by Editing Services

Created on: November 25, 2008   Last Updated: October 19, 2010

INTRODUCTION

In my opinion, the great bands of the eighties, are not necessarily the best bands during the eighties. To me, great bands of the eighties are bands which define Eighties music: the bands which instantly spring to mind when someone mentions the word eighties.' These are the bands which are great not because the were particularly successful, but because they have helped to form the legendary eighties.

THE DIFFERENT GENRES:

The eighties represent a certain era in pop history. The early eighties were the time of the New Romantic movement. Music in the late eighties was predominantly taken over by bubblegum-pop bands managed by record companies such as Stock, Aiken & Waterman. The presence of Rock n' Roll music spanned the entire deacde.

NEW ROMANTIC MOVEMENT - THE EARLY EIGHTIES:

Bands from the New Romanticism era commonly wore frilly shirts, lots of eyeliner and had big hairstyles. They include:The Bangles, Erasure, the Pet Shop Boys, Duran Duran, Madness, The Police, Human League, Adam and the Ants and Culture Club. One of the biggest eighties hits by The Bangles was "Manic Monday", a song penned by Prince (under the pseudonym Christopher). Other huge hits include the showstopping ballad: "Eternal Flame" and "Walk like an Egyptian" which is taken from the soundtrack to the popular eighties film Mannequin.

With Sting as lead singer, The Police enjoyed many hits in the eighties: "Don't Stand So Close to Me", "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic", "Every Breath You Take" and "King of Pain". The Pet Shop Boys consisted of Neil Tennant on lead vocals, and Chris Lowe on keyboards.

BUBBLEGUM POP:

Acts that can be classed as bubblegum pop are: Aha, Bananarama, Five Star and Bros. Norwegian trio Aha enjoyed hits during the eighties such as: "Take on Me" and "The Sun Always Shines on TV". Five Star were a musical family of five brothers and sisters, that were managed by their father. One of their biggest hits was "System Addict."

ROCK N' ROLL:

Large rock n' roll bands of the eighties include Def Leppard, Bon Jovi and the Motley Crue. Def Leppard had hits such as "Animal" and "Love Bites", while one of Bon Jovi's hits was the massive rock song "Living on a Prayer."

ONE-HIT WONDERS:

The eighties was also the decade that gave rise to the phenomenon of the one-hit wonder: a band which has one major hit that the band will always be remembered for, while most of their other songs tended to be flops. Some one-hit wonders from the eighties include: "I Want Candy" by Bow Wow Wow, "Come on Eileen" by Dexy's Midnight Runners and "Pass the Dutchie" by Musical Youth.

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