Having grown up in the 1980s, it has always been my opinion that the decade will be remembered as a nadir for pop music (unrivalled by any other decade) from which some of the greatest pop artists of all time emerged. The Classic Pop sound of the 50’s, the Motown of the 60’s, and the disco of the 70’s all culminated into a decade of pop excess, driven by new technology (the birth of the synth and drum pad), the emergence of MTV and the music video, the importance of fashion, and the generational push for mass consumerism. Record companies sold physical albums – cassettes, CDs, and LPs – in numbers that will never be rivalled in our age of cheap mp3s and piracy. Music videos were ‘international events’ with huge budgets, and a handful of pop stars became gods – famous in a way that few artists can claim nowadays.
Many of our lofted pop stars have since crashed and burned as a result of drug habits, madness, or commercial irrelevancy, becoming tragic causalities along the way; Adam Ant struggled with mental health problems, Freddy Mercury died of an AIDS-related illness in 1991, Michael Jackson (possibly the greatest artist of the decade) died of an overdose after years of abusing prescription drugs in 2010, while Whitney Houston drowned in a bathtub in 2012 after years of cocaine abuse. All that excess – drug taking, sex, fame, wealth – ultimately destroyed these artists, but a number of them continued to be creative and successful throughout the 1990s and into the new millennium. Some have battled the same issues that plagued the others and have gone onto even greater glory. Let’s celebrate ten of the very best in the following countdown:
Michael Jackson single-handedly dominated the 1980s with Jackson Five and later as a solo-artist, so it was quite an audacious thing for his kid sister, Janet, to have a go and think she could do better. Initially, her career stalled with two duds – the syrupy album Janet Jackson (1982) and the squeaky clean Dream Street (1984). It wasn’t until she severed ties with her father, who was managing her at the time, and hired Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis as her producers (after seeing them perform as back-up for Prince) that she stepped into the pop limelight. Her album Control (1986) proved to be her breakthrough (many think of it as her debut) and it suddenly announced a dynamic and edgy new talent to the world. It spawned 7 hit singles, including What Have You Done For Me Lately, Nasty, When I Think of You, Control and Let’s Wait a While. She compounded this success with the now iconic Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989) album, with Miss You Much and Rhythm Nation becoming career defining songs.
Janet managed to step out of her brother’s shadow in the 1990s when his career became engulfed in claims of child molestation, effectively drying him up as a songwriter (he released just three more albums in his career). Her fifth album, janet. (1993) purposefully left off her last name and became the best-selling record of her career, with hits such as That’s The Way Love Goes, If, and Again, while The Velvet Rope (1997) gave her the critical acclaim she had dreamed of. She has released four more albums since the turn of the century, with somewhat diminishing returns and after the death of her brother in 2010, she went to ground, becoming embroiled in family drama and court cases while the world forgot what she does best. That’s about to change – she’s working on a new album due for release in 2014 and is collaborating with producers Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins, Jean Baptiste, and Bangladesh, with a tour likely to follow.
Biggest selling single of the 80s: Miss Your Much (1989) (watch the video)
Most recent album: Discipline (2008)
Most recent single: Make Me (2009) (watch the video)
In the early eighties, two female popstars emerged who would go on to fight for pop dominance long before Lady GaGa had even been conceived. Cyndi Lauper and Madonna both released their debut albums in 1983 and instead of celebrating these two very different female performers, the media pitted them against each other (nothing changes). It was a battle Cyndi unfortunately lost, as her counterpart rocketed to commercial success throughout the 80’s and 90’s while she continued to release increasingly uncommercial records which have stood the test of time. Her debut, She’s So Unusual (1983), became an instant classic and presented her as a singular talent with the kind of soulful rock vocal Madonna would eventually learn to emulate on True Blue (1986).
The album’s iconic singles include some of Cyndi’s greatest hits: Girls Just Want To Have Fun, Time After Time, She Bop, and All Through the Night. She went on to have a number of top ten hits in the 1980s – The Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough, True Colors, Change of Heart, and I Drove All Night – though her popularity began to wane by the end of the decade. But lack of success hasn’t stopped her being creative – she has been recording albums throughout the past twenty years with career highlights such as Hat Full of Stars (1993), her covers album, At Last (2003), and a sojourn into dance music, Bring Ya To The Brink (2008). The indefatigable Cyndi has announced on her website that she is currently writing music, with an album likely this year, though it’s anyone’s guess which genre she will tackle next.
