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I'd say Duran Duran is the band that best defines the 80's, at least the stuff most people think of when they think of the music from that decade. For a single song, I can only give the nod to A Flock of Seagulls with I Ran.
I know there was more stuff in the 80's than the pop scene, but hair bands always seem to me to have started in the late 70's and pushed a little into the 90's, so I don't identify them with the specific decade as much.
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Best decade of music.
The least discriminating and more diverse than any other, before or after.
It also resulted in lots of One-Hit-Wonders, which makes it hard to provide a singular answer to your question.
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[QUOTE] It completely makes me cringe to nominate MADONNA, M. Jackson & hair metal for 80's music. Just a entire decade of trash people making trash music.
That decade deserves all to be remembered as hostile as possible. [/QUOTE]
80s was one of the best era's for music and movies. MJ and Madonna were two of the biggest singers in the 80s like them or not! You don't think of the 80s without those two singers.
From every rose has a thorn to I want to know what love is to against all odds to true colors there were some great songs in the 80s.
Of course they was some bad ones and silly ones also then there are some guilty pleasure songs also like who's johhny from short circuit and eat it by weird al!
Had a soft spot for this movie theme also!
[video=youtube;0HeZrI5Giw4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HeZrI5Giw4[/video]
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[QUOTE=Gaastra;4554775][B]80s was one of the best era's for music and movies. [/B] MJ and Madonna were two of the biggest singers in the 80s like them or not! You don't think of the 80s without those two singers.
From every rose has a thorn to I want to know what love is to against all odds to true colors there were some great songs in the 80s.
Of course they was some bad ones and silly ones also then there are some guilty pleasure songs also like who's johhny from short circuit and eat it by weird al!
Had a soft spot for this movie theme also!
[video=youtube;0HeZrI5Giw4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HeZrI5Giw4[/video][/QUOTE]
There were so many artists, old and new, that were putting out some of their best work in that decade, which as you've posted, had so many great music videos to promote them.
Tina Turner's big comeback occured in the 1980s with her Private Dancer album. It seems like a lot of groups had some of their most successful albums in the 1980s: ZZ Top, The Rolling Stones, The soundtrack to the Blues Brothers helped boost the career of veterans like Aretha Franklin, James Brown and Ray Charles. Besides Duran Duran and Tears for Fears being mentioned, there was Culture Club, The Thompson Twins, Van Halen, Janet Jackson, Cyndi Lauper, Huey Lewis and the News, Whitney Houston, Bruce Springsteen.
When you think of the 1980's it's the videos that propelled the songs to even greater recognition.
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[QUOTE=Iron Maiden;4555110]It seems like a lot of groups had some of their most successful albums in the 1980s[/QUOTE]
Completely agree with this.
Beside numerous one-hit-wonders, the legends were also strong. The first ones to pop to mind are Dire Straits, ELO, Gary Moore and Chris Rea.
Also, the term Super-Group was heavily circulating like Traveling Wilburys
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Sales were up because of population growth, society on average was more prosperous and technological advances (the CD came in the early 80s). But does anybody really feel that Aretha's Narada Michael Walden produced hit albums were better than the legendary records Jerry Wechsler produced for her 20 years earlier? Was "Living in America" as good a James Brown song as "A man's world" or "Sex Machine"? Was Marvin's "Sexual Healing" as good as "What's Going On" (especially the albums that came with those tracks)?
I'll give you Tina Turner, though.
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I'll agree with others who have said that there is no one singular 'Eighties' sound, or for any decade for that matter. At the end of the day, 1980-1981 will sound more like late 70s, and 1988-1989 will have more in common with the early 90s.
But as for the pop sound that most will associate with a 'typical Eighties sound', I see you guys' Duran Duran and raise you a Nik Kershaw. When I hear 'The Riddle', 'Wouldn't It Be Good?' or 'I Won't Let The Sun Go Down On Me' I get images of mullets, shoulder pads, Rubik's Cubes and Pontiac Trans Ams floating through my head.
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Other mentions: Foreigner debuted in the late 70’s but hit their stride in the 80’s. Sir Paul McCartney had hits in that decade, including his duets with Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder.
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Yes.
When I think "epitome of the 80s" - I think Paul McCartney.
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[QUOTE=Mormel;4555279] raise you a Nik Kershaw. When I hear 'The Riddle', 'Wouldn't It Be Good?' or 'I Won't Let The Sun Go Down On Me[/QUOTE]
Ah - you've just solved a mystery for me.
Whenever anyone went on X-Factor or American Idol and sang Elton John's "I Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me", I always wondered why it didn't even vaguely resemble the song I remembered. And that will be because I was remembering the Nik Kershaw song of the same name.
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[QUOTE=Attila Kiss;4554698]Best decade of music.
The least discriminating and more diverse than any other, before or after.
It also resulted in lots of One-Hit-Wonders, which makes it hard to provide a singular answer to your question.[/QUOTE]
I'm not sure it's the best decade of music but it's up there with the 50s, 60s and 70s. It was very diverse from pop, balads, rock, metal, some disco still, and more. The fact that many of the classic hits playing in the radio now come from that decade. Sure, some of the groups were plastic, but there were also lots of real talented bands and singers all over. For me mainstream music became less memorable in the 90s and on.
The 90s, however, was a great decade for TV shows, especially comedies like Seinfeld, Friends, and many others that are still dominating in reruns.
BTW, I don't know if I was clear enough, but my intention with this thread was your personal experience with the music of the 80s. What was more memorable about this era to you. Not about who you think was the most impactful singer or group in this era. If I have to choose someone it's Michael Jackson. He is the king of pop still imo. For the 70s, the Bee Gees come immediately to mind. 60s the Beatles probably. 50s Elvis and Sinatra.
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Songs from the Big Chair and Seeds of Love are two of my favorite albums ever. Both top 5 for me.
Edit: I was responding to the first post. Forgot the quote.
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[QUOTE=dancj;4556709]Ah - you've just solved a mystery for me.
Whenever anyone went on X-Factor or American Idol and sang Elton John's "I Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me", I always wondered why it didn't even vaguely resemble the song I remembered. And that will be because I was remembering the Nik Kershaw song of the same name.[/QUOTE]
Elton's is called "Don't let the Sun go Down on Me."
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[video=youtube;-CfV2iVMeKA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CfV2iVMeKA[/video]
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Iconic 80s to me will always be:
[video=youtube;Z0XLzIswI2s]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0XLzIswI2s[/video]