The 80s was the period when the world awoke once more to British pop. Because the Beatlemania growth of the mid-60s, the abroad marketplace for UK acts had regularly declined, however, 20 years later, Britain was again and as soon as once more dominating the Billboard charts within the States. On July 16, 1983, seven of the Prime 10 singles within the US had been by British acts. Throughout a five-month run in the midst of 1985, UK acts scored a sensational 9 US No.1 hits. The last decade has been unfairly maligned prior to now, however today it’s clear: 80s pop music dominated the world.
Take heed to our 80s pop playlist on Spotify.
The beginning of 80s pop music: the Second British Invasion
The seeds of this extraordinary success had been sown within the dying days of the punk phenomenon. The inventive vitality of that youth cult was being channeled in direction of a extra style-oriented method, fuelled by the daybreak of the video age. Punk had at all times been as a lot in regards to the exploitation of a chance because it was reckless abandon, and a brand new era of musicians noticed the potential of pairing a robust visible identification with songwriting. Nightlife, movie, and trend collided with this entrepreneurial spirit, and document corporations, having fun with a growth in gross sales, had sufficient money to assist the experimentation in 80s pop music.
Bands throughout Britain seized on the falling value of synthesizers to supply music from the handfuls of small studios springing as much as assist this booming cottage business. A couple of years into their profession, Sheffield’s The Human League paired icy electro melodies with pop vocals from a pair of newly recruited teenage women and broke by way of throughout 1981 with a string of stylish, industrial singles promoted with robust movies. Inside six months of its launch, the UK Christmas No.1 “Don’t You Want Me,” had hit the highest of the US Billboard charts, spearheading what was to be often called the Second British Invasion.
Whereas Heaven 17, fashioned from a break up with The Human League, must wait till 1983’s “Temptation,” to attain a significant hit, ABC had additionally helped Sheffield make its mark on the musical map a yr earlier. The band created the period’s defining second when Trevor Horn’s lush manufacturing wrapped their debut album in a richness that echoed the lavish orchestration of 60s pop. Lexicon Of Love was a British chart-topper and have become so revered that it took lead singer Martin Fry 34 years to document a follow-up, Lexicon Of Love II.
The north of the nation proved a powerhouse for this new sound in 80s pop music. Liverpool’s Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Darkish (OMD) loved large European success with tracks equivalent to “Joan Of Arc,” and “Souvenir.” Leeds Polytechnic was the assembly place for synth duo Mushy Cell, who put out a canopy of Northern soul traditional “Tainted Love,” and landed 1981’s greatest UK single, following it with a sequence of gloriously subversive pop sensations. Scottish outfits The Associates and Easy Minds lastly had hits, whereas Altered Photographs bounced as much as UK No.2 with the perky “Happy Birthday.” Whereas Manchester’s New Order maintained that trademark moodiness for a slot on the BBC’s weekly influential Prime Of The Pops, everybody else regarded appreciated they’d run riot within the costume division. Throughout the Atlantic, acts equivalent to Flock Of Seagulls and Bare Eyes, who struggled to attain successful of their homeland, discovered success.
Embracing a brand new period
The publishing growth of pop magazines focused at youngsters embraced this new period. Early assist for artists equivalent to former punk Toyah started to melt when the editors of titles the likes of Smash Hits seized on the pin-up enchantment of the brand new breed of bands adored by younger women. Adam And The Ants paired flamboyant theatricality with unashamed intercourse enchantment and scored two consecutive UK No.1s. Haircut 100 loved a yr of hormonal hysteria with “Pelican West.” Spandau Ballet matured into soul-pop balladeers, culminating within the traditional peak of “True.” Duran Duran grew to become the largest band on the planet when their globe-trotting movies started airing throughout the States on MTV. Bananarama and Kim Wilde perfected a tomboy picture that younger women might emulate. Depeche Mode’s Vince Clarke, who’d scored with Converse And Spell, stop the group and began up the equally profitable Yazoo. By some means, all of it appeared so easy.
Established acts started to take discover. Some, equivalent to Olivia Newton-John, struggled to adapt to the brand new sound of 80s pop music, however others, amongst them David Bowie and Grace Jones, who had used it for her 1980 album Heat Leatherette, made it their very own. By 1985, Grace was working with Trevor Horn on a brand new pop opus, Slave To The Rhythm. Nevertheless, Trevor’s 1983 creation of Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s “Relax,” a worldwide smash the next yr, was to sign the beginning of a shift away from the family-friendly pop of bands equivalent to Tradition Membership, pushed by the charismatic Boy George. His colourful picture had captivated the planet throughout two smash albums and scored a multi-million vendor with “Karma Chameleon,” however “Relax,”’s pounding hi-NRG beat was an early warning that the dancefloor would quickly begin to dominate the charts.
Shifting on: the top of an period
There was nonetheless sufficient momentum to drive British mainstream pop some time longer, with bands equivalent to Tears For Fears, Thompson Twins, Eurythmics, and George Michael’s Wham! nonetheless hailed because the emperors of the omnipotent MTV. Solo acts the likes of Billy Idol softened rougher edges for a string of recent wave hits to capitalize, however July 1985’s Dwell Support occasion proved a turning level. The previous guard of Queen, Phil Collins, and U2 captivated the present’s international viewers and re-energized their enchantment.
The English experimentation of the primary half of the last decade had additionally waned. By the point Pet Store Boys scored a transatlantic No.1 with “West End Girls,” in 1986, three US superstars, Madonna, Michael Jackson, and Prince, had conquered the charts, and, again within the UK, Inventory Aitken Waterman artists had been beginning to outline home pop. MTV, which had proved so pivotal in breaking UK bands within the States, was additionally shifting on to embrace home R&B and rock.
The chapter was closing on British pop’s proudest hour. It had been colourful – anarchically inventive, at instances – however the pleasure of video’s golden age had generated a celebration the entire world had been invited to. Dressing up would by no means be as a lot enjoyable once more.
For extra era-defining 80s pop music, observe the 80s Basic Hits playlist on Spotify.