Biggest selling single of the 80s: Girls Just Want To Have Fun (1983) (watch the video)
Most recent album: Memphis Blues (2010)
Most recent single: Sex Is In the Heel (2012) (watch the lyric video)
There were three artists who became the Holy Trinity of Pop in the 1980s – Michael Jackson, Madonna, and Prince. Interesting fact for you – Madonna worked with Prince on Love Song, a funk sex odyssey that featured on her Like A Prayer (1989) album. Madonna appeared with Michael Jackson at the 1991 Oscar ceremony and was also slated to appear on Jackson’s song, In The Closet, but the collaboration was aborted. She also opened the MTV awards with a heartfelt speech after he died. Prince and Michael Jackson never collaborated or met. Although Prince’s career started in the late 70’s, with largely ignored albums For You (1978) and Prince (1979), it wasn’t until the next decade that he became one of the most famous artists of all time. His albums Dirty Mind (1980), Controversy (1981), and 1999 (1982) all brought him recognition and success, but his soundtrack to the film of the same name, Purple Rain (1984), turned him into a global superstar.
He had a string of mega hits in the 1980s, including Controversy, 1999, When Doves Cry, Purple Rain, Kiss, Sign o’ The Times, and Batdance, which helped maintain his position at the top. In the 1990s he became increasingly idiosyncratic, renaming himself as a symbol no one could pronounce, though he produced two excellent albums, Diamonds and Pearls (1991) and Love Symbol (1992). During a long legal wrangle with his record company, he churned out a number of sub-par albums for the rest of the decade. He made a big comeback in the mid-00’s with his albums Musicology (2004), 3121 (2006), Planet Earth (2007) and Lotusflow3r (2009). Of all the artists listed here, he is by far the most prolific with no less than 32 studio albums during his career and he will release his 33rd, Plectrum Electrum, later this year.
Biggest selling single of the 80s: When Doves Cry (1984) (watch the video)
Most recent album: 20Ten (2010)
Most recent single: Fallinlove2nite feat. Zooey Deschanel (2014) (listen to the song here)
Morrissey is best known as the lead singer of The Smiths, possibly the best band of the 1980s (I’m sure there are many out there who will argue to the contrary). The singer brought his unique baritone, full of woe and world-weariness, his penchant for poetic lyrics that often wondered at the meaninglessness of it all, and his inimitable style of quiff, baggy jumper, and jeans to become an unforgettable frontman. Partnering up (musically speaking) with guitarist Johnny Marr, they went on to create some of the most iconic songs of the decade – This Charming Man, Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now, How Soon Is Now, Big Mouth Strikes Again, and Girlfriend In a Coma, though surprisingly they only scored two top ten hits during the entire decade.
Needless to say, as with all close partnerships, things ended acrimoniously between Morrissey and Marr – the best songwriters since Lennon and McCartney – and during the 90s all four members became embroiled in a nasty court case. Morrissey, instead of wallowing in the glories of days past, quickly built on the success of The Smiths with the launch of a solo career that started with Viva Hate (1988) which went straight to number one, followed by Kill Uncle (1991), Your Arsenal (1992), and Vauxhall and I (1994). Indeed, he has gone on to record more albums as solo artist than he ever did with The Smiths. Morrissey published his memoirs, simply titled Autobiography, in 2013 which became a huge best seller, and he is preparing to release his tenth studio album, World Peace Is None Of Your Business, later in the year.
Biggest selling single of the 80s: Heaven Knows I’m Miserable – with The Smiths (1984) (watch the video)
Most recent album: Years of Refusal (2009)
Most recent single: Satellite of Love (2013) (watch the video)
Pet Shop Boys were unlike any other act in the 1980s. They were two gay guys, one with a plaintive voice and one with a synthesiser, who evolved electronic dance music and defined the sound of the era. Their first single, West End Girls, was released in 1984 and became a number one hit in the UK and US, starting a run of top ten singles – Let’s Make Lots of Money, Suburbia, It’s a Sin, Always On My Mind, Domino Dancing, and Left To My Own Devices. When they invited 60’s white soul star, Dusty Springfield, to appear on their single What Have I Done To Deserve This? (1987) they not only had a huge hit on their hands but they also single handedly resurrected her career. They produced her album, Reputation (1990), resulting in critical and commercial recognition for the star late in her career, as well as writing and producing one of her biggest hits, Nothing Has Been Proved.
Pet Shop Boys went onto further glory and more interesting outfits in the 90s, with their albums Behaviour (1990), Very (1993), Bilingual (1996), and Nightlife (1999) all hitting the top ten. They have continued to evolve their sound to keep up with changes in dance music, working alongside a number of prominent producers on recent records such as Brian Higgins of Xenomania on Yes (2008), hip-hop producer Andrew Dawson on Elysium (2012), and Stuart Price on last year’s Electric, while still retaining their signature style of melancholy vocals, sharply-observed lyrics, and soaring melodies. Interesting fact; of the other artists on this list, they have remixed Madonna’s single, Sorry (2006), wrote a song for Kylie Minogue, Falling (1994) and duetted together on the song In Denial (1999), produced Boy George’s single, The Crying Game (1992), covered Bruce Springsteen’s The Last To Die (2013) and wrote a satire about Morrissey called Miserablism (1990).
