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Suggest one song from the 80s that is so 80s it tastes of prawn cocktail
I give you
'Self Control' Laura Brannigan. Great for car trips and I strongly recommend the video if you're feeling a bit down.
Post edited at 20:48
7
In reply to Flinticus:
Boys of summer’s my go to 80’s driving track.
Maybe a bit more mushroom vol-au-vent than prawn cocktail though…
10
1
In reply to Flinticus:
Born in the USA.
On cassette, volume up to 11, sunroof open, shades on.
OR
Money for nothing.
(Same scenario as before, except you'll be driving up the M6 not the Pacific Coast Highway)
9
In reply to plyometrics:
Great response!
+points for a child drumming
-no clown
+executive in his office
1
In reply to Flinticus:
A lone clown on the beach would have definitely meant perfection!
1
In reply to Flinticus:
Never gonna give you up
3
6
In reply to Flinticus:
John Parr - St Elmo's Fire
That Kenny Loggins style synth with 'singing through a difficult poo' vocals is what the 80s were all about
10
In reply to Flinticus:
"Rio" by Duran Duran. Super '80s in audio alone, of the scale when you throw the video in too.
Not sure if I liked it as a kid but I love it as an adult. One of my favourite baselines.
6
In reply to nathan79:
Yeah, agree, except that it's not even their most 80s song. A View to a Kill is even more 80s
4
In reply to Flinticus:
Two Tribes, Frankie Goes to Hollywood.
Just a bit more 80s than their other song, what with us living in the shadow of the bomb and all that.
T.
12
In reply to Tony Buckley:
True, Spandau Ballet.
1
In reply to Tony Buckley:
+1
Back in the day....the "She' club in Liverpool....amazing days, lots of drink, drugs and a free for all attitude ..great times ..
In reply to Flinticus:
All of my Heart by ABC. Lush, can still taste the lipgloss (which even gets a mention in the song)
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In reply to Flinticus:
Together in Electric Dreams - Giorgio Moroder and Philip Oakey.
9
In reply to Flinticus:
Relax.
3
In reply to Flinticus:
I have a theory that 1982 was the high tide mark for a certain type of perfect 80's sunny pop. Cheating slightly, I give you one from either side of Hadrian's Wall with Haircut 100 - Love Plus One and Altered Images with I Could be Happy (hmm Clare Grogan - be still my beating heart!)
4
In reply to Flinticus:
From an alternate timeline:
youtube.com/watch?v=eyKIzd93l0A&
Otherwise, Richard Marx - Hazard
1
In reply to Flinticus:
'Walk like an Egyptian ', the Bangles ? In fact, anything by the Bangles.
May I have another?
Pat Benetar, 'Love is a Battlefield'?
4
In reply to MisterPiggy:
Yeah, Love is a Battlefield...the title alone tells a quintessential 80s story!
1
In reply to Flinticus:
Jane Wiedlin - Rush Hour
Complete with bizarre video of her swimming with dolphins, for some reason.
1
In reply to Flinticus:
"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" by U2.
In '87 I took their "Joshua Tree" album with me when I went over to the states and still remember driving in a friend's pick-up from Boulder Co. to San Francisco through some amazing, wild landscapes listening to a cassette of this. Still takes me right back to those days as soon as I hear this track.
And by pure coincidence, later that year, U2 gave an impromptu, free concert at the Embarcadero Centre in SF only a few blocks away from where I ended up working. Only heard about it after the event!
3
In reply to Flinticus:
Together in Electric Dreams.
Added bonus because the synth section always feels like it's about to break into the Blockbusters theme.
3
In reply to Flinticus:
Some very worthy suggestions here but I add "Africa" from Toto, for it's associations.
Summer of 83 and I didn't drive but had lots of lifts from the site at Kishorn to the various watering holes/ceilidhs etc in the area and one or two lifts all the way down to the Northeast instead of the all day train journey home on leave.
