What's your favourite song from the 1980s?

[SiHart]

Post punk, New Romantic, synth pop, power pop and rock, SAW! The 80s were the time when everything was big. Really big!

But what was your favourite song and favourite album from the 1980s?

Si xx

[Stephen Morgan]

I've never really thought of a favourite 80s track, single or album, but I'm currently taken with Bowie's Ashes To Ashes again, and Randy Crawford's One Day I'll Fly Away, her album, Now We May Begin, contains some awesome old style soul, quite the thing for late night easy listening.
I'm hard pressed to think of a favourite 80s album because there are just so many changes of style throughout the whole decade, I couldn't begin to even pin it down to one, Human League's Dare springs to mind, as does Yazoo's Upstairs at Eric's...........hmmmm... thinking a bit more seriously about it, Kate Bush's Hounds of Love is pretty awesome, (if a bit more of a commercial effort from her) it is an album I return to from time to time.

[Perry Vale]

Wow, that's a really difficult question for me on the face of it, where 80's music probably accounts for about 90% of my listening these days.

However after a few minutes thinking about it, I realised I do have one particular favourite that stands just that little bit above the rest, 'Uncertain Smile' by The The.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ClpeovX6Dk

The song 'This Is The Day' from the same album would come a close second, and others worthy of a mention include....Blue Monday, Ghosts (Japan), Just Like Heaven (The Cure), Sunspots (Julian Cope), Geno (Dexys), Never Stop (Echo & The Bunnymen), The Unforgettable Fire (U2), Flag Day (Housemartins), Our Lips Are Sealed (Fun Boy 3), Enjoy The Silence (Depeche), This Must Be The Place (Talking Heads), Story Of The Blues (Mighty Wah!), She Sells Sanctuary (Cult), Dirty Old Town (Pogues), Genius Of Love (Tom Tom Club), Hitsville UK (The Clash), Forest Fire (Lloyd Cole), and almost anything from The Smiths from 1983-84.

[Stephen Morgan]

... after a few minutes thinking about it, I realised I do have one particular favourite that stands just that little bit above the rest, 'Uncertain Smile' by The The.

I's forgotten about that one, I have the original 12" single of it, it's absolutely brilliant, can't say I listened that closely to Johnson's stuff after that one, but there was some weird stuff on the Some Bizarre label wasn't there.

[duncan]

Difficult question to answer from me as the 80's was when i was out buying records. I suppose Culture Club's Karma Chameleon is right up there as is Gold and True by Spandau Ballet. There's so many I love from that era and to pick a favourite will take more thinking time.

[Dino]

I FORFEIT ANY RIGHT TO COMMENT ON MUSIC AFTER THIS POST!

Growing up in the 80's I bought a hell of a lot of stupid novelty records. The first two Roland Rat ones. The Brat's Chalk Dust.
"The ball's in?/Everyone can see that the ball's in?/Chalk dust!/Everyone can see there was chalk dust?"
And Alexei Sayle's "'Allo John, Gotta New Motor?" And I really should play it more often but "Clouds Across The Moon" by The RAH Band.
"Nooow/when I look at the clouds across the mo-ooon... /Hello operator?/ Hello operator?/ I'm sorry, but the solar winds (or something) have disconnected your call to (some futuristic number)/ Ok, I'll try again next year... next year... next year..."
And thanks to Look-In, I know more about the lyrics to "Mr T's Commandments" (which I thankfully never bought) than I should.
"Mr T's commandments/Every word is true/ Mr T's commandments/ If you break the rules/ God help you fool!/ You got Mr T to fear!"

But it wasn't all bad news!

I bought a couple of Madness records... oh yeah, and Shakin' Stevens...
See, history has been re-written so the 80's are being seen as some sort of golden age for music? I dispute this!!!

As I grew older I did dip back into stuff from the 80's, but didn't find all that much that moved me in the way the 60's and 70's stuff does.
Of the big bands I was too young to get into The Smiths (and even then, I prefer Morrissey solo?) And Guns'n'Roses were listened to by the School thugs so that tainted them for me. And I've never loved U2!

I didn't buy many albums from the 80's as well. Top of my head, Ultravox "Rage In Eden", Paul McCartney "Pipes of Peace" and best of all:

"Kings Of The Wild Frontier" by Adam And The Ants. That one still stands up for me so I'll choose that as my favourite album of 1980.

As for best song? I spend most of the 80's getting into the Beatles and at the tail end, Hendrix and Pink Floyd.

Paul Hardcastle! Yeah, I had a couple of his singles as well.
"Dahn't warry!/ Jahs 'fink abaaaht da mannny!"

I was obsessed by "Don't Let's Start" by They Might Be Giants but I never had that on single.

Got it! Never had it on a single, but my brother had it on tape:
"Paisley Park" by Prince.
I just associate it with the last year of my Primary School. Probably the last time I was really happy! I'm glad even Prince and the music critics hate it.
All the more for me.
I've just remembered I loved "Let's Dance" by Bowie as I remember listening to it on a holiday at a Scottish relative. I can see my wooly socks still...
It's between Paisley Park and Let's Dance for ultimate 80's song.
So I'm going with Prince as it deserves reviving more.

The 1980's... yeah, you wouldn't swap. (well I wouldn't...)

[Rob McCow]

It's clearly Bizarre Love Triangle by New Order! I've loved that track since I first heard it, it's synthy, it's eighties, it's upbeat, it's got an explosive start and a driving rhythm. I absolutely love it.

[SiHart]

It'ds very difficult and I've been weighinh this up for weeks... and I think I've come to the conclusion that my favourite album of the 1980s is Popped In, Souled Out by Wet, Wet, Wet. That's one fuelled by nostalgia and I haven't heard it for years and years, but at the time it was a magnificent album and one of the first things I bought when i started earning money from my paperound. For a long time they were my favourite band as tragic as that sounds now.

As for the song of the decade, it's One of Us by ABBA. It's their all time best song and I absolutely adore it.

Si xx