Best selling single of the 80s: It’s A Sin (1987) (watch the video)
Most recent album: Electric (2013)
Most recent single: Thursday (2013) (watch the video)
Boy George has probably had one of the rockiest roads of any of the artists listed here – heroin addiction, community service, and a 15-month prison sentence for assaulting and falsely imprisoning a prostitute. His life story has only got more sordid as the years have rolled on and his successes in the 80s looked increasingly like a fluke, which is a shame because his talent as a soulful singer and brilliant songwriter are often overlooked. He was at the helm of reggae-pop band Culture Club whose single Do You Really Want To Hurt Me went to number 1 in 9 different countries in 1982 and made them famous the world over. George’s flamboyant style and outspoken nature turned him into one of the icons of the age, and with Culture Club, they went on to release several huge hits, including I’ll Tumble 4 Ya, Church of the Poisoned Mind, Karma Chameleon, and Victims.
When the band split up, George embarked on a tumultuous solo career, managing only one more top ten single with Everything I Own from the album Sold (1987). That said, he has had a number of critical nadirs over his long career, with highlights such as the singles After the Love (as The Martyr Mantras) in 1989 and The Crying Game in 1992, as well as the album Cheapness and Beauty (1995). When it seemed like George had plumbed the depths musically with a number of forgettable dance records, he appeared on Mark Ronson’s album, Record Collection, with the single Somebody To Love Me which reenergised the singer – he lost a lot of weight, got healthy, and recorded his critically acclaimed comeback album, This Is What I Do, released last year. His is one of the greatest survival stories of the 80s.
Biggest selling single of the 80s: Karma Chameleon (1983) (watch video)
Most recent album: This Is What I Do (2013)
Most recent single: My God (2014) (watch the video)
Bruce Springsteen and Madonna have a lot in common – in 2012 they both played Hyde Park within days of each other during two of the highest grossing tours of that year, they both released albums which made it to number one in the US, and they are both respected as two of the best living performers in pop. Technically, Springsteen’s career started in the 1970’s with a number of commercial flops until 1975’s Born To Run brought him to the attention of American audiences, but it was the album Born in the USA (1984) that brought him to the mainstream and international success. The album went on to sell 30 million copies (equally Madonna’s The Immaculate Collection – see below) and spawned 7 top ten singles; Dancing in the Dark, Cover Me, Born in the USA, I’m On Fire, Glory Days, I’m Going Down, and My Hometown. He also released 3 successful studio albums during this period – The River (1980), the critically acclaimed Nebraska (1982), and Tunnel of Love (1987).
Springsteen has consistently recorded since the eighties, with no less than 18 studio albums to his name and although the top ten hits started to dry up, he scored a major success with his song Streets of Philadelphia in 1993 which formed part of the soundtrack to the film Philadelphia and also bagged him an Oscar. He has toured consistently over the years and, as mentioned above, is only one of a few bankable performers up there with The Rolling Stones and U2. This year he released his 18th studio album, High Hopes, which made it to number 1 in 14 countries, he made a documentary with HBO about his recording career, and he will release an EP of new material called American Beauty in April.
Biggest selling single of the 80s: Dancing in the Dark (1984) (watch the video)
Most recent album: High Hopes (2014)
Most recent single: Just Like Fire Would (2014) (watch the video)
Kylie Minogue first came to public attention in Neighbours, an Australian soap that made stars of Minogue, Jason Donovan and Guy Pearce (among others). Kylie appeared on the Australian hit show from 1986 – 1988, leaving after her music career suddenly took off with a cover version of The Locomotion in 1987, which spent 7 weeks at the top of the charts in Australia. She followed up this success with a string of top ten singles produced by uber-producers, Stock Aitken and Waterman and released two hugely successful albums, Kylie (1987) and Enjoy Yourself (1989) from which her biggest hits of the decade came: I Should Be So Lucky, Got To Be Certain, Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi, Hand On Your Heart, Wouldn’t Change a Thing, and her legendary duet with Jason Donovan, Especially For You.