There seemed to be hardly a journey where that wasn't belting out, or Rod Stewart's Baby Jane.
What a summer!
Later that year I tried cycling to work at night in the NE having been paid off,with hundreds of others with a walkman radio/cassette, and it was all Karma Chameleon! Taught me not to wear headphones when cycling!
Post edited at 08:29
2
In reply to Flinticus:
Take on me - A-ha
Synth, pretty boys with gravity-defying hair, and an irresistibly bouncy melody. Ground-breaking animated video too.
And, like prawn cocktail, it escaped the 80s and became a classic (it made into '4 Chords' for a start). A karaoke minefield though, unless you have the required 3 octave range!
5
In reply to Flinticus:
The Heat Is On - Glenn Frey
3
In reply to Fraser:
> In '87 I took their "Joshua Tree" album with me when I went over to the states and still remember driving in a friend's pick-up from Boulder Co. to San Francisco through some amazing, wild landscapes listening to a cassette of this. Still takes me right back to those days as soon as I hear this track.
I made a point of listening to this while bouldering at Joshua Tree! Then I played Hotel California as I drove back on a dark desert highway...
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In reply to 65:
> Relax.
Ah, the 80s. I had the Relapse... Frankie goes to Hospital Addenbrookes Revue tee-shirt too.
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In reply to Dave Garnett:
> I made a point of listening to this while bouldering at Joshua Tree! Then I played Hotel California as I drove back on a dark desert highway...
Similarly, we took a detour so we could stand on a corner in Winslow Arizona. It really wasn't worth it but that box was then ticked.
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In reply to Fraser:
> Similarly, we took a detour so we could stand on a corner in Winslow Arizona.
Good effort! I haven't even made it to Vienna.
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In reply to wercat:
Definitely 'Africa' - had it on an 80s Now...compilation tape way back.
1
In reply to wercat:
19 by Paul Hardcastle
I was 15 and went on a bike trip with two friends, cycling from my home town to a youth hostel in the Wicklow mountains then down the east coast to another hostel in Wexford before heading back to home, largely powered by Lucozade.
We had a small radio fixed to the rear rack on my friend's bike and 19 was played constantly.
My biggest ever bike trip to this day! On a single speed steel Rayleigh Roadrunner! I thought my bike was way 😎
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In reply to Flinticus:
I've imagined myself back to a pub with a jukebox in the 1980s, I'm pretty sure it's the Ship in Coniston, and playing on repeat is... Maneater by Hall and Oates. The essence of the 80s, all capped sleeve tee-shirts and porn star moustache.
Post edited at 10:32
1
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In reply to bouldery bits:
> Bowie's 'Lets Dance'
> /thread/
No, that's cheating. Bowie transcended the 80s and isn't nearly cheesy enough.
5
In reply to Flinticus:
Jack and Diane - John (cougar) Melloncamp (always thought that this was a made up name )
3
In reply to Flinticus:
Eye of the Tiger by Survivor. Bandanas, Stallone, what more do you need?
3
In reply to Dave Garnett:
Wrong!!
I give you 'Dancing in the Street' Bowie and Mick Jagger. The video is er.. well, watch it and judge!
2
In reply to Flinticus:
On my first climbing trip abroad we wore out the Housemartins cassette, from that album I'd pick Happy Hour as very '80's
In reply to Flinticus:
> Wrong!!
> I give you 'Dancing in the Street' Bowie and Mick Jagger. The video is er.. well, watch it and judge!
The gayest video ever made.
1
In reply to Flinticus:
The KLF - 3am Eternal. When music in the 80s got good finally!
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In reply to gribble:
It was only in the YouTube era I found their videos. The video for Last Train to Trancentral is insane, amazing model railway and model of their car.
In reply to Flinticus:
Islands in the Stream by those two greats, Kenny and Dolly.
It transcends time, still a great song today.
