Matt's Books and Music

Well, my deep dive into the popular music of the 1980s is over, and what a wild ride! After a couple of transitional years in ‘80 and ’81, the decade came of age in 1982 and ’83, when the post-punk new wave started to bend towards the synth-heavy pop sound the decade is so known for. After the magisterial pop year of 1984, the new wave itself reached its crest in 1985, before crashing out in ‘86. What was left in its wake was newly energized dance and R&B genres, lots of adult contemporary music, and the re-emergence of more stripped back, singer-songwriterly indie rock (1987 and 1988). Finally, it all came together in 1989, which saw all the decade’s trends make a comeback, while also pointing towards the ‘90s with college radio vibes and hip hop. What a fun decade in music (the 1988 nadir notwithstanding).

I’ve tallied up my scores from each year, and below are my top twenty artists of the decade, along with my favourite album and song from each of them.

1. U2: U2’s position is helped here by the fact that they released albums in six different years in the decade. But of the six, five made their respective year’s top ten list, which is pretty incredible.

• • Favourite album: The Joshua Tree (1987)
  • Favourite song: “With or WIthout You (The Joshua Tree, 1987)

2. Eurythmics: Another prolific artist, with seven albums in the decade and four making their year’s top ten list (including two in 1983), Eurythmics were always simply and incredibly cool. A lot of that is just the power of Annie Lennox, but the unique and often slightly unsettling production on their music is absolutely part of it too.

• • Favourite album: Sweet Dreams (1983)
  • Favourite song: “Sweet Dreams” (Sweet Dreams, 1983)

3. Stevie Nicks: In both her work with Fleetwood Mac and her solo projects, Stevie Nicks proved to be one of the twentieth century’s great songwriters. While her output later in this decade is largely unloved even by her super-fans, even a bad Stevie Nicks album is still pretty awesome, which is why she placed so high in my overall rankings for the decade.

• • Favourite album: Bella Donna (1981)
  • Favourite song: “Edge of Seventeen” (Bella Donna, 1981)

4. Phil Collins: Phil Collins is one of the decade’s most fascinating artists. Using a wider musical palette than most popular artists, he managed both to sound incredibly of his time and also completely unlike anything else out there.

• • Favourite album: …But Seriously (1989)
  • Favourite song: “In the Air Tonight” (Face Value, 1981)

5. R.E.M.: College radio stalwarts R.E.M. released six solid albums in as many years from ‘83-’88 and by the end of the decade, a lot of artists were mimicking their more stripped down production.

• • Favourite album: Murmur (1981)
  • Favourite song: “The One I Love” (R.E.M., 1987)

6. The Cure: While they got off to a slow start for me in their first few albums, when they hit their stride in 1987, The Cure represented the best of all worlds of ‘80s music — great pop hooks, cool new wave-inspired production, and the strong songwriting of indie rock.

• • Favourite album: Disintegration (1989)
  • Favourite song: “Pictures of You” (Disintegration, 1989)

7. Bryan Adams: Bryan Adams has spent the past thirty plus years in adult contemporary purgatory, so it’s easy to forget his earlier work was firmly planted in rock, and it was awesome.

• • Favourite album: Reckless (1984)
  • Favourite song: “The Summer of ‘69” (Reckless, 1984)

8. Bruce Springsteen: A lot of artists tried hard to be Bruce Springsteen in the 1980s, but no one came close to duplicating thim.

• • Favourite album: The River (1980)
  • Favourite song: “Dancin’ in the Dark” (Born in the USA, 1984)

9. Simple Minds: When I started this project, I’d have told you Simple Minds was a one- or two-hit wonder. Boy was I wrong.

• • Favourite album: Once Upon a Time (1985)
  • Favourite song: “Don’t You Forget About Me” (Once Upon a Time, 1985)

10. New Order: Ditto from what I said for Simple Minds.

• • Favourite album: Brotherhood (1986)
  • Favourite song: “Bizarre Love Triangle” (Brotherhood, 1986)

11. Madonna:

• • Favourite album: True Blue (1986)
  • Favourite song: “Like a Prayer” (Like a Prayer, 1989)

12. Prince:

• • Favourite album: 1999 (1982)
  • Favourite song: “Purple Rain” (Purple Rain, 1984)

13. 54.40:

• • Favourite album: Show Me (1987)
  • Favourite song: “I Go Blind” (54.40, 1986)

14. Erasure:

• • Favourite album: The Innocents (1988)
  • Favourite song: “A Little Respect” (The Innocents, 1988)

15. Joan Jett & The Blackhearts:

• • Favourite album: Bad Reputation (1980)
  • Favourite song: “Bad Reputation” (Bad Reputation, 1980)

16. Depeche Mode:

• • Favourite album: Black Celebration (1986)
  • Favourite song: “Just Can’t Get Enough” (Speak and Spell, 1981)

17. The Bangles:

• • Favourite album: Everything (1988)
  • Favourite song: “Manic Monday” (Different Light, 1986)

18. INXS:

• • Favourite album: Kick (1987)
  • Favourite song: “Never Tear Us Apart” (Kick, 1987)

19. The Romantics:

• • Favourite album: The Romantics (1980)
  • Favourite song: “What I Like about You” (The Romantics, 1980)

20. Janet Jackson:

• • Favourite album: Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989)
  • Favourite song: “Escapade” (Rhythm Nation 1814, 1989)

Year Ranking

1. 1985 (Simple Minds, Dream Academy, INXS, Tears for Fears, Phil Collins, Kate Bush)
2. 1989 (The Cure, Stone Roses, The Blue Nile, Janet Jackson, Fine Young Cannibals, Phil Collins)
3. 1984 (Bryan Adams, Bruce Springsteen, Pretenders, Alison Moyet, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Don Henley)
4. 1986 (Glass Tiger, New Order, Genesis, Roxette, Peter Gabriel, Madonna, The Bangles, Eurythmics)
5. 1982 (Fleetwood Mac, Yazoo, Michael Jackson, ABC, Roxy Music, Prince, Phil Collins)
6. 1983 (Eurythmics, REM, Stevie Nicks, Altered Images, U2, Lionel Richie, The Police, Cyndi Lauper)
7. 1981 (Stevie Nicks, Depeche Mode, Journey, The Go-Go’s, Phil Collins, J. Geils Band)
8. 1987 (U2, INXS, George Michael, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston)
9. 1980 (Bruce Springsteen, ABBA, Blondie, The Romantics, U2, Roxy Music, Journey)
10. 1988 (The Bangles, U2, Til Tuesday, Erasure, Paula Abdul, Tracy Chapman, REM)

Ranking of Number 1s

1. “Pictures of You” (The Cure, 1989)
2. “Edge of Seventeen” (Stevie Nicks, 1981)
3. “The Boys of Summer” (Don Henley, 1984)
4. “Gypsy” (Fleetwood Mac, 1982)
5. “Bizarre Love Triangle” (New Order, 1986)
6. “Fast Car” (Tracy Chapman, 1988)
7. “Don’t You Forget About Me” (Simple Minds, 1985)
8. “With Or Without You” (U2, 1987)
9. “Sweet Dreams” (Eurythmics, 1983)
10. “What I Like About You” (The Romantics, 1980)