posted
I have chosen 10 acts that, to the best of my knowledge, ONLY had a hit/hits during the 80s. Put 'em in order from your MOST fave to LEAST fave.
Your RANK bands:
THE MOTELS (Only the Lonely, Suddenly Last summer, Shame)
SWING OUT SISTER (Beakout)
BOW WOW WOW (I want Candy, Baby Oh No)
QUARTERFLASH (Harden My Heart, Find Another Fool)
A-HA (The Sun Always Shines on TV, Take On Me)
BIG COUNTRY (In a Big Country)
LEVEL 42 (Something About You)
MISSING PERSONS (Destination Unknown)
BERLIN (Sex I'm A..., No More Words, Take My Breath Away)
Yeah, I liked QUARTERFLASH too. That chick played a mean sax. Sax appeal also applies to THE MOTELS, though it wasn't Martha Davis blowing it.
SPANDAU BALLET gets props for their TRUE album, which was quite good, and the song was sampled for the excellent early-90s summer hit SET ADRIFT ON MEMORY BLISS.
As far as 1-hit wonders go, LEVEL 42, BIG COUNTRY and SWING OUT SISTER were great, with Swing Out Sister taking the edge because of the fun, silly video.
A-HA of course revolutionized video with Take On Me and the song and video holds up today; I however was equally fond of the meloncholy lesser hit The Sun Always Shines on TV.
MISSING PERSONS was hit-and-miss for me. There's some good stuff on Spring Session M but good stuff on the follow-up (the title escapes me) is slim pickin's.
Other than the 2 hits I mentioned, BOW WOW WOW just never quite hit the mark again.
I'd probably give the top spot to BERLIN. Their second album LOVE LIFE remains one of my favorite 80s purchases and one of the few cassettes I listen to to this day (gotta get it on CD someday!). Their first album Pleasure Victim is also good (though not as good as Love Life). I -do- have it on CD. Sadly, their 3rd album (which features their biggest hit TAKE MY BREATH AWAY) is largely unlistenable for me. Total image change ruined 'em for me.
posted
was Martha Davis one of the Marthas from Martha and the muffins? Ooooh my copy of Metro Music was stolen when I was burgalled and I really miss it.........
(Although I have still got a copy of Echo Beach on a 80s new wave compilation....Echo beach far away in time.... how cool was that song? oh they don't make 'em like they used to)
I seem to remember Quarterflashs first album, take another picture(?) was okay, their second one (that had HMH on it) also included a song called Williams Avenue that had the memorable lines -
"HALLELUJAH FRIDAY'S HERE THE WEEK IS LONG FOR THE INSINCERE"
How true are those lines?
It also contained a song called Valerie about a predatory lesbian art teacher and as I must have been about 12 at the time and scared shitless about my own sexuality I found it strangely comforting to hear.....
and their third album was lacking in anything apart from synth over dubs... that'll have been the eighties then...
I guess then Quarterflash would be top of my list then probably Swing out Sister as I loved the singers voice would be next...
after that I really don't know, Big Country, Spandua Ballet and Bow Wow Wow (just for the singer natty dreds) would be next and the others I don't know enough about or are Level 42 and they've always irritated me...
From: home sweet home... unless i'm posting from work | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
Lashie, all I remember about Berlin is that awful Top Gun number that was number one in the saingles chart for what felt about ever and I liked Manhattan Skyline(?) by A-ha but couldn't quite get into the rest of their stuff - it was alright I guess but I'm more of a geetar band fan....
From: home sweet home... unless i'm posting from work | Registered: Jul 2003
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Spandau Ballet: I actually loved all of their stuff, including albums before and after True, and some their members were dreamy
Swing Out Sister, but largely on the strength of their subsequent albums which had no American hits.
Berlin: I can't sum it up better than Lash: Love Life is excellent (mmmm.. Giorgio Moroder production), and then the album afterwards sucked big time
A-ha: Some great singles
Level 42: a couple of very moving singles
The Motels: I appreciate them more now than I did in the 80's
Missing Persons: Not only did they give us some fun hit singles and the freaky Dale Bozzio, they also gave us Warren Cucurullo (sp?) who took Andy Tayler's place in Duran Duran for awhile and then went on to pose nude in Playgirl to show off his very impressive member and then star in some porn!
Big Country: just one great song; Wonderland was Ok.
BowWowWow
Quarterflash: didn't like them at all
-------------------- Why are you laughing at me? It's unkind, as well as puzzling!
From: City of Angels | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
Yes, Love Life is sooooo good. I'm going to glisten to it when I go home tonight. It's one of my favorite listen-to-it-all-the-way-through 80's albums.
-------------------- Why are you laughing at me? It's unkind, as well as puzzling!
From: City of Angels | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
See, bands like ERASURE, DEPECHE MODE and PET SHOP BOYS had hits into the 90s which eradicated them from the list.
Erasure: Blue Savannah, Love To Hate You and more.
DEPECHE MODE: Enjoy the Silence, Personal Jesus, Walking in My Shoes and more.
PET SHOP BOYS: So Hard, Absolutely Fabulous and more.
The "No-90s Hits" rule also eradicated such singers as ADAM ANT (who had a fantastic mid-90s comeback hit with WONDERFUL) and cute li'l RICK ASTLEY (who scored a mid-90s hit with HOPELESSLY).
posted
ROOM AT THE TOP! That had to be, like 1990 or 1991-- another song that disqualifies Adam Ant. Yep, it was good!
I was out at the same time as Grace Jones' dance hit Killer Kiss which I also loved!
But my favorite song of hers was I'm Not Perfect (But I'm Perfect For You).
I'm not perfect But I'm perfect for you Now I'm right on time I'm not perfect but I'm perfect for you I feel right on time Right on time I feel on time Tonight I'm right on time Now I'm right on time
Aaaah, the good old days when MTV still showed videos!
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Seriously, I love those guys...
