The 80s - a decade? Or just decayed?

The dawn of the 1980s saw punk on its last legs and ushered in musical trends such as new romanticism, synth-pop and new wave - rather meaningless terms, as most labels are.

Very broadly speaking, the new decade saw far more emphasis on electronics, with increasing use of synths, sequencers, samplers and digital recording, but this didn't mean that great pop music wasn't being made any more. In actual fact, a lot of 80s pop didn't rely all that heavily on the new technology - melody and "real" instruments were still in abundance as the decade progressed, and rather than taking over, electronics were just one more tool to be used.

At the time, however, the 80s struck me as a rather lame decade for UK pop, but looking back it was a surprisingly fertile period, as I hope the following compilation illustrates. I've deliberately kept it to UK acts and erred on the side of relative obscurity. Many other, more famous, 80s acts made great pop records, too.

Anyway, here's an 80s mixtape for the digital age...

The Specials - Ghost Town
Two Tone was a thing in the late 70s and early 80s and the Specials were right up there for several years. This more reggae track was their second UK number one and addressed the recent riots, and their roots in urban decay. It's a surprisingly sophisticated track that was built up from much longer sections and then edited down to make the finished article. It was recorded on an 8 track machine because the studio's 24 track offered too many possibilities to producer Jerry Dammers. The track switches from film noir theme music, to dub, to spooky vocals, to a sort of Latin section and back again, but it still manages to flow coherently. It's not a particularly 80s sounding piece and still sounds vital today.
 
Go West - Don't Look Down - The Sequel
This is far more "80s" in sound, and synths are definitely to the fore - nice crunchy ones. It's a well-crafted song and both melody and lyrics stand up to close scrutiny. There's some lovely guitar in there from the late Alan Murphy (dig the stereo panning at the end of his solo!) and Peter Cox' gritty vocals give the whole thing a real edge. I don't know if the bass is sequenced or not, but it plays a big part in driving the track along. "Don't look down, girl - not when you're holding aces." Great pop music!

Double - Captain of Her Heart
Lots of subtle string synth pads in this that serve as a lush backrop to the simple vocal, soprano sax and piano lines. Very jazzy in feel and the melody is strong, wherever it comes from - the vocals aren't always carrying it, which is not necessarily the norm. What really lifts the whole song is the way it keeps changing from a minor key (A minor) to a major one, but B in this case, not the more obvious A major. It really opens the whole song out and makes the chorus soar.

 Danny Wilson - they liked a hat...

Danny Wilson - Mary's Prayer
When I first heard this, I thought "Steely Dan!", as the singer's voice has a similar nasal quality to Donald Fagen's. Indeed, the song wouldn't sound totally out of place on the first Dan album, with its clever use of subtly altered chord sequences. Synths creep in with a sequenced xylophone(?) in the verse, and brassy flourishes in the chorus, but again the emphasis is on conventional instruments. It even has a proper ending with the last lines of the chorus slowing down to a finish. Strong melodic pop that took three releases to finally become a hit in the UK (and even a minor one in the US) - their only one.

Nick Hayward - Blue Hat for a Blue Day
No synths on this - when you hear a marimba, it's a real marimba, the accordion is a real accordion and the mandolins are real mandolins, etc, etc.  Hayward used to front Haircut 100, who cut some great pop singles, and this track from his debut solo release doesn't disappoint. Cut with some top UK session guys - Dave Mattacks on drums, for example - it's a well-constructed song with an interesting middle 8 (rather more than 8 bars, in fact) that ends with a brief violin solo and a marimba vamp before returning to the verse and chorus.  

It Bites - Calling All the Heroes
From before they went a bit proggy (as featured antecedently in the HOLE), It Bites' first single saw them touted as a pop band, with the requisite floppy hair-dos and pegged trousers. Lots of synths on this, although guitar, bass and drums are still very much in evidence. The vocals get most of the attention in the production, with harmony lines emerging from various places in the stereo spectrum. There's no guitar solo, which is surprising as lead singer Frank Dunnery is a monster player. I admire that sort of arrangement decision - what's there is there for the song. There are plenty of sections in the track which maintain interest and this album version had to be butchered a bit to cut it down to chart-friendly length. 