Her success followed into the 1990s, with the album Rhythm of Love (1990), but her career went up and down as she struggled to move from pop’s young princess to credible artist and she released two critically acclaimed albums on grown up dance label, Deconstruction – Kylie Minogue (1994) and Impossible Princess (1997). It wasn’t until career saving single, Spinning Around, changed her fortunes in 2000 and gave her a renewed sense of purpose, culminating in the song that has come to define her career – Can’t Get You Out of My Head (2001). This year she has been appearing on BBC’s The Voice, helping the flagging show’s ratings to soar, and has just released a new album (likely to hit the top ten this weekend), simply title Kiss Me Once. Ever the ingenue, Kylie has stayed true to herself and her sound and it is this reason alone that she is still making music today.
Biggest selling single of the 80s: I Should Be So Lucky (1987) (watch the video)
Most recent album: Kiss Me Once (2014)
Most recent single: Sexercise (2014) (watch the video)
There were two Georges who dominated the 1980’s – Boy George and George Michael. They both became phenomenally successful, selling millions of records, they were both gay, and their personal lives unravelled in very similar ways. While Boy George has always been blatant about his sexuality, George Michael was repressed and closeted and has contributed to his problems. His first great love, Anselmo Feleppa, died of an AIDS-related illness in 1993, a trauma he couldn’t share with his family. In 1998, he was spectacularly outed in California when he was arrested for engaging in a ‘lewd act’. In 2006, he was caught by the News of the World cruising for sex on Hampstead Heath. He has also had similar problems with drugs, known for smoking cannabis on a daily basis and on a number of occasions has been found slumped at the wheel of his car, leading to an eventual prison sentence in 2010. In 2011 he almost died of a virulent strain of pneumonia and in 2013 he was badly injured after falling out of a car on the motorway. Reads like a novel, doesn’t it!
George shot to fame with his friend Andrew Ridgeley in 1982 with his band Wham! Their first single, Young Guns (Go For It) was a hit across Europe and they followed this up with a number of top tens; Club Tropicana, Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go, Freedom, and I’m Your Man. Even before the band split up, he quickly built upon this success to launch a solo career, releasing Careless Whisper and Last Christmas in 1984. The band came to an end when he released his debut album Faith (1987), the most successful of his career, with a number of iconic singles – I Want Your Sex, Faith, Father Figure, and One More Try. In the early 90s, George seemed to eschew fame and didn’t appear in a number of music videos to sell his 1990 album, Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 (1990) and like Prince, became wrangled in a dispute with his record company. He emerged triumphant with his 1996, Older, gaining critical acclaim and commercial success. This week, he just dropped his new album, Symphonica (2014), a live album of his triumphant tour with a full orchestra and he seems content and happy. Long may it last!
Biggest selling single of the 80s: Careless Whisper (1984) (watch the video)
Most recent album: Symphonica (2014)
Most recent single: Let Her Down Easy (2014) (watch the video)
Okay, you all knew number one was going to be Madonna – who else could it be? She was part of the Holy Trinity of Pop that included Michael Jackson and Prince during the 80s (see Prince above) and no one could avoid a radio playing one of their songs at any given time. Madonna catapulted onto the music scene with her first single, Everybody, in 1982. She went on to release her first album, Madonna in 1983, spawning major hits such as Holiday, Borderline, and Lucky Star. But it was with subsequent albums – Like A Virgin (1984), True Blue (1986), and Like A Prayer (1989) that she created the blueprint for all female pop stars who followed in her footsteps. Combining classic pop songs (which she co-wrote) with a strong eye for fashion and visuals, she created an imperative for artists to match their sound with vision, singlehandedly making the music video into an art form in the process.
Madonna’s biggest hits of the decade were Like A Virgin, Material Girl, Crazy For You, Into the Groove, Papa Don’t Preach, Open Your Heart, Like A Prayer, and Express Yourself. She consolidated her unparalleled success (a run of top tens and number ones) with The Immaculate Collection (1990) which went on to to sell 30 million copies. She has been at the top of her game ever since, a career spanning four decades with sales of 300 million. In 2012, she released her twelfth studio album, MDNA, and her subsequent tour was one of the highest grossing of any female artist. Madonna is currently recording her thirteenth studio album with Swedish DJ, Avicii, among others, which is due for release in 2014. Her continued critical and commercial success, as well as maintaining her cultural relevance, means she is the ultimate survivor of 80’s pop.
Biggest selling single of the 80s: Like A Virgin (1984) (watch the video)
Most recent album: MDNA (2012)
Most recent single: Turn Up the Radio (2012) (watch the video)
Filed under: Music, Pop Culture Tagged: 1980s, 80s Pop, Boy George, Bruce Springsteen, Cyndi Lauper, George Michael, Janet Jackson, Kylie Minogue, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Morrissey, Pet Shop Boys, Prince, Whitney Houston
