Forgotten Idols

Susan Booth42 said:stacey q
paul young
samantha fox
jennifer rush
men without hats
baltimora
sinitta
sonia
tiffany
Debbie Gibson
debarge
rockwell (every single time I see that 'somebody's watching me' video, thank God they play it relatively often on VH1 Classic)
patrick swayze ('she's like the wind')
don johnson ('heartbeat') 🙂 😁
chesney hawkes
cutting crew
go west

duran duran.. but that's already alternative and actual quality compared to the lot above. 😍

You really know your stuff! 😁

Unfortunately, the eighties will never be funny to me. There was simply too much musical trauma inflicted by radio waves and pure peer pressure. By the time I hit puberty and my mom finally let me head out to the local disco—on the condition that I was home by 10:30 PM sharp—the golden age of New Romanticism had long since passed, its musical legacy having mutated into a sort of Eurotrash hyper-production that truly soured that innocent period of my life.
As for specific atrocities, I’d point to Big in Japan—that pretentious, anemic hit that didn't even belong, despite being the catalyst for an entire generation of schoolgirls' erotic fantasies—and then, toward the end of the decade, Sade with her Smooth Operator or whatever else. I honestly can't decide what was worse: the kitschy eighties or the "quality" eighties. All I know is that at the very first notes of Girls Just Want to Have Fun, Material Girl, or Radio Ga Ga, I break out in a cold sweat and start getting palpitations.

The bright spots (total clichés, but I don't care):
The Human League - Fascination
Spandau Ballet - To Cut a Long Story Short
Depeche Mode - I Just Can't Get Enough
Blancmange - Living on The Ceiling
Gary Newman - Cars
Soft Cell - Tainted Love
Bow wow wow - I Want Candy
Style Council - Walls Come Tumbling down
Madonna - Into The Groove
Michael Jackson - Billie Jean
queen & Bowie - Under Pressure
dead or Alive - You Spin Me Round (even though I hated it back then, I'll insist now that it's a hundred times better than Blue Monday)
80s Pop Hits

ironcrane7 said:You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) (even though I used to hate it back then, I’d argue now that it's way better than Blue Monday)
Mirzino Jato - Apsolutno Tvoj

Total respect.

By the way, I just picked up "Quartet" and "Vienna" by Ultravox, and both records are absolutely fantastic. I'd highly recommend them to everyone!

Jesse Wells8 said:1. Since you're busy listing the absolute worst music in history—and by that, I mean 80s mainstream—some idiot decided they had to chime in and agree with you:

2. Rick Astley

1. Honestly, 80s mainstream was incredible!

2. As for Rick Astley—sit down, buddy. 😁

He had some seriously great hits: Never Gonna Give You Up, Together Forever, and Whenever You Need Somebody. 😁

BTW, does anyone else remember Thomas Dolby? The man was a total legend.

Adding some entries to the 80s time capsule—just so we don't forget them 😁

Thomas Dolby - Hyperactive!
Visage - Fade to Grey 🙏 🙏 🙏
A-ha - Take on Me
Bronski Beat - Smalltown Boy
Bronski Beat - I Feel Love
Paul Hardcastle - 19
Nena - 99 Luftballons
Sigue Sigue Sputnik - Love Missile F1-11
Prince - Alphabet Street
Young Cannibals - She Drives Me Crazy
Dexy's Midnight Runners - Come on Eileen
Rick Astley - I Won't Let The Sun Go Down On Me
Yazoo - Don't Go
The Human League - Don't You Want Me
Spandau Ballet - Gold

... Just wanted to throw in a few of those massive hits 🙏 And honestly, if I started listing all the deep cuts, this thread would be miles long 😳

Nicholas Perez33 said:By the way, I picked up "Quartet" and "Vienna" by Ultravox.

Not bad. It’s been a while. 😎

Young Cannibals... 🙄 If they ever do a "Best of FYC" release, here's my take: include "Johnny Comes Home," maybe throw in that Buzzcocks cover on the 🙂B-side as a curiosity. Everything else? Trash.

