I've been "having a discussion" at work with a few people trying to demonstrate how good the 80s were. Some of us think it's the best, while others didn't like it.

What do you the people here think?

Some people who released music throughout the 80 were from the 70s etc, but the music they released in the 80s usually changed with the times and it was still "music from the 80s".

Here was my e-mail I sent people at work earlier today:

Ladies and gentlemen, I present my case for the 80's; the best decade of all time, including the future :-)

Here is a selection of some of the groups/people in the charts in the 1980s (in mostly chronological order of first chart appearance in the decade, but a few are mixed up a bit):


The Pretenders
Pink Floyd
Madness
ABBA
David Bowie
The Police
Michael Jackson
Blondie
The Clash
Queen
Peter Gabriel
The Jam
Genesis
Paul McCartney
Roxy Music
Diana Ross
Gary Numan
Kate Bush
OMD
Rolling Stones
Joy Division
Ultravox
Adam and the Ants
Barbra Streisand
Stevie Wonder
Spandau Ballet
Phil Collins
Visage
Dire Straits
Teardrop Explodes
Duran Duran
Kim Wilde
The Human League
George Harrison
Depeche Mode
Kraftwerk
Soft Cell
The Specials
ABC
The Stranglers
Bananarama
Foreigner
Simple Minds
Yazoo
Elton John
Echo & The Bunnymen
Survivor
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
Culture Club
Tears For Fears
Eddy Grant
Wham!
Donna Summer
A Flock Of Seagulls
Talk Talk
U2
Fleetwood Mac
Thompson Twins
Toto
The Eurythmics
Prince
New Order
Heaven 17
Paul Young
The Cure
Howard Jones
Tina Turner
The Smiths
Yes
Frankie Goes To Hollywood
Cyndi Lauper
Nena
Nik Kershaw
Madonna
Chaka Khan
Bronski Beat
Alison Moyet
Billy Idol
George Michael
Sister Sledge
Miami Sound Machine
Freddie Mercury
The Cars
Bruce Springsteen
Bryan Adams
Kirsty MacColl
Don Henley
Chris Rea
Paul Hardcastle
Bryan Ferry
Harold Faltermeyer
Fine Young Cannibals
Sting
Simply Red
Marc Almond
Midge Ure
Cameo
A-ha
Jan Hammer
Grace Jones
Communards
Pet Shop Boys
Talking Heads
Iron Maiden
Sting
Mr Mister
Level 42
James Brown
Go West
Ozzy Osbourne
The Bangles
Mike & The Mechanics
Falco
Janet Jackson
Big Country
Whitney Houston
Suzanne Vega
Van Halen
Robert Palmer
The Housemartins
Bruce Hornsby
Farley 'Jackmaster' Funk
Cutting Crew
Bon Jovi
Psychedelic Furs
Paul Simon
Berlin
Status Quo
Erasure
Debbie Harry
Europe
Steve 'Silk' Hurley
Boy George
Beastie Boys
Terence Trent D'Arby
Tom Jones
Living In A Box
Johnny Hates Jazz
Wet Wet Wet
Run DMC
Crowded House
Luther Vandross
T'Pau
Jesus & Mary Chain
Def Leppard
Sisters Of Mercy
Bee Gees
Steve Winwood
Belinda Carlisle
Cher
INXS
Kylie Minogue
Bomb The Bass
Morrissey
Prefab Sprout
Debbie Gibson
Tracy Chapman
Sade
Everything But The Girl
Transvision Vamp
Guns 'N' Roses
Bill Withers
Enya
Deacon Blue
Neneh Cherry
Bobby Brown
Texas
Paula Abdul
Roxette
Beautiful South
Happy Mondays
Natalie Cole
Tom Petty
REM
Soul II Soul
Alice Cooper
Martika
Shakespears Sister
Lisa Stansfield
Lightning Seeds
Black Box
The Wonder Stuff
Stone Roses

184 groups that have made songs that people will remember - not a full list by any means (I removed a lot of one hit wonders, and groups who did good stuff, but isn't recognisable by name).

In December 1989 New Kids on the Block appear in the charts and the world of music enters the dark ages...



Check out these amazing charts from 1984 (a very good year):

http://www.everyhit.com/retrocharts/1984-FebruaryA.html

http://www.everyhit.com/retrocharts/1984-JulyA.html

http://www.everyhit.com/retrocharts/1984-DecemberA.html
Buffy fans should look at No. 15. Tony Head's brother.


So, I put it to you, the jury, that the 80s produced some of the best and most innovative groups and music. From late punk, Madonna, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Guns 'n' Roses, Duran Duran, Kraftwerk, to the beginning of House Music and rap. Even the music on Commodore 64s was great, and the 80s was the Golden Age of computing. I wouldn't have missed that for anything. Computing also went seriously downhill in the 90's when Bill Gates of Hell came stomping over everything with his size 12s!

