I have a confession to make. I bought a cd today (yes, I know we now live in the download age but I still have a penchant for actually going into a store and buying music). In this case it was 100 Hits of the 80s.
Now the very title of said cd infers it must be an oxymoron. The 1980s were, to many, the decade that taste forgot, certainly in musical terms. The case for the prosecution lists Wham!, Duran Duran, Adam and The Ants, Haircut 100, Dollar and bloody Rick Astley and his Stock Aitken and Waterman cronies. And, worst of all, the metamorphosise of angry young man Paul Weller in The Jam to a cardigan wearing , pretentious lead singer of The Style Council.
But the case for the defence is not as weak as one may think. The cd contained some memorable tracks from Altered Images (I'm still in love with Claire Grogan), The Beat, The Steve Miller Band, Aztec Camera, Echo & The Bunnymen and The Stranglers.
So perhaps the decade that is remembered for Thatcherism destroying whole communities and a way of life, mullet hair cuts and rolled up jacket sleeves wasn't all bad. Some of these tracks brought back memories for me of getting married (the day after Brazil humped Scotland 4-1 in the 1982 World Cup), the birth of my two daughters and Hearts last day nightmare in Dundee in 1986.
But as Everything But The Girl sang - I Don't Want To Talk About It. Unless your name is Claire Grogan...
4 comments:
All 'popular' music since the 60's can be considered bad!
But the 70's, Abba and all, were the worst.
I have to endure some pretty bad stuff now with my kids, who are both into music. Me I prefer boring talk radio.
I was a big fan of Wham and others on your prosecution list. I still remember the excitement I had on Saturday visits to the nearby town (Huntly), visiting a newsagent, and choosing a Wham magazine. Nowadays there are very few 80's musicians I listen to. I bet the hits is good though, there were some catchy songs in that decade. OHHHHHH, Wake me up, before you go go...
I had managed to successfully block 'Haircut 100' from my mind until I read your post, 20 years I managed, 20 years!
Somebody mention Kajagoogoo?
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