by Nathan Hook

Created on: December 03, 2007

As a teenager of the mid to late eighties I recall the 80's with some fondness and some sense of embarrassment. Miami Vice was the coolest and most expensive show on TV, Bruce Willis had hair and Will Smith was just a dorky but talented kid. Sting was campaigning for the rain forest and indigenous populations in South America whilst MTV exploded onto our screens. Among the almost endless number of one hit wonders, lip syncing, big hair and makeup, some great bands produced some memorable music.

For the purposes of this article I will focus mainly on bands, but it is worth mentioning some solo artists to begin with, since they had a major influence on the decade. Michael Jackson stood tall as a giant of the 80's music scene and was crowned the king of pop. Thriller was one of the most successful albums of all times and he dominated the charts for much of the decade. If Jackson was king, then Madonna was definitely the queen producing so many hit songs and records she quickly dispelled any rumors about her lack of talent or abilities. She proved a highly astute business woman with a flair for producing good songs and slick videos. Controversial at times, Madonna was unrivaled by any other woman in the music industry during this period. Another great solo artist of the decade would have to be Prince. With a mixture of funk, blistering guitar work and sexuality, Prince produced numerous hits which rocked us through the 80's and into the 90's. His cleverly titled song 1999, was rejuvenated, and reverberated, around numerous night clubs at the end of that year long after the song was written. It meant even when Prince took time out from the industry he fought with, he never really left us. Prince is of course back and still rocks!

Formed in Deptford south London in the late 70's, Dire Straits was so named because the group had almost no money in which to finance a demo tape. What emerged from those early albums was a sound which became one of the biggest draw cards of the 80's. Mark Knopfler drove much of the bands style through his voice, which was a laid back anglicized Dylan approach, and technically brilliant guitar work. The band was renowned for its melodic and classic sound, especially in albums like Love Over Gold. Knopfler uses a lot of lyrical story telling in songs like Telegraph Road, and sometimes cynical observation in, Love Over Gold, or It Never Rains. They hit mega status with the single "Money for Nothing" in the mid-80's, which parodied MTV.

Duran

• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next Page >>