But "Johnny" is a true masterpiece of minimalist pop... 🙏

bross

Richard Marx

True. This is easily one of my favorite picks from the '80s mainstream: the debut from The B-52s. It’s infectious, fun, and actually quite musically sophisticated, especially considering the band was started by two guys who were essentially just hairdressers. 😬 For me, it sits right at number three on my list of all-time great synth-pop albums, trailing only behind Kraftwerk's "Man-Machine" and "Songs about Sex." 😁

AFRODITA69 said:...
I just can't wrap my head around that young British singer whose song was a massive hit, even though she sounded way older than her actual age—like, maybe 14? If anyone knows who she is, let me know!
Come on, guys—who were you all listening to back then? And if anyone finds a website where we can see what our old-school idols look like today, that would be awesome!

I'm pretty sure you're thinking of Samantha Fox.

Just a few more additions:

Depeche Mode - We Don't Need This Fascist Groove Thang (I absolutely loved that whole Post-Punk album.)
David Bowie’s work on The Garden—both that specific track and the whole album—is just top-tier stuff. It’s such a vibe. Honestly, you can't talk about that era without mentioning how much influence he had on the whole sound. It's classic. Just really solid, confident songwriting that holds up no matter how many times you spin it. Definitely a staple.

25 reasons why 80s Synth-pop should never be allowed to fade into obscurity:
-Ultravox-Rage in Eden
-David Bowie-Garden
-Haircut 100-Pelican West
-Adam and the Ants-Kings of the Wild Frontier
-ABC-The Lexicon of Love
-Classix nouveaux-Night People
-Deutsche-amerikanische Freundschaft-Alles ist Gut
-Thomas Dolby-The flat Earth
-Duran Duran-Duran Duran
-FGTH-Welcome to the Pleasuredom
-human League-Dare
-Japan-Tin Drum
-New Order-Movement
-OMD-Architecture and Morality
-pet shop Boys-Please
-Soft Cell-Non stop Erotic cabaret
-talk Talk-New Wave
-Tears for Fears-Songs fra The Big Chair
-Trio-Trio
-Visage-Visage
-Yazoo-Upstairs AT Eric ´ S
-Yello-Solid Pleasure
-Spandau Ballet-Journeys to Glory
-Depeche Mode-A Broken Frame
-Kate Bush-Synth-pop

ironcrane7 said:You really know your stuff! 😁

😳 😁

Tufir ii said:By the way, anyone remember Thomas Dolby? Absolute legend.

Thomas is great. He actually married that daughter of the butler from Dynasty—you know, the brunette.

ruggedcrane22 said:OMD-Architecture and Morality

Hard to argue with that. I’ve got that one and "Dazzle Ships" in my collection—both are solid picks.

not Talking Heads 🙂 🙂

AFRODITA69 said:I just can't for the life of me remember that young British singer whose song was huge, but she sounded way older than her 14 years... if anyone knows who it is, let me know!

Maybe it was Tiffany - I think we're alone now

I think I might have just overlooked one of the absolute greatest masterpieces of the synth-pop era.

Wild Angel - Loves You, Your Beast

That intro, though! What an absolute killer!

ironcrane7 said:Ugh, I think I totally blanked on one of the absolute greatest masterpieces of synth-pop.

Wild Angel - Loves You, Your Beast

That intro, though!

aaaa... I absolutely adore that track... 😍 👋

my absolute favorite:
What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong
===============

by Black

He’s got another decent one, "Everything's Coming Up Roses." The rest of the record is absolute garbage. 😢

By the way, Talking Heads - I'm not in Love (personally, I think their "Speaking in Tongues" takes the prize for the best mainstream album of the eighties)

Kevin Chavez3 said:He’s got that one killer track, "Everything's Coming Up Roses." But honestly? The rest of the album is total garbage. 😢

Sadly, that's the truth... but having seen them live, I have to say, the vocals are pure genius.

Just listening to Ollie & Jerry - There's No Stoppin' Us... right now. 😍I'll buy a beer for anyone who can name a cheesier track than this.

Personally, I much prefer soaking in the 80s synth-pop scene over whatever this modern stuff is.
Irene Cara, Kim Wilde, Cyndi Lauper, Belinda Carlisle (Circles in the Sand👍), Soft Cell, Tears for Fears, Culture Club...🙂 It’s all better than today's garbage.