Black - The Sweetest Smile
Black was Colin Vearncombe, and if he reminds you of Scott Walker, you're not alone. It's a sparse song, fleshed out by a blanket of string synths and featuring a soprano sax (soprano sax again???) and a lovely fretless bass line. It's basically about a really shit year Vearncombe had - a divorce, a couple of car crashes, family illness, being dropped by his record label, and friends having problems - so it's not exactly cheery stuff. Still, who says pop always has to be upbeat and optimistic? Unfortunately he didn't survive a third car crash in 2016, when he was poised to make a comeback.

Don't come the cowboy with Kirsty, whatever you do

Kirsty McColl - A New England
A Billy Bragg song with a couple of extra verses written by him for Kirsty's version, this is a stunning piece of jangly pop. The guitar player has never been identified, but Johnny Marr of the Smiths is the most likely suspect. I can't hear a synth in there anywhere, just lots of gorgeous harmonies from Kirsty which make any sort of extra chordal keyboard padding totally redundant. Just multitracked guitars, bass, drums and harmonies to die for - what more does a pop fan need? Kirsty was UK folk music pioneer Ewan McColl's daughter - tragically killed when a speedboat went over her whilst swimming on holiday in Mexico.

The Bluebells - Young at Heart
Essentially country music - prominent fiddles and a harmonica - played to a sort of mutant polka beat. Somehow a marimba - or something like that - snuck (sneaked?) in there, but it works. A hit twice - number 8 in 1983 and then number 1 in 1993 after being used in a VW TV ad. Fiddle player and Clark Gable look-alike Bobby Valentino sued and got co-writer credits for his fiddle lines and solo. One of those slightly irritating songs that you can't help singing along with when you hear it.   

The Thompson Twins - Hold Me Now
A 3-piece named after two Tintin characters who weren't twins (with me so far?), the Twins carved out quite a career for themselves throughout the whole of the 1980s, with thoughtful pop songs ranging from very electronic, almost Moroderish, grooves to tracks like this which is one of their slower numbers. Basically a piano-led ballad which explores a relationship which really ought to be better than it is, it's quite a sparse production which serves to emphasise the vocals. Again, there's a sort of marimba type instrument in it - a real one as far as I know. What is it with 80s bands and tuned percussion? Apparently, even that miserable critic and professional git Christgau admired this song, but don't let that put you off this fine pop nugget.

China Crisis - King in a Catholic Style (Get Up)
Steely Dan can be referenced once more but much less obliquely this time. The album this is from was produced by a certain Walter Becker, who'd heard one of the band's earlier songs and put himself forward as producer. In fact, he's actually credited as one of the band on the album, and it's rumoured that his playing is all over it. As it stands, "King" is a snappy little pop song with a convoluted bass line, sequenced synths and metronomic drumming, with a sort of fusiony guitar solo in the middle. Once again, the melody's what really makes for a good pop song.

 

Nik - about to give us a guitar CHUKKA

Nik Kershaw - Wouldn't it Be Good?
This opens with a guitar "CHUKKA" (always a good sign!) and launches into a bevy of harmony guitars which then lead into a synth playing the chorus melody. Apparently, Kershaw used 20 guitar tracks on this record, attempting to get a Brian May type guitar orchestra. The guitars stay through most of the song and the solo with guitar and synth (and possibly a sax) playing the line in unison is superb. The coda is particularly noteworthy with the chorus and the verse played simultaneously. Kershaw made other great pop records - and still does - but I'm especially fond of this track. Those meaty guitar harmonies just blow me away every time.

Diesel Park West - Like Princes Do
Guitars all the way - rather jangly ones, too. There's a Stonesy vibe in the way the guitars handle the rhythm, but the overall feel is a little bit punky. It would probably have done well 20 years earlier...until you hear the McGuinnish raga rock solo. Not a synth in sight on this 1989 track, so after all the technological innovations of the preceding years, there was still room in the charts for guitar-based pop. Terrible band name, though - what were they thinking?

So, that's a baker's dozen of great 1980s pop songs which may have escaped your attention. I could easily have chosen as many again, and your suggestions to add to the list are, as ever, welcome.

Oh, and try and spot the deliberate lie - it'll come in handy later on!