The 80s also had a lot of very good films and TV shows, but that's another story.

I rest my case.

Paul.

Nice to see the Jesus and Mary chain and Sisters of Mercy in there but what about The Mission and Fields of the Nephilim eh ? :) Used to hear 'Deliverance' and 'Psychonaut' a lot back in the day. The late, great John Peel used to play them.

80's were crap, and only good now as 'wedding evening reception' music but don't get me wrong there is no better music than the 80s to fill a dance floor at family parties/weddings etc.

Ms Koop is an 80s chick (gary newman being her idol)

But i'm an early 90s man

Its amazing the difference in musical tastes with a gap of only 4 years between us :lol:

And you knew the 80s were over when the biggest selling single of 1990 was the Iceman himself :lol:

alright stop, calabirate and listen
ice is back with a brand new invention

qwality :D

I suspect your poll results will be somewhat skewed on a retro forum...

Honestly think the 80's were overated muscially, but then i have strange tastes at the best of times, and serval POMO Courses at uni have made my view even more outlandish...

From the 80's i prefer, The Transformers: The Movie Sound Track.....
but thats really it,

I know there were bands that i liked around in the 1980's but, there origins are in the 70's or prior and would mean inelleigble for the the list or would it, its a very long list...........


AS for other tastes i go form everything from Trance, Garage, Industrial, Death Metal, Heavy Metal RAP... Currrently on a grunge, indie revival ( cos i bypassed it when it was all kicking off summat to do with moving approx a million times in 3 years)


BTW WTF ARE N.W.A??? Grandmaster Flash etc Straight outta nowhere i assume!


TTFN PINKY

There were lots of groups that I removed because they weren't well known enough for the people I was sending it to.

:D Yep, I realise that, but it will make me feel better after someone here (at work not the forum) said that 10% of my list "did good stuff" (obviously to wind me up), and another said the 80s were s***. :angry:

Maybe I just love the 80s too much. Everything was just perfect for me. The best time of my life. 1984 seems to be perfect - amazing music and I was 13 playing on my C64 at the time and The Terminator was in the cinema :) (not that I could go and see it then).

Happy times...

I would agree with you there. The 80s were indeed a good time (barring a couple of events) in my life and were probably the years that made me what I am now. As for music there was indeed a lot of good stuff (I reckon I have albums by about 50 of the artists listed) although I must admit that at the time my musical tastes were very definitely in the alternative/goth category and therefore probably not heard of by most people (hands up if you remember Danse Society, Specimen and Play Dead :) ). I'm definitely a teenager of the 80s, can't say child as I hit thirteen in 1979.

For every good band in the '80s there was a crap one, same as any other era. And music was just as manufactured back then as it is now - Stock, Aitken & Waterman practically owned the charts at one point.

Kudos for putting Iron Maiden in that list btw.
Unfortunately I must take that kudos back because you've included Falco in a thread about '80s music being the best. :P

:D

What! You don't like "Rock me Amadeus"?

:)

I can't see the Pet SHop Boys in that list. West End Girls = TUNAGE. FACT. :huh:

Coming from Walthamstow, I feel I must apologise for the appaling East17 cover.

The PSBs are there:
...
Communards
Pet Shop Boys
Talking Heads
...

And thanks for the apology. It was needed. :)

I like kraftwerk, OMD and ELO

I'm on something of a Jethro Tull kick this week after 'acquiring' a bundle of their albums. Soundtrack of my childhood was Tull. Ok, they may have started out in the 60's, but they won a Grammy in '87 iirc for their Crest of a Knave album. Saw them live for the first time that year too, cracking show they put on. All in all, I had an absolute ball in '87. Without a doubt one of the best years of my life. Was the 90's made me what I am today though. Takes a while for all the youthful optimism toget knocked out of you...

Much of my favourite stuff is derived from the 70's, being something of a 'real' punk fan (the new fangled stuff doesn't count as proper punk in my book ;) ). Saw The Stranglers last year, I think that's the last gig I went to. In a pokey wee club for the proper experience of the era.

you fibber - we had a great time at the howard jones concert

you crazier than dat foo' mur...........well you :blink:

The eighties were an exciting time for music and just about everything really.
It was a decade of revolution, not just evolution. It was the dawn of the digital society will live in now.

When did you first touch a computer or see a mobile phone.
When did music become digitally created, recorded, edited and distributed.
When did films first start to use digital animation / effects.

What genuingly new has arrived since ?

It was a time of rapid change, music went from Disco,Punk and Ska in 1980
Through the new romantics to the advent of House and Hip Hop by 1986
Finishing the decade with Techno and Acid and other sub divisions of electronic dance music.

The nighties had brit pop, which was (pop rock I guess) but somehow I think it had all been done before in 60's.

