1980s Music: Top Songs, Genres And Trends

Synths, MTV, Live Aid and the CD - the decade pop became a visual business.

Below: the albums worth owning from the 1980s, the artists who defined it, how people listened at the time, and the biggest song of every year from 1980 to 1989.

Good for building a party playlist, setting a quiz round or working out what someone grew up listening to.

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Shop prints and posters Look back to 1980 Look back to 1981 Look back to 1982

Song and lyric prints, drawn and printed by us

Music and milestone art prints and funny cards, printed in the UK. Order on a working day and it usually goes out the same day.

99 Problems, Prompting Ain't One A6 Postcard 99 Problems, Prompting Ain't One A6 Postcard £3.00 Cunt Rude A6 Postcard Cunt Rude A6 Postcard £3.00 Dancing On The Ceiling Music Print A6 Postcard Dancing On The Ceiling Music Print A6 Postcard £3.00 Music Sounds Better With You Music Print A6 Postcard Music Sounds Better With You Music Print A6 Postcard £3.00 99 Problems but Excel Ain't One A6 Postcard 99 Problems but Excel Ain't One A6 Postcard £3.00 Kenny Dalglish Liverpool Football Club (LFC) Legend Stats Print Kenny Dalglish Liverpool Football Club (LFC) Legend Stats Print £12.99

Shop prints and posters

Years covered in the 1980s

  • 1980 - The decade opened with the SAS on live television and John Lennon's death in December. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1980
  • 1981 - A royal wedding, riots in several cities and the first London Marathon. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1981
  • 1982 - The Falklands, the launch of Channel 4 and the arrival of the Spectrum. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1982
  • 1983 - Breakfast television, the pound coin and a general election landslide. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1983
  • 1984 - The miners' strike, the Brighton bombing and Band Aid at Christmas. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1984
  • 1985 - Live Aid, the first EastEnders and a very bad year in football. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1985
  • 1986 - The Hand of God, Chernobyl and Neighbours arriving on daytime television. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1986
  • 1987 - The great storm, Black Monday and a third election win. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1987
  • 1988 - Acid house, Kylie's first number one and a grim run of disasters. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1988
  • 1989 - Hillsborough, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the decade. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1989
  • That is every 1980s year we have written up so far: 1980 to 1989.

Albums of the 1980s

  • Michael Jackson, Thriller (1982).
  • Dire Straits, Brothers in Arms (1985) - the album that sold the CD player.
  • Madonna, Like a Prayer (1989).
  • The Smiths, The Queen Is Dead (1986).
  • Prince, Purple Rain (1984).
  • U2, The Joshua Tree (1987).
  • Kate Bush, Hounds of Love (1985).

Artists who defined the 1980s

  • Madonna, Michael Jackson and Prince.
  • Wham!, Duran Duran, Culture Club and Spandau Ballet.
  • The Smiths, The Cure and Depeche Mode.
  • Stock Aitken Waterman acts - Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan, Rick Astley.
  • Band Aid's Do They Know It's Christmas? (1984) and Live Aid at Wembley (July 1985).

Genres of the 1980s

  • Synth pop and new romantic, built on cheap synthesisers and drum machines.
  • Two Tone ska, Coventry-born and multiracial.
  • Stadium rock and the power ballad.
  • Hip hop arriving from New York.
  • House and acid house from 1987, and the beginning of rave.

Music trends of the 1980s

  • MTV launches in 1981 and the video becomes as important as the song.
  • The CD arrives in Britain in 1983 and back catalogues are sold again.
  • Sampling and the drum machine change how records are made.
  • Live Aid in 1985 shows pop's scale.

Biggest songs, year by year

  • 1980 - The Police, Blondie and Abba all had number ones during the year.
  • 1981 - Adam and the Ants were the biggest chart act of the year, with 'Stand and Deliver' and 'Prince Charming' both reaching number one.
  • 1982 - Dexys Midnight Runners' 'Come On Eileen' was the best-selling single of the year.
  • 1983 - Culture Club, Spandau Ballet and Duran Duran were the chart acts of the year.
  • 1984 - Frankie Goes to Hollywood had 'Relax' and 'Two Tribes' at number one in the same year.
  • 1985 - 'The Power of Love' by Jennifer Rush was the year's best-selling single.
  • 1986 - 'Don't Leave Me This Way' by the Communards was the year's best-selling single.
  • 1987 - 'Never Gonna Give You Up' by Rick Astley was the year's best-selling single.
  • 1988 - Kylie Minogue's 'I Should Be So Lucky' reached number one in February.
  • 1989 - 'Ride on Time' by Black Box was the year's best-selling single.

How people listened

  • Cassette singles, the Sony Walkman and taping the Top 40 off the radio.
  • CDs arrive in the UK in 1983 and take over by the end of the decade.
  • Music video as a format in its own right - MTV launched in 1981.

How to use this

  • Party: take the running order from the 1980s playlist and pull extra tracks from the artists above.
  • Quiz round: read the year and the song, and ask for the other one.
  • Reminiscence session: the songs people sang at eighteen get the most talking.
  • Present: a print of a song from 1980-1989 beats another mug.

Shop prints and posters

Found your words? Now find the card

Shop prints and posters Look back to 1980 Look back to 1981 Look back to 1982

How to write it so it lands

  • Download the tracks rather than streaming them if the party is somewhere with bad signal.
  • One song from the year someone turned eighteen does more than a whole decade playlist.
  • Check for clean versions before a family party - some of these are ruder than people remember.

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Frequently asked questions

What are the best albums of the 1980s?

Michael Jackson, Thriller (1982). The full list above gives real records with their release years, not a ranking - pick by what the person actually listened to.

What music genres were popular in the 1980s?

Synth pop and new romantic, built on cheap synthesisers and drum machines. Two Tone ska, Coventry-born and multiracial. Stadium rock and the power ballad. The genres section above has the full list.

Who were the biggest artists of the 1980s?

Madonna, Michael Jackson and Prince. The rest are listed above, including the British acts that mattered more here than anywhere else.

What was the biggest song of each year in the 1980s?

The year-by-year list above gives the chart facts for each year of the decade, taken from the same checked data as our year pages.

Do you sell records?

No. We make greeting cards, art prints and pin badges in the UK, including song and lyric prints. For the records themselves, charity shops and independent record shops are the honest answer.

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