I was listening the other day to Sara Lov’s brilliant cover of the Thompson Twins, and it just flashed on me that so many people dismiss the 1980s as an era known for easy music, by which they mean simple, accessible pop. No thought to it. Well, if it’s so easy to get everyone to sing a song, why is it the big “pop” stars of the 1990s have pretty much faded away? And the early 2000s are going fast, too. Gnarls’ “Crazy” and Beyonce’s “Crazy in Love” were monster hits, for their time, but people are covering Wham and Men Without Hats more than they cover those tunes.
It’s because the 1980s were a golden age for pop, people.
And here are covers of some of my favorite 1980 pop hits.
Walk Like An Egyptian-The Feeling
Don’t Pay the Ferryman-Twinball