I suspect the next time we'll see change on the scale the eighties ushered in is with the advent of practical applications for genetic engineering.

Wow :)

Those charts are fantastic - what a year 1984 was! Must be the best year ever - I remember at the time thinking 'Why the bloody hell is Radio Ga Ga not number one'!

Bloody Relax and its gay blowjob lyrics :o Good tune to hum to though :lol:

Um

Better go before I get mobbed by a PC board member :angry:

Er,T,Pau,Tygers of Pantang,Altered Images..some of the band were ok but
a lot were truly not my taste,though as on an earlier post you always had in
every era Cliff...Ill get my coat..cheers peter.

Exactly what I have been saying to people at work. For me, music peaked in 1984. It does seem to be getting better at the moment though. I enjoyed Live 8 much more than I was expecting. Apart from that a***hole Robbie d***head Williams who I don't like much.

What I find interesting is that of all the artists I like it seems the majority of them peaked in the 80's... even those who were going throughout the 70's or even as far back as the 60's.

'Kiss' were at their best (IMHO) in the 80's, as were 'Starship' and even David Bowie... and they sounded so distinctively 80's too!

My favourite 80's tunage? Don Henley - Boys of Summer of course! :P

Robbo.

i like a lot of 80s music (as well as loads more) but i especially try and find the synth pop stuff in charity shops etc, getting anice colection going :)
stuff like abc, tears for fears, omd, yazoo, depeche mode, human league, all the mute stuff, soft cell etc etc

My favourite 80's tunage? Glenn and Chris - diamond lights of course!
total classic 80s cheese :)

Please can I jus tput a shout in for MARILLION!!! Sorry I just felt the need to do that. I know they sold out with Kayleigh and Sugar Mice to become a bit more main stream. I do feel that for me the eighties would not have been the eighties without the slightly obscure tacks that when on for multiple minutes elongated instrumentals and of course the parallel meanings and hints of mythological events!

Hail 80's music!

I was a huge Marillion, Kiss, ACDC, Alice Cooper, Genisis,China Crisis, Mike & The Mechanics, Yes, OMD, Alan Parsons project, Pink Floyd and many many more.

All I will say is that now a day's my music collection looks very very strange!!!

Maybe, but I must admit I do really like Kayleigh. I heard it on the radio a few weeks ago. It was great :)

Funny thing is back then when Relax first came out by Frankie GTH back then i think i was about 12 or so, we didnt really know anything about gays or that.

No one at our school seemed to realise they were all gay, all the 'tough' kids at school wore FGTH badges all over their bags etc and acted cool as they thought they were being tough loving a group whos first single was banned.

Gradually as we got slightly older we all realised what the song was about and that the group were mostly batting for the other side ! The 'tough' kids at school soon ditched their FGTH badges straight away and tippexed out the name on their school bags instantly !

Back then i did like a lot of 80's music but i didnt like the whole 80's look of some groups, eg Duran Duran with tons of hair spray etc and make up.

Now i love going to 80's clubs and had a great night out on my 30th when a whole coachload of us went to a great 80's night down south.

At 80's clubs everyones friendly, step on someones toes and its not some huge macho fight. The musics amazing, its not full of the crap you get in the charts nowadays and best of all everyone there is mostly the same sort of age, eg 27-35.

Playing GTA: Vice City was brilliant with the 80's soundtrack.

"Misplaced Childhood" is one of the best concept albums of all time. The thing about "Kayleigh" is that it does sound a bit commercial for a Marillion song but if you listen to it in it's correct context on the album its not so out of place. Same with "Lavender".
I have absolutely no time at all for the Steve Hogarth Marillion stuff. Thats the material where they really sold out. Apart from "Cannibal Surf Babe" which I like for it's weirdness.

I love the 80's music. So many styles of music. Not lke today where everything sounds the same. People could actualy play an instrument and music sounded like music. :P
Todays music is all about hip and hop and rap and sheit. They are all X-Factored. :D.
To much crap about. Too many ,so called goups, try to copies old groups.

Any band who plays their own instruments and writes their own songs i think they have talent . Not saying every group back then in the 80's did but now its choose a good looking 19 year old and give them a catchy song and release it and try to make some quick money.

I've actually been watching that Scott-Lee series on MTV just because i'm so looking forward to seeing her single flop. She thinks she has talent and its quite embarassing to watch at times. The only thing we can do is to teach our children to like good music and not grow into kids liking the usual boy/girl band !

And as for Crazy Frog ? That makes Joe Dolce in the 80's look good !

I loathed 80's pop. My local radio station plays it non-stop and it truly depresses me. Back in the 80's I got lost in alternative underground hardcore just to escape the onslaught of crap pop. I listened mainly to Dayglo Abortions, Dead Kennedys, D.R.I., Bathory, Celtic Frost and any/all that took me away from all the Haircut 100's and Nick Kershaws and other dull, uninspired pap.