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In reply to Flinticus:
Men at work - Down under
Doesn't really taste of prawn cocktail but it would have been playing in the background at any holiday destination in the early eighties
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In reply to Flinticus:
Take my breath away, Berlin.
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In reply to upordown:
> Men at work - Down under
> Doesn't really taste of prawn cocktail
Of course not, it tastes of Vegemite!
This song isn't really properly 1980s (because the whole album is timeless, somehow) - but Paul Simon's double act with Chevy Chase in the video qualifies and it's pure class, so I'm going with 'You Can Call Me Al':
youtube.com/watch?v=uq-gYOrU8bA&
Post edited at 14:37
5
In reply to Tyler:
> Will You, Hazel O’ Connor
> Synth, sax, gelled hair
Extra ooints for :
White painted face
Blade Runneresque hairstyle
Budget Tron suit and dance
Rock against Racism theme
3
In reply to Flinticus:
David Lee Roth ' Goin Crazy'. He's left Van Halen and showing us just how much fun it is to be in an 80's hair metal band. The video is great fun and the band are (probably) the best metal musicians in the world at the time.
In reply to MisterPiggy:
> Pat Benetar, 'Love is a Battlefield'?
Just watched the video.
If you want to understand the essence of this quest, it is the dance off (3.30 into the vid) between the abusive boyfriend and the choreographed female dance troupe led by Pat, in the night club.
In reply to Flinticus:
Drive - The Cars
Surely no docco about the 80s hasn’t features this song. Normally over a sequence about the famine in Ethiopia.
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In reply to Flinticus:
Bronski Beat, Smalltown Boy
Because of the grungy British Rail train tracks, and the politics, and Jimmy Somerville's amazing voice.
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In reply to Flinticus:
Kids of America - Kim Wilde
Its one of the ealiest tunes which I can remember - I was 5 at the time - but which started my love of music.
Also, Walking in the Air - Aled Jones. Another tune which takes me back to my childhood. Unfortunately, not always good memories.
Post edited at 07:18
1
In reply to Flinticus: Robert Palmer, Addicted To Love.
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In reply to Flinticus:
Surely Come on Eileen
3
In reply to Flinticus:
Live it up by Mental as anything is pretty much my benchmark for 80's ness.
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In reply to Dale Berry:
> Robert Palmer, Addicted To Love.
Yes, the video was certainly very much in the 80s 'girls on film' zeitgeist.
1
In reply to Flinticus:
We've not had Temptation by Heaven 17.
Have we had ABC shoot that poison arrow?
Don't you want me baby?
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In reply to Flinticus:
I have a hard time with the ‘classic’ 80s sound but there are a few decent things that sneak through despite it.
Once Upon a Time by Simple Minds would be my pick for just now. In fact the entire album would fit the bill but I’ll go for the title track (even if Alive and Kicking is the more obvious choice).
1
In reply to Flinticus:
> so 80s it tastes of prawn cocktail
A no. 1 hit (in Spain), made in Canada, shot in NYC, cutting-edge nausea-inducing video with a Jeffrey Archer-style twist-in-the-tail story. So 80s it tastes of Babycham:
youtube.com/watch?v=tfAKBKm783o&
In reply to Flinticus:
Star Trekkin by The Firm
I was once ejected from a pub in Oakham for playing it too many times on the jukebox. Presumably it was putting the punters off their beer...
Also anything by Half Man Half Biscuit, and/or The Macc Lads. Not so much Prawn Cocktail as Carling Black Label with a whiff of Hai Karate and the chips you bought on the walk home from the pub.
3
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In reply to Flinticus:
Heartland by The The
3
In reply to bruxist:
Really using all the tricks in the bag on that video. Awgul song as well.
1
In reply to Flinticus:
I can't really decide which is more nausea-inducing: the vertigo caused by all the video tricks, or the cringemaking narrative. Thank god the 90s realized pop videos don't have to be miniature movies...
In reply to Flinticus:
You do know that eventually this thread will contain every song released in the 80s.
My 2p would be Pete Wylie's "The Story of the Blues".
