By the 1980’s, popular music was part of everyday
life, whether in soundtracks to films or in the background
of commercials. Also the introduction of the Compact
Disc (CD) replaced vinyl and the quality of sound
recordings vastly improved.
The 1980’s were an interesting
musical decade. It brought the last waves of disco
and music splintered into many different styles. Advances
in technology resulted in genres from acid house to
death metal to glam rock to techno-pop.
However,
musical styles changed fast in this decade. One of
the most significant of these was the birth the New
Romantics, such as
Soft
Cell, Duran
Duran, Human League and Spandau
Ballet. With bold make-up, sculpted hair,
pirate costumes, kilts and leather jackets with scarves,
these bands had their own fantasy-driven style and
kids lapped up the outrageous glamour.
Electropop was a genre of synthesised
pop music which thrived during the early 80’s
and produced a cold, robotic, electronic sound with
catchy melodies which has continued to influence artists
since. British successes in this area were New Order,
Depeche Mode and OMD.
Adam
and the Ants were a great success in the early eighties,
combining a punk and New Romanticism style. They were
pioneers of pop videos which thrust their individual
style and theatrics, including the infamous
white stripe across his face, into prominence. With
his stunning looks and colourful costumes, Adam Ant
proved to be a popular pin-up and enjoyed many hits
throughout the 80’s.
Within the political climate
of the 80’s, commonly known as “Thatcherism”,
the power of pop was utilised for the roles of musicians
as politicians. Protest songs were released in increasing
numbers. For example in “Ghost Town”,
The Specials were scathing in their opposition to
Thatcherite Britain and response to rising unemployment.
In the same way, the name of the group “UB40”
was also the code of the dole card.
Bob
Geldof, a singer with Boomtown Rats, achieved a magnificent
political and musical feat in 1984. He brought many
artists together to form Band Aid, a project to help
the starving people in Ethiopia. They produced a No.1
hit with “Do they know its Christmas?”
In 1985, he organised Live Aid – two huge concerts
held at the same time via satellite, one at Wembley
Stadium in London and the other at JFK Stadium in
Philadelphia. These concerts were listened to on TV
or radio by 1.5 billion people across 130 countries,
as well as the 160,000 people who attended. Millions
of pounds were raised for the African people.
Wham! had many hits in the 1980’s,
proving hugely popular with the teenage market. Towards
the end of the decade, Pop-Mogul Pete Waterman enjoyed
considerable success with his own brand of cheesy
music, such as Rick
Astley.
Other British bands/artists
in this decade include:
Erasure
Pet
Shop Boys
Culture Club
Bucks
Fizz
Bananarama
The
Smiths
Madness
The
Specials
Kim
Wilde
Boomtown
Rats
Simplyred
