southern rock by no means caught on. Whether or not it was leaning closely on guitar solos on “Like Princes Do,” the lead monitor off their 1989 debut, Shakespeare Alabama, or counting on lilting, Beatles-inspired melodies for songs resembling “All The Myths On Sunday,” they by no means shied away from their influences. When their gross sales faltered, the band disappeared for a spell, leaving the label to drag collectively a lot of B-sides and misplaced recordings for the album Flipped. Fortunately, time works within the listener’s favor and Diesel Park West’s stellar work is preserved for all to listen to.
Hear: “Like Princes Do”
Transvision Vamp
It’s troublesome to elucidate how a band that routinely employed 80s-era gimmicks (virtually to the purpose of musical parody) could possibly be so timeless, however Transvision Vamp had one factor that set them other than different 80s bands on the punk-pop heap: lead singer Wendy James. Having risen to fame within the UK as a burgeoning icon of the social gathering scene, the group wore their artificial pop on their sleeve. As they sang on their single “Trash City”: “The rules are, there are no rules.” Transvision Vamp boldly embraced their synth-powered mixture of sexual antics and rebellious sneer.
Hear: “I Want Your Love”
Effective Younger Cannibals
One might activate MTV at any time of day in 1989 and catch the music video to Effective Younger Cannibals’ “She Drives Me Crazy” on fixed repeat. Lead singer Roland Reward’s voice lent itself to the 80s zeitgeist by repeating the easy lyrics time and again, giving the world one of the crucial efficient earworms of all time. The tune dominated radio play, made him and the remainder of the Birmingham trio (a crew put collectively by guitarist Dave Cox and bassist David Steele, previously of The Beat) family names, and despatched their 1989 album, The Uncooked And The Cooked, to No.1 on the Billboard 200. With two smash singles on their arms, “She Drives Me Crazy” and “Good Thing,” FYT had been primed for stardom, however they had been by no means capable of conjure the identical chart magic once more.
Hear: “She Drives Me Crazy”
Age Of Probability
There’s a high-quality line between musical pioneer and being too forward of your time. Age Of Probability was sadly the latter. The Leeds four-piece helped to interrupt down the boundaries between home music and rock, paving the best way for 80s bands resembling Pop Will Eat Itself and Carter USM. As early champions of sampling, the group first got here to note because of their transforming of Prince’s “Kiss” for a John Peel session, adopted by a cut-and-paste remix, “Kisspower.” The dance-rock crossover act then scored a cope with Virgin, and their 1987 debut album, One Thousand Years Of Hassle, curried favor with the music press. With a various set of influences – punk, hip-hop, industrial and Northern soul – Age Of Probability had been additionally one of many first “rock” acts to incorporate a DJ of their line-up. They by no means topped the charts in both England or the States, however their affect proved to be lengthy lasting. It’s not obscure their attraction – and in case your head doesn’t get it, your physique positive will.
Hear: “Don’t Get Mad… Get Even!”
Jane Wiedlin
Guitarist Jane Wiedlin made pop historical past when The Go-Go’s turned the primary all-female rock band to high Billboard’s album charts, however her solo profession is commonly forgotten. It shouldn’t be. Her 1985 self-titled debut is bubbly pop laced with mature material; whereas delicate on the floor, it nonetheless manages to rattling conference, with Wiedlin sporting a shiny dishevelled go well with on the duvet. She could not have racked up hits like fellow Go-Go Belinda Carlisle, however her solo output nonetheless gave us the 2 should-have-been hits, “Modern Romance” and “Blue Kiss.”
Hear: “Blue Kiss”
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