From New Orleans, the Red Rockers released this big hit, China, in 1983.  While some may consider them one-hit wonders, they still have quite a following of loyal fans.

In case you were wondering how a band of six people who looked nothing alike got their name, the Thompson Twins named themselves after characters in a comic strip.  This British band was quite popular in the mid 80’s, but before that, they were very poor - squatters in fact.  This song, Hold Me Now, was released in 1983 and hit number 3 on the U.S. charts.

Under Pressure was released in 1981 and features the constant morphing of complex musical phrases that I believe is part of what made Queen so unique. Add that to the phenomenal voice of David Bowie and Freddie Mercury’s already powerful presence, and you’ve got an absolute hit.  Interesting fact:  Under Pressure came about from an impromptu jam session in the band’s studio.  To have been a fly on the wall, baby!  A fly on the wall.

Originally a Phil Phillips recording, The Honeydrippers led by Robert Plant released this version in 1984.  It quickly became a Top Ten hit.  Plant formed The Honeydrippers to realize his dream of having a band with a R&B base; although it was successful, the group only released one album (The Honeydrippers: Volume One).  

While watching this video, notice the 1950’s theme topped off with a not-so-1950’s hairdo on the girl.  The 1980’s never did seem to get over the poofed-up bangs, even in period filming.  Guess we would have thought anything else was just way too flat.

 

 A Different Corner is a beautiful ballad still worth a listen.  The decidedly African beat and the romantic lyrics made me a fan of this song from the first time I heard it. I remember being “bummed out” that it wasn’t on the radio for very long.  Maybe that was just in my neck of the woods because the song actually earned Michael a Grammy Award in ‘88 for Best R&B Performance.

Sit back, listen, and enjoy the flashbacks. Besides, you don’t get to see a mullet like that too often these days.

A great video with a real sense of humor, Land Down Under made all us non-Aussies yearn to pack our bags and head for the land of glowing women and plundering men.  Men at Work won the 1983 Grammy Award for Best New Artist and are the only Aussie band to boast hitting the Number 1 position in both the US and the UK.  Lead singer Colin Hay is still in the music business, and his sound is quite impressive.  Check out the Colin Hay site and take a listen.

I always loved hearing 99 Red Balloons in the original German (99 Luftballoons) so I’m posting it both ways for you.  In actuality, it was the German version that reached #2 in the U.S. in 1984 while the Brits saw the English version reach the top.  99 Luftballoons was a Cold War protest song, and while both the English and German versions carry the same message, the actual words are different.  To see for yourself, check out the side-by-side translation put together by Siobhan Silke.

One of my favorite bands from the ’80s - Yello.  Swiss electronica at its finest, Yello was Boris Blank, Carlos Peron, and Dieter Meier.  (Peron left the band in ‘83.)  Yello’s last release was in 2003, and if you’re looking for a great website to play in, you’ve gotta visit Yello’s.  And keep coming back here, because you’ll certainly hear more about them later.

Thomas Dolby was born in London, England as Thomas Morgan Robertson and actually got his stage name from the Dolby cassette machine he was obsessed with in his school years.  He rose to popularity in the mid 1980’s as part of the Synthpop movement.  

If you want to see what Thomas Dolby is up to these days, you’ll want to visit his website at www.thomasdolby.com.  It’s a great site with a blog, a podcast (videocast with music), and information on his upcoming two-album re-release.  I’ll be waiting for this one myself!

American rock band The J. Geils Band got its start in Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1967.  1982 saw the release of their first hit, Centerfold, soon followed by the song Freezeframe from the album of the same name.  Although The J. Geils Band never truly broke up and continued to produce music through the ’90s, the band is currently believed to be on hiatus. As of 2008, singer Peter Wolf is working on a solo cd and is on tour with Kid Rock.

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