Best year of the 80s
A few months ago I was going through the 80s looking for songs I liked. Then I decided to see if I could decide on the best year for music in that decade. It was surprisingly easy and I ended up with 1984.
This got me thinking about music, and the charts, today.
In 84 the mix of musical styles in the charts was phenomenal. From the soul and groove of Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ to the arrival of Prince with ‘Purple Rain’ and ‘When Doves Cry’, the explosion of Frankie Goes To Hollywood with ‘Relax’ and ‘Two Tribes’, Tina Turner having a massive hit with ‘What’s Love Got To Do With It’, Madonna turning up with ‘Like A Virgin’, Queen returning to form with ‘I Want To Break Free’ and ‘Radio Gaga’…
…and on it goes. Grand Master Flash. Chaka Khan. ZZ Top. The Cars. Sister Sledge. Van Halen (‘Jump’). Eurhythmics. U2 (‘In The Name Of Love’). Sister Sledge. And some guy from a boy band released ‘Careless Whisper’.
So we’ve got heavy rock, soul, funk, pop, hip-hop all mixed up in the top 20, and every single one is what I’d call a ‘real song’. You can probably sing every single one of them word for word nearly 30 years later. And they’re all still on heavy rotation all almost every station on the planet.
Amazing diversity. And MASSIVE albums. Yet still a huge amount of creativity in songwriting, production and even style.
Do you have a year in the 80s you prefer? Or a favourite year of any other decade for that matter. Share your playlists! Here’s my Spotify playlist for 1984.
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