It has the camp pomp, the brass section, crescendo after crescendo, it couldn't be more 80s if it tried.
Fires, Ronhills and Thunderbird wine to you.
2
In reply to Flinticus:
Nobody mentioned Word Up by Cameo yet?
I wore a home made red leather codpiece for nearly a year after that came out.
4
In reply to Flinticus:
Going from Prawn Cocktail to the main event.....Cheese Fondue.....
I Could Be So Good For You....Dennis Waterman.
1
1
In reply to Flinticus:
Agadoo.
In reply to birdie num num:
No! No SAW shite!
In reply to Andy Johnson:
Good call on Star Trekkin', a top karaoke choice!
In reply to Flinticus:
Dolce Vita by Ryan Paris. Although probably due to my childhood it tastes more like a BA Baracus cola ice lolly than prawn cocktail to me.
Can't let the mention of dancing in the street pass without posting the silent version
In reply to Flinticus:
> Wrong!!
> I give you 'Dancing in the Street' Bowie and Mick Jagger. The video is er.. well, watch it and judge!
A great song and a superb performance from two great performers.
youtube.com/watch?v=HasaQvHCv4w&t=6
Dave
Dave
In reply to Tringa:
Beds are Burning - Midnight Oil
The first time I heard this was during the closing ceremony of the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, although it is from the 1980s.
Considering its content I was surprised the organisers accepted it.
Have a listen.
youtube.com/watch?v=kYqkLQYk9Eo&t=3
Dave
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In reply to Flinticus:
Do You Really Want To Hurt Me - Culture Club - or maybe Baggy Trousers...
1
In reply to Flinticus:
My votes goes to… Cars by Gary Numan. Synth, eye liner and more synth. Did I mention the synth?
1
In reply to Flinticus:
Doctor Doctor by The Thompson Twins. Self Control is a good shout.
1
In reply to SFM:
1979 though.
1
In reply to Flinticus:
Echo Beach
1
In reply to guisboro andy:
Great song but not "80s". Could sit well in the late 70s too.
In reply to Flinticus:
99 Red Balloons, Nena.
Big hair? Check
Synth Bass? Check
Apocalyptic lyrics? Check
Boppable? Check
3
In reply to Flinticus:
youtube.com/watch?v=ahcemhKi12I& - The most 80s Family Guy video of Africa
In reply to Flinticus:
Footloose - Kenny Loggins - and great dancing in between farm machinery with no safety concerns
Post edited at 10:14
1
In reply to Andy Hardy:
> 99 Red Balloons, Nena.
> Apocalyptic lyrics? Check
This is a good point; I was once asked to put together a vaguely 1980s-themed Spotify playlist for an event, which had to include 99 Luftballoons and OMD's Enola Gay, both related to nuclear warfare.....and then I found that quite a lot of my candidate songs were about the fear of nuclear armageddon, or related to Cold War paranoia in general!
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In reply to Cobra_Head:
Uptown Girl wins that prize
1
In reply to Andy Hardy:
Good call. Top tune.
At the bouldering centre yesterday and they played 'Kids in America' by Kim Wilde. One of the very few there who would remember its original release.
In reply to Flinticus:
can anyone guess the location for this 80s nonsense?
In reply to JSTaylor:
"You better watch out you better beware (Einstein a go go)"
In reply to Flinticus:
This is such a hard choice, especially as most of my disposable cash was spent in the 80's buying vinyel.
At first I hated this song, as it was played repeatedly in the Common Room at school. However I now think its one of the all-time greats.
In reply to Flinticus:
I commend the entire of UKC for having the style and taste to never mention The Smiths or Morissey.
During a College Field Trip to Amsterdam on a coach, I was subjected to Meat Is Murder all the way there and all the way back to the UK.
One saving grace of the entire trip, other than the Red Light district's window shopping was a new invention called MTV. This had not made it to the UK yet.
Post edited at 16:40
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